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PG&E Bankruptcy – Who Will Win or Lose?
By Anne Foreman
PG&E filed for bankruptcy on Jan. 29. What does this mean for California ratepayers? How will it affect California’s goal to have 100 percent of electricity come from renewable sources of energy (wind, solar and geothermal) by 2045? The short answer is “nobody knows yet.”
First, some background: PG&E already filed for bankruptcy in 2001 due to the Enron debacle. That settlement allowed PG&E to pass on about $7 billion in costs to California ratepayers via increased rates.
Now, PG&E has filed for bankruptcy again, this time because of the wildfires in 2017 and 2018 caused by its equipment. The company estimates it has $30 billion in wildfire claims. However, on Jan. 25, PG&E was cleared of liability for the Tubbs Fire in Sonoma County, which could have amounted to $8 billion in damages. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection found that private electrical equipment at a home was responsible for that fire, not PG&E.
Wild Fires Are Adding Up
In addition, the cause of the disastrous Camp Fire in Paradise that killed 86 people is still under investigation. It could be months more before officials reach a conclusion on that fire.
Even without liability for the Tubbs Fire and possibly without liability for the Camp Fire, PG&E estimates it is liable for tens of billions of dollars for other wildfires in 2017 and 2018. California officials say PG&E’s equipment caused at least 17 of 21 major fires in the state in 2017.
Is PG&E Approaching a Crossroads?
At the end of last September, the company’s assets exceeded its debt by about $20 billion and yet it claims that bankruptcy is its “only viable option.” PG&E is investor-owned and one has to wonder whose interests the company favors – its investors, or its ratepayers. PG&E doesn’t pay dividends, but its investors have “equity value” so anything that hurts its stock value hurts investors.
High Voltage Transmission Lines
Although investor-owned, PG&E is regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission. The Commission has proposed some interesting options: One is to break up PG&E into smaller companies; another is to convert PG&E into a public utility.
Some might cry “socialism” at this proposal, but, in my opinion, the safety and wellbeing of the residents is paramount and should be a higher priority than the interests of investors. A crucial need like electricity shouldn’t be hostage to the profit motive. I think converting PG&E into a public utility deserves serious consideration.
New California Governor Gavin Newsom has a vacancy to fill on the commission. He could make his appointee its president. So doing, he potentially determining whether the agency will tilt toward consumers or the utilities in its approach. In any case, PG&E will need the Commission’s approval for any bankruptcy plan that would impose new costs on ratepayers.
Bankruptcy’s Potential Losers
So, who are potential losers in this bankruptcy? Solar companies that supply electricity to PG&E are nervous because the bankruptcy could allow PG&E to renegotiate their contracts, paying them less than the original contracts stipulated. According to a California Solar & Storage Association spokesperson, a number of solar companies are in discussions with Newsom, stating their concerns about losing out in the bankruptcy settlement.
Other potential losers in the bankruptcy are PG&E’s workers, who could face pension losses, and, of course, ratepayers who could see their electricity bills skyrocket. Wildfire claimants may not get what they are owed, either.
Bankruptcy’s Potential Winners
On the winners’ side, PG&E has asked the bankruptcy court to approve roughly $130 million of 2018 bonus payments to employees, who stand to get $5,000 to $90,000 each. This does not include the bonuses for 12 senior PG&E executives. The company has not yet asked the court to approve payments to executives. Yet it noted that senior officers are typically eligible to receive bonuses in bankruptcy.
Also benefitting will be the lawyers, bankers and consultants who will work on the bankruptcy execution. PG&E’s last bankruptcy in 2001 cost more than $400 million in fees. The current case could cost a lot more, because lawyers’ hourly rates have gone up a lot since then.
And on top of everything, climate change is here.
Rising global temperatures, driven by man-made greenhouse gas emissions are drying out California’s forests. In the future, wildfires will be even more intense and long-burning. Droughts, heat waves, rising seas and fiercer storms will put more stress on PG&E’s infrastructure. Undergrounding power lines, cutting back trees from power lines, installing insulated wiring, replacing aging equipment – all these mitigation measures cost money.
How the bankruptcy plays out will be a crucial test for Newsom. He promised to “ensure Californians have access to safe, reliable and affordable service.” At the same time, he’s pledged continuing “forward progress on our climate change goals.” Let’s hope he succeeds. So much depends on it.
Courtesy of Rossmoor News Feb. 13, 2019. Email Anne Foreman at: anneforeman60@gmail.com
Tips on Helping the Environment and Yourself → ← Solving the Climate Challenge
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Russian army gets 1,500 weapon titles, 80,000 pieces of equipment 2018
Russia achieved a level of modern military equipment of 61.5%, the defence minister stressed
MOSCOW, December 24. /TASS/. The Russian army in 2018 received more than 1,500 weapon titles and more than 80,000 pieces of military equipment, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Monday.
"All in all we received more than 1,500 weapon titles and more than 80,000 pieces of military equipment. This is a tremendous amount. We’ve achieved a level of modern military equipment of 61.5%. A rate as high is not observed in any other army of the world," Shoigu said at a meeting of the Defense Ministry’s Public Council.
"The task that was originally set in drafting and implementing the state program for armaments for 2010-2020 is being carried out as expected," Shoigu said. "We hope that we will achieve a level of modern weapons of 67% in 2019 and the end target of 70% set to us, in 2020," Shoigu said.
Sergey Shoigu
Russia proposes viewing new types of arms as part of New START
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Rights & JusticeCriminal Justice
Dismantling the Prison State
Report Criminal Justice
June 4, 2015 — Patrick Radden Keefe
Patrick Radden Keefe
1Introduction
2Social Costs
3Fiscal Costs
4The Opportunity
5A Holistic Solution
6Notes
Read more from TCF senior fellow Patrick Radden Keefe’s Cost and Consequences of the War on Drugs series.
If there is one thing the United States excels at, it’s locking people up. With only 5 percent of the world’s population, we house 25 percent of its prisoners. Over 2 million people are currently incarcerated in our jails and prisons, meaning that both per capita and in absolute terms, the United States imprisons more of its citizens than any other nation in the world, including far more autocratic countries such as Russia, China, and Iran.1 When you include the 4.75 million Americans who are on probation or parole, the total number of people in our criminal justice system tops 6 million. If this dispersed population were concentrated in one city, it would be the second-most populous in the country.2
It was not always like this. Throughout most of U.S. history, the prison population rose and fell in an incremental pattern, responding to fluctuations in the economy and whether the country was at war. But starting in the 1970s, the prison population began to grow at an unprecedented rate, quintupling in the decades between 1980 and today.
Until the early 1990s, this uptick in incarceration appeared simply to be a response to the dramatic surge in crime rates, with political leaders, prosecutors, and judges assuming a popular mandate to get “tough on crime.” The result was a series of draconian drug laws and sentencing guidelines, as well as a variety of “zero tolerance” policing strategies, which sought to punish and deter crime by taking criminals off the street, for increasingly lengthy stretches.
While sentencing guidelines were ostensibly designed to create some uniformity in criminal sanctions, in practice, these developments had an invidious—and socially devastating—impact on African American communities. Black Americans make up only 13 percent of the national population, but 40 percent of the prison population, with approximately 1 million African Americans currently behind bars.3 If these trends hold, one-third of all African American men in this country will be imprisoned at some point in their lifetimes.4
The social and economic costs of this sprawling and ever-expanding penal state are breathtaking. Yet the benefits derived from this system are not self-evident. For nearly a quarter of a century—since the early 1990s—crime rates have been dropping, precipitously, even as the prison population continues to grow. 5 As Jed Rakoff, a federal judge in New York, recently observed, “the supposition on which our mass incarceration is premised—namely, that it materially reduces crime—is, at best, a hunch. Yet the price we pay for acting on this hunch is enormous.” That cost is now roughly $80 billion a year to run our jails and prisons.6 This archipelago of institutions is overcrowded, inefficient, and expensive, and a great many of the inmates being detained pose minimal threat to public safety. Speaking before a subcommittee of the House of Representatives this spring, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy enunciated a conclusion that has become increasingly hard to deny: “this idea of total incarceration just isn’t working.”7
It might be tempting to ascribe the decline in crime to the construction of so many new prisons, but after countless studies of this possible correlation (and of the many other potential explanations for the drop in crime), the evidence remains far from conclusive.
Social Costs
In an ideal world, criminal justice policy would be formulated through a dispassionate calculation of costs and benefits, but in practice, it is shaped much more frequently by politics, prejudice, fear—and force of habit. The kind of tough-on-crime rhetoric and policies that gave rise to the prison state were popular with both Republicans and Democrats, and were embraced not just by presidents such as Bill Clinton, and by legislators at the state and federal level, but, crucially, by prosecutors, and by elected judges, who have as much or more impact on the day-to-day churn of criminal justice as those who are drafting the statutes. As a result of this top-to-bottom buy-in, perhaps, there was a considerable lag between the point at which the social costs of mass incarceration became painfully clear, and the point at which any political leaders were prepared to publicly question the continued benefits.
Those social costs to incarcerated individuals are hardly confined to the duration of any criminal sentence: convicted felons returning to their communities often struggled to find work. In an interview this spring, President Barack Obama pointed out that, “When you break down why people aren’t getting back into the labor force, even as jobs are being created, a big chunk of that is the young male population with felony histories.”8
Moreover, ex-convicts are often excluded from the ballot. By 2000, nearly two million African Americans had been deprived of the right to vote by felon disenfranchisement laws. According to the Sentencing Project, by 2004, African American disenfranchisement rates in ten states had reached 15 percent.9 By 2011, 20 percent of all the African Americans in the state of Virginia were barred from voting, and nearly a quarter of all African Americans of voting age living in Florida.10 There is a reasonable basis for concluding that, beyond victimizing the individual citizens, these disenfranchisement statutes may have swung presidential elections. (According to one study, they affected the outcome of seven U.S. Senate races between 1997 and 1998.)11
When a certain number of people in a given neighborhood get sucked into the criminal justice system, a series of other negative social pathologies take hold: families fracture, child poverty increases, education slips. In the words of the Harvard sociologist Bruce Western, “Prison has become the new poverty trap.”12 Social scientists have devised a term—million-dollar blocks—to describe residential blocks in certain cities that hit a tipping point, with a certain number of people locked up, and begin to suffer profound social and economic consequences.13 A child raised in a family in which someone is imprisoned becomes statistically more likely to end up in prison themselves. In this respect, far from keeping us safe, mass incarceration may end up fuelling precisely the societal ills that it was ostensibly designed to alleviate.
But perhaps the gravest paradox of mass incarceration is that, in certain communities, the penal system begins to perpetuate itself, as the social costs of incarceration spill over from the individual to society at large.
Fiscal Costs
The price tag on those million-dollar blocks is assumed by taxpayers, and implicit in this kind of research is the idea that mass incarceration is an affront not just to liberty—but also to good fiscal sense. Having 2 million people behind bars visits destruction and dysfunction on families and neighborhoods, and the fiscal burden of that dysfunction is borne by all of us. But there are also the spiraling costs of maintaining the prison system itself.
One peculiarity of mandatory minimum sentences—particularly the notion of life sentences for nonviolent crimes—is that most people actually age out of criminal activity. Right now, more than 10 percent of the federal and state inmate population is made up of people serving life sentences, and ten thousand of these are convicts serving life for nonviolent offenses. Yet most criminals mature out of lawbreaking by the time they reach thirty, and homicide and drug-arrest rates peak much younger, at nineteen.14 Since 1990, the population of inmates older than fifty-five has increased by over 500 percent, to nearly 150,000 inmates. The costs of supporting this aging prison population are significant: state and federal prisons now spend $4 billion a year just on health care alone.15 Of course, the most rational approach would be to dramatically limit sentences for nonviolent crimes, but it is unlikely that this proposal will find much traction, given our national taste for retributive justice.
With such colossal public expenditures, it should come as no surprise that a lucrative private prison industry has emerged in recent decades and now manages a network of facilities across the country. The population in private federal prisons more than doubled between 2000 and 2010, according to a report by the Justice Policy Institute.16 The two largest companies alone, GEO and Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), account for nearly $3 billion in revenue each year.17 These for-profit prisons have little interest in any reconsideration of our penological philosophy; on the contrary, they have spent tens of millions of dollars on political contributions and lobbying to preserve the status quo.
In case there was any doubt about CCA’s opposition to reform, its annual report explains:
The demand for our facilities and services could be adversely affected by the relaxation of enforcement efforts, leniency in conviction or parole standards and sentencing practices or through the decriminalization of certain activities that are currently proscribed by our criminal laws. For instance, any changes with respect to drugs and controlled substances or illegal immigration could affect the number of persons arrested, convicted, and sentenced, thereby potentially reducing demand for correctional facilities to house them. . . . Legislation has been proposed in numerous jurisdictions that could lower minimum sentences for some non-violent crimes and make more inmates eligible for early release based on good behavior.18
As the social and fiscal costs of mass incarceration multiply and become unsustainable, and as the benefits appear more and more elusive, a new consensus is emerging that something must indeed be done. While many commentators express alarm at the social costs, it may be that what finally changes the system is simply the bottom line. In President Obama’s words, mass incarceration is “breaking the bank.”
After peaking in 2009, the prison population has dropped, by small but steady increments. The reasons for this change are complex, but in some measure the drop is due to the fact that state budgets have become so constrained that officials are being forced to explore alternatives to incarceration. Multiple states, including California, Texas, South Carolina, and Ohio, have actively reduced their existing prison populations. Other states have amended mandatory minimum statutes, and worked on revising rehabilitation, probation, and parole programs—and they have managed to do so without any corresponding increase in crime.
At the federal level, in 2013, U.S. attorney general Eric Holder introduced significant reforms at the Justice Department, eliminating the requirement that prosecutors must charge crimes with an eye to securing the longest prison terms. And this imperative for reform appears to be shared across the political spectrum: Republican senators Ted Cruz and Rand Paul have introduced legislation that would abolish mandatory minimum sentences for certain nonviolent drug offenses. Conservative groups, such as Right on Crime, are now articulating the “conservative case for reform,” and the Koch brothers have partnered with the American Civil Liberties Union in an effort to roll back mass incarceration.19 The U.S. sentencing commission also voted unanimously last summer to give tens of thousands of federal prisoners the opportunity to reduce their sentences.
It does appear that we are at a moment in which various forces have converged to make real reform possible. After a string of police shootings of unarmed black men renewed the national focus on criminal justice policy and its impact on black America, contenders in the 2016 presidential race have taken up the cause. In her first major policy address after declaring her candidacy, Hillary Clinton delivered a speech at Columbia University in April, in which she called for an end to “the era of mass incarceration.” Rand Paul, a longstanding critic of mass incarceration and the war on drugs, replied: “We welcome her to the fight.”20
There is, increasingly, widespread agreement that this is a sound and overdue agenda. But the prison state developed slowly, over four decades, to a point where 2 million people are institutionalized, and the recent declines in the size of the prison population have been comparatively minute; if you continued to shrink the population at current rates, the process would take decades. So how can we achieve real change?
A Holistic Solution
In a recent interview, President Obama suggested that the chief responsibility for reform lies with Congress.21 It is certainly true that because legislators set the penalties for many crimes, they are in a unique position to repeal or amend mandatory minimum statutes and to roll back some of the most excessive anti-drug legislation. These kinds of changes are necessary, but also insufficient: the problem has reached such proportions that any kind of forward-looking reduction in criminal sanctions must be accompanied by retroactive reductions or amnesties for those currently serving long sentences.
But realistically, we cannot wait for Congress. Tough-on-crime political grandstanding may seem antique in 2015, but for some minority of lawmakers, it remains irresistible. As a result, when new legislation is proposed to adjust sentencing guidelines, or to create a point system whereby well-behaved prisoners who pose no apparent danger to society can apply for early release, these bills have been killed before they have a chance to become law.22
As Judge Rakoff says plainly:
What is called for . . . is leadership: those whom the public does respect should point out why statutes prescribing mandatory minimums, draconian guidelines, and the like are not the solution in controlling crime, and why, in any case, in the long-term, the price of mass incarceration is too high to pay, not just in economic terms, but also in terms of shared social values.
That leadership is unlikely to come from Congress, and while it does appear to be coming, at least at a rhetorical level, from the president—and from aspiring presidential candidates, from Clinton to Paul—the scope of the crisis is such that no quantity of speeches and goodwill will be sufficient. Some, like former Virginia senator Jim Webb, have called for a presidential commission on mass incarceration, which could study the problem in depth and then recommend an omnibus series of solutions.23 But the problem has already been studied in some detail; indeed, Congress recently created the Charles Colson Task Force on Federal Corrections to study the issue and make recommendations on alleviating overcrowding in federal prisons.
The real obstacle to summoning the appropriate leadership on this issue is that the criminal justice system has nocenter of gravity. As the Carnegie Mellon criminal justice specialist Alfred Blumstein recently pointed out, there is no one place to apply pressure, because power is distributed so diffusely through the system:
You have legislators who decide what’s a crime and establish the range of penalties. You have judges who impose the sentences. You have police who decide whom to arrest. And you have prosecutors who have wide discretion in what cases to bring, what charges to call for, and what sentences to agree to in plea bargains.24
While this decentralized quality may inhibit prompt and fundamental reform, if there is enough of a national sea-change in attitudes to mass incarceration, it could also prove to be an advantage. The only solution that will have a sufficient impact will be a holistic one, in which each of the relevant branches of government—at the federal, state, and local levels—plays a role. Because the politics of criminal justice is fraught with grandstanding, some of the most effective commonsense changes may not be immediately feasible at the national level. Amending federal law to decriminalize marijuana, for example, would have a major impact on who we lock up, and for what, but it is unlikely to happen any time soon. In testimony before the Colson task force this spring, Marc Mauer, the director of the Sentencing Project, suggested that because the vast majority of criminals age out of criminal activity by middle age, federal prison terms should be capped at twenty years. This would be a sound, if revolutionary, idea. But, politically, it isa nonstarter.25
Rather than any fell-swoop panacea from Congress, it seems likely that the solution will be one in which smaller jurisdictions—states, but also cities—experiment with alternatives, and the innovations developed in these local laboratories are ultimately adopted more broadly. This trend is evident already in new approaches to the status of marijuana: despite inaction from the federal government, more and more states have been decriminalizing, or outright legalizing, the medical (and in some cases recreational) use of cannabis. Some states have been driven purely by budgetary constraints to explore alternatives to incarceration, and a number of jurisdictions are experimenting with “diversion” programs, which channel people into drug treatment or other rehabilitative programs rather than jail, or with alternatives to the current system of probation and parole, which move away from systems in which any violation of the terms of probation or release will land the individual back behind bars. This kind of tinkering is already yielding positive results in some parts of the country, and can hopefully pioneer—and provide a replicable example of—a criminal justice policy that is more fiscally responsible, but also less discriminatory, and more humane.
But these piecemeal approaches are not enough. The vanguard of criminal justice is really the culture and the specific professional incentives of prosecutors, which still align in favor of the most severe criminal penalties. The prison state came into existence through a gradual accretion of millions of small discretionary steps—by police officers and by prosecutors, who make decisions every day about who should be arrested, how they should be charged, and what punishment the government should seek. Perhaps the greatest challenge of criminal justice reform therefore will be the gradual transformation of the culture and institutional imperatives of the front lines of law enforcement, so that the stiffest penalty is no longer the default objective.
Judges also have a part to play. State judges are still elected in a majority of U.S. states, and they will be subject to the same political pressure that legislators are, but federal judges enjoy lifetime tenure in part to enable them to make the right decision in precisely this sort of situation. As Judge Rakoff has argued, if they feel constrained by sentencing guidelines, then they should prevail upon lawmakers to give them more flexibility.
The prison state took decades to reach its current proportions, and it will not be dismantled overnight. Reductions and rollbacks will require an effort that is concerted and incremental, one that involves presidential leadership and congressional action, but also initiative by police officers, prosecutors, and judges. New investments must be made, not just in pilot programs for alternatives to incarceration, but in better job training, education and post-release job placement for convicts, and in better drug treatment and mental health programs—both of which are vastly more cost-effective, over the long run, than incarceration.
This won’t be easy. It will require not only changes in policy, but also a fundamental change in how American culture views criminal justice. But hopefully this cultural change is already under way—as evident in the streets of Ferguson and Baltimore, and in states like California and Texas, which have begun, on their own initiative, to reduce their prison populations. The problem is daunting, but the status quo is immoral and unsustainable. The way forward is clear, and the moment is upon us.
1.“Banking on Bondage: Private Prisons and Mass Incarceration,” American Civil Liberties Union, November 11, 2011.
2.Adam Gopnik, “The Caging of America: Why Do We Lock Up So Many?” The New Yorker, January 30, 2012.
3.“Criminal Justice Fact Sheet,” NAACP, http://www.naacp.org/pages/criminal-justice-fact-sheet; “Prison Inmates at Midyear 2009: Statistical Tables,” Bureau of Justice Statistics, Department of Justice, June 2010.
4.Jed Rakoff, “Mass Incarceration: The Silence of the Judges,” New York Review of Books, May 21, 2015.
5.See “What Caused the Crime Decline?” Brennan Center for Justice, February 12, 2015.
6.“Smart on Crime: Reforming the Criminal Justice System for the 21st Century,” Department of Justice, August 2013.
7.Jess Bravin, “Two Supreme Court Justices Say Criminal Justice System Isn’t Working,” Wall Street Journal, March 24, 2015.
8.Christopher Ingraham, “Barack Obama Talks the War On Drugs with the Creator of The Wire,” Washington Post, March 26, 2015.
9.“State Level Estimates of Felon Disenfranchisement,” The Sentencing Project, 2010.
10.Heather Ann Thompson, “How Prisons Change the Balance of Power in America,” The Atlantic, October 7, 2013.
11.Ibid. The study is Jeff Manza and Christopher Uggen, “Democratic Contraction? Political Consequences of Felon Disenfranchisement in the United States,” American Sociological Review 67, no. 6 (December 2002).
12.John Tierney, “Prison and the Poverty Trap,” New York Times, January 18, 2013.
13.“Million Dollar Blocks Map Incarceration’s Costs,” National Public Radio, October 12, 2012. See also the Justice Mapping Center, www.justicemapping.org.
14.Dana Goldstein, “Too Old to Commit Crime?” New York Times, March 20, 2015.
15.Ibid.
16.“Gaming the System: How the Political Strategies of Private Prison Companies Promote Ineffective Incarceration Policies,” Justice Policy Institute, June 2011.
17.“Banking on Bondage.”
18.Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), Annual Report, 2010.
19.See www.rightoncrime.com; also Erik Eckholm, “A.C.L.U. in $50 million Push to Reduce Jail Sentences,” New York Times, November 7, 2014.
20.Jacob Sullum, “Rand Paul Welcomes Hillary Clinton to the Fight for Criminal Justice Reform,” Reason, April 29, 2015.
21.Ingraham, “Barack Obama Talks the War On Drugs with the Creator of The Wire.”
22.“Bipartisan Push to Reform Sentencing Stalls in Congress,” New York Times (editorial), June 22, 2014.
23.James Webb, “A National Commission on Mass incarceration,” in Solutions: American Leaders Speak Out on Criminal Justice (New York: Brennan Center for Social Justice, 2015).
24.Jeffrey Toobin, “The Milwaukee Experiment,” The New Yorker, May 11, 2015.
25.Marc Mauer, Testimony to the Charles Colson Task Force on Federal Corrections, March 11, 2015.
Tags: mass incarceration, prison reform, prison industrial complex, War on Drugs, Costs and Consequences of the War on Drugs
Patrick Radden Keefe, Contributor
Patrick Radden Keefe was formerly a senior fellow at TCF and is a staff writer at The New Yorker magazine, with expertise in systemic corruption; the impact of globalization and new technologies on cross-border security threats; and intelligence and homeland security.
Report Race & Inequality
Attacking the Black–White Opportunity Gap That Comes from Residential Segregation
June 25, 2019 — By Kimberly Quick and Richard D. Kahlenberg
Event Race & Inequality
The Policies that Divide Us: Segregation and Gentrification in the 21st Century
June 25, 2019 — New York
Facts School Integration
The Benefits of Socioeconomically and Racially Integrated Schools and Classrooms
April 29, 2019 — By The Century Foundation
Facts Education
How Can Higher Education Researchers Help Provide Community Colleges the Resources They Need?
Brain Injury among Domestic Violence Survivors Is a Public Health Issue
Report Rights & Justice
From Kuwait to America, Gender-Based Killings Considered Less Than Murder
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Next10: Memonic wants to kill "copy-paste", closes Angel funding
vaughn597 9 years
Swiss start-up Memonic lets users to select and collect snippets of websites, documents, and pictures on the web and any offline content for later use.
The Swiss startup will launch a new collaboration feature in the coming months that will enable the user to retrieve information anywhere. It is stored at Memonic, which makes it independent of its original source. So if you need the information, lets say, 6 months later, snippets can be shared, sent, etc.
“In the last years new technologies have sparked an explosion of published information. This in turn lead to great developments in the creation and searching of information. What we are missing though is an effective tool to capture the relevant information and actually work with it”, says co-founder and CEO Selz, who is spearheading the team of six.
Co-founder and system admin Birrer adds “We want to make your life easier by allowing you to save time when you compile information.” The team’s main motivation is to kill nitty gritty copy and paste work that is not only time consuming but also often a one time effort.
Besides their iPhone client, Memonic is working on releasing a Windows clipper that allow users to extract information from any document that can be opened on a Windows PC. “No matter where you can see any type of content you should be able to capture it and work with it” says Birrer.
Clipped content can also be exported to a user’s own website, blog or shared via Facebook, Twitter, and email. Currently Memonic is preparing the launch of a WordPress plug-in that integrates Memonic stored content with the WordPress interface.
Memonic is making a global play and has versions of its site in English, German, Spanish, and Italian. Russian, Ukrainian, Chinese and even Hindi versions will be released soon. All localization is done through crowd sourced volunteers.
Just in the last couple of days Memonic has closed an angel funding round of 1 million CHF (800k EUR) to finance their expansion. To enable the expansion they also started a new hiring campaign to attract more people to their Zurich, Switzerland office.
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Michael Link, 70, can be found at a local YMCA doing his multi-hour workout regimen of walking on the treadmill and doing strength training on weight machines five days a week.
Just four months ago, Link was still experiencing shortness of breath and fatigue from his chronic atrial fibrillation, or AFIB. His heart had gone into the arrhythmia nearly eight years earlier following a bad drug reaction after knee surgery. Since then, the condition forced Link to limit daily activity.
“I like the outdoor things. I sail, backpack, and bicycle and the AFIB really limited my activity,” recalled Link. “I didn’t want to start aging with one hand behind my back.”
Multiple failed treatments including ablation and cardioversion procedures left him feeling frustrated and out of options. Then his physician mentioned a new procedure for patients with chronic AFIB being performed at TriStar Centennial Heart & Vascular Center in Nashville, Tenn., called ‘nContact.’ This innovative treatment allows for two minimally invasive procedures to be combined into one by sequencing first the surgical procedure and then the ablation. Recovery was described as minimum and reported patient outcomes have been positive.
Link was immediately ready to try the new treatment option. He scheduled consultations with Gregory Bashian, M.D., cardiac electrophysiologist, and V. Seenu Reddy, M.D., cardiovascular surgeon, the heart specialists working together on this new procedure at TriStar Centennial. They deemed Link was a good candidate for the procedure and scheduled a surgery date for December 2012.
To perform the procedure, the heart specialists work together in TriStar Centennial Heart & Vascular Center’s state-of-the-art, hybrid-enabled electrophysiology lab. The surgical procedure is performed first, followed by the ablation of the remaining areas of the left atrium.
The procedure worked. Link’s heart has been in sinus rhythm more than four months and he has come off of his arrhythmia medication.
“The new surgery made all the difference in the world,” he said. “In less than two weeks, I was back to doing all the things I did before the AFIB years ago.”
Link recognizes anything can change to put his heart back out of rhythm but he remains hopeful and is enjoying leading his normal life and activity level.
The new nContact hybrid ablation procedure
NContact is a new hybrid procedure for treating atrial fibrillation using surgical and minimally invasive therapies.
“The new nContact procedure combines the best techniques of electrophysiology and cardiovascular surgery to treat atrial fibrillation, or ‘AFIB’,” said Seenu Reddy, M.D., cardiovascular surgeon, TriStar Centennial Heart & Vascular Center. “This minimally invasive procedure allows us to combine dual modalities for treating AFIB into one single procedure, rather than the patient having to undergo two separate procedures like they potentially had to previously.”
Most patients with atrial fibrillation can benefit from medication and ablation procedures to restore normal heart rhythm. For patients still experiencing atrial fibrillation after an ablation or who have a more persistent version of the disease, the nContact procedure is a new alternative treatment.
“Before nContact was available, AFIB patients who needed additional treatment beyond an ablation had to go through multiple procedures, taking a toll on their bodies and requiring a lot of their time for additional appointments and then recovery,” said Gregory Bashian, M.D., cardiac electrophysiologist, TriStar Centennial Heart & Vascular Center. “Now we are able to offer AFIB patients an alternative that will return their heart to a regular rhythm in one overall procedure and even reduce their recovery time.”
To perform the nContact procedure, a cardiac electrophysiologist and cardiac surgeon work together in TriStar Centennial Heart & Vascular Center’s state-of-the-art, hybrid-enabled electrophysiology lab. The surgical procedure is performed first, followed by the ablation of the remaining areas of the left atrium. It takes about three to five hours to complete the entire procedure.
“Initial patient feedback and outcomes have been very positive,” said Bashian. “This alternative hybrid procedure is a great option to have available for our patients.”
About AFIB
Atrial fibrillation, commonly referred to as AFIB, is the most common type of abnormal heart rhythm treated by physicians. A less-known heart condition to most, it has serious implications for the patient including increased risk of stroke and heart failure.
“When an arrhythmia like AFIB occurs, the electrical activity of the patient’s heart becomes disorganized,” explains Gregory Bashian, M.D., cardiac electrophysiologist at TriStar Centennial Heart & Vascular Center in Nashville, Tenn. “AFIB can severely impact a patient’s daily routine and, over time, cause damage to the heart.”
As the Baby Boomer Generation is aging, AFIB is among the heart conditions that cardiologists like Bashian are concerned about negatively impacting mature adult health. He has seen an increase in the number of diagnosed cases of AFIB in Nashville and Middle Tennessee in his patients over recent years. Many more cases are thought to go undiagnosed because people aren’t aware of the condition and the serious health consequences.
“Today, over 3 million Americans have been diagnosed with AFIB. We anticipate that number to continue rising over the next decade,” he said. “The good news is that treatments for AFIB are rapidly advancing. Anyone who believes they may be experiencing symptoms of AFIB should schedule an appointment with their physician or cardiologist.”
Symptoms related to AFIB vary from mild to severe, while some people may not notice any symptoms. Common symptoms include an irregular or rapid heartbeat, a racing feeling in the chest, a pounding feeling in the chest, pain or pressure in the chest, dizziness or lightheadedness, sweating, extreme fatigue or weakness, shortness of breath, and exercise intolerance.
Risk factors include age, a family history of atrial fibrillation, cardiovascular or lung diseases, and chronic health conditions. Certain lifestyle factors including stress, stimulant drugs like caffeine, smoking, and alcohol abuse can also increase the risk of developing AFIB.
“Heart patients suffering from atrial fibrillation have more treatment options than ever with a goal of regaining a regular heart rhythm and improving long-term outcomes,” said Bashian. “The most important thing is not to ignore the symptoms and to visit your doctor right away. The sooner you receive treatment, the greater your chances of regaining a regular heart rhythm.”
Most patients with atrial fibrillation can benefit from a combination of medications, lifestyle changes, and ablation procedures to restore normal heart rhythm. For patients still experiencing AFIB after an ablation or who have structural heart disease, a new procedure called an nContact hybrid ablation is an alternative treatment option now available at TriStar Centennial Heart & Vascular Center.
For more information about arrhythmia treatment options and the TriStar Centennial Heart & Vascular Center, visit TriStarHealth.com and select TriStar Centennial Medical Center or call TriStar MedLine® at (615) 342-1919.
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Shadow Wars Accelerated And Put On Steroids By The Trump Team
12th June 2018 / United States
By Abigail Fielding-Smith , Jessica Purkiss at media partner – The Bureau of Investigative Journalists: In October 2017, four American commandos were killed in a ferocious battle in a country with which the US was not at war, thousands of miles away from the Middle East and South Asian bases of the terrorist organisations America had spent the previous 16 years fighting. The Niger incident was a particularly dramatic example of a trend which is starting to cause concern among US policymakers: the military engagements unleashed in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks have become ever deeper, more geographically dispersed and murkier.
The global war on terror has been through different iterations since President George W. Bush ordered the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. As US troops became bogged down in messy insurgencies in those countries, Bush’s successor, President Barack Obama, sought to pursue what was presented as a more precise way of targeting enemies, whilst simultaneously seeking to withdraw ground troops. Commandos hunted insurgent leaders in Iraq and Afghanistan, while secret CIA drones unleashed missiles on the latter’s allies across the border in Pakistan. Drone strikes also crept up in Yemen and Somalia and the Bureau produced an award-winning body of work documenting this covert war’s unacknowledged human cost.
Under President Donald Trump the US counterterrorism campaign is shifting into another phase, and the Bureau is today launching a new project to investigate it – Shadow Wars.
The new phase is in some ways a continuation and evolution of trends seen under Obama. The same reluctance to deploy American troops applies, as does the impetus to respond militarily to radical groups around the world. But as extremist groups spread and metastasise, the US’s military engagements are becoming ever more widespread, and complicated. Peter Singer, a senior Fellow at the New America Foundation, who is a leading expert on security, says: “Shadow wars have been going on for a long time, but what’s clearly happened is that they’ve been accelerated, and the mechanisms for oversight and public notification have been peeled back. The trend lines were there before, but the Trump team are just putting them on steroids.”
A new US drone base has been built in Niger, but its ultimate purpose is unclear. In Afghanistan, the US is trying to prevail over the Taliban, without committing to a substantial increase in troop numbers, by waging an increasingly secretive air war. In Yemen, the US is leaning on the United Arab Emirates as its on the ground counterterrorism partner, a country with a troubled human rights record. Meanwhile, proxy confrontations with Iran are threading themselves into the mix.
Our Shadow Wars project will widen the focus of the Bureau’s drone warfare work. Over the next year, we will bring new and important aspects of US military strategy to light, of which drones are just one troubling aspect.
We will explore issues such as America’s increasing reliance on regional allies, the globalisation of the private military industry, the blurring of lines between combat and support missions and the way corruption fuels a state of permanent conflict. As with our work on drones, our primary concern in this new project is to publicise the effects these evolving practices of war have on the civilians on the ground.
“As with our work on drones, our primary concern in this new project is to publicise the effect that these evolving practices of war have on civilians on the ground”
Whilst pursuing new investigative angles, we will continue to maintain our extensive databases on strikes in Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia and Pakistan. When we began recording these operations, they were still cloaked in secrecy. In part because of the work of organisations such as the Bureau, they became slightly less so – under President Obama, some measures towards greater transparency on drone strikes were introduced, and a formal policy on the use of lethal force outside of warzones was published.
However, the current phase of the war on terror has seen a concerning rollback of even these small steps, and collecting data and holding the US government to account for its actions remains an urgent task. You can read our 2018 report, Naming the Dead, looking back on our seven years of investigation into US drones strikes, here. You can continue to get the data on strikes and other drone warfare updates by clicking here.
Libya: The full horror of Britain’s brutal migration policy
Darroch Affair: Brexit Britain Losing Control
The Damning Briefing note of the OPCW Fact-Finding Mission on the chemical attack in Douma, Syria
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April 17, 2019 // Vatican
Retired pope publishes reflection on abuse crisis
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Retired Pope Benedict XVI, acknowledging his role in helping the Catholic Church come to terms with the clerical sexual abuse crisis beginning in the 1980s, wrote an article outlining his thoughts about what must be done now.
Seeing the crisis as rooted in the “egregious event” of the cultural and sexual revolution in the Western world in the 1960s and a collapse of the existence and authority of absolute truth and God, the retired pope said the primary task at hand is to reassert the joyful truth of God’s existence and of the Church as holding the true deposit of faith.
“When thinking about what action is required first and foremost, it is rather obvious that we do not need another church of our own design. Rather, what is required first and foremost is the renewal of the faith in the reality of Jesus Christ given to us in the Blessed Sacrament,” he wrote.
The pope’s remarks, presented as a compilation of “some notes,” were to be published in Klerusblatt, a German-language Catholic monthly journal for clergy in Bavaria. Several news outlets released their translations of the text early April 11.
Given the February Vatican gathering of presidents of the world’s bishops’ conferences “to discuss the current crisis of faith and of the church,” and given his role as pope during “the public outbreak of the crisis,” the retired pope felt it appropriate he also help contribute “to a new beginning,” he said.
Pope Benedict added that he contacted Pope Francis and Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, before releasing the article.
The retired pope, who turns 92 April 16, led the universal Church from 2005 to 2013 and for 23 years before that headed the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which is charged with handling cases of the abuse of minors by priests. He also served as a theological consultant during the Second Vatican Council, between 1962 and 1965.
Beginning in the late 1960s, while Western society at large was facing the “death” or disappearance of God and any moral compass, he said, the Church’s own moral theology suffered “a collapse that rendered the church defenseless against these changes in society.”
A misreading of the Second Vatican Council, he said, shifted the Church’s understanding of revelation, resulting in a diluted or shape-shifting morality that was no longer grounded in natural law and the existence of absolute good and evil; morality could only make “relative value judgments” contingent on the moment and circumstances, he wrote.
“Indeed, in many parts of the church, conciliar attitudes were understood to mean having a critical or negative attitude toward the hitherto existing tradition, which was now to be replaced by a new, radically open relationship with the world,” he wrote.
To illustrate this radical openness, he gave an example of an unnamed bishop who had been a seminary rector and “arranged for the seminarians to be shown pornographic films, allegedly with the intention of thus making them resistant to behavior contrary to the faith.”
Retired Pope Benedict XVI attends a consistory for the creation of new cardinals in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican in this Feb. 22, 2014, file photo. Pope Benedict has released an article addressing the roots of the clerical sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church and how the church should respond now. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)
In an extensive study on the causes and context of the abuse of minors by priests in the United States from 1950 to 2010, the John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York found “the majority of abusers (70 percent) were ordained prior to the 1970s,” and 44 percent of those accused entered the priesthood before 1960.
Social factors influenced the increase of abuse incidents during the 1960s and 1970s, the report said, finding the increase consistent with “the rise of other types of ‘deviant’ behavior, such as drug use and crime,” and changes in social behavior such as the “increase in premarital sexual behavior and divorce.”
In another example of how Catholic tradition was being rejected and a “new, modern ‘Catholicity’” was being introduced by some bishops, who were “not only in the United States of America,” Pope Benedict cited instances of labeling seminarians “caught reading my books” as unsuitable for the priesthood. “My books were hidden away, like bad literature, and only read under the desk,” he said.
The retired pope emphasized the importance of recognizing, embracing and defending the most essential and foundational principles of faith and of protecting the authority of the Church, particularly in matters of morality.
In fact, he said the original meaning behind the verse (Mk 9:42) in which Jesus says it would be better to toss out to sea, weighed down with a millstone, whoever causes “one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,” refers to those who are intellectually arrogant and cause the “little ones” — the common believer — to become confused in the faith.
While it is “not in itself wrong” to associate the verse with “pedophilic misconduct” as many do today, he said, its original meaning must not be obscured because “great goods such as the faith are equally important” and Jesus protects the deposit of faith with a strong threat of punishment to those who would do it harm.
“A balanced canon law,” he wrote, would provide legal protection for the accused but also for the “legal protection” of the faith.
“In the general awareness of the law, the faith no longer appears to have the rank of a good requiring protection. This is an alarming situation which must be considered and taken seriously by the pastors of the church,” he wrote.
“What must be done?” he asked.
Creating “another church” will not work because “that experiment has already been undertaken and has already failed.”
“Only obedience and love for our Lord Jesus Christ can point the way. So, let us first try to understand anew and from within what the Lord wants, and has wanted with us,” he wrote.
The scandal of child sexual abuse reached such terrible proportions, both in society and the Church, he said, because of “the absence of God” and a refusal to hold Him as the guiding principle.
“A paramount task, which must result from the moral upheavals of our time, is that we ourselves once again begin to live by God and unto him. Above all, we ourselves must learn again to recognize God as the foundation of our life instead of leaving him aside.”
“The crisis caused by the many cases of clerical abuse” must not lead to taking the Church “into our own hands” and redesigning it.
The Church is like a fishing net that catches both good and bad fish, like a field where good grain and bad weeds grow, he wrote. “The field is still God’s field and the net is God’s fishing net. And at all times, there are not only the weeds and the evil fish, but also the crops of God and the good fish.”
The idea that people can create a better Church, he wrote, “is in fact a proposal of the devil, with which he wants to lead us away from the living God, through a deceitful logic by which we are too easily duped.”
“No, even today the church is not just made up of bad fish and weeds. The church of God also exists today, and today it is the very instrument through which God saves us,” he said.
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Australia drawn in Group B for 2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup
By Ann Odong Dec 9 2017 10:44PM
By Ann Odong
Dec 9 2017 10:44PM
The Matildas will start their 2018 AFC Women's World Cup campaign against Korea Republic in Amman, Jordan.
This follows Australian being drawn in a competitive Group B alongside defending Asian Cup champions Japan, Korea Republic and Vietnam.
“Obviously a very tough draw but one that we embrace and look forward to the challenge of,” said head coach Alen Stajcic Stajcic.
“Having a group like this means there are no easy matches and no easy moments.
Silver medallists from the 2014 edition, Australia will be looking to capture their second continental title in the first Asian Cup to be held in West Asia.
https://twitter.com/TheWomensGame/status/939458218123595776
Group A has seen hosts Jordan joined by 2015 Women's World Cup participants China and Thailand and returnees to the Asian Cup, the Philippines.
The top two nations from Group B will advance to the semi finals of the tournament with the top five nations from the tournament qualifying for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in France.
“We have to ensure that we hit the ground running to give ourselves the best possible chance of reaching the knockout rounds.”
The matches of the tournament will be held at Amman International Stadium and King Abdullah II Stadium in Amman, Jordan.
Australia's preparations for the AFC Women's Asian Cup will include four matches at the 2018 Algarve Cup where the Matildas will face Korea Republic as well as Norway and Portugal.
The 2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup will run from 5 - 21 April 2018.
2018 AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2018 - Groups
Group A: Jordan (50), China PR (13), Thailand (29), Philippines (70)
Group B: Japan (8), Australia (6), Korea Republic (15), Vietnam (31)
2018 asian cupaodongasian cupfootballmatildaswnt news
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Uniform Acts
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Home | Uniform Acts | Current Uniform Acts | Josetta - 1 - en-GB | Uniform Acts | Proceedings Against the Crown Act | Uniform Proceedings Against the Crown Act (-1962)
Uniform Proceedings Against the Crown Act (-1962)
(1962 Consolidation, page 244)
1. In this Act
(a) "agent", when used in relation to the Crown, includes an independent contractor employed by the Crown;
(b) "Crown" means Her Majesty the Queen in right of the Province of ..............;
(c) "officer", in relation to the Crown, includes a minister of the Crown and any servant of the Crown;
(d) "order" includes a judgment, decree, rule, award, and declaration;
(e) "person" does not include the Crown;
(f) "proceedings against the Crown" includes a claim by way of set-off or counterclaim raised in proceedings by the Crown, and interpleader proceedings to which the Crown is a party;
(g) "rules of court" means rules of court made under the authority of the (Court of Appeal Act) or of the (King's Bench Act) or of the (County Courts Act).
Statutes and proceedings to which this Act does not apply
2. (1) This Act is subject to the (Workmen's Compensation Act) and does not apply to,
(a) proceedings against a district registrar as provided in the (Real Property Act);
(b) proceedings against a registrar as provided in the (Registry Act);
(c) proceedings authorized by or arising out of the (Succession Duty Act);
(d) proceedings authorized by or arising out of the (Income Tax Act);
(e) proceedings authorized by or arising out of the (Manitoba Corporation Income Tax Act, 1947) or the (Manitoba Corporation Income Tax Act, 1949); and
(f) proceedings to which the (Federal Courts Jurisdiction Act) relates.
Saving clauses
(2) Except as otherwise provided in this Act, nothing in this Act
(a) subjects the Crown to greater liability in respect of the acts or omissions of an independent contractor employed by the Crown than that to which the Crown would be subject in respect of such acts or omissions if it were a private person;
(b) subjects the Crown, in its capacity as a highway authority, to any greater liability than that to which a municipal corporation is subject in that capacity;
(c) affects any right of the Crown to intervene in proceedings affecting its rights, property or profits;
(d) subjects the Crown to proceedings under this Act in respect of a cause of action that is enforceable against a corporation or other agency owned or controlled by the Crown; or
(e) subjects the Crown to proceedings under this Act in respect of anything done in the due enforcement of the Criminal law or the penal provisions of any Act of the Legislature.
(Note: Subsection (2)(b) and (c) above are to be regarded as optional and each province should decide whether those optional and each province should decide whether those clauses are required in that province.)
<hrdata-mce-alt="Part I - Substantive Law" class="system-pagebreak" title="Part I - Substantive Law" />
Part I - Substantive Law
Right to sue the Crown
3. Subject to this Act, a claim against the Crown, that, if this Act had not been passed, might be enforced by petition of right, subject to the grant of a fiat by the Lieutenant Governor, may be enforced as of right by proceedings against the Crown in accordance with this Act, without the grant a fiat by the Lieutenant Governor.
Liability of the Crown in tort
4. (1) Subject to this Act and notwithstanding section .................... of the Uniform Interpretation Act, the Crown is subject to all those liabilities in tort to which, if it were a person of full age and capacity, it would be subject,
(a) in respect of a tort committed by any of its officers or agents;
(b) in respect of any breach of those duties that a person owes to his servants or agents by reason of being their employer;
(c) in respect of any breach of the duties attaching to the ownership, occupation, possession or control of property; and
(d) under any statute, or under any regulation or by-law made or passed under the authority of any statute.
Liability of Crown for acts of its officers of agents
(2) No proceedings lie against the Crown under subsection (1)(a) in respect of any act or omission of an officer or agent of the Crown unless the act or omission would, apart form this Act, have given rise to a cause of action in tort against that officer or agent or his personal representative.
Liability for acts of officers performing duties legally required
(3) Where a function is conferred or imposed upon an officer of the Crown as such, either y any rule of the common law or by statute, and that officer commits a tort in the course of performing or purporting to perform that function, the liability of the Crown in respect of the tort is such as it would have been if that function had been conferred or imposed solely by virtue of instructions lawfully given by the Crown.
Application of statutes limiting liability of officers of the Crown
(4) An enactment that negatives or limits the amount of the liability of an officer of the Crown in respect of any tort committed by that officer, in the case of proceedings against the Crown under this section in respect of a tort committed by that officer, applies in relation to the Crown as it would have applied in relation to that officer if the proceedings against the Crown had been proceedings against that officer.
(NOTE: Subsection (4) above may be regarded as optional and each province should consider whether it is desired to retain the exemption for which provision is therein made.)
Property vesting in the Crown
(5) Where property vests in the Crown by virtue of any rule of law that operates independently of the acts or the intentions of the Crown, the Crown is not, by virtue of this Act, subject to liability in tort by reason only of the property being so vested; but this subsection is without prejudice to the liability of the Crown under this Act in respect of any period after the Crown, or any person acting for the Crown, has in fact taken possession or control of the property, or entered into occupation thereof.
Limitation or liability in respect of judicial acts
(6) No proceedings lie against the Crown under this section in respect of anything done or omitted to be done by any person while discharging or purporting to discharge
(a) responsibilities of a judicial nature vested in him, or
(b) responsibilities that he has in connection with the execution of judicial process.
Application of law as to indemnity and contribution
5. The law relating to indemnity and contribution is enforceable by and against the Crown in respect of any liability to which it is subject, as if the Crown were a person of full age and capacity.
<hrdata-mce-alt="PART II - Jurisdiction and Procedure" class="system-pagebreak" title="PART II - Jurisdiction and Procedure" />
PART II - Jurisdiction and Procedure
Proceedings in the Court of Queen's Bench
6. Subject to this Act, all proceedings against the Crown in (Her Majesty's Court of Queen's Bench for Manitoba) shall be instituted and proceeded with in accordance with the (Queen's Bench Act).
Proceedings in the County Court
7. Subject to this Act and to any enactment limiting the jurisdiction of a county court, any proceedings against the Crown may be instituted in a county court and proceeded with in accordance with the (County Courts Act).
Appeals and stay of execution of proceedings
8. Subject to this Act, all enactments and rules of court relating to appeals and stay of execution or proceedings, with necessary modifications, apply to proceedings against the Crown.
Proceedings under the Small Debts Recovery Act or Wages Recovery Act prohibited
9. Nothing in this Act authorizes proceedings against the Crown under the (Small Debts Recovery Act) or the (Wages Recovery Act).
Application of rules as to discovery, inspection of documents, etc.
10. In proceedings against the Crown, the rules of the court in which the proceedings are pending as to discovery and inspection of documents, examination for discovery, and interrogatories apply in the same manner as if the Crown were a corporation, except that the Crown may refuse to produce a document or to make answer to a question on discovery or interrogatories on the ground that the production thereof or the answer would be injurious to the public interest.
Designation of the Crown in proceedings
11. In proceedings under this Act, the Crown shall be designated " ...............".
(NOTE: Each province will decide the name in which actions against the Crown shall be brought.)
Service on the Crown
12. A document to be served on the Crown shall be served by leaving a copy with the Attorney General or the Deputy Attorney General (or any barrister or solicitor employed in the Department of the Attorney General).
(NOTE: The words in parentheses are optional.)
Trial without a jury
13. In proceedings against the Crown the trial shall be without a jury.
Interpleader
14. The Crown may obtain relief by way of interpleader proceedings, and may be made a party to such proceedings in the same manner as a person may obtain relief by way of such proceedings or be made a party thereto, notwithstanding that the application for relief is made by a sheriff or bailiff or other like officer; and the provisions relating to interpleader proceedings under the (Queen's Bench Act and the (County Courts Act) shall, subject to this Act, have effect accordingly.
Rights of parties and authority of court
15. (1) Subject to this Act, in proceedings against the Crown the rights of the parties are as nearly as possible the same as in a suit between person and person; and the court may
(a) make any order, including an order as to costs, that it may make it proceedings between persons; and
(b) otherwise give such appropriate relief as the case may require.
Injunction or specific performance not to lie against the Crown
(2) Where, in proceedings against the Crown, any relief is sought that might, in proceedings between persons, be granted by way of injunction or make an order for specific performance, but may, in lieu thereof, make an order declaratory of the rights of the parties.
Order, for recovery of land not to be made against the Crown
(3) In proceedings against the Crown in which the recovery of land or other property is claimed, the court shall not make an order for the recovery of the land or the delivery of the property; but may, in lieu thereof, make an order declaring that the claimant is entitled, as against the Crown, to the land or property or to the possession thereof.
Limitation on orders or injunctions against the Crown
(4) The court shall not in any proceedings grant an injunction or make an order against an officer of the Crown in the effect of granting the injunction or making the order would be to give any relief against the Crown that could not have been obtained in proceedings against the Crown, but in lieu thereof may make an order declaratory of the rights of the parties.
Set-off or counterclaim
(5) No person may avail himself
(a) of any set-off or counterclaim in proceedings by the Crown for the recovery of taxes, duties, or penalties; or
(b) in proceedings of any other nature by the Crown, of any set-off or counterclaim arising out of a right or claim to repayment in respect of any taxes, duties or penalties.
Restriction on set-off, counterclaim, etc.
(6) No person may, without leave of the court, avail himself of any set-off or counterclaim in proceedings by the Crown unless the subject-matter of either the set-off or the counterclaim relates to a matter under the administration of the particular government department with respect to which the proceedings are brought by the Crown.
<hrdata-mce-alt="PART III - Judgments and Execution" class="system-pagebreak" title="PART III - Judgments and Execution" />
PART III - Judgments and Execution
Interest on judgments
16. A judgement debt due to or from the Crown bears interest in the same way as a judgment debt due from the person to another.
Certificate respecting orders against the Crown
17. (1) Subject to this Act, where in proceedings against the Crown, an order for costs or any other order is made by a court against the Crown, the proper officer of the court shall, on an application in that behalf, issue a certificate thereof.
Certificate as to costs
(2) If the court so directs, a separate certificate shall be issued with respect to the costs, if any, ordered to be paid to the applicant.
Service of certificate
(3) A certificate issued under this section may be served upon the person for the time being named in the record as the solicitor, or as the person acting as solicitor, for the Crown.
Payment by the Provincial Treasurer
(4) If the order provides for the payment of money by way of damages or otherwise, or of costs, the certificate shall state the amount so payable; and the Provincial Treasurer shall, subject as hereinafter provided, pay out of the Consolidated Fund to the person entitled, or to his order, the amount appearing by the certificate to be due together with the interest, if any, lawfully du thereon.
Suspension of payment pending appeal, etc.
(5) The court by which such an order is made or a court to which an appeal against the order lies may direct that, pending an appeal or otherwise, payment of the whole of the amount so payable, or any part thereof, shall be suspended; and, if the certificate has not been issued, may order the direction to be inserted therein.
Prohibition of execution etc., against the Crown
(6) No execution or attachment or process in the nature thereof shall be issued out of any court for enforcing payment by the Crown of money therein.
Application pending litigation
(7) This section applies to litigation pending at the time this Act comes into force.
<hrdata-mce-alt="PART IV - Miscellaneous and Supplemental" class="system-pagebreak" title="PART IV - Miscellaneous and Supplemental" />
PART IV - Miscellaneous and Supplemental
Right of Crown to take advantage of certain statutory provisions
18. This Act does not prejudice the right of the Crown to take advantage of the provisions of any Act of the Legislature; and, in proceedings against the Crown, any Act of the Legislature that could, if the proceedings were between persons, be relied upon by the defendant as a defence to the proceedings, whether in whole or in part, or otherwise, may subject to any express provision to the contrary, be so relied upon by the Crown.
Pending proceedings
19. Except as otherwise provided in this Act, this Act does not affect proceedings against the Crown that have been instituted before the coming into force of this Act; and, for the purposes of ths section, proceedings against the Crown by petition of right shall be deemed to have been instituted if a petition of right with respect to the matter in question has been submitted for consideration to the Lieutenant Governor in Council before the coming into force of this Act.
(NOTE: Some provinces may require to vary the language of this section to conform to the wording of their legislation respecting petitions of right. This section should also be regarded as optional, and each province should decide whether it is required.)
Financial provisions
20. Expenditure incurred by or on behalf of the Crown under this Act shall be defrayed out of the Consolidated Fund.
21. Subject to this Act, proceedings against the Crown by way of petition of right are abolished.
Repeal
22. (As required).
Commencement of Act
23. This Act shall come into force on a day fixed by Proclamation.
Next Annual Meeting
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The Original Night Stalker
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The Monster With 21 Faces
Cyle Van Komen & Kevin Nelson
Brittany Phillips
The Assassination of Philip Barton Key
In June of 1994, a nine-year old girl from Augusta, Georgia was preparing to live out her summer dreams. When she went missing, very little was done to find her - or to investigate any of the potential offenders living in the area.
Listen to "Tiffany Nelson" on Spreaker.
In the summer of 1994, the world was in the middle of a culture shift.
In January, the trade agreement NAFTA was established and President Bill Clinton delivered his first State of the Union address. In February, Tonya Harding's boyfriend, Jeff Gillooly, pled guilty to attacking fellow figure skater Nancy Kerrigan, while Green Day was releasing their critically acclaimed debut album, "Dookie." In March, the People's Republic of China connected to the internet for the first time. In April, the body of musician Kurt Cobain is found in his Lake Washington home, outside of Seattle. In May, Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as South Africa's first black president, while John Wayne Gacy is executed via lethal injection in the state of Illinois.
June of 1994 would see the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, and the subsequent arrest and highly-publicized trial of OJ Simpson.
However, a week before Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman were murdered, another mystery was unfolding on the other side of the country, almost 2500 miles away, to a much smaller audience.
It was June 6th, a day that usually sits on the onset of summer vacation. A day that, for children, usually comes with an expectation of freedom and fun.
A month before the Fourth of July holiday, and just a couple of weeks before the official summer kickoff, the temperature in Augusta, Georgia was in the lower-80's. It was a warm, but not uncomfortably humid day.
It was the first Monday of Summer Break. Nine-year old Tiffany Nelson wouldn't have to worry about heading back to school for at least two months.
She set off early that morning, saying goodbye to her aunt and guardian, Ora Parrish. She rode her bike down the block, to a nearby convenience store. The trip was only a quarter of a mile, two corners away, and Tiffany was last seen at the gas station at approximately 10:00 AM.
Tiffany was never seen alive again. This is her story.
Tiffany Elizabeth Nelson was born on October 21st, 1984. Her father wasn't very active in her early life, so she would be raised by her mother.
Tiffany was seen by everyone as a sweet and kind little girl. Her father, Vernon, was only able to see Tiffany occasionally, when she would go over to the home he shared with his sister.
Tiffany's cousin, Benita, describes Tiffany as a bit of a tomboy: a girl that would ride her bike rambunctiously while wearing frilly, girly dresses. Benita, who was older than Tiffany and had a young daughter of her own, recalled memories of Tiffany taking the time to read bedtime stories to her daughter during their many sleepovers.
Stephanie, Tiffany's niece, considered them to be more like cousins... or even sisters, because of their closeness. She has many childhood memories of Tiffany, which she can recall even today.
Tiffany, who grew up with and was close with her mother, had to endure a personal tragedy before her own disappearance. In 1992, when Tiffany was just seven years old, her mother passed away. Her family had to step forward and take a more active role in her life. Her father, Vernon, began to spend more time with her, inviting Tiffany over to his home once or twice a week, and offering to get her anything she needed.
It was Tiffany's aunt, Ora Parrish, who would take over as the guardian of the young girl, and raise her in her home on South Augusta's Getzen Drive.
This is the home where Tiffany would spend the next two years of her life, becoming close with her aunt, cousins, and other relatives that wanted to provide a comforting figure in the wake of her mother's passing. Despite this tragic undertaking, Tiffany never let her mother's loss get her down - she was always kind and compassionate to those she came across, and provided a warmth that her mother would remain proud of.
However, this neighborhood - named Faith Village - is the area in which Tiffany would disappear from just two years later.
On the morning of June 6th, 1994, nine-year old Tiffany Nelson woke up. It was the first Monday of summer vacation - a time which most of us are familiar with.
That first Monday of summer vacation comes with a certain aura, a feeling that you - a child - are finally beginning to experience freedom. Freedom from the stresses of taking a bus to school, freedom from having to worry about bullying and teasing, unshackling yourself from the burden of homework. Personally, I get nostalgic goosebumps recalling those early days of summer vacation, where you begin to feel like the possibilities of this world are endless.
Perhaps still getting used to the idea of summer vacation, Tiffany woke up early that morning. She spent some time with her aunt, Ora, before heading out on her bike.
Family describe Tiffany's bicycle, a ten-speed red bike, as an extension of Tiffany herself. Whenever she had a moment to spare, she was likely on that bike, riding around her neighborhood, Faith Village.
The tires on Tiffany's bike had started to get a bit flat, so that morning, she rode her bike down to a nearby gas station and convenience store.
