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Revision as of 15:47, 9 December 2014 by MedicalBillingWiki (Talk | contribs)
Medical classification, or medical coding, is the process of transforming descriptions of medical diagnoses and procedures into universal medical code numbers. The diagnoses and procedures are usually taken from a variety of sources within the health care record, such as the transcription of the physician's notes, laboratory results, radiologic results, and other sources.
Diagnosis codes are used to track diseases and other health conditions, inclusive of chronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus and heart disease, and contagious diseases such as norovirus, the flu, and athlete's foot. These diagnosis and procedure codes are used by government health programs, private health insurance companies, workers' compensation carriers and others.
Medical classification systems are used for a variety of applications in medicine, public health and medical informatics, including:
Statistical analysis of diseases and therapeutic actions reimbursement; e.g., based on diagnosis-related groups knowledge-based and decision support systems direct surveillance of epidemic or pandemic outbreaks.
There are country specific standards and international classification systems.
Classification Types
Many different medical classifications exist, though they occur into two main groupings: Statistical classifications and Nomenclatures.
A statistical classification brings together similar clinical concepts and groups them into categories. The number of categories is limited so that the classification does not become too big. An example of this is used by the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (known as ICD). ICD groups diseases of the circulatory system into one "chapter," known as Chapter IX, covering codes I00–I99. One of the codes in this chapter (I47.1) has the code title (rubric) Supraventricular tachycardia. However, there are several other clinical concepts that are also classified here. Among them are paroxysmal atrial tachycardia, paroxysmal junctional tachycardia, auricular tachycardia and nodal tachycardia.
Another feature of statistical classifications is the provision of residual categories for "other" and "unspecified" conditions that do not have a specific category in the particular classification.
In a nomenclature there is a separate listing and code for every clinical concept. So, in the previous example, each of the tachycardia listed would have its own code. This makes nomenclatures unwieldy for compiling health statistics.
Types of coding systems specific to health care include:
Diagnostic codes
Are used to determine diseases, disorders, and symptoms
Can be used to measure morbidity and mortality
Examples: ICD-9-CM, ICD-10
Procedural codes
They are numbers or alphanumeric codes used to identify specific health interventions taken by medical professionals.
Examples: ICPM, ICHI
Pharmaceutical codes
Are used to identify medications
Examples: AT, NDC
Topographical codes
Are codes that indicate a specific location in the body
Examples :ICD-O, SNOMED
WHO Family of International Classifications
The World Health Organization (WHO) maintains several internationally endorsed classifications designed to facilitate the comparison of health related data within and across populations and over time as well as the compilation of nationally consistent data.[1] This "Family of International Classifications" (FIC) include three main (or reference) classifications on basic parameters of health prepared by the organization and approved by the World Health Assembly for international use, as well as a number of derived and related classifications providing additional details. Some of these international standards have been revised and adapted by various countries for national use.
Reference classifications
International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD)
ICD-9 (9th revision, published in 1977)
ICD-9-CM (Clinical Modification, used in the US)
ICD-10 (10th revision, in use by WHO since 1994)
ICD-10-CM (Clinical Modification, used in the US)
ICD-10-PCS (Procedure Coding System, used in the US)
ICD-10-CA (used for morbidity classification in Canada).
ICD-10-AM (used in Australia and New Zealand)
EUROCAT - an extension of the ICD-10 Q chapter for congenital disorders
International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF)
International Classification of Health Interventions (ICHI) (previously known as International Classification of Procedures in Medicine)
Derived classifications
Derived classifications are based on the WHO reference classifications (i.e. ICD and ICF).[1] They include the following:
International Classification of Diseases for Oncology, Third Edition (ICD-O-3)
ICD-10 for Mental and Behavioural Disorders
Application of the International Classification of Diseases to Dentistry and Stomatology, 3rd Edition (ICD-DA)
Application of the International Classification of Diseases to Neurology (ICD-10-NA)
Related classifications
Related classifications in the WHO-FIC are those that partially refer to the reference classifications, e.g. only at specific levels.[1] They include:
International Classification of Primary Care (ICPC)
ICPC-2 PLUS
International Classification of External Causes of Injury (ICECI)
Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System with Defined Daily Doses (ATC/DDD)
Technical aids for persons with disabilities: Classification and terminology (ISO9999)
International Classification for Nursing Practice (ICNP)
Other medical classifications
The categories in a diagnosis classification classify [ and medical signs. In addition to the ICD and its national variants, they include:
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)
DSM-IV Codes
International Classification of Headache Disorders 2nd Edition (ICHD-II)
International Classification of Sleep Disorders (ICSD)
Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man, database of genetic codes
Read codes
Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine - Clinical Terms (SNoMed-CT)
The categories in a procedure classification classify specific health interventions undertaken by health professionals. In addition to the ICHI and ICPC, they include:
Australian Classification of Health Interventions (ACHI)
Canadian Classification of Health Interventions (CCI)
Chinese Classification of Heath Interventions (CCHI)
Current Procedural Terminology (CPT)
Health Care Procedure Coding System (HCPCS)
ICD-10 Procedure Coding System (ICD-10-PCS)
Office of Population, Censuses and Surveys Classification of Surgical Operations and Procedures (OPCS-4)
Classification of Pharmaco-Therapeutic Referrals (CPR)
Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes (LOINC), standard for identifying medical laboratory observations
Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities (MedDRA)
Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
List of MeSH codes
Nursing Interventions Classification (NIC)
Nursing Outcomes Classification (NOC)
TIME-ITEM, ontology of topics in medical education
TNM Classification of Malignant Tumors
Unified Medical Language System (UMLS)
Victoria Ambulatory Coding System (VACS) / Queensland Ambulatory Coding System (QACS), Australia[citation needed]
Library classification that have medical components
Dewey Decimal System and Universal Decimal Classification (section 610–620)
National Library of Medicine classification
ICD, SNOMED and Electronic Health Record (EHR)
What is SNOMED?
The Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine (SNOMED) is the most widely recognised nomenclature in healthcare.[15] Its current version, SNOMED Clinical Terms (SNOMED CT), is intended to provide a set of concepts and relationships that offers a common reference point for comparison and aggregation of data about the health care process. SNOMED CT is often described as a reference terminology. SNOMED CT contains more than 311,000 active concepts with unique meanings and formal logic-based definitions organised into hierarchies. SNOMED CT can be used by anyone with an Affiliate License, 40 low income countries defined by the World Bank or qualifying research, humanitarian and charitable projects. SNOMED-CT is designed to be managed by computer, and it is a complex relationship concepts. What is ICD?
The International Classification of Disease (ICD) is the most widely recognized medical classification maintained by the World Health Organization (WHO). Its primary purpose is to categorise diseases for morbidity and mortality reporting. The United States has used a clinical modification of ICD (ICD-9-CM) for the additional purposes of reimbursement. ICD-10 was endorsed by WHO in 1990, and WHO Member states began using the classification system in 1994 for both morbidity and mortality reporting. In the US, however, it has only been used for reporting mortality since 1999. Because of the US delay in adopting its version of ICD-10, it is currently unable to compare morbidity data with the rest of the world. ICD has a hierarchical structure, and coding in this context, is the term applied when representations are assigned to the words they represent. Coding diagnoses and procedures is the assignment of codes from a code set that follows the rules of the underlying classification or other coding guidelines.
SNOMED CT vs ICD
SNOMED CT and ICD are designed for different purposes and each should each be used for the purposes for which it was designed. As a core terminology for the EHR, SNOMED CT provides a common language that enables a consistent language that enables a consistent way of capturing, sharing, and aggregating health data across specialties and sites of care. It is highly detailed terminology designed for input not reporting. Classification systems such as ICD-9-CM, ICD-10-CM, and ICD-10-PCS group together similar diseases and procedures and organise related entities for easy retrieval. They are typically used for external reporting requirements or other uses where data aggregation is advantageous, such as measuring the quality of care monitoring resource utilisation, or processing claims for reimbursement. SNOMED is clinically-based, document whatever is needed for patient care and has better clinical coverage than ICD. ICD’s focus is statistical with less common diseases get lumped together in “catch-all” categories, which result in loss of information. SNOMED CT is used directly by healthcare providers during the process of care, whereas ICD is used by coding professionals after the episode of care. SNOMED CT had multiple hierarchy, whereas single hierarchy for ICD. SNOMED CT concepts are defined logically by their attributes, whereas only textual rules and definitions in ICD.
Data Mapping of SNOMED and ICD
SNOMED and ICD can be coordinated. The National Library of Medicine (NLM) maps ICD-9-CM, ICD-10-CM, ICD-10-PCS, and other classification systems to SNOMED. Data Mapping is the process of identifying relationships between two distinct data models. The full value of the health information contained in an EHR system will only be realised if both systems involved in the map are up to date and accurately reflect the current practice of medicine. Clinical Coding in Australia
Medical coding and classification systems are expected to become increasingly important in the health care sector. Together with and as an integrated part of the electronic health information systems, the coding and classification systems will be used to improve the quality and effectiveness of the medical services. What is clinical coding?
Clinical coding is the translation of written, scanned and/or electronic clinical documentation about patient care into code format. For example, hypertension is represented by the code 'I10'; general anaethesia is represented by the code'92514-XX[1910]'.
A standardised classification system, The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision, Australian Modification (ICD-10-AM), is applied in all Australian acute health facilities. It is based on the World Health Organisation (WHO) ICD-10 system, updated with the Australian Classification of Health Interventions (ACHI), Australian Coding Standards (ACS). Clinical coding is a specialised skill requiring excellent knowledge of medical terminology and disease processes, attention to detail, and analytical skills. What does clinical coder do?
A clinical coder is responsible for abstracting relevant information from the medical record and deciding which diagnoses and procedures meet criteria for coding as per Australian and State Coding Standards. The coder then assigns codes for these diagnoses and procedures based on ICD-10-AM conventions and standards. What is coded data used for?
The assigned codes and other patient data are processed by grouper software to determine a diagnosis-related group (DRG) for the episode of care, which is used for funding and reimbursement. This process allows hospital episodes to be grouped into meaningful categories, helping us to better match patient needs to health care resources.
1. https://www.aapc.com/medical-coding/medical-coding.aspx
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinical_coder
Medical Billing Companies
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Jailbreaking the Goddess: A Radical Revisioning of Feminist Spirituality by Lasara Firefox Allen (Llewellyn Publications, 2016), 7.4” x 9.1” trade paperback, 288 pages. Also available as an ebook.
Wow! is my first reaction to this extraordinary book. As I settle down to try to contain my excitement, I will attempt to tell you the reasons for my reaction. For starters, Lasara Firefox Allen not only revisions Goddess “faces” (aka, aspects or archetypes), but she also brings into her analysis, the feminist theory of intersectionality . She deconstructs what has become the traditional Goddess archetype in modern Goddess religion and Paganism of Maiden/Mother/Crone, because, as she writes on the first page of the first chapter, “We are more than our biology.” She points out that the triple Goddess concept is rooted in patriarchy. (Most sources trace its origins not to antiquity, but to the 20th century writings of Sigmund Freud and Robert Graves.)
In the second chapter titled, “More Than Our Biology,” the author explains in depth the problems she sees with the Triple Goddess concept including its exclusion of factors outside of reproduction. This, she writes, leads to a woman’s “basic worth” being “based in utility....or usefulness, her body is a commodity”; this prevents her from having “full self-determination.” She also sees it as excluding women who can’t or don’t want to have children, women who cannot have menstrual periods, and women born without uteri. She suggests that women’s bodies have been “colonized” by the dominant culture, delves into the ways that various groups—including racial, ethnic, and “trans”—have been colonized more or differently from others, and suggests ways to counter the dominant culture’s definition of woman as biologically-determined. She also discusses non-binary gender identity and the role of women’s use of language in various cultures
Firefox Allen describes herself as “a white woman” who acknowledges her “position and privilege,” and is dedicated to “the concept and practice of intersectional feminism.” She writes that in this book she is “making it up” as she goes along, and invites readers to do the same and not to necessarily accept or follow what she proposes. The bio on the inner flap of the book’s back cover describes her as a “family traditions Witch and second generation ordained Pagan priestess.”
She notes that she will be using some words that readers may not be used to, such as “feminal” (which I like— she frequently uses it where others might use “feminine” and sometimes “female”). She apparently has resurrected this word, as the Oxford dictionary defines it as archaic. Also noting that she uses the word “archetypes,” but not in the usual Jungian way, she proposes that the Maiden/Mother/Crone trinity be replaced by five “faces” or aspects of the Goddess with Latin names. Taking the definitions from the inside flap of the front cover, these are :
--Femella: “girl. . . .the primal child, the divine child
--Potens: “able, patent, might, strong, powerful…the woman of strength, full of potential and power, bursting forth.”
--Creatrix: “female creator….the mother, the maker, the author.”
--Sapientia: “wisdom, discernment, intellect, a science….Master of her craft, teacher, leader, woman of science & art.”
--Antiqua: “Ancient, aged, time honored, venerable, traditional, essential….the old woman, the dreamer, the storyteller, the witch at the gate.”
The author greatly expands on these inside the book, devoting a chapter to each new face. She suggests that these aspects are not necessarily connected to age, but can also be connected to the stage we find ourselves in our lives—and that we may inhabit more than one face at a time, depending on the circumstances.
The chapters for each of her five proposed new faces of the Goddess begin with the “sigil” (magical symbol) and beautifully written poetic prose description of that particular aspect. They end with a poem/invocation to that aspect. Some of the material within these chapters include descriptions of the aspect in her “Occult” and “Empowered” (words she uses because she dislikes the racial implications of “dark” and “light” [as do I]) appearances, sexuality, stages of womanhood not necessarily linked to biology, deities from a wide variety of cultures that may be related to this particular face, attributes, relationship to elements, animals, plants, weather, seasons in both global hemispheres, holidays whose sources may be religious/spiritual or secular, and suggestions for rites, rituals and observances.
And all this is just in Part 1 of the book, which ends with a short chapter, “ Rewilding: the Path from Here.’’ This chapter acts as a transition to Part 2, which discusses “relationality, liberation, collectivism, self-reflection, and magick.” Its first chapter (chapter 9 of the book) discusses philosophical and ethical concerns of “The Relational” including collective liberation and personal responsibility. This chapter also discusses why “Intention is Not Everything,” revolving around the question of whether we are able—or even would want to—create our own reality. In the section immediately following this, Foxfire Allen writes: “We cannot live in the ‘believe it, and it shall be so’ and ‘everything happens for a reason’ bubble without casting blame on those whose cultures are being constricted, starved, contaminated instead of looking at the real perpetrators of the desecration.” Among the topics also discussed in Part 2 are “decolonizing our magicks” and the shortcomings of “White Feminism’; “Decentralizing Your Working Group” including examining and changing group power structures; being drawn to specific deities and spirit possession; and information and advice on creating rites of passage and other rituals. The book also includes two Forewords, one by Ariel Gore and another by Rosa De Anda, and an appendix with “Magical and Ritual Considerations for a New Practitioner.”
It seems to me that Jailbreaking the Goddess can be considered part of a trend in the last decade or so of books and teachers presenting alternatives to what was/is assumed to be ancient Goddess practice but at least some of which, like the triple Goddess concept, can presently be traced only as far back as the early 20th century. Examples of relatively new ideas and alternatives include Carol Christ’s She Who Changes (2003), which seeks to combine Goddess religion with process theology; Glenys Livingstone’s PaGaian Cosmology (2005), which combines the Maiden/Mother/Crone “female metaphor” with current scientific theory; and The Queen of Myself (2o04) by Donna Henes, whose proposal that “Queen” be added between Mother and Crone has been adopted in the teachings of Rev. Ava of The Goddess Temple of Orange County. What can also be considered another part of this trend is people creating alternatives in other religions, such as the 13 priestess paths related to both the understanding of the female divine and human or legendary women in [Rabbi] Jill Hammer and Taya Shere's The Hebrew Priestess (2015) and drawn from their work as leaders of the Kohenet Hebrew Priestess Institute.
Speaking of updating, I want to mention the use of the term “jailbreaking” in this book’s title, as well as another incident that I’ll get to shortly. When I first saw “Jailbreaking” in the title,I was a bit startled. I showed the book cover to two other people. One had a little familiarity with Goddess spirituality and the other had none. Both people had the similar reactions to mine (I didn’t tell them mine until after they told me theirs), which went something like “Why does the Goddess need to be broken out of jail?” “What did she do wrong that caused her to be imprisoned?” “If we help her break out of jail, aren’t we also doing something illegal?” Of course the Goddess hasn’t done anything wrong and neither have we. But that seems to be a gut response for some people. So I thought about it, knowing at that time only a bit about what was inside the book. I decided that what the title really meant was something like freeing the Goddess or liberating the Goddess. And I had another thought: Maybe there was another meaning for jailbreaking. I think I favor this iPod/iPad/iPhone-related definition as a metaphor for breaking out of limitations in general because there is less confusion about meaning. The second incident also seems techie-related. In Chapter 14, “Ritual Elements and Templates,” in a section of templates for “Rituals of Invocation and Rituals of Initiation,” there is discussion of guided visualizations. But sometimes (at least in the copy the publisher sent me) the word is spelled "vizualizations" in the heading and "visualizations" in the text (often directly under the heading spelling). What’s going on here, I wondered and headed over to Google again. And guess what! There is a spelling with the 2 z’s and it’s apparently related to technology, possibly adopted from street slang, “Vizual.” So I have to wonder, was this a magickal manifestation of the contemporary Goddess Computa?
Before leaving this review I want to mention that throughout the book, as part of each section (yet set apart typographically), the author gives suggestions for journaling topics and subjects for action (voluntary, of course). This increases the book’s usefulness not only for individuals, but also for use in groups and classes.
I also want to note – as the author herself recognizes in several places – that not everyone will agree with some of the ideas nor want to adopt some of practices discussed in this book. (For example, I am not comfortable with the idea of me practicing spirit possession though I have observed it on a few occasions and understand and respect it as part of a number of cultures’ practices.) That we might not agree with everything in the book doesn’t detract from its value – in fact, may increase its value – as Firefox Allen offers a vast array of different ideas/practices and encourages readers to adopt or develop whichever they wish.
Jailbreaking the Goddess is a scholarly, spiritual, poetic book. Theoretical and practical and inspirational, it is beautifully structured and beautifully written – a welcome contribution to the growth of feminist/Goddess spirituality at this time of evolution and expansion in these living religions.
Labels: books, Goddess traditions, Pagan issues, reviews, rituals
Buzz Coil: July 2016
Some recent posts from blogs on our blogroll (please note, we don't knowingly list posts in Buzz Coil that have been published previously by the blogger elsewhere or on the same blog):
Pagaian Cosmology: Glenys Livingstone's July 17 post, "Imbolc/Lammas Moment August 2016 C.E" provides background on the two holidays – one in the southern hemisphere where Livingstone lives, the other in the northern hemisphere – including their differences and similarities. Her July 24 post, "No Eye But Hers," quotes a poem by Jami from 1414 CE. Livingstone begins her reflection on this poem by writing:
"this is Virgin – no matter what your sex on the spectrum, She is in all.
… this is parthenos, which is so much more than the patriarchal reduction to mean 'unbroken hymen': She is 'one-in-herself', 'unto Herself' – integral, complete, embodying the whole universe, as each and all being does."
With large pic by Livingstone.
Works of Literata: On July 18, blogger Literata shared ritual work for then upcoming Republican Convention. She invited readers to participate in the ritual "To keep the peace in Cleveland." I guess it worked!
HecateDemeter: Blogger Hecate's July 4 post, "Hail, Columbia!" is about the Goddess (aka "Freedom," "Libertas,") atop the U.S. Capitol (and also located elsewhere). The post includes a number of links, including those to longer posts she's written on the subject previously.
Annelinde's World: Annelinde Metzner's July 22 post is a poem she wrote in 2012, "Thank You, Hillary."
Hearth Moon Rising's blog: Hearth Moon's July 22 post, " Really Big Deer," is about the Scottish Goddess Cailleach Bheur, as well as Hearth's personal experience with one particular deer.
Large Goddess/Spiritual Feminist Blogs
Because of the large number and variety of bloggers and posts on these blogs, we are now suggesting that you visit them and select the posts that interest you most.
The Wild Hunt: Pagan, news-oriented blog that has grown from single blogger to many bloggers.
Return to Mago: A Goddess-centered blog whose administrator/owner is Helen Hye-Sook Hwang.
Feminism and Religion: Many bloggers from many different religions and paths.
Pagan Square: This blog of many mostly-Pagan paths is sponsored by BBI Media and includes SageWoman blog posts.
The Motherhouse of the Goddess: Blog affiliated with Motherhouse Podcasts and Mystery School.
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C.O.P. UK (Crimes of Passion)
Official: www.copuk.com
With an epic sense construct of melody, dynamics and power, C.O.P UK (Crimes of Passion) will hit your ears on October 23rd with “Kiss Of An Angel”, a 4-track/2 video EP that refuses to leave your memory.
Produced by Sascha Paeth the Sheffield, England-forged quartet make their intentions clear from the first shimmering guitar of “My Blood”, it’s crisp, melodic metal sound placing C.O.P. UK in the same arena as Saxon, Megadeth and classic White Lion. “Kiss Of An Angel” showcases a soaring sense of balladic warmth which cascades into a slice of classic AOR rock radio, Saxon’s Biff Byford makes a guest appearance on the catchy yet thrash-riffy “Blackened Heart”, while “Blown Away” is a stadium rock classic in the making.
Dale Radcliffe (vocals), Charles Staton (guitar), Andrew Mewse (guitar), Henning Wanner (keys), Scott Jordan (bass) and Kevin Tonge (drums) grew up with the sounds of hometown heroes Def Leppard ringing in their ears, and fusing such influence with an insatiable appetite for performing, C.O.P. UK came together in 2005 and quickly established the type of schedule reserved for the elite. Honing their craft on club stages all over Europe, the band recorded their debut album, To Die For, in 2011 at Blind Guardian’s Twilight Hall Studios, Orion Studios in the UK before being completed at Helloween’s Tenerife studio.
It was during this spell that C.O.P.UK garnered major interest from some of modern metal’s founding fathers. Saxon’s Biff Byford personally invited them to tour Europe in May/June of 2011, touring with them again later that year, as well as appearing at metal festivals throughout the continent. 2012 saw C.O.P. UK’s ascent continue, with recognition from Metal Hammer magazine and further prestigious festival appearances such as the world famous Wacken Open Air and Bloodstock in the UK.
The latest steps in C.O.P.UK’s march to global recognition are a new deal with leading rock label UDR GmbH (Motörhead, Saxon, Europe), the forthcoming EP, and in early 2016 their latest album. Oh, and know one thing with C.O.P.UK; it's not a case of ‘if’ but when…
No Place For Heaven
(DR2-2012)
(Independent-2008)
Lizzy Borden , Steelhouse Festival, Animal Drive, Never Say Die, Seven Years Past, Jorn Lande, Skansis, Mark Slaughter, Freak of Nature, Endeverafter, The Weekenders, Kyng, Bullet, Revolver, Wildview, Charlotte, Ammotrack, A'priori, The Trophy, Eat The Gun, Bad Seed Rising , Wanted, Voodoo Highway, Beyond Inspiration, Place Vendome
2012-09-14 - Crimes Of Passion To Tour The Uk With Wasp
2011-12-21 - Crimes Of Passion Sign Record Deal With Dr2 Records
artist media
- C.O.P. UK (Crimes of Passion) interview (2016-08-11)
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Various Artists - New World Man - a tribute to RUSH
Cast your vote »
Ola Gränshagen Format: Album
Label: Magna Carta
Producer: Peter Morticelli, Mike Varney
Artist discography
One of the hardest things you can sign up to do in music is a tribute to Canadian mega trio RUSH. The Magna Carta progressive rock label has released two such tributes before ("Working Man", MA-9010-2 released in 1996 and "Subdivisions") and this "New world Man" release. It should be pointed out that this "New World Man" CD is a compilation of the two previous ones, with the addition of newly recorded tracks. I can't say I am a fan of this kind of "squeezing out the money" from die hard fans - it would have been better with a whole new release with never-before released versions only. Still, this is a high class cover album!
Anyway, among the new recordings there is "Fore Ten" with - once again - Robert Berry (3, ALLIANCE) on lead vocals and keyboards, as well as new additions Juan Alderete (MARS VOLTA) on bass and Chris Pennie (COHEED AND CAMBRIA) on drums, among others. Overall, the artists and producers seem to have chosen a slightly rougher sound than on the original RUSH albums. It can take some time to get used to, like in the previously mentioned song. Same goes for the opener "New World Man", with the same guys playing. Maybe this rough edge has been chosen due to the modern music climate? It would be interesting to know, actually...
All in all we get cool versions of songs like "Jacob's Ladder", "The Trees", "Subdivisions" and "Mission". But coolest of them all: the jazzy progressive version of "Tom Sawyer" by the ALEX SKOLNICK TRIO (Alex Skolnick, Nathan Peck and Matt Zebroski). A fine way to end a strong RUSH tribute album. I suppose mainly die-hard fans will buy this kind of product - but I strongly recommend it to all you fans of modern melodioc rock and metal. Some of your favorite artists are here; with participants from bands like SEPULTURA, SKID ROW, TESTAMENT, KORN, DREAM THEATER and DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN (plus the already mentioned ones) you'll find nice moments here.
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Miracle Andoh is a charismatic young woman who has a deep passion for the work of God and reconciling lives to God, bringing healing to hearts, and reaching those who have been disregarded.
Miracle started off her ministry in music, as a worship leader and song writing, which has broadened to speaking, teaching, counselling and now currently an author of the daily devotional titled ‘Morning Nuggets’.
Miracle was inspired by God to start a YouTube channel called “Renewed”, a platform which allows people from all backgrounds, to tell their stories and circumstances that could have broken them, but instead gave hope. Renewed also inspires people to know that their past, does not define who they are, and that there is greater purpose for every individual.
Organising events such as PK101 for pastor’s kids, Miracle is determined to break down barriers and limitations; and reach out to those that may be overlooked. Miracle believe she has been called beyond the four walls of the church and is actively working to reach out to her communities with initiatives such as “Elect Ladies” which is a vision she has to empower young girls and ladies, educating them on their purpose as women, also building strong, intellectual and powerful women. This initiative creates a safe place, where they can build sisterhood, and also be able to share their issues freely, gain advice, and build trusting lifetime friendships.
Miracle is a graduate of Canterbury Christ Church University, with a BSc in Early Childhood Studies and Psychology. She loves children and has been privileged to assume management position within nursery settings; she is now working on opening her own childcare setting, likewise pursuing her professional career as a Children and youth counsellor.
Miracle Andoh is the wife of Ben Andoh also a seasoned Minster of the Gospel, and they currently reside in London pursuing the call of God and building their ministry together.
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Facts So Romantic On Biology
Could We See the End of Malaria?
Posted By Ian Evans on Feb 22, 2016
The Nobel laureate Baruch Blumberg once estimated that malaria has killed half of the people who have ever lived. In 2015 alone, it killed almost half a million people, 70 percent of which were children. Today, about 3.2 billion people are, according to the World Health Organization, at risk of contracting it, most of whom are children and pregnant women.
Henrik Sorensen/Getty Images
It’s brought on by a blood parasite—about 50 times smaller than the width of a human hair—the most common and deadly of which is Plasmodium falciparum, which thrives in Sub-Saharan Africa. It rides on the needle-like mouth of a mosquito, known as a proboscis, until it gets injected into the bug’s next blood meal. If the victim happens to be human, the first symptoms from the attack are flu-like: fever, headaches, chills, and nausea. If these are left untreated the parasite can eventually cause a coma, permanent brain damage, or death. It has a knack for evading our immune system and our drugs. Our immune system is like a bouncer outside of club—and malaria’s the kid with a convincing fake ID. Our immune system protects us by identifying the molecules on an invader’s body, called antigens, but the parasite can change around its antigens, evading the body’s bouncers. “There’s been antimalarial drugs for a long time,” says Andrew Wargo, a pathogen ecologist at the College of William & Mary, “but they don’t seem to work very long because the parasite evolves resistance around them—it’s very good at doing that.” Mosquitoes have also evolved resistance to our latest insecticides, which means researchers are constantly playing catch-up.
Yet, in his final State of the Union address in January, President Obama said we have a chance to end malaria, “something I’ll be pushing this Congress to fund this year.” Is it realistic to expect an end to this horrendously resilient disease any time soon? It won’t be easy, and the road might not be as short as some are promising, but yes: Here’s why malaria’s reign could, in at least quarter-century, be at an end.
In the last 15 years malaria’s mortality rate has been cut by 60 percent globally, a “spectacular reduction,” say Graham Brown, an expert in infectious disease and Foundation Director of the Nossal Institute for Global Health at the University of Melbourne, and Stephen Rogerson, an immunologist at the University of Melbourne. “The time is ripe to re-double efforts.” With the World Health Organization and the European Medicines Agency’s approval of the first malaria vaccine—the first vaccine for any parasite ever—several African countries are now beginning trials. The vaccine is only effective against the P. falciparum species, and only works on about 30-40 percent of people, but it’s a big leap forward.
What’s more, like Obama, organizations like Malaria No More and Medicines for Malaria Venture have championed an end to the disease; plus, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has contributed almost $2 billion since 2000 to end malaria. Last year, the African Leaders Malaria Alliance adopted a plan to eliminate the disease in Africa by 2030, and the Asia Pacific Leaders Malaria Alliance launched their own 2030 Malaria Elimination Roadmap. And it’s not like large areas haven’t eliminated malaria in the past. Although today it’s widely considered a third-world disease, malaria thrived in the U.S from the South East all the way up to Illinois, and in Europe until the early 1950s. In 1947, the Office of Malaria Control in War Efforts—which would eventually transform into the Center for Disease Control—began a campaign of heavy insecticide use and swamp and marsh draining to combat the disease. In only six years, the United Sates was declared malaria-free; a decade later it was wiped out in Cuba, too.
Even where eradication efforts fall short, notable benefits still result. In a 2015 study, Jeremy Barofsky, an economist at the Brookings Institution, and colleagues, showed that, in 1960, Uganda’s malaria eradication campaign immediately reduced the disease and as a result, they write, “raised educational attainment by about a half year for both males and females, increased primary school completion among females and generated an almost 40% rise in the likelihood of male wage employment.”
Today, the use of preventive measures—like insecticide-treated bed nets, which keep the mosquitoes from biting at night—has been a major cause of progress and continues to spread. Meanwhile, new drugs, new insecticides, and even new malaria vaccines could soon come down the pipeline. And the ability to edit the genes of mosquitoes, using a tool called CRISPR–Cas9, allows scientists to develop insects in the lab that are not only resistant to the Plasmodium parasite, but are also able to pass that resistance down to offspring—quickly spreading resistance throughout the insect’s population.
This doesn’t mean ridding the world of malaria will be easy, says Peter Agre, director of the John’s Hopkins Malaria Research Institute and member of the malaria advisory board for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “On islands and in discrete locations malaria can be eliminated,” says Agre, “but to do it worldwide or in the middle of the Congo—where public health measures are rudimentary, where there’s a great deal of disorganization and problems with lawlessness, corruption, and a lack of public health care—makes malaria control much more difficult.” And the gains aren’t necessarily permanent. “The major advances of the past two decades are at great risk from lack of funding,” Brown and Rogerson wrote this month, in Microbiology Austrialia. “Not only could progress stall, but major epidemics of malaria could return to cleared areas, as has been seen so often in the past.” In a systematic review published in Malaria Journal in 2012, Justin M. Cohen, Senior Director for Global Malaria at the Clinton Health Access Initiative, and colleagues, showed that there’s an “urgent need to develop practical solutions to the financial and operational threats to effectively sustaining today’s successful malaria control programmes.”
One thing that will certainly help is reducing poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa, where about 90 percent of malaria deaths occur. Since 1999, the number of people below the poverty line—living on less than $1.90 a day—dropped by 15 percent. A study last year declared this considerable progress, and showed that many African countries—though not all—“have outperformed India” in reducing poverty.
“We are, in a way,” says Bruno Moonen, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Deputy Director, “counting on the world becoming a better place over time.”
Ian Evans is a freelance science writer and a master’s student in the Science Journalism Department at Boston University.
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Category: WRENS WATCH
Wrens Watch, Jan. 4, 2010
We’ve been fans of New Jersey’s finest since even before their first album came out back in 1994, so let’s just say we’re used to sitting around waiting for them to take their sweet-ass time putting out new music. (Three albums in more than 14 years makes the Wrens about as prolific as Boston, which is kind of like being as tall as Pat Morita.) As reported in a Wrens Watch Special Report, Jan. 9, 2009, marked a huge milestone for the guys: guitarists Charles Bissell and Greg Whelan, bassist Kevin Whelan and drummer Jerry MacDonald. They issued “Pulled Fences,” their first new (well, sort of new) song since 2003’s The Meadowlands. Perhaps motivated by finally releasing something, the band convened—not in a real studio, but in Kevin’s basement—50 weeks ago to begin work on its new album. And not only that, the Wrens recorded an actual song (which you can download for free here). When we checked in with Bissell 47 weeks ago, he took exception with our good-natured sarcasm and quickly ended the interview. After ignoring us for a while, Bissell finally gave us a progress report; it seems that while other bands get together and record, the Wrens stay apart and talk to each other on the phone. Or they do nothing at all. Or they update their Facebook pages. Forty-two weeks ago, Bissell informed us he was “too busy” to respond to our questions, but he did promise us some exclusive Wrens mp3s in the near future. Forty-one weeks ago, he didn’t even bother responding to our emails, prompting us to call him an unprolific Ryan Adams. That got Bissell’s attention, who 40 weeks ago apologized (profanely) and promised us an exclusive Wrens mp3 for the April 6 Wrens Watch. After not delivering, he said he’d come through the next week, but he didn’t. When Bissell ignored us again (Wrens Watch, April 20 and April 27), we speculated the Wrens were actually recording. Or maybe Bissell was just being a jerk. But then he told us 35 weeks ago he’d have a new Wrens mp3 for us. And guess what? The man finally came through. Download a demo of “Z,” which was written and performed by Kevin. We emailed Bissell numerous times to thank him for “Z” and ask him how the new record is progressing, but like we told you 33 weeks ago, he was unresponsive. He did email us a photo 32 weeks ago, though, so we had that going for us. Which was nice. Thirty-one weeks ago, we got an email from Bissell saying, “Headed to bed but might have something for you.” As reported 30 and 29 weeks ago, other than a strange email from him referencing Fat Albert, we hadn’t heard from him since. Twenty-eight weeks ago, we told you that Bissell, apparently on vacation, said he would have a new song for us “as soon as I get home on Saturday,” but he never came through. Bissell returned our emails 27 weeks ago, but he didn’t send any new Wrens music. He did, however, send a truly tasteless Michael Jackson joke, and since it was actually funny enough for us to tell it to others, we gave Bissell a pass. Twenty-six weeks ago, Bissell—on vacation yet again—emailed to say, “Maybe I can actually send a song to you after I get home Sunday.” Then guess what? He emailed us his first new Wrens demo, and like we told you 25 weeks ago, it’s a really good song. Twenty-four weeks ago, Bissell emailed us to say he recorded another new demo, but he’s keeping that one for himself. He also said, “Smellmineitsucks,” whatever that means. Though we emailed Bissell repeatedly 23 weeks ago, we didn’t even get so much as a “Smellmineitsucks.” Twenty-two weeks ago, Bissell sent this missive: “We gonna see ballgame this summer? And I don’t mean a view of you working your pockets on a street corner.” (We think Bissell just might have a shot at a cameo in the next Judd Apatow movie, Unfunny People.) Anyway, Bissell was supposed to respond to us with his thoughts on the recent 20th anniversary of the first live show by the band that eventually came to be known as the Wrens, but he didn’t. Twenty-one weeks ago, we did get an email saying he didn’t have enough free time to “justify replying to explanatory spam from MAGNET,” so maybe Bissell is a (mildly) funny person after all. Twenty weeks ago, 19 weeks ago and 18 weeks ago, we got nothing. Seventeen weeks ago, we did find out that the Wrens had shows at Maxwell’s in Hoboken, N.J., scheduled for December 3 and 4, but we didn’t learn this from Bissell. Sixteen weeks ago, Bissell emailed us a number of times, but he didn’t answer any Wrens-related questions. We did find out that he was scheduled to play a solo benefit show in Brooklyn on October 28 with They Might Be Giants and Nada Surf (they should have called it Nerd Aid), but again, we didn’t learn this from Bissell. Fifteen weeks ago, when asked what was new with the Wrens, Bissell responded, “Nothing. No things. At all. No recording, no new songs, no get-togethers.” Fourteen weeks ago, we learned that the first Maxwell’s show would feature a setlist voted on by fans via the Wrens website (we requested “Brand New Apartment”), while the second would be comprised of as many news songs the band could play. You got the feeling the first show would probably be much longer than the second one. Thirteen weeks ago, Bissell emailed us to say the Wrens had added a third Maxwell’s show (December 4 at 7:30 p.m.), for which they’d play The Meadowlands from start to finish. When we told him that Greg mentioned to us that the band has been working on 120 new songs, Bissell replied, “You know how it is, applying the uncertainty principle, both are true. Until you try to confirm either one. So yeah, remember, Kevin’s been demoing the last year or two for the first time? He’s now got more than 100 songs, some totally fleshed out, some just sketches, many really good. And he and Greg have been going over them a couple nights a week. So yeah, from one perspective, the record’s almost done. Nevertheless, we have not recorded a note, so the record is both well under way and yet not even begun.” Uh, that clears things up. Twelve weeks ago, all we found out was that the Wrens had a Washington, D.C., show scheduled for November 20 at the Black Cat. Eleven weeks ago, when we asked if there would be other shows that weekend, Bissell responded, “No, not this time. You know us. It’s like the Army Reserve: one weekend a month and just two weeks a year. Without the ‘two weeks a year’ part.” Ten weeks ago, Bissell responded to our emails, but he said nothing of interest, other than he’d have some news soon. Nine weeks ago, Bissell emailed to say the Wrens would be selling a limited-edition CD-R at the Maxwell’s shows that includes “really old pre-Silver songs and at least one new one.” We asked for a copy but still haven’t heard back. Eight weeks ago, Bissell told us the band rehearsed twice and worked on getting its, uh, studio up and running. Seven weeks ago, we got nothing. Six weeks ago, Bissell emailed to say that while the Wrens continue to not record, they have been getting together to rehearse for their live shows. He added, “And believe it or not, after a 20-year DIY spell, we’re taking on management. So in the future, I’ll have staff to reply to your emails.” We hope he’s kidding about that last bit. Turns out, he was. Five weeks ago, Bissell emailed us only to say, “Happy Thanksgiving.” What a guy! Four weeks ago, Bissell called to tell us the band recorded all three of its Maxwell’s shows for an upcoming live EP. He also made some mom jokes. Three weeks ago, Bissell didn’t even email. Two weeks ago marked the one-year anniversary of Wrens Watch, and we were sad to report the band seems no closer to finishing its new album than it was this time last year. In celebration, we had a look back at the very first Wrens Watch. We were so much older then, we’re younger than that now. This week, we are happy to report that Jersey Films has bought the rights to Wrens Watch and will soon be turning it into a major motion picture. The cast thus far includes acting newcomer Mike Huckabee as Bissell, Jon Favreau as MacDonald, and Jim True-Frost as both Whelan brothers (a la Nicolas Cage in Adaptation). It will mark the directorial debut of Secaucus, N.J.-based actor Dan Resin. We’ll be busy working on the screenplay, which will mean that new updates to Wrens Watch will become much less frequent. Given nothing seems to be going on with a new Wrens album, it shouldn’t really matter.
CategoriesWRENS WATCH
Wrens Watch, Dec. 21, 2009
We’ve been fans of New Jersey’s finest since even before their first album came out back in 1994, so let’s just say we’re used to sitting around waiting for them to take their sweet-ass time putting out new music. (Three albums in more than 14 years makes the Wrens about as prolific as Boston, which is kind of like being as tall as Davy Jones.) As reported in a Wrens Watch Special Report, January 9 marked a huge milestone for the guys: guitarists Charles Bissell and Greg Whelan, bassist Kevin Whelan and drummer Jerry MacDonald. They issued “Pulled Fences,” their first new (well, sort of new) song since 2003’s The Meadowlands. Perhaps motivated by finally releasing something, the band convened—not in a real studio, but in Kevin’s basement—48 weeks ago to begin work on its new album. And not only that, the Wrens recorded an actual song (which you can download for free here). When we checked in with Bissell 45 weeks ago, he took exception with our good-natured sarcasm and quickly ended the interview. After ignoring us for a while, Bissell finally gave us a progress report; it seems that while other bands get together and record, the Wrens stay apart and talk to each other on the phone. Or they do nothing at all. Or they update their Facebook pages. Forty weeks ago, Bissell informed us he was “too busy” to respond to our questions, but he did promise us some exclusive Wrens mp3s in the near future. Thirty-nine weeks ago, he didn’t even bother responding to our emails, prompting us to call him an unprolific Ryan Adams. That got Bissell’s attention, who 38 weeks ago apologized (profanely) and promised us an exclusive Wrens mp3 for the April 6 Wrens Watch. After not delivering, he said he’d come through the next week, but he didn’t. When Bissell ignored us again (Wrens Watch, April 20 and April 27), we speculated the Wrens were actually recording. Or maybe Bissell was just being a jerk. But then he told us 33 weeks ago he’d have a new Wrens mp3 for us. And guess what? The man finally came through. Download a demo of “Z,” which was written and performed by Kevin. We emailed Bissell numerous times to thank him for “Z” and ask him how the new record is progressing, but like we told you 31 weeks ago, he was unresponsive. He did email us a photo for 30 weeks ago, though, so we had that going for us. Which was nice. Twenty-nine weeks ago, we got an email from Bissell saying, “Headed to bed but might have something for you.” As reported 28 and 27 weeks ago, other than a strange email from him referencing Fat Albert, we hadn’t heard from him since. Twenty-six weeks ago, we told you that Bissell, apparently on vacation, said he would have a new song for us “as soon as I get home on Saturday,” but he never came through. Bissell returned our emails 25 weeks ago, but he didn’t send any new Wrens music. He did, however, send a truly tasteless Michael Jackson joke, and since it was actually funny enough for us to tell it to others, we gave Bissell a pass. Twenty-four weeks ago, Bissell—on vacation yet again—emailed to say, “Maybe I can actually send a song to you after I get home Sunday.” Then guess what? He emailed us his first new Wrens demo, and like we told you 23 weeks ago, it’s a really good song. Twenty-two weeks ago, Bissell emailed us to say he recorded another new demo, but he’s keeping that one for himself. He also said, “Smellmineitsucks,” whatever that means. Though we emailed Bissell repeatedly 21 weeks ago, we didn’t even get so much as a “Smellmineitsucks.” Twenty weeks ago, Bissell sent this missive: “We gonna see ballgame this summer? And I don’t mean a view of you working your pockets on a street corner.” (We think Bissell just might have a shot at a cameo in the next Judd Apatow movie, Unfunny People.) Anyway, Bissell was supposed to respond to us with his thoughts on the recent 20th anniversary of the first live show by the band that eventually came to be known as the Wrens, but he didn’t. Nineteen weeks ago, we did get an email saying he didn’t have enough free time to “justify replying to explanatory spam from MAGNET,” so maybe Bissell is a (mildly) funny person after all. Eighteen weeks ago, 17 weeks ago and 16 weeks ago, we got nothing. Fifteen weeks ago, we did find out that the Wrens had shows at Maxwell’s in Hoboken, N.J., scheduled for December 3 and 4, but we didn’t learn this from Bissell. Fourteen weeks ago, Bissell emailed us a number of times, but he didn’t answer any Wrens-related questions. We did find out that he was scheduled to play a solo benefit show in Brooklyn on October 28 with They Might Be Giants and Nada Surf (they should have called it Nerd Aid), but again, we didn’t learn this from Bissell. Thirteen weeks ago, when asked what was new with the Wrens, Bissell responded, “Nothing. No things. At all. No recording, no new songs, no get-togethers.” Twelve weeks ago, we learned that the first Maxwell’s show would feature a setlist voted on by fans via the Wrens website (we requested “Brand New Apartment”), while the second would be comprised of as many news songs the band could play. You got the feeling the first show would probably be much longer than the second one. Eleven weeks ago, Bissell emailed us to say the Wrens had added a third Maxwell’s show (December 4 at 7:30 p.m.), for which they’d play The Meadowlands from start to finish. When we told him that Greg mentioned to us that the band has been working on 120 new songs, Bissell replied, “You know how it is, applying the uncertainty principle, both are true. Until you try to confirm either one. So yeah, remember, Kevin’s been demoing the last year or two for the first time? He’s now got more than 100 songs, some totally fleshed out, some just sketches, many really good. And he and Greg have been going over them a couple nights a week. So yeah, from one perspective, the record’s almost done. Nevertheless, we have not recorded a note, so the record is both well under way and yet not even begun.” Uh, that clears things up. Ten weeks ago, all we found out was that the Wrens had a Washington, D.C., show scheduled for November 20 at the Black Cat. Nine weeks ago, when we asked if there would be other shows that weekend, Bissell responded, “No, not this time. You know us. It’s like the Army Reserve: one weekend a month and just two weeks a year. Without the ‘two weeks a year’ part.” Eight weeks ago, Bissell responded to our emails, but he said nothing of interest, other than he’d have some news soon. Seven weeks ago, Bissell emailed to say the Wrens would be selling a limited-edition CD-R at the Maxwell’s shows that includes “really old pre-Silver songs and at least one new one.” We asked for a copy but still haven’t heard back. Six weeks ago, Bissell told us the band rehearsed twice and worked on getting its, uh, studio up and running. Five weeks ago, we got nothing. Four weeks ago, Bissell emailed to say that while the Wrens continue to not record, they have been getting together to rehearse for their live shows. He added, “And believe it or not, after a 20-year DIY spell, we’re taking on management. So in the future, I’ll have staff to reply to your emails.” We hope he’s kidding about that last bit. Turns out, he was. Three weeks ago, Bissell emailed us only to say, “Happy Thanksgiving.” What a guy! Two weeks ago, Bissell called to tell us the band recorded all three of its Maxwell’s shows for an upcoming live EP. He also made some mom jokes. Last week, Bissell didn’t even email. This week marks the one-year anniversary of Wrens Watch, and we’re sad to report the band seems no closer to finishing its new album than it was this time last year. In celebration, let’s have a look back at the very first Wrens Watch. We were so much older then, we’re younger than that now.
