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DVD and BLU-RAY REVIEWS
The latest reviews from the world of home entertainment
Patriot’s Day (Blu-ray Review) – A taut look at the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombings
June 25, 2017 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, JK Simmons, Kevin Bacon, John Goodman, Michelle Monaghan
Director: Peter Berg
Certificate: 15
Release Date: June 26th 2017 (UK)
It’s April 15, 2013 and Police Sgt Tommy Saunders (Mark Wahlberg) is preparing to provide security at the annual Boston Marathon. Along with various other people, he’s hoping for a great, celebratory day. However, that is ripped apart when twin explosion go off near the marathon finishing line, killing and maiming those who were there to cheer the runners as they completed the course. Tommy immediately puts his training into action to help those affected, even though he and the other people around don’t know whether there are any other bombs timed to go off.
Patriot’s Day then charts the days after the attack, when the FBI comes in to work with the police to find out who the bombers are, combing CCTV footage and following leads. Then there are the terrorists themselves, the Tsarnaev brothers, who haven’t finished their rampage, and become increasingly dangerous as the net closes in. [Read more…]
The Lego Batman Movie (Blu-ray Review) – Has the Caped Crusader gone a little gay?
June 18, 2017 By Tim Isaac 1 Comment
Starring: Will Arnett, Michael Cera, Rosario Dawson, Zach Galifianakis, Ralph Fiennes
Certificate: U
The Lego Movie was a surprise to many – a film that when it was announced sounded like such a bad idea turned out to be one of the funniest, most original animated movies of the last few years, and a major hit to boost. Warner Bros. suddenly realised they had the potential for something much bigger, so rather than just putting a sequel in the works, they started working on spin-offs, including a Ninjago movie and The Lego Batman Movie.
We first met the Lego version of Batman (Will Arnett) in The Lego Movie – an arrogant vigilante convinced of his own greatness and jealous of the praise other superheroes get. He starts out the same here, saving Gotham City from The Joker and a Rogues Gallery of villains, and confident about how awesome everyone thinks he is. However, he’s also obsessed with doing things alone, with the result that when he’s back at Wayne Manor, he only has his butler Alfred (Ralph Fiennes) for company. Batman thinks that for the best, but it may be because he’s afraid of having a family. [Read more…]
The Great Wall (Blu-ray Review) – Matt Damon helps the Chinese with their alien dinosaur problem
Starring: Matt Damon, Tian Jing, Willem Dafoe, Andy Lau, Pedro Pascal
Director: Zhang Yimou
After watching this film you’re going to feel dumb. I bet you thought the Great Wall Of China was built to protect the north of the country from human invaders. Nope, it was to stop alien dinosaurs attacking and eventually becoming unstoppable.
Set hundreds of years ago, William (Matt Damon) gets mixed up in this after he and his friend, Tovar (Pedro Pascal) head towards China looking to steal/trade for the fabled ‘black powder’. They are attacked by one of the alien dinosaurs, known as Taotie, and soon after are captured by the Chinese military at the Great Wall. [Read more…]
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (Blu-ray Review) – The end of Milla Jovovich’s Alice?
Starring: Milla Jovovich, Iain Glen, Ali Larter, Shawn Roberts, Eoin Macken
Director: Paul W.S. Anderson
Resident Evil is the most successful videogame-to-film franchise ever, and the first to cross a billion dollars at the box office. To be honest though, that’s more because the competition has generally been so awful, rather than because Resident Evil is so good.
This was promised as the final part of the story of Alice (Milla Jovovich), although thanks to a $300 million gross (largely due to its popularity in China, as it bombed in the US) don’t be surprised if it returns to the big screen in some form. Set shortly after the last movie, Retribution, Alice is one of the few survivors of humanity, trapped between the undead on one side, and the evil Umbrella Corporation on the other. [Read more…]
The Founder (Blu-ray Review) – The rise of a fast food giant and the death of someone’s dream
June 11, 2017 By Tim Isaac 2 Comments
Starring: Michael Keaton, Nick Offerman, John Carroll Lynch, Linda Cardellini, Laura Dern
Director: John Lee Hancock
Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton) is feeling slightly over-the-hill in his job selling milkshake machine to drive-in restaurants. Then he suddenly gets an order for six mixers – far more than he thinks any restaurant could possibly need. However, the order is correct, so Ray decides to visit this place out in San Bernadino California, where he discovers the McDonald’s hamburger stand.
The McDonald brother, Dick and Mac (Nick Offerman and John Carroll Lynch) have completely reinvented the concept of the diner-type restaurant. From getting people to come to the window to order and serving them food in waxed paper, to a carefully designed system to be able to complete an order in seconds, Ray has never seen anything like it. [Read more…]
The Hatton Garden Job (Blu-ray Review) – Some old guys go robbing with Matthew Goode
Starring: Matthew Goode, Larry Lamb, Phil Daniels, Stephen Moyer, Joely Richardson
Director: Ronnie Thompson
Running Time: 93 mins
It’s one of the most famous British crimes of the 21st Century – a group of men broke into the heavily protected Hatton Garden repository, and got away with an unknown amount of loot, which could have been up to £200 million worth. It’s inspired documentaries, endless column inches and this film. It’s not going to end there, as another movie, starring Michael Caine, is planned, and a TV drama has just been announced, with Timothy Spall signed on to star.
The Hatton Garden Job got there first though.
Matthew Goode plays an unnamed character, who gets involved in what seems like an impossible job – robbing the underground vault of the Hatton Garden repository in London. There are dodgy characters who want specific things locked up in there, but there are also millions in jewels and others precious goods that anyone in there could get away with. [Read more…]
John Wick: Chapter 2 (Blu-ray Review) – An almost unkillable Keanu Reeves is back in action
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Riccardo Scamarcio, Ian McShane, Laurence Fishburne, Ruby Rose
Picking up shortly after the events of the first John Wick, the titular character (Keanu Reeves) is attempting to once more leave the criminals underworld and his reputation as the ultimate killer behind. However, he is called on by Santino D’Antonio (Riccardo Scamarcio) to kill someone so that he can take their seat at the underworld’s high table.
John has a debt to Santino that the rules of the underworld say he must repay, or his life is forfeit. Feeling he has no choice, John travels to Rome to do the deed. However, escaping the underworld and repaying the debt isn’t going to be that easy, which ends up with him having a $7 million bounty on his head. [Read more…]
Gold (Blu-ray Review) – Matthew McConaughey goes off in search of the precious metal
June 5, 2017 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Edgar Ramirez, Bryce Dallas Howard, Corey Stoll, Toby Kebbell
Director: Stephen Gaghan
Release Date: June 5th 2017 (UK)
Kenny Wells (Matthew McConaughey) comes from a prospecting family going back generations. However, by the 1980s looking for minerals has changed dramatically from the Gold Rush days, where it’s now controlled by big businesses, engineering, science and where billions of dollars are wagered on a claim paying off.
Due to a downturn in the economy, Kenny’s family business is in the gutter. He thinks he’s found his way back with a bit of a Hail Mary pass – a largely dismissed theory that there are huge reserves of gold in Indonesia. He teams up with the man who came up with the idea, Michael Acosta (Edgar Ramirez), and raises a small amount of funding – far less than they need – to try to get things started. [Read more…]
Live By Night (DVD Review) – Ben Affleck tries to make a gangster classic
May 23, 2017 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment
Starring: Ben Affleck, Elle Fanning, Chris Messina, Zoe Saldana, Chris Cooper
Release Date: May 22nd 2017 (UK)
Live By Night has been Ben Affleck’s passion project for several years. He started working on the adaptation of Dennis Lehane’s novel since shortly after it was published in 2012. However, it kept getting pushed back as be strove to prove he was a director worth the film’s hefty budget, and also while he honed the script (yes, he wrote the screenplay too, as well as directing and starring).
After Argo won the Best Picture Oscar, Warner let him loose on Live By Night, but to be honest, it might have been worth delaying it a little longer and bringing someone in who could have tightened the script and made more of the themes that should have tied it together. [Read more…]
La La Land (Blu-ray Review) – Should it have won the Best Picture Oscar for more than 90 seconds?
May 22, 2017 By Tim Isaac 2 Comments
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, J.K. Simmons, Callie Hernandez, John Legend
Director: Damien Chazelle
Release Date: May 15th 2017 (UK)
It’s the film that won the Best Picture Oscar for a whole 90 seconds, before the Academy managed to says, ‘Whoops, sorry, it was actually Moonlight’. However, it did pick up six of film world’s most prestigious gongs, including Best Actress for Emma Stone, and Best Director for Damien Chazelle. It was also the favourite for the biggest prize going into the ceremony, having charmed audiences with its tale of two people trying to find both love and artistic success.
In LA, Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) is a jazz musician, working a dead-end job playing piano in a bar, but desperate to prove himself as a real force in a music form that many others have given up on. Mia (the brilliant Emma Stone) is a young woman who works as a waitress, but she also goes to a succession of auditions for movie and TV roles in the hope of finding success as an actress. [Read more…]
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Paul McCartney’s Video The Meat Industry Doesn’t Want You To See
Even today most meat eaters would agree that the current practices of the meat industry are unnecessary, cruel and heart breaking. More people are becoming aware of the fact that meat is not a necessity, it’s a choice, and what we are seeing today is nothing short of a worldwide genocide.
According to the US Department of Agriculture, nearly 10 billion animals are raised and killed for food each year in the United States alone. Factory farms are known for cramming thousands of animals into filthy, dark sheds. They are confined to wire cages, gestation crates, barren dirt lots and other cruel confinement systems. These animals will never experience joy, never experience their natural habitat, never experience raising their families, building nests or do anything that is important to them and provides them with the most joy. Many won’t even breath fresh air. The factory farming industry (like any other industry) strives to maximize output while minimizing costs.
We are approaching a time where the slaughter of innocent altruistic animals is seen in the same view as the use and slaughter of slaves in our recent past. It’s time to take a look at what we are eating, and the energy of fear and terror these animals dish out at the moment of death. These animals are our brothers and sisters, and what we have today again, is nothing short of a worldwide genocide.
Below is a video narrated by Paul McCartney, titled “Glass Walls” and was created by PETA. It’s a short film about factory farmed animals and how we can help them and the environment by adopting a plant based diet. Animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, use for entertainment, or abuse in any other way.
Please be advised the video contains graphic content.
After they are fed drugs to fatten them faster, and keep them alive in conditions that would otherwise kill them, they are genetically altered to grow faster. Then they are crowded into trucks and transported over many miles through all weather extremes, typically without food or water to the slaughterhouse. The ones who survive this nightmare will be slaughtered and still conscious. Many are also tortured.
Fortunately, the number of people becoming aware about the maliciousness of the meat industry is growing. Vegan and Vegetarian lifestyles are becoming more common as time progresses, due to both the positive environmental impact and health benefits which are associated with these choices. Highly influential celebrities are now speaking out about their decisions to stop consuming meat, so with the powerful backing of the media and the undeniable evidence surrounding the unsustainability of meat consumption, it seems like we are moving towards a more cohesive outlook on the treatment and consumption of animals. It’s wonderful to see celebrities use their voice and reach for things like this.
http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-food/factory-farming/
60% of Kale Samples Contaminated With Cancer Causing Pesticide – Organic Is Key!
A new analysis by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) has found a high level of Dacthal in non-organic Kale.
Why do we justify the spraying of poison on our food? How does this make any sense? These substances have been linked to several diseases, how are they approved and marketed as safe in many countries? Why are they banned in so many others?
Do you still think organic is not necessary? A recent study published in the journal Environmental Research examined four families who eat conventional diets. Pesticide levels were measured via urine before switching to an organic diet for 6 days. A dramatic drop in pesticide levels was found. Another study conducted by researchers from RMIT University, published in the journal Environmental Research, found that eating an organic diet for just one week significantly reduced pesticide (commonly used in conventional food production) exposure in adults. This study found a dramatic 90 percent drop in pesticide levels. Both studies used urine samples to measure pesticide accumulation. You can access those studies and read more about them here and here.
A lot of these agents were initially developed as nerve gases for chemical warfare, so we do know that they have toxic effects on the nervous system at high doses. Conventional food production commonly uses organophosphate pesticides, among many others, which are neurotoxins that act on the nervous systems of humans by blocking an important enzyme. Recent studies have raised concerns for health effects of these chemicals even at relatively low levels.
There is no question or doubt about it, organic food not sprayed with pesticides is much better for our health, and eating organic is a great way to prevent multiple diseases, including cancer. Despite all of the publications and research on this subject, it’s confusing how cancer awareness initiatives continue to focus on raising money without ever addressing the root causes of the disease, one of which is clearly exposure to herbicides and pesticides.
This is why the Environmental Working Group (EWG) advocates buying organic products. Since its inception in 1993, EWG has fought for consumers’ rights to live healthier lives in a healthier environment. EWG’s very first report in 1993, “Pesticides in Children’s Foods,” played a pivotal role in Congress passing the Food Quality Protection Act two years later. They are a well known group of scientists and activists doing great work.
Recently, they discovered that approximately 60 percent of kale samples sold in the United States were contaminated with another carcinogenic pesticide, according to the EWG’s analysis of the 2017 Department of Agriculture’s test data.
The pesticide is called DCPA, often marketed as Dacthal, and it’s a substance that the EPA classified as a possible carcinogen in 1995. In 2005, its major manufacturer voluntarily terminated its registration for use on several U.S. crops, including artichokes, beans and cucumbers, after studies found that its breakdown products were highly persistent in the environment and could contaminate drinking water sources. This is why in 2009, the European Union prohibited all uses of Dacthal, enforcing a complete ban on it. With all this being said, the fact remains that it is still used in the U.S. on crops including kale, broccoli, sweet potatoes, eggplant, turnips, and who knows what else.
Even as kale’s popularity as a health food rich in vitamins and antioxidants has soared in recent years, the level and type of pesticide residues on kale has expanded significantly. EWG’s new analysis places it third on the 2019 Dirty Dozen™, our annual ranking of the fruits and vegetables with the most pesticide residues. Recent EWG-commissioned tests of kale from grocery stores found that on two of eight samples, Dacthal residues were comparable to the average level reported by the USDA.
The USDA has not tested kale for pesticides since 2009, when it ranked eighth on the Dirty Dozen. Between 2007 and 2012, the acres of kale harvested in the U.S. grew by more than 56 percent, with more than 2.5 times as many commercial farms growing it.
Conventional kale farming relies heavily on the use of several synthetic pesticides, including Dacthal. The EPA’s 1995 classification of it as a possible carcinogen noted increases in liver and thyroid tumors. Dacthal can also cause other kinds of harm to the lungs, liver, kidney and thyroid.
According to U.S. Geological Survey data from 2016, about 500,000 pounds of Dacthal was sprayed in the U.S., mostly in California and Washington state. In California, the only state where all pesticide use must be reported, nearly 200,000 pounds were sprayed in 2016.
In states with high Dacthal use, concerns have grown about the capacity of its breakdown products to contaminate surface and groundwater. Not only can Dacthal contaminate areas near its use, but studies indicate it can also travel long distances in the atmosphere as well. (EWG)
You can read more from EWG on the subject here.
Again, multiple agents can be found on non-organic produce, but this article just outlines one. At the end of the day, the choice is up to you whether or not you buy your fruits and vegetables organic. If you can afford conventional produce, you can afford organically grown produce as well. One helpful tip is to cut out junk food from your purchases if you have any, and that can make room for organic produce. Another way to look at it is spending the extra few bucks to invest in your health.
It’s unfortunate that organic food is more expensive, especially when organic food in general could be provided to the entire world if we actually utilized our fullest potential. It’s actually cheaper to produces, it’s just that governments subsidize convention farmers, not organic ones. At the end of the day, kale is extremely nutritious. It’s high in vitamins A, K and iron, and consumption of leafy greens is associated with reduced risk of various diseases. It’s best if we keep it that way by only growing organic kale.
A List of Children’s Foods That Are Contaminated With Monsanto’s Roundup Herbicide
Glyphosate, the active ingredient in the Roundup herbicide that was manufactured by Monsanto, has been found in multiple foods that've been marketed to children. You can view the list below.
With countless scientific publications and examples of fraud clearly showing that glyphosate is a major health and environmental hazard, how is it still on the market in multiple countries? Why? What is going on here?
It’s very confusing as to why poison is still being sprayed in our environment, and how anybody could ever justify the use of these poisons. Justification has come from mass brainwashing, marketing campaigns, and just downright deception. There are many examples of deception when it comes to glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide. A great example comes from Europe, where the product was recently re-licensed and approved by European Parliament. However, MEPs found the science given to them was plagiarized, full of industry science written by Monsanto. You can read more about that here. Another example would be the corruption that plagues our federal health regulatory agencies, which have been completely compromised by big corporations. There are several other great examples that illustrate this point, in fact there are decades of examples. One of the best would be the SPIDER papers. A group called the CDC Scientists Preserving Integrity, Diligence and Ethics in Research, or CDC SPIDER, put a list of complaints in a letter to the CDC Chief of Staff and provided a copy of the letter to the public watchdog organization U.S. Right to Know (USRTK).
We are a group of scientists at CDC that are very concerned about the current state of ethics at our agency. It appears that our mission is being influenced and shaped by outside parties and rogue interests. It seems that our mission and Congressional intent for our agency is being circumvented by some of our leaders. What concerns us most, is that it is becoming the norm and not the rare exception. Some senior management officials at CDC are clearly aware and even condone these behaviors.
When it comes to glyphosate, there are currently more than 10,000 pending cases with regards to ailments it’s caused people, and we are now starting to see cancer cases go through courts of law. One of the latest examples would be school groundskeeper Dewyane Johnson, who was awarded a victory after a jury found Bayer (Monsanto) to be guilty of causing/contributing to his terminal cancer. You can read more about that story here.
This is why it’s a bit concerning that this substance is ending up in our food, and that includes food that’s being marketed to children.
For example, Moms Across America, a National Coalition of Unstoppable Moms, recently discovered glyphosate in multiple brands of popular orange juice. You can read more about that here. The full report can be seen here. The testing methodology was “Glyphosate and AMPA Detection by UPLC-MS/MS.”
Furthermore:
Major food companies like General Mills continue to sell popular children’s breakfast cereals and other foods contaminated with troubling levels of glyphosate, the cancer-causing ingredient in the herbicide Roundup. The weedkiller, produced by Bayer-Monsanto, was detected in all 21 oat-based cereal and snack products sampled in a new round of testing commissioned by the Environmental Working Group. All but four products contained levels of glyphosate higher than what EWG scientists consider protective for children’s health with a sufficient margin of safety.
The new tests confirm and amplify EWG’s findings from tests in July and October of last year, with levels of glyphosate consistently above EWG’s children’s health benchmark. The two highest levels of glyphosate were found in Honey Nut Cheerios Medley Crunch, with 833 parts per billion, or ppb, and Cheerios, with 729 ppb. The EWG children’s health benchmark is 160 ppb. – Olga Naidenko, Ph.D., senior science advisor, and Alexis Temkin, Ph.D., Toxicologist for the Environmental Working Group (EWG)(source)
The EWG recently purchased a number of products via online retail sites, and then they packed and shipped approximately 300 grams of each of the products they purchased (listed in the chart below) to Anresco Laboratories in San Francisco. Glyphosate levels were analyzed using a liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method described here.
Glyphosate is used mostly as a weedkiller on genetically modified corn and soybean crops. But it is also sprayed on oats just before harvest as a drying agent or desiccant. It kills the crop, drying it out so it can be harvested sooner, which increases the likelihood that glyphosate ends up in the foods children love to eat. It’s present almost everywhere and it’s a great example of how we don’t really live in a democracy, and how big corporations are operating without any concern for human health or the health of our planet. So far, more than 236,000 people have signed a petition directed at these food companies, calling on them to take action to protect consumers’ health.
The best way for you to combat something like this is to help share information like this in any way you can and go organic. Multiple studies have shown that pesticide exposure dramatically drops from consuming organic food. Just one week of eating an organic diet can drop pesticide levels in the body up to 90 percent in both children and adults. You can read more about that study here.
There are more concerns here, as it’s not just glyphosate, but also pesticides like organophosphates, which are sprayed on our food and have been linked to multiple diseases. A lot of these agents were originally developed as nerve agents for warfare.
Change starts with you, so you can go organic and spread awareness. Just five years ago not many people would have even known what glyphosate is, so things are definitely changing for the better.
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Barclays vote against Bramson is no victory for long-termism
At their annual general meeting on Thursday, 87.2 per cent of investors who voted opposed Mr Bramson becoming a boardroom mouthpiece for those who believe Barclays should shrink its investment bank. For many of them, the reason was that Mr Bramson had not used his own money to take a 5.5 per cent stake - he had borrowed $1.4bn from Bank of America, and then hedged his leveraged position to protect against share price falls. Had Mr Bramson won over another 38.2 per cent of the vote, it is easy to see how both criticisms might have looked increasingly valid. Even with the support of only 5.3 per cent of the independent shareholders who voted, Mr Bramson has ensured short-termism. Even with 87.2 per cent of shareholders supportive of current management, Mr Bramson's pressure has made Barclays seem less stable.
Make a complaint about Barclays by viewing their customer service contacts.
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In the News - Press Coverage Testimonials Press Releases
CBD and Collagen Rise in Popularity, as Probiotics and Coconut Oil Dip in Latest ConsumerLab Survey of Supplement Users
White Plains, New York, February 24, 2019 — A recent survey of 10,931 people who use dietary supplements shows that CBD oil (+6.3 percentage points), collagen (+3.6 pts), and bone broth (+2.7 pts) experienced the greatest growth in popularity over the past year, while the greatest declines were with coconut oil (-3.6 pts), probiotics (-2.8 pts), apple cider vinegar (-2.2 pts), and CoQ10 (-2.1 pts). The results are based on responses to the most recent ConsumerLab.com Survey of Vitamin and Supplement Users. The Survey is conducted each November among readers of ConsumerLab.com's semiweekly newsletter.
Magnesium continued its ascent in popularity (+0.6 pt), edging out CoQ10 as the third most popular supplement. Vitamin D (+0.3 pt) remained the most popular supplement, used by 66.4% of respondents, followed 10 pts behind by fish oil (-1.8 pts), and then curcumin and turmeric (-0.6 pt), multivitamins (-1.7 pts), probiotics, vitamin C (+0.2 pt), B complexes (-0.9 pt), and calcium (-0.6 pt). Among the top 50 supplements, 27 declined in popularity while only 20 showed an increase, suggesting some softening in overall demand for supplements. The survey assessed the popularity of 138 types of supplements and analyzed popularity by respondent age, gender, and frequency of supplement use.
"The results this year show the rapid ascent of CBD despite its lack of availability in traditional retail channels. Vitamin D remained firmly entrenched as the most popular supplement and magnesium continued its steady rise while use softened for several long-favored supplements, such as fish oil, probiotics, and even turmeric/curcumin," said Tod Cooperman, M.D., President of ConsumerLab.com, which independently reports on supplements and supplement quality.
At the end of 2017, only 5.6% of respondents reported using CBD oil (including hemp extracts). This rose to 11.9% by the end of 2018, representing year-over-year growth of 113% and making CBD the 40th most popular supplement, up from 84th the prior year. Although CBD is widely available online and in smaller stores, it is not legal to market CBD as a dietary supplement, according to the FDA, and it is not available from traditional mass market stores or major pharmacies and vitamin chains. Interest in CBD was spurred on in 2018 by its approval as a prescription drug for rare forms of epilepsy, extensive news coverage, and word of mouth and social media postings about its use in treating pain, anxiety, and other conditions.
The ConsumerLab.com Survey was first conducted in 2002. Respondents are predominantly heavy users of supplements, with over 80% taking at least four different supplements daily and actively seeking information about these products. Respondents also identified where they purchased their supplements and rated the brands and merchants they used. The supplement brands and merchants receiving the highest ratings on overall consumer satisfaction within their specific market segments will be reported on February 25th.
"We began the annual survey to direct our product testing toward supplement categories and brands of greatest interest to ConsumerLab.com members," noted Dr. Cooperman. "It has evolved into an excellent barometer of the nutrition marketplace."
For more information about the survey or to purchase the full survey report, go to https://www.consumerlab.com/reports/CLSurveyBrochure2019.pdf or contact Lisa Sabin, Vice President for Business Development, at lisa.sabin@consumerlab.com.
Founded in 1999, ConsumerLab.com is a leading provider of consumer information and independent evaluations of products that affect health and nutrition. Membership to ConsumerLab.com is available online and provides immediate access to reviews of more than 1,300 products from over 500 brands. The company is privately held and based in New York. It has no ownership from, or interest in, companies that manufacture, distribute, or sell consumer products.
Recent answers to our members' questions:
Can cocoa and chocolate cause kidney stones?
Do water filters remove microplastics from tap water?
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WikiLeaks release excludes evidence of €2 billion transfer from Syria to Russia
Illustration by Jason Reed
Dell Cameron and Patrick Howell O'Neill—
A trove of hacked emails published by WikiLeaks in 2012 excludes records of a €2 billion transaction between the Syrian regime and a government-owned Russian bank, according to leaked U.S. court documents obtained by the Daily Dot.
WikiLeaks has become an ever-prominent force in the 2016 presidential election through its publishing of tens of thousands of emails, voicemails, and documents stolen from the Democratic National Committee by hackers that U.S. authorities and cybersecurity experts believe are linked to the Russian government. The transparency organization, which boasts of a commitment to use “cryptography to protect human rights” against repressive regimes, has faced criticism from supporters of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and praise from Republican opponent Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The court records, placed under seal by a Manhattan federal court and obtained by the Daily Dot through an anonymous source, show in detail how a group of hacktivists breached the Syrian government’s networks on the eve of the country’s civil war and extracted emails about major bank transactions the Syrian regime was hurriedly making amid a host of economic sanctions. In the spring of 2012, most of the emails found their way into a WikiLeaks database.
But one set of emails in particular didn’t make it into the cache of documents published by WikiLeaks in July 2012 as “The Syria Files,” despite the fact that the hackers themselves were ecstatic at their discovery. The correspondence, which WikiLeaks has denied withholding, describes “more than” €2 billion ($2.4 billion, at current exchange rates) moving from the Central Bank of Syria to Russia’s VTB Bank.
“I hope Russia doesn’t kill me. I’m more scared of Russia than Bashar.”
By the fall of 2011, the Syrian government had lost control over most of its computer networks—presuming it ever had control to begin with. So thoroughly “owned” was the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, whom Russia currently backs in Syria’s ongoing civil war, that by late October one hacker declared mastery over “all forms of IP traffic” in the country.
“Basically, we have access to several internal routers, the main telecom gateway in Syria, the phone infrastructure to some extent, and yes, possibly television,” that hacker announced in a chatroom, speaking to fellow members of RevoluSec, a group of pro-revolution activists who repeatedly carried out sophisticated cyberattacks against the Syrian government for roughly a year.
“To be honest, people have been trying to hack these for years,” a representative of RevoluSec said of Syrian websites in a September 2011 interview with Al Jazeera. “But we were extremely thorough in searching for vulnerabilities, and when it came down to it, there were a ton.”
“We also have a team full of extremely knowledgeable people who are very, very good at what they do, while the system administrators in Syria, it seems, are not. Their internet security was lax, and as a result, anyone looking hard enough for vulnerabilities was able to find what they wanted,” the RevoluSec member said.
More than 500 pages of sealed documents reveal in extraordinary detail how a handful of activists seized near-total control of Syria’s internet and then employed that power to conduct real-time surveillance on many of the nation’s top ministry officials. The leaked records, amassed during the U.S. government investigation into WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and affiliated hackers worldwide, likewise confirm RevoluSec to be the source of “The Syria Files,” a cache of more than 2 million Syrian government emails published by WikiLeaks over the summer of 2012.
The leaked documents offer evidence that not every email intercepted by RevoluSec found its way into WikiLeaks’ database, despite the fervor of the hackers who wished them exposed.
By their own account, RevoluSec secretly held unfettered access to “all routing and switching” of Syria’s Autonomous Systems (AS), the collection of IP networks by which, essentially, all of the country’s internet access is controlled. Additionally, the hacktivists had infiltrated SCS-Net, the internet service provider owned by the Syrian Computer Society, a technical group once headed by Assad that has alleged ties to the Syrian Electronic Army, a hacking group infamous for its attacks on Western media outlets (the Daily Dot included).
One of the emails captured by RevoluSec hackers—but not published by WikiLeaks—is signed by Salim Toubaji, head of treasury at Central Bank of Syria. The email, dated Oct. 26, 2011, informs VTB Bank of Russia that it has “raised the total amount of deposit[s]” to more than €2 billion. Also contained in the email is a request by Toubaji to VTB’s finance director, Andrey Galkin, for an account “in Russian rubles.”
ATTN: Mr. Sergey Avakov Managing Director Financial Institutions JSC VTB Bank
Dear Mr. Avakov,
In reply to your message dated 26.10.2011 please be informed that following your good bank’s proposals, which we have received previously, we have raised the total amount of deposits up to more than EUR 2 bln. Please note that the matter of extending the terms of the Central Bank of Syria existing deposits at the moment remains under consideration. We shall inform you accordingly when any decision in this regard is taken.
Meanwhile, we kindly ask you to open an account in Russian rubles in the name of our bank or provide us with your instructions on the actions that we should take in order to open such an account.
We remain in anticipation of your reply and look forward to expanding our fruitful cooperation.
The Syria-Russia exchange first appeared on the open web roughly three years ago in a leaked chatlog from November 2011, between a former WikiLeaks staffer and LulzSec hacker Hector Monsegur, who had signed an FBI cooperation agreement five months before in a bid to maintain custody of two children under his care. Ironically, and unbeknownst to Monsegur, the WikiLeaks staffer, Sigurdur Thordarson, had volunteered to assist the bureau three months earlier. (Thordarson is currently serving the remainder of a six-year prison sentence near Reykjavik, Iceland, for embezzlement, fraud, and sex with minors.)
The documents delivered to WikiLeaks that November represent a fraction of the Syria Files, which today contains an additional five months’ worth of emails. At some point after March 2012, RevoluSec, or one of its members, passed WikiLeaks a larger batch of backup email files.
Regardless, the Syria Files should still contain the central bank’s emails from Oct. 26, 2011, concerning its €2 billion and bank account in Moscow: For one, WikiLeaks has published several emails received by the same account ([email protected]) from that day. Secondly, the court records leaked to the Daily Dot reveal the Moscow bank’s emails were, in fact, part of the larger backup file containing numerous emails currently found on the WikiLeaks site. One such email, discussed in depth by RevoluSec members more than nine months before the WikiLeaks release, details the transfer of €5 million from a bank in Frankfurt, Germany, to a European central bank in Austria, the recipient of the email being Central Bank of Syria.
“I hope Russia doesn’t kill me,” one of the hackers said, discussing their intent to expose the alleged transfer. “I’m more scared of Russia than Bashar.”
(At the request of a source familiar with RevoluSec members, the Daily Dot has decided not to publish the documents concerning RevoluSec’s activities at this time out of concern the hackers may be identified, captured, and possibly harmed in their home countries, which include Yemen and Syria.)
In response to a request for comment, WikiLeaks said the preceding account “is speculation and it is false.” The spokesperson continued: “The release includes many emails referencing Syrian-Russian relations. As a matter of long standing policy we do not comment on claimed sources. It is disappointing to see Daily Dot pushing the Hillary Clinton campaign’s neo-McCarthyist conspiracy theories about critical media.” (WikiLeaks threatened to retaliate against the reporters if they pursued the story: “Go right ahead,” they said, “but you can be sure we will return the favour one day.”)
A few days after discovering the Syrian–Russian bank emails, one of RevoluSec’s principal hackers—the others often sought this individual’s permission before making any drastic moves—offered up another idea: “It’d be so funny to change some details on these mails and send a hundred million to WikiLeaks,” they said. “I know in theory it shouldn’t work, but they’re so stupid about email.”
While there’s no evidence RevoluSec acted on the suggestion, which in all likelihood was a joke, the mere mention by an actual WikiLeaks source of concealing counterfeit emails within a legitimate leak touches on concerns about the website’s practice of publishing en masse the unverified and anonymously sourced material it receives.
Asked about the possibility it could be duped, WikiLeaks responded flatly: “All Syria files obtained by WikiLeaks have been published and are authentic.”
Contact the authors: Dell Cameron, [email protected]; Patrick Howell O’Neill, [email protected]
SEE ALSO: Meet Ahmed Mansoor, the world’s most spied-on man: Layer 8 Podcast
Dell Cameron
Dell Cameron was a reporter at the Daily Dot who covered security and politics. In 2015, he revealed the existence of an American hacker on the U.S. government's terrorist watchlist. He is a co-author of the Sabu Files, an award-nominated investigation into the FBI's use of cyber-informants. He became a staff writer at Gizmodo in 2017.
Patrick Howell O'Neill
Patrick Howell O'Neill is a notable cybersecurity reporter whose work has focused on the dark net, national security, and law enforcement. A former senior writer at the Daily Dot, O'Neill joined CyberScoop in October 2016. I am a cybersecurity journalist at CyberScoop. I cover the security industry, national security and law enforcement.
2016 Election Cybersecurity Dnc Hackers Hillary Clinton Julian Assange Layer 8 Russia Syria Syrian Electronic Army Vladimir Putin Wikileaks
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Is your makeup SPF enough to skip sunscreen?
By Nicole Villalpando nvillalpando@statesman.com
May 3, 2019 at 11:50 AM May 7, 2019 at 1:25 PM
Many makeup products come with SPF 15, 20 or 25 already in them. It might seem like you’re getting a two-fer: Your makeup needs to be taken care of as well as sun protection.
A recent study out of England tested how well people use sunscreen versus moisturizer with an SPF in it. Turns out, people were much more likely to miss areas of the face, especially around the eyelids, when they used moisturizer with SPF in it rather than a sunscreen. Moisturizer is a thicker product, but you need to use a lot to get the protection you need, and people just don’t do it, says Dr. Renee Snyder, a dermatologist with St. David’s Medical Center in Austin, Texas.
Another big problem with using makeup or moisturizer with SPF in it as your sun protection is that it has to be reapplied, Snyder says.
“It degrades,” Snyder says. “No sunscreen can last more than two hours.”
How realistic is it to think that every two hours you’re going to reapply makeup?
“It’s hard for a dermatologist to tell someone who is a working female, ‘Hey, I know you have a full face of makeup on, go reapply makeup,’ ” she says.
Instead, her practice sells sunscreen that comes in powder form that can be reapplied on top of makeup. Or you can use a misting sunscreen that you can reapply on top of the makeup. Look for sunscreens for your face that say “noncomedogenic,” which means it won’t clog the pores and cause acne. In addition, mineral makeup does have some natural protection because of the zinc in it, she says.
A tinted sunscreen can be a good solution because you’ll still get some moisture from it. There are also gels, powders and setting mists.
“There’s all sorts of stuff girls can use,” Snyder says.
Every sunscreen product now has water-resistant claims on it and will tell you how long it is water resistant for. Take that as how long you have before you need to reapply more sunscreen.
The sunscreens that tend to last longer have pure zinc oxide in them, which is more of a barrier.
Even if you’re inside all day in an office, Snyder advocates for reapplying sunscreen in the middle of the day in case you go out for a quick bite to eat or run an errand.
Don’t think that because your moisturizer, foundation and powder all have SPF in them that you are getting triple the SPF. It doesn’t work that way, Snyder says. It only lasts as long as the product with the highest SPF and the longest water resistance.
It’s also important that your sunscreen says “broad spectrum” because if not, it only blocks out UVB rays. UVA rays are the aging rays that cause cancer. Often makeup only has SPF and not broad spectrum.
“You think you’re covered and you’re not,” she says.
That can be more damaging because you might spend more time outside thinking you’re covered when you haven’t really protected your skin.
The eyelids and the area between the eye and nose are often missed when applying sunscreen. It’s habit to skip those areas, and some people might think that because the sunscreen says “avoid the eye area,” that means you shouldn’t use it around your eyes and your eyelids. Just don’t put it in your eyes.
Of all the skin cancers of the head and neck area, 10 percent are around the eyes, Snyder says. “If you’re not totally covered with sunglasses and protecting that area, you’re actually really vulnerable there,” she says.
The ears and the back of the neck are often places people forget to put sunscreen, as well as the top of the feet.
Lips also need protection. Look for lip makeup that has SPF on it. If you are using a lip balm or lip gloss, “You’re basically putting baby oil on your lips and laying out,” Snyder says.
If you are prone to cold sores, you especially need a lip sunscreen because UV light actually can inflame it.
To protect the face, a hat is not enough. That’s really for the scalp, she says, but you can still get sunburned on your face because of the sun reflecting off of surfaces.
A lot of new products have come on the market. Isdin sunscreen is one that dermatologists like because it has a photo protection component that repairs the DNA damage from the sun. Snyder especially recommends it for patients who have had cancer on their face or have precancerous areas.
Snyder also recommends Heliocare. It’s an antioxidant pill you take every day that adds SPF of 2 to your skin. It might not sound like much, but when used with sunscreen, it can be effective, Snyder says. And some people are having luck with taking niacinamide, which has anti-inflammatory properties.
“I’ve taken the approach that people aren’t going to use sunscreen correctly,” she says. “I’ve taken the approach of giving them other tools.”
Those include hats, sunglasses, sun shirts and supplements.
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Freed Nigerian Schoolgirls See Families
ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) -- The 82 Nigerian schoolgirls recently released after more than three years in Boko Haram captivity reunited with their families for the first time Saturday, as anxious parents looked for signs of how deeply the extremists had changed their daughters' lives.
Images from the scene showed brightly dressed families rushing through the crowd and embracing outdoors. One small group sank to their knees, with a woman raising her hands as if praising in church. Others were in tears.
"I am really happy today, I am Christmas and New year, I am very happy and I thank God," said mother Godiya Joshua, whose daughter Esther was among those freed.
The families were reunited in the capital, Abuja, where the girls were taken by Nigerian authorities after their release early this month.
It was the largest liberation of hostages since 276 Chibok schoolgirls were abducted from their boarding school in 2014. Five commanders from the extremist group were exchanged for the girls' freedom, and Nigeria's government has said it would make further exchanges to bring the 113 remaining schoolgirls home.
"We have trust in this government, definitely they will rescue the rest safely and back to us alive," said community leader Yakubu Nkeki.
Many of the girls, most of them Christians, were forced to marry extremists and have had children. Some have been radicalized and have refused to return. It is feared that some have been used in suicide bombings.
The mass abduction in April 2014 brought international attention to Boko Haram's deadly insurgency in northern Nigeria, and it launched a global Bring Back Our Girls campaign that drew the backing of some celebrities, including former U.S. first lady Michelle Obama. Thousands have been kidnapped during the extremists' eight-year insurgency, and more than 20,000 have been killed.
The release of the 82 schoolgirls this month came after an initial group of 21 girls was released in October. Nigeria's government has acknowledged negotiating with Boko Haram for their release, with mediation help from the Swiss government and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The two groups of freed schoolgirls reunited earlier Saturday, Nigeria's Channels TV reported, showing the young women laughing and embracing.
Since the latest release, many families in the remote Chibok community had been waiting for word on whether their daughters were among them. A government list of names circulated, and parents were asked to confirm the freed girls' identities through photos.
Both groups of freed girls have been in government care in the capital as part of a nine-month reintegration program that President Muhammadu Buhari has said he will oversee personally. But human rights groups have criticized the government for keeping the young women so long in the capital, far from their homes.
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Mamma Andersson
Past Exhibitions at David Zwirner
The work of Swedish artist Mamma Andersson often draws inspiration from a wide range of archival photographic source materials, filmic imagery, theater sets, and period interiors. Her paintings employ a broad range of techniques, deftly shifting between stark graphic lines to loose washes and thickly rendered brushstrokes. With their richly detailed and complex surfaces, the artist's works stand as a testament to her deep engagement with the painterly process itself. Her evocative use of pictorial space conveys a sense of timelessness, which is further enhanced by a conspicuous absence of contemporary signifiers. Her subject matter frequently revolves around melancholic landscapes and nondescript, private interiors; yet when human figures are included, a narrative is never explicit.
Andersson was born in 1962 in Luleå, Sweden. She studied from 1986 to 1993 at the Royal University College of Fine Arts in Stockholm, where she continues to live and work.
Since 2004, Andersson's work has been represented by David Zwirner. Behind the Curtain marked her third solo exhibition at the gallery in New York, on view January through February 2015. Previous shows include Who is sleeping on my pillow (2010), a two-person exhibition with Jockum Nordström, and Rooms Under the Influence (2006), which marked the artist's United States debut.
In 2018-2019, a solo presentation of Andersson’s work titled Memory Banks was on view at the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 2011, the artist’s work was the subject of a solo exhibition at Museum Haus Esters in Krefeld, Germany. She had her first museum solo show in the United States at the Aspen Art Museum, Colorado in 2010, and her first solo exhibition in Ireland at the Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin in 2009. In 2007, a critically acclaimed, mid-career survey of her work was organized by Moderna Museet, Stockholm, which traveled to Kunsthalle Helsinki and the Camden Arts Centre, London.
In 2006, the artist won the Carnegie Art Award, a prestigious prize for Nordic contemporary painting, which received a corresponding exhibition that traveled extensively throughout Europe. Her work was also represented in the Nordic Pavilion at the 50th Venice Biennale, Dreams and Conflicts – The Viewer’s Dictatorship, in 2003.
Work by the artist is represented in museum collections that include the Dallas Museum of Art; Göteborgs Konstmuseum, Gothenburg, Sweden; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Magasin 3 Stockholm Konsthall; Malmö Konstmuseum, Sweden; Moderna Museet, Stockholm; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; National Public Art Council, Stockholm; and Västerås Konstmuseum, Sweden.
Click here to download full CV
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Home » Lewis hamilton » Lewis Hamilton wins French Grand Prix
Lewis Hamilton wins French Grand Prix
Lewis Hamilton put on a display of domination at the French Grand Prix to go 36 points clear in the Formula One world championship and stretch Mercedes’s winning run to 10 races. The Briton finished 18 seconds ahead of Finnish team mate Valtteri Bottas, who was pushed hard at the end by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in a rare moment of tension, as Mercedes celebrated their 50th one-two finish.
The five-times world champion now has 79 career wins, 12 short of Michael Schumacher’s all-time record with 13 races remaining this season. He has 187 points to Bottas’s 151. Mercedes have won all eight races this year as well as the last two of 2018.
Max Verstappen was fourth for Red Bull while Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel moved up from seventh on the grid to fifth and gained an extra point after pitting on the penultimate lap for fresh tyres to set the fastest lap.
Union Cabinet takes big ticket Cabinet decisions
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Deseret NewsU.S. & World
AP Investigation: Food aid stolen as Yemen starves
By Maggie Michael
Published: December 31, 2018 5:13 pm
Nariman El-Mofty
A family poses for a photograph in their room at a shelter for displaced persons in Ibb, Yemen, in this Aug. 3, 2018, photo. Across Yemen, factions and militias on all sides of the conflict have blocked or slowed food aid from going to disfavored constituencies, diverted it to front-line combat units or sold it for profit on the black market, according to public records and confidential documents obtained by the AP and interviews with more than 70 aid workers, government officials and average citizens from six different governorates. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)
TAIZ, Yemen — Day after day Nabil al-Hakimi, a humanitarian official in Taiz, one of Yemen's largest cities, went to work feeling he had a "mountain" on his shoulders. Billions of dollars in food and other foreign aid was coming into his war-ravaged homeland, but millions of Yemenis were still living a step away from famine.
Reports of organizational disarray and out-and-out thievery streamed in to him this spring and summer from around Taiz — 5,000 sacks of rice doled out without record of where they'd gone . . . 705 food baskets looted from a welfare agency's warehouses . . . 110 sacks of grain pillaged from trucks trying to make their way through the craggy northern highlands overlooking the city.
Food donations, it was clear, were being snatched from the starving.
Documents reviewed by The Associated Press and interviews with al-Hakimi and other officials and aid workers show that thousands of families in Taiz are not getting international food aid intended for them — often because it has been seized by armed units that are allied with the Saudi-led, American-backed military coalition fighting in Yemen.
"The army that should protect the aid is looting the aid," al-Hakimi told the AP.
Across Yemen, factions and militias on all sides of the conflict have blocked food aid from going to groups suspected of disloyalty, diverted it to front-line combat units or sold it for profit on the black market, according to public records and confidential documents obtained by the AP and interviews with more than 70 aid workers, government officials and average citizens from six different provinces.
The problem of lost and stolen aid is common in Taiz and other areas controlled by Yemen's internationally recognized government, which is supported by the Saudi-led military coalition. It is even more widespread in territories controlled by the Houthi rebels, the struggling government's main enemy during the nearly four years of warfare that has spawned the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
Some observers have attributed the near-famine conditions in much of the country to the coalition's blockade of ports that supply Houthi-controlled areas. AP's investigation found that large amounts of food are making it into the country, but once there, the food often isn't getting to people who need it most — raising questions about the ability of United Nations agencies and other big aid organizations to operate effectively in Yemen.
After the release of the AP's investigation on Monday, the United Nations' World Food Program for the first time directly accused the Houthi rebels of diverting aid. WFP director David Beasley said in a letter to the Houthis' leader that if the rebels did not investigate and put an end to theft, the organization would suspend some assistance, potentially effecting nearly 3 million people.
"These incidents of fraud amount to stealing food from the mouths of hungry Yemeni children," Beasley wrote.
The WFP said its own investigation had found "evidence of trucks illicitly removing food from designated food distribution centers" in Houthi-controlled areas as well as fraud by a local food aid distributor connected to the Houthis' Education Ministry. It said it learned many people in the Houthi-controlled capital, Sanaa, have not been getting food rations they're entitled to and that in other areas "hungry people have been denied full rations."
The World Food Program has 5,000 distribution sites across the country targeting 10 million people a month with food baskets but says it can monitor just 20 percent of the deliveries.
This year the U.N., the United States, Saudi Arabia and others have poured more than $4 billion in food, shelter, medical and other aid into Yemen. That figure has been growing and is expected to keep climbing in 2019.
Despite the surge in help, hunger — and, in some pockets of the country, famine-level starvation — have continued to grow.
An analysis this month by a coalition of global relief groups found that even with the food aid that is coming in, more than half of the population is not getting enough to eat — 15.9 million of Yemen's 29 million people. They include 10.8 million who are in an "emergency" phase of food insecurity, roughly 5 million who are in a deeper "crisis" phase and 63,500 who are facing "catastrophe," a synonym for famine.
Counting the number of people who have starved to death in Yemen is difficult, because of the challenges of getting into areas shaken by violence and because starving people often officially die from diseases that prey on their weakened conditions. The nonprofit group Save the Children estimates that 85,000 children under the age of 5 have died from starvation or disease since the start of the war.
In some parts of the country, fighting, roadblocks and bureaucratic obstacles have reduced the amount of aid getting in. In other areas, aid gets in but still doesn't get to the hungriest families.
In the northern province of Saada, a Houthi stronghold, international aid groups estimate that 445,000 people need food assistance. Some months the U.N. has sent enough food to feed twice that many people. Yet the latest figures from the U.N. and other relief organizations show that 65 percent of residents are facing severe food shortages, including at least 7,000 people who are in pockets of outright famine.
Three officials with the coalition-backed government told the AP that they would provide replies to questions about the theft of food aid, but then didn't provide answers.
Officials at the agency that oversees aid work in Houthi territory — the National Authority for the Management and Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs — did not return repeated phone calls from the AP.
U.N. officials have generally been cautious in public statements about the Houthis, based in part on worries that the rebels might respond by blocking U.N. agencies from access to starving people. But in interviews with the AP, two top U.N. relief officials used strong language in reference to both the Houthis and their battlefield adversaries.
Geert Cappelaere, Middle East director for UNICEF, the U.N.'s emergency fund for children, said authorities on "all sides" of the conflict are impeding aid groups — and increasing the risk that the country will descend into widespread famine.
"This has nothing to do with nature," Cappelaere told the AP. "There is no drought here in Yemen. All of this is man-made. All of this has to do with poor political leadership which doesn't put the people's interest at the core of their actions."
David Beasley, executive director of the U.N.'s food program, said "certain elements of the Houthis" are denying the agency access to some parts of rebel territory — and appear to be diverting food aid.
"It's a disgrace, criminal, it's wrong, and it needs to end," Beasley said in an interview Sunday with the AP. "Innocent people are suffering."
The rebels and the coalition forces have begun peace talks in recent weeks, a process that has led to a reduction in fighting and eased the challenges of getting food aid into and out of Hodeida, the port city that is a gateway to the Houthi-controlled north. But even if donors are able to get more food in, the problem of what happens to food aid once it makes landfall remains.
'THE POOR GET NOTHING'
The war in Yemen began in March 2015 after Houthi rebels swept out of the mountains and occupied northern Yemen, forcing the government of Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi into exile.
After the rebels began pushing farther south, Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf states formed a coalition to take on the Houthis, describing their involvement as an effort to stop Iran, which has ties to the Houthis, from gaining sway over Yemen.
The coalition launched a rolling campaign of airstrikes and imposed an air, land and sea embargo on the rebel-held north. The Houthis, in turn, have blocked a key access route to Taiz, making it difficult for aid groups to get food and other supplies into the city.
The Houthis, a Zaidi-Shiite religious movement turned rebel militia, control an expanse of northern and western Yemen that is home to more than 70 percent of the country's population. In these areas, officials and relief workers say, Houthi rebels have moved aggressively to control the flow of food aid, putting pressure on international relief workers with threats of arrest or exile and setting up checkpoints that demand payments of "customs taxes" as trucks carrying aid try to move across rebel territory.
"Since the Houthis came to power, looting has been on a large scale," said Abdullah al-Hamidi, who served as acting education minister in the Houthi-run government in the north before defecting to the coalition side earlier this year. "This is why the poor get nothing. What really arrives to people is very little."
Each month in Sanaa, he said, at least 15,000 food baskets that the education ministry was supposed to provide to hungry families were instead diverted to the black market or used to feed Houthi militiamen serving on the front lines.
Half of the food baskets that the U.N. food program provides to Houthi-controlled areas are stored and distributed by the ministry, which is chaired by the brother of the rebels' top leader.
Moain al-Nagri, a managing editor at the Houthi-controlled daily newspaper, al-Thawra, told the AP that the paper learned last week that hundreds of its staffers had been falsely listed for more than a year as receiving food baskets from the education ministry. It's not clear where those food baskets went, he said, but it's clear that few of his employees received them.
Three other people with knowledge of relief programs in Houthi territory confirmed that they had knowledge of food baskets being improperly diverted from the education ministry. The three individuals and many others interviewed for this story spoke on condition of anonymity, because of the risks that the rebels might block aid programs or deny visas.
A senior U.N. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the issue, told the AP that enough aid is coming into the country to meet the demands of the hunger crisis, but much of it is stolen.
"If there is no corruption," he said, "there is no famine."
BLACK MARKETS
Throughout Yemen, food that is supposed to be given for free to starving families ends up for sale in markets.
The Houthis' ministry of industry has documented hundreds of sacks of World Food Program flour being sold commercially after being repackaged by merchants, according to Abdu Bishr, who previously served as head of the ministry. Bishr, now a member of rebel-controlled parliament, says both sides in the war are to blame for failing to prevent the diversion of food aid.
Video shot in 2017 and obtained by the AP shows busy markets in the cities of Taiz and Aden not bothering to repackage pilfered food aid — selling cooking oil and flour displaying the U.N. food program's WFP logo. AP journalists reporting in Yemen this spring and summer spotted other examples of food with the logos of the WFP and other global relief groups being sold in markets in both Houthi and coalition areas.
"We have found entire stores packed with U.N. aid," said Fadl Moqbl, head of an independent advocacy group, the Yemeni Association for Consumers' Protection.
Because the war has wrecked the country's economy, many Yemenis don't have jobs or enough money to buy food in stores. Al-Hakimi, who worked for much of this year as the executive manager of the coalition-backed government's local relief committee in Taiz, said Yemenis will need more than short-term handouts. They need help to rebuild the country's economy and create jobs that will allow families to buy their own food.
When officials in Taiz asked al-Hakimi to take over as the relief committee's manager, he hoped he could help turn around the hunger crisis that has been building in the city since the war began. He soon discovered the scale of challenges facing him.
Political power in Taiz is divided among militias that have been folded into Yemen's national armed forces but continue to compete with each other to maintain their grips on the sectors of the city they control.
"Here the only means to achieve anyone's goals is through weapons," he said. "Who gets on the beneficiaries' lists? Those who have weapons. The poor, the most miserable, and the weak can't get their names on the lists of beneficiaries, so the aid goes to the powerful."
LION'S SHARE
Coalition bombing campaigns and guerrilla fighting on the ground have demolished homes, factories, water works and power plants and killed more than 60,000 combatants and civilians. More than 3 million people have been displaced, increasing the demand for food and other help from outside the country.
In a 2017 survey funded by the European Union, two-thirds of displaced Yemenis who responded said they hadn't received any humanitarian aid, even though people forced from their homes are supposed to be key targets of U.N. relief efforts.
In displacement camps in the Houthi-controlled northern district of Aslam, barefoot children and mothers whose bodies have been reduced to skin and bone live in tents and huts made of sticks and sackcloth. The camps are not far from villages where the AP reported in September that families were trying to stave off famine by eating boiled tree leaves.
The U.N. and other global aid organizations estimate that 1.5 million Yemeni children are malnourished, including 400,000 to 500,000 who suffer life-threatening "severe acute malnutrition."
One-year-old Nasser Hafez, who lived with his family in a camp called al-Motayhara, died Dec.12 from malnutrition and other complications at a hospital run by Doctors Without Borders. He was in a coma for five days before his tiny body gave up.
His father and 16 members of his family have moved at least six times since the start of the war. Before, the father said, he had been a tailor, earning enough to feed his family meat, chicken and vegetables. He said he hasn't received a single food basket from the U.N.'s World Food Program.
"They register us every month, maybe up to five times, but we never get food," he said.
He said the family has gotten cash transfers every few months equal to $50 from the relief group Oxfam. It costs almost half that amount, he said, to buy 50 kilograms of World Food Program wheat from a market, which lasts his family only a week or two.
The Houthi rebels maintain tight control on how much food goes to which districts and who gets it. They manipulate the official lists of beneficiaries by giving preferential treatment to Houthi supporters and families of slain and wounded soldiers, according to relief workers and officials.
"Some areas in Yemen take the lion's share and other areas receive a trickle," said Bishr, the member of the Houthi-controlled parliament.
Five relief workers told the AP that they believe the U.N. and other international groups have been forced to sacrifice their independence in order to maintain access as they try to deliver aid to as many people as possible.
The Houthis "threaten decision-makers and international employees through permits and visa renewals," a senior aid official told the AP. "Those who don't comply will have their visas rejected."
He said that he discovered his employees were tipping off the Houthis about the contents of his conversations and emails. When he complained about the spying, he said, the rebels pulled his visa and forced him to leave the country.
Beasley, the top official at the U.N. food program, said he believes some of the rebels in key positions do care about the welfare of struggling families and have worked well with his agency, but there are others "who don't care about the people."
"Anytime you are in a war zone, it's a difficult situation and obviously when it comes to the United Nations we are neutral," he said. But when it comes to making sure that food aid gets to the people who need it, "we can't be neutral. We need to speak out in strongest voice, condemn it in every way."
STRUGGLE IN TAIZ
Even before al-Hakimi took over as manager of Taiz's relief committee, officials and activists complained about intrigues and outrages relating to donated food.
In September 2017, the relief committee sent a warning to the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, a charity run by the Saudi government and one of the key donors in Yemen. The letter said many of the 871,000 food baskets that the King Salman Center claims it has provided to Taiz and surrounding areas had been "lost and unaccounted for." It said local groups that were supposed distribute the food were refusing to answer questions from the committee, apparently because they wanted to make sure "the truth never comes out" about where the food goes.
In the spring of 2018, the government in Taiz turned to al-Hakimi, who holds a doctorate in strategic development planning and has years of experience in training aid workers. Three relief workers in Taiz told the AP that al-Hakimi is known for being a principled person who won't go along with corrupt deals.
He took the job after providing the committee a list of 14 conditions aimed at addressing the flaws in the aid distribution system, including a requirement that the committee approve and coordinate all aid deliveries in Taiz.
One problem al-Hakimi and other relief workers faced was the Houthis' partial blockade of the city. The Houthis — who had taken over Taiz in the spring of 2015 but were pushed out by coalition forces in late 2016 — still control a key highway leading into the city. This slows the transport of aid into the city and limits how much can get in.
Despite the challenges, he won some victories after he started his new job. In one instance, he reached out to a military commander and secured the return of 110 sacks of flour that had been snatched from trucks in the highlands north of the city.
But in most cases, once the aid was gone, it was gone for good.
In early June, al-Hakimi and a local official demanded, to no avail, that an army unit known as Brigade 17 return 705 food baskets that had been lifted from a warehouse — as well as the "personal weapon" of the guard who had been trying to protect the goods.
"I talked to everyone but there was no action," al-Hakimi said. "The commander acted as if he wasn't in charge."
Brig. Gen. Abdel-Rahman al-Shamsani, the commander of Brigade 17, denies that his unit took the food baskets. He told the AP that recipients who had grown tired of waiting had "raided" the warehouse and taken food that was intended for them anyway.
As problems piled up, al-Hakimi aimed a flurry of complaints at bureaucrats and military officers. In a letter to a top army commander and an internal security chief, he wrote: "This is about your negligence in failing to take the necessary measures to bring back looted World Food Program aid."