The home she was living in, 2208 Getzen Drive, was on the corner of the street, so she only needed to ride her bike a short distance. She passed a few houses as she rode down Neal Street, and then took a left on Ruby Drive. There, it was only a couple of houses before she reached a busier road, Richmond Hill Drive. She took a right, and rode down to the street corner of Richmond Hill and Lumpkin Road.
This area is not a very thriving hot-spot for commerce, but it is a relatively busy intersection. Tiffany would have to ride her bike carefully along the shoulder of the road, especially in the early morning work rush. It was a Monday, after all, and while traffic would be lessened by the absence of school buses, there would still be plenty of people on their way to work.
Tiffany would pull in to an Amoco gas station, on the corner of Lumpkin Road and Richmond Hill Drive, at around 10:00 AM that morning. That Amoco station has since been re-branded multiple times, but it still stands on that street corner.
Witnesses saw Tiffany using the air pumps to put some more air into her bike tires, but this was the last place that Tiffany would ever be officially seen by anyone.
Tiffany's aunt, Ora Parrish, reported Tiffany missing shortly after she failed to return home.
The next day, on June 7th, 1994, the Augusta Police Department and Richmond County Sheriff's Office conducted a door-to-door search for Tiffany. They tried recreated her trip from her home on the corner of Getzen Drive and Neal Street, to the corner convenience store that she had disappeared from.
They also conducted a search in the woods behind the Amoco gas station, to no avail.
Police noted to the media that Tiffany had been wearing a multi-colored flower shirt and blue-and-white denim shorts, along with blue-and-white Air Jordan sneakers. Her picture was distributed to local media outlets, and they made sure to highlight the blemish-type scar Tiffany had under her right eye, as well as the thin scar on her forehead, above her left eye.
At least, this is how newspapers would later recall the search for the missing nine-year old. Family of Tiffany Nelson would later recall that police were less than enthusiastic to investigate the case, and that the detective who handled the case - the same detective that handled the 1990 disappearance of Dannette and Jeannette Millbrook - also applied the runaway label to Tiffany.
Police received a tip on Tuesday, June 7th, from a woman whose grandson had allegedly sighted Tiffany that Monday morning.
This eleven-year old boy claims to have seen Tiffany in the backseat of a two-door car, being driven by a man who was wearing a hat. This alleged sighting happened off Barton Chapel Road, roughly four miles west of where Tiffany was last seen.
More details of this tip have not been released, but police apparently didn't find it credible because there wasn't enough information to go off of.
The search for Tiffany Nelson was struggling early on, and it would fail to make any real inroads in the coming weeks and months.
On Tuesday, June 16th, 1994, cadavar dogs from nearby Fort Gordon's K-9 unit searched a wooded area near Richmond Hill Drive and Lumpkin Road, hoping to pick up a scent or track of Tiffany. Unfortunately, they were unable to pick up anything useful.
A couple of days later, on June 18th, Tiffany's story was featured on America's Most Wanted. Police and Tiffany's family were hopeful that this program would light a fire under the search to find this missing nine-year old, but it seems to have not done much.
A five-man investigative team continued to work the case for the next few weeks, conducting door-to-door canvasses of the area, hoping to find anyone that had seen Tiffany in the time period of her disappearance. Unfortunately, because of the timing of her last sighting - 10:00 AM on a Monday morning - not many had information to share.
Also, police had yet to turn up one of the most important pieces of evidence: the ten-speed red bicycle that Tiffany had been riding when she went missing. Just like Tiffany, the bike had disappeared, meaning that wherever she went, the bike had likely gone, as well. Bikes aren't easily transported, meaning that someone had likely had a truck, or a size-able trunk to transport it within.
Comments by the Richmond County Sheriff's Office indicate that they treated Tiffany's disappearance as a missing persons report, but didn't immediately suspect foul play. Because of this, they didn't really develop any early leads.
For the next few years, Tiffany's case would basically remain in stasis. As the Augusta Police Department merged with the Richmond County Sheriff's Office in 1996, the case files transferred over. Officers and detectives continued to take a look at the case notes, hoping that a new round of questioning would spark something new for the case.
But it wasn't until 1999 that police began to seriously look at Tiffany's disappearance again, almost half-a-decade later. That is when another child from the Augusta area went missing.
In April of 1999, a six-year old boy named Keenan O'Mailia was riding his bike in North Augusta, which stretches from Georgia into South Carolina.
He was riding his bike along a dirt road, not far from his home, while his mother cooked dinner inside their apartment. When he failed to return home that evening, he was reported missing, and a search was launched to find the young boy.
Immediately, comparisons were made between this case and that of Tiffany Nelson. Both were children under the age of 10 that had disappeared in the Augusta area while out riding their bike.
However, unlike Tiffany Nelson, the body of Keenan O'Mailia would be found a day after his disappearance. Police had begun the search for Keenan with the possibility of him injuring himself along the dirt path, but after finding his body about one-hundred yards away from Riverview Park, began investigating the crime as a sexual assault and strangulation.
The investigation soon received a tip, which put a man named William Ernest Downs on their radar.
William Downs was a man in his early thirties, who had just moved to Augusta two or three months before the murder of kindergartner Keenan. He had a history in the town, having moved away to Albany, Georgia a few years beforehand, but returned when he discovered that a prior romantic fling had resulted in a child.
William Downs was arrested just a week after Keenan's murder, on April 25th, and charged with sexual assault, kidnapping, and murder. Prosecutors made it clear that they were pursuing the death penalty in this heinous crime, and began to question if Downs had any more involvement in Augusta-area crimes.
You see, William Downs had lived in the Augusta area for most of his life, putting him in the area until the mid-1990s.
During the various interrogations, Downs confessed to the rape and murder of Keenan O'Mailia, and also confessed to another Augusta-based cold case.
In March of 1991, another Augusta child - ten-year old James Porter - disappeared while riding his bike to a nearby convenience store. His body was found in the Savannah River two months later, in May of 1991, and because of the state of his body, very little evidence could be recovered. Police had ruled his death an accidental drowning, but revisited the case after William Ernest Downs' confession.
This now marked two cases where a child had been riding a bike, only to be abducted, sexually assaulted, and murdered by William Downs. However, both of the children were boys, which as we know, Tiffany Nelson was not.
However, another stark difference between the crimes remained the location, the means of which they were carried out, and the confessions of Downs himself.
Both Keenan O'Mailia and James Porter had disappeared from North Augusta, bordering South Carolina, while Tiffany Nelson disappeared from South Augusta, close to the town of Hepzhibah. The body of James Porter had been dumped into the Savannah River after his death, and William Downs confessed to hiding the body of Keenan under leaves. He had planned to go back and deposit the body of Keenan into the river, but the police had already begun their search for the young boy, so he quickly abandoned that idea.
Police questioned Downs about Tiffany Nelson, and he seemed to have no idea who she was, or any details of the case. In fact, due to his constant moving around the area, he wasn't even sure that he had been in Augusta during her 1994 disappearance.
"We brought up the name, and he didn't know what we were talking about. We don't even know if he was in the Augusta area," said Richmond County Chief Deputy Ronald Strength.
Downs was also questioned in the 1985 disappearance of Jeremy Grice, another missing child from Augusta. However, he would have been a teenager at the time of that case, and despite easily confessing to the murders of the two other boys, he shared no details of that case.
In 2002, Downs pled guilty in a South Carolina court for the sexual assault, kidnapping, and murder of Keenan O'Mailia. During sentencing, he addressed the the possibility of his own death:
"I think it would be disrespectful to the family and disrespectful to the whole world if you did not give me the death penalty."
Downs was given the death penalty, and would spend the next couple of years awaiting his fate. In the meantime, he was found guilty in a Georgia court of the sexual assault and murder of ten-year old James Porter, and if he tried to appeal either of his sentences, he would open himself up to a second death penalty.
On July 14th, 2006, William Ernest Downs was executed via lethal injection. Police have since claimed that they don't believe him to be guilty of any of the other crimes in the area, since he was ready to confess when arrested, and seemed to show genuine remorse. However, it's possible that Downs may have had some secrets he took to the grave, but it's impossible to tell now.
A year before the execution of William Ernest Downs, the family of Tiffany Nelson received news.
It had been over a decade since the mysterious disappearance of the nine-year old, and her friends and family had all come to the understanding that she was most likely no longer with them. However, they still held out hope for some answers, or at least the possibility of putting her to rest.
On May 16th, 2005, two men were walking through the woods along Farmers Bridge Rd., roughly fifteen miles south from where Tiffany Nelson had disappeared from. This is the area where Parrott Lane now sits, which - at the time - was mostly undeveloped woods.
One of these men, a forester, stumbled upon an object that looked like a bleached turtle shell, as he described it. However, upon further inspection, he quickly realized that he was looking at a human skull.
Police were called, and an excavation of the area revealed a shocking sight. This body, which was severely decomposed, had been buried in a shallow grave less than one-hundred yards from the roadway. Most noticeable, however, were the blue-and-white Air Jordan sneakers found in the grave, which matched only one missing persons case from the area: Tiffany Nelson.
Police were fairly certain that they had finally discovered the body of Tiffany, at long last. They would try to make sure that some of Tiffany's blood relatives could give samples to conduct DNA testing, which would take a little over a month to confirm.
Tiffany had gone missing from Richmond County, but because this body had been discovered in neighboring Burke County, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation - the GBI - was brought in to oversee certain parts of the investigation and oversee the forensic testing.
On June 24th, 2005, Gary Nicholson of the GBI announced that mitochondrial DNA taken from the skeletal remains matched samples taken from Tiffany's maternal relatives. In his statement, he declared:
"When you take into consideration Tiffany's age at the time of her disappearance, the age of the skeleton, its size, its locaton and other factors, you have a very strong case that this was Tiffany Nelson."
The forensic investigators were apparently unable to locate Tiffany's cause of death or uncover whether she had been sexually assaulted before her death, simply because of how decomposed her remains had become in eleven years.
While the larger mystery about Tiffany Nelson's fate still loomed, at long last her family were able to put her to rest.
In July of 2005, a $5000 reward was announced for any information that could lead to answers regarding Tiffany Nelson's case, and police began to finally investigate foul play in her disappearance and death.
"Based on forensic evidence, we feel fairly certain that this is a homicide, and we're investigating it as such," said Sergeant Richard Roundtree, a member of the Richmound County Sheriff's Office. This is the same Richard Roundtree that would be elected Sheriff in 2013.
The police put out a notice for volunteers to help comb the wooded area where Tiffany's remains had been found. More than 50 volunteers responded, and agreed to meet up at Hepzhibah Elementary School early on a Saturday morning.
Some of these volunteers included Tiffany's family members: such as her father, Vernon, who had since moved away to Girard, Georgia; her cousin, Benita, who still lived in the area; and her niece, Stephanie, who was of a similar age to Tiffany, and had come home from her freshman year at Georgia Southern University to participate in the search.
On August 20th, at around 7:00 AM, all fifty or so volunteers met up, and began searching the woods where police were hoping to uncover a clue or two. They were hopeful that they could find a piece of evidence, such as Tiffany's missing red bicycle, some missing bone fragments, or other items of clothing.
Using rakes and garden hoes, the volunteers searched for almost six hours, in the middle of Georgia's humid summer weather, but were unable to uncover anything that led to further answers. News reports indicate that they found some bone fragments and sent them away for testing, but none of these tests told them what they didn't already know.
A week later, on August 27th, a funeral service was finally conducted for Tiffany Nelson. The memorial was presided over by Reverend Perry Daniels at the Magnolia Baptist Church, and Tiffany was buried in the church graveyard.
There have been several theories developed in the years since, many of which stem from related cases and the lack of any information brought forth since by police.
Sheriff Sergeant Richard Roundtree stated in a 2005 article: "There were no suspects developed back then." He is referring to the fact that the early investigation didn't investigate Tiffany's disappearance for any foul play; meaning, of course, that they didn't seriously investigate any suspects in the area, not even the sex offenders and child predators that lived in the area where Tiffany disappeared from.
"Unfortunately, because of the amount of time that has passed, it is a very difficult case to solve. But we feel it is a solvable case, someone knows something," Roundtree continued.
As I stated, a $5000 reward was announced for information that could lead to answers in the case of Tiffany Nelson. But nothing I can find since the mid-2000s validates that reward still being active. In fact, outside of some archived news reports, there is very little information out there about Tiffany or her case. I can not find an instance of either Richmond County or Burke County discussing the case since the 2005 developments, and reports seem to vary on who the case is being openly investigated by.
Many online and in the true crime community have theorized that Tiffany's disappearance bears similarities to other cases. Most notably, a story I covered in the prior three episodes, that of twins Dannette and Jeannette Millbrook.
The Millbrook twins disappeared from the corner of 12th Street and MLK Boulevard, approximately four miles away from where Tiffany disappeared from. They, too, had last been seen at a corner convenience store just blocks away from their own home, but had disappeared later on a Sunday evening.
The area that Dannette and Jeannette Millbrook disappeared from was a few miles away from Tiffany's neighborhood, but both were just a block or two away from the same highway system.
The area that the Millbrook twins went missing was a short distance away from what is now Gordon Highway - Highway 78. Meanwhile, Tiffany went missing just a stone's throw away from Peach Orchard Road - Highway 25. Both meet up at a junction not too far away, which merges Highways 10, 25, and 78.
It's a drive that can be made in mere minutes. Even if you avoid the highway, you can travel down Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Deans Bridge Road, and then Richmond Hill Road to match the same travel time, give or take a minute. It stands to reason that someone who was familiar with the area, or perhaps an offender that had moved in the interim four years, could have been responsible for both disappearances.
Other than the Millbrook twins, investigators and reporters have made connections between the story of Tiffany Nelson and the abduction and murder of a girl from Greenwood, South Carolina. The girl, named Malakia Logan, was an eight-year old who was riding her bike at around 8:00 at night when she disappeared. Her bike was found at the apartment complex, but Kia - as she was known - was gone.
Her body would be found in 1990, but police wouldn't identify her through DNA until 1998 - ten years after her original disappearance. A man was charged with her murder, but later acquitted.
This is a case that I'll be getting to in an upcoming episode, but many point to it as bearing many similarities to Tiffany Nelson. Both were young black girls that disappeared while riding their bikes, and whose remains were hidden in the surrounding woods outside of the town they disappeared from.
It's easy to point to these separate cases as bearing many similarities to Tiffany Nelson's abduction and murder. However, something that I can't get out of my own mind is the fact that nine-year old Tiffany disappeared from a gas station in the middle of the day. Whoever took her, and later buried her in a shallow grave in Burke County, managed to convince her to get into the car with them. They also took her bicycle with them, implying that they had the means to do so. A smaller vehicle wouldn't be able to accommodate a ten-speed bicycle, at least not without attracting attention.
I find it very possible that whoever took Tiffany on June 6th, 1994, was someone that she was familiar with. Someone that knew her. Someone that lived in the area, and possibly knew when and where to find her. If not, and this was a random kidnapping of a child... I don't know what to think. It's hard to figure out which possibility is more terrifying.
If you have any information about this case, you should contact the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Their hotline can be phoned at 404-244-2600, and the $5000 reward leading to helpful information still stands.
As of this episode's recording, the story of Tiffany Nelson is still unresolved.
Sources and further reading
Doe Network - "Case File 1234DFGA - Tiffany Elizabeth Nelson"
NBC News - "Cold Case Spotlight: Tiffany Nelson"
WRDW 12 - "Downs to be executed for the murder of Keenan O'Mailia"
The True Citizen - "DNA tests verify missing Augusta girl's remains"
(831) 200-3550unresolvedpod@gmail.com
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Vic Mensa Compares Meek Mill’s Decade-Long Probation Case To Slavery
Hip-Hop Editor
Meek Mill has been sentenced to 2-4 years in prison for violating his probation, and the hip-hop world is not happy about it. Many entertainers have begun standing up for him, from Jay-Z’s calling the sentence “heavy-handed and unjust” to T.I., Rick Ross, and others holding a rally in Philly in support of the incarcerated rapper. Now, Chicago firebrand Vic Mensa has weighed in on Meek’s sentence with his typicall, highly-informed brand of passion and insight.
In an interview with HipHopDX, the “Rage” rapper railed against the legal system’s inadequate justice. “The powers that be want Meek Mill to be a slave of the state. Point blank, period,” he said. “Let’s not forget that a fat cat in a tall building gets paid off of every inmate…. There are still privatized prisons all across this country. There’s prison labor being used to produce everything from Starbucks cups to pencils. And slave laborers, you know what I’m saying? And they want Meek Mill as a ward of the state.”
Vic is referring to the exception in the Thirteenth Amendment, which reads: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” That bolded line means that criminals can be forced to work without compensation, which provides a handy explanation (or at least part of one) for why the incarceration rate for Black males is sky high and climbing.
He also noted that the judge in the case, who may be under investigation for inappropriate relationships in Philadelphia that could affect her judgments, is complicit in this system, despite being Black herself. “What’s even more convoluted about it is that the judge is a black woman. But this is nothing new … That’s a common function of neocolonialism. The colonized and the oppressed will begin to identify with the oppressors. That’s just classic Stockholm Syndrome type shit, but it is twisted.”
Vic’s never been one to hold back when sharing his views. He recently took the gun lobby and its puppet politicians to task, advocating for more gun control and holding representatives accountable to their constituents rather than their donors.
TOPICS#Meek Mill
TAGSmeek millVic Mensa
Zac Gelfand 07.16.19 1 day ago
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Home News How strong is peer influence in the context of young people’s life-skills learning?
How strong is peer influence in the context of young people’s life-skills learning?
UNFPA Representative, Mr. Alain Sibenaler takes a selfie with members of the Empowerment and Livelihood for Adolescent Club
Naiga Zaina*, 14, wishes that one time encounter never happened. “It was a mistake, it was a mistake,” she cries. She explains that the experience robbed her of everything – ‘a goat plus its rope’ – a local analogy used to explain the double tragedy of a girl losing her virginity and ending up with an unplanned pregnancy. Traditionally, the Aunt of a girl would receive a goat as a gift if she (the girl) was found a virgin on her wedding day.
Through sobs, punctuated by cries from her baby, Zaina narrates that she was in primary seven and also the chairperson of the Better Life for Girls Club at Magogo Primary School in Iganga district, eastern Uganda.
Better Life for Girls School-based Clubs are part of the programme supported by UNFPA and implemented by Straight Talk Foundation and other partners in 757 schools in Karamoja and Eastern regions across Uganda to prevent teenage pregnancy and under-age marriage so as to reap the girl effect dividend. It is funded by Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).
“During Club sessions, we talked about everything. We talked about abstinence, safe sex, and our dreams for the future – what we wanted to become. I knew about everything,” she says.
Zaina narrates that her friends at school had boyfriends but she didn’t until one of them lured her into getting one. “The day the boy asked me for sex, I consulted my friends. They said it was okay. I ended up getting pregnant!” she regrets.
It would be easier for Zaina to blame her friends, but she courageously takes full responsibility for her fate.
Recently, the Government of Uganda unveiled a National Sexuality Education Framework. According to Ministry of Education, the framework aims to support and protect the sexual development of young people through equipping and empowering them with information, skills and positive values to understand their sexuality and take responsibility for their own and other people’s sexual health and wellbeing.
Uganda is also signatory to the 2013 East and Southern Africa Commitment on Sexuality Education signed by Ministers of Education and Health. The Commitment articulates that sexuality education should be age appropriate and culturally relevant approach to providing scientifically accurate, realistic and non-judgmental information about sex and relationships.
Many girls in Uganda will relate with Zaina’s story. According to the Uganda Health and Demographic Survey (UDHS, 2016), one in four girls aged 15 to 19 is pregnant or has had a baby.
The UNFPA Representative, Mr. Alain Sibenaler says that: “Sexuality education promotes the acquisition of skills in relation to decision-making, assertiveness, communication, negotiation for safe sex, and refusal of unwanted sexual advances. In addition, evidence shows that sexuality education programmes can be more effective if paired with access to quality, youth friendly services.”
The UDHS 2016 shows that although over 98 percent of young people (15-24 years) are aware of at least one method of modern contraceptives, only 28.3 percent of those 20-24 years and 9.4 per cents have ever used at least one modern method of family planning. Similarly, a 2016 UNAIDS report indicates that only 41 percent boys and 26.4 percent girls who engaged in high risk sex used a condom.
What happens to school girls who get pregnant?
A 2017 Ministry of Education Report shows that teenage pregnancy is one of the leading causes of school drop out for young girls. Whereas 43 percent of girls in Uganda drop out of school due to financial constraints, 21 percent drop out of school due to pregnancy.
So, when the School Nurse found out that Zaina was pregnant, she immediately brought the issue to the attention of the Head-teacher. On receiving the news, the Head-teacher called Zaina’s father, they discussed sending her out of school.
“Even my father was not willing to pay my school fees anymore. But the teachers, especially the Senior Woman teacher pleaded with both my father and the Head-teacher,” says Zaina. “The teachers said I was a well behaved girl, and I also performed well in class.”
Zaina gave birth before her final Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) and when the results came out, she had passed in second grade. “The Senior Woman teacher encouraged me to study hard,” she says. “I did my best.”
Zaina is now in Senior One and her dream is to become a lawyer. Although she struggles with school fees because she is the least priority among her 20 siblings, she is so determined to succeed in life. “My dream is to graduate and became a lawyer so I can make money and take care of my son, myself and my family.” She encourages other girls to concentrate on their studies and forget about boys. “I always give my example.”
By Prossy Nakanjako
*The name of the girl has been changed to protect her privacy.
The Government of Uganda launches the National Sexuality Education Framework
Teenage refugee mothers want to go back to school
Speaker of Parliament launches Live Your Dream campaign, calls for support to girl child education
Capturing Uganda’s Efforts to Harness the Demographic Dividend
Guided by the various policy scenarios, harnessing the demographic dividend has...
Young People: The One Investment the Country Cannot Afford to Ignore
To a significant extent, the emerging face of poverty in the country is the face of a...
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Treesaver brings the beauty of Flipboard to the Browser
by Martin Bryant — in Media
One of the most talked-about apps of the year has been Flipboard, the iPad app that reformats online content as a magazine. Now a new startup called Treesaver aims to bring beautiful magazine-style designs to the Web.
Treesaver is building a library of customisable templates that will allow publishers to create beautiful online reading experiences. Dividing content into pages that automatically adjusts to the size of the screen, Treesaver will work on any device with a web browser. Because it uses standard Web technologies – HTML, CSS and JavaScript – there are no plugins required.
If you want to see what’s possible, the company is already producing weekly magazines from Nomad Editions as Chrome apps. While you probably wouldn’t want to see every website to adopt magazine formatting, text-heavy services like news websites and blogs could benefit from the idea and it’s definitely preferable to closed-up iPad apps when it comes to reading the latest news on a tablet device.
Treesaver is pushing the concept as a boon for publishers who won’t have to create dedicated apps for different platforms in order to present their content in an easy-to-use magazine format. it’s also being pushed as a “friendlier” format for advertising, presumably because design aesthetics aside you won’t be able to block them.
Treesaver will soon be releasing a set of templates for publishers to use and the technology will be open sourced, allowing anyone to customise the idea as they choose.
We discovered Treesaver via Robert Scoble’s video interview with one of its founders, former Microsofter Filipe Fortes. At 35 minutes, it’s long but well worth sitting back and watching.
Read next: The Present And Future of Product Information
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War Outside the Temple Walls (Revelation 11)
andrewtheprophet Uncategorized Mai 13, 2019 Mai 14, 2019 2 Minutes
A Palestinian family warm up outside their makeshift house during a power cut in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip in 2017. Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday, May 7, 2019, that it will send $480 million to Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip after a cease-fire deal ended the deadliest fighting between Israel and Palestinian factions since a 2014 war.
KHALIL HAMRA/AP
UN envoy to Mideast warns of war between Israel, Hamas
By FARES AKRAM | ASSOCIATED PRESS
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The U.N. envoy to the Mideast said Monday that the recent ceasefire between Gaza’s Hamas rulers and Israel was the „last chance“ to prevent an all-out conflict. A Qatari envoy arrived the same day in the Palestinian enclave with cash to help cement the truce, which halted the worst round of fighting between the two sides in years.
After a spate of violence killed 25 Palestinians, including 15 civilians, as well as four Israeli civilians earlier this month, Nickolay Mladenov, the U.N. diplomat, said he hopes all parties see that „the risk of war remains imminent.“
Mladenov, inaugurating a solar power plant for a Gaza hospital, said the parties must „consolidate the understandings“ of the cease-fire. He said „the next escalation is going to be probably the last one“ before the sides descend into a full-fledged war.
The latest bout of fighting was the worst since a deadly and destructive war between Israel and Hamas in 2014. It ended with a cease-fire brokered by Egypt and helped by the U.N. and Qatar.
The most recent ceasefire deal promises to let fuel and humanitarian aid into Gaza, as well as ease the movement of people from the blockaded territory. Among its terms is a program to create jobs for thousands of graduates. Unemployment in Gaza, which has been under an Israeli-Egyptian blockade since the militant Hamas group seized power 12 years ago, is over 50%.
Qatari envoy Mohammed al-Emadi arrived in Gaza with a $30 million cash infusion meant for tens of thousands of needy families as part of the cease-fire understandings. Hours later, beneficiaries lined up outside post offices to cash the $100 checks.
Mohammed Abu Eida, 30, stood in the queue, a pair of crutches propping him up as he recovers from an injury. „We want them to lift the siege so we can work. I have rent for my home and I’m married and have a daughter; what is $100? It’s insufficient.“
The oil-rich Persian Gulf country stepped up its financial support to Gaza last year in order to defuse tensions that have mounted and, in several cases, erupted into cross-border fighting, after Hamas launched weekly protests along the Gaza-Israel perimeter fence. Qatar had previously provided millions of dollars for Hamas government salaries, but, after Israeli protestations over funds going to the militant group, the money now goes to relief operations.
Since 2012, Qatar has financed over $750 million in housing, infrastructure projects and relief operations in the Gaza Strip. Though Doha doesn’t pay directly to Hamas, which the United States and the European Union classify as a terrorist organization, the cash infusions relieve Hamas from having to fund such vital projects.
Last week, Qatar pledged another payment of $480 million to the Palestinians, but this time shifted most of it — $300 million — to Hamas‘ rival in the West Bank: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party-run Palestinian Authority. This support for Abbas’s government, which is also engulfed in a severe financial crisis, situates Qatar as a welcome broker in both Gaza and Ramallah for reconciliation talks between Fatah and Hamas.
Meanwhile, the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, has warned that food supplies for more than half of Gaza’s population „will be severely challenged“ if the agency doesn’t get at least $60m in additional funding by June.
Veröffentlicht Mai 13, 2019 Mai 14, 2019
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Jamison signs post-production firm to long-term lease at Studio City office
Advanced Digital Services, which does work with Netflix and Apple, will move from Hollywood
By Dennis Lynch | June 26, 2019 10:00AM
Jamison Services’ Jamie Lee
UPDATED, June 27, 12:22 p.m.: Jamison Services has a new long-term tenant at its Studio City office property.
The post-production and distribution company Advanced Digital Services signed a 10-year lease for 23,000 square feet at 3575 Cahuenga Boulevard. The deal is worth $10.3 million. Lee & Associates, which announced the deal, also brokered the lease.
The distinct boxy office building sits off the west side of the Cahuenga Pass along the 101 Freeway. It was built in 1981 and spans 147,300 square feet. Jamison owns the property through a limited partnership entity.
Advanced Digital Services will relocate from an office in Hollywood. The company encodes and packages media for Netflix and Apple iTunes. It also provides editing and restoration services.
The core of Jamison’s massive office portfolio is in Koreatown, where the firm was started and is headquartered, but it has numerous properties in other parts of Los Angeles.
The firm has redeveloped and repurposed some of its aging office buildings for residential in recent years. In April it scored a $54.5 million loan from Bank of America to convert a Koreatown office building into a 248-unit apartment building.
Lee & Associates partners Darren Casamassima and Scott Romick represented Jamison in the deal, while Newmark Knight Frank’s Greg Frankovich and Steven D. Kolsky advised Advanced Digital Services.
Correction: Lee & Associates initially misstated the value of the deal as $7 million. It was worth $10.3 million.
Tags: Jamison, Office Real Estate, studio city
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The Effect of Modern Marketing on Martial Arts and Traditional Martial Arts Culture
Submitted by: Joseph D. McNamara
This paper examines the effect of modern marketing strategies upon martial arts activity in the United States. The concentration of the inquiry is twofold. How has marketing effected the economic activity of the martial arts business industry? How has marketing effect the martial arts culture? This paper begins with a historical analysis of the evolution of martial arts as a business practice involving the use of marketing to gain customers. Martial arts marketing practices have proven most effective when they are personal due to the geographic location of specific schools or the instructor-client relationship. Internet marketing is a synthesis of personal and mass marketing, providing readily available information in a client’s home while offering to the martial school the potential audience of a large mass marketing campaign. Marketing has generated sufficient commercial interest in the field, transforming martial arts into a thriving business.
Section I: Introduction
As a professional martial artist and instructor, I have a sincere interest in understanding how modern marketing initiatives have affected both the martial arts culture and the business industry. In order to appropriately evaluate modern marketing practice’s effect upon the martial arts field, this paper begins with an examination of the historical development of martial arts in the United States, as well as the application of marketing in popularizing the field. This paper seeks to answer the following questions:
How has modern marketing affected the perception of martial artists
among non-practitioners?
Has marketing redefined the term “martial arts”?
Has marketing raised or lowered the standard of quality among practitioners
and schools?
What effect does commercialized marketing have on traditional martial
arts culture?
This information is useful for a variety of reasons. First, for those practitioners interested in developing their own martial arts business, this paper contains valuable information on what works to attract and retain customers. Secondly, this information is important to those seeking to gain a greater knowledge and appreciation of the practice of martial arts. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the information is useful for scholars ascertaining the effect that commercializing a traditional recreational activity has on the culture, practice, and development of the field.
Section II: Literature Review
Overview of the Available Literature
This review includes literature from a variety of sources, including scholarly journal articles, books, and Internet websites. Little has been written concerning the specific involvement and effect of marketing practices upon the field of martial arts. However, extensive literature is available concerning marketing general sporting events, including the ways that business enterprises effect the culture of entertainment and recreational activities. In addition, extensive online sources document the involvement and history of martial arts in American culture. The combination of these two primary source categories offers insightful data concerning the evolution of martial arts marketing in the United States in the past century.
Definition of a Martial Art
The term “martial art” is difficult to define because of the cultural significance of the term. Understood in its traditional form, martial arts are the practices and methods of the military (Musashi and Wilson, 2002, p. 39). However, this is hardly the definition used by most of today’s practitioners (Zhang, 2006). The specific practices of a particular martial art will vary according to centuries of tradition and the country of origin.
Modern definitions of martial arts have attempted to distinguish contemporary practices from those practiced in previous systems of combat. Some critics contend that modern practices are merely a trickled down version of their predecessors. This criticism has reached a new level of furor over the past few years with “Modern Wushu,”1 a combination of dance, martial arts, and gymnastics set to replace Taekwondo at the 2008 Olympic Games (Niu, 2006). In the U.S., most modern martial arts schools focus upon cognition and recreation, as opposed to self-discipline. Donohue (1994) noted that modern martial arts systems such as judo and karate tend to associate “nominally physical techniques with well defined philosophical and spiritual ideas” (p. 36). The sport and entertainment focus of today’s martial arts education is also one clearly distinguishing characteristic from the more traditional definition (Draeger, 1990).
History of Martial Arts
The recitation of folk history has played a major role in the perpetuation of the world’s martial arts (Green and Svinth, 2003). Students learn the methods, traditions, and stories associated with their particular discipline from their masters or teachers. While these histories are not always accurate, they succeed in transmitting the culture and value to successive generations (Shengli and Yun, 2006). In many early societies, martial arts developed within a period of centuries as an integral component of culture. In China, for example, schools were not generally commercial ventures but family endeavors in which successive generations preserved the knowledge of their ancestors (Kennedy and Guo, 2005, p. 15).
The earliest recorded instances of Asian martial arts interest in the United States can be traced back to the turn of the Twentieth Century. This history begins with President Grant’s 1879 observation of a judo evaluation during a trip to Japan (“Complete Martial Arts.com,” 2006, p. 1). President Theodore Roosevelt was also a known enthusiast. During the 1920’s, the Japanese art of judo was introduced to the U.S. by young Japanese immigrants (Rosenberg, 1995, p. 19).
Martial arts popularity surged following World War II (Friman, 1998). During the late 1940’s, martial arts became a popular recreational activity among members of the military stationed in Asia. Within a decade, prominent U.S. military officers, including General Thomas E. Power of the Strategic Air command, were “encouraging the training of their personnel by inviting Japanese instructors to conduct classes at military bases in Japan and the United States” (Friman, 1998, p. 19).
During the 1960’s, these formally trained ex-military joined traditional foreign instructors in bolstering interest and activity in martial arts in the U.S. Interest was not limited to Japanese martial arts. American contact with Vietnam and Korea spurred interest in these nation’s martial arts forms (“Complete Martial Arts.com,” 2006). In the 1970’s, interest intensified with the star power of Bruce Lee and a movie industry capitalizing upon public interest by offering a variety of martial arts inspired movies.
Justifications for Practicing Martial Arts
When understood as military practices, martial arts are justified by conquest and military victory (Musashi and Wilson, 2002). Soldiers are trained in combat techniques that will assure them of victory in battle. However, martial arts have traditionally included more than physical prowess. The basis of many martial arts specialties have been upon training the whole individual, so that they are mentally, physically, and spiritually prepared to meet the challenges of everyday life (Musashi and Wilson, 2002; Tsunetomo and Wilson, 2002).
For example, during the Golden Age of Korean history, a select number of Korean noblemen were indoctrinated into the military order known as the Hwarang (“Flowering Knights”) (Haines, 1995, p. 106). These martial arts practitioners subscribed to a particular code of conduct based upon five fundamental tenets.
Loyalty to the king
Faithfulness to one’s friends
Devotion to one’s parents
Bravery and absolute obedience on the battlefield
A prohibition against wanton killing of any form of life (Haines,
1995, p. 106).
This focus on the whole individual is also present in many Japanese and Chinese martial arts. In the 1950’s, Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of the popular Japanese martial art “Aikido,” stated:
The martial arts must be a path that brings our hearts into oneness with the spirit of heaven and earth… Aikido is not the art of fighting using brute strength or deadly weapons, or the use of physical power or deadly weapons to destroy one’s enemies, but a way of harmonizing the world and unifying [all people] (Sunadomari, 2004, p. 1, 29).
Marketing of Martial Arts
Basic marketing focuses upon the four “P”s: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion (Kim, 2002, p. 217). For a martial arts school, the important products include the offered classes and the associated items sold through business, such as videos, books, gear, uniforms, and clothing (Peterson, 2002).
Marketing strategies can be divided into two basic categories. Direct marketing, which includes one on one contact with potential customers, may also include paid and unpaid advertisement ventures. Mass marketing is the more familiar form of advertising, such as commercials on television and radio. Martial arts schools have succeeded largely through the use of direct marketing.
For martial arts schools, direct marketing works better than mass marketing for two reasons: First, teaching martial arts is a personal business. You win students and keep students by letting them know you can meet their personal needs. You win and keep students by being the kind of person they want to study with. Second, people typically choose fitness facilities close to their home or work. Mass marketing can rarely target that specifically. Direct advertising can (Peterson and Vactor, 2002, p. 103).
Zhang Sheng Yi, the founder of the Beiyu Wushu Association in Beijing, China, agreed with this point. In his interview he stated, “I do not use commercials or signs. I think I should meet people face-to-face. When they see my “gongfu2” they will want to learn it” (Zhang, 2006).
It is also important to understand that marketing has rarely been the focus of traditional martial arts instructors. In the past, martial arts schools were supported by the military or the state; teachers had little reason to worry about financial necessities (Kennedy and Guo, 2005). However, some business-minded individuals have demonstrated the effectiveness of careful marketing in the accumulation of personal wealth. For example, in the 1970s, Rorion Gracie emigrated from Brazil to teach the art of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu (Green and Svinth, 2003, p. 69). He believed that the timing was right to introduce the Brazilian wrestling technique to the United States, due to the success of martial arts film stars. He met with initial failure because the patient and slow discipline did not match the public’s enthusiasm for acrobatics. However, he implemented an aggressive marketing campaign that included prominently advertised matches and frequent media exposure. “That marketing, as distinct from martial art, was foremost in his mind is demonstrated by his copyrighting both the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu name and logo” (Green and Svinth, 2003, p. 70). Rorion Gracie was pivotal in influencing the treatment of modern martial arts in America. He would help develop the model used in the Ultimate Fighting Championships (Green and Svinth, 2003).
Martial Arts Role in Society
How has marketing changed the role of martial arts in society? Historical evidence demonstrates that martial arts were primarily practiced in Asia for self-defense purposes (Friman, 1998). However, the modern world views martial arts differently. Individuals typically practice martial arts for one of three reasons. First, they engage in martial arts for personal enjoyment. Second, martial arts practice is an excellent form of exercise that can contribute to a healthful lifestyle. Third, many individuals decide to engage in martial arts for competitive reasons. The rise of interest in martial arts has coincided with a greater visibility of athletic competitions. Each of these three factors has contributed to national interest in martial arts (“Complete Martial Arts.com,” 2006).
Martial Arts for Fun
Much of the post World War II interest in martial arts resulted from communication and technological advances that revolutionized the entertainment business (Friman, 1996). Radio, television, and most notably movies began to feature characters engaging in martial arts to settle disputes. Many movie stars became associated with martial arts, such as Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris. Popular teen-oriented films such as The Karate Kid focused upon the accessibility of martial arts: anyone who trained hard enough could attain near superhero-like capability through martial arts prowess (Green and Svinth, 2003).
The potential for violence and injury through martial arts involvement has been largely ignored by regulators in the United States (Friman, 1998, p. 21). “The martial arts in the United States have a long tradition of being backed and promoted by state authorities” (Friman, 1998, p. 21).
Martial Arts for Health
One dramatic effect upon the image of martial arts in the American conscious is the wave of interest in martial arts as a means of physical fitness. The women’s movement has been especially active in incorporating martial arts into their own agenda for health. “Women are empowering themselves by appropriating male symbols of physical capital and shifting gender relations of power” (Green and Svinth, 2003, p. 219). Popularity in karate and boxing inspired fitness regimes has been broadened by marketing campaigns involving famous actress-turned advocates, such as Cindy Crawford, Jodie Foster, and Claudia Schiffer (Green and Svinth, 2003, p. 219). Linda Hamilton’s physique in Terminator II made “the muscular and aggressive female image… an international phenomenon” (Green and Svinth, 2003, p. 219).
Competitive Martial Arts Sports
Competitions such as the Ultimate Fighting Championships have further solidified martial arts practices within modern pop culture. Now, even non-participants may thrill to the victory and defeat of their favorite fighters. Such sports competitions have been the premise of many popular films.
The Effects of Marketing on “Traditional Martial Arts Culture”
How have martial arts culture changed? The examination of historical texts written for practitioners of martial arts uncovers a wealth of knowledge about the foundations of martial art practices. For example, in the authoritative samurai text Hagakure, the author explains the role of the enlightened samurai warrior as one who is obedient to his master and academically trained. The authority of the master was unquestioned and second to none.
Every morning one should first do reverence to his master and parents and then to his patron deities and guardian buddhas. If he will only make his master first in importance, his parents will rejoice and the gods and the Buddhas will give their assent. For a warrior there is nothing other than thinking of his master (Tsunetonomo and Wilson, 2002, p. 23).
Marketing has redefined the role of the martial arts instructor. Martial arts instructors do not have a familial or cultural basis of training in the United States. This is a very different business environment from the ancient practices of generational instructors. As a result, marketing has sought to establish the expertise of potential instructors in the minds of students.
Before you can establish yourself as an expert, you have to have the knowledge, experience, and credentials to back up your reputation. This may not be possible or even desirable for every instructor. The best plan of attack is to concentrate on the conventional media first and use the non-conventional media as reinforcement (Kim, 2002, p. 171).
This radically changes the teacher-student dynamic. Earlier, students were expected to display complete obedience to their masters. Now, it is the masters who must seek student approval or risk losing business.
But understand that not many people can relate to a teacher like that. People in our consumer culture are used to comparison shopping. They select products and services that suit them. If their doctor, dentist, hairdresser, or church isn’t listening to them, isn’t meeting their needs, they will find another. In the eyes of the average American consumer, you can be replaced. But if you continue to listen and meet your students needs, you will remain an important part of their lives” (Peterson and Vactor, 2002, p. 178).
This statement is also supported by the words of Taijiquan Master Niu Sheng Xian. While Master Niu lives and teaches in Beijing, China, he also believes that students come and go based on boredom and value.
I do not need to advertise. I have never made a commercial. I teach my students well and thus they bring more students. Many students leave because they get too tired or too bored. Some do not want to work. I don’t worry about that. I just worry about making the students that I have as good as possible. If I treat them well and show them how to improve, other people will want to learn and more students will come (Niu, 2006).
In the United States, involvement in martial arts is primarily seen as a recreational activity. It is expected to be fun and this assumption is supported by most teaching practitioners. Kim (2002) cautions against monotony in drills, explaining that “boredom – your students’ boredom and your own – is your biggest enemy as a martial arts instructor. Teaching classes every day, year after year, quickly become monotonous” (p. 11). As a result, the authority of a martial arts master in the modern day is open to constant questioning from students who may seek another master with relative ease.
This ability of audience members to witness such frequent fighting spectacles is a unique component of modern culture (Green and Svinth, 2003). Previously, non-practitioners were barred from witnessing practices and competitions were few and private. This publication of martial arts events through marketing is one of the most profound effects of commercialization upon martial arts practices.
Past generations of masters refrained from teaching their skills to the public at large because of a widely shared belief that such knowledge could be dangerous if given to ill-intentioned or irresponsible people. In such cases, it was fear that high-level martial arts skills might be used for destructive purposes. So, martial arts knowledge was carefully guarded and taught only to those deemed worthy of using it for beneficial purposes… The resulting risk that skills might be lost was considered preferable to the risk that a malevolent person might learn martial arts skills and use them for evil intent (Shengli and Yun, 2006, p. xxiii).
Martial arts instructors no longer fear that their fighting techniques will be used against them; instead, many educators view themselves as business actors first. They gain financially by teaching their own brand of martial art to the largest audience possible. This, in turn, leads to greater publicity through practice, which may lead to more circles in a cycle that perpetuates the physical practice of the martial arts discipline, but largely sacrifices many of the philosophical foundations of the martial arts practice.
The Future of Martial Arts Marketing
Advocates of education argue against too much marketing. Public relations, publicity, and word of mouth are all important to the success of an educational establishment (Firman, 1996). After all, a school’s reputation should precede its advertising budget. Kim (2002) notes that this is no different for a martial arts school:
An active, targeted and ongoing publicity campaign is essential to the survival of a professional martial arts school… Ongoing publicity makes your school name a household word… Make your school name so familiar that people in your community automatically think of you when they think “martial arts” (p. 167).
Such a marketing strategy has the additional bonus of saving money. A successful publicity campaign can reduce the need for a formal marketing budget (Kim, 2002).
The growth of the Internet has also had a direct effect of the marketing of martial arts. “The internet is a fast growing medium that provides easy access public relations” (Kim, 2002, p. 171). A martial arts instructor can use the Internet in a variety of ways. “There are two primary ways to use the internet to benefit your school: Promotion and Communication. A well designed website is the cornerstone in any internet strategy” (Kim, 2002, p. 197).
Many newsgroups, chat rooms, and public forums are available for the general discussion of martial arts. A business may also generate name recognition and respect by hosting a specially designed website. ”When the internet first gained popularity, many businesses saw it as a selling tool. Martial arts schools quickly put up websites and registered with search engines only to be disappointed when no one signed up for lessons online” (Kim, 2002, p. 197). As a result of this failure to attract new students, websites evolved as primarily tools for reference.
Many Internet enthusiasts develop sites aimed at creating more interest in martial arts, not necessarily registering new students. These enthusiasts often choose to report book excerpts or publications featuring the history or evolution of martial arts. For example, the website Complete Martial Arts.com markets itself as a “complete and comprehensive up to date information on all aspects of Martial Arts” (“Complete Martial Arts.com,” 2006, p. 1). This website lives up to its claim by offering one of the most thorough discussions of the history of martial arts in the United States currently available on the Internet. The site’s history is a reprint of The Original Martial Arts Encyclopedia by John Corcoran and Emil Farkas.
Martial arts instructors can also use the Internet as a tool for communication. Instructors post schedules, class information, and registration information online. These are all tools of convenience that aid in retention of current students. Professional associations created by martial arts business leaders offer support and provide advice to potential martial arts entrepreneurs. The Martial Arts Teachers Association presents a website that offers free advice on low cost marketing strategies for martial arts schools.
Section III: Summary and Conclusion
How has marketing effected the practice of martial arts in the United States? First, marketing has effected the number of people practicing. What began as the interest of a select group of culturally inclined or militarily trained individuals has evolved into a field that has attracted hundreds of thousands of practitioners.
Marketing has also effected the quality of martial arts and martial arts instruction. Martial arts have evolved from recreational activities with many volunteer coaches to a lucrative industry where interested parties may forge careers regarding the training of clients.
A more difficult consideration is marketing’s effect on the culture of martial arts. Because marketing is a business practice, the involvement of marketing is one aspect of a wider commercialization of the activity. Potential students are prone to “shopping around” to see what style of instructor and discipline best fit their needs. The most obvious effect that marketing has had is on the role of instructor. While previous martial arts teachers might have enjoyed total obedience in a military-like training setting, the entertainment nature of martial arts in the United States, as well as the business aims of individual schools, force instructors to accommodate student desires. For example, the choice to only teach children may not generate sufficient financial interest in some areas. Teachers that fail to be flexible or to assess the needs of their local population risk business failure. Such a commercial concern is very different from traditional training or military settings.
Martial arts marketing tends to focus upon the physical aspects of the practice, reflecting society’s sensationalization of violence. As a result, the philosophical components of early martial arts disciplines have been largely forgotten. As Zhang put it, “Everybody wants to learn to fight. Nobody wants to learn real gongfu3.” (2006). This is especially true of the multitude of martial arts sites which focus upon drawing in as many students as possible to sustain a strong business model.
Very little is written in academic journals specific to the marketing of martial arts; the bulk of the academic literature involves either using sports figures to market particular products or concentration of marketing upon more popular recreational activity. As martial arts gains more supporters in the U.S., this is likely to change. There are many potential areas of study and research for the future. For example, researchers might seek to evaluate specific forms and combinations of different marketing strategies to demonstrate the most effective means of marketing in the martial arts field. As gender and racial stereotypes are a concern in both martial arts and in marketing, a researcher may explore the prevalence of stereotypes within particular marketing campaigns. The economic effect of marketing upon a specific school or area of the country may also be pursued.
Andrews, D., and Silk, M. (2001). Beyond a boundary? Sport, transnational advertising, and the re-imagining of national culture, Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 25(2), 156- 177.
“Complete MartialArts.com” (2006). Accessed online 11/15/2006 at http://www.completemartialarts.com/information/styles/american/americanhistory.htm
Donohue, J. (1994). Warrior dreams: The martial arts and the American imagination. Westport, CT: Bergin and Garvey.
Draeger, D. (1990). Classical budo. New York: Weatherhill.
Friman, H. (1996). Blinded by the light: Politics and profit in the martial arts. Journal of Asian Martial Arts 5(3), 10-19.
Friman, H.R. (1998). The Art of Regulation: Martial Arts as Threats to Social Order. Journal of Asian Martial Arts. 7(3) 11-23.
Green, T., and Svinth, J. (2003). Martial Arts in the Modern World. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishing.
Haines, B. (1995). Karate’s History and Traditions. Rutland, VT: Tuttle Company, Inc.
Jackson, S., and Andrews, D. (2005). Sport, Culture, and Advertising. New York, NY: Routledge.
Kennedy, B., and Guo, E. (2005). Chinese Martial Arts Training Manuals: A Historical Survey. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books.
Kim, S. (2002). Martial Arts Instructor’s Desk Reference: A Complete Guide to Martial Arts Administration. Wethersfield, CT: Turtle Press.
“Martial info” (2006). Martial Arts Online Magazine. Accessed online 11/20/2006 at http://www.martialinfo.com/OnlineMag/index.htm.
“Martialartsteachers.com” (2005). Headquarters of the Martial Arts Teachers’Association. Accessed online 11/18/2006 at http://www.martialartsteachers.com/.
Musashi, M., and Wilson, W. (2002). The Book of Five Rings. Tokyo: Kondansha International.
Niu Sheng Xian (November, 2006). Personal Interview. Conducted and translated by Joseph D. McNamara. Beijing, China.
Pace, S. (n.d.) “Martial Arts Marketing” Accessed online 11/15/2006 at http://www.martialartsinternetmarketing.com/.
Peterson, S., and Vactor, K. (2002). Starting and Running Your Own Martial Arts School. Boston, MA: Tuttle Publishing.
Rosenberg, D. (1995). Paradox and dilemma: The martial arts and American violence. Journal of Asian Martial Arts 4(2), 10-33.
Shengli, L., and Yun, Z. (2006). Combat Techniques of Taiji, Xingyi, and Baqua: Principles and Practices of Internal Martial arts. Berkeley, CA: Blue Snake Books.
Slack, T. (1998). Studying the commercialization of sport: the need for critical analysis. Sociology of Sport Online Journal, 1. Accessed online 11/25/2006 at http://physed.otago.ac.nz/sosol/v1i1/v1i1a6.htm.
Sunadomari, K. (2004). Enlightenment Through Aikido (Dennis Clark Trans.). Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books.
Tsunetomo, Y. and Wilson, S. (2002). Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai. Tokyo: Kondansha International Ltd.
Zhang Sheng Yi (November, 2006). Personal Interview. Conducted and translated by Joseph D. McNamara. Beijing, China.
Appendix: Notes
1Translator’s Note: “Wushu,” is the classic Chinese term for martial arts. However, because of the recent morphing of traditional martial art forms into more aesthetically appealing gymnastic style performances, Chinese practitioners have separated “modern wushu” from traditional wushu. Modern wushu is now an accepted category of performance art that will be presented in the 2008 Olympic Games. However, it is hotly debated in China as to whether or not it should be considered a “martial art”.
2Translator’s Note: “Gongfu” is the Romanization of Chinese characters. These characters are more commonly known in the west as “kung fu.” However this is a misrepresentation of the original Chinese meaning. Gongfu, in the sense meant here, represents hard-work, diligence, and mastery of a skill. In Chinese, to say a person has real “gongfu” is a high compliment of the person’s skill, whether it is in martial arts or any other vocation.
3See footnote 2 above for an explanation of “gongfu”.
U.S. Sports Academy2016-10-31T09:22:00-05:00March 14th, 2008|Contemporary Sports Issues, Sports Management, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off on The Effect of Modern Marketing on Martial Arts and Traditional Martial Arts Culture
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THE ANTS AND THE GRASSHOPPERS: A FABLE
The ant worked hard in the withering summer heat, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter, while the grasshoppers were not nearly so industrious. But the grasshoppers had a good friend in the Grasshopper-in-Charge, and all the grasshoppers benefited very unfairly from this alliance. In fact, there were millions of these industrious ants in the U. S. of Ants, and all they wanted was to put food on their tables, feed their families, and take care of their children. But the grasshoppers couldn’t have cared less.
The Grasshopper-in-Charge was not very bright but he once learned a useful trick from a chameleon he was trying to eat—he could appear to be anyone other than himself or, alternately, he could make others feel that he was just like them. This was one of the ways he became Grasshopper-in-Charge. He convinced the ants that he was a good, decent ant and that he would be just the kind of fellow-ant that other ants would like to have a beer with on Saturday night. Actually he detested all ants and just wanted to use them to get rich and to help his grasshopper pals.
The Grasshopper-in-Charge also had the uncanny ability to lie with a straight face and to be very convincing, and he had the talent for believing his own lies. For example, he had used his family connections to avoid serving in the military except in a purely ceremonial fashion, and he had shirked his duties even then, preferring to go out drinking and raising hell with his grasshopper pals. Yet he was able to convince a gullible populace that his opponent for high office, who was a legitimate war hero, had been lying about his record. (The one news-ant who tried to speak up about this deception was fired and humiliated, even though what he reported was true.) The Grasshopper-in-Charge wasn’t smart enough to have thought of this idea himself, you understand, but one of his grasshopper pals named Rogue was a specialist in Slander and he always came up with a good plan for making the ants look like complete fools.
Once in office, the Grasshopper-in-Charge reshaped the U. S. of Ants so that his grasshopper pals could enrich themselves at the ants’ expense. For example, he strongly encouraged policies that shipped jobs overseas to India and China, where labor expenses were much less than in the U. S. of Ants, plus he encouraged poor ants from Mexico to enter the U. S. of Ants illegally so that their cheap labor could be exploited, in spite of the fact that this was against the law He pretended to lower taxes for everyone but actually he only lowered taxes for the wealthiest members of the population, who were mostly grasshoppers, and he spent far more than he brought in on a war against distant bees, which employed more of his grasshopper pals in high-paying jobs and set them up to harvest the honey from these bees—if they could ever win the war, which they seemed unable to do. The bees were tougher than anticipated. He lied about this too, repeatedly, saying the U. S. was always on the verge of winning when they were not. Thousands of ants were killed, but this slaughter was not permitted to be shown on government-controlled TV, and the grasshoppers didn’t really care. The whole point of going to war with the bees in the first place was to steal their honey, but, of course, the Grasshopper-in-Charge could never admit that to the ants. The grasshoppers loved honey because it was so expensive, and they knew that if they controlled the flow of honey, they would be very, very powerful.
His grasshopper pals did everything they could to make honey even more expensive, and they reaped record profits. They told very believable lies about how the bees were actually responsible for the terrible honey prices, and most of the ants believed them. They also told the increasingly angry ants that the fault was actually the ecology-nut butterflies and the global-warming leaf hoppers, and Jesse Jackson, and some of the ants believed this for a while as well.
Unfortunately, after a few years, the grasshoppers had all the money and jobs; and the millions of ants, even the most hardworking, had no jobs and could not support their families or buy the goods the grasshoppers wanted to sell to them. The U. S. of Ants, which used to be the envy of the Insect Kingdom for its hard work and resourcefulness, did not make anything for itself anymore. It imported everything from China, where all the goods looked shiny and new but were laced with poison. Several ants died from the poison, which served them right, according to the grasshoppers. But the ants were so numerous that when they stormed the house of the Grasshopper-in-Charge and overthrew the government, they quickly subdued and squashed the grasshoppers; and even though the grasshoppers managed to eat several of them before they were themselves killed, in the end the ants prevailed. Unfortunately, by then, the U. S. of Ants had become a Third World country.
The Grasshoppers-in-Charge of China were not only numerous but also extremely intelligent and cruel, and they sent Chinese troops marching down Main Streets all over the U.S. of Ants, and the Chinese ants easily prevailed. The U. S. of Ants was incorporated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of China, and all the hard-working ants found work at minimum wage making poisoned dog food and children’s toys to send to the bees.
Moral of the Story: The function of governments is to have the Greater Good for all citizens in mind, to look beyond short term goals of personal gain for a few, and to rally citizens to a cause greater than personal greed.
By Joe David Bellamy
2 comments on “THE ANTS AND THE GRASSHOPPERS: A FABLE”
Mario Zuniga
I whole heartedly agree, so long as governments, particularly the US government, actually exists. Some of us believe it was replaced by the RASS ( Red Ant Security State) as of nov 22, 1963. If this is indeed the case then even the best politicians with the best of intentions won´t make one anthill of a difference.
msimms2014
Mario, perhaps the politicians can’t make a difference, but the people can!
Leave a Reply to msimms2014 Cancel reply
This entry was posted on May 5, 2014 by Vox Populi in Uncategorized and tagged Humor and Satire, Social Justice.
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« Explosions kill 7 AQ terrorists in Yemen | Main | Aissa gets wish to be Army Nurse for a day »
During October 1962: Cuban Missile Crisis
By Ken White, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency: SPRINGFIELD, Va., Oct. 18, 2012 - Fifty years after they discovered Soviet missiles poised to strike the United States from Cuba, two intelligence officers met with hundreds of their current-day counterparts to commemorate the anniversary of the crisis that nearly brought the world to nuclear war.
Photo: National Photographic Interpretation Center imagery kept President John F. Kennedy updated on progress made by the Soviets on their missile site in Cuba. This Oct. 25, 1962, image shows all the elements necessary to launch a missile with a 1,100 nautical mile range. Analysts could tell by the tracks in the ground leading to one of the missile shelter tents that a weapon in a high state of readiness was present. The image also demonstrated the Soviets' extensive use of canvas to camouflage its weapons components and, therefore, its intentions. Photo courtesy of National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
Dino Brugioni and Vincent DiRenzo were part of a small group from the CIA's National Photographic Interpretation Center who worked for 13 tense days in October 1962 to avert disaster. They joined author and journalist Michael Dobbs, and two current analysts, in an Oct. 15 panel discussion at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency here.
Through reminiscences and present-day observations, the group illustrated the significance of the crisis and its continued impact on the tradecraft of imagery and geospatial analysis.
A photo interpreter, DiRenzo led the NPIC team and formed the initial conclusion about the presence of Soviet medium-range ballistic missiles in Cuba from analysis of U-2 spy plane imagery. He discussed the immediate wake of his discovery.
"Considering the severity of the identification, we figured we'd be in for a long night," DiRenzo said. He indicated that the initial assessment was not a "slam dunk," as convincing people of the true significance of the find was difficult. While DiRenzo was absolutely sure, the image did not show clearly identifiable missiles, but rather, long, canvas-covered objects that, to the layman, could be almost anything.
Charged with preparing materials on daily developments for NPIC Director Arthur C. Lundahl's briefs to the executive committee and the White House, Brugioni was instrumental in arming President John F. Kennedy with intelligence needed to navigate this perilous moment in history.
He recalled with humor how many of his briefing boards came back from the White House marked up with blue crayon from a doodling Caroline Kennedy. On a more somber note, he also relayed the fearful mood of the time.
"Black Saturday, we had gone to [defense readiness condition] 2," Brugioni said. "Fourteen hundred bombers were loaded with nuclear weapons; 50 B-52s were in the air; eight Polaris submarines were at sea; 125 [intercontinental ballistic missiles] were ready to fire; there was tactical aviation; there was 60 Thor missiles in England, 30 Jupiter missiles in Italy, and 15 Jupiters in Turkey. That morning we met with Art Lundahl and told him that all 24 pads were operational, meaning that within four to six hours, 24 missiles could be coming at the United States.
"I remember Lundahl scratching his chin, looked at me and said, 'I don't want to scare the hell out of them, but I want to make sure they understand the danger,'" Brugioni recalled.
The son of a career diplomat, Dobbs spent his formative years behind the Iron Curtain. He became a Cold War scholar after covering it as a foreign correspondent for the Washington Post. He drew a parallel between his work and intelligence analysis.
"I feel a kinship with intelligence analysts. We try to start with the evidence and proceed from the evidence to the conclusions," Dobbs said. "Our goal is to tell truth to power."
Dobbs went on to laud the efforts of the team who identified the missiles, and to praise Brugioni for his efforts since the crisis to improve public understanding of photo analysis.