We’ve been fans of New Jersey’s finest since even before their first album came out back in 1994, so let’s just say we’re used to sitting around waiting for them to take their sweet-ass time putting out new music. (Three albums in more than 14 years makes the Wrens about as prolific as Boston, which is kind of like being as tall as Angus Young.) As reported in a Wrens Watch Special Report, January 9 marked a huge milestone for the guys: guitarists Charles Bissell and Greg Whelan, bassist Kevin Whelan and drummer Jerry MacDonald. They issued “Pulled Fences,” their first new (well, sort of new) song since 2003’s The Meadowlands. Perhaps motivated by finally releasing something, the band convened—not in a real studio, but in Kevin’s basement—47 weeks ago to begin work on its new album. And not only that, the Wrens recorded an actual song (which you can download for free here). When we checked in with Bissell 44 weeks ago, he took exception with our good-natured sarcasm and quickly ended the interview. After ignoring us for a while, Bissell finally gave us a progress report; it seems that while other bands get together and record, the Wrens stay apart and talk to each other on the phone. Or they do nothing at all. Or they update their Facebook pages. Thirty-nine weeks ago, Bissell informed us he was “too busy” to respond to our questions, but he did promise us some exclusive Wrens mp3s in the near future. Thirty-eight weeks ago, he didn’t even bother responding to our emails, prompting us to call him an unprolific Ryan Adams. That got Bissell’s attention, who 37 weeks ago apologized (profanely) and promised us an exclusive Wrens mp3 for the April 6 Wrens Watch. After not delivering, he said he’d come through the next week, but he didn’t. When Bissell ignored us again (Wrens Watch, April 20 and April 27), we speculated the Wrens were actually recording. Or maybe Bissell was just being a jerk. But then he told us 32 weeks ago he’d have a new Wrens mp3 for us. And guess what? The man finally came through. Download a demo of “Z,” which was written and performed by Kevin. We emailed Bissell numerous times to thank him for “Z” and ask him how the new record is progressing, but like we told you 30 weeks ago, he was unresponsive. He did email us a photo for 29 weeks ago, though, so we had that going for us. Which was nice. Twenty-eight weeks ago, we got an email from Bissell saying, “Headed to bed but might have something for you.” As reported 27 and 26 weeks ago, other than a strange email from him referencing Fat Albert, we hadn’t heard from him since. Twenty-five weeks ago, we told you that Bissell, apparently on vacation, said he would have a new song for us “as soon as I get home on Saturday,” but he never came through. Bissell returned our emails 24 weeks ago, but he didn’t send any new Wrens music. He did, however, send a truly tasteless Michael Jackson joke, and since it was actually funny enough for us to tell it to others, we gave Bissell a pass. Twenty-three weeks ago, Bissell—on vacation yet again—emailed to say, “Maybe I can actually send a song to you after I get home Sunday.” Then guess what? He emailed us his first new Wrens demo, and like we told you 22 weeks ago, it’s a really good song. Twenty-one weeks ago, Bissell emailed us to say he recorded another new demo, but he’s keeping that one for himself. He also said, “Smellmineitsucks,” whatever that means. Though we emailed Bissell repeatedly 20 weeks ago, we didn’t even get so much as a “Smellmineitsucks.” Nineteen weeks ago, Bissell sent this missive: “We gonna see ballgame this summer? And I don’t mean a view of you working your pockets on a street corner.” (We think Bissell just might have a shot at a cameo in the next Judd Apatow movie, Unfunny People.) Anyway, Bissell was supposed to respond to us with his thoughts on the recent 20th anniversary of the first live show by the band that eventually came to be known as the Wrens, but he didn’t. Eighteen weeks ago, we did get an email saying he didn’t have enough free time to “justify replying to explanatory spam from MAGNET,” so maybe Bissell is a (mildly) funny person after all. Seventeen weeks ago, 16 weeks ago and 15 weeks ago, we got nothing. Fourteen weeks ago, we did find out that the Wrens had shows at Maxwell’s in Hoboken, N.J., scheduled for December 3 and 4, but we didn’t learn this from Bissell. Thirteen weeks ago, Bissell emailed us a number of times, but he didn’t answer any Wrens-related questions. We did find out that he was scheduled to play a solo benefit show in Brooklyn on October 28 with They Might Be Giants and Nada Surf (they should have called it Nerd Aid), but again, we didn’t learn this from Bissell. Twelve weeks ago, when asked what was new with the Wrens, Bissell responded, “Nothing. No things. At all. No recording, no new songs, no get-togethers.” Eleven weeks ago, we learned that the first Maxwell’s show would feature a setlist voted on by fans via the Wrens website (we requested “Brand New Apartment”), while the second would be comprised of as many news songs the band could play. You got the feeling the first show would probably be much longer than the second one. Ten weeks ago, Bissell emailed us to say the Wrens had added a third Maxwell’s show (December 4 at 7:30 p.m.), for which they’d play The Meadowlands from start to finish. When we told him that Greg mentioned to us that the band has been working on 120 new songs, Bissell replied, “You know how it is, applying the uncertainty principle, both are true. Until you try to confirm either one. So yeah, remember, Kevin’s been demoing the last year or two for the first time? He’s now got more than 100 songs, some totally fleshed out, some just sketches, many really good. And he and Greg have been going over them a couple nights a week. So yeah, from one perspective, the record’s almost done. Nevertheless, we have not recorded a note, so the record is both well under way and yet not even begun.” Uh, that clears things up. Nine weeks ago, all we found out was that the Wrens had a Washington, D.C., show scheduled for November 20 at the Black Cat. Eight weeks ago, when we asked if there would be other shows that weekend, Bissell responded, “No, not this time. You know us. It’s like the Army Reserve: one weekend a month and just two weeks a year. Without the ‘two weeks a year’ part.” Seven weeks ago, Bissell responded to our emails, but he said nothing of interest, other than he’d have some news soon. Six weeks ago, Bissell emailed to say the Wrens would be selling a limited-edition CD-R at the Maxwell’s shows that includes “really old pre-Silver songs and at least one new one.” We asked for a copy but still haven’t heard back. Five weeks ago, Bissell told us the band rehearsed twice and worked on getting its, uh, studio up and running. Four weeks ago, we got nothing. Three weeks ago, Bissell emailed to say that while the Wrens continue to not record, they have been getting together to rehearse for their live shows. He added, “And believe it or not, after a 20-year DIY spell, we’re taking on management. So in the future, I’ll have staff to reply to your emails.” We hope he’s kidding about that last bit. Turns out, he was. Two weeks ago, Bissell emailed us only to say, “Happy Thanksgiving.” What a guy! Last week, Bissell called to tell us the band recorded all three of its Maxwell’s shows for an upcoming live EP. He also made some mom jokes. This week, Bissell didn’t even email.
Wrens Watch, Dec. 7, 2009
We’ve been fans of New Jersey’s finest since even before their first album came out back in 1994, so let’s just say we’re used to sitting around waiting for them to take their sweet-ass time putting out new music. (Three albums in more than 14 years makes the Wrens about as prolific as Boston, which is kind of like being as tall as Leo Sayer.) As reported in a Wrens Watch Special Report, January 9 marked a huge milestone for the guys: guitarists Charles Bissell and Greg Whelan, bassist Kevin Whelan and drummer Jerry MacDonald. They issued “Pulled Fences,” their first new (well, sort of new) song since 2003’s The Meadowlands. Perhaps motivated by finally releasing something, the band convened—not in a real studio, but in Kevin’s basement—46 weeks ago to begin work on its new album. And not only that, the Wrens recorded an actual song (which you can download for free here). When we checked in with Bissell 43 weeks ago, he took exception with our good-natured sarcasm and quickly ended the interview. After ignoring us for a while, Bissell finally gave us a progress report; it seems that while other bands get together and record, the Wrens stay apart and talk to each other on the phone. Or they do nothing at all. Or they update their Facebook pages. Thirty-eight weeks ago, Bissell informed us he was “too busy” to respond to our questions, but he did promise us some exclusive Wrens mp3s in the near future. Thirty-seven weeks ago, he didn’t even bother responding to our emails, prompting us to call him an unprolific Ryan Adams. That got Bissell’s attention, who 36 weeks ago apologized (profanely) and promised us an exclusive Wrens mp3 for the April 6 Wrens Watch. After not delivering, he said he’d come through the next week, but he didn’t. When Bissell ignored us again (Wrens Watch, April 20 and April 27), we speculated the Wrens were actually recording. Or maybe Bissell was just being a jerk. But then he told us 31 weeks ago he’d have a new Wrens mp3 for us. And guess what? The man finally came through. Download a demo of “Z,” which was written and performed by Kevin. We emailed Bissell numerous times to thank him for “Z” and ask him how the new record is progressing, but like we told you 29 weeks ago, he was unresponsive. He did email us a photo for 28 weeks ago, though, so we had that going for us. Which was nice. Twenty-seven weeks ago, we got an email from Bissell saying, “Headed to bed but might have something for you.” As reported 26 and 25 weeks ago, other than a strange email from him referencing Fat Albert, we hadn’t heard from him since. Twenty-four weeks ago, we told you that Bissell, apparently on vacation, said he would have a new song for us “as soon as I get home on Saturday,” but he never came through. Bissell returned our emails 23 weeks ago, but he didn’t send any new Wrens music. He did, however, send a truly tasteless Michael Jackson joke, and since it was actually funny enough for us to tell it to others, we gave Bissell a pass. Twenty-two weeks ago, Bissell—on vacation yet again—emailed to say, “Maybe I can actually send a song to you after I get home Sunday.” Then guess what? He emailed us his first new Wrens demo, and like we told you 21 weeks ago, it’s a really good song. Twenty weeks ago, Bissell emailed us to say he recorded another new demo, but he’s keeping that one for himself. He also said, “Smellmineitsucks,” whatever that means. Though we emailed Bissell repeatedly 19 weeks ago, we didn’t even get so much as a “Smellmineitsucks.” Eighteen weeks ago, Bissell sent this missive: “We gonna see ballgame this summer? And I don’t mean a view of you working your pockets on a street corner.” (We think Bissell just might have a shot at a cameo in the next Judd Apatow movie, Unfunny People.) Anyway, Bissell was supposed to respond to us with his thoughts on the recent 20th anniversary of the first live show by the band that eventually came to be known as the Wrens, but he didn’t. Seventeen weeks ago, we did get an email saying he didn’t have enough free time to “justify replying to explanatory spam from MAGNET,” so maybe Bissell is a (mildly) funny person after all. Sixteen weeks ago, 15 weeks ago and 14 weeks ago, we got nothing. Thirteen weeks ago, we did find out that the Wrens had shows at Maxwell’s in Hoboken, N.J., scheduled for December 3 and 4, but we didn’t learn this from Bissell. Twelve weeks ago, Bissell emailed us a number of times, but he didn’t answer any Wrens-related questions. We did find out that he was scheduled to play a solo benefit show in Brooklyn on October 28 with They Might Be Giants and Nada Surf (they should have called it Nerd Aid), but again, we didn’t learn this from Bissell. Eleven weeks ago, when asked what was new with the Wrens, Bissell responded, “Nothing. No things. At all. No recording, no new songs, no get-togethers.” Ten weeks ago, we learned that the first Maxwell’s show would feature a setlist voted on by fans via the Wrens website (we requested “Brand New Apartment”), while the second would be comprised of as many news songs the band could play. You got the feeling the first show would probably be much longer than the second one. Nine weeks ago, Bissell emailed us to say the Wrens had added a third Maxwell’s show (December 4 at 7:30 p.m.), for which they’d play The Meadowlands from start to finish. When we told him that Greg mentioned to us that the band has been working on 120 new songs, Bissell replied, “You know how it is, applying the uncertainty principle, both are true. Until you try to confirm either one. So yeah, remember, Kevin’s been demoing the last year or two for the first time? He’s now got more than 100 songs, some totally fleshed out, some just sketches, many really good. And he and Greg have been going over them a couple nights a week. So yeah, from one perspective, the record’s almost done. Nevertheless, we have not recorded a note, so the record is both well under way and yet not even begun.” Uh, that clears things up. Eight weeks ago, all we found out was that the Wrens had a Washington, D.C., show scheduled for November 20 at the Black Cat. Seven weeks ago, when we asked if there would be other shows that weekend, Bissell responded, “No, not this time. You know us. It’s like the Army Reserve: one weekend a month and just two weeks a year. Without the ‘two weeks a year’ part.” Six weeks ago, Bissell responded to our emails, but he said nothing of interest, other than he’d have some news soon. Five weeks ago, Bissell emailed to say the Wrens would be selling a limited-edition CD-R at the Maxwell’s shows that includes “really old pre-Silver songs and at least one new one.” We asked for a copy but still haven’t heard back. Four weeks ago, Bissell told us the band rehearsed twice and worked on getting its, uh, studio up and running. Three weeks ago, we got nothing. Two weeks ago, Bissell emailed to say that while the Wrens continue to not record, they have been getting together to rehearse for their live shows. He added, “And believe it or not, after a 20-year DIY spell, we’re taking on management. So in the future, I’ll have staff to reply to your emails.” We hope he’s kidding about that last bit. Turns out, he was. Last week, Bissell emailed us only to say, “Happy Thanksgiving.” What a guy! This week, Bissell called to tell us the band recorded all three of its Maxwell’s shows for an upcoming live EP. He also made some mom jokes.
Wrens Watch, Nov. 30, 2009
We’ve been fans of New Jersey’s finest since even before their first album came out back in 1994, so let’s just say we’re used to sitting around waiting for them to take their sweet-ass time putting out new music. (Three albums in more than 14 years makes the Wrens about as prolific as Boston, which is kind of like being as tall as Sammy Davis, Jr.) As reported in a Wrens Watch Special Report, January 9 marked a huge milestone for the guys: guitarists Charles Bissell and Greg Whelan, bassist Kevin Whelan and drummer Jerry MacDonald. They issued “Pulled Fences,” their first new (well, sort of new) song since 2003’s The Meadowlands. Perhaps motivated by finally releasing something, the band convened—not in a real studio, but in Kevin’s basement—45 weeks ago to begin work on its new album. And not only that, the Wrens recorded an actual song (which you can download for free here). When we checked in with Bissell 42 weeks ago, he took exception with our good-natured sarcasm and quickly ended the interview. After ignoring us for a while, Bissell finally gave us a progress report; it seems that while other bands get together and record, the Wrens stay apart and talk to each other on the phone. Or they do nothing at all. Or they update their Facebook pages. Thirty-seven weeks ago, Bissell informed us he was “too busy” to respond to our questions, but he did promise us some exclusive Wrens mp3s in the near future. Thirty-six weeks ago, he didn’t even bother responding to our emails, prompting us to call him an unprolific Ryan Adams. That got Bissell’s attention, who 35 weeks ago apologized (profanely) and promised us an exclusive Wrens mp3 for the April 6 Wrens Watch. After not delivering, he said he’d come through the next week, but he didn’t. When Bissell ignored us again (Wrens Watch, April 20 and April 27), we speculated the Wrens were actually recording. Or maybe Bissell was just being a jerk. But then he told us 30 weeks ago he’d have a new Wrens mp3 for us. And guess what? The man finally came through. Download a demo of “Z,” which was written and performed by Kevin. We emailed Bissell numerous times to thank him for “Z” and ask him how the new record is progressing, but like we told you 28 weeks ago, he was unresponsive. He did email us a photo for 27 weeks ago, though, so we had that going for us. Which was nice. Twenty-six weeks ago, we got an email from Bissell saying, “Headed to bed but might have something for you.” As reported 25 and 24 weeks ago, other than a strange email from him referencing Fat Albert, we hadn’t heard from him since. Twenty-three weeks ago, we told you that Bissell, apparently on vacation, said he would have a new song for us “as soon as I get home on Saturday,” but he never came through. Bissell returned our emails 22 weeks ago, but he didn’t send any new Wrens music. He did, however, send a truly tasteless Michael Jackson joke, and since it was actually funny enough for us to tell it to others, we gave Bissell a pass. Twenty-one weeks ago, Bissell—on vacation yet again—emailed to say, “Maybe I can actually send a song to you after I get home Sunday.” Then guess what? He emailed us his first new Wrens demo, and like we told you 20 weeks ago, it’s a really good song. Nineteen weeks ago, Bissell emailed us to say he recorded another new demo, but he’s keeping that one for himself. He also said, “Smellmineitsucks,” whatever that means. Though we emailed Bissell repeatedly 18 weeks ago, we didn’t even get so much as a “Smellmineitsucks.” Seventeen weeks ago, Bissell sent this missive: “We gonna see ballgame this summer? And I don’t mean a view of you working your pockets on a street corner.” (We think Bissell just might have a shot at a cameo in the next Judd Apatow movie, Unfunny People.) Anyway, Bissell was supposed to respond to us with his thoughts on the recent 20th anniversary of the first live show by the band that eventually came to be known as the Wrens, but he didn’t. Sixteen weeks ago, we did get an email saying he didn’t have enough free time to “justify replying to explanatory spam from MAGNET,” so maybe Bissell is a (mildly) funny person after all. Fifteen weeks ago, 14 weeks ago and 13 weeks ago, we got nothing. Twelve weeks ago, we did find out that the Wrens have shows at Maxwell’s in Hoboken, N.J., scheduled for December 3 and 4, but we didn’t learn this from Bissell. Eleven weeks ago, Bissell emailed us a number of times, but he didn’t answer any Wrens-related questions. We did find out that he was scheduled to play a solo benefit show in Brooklyn on October 28 with They Might Be Giants and Nada Surf (they should have called it Nerd Aid), but again, we didn’t learn this from Bissell. Ten weeks ago, when asked what was new with the Wrens, Bissell responded, “Nothing. No things. At all. No recording, no new songs, no get-togethers.” Nine weeks ago, we learned that the first Maxwell’s show will feature a setlist voted on by fans via the Wrens website (we requested “Brand New Apartment”), while the second will be comprised of as many news songs the band can play. You get the feeling the first show will probably be much longer than the second one. Eight weeks ago, Bissell emailed us to say the Wrens have added a third Maxwell’s show (December 4 at 7:30 p.m.), for which they’ll play The Meadowlands from start to finish. When we told him that Greg mentioned to us that the band has been working on 120 new songs, Bissell replied, “You know how it is, applying the uncertainty principle, both are true. Until you try to confirm either one. So yeah, remember, Kevin’s been demoing the last year or two for the first time? He’s now got more than 100 songs, some totally fleshed out, some just sketches, many really good. And he and Greg have been going over them a couple nights a week. So yeah, from one perspective, the record’s almost done. Nevertheless, we have not recorded a note, so the record is both well under way and yet not even begun.” Uh, that clears things up. Seven weeks ago, all we found out was that the Wrens have a Washington, D.C., show scheduled for November 20 at the Black Cat. Six weeks ago, when we asked if there would be other shows that weekend, Bissell responded, “No, not this time. You know us. It’s like the Army Reserve: one weekend a month and just two weeks a year. Without the ‘two weeks a year’ part.” Five weeks ago, Bissell responded to our emails, but he said nothing of interest, other than he’d have some news soon. Four weeks ago, Bissell emailed to say the Wrens would be selling a limited-edition CD-R at the Maxwell’s shows that includes “really old pre-Silver songs and at least one new one.” We asked for a copy but still haven’t heard back. Three weeks ago, Bissell told us the band rehearsed twice and worked on getting its, uh, studio up and running. Two weeks ago, we got nothing. Last week, Bissell emailed to say that while the Wrens continue to not record, they have been getting together to rehearse for their upcoming live shows. He added, “And believe it or not, after a 20-year DIY spell, we’re taking on management. So in the future, I’ll have staff to reply to your emails.” We hope he’s kidding about that last bit. Turns out, he was. This week, Bissell emailed us only to say, “Happy Thanksgiving.” What a guy!
We’ve been fans of New Jersey’s finest since even before their first album came out back in 1994, so let’s just say we’re used to sitting around waiting for them to take their sweet-ass time putting out new music. (Three albums in more than 14 years makes the Wrens about as prolific as Boston, which is kind of like being as tall as Buckminster Fuller.) As reported in a Wrens Watch Special Report, January 9 marked a huge milestone for the guys: guitarists Charles Bissell and Greg Whelan, bassist Kevin Whelan and drummer Jerry MacDonald. They issued “Pulled Fences,” their first new (well, sort of new) song since 2003’s The Meadowlands. Perhaps motivated by finally releasing something, the band convened—not in a real studio, but in Kevin’s basement—44 weeks ago to begin work on its new album. And not only that, the Wrens recorded an actual song (which you can download for free here). When we checked in with Bissell 41 weeks ago, he took exception with our good-natured sarcasm and quickly ended the interview. After ignoring us for a while, Bissell finally gave us a progress report; it seems that while other bands get together and record, the Wrens stay apart and talk to each other on the phone. Or they do nothing at all. Or they update their Facebook pages. Thirty-six weeks ago, Bissell informed us he was “too busy” to respond to our questions, but he did promise us some exclusive Wrens mp3s in the near future. Thirty-five weeks ago, he didn’t even bother responding to our emails, prompting us to call him an unprolific Ryan Adams. That got Bissell’s attention, who 34 weeks ago apologized (profanely) and promised us an exclusive Wrens mp3 for the April 6 Wrens Watch. After not delivering, he said he’d come through the next week, but he didn’t. When Bissell ignored us again (Wrens Watch, April 20 and April 27), we speculated the Wrens were actually recording. Or maybe Bissell was just being a jerk. But then he told us 29 weeks ago he’d have a new Wrens mp3 for us. And guess what? The man finally came through. Download a demo of “Z,” which was written and performed by Kevin. We emailed Bissell numerous times to thank him for “Z” and ask him how the new record is progressing, but like we told you 27 weeks ago, he was unresponsive. He did email us a photo for 26 weeks ago, though, so we had that going for us. Which was nice. Twenty-five weeks ago, we got an email from Bissell saying, “Headed to bed but might have something for you.” As reported 24 and 23 weeks ago, other than a strange email from him referencing Fat Albert, we hadn’t heard from him since. Twenty-two weeks ago, we told you that Bissell, apparently on vacation, said he would have a new song for us “as soon as I get home on Saturday,” but he never came through. Bissell returned our emails 21 weeks ago, but he didn’t send any new Wrens music. He did, however, send a truly tasteless Michael Jackson joke, and since it was actually funny enough for us to tell it to others, we gave Bissell a pass. Twenty weeks ago, Bissell—on vacation yet again—emailed to say, “Maybe I can actually send a song to you after I get home Sunday.” Then guess what? He emailed us his first new Wrens demo, and like we told you 19 weeks ago, it’s a really good song. Eighteen weeks ago, Bissell emailed us to say he recorded another new demo, but he’s keeping that one for himself. He also said, “Smellmineitsucks,” whatever that means. Though we emailed Bissell repeatedly 17 weeks ago, we didn’t even get so much as a “Smellmineitsucks.” Sixteen weeks ago, Bissell sent this missive: “We gonna see ballgame this summer? And I don’t mean a view of you working your pockets on a street corner.” (We think Bissell just might have a shot at a cameo in the next Judd Apatow movie, Unfunny People.) Anyway, Bissell was supposed to respond to us with his thoughts on the recent 20th anniversary of the first live show by the band that eventually came to be known as the Wrens, but he didn’t. Fifteen weeks ago, we did get an email saying he didn’t have enough free time to “justify replying to explanatory spam from MAGNET,” so maybe Bissell is a (mildly) funny person after all. Fourteen weeks ago, 13 weeks ago and 12 weeks ago, we got nothing. Eleven weeks ago, we did find out that the Wrens have shows at Maxwell’s in Hoboken, N.J., scheduled for December 3 and 4, but we didn’t learn this from Bissell. Ten weeks ago, Bissell emailed us a number of times, but he didn’t answer any Wrens-related questions. We did find out that he was scheduled to play a solo benefit show in Brooklyn on October 28 with They Might Be Giants and Nada Surf (they should have called it Nerd Aid), but again, we didn’t learn this from Bissell. Nine weeks ago, when asked what was new with the Wrens, Bissell responded, “Nothing. No things. At all. No recording, no new songs, no get-togethers.” Eight weeks ago, we learned that the first Maxwell’s show will feature a setlist voted on by fans via the Wrens website (we requested “Brand New Apartment”), while the second will be comprised of as many news songs the band can play. You get the feeling the first show will probably be much longer than the second one. Seven weeks ago, Bissell emailed us to say the Wrens have added a third Maxwell’s show (December 4 at 7:30 p.m.), for which they’ll play The Meadowlands from start to finish. When we told him that Greg mentioned to us that the band has been working on 120 new songs, Bissell replied, “You know how it is, applying the uncertainty principle, both are true. Until you try to confirm either one. So yeah, remember, Kevin’s been demoing the last year or two for the first time? He’s now got more than 100 songs, some totally fleshed out, some just sketches, many really good. And he and Greg have been going over them a couple nights a week. So yeah, from one perspective, the record’s almost done. Nevertheless, we have not recorded a note, so the record is both well under way and yet not even begun.” Uh, that clears things up. Six weeks ago, all we found out was that the Wrens have a Washington, D.C., show scheduled for November 20 at the Black Cat. Five weeks ago, when we asked if there would be other shows that weekend, Bissell responded, “No, not this time. You know us. It’s like the Army Reserve: one weekend a month and just two weeks a year. Without the ‘two weeks a year’ part.” Four weeks ago, Bissell responded to our emails, but he said nothing of interest, other than he’d have some news soon. Three weeks ago, Bissell emailed to say the Wrens would be selling a limited-edition CD-R at the Maxwell’s shows that includes “really old pre-Silver songs and at least one new one.” We asked for a copy but still haven’t heard back. Two weeks ago, Bissell told us the band rehearsed twice and worked on getting its, uh, studio up and running. Last week, we got nothing. This week, Bissell emailed to say that while the Wrens continue to not record, they have been getting together to rehearse for their upcoming live shows. He added, “And believe it or not, after a 20-year DIY spell, we’re taking on management. So in the future, I’ll have staff to reply to your emails.” We hope he’s kidding about that last bit.
We’ve been fans of New Jersey’s finest since even before their first album came out back in 1994, so let’s just say we’re used to sitting around waiting for them to take their sweet-ass time putting out new music. (Three albums in more than 14 years makes the Wrens about as prolific as Boston, which is kind of like being as tall as Martin Scorsese.) As reported in a Wrens Watch Special Report, January 9 marked a huge milestone for the guys: guitarists Charles Bissell and Greg Whelan, bassist Kevin Whelan and drummer Jerry MacDonald. They issued “Pulled Fences,” their first new (well, sort of new) song since 2003’s The Meadowlands. Perhaps motivated by finally releasing something, the band convened—not in a real studio, but in Kevin’s basement—43 weeks ago to begin work on its new album. And not only that, the Wrens recorded an actual song (which you can download for free here). When we checked in with Bissell 40 weeks ago, he took exception with our good-natured sarcasm and quickly ended the interview. After ignoring us for a while, Bissell finally gave us a progress report; it seems that while other bands get together and record, the Wrens stay apart and talk to each other on the phone. Or they do nothing at all. Or they update their Facebook pages. Thirty-five weeks ago, Bissell informed us he was “too busy” to respond to our questions, but he did promise us some exclusive Wrens mp3s in the near future. Thirty-four weeks ago, he didn’t even bother responding to our emails, prompting us to call him an unprolific Ryan Adams. That got Bissell’s attention, who 33 weeks ago apologized (profanely) and promised us an exclusive Wrens mp3 for the April 6 Wrens Watch. After not delivering, he said he’d come through the next week, but he didn’t. When Bissell ignored us again (Wrens Watch, April 20 and April 27), we speculated the Wrens were actually recording. Or maybe Bissell was just being a jerk. But then he told us 28 weeks ago he’d have a new Wrens mp3 for us. And guess what? The man finally came through. Download a demo of “Z,” which was written and performed by Kevin. We emailed Bissell numerous times to thank him for “Z” and ask him how the new record is progressing, but like we told you 26 weeks ago, he was unresponsive. He did email us a photo for 25 weeks ago, though, so we had that going for us. Which was nice. Twenty-four weeks ago, we got an email from Bissell saying, “Headed to bed but might have something for you.” As reported 23 and 22 weeks ago, other than a strange email from him referencing Fat Albert, we hadn’t heard from him since. Twenty-one weeks ago, we told you that Bissell, apparently on vacation, said he would have a new song for us “as soon as I get home on Saturday,” but he never came through. Bissell returned our emails 20 weeks ago, but he didn’t send any new Wrens music. He did, however, send a truly tasteless Michael Jackson joke, and since it was actually funny enough for us to tell it to others, we gave Bissell a pass. Nineteen weeks ago, Bissell—on vacation yet again—emailed to say, “Maybe I can actually send a song to you after I get home Sunday.” Then guess what? He emailed us his first new Wrens demo, and like we told you 18 weeks ago, it’s a really good song. Seventeen weeks ago, Bissell emailed us to say he recorded another new demo, but he’s keeping that one for himself. He also said, “Smellmineitsucks,” whatever that means. Though we emailed Bissell repeatedly 16 weeks ago, we didn’t even get so much as a “Smellmineitsucks.” Fifteen weeks ago, Bissell sent this missive: “We gonna see ballgame this summer? And I don’t mean a view of you working your pockets on a street corner.” (We think Bissell just might have a shot at a cameo in the next Judd Apatow movie, Unfunny People.) Anyway, Bissell was supposed to respond to us with his thoughts on the recent 20th anniversary of the first live show by the band that eventually came to be known as the Wrens, but he didn’t. Fourteen weeks ago, we did get an email saying he didn’t have enough free time to “justify replying to explanatory spam from MAGNET,” so maybe Bissell is a (mildly) funny person after all. Thirteen weeks ago, 12 weeks ago and 11 weeks ago, we got nothing. Ten weeks ago, we did find out that the Wrens have shows at Maxwell’s in Hoboken, N.J., scheduled for December 3 and 4, but we didn’t learn this from Bissell. Nine weeks ago, Bissell emailed us a number of times, but he didn’t answer any Wrens-related questions. We did find out that he was scheduled to play a solo benefit show in Brooklyn on October 28 with They Might Be Giants and Nada Surf (they should have called it Nerd Aid), but again, we didn’t learn this from Bissell. Eight weeks ago, when asked what was new with the Wrens, Bissell responded, “Nothing. No things. At all. No recording, no new songs, no get-togethers.” Seven weeks ago, we learned that the first Maxwell’s show will feature a setlist voted on by fans via the Wrens website (we requested “Brand New Apartment”), while the second will be comprised of as many news songs the band can play. You get the feeling the first show will probably be much longer than the second one. Six weeks ago, Bissell emailed us to say the Wrens have added a third Maxwell’s show (December 4 at 7:30 p.m.), for which they’ll play The Meadowlands from start to finish. When we told him that Greg mentioned to us that the band has been working on 120 new songs, Bissell replied, “You know how it is, applying the uncertainty principle, both are true. Until you try to confirm either one. So yeah, remember, Kevin’s been demoing the last year or two for the first time? He’s now got more than 100 songs, some totally fleshed out, some just sketches, many really good. And he and Greg have been going over them a couple nights a week. So yeah, from one perspective, the record’s almost done. Nevertheless, we have not recorded a note, so the record is both well under way and yet not even begun.” Uh, that clears things up. Five weeks ago, all we found out was that the Wrens have a Washington, D.C., show scheduled for November 20 at the Black Cat. Four weeks ago, when we asked if there would be other shows that weekend, Bissell responded, “No, not this time. You know us. It’s like the Army Reserve: one weekend a month and just two weeks a year. Without the ‘two weeks a year’ part.” Three weeks ago, Bissell responded to our emails, but he said nothing of interest, other than he’d have some news soon. Two weeks ago, Bissell emailed to say the Wrens would be selling a limited-edition CD-R at the Maxwell’s shows that includes “really old pre-Silver songs and at least one new one.” We asked for a copy but still haven’t heard back. Last week, Bissell told us the band rehearsed twice and worked on getting its, uh, studio up and running. This week: nothing.
Wrens Watch, Nov. 9, 2009
We’ve been fans of New Jersey’s finest since even before their first album came out back in 1994, so let’s just say we’re used to sitting around waiting for them to take their sweet-ass time putting out new music. (Three albums in more than 14 years makes the Wrens about as prolific as Boston, which is kind of like being as tall as Paul Williams.) As reported in a Wrens Watch Special Report, January 9 marked a huge milestone for the guys: guitarists Charles Bissell and Greg Whelan, bassist Kevin Whelan and drummer Jerry MacDonald. They issued “Pulled Fences,” their first new (well, sort of new) song since 2003’s The Meadowlands. Perhaps motivated by finally releasing something, the band convened—not in a real studio, but in Kevin’s basement—42 weeks ago to begin work on its new album. And not only that, the Wrens recorded an actual song (which you can download for free here). When we checked in with Bissell 39 weeks ago, he took exception with our good-natured sarcasm and quickly ended the interview. After ignoring us for a while, Bissell finally gave us a progress report; it seems that while other bands get together and record, the Wrens stay apart and talk to each other on the phone. Or they do nothing at all. Or they update their Facebook pages. Thirty-four weeks ago, Bissell informed us he was “too busy” to respond to our questions, but he did promise us some exclusive Wrens mp3s in the near future. Thirty-three weeks ago, he didn’t even bother responding to our emails, prompting us to call him an unprolific Ryan Adams. That got Bissell’s attention, who 32 weeks ago apologized (profanely) and promised us an exclusive Wrens mp3 for the April 6 Wrens Watch. After not delivering, he said he’d come through the next week, but he didn’t. When Bissell ignored us again (Wrens Watch, April 20 and April 27), we speculated the Wrens were actually recording. Or maybe Bissell was just being a jerk. But then he told us 27 weeks ago he’d have a new Wrens mp3 for us. And guess what? The man finally came through. Download a demo of “Z,” which was written and performed by Kevin. We emailed Bissell numerous times to thank him for “Z” and ask him how the new record is progressing, but like we told you 25 weeks ago, he was unresponsive. He did email us a photo for 24 weeks ago, though, so we had that going for us. Which was nice. Twenty-three weeks ago, we got an email from Bissell saying, “Headed to bed but might have something for you.” As reported 22 and 21 weeks ago, other than a strange email from him referencing Fat Albert, we hadn’t heard from him since. Twenty weeks ago, we told you that Bissell, apparently on vacation, said he would have a new song for us “as soon as I get home on Saturday,” but he never came through. Bissell returned our emails 19 weeks ago, but he didn’t send any new Wrens music. He did, however, send a truly tasteless Michael Jackson joke, and since it was actually funny enough for us to tell it to others, we gave Bissell a pass. Eighteen weeks ago, Bissell—on vacation yet again—emailed to say, “Maybe I can actually send a song to you after I get home Sunday.” Then guess what? He emailed us his first new Wrens demo, and like we told you 17 weeks ago, it’s a really good song. Sixteen weeks ago, Bissell emailed us to say he recorded another new demo, but he’s keeping that one for himself. He also said, “Smellmineitsucks,” whatever that means. Though we emailed Bissell repeatedly 15 weeks ago, we didn’t even get so much as a “Smellmineitsucks.” Fourteen weeks ago, Bissell sent this missive: “We gonna see ballgame this summer? And I don’t mean a view of you working your pockets on a street corner.” (We think Bissell just might have a shot at a cameo in the next Judd Apatow movie, Unfunny People.) Anyway, Bissell was supposed to respond to us with his thoughts on the recent 20th anniversary of the first live show by the band that eventually came to be known as the Wrens, but he didn’t. Thirteen weeks ago, we did get an email saying he didn’t have enough free time to “justify replying to explanatory spam from MAGNET,” so maybe Bissell is a (mildly) funny person after all. Twelve weeks ago, 11 weeks ago and 10 weeks ago, we got nothing. Nine weeks ago, we did find out that the Wrens have shows at Maxwell’s in Hoboken, N.J., scheduled for December 3 and 4, but we didn’t learn this from Bissell. Eight weeks ago, Bissell emailed us a number of times, but he didn’t answer any Wrens-related questions. We did find out that he was scheduled to play a solo benefit show in Brooklyn on October 28 with They Might Be Giants and Nada Surf (they should have called it Nerd Aid), but again, we didn’t learn this from Bissell. Seven weeks ago, when asked what was new with the Wrens, Bissell responded, “Nothing. No things. At all. No recording, no new songs, no get-togethers.” Six weeks ago, we learned that the first Maxwell’s show will feature a setlist voted on by fans via the Wrens website (we requested “Brand New Apartment”), while the second will be comprised of as many news songs the band can play. You get the feeling the first show will probably be much longer than the second one. Five weeks ago, Bissell emailed us to say the Wrens have added a third Maxwell’s show (December 4 at 7:30 p.m.), for which they’ll play The Meadowlands from start to finish. When we told him that Greg mentioned to us that the band has been working on 120 new songs, Bissell replied, “You know how it is, applying the uncertainty principle, both are true. Until you try to confirm either one. So yeah, remember, Kevin’s been demoing the last year or two for the first time? He’s now got more than 100 songs, some totally fleshed out, some just sketches, many really good. And he and Greg have been going over them a couple nights a week. So yeah, from one perspective, the record’s almost done. Nevertheless, we have not recorded a note, so the record is both well under way and yet not even begun.” Uh, that clears things up. Four weeks ago, all we found out was that the Wrens have a Washington, D.C., show scheduled for November 20 at the Black Cat. Three weeks ago, when we asked if there would be other shows that weekend, Bissell responded, “No, not this time. You know us. It’s like the Army Reserve: one weekend a month and just two weeks a year. Without the ‘two weeks a year’ part.” Two weeks ago, Bissell responded to our emails, but he said nothing of interest, other than he’d have some news soon. Last week, Bissell emailed to say the Wrens would be selling a limited-edition CD-R at the Maxwell’s shows that includes “really old pre-Silver songs and at least one new one.” We asked for a copy but still haven’t heard back. This week, Bissell told us the band rehearsed twice and worked on getting its, uh, studio up and running.
We’ve been fans of New Jersey’s finest since even before their first album came out back in 1994, so let’s just say we’re used to sitting around waiting for them to take their sweet-ass time putting out new music. (Three albums in more than 14 years makes the Wrens about as prolific as Boston, which is kind of like being as tall as David Ben-Gurion.) As reported in a Wrens Watch Special Report, January 9 marked a huge milestone for the guys: guitarists Charles Bissell and Greg Whelan, bassist Kevin Whelan and drummer Jerry MacDonald. They issued “Pulled Fences,” their first new (well, sort of new) song since 2003’s The Meadowlands. Perhaps motivated by finally releasing something, the band convened—not in a real studio, but in Kevin’s basement—41 weeks ago to begin work on its new album. And not only that, the Wrens recorded an actual song (which you can download for free here). When we checked in with Bissell 38 weeks ago, he took exception with our good-natured sarcasm and quickly ended the interview. After ignoring us for a while, Bissell finally gave us a progress report; it seems that while other bands get together and record, the Wrens stay apart and talk to each other on the phone. Or they do nothing at all. Or they update their Facebook pages. Thirty-three weeks ago, Bissell informed us he was “too busy” to respond to our questions, but he did promise us some exclusive Wrens mp3s in the near future. Thirty-two weeks ago, he didn’t even bother responding to our emails, prompting us to call him an unprolific Ryan Adams. That got Bissell’s attention, who 31 weeks ago apologized (profanely) and promised us an exclusive Wrens mp3 for the April 6 Wrens Watch. After not delivering, he said he’d come through the next week, but he didn’t. When Bissell ignored us again (Wrens Watch, April 20 and April 27), we speculated the Wrens were actually recording. Or maybe Bissell was just being a jerk. But then he told us 26 weeks ago he’d have a new Wrens mp3 for us. And guess what? The man finally came through. Download a demo of “Z,” which was written and performed by Kevin. We emailed Bissell numerous times to thank him for “Z” and ask him how the new record is progressing, but like we told you 24 weeks ago, he was unresponsive. He did email us a photo for 23 weeks ago, though, so we had that going for us. Which was nice. Twenty-two weeks ago, we got an email from Bissell saying, “Headed to bed but might have something for you.” As reported 21 and 20 weeks ago, other than a strange email from him referencing Fat Albert, we hadn’t heard from him since. Nineteen weeks ago, we told you that Bissell, apparently on vacation, said he would have a new song for us “as soon as I get home on Saturday,” but he never came through. Bissell returned our emails 18 weeks ago, but he didn’t send any new Wrens music. He did, however, send a truly tasteless Michael Jackson joke, and since it was actually funny enough for us to tell it to others, we gave Bissell a pass. Seventeen weeks ago, Bissell—on vacation yet again—emailed to say, “Maybe I can actually send a song to you after I get home Sunday.” Then guess what? He emailed us his first new Wrens demo, and like we told you 16 weeks ago, it’s a really good song. Fifteen weeks ago, Bissell emailed us to say he recorded another new demo, but he’s keeping that one for himself. He also said, “Smellmineitsucks,” whatever that means. Though we emailed Bissell repeatedly 14 weeks ago, we didn’t even get so much as a “Smellmineitsucks.” Thirteen weeks ago, Bissell sent this missive: “We gonna see ballgame this summer? And I don’t mean a view of you working your pockets on a street corner.” (We think Bissell just might have a shot at a cameo in the next Judd Apatow movie, Unfunny People.) Anyway, Bissell was supposed to respond to us with his thoughts on the recent 20th anniversary of the first live show by the band that eventually came to be known as the Wrens, but he didn’t. Twelve weeks ago, we did get an email saying he didn’t have enough free time to “justify replying to explanatory spam from MAGNET,” so maybe Bissell is a (mildly) funny person after all. Eleven weeks ago, 10 weeks ago and nine weeks ago, we got nothing. Eight weeks ago, we did find out that the Wrens have shows at Maxwell’s in Hoboken, N.J., scheduled for December 3 and 4, but we didn’t learn this from Bissell. Seven weeks ago, Bissell emailed us a number of times, but he didn’t answer any Wrens-related questions. We did find out that he was scheduled to play a solo benefit show in Brooklyn on October 28 with They Might Be Giants and Nada Surf (they should have called it Nerd Aid), but again, we didn’t learn this from Bissell. Six weeks ago, when asked what was new with the Wrens, Bissell responded, “Nothing. No things. At all. No recording, no new songs, no get-togethers.” Five weeks ago, we learned that the first Maxwell’s show will feature a setlist voted on by fans via the Wrens website (we requested “Brand New Apartment”), while the second will be comprised of as many news songs the band can play. You get the feeling the first show will probably be much longer than the second one. Four weeks ago, Bissell emailed us to say the Wrens have added a third Maxwell’s show (December 4 at 7:30 p.m.), for which they’ll play The Meadowlands from start to finish. When we told him that Greg mentioned to us that the band has been working on 120 new songs, Bissell replied, “You know how it is, applying the uncertainty principle, both are true. Until you try to confirm either one. So yeah, remember, Kevin’s been demoing the last year or two for the first time? He’s now got more than 100 songs, some totally fleshed out, some just sketches, many really good. And he and Greg have been going over them a couple nights a week. So yeah, from one perspective, the record’s almost done. Nevertheless, we have not recorded a note, so the record is both well under way and yet not even begun.” Uh, that clears things up. Three weeks ago, all we found out was that the Wrens have a Washington, D.C., show scheduled for November 20 at the Black Cat. Two weeks ago, when we asked if there would be other shows that weekend, Bissell responded, “No, not this time. You know us. It’s like the Army Reserve: one weekend a month and just two weeks a year. Without the ‘two weeks a year’ part.” Last week, Bissell responded to our emails, but he said nothing of interest, other than he’d have some news soon. This week, Bissell emailed to say the Wrens would be selling a limited-edition CD-R at the Maxwell’s shows that includes “really old pre-Silver songs and at least one new one.” We asked for a copy but still haven’t heard back.
Wrens Watch, Oct. 26, 2009
We’ve been fans of New Jersey’s finest since even before their first album came out back in 1994, so let’s just say we’re used to sitting around waiting for them to take their sweet-ass time putting out new music. (Three albums in more than 14 years makes the Wrens about as prolific as Boston, which is kind of like being as tall as John Keats.) As reported in a Wrens Watch Special Report, January 9 marked a huge milestone for the guys: guitarists Charles Bissell and Greg Whelan, bassist Kevin Whelan and drummer Jerry MacDonald. They issued “Pulled Fences,” their first new (well, sort of new) song since 2003’s The Meadowlands. Perhaps motivated by finally releasing something, the band convened—not in a real studio, but in Kevin’s basement—40 weeks ago to begin work on its new album. And not only that, the Wrens recorded an actual song (which you can download for free here). When we checked in with Bissell 37 weeks ago, he took exception with our good-natured sarcasm and quickly ended the interview. After ignoring us for a while, Bissell finally gave us a progress report; it seems that while other bands get together and record, the Wrens stay apart and talk to each other on the phone. Or they do nothing at all. Or they update their Facebook pages. Thirty-two weeks ago, Bissell informed us he was “too busy” to respond to our questions, but he did promise us some exclusive Wrens mp3s in the near future. Thirty-one weeks ago, he didn’t even bother responding to our emails, prompting us to call him an unprolific Ryan Adams. That got Bissell’s attention, who 30 weeks ago apologized (profanely) and promised us an exclusive Wrens mp3 for the April 6 Wrens Watch. After not delivering, he said he’d come through the next week, but he didn’t. When Bissell ignored us again (Wrens Watch, April 20 and April 27), we speculated the Wrens were actually recording. Or maybe Bissell was just being a jerk. But then he told us 25 weeks ago he’d have a new Wrens mp3 for us. And guess what? The man finally came through. Download a demo of “Z,” which was written and performed by Kevin. We emailed Bissell numerous times to thank him for “Z” and ask him how the new record is progressing, but like we told you 23 weeks ago, he was unresponsive. He did email us a photo for 22 weeks ago, though, so we had that going for us. Which was nice. Twenty-one weeks ago, we got an email from Bissell saying, “Headed to bed but might have something for you.” As reported 20 and 19 weeks ago, other than a strange email from him referencing Fat Albert, we hadn’t heard from him since. Eighteen weeks ago, we told you that Bissell, apparently on vacation, said he would have a new song for us “as soon as I get home on Saturday,” but he never came through. Bissell returned our emails 17 weeks ago, but he didn’t send any new Wrens music. He did, however, send a truly tasteless Michael Jackson joke, and since it was actually funny enough for us to tell it to others, we gave Bissell a pass. Sixteen weeks ago, Bissell—on vacation yet again—emailed to say, “Maybe I can actually send a song to you after I get home Sunday.” Then guess what? He emailed us his first new Wrens demo, and like we told you 15 weeks ago, it’s a really good song. Fourteen weeks ago, Bissell emailed us to say he recorded another new demo, but he’s keeping that one for himself. He also said, “Smellmineitsucks,” whatever that means. Though we emailed Bissell repeatedly 13 weeks ago, we didn’t even get so much as a “Smellmineitsucks.” Twelve weeks ago, Bissell sent this missive: “We gonna see ballgame this summer? And I don’t mean a view of you working your pockets on a street corner.” (We think Bissell just might have a shot at a cameo in the next Judd Apatow movie, Unfunny People.) Anyway, Bissell was supposed to respond to us with his thoughts on the recent 20th anniversary of the first live show by the band that eventually came to be known as the Wrens, but he didn’t. Eleven weeks ago, we did get an email saying he didn’t have enough free time to “justify replying to explanatory spam from MAGNET,” so maybe Bissell is a (mildly) funny person after all. Ten weeks ago, nine weeks ago and eight weeks ago, we got nothing. Seven weeks ago, we did find out that the Wrens have shows at Maxwell’s in Hoboken, N.J., scheduled for December 3 and 4, but we didn’t learn this from Bissell. Six weeks ago, Bissell emailed us a number of times, but he didn’t answer any Wrens-related questions. We did find out that he is playing a solo benefit show in Brooklyn on October 28 with They Might Be Giants and Nada Surf (they should call it Nerd Aid), but again, we didn’t learn this from Bissell. Five weeks ago, when asked what was new with the Wrens, Bissell responded, “Nothing. No things. At all. No recording, no new songs, no get-togethers.” Four weeks ago, we learned that the first Maxwell’s show will feature a setlist voted on by fans via the Wrens website (we requested “Brand New Apartment”), while the second will be comprised of as many news songs the band can play. You get the feeling the first show will probably be much longer than the second one. Three weeks ago, Bissell emailed us to say the Wrens have added a third Maxwell’s show (December 4 at 7:30 p.m.), for which they’ll play The Meadowlands from start to finish. When we told him that Greg mentioned to us that the band has been working on 120 new songs, Bissell replied, “You know how it is, applying the uncertainty principle, both are true. Until you try to confirm either one. So yeah, remember, Kevin’s been demoing the last year or two for the first time? He’s now got more than 100 songs, some totally fleshed out, some just sketches, many really good. And he and Greg have been going over them a couple nights a week. So yeah, from one perspective, the record’s almost done. Nevertheless, we have not recorded a note, so the record is both well under way and yet not even begun.” Uh, that clears things up. Two weeks ago, all we found out was that the Wrens have a Washington, D.C., show scheduled for November 20 at the Black Cat. Last week, when we asked if there would be other shows that weekend, Bissell responded, “No, not this time. You know us. It’s like the Army Reserve: one weekend a month and just two weeks a year. Without the ‘two weeks a year’ part.” This week, Bissell responded to our emails, but he said nothing of interest, other than he’d have some news for next week.