If they did not quickly arrest the culprits and bring back the stolen items within 24 hours, he said, he would hold them "fully responsible for depriving Taiz of aid" and for "any humanitarian disaster in Taiz" that followed.
There was no response, al-Hakimi said.
By September he'd had enough.
"It's very important to do this work — but also important to have the power and authority to do it," al-Hakimi told the AP.
He tried to resign, but a top city leader talked him out of it, promising that officials would address the problems.
Nothing changed, al-Hakimi said. So in October he quit for good.
Two months later, an analysis from the U.N. and its aid partners estimated that 57 percent of Taiz's residents face emergency- or crisis-level food insecurity. The group's year-end breakdown says as many as 10,500 people in and around Taiz are living and dying in areas overtaken by full-blown famine.
The AP's reporting on the war in Yemen is supported by a grant from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.
U.S. & World yesterday Former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens dies at 99
U.S. & World 2 hours ago Trump slams congresswomen; crowd roars, 'Send her back!'
U.S. & World 4 hours ago Rand Paul says 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund price tag too high, blocks fast track
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U.S. & World 16 hours ago Emails show Iowa official's Tupac fixation before his ouster
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The FreeStore
Housing Advocacy
Edgehill Neighborhood Partnership
Sara Hoover
President | Nissan
Valeria Matlock
Rev. John Feldhacker
board member | Edgehill UMC
(Rev.) John Feldhacker is pastor of Edgehill United Methodist Church, ENP's founding partner. John has a B. A. in Business Management from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and a Masters of Divinity from Vanderbilt University. John's first career was an entrepreneur in sales and sales management consulting, Beginning his second career, he won a number of awards in Divinity School, including the Bishop Holland McTyeire Leadership Award given to the United Methodist Student who best exemplifies Wesleyan Ideals in service to school, community, and world. For ten years prior to leading EUMC, John served as the Associate Minister at West End United Methodist Church as the Administrative Pastor, Pastor of Congregational Care, Hospitality, and young Adult Ministries
Janet Shands
Board Member | Mutual Contractors, LLC
Janet Shands has lived in the Edgehill neighborhood since 1988 and has many occupations over the years, from teacher to coach to social worker. For the last 20 years, Janet has been a general contractor by trade. Janet has been with ENP from the very beginning and is very grateful for EUMC and their commitment to Edgehill residents over the years.
Louise Morris
Louise Morris’s career includes teaching as a United Methodist missionary in Japan and South Korea, healthcare research, and various positions in non-profit organizations. Most recently, she has served as the volunteer executive director of ENP. Currently, she works part-time for the Vanderbilt Office of Undergraduate Admissions, makes frequent trips to Chattanooga to see her two grandchildren (and their parents!), and enjoys house-sitting for friends in Key West every year.
Pat Ward
Patricia Ward serves on the ENP board as the representative of Belmont United Methodist Church, which has long partnered with the Edgehill UMC to support the latter's projects serving the Edgehill neighborhood. Patricia was a faculty member and administrator at public and private institutions of higher education in four states before retiring as an emerita professor from Vanderbilt University. She has served on a number of national boards and committees. Locally, she has been very involved in neighborhood efforts to make post-high school scholarships and mentoring available to Edgehill residents.
Susie johnson
Mike Hodge
Board Member | NOAH
Mike Hodge grew up in Savannah, GA and graduated from Scarritt College in Nashville in 1977 where he served as a Church and Community Worker, helping inner-city neighborhood residents to create neighborhood organizations to take action. He has worked for 17 years for the Neighborhoods Resource Center, a non-profit that also helped lower-income people organize in their own neighborhoods. Mike has been involved with Edgehill United Methodist Church since 1980 and has served on the ENP Board since its beginning and has been the Organizing Director for NOAH (Nashville Organized for Action and Hope) since 2014.
Pat Elkins
Pat Elkins, her husband David, and their two children moved from Houston, Texas to Nashville in 1984. By history, Pat has been an educator, writer and consultant. After helping launch The Learning Lab in Brentwood, and lead it as Director, she retired in 2014. She and her husband have led fund-raising campaigns and have helped start a store front church and a non-profit counseling and resource center. Since joining Edgehill United Methodist Church, she has served as a volunteer, co-manager and now serves in the role of Coordinator for The FreeStore and as an ENP board member.
David West
Board Member | Equinox Information Systems
David West is the Executive Vice President of Equinox Information Systems, where he oversees the company’s sales and marketing team, develops the company’s long-term strategic plan, and works directly with the company’s customers across the globe. He has a BA from Wheaton College in Illinois and an MBA from Vanderbilt University. He loves traveling and spending time with his wife and their two daughters, and engaging with his faith community at St. Bartholomew’s Church.
Cynthia Matthews
Tony Jackson
Jennifer Ricks
BOARD MEMBER | Nissan
Grace Cohen
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1414 Edgehill Avenue Nashville, TN 37212
© 2019 | Brinnovate
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Georgia Southern receives research, education gift from Gulfstream
Updated: Nov. 25, 2014, 2:25 p.m.
Georgia Southern University has announced a $225,000 contribution from Gulfstream Aerospace to support research and education at the university. This gift continues Georgia Southern’s long relationship with Gulfstream, manufacturer of the world’s most technologically advanced business-jet aircraft, which began with former Gulfstream president and CEO Allen E. Paulson.
“Engaging in partnerships with Gulfstream allows Georgia Southern to continue to have a significant impact on preparing students for the workforce and strengthening communities for many generations to come,” said Brooks A. Keel, president of Georgia Southern University. “It’s companies like Gulfstream that help open doors to other opportunities with companies that have similar needs and goals. Together we can make a difference in the lives, communities and companies of our city, state and region.”
The funds received from Gulfstream will go toward the newly designated manufacturing engineering degree program, the Institute for Interdisciplinary STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) Education’s i2Explore STEM Festival, student co-op and internship opportunities and the College of Education’s National Youth at Risk Center.
The manufacturing engineering degree program will receive $100,000 to advance the infrastructure of the program. The money will also help develop curriculum and purchase equipment to ensure a hands-on experience for students.
“Georgia Southern’s manufacturing engineering program is the first in the state,” said Mohammad Davoud, dean of the College of Engineering and Information Technology. “Gulfstream’s gift to support the program bolsters not only the company’s longstanding relationship with the Allen E. Paulson College of Engineering and Information Technology, but also demonstrates how important this new program is to train professionals for local and regional industry.”
Students will continue to see the benefits of the gift with $75,000 earmarked for co-op programs and internships.
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EarthQuaker Devices and The Nightlight Present "EarthQuaker Devices: A Mini Movie" & "Goodnight Brooklyn - the Story of Death By Audio" Double-Feature!
December 9, 2016 Aaron Rogers
We've got movie sign! EarthQuaker Devices and The Nightlight present EarthQuaker Devices: A Mini Movie and Goodnight Brooklyn - The Story of Death by Audio as a double-feature for one night only, Tuesday 12/27 at 6:45pm and 9:15pm!
Join us for the double-feature, and hang out before/after the movie for a B-stock sale! Check out the full line of EQD effects at our headphone demo station!
Shot entirely on location in Akron, Ohio, EarthQuaker Devices: A Mini Movie chronicles the meteoric rise of the popular guitar effects pedal manufacturer from the ashes of the Rubber City. The film traces the homegrown company’s roots from a one-man basement operation, to an international success, providing musical equipment which helps artists like Queens of the Stone Age, Modest Mouse, and the Black Keys craft unique guitar sounds - creating jobs for 50+ local artists and musicians along the way..."
Goodnight Brooklyn manages to tell two stories at once. First, there’s the triumphant tale of . . . creating something out of nothing and finding both national attention and a local community. . . Death by Audio really became a spiritual home to the community. . . . Because Death by Audio was a ‘spiritual home’ for so many, the film’s second story plays like a melodrama, complete with a villain...” Features live performances and interviews by Future Islands, Jeff the Brotherhood, A Place to Bury Strangers, Deerhoof, Ty Seagall, TV On the Radio, Lightning Bolt, Dan Deacon, Les Savy Fav, and Thee Oh Sees.
Click here to purchase advance tickets for both screenings!
What: EarthQuaker Devices: A Mini Movie & Goodnight Brooklyn - The Story of Death By Audio double feature
When: Tuesday, December 27th, 2016 at 6:45pm and 9:15pm
Where: The Nightlight Cinema - 30. N. High St. Akron, Ohio
Cost: $5 admission - Advance tickets available here: http://www.nightlightcinema.com/film/goodnight-brooklyn/
Join us for news, pedal demos, artist interviews, live performances, and giveaways, and you'll never miss a note!
tags EarthQuaker Devices, The Nightlight, Nightlight Cinema, Death By Audio, EarthQuaker Devices: A Mini Movie, Goodnight Brooklyn - The Story of Death By Audio, guitar, effects, pedal, Akron, Ohio, film, movie
Employee Spotify Playlist - "Pedal City" by LG
→ December 08, 2016
Spires Nü-Face Double Fuzz
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Tina Turner Attends World Premiere of Musical Based on her Life
Teddy Grant
Legendary performer Tina Turner attended the world premiere of a stage musical based on her life in London on Tuesday, PEOPLE reports.
The 78-year old star, who was closely involved with Tina: The Tina Turner Musical shared a message to the audience, as she took the stage.
“It is possible to turn poison into medicine,” she said.
The musical production tells the life-story of the “Simple the Best” singer, from growing up in poverty in Tennessee to the abusive relationship she had with Ike Turner.
Turner jokes that she “forgave” Ike while speaking to Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, who played her ex-husband, who died in 2007.
“I found a replacement,” she said as she faced her second husband Erwin Bach.
After 3 years of hard work from our fantastic cast & crew, @TinaTheMusical makes its World Premiere Performance @TheAldwych tonight. It's meant so much to me to be so closely involved in this production. To all my fans & audiences, I hope you enjoy the show! Love, Tina x pic.twitter.com/AheI9j7wDm
— TinaTurner (@LoveTinaTurner) April 17, 2018
“We have been working on this show for more than three years now,” Turner writes in the musical’s program notes. “I’ve been blessed with a wonderful career,” she says, “I still can’t believe how people feel about me on stage and the legacy they say I left. People tell me I gave them hope. It meant so much to people I feel I have to pass it on, and I hope this show serves what the people need, as a reminder of my work.”
The show stars Adrienne Warren, who takes on the iconic singer and performs her hits “Nutbush City Limits,” “Proud Mary” and “What’s Love Got to Do with It.”
In this article:tina turner
Ike Turner’s Daughter Says Rape Scene in Tina Turner Biopic Never Happened
Tina Turner Reveals Ike Forced Her to Watch Live Sex Show on Wedding Night
Tina Turner Reveals Husband Donated His Kidney for Her Transplant
Tina Turner Musical Coming to Broadway in 2019
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Big-bang Babar quietly takes Hong Kong forward
493dPeter Della Penna
Gaikwad, Gill and Saini make it 2-0 for India A
Babar Hayat scored 16 off the last five balls in a win against Afghanistan that took Hong Kong to the 2016 World T20 ICC/Sportsfile
Peter Della PennaCricket
Peter Della Penna is an American cricket journalist who also writes for ESPNcricinfo.com and DreamCricket.com. Since 2010, he has penned the USA entry in the Cricket Round the World section of the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack.
Follow Peter on Twitter @PeterDellaPenna
In Chinese culture, perhaps there are fewer symbols that are more well-known to outsiders than the yin and the yang. It represents the balance between opposite forces to keep things in harmony.
Babar Hayat, the 26-year-old Hong Kong captain, is an embodiment of such duelling dualities. "I'm a quiet person," he says in matter-of-fact manner during a sit-down interview with ESPNcricinfo ahead of the World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe.
That's putting it mildly. Despite his imposing physical presence and reputation as one of the biggest hitters on the Associate scene, it takes some effort to coax words out of Hayat. Yet, his resume speaks for itself.
Leading scorer in the most recent edition of the ICC Intercontinental Cup. Three centuries in his first six first-class matches. Third overall in runs in the WCL Championship. Hitting 16 off the final over to beat Afghanistan in a T20I for the first time, at the 2015 World T20 Qualifier in Ireland, and sending Hong Kong to the World T20 in India.
Those are heady accomplishments for someone who never really had any ambition to become a professional cricketer, let alone captain his adopted homeland when he first arrived on Hong Kong shores as a 15-year-old. The transformation from a once timid boy to a quiet yet confident man - especially with a bat in hand - was made possible through hard work, grit and perseverance over the last 11 years.
"When I started playing cricket, nobody knew me. I didn't have any fame," Hayat says of the path that led him to where he is today. Growing up in Attock, Pakistan, he played tape-ball cricket regularly, but when his father, a banker who had been living on and off in Hong Kong for 45 years, took the family to the island for good, Hayat had never played with a seasoned leather ball.
Hayat didn't know any English, or Cantonese either, when he found himself in Kowloon as a teenager. He was shy to begin with, and the language barrier made his transition to a new homeland more challenging. Enrolling at the Islamic Kasim Tuet Memorial College for his high school years in Hong Kong gave him a small buffer, allowing him to interact with students who might know Urdu, and also provided him a gateway into a whole new cricket community.
"It's a culture within our dressing room where people tend to gravitate toward the best player, and that's why we looked at Babar as being one of those characters" Simon Cook, Hong Kong head coach
"It was the first or second week of school and he was playing tape-ball cricket," Aizaz Khan, a former high school classmate of Hayat's and long-time Hong Kong team-mate, says of their first interaction, just a few weeks after Hayat had arrived in Hong Kong.
"We had a big ground and I saw him smacking some big sixes. He looked very good and played some big shots and I was thinking whether I can get him to play in the Under-17 club team of ours since I was the captain.
"I spoke to his cousin, who was in the same school, and asked, 'Can you get Babar to play for us?' Babar was new and didn't really know anybody there. The first game he went there, he scored 40-plus and hit some huge sixes. The coach got him to play in the Sunday senior league. Since then, Babar's been scoring runs everywhere."
Though he had only newly begun playing with a hard ball, it didn't take long for Hayat to make his presence felt in Hong Kong's domestic scene. In his second season playing in the Sunday premier division, he was named Player of the Year while representing Vagabonds CC. In demand, he was recruited to join the prestigious Kowloon CC for his third season, but Hayat says that despite the glamour, his still limited English language skills left him feeling uncomfortable in his surroundings, prompting a move to Little Sai Wan CC, where he got to work with former Hong Kong captain Munir Dar.
"They had a good structure while building up youngsters, Little Sai Wan," Hayat says. "They always wanted young guys to come up, and gave chances. When we played club cricket in Hong Kong, we played four to five U-16 guys in the team in the high-standard premier league. When they grew up, after three or four years, they'd get better."
Those opportunities as a teenager helped put him on the Hong Kong selection radar for junior teams. But he could not go to the 2010 U-19 World Cup in New Zealand - having migrating in 2007, he was just short of the required four years of residency to qualify for his new home. He did, however, make his senior team debut a year later as a 19-year-old, opening the batting while surrounded by 15,000 screaming Nepal fans at the 2011 Asian Cricket Council Twenty20 Cup in Kathmandu.
"That was my first tour and I was shocked when I saw all the people around," Hayat says.
Babar Hayat poses with fans for photos while playing for Kowloon Cantons in a Hong Kong Blitz match Getty Images
"It was really tough for me to play for Hong Kong. Every time when I would go to bat, I was feeling nervous. You can say I was not a proper cricketer. They just sent me as a floater, and I'd open with Irfan Ahmed. That was not a great tour for me. I did not perform for my first three or four tours."
Part of the lack of confidence was the way in which his raw skillset, honed by tennis-ball bashing, was exposed against higher-class bowling.
"When I first saw him in the national set-up, he was a player who could control a game but didn't have the skills to do that, to bat for long periods of time," says Simon Cook, Hong Kong head coach, who first came across Hayat on the club scene in his previous position as head coach at Hong Kong Cricket Club. "He didn't have the technique."
Though his defence in particular was unrefined, Hayat's mental toughness began to emerge as a dependable trait. It first showed up at the 2013 World T20 Qualifier in the UAE during a knockout match against Papua New Guinea. Having lost a final-ball heartbreaker to Nepal in the previous playoff match, Hong Kong had a second crack at clinching a maiden berth at a major ICC global tournament a day later. However, they needed to do it without captain Jamie Atkinson, who was injured in the loss to Nepal. The task became even more difficult when they collapsed to 19 for 4 inside the first four overs after choosing to bat.
Hayat started to rebuild the innings, first with his Little Sai Wan club team-mate Dar in a 35-run stand. A match-defining 62-run partnership with future New Zealand international Mark Chapman followed, and Hayat's 48 off 47 balls carried Hong Kong out of trouble and to an eventual 29-run win.
Two summers later, at the next World T20 qualifier, in Ireland, Hayat would conjure up an even greater escape against Afghanistan, a team they had not beaten in six previous attempts in T20 cricket. Though Hong Kong had plenty of wickets in hand, the run rate started to climb in the final overs of chasing a target of 162.
"I didn't want to bat. My legs were gone, my hamstrings were tired, my body was sore. I didn't want to play the next game because I was so tired" Hayat on struggling with his fitness
"We controlled for quite a lot of the game and then suddenly it started to get a bit dicey," said Cook, who was then an assistant coach on the Hong Kong staff. "He was batting in the middle order, and coming into the final over I was actually very confident. I said to Charlie Burke, who was head coach, 'As long as Babar is still there when we're facing the last over, we'll still win this.'"
As was the case in Abu Dhabi, Chapman and Hayat steered Hong Kong through a big chunk of the chase against Afghanistan with a 48-run stand, but Chapman fell caught on the boundary on the first ball of the final over, bowled by Mohammad Nabi, leaving 16 off five balls to win. Hayat came on strike for the second ball and clubbed a four and six to make it six off three balls.
A wide and a three followed, putting Hayat's fresh partner, Tanwir Afzal, on strike with two needed off two. A calamitous dropped return chance that ended in a run-out by Nabi allowed Hayat to get back on strike for the final ball, with his old high-school friend Aizaz at the non-striker's end. Despite being known as Hong Kong's biggest basher, Hayat instead showed maturity and clear-headed thinking given the situation.
"When I went in and spoke to him, he wasn't nervous or feeling the pressure," Aizaz said. "He just said he's not gonna go for a big hit, that he'd hit it along the ground, get one first and try to get the second, and that's what happened. Nabi tried to bowl a quicker one and Babar just played it to long-off, toward extra cover, enough so we could get the second run."
Early in 2016, Hong Kong headed to the Asia Cup T20 Qualifier for some crucial preparation ahead of the World T20. Hayat produced the highest score by an Associate player in T20I cricket, making 122 off 60 balls against Oman in a match more infamously remembered for Chapman being mankaded at a key moment in a five-run loss for Hong Kong. However, those involved on the Hong Kong side felt the bigger culprit for the loss was ironically Hayat - his poor fitness, to be precise, in the heat and humidity of Fatullah.
Babar blasts off during the World Cup Qualifiers IDI/Getty Images
"I was totally gone," Hayat said. "I didn't want to bat. My legs were gone, my hamstrings were tired, my body was sore. I didn't want to play the next game because I was so tired. I didn't want to mention it to the coaches because they knew my fitness wasn't good because I was cramping."
"He ended up on the losing side because he was over 100 kilos in weight and he wasn't able to sustain his innings over 20 overs," Cook said. "At that point, [122] was the third highest T20I score in any nation. So he had a fantastic innings, but his physical condition ended up costing us the game effectively. And it was that innings that cost him from being able to perform in the World T20 because he was so physically exhausted still, three weeks after that innings."
At the opening round of the World T20 in India, Hayat turned in scores of 9, 0 and 15 as Hong Kong went winless. The spillover fitness issues from the Asia Cup hundred against Oman opened his eyes, and prompted the coaching staff to sit him down for a frank discussion.
"It was after those two back-to-back tournaments that we sat down outlining plans for the next four-year cycle," Cook said. "I sat down with Babar at that point in player reviews and said to him: your weight is an issue. That was the time we were just converting to full-time contracts. The skinfolds, yo-yo tests, 20-metre sprints - the players were starting to become more accountable. It was no longer such a club-cricket environment of pitch up, play and go home. We had quite a harsh conversation. He took it on board and really rose to the challenge.
"The combination of a full-time contract, working with the Hong Kong Institute of Sport and their dieticians - he went from just over 100 kilos to 89 or 88 kilos prior to the 2016 WCL round five against Ireland and Scotland."
"Whenever we'd see Babar at the gym, we'd all want to work hard and get fit" Team-mate Aizaz Khan
Aizaz witnessed first-hand the work that Hayat put into shedding the weight. Hayat would often recruit him and one or two others for late-night runs above and beyond the afternoon training routine for squad players.
"Those two or three months, whenever we'd see Babar at the gym, we'd all want to work hard and get fit," Aizaz says.
As his waistline got slimmer, Hayat's run-scoring column got fatter. Early in 2017, he made 173 against Netherlands in their Intercontinental Cup clash, then scored two half-centuries in the one-dayers that followed. At the end of the year, he batted the better part of two days to score an unbeaten 214 against PNG.
"Between where he was in 2014 to where he is now, there's a number of differences. One, he's technically much, much better," Cook said. "In 2014, he wasn't particularly fit. He couldn't bat for 50 overs potentially. His physical condition is much better and his technical ability to bat for long periods of time has allowed his free-scoring intent to now flourish.
"He can keep all the good balls out and continues to score very freely off the balls that are into his strength areas. A key area of development going forward is just giving him the ability to bat for long and not feel like he has to try to take scoring options because it's a matter of time before he gets out."
The mental fortitude Hayat has demonstrated, whether at the crease in key moments during crunch games or in waging a weight-loss battle in the gym, is something he has worked hard at spreading to the rest of his team-mates. It's a trait that helped them in a hard-fought win over Afghanistan in Zimbabwe, their first ODI victory over a Full Member.
If Hong Kong make it through to the Super Sixes, there will be an uphill battle: they will need three wins and some help on tiebreakers to reach the World Cup. An equally daunting challenge may await them in the consolation bracket should they end up there, needing to secure two wins to keep ODI status, and essentially the funding that will keep players like Hayat on full-time professional contracts. Whatever the challenge, the Hong Kong squad will look for Hayat's bat to set the tone.
"What you see is what you get with Babar," Cook said. "He's not one to stand up and give big Churchillian speeches and all of that sort of stuff. He's very much 'lead by example' and the guys do follow him. It's a culture within our dressing room where people tend to gravitate toward the best player and that's why we looked at Babar as being one of those characters. We did feel he had the potential to really become a dominant force in Associate cricket and fortunately that has come true."
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Fighting in Idlib, Syria. Photo Credit: Fars News Agency.
Strategic Implications Of Syrian Offensive In Idlib – Analysis
September 25, 2018 Published by the Foreign Policy Research Institute 0 Comments
By Published by the Foreign Policy Research Institute
By Dr. Christopher J. Bolan*
(FPRI) — Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces appear poised to launch an offensive operation to retake all or portions of Syria’s last major remaining oppositionist stronghold in the Idlib province. All major players in this looming battle are posturing to shape the nature and extent of this upcoming campaign in ways that advance their particular interests.
Idlib is a province located in northwestern Syria. Since the outbreak of civil war in 2011, Idlib has been the site of frequent confrontation between the Syrian Armed Forces and any number of opposition forces—whether “moderate” such as the Free Syrian Army or others linked in varying degrees to radical jihadi terrorist groups including al-Qaeda. In the summer of 2017, Idlib was one of four so-called de-escalation zones established jointly by Russia, Turkey, and Iran aimed at reducing the violence between rebel and Syrian government forces. The Syrian government and its backers, however, have regularly exploited a loophole in these agreements that permits fighting against terrorist groups to reconquer one rebel enclave after another. The techniques to secure these military victories often included massive bombing of civilian infrastructure including hospitals and schools and devastating sieges designed to starve entire populations into submission. Often, the terms of surrendering these territories back to Assad’s control involved transferring remaining rebel forces and isolated civilians to the province of Idlib doubling its population to some three million people. As a result of Assad’s military victories elsewhere and these transfers of rebel forces, Idlib today remains the single major bastion of remaining opposition forces in Syria.
Assad himself undoubtedly favors a full-scale, no-holds-barred offensive that decisively restores unchallenged regime control over this rebel stronghold. Some press reporting indicated that U.S. officials believe President Assad has already approved the use of chlorine gas in the upcoming Idlib offensive. This prospective use of chemical weapons would come in direct defiance of the U.S. and coalition military retaliation he suffered back in April in response to Assad’s gas attack against civilians in the suburbs of Damascus. The White House has issued stern warnings of dire consequences should Assad employ these weapons.
For the moment, Russia seems poised to militarily back Assad’s desire to regain control over the rebellious province. Moscow has conducted airstrikes against terrorist elements operating in the province and has recently completed its largest naval force deployment in the eastern Mediterranean since the start of the seven-year-old Syrian civil war. As this battle looms, Russian diplomats have also warned the United States against taking “reckless steps” and have gone so far as to threaten to attack a U.S.-occupied base located at At-Tanf near the Syria-Jordan-Iraq border. In response, U.S. forces in the area conducted military exercises designed to underscore the capability of these forces to successfully defend themselves against attack.
Meanwhile, Iranian leaders who have provided invaluable political and military support to Assad’s previous military efforts have been largely quiet. This strategy is a sensible one for Tehran as leaders are understandably reluctant to provoke additional Israeli airstrikes in Tel Aviv’s escalating military campaign targeting Iranian forces deployed in Syria. Analysis suggests that Israel has conducted over 130 such airstrikes since 2013. Perhaps the most dramatic strikes took place in May 2018 when Israel launched its most extensive air and missile strikes since the 1973 Arab-Israeli War against dozens of Iranian targets in Syria killing more than 40, including 19 Iranians.
In contrast, Turkey has moved aggressively to forestall or at least limit the extent of Syria’s anticipated offensive. Since late 2017, Turkey has manned a dozen military checkpoints throughout the province as part of the de-escalation plan mentioned above. In the event of a full-scale Syrian assault on Idlib, these physical markers of Turkish presence would be quickly overrun. Fearing that prospect as well as the likelihood that a major offensive in Idlib could result in hundreds of thousands of additional Syrian refugees fleeing toward the Turkish border, Ankara recently has warned Moscow that an attack would not be tolerated and that the result would be a “lake of blood.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. position on Idlib has gradually moved toward increasing opposition to a major offensive. Initial U.S. diplomatic efforts were initially restrained and largely aimed at dissuading Assad from employing chemical weapons in any forthcoming assault. As an assault looks increasingly likely, however, senior U.S. officials have issued broader warning against any “military campaign in all its forms” and condemned any offensive as “objectionable as a reckless escalation.”
While a diplomatic resolution between Syria, Turkey, and Russia that forestalls an all-out assault is possible, it would seem that a military confrontation in Idlib in one form or another is almost inevitable given Assad’s desire to capitalize on the momentum generated by battlefield successes elsewhere.
The nature and scope of the coming offensive in Idlib matters and will have important implications for players at the tactical and operational levels of war. The 3 million civilians now struggling in Idlib will of course be most directly impacted. Syrians have now suffered seven years of brutal civil war. The war has killed hundreds of thousands, displaced millions, and witnessed the horrific use of sarin nerve agent and chlorine gas against defenseless civilian populations. UN officials have warned that a massive assault on Idlib will greatly add to this already deplorable list of miseries.
Beyond these substantial humanitarian concerns, however, the strategic impacts of any offensive in Idlib are likely to be relatively minor absent a direct military confrontation between any of the major outside powers engaged in Syria (a noteworthy qualification). Regaining control of Idlib would certainly represent another step forward for Assad and his backers in Russia and Iran, but American military forces and their Kurdish allies will retain control of northeastern Syria stopping Assad well short of his goal to re-unify all of Syria under his control. Moreover, an Assad victory in Idlib will do little to restore Assad’s legitimacy among the Sunni majority population who have suffered most acutely under his rule. Localized and periodic domestic opposition to Assad’s rule will remain an enduring feature of Syria—at least in the immediate term.
Additionally, even if Turkey is either convinced or compelled to withdrawal from Idlib, it will likely retain a significant military presence in or along Syria’s northern border to control the flow of refugees and deny the establishment of an independent Kurdish zone. Finally, any military campaign in Idlib will only add to the substantial costs of reconstructing Syria, which are already estimated to exceed $1 trillion, burdening both Russia and Iran with an unpayable bill for the destruction wrought by their support of Assad. Given these prospects, any offensive in Idlib is unlikely to prove decisive to the interests of any major party.
The tactical and operational impacts of the upcoming Syrian offensive in Idlib, however devastating for the Syrian people themselves, are not likely to significantly affect the most salient strategic outcomes of the Syrian civil war, which include the continued rule of the Assad regime over most of Syria, expanded Russian and Iranian influence in Damascus, a reduced but not totally destroyed jihadi presence, and the massive scale of reconstruction assistance that will be required to address the humanitarian needs of the Syrian people in the aftermath of civil war. These hard realities themselves pose important questions that will need to be addressed by U.S. strategic and military planners as they devise policies and programs going forward. These strategic realities and resultant questions are worth examining in more detail.
1. Assad’s continued rule from Damascus has been assured for the near future. President Obama’s calls in 2011 for Assad to “step aside” were never supported by meaningful policies to achieve that goal. Since 2015, Russian air support and Iranian-back Shi’a militia forces on the ground have bolstered Assad’s military fortunes and enabled him to reconstitute his control over the majority of both Syrian territory and its major population centers. The Trump administration came to office in 2017 accepting Assad’s continued hold on power as a “political reality” and emphasized that U.S. policies in Syria would be solely focused on defeating ISIS.
Of course, President Trump could suddenly declare the removal of Assad from power as a U.S. policy objective. After all, in announcing coalition missile strikes against Syrian chemical facilities in April 2018, President Trump denounced both Russia and Iran for “supporting, equipping, and financing the criminal Assad regime.” On the other hand, other senior American officials including the Secretary of Defense James Mattis at the time emphasized that regime change was not the goal of U.S. policy saying that the missile strikes had the narrow strategic purpose of deterring the future use of chemical weapons.
Absent a clear change in U.S. policy objectives, U.S. strategies would be better designed from the assumption that the Assad regime will continue to exercise dominant influence in most of what some analysts have characterized as “useful Syria.” To what degree the U.S. can work tacitly or openly with President Assad’s regime to advance American interests in battling ISIS and stabilizing Syria are open questions that demand answers.
2. Russia has established its place as a meaningful player in the Middle East whose interests will need to be factored into future U.S. strategic calculations (but not necessarily accommodated). Coming to the rescue of its sole remaining Cold War ally in the Middle East—President Assad in Syria—was really Moscow’s only option if it wanted to preserve access to its only naval and air bases in the region at Tartus and Humaymim. President Trump may well have harbored hopes that a personal connection with Russian President Vladimir Putin could convince Moscow to moderate Assad’s excesses and press for the removal of Iranian forces from Syria. Unfortunately, Russian efforts on both counts have been disappointing given Assad’s continued use of chemical weapons and the continued presence of Iranian military advisors in Syria.
Just how much to confront Russia over its support for Assad remains an open question. In calculating a response, U.S. policymakers will need to weigh the risks that U.S. pushback could unintentionally lead to direct military confrontation with Russian forces in the confined battlespaces in and over Syria. Russian foreign ministry officials regularly condemn the very presence of U.S. military forces in Syria as against international law and convention. In defending themselves against an attack on a small outpost near Deir al-Zour in February 2018, U.S. forces killed hundreds of Syrian-allied forces and Russian mercenaries. How and to what extent will U.S. policymakers respond to the inevitable future challenges posed by Damascus, Moscow, or Tehran to the continued presence of American troops in Syria?
3. Iran has demonstrated its ability to support and lead Shi’a militia groups to advance its interests in the region. Iran’s relationship with the Assad regime has a long history grounded in their shared interests in breaking their geopolitical isolation and challenging America’s dominant position in the region. The leadership in Tehran will not easily be compelled to abandon the Assad regime as Syria represents Iran’s only state-based ally in a region dominated by Sunni powers. Similarly, Assad remains absolutely dependent on the thousands of Iranian-led, trained, and funded Shi’a militias to maintain and consolidate his gains on the ground.
Another key question for U.S. policymakers is just how far is Washington willing to invest in pushing back against Iran’s presence in Syria? Russian leaders have recently admitted that they are incapable of compelling a complete Iranian withdrawal from Syria. U.S. policymakers will need to develop an integrated political, economic, and perhaps military strategy for achieving this goal while overcoming the active opposition they are likely to confront from Damascus, Moscow, and Tehran.
4. Jihadi forces will have been largely defeated, but not destroyed or eliminated. The anti-ISIS coalition has achieved tremendous military success in ousting militant jihadi groups from virtually all of Syrian territory. Idlib now remains the most significant jihadi stronghold hosting as many as 10,000 al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorists. Russia and Syria claim that these groups remain a threat that must be dealt with forcefully and effectively. Given the counter-terrorism focus of U.S. policy up to this point, how can this threat be eliminated while avoiding the major humanitarian catastrophe that would result from a major Russian-backed Syrian offense into the province? To what extent are U.S. policymakers willing to find common cause with the Assad regime, Moscow, and Tehran to eliminate any remaining pockets of jihadi terrorist groups?
5. Syria will remain a fractured country and society requiring major international assistance for a generation or more. UN officials have warned that an assault on Idlib could result in the “worst humanitarian catastrophe” of the 21st The Trump administration is reluctant to play a significant role in funding these efforts and has already suspended financing for stabilization projects in Syria. Instead, the administration is pressing other coalition partners for contributions. However, as mentioned previously, the tab for reconstruction in Syria is already estimated to exceed $ 1 trillion and is only likely to grow until an enduring political settlement can be reached. Syria is likely to overburden an exhausted international donor community that is already struggling to satisfy pressing humanitarian needs elsewhere in the region to include Yemen, Iraq, and Libya.
Ignoring the task of rebuilding Syria risks another failed state that remains mired in conflict, continues to generate refugee flows that jeopardize the stability of neighboring Jordan and Lebanon, and provides fuel and space to terrorists groups exploiting the fears and vulnerabilities of local populations. The questions for U.S. policymakers here revolve around if and how the U.S. can best identify, promote, and support those development programs that will most quickly and effectively restore some semblance of stability to Syria.
These enduring features of a post-civil war Syria will require U.S. policymakers to fundamentally reassess America’s strategic objectives in Syria, develop a coherent strategy engaging all instruments of national power to achieve those goals, and then tailor the specific missions and composition of whatever U.S. military forces are to remain.
The administration appears to be at an important inflection point for doing so. Statements by senior State Department officials recently signify a substantial expansion of U.S. objectives extending beyond the fight against ISIS that now include expelling all Iranian and Iranian-backed forces and establishing a “nonthreatening government” in Damascus. These goals will remain illusory, however, unless U.S policymakers develop effective strategies that respond to the basic realities of the conflict described above and answer the broader questions posed by these realities.
The views expressed are those of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect the positions of the U.S. government or Department of Defense.
*Dr. Christopher J. Bolan, a Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute’s Program on the Middle East, is Professor of Middle East Security Studies at the Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College.
This article was published by FPRI.
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Published by the Foreign Policy Research Institute
Founded in 1955, FPRI (http://www.fpri.org/) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization devoted to bringing the insights of scholarship to bear on the development of policies that advance U.S. national interests and seeks to add perspective to events by fitting them into the larger historical and cultural context of international politics.
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Benjamin Tammuz
2013, pp. , e-Book
Translated by: Kim Parfitt, Mildred Budny
Region: Israel
Book collection: World Noir
Paper edition Paper edition Paper edition
Where to buy Where to buy Where to buy
On the day of his forty-first birthday, an Israeli secret agent encounters a beautiful young English woman. He immediately recognizes her as the woman he has been searching for all his life, the one he has loved forever. Though they have never met, he is certain that she is an essential part of his life’s destiny. Using all the tricks of his trade and his network of contacts, he takes control of her existence without ever revealing his identity. Alexander Abramov’s desperate, dangerous love for a woman half his age consumes everything in its path: time, distance, and rival suitors. Only his own story, of a life conditioned by isolation, distrust, and murder, can explain his devastating manipulation of the woman he professes to love. Four lives are entwined in this intricate story of a solitary man driven from one side of Europe to the other by his obsession. Riveting and full of suspense, as in the best spy-story tradition, Minotaur is also a highly inventive and original literary novel. Tammuz is a skilled writer whose commanding style makes of Alexander Abramov’s story a moving allegory of every man’s search for love.
Benjamin Tammuz was born in Russia in 1919 and immigrated to Palestine with his family at the age of five. He studied Law and Economics in Tel Aviv and later attended the Sorbonne in Paris, where he studied Art History. Tammuz was a sculptor as well as a diplomat and a writer, and was for many years the literary editor of the Ha’aretz newspaper. His numerous novels and short stories have been widely translated from the Hebrew and have received several literary prizes. Minotaur was selected Book of the Year in England in 1981. Benjamin Tammuz died in 1989.
The Telegraph: Minotaur chosen as one of the best classics and reissues of 2013
Monkeybicycle: "Tammuz...makes us rethink the way we view literature."
Crime Time Round-Up: "Character-based espionage fiction with the sophistication of the masters."
Tolstoy is my Cat: "An unsettling, beguiling and addictive literary thriller."
Kirkus: "With echoes of Kafka and Conrad, Israeli novelist Tammuz (Castle in Spain) has fashioned a provocative, spare, slow-to-unfold mystery of character."
Three Monkeys Online: "a largely unrecognised masterpiece."
All press All press All press
Carlo Bonini, Giancarlo De Cataldo
The Night of Rome
Maurizio de Giovanni
Cold for the Bastards of Pizzofalcone
Alan Parks
February's Son
Little Criminals
From the same country
Yishai Sarid
A spellbinding novel that takes the reader on a tumultuous journey through the conflicted Israeli mind.
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Hall of Fame and Super Bowl for Grimm?
Steve Doerschuk
Jan 30, 2009 at 12:01 AM Jan 30, 2009 at 2:54 AM
An amazing week for Russ Grimm boils down to a chance to become a Hall of Famer and win a Super Bowl within two days.
In the race to November, national politicians seemed fond of passing through Canton, Ohio.
Saturday’s Pro Football Hall of Fame election is different. The successful candidates for the Class of 2009 will come to Canton after the vote – and stay.
Len Pasquarelli of ESPN.com, one of 44 voters who will huddle for the 7:30 a.m. meeting at Super Bowl XLIII headquarters, guessed it will be a free-for-all after two obvious picks, Rod Woodson and Bruce Smith.
“The debate will be lively,” Pasquarelli said. “People have called it an argument. I think it’s a privilege to be in that room.”
Russ Grimm’s emotions wouldn’t fit in the largest room in Tampa.
Grimm fell in love with the Steelers while growing up in a small town near Pittsburgh. During his college years at Pitt, he could practically walk to Steelers playoff games, and he saw the Pirates win the 1979 World Series.
Now he’s in the Super Bowl as assistant head coach for an Arizona team that will face the Steelers on Sunday.
“If I weren’t playing against Pittsburgh,” Grimm said, “I’d definitely be rooting for the Steelers.”
But that’s not all. He’s a finalist in the Hall of Fame election. And he’s anything but nonchalant about being one.
“The Pro Football Fall of Fame ... you know ... it’s too big to block out,” Grimm said. “It’s one of those things ... when you’re done playing, that’s an honor you’d love to get.
“The decision is out of my hands. I’m gonna sit there and watch it.”
It’s in the hands of media members who are veterans of NFL coverage.
One who is under the gun is Mark Craig, a former Canton Repository writer now working in Minnesota. Craig has covered the NFL for nearly 20 years, but he will be a rookie in the election room, charged with making a case for three ex-Vikings -- Cris Carter, Randall McDaniel and John Randle.
Veteran voter Ed Bouchette, who represents the Steelers, chuckled when asked if he feels for Craig.
“The first year I had to vote was the 1995 season,” Bouchette said. “I had to cover the Steelers in the Super Bowl and make a presentation for four Steelers up for the Hall of Fame.
“So I know a little bit what Mark’s going through, but I don’t feel sorry for him.”
Craig said he’ll rely on his research and interviews.
“I’ll try to make the points you don’t see on paper and let the voters decide for themselves,” he said.
Each of the NFL’s 32 teams is assigned one representative. Twelve others are selected at-large.
Best known among these are Pasquarelli and Paul Zimmerman of Sports Illustrated (Jets), although Zimmerman suffered a stroke recently and will give his seat to Bob Gleuber this year.
At-large representatives include mostly national reporters, including Peter King of Sports Illustrated and John Clayton of ESPN.
The meeting has become a marathon. What used to be a noon press conference to announce election results now starts at 2:30 p.m. Bouchette said the race for the men’s room is a stampede when meetings finally break up.
Joe Horrigan, who flew in from Canton on Monday, will run the meeting for the Hall of Fame, although no one from the Hall votes.
First thing in the morning, Senior Committee nominees Bob Hayes and Claude Humphrey will be considered. If they receive 80 percent yes votes, they will move into the regular election. They will be joined by five finalists from the modern-era group.
One final vote will then be taken. Those getting 80 percent yes votes in the final election will be enshrined in Canton on Aug. 8.
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In Nagorno-Karabakh, mourning procession marks 22nd anniversary of tragedy in Maraga village
On Thursday, the village of Nor-Maraga of the Martakert District of Nagorno-Karabakh hosted a mourning procession, a rally and a ceremony of laying flowers in memory of the victims of the tragic events of 1992 in the village of Maraga. The rally voiced calls to punish the persons responsible for the destruction of the village and massacre of its inhabitants.
The village of Nor-Maraga (New Maraga), where the ceremonies were held, was founded in 1995. This is the village populated by residents of old Maraga and of other villages located in the north of the Martakert District, which is currently under the control of Azerbaijan.
The memorial rally voiced an appeal to the international community to demand a fair trial against organizers and perpetrators of the attack on the village of Maraga, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.
According to the 1989 population census, the village of Maraga had 4660 residents. According to Maraga residents, who currently live in the village of Nor-Maraga, prior to the events of April 10, 1992, the village suffered from intense artillery bombardments during several months, and some residents left the village by that time.
"IDPs demand privileges in Nagorny Karabakh", "Nagorno-Karabakh places data on Maraga tragedy in Internet", "Memorial day for the people missing during Karabakh conflict was held in Nagorno-Karabakh".
Author: Alvard Grigoryan; Source: CK correspondent
e21f6204
All news; Conflicts; Politics; Human rights; Society; Nagorno-Karabakh; Armenia; South Caucasus; Azerbaijan
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Dustin Savage
Even though I was nervous, my confidence was really boosted afterwards. It reassured me of my ability to present the work I’m doing and make it applicable and useful to the world.
Research and Graduate Studies - Student
By Juliana Palomino
Last August, a University of Kentucky doctoral student from small-town Louisiana traveled halfway around the world—alone—all for an organic chemical compound.
Dustin Savage, a third-year chemical engineering Ph.D. student, spent six days in Krakow, Poland. He attended DioXin 2018, an international conference with more than 500 professionals and researchers of environmental pollution and its remediation efforts, public policy and much more. Dustin even presented his own research at the accompanying International PCB Workshop.
Dustin works in the field of environmental remediation by examining water sources for organic contaminants such as polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs. These can cause numerous health issues.
“PCBs have been linked to many problems, including cancer. The real problem, though, is that we don’t know how bad they are until people are affected by them,” says Dustin. “We’re trying to stop those different health concerns from ever occurring.”
He and his team are developing sensing systems that test water samples. They currently use test solutions for experimental verification, and eventually this could be used for swift testing of natural water samples.
“Right now, testing water samples is a cumbersome process with complicated equipment and standards,” Dustin explains. “The idea behind what I’m making is that it’s a simple powder. You can put it in a water sample and immediately see if it’s contaminated or not. This will be faster and reliable for laboratories and general use.”
In Poland, Dustin presented this work and received praise and valuable feedback. Though talking about his work is now second nature to him, nervousness still gripped him immediately beforehand.
“Even though I was nervous, my confidence was really boosted afterwards,” he says. “It reassured me of my ability to present the work I’m doing and make it applicable and useful to the world."
Prior to beginning his doctoral studies at UK, Dustin earned two bachelor of science degrees in chemical and nanosystems engineering from Louisiana Tech University. He had heard about groundbreaking research at UK from Zach Hilt, UK Gill Eminent professor in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, which prompted him to move to the Bluegrass.
Dustin plans to finish his Ph.D. in the next two to three years. He also hopes to attend next year’s conference in Tokyo, Japan.
“After spending time as a graduate student, I can now take in a wider breadth of knowledge that formerly I would have cast aside because it was so foreign to me,” he says. “My understanding of basic principles has been augmented substantially. I understand now how everything around us really comes down to chemistry.”
Other Faces of UK Engineering
JoAnna Lio Amos
Monon Rahman
Edward Ojini
Caroline Gerwig
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The Full Story Behind The 'La La Land' And 'Moonlight' Oscars Mix-Up
Natalie Robehmed Forbes Staff
'La La Land' producer Fred Berger (R) speaks as production staff consult behind him regarding a presentation error of the Best Picture award, later given to 'Moonlight'. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Sunday night's 89th Academy Awards were marred by one major mistake: The erroneous announcement of La La Land as Best Picture over Moonlight.
In the final category of the evening, presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway incorrectly called it for the Damian Chazelle-directed movie-musical. Beatty opened the envelope and paused before passing it to Dunaway, who declared La La Land the winner of Best Picture.
Team La La Land were in the middle of eloquent speeches when Jordan Horowitz, one of the movie's producers, was reportedly shown an envelope by a stagehand that named Moonlight Best Picture. The source of the gaffe: Beatty had been given an envelope that contained the winner for the category of Lead Actress--the award that had been given to La La Land's Emma Stone directly prior to Best Picture.
Gallery: The Best Picture Oscar Nominees 2017
“There’s a mistake," Horowitz told the audience, as his confused crew members looked on. "Moonlight, you guys won Best Picture. This is not a joke,” he repeated, taking the correct envelope from Beatty and showing the camera its inscription.
Backstage, the press room erupted in exclamations. Host Jimmy Kimmel quickly took the mic and joked: "I blame Steve Harvey for this," in reference to Harvey's 2015 flub in which he named the wrong the Miss Universe winner.
Moonlight director Barry Jenkins handled the mix-up with aplomb, giving a nod to La La Land's cast in his brief acceptance speech. Backstage, Jenkins said that Beatty insisted on showing him the card before anyone else so he could see for himself that Moonlight had won.
"I think all the movies that were nominated were worthy so I accepted the result, I applauded like everybody else," recalled Jenkins backstage of the initial announcement. "I noticed the commotion but I was speechless when the result was altered. I've never seen that happen before."
Jenkins is correct that the mix-up was unprecedented. Perhaps the only similar moment in Oscar history traces back to 1933, when presenter Will Rogers said "Come and get it, Frank," and Frank Capra headed to the podium instead of the winner, Frank Lloyd.
So how could a mistake this major happen on a night watched by some 30 million Americans? The blame lies with accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, which handles the Oscar envelopes.
"We sincerely apologize to Moonlight, La La Land, Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, and Oscar viewers for the error that was made during the award announcement for Best Picture," a statement from PricewaterhouseCoopers read. "The presenters had mistakenly been given the wrong category envelope and when discovered, was immediately corrected."
Unfortunately for all involved, the error was not fixed instantly. A full two and a half minutes passed between La La Land's announcement and the correction, which was issued by a La La Land producer, rather than a show manager or even Kimmel. That no official stepped up to the mic to rectify the situation indicates a grave blunder on the organizers' parts.
"We are currently investigating how this could have happened, and deeply regret that this occurred," PricewaterhouseCooper concluded.
Speaking backstage to press, Stone backed up the two-card scenario. "I was holding my best actress card the whole time," she said, following her win for Best Actress.
For their part, the cast and crew of both La La Land and Moonlight were gracious in light of the error. "La La Land has resonated with so many people at this time that people need a sense of buoyancy in their life. So when their name was read I wasn't surprised, I was really happy for them," said Mahershala Ali, who won Best Supporting Actor for his role in Moonlight. "When I did see people coming out on stage and their moment was being disrupted, I got really worried. I didn't want to go up there and take anything from somebody," he said.
Moonlight's win brought its tally to three Oscars, including Best Adapted Screenplay. It is also the first LGBT story to ever win Best Picture.
While it it may not have nabbed Best Picture, La La Land led the night with six awards, including Best Director for Chazelle. At 32, Chazelle became the youngest director to ever win the category.
Read more on the Oscars:
Oscars 2017: The Full List Of Winners
'Moonlight' Wins Best Picture
Emma Stone Wins Best Actress For 'La La Land'
Casey Affleck Wins Best Actor For 'Manchester By The Sea'
Viola Davis Wins Best Supporting Actress For 'Fences'
Mahershala Ali Wins Best Supporting Actor For 'Moonlight'
Denzel Washington's $290 Million-Plus Earnings Make Him The Highest-Paid Oscar Nominee
Oscars 2017: By The Numbers
'La La Land' Is This Year's Top-Grossing Oscar Movie With $340.5 Million Worldwide
Follow me on Twitter. Send me a secure tip.
Natalie Robehmed
I'm an associate editor at Forbes covering media and entertainment, with a focus on the movie business. For the magazine, I've written cover stories on Kim Kardashian'...
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Emerging Market Pioneer Mark Mobius of Franklin Templeton Investments to Retire -- Update
By Aisha Al-Muslim Published January 05, 2018 FeaturesDow Jones Newswires
Emerging markets guru Mark Mobius, who has spent more than three decades with Franklin Templeton Investments, will retire from the global investment-management firm at the end of the month.
Franklin Templeton said Friday that Mr. Mobius, executive chairman of Templeton Emerging Markets Group, joined the firm to launch one of the first mutual funds dedicated to emerging markets.
"There is no single individual who is more synonymous with emerging markets investing than Mark Mobius," said Greg Johnson, Franklin Resources Inc. chairman and chief executive, in prepared remarks. Franklin Resources operates as Franklin Templeton Investments.
Mr. Mobius, who has worked in emerging markets for more than 40 years, managed Templeton's emerging markets team from 1987 to 2016. Templeton Emerging Markets Group had more than $28 billion in assets under management as of Sept. 30.
In early 2016, Mr. Mobius moved the management of the markets team to Stephen Dover, who was named chief investment officer of the group. Recently, Mr. Mobius has served as an external spokesperson for the group and often shared his views on emerging market investments.
Mr. Mobius last year received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Global Investor Magazine. He is a member of the Economic Advisory Board of the International Finance Corp., a member of the World Bank Group. He is also the author of several books, including "Trading with China," "The Investor's Guide to Emerging Markets," and "Mobius on Emerging Markets.
San Mateo, Calif.-based Franklin Resources had more than $753 billion in assets under management as of Nov. 30.
Write to Aisha Al-Muslim at aisha.al-muslim@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 05, 2018 13:52 ET (18:52 GMT)
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Tennessee man fatally shoots half-brother after argument over honey bun, police say
By Madeline Farber, | Fox News
Jerome Howse (Fayette County Sheriff's Department)
A teenager in Tennessee was allegedly shot dead by his half-brother after the pair got into an argument over a honey bun, police say.
The incident occurred around 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, authorities with the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office told Fox 13.
Marcus Jones, 18, was found dead at the scene. Police say Jones' half-brother, Jerome Howse, 34, allegedly fired a weapon after the two got into an argument over a honey bun and a “small amount of money,” Fox 13 reported.
Howse, who has been charged with second-degree murder and felon in possession of a firearm, is in custody. There is currently no bond, authorities told the news station.
A representative for the Fayette County Sheriff’s office was not immediately available for additional comment when contacted by Fox News on Thursday.
Madeline Farber is a Reporter for Fox News. You can follow her on Twitter @MaddieFarberUDK.
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Places to go / Vosges Massif /
The Great War on the Vosges Front
© Pierre Violet - AdobeStock
The Vosges Front is a mountainous area ranging from the Donon in the north and the Grand Ballon in the south. The old border between the German Empire and France from1871 to 1918, now in Alsace and the Lorraine, was the only area of the Western Front to see mountain fighting during the Great War
With transportation infrastructure and technology, impacts on the landscape and strategic challenges related to climate and geographic constraints, the Vosges mountains were the scene of numerous battlefields that now make it a genuine open-air museum.
A unique mountain warfare site
Under the Treaty of Frankfurt in May 1871, Alsace and part of Lorraine were annexed by the German Empire. These “lost" provinces inspired rich patriotic and nationalist literature, amplifying a source for revenge and giving rise to one of the secondary objectives of the First World War.
On 4 August 1914, the French army received the order to march on Alsace to seize the main towns and valleys. Mulhouse was occupied on 8 August, evacuated the next day and retaken on the 17th, before being definitively abandoned on the 25th.
Munster was invaded by French troops on 17 August and evacuated on 3 September, with scouts even making their way to the doorstep of Colmar.
After the initial phase of manoeuvre warfare, the front stabilised during October and November 1914. The Saint-Amarin and Masevaux valleys remained under French control. In the Vosges of Lorraine, the lines were determined by the border ridge (Violu), natural observatories (la Fontenelle, la Tête des Faux) or strategic positions (Chapelotte, Roche Mère Henry).
After the front was established on 12 September 1914 on Fontenelle Hill, a pre-war nursery school, the Germans and French found themselves in a head-on confrontation.A war of mines began in July 1915, while on the surface, a series of “coups de main” surprise attacks replaced the tactic of mass attacks. The remains of a remarkable iron observation ladder, the only one known to exist on the entire front, are still visible.
Major memorial sites
With the frontline originating at the Swiss border near Kilometre Zero, the Vosges mountains are overlooked by a mighty rocky spur that overlooks the plain of Alsace, the Hartmannswillerkopf, one of four national monuments dedicated to the Great War.
The French and Germans fought hard over this observation post. In 1915 alone, the peak changed hands 4 times. Fighting on this battlefield continued throughout the entire war, devastating it under the effects of shells, poison gas and flamethrowers. The success of a French offensive on the Mulhouse region was contingent on conquering the peak. The exact number of dead will never be known but at least 30,000 soldiers perished in fighting. A memorial crypt holding the remains of 12,000 unknown soldiers now honours them.
The oldest house in the village of Uffholtz, built in 1581, has been turned into a Memorial Shelter. Visiting it can be a precious step before exploring the “man-eating" mountain and the largest historical site of the Vosges Massif.
Inaugurated in 1973 in Saint-Amarin, the Serret Museum resides in an old courthouse that was used as an Alsatian mobile hospital. Today it contains extensive documentation on the battles and living conditions of soldiers.
Following the old front line to Vallée Noble is the largest Romanian military cemetery in France, the Soultzmatt Romanian Cemetry, inaugurated in 1924 by King Ferdinand and Queen Marie of Romania.
Between 20 July and 15 October 1915, a particularly deadly battle took place on the Linge Battlefield (17,000 soldiers died), followed by a warfare of attrition until 11 November 1918. This battlefield is classified as a historical site and is remarkable in that the well-preserved infrastructure of the solid German defence system and the vestiges of the loose soil trenches built by the French are stirring examples of trench warfare. The Linge Memorial Museum exhibits French and German objects that have been found on the site: weapons, ammunition, personal items and relics.
In order to bring first aid as close to the front as possible, in July 1915, the French army set up an mountain ambulance in the village of Mittlach, which was then back in French hands. This field hospital, now a museum, pays tribute to the lesser-known battles near Metzeral in June 1915 and the memory of General Serret and Colonel Boussat, who fell at Hartmannswillerkopf in December 1915.
In 1914, the Germans occupied the Tête des Faux peak, culminating at 1,220 metres. The Christmas Battle of 1914, fought under harsh winter conditions, resulted in 600 casualties in a single night.
However, the Germans built impressive fortifications that kept the situation at a stalemate until the Armistice.
Further along the old trench line, the Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines Pass is a border station between France and Germany that was controlled by the Germans from 1914. The surrounding peaks of Bernhardstein, Tête du Violu and Côte 607 became the theatre of a latent war.
The Saint-Dié-des-Vosges Museum is home to some exceptional items related to 1914-1918 military history. Ten display cases show uniforms, weapons, ammunition and documents from the Battle of Meurthe and battles at La Chipotte. A rare collection also recounts the famous exploits of flying aces Fonck and Guynemer.
In the Hure Valley, attrition warfare was used in a fight to gain control of the Fontenelle hills and quickly transitioned into a war of mines. A monument was inaugurated in 1925 near the cemetry where 2,348 French soldiers have been laid to rest.
From 28 August to 9 September 1914, La Chipotte Pass was the scene of hand-to-hand combat. Control of it switched between the French and Germans five times, killing 4,000 French soldiers who nicknamed it the "Hell Hole”. This French victory and that of the Marne helped crush the German invasion plan and the war of movement transformed into attrition warfare. La Chipotte Cemetry is a reminder of the heroic sacrifice of French soldiers.
In September 1914, the Germans set up camp near Moyenmoutier in the Val de Senones, the former capital of the Principality of Salm. Perched on a cliff, Roche Mère Henry promontory was attacked by the French several times until January 1915.
At the north end of the military contingent, between the Donon and Raon-l'Etape peaks, La Chapelotte is the last remaining monument that commemorates of the war of mines in the Vosges. In 1914-1918, some positions reached 120 metres deep.