"Dino has done more than anyone else to explain the art and science of photo interpretation to the broader public," he said. "He's a great educator; he's very good at explaining very complicated matters to laymen."
He also discussed how his research of the crisis, with the advantage of 50 years of hindsight, affirmed both the significance the crisis and the criticality of intelligence to policymaking. He also pointed out that 60 to 70 percent of the actionable intelligence came from NPIC during the crisis.
"This was the moment of the photo interpreter," Dobbs said. "They were able to tell [the president] when the missiles would be ready to fire."
It was probably the single biggest intelligence coup of the Cold War, he added.
Art Lundahl's son, Robert, shared his late father's connection with the president.
"Above all, my father was certainly a technologist. He was a scientist at heart; he loved technology," said the younger Lundahl. "It sounded like President Kennedy had an equal interest in technology. There was a bond there."
Beyond technology, Lundahl also shared what he believes to be the key to his father's effectiveness as an intelligence officer: exceptional communication skills.
"He was born to brief," Lundahl said. Specifically, he noted his father's ability to be credible, while adjusting to the knowledge level of his audience and using humor to diffuse tension.
NGA analyst Walter S. Trynock compared and contrasted the world of 1962 with today's environment. Communication skills remain critical for analysts, he noted, but the tools for providing geospatial intelligence are markedly different, and today's leaders are bombarded with information.
"The type of information, and the pace in which information is received by the policymaker, is constant, at all times of the day and night," Trynock said. "So the challenge is to bring out the relevancy and the 'so what' to contribute to their decision making."
Then and now, keen analysis always has been key, Dobbs said.
"Intelligence is like a huge jigsaw puzzle, and you only find a few pieces, and there are always going to be some missing pieces, but from the pieces you do find, you try to inform policymakers about the entire jigsaw puzzle," he said.
Posted by WOTN Editor on Thursday, October 18, 2012 at 19:06 in History | Permalink
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Law Enforcement Concerned About Impact of Marijuana Legalization on Driving
One concern for law enforcement is officers don’t have the tools for detecting marijuana yet.
A medical marijuana dispensary in Detroit.
Marijuana legalization could be on the 2018 ballot.
That has some law enforcement agencies concerned. Police worry about a potential increase in driving under the influence of marijuana.
One concern for law enforcement is officers don’t have the tools for detecting marijuana yet. There isn’t a machine that can detect marijuana on a person’s breath like there is for alcohol.
Mark Reene is president of the Prosecuting Attorney Association of Michigan (PAAM). He says part of the problem is the way the body processes marijuana.
And for the tests officers do have, the levels don’t always accurately show how high someone is.
“And that’s one of the conundrums that we run into,” said Reene. ”The numbers don’t equate to the same level of analysis.”
He says legalized states - like Colorado – have seen an increase in marijuana-related traffic deaths.
“What’s the aftermath? You know we have that example, and it’s the state of Colorado. And it’s not an example we want to follow,” said Reene.
But at least one potential ballot initiative takes this concern into account. The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol would make it illegal to drive with any marijuana in your system.
“Our initiative in no way wants to encourage people to be driving under the influence,” said Josh Hovey with the coalition. ”So we take a very strong approach to that and we want to make sure that people understand that in no way should they be driving after consuming.”
Hovey says until the science catches up and there is a good way to test drivers, the law should be zero tolerance.
Image credit: Jake Neher/WDET
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State House Approves $175 Million Spending Bill for Roads
The bill passed unanimously, but Democrats say this still isn’t enough to make meaningful improvements to the state’s roads.
Floor of the Michigan House of Representatives in Lansing.
Lawmakers in Lansing want to put $175 million toward the state’s roads. The state House passed the spending bill on Wednesday.
Gov. Rick Snyder initially proposed a similar spending bump for the next budget cycle. But lawmakers say the potholes and crumbling roads need to be addressed as soon as possible. They want the money available in time for construction season.
“I think that this is kind of a perfect time for us to say, ‘Hey, we’ll get this money out to you in the communities and the counties. You can plan for your projects. So as soon as you guys start wanting to put a shovel in the ground, you’re ready to go,’” said bill sponsor, Rep. Laura Cox (R-Livonia).
“Even though this is more money, it’s not enough to really begin to solve the problems of our roads,” said state House Democratic Leader Sam Singh (D-East Lansing). “So roads are actually going to get worse, they’re going to continue to get worse, until this body decides to take a serious look at how we do infrastructure spending here in the state of Michigan.”
The money would send over $38 million to cities and villages across the state. The rest would be distributed to county road commissions, who would get about $68.4 million, and state trunkline preservation and next-generation technologies and service delivery, which would get another $68.4 million. The money that stays within the Department of Transportation would mainly be used for road preservation, with up to $15 million set aside for special projects. One project could be to test the state’s ability to partner with ride share companies for transportation options for the elderly or disabled.
According to the Department of Transportation, it costs an average of $3.2 million to reconstruct one lane of one mile of freeway. But when it comes to local roads, it’s cheaper – a non-freeway mile costs about $1.9 million to reconstruct, whereas rehabilitation is about $500,000 on average. When it comes to rural roads, average reconstruction is about $1.2 million, with half-a-million for rehabilitation.
The money used is unspent from a previous budget cycle – so it doesn’t require an increase in taxes. A spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof (R-West Olive) says his chamber might take up the bill next week.
Image credit: Joan Isabella
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Translation and language services
Integrated fair services
Export Promotion Trips
Export networks
Financing the Internationalisation
Growth opportunities from the world
Ready to export?
Membership activities
Invoicing addresses and VAT numbers
VIEXPO- since 1970 at the point of the development
The cooperative Viexpo was founded in January 1970 as the first regional export promotion organization of Finland. The establishment of Viexpo was led by a more active development of the foreign county connections of economic life in the 1960s, however, the development focused strongly on the Helsinki metropolitan area. The regional activities began to grow fast in Pietarsaari because the connections to Sweden were already developing at a good pace with the expansion of the school of commercial training and the beginning of the ship traffic. In the beginning, Viexpo had 31 members.
The idea behind the thought was to build a permanent exhibition hall serving the industry of the area with the export matters. The idea progressed swiftly and the exhibition hall of the tobacco factory of Strengberg was opened on 14th July 1970.
At the beginning of the decade, there were about hundred exhibition departments at the tobacco factory. The companies were presented either in their own departments or in the community department of their home municipality. In addition to the exhibition halls, Viexpo kept close contact with the Finnish commercial secretaries in the foreign embassies and arranged contact trips, among others, in London, Leningrad, Oslo, and Stockholm. In the mid-1970s, Viexpo organized the first exhibition departments to the companies of the area to foreign exhibitions. There were 15 companies participated in the exhibition of NOLIA in Umeå in 1975 and the following year at the Polari’s exhibition in Tromsø even 45 companies participated. A significant Mittnorden co-operation started in the late 1970s.
There was a huge need for product development at the turn of the 1970s and 1980s, and Viexpo was able to channel the state aid of the then Ministry of Trade and Industry into product development services.
1980: Viexpo grows and its operation expands
Viexpo has trusted to the power of cooperation from the very beginning. In the 1980s, co-operation with local chambers of commerce led to the establishment of regional offices in Kokkola and Vaasa and to hiring of an export consultant in South Ostrobothnia. By 1980, the number of members had risen to 191. To develop information sharing, Viexpo began to publish its own info-leaflet.
In 1982 Viexpo showed a true IT pioneer spirit and stepped into era of computers. The microcomputer maintained easily membership and exhibit register. The register included “all major manufacturing companies in the Ostrobothnia” and Viexpo’s connections abroad.
An important step was also Viexpo’s selection as Vaasa county’s Mittnorden-commercial house. The selection meant both financial support from the Nordic Council of Ministers’ and the permission to act as a Finnish organizer in most of the Mittnorden projects. As the decade progressed, the exhibition projects and Finnish joint departments grew increasingly important parts of Viexpo’s operations.
1990: New operations
Viexpo’s operation area was defined as Ostrobothnia and Central Ostrobothnia. With the co-operation agreement with the Finnish Trade Union, Viexpo gained VAM office’s (VAM = Export Agent) status and during the foundation of TE-centers at the end of the 1990s Viexpo gained a special position in its operating area, which is seen also today as Viexpo’s operates as the internationalization unit of the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment in Ostrobothnia
After twenty years, the exhibition hall of the tobacco factory was closed down in 1990 due to Viexpo’s move to new premises in Isokatu, Pietarsaari. As the iron curtain fell, interest in the eastern markets grew. Viexpo participated in many important exhibition projects and also organized trips, for exampleto Russia and the Baltic countries.
Viexpo also made a deal with its long-term partner and established Ostrobothnia Patent Office Kolster & Viexpo Oy in 1989. Viexpo had its own patent agent who advised companies on patents, trademarks and collections both in Finland and abroad. In 1996, Kolster acquired Viexpo’s share of the company.
In the 1990s, two new ways of operations began: during Fact Finding trips organized by Viexpo, companies have gathered a lot of important information about the market and competitors since the 90’s and made important contacts. The export network (formerly the export ring) in turn brings together 4-6 complementary, but not competing, companies that together, under the leadership of the selected joint export manager, work together to open doors to the selected target market.
2000: Field-specific Activity
Rapid changes in the international market have been more and more significant in the 21st century and, as a result, Viexpo decided to organize its operations in a new way. In order to better respond to the needs of the companies, the operation turned field-specific: machine and metal, wood, construction and furniture, food industry, boat and vehicle industry.
The importance of Asia and Russia grew strongly in the early 2000s. In 2004, Viexpo hired an Asian expert and in the same year started a project about Russian markets. The importance and popularity of the export networks had grown year by year. Companies co-operation and Viexpo’s support had significantly reduced the threshold for starting foreign trade. To date, Viexpo has already coordinated dozens of export networks with target areas around the world.
2010: Up to date
Today, Viexpo is one of the leading joint export project leaders in Finland. The main focus of projects is in Europe, and in particular, Scandinavia has increased its popularity during the recent years as a target country of Finnish export companies. The fields that are the most attractive at present are agriculture and forestry, construction, and food and energy. Viexpo annually offers Finnish companies several opportunities to participate in international exhibitions.
Viexpo’s experienced internationalization experts spar companies and move together with the companies around the world, for example on the exhibitions and fact-finding trips.
Viexpo offers expert and tailor-made language services to businesses, corporations and private individuals. Our language services help companies to communicate in the right language, in all business areas.
2025: Doubling the export of SMEs
The importance of funding, which enables providing of basic advisory service, cannot be overemphasized when the goal is according to the government’s goal double the export share of SMEs (which is now 12%) by 2025. According to Viexpo vision, this must be the intermediate and minimum goal, and a part of proposeful work towars increasing the internationalization of SMEs.
Viexpo is a strong national influencer and actor. Viexpos roll on the internationalization path for many, today global, companies and as builder of export Finland has been and still is remarkable. The goal is to facilitate growth by competitive SMEs and comprehensive internationalization, and to double the export in the area. The goal is already close by the end of 2025. It takes resolute work besides the companies to reach the goal of increasing the export share from 12% to 25%. Viexpo works on the grass root level encouraging the SMEs to export and developing international activities alongside the companies. This way of work has been fruitful for decades and should be continued and further developed even else where if the goals set by the government will be reached in the near future in Finland.
Viexpo continues strong and will in future offer even more tailor made and holistic services and joint export projects. Viexpo has been one of the strongest arranger of joint export projects in Finland for a long time and about half of the clients are from other parts of Finland. Viexpos strengths are e.g. strong basis for developing export, business orientation, dynamics and innovations, very broad local, regional, national and international networks and networking skills, genuine bilingualism and rich multilingualism and understanding of the business/clusters in Ostrobothnia.
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Action needed to increase depth of international rugby, claims All Black legend
By Daniel Etchells at the Hilton London Metropole Hotel
New Zealand's former World Cup winner Sean Fitzpatrick believes more needs to be done to improve the standard of the lower-ranked rugby nations.
This follows Hong Kong and Russia last week urging the International Rugby Board (IRB) to introduce a special World Cup for second-tier countries.
Officials from both nations said on Friday (November 14) that a second-tier Cup, played between the traditional quadrennial extravaganza, would greatly help lift the standards of teams ranked outside the world's top 20.
And although Fitzpatrick does not feel an entire new tournament is necessary, he believes the smaller nations' stay at the World Cup ought to be extended beyond the pool games, the stage at which they are eliminated more often than not.
"For me, some of the greatest memories are the smaller nations, like Portugal in France in 2007 when they played the All Blacks," said 1987 World Cup winner Fitzpatrick, speaking at the 2014 IRB World Rugby Conference and Exhibition (ConfEx).
"They grow from those games.
"But once the pool games are finished, they're gone and maybe for the next three weekends they could play alongside the main tournament to experience it ."
Fitzpatrick formed part of a three-man panel at the ConfEx, alongside former Argentina captain Agustín Pichot and ex-French utility man Thomas Castaignède, which took part in the opening session entitled "State of the Union - Legends of the Game".
Sean Fitzpatrick (centre) was joined by Agustín Pichot (left) and Thomas Castaignède (right) on the "State of the Union - Legends of the Game" panel ©ITG
The discussion explored the opportunities and challenges that rugby will face over the next decade as it continues to grow and develop worldwide.
"I don't think a World Cup system would be necessary but they need to improve the fixtures, that's for sure," added Pichot on the issue.
"They need to play games.
"If you don't play games, you cannot get better."
Russia and Hong Kong, ranked 19th and 27th in the latest world rankings respectively, were beaten by Uruguay in the World Cup repêchage qualifiers as the South Americans went on to clinch the 20th and final berth at next year's tournament in England.
Dai Rees, the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union's head of performance and technical development, said countries who were on the fringes of the top 20 teams needed more opportunities to play outside their own region, so they could learn and develop quicker.
Hong Kong play annually in the Asian Five Nations, but have always lost out to Japan in World Cup qualification.
"I would like to see the IRB introduce a World Cup for countries like us and Russia two years before the main World Cup," said Rees.
"A cross-continental competition for say 12 countries would help lift and develop the game in second-tier nations.
"A World Cup for us smaller countries would be massive.
"If we knew there was one in between the main World Cups, we could plan and prepare better."
Russia coach Raphaël Saint-André agreed, saying: "It would be good for everyone and help take us to the next level.
"The IRB needs to help us.
"Right now we play other second-tier European nations like Georgia regularly, but there will be huge benefits in playing teams with different styles like Uruguay, Hong Kong or Zimbabwe."
New Zealand's recent match against the United States caused plenty of debate at the IRB World Rugby ConfEx ©Getty Images
Talk of how to develop rugby in the United States and the All Blacks' recent match in Chicago also proved a contentious issue.
The world champions thrashed the host nation 74-6 in only their third meeting in 101 years but, arguably the more important statistic, was the capacity crowd of nearly 62,000, three times more than the previous best for a home US rugby match when they played Ireland in Houston last year.
The US have taken part in six of the seven rugby World Cups but their still largely amateur team have never managed to win more than one pool game.
"To grow the game we have to go to parts of the world that aren't traditional areas of the game," said Fitzpatrick, who won 92 caps in a career that spanned the amateur and professional eras.
"There are 100,000 people playing rugby in the United States but as well as aspirations there need to be revenues."
Castaignède supported the game's superpowers including the US in their calendars but said there needed to be local development to capture the imagination of the next generation.
"We need big teams going to America but we also need to have big players coming out of America," he said.
"They have the potential to have two or three guys like Jonah Lomu [former All Black wing]; the sort of players who made rugby well known in a wider area.
"It needs two or three guys who can really create imitation behind them.
"For America they need to focus on who will be the next heroes."
Pichot, however, coming from a country that has been vying for help and recognition for many years, was dismissive of the match at Chicago's Soldier Field.
"I actually think that was more about the All Blacks' brand," he said.
"If you ask me about the grassroots and how to make a better team in the World Cup, it's not the way.
"It's not magic.
"If you take the All Blacks to countries like Mexico or to Brazil it's not going to happen.
"You need a pathway from grassroots to the professional game and if you don't have that you will never have a competitive team in the World Cup."
Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]
November 2014: Male, female and sevens stars make-up first Rugby Athletes' Commission
November 2014: Greats to discuss future of the game at IRB World Rugby ConfEx
September 2014: Prozone announced as official partner of IRB World Rugby Conference and Exhibition
August 2014: IRB reveals World Cup panellists to mark 100 days until second World Rugby Conference and Exhibition
July 2013: IRB World Conference to focus on "Growing the Rugby Family"
Read more of Daniel's articles
Draw made for football competition at Samoa 2019 Pacific Games
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the accountability project
philosophical dimensions of climate change (PDCC)
CSID has been funded by NASA across the period of 2008-2011 to further its investigations in:
The Ethical and Philosophical Dimensions of Climate Change
The science of science policy
To date, philosophical considerations of climate change have centered on questions of ethics and environmental justice. The Center for the Study of Interdisciplinarity seeks to expand the conversation concerning climate change by exploring the full range of philosophical and societal concerns and by integrating these concerns with recent thinking about science policy. As part of the latter point, CSID's research into climate change issues will synergize with its ongoing research into the interdisciplinary nature of the peer review (cf. CAPR).
Literature Review: the Philosophy of Climate Change
There has been work done on the politics of climate change, including the commentary of Andrew Dessler on his blog "Science and Politics of Global Climate Change" to Luterbacher and Sprinz's 2001 book, "International Relations and Global Climate Change" (MIT Press), however, little if any work has been done on the political philosophy of climate change.
Within ethics, the philosophical discussion has occurred primarily through the use of the language of justice. In an article on ClimateEthics.org, Donald Brown discusses de-ontological, eco- and bio-centric, and relationship ethics, his work principally uses justice ethics to critique utilitarian forms that focus exclusively on the use of cost-benefit analyses. Dale Jamieson has done some work on Aristotelian virtue ethics, but feminist critiques that expound the use of care ethics, for example, have not been integrated into the dialogue.
Within the exclusive focus on the justice framework, only one of the three theories of justice is referenced to address climate change. Predominantly, the discourse is in terms of distributive justice, though recognition and procedural justice are implicitly appealed to.
People working in the field of PDCC
Don Brown
Donald Brown works primarily in the ethics as justice paradigm and critiques the utilitarianism of economic cost-benefit analyses approaches to the climate change.
Steve Gardiner
Gardiner primarily focuses on intergenerational justice ethics and has a thorough paper on the precautionary principle. His personal page on the University of Washington website has links to many of his works.
Dale Jamieson uses procedural justice, argues that "Utilitarians should adopt virtue ethics for the best utilitarian outcome, describes his latest book as defending a "thoroughgoing Darwinian naturalism, and argued that there is a no anthropocentric "significance in learning to live with nature."
Roger Pielke
Pielke is scientist who tackles the interaction of scientists and policymakers and focuses on mitigation and adaptation strategies to mitigate climate change. He is a major contributor to the Prometheus blog, which explores science policy issues including climate change.
Mickey Glantz
Glantz is a scientist who raises the "social" as well as political issues surrounding climate change. He argues against climate change skeptics. His website, climate affairs identifies 5 areas of climate change discussions: climate science (variability, fluctuations, change, extremes and seasonality), climate impacts (on ecosystems and on societies ), climate policy and law (domestic and international), climate politics (how societies get their laws), and climate economics/climate ethics and equity (intergenerational equity, discounting the future, and environmental justice).
Nancy Tuana
Tuana is director of the Rock Ethics Institute at Penn State which is working on the ethics of climate change. Its website offers an outstanding resource for the philosophical dimensions of climate change including links on every facet of the issue and an extensive bibliography.
Site last updated on Wednesday, March 28, 2012 12:01 PM
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Watch Robert Downey Jr.'s First Iron Man Screen Test In Aven...
New Dynamax Pokémon Revealed In Latest Sword And ...
Marc Webb Could Still Return For The Amazing Spider-Man Sequel
By Juan Sam @@JuanSam26 7 years ago
Despite being the underdog among the three main superhero movies this year, The Amazing Spider-Man was a hit, critically and financially. Having made about $650 million at the global box office, it’s no surprise that the film had always been planned as a trilogy. With the sequel set for a Spring 2014 release and the two leads already locked in to reprise their roles, the only question that remains is whether Marc Webb will return to the director’s chair.
Ever since 500 Days Of Summer, the director has owed Fox another film. Even though the studio let him do The Amazing Spider-Man, there was no guarantee they’d allow him to return for the sequel.
Though many feared that Webb would not be allowed back for the Spidey sequel, it’s now been revealed that Fox is considering letting return under one condition: Webb now owes them two movies. That’s a huge commitment to make but, on the flip side, he gets to return to the popular franchise and direct the sequel.
From various interviews at the time of the movie’s release, Webb seemed unsure on returning. If this doesn’t change his mind, then Sony would have to find a suitable replacement very quickly.
Frankly, the sequel would suffer if Webb doesn’t return. He needs to stay on board in order to maintain the great relationship aspect of the first movie and a consistency in tone. Sure there were flaws with the first film, but he can only get better with the second one. It could also be jarring to see a different director finish the story about Peter’s parents instead of Webb himself.
Even if he does return, one has to wonder if he’ll still be able to round out the trilogy himself or if Fox will stop him from returning a second time. For now though, let’s hope he comes back to direct what may be the biggest superhero movie of 2014.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is set to release on May 2, 2014.
Do you want Marc Webb to return, or do you have someone better in mind to helm the sequel? Let us know in the comments.
Source: The Los Angeles Times
Tags: Fox, Marc Webb, Sony, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Watch Robert Downey Jr.’s First Iron Man Screen Test In Avengers: Endgame Featurette
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Classical music: Mozart’s music requires the rhythms of both speech and dance, says maestro Gary Thor Wedow, who will also restore lost libretto text when he conducts two performances of “The Magic Flute” this weekend for the Madison Opera. Here is Part 2 of his interview with The Ear.
The Madison Opera will stage Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s The Magic Flute this Friday night, April 21, at 8 p.m. and this Sunday afternoon, April 23, at 2:30 p.m. in Overture Hall of the Overture Center. (Production photos are courtesy of the Arizona Opera from which the Madison Opera got the sets and costumes for its production.)
Yesterday’s post was the first of two parts. It has a plot synopsis and links to more information about the cast and production.
Here is a link to Part 1:
https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2017/04/18/classical-music-mozart-masterfully-melds-the-sensual-and-the-cerebral-says-maestro-gary-thor-wedow-who-will-conduct-two-performances-of-the-magic-flute-this-weekend-for-the-madiso/
The opera runs about 2 hours and 45 minutes with one intermission.
Tickets are $18 to $130.
“The Magic Flute” will be sung in German with English supertitles.
For more about the production and cast, go to:
http://www.madisonopera.org/performances-2016-2017/the-magic-flute/
And also go to:
http://www.madisonopera.org/performances-2016-2017/the-magic-flute/cast/
Here is Part 2 of The Ear’s recent email interview with conductor Gary Thor Wedow (below, conducting in an orchestra pit):
Are there certain “tricks” or “secrets” that you try to bring to conducting Mozart? Have you conducted “The Magic Flute” before? Do Mozart’s operas in general and this opera in specific present challenges? Where do you place the opera musically, both compared to other operas in general and in regard to its place in Mozart’s work?
I feel keenly that Mozart and all 18th-century music (probably continuing to this day) is either based on a rhetorical idea or a dance form; that music is either speaking or dancing. This style of music is “pre-French Revolution,” so No Two Notes are Created Equally! The lilt of language or the buoyancy of the dance has to infuse every moment; hierarchy and shape prevail.
I’ve been fortunate to have conducted The Magic Flute frequently, in many varied productions; it’s always been a part of my musical life. Because it’s a fairy tale, it lends itself to inventive and imaginative productions. Stage director Dan Rigazzi’s production (below) for Madison Opera is a whimsical one, influenced by the surrealist painter Magritte, steampunk and more, all rolled into one beautiful show.
Mozart was fascinated with German Singspiel, as it was opera in the language of the people. The Magic Flute is his masterpiece in this genre, though there are earlier works. There is the early Zaide – incomplete, but filled with gorgeous, innovative music –and also the more mature, sumptuous and comic The Abduction from the Seraglio; they are both rich and entertaining pieces.
The Magic Flute, I feel, has a special place in the opera repertoire for several reasons: its Masonic connections that were very important to Mozart, the drama, and its central themes that trace themselves back to ancient Egypt.
It also is a brilliant combination of comedy and deep spiritual drama in the guise of a heroic rescue tale. It uses an incredibly wide range of the most beautiful music written in every major genre: sacred music, opera seria, bel canto, folk song and complex Baroque counterpoint.
What would you like listeners to pay special attention to in the music of “The Magic Flute”?
I would say “Hang on!” Whatever style of music we are in, we are going to switch gears in a fairly short time. It’s a roller coaster, an Ed Sullivan Show, American Idol, and the Barnum and Bailey Circus all rolled into one.
This is your third time conducting at Madison Opera. Do you have an opinion about Madison musicians and audiences?
My previous two experiences in Madison have been the Opera in the Park concerts in 2012 and 2016 (below). These have been among the most sublimely satisfying moments of my musical life: a cornucopia of music played by this brilliant symphony orchestra with great singers.
The audiences have been magically focused and involved; the players are magnificent, dedicated musicians, and the community is very supportive of Madison Opera. It’s electric.
Is there anything else you would like to say about the music or this performance?
Magic Flute devotees might be startled to hear some new text in these performances, particularly in Tamino, Pamina and Sarastro’s arias and the duet with Pamina and Papageno. “Bei Männern” is now “Der Liebe.” (You can hear it in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Let me explain by telling you a mystery story. After Mozart died, Constanze was desperate for money. Mozart’s Flute manuscript conducting score belonged to Schikaneder, the librettist and producer, but it seems that Constanze had another original score: the first original manuscript, which she then sold to a nobleman who eventually allowed it to be published.
This must have been a “composing score” that Mozart wrote first, before making the conducting score with the help of his assistant. The text deviates in several sections in notable ways. Probably Schikaneder, perhaps assisted by his Masonic brothers, “improved” the text, but Mozart had already shaped his music to the first text.
In most sections the differences are minimal and the new text was indeed an improvement. But in some cases I feel the original text was what inspired Mozart to write and orchestrate the way he did. Our marvelous singers have generously agreed to make the changes and I think we will all see how it fits the music so much better.
Sadly, Constanze’s manuscript was lost in the wars, but many scholars had already seen it and considered it to be genuine. I love how it shows how fluid the creative process is and how it spurs us to look anew at Mozart’s creative process.
On with the show!
Tags: 18th century, Abduction From the Seraglio, American idol, ancient, aria, Arizona Opera, Arts, Barnum and Bailey, Baroque, bel canto, choral music, circus, Classical music, comedy, community, conductor, Costanze Mozart, costumes, counterpoint, creative process, creativity, dance, drama, duet, Ed Sullivan, Egypt, electric, email, folk song, French Revolution, Gary Thor Wedow, genre, German, heroic, idea, innovative, interview, Jacob Stockinger, Juilliard, Juilliard School, language, libretto, link, Madison, Madison Opera, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Maestro, magic, Magritte, manuscript, Masonic, Masons, money, Mozart, msi, Music, mystery, opera, opera buffo, Opera in the Park, opera serio, Orchestra, Overture Center, painter, People, pit, producer, repertoire, rhetoric, roller coaster, sacred, Schikaneder, score, secrets, sets, show, singer, singspiel, speaking, speech, spiritual, steampunk, story, surrealism, surrealist, symphony, text, The Magic Flute, tricks, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, vocal music, war, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, YouTube, Zaide
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Spring into the Arts Downtown Celebration – Newton, Ks *Thursday, April 19th 2018 5:30 pm – 8:30 pm
In: Newton Ks
The Spring into the Arts Festival will feature a new downtown celebration on April 19th 2018.
This free event will be held from 5:30-8:30 p.m. on Sixth Street and in Krehbiel Park and the Carriage Factory Art Gallery in Newton, Ks.
Spring into the Arts Downtown Celebration will feature performances by local musicians and members of the Newton Area Arts Council, food trucks, art demonstrations and the announcement of the winners of the annual festival art contest.
The new event replaces “Art and Music in the Heart of Newton,” which the Newton Area Chamber of Commerce decided to discontinue in late 2017.
Food trucks will begin serving at 5:30 p.m. along Sixth Street. Vendors include LeJ’s Barbecue, Salted Creamery, Twisted Joe’s on the Go, Kona Ice and Comfort and Joy.
Live music begins in the park at 6 p.m. with the Newton Chorale, followed by a quintet from Newton Mid-Kansas Symphony Orchestra at 6:30; Newton Community Children’s Choir at 7 p.m.; Bethel College Academy of Performing Arts at 7:30 p.m; and Sounds of the Heartland at 8 p.m.
Photo Credit – Sounds of the Heartland
Local artists demonstrating throughout the evening will include Susan Bartel, watercolor; Mary Lee McDonald, mosaics; and Patty Morton, fabric sculpting.
Art contest winners will be announced at 7 p.m. in the gallery. Prizes will include $100 for overall winner and $50 for second place and art-themed gift baskets for youth prizes.
Additionally, information about participating members of the Newton Area Arts Council will be available at the event, including the Newton Murals and Arts Project, which will set up information on Sixth Street in front of the site of its first mural.
Graphic Courtesy – Newton Convention & Visitors Bureau
In addition to the downtown celebration, several other festival events are planned for April, including:
Berta Rojas and Newton Mid-Kansas Symphony Orchestra, 4 p.m. April 8 at Memorial Hall at Bethel College. Tickets available at the door.
Latin Fusion Music Showcase, 7 p.m. April 13 in Krehbiel Auditorium at Bethel College. Presented by Bethel College Academy of Performing Arts. Admission is free.
Kansas Mennonite Men’s Chorus spring concert: 7 p.m. April 15 at Bethel College. Admission is free.
“Newton Kids Create: Storytelling Through Art,” 1-5 p.m. April 22 at Kauffman Museum, North Newton. The event is the opening reception for an exhibit featuring art by students in Newton Public Schools. Admission is free.
Apple Blossom Festival, 5-8 p.m. April 27 at Newton Presbyterian Manor. Featuring performances by Newton Community Children’s Choir and Great Plains Jazz Orchestra, barbecue dinner, craft vendors and children’s carnival. Advance tickets are $8 for adults and $4 for children and are available at Presbyterian Manor and Midland Bank. Tickets will be available at the gate for $9 for adults and $5 for children.
Watercolor Roses Workshop, 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at Carriage Factory Gallery. Cost is $35 and includes supplies. RSVP by calling 316-284-2749.
Newton Community Children’s Choir spring concert: 3 p.m. April 29 at Shalom Mennonite Church, Newton. Admission is free.
For more information about the Festival or the Downtown Art Celebration, call the Newton Convention & Visitors Bureau at 316-284-3642 or go to www.tonewton.com/spring-arts-festival.html
Previous Post: We All Eat – A Free Hands on Learning Event! *Thursday, March 29th 2018 3 pm – 7 pm
Next Post: Autism Awareness Month at the Kansas Aviation Museum – Thru April 29th 2018
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SEC asks judge to hold Elon Musk in contempt after he tweeted incorrect information about Tesla
Posted: 7:45 AM, Feb 26, 2019
By: CNN Newsource
The Securities and Exchange Commission has asked a federal judge to hold Tesla CEO Elon Musk in contempt for violating a settlement deal reached last year.
Musk tweeted on February 19 that "Tesla made 0 cars in 2011, but will make around 500k in 2019." Hours later, Musk sent a follow-up tweet indicating that the company will actually deliver just 400,000 cars this year.
Although Musk corrected his mistake, regulators scolded Tesla's billionaire CEO because he "once again published inaccurate and material information about Tesla to his over 24 million Twitter followers," according to court papers filed Monday. The SEC noted that he did not ask for or receive company approval before publishing his tweet.
His October 2018 settlement with the SEC mandates that he receive pre-approval of any social media posts with information that's "material" to shareholders. Tesla agreed to establish a board committee to oversee those posts.
In a court filing, Tesla conceded Musk did not receive pre-approval for his posts, but the company claimed that he didn't need it. Tesla said the language he used was based on information the company made public 20 days earlier during its January 30 earnings call with Wall Street analysts .
Musk tweeted Monday night that the SEC "forgot to read Tesla earnings transcript, which clearly states 350k to 500k. How embarrassing ..."
However, the settlement agreement stipulates that any edits to pre-approved language need to be approved again by Tesla's committee. And even if it were verbatim, Musk would have needed new approval, because pre-approval expires after two days.
Also, the SEC noted that the language Musk tweeted did not have pre-approval in the first place -- because it was wrong. Tesla had said by the end of the year it would produce an annualized rate of 500,000 cars -- not 500,000 vehicles total in 2019.
In Tesla's response to the SEC, the company said its designated securities lawyer met with Musk after seeing his February 19 tweet, and the two drafted the clarifying tweet.
The SEC said in court papers Monday that Musk had not "made a diligent or good faith effort" to comply with the settlement. The SEC's court filing Monday sent Tesla's stock down 3% in premarket trading Tuesday.
Tesla and Musk reached separate $20 million deals with the SEC last fall to settle securities fraud charges against the CEO. As part of the agreement, Musk was forced to step down as Tesla's chairman. He remained CEO.
If a court finds Musk violated the settlement, Musk could face fines of up to $1,000 per day from when the court issued the order until a court rules that he is in full compliance, according to Urska Velikonja, professor at at Georgetown University Law Center.
"He just keeps pushing the envelope," said Velikonja.
The SEC can't ban Musk from tweeting, but it can stop him from serving as CEO, according to Charles Elson, chair of the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware.
"In other similar situations, CEOs at this point ... would have been terminated," he said, describing the SEC's latest action as "quite serious."
Elson pointed out that other companies "may end up in the same situation, and the SEC has to be consistent and firm on its enforcement of the disclosure requirements."
Musk initially got in trouble with regulators over a series of tweets last August about a potential transaction to take Tesla private. Musk said he had secured funding to take Tesla private at $420 a share, causing the company's stock to soar. But he had not secured the funding, according to the SEC.
Tesla and Musk's lawyers did not respond to requests for comment Monday.
Musk has publicly disparaged the settlement. In an an interview with CBS' "60 Minutes" in December, Musk said he didn't "respect" the SEC. He also claimed no one at the company was proofreading all his posts.
"The only tweets that would have to be ... reviewed would be if a tweet had a probability of causing a movement in the stock," he said. "Otherwise, it's — hello, First Amendment."
When asked how he could avoid moving markets if the company isn't reviewing all of his tweets, Musk said, "I guess we might make some mistakes. Who knows?" He added, "Nobody's perfect."
In its court filing Monday, the SEC pointed to the "60 Minutes" interview as evidence that Musk is "not serious" about the settlement agreement.
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Category:Honduras
From WikiLeaks
Safely chat about Honduras
Submit documents from Honduras
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Popular Honduras related articles
World Institute of Scientology Enterprises International Business Directory, 2006
US Special Forces briefing to Congressman Miller exposes involvement in 19 Latin American countries during 2009 including Honduras, 17 May 2009
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime: Audit of Regional Office Mexico and Central America (AE2006-366-03), 30 Jun 2006
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: Audit of UNHCR Operations in Mexico (AR2004-151-01), 26 May 2005
CRS: Consular Identification Cards: Domestic and Foreign Policy Implications, the Mexican Case, and Related Legislation, May 26, 2005
Legal description of the Hondurian "coup" against President Manual Zelaya, 29 Jun 2009
CRS: Agriculture in the U.S.-Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA), July 21, 2006
CRS: Temporary Protected Status: Current Immigration Policy and Issues, September 30, 2008
CRS: Central America and the Dominican Republic in the Context of the Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) with the United States, October 24, 2005
CRS: DR-CAFTA, Textiles, and Apparel, May 20, 2005
CRS: DR-CAFTA: Regional Issues, February 10, 2006
CRS: Honduran-U.S. Relations, September 25, 2008
Selected Disclosure Analysis
Latest Disclosures and Censorship
Legal description of the Hondurian "coup" against President Manual Zelaya, 29 Jun 2009
US Special Forces briefing to Congressman Miller exposes involvement in 19 Latin American countries during 2009 including Honduras, 17 May 2009
World Institute of Scientology Enterprises International Business Directory, 2006
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime: Audit of Regional Office Mexico and Central America (AE2006-366-03), 30 Jun 2006
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: Audit of UNHCR Operations in Mexico (AR2004-151-01), 26 May 2005
Pages in category "Honduras"
CRS: Agriculture in the U.S.-Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA), July 21, 2006
CRS: Central America and the Dominican Republic in the Context of the Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) with the United States, October 24, 2005
CRS: Consular Identification Cards: Domestic and Foreign Policy Implications, the Mexican Case, and Related Legislation, May 26, 2005
CRS: DR-CAFTA: Regional Issues, February 10, 2006
C cont.
CRS: DR-CAFTA, Textiles, and Apparel, May 20, 2005
CRS: Honduran-U.S. Relations, September 25, 2008
CRS: Temporary Protected Status: Current Immigration Policy and Issues, September 30, 2008
Retrieved from "https://www.wikileaks.org/wiki/Category:Honduras"
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Ketamine is a medication mainly used for starting and maintaining anesthesia. It induces a trance-like state while providing pain relief, sedation, and memory loss. Other uses include for chronic pain, sedation in intensive care, and depression. Heart function, breathing, and airway reflexes generally remain functional. Effects typically begin within five minutes when given by injection, and last up to about 25 minutes.
Common side effects include agitation, confusion, or hallucinations as the medication wears off. Elevated blood pressure and muscle tremors are relatively common. Spasms of the larynx may rarely occur. Ketamine is an NMDA receptor antagonist, but it may also have other actions.
Ketamine was discovered in 1962, first tested in humans in 1964, and was approved for use in the United States in 1970. It was extensively used for surgical anesthesia in the Vietnam War due to its safety. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines, the most effective and safe medicines needed in a health system. It is available as a generic medication. The wholesale price in the developing world is between US$0.84 and US$3.22 per vial. Ketamine is also used as a recreational drug for its hallucinogenic effects.
Source: Ketamine
<div class='wikipopsWrapper'> <h1>Ketamine</h1> <div class='wikipopsImageWrap'> <img src='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Ketamine2DCSD.svg/750px-Ketamine2DCSD.svg.png' class='wikipopsFirstImage' /> </div> <p class="mw-empty-elt"> </p> <p><b>Ketamine</b> is a medication mainly used for starting and maintaining anesthesia. It induces a trance-like state while providing pain relief, sedation, and memory loss. Other uses include for chronic pain, sedation in intensive care, and depression. Heart function, breathing, and airway reflexes generally remain functional. Effects typically begin within five minutes when given by injection, and last up to about 25 minutes.</p><p>Common side effects include agitation, confusion, or hallucinations as the medication wears off. Elevated blood pressure and muscle tremors are relatively common. Spasms of the larynx may rarely occur. Ketamine is an NMDA receptor antagonist, but it may also have other actions.</p><p>Ketamine was discovered in 1962, first tested in humans in 1964, and was approved for use in the United States in 1970. It was extensively used for surgical anesthesia in the Vietnam War due to its safety. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines, the most effective and safe medicines needed in a health system. It is available as a generic medication. The wholesale price in the developing world is between US$0.84 and US$3.22 per vial. Ketamine is also used as a recreational drug for its hallucinogenic effects.</p> <br><br>Source: <a href='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketamine' target='_blank'>Ketamine</a><div style='clear:both'></div> <script type='text/javascript' src='//wikipops.com/wiki-style.js'></script></div>
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Letters: June 1, 2018
Winnipeg Sun readers
Updated: June 1, 2018 6:14 AM CDT
In this file photo taken on January 08, 2018 actress Roseanne Barr attends the Disney ABC Television TCA Winter Press Tour in Pasadena, California.VALERIE MACON/AFP/Getty Images
This is a slippery slope one must take great care with. It’s all good to have all people take care of those who “can’t” take care of themselves. But what about those who “choose” to be that person. That one person who doesn’t like to confirm and be a contributing factor of society? And if Manitobans decide to save poverty, what about those who come from far to be saved? Then it becomes “Manitoba saves the world from poverty.” We as taxpayers can’t be burdened with all of the world’s problems as some would like us to be able to. So step lightly and don’t throw all the eggs in one basket before entering a deal with the devil.
Ross Owens
It’d be great if we could end poverty and suffering, but so far no one has been able to figure that out.
Canada great, but…
Let me preface this by stating I still believe Canada is the best country on the planet. This latest farce and mishandling of the pipeline “situation” in B.C. absolutely offends me and I am sure will be proven in the federal election, for certain by voters west of Ontario. In my 20s and 30s, I used to invest in Canada Savings Bonds. That was in a land long ago and far, far away. As taxpayers, we are now forced to invest in Mr. Dressup’s political scam. Yikes, ouch and HELP.
J.D. (Jim) Russell
If government inaction didn’t scuttle this project in the first place, this move wouldn’t have been needed.
Why cancel Roseanne?
I want to start by saying I for one don’t agree with what Roseanne did but why cancel the show? Rewrite it, kill her off, keep going. There are other people on that show who are more talented, more popular and people would watch if Roseanne wasn’t on that show. Call it the “Connors.” Bring in the remaining family members dealing with her “untimely death” and move on within the show. It’s just too bad the show had to be cancelled all because of one person. The network panicked without thinking it through. People didn’t watch because it was Roseanne, they watched because it was the “Connors.” A dysfunctional family unit that have real issues in life and how to deal with them in a teachable way. This is what TV is missing, reality that not “reality TV.”
C. Chamberlain
Given some reactions by cast members, they seem OK with it.
We can’t afford it
Re: “Sanctuary comes at a cost,” Editorial, May 26.
Kudos for your excellent editorial pointing open that when Justin Trudeau opened our borders to anyone seeking asylum, the cost to Canadians taxpayers to provide health care, housing and other social services have risen substantially. Considering the UN estimates there are 55 million legitimate refugees worldwide, Trudeau should have ‘thought before tweeting’. So far, Quebec has handed the Trudeau government a bill for $146 million for looking after the illegal, unscreened and undocumented border jumpers it has received. Now Ontario finds itself in the same desperate situation with a shortage of housing. Yet the Trudeau government seems unwilling to address this rising refugee crisis it created.
Larry Comeau
We need to close our borders now.
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AT 2019hpf
173.468065249 +39.3844160283
Discovery Report
Source Group
Pan-STARRS1
TNS AT
i-Sloan
Discoverer/s
K. C. Chambers, T. de Boer, J. Bulger, J. Fairlamb, M. Huber, C.-C. Lin, T. Lowe, E. Magnier, A. Schultz, R. J. Wainscoat, M. Willman (IfA, University of Hawaii), K. W. Smith, D. R. Young, O. McBrien, J. Gillanders. S. Srivastav, S. J. Smartt, D. O'Neil, P. Clark, S. Sim (Queen's University Belfast), D. E. Wright (University of Minnesota)
Tel / Inst
Obs-date range
i-Sloan PS1_GPC1 2019-06-14 06:53:16 - 2019-06-14 06:53:16 1
Obs-date
Mag. / Flux
Lim. Mag./Flux
Exp-time
Observer/s
71903 2019-06-14 06:53:16 20.2 0.14 20.7 ABMag i-Sloan PS1_GPC1 45 Robot
Time received (UT)
Reporter/s (Discoverer/s)
Discovery date (UT)
Discovery Mag.
AT Type
Internal name
Assoc. Groups
End prop. period
37924 2019-06-15 21:35:08 PS1_Bot1 K. C. Chambers, T. de Boer, J. Bulger, J. Fairlamb, M. Huber, C.-C. Lin, T. Lowe, E. Magnier, A. Schultz, R. J. Wainscoat, M. Willman (IfA, University of Hawaii), K. W. Smith, D. R. Young, O. McBrien, J. Gillanders. S. Srivastav, S. J. Smartt, D. O'Neil, P. Clark, S. Sim (Queen's University Belfast), D. E. Wright (University of Minnesota) Pan-STARRS1 11:33:52.336 +39:23:03.90 2019-06-14 06:53:16 20.2 i-Sloan PSN PS19bgj Pan-STARRS1
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This Court Decision in the Gavin Grimm Case Will Bring Tears to Your Eyes
April 10, 2017 | 10:00 AM
Transgender Rights
web17-GavinRally-1160x768.jpg
On April 7th, the Fourth Circuit overturned Gavin Grimm's win from last year, based on the Supreme Court's decision last month not to hear the case. Gavin had won the right to use the boys' restroom on the same terms as other boys but the school district appealed his win. The Fourth Circuit will now hear oral argument later this year to determine whether Title IX protects transgender students independently of any federal guidance on the issue one way or the other. Two of the three judges that considered Gavin's case, Senior Judge Andre Davis joined by Judge Henry Floyd, issued this moving opinion noting that Gavin's "journey is delayed but not finished" and recognizing Gavin's important role in the history of movements for justice.
I concur in the order granting the unopposed motion to vacate the district court’s preliminary injunction and add these observations.
G.G., then a fifteen-year-old transgender boy, addressed the Gloucester County School Board on November 11, 2014, to explain why he was not a danger to other students. He explained that he had used the boys’ bathroom in public places throughout Gloucester County and had never had a confrontation. He explained that he is a person worthy of dignity and privacy. He explained why it is humiliating to be segregated from the general population. He knew, intuitively, what the law has in recent decades acknowledged: the perpetuation of stereotypes is one of many forms of invidious discrimination. And so he hoped that his heartfelt explanation would help the powerful adults in his community come to understand what his adolescent peers already did. G.G. clearly and eloquently attested that he was not a predator, but a boy, despite the fact that he did not conform to some people’s idea about who is a boy.
Regrettably, a majority of the School Board was unpersuaded. And so we come to this moment. High school graduation looms and, by this court’s order vacating the preliminary injunction, G.G.’s banishment from the boys’ restroom becomes an enduring feature of his high school experience. Would that courtesies extended to others had been extended to G.G.
Our country has a long and ignominious history of discriminating against our most vulnerable and powerless. We have an equally long history, however, of brave individuals—Dred Scott, Fred Korematsu, Linda Brown, Mildred and Richard Loving, Edie Windsor, and Jim Obergefell, to name just a few—who refused to accept quietly the injustices that were perpetuated against them. It is unsurprising, of course, that the burden of confronting and remedying injustice falls on the shoulders of the oppressed. These individuals looked to the federal courts to vindicate their claims to human dignity, but as the names listed above make clear, the judiciary’s response has been decidedly mixed. Today, G.G. adds his name to the list of plaintiffs whose struggle for justice has been delayed and rebuffed; as Dr. King reminded us, however, “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” G.G.’s journey is delayed but not finished.
G.G.’s case is about much more than bathrooms. It’s about a boy asking his school to treat him just like any other boy. It’s about protecting the rights of transgender people in public spaces and not forcing them to exist on the margins. It’s about governmental validation of the existence and experiences of transgender people, as well as the simple recognition of their humanity. His case is part of a larger movement that is redefining and broadening the scope of civil and human rights so that they extend to a vulnerable group that has traditionally been unrecognized, unrepresented, and unprotected.
G.G.’s plight has shown us the inequities that arise when the government organizes society by outdated constructs like biological sex and gender. Fortunately, the law eventually catches up to the lived facts of people; indeed, the record shows that the 4 Commonwealth of Virginia has now recorded a birth certificate for G.G. that designates his sex as male.
G.G.’s lawsuit also has demonstrated that some entities will not protect the rights of others unless compelled to do so. Today, hatred, intolerance, and discrimination persist — and are sometimes even promoted — but by challenging unjust policies rooted in invidious discrimination, G.G. takes his place among other modern-day human rights leaders who strive to ensure that, one day, equality will prevail, and that the core dignity of every one of our brothers and sisters is respected by lawmakers and others who wield power over their lives.
G.G. is and will be famous, and justifiably so. But he is not “famous” in the hollowed-out Hollywood sense of the term. He is famous for the reasons celebrated by the renowned Palestinian-American poet Naomi Shehab Nye, in her extraordinary poem, Famous. Despite his youth and the formidable power of those arrayed against him at every stage of these proceedings, “[he] never forgot what [he] could do.” Judge Floyd has authorized me to state that he joins in the views expressed herein.
See N. S. Nye, Famous:
The river is famous to the fish.
The loud voice is famous to silence,
which knew it would inherit the earth
before anybody said so.
The cat sleeping on the fence is famous to the birds
watching him from the birdhouse.
The tear is famous, briefly, to the cheek.
The idea you carry close to your bosom
is famous to your bosom.
The boot is famous to the earth,
more famous than the dress shoe,
which is famous only to floors.
The bent photograph is famous to the one who carries it
and not at all famous to the one who is pictured.
I want to be famous to shuffling men
who smile while crossing streets,
sticky children in grocery lines,
famous as the one who smiled back.
I want to be famous in the way a pulley is famous,
or a buttonhole, not because it did anything spectacular,
but because it never forgot what it could do.
She needs to stayh out of the boys bathroom. She is still a girl despite what is said!
Fight for transgender rights - support the ACLU.
NCAA: Hold your line in North Carolina
Banning Trans Girls From School Sports Is Neither Feminist Nor Legal
Thousands of Voices Are Telling the Supreme Court: Don’t Roll Back LGBTQ Rights
Supreme Court Takes Cases of People Fired for Being LGBTQ
Patients’ Needs, Not Personal Beliefs, Come First in Health Care
Black Trans Women Are Being Murdered in the Streets. Now the Trump...
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Fewer Buttons, Less Effort, More Control
Preh Automotive (www.preh.com) has developed a human-machine interface (HMI) for luxury cars.
Preh Automotive (www.preh.com) has developed a human-machine interface (HMI) for luxury cars. Like BMW’s iDrive and Audi’s MMI, the Preh unit has a central control knob that can be rotated, pushed and tilted, though its range of motion is determined by the control strategy for each function. By restricting the operational paths, Preh engineers believe driver distraction will be reduced since navigation through menus will take less time and effort.
Blank buttons arrayed above the central controller are programmed to respond to the main function chosen. In this way, the same buttons can be used to control functions for the radio, seats, HVAC, etc. Pictograms of the various functions are projected onto the underside of the button via three colored LEDs, and feedback during button activation is similar to that of a traditional switch. The pictogram’s pixel edge length is 0.18 mm, which Preh says gives an image resolution comparable to that found on a cellular phone or PDA display.
In addition to the reconfigurable switches and control knob, Preh added a touch pad like that found on a laptop computer. Rather than use the control knob to input information into the navigation system, users point and tap instead of turn and push. The claim is that it is easier to drag a cursor across a map or menu, and tap when the desired icon or area is reached.
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affordable housing, Brooklyn, East New York, Major Developments, New Developments
‘Atlantic Chestnut’ development will bring over 1,100 fully-affordable units to East New York
Posted On Thu, March 29, 2018 By Devin Gannon In affordable housing, Brooklyn, East New York, Major Developments, New Developments
Rendering via Dattner Architects
A mixed-use development will bring 1,165 fully-affordable units to the Brooklyn neighborhood of East New York, an evolving community in need of new and preserved housing. Dattner Architects released this week new renderings of the development, dubbed Atlantic Chestnut after the two streets it will face (h/t CityRealty). The complex, which will include three 14-story buildings, sits on 4.5 acres and measures over a million square feet. The three buildings will be completed in successive phases, with the first scheduled to wrap up in 2020, the second in 2021 and the third in 2022.
The building, which is being developed for Phipps Houses, a nonprofit developer and manager of affordable housing in the city, will have sustainable features. Although it will not be considered a Passive House like Dattner’s other East New York affordable development, Chesnut Commons, Atlantic Chestnut will have solar Photovoltaic arrays on the roof and a CoGen system.
Residents will have access to amenities like landscaped courtyards and a “green ribbon” roof that runs along the ninth floor of each building.
The development is part of the city’s East New York Neighborhood Plan, an effort by Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration to foster affordable housing preservation and development and economic growth. The plan includes promoting commercial development, investing in new open spaces and transforming busy streets, like Atlantic Avenue, into safer corridors for residents.
[Via CityRealty]
Robert A.M. Stern’s affordable housing development in Brownsville approved by City Planning
Lottery opens for 47 mixed-income units in East New York, from $558/month
Find and apply for current affordable housing lotteries in NYC with this new map
All renderings courtesy of Dattner Architects
Tags : Dattner Architects
Neighborhoods : east new york
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Baby giraffe tries to walk at Cincinnati Zoo
Calf is 6 feet tall, weighs 100 pounds
By: WCPO Staff
CINCINNATI -- It's not surprising that Cece, a giraffe at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, gave birth to a 6-foot-tall baby. She's a giraffe, after all.
The surprising part: She spent only 30 minutes in labor.
Zookeepers noticed Cece wouldn't leave her stall to go outside Wednesday morning. She went into labor at 9:57 a.m. and delivered her calf at 10:27 a.m., an "unusually quick labor," the zoo said.
Cece and the calf will spend a few days inside, bonding, then go to the Giraffe Ridge exhibit with the zoo's other female giraffes, Tessa and Jambo.
Baby giraffes can walk within an hour of being born, but that doesn't mean there aren't some wobbles along the way! pic.twitter.com/bQDhqUEg5t
— Cincinnati Zoo (@CincinnatiZoo) July 28, 2016
Cincinnati Zoo Director Thane Maynard said the calf is healthy, and Cece handled her labor and delivery well -- especially considering she's a first-time mom.
"Her maternal instincts kicked in as they should, and we're hoping that Jambo was paying attention. She's expecting and due in about a month," Maynard said in a news release
Kimba, the zoo's male giraffe, will be kept in a separate yard, but zoo spokeswoman Michelle Curley said he'll be reunited with the group in a week or two.
It's the 14th giraffe born at the zoo since 1889.
More about the zoo's giraffe breeding program:
Cece came to Cincinnati in 2013 from the Kansas City Zoo on a breeding recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan. Kimba arrived in 2008 from the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence, Rhode Island. He's sired three calves with Tessa, and Jambo's calf will make him a five-time dad. Although their numbers have decreased in the past century, giraffes are not currently endangered, but listed as “lower risk” with fairly stable populations. Unlike many species, there is no true breeding season for the Maasai giraffe, and females can become pregnant beginning at just four years of age. In the wild, up to 75 percent of the calves die in their first few months of life, mainly due to predation.
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Standing Up Against Hate
How Black Women in the Army Helped Change the Course of WWII
By Mary Cronk Farrell
Imprint: Abrams Books for Young Readers
Illustrations: Archival images throughout
Standing Up Against Hate tells the stories of the African American women who enlisted in the newly formed Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) in World War II. They quickly discovered that they faced as many obstacles in the armed forces as they did in everyday life. However, they refused to back down. They interrupted careers and left family, friends, and loved ones to venture into unknown and sometimes dangerous territory. They survived racial prejudice and discrimination with dignity, succeeded in jobs women had never worked before, and made crucial contributions to the military war effort. The book centers around Charity Adams, who commanded the only black WAAC battalion sent overseas and became the highest ranking African American woman in the military by the end of the war. Along with Adams’s story are those of other black women who played a crucial role in integrating the armed forces. Their tales are both inspiring and heart-wrenching. The book includes a timeline, bibliography, and index.
"The text is accessible for middle school and high school historians who are intrigued by institutional racism or women in the military for research. It profiles milestones in the 6888th’s preparation and deployment, providing a well-researched understanding of the time period for black women in the military. The book is a gem."
— School Library Connection
"Farrell brings in the voices of the women, which provides clarity and understanding of what they experienced. She also highlights the role of black newspapers in keeping the community informed about the difficulties they often faced. The text is richly supported with archival photographs. The importance of this story is amplified by the inspiring foreword by Maj. Gen. Marcia M. Anderson, Army (Ret.), who makes a direct link between the determined struggles of those described and the achievements of African American women in today's U.S. military. The stories in this valuable volume are well worth knowing."
"Farrell explores the degradations suffered and resistance mounted by Black WAACs and WACs (when the corps became part of the Army) and follows the experiences of the 6888th Battalion . . . Readers familiar with Sheinkin’s Port Chicago 50 will be fascinated."
"An adventurous ride through the history of black women pioneers."
Teaching Guide
Mary C. Farrell is an award-winning journalist and the author of Fannie Never Flinched and Pure Grit. She lives in Spokane, Washington.
Major General Marcia M. Anderson’s military career spanned 36 years, and included many “firsts” including selection as the first African American female Major General in the Army, Army Reserve, or Active Army.
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Concert, Multimedia show & Fireworks display at National stadium #Abuja 27th Feb 2014 #Centenary
As Nigeria begins to wrap up the Centenary activities, this great nation is preparing for the biggest event of the century, “Nigeria: A Nation United”. On January 1st 1914, Nigeria’s journey to nationhood commenced when the Northern and Southern Protectorates were amalgamated into one country by the colonial authorities…. As Nigeria celebrates 100 years – we are celebrating a journey underlined by a determination to excel and remain united as a strong indivisible entity.
The Federal Government of Nigeria has directed that the celebrations be brought to a close in February 2014, with a grand ceremony, telling our unique story to the world. With over a thousand (1000+) cast and crew members from all over Nigeria, this story would feature state of the art technology, props and choreography on a canvass dominated by a unique stage, custom built to mirror our nation’s geography. It would be a fascinating night of history and spectacle, ending in a blazing display of fireworks. Watch as history unfolds at The Abuja National Stadium on the 27 th February 2014 at 6pm where there will be a pre-concert, followed by a spectacular Multimedia Show and Fireworks display.
Official MCs for the night are Ike Osakioduwa and Funke Akindele who will launch the pre-concert featuring some of the nations most popular musicartistssuch as TuFace, Wizkid, Ara, Nazir AhmedHausawaa.k.aZiriums, Threadstoneand Omawunmi among others.Observe as we also revive nostalgia and relive music from decades past featuring hits from Victor Olaiya, Victor Uwaifo, Ikemba Superstars, Nelly Uchendu, Rex Lawson, King Kennytone, Fela and many others! Keep up with the event by following the Grand Finale Multimedia shows social media platforms:
Facebook : www.facebook.com/proudlynigeria100
Instagram : www.instagram.com/proudlynigeria
Twitter : www.twitter.com/100nigeria
Website : www.nigeriacentenary.com.ng
Blog : www.blog.nigeriacentenary.com.ng
Posted at 04:28 AM in Abuja, Africa, Art, Centenary, Concert, FaceBook, FCT, Music | Permalink | Comments (0)
Read : The Jonathan they don't know . by Reuben Abati @Abati1990
The clear danger to public affairs commentary is that we have a lot of unintelligent people repeating silly clichés and too many intelligent persons wasting their talents lending relevance to thoughtless conclusions.
“THEY” in this piece refers to all the cynics, the pestle-wielding critics, the unrelenting, self-appointed activists, the idle and idling, twittering, collective children of anger, the distracted crowd of Facebook addicts, the BBM-pinging soap opera gossips of Nigeria, who seem to be in competition among themselves to pull down President Goodluck Jonathan. This army of sponsored and self-appointed anarchists is so diverse; many of them don’t even know why or how they should attack the president.
The clear danger to public affairs commentary is that we have a lot of unintelligent people repeating silly clichés and too many intelligent persons wasting their talents lending relevance to thoughtless conclusions. Hold on. I don’t want to be misunderstood. I am not saying nobody should criticize the Nigerian president. I spent some time learning that legal maxim: “volenti non fit injuria”. Public position comes with its own share of risks and exposure. But the twittering, pinging, Facebook crowd of the new age must be guided by facts.