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Watch: Skydiver Completes Rubik’s Cube in Wind Tunnel and You Can’t Even Do It Sitting Still
By Noah Rayman Oct. 16, 2013
Completing a Rubik’s cube in record time has become practically cliched. But how about while skydiving?
James Wilson, from Redhill, England, completed a Rubik’s cube floating in a wind tunnel, performing the feat in 3 minutes and 16 seconds (alright, he wasn’t falling from a plane, but c’mon, you try it!). He’s not the first skydiver to give it a shot, though: a German man claimed in 2010 to have completed the cube in 31.5 seconds—while falling from the sky in a rubber boat.
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M.Sc. & Ph.D. Degree Program – Program Requirements
The Canadian Association for Graduate Studies has published a Guide for Potential Graduate Students that addresses many of the questions you may be asking yourself.
As required by the School of Graduate Studies and the Department:
a) Master of Science (MSc)
Students will attend and participate in NFS1204Y, Master's Seminars in Nutritional Sciences, throughout their period of full-time registration and will complete a minimum of two half courses. For students with undergraduate training in nutritional sciences, at least one of these courses must be taken in the department. Students with undergraduate training in disciplines other than nutritional sciences must take at least two half courses from the department. In addition, a course in statistical methods or research design and analysis is required if not completed previously. Submission of a thesis on an approved research area and its defense at an oral examination are required.
Exceptional students may be allowed to reclassify into the PhD program after one year, without completing the MSc, on the recommendation of an advisory committee and successful completion of a reclassification examination.
b) Part Time Master of Science (MSc)
In selected situations, it is possible for professional students, working in settings that are amenable to joint research/employment activity, to be admitted to a part-time MSc program. Requirements for this program are identical with those of the regular MSc program except that there is no period of required full-time residence.
c) Combined MSc/ Dietetics Program (The program is suspended until further notice)
Combined MSc / Dietetics Program at the Hospital for Sick Children
Note: This form is available in .pdf format.
d) Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Students will attend and participate in NFS1304Y, Doctoral Seminars in Nutritional Sciences. Those entering with a bachelor's degree will also complete a minimum of six half courses; those entering with an MSc degree, a minimum of four half courses. The courses will be chosen by each student to provide an appropriate background for his/her area of investigation. It is expected that all candidates will have an adequate knowledge of research design and statistics through course work in their past or the current graduate program. The choice of courses will be made in consultation with the supervisor and the student's advisory committee and is subject to the approval of the department. The student will also complete a comprehensive examination in nutritional sciences. To qualify for the PhD degree, a thesis must be submitted and the student must pass the departmental examination before proceeding to the final oral examination conducted by the School of Graduate Studies.
e) Collaborative Graduate Program in Biomedical Toxicology (MSc/PhD)
The department participates with the Collaborative Graduate Program in Biomedical Toxicology. This program provides graduate students with a unique opportunity to gain breadth and depth of knowledge in biomedical toxicology beyond their thesis research. This program aims to prepare participants for careers related to toxicology and emphasizes the development of critical thinking and communication skills in addition to acquiring greater knowledge of basic principles and specific aspects of biomedical toxicology. Further information is available at: http://www.pharmtox.utoronto.ca/programs/cpbt.htm
f) Collaborative Program in Aboriginal Health (MSc/PhD)
The department participates with the Collaborative Program in Aboriginal Health. Students enrolled in a graduate degree program in the department and participating in this program receive their degree in Nutritional Sciences and a notation on their transcript. The main objective of the program is to provide training in Aboriginal health research and practice for graduate students, while enhancing mutually beneficial relationships with Aboriginal communities and organizations. This program includes specialized course work and participation in a research seminar series, as well as a practicum or equivalent in an Aboriginal health topic. Research must be in Aboriginal health. Further information is available under the School of Graduate Studies.
g) Collaborative Graduate Program in Women's Health (MSc/PhD)
The department participates with the collaborative Graduate Program in Women's Health. Students enrolled in a graduate degree program in the department and participating in this program receive their degree in Nutritional Sciences and the following notation to their transcript: "Completed the Collaborative Program in Women's Health." The Collaborative Program in Women's Health provides interdisciplinary training in women's health research. Specific goals include the following: helping students develop shared understandings of the complex interactions of biology and environment, sex and gender; providing students with the necessary skill set to undertake and lead interdisciplinary, collaborative health care research projects; and enhancing mutually beneficial relationships among researchers and practitioners of women's health across the University and its affiliated teaching hospitals. Participation in this program has implications for the student, including participation in a core course and a graduate student research day. Students are also required to develop a plan to build interdisciplinary research skills in women's health. Further information is available under the School of Graduate Studies.
h) Collaborative Graduate Program in Public Health Policy (MSc/PhD)
The department participates with the collaborative Graduate Program in Public Health Policy. Students enrolled in a graduate degree program in the department and participating in this program receive their degree in Nutritional Sciences and the following notation to their transcript “Completed the Collaborative Graduate Program in Public Health Policy.” The Collaborative Program in Public Health Policy will provide students with exemplary training program in public health policy which will foster synergies and cross-disciplinary learning. It will give students the capacity to engage in current events and contribute to the development, refinement, and evaluation of policies to address society’s pressing and emerging public health priorities. The Collaborative Program will be cross-disciplinary, bringing together a broad range of disciplines, substantive foci, and theoretical and methodological underpinnings, to synergistically build and engaged community of practice of students and faculty focused on public health policy. It will contribute to the creation of the next generation of public health policy research leaders and creative agents for change, able to address the health issues and challenges. Through the direction of the stellar team of academics and policy makers associated with the Collaborative Program in Public Health Policy, students will be provided with real world skills to address the complex and demanding task of public health policy making (including insight into a wide array of legislative and regulatory interventions, administrative practices, financing and funding decisions, and various forms of soft law (e.g., guideline and informal process) which operate at the international, federal, provincial and municipal levels and in settings that are cross-cutting and in ways that are both cross-jurisdictional and cross-sectoral. Further information is available at under the Collaborative Program in Public Health Policy.
i) Collaborative Doctoral Program in Human Development
The Collaborative Program in Human Development (CPHD) is a transdisciplinary program that explores issues surrounding early human development. The healthy development of our children is at the core of our societal values. Recent evidence shows that early experiences strongly influence the biological pathways surrounding health and the well-being of individuals throughout their lives. This phenomenon involves complex interactions between genes and environments; the CPHD provides students with the skills and resources necessary to start dissecting and untangling those interrelationships in animals and humans. Keeping in mind the fundamental goal of improving the well-being of children, the program also nurtures translational skills in students with the ultimate goal of bridging the gap between basic research and public policy and practices. In summary, the CPHD aims both to facilitate research on the ways that early childhood experiences become embedded in our biology, and to foster translational skills in order to disseminate this research most effectively to educators, policymakers, etc. The successful achievement of both of these aims will be supervised by an eminent group of academics with expertise in all relevant areas. Upon successful completion of the PhD degree requirements of the participating home department and the collaborative program, students receive the notation "Completed Collaborative Program in Human Development" on their transcript and parchment. Further information is available at the Collaborative Program in Human Development.
j) Collaborative Specialization in Food Studies (MSc/PhD)
Food Studies is an interdisciplinary field dedicated to understanding where our food comes from and how it shapes our bodies and identities. The production and consumption of food has gone through tremendous changes in the past few hundred years. Before industrialization, most food was grown in the place where it was eaten. With the rise of global commodity agriculture, it is often hard to find out exactly what our food is and where it comes from. Then, famine was a constant spectre, whereas today, over-eating has become a significant health problem.The Graduate Collaborative Specialization in Food Studies introduces students to the multidisciplinary study of food in its social, cultural, and political contexts. Through the teaching of leading researchers in the field, this specialization emphasizes a broad-based approach to the study of food, from agriculture and food industries to production, cuisines, and consumption, highlighting key questions in the study of food; particular attention will be given to the material nature of food, the way it tastes and smells, and the changes it undergoes through natural decomposition and through the human intervention of preservation and cooking. This Specialization is designed to convey the importance of food in religion, society, the family, gender roles, the environment, agriculture, urbanization, immigration, colonialism, and race and ethnicity: It will leverage the University’s urban location and its proximity to Canada’s agricultural heartland to broaden students’ experience. The study of food provides both theoretical understanding and practical knowledge for professional careers in health care, business, government service, non-governmental organizations, and educational and community programs. This specialization draws on a variety of disciplinary approaches emphasizing different knowledge and skills. Further information is available at under the https://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/culinaria/collaborative-specialization-food-studies.
Required Period of Residence and Maximum Allowed Time to Completion
The minimum residence requirement for full-time MSc students is one year (12 months).
For PhD, the full-time residence requirement for candidates admitted with a bachelor's degree is three years; those admitted with a master's degree, two years. Although it is expected that students from either background can complete their PhD in a period of four years of full-time study, research, and thesis preparation, some students may require a longer period of time. In recent years, the average time to completion of programs has been two years for the MSc and five years (after the MSc) for the PhD. The department is attempting to shorten time to completion, but prospective students should assume that the longer times may persist. The School of Graduate Studies sets maximum allowed times to completion of the degree (five years for the MSc and six years for the PhD). Students admitted to the part-time MSc program can expect to spend longer to finish than students in the full-time program, but the same maximum time applies.
To familiarize students with the responsibilities required of them as a graduate student at the University of Toronto, we have prepared a Graduate Student Handbook to assist new and continuing graduate students in the Department of Nutritional Sciences in regards of departmental policies and regulations in the successful completion of their programs.
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SpaceX launches Telstar satellite on block 5 Falcon 9
/ Jul 25 2018
Part of the reason we've gone so long without seeing a SpaceX landing is that the company has been trying to get rid of its excess Block 4 rockets by refusing to land them back on Earth. "The pre-launch agreements Telesat has secured with Hughes and Bell Canada, combined with strong interest from other leading satellite service providers across the Americas and Atlantic, confirm that Telstar 19 VANTAGE delivers superior performance and value for today's bandwidth intensive applications", ...
One giant sale: Neil Armstrong’s collection goes to auction
The Armstrongs turned to Sarasota, Florida-based Collectibles Authentication Guaranty for help with preserving and authenticating the artifacts and memorabilia and chose Heritage Auctions for the sales. "Space is one of the very, very few categories that every single person seems to be interested in", Rohan said in a statement. Four days and 386 242,56km later, at 4.18pm EDT on 20 July, the Apollo 11 craft touched down on the southwestern edge of the Sea of Tranquility.
Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin launches spacecraft higher than ever
During that test, the spacecraft's emergency motor was sacked 45 seconds into the flight, at an altitude of 16,000 feet (4,876 meters), slamming the rocket booster with 70,000 pounds of thrust and forceful exhaust. Executives at the company, which was started by Bezos in 2000, said the company planned to launch test flights beginning next year, Reuters reported.
Astronomers find 10 new moons around Jupiter, including 'oddball'
The team is calling one of the new moons an " oddball " because of its unusual orbit. The real oddity of this discovery is the twelfth new moon, which has been described as a real " oddball " for a number of reasons. It has a prograde orbit at a distance where the rest of Jupiter's moons have retrograde orbits. With 67 other known moons flying around Jupiter, there's already a good amount of traffic around the gas planet, as shown in the illustration above.
Watch Blue Origin launch its New Shepard spacecraft live right here
And the company appeared to nail the test. Once the booster separated, the capsule's escape motor fired, lifting the spacecraft to an altitude of 389,846 feet. (Blue Origin via You Tube) New Shepard's capsule fires its retros as it touches down for a landing. The company's Florida team was watching today's webcast, as was the team at Blue Origin's headquarters in Kent, Wash., where New Shepard hardware is manufactured.
New Moons Discovered for Jupiter, Including One 'Oddball'
Astronomer Scott Sheppard of the Carnegie Institution for Science is on the hunt for Planet Nine , a hypothetical planet many astronomers think should exist in the distant reaches of our Solar System, beyond Pluto . Most of the moons are the size of large asteroids, measuring between one and three kilometers (about two-thirds of a mile to two miles) in diameter.
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Tandem HEAT warhead
In the years prior to the Second World War the Swiss inventor Henry Mohaupt started work on the Munroe effect, and is credited with developing the hollow charge anti-tank projectile. Although this is a bit of a generalization as there were many people thinking along these lines and may have also held the claim. The British Army embraced the idea of the HEAT projectile and began to work with it, resulting in a 2" No. 68 anti-tank grenade. The Germans were not far behind however by now with the war in full swing the British began to see themselves as having a technical advantage over the Germans with this technology.
The No2 68 Grenade was fired from a standard cup discharger on a SMLE.
To this end the British began to work on HEAT projectiles for a quite a few applications. In the spring of 1942 a requirement was issued for hollow charge rounds for all field guns, and both the 3.7" Mountain Gun in service with British and Commonwealth forces in Burma, and the new 95mm Close Support howitzer. The latter was a new infantry gun made from a section of 3.7" AA gun barrel, a modified breech from a 25-pounder and the recoil mechanism from a 6-pounder. As it had the same calibre as the 3.7" howitzer, and would also be a howitzer, the British could not use their conventional naming system. To avoid confusion they metricized it and made the calibre 1mm bigger, giving it the name of Ordnance QF 95mm Howitzer. The same solution was used in later years for the 77mm on the A34 Comet.
A Churchill Mk.V. The tank mounted versions of the 95mm had a counterweight on the muzzle. If you look closely the bottom of the counter weight is flattened. Something quite a lot of people miss.
The 95mm came in two varieties. One fired a fixed round and one a split round. The fixed round version was used in tanks such as the Churchill Mk.V or the Centaur. The split round was designed as an infantry gun but would never see service. It would however be fitted to the Alecto self-propelled gun when it entered its brief service life.
Alecto's in Germany, armed with 95mm's.
The shells designed for both guns met a simple problem, the hollow charge warhead had to be detonated some distance from the targets surface to allow the jet to form, today we call this standoff. In these shells the standoff was calculated at 62.48mm. The fuse had to be at the front of the shell to impact first and trigger the detonation. However, the detonation needed to start at the base of the shell. In between the two was the shaped charge, which needed a hollow cavity to allow the jet to form. In modern shells this is achieved by micro-electronics and a wire, but such technology was not available at the time.
The two options open to the designers were a really long mechanical striker that ran down the centre of the round, or a detonating train. The latter was an explosive line that carried the explosion from the fuse down to the desired location.
At first the simplest option was chosen, the long striker. However, the width had to be limited to avoid interfering with the hollow charge, this meant it was extremely thin and would not function fast enough to maintain the standoff. A detonating train would be very complex and difficult to manufacture to survive even limited muzzle velocities.
In July 1942 a new idea was tried. This involved two hollow charges facing towards each other. The top one facing backwards (towards the base of the shell) was smaller and had a shallow cone angle. This was triggered by a simple direct-action fuse, and it would then fire its jet along the length of the projectile and hit a pellet which initiated the detention of the main hollow charge. Trials were held with a 6.35mm hollow charge, which could trigger the pellet at a range of 1ft. It was found this initial charge could be fired fast enough to avoid the smaller shaped charge being moved out of alignment by the impact of the projectile on the target. This type of charge has been on occasion described as a 'Spitback' fuse, although that is not an official designation.
3.7" howitzer in action in Burma in 1944
When a 3.7" howitzer was used to fire these experimental rounds the penetration of the main charge was found to be very poor, far below expectations. It was suspected that the revolution of the shell was causing problems, and this was confirmed when a test shell was spun up to 12,000rpm when fired. To get around the issue of spin the cone angle was changed from 80 degrees to just 45 degrees and the standoff distance lowered. At this point the requirement for field guns to be able to fire hollow charge shells was dropped but remained for the 3.7" and 95mm.
In the final design the nose charge was aimed to fire down a hollow tube that started at the apex of the 0.08" brass liner. At the base of the hollow tube was the pellet to cause initiation of the main charge. Twenty rounds were manufactured for trials and penetrated 90mm of IT80 plate, sloped at 30 degrees, or 77mm at 44 degrees. A trial production run of 2,000 rounds was ordered, with one small change, the liner was switched to steel. Of these 200 rounds were fired in August 1943 and achieved 110mm of penetration at 30 degrees. Not a single round was a dud, and all functioned perfectly.
95mm HEAT round, in its fixed version for use in tanks.
With all in hand main production was started by a different manufacturer of the 95mm HEAT rounds. Immediately problems started as proof testing failed. After fitting the fuses to empty 40mm rounds, and firing them through mild steel plate, which triggered the fuse, it was found that alignments were off due to the new manufacturer forgetting to use gauging properly during the assembly process. Equally the assembly quality was bad with some shells having their nose caps just placed on the round and not pushed home before being welded. The defect with the alignment of the fuse was fixed around May 1944.
In June of the same year a suggestion was made to change the No.233 fuse for a No.243 fuse. This would allow the use of the round on soft targets. However, trials showed that if the round was fired under 2,000 yards it would be a dud.
Problems with the shells continued when a further trial in the first half of 1944 fired 99 shells filled with an inert filling, but a live fuse. It was found that the filling was leaking into the hollow tube that the nose fuse was aimed to fire down. This would absorb the jet and prevent the main charge from detonating.
There is surprisingly little evidence of what happened to the 95mm rounds during 1944, there is no evidence that they were issued in Europe. As the rounds were listed as 'not required for service' in October 1944, it seems unlikely that they were ever issued. My best speculation is that the manufacturing problems persisted and that few, if any, rounds passed proof stages. Thus, the entire project was abandoned.
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Putin and Trump Part Ways
According to The Daily Telegraph observer Con Coughlin, even if Donald Trump used to seek ways to improve the relations with Russia, today he is probably going to really abandon this idea. The thing is that not so long ago, the U.S. hit a Syrian fight jet, the one belonging to Bashar Asad’s troop. Since Putin and Asad are allies, this fact is definitely going to affect the process of improving the U.S.-Russia relations, and probably suspend this process for the near future.
What’s New in New Anti-Russia Sanctions?
Today, the Russian political establishment and media are glad that the Senate of the U.S. Congress has recently postponed their voting on new sanctions against Russia. However, this is just the so-called “calm before the storm”, Western experts say.
The new sanction mechanism developed by the Senate is fundamentally different from the sanctions imposed on Russia previously, under Obama’s administration. The experts say that unlike Obama’s isolated decrees, the Senate has come up with a whole new mechanism taking into consideration the whole seriousness of Russia’s crimes in the global geopolitical arena. This mechanism will prevent the U.S. authorities from being able to cancel those sanctions gradually. So, the only way out will boil down to Russia leaving Donbass, the Crimea and Syria. So, this will be the only opportunity for Russia to see the Western world cancel those sanctions.
Fed Raises Key Interest Rate. How Will This Affect Russian Economy?
The federal Reserve has raised the key interest rate by 0,25%. According to international experts, this may well make foreign assets (including Russian ones) less attractive in terms of investing.
The decision was made as the result of the recent 2-day FOMC meeting. The interest rate was raised up to 1-1,25%. At the same time, it’s interesting to note that the actual decision matched expectations, both from the international expert community and financial markets.
Why Did British People Punish Theresa May During Parliamentary Election?
During the recent parliamentary election in the UK, the British Conservatives failed to gain public support required to get the absolute majority in the British parliament. Now, the international expert community is discussing the reasons why Theresa May failed on her expectations.
Why Does Trump Fail to Be a Good President?
As you probably know, the scandal around Donald Trump’s decision to fire FBI Director Comey is just one of the unpleasant incidents in his presidential career started in early 2017.
The truth of the matter is, after the investigation against Michael Flynn started, Donald Trump asked FBI Director Comey to let the investigation slide. While Director Comey didn’t dare object to President Trump openly, he didn’t do that. On the contrary, the investigation got even more intensive.
Trump Accuses Qatar Of Financing Terrorists
Donald Trump thinks that Qatar has been involved in sponsoring terrorists in the Middle East. That said, the USA joined other nations accusing Qatar of this kind of financing. President Trump thinks that it’s time to put an end to this. However, he didn’t specify what exactly Qatar did to sponsor terrorists.
Trump Is a Boomerang Russians Have Hit Themselves With
Experts say that Donald Trump is gradually turning into a boomerang launched by Russia, and the thing is, this boomerang is going to hit Russia, thereby disappointing the Kremlin instead of letting them. President Trump is turning from Russia’s hope into Russia’s disappointment.
The Kremlin celebrated Trump’s victory with champagne while today Vladimir Putin says he didn’t expect anything from Donald Trump as the next president of the United States. He moved to the White House 5 months ago, but none of his decisions was made in favor of Russia.
Will Macron Become Anti-Trump?
New French President Emmanuel Macron seems to be getting more popular both in France and outside. The 39-year-old President of France seems to have challenged his 70-year-old American peer.
Not so long ago, he made his TV speech in English. While some older representatives of the French people were indignant at this move since no other president in the history of France had ever dare do so, but the French youth seemed to like this.
Google Reveals Near-Term Forecast
Google Technical Director Ray Kurzweil has revealed his forecast for the period until 2030. Previously, he also made similar prediction for the near future related to IT. Strange as it may see, most of his predictions did really become a reality. That’s why the international community has been closely watching his predictions over the last few years, even though sometimes it’s very difficult to believe that the future will be the same as he described in his forecast.
25th Amendment Threatens Trump with Impeachment
President Trump is reported to have found himself in another unpleasant situation. To be more specific, just for revealing some top-secret information to Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, he is now threatened with a possible impeachment. They say that the 25 amendment to the American constitution, this becomes a very likely scenario. In particular, this assumption was put forward by an advisor who used to work for George Bush Jr.
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Tagged: Laurent Gbagbo
ICC Confirms Case Against Simone Gbagbo
On May 27, 2015, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a decision confirming that the ICC case against Ivory Coast national Simone Gbagbo is not jurisdictionally barred to the ICC because of efforts undertaken by Ivory Coast to conduct its own criminal investigations against her.
As discussed in our previous post, the ICC confronted a situation regarding the three Ivory Coast nationals for whom it issued arrest warrants, all of whom were charged with responsibility for alleged crimes against humanity (including murder, rape and other forms of sexual violence, persecution and other inhumane acts) committed by supporters of defeated President Laurent Gbagbo against civilians in the aftermath of the Ivory Coast presidential election in November 2010. This violence resulted in the death of more than three thousand people.
Pursuant to the ICC arrest warrants, Ivory Coast (Côte d´Ivoire) authorities delivered Laurent Gbagbo and militia commander Charles Blé Goudé to The Hague for ICC prosecution on the crimes alleged in the warrants. But Ivory Coast refused ICC orders to deliver Simone Gbagbo and instead asserted that, pursuant to Articles 17 and 19 of the ICC Statute, her case was not admissible to the ICC on the ground that Ivory Coast was investigating and preparing to prosecute her.
After reviewing Ivory Coast’s arguments and supporting documents, an ICC Pre-Trial Chamber rejected the admissibility challenge because the Chamber determined that although Ivory Coast submitted evidence indicating that it was investigating Ms. Gbagbo for economic crimes, crimes against the State, and certain other matters, it was not prosecuting her for the crimes against humanity for which the ICC sought to prosecute her.
Ivory Coast appealed this decision in an effort to deny ICC jurisdiction over Ms. Gbagbo. In arguments to the Appeals Chamber, it employed several tactics, which included (1) submitting evidence of its investigative actions against Ms. Gbagbo that it undertook after the Pre-Trial Chamber’s decision, (2) attempting to challenge several points made by the Pre-Trial Chamber not as factual findings but as legal rulings (which would require more exacting review by the Appeals Chamber), and (3) characterizing acts for which it was investigating Ms. Gbagbo as “preparatory acts” for crimes within ICC jurisdiction.
In addition to Ivory Coast’s arguments, the Appeals Chamber considered arguments by all other concerned Parties. Given the Pre-Trial Chamber’s findings that procedural activities undertaken by Ivory Coast judicial authorities were “sparse and disparate” and did not cover the serious matters that the ICC sought to prosecute, it is perhaps not surprising that Ms. Gbagbo advanced arguments “fully supporting the Appeal.” On the other hand, the ICC Prosecutor and the Office of Public Counsel for Victims (representing victims of the Ivory Coast violence) provided arguments supporting the ICC’s admissibility of the case.
In its May 27 decision, the Appeals Chamber rejected all of the arguments submitted by Ivory Coast and by Ms. Gbagbo and confirmed the Pre-Trial Chamber’s decision that the ICC case against Ms. Gbagbo is admissible.
In rejecting Ivory Coast’s submission of evidence of its investigations subsequent to the evidence it presented to the Pre-Trial Chamber, the Appeals Chamber stated that by making such submissions Ivory Coast was “attempt[ing] to seek a new ruling on admissibility, rather than a review of the proceedings before the Pre-Trial Chamber.” The Appeals Chamber noted that under Article 19(4), “[t]he admissibility of a case … may be challenged only once.” Accordingly, the Chamber held that Ivory Coast couldn’t use this additional information to support what would in effect constitute a second challenge to admissibility. However, an ICC press release reporting on the Appeals Court’s decision notes that Article 19(4) also states that “[i]n exceptional circumstances, the Court may grant leave for a challenge to be brought more than once.”
Ivory Coast became a State Party to the ICC in February 2013. Article 89 of the Rome Statute requires “State Parties [to] comply with [ICC] requests for arrest and surrender.” It will be interesting to see whether Ivory Coast complies with this obligation, or whether it seeks to make use of the “exceptional circumstances” provision to make a second challenge to the admissibility of this case.
Written by Lucie Olejnikova No comments Posted in Int'l and Comparative Criminal Law Tagged with admissibility, arrest warrant, Article 17, Article 89, challenge to admissibility, Charles Ble Goude, Côte d´Ivoire, crimes against humanity, economic crimes, ICC, ICC Appeals Chamber, ICC Prosecutor, International Criminal Court, Ivory Coast, Laurent Gbagbo, Rome Statute, Simone Gbagbo, state cooperation, surrender
ICC Calls for Surrender of Two Suspects
On December 10 and 11, 2014, Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued decisions calling for delivery to the ICC of two persons under its arrest warrants.
The December 10 finding of non-compliance by Libya, under article 87(7), relates to Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, for whom the ICC issued an arrest warrant in May 2011, charging him with crimes against humanity allegedly committed by Libyan security forces under his command during anti-government protests. The December 11 decision on the admissibility relates to Simone Gbagbo, for whom the ICC issued an arrest warrant in February 2012, charging her with responsibility for crimes against humanity regarding violence committed by government forces against political opponents of her husband, former President Laurent Gbagbo, relating to the November 2010 Ivory Coast presidential election.
Ivory Coast was asserting its right under Rome Statute articles 17 and 19 to challenge the admissibility of Simone Gbagbo’s case on the ground that it was prosecuting her for the same crimes charged in the ICC arrest warrant. In the Gaddafi case, ICC courts had previously rejected Libya’s challenge to the admissibility of the ICC case against him and reminded Libya of its obligation to surrender him to the Court. Libya is not a State Party to the Rome Statute, but in February 2011 the U.N. Security Council acting under its Chapter VII powers issued a Resolution 1970 referring the Libyan situation to the Court and requiring Libyan authorities to fully cooperate with the ICC. The issue before the Court was whether Libya failed to comply with this obligation.
In the Ivory Coast situation, as blogged about earlier, the ICC issued arrest warrants against Ivory Coast nationals Laurent Gbagbo, Simone Gbagbo, and Charles Blé Goudé – all on the same charges relating to the same events. The Ivory Coast government chose to surrender Laurent Gbagbo and Charles Blé Goudé to the ICC, but not Simone Gbagbo. The government’s reasons for this selection are not fully apparent from court documents. Nevertheless, the Ivory Coast decided to challenge the admissibility of Simone Gbagbo’s case. The Court rejected this challenge, finding that the Ivory Coast government failed to show that it was investigating and prosecuting Gbagbo for the same criminal conduct alleged by the ICC Prosecutor. The Court concluded that Ivory Coast must “surrender Simone Gbagbo to the Court without delay.”
With respect to the Gaddafi case, the Court found that Libya failed to comply with repeated requests to deliver Gaddafi to the Court and also failed to comply with requests to return to the Defense privileged documents that Libyan authorities had seized from Gaddafi’s defense counsel. Determining that Libya was depriving the defendant of his rights and preventing the Court from fulfilling its mandate, the Court, under article 87(7), referred the matter to the Security Council, so that the Council may consider measures to secure Libya’s compliance.
ICC had previously utilized article 87(7) to inform the Security Council of the failure of authorities in Chad, Malawi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to arrest and surrender Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, for whom ICC issued arrest warrants charging him with responsibility for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide, committed during the conflict in Darfur. Al-Bashir remains at large.
In the week preceding the Gaddafi finding, the Trial Chamber V(B) rendered Decision on Prosecution’s application for a finding of non-compliance under article 87(7) stating that the Government of Kenya, a State Party to the Rome Statute, had breached its treaty obligation by failing to provide the Prosecutor with access to information necessary for the case against Kenyan President Kenyatta on charges of crimes against humanity committed during the 2007-2008 post-election violence in Kenya. As a result of Kenya’s breach, ICC Prosecutor Bensouda withdrew the charges against Kenyatta without prejudice. In a December 5, 2014 press release, Bensouda stated that this was “a painful moment for the men, women and children who have suffered tremendously from the horrors of the post-election violence, and who have waited, patiently, for almost seven years to see justice done.”
The Kenyatta, al-Bashir, Gaddafi, and Simone Gbagbo cases illustrate the difficulties the ICC confronts in carrying out its responsibilities to prosecute grave international crimes.
Written by Lucie Olejnikova No comments Posted in Int'l and Comparative Criminal Law Tagged with admissibility, arrest warrant, Article 17, Article 87(7), Chad, Charles Ble Goude, cooperation request, crimes against humanity, Darfur, Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, duty to cooperate, Fatou Bensouda, finding of non-compliance, genocide, ICC, ICC Prosecutor, ICC Trial Chamber, International Criminal Court, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Laurent Gbagbo, Libya, Malawi, Omar al-Bashir, OTP, President Kenyatta, Rome Statute, Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi, Security Council Resolution 1970, Simone Gbagbo, state cooperation, State Party, Sudan, UN Security Council, war crimes
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The stars will retire after the World Cup
World Cup at the door. The rest is not too long. After this tournament, many star players announced the farewell to international cricket. Let's take a look at the names of some players who have already announced their retirement:
Chris Gayle (West Indies) Chris Gayle returns to ODIs in February A few days back, in the series against England, he announced that the World Cup will be his last ODI tournament. He scored 424 runs in England's two innings and four half-centuries in two half-centuries. After such a wonderful performance, why did he come to the discussion? If you can maintain this feat in the upcoming World Cup, then the World Twenty20 title will give Gayle the West Indies for the first time since 1979.
JP Duminy (South Africa)
JP Duminy will not be seen in the one-day international match after the World Cup. The South African all-rounder announced that he will continue the international T20. After being out of the field for several months due to an injury, he announced in March that he will not play another one-day international after the World Cup. Duminy made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka in Colombo. He has suffered a series of injuries throughout the career. Despite this, one of the country's top 10 scorers in ODIs, with 5 47, was a Duminy. He is in eighth position on the list of 200 ODIs for South Africa.
Imran Tahir (South Africa)
Imran Tahir does not play ODIs after the upcoming World Cup But he would like to continue the international T-Twenty. He is most comfortable in 20-over cricket.
Shoaib Malik (Pakistan)
Expert spinner, great fielder and successful captain Shoaib Malik has been playing for Pakistan team for a long time. The reliable cricketer played 283 ODIs since his debut in 1999, scored 7481 runs. He is in fifth place in the list of Pakistan's highest run-scorer in ODIs. He also took 156 wickets and 96 catches with the ball. Last year in Zimbabwe last year, Pakistan announced the end of the two-decade one-day internationals in the upcoming World Cup.
Dale Stein (South Africa)
He has not been following the shoulder injury for several days. Without the problem, he would have lived one of the world's most dynamic and dreaded bowlers.
Not yet fully fit before the upcoming World Cup, Stein is not fit. Nevertheless, Protea's hopes will be one of the symbols of hope. Last year in July announced that he will retire after the World Cup.
Taskinake the World Cup team coach!
Copa America uncertain Suarez!
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Details for: Food : The Chemistry of Its Components
Food : The Chemistry of Its Components
By: Coultate, T. P .
Material type: BookPublisher: UK: Royal Society of Chemistry, 2002Edition: 4th ed.Description: 444 p.ISBN: 0854046151 (paperback); 9780854046157 (paperback).Subject(s): Food--Composition | Food--Analysis | Food Science and Human Nutrition DDC classification: 641.300154 Coultate 16014 4th 2002 Food.Science Summary: As a source of detailed information on the chemistry of food, this book is without equal. It investigates components which are present in large amounts (carbohydrates, fats, proteins, minerals and water) and also those that occur in smaller quantities (pigments, flavours, vitamins and preservatives). The fourth edition has been extensively rewritten to bring it right up to date, with many of the figures also having been redrawn. A number of new topics, many of which will be of particular interest to nutritionists, have been introduced, including modified starches, naturally occurring antioxidants, the health benefits of broccoli, and the production of glucose syrup. Topics of special interest to more advanced students are presented separately, and the structural formulae of around 600 food components are given. This book will be of particular interest to students and teachers of food science and nutrition courses in universities, colleges of further education and schools. Its accessible style also ensures that anyone with an interest in food issues will find it invaluable. Extracts from reviews of 3rd Edition: "_ filled me with delight, curiosity and wonder. All of the chemistry is very clear and thorough. I heartily recommend it." The Chemical Educator, October 1997 "Chemistry comes alive when an expert like Tom Coultate links it to food science..." Education in Chemistry, November 1997.
Books UVAS Library
Food Sci. & Human Nutrition Veterinary Science 641.300154 Coultate 16014 4th 2002 Food.Science (Browse shelf) Available 16014
As a source of detailed information on the chemistry of food, this book is without equal. It investigates components which are present in large amounts (carbohydrates, fats, proteins, minerals and water) and also those that occur in smaller quantities (pigments, flavours, vitamins and preservatives). The fourth edition has been extensively rewritten to bring it right up to date, with many of the figures also having been redrawn. A number of new topics, many of which will be of particular interest to nutritionists, have been introduced, including modified starches, naturally occurring antioxidants, the health benefits of broccoli, and the production of glucose syrup. Topics of special interest to more advanced students are presented separately, and the structural formulae of around 600 food components are given. This book will be of particular interest to students and teachers of food science and nutrition courses in universities, colleges of further education and schools. Its accessible style also ensures that anyone with an interest in food issues will find it invaluable. Extracts from reviews of 3rd Edition: "_ filled me with delight, curiosity and wonder. All of the chemistry is very clear and thorough. I heartily recommend it." The Chemical Educator, October 1997 "Chemistry comes alive when an expert like Tom Coultate links it to food science..." Education in Chemistry, November 1997.
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Interview with Susmita Bhattacharya
To celebrate International Women's Day I interviewed debut novelist Susmita Bhattacharya whose book The Normal State of Mind is published this month. The Normal State of Mind has been described as a 'beautiful, evocative book' and 'a new taste of India from a promising new novelist'.
Can you tell me a little bit about your writing journey?
I remember always writing something, even as a child. Poems, stories especially fan fiction (didn’t know the term then) of Enid Blyton’s Famous Five and I loved illustrating them as well. I moved on to keeping journals as a teenager, and explored writing short stories. I won my school’s annual essay writing competitions a couple of times, but I never regarded being a writer as a possibility. I mean, when I was growing up, one didn’t have social media, lit fests or much interaction with writers. Mostly, the writers were English and dead, eg Austen, Dickens, Shakespeare. The Indian writers like R.K. Narayan and Ruskin Bond were established and favourite writers but I couldn’t imagine being like them. Writers were revered and belonged in another strata which did not include middle-class school girls with a flair for writing. So writing was consigned for my personal pleasure and I went to art college to become a graphic designer.
I started taking writing seriously when we moved to Cardiff. My husband was doing a PhD at Cardiff University and I got hold of their Lifelong Learning brochure. I was so surprised to see Creative Writing classes listed there. My first reaction was, do people need classes to learn to write? That was silly of me to think that way, because when I went to art college, quite a few people would comment, you need to go to college to learn to paint? My child is a born artist! (Or something on those lines).
But I enrolled in an evening class, and it was the best thing I ever did. I found my writing voice and the passion to write. My tutor, Bella Kemble was fantastic. She encouraged me and advised me to think about doing an MA in Creative Writing at Cardiff University. So I did. Creative Writing courses don’t teach people to write, just like Art College. It helps to enhance your writing skills, introduces you to reading a vast array of literature and academic work, eases you into workshops and criticism of your work and puts you in touch with fellow writers and tutors. A fantastic experience I have never regretted.
It was really interesting to read about modern urban Indian women. Do you think they are under-represented in literature? Is that why you chose to set you novel in India rather than in say, Plymouth?
I do think Indian urban women living in India are under-represented in literature. There is a lot of literature about the modern Indian immigrant or women-centric stories set in historical times in India. Manju Kapur is an author I admire who writes about the modern Indian woman and their issues, mostly set in India.
I’ll tell you a funny story about my experience at the writing class. We had to describe a scene from a picture postcard and write a 500 word story based on it. I wrote a very moving story about a man who was tired of life, and decided to stop driving on the motorway and lie down in a field of daffodils... in November. While I was reading aloud about him contemplating life among the flowers, I noticed people trying to be polite and not laugh. Please note, that in India, the seasonal flowers bloom in the winter months. I juxtaposed the settings without thinking much of it, and made such a blunder. And my tutor gave me the best advice ever: Write what you know about. I have taken that very seriously.
I started this novel as a dissertation for my MA. I decided to write about the modern Indian woman because that was me. I wanted to write about issues I faced, or saw happening in front of me. I had first-hand experience of growing up in India amidst the riots, the terror attacks. I also had the experience of having close friendships with strong, independent women and we lived our lives with a lot of freedom to live as we chose to. I wanted to write about all of that.
I lived in Cardiff nearly five years, but I was never confident to write about it. I always set my stories in India. But when I moved to Plymouth, I found myself setting my stories in Cardiff. I live in Plymouth now. Perhaps I’ll have to move before I can write about it. I read an essay by Salman Rushdie, where he says:
‘…exiles or emigrants or expatriates, are haunted by some sense of loss, some urge to reclaim, to look back, even at the risk of being mutated into pillars of salt. But if we do look back, we must do so in the knowledge – which gives rise to profound uncertainties – that our physical alienation from India almost inevitably means that we will not be capable of reclaiming precisely the thing that was lost; that we will, in short, create fictions, not actual cities or villages, but invisible ones, imaginary homelands, Indias of the mind.’ (Rushdie, 1983)
Maybe that’s the thing. One needs to look at a place from a distance to be able to fictionalise it. Not in all cases. But that’s how it was with me.
Moushumi talks about behaving ‘immorally’. Is Moushumi's discomfort based on a religious or a cultural belief about homosexuality? Jasmine talks about how much better things are for gay people in the west - what is it like for gay people in India?
I think it is more of a cultural belief. The laws against homosexuality were enforced during the British rule in the 19th century as they were ‘against the order of nature’. There is evidence in the temple carvings of ancient India that homosexuality was not looked down upon or marginalised. It was celebrated in various forms, as evident in the art, sculpture and literature of India. In 2009, the Delhi High Court, overturned this 150 year old section and consequently legalised consensual homosexual activities among adults. There was a huge celebration that at last, there was progressive thinking and the LGBT community was being accepted into society. But in December 2013, all that changed and the Supreme Court of India ruled homosexuality as a criminal offence under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. Yes, religious figures claimed publicly that being gay was a disease that could be cured through yoga and other means. There were massive protests and eminent people from film stars to economist Amartya Sen and writer, Vikram Seth expressed their disappointment and anger against the ruling, but this law stands firm to date.
People don’t come out for various reasons, besides the Section 377: family won’t accept them, they’d be at risk of losing their jobs, be victimised in homophobic attacks etc. Ignorance is another factor. Homosexuality is often believed to be a disease and people are often taken to ‘doctors’ to be ‘cured’. A common belief is that marriage will cure it, and many are forced into marriage that ruins the lives of couples involved and their families. There are very few couples, especially women, who can live openly together. A lot of times, a gay person may take on a lover outside of the marriage and try to live a double life. Gay women often discover their sexuality after marriage, and want to explore their new selves, but rarely have there been divorces where the woman leaves the husband to live with her lover.
Dipali and Sunil have an arranged marriage. It's a happy marriage, how do you feel about arranged marriages?
I don’t have a problem with arranged marriage, they have been successful for generations. That was mostly the norm in my parent’s generation and before that. In India, the family structure includes the grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins etc etc. In the past, and in many cases now as well, most people lived in joint family systems –the brothers with their families, and the parents all lived under one roof. So it was very important that the woman who married into the family was of the same caste, social status, religion to fit into the family without causing disruption. It helped continuity in the lineage. This could only be done with the family arranging the marriages of their sons and daughters with other suitable families. It would be/is done to unite two businesses as well.
There was also a question of dowry. When a woman married, her family paid the groom’s family what they demanded: a car, cash, jewellery, household items, perhaps paying for the groom’s further education abroad. This could happen only when the marriage is arranged, for if the couple fall in love and want to marry, such demands could be difficult to ask for. Though dowry is a criminal offence, most of the people involved go under the radar unless the girl or her family protest and lodge a legal complaint against the perpetrators.
Things started to change in the past when the women could leave the boundaries of the house, get an education and have careers of their own. They could meet single men and fall in love. If they were lucky they got married. Things have changed now. Young people today tend to find their own partners, especially in urban India. But caste, religion and social status are criteria that cannot often be overlooked even today, because in Indian culture, you do not marry a person, you marry the entire family.
Most of my friends have had love marriages, including myself. Some had to fight for their right to be together, for some it wasn’t a problem at all. Some have had arranged marriages, and they have successful marriages as well. Sometimes both arranged and love marriages fail. It is all very individual. You can think of arranged marriages as what a dating website is in the west. You add in your profile, tick the boxes and it matches you to a suitable person! Only here, the matchmaker could be your parents, uncles, aunts, grandparents, sister-in-law...
Do you see The Normal State of Mind as a feminist novel?
I get asked this question a lot. But I don’t want to put myself or the book into a single category. But I’ve just googled the definition of feminist writing and it says ‘Feminist literature is fiction or nonfiction which supports the feminist goals of defining, establishing and defending equal civil, political, economic and social rights for women.’
So yes, it would be feminist writing, but I’d like people to read it as a story and choose what they’d like to take away from it and how they’d like to categorise it.
Vijayalakshmi Pandit, the first woman politician to hold a cabinet post and diplomat, whose brother happened to be the first prime minister of India, mentioned in a piece in the Ananda Bazaar Patrika (1938): ‘People tell me the modern woman is aggressive. I wonder if this is true. But if it is, she has good reason for it, and her aggression is only the natural outcome of generations of suppression. The first taste of liberty is intoxicating, and for the first time in human history, a woman is experiencing the delights of this intoxication...’
When I read this, I thought how true. She wrote this in 1938, we are in 2015 now, and still, the modern woman is fighting... fighting for her rights, fighting for her equal place in society. I realised that be it lesbian or a widow, as Dipali, mentions in the book, women are still identified in relation to a man, or to the lack of one.
It is important to get the struggles women face to own their identity out there in the open. I thought it was always an issue in India, but now when I look at the world, specifically the West, it isn’t much different. Women are still struggling against the ‘laws’ written down by the patriarchal society. That is why Patricia Arquette included the fight to equal pay for women in her acceptance speech at the Academy Awards. That is why millions of Indians gathered to protest against rape and murder of women following Jyoti Singh’s mutilation and rape, consequently death in 2012.
I believe I have much to share about these inequalities and issues that women go through, and hope that my daughters won’t have to go through it in their lives. I hate ‘pinkification’ of girls and all things to do with females, be it Barbie or breast cancer. So yes, you could say I wanted to write about women’s issues. I will not burn my bra or be against men, as you will see in the book, the men are not all bad! But I want to write about women, fairly and honestly, and talk about issues they face in this world.
What does your family think about the novel?
I haven’t let anyone except my husband read it as far as family goes. And a couple of trusted writer friends. They gave me very relevant and good advice and criticism. I know the LGBT factor raised eyebrows, created interest and curiosity whenever I answered the inevitable question: So what’s your book about? But I never had any negative response.
My family and friends have been very supportive of the book and its subject matter.
I have a collection of short stories that I think I am ready to send out to publishers. The short stories deal with the theme of loss in many ways. A man in a city far away from his homeland, writes letters to his pregnant wife, promising her the good life in the west. A woman, whose parrot suddenly takes on the voice of her dead husband; a woman who joins her husband to a fancy business dinner but craving her simple home cooked meal at home; a couple who mourn their stillborn in very different ways.
I’m working on another novel but it’s too early to comment on it now.
Thank you for answering the questions in such detail, and the very best of luck with The Normal State of Mind.
You can read more about Susmita in this lovely piece in the Plymouth Herald.
Rachel Fenton 8 March 2015 at 20:14
Thank you for this wonderful interview, Susmita and Carys - I'm very much looking forward to reading The Normal State of Mind.
Association for Mormon Letters
Waverton Good Read Award
Gone Writing
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From Robot Farm to Table: Iron Ox Unveils the First Fully Autonomous Indoor Farm
Pioneering creator of collaborative ‘cobots’ Rethink Robotics shuts down
Detecting fake news at its source
Published by Robot Tracker at October 4, 2018
Lately the fact-checking world has been in a bit of a crisis. Sites like Politifact and Snopes have traditionally focused on specific claims, which is admirable but tedious; by the time they’ve gotten through verifying or debunking a fact, there’s a good chance it’s already traveled across the globe and back again.
Social media companies have also had mixed results limiting the spread of propaganda and misinformation. Facebook plans to have 20,000 human moderators by the end of the year, and is putting significant resources into developing its own fake-news-detecting algorithms.
Researchers from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) and the Qatar Computing Research Institute (QCRI) believe that the best approach is to focus not only on individual claims, but on the news sources themselves. Using this tack, they’ve demonstrated a new system that uses machine learning to determine if a source is accurate or politically biased.
“If a website has published fake news before, there’s a good chance they’ll do it again,” says postdoc Ramy Baly, the lead author on a new paper about the system. “By automatically scraping data about these sites, the hope is that our system can help figure out which ones are likely to do it in the first place.”
Baly says the system needs only about 150 articles to reliably detect if a news source can be trusted — meaning that an approach like theirs could be used to help stamp out new fake-news outlets before the stories spread too widely.
The system is a collaboration between computer scientists at MIT CSAIL and QCRI, which is part of the Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar. Researchers first took data from Media Bias/Fact Check (MBFC), a website with human fact-checkers who analyze the accuracy and biases of more than 2,000 news sites; from MSNBC and Fox News; and from low-traffic content farms.
They then fed those data to a machine learning algorithm, and programmed it to classify news sites the same way as MBFC. When given a new news outlet, the system was then 65 percent accurate at detecting whether it has a high, low or medium level of factuality, and roughly 70 percent accurate at detecting if it is left-leaning, right-leaning, or moderate.
The team determined that the most reliable ways to detect both fake news and biased reporting were to look at the common linguistic features across the source’s stories, including sentiment, complexity, and structure.