The Germans built impressive fortifications in the soft sandstone rocks. These exploits can be seen at the Centre d’Interprétation et de Documentation 1914-1918 in Pierre-Percée.
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Titanfall Boss Discusses New Spinoff, Moving On From Titanfall 2, And The Franchise's Future
Titanfall on the smaller scale
By Alessandro Fillari | @afillari on August 3, 2017 at 11:30AM PDT
With the recent launch of Titanfall 2: Ultimate Edition, which is a compilation of all content for Titanfall 2, Respawn Entertainment will be winding down large scale support for last year's mecha action FPS. Despite this, they've still got plans for delivering more content for the futuristic franchise where mechs and parkouring pilots go hand-in-hand. Coming off of the cancellation of the mobile game Titanfall: Frontline earlier this year, Respawn is teaming with mobile game developer Particle City for the full release of the companion game Titanfall: Assault, a mobile RTS title, which saw a soft-launch back in May.
Set for full release on August 10, Titanfall: Assault will have players take on the role of a commander as they guide their crew of pilots, mechs, and other support units to capture territories from opposing forces. As you collect burn cards and upgrade your resources, you'll travel across a series of familiar territories and spaces--such as Angel City from Titanfall--and interact with other established characters from the series. While it may come off as an odd choice to turn a fast-paced and hectic game like this one into an RTS title, the creatives behind the series were set on re-thinking the series for the new platform.
GameSpot recently had the opportunity to sit down with Respawn CEO and Call of Duty co-creator Vince Zampella, as well as Particle City CEO Larry Pacey. We discussed the upcoming Titanfall RTS title and the current standing of the mech FPS franchise and the success it has found, and what's next for the series and for Respawn Entertainment itself.
GameSpot: The Titanfall franchise very much has Respawn Entertainment's name written all over it, so can you talk about what the collaborative process was like for Titanfall: Assault? Did this process focus on one-side pitching out their proposals to the other, or was it more cyclical in nature?
Vince Zampella: It's a little of both. We have guys at Respawn that are really into [Titanfall: Assault], and push out ideas for it. The guys at Particle City have ideas and they also push them out. Some of the ideas we push tend to get shot down, oftentimes it's like why did we think of them for the mobile game or for the main game, and the other way around. They'll try do one thing and we'll be like, "That doesn't fit the universe and here's why." So everyone's really creative and open, and there's a lot of discussions, but ideas really come from both sides.
Larry Pacey: What was really important was to carry forward the true tenants of the Titanfall universe, which are these fast and agile apex predators of the future battlefield which are these pilots. Our goal was to take advantage of those elements and bring those into a game like this. We also had to look at things like the design aesthetic, working closely with Respawn to deliver that triple-A calibur product on a mobile device. Looking how to simplify and communicate the key units on a smaller screen, with that same kind of presence and scale, was really important for us in how we move the franchise forward.
It must've been difficult to translate Titanfall to a different genre, especially one that's inherently slower paced. Can you talk about that process, what the challenges were in trying to bring the series, and all its lore, over to the RTS space?
VZ: It really was a trial and error type of thing. The good thing is that we have some kind of framework to what the universe actually is, and you tend to always think, "Well, we have a good idea on what the rules are." And then when you start getting into it you realize there's a number of different things to think about. Steve Fukuda, our franchise creative director, helped solved a bunch of problems that necessarily exist for the shooter, but that did start to exist for the new types of things we're doing for the universe. It's actually fun, when you think about all the backstories and characters, you have to put a whole universe together to draw from. It's a really fun process. It lets us expose characters that aren't necessarily in the game, or are just bit players and it gives you more life to the universe. It was a good process.
LP: It really came down to wanting to bring players together on a competitive landscape, and what better way to do that than by leveraging everyone's mobile devices. That was the impetus from day one, and we pretty much gave the team carte-blanche to go out and tell us what the perfect game for the mobile space would be. What they've come back with is Titanfall: Assault, and it's a real-time strategy game where you play the commander overseeing three pilots, three titans, and a library of support units in the form of burn cards.
What can you say about how Respawn handles Titanfall 2's content updates? One thing that much of the community loves about this game is that it's getting regular support in the form of large content updates--such as the recent Frontier Defense mode, patches, and other cosmetic updates. Can you discuss what the studio's mindset is on how they continue support for an existing game, while gradually moving on to another?
VZ: It's a delicate balance, really. We don't know where and when to stop supporting it. Frontier Defense was obviously something big for us to get out and to push for, and our numbers during the launch of FD were like five times the numbers since the initial launch, in terms of player count--and it's now starting to stabilize a bit. There's two or three times as many people playing Frontier Defense right now than all other multiplayer modes combined. That's very encouraging for us; I love to see that. It keeps the fans happy and engaged in the universe, and it also brings in some new players as well.
LP: For Titanfall: Assault, we're already there. For our soft-launch back in May, we've been gradually adding in free content like new cards with new traits, so we're already there with that. We're already rolling out new content with new features and events, we're constantly trying to add in new content and functionally , and finding what's best for players and the experience.
So with Frontier Defense out the door, can we expect to see more Titanfall 2 content like this after the release of the Ultimate Edition?
VZ: Probably not. We want to work on new stuff.
I'd be remiss not to mention this, but one thing that was talked about in the wake of Titanfall 2's launch was how crowded the 2016 holiday season. While Titanfall 2 seemed to have fallen short in sales compared to the original, the community is still present and accounted for. Do you have comments about how last year's sales season went?
VZ: The game was successful, it sold well, but it didn't quite sell as well as it should have. Maybe because it was super crowded, the pricing was aggressive--it was a rough window to launch our game. But we've got a really great fanbase. There's not really much negativity or acidity compared to other communities, so I'm very thankful for that. It's important for us to keep the franchise going. "We're doing more Titanfall," which is the quote I'm supposed to say. We have our franchise creative director, who's in charge of safeguarding the franchise in multiple formats and making sure it continues to grow. There's some other things we're doing that haven't been announced just yet, but we're heavily invested in the Titanfall universe.
Since this was your studio's debut franchise, it must have been exciting to see it grow and evolve into what it is today, and now releasing with a standalone game for mobile. Since you're working on another title--a Star Wars game with EA--can you speak to what the franchise has accomplished thus far?
VZ: We're very proud of what we have so far. As a new studio, we tried something different and new, and while it worked--maybe not well enough to remove the single-player--we kinda expanded with the follow-up, and we brought in the single-player, which turned out great. We're working on more Titanfall--we're not announcing what that is yet, but there's a few other things in the works--the mobile game, which turned out fantastic and is super fun, the fans love it and allowed us to expand on what we did in the last games. So I'm pretty happy with what the franchise has become.
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United Methodists explore divestment proposals
March 5, 2008 News media contact: Tita Parham*
NOTE: This article was produced and distributed Jan. 29 by United Methodist News Service.
By Linda Bloom**
FORT WORTH, Texas — Would divestment from companies connected to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land help bring about change in the Middle East?
Roger Kallenberg of Jewish Voice for Peace speaks in favor of a petition recommending United Methodist divestment from Caterpillar Inc., while Rabbi Gary Greenebaum (background) waits to speak against it on behalf of the American Jewish Committee. The United Methodist Board of Church and Society says Caterpillar profits from illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian land and contributes to the occupation by supplying Israeli Defense Forces with heavy equipment. About $5 million of the denomination’s estimated $17 billion pension portfolio is invested in Caterpillar stock. A UMNS photo by Marta W. Aldrich. Photo #08-0766.
Four United Methodist speakers explored that question during a Jan. 25 panel discussion on “Divestment, the Middle East and Sudan” during the Pre-General Conference News Briefing sponsored by United Methodist Communications.
General Conference, which meets every four years, is the denomination’s top legislative body. The 2008 assembly will be April 23-May 2 in Fort Worth.
The Rev. Steve Sprecher, a director of the United Methodist Board of Church and Society, called divestment “a time-honored policy” within The United Methodist Church.
Sprecher was part of the committee of the Board of Church and Society that led the social action agency to send a petition to General Conference recommending divestment from Caterpillar Inc., the heavy equipment manufacturer based in Peoria, Ill. The petition charges the company profits from illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian land and contributes to the occupation by supplying Israeli Defense Forces with heavy equipment.
About $5 million of the denomination’s estimated $17 billion pension portfolio is invested in Caterpillar stock.
A different Church and Society petition to General Conference applies to Sudan, asking those who invest United Methodist funds divest of all equity and debt holdings of companies doing business with the government of Sudan. The petition cites concern about the humanitarian crisis in Sudan’s Darfur region.
Resolution 312
Sprecher pointed to a resolution (#312) passed by the 2004 General Conference opposing Israeli settlements in Palestinian land. “This is the current policy of our church,” he said. “So how do we make it more than just words?”
The Rev. Steve Sprecher, a director of the United Methodist Board of Church and Society, presents the reasons behind the board’s petition for divestment from Caterpillar Inc., based on the manufacturer’s business practices in the Middle East. The denomination’s social agency charges Caterpillar profits from illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian land and contributes to the occupation by supplying Israeli Defense Forces with heavy equipment. A UMNS photo by Marta W. Aldrich. Photo #08-0767.
He stressed that the action against Caterpillar is proposed because the company’s bulldozers and other equipment are being used to clear Palestinian land, destroy Palestinian homes and olive groves and help erect the “wall of separation,” some of which is on Palestinian land.
The Rev. W. Douglas Mills, an executive with the United Methodist Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns, noted that divestment is not such a simple solution and could have a negative impact for a denomination that places a high value on Christian-Jewish relations, the horror of the Holocaust and the quest for peace in the Middle East.
The Commission on Christian Unity has its own General Conference resolution that calls upon United Methodists to continue “to advocate for a peaceful settlement of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians through negotiation and diplomacy rather than through methods of violence and coercion.”
Mills said he likes processes that foster dialogue and is “a big fan of shareholder advocacy.”
During General Conference, the denomination can show both Israelis and Palestinians “that United Methodists can stand for peace,” he added, while demonstrating to people in the American Jewish community that a relationship with them is considered valuable.
Selective divestment
Susanne Hoder, moderator of the Interfaith Peace Initiative and member of the United Methodist New England Annual (regional) Conference Task Force on Selective Divestment, stressed that divestment related to Israel is aimed only at companies that support the occupation of Palestinian lands.
The denomination must back up its previous stance on illegal Israeli settlements with action that will help bring about change. “In the past four years, the situation has not gotten better; it’s gotten markedly worse,” she said.
Hoder considers divestment to be “a legitimate Christian response” to the crisis. “If we are going to make a difference, we need to cut our ties to the occupation,” she added.
The New England Conference passed a resolution in 2005 calling for divestment from companies that support the Israeli occupation in significant ways. A June 2007 report from a conference divestment task force identified 20 companies fitting that description.
The denomination’s Virginia, California-Nevada and North Central New York conferences have also passed resolutions relating to possible selective divestment.
In a petition to General Conference, the Oregon-Idaho Conference is asking the church to “refrain and divest of companies that harm Palestinians and exacerbate the Sudan crisis.”
Advocacy and dialogue
Dave Zellner, chief investment officer with the United Methodist Board of Pension and Health Benefits, noted that his agency is recognized as “the leader among denominations” on investor advocacy.
He called for advocacy, rather than divestment, with Caterpillar. “With our partners, we are very effective in making change,” he said, citing negotiations with major drug companies to make therapy for diseases such as malaria and HIV/AIDS available at lower prices. With divestment, “we wouldn’t have had a voice at the table and may not have made the progress we have made.”
A position paper issued by the pension board on investments in companies doing business with Israel states that the agency “views divestment as a policy of last resort.”
The Rev. Timothy Bias asks if representatives of the United Methodist Board of Church and Society spoke directly with executives from Caterpillar Inc. before passing their resolution. The denomination’s social agency has submitted a petition to the 2008 General Conference recommending divestment from the heavy equipment operator based in Peoria, Ill. The petition charges that the company profits from illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian land and contributes to the occupation by supplying Israeli Defense Forces with heavy equipment. Bias is a General Conference delegate who serves a United Methodist church in Peoria, Ill., where Caterpillar is headquartered. A UMNS photo by Marta W. Aldrich. Photo #08-0768.
The Rev. Timothy Bias, a General Conference delegate and pastor of First United Methodist Church in Peoria, where 70 percent of the membership has employment ties to Caterpillar, questioned Sprecher on whether directors or staff from Church and Society had spoken directly with Caterpillar executives before passing their proposed resolution.
Sprecher acknowledged they had not, although Jim Winkler, Church and Society’s chief executive, recently met with Jim Owens, chairman of Caterpillar, who also is a United Methodist.
Bias noted that delegates to General Conference are being urged to engage in “holy conferencing” on divisive issues and questioned why the board did not engage in the same practice of dialogue and listening with representatives from Caterpillar. “It just seems to me that we would serve ourselves much better … if we would have conversations before we pass resolutions,” he said.
Several Jewish visitors spoke briefly during the short question and answer period for the panel. Mark Braverman, a member of Washington Interfaith Alliance for Middle East Peace, urged United Methodists to adopt divestment, adding that it was not an anti-Semitic action.
However, Rabbi Gary Greenebaum, U.S. director of the Department for Interreligious Affairs, American Jewish Committee, said such an action does “feel” anti-Semitic. He proposed investment in Israel rather than divestment.
**Bloom is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in New York. United Methodist News Service is the news service for The United Methodist Church and part of the ministries of United Methodist Communications in Nashville, Tenn.
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ON AIR - The Strawberry Alarm Clock
with Jim-Jim & Nobby
Up Next: GALA - FREED FROM DESIRE
Dublin Camogie Wait on Ruling
The controversial coin toss which was to decide the fate of the Dublin Senior Camogie team in this year's Liberty Insurance All Ireland Championship has been postponed.
Clare beat Derry in their final group game on Sunday - which meant they finished level on points with the Dubs. Both counties then lodged appeals against draw which was due to take place to decide who would progress to the last eight.
Dublin Camogie have issued the following statement... "The Executive of Dublin Camogie met on Thursday night and we wish to place on record our utmost disappointment to the process for identifying which teams should progress to the latter stages of a championship in the event that teams should finish level at the end of group games.
These procedures were outlined by the Camogie Association in a press release on Wednesday the 22nd July. For any team irrespective of the grade to face the possibility of going out of a competition by means of a lottery (toss of a coin) is hard to fathom, but for a Senior Inter County team to lose out in this manner is inconceivable.
For a number of year's Dublin have struggled at Senior Inter County level in both league/championship. However, this year the Dublin County Board invested heavily in all our county teams in an effort to ensure that we reached our potential on the field of play.
This year's Senior league campaign was most encouraging and we looked forward to the championship with a degree of optimism. Our Seniors came together as a group before Christmas and all told we have had in excess of 100 collective training sessions, not to mention the individual training which the girls did on their own time.
They have trained and been prepared under Shane O'Briens management and for a team with this dedication to face the possibility of exiting a championship on the "spin of a coin" is in our opinion unacceptable not to mention we feel disrespectful to the players and mentors in the extreme.
Dublin Camogie expect a lot better for its players who dedicate and sacrifice so much to our sport. The Dublin Camogie Board have put a lot of our limited resources into encouraging girls of all ages to take up this wonderful sport and although the Camogie association has put in a huge amount of positive work to encourage girls to take up the game, this recent decision by the Camogie association has made this task so much more difficult going forward.
Dublin Camogie has requested that Croke Park clarify the procedure for identifying the 3rd placed team in a group, where two teams finish level on points after the group stages have been concluded. It would appear from looking at the "Rules/Procedures" that the procedure for identifying a 3rd placed team in a group has been overlooked as there is no reference to this.
All that Dublin Camogie ask is that we be afforded the opportunity of progressing or otherwise on the field of play as opposed to the lottery that is now being proposed."
Sport Cullen in Line for Top Job in Leinster
Sport Dublin Bow out to Determined Deise
Sport Third place for Irish Cricketers in Qualifying tournament
Sport Froome claims second Tour victory
Sport Ireland's World Cup qualifying fixtures released
Sport Rovers go level on points with third placed Pats
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Sharing electronic records with patients gains traction, raises new concerns
More hospitals and physicians are choosing to provide their patients with access to their electronic records, but the practice is also raising new controversies, according to a recent article on National Public Radio.
In the article, Leana Wen, director of patient-centered care research in the department of emergency medicine at George Washington University, points out that sharing notes with patients has been a positive experience, enabling her to correct errors caught by patients' review of the records and providing information that helps her diagnose conditions more quickly. The access also increases trust.
She additionally reports that the OpenNotes program--which began as an experimental program among Boston-based Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Geisinger Health System and Harborview Medical Center in Washington state several years ago--has been so successful that it has spread to other health systems. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs also shares the data from its EHR system with its patients.
BIDMC earlier this year expanded the OpenNotes program further by allowing patients to access their mental health notes.
However, the trend, which has been predicted to become the standard of care, is not without unintended consequences and new "side effects." For example, questions have emerged regarding how much of the mental health notes a patient should have access to and how to deal with patients who post their records on social media.
And in research published last fall about OpenNotes, nearly one-third of more than 3,800 patients participating in the program reported concerns about privacy before beginning; close to 37 percent expressed concern about privacy after the intervention. The level of concern among most participants did not change during the intervention, but 15.5 percent reported more concern post-intervention, and 12.7 percent reported less concern.
Providing patients with access to their notes is one way to further patient engagement, one of the current buzz phrases in the industry. Patient engagement is also a primary tenet of the Meaningful Use program.
- read the NPR article
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India submits bid to host 2023 International Olympic Committee session in Mumbai
Published: June 25, 2019 8:12:21 PM
India had wanted to host the ongoing session but it lost to the Italian city of Milan.
India has earlier hosted an IOC Session in 1983 in New Delhi.
India on Tuesday proposed to host the 2023 International Olympic Committee session in Mumbai, which is expected to choose the host city for the 2030 Winter Olympics. Indian Olympic Association President Narinder Batra and IOC member Nita Ambani submitted the formal bid to the IOC chief Thomas Back on the sidelines of the governing body’s 134th Session here. “2022-2023 happens to be the 75th year of Indian Independence and what better way for Indian sports to celebrate the occasion by having the entire Olympic family/community in India,” Batra said. Batra is set to be elected as a new IOC member during the Session on Wednesday.
An IOC Session is the general meeting of the members (currently 100-odd) of the IOC, held once a year in which each member has one vote. It is the IOC’s supreme organ and its decisions are final. Extraordinary Sessions may be convened by the IOC President or upon the written request of at least one third of the members. The powers of a Session include adoption or amendment of the Olympic Charter, election of members of the IOC, Honorary President and honorary members, election of the President, Vice-Presidents and all other members of the IOC Executive Board, and election of host city of Olympics.
India had wanted to host the ongoing session but it lost to the Italian city of Milan. Later, Milan had to step back from the role after Italy decided to bid for the 2026 Winter Games instead. An IOC rule prohibits host city candidates from being elected in their home country. The Italian city was on Monday named as host of 2026 Winter Olympics. India has earlier hosted an IOC Session in 1983 in New Delhi.
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Geike Gorge was named after British geologist, Sir Archibald Geikie in 1883. The gorge features steep walls where the river has cut through the Geike Range, exposing a fine section of the Devonian Reef. It is 14 kilometres long, divided into two sections of approximately equal length. The 30 metre high walls are bleached white by sun and water to a height of about 10 to 12 metres above normal river level and fossils embedded in the limestone may be seen. Features of the gorge include the colours, reflections, freshwater crocodiles, fish and freshwater stingrays which add to the park's fascinating landforms. You may swim off the sandbank, but care is needed and there are three walking tracks. Wildlife abounds, including freshwater crocodiles which are not generally considered to be a threat to humans if left undisturbed. Because of their significance both banks of the river have been declared a sanctuary. The only permitted area for walking/run along the west bank from the southern boundary of the park to the beginning of the west wall of the gorge.
The road is sealed all the way from Fitzroy Crossing. It is suitable for all vehicles, trailers and caravans.
Open Times: 6:30am to 6:30pm daily in the Dry Season, there is no camping available. Entry is restricted during the wet season (December to March) when the Fitzroy River floods.
General Facilities Available: BBQ Facilities, Carpark, Picnic Area, Public Toilet, Sheltered Area. With prior permission, private boats are allowed on the waters outside of tour times. Please note that no pets are allowed in National Parks.
Department of Parks and Wildlife offer one hour boat cruises, seven days a week; you pay for these at the gazebo out at Geike Gorge, we recommend you arrive 30 minutes before the tour. Cash and EFT facilities are available
Adult $40.00
Concession $29.00
Child $10.00
Family $90.00
Tour times:
Darngku Heritage Cruises, are indigenously owned, and offer a range of boat and walking tours from $65.00 per adult. This tour can be booked online or please contact our friendly team to make a booking.
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Parental advisory: inexplicit content
Content warnings and advisories aren’t always as explicit as they should be, given the explicit material they’re designed to protect our kids against. Often couched in ambiguous terms, they can leave much to the imagination or to broad interpretation — with sometimes dubious or downright silly results.
The ESRB (Entertainment Software Ratings Board) says that its ratings “provide concise and objective information about the content in video games and apps so consumers, especially parents, can make informed choices.” For games in its “Everyone 10+” category, it warns that the content “may contain … mild language and/or minimal suggestive themes.” Isn’t “mild language” what a toddler speaks when she’s just getting beyond the babbling stage? And as for “minimal suggestive themes”, are we talking about American works of art from the ’60s and early ’70s, or sparse interior decors?
A common warning for parents is that “mild peril” is contained in children’s movies. Is there really such a thing as “mild peril”? Peril, according to most dictionaries, means “serious and immediate danger”. Can serious and immediate danger be mild?
The Classification Board in Australia (where, incidentally, the censorship of video games and internet sites is said to be the strictest in the western world) classifies all material shown in movies, TV and videos. Its “M” rated material is “recommended for people with a mature perspective but is not deemed too strong for younger viewers. Language is moderate in impact.” How do I know if I or my child — or my spouse or parent, for that matter — have a mature enough perspective to view said M movie? And if its language is only moderate in impact, should we be looking for another movie with a better screenplay?
Here’s another good one: “adult situations”. To quote Calvin and Hobbes (the cartoon characters created by Bill Watterson): Calvin: The TV listings say this movie has “adult situations.” What are adult situations? Hobbes: Probably things like going to work, paying bills and taxes, taking responsibilities… Calvin: Wow, they don’t kid around when they say “for mature audiences.”
According to the MPAA classification system, one of the criteria for the R rating is “pervasive language”. The new movie Nebraska is rated R “for some language”. Don’t most movie screenplays nowadays have “pervasive language” or “some language”? I thought they all did, at least since talkies were invented. Screenwriters beware: you might just write and rate yourself out of a job.
“Contains behaviour which could be imitated” is one of the BBC’s online content advisories. Well, first of all it’s mildly perilous grammatically: it should more properly read “contains behaviour that could be imitated” (better conjunction). But that’s for another discussion. Can’t a lot of behavior that you see online be imitated — whether or not you even want to try and be like Jack Donaghy in 30 Rock or Luke Skywalker in Star Wars? This advisory sounds more like an offering to stand-up comedians than a warning to parents of young and impressionable children.
Parental advisories for Batman Begins (and many other movies) warn of “revealing clothing” and “dysfunctional relationships”. Whoa. But do kids really need to follow the adventures of the caped crusader in order to catch a glimpse of either of those mildly perilous phenomena? I’d say they’re more like blanket content advisories for 21st-century life.
Here’s one of Wikipedia’s several stern disclaimers. It isn’t inexplicit or vague in any way, but it does seem just a little over the top, if not perhaps tongue-in-cheek:
“USE WIKIPEDIA AT YOUR OWN RISK: PLEASE BE AWARE THAT ANY INFORMATION YOU MAY FIND IN WIKIPEDIA MAY BE INACCURATE, MISLEADING, DANGEROUS, ADDICTIVE, UNETHICAL OR ILLEGAL.”
Moving on from the (presumably) unintentionally inexplicit warnings, here are some spoof advisories that were designed for our entertainment. Warning: explicit content follows. (And I’m not being ironic; it really does.)
The musical show Avenue Q has warnings such as “PARENTAL ADVISORY: 60% adult situations and 40% foam rubber”, and “Not appropriate for children due to language and adult content such as full puppet nudity”.
Another show, Jersey Boys, offers this disclaimer: “This musical contains smoke, loud gunshots, strobe lights, and authentic, offensive Jersey vocabulary”.
Monty Python’s The Album of the Soundtrack of the Trailer of the Film of Monty Python and the Holy Grail contains this warning: “There is little or no offensive material [on this record] apart from four cunts, one clitoris, and a foreskin. And, as they only occur in this opening introduction, you’re past them now.”
One of the tag-lines for the 2008 movie An American Carol reads: “WARNING! This movie may be offensive to children, young people, old people, in-the-middle people, some people on the right, all people on the left, terrorists, pacifists, war-mongers, fish mongers, Christians, Jews, Muslims, atheists, agnostics (though you’d have to prove it to them), the ACLU, liberals, conservatives, neo-cons, ex-cons, future cons, Republicans, Democrats, Libertarian, people of color, people of no color, English speakers, English-as-a-second language speakers, non-speakers, men, women, more women, & Ivy League professors. Native Americans should be okay.”
This entry was posted in Nit-picking, Words, phrases & expressions and tagged adult situations, ESRB, explicit content, funny content warnings, mild language, MPAA language, pervasive language warning on November 23, 2013 by Louise.
← TGIF: That Gerund Is Funky (Nov 22) Snowclones are the (not so) new cliches →
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Sun Temple
Hub(s) : Junagadh
To the north of the Triveni Ghat sits the revered shrine, popularly known as the Sun Temple. The temple is renowned for its architecture which nestles engraved caricatures of animals and birds. The shrine is nestled within the leisurely town where the divine river of Saraswati joins the sea. Like the Somnath temple, this shrine was also subjected to attacks by invaders
By road: Somnath is 79 km from Junagadh and 25 km from Chorwad. State transport buses and private luxury coaches connect various centres of Gujarat to Somnath. 1 km from main Somnath Temple
By rail: Somnath is located 6 km from the nearest railway station at Veraval.
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Bus station plans move a step closer to reality
CIVIC chiefs have taken a step closer to getting improvements at Winchester Bus Station after appointing two firms to the project.
Winchester City Council has appointed Carl Turner Architects (CTA) and Winchester-based creative Worthwhile Works to carry out a feasibility study into the short-term options for the unused section of the site.
It has been identified as an area that could be used for ‘meanwhile uses’ before the start of wider regeneration work of the Saxon Gate (commonly known as Silver Hill 2) area.
Cllr Caroline Brook, chairman of the council’s Meanwhile Uses Advisory Panel, said: “The exciting project to create meanwhile use of an unused area of the bus station is an integral part in the Saxon Gate project and the feasibility study to ensure any work done on the site is achievable and sustainable, is a key step forward in this project.
“The detailed proposal that Carl Turner Architects (CTA) and Worthwhile Works put forward met many aspects of our brief and we are looking forward to taking the first steps to investigate what can be done in the bus station location.”
Plans have been floated by the city council to turn the space into a hub for food and retail pop-up businesses, similar to those in York and London.
The bus station will eventually be vacated by the buses, which, according to the scheme’s supplementary planning document, could relocate to the Middle Brook Street car park.
Architect Carl Turner said: “Winchester is full of rich history and exciting possibilities for the future. We are looking forward to exploring the potential of this historical site to ensure any work carried out will benefit everyone.”
Wendy Wyatt, of Worthwhile Works, added: “As well as incredible heritage, Winchester is full of talent – incredible food producers, a world class art school, a thriving arts scene and an abundance of creative businesses. We want to explore how we can help Winchester’s community to further encourage participation, wellbeing and growth.”
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Georgian Of The Year: Putting The House In Order
Speaker David Ralston restored order and dignity last session. This year’s challenges are different, but still daunting.
Susan Percy,
Speaker of the House David Ralston thinks the fraternity-party image that attached itself to the House under his predecessor was overblown.
Nonetheless, that perception helped fuel his determination to put the House in order and insist that members get serious about the business of lawmaking during the 2010 General Assembly session.
Ralston, who has been in public life since 1992 and in the House since 2003, is a conservative Republican lawyer from Blue Ridge. He first challenged then-Speaker Glenn Richardson – unsuccessfully – in 2008 for the top job and was stripped of his key committee roles by Richardson in retaliation.
When scandals forced Richardson to resign his post in late 2009, Ralston ran again and won handily, boosted by votes from 11 Democrats.
By any standards, but especially in contrast with the two previous sessions, the 2010 session was dignified and serious, befitting the issues it had to deal with. Ralston is proud that it was a productive session, too – passing legislation dealing with water, transportation and ethics that had been talked about but neglected in prior years.
For his leadership in restoring dignity to the House of Representatives, Speaker David Ralston is Georgia Trend’s 2011 Georgian of the Year.
As his friend and colleague Rep. John Meadows (R-Calhoun) puts it: “Things are so much better now you can’t stand it.”
Georgia’s U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, whom Ralston has said he considers a role model, says, “David Ralston has shown the capacity, the intellect and the drive to be a great speaker of the House. David always gets the job done because he never seeks the credit, only the right result.”
In a time of harsh rhetoric and snarling charges and counter-charges on the state and national levels, he stands out as a new model of leadership bolstered by determination and civility.
Even in the darkest days of 2008 and 2009, Ralston never lost faith in his colleagues, despite the “boys’-club” shenanigans and the outright abuses of power.
“I know those House members, and I know that 99 percent of them are good, decent, honorable people who are here for the right reasons. So I think the image that there was some sort of fraternity party was somewhat exaggerated, but to the extent that it was there, it was hurting a lot of people,” Ralston says. “I thought the best way to get rid of that exaggerated image was to have a new kind of leadership that focused not on self-interest but the interests of the entire House and the entire state.
“What we had to realize was that people pay attention to what we do, and they have more and better ways to pay attention. The best way to get the message out that these are good people … is [for us to] do good work.
“People tend, in terms of leadership, to conform to the model. We had to have a model this past session, and we will again next year. We have some tough work to do, some big challenges,” Ralston says. “The people of Georgia will not always agree with every single thing we do. But I do want them to know that we are working hard and have their interests at heart.”
No More Eggshells
Meadows says of Ralston: “He has his own ideas, but his strength is that he brings people together. Whether you’re a Republican, a Democrat or an Independent, he’s going to give you the opportunity to voice your opinion. In the House, there are 180 of us, and all 180 of us have ideas about where we should go. He listens to us and tries to hammer out a solution.”
The biggest difference since Ralston became speaker?
“You don’t walk around there on eggshells anymore. It’s more relaxed,” says Meadows.
“There were a lot of naysayers who wondered if a good ol’ boy from Blue Ridge could do it, or if he was out of his league. But he brought us back together. Those of us in the House have a lot of confidence in him.”
Ralston says it’s a team effort. “I rely on a large number of House members to give me input on various issues. I have the best staff any speaker has ever had in Georgia. They know I like to inform myself of both sides before we wade into a fight. There are people outside of the Capitol I turn to. I know they’re going to tell me the truth. I know my staff is going to tell me the truth. Finally, you have your own sense of priorities in terms of issues and your own values and your own views of things. All of that kind of works together to help you set the legislative table. “
The speaker is notable for his even-handed approach, even when he has strong opinions on an issue. During last year’s session, Ralston, who describes himself as pro-life, intervened to rewrite an anti-abortion bill (HB 1155) that he felt went too far and was designed specifically for a court challenge.
“My entire legislative record is pro-life. At the same time my duty as speaker is to make sure that what legislation will pass really has meaning to people in our state. On that specific issue I believed very strongly that the goal wasn’t to save lives, the goal was to get a lawsuit; and I frankly didn’t want the House to be a part of that.
“This House, as long as I’m here, is not going to be captive to any special interest, to any agenda. We’re going to be independent and look at each piece of legislation on its merits.”
A Difficult Route
Ralston’s climb to the speaker’s office wasn’t an easy one. He served in the state senate from 1993 until 1998, when he lost a statewide race for Attorney General to Democrat Thurbert Baker; that kept him out of public life until he won a house seat in 2002.
“Everything you do in life prepares you for the next challenge. I had a lot of years serving here in the legislature, many of those years in the minority party. That’s actually a pretty good laboratory, because you can’t implement very much, but you have a lot of opportunity to observe and reflect on how you would do things. I think those years were important.
“Your entire view of the world is shaped by your life – who you are and where you’re from and what drives you. I have a very deep appreciation for our state’s history, and I appreciate serving in the Georgia House as sort of an opportunity to be a part of that. It’s kind of taking a longer view.”
He says he’s learned more from losing, especially in 1998, than winning.
“The first thing I learned from that is that losing is not fatal. I got up the next morning and I still had a pulse. It gave me the opportunity to be away from public life for a number of years – it shaped my perspective.”
His unsuccessful 2008 race against Glenn Richardson, then the sitting speaker, brought its own perspective. “I think that brought into focus my view of this office more than anything I had done in my legislative life up to that point. It sort of reinvigorated me. I don’t know that we have many opportunities in our public lives to do what you just really believe is the right thing to do, knowing the consequences if it doesn’t work out, knowing that going in. I was absolutely convinced it was the right thing to do.
“I had no regrets during the challenge or after the challenge. I obviously could not foresee what later happened – a very tragic thing. I think we always get renewed by throwing ourselves into something just because we think it’s the right thing to do, whether it’s the expedient or popular thing to do.”
The Tough Ones
Ralston is confident that his focused, less-is-more legislative approach will work as well in the 2011 session as it did his first year as Speaker – even though the novelty of his election will be behind him.
“If you truly believe in limited government, which I do, you don’t need to get mired into seeing how many bills can pass. I want us to see how few we can pass. I believe instead of doing a lot of things and doing them halfway, let’s do a few things and get them right. We did that last session – on the budget, on transportation, on ethics, on water. We went in and said these are things we have to do; this is where our focus is going to be. That’s what I intend to do next session.”
The biggest challenge, he believes, will be the budget. “Obviously, that’s the overriding issue. That will be the focus of much of our work.”
Ralston sees immigration as a particularly tough issue the General Assembly will be dealing with in its 2011 session.
“I view the issue in terms of are we going to continue to be a nation that abides by the rule of law? We have laws. The really unfortunate part of this issue is that the solution ought to have been federal, and the federal government for a multitude of reasons has completely failed to manage this issue. That leaves the states with a wide range of abilities to handle the issue within their borders.
“And I think that what really frustrated me was that whether you like it, or favor it or oppose it, the state of Arizona came up with a law that went through the legislative process and was signed into law by the governor, and now the federal government is suing the state to stop enforcement of a properly passed law.
“This is not about being intolerant at all – it’s not about trying to stop tourism or economic development or all the other issues you hear about. At the end of the day the people of Georgia still believe we are a nation of law, and we have rules that govern a path to citizenship.”
Last fall, Ralston and Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle appointed a joint legislative committee on immigration. “We want to get a handle on it. I anticipate there will be a heavy volume of legislation on this subject. I think it’s important to get a head start looking at this – whether it’s an Arizona-type law, whether the law deals with state benefits such as the HOPE Scholarship, college and higher education benefits, state contracting – [so] we will have a fair, reasonable piece of legislation that reflects that we still are a nation that abides by the law.”
Ralston also wants to change the tone of the legislature’s relationship with local governments, “to end the war” as he puts it.
But he is keeping his eye on signs of trouble from some local school systems and believes the state may need to play a larger role than in the past – particularly to avoid any further loss of accreditation, like Clayton County schools experienced two years ago. (The accreditation has since been restored.)
“If you have a school system that has lost its accreditation, then you have a huge number of young people that are going to be penalized for the mismanagement or corruption of adults. That’s intolerable. We need to have a discussion so we understand where we set the bar when it comes to state intervention. But it is absolutely inexcusable for us to turn a blind eye to failing local entities – they serve the same [people] we serve.”
Ralston is pretty clear-eyed about the work ahead of him, especially on the budget, which is the House’s major responsibility. But he is optimistic.
“I really believe our state’s best days are ahead of us. We’re all working for the same thing here. I’m optimistic we are going to meet the challenges because I have seen what happened last session. We came in at a time that morale was poor [and] there was a lot of turmoil in the House, but we saw a group of men and women come together and climb that mountain. There will be a lot of challenges because of the budget, but I know it can be done.”
His colleague John Meadows says Ralston has the right combination of temperament and toughness to get things done.
“David’s not much of a politician,” Meadows says, “but he’s a hell of a statesman.”
Categories: Features, Georgian of the Year, People
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Thomas Jefferson University Location
Located in Charlottesville, Virginia, the third US President Thomas Jefferson designed Monticello as his plantation home. He.
Located in six states and completed between. Several of the American sites on the list are national parks. Thomas.
Democrats Are Losing Support Apr 30, 2018 · Democrats are losing support among the millennial block of voters, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll published Monday. The survey found that. Which Was Not Included In The Articles Of Confederation George Washington For Kindergarteners George Washington was supposed to be buried at the U.S. Capitol but his will stated that he
Located at 1065 31st St. NW (between North Canal Street. with 4.5 stars out of 4,254 Yelp reviews. Head over to 1052.
What Role Did Benjamin Franklin Play In The Revolution Women’s Rights Republican Party Apr 13, 2015 · Women, people of color, and LGBT, these groups are the foundation of the Democratic Party, the bulwark, the heart, the core. Its stance in support of the helpless, the old,the poor, the hungry, the homeless, that is its soul. seeks to change then name of the Equality Act
Thomas Jefferson wrote out a recipe for it in longhand. 1387 Westwood Boulevard, Los Angeles, and another location in.
John F. Kennedy Quote What Role Did Benjamin Franklin Play In The Revolution Women’s Rights Republican Party Apr 13, 2015 · Women, people of color, and LGBT, these groups are the foundation of the Democratic Party, the bulwark, the heart, the core. Its stance in support of the helpless, the old,the poor, the hungry, the homeless, that is its soul.
We’re here to help you cull the long list of options and find the right movie night for your preferences and location. A few.
As cancer treatments improved, it grew so rapidly that Mercy executives moved it to a spacious first-floor location that had.
What Year Did Benjamin Franklin Invented Bifocals We live in one of the most powerful nations in history, and for 241 years. Did you know Benjamin Franklin was a well-known lothario back in his day? Honestly though, how can anyone resist an. Nov 2, 2018. Many believe Benjamin Franklin invented the bifocal lenses, When spectacles were first invented they helped improve one's
And the city council in Charlottesville, Virginia – where Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello plantation is located – voted this.
Abraham Lincoln Odd Facts The first debate between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas, candidates for a U.S. Senate seat representing Illinois, took place on Aug. 21, 1858, or 160 years ago today. They weren’t exactly civil. What do you know about Abraham Lincoln? That he was the United States’ 16th president? That he was tall? That he wore a
Located at 514 12th Ave., Across Seattle University (between Jefferson Street and Barclay Court. Suite 14 (between Olive.
The Aftermath Of A War Usa History Admittedly, today I’m more likely to browse the history section, which has horrors enough for us all, many of which eclipse. Those who spoke out against West Ford were less concerned about the effects of the test program. In the early decades of. I use “white power” to name the movement that, in the aftermath
Previous What Else Did George Washington Carver Invent Next Abraham Lincoln Odd Facts
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P&G winners’ stories: Kay Groves
Holly Arnold March 1, 2012 9:30 am
In November P&G, the Proud Sponsor of Mums, launched the Champion Mums’ Foundation: A campaign offering hardworking mums the chance to be awarded a bursary from a whopping £150,000 pot. The only stipulation
was that the award had to be used towards making a positive difference to the winners’ lives as mums, to their family or to the community. Here Kay Groves, a 41
-year-old mum from
Paddock Wood, tells us what winning the prize meant to her…
‘As I walked down the street towards our house with my two daughters, I let out a sigh. ‘Everything has changed so much.” I said to Eloise, now 11, and Amy, now 8.
‘I’d grown up here, in the small town of Paddock Wood. I’d gone to school here and witnessed the place go slowly downhill. The local park was run down and had been vandalised. Some of the slides were so old they’d been deemed dangerous and removed. The crime rate in the area had been going up, too, because the kids had nothing to do except hang around on the street and get caught up in trouble.
‘So me and a few other mums in the area set up the Play Paddock Wood community group. We drew up some plans and ideas to raise money for the play areas in the park back in 2009.
‘Since then we’d managed to sort out two small kids’ park areas, but the teenage sections still needed tackling. It was a big job, there was a lot of damaged equipment and the work was going to cost thousands of pounds.
“Where are we going to get that sort of money?”we all wondered. It would take endless fundraising events. I decided to look on the internet for some possible funding options.
‘That’s when I came across the P&G Champion Mums’ Foundation, which was offering mums the chance to be awarded a bursary to help themselves, their families or community. It was the opportunity we’d all been looking for.
‘I filled in the form but I didn’t think we’d hear anything back. When I got a call to say we’d been shortlisted for an award I couldn’t wait to tell all the other mums at the group!
‘We tried not to get our hopes up, but a couple of weeks later… “We’ve been awarded a bursary!” I told the group excitedly. It was the best news we’d had since we formed. We immediately started making plans for the new area and even got local kids to share their ideas with us.
‘Work started just a few months later. Now the kids have a skate park, basketball hoops, and cricket stumps to name just a few things. There will be equipment that’s suitable for all ages and abilities, including children in wheelchairs.
‘It’s going to help the whole community so much – the kids are all really excited about their new area and can’t wait to use it. Instead of waiting years for this to happen, this award has made so many people in our little town very happy now. Thank you so much P&G!’
Behind the prize
For the past 170 years P&G has been developing products to make mums’ lives that little bit easier, such as Bold and Shockwaves. As the Proud Sponsor of Mums, it’s helping in other ways to say a big thank you for all the amazing things mums do. Find out more online at www.thankyoumum.pg.com
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www.gov.nt.ca » Newsroom » Government of the Northwest Territories offers enhanced programs with increased funding to Arctic Energy Alliance
Government of the Northwest Territories offers enhanced programs with increased funding to Arctic Energy Alliance
Yellowknife — November 22, 2018
The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT), in partnership with the Arctic Energy Alliance (AEA) released details today on the $9.12 million in new funding for AEA over the next four years, as well as announced changes to funding for solar projects in hydropower communities across the NWT.
Both announcements are in response to the Arctic Energy Alliance Program and Service Review that was commissioned last year.
The $9.12 million in new funding – which nearly doubles the AEA’s budget will significantly enhance the organization’s programs and services to help Northerners reduce their GHG emissions and lower their energy costs. The funding will be used to enhance existing AEA programs, and to introduce new programs, including support for energy upgrades for owners of older, less efficient homes and low-income home owners, as well as support to NGOs for energy retrofits.
Seventy-five percent of this new funding, for a total of $7.096 million, comes from the recently-announced $23 million provided by the Government of Canada as part of the Low Carbon Economy Leadership Fund. The GNWT will provide the remaining twenty-five percent, or $2.024 million. This new investment is in addition to the $3 million in annual funding AEA already receives from the GNWT.
A key finding of the program and service review was that AEA should focus more on programs that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, such as biomass, and less on low-impact technologies like solar panels in hydro communities, where GHG emissions are already being mitigated due to the availability of renewable hydroelectricity. As a result, grid-connected renewable electricity projects in hydro communities will no longer be funded, to allow resources to be focused on projects that will meaningfully reduce GHG emissions. Applicants currently on the waiting list for the Alternative Energy Technologies Program will still have an opportunity to receive funding.
The GNWT has been and will continue to will work with AEA to implement the needed enhancements over the next year.
“The Government of the Northwest Territories is committed to an energy system that contributes to the territory’s economic, social and environmental wellbeing. This announcement supports our commitments under the 2030 Energy Strategy to make energy upgrades more accessible for low-income households, while also increasing support for communities. It will also expand energy efficiency and alternative energy rebates for NWT residents and businesses.” —Wally Schumann, Minister of Infrastructure
“This is an exciting time to be part of the Arctic Energy Alliance. We’re thrilled to receive this additional funding from the GNWT and the Government of Canada. The AEA is dedicated to helping Northerners reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy costs, and this funding will allow us to make an even bigger impact.” —Mark Heyck, Executive Director
The AEA is a not-for-profit society that delivers public facing energy efficiency, conservation and renewable energy programs and service to communities, residents and business across the NWT on behalf of the GNWT.
The GNWT provides funding to the AEA to administer public facing energy efficiency, renewable and alternative energy programs and services to residents, businesses and communities in the NWT.
Together, the GNWT and AEA have been working together to phase out funding for solar projects in hydro communities. As part of the process, the GNWT has allowed the AEA to reallocate up to $75,000 in funding to the Alternative Energy Technologies Program to ensure applicants currently on the this year’s wait list an opportunity to receive funding before support solar in hydropower communities becomes unavailable.
The AEA will phase in $9.12 million in new funding and programs over the next several months, with full implementation on April 1, 2019. Funding is limited to projects and rebates that result in GHG emissions reductions.
Under the 2030 Energy Strategy, the GNWT has committed to increasing building energy efficiency by 15% and doubling renewable heating to 40% by 2030.
The new funding program will reduce greenhouse emissions in the NWT by 3,425 tonnes yearly by 2030.
2030 Energy Strategy
2018 – 2021 Energy Action Plan
Arctic Energy Alliance
Arctic Energy Alliance Program and Service Review
Environment and Climate Change Canada News Release
AEA Media Contact:
Kevin Cull
Email: kevin.cull@aea.nt.ca
GNWT Media Contact:
Department of Infrastructure Communications
Phone: 867-767-9082 (extension 32025)
Email: INF_Communications@gov.nt.ca
Twitter: @GNWT_INF
Backgrounder - AEA Program Review
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H.R. 2548 (113th): Electrify Africa Act of 2014
To establish a comprehensive United States Government policy to encourage the efforts of countries in sub-Saharan Africa to develop an appropriate mix of power solutions, including renewable energy, for more broadly distributed electricity access in order to support poverty reduction, promote development outcomes, and drive economic growth, and for other purposes.
Edward “Ed” Royce
Sponsor. Representative for California's 39th congressional district. Republican.
This bill was introduced in a previous session of Congress and was passed by the House on May 8, 2014 but was never passed by the Senate.
What legislators are saying
“<span class='\"kicker\"'>Smith hearing focuses on helping power a better future for Africa</span>Increasing Electricity and Improving Energy Resources in Africa”
— Rep. Christopher “Chris” Smith [R-NJ4] (Co-sponsor) on Nov 14, 2014
“U.S. Rep. Meeks Statement on the House Foreign Affairs Committee Markup of the Bipartisan H.R. 2548, Electrify Africa Act of 2014”
— Rep. Gregory Meeks [D-NY5] (Co-sponsor) on Feb 28, 2014
“On the House Floor This Week - 5/5/14”
— Rep. John Delaney [D-MD6, 2013-2018] on May 5, 2014
More statements at ProPublica Represent...
We’re also collecting the statements of stakeholder organizations. Your organization’s position statement could be on this page! Register your organization’s position on this bill »
Ordered Reported
A committee has voted to issue a report to the full chamber recommending that the bill be considered further. Only about 1 in 4 bills are reported out of committee.
Read Updated Text » See Changes »
Passed House (Senate next)
The bill was passed in a vote in the House. It goes to the Senate next.
View Vote » Read Updated Text » See Changes »
Reintroduced Bill — Introduced
GovTrack.us. (2019). H.R. 2548 — 113th Congress: Electrify Africa Act of 2014. Retrieved from https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr2548
“H.R. 2548 — 113th Congress: Electrify Africa Act of 2014.” www.GovTrack.us. 2013. July 17, 2019 <https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr2548>
Electrify Africa Act of 2014, H.R. 2548, 113th Cong. (2013).
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/ Insights / Now Hiring: Chief Cynical Officer
Now Hiring: Chief Cynical Officer
Chief Client Officer, Danica Ross reflects on brand communication in an age of transparency.
#LeggingsGate, Pepsi… it seems otherwise-respected brands are increasingly suffering from “foot in mouth disease.” Why?
Largely because they’ve failed to adapt to the new era of transparency, in which brands, corporations and individuals are publicly held to account via social media. And brands that fail to take this expectation of transparency and ethical behavior into account do so at their own peril.
If brands do something offensive or insensitive they will be pilloried – and rightly so. But what about those brands that were well-meaning, but mis-stepped?
Let’s look at Pepsi. The tone-deaf ad, featuring Kendall Jenner and apparently making serious protest look like nothing more than a fun day out, prompted justifiable outrage in many quarters. Others have said, “I’m not offended, it’s just laughable to insinuate that a carbonated soft drink can solve all of our problems.” I’m sure Pepsi intended it to be their version of the seminal 1971 Cocoa-Cola ad, I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke. But while many have drawn parallels between the America of today (Trump, Russia scandal, Vietnam demonstrations…) with the America of then (Nixon, Watergate scandal, Black Lives Mater demonstrations and women’s marches…) we live in a different era. The two ads may not be so different in their intent, but the 40 plus years that separate them have seen a huge change in the mindset of the consumer, and, through technology, in their ability to engage with brands in real time.
Now let’s turn to #LeggingsGate, the lessons from which I addressed here, at the time. At the heart of the issue was a dress code that said people flying as representatives of the airline need to dress ‘professionally’ – for lack of a better word. This isn’t a bad thing. But, alas, it was mis-enforced, and United did mis-step, making the well-intentioned policy appear not only sexist, but faintly ludicrous into the bargain. More importantly, they did so in front of someone who was quick to call the airline out via Twitter.
And therein lies the danger. We live in a society where people are quick to judge, and quick to tweet, and reputations can be damaged in no time. No matter that United’s policy was well-intentioned; no matter that Pepsi’s ad was well-intentioned. What matters is the perception.
So, what’s a brand to do? Cyber security experts know that one of the best ways to ensure something is hack-proof is to hire a hacker to build or test it. And surely that is the lesson for brands – to stress test things with the people in the room who are most likely to arch an eyebrow and say, “Really? Have you thought about how this will look?”. A Chief Cynical Officer, if you will. And in my experience, the person best qualified to fulfil that role is usually the PR person. Because you can be sure it’s they who are cleaning up the mess at United Airlines and Pepsi right now.
Danica Ross
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Helen Thorpe
READER’S GUIDE FOR THE NEWCOMERS
1. Why did the author choose to situate herself inside Room 142? What takes place in that classroom and in the United States over the course of the 2015-2016 school year?
2. The classroom is occupied by one teacher, a paraprofessional, a therapist, and twenty-two students, in addition to the author. Who were the main characters of the book, in your mind? Why did the author focus on those individuals? Who was your favorite character and why?
3. Which countries are represented in Room 142? Which countries in the world send the most refugees to the United States?
4. In addition to spending time inside the newcomer room at South High, the author also spends a lot of time visiting several families at home. What did you learn by being offered a view into the homes of these families?
5. What happened in Iraq, and in Syria, that resulted in Ebtisam and her three children arriving in the United States?
6. What happened in the Democratic Republic of Congo that resulted in Tchiza, Beya, and their nine children arriving in the United States?
7. The classroom also includes two students, Hsar Htoo and Kee Reh, whose families originally fled from Burma (Myanmar), although both of those boys were born inside refugee settlements in Thailand. What led their families to flee Burma?
8. Why are Lisbeth and Saúl in the United States? How did their journeys from El Salvador differ from the other students that the author focuses on? What does it mean to be an "unaccompanied minor" and what does it mean to seek "asylum" in the United States? What is the difference in legal terms between an immigrant, a refugee, and an asylum seeker?
9. How do the students in the classroom "map" the global refugee crisis as a whole, as the author says? Did the US play a role in these displacements?
10. How did your sense of the students change over time? What was it like for the students when they first arrived? How did they evolve?
11. Why did the author choose to put herself into the narrative? What purpose did that serve? As the author mentions, her family immigrated from Ireland. How did the author use her personal story in the narrative? Did she have feelings about the students and their families? How did the author manage the tension between trying to be a reliable observer and bearing witness to stories that moved her?
12. Why did Eddie Williams teach in an English Language Acquisition class? What kind of teacher was he? How did his background affect how he behaved in the classroom?
13. Did you have a favorite passage in the book? Which one, and why?
14. At one point, the author visits the Congolese family, and after some conversation, both the father and the interpreter turn to stare at her. The author says she felt as if they were thinking, ‘What are we supposed to do about the terrible innocence of Americans?’ What did she mean by that phrase? What do Americans not know?
15. How did this book leave you feeling about refugees? Should the United States accept more refugees for resettlement? How did the author handle the political backdrop, and did you feel she was fair-minded? Do you agree or disagree with current policies on refugee resettlement in the US?
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On 14th July 2005, Angela Harrison took her own life at the tragically young age of 31, four months after the birth of her daughter Sophie. Angela had been suffering from a severe form of postnatal depression.
Angela worked as a Medical Secretary at Perranporth Surgery and lived in Newquay with her husband of 12 years Anthony.
She was a bright, vivacious, fun loving young woman ecstatic about the arrival of their first and much wanted child but following the birth of Sophie, on 9th March 2005, Angela became depressed and went on to develop puerperal psychosis.
This serious illness tragically led her to take her own life on 14th July 2005.
Although Angela received wonderful support from her family, friends and colleagues it has become apparent that there is a lack of services, information and support available to sufferers of postnatal depression and possibly the more serious puerperal psychosis.
As a lasting tribute to Angela, her family, friends and colleagues decided that they would set up The Angela Harrison Charitable Trust. Their aim is to increase awareness of postnatal depression, to provide help and support for sufferers to combat stigmatism/ignorance and give people the information and direction to gain the help necessary, when it is most needed.
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Development & Preservation Fund
Preserve our Game Campaign
Legends of Hockey -- NHL Player Search -- Player -- Dmitri Khristich
Dmitri Khristich
A skilled left-winger and centre whose intensity has been questioned, Dimitri Khristich has demonstrated undeniable skill since entering the NHL in 1990-91. He entered the 2001-02 season as a key component of the highly-skilled Washington Capitals.
Born in Kiev, USSR, Khristich played six years for Sokol Kiev where he was a solid two-way forward. He was chosen 120th overall by Washington in 1988 when his talent was considered very raw. He progressed and took on greater responsibilities for Kiev over the next two years and played for the USSR when it won gold at the 1990 World Championships.
After starting the 1990-91 season in Kiev, Khristich joined the Capitals and scored 27 points in 40 games as a rookie. When he signed with the Caps on December 11, 1990, the 21-year-old Khristich made history as the youngest player ever allowed to leave the Soviet Union. The next season he broke through with 36 goals and was a consistent offensive threat until the end of the 1994-95 season. There was a concern over the drop in Khristich's play in the playoffs when tighter checking predominated. However, this malady was rampant throughout the team as it continually put up mediocre results in the post-season.
Khristich was traded to the Los Angeles Kings in July 1995 and he went on to score 27 goals in 1995-96 when he was named the team's most valuable player. During his time on the West Coast, Khristich played centre briefly on a line with Vladimir Tsyplakov and Vitali Yachmenev. In August 1997 he and goalie Byron Dafoe were sent to the Boston Bruins for Jozef Stumpel and Sandy Moger.
Khristich recorded consecutive 29-goal seasons and was one of the Bruins' best all-round forwards. A contract squabble with general manager Harry Sinden led to the Ukrainian being traded to Toronto where he disappointed with only 30 points in 53 games. He was also a non-factor when the Leafs were eliminated by the stronger New Jersey Devils in the second round. After a slow start and significant time spent in the press box, Khristich was traded to Washington where he started quickly then faded and ended up with only 13 goals in 70 games. His career was at an important juncture as the 2001-02 season began.
REGULAR SEASON PLAYOFFS
Season Club League GP G A TP PIM +/- GP G A TP PIM
1985-86 ShVSM Kiev USSR-3
1985-86 Sokol Kiev USSR 4 0 0 0 0
1986-87 Sokol Kiev USSR 20 3 0 3 4
1986-87 Soviet Union EJC-A 7 7 0 7 2
1987-88 ShVSM Kiev USSR-2 4 4 0 4 4
1987-88 Sokol Kiev USSR 37 9 1 10 18
1988-89 Sokol Kiev USSR 42 17 10 27 15
1988-89 Soviet Union WJC-A 7 6 2 8 2
1989-90 Sokol Kiev Fr-Tour 1 0 0 0 0
1989-90 CSKA Moscow Super-S 4 1 0 1 2
1989-90 Soviet Union WEC-A 7 2 3 5 4
1990-91 Washington Capitals NHL 40 13 14 27 21 -1 11 1 3 4 6
1990-91 Baltimore Skipjacks AHL 3 0 0 0 0
1991-92 Washington Capitals NHL 80 36 37 73 35 +24 7 3 2 5 15
1992-93 Washington Capitals NHL 64 31 35 66 28 +29 6 2 5 7 2
1993-94 Washington Capitals NHL 83 29 29 58 73 -2 11 2 3 5 10
1994-95 Washington Capitals NHL 48 12 14 26 41 0 7 1 4 5 0
1995-96 Los Angeles Kings NHL 76 27 37 64 44 0
1996-97 Los Angeles Kings NHL 75 19 37 56 38 +8
1997-98 Boston Bruins NHL 82 29 37 66 42 +25 6 2 2 4 2
1998-99 Boston Bruins NHL 79 29 42 71 48 +11 12 3 4 7 6
1999-00 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 53 12 18 30 24 +8 12 1 2 3 0
2000-01 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 27 3 6 9 8 +8
2000-01 Washington Capitals NHL 43 10 19 29 8 -8 3 0 0 0 0
2000-01 Ukraine WC-A 6 1 2 3 2 -3
2001-02 Washington Capitals NHL 61 9 12 21 12 +2
2001-02 Ukraine Olympics 2 2 0 2 0 -1
2002-03 Metallurg Magnitogorsk Russia 31 9 12 21 20 3 0 0 0 4
2002-03 Ukraine WC-A 6 0 1 1 28 -5
2003-04 Metallurg Magnitogorsk Russia 38 4 7 11 20
NHL Totals 811 259 337 596 422 75 15 25 40 41
Played in NHL All-Star Game (1997, 1999) Traded to Los Angeles by Washington with Byron Dafoe for Los Angeles' 1st round pick (Alexandre Volchkov) and Dallas' 4th round pick (previously acquired, Washington selected Justin Davis) in 1996 NHL Draft, July 8, 1995. Traded to Boston by Los Angeles with Byron Dafoe for Jozef Stumpel, Sandy Moger and Boston's 4th round pick (later traded to New Jersey - New Jersey selected Pierre Dagenais) in 1998 NHL Draft, August 29, 1997. Traded to Toronto by Boston for Toronto's 2nd round pick (Ivan Huml) in 2000 NHL Draft, October 20, 1999. Traded to Washington by Toronto for Tampa Bay's 3rd round pick (previously acquired, Toronto selected Brendan Bell) in 2001 NHL Draft, December 11, 2000.