Hold your stone. Don’t haul it yet. Shhh. Wait, Mr. Alaseju! I have spent the last 14 months working with President Jonathan. I have followed him everywhere. I can write a whole book on his Presidency so far, but you won’t get to read that until much later. I have heard that some people are protesting that they will not buy the book if it gets written. Well, your choice. What I can report, for now is that he is a grossly misunderstood President. Too many people are unfair to him. They criticise him out of ignorance. They abuse him out of mischief. And the opposition doesn’t make things easy at all. Can we look at a number of issues?
You say he is a clueless President. You are wrong. He is not clueless. Nobody is more committed to the Nigerian Project than President Jonathan. In spite of unforeseen challenges, which his administration has had to contend with, President Jonathan is doing his utmost best to positively transform Nigeria. Ordinary Nigerians know and appreciate this. Those parading themselves as leaders of the opposition, who claim that the President has lost the support of Nigerians, represent only themselves and their selfish interests.
President Jonathan is a clever, methodical and intelligent man, who is very adept at wrong footing all the persons who make an effort to second-guess or under-estimate him. He understands the complexity of Nigeria. He is acutely conscious of the historicity of his emergence as Nigeria’s No. 1. He knows that he is here as the leader of all Nigerians. He knows that he is a representative of all common persons, particularly the children of all blue collar workers who never wore shoes or got a chance to eat three-square meals, and whose mothers and aunties could never be part of policy-making processes.
When he spoke about not wearing shoes as a child, he meant that as a metaphor for the disparities in the Nigerian system, and the urgent need to redress inequalities. But I have heard some persons responding literally that Nigerians should never vote for a man who never wore shoes. How simplistic. Attention needs to be drawn to the fact that a rooted, people-sourced President, who seeks to transform Nigeria, and who campaigns on a platform of transformation, will necessarily be opposed by those who consider themselves the children of Empire builders, those who think that their ancestors built Nigeria. Wrong.
The Ijaws, the fourth largest ethnic nationality in Nigeria, have as much right to have their son as President as every other Nigerian group. But Jonathan doesn’t even dwell on this. I have never heard him utter an ethnic statement. He sees himself as the President of all Nigerians. He is at home with every group. He is focused on the challenges of nation-building. He wants to transform Nigeria. He wants to unite the country. He is determined to promote the country. And he is doing so already. He knows Nigerians want regular power supply. He is working at it. That is why we have crossed 4,400 MW.
He knows Nigerians want infrastructure. That is why he is telling Bi-Courtney to fix Lagos-Ibadan Expressway or get out. That is why he is telling a particular Minister to fix the East-West road and get it fixed quickly. That is why he has directed the relevant agencies to get corrupt persons to answer for their misdeeds. That is why he is strengthening Nigeria’s foreign relations. That is why he is transforming the agriculture sector, from a contract-awarding, fertilizer distribution enterprise into big business. And more… The reason President Jonathan does not go into a song and dance routine is because he knows that true rebranding of a nation is a projection of positive things that are already happening.
They say he is “tribalistic”. Not true. How many Ijaws are in President Jonathan’s inner circle? Very few, I can tell you. There are, of course, all kinds of persons who go about telling people that they have the President’s ears and eyes. They would even tell you that they think for the President! I used to have nightmares whenever I heard that, but it no longer bothers me. I have since learnt that some Nigerians consider it fashionable to wear false garments.
The Presidency qua Presidency is staffed by key officials from all parts of the country. The Secretary to the Government of the Federation is from Ebonyi State. The Chief of Staff and the Head of the President’s Secretariat are both from Edo; the Protocol Liaison Officer and Principal Private Secretary are from Adamawa; the Chief Detail is from Borno; the Aide De Camp (ADC) is from Kogi; the Perm Sec, State House is from Benue; the State Chief of Protocol is from Kwara; the Special Adviser, Media and Publicity is from Ogun; the Chief Physician to the President is from Rivers. Only the Chief Security Officer, the Special Assistant, Domestic and the Special Adviser, Research and Strategy are from Bayelsa.
When he is in the office, and he gets there early every day, and works till very late, he is exposed to all categories of Nigerians. He runs a modern and open Presidency. He is on Facebook, Twitter, email, SMS, BB, and he reads. And he writes. This is not a provincial President. The intelligentsia, his immediate community, should support him to do his work.
President Jonathan was the first Nigerian leader to appoint a woman as his Chief Economic Adviser as well as the Nigerian leader who opened up the Nigerian Defence Academy to women. And he took affirmative action in political appointments to a higher level by reserving 35 per cent of all appointive positions in government for our women folk.
The facts in this regard are incontrovertible. Under President Jonathan, women occupy very strategic positions (Petroleum Resources, Education, Co-ordinating Minister/Minister of Finance, Water Resources, Minister of State, FCT, Minister of State, Defence, Minister of State, Foreign Affairs 1, Minister of State, Niger Delta, and the headship of many of the MDAs. The President’s commitment to Nigeria is total. All his children school in Nigeria. Even his dress code promotes Nigeria.
They say Mr. President drinks. My friend and colleague, Etim Etim, called the other day to say that whatever may be the challenges on this job, he could affirm that I am at least enjoying. “What with all the choice drinks on every trip,” he said. I told him, “No, we don’t drink.” He protested. He thought I was lying. He had heard that kain-kain is a staple fare on presidential flights. I told him No. We are not allowed to touch alcohol. Alcohol is not served during official duties. Yes, when there is an international function, wine is served, but nobody gets drunk around here. That will amount to an act of indiscipline. The President himself does not allow alcohol to be served at his table. But when you go to social media, they tell you something else. Lies. Lies. Lies.
I have even heard that the President spends billions on feeding. Well, I have enjoyed the privilege of eating at the President’s table. What does he eat? Fish pepper soup. Cassava Bread. Slices of yam. Rice. Boiled plantain. Fruits and vegetables. He fasts when he chooses, and fasts all month during Ramadan and Lent. And because he takes his exercises and keep fit regime seriously, he eats very little. Okay, he drinks coffee. And yet there are people out there who keep claiming that there is a feast in the Villa every day. They say at every meal, the table is decorated with roasted turkey, and every delicacy under the sun. Lies. Lies. This President is not a glutton. We have a disciplined, hardworking President who enjoys his privacy, and the company of intelligent people.
Here is a man who is an epitome of loyalty and simplicity. The thing about the President’s critics is that they just cannot accept that someone with his simplicity can be their President. This is the Saul Complex. Saul could not accept the fact that somebody as simple as David could be favoured by God. And just like Saul threw the spear at David out of uncontrollable jealousy, these critics are out to throw any kind of spear to see which hits the target, hence all their lies about the President.
Let me end by saying that the President is a simple man but simplicity is not naivety. If simplicity were to be naivety, then the world would not be where it is today because it is simple men like Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Kwame Nkrumah, who have shaped the world that we live in by simplifying what others have complicated.
Reuben Abati is Special Adviser (Media and Publicity) to President Jonathan
Posted at 06:36 PM in Abuja, Africa, Current Affairs, FaceBook, FCT, GEJ, Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria, POLITICS, Society | Permalink | Comments (0)
Look i think President Goodluck Jonathan just passed the 500,000 mark on FB
President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria today officially has 500,078 people who like him on face book, could 1million be the next milestone?
Posted at 04:25 AM in Abuja, Africa, Current Affairs, FaceBook, FCT, GEJ, Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria, POLITICS | Permalink | Comments (1)
Tags: GEJ
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Picturing Derry, Londonderry
Picturing Derry is the first major photographic exhibition of Derry-Londonderry’s UK City of Culture 2013. Opening to the public at the iconic City Factory venue on 31 May, the exhibition brings together, for the first time, some of the most iconic images of the troubles in the city in one exhibition. Legendary French photojournalist Gilles Caron’s previously unseen major body of work during the Battle of the Bogside in August 1969 forms a major part of the exhibition. It also includes the work of other visiting photographers from around the world as well as images by local news photographers.
The exhibition is constructed of four main constituent parts, including the work of photographers from Londonderry including Willie Carson, Larry Doherty, Eamon Melaugh and Barney McMonagle. The artists bring their unique local knowledge to cast a light on some previously unseen elements of life in the city. Photojournalists from around the world covered the conflict and the work of Gilles Caron and Clive Limpkin became iconic images, known across the globe. Documentary photographers such as and Homer Sykes from the UK and Brian J Gill from the USA fitted the Derry’s conflict into their studies of working class lives and youth gangs.
Also included in the exhibition are pieces by Camerawork Darkrooms, a photography training collective established in the Bogside at the height of the Troubles with international curator Trisha Ziff. The collective used photography as a means to express community identity. Over the same period, the official British Army photographer captured surveillance images of the community as conflict zone. One gallery room tells the stories of these opposing perspectives. The city in conflict is also recorded in the unique insights of Sean Hillen and Victor Sloan.
Curated by Declan Sheehan, the photographs have been brought together to form the most substantial exhibition of a period of almost 30 years, covering many different aspects of life in the city from 1969 up to the late 1980s.
Picturing Derry, 31 May – 7 July, The City Factory, Londonderry.
More info on Derry-Londonderry City of Culture 2013 at www.cityofculture2013.com.
1. Aftermath of riots between Catholics and the Ulster police, Londonderry. Northern Ireland, August 1969, Gilles Caron. Photograph © Fondation Gilles CARON/CONTACT PRESS IMAGES.
START Art Fair, Saatchi Gallery, 26-29 June, London
START art fair is limited to 44 young galleries showcasing artists from around the world. It offers exhibitors a global platform to display their artists’ work at an important stage in their development.
In Conversation: Cornelia Parker, Aesthetica Magazine
Cornelia Parker is a British sculptor and installation artist who is interested in the potential of materials. In 2013, we spoke to Parker about her involvement with Glasstress: White Light / White Heat.
Matt Calderwood: Paper Over the Cracks at BALTIC 39
For his solo exhibition at BALTIC 39, Matt Calderwood will create a series of ambitious new sculptures which explore the impact of environment and process on simple everyday materials.
Aesthetica is a worldwide destination for art and culture. In-depth features foreground today’s most innovative practitioners across art, design, photography, architecture, music and film.
Subscribe to Aesthetica Magazine
New issues straight to your device from just £5.99
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Hidden Gems of Highway 395
Collected by Tommy Alexander , AFAR Staff
US Highway 395 makes a long, lonely sweep along the eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada mountains: from Los Angeles to Reno and beyond. Towering peaks fall sharply here to meet the dusty desert floor in a dramatic, open landscape. Marvel at the oldest trees in the world, the tallest mountain in the continental U.S., the inspiring backdrop to many a movie set, and the unique, hospitable individuals who make their homes here. Slow down, take your time, and discover the hidden gems of Highway 395!
Lone Pine, CA, USA
Until the moment we were behind the wheel, I was under the impression I'd be relaxing pool-side, piña colada in-hand, for 5 days in Vegas. Well apparently I misinterpreted the plan, because we were to spend half the trip camping in the desert—...
Mount Whitney Summit Shelter
Lone Pine, CA 93545, USA
Three adventurous fifty something (year olds), friends and busy So. Calif. moms (with a bucket list inspired by AFAR's experiential travel philosophy) decided to tackle Mt. Whitney in a day - 22 miles, 11 up and 11 back, with an elevation of...
Lone Pine Film History Museums
701 S Main St, Lone Pine, CA 93545, USA
Along highway 395 in eastern California is an unassuming building that houses some incredible pieces of film history. The Lone Pine Film History Museum has posters, cars, props and much, much more from the countless films that have been shot in...
Thai Thai Restaurant
703 Airport Rd, Bishop, CA 93514, USA
Hidden in the local airport of the small town of Bishop, California, is one of the best Thai restaurants in the state. Owner Weng-Cheong of Malaysia hooked-up with his Thai friend and cook, and as he explained, was "fated" to open this restaurant...
Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest
351 Pacu Ln #200, Bishop, CA 93514, USA
Walk amongst the oldest living things on the planet. It's eerie, a bit weird looking, and out of the way. Isn't that the way you like it? That's why I went. It's nice at night, as you can tell from the photo. The Patriarch Grove in the Ancient...
Paul Schat's Bakery
3305 Main St, Mammoth Lakes, CA 93546, USA
Paul Schat's Bakery is a local favorite, so the lines are a bit nuts, but if you are looking for fresh baked pastries before heading out to hike or ski (or any other outdoor activity in Mammoth Lakes) then you want to stop at Schat's. Dutch by...
Mono Lake, California 93541, USA
The colors and incredible rocks at Mono Lake draw you in. It is like no place I have ever visited. The rock formations are called Tufa towers which form in a variety of ways at Mono Lake. The most visible formations are the towers on the lake’s...
Mount Dana
Mt. Dana is a mighty but accessible peak on the eastern edge of Yosemite National Park. It's the second-highest mountain in the park, and it is also one of the most convenient to climb: Dana rises to 13,061 feet, but you can reach the summit with...
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EXTENDED INFORMATION NOTICE PURSUANT TO ARTICLES 12, 13 AND, WHERE APPLICABLE, 14 OF THE GDPR – REGULATION (EU) 2016/679 ON THE PROTECTION OF NATURAL PERSONS WITH REGARD TO THE PROCESSING OF PERSONAL DATA (“GDPR”)
The data controller releases the following information notice pursuant to articles 12, 13 and, where applicable, 14 of the GDPR with regard to the processing of personal data provided by the Customer/data subject by filling in and signing the Contract for the purchase of the products/services offered for sale by the data controller, by spontaneously uploading personal data to this website (in particular by filling in forms) or simply browsing the site.
1. Data controller and contact details
The data controller is AFRA Sas, with its registered office in Settimo Milanese (Italy), Via Carducci 38, VAT number 06242010152, e-mail afra@afra.it, web (http://www.afra.it).
2. Principles applicable to processing of personal data
Pursuant to the provisions of the GDPR, the data controller shall constantly endeavour to ensure that the personal data are: (a) processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner; (b) collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes, and not further processed in a manner that is incompatible with those purposes; (c) adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which they are processed; (d) accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date; (e) kept for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the personal data are processed; (f) processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security of the personal data, taking appropriate technical and organizational measures; (g) processed, if based on consent given by a freely taken decision by the Customer/data subject, on the basis of a request for consent submitted in a manner which is clearly distinguishable from the other matters, in an intelligible and easily accessible form, using a clear, plain language. The data controller shall adopt appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure the protection of the personal data by design, and to guarantee that, by default, only personal data which are necessary for each specific purpose of the processing are processed. The data controller shall collect and take utmost account of the instructions, observations and opinions of the Customer/data subject sent to the aforementioned addresses, in order to implement a dynamic privacy management system which ensures the effective protection of persons with regard to the processing of their data.
3. Manner of and procedure for processing personal data
Personal data shall be processed manually and with electronic tools, using logics strictly for the purposes stated below and in such a way as to guarantee the security and confidentiality of the data.
4. Purposes of processing personal data
(4a) Purposes for which personal data are processed
The personal data provided by the Customer/data subject shall be processed mainly for the performance of the Contract and the management of credit, and, more generally, for the management of the relationship arising from the Contract. Furthermore, the personal data may be processed for the selection of new staff, the distribution of products/services, the management of the suppliers and other circumstances arising from the request of the Customer/data subject or business administration. The provision of data in the Contract or subsequently, during the contractual relationship, for the purposes of the processing in question is mandatory; therefore, failure to provide such data or the partial or incorrect provision thereof shall render the execution and/or performance of the Contract impossible. The Customer/data subject will not be able to use the products/services offered by the data controller, potentially exposing the Customer/data subject to liability for breach of the Contract. The personal data provided by the Customer/data subject may also be subject to processing if this is necessary for the fulfilment of a legal obligation of the data controller, in order to safeguard the vital interests of the Customer/data subject or of another natural person, for the performance of a task of public interest or linked to the exercise of public powers with which the data controller is tasked, or to satisfy a legitimate interest of the data controller or of third parties, on the condition that the interests or the rights or the fundamental freedoms of the Customer/data subject do not prevail; here, as elsewhere, the provision of data is mandatory; therefore, failure to provide such data or the partial or incorrect disclosure thereof may expose the Customer/data subject to liabilities and sanctions as provided for by the Law.
(4b) Additional purposes for which personal data are processed following specific and express consent of Customer/data subject
Other than the above purposes of processing, the personal data thus provided/acquired may be processed, with the consent of the Customer/data subject to be given by selecting the box <> on the Contract or the Site (or using other social or web applications of the data controller) – for example, for market research and for commercial and promotional communications, over the telephone (also using the mobile number provided) and automated contact systems (e-mail, SMS, MMS, fax etc.) regarding products/services offered by the data controller or by companies of the Group to which the data controller may belong. Consent for the purposes of processing under this point (4b) is optional; therefore, following refusal to give such consent, the data will be processed exclusively for such purposes as referred to in point (4a) above, except for such cases as mentioned below with reference to the legitimate interests of the data controller or of third parties.
5. Categories of personal data processed
The data controller shall process mainly identification/contact data (name, surname, addresses, type and number of identity documents, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, tax/invoicing data etc.), and, if commercial transactions are envisaged, financial data (related to banking, especially details of current accounts, credit card numbers, and other data related to the said commercial transactions). The processing carried out by the data controller, both for the performance of the Contract and based on the express consent of the Customer/data subject, shall not concern, in general, particular categories of personal data that are recognized as sensitive (data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, the state of health or sexual orientation etc.), or genetic and biometric data or so-called judicial data (related to criminal convictions and offences). However, it cannot be ruled out that the data controller, in order to fulfil the obligations arising from the Contract, may be obliged to store and/or process sensitive, genetic, biometric or judicial data of the Customer/data subject or of third parties, which the Customer/data subject holds in his/her capacity as data controller; in the case in question, the processing by the data controller shall be mandatory, under the conditions and within the limits of the appointment of the data controller as data processor by the Customer/data subject. In his/her capacity as data controller with reference to the Site and, potentially, as data processor appointed (under the above terms) by the Customer/data subject, the data controller shall also process the so-called browsing data. Computerized systems and software procedures dedicated to the operation of websites acquire, throughout their normal operation, some personal data whose transmission is implicit in the use of Internet communication protocols. This is information that is not collected in order to be associated to identified subjects, but which, by its very nature, may allow the identification of the data subject. This category of information includes geolocalisation data, IP addresses, the type of browser, the operating system, the domain name and the website addresses from which the site was accessed or exited, information on pages visited by the users inside the site, the time of access, the duration of presence on an individual page, the analysis of internal browsing and other parameters related to the user’s operating system and IT environment. This is, therefore, information that, by its nature, allows, through elaboration and association with data held by third parties, the identification of users. Further, the Site may use both session cookies (which are not stored on the data subject’s computer and disappear once the browser has been closed) and persistent cookies, for the transmission of personal information, or systems for tracking the data subjects anyway.
6. Source of personal data
The personal data processed by the data controller are collected directly by the data controller from the Customer/data subject at the time of, and during, his/her browsing of the Site (or by using other social or web applications of the data controller), or, also via his/her own advertisements, on the occasion of, or following, the execution of the Contract, during the execution thereof, or from public sources. As mentioned above, the data controller, as data processor charged therewith and in order to fulfil the obligations arising from the Contract, may store and/or process data, especially browsing data, including potentially sensitive, genetic, biometric and judicial data which the Customer/data subject holds in his/her capacity as data controller, acquired with the consent of said third parties, at the time of, or during, the browsing by the said third parties of the Site (or by using other social or web applications of the data controller).
7. Legitimate interests
The legitimate interests of the data controller or of third parties may constitute a valid legal basis for the processing, on the condition that the interests or the rights or the fundamental freedoms of the data subject do not prevail. Generally speaking, such legitimate interests may arise from a pertinent and appropriate relationship between the data controller and the data subject – for example, where the data subject is a customer of the data controller. The following, in particular, shall constitute a legitimate interest of the data controller for the processing of the personal data of the Customer/data subject: for the purposes of fraud prevention, for purposes of direct marketing, to ensure the free circulation of such data inside the Group of undertakings to which the data controller may belong, or related to the traffic, in order to guarantee the security of networks and of information, i.e. the ability of a network or a system to resist unforeseen events or illegal acts that may compromise the availability, authenticity, integrity and confidentiality of data.
8. Circulation of personal data
(8a) Disclosure of personal data – categories of recipients
As well as employees and various partners of the data controller (who have been authorised by the data controller to process data based on adequate written operational instructions, in order to guarantee the confidentiality and security of the data), third parties, to whom/which the data controller entrusts certain activities or part thereof, may carry out certain processing operations which are useful for such purposes as referred to in point (4a), i.e. in fulfilment of both contractual and legal obligations, including, without limitation: commercial and/or technical partners; companies that provide banking and financial services; companies that provide document archiving services; debt recovery companies; auditing and financial statement certification companies; rating companies; persons who provide professional support and consultancy for the data controller; companies that provide customer care services; factoring companies, companies that securitise receivables or credit transfer companies; companies of the Group to which the data controller may belong; persons who provide commercial information; IT service companies. The persons belonging to the said categories shall process the personal data in question as independent data controllers, or as data processors, with reference to specific processing operations that are included in the contractual performance that the said persons carry out in favour/on behalf of the data controller; the data controller shall provide the data processors with adequate written operational instructions, with particular reference to the adoption of the minimum security measures, so as to guarantee the security and confidentiality of the data. Certain processing operations may be carried out by third parties, to whom/which the data controller entrusts certain activities or part thereof, useful for such purposes as referred to in point (4b), including, without limitation: commercial and/or technical partners; companies that provide marketing services institutionally; advertising agencies; persons who provide support and consultancy with regard to competitions and sweepstakes. The persons belonging to the said categories shall process the personal data as independent data controllers, or as data processors, with reference to specific processing operations that are included in the contractual performance that the said persons carry out in favour/on behalf of the data controller; the data controller shall provide the data processors with adequate written operational instructions, with particular reference to the adoption of minimum security measures, so as to guarantee the security and confidentiality of the data. The periodically updated list of data processors with whom/which the data controller maintains relationships is available on written request addressed to the registered office of the data controller. Personal data may also be disclosed, on request, to the competent authorities, in fulfilment of the obligations arising from provisions of the law.
(8b) Transfer of personal data to third countries
The personal data of the Customer/data subject may also be transferred abroad, namely to both EU countries and non-EU countries, and, in the latter case, either based on a decision of adequacy or in the context of and with such adequate guarantees as provided for by the GDPR (i.e., in particular, in the presence of model contractual clauses for the protection of data approved by the European Commission), or other than the above circumstances, under one or more of the derogations provided for by the GDPR (in particular, following the explicit consent of the Customer/data subject or for the performance of the Contract concluded by the Customer/data subject, or for the implementation of a contract executed between the data controller and another natural or legal person in favour of the Customer/data subject, notably for the performance of activities required by the data controller for the performance of the Contract concluded with the Customer/data subject). In the event of transfer of data to non-EU countries, the Customer/data subject may, on written request addressed to the registered office of the data controller, get to know the adequate guarantees, or the derogations, that justify the across-the-border transfer. It is hereby expressly understood that, in the event of transfer of the data to non-EU countries, for all requests concerning the data and for the exercise of the rights granted to the Customer/data subject by the GDPR, the Customer/data subject may always address the data controller.
9. Criteria for determining retention period for personal data
For such purposes as referred to in point (4a) above, the retention period for the personal data provided by the Customer/data subject and the potential subsequent processing thereof shall coincide with the statutory limitation period of the rights/obligations (legal, fiscal etc.) arising from the Contract, i.e. usually 10 years, unless in the case of acts that interrupt the limitation period, thereby prolonging it. For such purposes as referred to in point (4b) above, the retention period for the personal data provided by the Customer/data subject and the potential subsequent processing thereof shall end with the withdrawal of the consent provided by the Customer/data subject or, in the absence of consent, one year after the end of the relationship between the data controller and the Customer/data subject.
10. Rights of Customer/data subject
The data controller acknowledges – and facilitates the exercise by the Customer/data subject of – all the rights under the GDPR, especially the right to request access to personal data that concern him/her, and to obtain a copy thereof (article 15 of the GDPR), the right to rectification (article 16 of the GDPR), and to the erasure of the data (article 17 of the GDPR), the rights of restriction of the processing that concerns him/her (article 18 of the GDPR), the right to the portability of the data (article 20 of the GDPR, if the requirements are met) and the right to object to the processing that concerns him/her (articles 21 and 22 of the GDPR, for the cases mentioned above, and, in particular, in case of processing for marketing purposes or processing via an automated decision-making process – including profiling – which produces legal effects that concern him/her, if the requirements are met). The data controller also acknowledges – in cases where the processing is based on consent – the right of the Customer/data subject to withdraw said consent at any time, without prejudice to the lawfulness of the processing based on the consent provided prior to the withdrawal. For such purpose, the Customer/data subject may unregister from the Site (or other social or web applications of the data controller) at any time, either by using the link at the bottom of all commercial communications received, or by contacting the data controller at the above addresses. The data controller shall also inform the Customer/data subject of the right to lodge a complaint with the Personal Data Protection Authority in its capacity as supervisory authority in Italy and to bring court proceedings against both a decision of the Data Protection Authority and the data controller and/or a data processor. If the Customer/data subject intends to modify or delete the data provided through the Site, the Customer/data subject may apply to the data controller therefor. If the Customer/data subject has registered with the Site, the Customer/data subject may use his/her reserved area to exercise such rights as provided for in the information notice. If you wish to have your personal data deleted, we may not be able to supply you with the requested service.
11. Security of systems and of personal data
Bearing in mind the state of the art and the implementation cost, as well as the nature, the subject, the scope and the purposes of processing, as well as the risk, in terms of probability and severity, to the rights and freedoms of natural persons, the data controller shall adopt the technical and organizational measures that can guarantee a security level appropriate to the risk presented, especially by ensuring, on a permanent basis, the confidentiality, integrity, availability and resilience of the processing systems and services (for example, through the encryption of the personal data, where necessary), and the ability to promptly restore the availability of the data in case of physical or technical incidents, and by adopting internal procedures aimed at regularly testing, verifying and assessing the efficacy of the technical and organisational measures adopted. In assessing the adequate level of security, the data controller shall take into account the risks presented by the processing, arising, in particular, from the destruction, loss, modification, unauthorised disclosure of, or the accidental or illegal access to the personal data transmitted, stored or in any way processed. The data controller shall endeavour to ensure that anyone who acts under his/her authority and has access to personal data does not process them unless he/she has been authorised to do so by the data controller. Having said this, the Customer/data subject understands and accepts that no security system guarantees certain and absolute security; therefore, the data controller shall not be liable for acts or deeds by third parties who may access the systems without being duly authorised, although proper precautions have been taken.
12. Automated decision-making processes, including profiling
The data controller may carry out automated processing, including profiling, in relation to the purposes under point (4b) above, to optimise the browsability of the Site (or the usability of other social or web applications of the data controller) and to improve the purchasing experience, without prejudice to what has been mentioned above with regard to the rights of objection and withdrawal of consent by the Customer/data subject. “Profiling” shall mean any form of automated processing of personal data evaluating certain personal aspects relating to a natural person, in particular to analyse or predict aspects concerning that natural person’s personal preferences, interests, location etc., in order to create, for example, profiles, or homogeneous groups of persons by characteristic, interest or behaviour. The data controller shall not carry out any automated processing that produces legal effects which concern the Customer/data subject or which significantly impinge on his/her person, except where this is necessary for the execution or performance of the Contract, is authorised by the law or is based on the explicit consent of the Customer/data subject, acknowledging the latter’s right to obtain human intervention, to express his/her point of view and to challenge the decision anyway.
OTHER BRANDS SPARE PARTS
The experience of our group is not just about Alfa Romeo, it enters the sites dedicated to other brands.
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Reporting Africa Since 1960 18 July 2019
Umaru Musa Yar'Adua
Place of Birth: Katsina State, Nigeria
Died: 05/05/2010
Displaying 31-40 out of 152 results.
Vol 52 No 9 |
Governors, godfathers and guts
The most celebrated godfather and Governor James Ibori of Delta State won a privileged position for bankrolling Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s presidential victory in 2007 but fled to Dubai when Goodluck Jonathan took over the presidency last May...
A trap for the juggernaut
Maryam Yar’Adua daughter of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua lost her House of Representatives contest for Katsina to the CPC candidate Mohammed Tukur...
Results that are fit to print
In 2007 even the victor the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua admitted the election was seriously flawed...
So where did the money go?
Opposition parties claim that over US$27 billion is missing from state accounts managed by the People’s Democratic Party government under President Goodluck Jonathan and his late predecessor Umaru Musa Yar’Adua...
Vol 51 No 24 |
Atiku, Buhari and Ribadu - the great northern hopes
3rd December 2010
The amnesty that he and his late predecessor Umaru Musa Yar'Adua secured in the Niger Delta is coming apart; oil production and state revenues are falling (AC Vol 51 No 21 & AC Vol 52 No 23)...
In 2007 President Obasanjo's control of the Forum was critical in winning support for Umaru Yar'Adua's nomination...
All the President's militias
Jonathan continued the amnesty policy initiated by his predecessor the late Umaru Musa Yar'Adua and has been widely criticised for not consolidating it but exploiting the state patronage of former commanders in the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND)...
The gangs of Port Harcourt
Under an amnesty during the presidency of the late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua he was released in July 2009 and took refuge in South Africa...
The politics takes over again
Both ideas started under the late Umaru Musa Yar'Adua's presidency then ran into opposition from vested interests...
Goodluck with the numbers
Six months ago when President Umaru Yar'Adua was fighting for life most of the South-South governors refused to back Jonathan's claim for a formal elevation from Vice-President to Acting President...
A separate case continues in London in which Ibori and David Edevbie former Principal Private Secretary to the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua face charges of complicity in the theft of $38 mn...
The probity contest
It's not over until it's over
Islamists raise the stakes as they take on Yar'Adua
Why Jos burned
Looking for a specific issue? Search our online archive of over two decades of Africa Confidential
Volume: 60 59 58 57 56 55 54 53 52 51 50 49 48 47 46 45 44 43 42 41 40 39 38 37
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Copyright © Africa Confidential 2019
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NSFAS Receives 10 000 Applications For Free Education Bursaries On Day One
04/09/2018 | Filed under: Education,News | Posted by: Editor
NSFAS LOGO
Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister Buti Manamela says the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has received 10 000 applications for free higher education through its contact centre on Monday.
Manamela said this when he visited the NSFAS office in Cape Town on Tuesday to assess the progress for applications for the 2019 academic year for prospective students who qualify for free higher education.
Accompanied by newly appointed NSFAS Administrator Dr Randall Carolissen, Manamela said the response from prospective students has been very good.
“As you know, yesterday we officially opened the applications for the NSFAS for students to indicate that they want bursaries. My intention here today was to essentially look at what the first day looks like and I must say the numbers are quite alarming.”
He said yesterday alone, 45 000 people logged on to the NSFAS website.
“They also received more than 10 000 calls yesterday and I think it shows that the information has gone out there. Interest has spiked and therefore it means that capacity has to be developed here in order for us to respond all of those things.”
Manamela said the applications process is based on a new system, which means funding decisions are made quicker and they are easier for students to fill on those applications, irrespective of where they are.
“Some of the lessons that we have learnt are being integrated into the new [system],” he said.
Progress made to clear backlog of outstanding payments to students
Meanwhile, the Deputy Minister said progress has been made to clear the backlog of outstanding payments to students.
“What I am also excited about is the fact that progress has been made with regards to backlog issues.
“The number of students who have been waiting for payments has now been reduced.
“About two weeks ago when the administrator was appointed, it was up to [over] 60 000, and more than 23 000 of those have been resolved,” he said.
He said a team that has been deployed to attend to “crisis areas”, which includes UNISA, University of Venda, Tshwane University of Technology, Mangosuthu University of Technology and all the affected TVET colleges, is dealing with the challenges.
While the concerns that have been raised by students through labour unions are being tackled, Manamela urged students to engage with the new administrator.
He said the department has heard the plight of the students.
“Most importantly, we have heard your plight. We understand that it has been extremely difficult for students to be able to get happiness from NSFAS.
“What I would also like to emphasise is that we have received more than half a million applications and 430 000 of those have already been processed and yes, one student is one too many (sic).
“I also think that we need to look at the positive side and that a lot of work has been done by NSFAS staff in order to respond to the bigger challenge. What is urgent is to ensure that we resolve the backlog of the students that have not been paid and the administrator has given me his assurances that he will not withdraw his troops on the ground until the last student has received their remittances and I think that also gives us hope,” he said.
Carolissen said, meanwhile, that he has resolved most of the issues ever since he took over.
“We have disbursed book allowances to UNISA students – 25 000 of them. We have sorted out a number of administrative issues and I think it’s captured by the fact that we have disbursed R2.2 billion over the past two weeks.
“We are very pleased with the progress because NSFAS staff have responded very positively and they have worked very hard over the past two weeks,” he said.
SAnews.gov.za
Posted by Editor on 04/09/2018. Filed under Education, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
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AFR News, Featured, Loan Programs
Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of VA Loans
AFR’s dedication to our military men and women spans over the last two decades, but the VA loans that help us make financing possible for many of these families have been at work a lot longer. 75 years to be exact.
That’s why the VA Loan Program’s 75th Anniversary is certainly worth celebrating. This month in 1944 this fundamental pillar of the US housing industry was signed into law, offering numerous benefits to help generations of veterans and their families become homeowners. Whether you or someone you know is a veteran or active military personnel, this is the perfect time to get to know the history of the VA Loan Program and the opportunities within it.
Historic VA Loan Milestones *
• On June 22nd in 1944, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Serviceman’s Readjustment Act (also known as the G.I. Bill of Rights) into law.
• The first recipient of the VA Home Loan was Miles Myers, a captain in World War II who became a civil service employee on President Roosevelt’s staff.
• Nearly 24 million homes have been purchased by Veterans using the VA guaranteed loans.
• The VA loan has also worked with schools to have paid about $400 billion in education benefits to 25 million beneficiaries.
The Benefits of a VA Loan
Nearly 82% of all VA loans are made with no down payment as one of the only no money down options still available.* So instead of waiting years to save up for a home, VA loans may be able to help eligible borrowers move forward with a home purchase, as well as borrow additional funds for renovations on the home, all with zero down payment.
Locked-In, Low Interest Rates
Since eligible borrowers can purchase or refinance a home, and the cost of repairs or updates, all in a single mortgage loan, a VA loan provides considerable savings when compared with other programs that might require a second mortgage.
Fewer Added Costs
Eligible Veterans using a VA loan not only enjoy limited closing costs with a single appraisal, but there’s also no mortgage insurance requirement, which could add up to savings on monthly mortgage payments. And eligible borrowers don’t have to worry about being charged any prepayment penalties if they can pay off their mortgage earlier than expected.
If borrowers are experiencing periods of temporary financial difficulties and are struggling to make mortgage payments, the VA loan can provide assistance to help them retain their home. +
For the last 75 years, the VA Loan has enabled thousands of deserving families to become homeowners. At AFR, we’re proud to provide these benefits to the brave men and women who have served our country and will continue to help many more generations of veterans come home. To learn more about VA Loans and our other specialty loans, contact us today.
* https://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/75th-anniversary.asp
+ https://www.wearethemighty.com/military-culture/gi-bill-home-loan-entitlement?rebelltitem=3#rebelltitem3
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Manufactured Housing — What Is It and Who Is Buying?
AFR News
AFR University
Home Buying / Selling
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London, Clekenwell. 2017
Show Drawings
Completion: 2017
Clients: Vidris Real Estate Services
The redevelopment of The Ray will see the replacement of an outdated and unattractive building, reinventing a site that was previously occupied by the headquarters of a major British newspaper and media company. The new scheme proposes a mix of offices, affordable workspace, hospitality and retail set within new and enhanced areas of public realm that re-establish connections to historic streets and spaces. Connecting the City of London with King’s Cross, Farringdon Road runs through the heart of Clerkenwell – a centre for London’s creative industries – and provides some of the area’s most recognisable and prominent streetscapes. Surrounding the site are many converted Victorian warehouse buildings which had historically served trade in Clerkenwell and the railways at Farringdon and King’s Cross, ranging from five to seven storeys in height. The Ray offers a contemporary interpretation of this character, and complements and enhances its conservation area context. The proposal expresses the history of its Clerkenwell setting, referencing the area’s traditional massing, elevational approaches, and materials – particularly the use of brick. Four different brick bond types have been chosen for the facades: Flemish bond and English bond, which have been informed by the older buildings in the surrounding area; stretcher bond, reflecting the more recent ones; and the inclusion of headers, a contemporary addition to the palette. The headers are provided at ground floor, Flemish bond to first and second floors, English bond to third and fourth floors, and stretcher bond to fifth and sixth floors, including the use of glazed bricks at sixth floor. A number of brick colours are used within each of the defined areas, emphasising the bond types. The building is defined by the stepped form to its rear, providing planted terraces to the upper levels, whilst respecting the scale and amenity of neighbouring residential buildings. The development – due to be completed in late 2018 – will provide a total of 100,000 square feet of mixed-use space with a range of office floorplates, workspaces and retail units, activating the street in this part of Farringdon Road and re-establishing Clerkenwell’s special character on a long-unloved site.
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Alice Lloyd College’s Carla Booth named NAIA Women’s All-American
Carla Booth
The NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) has announced their Basketball All-American squad for 2014-15. Alice Lloyd College senior sensation Carla Booth was named to the Honorable Mention team.
Booth had an impressive season for the Lady Eagles. She averaged 23.92 points, 4.56 rebounds, 2.56 assists, and 2.96 steals per game per game. Her scoring mark was good enough to rank second in the nation as well as leading the KIAC Conference. Additionally, she also finished in the top 5 in the conference in both steals and free throw percentage, and was in the top 10 in both field goal and 3 point field goal percentage. Recently, Booth was selected as First Team All KIAC by the league’s coaches; this marks the third consecutive year she has received that honor. Furthermore, during the season, she was chosen as Conference Player of the Week.
Booth also broke the women’s school single game scoring mark on January 10th when she tossed in 45 points in a victory at conference foe Brescia University. She also connected on 22 free throws in that contest (out of 23 attempts), which were the most individual free throws made in a single game in NAIA Division 2 this season.
Booth, a Sports and Fitness major, is the daughter of Tommy and Tammy Booth of Warfield, KY.
The 2014-15 NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball All-Americans can be found here.
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Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Yuliya Snigir
Action > Action Thriller
Science Fiction > Creature Film
Horror > Creature Film
Drama > Urban Drama
Actor: Cole Hauser
A Good Day to Die Hard (2013)
directed by John Moore
featuring Bruce Willis, Jai Courtney, Sebastian Koch, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Yuliya Snigir, Rasha Bukvic, Cole Hauser
2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)
directed by John Singleton
featuring Paul Walker, Tyrese Gibson, Eva Mendes, Cole Hauser, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, James Remar
Pitch Black (2000)
directed by David N. Twohy
featuring Radha Mitchell, Vin Diesel, Cole Hauser, Keith David, Lewis Fitz-Gerald
directed by Brett Donowho
featuring Bruce Willis, Cole Hauser, Shawn Ashmore, Melissa Bolona, Sophia Bush
Tears of the Sun (2003)
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directed by Bruce Hunt
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Like Dandelion Dust (2010)
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The Hit List (2011)
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Paparazzi (2004)
directed by Paul Abascal
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All over Me (1996)
directed by Alex Sichel
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directed by Chris Fisher
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Tortured (2008)
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The Stone Angel (2008)
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A Shot at Glory (2000)
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Tara Subkoff
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TV ReviewsSpielberg
HBO’s Spielberg is a wide-ranging, but inessential portrait of one of America’s most popular artists
Filed to: Pre-AirFiled to: Pre-Air
Pre-Air
Photo: HBO
Susan Lacy
October 7, 8 p.m. on HBO
Edited from an unprecedented collection of talking-head interviews with the director and his friends, family, and creative collaborators, the new HBO documentary Spielberg offers a comprehensive career history of one of America’s defining popular artists. But what do its 145 minutes (an appropriately Spielberg-ian chunk of time) really tell us about Steven Spielberg, aside from the fact that the man has made a lot of movies? Not much. Even at his most thoughtful and challenging—in the likes of A.I.: Artificial Intelligence and Munich—Spielberg is mostly an intuitive artist, and his darkest pictures are nonetheless painted from an earnest, sentimental palette. Will anyone who’s seen E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, Catch Me If You Can, Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, etc. be surprised to learn that the director’s childhood was heavily affected by his parents’ divorce and the distance it created with his father? Will they be shocked to discover that the filmmaker behind Lincoln, Bridge Of Spies, and Amistad has strong, idealistic feelings about American values? Is anyone going to be blown away when they learn that Steven Spielberg—the Steven Spielberg—grew up in the suburbs and loved movies as a kid?
Of course not. Spielberg is a master of the obvious, and that’s exactly how director Susan Lacy chooses to present him in this documentary, which closely follows the formula of her long-running PBS series American Masters: plenty of journalistic access (including a once-in-a-lifetime roster of interviewees and plenty of vintage home-movie footage), but limited insight. Opening with a famous sequence from his favorite film, the David Lean epic Lawrence Of Arabia, it ostensibly tells the story of Spielberg’s development as an artist, though not always in chronological order, which yields some strange and clumsy results. For example, considering how often Spielberg references the director’s early life, the decision to not mention his Orthodox Jewish upbringing until the halfway point—that is, the part of the documentary that deals with Schindler’s List—is odd, nearly contradicting earlier sections.
As for the real nuts-and-bolts of the artistry—say, what makes a Spielberg movie shot by Janusz Kamiński different from a Spielberg movie shot by Dean Cundey or Douglas Slocombe—forget about it. Movie directors are professional conversationalists; the job is mostly talk, every scene explained repeatedly from different angles to producers, crew, actors, and editors before it ends up on a screen. But the anecdotes told here are old chestnuts; one can only hear about Jaws’ malfunctioning animatronic shark so many times. (However, the story about how George Lucas re-wrote Star Wars’ opening crawl because Brian De Palma couldn’t understand the plot is vastly improved by Spielberg’s screeching, whiny, over-the-top impression of the latter.) The Super-8 footage of Spielberg and the other directors of his generation palling around in the 1970s is a minor treat for fans, but it would take an avant-garde artist to draw some insight out of these grainy shots of Lucas and Martin Scorsese nodding awkwardly at the camera from a dimly lit kitchen.
Thankfully, Spielberg, the father of the modern blockbuster, has made so many classics and huge hits that Lacy’s overview doesn’t have to uncritically fawn over every one of his movies to justify his genius. It’s somewhat refreshing to see a stolid, workmanlike profile acknowledge artistic shortcomings, or even to hear the director himself admit to chickening out when it came to sex in his adaptation of The Color Purple. And yet, Spielberg is such a known quantity that one almost wishes that this documentary had a contrarian streak, or at least tried to defend commercial and critical failures like 1941. At least then, it might offer something that hasn’t been said a thousand times before. In other words, one wishes that it had a point of view.
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Friday 12:01am
The lo-fi comedy The Plagiarists has a deceptive literary twist
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About Manchester - St. James's Square
11 St James's Square
Manchester, M2 6DN
Email: mark.williams@avisonyoung.com
Avison Young in Manchester
Avison Young’s team has been operating in the North West since 2004 from its office in Central Manchester. The office has a mature multi‑service offer across Agency, Capital Markets, Building Consultancy, Project Management, Professional Services, Asset Management and Property Management.
The Greater Manchester area is the second most populous urban area of the UK with a population of approximately 2.6m which includes Manchester, Salford and several surrounding large towns. The city has internationally recognised strengths in finance, life sciences, engineering and the digital and creative sectors, according to Meetings Industry Association (MIA). The region also has a strong industrial and logistics market with approximately 60% of the UK’s population being based within a 2½ hour drive of the city, according to the National Census.
Manchester is the Centre of a thriving city region and is the largest and fastest growing economic area outside London with a gross value added of £56 Billion. The city has a highly skilled workforce with 7 Million people within an hour’s commute of the City Centre creating an ideal business location. Google, HSBC and the BBC are just a few of the large companies and corporations who have made their home in the city region.
The city is home to 80 of the FTSE 100 and 5 universities with a student population of over 110,000. Manchester is the only city in the UK to offer the next generation of broadband, putting it at the forefront of digital communication and is home to the biggest financial and professional services hub outside London, employing approximately 250,000 people.
Greater Manchester is one of the leading UK office markets. The City Centre has a total stock of over 20 Million sq ft with a healthy development pipeline. City Centre take up over the last few years has averaged around 1.3 Million sq ft and with take up to the end of Q3 2017 of 936,000 sq ft, the City Centre is on target to continue this high level of letting activity. Positive net stock absorption will be maintained in the City Centre market with new entrants concluding transactions over the following months. Growth in City Centre living has both removed tertiary buildings and sites from the office supply pipeline and provided positive impetus for occupiers seeking to employ a well-educated and readily available workforce.
The North West has the highest level of industrial stock in the UK with approximately 410 Million sq ft of accommodation and is one of the UK’s most successful and dynamic regions with a rising population and continued investments in infrastructure. Large projects such as Liverpool Two, the new deep water terminal at Liverpool dock, the Mersey gateway project between Runcorn and Widnes and the proposed new Terminal One at Manchester Airport will increase demand for the industrial market to serve these new gateways.
The availability of stock within the North West Region is at its lowest level ever at 6.9% leading to strong demand maintaining pressure for speculative development of prime sites and increases in rental levels.
Over the past two years, the North West Region has seen the strongest level of investment activity outside of London and the south of England. In Q2 2017, investment activity increased 5% to £659 Million, with over 40% of this investment activity being undertaken by overseas investors.
North West investment volumes are holding up well with new sectors including build to rent and hotels becoming more popular. The fundamentals for Manchester City Centre office developments remain strong and positive despite the increase in the development activity with positive net absorption during the course of 2016 / 2017. The industrial investment market is particularly active as a result of low levels of vacancy and upwards pressure on rental levels.
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Religious Conflict And Politics In Nigeria: Implication For National Development
2867 words - 12 pages
1.1. INTRODUCTION
The notion of religion suggests an attempt by man common thread to all the above perspectives, however, is to work out a relationship between humans and a super- that they all link religion to man’s physical and social ordinate or supernatural being. It was borne out of man’s environment. To this extent, it could be argued that, there endeavour to understand the supernatural in the context is largely an interaction between religion and the society of the world he lives in.
The need for political stability in Nigeria cannot be overemphasized. Indeed, all segments of the Nigerian society are interested in the political future of the nation. However, this ...view middle of the document...
The Oxford Dictionary of Words defines politics as “matters concerned with acquiring or exercising power, within a group or an organisation”. Nkem Onyekpe defines the term politics as: The struggle for power which itself is the authority to determine or formulate and execute decisions and policies, which must be accepted by the society. It is defined by Onyekpe (1998) as the struggle for power of governance, especially executive authority.
1.2.3. Conflict
Conflict could be described as a situation or condition of disharmony in an interactional process. It is a situation in which the activity of one is actually or forcibly imposed at unacceptable costs, materials or psychic, upon another. Imobighe (1992) points out that conflict is not limited to any particular level of interaction. In other words, it could occur at any level of human interaction and it often manifests violent activities.
1.2.4. Violence
Violence in Social Science could take several forms: physical, psychological, social, political, economic and even cultural. In criminal law, violent acts are regarded as violent offences; violent offences in turn have been defined as ‘crimes characterized by extreme physical force or by the means of a dangerous weapon’ (Juan,1996).Simply circumscribed, Violence or a violent act involves threat or actual execution of acts which have actual or potential capacity to inflict physical, emotional or psychological injury on a person or a group of persons.
1.2.5. Religious conflict
Religious conflict is a term that has been variously defined by scholars. These definitions are diverse and they all convey the single meaning of disagreement between the two or more religious groups. Hormby (2006) defines religious conflict as a situation in which religious adherents are involved in a serious disagreement or argument with one religious group and another. This is a situation in which there are opposition in ideas, opinions, feelings and wishes. Olite and Olawale (1999) sees religious conflict as struggle over values and claims to scare resources, status and power in which the aims of the opponents are to naturalise, inure, or eliminate their rivals. This definition very much suits, or reflects the conflict between Muslims and Christians in Nigeria. Gyuse (2006) further points out that when two more persons, groups, communities or nations seek to take possession or dominate a particular object of value at the exclusion of others, conflict ensures.
1.2.6. National security
The word security has to do with freedom from danger, anxiety and fear; a situation that shows that a country is not exposed to internal sabotage or external attack (Amadu, 1989). In the broader sense, security is seen as the struggle to secure the most basic necessities of life such as food, fuel, medicine and shelter (Obafemi, 2006). Any social unrest arising from the absence of these facilities can lead to human security problems. National security in the above usage...
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Home News (Multi-author)
ARC to have two interim college presidents over semester
TOPICS:Articles by Jeff GonzalesArticles by Zach TierneyCo-Byline
American River College interim president Marie Smith poses next to her previous portrait, taken in 1995, when she first took the position of president almost 18 years ago. (Photo by Emily K. Rabasto)
By Zach Tierney August 29, 2013
Co-Editor-in-Chief Jeff Gonzales also contributed to the writing of this story. It has been run under a single name, with this note, to overcome certain limitations of our platform.
American River College has two new presidents this semester. Dr. Marie Smith will fill the position as interim president for the first half of the semester, followed by Dr. Bill Karns, who will start on Sept. 28. Students and faculty may remember Dr. Smith from the nearly ten years she served the school as president, from 1995-2004.
“It’s wonderful to be back,” Smith said in an interview with The Current.
Both interim presidents are retired from the Los Rios Community College District and are under certain employment regulations. The time they are allowed to work for the school system is limited due to the California State Teacher’s Retirement System cap on the amount that can be earned by a retiree in a year. To bypass this problem they were both hired for only half of the fall semester.
“I’m hoping (the transition to Karns) will be seamless for students,” Smith said. “We are in weekly contact and I’m sending him copies of everything I’m doing.”
Smith also keeps Karns up to date on all of her meetings and any changes, as well as any events that will occur before Karns takes over the presidency.
She also intends to move forward with the student success plans that former president Dr. David Viar put in place.
“I don’t have an agenda,” Smith said. “My agenda is (to continue) AR’s agenda.”
She has placed an emphasis on helping students utilize the many resources available at ARC.
“We need to marshal all the forces to help you complete your goals,” she said.
Smith’s plans for her time here also involve preparing the school for the arrival of a new president in the spring. She believes that the school needs a good, effective leader who will be dedicated to the success of the students and the school in the long-term. She is also helping to prepare the school for its upcoming accreditation evaluation in the fall of 2015.
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Be the first to comment on "ARC to have two interim college presidents over semester"
Email: [email protected].edu
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You are here: Home >> Health >> Health Organisations >> Bangladesh College of Physicians and Surgeons
Bangladesh College of Physicians and Surgeons
Bangladesh College of Physicians and Surgeons has been the pioneer in developing post-graduate medical education in this country. Historically, the College bears a heritage to College of Physicians and Surgeons of Pakistan of which it was the eastern wing. Following the independence of Bangladesh, the College was recreated as a statutory body by a Presidential order, later on ratified by an act of the parliament, to steer postgraduate medical education of a vastly populated, poorly resourced and war ravaged country. With the grace of Almighty and under an ever-unfolding leadership of its fellows, the College has achieved the iconic status in the field of postgraduate medical education of this country. It has definitely been able to set a mark for others to cherish and chase.
Website http://www.bcpsbd.org/
Address 67, Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Sarani Mohakhali, Dhaka-1212, Bangladesh.
Phone 880-2-9845005-6, 9856616, 9884194, 9891865, 9884189 (PABX)
Category Health >> Health Organisations
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Bangladesh Paediatric Association - Bangladesh Paediatric Association (BPA) was founded in 1972. At present about 800 paediatricians from all corners of Bangladesh including all medical colleges are members of B
Bangladesh Society for Study of Pain (BSSP) - Bangladesh Society for Study of Pain (BSSP) was formed in 1997 with 11 (eleven) working pain specialists, which has become an affiliated Chapter of International Association o
Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh - The mission of Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh (CIPRB) is to prevent injuries by providing relevant information, methods and technologies. The guiding pr
National Institute of Preventive and Social Medicine (NIPSOM) - The National Institute of Preventive and Social Medicine (NIPSOM), the only national level public health institute under the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh was established in
Liver Foundation of Bangladesh - The National Liver Foundation of Bangladesh is a philanthropic organization dedicated to Prevention, Treatment, Education and Research on liver diseases in Bangladesh. Establi
The Bangladesh Society Of Ultrasonography - The Bangladesh Society of Ultrasonography (BSU) is the official organ of the physicians working in the field of Diagnostic Medical Ultrasound in Bangladesh. It was established
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Home > Administrative Proceedings > No Surprise Here: Courts Take Constitutional Complaints About SEC Administrative Prosecutions More Seriously Than The SEC
This is the first in a series of posts by my partner, Ken Berg, discussing the constitutional defenses to SEC administrative enforcement actions, which we are called upon regularly to defend. Each subsequent post will discuss one of the constitutional issues and report the current state of the law as to that defense. Ken’s next post will examine the Article II Appointments Clause issue and update the current state of the law as to this defense. – Alan
As has been well reported, both in this blog and elsewhere, after Dodd-Frank expanded the SEC’s authority by giving it discretion to obtain civil monetary penalties against non-registrants in administrative proceedings, the SEC embraced its new powers by vastly increasing the number of cases filed before ALJs. For FY2015, 80% of all cases were filed before ALJs compared to less than 50% for FY2005. (J. Eaglesham, “SEC Wins with In-House Judges,” WSJ, 5/6/15.) For FY2015, 419/502 settled cases were filed before ALJs compared to only 216/434 for FY 2007. (U. Velihonja, “SEC Settlements in the Shadows” 126 Yale L.J. Forum 124, 9/7/16.) Filing before an ALJ statistically disadvantages respondents. From October 2010 to March 2015, the SEC prevailed in over 90% of administrative cases (WSJ 5/6/15), while winning only 69% of the time in federal court. (J. Eaglesham, “SEC Trims Use of In-House Judges,” WSJ, 10/11/15)
The defense bar reacted to this change in two ways: First, various affirmative defenses based on constitutional rights were asserted in the administrative proceedings. Second, collateral actions were filed in federal district court to enjoin the administrative proceedings. The constitutional objections raised include: i) the manner in which SEC ALJs are appointed and removed violates the non-delegation doctrine in Article I and the Appointments Clause in Article II; ii) the SEC’s “unguided discretion” to prosecute before an ALJ or a district judge violates the Fifth Amendment rights to equal protection and procedural due process; and iii) the absence of a jury violates the Seventh Amendment.
Not surprisingly, at the SEC, these constitution-based affirmative defenses have not gotten any traction. The ALJs decided they lacked authority to rule on them. To no one’s surprise, the SEC on review has never held that any of these constitutional defenses has merit. One might think it is futile, therefore, to continue asserting these constitutional defenses in an answer to an administrative complaint. But, hold on ….
In contrast, the defense bar achieved some impressive initial successes in federal district courts. In Gupta v. SEC, 796 F. Supp. 503 (S.D.N.Y. 2015), District Judge Rakoff denied the SEC’s motion to dismiss a collateral attack complaint. The facts of Gupta are somewhat unique, however, because the SEC filed an administrative action only against Gupta after having filed nearly identical complaints for insider trading against 28 other alleged violators in federal court. Gupta argued that by treating him differently, the SEC violated his Fifth Amendment right to equal protection.
In Hill v. SEC, 114 F. Supp. 3d 1297 (N.D. Ga. 2015), rev’d 825 F.3d 1236 (11th Cir. 2016), District Judge May found that a registrant had a “substantial likelihood of success on the merits” that SEC’s hiring practices of ALJs violates the Article II Appointments Clause. Though as explained below, the Second and Eleventh Circuits have held that District Courts lack jurisdiction to decide these issues, this does not diminish the significance of the fact that these District Judges ruled favorably on the merits of these constitutionally-based defenses in well-reasoned opinions.
The SEC seems to have taken notice of these criticisms by the courts and modified its course somewhat. Between July and September 2015, the SEC filed only four out of 36 contested cases to its ALJs. (WSJ 10/11/15) For FY2015, it sent only 28% of its contested cases to ALJs compared to 43% for the previous 12 months. (Id.)
Unfortunately, for now, the Courts of Appeals have shut the door to the federal courthouse. Five Circuit Courts of Appeals have held that District Courts do not have jurisdiction to enjoin SEC administrative proceedings, finding that Congress intended these constitutional issues first be decided by the ALJ and SEC. Even though appellate review of an SEC final order comes years later after respondents have incurred substantial defense costs, the Courts of Appeals hold that this provides “meaningful judicial review.” As one dissenting judge notes, however, by that time respondents “will already have suffered the injury they are attempting to prevent ….” Tilton v. SEC, 824 F.3d 276, 298 (2d Cir. 2016) (Droney, J., dissenting). This issue is included in a petition for a writ of certiorari to the US Supreme Court in the Tilton case filed on January 1, 2017. The petition argues, “an error is an error, whether it is made once or repeatedly.” 2017 WL 281861, at *20.
Despite the SEC’s certain rejection of constitutionally-based affirmative defenses, respondents must keep asserting them in their answers to administrative complaints to preserve the issue for appeal. If the constitutional affirmative defense is not asserted before the SEC, the court of appeals may refuse to hear the issue on appeal. The one defense that has already made its way to court on direct appeal, the Appointments Clause issue, has been gaining momentum in the federal courts. See Bandimere v. SEC. On Feburary 16, 2017, the D.C. Circuit granted a petition for rehearing en banc to reconsider the panel’s decision affirming the SEC in Raymond J. Lucia Companies, Inc.
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Tags: Administrative Law Judge, ALJ, appeal, Berg, Enforcement, SEC
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Juan-Miguel Aguilar
Executive Director Spain
Juan-Miguel Aguilar, Executive Director Spain
As a specialist in the public administration sector, JM Aguilar worked for 11 years at the City Hall of El Puerto de Santa María (Cadix).
In 1992, he joined Aytos as Services Director and then became an Aytos shareholder. In 2008, following the acquisition of Aytos by Sage, he held the position of Sales Director and then became Director of the “Sage Aytos” Business Unit. In 2013, he was promoted to Chief Executive Officer.
Since July 2015, JM Aguilar has been Executive Director of Berger-Levrault Spain. He is responsible for all operations focused on developing operations in Spain and Latin America.
The other members of the Management team
Graduated with a MA in Statistical Mechanics and a PhD from the National Polytechnic Institute of Grenoble, Lehucher began his career in the public sector and then started up a Research and Development company [...]
Pierre-Marie Lehucher
As a graduate of ESSEC and EHESS, Guy Beaudet began his career as a local development agent for the Rhône Alpes region before becoming a senior consultant at Accenture. He then started up two companies [...]
Guy Beaudet
Strategy and Development Director
Mustapha Derras holds a doctorate in IT and systems, is an engineer from the Ecole Polytechnique Clermont-Ferrand and holds an Executive MBA from the ESSEC business school. [...]
Mustapha Derras
Research and Innovation Director
He holds a master’s degree from the HEC business school and is a member of the DFCG association. Derrieux began his career at KPMG before serving as Management Controller for 10 years at Berger-Levrault [...]
Xavier Derrieux
Christophe Gabette is a graduate of the Ecole des hautes études en sciences de l’information et de la communication (CELSA) at the Université Paris-Sorbonne. [...]