For example, fake-news outlets were found to be more likely to use language that is hyperbolic, subjective, and emotional. In terms of bias, left-leaning outlets were more likely to have language that related to concepts of harm/care and fairness/reciprocity, compared to other qualities such as loyalty, authority, and sanctity. (These qualities represent a popular theory — that there are five major moral foundations — in social psychology.)
Co-author Preslav Nakov, a senior scientist at QCRI, says that the system also found correlations with an outlet’s Wikipedia page, which it assessed for general — longer is more credible — as well as target words such as “extreme” or “conspiracy theory.” It even found correlations with the text structure of a source’s URLs: Those that had lots of special characters and complicated subdirectories, for example, were associated with less reliable sources.
“Since it is much easier to obtain ground truth on sources [than on articles], this method is able to provide direct and accurate predictions regarding the type of content distributed by these sources,” says Sibel Adali, a professor of computer science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute who was not involved in the project.
Nakov is quick to caution that the system is still a work in progress, and that, even with improvements in accuracy, it would work best in conjunction with traditional fact-checkers.
“If outlets report differently on a particular topic, a site like Politifact could instantly look at our fake news scores for those outlets to determine how much validity to give to different perspectives,” says Nakov.
Baly and Nakov co-wrote the new paper with MIT Senior Research Scientist James Glass alongside graduate students Dimitar Alexandrov and Georgi Karadzhov of Sofia University. The team will present the work later this month at the 2018 Empirical Methods in Natural Language Processing (EMNLP) conference in Brussels, Belgium.
The researchers also created a new open-source dataset of more than 1,000 news sources, annotated with factuality and bias scores, that is the world’s largest database of its kind. As next steps, the team will be exploring whether the English-trained system can be adapted to other languages, as well as to go beyond the traditional left/right bias to explore region-specific biases (like the Muslim world’s division between religious and secular).
“This direction of research can shed light on what untrustworthy websites look like and the kind of content they tend to share, which would be very useful for both web designers and the wider public,” says Andreas Vlachos, a senior lecturer at the University of Cambridge who was not involved in the project.
Nakov says that QCRI also has plans to roll out an app that helps users step out of their political bubbles, responding to specific news items by offering users a collection of articles that span the political spectrum.
“It’s interesting to think about new ways to present the news to people,” says Nakov. “Tools like this could help people give a bit more thought to issues and explore other perspectives that they might not have otherwise considered.”
Source: MIT Robotics
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Netflix acquires Chris Smith’s “Fyre” doc
Director Chris Smith’s documentary about the unraveling of the 2017 Fyre Festival has been acquired by Netflix. Fyre goes inside the festival as told by the organizers themselves. Created by Billy ...
Director Chris Smith’s documentary about the unraveling of the 2017 Fyre Festival has been acquired by Netflix.
Fyre goes inside the festival as told by the organizers themselves. Created by Billy McFarland and rapper Ja Rule, the Fyre Fest was promoted as a luxury music festival on a private island in the Bahamas, featuring A-list musical performances, first-class amenities and beautiful people. Guests arrived to discover a very different reality, which many documented via social media.
Fyre is produced by Danny Gabai, Chris Smith and Mick Purzycki. Executive producers are Brett Kincaid, Max Pollack, Matthew Rowean, Gabrielle Bluestone, James Ohliger and Elliot Tebele.
Smith’s previous works include the Emmy Award-nominated documentary Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond; The Pool, which took home the 2008 Sundance Audience Award; and American Movie, the 1999 winner of the Sundance Grand Jury Prize for Documentary.
Fyre will be released globally Jan. 18, 2019 on Netflix.
Chris Smith, Fyre Festival, Netflix
TIFF ’18: “Quincy” co-director on keeping it in the family
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Home Volume 48 [2013–14] Volume 48 Number 39 Vortex room
Vortex room
cheryl@sfbg.com
FILM Coherence begins with an important phone conversation that’s cut off by a crappy connection — just as the phone’s owner, Em (Emily Foxler), realizes its screen has spontaneously cracked. It’s the first eerie moment in a film set at a seemingly normal dinner party among four couples: insecure ballet dancer Em and boyfriend Kevin (Maury Sterling), who are teetering on the verge of either taking the next step in their relationship, or breaking up; new-agey older married couple Beth (Elizabeth Gracen) and Hugh (Hugo Armstrong); the casually dating Amir (Alex Manugian) and Laurie (Lauren Maher); and hosts Lee (Lorene Scafaria), a techie, and her actor husband, Mike (Nicholas Brendon).
About five minutes into the movie, chatter turns to the comet that’s about to pass overhead — a casual conversation topic that soon becomes an invasive presence. Phones don’t work, and the power shuts off — except for that one house a few blocks over that’s mysteriously illuminated. Tension among the group spikes as various members go to investigate and discover that the comet has some serious fucking-with-reality powers. Spooky, pleasingly mind-bending, and highly creative (the whole thing takes place almost entirely within a single room), Coherence only gets more satisfying with multiple viewings. It’s the directorial debut of James Ward Byrkit, a Hollywood veteran who wrote Oscar-winning animated film Rango (2011) and worked on multiple Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Once my brain had time to untangle a bit, we talked Coherence.
SF Bay Guardian You’re known for your work on Rango and the Pirates movies. What drew you to Coherence, which is a completely different type of film?
James Ward Byrkit I actually have a background of working on much more intimate projects — but all these years, because of my drawing abilities, I ended up working on these huge blockbuster films, which I love, and I love those directors, and I love big crews. But I was really craving getting back to the purity of working closely with actors, and concentrating on storytelling and characters. Especially after Rango — which was super-fun, but it was years of manipulating every pixel of every frame — I wanted to get back into something much more improvisational and grounded in bare-bones filmmaking.
SFBG How did you cast your actors?
JWB They were friends of mine — I knew them all, but they didn’t know each other. I cast people that felt like they would be friends, or partners. They met each other for the first time five minutes before we started shooting, and they had to jump right into it. The whole thing was an improvisational experiment.
I’ve always wanted to try something that did not rely on a script, because everything in Hollywood is all about the script, and that’s the only priority; that’s one way to do it, but it’s not the only way to do it. I wanted to get rid of the script so I could get those naturalistic performances. I wanted eight people talking, and overlapping, and having natural speech patterns. The only way you can do that, really, is to get rid of the script and allow them to be in the moment.
SFBG The dialogue may be improvised, but the story is intricately plotted. How did you approach that without a script?
JWB It took a year of just pounding out the story — the twist and turns and the puzzle of it all, figuring out the clues and the structure. I had a very clear, very solid outline that was just for me, though I made it with my co-writer, Alex Manugian, who plays Amir in the film.
When we actually shot it, before they would show up each day, I gave each actor a note card of their character’s motivations, or back story. Little bits and pieces that they could use that night. But they wouldn’t know what any other character got, so it was all a surprise to them how everybody else reacted. And none of them knew how it was going to end.
SFBG Did the actors help create their characters?
JWB I kind of gave them a general background of what their character was, and what their history was, and what their problems were. Basically everybody is in secret conflict with themselves, or with each other. That’s the whole movie: These people who, in the first 10 minutes, they just look like they’re having a party — but there’s all this unspoken conflict going on either between each other or with themselves.
SFBG Can you talk about the unusual editing choice you made, to have scenes abruptly cutting to black?
JWB Part of it was a rhythmic theme, and part of it was a clue. For the people who watch the film multiple times, there’s definitely a pattern of cutting to black that starts to inform what’s going on, which I’m not going to give away [laughs]. Going into black is such an important theme. The lights go out, they’re plunged into blackness. There’s an even darker space when they go outside. And then, the blackness between characters. So when we tried it as an editorial thing, it was so effective that we committed to it and it ended up being something that took many, many, many weeks to perfect. And it still baffles some people, obviously, because it’s so jarring.
SFBG Coherence is a relationship drama, but it’s also a sci-fi film. What inspired you to include those elements?
JWB Well, we basically didn’t have any money [laughs]. I had a camera, some actors that I knew, and a living room — and that’s it. So how do we make a living room more interesting? It got us thinking about Twilight Zone episodes, and how those are often set in very mundane, normal places, and yet there’s this bigger feeling to them because there’s a cosmic story, or a slightly supernatural element that has permeated their reality. And that got me really excited, to think of a fractured reality, and therefore the living room became much bigger.
SFBG Sci-fi without special effects is kind of a genre on the rise.
JWB I love it. My biggest hope is that someday [Coherence] could be on a double or triple feature with Primer (2004) or Timecrimes (2007), or another super low-budget homemade movie. It’s a really exciting realm to be in. I think people went down the wrong road when they started assuming science fiction meant only big visual effects.
SFBG And wait, did you say you filmed it in your living room?
JWB Yeah! We didn’t have any money to rent another house. It was very challenging because my wife was nine months pregnant and she was planning on having a home birth. She said, “You’re gonna have a film shoot in our house weeks before I’m due? That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard!” I said, “I’m sorry, honey, but if I don’t do it now, we can’t really do it after the baby comes.” And she said, “All right. You have five nights.” We shot five nights, and then a week later, Emily [Foxler] came back to do some pickups around my house, walking around the neighborhood in the darkness. We ended that shoot at one o’clock in the morning; two hours later my wife went into labor. *
COHERENCE opens Fri/27 at the Presidio. For additional theaters, check http://coherencethemovie.com.
Pub date June 24, 2014
WriterCheryl Eddy
SectionFilm Features
IssueVolume 48 Number 39
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Change in the Oldest Millennials: 2012-2017
This is the second of two blogs covering this report. This post examines the five-year change in the oldest members of the Millennial generation, those born between 1983 and 1992, between 2012 and 2017. The first post examines the one-year changes in 25-34 year olds between 2010 and 2017.
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The oldest Millennials are a birth cohort including people who were born between 1983 and 1992. In 2017, this birth cohort was between 25 and 34 years old and included 936,360 people living in the Washington region. In 2012, this cohort was between 20 and 29 years old and only included 834,460 people in the Washington region. This 12.2 percent increase primarily reflects a net five-year in-migration (both international and domestic) as these oldest Millennials reached their late 20s and early 30s.
The Washington region has historically been a net importer of young adults as they “age up” from their early and late 20s into their late 20s and early 30s. The increase in the oldest Millennials that occurred between 2012 and 2017 was somewhat smaller than the increase that occurred in prior generations as they reached the same age. The youngest Generation Xers, including people born between 1971 and 1980, experienced the same “aging up” between 2000 and 2005. The increase in these youngest Gen Xers was 17.0 percent, 4.8 percentage points larger than the comparable increase in the oldest Millennials.
The Washington region was a net importer of adults as they reached their 30s and early 40s, but the rate of gains slowed considerably. The region had net losses on a five-year basis of adults once they reached their late 40s. Going forward, these trends indicate that the Washington region will be less able to capture the members of the oldest Millennial generation as they all reach their 30s and beyond.
Defining Millennials
The number of the oldest Millennials living in the Washington region has increased as this generation reaches their late 20s and early 30s. Between 2012 and 2017, the number of the oldest Millennials, those born between 1983 and 1992, increased 12.2 percent in the Washington region. However, the Washington region has historically been a net importer of young adults, so an increase occurs regardless of the generational cohort. Compared to the increase in the youngest Generation Xers as they reached their late 20s and early 30s, the increase in comparably aged Millennials was relatively small.
The Millennial generation is a birth cohort, so the change in the number of 25-34 year olds between 2016 and 2017 is not entirely indicative of the change in Millennials. Because the Millennial generation is aging, a correct comparison of the same birth cohort of Millennials would be between the number of 25-34 year olds in 2016 compared to 26-35 year olds in 2017; in other words, the age groups would need to “age” with generation to reveal if the region were gaining/losing this birth cohort. Because these data are not available, this report will do the next best thing: look at the changes over a five-year period.
The Millennial generation typically refers to people born between 1982 and 2000. In 2017, this cohort was between 17 and 35 year old. The Washington region has historically been a net importer of people after they enter their 20s, so this report will continue to focus on Millennials older than 25. Similarly, these data are limited to five-year age groups, so this report defines the oldest Millennials as those born between 1983 and 1992.
Change in the Oldest Millennials in the Washington Region
In 2012, the region was home to 834,460 people who were born between 1983 and 1992 and were then between 20 and 29 years old. In 2017, this same birth cohort was five years older (between 25 and 34 years old) and included 936,360 people living in the Washington region. The net change of these oldest Millennials between 2012 and 2015 was an increase of 101,900 people and 12.2 percent.
Figures 1 and 2 show the change by birth cohort in five-year groups. These oldest Millennials are shown as 25-29 year olds and 30-34 year olds in 2017. The increase in the number of the oldest Millennials living in the region was driven by those who were 25-29 years old in 2017 and born between 1988 and 1992. This birth cohort increased 21.8 percent between 2012 and 2017. The number of residents born between 1983 and 1987 and were 30-34 years old in 2017 increased 4.3 percent from 2012 to 2017.
When compared to prior increases in the number of 25-29 year olds and 30-34 year olds of other generations, this five-year gain from the oldest Millennials is relatively small. For example, the youngest Generation Xers includes people born between 1971 and 1980. In 2005, this birth cohort was between 25 and 34 year old (the same age as the oldest Millennials examined here).
Figure 1 compares the recent increase in the oldest Millennials (born 1983-1992) and the prior increase in the youngest Gen Xers (born 1971-1980) as both cohorts “age up” from being 20-29 years old to being 25-34 years old. For the oldest Millennials, this occurred between 2012 and 2017. For the youngest Gen Xers, this occurred between 2000 and 2005. The label in the graph shows the age at the end of each time frame.
The Washington region was a net importer of the youngest Gen Xers as they reached their late 20s and early 30s. Overall, the number of youngest Gen Xers living in the Washington region increased 17.0 percent between 2000 and 2005, corresponding to this birth cohort “aging up” from being 20-29 to 25-34 years old. This increase was 4.8 percentage points larger compared to the same “aging up” of the oldest Millennials that occurred between 2012 and 2017.
Altogether, the Washington region had a net increase in the number of the oldest Millennials living in the region between 2012 and 2017. This gain, however, is somewhat smaller than for prior generations. Other research suggests that Millennials are leaving the Washington region at greater rates to live elsewhere in the nation, at least during part of this five-year period. That could mean that the total five-year gain was driven entirely by international migration, but the an equally likely explanation is that the domestic migration patterns contributed to some of this increase including some years with net gains and some years of net losses.
Change in All Generations in the Washington Region
Even with the net gains on a five-year basis of the oldest Millennials, the fact that the increase is weaker than for past generations will continue to have implications for the Washington region.
Figure 2 shows the change by birth cohort in five-year groups between 2012 and 2017. The largest gains by generation were from Generation Z, many of whom were born during the 2012-2017 period. The largest decrease was from the Silent and Greatest generations; the majority of this decrease was likely the result of deaths. The other five-year changes by generation primarily reflect migration patterns (both domestic and international), although death rates play a larger role for the cohorts in the older age groups.
Aside from the large increase in the Millennials who were aged 25-29 in 2017, the growth for all other working-age generations during this five-year period was small. The region continued to be a net importer of adults as they reach their 30s and early 40s, but the region had net losses once people reach their late 40s.
This means that the magnitude of the change as young adults reach 25-29 and 30-34 years old has a lasting importance. The Washington region has been historically less likely to be a net importer of adults as they reach their late 30s. The smaller gain in the oldest Millennials in recent years is unlikely to be reversed as this cohort ages.
The number of the oldest Millennials living in the Washington region increased between 2012 and 2017, but this increase was somewhat smaller than for past generations when they were in their late 20s and early 30s. The one-year declines in 25-34 year olds were not indicative of a longer-term decline in the oldest Millennials, but may reflect a temporary weakness that subdued the overall gains during the five-year period. As all of the oldest Millennials enter their 30s, it will be increasingly unlikely that this older cohort of this generation will increase significantly.
About These Data
These data are from the Vintage 2017 County Population by Characteristics Estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau released June 21, 2018, the Vintage 2016 County Population by Characteristics Estimates released June 22, 2017, and the 2000-2010 Intercensal Population Estimates by Characteristics released September 2011. All data are estimates as of July 1 of each year. The 2013 metropolitan statistical area delineations are used throughout for all metros and all years. The largest metros are measured by Gross Regional product in 2016.
The current data are estimates based on 2010 Census counts and administrative data and will be revised in 2020, after the release of the 2020 Census. The Population Estimates data examined in this report are used as controls in both the American Community Survey and other major surveys. The full methodology is available on at the Census’s website.
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WWI in GAZA
After my first tour in the Holy Land in 1983, I acquired a Bible that included maps of the ancient kingdoms all the way back to the time of Moses. The Kingdom of Gaza is depicted in all of them. It was at this time I first came to appreciate that the Beginning of the World occurred in the Middle East, and that the End of the World will take place there . . . S.L.
The Camel Corps in Beersheba
The First World War in Gaza and the Battle for Palestine
The oasis of Gaza — the last outpost before the Sinai desert — has for thousands of years been a strategic objective for conquerors of all kinds. Any Middle Eastern empire had to control Gaza in order to confront Egypt, and any campaign towards the Nile Valley had to be launched westward from Gaza. From Alexander the Great in 332 bc to the Ottomans in 1516, control of Gaza was a prerequisite for confronting Egypt.
‘Muster on the Plain of Esdraelon, preparatory to the attack on the Canal.’
Any power ruling Egypt had to control Gaza in order to break through Palestine and the wider Levant, which is why the Pharaohs, the Ptolemaic dynasty, the Mameluks and even Bonaparte in 1799 sent expeditions from Egypt to conquer Gaza, before marching north along the Mediterranean coast. The strategic road through Gaza was called ‘Horus’s Path’ by the Egyptians, ‘Via Maris’ by the Romans and the ‘Sultan’s Way’ by the Mameluks.
World War One witnessed the last clash between two empires fighting for control of Gaza as part of the struggle for Palestine and the wider Middle East. The Ottomans concluded a secret alliance in August 1914 with Germany. Sultan Mehmed V had the formal status of Caliph, but was by then the creature of the Young Turks, who devised with Berlin a baroque version of ‘jihad made in Germany’: the Caliph would declare jihad against the French, British and Russian ‘infidels’, while German agents would disseminate this declaration in Arabic, Persian and Urdu, hoping to foment trouble in their adversaries’ colonies.
Berlin had nevertheless overestimated the prestige of the Ottoman Caliph among non-Turkish Muslims. ‘Jihad made in Germany’ proved a flop but London was in no mood for further strategic disturbance and imposed a fully-fledged protectorate over Egypt, after thirty-two years of British domination. The Jerusalem-based Jamal Pasha sent an Ottoman army through the Sinai down to the Suez Canal. It was defeated there in February 1915 and withdrew to the relative safety of Gaza, leaving only a few Ottoman outposts in the desert peninsula.
An Ottoman machine gun corps defending the Gaza line during the Second Battle of Gaza, April 1917.
In March 1916 General Archibald Murray assembled an Egyptian expeditionary force that comprised significant Australian and New Zealand contingents. Nine months later, the British conquest of El-Arish completed the restoration of imperial rule over Sinai. A coastal railway was built to provision the Allied troops camping at the gates of Gaza, with water pipes running across the desert from the Canal. But Murray failed miserably in two frontal assaults on Gaza, in March and April 1917, suffering more than 10,000 losses (twice as many as were inflicted on its defenders).
Murray was replaced in June, following the Battle of Arras, by General Edmund Allenby. The new commander linked up with the Arab insurgents who had conquered Aqaba and were harassing Ottoman troops in the Negev desert. (This Bedouin army was led by British advisors, notably T.E. Lawrence a.k.a. Lawrence of Arabia - S.L.)
Allenby planned a coordinated assault on Gaza and Beersheba, the main oasis of the Negev. From 27-31 October, Gaza was pounded with artillery and ordinance from battleships and planes. Beersheba fell on 1 November and a week later the British army forced its way into Gaza.
The city was devastated by British bombing, but also by the Ottoman practice of destroying local buildings in order to fortify their defences, and for many years after Gaza remained a depressing and ruined ghost city. Allenby entered Gaza on 9 November, the same day the British Foreign Office announced the ‘Balfour Declaration’ endorsed a week earlier: ‘His Majesty’s government view with favour the establishment of a national home in Palestine for the Jewish people’. One battle for Palestine was over in Gaza, another was about to begin.
Gaza in ruins after the Third Battle, 1917. (Library of Congress)
Jean-Pierre Filiu is Professor of Middle East Studies at Sciences Po in Paris and the author of Gaza: A History.
Dear Sean Linnane,
Occasionally you say something that I can disagree with. Not often, just sometimes and this is one of those times I disagree with you.
A thing I did not know until it was forcefully pointed out to me was that the British survivors of The Charge of The Light Brigade fame were granted tracts of land in Van Deimen's Land. They were too scary to have near you if you were a politician or an aspiring bureaucrat.Same difference.
Same thing happened in other cultures.
And when they laid down their weapons they made a lot of money.
He is dead now so I can tell you this story he told me. And I was harsh on him.
He told me of the Crimean thing, and I checked it. Some of them were making a million pound back in the days when a million pound was a lot of money. F***ing nearly unbelievable. But it is true.
When America decided to get involved with the Vietnam thing this son of Tasmanian's said he thought about it and decided because every generation of his family were warriors he would decide with whom he would fight with. The North Vietnamese paid him more money.
I asked, and he figured, that he had 'only' killed 3 Australians. I never did think to ask how many Americans he had killed. And he was only there as an adviser to the VC.
I would like to think, and I do not care if it is not, that those American blokes that rode horses in Afghanistan were inspired by those men that took Beersheba.
Gerald November 7, 2015 at 10:49 PM
Warfare is a fascinating subject. Despite the dubious morality of using violence to achieve personal or political aims. It remains that conflict has been used to do just that throughout recorded history.
Your article is very well done, a good read.
UKRAINE vs. RUSSIA: Ball's In Your Court, NATO
COLONEL MAGGIE
HORSE SOLDIERS of 9/11 - BERGDAHL TIE-IN
WAR STORY
NAZARENE
GLOBAL WARMENING UPDATE
BANDWIDTH ISSUES
IRAQ UPDATE
GUNS OF AUGUST
ON GAZA
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Special Forces soldier killed in action in Afghanistan 14 Sept. 2014.
Green Beret Sergeant First Class Michael A. Cathcart, 31, of Bay City, Michigan, died in Kunduz Province, northern Afghanistan, of wounds received from small-arms fire while on dismounted combat operations.
SFC Cathcart was assigned to Company A, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne). This was his fifth deployment with the battalion, known as the Bushmen, to Afghanistan.
The unit "lost one of our nation's finest," said Cathcart's battalion commander, Lt. Col. Michael Sullivan. "Cathcart died a true warrior with his fellow teammates at his side."
Cathcart enlisted in the Army in June 2001 as a Fire Support Specialist and served more than five years with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) of Fort Campbell, Kentucky, where he served for more than five years. He had two combat tours to Iraq with the 101st.
The Army said Cathcart volunteered for the Special Forces in 2007, and after his training he joined the 3rd Special Forces Group in 2009 as an engineer sergeant.
SFC Cathcart's decorations include four Bronze Star Medals, the Purple Heart Medal, and the Meritorious Service Medal.
Fifth deployment. All gave some, but he gave all.
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TOPICS:attacks on journalistsend impunityFoEfreedom of expressionimpunityindependent mediamedia freedommedia independenceviolence against journalists
Press freedom in Europe is more fragile now than at any time since the end of the Cold War. That is the alarming conclusion of a report launched by the 12 partner organizations of the Council of Europe Platform to promote the protection of Journalism and safety of journalists.
The report, “Democracy at Risk”, analyses media freedom violations raised to the Platform in 2018. It provides a stark picture of the worsening environment for the media across Europe, in which journalists increasingly face obstruction, hostility and violence as they investigate and report on behalf of the public.
The 12 Platform partners – international journalists’ and media organisations as well as freedom of expression advocacy groups – reported 140 serious media freedom violations (“alerts”) in 32 Council of Europe member states in 2018. This review of the alerts reveals a picture sharply at odds with the guarantees enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights. Impunity for crimes against journalists is becoming a “new normal”. Legal protections for critical, investigative reporting have been weakened offline and online. The space for the press to hold government authorities and the powerful to account has shrunk.
Last year the murders of Ján Kuciak and fiancée Martina Kušnírová in Slovakia and Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, were among 35 alerts for attacks on journalists’ physical safety and integrity. Alerts about serious threats to journalists’ lives doubled, and were accompanied by a strong surge in verbal abuse and public stigmatisation of the media and individual journalists in Council of Europe member states.
“Urgent actions backed by a determined show of political will by Council of Europe member states are now required to improve the dire conditions for media freedom and to provide reliable protections for journalists in law and practice”, the report warns.
The purpose of the Platform, based on a 2015 agreement between the Council of Europe and the partner organisations, is to prompt an early dialogue with member states and hasten remedies for violations and shortcomings in the protections for free and independent journalism.
The Platform partners call on states that impose the harshest restrictions on journalists’ activities’ and freedom of expression to:
Restore rule of law safeguards and drop charges against journalists and release them as a step towards restoring a safe and enabling environment for independent media;
Remove extremism and other laws criminalising media and end arbitrary exercise of powers by the executive and regulators; and
Take the necessary steps to put in place a structure of media regulation and ownership which safeguards media plurality and freedom.
In addition, the Platform partners call on all states to reply fully and in good faith to all alerts and to take effective measures in law and practice to remedy the threats to the safety of individual journalists and media.
The Council of Europe Platform was launched in April 2015 to provide information which may serve as a basis for dialogue with member states about possible protective or remedial action. While many member states responded to alerts in 2018, five states declined to respond to any alerts, including those reporting very serious media freedom violations.
The 12 Platform partners are: the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the Association of European Journalists (AEJ), Article 19, Reporters without Borders (RSF), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Index on Censorship, the International Press Institute (IPI), the International News Safety Institute (INSI), Rory Peck Trust, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and PEN International.
The conclusions of this first annual report by the 12 partners are stark. Sarah Clarke, Head of ARTICLE 19’s Head of Europe and Central Asia Programme said:
“Across the 47 member states of the Council of Europe and European Union violence, harassment and threats against journalists are increasingly routine, while impunity for these violations is the new normal. These attacks on the free press – which plays a central role in holding power to account – is a central contributing factor to the deterioration of democracy in the region. We urge member states to take concrete actions to fulfil their legal obligations to protect journalists and the free press. This includes repealing repressive legislation, fostering media plurality, providing protection for journalists at risk and thoroughly investigating crimes against journalists. Doing so is essential to protecting European values of democracy and freedom of expression.”
The statement was republished from Article 19 where it was originally published on February 12, 2019.
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Serbia – Balkans’ Black Champion of Journalists’ Safety: Reports on Western Balkan Countries
TOPICS:attacks on journalistsend impunityjournalists' safetymurders of journalistsverbal attacks on journalists
Photo by Aaron Mello on Unsplash
Serbia is maintaining its infamous rank in the region as the country in which journalists’ safety is the most endangered, the data from comparative analysis conducted by the Regional Platform for advocating media freedom and journalists’ safety reveal.
by Marija Djoric, Belgrade
As critics of the authorities in public interest, journalists in Serbia are facing daily pressures, insults, threats and attacks. The fact that all of these most often come from highest state officials is creating an atmosphere where violence against journalists is not only allowed, but welcomed.
The data of the analysis conducted between September 1, 2017 and August 31, 2018 in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Kosovo*, Macedonia and Montenegro, show that Serbia is a black champion in the region with 28 registered verbal and physical attacks on journalists and the highest cases of pressures.
Indicators on the Level of Media Freedom and Journalists’ Safety in the Western Balkans – COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS 2018
National reports – Indicators on the level of media freedom and journalists’ safety in the Western Balkans:
Montenegro (summary)
Independent Journalists Association of Serbia (NUNS) registered 69 cases of political and economic pressures on journalists in 2018, the number doubled compared to 2016. Government increased administrative pressures on critical media, sending tax inspections to extensively control independent media, while state officials have been filing number of defamation lawsuits with an aim to financially exhaust newsrooms. In 2018, journalists have been intimidated, libeled as “traitors and foreign mercenaries” and ignored for invitation for official, relevant press conferences or events.
Kosovo* is ranked second with registered 23 verbal and physical attacks; it is followed by Bosnia with 21, Montenegro with seven and Macedonia with six. In BiH and Montenegro there were also attempts to murder journalists, while two journalists in Macedonia and one in Kosovo* have been arrested.
In all five countries verbal attacks are the most common forms of attacks. In Serbia there were 21 such cases. Journalists most commonly receive threats via social media, where people are sending them the most direct death threats. These threats in largest number of cases remain unresolved. In Serbia, out of 21 cases, only one was resolved and a perpetrator was sent to obligatory psychiatric treatment.
Beta news agency’s editor-in-chief, Dragan Janjic, received hundreds of comments on social media. It all began with his Twitter comment regarding the assassination of politician Oliver Ivanovic. That provoked “angry” reaction of Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic, who assessed in a press conference that Janjic accused Serbia for that murder. That was the trigger for an avalanche of verbal threats on social media, for example, “Take him to Kalemegdan and shoot (him) in the head”. The prosecutor’s office dismissed most of criminal complaints as unfounded, saying that their content doesn’t reflect “direct, clear and serious threat”.
In all five countries, impunity for crimes against journalists is prevailing. It is ever more noticeable in Serbia, which formally made the greatest progress in establishing mechanism for protection of journalists. An agreement establishing cooperation between police, prosecution and seven media associations was signed in December 2016. The agreement improved cooperation between institutions and journalists’ associations. Standing Working Group was composed with a role to improve the protection of journalists and to monitor and encourage the efficiency of the state institutions.
However, the agreement has failed to create safer environment for journalists in practice. The associations of journalists have ceased their participation in the group, stating they were not satisfied with its work, highlighting the fact that the Public Prosecution refused to file criminal charges for the six attacks on journalists during the presidential inauguration in 2017.
The Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia has been analyzing the efficiency of judicial authorities in cases of assaults on journalists. According to that analysis, during the period from January 1, 2016 until September 1, 2018, journalists’ associations of the region registered a total of 58 physical assaults against journalists, and in less than half of those cases (23) judicial proceedings were filed. Only 11 verdicts were ruled in favor of journalists.
Journalists Association of Kosovo* has made some steps to improve safety of journalists in cooperation with the State Prosecution Office that has assigned prosecutors to work on cases regarding journalists in five centers across the country. While the number of attacks remained lower only when compared to Serbia, one of positive signs was the fact that police raised charged against South Mitrovica mayor, Agim Bahtiri, for threatening and insulting journalist Shkumbin Kajtazi. The court case is still open.
The countries of the region are failing to close cases open for decades and none of the murders of journalists that happened in the last two decades has been resolved. In Kosovo*, eight journalists were killed between 1998 and 2005, and six are still missing. In Serbia, the murders of three journalists are still ongoing. The murder of journalist Radislava Dada Vujasinovic in 1995 and journalist Milan Pantic in 2001 are both still in pre-trial proceedings. The trial only started in a murder case of journalist Slavko Curuvija, killed in 1999. The trial against former security service officers, charged for Curuvija murder, opened in 2015 and the first-instance verdict is expected to be delivered within first few months of 2019. Montenegro sentenced one person as an accomplice to the murder of Dusko Jovanovic, editor-in-chief of the newspaper Dan, who was killed in 2004, but perpetrators and masterminds of the murder remain unidentified.
Serbia formed a Commission for solving cases of killed journalists, and in August 2018, the Government extended the competences of the Commission allowing it to review the investigations into murders and disappearances of journalists that happened between 1998 and 2001 in Kosovo*, and into the murders of journalists during the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, between 1991 and 1995. Although the Commission made some progress, the police and the prosecutors haven’t made any steps forward following new information in the case of the Milan Pantic murder.
Montenegro has also established the Commission for monitoring the investigations of attacks on journalists and media whose mandate was extended for two more years. In past years, the Commission has identified a number of shortcomings during investigations of 15 monitored cases.
The Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM), as well as other credible member based organizations in the media sphere, assessed that Macedonia is the only country in the Western Balkans that has certain level of improvement in 2018 on the issues of violence against journalists. The number of threats against journalists decreased threefold from 18 in 2017 to six in 2018. This was mainly a result of AJM efforts, but also of the fact that the political climate improved and the Ministry of Interior become more efficient in their investigations. In addition, the national court in Skopje had the first verdict in a case where two journalists were attacked on the main square in Skopje in 2016 and for this the perpetrators were sentenced to 6 months in prison. This is the only prison sentence for an attack against journalists ever recorded. However, more than 50 cases from the last five years still remain unresolved. The prosecution of violence against journalists has still not brought visible results and the ongoing cases have a limited progress in front of the Public Prosecutors Office in Skopje, while in some of the cases where journalists were threatened or attacked there is no progress at all.
Journalists’ fear that the climate of impunity and intimidation would lead to new and brutal attacks turned out to be justified in Serbia. In December 2018, two Molotov cocktails were thrown at the house of journalist Milan Jovanovic, setting it ablaze. Jovanovic, who wrote critically about the authorities in his municipality, survived the attack. The case is not treated as an attempt of murder, but as “causing general danger”. Three people were arrested. Media and journalists claimed that Serbian judiciary showed unwillingness to protect journalists, after Bojana Cvetkovic Sijacki, who admitted that she helped perpetrators during the attack on Jovanovic, concluded an agreement with the Prosecutor’s Office and was sentenced to six months of house arrest and a fine of 50,000 dinars 〈approximately 420 EUR〉.
All associations of journalists in the region pointed out to mild penalty policies, but also to declarative and sporadic convictions of public officials. They generally remain silent in view of violence, showing that they do not support and do not understand the role of journalists.
Both tabloid and pro-government media in Serbia regularly omit to condemn the violence, while some are even openly attacking and targeting independent journalists. Newspaper “Ilustrovana politika” compared journalists with angry dogs on its front page, picturing next to such headline the president of the Commission for the Investigation of the Murder of Journalists, Veran Matic, and journalist Ljiljana Smajlovic, who were described in the article as thieves and traitors.
In order to fight for their rights and security, journalists protested in the streets of Belgrade, Sarajevo and Podgorica. These rallies however have neither managed to improve public officials’ behavior, nor the atmosphere in societies where journalists remain to be perceived as legitimate targets.
*This title is without prejudice as to the status and is in line with the UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and the opinion of the International Court of justice on the declaration of independence of Kosovo.
The article was republished from Safejournalists.net with permission. It was originally published on 28/12/2018.
Belgrade court sentences journalist’s killers 20 years after murder
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Featured Publications, Kosovo*, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia
Last Despatches – Stories about journalists killed in the Balkans since the 1990s
Global media back call for UN to adopt convention on safety of journalists
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Home > News and Events > 2000 > "How to Make a Star," a Free Public Lecture Scheduled for 14 July
"How to Make a Star," a Free Public Lecture Scheduled for 14 July
A free public lecture titled "How to Make a Star" will be presented at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, 14 July, in 101 Thomas Building on the Penn State University Park campus.
Eric Feigelson, professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Penn State, will present the lecture about how planets and stars in the Milky Way Galaxy condense from giant clouds of dust and gas. Gravity pulls matter inward, making the proto-star, while the rotation of the dust-and-gas system prevents some matter from succumbing to the gravitational pull, making a disk where planets form. These young systems exhibit a variety of unusual behaviors with jets shooting out in two directions, gas funneling inward along magnetic fields, and violent magnetic explosions producing abundant X-rays.
Using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and other orbiting telescopes, Feigelson and collaborators study the X-ray emission of young stars. The talk will highlight Feigelson's recent discoveries of a young star cluster over the South Pole and studies of X-rays from the Orion Nebula.
Feigelson's research emphasizes the relationship between X-ray astronomy and star formation. He also is a leader in the cross-disciplinary field of astrostatistics. In addition to teaching and research, he serves as assistant department head for the undergraduate program and directs summer workshops in astronomy for high school science teachers. He won a National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award in 1984.
His lecture is hosted by the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics and funded largely by the Ronald M. and Susan J. Friedman Outreach Fund in Astronomy. Mr. Friedman is a member of the department's board of directors.
The special lecture coincides with AstroFest, a four-night event-Wednesday, 12 July, to Saturday, 15 July-sponsored by the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics and the Penn State Astronomy Club. Scheduled from 8:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. each night, AstroFest features star-gazing opportunities, planetarium shows, hands-on activities, astronomy-themed art, short presentations, and slide shows. All events are free and open to the public. For more information, call (814) 863-6040.
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You are here: Home › physics › Max Delbrück – Co-founder of Modern Molecular Biology and Genetics
Max Delbrück – Co-founder of Modern Molecular Biology and Genetics
physics 3. September 2018 2 Harald Sack
Max Delbrück (1906-1981) Foto: Dr. Ernst Peter Fischer
On September 4, 1906, German biophysicist and Nobel laureate Max Delbrück was born in Berlin. His best known achievement for that he won the Nobel prize was the discovy that bacteria become resistant to viruses (phages) as a result of genetic mutations.
“If you’re too sloppy, then you never get reproducible results, and then you never can draw any conclusions; but if you are just a little sloppy, then when you see something startling, (…) you nail it down (…). So I called it the “Principle of Limited Sloppiness”.
— Interview with Max Delbruck (1978) [9].
Max Delbrück’s father Hans Delbrück was a professor of history at the University of Berlin, and his mother was the granddaughter of Justus von Liebig, the famous German chemist who made major contributions to agricultural and biological chemistry, also often referred to as ‘father of the fertilizer industry‘. The newly discovered quantum mechanics led Delbrück to theoretical physics. Delbrück studied astrophysics, shifting towards theoretical physics, at the University of Göttingen. He received his doctorate in this field in 1929. In the physical field, the Delbrück scattering in quantum electrodynamics (scattering of high-energy photons at the coulomb field of a nucleus via the generation and destruction of electron-positron pairs) is named after him. After several stays abroad, he worked at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Chemistry in Berlin-Dahlem from 1932, where he became an assistant to Lise Meitner,[2] who was collaborating with Otto Hahn on irradiation of uranium with neutrons.[3]
From Physics to Biology
At the suggestion of Niels Bohr, he turned here to interdisciplinary work with biology. In 1935, together with the geneticist Nikolai Timofejew-Ressowski and the physicist Karl Günther Zimmer, he published a work on gene mutations, in which they were the first to suggest that genes should be regarded as complex nuclear associations. This was the beginning of modern genetics. By 1937 the political influence on research had become too great; Delbrück initially emigrated to the USA as a research fellow with a Rockefeller Foundation fellowship to research genetics of the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, in California Institute of Technology’s biology department, where he researched bacteria and their viruses (bacteriophages).
Research in Genetics in the U. S.
When the scholarship expired in the autumn of 1939, he received a physics professorship from colleagues at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. From 1947 Delbrück worked at the Caltech again on bacteriophages. In 1942, he and Salvador Luria of Indiana University demonstrated that bacterial resistance to virus infection is mediated by random mutation. This research, known as the Luria-Delbrück experiment, notably applied mathematics to make quantitative predictions. He also soon exchanged information with Alfred Day Hershey. With their investigations, the three scientists laid the foundations for modern molecular biology and genetics, which earned them both the 1969 Nobel Prize in Medicine for their discovery on the replication of viruses and their genetic structure.
In 1949 Delbrück was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, in 1959 to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. As a biology professor at Caltech (until 1977) he continued his research in several areas. In addition to sensory physiology, the focus was on quantum chemistry and mutations, for example in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster.
Return to Germany and Later Years
In 1947 Delbrück travelled to Germany again for the first time, but did not move his centre of life there again. One of his first post-war students in Germany was the geneticist Carsten Bresch. From 1958 Bresch, commissioned by Delbrück, established the Institute of Genetics at the University of Cologne, which had been established by the Cologne botanist Joseph Straub. From 1961 to 1963, Delbrück conducted research at the new Cologne Institute and helped to establish it. This first molecular-genetically oriented research institute in Germany was a model for the establishment of further such institutes. In 1969, he helped the University of Constance to establish its Faculty of Biology. In 1963 he was elected a member of the Leopoldina Society of Scholars and was awarded the Gregor Mendel Medal in 1967.
Max Delbrück was influential in the 20th century’s movement of physical scientists into biology. His inferences on genes’ susceptibility to mutation was relied on by physicist Erwin Schrödinger in his 1944 book What Is Life?, which influenced Francis Crick and James D. Watson in their 1953 identification of cellular DNA’s molecular structure as a double helix. On March 9, 1981 Max Delbrück passed away at age 74.
“The progress of science is tremendously disorderly, and the motivations that lead to this progress are tremendously varied, and the reasons why scientists go into science, the personal motivations, are tremendously varied. I have said … that science is a haven for freaks, that people go into science because they are misfits, and that it is a sheltered place where they can spin their own yarn and have recognition, be tolerated and happy, and have approval for it.” (Max Delbrück, 1978)
At yovisto academic video search you can learn more about modern genetics in the lecture series of Prof. Eric Ladder from Massachussetts Institut of Technology.
[1] Justus von Liebig and the Agricultural Revolution, SciHi blog
[2] Lise Meitner – The Misjudged Genius, SciHi Blog
[3] Otto Hahn – the Father of Nuclear Chemistry, SciHi blog
[4] Niels Bohr and the beginnings of Quantum Mechanics, SciHi Blog
[5] Erwin Schrödinger and his Famous Thought Experiment, SciHi Blog
[6] Crick and Watson decipher the DNA, SciHi Blog
[7] Max Delbrück at Encyclopædia Britannica
[8] Max Delbrück – Biographical, at nobelprize.org
[9] Interview with Max Delbrück, 1978, p. 76-77. Oral History Project, California Institute of Technology Archives, Pasadena, California
[10] Max Delbrück at Wikidata
[11] Timeline of Max Delbrück, via Wikidata
Erwin Schrödinger, Francis Crick, genetics, James D. Watson, Justus von Liebig, Lise Meitner, Max Delbrück, Nobel Prize, Otto Hahn, Salvador Luria
To Preserve a Copy of each printed Book – The German National Library
Alexander Fleming and the Accidental Discovery of Penicillin
CERN and its Brilliant Minds
Pingback: Whewell’s Gazette: Year 2, Vol. #08 | Whewell's Ghost
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You are here: Home › architecture › Walter Gropius – Founder of the Bauhaus School
Walter Gropius – Founder of the Bauhaus School
architecture 18. May 2019 0 Harald Sack
Walter Gropius (1883 – 1969)
On May 18, 1883, German architect and founder of the Bauhaus School Walter Gropius was born, who is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modern architecture.
“Art itself cannot be taught, but craftsmanship can. Architects, painters, sculptors are all craftsmen in the original sense of the word. Thus it is a fundamental requirement of all artistic creativity that every student undergo a thorough training in the workshops of all branches of the crafts.”
— Walter Gropius, as quoted in Paul Klee, 1879-1940 (2000) by w:Susanna Partsch, p. 47
Working with Peter Behrens
Walter Gropius was not the first architect in the family. Indeed already his father and great-uncle, who was a pupil of Karl Friedrich Schinkel, enjoyed this profession.[5] In 1903 Gropius began to study architecture at the Technical University of Munich, which he continued at the Technical University of Charlottenburg from 1906, but left without a diploma in 1908. In the same year he joined Peter Behrens‘ office,[7] where other architects, including Ludwig Mies van der Rohe [8] and Le Corbusier,[9] who later became famous, had worked alongside him. After working at Behrens for two years, Gropius became self-employed in 1910 as an industrial designer and architect. In the same year he joined the Deutscher Werkbund through Karl Ernst Osthaus. This experience really influenced Gropius. Utilitarianism in architecture is characterized by modern industrial design in which a building’s shape is primarily given by its function. In the early years of his work, Walter Gropius began working on collaborative projects like a shoe factory in Berlin. He was always concerned to keep the modern style combined with providing comfortable and healthy working conditions for the people laboring inside.
The Bauhaus in Weimar
But Gropius not only practiced his modern architecture, he also made several publications with numerous images of his style and future ideas on industrial buildings, which had a great influence mostly in North America. During the First World War Gropius served as an NCO in the reserve. He was seriously wounded during his four-year assignment on the Western Front and was awarded the Iron Cross. Gropius’ presumably biggest career chance occurred in 1915. Henry van de Velde, a school master of an Arts and Crafts institution in Weimar had to quit and recommended Walter Gropius to be his successor. Walter Gropius transformed the institute into the world famous Bauhaus school. Bauhaus was probably one of the biggest architectural movements and special in Europe’s history. Germany was just defeated in World War I and many architects and designers longed for a new style and new shapes away from the emotional designs of Expressionism to simpler and more rational works. Gropius was highly influenced by William Morris, who always stood for ‘simple’ designs that reflect the building’s function in any way. And indeed, the Bauhaus style lacks of any kind of ornamentation and transports a harmony between practical purposes and beauty to the masses.
Craftsmen vs Artists
“The mind is like an umbrella – it functions best when open.”
– Walter Gropius, as quoted in The Art of Looking Sideways by w:Alan Fletcher, p. 129
When Gropius became the director of his school, he set his goals to design buildings for all without class distinctions, which also reflects the name of his movement, Bauhaus. It references to a building and a premodern guild in order to honor the craftsmen and to reduce the barrier between them and contemporary artists. The Bauhaus school soon attracted numerous renowned architects and later also painters and sculpturers teaching, practicing and distributing the movement adapting to the rapidly changing world of a growing mass production and technology.
Walter Gropius and fellow architects of the Bauhaus completed several buildings in Berlin like the Sommer house and the Otto house in Jena, and raised the movements attention during the design competition for Chicago’s Tribune Tower.
The Bauhaus building in Dessau, Germany
Political Pressure
Unfortunately, due to a raising political pressure on Walter Gropius and his school in Weimar, the school moved at first to Dessau, and later to Berlin before being closed by the Nazi regime. Gropius successor as director of the school was the Swiss architect Hannes Meyer in 1928, who retired in 1930 and moved to the Soviet Union for the next six years. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe led the Bauhaus until its closure in the early days of National Socialism in 1933.
Emigration to England and the USA
In 1934, after National Socialist attacks on the Bauhaus, Gropius emigrated to England as the “Church of Marxism” and in 1937 to the USA in Cambridge, where he was professor of architecture at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University. From 1941 to 1948 Gropius worked closely with Konrad Wachsmann, who began his career as a freelance architect through the house of Dr. Estrich and the Einsteinhaus Caputh. Among other things, they developed and produced the well-known General Panel system.
The Architects Collaborative
In 1946, Gropius founded The Architects Collaborative, Inc. (TAC) as an association of young architects, which should also become a manifesto of his belief in the importance of teamwork. One work of this team is the Graduate Center of Harvard University in Cambridge (1949/1950). His book Architecture – Ways to an Optical Culture is a plea for creativity and teamwork in the service of society.
In between the years of its existence, the Bauhaus school went through a development of its own style moving straightly towards functionality. After the school was closed, its influence however remained in all thinkable forms of art. In the last years of his life Gropius was again frequently active in Berlin, where he built a nine-storey apartment block in the Hansaviertel as part of the Interbau in 1957. Not all of Gropius’ works were uncontroversial. Critics complained that he sometimes went too far in his efforts to industrialise and standardise construction: it was not the needs of the residents that determined the floor plans, but the course of the cranes’ rails; bathtubs were placed between the sink and stove; windows could not be opened completely; the copper house settlement in Finow, for example, would also speak neither aesthetically nor functionally. Gropius’ idea of a “construction kit on a large scale” laid the foundation for prefabricated buildings in the satellite cities of the world. On the one hand, industrial mass production made it possible to provide urgently needed housing; on the other hand, it made housing anonymous and created new social problems.