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America's top apple is now the Gala
Alan Bjerga
August 24, 2018 12:31 pm Updated: August 24, 2018 12:32 pm
The Red Delicious apple, an easy-to-transport variety that dominated grocery selection for decades, is no longer the most popular variety in the U.S. as the rise of the Gala apple and other fresh fruits signal changing consumer tastes and greater diversity in diets.
U.S. growers in 2018 will produce 52.4 million boxes of Gala apples, up 5.8 percent from last year, and 51.7 million of Red Delicious, down 11 percent, the U.S. Apple Association said Thursday in a statement. A box weighs 42 pounds. Red Delicious has been the nation's top apple for at least five decades, the group said. Granny Smith will edge out Fuji for third place, with each having about half the production of Red Delicious. The Honeycrisp apple is expected to surpass the Golden Delicious variety to enter the top five for the first time this year. Apples are increasingly consumed fresh, and consumers are seeking out more and sweeter-tasting varieties, the association said.
"The rise in production of newer varieties of apples aimed at the fresh consumption domestic market has caused demand for Red Delicious to decline," Mark Seetin, the association's regulatory director, said in the statement.
Red Delicious will still account for about half of U.S. apple exports, Seetin said.
"Gala, which originated in New Zealand in the 1930s, has increased in popularity because consumers like its taste, texture and sweetness," the association said.
In 2020, Honeycrisp may be in third place at current growth rates, according to the association.
China is the world's biggest apple producer, followed by the U.S., Poland, Italy and France, according to the association.
The largest state growers in the U.S. are Washington, New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania and California, the industry group says.
Bloomberg's Cynthia Hoffman contributed to this report.
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The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Adversity
by By: Nadine Burke Harris
“An extraordinary, eye-opening book.”—People
2018 National Health Information Awards, Silver Award
“A rousing wake-up call . . . this highly engaging, provocative book prove[s] beyond a reasonable doubt that millions of lives depend on us finally coming to terms with the long-term consequences of childhood adversity and toxic stress.”—Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow
Dr. Nadine Burke Harris was already known as a crusading physician delivering targeted care to vulnerable children. But it was Diego—a boy who had stopped growing after a sexual assault—who galvanized her journey to uncover the connections between toxic stress and lifelong illnesses.
The stunning news of Burke Harris’s research is just how deeply our bodies can be imprinted by ACEs—adverse childhood experiences like abuse, neglect, parental addiction, mental illness, and divorce. Childhood adversity changes our biological systems, and lasts a lifetime. For anyone who has faced a difficult childhood, or who cares about the millions of children who do, the fascinating scientific insight and innovative, acclaimed health interventions in The Deepest Well represent vitally important hope for preventing lifelong illness for those we love and for generations to come?.
“Nadine Burke Harris . . . offers a new set of tools, based in science, that can help each of us heal ourselves, our children, and our world.”—Paul Tough, author of How Children Succeed
“A powerful—even indispensable—frame to both understand and respond more effectively to our most serious social ills.”—New York Times
Nadine Burke Harris
NADINE BURKE HARRIS, M.D., founder of the Center for Youth Wellness in San Francisco's Bayview Hunters Point, was recently named Surgeon General of California. She is the recipient of the prestigious Heinz Award in 2016, and lives in San Francisco with her husband and their four boys.
“The Deepest Well . . . offers a powerful—even indispensable—frame to both understand and respond more effectively to our most serious social ills.” —David Bornstein, New York Times
“Can severe childhood stress cause adult stroke, cancer, Alzheimer’s and more? Yes, says Harris, a pediatrician who began researching the biological effects of abuse, divorce and other stressors after treating a boy who stopped growing following a sexual assault. There’s no way yet to erase the damage, but Harris developed a written screening test and strongly advocates exercise, mindfulness, diet and talk therapy as remedies. An extraordinary, eye-opening book.” —People, Book of the Week
“The Deepest Well is more than a riveting medical story—it’s a must-read guide for recognizing, understanding and treating a condition that many will find in our own homes.” —BookPage
“Get the book. Read the book. Share the book . . . The Deepest Well is about avoidance, therapy, and healing for the children who have ACE in their lives. The country needs Dr. Burke Harris’s book.” —ThreeKeyYears.org
“A heartbreaking, world-shaking, revolutionary book. In The Deepest Well, Nadine Burke Harris uncovers the once-hidden story of why we are the way we are. And she offers a new set of tools, based in science, that can help each of us heal ourselves, our children, and our world.” — Paul Tough, author of How Children Succeed
“This ultra-smart and compassionate book delivers revelations about what is really going on—in our bodies, in our families, in our communities—as a result of childhood toxic stress, as well as targeted solutions for individual healing. My adverse childhood experience (ACE) test result is a nine out of ten. When I needed it, one person extended the hand of hope and help to me. It saved me. This book has the power to extend that hand to countless others.” — Ashley Judd, author of All That Is Bitter and Sweet
"The Deepest Well is a rousing wake-up call, challenging us to reimagine pressing questions of racial and social justice as matters of public health. The research and stories shared in this highly engaging, provocative book prove beyond a reasonable doubt that millions of lives depend on us finally coming to terms with the long-term consequences of childhood adversity and toxic stress.” — Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow
“The Deepest Well is a heartbreaking, beautiful book about what might be the most important single issue facing our country's disadvantaged populations: the prevalence of childhood trauma. Relying on her work as a compassionate physician and first-class scientist, Burke Harris weaves together groundbreaking research with touching personal stories. The result is a gripping book that should convince everyone that we have a serious problem, and that unless we address it, the losers will be our nation's children.” — J. D. Vance, author of Hillbilly Elegy
“This powerful book brilliantly exposes and explores one of the most critical health issues we face today. Dr. Burke Harris combines a scientist's rigor with a compassionate doctor's heart to paint an unforgettable picture of what is at the center of what ails so many of our communities. Anyone who cares about people who sometimes struggle should read this book.” — Bryan Stevenson, author of Just Mercy
“In this powerful debut, the author describes the medical research and recalls her own frontline experiences as a pioneer in the treatment of toxic stress . . . This important and compassionate book further sounds the alarm over childhood trauma—and what can be done to remedy its effects.“ — Kirkus Reviews, starred review
on all things Health & Wellness?
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We've saved University of Liverpool to your favourites
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The Foundation Building, 765 Brownlow Hill,
Liverpool, England, L69 7ZX
A founding member of the esteemed Russell Group, the University of Liverpool has plenty to shout about. Currently placed 36th in the Complete University Guide UK 2019 the university is consistently ranked within the top 200 universities worldwide (THE 2018/19, QS 2018/19, ARWU 2018).
The university is first in the Russell Group for graduate employability, with 94% of all Liverpool graduates in professional employment or further study within six months of graduation. Graduates also received the second highest salaries, in comparison to other universities in the Northwest region, five years after graduating (LEO 2017).
The university is always looking for ways to improve its campus, and has recently invested GBP 800 million into its campus and academic facilities. There are plenty of on-campus amenities to make use of, ranging from a fitness centre to a nightclub, and libraries which are open 24/7 during term time.
The Student Union was voted the best in the country at the NUS Awards in 2016. There are more than 250 sports clubs and societies for students to enjoy where they can try new things and make friends.
Liverpool is an inexpensive city to live in and it was the 2018 winner of WhatUni’s? students’ choice award for ‘best city life’ The birthplace of the Beatles, Liverpool has a vibrant cultural scene, countless shops and bars, clubs, music venues and dining options for all to enjoy outside of studying.
The university’s international community is large with more than 8,000 students travelling from over 130 countries to study there every year. International students are also encouraged to take up the numerous overseas study opportunities available in countries including China, Australia, Canada, USA and Europe.
Average tuition fees per year
Fees are for indicative purposes, check with institution for details
During the Prime Minister’s recent trade visit to China, with the University of Liverpool’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dame Janet Beer, it was announced that Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) will benefit from a new campus. It is planned that the new campus will help increase student intake of XJTLU to 24,000 by 2028.
The new campus will be located in the city Taicang and will reflect XJTLU’s existing high-quality, international university education experience and more students will be able to study in China as well as the UK.
Established in 2006, XJTLU is a partnership between the University of Liverpool and Xi’an Jiaotong University in China. It has quickly developed into a diverse international community with over 12,000 students and 1,000 staff, originating from over 50 countries. XJTLU has been named the top joint-venture university in China. It is also the biggest joint-venture university in the country.
Closely tied to nine Nobel Laureates, the University of Liverpool is well-known for its prestigious research and education. It has top-class facilities and provides excellent support, both contributing factors in helping the university place within the top 200 universities in the world.
The university engages in pioneering research that tackles some of the world’s biggest issues. Its teaching is delivered by inspiring experts in their fields who are at the forefront of innovation and discovery.
Students can take advantage of the university’s worldwide research partnerships. They will be empowered to think beyond their textbooks, lecture halls and classrooms, and apply what they’ve learned to benefit the world they live in. Students will graduate from the university with a degree from an esteemed institution and a range of academic, professional and social skills – giving them an edge in the graduate job market.
There are numerous study options at the University of Liverpool provided by three key faculties.
The Faculty of Health and Life Sciences has five schools and eight institutes, three that lead on teaching and learning and five that house research activities:
Institute of Clinical Sciences
Institute of Life and Human Sciences
Institute of Veterinary Science
Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease
Institute of Infection and Global Health
Institute of Integrative Biology
Institute of Psychology, Health and Society
Institute of Translational Medicine
The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences is home to:
School of the Arts
School of Histories, Languages and Cultures
School of Law and Social Justice
University of Liverpool Management School (ULMS)
The Faculty of Science and Engineering comprises of:
School of Electrical Engineering, Electronics and Computer Sciences
School of Physical Sciences.
The university has also invested GBP 65 million alongside the government and Unilever to build a Materials Innovation Factory on campus to undertake innovative research and create revolutionary new materials for industry.
Students from countries with a different education system to the UK may require further preparation before starting a UK degree. Along with Kaplan International Colleges, the University of Liverpool provides a selection of pathway programmes for students. Upon successful completion of the relevant pathway programme, students will gain guaranteed admission to their chosen course at the University.
Pathway programmes for undergraduates:
Foundation Certificate in Business, Law and Social Sciences
Foundation Certificate in Science and Engineering
Pathway Programmes for postgraduates:
Pre-Master’s Programme in Business, Law and Social Sciences
Pre- Masters Programme in Science and Engineering
For undergraduate admissions, the university accepts a number of international qualifications. Students should refer to the country specific requirements for further information.
For taught master's courses, international students are usually required to have the equivalent of a UK bachelor’s degree. For MPhil/PhD courses, international students will require a master's qualification, or the equivalent of a high-grade bachelor’s degree, as well as some research experience.
Students will also have to meet the English language requirements. A minimum of CEFR B2 level in speaking, writing, listening and reading is required for undergraduate study.
If students do not meet the English language requirements, the university’s English Language Centre runs Pre-sessional English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses to help students improve their English language skills in order to gain a place on their chosen university course.
All students of the University of Liverpool are automatically members of the Guild of Students. The Guild has something to suit everyone including advice, volunteering opportunities and over 200 societies and clubs to join.
Sport Liverpool is well-known for its excellent sporting provision. There are options for everyone to enjoy. There are organised leagues in hockey, badminton, football, table tennis, basketball, netball and much more.
The Sport and Fitness Centre includes:
25 metre swimming pool and shallow pool
Two sports halls
Four squash courts
Dance and spinning studios
Bouldering wall
Comprehensive fitness suite
Weight training facilities
Organised group exercise classes including spin, pilates, HIIT, body pump, body balance and grit.
Both the Sydney Jones and Harold Cohen libraries are open 24 hours a day ,7 days a week during term time, and include:
Two million books
65,000 electronic journals and online access to most major databases
680,000 contemporary electronic books including academic e-books, reports and conference proceedings.
There are a wide range of accommodation options at the university. Housing is split over two separate sites – the Student Village at Greenbank – which is in a leafy suburb off-campus, or students can opt for modern, state of the art on-campus accommodation.
There is also Virtual Interactive Teaching at Liverpool (VITAL), which supports teaching and learning activities online.
The University of Liverpool offers a number of scholarships and awards for international students including merit-based awards, country-specific and subject-specific scholarships. These include:
Vice-Chancellor’s International Attainment Scholarship
New international students who achieve AAB and above in A levels (or equivalent), receive a GBP 2,000 tuition fee discount during the first year at undergraduate level.
Students who achieve A*AA in A levels (or equivalent), will be awarded a GBP 2,500 tuition fee discount. Master’s students who have achieved a First-Class degree or equivalent will be awarded a GBP 2,500 tuition fee discount. This scholarship only applies to students studying for non-clinical degrees.
Commonwealth Postgraduate Bursary
International postgraduate students who originate from a Commonwealth country will be awarded a GBP 2,000 tuition fee discount. This scholarship is not subject-dependent.
First Class Scholarship
International students on non-clinical programmes who achieve and maintain a first-class average of 70% receive a GBP 1000 fee reduction for each subsequent year of study if a first-class average is maintained.
95% of reviewers recommend
What do students say...
Best choice for me, great place to live
Lenka, Czech Republic
I was pleseantly supprised how organized the university is and how easily I could find help with whatever issue I had. Moreover the combination of experienced professionals in my field (geographic data science, great facility, personal attitude, small city and kind people of Liverpool made my study time much more eas
I was pleseantly supprised how organized the university is and how easily I could find help with whatever issue I had. Moreover the combination of experienced professionals in my field (geographic data science, great facility, personal attitude, small city and kind people of Liverpool made my study time much more easier and less stressful.
+ Read more - Show less
My new chapter of life starts in Liverpool.
Faradila, Indonesia
For me, Liverpool is a very lively place to study and socialize as well. Not too crowded and not too quite. It is just perfect for studying as well as socialize. There are many beautiful parks that I can run over, so many entertainments and festivals held in Liverpool. Liverpool citizens are also very welcoming and h
For me, Liverpool is a very lively place to study and socialize as well. Not too crowded and not too quite. It is just perfect for studying as well as socialize. There are many beautiful parks that I can run over, so many entertainments and festivals held in Liverpool. Liverpool citizens are also very welcoming and helpful. At the University of Liverpool, I am very pleased to meet and mingle with students from different countries, cultures and educational backgrounds. I am a postgraduate student of Operations and Supply Chain Management. The learning processes are delivered in very interactive ways through group discussions, case studies, industry visit to Jaguar Land Rover company, and simulation games. It broads my horizon that supply chain plays an important role in the operations of organizations. The University also offers very supportive facilities for the students like 24-hours library, on campus accommodations, a gym, bike-parking, etc. I also love the Student Union. There are so many clubs and activities which students can join. I belong to the athletic and cycling club since I like running and Indonesian Society. Living and studying in Liverpool is such a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Are you a current student or graduate?
Share your views and help future students.
Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU)
33 Finsbury Square, London,
England, EC2A 1AG
111 Ren’Ai Road, Suzhou Industrial Park, Suzhou Dushu Lake Science and Education Innovation District, Suzhou, P. R. China,
China, 215123
Hotcourses Diversity Index
Feel At Home Index
Source: HESA
International students from USA
International student nationalities at this university
QS World University Rankings 2018-2019
Source: QS
Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2018-2019
Source: THE
Academic Ranking of World Universities 2018
Source: ARWU
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Minimum IELTS Score
6.0Undergraduate
6.5Postgraduate
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Devin Coleman-Derr
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), United States
Oswaldo Valdes-Lopez
National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico
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Hofstra University, United States
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Front. Microbiol., 20 October 2017 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2017.02023
Complete Genome Sequence Analysis of Enterobacter sp. SA187, a Plant Multi-Stress Tolerance Promoting Endophytic Bacterium
Cristina Andrés-Barrao1, Feras F. Lafi1,2†, Intikhab Alam2, Axel de Zélicourt1, Abdul A. Eida1, Ameerah Bokhari1, Hanin Alzubaidy1, Vladimir B. Bajic2, Heribert Hirt1* and Maged M. Saad1
1Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
2Computational Bioscience Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
Enterobacter sp. SA187 is an endophytic bacterium that has been isolated from root nodules of the indigenous desert plant Indigofera argentea. SA187 could survive in the rhizosphere as well as in association with different plant species, and was able to provide abiotic stress tolerance to Arabidopsis thaliana. The genome sequence of SA187 was obtained by using Pacific BioScience (PacBio) single-molecule sequencing technology, with average coverage of 275X. The genome of SA187 consists of one single 4,429,597 bp chromosome, with an average 56% GC content and 4,347 predicted protein coding DNA sequences (CDS), 153 ncRNA, 7 rRNA, and 84 tRNA. Functional analysis of the SA187 genome revealed a large number of genes involved in uptake and exchange of nutrients, chemotaxis, mobilization and plant colonization. A high number of genes were also found to be involved in survival, defense against oxidative stress and production of antimicrobial compounds and toxins. Moreover, different metabolic pathways were identified that potentially contribute to plant growth promotion. The information encoded in the genome of SA187 reveals the characteristics of a dualistic lifestyle of a bacterium that can adapt to different environments and promote the growth of plants. This information provides a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in plant-microbe interaction and could be further exploited to develop SA187 as a biological agent to improve agricultural practices in marginal and arid lands.
Worldwide agriculture is currently facing big challenges posed by the increase in global population and climate change, and plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) are becoming an important alternative for sustainable crop production (De Zélicourt et al., 2013; Timmusk et al., 2017). The increase in global temperature is drastically affecting the amount of available arable lands, particularly in dryland areas (40% of world land surface), where approximately half of the poorest people live (rural areas in developing countries) (El-Beltagy and Madkour, 2012). Due to climate change, dryland areas (hyper-arid, arid, and semi-arid lands) are expected to rapidly increase, at the same time as crops, cropping systems, rotations and biota will undergo a deep transformation (El-Beltagy and Madkour, 2012).
Plant growth-promoting bacteria are a group of bacteria that are taxonomically unrelated and can establish symbiotic associations with plants to promote their growth under harsh environmental conditions. PGPB can live in the rhizosphere, epiphytically attached to the surface of roots or leaves, or as endophytic bacteria, living inside the plant tissues. PGPB affect plant growth by directly acquiring nutrients (phosphate, nitrogen, iron) or modulating plant hormone levels (auxins, ethylene), and also by indirectly inhibiting pathogenic bacteria (antibiotics) or insects (pesticides) (Glick, 2012).
In order to identify a beneficial strain that might help crops to cope with various environmental challenges, researchers have started to look for halophilic and halotolerant bacteria inhabiting salty and arid ecosystems, which have the potential to promote plant growth under salinity and drought conditions (Jorquera et al., 2012; Mapelli et al., 2013; Liu et al., 2016). In the last decade, the desert has become a niche of growing research interest for bacteria that are adapted to water scarcity, high salinity and high temperature, and could be used to promote growth of crops under these conditions (Goswami et al., 2014; Vurukonda et al., 2016). Desert soils from across the world typically contain a number of ubiquitous bacterial phyla including Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Proteobacteria (Makhalanyane et al., 2015), and Halomonas, Salicola, Bacillus, Paenibacillus, Klebsiella, Enterobacter, Serratia, Cellulosimicrobium, Ochrobactrum, and Pseudomonas have been identified among the most abundant genera in saline and hypersaline rhizospheric soils (Bhatnagar and Bhatnagar, 2005; Hedi et al., 2009; Köberl et al., 2011; Marasco et al., 2012; Hanna et al., 2013; Köberl et al., 2013; Mapelli et al., 2013; Goswami et al., 2014). Microbes found in desert soils have been subjected to evolutionary adaptation to extreme conditions and show higher abundance of gene functions related to dormancy and stress response than microbes in non-arid environments (Fierer et al., 2012). Moreover, these microbes have been found to enhance soil fertility and promote the growth of plants (Herman et al., 1995; Marasco et al., 2012; Köberl et al., 2013; Goswami et al., 2014).
Following this idea, our group launched the Darwin21 project1, with the goal of exploring the microbial diversity of desert pioneer plants and their use in improving agricultural sustainability in dryland and marginal areas. Preliminary results revealed a large diversity of bacteria that have the potential to promote the growth of different crop plants under diverse biotic and abiotic stresses. In the frame of this project, our group also obtained the draft genomes of several PGPB (Lafi et al., 2016a,b,c, 2017a,c).
Among the isolates, one particular endophytic bacterium, SA187, showed the highest consistency in terms of growth promotion among all performed laboratory tests. SA187 was isolated from root nodules of Indigofera argentea, an indigenous desert plant growing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Based on the analysis of the almost complete 16S rRNA gene (>1400 bp), SA187 was classified as member of the family Enterobacteriaceae and named as Enterobacter sp. SA187 (Lafi et al., 2017b). The family Enterobacteriaceae contains a large number of genera that are found in different environmental niches and are biochemically and genetically closely related. Strains belonging to the genus Enterobacter have been isolated from the Atacama Desert, northern Chile, showing tolerance to arsenic (Azua-Bustos and González-Silva, 2014), in the desert soil in Algeria showing capability to degrade glyphosate (Benslama and Boulahrouf, 2013, 2016), or in the rhizosphere of desert plants from oil-polluted soils (Diab et al., 2017). Moreover, members of this genus have been found as endophytic plant growth promoters in date palms (Phoenix dactylifera L.) under saline conditions or in association with other diverse plants growing in arid lands (Park et al., 2005; Shankar et al., 2011; Yaish et al., 2015). Members of the genus Enterobacter have also been reported to show PGP traits, e.g., Enterobacter sp. EnB1, isolated from semidesert soil in Mexico, which has been reported to be able to solubilize phosphate (Delgado et al., 2014), or Enterobacter sp. B6, isolated from desert soil in Algeria, which showed biopesticide properties against Locusta migratoria L5 nymphs (Oulebsir-Mohandkaci et al., 2015).
Over the past few years, a number of Enterobacter sp. and close relatives in the family Enterobacteriaceae showing PGP under abiotic stress have been also characterized. For example, Enterobacter cloacae SBP-8 (formerly Klebsiella sp. SBP-8), which induced systemic tolerance in wheat under salt stress (Singh et al., 2015, 2017), E. cloacae UW5, which was able to produce high-levels of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) (Coulson and Patten, 2015), or E. oryzae Ola 51T, which was capable to fix atmospheric nitrogen (Peng et al., 2009). Additionally, members of the genera Enterobacter, Klebsiella, and Leclercia have also been reported as phosphate-solubilizers, nitrogen-fixers, and producers of antifungal compounds, phytohormones and siderophores (Melo et al., 2016).
SA187 promoted the growth of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana under diverse abiotic stresses such as salinity, drought or high temperature, demonstrating an important potential for application as PGPB to improve abiotic resistance and yield of crops in arid lands. Here we present the analysis of the complete genome sequence and the biochemical characterization of SA187, and highlight different metabolic pathways that potentially contribute to plant growth and stress tolerance.
Genomic DNA Isolation and PCR Amplification
Genomic DNA was extracted from fresh bacterial cultures by using Qiagen’s DNeasy blood and tissue kit (Qiagen GmbH, Hilden, Germany) and treated with RNAse A (MO BIO Laboratories, Carlsbad, CA, United States). The extracted DNA was further purified by using Mo Bio PowerClean Pro DNA Clean-Up kit (MO BIO Laboratories, Carlsbad, CA, United States) following the manufacturer’s instructions. DNA quality and quantity were assessed by using Nanodrop 2000 (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Wilmington, DE, United States) and Qubit 2.0 (Life Technologies, Invitrogen division, Darmstadt, Germany). The purified DNA was shipped to the sequencing facilities by using the DNAstable® Plus (Biomatrica, San Diego, CA, United States).
(GTG)5-rep-PCR amplification was carried out in a total volume of 25 μl as described by Andrés-Barrao et al. (2016) by using the GTG5 primer (Rademaker et al., 1998) (Supplementary Table S1). The amplification of the 16S rRNA gene was carried out in a total volume of 20 μl by using the universal primers 27F and 1429R (Supplementary Table S1): 200 ng DNA template was added to 18 μl of PCR mixture [2X Taq Polymerase Master Mix (Promega), 0.75 μM each primer] by using the following program: A initial denaturation of 95°C for 5 min followed by 35 cycles with steps of 94°C for 30 s, 55°C for 45 s and 72°C for 1 min 30 s, and a final extension of 5 min at 72°C. PCR amplification of the housekeeping genes was carried out in a total volume of 50 μl as follows: 100 ng DNA template was added to 49 μl of PCR mixture [Taq DNA polymerase (Invitrogen), 1.5 μM MgCl2, 125 μM dNTPs, 0.2 μM each primer, 1.5 μl DMSO] by using the following program: A initial denaturation of 95°C for 3 min followed by 35 cycles with steps of 95°C for 30 s, 57°C for 45 s and 72°C for 1 min 30 s, and a final extension of 5 min at 72°C. All PCR reactions were carried out in a C1000 Touch Thermal Cycler (Bio-Rad, United States), run in 0.8-1.5% agarose gel electrophoresis and visualized in a ChemiDocTM MP Imaging System (Bio-Rad, United States).
Whole Genome Sequencing and Annotation
Prior to sequencing, DNA was size selected to 20 kb by using the BluePippin system (Sage Science, Beverly, MA, United States). Whole genome sequencing was performed by DNA Link Korea (Seoul, South Korea) using the PacBio RS II sequencing platform (Pacific Biosciences, Menlo Park, CA, United States). Large-insert libraries were sequenced in single-molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing cells by using P6-C4 chemistry. PacBio reads were assembled into one single contig by using the de novo Hierarchical Genome Assembly Process (HGAP.2) algorithm with default parameters. Genome annotation was conducted by using the in-house Automatic Annotation of Microbial Genomes (AAMG) pipeline (Alam et al., 2013). Briefly, AAMG annotated the genome by first predicting RNAs and open reading frames (ORFs), followed by BLAST and Interproscan. Ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs), transfer RNAs (tRNAs) and other non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) were predicted by using RNAmmer, tRNAscan-SE and Infernal software, respectively (Alam et al., 2013). ORFs were predicted by using FragGene Scan (Rho et al., 2010) with the training model specific to complete genomes. ORFs were annotated based on BLAST against UniprotKB and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) databases. Protein core signatures, domains and associated Gene Ontology (GO) were assigned using InterProscan. Circular chromosome and GC skew were computed by using CGViewer Server (Grant and Stothard, 2008) and GenSkew2, respectively. Chromosomes of related bacteria were aligned by progressive MAUVE (Darling et al., 2010). Function and pathway analysis was performed by using BlastKOALA web tool of KEGG database (Kanehisa et al., 2016). Function analysis by Cluster of Orthologous Genes (COG) was done by using WebMGA (Wu et al., 2011). In-house blast searches were performed through INDIGO-Desert v1.1 (Alam et al., 2013). Toxin-antitoxin (T/A) systems were retrieved by using TA finder (Shao et al., 2011). Gene clusters for the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites were identified by using antiSMASH v.4.0.1 (Weber et al., 2015).
Phylogenetic Analysis
Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene and multi-locus sequence analysis (MLSA) were used to evaluate the taxonomical affiliation of SA187. To construct the 16S and MLSA phylogenetic trees, sequences of individual genes of SA187, along with those from reference strains of the genus Enterobacter and other closely related genera retrieved from public databases3, were aligned by using ClustalW (Thompson et al., 2002). For MLSA analysis, blunt end alignments of partial sequences were obtained for each gene: 615 bp (infB), 742 bp (gyrB), 642 bp (atpD), 637 bp (rpoB). The concatenated gyrB-rpoB-atpD-infB sequences were used to construct the Neighbor-Joining phylogenetic tree. Phylogenetic and molecular evolutionary analyses were conducted by using MEGA 6 (Tamura et al., 2013). Accession numbers of the sequences used in this study are shown in Supplementary Table S2. Similarity matrices showing the pairwise percentage identity between 16S rRNA gene sequences and housekeeping genes concatenated sequences, as well as the correspondent distance matrices are shown in Supplementary Tables S3 and S4.
For further whole-genome phylogenetic analysis, we obtained related genome sets initially based on megablast and later additional members of selected genera, so that a resolved species tree could be constructed. We gathered 55 genomes of 12 different genera. Once at least 3–5 genomes were obtained for each genera, we predicted genes using FragGeneScan to carry out clustering of protein coding genes using OrthoMCL. This provided us with a list of clusters common and unique to the analyzed genomes. We separated the core set of gene clusters (1250 genes) and aligned each of these using MAFFT aligner. Alignments were then concatenated and FastTree was used with default parameters to obtain a species tree with bootstrap values. Two-way ANIs calculation was performed on http://enve-omics.ce.gatech.edu/ani/index, considering a minimum length of 700 bp and minimum identity of 70%. The fragment options were set to 1000 bp for window size and 200 bp for step size. Accession numbers of the genome sequences used in this study, together with % similarity and ANI values are shown in Supplementary Table S5 and Figure S4.
Data Deposition
The whole-genome shotgun project was deposited in NCBI/DDBJ/EMBL database under the accession no CP019113.
Arabidopsis Salt Stress Resistance Screening
Arabidopsis thaliana seeds were surface sterilized by 10 min shaking in 70% EtOH + 0.05% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), then washed 2–3 times in milliQ water and let to dry. Sterilized seeds where stratified for 2 days on half-strength Murashige-Skoog Basal Salt broth pH 5.8 (½MS) (Murashige and Skoog, 1962) (Sigma, Germany) agar plates, at 4°C and darkness, then transferred vertically to a Percival (22°C, 16 h light cycle) for germination. Five-day old seedlings were then transferred to fresh ½MS+100 mM NaCl agar plates (6 seedlings/plate) next to a LB agar plug with (+B, treated) or without (-B, control) SA187. Plant growth was followed for 12 additional days, until the plant roots reached the bottom of the plates. To evaluate the effect of the bacterial treatment in the plant growth, aerial fresh weight (AFW), root fresh weight (RFW), total fresh weight (FW), and lateral root density (LRD) were determined at the end of the experiment.
Quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR)
To evaluate the gene expression of several key genes identified during SA187 genome analysis, the total RNA of SA187 treated roots (dual samples) were extracted by using the NucleoSpin® RNA Plant kit (Macherey-Nagel), following manufacturer’s instructions. SA187 grown overnight in LB liquid was used as a control. Total RNA of control SA187 was extracted by using the RiboPureTM RNA Purification Kit, bacteria (Ambion), following the manufacturer’s instructions. A total of 1 mg of total RNA from dual and control samples was retrotranscribed by using SuperScript® III First-Strand Synthesis System for RT-PCR (Invitrogen), using random hexamers and following manufacturer’s instructions. Two μl of the obtained cDNA solution diluted 10-fold was mixed with specific primers (Supplementary Table S1) and SsoAdvancedTM Universal SYBR® Green Supermix (Bio-Rad), and the qPCR reactions were performed in a CFX96 TouchTM Real-Time PCR Detection System (Bio-Rad) as follows: 95°C for 3 min, 40x [95°C for 10 s and 60°C for 40 s], 95°C for 10 s and a final melting curve [65–95°C, 0.5°C increment, for 5 s]. All reactions were performed in three biological replicates. Gene expression values were calculated relative to the housekeeping gene infB, by using the ΔΔCt method.
Evaluation of Plant Growth Promoting Traits and Tolerance to Abiotic Stresses
Plant growth promoting (PGP) traits were evaluated by using clearing assays. The ability of SA187 to solubilize phosphate was assessed on Pikovskaya’s (PVK) agar plates (M520, Himedia). The production of siderophores was determined by Blue Agar CAS assay, as described by Louden et al. (2011). Zinc solubilization was assessed on modified PVK agar plates, supplemented with 0.1% ZnCO3, as described by Bapiri et al. (2013). Assays were performed by inoculating 30 μl of overnight LB bacterial culture into cavities of ∼0.5 cm in diameter. The production of indole-3-acetic acid was qualitatively determined according to Bric et al. (1991), with the following modifications: LB broth supplemented with 2.5 mM L-tryptophan were used in 96-well plates, which were incubated at 28°C and 190 rpm for 2 days. Tolerance to drought and salt stresses were evaluated by growing SA187 in LB broth (Lennox L Broth Base, Invitrogen) supplemented with 20% polyethylene-glycol (PEG) 6000 and 3% or 5% NaCl, respectively. Tolerance to heat stress was assessed by using LB agar plates incubated at 37°C or 42°C. Assays were performed in triplicates and plates and liquid cultures were incubated at 28°C for 2–5 days.
Evaluation of Bacterial Growth in Different Carbon Sources and Salt Concentrations
SA187 was grown overnight in LB broth (Lennox L Broth Base, Invitrogen) at 28°C with 190 rpm until the culture reached the exponential growth phase. Cells were harvested by centrifugation, washed twice with 10 mM MgSO4, and finally resuspended in 10 mM MgSO4 to a final OD600 of 0.5. Thirty microliters of this cell suspension were inoculated by triplicate in 96-well plates, in 300 μl of LB supplemented with increasing concentrations of NaCl (0–4 M) and ½MS alone or supplemented with 1% of the following carbon sources: arabinose, fructose, glucose, glycerol, lactose, maltose, raffinose, sucrose, acetic acid, citric acid, or lactic acid. Bacterial growth was monitored by using a Varioskan Flash microplate reader (Thermo Scientific), where the 96-well plates were incubated for 2 days at 28°C and 300 rpm.
Evaluation of Antibiotic Resistance
Antibiotic sensitivity tests were evaluated by clearing assay. Hundred μl of overnight SA187 culture were spread on LB agar plates, where antibiotic impregnated disks were then placed (Fischer Scientific). Clearing rings around the disks indicated inhibition of bacterial growth, hence antibiotic sensitivity (S). When SA187 was able to grow normally and no clearing ring was observed, the bacterium contained the corresponding antibiotic resistance marker (R).
Genome Sequence Assembly and General Features
Previously, our group published a SA187 draft genome, using Illumina MiSeq technology and obtaining a final assembly of 13 scaffolds (Lafi et al., 2017b). In the present work, PacBio reads were de novo assembled by using the Hierarchical Genome Assembly Process (HGAP.2) software and the PBcR pipeline, resulting in 4,793 filtered and preassembled sequence reads with a mean length of 13,471 bp and 275X genome coverage. Consensus polished assembly yielded one circular contig (Figure 1). Accordingly, the genome of SA187 consists of a single circular chromosome of 4,429,597 bp, with an average 56% GC content and no plasmids (Table 1). A clear GC skew transition was observed, and the origin of replication (oriC) and terminus (terC) were identified at the positions 1,071,819 and 3,184,452, respectively (Figure 1). A total of 4,606 ORFs were identified, including 4,347 protein coding DNA genes (CDS), 153 ncRNAs, 7 complete rRNAs, one additional 5S rRNA, and 84 tRNAs. This number of rRNAs and tRNAs is typical of soil bacteria and an indication of positive selection (Trujillo et al., 2014). Indeed, a high number of rRNAs is a typical characteristic of soil microorganisms, which are able to respond rapidly to changing availability of nutrients (Klappenbach et al., 2000; Shrestha et al., 2007; Lee et al., 2008). Among the CDS, a total of 3,779 (82%) were annotated as genes with a biological function, while 568 (12.3%) were annotated as hypothetical proteins or proteins with unknown function (Table 1). 27 ncRNAs were identified as clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR) RNA direct repeat elements, part of the CRISPR/Cas system, which provides acquired resistance against bacteriophages. This result suggests that the genome of SA187 may have been shaped by interaction with bacteriophages (Horvath and Barrangou, 2010; Al-Attar et al., 2011). AntiSMASH analysis revealed 18 clusters for the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites (Supplementary Table S6). Among them, biosynthetic clusters were identified for lipopolysaccharides, emulsan, O- and K-antigens, colonic acid, carotenoids, streptomycin, asukamycin and turnerbactin.
FIGURE 1. Genome map of the SA187. The bacterial chromosome is 4.4 Mb in size. The outer concentric circles (blue) include the annotation, location and direction of expression of predicted genes, the middle circle (black) indicates the % GC content, and the inner circle indicates de GC skew [(G–C)/(G+C)] positive (green) and negative (purple). A number of interesting genes are highlighted.
TABLE 1. SA187 genome structure and general features.
We performed functional analysis by Cluster of Orthologous Groups (COGs) (Table 2A and Supplementary Figure S1A). 3574 out of the 4347 predicted CDSs (82.2%) were assigned to a COG category. This result revealed three main functional gene classes: Carbohydrate transport and metabolism (G), amino acid transport and metabolism (E) and transcription (K), representing 26.85% of the predicted CDS. Another high percentage cluster (20.54%) represented genes involved in energy production and conversion (C), cell wall/membrane/envelope biogenesis (M), inorganic ions transport and metabolism (P) and signal transduction (T). Almost 17% of the predicted CDS are poorly characterized: general function prediction only (R) and with function unknown (S). The high proportion of genes involved in transport and metabolism of carbohydrates, amino acids and inorganic ions, indicate the inherent capacity of SA187 to compete with other microorganisms and survive in the rhizosphere (Niazi et al., 2014). Essential genes from the COG functional categories G and K have been found to have a lower rate of evolution compared with the corresponding non-essential genes (Luo et al., 2015).
TABLE 2A
TABLE 2A. Functional cluster of orthologous genes (COG) classification of predicted genes in SA187.
The functional analysis performed by using the KEGG identified 2790 genes (64.2% of all CDSs) involved in any of the metabolic pathways included in the knowledgebase (Table 2B and Supplementary Figure S1B). The analysis revealed the largest number of identified genes as unclassified (10.42%). From those genes that were classified among the KEGG pathway categories, the largest number was involved in metabolism of carbohydrates (7.84%), amino acids (4.23%) and cofactors and vitamins (3.69%). Most of the remaining genes were involved in processes related to environmental and information processing: Membrane transport [ABC transporters 4.88%, phosphotransferase systems (PTS) 2.32%, secretion systems 0.85%] and signal transduction (two-component systems 4.32%). These results confirmed a preference toward metabolism and transport of carbohydrates and amino acids, as well as signal transduction, consistent with the previous results from COG functional analysis.
TABLE 2B
TABLE 2B. Functional Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway classification of predicted genes in SA187.
Taxonomic Affiliation
SA187 was first identified as Enterobacter sp., closely related to E. kobei, based on the full 16S rRNA gene (Lafi et al., 2017b) (Figure 2A and Supplementary Tables S3A, S4A). However, based on the 16S rRNA gene alone, the polyphyletic nature of the genus Enterobacter makes its classification very difficult. Brady et al. (2008) developed the use of Multilocus Sequence Analysis (MLSA) based on four housekeeping genes (gyrB-rpoB-atpD-infB) to obtain a more accurate classification within the family Enterobacteriaceae. By applying MLSA, SA187 appeared in a separate clade, distant from the group Enterobacter (Figure 2B). The taxonomic position of SA187 appeared in a cluster of strains related to the genus Lelliottia, with the closest relative Leclercia adecarboxylata LMG 2803T (Figure 2B). Nevertheless, the low similarity (92%) and the high evolutionary distance (82%) (Supplementary Tables S3B, S4B and Figure S2) between the concatenated sequences of SA187 and LMG 2803T, together with the low robustness of the clade (bootstrap 53%) (Figure 2B), do not allow the classification of the two strains as members of the same genus. These results suggest that SA187 represents a novel taxon within the family Enterobacteriaceae.
FIGURE 2. Taxonomic analysis. (A) 16S rRNA based phylogenetic tree. (B) Multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA) based on four housekeeping genes gyrB-rpoB-atpD-infB. The phylogenetic tree was inferred by using the Neighbor-Joining method (Saitou and Nei, 1987), and the optimal tree is shown. The percentage of replicate trees in which the associated taxa clustered together in the bootstrap test (1000 replicates) is shown next to the branches (bootstrap >50 is shown) (Felsenstein, 1985). The tree is drawn to scale, with branch lengths in the same units as those of the evolutionary distances used to infer the phylogenetic tree. The evolutionary distances (number of nucleotide substitutions per site) were computed using the Kimura-2-parameter method (Kimura, 1980). All ambiguous positions were removed for each sequence pair. There was a total of 2,636 positions in the final dataset.
Similarly, strains 638 and PDA 134, which were used as reference for comparative genomic analyses, were initially identified based on partial 16S rRNA as Enterobacter sp. and Klebsiella oxytoca, respectively (Taghavi et al., 2009; Gu et al., 2014), and strain PDA 134 was further reclassified as E. asburiae (Yaish, 2016). Unlike this, the position of these strains in the MLSA phylogenetic tree (Figure 2B) reveals Enterobacter sp. 638 as a new species in the genus Lelliottia, and PDA 134 in a different cluster from that formed by the E. asburiae group. The evolutionary distance between E. asburiae PDA 134 and its closer relatives suggests the strain could represent a new species within the genus Enterobacter (Figure 2B).
Further whole-genome analysis confirmed these results (Supplementary Figure S3). In this case, SA187 seemed to be closely related to the recently proposed genus Kosakonia (Brady et al., 2013), although cannot yet be taxonomically affiliated to any of the closest known species, as ANI values among all the sequences included in the phylogenetic tree ranged 78–81%. Consistently with the MLSA results, Enterobacter sp. 638 (Supplementary Table S5 and Figure S4) appeared to belong the genus Lelliottia, and E. asburiae PDA134 was closely related to the E. cloacae group (Supplementary Figure S3).
Arabidopsis Plant Growth Promotion under Salt Stress
The treatment of A. thaliana under salt stress conditions (½MS+100 mM) with SA187 showed a clear PGPB effect. After 12 days growth, seedlings treated with SA187 showed bigger shoots and more developed root systems (Figures 3A,B) and an increment of 50% in all measured parameters (Figure 3C).
FIGURE 3. Plant growth promotion under salt stress. (A) Arabidopsis thaliana growing in ½ MS+100 mM NaCl, with no bacterial treatment (–B, control). (B) A. thaliana growing in ½ MS+100 mM NaCl, treated with SA187 bacterialized plug (+B). (C) Radar chart representing the effect of SA187 treatment in the growth of Arabidopsis. AFW, aerial fresh weight; RFW, root fresh weight; FW, total fresh weight; LRD, lateral root density.
Gene expression of several key genes later identified in this report, gave hints to elucidate a possible mechanism for plant growth promotion: the gene coding for iron(III) ABC transporter substrate-binding protein, afuA; phytoene synthase, crtB; MFS transporter ENTS family enterobactin (siderophore) exporter, entS; and PTS system, sucrose-specific IIB component, srcA, were highly expressed when SA187 was associated with roots, compared with the pure bacterial culture, suggesting their role in plant growth promotion (Figure 4A). The gene coding for catalase, katE, did not show significant differences (Figure 4A), and 2 genes coding for the protein flagellin, fliC, a structural part of the bacterial flagellum, decreased its expression upon association with Arabidopsis roots (Figure 4B). The decrease in expression of fliC genes is consistent with the transition from a highly aerated shacked liquid culture to a situation where SA187 has stably colonized the plant root.
FIGURE 4. Relative gene expression by RT-qPCR. (A) SA187 genes increasing their expression upon association with Arabidopsis roots. afuA = iron(III) ABC transporter substrate-binding protein, crtB = phytoene synthase, entS = MFS transporter ENTS family enterobactin (siderophore) exporter, katE = catalase, srcA = PTS system, sucrose-specific IIB component. (B) SA187 genes decreasing their expression upon association with Arabidopsis roots. fliC = flagellin. ∗ = significant (p < 0.05), ∗∗ = very significant (p < 0.01), ∗∗∗ = extremely significant (p < 0.001).
Biochemical Characteristics of SA187
The qualitative evaluation of PGP traits showed that SA187 was able to produce siderophores and also to solubilize zinc, but was unable to solubilize phosphate (Table 3). These results revealed some of the possible strategies that the bacterium might employ when interacting with its host plant, contributing to plant growth promotion. The obtained antibiogram showed that SA187 is resistant to both ampicillin and penicillin G, but sensitive to chloramphenicol, erythromycin, kanamycin, oxytetracycline, streptomycin, tetracycline and rifampicin (Table 4). The resistance to ampicillin and penicillin G is providing SA187 with an additional strategy to compete with other coexisting bacteria and fungi in the desert soil and in the rhizosphere.
TABLE 3. Biochemical characteristics of SA187.
TABLE 4. Resistance of SA187 to different antibiotics.
SA187 grew well under osmotic and heat stress conditions, as well as under salt stress, up to a concentration of 1 M NaCl (Table 5). When comparing the growth of the bacterium under increasing concentrations of NaCl, we observed that supplementing LB broth with low concentrations of NaCl (0.1–0.5 M) had a beneficial effect on bacterial growth. The maximum cell density in these cases (OD600), when compared with LB with no additional NaCl added, increased about 0.2 units. The growth of SA187 was in contrast slightly delayed when 1 M NaCl was added, and completely inhibited at higher concentrations (LB+2 M NaCl and LB+4 M NaCl) (Table 5 and Supplementary Figure S5A). These results indicate that SA187 is moderately halophilic, being able to resist NaCl concentrations up to 1 M. Similar results were recently reported for Klebsiella sp. BRL6-2, which was able to grow under salt conditions up to 1.5 M NaCl (Woo et al., 2014). The capability to resist moderate salt stress would contribute to the survival of SA187 as a free-living bacterium in desert soils.
TABLE 5. Resistance of SA187 to different abiotic stresses.
The evaluation of the growth of SA187 in different carbon sources showed that the bacterium grows fast in LB broth (containing 0.5% NaCl), as expected for this nutrient rich medium. Consistently with the lack of a utilizable carbon source in ½MS, SA187 did not show any growth when no sugar was added to this medium. SA187 did not grow in ½MS supplemented with 1% acetic acid or 1% lactic acid. SA187 did nevertheless grow in ½MS supplemented with 0.1–1% sucrose, 1% arabinose or 1% citric acid, although the log phase was clearly delayed (>12 h) compared to LB (Supplementary Figure S5B). SA187 was also able to grow in ½MS+1% glycerol and ½ MS+1% lactose to some extent, although the growth rates in these cases were strongly reduced. Finally, compared with ½MS the growth of SA187 was slightly stimulated when 1% fructose, 1% raffinose, 1% glucose, or 1% maltose were added (Supplementary Figure S5B).
Additionally, the pH of the culture broth has a clear influence on the bacterial growth. The good growth in LB compared with all other conditions might be also due to the higher pH to which the medium is adjusted (pH 7.0), compared with the pH in ½ MS (pH 5.8). Interestingly, no big difference was observed when SA187 was grown in LB pH 7.0 or LB pH 5.8 (Supplementary Figure S5B), indicating the bacterium is capable to resist certain acid stress due to a lower pH.
Metabolic Features of SA187 Involved in the Dual Life-Style: Free-Living and Plant-Associated
A general overview of the main metabolic pathways and transport systems involved in the interactions between SA187 and its plant-host is presented in Figure 5.
FIGURE 5. Overview of the metabolism and transport in endophytic bacterium SA187. Predicted pathways involved in plant–microbe interaction, based on the current annotation of the complete genome sequence SA187. Metabolic flow through each pathway is designated by the direction of the arrow connecting two metabolites. Import or export of solutes is designated by the direction of the arrow through the transporter. ABC transporters: (1) Mineral and organic ion transporters: Sulfate, molybdate, nitrate/nitrite, taurine, sulfonate, iron(III), thiamine, spermidine/putrescine, betaine/proline, osmoprotectant; (2) Saccharide, polyol, lipids transporters: Maltose/maltodextrine, L-arabinose, oligogalacturonide, methyl-galactoside, D-xylose, autoinducer-2 (AI-2), rhamnose, ribose, glycerol-3-phosphate, phospholipid, multiple sugar, simple sugar; (3) Phosphate and amino acid transporters: Phosphate, histidine, glutamine, arginine, glutamate/aspartate, general L-amino acid, cysteine, branched-chain amino acid, urea, D-methionine, polar amino acid; (4) Peptide and nickel transporters: Oligopeptide, dipeptide, cationic peptide, nickel, glutathione, peptide/nickel, microcin C; (5) Metallic cation, iron-siderophore, vitamin B12 transporters: Iron-complex transporter, vitamin B12, zinc, manganese/iron; (6) ABC-2 type and other transporters: lipopolysaccharide, lipoprotein-releasing, putative ABC, ABC-2 type. Phosphotranspherase systems (PTS): (7) Enzyme I and phosphocarrier protein (HPr); (8) Enzyme II: Glucose, N-acetyl-glucosamine, maltose/glucose, maltose, sucrose, beta-glucoside, trehalose, alpha-glucoside, fructose, mannitol, 2-O-A-mannosyl-glycerate, cellobiose, glucitol/sorbitol, galactitol, mannose, fructoselysine, ascorbate. Secretion systems: (9) General (Sec-dependent) secretion system, (10) Tat-dependent secretion system, (11) type 2 secretion system (T2SS), (12) type 6 secretion system (T6SS).
Survival under Extreme Conditions
SA187 was isolated from I. argentea, an indigenous desert plant growing in areas where heat, drought and salt are key environmental stresses with which bacteria must cope during their free-living lifestyle in the soil. Betaine (also called glycine-betaine) and proline are known to confer salt tolerance to organisms (Ren et al., 2010; Hayat et al., 2012). P-blast genome mining revealed that SA187 contains the complete pathway for the biosynthesis of proline. However, the genes coding for choline dehydrogenase (betA) and betaine dehydrogenase (betB) are not present, indicating that SA187 is unable to synthesize betaine. On the other hand, we found a set of genes coding for membrane transporters: ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters ProVWX (SA187PBcda_000000076-000000079) and OpuABCD (SA187PBcda_000004092-000004095), and 3 copies of an major facilitator superfamily (MFS) transporter metabolite:H+ symporters (MHS) family, ProP (SA187PBcda_000002035, SA187PBcda_000002396, SA187PBcda_000004343), which can be used to internalize these osmoprotectants, which might be released into the rhizosphere by other microorganisms and plants. A novel role for ProP as carnitine uptake system has been recently described in Cronobacter sakazakii BAA-894 (member of the family Enterobacteriaceae). The uptake of carnitine by ProP provided the strain with a higher osmotolerance, being able to grow under salt concentrations far in excess of that afforded by proline (Feeney and Sleator, 2015).
Trehalose is another important osmoprotectant produced under environmental stresses. Five pathways for the biosynthesis of trehalose have been described: TreS, OtsA/OtsB, TreP, TreT, TreY/TreZ (Garg et al., 2002; Paul et al., 2008). In the genome of SA187 we found genes coding for trehalose 6-phosphate synthase and trehalose 6-phosphate phosphatase (otsAB, SA187PBcda_000004793-000004794), 2 copies of trehalose-6-phosphate hydrolase (treC, SA187PBcda_000000633, SA187PBcda_000002209), malto-oligosyltrehalose trehalohydrolase (treZ, SA187PBcda_000002137) and the transcriptional regulator treR (SA187PBcda_000002211). Additionally, we found 2 copies of treA (SA187PBcda_000001180, SA187PBcda_000004582) coding for the enzyme trehalase, which catalyzes the hydrolysis of trehalose into glucose, as well as 2 copies of treB (SA187PBcda_000002210, SA187PBcda_000002946) a PTS that is specific for the uptake of trehalose. The role of trehalose in osmotolerance has been reported recently in Klebsiella sp. BRL6-2. The growth rate of this strain in 6% NaCl containing medium supplemented with trehalose increased significantly when compared with the growth in the absence the of osmoprotectants (Woo et al., 2014).
A recent study reported an ATP-dependent potassium (K+) uptake system (KdpFABC) to be essential for survival of Halobacterium salinarum, an extreme halophilic Gram-negative archeon, under desiccation and high salinity (Kixmüller and Greie, 2012). Homologs of kdpFABC are widely distributed among the family Enterobacteriaceae and other Gram-negative bacteria and cyanobacteria and have been reported to increase their expression in response to salinity (Walderhaug et al., 1989; Jung et al., 1997; Solheim et al., 2014). One of the prominent responses of Salmonella enterica to high ion concentrations has been reported to be the transcriptional induction by more than 100-fold of 2 operons: proU (proVWX), and the kdpABC system (Balaji et al., 2005). The genome of SA187 contains the genes kdp forming an operon that also included the genes for the corresponding two-component system response regulator (KdpED) (kdpEDCBAF, SA187PBcda_000003311-000003316).
Other mechanisms conferring salt tolerance to halophiles is the presence of cation transport systems for the controlled uptake of sodium (Na+), potassium (K+) and chloride (Cl-) (Flowers et al., 2015). The genome of SA187 contains genes coding for cation/proton (H+) antiporters that contribute to osmoregulation: K+/H+ antiporter NhaP2 (SA187PBcda_000004591) and Na+/H+ antiporter NhaA (SA187PBcda_000002407). We also found a transcriptional regulator of the family LysR, activator of NhaA (nhaR, SA187PBcda_000002407-000002408). The NhaP2 and NhaA transport systems allow bacteria to import H+ while pumping K+ and Na+, thus preventing excessive cation accumulation, and have been recently found to resist hyperosmotic stress in the genome of the alkalotolerant plant growth-promoting rhizobacterium Klebsiella sp. D5A (Liu et al., 2016).
In addition to the biosynthesis of different osmoprotectants, the production of carotenoids has also been reported to be important for the survival of the bacteria in the rhizosphere and its protection against UV radiation, as well as for the bacterial-plant association (Mohammadi et al., 2012; Bible et al., 2016). On synthetic media, SA187 produced a yellow pigment that could be due to the biosynthesis of carotenoids. We found that the genome of SA187 contains all 7 genes of the entire carotenoid biosynthesis pathway, which is organized in a gene cluster (crtE-idi-crtXYIBZ, SA187PBcda_000002248-000002254) (Figure 6A) that is syntenic with the cluster identified in C. sakazakii BAA894, a close relative of the genus Enterobacter (Zhang et al., 2014). This Cronobacter strain also forms yellow colonies when grown on agar plates, due to the production of two carotenoids: zeaxanthin-monoglycoside and zeaxanthin-diglucoside (Zhang et al., 2014). The conserved synteny of the gene cluster present in SA187 and the one identified in C. sakazakii BAA894 suggest that the yellow pigment produced by SA187 could be due to the same zeaxanthins. The importance of carotenoids for an effective plant–microbe interaction was revealed by Pantoea sp. YR343 ΔcrtB mutant. This mutant strain was defective in the production of carotenoids, due to the lack of phytoene synthase (crtB), a homolog of this gene is found in SA187, and was reported to show increased sensitivity to oxidative stress, impaired biofilm formation and production of IAA, and the reduced colonization of plant roots (Bible et al., 2016). By homology with the same genes in C. sakazakii BAA894 and other Enterobacteriaceae strains, including Pantoea sp. (Misawa et al., 1990; Sedkova et al., 2005; Conlan et al., 2014; Zhang et al., 2014), we hypothesized that the yellow pigment produced by SA187 could be a derivate of the carotenoid zeaxanthin, and could have a role in Arabidopsis root colonization. Additionally, zeaxanthin is a precursor in the plant biosynthetic pathway to produce salicylic acid (SA), a plant hormone that could have a role in the PGP provided by SA187.
FIGURE 6. (A) Carotenoid biosynthesis gene cluster. (B) SA187 multi-phenotypic complex. After a certain period of interaction between SA187 and the plant host Arabidopsis, 2 morphologies differing in the pigmentation are observed: yellow (SA187Y) and white (SA187W). (C) (GTG)5-rep-PCR fingerprinting. Genotypic characterization of the SA187Y and SA187W isolates, comparison with the original SA187 stock and the inoculum used for one of the screening experiments. The same amplification pattern shown by the four samples shown in the panel indicates that both phenotypes, yellow and white, are genetically identical.