Christophe Gabette
General Affairs Director
As a doctor of physical sciences and a graduate of the Ecole Polytechnique in Paris, Tugdual Le Bouar began his career in 1997 at Motorola, then worked for Freescale on operational management assignments [...]
Tugdual Le Bouar
Market. & Product Dev. Director & Ex. Director CARL Software
As a graduate of Concordia University in administration, Charles-André Martineau began his career at PwC. In 2005, he joined PSP, a major Canadian pension fund, and helped to build its international private investment [...]
Charles-André Martineau
Executive Director Canada
Antoine Rouillard holds a master’s degree in economics and has been building his career for 25 years in software publishing and data processing. His successive experiences in sales promotion at Servant Soft, JD Edwards [...]
Antoine Rouillard
Gen. Dir. of French Ops. and Dir. of Int’l Biz Dev
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Partly cloudy early. Thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High 81F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%..
A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Considerable cloudiness. Low 68F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.
Blue Ridge Energy announced four members had been elected to its board of directors on June 27. From left to right: Jeff Joines of Caldwell district; James Burl (J.B.) Lawrence, Watauga district; James Young, Ashe district; and Bryan Edwards, Alleghany district.
Photo courtesy Blue Ridge Energy
A Blue Ridge Energy lineman fixes a power line after a wintry mess caused widespread power outages in Ashe County and across the High Country in November 2018.
photo submitted
BRE: No rate hikes in 2019
CEO says coal ash costs, new power lines could mean future increases
By Thomas Sherrill thomas.sherrill@mountaintimes.com
Despite several big infrastructure projects and trickle-down costs from Duke Energy’s coal ash cleanup, local electricity cooperative Blue Ridge Energy said they won’t be raising rates for a sixth straight year, but there’s still chances for rate increases in the next few years.
The news was conveyed by Blue Ridge Energy CEO Doug Johnson during the cooperative’s annual meeting on June 27.
“We’ve discussed this with the board and we know that we need to do this because our power costs have actually been lower than we thought they were going to be,” said Johnson, who noted he is in his 30th year in the position.
Part of the reason for continued rate stabilization is that Duke Energy, which provides wholesale power to BRE, is switching a lot of its energy production from coal to natural gas, which is at historic low prices, Johnson said.
Due to the lower wholesale power costs, Johnson said that members will be receiving bill credits in November and December totaling $7 million.
“We’re going to pass on those savings to our members,” Johnson said.
Coal ash cleanup costs by Duke Energy, which would be passed down to its wholesale buyers, was previously seen as a potential reason for a rate increase. But those costs were mitigated by the tax cuts the U.S. Congress passed, Johnson said. Without the tax cut, Johnson said there would have been a rate increase in 2019.
However, going forward, Johnson explained that the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality is telling Duke Energy to move more coal ash sites at a cost of $5 billion. The case is under appeal, Johnson said, and explained that any potential ripple effect from Duke Energy won’t be known for a year or two.
“We’re hoping (Duke) will prevail on appeal,” Johnson said.
Johnson gave an update on the $40 million, 17-mile 230 kilovolt line from West Jefferson to Boone, which he called the biggest project in terms of investment the cooperative has ever done. Johnson said the grading at the Rutherwood substation near the Food Lion at 1864 Old U.S. 421 was ongoing and that $15 million project will be completed in 2023.
The project will replace current lines that are more than 50 years old.
“This enormous endeavor, officially known as the Horse Gap to Rutherwood 230 kV Project, will expand our capacity, allowing us to meet the reliability needs of members in our mountain service locations today, as well as a half-century from now,” BRE’s annual report states.
In 2018, Johnson said the new Ashe and Watauga 230 kV line could lead to rate increases, but on June 27, Johnson said the cooperative is still figuring out how it could potentially impact rates in the next three to four years.
A new $17.8 million corporate office, right next door to the current office at 1216 Blowing Rock Blvd. in Lenoir, will be move-in ready in October, Johnson said. The building will be paid for and won’t impact member rates, Johnson said.
A future home-based solar-vehicle charging program was mentioned by Johnson, who said there’s a growing number of electric vehicles in BRE’s coverage area, and said that an automated metering program will be coming out in 2021.
The financial health of the cooperative, which Johnson and others emphasized, was reflected in BRE’s annual report. Released in May, the consolidated financial report noted operating revenues were $174,708,000 in 2018, up over $18 million from 2017. Operating expenses also grew by roughly the same amount, rising from $150,296,000 in 2017 to $168,505,000 in 2018.
Blue Ridge Energy is one of the largest electric cooperatives in North Carolina, servicing over 75,000 in a six-county area of Ashe, Watauga, Alleghany, Caldwell, plus small portions of Alexander and Avery counties, consisting of over 200,000 square miles.
As a cooperative, BRE is classified as a nonprofit and is run by its customers, or “members.” BRE does have two for-profit subsidiaries – Ridgelink LLC, a telecommunications company, and Blue Ridge Energies LLC, a fuel propane and district retail company. Both subdisaries have been credited in recent years by BRE executives, including on June 27, for lowering costs for members.
In the cooperative’s annual election of board members, Jeff Joines, Caldwell district; James Burl (J.B.) Lawrence, Watauga district; James Young, Ashe district; and Bryan Edwards, Alleghany district, were elected.
Lawrence, Joines and Edwards, who were up for reelection, were elected unopposed. Young beat out Chris Robinson for the Ashe County seat formerly held by Bradley McNeill, who did not run for reelection.
BRE said that more than 6,100 members voted in the 2019 elections, down from the more than 6,300 they said voted in 2018.
The 12-member board of directors is comprised of three members each from Ashe, Watauga, Alleghany and Caldwell counties. Board member terms are three years and one seat per county is up for reelection every year.
According to its 2017 tax filings, the latest filing publicly available, BRE board members worked between three and nine hours per week and made annual salaries between $22,000 and $27,198.
Doug Johnson
Ashe County
Two-car collision closes N.C. 88/N.C. 194 in Warrensville July 1, results in fatality
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Home ANS Reports Justin Bieber’s monumental return to Jesus
Justin Bieber’s monumental return to Jesus
By Mark Ellis, Special to ASSIST News Service
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (ANS – September 29, 2015) — In the last few years, singer-songwriter Justin Bieber’s bad-boy antics and run-ins with the law have alienated some of his Christian fan base and even led thousands to petition the White House to have the Canadian-born star deported. But recently, the 21-year-old pop sensation has reconsidered the error of his ways and made a stunning turnaround in his relationship with Christ.
In an interview with Joe La Puma for the Oct/Nov 2015 issue of COMPLEX conducted at the Montage Beverly Hills hotel, Bieber bares his soul about the dramatic restoration of his walk with Jesus.
“I forgot what I was about, what my mom raised me to be,” Bieber confessed to COMPLEX. “I veered off, and I got tainted. I came into the music industry at 13. I was trying to trust people and they’d break my heart at 15,” he says.
Bieber became disillusioned with people who took advantage of him. In response, he started to “do his own thing.”
“I got into a little bit of trouble,” he admits, “—nothing that other 20-year-olds don’t get into—just rebelling a little bit. Now, being 21, I’m coming into my own and around some pretty cool people who are not afraid to tell me what’s real.”
He says his behavior pushed the limits. “I was doing anything. I was doing so many things that I shouldn’t even be on the planet still. I think that it (my survival) was by the grace of God.”
During his time of rebellion, he says his manager, Scooter Braun always made sure he was safe and that situations didn’t escalate out of control. Sometimes Braun’s oversight as a “fixer” worked, and other times it backfired, he told COMPLEX.
The night he spent in jail was an unforgettable experience. “It’s freezing; it’s uncomfortable; there are people in there you just don’t want to be around. I had people who were yelling at me. They were saying, “Bieber! We f___ with you, bro! We love you! Aye! Keep your head up, bro!” It was kind of funny to hear that, especially from cats in jail.”
Bieber admits some people around him wanted him to rebel.
Following his epic break-up with Selena Gomez, his heart began to soften toward God. “Love is a choice. Love is not a feeling. People have made it seem in movies that it’s this fairy tale. That’s not what love is.
“You’re not gonna want to love your girl sometimes but you’re gonna choose to love her,” he continued. “That’s something in life that I had to figure out. I can’t lean on people. I got to lean on God. I gotta trust in Him through all my situations. Then, hopefully, my other relationships will flourish around me.”
After his turbulent adolescence, he also began to reflect on the limits of science and his place in the universe. “For a “big bang” to create all this is more wild to think about than thinking about there being a God,” he told COMPLEX.
“Imagine putting a bunch of gold into a box, shaking up the box, and out comes a Rolex. It’s so preposterous once people start saying it. At this point, my faith has gotten me to where I am. My faith has brought me to a whole other level. I love talking about my faith.”
Photo captions: 1) Justin dyes his hair bright blonde (a selfie). 2) Bieber arrested for DUI. 3) Bieber with Selena Gomez. 4) Justin praying with friends.
About the writer: Mark Ellis is senior correspondent for the ASSIST News Service and also the founder of www.Godreports.com, a website that shares stories, testimonies and videos from the church around the world to build interest and involvement in world missions.
You may republish this or any of our ANS stories with attribution to the ASSIST News Service (www.assistnews.net).
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Hawaii State Representatives Honored as BIO Legislators of the Year
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Monday, August 02, 2010) - The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) announced its selection today of Hawaii State Representatives Calvin Say (20th District), who serves as the Speaker of the House, and Clift Tsuji (3rd District) as BIO Co-Legislators of the Year in recognition of their leadership and support of the agricultural bioscience industry.
“Both Speaker Say and Rep. Tsuji understand and embrace the benefits of biotechnology and recognize its important role in fostering the growth of ag commodities like seed corn, soybean, sunflowers, and cotton. Their individual business expertise and understanding of the issues critical to the agriculture industry have benefited the people of Hawaii tremendously,” said Jim Greenwood, President and CEO of BIO.
Hawaii’s $200 million seed crop industry leads the state’s agricultural biotech sector and employs nearly 2,000 residents on the islands of Oahu, Kauai, Molokai, and Maui.
Both Rep. Tsuji, who currently serves as Chair of the House Committee on Agriculture, and Speaker Say, a previous Vice-Chair of the House Committee on Agriculture, have demonstrated consistent leadership and support for agricultural biotechnology as a means of creating a more abundant and reliable food supply by increasing crop yields, enhancing resistance to pests and diseases, and enabling farmers to grow crops in a more environmentally sustainable way.
“Speaker Say and Rep. Tsuji have been vocal proponents of agricultural biotechnology as an economic and fiscal contribution to the state, and the potential of genetically engineered crops to help feed the world,” said Fred Perlak, President of the Hawaii Crop Improvement Association. “For the good of the state, both of these individuals have worked effectively and tirelessly to minimize policies that would otherwise negatively impact this vital industry.”
Speaker Say and Rep. Tsuji will receive the awards tomorrow during a luncheon held in their honor.
Speaker Say was elected to the 20th District in the State House of Representatives in 1976. He represents the Oahu island communities of St. Louis Heights, Palolo Valley, Maunalani Heights, Wilhelmina Rise, and Kaimuki.
Rep. Tsuji was elected to the 3rd District in the State House of Representatives in 2004. He represents the Hawaii island communities of South Hilo, Panaewa, Puna, Keaau, and Kurtistown.
Upcoming BIO Events
BIO India
BIO’s Livestock Biotechnology Summit
September 28-30, 2010,
BIO Intellectual Property Counsels Committee Fall Conference and Committee Meeting
Advanced Business Development Course
BIO-Europe International Partnering Conference
Pacific Rim Summit on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy
BIO represents more than 1,200 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations across the United States and in more than 30 other nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of innovative healthcare, agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology products. BIO also produces the BIO International Convention, the world’s largest gathering of the biotechnology industry, along with industry-leading investor and partnering meetings held around the world. BIO produces BIOtech Now, an online portal and monthly newsletter chronicling “innovations transforming our world.” Subscribe to BIOtech Now.
Contact George Goodno<br />202-962-6660
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A new public energy tool to reduce emissions
Saleem Van Groenou
Climate and Earth Outreach Program Manager
Renewable energy, and the transition to a low-carbon future, has long been a priority for Google. However, there is still a long way to go toward the low-carbon future we envision.
Electricity generation from fossil fuels accounts for about 45 percent of global carbon emissions yet useful and accessible information to guide the transition to clean energy is still needed. Now with satellite data, cutting-edge science and powerful cloud computing technology like Google Earth Engine, we can achieve an unprecedented understanding of our changing environment and use that to guide wiser decision-making.
Today, the World Resources Institute (WRI) and Google, in partnership with leading global research institutions including Global Energy Observatory, KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, and the University of Groningen, are releasing a global database of power plants. This database standardizes power sector information to encourage providers to adopt a common approach for reporting power plant features—like location, fuel type, and emissions—in the future.
Global database of power plants
Drawing from over 700 publicly available data sources, this database compiles information to cover 80 percent of globally installed electrical capacity from 168 countries, and includes capacity, generation rates, fuel type, ownership and location. Making this kind of information open and accessible to researchers and scientists can help reduce carbon emissions and increase energy access. Power capacity and generation indicators can be used to develop a more granular understanding of the emissions created from the electricity we use, and to develop pathways to decarbonize electricity supply.
Information about power plants—such as location and size—can help researchers study emissions and air pollution at an international, national, and local scale. And, as a high-quality geospatial data source, it can also be used to augment remote sensing and enable machine learning analysis to discover a wide variety of important environmental insights. The data is now available in Earth Engine and WRI’s Resource Watch, where it can be easily combined with other data to create new insights.
Until recently it wasn't possible to monitor the health of Earth's critical resources in both a globally consistent and locally relevant manner. Making global data openly available for researchers is a core mission of the Earth Outreach team. By working closely with on-the-ground partners we can put this data into the hands of those who can take action. With the increased visibility into the power sector that this database provides, we see the potential to make the transition to a low-carbon future happen even faster.
Real-time bikeshare information in Google Maps rolls out to 24 cities
A circular Google in a sustainable world
New views of beauty and fragility in underwater Street View
Whale songs and AI, for everyone to explore
100 percent renewable energy, for the second year in a row
Working to map the air everywhere and help #BeatAirPollution
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Readers asked to play their part in Pass It On Week 2018
Musical partners...Felix Slavin and Andrew Pankhurst are ably backed by Rosie Gemmell (13), Sarah Edwards (12), Freya Edwards (14) and Calum Shand (12).
Julie Currie
Zero Waste Scotland is asking readers to help make sweet music for this year’s national re-use week, which runs from Saturday, March 10, to Sunday, March 18.
Most of us, at some point, will likely have fancied ourselves as the next rock God or Godess.
Outlander actor Sam Heughan, also known as Jamie Fraser, proves what a superstar he is by donating his own clothes, without prompting, to the 2016 campaign.
Sadly, the majority can only dream of playing like Slash or Jerry Lee Lewis.
So, after hitting a few too many bum notes on the guitar, piano or drums, we decide to content ourselves with listening to great music instead of making it.
But where are the instruments which once held our lofty dreams?
That’s the question Zero Waste Scotland is hoping people will ask themselves.
Guitar hero...Andrew Pankhurst, re-use campaigns manager for Zero Waste Scotland, has donated his own guitar to this year's Musical Instrument Amnesty.
For a Musical Instrument Amensty is now underway for the group’s fourth Pass It On Week in 2018.
If you have an instrument gathering dust in some long-forgotten corner of your home, why not let someone else show it the TLC it needs?
Andrew Pankhurst, Zero Waste Scotland’s re-use campaigns manager, is a keen guitarist himself.
And he’s putting his money where his mouth is – by donating one of his oldest instruments to the appeal.
Explaining why, he said: “In the research we’ve done, one of the main reaons people don’t pass stuff on is that they can’t imagine anyone else would want it.
“But an instrument never feels like that. Even if you’re not playing it, someone else will be able to.
“Pass It On Week is all about looking at what we no longer use and passing it on to have a new life with someone else.
“I’ve got an old classical guitar my teacher gave me which I’m going to pass on – hopefully, someone else will be able to learn on it now.
“The Musical Instrument Amnesty is a great way to not only get involved in Pass It On Week but to pass on the gift of music too.”
People all over Scotland are being invited to drop instruments off at local collection points so their own community can benefit.
Local groups and schools will re-use instruments to ensure everyone, no matter their means, can fulfill their own dream of playing.
And Glasgow-based Music Broth – the UK’s first musical instrument library – will act as an overspill service for any partners that end up with items they can’t rehome.
Founder Felix Slaven said: “We are happy to support any individual, group or organisation that wants to take part but doesn’t know where to send the instruments they collect.
“So if you want to get involved, we will accept your musical items and make sure they go on to have a long life as part of our library.”
While the amnesty is a hook for this year’s Pass It On Week, people the length and breadth of the country are gearing up to stage their own special re-use events too.
With shows like Money For Nothing and Kirstie Allsopp’s Fill Your House for Free, people are becoming switched on to the fact that while they may no longer have a use for items, other people might love them.
Pop-up shops and clothes swaps are also increasingly popular.
Actor Sam Heughan – Jamie Fraser to legions of Outlander fans – won even more hearts in 2016 when he donated some of his clothes for a Pass It On shop in the St Enoch Centre in Glasgow.
Andrew said: “He did it out of the goodness of his own heart. Sam approached us because he really wanted to support us – he was very passionate about it.
“We ended up with a lot of celebrity donations which we auctioned off for charity.”
Sam’s black pin stripe Aquascutum suit jacket, white Ralph Lauren wool jumper and Black Volley deck shoes raised £1767.
While we don’t all have celebrity budgets, the average household in the UK still has more than £4000 worth of clothes – some 30 per cent of which haven’t been worn in the last year.
That’s over £1000 worth of clothes, sitting unworn!
Which is why swapping and switching parties are becoming so prevalent.
“You get a chance to get rid of clothes you don’t want, while getting something you do want,” said Andrew.
“We all got caught up in sales or impulse buys, only to get them home and realise we don’t like them as much.
“But by swapping, you can give your wardrobe a refresh – without spending even more money!
“Passing stuff on or giving something a new lease of life also makes people feel good.
“And a lot of the time, it’s friends who get together to hold these events so there’s a fun, social element too.”
The first Pass It On Week was held in Scotland in 2015 and saw 161 events staged across the country, with everything from gardeners’ seed swaps to sports equipment changing hands.
Its popularity soared in 2016 when clothes were the theme and last year electrical items took centre stage.
Andrew said: “We had 580 collection points in 2017 which saw four tonnes of small, good quality electrical items being passed on.
“People had a lot of these items because they simply didn’t know where to take them for re-use or recycling.”
While this year’s theme is not as mainstream, Andrew is confident it will be a hit.
He said: “We’ve been really overwhelmed by the public’s support since Pass It On Week was first launched.
“This year’s amnesty is more niche but we’re still expecting to receive thousands of donations.
“The musical amnesty is simply a theme; people will continue to tailor events to their own interests and we’re happy for them to do that.
“What’s really heartening for us is seeing the culture shifting – re-using and upcycling are gaining more and more momentum.
“People realise that every item they buy has an impact and we should try to give it the longest life we possibly can.
“We don’t have to live in a throwaway society and people now have the power to influence that.
“That’s what Pass It On Week is all about – creating an opportunity right across the country for people to make a difference in their community.”
There’s more than one note to Zero Waste Scotland’s eco-friendly work
Funded by the Scottish Government and the European Structural Funds Programme, Zero Waste Scotland’s mission is to influence and enable change – from informing policy to motivating behavioural change in individuals and organisations.
Among its many achievements are annual savings of 990,000 tonnes of carbon emissions. Its Resource Efficient Scotland programme is a one-stop centre for businesses seeking advice on saving energy, water and waste. In its first three years of operation, it implemented lifetime cost savings of more than £200 million, as well as avoiding more than one million tonnes of CO2.
The organisation also supported the introduction of the five pence carrier bag charge which saw the distribution of single-use bags in our shops fall by 80 per cent in its first full year.
Zero Waste Scotland also helped to reduce household food waste by seven per cent between 2011 and 2015, supporting local authorities to provide food waste recycling services – around 80 per cent of Scottish households are now included.
Organisations signed up to the Musical Instrument Amnesty from the Outer Hebrides to the Borders will help ensure high-quality instruments of all shapes and sizes – from tin whistles to drums – are re-homed and given a new lease of life.
But Pass It On Week is not one dimensional either. As well as instruments, people will be swapping, donating, sharing and repairing a host of items, from electrical goods to clothing, from March 10 to 18.
Share your story using the #PassItOnWeek hashtag or, to find out more, visit the website www.zerowastescotland.org.uk.
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Community Wi-Fi – A Primer
When walking through a typical residential neighborhood today, all Wi-Fi access points in range are almost always locked, preventing access to anyone but the owner. Although subscribers pay for a certain high-speed broadband connection, bandwidth caps are not reached most of the time. An opportunity exists to optimize bandwidth resources for the benefit of the greater community, especially since cellular data networks are overloaded due to an ever-increasing number of users and resource intensive applications such as Google Maps, Facebook, etc.
Now imagine walking through the same residential neighborhood and having ubiquitous Wi-Fi connectivity from your neighbors’ access points. Instead of all access points being locked to visitors and passers by, everybody is able to connect. Phones (or any other Wi-Fi client) connect seamlessly from the coverage area of one house to another while neighbors still maintain the security and privacy of their locked access points. This scenario depicts a Community Wi-Fi network, and actually, it’s more real than you might imagine.
What is Community Wi-Fi?
Community Wi-Fi networks allow service providers to leverage unused capacity on existing Wi-Fi infrastructure to offer Wi-Fi network access to visitors and passers by. An operator can also use this excess capacity to offer services to retail and roaming–partner operators’ subscribers. The residential subscribers accessing the network from inside their homes have prioritized access to the Wi-Fi resources. The residential Wi-Fi infrastructure is configured in a manner that allows for a secure and independent access channel to retain service quality, safety, and privacy for both residential and visitor customers. Roaming users are only allowed to use the Wi-Fi network capacity that is not currently used by the subscriber at home.
Basically, the wireless Access Point (AP) in the home will provide two networks: a private one for the home owner/subscriber, and a community network for on-the-go subscribers passing through the neighborhood. While the user is at home, all of their Wi-Fi devices (smartphone, tablet, etc.) should automatically connect to the private network. When the user travels outside the vicinity of their AP’s coverage area, and passes in range of another AP operated by the same service provider, their client devices will be able to connect to the public network.
How does this benefit me?
A subscriber’s access point is made available to other on-the-go subscribers, adding to the number of access points within a Community Wi-Fi network. In return, the subscriber is able to tap into other shared access points within the Community Wi-Fi network. This gives access to the high bandwidth and speeds offered by cable Wi-Fi networks when on-the-go instead of having to use more costly cellular data networks. The subscriber is part of a community of shared Wi-Fi networks.
What about privacy and security concerns?
Traffic on the Public (Community Wi-Fi) network routes differently from that on the Private (subscriber home) network. At no point does a user on the Public network have access to any other device on the Public or Private network. The user of the Private network similarly does not have access to the traffic or devices on the Public network. All traffic on the Public network is sent through a secure tunnel to the core network before it is routed to the Internet, ensuring that traffic is separated between the two networks.
How far in the future is Community Wi-Fi?
It is actually already happening. A number of operators are planning or actively deploying community Wi-Fi networks. By year-end, Comcast Cable’s Xfinity WiFi network is expected to reach eight million hotspots. Community Wi-Fi deployments in the US alone are expected to reach a million APs this year. Many European operators already have large active community Wi-Fi deployments and are planning to expand.
Great! Where can I get more information?
CableLabs is working with our member companies and vendors to help solve challenges associated with the implementation of Community Wi-Fi. We are also working with Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) on publishing a white paper on Community Wi-Fi to be released in fall, 2014.
By Vivek Ganti -
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A Milestone in Wi-Fi / LTE-U Coexistence
Today is an important milestone for unlicensed spectrum coexistence - the Wi-Fi Alliance (WFA) has released its plan for testing how well LTE-Unlicensed coexists with Wi-Fi.
This culminates many months of work by many expert engineers within the WFA and its membership, including CableLabs staff. The outcome is that we now have a definitive set of tests, based on real-world consumer data, against which to judge LTE-U – and we can move past the competing technical studies that were the hallmark of 2015.
The WFA and its staff are to be commended for bringing all sides to the table on this issue of such importance for broadband consumers everywhere. The test plan, developed in record-time, is a product of compromise by all sides, and LTE-U proponents participated robustly in the process. There are a number of tests that CableLabs supported as important that ultimately were not adopted. But the final product is nevertheless essential – both in validating coexistence performance of any LTE-U device proposed for deployment, and as a sign that diverse industry interests can work toward solutions as wireless access becomes ever more important for consumers.
CableLabs will continue to be engaged as the WFA moves to implement this plan with authorized test labs. We look forward to a transparent process with results reported publicly by the WFA. As we move to this implementation phase, it is worth describing what the test plan does, in order to understand why it is so important.
At a high level, the test plan does the following:
Checks that LTE-U devices select the most lightly used channel, as LTE-U proponents say they will do;
Ensures that new Wi-Fi networks can access the channel when LTE-U is active;
Measures the impact to Wi-Fi throughput and latency from LTE-U; and,
Ensures that LTE-U adapts its use of the spectrum in response to variation in consumer use of Wi-Fi, as occurs in the real world, in real time.
And it does all of this at signal levels that have been shown with real-world data to be reflective of consumer use of Wi-Fi hotspots. These tests are necessary due to the well-documented shortcomings in the LTE-U Forum coexistence specification, and the lack of standardized test procedures to date, which has yielded vastly different coexistence conclusions. For more information on our views of the test procedures, see Jennifer Andreoli-Fang’s contribution to the August workshop of the WFA, which is available here.
Reasonable compromises have been made by all sides in developing this test plan. It is time to move forward using the outcome of this process, in full, as the sole source of reliable determinations of LTE-U coexistence.
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Exodus 24Exodus 26
Exodus 25:9 New King James Version (NKJV)
9 According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it.
Exodus 25:9 in all English translations
Exodus 25:40 New King James Version (NKJV)
40 And see to it that you make them according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain.
Exodus 25:40 : Ex. 25:9; 26:30; Num. 8:4; 1 Chr. 28:11, 19; Acts 7:44; [Heb. 8:5]
Exodus 25:40 in all English translations
8 You shall make it hollow with boards; as it was shown you on the mountain, so shall they make it.
Exodus 27:8 : Ex. 25:40; 26:30; Acts 7:44; [Heb. 8:5]
The Work Completed
32 Thus all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting was finished. And the children of Israel did according to all that the Lord had commanded Moses; so they did.
Exodus 39:32 : Ex. 35:10–19
Exodus 39:32 : Ex. 40:17
Exodus 39:32 : Ex. 25:40; 39:42, 43
Numbers 8:4
Numbers 7Numbers 9
Numbers 8:4 New King James Version (NKJV)
4 Now this workmanship of the lampstand was hammered gold; from its shaft to its flowers it was hammered work. According to the pattern which the Lord had shown Moses, so he made the lampstand.
Numbers 8:4 : Ex. 25:31
Numbers 8:4 : Ex. 25:40; Acts 7:44
Numbers 8:4 in all English translations
Acts 6Acts 8
Acts 7:44 New King James Version (NKJV)
God’s True Tabernacle
44 “Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as He appointed, instructing Moses to make it according to the pattern that he had seen,
Acts 7:44 : Ex. 25:40; [Heb. 8:5]
Acts 7:44 in all English translations
Hebrews 7Hebrews 9
Hebrews 8:2 New King James Version (NKJV)
2 a Minister of the [a]sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man.
Hebrews 8:2 Lit. holies
Hebrews 8:2 : Heb. 9:8, 12
Hebrews 8:2 : Heb. 9:11, 24
Hebrews 8:2 in all English translations
5 who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, “See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”
Hebrews 8:5 : Col. 2:17; Heb. 10:1
Hebrews 8:5 : Ex. 25:40
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The Best Books of 2010: Business, Life & Mind
A Rare Archive: The Lost Beatles Photographs
Ways of Seeing: John Berger’s Classic 1972 BBC Critique of Consumer Culture
The First Forty Years of NPR: The Making of a Cultural Icon
Since its inception in 1970, NPR has “always put the listener first” — a mission not always friction-free at times of political turmoil, government overregulation and divided public opinion. This year, the iconic public broadcaster celebrates its 40th anniversary with This Is NPR: The First Forty Years, a beautifully designed anthology of behind-the-scenes photos, essays and original reporting, and NPR: The First Forty Years, a companion 4-CD compilation featuring some of the most memorable moments from 40 years of news, culture, conversation and commentary. (A thematic continuation of the wonderful All Facts Considered compendium by NPR’s lovable librarian, which we featured earlier this week.)
We were ambitious from the beginning. We started literally almost on shoestrings, tin cans and strings. A handful of five reporters, almost no resources and this tiny number of stations. But we knew we were into something that was going to be very important.”
The book covers historical milestones of all kinds, from the fall of the Berlin Wall to 9/11 to Obama’s election, and the audio compilation features exclusive commentaries and reflections by some of NPR’s greatest icons, Susan Stamberg, Robert Siegel, Scott Simon, Daniel Schorr, Noah Adams, Cokie Roberts and David Sedaris.
Together, the anniversary duo is a priceless timecapsule of seminal journalism and cultural curation at its finest — we couldn’t recommend it more.
https://www.brainpickings.org/2010/12/03/npr-the-first-40-years/
booksculturehistorypolitics
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Survey of London: Volumes 43 and 44, Poplar, Blackwall and Isle of Dogs
Public Housing in Poplar: Introduction
Survey of London: Volumes 43 and 44, Poplar, Blackwall and Isle of Dogs. Originally published by London County Council, London, 1994.
Public Housing in Poplar
The dominance of public housing in Poplar's built environment is a relatively recent phenomenon. (fn. 1) Most of it was built between 1950 and 1980, and by 1981, 97.6 per cent of all dwellings in the Borough of Tower Hamlets (formed in 1965 and including Poplar) were owned by local authorities. (fn. 2)
Despite the many working-class families in the area and the poor condition of much of the housing, very little public housing was built in Poplar during the nineteenth century. The dock companies provided only a minimal accommodation for their enormous workforce, and none of the early philanthropic housing societies built anything in the area. Some tenement blocks and a few cottages were built in the 1890s and early 1900s by the London County Council (LCC) in connection with the building of the Blackwall Tunnel. After 1906, however, the LCC concentrated its efforts on developing cottage estates in outer London and built scarcely anything more in Poplar until the 1930s. With no state housing subsidy, Poplar Borough Council found it impossible to build any dwellings before the First World War.
The government subsidies offered by the 1919 and subsequent Housing Acts induced the Borough Council to embark upon a housing programme extending throughout the 1920s, and comprising a mixture of cottage estates and blocks of flats. In the 1930s the LCC changed its policy and, as a result, both councils erected well over twice as many dwellings as in the previous decade, almost exclusively blocks of flats for rehousing as part of the national drive against slums and overcrowded conditions.
The period immediately after the 1939–45 war was taken up with providing sufficient temporary housing for those made homeless during the war. Because of this and the post-war economic crisis, construction of permanent new housing did not really begin until the 1950s. Up to about 1980, most of the older, nineteenth-century private terraced housing was swept away and replaced by a series of large council estates – a legacy of war damage and the result of the local authorities' policy of comprehensive redevelopment. These estates consisted mainly of blocks of flats, although in contrast to some other parts of London, there were relatively few high-rise blocks. This great rebuilding reached a peak in the later 1960s and early 1970s.
From the later 1970s the number of new council dwellings declined drastically, and none has been built in Poplar since 1983. Indeed, the 1980s saw a slight depletion in the public housing stock, with some dwellings being sold to their tenants. In 1985 all local authority housing passed to the ownership of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which became the sole housing authority for the district. In the later 1980s attention shifted to improving the existing council housing, and an extensive programme of refurbishment and modernization – sometimes involving the almost total transformation of exterior appearances – is still under way in the 1990s.
Since the 1920s, various housing associations or similar agencies have also built public housing in Poplar, but in terms of quantity their contribution has been minor. The balance shifted in the early 1990s, when the only public housing being built in the area was under the aegis of such organizations. The Housing Acts of 1988 and 1989 had aimed to establish housing associations, rather than local authorities, as the prime instigators and managers of public housing, but it is too early to say whether this aim will be realized.
1. The term public housing covers that erected by local authorities, by housing societies and association, and by other organizations in receipt of a state housing subsidy.
2. Guardian, 3 July 1981, p.15.
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Brunswick Review Issue 9
The use and abuse of numbers
Alastair Morton
Numbers can clarify or they can confuse. The rise of Big Data means communicators need to understand the risks, say Brunswick’s Jon Miller and Alastair Morton
A few years ago, University of California researchers spotted a curious phenomenon: companies tend to underperform after a CEO wins a prominent accolade in the business media – from Forbes, say, or Bloomberg Businessweek. Superstar CEOs, the researchers suggested, were likely to spend more time writing books and sitting on outside boards than their peers, thus neglecting their own businesses. It makes a great story. The New York Times went so far as to call the phenomenon “the curse of the business press.”
However, a better explanation may be a simple case of reversion to the mean. From a high peak in performance, the most likely road is down. Above-average earnings reports tend to be followed by lower results. The so-called “curse” may be, in fact, just mathematics.
Numbers are a valuable tool in professional storytelling. Nothing drives a point home like a big, juicy statistic. But numbers also hold many traps and pitfalls that can create misrepresentations of the truth. Working at speed in a high-pressure environment, it is easy for those involved in corporate communications to let a number tell us what we want it to – a case of confirmation bias, interpreting information in a way that confirms our view of the world.
The use of percentages is another area rife with misuse and abuse. A headline may read, “Profits up 25 percent.” A big jump? Perhaps, or it could mean a steady increase in profitability from 4 percent to 5 percent. You could say that profits have increased by 25 percent, or that profitability has risen by a single point; both are correct. Clarity demands more explanation.
Of course, if the intention is to muddle or mislead, percentages are particularly useful. Customers seeing “50 percent extra free” on a bottle of cola will think half of it is free, but of course only a third (33 percent) of the bottle is free. If you hear that a specific risk has risen 100 percent, that may just mean the risk has increased from one in a million to two in a million.
One area of numbers, probability, notoriously causes humans more grief than others because of the way we are cognitively wired. Imagine a coin that has been tossed and comes up heads several times in a row: most people would imagine it’s more likely to come up tails on the next flip. But the coin has no idea how many times it has come up heads already. For each flip, the odds remain the same – 50 percent. This is known as the gambler’s fallacy, and our thinking about probability is riddled with similar misconceptions.
Our tendency to intuitively identify causes is responsible for another error, one that is commonly found in the mainstream media: the base rate fallacy. Consider the news story of a teenage male who has gone on a high-school shooting spree. Subsequent media coverage highlights the fact that he spent the preceding hours playing violent computer games, and soon there are outraged voices calling for the banning of these games. Of course, this ignores the base rate data that shows most teenage males play those same computer games and do not exhibit sociopathic behavior. Our hearts tell us there should be a connection. But hearts can’t do math. If such a connection exists, it is likely to be far more complicated than simple cause and effect, and research has yet to prove it.
This tendency to jump to conclusions has been known for centuries, and is behind the oldest adage in data analysis: cum hoc ergo propter hoc (literally, “with this therefore because of this”), the principle that correlation does not imply causation. One satirical writer, for example, was able to show that global warming is being caused by the decline in the number of pirates, charting the statistical correlation as proof. It may sound ridiculous, but this kind of fallacious thinking frequently finds its way into the media: a study in 2012 found that internet users who suffer from depression check email more often and watch more video. That made the headlines because it seemed to show that heavy internet use is bad for your mental health. Without further study, the correlation itself proves no such thing.
Large numbers are another common source of confusion. Communications are peppered with millions and billions and even trillions, but many of us lack an intuitive grasp of scale – a sense of how big these numbers really are. Imagine counting the seconds as they pass: it would take about 11½ days to get to a million – which sounds like a lot of counting until you realize that it would take almost 32 years to get to a billion. A trillion is more mind-bending magnitudes bigger: rewind a trillion seconds into the past, and our ancestors were about to invent the bow and arrow.
Numbers don’t, in fact, speak for themselves. Knowing that this year’s margin is 2 percent doesn’t tell you anything, unless you know that last year the company made a loss. Customer satisfaction scores of 80 percent may sound high until you learn that competitors score 95 percent. Simply stating a statistic without benchmarks or comparators is an example of ipse dixit (“he, himself, said it”), otherwise known as the bare assertion fallacy. Behavioral economists show us that whether ordering a bottle of wine, buying a house or negotiating a salary, we need relative numbers to weigh what’s on offer.
“Numbers are the masters of the weak, but the slaves of the strong,” wrote Charles Babbage, whose steam-age Analytical Engine was the forerunner of the modern computer. “Whenever a man can get hold of numbers, they are invaluable: if correct, they assist in informing his own mind, but they are still more useful in deluding the minds of others.” As Big Data grows more present in our daily lives, it’s increasingly important to understand how numbers may be used and abused. Today’s children are growing up in a world shaped and configured by data; if they are not data literate, they will be passive consumers, unable to fully engage with society. As early 20th century science fiction writer H.G. Wells foretold: “If we want to have an educated citizenship in a modern technological society, we need to teach them three things: reading, writing, and statistical thinking.”
SIMPSON’S PARADOX
As much as they can provide clarity, numbers also can easily obscure deeper truths, as noted by mathematician Edward Simpson in a widely cited 1951 paper. Simpson, a colleague of computing pioneer Alan Turing, showed how lumping data together can produce a false conclusion. A clear example of what is now known as Simpson’s Paradox occurred in 1973 when the University of California, Berkeley was sued for sexual discrimination based on data showing only 35 percent of female applicants were admitted, compared with 44 percent of men. A closer look revealed women were applying to more competitive programs with lower rates of admission than men. Examined separately, individual departments actually had a small bias in favor of women. Simpson’s Paradox highlights the danger of relying on numbers to tell the story without context.
Numbers can buoy or sink any argument. This list can help keep your story on the right track
DO - TAKE CARE WHEN USING THE PAST TO PREDICT THE FUTURE
Guard against common errors when talking about probabilities, such as the gambler’s fallacy
DON’T - JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS
Slow down. Does this number really show what you hope it shows, or is it your own confirmation bias?
DO - LOOK AT THE CONTEXT
Without looking at the background data and underlying trends, it’s easy to wind up guilty of the base rate fallacy
DON’T - CONFUSE CAUSE WITH CORRELATION
Make sure you can explain how two numbers are connected, rather than just presenting data. Let the adage cum hoc ergo propter hoc serve as a reminder
DO - USE BOTH RELATIVE AND ABSOLUTE NUMBERS
Avoid the bare assertion fallacy, where numbers are baldly stated without any sense of scale. Answer the question, how big is this number?
DON’T - JUST FOCUS ON THE BIG NUMBERS
Chunking up can be misleading. As Simpson’s Paradox shows, aggregated data distorts the real picture
DO - GET DATA LITERATE
Develop your statistical thinking to make sure that numbers are your servants and not your masters
The authors are no strangers to numbers; Jon Miller holds a Master’s Degree in Artificial Intelligence, while Alastair Morton has a Doctorate in Pure Mathematics. Both are Partners in Brunswick's London office.
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Postwar 20th Century History, From C 1945 To C 2000
World War 2 Books
Love and War in the Apennines
4.18 (995 ratings by Goodreads)
By (author) Eric Newby
US$10.62 US$14.01 You save US$3.39
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Hailed as Newby's 'masterpiece', `Love and War in the Apennines' is the gripping real-life story of Newby's imprisonment and escape from an Italian prison camp during World War II.
After the Italian Armistice of 1943, Eric Newby escaped from the prison camp in which he'd been held for a year. He evaded the German army by hiding in the caves and forests of Fontanellato, in Italy's Po Valley. Against this picturesque backdrop, he was sheltered for three months by an informal network of Italian peasants, who fed, supported and nursed him, before his eventual recapture.
`Love and War in the Apennines' is Newby's tribute to the selfless and courageous people who were to be his saviours and companions during this troubled time and of their bleak and unchanging way of life. Of the cast of idiosyncratic characters, most notable was the beautiful local girl on a bike who would teach him the language, and eventually help him escape; two years later they were married and would spend the rest of their lives as co-adventurers. Part travelogue, part escape story and part romance, this is a mesmerising account of wisdom, courage, humour and adventure, and tells the story of the early life of a man who would become one of Britain's best-loved literary adventurers.
Dimensions 129 x 198 x 20mm | 230g
Publication date 28 Oct 2010
Publisher HarperCollins Publishers
Imprint HarperPress
Publication City/Country London, United Kingdom
Illustrations note map
Bestsellers rank 82,731
Review quote
'His masterpiece' Spectator
'Superbly funny ... as civilizing, generous and affecting as "Vivere in Pace", and the men, women and children, weather and woodsmoke are as fresh as yesterday' Observer
'A vivid description of Italian village life, full of notable characters ... and the reactions of one sensitive man to being out of the war in the middle of one' Daily Telegraph
'It is necessary to state with emphasis that this is a very good book indeed' Times Literary Supplement
'An exciting story, superbly told. And wisdom, courage and generosity illuminate it' Punch
About Eric Newby
Eric Newby was born in London in 1919. In 1938, he joined the four-masted Finnish barque Moshulu as an apprentice and sailed in the last Grain Race from Australia to Europe, by way of Cape Horn. During World War II, he served in the Black Watch and the Special Boat Section. In 1942, he was captured and remained a prisoner-of-war until 1945. He subsequently married the girl who helped him to escape, and for the next fifty years, his wife Wanda was at his side on many adventures. After the war, he worked in the fashion business and book publishing but always travelled on a grand scale, sometimes as the Travel Editor for the Observer. He was made CBE in 1994 and was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award of the British Guild of Travel Writers in 2001. Eric Newby died in 2006.
5 41% (404)
2 3% (29)
1 1% (7)
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Carroll Communication Students Place Second in National Media Competition
HELENA – Carroll senior communication and public relations majors Kelsie Watkins and Peri Dropping finished second in a nationwide media planning competition, entered by nearly 100 colleges and universities. Their success at the finals of the Washington Media Scholars Foundation’s Media Plan Case Competition in Washington, D.C., earned them both $3,000 scholarships towards their Carroll degrees. The University of South Carolina, a perpetual power in this competition, won the event.
Funded and organized by the Washington Media Scholars Foundation, the competition paid all expenses to bring the final six teams and their advisers to Washington, D.C., for a seven-day media educational workshop culminating with the final presentations.
In the final on Thursday, June 13, the teams presented to five media professionals from major media organizations at the Newseum, a museum tracing the history of journalism.
Dropping and Watkins, who also debate together for the Talking Saints, received glowing reviews from the judges on their 20-minute presentation of their media plan to spend $4 million to support the opening of a new major league baseball stadium.
“Media week with the Washington Media Scholars Foundation exceeded all of my expectations,” said Watkins. “I learned so much not just about the media industry, but about the professional world as a whole; I have never been so excited about my life post-grad. I am so thankful to Carroll's public relations department for giving me the skills I needed to be successful in this competition. Without the knowledge I gleaned from that curriculum, this accomplishment would have been impossible.”
Dropping, never at a loss for words, was almost speechless.
“I can’t believe we just did that,” she said.
During the week, Dropping and Watkins toured national media companies including NBC, Politico and Google. The Carroll students shadowed media professionals from Scripps, a major American broadcast company which just recently purchased KTVH in Helena, located on the Carroll campus. Scripps invited the Carroll students to dinner after their Thursday success. The program included lunch, served by waiters in tuxedoes, at an exclusive dining club near the White House. The students dined with media executives at the Metropolitan Club.
“Seeing top executives in national media celebrating Carroll students in the nation’s capital was one of the proudest moments of my teaching career at Carroll,” said communication professor Brent Northup. “Their final presentation was polished and powerful, and they received high praise from the best in the media business. Seeing media companies wanting to take them to dinner afterwards was a perfect finish to an unforgettable week.”
There was one surprise still ahead after Dropping and Watkins received their Thursday night awards. As they prepared to leave for home on Friday, they opened the Washington Post to page three and saw their names and photos with the words, “Congratulations to the 2019 Media Scholars.”
An excited Dropping immediately texted Northup a photo of page 3: “Did you pick up a copy of the Washington Post today?”
Yes, he did.
“I purchased a bunch at the airport to bring back to Carroll,” said Northup.
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Open a Technical Support Case
Product listing: LC3B (E5Q2K) Mouse mAb, UniProt ID Q9GZQ8 #83506 to PathScan® Phospho-IKKα (Ser176/180) Sandwich ELISA Kit, UniProt ID O15111 #7073
Sort by: Popularity Best Sellers Most Recent Title Product Type Category
Monoclonal Antibody - LC3B (E5Q2K) Mouse mAb, UniProt ID Q9GZQ8, Entrez ID 81631 #83506
100 µl
Human, Mouse, Rat
Application Methods: Immunofluorescence (Immunocytochemistry), Immunohistochemistry (Paraffin), Immunoprecipitation, Western Blotting
Background: Autophagy is a catabolic process for the autophagosomic-lysosomal degradation of bulk cytoplasmic contents (1,2). Autophagy is generally activated by conditions of nutrient deprivation, but it has also been associated with a number of physiological processes including development, differentiation, neurodegenerative diseases, infection, and cancer (3). Autophagy marker Light Chain 3 (LC3) was originally identified as a subunit of microtubule-associated proteins 1A and 1B (termed MAP1LC3) (4) and subsequently found to contain similarity to the yeast protein Apg8/Aut7/Cvt5 critical for autophagy (5). Three human LC3 isoforms (LC3A, LC3B, and LC3C) undergo post-translational modifications during autophagy (6-9). Cleavage of LC3 at the carboxy terminus immediately following synthesis yields the cytosolic LC3-I form. During autophagy, LC3-I is converted to LC3-II through lipidation by a ubiquitin-like system involving Atg7 and Atg3 that allows for LC3 to become associated with autophagic vesicles (6-10). The presence of LC3 in autophagosomes and the conversion of LC3 to the lower migrating form, LC3-II, have been used as indicators of autophagy (11).
Monoclonal Antibody - NCAM (CD56) (123C3) Mouse mAb, UniProt ID P13591, Entrez ID 4684 #3576
Application Methods: Flow Cytometry, Immunofluorescence (Immunocytochemistry), Immunohistochemistry (Paraffin), Western Blotting
Background: NCAM (neural cell adhesion molecule, CD56) is an adhesion glycoprotein with five extracellular immunoglobulin-like domains followed by two fibronectin type III repeats. Structural diversity is introduced by alternative splicing resulting in different cytoplasmic domains (1). NCAM mediates neuronal attachment, neurite extension and cell-cell interactions through homo and heterophilic interactions. PSA (polysialic acid) post-translationally modifies NCAM and increases the metastatic potential of small cell lung carcinoma, Wilms+ tumor, neuroblastoma and rhabdomyosarcoma (2). CD56 and CD16 are commonly used to identify NK cells although some cells with the T cell markers CD3 and CD4 also express CD56 (3).
Monoclonal Antibody - Exportin-1/CRM1 (D6V7N) Rabbit mAb, UniProt ID O14980, Entrez ID 7514 #46249
Human, Monkey, Mouse
Background: Exportins are a family of seven proteins that are responsible for intracellular transport. Exportin-1, also known as chromosome region maintenance 1 (CRM1), is a protein essential for nuclear export of hundreds of proteins, mRNAs, and rRNAs (1-3). Exportin-1 binds to substrates with nuclear export signals (NESs) rich in leucine and other hydrophobic amino acids (4). These hydrophobic sequences form an alpha-helix-loop that can bind to the exportin-1 hydrophobic groove (5). Studies have shown that these NESs can be modified either by protein modifications or by mutation to regulate exportin-1 binding (6-7). Targets of exportin-1 include many tumor suppressors, such as Rb, p53, FoxO1, BAF47, as well as oncoproteins, such as p21 and p27 (1). In addition, Myc can upregulate exportin-1 during biogenesis, where it can export newly formed 40S and 60S subunits from the nucleoli (8-9).Inhibition of nuclear export has been pursued for therapeutic application since the finding that leptomycin B could suppress HIV replication by suppressing the ability of exportin-1 to export the HIV-1 protein Rev (2, 10). Overexpression of exportin-1 has been associated with poor prognosis in various cancer types (11-13). Genomic approaches and development of inhibitors have identified exportin-1 as a druggable target (14-16). The use of various inhibitors of exportin-1 is also being explored in various antiviral therapies (17-18).
Monoclonal Antibody - MPC1 (D2L9I) Rabbit mAb - Immunoprecipitation, Western Blotting, UniProt ID Q9Y5U8, Entrez ID 51660 #14462
Human, Monkey, Mouse, Rat
Application Methods: Immunoprecipitation, Western Blotting
Background: The transport of the glycolytic end product pyruvate into mitochondria and the decarboxylation of pyruvate in the citric acid cycle generate energy through oxidative phosphorylation under aerobic conditions (1,2). Two inner mitochondrial membrane proteins, mitochondrial pyruvate carrier 1 (MPC1) and mitochondrial pyruvate carrier 2 (MPC2), form a 150 kDa complex and are essential proteins in the facilitated transport of pyruvate into mitochondria (1,2). Mutations in the corresponding MPC1 gene are associated with deficient pyruvate transport and may result in lactic acidosis, developmental delay, and premature death (2,3). Altered MPC1/MPC2 expression or activity may result in significant metabolic disorders and contribute to the increase in aerobic glycolysis in cancer cells (a.k.a., the Warburg effect) (4).
Polyclonal Antibody - Atg5 Antibody - Immunoprecipitation, Western Blotting, UniProt ID Q9H1Y0, Entrez ID 9474 #2630
Human, Monkey
Background: Autophagy is a catabolic process for the autophagosomic-lysosomal degradation of bulk cytoplasmic contents (1,2). Autophagy is generally activated by conditions of nutrient deprivation but has also been associated with a number of physiological processes including development, differentiation, neurodegeneration, infection, and cancer (3). The molecular machinery of autophagy was largely discovered in yeast and referred to as autophagy-related (Atg) genes. Formation of the autophagosome involves a ubiquitin-like conjugation system in which Atg12 is covalently bound to Atg5 and targeted to autophagosome vesicles (4-6). This conjugation reaction is mediated by the ubiquitin E1-like enzyme Atg7 and the E2-like enzyme Atg10 (7,8).
Monoclonal Antibody - PHD-2/Egln1 (D31E11) Rabbit mAb - Immunoprecipitation, Western Blotting, UniProt ID Q9GZT9, Entrez ID 54583 #4835
Background: PHD1 (Egln2), PHD-2 (Egln1), and PHD3 (Egln3) are members of the Egln family of proline hydroxylases. They function as oxygen sensors that catalyze the hydroxylation of HIF on prolines 564 and 402, initiating the first step of HIF degradation through the VHL/ubiquitin pathway (1,2). PHD1 is highly expressed in a wide array of tissues whereas PHD2 and PHD3 are expressed mainly in heart and skeletal muscle (1,3). The mRNA levels of PHD are upregulated by HIF through the hypoxia-response element under low oxygen conditions (4-7). These three enzymes also exhibit different peptide specificity target proteins, PHD1 and PHD2 can hydroxylate both proline 402 and proline 564, but PHD3 can only hydroxylate proline 564 (2,8). In addition to HIF, PHD enzymes have also has been shown to catalyze the hydroxylation of RNA polymerase subunits and myogenin (3,9).
Monoclonal Antibody - FoxA1/HNF3α (D7P9B) Rabbit mAb, UniProt ID P55317, Entrez ID 3169 #58613
Application Methods: Chromatin IP, Chromatin IP-seq, Western Blotting
Background: Forkhead box protein A1 (FoxA1, HNF3α) is a transcription factor required for the development of endoderm-derived organs, such as liver, lung, and prostate (1). FoxA1 functions as a pioneer factor that is recruited primarily to the distant enhancers to change chromatin structure for transcription in a cell type-specific manner (2,3). The FoxA1 transcription factor is implicated in various diseases, playing a role in hormone-dependent disorders such as breast and prostate cancers (4). The treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients with IFN-β results in FoxA1-induced stimulation of a novel population of FoxA1(+) regulatory T-cells, suggesting a possible immunosuppressive role for FoxA1 (5).
Polyclonal Antibody - p38α MAPK Antibody - Immunoprecipitation, Western Blotting, UniProt ID Q16539, Entrez ID 1432 #9218
Background: p38 MAP kinase (MAPK), also called RK (1) or CSBP (2), is the mammalian orthologue of the yeast HOG kinase that participates in a signaling cascade controlling cellular responses to cytokines and stress (1-4). Four isoforms of p38 MAPK, p38α, β, γ (also known as Erk6 or SAPK3), and δ (also known as SAPK4) have been identified. Similar to the SAPK/JNK pathway, p38 MAPK is activated by a variety of cellular stresses including osmotic shock, inflammatory cytokines, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), UV light, and growth factors (1-5). MKK3, MKK6, and SEK activate p38 MAPK by phosphorylation at Thr180 and Tyr182. Activated p38 MAPK has been shown to phosphorylate and activate MAPKAP kinase 2 (3) and to phosphorylate the transcription factors ATF-2 (5), Max (6), and MEF2 (5-8). SB203580 (4-(4-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-methylsulfinylphenyl)-5-(4-pyridyl)-imidazole) is a selective inhibitor of p38 MAPK. This compound inhibits the activation of MAPKAPK-2 by p38 MAPK and subsequent phosphorylation of HSP27 (9). SB203580 inhibits p38 MAPK catalytic activity by binding to the ATP-binding pocket, but does not inhibit phosphorylation of p38 MAPK by upstream kinases (10).
Polyclonal Antibody - MMP-2 Antibody - Western Blotting, UniProt ID P08253, Entrez ID 4313 #4022
Application Methods: Western Blotting
Background: The matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a family of proteases that target many extracellular proteins including other proteases, growth factors, cell surface receptors, and adhesion molecules (1). Among the family members, MMP-2, MMP-3, MMP-7, and MMP-9 have been characterized as important factors for normal tissue remodeling during embryonic development, wound healing, tumor invasion, angiogenesis, carcinogenesis, and apoptosis (2-4). Research studies have shown that MMP activity correlates with cancer development (2). One mechanism of MMP regulation is transcriptional (5). Once synthesized, MMP exists as a latent proenzyme. Maximum MMP activity requires proteolytic cleavage to generate active MMPs by releasing the inhibitory propeptide domain from the full length protein (5).
Polyclonal Antibody - MAVS Antibody, UniProt ID Q7Z434, Entrez ID 57506 #3993
Application Methods: Immunofluorescence (Immunocytochemistry), Western Blotting
Background: The mitochondrial antiviral signaling protein (MAVS, VISA) contributes to innate immunity by triggering IRF-3 and NF-κB activation in response to viral infection, leading to the production of IFN-β (1). The MAVS protein contains an N-terminal CARD domain and a C-terminal mitochondrial transmembrane domain. The MAVS adaptor protein plays a critical and specific role in viral defenses (2). MAVS acts downstream of the RIG-I RNA helicase and viral RNA sensor, leading to the recruitment of IKKε, TRIF and TRAF6 (3,4). Some viruses have evolved strategies to circumvent these innate defenses by using proteases that cleave MAVS to prevent its mitochondrial localization (5,6).
Cell Extract Kit - Stat1/2/3/5 Control Cell Extracts - Western Blotting - 100 µl #9133
10 western blots
Stat1/2/3/5 Control Cell Extracts (HeLa untreated): Total cell extracts from serum-starved HeLa cells serve as a negative control. Supplied in SDS Sample Buffer.Stat1/2/3/5 Control Cell Extracts (HeLa + IFN-alpha): Total cell extracts from serum-starved HeLa cells treated with 100 ng/ml interferon-alpha for 5 minutes serve as a positive control. Supplied in SDS Sample Buffer.
Background: Jaks (Janus Kinases) and Stats (Signal Transducers and Activators of Transcription) are utilized by receptors for a wide variety of ligands including cytokines, hormones, growth factors and neurotransmitters. Jaks, activated via autophosphorylation following ligand-induced receptor aggregation, phosphorylate tyrosine residues on associated receptors, Stat molecules and other downstream signaling proteins (1,2). The phosphorylation of Stat proteins at conserved tyrosine residues activates SH2-mediated dimerization followed rapidly by nuclear translocation. Stat dimers bind to IRE (interferon response element) and GAS (gamma interferon-activated sequence) DNA elements, resulting in the transcriptional regulation of downstream genes (1,2). The remarkable range and specificity of responses regulated by the Stats is determined in part by the tissue-specific expression of different cytokine receptors, Jaks and Stats (2,3), and by the combinatorial coupling of various Stat members to different receptors. Serine phosphorylation in the carboxy-terminal transcriptional activation domain has been shown to regulate the function of Stat1, -2, -3, -4 and -5 (1). Phosphorylation of Stat3 at Ser727 via MAPK or mTOR pathways is required for optimal transcriptional activation in response to growth factors and cytokines including IFN-gamma and CNTF (4,5). Jak/Stat pathways also play important roles in oncogenesis, tumor progression, angiogenesis, cell motility, immune responses and stem cell differentiation (6-11).
Monoclonal Antibody - Phospho-S6 Ribosomal Protein (Ser235/236) (D57.2.2E) XP® Rabbit mAb (Pacific Blue™ Conjugate), UniProt ID P62753, Entrez ID 6194 #8520
This Cell Signaling Technology antibody is conjugated to Pacific Blue™ fluorescent dye and tested in-house for direct flow cytometry in human cells. The antibody is expected to exhibit the same species cross-reactivity as the unconjugated Phospho-S6 Ribosomal Protein (Ser235/236) (D57.2.2E) XP® Rabbit mAb #4858.
Human, Mink, Monkey, Mouse, Rat, S. cerevisiae
Application Methods: Flow Cytometry
Background: One way that growth factors and mitogens effectively promote sustained cell growth and proliferation is by upregulating mRNA translation (1,2). Growth factors and mitogens induce the activation of p70 S6 kinase and the subsequent phosphorylation of the S6 ribosomal protein. Phosphorylation of S6 ribosomal protein correlates with an increase in translation of mRNA transcripts that contain an oligopyrimidine tract in their 5' untranslated regions (2). These particular mRNA transcripts (5'TOP) encode proteins involved in cell cycle progression, as well as ribosomal proteins and elongation factors necessary for translation (2,3). Important S6 ribosomal protein phosphorylation sites include several residues (Ser235, Ser236, Ser240, and Ser244) located within a small, carboxy-terminal region of the S6 protein (4,5).
Monoclonal Antibody - c-Myc (D84C12) Rabbit mAb (Alexa Fluor® 647 Conjugate), UniProt ID P01106, Entrez ID 4609 #13871
This Cell Signaling Technology antibody is conjugated to Alexa Fluor® 647 fluorescent dye and tested in-house for direct flow cytometry analysis in human cells. The antibody is expected to exhibit the same species cross-reactivity as the unconjugated c-Myc (D84C12) Rabbit mAb #5605.