Walter Gropius died on July 5, 1969, in Boston, Massachusetts, aged 86
At yovisto academic video search, you may learn more about the development from Beaux Arts Complexity to Bauhaus Simplicity and where architecture is going today by Anne Tyng at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design.
[1] Walter Gropius Website
[2] Walter Gropius at a Bauhaus Website
[3] Der Talentierte Mister Bauhaus at Spiegel Online [in German]
[4] Bauhaus Architecture at Harvard
[5] Karl Friedrich Schinkel and the Prussian City Scapes, SciHi Blog
[6] Martin Gropius at Wikidata
[7] Peter Behrens – Pioneer of Modern Industrial Design, SciHi Blog
[8] Mies van der Rohe – the expression of constructive logic and spatial freedom in a classical form, SciHi Blog
[9] The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier, SciHi Blog
[10] Timeline of Bauhaus architects and buildings, via DBpedia and Wikidata
Bauhaus, Henry van de Velde, Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe, Peter Behrens, Utilitarianism, Walter Gropius, Weimar, William Morris
Joseph Norman Lockyer – a Pioneer of Modern Astrophysics and Founder of Archaeoastronomy
Alcuin of York – Architect of the Carolingian Renaissance
The Organic Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright
Marcel Breuer – Master of Modernism
Peter Behrens – Pioneer of Modern Industrial Design
Piet Mondrian – Reducing Art to Simple Geometry
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Posted on September 16, 2016 December 10, 2018 by Steven Hager
Secrets of the American Revolution
After publishing his landmark study of the Constitution in 1913, Charles Beard of Yale University became the most eminent and influential historian in America, and it took decades of nit-picking to bring him down from that perch. He was soon universally ignored inside his profession, a role later reserved for Antony Sutton, who picked up on some of Beard’s style. For both, history was the study of economic interests, not dogmas.
Beard believed there were two American Revolutions, one to break from England, and one to cement an elite aristocracy into control. Far from being the wonderful document we celebrate today, the Constitution was the spearhead of a counter-revolution, conceived and instituted by the largest bond holders from each state, the banksters of their day.
George Washington was the richest man in North America at the time, as well as the largest single investor in the Revolution. Loyalist landowners faced seizure from the new government, just as landowners who’d supported the revolution had faced seizure if England won. I imagine many rich people tried to remain neutral, or played either side when convenient.
Washington was the most powerful Mason in North America, and a large number of Masons attended the Constitutional Convention, but that should not be surprising since Masonic principles support the equality of man. But it’s also true Masonry became infected at the highest levels by European royals, and flourished in both the British military and the world’s second multinational corporation, The East India Company (The Dutch East India Corporation was first, and it was their company England was imitating.)
Original East India Co. flag
I’ve always found it interesting that the original flag of the East India Company had 13 stripes alternating red and white, and if you possessed one of those flags, turning it into the stars and stripes would have been a relatively easy affair. Since the East India Company was the dominant cartel controlling the American economy, it would have made sense for them to embed prominent operatives into the revolution, in order to preserve the best environment post-revolution for continuing their immense profits. And many of their allies were located along the Eastern seaboard, involved with the China trade, which involved picking up opium in India and transporting it to China to trade for valuable goods.
CategoriesConspiracy theory TagsAntony Sutton, British East India Company, Charles Beard, George Washington
3 Replies to “Secrets of the American Revolution”
Les Jordan says:
You mean, no Betsy Ross? Otherwise, I thought the New England sea roving class was quite content with the slave trade until it was abolished by Congress in 1807. That didn’t stop human trafficking (as we call it today) immediately, But by the 1830’s N.E. merchants were throwing their lots in with the British, whose gold and silver reserves were being drained by the Chinese in exchange for their silk and tea. The English had nothing to “trade”, so turned to opium, which, of course, they forced upon the Chinese under the banner of “free trade”. That is, the American involvement in the opium trade was a generation or two after the revolutionary period. New England turned to opium after slaving petered out for them.
Steven Hager says:
Of course Betsy made a flag, but seems like she could have used an old East India flag as a starting point, if not the inspiration.
Old Betsy – still love her
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Home Open Access Tracking Project (OATP) ab1630's bookmarks Current Liblicense Archive - Knowledge Unlatched Titles Reach over 1M Downloads in 2018
Current Liblicense Archive - Knowledge Unlatched Titles Reach over 1M Downloads in 2018
"More than 250% increase in use compared to 2017
Berlin, 28.08.2018. Knowledge Unlatched (KU) announces a new record for usage of its Open Access (OA) books. Over 950 titles from the Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) have been accessed more than 1 million times by users worldwide in the past 8 months of this year alone. The increase in usage compared to 2017 is significant: On aggregate, KU content has seen 570,000 full-text downloads on the OAPEN platform and a further 490,000 chapter downloads on the JSTOR platform.
"We are pleased that scientists around the world are using the content of our approximately 100 publishing partners to such an extent." says Tom Mosterd, Discovery & Account Manager at KU. "It is exciting to see that libraries are committed to ensuring that OA books are made accessible to a global audience, thereby playing a crucial role in reaching this key milestone.’’
Financed by libraries worldwide, nearly 1,000 titles have already been made available through Knowledge Unlatched, and several hundred titles are added every year...."
http://listserv.crl.edu/wa.exe?A2=ind1808&L=LIBLICENSE-L&P=51455
oa.new oa.ku oa.platforms oa.publishing oa.publishers oa.milestones oa.books oa.downloads oa.usage oa.business_models oa.humanities oa.libraries oa.ssh
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New Book: The World Won’t Wait
January 19 2016|Comments (0)
Roland Paris and I have a new edited volume out on Canadian Foreign Policy. The World Won’t Wait: Why Canada Needs to Rethink its International Policies features analysis from a wonderful group of wicked smart colleagues and friends. The abstract is below and the intro chapter from Roland and I is available here: ‘A Transforming World’
The need for an ambitious and forward-looking Canadian international strategy has never been greater. The worldwide changes that jeopardize Canadian security and prosperity are profound, ranging from the globalization of commerce, crime, and political extremism to the impact of climate change on the economy and environment. The reaction from Canada’s policymakers, at least so far, has been underwhelming.
In The World Won’t Wait, some of Canada’s brightest thinkers respond. Covering both classic foreign policy issues such as international security, human rights, and global institutions and emerging issues like internet governance, climate change, and sustainable development, their essays offer fresh and provocative responses to today’s challenges and opportunities. The proposals are striking and the contributors diverse: Toronto’s chief city planner makes the case that Canada needs a global urban agenda, while a prominent mining executive explains how to revitalize the country’s position as a world leader in the sector. Their essays are sure to spark the kind of debate that Canada requires if its international policy is to evolve into the twenty-first century.
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Numerology house number 32 23,find address book mac,horoscope for today march 15 2013 frameset - PDF Books
The house number that is closest to you (most influential) is the actual house, apartment or unit number. Good luck colors for this home are: Orange, Pink and Peach or Golden tones. Good luck colors for this home are: Yellow-Orange, Lemon, Lime and other tangy citrus colors. Good luck colors for this home are: Deep Violet, Maroon, Blue-Black, Opalescent colors, Pastels, Gold. Good luck colors for this home are: Coral, Russet, Terra Cotta, Copper, Earth Green, Sage and Periwinkle Blue. Good luck colors for this home are: Pearlescent Lavender, Faded Sunshine Yellow, Sun Bleached Tangerine and Sea-Foam Green.
Most feng shui practitioners agree that the number nine is the most auspicious number, so it's no wonder that this is the favored number of fish for your tank or aquarium.
According to feng shui principles, numbers play an important role in feng shui application.
In addition to choosing the number of fish to care for in your feng shui aquarium, proper placement of the fish tank is very important. The next important number is your address with the house number combined with the street and the directionals (spelled out) but without the city, state, zip or country.
A 5 house does not denote marriage per se, but more romance, exploration and growth as opposed to commitment and steadfastness as the 4 house would encourage.
If you live in an apartment complex, look at the address of the complex without your apartment number to understand the energy of this complex as a whole.
A 3 house is decorated to reflect the creativity of the inhabitants and this can range from wildly eclectic to *House and Garden* chic. The 9 person, lucky house numbers according to vastu in addition to knowledge crushed; and just as Ii–? about to sigh for relief that no train. The world of Hollywood has always been quick to (a) pick up on what’s going on in the real world of unsolved mysteries of the conspiratorial and supernatural kind and (b) make use of those same mysteries in hit TV shows and mega-bucks movies. There is, however, one particularly sinister and enduring mystery that, for the most part, falls under Hollywood’s radar. Directed and co-written by Alan Rudolph, Endangered Species focuses on one Ruben Castle (Urich). After arriving in a small Colorado town, specifically one where an old friend in the world of newspapers, Joe Hiatt (played by Paul Dooley) lives and works, both Castle and his daughter cause problems for the local police. In no time at all, Castle learns that something very strange is going on in town and in the surrounding fields of local farmers.
As Endangered Species progresses we see Castle and Sheriff Purdue hook up in more ways than one. In case this article prompts you to delve into Endangered Species for yourself, I won’t spoil things by revealing the outcome, and who – or what – is really mutilating cattle in Colorado and elsewhere. One of the most prolific Fortean writers on the planet, Nick Redfern is the author of many books, including Men in Black, Chupacabra Road Trip, and The Bigfoot Book.
Each piece of SCOTTeVEST clothing is engineered with a TON of pockets to hold all of your gadgets and gizmos…everything from a memory card to a tablet!
Two alien visitations, a dark presence pays a visit, a haunted family home and much more on this edition of Campfire!
Psychic medium Carole Obley joins us, talks about communication with the dead and she takes your calls. A ghost gets angry at an impolite ghosthunter, supernatural dreams, both good and bad, plus more on this edition of Campfire! Casper is an online retailer of premium mattresses for a fraction of the price because everyone deserves a great night’s sleep. Author Mitch Horowitz joins us to talk about the occult history of America on this edition of The Paranormal Podcast.
CLICK HERE to get your first month of membership in my Paranormal Plus Club for only $3.95! Jay Weidner joins us to discuss his theory that legendary filmmaker Stanley Kubrick helped NASA fake the Apollo 11 moon landing.
From our career paths to our love lives to whether or not we become parents, we wonder how much of it is a result of one choice atop another choice atop another…or if we had no choice in any of it at all. I’ve been thinking about this subject a lot lately, recently feeling this pull towards certain people and situations that genuinely seem as though they were “meant to be,” all the while pondering with some frustration other situations I cannot seem to fix or change. The word “destiny” comes from the Middle English “destinee,” and simply refers to a predetermined course of events that are the result of an irresistible power or agency. In order for a life to be predestined, it had to be predetermined, and this is where science, philosophers and religious and spiritual leaders have long struggled to explain exactly who, or what, predetermined it. While scientists might say it was just random, the result of the Big Bang and its resultant physical laws that fell into place by some kind of brilliant accident, philosophers and religious thinkers sensed that there was something that started the whole chain of cause and effect that laid down the path of each human life, maybe even the earth itself. This sounds just like the Judeo-Christian concepts of reap what you sow and do unto others. Yet over thousands of years, we have battled with the sense that both destiny and free will or choice play a huge role in our lives, and certainly in how the world around us came to be.
The Big Bang is often referred to as the starting point of our universe (we won’t even get into what came before it, or what first cause “caused” the Big Bang!), from which all the forces, laws and matter and form and energy and life came into existence.
But there are those scientists who believe that the amazing sophistication and intricacies of how life came to be simply could not have been a lucky accident of chemicals and particles and gasses and heat and matter and energy all being in the right place at the right time, and in just the right amounts. But if this is how we are creating our reality, as the popular Law of Attraction teachings tell us, with focus and intention and observing things into being, then how could anything be predetermined? Millions of people visit astrologers, palm readers, tarot readers, even love and relationship coaches wanting to know their destinies. Love coaches will tell you that there are many soul mates out there for you, and not just The One, and that there might be someone destined for you in a sense that they will be the best fit, but they won’t be the only best fit out of billions of people on the planet. But our main concern is with our own lives, more than how they play out in the natural world. Yet if we are honest with ourselves, many of us do feel called, as if we have a path, or a destiny, that we are moving towards.
Much of investigating the paranormal involves looking at external effects and influences without any general understanding of the cause, or the forces behind them. A young boy is saved by a guardian angel, a deceased relative pays a visit and more on this edition of Campfire! Bender was not the first person to encounter one of the creepy MIB, but there’s no denying it was thanks to him that the enigmatic issue became known widely.
A resident of Bridgeport, Connecticut, Bender was not just a devotee of all-things ufological. As Bender’s interest in UFOs expanded, he established his own journal – Space Review – which attracted a sizeable, worldwide audience. Gray Barker – an author and publisher on matters relative to UFOs – was an acquaintance of Bender and ultimately became a friend.
The purpose of this article is not to delve into all of the intricacies of the Bender controversy, but to demonstrate the incredible extent to which Bender’s account influenced the world of entertainment. The Invaders is hardly a solitary example of how the Men in Black have infected the world of on-screen entertainment. Then, there’s the equally popular and successful Matrix movies, starring Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Laurence Fishbourne. There are also “The Observers” from Fringe, a sci-fi-themed show that ran on Fox from 2008 to 2013. In my view, and based upon my lengthy studies of the MIB phenomenon, the Strangers of Dark City are the closest fictional things to the real Men in Black.
Dark City, Men in Black, The Matrix, The Invaders, and Fringe – and more – all owe a debt of gratitude to Albert Bender. The legendary Brad Steiger joins us to talk about all things paranormal including his latest work. Micah & Jim talk about a mysterious UFO sighting by commercial pilots, updates on the Loch Ness Monster, reincarnation, the universe as a simulation and more on this edition of The Paranormal Report! On December 5th, 1945, five US Navy bomber planes were making their way over the waters of the Atlantic during a training mission. This is one of many tales surrounding the Bermuda Triangle, an extremely enigmatic area of the Atlantic Ocean, that when viewed from above, creates the shape of a triangle.
While these theories all harbor serious debate and controversy, the mystery remains as to why this certain area seems so active with unexplainable disappearances. Stretching from Ludington, MI to Benton Harbor, MI, and then all the way to Manitowoc, Wisconsin, this triangular portion of Lake Michigan has inspired many anomalous events. The legend behind this mysterious triangle began to spread, and more and more stories began to be told of tragic accidents and unexplained phenomena surrounding the waters. The Burle Triangle is comprised of Mount Pilat, Mount Mezenc, and the small town of Le Puy, in France.
One of the more peculiar aspects of many of these plane crashed were that of UFO sightings in the areas making up the triangle. Whatever was happening over the skies of the Burle Triangle, it seemed that some sort of aerial phenomena didn’t want the planes there. Similar to the Bermuda Triangle, this area of water is located in the Philippine Sea off China’s eastern coast.
These disappearances led the Japanese government to acknowledge the area as a danger zone and to send a team of scientists to study the triangle. Situated in southeastern Massachusetts, the town of Bridgewater sits smack dab in the center of an area whose points stretch from the neighboring towns of Abington, Freetown, and Rehoboth. Other areas of the Bridgewater Triangle have boasted high amounts of UFO activity throughout the years, including one in 1760 that could possibly be considered one of the first recorded UFO reports in history.
Perhaps one of the more terrifying aspects of the Bridgewater Triangle were reports of cattle mutilations in the forested areas. While some of the activity in the Bridgewater Triangle has been documented, not all of it can be substantiated.
While no singular answer can explain the plethora of mysteries in each and every one of these areas, it is interesting to note that they all seem to run the sharp three lined path of a triangle. According to western culture, the orientation of a triangle can have powerful meaning as well. One could speculate endlessly as to why such mysterious and terrifying things have happened at each and every one of these locations. An entity seems to possess a woman, loved ones come through to their loved ones left behind, angel stories and more on this edition of Campfire.
A strange ball of light, a haunted childhood home, special messages from passed loved ones and a story revolving around a beloved pet are all part of this week’s Campfire! Since the years following World War II, “flying saucer” has been widely recognized as a household term. Descriptions of UFOs vary greatly enough, in fact, that no single explanation has ever been offered that accounts for all of the kinds of aerial phenomena observed over the decades.
Among these are reports of the so-called “flying triangles”, objects which are typically described as large, silent, slow-moving triangular objects which are dark enough in color to nearly blend in against the night sky, save only for lighted portions which are often reported at the corners, as well as the center of the base of the objects. Clearly, the FAS entry excerpted above does appear to reference the giant triangular UFOs which have risen to prominence over last few decades. Indeed, many have asserted that these strange aircraft are the result of some secretive U.S.
Whatever their origins, as stated previously the “flying triangles” are indeed unique among UFO reports for the consistency they provide. The first of these, which I collected from a South Carolina resident named “Aaron”, occurred in October 1998, just outside the town of Liberty, South Carolina.
As I opened the door to get out of the car, I looked up, and at around a 45 degree angle to my line of sight was a black triangular object. At the time, I was 17 years old and thought that I had witnessed something extraterrestrial.
MB Telephone Number Numerology Software does a free telephone number numerology analysis and tells you if the telephone number or the mobile number you are using is suitable for you or not.
When you get a number that is multiple digits, add those digits together to get a single digit. Good luck colors for this home are: Light Blue, Royal Blue, Lilac and Hyacinth. Good luck colors for this home are: Black, White, Opalescent Pearl, Clear Glass, Canary Yellow, Baby Pink and Baby Blue. Use Lucky Numbers This long awaited article covers for you both house numerology and the name numerology for Number 33.
While these are two very significant aspects of number use in feng shui, it's not a common practice for selecting the number of fish to use in an aquarium. A fish tank should never be placed in a bedroom, the kitchen, or in the center of the house. Since numbers are vibrations, your address sets the tone for your living space Numerology Address.
In fact, many people believe that if any fish in the tank dies without a justifiable cause, then its sacrifice was to spare you the bad luck that was headed your way. If the inhabitants have 5's very strong in their vibration, this would be a perfect house for them as it would support and supply the constant stream of new experience a 5 seeks. And particularly so for the local sheriff, Harriet Purdue – played by actress JoBeth Williams.
And we see that what begins as a tale filled with accounts of aliens and devil-worshippers, soon becomes something very different.
As the story continues, we see far less talk about aliens and UFOs, and far more about black and near-silent helicopters, secret biological- and germ-warfare programs, and paramilitary-style operations of a very dark kind. I think you should try their products. CLICK HERE AND use my special discount code JIMHAROLD to get 20% off of your SCOTTeVEST purchase. Social media and self-help gurus bombard us with contradictory claims that our lives are pre-destined, that Fate deals us the cards we will play our entire lives with, that whatever happens, happens for a reason. There are even goddesses that are responsible for giving out good fortune, such as the Greek goddess Tyche, and the Roman Fortuna, ruling out any role that choice might play in finding and keeping wealth, success and happiness. This beginning of the chain is known as “first cause,” and without knowing first cause, we simply don’t know who or what destined us to our roles in life.
If each moment of our future, and the future of everyone around us, were already planned to the minutiae, then would there even be a purpose to life at all? Our religions are filled with stories and proverbs and quotes about having a destined role or a predetermined fate, such as Christ’s destiny to be betrayed by Judas.
If we look at our own bodies, we can easily see that we have a genetic blueprint by which we became blond or brunette, green-eyed or brown-eyed, short or tall, big boned or small boned, and any other physical characteristics that were handed to us by our parents and their parents and their parents. It was perhaps a blueprint of sorts, and yet many scientists will say that it did not have any kind of intelligent design behind it. To these men and women of science, there indeed seems to be a destiny that started and directs the cosmos, and that the first cause behind it appears to have had some type of intelligence, though not necessarily human.
At the level of the quantum, we are told that particles exist in a suspended state both as particle and waveform, until they are observed and their wave function collapses, thus fixing the particle into a position or outcome. But the truth is, there are forces at play in our lives that are unseen except in the effects and influences we can observe. We have yet to be able to prove that ghosts are real, aliens exist or cryptids roam the backwoods. The same goes for whether our own lives are lived in a way that offer no choice, leading to sense of defeat at the “fixed” nature of it all…or whether we feel like the whole dang world is a peach tree of choices just ripe for the picking. Jones is the author of several books about the paranormal, metaphysics, and cutting-edge science (many coauthored with Larry Flaxman), including PSIence, The Deja vu Enigma, Destiny vs. When the “modern era” of Ufology kicked off in June 1947 – thanks to the famous encounter of Kenneth Arnold at Mt. He was also heavily involved in – and interested in – all manner of paranormal, supernatural, and occult phenomena.
When he learned that Bender’s exit from Ufology was prompted by a series of chilling, intimidating visits from a trio of ghoulish men dressed in black – and with nothing less than glowing eyes and sporting fedoras – Barker knew this was a story that had to be told. Five years after Flying Saucers and the Three Men was published, ABC aired a short-lived, but well-remembered show called The Invaders.
In the show, the Observers dress in dark suits, wear equally dark fedoras and skinny black ties, and have pale skin and emotionless faces and characters.
Had it not been for that strange and sinister series of encounters in Bender’s “Chamber of Horrors” in the early 1950s, it’s highly unlikely any of those shows and movies would have turned out the way they did.
Lieutenant Charles Taylor was in constant communication with the base, updating them on the progress of the mission. Dating all the way back to 1891, a schooner by the name of Thomas Hume, and seven other men, were making their way across the lake to retrieve a shipment of lumber.
Eleven members of the Benton Harbor House of David were making their way across the lake in the Rosa Belle ship. Some even claimed that the triangle was some sort of inter-dimensional portal where ships were hopping in and out of time. The area was named after the extremely high winds and snow storms in the area, and it holds the French record for unexplained aircraft accidents; surely a record nobody wants to hold. One in particular occurred in 1943 when a fighter plane plummeted to the ground, leaving a sole survivor. Their vessel, the Kaiyo Maru No, also went missing, prompting the Japanese government to abort the study. They include USOs (unidentified submerged objects), time warps, and electromagnetic anomalies. Unlike the other triangles that encompass mountain ranges or bodies of water, this triangle mostly stretches across land, and is littered with countless claims of paranormal activity.
This is a five-thousand acre area that includes an eight-thousand year-old Native American burial ground. A multi-witnessed event occurred in 1968 when five people claimed to have seen a strange all of light hovering through the trees of Rehoboth.
In 1970, there were various accounts of a seven foot tall hairy beast wandering through the area.
But one thing is clear; whatever is going on within the confines of this area is beyond unusual, and many paranormal investigators continue to travel its supposed points of origin, trying to narrow in on one of the most active paranormal hotspots on the planet.
One can speculate endlessly as to why this may be, but perhaps the symbology of the triangle itself could bring us a bit closer to an answer. But one thing is for certain; we have, throughout many decades, shaped the narrative of these incidents around that of a triangle, almost fearing the word when tragedy strikes.
However, within the broader range of UFO reports that have been collected over the last several decades, there are some reliable examples that have emerged, which also present consistencies from case-to-case, particularly in recent years. In fact, the prevalence of triangle UFO sightings has resulted in a number of books, articles, and television documentaries devoted almost entirely to solving the mystery of their appearances. Military project, with some further asserting that the triangles are likely a variety of platform blimp developed by DARPA. Over the years, this author has collected reports and corresponded with a number of individuals who have claimed to have had their own encounters, a few of which we will review here (though some of the names of the individuals who supplied these reports have been changed or omitted, due to requests for anonymity). As I came around a bend in the road my headlights malfunctioned causing me to stop the car. This wonderful numerology software for phone number numerology reading takes into account your numerical associations on the basis of your name and other details that you provide and tells you if the phone number you are using will influence luck in your favor or not. Number 1 homes bring brand new experiences; new ideas, new relationships, new business ideas, new freedom from old conditions. Good luck colors for this home are: Lavender, Purple, Violet and deep greens and browns.
Numerology is the study of the symbolism of numbers and many believe that the history of numerology goes back more than 10 000 years. According to feng shui principles, adding an aquarium to your home or office is an excellent way to attract auspicious chi into your space, especially for good luck, abundance and prosperity.
The feng shui lucky number of fish in a tank or aquarium varies depending on your personal flying star chart and of course, the size of the fish tank.
The number nine is the number for prosperity, which symbolizes your wealth having a long life span. All of these numbers influence your home environment, but none as much as your individual 'dwelling number'. Windows with enjoyable views are great for this house and if the view is not so nice - put up a trellis or a stain glass window.
It’s a production that did a pretty good job of fictionalizing the world’s most famous UFO case.
Indeed, Castle is not a particularly endearing character: he’s a drunk with a hair-trigger temper, and, while in Colorado, he fails to stay on the wagon. In many ways, it’s something even more deadly and dangerous than beef-loving ETs or devotees of Satan. Whereas, Coyote’s character is someone known only as Steele, a man who definitely knows more than he’s saying.
OR that our lives are what we choose them to be, that what we focus on expands and manifests according to some “Law of Attraction.” Or maybe it’s all just one big crapshoot. We put out the word of our desire for a new job, and someone calls with a lead the next day.
While destiny implies that one has a bit of maneuvering room by which they can reach their destined end point, fate implies no such allowance for choice. Why would we not then be robots, born to eat, reproduce and die with no dreams or goals or feelings or emotions or consciousness at all? Perhaps the Universe, including us, is nothing more than the program of a giant Cosmic Computer, yet one would still have to ask…who or what is programming the computer? Particles have a range of possible or potential states and until an observer effect occurs, those states remain in superposition, or happening all at once so to speak. We have yet to show in a purely scientific fashion that telekinesis or precognition or even remote viewing is real, although we do have some good data and even some hands on clinical testing to show they do happen.
He was the man who thrust the Men in Black – and the mystery surrounding them – into the public domain in the 1950s.
Rainier on the 24th of the month – it prompted numerous people to get involved in the study of the phenomenon. He even converted his attic-based abode into what he termed his “Chamber of Horrors.” It was a dark and foreboding place filled with paintings of demons, witches, ghosts, and more – even an “altar,” one that was designed to summon up who knows what from who knows where. Running for just two seasons, The Invaders told the story of a man named David Vincent (actor Roy Thinnes) who finds himself caught up in a nightmarish battle against hostile aliens. Of course, the most visible and obvious example is the incredibly successful trilogy of Men in Black movies starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. They’re known as “The Agents,” computer programs whose job it is to prevent anyone from getting close to the truth of the simulated world of the Matrix of the movies’ titles.
Would they have even existed without Albert Bender’s widely publicized run-ins with the MIB? Not unlike The Matrix in many respects, Dark City – which was released in 1998, one year before The Matrix surfaced – is an intriguing production.
The second traces down to San Juan, Puerto Rico and the remaining point to complete the triangle is none other than the island of Bermuda. And while no clear explanation can solve the puzzle, it has become a cautionary tale to steer clear of the Lake Michigan Triangle at all costs. Supposedly, more than sixty people have died in miscellaneous plane crashes throughout the years. This man went on to claim that he’d witnessed a multitude of small, multi-colored lights surrounding the aircraft before it made its tragic descent. Could something more mysterious even be hiding the mountains, making this planes lose control and spiral to a fiery end? While may unusual explanations could attribute to the disappearances, seismic events seem to be the main culprit.
One of the most extensive studies on the area was done by author, Charles Berlitz, who ambitiously connected the Dragon’s Triangle to the disappearance of Amelia Earhart. When archaeologists stumbled upon a site of tombs, they noticed that the red ochre around the graves began to bubble, and then mysteriously disappeared.
Another major event occurred in 1994 when an law enforcement officer reported seeing a triangular craft with red and white lights ominously floating through the night sky. Both Bridgewater and Massachusetts State Police conducted an extensive search for the creature, assuming it was a bear.
But legend also has it that grisly murders of the human-kind have also taken place in the forest, attributing this to cult members as well.
Could this possibly have something to do with why these triangles seem to form over bodies of water?
He is the author of the upcoming book, “Somewhere in the Skies: A Human Approach to an Alien Phenomenon”, published by Richard Dolan Press.
Air Force investigator Edward Ruppelt introduced the term “unidentified flying object”, or UFO, which was devised with hope of employing a more ambiguous, catch-all term that could be applied to a wide variety of alleged aerial phenomena.
While this may be a likely explanation for the origin of the objects, no conclusive data has been presented which helps confirm this. It appeared to be about the size of a large commercial airplane, and had three dim red lights near each corner.
As I have grown older, I have come to think that this may indeed have been very terrestrial in origin. If you want to know if your present telephone number is lucky for you, considering your nature, personality and profession, you should download MB Telephone Number Numerology Software and get a free telephone number analysis or telephone numerology interpretation. Good luck colors for this home are: Beige, Browns and Salmon Pink. In feng shui, numbers are always important and it's not different when it comes to the popular feng shui tool of fish.
Positive attitude proliferates in this house and the creative urge is palpable. The center of the house is not a good location for a fish tank, either since according to the Book of Changes, water in the middle of the house means you will have a lot of problems and difficulties. Then, there’s 1997’s Men in Black, starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, a movie that brought the dark-suited silencers of Ufology to a new, huge audience. And, his relationship with his daughter, Mackenzie (Marin Kanter) is rocky, to say the least.
But, it’s to the credit of the production team that they chose to make their star a flawed figure, rather than playing things safe and going with the typical Hollywood “hero.” And Urich does a very good job of giving substance to the role of Castle. It’s unfortunate, however, that both characters come across like stereotypical, over-the-top, we’ve-seen-it-all-before arch-villains. For me, at least, it echoes in many ways the likes of certain classic 1970s-era movies, such as The Parallax View, Capricorn One, and All the President’s Men, in terms of the on-screen paranoia, suspicion of government, and mystery that those movies so skillfully generated.
Yet other times, life doesn’t go as smoothly and we wonder if we’re slamming up against the wall of fate, unable to break it and have our will no matter what we do. Thus, some outside “agent” such as a God, Goddess or other entity was once thought to be the purveyor of one’s fate.
One can easily see why the battle between destiny and free will has been an enduring one, just like the chicken and the egg.
He said it was his destiny, and he drank of that particular cup willingly, taking his final fate in his hands.
And yet, when it comes to behavior we seem to be able to make choices, both good and bad, and have some say in the course and outcome of our life path. Those who claim to have died, and return to tell about it, often tell stories of being told by higher guides or divine beings on the other side that they must return and fulfill their roles, or destinies, on the plane of the living.
We want to feel as though something good is destined to be; yet we hope that we aren’t fated for something bad. I also dreamed of being a jockey and had I been short enough and not fallen off of horses too much, who knows? She has appeared on more than 1,000 radio shows worldwide, and on television, most recently on the History Channel’s Ancient Aliens series.
It should be noted, however, that Barker omitted most of the really weird material, preferring instead to imply that the MIB were from nothing stranger than “the government.” Then, six years later, Bender came briefly out of “retirement” to pen his own book on the eerie affair, Flying Saucers and the Three Men. In the movies, the primary characters are “J” and “K” (who were named after MIB pursuer and author John Keel, of The Mothman Prophecies fame). It stars Rufus Sewell, Kiefer Sutherland, Jennifer Connolly, Richard O’Brien, and William Hurt. The triangle, however, isn’t officially recognized by the United States Board on Geographic Names, nor acknowledged on any maps. Let’s take a look at several places throughout the world that also boast these three-pointed tales of mystery. When locals didn’t hear from the men for a few days, a search and rescue team were sent out for the crew.
Another similar event occurred in 1965 over Mount Mezenc, where two F-104 planes went down.
Whatever was happening at the Burle Triangle remained a mystery, and continues it’s enigmatic lore even up until today. According to the myth, dragons live deep beneath the surface and their movement can suddenly churn up waves, whirlpools, thick fog, and sudden storms. The Dragon’s Triangle is a very volcanically active area, and were said to be the fault for the disappearance of the vessel of scientists. No matter the case, the myth of the Dragon’s Triangle continues, with more answers laying somewhere in the depths of the sea. At the culmination of a ritual, the summoning of some sort of spirit or entity is expected to appear within a triangle inscribed upon the floor.
Even more interesting is that triangles that point downward symbolize the formation of air and fire.
He co-hosts both the Into the Fray and UFOmodPod podcasts, both available on iTunes & Stitcher.
However, today the use of “UFO” is generally accepted as representing the presence of extraterrestrial spacecraft in our skies, despite a lack of any sufficient evidence that can support, without dispute, a belief in this exotic origin. With the book, Marler has, as described at his website, “collected, collated, and analyzed hundreds of reports. The inhabitants of the 5 house will either be off exploring or home reading about explorations into new realms. There will be a desire to make this house stand out as unique or glamorous amidst the others on the block. And, of course, there’s The X-Files, which weaved far more than a few well-known enigmas into its plotlines, including the Jersey Devil, lake monsters, and the world’s most famous, secret base, Area 51.
Indeed, Steele would have been perfectly at home in one of those old, 1920s-era silent movies, in which the black-cloaked villain ties a beautiful blond to the railroad tracks and eagerly rubs his hands (and twiddles his moustache) as a fast-approaching train threatens to end her life. This outside agent or force set down in stone how a person’s life would unfold, and there was nothing that person could do to change the course of events to come.
We feel as though we have the ability to choose our spouses, our jobs, our homes, the kind of food we will have for dinner, and whether or not we will go to the movies on a Sunday night or just sit home and watch “The Walking Dead.” It’s up to us to decide. These are subjective and personal experiences, but the fact that so many report them is something to be considered. Some readers will tell people that their lives, according to the stars or rune stones or cards, are in some ways predestined, and yet, they have considerable choice in how they will reach that destiny. We choose, pay the consequences for our choices, and end up in a particular place in life because of that trajectory, any of which we could have changed for a different trajectory.
But I felt “called” to write, and worked very hard towards that outcome, by making choice after choice that I felt would keep me on the path.
You can only observe the EFFECTS AND INFLUENCES of the gravitational force at play around you. Whereas Bender’s MIB were clearly supernatural in nature, in the movies the Men in Black work for a super-secret agency.
The term was coined by author, Vincent Gaddis, in an article he penned in 1964 for the pulp-magazine, Argosy.
Witnesses in the area claimed to have seen six spheres, pink in color, surrounding the impact site.
These myths became startlingly true between the years, 1952 and 1954, when a total of five Japanese military vessels were lost in the waters of the triangle, racking up over seven-hundred people missing. The Wampanoag Tribe, of the Algonquian nation, avoid the area because of many supernatural occurrences, warning others to steer clear because it’s what they consider “the place where spirits dwell”. This could perhaps have something to do with the fiery plane crashes in the air that brought many pilot’s lives to a tragic end.
In the process, he has created a detailed profile of these objects and written a rich narrative of their history.
I watched for about 1-2 minutes as it moved over the road, and it then began to accelerate and moved out of view.
Your numerical associations also influence your luck and determine to what extent luck or chance would be on your side. Think 'shabby chic' or 'beach house' style with washed out hues, light woods and cushy, lazy spaces to lay back and read or talk on the phone.
Good for entertainers, authors (or letter writers), sociable people, artists, politicians, and anyone involved in communications of any type, including long hours on the telephone.
It’s a well-researched movie that stars the late Robert Urich (of Vegas fame), who finds himself plunged into the heart of a menacing and disturbing conspiracy in the Centennial State, Colorado. The founding father of political philosophy, Thomas Hobbes, states that freedom is the ability to do what we wish without hindrance or constraint. The truth is far more complicated and involving and I suck at math so I won’t even attempt to get into that! It is as if we must stay put until our pre-chosen destiny is fulfilled…even if we have to die and return to life again to find out.
An astrologer might say that yes, the stars influence your life, but you still have room to move about within the confines of those influences.
There may be one destination we are moving towards, but we get to choose the route by which we get there.
The show is filled with MIB imagery: the aliens on The Invaders often drive black cars (as do the real MIB), they wear dark suits and fedoras, they are very good at dishing out threats and intimidation, and they can control the human mind – something which has been reported in many MIB encounters. Nevertheless there’s no doubt that the Hollywood movies – based on Lowell Cunningham’s The Men in Black comic-book series of the 1990s – was, to some degree, inspired by Bender’s experiences. We get to meet the people who inhabit it, and we soon learn that the city is not what it appears to be. In the article titled, The Deadly Bermuda Triangle, Gaddis compiles many anomalous events that occurred in the boundaries of this area where many planes and ships in the water seemed to have vanished off the face of the earth.
Even if this were so, not a single shred of evidence turned up any other ship, nor any reports of an accident of any kind. Another area of Hockomock Swamp is known as Anawan Rock, located along Route 44 in Rehoboth. But it was reports of an alleged creature in flight that caught the attention of many others. Could this practice hold some meaning in terms of the Bridgewater Triangle, and the Native American spirits said to haunt the area? And perhaps the best action we can take is to steer, swim, fly, or walk as far away from these areas as we can, knowing that some mysteries are best left unanswered.
He tackles the arguments made by skeptics that dismiss these triangular UFO reports outright.
The telephone number or the mobile number that you use also plays an important factor in influencing your luck.
If the black fish dies without any known cause, such as under-oxygenated water, overfeeding or lack of food, it is believed that the fish died from absorbing bad luck that was meant for you. But quality begets quality in a house of this number so go ahead and invest in the best.
Castle decides that the best thing he can do is to get out of New York for a while, quit the bottle for good, and try and mend fences with his daughter.
That’s hardly surprising, given that there is talk of UFOs skulking around in the dead of night. Because there is no concept of God in Buddhism, this explanation suggests instead there is a linear fashion by which our lives are bound to happen. Even within the confines of our social, cultural, sexual and behavioral conditioning, complexes and needs, we can do whatever we choose.
But the implication is exciting and has become the basis for hundreds of self-help and personal motivation books, empowerment tools and expensive webinars. A tarot reader might tell you that you will meet with danger next week, but you can still make the choice to be hyper-vigilant and avoid a terrible car accident while leaving for work.
In other words, there’s very little doubt that the Bender saga had a major influence on how the brains behind The Invaders chose to present the alien menace.
Since then, the Bermuda Triangle has been the subject of countless books, television shows, and movies.
There simply was no conventional explanation for the brutal damage to the ship, and missing bodies. It is named after named after Chief Anawan, and is the site where he and his tribe had surrendered to the colonists during the First Indian War.
Since the early 70’s, many reports have come in about unusually large black birds, with wingspans stretching well past eight feet.
He also addresses the claims of so-called insiders who claim these objects are a creation of the U.S. Get a telephone number analysis or telephone number numerology reading from MB Telephone Number Numerology Software and know the appropriate phone number for you so that you can make number influence luck in your favor. This house would be ideal for actual healing practices, massage, body work, counseling or healing classes may go on here.
There are whispers, too, of satanic cults roaming the area, sacrificing the cows in devilish rituals. It’s a very thought-provoking film, too, given what we know (or don’t know) about cattle mutilations in the real world. That doesn’t mean that’s how they WILL happen…but only how they are bound to and that we can change something, and thus lead to a new life that is bound to happen as a result. Later philosophers added that perhaps freedom was not so much about being able to do anything one wanted to do, but to have the power to do anything one wanted to do. Not fated, because someone could come along and yank them from the ground, ending their existence.
Of course, because a human life is absolutely meaningless if it’s all fated and fixed from the get go.
Not as bug-eyed little critters or as tentacle-waving monsters, but as emotionless men in suits. Theories on what is actually occurring in these waters range from magnetic vortices, space-time warp, electronic fog, UFOs, ancient technology from the lost city of Atlantis, methane gas hydrates, and even more unusual; the souls of slaves. The angry spirits of Anawan’s men are said to haunt the area, dancing and starting fires.
Perhaps the form of the triangle itself has prompted the unusual frenzy of the bizarre and strangeness that occurs there.
This is a great house to be an entrepreneurial home-maker - a la Martha Stewart.
We get some control here, but still move towards what feels to us like a “chosen path,” even if we are doing most of the choosing. But nature is filled with examples of things that seem to work under the triadic influence of all three: destiny, fate and choice. We’d never learn, never grow, never expand and fulfill the potentiality of who we can become. Many have reported hearing the sounds of the spirits echoing through the swamp, the flicker or fire being witnessed from the roads nearby.
Life path 9 explained
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Category: Numerology Compatibility Test
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Swords and Plumes 002: Revisionist Robin Hoods #1
Posted on April 20, 2014 April 20, 2014 AuthorLawrence2014
Outlaw: A Novel of Robin Hood, by Angus Donald. St. Martin’s Griffin, 2011; reviewed in the trade paperback edition.
The Robin Hood ballads date back to at least the early Renaissance, and probably existed in oral tradition much earlier than that. The stories were revived during the Romantic movement of the early 19th century by Sir Walter Scott and Pierce Egan the Younger (one of Egan’s tales will be included in The Big Book of Swashbuckling Adventure), then perpetuated by Howard Pyle, Henry Gilbert, and other writers into the early 20th century. By the dawn of the silent movie era the image of Robin Hood the daring rogue was well established in the public mind, and he made a seamless transition to cinema, most successfully in the 1922 feature starring Douglas Fairbanks Sr. The climax of this swashbuckler phase was 1938’s The Adventures of Robin Hood, in which Errol Flynn defined the character for the next two generations of books, comics, movies, and television series.
By the 1970s the legend was ripe for reimagining, and the ball really got rolling with the 1976 movie Robin and Marian, the first important entry in what I call “Revisionist Robin Hoods.” James Goldman’s story, directed by Richard Lester (The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers), placed Robin squarely in the brutal historical reality of the Third Crusade. An aging Robin Hood (played pitch-perfectly by Sean Connery) returns from the Holy Land to find himself caught up in his own legend. He resumes his bittersweet romance with Marian, as well as his deadly rivalry with the Sheriff of Nottingham, and the inevitable result is mayhem, death, and tears.
Since then there has been a steady flow of Revisionist Robin Hoods, in both books and movies, with no sign of it stopping anytime soon. We’re no longer able to accept Robin and his Merrie Men as a jolly gang of innocent do-gooders on a happy campout in Sherwood Forest, so “gritty realism” is the order of the day. This, on the whole, is No Bad Thing, and Angus Donald’s novel Outlaw clearly shows that the genre is not yet worked out.
The protagonist of Outlaw is a young peasant thief named Alan Dale, caught for robbery and sentenced to lose a hand, who flees into the greenwood to join Robin and his band. Donald’s portrayal of Sir Robert Odo aka Robin Hood as a charismatic but ruthless renegade knight is convincing, and the author’s portrayal of the hard life of a band of medieval outlaws rings true. Robin’s band is leavened with a cadre of ex-soldiers who train the outlaws in the use of pole-arms and the Welsh longbow, and they become a force that can credibly stand against the footmen and mounted knights the Sheriff sends after them. The author has done his homework, and his depiction of the bloody work of combat in the 12th century is in equal parts thrilling and horrific.
Alan Dale’s father was an itinerant troubadour, and Alan has inherited his musical talents, so he becomes the outlaw band’s bard. Also on hands are Donald’s versions of Robin’s right-hand-man John, Tuck the Friar, Much Millerson, Robin’s love Marian – Marie-Anne of Locksley in this retelling, a high-born maiden who takes the story out of the woods and into the Royal Court for some political intrigue.
The basic conflict is between downtrodden Saxons and oppressive Normans, a trope that became common to the Robin Hood legend starting with Walter Scott’s 1819 novel Ivanhoe. Of course, in Outlaw not all the Normans are bad and not all the Saxons are good, but Donald’s Sir Ralph Murdac, the Sheriff of Nottingham, is as arrogant and epicene as any nasty Norman noble out of Egan, Scott, or Pyle. He’s a villain who needs killin’.
Donald also avails himself of another, more recent addition to the legend: his Robin Hood is so bitterly opposed to the aristocratic establishment that he renounced Christianity and revives the Druidic worship of Cernunnos, and deep in the woods he leads his followers in ancient pagan rituals. Friar Tuck, as you might imagine, has some issues with this.
The book is fast-paced, the characters are memorable and well-drawn, and the dialogue is crisp and modern. The novel’s climax is an exciting set-piece battle between Robin’s eclectic forces and the Sheriff’s knights and mercenary men-at-arms, with sudden but believable reversals of fortune leading up to a satisfying ending. It has a sequel, Holy Warrior, in which Robin and his men follow King Richard to the Crusades. Watch this space for a review in a future posting.
“Outlaw” is available from Amazon in trade paperback, Kindle download, and unabridged Audible download formats.
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SeaWorld Bans Plastic Straws, Bags and Lids From All 12 Theme Parks
By Space Coast Daily // June 9, 2018
estimated 150 million metric tons of plastic currently circulates the planet
ABOVE VIDEO: Jon Peterson, Manager of Rescue Operations at SeaWorld Orlando, discusses the often life-threatening impact of plastic pollution on marine wildlife.
ORLANDO, FLORIDA – As part of its mission to protect animals and habitats worldwide, and just in time for World Oceans Day, SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: SEAS) announced that all 12 of its theme parks have removed all single-use plastic drinking straws and single-use plastic shopping bags.
“This milestone environmental achievement is a testament to our mission to protect the environment, the ocean and the animals we share our planet with, which are currently threatened by unprecedented amounts of plastic pollution,” said John Reilly, interim chief executive officer for SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc.
“We see the harmful effects of plastic pollution in the animals we rescue and rehabilitate, and therefore, recognize the importance of doing our part to curb plastic pollution.”
Recent news and studies have shown alarming consequences of the growing threat of plastics to our oceans and wildlife.
The Ocean Conservancy, a nonprofit environmental advocacy group, estimates that eight million metric tons of plastics enter the ocean each year, on top of the estimated 150 million metric tons that currently circulate the planet.
This prevalence of plastics in the ocean has been making its way into the diets of marine animals that mistake it for food and become sick or even die.
“We’ve seen first-hand the horrific damage that plastic pollution causes to animals,” said Jon Peterson, manager of rescue operations at SeaWorld Orlando.
“Some studies have indicated that more than half of sea turtles out in the wild ingest some form of plastic. In fact, just this week, we performed surgery on a rescued sea turtle who became ill from ingesting plastic and other ocean debris.”
With this commitment to remove single-use plastic straws and shopping bags from its parks – including SeaWorld and Aquatica parks in Orlando, San Antonio and San Diego; Sesame Place; Adventure Island; Water Country USA; Discovery Cove Orlando; Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay – SeaWorld joins the ranks of other organizations and government entities working to reduce the use of single-use plastics, such as Alaska Airlines, Hilton, and Hurtigruten.
“We applaud SeaWorld’s commitment to important conservation efforts that support our environment, oceans and marine life,” said Chris Fischer, founding chairman and expedition leader, OCEARCH.
“We all need to do our part to educate the public about the harmful consequences of plastic pollution, which we see all too often. We’re proud to partner with a like-minded company like SeaWorld and look forward to continuing our work together to better understand and protect the habitats of marine animals.”
Despite these strides in curbing plastic pollution, more work remains to reduce the company’s environmental footprint. That’s why SeaWorld is continuing to invest in more renewable energy, such as the recently launched solar array at Aquatica San Diego, which is expected to generate 80 to 90 percent of its power from solar energy.
SeaWorld also lowered its greenhouse gas emissions by nine percent from 2014 to 2017 and improved recycling of waste materials by more than 50 percent over the same period.
SeaWorld Orlando Offers Guests Free Beer Samples and Daily Happy Hour This Summer
Additionally, we continue our efforts to sustainably-source the food that is served at the parks, including cage-free eggs and certified organic coffee, and have implemented a range of water conservation efforts that are in place, including harvesting rainwater, reusing water for cooling buildings, and adapting landscaping to require less water.
“We’re proud of the incredible progress our parks have made in waste, water and energy reduction,” said Bill Street, SeaWorld’s corporate curator of conservation and education.
“It’s efforts like these, multiplied by key partnerships with conservation-minded organizations, that will continue to make a difference in how we impact our planet and benefit the amazing animals that call it home.”