Two-component systems (TCS) are signaling pathways that allow bacteria to sense and respond rapidly to changes in their environment. TCS consist of a sensor membrane-bound histidine kinase (HK) and a corresponding response regulator (RR) (Mitrophanov and Groisman, 2008). In SA187, a high number of genes are involved in TCS systems and signal transduction (Supplementary Table S7). Most of the SA187 TCS belong to the OmpR family, but also systems belonging to the NarL and NtrC families were identified. Among them, the KdpD/KdpE system (mentioned before), one of the most distributed HK/RR systems in bacteria, which is typically activated under K+ limitation or osmotic stress (Heermann and Jung, 2012). We also found the CpxA/CpxR TCS, which controls the envelope stress response in Gram-negative bacteria (cpxAR, SA187PBcda_000001596-000001597). In Escherichia coli, the CpxA/CpxR system, jointly with the sigmaE and sigma32 response pathways, regulates gene expression in response to adverse conditions (De Wulf and Lin, 2000). A large number of TCS genes is typical for bacteria living in rapidly changing or diverse environments (Capra and Laub, 2012), and correlates with the dualistic life style of SA187 as free-living and plant-associated microorganism.
Transport and Exchange of Nutrients
Bacteria living in endophytic association need to exchange nutrients (Chibucos and Tyler, 2009). Consistently, we found that SA187 codes for a large diversity of transporters to allow the exchange of bacterial metabolites and plant-produced nutrients. Among these transporters, we identified more than 200 genes coding for ABC transporters, which among other things, are involved in the uptake of metals (iron, manganese, nickel, molybdate, zinc), phosphate, sulphate, nitrate/nitrite, urea, sugars (glycerol-3P, ribose, rhamnose, xylose, maltose/maltodextrine, arabinose), amino acids (glycine-betaine/proline, methionine, cysteine, arginine, branched-chain amino acids, glutamine/aspartate, histidine, lysine/arginine/ornithine) polyamines (spermidine/putrescine), or quorum sensing autoinducer-2 (AI-2) (Supplementary Table S8). AI-2 and LuxS, the enzyme that catalyzes the production of the signal precursor for AI-2 mediated quorum sensing, has been reported in Enterobacteriaceae of the genera Enterobacter, Klebsiella, and Pantoea that live in close association with plants (Rezzonico et al., 2012).
SA187 is also able to incorporate a wide plethora of sugars through PTS. We identified 101 genes involved in the uptake of glucitol/sorbitol, lactose/cellobiose, galactitol, mannitol, fructose, ascorbate, trehalose, or mannose, among others (Supplementary Table S9). We also found 53 genes coding for members of the MFS transporters, such as the MHS family proline/betaine transporter ProP (mentioned before) (Supplementary Table S10). These results are consistent with the capacity of SA187 to grow on different carbon sources, as described previously. SA187 was able to grow in media with arabinose and, to some extent, with glycerol or lactose. SA187 is also able to incorporate sucrose, fructose, glucose or maltose, what is consistent with its growth on ½MS when the corresponding carbon sources were added (Supplementary Figure S5B).
Additionally, bacteria have developed several specific mechanisms to compete for iron, an essential element whose availability often limits bacterial growth. These mechanisms include specific iron uptake transporters, the secretion of large numbers of diverse siderophores and the synthesis of siderophore receptors to utilize siderophores produced by other microorganisms. The presence of an efficient iron uptake system can also contribute to protect the host plant against pathogen infections, by depriving iron from the pathogenic microorganisms (Taghavi et al., 2010). We found 54 genes involved in iron- and manganese-uptake by SA187 (Supplementary Table S11). Among them, several iron ABC transporters: SitABCD, 2 AfuABC, 4 FhuDBC as well as six genes coding for the iron complex-outer membrane receptor FhuA; two ferrous iron uptake transporters: FeoABC and EfeUO; and the ferrous-ion efflux pump FieF (Supplementary Table S11). An important role of iron uptake in the interaction between SA187 and the plant is supported by the observed increase in gene expression of the genes afuA and entS (Figure 4A). These transporters for iron uptake are common among members of the Enterobacteriaceae family, including PGPR Enterobacter sp. 638 and Klebsiella sp. D5A (Boyer et al., 2002; Taghavi et al., 2010; Liu et al., 2016).
Similarly to other Enterobacteriaceae (Taghavi et al., 2010; Carpenter and Payne, 2014), SA187 contains the genes necessary to synthesize the siderophore (ferric chelator) enterobactin: entD (SA187PBcda_000005352), entF (SA187PBcda_000005348), entABEC (SA187PBcda_000005338-000005341), to secrete it through an MFS transporter (entS, SA187PBcda_000005343), and to recover the enterobactin-iron complex through the TonB-dependent transporter ExbDB (SA187PBcda_000000488-000000489). Finally, the enterobactin esterase Fes (SA187PBcda_ 000005350) will liberate the iron molecule. An additional TonB-dependent outer membrane iron-enterobactin/colicin (fepA, SA187PBcda_000005351) was also identified. The production of enterobactin has been reported in E. coli BW25113 and E. cloacae ATCC 13047, were it has been found to be positively regulated by the peroxiredoxin AhpC (Ma and Payne, 2012; Carpenter and Payne, 2014).
Phosphorus (P) is another element that is an essential macronutrient for the growth of all biota, including plants, and, together with nitrogen, it is one of the major limiting macronutrients for crop production (Bergkemper et al., 2016). Plants are only able to take up free orthophosphate (PO43-), but phosphate in the soil is mostly present in the form of insoluble compounds. Therefore, specialized microorganisms such as PGPB play an important role in providing available inorganic P to the plant, in the form of PO43- (Bergkemper et al., 2016). In most bacteria, a mineral phosphate-dissolving capacity has been shown to be related to the production of organic acids, and the direct oxidation of glucose to gluconic acid (GA) has been proposed as the main mechanism for mineral phosphate solubilization in Gram-negative bacteria. This oxidation is carried out by the glucose dehydrogenase (GDH) enzyme and the cofactor pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) and has been identified, among others, in the phosphate solubilizers E. asburiae and Leclercia sp. QAU-66 (Gyaneshwar et al., 1999; Rodríguez et al., 2007; Naveed et al., 2014). The genome of SA187 contains only the gene coding for PqqF. The lack of the operon pqqABCDE eliminates this pathway as the strategy used for phosphate solubilization. Nevertheless, we found that SA187 can synthetize 2 exopolyphosphatases (ppx-gppA, SA187PBcda_000001262, SA187PBcda_000005395) and an inorganic pyrophosphatase (ppa, SA187PBcda_000002182), which are three enzymes that have been shown to be involved in making insoluble phosphorus available for to plants (Bhattacharyya et al., 2017). The genome of SA187 contains genes coding for the TCS PhoB/PhoR involved in the phosphate starvation response (phoBR, SA187PBcda_000002805-000002806) and an ABC transporter for phosphate uptake (pstSCAB, SA187PBcda_000001427- SA187PBcda_000001430). Moreover, we also identified a low-affinity inorganic phosphate transporter (pit, SA187PBcda_000001153). The genes phoA and phoD, coding for enzymes alkaline phosphatases, which release PO43- and acts downstream the PhoBR system, were not found. The Pst transporter is repressed by phosphate and induced under phosphate limitation, while the Pit system is constitutive (Jansson, 1988). Despite the potential capability of SA187 to incorporate phosphate (PO43-) through these systems, the bacterium was unable to experimentally solubilize phosphate, as shown by our biochemical analysis (Table 3), suggesting that the transporters might be non-functional or not expressed under the experimental conditions.
Together with P and K+, nitrogen is one of the most important micronutrients for the plant. A number of Enterobacteriaceae, including Enterobacter oryzae Ola51T, E. agglomerans, E. cloacae, or L. adecarboxylata STUPM20, have been reported to be nitrogen-fixers (Kreutzer et al., 1991; Peng et al., 2009; Laili et al., 2017). Interestingly, the genome of SA187 lacks genes coding for the nitrogenase enzyme (nifDHK), required for nitrogen fixation, but contains genes for dissimilatory nitrate reduction (Supplementary Table S12): narLXK (SA187PBcda_000004490-000004493), narGHIJ (SA187PBcda_000004486-000004489), nirBD (SA187PBcda_000001018-000001019), nirC (SA187PBcda_000001020) and nitrate assimilation: nasAB (SA187PBcda_000004496-000004497). We also found an ammonium uptake transporter and its regulator (amtB and glnK, SA187PBcda_000002879-000002880), a periplasmic nitrate reductase (napA, SA187PBcda_000005261), a nitrate/nitrite ABC transporter (nasDEF/nrtABC, SA187PBcda_000004498-000004500) and the nitrate RR NasR (SA187PBcda_000004502). These results indicate that SA187 is potentially able to incorporate nitrate and nitrite for assimilation into ammonia, as well as to incorporate ammonia directly.
Secretion of Effector Proteins
Besides the uptake and exchange of nutrients, bacteria also need a set of different protein secretion systems that are essential for their growth and for their interaction with plants. Through these systems, bacteria secrete enzymes, peptides, toxins, antibiotics or secondary metabolites to the surrounding environment, to compete with nearby microorganisms or to be incorporated and used by their host plant (Green and Mecsas, 2016). Among the bacterial secretion systems, the general secretion (Sec) and the twin-arginine translocation (Tat) pathways are most commonly used to transport proteins across the plasma membrane (Natale et al., 2008). The Sec pathway primarily secretes unfolded proteins, while the Tat pathway is mostly used to secrete folded proteins (Robinson and Bolhuis, 2004). Most of the proteins transported by these pathways remain inside the cell, but in Gram-negative bacteria, they can either stay in the periplasm or the inner membrane, or they can be secreted outside through the type II (T2SS) or type V (T5SS) secretion systems (Green and Mecsas, 2016). In the genome of SA187, we identified 35 genes involved in bacterial secretion systems. Among them, we identified a complete Sec and Tat secretion pathways and most of the T2SS and type VI (T6SS) secretion systems (Supplementary Table S13). We did not find any of the genes required for the biosynthesis of type III (T3SS) nor T5SS.
The T2SS is conserved in most Gram-negative bacteria, and is unique in its ability to promote secretion of large and sometimes multimeric proteins that are folded in the periplasm and transport them into the extracellular environment (Douzi et al., 2012; Green and Mecsas, 2016). Although T2SS has been found in many plant pathogens such as Pseudomonas fluorescens, Erwinia, or Xanthomonas spp., T2SS is also important for non-pathogenic bacteria, such as the metal reducing bacteria Shewanella oneidensis (Douzi et al., 2012; Korotkov et al., 2013). In the genome of SA187 we found almost all core genes coding for the T2SS, which were organized in an operon (gspCDEFGHIJKLM, SA187PBcda_000000965-000000975). Only the genes gspO, coding for a prepilin peptidase, and gspS, coding for an accessory pilotin, were not found. As non-core component, genes encoding GspS have not been found in all bacterial species. Nevertheless, the T2SS core protein GspO seems to be essential for the secretion system to be functional (Douzi et al., 2012). Although no gene coding for GspO was found in the genome of SA187, we found two genes showing a high homology, coding for a type IV prepilin-like proteins peptidase (pilD, SA187PBcda_000000976, SA187PBcda_000000320), which could be used instead, rendering SA187 with a fully functional T2SS secretion system.
The T6SS, on the other hand, is the most recent bacterial secretion system to be discovered and also fairly well conserved among Gram-negative bacteria. Although it is still poorly characterized, T6SS translocates effector proteins into a variety of recipient cells, including eukaryotic cells and other bacteria and has been reported in a well-studied PGPB strain P. fluorescens (Decoin et al., 2014; Green and Mecsas, 2016). Many of these effectors are directed against the bacterial cell wall and membrane, supporting a role in bacterial competition with other microorganisms (Russell et al., 2011, 2014). Similarly to T2SS, T6SS has been found in pathogenic as well as in non-pathogenic bacteria (Shyntum et al., 2014). In the case of SA187, we identified most of the genes coding for T6SS, including three copies of the gene coding for the Hcp protein, (SA187PBcda_000000063, SA187PBcda_000001145, SA187PBcda_000001383), but none of the three post-translational regulators: PpkA, Fha1 and Stp1. These regulatory proteins belong to the non-core set of genes and are not essential for the biosynthesis of a functional secretion system (Shyntum et al., 2014).
Chemotaxis and Bacterial Mobility
Motility is an important characteristic for plant-associated bacteria and endophytes, enabling bacteria to move and colonize plants and also to systematically spread within the plant (Hardoim et al., 2008). We identified 156 genes involved in chemotaxis and biosynthesis and assembly of flagella (Supplementary Table S14). The most widespread bacterial chemotaxis signaling pathway centers on a fixed core of signaling genes, consisting in the TCS CheA/CheY, methyl-accepting chemoreceptor proteins (MCP) and an adaptor protein CheW (Capra and Laub, 2012). Consistently with its chemotactic nature, we found that SA187 is able to synthetize the TCS CheA/CheY (cheA, SA187PBcda_000004788; cheY, SA187PBcda_000004777), as well as CheW (SA187PBcda_000004787) and a wide variety of MCPs (10 mcp, tap, 3 tar, 2 tgr, 4 tsr) (Supplementary Tables S6, S14). We also found genes coding for additional chemotaxis proteins: CheZYBR (SA187PBcda_000004776-000004779), CheWA (SA187PBcda_000004787-000004788), the TCS RR CheV (SA187PBcda_000005252) and CheB/CheR fusion protein (cheBR, SA187PBcda_000000470), and also several copies of the genes coding for fimbrial proteins FimA, FimC, and FimD (Supplementary Table S14).
The mobile nature of SA187, which allows the bacterium to move through the soil matrix and inside the plant, was confirmed by the presence of a large number of genes involved in the biosynthesis and assembly of flagella, such as 2 operons flgABCDEFGHIJKLMN, 2 flhAB, flhCD, flhE, 2 fliA, fliB, 2 fliCD, 3 fliC, fliEFGHIJKLMN, fliEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST, as well as and 2 copies of genes coding for the flagellar motor proteins MotA and MotB. We also found genes involved in the biosynthesis and assembly of the type IV pilus system (T4PS) (hofBC, hofMNOPQ, tcpC, tcpD, tcpE, tcpT) and pilin (2 pilD, ppdABC, tcpA, tcpB) (Supplementary Table S14).
It is known that T2SS and T4PS are evolutionary related and shared several structural and functional features, such as the prepilin peptidase PilD, as mentioned before (Korotkov et al., 2013). Interestingly, we observed that, in the genome of SA187, most of the genes involved in the biosynthesis of flagella, as well as a set of genes coding for T4PS are grouped in clusters (Figure 1). The high number of flagella synthetized by SA187 can be seen in the negative-stained transmission electron microscopy sections shown in Figure 7A. Interestingly, 5 flagellin (FliC) paralogs containing the N-terminal conserved flg22 motif were found in the genome of SA187. This Flg22 motif is the main pathogen-associated molecular pattern (PAMP) motif that induces PAMP-triggered immunity when plants sense bacteria, such as P. aeruginosa or S. enterica (García and Hirt, 2014; Bigeard et al., 2015) (Figure 7B). Since different host plants including Arabidopsis recognize SA187 as a beneficial bacterium and not a pathogen, it is clear that FliC-induced PAMP-triggered defense responses must be suppressed by SA187 through a yet unknown mechanism.
FIGURE 7. (A) Transmission electron microscopy section of SA187. Bacteria were cultured in LB broth before fixation and negative staining. SA187 shows a high number of peritrichous flagella. (B) Conservation of flg22 motif. The N-terminal of FliC proteins of SA187 shown a highly conserved motif shared with Pseudomonas flg22. Diagram obtained by using WebLogo on-line tool (Crooks et al., 2004).
Plant Colonization
To mediate the adhesion and colonization of plant roots, a variety of plant-associated bacteria produce cellulose and other exopolysaccharides (Römling and Galperin, 2015). The genome of SA187 contains all genes necessary to synthesize cellulose (bcsABCD) (Supplementary Table S15). In some members of the Enterobacteriaceae, cellulose is usually co-expressed with curli fibers (Römling, 2007). In the genome of SA187 we found 2 operons coding for curli fibers: csgGFED (SA187PBcda_000003728-000003731) and csgBAC (SA187PBcda_000003733-000003735), which were found adjacent, separated by a hypothetical protein (SA187PBcda_000003732).
Colanic acid is another exopolysaccharide produced by many Enterobacteriaceae and critical for biofilm formation (Rättö et al., 2006). The genome of SA187 contains all genes necessary for the biosynthesis of colanic acid, organized in a gene cluster, together with the proteins required for its translocation to the bacteria cell surface: Wza, Wzb, and Wzc (SA187PBcda_000005052-000005070). The colanic acid transcriptional regulator McbR (SA187PBcda_000004274) was also identified in a separate genomic region. Additionally, we found several genes involved in the putative adhesion to roots, as well as the operon srfABC (SA187PBcda_000004281-000004283), which codes for virulence effectors homologs to those identified in S. enterica, which are believed to be involved in host colonization (Worley et al., 2000; Frye et al., 2006).
It has been reported that the endophytic bacterium E. asburiae JM22 is able to hydrolyze plant cell wall-bound cellulose to gain access to the plant cell (Hallmann et al., 1997). The genome of SA187, however, does not encode any endo-/exo- or hemi-cellulases, suggesting that SA187 could gain entry into the host plant through injuries, points of damaged tissue or natural openings, as described for Enterobacter sp. 638 (Taghavi et al., 2010). Similarly to this well characterized PGPB, we found that SA187 is able to degrade and utilize pectin, as a gene coding for pectate lyase (pelB, SA187PBcda_000002287), an enzyme involved in the cleavage of pectate into oligosaccharides, was identified next to an oligogalacturonate-specific porin (kdgM, SA187PBcda_000002288) (Taghavi et al., 2010). We also found an oligogalacturonide ABC transporter (togMNAB, SA187PBcda_000000314-000000317) involved in the translocation of this pectic oligosaccharide across the inner membrane and genes involved in the degradation of oligogalacturonide (ogl, SA187PBcda_000000332; kduDI, SA187PBcda_000000330-000000331; kdgKA, SA187PBcda_000001733-000001734), was well as the transcriptional regulator kdgR, SA187PBcda_000001735) and 2 copies of an additional galacturonate uptake transporter exuT (SA187PBcda_000000661, SA187PBcda_000003517), and its negative regulator exuR (SA187PBcda _000000662) (Valmeekam et al., 2001). This strategy has been also reported for others PGPB, such as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens subsp. plantarum B9601-Y2 (He et al., 2012). Alternatively, we found that SA187 may degrade galacturonate through a pathway involving the enzymes coded by uxaA (SA187PBcda_000000658), uxaB (SA187PBcda_000004197-000004198), and uxaC (SA187PBcda_000000659). Enzymatic complexes UxaABC and Uxa AB has been found to be normally used in E. coli to degrade galacturonate and glucuronate (Rothe et al., 2013).
As described previously, carotenoids play an important role in the survival in the rhizosphere and plant colonization of Pantoea sp. YR343 to A. thaliana and Populus deltoids (Bible et al., 2016). Interestingly, during our experiments to screen the effect of SA187 in the growth and development of Arabidopsis seedlings, we monitored the amount and viability of bacterial cells (CFU/μl) that were associated with plant roots, and observed the appearance of a multiphenotypic complex in showing yellow and white colonies (Figure 6B). The ratio between white colonies (SA187W) and those showing the original yellow phenotype (SA187Y) increased with longer periods of incubation with plants (data not shown). To eliminate the possibility of contamination, we performed analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence as well as genotyping of both white and yellow isolates by (GTG)5-rep-PCR fingerprinting. The results obtained from these analyses confirmed both morphologies corresponded to the same bacterial strain (Figure 6C). Based on these results, we can hypothesize that a modification in the metabolism of SA187 occurred upon colonization of the plant, leading to a decrease in the production of carotenoids. Although a clear role of carotenoids in the interaction between SA187 and Arabidopsis was suggested by the increase in gene expression of crtB upon association with the plant (Figure 4A), further investigations are needed to clarify a role of these carotenoids in the interaction of SA187 with its host–plant.
Defense against Oxidative Stress
Upon contact with bacteria, a major plant defense reaction is the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), nitric oxide and phytoalexins (Hammond-Kosack and Jones, 1996; Zeidler et al., 2004). Therefore, during colonization, endophytes have to survive in a highly oxidative environment. Accordingly, in the genome of SA187 we found a wide variety of enzymes and regulators that help bacteria to cope with oxidative stress, including superoxide dismutase (sod, SA187PBcda_000001593), catalase (katE, SA187PBcda_000005240), Mn-containing catalase (katN, SA187PBcda_000000181), 4 peroxiredoxins (ahpC, SA187PBcda_000002814, SA187PBcda_000003138; bcp, SA187PBcda_000005379; ahpF, SA187PBcda_000003139), 2 osmotically inducible proteins (osmC, SA187PBcda_000000190, SA187PBcda_000002308), iron-dependent peroxidase (SA187PBcda_000003030), cloroperoxidase (SA187PBcda_000001174) and thiol peroxidase (SA187PBcda_000004379). Synteny analysis demonstrated that the gene SA187PBcda_000003918, annotated as hypothetical protein, was in reality a homolog of katE.
Additionally, we found a gene coding for the hydrogen peroxidase sensor OxyR (SA187PBcda_000001637), which activates the expression of genes such as glutathione reductase (katG, gor, SA187PBcda_000001159), ahpC, ahpF, a DNA-protection during starvation protein (dpsA, SA187PBcda_000003479), the transcriptional regulator of ferric uptake (fur, SA187PBcda_000003300) and glutaredoxin (grxA, SA187PBcda_000003553). We also found 3 glutathione S-transferases (GTS) (gts, SA187PBcda_000001274, SA187PBcda_000002004, SA187PBcda_000003538), a glutathione ABC transporter (gsiABCD, SA187PBcda_000003528-000003531), 3 glutathione peroxidases (btuE, SA187PBcda_000003945, SA187PBcda_000004145) and a γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) (SA187PBcda_000001086). The operon coding for an RND family multidrug efflux pump (acrAB, SA187PBcda_000002911-000002912) that is required for a successful colonization of the host plant (Taghavi et al., 2010; Burse et al., 2004), as well as its transcriptional regulator (acrC, SA187PBcda_000002913), were also encoded in the genome of SA187.
Production of Antimicrobial Compounds and Toxins
Many beneficial bacteria also produce a variety of antimicrobial compounds, thereby enhancing the plant resistance against pathogens. The genome of SA187 contain phzF (SA187PBcda_000004183) and ubiC (SA187PBcda_000001974), two enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of phenazine and 4-hydroxybenzoate, respectively, which are antibiotics against plant pathogenic bacteria (Duan et al., 2013; Gupta et al., 2014). Furthermore, we identified six genes coding for chitinase (gene.SA187PBcda_000000184, gene.SA187PBcda_000000547,gene.SA187PBcda_000000978, gene.SA187PBcda_000000980, gene.SA187PBcda_000003882, gene.SA187PBcda_000005622), a potent enzyme against insects and fungi (Hamid et al., 2013), which has been also identified in PGPB of the genera Enterobacter, Klebsiella, Pantoea, or Serratia (Dinesh et al., 2015; Rodrigues et al., 2016). SA187 can also synthetize proteins involved in resistance against several antimicrobial compounds: ß-lactam, vancomycin and cationic antimicrobial peptide (CAP) (Supplementary Table S16). We also found a number of toxin/antitoxin (T/A) systems (symE/R, relE/B, hipA/B, cptA/B, chpBK/BI, vapB/C, fic/yhfG, hicA/B) (Supplementary Table S17) and the toxin-coregulated proteins TcpA (gene.SA187PBcda_000000329) and TcpE (gene.SA187PBcda_000000321), what is consistent with the dualistic life-style of SA187 as free-living in the rhizosphere and associated with the host–plant (Pandey and Gerdes, 2005).
Plant Hormone Modulation and Promotion of Plant Growth
Many beneficial bacteria have PGPB activity that is mediated by a variety of mechanisms, including the production or inactivation of plant hormones, such as aminocyclopropane-1-carboxilate (ACC) deaminase. ACC deaminase is involved in the metabolism of the immediate precursor of ethylene in the ethylene biosynthesis, and one of the most well-known PGPB traits (Loper et al., 2012; Shen et al., 2013). ACC deaminase has been found predominantly in Pseudomonas and Mesorhizobium strains, but also reported in member of the genus Enterobacter: E. cloacae UW4, E. cloacae CAL2, and rhizospheric E. cloacae and E. cancerogenus, among others (Shah et al., 1998; Holguin and Glick, 2001; Glick, 2014). Interestingly, acdS, coding for ACC deaminase, was not found in the genome of SA187 (Supplementary Figure S6).
Acetoin and 2,3-butanediol are volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by many PGPB to enhance plant growth (Ryu et al., 2003). The main pathway for the production of these VOCs by Enterobacter sp. 638, a PGPB strain closely related to SA187, is via the sequential action of enzymes coded by the operon budABC (Taghavi et al., 2010). The genome sequence of SA187 contains 3 paralogs of the dimeric enzyme coded by budB (SA187PBcda_000001378-000001379, SA187PBcda_000001698-000001699, SA187PBcda_000002514-000002515), acetolactate synthase, but no budA or budC are present. The lack of these genes makes SA187 capable to transform pyruvate into acetolactate, but no further transformation into acetoin or 2,3-butanediol is possible.
Another strategy that PGPB use to enhance plant growth is the synthesis of auxin indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) from tryptophan through indolepyruvate (Taghavi et al., 2009). We found that SA187 contains most of the genes coding for enzymes involved in this pathway, but it lacks the gene coding for indolepyruvate decarboxylase (ipdC). Instead, SA187 encodes the enzyme tryptophanase (tnaA, SA187PBcda_000000047), which was also found in biofilm forming E. coli (Hu et al., 2010), which can transform tryptophan into indole, but cannot produce salicylic acid (SA). There is nevertheless the possibility that IAA could be produced from indole, although the mechanism of this reaction is not yet understood. We also found a gene coding for nitrilase (SA187PBcda_000002715), which could be a possible alternative tryptophan-independent pathway for the biosynthesis of IAA from indole-3-acetonitrile (Bhattacharyya et al., 2017). Alternatively, SA187 could supply the plant with tryptophan itself, which is the source for the de novo synthesis of IAA in plants, through the intermediate indole-3-pyruvate (Zhao, 2012).
Additionally, we found that the genome of SA187 also contains genes coding for arginine decarboxylase (SpeA), agmatinase (SpeB) and spermidine synthase (SpeE) (speABE, SA187PBcda_000002462-000002464). These enzymes allow the transformation of amino acids into PGP substances, the polyamines putrescine, spermine, and spermidine, respectively, which contribute to bacterial fitness, and have been reported in PGPB strains such as B. subtilis OKB105 or Klebsiella sp. D5A (Xie et al., 2014; Liu et al., 2016).
Although SA187 lacks the former common PGP mechanisms, its beneficial effect in promoting the growth of plants under stress has been suggested to be due to the production of ethylene. Several mechanisms have been described for the production of ethylene in microbes, as ethylene-forming enzyme (EFE) or spontaneous oxidation of 2-keto-4-methylthiobutyric acid (KMBA), an intermediate of the methionine salvage pathway (MSP) (Eckert et al., 2014). In the genome of SA187, we identified all genes involved in the MSP, suggesting that SA187 has the potential to produce ethylene in this manner (Supplementary Figure S6).
SA187 Central Metabolism
The genome of SA187 contains genes involved in the central carbon metabolism, including glycolysis (Embden–Meyerhof and Entner–Doudoroff pathways), pyruvate oxidation, tricarboxylic acid cycle, pentose phosphate pathway and glyoxylate cycle (Supplementary Table S18). The presence of these metabolic pathways should provide SA187 with the capacity to metabolize sugars and other carbon sources present in the plant root exudates. We also found that SA187 can utilize lactose, a differentiating characteristic of the genera Escherichia, Enterobacter, Citrobacter, Klebsiella, and Serratia (Guentzel, 1996), and also fructose, mannose and malonate (mdcABCDEFGH, SA187PBcda_000000997-000001004; and the transcriptional regulator mdcR, SA187PBcda_000000996). The capacity of SA187 to metabolize these sugars is consistent with its uptake through ABC transporters or PTS, as described before, and with the capability of SA187 to grow in ½ MS+1% fructose and ½ MS+0.1–1% sucrose (Supplementary Figure S5B). The role of sucrose as carbon source utilized by the bacteria in association with the plant is also supported by the observed increase in gene expression of the sucrose transporter scrA (Figure 4A).
The results of our taxonomic analysis supports the notion that SA187 represents a novel taxon closely related to the genus Kosakonia. Although this suggests the classification of SA187 as a new genus, further investigation is needed to fully characterize its taxonomic position. Additionally, in the genome of SA187, we successfully identified a number of genes conferring the bacterium the characteristics of a dualistic life style, allowing SA187 to survive in the soil under harsh conditions, as well as to colonize, internalize and provide growth promotion to plants through diverse metabolic strategies. However, the mechanism of interaction between SA187 and its host-plant is not yet fully understood. The combination of the present genomic data with comparative studies on gene expression and metabolite production in SA187, alone or in association with plants, will deepen our understanding which specific genes and pathways are induced during the beneficial interaction. Once important genes will be identified, the further phenotypic screening of mutant strains will reveal their role in the plant-bacterial interaction and plant growth promotion. The knowledge obtained can be further translated into comprehensive and more sophisticated strategies to establish sustainable agricultural practices in marginal and arid lands by using endophytic bacteria as biofertilizers to improve crop production.
MS, FL, and HH conceived the overall study. AdZ established the plant screening assay that led to the selection of SA187. FL extracted and purified SA187 genomic DNA. IA performed gene prediction and annotation of complete genome data. CA-B performed taxonomical analysis based on 16S and MLSA. FL and IA performed whole-genome phylogenetic analysis. AE performed the biochemical characterization of SA187 and growth curves. AB realized the plant growth promotion screening. HA extracted RNA from dual samples CA-B extracted RNA from bacterial samples, performed qPCR and analyzed the genomic data. CA-B and MS wrote the manuscript. HH, VB, and MS coordinated the experiments and the writing of the manuscript.
This publication is based upon work supported by the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) to HH No. BAS/1/1062-01-01, and by the KAUST Office of Sponsored Research (OSR) under Awards No. URF/1/1976-02 and FCS/1/2448-01 to VB.
We would like to thank all members of the Hirt lab, CDA management team and green house facility in KAUST for the technical assistance and for their help in many aspects of this work. We would like to also acknowledge Dr. Michael F. Mette for the valuable comments and Dr. Lukas Synek for his help to build and format the figures of this paper.
The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2017.02023/full#supplementary-material
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^https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/
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Keywords: Indigofera argentea, root endophytes, plant–microbe interaction, plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB), salt stress
Citation: Andrés-Barrao C, Lafi FF, Alam I, de Zélicourt A, Eida AA, Bokhari A, Alzubaidy H, Bajic VB, Hirt H and Saad MM (2017) Complete Genome Sequence Analysis of Enterobacter sp. SA187, a Plant Multi-Stress Tolerance Promoting Endophytic Bacterium. Front. Microbiol. 8:2023. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.02023
Received: 05 June 2017; Accepted: 04 October 2017;
Published: 20 October 2017.
Devin Coleman-Derr, University of California, Berkeley, United States
Oswaldo Valdes-Lopez, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico
Javier Alejandro Izquierdo, Hofstra University, United States
Copyright © 2017 Andrés-Barrao, Lafi, Alam, de Zélicourt, Eida, Bokhari, Alzubaidy, Bajic, Hirt and Saad. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Heribert Hirt, heribert.hirt@kaust.edu.sa
†Present address: Feras F. Lafi, Department of Medical Laboratories, Faculty of Science, American University of Madaba, Madaba, Jordan
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Nearly a third (29 per cent) said they would not seek any further professional financial advice after they retire even though many don't know how much money they have in their pot or how much they need for their retirement.
Evalue chief executive Paul McNamara said: "As an industry, we need to pool insight to better our collective understanding of the root causes of the advice gap and to help consumers to act in their own best interests when it comes to planning effectively for their retirement.
"The value of timely, professional advice has been proven time and again, and while the perceived cost of that advice is turning off some people, our findings show that is not the biggest contributing factor for consumers not seeking advice."
Of the 1,000 respondents, 690 were UK adults aged over 55, the age at which they can start drawing on their pension savings.
According to Evalue, about half of individuals were unlikely to consider drawdown either due to perceived complexity or a lack of trust in investment markets, suggesting that they are instead taking their pension as a cash lump sum.
Meanwhile, 12 per cent said they would consider drawdown, but would not have confidence in the plan.
Mr McNamara said: "The fact that our research shows such a high percentage of consumers, who are at the age they can draw on their pension assets, are labouring under some pretty fundamental misunderstandings and have such deeply held misgivings about our sector, it leaves them wide open to pension scams."
amy.austin@ft.com
PensionsDrawdownIFA
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01494 424222 info@eximiussupport.uk
About Eximius
Why Eximius?
Care For Couples
Recovery From An Operation
Recovery From An Illness
Across The UK
Helping others to live their lives to the fullest
Eximius was founded by Kate Hetzel in 2016. Her vision for Eximius was to support complicated care needs, the focus is on our clients’ lives, what they love doing, their hobbies, their interests and with Eximius support companions ensuring that they receive the exceptional help people need in order to enable them to live their lives to the fullest.
Kate was inspired by her mother to set up Eximius and deliver an altogether superior service. Her mother is wonderfully spirited, sophisticated and fiercely independent, despite being 80 years old with a floundering memory. She’s the yardstick against which Kate measures the service we provide and the reason she believes that everyone should be able to stay in their homes, living the happiest and most independent lives they can.
“For the past 13 years I’ve seen the enormous positive impact live-in support has on people’s lives. Following a 16 year career in sales and marketing, I started a care franchise in 2002 and one of my first ever clients needed a live-in carer. Since then, it has always been a passion of mine.
I operated the business for 13 years, employing over 100 carers, and had more than 350 clients at any one time. Our clients came from all walks of life and needed different specialised care. Whether recuperating from a spell in hospital or hindered by a long-term condition or disability, giving them the support they needed at home in familiar surroundings near friends and family couldn’t be beaten. It’s why I am so passionate about live-in support. It is important to keep your loved one in their home surroundings. I look forward to welcoming you.
We are a bespoke live-in care company. Unlike other companies, we meet all our clients and are committed to ensuring our companions live by the culture and service levels I have set. I want all our clients to be delighted by our service and ensure they are treated with dignity and respect.”
“I am passionate about making a difference to the lives of others. I began my career as a care worker over 20 years ago, having been bought up in a family where everyone was either a doctor or a nurse.
I began as a domiciliary worker, and worked in various areas, such as mental health, stroke care, dementia care and end of life. I moved into care recruitment, enabling me to hone my skills in matching carers to clients. I eventually managed live-in care and continuing health, working with nurses and carers for clients with spinal injuries, head injuries, MS and other conditions.
Being given the opportunity to turn my aptitude for caring for others into a career has allowed me to make a positive impact on the lives of others. Gaining the necessary knowledge and experience to perform a more involved role in a managing capacity has motivated me to continue working and learning to the same high standard and allowed me to make an even greater difference to the lives of our service users.
I joined Eximius in 2018 as a Care Manager, as I was looking for a company which shared my vision and ethos for exceptional live-in care.”
Care Manager
“I joined Eximius in 2017 having been a receptionist on a part time basis in a Doctors surgery, whilst raising my daughters. While there I trained for a diploma in health care, assisting with phlebotomy, minor surgery, health checks, blood pressures, family planning clinics, diabetic clinics, dressings and child immunisation along with the practice nurse. This fuelled my interest in caring for people in a clinical setting.
In 2017 my mother was sadly diagnosed with Vascular dementia and passed away later that year. During that time I learnt a huge amount about dementia and also the way it affects family members trying to cope with arranging care and their own emotions.
My role with Eximius is to run the office and deal with any enquiries and phone calls. The work is very varied and I love talking to all the clients and also the support companions. If I had known about the excellent care provided by Eximius whilst my mum was alive, I would have not hesitated in using them to help look after her.”
Care Quality Commission (CQC) report
Link to full report by the Care Quality Commission
Summary of report
Updated 14 June 2017
This inspection took place on 24 May 2017. It was an announced visit to the service.
This was the first inspection since the provider registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to provide personal care to people. The service supported people who lived in their own homes. At the time of the inspection five people were supported with live-in staff known as support companions.
At the time of the inspection there was no registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. The previous registered manager de-registered in April 2017. The service had appointed a new manager and they had submitted an application to CQC to become the registered manager.
We received lots of positive feedback from people we contacted. There was an overriding theme that the care provided to people by staff had had a positive impact on people’s physical, emotional and spiritual well-being. We were informed health had improved and some people had returned to activities they had not attended for some time.
We received feedback that staff were exceptionally kind and caring. One relative told us “My mother needed to attend a hospital appointment and I had arranged to meet [name of support worker] outside. When I went inside to meet my mother, she was sitting in the café. For a split second I did not recognise her. She was smartly turned out, hair done.” The relative went on to say why that was particularly important. They told us prior to the introduction of the support worker their mother had been neglecting herself and was often seen in an unkempt state. They told us their mother had always been interested in clothes and fashion and had always previously taken pride in their appearance. It was clear the staffs’ intervention had supported the person to regain their dignity and pride in her appearance. We received lots of other examples of how caring staff were.
The service had an experienced management team in place. The managing director was integral to the running of the service. They were affiliated to a number of business networks which promoted new ideas in the industry, drove improvements and developments for people supported by Eximius.
There was a clear vision by all staff to provide a person centred service which aimed to enable and empower people to live the life they choose. This was supported by what a relative told us, “The company stood out from the start, the response I got from the moment the phone was answered by Kate Hetzel was stratospherically way above the other companies I had spoken with.”
Staff were recruited through a robust system and people were involved in handpicking their own support worker.
Staff were fully aware of how to promote people’s safety and told us they would report any concerns to the office. Staff and relatives told us they had confidence in the office to deal with any concerns raised.
T: 01494 424222 / 0203 794 9933 M: 07434 901547 E: info@eximiussupport.uk
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Bell says they made the change to target millennials. He says they don’t seem as interested in brand names.
“That’s kind of what drove the concept initially, but then we found the concept resonated with all different ages, not just the young millennials,” he says.
“It turns out 70-year-olds love our store in Derby.”
The new Eyewear Junkie is celebrating its opening weekend in 1,400 square feet between Edible Arrangements and Mattress Hub in the same building as Meddys.
Bell isn’t concerned that Specs will suffer with Eyewear Junkie’s popularity.
“I don’t think this is going to be for everybody. People will still want those brand names – some people.”
Bell says Eyewear Junkie is a little more casual than Specs.
“It’s a little more fun,” he says. “Especially with the graffiti wall.”
The quality of the glasses is still high, Bell says.
“We’ve done a really good job of keeping the glasses cool. … Some of the detailing is still fantastic. It’s just beautiful. It’s just not a brand name.”
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Pence calls for return to moon, blasts 'abdication' by Obama of U.S. leadership in space
At Pence's behest, Trump revived the National Space Council, nearly 25 years after it last convened, to draw up a broad space policy.
Pence calls for return to moon, blasts 'abdication' by Obama of U.S. leadership in space At Pence's behest, Trump revived the National Space Council, nearly 25 years after it last convened, to draw up a broad space policy. Check out this story on IndyStar.com: https://usat.ly/2knMPw8
Ledyard King, USATODAY Published 1:55 p.m. ET Oct. 5, 2017 | Updated 4:32 p.m. ET Oct. 5, 2017
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has some "big freaking" plans for his latest rocket project. USA TODAY
Vice President Pence speaks in front of NASA's Space Shuttle Discovery at the National Space Council first meeting at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Thursday, in Chantilly, Va.(Photo: Andrew Harnik, AP)
CHANTILLY, Va. — Lamenting that the U.S. has "lost our edge in space," Vice President Pence vowed to send Americans back to the lunar surface as part of a broader strategy to reclaim the ground rival nations have gained over the past decade.
"We will return Americans astronauts to the moon, not only to leave behind footprints and flags but to build the foundation we need to send Americans to Mars and beyond," Pence said Thursday at the inaugural meeting of the National Space Council.
At Pence's behest, President Trump revived the council, nearly 25 years after it last convened, to draw up a broad space policy. Pence chairs the council, which includes Cabinet secretaries and top officials from several key agencies involved in various aspects of the space program.
The meeting, featuring aerospace CEOs and security experts, took place at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, part of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. Surrounding the stage were iconic reminders of the nation's space program, including the Space Shuttle Discovery parked right behind Pence in the James S. McDonnell hangar of the museum.
Pence, who spoke of the "space fever" he caught as a boy growing up in Indiana, bemoaned the "apathy and neglect" that's taken over the U.S. space program. NASA hasn't sent anyone to the moon in nearly 45 years and now pays Russia $76 million every time it transports an astronaut to the International Space Station.
National Space Council lifts off
Vice President Pence delivers opening remarks during the National Space Council's first meeting at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. The National Space Council, chaired by Pence, heard testimony from representatives from civil space, commercial space, and national security space industry representatives. Joel Kowsky, NASA, via AP
Vice President Pence greets members of the audience following the meeting. Andrew Harnik, AP
Vice President Pence, right, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, talk after the meeting. Andrew Harnik, AP
Vice President Pence accompanied by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, left, speaks during the National Space Council first meeting titled 'Leading the Next Frontier: An Event with the National Space Council.' Andrew Harnik, AP
Vice President Pence speaks in front of NASA's Space Shuttle Discovery. Andrew Harnik, AP
Vice President Pence greets former speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, right, after the meeting. Andrew Harnik, AP
Vice President Pence delivers opening remarks during the meeting. Joel Kowsky, NASA, via EPA-EFE
Vice President Pence, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, left, participate in the inaugural meeting. Mark Wilson, Getty Images
"America entered this new millennium without a coherent policy, a coherent vision for outer space, and in the absence of American leadership, other nations have seized their opportunity to stake their claim in the infinite frontier," he said. "America seems to have lost our edge in space. And those days are over."
Pence took particular aim at former president Barack Obama for deepening the space program's malaise as rival nations, notably China and Russia, expanded their reach in Low Earth Orbit.
"Rather than competing with other nations to create the space technology, the previous administration chose capitulation," the vice president said.
Obama's allies point out that commercial space ventures made large strides under the last administration. Companies now deliver cargo to the space station, and California-based SpaceX is scheduled to ferry astronauts from U.S. soil as early as next year.
Republicans in Congress still criticize Obama's decision in 2010 to scrap the Constellation Program that would have brought astronauts back to the moon after an independent panel of experts determined the cost of a lunar lander would be exorbitant.
In this April 15, 2010 file photo, President Barack Obama, left, met with Apollo 11 astronaut Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin. the second person to walk on the moon. (Photo: Luis M. Alvarez, AP)
Earlier this year, Trump signaled his support of the space program as part of his “Make America Great Again” agenda by proposing a $19.1 billion budget for NASA that's essentially the same as this year. That's in contrast to most federal agencies that saw large cuts in the administration's budget proposal for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1.
Much of the council's discussion Thursday centered on calls for long-term financial stability of the space program, better security measures to counteract threats posed by rival nations against U.S. satellites, and further deregulation of the commercial space sector.
David Thompson, president and CEO of Orbital ATK, which has a NASA contract to ferry cargo to the space station, told the council it should "aggressively engage" with commercial companies to reach the moon and other space goals.
To that end, Pence directed the council to develop a plan within 45 days looking at ways to streamline and modernize regulations that date back as far as the Apollo program.
Those who saw the last space council wither from turf battles between agencies say they were encouraged by what they heard Thursday.
"He's doing exactly what he needs to do, and that's reach across agency lines," Space Florida President Frank A. DiBello said of Pence. "The proof is to sustain this over the long term."
NASA nominee promoting 'consensus' agenda for space program
Under Trump, astronauts might chart a new path to a familiar place: The moon
Private companies leading push for moon return as early as next year
Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2knMPw8
43 tickets in 3 hours, thanks to a 'ghost truck'
Why Brooks voted to condemn Trump's 'go back' tweets
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A Great Day for David Letterman
12:00 AM PST, March 10, 2010 - Inside Edition
David Letterman spoke out about his extortion case victory.
"I need to talk to you about a segment of my life that began six months ago, I found myself in some legal trouble," he told his studio audience.
Letterman put jokes aside and talked about the blackmail scandal, which was resolved when former CBS news producer Robert "Joe" Halderman pled guilty and received a six-month prison sentence.
"I'd never been involved in anything like this in my life and I was concerned and full of anxiety and nervous and worried and the people in the District Attorney's office said, 'This will be handled professionally, this will be handled skillfully and appropriately.' Well the matter was resolved today and they were exactly right," said Letterman.
"It's a win-win for both. Letterman saves days of cross-examination on the intimate details of his life and Halderman gets to resolve this case with a very short sentence and move on," criminal defense attorney Gerald Lefcourt tells INSIDE EDITION.
Meanwhile the late night ratings war between David Letterman and Jay Leno continues. In his second week back as the host of The Tonight Show, Leno eked out a slight win over Letterman.
But the day the deal was made, it was Letterman who came out on top.with his extortionist pleading guilty and a win in the ratings.
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Bond movie halted after Daniel Craig suffers injury: Report
Actor Daniel Craig attends the "Bond 25" film launch at Ian Fleming's Home 'GoldenEye' on April 25, 2019 in Montego Bay, Jamaica. (Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures)
The new Bond movie has reportedly been put on ice to allow Daniel Craig to recover from an ankle injury.
The 51-year-old suffered the injury while filming in Jamaica, according to The Sun, and a shoot planned for Pinewood Studios near London, which had been scheduled for this weekend, has been cancelled.
Craig and the Bond producers have yet to comment on the story.
Filming on Bond 25 began last month, with Rami Malek confirmed as the new Bond villain. Cary Joji Fukunaga is directing the latest 007 film.
Reports suggest the first round of filming in Jamaica has wrapped and Craig, Naomie Harris, Lea Seydoux, Lashana Lynch and Ana de Armas are now on their way to Britain, to link up with Malek and Bond regulars Ralph Fiennes and Ben Whishaw.
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ScienceGoogle DoodleShareSubscribe
Fe del Mundo's "Inspirational" Harvard Achievements Weren't Well Documented
"I think Dr. Fe del Mundo is an incredibly inspirational person."
By Yasmin Tayag
Filed Under History & Medicine
Several stories memorializing Google Doodle honoree Dr. Fe del Mundo on Tuesday recalled the moment the Filipino physician became the first female student at Harvard Medical School in 1933, years before the school formally allowed women to enroll.
Among those enthralled by the brilliant doctor’s story was Joan Ilacqua, archivist for diversity and inclusion at Harvard’s Center for the History of Medicine. But while poring over the records, Ilacqua discovered some parts of the popular del Mundo story that weren’t documented in Harvard’s archives.
In a tweet on Tuesday, Ilacqua wrote: “What do you do if a Google Doodle about your institution isn’t quite right? If you’re me, you freak out all day and try to write something coherent about what we know and what we don’t know.”
She tells Inverse that, “In trying to parse out her story, it was important to me to show how we do historical research, what we can glean from the archives, and what we can or can’t prove based on the evidence we have.” The archives suggest that del Mundo, who would have had her 107th birthday on Tuesday, celebrated many firsts at Harvard Medical School, but because of poor record-keeping on women’s achievements at the time, it’s hard to definitively say which ones.
In a previous article on del Mundo, Inverse described how the National Scientist of the Philippines and award-winning pediatrician became known as Harvard Medical School’s first female student.
Her biography, written when she received the Ramon Magsaysay Award (Asia’s Nobel Prize counterpart) in 1977 for her work in pediatrics, tells the tale of del Mundo’s surprise upon arriving in Cambridge and being sent to a men’s dormitory. There was no other option, since there were no lodgings designated for women at the time. Upon discovering the mix-up — it appears that the admissions board had assumed she was a man — Harvard officials looked into her application. Finding an impressively strong record, the pediatrics department head accepted her anyway.
But as Ilacqua points out in her own deeply researched article for the Center for the History of Medicine, “the evidence that she was a medical student at Harvard Medical School is largely anecdotal and not well sourced.”
Poor record keeping on Harvard's part means many chapters in del Mundo's story are undocumented.
What most likely happened is that del Mundo, who had already graduated from medical school at the University of the Philippines Manila before coming to America, enrolled at Harvard as a graduate student. There’s no record of her graduating from any HMS undergraduate medical program — as a doctor, she wouldn’t have needed to — but she was likely one of the first females to attend graduate school at HMS. While women were not allowed to pursue an undergraduate degree at HMS, by 1936 they were allowed to undergo graduate training, Ilacqua writes.
“I want to celebrate the participation of people associated with Harvard Medical School who are not well documented.”
Not meaning to detract from the importance of del Mundo’s contribution to Harvard, Ilacqua hopes to shed light on the reasons why the doctor’s story is not well documented in the first place. The fragmented record of del Mundo’s years at Harvard offers clues about the school’s attitudes towards women and minorities at the time. HMS, writes Ilacqua, did not “celebrate or acknowledge the academic work of women prior to officially accepting women students in 1945.” Being a woman from a far-off nation — perhaps admitted accidentally for graduate studies — it’s unlikely that del Mundo’s achievements were recorded in a way that they deserved.
“I want to celebrate the participation of people associated with Harvard Medical School who are not well documented, and I wonder what can we do moving forward to have the most accurate representation of who was here, who wasn’t here, and why,” says Ilacqua.
Over the span of del Mundo’s illustrious career, which spanned over eight decades, it is, perhaps, understandable that the story outpaced the woman behind it. Asked in 2002 by the Medical Observer whether she was the first woman at HMS, she only said: “The first coming from this far.”
“I think Dr. Fe del Mundo is an incredibly inspirational person.”
For this and her countless other achievements in children’s health and disease prevention, she is now finally getting the recognition she deserves. HMS’s history of its first female graduates, for example, didn’t include del Mundo before Tuesday, but at around 4:25 p.m. Eastern, an entry was added: “1936: Dr. Fe del Mundo comes to Boston to further her studies in Pediatrics, likely at Boston Children’s Hospital.”
“I think Dr. Fe del Mundo is an incredibly inspirational person,” says Ilacqua, “and I think that her story is so important and certainly worthy of being seen by so [many] people.”
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News / Features / Science & Tech
KSL TV
U. researchers helping to develop better hearing technology
By Jasen Lee, KSL | Posted - Mar 24th, 2019 @ 7:30am
SALT LAKE CITY — A group of Utah researchers is making inroads into technology that may help deaf people hear.
Engineers from the University of Utah are part of a global team of researchers who received a $9.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to create and produce a surgically implantable device that will one day allow the deaf and hard of hearing to understand and be able to listen to more precise sound than previously developed hearing aids.
This system will use a new version of a method that was originally developed by U. biomedical engineering Professor Emeritus Richard Normann that could send and receive electrical brain signals, a news release stated. The new procedure — funded through the five-year NIH grant — could help people who typically would not be candidates for traditional cochlear implants, explained U. electrical and computer engineering professor Florian Solzbacher, the lead U. researcher working on the team.
He noted that cochlear implants have been the primary technology used to treat scores of deaf patients for more than 30 years. The implant uses a tiny device inserted in the cochlea — a spiral cavity of the inner ear that produces nerve impulses from sound vibrations — to stimulate the auditory nerve, the release stated.
But Solzbacher said the implants don’t work for everyone due to variations in the anatomy of some patients or other abnormalities. He said for those patients where the cochlear implant didn't work, the sound heard was not particularly good quality and was adversely affected by ambient noises making some sounds hard to distinguish.
"Your ability to hear in complex situations — to hear music, for example — or situations where you have lots of people speaking in a room is still very, very difficult," he explained. Because the sound was just amplified through attachment to the patient's auditory nerve, the lack of clarity still presented problems, he added. The new technology would greatly improve the sound quality heard by the patient, he said.
“You have much higher resolution of sound, which means you can cover more individual frequencies and have better tonal range,” says Solzbacher. “That should allow you to get more realistic hearing.”
An additional benefit of the technology is that it could be connected to already existing hearing aids that are typically utilized in cochlear implants, he said. He also noted that as a clinical product, the new technology should be designed to last approximately 30 years in the human body.
According to the release, the team will develop the technology and surgical procedure during the first three years of the grant period in an effort to verify safety and efficacy. In the last two years, the team will work on using the devices in human patients with hearing loss that otherwise would not be candidates for traditional cochlear implants, the release stated.
The research group will be composed of scientists from the University of Minnesota, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, the Hannover Medical School in Hanover, Germany, the International Neuroscience Institute in Hanover, Germany, the Hannover Clinical Trial Center, Salt Lake City-based Blackrock Microsystems and MED-EL, an Austrian manufacturer of medical devices for hearing loss, the release stated.
Solzbacher said the technology could become widely available within the next decade and offers hope to more patients with deafness or significant hearing loss.
"This is something that's much closer to something that helps large numbers of people," he said.
U. researchers find way to correct defect in quantum dot lasers
Jasen Lee
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Professor / Associate Professor / Lecturer in Applied Economics
Shanghai University - School of Economics
Shanghai - China
The School of Economics at Shanghai University currently has three departments, including the Department of Economics, Department of Finance, and Industrial Economics Research Center, as well as such research institutes as China Economic Research Center of the Service Industry, Financial Information Research Center, and Government Efficiency Research Center, etc. It has a multi-level teaching and research system, including undergraduate, master, Ph.D., and post-doctoral research programs. The School maintains the spirit of the former President, Weichang Qian, adheres to the education methods proposed by Qian, and has accumulated a strong team of faculty members, thanks to Shanghai as one of the international economic and financial centers and supported by the “211” project of Shanghai University. The School focuses on both teaching and research, and insists on the teaching methodology of “general education with solid foundation” for the undergraduate level education. The School is the official partner of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Program, and has obtained its official authorization. This makes Shanghai University one of the 10 higher education institutions in mainland China and one of the 128 such institutions in the world with such an authorization. The School is also a partner of the Bank of Communications, and establishes a platform of “Bank-University Cooperation” with the Bank of Communications. Nowadays, the School of Economics at Shanghai University is famous in Shanghai and even in China for its economics and finance education. It is striving toward establishing itself as an internationally recognized and domestically leading high standard research-oriented school, based on the ideology of “caring about the world and its people”.
The School currently has more than 100 faculty members. Among the full-time faculty members, almost 60% of them are either Associate or Full Professors, almost 83% of them have doctoral degrees, and almost 62% of them have either overseas degrees or overseas visiting experience of more than one year. During the recent years, the School has hired high-level talents from several famous universities in U.S., Japan, Taiwan, etc., through talents programs, research cooperation, academic teams, etc. Meanwhile, it has also hired senior professionals from finance, trade, industrial and commercial institutions and government departments as external tutors. Therefore, the students are educated through industry, academy, and research. The School has Ph.D. degree granting program of primary discipline of applied economics; three master’s degree granting program of primary discipline of theoretical economics, applied economics, and statistics; and two professional master’s degree granting program of finance and international business.
In terms of international exchange, the School has established exchange faculty and students program and developed academic exchanges with Chambery Business School and Strasbourg Business School in France, University of Modena in Italy, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Baptist University, New York Institute of Technology, University College West in Sweden, Ewha Womans University in Korea, etc. Meanwhile, the School is giving more admissions to degree international students and exchange students. The degree international students come from more than 50 countries and regions, and the School accepts hundreds of exchange students and short-term visiting students every year.
To learn more about working & living in China, please visit: www.jobs.ac.uk/careers-advice/country-profiles/china
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Kim Nuxhall, chair of the Joe Nuxhall Miracle League board, said the mini-golf course designed for the 150 children and adults that baseball play at the field is set to open by the end of July. The Miracle League Field is a tribute to the late Joe Nuxhall, who dedicated much of his life to helping disabled children and adults. MICHAEL D. PITMAN/STAFF
Photo: Staff Writer
How the Joe Nuxhall Miracle League Fields are expanding beyond baseball
Michael D. Pitman, Staff Writer
FAIRFIELD —
It had always been in the back of Kim Nuxhall’s mind to do something with the obstacles at his family’s driving range near Joyce Park after it closed in 2011.
So the giant dinosaur, frog, hippopotamus and vulture from the Joe Nuxhall Golf Center, along with a Frisch’s Big Boy in Reds uniform and a custom life-sized bobble head of a 15-year-old Joe Nuxhall, will be integrated in the nine-hole golf course next to the rubberized fields at the Joe Nuxhall Miracle League Fields at Hatton Park.
“It’s kind of a private club for our kids,” said Nuxhall, speaking of the disabled children and adults who play Friday night and Saturday morning baseball games.
RELATED: Miracle League opens new season with third annual parade in Fairfield
These disabled athletes — about 150 — will have their own putter and golf ball, and special code to access the fenced-in mini-golf course.
“Their family can bring them down to play anytime they want,” said Nuxhall, chair of the Joe Nuxhall Miracle League board.
Nuxhall hopes the course will be ready by the time they celebrate the seventh anniversary of the Joe Nuxhall Miracle League Fields with the Nuxy Bash, which features a celebrity softball game on July 27.
Joe Nuxhall became the youngest person to play in a Major League Baseball game when he pitched two-thirds of an inning on June 10, 1944 against the St. Louis Cardinals. The eventual Reds Hall of Fame pitcher and announcer from Butler County was 15 years, 10 months and 12 days old.
Joe Nuxhall Miracle League board member Steve Smith said the mini-golf course “goes with our mission.”
“One of the things we talked about as a board is, ‘Do we want just to be a baseball facility, or do we want to do more?”
FAIRFIELD NEWS: Fairfield’s newest sports bar opens in space that housed multiple restaurants
Besides the handicapped-accessible course, there are other projects, including an indoor gymnasium, the board and Nuxhall want to accomplish.