Background: Members of the Myc/Max/Mad network function as transcriptional regulators with roles in various aspects of cell behavior including proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis (1). These proteins share a common basic-helix-loop-helix leucine zipper (bHLH-ZIP) motif required for dimerization and DNA-binding. Max was originally discovered based on its ability to associate with c-Myc and found to be required for the ability of Myc to bind DNA and activate transcription (2). Subsequently, Max has been viewed as a central component of the transcriptional network, forming homodimers as well as heterodimers with other members of the Myc and Mad families (1). The association between Max and either Myc or Mad can have opposing effects on transcriptional regulation and cell behavior (1). The Mad family consists of four related proteins; Mad1, Mad2 (Mxi1), Mad3 and Mad4, and the more distantly related members of the bHLH-ZIP family, Mnt and Mga. Like Myc, the Mad proteins are tightly regulated with short half-lives. In general, Mad family members interfere with Myc-mediated processes such as proliferation, transformation and prevention of apoptosis by inhibiting transcription (3,4).
Polyclonal Antibody - Phospho-MKK7 (Ser271/Thr275) Antibody - Western Blotting, UniProt ID O14733, Entrez ID 5609 #4171
Background: MKK7 is a MAP kinase kinase that serves as a specific activator of the SAPK/JNK pathway (1,2). MKK7 is strongly activated by TNF-α, as well as other environmental stresses, whereas SEK1/MKK4, which activates both p38 and SAPK/JNK pathways, is not activated by TNF-α (2). Sequence alignment of the activation loop of the MAP kinase kinase family members indicates that Ser271 and Thr275 are potential phosphorylation sites that are crucial for the kinase acivity.
Monoclonal Antibody - EpCAM (D4K8R) XP® Rabbit mAb, UniProt ID P16422, Entrez ID 4072 #36746
Application Methods: Flow Cytometry, Immunofluorescence (Immunocytochemistry), Immunoprecipitation
Background: Epithelial cell adhesion and activating molecule (EpCAM/CD326) is a transmembrane glycoprotein that mediates Ca2+-independent, homophilic adhesions on the basolateral surface of most epithelial cells. EpCAM is not expressed in adult squamous epithelium, but it is highly expressed in adeno and squamous cell carcinomas (1). Research studies identified EpCAM as one of the first tumor-associated antigens, and it has long been a marker of epithelial and tumor tissue. Investigators have shown that EpCAM is highly expressed in cancer cells (reviewed in 2,3).
Monoclonal Antibody - Phospho-p44/42 MAPK (Erk1/2) (Thr202/Tyr204) (E10) Mouse mAb (Alexa Fluor® 488 Conjugate), UniProt ID P27361, Entrez ID 5594 #4374
This Cell Signaling Technology antibody is conjugated to Alexa Fluor® 488 fluorescent dye and tested in-house for direct flow cytometric analysis of human cells. This antibody is expected to exhibit the same species cross-reactivity as the unconjugated Phospho-p44/42 MAPK (Erk1/2) (Thr202/Tyr204) (E10) Mouse mAb #9106.
Bovine, Hamster, Human, Mink, Monkey, Mouse, Pig, Rat, Zebrafish
Background: Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) are a widely conserved family of serine/threonine protein kinases involved in many cellular programs, such as cell proliferation, differentiation, motility, and death. The p44/42 MAPK (Erk1/2) signaling pathway can be activated in response to a diverse range of extracellular stimuli including mitogens, growth factors, and cytokines (1-3), and research investigators consider it an important target in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer (4). Upon stimulation, a sequential three-part protein kinase cascade is initiated, consisting of a MAP kinase kinase kinase (MAPKKK or MAP3K), a MAP kinase kinase (MAPKK or MAP2K), and a MAP kinase (MAPK). Multiple p44/42 MAP3Ks have been identified, including members of the Raf family, as well as Mos and Tpl2/COT. MEK1 and MEK2 are the primary MAPKKs in this pathway (5,6). MEK1 and MEK2 activate p44 and p42 through phosphorylation of activation loop residues Thr202/Tyr204 and Thr185/Tyr187, respectively. Several downstream targets of p44/42 have been identified, including p90RSK (7) and the transcription factor Elk-1 (8,9). p44/42 are negatively regulated by a family of dual-specificity (Thr/Tyr) MAPK phosphatases, known as DUSPs or MKPs (10), along with MEK inhibitors, such as U0126 and PD98059.
Polyclonal Antibody - Phospho-TAK1 (Thr184/187) Antibody - Western Blotting, UniProt ID O43318, Entrez ID 6885 #4531
Background: TAK1 is a mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase that can be activated by TGF-β, bone morphogenetic protein and other cytokines including IL-1 (1,2). In vivo activation of TAK1 requires association with TAK1 binding protein 1 (TAB1), which triggers phosphorylation of TAK1 (3,4). Another adaptor protein, TAB2, links TAK1 with TRAF6 and mediates TAK1 activation upon IL-1 stimulation (5). Once activated, TAK1 phosphorylates MAPK kinases MKK4 and MKK3/6, which activate p38 MAPK and JNK, respectively. In addition, TAK1 activates the NF-κB pathway by interacting with TRAF6 and phosphorylating the NF-κB inducing kinase (NIK) (2).
Monoclonal Antibody - Phospho-AMPK Substrate Motif [LXRXX(pS/pT) MultiMab™ Rabbit mAb mix - 100 µl #5759
All Species Expected
Application Methods: Immunoprecipitation, Peptide ELISA (DELFIA), Western Blotting
Background: AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is highly conserved from yeast to plants and animals and plays a key role in the regulation of energy homeostasis (1). AMPK is a heterotrimeric complex composed of a catalytic α subunit and regulatory β and γ subunits, each of which is encoded by two or three distinct genes (α1, 2; β1, 2; γ1, 2, 3) (2). The kinase is activated by an elevated AMP/ATP ratio due to cellular and environmental stress, such as heat shock, hypoxia, and ischemia (1). The tumor suppressor LKB1, in association with accessory proteins STRAD and MO25, phosphorylates AMPKα at Thr172 in the activation loop, and this phosphorylation is required for AMPK activation (3-5). AMPKα is also phosphorylated at Thr258 and Ser485 (for α1; Ser491 for α2). The upstream kinase and the biological significance of these phosphorylation events have yet to be elucidated (6). The β1 subunit is post-translationally modified by myristoylation and multi-site phosphorylation including Ser24/25, Ser96, Ser101, Ser108, and Ser182 (6,7). Phosphorylation at Ser108 of the β1 subunit seems to be required for the activation of AMPK enzyme, while phosphorylation at Ser24/25 and Ser182 affects AMPK localization (7). Several mutations in AMPKγ subunits have been identified, most of which are located in the putative AMP/ATP binding sites (CBS or Bateman domains). Mutations at these sites lead to reduction of AMPK activity and cause glycogen accumulation in heart or skeletal muscle (1,2). Accumulating evidence indicates that AMPK not only regulates the metabolism of fatty acids and glycogen, but also modulates protein synthesis and cell growth through EF2 and TSC2/mTOR pathways, as well as blood flow via eNOS/nNOS (1).
Monoclonal Antibody - Mcl-1 (D2W9E) Rabbit mAb (PE Conjugate), UniProt ID P97287, Entrez ID 17210 #65617
This Cell Signaling Technology antibody is conjugated to phycoerythrin (PE) and tested in-house for direct flow cytometry analysis in human cells. This antibody is expected to exhibit the same species cross-reactivity as the unconjugated Mcl-1 (D2W9E) Rabbit mAb #94296.
Background: Mcl-1 is an anti-apoptotic member of the Bcl-2 family originally isolated from the ML-1 human myeloid leukemia cell line during phorbol ester-induced differentiation along the monocyte/macrophage pathway (1). Similar to other Bcl-2 family members, Mcl-1 localizes to the mitochondria (2), interacts with and antagonizes pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 family members (3), and inhibits apoptosis induced by a number of cytotoxic stimuli (4). Mcl-1 differs from its other family members in its regulation at both the transcriptional and post-translational level. First, Mcl-1 has an extended amino-terminal PEST region, which is responsible for its relatively short half-life (1,2). Second, unlike other family members, Mcl-1 is rapidly transcribed via a PI3K/Akt dependent pathway, resulting in its increased expression during myeloid differentiation and cytokine stimulation (1,5-7). Mcl-1 is phosphorylated in response to treatment with phorbol ester, microtubule-damaging agents, oxidative stress, and cytokine withdrawal (8-11). Phosphorylation at Thr163, the conserved MAP kinase/ERK site located within the PEST region, slows Mcl-1 protein turnover (10) but may prime the GSK-3 mediated phosphorylation at Ser159 that leads to Mcl-1 destabilization (11). Mcl-1 deficiency in mice results in peri-implantation lethality (12). In addition, conditional disruption of the corresponding mcl-1 gene shows that Mcl-1 plays an important role in early lymphoid development and in the maintenance of mature lymphocytes (13).
Polyclonal Antibody - Phospho-PTEN (Ser380/Thr382/383) Antibody, UniProt ID P60484, Entrez ID 5728 #9554
Background: PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homologue deleted on chromosome ten), also referred to as MMAC (mutated in multiple advanced cancers) phosphatase, is a tumor suppressor implicated in a wide variety of human cancers (1). PTEN encodes a 403 amino acid polypeptide originally described as a dual-specificity protein phosphatase (2). The main substrates of PTEN are inositol phospholipids generated by the activation of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) (3). PTEN is a major negative regulator of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway (1,4,5). PTEN possesses a carboxy-terminal, noncatalytic regulatory domain with three phosphorylation sites (Ser380, Thr382, and Thr383) that regulate PTEN stability and may affect its biological activity (6,7). PTEN regulates p53 protein levels and activity (8) and is involved in G protein-coupled signaling during chemotaxis (9,10).
Monoclonal Antibody - FAK (D5O7U) XP® Rabbit mAb, UniProt ID Q05397, Entrez ID 5747 #71433
Background: Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is a widely expressed cytoplasmic protein tyrosine kinase involved in integrin-mediated signal transduction. It plays an important role in the control of several biological processes, including cell spreading, migration, and survival (1). Activation of FAK by integrin clustering leads to autophosphorylation at Tyr397, which is a binding site for the Src family kinases PI3K and PLCγ (2-5). Recruitment of Src family kinases results in the phosphorylation of Tyr407, Tyr576, and Tyr577 in the catalytic domain, and Tyr871 and Tyr925 in the carboxy-terminal region of FAK (6,7).
Monoclonal Antibody - DNA-PKcs (3H6) Mouse mAb, UniProt ID P78527, Entrez ID 5591 #12311
Application Methods: Immunofluorescence (Immunocytochemistry), Immunohistochemistry (Paraffin), Western Blotting
Background: DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) is an important factor in the repair of double-stranded breaks in DNA. Cells lacking DNA-PK or in which DNA-PK is inhibited fail to show proper nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) (1-7). DNA-PK is composed of two DNA-binding subunits (Ku70 and Ku86) and one 450 kDa catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs) (8). It is thought that a heterodimer of Ku70 and Ku86 binds to double-stranded DNA broken ends before DNA-PKcs binds and is activated (1,9). Activated DNA-PKcs is a serine/threonine kinase that has been shown to phosphorylate a number of proteins in vitro, including p53, transcription factors, RNA polymerase, and Ku70/Ku86 (10,11). DNA-PKcs autophosphorylation at multiple sites, including Thr2609 and Ser2056, results in an inactivation of DNA-PK kinase activity and NHEJ ability (12,13). It has been demonstrated, however, that DNA-PK preferentially phosphorylates substrates before it autophosphorylates, suggesting that DNA-PK autophosphorylation may play a role in disassembly of the DNA repair machinery (14,15). Autophosphorylation at Thr2609 has also been shown to be required for DNA-PK-mediated double strand break repair, and phosphorylated DNA-PK co-localizes with H2A.X and 53BP1 at sites of DNA damage (16). Phosphorylation at Ser2056 occurs in response to double-stranded DNA breaks and ATM activation (17).
Monoclonal Antibody - nNOS (C7D7) Rabbit mAb, UniProt ID P29475, Entrez ID 4842 #4231
Application Methods: Immunofluorescence (Frozen), Immunohistochemistry (Paraffin), Immunoprecipitation, Western Blotting
Background: Nitric Oxide Synthase (NOS) catalyzes the formation of nitric oxide (NO) and citruline from L-arginine, oxygen and cofactors. Three family members have been characterized: neuronal NOS (nNOS), which is found primarily in neuronal tissue; inducible NOS (iNOS), which is induced by interferon gamma and lipopolysaccharides in the kidney and cardiovascular system; and endothelial NOS (eNOS), which is expressed in blood vessels (1). NO is a messenger molecule with diverse functions throughout the body including the maintenance of vascular integrity, homeostasis, synaptic plasticity, long-term potentiation, learning, and memory (2,3).
Polyclonal Antibody - Phospho-Rb (Ser795) Antibody - Immunoprecipitation, Western Blotting, UniProt ID P06400, Entrez ID 5925 #9301
Human, Monkey, Rat
Background: The retinoblastoma tumor suppressor protein Rb regulates cell proliferation by controlling progression through the restriction point within the G1-phase of the cell cycle (1). Rb has three functionally distinct binding domains and interacts with critical regulatory proteins including the E2F family of transcription factors, c-Abl tyrosine kinase, and proteins with a conserved LXCXE motif (2-4). Cell cycle-dependent phosphorylation by a CDK inhibits Rb target binding and allows cell cycle progression (5). Rb inactivation and subsequent cell cycle progression likely requires an initial phosphorylation by cyclin D-CDK4/6 followed by cyclin E-CDK2 phosphorylation (6). Specificity of different CDK/cyclin complexes has been observed in vitro (6-8) and cyclin D1 is required for Ser780 phosphorylation in vivo (9).
Monoclonal Antibody - ATGL (30A4) Rabbit mAb, UniProt ID Q96AD5, Entrez ID 57104 #2439
Background: Triglycerides form an important energy store in many living organisms. Adipose tissue serves as the primary storage depot for triglycerides in mammals. Lipolytic enzymes mobilize triglycerides during periods of starvation to provide organisms with necessary energy. Hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL), the first identified lipolytic enzyme, hydrolyzes triglycerides in mammalian adipose tissues (1-3). Additional lipolytic enzymes, including adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL), have also been discovered. The primary function of ATGL is to catalyze the hydrolysis of the first ester bond of lipid molecules. This enzyme may provide diglyceride substrates for HSL hydrolysis. ATGL is abundantly expressed in murine white and brown adipose tissue, and is highly substrate specific (4). ATGL was independently identified as desnutrin (5) and the TG-hydrolace inducible phospholipase-A2-ζ (6).
Monoclonal Antibody - SRC-3 (5E11) Rabbit mAb, UniProt ID Q9Y6Q9, Entrez ID 8202 #2126
Application Methods: Chromatin IP, Chromatin IP-seq, Immunoprecipitation, Western Blotting
Background: There are three members of the steroid receptor co-activator (SRC) family of proteins: SRC-1 (NCoA-1), SRC-2 (TIF2/GRIP1/NCoA-2), and SRC-3 (ACTR/pCIP/RAC3/TRAM-1/AIB1). All SRC family members share significant structural homology and function to stimulate transcription mediated by nuclear hormone receptors and other transcriptional activators such as Stat3, NF-κB, E2F1, and p53 (1-4). Two SRC proteins, SRC-1 and SRC-3, function as histone acetyltransferases (5,6). In addition, all three family members can recruit other histone acetyltransferases (CBP/p300, PCAF) and histone methyltransferases (PRMT1, CARM1) to target promoters and cooperate to enhance expression of many genes (5-8). The SRC proteins play important roles in multiple physiological processes including cell proliferation, cell survival, somatic cell growth, mammary gland development, female reproductive function, and vasoprotection (9). SRC-1 and SRC-3 are conduits for kinase-mediated growth factor signaling to the estrogen receptor and other transcriptional activators. Seven SRC-1 phosphorylation sites and six SRC-3 phosphorylation sites have been identified, which are induced by steroids, cytokines, and growth factors and involve multiple kinase signaling pathways (9-11). Research has shown that all three SRC family members are associated with increased activity of nuclear receptors in breast, prostate, and ovarian carcinomas. According to the literature, SRC-3 is frequently amplified or overexpressed in a number of cancers (12), and SRC-1/PAX3 and SRC-2/MYST3 translocations are found associated with rhabdomyosarcoma and acute myeloid leukemia, respectively (13,14).
Monoclonal Antibody - Chk2 (D9C6) XP® Rabbit mAb, UniProt ID O96017, Entrez ID 11200 #6334
Background: Chk2 is the mammalian orthologue of the budding yeast Rad53 and fission yeast Cds1 checkpoint kinases (1-3). The amino-terminal domain of Chk2 contains a series of seven serine or threonine residues (Ser19, Thr26, Ser28, Ser33, Ser35, Ser50, and Thr68) each followed by glutamine (SQ or TQ motif). These are known to be preferred sites for phosphorylation by ATM/ATR kinases (4,5). After DNA damage by ionizing radiation (IR), UV irradiation, or hydroxyurea treatment, Thr68 and other sites in this region become phosphorylated by ATM/ATR (5-7). The SQ/TQ cluster domain, therefore, seems to have a regulatory function. Phosphorylation at Thr68 is a prerequisite for the subsequent activation step, which is attributable to autophosphorylation of Chk2 at residues Thr383 and Thr387 in the activation loop of the kinase domain (8).
Polyclonal Antibody - TRAF3 Antibody - Western Blotting, UniProt ID Q13114, Entrez ID 7187 #4729
Background: TRAFs (TNF receptor-associated factors) are a family of multifunctional adaptor proteins that bind to surface receptors and recruit additional proteins to form multiprotein signaling complexes capable of promoting cellular responses (1-3). Members of the TRAF family share a common carboxy-terminal "TRAF domain", which mediates interactions with associated proteins; many also contain amino-terminal Zinc/RING finger motifs. The first TRAFs identified, TRAF1 and TRAF2, were found by virtue of their interactions with the cytoplasmic domain of TNF-receptor 2 (TNFRII) (4). The six known TRAFs (TRAF1-6) act as adaptor proteins for a wide range of cell surface receptors and participate in the regulation of cell survival, proliferation, differentiation, and stress responses.
Chemical Modulators - AICAR - 25 mg #9944
Molecular Weight:258.24 g/mol
Background: AICAR (5-Aminoimidazole-4-carboxyamide ribonucleoside) is an adenosine analog taken up by muscle and phosphorylated to form 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1--D-ribofuranosyl-5'-monophosphate (ZMP), which stimulates AMPK activity and glucose transport in skeletal muscle (1). AICAR has been used in studies measuring glucose uptake, diabetes and insulin resistance, and energy regulation during exercise. AICAR acts by entering nucleoside pools and significantly increasing levels of adenosine during periods of ATP breakdown (2).
PathScan® Phospho-IKKα (Ser176/180) Sandwich ELISA Kit - ELISA, UniProt ID O15111, Entrez ID 1147 #7073
96 assays
The PathScan® Phospho-IKKα (Ser176/180) Sandwich ELISA Kit is a solid phase sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) that detects endogenous levels of IKKα when phosphorylated at Ser176/180. A phospho-IKKα (Ser176/180) rabbit mAb has been coated onto the microwells. After incubation with cell lysates, phospho-IKKα (Ser176/180) protein is captured by the coated antibody. Following extensive washing, an IKKα mouse detection mAb is added to detect the captured IKKα protein. Anti-mouse IgG, HRP-linked antibody is then used to recognize the bound detection antibody. HRP substrate, TMB, is added to develop color. The magnitude of the absorbance for the developed color is proportional to the quantity of IKKα phosphorylated at Ser176/180.Antibodies in kit are custom formulations specific to kit.
Background: The NF-κB/Rel transcription factors are present in the cytosol in an inactive state, complexed with the inhibitory IκB proteins (1-3). Most agents that activate NF-κB do so through a common pathway based on phosphorylation-induced, proteasome-mediated degradation of IκB (3-7). The key regulatory step in this pathway involves activation of a high molecular weight IκB kinase (IKK) complex whose catalysis is generally carried out by three tightly associated IKK subunits. IKKα and IKKβ serve as the catalytic subunits of the kinase and IKKγ serves as the regulatory subunit (8,9). Activation of IKK depends upon phosphorylation at Ser177 and Ser181 in the activation loop of IKKβ (Ser176 and Ser180 in IKKα), which causes conformational changes, resulting in kinase activation (10-13).
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No breakthrough with Russia on missile treaty, US set to start withdrawal
17 Jan 2019 12:20AM (Updated: 17 Jan 2019 12:45AM )
BRUSSELS: A meeting between Russia and the United States failed to resolve U.S. accusations that Moscow is violating a Cold War missile treaty, setting the stage for Washington to withdraw from the pact, a U.S. official said on Wednesday.
The United States is now set to start the six-month process of quitting the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty on Feb. 2, U.S. Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Andrea Thompson said after briefing NATO allies.
"We weren't able to break any new ground yesterday with Russia," Thompson said of the Jan. 15 meeting with Russian Foreign Ministry officials in Geneva.
"Based on yesterday's discussions and corresponding rhetoric today, we see no indication that Russia would choose compliance," Thompson told reporters.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday the United States had not properly considered Moscow's proposals to save the pact and prevent a new arms race in Europe.
Moscow says the range of its missiles puts them outside the treaty altogether and that the distance they can fly is not as long as Washington alleges, meaning Moscow is fully compliant with the INF.
The INF treaty, negotiated by then-President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and ratified by the U.S. Senate, eliminated the medium-range missile arsenals of the world’s two biggest nuclear powers and reduced their ability to launch a nuclear strike at short notice.
(Reporting by Robin Emmott; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
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What Makes A Well-Lived Life?
Researchers at Wake Forest University hope to answer the age-old question with the first Eudaimonia Index
While many of us long to learn the secrets to happiness, researchers at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, are trying to uncover the secrets to something they consider much deeper and broader than simply being happy —eudaimonia (yoo-dye-mo-NEE-uh), Aristotle’s word for “flourishing.” Since 2016, Wake Forest’s Eudaimonia Institute has studied the ancient Greek concept, which, despite Aristotle’s term, is difficult to define. “A eudaimonic life is not just feeling pleasure, although pleasure might be part of it. It’s not just contentment, although contentment might be a part of it,” says Dr. James Otteson, Executive Director of the Eudaimonia Institute. “The intuitive idea [of eudaimonia] is what kind of life should you lead such that at the end of it, when you’re 85 or 90 years old, you look back at your life and you say, ‘Yes, that was a life worth having been led.’”
In its quest to better understand eudaimonia, the first-of-its-kind institute brings together researchers from economics, political science, philosophy, psychology, and sociology. “There are lots of people in different disciplines working on various aspects of trying to understand what a truly flourishing life is,” says Otteson. “We wanted to create an intellectual community that cut across those disciplinary boundaries.”
In the short time since it opened, the institute has provided research grants to two dozen academic projects on topics ranging from how Alexander became ‘Great’ to whether contact sports enable human flourishing. It has also brought together researchers from across North Carolina to collaborate on issues surrounding health care economics, and it has hosted two large academic conferences. The first, “Eudaimonia: What Is It and How Can It Be Assessed?,” sparked discussions on virtue, purpose, productivity, subjectivity and measurement, while the second, “Rethinking Community,” explored what it means to live in today’s diverse and polarized society.
In December 2017, the institute launched a lecture series featuring Muhammad Yunus as its inaugural speaker. Yunus won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for founding the global microfinance movement through his Grameen Bank, a non-profit in Bangladesh that provided small, collateral-free loans to the poor, mostly women, to start their own businesses. His talk focused on his life’s work and his vision for a world without poverty. This April, the institute will host Harvard psychology professor Steven Pinker, who will discuss his book, Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress.
In its boldest project to date, the institute is creating the world’s first Eudaimonia Index, which will rank the world’s countries on how well their cultural, political, moral, and economic institutions encourage human flourishing. “The goal is to provide a tool to help economists and other policymakers organize and evaluate their institutions,” says economist Dr. Adam Hyde, associate director of the Eudaimonia Institute and head of the project.
To create the index, Hyde and his two research associates, Dr. Mona Ahmadiani and Dr. Fengyu Wu, will examine data from Gallup, the World Values Survey, General Social Survey, and the Economic Freedom of the World Index as well as collect their own data. They hope to publish their first report within a year and to complete the index within the next three years.
Hyde says their greatest hurdle will be tackling the subjective nature of eudaimonia. “If you ask people how well they are doing or how satisfied they are with their lives, my answer to that question may be a 7 out of 10,” says Hyde. “But somebody else who has exactly the same objective life but has an extremely sunny disposition may say, ‘I’m an 8.’ So, what do we do with that if we are policymakers or if we’re trying to aggregate across individuals and make some kind of statement about how the country overall is doing? We need to understand what biases may go into people’s responses,” he says.
Using these subjective measures are important because they tell a story that objective measures, like unemployment or annual income, alone may not. “Right now, the economy seems to be doing pretty well, but there are still narratives that we hear about despair and we still have increasing drug addiction and drug-related deaths despite having economic success, so where is the complement to these objective measures?” says Hyde. “Part of what the index wants to do is to try to measure these components of a flourishing life that we’re missing with objective data.”
Otteson and Hyde hope the index becomes a signature item of the institute. “There’s really nobody who has been able to figure out exactly how to unite the subjective with the objective measures in a way that withstands scrutiny,” says Otteson. “If we can pull off an index like this, it would be path breaking.”
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Interview: Alex Garland Talks Lo-Fi Approach To 'Ex Machina,' Auteur Theory, And Much More
April 16, 2015 by Chase Whale
If you ask Alex Garland, writer and director of "Ex Machina," if his goal was to make the film a "game changer" for the genre, he would probably say, "Hell, no." What he's likely to say is that he wanted to make a think piece, a solid science fiction film. And that's exactly what "Ex Machina" is.
"Ex Machina" screened at SXSW last month (read our review) and we caught up with Garland after the premiere to talk about the film. There’s a lot of moving parts to "Ex Machina" but it all comes together when it needs to. When talking to him, we learned some kind of charming facts about him that happen to be polar opposites from each other: he knows all about movie robots and the films with artificial intelligence, but in the real world, his world, he’s very out of touch with technology. This accidentally worked in his favor for the film.
Read on to learn how Garland made a micro-budget project visually match a studio release, as well as carefully constructing his A.I. robot to separate itself from others you’ve seen before.
You did a really terrific job with the visuals. When designing the compound facility and all the technology involved in the film, how much planning went into it so this movie in 20 years will stay relevant to science fiction, or was that even a goal you were thinking about when making the movie? It’s fascinating when watching films like "Terminator" how the technology is now dated.
With these questions, or more specifically with the answers, there's a danger you can rationalize stuff. 'Cause it's so, so easy to get pat and rationalize things, retrospectively. And often kid yourself that it's actually true, that the rationalization is what happened. But the real thing is, say in this film, there's no holistic vision in that sense. It's piecemeal.
So for example, the design of Ava is not in a broader context of the of the historical place that this film might exist, either within the internal universe of the film, or the external thing of it being watched in 20 years time in our world. You know, it's got nothing to do with either of those things. It's really got to do with film history, which is that the first time she walks on the screen, I didn't want people to start thinking about other movies with other robots. I want them to be attached to her, this robot.
"The first part of the design of Ava, was finding out what she could not look like, rather than what she could look like."
So, in a weird way, the first part of the design of Ava was finding out what she could not look like, rather than what she could look like. And there were some specifics. I found it quite interesting. Gold metal made you think of C3P0. A metallic chest, which had a sort of metal structure to the breast immediately made you think of "Metropolis," and you couldn't get away from it. It was just there. White plastic made you think of either [Bjork's “All is Full of Love" robot music video from] Chris Cunningham or more "I, Robot."
So that's her, right? So then there's the house. Well, the house thing is just really a simple, practical problem. We're a low budget film, and we're making a film about a low budget millionaire who does not have a low budget; he's got a lot of money. So how does a low budget film create something or find something that's got the vibe of someone who has a lot of money when we don't have that money. So that's really kind of like a domestic, almost banal problem.
That's about old-fashioned filmmaking graft of location hunting and looking through millions of photos and, you know, it's sort of as simple as that. And then, more broadly ... I'm gonna give you two more and then you can get bored with this answer. (Laughs)
No, you actually just answered another question, so keep going! (Laughs)
Okay. (Laughs) When someone would ask me, "When is this taking place," I'd say it's 10 minutes in the future.
You just answered the 3rd question! (Laughs)
All right, so there you go!
Keep going!
(Laughs) Okay, so, there's a ton of stuff you do not need to invent. I don't need to get anyone to redesign what a glass looks like or a mug, or a kettle, because you just buy one, and that's cool. You know, he's got a nice kettle, that's it, and so when he makes tea or whatever it is, there's a tap, it's just a tap. Certain kind of sci-fi, "Aeon Flux" or something, you have to redesign everything, but this is the opposite of that, it's our world.
And then the fourth strand of this incredibly convoluted design answer is key cards. Now, I'm really interested in science. I'm interested in A.I.s. I'm interested in human consciousness and a bunch of different things, but I'm also 44 and I'm out of touch in a lot of ways. And there's all sorts of stuff my kids know about to do with technology that I don't know. I'm not very tech-savvy about a lot of gadgets. I thought when I was writing it, the key cards was like a cool futuristic way of getting around this fucking house, right? Retrospectively, you're laughing because it's so stupid, and retrospectively, it's been pointed out to me, this is like the most lo-fi thing you could possibly do. You could have retinal scanners and you can buy a fucking phone which checks your fingerprint, and what, he's using a key card — it’s preposterous.
It's pretty clever how you brought old school into new school.
Yeah, but it's an accident. I actually got that because probably like 15-20 years ago I read something about Bill Gates, who had a key card system in his house and I thought, "Well, that's futuristic." So then 20 years later, I'm writing this script and I'm putting in what was the future 20 years ago. It's ridiculous. I mean, it's like I'm my grandmother. (Laughs)
I want to talk about Ava's design. It’s fascinating that you chose hands, feet, and face to be the only flesh for her. What made you choose those three parts of the body? Obviously the face, but why the hands and the feet for flesh?
So, okay, the face is — I just wanted the range of subtle expression, for that human-like interaction. The truth about the hands and the feet were, we were not able at our budget range swap them out because to create a midriff, shoulders, breasts... Often all these things are swapped out in the film. Legs are very durable.
But the hands can become incredibly complicated and expensive. And, so then we tried her wearing gloves, and the thing about Ava's body is she's wearing a suit. The actress is wearing a suit, which packs her out. She's actually a very delicate girl, you know.
But the suit just beefs her up slightly and you get away with that, actually, because she's so slender and delicate, on her torso and legs. But on her hands, it was like she was gonna thump you, like she had big sort of fists, like she was gonna take a swing.
And I took one look at the gloves and said, "We just can't do that." So then me and Andrew Whitehurst, the VFX guy had a quick, sort of like thing of like, "What the fuck are we gonna do?"
And this was like a few days before we start shooting, and basically Andrew's methodology which he came up with was to use black bands. Because if there was gonna be a hand over between VFX and practical, the mesh would be incredibly hard to match up, but a black band gives you all this tolerance, and... Look, the thing about particularly low budget filmmaking is to be told the practical parameters and then to be as inventive as you can within them, and to try to find ways of making them into a virtue where possible. Even if you're just doing it to kid yourself and everyone around you to feel like it's a virtue, rather than an impediment, is important.
Something else I found fascinating and rather noble. At the Q&A last night, you spoke about this being your directorial debut, and you talked about how Hollywood shouldn’t deify directors and that it's a complete process from the whole crew working on the film and that you're a writer first and foremost, and that everyone involved in the film is the filmmaker. I thought that was a really amazing statement — will you elaborate on it?
It doesn't seem to me like a surprising observation. It just seems to me to be clearly true. I think that film does allow for the existence of auteurs. I wouldn't need a lot of convincing if somebody made a case to me that Woody Allen is an auteur. It feels like yes, he is. But I've been working in film for a long time and what I have observed a lot is that they're quite hard to find. However, the way the film is presented to the world is that they're not hard to find. The vision of the director, it's a marketing tool, and it's a way of kind of dignifying the process.
"The vision of the director, it's a marketing tool, and it's a way of kind of dignifying the process."
And there is a lot of myth around it, and there's a lot of bullshit around it, and I find it boring. But I also think it's actually, it's not to the advantage of cinema, because what I think happens sometimes is that people are given too much power that actually shouldn't have that much power. Some of the supporting team in that pyramid structure are trained to be deferential at times, when they shouldn't be deferential, they should be assertive, and they should say, "I think this is a better way of doing it." And it's somewhere in my head, it's something like a kind of anarchy. It's like the right kind of anarchy where everyone is working semi-autonomously but doing the right thing, 'cause they're pulling in the same direction or something like that. All right, now that answer actually has an element of the rationalization that I was trying to avoid earlier embedded within in it I would say, but I don't know. It's very, very hard to answer this question. I've tried to answer these questions honestly. This is a particularly difficult question to answer, honestly.
Understandable.
One of the things is, all those names that appear at the end of a film, they're not there by chance, you know? And when people talk about how a director mounted a camera, or what the fuck do they think a DP does, you know? Why does this guy get so valued within the filmmaking community, but so ignored outside it. Does that imply a deception somewhere?
And actually with that DP, why do filmmakers value production designers so much? You know, if all these people are doing is adhering to their vision, why do they value these people so much? Why do productions fight over production designers, you know? If it's all this one guy's vision? And I would say it's not one guy's vision. It's a collaborative exercise that gets sold as one guy's vision; seems to me a reasonable answer to that question.
That's a great answer and I want the readers to see that and hopefully more people will understand that films are more than the director. It's about the collaborative process.
I think it would be fair to say that the collaboration would be something you could celebrate, rather than try and deny.
[Note: This interview was originally published on Indiewire's The Playlist.]
April 16, 2015 /Chase Whale
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CHICAGO RABBI’S LIFESAVING STORY…
Posted By: chicagojewishnews April 5, 2018
By Ellen Braunstein, Special to Chicago Jewish News
A conversation can save a life. Eleven years ago, Rabbi Andy Bossov, then 48, was in need of a kidney donor. The Mt. Laurel, NJ rabbi had slow renal failure stemming from an adverse reaction to medication he had taken for years for another problem.
His family members were ruled out. But a casual mention about his medical situation to a fellow pastor at an interfaith ministers’ meeting changed everything. Methodist pastor the Rev. Karen Onesti, then 50, immediately offered her own left kidney and would prove to be a suitable candidate.
“Thank you, but you don’t realize what you are saying,” said Bossov, who now lives in Wilmette and serves as a rabbi and piano performer for senior communities.
Onesti remembers saying that her family had good kidneys and longevity and it’s what G-d wanted her to do. “It was a divine setup. I was there at the right time when the need was presented. I said, ‘What do I have to do? Tell me where to start.’”
It took a year for both to get cleared for the transplant. “I have no regrets. It’s all a blessing.”
Their relationship has deepened and they have appeared together on behalf of live organ donation on ‘Good Morning America.’ Both lead happy, healthy lives, him in Illinois, she in New Jersey. They see each other three or four times a year. “That’s how close we are,” said Bossov, who named his kidney ‘lefty’ after Onesti’s donated left kidney.
In March – National Kidney Month—Bossov participated in a Capitol Hill fly-in for 30 advocates of kidney-related causes sponsored by the American Kidney Fund. “I want to encourage people to become live donors and buck the trend of the opposition to that,” said Bossov, who spoke to his legislative representatives. “It makes economic sense to get people off of dialysis as much as possible.”
Bossov also does live PSAs for organizational meetings to spread the word about getting screened for kidney disease and other conditions that would have spared him from life-threatening illness.
In Illinois, 31,186 residents are living with end-stage renal disease and 21,226 depend on dialysis to stay alive, according to the American Kidney Fund. Dialysis takes over part of the kidney function when the kidneys no longer work properly. Statewide, 3,647 people are on the waiting list for kidney transplants and 756 transplants were performed in 2017.
The leading causes of kidney failure are diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity.
Simple blood and urine tests can tell how well the kidneys are working. The screening is vital because those with early kidney disease don’t know they have it. Symptoms appear in the late stages.
Bossov and others lobbied legislators on two bills making their way through the House of Representatives. HR 3976 would amend the Affordable Care Act to allow third-party payments and charitable assistance. The bill specifically allows non-profits, like the American Kidney Fund, civic groups and churches to help pay cost sharing and health insurance premiums for individuals and families. Many health insurers have been refusing payments from third parties including the American Kidney Fund to avoid having to cover patients with end stage renal disease. The AKF pays the insurance premiums of 74,000 people.
The other bill, HR 1270, would make it easier for people to donate organs, giving them job protection and required time off as part of the Family and Medical Leave Act.
Holly Bode, vice President of Government Affairs for the American Kidney fund, says that Bossov well represents the organization. “He’s very passionate and articulate on the issues,” “He’s dedicated to getting the word out.”
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Dahleen Glanton
Lindsey Graham and Diana Ross: Lessons on standing up for a friend who is dead
By Dahleen Glanton
Diana Ross and Michael Jackson hold their American Music Awards in Los Angeles. (AP 1981)
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about friendships.
I’m not only talking about the interpersonal relationships we have with people every day, though they can be complicated too. I am wondering whether the loyalty we had for close friends when they were alive should continue after they are dead.
When our friends have passed on, do we owe them the same level of devotion that we once would have offered without hesitation? When they can no longer defend themselves, are we obligated to speak out on their behalf?
The question first came to mind after Sen. Lindsey Graham failed to come to the rescue of the late Sen. John McCain, the man he once called “one of my dearest friends and mentor.”
Many of us have strong opinions about how Graham should have initially responded when President Donald Trump went on an irrational rampage making disparaging remarks about the senator who died of brain cancer last year.
Graham’s early reaction was too tepid, like he was cowering away from his responsibility. He seemed like a jerk when he reportedly laughed with Trump and lavished praise on him during a Republican fundraising dinner in Florida over the weekend. He acted like a traitor, choosing to preserve his new political alliance with Trump at the expense of McCain’s family.
Sometimes deciding when to stand up for a friend is much more complex than we might think, though.
What about Michael Jackson’s friends? Do the same rules apply to them?
In the wake of the “Leaving Neverland” documentary, in which two men revealed how the adult pop star sexually abused them for years when they were children, Jackson’s reputation has been severely tarnished. Other than family members, few people who knew the deceased singer well have been willing to speak up for him.
Over the weekend, Diana Ross did.
“This is what’s on my heart this morning. I believe and trust that Michael Jackson was and is a magnificent incredible force to me and to many others,” the singing legend tweeted.
She added, “STOP IN THE NAME OF LOVE,” using the title of her hit song with the Supremes to ask people to end the criticism of Jackson.
This is what’s on my heart this morning. I believe and trust that Michael Jackson was and is A magnificent incredible force to me and to many others.
STOP IN THE NAME OF LOVE
— Ms. Ross (@DianaRoss) March 23, 2019
Those of us who watched the HBO documentary likely came away with a very strong opinion about Jackson. The heart-wrenching stories those young men told appeared undeniably credible. It was impossible for many who watched not to see the immense pain they obviously are still coping with.
But we must remember that those were their stories in the documentary. Not Jackson’s.
Many people are torn or continue to side with Jackson. He has never been convicted of such a crime. They believe it was unfair to present such a one-sided picture of the superstar who is no longer here to defend himself. They were happy to see someone try, at least, to help people understand who Jackson was.
While we might condemn Ross for taking up for her friend, we still get angry when friends don’t step up the way we think they should.
We know that in the world of politics, so-called friends play by a different set of rules. Friendships are born of convenience and often last only as long as one of the friends is a benefit to the other.
Of course, the circumstances regarding McCain and Jackson are different. But friendships are not. Our friends are supposed to be our friends no matter what people might say about them, right?
Heidi Stevens
Barbra Streisand apologized for her comments about Michael Jackson's accusers. Let's not turn away just yet.
By Heidi Stevens
It is clear from Ross’ tweet that she has struggled with how to react to the revelations about Jackson. If she woke up that morning with something on her heart as she said, it was probably there when she went to sleep.
Ross met Jackson when he was just 9 years old and starting out in show business. They had once been so close that Jackson is said to have tried to emulate everything about her, including her facial features. In his will, he named her as the secondary caregiver to his three children, should his mother be unable to care for them.
We see this almost daily. When someone dies as a victim of gun violence or even a drug overdose, friends rush to their rescue in an attempt to convince others that this wasn’t a bad person. And in sometimes, perhaps they weren’t. People’s lives are complex.
It is human nature to want to shield our deceased friends from further harm by pointing out their good qualities. Though we may wish otherwise, our feelings don’t always abruptly end when a friend does something wrong. Often, it takes time to process.
It is difficult to stand back and see troubled friends for who they really are. Even, when they do wrong, we are often reluctant to take advantage of the exit clause.
We shouldn’t necessarily condemn Ross for wanting to protect Jackson in death. But we should all have a problem with what she said.
The Jackson revelations have generated an eye-opening conversation about how children and their families can be groomed for sexual abuse. They have forced us to talk more openly about how we sometimes misappropriate fault and victimization.
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It has taught us that some people still don’t understand what molestation does to children emotionally, and how the damage doesn’t just go away when they become adults. It has shown us that there is much more to be said.
The easiest thing to do is to say nothing, which is the route Graham took. Though he has said he criticized Trump to his face in private and straightened out some misinformation, he never condemned the president’s actions in the public way we needed to see.
A true friend doesn’t wait to stand up for someone when it is convenient. The best kind of friend speaks up when no one else will. But when they do, they tell the truth.
dglanton@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @dahleeng
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Swindon’s Heritage Action Zone is officially launched
Posted on Jun 18 2019 Jun 18 2019 in Other news
Swindon Borough Council and Historic England have formally launched the town’s Heritage Action Zone (HAZ).
The five-year scheme will bring heritage expertise and £1.6 million of funding from Historic England, who will work with the Council and other partners to revitalise this under-appreciated area of Swindon.
The scheme, led by Swindon Borough Council, will see neglected buildings repaired including the Carriage Works, the Cricketers, and the Health Hydro. It will also improve footpaths, signage and public spaces to better connect the area to the town centre. There will be events, exhibitions, publications and tours to raise awareness of Swindon’s history among residents and visitors, and to draw people into the area.
A dedicated Project Officer has already been recruited to lead the HAZ. The first undertaking to get underway this summer will be a review of the existing Conservation Areas and listed buildings and places, and new research to build on our knowledge of the Railway Village. This work will inform all future projects within the HAZ.
Rebecca Barrett, Regional Director for Historic England in the South West, said:
“Swindon has so much to be proud of, particularly the legacy of Brunel’s Great Western Railway Works and the village built for its workforce in the 1840s. Whilst some of its historic buildings have already been beautifully refurbished and brought back to life, there are still a number showing signs of neglect.
“But with investment and imagination they can become places for the people of Swindon to enjoy and help the town’s economy to thrive. We are looking forward to working with Swindon Borough Council and other partners, including the Mechanics’ Institution Trust, to celebrate Swindon’s remarkable heritage.”
Councillor David Renard, Leader of Swindon Borough Council, said:
“I am thrilled to see the Heritage Action Zone get off the ground. We are extremely privileged to have been selected for this scheme by Historic England and I am sure their expertise will enable Swindon’s prized assets to flourish for years to come.”
Councillor Dale Heenan, Swindon Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for the Town Centre, said:
“The Railway Village is of huge historic significance and we are delighted to have been presented with this brilliant opportunity to make some positive changes to the area.
“I look forward to working with our key partners over the coming months as we collaborate on a whole range of improvement ideas.”
David Thackray, Chair of the Mechanics Institution Trust and of the HAZ Stakeholder Steering Group, said:
“The Mechanics’ Trust is thrilled to see this project go ahead and to be working with Swindon Borough Council as a partner in it. The Railway Village is special to people from all over Swindon and beyond, and it’s great to see it getting the attention and recognition it deserves.”
Last year, the Railway Village Conservation Area was voted ‘England’s Favourite Conservation Area’ in a competition run by Civic Voice.
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Victory for California free speech
May 20, 2009 − by CIR − in Press Releases − Comments Off on Victory for California free speech
State housing agency agrees to “Julie Waltz First Amendment Policy”
Washington, D.C.—California resident Julie Waltz’ long fight for free speech for opponents of state subsidized housing policies came to a victorious conclusion today, when the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing agreed to implement the “Julie Waltz First Amendment Policy.”
The new policy prohibits the Department from investigating citizens for housing discrimination solely on the basis of free speech activity, including speaking at public meetings, writing and displaying flyers, signs, or newspaper articles critical of public housing projects, even if they appear to advocate discriminatory policies or positions.
The new policy sets forth complaint handling procedures that must be followed by Department personnel to ensure that citizens are not subjected to long investigations that have the effect of stifling public criticism of housing policies. The Department agreed to adopt the new policy, seek to have it codified in the California Code of Regulations, publish it on its website and train employees in its use.
The dispute grew out of a 2006 housing discrimination investigation of Waltz that lasted for nearly a year. Waltz had posted yard signs and expressed opposition in other peaceful ways to the state’s efforts to place sex offenders and other individuals with a history of behavioral problems in residential group homes, including homes in Phelan, CA, and one next door to her home in Norco, CA. Despite the fact that the complaint did not allege specific facts constituting a violation of housing discrimination laws nor any specific facts that would show that Waltz had illegally threatened group home residents, Department officials inexplicably continued to investigate her.
During the year-long investigation, state investigators told Waltz that her speech violated state fair housing laws, requested that she refrain from her speech activities, and threatened her with prosecution. An investigator also told her that the investigation would end if she removed signs from her yard objecting to the next-door group home as well as signs posted by other people in her neighborhood. Waltz declined to remove the signs.
Waltz sued in 2008, seeking an injunction prohibiting DFEH officials from engaging in investigations designed only to punish individuals for speaking out against government housing policies. In addition, Waltz sued Lillianita Brumfield, who handled her case, and other officials in their individual capacities for damages for violating Waltz’s federal constitutional rights.
Waltz commented, “I am pleased that the Department has recognized the need to protect the free speech rights of ordinary citizens to criticize and question housing policies without being made the subject of prolonged discrimination investigations. It is my hope that should any future investigations of this type occur, government officials will recognize that their authority does not supersede the United States Constitution. God Bless America.”
Waltz was represented by the Los Angeles, CA firm of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP, which donated its time pro bono and the Center for Individual Rights.
“This is an important victory for free speech. The new policy will ensure that citizens are not subjected to housing discrimination investigations solely because they openly express viewpoints the government does not like,” said Henry Weissmann, a partner at Munger, Tolles & Olson, LLP who worked on the case.
CIR President Terence Pell commented, “This was an egregious case of housing investigators using their authority to harass and intimidate a citizen whose only crime was speaking out in opposition to government policies. It would be difficult to find a clearer violation of the First Amendment.”
CIR has successfully represented California residents in other cases involving the misuse of housing discrimination laws to silence criticism of government housing policy. In two earlier cases, Affordable Housing v. Fresno (2006) and White v. Lee (2000) the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit made unequivocally clear that citizens may not be investigated or sued for housing discrimination solely because of their public speech concerning government housing policies. In both cases, the court found individual officials liable in their personal capacities for violating the clear constitutional rights of CIR’s clients.
Waltz v. Brumfield
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Home>Alerts>Window On Washington - July 9, 2018, ...
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Window On Washington - July 9, 2018, Vol. 2, Issue 27
Outlook for This Week in the Nation's Capital
House and Senate Return. Both the House and Senate are back in session this week. The Senate is planning to take a series of judicial nominations as well as a few other agency nominations. The House is scheduled to consider its intelligence authorization.
Supreme Court Nominee. President Trump is planning to announce his Supreme Court nominee this evening in a nationally televised event. He had originally planned to come to a decision yesterday but has now stated he would make a choice by noon today. At this time, it appears that Trump is deciding between Thomas Hardiman, Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh. Trump has previously stated he would prefer a nominee that could be confirmed easily given the slim majority of Senate Republicans.
Last Week in the Nation's Capital
House Begins Work on Next Minibus: The House is planning to take up its next minibus containing the Interior and Financial Services appropriations bills during the week of July 16. The bill is available here. If both chambers complete action on the second minibus they will have passed 5 of the 12 appropriations bills. (House Rules Committee)
Senate Floor Time for Appropriations: With the Senate having to deal with approving a Supreme Court judge to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy, some are worried that floor time for appropriations bills will be reduced. Senate Appropriations Chairman Shelby, however, is optimistic that appropriations will make their way to the floor while others work on the Supreme Court nomination. (The Hill)
Dem Memo: Top Trump Official Compared Abortion to Slavery, the Holocaust: The Trump administration’s top official overseeing family planning once compared abortion to slavery and the Holocaust, according to a memo prepared by Democratic staffers on the Senate Health Committee. Tonic, a vertical of Vice, first reported on the memo detailing the past comments made by Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population Affairs Diane Foley. Foley was appointed by the Trump administration to oversee Title X, the federal government’s family planning program. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) shared the document with the publication. (The Hill)
Marco Rubio to Introduce 'Conservative Solution' on Paid Family Leave: Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., is introducing legislation that is likely to allow parents to draw from their Social Security benefits early in what he is calling a "conservative solution" for paid family leave. Under the plan, the provision to draw from Social Security would be available to each spouse for up to 12 weeks, for a total of 24 weeks, for each child who has been born or adopted. In return, parents would defer their retirement benefits for the amount of time necessary to offset the cost of their parental benefits. (The Washington Examiner)
Clash Looms Over ICE Funding: The spotlight on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is about to become brighter as Congress weighs the Trump administration’s request for a huge spending boost even as a growing number of Democrats want the agency abolished. The administration is pressing Congress for $8.3 billion in discretionary funding for ICE in fiscal year 2019 — a $967 million increase over this year’s budget. Democrats are already balking at the figure out of early concern that Republicans will designate the money for bolstering enforcement efforts, including an acceleration of deportations. (The Hill)
Senate Farm Bill Provides a Glimmer of Hope for Rural Broadband: For far too long, Rural Utilities Service (RUS) loans have funded telephone and broadband service with few assurances that the money is being deployed in legitimately unserved areas across the country. This is problematic for rural communities striving to compete for services and jobs against regions that have broadband service. The lack of infrastructure buildout to unserved communities will become even more apparent as the U.S. races to become a leader in 5G and broadband deployment. The Senate farm bill places new restrictions on the Department of Agriculture’s RUS Broadband Loan Program, which would help focus the program on the unserved who need broadband the most, while simplifying the application process for companies seeking loans and grants. (The Hill)
Senate Democrats: Interior Department Is Snubbing Us on Grant Delay Questions: Senate Democrats say the Interior Department is not answering questions about delays in the issuing of federal grants, a move they contend is holding up money used to fund conservation programs. The senators raised concerns that the Interior Department was improperly withholding grants from conservation groups for political reasons after hearing from several dozen groups in their states who said they had not received the grants they were expecting for conservation-related programs. A senior Interior official wrote to the senators last week that the department was targeting the grant-making process for “increased scrutiny.” (Roll Call)
Banking & Housing
Central Bank Likely Ignoring Calls to Slow Interest-Rate Hikes: At the June meeting, the Fed raised the target range for its benchmark policy rate to between 1.75% and 2% and made changes to its statement and economic projections that were hawkish relative to expectations. The central bank projected four rate increases in 2018 instead of three previously planned. Some economists think that the Trump White House’s various trade disputes will eventually interfere with the Fed’s policy path, others believe they are locked in on a path that will take rates above 3% in 2020. (Market Watch)
Trump Administration Freezes Billions in Obamacare Payments, Outraging Advocates: The Trump administration is freezing billions of dollars of payments to Obamacare health insurers, another blow to the fragile markets as health plans begin to set premiums and get ready for the next enrollment season. The so-called risk adjustment payments are supposed to protect insurers from big losses. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said it was halting the decision after a federal court in New Mexico court decided in February the payments were based on flawed rules. It also said it would appeal – particularly because another court in Massachusetts upheld the payments. (Politico)
HHS Rushing to Reunite Migrant Families Separated at the Border: Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said Thursday that officials are racing against a federal judge’s “extreme” deadlines to reunite “under 3,000” migrant children separated from their parents at the U.S. border. Azar did not provide a precise number, but he said hundreds of government employees are poring over databases, examining case files, and conducting DNA tests to reunite families. (The Washington Post)
Labor & Workforce
The Road Beckons, But Truck-Driving Jobs Go Begging: As the nation grapples with a historically low level of unemployment, trucking companies are doing what economists have said firms need to do to attract and retain workers: They’re raising pay significantly, offering bonuses and even recruiting people they previously wouldn’t have considered. But it’s not working. The industry reports a growing labor shortage — 63,000 open positions this year, a number expected to more than double in coming years — that could have wide-ranging impacts on the American economy. (Providence Journal)
Wall Street Journal Editorial Board Shoots Down Space Force: President Trump has become “fixated” on the idea of a new military branch for space and appears to be ignoring legitimate arguments for why the plan should not move forward at this time, the Wall Street Journal editorial board cautioned in its July 4 editorial titled, “Houston, We Have a Space Force.” The Journal’s take on the Space Force underscores just how politicized this issue has become since the president on June 18 at a White House space policy event ordered Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to “immediately begin the process necessary to establish a Space Force as the sixth branch of the armed forces.” (Space News)
The Pentagon’s Latest Budget Is its Largest Counter-drone Budget Ever: As the Pentagon’s latest budget slouches toward Washington, it is time to take a closer look at how the robots in the budget survived the various committees and drafts. As expected, the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act is a boon for drones, allocating funding for nearly three times as many uncrewed vehicles as in previous years. The Pentagon is set to spend almost twice as much on countering other drones in 2019 as it spent on that same in 2018. For the counter-drone mission, the Pentagon is splitting $1.5 billion between over 90 different projects, ranging from modifications to existing missiles and anti-air systems to directed energy weapons to electronic warfare software. (C4ISR)
USDOT Announces Pilot Program to Allow Under-21 Drivers with Military CDL: Following through on a mandated requirement as part of the FAST Act, the U.S. Department of Transportation will formerly announce a pilot program designed to transition military members into truck driving careers in interstate commerce. The program, to be published in the Federal Register on Thursday, will allow 18- to 20-year olds who possess the U.S. Military equivalent of a commercial driver’s license (CDL) to operate large trucks in interstate commerce, USDOT said. (Freight Waves)
Federal Court Rules against Drone Hobbyist, Sets Stage for Regulations: A federal court upheld the government’s authority over hobbyist drone use. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit's ruling against a drone hobbyist who sued the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is set to pave the way for new drone regulations. The judges said that while they intended to give drone hobbyists some exemptions, they would not invalidate the FAA’s rules governing amateur drone use. (The Hill)
New Trade Case on Steel Racks from China: A new US antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) case was filed on June 20, 2018 by the Coalition for Fair Rack Imports against imports of Certain Quartz Surface Products from China. The case targets numerous US importers and Chinese suppliers of this product which is commonly used in facilities such as warehouses, fulfillment and distribution centers, big-box retail stores, and manufacturing facilities. (Clark Hill Insight)
Trump Nominates Former Energy Official to Lead Homeland Security Tech Research Arm: President Trump on Thursday announced that he is tapping William Bryan, an Army veteran and former Department of Energy official, to lead the Department of Homeland Security’s technology research and development arm. Bryan has been serving as undersecretary of science and technology at the department in an acting capacity since May 2017. Trump’s decision will allow him to formally assume the position, if confirmed by the Senate. (The Hill)
DHS and 16 Other Agencies Are Upgrading Their Mobile Device Security: DHS’ Science & Technology Directorate announced it will make use of an update to San Francisco-based Lookout, Inc.’s Mobile Endpoint Security platform. The update offers security beyond the detection of attacks through SMS messages. The system monitors and prevents attacks that hide inside mobile applications, social media messages and in personal or work email messages. In addition, it inspects any outbound connections at the network level and alerts users—and administrators—in real-time if connections are harmful. (Next Gov)
Proposed DOE Test Reactor Sparks Controversy: Plans for a controversial multibillion-dollar U.S. nuclear research reactor are coming together at lightning speed—much too fast, say some nuclear policy experts. With a push from Congress, the Department of Energy (DOE) has begun designing the Versatile Fast Neutron Source, which would be the first DOE-built reactor since the 1970s. It would generate high-energy neutrons for testing materials and fuels for so-called fast reactors. But U.S. utilities have no plans to deploy such reactors, which some nuclear proliferation analysts say pose a risk because they use plutonium, the stuff of atomic bombs. (Science Magazine)
Pitt Professors Tasked with Improving 3-D Printing for Nuclear Energy Industry: The nuclear energy industry requires the manufacturing of complex components, but faces a problem in harnessing the power of cost-effective additive manufacturing, or 3-D printing An associate professor and research director To of the University of Pittsburgh’s Swanson School of Engineering received a $1 million U.S. Department of Energy award to help solve the problem. The researchers are tasked with designing and manufacturing nuclear plant components via additive manufacturing, with a focus on developing solutions including dissolvable supports. (Biz Journals)
Space, NASA & NOAA
Texas Researchers Left in a Lurch With Continued Delays of NASA’s James Webb Telescope: The launch of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope was fewer than two years away when Steve Finkelstein was tapped in November as one of the first astronomers to test the agency's newest telescope. Finkelstein, an associate astronomy professor at the University of Texas-Austin, began prepping the lab for data simulations ahead of the launch. But then the problem-plagued telescope suffered the latest in a string of human error and technical issues, causing it to be delayed yet again to March 2021. The most recent delay has left researchers, like Finkelstein, in a lurch as the wait for James Webb stretches far beyond what was originally anticipated when the telescope was first suggested almost two decades ago. (Houston Chronicle)
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe is About to Get Up Close and Personal With the Sun: NASA’s Parker Solar Probe is about to embark on one daredevil stunt of a space mission. Slated to launch August 4, the probe will be the first spacecraft to swoop through the sun’s outer atmosphere, or corona, a roiling inferno of plasma heated to several million degrees Celsius. Parker’s closeup observations of the corona and the solar wind, the torrent of charged particles that the sun spews into space, could help resolve long-standing mysteries about the inner workings of the sun’s atmosphere. And the new data may improve forecasts for space weather that endangers spacecraft, astronauts and technology on the ground. (Science News)
Cyber Command Moves Closer to a Major New Weapon: The Air Force issued a formal proposal for the Department of Defense’s long-awaited cyber weapon system, known as the Unified Platform. DoD officials have said the Unified Platform is one of U.S. Cyber Command’s largest and most critical acquisition programs to date. Industry officials have said it is necessary to conduct cyber operations and is critical to national security. But details on what the Air Force wants in a Unified Platform are scarce. (Fifth Domain)
California’s ‘Sanctuary State’ Laws Withstand Federal Suit: A federal judge denied the U.S. Department of Justice’s request to block California’s “sanctuary state” law. The state can decide for itself whether or not to help the federal government “implement its immigration enforcement regime,” wrote Judge John Mendez in his order. (Route Fifty)
People Waste $1B A Year Because Feds Don't Advertise A Free Tax Filing Program: Since 2003, the IRS has partnered with tax software companies to provide free electronic filing services (if you meet the program/income limit requirements). The IRS says that 70% of all taxpayers should be eligible to use Free File. That's 100 million. However the 50 million returns the system has processed over the past 16 years has been only about 3% of all those eligible, in large part because the IRS does a poor job publicizing the program. (Forbes)
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Anti-bribery and corruption
Corruption risks in Australia
Domestic bribery
Foreign bribery
False accounting
Corporate liability
Gifts and hospitality to Australian public officials
What's next for Australia?