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Red-hot Sabres take on struggling Habs
The Buffalo Sabres offense is thriving, and the Montreal Canadiens defense is struggling.
That will set up a meeting of opposites Friday afternoon at KeyBank Center with the Sabres trying to extend their seven-game winning streak and the Canadiens trying to stop a two-game skid.
After defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 5-2 Wednesday night, the Sabres (14-6-2) are on their longest winning streak since 2006-07 when they won their first 10 games of the season.
"I think it's a testament to the guys putting in the work every day, coming here and just trying to get better," Sabres captain Jack Eichel said. "I think that's what we've done. With that being said, it's November. ... There's so much of our season left. We want to keep doing it. Your objective is to win every game."
The Canadiens (11-7-4) lost 5-2 to the New Jersey Devils Wednesday in Newark, N.J. and their defense provided scant protection for goaltender Carey Price.
"Well, our back end had a tough (game). ... there's no doubt about that," Canadiens coach Claude Julien said. "But at the end of the day, there's a lot of things, too, the forwards can do on the defensive side of things. Even our backcheck ... our backchecking at times once we get past the blue line, they're still beating us to the net. So, we need to be better in those situations as a team, not just as defensemen."
Julien said Thursday at practice that Anti Niemi will start in goal Friday.
Julien also said that defenseman Shea Weber, who has not played this season after knee surgery, could begin playing Tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes. Weber practiced with the team Thursday.
The Canadiens do have a streak going of their own. Max Domi scored one goal against the Devils and has at least one point in 11 consecutive games (six goals, nine assists). He has 11 goals and 15 assists this season overall.
The Sabres reversed their recent trend Wednesday. Returning from a three-game trip in which they struggled early in games and came back to win, they scored four goals in the first period against the Flyers.
"We were really focused and, on our toes," Sabres coach Phil Housley said. "We really attacked the game in the first period. We shot pucks off the rush, we got pucks to the net. The power play scored a big goal. It was the start that we were looking for, especially coming back home to a big crowd. The fans were great."
The Flyers came back to score twice in the second period, but Carter Hutton again was solid in goal for the Sabres.
At 7-2-1, the Sabres are off to their best start in home games to a season since 2009-2010 when they also started 7-2-1 at home.
Defenseman Lawrence Pilut could make his Sabres debut Friday. The 22-year-old was called up from Rochester of the American Hockey League Wednesday after defenseman Marco Scandella left the morning skate with a lower-body injury picked up Monday against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Pilut was tied for the scoring lead among AHL defensemen with three goals and 19 assists at the time of his promotion. In a corresponding move the Sabres put Patrik Berglund on injured reserve with an upper-body injury.
Julien feels that his team might be tired because of the schedule.
"We've played 11 games in 21 days, and I'm sensing some fatigue," the coach said. "Mentally, that's where you've got to stay sharp and maybe keep your game a little simpler if you're going to get through those kinds of situations, because that's the way the League is. Playing that much, sometimes games aren't always perfect. That's why we win a lot of them, and that's why sometimes we play games like (Wednesday). It's about building some consistency in our game and being better in every area. You can't win in this league if you don't have all 19 horses going, and tonight we didn't have all 19 horses going."
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The Illustrated Guide to Terrorism
What terrorism is, who becomes a terrorist and why, terrorist strategies and tactics, counterterrorism, and more
LAWCOMIC
Posted on September 26, 2017 by Nathan
Chapter 1: What Is Terrorism?
Page 8: State Terror through History
To an outsider, using violence to enforce beliefs looks extreme, outrageous, or downright insane. But to true believers like the Jacobins, even deadly force seemed rational and necessary. In a life-or-death conflict, NOTHING was off-limits, NO reaction was too extreme.
Shrugging Directorate official
*bof* It’s either you or me, ami…
Of course, the Jacobins didn’t invent state terror. Nor were they the first to use it in service of an ideology. For ages, rulers whose authority stemmed from religion had persecuted those of competing faiths. As much out of self-protection as religious fervor*
Henry VIII, Westminster, and the Vatican
I am crowned by the Church of Rome! Death to the Protestants!
HENRY IN LONDON
Excommunicate me? Excommunicate you!
POPE IN ROME
I am crowned by the Church of England! Death to the Catholics!
*See also The Illustrated Guide to Criminal Procedure, “Convict Yourself” pp. 22-24.
The French Revolution replaced one orthodoxy with another. Divine right of kings was out; radical revolutionary ideology was in.
French revolutionary, Muslim imam, Medieval king eating a… human leg? ew.
Sure, moderates were rounded up and executed, as enemies of the Revolution. So were peasants and priests, nuns, aristocrats, workers, anyone even suspected of thinking the wrong way.
But the worst were fellow radicals, of different parties, and within the Jacobin party itself!
Yes. Far worse than heresy is the sin of apostasy — when one of our own challenges or abandons the orthodoxy. It makes it look like even we don’t believe it! No punishment is too harsh.
CANNIBAL KING
We may fight outsiders, but we eat our own!
Communist hammer and sickle
The French were neither the first nor the last to employ state terror as official policy. It has been the primary instrument of Marxist regimes, for example, for imposing their ideology and for maintaining an illusion that it was working.
Perhaps no other word embodies the Communist experiment so thoroughly as “terror.” Systematic horror, fear, subjugation, persecution, and summary execution were employed — are still employed — to enforce the orthodoxy, to eliminate dissent, and to deter incompatible thought.
Soviet propaganda “follow me!” flag waver cheering on masses of graves
The Russians executed MILLIONS of their own people during the Red Terror under the Bolsheviks… and during Stalin’s Great Purge (known in Russian as Большой террор: the “Great Terror”), where suspicion of incompatibility was enough to justify merciless execution or internal exile. Dissent and defection were apostasies to be prevented at all costs, and punished severely.
Mass of skulls
Absolutist ideology combined with absolute power to persecute and kill TENS of millions in China under Mao, who openly praised terror, brutality, and cruelty as instruments of enforcing Marxism.
During the disastrous Great Leap Forward, those who tried to warn that it wasn’t working, or to escape the resulting famine, were beaten or tortured to death by the millions.
The Cultural Revolution that followed was a mass purge of heretics — not just rivals and dissidents, but loyal Chinese who nevertheless might have had incorrect ideas because they had the bad luck to have been educated.
Bloody smashed eyeglasses
In the killing fields of Cambodia, even wearing glasses was enough to warrant execution. The Khmer Rouge killed a THIRD of the country’s population, eliminating anyone even remotely out of step with their vision of Utopia.
Globe dripping with blood
State terror has destroyed unimaginable numbers of human beings, in the self-preservation of this particular orthodoxy… in Vietnam, Romania, North Korea, East Germany, Ethiopia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Cuba, Venezuela…
But though Marxist dictatorships are notable examples of state terror in the 20th and 21st Centuries, they are not the ONLY examples.
It is a hallmark of tyranny. Communism doesn’t have a monopoly on authoritarianism, cruelty, and oppression. We see it in theocracies and in secular states. It comes from the left and it comes from the right. Wherever thou shalt not dissent, thou shalt find the seeds of state terror.
But “state terror” is not what we mean by “terrorism.” Let’s set this aside, return to the topic at hand, and ask whether terrorism is as RECENT a phenomenon as it sometimes seems…
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Join the conversation! There are now 28 comments on “What is Terrorism? pg 8 – State Terror in History”
Scott McNay says
Typo: “from the from the ideology of Communism.”
neburney says
in reply to Scott McNay
Blast, I was hoping I’d get the corrected page up before someone spotted it.
in reply to neburney
Well, you have the new typo notification, which notifies me immediately.
Well, you don’t do typos THAT often, so for you, it’s just the new page notification. 🙂
Do you prefer typo notification via email?
Temeraire says
If I may ask, why did you choose “communist” regimes as your example for state terror? I’m just curious as to the choices you made.
in reply to Temeraire
I wouldn’t equate either “French Revolution” or “Marxist dictatorship”, both of which are mentioned on this page, to “Communism”.
He says no word is so associated with the “Communist experiment” as terror. I guess if you want to distinguish between communism in theory and communism in practice l, sure, but that distinction can be applied to nearly every ideology.
No, I see your point. One tends to assume that “dictatorship” equates to “terror”.
He seems to imply that all practical implementations of communism evoke terror, and are dictatorships.
Mike Cody says
No, only that all governmental implementations of Communism evoke terror, a valid position given the history. I cannot think of a single Communist government which did not require secret police and disappearings to remain in power.
On the other hand, voluntary non-governmental implementations of Communism have worked reasonably well without any need for terror.
in reply to Mike Cody
I’m not sure about your first point.
The CPI(M) in India has done fairly well within a representative democratic framework. They form the government in Tripura and Kerala, and don’t seem to have created secret police forces or forced disappearances while in power.
Communist Party of India (Marxist)
As to the second, I’m in full agreement.
Skeptible says
Do either of those states operate as communist economies? I didn’t get the impression that they did. In any case, they operate under the restrictions of a higher level of government that is not communist, so I don’t think they count as counter examples.
In any case, it seems to me that the prevalence of oppression in communist has more to do with with them not being democracies than with them being communist. The irony being that democracy seems like the best fit for communist ideals. Hardly surprising that retaining power ends up being more important than living up to ideals.
p.s. I absolutely hate the new CAPTCHA thingy.
in reply to Skeptible
I believe that they’re mixed economies (see the link below), although, to be fair, it’s not like any of the regimes mentioned above had communist economies (where the workers own the means of production) either, yet they’re still called communist.
Kerala_model
I’m not sure that your logic on your second point here works. I would not say, for instance, that California is conservative because the federal government is.
Fair enough. Indeed, most of the good examples of communism in practice tend to be voluntary societies, such as Kerala (disputable) or Marinaleda.
Marinaleda
Sad, but true in far too many cases.
Yeah, I didn’t see any comments previously that looked like bots, although I’m sure Nathan has his reasons.
Maybe it’s the Democratic oversight and/or framework which helps make it successful. It’s unusual for a pure structure of any kind to work as desired.
The kind of political / economic system which the US has isn’t perfect, but it’s hard to come you with an improved alternative without suffering from greener-on-the-other-side syndrome. I suspect a hybrid of some kind is what you really need. Perhaps multiple hybrids, with freedom to move from one to another.
What’s wrong with the CAPTCHA? It’s considerably less annoying than some. I did see a bot posting the other day on the law side, which has since been deleted.
The CAPTCHA had me click on all of the pictures of x until there were no more pictures of x. Am I proving I am not a robot (is it that hard to prove already?) or teaching a robot how to recognize x?
Nathan says
Both, I think.
Also, is there still a CAPTCHA? I thought I’d disabled it.
The CAPTCHA was no longer there when I finally sent my reply. Yay!
Two reasons:
First, when people refer to state terror these days, they usually aren’t talking about violent repression merely to maintain power. It’s usually in the context of terror in service of a state ideology (which, yes, is the basis of power, but you know what I mean). And for the past hundred years, it’s primarily been the ostensibly Marxist regimes that have been doing it. They’re what most people are talking about when they mention state terror.
Second, it’s not terribly controversial to observe that these regimes did conduct terror as a matter of policy in service of a state ideology. So they’re an easy way to introduce this concept of violence in service of an orthodoxy, which is very alien to many Western readers, but which we’ll be seeing much more of later, as it plays out in different ways in the NON-state terrorism context. Hopefully, when we get there, those readers can now nod their heads and think “oh yes, I remember that concept,” as opposed to “wtf, that’s not something people do!”
(This historical bit is also a natural segue from “this is what terrorism ISN’T” to “this is what terrorism “IS”, but to be honest that hadn’t occurred to me until after it was already written.)
Okay, thanks for the clarification!
Sean Work says
Does it have to be done by state actors to be considered state terror? I’m thinking of situations like states and local governments turning a blind eye toward the Klan during Jim Crow, or the acceptance of the gay panic defense. Of course the major current example in America is the continuing failure to hold police accountable for homicide. It isn’t really a case of the government explicitly ordering its agents to harm blacks and gays, but rather the government making it clear that there will be no consequences for anyone who does so.
in reply to Sean Work
Later in this chapter we’ll go into the Ku Klux Klan and its relationship to government during its various permutations, so I’ll hold off on that for now.
As for police violence in America, there is absolutely an element of authoritarian tyranny there. But is it the same as state terror? Excellent question.
Police violence is rarely a systemic phenomenon, for one thing. It’s not an official policy. It’s something that individual cops do on their own or in small groups. They do it for their own reasons, not because they’re told to go out there and beat people up and kill them. Not even because they’re told it’s okay to do it. It’s usually rotten apples being evil, malicious, or just plain stupid. Sometimes it infects the entire culture of a precinct or county, at which point we’re getting closer to actual state terror, but even then I’m not so sure it’s the same thing.
That’s because we also have to look at the motive. In state terror, the purpose is to frighten the populace into compliance. To make people terrified — not just of breaking the rules, but of disagreeing with them. It’s about holding on to power by suppressing dissent and oppressing opposition. There are lots of motivations behind police brutality, but that’s not one of them.
Most police violence is a personal overreaction to being scared. To start with, we train cops to be scared these days. “Every time you pull over a car, you could get shot. Every encounter with a citizen could end your life. Whatever you do, get home alive.” But on top of that, there are cultural and experiential reasons why a given cop may just be scared in an encounter with someone from a different community.
Experiential: Our brains build connections based on what we actually experience in life. A cop who has mainly experienced black people in dangerous situations is going to be hardwired to react to encounters with black people as threatening. We can give him as much sensitivity training as we please, and even if it doesn’t backfire by creating resentment where none previously existed, it’s still not going to override a lifetime of experiences. In his next encounter with a black person, he’s going to experience it at a heightened threat level. It won’t be a conscious decision, but an autonomic response. Adrenaline will be pumping. His heart rate will go up, his breathing will get more rapid and shallow. He’s going to FEEL threatened, even when he isn’t. (You solve this, by the way, by having cops live in the same community they police, by getting them out of the squad cars and onto the sidewalks. They get more representative experience, are less likely to over-react, build relationships with the people they serve, and connections to the community they protect.)
Cultural: There are plenty of cultural signals to be misinterpreted. A white suburban cop may see a wild angry fight about to break out, but it’s really just a Middle Eastern family having a spirited conversation. Doesn’t matter, in his world, the volume and tone and gestures and body language and the number of bodies in general all add up to fucking danger. And he’s there all by his lonesome.
So in a situation that is not truly threatening, you have someone who is nonetheless extremely nervous, if not frightened out of his wits. And whether he’s thinking clearly or not at all, he’s got a gun. Which he’s going to use more as a shield than an offensive weapon. The motivation isn’t to terrorize a population, but to stay alive. Sometimes it’s justified. Sometimes it isn’t.
But none of that is state terror. It’s a terrified state actor.
Then there’s the “bust some heads” flavor of police brutality. That’s where, to preserve or restore peace, the police go in and knock people around until they stop fighting. It’s rare nowadays, but back before SWAT teams it was good old-fashioned policework. But it wasn’t state terror. It was a crude method of stopping a threat to public safety, not a tool for protecting a regime.
More common these days is the “Us vs. Them” mentality. It’s tribal. And many cops see it as a war. Literally. (The fact that they’re now armed and equipped like the military only enhances this mindset.) And if you are on the other side from them in an encounter, you’re not a fellow citizen but an enemy combatant. Limited life experiences come into play here as well, in making that judgment call as to who’s a likely enemy. That’s a little closer to state terror, in that they’re preserving their own against the civilian population. Forgetting that they too are civilians. (The founders of our country were very concerned that this NOT happen, because using the military against one’s subjects was a powerful tool of tyrants. And now we’re in a situation where Mayor Bloomberg happily referred to the NYPD as “the seventh largest army in the world.”) But it’s still not protecting the regime. It’s protecting themselves.
Similar to that is the “respect mah authoritah” violence, where police get it in their heads that “rule of law” means “rule by law enforcement.” These are probably the worst of the worst. For the merely bad, instead of the law being paramount, they think the job of enforcing the law is paramount. And anything that gets in the way of doing that job is an injustice or even a threat. For the truly evil, you get the cop as tyrant, one who thinks he’s judge jury and executioner. They’re enforcing their own authority. And even if a particularly awful sheriff were to use systemic violence to keep the population in fear of him, his private tyranny would be AGAINST the rules. State terror IS the rules.
But what if the judges and the rest of government looked the other way, you ask. Doesn’t that implicitly authorize it? The problem with that is, when politicians and judges look the other way, it’s usually because most of the population is looking the other way as well. Police may feel that they’re embattled, that the world has turned against them, but that’s a hallucination brought on by too many “Us vs. Them” pills. Most people, especially those who don’t live with routine police violence, still think the cops are the good guys. A politician or elected judge who didn’t side with the cops often enough might find himself replaced — by the voters — with someone who does. And even then, there’s just a presumption that cops are doing the right thing and we ought to help them.
That may be shocking ignorance or it may be an appalling lack of judgment, but it’s not a deliberate course of conduct intended to frighten the population. It’s certainly not systemic violence intended — expressly or unofficially — to stifle dissent. It’s awful, but it’s not state terror.
MitchellTF says
Would voter surpression count? Namely, those instances where the state specifically enacts laws to make it harder to vote, or where state actors use violence to prevent someone from voting? That seems like it lacks the qualifying areas that handle this, though one would argue that it is, like…the lowest of State Terror.
in reply to MitchellTF
It would probably depend on how it’s happening. I mean, if the state is actually killing and beating people to make them afraid to vote against the regime, wouldn’t that be state terror? And not the lowest form of it at all. Quite serious, in fact.
But simply making it more DIFFICULT to vote… that’s not putting you in fear of your life if you dissent. That’s just an obstacle to dissent. It may be reprehensible, but it isn’t state terror. Can’t have state terror without terror.
(And not every obstacle to voting even counts an obstacle to dissent. For it to count as an obstacle to dissent, it would have to exclude a substantial proportion of otherwise legitimate votes, which would have counted against the government in power. A system meant to guarantee that a voter is actually registered in her district, and hasn’t already voted that day, for example, is by definition an obstacle to voting. It excludes the voice of outsiders, and prevents fraudulent multiplication of voices within. But unless that system poses a significant burden to lawful voters who oppose the regime, realistically preventing them from voting in representative numbers, then it’s not an obstacle to DISSENT.)
not_an_American says
That’s not the problem with voter ID laws, the problem is that 1. politicians who advocate for them have also publicly stated that it’s to prevent the ‘black vote’ which usually leans democratic. 2. Research has shown that voting fraud doesn’t happen due to lack of voter ID. 3. requiring ID would be perfectly fine if it wasn’t made difficult to OBTAIN ID. Most places in the US to obtain ID especially in places with voter ID laws have rules that make it arbitrarily difficult to obtain it, especially if you’re lower class (which due to historical reasons, most of the african-american community) such as only opening on specific hours on a Tuesday every month (hard if you risk losing your job to go get ID), or ridiculous requirements to prove who you are that also require extensive work to get. Of course, there are also other ways voter suppression occurs against the working class such as elections always being held on a weekday and are not a mandatory holiday. This is a terribly written extremely short and very rough explanation of it, and i encourage you to watch John Oliver’s segment on Last Week Tonight about it where he explains it way better than I ever could (available freely on Youtube)
Andrew Farrell says
So under this framework, the treatment of the Helots by the Spartan ruling class would not qualify as State Terror because it was not ideologically motivated, correct?
in reply to Andrew Farrell
I think that’s right. It wasn’t state terror because it wasn’t trying to stifle dissent. Dissent was a given. This was the oppression of slavery, instead.
The Helots were slaves, more or less. Not quite property, but serfs tied to the land who had barely any rights. They were killed and beaten routinely, not to gain their support, but to keep them down. The killing and beating happened without regard to whether the victim happened to disagree with the system. Helots were to receive a certain number of beatings every year, whether deserved or not, simply to remind them of their low status. Killing them was justified simply because they were Helots, not because they had done anything wrong.
The Spartans were the ones who were in fear, constantly and sincerely afraid of an uprising by the Helots, who greatly outnumbered them. The Spartan policy was meant to reduce the Helot numbers and to eliminate any who didn’t act downtrodden enough (fearing that an “uppity” slave might inspire others to stand up for themselves). Any deterrent aspect of this policy was to meant to enforce the rules — to prevent forbidden conduct — rather than to deter dissent. Dissent was PRESUMED.
Not all tyranny is state terror.
Would the holocost be considered an example of state terror as well?
in reply to Ryan
(I nearly posted an essay disagreeing with the author!)
I feel like “People who didn’t act downtrodden enough” pretty much defines Dissent, though. But, yeah, the oppression of slavery needs to be different. (In much the same way Manslaughter and Murder need to be different.) And, now that I think of it, there is a level of activeness to it.
My personal opinion with the holocaust would be no. Its goal wasn’t to stifle DISSENT. Its goal was to SCAPEGOAT. Blaming the Jews for the problems, allowed Hitler to gain power. The Jews did nothing wrong, their only sin was simply being JEWISH. The gays did nothing wrong, Hitler simply didn’t like them.
Nazi Germany did, however, include lots of state terror, but his oppression of the Jews wasn’t it. The oppression of Communists was closer, but in many cases they didn’t like him because HE didn’t like them. (Right up until it was politically convenient, then he changed his mind…then changed it back)
The Gestapo was pure state terror, though.
I’d think of it like this.
If it is done to regulate dissent, and keep control against people who protest, it’s state terror.
If it’s done against people who did not dissent, and is arbitrary, it’s not.
Another way to put it…
It is the use of violence or threat of violence,
TO extort
Political INACTION
Committed by a Government Entity
That a fair definition, Mr. Burney?
…Holy fuck…if my definition is accurate, Voter Suppression would be a perfect example…
Tranq says
Even if your definition is accurate (and to my eye it looks like a broadening of the definition put forth in the comic), voter suppression is not an example. Nathan’s comment up the page highlights that voter suppression fails the extortion and violence tests. If voting were routinely suppressed by killing those who voted for the wrong person (e.g. non-secret ballot), it would be a good candidate for being state violence. But an unfair application of mere bureaucracy isn’t violent and doesn’t use fear to disincentivize a wider community from voting.
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Roongrote Amnuaysook/Shutterstock
Hirschsprung’s disease explained
June 16, 2017 7.57am EDT
Adam Taylor, Lancaster University
Director of the Clinical Anatomy Learning Centre & Senior Lecturer in Anatomy, Lancaster University
Adam Taylor is affiliated with the Anatomical Society.
Lancaster University provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation UK.
Last week news broke of a 22-year-old man in China who had a large section of his colon removed. The man, Zhou Hai, had been constipated for a number of months. After seeking medical help for abdominal pain and difficulty breathing, he underwent extensive surgery and had a large part of his intestines, containing 12kg of faeces, removed. (For reference, the average human poo weighs about 100g.) Hai was suffering from Hirschsprung’s disease, a rare congenital condition.
About 1 in 5,000 people are born with this condition. What is unusual in Hai’s case is receiving a diagnosis at the age of 22. Most people are diagnosed shortly after birth – although there have been a few instances where people have not been diagnosed until well into their adult life, as late as their 70s, in fact.
The earliest reference to a possible Hirschsprung’s disease (pronounced hirsh sproongz) case comes from Europe in 1691, when a Dutch anatomist Fredericus Ruysch described a young girl with abdominal pain and an enlarged colon. Following that, many other cases appeared in the medical literature concerning children with similar symptoms. But it wasn’t until 1888 that Harald Hirschsprung presented his work on two infants, who had died with enlarged colons, and gave the disease its name.
Hirschsprung’s work paved the way for others describing similar cases, but it took until the mid 1900s before the causes of the disease became more clear. A breakthrough in our understanding of Hirschsprung’s came in 1948 when two American doctors found an absence of nerve cells in the large bowel of children with the condition.
Today, we know that the disease sometimes occurs in families and might be caused by genetic mutations. But the causes of the disease are complicated, as more than one gene is thought to be involved.
Why nerves in the intestines are important
When consuming food, you control putting the food into your mouth, and you control when the food (in the form of faeces) exits the body. But you have no control over what happens in between. This depends largely on the action of muscles in the gut which are under involuntary control from the nervous system.
The intestines are a tubular structure with multiple layers, some of which are muscular. These muscle layers are connected to an automatic nervous system, which controls many of your organs. In the gut this takes the form of a network of nerves called the enteric nervous system (ENS). This system is responsible for moving the gut, helping it work to move food along the intestines, helping break food down and finally compacting it to form faeces when everything of use has been removed.
The connection between the nervous system and the gut is made very early in life, in the early stages of development in the womb. In Hirschsprung’s, the nerve cells fail to migrate to the gut during development, and the connection is impaired. The consequence is that the muscle layer which lines the intestines is no longer under full autonomic control, and the gut cannot move faeces along. So it accumulates, causing swelling of the bowel.
The first 48 hours following birth are critical for detecting the disease. Newborns usually have their first bowel movement within 48 hours. If the newborn baby doesn’t have a bowel movement during this period, it can be a sign of the disease. Doctors will usually perform some tests, such as x-rays and biopsy, to confirm a diagnosis.
Potential new treatments
At the moment, the only effective treatment for Hirschsprung’s disease is surgery. This involves removing the non-functioning part of the bowel (the bit with no nerves attached), and then connecting the remaining functioning part of the bowel to the anus. This procedure is called “pull-through” – it is the one that Hai had.
But there are new treatments on the horizon. The part of the nervous system which controls the gut (ENS), has its own subset of stem cells. One possible solution is to use a patient’s own ENS stem cells to repopulate the section of bowel that is devoid of them. There are already some promising results in this field. A second promising therapy is to use genome editing CRISPR technology to correct mutations in genes that cause some variants of Hirschsprung’s. This should help nerve cells to reach the gut during the crucial early stages of life in the womb. Although these treatments are still a long way off, they appear to be promising. With a bit of luck, in a couple of decades time, cases like Hai’s will be consigned to the history books.
For years, we’ve known that brain activity can affect our gut. amanda tipton/Flickr
Stomach and mood disorders: how your gut may be playing with your mind
Some 10-30% of people experience bloating. from www.shutterstock.com.au
Health Check: what causes bloating?
Symptoms can occur as soon as 30 minutes after exposure to the culprit organism or toxin. Anton Brand/Shutterstock
Explainer: what is gastroenteritis and why can’t I get rid of it?
Gut bacteria can manufacture special proteins that are very similar to hunger-regulating hormones. Lighthunter/Shutterstock
How the bacteria in our gut affect our cravings for food
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Hindu texts from thousands of years ago demonstrate acceptance of a ‘third gender.’ Today, transgender Indians, or hijras, remain visible members of society. AP Photo/Bikas Das
India’s sodomy ban, now ruled illegal, was a British colonial legacy
September 12, 2018 3.09pm EDT
Amy Bhatt, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Amy Bhatt
Associate Professor of Gender and Women's Studies, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Amy Bhatt does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
University of Maryland, Baltimore County provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.
The Indian Supreme Court has legalized homosexuality, overturning a 157-year ban on consensual gay sex.
In a nearly 500-page unanimous decision issued on Sept. 6, India’s highest court affirmed that “whenever the constitutional courts come across a situation of transgression or dereliction in the sphere of fundamental rights which are also the basic human rights of a section, howsoever small part of the society, then it is for the constitutional courts to ensure that constitutional morality prevails over social morality.”
Gay rights advocates worldwide celebrated the legal victory, which came after nearly a decade of contentious court battles against a British colonial law criminalizing homosexual acts.
“Our court, our justice system, really believes in the rights of the people,” said Kalyani Subramanyam, program director for the Naz Foundation, the primary petitioner in the court case, which could open the door to gay marriage.
And the ruling is more than a human rights win. It is also a restoration of ancient Indian sexual norms.
India, homosexuality and the ‘third gender’
In that way, India’s ruling differs from recent court decisions legalizing gay marriage in Colombia, Taiwan and Germany – though for LGBTQ Indians, the impacts may be similarly life-changing.
Sexual and gender minorities in India are regularly harassed, assaulted and jailed.
Yet many gender researchers who study India – myself included – argue that India’s religious and cultural heritage has long been more accommodating to multiple gender and sexual expressions than Western societies.
According to scholars Ruth Vanita and Saleem Kidwai’s groundbreaking 2000 essay collection on same-sex love in India, Hindus embraced a range of thinking on gender and sexuality as far back as the Vedic period, around 4000 B.C.
The Hindu god Shiva has both male and female characteristics. Richard Mortel via Wikimedia, CC BY
Hinduism’s first sacred texts tell stories of same-sex love and gender-morphing figures. The Hindu deity Shiva is sometimes worshipped as a multi-gendered figure composed of Shiva and his wife Parvati together, in what’s known as his Ardhanarishvara form.
Hindu texts from around 1500 B.C. likewise show that the “third gender” – individuals sometimes called “hijras,” who do not fit into the categories of man or woman – were integrated into India’s political and social life.
In the Kama Sutra, India’s famed erotic guidebook, the character Svairini is described as as a liberated woman who lives either alone or in union with another woman.
“Male-male attraction” is also “one of the themes of pre-colonial Urdu poetry” writes Vanita in her book about Indian Islamic literature from the 18th and 19th centuries.
India’s Khajuraho temples, built in Madhaya Pradesh state between 950 and 1050, even include depictions of homosexual orgies and fellatio, among other erotic sculptures and scenes.
Some scholars of Islam, India’s second-largest religion, also find acceptance of gender fluidity in the Koran, which says that Allah “shapes you in the wombs as He pleases.”
Indeed, in India’s 16th-century Mughal courts, hijras and eunuchs often held positions of high esteem as advisers or emissaries between men and women.
The British preferred the binary
India’s fluid gender and sexual norms did not fit into Britain’s strict Victorian conceptions of appropriate sexual behavior.
As the British empire grew more powerful in the Indian subcontinent in the early 19th century, so did their ideas about culture, society and law. Viewing local notions of sexuality as barbaric, British officials imposed Western, Judeo-Christian sexual norms on colonial subjects.
Before the British, homosexuality was not illegal in India.
But by 1861 the British had consolidated their rule over India and were enforcing Section 377 of their penal code, which could punish those who committed sodomy or other homosexual acts with life in prison.
When India gained its independence in 1947, this statute remained, becoming Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code.
Colonial British rule over India included the imposition of laws mandating strict gender roles. Author unknown
Britain’s anti-gay colonial legacy
India was not the only British colony where formerly acceptable sexual behaviors and identities became criminalized.
Section 377, or a similar statute, was imposed in 42 former colonies, including Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Nepal, which was never formally colonized by Great Britain, also adopted anti-sodomy laws based on India’s British-influenced penal code.
In 2007, the Nepali government became the first in South Asia to re-recognize a third gender category. Today, Nepal’s Constitution specifically protects LGBTQ people from discrimination and abuse.
Neighboring Pakistan, like former British colonies Bhutan, Uganda and Singapore, still criminalizes homosexuality under Section 377. This “unnatural offense” is punishable with up to 10 years in prison.
But in 2018, Pakistan, a Muslim-majority country, passed the historic Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, allowing Pakistanis to choose their gender on government documents and prohibits discrimination in employment and public accommodations on the basis of gender identity.
The future of gay rights in India
Despite India’s legalization of gay sex, the path toward full acceptance of LGBTQ rights is complicated.
For more than a decade, India’s right-wing Hindu nationalists – who espouse a fundamentalist interpretation of Hinduism called Hindutva – have worked to portray homosexuality as a reprehensible Western import.
Members of the LGBT community dance to celebrate after the country’s top court struck down a colonial-era law that made homosexual acts punishable by up to 10 years in prison. AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a Hindu nationalist elected in 2014, is himself a follower of Hindutva.
In July, as India’s Supreme Court was preparing to hear arguments on the gay sex ban, Subramanian Swamy, a high-ranking member of Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, retorted that homosexuality “is not a normal thing.”
It’s “against Hindutva,” he said.
After the ruling against Section 377, an armed Hindu nationalist group called the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh declared that “same-sex marriages and relations are not in consonance with nature.”
Traditionally,“ read the Sept. 8 public statement, "Indian society has not supported such relations.”
Historic evidence says otherwise.
“India’s pre-colonial sexual history is important,” Chaitanya Lakkimsetti, a Texas A&M professor who has studied the fight to end Section 377, told me.
Yet, she reflects, “This is not just about hearkening back in time.”
For Lakkimsetti, the legal victory shows that “the Indian constitution is a living document that protects minorities.” In legalizing gay sex, then, the Supreme Court is not just recognizing India’s rich past – it’s also “looking forward.”
British colonies
British Colonial rule
EPA/Piyal Adhikary
How Indian judges wrote love into law as they decriminalised gay sex
A protest in New Delhi against the arbitrary exclusion of Indian citizens from the National Register of Citizens in August 2018. Rajat Gupta/EPA
How India is using identity documents to marginalise the weak and poor
Public outrage followed the 2012 gang rape of a 23-year-old woman on a bus in Delhi, India. Here, demonstrators call for justice at the one-year anniversary of the incident. Reuters/Anindito Mukherjee
India has a sexual assault problem that only women can fix
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer immigrants are generally not considered by policymakers and settlement providers. Shutterstock
LGBTQ immigrants need better settlement services
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Paul Howes and the mysterious membership figures
April 27, 2011 1.45am EDT
Trevor Cook, University of Sydney
Recently awarded doctorate, University of Sydney
Trevor Cook does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
University of Sydney provides funding as a member of The Conversation AU.
Paul Howes faces claims he has inflated the AWU membership figures. AAP
This morning Fairfax newspapers delivered a savage hit to the reputation of Paul Howes, National Secretary of the Australian Workers Union (AWU) and the country’s best-known union leader.
The story carried in the Age and Sydney Morning Herald, seemingly well-substantiated, suggests that Howes’ union, has not been acquiring new members to anywhere near the extent he claims.
This is not just about integrity, it goes to the heart of the viability of the union movement’s survival. And it undercuts Howes’ claim to be the leader of a new generation building the union movement’s future.
Paul Howes, not yet 30 years old, has been a national AWU leader since his equally ambitious predecessor, Bill Shorten, departed in 2007 for federal parliament and a career that many insiders tip will take him all the way to the Lodge.
As AWU National Secretary, Howes is vice-president of the ACTU and a member of the ALP’s national executive. He is an ultimate insider and one of a small group of union officials that effectively run the Australian trade union movement.
Having left school at age 17, he is the only member of this elite group that does not hold a university degree. Nor has he come off the tools. Howes was political from the start and after a dabble on the far-left, he has worked in right-wing union offices for all of his short career.
Howes worked closely with Shorten, and then ACTU Secretary, now Gillard’s climate change Minister, Greg Combet, on the fight against Howard’s WorkChoices legislation between 2005 and 2007.
They won the battle, not the war. Without a reversal in membership trends, it is only a matter of time before new business and conservative political campaigns further undercut an already weakened union movement.
For the past decade and a half, membership has been a prime obsession of the trade union movement. Not surprising, given the precipitous decline in union membership that started as a trickle way back in the 1960s and became a torrent with the collapse of the Accord and the onset of this country’s last recession in the 1990s.
Since the mid-nineties, Australian unions have looked around the world for answers to the membership problem. In particular, they have looked at US unions, like the Service Industry Employees Union (SIEU), which has enjoyed formidable membership growth in hostile circumstances.
The SIEU is an exemplar of the “organising model”; it argues that its success in membership recruitment and retention flows from political or public relations campaigning. It’s all about getting workers involved and about winning the public support needed to sway politicians, including those in the ALP.
Although the ACTU encourages its affiliates to become campaigning organisations, progress has been slow and patchy. It does not sit well with officials schooled in the traditional Australian approach of relying on the ALP and the arbitration system.
Some officials see the organising model as too American, or nothing new because Australian unions have always run campaigns. Some officials argue that PR and political lobbying still needs to be backed up by industrial muscle. There’s no doubt that Paul Howes loves a campaign.
Howes has been in the media recently promoting his union’s campaign against Rio Tinto which includes TV ads in Tasmania and on the national cable channel, Sky News.
In February this year, Howes launched a workplace safety campaign with the tagline “Guard it or ban it”. Also in February, there came the campaign against predatory pricing by importers called “Don’t Dump on Australia”.
Other traditional blue-collar union are also using political campaigning to win public support for their policy positions, rather than going on strike. Professional unions, like teachers and nurses, not affiliated with the ALP, have a long tradition of political campaigning.
Because these campaigns use the media to garner public support much can depend on the quality and the profile of the spokesperson.
None of today’s crop of young, new generation union officials can match Paul Howes when it comes to getting in front of a TV camera.
But if his enthusiasm for capturing the media spotlight is not matched by results in terms of membership growth, his enemies will waste little time in their efforts to bring him down a peg or two.
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item view
Short Movie 2xLP
Ribbon Music
Laura Marling returns with her fifth studio album in seven years Short Movie. The album, a follow up to 2013's Mercury Prize nominated Once I Was An Eagle, marks a new chapter in her sound and development as an artist. Marling produced the album, which was recorded at Urchin Studios in London and aided by her long time drummer Matt Ingram and studio engineer Dan Cox.
The shift in sound can be attributed to Marling’s extended period of reflection and a conscious attempt to change her routine. The songs portray a striking new confidence in their mood, sound, and temperament. “I realized that I hadn’t been in place for longer than two or three weeks since I was 16” she explains, “I thought I wonder what would happen if I try and root myself somewhere?”
Short Movie marks a new chapter in Marling's sound and development moving towards a much bigger electric feel. The album is freer and looser sounding than anything she has done before.
-- Ribbon Music Records
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Published: April 14th, 2010 15:20 EST
Steven Seagal: Lawman And Sex Trafficker?
"Movie actor Steven Seagal is facing legal action from a former personal assistant who claims he sexually abused her and illegally trafficked women.
In papers filed with Los Angeles County Superior Court, Kayden Nguyen claims she was assaulted three times before fleeing his home in New Orleans.
The 23-year-old also claims the actor kept two Russian attendants who were available to him at all times. BBC
Steven Seagal used to be a action movie star, but he`s too old to be play those kind of roles. Today he makes a living by starring in the reality series "Steven Seagal: Lawman." Seagal is a reserve deputy chief in real life, and he has full police and arrest powers.
You`d think that Seagal would realize that keeping sex slaves is probably against the law, but I guess he believes that a deputy who is also an actor is above the law.
If every cop was entitled to have two Russian hotties available to them at all times, no city would have any problems recruiting police officers.
Seagal`s lawyer claims the allegations are "ridiculous and absurd", but the truth is sometimes stranger than fiction. With so many reality shows on the air, it`s becoming almost impossible to differentiate between reality and fiction.
This story sounds like a really bad Steven Seagal movie, let`s hope it`s not really true.
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24 Chalfont Road, Oxford.
2nd. January, 1946.
Dr. iur. Fritz R. Pringsheim,
formerly Professor in the
Faculty of Law (Göttingen,
1923-1929, Freiburg I. Br
1929-1935).
Statement concerning Carl Langbehn
LANGBEHN was one of my pupils in Göttingen with whom I soon came into contact end who was my friend until April 1939 when I left Germany. I soon became aware that he was a young man of great gifts, but at the same time one in danger. He was the son of an "Auslandsdeutscher", a German living in a foreign country; born somewhere in South America if I correctly recollect, in any case a boy for whom it seemed difficult to subject himself to the restricted and narrow life in the after-war-Germany.
The simple life of a "bourgeois" without any opportunity of adventure and danger seemed boring for him, and I was very glad that nevertheless he paused with good success his two examinations, Referendar in Celle, Assessor in Berlin. Meanwhile he made his degree as Dr. iur. in Göttingen under my special guidance and became my assistant in Göttingen.
He was a charming young man, full of good humour, vigorous and interested in many good things, often a little desperate and doubtful if he would have a chance to show that he could achieve. He was an intimate guest in my house, a friend of Mrs Pringsheim and my boys, always helpful and with pleasure prepared to every service he could do.
As he felt responsible for his mother who was as poor as he himself he could not afford to follow his wish to begin his career as a civil servant, but had to become solicitor. As a young man who worked for a poor salary in a solicitor's office he had once to represent the solicitor who took a 4-weeks holiday and left to him cases of minor importance only. But since he fell ill during these weeks, more difficult cases had. to be handled by Langbehn.
This was his chance. He worked so well that the solicitor after his return offered him a more permanent co-operation. Langbehn accepted., but under the condition that his salary would be doubled.. The solicitor at once agreed. Afterwards he told me that he owed his best instruction during this time to a Jewish solicitor.
When I left Göttingen for Freiburg our connection became more loose, but I was always in correspondence with him. It may have been in 1933 that I read in the newspapers that he defended a German minister of the republique against an accusation made by the Nazis that he had embezzled money belonging to the Hindenburg-Trust which this minister had administrated. I have forgotten his name.
The accusation was of course a pretext to remove this man, and I won the impression that it was rather courageous to take over the defence against the Nazis in such a well-known case which lasted for more than a year and was at last decided by a High Court, As far as I remember the accused was not acquitted; such a decision was almost impossible at this time; but he was condemned to a very moderate punishment only, which was declared to be expiated by the imprisonment on remand.
When I met him later L. told me that he had been asked by two members of the Communist party to defend the leader of their party, Torgler, if I am not mistaken, in the lawsuit in connection with the burning of the Reichstag; that he had been prepared to defend him and had several conferences with theme two men; until they brought him a cheque in Dutch guilders to a Dutch bank, saying that after having defended Torgler he would probably not be able to stay in Germany, and that the high amount of the cheque was meant to be used outside Germany.
Langbehn was so offended by this offer and the pre¬sumption that he should defend Torgler for money and not only for the sake of protecting justice, he was so shocked by the supposition that he would not be courageous enough to stand the risk that he cut short the discussion and refused to continue the preparation of the defence. This story characterizes the man. I don't know at what time he became a member of the Nazi party.
I conjecture he jointed the party because he thought that with its help a new Germany could be built, that as a member only he could influence the political direction and that he would be strong enough to withstand measures and tendencies dangerous and detrimental for Germany. What so many others pretended to intend by joining he really felt.
I saw him again when we came to live in Berlin after my dismissal from my chair in Freiburg. We found him cheerful, unchanged, trusting us and full of hope for the future of Germany. He lived in a charming house in Dahlem which showed his great esteem for art, his good taste and the modesty so rarely combined with new wealth.
His young wife, beautiful and highly cultivated, charmed us. Three delightful children were gratefully and seriously educated. He had meanwhile become interested in copyright and similar legal matters and prepared a new scientific book on t his subject. He was the legal adviser, I think, of the Ufa, the great German Film Trust. His office in the Neue Wilhelmstrasse showed all the comfort of a successful barrister. Since then we often met in 1937 and 1938, found in his house several interesting guests from various circles and saw him in our house in Wannsee. He never concealed from me his membership and was always eager to hear my opinion and to discuss frankly political aspects.
We mostly disagreed, but I had never any doubt about his sincerity and honesty. His reasoning was sound, without prejudice, though of course tainted by the Nazi creed; he did not accept all the principles, was an open adversary of the race theory and of exaggerated nationalism. For a long time he hoped that the initial diseases of the new regime would more and more disappear, and that a strong and peaceful Germany would consolidate the first successes For me he always showed good friendship and confidence.
So when in October 1938 I began to expect personal persecution I advised Mrs Pringsheim to ask for his help in a case of emergency. When I was brought to a concentration camp in November, Langbehn was not in Berlin. After his return Mrs. Pringsheim went to see him.
He at once declared that he would do everything to set me free, but asked for strict discretion. He promised that he would go at once to see an influential man and that I would be free in a few days. One and a half days later I was released.
Afterwards he told us that he had gone the same afternoon to see Himmler, had declared to him that the whole action was criminal; that Himmler was roused to anger by this remark, but that he replied that Himmler could send himself to a camp, but would not change his conviction by such an act. That in any case it was impossible to imprison innocent people, and especially such a man as his teacher Pringsheim for whom he could take every guaran[tee]. Asked if he could promise that I would leave Germany within ten days he answered that ten weeks would be necessary.
After this report he asked us not to disclose his name. He could do such a thing once only in his life. From this moment he was always in touch with me and helped me when my passport was seized by the SS. In my presence he rang the staff of the SS, told them that I, his friend, sat opposite him at his desk in his office, that they knew how interested he was in my case, and asked for the reasons of taking away my passport.
After many excuses they informed him and helped me to get back the passport. All this happened at a time at which it had become highly dangerous for everybody to be connected with and interested in a man of Jewish descendance.
The last of our numerous political discussions, just before I left Germany in April, 1939, concerned the political future. He told me that he often visited England because he belonged to a strong wing in the party which recommended an agreement with England. Germany, he said, was now strong enough to discuss without fear the whole future with England as a free and powerful partner. An agreement between these two nations alone could bring peace to Europe.
It was high time to discuss frankly and honestly all remaining problems and to arrange definitely the few still open questions. Germany possessed now everything she needed, the future belonged to consolidation and to winning back the trust of the world. Some influential members of the party did not share this view, but he hoped that their resistance could be broken. On his next visit to England he would be delighted to see us in Oxford. These were his last words.
I did not hear from him since, until some months ago I read in a Swiss report of the plot against Hitler that Langbehn had been hanged by the Nazis, and that he had been the man who had tried to win over Himmler and his friends for the revolt against Hitler.
I emphasize that I do not excuse Langbehn's membership. It is almost impossible that he participated in the crimes committed by the party, but in any case he helped the Nazis. But I fully understand his attitude. He was a young man who was dissatisfied with the fate of his country, became more and more desperate, felt that he could do something better than win success for himself only. He was so full of energy and good will that he could not exclude himself from the future.
He made up his mind to co-operate in the forming of German polities. At the same time he would never give up his own conviction and not partake in any bad action. He was courageous enough to risk much. His death for the good cause has expiated his errors. If this description of the man and of his life by an intimate friend can help his wife and children to find some relief outside Germany, I would be very thankful to be able to contribute to this aim.
signed F.R. Pringsheim.
(Source: Allen Dulles papers, Seeley Mudd Manuscript Library, Princeton, box 37, file 1; no changes except for minor spelling corrections and the insertion of paragraph breaks.)
Ripping the Veil Wide Open
Post Title: Hitler's Jewish solicitor
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TV Channel Guide
LUCIOUS LYON is the king of hip-hop. An immensely talented artist, the CEO of Empire Entertainment and a former street thug, his reign has been unchallenged for years. But all that changes, when he learns he has a disease that is going to render him crippled and incapacitated in a matter of three years. The clock is ticking, and he must groom one of his three sons to take overhis crowning achievement, without destroying his already fractured family.