“It’s one of those things, before our facility existed, if someone with a disability wanted to participate in a sport, depending on the level of disability, they may not be able to participate,” Smith said. “Everything we do is with the idea they now have that chance.”
And the fields, he said, has brought “joy to their lives.”
“We really wanted to provide a world-class experience with those with special needs,” Smith said. “We’re constantly looking for ways to enhance the lives of people with disabilities.”
The American Physical Therapy Association says it’s important for those living with disabilities to stay active. Being active can help both disabled and able-body people develop stronger hearts, muscles and bones, and improve coordination, according to the association, which says about a fifth of all Americans have a disability.
Each of the nine holes will be sponsored by an area company or organization, and Skidmore Sales & Distributing, a West Chester Twp. business, is the naming sponsor of the mini-golf course. Skidmore Sales CEO Doug Skidmore said they’re “blessed” to be a part of the Joe Nuxhall Miracle League Field program.
“Part of our core values is helping others,” he said. “Seeing all the positive energy and compassion they have made at the Joe Nuxhall Miracle League for helping others made this (sponsorship) a good fit for our team.”
FAIRFIELD NEWS: Butler County’s newest roundabout on track to open later this summer
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Universal appeal
As 2012’s designated US arts envoys, rockers Antigone Rising will be spreading their message at shows, workshops.
By David Brinn
Antigone rising 390. (photo credit: Anthony Saint James))
The US State Department may not be making much headway in solving the Iranian nuclear threat or the Israeli-Palestinian stalemate, but in the role of concert tour promoters, they’re doing just fine.
The US Embassy in Tel Aviv, as part of the State Department’s Cultural Envoy program, is hosting a full slate of shows and workshops this week featuring the talents of the all-female New York-based country-rockers Antigone Rising – 2012’s designated US arts envoys.
And they’ve been chosen for good reason. The New York-based quartet is the missing link that connects the quintessential Americana sounds of the Dixie Chicks, Sheryl Crow and Martina McBride with the spunky pop rock of 1980s all-female bands like The Bangles and The Go Gos. The results, according to the Allmusic.com’s assessment of their latest album 23 Red is “decidedly smooth adult pop” that’s “almost old-fashioned in its celebration of songcraft.”
“We all come together with different influences,” says guitarist Kathy Henderson who, together with her bass-playing sister Kristen, founded Antigone Rising in the early 1990s in Greenwich Village. “Mine is a more classic American rock influence; Kristen comes from the folk side, and Nini [guitarist and lead vocalist Nini Camps] has that country feel with a bit of Latin thrown in. It results in an interesting mix with lots of different flavors.”
Henderson was speaking from New York a couple days before the band, rounded out by drummer Dena Tauriello, was slated to fly to Israel for the first time for a jam-packed week of shows and workshops in Israeli and Palestinian cities. The public is invited to free shows on Tuesday night in Jerusalem at Beit Massia; on Wednesday in Zoran at Heichal Hatarbut Kadima; and on Thursday in Tel Aviv at the Rothschild 12 club.
In addition, the band will be giving free shows on Saturday in Bethlehem; Sunday in Ramallah; and Monday in east Jerusalem, as well as performing for Jewish and Arab high school students at Kaye College in Beersheba and conducting workshops at Beit Issie Shapiro, the Tabita school in Jaffa, and the Ni’lin village in the West Bank.
According to Henderson, the band doesn’t feel any apprehension over figurative potential explosions inherent in stepping into the region’s political minefields “We play music, and our music is universal, representing love and peace,” she says. “And if we can bring those elements to anybody, we will do it, regardless of any conflict that is going on. We’re really excited about the performances and the workshops. They allow us to interact with people and get to know them. The interactive element is really rewarding, and we’re really excited about that prospect. People get so involved with learning about different aspects of music and writing songs, it really charges them up.”
Antigone Rising has been charging up audiences ever since exploding into the American spotlight in 2005, after becoming the first band signed to Starbucks Hear Music (Lava Records). They had already picked up a substantial grassroots following a number of albums released on independent labels and financed through fan donations, as well as relentless touring. But thanks to the in-store promotion provided by Starbucks, as well as the novelty of offering a self-contained female musical unit, their EP “From the Ground Up” sold more than 450,000 in its first year.
“There’s something really cool and fun about women playing together,” says Henderson. “Kristen and I have always had bands since junior high school with the people closest to us – our friends. It wasn’t intentional playing with just women, even though groups like The Bangles and The Go Gos were a big inspiration to us. But as we grew and evolved, we realized there was something special about playing with other women,” she says.
“It’s amazing to me there aren’t more self-contained women bands,” she continues. “We’ve played with and become quite close with The Bangles, and it’s something we’ve talked about. They were trail blazers in the 1980s, and 30 years later, there’s still just a handful of female bands. That’s pretty mind blowing.”
Despite the exposure and success afforded them by the Starbucks deal, by last year the band was back to doing things the indie way. 23 Red was made through $40,000 of fan donations, released on their own Rising Shine label and distributed via Joan Jett’s Blackheart Records.
“The industry began changing around five years ago when downloading took over and the labels weren’t quite sure how they were going to sustain themselves. They were never artist-friendly to begin with, and they became even more unfriendly,” says Henderson.“Because you can do global marketing and distribution via the Internet and social networking, it became a natural decision for us to do it on our own. And it’s become quite enjoyable and liberating not having that middle man dictating what you can or can’t do.”
Henderson might have been referring to drawing attention to one of the band’s most ardent fan bases – the gay and lesbian community – and their ongoing musical messages of gender equality and women’s empowerment. While the band has always had a large following in the LGBT community, it became more public last year when Henderson’s sister Kristen published her memoirs for Simon & Schuster entitled Times Two.
The book chronicles the journey she and her partner, Sarah Ellis, took to start a family – the two of them eventually getting pregnant on exactly the same day and giving birth to their son and daughter, respectively “The book has been really successful and has opened a lot of people’s eyes to the struggles that go on with gay and lesbian couples who want to have children together,” says Henderson, adding that adopting a high profile on the potentially divisive subject has not alienated the group among the more conservative country music fans.
“Of course, there are people who have some strong opinions on this; but for the most part, it hasn’t had any negative effect on us. I think people tend to look past it and and enjoy the band for the music,” she says.
On the other side of the spectrum, Henderson explains that the group, since its inception, has attracted a sizable gay following and embraces it.
“It’s a segment of the population that has always been drawn to us, and it’s a natural audience for us,” she says, adding that the band’s performance in Tel Aviv at Rothschild 12 is geared toward the LGBT community.
The Jerusalem show will also feature social issues content.
The evening, entitled Spotlight on Women, will include the Theater Company Jerusalem performing Ancient Loves, called “a collection of evocative love stories from ancient Jewish sources about women who choose to live outside the consensus in their relationships with men.” There will also be a warm-up performance by the all-women Israeli rock band Tarantina.
Henderson and the rest of Antigone Rising will likely be in their element. But first and foremost for the guitarist and her sister – ahead of labels and causes – is the music.
“I can’t think of a time in my life when we didn’t have a band, and I can’t imagine not having a band. It’s not an extension of us anymore – it is us,” she says.
It looks like the US State Department has picked a winner this time.
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Facts about the Irish in America for the 4th of July
Irish Voice Editorial
The Irish have played a huge part in shaping America.Getty Images
The Irish have had a large role in the history of the United States
Ireland and America have close ties, no doubt about it! Check out these interesting facts about the Irish in America ahead of the 4th of July.
Read More: The Irishmen who fought in General Washington's army
An Irishman was the first of Christopher Columbus’ crew to step on American soil
A depiction of Christopher Columbus landing on Watling Island (Getty Images)
There were several Irishmen in Christopher Columbus’ crew. But the one who stands out most is Patrick Maguire. In 1492, Irish-born Maguire was the first crew member of Christopher Columbus’ to set foot on North American ground.
At least 15 U.S. presidents have confirmed Irish ancestry
U.S. President Andrew Jackson (Getty Images)
It’s thought that over 40 percent of all American presidents have some Irish ancestry, but at least 15 of them have confirmed their Irish heritage. The most Irish presidents are Andrew Jackson and James Buchanan, both of whose parents were born in Ireland.
Read More: New research tells of JFK's Irish roots in Limerick, Fermanagh, Cork and Clare
The first American general to die in battle was Irish
Richard Montgomery (Wikipedia)
Dublin-native Richard Montgomery is the first general to have been killed in battle during the American Revolutionary War. Montgomery was killed in the Battle of Quebec during the 1775 invasion of Canada.
Three of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were born in Ireland
James Smith, an Irish-born signer of the Declaration of Independence (Getty Images)
Three of the eight foreign-born men were natives of Ireland. These Irish patriots of the American Revolution are James Smith, from Northern Ireland; George Taylor, an Irish native and a member of the Committee of Correspondence; and Matthew Thornton, an Irishman who became a member of the Continental Congress in 1776.
Read More: Celebrate the Declaration of Independence and its Irish signatories on its 242nd anniversary
Irishmen helped build the White House
The White House in Washington, DC (Getty Images)
Not only did Irishman James Hoban design the White House and model it after an Irish building, but the White House was built by the hands of Irishmen as well. Immigrant laborers from various backgrounds as well as slaves were the chief builders of the presidential home. The presidential residence even has a twin building in Ireland - Dublin's Leinster House is officially twinned with The White House.
A blind Irishman helped compose “The Star Spangled Banner”
Portrait of Turlough Carolan, from R.B. Armstrong "The Irish and Highland Harps", Edinburgh, David Douglas, 1904.
Though British composer John Stafford Smith, who was born in 1750, is credited for composing "The Star Spangled Banner,” the tune is actually based on music composed by the great Irish blind harper Turlough O'Carolan, who died over 35 years before the American Revolution. The melody is metrically identical to O Carolan’s “Bumper Squire Jones” of 1723.
Read More: The incredible life of Ireland's last bard - Turlough O'Carolan
An Irishman is the “father” of the Navy
John Barry, the 'Father of the US Navy' (Getty Images)
John Barry, a native of Co Wexford, is known as the “Father of the American Navy.” He and his crew fought and won the final naval battle.
Read More: Where are the most Irish cities and towns in the USA?
* Originally published in July 2017.
Are there any other links between Ireland and the US that make you especially proud this July 4th? Let us know in the comments!
Related: 4th July
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Anne Brewer Academic Scholarships Recipients:
2018 - Aschkan “Ash” Omidvar
Aschkan Omidvar is a highly accomplished graduate student at the University of Florida with a 3.95 GPA, who is a gifted researcher and has shown excellent leadership qualities.
Aschkan has been working on Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) related research projects funded by Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and National Science Foundation (NSF). Examples include:
Optimization algorithms for connected and automated vehicle
The implementation of advanced ‘smart’ transportation technologies at the real-world testbed (I-STREET)
The optimization of freeway operations in relation to automated and connected vehicle technology
Mr. Omidvar’s qualifications are complemented by a significant portfolio of publications. He has been published in the journal of Transportation Research Record, six national and international conference presentations and in many top-tier scientific journals. Altogether, his peer-reviewed papers have been cited 58 times to date.
He is considered a highly talented researcher with a bright future in the field.
2018 - Md Shankur Rahman
Mr. Md Sharikur Rahman graduated with a M.S. in Transportation Systems Engineering from University of Central Florida in 2018 with GPA of 3.98 (out of 4.00) and is now working toward his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering.
Sharikur is a talented researcher and a strong and determined hard-worker, skilled in transportation modeling and data analysis. He is currently focusing on traffic safety evaluation under connected and automated vehicle technologies. He is also using “Aimsun Next” for an integrated active traffic management (IATM) project pertaining to the Central Florida area. His work is published and under review in several journals. His PhD advisor considers him one of the best students in his class.
2018 - Fatema H. Farzana
Ms. Farzana is currently completing her master’s degree in civil engineering at Florida International University with a focus on transportation engineering. She is also working on an externally funded research project to develop a tool to predict system performance under different ITS infrastructure and vehicle-based technology deployments. With her 3.81 GPA, Ms. Farzana is considered an excellent student.
Ms. Farzana had a paper accepted in the January 2018 Transportation Research Board (TRB) annual meeting.
Ms. Farzana has served as an officer of the FIU Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Student Chapter and was the Vice-President the FIU Women in Transportation Seminar (WTS) chapter.
2018 - Emily M. Jannace
Ms. Jannace is a hardworking student at Embry-Riddle University with a drive to succeed as an engineer. Her dedication to the field shows through her 3.625 GPA, the internships and jobs she has chosen, and the many societies that she has joined and led. She was named to the Dean's List at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, was awarded the Women in Transportation Central Florida Frankee Hellinger Undergraduate Scholarship. She also founded a chapter of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) at Embry-Riddle.
Emily is an International Student Membership Subcommittee member for the Institute of Transportation Engineers and is a member of other organizations such as Young Professionals in Transportation, Society of Women Engineers, American Society of Civil Engineers, etc.
Currently, Emily is as an Undergraduate Research Assistant conducting research related to transportation modeling and network disruptions.
2017 - Samaneh Khazraeian
Samaneh Khazraeian, Florida International University was awarded first place for her research work in ITS as she works to complete her PhD program in civil engineering. She has several published papers and is a former president of the FIU Women in Transportation Society (WTS) and is currently leading the Transportation You program. Samaneh has won many awards.
2017 - Leila Azizi
Leila Azizi, Florida International University was second place for her work on completing her PhD.
2017 - Adekunle Adebisi
Adekunle Adebisi, Florida A&M University — Florida State University, College of Engineering
2016 - Mr. Amir Ghiasi
Mr. Amir Ghiasi was the recipient of the first place scholarship award. Mr. Ghiasi is a PhD candidate at the University of South Florida. Along with ITE involvement, he currently leads two research tasks on Connected Automated Vehicles (CAV). The first task, sponsored by the FHWA Turner Fairbank Research Center, aims to utilize CAVs to achieve speed harmonization before a freeway bottleneck. He has helped them develop the core CAV trajectory control algorithm, which has been implemented in their full scale test CAVs and will be tested on public roads. The second task, sponsored by National Science Foundation, is to proposed traffic smoothing methods based on CAV trajectory control in mixed traffic on various geometries and highway types. His advisor noted that Mr. Ghiasi has done an excellent job in analyzing human-driven vehicle trajectory behaviors and is in the process of integrating human driving trajectories with the developed CAV control methods.
2016 - Mr. Whobi Bin Chung
Mr. Whobi Bin Chung was awarded the second place scholarship. Mr. Chung is a PhD candidate at the University of Central Florida. Mr. Chung has more than ten years of experience with ITS Korea. His advisor describes him as, “one of the outstanding PhD students that I have supervised during my over 20-year academic career”
2015 - Ms. Fartash
Ms. Fartash was the recipient of the first place scholarship award. She is in the United States to study for her PhD at Florida International University and is currently a Graduate Assistant. To illustrate the broad base of her experience, prior to coming to the US, while still working on her Masters, she was employed at Rahbord Taraddod (RTF) Consulting Engineering Co, Tehran, Iran. One of her interesting and informative projects was, the “Reduction of Traffic Air and Noise Pollution in Tehran Using Innovative Technologies and Intelligent Transportation Systems.”
Since beginning her studies at FIU, she has authored several high level studies, including one entitled, “Utilization the HCM Urban Facility Procedures for the Estimation and Real-Time Prediction of Travel Time with Consideration of Rain Impacts.” which was presented to the Transportation Research Board. She is highly recommended by her professors and maintaining a distinguished academic performance.
2015 - Md. Shahadat Iqbai
Md. Shahadat Iqbai (FIU) (tie for second) Prior to coming to the US, he was a Research Engineer at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology. His main project was the “Development of a Microscopic Traffic Simulator with Mixed Traffic Simulation Capability for Evaluation of Alternative Transport Options for Dhaka City.
Currently, he serves as a Research Assistant and Teaching Assistant at FIU, working on his PhD. His current body of work includes projects such as, “Decision Support Systems for Transportation System Management and Operations (TSM&O)” and “Framework to Support Transportation Agency ITS Infrastructure and ITS Legacy Decisions with Consideration of Connected Vehicle Deployment and Autonomous Vehicle and Automated Vehicle Initiatives.
2015 - Mohsen Parsafard
Mohsen Parsafard (tie for second) is a Graduate Research Assistant at the University of South Florida working on his Dissertation for his Doctorate. In addition to the dissertation, he is working on few different projects funded by National Science Foundation and local-level agencies (e.g., state DOTs) such as: “The Mobility and Safety of Walk-and -Ride Systems”, “Interdependent Facility Location Design with Probabilistic Disruptions” and “TimeGeography-Based Mobility Measures for Geo-tagged Twitter Data.”
One of his most recent projects is a paper published in Transportation Research Part B, entitled, “Stop-and-go traffic analysis: Theoretical properties,
2015 - Trang Luong
Trang Luong (USF Master’s Candidate) was awarded third place. According to Ms.Luong’s professors, she is an outstanding student,with strong analytical skills, exemplary work ethic, high levels of energy and enthusiasm,and a laser focus on advancing her professional career. She has taken every opportunity to either intern or volunteer on different research projects, both at the University of South Florida as well as outside the university, including an internship in Germany (for which she learned German prior to going). Her resume includes an impressive set of awards she has received, including winner of 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) New Faces of Civil Engineering and the USF only “Most Outstanding Student for the Class of 2015.”
Her story is truly one of sacrifice and challenges met and exceeded.
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VIEW OUR VEHICLES
ALL-STAR PARADE WELCOMES JAGUAR TO THE HOME OF LAND ROVER
VIEW OUR VEHICLES DOWNLOAD A BROCHURE FIND A RETAILER
A stunning procession of classic and iconic Jaguar and Land Rover models has kicked off the celebration of the opening of the newly upgraded Solihull plant and welcoming Jaguar production to the traditional home of Land Rover where the new XE saloon is now being made.
The 40 car parade was led by legendary British racing driver Sir Stirling Moss OBE in a Jaguar XK120 alongside Solihull Operations Director, Alan Volkaerts. They were joined by renowned Jaguar test driver, Norman Dewis OBE, well-known TV presenter – and Jaguar Land Rover aficionado - Quentin Willson, plus many other VIP guests and Jaguar Land Rover employees.
Models from Jaguar’s illustrious 80-year history such as Jaguar’s SS1 Tourer, XK120, and E-Type were lined up with the XE in a circuit of the new £500 million pound facility. They were joined by Land Rover’s finest in the form of a Series l, 101 Forward Control and the newly launched Range Rover Sport SVR, marking the historic opening of this state of the art facility and the commencement of the first Jaguar to be made at the ‘home of Land Rover’.
John Edwards, Managing Director of Jaguar Land Rover Special Operations commented: ”It's wonderful to see great cars from both Jaguar and Land Rover's heritage helping us to celebrate the exciting new future at Solihull. Even more so when they are being joined by the future classics currently being made here such as the Jaguar XE.”
Sir Stirling Moss said: “Cars like the Jaguar XK120 and E-type look as wonderful today as they did when they were new and it's brilliant that they are here, taking part in the celebration of a great new chapter in Jaguar's illustrious history.”
The arrival of the XE at the Solihull manufacturing plant is significant for both the Jaguar and Land Rover brands. Renowned for producing some of the world’s most distinguishable saloon cars in history, the advent of XE production at Solihull marks a key milestone for Jaguar, this year celebrating its 80th birthday. For Land Rover, welcoming the Jaguar brand to its home is the latest in a string of significant developments, which have seen the site undergo a spectacular transformation in just five years.
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Lantos Foundation Supports the Call for Urgent Medical Evacuation of Likely Poisoned Russian Democracy Activist
The Lantos Foundation supports the request for an urgent medical evacuation of Russian political activist Vladimir Kara-Murza. Kara-Murza fell suddenly ill on May 27th and remains unconscious. It is widely suspected that he may have been a victim of poisoning.
Kara Murza has been a longtime member of Russia’s political opposition and it is believed he may have been targeted for attack following the release of a documentary film by Open Russia, a Russian civil society organization where Kara-Murza works as the coordinator. The film details allegations of rampant corruption and human rights abuses by the government of Chechen ruler Ramzan Kadyrov.
Mr. Kara-Murza’s wife, Evgenia Kara-Murza, issued the following statement asking for her husband’s evacuation;
“My husband Vladimir Kara-Murza suddenly fell ill on May 27, 2015, and was hospitalized in Moscow with symptoms of poisoning. In order to get an independent medical assessment of his condition I have requested an urgent medical evacuation to a medical center in Europe or Israel where full toxicology testing and treatment can be done. “
Lantos Foundation President, Katrina Lantos Swett, said;
“It is vital that Vladimir Kara-Murza be immediately evacuated to an appropriate medical facility where he can receive emergency treatment and where an independent evaluation of the circumstances leading to his mysterious collapse can be conducted. Far too many courageous political activists have lost their lives under suspicious circumstances in Russia. This brave man must not become the latest victim in an increasingly dangerous political environment. We call upon the Russian government to honor the request of Mr. Kara-Murza’s wife for his prompt evacuation to a medical facility in Europe.”
Newer PostLantos Foundation Defends the American Tradition of No Religious Test for Office
Older PostEuropean and US Leaders Join Solidarity Sabbath against Anti-Semitism
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Kingston University music student hits the high notes thanks to Clearing
Posted Tuesday 4 August 2015
When a mix-up with her results meant Megan Price was rejected for a spot on a music degree she decided to see if she could get a much longed-for place by going through Clearing. "On results day, I got an email alert rejecting me from the course," she explained. "I was really shocked as I had worked hard on my BTEC and had been forecast to do well so I was determined to find out what had gone wrong and, more importantly, what I could do about it."
The budding singer from Feltham, who had already achieved distinctions in three of her BTEC units, hurried to her sixth form college to collect her results in person. "When I got there they told me there weren't any results for me, so I became even more confused and concerned," the 19 year old said. "It turned out that my grades had not been received by the examining body so I had been automatically rejected by the University."
Megan was determined to secure a university place but had a hunch that she would need to take decisive action. "Things move quickly in Clearing so if I was to have any chance of scooping a place I couldn't hang about. This was just another challenge and dwelling on what went wrong was not going to help me," she said.
A mix-up with blues singer Megan's A-level results led her to a harmonious outcome through Clearing.Hitting the Kingston University Clearing hotline Megan was relieved when the operator she spoke to said that all was certainly not lost and that there were still options open to her. "The lady I spoke to was super-helpful and although I didn't have my grades yet she said she was going to see if something could be done to help me," she recalled. They had put her in touch with the faculty who suggested that while the mistake was being cleared up she should pull together evidence of achievement such as previous exam grades and certificates, Megan added.
Megan's resolve during Clearing won her the place she had dreamed of and that unwavering commitment has resulted in her achieving ‘first' grades in the modules she has completed so far. "I feel I am full steam ahead with my studies thanks to Clearing and the teaching at Kingston has been outstanding," she said.
Megan thought she might struggle a bit at university as she hadn't followed a traditional route on to a music degree. "I am a blues singer so I don't have that typical classical music background that a lot of universities are looking for," she explained. "I had never had a formal singing lesson before I came to Kingston but when I got here I was quickly matched with a professional tutor who knew how to get the best out of my voice and all the teachers have been extremely patient and supportive. I am now thinking about training to be a teacher myself," Megan said.
As well as building on her existing experience Megan said that the University had opened up her musical horizons. "I always loved singing the blues but coming to Kingston has meant learning lots of new techniques too," she added. "I am now performing regularly with the University's Jazz ensemble and I have been getting a great deal of valuable experience performing in local venues and showcases."
Megan has met many like-minded performers at Kingston and, alongside a fellow student, she won the University's Battle of the Bands competition. As well as being able to get up to London to see gigs, Megan is in demand locally herself as a performer and has been busy singing at civic ceremonies and celebration events.
For anyone thinking about going through Clearing Megan advised keeping a positive mind-set. "It is stressful when life doesn't go to plan but you can't give in to negativity - you just have to carry on," she said. "I am a great believer in ‘where there's a will, there's a way' so I think you always have to be prepared to go the extra mile."
Find out more about Clearing at Kingston University.
Find out more about studying music at Kingston University.
Categories: On campus, Students
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In Search of a More Diversified Mix
A committed saver seeks more balance.
By Jeffrey R. Kosnett, Senior Editor
If extreme retirement saving were an Olympic sport, Bob Przybylski would be a medal contender. Bob, who is 44 and single, invests $16,000 a year, about one-third of what he earns as a producer for a public-TV station in central Michigan. Bob, who lives in Bay City, owns his house free and clear, so he can put away more of his income than most people.
But although Bob would win the gold for financial discipline, he wouldn't make it to the medal stand for his diversification efforts. Nearly half of his $120,000 stash is in three places: General Electric (symbol GE), Intel (INTC) and Templeton World fund (TEMWX).
Two blue chips. Bob's approach to stocks is unusual. He accumulates 1,000 shares in a few blue chips and holds them forever. Intel, his first pick, has been a letdown. He lost $4,000 on $26,000 worth of purchases made between 1997 and 2002. Bob then began buying GE. His 515 shares, worth about $17,000, have gained 10%, and Bob intends to invest $500 a month directly with GE until he hits 1,000 shares. He claims no special knowledge of GE's myriad businesses nor of Intel and the semiconductor industry. He simply reasons that these are world-class firms with staying power. "I want to give them 20 years and see what happens," he says.
Including Templeton World, Bob owns seven funds, mostly in 403(b) retirement plans and a Roth IRA. His funds are good, but here, too, diversification is an issue. All of them focus on large companies. He owns no small- or midsize-company funds and has no bond funds. What's more, GE and Intel are among the ten biggest holdings in three of Bob's funds, and that leaves him even more in thrall to just two stocks.
Of the two, well-diversified GE is the keeper. "If you're going to pick one stock, I'd say GE, because it's like a mutual fund," says Andy Claybrook, of Fee-Only Solutions, in Franklin, Tenn. Analysts laud GE's gradual exit from insurance and cite strong results in its global jet-engine, power-generation and industrial businesses. Intel executives, by contrast, regularly bemoan weak chip pricing. The stock's price-earnings ratio is lower than it used to be, but that's because Intel's growth has slowed.
Simple solution. Bob's Intel experience doesn't have to go for naught. He owns the shares in a taxable account, so he should sell, use the losses to offset capital gains, then claim any excess loss to offset up to $3,000 in ordinary income earned this year (any leftover losses may be used in future years).
Bill Neubauer, of Comprehensive Money Management, in Coral Gables, Fla., recommends that Bob use the proceeds of the sale to diversify. He suggests Bob buy index funds or exchange-traded funds, such as Vanguard Energy Vipers (VDE) and iShares Cohen & Steers Realty Majors (ICF). Bob should also work in some good small- and midsize-company stock funds -- funds with holdings that won't overlap his others (see The 25 Best Mutual Funds). A few simple moves such as these and Bob should be more confident that his avid savings habits will lead to a golden retirement.
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Global Cities
Major international architecture-themed exhibition which will highlight the growing global influence of the world's mega-cities. Global Cities will see four leading international architectural practices and five artist commissions filling the famous Turbine Hall with displays exploring the current characteristics and future prospects of major international urban centres.
Each artist and architectural practice will exhibit works that explore key themes, such as managing the pace of urban growth, renewing transport infrastructure, addressing climate change and developing social cohesion. The exhibition will present these alongside socio-economic and geographic data assembled by the London School of Economics.
With 75% of the world's population likely to be living in urban areas by 2050, the shape, size and structure of exploding mega-cities increasingly affects not only the lives of millions of new urban dwellers but also the culture, economy and stability of the world as a whole. Global Cities will address these issues, reinforced with a particular focus on London.
to Monday 27 August 2007
Bankside, London, SE1 9TG
Sun-Thu 10am-6pm; Fri & Sat 10am-10pm
Updated: 9 July 2007
Read our review...
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India Corporate Law
Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas
Indian Insolvency Regime without Cross-border Recognition – A Task Half Done?
By Dhananjay Kumar on May 16, 2017
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (Insolvency Code) has been one of the biggest Indian reform of recent times, which has moved the regime away from one that was highly uncertain for foreign investors. Among other important changes, the Insolvency Code contemplates change in control of the company during the insolvency resolution process to an insolvency professional (IP). The Insolvency Code comes in an environment where many Indian companies have gone global and have made acquisitions outside India.
India has not adopted the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency (UNCITRAL Model Law). It is notable that only a few countries that have adopted the UNCITRAL Model Law have specified a ‘reciprocity’ requirement for recognition of insolvency proceedings. Therefore, even if India has not adopted the UNCITRAL Model Law, Indian insolvency proceedings may be recognised in a jurisdiction that does not have a reciprocity requirement (this remains untested for Indian insolvency judgements). Also, Section 234 of the Insolvency Code provides for the Indian Government to enter into bilateral treaties with other countries for application of the Insolvency Code to assets or property outside India of the insolvent entities. However, to date, no such bilateral treaty has been signed.
Absent avenues for recognition abroad of insolvency proceedings opened in India, the proceedings and approved revival plans (and moratoriums granted under the Insolvency Code) may prove to be of limited effect and expensive for the insolvent companies. For example, while admission of an application under the Insolvency Code leads to a moratorium on all suits and proceedings against the company in India during the insolvency resolution period, a creditor or contract counterparty will be able to initiate proceedings outside India against the company and the IP appointed for the company will be forced to incur costs for such litigation.
Of course, execution of decrees / orders obtained in such proceedings will also be prohibited in India during the insolvency resolution period but given the number of Indian companies that have made overseas direct investments, possibility of execution of such decrees / orders against assets outside India cannot be ruled out. Equally, the IP will not be able to control the company’s assets abroad without first obtaining recognition of the Indian insolvency proceedings.
On the other hand, Indian courts have no provisions for recognising international restructuring plans. Therefore, if a parent company of an Indian company undergoes restructuring in a foreign jurisdiction (say a Chapter 11 or English insolvency proceedings), implementing such a plan in India will be cumbersome as Indian courts will refuse to give effect to such a plan. There does not appear to be a case where an insolvency order (interim or final) has been sought to be recognised as a judgment of a foreign court enforceable as a foreign judgment under the Indian Code of Civil Procedure.
It must be added, however, that these problems are not new or peculiar to the Indian insolvency regime. Recognition and enforcement of insolvency proceedings internationally have firmly divided scholars and courts alike in two schools: territorialism (i.e. limiting the effect of insolvency to the jurisdiction where it has been opened); and universalism (i.e. recognising a single insolvency proceedings in all relevant countries). ‘Modified universalism’ (i.e. a regime where one ‘main’ court takes the lead in insolvency, and other courts provide co-operation and assistance as is required for reciprocity and procedural fairness in treatment of creditors) has been considered a compromise between these two schools of thought and the UNCITRAL Model Law as well as the European Union’s Regulations on Insolvency proceedings now embody this principle.
Complexities that arise in cross-border insolvencies do not end there. Among other contemporary topics in cross-border insolvency, common law jurisdictions have been debating the impact of an age-old rule laid out by English courts in Antony Gibbs & Sons v. La Societe Industrielle et Commerciale des Metaux ((1890) 25 QBD 399). As per the Gibbs rule, a full discharge of a debtor’s obligations towards a certain creditor granted by a foreign court may not be readily accepted by an English court, where the debt in question pertains to an English law governed contract.
The Gibbs rule has been criticised academically but has been followed somewhat grudgingly by English courts. Recently, a Singapore court in Pacific Andes case (In Re Pacific Andes Resources Development Limited and Ors., [2016] SGHC 210) highlighted the need to do away with the Gibbs rule.
Given that many Indian companies have foreign currency denominated debt and the documentation in relation to which is governed by English law, Gibbs rule acquires significance when the debt of such company is sought to be restructured in corporate insolvency resolution process under the Insolvency Code. While a ‘resolution plan’ approved by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) under the Insolvency Code is stated is to bind all creditors of the company, the creditors who are governed by English law documentation will still be able to seek relief from an English court for the entire amount of their claim, effectively disregarding the resolution plan approved by the NCLT. Depending on the debt profile of the company, this may be a vital factor to consider while implementing a restructuring plan.
It is possible that if such creditors have submitted in personam to the jurisdiction of the NCLT (by way of submission of ‘proof of claim’ or otherwise), the English courts may take a view that the creditor is also bound by the restructuring plan approved under the Insolvency Code. Gibbs therefore leaves the insolvent company with the unfortunate dilemma of having to choose between remaining at the mercy of some creditors or bearing the costs of attaining a discharge in multiple jurisdictions that abide by Gibbs.
Both the Bankruptcy Law Reforms Committee and the Joint Parliamentary Committee that reviewed the draft of the Insolvency Code recognised the implications of cross-border insolvency on corporate transactions and businesses. With the growing pace of insolvency proceedings under the Insolvency Code, cross-border insolvency is the idea whose time has come.
* The author was assisted by Gautam Sundaresh, Associate
Posted in Corporate & Commercial, International
View Original Source
Partner in the Projects and Projects Finance Team at the Mumbai office of Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas. Dhananjay specialises in project and project finance and focuses mainly on oil & gas, telecom and port sectors. He advises both lenders and developers in the infrastructure sector and has acted for many key players in this space. Dhananjay is also a member of the Bankruptcy Practice of the Firm. He can be reached at dhananjay.kumar@cyrilshroff.com
Read more about Dhananjay Kumar
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Charlie Freeman Hall, 40
Written by Webmaster
Published: Tuesday, September 23,2008
Charlie Freeman Hall, better known as “June Bug”, passed away Monday, September 15, 2008, from injuries sustained in an automobile accident. The funeral service for Charlie “June Bug” Hall was conducted Friday, September 19, 2008 from the Alexander Funeral Home Chapel with Elder Kevin Slayton and Brother Jerry Gammon officiating.
Brandon Owen and Nathan Carver served as honorary pallbearers. Mikie Robinson, Daniel Carver, Ryan Jones, Russell Duffer, Timmy Day, and Jimmy Dyer served as active pallbearers. Interment followed in the Shrum Cemetery.
Charlie “June Bug” Hall was born February 3, 1968 in Sumner County, Tenn. He was one of nine children of L.C. and the late Della Mai Ray Hall of the Green Grove Community in Macon County, Tenn. Besides his mother, he was preceded in death by; sister, Penny Tidwell and nephew, Steven Pollard.
“June Bug” was full of life, enjoyed playing pranks, and loved being around children. He was employed by F.D. Fuqua as a maintenance worker and was a member of Willard Missionary Baptist Church.
Besides his father, he is survived by; son, Anthony Charles Hall and daughter, Angela Marie Hall both of Tampa, Fla., brothers, J.C. (Tina) Hall of Green Grove Community in Macon County, Tenn., David Hall, Danny (Priscilla) Hall, Andy (Judy) Carver all of Lafayette, Tenn., and David (Christy) Carver of Westmoreland, Tenn., sisters, Judy (Hank) Pollard of Lebanon, Tenn., Tammy (Hubert) Jones of Westmoreland, Tenn., Emily Hall, Amy (Johnie) Holland all of Lafayette, Tenn., and Sarah (Tony) Dyer of Hartsville, Tenn., brother-in-law, Daniel Tidwell, and sister-in-law, Robin Hall both of Lafayette, Tenn.
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Limerick sharpshooter 'Shaughs' looks ahead to Kilkenny clash
Andrew O'Shaughnessy enjoys legendary status
Aine Fitzgerald
Proud heritage: All-Star hurler Andrew O’Shaughnessy who enjoyed many great days in the green and white pictured with his son Fionn, 22 months
AS the Limerick hurlers go to war with Kilkenny this Saturday, having a sharpshooting army man from Kilmallock on the field of battle would certainly give supporters extra hope for their side pulling off a “Shaugh”.
It’s six years since Kilmallock man Andrew O’Shaughnessy stepped away from intercounty hurling having made his full senior championship debut for Limerick aged 17, only days before he sat his Leaving Certificate in 2003.
“I was more nervous about the Leaving Cert than I was about the match. It was just another game. I would never really get nervous playing hurling,” smiled the All-Star hurler who became a household name in his home parish at just the age of 11 when he played in the All-Ireland Feile na nGael hurling final against James Stephens of Kilkenny. A future Kilkenny star, Jackie Tyrrell, was also playing that day.
Remarkably, Andrew was just a tender seven years of age when he played his first game for Kilmallock, in the U12 South Championship. His father Tony had to help him to get togged out, as tying his own laces at seven proved to be the toughest job of the day.
Since then, Andrew has won an impressive list of medals with his club including three county minor hurling titles, one county U21 title, three county senior titles in 2010, 2012 and 2014 and one Munster club championship in 2014.
With his county he has two Munster U21 championship medals and two U21 All-Ireland medals.
And, from his colleges hurling days at secondary school level he amassed three Harty Cup medals with St Colman’s College in Fermoy as well as two All-Irelands.
In 2007, the deadly forward was awarded an All-Star following Limerick’s All-Ireland appearance against Kilkenny.
Looking ahead to the qualifier draw against Kilkenny this Saturday evening, the straight talker remarked: “A draw is a draw - it’s just another match. You can’t be thinking about who you are playing against. If you start thinking too much about who you are playing, you’ve lost straight away. You have to go out and focus on your own ability and go from there.”
With Limerick venturing into the lion’s den that is Nowlan Park, Andrew feels that “in sense there won’t be any pressure on them because everyone else will have them written off already.
“And that’s a nice position to be in,” he adds, “and one in which they should play at their best - whether they do or not is another thing - I hope they do.”
With intercounty players, and indeed managers, investing an increasing amount of time to the game - Wexford star Lee Chin is now dedicating himself full-time to hurling as well as Waterford hurling manager Derek McGrath - does Andrew like the way the game is going in terms of semi-professionalism?
“I can’t say I do,” he responded. “I don’t like the amount of time that is being dedicated.
“Dedication is good and if you are playing a sport you are going to be committed. There wouldn’t be much of a difference for me because I enjoyed it.
“The one thing that’s probably missing at times now is the enjoyment because they are all playing systems and what not.”
When asked who is the hurler he most admired, the two letters, DJ, automatically roll off his tongue.
“I loved the grace he had,” he followed up of Kilkenny legend DJ Carey.
“He was always an elegant hurler. He always seemed to do the right thing on the ball.”
In 2009 Andrew was diagnosed with MS. Thankfully, the condition hasn’t affected his lifestyle to any great extent.
The father-of-one, who is married to Eimear Curtin from Tournafulla, is a captain with the Irish Defence Forces and is currently on a course for promotion to the rank of commandant.
The couple are looking forward to welcoming a brother or sister for young Fionn who is 22 months, in the autumn.
Looking to the future, Andrew says coaching is “most definitely” something he is interested in pursuing.
“I would be very interested in that. I just didn’t have the time this year because I am away with work and up the country for six months. There is no point committing to a team if you are not going to give them your full commitment.”
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The Libation Bearers
Lines 1-585 Lines 586-652 Lines 653-718 Lines 719-1065
All Themes Revenge Gender Roles Fate, the Gods, and Piety Familial Bonds Violence, Death, and the Dead
All Characters Orestes Electra The Chorus Clytemnestra Aegisthus Agamemnon Apollo Hermes Zeus The Furies
All Symbols Agamemnon’s Burial Mound and Shroud The Hair and Footprints of Orestes and Electra Serpents and Snakes Clytemnestra’s Man-Axe
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Fate, the Gods, and Piety
Familial Bonds
Violence, Death, and the Dead
Clytemnestra
The Furies
Agamemnon’s Burial Mound and Shroud
The Hair and Footprints of Orestes and Electra
Serpents and Snakes
Clytemnestra’s Man-Axe
The Libation Bearers Study Guide
Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Aeschylus's The Libation Bearers. Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.
The Libation Bearers: Introduction
A concise biography of Aeschylus plus historical and literary context for The Libation Bearers.
The Libation Bearers: Plot Summary
A quick-reference summary: The Libation Bearers on a single page.
The Libation Bearers: Detailed Summary & Analysis
In-depth summary and analysis of every section of The Libation Bearers. Visual theme-tracking, too.
The Libation Bearers: Themes
Explanations, analysis, and visualizations of The Libation Bearers's themes.
The Libation Bearers: Quotes
The Libation Bearers's important quotes, sortable by theme, character, or section.
The Libation Bearers: Characters
Description, analysis, and timelines for The Libation Bearers's characters.
The Libation Bearers: Symbols
Explanations of The Libation Bearers's symbols, and tracking of where they appear.
The Libation Bearers: Theme Wheel
An interactive data visualization of The Libation Bearers's plot and themes.
Brief Biography of Aeschylus
Born in Eleusis, Greece, Aeschylus grew up in the Golden Age of Athens, and fought in the Battle of Marathon against invading Persian forces in 490 BCE. He began writing plays even before this, in the year 500 BCE, and by 484 he had won first prize at the Dionysia, the most important festival of tragic plays in Greece and a huge honor for a Greek dramatist. Eventually writing over 90 plays (of which only seven have survived), he went on to win first prize in the Dionysia twelve more times. The Oresteia trilogy was some of his latest and best work, and his influence over Greek drama was so great that in Aristophanes’ The Frogs (written in 405 BCE), the comic playwright named Aeschylus the greatest poet that the world had ever seen.
Get the entire The Libation Bearers LitChart as a printable PDF.
Historical Context of The Libation Bearers
The events that take place in the Oresteia would have been well known to the plays’ original audience. According to Greek mythology, the Trojan War began as a result of Paris, the Trojan prince, stealing Helen, who was married to the Greek king Menelaus. Menelaus’ brother Agamemnon led a fleet of troops to Troy to avenge Paris’ insult, and the following siege lasted ten years. The events of the Oresteia then begin the moment the war ends with a Greek victory. Aeschylus himself, however, lived and wrote nearly a millennium after the Trojan War supposedly occurred—during the Golden Age of Athenian democracy. This was a time when Athens dominated the Ancient Greek world, preaching their values of republicanism and enlightenment. Aeschylus himself played a role in establishing Athenian hegemony, taking part in the Battle of Marathon in 490 BCE, when Athens vanquished invading Persian forces. This sense of Athenian dominance and power is evident in Aeschylus’s works, all of which argue for reason over revenge, order over chaos, and democracy over tyranny.
Other Books Related to The Libation Bearers
Greek tragedies were usually written as trilogies, meaning that Aeschylus also wrote Agamemnon, a prequel to The Libation Bearers, and The Eumenides, the sequel. All three plays center on the tragic House of Atreus and the consequences of Agamemnon’s return from the Trojan War, and together they make up a group called the Oresteia. The two other great Greek tragedians of Aeschylus’s time are Sophocles and Euripides. Sophocles’ tragic trilogy is made up of the three Theban Plays: Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone. These works contain elements of Greek tragedy similar to those within the Oresteia, such as a forewarning Chorus, an emphasis on the divine power of fate, and a series of heroic but flawed main characters. Euripides’ tragedies, too, display similar qualities, with an added emphasis on the plights of female figures within these stories. He is known for tragedies such as Medea and The Trojan Women. Also relevant to the narrative of the Oresteia is Euripides’ play Iphigenia at Aulis, which recounts the actions of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra before the Trojan War, and Electra, which portrays a different version of the events within The Libation Bearers, focusing much more heavily on Electra than Orestes. The event of the Trojan War—the backdrop to the Oresteia—are most famously related in Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, epic poems that formed a foundation for the majority of Classical Greek literature and drama. Some modern takes on the story of the Oresteia are Jean-Paul Sartre’s The Flies—an adaptation of the Orestes story from an existentialist philosophical perspective—and Mourning Becomes Electra, Eugene O’Neill’s retelling of the Oresteia set in Civil War America.
Key Facts about The Libation Bearers
Full Title: The Libation Bearers
When Written: 458 BCE
Where Written: Athens
Literary Period: Classical
Genre: Tragedy
Setting: Argos, Greece
Climax: Orestes kills his mother Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus, thus avenging his father Agamemnon
Extra Credit for The Libation Bearers
A foundational text. The plays of Aeschylus are the earliest full works of Greek tragedy that we possess. They were also incredibly innovative for their day, because they included two actors interacting on stage at once (along with the Chorus), and because they expanded the use of props and scenery.
A founding father in more ways than one. Of Aeschylus’s two sons, both went on to be tragic poets (as did his nephew), and one even won first prize at the Dionysia, the festival of tragic plays that the Oresteia won in 458 BCE.
Hoyt-Disick, Gabrielle. "The Libation Bearers." LitCharts. LitCharts LLC, 20 Nov 2015. Web. 17 Jul 2019.
Hoyt-Disick, Gabrielle. "The Libation Bearers." LitCharts LLC, November 20, 2015. Retrieved July 17, 2019. https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-libation-bearers.
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CHANDA CHACÓN
Healthcare Leader, wife, crazy aunt, Motivator, Advocate
Likes: Decorating, ‘walking club’, helping people do what they believe is impossible, the beach, being a ‘foodie’, wearing costumes, laughing
Dislikes: Mayonnaise, folding laundry, entitlement, lack of accountability
Chanda Chacón graduated from Vanderbilt University with degrees in Biology and Spanish and from Yale University with a Master’s Degree in Public Health Management. She is also a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives. Chanda began her career in healthcare with Texas Children's Hospital in Houston for over 14 years in progressive leadership roles including ambulatory operations, pharmacy, the Heart Center, the Fetal Center, and Women’s Services. Most recently, Chanda was the President of the Texas Children's Hospital West Campus the first community hospital in the Texas Children's system that doubled in size during her 2 year tenure to meet the needs of the West Houston community.
Chanda joined Arkansas Children’s as Executive Vice President and system Chief Operating Officer in October 2016. She has accountability for leadership and operations of Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock, the new Arkansas Children’s Northwest hospital in Springdale, and the clinics across the state. Arkansas Children’s is the only children’s hospital system in Arkansas and has embarked on a strategic plan that will enhance child health and wellbeing across the state. Chanda is passionate about leadership and developing others and frequently presents on these topics at graduate schools, non-profit organizations, and healthcare professional organizations. She is active in the community and served in Houston as a court appointed Child Advocate serving children in CPS custody and as an active member of PEO a philanthropic organization focusing on the advancement of women through education.
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Russ Freeman, 76; Jazz Pianist, Songwriter
By JON THURBER
TIMES STAFF WRITER
Russ Freeman, a jazz pianist best known for his pivotal supporting role in the early work of mercurial trumpeter Chet Baker, has died. He was 76.
Freeman, who also had a long and musically productive association with the drummer Shelly Manne, died June 27 at a hospice in Las Vegas. The cause of death was not announced by his family.
For the record:
12:00 AM, Jul. 13, 2002 For The Record
Los Angeles Times Saturday July 13, 2002 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 7 inches; 272 words Type of Material: Correction
Freeman obituary--The obituary of pianist Russ Freeman in Wednesday’s California section incorrectly referred to him as the musical director of the “Laugh-In” television show. In fact, Ian Bernard is listed as the program’s musical director.
In 1954, Freeman was hired by Richard Bock, the founder of Pacific Jazz records, to work with Baker on the trumpeter’s first recording for the label. But on this date, Freeman was more than a pianist. He served as Baker’s musical director, picking the songs, arranging the music and teaching the material to Baker.
“He was the perfect pianist for Chet at that time,” Bock told jazz journalist Wil Thornbury years later. “He was largely responsible for the success that the quartet had as far as being able to be a unit to work. Not only did he pick the tunes, he wrote the tunes, he taught Chet what he needed to know to play them, [and] took care of business on the road.”
Born in Chicago, Freeman moved with his family to Los Angeles at the age of 5. He started studying classical piano three years later but switched to jazz in high school, where he was influenced by the emerging sounds of the great bebop players Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie.
By the late 1940s, he had developed into a fine bebop pianist in a band led by trumpeter Howard McGhee, which occasionally featured Parker during the days he lived in Los Angeles.
But although Freeman loved bebop, he also was versatile enough to work well in a broad range of styles. In the late ‘40s and early ‘50s, he worked in local bands that included such top players as saxophonists Dexter Gordon, Art Pepper and Wardell Gray.
He also played with the Lighthouse All-Stars and a band led by Shorty Rogers.
Freeman also was developing into a fine songwriter. His compositions would include “Bea’s Flat,” “Band Aid” and most notably “The Wind,” which over the years has been recorded by such diverse talents as guitarist Jim Hall, pianists Keith Jarrett and Ramsey Lewis, Baker, and singers June Christy and pop star Mariah Carey.
In 1954, Freeman’s career took a sharp turn when he teamed up with Baker, the star-crossed trumpeter, whom he had known since 1952.
Freeman later told Down Beat magazine that Baker was "... the only one who could play my songs the way I hear them. He had such an innate feeling for them.”
As to Baker’s overall talent, the pianist added: “When he was right, he was as good as anyone--and that includes Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and all.... There were nights when Chet would finish playing a solo, and I’d be sitting there, and I’d feel: What’s the point of trying to play a solo now? He just said it all.”
The album that came out from that 1954 session, “Chet Baker Quartet Featuring Russ Freeman,” was one of the seminal recordings of Baker’s drug-plagued career.
In his authoritative book on the Los Angeles jazz scene at mid-century, “West Coast Jazz, Modern Jazz in California, 1945-60,” Ted Gioia notes that the Baker-Freeman association “forms the trumpeter’s most important legacy from the 1950s.
”... Baker’s playing would never again be at such a consistently high level, and seldom would he find a group of sidemen as stable and sympathetic as those on these sessions. Further, Baker’s most outstanding work as a singer also dates from this period.”
After leaving Baker, Freeman joined Manne and played with him for 12 years. He and Manne had an excellent musical relationship, and when the two weren’t playing in the quintet--Shelly Manne and His Men--they would experiment with duo playing without the usual bass accompaniment.
“Playing on the job,” Freeman told Ted Gioia, “Shelly and I used to do things together in the rhythm section, not just counterpoint to the horns, but between us. Instead of playing a drum solo or a piano solo, in some spots, we’d play a solo at the same time, trying to feel each other out, with an awareness of each other being there.”
Beyond his work with Baker and Manne, Freeman recorded an innovative trio album with a young jazz pianist named Andre Previn that featured two pianos and drums.
He toured Europe with Benny Goodman, and pretty much abandoned jazz work after he left Manne in 1967.
He worked as musical director for singer-dancer Mitzi Gaynor and as musical director for television’s “Laugh-In” and later “Tony Orlando and Dawn.” He worked in studios writing the underscores for films and in Las Vegas as musical director for shows.
His final jazz recording, “One on One” with Manne, came out in 1982.
Freeman is survived by his wife, Carolyn; daughter Paula Freeman-Allison; stepdaughter Gale Tripp; and three grandchildren.
A memorial celebration will be held July 18 at the Jazz Bakery. Donations will go to the L.A. Jazz Society’s mentorship fund for piano students.
12:00 AM, Jul. 13, 2002: For The Record
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September 5, 2016 |Disability, Income Tax, Labor, Licensing Regulations, Minimum Wage, Nicholas Eberstadt, Sigmund Freud
A Labor Day Program for Freeing Labor
Nothing is more central to human flourishing than work. Other animals expend energy to survive. But man evolved to make conscious toil for food and shelter. This aspect of our heritage is reflected in a psyche that for most still requires work for contentment. Sigmund Freud was not right about everything, but he was certainly correct that love and work are the necessary conditions of a satisfied life.
While modern America has cleared out obstacles to love, however unconventional, it has put up more and more impediments to work. Begin with the tax code. It raises most income from labor, not consumption. As a result, the government discourages work more than is required to run its operations. Nor can the decision to tax labor heavily be justified by concern about inequality. For those who want their taxes progressive, a consumption tax can be made as progressive as an income tax.
Second, minimum wage laws prevent the least talented and able among us from participating in work. The fifteen dollar minimum wage favored by the 2016 Democratic platform would prevent many from earning an honest living. The effects will be even greater in the long than the short run, because employers will over time then substitute more machines for unskilled workers. We would be outraged if laws prevented some people from marrying. We should be similarly enraged by these laws. If it is thought that some jobs pay less than needed for a dignified life, governments can top up wages through an income tax credit.
Third, as my high school friend Nicholas Eberstadt showed recently in the Wall Street Journal, generous disability laws lead some citizens not to work. A far greater percentage of people are today judged disabled than in the 1950s, although the health of Americans has substantially improved since then. The result is that the able “disabled” live in isolation with no civic engagement, spending their time watching TV or playing video games.
Fourth, even the Obama administration has complained (link no longer available) that too many states have licensing laws that prevent unnecessarily prevent people from working in their chosen trade. It is not necessary to study for two years braid hair or to take courses in aesthetics to design apartment interiors.
Labor Day is the traditional kick off of the campaign season. And we are sure to hear many speeches about the dignity of work and no doubt some about exploitation of workers by employers. If only a candidate would put forward a systematic program to dismantle the government forged manacles that make hands idle. Move from an income toward a consumption tax, oppose raising the minimum wage, reform disability laws, and streamline occupational licensing! Such a program would increase personal as well as economic growth.
Our Big Picture Problem
The Same May Happen
Phil Beaver says
I suppose parochial propriety produces seeming mendacity: “Nothing is more central to human flourishing than work.”
I’d rather die than work without enjoying or anticipating private liberty. The liberty to work is essential to human living, but that liberty must be provided by a civic people.
Free-enterprise is the best economic system, and governments that use free-enterprise must understand and maintain the principle of balance. Essential to individual liberty is balance in consumption and asset-building.
Most of all, government should not pass regulations that, out of bureaucratic ignorance, unintentionally bias supply and demand. Demand for goods and service must freely cultivate supplies, and obsolete business should freely disappear from the market place.
Labor expertise must freely adjust to new enterprise and new sectors that replace the obsolete businesses, and governments that try to preserve obsolete goods and services or otherwise manipulate markets beg woe. Increasing consumption of fossil-fuel in order to politically establish renewable energy is defeating, especially if the renewable becomes obsolete before affordable.
Borders matter. It would be nice of the entire world operated so that work was central to human flourishing. But it is not so. Some borders isolate an entire people who are enslaved, for example, by communism, and labor costs there are low. Others are taken by socialism, and labor costs there tend to be high. Others are fooled by “democracy,” the idea that 50% plus one vote can lord-it-over the 50% less one vote. What’s needed is a republican form of government, wherein every newborn citizen is educated by a civic people to continue the cultivation of private liberty for willing citizens. By private liberty I mean the life-long pursuit of the real-no-harm life he or she wants—no imposition of “the good life.” Immigrants must be willing to collaborate for mutual private liberty, and dissidents to private liberty, such as criminals and less, must be constrained.
This way of living can be achieved, because it has been imagined, and a system of operation has been proposed. In this system, citizens are plainly nudged to take advantage of the-indisputable-facts-of-reality respecting flourishing in work and investing so as to build wealth and pursue the life of their real-no-harm personal dreams without early death.
The government that would support this way of living would distribute the gross-national-product so that 1) every newborn is nudged to take charge of his or her acquisition of the comprehension and understanding necessary so as to emerge a young adult in charge of a full lifetime of living, 2) provide every worker the means to both live and save & invest so that he or she can pay for their retirement time, for example, beyond age 68, 3) nudge all adults to pay attention to being not only consumer but part owner in American free-enterprise, 4) assure that, leaving the media free to create and execute their business plans, public attention is drawn to the-indisputable-facts-of-reality and 5) make certain that the USA position on religion is that every citizen’s real-no-harm personal god or none is a private matter, to be pursued in hearts, closets, home, and churches, but in no way influenced by or supported by government.
The USA seems at a nadir, but perhaps 2016 marks the year of ascent.
These ideas are not the objective truth, but comprise a partial statement of an achievable, better future for the USA. A better future has been possible for willing people ever since the civic proposal in the preamble to the constitution for the USA was ratified, on June 21, 1788.
Sigmund Freud … was certainly correct that love and work are the necessary conditions of a satisfied life.
[But] modern America has cleared out obstacles to love, however unconventional, it has put up more and more impediments to work.
Depends on what you mean by “impediments.”
I’m sympathetic to arguments about the income tax, and have long been intrigued by the X Tax.
And I share McGinnis’s concerns with the minimum wage: If society wants people to have more income, society should bear those costs, not private employers. The minimum wage seems to be a second-best solution, made necessary because better solutions are not as politically palatable: The same factions that oppose increasing the minimum wage also oppose alternative programs.
And yes, some professions face needless licensure requirements.
The more interesting question pertains to disability payments: Do these impede people’s ability to work, or merely remove their compulsion to work? This would seem to be an important distinction to the classical liberal/libertarian—but perhaps not to Freud.
Tyler Cowen’s Average is Over suggests that we’re entering a world with much less demand for labor. This is merely an extrapolation of past trends: Once upon a time, roughly 98% of us would have been employed in agriculture. Today that work has been so automated that only a tiny fraction of the workforce is employed in this manner. And automation is taking over ever more professions. As a result, society can excuse ever more people from the paid workforce. Thus, declining labor force participation rates coincide with unprecedented levels of GDP. What’s not to like?
Well, one problem arises from increasing disparities between rich and poor. The US labor market has always required enormous government intervention to produce desirable results. And in the coming economy, it is unclear that market forces—even fortified with all kinds of government interventions—with be able to produce the levels of income distribution that people will find acceptable. And certainly the labor market will grow ever less efficient as government intervenes with ever greater frequency.
Alternatively, we could eliminate a lot of government interventions–jettison not only minimum wage laws, but also labor laws, sexual harassment and discrimination laws, workplace safety laws, Social Security, and the rest—and replace them with a universal income. Once we make labor into a prestigious hobby, we can stop worrying about workplace exploitation. This would be true liberty at last!