Regulators around the world, including Australia, are becoming more aggressive and cooperative in investigating and enforcing anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws. Severe penalties – including fines and even terms of imprisonment – can be imposed on individuals and corporations for being involved in bribery and corruption; breaching relevant legislation; and failing to implement robust compliance programs that mitigate risks. Even more extensive consequences include reputational damage as well as a loss of confidence among employees and business counterparts.
The Federal Government recently launched a series of reforms to strengthen Australia’s anti-bribery and anti-corruption regime, highlighting the need for companies to take a considered and proactive approach to bribery and corruption issues.
As the global economy becomes increasingly integrated, regulators are also co-operating across international boundaries and focusing on high-risk regions as is evidenced by the creation of an OECD Global Network for investigators and prosecutors. This means that as well as being subject to Australian anti-bribery and corruption legislation, Australian companies and directors (or companies doing business in Australia) must also understand legislation in other jurisdictions. The United States and the United Kingdom have particularly onerous provisions coupled with strong cultures of enforcement and prosecution.
Although its index ranking dropped eight points over the last six years, Australia remained the thirteenth least corrupt country in the world on the Transparency International 2017 Corruption Perceptions Index, a position it has held since 2015. While this ranking gives the impression that Australia is a comparatively low-risk environment, there has been a recent focus on anti-bribery and anti-corruption in Australia.
In March 2018, the Australian Senate Economic References Committee released its report into the effectiveness of Australia’s foreign bribery laws (the Senate Report), which included recommendations for improvements to the laws. The proposed broadening of anti-bribery and anti-corruption investigations to include foreign bribery as a predicate offence for serious money laundering offences, would enable government authorities to use more intrusive and covert investigative powers than would otherwise be lawfully permitted.
The Australian Parliament passed new false accounting offence provisions in the Criminal Code, criminalising intentional and reckless conduct when dealing with accounting documents.
The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) criminally prosecuted the Reserve Bank of Australia’s subsidiary companies, Securency International Pty Ltd and Note Printing Australia Pty Ltd. In May 2018, a former senior employee of Securency, Clifford Gerathy, plead guilty to a false accounting offence.
In July 2017, former directors of Lifese Engineering Pty Ltd plead guilty to charges of conspiring to bribe a foreign public official, which resulted in each director being sentenced to four years’ imprisonment and a A$250,000 fine.
Under a Ministerial Direction, the investigation of foreign bribery has become one of the AFP’s strategic priorities.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) has established a Fraud and Anti-Corruption Centre within its multi-agency Serious Financial Crime Taskforce (SFCT). The AFP has 19 ongoing investigations into foreign bribery and corruption offences, including publically known investigations into Leighton Holdings (now known as CIMIC Group Limited), OZ Minerals Ltd, Tabcorp Holdings Limited, SMEC Holdings Limited, Iluka Resources, Rio Tinto, Getax Australia Pty Ltd and Sundance Resources Limited.
The Managing Director of ORIX Australia has been charged with serious corruption and money-laundering charges.
In May 2018, the Northern Territory Commissioner of Police was convicted of perverting the course of justice, in a case arising out of an AFP investigation.
Australia is a party to the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions (the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention), which provides the international framework for laws dealing with transnational bribery. As such, Australia is subject to ongoing progress reports, and the OECD is still pressing for Australia to work harder in the area of enforcing foreign bribery and corruption laws. As a consequence of the matters listed above, local and international stakeholders – including the legislature, non-government organisations and the media – are paying closer attention to Australia’s level of commitment to the war on bribery and corruption.
Australia’s federal system of government means there is no single government anti-corruption policy. Each jurisdiction has different laws – in statute and common law – for dealing with bribery and corruption.
The investigation of bribery and corruption offences is divided between the AFP, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), and the state and territory police forces. Investigations are referred to the relevant federal, state or territory DPP, who then decides whether to commence a prosecution.
A number of independent commissions also investigate possible corruption of public officials, including politicians and members of the police force. These are:
the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC)
Victoria’s Independent Broad-Based Anti-Corruption Commission
the Corruption and Crime Commissions in Queensland and Victoria
South Australia’s Independent Commissioner Against Corruption
the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity.
Although these commissions cannot charge individuals or corporations with substantive bribery and corruption offences, they have extraordinary investigative and inquisitorial powers. For example, reports following an investigation can be given to the police for further investigation; submitted to federal or state parliament; or in some circumstances released publicly to expose corruption. In New South Wales significant public debate and legal reviews have examined ICAC’s powers, including in relation to public hearings involving witnesses whose common law right to silence has been abrogated.
The NSW Parliament passed reforms in November 2016 making significant changes to ICAC’s structure and procedural fairness obligations. The changes, which came into effect on 7 August 2017, restructured ICAC so that authorisation of two of its three Commissioners is required to conduct a public inquiry. The amendments also require that a person be given an opportunity to respond before an adverse finding or opinion about them is included in an ICAC investigation report, which must also include a summary of the substance of any response from the person if they so request. The reforms do not diminish ICAC’s extensive investigatory powers.
Bribery of a Commonwealth public official
It is an offence under the Criminal Code to dishonestly provide or offer to someone (directly or indirectly) a benefit with the intention of influencing a Commonwealth public official in the exercise of their duties, or where the receipt of the benefit would tend to influence a Commonwealth public official in exercising their duties.
‘Benefit’ in this sense is broadly defined as including any advantage; it is not limited to money or property. The term ‘Commonwealth public official’ covers all employees of the Commonwealth and any Commonwealth authority.
Individuals found guilty of bribing a Commonwealth public official face up to 10 years’ imprisonment and/or a fine of up to A$2.1 million.
For companies, the penalty is the greater of a fine of up to A$21 million; a disgorgement penalty of up to three times the value of the benefit reasonably attributable to the conduct; or, where the value of the benefit cannot be determined, up to 10 per cent of the annual turnover of the corporate group.
Similar offences exist for Commonwealth public officials who receive such bribes or benefits of corruption, or who abuse their public office. In cases involving such bribery and corruption, persons who aid, abet, counsel or procure the commission of an offence by another person are taken to have committed the offence. In addition, conviction for bribery offences could lead to possible penalties or forfeiture of profit under relevant proceeds of crime legislation.
State and territory public officials
State and territory laws make it an offence to corruptly give or offer an inducement or reward to an agent for doing or not doing something regarding the affairs of the agent’s principal. It is also an offence to aid, abet, counsel, procure, solicit or incite the commission of these offences.
The penalties differ in each state and territory, but for individuals can include a fine and/or up to 21 years’ imprisonment.
Bribery offence at common law
Some Australian jurisdictions still criminalise bribery and misconduct in public office through the common law, rather than codifying it under statute. It is also an offence at common law to offer or receive any undue reward to or from any person in public office, in order to influence that person’s behaviour in that office.
Commercial bribery
Generally speaking, the state and territory laws that prohibit the giving or receiving of corrupt commissions or rewards also apply to rewards given to employees or agents of private or public companies and individuals.
An employee who receives a bribe will likely also contravene the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), and in doing so face a pecuniary penalty of up to A$200,000, a disqualification order or a compensation order.
Australia implemented the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention in 1999 by enacting anti-bribery and anti-corruption provisions in the Criminal Code.
Under the Criminal Code, it is an offence to directly or indirectly provide or offer someone a benefit that is not legitimately due to that person, with the intention of influencing a foreign public official in the exercise of their duties, in order to obtain or retain business or a business advantage. The maximum penalties under the Criminal Code for foreign bribery offences mirror the domestic bribery offences for bribery of a Commonwealth public official. A 2015 amendment to the foreign bribery provision clarifies that intention to bribe a particular foreign official is not necessary to establish an offence.
In this context, ‘foreign public official’ includes any employee, contractor or official of a foreign government department or agency, a foreign controlled company or a public international organisation; members of a foreign military or police force; or members of the executive, judiciary or magistracy of a foreign country.
Australian authorities can prosecute companies and individuals for such offences provided a sufficient connection can be established between Australia and the entity under investigation. More specifically, the conduct constituting the offence must occur wholly or partly within Australia, or wholly or partially on board an Australian aircraft or ship.
The offence also applies if the conduct is committed wholly outside Australia, but at the time of the offence the person who is alleged to have committed it was an Australian citizen, a resident of Australia or an Australian corporation.
Defences are available in two circumstances:
where the conduct was lawful in the foreign public official’s country, in the sense that it is permitted or required by written law
where a payment is a facilitation payment made to expedite or secure the performance of a routine government action of a minor nature, and the payment is of minor value.
‘Routine government action’ excludes a decision about awarding new business, continuing existing business, or the terms of new or existing business. To rely on this exception, companies must demonstrate that they have appropriate recording-keeping procedures in place that require the company to adequately record the value, date, recipient and purpose of any transaction with a foreign public official. Although the Senate Report recommended removing this ‘facilitation payment’ defence, the position remains unsettled, and although the Federal Government has indicated its opposition to facilitation payments it has not directly considered doing so. In the meantime, companies must be cautious and vigilant in relying on facilitation payments as a defence to the foreign bribery offence.
The foreign bribery offence gives rise to obvious compliance risks for companies doing business in high risk environments – in particular where those activities are carried on by agents or through joint venture vehicles. Thorough due diligence and ongoing monitoring – together with the existence of an anti-bribery compliance program – can help minimise risk in this area.
In 2016, Australia added false accounting offences to the Criminal Code. These offences criminalise intentional or reckless acts or omissions in respect of accounting documents, and are also capable of applying to offences that occur wholly outside Australia.
The provisions apply to conduct involving an intentional or reckless making, altering, destruction or concealment of accounting documents – or the failure to make or alter the document – to facilitate, conceal or disguise the receiving or giving of an illegitimate benefit or loss to another person that has not been legitimately incurred by the other person.
The maximum penalties under the Criminal Code for intentional false accounting offences mirror the foreign and domestic bribery offences mentioned above. The maximum penalties for reckless accounting offences represent 50 per cent of those for intentional false accounting offences.
Under the Criminal Code, corporations can be held criminally responsible for conducting a corporate agent in a range of situations, in particular where the corporate culture directs, encourages, tolerates or leads to breaches of the legislation, or where the company fails to create or maintain a corporate culture that requires compliance with the legislation.
Greater care must be taken when providing gifts and hospitality to Australian public officials than when providing the same to private sector employees.
Australian public officials are usually subject to compliance with additional guidelines. For example, each Commonwealth, state and territory government has its own public service with its own code of conduct, often in addition to agency-specific codes.
There are no generally allowable limits for such gifts or hospitality, although some agency-specific codes of conduct may specify dollar limits. Although it will depend on the applicable guidelines, generally speaking:
gifts of more than token value and excessive hospitality should be avoided
it is usually inappropriate to pay for transport or accommodation for a public official without prior approval from the relevant agency.
There is growing pressure on the AFP from within and outside Australia to increase its anti-bribery and anti-corruption efforts. This should lead the AFP to make significant efforts to hold persons and corporations accountable under the criminal law.
As more Australian businesses continue to expand into offshore markets, and with the AFP declaring foreign bribery a key strategic priority, it is likely that there will be more prosecutions of foreign bribery and other bribery and corruption offences such as false accounting offences and money laundering.
Australia continues to look for ways to enhance its ability to bring about enforcement outcomes. The Federal Government recently launched a series of reforms to strengthen Australia’s anti-bribery and anti-corruption regime, highlighting the need for companies to take a considered and proactive approach to bribery and corruption issues.
These reforms include the following.
Increasing whistleblower protections
The Treasury Laws Amendment (Enhancing Whistleblower Protections) Bill 2017 was introduced into the Commonwealth Parliament in December 2017, and is currently before the Senate. If passed, it will amend the Corporations Act, consolidating and strengthening existing whistleblower protections in the corporate and financial sectors, and creating a specific protection regime for whistleblowers who disclose breaches of tax laws. The Whistleblowers Bill will also require all public companies and large proprietary companies to have a whistleblower policy covering certain prescribed matters, and to make that policy available to officers and employees.
Expanding the foreign public official bribery offence
The Crimes Legislation Amendment (Combatting Corporate Crime) Bill 2017 was introduced into the Australian Parliament in December 2017, and is currently before the Senate.
The Crimes Bill proposes a number of amendments to the offence of bribery of a foreign public official under the Criminal Code. The changes are designed to simplify and broaden the scope of the offence, and to remove practical and evidential barriers to successfully investigating and prosecuting individuals and corporations engaged in foreign bribery.
The main changes include:
extending the definition of ‘foreign public official’ to include a person formally or informally standing or nominated as a candidate to be a foreign public official (as currently defined in the Criminal Code)
removing the requirement that the foreign public official be influenced in the exercise of their duties as a foreign public official
replacing the requirement that a benefit or business advantage be ‘not legitimately due’ with the concept of ‘improperly influencing’ a foreign public official to obtain or retain business or an advantage
expanding the offence to cover bribery of a foreign public official to obtain a personal advantage rather than a business advantage, and to include conduct that was not intended to gain any particular advantage
creating a new offence that would allow a corporation to be held strictly liable for foreign bribery committed by its associates for the profit or gain of the corporation.
Introducing a deferred prosecution agreement scheme
If enacted, the Crimes Bill will also introduce a Commonwealth deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) scheme. The DPA scheme will enable the Commonwealth DPP to enter into a DPA with a corporation that has engaged in certain serious corporate crimes, including foreign and domestic bribery offences.
Under the terms of the DPA, the corporation will be required to comply with a range of conditions in exchange for the Commonwealth DPP agreeing to not initiate proceedings against the corporation for the offences specified in the DPA. Entry into a DPA will be voluntary and will not require the corporation to admit guilt.
The proposed DPA scheme contains a variety of safeguards to prevent it from becoming a ‘free pass’ to corporate offenders. The Attorney-General's Department has developed a draft code of practice to provide practical guidance on the intended operation and implementation of the DPA scheme.
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PBS Malta Chooses Clear-Com for New Creativity Hub
Eclipse HX-Median Matrix system provides scalable communication channel for upgraded HD studio facility
Clear-Com® has announced that Public Broadcasting Services Ltd. (PBS), Malta’s public broadcasting company, has installed the Eclipse HX-Median Digital Matrix platform to provide a communication channel throughout its new Creativity Hub. The installation is part of a major facility overhaul for the national broadcaster, which is responsible for the TVM and TVM2 television channels and the Radio Malta (93.7FM), Radju Malta 2 (106.6FM) and Magic (91.7FM) radio stations. The Eclipse HX-Median system was sold and installed by Forestals FGL Information Technology Ltd.
PBS required a robust and reliable intercom system to provide talkback communications throughout its Creativity Hub, which houses three HD studios, 10 edit suites, two control rooms and several other technical rooms. The system needed to be able to work on the facility’s existing CAT6 wiring without the need for further cabling, and had to be easily configurable through software. PBS also wanted a system that was scalable and able to integrate with third party systems. The system also needed to facilitate the use of VoIP technology as well as analogue.
The Eclipse HX Digital Matrix Platform represents the latest advancement in digital intercom technology for enabling critical intercommunications among production teams who need direct (point-to-point) and one-to-many (group and partyline or conference) connections. The Eclipse HX delivers high system performance, intuitive management software, and high capacity for system expansion to meet the constantly changing demands of broadcast production.
A total of 21 V-Series keypanels were installed at PBS, some connected over 4-wire and some over the IP network depending on their location.
Anton Attard, Chief Executive Officer, PBS, said, “This is the first Clear-Com installation for PBS and we are very pleased with the way the Eclipse HX-Median system is performing. One of the key benefits is the flexibility to configure each panel individually, and it is also great to have a system that can grow with our requirements.”
Richard Palmer, Regional Sales Manager, Southern Europe and Africa at Clear-Com, said, “We are delighted that PBS has chosen the Eclipse HX-Median system for its upgraded facility. The system’s flexibility, scalability and reliability make it ideal for broadcast installations.”
Back to News & Stories
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WHITE HOUSE: CLIMATE SCIENCE REVIEW PANEL TAKING (BAD) SHAPE?! – TO BE LED BY FORMER AMBASSADOR who ‘doesn’t have a history of speaking about climate change’
Former Ambassador C. Paul Robinson, who served as chief negotiator for the Geneva nuclear testing talks from 1988 to 1990, is favored to lead the review panel, according to two sources involved in the talks. Robinson also directed DOE’s Sandia National Laboratories from 1995 to 2005 and was head of the nuclear weapons and national security programs at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Robinson’s involvement is notable because he doesn’t have a history of speaking about climate change, unlike other potential members of the panel. He earned a Ph.D. in physics from Florida State University and has spent much of his career specializing in nuclear weapons and national security.
By: Marc Morano - Climate DepotApril 15, 2019 1:22 PM
White House: climate science review panel taking shape
Scientific American , E&E News
A controversial plan by the White House to review the connections between climate change and national security might be led by a former official with the Department of Energy who oversaw talks about nuclear weapons tests with the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
Robinson has been quietly recruiting researchers outside the government to participate in the review panel, the sources said. He has been working with Steven Koonin, a New York University professor and former undersecretary for science at DOE during the Obama administration, to find participants.
C. Paul Robinson. Sandia National Laboratories
They have focused their recruitment efforts on a small number of climate skeptics with academic credentials, including Judith Curry, a former professor at Georgia Tech’s School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences; Richard Lindzen, a retired Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor who has called those worried about global warming a “cult”; and John Christy, a professor of atmospheric science at the University of Alabama, Huntsville, and a newly installed member of EPA’s Science Advisory Board.
Robinson was among dozens of signatories on a letter to President Trump in September 2017 encouraging him to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal signed by President Obama. The letter compared the benefits of exiting the Iran deal, which Trump ultimately decided to do, to the president’s withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement.
“We are unconvinced by doom-and-gloom predictions of the consequences of a U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA,” the signatories wrote, referring to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. “The sky did not fall when you withdrew the United States from the Paris Climate Accord.”
The White House plan to review climate science resembles an earlier effort by former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to conduct a “red-team, blue-team” review of climate science to highlight uncertainties in research methodology. Koonin and Will Happer, a member of the White House National Security Council who’s spearheading this review, were a driving force behind Pruitt’s plan.
Initial plans for the latest climate review included an effort to involve the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, but that appears to have been scuttled, according to one source involved in the discussions. Robinson sits on the executive committee of the governing board for the National Academies.
Another option that has been considered is to ask federal researchers to conduct the review, which would allow the panel to avoid federal disclosure laws. Last month, a group of prominent climate skeptics, energy industry officials and Trump allies wrote a letter to the president urging him to use outside researchers for the review.
“Insofar as an internal working group would consist of federal career scientists reviewing their own work, we think this alternative would be worse than doing nothing,” they wrote.
So far, the effort to recruit reviewers does not appear to include the nation’s top climate researchers at NASA or NOAA. The head of each organization told E&E News that they are not involved in the process. Neil Jacobs, the acting NOAA administrator, said the panel should stick to peer-reviewed research. And he defended the National Climate Assessment, one of the overarching pieces of research that would be reviewed by the White House.
Filed under: consensus buster, happer, trump
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U.S. on “Grey List” of shipping risk register
The United States has been ranked number 43 in the official list that ranks the quality of shipping, owing to the less-than-optimal performance of U.S. flagged ships in overseas ports. The U.S. ranks right behind Saudi Arabia and just ahead of Libya on the Grey List, which is a ranking of less-than-the-best flag states.
Jim Wilson, Australia Correspondent
Officials from the Paris MOU, an organization of 27 maritime administrations across Europe, Russia and Canada, have released the latest White-Grey-Black (WGB) List. The list is based on the total number of inspections and detentions of ships over a three-year rolling time frame.
The Paris MOU uses a complex system of mathematics, based on the results of the inspections, to rank the performance of flag states. The purpose of the Paris MOU is to eliminate the international operation of sub-standard ships through a harmonized system of inspections and control measures by the countries that ships visit.
White-Grey-Black List
The White-Grey-Black List ranks flag states by perceived quality ranging from very high quality (the top of the White List) to very high risk/low quality (the bottom of the Black List).
“The White List represents quality flags with a consistently low detention record… Flags with an average performance are shown on the Grey List. Their appearance on this list may serve as an incentive to improve and move on to the White List,” according to a statement from the Paris MOU.
A flag that gets a high-ranked spot on the White List benefits shipping companies because it means their ships will be subject to a less intensive inspection regime as they call at ports. That frees ships to carry on trading. Conversely, ships sailing under a low-ranked flag will be inspected more frequently and intensively each time.
The new list goes into effect as of July 1 this year. Of the 73 flag states on the new WGB List, 41 are on the White List, 18 are on the Grey List and 14 are on the Black List.
The United States ranks 43rd, which puts it in second place on the Grey List, right behind Saudi Arabia and just ahead of Libya. There were 206 inspections of U.S.-flagged vessels between 2016 and 2018 and nine ships were detained.
Last year, according to the Paris MOU database, U.S. flagged ships racked up a variety of deficiencies in areas as diverse as ship safety management, electronics, oil record books, cleanliness of the engine room, other health protection issues, lifeboats, fire safety, hull damage and in a wide variety of other areas. In total, last year, U.S.-flagged vessels inspected in the Paris MOU area had 62 deficiencies and one ship detention for radio-related deficiencies.
At the top of the White List was the Isle of Man. In second place was the Bahamas, which was followed by Singapore in the third spot. France and the United Kingdom took fourth and fifth spots respectively.
Scraping the bottom of the Black List was the Republic of the Congo. Marginally less bad was Togo, which was beaten into third-from-bottom spot by the Comoros Islands.
Top, or bottom, of the class…
The Paris MOU also ranks classification societies, which are organizations that have technical engineering and safety regulatory functions. Ship owners/operators can enter their vessels into the register of any classification society they choose, provided that the classification society will allow the vessels onto their register.
Classification societies play a very important role in the safety regulation of shipping as a ship without a class-certificate will not be able to get maritime insurance. It is also a condition of insurance policies that ships maintain entry into a classification society. So a ship that somehow loses its existing class-certificate (such as, e.g. the society revoking it) will immediately be without insurance.
A ship that calls into port without a valid class-certificate or maritime insurance policy will be detained by the local authorities.
Among the top-ranked classification societies, according to the Paris MOU, are the American Bureau of Shipping, DNV GL, the China Classification Society, Lloyd’s Register, Bureau Veritas, Nippon Kaiji Kyokaiand the Korean Register of Shipping.
The lowest-ranked classification societies are the Columbus American Register, the Shipping Register of Ukraine, the Panama Shipping Register and the International Register of Shipping.
International maritime law… how it all works
Articles 91, 92 and 94 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea require countries to establish a system of ship registration and they require ships to be registered in a country somewhere. A ship is entitled to the flag and nationality of the country that it is registered with. The law of the flag state largely applies to, and onboard, the vessel when it is at sea. Yet, and conversely, when the ship is in the territorial waters of another country (for instance, when it is in port), then, largely, the rules of the port state apply. There are some exceptions. The combination of flag state administration and port state control regulate the conduct of ships at sea and in port.
In the 1970s there was increasing concern that internationally-trading ships were sub-standard in terms of safety and environmental cleanliness. After a series of sinkings and consequent pollution, the port state control system was established with the creation of Paris MOU. Maritime inspectors from the host country board foreign-flagged ships to check that all is well. In that way, the port state control system acts as a check on flag states.
There are several other MOU administrations around the world including Tokyo MOU (Pacific), Acuerdo Latino (South and Central Americas) and the Indian Ocean MOU, among others.
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- CounterPunch.org - https://www.counterpunch.org -
“That’s Politics”: the Sandernistas on the Master’s Schedule
Posted By Paul Street On July 31, 2015 @ 1:59 am In articles 2015 | Comments Disabled
“You Had Your Input”
More than seven years ago, then United States Vice President Dick Cheney had an interesting response when ABS News’ Martha Raddatz told him how recent polls showed that two-thirds of the U.S. populace thought the U.S. war in (on) Iraq was “not worth fighting.”
Cheney smiled as he replied, “So?”
“So…you don’t care what the American people think?” Raddatz pressed.
“No,” Cheney elaborated: “I think you cannot be blown off course by the fluctuations in public opinion polls.”
Justifying Cheney’s blunt remarks shortly afterwards, White House spokesperson Dana Perino was asked if the citizenry should have “input” on U.S. policy. “You had your input,” Perino proclaimed. “The American people have input every four years and that’s the way our system is set up.”
As Steven Kull, director of Program on International Policy Attitudes, noted four days after Cheney’s remarks, the preponderant majority of Americans disagreed with this undemocratic sentiment. A remarkable 94 percent of U.S. citizens said that government leaders should pay attention to the views of the public between elections – a massive repudiation of the authoritarian notion that elections are the only time when the citizenry’s opinion should have influence.
“You Have the Right to Change Things”
The problem continues when Democrats hold down the White House no less than when Republicans do. Speaking to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in the summer of 2012, five months before the last presidential election, US Vice President Joe Biden (D) told his hosts to “remember…what this organization at its core was all about. It was about the franchise. It was about the right to vote. Because when you have the right to vote, you have the right to change things.”
Really? Millions of Black and other Americans utilized the franchise (what Biden said the NAACP “was all about”) to vote for Biden’s boss in the name of progressive change. They got something very different. Staffed with agents and allies of the rich and powerful, the first “hope” and “change” Barack Obama administration gave the nation a great tutorial on who really rules America beneath the charade of popular governance. Beyond its monumental bailout of financial overlords, its lack of mortgage relief for the unjustly foreclosed and debt-burdened, and its refusal to nationalize and cut down the financial institutions that paralyzed the economy, it further defied majority progressive U.S. opinion and advanced the corporate agenda by passing an explicitly Republican-inspired health reform bill that only the big
insurance and drug companies could love; cutting an auto bailout deal that rewarded capital flight and raided union pension funds; undermining desperately needed global carbon emission reduction efforts at Copenhagen (2009) and Durban (2011); refusing to advance serious public works programs (green or otherwise); green-lighting offshore and Arctic drilling and numerous other environmentally disastrous practices; rolling over Bush’s regressive tax cuts for the rich; freezing federal wages and salaries; cutting a debt ceiling deal that was all about cutting social programs; disregarding numerous promises to labor (remember the Employee Free Choice Act?) and other popular constituencies; failing to embrace the remarkable Wisconsin public worker rebellion even in its major party-electoral phase; acting to crush (while trying to co-opt) the Occupy Movement; keeping the U.S. imperial “machine set on kill” (Alan Nairn), much to the bottom line satisfaction of the nation’s opulent “defense” contractors.
And what does Obama hope to make the signature policy accomplishment of his second term? The Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) – a classically neoliberal so-called free trade agreement that has been under secret construction by multinational corporate lawyers and business-captive government officials for at least a decade. This arch-corporatist measure is all about strengthening corporations’ ability to protect and extend their intellectual property rights (drug patents, movie rights, and the like) and to guarantee that they will be compensated by governments for any profits they might lose from having to meet decent public labor and environmental (and other) standards (something certain to discourage the enactment and enforce of such standards). It’s about multinational corporations “getting special deals for businesses that they would have difficulty getting through the normal political process” and “set[ting] up a new legal structure that goes outside existing system in the United States and elsewhere” with “investor-state dispute settlement tribunals” that will guarantee “a real bonanza for business” (economist Dean Baker). It’s quite contrary to technically irrelevant public opinion.
No wonder Obama has done everything he can to keep the details of the TPP under wraps. It is also no wonder that Obama pressed Congress (successfully this summer) to give him “fast-track authority” to force a yay or nay Congressional vote on the TPP, with no time for careful consideration and no chance for revisions. Under fast-track rules, there’s no chance for delays or alterations. The pact must be voted up or down in a very short time-frame.
A Poor Substitute for Democracy
Biden might want to examine the NAACP’s history and the history of progressive change in the U.S more closely. The nation’s pioneering civil rights organization formed and worked around many issues, including ant-lynching, legal defense and desegregation, not just voting rights. At the same time, the Vice President badly exaggerated the power of the ballot box when it comes to winning progressive change in U.S. history. As Noam Chomsky noted nearly eleven years ago, the national presidential election obsession misses the significantly greater relevance of social movements:
“Every four year yeas a huge propaganda campaign is mounted to get people to focus on these personalized quadrennial extravaganzas and to think, ‘That’s politics.’ But it isn’t. It’s only a small part of politics…The urgent task for those who want to shift policy in progressive direction – often in close conformity to majority opinion – is to grow and become strong enough so that that they can’t be ignored by centers of power. Forces for change that have come up from the grass roots and shaken the society to its foundations include the labor movement, the civil rights movement, the peace movement, the women’s movement and others, cultivated by steady, dedicated work at all levels, every day, not just once every four years…election …choices…are secondary to serious political action. The main task is to create a genuinely responsive democratic culture, and that effort goes on before and after electoral extravaganzas, whatever their outcome.”
The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), the Southern Christian Leadership Council (SCLC), the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and the anti-Vietnam War movement hardly waited for election dates and the sympathy of politicians to “change things.” They undertook powerful non-electoral direct actions like the sit-down strike wave of 1936-1937, the courageous lunch counter sit-ins and Freedom Rides of 1960-62, and the many mass mobilizations for peace that occurred in the 1960s and early 1970s. Slaves and abolitionists didn’t wait for the 1864 presidential election to force President Abraham Lincoln’s hand (along with the military victories of the Confederacy) on emancipation.
“The really critical thing,” the great American radical and historian Howard Zinn noted after George W. Bush was first installed in the White House, “isn’t who’s sitting in the White House, but who is sitting in—in the streets, in the cafeterias, in the halls of government, in the factories.”
As Zinn elaborated in an essay on and against the “election madness” he saw “engulfing the entire society including the left” in the year of Obama’s ascendancy, “The election frenzy seizes the country every four years because we have all been brought up to believe that voting is crucial in determining our destiny, that the most important act a citizen can engage in is to go to the polls…” Zinn acknowledged that he would likely support one major-party candidate over another “for two minutes – the amount of time it takes to pull the lever down in the voting booth.” But then he said the same thing as Cheney, but with a very different meaning: so? “Before and after those two minutes,” Zinn wrote:
“our time, our energy, should be spent in educating, agitating, organizing our fellow citizens in the workplace, in the neighborhood, in the schools. Our objective should be to build, painstakingly, patiently but energetically, a movement that, when it reaches a certain critical mass, would shake whoever is in the White House, in Congress, into changing national policy on matters of war and social justice…. We should not expect that a victory at the ballot box in November will even begin to budge the nation from its twin fundamental illnesses: capitalist greed and militarism…Yes, two minutes. Before that, and after that, we should be taking direct action against the obstacles to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness …. Historically, government, whether in the hands of Republicans or Democrats, conservatives or liberals, has failed its responsibilities, until forced to by direct action: sit-ins and Freedom Rides for the rights of black people, strikes and boycotts for the rights of workers, mutinies and desertions of soldiers in order to stop a war. Voting is easy and marginally useful, but it is a poor substitute for democracy, which requires direct action by concerned citizens.”
Campus Town Blues
All of which brings me to the nominally socialist Bernie Sanders and his disproportionately white and middle-class fans and supporters. Many of those fans and supporters would undoubtedly express disgust at Cheney’s and Perino’s authoritarian comments. Still, living in a bright blue “liberal”-Democratic campus/company town full of professional and Caucasian Barack Obama and Bernie Sanders fans – Iowa City, Iowa, home of the University of Iowa – I can’t help but notice a curious commonality between many liberals’ and progressives’ take on what passes for meaningful democratic politics and Cheney and Perino’s take seven years ago (along with Biden’s take four years ago). Here as in other liberal locations across the country, liberal and “left” folks flocked to the campaign events of Obama in 2007 and 2008. Iowa’s progressive and liberal Democrats did the pre-scheduled once-every-four-years two-hour thing (the Iowa presidential Caucus) and then (eleven months later on the calendar of “that’s politics”) the two-minute thing (voting in the general presidential election) for him in the name of hope and change. The strictly time-staggered rituals were repeated by most of them on the appointed dates four years later.
Now many of Iowa’s remarkably Hillary-averse (good for them) progressive and liberal Democrats are fired up and “feeling the Bern” – right on the quadrennial schedule – for the nominally democratic-socialist Bernie Sanders’ campaign. Sanders is drawing big and enthusiastic throngs in Iowa, New Hampshire, Madison, Wisconsin, and elsewhere. Some in the crowds think (unrealistically) “Bernie” has a serious shot at the Democratic presidential nomination. Others seem to believe (just as unrealistically) that Sanders will push presumptive Big Money candidate Hillary Clinton (who Sanders calls a “good friend”) “to the left.” Yet whatever they think can be accomplished by the Bernie campaign, most of them seem to believe that the easy politics of participating in the “personalized quadrennial extravaganza” constitutes a more meaningfully democratic form of popular “input” into the shape of their society and policy than the difficult day-to-day political work of building popular movements. Where were they when the Occupy Wall Street movement – a very significant popular rebellion against the richly bipartisan oligarchy – broke out in New York City and then in hundreds of U.S. cities coast to coast? When the Black Lives Matter movement broke out in response to an escalating string of racist police murders last year? When protests occurred against Obama’s bombing of Libya and his plans to attack Syria? With few exceptions, most of them were missing in action, consistent with the reigning political culture’s privileging of the four-year-two hour (in caucus states)-four minute (primary and general election) presidential candidate spectacle over Chomsky’s “urgent task” and Zinn’s “critical mass.”
Three years and three months ago I joined a crowd of radical and populist Occupy protesters who chanted, “We are the 99 Percent” as they marched past the Iowa City Farmers’ Market on the way to a downtown rally. Hundreds of liberal white middle- and upper-middle- class people (including many strong supporters of Barack Obama) were shopping for pricey local and organic foods at the Saturday market. They glanced warily and wearily at our ragged procession. They offered no shouts of encouragement or applause. They made no raised fists or thumbs up signs. None of them joined in, despite friendly invitations. There was no love for a populist movement in the streets from a very liberal campus town’s mostly university-based professionals, consistent with skeptical and cynical chatter I’d been hearing from those elites about Occupy picking up in the local coffee shops and food coop. The Farmers’ Market crowd clearly did not feel one with us as part of “the 99%.”
Many from Farmers’ Market crowd are now part of the Bernie Sanders crowd. Marching with people in the streets and occupying public space in opposition to the nation’s savage class inequalities and richly bipartisan plutocracy (deeply entrenched in the Obama White House) did not strike them as a meaningful, reasoned, or proper form of politics. Supporting a presidential candidate who is running for the nomination of one of the two reigning Wall Street-captive U.S. political parties and who is very careful to tailor his oratory to middle class sensibilities is another matter. The Farmers’ Market people feel safe with that. I have little doubt that most of them will fall dutifully into line when Sanders tells them to give their support to his “good friend” the arch-corporatist military hawk Hillary Clinton.
It isn’t just Occupy where I haven’t seen many of my local community’s large number of liberal and progressive “Sandernistas” (Jeffrey St. Clair’s clever term) joining in. The same could be said for the brief local civil rights movement that started and sputtered after a local country sheriff’s deputy unnecessarily shot to death a young Black man (John Deng) in downtown Iowa City in the summer of 2009, when (in 2007) Iowa peace activists occupied the Cedar Rapids offices of Iowa Senators Tom Harkin and Chuck Grassley to protest those “representatives”’ support of Iraq war funding), and last year when young marchers hit the streets of Iowa City to protest racist police murders across the country.
Right on Schedule
Along with others on the “radical Left,” I have written and spoken a fair bit on what I dislike about the 2015 Sanders sensation. My topics have included:
* The profound limits of Sanders’ progressivism when it comes to the Pentagon system, which eats up 57 percent of U.S. federal discretionary spending, accounts for nearly half of all military spending on Earth, and (by the way) carries the single largest institutional carbon footprint on the planet.
* Sanders’ record of supporting Bill Clinton and Barack Obama’s brazen U.S. militarism and imperialism in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Africa, the Middle East, and Ukraine and vis-a-vis Russia and China.
* Sanders’ failure to acknowledge basic and fundamental budgetary, moral, and cultural contradictions between the progressive domestic policy agenda he supports and the United States’ murderous and expensive global empire.
* Sanders’ soul-chilling defense of Israel’s repeated assaults on Palestinian children and other civilians in Gaza.
* Sanders’ role in helping put fake-populist lipstick on the plutocratic pig that is the dismal dollar-drenched Democratic Party and the U.S. major party and elections system.
* Sanders’ advance announcement that he will back the right-wing Democrat Hillary Clinton (the real meaning of his recurrent statement that he will “not be a spoiler”) in the general election – this without any hint that he might demand anything for “the middle [working?] class” in return for his support.
* Sanders’ reluctance to criticize the corporatism (not to mention the imperialism) of the nation’s top Democrats (even John Edwards did that in 2007 and 2008) and his refusal to forthrightly call out the Clinton machine as a socio-pathological outrage.
* Sanders’ obsession with the Supreme Court’s admittedly terrible 2010 Citizens United decision – a fixation that omits how thoroughly capitalism had already incapacitated democracy in the U.S. long before that horrible ruling was handed down.
* The duplicity and deception in Sanders’ claims to “fight the military industrial complex” (false) and to have been an “independent” politician for the last three decades (he’s been a de facto and damn near de jure Democrat since at least 1990).
I have yet, however, to fully articulate what may depress me most about the Sandernistas. It is their tendency to accept the masters’ incredibly constrained and impoverished schedule and focus for “politics.” Despite Sanders’ own laudable stump-speech statement that “it wouldn’t matter who the next U.S. president was” in the absence of a great popular movement ready to fight corporate plutocracy, many of his fans eagerly accept the deadly notion “that the most important act a citizen can engage in” it to participate in the nation’s very intermittently scheduled presidential and other major party and candidate-centered elections. Wrong. The most important act a citizen engage in is to work steadily to build and use popular organizational and direct action pressure and power for fundamental reform and revolutionary change around issues that matter. Ultimately the goal is “the radical reconstruction of society itself” (what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called near the end of his life “the real issue to be faced” beyond superficial matters): citizen rule, not merely citizen “input.” Zinn’s 2008 statement (published at the height of Obamania) bears repeating: voting is easy and marginally useful, but it is a poor substitute for democracy, which requires direct action by concerned citizens.
Four Thoughts on Alternatives
For the First Female U.S. President
“But what’s your alternative, mister radical know-it-all smarty pants?” I’ve gotten this question via email and “social networks” more than once this year. I try to fashion a polite and serious response with four basic components. I begin at the very secondary level of candidate-centered presidential politics by reminding my Sandernista correspondents of the existence of the Green Party candidacy of Jill Stein, who combines calls for single payer health insurance and a Green New Deal with demands for major cuts in the U.S. military empire. I look forward to the minor satisfaction of protest-voting (without illusion) for Ms. Stein “to become the nation’s first female president” (no, it won’t happen – I know) in 2016. It will take me two minutes.
Not Really About Bernie
Second, I tell my correspondents that the main thrust of my critique of the Sanders sensation isn’t actually about their beloved Bernie. It’s about U.S. electoral politics and political culture and Sandernistas’ entrapment in “that’s politics’” narrow ideological, organizational, and (of special significance in the present essay) temporal confines. I remind my correspondent of Sanders’ own suggestion that it “wouldn’t matter who the next president was” without grassroots organization for progressive change beneath and beyond – before and after – elections. (A progressive Democrat friend in Iowa City recently said the following to me after I expressed my sense that, while nothing is certain, Hillary Clinton is very likely to become the Democrats’ presidential nominee: “Say it ain’t so! We’re screwed!! Bernie’s our only and last hope!” It’s hard to imagine a more graphic statement of citizen fecklessness – as if the people cannot defend and advance our collective interests and defend and advance the common good in the absence of political candidates who ride in to save us like shining white knights in armor).
Right Here in Iowa, Presidential Ground Zero
Third, I ask my critic to focus on some issues that concern them nationally or on the (very important) state or local levels and to search out already existing organizations that are trying to mobilize dedicated citizen involvement around those matters. There is, of course, no shortage of important issues around which to center one’s noble impulses for progressive activism and citizen “input.” I like to give the example of my current home state Iowa, which happens to be ground zero for the quadrennial national presidential election madness thanks to the first-in-the-nation primary/Caucus scheduled for the first Tuesday in January of 2016) (the campaign staffers and journalists are all over the state now, right on schedule). Here in Iowa, we’ve got some of the most polluted rivers and streams in the nation, thanks to corporate agriculture’s chemical addiction and stranglehold over local and state politics. We’ve got a newly minted drone war air base just outside Des Moines. We’ve got one of the worst racial incarceration disparities in the U.S. We’ve got widespread mistreatment and exploitation of workers (including a large proportion of immigrant laborers). We’re confronting corporate and state government plans to build a giant eco-cidal pipeline (the Bakken Pipeline) to carry fracked oil through seventeen Iowa counties from North Dakota to a port on the Mississippi River in Illinois. There’s currently a welcome effort to pass a minimum wage ordinance at the county level in Johnson County, Iowa.
I am often astonished at how little attention Iowa progressives seem ready to give to such key matters in their own state compared to the interest and engagement they show when it comes to the national presidential extravaganza that bivouacs in their state for six or so months before the actual election year once every four years. Here they go, along with campaign staffers and reporters from all over the country, running to a rally for national politicians like Dennis Kucinich, Howard Dean, John Edwards, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, or Bernie over local rivers that are unfit for swimming and fishing, past local jails and prisons that contain a grotesquely disproportionate share of the state’s Black population, and over the paths of a proposed pipeline that will cause horrific damage to the local environment and planetary ecology. “Isn’t it exciting? CNN was there!” (Which reminds me of something: if he hadn’t decided to undertake his late-life presidential quest, Sanders could likely have become the governor of Vermont and redeemed single-payer health insurance in that state. That would arguably have been an arguably significant progressive accomplishment with positive national implications.)
There’s no absence of decent grassroots and progressive organizations to join and support in Iowa. The recently formed Center for Worker Justice in Eastern Iowa does excellent and courageous work on the minimum-wage question, wage-theft, immigrant workers rights, and on numerous other work and labor-related issues. At the state level, Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (CCI) works diligently and heroically on and against water pollution, the Bakken pipeline, wage-theft problems, and numerous other issues. Iowa Veterans for Peace and the Catholic Worker chapter in Des Moines protest and provide policy alternatives on military issues within and beyond Iowa.
An especially urgent task now for activists here and across the nation is to knit together groups and activists working on one or two “single issues” and at various geographic levels. At the end of the day, they are all up against the same great concentrations of organized wealth and power – the same unelected dictatorships of money, power, inequality, and empire. If they are going to seriously fight and ultimately overthrow those dictatorships, I think, they (like the Sandernistas) will have to deepen their radicalism in terms of tactics, strategy, and vision.
The Politics of Changing Electoral Politics
Fourth, I suggest that my correspondent join others in demanding a radically new kind of electoral and party politics in the U.S. – voting and party systems beyond the current money-soaked plutocracy. Here we confront the need for fundamental, constitutional change in the rules of the game of U.S. politics (something much deeper than repeal of the Citizens United decision that Sanders’ denounces again and again on the campaign trail), including (but not limited to) the full public financing of elections and proportional representation to permit vibrant and policy-relevant third and fourth parties. Going beyond the insulting and authoritarian notion that the U.S. citizenry gets its deserved “input” into policy for two minutes in a narrow-spectrum voting booth once every two or four years means embracing social movement politics beneath and beyond – and before and after – Big Money-big media- major party-candidate-centered election spectacles. But there’s no reason that social movements should not demand changes in electoral politics to make such politics democratic and thus actually deserving of passionate citizen engagement. “The way our [political] system is set up” (Dana Perino) right now is a bad, ever more transparently oligarchic joke. Until that and more changes, progressive electoral efforts are unlikely to win much if anything that matters.
Article printed from CounterPunch.org: https://www.counterpunch.org
URL to article: https://www.counterpunch.org/2015/07/31/thats-politics-the-sandersnistas-on-the-masters-schedule/
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Appeals Government Law
Feds Ask to Halt State AG Emoluments Case
December 18, 2018 December 18, 2018 ERIKA WILLIAMS
Donald Trump, emoluments clause, Fourth Circuit, hotels, Maryland, Washington DC
(CN) – The Justice Department asked the Fourth Circuit on Monday to stay a lawsuit filed by two attorneys general accusing President Donald Trump of violating anti-corruption clauses of the U.S. Constitution through his businesses.
The DOJ filed a 38-page petition on Trump’s behalf imploring the Richmond, Virginia-based federal appeals court to reverse U.S .District Judge Peter Messitte’s decision to allow Democratic attorneys general to go forward with their complaint based on the Constitution’s so-called emoluments clauses, which prohibit the president from receiving gifts from foreign or state governments or officials while in office.
The Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. (Associated Press)
The lawsuit, filed in June 2017 by attorneys general in the District of Columbia and Maryland, alleges that Trump’s failure to distance himself from his business holdings while in office has essentially led to the acceptance of emoluments by the president via foreign and domestic government spending on his hotels and businesses.
Messitte narrowed the scope of the lawsuit to center around the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., and business conducted in the D.C. area.
The judge has approved discovery in the case, which would require 13 Trump entities to hand over business tax returns and other records. The first discovery deadline is Jan. 3.
In Monday’s petition to the Fourth Circuit, DOJ attorneys argued that a hotel visit does not constitute an emolument.
“The complaint rests on a host of novel and fundamentally flawed constitutional premises and litigating the claims would entail intrusive discovery into the president’s personal financial affairs and the official actions of his administration,” the petition states. “Despite this remarkable complaint, the district court treated this case as a run-of-the-mill commercial dispute.”
The filing continues, “A foreign government’s mere subjective hope that its payments for services furnished by the hotel might influence the president does not mean that his derivative financial interest in the hotel’s commercial profits are transformed into prohibited emoluments of his office.”
The DOJ has twice attempted to dismiss the case, which its petition said is “the first ever filed by any plaintiff seeking judicial enforcement of the emoluments clauses.”
According to the Associated Press, subpoenas were sent Dec. 4 to the General Services Administration, Defense Department, Commerce Department and Agriculture Department – all of which have spent taxpayer dollars at the Washington hotel or have information about relevant expenses.
← Jury Finds No Conspiracy to Fix Ramen Prices
Suit Over Bible-Instruction Program Revived by 4th Circuit →
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Kampong Australia
History > Australian History
Author: Mathew Radcliffe
The Royal Australian Air Force base at Butterworth was Australia's largest and most enduring overseas military garrison in post-war Southeast Asia.Home to the majority of Australian airpower for over three decades, Butterworth was also home to a vibrant Australian community. From 1955 until 1988, spanning the end of the British Empire and the start of the Cold War through to real engagement with Asia, more than 50,000 Australian servicemen and their families rotated through the Penang region of Malaysia for two-year tours of duty. These men, women and children lived full lives during their deployment, a bastion of Australianness in the midst of Malays, Chinese and Indians.Kampong Australia explores the complex political genesis of the RAAF presence at Butterworth and shows what everyday life on and around the base was like. It charts the official policies and practices that framed the Australian encounter with the people and places of Penang, drawing on the recollections of those who were there.This evocative and - at times personal - book shines a light on the complex, uneven and dynamic history of the Australian military presence in northern Malaysia and shows what it was like to be there.
Mathew Radcliffe was born at the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base at Butterworth in northern Malaysia. After serving in the RAAF for seven years as an Engineering Officer, he completed a BA at UNSW majoring in history and a PhD at Macquarie University before writing this history of the social and cultural history of the RAAF at Butterworth. This is his first book.
Publisher : NewSouth Publishing
Imprint : NewSouth
Availability date : February 2017
Author : Mathew Radcliffe
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Executive PA Magazine Awards 2016
I could barely believe my ears when strolling down Putney High Street on a chilly day in September; I got a phone call from the Executive PA Magazine saying I was a finalist in their 2016 awards. Seriously?! Had they phoned the right person?! But sure enough, an e-mail soon popped into my inbox with details of the event.
I was glad to have been selected, not only for the fun of dolling myself up for a fancy meal on the night, but because of the whole journey I’d undertaken getting to that moment. When I received the phone call, I had enjoyed working as a PA at Nando’s for the five previous months; but this nomination gave me a boost to find out more about the industry, and the information I gathered got me hooked.
My favourite part of the process was the interviews. Don’t get me wrong, it sure was nerve-racking (partly because the room where the interviews were held seemed to be hidden through inconspicuous doors, up flights of stairs and round unexpected corners). But I was looking forward to having some good conversations with a group of people who felt passionate about the PA profession, just as I did. Moreover, I reminded myself I had the support of my Nando’s team behind me and above all, that of my boss – and that meant a lot to me.
Now on to the fun part - the evening. At my college in Durham, our ‘formal dinners’ were ironically named because they were anything but formal (we flounced around as characters from Alice in Wonderland and had lost any ounce of refinement by the time we stood on chairs to chant our favourite college songs). The Executive PA Awards were something else. Women floated around in elegant black dresses and the men looked smart in black tie as they sat down to a delicious meal that was served to us in style. But aside from the fun aspect of the ceremony, it also highlighted the closeness of the people in the PA industry. For the majority of the guests, it was obvious that the event provided them with a chance to reconnect with friends and colleagues. During the meal I was able to meet some of these seasoned PA’s, and it was interesting chatting to people with plenty of experience of the industry.
Although I did not win in my category, I was far from disheartened by the experience. I felt it an achievement to get down to the final 6 and enjoyed having an insight into the PA world.
I would strongly recommend any aspiring PA’s to get involved in the Executive PA awards. Whether you win or not, the process makes you think back on the work you’ve achieved and the contribution you’re making to the industry and that on it’s own is cause for celebration.
By Sophie Roche
Visit the Executive PA Magazine Facebook page to see photos from the event.
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3 Day Cycle
Patron of CROSS Charity
Paul Wallace has been patron of CROSS Cancer Research since 2010 and was one of the originators of the now annual CROSS Cancer Cycle.
Paul qualified with an honours Economics degree from UCC and went on to work in Banking before becoming a professional rugby player. Paul played senior rugby for Munster, Leinster and Saracens and won 46 caps for Ireland before retiring prematurely with an ankle injury. Paul also played all three tests in the British & Irish Lions victorious test series against South Africa in 1997. Paul and his brothers Richard and David are the only three brothers to have played for the Lions.
On retiring from rugby, Paul joined Jones Lang LaSalle where his role was structuring international commercial property. In 2008, Paul moved to Bircroft Ireland, an international debt structuring and Insurance brokerage for Commercial property where he is now Managing Director.
Paul is a keen sailor and lately a keen cyclist where he has completed all five CROSS cycles to date.
aidan murphy
Director, Friends of CROSS Charity
Aidan, (pictured with Thomas Castaignede) who has recently joined the board of Friends of Cross. Aidan is a company director and also manages business development and marketing projects for a range of clients.
Aidan is a very keen sports fan and a long standing cyclist! He has completed the 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 Cross Rugby Legends cycles.
shane o'dwyer
Shane has recently joined the board of Friends of Cross. He is a former army officer and is currently CEO of the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders Association.
In addition to cycling Shane is very interested in all sport and played rugby soccer and GAA at various levels. Having first hand experience of the devastating effect cancer has on families he is committed to supporting cancer research.
tom conaghy
Tom is a Certified Accountant and Partner with OCC Chartered Accountants and Business Consultants based in Blanchardstown, Dublin 15, who specialise in advising small and medium sized businesses in the Corporate, Entertainment & Hospitality Sectors both Nationally and Internationally. They have a very keen interest in the area of not-for profit organisations and are representatives on a number of Boards of these organisations. As a keen cyclist Tom has participated in all of the Cross Cycling Challenges since inception, is a member of the Board of Directors of C.R.O.S.S. and is a valuable sponsor of the Annual Cross Rugby Legends Cycle.
In addition to Cycling Tom is a keen GAA supporter having won Senior and Intermediate Championships in Louth. Tom is the Treasurer of Cuchulainns GFC and is also involved in coaching several underage teams with Cuchulainns in Cavan and is a founding members of St Kilians Wheelers Cycling Club which now has over 25 members.
larry power
Head Marshall / Lead Car Driver
Larry (left) is the man behind our marshal team. Larry joined us in 2012 year and continues to offer his support and time to keep the show on the road.
Tom (right) joined the team in 2014 as the lead car driver for ‘the backs’ and will be joining us again in 2017.
This event is organised by Friends of CROSS Charity
FRIENDS OF CROSS supports CROSS charity & cancer research at Trinity College Dublin and St James's Hospital.
crosscycle@wall2wallpr.com
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British firm proposes investment bank joint venture
Economy minister announces step towards decentralized planning
Cuba allows individuals and private businesses to establish WiFi networks
Three Italian companies to invest in Cuba
Visitor numbers rise 4.9% in high-season quarter
Cuba liberates, again, food distribution in three provinces
In new book, former U.S. chief diplomat in Havana weighs in on ‘sonic affair’
Vicki Huddleston, a career diplomat who was head of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana under Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, has written a book about her insights and experiences with Cuba. The following is an excerpt from “Our Woman in Havana”, published with permission from the author and The Overlook Press.
By Vicki Huddleston
For a few months following President Donald Trump’s Miami speech in June 2017, there was hope that the US-Cuban diplomatic relationship would survive, if not prosper. But that expectation was crushed by the strange case of injuries suffered by American and Canadian diplomats. In August 2017, the media revealed that American diplomats had suffered hearing loss, nausea, and traumatic brain injuries from some sort of sonic attack. A number of the incidents occurred in the homes of diplomats responsible for security and intelligence between November of 2016 and January of 2017. However, a few took place subsequent to February, including the one that became public in August. According to the State Department, injuries also occurred at the Hotel Nacional and the Hotel Capri. None of the attacks, which now number twenty-four against American diplomats and five against Canadian diplomats, were directed at the American embassy.
When the injuries first occurred the American and Cuban governments attempted to deal with them in a responsible manner. Raúl Castro sought out the embassy’s Chargé d’Affaires, Jeffrey DeLaurentis, to assure him that Cuba was not responsible, and he invited the FBI to visit Havana; which it did several times to investigate. The State Department expelled two diplomats from the Cuban embassy in Washington D.C., presumably to balance staffing as American diplomats had been forced to leave their post in Havana as a result of their ailments.
When the diplomats’ injuries became public in August 2017, conservative Cuban Americans led by Senator Marco Rubio used the incidents to demand that the United States retaliate against Cuba. Ignoring the American Foreign Service Association’s public statement that the diplomats were prepared to remain in Cuba and continue their work, the Trump administration cut the American embassy staff by more than half and sent all dependents home. Bowing to Rubio’s demands, the administration ordered the Cuban embassy to reduce its staff by an equivalent number of diplomats. In addition, the State Department issued an aggressive travel warning, advising American visitors to avoid the island, despite that fact that only diplomats had been affected by the sonic incidents.
On October 16, 2017 President Trump added his voice to the growing tensions. At a Rose Garden new conference, he said, “I do believe Cuba’s responsible. I do believe that.” He did not cite any evidence for his belief. The State Department continues to assert that it neither knows who is responsible for the attacks or the type of device that caused the ailments. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Padilla rejected Trump’s accusation, saying that “There is no evidence, there is no evidence whatsoever, of the occurrence of the alleged incidents or the cause or origin of these ailments reported by US diplomats.” He then added, “Neither is there any suggestion that these health problems have been caused by an attack of any sort during their stay in Cuba.” Castro’s daughter Mariela chimed in by claiming that “Even Star Wars didn’t contain such fantasies.”
To restore relations to at least a modicum of civility, the US and Cuba must discover what’s happened and who was behind the attacks, but it has become more difficult as rhetoric from each side has become increasingly uncivil. Nevertheless, we can assume that each government — together or separately — is seeking the culprit or culprits by examining who had motive, means, and opportunity. The possible perpetrators are: the Cuban government, a rogue faction within the government, a foreign power such as Russia or China — with North Korea an outside possibility — conservatives and/or militants in the Cuban diaspora, the America government, or malfunctioning listening devices. The possible explanations, such as our own government and malfunctioning listening devices, may seem farfetched, but this is what the Cuban government now seems to believe.
Raúl Castro’s government had means and opportunity, but they do not appear to have motive. The attacks began shortly after Trump won the election and continued until February, while only a few took place subsequently. Given that Castro was the coarchitect of Obama’s opening, it seems unlikely that he would deliberately destroy the détente with the United States. Moreover, Castro cooperated with the United States in the aftermath of the sonic attacks, reinforcing the idea that his government wanted to amicably resolve the puzzling incidents.
As Cuba approaches its first transition in over a half century, it is possible that factions within the government are jockeying for position. A hardline faction associated with Fidel Castro, who denigrated the opening before his death in November 2016, would have motive, means, and opportunity. And, if Raúl Castro discovered that an element within his own government was responsible, he might seek to cover it up in order to demonstrate that the country is united as it prepares for a new president.
As to foreign powers, it seems likely that only Russia and China — an outside possibility is North Korea — would have had means and opportunity, and even then, they might well have required some cooperation from someone within the Cuban government. Russian military and civilian leaders continue to urge reopening the Lourdes Signals Intelligence base, which until it was closed by the Russians in 2002 intercepted US satellite communications. For its part, China might seek to use Cuba as a pawn in its discussions with the Trump administration about North Korea. Still, I am not convinced that Russia or China would consider an alliance with Cuba worth the risks inherent in attacking American diplomats.
Conservatives and/or militants within the Cuban diaspora may have motive, given their extreme opposition to improved relations. And, in the past Cuban militants have carried out attacks against Cuba and Fidel Castro. In addition, conservative Cuban Americans have used the diplomats’ injuries to criticize US-Cuban relations. But they do not appear to have had the means and opportunity, unless we can imagine them cooperating with hardliners in Cuba who also oppose better relations.
Another possibility is that this was not a deliberate attack against the American and Canadian diplomats, but listening devices that malfunctioned. The Guardian newspaper suggested “mass hysteria” based on the opinion of senior neurologists who claimed that they know of no sonic device that could cause the range of injuries suffered by the diplomats, but Dr. Charles Rosenfarb, the State Department’s medical director, debunked the idea of “mass hysteria” by pointing out that “exact findings” on medical tests couldn’t be easily faked. Perhaps then the headaches, nausea, and temporary loss of hearing were caused by the sounds that were described as “high-pitched,” and causing “baffling sensations.” Conceivably, the more serious injuries might have been caused by complications from an illness not discovered until following exposure to the unusual sound. For example, a diplomat who suffered minor symptoms from what seemed to have been a “sonic attack” might later have contracted a virus that led to more serious ailments, including what the State Department is now labeling “mild traumatic brain injury. Still, this explanation is not entirely satisfactory as it does not explain why so many devices would malfunction or why the malfunction would occur only in those devices aimed at American and Canadian diplomats.
Even without knowing who or what caused the ailments, it is hard to escape the conclusion that those in the United States and Cuba who opposed engagement have gotten exactly what they wanted. The embassy is barely functioning with the drawdown of half of its American staff, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says that he is unconvinced that the alleged attacks are over. Josefina Vidal, a high-level Cuban official who negotiated the details of the Obama opening with American diplomats, says that the Trump administration is simply engaged in an irresponsible effort to advance anti-Cuban politics. Unhappily, for Cubans who were hoping for more economic freedom, the Cuban government is circling the wagons, clamping down on critics and reversing reforms. This should come as no surprise because as has been shown throughout this book, when the United States threatens Cuba, Cuba’s leaders become more repressive. This was the case in 2003 when Fidel Castro jailed seventy-five dissidents in response to George W. Bush’s return to a punitive policy. The bottom line is that given the current state of relations, we are unlikely to discover the perpetrator or the cause of the injuries.