Rating: 6.5 | Year: 2015 | Network: FOX | Free Episodes Online: 47
Watch it Legally on Amazon - Prime Video
Watch Empire Series Full Episodes
07 January 2015 - Season 1, Episode 1: Pilot
14 January 2015 - Season 1, Episode 2: The Outspoken King
21 January 2015 - Season 1, Episode 3: The Devil Quotes Scripture
28 January 2015 - Season 1, Episode 4: False Imposition
04 February 2015 - Season 1, Episode 5: Dangerous Bonds
11 February 2015 - Season 1, Episode 6: Out, Damned Spot
18 February 2015 - Season 1, Episode 7: Our Dancing Days
25 February 2015 - Season 1, Episode 8: The Lyon's Roar
04 March 2015 - Season 1, Episode 9: Unto the Breach
11 March 2015 - Season 1, Episode 10: Sins of the Father
18 March 2015 - Season 1, Episode 11: Die But Once
18 March 2015 - Season 1, Episode 12: Who I Am
17 Jan 2015 - Season 1, Episode 0: First Look
23 September 2015 - Season 2, Episode 1: The Devils Are Here
28 September 2016 - Season 3, Episode 2: Sin That Amends
05 October 2016 - Season 3, Episode 3: What Remains is Bestial
07 October 2015 - Season 2, Episode 3: Fires of Heaven
14 October 2015 - Season 2, Episode 4: Poor Yorick
21 October 2015 - Season 2, Episode 5: Be True
04 November 2015 - Season 2, Episode 6: A High Hope For A Low Heaven
11 November 2015 - Season 2, Episode 7: True Love Never
18 November 2015 - Season 2, Episode 8: My Bad Parts
25 November 2015 - Season 2, Episode 9: Sinned Against
02 December 2015 - Season 2, Episode 10: Et Tu, Brute?
30 March 2016 - Season 2, Episode 11: Death Will Have His Day
06 April 2016 - Season 2, Episode 12: A Rose by Any Other Name
13 April 2016 - Season 2, Episode 13: The Tameness of a Wolf
21 September 2016 - Season 3, Episode 1: Light in Darkness
12 October 2016 - Season 3, Episode 4: Cupid Kills
09 November 2016 - Season 3, Episode 5: One Before Another
16 November 2016 - Season 3, Episode 6: Chimes at Midnight
30 November 2016 - Season 3, Episode 7: What We May Be
07 December 2016 - Season 3, Episode 8: The Unkindest Cut
14 December 2016 - Season 3, Episode 9: A Furnace For Your Foe
22 March 2017 - Season 3, Episode 10: Sound and Fury
05 April 2017 - Season 3, Episode 11: Corrupt Implementations
- Season 3, Episode 12: Strange Bedfellows
- Season 3, Episode 13: My Naked Villainy
- Season 3, Episode 14: Love Is a Smoke
- Season 3, Episode 15: Civil Hands Unclean
- Season 3, Episode 16: Absent Child
30 September 2015 - Season 2, Episode 2: Without a Country
20 April 2016 - Season 2, Episode 14: Time Shall Unfold
27 April 2016 - Season 2, Episode 15: More Than Kin
04 May 2016 - Season 2, Episode 16: The Lyon Who Cried Wolf
11 May 2016 - Season 2, Episode 17: Rise by Sin
18 May 2016 - Season 2, Episode 18: Past is Prologue
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Journalism.co.za (JOCOZA)
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2009 Ruth First lecture – Dr Frene Ginwala
When I was asked to speak on the topic: The ANC Then; Now, my instinctive concern was which then. For the ANC even after an existence of nearly a century, there can be no definitive moment. Except perhaps April 27th 1994 when for the very first time, the people of South Africa were able to choose, in a democratic process, a government for their country. But that was but one step, towards the objectives set by the ANC founders.
The decade of the 1980s, in which both Ruth First and Dulcie September were killed, was a period of significant changes for both the liberation movement and for the apartheid rulers. At the end of the 1970s there had been an extensive clamp down on all forms of resistance: more individuals were detained, banished, or placed under house arrest; organisations and newspapers and other publications were banned, and most forms of political activity restricted. The white population was militarized. This was the prelude to Botha’s total strategy onslaught, as celebrations for the establishment of the South African Republic were planned.
However, these celebrations met with bomb blasts, boycotts and rallies marking a new wave of resistance; so too were the instruments of apartheid reforms. The tricamaral constitution was rejected by those it was intended to co-opt. The Local Authorities that were offered to the African people were boycotted. (In Soweto there was a poll of only 11%). In 1983, over 600 grass root organisations came together under the banner of the United Democratic Front (UDF). By the time the ANC called on the people to make the country ungovernable by destroying the instruments of their oppression, most of the new structures were dysfunctional. Rent and rates protests, and other forms of resistance grew. The National Union of Mineworkers and the newly formed COSATU extended their activities beyond the shop floor into the political arena. Sabotage and armed actions by MK and township youth also increased: from 45 in 1884, to 137, then 235 and 282 in 1988. There was a clamour for the release of Nelson Mandela and all political prisoners.
The total onslaught extended outside our borders. The front line states were destabilised and their economies attacked. There were two attacks by SADF commandos and Vlakplaas operatives on Maseru; Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe were bombed and attacked. Angola was invaded. ANC personnel were assassinated including Joe Gqabi(1981) in Harare, Ruth First in Maputo, the Schoon family in Luanda, Cassius Make and others in Swaziland and so on.
Apartheid agents operated in Europe, and established links with fascist and other right wing individuals and organisations, as well as mercenary networks. There were bomb attacks on ANC offices in Belgium, London, and Stockholm; and a bizarre plot by mercenaries to kidnap and assassinate a hit list of ANC personnel in London, including Joe Slovo. It is in this context that we should locate the assassination of ANC chief representative in France, Dulcie September.
While a few ANC members did settle and come to terms with a life in exile, life for the majority was uncomfortable and tough, with physical and emotional hardship and insecurity. To remain an ANC member required a great deal of commitment and sacrifice. Examples I have a son.
In the mid eighties, Mr Mandela began to engage with the authorities, to urge them to start negotiations with the ANC. He had made clear, on more than one occasion that prisoners could not negotiate, only the legitimate leaders of the oppressed could do so. After an initial gap, there was regular contact between Mr Mandela and ANC President Oliver Tambo, and they worked in tandem. Hence even as the armed struggle was escalated, the ground was being prepared for possible negotiations.
The cost of defending apartheid escalated, at the same time as financial and other sanction began to bite, adding to the pressures on the apartheid rulers, and the discomfort of white voters. Aware that their government could offer no solutions, growing numbers of whites began to contact the ANC, exploring policies and the future under an ANC government. These included student organisations, lawyers and other professionals, business, women’s groups, judges and individuals. Some of the meetings were supposedly secret, others were highly publicised. However, we had no illusions that the authorities were aware of what was happening and what was said.
In the ANC there was growing confidence that notwithstanding mistakes and setbacks,( and there were many) the tide was turning and victory was in our sights.
I want to stress that the decision to unban the ANC and release political prisoners was not the result of a miraculous conversion. Apartheid was unworkable, the country was ungovernable, and the regime could not find any credible black leaders with whom to negotiate reforms. Secret exploratory talks with the ANC leadership were opened but were designed to assess individual leaders and to find any weakness that could be exploited. The talks with Mr. Mandela were allowed with similar objectives. When the inevitable was accepted, the intention was still to retain power and protect white interests and privilege by other means.
In the ANC, though the commitment to fight to the bitter end remained, the great cost of such a struggle was always a matter of concern. The decision to take up arms was not a matter of principle, but because all peaceful forms of struggle were closed. Hence, however remote the prospect, the possibility of negotiations was always open. With the changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, we were aware that financial and military support would diminish. We could not fail to be sensitive also to the price being paid by our neighbouring countries for their continued support for our struggle. There was also growing pressure from the international community, including from our supporters that we explore a negotiated solution.
Under President Tambo’s leadership, the ANC also began to look ahead to building the peace task team was established to consider the options of what kind of organisation the ANC should become. A Constitutional Commission was set up and constitutional guidelines issued. These were debated within ANC structures as well as the mass democratic movement, and also with the groups that came to engage with us. In the continuing dialogue, adjustments were made.
The Women’s Section convened conferences that gendered the Constitutional guidelines, and agreed a range of policies. A Commission on the Emancipation of Women of was established under the leadership of the President. The NEC issued a policy statement on the structured oppression of women in South Africa, and called for all South African Women to come together and draft a new Women’s Charter.
Links were established with the democratic movement to discuss strategy, as well as policy. A project on policies for Post Apartheid South Africa (PASA) enabled greater collaboration with democratic movement researchers. When the ANC was unbanned, these initiatives fed into the policy divisions established at headquarters, and into the negotiations.
Even before the unbanning, ANC structures were established by the newly released internal leadership. With the return of exiles, branches were established, a National Conference organised and a leadership elected with a mandate to negotiate. Considering the enormous gap between the political objectives of the ruling party and those of the liberation movement, the negotiations were relatively short. Many compromises had to be made by the ANC, including agreeing on a cessation of hostilities, while the SADF and police remained in place. Always the leadership pointed to the alternative to reaching an agreement: a protracted bitter and costly war in enemy’s territory, without the overwhelming support of the international community that we enjoyed.
Compromises were made on land, a matter that remains a problem. We refused to accept a federal system but eventually there was agreement on a unitary state, but with the simultaneous creation of provinces with exclusive and concurrent powers over a range of issues including education and health. We are still grappling with how to manage the resulting problems.
But refused any compromise on the matter of assigning rights on the basis of race, culture or language. Even before the formation of the Union of South Africa in 1910, those would form the ANC in 1912, called for a non-racial South Africa, and never a Black South Africa. The founding principle of the ANC was that rights should vest in all South Africans equally. After much debate, agreement was reached on a united non-racial non sexist democratic South Africa.
All parties were welcomed to the negotiating table: so Bantustan parties, some right wing Afrikaner parties, participated. However, we maintained and stood our ground, that while we could negotiate an interim Constitution, the final one could only be agreed by a Constituent Assembly composed of members elected through a democratic process.
When the principle of no specific group or minority rights was accepted in the Constituent Assembly, then Vice President De Klerk led the National Party out of the Government of National Unity and resigned from Parliament.
Only now can we appreciate fully how much ANC was able to prepare before entering government. We need also to recognise that many issues were not considered adequately, neglected or ignored. But I never suggested that ANC members were not human!
Our policies were broadly conceived and sometimes without the time, necessary information or capacity to work out how they were to be implemented. Few if any ANC members had any experience of governance or management of a relatively sophisticated economy, and the many layered structures of government we were creating. We had put training programs in place, but there not enough cadres or time. Even today, some (but only some) of the problems of delivery, arise from the complicated governance structures we have.
Most of the previous public service remained in place, but many did not share our objectives and also often did not even understand them. As a result, in the first Parliament MPs spent an inordinate amount of time, redrafting legislation that did not meet the political objectives.
We failed to debate fully and understand the distinction between a liberation movement and a political party. Though President Tambo had established a task team to examine options for the ANC’s organisational form, he was never able to even look at its first report as he suffered a stroke. Thereafter, the ANC was overtaken by events. When the debate did emerge again after our return, there was no real understanding of what was required. In an endeavour to promote other agendas, the distinction between the two was limited to whether the ANC should remain an umbrella body covering a diversity of views, but with shared objectives.
As a liberation movement the ANC found the existing system in our country unacceptable. Therefore it could not be reformed, but needed to be uprooted and most importantly a new transformed society needed to be put in its place. In contrast a political party will focus of ruling, accepting the basic system, and competing with other parties on the basis that it can run the system better than them. At times the ANC appears ambiguous. Its focus is on ruling, and yet it holds high the lodestar of transformation. The question is where do you put the emphasis. The Government of President Zuma seems to be aware of the problem, but we need to see what its priorities will be and the balance it achieves.
The Ready to Govern Conference decided not to establish a Parliamentary Party and to retain the branch as the basic unit of organisation, decision making and choosing leadership. This was the origin of the one ANC, one centre of power policy. We did not consider adequately the link between the branch and the structures of government. E.g. Local government Councillors are supposed to be accountable to branches, but there is no organisational mechanism on how this should be done. Rarely was action taken again Councillors who were corrupt or ignored ANC structures.
We required a strong Executive to manage the process of transformation and reallocating resources. But the Constitution also provides for a strong Parliament, and places an obligation on the National Assembly to create mechanisms to hold every organ of state accountable. The Executive has not always recognised the status of Parliament, and by its action or inaction often undermined it. The opposition by claiming the Executive was accountable to it, instead of to Parliament, compounded the problem, by reducing the scope of accountability to a battle between Government and the opposition., rather than an accountability to the South African people through their elected representatives. All MPs through constituency work could have identified the problems of delivery and raised them in Parliament, rather than leaving it to people to take to the streets in demonstrations.
President Zuma is among those who have called for Parliament to strengthen its oversight role. But this will only succeed if the ANC and the Executive act to enable all MPs to do so.
The distinction between the party in government and the Executive was blurred when it became the practice for all members of Cabinet to attend meetings of the ANC NEC. This devalued the contributions of elected NEC members. Gradually policy debates were introduced and led by Cabinet Ministers. This practice ceased about 18 months ago, and I hope has not been revived.
The ANC Chairpersons function is to be the custodian of ANC policies, and was originally envisaged as a full time position. However, Cabinet Ministers have been elected to this position. As a result there has been a vacuum in the role of guardian of policies. It remains to be seen if the new Chairperson assumes this function.
While we did compromise on the position of the public service in the negotiations, there is nothing that prevents the government from having speedy enquiries, and from prosecuting those who have been found guilty of corruption or misusing public resources. Instead we have had lengthy periods of suspension on fully salary, and quiet resignations, instead of convictions for fraud or other crime.
Our National Anti-Corruption Forum, is voluntary, and has no power to take action. We could learn lessons from anti-corruption bodies in West Africa and elsewhere. President Zuma’s government has made a commitment not to tolerate corruption. If the political will is there to act, then we can make a significant impact on the level of corruption.
As we have just marked women’s day, it would be remiss of me not to comment on what is happening to women after the tremendous progress we have made. But I have cause for concern. Violence against women appears to be increasing, or is it simply that the climate has changed and more incidents are being reported? Perhaps this is so.
Statements made by some lawyers in court and slogans outside courts would be ruled out of order as sexist in Parliament. Comments by some trade union and youth leaders are a serious cause for concern, the more so, when ANC leaders do not respond by clearly articulating ANC policies.
Women in the liberation movement struggled for decades to gain recognition that just as apartheid was systemic racism embedded in the structures and institutions of our country, so too was sexism and patriarchy. Women do not simply face discrimination. Discrimination only applies, when a system is acceptable, but some groups are excluded: such as when black people are denied entry at some holiday resorts, or when Jews and other non-Anglo-Saxons and women are denied membership in clubs. Just as apartheid was institutionalised racism, so too, patriarchy and the subordination of women remains institutionalised in our country. Hence ANC policies speak of gender oppression, not discrimination, and a commitment to eradication, not to reform.
Do the leaders who speak about women understand our policies? In the election campaign some older women who joined COPE were reviled as senile or witches. In other cases debates were provoked about their looks or dress, rather than the policies they advocated. How do we explain the failure of our political leaders to oppose such attitudes and language?
Of particular concern is the way the new Ministry of Women Affairs is composed. Not the ministry itself, for this has been long advocated, and there are pros and cons on the matter. But what we have is not a Ministry focussed on women, but one that includes children and the disabled. I have received explanations that the Ministry will cover all vulnerable groups.
Have we not learnt that the vulnerability of children and the disabled arises from natural causes or accidents? That is not the case for women. The alleged vulnerability of women serves only to disguise patriarchy and male oppression of women. Should we not be shouting loud?
The resemblance of the language to what was being said by the apartheid regime in the 1960s, when women, children, the elderly and disabled were grouped together in apartheid policies excluding them from the urban areas is frightening. What does this portend for the future?
Let women celebrate. Let all South Africans celebrate women. But women must come together to defend our gains, and prevent a retreat into the past. We need to introduce women’s perspectives and experience into policy making. Only then will we have done our duty by the many women who died in the struggle and by the majority of South African women who remain mired in poverty.
AIJC19
Vuvuzela Veldfire
State of the Newsroom 2018
Melville and Parktown
Wits Journalism | Copyright 2019. All Right Reserved.
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The Shawshank Redemption 1994
Always update with updatech :: MOVIE,TV SERIES AND VIDEO :: Movie :: West
skiver on Sun Oct 10, 2010 10:46 pm
The Shawshank Redemption is a 1994 American drama film, written and directed by Frank Darabont, based on the Stephen King novella, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption. The film stars Tim Robbins as Andy Dufresne and Morgan Freeman as Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding.
The film portrays Andy spending nearly two decades in the cruelty of Shawshank State Prison, a fictional penitentiary in Maine, and his friendship with Red, a fellow inmate. This movie exemplifies the gap between box office success and popularity. Despite receiving lukewarm box office reception and making enough to cover back its budget, The Shawshank Redemption received favorable reviews from critics and has enjoyed a remarkable life on cable television, home video, and DVD, and continues to be noticed by popular culture fourteen years after its initial release. It is frequently ranked amongst the greatest films of all time.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shawshank_Redemption
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The Shawshank Redemption Blu-Ray
Reupload : The Shawshank Redemption (1994) - BDRip
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» 1994 line back dun AQHA mare..
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← Just to put your day into perspective
Your Sunday Sermon Note Belated →
Are you downsizing? Be careful!
Posted on 12 June 2018 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf
I’m in a process of downsizing. You know how this goes. You have it in your head that, if you haven’t opened that box of stuff for a couple years, you don’t need it and you won’t miss it. Right?
I read this at BBC:
An 18th Century Chinese vase, left for decades in a shoebox in France, has sold for 16.2m euros (£14.2m).
The vase was auctioned at Sotheby’s in Paris on Tuesday and sold for more than 20 times its estimated guide price – 500,000 to 700,000 euros.
It’s the highest price ever reached for a single item sold by Sotheby’s in France.
The vase formed part of a family inheritance and was recently discovered in an attic.
Sotheby’s Asian arts expert, Olivier Valmier, said the seller “took the train, then the metro and walked on foot through the doors of Sotheby’s and into my office with the vase in a shoebox protected by newspaper.
“When she put the box on my desk and we opened it, we were all stunned by the beauty of the piece.
“This is a major work of art,” Valmier continued. “It is as if we had just discovered a Caravaggio.”
The 30 cm, bulb-shaped vase, painted in shades of green, blue, yellow and purple, was described as an exceptionally well-preserved porcelain vessel made for an emperor of the Qing dynasty.
It depicts deer, birds and other animals in a wood and includes gold embroidery around its neck. The vase bears a mark of the Qianlong Emperor who ruled China from 1736 to 1795.
The vase, which was in perfect condition, “is the only known example in the world bearing such detail,” said Valmier.
“We didn’t like the vase too much, and my grandparents didn’t like it either,” said the owner of the piece, who only got in touch with Sotheby’s in March.
A Sotheby’s spokeswoman said: “They knew it had some value but nothing like that, nor that it was from the Qian dynasty.”
The auction lasted some 20 minutes, a long time by usual standards, with multiple bidders battling for the vase.
Sotheby’s has not revealed the name or nationality of the Asian buyer.
This entry was posted in Just Too Cool. Bookmark the permalink.
8 Responses to Are you downsizing? Be careful!
benedetta says:
Literally in the midst of active downsizing. Moved from a large house to a small apartment yesterday. Unpacking boxes that were in basement and not touched in years…so far no rare million dollar Chinese vases.
Cafea Fruor says:
This reminds me of those times on Antiques Roadshow when some woman comes in with an item that she found at a garage sale for maybe $3.50. She might say, “Well, dear husband keeps telling me to stop going to yard sales, but I just had to get this piece because it was oh so pretty, and he was furious with me.” Dear husband is standing there on the side, rolling his eyes. And then the appraiser announces that the item’s really worth maybe $100K, and the husband just says, “Well, I guess I can’t complain about garage sales anymore…” :-)
Malta says:
My story is not as phenomenal, but I walked into Goodwill here in Santa Fe, bought a Robert Stivers photograph for $5.99, I drove up the street to Stephen’s Consignment, where they listed it for $2,900.
My friend, who makes over $100,000 selling on ebay, found a Tiffany lamp for around $5, and sold it for $17,000 (it was missing a piece of glass, otherwise it would have gone for a lot more). There is crazy money to be made in stuff!
Emilio says:
When downsizing not long ago after losing my job, nothing hurt more than having to rid myself of 95% of my personal library, accumulated after 25 years or so. The sacrifice was lessened a great deal by a “reform of the reform” parish run by orthodox Dominicans, and full of young professionals, agreeing to accept my extremely large book donation for their parish library. It makes me happy that other fellow Catholics, especially youth, might enjoy and benefit from everything I did from them, especially all the books about the Liturgy I owned. The experience has also made me wary of accumulating so much “stuff” in the present and future, and has given me an appreciation for living more simply and with less.
iamlucky13 says:
A few weeks ago, a priest worked into a homily a similar story about the sculpture Young Archer, believed to have been made by Michelangelo when he was still an apprentice. It was displayed in plain site in a French embassy office in downtown NYC for decades, with little notice until a curator for the Metropolitan Museum noticed it had similarities to other works he was familiar with. A bit more about it here:
https://www.metmuseum.org/press/exhibitions/2010/marble-sculpture-attributed-to-michelangelo-on-loan-to-metropolitan-museum-from-french-republic
The homily was for Pentacost, if I remember right, and he talked about faith as a matter of learning about something you suspect might be true, and ultimately committing to a decision to believe it, despite the risks it might entail. Like the art scholar who risked his career to advocate the evidence he had that the sculpture was the work of Michelangelo, the disciples risk as much and even more in their commitment to believe they had seen Jesus raised from the dead.
Anyways, great story about the vase, and a nice reminder about one of the better homilies I’ve heard recently.
Simon_GNR says:
Kerr..Ching!!
I’m pretty sure we don’t have any antiques lurking in the loft – shame. Good luck to the lady with the vase though. It’d be interesting to learn what provenance the piece had – how it came to be in the family’s possession.
Charivari Rob says:
You’re downsizing again, Father? You did that just a couple of years ago and had to pare down from “cottage” to “boiler room”, if I recall correctly. You can’t have too much left to chop.
What’s next size down from boiler room, anyway – post office box? Crypt? Reliquary?
@Charivari Rob: If the choice were up to me, I’d go for the reliquary – you could always say, “It’s not a big place, but it sure has good bones.” ;-)
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Home » Legislation
Elections & Voting Rights
SB 602 Allows no-excuse in-person absentee voting three weeks prior to election day.
Referred to interim joint committee.
SB 4 Enables adults 65+ to vote absentee without additional excuses.
SB 6 Allows those who learn of last-minute business travel or family emergencies by noon on the Friday before election day to participate in emergency voting on Monday before election day.
SB 7 Requires candidates to include campaign bank account numbers on statements of organization.
Defeated in the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee, 4-10.
SB 8 Simplifies absentee voting return envelopes to align with federal absentee ballot standards.
SB 589 Allows election pages to count unmarked ballots.
Passed the General Assembly, signed by Governor Ralph Northam, to become effective July 1.
SB 604 Ensures that in-person absentee voters who are in line at the time polling locations close are able to cast their ballot that day.
SB 739 Clarifies that former candidates for office must file a final finance report with the general registrar of the locality where they sought office.
LGBT Equality
SB 3 Removes provisions in the Code of Virginia prohibiting same-sex marriage.
Defeated in the Senate Courts of Justice Committee, 7-8.
SB 202 Prohibits LGBT discrimination in public employment.
Passed by indefinitely in the House General Laws subcommittee, 5-2, after passing the Senate, 29-10.
SB 603 Removes gendered terms with regards to marriage and associated rights.
SJ 1 Repeals Virginia’s constitutional prohibition on same-sex marriage.
Continued to the 2019 legislative session.
SB 1 Prohibits bump stocks, trigger cranks and other devices that increase the rate of semi-automatic firearms to resemble that of machine guns.
Passed by indefinitely in the Senate Finance Committee, 10-6, after passing the Senate Courts of Justice Committee, 11-4.
SB 2 Makes it is a Class 1 misdemeanor to carry a loaded firearm in a public place while under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs.
SB 5 Implements universal background checks for any firearm sale or transfer.
Social & Criminal Justice Reform
SB 111 Reduces penalty for possession of marijuana from a criminal offense to a civil penalty.
SB 578 Allows a judge discretion as to whether or not to suspend a driver's license in cases involving non-payment of court costs and fines.
SB 920 Reduces the waiting period from 10 years to 8 years, after conviction of non-violent felony drug possession offenses, for those seeking to adopt children.
SB 921 Amends legislation from 2017 to clarify that exterior building plans for single family homes are available to the public, and building plans can be used by relevant government agencies and can be used in the Board of Zoning appeals process.
SB 733 Provides localities authority to relocate monuments constructed prior to 1900 to city-owned history museums within a quarter-mile of the monument’s original location.
Defeated in the Senate Local Government Committee, 5-7.
SB 588 Allows museums to purchase annual special event ABC licenses.
SB 605 Prohibits public school employees from recommending any employee suspected of sexual misconduct to another employer, unless the employee has been exonerated.
SJ 47 Designates the third week of September as Fall Prevention Awareness Week.
Passed the General Assembly.
SJ 74 Encourages Department of Health and Human Resources, Department of Education, and other state agencies to explore the feasibility of developing common applications for state services.
Passed the Senate, 40-0, defeated in the House Rules Subcommittee.
SJ 8 Allows Virginia Governors to serve two consecutive terms. Would not take effect until after 2021 general elections.
SB 606 Establishes an Office of Immigrant Assistance within the Department of Social Services.
Defeated in the Senate Rehabilitation and Social Services Committee, 7-8.
Lending & Taxation
SB 918 Ensures that professional licenses cannot be suspended or revoked as a penalty for falling behind on student loans.
SB 963 Provides a 90% Virginia Income Tax Credit for taxpayers contributing to the Commonwealth Competitiveness Fund. Moneys in the fund shall be used for exclusively public purposes, with 10% of the Fund allocated to children qualifying for the federal Free Lunch Program.
Defeated in the Senate Finance Committee, 4-12.
SB 919 Allows the court to punish motorists who seriously injure or kill pedestrians or cyclists as a result of careless or distracted driving, with a six month driver’s license suspension, fine of up to $1,000 and up to 6 months in jail, in addition to any other applicable penalties.
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News From And About Africa
The State of Biodiversity in Africa, to be released in 2015, was presented to African leaders and policy makers by the UN Environment Program (UNEP) and the World Conservation Monitoring Centre at the 15th African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) in Cairo. Demand for and consumption of natural resources results in land use change, overexploitation and overharvesting of species, legal and illegal logging, illegal hunting, and pollution created by urbanization and industrialization. Over 3 million hectares of forest are lost yearly due to the conversion of agricultural lands to meet food and biofuels needs. The report makes recommendations in areas such as addressing the illegal trade in wildlife, through increased law enforcement; using initiatives such as the REDD+ forest restoration and conservation initiative; implementing conservation actions on a greater scale; improving governance to strengthen links between wildlife management and community development; and mobilizing resources from private and global funds, to establish practicable systems of payments for ecosystem services.
Uganda has over 6.5 billion barrels of commercial oil resources and prepares to embark on the production phase, while Kenya with an estimated one billion barrels of recoverable oil targets to start production in 2017. Tanzania has huge offshore gas resources in the south of the country. Rwanda is currently seeking firms for oil and gas exploration in the Lake Kivu area. All these activities could lead to environmental degradation if there are no stringent laws and policies to guide development activities.
The Hukuntsi Sub-district chairperson said the sub-district experiences an increase in poaching particularly in Zutshwa, where poaching had turned from subsistence to commercial. A poaching syndicate apparently operates underground butcheries to sell game meat. Also, human-wildlife conflict remains prevalent in Kgalagadi North (Source: AllAfrica).
The government contemplates changing the boundaries of the 780,000 ha Virunga NP, home to around a quarter of the world’s mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) to accommodate oil exploitation. Any border changes of the World Heritage Site would have to be approved by the UNESCO (Source: www.Mongabay.com).
30 elephants were killed within 2 weeks in Garamba NP by a group of northern Sudanese poachers according to African Parks (Source: Jeune Afrique)
Footage recorded as part of a chimpanzee study in the Batéké Plateau NP by the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology’s Pan African Program and released by Panthera shows a male lion wandering along an elephant path. Experts believe the lion travelled up to 250 km from DR Congo. The lion had entered the national park in November 2014; the question whether the male is solitary or part of a new breeding population is still unresolved.
In 2011 Zhuo Qiang founded Mara Conservation Fund (MCF) and started launching awareness campaigns in China. Zhou runs the 73 km2 Ol Kinyei Conservancy in the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem and some 100 Chinese volunteers come to Kenya to work on conservation projects each year. MCF plans to translate Swara, the quarterly magazine on wildlife conservation and public face of the East African Wildlife Society into Chinese to reach people in China.
3 people believed to be part of a poaching cartel, among them a police officer from Nairobi, were arrested early March as they tried to sell a rhino horn to a KWS officer in Nairobi.
Many sitatunga apparently have been killed in a vast fire which destroyed 10,000 ac in the Birei-Kapsisiywa swamp. The fire is suspected to have been started by an individual.
Suspected ivory smuggler Feisal Mohammed, who was arrested by Interpol on December 22, was released on a Sh10 million cash bond in March. Detectives say that the Mombasa businessman is the leader of an international poaching syndicate in East Africa and has enjoyed protection from security agencies and state officials.
The PHASA Conservation & Empowerment Fund has donated more than 15 million Rand over the past decade to anti-poaching, research, training, social responsibility and empowerment initiatives. Toyota South Africa made a vehicle available to the Fund.
A 32-year-old Chinese national found in possession of 5 kg of rhino horn and chucked abalone was arrested at Cape Town International Airport on 24 March 2015
19 black rhino made available through the Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency were released at an undisclosed location to create the 10th breeding population in WWF South Africa’s Black Rhino Range Expansion Project as part of WWF South Africa’s five-point rhino plan to reach a target of 3 000 black rhino. One of the key objectives is to grow the population as rapidly as possible by harvesting animals from populations that are at or near ecological carrying capacity and using these animals to create new populations. This harvesting stimulates growth in the donor population.
The Hawks arrested 5 suspected rhino poachers in Mpumalanga almost 5 months after 8 rhinos went missing from the Ohrigstad NR. Two of the suspects confessed to killing another 2 rhinos in the Pretoriuskop area of Kruger NP. The suspects appeared in court; 3 had their cases withdrawn, 2 remained in custody.
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the Tanzanian government launched an initiative to protect East Africa’s largest elephant population. Funded by USAID, the plan aims to reduce poaching and protect biodiversity across the 115,000 km2 ecosystem of the Southern Highlands and Ruaha-Katavi Protection Program (SHARPP) in 4 focal areas: Wildlife Management Areas, livelihoods, habitat conservation, and elephant monitoring and protection. SHARPP plans to complement existing anti-poaching activities with aerial surveillance, detection dogs, spatial monitoring, and anti-trafficking strategies as well as the introduction crime-scene management.
In March, Ugandan Wildlife authorities confiscated 500 kg ivory en route to Singapore at Entebbe airport. The ivory pieces were immersed in cassava flour and sealed in 4 metal containers.
In mid-March Tourism and Arts Minister Jean Kapata announced that Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) will be transformed into a government department. The Zambia Wildlife Act will be repealed. The ministry will absorb ZAWA staff and functions into a new agency to oversee wildlife and game parks. ZAWA had accumulated debts of over 1 million US dollars and ZAWA staff had gone several months without pay.
USFW&S announced that “trophies, parts or products of elephant taken in Zimbabwe during the 2015 hunting seasons will not be allowed to be imported into USA. The trophy import suspension for 2015 or future hunting seasons could be lifted if additional information on elephant status and management becomes available, including utilization of revenue generated through sport hunting by U.S. citizens”. John J. Jackson III of Conservation Force commented that “this is not final but an invitation for more action and information”.
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Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou
(Morocco)
Deliberate destruction of heritage
Erosion and siltation/ deposition
Illegal activities
Impacts of tourism / visitor / recreation
Other Threats:
Near total abandonment of the property
a) Near total abandonment of the property;
b) Gully erosion;
c) Rock falls due to erosion;
d) Increased offences in old Ksar and degradation;
e) Delays in the establishment of a technical and administrative structure responsible for the site;
f) Lack of a management plan for the property;
g) Uncontrolled tourism and visitor pressure.
Total amount approved : 52,333 USD
2007 Projet d'aménagement du site d'Aït Ben Haddou (Approved) 29,833 USD
2007 Projet de mise en place d'une signalétique à Aït ... (Not approved) 0 USD
2005 Assistance for the elaboration of a management plan for ... (Approved) 20,000 USD
2001 Installation of Plaques and Publication of Leaflets to ... (Approved) 2,500 USD
Reactive monitoring mission in September 2003; World Heritage Centre mission in November 2003; UNESCO-Rabat mission in March 2005; Joint World Heritage Centre -ICOMOS reactive monitoring mission in April 2006; joint World Heritage Centre -ICOMOS Reactive monitoring mission in February 2007
As requested by the Committee, the State Party submitted a report in January 2007, in which it provided information about the progress made regarding conservation and management of the property. Work on the site was guided by a multi-sectoral committee, presided by the Governor of Ouarzazate and composed of CERKAS (Centre de Conservation et de Réhabilitation du Patrimoine Architectural des Zones Atlasiques et Subatlasiques), a delegation of the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Housing, division of Urbanism and local authorities.
The Ministry of Culture and CERKAS, assisted by CRATerre (Centre International de la Construction en Terre) had started drafting a site management plan through International Assistance from the World Heritage Fund. It contains a vision of the future state of the site in 2012, a comprehensive SWOT analysis and an Action Plan for 2007-2012. Several crucial sections then remained to be completed on resources, visitor management, and monitoring. The Plan includes details of a request for human and financial resources made to the Prime Minister and to be allocated to CERKAS to strengthen local management.
In February 2007 a joint World Heritage Centre /ICOMOS reactive monitoring mission visited the property at the invitation of the Moroccan authorities. The mission reviewed the implementation of the decision 30 COM 7B.45 of the World Heritage Committee, evaluated the overall state of conservation of the site.
The mission noted that conservation activities and standardscontinue to improve but are held back by lack of resources. The mission was concerned that CERKAS is still under-funded and as an example, has no vehicle to allow access to the many sites for which it responsibility. No overall programme of conservation has yet been prepared. However the mission was encouraged by news of the development of earth building codes through collaboration between the State Party and the Getty Conservation Institute and others. Furthermore, a partnership between the Getty and CERKAS on a project at Ksar Ait-Ben-Haddou is under negotiation.
The mission noted that plans for the construction of a bridge connecting the Ksar to the opposite bank of the wadi were now at an advanced state and construction is expected to begin during 2007. The mission urges caution during the completion of designs and implementation phases of the bridge and recommends that the visual impact remains as low as possible. Further, the mission recommends that no development should occur on the Ksar side of the bridge and that proper controls should be in place to strictly limit the access of people and of animals, and of fire and ambulance vehicles.
Despite the improvements, the World Heritage property is not yet managed by a single authority with legal powers and financial autonomy. Two committees have been established: at the local level, a committee is in operation that comprises representatives of CERKAS, the Municipality, the president of the rural community, delegation of Culture of Ouarzazate, Public Works, Tourism, Urbanism, Housing, Environmental Inspection, Health, National Education, Directorate of Drinking Water, Maroc Telecom and the Delegation of Arts & Crafts. A second committee operates at an inter-ministerial level, focusing on improving cooperation at the highest level. Both of these committees are now active and fully operational. A management structure is now emerging from meetings held by these Committees at local and at ministerial levels, but further progress and resources are still needed.
The mission identified the following measures to be effectively implemented by 1 February 2009:
a) Establishment of an effective and transparent management structure, on site, with legal powers, adequate decentralised financing and technical staffing. The mission noted that CERKAS should be given this role and be strengthened;
b) Establishment of regular decentralized financial allocations by the Government of Morocco to reinforce CERKAS and its conservation activities;
c) Establishment of a special decree or by-laws to mandate interventions regarding ownership issues in relation to planning activities, particularly for structures in a critical state;
d) Finalisation of the draft and formal adoption of the Management Plan;
e) Continuation of preventive conservation measures with increased programming in respect to the buildings requiring urgent intervention to prevent further decay and deterioration, to be developed simultaneously with setting up the Management Plan.
Ksar Aït Ben Haddou (Morocco)
1. Having examined Document WHC-07/31.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 30 COM 7B.45 adopted at its 30th session (Vilnius, 2006),
3. Notes with satisfaction the continuing commitment of the State Party to the implementation of the decisions of the Committee;
4. Also notes that progress has been made in completing the Management Plan, and that this is likely to be adopted in the near future;
5. Expresses its concern that, although progress has been made in establishing consultative committees, a satisfactory overall resourced management structure on the property is not yet functioning and there are no sustainable funding arrangements for conservation and management of the property;
6. Requests the State Party to provide the World Heritage Centre with the adopted Management Plan as well as an updated report on the state of conservation of the property, and on the progress achieved in implementing the identified measures by 1 February 2009 for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 33rd session in 2009.
Category: Cultural
Criteria: (iv)(v)
WHC-07/31.COM/7B
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German minority in Poland
Germans in Poland
148,000 (0.38%)[1]
south central region near Opole
German, Polish
Related ethnic groups
other German diaspora
The registered German minority in Poland at the 2011 national census consisted of 148,000 people, of whom 64,000 declared both German and Polish ethnicities and 45,000 solely German ethnicity.[1] At a 2002 census there were 152,900 people declaring German ethnicity. Representatives of the German ethnic minority presume that the figures for their group are somewhat higher because after their exclusion in the communist period, members of the minority prefer not to state their real ethnicity.[2] Also, due to complications arising from multi-ethnic Polish/German identities, many people of partial German descent do not identify with their German background, and some estimates number Poles with varying degrees of German ancestry from 400,000 to 500,000.[3]
The German language is spoken in certain areas in Opole Voivodeship, where most of the minority resides, and in Silesian Voivodeship. German-speakers first came to these regions (present-day Opole and Silesian Voivodeships) during the Late Middle Ages.[4] However, there are no localities in either the Upper Silesia or Poland as a whole where German could be considered a language of everyday communication.[5] The predominant home or family language of Poland's German minority in Upper Silesia used to be the Silesian German language (mainly Oberschlesisch dialect, but also Mundart des Brieg-Grottkauer Landes was used west of Opole), but since 1945 Standard German replaced it as these Silesian German dialects went generally out of use except among the oldest generations which by now completely died off.[6] The German Minority electoral list currently has one seat in the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (there were four from 1993 to 1997), benefiting from the current provision in Polish election law which exempts national minorities from the 5% national threshold.
In the school year of 2014/15 there were 387 elementary schools in Poland (all in Upper Silesia), with over 37,000 students, in which German was taught as a minority language (that is, at least for three periods of 45 minutes in a week), hence de facto as a subject.[7] There were no minority schools with German as the language of instruction, though there were three asymmetrically bilingual (Polish-German) schools, where most subjects were taught through the medium of Polish.[8] Most members of the German minority are Roman Catholic, while some are Lutheran Protestants (the Evangelical-Augsburg Church).
1 Germans in Poland today
2 History of Germans in Poland
3 German Poles
5 Notable Poles of German descent
6 German media in Poland
Germans in Poland today
German minority in Upper Silesia: Opole Voivodeship (west) and Silesian Voivodeship (east).
German minority in Warmia and Masuria.
See also: Bilingual communes in Poland
According to the 2002 census, most of the Germans in Poland (92.9%) live in Silesia: 104,399 in the Opole Voivodeship, i.e. 71.0% of all Germans in Poland and a share of 9.9% of the local population; 30,531 in the Silesian Voivodeship, i.e. 20.8% of all Germans in Poland and 0.6% of the local population; plus 1,792 in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, i.e. 1.2% of all Germans in Poland, though only 0.06% of the local population. A second region with a notable German minority is Masuria, with 4,311 living in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, corresponding to 2.9% of all Germans in Poland, and 0.3% of the local population.
Towns with particularly high concentrations of German speakers in Opole Voivodeship include: Strzelce Opolskie; Dobrodzien; Prudnik; Głogówek; and Gogolin.[9]
In the remaining 12 voivodeships of Poland, the percentage of Germans in the population does not exceed 0.09%:
% German
Poland 38,557,984 147,094 0.38
Opole Voivodeship 1,055,667 104,399 9.89
Silesian Voivodeship 4,830,000 30,531 0.63
Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship 1,428,552 4,311 0.30
Pomeranian Voivodeship 2,192,000 2,016 0.09
Lower Silesian Voivodeship 2,898,000 1,792 0.06
West Pomeranian Voivodeship 1,694,865 1,014 0.06
Greater Poland Voivodeship 3,365,283 820 0.02
Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship 2,068,142 636 0.03
Lubusz Voivodeship 1,009,005 513 0.05
Masovian Voivodeship 5,136,000 351 0.01
Łódź Voivodeship 2,597,000 263 0.01
Source (2002, diverging): Główny Urząd Statystyczny, Warsaw; Census results.[10]
Poland is also the third most frequent destination for migrant Germans searching for work, after the United States and Switzerland.[11]
History of Germans in Poland
Main article: History of the Germans in Poland
German language frequency in Poland – based on the Polish census of 1931
Votes for the German Minority in the 2007 elections in the Opole Vovoidship
Inspection of a Selbstschutz unit in Bydgoszcz, 1939. Josef Meier ("Bloody Meier") – leader of the Selbstschutz in Bydgoszcz, Werner Kampe – mayor of Bydgoszcz and Ludolf von Alvensleben – leader of the Selbstschutz in Pomerania.
Example of bilingual labeling in German and Polish on the town hall of the Polish village Cisek
German migration into areas that form part of present-day Poland began with the medieval Ostsiedlung (see also Walddeutsche in the Subcarpathian region). Regions which subsequently became part of the Kingdom of Prussia - Lower Silesia, East Brandenburg, Pomerania and East Prussia - were almost completely German by the High Middle Ages.[citation needed] In other areas of modern-day Poland there were substantial German populations, most notably in the historical regions of Pomerelia, Upper Silesia, and Posen or Greater Poland. Lutheran Germans settled numerous "Olęder" villages along the Vistula River and its tributaries during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. In the 19th century, Germans became actively involved in developing the clothmaking industry in what is now central Poland. Over 3,000 villages and towns within Russian Poland are recorded as having German residents. Many of these Germans remained east of the Curzon line after World War I ended in 1918, including a significant number in Volhynia. In the late-19th century, some Germans moved westward during the Ostflucht, while a Prussian Settlement Commission established others in Central Poland.
According to the 1931 census, around 740,000 German speakers lived in Poland (2.3% of the population). Their minority rights were protected by the Little Treaty of Versailles of 1919. The right to appeal to the League of Nations however was renounced[by whom?] in 1934, officially due to Germany's withdrawal from the League (September 1933) after Adolf Hitler became German Chancellor in January 1933.
Communes in Poland in which additional minority names were introduced (as of 1 December 2009). In blue – German names in the Opole and Silesian Voivodeships (total of 238 German names in Silesia)
Main article: Volksdeutscher Selbstschutz
After Nazi Germany's invasion of the Second Polish Republic in September 1939, many members of the German minority (around 25%[12]) joined the ethnic German paramilitary organisation Volksdeutscher Selbstschutz. When the German occupation of Poland began, the Selbstschutz took an active part in Nazi crimes against ethnic Poles. Due to their pre-war interactions with the Polish majority, they were able to prepare lists of Polish intellectuals and civil servants whom the Nazis selected for extermination. The organisation actively participated and was responsible for the deaths of about 50,000 Poles.[13]
During the German occupation of Poland during World War II (1939-1945), the Nazis forcibly resettled ethnic Germans from other areas of Central Europe (such as the Baltic states) in the pre-war territory of Poland. At the same time the Nazi authorities expelled, enslaved and killed Poles and Jews.
Following the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, the Soviets annexed a massive portion of the eastern part of Poland (November 1939) in the wake of an August 1939 agreement between the Reich and the USSR. After the Nazis' defeat in 1945, Poland did not regain its Soviet-annexed territory;[14] instead, the Soviets expelled[15] the remaining Germans (those who had not been evacuated or fled before[16]) from the areas of Lower Silesia, Upper Silesia, Pommerania, East Brandenburg, and East Prussia and replaced them with Poles, most of whom were expelled from Soviet-occupied areas that had previously formed part of Poland. About half of East Prussia became the newly-created Soviet territory of Kaliningrad Oblast (officially established in 1946), where Soviet citizens replaced the former German residents. The Potsdam Agreement of August 1945 specified or endorsed the shifting of borders.[17][18]
Following the downfall of the Polish Communist regime in 1989, the German minorities' political situation in modern-day Poland has improved, and German citizens are now allowed to buy land and property in the areas where they or their ancestors used to live, and can return there if they wish. However, none of their properties have been returned after being confiscated.
A possible demonstration[original research?] of the ambiguity of the Polish-German minority position[clarification needed] can be seen in the life and career of Waldemar Kraft, a Minister without Portfolio in the West German Bundestag during the 1950s. However, most of the German minority had not been as involved in the Nazi system as Kraft was.[19]
There is no clear-cut division in Poland between the Germans and some other minorities, whose heritage is similar in some respects due to centuries of assimilation, Germanisation and intermarriage, but differs in other respects due to either ancient regional West Slavic roots or Polonisation. Examples of such minorities include the Slovincians (Lebakaschuben), the Masurians and the Silesians of Upper Silesia. While in the past these people have been claimed[by whom?] for both Polish and German ethnicity, it really depends on their self-perception which they choose to belong to.
German Poles
German Poles (German: Deutsche Polen, Polish: Polacy pochodzenia niemieckiego) may refer to either Poles of German descent or sometimes to Polish citizens whose ancestors held German citizenship before World War II, regardless of their ethnicity.
After the flight and expulsion of Germans from Poland, the largest of a series of flights and expulsions of Germans in Europe during and after World War II, over 1 million former citizens of Germany were naturalized and granted Polish citizenship. Some of them were forced to stay in Poland, while others wanted to stay because these territories were inhabited by their families for hundreds of years. The lowest estimate by West German Schieder commission of 1953, is that 910,000 former German citizens were granted Polish citizenship by 1950.[20] Higher estimates say that 1,043,550[21] or 1,165,000[22][23] were naturalized as Polish citizens by 1950.
Main article: Emigration from Poland to Germany after World War II
However, the vast majority of those people were the so-called "autochthons" who were allowed to stay in post-war Poland after declaring Polish ethnicity in a special verification process.[24] Therefore, most of them were inhabitants of Polish descent of the pre-war border regions of Upper Silesia and Warmia-Masuria. Sometimes they were called Wasserpolnisch or Wasserpolak. Despite their ethnic background, they were allowed to reclaim their former German citizenship on application and under German Basic Law were "considered as not having been deprived of their German citizenship if they have established their domicile in Germany after May 8, 1945 and have not expressed a contrary intention."[25] Because of this fact many of them left People's Republic of Poland due to its undemocratic political system and economic problems.[26]
It is estimated that, in the Cold War era, hundreds of thousands of Polish citizens decided to emigrate to West Germany and, to a lesser extent, to East Germany.[27][28][29] Despite that, hundreds or tens of thousands of former German citizens remained in Poland. Some of them created families with other Poles, who, in the vast majority, were settlers from central Poland or were resettled from the former eastern territories of Poland by the Soviets to the Recovered Territories (Former eastern territories of Germany).
Willy-Brandt-Schule in Warsaw
There is one German international school in Poland, Willy-Brandt-Schule in Warsaw.
Notable Poles of German descent
Jan Henryk Dąbrowski, the Polish national hero of German ancestry (mother of German descent).
Donald Tusk, ex-Prime Minister of Poland, current President of the European Council. His mother was a native Kashubian- German speaker.[30]
Władysław Anders, general, leader of the Polish 2nd Corps during World War II and prominent member of the Polish government-in-exile in London.
Grzegorz Braun, journalist, academic lecturer, movie director, screenwriter and alt-right politician.
Izabela Czartoryska, noblewoman née Flemming, writer, art collector, and founder of the first Polish museum, the Czartoryski Museum in Kraków.
Stanisław Ernest Denhoff, noble, politician and military leader.
Jan Henryk Dąbrowski, general and Polish national hero.
Karol Estreicher (senior), father of Polish Bibliography and a founder of the Polish Academy of Learning.
Adam Fastnacht, historian and member of Armia Krajowa.
Jan Fethke, film director, author and famous proponent of Esperanto language.
Emil August Fieldorf, Polish general during World War I and World War II.
Franciszek Fiszer, author and philosopher.
Anna German, popular singer.