With two caveats. First, there will be the taxes required to drive the system. But given a world of unprecedented wealth, perhaps this kind of intervention would be less burdensome than all the others that we currently endure.
Here’s the bigger caveat: What will happen to a population that is no longer compelled to work? Self-directed people will do just fine, continuing in the paid labor force to earn extra money and to gain prestige. But what about the rest of us? Without a job to compel us into a minimum of social interaction, to help us structure our days, to give us a sense of purpose and belonging, to distract us from ruminating on life’s meaning, etc., what will become of us?
So perhaps we will continue to rely on the labor market—not to achieve traditional economic objectives, but the achieve the many unstated benefits of labor.
Happy Labor Day, all!
By the way, let me clarify that I am not Economist columnist Ryan Avent, but if you’ve read his book The Wealth of Humans, I wouldn’t blame you for harboring the suspicion.
I am not the author of Midsummer Night’s Dream, in case you were wondering!
Well, for what it’s worth, here’s what Ryan Avent has to say:
“Over the last couple of decades, wages, adjusted for inflation, have scarcely grown throughout a broad range of rich countries – longer in some cases…. The share of income flowing to workers, as opposed to business and property owners, has fallen. And, among workers, there has been a sharp rise in inequality, with the share of income going to those earning the highest incomes increasing in an astounding fashion.
Wages have been rising in the fast-growing emerging economies, by contrast. But even there these other two trends – concentration of income in the hands of capital owners, and in the paycheques of the richest workers – are a growing source of concern.
….Among all [American] men, the rate of participation in the workforce dropped from about 76 per cent in 1990 to 69 per cent in 2015…. [T]hose squeezed out of work often find their lives upended. Stuck in atrophying communities with few prospects, many struggling to find purpose and satisfaction in life; indeed, recent research has turned up an alarming rise in mortality since the late 1990s among middle-aged white Americans, mostly accounted for by an increase in suicides and in drug and alcohol abuse….
….In Europe, one in five adults under the age of twenty-five is unemployed. Across the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 12 per cent of people aged between fifteen and twenty-nine are neither in school nor work. Some are engaged in illicit activity or are in jail; others are in their parents’ basements playing video games. Much the same is true of the long-term unemployed, many of them older men without much education, who drift around, often drinking to pass the day, lacking much, if any, connection to society at large.
For an awful lot of people, work has become a less certain and often less remunerative contributor to material security. It is a development that makes political forces of populist outsiders, such as Donald Trump and Marine Le Pen, and bestsellers of wonky economics books, such as Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century, an analysis of global inequality published in 2014 that flew off the shelves. Work is not just the means by which we obtain the resources needed to put food on the table. It is also a source of personal identity. It helps give structure to our days and our lives. It offers the possibility of personal fulfillment that comes from being of use to others, and it is a critical part of the glue that holds society together and smooths its operation. Over the last generation, work has become ever less effective at performing these roles. That, in turn, has placed pressure on government services and budgets, contributing to a more poisonous and less generous politics. Meanwhile, the march of technological progress continues, adding to the strain.
The digital revolution alters work in three ways. First is through automation….
[And] the digital revolution has supercharged a second force: globalization….
Thirdly, technology provides a massive boost to the productivity of some highly skilled workers, allowing them to do work which it might previously have taken many form people to accomplish….
These trends … are combining to generate an abundance of labour: a wealth of humans….
The global labour force, which … grew by more than a billion workers over the last generation, will add close to another billion over the next. At the same time new technologies will make it ever easier to automate the simple work in factories, warehouse, and shops that has historically accounted for a huge share of global employment. Technologies will also alter fields such as education and medicine, by allowing a few teacher or doctors to do work previously done by many.
The economy, and society, will try to adjust. That adjustment will mean stagnating wages, for many workers, rising inequality, and a tenuous and fading connection to the world of work for many others. Workers are unlikely to take these woes lying down. Something has to give….
In 1930, the British economist John Maynard Keynes wrote an essay describing his view of how the economic future would unfold. At the time, the world was caught in a deepening depression. ‘We are suffering just now from a bad attack of economic pessimism,’ Keynes noted in the opening to his essay, ‘Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren’….
Keynes believed that, once the world had overcome its Depression, growth would resume and living standards would return to the upward path they’d been on previously. He acknowledged that rapid technological improvement would cause some short-term discomfort (‘a temporary phase of maladjustment’), but urged readers not to lose sight of the big picture:
All this means in the long run
that mankind is solving its economic problem. I would predict that the standard of life in progressive countries one hundred years hence will be between four and eight times as high as it is today….
….Time spent working would dwindle to perhaps fifteen hours a week, and then to nothing. And the main problem humanity would face would be just what to do with itself in a world of abundant leisure.
Keynes’s forecast of progress in living standard has proven correct. [R]ich economies have already experienced at least a fourfold improvement in living standards. It seems likely that some will, by 2030, have enjoyed an eightfold rise. Where, then, is the abundance? Where is the life of ease? Where are the fifteen-hour work weeks?
….What we have not managed to do is to allocate the fruit of our production evenly enough to allow broad-based reductions in work hours. We haven’t done that because it is politically a very hard thing to do…. The rich and privileged don’t want to subsidize the poor. The poor may conclude that what redistribution the rich offer leaves an impossibly huge, even unfair gap in the incomes of the haves and have-nots. The poor may also not be content with an economy in which they are effectively unnecessary, kept at peace by a hand-out from the state. [T]he incentive for clever or ambitious individuals to work … might be lost, leading to stagnant growth….
[Why didn’t Keynes anticipate these problems? For 150 years], workers asserted their power and won: the right to organize into labour unions, expansion of the franchise to men without property and (eventually to women, establishment of labour-oriented and socialist parties. By the end of the second World War, workers’ victory over their employers seemed near absolute….
But political winds shifted. Communism provide a poor way to organize an economy. Technological progress and trade slowly shipped way at the power of organized labour. The prosperity of the post-war decades created a propertied middle class – increasingly well-educated and white collar – which over time grew ever less sympathetic to the priorities of the Labour left. [I]ntellectuals like Milton Friedman made and increasingly vocal case for a different, more market-oriented sort of economy. And, finally, the exhaustion of the unprecedented, glorious post-war economic boom and the arrival of the disappointing growth and high inflation of the 1970s crated the conditions for a political break….
Most of us … were born into a world in which this break had already begun. We inherited an idea of work that reflected this long struggle….
Yet … history has not ended; …the political battle over the spoils of economic growth has not ended…. A new political break looms.
[Thus will emerge] a battle between ideas – some new, some recovered from history’s dustbin. It will be an individual struggle – what the hell should I do with my day? How and what do I teach my kids about a life well led? How do I provide for my family? And a societal one – how should we tax the fantastically rich? What does the state owe a middle class whose incomes have not grown for most of the last two decades? How welcoming should residents in advanced economies be to those who wish to move there from other countries in search of better lives, or to poor places that want to sell their goods and services to rich consumers? (And similarly, how passively should the world’s poorer countries accept an isolationist, or nationalist, turn in richer countries?) If we can’t offer our children meaning and identity in work, how do we channel their energies toward healthy alternatives, rather than ideological extremism, or social nihilism?
Ryan Avent, The Wealth of Humans (2016) at 3-12 (citations omitted).
Here is an interesting little tidbit on Labor:
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/439701/labor-unions-workers-only-6-percent-support-them
Is this the *government intervention* about which nobody speaks.
Yep, Unions could not exist without government intervention.
Thank you for interesting information. I favor right to work laws.
My dad was a machinist. When I was a child, I recall one strike when Dad friend was shot and killed. We suffered when Dad picketed.
Dad would not be a scab, but he was independent and would not strike if he thought the union was wrong. Twice, he moved our family of four to another state in order to express his views (not walk the picket line). They were hard-nosed Baptists, and Dad had some Scots-Irish, so Mom never worked until all the roost was gone. Then she worked more or less for social interests.
In Charleston, W. VA, Dad rented a dilapidated store front and quickly partitioned it for our family. I guess we were better off in Salt Lake City, because he rented an apartment. We returned to Knoxville, and he moved from railroad machinist to Oak Ridge–AEC. Things got better.
and just in case anyone missed it, here is a nice little piece wherein SEIU gets its comeuppance to the tune of a $5 million jury award.
Oh how far Labor has sunk!!!
oops – here is the link:
http://hotair.com/archives/2016/09/07/uh-oh-texas-jury-slams-seiu-5m-damages/
Sorry: that’s “Dad’s friend.”
“We would be outraged if laws prevented some people from marrying. We should be similarly enraged by these laws.” | The Locker Room says:
[…] a line from a Labor Day blog post by John McGinnis. After noting […]
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Category: BOATING ACCIDENTS
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March 18, 2019 | Arleen Lazarus | 0 Comments | BOATING ACCIDENTS
Spring and Summer Means More Boating Traffic, Accidents, and Injuries – South Florida Boating Accident Attorneys
Here’s a bit of trivia to keep and store for future use to amaze your friends: What state has the most number of boats (the Coast Guard calls them vessels) registered? Florida! That’s pretty easy, but what state ranks second? Minnesota. That’s unexpected.
What state has the most miles of coastline? Alaska. Second place is Florida.
Knowing what you know now, what state ranks number one for boating accidents, injuries, and deaths? Unfortunately, it’s Florida.
Several things contribute to make the waters in and around Florida particularly dangerous, and congestion is one. The population of Florida has gone up every year since someone started counting.
In 1960 the population of Florida was 5 million people.
1970 6.8 million
1980 9 million
1990 13 million
2019 21.3 million
Waterways, harbors, lakes, canals, and rivers are all choked with boats especially in the summer which is coming soon.
Just like we preach about safety on the road, we also preach about safe boating because a portion of our law practice is dedicated to helping victims of accidents on the water. The laws for boating accidents are similar but different. Waterways are harder to maintain “traffic control” and there may not be red lights but there are laws. If you own a boat you should know them and obey. Going out on a boat is fun but that doesn’t mean you throw common sense out the window and become reckless.
Another thing to consider and understand when you’re out on a boat is that if someone does something irresponsible and there is a collision and injuries, it takes a lot longer for medical emergency responders to reach victims. It also takes longer to be transported to the hospital for treatment of serious injuries. If you’re three miles out in the Gulf Stream you may be an hour or more from getting to a trauma center. The Coast Guard statistics for Florida boating accidents document the fact that injuries and deaths increase through the Spring months and peak in July.
The smart thing is to avoid accidents. The number one reason for serious accidents is excessive speed. Being under the influence of drugs or alcohol is also a major contributing factor according to the Coast Guard and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Almost half of all boating accidents involve impaired boaters.
South Florida Boating Accident Attorneys
The Law Firm of Lazarus and Lazarus has been helping victims of boating accidents in south Florida for 25 years. We understand the laws, insurance, and special circumstances that are unique to boating accidents and we work hard to get results for our clients who have been hurt. Please call us at (954) 356-0006 if you would like to speak with us about your situation. Our consultations are always free and confidential.
March 30, 2017 | Arleen Lazarus | 0 Comments | BOATING ACCIDENTS | boating accident attorney, Boating Accidents, south florida
South Florida Boating Accidents – Spring Break 2017
South Florida has been one of the major locations for recreational boating for decades. There is some debate about who actually coined the phrase “Venice of America” for Fort Lauderdale, but with 165 miles of waterway, it certainly is appropriate.
Boating is a year-round passion in Miami-Dade, Monroe, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties, with a combined 165,000 recreational vessels registered. When Spring Break rolls around, that’s usually one of the busiest times for traffic offshore and on the inland waterways. Not unexpectedly, accidents increase.
Read more “South Florida Boating Accidents – Spring Break 2017”
February 29, 2016 | Gary T. Lazarus | 0 Comments | BOATING ACCIDENTS, Uncategorized | Boating Accidents, Florida Boating Injury, Florida Maritime Law
More Florida Boats Means More Boating Accidents
Who Can Help When Someone is hurt in a Florida Boating Accident?
The dictionary defines boating as “the use of boats, especially for pleasure,” and certainly sailing out into the deep blue sea or motoring across a lake is both relaxing and fun. People sometimes drop their usual inert tendency to exercise caution when they are boating, and that’s when accidents happen.
Boating has increased in popularity across the country and especially in Florida, the number one ranked state for number of boat registrations. As the number of boats grows and the waterways become more congested, the number of accidents and injuries climbs as well.
The most recent full-year report available for Florida covers 2014 – in summary:
Even though the state’s 634 reportable accidents were fewer than the total of 734 in 2013, and injuries were down from 420 to 365, fatalities increased from 62 to 73. The top 10 counties in Florida with the most accidents per 100 boats registered were:
1 – Miami-Dade
2 – Monroe (the Keys)
3 – Pinellas
4 – Palm Beach
5 – Lee
6 – Broward
7 – Collier
8 – Volusia
9 – Brevard
10 – Okaloosa
Boating Accident Questions
So, what happens when there is a boat accident and someone is injured? Is it the same as a car accident? Is there liability and collision insurance? Who determines who is at fault? Can a regular accident attorney help?
These are all excellent questions, but the answers are not necessarily clear-cut. Boating accidents may be investigated by local police, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) or the U.S. Coast Guard, depending on the circumstances. Insurance for boating accidents is not the same as for automobiles. There are times when a passenger injured on a boat might be covered by their homeowner’s insurance, but they may not be covered.
Personal Watercraft (PWC) Accidents
Jet-skis, wave-runners, and other small and speedy watercraft are growing in popularity and unfortunately so are the accidents. Five people were killed in 2014 personal watercraft accidents, and dozens were injured. Persons operating personal watercraft may or may not carry insurance, so it is advisable to check before riding on one.
Boating Accident Answers
Different jurisdictions, different laws covering different types of watercraft, and insurance coverages that may have very wide gaps. The Florida Statutes covering “vessels” or all watercraft are mostly located in Chapters 326-328 but the laws are difficult for a non-lawyer to understand. It can be confusing!
The entire process covering boating accidents, liability, negligence, and even the possibility of criminal implications is a very specialized area of law that only a handful of attorneys in Florida have chosen as a special area for their practice. The Law Firm of Lazarus and Lazarus has been helping victims of Florida boating accidents for over 20 years and they are eminently qualified to investigate and then recommend the best course of action for anyone who reaches out to contact them at 954-356-0006.
edited by Carlok Bennuple
November 3, 2014 | Gary T. Lazarus | 0 Comments | BOATING ACCIDENTS, Uncategorized
Reckless or Boozed-up Boating is as Dangerous and Deadly as Drunk Driving
Fort Lauderdale is known as the “Venice of America” because of the miles of inland waterways, but actually all of south Florida is bustling with thousands of boats. On weekends and holidays the normally tranquil waterways and canals become treacherous maritime raceways with frequent serious collisions and accidents.
One such accident occurred this past 4th-of-July which killed four people, then another during the Columbus Day holiday killed a 29-year-old woman. It’s not yet certain if alcohol contributed to these incidents, but nationally it is the number one cause of boating deaths cited by the U.S. Coast Guard in 2012:
Contributing Factor———————-Accidents———-Deaths———-Injuries Operator inattention——————————-581————-47————-359 Operator inexperience—————————-417————-51————-303 Improper lookout———————————–391————-13————–278 Machinery failure———————————–346————10————–115 Excessive speed———————————–310————-31————-288 Navigation rules violation————————290————13————–236 Alcohol use——————————————-280———– 109————-227 Force of wave/wake——————————-228————–06————-204 Weather————————————————221————–43————-103 Hazardous waters———————————-184————–57—————92
The Law Firm of Lazarus and Lazarus has been representing victims of boating accidents for over 20 years, and they are experts in the field of maritime law. If you or someone you know has been injured in a boating accident, contact the Fort Lauderdale attorneys who have a solid reputation protecting the rights of their clients by calling 954-356-0006
July 20, 2012 | Gary T. Lazarus | 0 Comments | BOATING ACCIDENTS, Uncategorized
One Teen Killed, Another Injured in Redington Beach Boating Accident
A Pinellas County boat crash has left one teenager dead and another injured. The two teens were involved in an accident while riding on an inner tube being pulled behind a 24-foot fishing boat at the Redington Yacht and Tennis Club. According to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, the driver of the boat, 15-year-old Brandon Noah, reportedly navigated the vessel too close to a dock. Although the boat did not strike the dock, the tube attached to the vessel did and the two teens riding on the inner tube were thrown into the air. Although one girl landed in the water, 15-year-old Deviny Boese flew into a piling on the dock. Following the accident, Noah reportedly pulled the girls from the water and administered CPR until rescue crews arrived. Boese was transported to St. Petersburg General Hospital where she later succumbed to her injuries. 16-year-old Sarah Dobbs was taken to All Children’s Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
A passenger on the boat, 15-year-old Noah Epstein reportedly took the boat to Noah’s home in order to notify his parents about the crash. According to law enforcement officers, the accident is still under investigation but appears to have been caused by boater inexperience. Noah was cited for misdemeanor reckless operation of a boat that resulted in a fatality and failure to have a boating safety identification card. The teens apparently did not have permission to use the boat when the accident occurred.
Although no license is required in order to operate a boat in Florida, anyone born in 1988 or later must obtain a boating safety identification card in order to operate a vessel with a 10 horsepower or larger engine. There are no age restrictions placed on boaters who wish to enroll in the boating safety course required to receive an identification card. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission about 27,000 boating safety cards were issued in the state last year. About 7,500 safety cards were issued to Florida residents aged 16 and under. At the time of the accident, Noah was reportedly driving a boat with 280 horsepower.
If your family member was killed in an unexpected Florida boating accident, you may have the right to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the person who caused your loss. Generally, you have the option to file a lawsuit when a close relative’s wrongful death was caused by another person’s carelessness, recklessness, or negligence. In the State of Florida, relatives generally have up to two years to file a wrongful death claim unless the claim is against a cruise ship. The damages available to the relatives of someone killed on a cruise ship are subject to the terms of the passenger’s ticket.
Read more “One Teen Killed, Another Injured in Redington Beach Boating Accident”
July 7, 2012 | lazaruslaw-2 | 0 Comments | BOATING ACCIDENTS, Uncategorized
Retired Astronaut Killed in Pensacola Beach Jet-Ski Crash
A retired astronaut who flew two space shuttle missions was recently killed in a tragic Pensacola Beach jet-ski accident. 51-year-old Alan Goodwin Poindexter died after the jet-ski he was riding on was struck by another personal watercraft in Little Sabine Bay. Poindexter was reportedly jet-skiing with two of his adult children when the accident happened. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the incident occurred after the jet-ski Poindexter was riding on with his son Samuel suddenly slowed. Another jet-ski driven by his son Zachary reportedly hit the back of Poindexter’s jet-ski at a high rate of speed.
The force of the deadly crash allegedly tossed both Poindexter and Samuel into the water. Friends reportedly pulled Poindexter onto a nearby boat and performed CPR until emergency responders arrived. The former NASA astronaut was then taken by emergency helicopter to Baptist Hospital where he was pronounced dead. The exact cause of the accident is currently under investigation by the Wildlife Commission.
Every year, many people in Florida are killed in unnecessary and avoidable boating accidents. Because our state it is a popular tourist and boating destination, people often spend a lot of time on the water in Florida. Whether on a lake or in the ocean, anyone using a boat or personal watercraft should always be careful to follow established safety rules and guidelines.
Losing a loved one in an unexpected watercraft accident like this one can be devastating. If your close relative was killed in a Florida boating accident that was caused by someone else’s carelessness, recklessness, or negligence, you may have the right to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the person who caused your loss. Although no amount of money can bring back your family member, filing a wrongful death claim may help to relieve some of your financial burden and deter similar behavior in the future. Because the amount of time you have to file a wrongful death claim in Florida is limited, it is a good idea to contact a capable personal injury attorney as soon as possible following your loss.
Read more “Retired Astronaut Killed in Pensacola Beach Jet-Ski Crash”
June 7, 2012 | lazaruslaw-2 | 0 Comments | BOATING ACCIDENTS, Uncategorized
Nine Passengers Ejected, Three Injured in Florida After Vessel Hits Clearwater Rock Jetty
Nine people were rescued by the United States Coast Guard in Clearwater Pass, Florida over Memorial Day weekend after a 21-foot pleasure boat hit a rock jetty. According to the Coast Guard, the vessel struck the jetty while traveling at about 20 miles per hour early Sunday morning. All nine passengers on the boat were reportedly thrown into the water by the force of the impact. Another boat notified the Coast Guard of the accident around 3 o’clock in the morning. Rescuers discovered all nine passengers stranded on the jetty.
A representative for the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission stated three passengers were taken to Morton Plant Hospital and Largo Medical Center for injuries sustained in the southwest Florida boat accident. The remaining passengers were taken to Station Sand Key where the driver of the boat purportedly passed a field sobriety test. The driver of the vessel was later ticketed for failing to maintain a proper lookout. The watercraft sustained a large hole in the bottom as a result of the collision and was reportedly a total loss. The accident is currently under investigation by the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission.
Luckily, no one involved in this particular crash sustained life-threatening injuries. Every year, however, many deaths in Florida stem from avoidable watercraft accidents. Because South Florida offers many wonderful boating spots, people tend to spend a great deal of time on the water. Due to the associated safety risks, all boaters should follow established safety guidelines and rules. Watercraft owners and drivers have a legal responsibility to protect themselves, their vessel, and their passengers.
If you lost a loved one in a Florida watercraft accident, you may have the right to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the person who caused your loss. Normally, you may sue for a family member’s wrongful death following a fatal accident caused by someone else’s recklessness, carelessness, or negligence. In Florida, relatives generally have up to two years to file a wrongful death claim unless the claim is against a cruise ship.
If you lost a family member in a cruise ship accident, you may be limited to filing a lawsuit within one year of the accident based on the passenger ticket. If you have lost a loved one in a boating or other watercraft accident, you should contact an experienced South Florida wrongful death attorney as soon as possible to discuss your case.
Read more “Nine Passengers Ejected, Three Injured in Florida After Vessel Hits Clearwater Rock Jetty”
April 11, 2012 | Gary T. Lazarus | 0 Comments | BOATING ACCIDENTS, Uncategorized
Six Abandon Ship Due to Fire in Intracoastal Waterway Near Fort Lauderdale
Recently, a 30-foot boat caught fire and overturned in the Intracoastal Waterway near Fort Lauderdale. All six passengers, including three adults and three children aged 10, 12, and 14, abandoned ship as a result of the flames. A spokesperson for Fort Lauderdale Fire and Rescue, Matt Little, stated all of the passengers were able to swim to shore where they were pulled from the water by onlookers and emergency crews. Little also said no one was injured in the incident.
According to witness Linda Nair, smoke from the fire rose about 100 feet into the air and could be seen for miles. She said she was impressed by how quickly area firefighters extinguished the flames. It took firefighters approximately 15 minutes to put the blaze out. The cause of the flames is currently under investigation. The owner of the boat was not onboard at the time of the incident.
Luckily, no one was severely injured or killed in this particular accident. Still, a great many Florida deaths are the result of tragic and avoidable boating accidents. With so many great boating spots in South Florida, boaters often spend a great deal of time on the water. Because boating is such a popular form of recreation, it is vital for boaters of all ages to follow safety guidelines and rules. Boat operators have a responsibility to protect not only themselves and their vessel, but also their passengers. Losing someone you love in an unexpected watercraft accident can be devastating. It is often made even worse when your loss was preventable.
If you have lost a family member in a Florida boating accident, you have the right to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the party at fault. Generally, you may sue for wrongful death following a deadly accident that resulted from someone else’s act of negligence, recklessness, or carelessness. In the State of Florida, relatives have up to two years to file a wrongful death claim unless your claim is against a Cruise Ship in which case you may be limited to filing a lawsuit within one year based on the passenger ticket. If you have lost a family member due to another person’s negligence, you should contact a capable South Florida personal injury lawyer to discuss your case.
Read more “Six Abandon Ship Due to Fire in Intracoastal Waterway Near Fort Lauderdale”
March 21, 2012 | lazaruslaw-2 | 0 Comments | BOATING ACCIDENTS, Uncategorized, WRONGFUL DEATH
Two Separate High-Speed Boating Accidents Kill Three in Tavares During Spring Thunder Regatta
Last weekend, two fatal boating accidents took place on Lake Dora during the Tavares community’s annual Spring Thunder Regatta. On Saturday, 53-year-old Mark Van Winkle of Stuart was killed when he was thrown from his vessel and struck in the water by another boat. On Sunday, 64-year-old Charles Woodruff of Jensen Beach and 73-year-old Dea Wiseley of Sun City Center died after they were involved in a high-speed crash. Woodruff was a former raceboat champion and Wiseley was also well known in the raceboat show circuit.
The deaths were the first in the regatta’s six-year history. The annual event, sponsored by the Classic Race Boat Association, marks the Tavares community’s annual kick-off to the boating season and showcases vintage racing boats traveling at speeds of up to 80 miles per hour. Drivers are not on the water to race their boats, however. Each year, the regatta generally draws about 10,000 spectators.
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Woodruff’s boat ran over Wiseley’s boat on Sunday and both men were killed after being thrown into the water. On Saturday, an occupant riding in Van Winkle’s boat was also ejected but she was safely rescued. The cause of both fatal accidents is still under investigation. Despite the perfect weather on Sunday, the weekend boating tragedies reportedly cast a pall over the community.
Each year, many deaths in Florida are the result of a tragic and unnecessary accident. Losing a loved one unexpectedly can be devastating, but it can be particularly distressing when your loss is the result of another person’s negligence. If you lost a family member due to someone else’s negligent actions, you have may the right to file a wrongful death lawsuit. Generally, a deadly accident which results from an act of negligence, recklessness, or carelessness will give rise to a wrongful death claim. In Florida, family members of someone killed in an accident normally have up to two years to sue for wrongful death. Clearly, no amount of compensation can make up for the loss of your loved one, but filing a wrongful death claim may allow you to hold the liable party accountable for their actions. If you have lost a family member due to someone else’s actions, it is a good idea to contact a qualified personal injury attorney to discuss your options.
Read more “Two Separate High-Speed Boating Accidents Kill Three in Tavares During Spring Thunder Regatta”
January 19, 2012 | lazaruslaw-2 | 0 Comments | BOATING ACCIDENTS, Uncategorized, WRONGFUL DEATH
Family of Sarasota Man Poised to File Suit Over Key West Speedboat Death
The family of a Sarasota offshore speedboat racer killed during the Super Boat International World Championships in Key West last November is poised to file a wrongful death lawsuit against Super Boat International Productions, Inc. 59-year-old Joey Gratton purportedly drowned after his boat flipped over twice during a Key West race. His family claims Gratton survived the crash, but drowned due to a poor emergency response on the part of race organizers. Gratton’s death followed closely behind that of two Missouri men killed two days earlier when their boat crashed on the first day of racing.
Gratton was an experienced speedboat racer who, together with a close friend, won three world championships and eight national championships over the course of several years. According to reports, Gratton was not severely injured in the crash, but was instead alive, conscious, and fighting for several minutes to extricate himself from restraints. He is alleged to have drowned while waiting to be assisted by rescue boats. Instead of deploying immediately, rescue divers on an emergency helicopter were purportedly told by race organizers to act as second responders. The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner has stated Gratton’s official cause of death was drowning.
According to the Gratton’s attorney, the family will file a wrongful death lawsuit alleging gross negligence in Super Boat International’s safety and rescue response. He has stated race day rescue boat staff was not competently or adequately trained to act as first responders. He also claims divers were improperly told to allow rescue boats to act first, which wasted valuable response time. The family’s attorney claims Gratton would be alive today but for the company’s negligence. Gratton’s family has stated their overall goal in filing a lawsuit is to change Super Boat International’s emergency response measures to ensure the safety of other speedboat racers.
Many deaths in Florida each year are the result of tragic and unnecessary accidents. The unexpected loss of a loved one can be devastating, but it can be particularly upsetting when your loss is the result of another person’s negligence. When someone you love has been killed as a result of someone else’s actions, you have the right to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the party at fault. Generally, a fatal accident which is the result of an act of negligence, carelessness, or recklessness will give rise to a wrongful death claim. In Florida, family members have up to two years to sue for wrongful death. If you have lost a family member due to a third party’s negligence, an experienced personal injury lawyer can answer your questions and help you file a wrongful death claim.
Read more “Family of Sarasota Man Poised to File Suit Over Key West Speedboat Death”
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Washington councilman says Washington Township is overcharging for police services
Updated Mar 29, 2012 ; Posted Mar 29, 2012
By Tommy Rowan | The Express-Times
View full sizeJustin Jewell
A Washington borough councilman won't take Washington Township's word for it.
Councilman Justin Jewell said Tuesday that he doesn't want to hear township officials say they will be fair in charging the borough for its share of the police shared services contract. He wants to see the numbers for himself.
Jewell went so far to say he thinks the borough is being overcharged.
"We still have to stand up for ourselves and say, 'Hey, the numbers aren't perfect here, something's skewed," he said.
Borough council demanded last week that the township provide itemized expenses for 2011 from its police shared-services contract with the township. Council members hoped those numbers would help them complete the borough's 2012 budget, which must be approved by council no later than April 17.
Jewell said he also wants to know how much Oxford Township is paying now that it's had a reduction in police services. The borough, township and Oxford share police services in a joint contract.
"That's what I'm worried about," he said. "Because if (Oxford is) going to cut back their services, then I don't want to foot the bill for them - neither does the township I'm sure, but we need to find more specifics about what's going on here, and we're not."
The borough will pay a little more $2.22 million to the township for police services this year, an increase of $85,783.
The Oxford Township costs were not yet available. Oxford Township Mayor Donald Niece did not return a message left Wednesday.
Washington Township Mayor Michael Kovacs said the Oxford numbers aren't included because they are "between us and Oxford."
"We gave (The borough) the information between us and the borough," he said.
Kovacs said the reduction comes in the number of officers patrolling Oxford, where three officers will now patrol instead of four.
View full sizeMichael Kovacs
Kovacs said Oxford, whose contract expired Feb. 1, approached the township for assistance.
"They were having budget problems and they were looking for some way to cut their numbers in order to make the state cap numbers," he said.
Jewell said he thinks there are certain parts of the contract that still need to be hashed out and that some charges are not correct.
"And it's evident to me that the township is trying to look into it; whether they are trying to look into it or are stalling, I don't know," he said. "Because they had their budget done, I believe it was the Saturday prior to ours."
Kovacs said he doesn't know whether or not the township will give the borough the Oxford numbers yet, and that the township's chief financial officer has been working non-stop to gather the appropriate information.
"What I can say is, they kind of opened the door," he said. "We're seeing things that we should have been charging them for that we never charged them for before. So I don't know what we're going to come up with, but right now we've spent hours and hours and hours of administration time on this. That's all our CFO has been doing up until now, that costs money."
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Manchester University / About Manchester / News / Brown VIA 2018
Is your service trip ‘good for the world?’ Manchester senior explores what works – and what doesn’t – in April 26 program
NORTH MANCHESTER – There has been much talk in recent years about the rise of short-term mission trips and how some might ultimately harm those they were meant to serve.
Katherine Brown is a graduating senior at Manchester University and has participated in its annual Medical Practicum in Nicaragua for the past two years.
In the faculty-guided practicum, students assist a team of U.S. and other health care professionals who collaborate with Nicaraguans to serve medical, dental and veterinary needs in remote communities. The three-week January session travels though mountains, jungles and rivers by bus, four-wheel-drive vehicles and dugout canoes to villages that often have no running water or electricity.
The practicum has been a Manchester tradition since 1981.
While in Nicaragua, Brown noticed that some people or groups came into the rural communities with the intention of doing good but unintentionally do harm.
Brown will present “Be the Good: Lessons from Nicaragua” at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 26 in Cordier Auditorium. Her presentation will highlight her experiences of performing service work in Nicaragua, and she will share insight about how to determine whether a service trip is likely to have a positive outcome for those on the receiving end.
Those with generous hearts do not always have the tools or knowledge to empower those they encounter, improve their quality of life and respectfully build health cross-cultural relationships.
Her presentation is part of the Senior Series tradition at Manchester, which encourages graduating seniors to create a compelling program on a topic or theme of their choosing. The Values, Ideas and the Arts Committee – whose mission it is to bring engaging speakers and performances to enrich MU’s educational experience – chose Brown for this honor.
Brown is from Carmel, Ind., majoring in athletic training. Her next goal is to be accepted into a physician assistant program. Commencement is May 19.
About Manchester University
Manchester University, with campuses in North Manchester and Fort Wayne, Ind., offers more than 60 areas of academic study to nearly 1,600 students in undergraduate programs, a Master of Athletic Training, a Master of Pharmacogenomics and a four-year professional Doctor of Pharmacy. Learn more about the private, northern Indiana school at www.manchester.edu.
Press release prepared with assistance by Tiffany Byers, a student assistant in the Office of Strategic Communications.
Directions to campus, maps
Manchester University Mission and Values
Courses of study at Manchester
Respect is the name of the game
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Tim Toole - Canadian Powerboat Racing Champion
Tim Toole always knew he wanted to race something. He loved to go fast. When he discovered powerboat racing, he was hooked.
Tim was working as a marine mechanic in 1973 when he started helping Wayne Finch, who owned and raced a powerboat. He got a chance to race the next year in a three-cylinder 65-horsepower boat that he bought from Finch, and that was the beginning of a an amazingly successful career.
However it didn't start out all that promising. "I raced all year in that boat and was dead last in every race," recalled Toole recently. "But Mercury supplied a new engine the next season, 1975, and everything-changed. We won the majority of our races that year."
That was the start of his success, as Toole went on to win the Canadian points championship in the SE class in 1975 and then claimed the title in the Mod 50 class in 1976-77 and 79. He tacked on a championship in the Mod U class in 1984.
"Mod 50 meant that you could modify your engine as you liked as long as you used regular pump gas and stayed within the cc (engine size) limits," explained Toole. "In Mod U, you could modify the engine as you liked and the size was unlimited up to 3000 cc."
The year of 1977 was a big one for Toole. Besides winning his second consecutive Canadian points championship, Toole also placed 11th at the World Powerboat Championships in St. Louis, Missouri. He placed 11th in two heats and 13th in another to end up 11th best in the world. It was an astounding feat for a racer who basically paid his own way along the racing circuit.
In the mid-1980s, Toole set a Canadian speed record at Dunnville in the SST-140 class for stock Mercury 200 HP engines. He covered the five-mile competition race with a speed of 81.955 miles per hour. While he was one of the top racers in North America, Tim kept safety in mind as he raced. "I had my share of upside-down rides and bangs and crashes," he said. "But I was less aggressive than some drivers. Safety was always a concern of mine. I had a family to come home to when the racing was over."
Tim was a weekend racer mostly, paying his own way along the circuit. He acknowledges the invaluable help of his sponsor, Mercury. One summer he used eight engines at a cost of about $12,000 each.
Toole left the sport in 1989 when his family obligations and his job demanded more of his attention. He doesn't regret the time he spent in the sport. "I got to see a lot of my country, Canada, and some of the United States, and I got to fulfill my desires to race. As well, I met lots of great people and enjoyed working with my crew They were great," he said. "It took up all of my summers with the travel and working on my boat."
Toole now works as the manager of the Midland Waste Water Treatment Centre, where he's been employed since 1972. He lives in Midland with his wife Linda and family.
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Sonic Highways
The new HBO series Sonic Highways has been called David Grohl's love letter to the history of American music. For their newest album, The Foo Fighters recorded every song in a different historical studio accross America. Each episode tells the story of how that song was created while exploring the musical history of the city where it was recorded. Memory Lane Music is proud to have several songs in the show including The Dead Boy's Sonic Reducer, Kyuss' Asteroid, and The Beastie Boys' An Open Letter to NYC.
We've created a Playlist of some of our songs included in the series.. Enjoy!
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The second debate didn’t help. PR-wise, you cannot overstate the stupidity of refusing to come on stage for seven minutes, just because your opponent brought a portable fan. Scott behaved like a petulant boob, and once again provided a wacky Florida punch line for comics coast to coast.
On the other side stands Charlie Crist, who — by leaving the governor’s office after one term to run for U.S. Senate — gave us Rick Scott. Thanks a bunch.
Now, after morphing from Republican to Independent to Democrat, Crist wants his old job back. He has unapologetically reversed himself on big issues such as abortion, gay marriage and the Cuban trade embargo. This was done to better jibe with the Democrats’ position, and also public-opinion polls.
What Crist truly believes is anybody’s guess. Unlike Scott, he seemed to enjoy the debates, but then he has always enjoyed have cameras pointed in his direction.
As of this writing, the governor’s race is polling dead even. Numbed by all the attack ads, disheartened by lackluster choices, lots of people are in a mood not to vote.
Bad idea.
Obviously this election isn’t about picking the best and the brightest. It’s about picking the candidate who is the least dangerous to Florida’s quality of life. Scott won’t accept the concept that, unlike the job of a corporate CEO, the job of governor is supposed to be conducted in the open. He remains at ease only behind closed doors, which is how he runs his administration.
He flies around in his private jet, sharing only chosen parts of his weekly schedule with the public he was elected to serve. His allegiance is strictly to business, which is the world he comes from.
Initially he opposed the prescription-monitoring data base that ultimately shut down many of the state’s pill mills. The governor called the computerized tracking system “an invasion of privacy,” which is exactly what the crooked pill-peddlers were saying.
During his last campaign he berated his Republican primary rival for being “bought” with donations from Big Sugar. This time around, Scott has taken more than $700,000 from the sugar companies and, as a guest of U.S. Sugar, flew to the King Ranch in Texas for a secret hunting trip.
On environmental issues, Scott pretends to be a friend of the Everglades while packing water-management boards with shills for polluting industries. He has defanged and demoralized the state Department of Environmental Protection, which now does so little to protect our air and water that it might as well be renamed the Department of Environmental Permissiveness.
And the governor was totally on board when Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi despicably joined efforts to block a court-ordered cleanup of Chesapeake Bay, because developers and agricultural interests here feared it would set a precedent for stricter pollution rules.
With such a record, it’s no wonder Scott’s re-election campaign is focused elsewhere. However, his claim of singlehandedly of bringing 650,000 new jobs to the state is sheer fantasy. Most of those added jobs are the result of a rebounding national economy, and they would have come back to Florida if Pee Wee Herman were governor.
An investigation last December by the Herald and Tampa Bay Times revealed the chasm between Scott’s words and reality. He promised $266 million in tax breaks to attract 45,258 new jobs, yet only about 4 percent of those jobs had materialized.
Meanwhile, between January 2011 and November 2013, there were 49,163 layoffs statewide at companies with more than 100 employees. Today Scott crows about Florida’s unemployment rate, which at 6.1 percent is actually higher than the current U.S. unemployment figure of 5.9 percent.
So enough fiction about job creation.
For voters, the Nov. 4 gubernatorial election boils down to one question: Who’s the least slippery, and the least secretive? Philosophically Crist might be all over the map, but he’s not a sneak. He loves the the public eye too much to slink from it.
For better or for worse, we’d always know where Charlie was, and what he was doing. In these sorry times that counts as a selling point.
We could use a governor who leaves a trail.
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How Bohemian Rhapsody Changed Shows for the Cover Band Absolute Queen
What Happened to Young the Giant?
Bunji Garlin on Soca, "Differentology," and Not "Selling Out"
Laurie Charles
Laurie Charles | May 15, 2014 | 12:00pm
One hit is all it takes for an established musician to become an international star. For Bob Marley, it was "Judge Not." For Shaggy, it was "Oh, Carolina." For Trinidadian ragga soca artist Bunji "The Fireman" Garlin, that song is "Differentology."
"The purpose was to transcend beyond the season of the carnival [in Trinidad and Tobago] so that it can relate to anyone from anywhere," the singer explains. "It was made to stand out among everything else."
And Garlin's hit single does just that. Even those not familiar with the Trini, if they've tuned in to any local pop radio station, watched the tenth episode of season ten of Grey's Anatomy, or even jammed to Major Lazer, they've heard Bunji's big song.
See also: Best of the Best 2014 Lineup: Beres Hammond, Beenie Man, Tarrus Riley, 17 Others
Now thanks to the track's success, Garlin and his crew will be dropping "Differentology" and shouting "Are you ready?" at Miami's Bayfront Park as part of the annual Best of the Best megaconcert during Memorial Day weekend.
"Just the excitement of performing with all these people," the Fireman marvels. "A lot of these artists, we've been fortunate to come across them many times and work on the same stage as them. It's a nice, family-type environment. It's all these bands from all these different islands."
With steady reggae, dancehall, and soca vibes emanating from Best of the Best's main stage, the good times will definitely keep rolling. But for Garlin, this fest is about more than just having fun.
"Being a Trinidadian artist, many of these opportunities, we don't often get selected for them," he admits. "We always fight for it. This gives us a chance for people to look at our music in a different way too."
See also: Miami's Memorial Day Weekend 2014 Party Guide
Born Ian Antonio Alvarez, the aspiring soca star changed his name to Bunji Garlin in the mid 1990s as a way to make a statement and pave the way for his music.
"It's a two part name," he begins. "Bunji comes from the bungee rope, because the more you pull the rope downward, the higher it goes when you release it. I try to apply that to my life -- the more you push me down, the higher I go. And Garlin, I got it from the military weapon, a Gatling, but we call it a Garlin in Trinidad. It's small, but causes a lot of damage."
Coming from such a small island in the Caribbean and now creating soca shock waves across the globe, Bunji Garlin has been fitting, even somewhat prophetic, much like the vision that he once had of his career as a boy.
"I used to always see this image when I was real young, something like a wave of fire," Garlin describes. "And years later as a professional musician, I was in the studio and saw that same vision again. That's when it hit me -- I'm supposed to be here."
Making it mainstream, however, has proven to be more than a matter of fate. He's taken risks. And he's faced challenges. But Bunji insists he never considered compromising his core artistic identity.
"When an artist sells out, when an artist crosses over, they leave a lot of what they know, and when you do that, you leave your whole fanbase behind," he says. "These artists leave what they know and don't fully understand what they're getting into."
So yes, it may have taken 15 years. (He released his debut in 1999.) But finally, Garlin's refusal to sell out has paid off.
"This song ['Differentology'] is one of the first instances of Trinidad and Tobago crossing to mainstream.
"It's happening. And to see something like that happen, it's very encouraging. For our music to do that is our goal."
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Best of the Best 2014. With Bunji Garlin, Beres Hammond, Barrington Levy, Cocoa Tea, Beenie Man, Tarrus Riley, Chronixx, and others. Sunday, May 25. Bayfront Park, 301 Biscayne Blvd., Miami. The gates open at 2 p.m. and tickets cost $47 to $139 plus fees. Visit bestofthebestconcert.com.
Follow Crossfade on Facebook and Twitter @Crossfade_SFL.
Twitter: @laurieacharles
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Scott Walker RNC Speech: Obama's You Didn't Build That Quote Fires Up GOP Super Stars
By Chris Miles
Scott Walker added to the conservative fervor on Tuesday night, as the Wisconsin governor gave a keynote speech on the first big night of the Republican National Convention.
Walker — who has been a critical player in American politics this year with his anti-public union policies in Wisconsin … leading to a recall election on June 5, which Walker survived — energized the Republican crowd by emphasizing free market policies and a lessoning of government’s hand on the economy.
Some key Scott Walker Quotes:
"On June 5, voters got to decide who was in charge ... was it the government special interests or the hardworking tax payers. On June 5, the tax payers won."
"The last couple of years have been pretty tough. Unemployment in Wisconsin had topped in over 9%. But because of our reforms, unemployment is down and the economy in the state is growing."
"People, not governments, create jobs. Sadly the federal government seems to be going in the opposite direction."
"Now more than ever we need reformers, leaders who think about the next generation, not the next election."
Walker's presence at the RNC is critical. Many Republicans believe that the key to winning election 2012 hinges on using the same strategies — and policies — Walker used in the lead-up to his June 5 recall election. Since Walker championed an end to public unions, more conservative politicians have pushed his policies in their own states. Anti-public union policies have sprung up in states like Ohio, California, and Tennessee. Some analysts have thought that anti-public union policies would become the trademark of the Romney-Ryan campaign.
As stated on The Catholic Labor Network:
A public-sector trade union (or public-sector labor union) is a trade union which primarily represents the interests of employees within public sector (government-owned, supported or regulated) organizations. Public sector unions have become some of the larger or more influential unions in certain areas of the world in recent times due to easier corporate opposition to private-sector unions.Such unions are highly controversial among conservatives who advocate for the downsizing of the public sector and blame public sector unions for running up large state deficits.
Editor's Note: This story has been updated to properly cite language that was originally used without attribution to The Catholic Labor Network. We apologize to our readers for this violation of our basic editorial standards. Mic has put in place new mechanisms, including plagiarism detection software, to ensure that this does not happen in the future.
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Racist messages posted at Air Force Academy discovered to be written by one of the targeted victims
By Alison Durkee
An incident at the U.S. Air Force Academy Preparatory School in Colorado Springs, Colorado, made headlines in September, when five black cadet candidates discovered racist messages written on the white boards outside their dorm rooms.
The hateful messages inspired the academy’s superintendent Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria to deliver an impassioned speech denouncing the perpetrator’s racist writings, telling students: “If you’re outraged by those words, then you’re in the right place. You should be outraged not only as an airman, but as a human being.”
But now it seems that the perpetrator wasn’t a racist student targeting the academy’s black attendees — but was instead one of the targeted black victims themselves.
The Air Force Academy confirmed Tuesday that one of the five targeted students was behind the hateful attack, the Colorado Springs Gazette reported. The cadet candidate is no longer enrolled at the school.
“We can confirm that one of the cadet candidates who was allegedly targeted by racist remarks written outside of their dorm room was actually responsible for the act,” academy spokesman Lt. Col. Allen Herritage said in an email to the Gazette. “The individual admitted responsibility and this was validated by the investigation.”
Sources cited by the Gazette allege that the student wrote the messages in a “bizarre bid” to get out of trouble for other misconduct at the school, though the academy won’t confirm the specific circumstances behind the incident.
No matter what the circumstances, though, by falsely committing the hate crime, the unnamed student may have done more harm than good. False incidents make up only a “tiny fraction” of overall reported hate crimes, Brian Levin, director of the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, told Talking Points Memo, yet these hoaxes — and the significant attention they often generate — can have detrimental effects.
“There aren’t many people claiming fake hate crimes, but when they do, they make massive headlines,” Ryan Lenz, senior investigative writer for the Southern Poverty Law Center Intelligence Project, told ProPublica, adding that just one incident can “undermine the legitimacy of other hate crimes.”
In a culture where the White House and its allies regularly decry unfavorable journalism as being “fake news,” social justice hoaxes are a key way in which critics can challenge the validity of hate crimes overall and take them less seriously.
“I’m a criminologist and people have accused my reports of being biased when I’m using official law enforcement criteria or actual law enforcement data,” Levin told Talking Points Memo. “There’s something politically going on now that is different. These hoaxes have become symbols for some who want to promote the idea that most hate crimes are hoaxes. That’s important to rectify.”
When asked about the bombing of a mosque in Bloomington, Minnesota, and President Donald Trump’s failure to address it, for instance, former White House adviser Sebastian Gorka dismissed the event as possibly being a “fake hate crime,” showing how these hoaxes can lead to real events being ignored.
“We’ve had a series of crimes committed, alleged hate crimes, by right-wing individuals in the last six months that turned out to actually have been propagated by the left,” Gorka said on MSNBC, as quoted by ProPublica. “When people fake hate crimes in the last six months with some regularity, it’s wise to find out what exactly is going on before you make statements, when they could turn out to be not who you are expecting.”
For the general public, these hoaxes can also work by limiting the burden of discrimination in people’s minds, Toni Bisconti, a psychology professor at the University of Akron who studies hate crimes, told Talking Points Memo.
Responding to an incident in which a Muslim girl claimed to have been harassed on the New York City subway — before later revealing it was a hoax, Bisconti said: “We don’t like to think of ourselves as capable of making people feel horrible for being born Muslim or Middle Eastern. So if we have one or two situations in which their reports aren’t true, we can just let ourselves off. We don’t have to feel guilty. We can say, ‘Look they’re making huge deals out of everything, we don’t need to feel responsible.’”
Those on the right have already latched onto news of the fabricated incident at the Air Force Academy to bolster their argument about the widespread nature of hoax hate crimes.
“Too bad Air Force Academy Prep official who hysterically lectured all cadets against ‘racism’ after this #HoaxCrime didn’t refrain from judgment until AFTER investigation was complete,” conservative commentator Michelle Malkin tweeted.
Despite the negative effects of the hoax, though, the school — which has faced other recent “woes” in addition to the faked messages, the Gazette reported — and Silveria are standing by their initial response.
“Regardless of the circumstances under which those words were written, they were written, and that deserved to be addressed,” Silveria said in an email to the Gazette. “You can never over-emphasize the need for a culture of dignity and respect — and those who don’t understand those concepts aren’t welcome here.”
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How Allentown-bound Boyz II Men rebuilt its career
By Jodi Duckett
Boyz II Men: Nathan Morris (left), Shawn Stockman and Wanya Morris. (RONY SHRAM / CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
Boyz II Men may no longer dominate radio, sell albums by the millions or command attention as one of R&B's most popular groupz. But member Nathan Morris has no complaints.
"We call this our second career, which a lot of people don't really get a chance to have," he says in a phone interview. "We're just excited to still be able to so what we love to do after 25 years."
This second career began in 2004, after the vocal group lost one of its members, bass vocalist Michael McCrary, and took a year-long hiatus.
In returning to music, Nathan Morris, Shawn Stockman and Wanya Morris found that the music industry was getting turned upside down by downloading of songs and that Boyz II Men's career was pretty close to being back at ground zero.
"It definitely wasn't easy, not by any means," Morris says, looking back on having to rebuild the group's career. "You sell 60 million records around the world and then you take a long break, and you come back and the industry has changed. They've moved on to other newer artists. And the fact that you've been off the scene for awhile, you have to kind of start over again. It was a little rough.
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By Alan Sculley
"So we pretty much had to put our 1996-97 egos aside and say 'Hey, this is what we've got to do in order to turn this thing around,' " he says.
The members of Boyz II Men had become accustomed to life at the top during their first decade together.
Formed in 1988 while Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris, Stockman and McCrary were students at the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts, the vocal group was signed by Motown Records, and with their 1991 debut album, "Cooleyhighharmony," blasted onto the worldwide scene.
Mixing hip-hop and new jack swing with classic-sounding, doo-wop influenced vocals, the album caught on big time. The singles "Motownphilly" and "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" topped the R&B chart and were Top 5 pop hits. The "Cooleyhighharmony" album sold more than 9 million.
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That momentum ramped up even more when "End of the Road," a song recorded for the Eddie Murphy movie "Boomerang," was released in 1992 and topped Billboard magazine's all-genre Hot 100 singles chart for a record-setting 13 straight weeks.
When the group's sophomore album, "II," arrived in 1994, it was an immediate smash. The single "I'll Make Love to You" went straight to No. 1, and bested "End of the Road" by holding the top slot for 14 straight weeks, until a follow-up single from "II," "On Bended Knee," displaced that song at No. 1. In all, "II" sold 12 million and won the 1995 Grammy for Best R&B Album.
Boyz II Men enjoyed one more triple-platinum album, 1997's "Evolution," before things dropped off considerably, as both the 2000 album, "Nathan Michael Shawn Wanya," and 2002's "Full Circle" failed to reach platinum in sales.
Then came the departure of McCrary, who was said to be battling scoliosis, and the hiatus that extended until 2004.
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The comeback was gradual, as Boyz II Men, now a trio, had to go back to the clubs and start working back up the ladder.
Slowly, but surely, the size of the crowds and the venues got larger, as Boyz II Men got back into recording and touring.
A significant step came with the recording of three albums of cover songs. "Throwback Vol. 1," released in 2004, featured Boyz II Men's versions of R&B classics and sold 200,000 copies with little promotion.
After signing to Universal Records, the trio released "Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville USA" in 2007, on which Boyz II Men covered hits from that legendary record label. The album reached No. 6 on the R&B chart in the states.
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Then in 2009, Boyz II Men released "Love," an album made up of covers of romantic songs from outside the R&B genre.
"Those records were actually key in our survival, because again, we were able to cover those [songs] and we were able to add those records to our repertoire," Morris says. "We had a bunch of corporate gigs where those [cover] songs really are needed. So the fact that we had three albums worth of remake songs, it allowed us to get back into the corporate game, which really turned some things around."
Another coup was landing a residency in Las Vegas in 2013. This not only gave Boyz II Men a string of shows to anchor each touring year, but it gave tourists from around the world a chance to see the group perform, generating a new fan base. Today, Boyz II Men is headlining theaters, casinos and the occasional amphitheater.
The group has continued to record, as well. In 2011, Boyz II Men released the album "Twenty," which included a dozen new songs and re-recorded versions of several of the group's '90s hits. The album, though, failed to connect commercially, and that helped spur Boyz II Men to make one of its boldest albums, "Collide," which was released in 2014.
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For the latest album, the trio worked with a variety of current songwriter/producers and recorded a dozen songs that range from ballads to R&B tunes and even some rockers — a collision of styles, as the album title suggests.
Morris said Boyz II Men made "Collide" simply because they liked the songs and their recent albums made them feel they could step beyond their signature sound.
"We were doing the re-make albums and people were like 'Oh, we're tired of hearing Boyz II Men do remake albums. You keep redoing other people's songs,'" he says. "So we went in and did 'Twenty,' which is what we call a classic R&B album. But then the fan base decided, 'Oh, we don't like that either.' So it's like we had come to the point where we had to go back to what got us started in music anyway, and that was doing music because we loved it."
Morris suspects that now, Boyz II Men will write and record new songs when it is inspired to add certain types of music to its live show. With albums selling so few copies now, careers are now built around the live show.
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Boyz II Men has definitely been focused on its live shows, making a few changes to keep things fresh and bringing some of the showmanship it has developed in its Las Vegas shows to its touring shows.
"Obviously, we have to incorporate the classic songs, the songs people pay to hear," Morris says of the summer concert tour. "Then we throw a little bit of new stuff in as well. And we also throw in some covers here and there. But it's interesting, the covers that we do are songs that we have covered [on albums] … And last year, we decided to learn how to play a couple of instruments, so we have a little live section that we do now with our band where we play some songs on keyboards, guitars and stuff like that."
Alan Sculley is a freelance writer.
jodi.duckett@mcall.com
Twitter @goguidelv
Shawn Stockman
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'Rise' by Zhou Tian honors veterans with moving music inspired by their diary entries
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McCormick Science Institute Science Summit - Spices and Herbs: Improving Public Health Through Flavorful Eating - A Call to Action
Dwyer, Johanna T. DSc, RD
Johanna T. Dwyer, DSc, RD, is a professor of medicine and community health at Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts.
The author is a member of the McCormick Science Institute’s Scientific Advisory Council; owns stock in McCormick & Company, Inc; is the editor of Nutrition Today; and is a public trustee of ILSI North America.
Correspondence: Johanna T. Dwyer, DSc, RD, Frances Stern Nutrition Center Box 783, Tufts Medical Center, 800 Washington St, Boston, MA 02111 ( JDwyer1@tuftsmedicalcenter.org).
The McCormick Science Institute held a Science Summit on May 20–21, 2014, in Washington, DC, that brought together experts from academia, government, and the food industry to initiate a national conversation on the role of culinary spices and herbs in a healthy diet. Those of us who have toiled for years—sometimes decades—in the realm of nutrition education know how hard it is to help consumers change their eating habits. Sometimes it seems not merely difficult, but downright impossible. What does it take to achieve behavior change? How can we motivate consumers to adopt better eating patterns? What roles can spices and herbs play in helping consumers improve their dietary habits?
The Science Summit— “Spices and Herbs: Improving Public Health through Flavorful Eating — A Call to Action”—was designed to promote the sharing of information on the health and wellness benefits of spices and herbs and to provide a forum for discussing ways this information can be translated to consumers. Its overall goal was to develop an action plan for helping consumers improve their health by consuming healthier diets.
To achieve this goal, Summit presenters first reviewed the state of the science regarding spices and herbs in areas such as oxidative stress and inflammation, energy metabolism and satiety, cardiovascular risk factors, and glucose homeostasis. Presenters also addressed the importance of flavor in diet counseling and the use of spices and herbs in three key areas: improving the acceptance of reduced-fat and reduced-calorie foods, changing behavioral intentions among children and adults, and developing healthier and more flavorful food products and menus. Two other topics included current consumer attitudes and behaviors regarding health and nutrition and the ways in which spices and herbs can help consumers meet the recommended sodium intake and achieve other dietary guidelines outlined in future editions of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
After formal presentations, summit participants split into action groups assigned to one of three topics: translating the science directly to consumers; translating the science to consumers through industrial product development; and translating the science to consumers through public policy. Each group addressed the following questions: 1) What needs to get done? 2) How do we make it happen? and 3) What are the key next steps?
This supplement summarizes the Summit’s presentations and describes action plans designed to translate the science into the “next steps” to improve public health. Dozens of ideas were generated, only a fraction of which are summarized here. Perhaps the most important outcomes were an increased awareness of the promising physiological and culinary benefits of spices and herbs and a stronger commitment across all food-related arenas—from basic and behavioral research to product development, food and nutrition policy, and the media and foodservice industries—to work together to improve public health through flavorful eating.