The January 9 Senate hearing chaired by Marco Rubio further politicized the issue. Acting Secretary of State Francisco Palmieri intensified Rubio’s demonization of Cuba by testifying that “Cuba is a security state. The Cuban government in general has a very tight lid on everything and anything that happens in that country.” His boss, Undersecretary of State Steve Goldstein was more circumspect pointing out that “we are not much further ahead than we were in finding out what occurred.” Still, he insisted that Raúl Castro “knows what happened.” These statements by US government officials reinforce the idea that the Cuban government must come clean about what happened before semi-normal relations are restored. This assumes they even know why the injuries occurred. Given the current impasse, and the control Rubio and hardliners are exercising over US policy toward Cuba, it is unlikely that either side will admit any fault. And, just to complicate matters, Senator Jeff Flake — long an advocate for engagement — confirmed an AP story that an FBI report concluded that evidence is insufficient to support a sonic attack theory. Adding more muddle to the mystery, Todd Brown from State’s Diplomatic security posed the possibility that someone deliberately infected the diplomats with a virus.
The unfortunate fact is that even if a culprit is identified and Cuba takes action to rectify and compensate for the injuries, conservative Cuban Americans who now have gained the upper hand in US–Cuba relations, will not willingly cede control over policy. Rather, they will use their power to demand that the embassies continue with skeleton staffs and that the US government tighten the embargo. As former Secretary Gutierrez put it, “The conservative diaspora doesn’t like stability in our relationship. To them it means we accept the regime.”
Senator Rubio and Representative Mario Díaz-Balart (R-FL) already have complained that the new embargo regulations which were published on November 8, 2018 are insufficient. As Trump promised in his Miami speech, the regulations further restrict travel by individual Americans, but visits by people-to-people groups engaged in cultural, religious, or humanitarian activities are still permitted. The Treasury Department now prohibits Americans from engaging in financial transactions with 180 Cuban government entities that are substantially run by Cuban military or intelligence agencies. Among the business placed on a “restricted list” are hotels, such as Ambos Mundos (Two Worlds) where Ernest Hemingway lived when he arrived in Havana and businesses that serve the tourist industry by selling jewelry, flowers, and photographic services.
We can expect that Rubio, Díaz-Balart, and Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) will continue to press their advantage, insisting the Treasury Department issue additional sanctions, further limiting contact with Cuba. Once again — as during George W. Bush’s administration — conservative Cuban American legislators will attempt to force regime change by reducing US contact with the island to an absolute minimum. Their next target most likely will be people-to-people visits and educational travel. As in the past they may also attempt to reduce travel and money transfers by the Cuban diaspora — many of whom are US citizens — who visit family and friends and provide over one billion dollars in remittance. Even the two dozen bilateral agreements will not be immune from the efforts to constrain cooperation between the US and Cuban governments.
As has been the case in the past, the Cuban people will suffer most from these new measures. The travel warning has already reduced the number of American visitors, harming the small family businesses that sprung up as a result of Castro’s privatization reforms and the influx of American visitors. The closure of the consular section of the American embassy means that Cubans can no longer obtain visas for travel to the United States, whether to visit friends, for medical care, for business, or for cultural, religious, and sports exchanges. Although the State Department has said that it will provide a means for family reunification, as of January 16, 2018 the US embassy in Havana is not issuing visas of any type, neither for those hoping to join family in the US or escape persecution, nor for those who simply wish to visit or participate in cultural exchanges.
From Our Woman in Havana: A Diplomat’s Chronicle of America’s Long Struggle with Castro’s Cuba, by Ambassador Vicki Huddleston. Copyright © 2018 by Vicki Huddleston. Reprinted by arrangement with The Overlook Press, Peter Mayer Publishers, Inc. www.overlookpress.com, http://www.overlookpress.com/. All rights reserved.
Vicki Huddleston
Our Woman in Havana
The book is available in major bookstores, via the websites of Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Indiebound. More information at http://www.overlookpress.com/upcoming/our-woman-in-havana.html
This entry was posted on Friday, March 2nd, 2018 at 8:21 pm and is filed under Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
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All Posts / Our Championships / Manitoba’s Cathy-O Beats Her Former Scotties Skip
Manitoba’s Cathy-O Beats Her Former Scotties Skip
It was a crowd-rouser, to be sure. And Cathy-O, the massively sentimental favourite and underdog who was drawing chants of ‘Cathy-O, Cathy-O’ won it . . . 8-6 with a 95 per cent shooting performance, probably her best-ever as a skip.
Scotties Tournament Of Hearts leader Amber Holland and her Saskatchewan teammates (8-1) were out on the town with their supporters, spending Holland’s $1,000 Hot Shots winnings.
Ontario’s Rachel Homan, right in the thick of the race for playoff berths at 6-3, probably was watching the game either in the Civic Centre or on television.
“I love the game,” she said earlier. “I’ll be watching. There’s nothing I’d rather be doing.”
Alberta’s Shannon Kleibrink, always a contender at 6-3, may have been taking in the tilt on TV, too.
The others with a playoff shot — notably Heather Smith-Dacey and Kelly Scott — were on the freeze, attempting to stay focused and up there with the leaders on Wednesday night’s ballyhooed draw . . . the one on which defending Scotties champion skip Jennifer Jones was taking on defending Scotties champion third Cathy Overton-Clapham.
Manitoba skip Cathy Overton-Clapham. (Photo: Andrew Klaver Photography)
In truth, however, it was a sidebar to the issue of deciding a 2011 Scotties champ and a Canadian rep for world play next month in Denmark.
The loss for the defending champs left them in a logjam, two games behind Saskatchewan, at 6-3 . . . along with Ontario, Alberta and Nova Scotia.
Never mind. Until this morning, this real or perceived feud was going to take centre stage. And so it did in front of a live crowd of 2,175 and a national television audience.
Jones opened with a deuce, courtesy a Leslie Wilson miss and Cathy-O drew the four-foot looking at five Team Canada counters in the second end.
The game turned thereafter. Manitoba stole the tying point in the third when Jones’s last button draw was inches too deep. Then Jones drew the pot looking at a hidden pair in the fourth but jammed on Cathy-O’s near-freeze in the fifth and left Manitoba with a draw for a go-ahead deuce.
Jones tied it again in the sixth, following Overton-Clapham’s last deep bury into the four-foot. Then a deuce in the seventh blew it open when Cathy-O drew after Jones doubled out two of three enemy stones in the rings.
Jones was forced to draw for one in the eighth but, in the ninth, Overton-Clapham executed the game’s most precise shot after Jones had drawn a near-perfect corner freeze into the four-foot. Cathy-O slashed the Jones rock and left two of her own counting for an 8-5 cushion.
“I’ve never been in a game with a crowd like that,” said the jubilant Overton-Clapham who said she was pumped up for the game because her team wanted to keep playing well.
“You can use a crowd like that to your own advantage, for sure. We were putting our rocks in the right spots and getting our deuces when we needed them.”
Any reason for that pumped-up look other than the fact the crowd was obviously on her side?
“I just wanted to play well,” she said. “I don’t think the win proved anything. They (Jones team) made a (personnel) decision and stuck with it and that’s fine, we’ll all move on and now we won’t have to talk about this game again.
“I guess you could say it was my final because we’re not going to be in the final. But I wanted to have fun and that’s when I play well . . . when I’m having fun.
“I wish we could have played this game last Saturday. Maybe it would have set a different tone for the week. The real Team Manitoba really hasn’t been here yet. Hopefully we can close it off with a couple more wins tomorrow.”
Team Canada skip Jennifer Jones. (Photo: Andrew Klaver Photography)
Jones shrugged off the loss with a wide smile.
“It was just like playing anybody else,” she insisted. “It just felt like any game at the Scotties when you’re on Wednesday night. It was a great game for TV which is what I’ve been saying all along, so I wish it would have come down to last shot because we were a little short on ours.
“I thought they played great, they outplayed us and deserved to win that game. I don’t think there was anything to prove, we’ve always said she (Overton-Clapham) was a great player.
“I didn’t notice the crowd that much at the end, I just noticed the game was a lot of fun to play.
“I guess you guys won’t be relieved, you’ll have to think of different questions now. Sorry.
“We’re exactly where we want to be (in the Scotties). In terms of the round robin it wasn’t the best loss but we still control our own destiny and need a couple more wins tomorrow. We do that and finish second, what more do you want?”
Each team goes into the final day of the round robin with two games to play. It is likely the post round-robin field has been reduced to no more that six teams.
Here’s how they’ll play it out today:
Saskatchewan (8-1) — 9:30 a.m. New Brunswick (3-6); 7:30 p.m. British Columbia (5-4).
Team Canada (6-2) — 2:30 p.m. Nova Scotia (6-3); 7:30 p.m. Alberta (6-3).
Ontario (6-3) — 9:30 a.m. Territories (3-6); 7:30 p.m. Quebec (3-6).
Alberta (6-3) — 9:30 a.m. Nova Scotia (6-3); 7:30 p.m. Team Canada (6-3).
Nova Scotia (6-3) — 9:30 a.m. Alberta (6-3); 2:30 p.m. Team Canada (6-3).
British Columbia (5-4) — 2:30 p.m. New Brunswick (3-6); 7:30 p.m. Saskatchewan (8-1).
In other games Wednesday night, Nova Scotia’s Smith-Dacey won her second of the day, whaling Newfoundland’s Stacie Devereaux 11-3, Kelly Scott of British Columbia topped off a two-win day by whipping Kerry Galusha of the Territories 7-2 and Andrea Kelly of New Brunswick shrugged off a case of sinus infection and defeated Marie-France Larouche of Quebec 8-5 with four points in the closing two ends.
Smith-Dacey put an end to Saskatchewan’s undefeated skein in the afternoon, 7-4, but the Green Machine remained assured of a playoff berth following today’s action.
“We just played our best game by far,” said Overton-Clapham, moments after upending Ontario’s Rachel Homan 10-6 in another afternoon tilt which obviously set up Manitoba’s evening performance.
It was Homan’s second loss of the day — she bowed 6-4 to Jones in the morning.
Homan said her team had no doubt it needed to win its final two games Thursday.
“This morning, it was one or two shots here and there,” said Homan. “The last game was a little ugly. But I think we can come back from this one.
“It’s a new game, we can start fresh and try to return to playing the way we were playing before today. We know we can do it.”
As for Smith-Dacey, she said, “it was our best team game of the week”.
“Mark (husband and coach Dacey) said, ‘It’s all about playing at the end of the week and now you have your opportunity’.
“We’ve had our week broken up into parts and we’re right on pace with what we want to do. Another win today will put us in a good position tomorrow.
“I feel some momentum now, I really do. It’s confidence. This game can leave you so quickly. But this win (over Saskatchewan) was a must win for us, in terms of confidence and for a lot of reasons.”
Holland flashed a double-kill in the fourth end to enable Nova Scotia a 4-2 jump, then allowed another theft of a deuce in the eighth end.
“We didn’t manage the ice or the rocks well. I didn’t get a feel for it,” said the Saskatchewan skip. .
“That’s OK, we’ll just park it and move on. We have to focus on our performance and I didn’t perform very well out there. I couldn’t find anything that apparently was working.”
Her 64 per cent score on shots, poorest of the tournament to date, was a testament to that.
Among other afternoon tilts, Alberta’s Kleibrink won her third straight, bouncing Kelly of New Brunswick 7-3. Homestanding Charlottetown skip Suzanne Birt missed her last shot in an extra end to record her fifth loss of the week, probably one too many to hope for a playoff berth.
The Islanders controlled their match with Galusha, but a steal of two by the Polars in the eighth and a tying deuce in the 10th enabled them to scrape back into contention.
Birt attempted a quiet tap on a Territories rock in the four-foot with a couple of dangerous guards posing a danger but her weight on the shot was a heavy, she failed to totally remove the stone and rolled out the shooter leaving Galusha (3-5) with a 7-6 win.
Holland hammered Devereaux 10-2 in the morning while Jones stopped Homan’s Ottawa foursome 7-4.
Kleibrink’s Calgary crew beat Quebec’s Marie-France Larouche 9-4 and Scott battled the hometown favourites and some very loud conditions to beat Suzanne Birt’s P.E.I. champs 4-3.
Said Kleibrink later:
“It’s looking like four losses will be there (playoffs) now. We think we’ll be there at the end if we play like we can. And I think we are playing that way.
“Today, I felt so comfortable that we think we can make anything. All teams get better as a tournament like this wears on and they get the feel of it.”
Alberta gets the defending champion in tonight’s last round-robin draw at 7:30 p.m. (AT).
“They (Team Canada) are going to be solid and we’ll have to bring our A-game for sure,” opined Kleibrink.
Previous: Draw 14 Media Scrum Video Interviews
Next: HeartChart Daily Newspaper Online – Feb. 24 Edition
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Population 6.4 million
GDP per capita 4,740 US$
Czechia (Czech Republic)
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major macro economic indicators
2018 (e)
2019 (f)
GDP growth (%) -2.8 26.7 7.2 6.8
Inflation (yearly average, %) 25.9 28.4 15.0 10.0
Budget balance (% GDP) -81.2 -34.5 -25.9 -22.6
Current account balance (% GDP) -18.0 2.5 -2.9 -5.0
Public debt (% GDP) 189.7 134.2 116.0 125.6
(e): Estimate. (f): Forecast.
Large gas and oil reserves
Very low external debt
Strategically located on the Mediterranean near Europe
The country is split in two: Tripolitania in the west is governed by the Tripoli government, which is recognised by the international community, while Cyrenaica in the east is run by the Al-Beïda government supported by Field Marshal Haftar
The south of the country (Fezza) is having to cope with an upsurge in trafficking (human, weapons and drugs) and conflict between the Tuareg and Toubou groups
High inflation
Social tensions; political and tribal fragmentation
Unfavourable business environment
The Libyan crisis persists
After several failed attempts at mediation led by the United Nations, the Libyan crisis seems to be deadlocked once again. Undermined by political fractures inherited from the post-Gaddafi transition, Libya remains a divided territory. The Tripoli Presidential Council, which is supported by the international community, and a rival government in the east of the country backed by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, continue to fight over power. Despite the appointment of the new UN emissary, Ghassan Salamé, as head of the UNSMIL in 2017, little headway has been made. The UN is trying to find a political solution to the conflict and to reunify the two governments through parliamentary and presidential elections. The Paris Agreement of May 2018, which brought together the stakeholders – including Fayez al-Sarraj, President of the Presidency Council, Aguila Saleh, President of the House of Representatives, Khaled Meshri, President of the High State Council, and Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, Commander of the Libyan National Army – set elections for December 10, 2018. Yet this timetable will be hard to achieve: the constitutional basis that will provide the framework for the elections, initially scheduled to be ready by September 16, 2018, has not yet been finalised, as the Parliament has encountered difficulties in reaching a consensus within the deadline. The elections are therefore likely to be postponed until the first half of 2019. Despite some progress in the political resolution of the conflict, the country continues to be undermined by clashes, particularly around oil fields. Armed groups continue to challenge Field Marshal Haftar's troops, who control most of the eastern part of the country, while Islamist and tribal militias are still fighting over territory in the west. The security situation is projected to remain precarious.
Recovery in oil production
Despite the disruptions between June and July, oil production stood at around 1 million barrels per day in 2018, thus ensuring that Libya recorded its second year of growth after the crisis. Despite the obsolescence and destruction of some infrastructure, Libyan production is expected to remain at a comparable level in 2019. Foreign companies seem to be making a cautious return to the country. British oil company BP has announced a partial resumption of exploration activities in collaboration with National Oil Corporation of Libya in 2019. The exploration and production sharing agreement, which began in 2007, is expected to include Eni, an Italian company that has continued to operate in the territory and that has infrastructure near the exploration area. In a similar vein, in October 2018 the national oil company organised an international forum for foreign investors. However, FDI flows will remain very limited until the political situation is clarified and peace returns to the territory. Meanwhile, the non-oil economy continues to be hindered by a lack of resources and continued security concerns. The increase in oil exports has partly made it possible to respond to the shortage of foreign exchange and alleviate the pressure on the parallel exchange rate, leading to a slight drop in prices. In addition, the Libyan central bank plans to apply a tax on foreign currency transactions to narrow the spread between the official and black market exchange rates. Households, who have seen their purchasing power cut by 80% since 2011, should benefit from more stable inflation and civil service wage increases.
Substantial twin deficits
Despite a significant increase in budgetary revenues, the government deficit remained significant in 2018. Higher oil revenues failed to offset the growth in wage expenditure, which reached 48% of GDP. The Tripoli government has, however, embarked on a fiscal consolidation plan aimed at reducing the share of incompressible expenditure by scaling back subsidies (10.6% of GDP). Nevertheless, these reforms will need time to take effect given the country's political instability and the lack of legitimacy of the presidency, which, despite the support of the international community, is struggling to assert its authority across the nation. The Tripoli government will likely continue to obtain financing from the Libyan central bank, but also from Libyan assets accumulated under the Gaddafi regime. The eastern government will remain dependent on borrowing from local banks. Finally, the current account deficit is expected to remain high. While the increase in exports has made it possible to rebuild foreign exchange reserves, it will not be sufficient to restore the external balance. The country imports more than 80% of its consumption needs, including refined oil.
Last update: February 2019
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The rail transformation journey
An award-winning case study on how to effectively harmonise traditional and new media strategies
Patrick Nathan
Peh Yan Ting
Posted: 04 July 2017
SMRT moves millions of people on a daily basis through its trains, buses and taxis. The North-South East-West Lines (NSEWL), Singapore’s oldest and longest MRT lines, are heavily used as they provide the fastest travelling connections across Singapore.
In December 2011, two major disruptions, a day apart, rattled the confidence of commuters. To regain confidence, and to reassure commuters that SMRT rail services are safe, reliable, comfortable and commuter-centric, SMRT made a concerted effort to regularly inform and update commuters on its multi-year, multi-programme track renewal project. This rail transformation journey began on the North-South Line in 2013, and on the East-West Line in 2014, and has intensified as SMRT works hard to completing these track renewal works.
There were several challenges to the public relations effort:
As the rail system was never shut down, engineering staff had only 3.5 hours to perform maintenance and carry out upgrade and renewal works every night before service resumed the next morning.
Residents living near the tracks had to bear with noise (there are some 400,000 households living near the NSEWL tracks).
Changes to train service hours required commuters to adapt travel patterns.
Speed restrictions made their journey slower.
The complexity of the 200km long, 54-station rail network meant that only certain stretches of the system could be worked on at any point in time. Disruptions would continue to strain the patience of commuters.
SMRT needed to reach out to commuters to explain why the old system needed renewal, why the various programmes had to be undertaken simultaneously, and why it would take a few years to complete this massive project. It was critical to keep commuters updated on when and where works were being carried out so that interruptions to their travel patterns could be minimised.
The public outreach campaign sought to achieve the following:
Firstly, raise public awareness of the complexity and the scale of the track renewal works. Secondly, to foster understanding across a wide cross-section of commuters, young and old, to some of the inconveniences that would be necessary in order to carry out these works. Thirdly, to generate content across all media platforms in the four official languages and to use a range of techniques to maximise the outreach so that people could understand the benefits that would come with the upgrade and renewal project. Fourthly, to sustain the campaign over the entire period of the multi-year project while, as work progressed, trying to target specific stretches and specific communities along the network, and while working within the constraints of a very tight public relations budget.
SMRT adopted a two-pronged approach, running two complementary projects concurrently. This approach was tailored to firstly educate the public about what was being done and the benefits that it would bring them, and secondly to restore their confidence in SMRT.
The Rail Transformation Journey campaign brought to commuters the reality that the network was very complex and that many repairs needed to be done at the same time.
The We’re Working on It campaign was an honest, heartfelt campaign that sought to humanise SMRT and to show that behind all the heavy machinery were people, working hard to make the MRT system better.
There were four messaging strategies – Persuade, Amplify, Defend and Restore – that we used across all our communications platforms. These were created specifically to address perception gaps and to reinforce the key message that SMRT was on track and making steady progress to improve service and reliability.
Persuade commuters that SMRT was optimising every single resource to renew the aging network as quickly as possible.
Amplify the benefits that everyone would enjoy once the work was done, and help commuters see beyond the current inconveniences to the future state of safe, reliable and comfortable rides.
Defend the staff who were working hard to make sure the multi-year, multi-programme track renewal project would be completed on time.
Restore the public’s trust in SMRT as a best-in-class public transport operator with a commuter-centric focus in all of its programmes and activities.
SMRT ran two projects concurrently, one informative and one emotive, but understood that the We’re Working on It campaign would need to evolve beyond the track renewal and upgrade project to demonstrate that SMRT was committed to continuously improving public transportation service and reliability in Singapore, and that, more importantly, it would need to evolve beyond the original tagline. It has since adopted the tagline Your Journey Matters.
With an audience from different walks of life and varying media consumption habits, SMRT employed an integrated strategy to optimise outcomes with limited resources. Four specific stakeholder groups were identified for engagement by analysing their needs, identifying the communication media that best reached out to them and creating content that optimised the four messaging strategies.
“With an audience from different walks of life and varying media consumption habits, SMRT employed an integrated strategy.”
Grassroots and community engagements. Before embarking on works along identified stretches where track renewal work was taking place, SMRT conducted pre-launch consultation sessions with advisors and grassroots leaders on potential areas of concern and maintained channels of communications to allay concerns and raise awareness. Site walks were organised and targeted direct mailers and letters were sent to residents. SMRT senior management also distributed information packages to commuters one week prior to early closure of stations affected by track renewal work.
Media engagements and immersions. SMRT also proactively engaged news agencies to generate positive stories on track renewal work. Special access to witness the works were granted to allow media representatives to generate feature stories. A comprehensive primer on SMRT’s ongoing track renewal effort was distributed to the media to seed greater awareness of the scale and scope of the projects.
Out of home communications. By harnessing existing media and advertising platforms within SMRT’s Out of Home network and its MRT station communications network, SMRT was able to generate extensive publicity through in-station public announcements, digital media platforms, large format posters, print advertisements, in-train panels and notice boards.
Optimising new media platforms. With more than 100,000 followers, the SMRT Facebook page became a key channel to engage the commuting public. SMRT’s YouTube channel and Twitter account complemented this online activity while progress updates via SMRT’s Corporate Website were made available. Complex issues relating to the renewal project were simplified through engaging infographic videos, and clarified through the SMRT Blog and through the Customer Relations portal on SMRT’s Facebook.
SMRT has sustained keen media interest in its Rail Transformation Journey since 2013 when it first embarked on this campaign. SMRT has used a range of traditional and new media platforms to keep the media engaged, and this has resulted in more than 100 articles and features through print and broadcast media from 2013 to 2016, generating a PR value of over $3.6 million. In 2016, SMRT generated $1.2 million in public relations value for both its Rail Transformation Journey and We’re Working on It campaigns. This does not take into account the efforts SMRT put into and the immense benefits it reaped from its accompanying social media campaigns.
“SMRT has used a range of traditional and new media platforms to keep the media engaged.”
The key result is that commuters are now more keenly aware of the key programmes undertaken as part of SMRT’s Rail Transformation Journey, in particular the sleeper replacement, re-signalling and third rail replacement programmes. The extent to which commuters understand and recall these programmes, and the degree to which they recognise that they take time to implement, has improved as a result of SMRT’s public awareness efforts. There was also greater acknowledgement that SMRT was working hard to repair the network. SMRT has sought the patience and understanding of its commuters and, in large part, the response has been positive.
The number of complaints arising from inconveniences caused by SMRT’s track renewal works has decreased. In particular, the number of complaints relating to noise, speed restrictions, ride comfort, delays and station dwell times dropped significantly. This can be attributed to the extensive public education and outreach efforts undertaken though the Rail Transformation Journey campaign, and to the accompanying We’re Working on It campaign which sought to appeal to the sentiment of commuters.
SMRT’s campaigns have created some advocates in the community. There are more positive messages being posted online in support of SMRT staff who have been working hard behind the scenes to complete the various track renewal works. Quite significantly, Nielsen surveys conducted from 2014 to 2016 have shown that customer satisfaction levels have improved, notwithstanding SMRT’s efforts to increase the pace of track renewal works.
Main image: SMRT
Patrick Nathan heads SMRT’s corporate information and communications division, which includes the corporate marketing and communications department, passenger service department as well as the information fusion centre. He has over 25 years’ experience in government and last served in the office of the Prime Minister of Singapore, where he also undertook responsibilities for community engagement, media relations, corporate marketing and corporate communications.
Peh Yan Ting is senior executive, corporate information and communications at SMRT corporation. She joined SMRT under the Engineering and Management Associate Programme in 2014. Yan has experience working in the corporate affairs and customer relations management department in SMRT. She is currently with the new media department undertaking responsibilities for all new media strategies and campaigns for SMRT.
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Peter Dyakowski
Peter Dyakowski first arrived in Hamilton after being selected by the Tiger-Cats in the 2006 CFL draft. The Vancouver native quickly fell in love with his adopted city and chose to set down roots.
Over his 10 years and 160 games with the Ticats, Peter enjoyed career stability uncommon in professional sports. He took advantage of that stability to invest in Hamilton, building a successful small business, and started a family. Peter is married to Rachel and together they have two young daughters, Louise (2) and Helena (4 months). Peter also gave back to the community whenever the opportunity presented itself by volunteering with fundraisers and non-profit community initiatives, becoming a leader in the Tiger-Cats community outreach program. Hamilton had become his home.
Peter is a 2nd generation Polish-Canadian, a hard worker, and a team player who has earned the respect of Hamilton fans and his fellow professional athletes. Over the course of his football career, he has earned many unique distinctions.
Peter was the first ever Canadian football player to receive a full scholarship at Louisiana State University, where he won the NCAA National Championship under storied Coach Nick Saban. His subsequent career has taken him from White House receptions to sub-zero Grey Cups with starring roles on TV programs like CBC’s Canada’s Smartest Person and Jeopardy! along the way.
Developing into one of the league’s premier offensive guards, in 2011 he was the Tiger-Cats’ nominee for the CFL’s Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman Award and the following year Peter was named a CFL Eastern Division All Star. In back-to-back seasons in 2012 and 2013, Peter was voted by the league’s defensive linemen and coaches to the CFLPA All Star Team.
Over the course of his impressive 11 year CFL career, Peter has dedicated much of his time to his role on the CFL Players’ Association. In his current position as CFLPA Treasurer, Peter is no stranger to collective bargaining, group benefits, and employee workplace and financial concerns. In his role with the players union he helps fellow players navigate employment issues and disputes. On more than a few occasions over his career, Peter put his job on the line to stand up for the rights of his teammates.
While he played his 11th and final football season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, there was never any doubt that Peter would be back. True to his heart, Peter came back and in November of 2018 signed his formal retirement papers with the Tiger-Cats, closing the book on a remarkable 180-game CFL career.
Now he is embarking upon a new challenge with the goal of giving back to Hamilton, the city which has given him so much. From his football career, to his business, and his young family, Peter gives all the credit for his good fortune to the People and City of Hamilton. When he is elected, Peter will ensure that Canada’s 9th-largest city is heard and respected on the national stage. Peter will also work within the Conservative Party in Canada’s Parliament to bring good jobs and long term investments back to Hamilton. Hamilton families deserve to be able to see their kids stay in the city and find stable, rewarding careers here.
Connect With Peter Dyakowski
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Home >> the 2020 Election >> 9 Radical Policies 2020 Democrats Are Putting On The Table
9 Radical Policies 2020 Democrats Are Putting On The Table
Posted by: Peter Hasson in the 2020 Election, US News April 24, 2019 Comments Off on 9 Radical Policies 2020 Democrats Are Putting On The Table
Democratic presidential candidates are increasingly embracing radical policies as they jockey for position in their party’s crowded primary.
Here are nine radical policies that Democratic candidates say are on the table in 2020:
Packing The Supreme Court
South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, California Sen. Kamala Harris, former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren have all expressed their openness to expanding the Supreme Court, in order to counter a slim conservative majority. Left-wing activist groups have pressured Democrats to support court-packing, after they were unsuccessful in stopping Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation.
Lowering Voting Age To 16
California Rep. Eric Swalwell and Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard voted for legislation in March that would have lowered the federal voting age to 16. Harris and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker both expressed openness to lowering the voting age when asked about it by The Daily Caller News Foundation in March. Harris said she is “open to that conversation for sure,” while Booker said he hadn’t “thought about it” but was “willing to hear the case.” O’Rourke has also said he’s open to lowering the voting age.
Forcing Schools To Let Male Athletes Compete On Girls’ Teams
Booker, Buttigieg, Harris, Gabbard and Gillibrand all support the Equality Act, which would require schools to allow male athletes who identify as transgender girls to compete on female sports teams. The bill would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to make “sexual orientation and gender identity” protected characteristics under federal anti-discrimination law. Among other things, the bill would force public schools to expand female athletic teams to include biological males who identify as transgender girls.
Abolishing Electoral College
Abolishing the electoral college is another idea being taken seriously by 2020 Democrats. “Every vote matters, and the way we can make that happen is that we can have national voting, and that means get rid of the Electoral College,” Warren said in a CNN town hall in March. “Absolutely, it’s got to go,” Buttigieg said in March when asked if he supports abolishing the electoral college.
Booker expressed his support for the idea that same month. “I believe very simply that in a presidential election the person with the most votes should be the president of the United States,” he said.
“Let’s abolish the electoral college. If we get rid of the Electoral College, we’d get a little closer to one person, one vote,” O’Rourke said on April 1. Harris said she is “open” to the idea. Gillibrand co-sponsored a bill this month that would eliminate the electoral college. “I believe that it’s time to get rid of the Electoral College, and I am ready to fight in Congress and around the country to pass this Constitutional Amendment to do that,” she said.
Killing Private Health Insurance
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ Medicare-for-All proposal calls for eliminating private health insurance. Booker, Harris, Gillibrand and Warren have all signed onto the bill in the Senate, and Gabbard co-sponsored the House version. “Let’s eliminate all of that. Let’s move on,” Harris said in a CNN town hall in January, referring to private health insurance.
Terrorists And Mass Murderers Get to Vote In Federal Elections
Sanders wants to restore voting rights not just to formerly incarcerated felons, but to currently incarcerated felons as well. That would include terrorists like the Boston bomber, rapists and other violent criminals, Sanders admitted Monday. Harris expressed her openness to the idea Monday, before later walking it back Wednesday.
Government Penalties For ‘Misinformation’
New York entrepreneur Andrew Yang’s platform includes a government crackdown on online “misinformation,” which would include penalties for media companies. Yang’s proposal would introduce “penalties for persistent and destructive misstatements that undermine public discourse,” according to his campaign website. “If enough citizens complain about a particular source of information and news is demonstrably and deliberately false, there should be penalties,” Yang’s website states.
Free college — funded by taxpayers — is also on the table for 2020. Warren unveiled her plan Monday to cancel student loan debt for many Americans, while making public universities tuition-free. “Experts estimate my debt cancellation plan creates a one-time cost to the government of $640 billion,” Warren wrote in a Medium post. “The Universal Free College program brings the total cost of the program to roughly $1.25 trillion over ten years.”
Sanders, a democratic socialist, has been demanding free college for years, but Warren said her plan “goes further” than his.
Wealth Confiscation
Warren wants to go beyond raising income taxes and tax Americans’ wealth — a constitutionally fuzzy proposal — in order to pay for her free college promise. Warren’s plan would levy a 2 percent annual wealth tax on households with a net worth over $50 million, and an additional 1 percent tax on households with a net worth exceeding $1 billion.
the 2020 Election 2019-04-24
Peter Hasson
Tagged with: the 2020 Election
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About Peter Hasson
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Marblehead Light
Marblehead Light Quick Facts
Year Station Established: 18
Shape: Square Skeletal
Tower Height: 105 ft.
Present Optic: 300mm
Marblehead Lighthouse
Marblehead, MA
Marblehead Light is situated on Marblehead Neck in Essex County, Massachusetts. The current tower is a skeletal structure that replaced the original 1835 brick and wood tower in 1895. It is the only tower of its type in New England, the next similar tower is to be found at Coney Island, New York. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places, on June 15, 1987 as number #87001479 under Lighthouses of Massachusetts Thematic Group.
The United States Coast Guard Light List description is "Square skeleton tower; brown to gallery; black above". The actual light is 130 feet (40 m) above Mean High Water. Its fixed green light is visible for 7 nautical miles (13 km).
In August 1831, the townspeople of Marblehead requested that a lighthouse be built at the entrance to the harbour. Congress granted the wish and a 23 foot (7m) high tower was built in 1835 and commissioned on 10 October 1835. This tower had an array of ten whale oil burning lamps inside an octagonal lantern.
In 1857, the old lamp system was replaced by a sixth order Fresnel lens and reflectors. Despite the upgrade and work on the tower and associated keepers' house, the tower itself was in a poor condition and by 1893 a new light was requested. The new light was completed in 1895 at a cost of $8,786, the cost being much reduced by using a skeletal frame rather than rebuilding the old tower.
This new light consisted of eight cast iron piles on concrete foundations. The light was a sixth order Fresnel lens with a kerosene lamp. It was first illuminated on 17 April 1896 as a fixed white light. Later in 1922 it was changed to fixed red and then in 1938 to fixed green. In 1960, the light was automated and a new 300mm optic was installed.
The lighthouse itself is not open but it resides within Chandler Hovey Park, which is open to the public.
Latitude/Longitude: 42.50548,-70.833665
Nearest Address: 5 Follett St, Marblehead, MA
From Salem take Route 114 south, or from Lynn/Swampscott take 129 north into Marblehead
Turn east onto Ocean Ave and take for about 1 mile, turning left onto Harbor Ave.
Ocean Ave reconnects with Harbor Ave. Follow it to the end.
Then take a left onto Follet St., which is one-way.
Take Follet St. into Chandler Hovey Park.
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Oliver retires after 34 years of service to Guernsey County
After 34 years of service to the residents of Guernsey County including 20 years with the county’s highest court, Capt. Tim Oliver has retired from his duties as bailiff and chief security officer.
Oliver served the Guernsey County Common Pleas Court from 1999 to 2019 under retired Judge David A. Ellwood and current Judge Daniel G. Padden. He previously served with the Guernsey County Sheriff’s Office from 1985 to 1999.
His retirement was effective April 30 when a ceremony honoring Oliver took place at the common pleas court. He was presented a plaque for his years of service to the county.
“Tim Oliver’s service to the court has been invaluable for more than two decades,” said Guernsey County Common Pleas Court Judge Daniel G. Padden. “Tim’s knowledge and experience with the court system, and the procedures to be used has been a great asset to me since taking the bench.
“I also know that Tim provided many years of valuable service to Judge David A. Ellwood,” concluded Padden who also praised Oliver for his years of service as a deputy sheriff for Guernsey County.
“Tim was an excellent employee and an outstanding person, an example you can find good people right here in Guernsey County,” said Ellwood, who hired Oliver in 1999. “He had an excellent touch with the people, especially the jurors, who came to the courthouse.
“He was also very instrumental in helping the court establish the first drug court program, which was one of the first in the state of Ohio,” added Ellwood of the Court Assisted Recovery and Education (CARE) program. “He also helped establish the court’s house arrest program and the security program at the Guernsey County Courthouse.”
Ellwood also praised Oliver for his extensive training and certifications that allowed him to train other bailiffs and court probation officers during his years of service. He also helped the court obtain numerous grants to fund programs, such as the CARE program.
After his years as a deputy, Oliver began his career at the court by serving many roles — bailiff, chief security officer, transport officer and probation officer.
He was promoted to chief probation officer in 2001 and the rank of lieutenant in 2004. He was promoted to captain four years later.
A brief two-month stint with the Cambridge Municipal Court in 2016 was the only interruption in Oliver’s time at the common pleas court. Upon returning, he was again the chief security officer, as well as director for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Smart Grant, CCA Grants and drug court.
A seasoned law enforcement veteran, Oliver earned instructor certifications for the select fire assault rifle, sub-machine gun, revolver, pistol, semi-automatic carbine, shotgun, stun belt, stun shield, stun gun, Taser X-26/M-26, use of force, OPOTA unit, NRA Eddie Eagle, home safety, personal protection, aerosol restraints, firearm re-qualification, chemical munitions, tactical anatomy, advance firearm, concealed carry tactics and FBI’s LEOKO officer safety/street survival.
He also holds armorer certifications for Smith & Wesson M&P, Sig Sauer P series, Remington 870, Glock (all series), Colt 1911 and Springfield XD series.
His honors include the Medal of Valor in 1987; Certificate of Merit in Firearms in 1994; Firearms Instruction Citation-Training Officer in 1997; Community Service Award in 2005; NRA Distinguished Expert Rating in 2006 and Judges Award in 2014.
He is a member of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 10, National Rifle Association, Police Marksman Association, International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructor, Ohio Chief Probation Officers Association, Ohio Community Corrections Organization, Aladdin Shrine Noble, Scottish Rite Mason Lodge of Perfection including past thrice potent master, Master Mason Cambridge Lodge 66 Kambi Shrine including past president; and 33rd Degree Scottish Rite Mason.
Oliver is a 1985 graduate of the Muskingum Area Technical College and Ohio Peace Officers Training Academy.
After a break to enjoy his retirement, Oliver said he plans to get a part-time job. He also plans to spend more time with his family.
Oliver and his wife, Kim, a 35-year educator with the East Guernsey Local School District, have a daughter, Kristin (Jesus) Villarroel, who is expecting the Olivers’ first grandchild.
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Fire erupts in Pomona recycling yard
Los Angeles County Firefighters are on scene of a recycling yard fire in Pomona.
The call came in at 2:35 p.m. about a reported fire at 1450 E. First Street, according to a fire official.
By 2:55 p.m., there were six engines on scene.
No further details were immediately available.
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College Life, Pride 2019
5 trending queer female artists you have to check out
Aslesha Kumar /Senior Staff
By Christina Kim | Staff
2019 has definitely been a blossoming year for queer female artists. More artists are becoming comfortable publicizing their sexuality, spreading hope and love to their audience. They’ve become role models for girls who haven’t had queer female figures to look up to before. In celebration of Pride this month, here are five hot and trendy queer female artists you should definitely listen to in this summer.
Nicknamed “Lesbian Jesus,” Hayley Kiyoko is a singer, songwriter, choreographer and director. Although she originally debuted as a member of a group called The Stunners, she really rose to fame after her solo music video “Girls Like Girls,” which she also wrote and directed. Her music videos are gold, and they catch the attention of many queer females. They’re beautiful and very well-directed, and they portray queer love in a realistic, yet romantic way — they truly bring her electro-pop music to life, and it makes the experience so much better.
FLETCHER made her debut through the first American season of “The X Factor” and has been consistently releasing music ever since. She has an incredible voice that is both emotional and powerful, and it suits her moody and stylish pop style of music perfectly. 2019 has been her biggest year so far, with all three of her singles released this year doing spectacularly well. “Undrunk” is probably her biggest hit to date. She’s currently touring with LANY, a very popular indie band.
If ’80s indie rock if your thing, try listening to Girl in Red. Not much is known about her because she pretty much stays under the radar, but she started gaining popularity after uploading her mixes to SoundCloud. Now, she posts music videos of her singles on YouTube. She is known for her casual but authentic style of music, as she has stated that she records and mixes her music in her bedroom. She sometimes even directs her own music videos in her backyard.
Kehlani
An Oakland native, Kehlani’s biggest hit is probably “Gangsta,” which came out in “Suicide Squad” as the theme song for Harley Quinn and the Joker’s relationship. Her music is mostly chill and great to listen to when you want to unwind and relax. Her first studio album, SweetSexySavage, was a huge hit, and she went off to do collaborations with major artists, such as Eminem, Demi Lovato and Cardi B.
If you want to listen to extremely unique pop songs, St. Vincent is your go-to. She received positive reviews from critics for her albums, eventually winning her first Grammy for best alternative music album in 2015. Her music is known for its wide array of instruments and complex arrangements, so it gives off a very mystical, full vibe.
These are just a few female queer artists; there are countless number of these amazing icons, influencers and activists in the world today. They fight for equality, and they stand for their loved ones. They confidently publicize their sexualities to let members of the LGBTQ+ community know that they’re not alone. On top of that, they release breathtaking music. What’s not to like?
Contact Christina Kim at [email protected].
fletcher, girl in red, Hayley Kiyoko, kehlani, St. Vincent
The Daily Clog (Cal+Blog) accumulates various tidbits about Berkeley and college life. We focus on the UC campus, the city of Berkeley and Berkeley’s online community. We give our two cents on all the goings-on.
4/20 Blaze It
4/20 blaze it 2018
4th of July 2017
Admissions Issue 2014
April Fool's Day 2018
Dead Week 2017
Dead Week Issue 2014
Game & Quizzes
Gilmore Girls 2018
More about the Clog
National Dance Day 2017
National Kissing Day 2017
Sports Buzz
Spring Break Guide 2016
Tech & Online
The Bachelor 2018
Winter is Here 2017
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Fire consumes Lima's lone indigenous community
Published: 14:58 EDT, 4 November 2016 | Updated: 14:59 EDT, 4 November 2016
LIMA, Peru (AP) — A fast-moving fire has destroyed Lima's only community of Amazon natives, devouring nearly 300 simple wooden homes just 10 blocks from the Peruvian capital's presidential palace and parliament.
Authorities report one serious injury, a child with burns who was hospitalized.
The fire broke out early Friday in Cantagallo, home to more than 3,000 Shipibo indigenous people. Officials say 46 people were treated for smoke inhalation.
Firefighters cool off amid charred debris following an early morning fire that destroyed hundreds of homes, in the shantytown known as Cantagallo, in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 4, 2016. The huge fire destroyed hundreds of homes where more than 3,000 members of Lima¿s Peruvian Amazon indigenous community have settled. It took firefighters more than six hours to get the fire under control, due to lack of water and difficult access to the area because of its narrow streets. No deaths have been reported. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
Firefighters tried to douse the flames, but water was in short supply and narrow streets impeded their access. Residents say the fire started near workshops where clothes, suitcases and shoes are made and where there were inflammable chemicals.
Cantagallo was founded in 2000 and its older residents hail from an Amazon region battered by the country's 1980-2000 internal conflict.
A family salvages a mattress from charred debris following an early morning fire that destroyed hundreds of homes, in the shantytown known as Cantagallo, in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 4, 2016. The huge fire destroyed hundreds of homes where more than 3,000 members of Lima¿s Peruvian Amazon indigenous community have settled. It took firefighters more than six hours to get the fire under control, due to lack of water and difficult access to the area because of its narrow streets. No deaths have been reported. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
A boy wearing a mask as protection from smoke caused by an early morning fire, plays with the shell of a charred chair, in the shantytown known as Cantagallo, in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 4, 2016. A huge fire destroyed hundreds of homes where more than 3,000 members of Lima¿s Peruvian Amazon indigenous community have settled. It took firefighters more than six hours to get the fire under control, due to lack of water and difficult access to the area because of its narrow streets. No deaths have been reported. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
A firefighter works in fire debris left from an early morning fire that destroyed hundreds of home in the shantytown known as Cantagallo, in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 4, 2016. The huge fire burned to cinders hundreds of homes where more than 3,000 members of Lima¿s Peruvian Amazon indigenous community have settled. It took firefighters more than six hours to get the fire under control, due to lack of water and difficult access to the area because of its narrow streets. No deaths have been reported. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
Firefighters work to control an early morning fire that destroyed hundreds of home in the shantytown known as Cantagallo, in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 4, 2016. The huge fire burned to cinders hundreds of homes where more than 3,000 members of Lima¿s Peruvian Amazon indigenous community have settled. It took firefighters more than six hours to get the fire under control, due to lack of water and difficult access to the area because of its narrow streets. No deaths have been reported. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
A father and son sit on a bed frame after an early morning fire destroyed hundreds of homes in the shantytown known as Cantagallo, in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 4, 2016. A huge fire destroyed hundreds of homes where more than 3,000 members of Lima¿s Peruvian Amazon indigenous community have settled. It took firefighters more than six hours to get the fire under control, due to lack of water and difficult access to the area because of its narrow streets. No deaths have been reported. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
People comb through charred remains following an early morning fire that destroyed hundreds of homes, in the shantytown known as Cantagallo, in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 4, 2016. The huge fire destroyed hundreds of homes where more than 3,000 members of Lima¿s Peruvian Amazon indigenous community have settled. It took firefighters more than six hours to get the fire under control, due to lack of water and difficult access to the area because of its narrow streets. No deaths have been reported. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
Two women recover personal items following an early morning fire that destroyed their home in the shantytown known as Cantagallo, in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 4, 2016. The huge fire destroyed hundreds of homes where more than 3,000 members of Lima¿s Peruvian Amazon indigenous community have settled. It took firefighters more than six hours to get the fire under control, due to lack of water and difficult access to the area because of its narrow streets. No deaths have been reported. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
A boy stand in the charred remains of his home following an early morning fire that destroyed hundreds of homes, in the shantytown known as Cantagallo, in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 4, 2016. The huge fire destroyed hundreds of homes where more than 3,000 members of Lima¿s Peruvian Amazon indigenous community have settled. It took firefighters more than six hours to get the fire under control, due to lack of water and difficult access to the area because of its narrow streets. No deaths have been reported. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
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Hawk-knapper gets probation, regrets breaking law
Bruce Rushton
Dec 29, 2007 at 12:01 AM Dec 29, 2007 at 9:54 AM
Even now, Sean Coleman says he doesn’t believe animals, especially native ones, should be held in zoos. But the man who helped set Mani the hawk free from Henson Robinson Zoo in 2005 also says he made a big mistake in breaking the law.
Even now, Sean Coleman says he doesn’t believe animals, especially native ones, should be held in zoos.
But the man who helped set Mani the hawk free from Henson Robinson Zoo in 2005 also says he made a big mistake in breaking the law.
“There’s so many other ways to go about it,” Coleman said. “I did go about this in the wrong way. I need to accept responsibility.”
Coleman, 21, said he’s always had an eye for hawks, particularly red-tailed hawks like Mani, who survived on his own for nearly two months before being found in a local back yard the day before Thanksgiving.
Mani was found just one day before temperatures plummeted to the teens in a brutal end to an epic Indian summer. Chubby for a hawk when he was stolen, Mani had lost half his body weight and probably would not have survived a night in cold weather, zoo officials say.
Coleman said he only wanted Mani to fly.
“I was set on that one thing in my head,” Coleman said. “I’m sure it had some hard times.”
Mani, who came to the zoo in 1979, had lived in captivity almost his entire life. He was imprinted on humans and didn’t have the hunting skills to survive in the wild, said Talon Thornton, zoo director.
“I would imagine he enjoyed himself flying,” Thornton said. “He probably didn’t like the idea of finding his own food.”
Coleman was unrepentant when police, acting on a tip, arrested him a week after Mani disappeared, recalled Sgt. Jonathan Davis of the Springfield Park District police department.
“He felt sorry for the bird,” said Davis, who interviewed Coleman after his arrest.
“He said if he were able to free all the other birds that night, he would have. He wasn’t upset. He wasn’t scared. He wasn’t remorseful or anything like that. He felt like what he’d done was the right thing.”
Concerned that Coleman and Adam Loper, who helped steal Mani and also pleaded guilty to misdemeanor trespassing charges on Friday, were seen as heroes by some people, Thornton arranged to speak with them shortly after Mani was recovered.
“I just wanted to sit them down and tell them the philosophy of the zoo,” Thornton said. “Taking a bird that had been in captivity and turning him loose, it’s just not going to happen.”
Coleman and Loper, 22, had clean criminal records before they took Mani. They had faced felony counts of burglary and theft but were allowed to plead guilty to misdemeanor trespassing charges after eight continuances in the case.
Coleman said he plans to become active in animal-rights issues once he completes probation.
“I’m putting that on the back burner now,” he said. “I’m in all this trouble.”
If there’s a silver lining to the case, Thornton said, it was the amount of public interest Mani’s disappearance stirred. All of a sudden, he said, people were noticing birds that had been around forever, and the zoo received dozens of e-mails and calls from people who thought they’d spotted him.
“The whole time Mani was gone, I think we educated an entire community about the different types of hawks in the area,” Thornton said.
Mani, who had outlived his expected lifespan by a decade, died four months after his return to the zoo. He has been stuffed and now is perched safely and permanently on a branch at the zoo, where he is used to teach schoolchildren about hawks.
Bruce Rushton can be reached at (217) 788-1542 or bruce.rushton@sj-r.com.
By CHRIS DETTRO
The two men who took Mani the red-tailed hawk from his enclosure at the Henson Robinson Zoo in 2005 pleaded guilty to misdemeanors Friday.
Sean Coleman, 21, of Glenarm and Adam Loper, 22, now a college student in St. Paul, Minn., were admonished by Circuit Judge Leo Zappa, who told them they committed “a stupid, stupid act” by taking the hawk, which had lived in captivity for more than 25 years, and setting it free.
Both Coleman and Loper had been charged with felony theft and burglary. They pleaded guilty to criminal trespass to state-supported property, after the Springfield Zoological Society agreed to a misdemeanor plea deal.
Each man will be on probation for two years, will perform 100 hours of community service and donate $2,000 to the zoological society.
Assistant state’s attorney Jay Magnuson said the $4,000, payable within six months, will be used for educational programs and security at the zoo.
“Neither one of you really thought this out,” Zappa told Coleman and Loper. “You’re lucky the hawk wasn’t harmed.”
He said the two also were fortunate that the zoological society agreed to terms of the plea.
Mani, well-known to area schoolchildren because of his frequent classroom visits, was stolen on Oct. 6, 2005. He was recovered in late November, two pounds lighter than when he was taken.
The hawk was found dead of apparent cardiac arrest in his enclosure at the zoo on March 15, 2006.
Coleman broke into Mani’s enclosure at the zoo about 3 a.m. on Oct. 6, and with Loper’s help, took the bird from its cage. Coleman told police the bird was taken a few miles out on West Washington Street and set loose.
A set of leather straps on Mani’s legs was cut off before he was released, police said.
Magnuson said Friday that Coleman and Loper had “misguided intentions” when they took the bird to release it.
Mani had been hand-raised from birth and hadn’t developed the hunting skills or stamina to survive for long in the wild, zoo officials said at the time.
A couple that lives on Palomino Road spotted the hawk in their back yard on Nov. 23, 2005, and through authorities contacted zoo director Talon Thornton.
Assistant zoo director Jackie Peeler put on borrowed gardening gloves and plucked Mani from a tree while he was asleep.
Mani was 27 and weighed about four pounds when he died, having regained most of the weight he lost while not in captivity.
He had lived at the zoo since shortly after his birth, when he was confiscated from a private party by the state Department of Natural Resources. He surpassed the life expectancy of most captive red-tailed hawks by at least 10 years. In the wild, the birds are lucky to make it past the first year, Thornton said previously.
The 2005 incident was Mani’s second time as a kidnap victim. In 1998, someone broke into the zoo facility, took Mani and tried to sell him.
That thief was sentenced to nine months in federal prison.
Chris Dettro can be reached at (217) 788-1510 or chris.dettro@sj-r.com.
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PREMIERE: Charlie Finn Delivers Charming Debut Single ‘Picking Up The Pieces’
CHARLIE FINN.
Ohio born and Sydney-based songwriter Charlie Finn has delivered his stunning debut single, ‘Picking Up The Pieces’. Built on warming folk-rock instrumentals and vulnerable lyricism, it’s an impressive debut that sees Finn pay homage to his American rock roots. Today, we’re very pleased to be providing its very first spin.
Taken from his forthcoming four-track EP, set for release later this year, it’s our very first taste of what’s to come. The single was produced and engineered by Tim McArtney at Pale Blue Dot Studio in Surry Hills, and mastered by George Georgiadis. McArtney also took on bass duties, while Finn played every other instrument on the track - all of which were recorded in one room over the course of about seven, twelve-hour plus sessions. Finn said of the song: “I wrote ‘Picking Up The Pieces’ halfway through 2018, coming out of what had been a very challenging couple of years of my life. Pretty much everything that I thought was a sure thing had fallen apart, leaving my future feeling like a big question mark. I wasn’t sure where home was, I felt very stuck, and I wasn’t sure what move to make. This song came out of a place of deciding to dust myself off and start making moves for my future. This was the first song that I wrote after deciding that I was going to commit to music and set a new course for myself. In essence it’s about letting the old you die and reinventing yourself for bigger and brighter things than you had originally seen for yourself.”
It's this rawness that brings with it such connectivity; an honest sense of storytelling that anyone who has ever lived away from home could likely relate to. That, combined with such beautifully layered textures, it’s a very considered sound and we’re excited to see what the American-Sydneysider delivers next.
Charlie Finn will officially launch his debut single at Waywards in Newtown this coming Friday 28th June. Support comes from his pals Pan-Pacific Grand Prix and Stephanie Penrose. Until then, dig in below.
Deafen County June 24, 2019
Jamila Woods Shares Powerful New Video For 'BALDWIN'
Deafen County June 26, 2019 Jamila Woods, Baldwin, Legacy! Legacy!, Chicago
RENDEZVOUS: A Quick Catch Up With Bad Bangs
Deafen County June 20, 2019 Bad Bangs, Deafen County, Interview, Shelby De Fazio, Crush, Kylie O'Connell, New music, Hearts, The Gasometer, Ty Segall, Baby Blue, Eggy
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Raja Ampat – Biodiversity Capital of the world! But why?
Posted on July 27, 2016 April 30, 2019 by Simon Mallender
Heard the name Raja Ampat, but not quite sure what makes it so special? In three words: location, location, location. In one: Biodiversity. But why, and how, and why again? Diveplanit explains.
Where exactly?
Raja Ampat means Four Kings and is named for the four islands Waigeo, Batanta, Salawati and Misool in Indonesia’s West Papua Province, though in fact the archipelago comprises over 1,500 small islands, cays, and shoals. It’s on the tip of what’s referred to as the Bird Head Peninsula, and as the map below shows, is pretty much the geo-centre of the Coral Triangle. From a diving perspective, there are hundreds of dive sites, with concentrations in the north around the Dampier Strait, and south – around Misool.
Raja Ampat is in the area sandwiched between the Pacific and Indian Oceans and subject to the Indonesian Throughflow – the steady current that arises as the Pacific Ocean slowly pushes 15 million cubic metres of water per second towards the Indian Ocean through the straits between the 17,000 or so islands of Indonesia.
Interesting. But in terms of Biodiversity how does that current make the Coral Triangle such a hotspot for superlatives, like: ‘Amazon of the Seas’, and 3,000 fish species which is 37% of all known species on the planet, and 76% of all known coral, etc etc??
Here’s an oversimplified marine biology lesson: stuff dies.
And just think for a moment how much stuff is still left in the oceans despite our overfishing. When it dies, it sinks to the bottom, unless it’s eaten on the way by something else – which will also die (fish aren’t particularly known for their longevity), – where it decomposes.
The currents which move more quickly when squeezing through narrower gaps between islands, stirs up this nutrient rich decomposing stuff and brings it towards the surface where the tiny critters, including corals, grab it from the passing stream as food. And that’s the start of the ‘bigger fish eat littler fish’ marine food chain thingy. So essentially, there’s lots of food for everyone.
But the word biodiversity means ‘lots of species’ not just ‘lots of fish’; so we still haven’t quite answered the question, and that’s because there are two opposing theories.
Centre of Origin: much like Mesopotamia is considered the cradle of mankind, so some consider this area to be the origin of all marine species generally.
Centre of Accumulation: others believe that the conditions are so conducive for marine life, that once a species finds its way here – it sticks around.
I can see the merits of both theories – if I was a fish born in Raja Ampat, I’d never leave; and if was born elsewhere and happened to visit, I’d never leave. So maybe both theories are correct.
Either way, for a diver, Raja Ampat is simply one of those places that never disappoints. Get it on your bucket list, and if it’s already there, maybe push it to the top.
This entry was posted in Destination and tagged Biodiversity, Raja Ampat. Bookmark the permalink.
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Biofuels can trigger climate change, claims study; Indian scientists sceptical
By T V Jayan
firewood and other biofuels, such as animal manure and agricultural waste, used for cooking in India could be a potential trigger for climate change in the region, according to a study by an Indo-us team. But some Indian scientists have questioned the methodology adopted to arrive at the conclusion.
The study team led by Chandra Venkataraman of the Indian Institute of Technology (iit), Mumbai, said the combustion of biofuels releases large quantities of black carbon (bc), or soot, which absorbs light leading to increased atmospheric temperatures and lowering of temperatures on land. These changes could have a major impact on rainfall patterns, potentially making floods and droughts more intense. The findings of the study carried out by scientists from iit and the University of California, usa appeared in the March 4 issue of Science (Vol 307, No 5714).
The scientists estimate the effect of particulate pollution, such as soot, is 10 times more in the region over the Indian Ocean as compared with the global average. To understand how much soot is generated by burning biofuels, they conducted laboratory tests with the one-pot stove traditionally used in rural Indian kitchens. They burnt 11 different biofuels -- four firewood varieties, six agricultural residues and dried cattle manure -- and measured the soot particles emitted.
By extrapolating the findings to the whole of India, they concluded 42 per cent of soot comes from cooking, the other major sources being fossil fuel (25 per cent) and open burning (33 per cent).
"We, therefore, suggest the control of these emissions through cleaner cooking technologies, in addition to reducing health risks to several hundred million users, could be of crucial importance to climate change mitigation in south Asia," they wrote in the paper. They observed similar considerations might apply to other parts of Asia, Africa and South America, where residential use of biofuels is prevalent.
Using cleaner fuels, such as liquid petroleum gas or kerosene, would be the best way to reduce soot emissions, say the researchers, but these alternatives are more expensive than biofuels and less accessible to poor households.
Misleading According to J Srinivasan, the head of the Centre for Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, such calculations could be "misleading." He cautions, "The authors have used the data on firewood consumption and converted it to soot emissions using a conversion factor. The results of the paper need to be verified with in situ observations of soot concentrations before any reliable predictions can be made."
Says A Jayaraman, an aerosol expert at the Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad, "The authors have done a thorough lab experiment in estimating the emission factors and used them to show that biofuel combustion is the biggest source of bc emission in India. In spite of the large uncertainty in estimating consumption of different biofuels, their results could still be correct."
But, "the question here is how can we compare such survival emissions with luxury emissions from developed parts of the world," he quips. "It's quite like the big, fat American shouting at a thin, fragile Indian housewife cooking food, 'You are causing global warming. Eat salad instead.'" Nonetheless, he felt there is an urgent need to improve the accuracy of the inventory of different biofuels consumed in the country.
Meanwhile, Kirk Smith, professor of environmental health sciences at the University of California, Berkeley, usa said the study is not an attempt to blame the developing countries. "Developed nations are still responsible for the majority of greenhouse gas production," he told Scidev.net , an online magazine on science and development.
According to the Intermediate Technology Development Group, a not-for-profit organisation in the uk, indoor pollution caused by burning biofuels kills more children each year than malaria or hiv/aids. Among the diseases linked to stove use are pneumonia, lung cancer and respiratory tract infections. The problem is exacerbated by the poor quality of stoves, says the organisation, which estimates that the number of people worldwide relying on polluting fuels for cooking will increase by 200 million to 2.6 billion by the year 2030.
Environmental Sciences Environmental sciences Environmental sciences Environmental sciences Environmental sciences Environmental sciences Environmental sciences Environmental sciences Environmental sciences Biomass Biomass India Firewood Firewood Biogas Climate Change US Research Health Effects Health Effects Health Effects News News News Science & Technology Green Products Environment Austria
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