Disclosures and acknowledgments
Published as a supplement to Nutrition Today. Individual papers are based on presentations delivered at the McCormick Science Institute Science Summit held in Washington, DC, on May 20–21, 2014. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and guest editor and do not necessarily represent the views of the McCormick Science Institute or the publisher, editor, or editorial board of Nutrition Today.
This supplement was commissioned and financially supported by the McCormick Science Institute (MSI). All presenters were offered reimbursement for their travel expenses. Non-industry presenters who were not members of the MSI Scientific Advisory Council were also offered an honorarium for their presentation. For more information about the Summit, please contact Dr. Guy Johnson at (410) 771–7916 or guy_johnson@mccormick.com.
Author disclosure: see author disclosure for each individual paper.
The guest editor and authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the McCormick Science Institute for its vision and hard work in organizing the Summit and in preparing this supplement. We also thank the members of the Steering Committee—namely, Johanna Dwyer, Gilbert A. Leveille, John Milner, Sylvia Rowe, and Nancy Wellman—for their help in planning the Summit and Diane Morris for help in preparing the manuscripts.
Reprint requests should be directed to guy_johnson@mccormick.com.
Copyright © 2014 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Join the Call to Action to Improve the Nation's Diet
Spices & Herbs for Healthy Eating Habits
Flavor Is What Drives Healthy Eating Habits
Richard Anderson, Ph.D.
Cheryl A.M. Anderson, Ph.D.
Keith Ayoob, Ed.D., RD, FADA
Brian Berman, M.D.
John Courtney, Ph.D.
Kevin W. Concannon
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Home Perspectives The Dancing Dinosaurs of the Civil War in Afghanistan
The Dancing Dinosaurs of the Civil War in Afghanistan
Lutfullah Mashal
"I will fight against all the warlords who have won and I hope all the good people in (the) parliament will join to fight the warlords." This is what Malali Shinwari, a young woman and a former BBC reporter, told journalists in Kabul after winning a top seat in the Wolasi Jirga or the lower house land Mark Election of Afghanistan.
This is the second women coming out to talk frankly against the powerful warlords in a male dominated and conservative society of Afghanistan. The first women Malali Joya, made her name just by a two minute speech against the warlords in the constitutional Loya Jirga or Grand Assembly of Afghanistan in December 2004.
Many people in Afghanistan, who have witnessed the atrocities committed by some warlords, will support Malalai in her "fight" against warlords. But will Malalai and her other sympathizers succeed in fighting these powerful warlords?
With many hoping that Afghanistan’s new political institutions will somehow be able to break the country’s cycle of violence, a struggle in the parliament between the liberal, educated and progressive members of parliament with the hardliner, fundamentalist and warlord parliamentarians will wipe out these hopes.
Despite the high risks of a Taliban attempt to disrupt the polling, the militants who have significantly increased their attacks this year, didn’t succeed to disorder the process or intimidate people. Thanks to the earnest efforts of the Afghan and international security agencies especially the Ministry of Interior for adopting a coherent and effectual security plan that foiled almost all terrorist plots before and during the election and provided a safe and secure environment for voters, national and international observers and election workers. Although the turnout was slightly lower than of the presidential election, but many analysts believe it was mostly due to the malfunction of the Public outreach programs of the Joint Electoral Management Body JEMB’s media campaign. In some parts of the country even people did not know whether this election is for electing a president again or what? A resident of Paktia province told this reporter on September 16, just two days before the election, that he has already voted for Karzai and will not vote again for any body else. Nevertheless many of Afghanistan’s estimated 12 million registered voters enthusiastically seized their opportunity to cast ballots.
Landmark elections in Afghanistan have expectedly thrown up a Parliament that can be appropriately called a mixed bag – having members of all descriptions. A fleeting look at the list of elected people brings into the limelight the continued sway of warlords, jihadi commanders, and conservative clerics, rivals of the incumbent president and a welcome foray of educated women into politics.
The most compelling challenges facing Afghanistan today are: expanding the influence of central government to provinces and managing centre-periphery relations, especially in dealing with warlords; providing credible security and rule of law extending beyond Kabul; economic reconstruction and winning the minds and hearts of those who have been influenced by the Taliban and still have sympathy for them and those blameless civilian victims of the war on terror in the southern provinces, who have innocently suffered a lot of miseries during the war on terror.
The best way to deal with the warlords, whether to combat them or try to co-opt them is still unknown, now that many warlords enjoy public support and proved to win public census, it makes it more difficult to combat them. Combating them now means combating all the voters that have voted the warlords. There is an opinion among some Afghan experts, that the warlords should not be dislodged unless there was something to replace them with. The only means that can replace these powerful warlords is to accelerate the slow pace of building the security institutions – the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police.
So far these institutions have had some progress, especially the Afghan National police; the Afghan Ministry of Interior with the help of US government and Germany was able to establish seven police training centres, one in the capital and six in the regional headquarters, which trained around 50,000 Afghan national police and gendarmerie during the last three years. This proved to be a great security asset during the presidential and the recent parliamentary election.
The Then Minister of Interior, Ali Ahmad Jalali, a reputed military strategist and a top security planner, was the main apparatus behind all these achievements. He not only managed to reform and restructure the Ministry of Interior and the loose network of police forces of Afghanistan, which had turned into a militia encampment, but he also helped president Karzai to a great extent, to diminish the power of powerful regional warlords and remove them from their permanent strongholds. Now that Jalali has resigned and has gone back to his favoured "academia" life in the US, Afghans hope that confidently President Karzai will appoint somebody who does not have links with warlords and tend to be a bigwig who could effectively implement the much-needed Reform and Restructuring project at the Ministry of Interior that Jalali had initiated.
President Hamid Karzai, a respected leader at home and a reputed diplomat abroad himself seems to be of two minds on the best approach for dealing with the warlords "combat or co-opt" partly because the government is divided on this issue, and partly because there are limits on what he can do to combat them. During the constitutional Loya Jirga (Grand Assembly) President Karzai welcomed the warlords into the political process hoping that including them would change their behaviour. (A few warlords have changed their behaviour but most of them are still the ones, they were three years ago) Coming from an international relations academic background, president Karzai looks like he has been greatly influenced by the well known American realist theorist of International Relations, Hans Margenthau, who had opined in his famous book Politics Among Nations that "World problems result from forces inherent in human nature, to improve world (we) must work with such forces rather than against them". It seems like "it is good to have your enemies inside the tent pissing out or outside the tent pissing in" as an ex. US president had once said.
Now that a big number of warlords made their way to the parliament, president karzai would respect the voters’ choice. He recently told reporter in a press conference when he was asked about dealing with the warlords. "It does not matter. Whoever the Afghan nation has voted for should be respected. We want to have a Parliament representing all of Afghanistan."
The warlords persist because the conditions that allow them to remain have not fundamentally changed. Besides, they have a strong incentive to retain power as long as possible. Warlords have a big share of the lucrative narcotics business in Afghanistan, which has damaged the legal economy of the state and is said to be funding terrorists and regional irresponsible militias. It is no accident that the major customs posts of Herat, Kandahar, Jalalabad, and Balkh (near Mazar-i-Sharif), which produce considerable revenue, fell under their control. Thanks to the efforts of the then Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, who partially succeeded to bring the major custom posts under central government control.
Afghanistan is one of the world’s poorest countries (fifth in the world), ravaged by more than two decades of war and strife, So far, international assistance has tended to be long on promises, short on delivery. This undercuts president Karzai’s will to uproot warlordism and expand central authority to the rural areas.
While we are sure that president Karzai is trying his best to bring about a process that will connect human rights and accountability issues with institution building and the future of Afghanistan, we hope that parliamentarians-elect will work hard enough to deliver on the promises they made during their election campaigns, and if so, we could hope that the painful legacy of the past three decades of murder, turmoil and mayhem would be eventually forgotten.
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Lutfullah Mashal has written extensively on the war on terror and political developments in Afghanistan. He contributed this article to Media Monitors Network (MMN) from the United Kingdom.
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Priority for Great Eastern Highway urged
The State Government was pressing for the $40 million Great Eastern Highway upgrade to be listed as a priority under the National Highway Program, Goldfields Minister and Kalgoorlie MLA Ian Taylor said today.
"Preliminary estimates indicate about $40 million is needed to widen and upgrade the highway," he said.
"This upgrading would include widening the road to seven metres. Some sections on the western end are only 6.2 metres and to include overtaking lanes where they are warranted.
"The Great Eastern Highway is probably the single most important road in Western Australia in terms of interstate trade but the gains in trucking technology have meant that the road needs a major upgrade."
Mr Taylor said Main Roads had a five-year strategy that would be put to the Federal Government in time for funds to be set aside for next financial year.
"From personal experience, I am well aware of the condition of the road and have reservations over the decision to allow road trains to travel as far as Northam," the Minister said.
"I have put these concerns to Transport Minister Pam Beggs.
"She has advised me a $2.9 million repair project on the road has begun so that sections of the road damaged through the heavy winter will be repaired before the road trains begin operating next April."
He said Mrs Beggs had said the lifting of commodity restrictions on road trains using Great Eastern Highway was part of updating the State's road transport policy and had followed approaches from transport operators, including the WA Road Transport Association.
The move opened up the opportunity for significant cuts in road freight costs for residents and businesses in the Goldfields.
Road trains and B-doubles already had been operating on the highway for some time and, while the new policy would increase road train numbers, the overall impact on truck volumes was expected to be minimal as the increase in road train traffic would be offset by a fall in the number of semi-trailer movements.
"Mrs Beggs agreed with me that increased seal widths and overtaking opportunities were desirable," Mr Taylor said.
"Main Roads engineers will look at these aspects as part of the overall review. In the meantime, they have said that once the repairs currently underway are completed, the highway will allow the changeover to road trains."
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home/pregnancy center/ pregnancy a-z list/ opioids over-prescribed after c-sections: studies article
Opioids Over-Prescribed After C-Sections: Studies
By Carole Tanzer Miller
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THURSDAY, June 8, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- Women are routinely prescribed more opioid painkillers than they need after Cesarean sections, creating a high risk for misuse, a trio of new studies suggests.
C-sections are the most common inpatient surgery in the United States, with 1.4 million procedures performed a year, according to the researchers. But there is little data on how much medicine patients actually need to manage their pain. To that end, how many pills are prescribed varies from provider to provider, the researchers added.
More care is needed to limit the amount of leftover drugs that could wind up in the wrong hands, the studies concluded. Most people who use opioids for nonmedical reasons get them from friends and relatives who have unused medication. And patients may not lock their leftovers away, putting young children at risk.
"We are the source of these excess opioids, and we need to do more to restrain that, but we really need to tailor that so the individual gets what they need. Our take-home point is we don't want one-size-fits-all prescribing," said Dr. Sarah Osmundson, who led one of the three studies. She's an assistant professor of maternal-fetal medicine at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.
Addiction to prescription opioids such as oxycodone (Oxycontin, Percocet) and hydrocodone (Vicoprofen) is a growing epidemic in the United States. The number of opioid overdose deaths has quadrupled in the past 15 years, according to one of the studies.
Though women are unlikely to get hooked on opioids after a C-section, an addiction expert said non-opioid pain relief should always be the first treatment of choice.
"We need to be conscious of what the consequences of routine opioid prescribing are -- not just for the patient but for anyone who might encounter her medicine cabinet," said Dr. Mishka Terplan. He's a member of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' Opioid and Addiction Medicine Work Group.
The largest of the three new studies -- by researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston -- involved 720 C-section patients at six U.S. medical centers. About 85 percent filled an opioid prescription when they left the hospital.
The study found women were prescribed roughly twice as many pills as they used. On average, each had 15 left over. With 1.3 million C-sections a year in the United States, that's an estimated 20 million opioids that could be diverted and misused.
The researchers found no difference in pain scores when they compared women by number of pills prescribed. But women who were prescribed more pills wound up using more pills, according to the study.
"This was especially interesting to us, because it suggests that we are setting patient expectations based on the number of pills that we prescribed," corresponding author Dr. Brian Bateman said in a hospital news release. Bateman is chief of obstetric anesthesia at Brigham and Women's.
The studies suggest that the remedy isn't as simple as dispensing fewer pills.
In the second study, Osmundson's team urged providers to peg quantity to how much pain medicine women actually use in the hospital -- more pills for those who need more pain relief as hospital patients, fewer for others.
Of the 179 C-section patients they studied, 165 were prescribed an opioid. Doses ranged from eight to 84 pills, with nurse-midwives prescribing fewer than doctors.
More than three-quarters of the patients had pills left over, and only seven women threw them away. Most kept leftovers in an unlocked cabinet, according to the study.
The findings suggest counseling patients is key.
Osmundson said women should be reminded to use opioids only when they really need them, to taper off as soon as they can and to dispose of leftovers properly. Unused pills can be mixed with coffee grounds or kitty litter and tossed in the trash or taken to an approved drug disposal site, she said. Some medical practices also dispose of them.
Terplan, associate director of addiction medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, said patients have a responsibility to ask questions and be sure they understand their treatment.
Convenience may be one reason for the opioid over prescriptions, he said.
A patient who needs more opioid painkillers has to get a written prescription -- a trip to the doctor that may be burdensome for a new mom who is recovering from surgery and caring for a newborn. So providers try to make sure she has enough.
So, what's the prescription for over-prescription?
A third study investigated a novel approach that reduced opioid use after C-sections by 50 percent.
It centered on a 10-minute meeting where a clinician spoke about post-operative pain and opioids while patients viewed a presentation on a tablet computer. Women were told how much pain to expect, risks and benefits of opioid and non-opioid painkillers, how to get refills and how to safely dispose of leftovers.
What are opioids used to treat? See Answer
Then, patients chose how many 5-milligram oxycodone tablets to receive at discharge, up to the hospital's typical 40. The median number of pills they chose was 20. The average number of pills left over was four.
Nine out of 10 participants said they were satisfied or very satisfied with their pain management, and nearly as many called the shared decision-making helpful, according to the study.
"This is the path forward, I think," Terplan said. "It's not saying everybody gets 90 Oxycontins or seven Oxycontins, it's actually involving the patient in her own decision-making."
The studies were published online June 8 in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.
SOURCES: Sarah Osmundson, M.D., assistant professor, maternal-fetal medicine, Vanderbilt University, Tennessee; Mishka Terplan, M.D., professor, obstetrics, gynecology and psychiatry and associate director in addiction medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University; Brigham & Women's Hospital, news release, June 8, 2017, Obstetrics & Gynecology, online
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Home MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS Researchers Discover A Shocking Cause Of Multiple Sclerosis Disease
Researchers Discover A Shocking Cause Of Multiple Sclerosis Disease
multiple sclerosis (MS) is a condition that causes damage to the substance that covers nerve cells. This interrupts normal communication between nerves, leading to problems with movement, speech, and other functions. We don’t know what causes multiple sclerosis disease but we think it is an autoimmune disease.
What is an autoimmune disease?
Autoimmune diseases develop when a person’s immune system goes after its own tissues and organs. Autoimmune disease can affect all parts of the body. For example:
Type 1 diabetes. This is the type that usually affects kids and develops when abnormal antibodies attack certain cells in the pancreas, leaving it unable to produce enough insulin, so the body can’t regulate blood sugar properly
Rheumatoid arthritis. Multiple joints and other organs become inflamed; the cause is unknown, but the presence of autoantibodies (antibodies directed against proteins in healthy tissues) and other abnormal immune function suggest it is an autoimmune disorder.
Pernicious anemia. In this condition, anemia develops when the immune system produces antibodies that prevent absorption of vitamin B12 from food.
And these are just a few. Autoimmune conditions are especially scary because the immune system goes rogue for no apparent reason. These are favorite conditions of medical television and movies, such as House, Grey’s Anatomy, and The Big Sick.
What triggers autoimmune diseases?
The most common explanation is that an affected person’s immune system, partly due to the genes they inherited, is primed to react abnormally to some trigger, such as an infection, an environmental exposure (like cigarette smoke), or some other factor. For most autoimmune diseases, we can’t easily figure out what triggers them. If we could, we might be able to prevent them.
Are there known triggers for multiple sclerosis disease?
Experts suspect a number of potential triggers or risk factors for multiple sclerosis disease. For example, some believe that it’s due to a chronic infection (although it’s unclear exactly which infection). Others believe that it’s primarily a genetic neurological disease. These theories challenge the idea that multiple sclerosis disease is truly an autoimmune disease.Some studies suggest that head injuries might be a risk factor for multiple sclerosis disease. If true, it raises important questions about how multiple sclerosis disease develops and how it might be prevented. On the other hand, it’s not an easy thing to study because researchers would never intentionally cause head injuries to see if they cause multiple sclerosis disease. Another way to study this question is to enroll people who already have MS, look back at whether they had concussions, and then compare them with similar people who don’t have MS.
New research suggests that head trauma might trigger multiple sclerosis disease
This research included more than 7,000 people with multiple sclerosis disease and compared them with more than 70,000 people who were similar in other ways (including age, gender, and where they lived) but who did not have multiple sclerosis disease. Investigators looked for a history of physician-diagnosed concussion prior to age 20. It was important to determine whether any type of traumatic injury, or a concussion specifically, could be the link. So, researchers also assessed whether the study subjects had ever broken a bone in the upper or lower extremities prior to age 20.
Here’s what they found:
Those who had suffered a single concussion between the ages of 10 and 20 had a 22% higher rate of MS than those who had never had a concussion.
The rate of MS was more than doubled for those who had experienced more than one concussion.
There was no connection between broken bones in the arms or legs and the risk of MS.
A study of this type cannot prove that a potential trigger (head injury) actually caused the condition of interest (MS). We can only say there is a possible link. But we do have data to suggest that there is a link, and likely not a link with other types of injuries. We might later learn that the connection isn’t between concussions and MS at all, but rather some other factor (such as a drug or other treatment) that is more common among those with head injuries.Still, these findings are hard to ignore and could represent one more reason we should all be concerned about head injuries to the developing brain.
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Sigala: 5 things I’ve learned about music production
By Ben Rogerson 2018-12-26T10:35:00Z Tech
“Making music is a lot of trial and error, and the best idea might not necessarily be the first one”
(Image credit: Alex De Mora)
MusicRadar's best of 2018: Since scoring his first UK number 1 single in 2015 with Easy Love, Sigala - AKA Bruce Fielder - has become a one-man hit factory, albeit one who’s been able to call on some star names to provide vocals. He’s scored other chart smashes that include ‘featuring’ spots from the likes of John Newman, Craig David, Ella Eyre and, most recently, Paloma Faith, with whom he released the 2018 hit Lullaby.
With both jazz piano and music production skills in his locker, it’s clear that Bruce has all the skills he needs to keep racking up the platinum-selling singles; his new release, Feels Like Home, is a collaboration with Fuse ODG, Sean Paul and Kent Jones. This will be followed by an album, Brighter Days, that will be released in September.
We wanted to find out what’s made Sigala so successful, so asked him to tell us the five things he’s learned about music production.
1. If it's not right first time, don't give up
“I used to watch a lot of videos on the making of tracks where the producer would sit there and say ‘this is how I made it’. It seemed so easy - like it just fell out of them in a couple of hours, and the elements in that production were the first things they tried.
“As time went on and I began to meet and talk to other producers and artists, some of whose videos I used to watch, I started to realise that it's not always the case. I have songs where I have made the full production in just one day, and others which have taken nearly 200 hours to get right, and which have gone through various different versions. Some tracks I have completely scrapped everything except the vocal and started from scratch several times, then compared all the versions and worked on the best one.
“So if it’s not sounding how you want it, don't give up. Making music is a lot of trial and error, and the best idea might not necessarily be the first one.”
2. Streamline your setup
“My setup is still the same as it was 10 years ago: a computer, a set of monitors and a MIDI keyboard. I have worked in studios with loads of outboard gear and, although its always fun to experiment with new equipment, I find these things tend to only hinder my workflow. I'll spend two hours getting an amazing reverb sound then forget what I was actually trying to do. It's great for the very end of the process, but when inspiration strikes I want to just get down my ideas quickly with no distractions.
“So if you're producing records in your bedroom with a laptop and headphones, don't feel like you're missing out on a big snazzy studio. You have all the tools you need right there.”
3. If it sounds great, leave it
“When I first started producing I would put Sausage Fattener on literally everything because it made it sound big and compressed and fat. But some elements in your mix don't need to sound fat; if you use a snare sample and it sounds great then don't process it just for the sake of it. A lot of soft synths also sound so good straight out of the box that they don't need massive amounts of processing. Dynamics are so important in music, and you can ruin a mix by compressing everything so much that nothing has space to breathe.”
If you're producing records in your bedroom with a laptop and headphones, don't feel like you're missing out on a big snazzy studio. You have all the tools you need right there.
4. Solo things one by one
“This is a process I use a lot when I am nearly finished on a track. I find it a great way to mix. I will loop a section and start with just the kick and then solo the bass too and make sure they work together. Next, I'll start to solo the other synths, EQing and adjusting the levels as I go. I will also start to carve out space in the mix to make room for my main sounds - maybe take some 5k out of my chordy synths to make room for my melody or vocal.
“If I have several layers serving a similar purpose I will try soloing different combinations to find which is the most important sound and adjust the levels appropriately. It's difficult to explain this process but it is really useful to help work out which elements should be prioritised in the mix; also, if there is a lot going on in the mix, it can help pinpoint sounds which maybe aren't needed at all. When I'm producing I tend to layer a lot of sounds initially then go through and work out which are needed and which work, so this technique is really useful to me.”
5. Don't over-listen to your own bounces
“I think we are all guilty of this from time to time, but i've learnt to not get carried away when it comes to listening to my own music over and over while I'm still in the process of finishing it. Obviously, you have to listen to it while you’re making it, but I’m talking about listening to that bounce v9.6 on repeat four hundred times.
“One of the most important skills for a producer is knowing when something sounds great, and I think if you listen to something enough times then you get so used to how it sounds that it’s hard to be objective and unbiased. If I'm working on something but i'm a little stuck, I will not listen to it for a few days or a week or sometimes more. Then, before I go to bed or first thing in the morning when i wake up, I will stick it on and I find I can be much more objective and hear it with fresh ears. I find the more I work on a track, the harder it is to get that initial feeling of excitement I had when I first started making it, but this technique helps.”
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Media and Technology /
Global Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Market Size, Status and Forecast 20...
Global Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Market Size, Status and Forecast 2019-2025
The Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) is an American low-level airborne ground surveillance system that uses aerostats (moored balloons) as radar platforms. Similar systems include the EL/M-2083 and JLENS.
In 2018, the global Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) market size was xx million US$ and it is expected to reach xx million US$ by the end of 2025, with a CAGR of xx% during 2019-2025.
This report focuses on the global Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) status, future forecast, growth opportunity, key market and key players. The study objectives are to present the Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) development in United States, Europe and China.
Market analysis by product type
Market analysis by market
Market analysis by Region
To analyze global Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) status, future forecast, growth opportunity, key market and key players.
To present the Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) development in United States, Europe and China.
In this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) are as follows:
Table Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Key Market Segments
Table Key Players Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Covered
Table Global Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Market Size Growth Rate by Type 2019-2025 (Million US$)
Figure Global Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Market Size Market Share by Type 2019-2025
Figure Type I Figures
Table Key Players of Type I
Figure Type II Figures
Table Key Players of Type II
Table Global Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Market Size Growth by Application 2019-2025 (Million US$)
Figure Military Case Studies
Figure Homeland Security Case Studies
Figure Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Report Years Considered
Table Global Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Market Size 2018-2025 (Million US$)
Figure Global Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Market Size and Growth Rate 2018-2025 (Million US$)
Table Global Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Market Size by Regions 2019-2025 (Million US$)
Table Global Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Market Share by Regions 2014-2019
Figure Global Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Market Share by Regions 2018-2025
Table Global Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Revenue by Manufacturers (2018-2019) (Million US$)
Table Global Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Market Share by Manufacturers (2018-2019)
Figure Global Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Market Share by Manufacturers in 2019
Table Global Key Players Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Funding/Investment Analysis (Million US$)
Table Global Key Players Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Valuation & Market Capitalization (Million US$)
Table Global Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Market Size by Type (2018-2025) (Million US$)
Table Global Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Market Share by Type (2018-2025)
Figure Global Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Market Size Share by Type (2018-2025)
Table Global Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Market Size by Application (2018-2025) (Million US$)
Table Global Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Market Size Share by Application (2018-2025)
Figure Global Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Market Size Market Share by Application (2018-2025)
Figure Global Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Revenue Market Share by Application in 2018
Figure United States Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Market Size 2018-2025 (Million US$)
Table United States Key Players Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Revenue (2018-2019) (Million US$)
Table United States Key Players Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Market Share (2018-2019)
Table United States Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Market Size by Type (2018-2025) (Million US$)
Table United States Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Market Share by Type (2018-2025)
Table United States Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Market Size by Application (2018-2025) (Million US$)
Table United States Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Market Share by Application (2018-2025)
Figure Europe Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Market Size 2018-2025 (Million US$)
Table Europe Key Players Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Revenue (2018-2019) (Million US$)
Table Europe Key Players Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Market Share (2018-2019)
Table Europe Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Market Size by Type (2018-2025) (Million US$)
Table Europe Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Market Share by Type (2018-2025)
Table Europe Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Market Size by Application (2018-2025) (Million US$)
Table Europe Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Market Share by Application (2018-2025)
Figure China Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Market Size 2018-2025 (Million US$)
Table China Key Players Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Revenue (2018-2019) (Million US$)
Table China Key Players Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Market Share (2018-2019)
Table China Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Market Size by Type (2018-2025) (Million US$)
Table China Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Market Share by Type (2018-2025)
Table China Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Market Size by Application (2018-2025) (Million US$)
Table China Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Market Share by Application (2018-2025)
Figure Market Size in Japan Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) 2018-2025 (Million US$)
Figure Market Size in Southeast Asia Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) 2018-2025 (Million US$)
Figure Market Size in India Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) 2018-2025 (Million US$)
Table Lockheed Martin Company Details
Table Lockheed Martin Revenue in Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Business in 2018 and 2019
Table Lockheed Martin Recent Development
Table Harris Corporation Company Details
Table Harris Corporation Revenue in Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Business in 2018 and 2019
Table Harris Corporation Recent Development
New Media and Technology Reports
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Rebekah Patterson
Rebekah has been a Solicitor in our Personal Injury team under Partner Joe Bonura since 2017. Along with the team, she works across all areas of Personal Injury Law, with a particular emphasis on Workers Compensation, common law employment claims and Victims Compensation.
Rebekah’s experience includes regular court appearances across all levels of the state and commonwealth jurisdictions. She also appears regularly in the Workers Compensation Commission at teleconferences, Conciliation and Arbitration Hearings and mediations. Rebekah has also gained experience in Coronial Inquests and has appeared on behalf of client’s in the NSW Coroners Court.
Appearing regularly in court, Rebekah is an experienced advocate and prides herself on success when it comes to assisting clients through the claims process and advocating on their behalf. Rebekah has also developed strong written skills and is experienced in preparing submissions for matters in the NSW Workers Compensation jurisdiction. She has an exceptional eye for detail and is committed to achieving successful outcomes for her clients. Click here to read our results.
Rebekah enjoys working with clients to achieve successful outcomes and is passionate about supporting them through what is often a daunting and stressful time. Injury can have a significant impact on an individual’s life and Rebekah is dedicated to ensuring her clients understand the legal process and their entitlements.
Rebekah holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Western Sydney and a Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice from The College of Law. She is currently in the process of finishing her Master of Laws at the Australian National University, with a particular focus on tort and compensation law.
Rebekah is a member of the Law Society of NSW, Macarthur Law Society and NSW Young Lawyers Association. She is also actively involved in community legal outreach centres, providing pro bono services to The Benevolent Society and the WILMA Women’s Health Centre.
Outside of the office, Rebekah enjoys exercising, relaxing with family and friends and exploring new places to eat.
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M&B Receives $1.6 Million Dollar Verdict in a Breach of Contract Case
The Plaintiff Chris Kolb was a salesman for a company known as CTA in Madison County, Alabama. CTA sold robots and robotic systems for applying paint and stealth coatings. These products and services were mostly sold to government contractors such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin. In May of 1999 Kolb was promoted to a salesman. As a part of this promotion Kolb signed a written contract that paid him the same base salary he was previously earning with the company but also entitled him to earn commissions. Attached to the contract was a detailed commissions schedule that outlined how the commissions were to be calculated. (It was not simply a percentage of the sale). Kolb worked under this contract from May 1999 to October 2003. During this time frame, Kolb sold over $23M worth of product and services for CTA. In October 2003, he signed another written contract that increased his salary and promoted him to VP of Sales. This October 2003 contract eliminated Kolb’s right to receive commissions on future sales. In October 2003, CTA began to negotiate the sale of the company and it was officially sold to Pratt & Whitney Automation in June 2004. [Read more…] about M&B Receives $1.6 Million Dollar Verdict in a Breach of Contract Case
Filed Under: Blog, General Civil Litigation, Personal Injury
M&B Attorneys Receive AV Rating from Martindale Hubbell
October 19, 2010 by Morris Lilienthal
We would like to congratulate M&B attorneys Mac Martinson and Doug Martinson, Jr., for recently receiving Martindale Hubbell’s highest Peer Review Rating of AV. To be eligible for a the AV rating an attorney has to have been practicing for 10 or more years. During this review process Martindale Hubbell anonymously selects numerous attorneys who have worked with or against the reviewed attorney and ask them a series of questions concerning the candidates ethical standards and their legal ability. Based upon these responses the candidate is rated and if they meet the established criteria they are given a rating. An AV rating is a rating of 4.5 – 5.0.
The Huntsville Alabama Attorneys at Martinson and Beason have over 140 years of combined legal experience. [Read more…] about M&B Attorneys Receive AV Rating from Martindale Hubbell
Many Judges Likely to Preside Over BP Oil Spill Cases Have Interest in Oil Industry
June 25, 2010 by Morris Lilienthal
A recent article by the AP notes that over half the Federal Judges in the southern states of Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas have links to the oil and gas related industries. The article “Many Federal Judges Have Oil Links” raises serious questions about whether a Judge who has an interest in the oil and gas industry should preside over these Oil Spill Claims. Currently there is a fight amongst BP’s attorneys and various Plaintiff’s attorneys as to which Judge(s) should preside over these cases. The ethics rules on this subject are at best fuzzy. Essentially these rules state that a Judge who has a direct financial interest -owns BP stock-would be disqualified from hearing such a case; however, if they own a mutual fund which has oil stocks as a part of its makeup they do not have to disqualify themselves. The handling of the over 200 filed lawsuits over this disaster may become a little clearer once the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation meets next month to hear arguments on consolidation of the oil spill cases.
Filed Under: Blog, General Civil Litigation
Consumer Rights Under the FDCPA
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is a federal law that protects consumers from harassment and abuse from debt collection agencies. The FDCPA requires debt collectors to validate debts and provides consumers with statutory damages and attorneys’ fees for violations. Examples of violations of the FDCPA include:
Calling the consumer at work after the debt-collector has been told that it’s inconvenient or that the consumer’s employer prohibits personal calls.
Telling others such as family members, co-workers, and neighbors that the consumer owes money.
Continuing to contact the consumer when the debt-collector knows that an attorney represents the consumer.
Calling repeatedly, or calling consumers before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m.
Asking neighbors to deliver phone messages to the consumer.
Falsely implying that a debt collector is an attorney. [Read more…] about Consumer Rights Under the FDCPA
How to Obtain Your Free Credit Report
June 7, 2010 by Morris Lilienthal
As Alabama Consumer Rights Attorneys, we know how important it is for consumers to check their credit report and verify everything on it. In today’s computer age when people are routinely paying bills and making purchases etc… on the internet your identity is more likely to be stolen now more than ever. Set forth below is how any consumer can obtain a yearly free copy of their credit report. Be careful; however, there are many companies out there that say they can get you your free credit report, but what they don’t tell you is you have to sign up for a monthly service.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) is a federal law that provides consumers with rights and remedies. It is important to consumers for credit reporting agencies (“CRAs”) to maintain accurate and complete consumer credit records. Consumers have the right to know what is in their file. Consumers are entitled to one free credit report from each of the three nationwide CRAs (Equifax, Experian and Trans Union) once in a 12 month time period. The CRA must provide the consumer with their credit report within fifteen days of receiving the request. [Read more…] about How to Obtain Your Free Credit Report
Huntsville AL Jury Returns Verdict for M&B Client
April 12, 2010 by Morris Lilienthal
Huntsville Trial Lawyers George Beason and Morris Lilienthal received a jury verdict for their client in a breach of contract case last week. The jury trial centered on commissions owed from a car dealership to one of its former salesman. After a two plus day trial the jury returned a verdict for the Plaintiff awarding him most of the damages he was seeking in the matter. Our client was extremely satisfied with the result we were able to obtain and we were very excited to see the system continue to be a venue for the little man to stand up to Corporate America. While most civil cases do settle prior to trial, it’s important in selecting an Alabama personal injury attorney to hire one that has courtroom experience and is willing to take the matter to trial to achieve the best possible result for their client.
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Disney to Start Own Streaming Services, Remove Content From Netflix
A trader on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange walks past The Walt Disney Co. logo on August 7, 2017 in New York. fileRichard Drew / AP file
Aug. 9, 2017, 1:12 AM UTC / Updated Aug. 9, 2017, 1:12 AM UTC
By Amanda Proença Santos
Disney just can't wait to be king of the streaming world, announcing on Tuesday an aggressive move to pull all of its content from Netflix and start its own streaming platforms.
The Walt Disney Company says that it will start its own Netflix-style streaming service, set to launch in 2019. The platform will host Disney and Pixar movies and a selection of Disney Channel TV programs.
And just like other streaming services like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon, Disney will also be making a "significant investment" in creating original content exclusively for the platform.
Disney to pull content from Netflix, launch its own streaming service
Aug. 9, 201700:31
Disney also said it plans to launch a separate ESPN-branded service that will host an assortment of sports programming. The platform will run on an app that the company hopes will become the "premier digital destination" for all sports fans.
The news follows Disney's majority-share acquisition of BAMTech, a streaming technology and marketing company it first bought one third of last year for $1 billion. Disney said Tuesday that it purchased an additional 42 percent of the company for $1.58 billion.
"The media landscape is increasingly defined by direct relationships between content creators and consumers, and our control of BAMTech's full array of innovative technology will give us the power to forge those connections, along with the flexibility to quickly adapt to shifts in the market," Disney Chairman Robert A. Iger said in the release.
The move means all of Disney and Pixar content will be gone from Netflix by the end of 2018, before its platform is set to launch. All new content, including "Toy Story 4," a sequel to 'Frozen," and a live-action adaptation of "The Lion King," will be available only on the new Disney subscription service.
Netflix shares plunged more than 5 percent following the announcement. A spokesperson for the company was not immediately available for comment.
Amanda Proença Santos
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Firefighter Hurt Battling Spring Garden Blaze
By Vince Lattanzio
Flames could be seen shooting from the roof of the multipurpose building in Spring Garden.
A Philadelphia firefighter was taken to the hospital after being injured battling a fire in Spring Garden Monday night.
The fire broke out in a second floor apartment of a rowhome along the 1100 block of North Street around 8:00 p.m.
Huge flames could be seen shooting from the roof of the building as firefighters worked to keep the fire from spreading to adjacent homes. Unfortunately, they two other homes were unable to be spared.
One firefighter was taken to Hahnemann Hospital with minor injuries.
The fire was brought under control around 9:15 p.m. The Red Cross helping families affected by the blaze.
Officials are investigating the cause of the fire.
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Roping event set for Carson City’s Fuji Park canceled
Entertainment | May 20, 2015
Nevada Appeal staff report
A National Team Roping Tour event originally scheduled for Memorial Day weekend at Carson City’s Fuji Park arena was canceled Tuesday, according to Tommy Lee of Tommy Lee Livestock.
Lee said the decision was made due to concern about the weekend weather.
“We had to cancel that event today,” he said in a telephone interview. “We’re going to try to reschedule it, but we have a lot of events.”
The Saturday and Sunday action would have included two megabucks competitions, a national nine qualifier event and one billed as memorial classic roping on the first day, a new national eight qualifier and No. 6 and No. 8 roping on Sunday. Prizes were buckles and cash or saddles and cash, according to Lee’s flier on the roping competition.
Competitors would have had to have a National Team Roping membership, with $40 memberships available on site had the not been scrapped.
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Doing Time, Doing Vipassana : Vipassana Meditation in Prison
In the mid-1970s Vipassana was first tried within a prison environment with two 10 day courses being conducted for jail officials and inmates of a prison in Jaipur in the Indian state of Rajasthan. Despite the success of those courses, no further jail courses were conducted in India for almost 20 years. In 1993 a new Inspector General of Indian prisons, Kiran Bedi, was appointed and in the process of trying to reform the harsh Indian penal system, she learned about the earlier Vipassana courses and requested that additional courses be conducted in the largest prison in India, Tihar Jail outside of New Delhi. The results were dramatically sucessful. Based upon the success of these courses, another course was conducted in April 1994 by Goenkaji and a number of his assistant teachers for over one thousand inmates of Tihar prison with wonderful benefit for all of those who participated.
During the following winter of 1994-95, the Israeli filmmakers traveled to both Tihar and to the Baroda Jail in the India state of Gujarat, at which Vipassana courses had also been conducted. There they conducted and filmed extensive interviews with jail officials, including Karen Bedei, and inmates from many different countries who participated in the courses. The result of these efforts was an extremely powerful 52-minute documentary film entitled Doing Time, Doing Vipassana. The film describes the way in which Vipassana has been sucessfully used within the Indian prison system to dramatically change the behaviour and attitude of the inmates and jailers who participated in the courses and, thereby, improve the entire atmosphere of the prisons.
Doing Time, Doing Vipassana has been broadcast in many diverse international markets including the following stations and networks: PBS — USA; NHK — Japan; YLE — Finland; TSI — Switzerland; DR TV — Denmark; Channel 8 — Israel; and TV Poland. The film also won the prestigeous Golden Spire Award at the 1998 San Franisco International Film Festival. The Festival’s management wrote as follows about the jury’s decision:
‘In giving Doing Time, Doing Vipassana its top honour, the jury for the category stated:
“The jury was moved by this insightful and poignant exposition on Vipassana. The teaching of this meditation as a transformation device has many implications for people everywhere, providing the cultural, social and political institutions can embrace and support its liberating possibility.”
This year’s Golden Gate awards competition was incredibly strong & close, as we had a over 1600 entries from 58 countries in the 35 categories.’
DTDV most recently won a “Silver Plaque” award in the INTERCOM — The International Communications Film & Video Competition, in Chicago.
The film also received an award in 1999 from the American National Council on Crime & Delinquency (“NCCD”). NCCD wrote as follows about its decision to present this award:
‘Congratulations! I am pleased to inform you that you are a recipient of the NCCD PASS Awards. The National Council on Crime & Delinquency is honored to recognize your excellence in communicating the complex problems of crime to the American people. We hope this award will serve as a contact reminder that your work can make a difference.
A distinguished panel of experts found your work, “Doing Time, Doing Vipassana”, to be worthy of recognition and deserving of special acclaim. This award is presented to members of the media who have made an important contribution toward raising the public’s awareness and understanding of our criminal and juvenile justice system.
Your ability to present the “why” of crime is more important that ever. Our goal is to reach the public with messages that make them think and refocus their attention on alternatives for social justice. We want to inspire hope and participation from our citizens by presenting other approaches — by informing local citizens of model prevention programs that exists in their very own communities.
We want to acknowledge the media’s success in illuminating the stories about people and programs that promise to protect children against involvement in crime. The council strives to advance and encourage a broad multi-media effort to help all citizens better understand the pertinent issue and solution approaches.’
Doing Time, Doing Vipassana is also proving to be a very effective tool in bringing about the introduction of Vipassana meditation courses into the prison systems of other countries. Such courses have now been given in the prisons in the United States and in other countries with wonderful results.
Source: Dhamma.org
Documentary meditation Vipassana
Osho • Osho Talks
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Dhamma Vaddhana : Southern California Vipassana...
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Drop the Wanna.. Just be…!
The Mystery of Inner Emptiness
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Attorney: Convicted Florida tax schemer is too fat for prison
The attorney for a 72-year-old Florida man who was convicted in a tax scheme is using obesity to try to keep his client out of prison.
Attorney: Convicted Florida tax schemer is too fat for prison The attorney for a 72-year-old Florida man who was convicted in a tax scheme is using obesity to try to keep his client out of prison. Check out this story on naplesnews.com: https://www.naplesnews.com/story/news/local/watercooler/2017/10/17/attorney-convicted-florida-tax-schemer-too-fat-prison/772313001/
The Associated Press Published 12:59 p.m. ET Oct. 17, 2017
Credit: fotokon, Getty Images/iStockphoto(Photo: fotokon, Getty Images/iStockphoto)
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The attorney for a 72-year-old Florida man who was convicted in a tax scheme is using obesity to try to keep his client out of prison.
Curtis Fallgatter wrote in a court filing on Monday that Stephen Donaldson Sr. doesn't have an average man's life expectancy because he's 5-foot-9 and weighs 273 pounds (124 kilograms). For that reason, the attorney wrote, it's not right to make him serve 6 years and four months in prison. Fallgatter wrote that the prison term could translate to 61 percent of Donaldson's remaining time on earth.
The Tampa Bay Times reports Donaldson was sentenced last week in Tampa for his part of peddling an offshore tax shelter that cost the IRS an estimated $10 million.
More: Florida candidate for Congress: Aliens took me aboard their ship at age 7
Read or Share this story: https://www.naplesnews.com/story/news/local/watercooler/2017/10/17/attorney-convicted-florida-tax-schemer-too-fat-prison/772313001/
CCSO investigating drive-by shooting in Immokalee
CCSO searching for armed robbery suspect
Starting Tuesday, some content will be 'for subscribers' only
What kind of algae was in Venetian Bay?
Bicycle turn boxes could be new way to keep cyclists safe
Man dies from flesh-eating bacteria
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N & E
Stephanie de Beauharnais (1789-1860)
Grand duchess of Baden
Stephanie de Beauharnais is the daughter of Count Claude de Beauharnais, elder brother of Viscount Alexandre François Marie de Beauharnais, first husband of Marie-Josephe-Rose de Tascher de la Pagerie. So Stephanie is first cousin of Eugène de Beauharnais and his sister Hortense.
She was born at Versailles on August 28, 1789, one month after French Revolution.
Emperor Napoleon I adopts Stephanie in 1806 and made her an Imperial Princess.
She marries the Crown Prince of Baden on April 8, the same year, at the Tuileries Palace in Paris. She gives him five children.
Stéphanie became Grand Duchess in 1811, when her husband accesses the throne of Baden. The latter died in December 1818. Stephanie settles in Mannheim until 1852.
That year she comes back to France, after the advent of Emperor Napoleon III. She died in Nice on January 29, 1860.
The Monaco Postal services issued in 2004 a 1.90 EUR stamp featuring Stephanie de Beauharnais, for she is ancestor of Prince Albert II.
Main portrait
"Stephanie de Beauharnais", painted by François Pascal Simon Gerard (Rome 1770 - Paris 1837).
Other portraits
"Stephanie de Beauharnais". Anonymous, XIXth century.
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Arvind Saxena appointed as acting Chairman of UPSC
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Government has appointed Union Public Service Commission member Arvind Saxena as the acting chairman of the commission from 20 June.
As per the official order, Saxena will perform the duties of the post of Chairman, UPSC with effect from June 20 till further orders or till completion of his tenure on August 7, 2020.
Saxena, 1978-batch Indian Postal Service officer, will take over the charge from incumbent Vinay Mittal who completes his term at the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on June 19. Saxena joined the UPSC in May, 2015, following his stint at the Aviation Research Centre (ARC) – the aviation wing of the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW).
The officer has also worked in the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) after he joined it in 1988 and specialised in the study of strategic developments in neighbouring countries.
Malatesh says:
Add me no 8431312254
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Ngiyabonga, Johnny. Hamba kahle, you Great Heart
Johnny Clegg described himself as a "cultural activist" and believed in non-racialism, but never a "kumbaya" version of it, writes Glenn Bownes.
Zimbabwe’s diamonds shine
Anti-conflict diamond initiative, the Kimberley Process (KP), this week reported that Zimbabwe is now the world’s fifth-largest diamond producer.
This is largely thanks to the controversial Marange diamonds increasingly making their mark in the international market.
Zimbabwe was ranked at number seven among the top nine diamond-producing countries in the world in 2010.
South Africa is now ranked seventh.
In its report last year, the KP said Zimbabwe diamond production, boosted by a rise at the Marange fields, continued to increase despite major declines in several other top producing countries.
Zimbabwe is second after Russia in terms of the margin of its increase in production.
The KP report also indicated that the economic sanctions imposed by the US and its Western allies had forced Zimbabwe to sell its gems
at a lower price.
In 2011, Zimbabwe exported its goods at a price of $54.31 per carat, though their book price was $56.01 per carat.
Russia was the top producer after increasing rough diamond production by 0.8% to 35.1 million carats followed by Botswana, which churned out 22.9 million carats, an increase of 4%.
In third position is the Democratic Republic of the Congo followed by Canada in fourth. The two recorded a 13% and 8.8% decline in production respectively.
Angola, South Africa, Australia and Namibia complete the list of last year’s top producers, and are reported to have all recorded a sharp production decline.
Obert Mpofu, Zimbabwe’s mines and mining development minister, said the KP report indicated that Marange’s gems could satisfy the world
market’s demands.
Mpofu said: “We were recently given certification by the KP (to export diamonds), but we have already shaken the world market both in terms of production and demand.
“Our gems are a force to reckon with. If we had not been hindered in selling our diamonds in the past years by the West, we could be one of the top countries in the world in terms of diamond production.”
However, critics have slammed news of Zimbabwe’s latest ranking, which they argued did not translate into revenue for the state.
“We would have expected that with such an elite ranking, much more money should be finding its way to the treasury”, said Charles Mangongera, a political commentator.
Diamond proceeds from Marange remain tightly controlled by the military and members of President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party.
Accusations have been ongoing from the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, which controls the treasury, of a Zanu-PF “parallel government” financed by the Marange diamonds.
If this is true, it would undermine the coalition government brokered in 2009 by former South African president Thabo Mbeki.
Mpofu has denied this and blames only sanctions for restricted revenue streams for the country.
“If you look at the price of our diamonds captured in the KP report, one can easily see we are selling them at a low price as a result of the sanctions that have been imposed on our diamond companies.
“It has become difficult for our diamond-producing companies in Chiadzwa to sell their gems despite the KP certification,” said Mpofu.
Earlier this month, new diamond deposits were discovered in the Chimanimani area, understood “to be of the same quality as the Marange gems”.
The mines and mining development ministry said diamond exploration in Chimanimani would begin soon.
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Milnerton 06:39 AM
Road name: Plattekloof Road Westbound
Westbound
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The All-Star Game Diaries
By Thomas Beller
The N.B.A. All-Star Game day commenced ninety minutes before tipoff with a press conference by a player who wasn’t playing, Kobe Bryant. He has a fractured bone in his knee. Bryant has been an All-Star sixteen times; in a quarter of those games he was named M.V.P.—a tie for the record set by Bob Pettit. This is the first time he has not been able to play. In this sense he was representative of the theme of the whole All-Star Weekend: a league in transition. David Stern, the league’s commissioner for thirty years, had ceded the role to Adam Silver, his bald, bespectacled deputy and chosen successor, for whom this game was a kind of débutante ball.
Bryant walked into the media room to face the phalanx of press wearing a white button-down shirt, open at the collar, and a suit of some elusive color in the vicinity of beige and yellow. The color projected calmness, neutrality to the point of invisibility, and leisure, as though he had come to the Big Easy in order to take it easy. But Kobe Bryant is not a take-it-easy guy. He is the most famous player in a league of very famous players. To the extent that he is associated with calm, it is usually the kind that manifests itself under pressure.
Bryant fielded questions that ran the full gamut of journalistic approaches: provocative (“Do you think you will ever play again?” “I hope so.”), banal (“What do you think about your new shoes?” “I love them.”), softball (“How has the league changed most since you arrived in it?” “The global impact. When [Stern] came on, in 1984, I was six, living in Italy. Games all of a sudden started becoming televised.”), stupid/obnoxious/provocative (“Not that I am suggesting anything, but do you have a retirement plan?”), and interesting (“What’s up with all these injuries, and what could the new commissioner do about them?”)—the last two, in fairness, asked by the same guy.
His response to the retirement question was a brief bit of meandering stream of consciousness that ended, “I don’t want the rocking chair before the game. It would drive me crazy. I’ll probably just pop up and vanish.” The remark provoked the room to laughter, but I thought the line was kind of spooky.
Did “pop up and vanish,” simply reflect his wish to be elsewhere in that moment? Or was he fantasizing about a Salinger-esque retreat from staged events like this one, where he is required to face an armada of needy journalists with boundary issues, unsure if they want to be his best friend (“Do you like your new shoes?”) or if they want to jab a nail into his palm to see what sound he will make, so they can report on it (“Do you think you will ever be an All-Star again, or even play again?”).
Bryant was unusually subdued; there were no proclamations about his comeback, no declarations about the power of his will to overcome obstacles. Perhaps this was a calculated plan to lower expectations far enough that he could exceed them upon returning. The guy is a creature of Los Angeles, after all. He is addicted to buzzer beaters. He has an instinct for the third act. But his relative calm may have reflected the mood of a man who has spent his entire adult life being confused with God now confronting his mortality.
This is the mythic riddle posed to every physical genius at the end of his run: Can you exist without the thing that has created you? Can you be a dancer without the dance?
And what if the answer is no?
When the interview was over, Henry Abbott, of ESPN.com, drew attention to four specific words in Bryant’s response to the question about injuries: “I think we will have to look, as a league, and maybe reëvaluate things we can do,” Bryant had said, “whether it’s rest period in between [games] or different forms of recovery.”
“Different forms of recovery,” is a phrase with many possible meanings. An image of Lance Armstrong in a yellow jersey floated through the room.
The regulation of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs is one of the most delicate subjects facing the new commissioner. The N.B.A. has urine-based drug testing, but blood tests for human growth hormone have yet to be implemented; the players’ union has been resistant. The matter remains unresolved.
Having speculated on what goes on inside the players’ bodies, the next order of business was what is used to cover them. The East and West All-Star teams had special uniforms for the games. The colors were a nod the host city’s penchant for vibrancy: the West’s uniforms featured a purple fleur-de-lis on red; the East featured a green one on black. But what was most striking were the sleeved jerseys—not like the usual tank tops, but like T-shirts.
N.B.A. players are the most physically revealed athletes among the big-time sports, and, for more than a decade, the players have been working back toward the mean. Baggy shorts, to start with (Jordan), progressing to sleeves (Iverson), underarmor (Wade), tattoos (everyone). I’m tempted to say that it’s all the equivalent of a shrink or a professor wearing a beard, but there is quite a bit of facial hair in the N.B.A., too; the most famous rabbinical beard in America probably belongs to the All-Star from the Houston Rockets, James Harden.
Still, the sleeved shirts are jarring. The motivation for this change, as I understand it, apparently has to do with the average American male’s reluctance to wear a tank top. The T-shirt jersey has shown signs of being a big seller. There is also the issue of advertising on the jerseys, which the league has long discussed. There is only so much real estate to be sold on a tank top without obscuring the team logo; sleeves are the equivalent of the landfill on which Battery Park City was built. This issue, minor but not at all minor, is one of the many confronting the new commissioner.
The game, when it got underway, appeared to demonstrate how its host city’s nickname, the Big Easy, might translate on a basketball court: so much talent, and so much room in which to put it on display. The score at halftime was 89-76, with the West in the lead, which could pass for the final tally in a matchup of defensively minded teams.
The night was a parade of astonishing dunks. Blake Griffin, for example, had scored twenty points by the half, most of them dunks, on ten-for-thirteen shooting. Part of the pleasure of watching Griffin is the way he looks at the rim at more or less eye level for a second or two with that impassive glare of his—repurposed for comic effect in his television ads but, at its root, deeply menacing, a boxer’s glare—and then, as though from out of nowhere, he brings down his arm from behind his body, the ball in hand, in a massive hammer blow. Take that! The movement mimics one of those rubber mallets that gets handed out at carnivals, when you have stepped up to try the strength test. You raise it above your head, arch your back, and bring it down using all your might, with the faint hope of ringing the bell. Griffin makes the bell ring loud and clear. You could summon a town meeting with the sound of a Griffin dunk.
LeBron James also had a number of impressive dunks. His style of dunking relies more on a combination of power and quickness. He converts alley-oops like Griffin, but more often he gets to the rim on drives. His finishes are powerful, but part of the thrill in watching him dunk is the catlike way in which it happens. Unlike Griffin, who stares at the rim as though to terrify it, James almost flirts with it, turning his shoulders away in a coy, I-won’t-look-at-you sort of way; he often finishes with reverses, or semi-reverses, his eyes already elsewhere as the ball is going through the net. By that time, he is often beyond the rim, and so in effect is dunking behind his head. Griffin is a sledgehammer; James is a switchblade. James has joked about trying out for a professional football team—at least I assume they are jokes, a feint in the direction of Michael Jordan’s famous baseball sabbatical—but the mood of his dunks is less N.F.L. than Cirque du Soleil.
The most anticipated All-Star story line was the matchup between LeBron James and Kevin Durant. Even in a game filled with beneficent passes and uncontested dunks, there was a tension whenever the two players were matched up. Durant is having another transcendent season, building from one seemingly remarkable peak to another. James, however, remains the standard. I noticed that Durant seemed to play closer in style to a regular game; in one instance, he led a fast break down the center of the court but, instead of passing, drove to the basket, not to dunk—though he had a few of those—but to lay it in after creating a bump of contact for which, normally, he might expect a whistle and an old-fashioned three-point play. He seemed kind of hungry.
The game drifted into farce; the West had a lead of eighteen points at one point. Griffin was having a breakout performance. But then the East came back. The game got tight. With two minutes to go, I predicted overtime, an expression of my wish for it not to end—it was so much fun to watch. But the East pulled away, winning 163-155, on the strength of some remarkable playing by Kyrie Irving, one half of another, less heralded matchup against Stephen Curry. Both are fantastic shooters and can get to the basket, but what really sets them apart and makes them thrilling to watch is their dribbling. Both have blended Allen Iverson’s crossover ethic with Chris Paul’s herky-jerk acceleration; they don’t penetrate defenses so much as burrow under them. Curry, at one point, split a pair of defenders by dribbling between his own legs.
Curry’s profile is much higher than Irving’s, maybe because he is so spindly, an unlikely N.B.A. star, or that he plays in San Francisco, or that his teams win. Irving plays in Cleveland for an owner, Dan Gilbert, who may be best known for penning a furious letter about LeBron James after the great abdication and sending it into the world in Comic Sans font. Irving’s coach, Mike Brown, had been fired once by Gilbert, and then brought back, with Gilbert saying he made a mistake. With Cleveland not winning, Irving is paired with the volume shooter Dion Waiters (“volume shooter” is a wonderfully polite euphemism for “ball hog”), and Gilbert cannot do much about the coach unless he announces that his second mistake after firing Brown was rehiring him.
And yet, in the second half, while Blake Griffin and Kevin Durant were putting up gigantic numbers and Carmelo Anthony was setting a record for three-point shots in an All-Star Game, Irving was putting the East on his back. He had seven points and seven assists at the half, which is impressive, but no indication of what was to come. He finished with thirty-one points and fourteen assists, missing only three of his seventeen shot attempts, and won the M.V.P. trophy. He is twenty-one.
After the game, the players’ work for the night was not over. There were still the mandatory interviews; each player had his own little desk in a media room, as though he was a newscaster himself, around which journalists and TV cameras crowded.
Griffin was asked, “Do you worry that you will be pigeonholed as a dunker?”
“Yeah, I’m terrified of that,” he deadpanned, to laughter.
The last press conference of the night, the bookend to Kobe Bryant, was Kevin Durant. He had scored thirty-eight points—tied for the high score with Griffin—but his team lost. The M.V.P. title went to a player four years his junior. Durant is a five-time All-Star, was the All-Star M.V.P. in 2012, and has the highest All-Star scoring average of any player in history. He is either the best player in the world or the second best. He is certainly the best player in the N.B.A. not to have won a championship. When he sat down at the table to face the bedraggled group of reporters, he seemed agitated and distracted, which is unusual for the modest, affable Durant. He stared vacantly for the first five or six seconds, while his fingers seemed to play an imaginary piano melody on the table.
The questions hovered in the “Do you like your shoes?” zone; I asked him one: “I was really struck with how you drummed your fingers on the table in a way that made me think you had some background in the piano. And I wanted to ask if you have musical training, or maybe New Orleans is starting to sink in after a few days?”
Durant threw his head back and laughed at this, and then he became stone-faced. “I have no musical talents. So I guess I made myself look good with that,” he said. “That’s a great question, though. I always wanted to play the piano, so now that you said something, I might take up lessons.”
When one of the greatest basketball players, who nevertheless is still No. 2, starts talking about piano lessons, it is not a sign of his desire for a hobby but rather a statement about his capacity for self-improvement. If Bryant was yielding the baton, ever so slightly, of will as an agent of transcendence, I felt Durant was now picking it up.
Thomas Beller’s “J. D. Salinger: The Escape Artist” will be published this June. He is an assistant professor of English at Tulane University and a frequent contributor to Newyorker.com.
Photograph by Bob Donnan/AP.
Thomas Beller’s books include “Seduction Theory,” “The Sleep-Over Artist,” and “J. D. Salinger: The Escape Artist,” which won the New York City Book Award for biography/memoir. He teaches at Tulane University and is a frequent contributor to The New Yorker.
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