Małgorzata Gersdorf, lawyer, judge, Head of Polish Supreme Court
Wanda Gertz, decorated officer in the Polish Army during World War II
Roman Giertych, lawyer, advocate, former Deputy Prime Minister
Kamil Glik, professional footballer who plays for Serie A club Torino and the Poland national football team.
Henryk Grohman, industrialist.
Józef Haller, Polish general, political and social activist
Marek Jędraszewski, Archbishop of Kraków since 2016 (his mother was connected with Bambers[31])
Angelique Kerber, German-born of Polish parentage of German descent, Wimbledon champion
Miroslav Klose, professional footballer, Germany national football team and FIFA World Cup all-time top goalscorer, and former striker for Italian football club S.S. Lazio.
Maximilian Kolbe, Catholic priest murdered in Auschwitz concentration camp, subsequently canonised.
Henryk Korowicz, professor, economist, and rector of Academy of Foreign Trade in Lwów.
Janusz Korwin-Mikke, politician and writer.[32]
Gustaf Kossinna, linguist and archaeologist.
Juliusz Karol Kunitzer, industrialist, economic activist, philanthropist and industrial magnate in Congress Poland.
Karolina Lanckorońska, like her father an art collector and philanthropist.
Joachim Lelewel, Polish historian and politician.
Samuel Linde, linguist, librarian, and lexicographer of the Polish language.
Tadeusz Manteuffel, historian.
Suzanna von Nathusius, child actor.
Wilhelm Orlik-Rückemann, Polish general and military commander.
Erich von dem Bach Zelewski, high ranking SS officer of Kashubian and Polish parentage.
Emilia Plater, noblewoman and revolutionary.
Nelli Rokita, politician of Law and Justice party in Poland.
Piotr Steinkeller, early industrialist and banker
Jerzy Stuhr, film actor and director
Romuald Traugutt, a "dictator" of the January Uprising
Donald Tusk, former Prime Minister of Poland, current President of the European Council.[30]
Jozef Unrug, Prussian-born Polish admiral who helped to form the Polish Navy in independent Poland, inmate of Colditz.
Karol Ernest Wedel, notable confectioner.
Edward Werner, economist, judge and politician in the Second Polish Republic.
German media in Poland
Schlesisches Wochenblatt
Polen-Rundschau
Schlesien Aktuell[permanent dead link] - German-speaking radio station from Opole
Radio Polonia (broadcasting in German for half an hour a day)
Polen am Morgen - Online-newspaper, published daily since 1998
Waldemar Kraft
Bilingual communes in Poland
German Minority (political party)
Germans in the Czech Republic
Polish minority in Germany
Vistula Germans in Russian Poland
Bambrzy
SGGEE German history and genealogy in Russian Poland; includes map of German settlements in Russian Poland as referenced above.
^ a b Przynależność narodowo-etniczna ludności – wyniki spisu ludności i mieszkań 2011. GUS. Materiał na konferencję prasową w dniu 29. 01. 2013. p. 3. Retrieved 2013-03-06.
^ Tomasz Kamusella in "Dual Citizenship ..." estimates the number of ethnic Germans to be 400-500 thousand.
^ Tomasz Kamusella in "Dual Citizenship ..." estimates the number of ethnic Germans to be 400-500 thousand
^ Weinhold, Karl (1887). Die Verbreitung und die Herkunft der Deutschen in Schlesien [The Spread and the Origin of Germans in Silesia] (in German). Stuttgart: J. Engelhorn.
^ Tomasz Kamusella. 2014. A Language That Forgot Itself (pp 129-138). 2014. Journal on Ethnopolitics and Minority Issues in Europe. Vol 13, No 4. www.ecmi.de/fileadmin/downloads/publications/JEMIE/2014/Kamusella.pdf
^ Niemcy w województwie opolskim w 2010 roku. Pytania i odpowiedzi. Badania socjologiczne członków Towarzystwa Społeczno-Kulturalnego Niemców na Śląsku Opolskim. Projekt zrealizowano na zlecenie Uniwersytetu Osaka w Japonii [Germans in Opole Province in 2010: Questions and Answers: The Sociological Poll Research on the Members of the Social-Cultural Society of Germans in Opole Silesia: The Project Was Carried Out on Behalf of Osaka University, Japan]. Opole and Gliwice: Dom Współpracy Polsko-Niemieckiej, 2011.
^ See p 101 in: Oświata i wychowanie w roku szkolnym 2014/2015 / Education in 2014/2015 School Year. 2015. Warsaw: GUS. [1]
^ See p 136 in Tomasz Kamusella. 2014. A Language That Forgot Itself (pp 129-138). Journal on Ethnopolitics and Minority Issues in Europe. Vol 13, No 4. [2]
^ "Klimczak.PolishAndGermanSilesia". Retrieved 30 January 2016.
^ Central Statistical Office (Poland) (2002). "Wyniki Narodowego Spisu Powszechnego Ludności i Mieszkań 2002 w zakresie deklarowanej narodowości oraz języka używanego w domu" [Results of national census regarding the self-declared nationality and language spoken at home]. Stat.gov.pl official website. Supplementary table in Microsoft Excel format listing 152,897 Germans in total (row C54, compare with table): direct download. Archived from the original on 2008-10-04 – via Internet Archive.
^ "Arbeiten in Polen: Die deutschen Teuerlöhner kommen". SPIEGEL ONLINE. 11 January 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
^ Kampania Wrześniowa 1939.pl Archived 2006-12-17 at the Wayback Machine
^ "Portal". Retrieved 30 January 2016.
^ Watson p. 695–722
^ Eberhardt, Piotr (2011). Political Migrations On Polish Territories (1939-1950) (PDF). Warsaw: Polish Academy of Sciences. ISBN 978-83-61590-46-0.
^ Eberhardt, Piotr (2006). Political Migrations in Poland 1939-1948. 8. Evacuation and flight of the German population to the Potsdam Germany (PDF). Warsaw: Didactica. ISBN 9781536110357.
^ Eberhardt, Piotr (2015). "The Oder-Neisse Line as Poland's western border: As postulated and made a reality". Geographia Polonica. 88 (1).
^ Eberhardt, Piotr (2012). "The Curzon line as the eastern boundary of Poland. The origins and the political background". Geographia Polonica. 85 (1).
^ Helga Hirsch in "Die Rache der Opfer". The author mentions the indiscriminate expulsions of most Germans from 1945 until the mid-1950s, regardless of their personal involvement or non-involvement in the Nazi dictatorship.
^ Dokumentation der Vertreibung der Deutschen aus Ost-Mitteleuropa, Theodor Schieder (compilator) in collaboration with A. Diestelkamp [et al.], Bonn, Bundesministerium für Vertriebene (ed.), 1953, pp. 78 and 155.
^ Gawryszewski, Andrzej (2005). Ludność Polski w XX wieku [Population of Poland in the 20th century]. Monografie / Instytut Geografii i Przestrzennego Zagospodarowania im. Stanisława Leszczyckiego PAN (in Polish). 5. Warsaw: Instytut Geografii i Przestrzennego Zagospodarowania im. Stanisława Leszczyckiego PAN. ISBN 978-83-87954-66-6. OCLC 66381296. Retrieved 11 June 2012. PDFs by chapter Archived 2013-04-16 at Archive.today (see contents[dead link])
^ Kosiński, Leszek (1960). "Pochodzenie terytorialne ludności Ziem Zachodnich w 1950 r" [Territorial origins of inhabitants of the Western Lands in year 1950] (PDF). Dokumentacja Geograficzna (in Polish). Warsaw. 2.
^ Kosiński, Leszek (1963). "Demographic processes in the Recovered Territories from 1945 to 1960" (PDF). Geographical Studies (in Polish and English). 40.
^ ‹See Tfd›(in English) The Expulsion of 'German' Communities from Eastern Europe at the end of the Second World War, Steffen Prauser and Arfon Rees, European University Institute, Florense. HEC No. 2004/1. p.28
^ ‹See Tfd›(in English) Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany
^ Belzyt, Leszek (1996). "Zur Frage des nationalen Bewußtseins der Masuren im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert (auf der Basis statistischer Angaben)". Journal of East Central European Studies (in German and English). 45 (1).
^ Gerhard Reichling, Die deutschen Vertriebenen in Zahlen, part 1, Bonn: 1995, p. 53.
^ Manfred Görtemaker, Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland: Von der Gründung bis zur Gegenwart, Munich: C.H.Beck, 1999, p. 169, ISBN 3-406-44554-3
^ Michael Levitin, Germany provokes anger over museum to refugees who fled Poland during WWII, Telegraph.co.uk, Feb 26, 2009, Telegraph.co.uk
^ a b "Zmarła matka Donalda Tuska". Newsweek.pl (in Polish). 2009-04-07. Retrieved 2017-10-31.
^ "MUSIMY PODNIEŚĆ GŁOWY DO GÓRY I NIE LĘKAĆ SIĘ! - WPiS". Miesięcznik WPIS - Wiara, Patriotyzm i Sztuka (in Polish). Retrieved 2019-01-31.
^ "Genealogia Janusza Korwin-Mikkego" [Genealogy of Janusz Korwin-Mikke]. moremaiorum. October 2015.
Dual Citizenship in Opole Silesia in the Context of European Integration[permanent dead link], Tomasz Kamusella, Opole University, in Facta Universitatis, series Philosophy, Sociology and Psychology, Vol 2, No 10, 2003, pp. 699–716
Scholtz-Knobloch, Till (2002). Die deutsche Minderheit in Oberschlesien - Selbstreflexion und politisch-soziale Situation unter besonderer Berücksichtigung des so genannten "Oppelner Schlesiens (Westoberschlesien)" (in German). Goerlitz: Senfkorn-Verlag. ISBN 3-935330-02-2.
Zybura, Marek (2004). Niemcy w Polsce (in Polish). Wrocław: Wydawnictwo Dolnośląskie. ISBN 83-7384-171-7.
Rabagliati, Alastair (2001). A Minority Vote. Participation of the German and Belarusian Minorities within the Polish Political System 1989-1999. Kraków: Zakład Wydawniczy NOMOS. ISBN 83-88508-18-0.
de Zayas, Alfred M.:[unreliable source] Die deutschen Vertriebenen. Graz, 2006. ISBN 3-902475-15-3.
de Zayas, Alfred M.: Heimatrecht ist Menschenrecht. München, 2001.ISBN 3-8004-1416-3.
de Zayas, Alfred M.: A terrible Revenge. New York, 1994. ISBN 1-4039-7308-3.
de Zayas, Alfred M.: Nemesis at Potsdam. London, 1977. ISBN 0-8032-4910-1.
de Zayas, Alfred M.: 50 Thesen zur Vertreibung. München, 2008. ISBN 978-3-9812110-0-9.
Douglas, R.M.: Orderly and Humane. The Expulsion of the Germans after the Second World War. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-30016-660-6.
Kleineberg A., Marx, Ch., Knobloch E., Lelgemann D.: Germania und die Insel Thule. Die Entschlüsselung vo Ptolemaios: "Atlas der Oikumene". Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 2010.
Matelski Dariusz, Niemcy w Polsce w XX wieku (Deutschen in Polen im 20. Jahrhundert), Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa-Poznań 1999.
Matelski Dariusz, Niemcy w II Rzeczypospolitej (1918-1939) [Die Deutschen in der Zweiten Republik Polen (1918-1939)], Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek, Toruń 2018 cz. 1 [Bd. 1] (ISBN 978-83-8019-905-7), ss. 611, il., mapy.
Matelski Dariusz, Niemcy w II Rzeczypospolitej (1918-1939[Die Deutschen in der Zweiten Republik Polen (1918-1939)]) , Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek, Toruń 2018 cz. 2[Bd. 1] (ISBN 978-83-8019-906-4), ss. 624, Abstract (s. 264-274), Zusammenfassung (s. 275-400).
Naimark, Norman: Fires of Hatred. Ethnic Cleansing in Twentieth-Century Europe. Cambridge Harvard Press, 2001.
Prauser, Steffen and Rees, Arfon: The Expulsion of the "German" Communities from Eastern Europe at the End of the Second World War. Florence, Italy, European University Institute, 2004.
Cordell, Karl (June 1996). "Politics and society in Upper Silesia today: The German minority since 1945". Nationalities Papers. 24 (2): 269–285. doi:10.1080/00905999608408441.
Cordell, Karl; Stefan Wolff (June 2005). "Ethnic Germans in Poland and the Czech Republic: a comparative evaluation". Nationalities Papers. 33 (2): 255–276. doi:10.1080/00905990500088610.
Dyboski, Roman (September 1923). "Poland and the Problem of National Minorities". Journal of the British Institute of International Affairs. Blackwell Publishing. 2 (5): 179–200. doi:10.2307/3014543. JSTOR 3014543.
Fleming, Michael (December 2003). "The Limits of the German Minority Project in Post-communist Poland: Scale, Space and Democratic Deliberation". Nationalities Papers. 31 (4): 391–411. doi:10.1080/0090599032000152915.
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James M. Beggs
6th Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
July 10, 1981 – December 4, 1985
Robert A. Frosch
James C. Fletcher
James Montgomery Beggs
(1926-01-09) January 9, 1926 (age 93)
Mary Harrison
United States Naval Academy
businessman, consultant, administrator
former administrator of NASA
James Montgomery Beggs (born January 9, 1926) served as the 6th Administrator of NASA. Nominated by President Reagan on June 1, 1981, Beggs took his oath of office and entered the post on July 10, 1981, serving until December 4, 1985.
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Beggs was a 1947 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and served with the United States Navy until 1954. In 1955, he received a master's degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration. Prior to his appointment as NASA Administrator, Beggs had been Executive Vice President and a director of General Dynamics Corp. in St. Louis, Missouri. Previously he had served with NASA in 1968-1969 as Associate Administrator, Office of Advanced Research and Technology. From 1969 to 1973, he was Under Secretary of Transportation. He went to Summa Corp. in Los Angeles, California, as Managing Director, Operations and joined General Dynamics in January 1974. Before joining NASA, he had been with Westinghouse Electric Corporation in Sharon, Pennsylvania and Baltimore, Maryland for thirteen years.
Beggs served as NASA Administrator until December 1985, when he took an indefinite leave of absence pending disposition of an indictment for contract fraud from the U.S. Justice Department for activities alleged by the Defense Department to have taken place prior to his tenure at NASA. This indictment was later dismissed, and the U.S. Attorney General apologized to Mr. Beggs for any embarrassment. William Graham, the Deputy Administrator, took over as Acting Administrator until the appointment of James C. Fletcher to a second turn as Administrator.
Beggs married Mary Harrison, and they had five children. Since leaving NASA, Beggs has worked as a consultant from his offices in Bethesda, Maryland. He has been involved with the NASA Alumni League and the Potomac Institute.
Portions of this article are based on public domain text from NASA.
Media related to James M. Beggs at Wikimedia Commons
Robert A. Frosch NASA Administrator
1981 - 1985 Succeeded by
William Robert Graham (acting)
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KTX-Sancheon
KTX-Sancheon class 110000
Hyundai Rotem
Hanvit
Entered service
Class 110000: 24 trains
SRT Class 120000: 22 trains
Number in service
PC+8T+PC[1]
PC: power car (traction head)
T: trailer (intermediate passenger car)
(Class 110000)
30 First Class (2+1)
328 Standard Class (2+2)
+5 seats for disabled persons
410 (SRT Class 120000)
(SRT Class 130000)
Operator(s)
Korail, SR
Depot(s)
Goyang, Osong
Line(s) served
Gyeongbu High Speed Railway
Honam High Speed Railway
Suseo High Speed Railway
Gyeongbu Line
Honam Line
Gyeongjeon Line
Jeolla Line
Donghae Line
Gyeonggang Line
Jungang Line (from 2019)
Car body construction
traction heads: steel[3]
intermediate cars: aluminum[3]
Train length
201 m (659 ft)[3]
Car length
traction heads:
22,690 mm (74 ft 5.3 in)[4]
extreme intermediate cars:
21,845 mm (71 ft 8.0 in)
intermediate cars:
2,814 mm (110.8 in)[4]
2,970 mm (116.9 in)
Floor height
1,125 mm (44.3 in)
service: 305 km/h (190 mph)
design: 330 km/h (205 mph)
empty: 403 t (397 long tons; 444 short tons)[2]
loaded: 434 t (427 long tons; 478 short tons)[3]
Traction system
8 three-phase asynchronous induction motors
4 IGBT-based VVVF inverters
8 x 1,100 kW (1,500 hp) (8.8 MW or 11,800 hp)[3][5]
0.45 m/s2 (1.5 ft/s2) up to 60 km/h (37 mph)[4]
0 to 300 km/h (0 to 186 mph) in 316 s and 16.4 km (10.2 mi)[4]
Deceleration
1.06 m/s2 (3.5 ft/s2) (+5% -0% tolerance)[4]
from 300 to 0 km/h (186 to 0 mph) in 3.3 km (2.1 mi)[2]
2 x 1.0 MW (1,300 hp), supplying 670 V DC
IGBT-based[6]
Electric system(s)
25 kV/60 Hz AC
Current collection method
(type: single-arm, SSS400+)[7]
UIC classification
Bo'Bo' + 2'(2)(2)(2)(2)(2)(2)(2)2' + Bo'Bo'
Braking system(s)
eddy current, regenerative, rheostatic, disc
Safety system(s)
TVM 430 (ATC), ATP, ATS
Coupling system
Scharfenberg
Multiple working
1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
The KTX-Sancheon is a South Korean high-speed train built by Hyundai Rotem in the second half of the 2000s and operated by Korail since March 2009. With a top speed of 305 km/h (190 mph), the KTX-Sancheon is the second commercial high-speed train operated in South Korea and the first domestic high-speed train that is designed and developed in South Korea.
2 Technical details
3 Operation
See also: KTX-I and HSR-350x
When South Korea started its high-speed rail project, rolling stock and infrastructure was built in the framework of a technology transfer agreement between GEC-Alsthom (today Alstom), the main maker of French TGV high-speed trains, and South Korean companies. Thus Korea Train Express (KTX) began operating with KTX-I trains, which were derived from the TGV Réseau, and built both by Alstom and Rotem.[8] The technology transfer agreement did not provide for a complete control of manufacturing processes, and construction involved the import of parts. To increase the domestic added value, in 1996, an alliance of South Korean government research agencies, universities, and private companies started a project called G7 to develop domestic high-speed rail technology.[9]
The main element of the G7 project was the 7-car experimental high-speed train HSR-350x, originally intended as the prototype of a train with 20-car and 11-car versions for 350 km/h (217 mph) commercial service.[10][11] The experimental train was used for trials from 2002, and achieved the South Korean rail speed record of 352.4 km/h (219.0 mph) on December 16, 2004.[12]
Already before HSR-350x was finished, in 2001, a study focusing on the needs of the less frequented Honam Line proposed a modified, modular train that allows shorter configurations by removing traction equipment from the intermediate cars next to the traction heads, while reducing top speed to 300 km/h (186 mph).[10] Possible configurations would have been 12-car, 10-car, and 8-car versions with two traction heads and 8-car, 6-car versions with one traction head and a driving trailer.[10] The versions with two traction heads would have offered 500, 384 and 268 seats respectively.[10] The active passenger compartment pressure control system of the HSR-350x wasn't deemed necessary for the proposed Honam high-speed train, only pressure isolation as in the KTX-I.[10]
The view that shorter trains have to be added to the KTX rolling stock for operational flexibility was reinforced by the actual Honam KTX seat occupation trends after the launch of KTX services on April 1, 2004 with the 20-car KTX-I trains.[13] In July 2005, the Ministry of Construction and Transportation earmarked ₩80 billion for two 10-car commercial trains for 300 km/h (186 mph), destined for planned KTX services on the Jeolla Line from 2008.[14] In October 2005, however, Korail called competitive bids. Rotem, offering a commercial version of the HSR-350x, was chosen over Alstom as preferred bidder for the ₩300 billion order in December 2005.[15] The order for 10 trains for a price equal to $306 million was placed on June 6, 2006.[16] Six of the trainsets were intended for the Honam KTX service from June 2009, four for the Jeolla KTX service from June 2010.[16][17] A second batch of nine sets was ordered in December 2007, intended for Gyeongjeon KTX services between Seoul and Masan,[18] to be delivered by December 2010.[17] A third batch of five sets was ordered on December 9, 2008; for delivery by December 2011, intended to strengthen Gyeongbu KTX services.[19]
A mock-up showing the exterior and interior design of two passenger cars was shown at exhibitions in 2007, with one of the mock-up cars built as a driving trailer to also display the nose design of the traction heads of the actual train.[20] On November 25, 2008, the first KTX-II set was revealed to the public in a roll-out ceremony at the Hyundai Rotem factory in Changwon.[21]
Hyundai Rotem also offered the KTX-II in the competition to supply rolling stock for Brazil's Rio–São Paulo project.[22]
Like the HSR-350x, the KTX-II consists of two traction heads, that is the power cars at both ends, and an articulated set of trailers for passengers in-between; but the number of intermediate cars is eight, and no intermediate car is powered.[23] Two sets can be coupled together[24] with automatic couplers of the Scharfenberg type.[25] The couplers and the surrounding structure form an integral unit, the so-called front ends, which were supplied by German industrial company Voith.[25] The vehicles received a new exterior front shape,[11] designed by French design studio MBD Design.[26] The aerodynamic shape was inspired by the cherry salmon, an indigenous fish.[27][28]
Like for the HSR-350x,[11] the carbody of intermediate cars is made of aluminum.[3] Unlike the HSR-350x, the vehicle lacks bogie shrouding. Compared to the KTX-I, window thickness was increased from 29 to 38 mm (1.1 to 1.5 in) by adding a fourth layer, to improve sound insulation and pressurization.[27] The total width of passenger cars was increased from 2,904 to 2,970 mm (114.3 to 116.9 in).[23]
The KTX-II's traction motors, converters, traction control and braking system are domestic developments resulting from the HSR-350x programme.[29] The traction motors are asynchronous induction motors like those of the HSR-350x, rather than synchronous motors as on the KTX-I.[24] Final drive gearboxes were supplied by Voith.[25] The power electronics in the converters use newly available IGBTs, supplied by American semiconductor manufacturer IXYS Corporation,[30] rather than the originally foreseen[9] but unreliable IGCTs of the HSR-350x.[31] Each traction converter consists of two parallel-switched four-quadrant converters, which function as rectifier modules by converting single-phase alternating current (AC) from one main transformer winding each to direct current (DC), a 2,800 V DC intermediate circuit, and one inverter module converting the DC supply to the three-phase AC supply for traction motors.[4] Each converter supplies the motors on two axles of a bogie, providing for individual bogie control.[4] All auxiliary power is supplied by separate 1 MW auxiliary units, one per traction head, consisting of two pairs of parallel-switched IGBT-based converter modules acting as rectifiers between one main transformer winding and the 670 V DC head end power.[4] The VVVF inverters for the motor and converter cooling fans and the air compressor, the constant voltage constant frequency (CVCF) inverters for the cab air-conditioning, the battery charge, the on-board AC supply[3] and the oil pumps are connected to the head end power within the auxiliary unit.[4] The pantograph, supplied by Austrian company Melecs MWW, is a standard type certified for 350 km/h (217 mph) and also used on Deutsche Bahn's ICE S experimental and test train, the Siemens Velaro high-speed train family, and the China Railways CRH2.[7]
The train can accelerate from 0 to 300 km/h (0 to 186 mph) in 316 seconds, in contrast to 365 seconds for the KTX-I.[23] Design speed is 330 km/h (205 mph),[3] and revenue service speed is 305 km/h (190 mph),[32] similar to the KTX-I.[23] Braking distance from 300 km/h (186 mph) is 3,300 m (10,827 ft).[2]
The third intermediate car offers elevated comfort First Class seating, the others Standard Class.[1] Swivelling seats, which can be rotated around at terminal stations so that they always face in the direction of travel, are installed in both classes, rather than only in First Class as on the KTX-I.[24] Compared to the KTX-I, seat distance was increased from 930 to 980 mm (36.61 to 38.58 in) to provide more leg room.[24] The fourth passenger car houses a snack bar and family compartments with separated facing seats.[1] Other passenger comfort features include wireless internet access and digital multimedia broadcasts,[3] and business compartments with small tables.[33] Like on the KTX-I, all passenger compartments are equipped with ceiling-mounted video displays, but 19" LCD screens are used instead of 17" ones.[23] Unlike those of the KTX-I,[23] the KTX-II passenger compartments were fitted with fire detectors.[27] Toilet doors were automatised,[23] and the toilet in the first passenger car is suited for disabled persons.[1]
In addition to ATC for high-speed lines and traditional ATS for conventional lines, the trains were among the first to be equipped with the new domestically developed ATP automatic train protection system.[34] The ERTMS-compatible system is meant as an improvement over ATS on conventional lines, and makes shorter braking distances possible by allowing braking from full speed to stop in one step.[34]
Domestic added value was increased from 58% for the KTX-I to 87%.[24] According to the Korea Railroad Research Institute, the purchase of KTX-II trains was calculated to save 840 billion won compared to a forecast spending of 7,500 billion won until 2020 if high-speed trains had been imported.[35]
Following testing, the KTX-II carried its first passengers in a preview run on February 11, 2010.[27][33] After a naming competition held in the next ten days, the KTX-II was officially renamed as KTX-Sancheon. (KTX 산천),[36] sancheon comes from sancheneo (산천어), which is a species of cherry salmon (Oncorhynchus masou masou) in Korean.
Commercial KTX-Sancheon service started on March 2, 2010.[37] In contrast to the original plans, the first trains are used both in Honam and Gyeongbu KTX service.[27][38] Korail started to operate its first pair of non-stop services on the Seoul–Busan relation on December 1, 2010,[39][40] using KTX-Sancheon trains.[41] Gyeongjeon KTX service to Masan started on December 15, 2010.[42][43]
Until December 2010, KTX-Sancheon trains broke down 15 times, with most incidents related to the signal device.[44] Domestic observers expressed fear that the news of the breakdowns will negatively impact Rotem's chances in the competition to supply the Rio–São Paulo project or the US state of California's CHSR project, while Korail argued that the publication of start-up glitches is a result of its policy to make all information public, contrasting it with Chinese makers.[45]
On February 11, 2011, a KTX-Sancheon train[46] bound for Seoul from Busan derailed on a switch in a tunnel 500 m (1,600 ft) before Gwangmyeong Station,[47] when travelling at around 90 km/h (56 mph).[48] Only one passenger suffered slight injury.[46] Preliminary investigation found no problems with the train,[49] but indicated that the accident was caused by human errors by maintenance workers.[47] At the time, three cars of the train were reserved for the President of South Korea, Lee Myung-bak's, entourage, but he was not on board at the time of the accident.[47]
South Korea portal
Trains portal
Transport portal
List of high speed trains
List of Korea-related topics
Rail transport in South Korea
Tilting Train Express
^ a b c d "High Speed Trains". Rotem. October 2010. Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2010-11-23.
^ a b c d "KTX의 길이, 중량, 편의시설은 어떻게 되나요?". Korail. Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2010-11-07.
^ a b c d e f g h i "KTX-II" (PDF). Rotem. 2009-01-20. Retrieved 2010-11-19.
^ a b c d e f g h i j "KTX-Ⅱ 전기장치 일반" (in Korean). myktx.kr, Korail. Archived from the original (PPT) on 2011-02-20. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
^ a b c "최고시험속도 400km/h 동력분산식 차세대 고속열차 개발(HEMU-400X)". Korean Rail Technology (in Korean). January–February 2009. Archived from the original on 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2011-03-13.
^ "KTX-II" (PDF) (in Korean). Rotem. Retrieved 2010-11-19.
^ a b "Pantograph SSS 400+" (PDF). Melecs MWW. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-14. Retrieved 2010-11-22.
^ "KTX opens for commercial service". Alstom. 2004-04-01. Archived from the original on 2011-06-15. Retrieved 2010-12-31.
^ a b Lee, Kyung Chul (May 2005), "Launch of Korean High-Speed Railway and Efforts to Innovate Future Korean Railway" (PDF), Japan Railway & Transport Review (48): 30–35, archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-03-13, retrieved 2011-03-13
^ a b c d e 호남고속철도 차량 시스템 설계에 관한 연구 (PDF) (in Korean). KRRI. 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2010-11-20.
^ a b c Kim, Kihwan (May 2008). "Korea Develops High-Speed Ambitions". International Railway Journal. pp. 35–36. Retrieved 2010-11-04.
^ "Trans-Korean Railway" Check |url= value (help) (PDF). Korean Rail Technology. 1: 4–5. May–June 2005. Retrieved 2010-11-04. [permanent dead link]
^ D. Suh, Sunduck; Yang, Keun-Yul; Lee, Jae-Hoon; Ahn, Byung-Min; Kim, Jeong Hyun (2005). "Effects of Korean Train Express (KTX) Operation on the National Transport System" (PDF). Proceedings of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies. 5: 175–189. Retrieved 2010-08-27.
^ "Korea to Build Own Bullet Trains". The Chosun Ilbo. 2005-07-28. Retrieved 2010-11-06.
^ 한국형고속철 국토달린다 (in Korean). Korail. 2005-12-03. Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2010-11-07.
^ a b "HSR-350x to Launch Service in 2009" (PDF). Korean Rail Technology. 5: 04–05. September 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2011-03-13.
^ a b Chris Jackson (2008-09-05). "'We are making steady efforts to become a global leader'". Railway Gazette International. Retrieved 2010-09-23.
^ "Additional Contract for 90 Cars of High Speed Train KTX-II". Newsletter. Hyundai Rotem. March 2008. Retrieved 2010-11-24.
^ "Hyundai Rotem wins orders from KORAIL for commuter EMUs and further KTX-II". Newsletter. Hyundai Rotem. January 2009. Retrieved 2010-11-24.
^ "Exhibited at Yongsan Station & Seodaejeon Station: KTX-II, A Pride of Korea!". Newsletter. Rotem. July 2007. Retrieved 2010-11-24.
^ 코레일, 25일 현대로템 창원공장서 출고행사…각계 인사 500여명 참석 (in Korean). Korail. 2008-11-25. Retrieved 2008-12-31.
^ "Korea consortium in bid for Brazil high-speed train". The Korea Herald. 2010-03-30. Retrieved 2010-11-24.
^ a b c d e f g "KTX 개통 5주년 보도자료" (in Korean). Rail Safety Information System. 2009-04-01. Archived from the original on 2010-11-11. Retrieved 2010-11-13.
^ a b c d e "Hyundai Rotem Rolls-out World's 4th High Speed Train". Hyundai Rotem. 2008-11-25. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
^ a b c "The first front ends of the new Korean High-speed train KTX II have already arrived in Korea". Voith Turbo. 2008-06-26. Retrieved 2008-12-31.
^ "Star of the Observeur 08". agence pour la promotion de la création industrielle. 2008. Archived from the original on 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2008-12-31.
^ a b c d e "RAIL 로 이 어 지 는" (PDF). Korail Webzine (in Korean). Korail. March 2010. Retrieved 2010-11-13. [permanent dead link]
^ "Korea's 1st Homemade Bullet Train on Track in March". The Chosun Ilbo. 2010-02-12. Retrieved 2010-11-07.
^ "First KTX-II unveiled in Korea". Railway Gazette International. 2008-11-26. Retrieved 2010-11-07.
^ "IXYS' High Power IGBTs Achieves Milestone for Performance in Fast Passenger Train..." AllBusiness.com, Business Wire. 2007-08-21. Retrieved 2008-12-31.
^ 최신 반도체소자를 이용한 고속철도 차량용 추진제어 기술개발 (in Korean). Korea Institute of Construction & Transportation Technology Evaluation and Planning (KICTEP). November 2008. Retrieved 2010-11-19. [permanent dead link]
^ "(경제안테나) '3월 운행' 차세대 KTX-II 타보니" (in Korean). Seoul Broadcasting System. 2010-02-12. Retrieved 2010-02-23.
^ a b "KTX-II ready to enter service". Railway Gazette International. 2010-02-11. Retrieved 2010-11-07.
^ a b 고속철도차량 안전장치의 운영 실태 조사. Korean Rail Technology (in Korean). January–February 2009. Retrieved 2011-03-13.
^ "Roll-Out Ceremony for KTX-II Held". KRRI. 2008-12-22. Retrieved 2010-11-21.
^ "'KTX-산천'으로 불러주세요" (in Korean). Korail. 2010-02-26. Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2010-11-11.
^ "'KTX-산천' 오늘(2일) 첫 운행" (in Korean). Korail. 2009-03-02. Retrieved 2009-03-03.
^ "KTX Time Table 2010.11.01" (in Korean). Korail. Retrieved 2010-10-31.
^ "Non-stop Seoul-Busan Bullet Train Service Starts". The Chosun Ilbo. 2010-12-01. Retrieved 2010-12-16.
^ "KTX 운행 조정 알림" (in Korean). Korail. 2010-11-10. Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2010-12-09.
^ "경전선 서울~마산간 KTX 예약ㆍ예매 알림" (in Korean). Korail. 2010-12-06. Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2010-12-09.
^ "KTX-산천 운행 1년간 최소 15건 차량장애 발생". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 2010-10-28. Archived from the original on 2011-02-16. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
^ "Korail under fire for frequent KTX breakdowns". The Korea Times. 2010-10-28. Retrieved 2010-10-30.
^ a b "KTX causes safety concern". The Korea Times. 2011-02-14. Retrieved 2011-02-17.
^ a b c "One loose nut derailed KTX train". Joongang Ilbo. 2011-02-15. Retrieved 2011-02-17.
^ "고속이었다면 KTX 참사 날 뻔". The Dong-a Ilbo. 2011-02-11. Retrieved 2011-02-11.
^ "KTX Derailment Caused by Loose Nut". The Chosun Ilbo. 2011-02-14. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
Media related to KTX-Sancheon at Wikimedia Commons
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Enantiomer
This article is about the concept in chemistry. For a discussion of enantiomers in mathematics, see Chirality (mathematics).
(S)-(+)-lactic acid (left) and (R)-(–)-lactic acid (right) are nonsuperposable mirror images of each other
In chemistry, an enantiomer (/ɪˈnæntiəmər, ɛ-, -tioʊ-/[1] ə-NAN-tee-ə-mər; from Greek ἐνάντιος (enántios), meaning 'opposite', and μέρος (méros), meaning 'part') (archaically termed optical isomer,[2] antipode,[3] or optical antipode[4]), is one of two stereoisomers that are mirror images of each other that are non-superposable (not identical), much as one's left and right hands are mirror images of each other that cannot appear identical simply by reorientation.[5] A single chiral atom or similar structural feature in a compound causes that compound to have two possible structures which are non-superposable, each a mirror image of the other. Each member of the pair is termed an enantiomorph (enantio = opposite; morph = form)[6]; the structural property is termed enantiomerism. The presence of multiple chiral features in a given compound increases the number of geometric forms possible, though there may still be some perfect-mirror-image pairs.
A sample of a chemical is considered enantiopure (also termed enantiomerically pure) when it has, within the limits of detection, molecules of only one chirality.[7]
When present in a symmetric environment, enantiomers have identical chemical and physical properties except for their ability to rotate plane-polarized light (+/−) by equal amounts but in opposite directions (although the polarized light can be considered an asymmetric medium). Such compounds are therefore described as optically active, with specific terms for each enantiomer based on the direction: a dextrorotatory compound rotates light a clockwise (+) direction whereas a levorotatory compound rotates light in a counter-clockwise (–) direction. A mixture of equal number of both enantiomers is called a racemic mixture or a racemate.[8] In a racemic mixture, the amount of positive rotation is exactly counteracted by the equal amount of negative rotation, so the net rotation is zero (the mixture is not optically active). For all intents and purposes, pairs of enantiomers have the same Gibbs free energy. However, theoretical physics predicts that due to parity violation of the weak nuclear force (the only force in nature that can "tell left from right"), there is actually a minute difference in energy between enantiomers (on the order of 10−12 eV or 10−10 kJ/mol or less) due to the weak neutral current mechanism. This difference in energy is far smaller than energy changes caused by even a trivial change in molecular conformation and far too small to measure by current technology, and is therefore chemically inconsequential.[9][10][11]
Enantiomer members often have different chemical reactions with other enantiomer substances. Since many biological molecules are enantiomers, there is sometimes a marked difference in the effects of two enantiomers on biological organisms. In drugs, for example, often only one of a drug's enantiomers is responsible for the desired physiological effects, while the other enantiomer is less active, inactive, or sometimes even productive of adverse effects. Owing to this discovery, drugs composed of only one enantiomer ("enantiopure") can be developed to make the drug work better and sometimes eliminate some side effects. An example is eszopiclone (Lunesta), which is just a single enantiomer of an older racemic drug called zopiclone. One enantiomer is responsible for all the desired effects, while the other enantiomer seems to be inactive, and the so the dose of eszopiclone is half that of zopiclone.
In chemical synthesis of enantiomeric substances, non-enantiomeric precursors inevitably produce racemic mixtures. In the absence of an effective enantiomeric environment (precursor, chiral catalyst, or kinetic resolution), separation of a racemic mixture into its enantiomeric components is impossible, although certain racemic mixtures spontaneously crystallize in the form of a racemic conglomerate, in which crystals of the enantiomers are physically segregated and may be separated mechanically (e.g., the enantiomers of tartaric acid, whose crystallized enantiomers were separated with tweezers by Pasteur.) However, most racemates will crystallize in crystals containing both enantiomers in a 1:1 ratio, arranged in a regular lattice.
1 Naming conventions
2 Criterion of enantiomerism
4 Enantioselective preparations
5 Enantiopure medications
6 Quasi-enantiomers
Main article: Absolute configuration
The R/S system is an important nomenclature system used to denote distinct enantiomers. Another system is based on prefix notation for optical activity: (+)- and (−)- or d- and l-. The Latin words for left are laevus and sinister, and the word for right is dexter (or rectus in the sense of correct or virtuous). The English word right is a cognate of rectus. This is the origin of the L,D and S,R notations, and the employment of prefixes levo- and dextro- in common names.
Criterion of enantiomerism
Main article: Meso compound
Fischer projection of meso-tartaric acid
An asymmetric carbon atom is one which has bonds with four different atoms or groups, so that these bonds can be arranged in two different ways which are not superposable. Most compounds that contain one or more asymmetric carbon (or other element with a tetrahedral geometry) atoms show enantiomerism, but this is not always true. Compounds that contain two or more asymmetric carbon atoms but have a plane of symmetry with respect to the whole molecule are known as meso compounds. A meso compound does not have a mirror image stereoisomer because it is its own mirror image (i.e., it and its mirror image are the same molecule). For instance, meso tartaric acid (shown on the right) has two asymmetric carbon atoms, but it does not exhibit enantiomerism because each of the two halves of the molecule is equal and opposite to the other and thus is superposable on its geometric mirror image. Conversely, there exist forms of chirality that do not require individual asymmetric atoms. In fact, there are four distinct types of chirality: central, axial, planar, and helical chirality. Having an enantiomer by virtue of an asymmetric carbon atom represents the most common type of central chirality. The other three types of chirality do not involve asymmetric carbon atoms, and even central chirality does not require the center of chirality to be located at a carbon or any other atom. Consequently, while the presence of an asymmetric carbon atom is a convenient characteristic to look for when determining whether a molecule will have an enantiomer, it is neither sufficient nor necessary as a criterion.
As a rigorous criterion, a molecule is chiral, and will therefore possess an enantiomer, if and only if it belongs to one of the chiral point groups: Cn, Dn, T, O, and I. However, as a caveat, enantiomers are not necessarily isolable if there is an accessible pathway for racemization at a given temperature and timescale. For example, amines with three distinct substituents are chiral, but with the exception of only a few atypical cases (e.g. substituted N-chloroaziridines), they rapidly planarize and invert ("umbrella inversion") at room temperature, leading to racemization. If the racemization is fast enough, the molecule can often be treated as an achiral, averaged structure.
Structures of the two enantiomeric forms (S left, R right) of mecoprop
Enantiomers of citalopram. The top is (R)-citalopram and the bottom is (S)-citalopram.
An example of such an enantiomer is the sedative thalidomide, which was sold in a number of countries around the world from 1957 until 1961. It was withdrawn from the market when it was found to cause birth defects. One enantiomer caused the desirable sedative effects, while the other, unavoidably[12] present in equal quantities, caused birth defects.[13]
The herbicide mecoprop is a racemic mixture, with the (R)-(+)-enantiomer ("Mecoprop-P", "Duplosan KV") possessing the herbicidal activity.[14]
Another example is the antidepressant drugs escitalopram and citalopram. Citalopram is a racemate [1:1 mixture of (S)-citalopram and (R)-citalopram]; escitalopram [(S)-citalopram] is a pure enantiomer. The dosages for escitalopram are typically 1/2 of those for citalopram.
Enantioselective preparations
See also: chiral resolution and asymmetric synthesis
There are two main strategies for the preparation of enantiopure compounds. The first is known as chiral resolution. This method involves preparing the compound in racemic form, and separating it into its isomers. In his pioneering work, Louis Pasteur was able to isolate the isomers of tartaric acid because they crystallize from solution as crystals each with a different symmetry. A less common method is by enantiomer self-disproportionation.
The second strategy is asymmetric synthesis: the use of various techniques to prepare the desired compound in high enantiomeric excess. Techniques encompassed include the use of chiral starting materials (chiral pool synthesis), the use of chiral auxiliaries and chiral catalysts, and the application of asymmetric induction. The use of enzymes (biocatalysis) may also produce the desired compound.
Enantioconvergent synthesis is the synthesis of one enantiomer from a racemic precursor molecule utilizing both enantiomers. Thus, the two enantiomers of the reactant produce a single enantiomer of product.
Enantiopure medications
Main article: Enantiopure drug
Advances in industrial chemical processes have made it economic for pharmaceutical manufacturers to take drugs that were originally marketed as a racemic mixture and market the individual enantiomers. In some cases, the enantiomers have genuinely different effects. In other cases, there may be no clinical benefit to the patient. In some jurisdictions, single-enantiomer drugs are separately patentable from the racemic mixture.[15] It is possible that only one of the enantiomers is active. Or, it may be that both are active, in which case separating the mixture has no objective benefits, but extends the drug's patentability.[16]
Quasi-enantiomers
Quasi-enantiomers are molecular species that are not strictly enantiomers, but behave as if they are. Quasi-enantiomers have applications in parallel kinetic resolution.[17]
Atropisomerism
Chirotechnology
Diastereomers
Dynamic stereochemistry
Stereochemistry
Stereogenic
^ "enantiomer - definition of enantiomer in English from the Oxford dictionary". OxfordDictionaries.com. Retrieved 2016-01-20.
^ IUPAC, Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. (the "Gold Book") (1997). Online corrected version: (2006–) "optical isomers". doi:10.1351/goldbook.O04308
^ IUPAC, Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. (the "Gold Book") (1997). Online corrected version: (2006–) "antipode". doi:10.1351/goldbook.A00403
^ IUPAC, Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. (the "Gold Book") (1997). Online corrected version: (2006–) "optical antipodes". doi:10.1351/goldbook.O04304
^ IUPAC, Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. (the "Gold Book") (1997). Online corrected version: (2006–) "enantiomer". doi:10.1351/goldbook.E02069
^ IUPAC, Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. (the "Gold Book") (1997). Online corrected version: (2006–) "enantiomorph". doi:10.1351/goldbook.E02079
^ IUPAC, Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. (the "Gold Book") (1997). Online corrected version: (2006–) "enantiomerically pure (enantiopure)". doi:10.1351/goldbook.E02072
^ IUPAC, Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. (the "Gold Book") (1997). Online corrected version: (2006–) "racemate". doi:10.1351/goldbook.R05025
^ 1921-2008., Eliel, Ernest L. (Ernest Ludwig), (1994). Stereochemistry of organic compounds. Wilen, Samuel H., Mander, Lewis N. New York: Wiley. ISBN 0471016705. OCLC 27642721.
^ Albert, Guijarro, (2008). The origin of chirality in the molecules of life: a revision from awareness to the current theories and perspectives of this unsolved problem. Yus, Miguel. Cambridge, UK: Royal Society of Chemistry. ISBN��9781847558756. OCLC 319518566.
^ In the sense used by particle physicists (see ref. 6), the "true" enantiomer of a molecule, which has exactly the same mass-energy content as the original molecule, is a mirror-image, but also built from antimatter (antiprotons, antineutrons, and positrons). Nevertheless, in this article, "enantiomer" will be used in the chemical sense and continue to refer to a nonidentical, mirror-image isomeric compound, consisting of ordinary matter elementary particles, in particular.
^ Knoche, B; Blaschke, G. "Investigations on the in vitro racemization of thalidomide by high-performance liquid chromatography". Journal of Chromatography A. Elsevier. 666 (1–2): 235–240. doi:10.1016/0021-9673(94)80385-4.
^ Fundamentals of Biochemistry. p. 89. ISBN 0-471-21495-7.
^ G. Smith; C. H. L. Kennard; A. H. White; P. G. Hodgson (April 1980). "(±)-2-(4-Chloro-2-methylphenoxy)propionic acid (mecoprop)". Acta Crystallogr. B. 36 (4): 992–994. doi:10.1107/S0567740880005134.
^ "European Medicines Agency - - Sepracor Pharmaceuticals Ltd withdraws its marketing authorisation application for Lunivia (eszopiclone)". www.ema.europa.eu.
^ Merrill Goozner (2004). The $800 Million Pill: The Truth Behind the Cost of New Drugs (excerpt). University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-23945-8.
^ G.S. Coumbarides, M. Dingjan, J. Eames, A. Flinn, J. Northen and Y. Yohannes, Tetrahedron Lett. 46 (2005), p. 2897er
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Paul Gorman
For other people named Paul Gorman, see Paul Gorman (disambiguation).
Paul Gorman is an English writer.
1 Journalism
2 Television and film
4 Exhibitions and curating
5 Plagiarism case against Vivienne Westwood, Ian Kelly and Picador
From 1978, Gorman worked on weekly news for trade publications and in 1983 won the Periodical Publishers Association award for campaigning journalism for a series of investigative food industry articles. In 1990 he was appointed west coast bureau chief of Screen International, based in Los Angeles.
Between 1993 and 1998, Gorman was contributing editor at Music Week, reporting on executives and artists such as Madonna's manager Freddy DeMann, Creation Records founder Alan McGee and U2 manager Paul McGuinness. Between 1994 and 1999, Gorman was contributing editor at Music Business International. During this time he contributed regularly to magazines such as Mojo and conducted the first published interview with the Spice Girls.[1]
Gorman continues to contribute to magazines and newspapers including GQ,[2] The Daily Telegraph, Mojo and Vice.
In the mid 1990s Gorman worked with production company Channel X on developing the trash culture TV series The Strip he created with partner David Knight for Channel 4.
In 1999 Gorman directed the documentary Las Vegas Grind for Channel 4. This was hosted by Mexican-American artist El Vez, who Gorman subsequently signed to Alan McGee's record label Poptones, which released two El Vez albums and the single Feliz Navidad in the UK.
In 2012 Gorman produced and presented The Kings Road Music & Fashion Trail,[3] a series of short films for Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea council on addresses which housed significant boutiques, including Mary Quant's Bazaar and Granny Takes a Trip.
In 2008, Gorman launched fashion label The Look Presents through Topman with three collections based on artist and designers featured in The Look: T-shirts by Wonder Workshop; T-shirts by Granny Takes a Trip founder Nigel Waymouth; and Priceless – a menswear range by Antony Price, designer for Roxy Music and Duran Duran.
In 2011, Gorman collaborated with artists John & Molly Dove to present a special edition of their "Wild Thing" T-shirt, as worn by Marc Bolan and Sid Vicious.
Exhibitions and curating
In 2010 Gorman curated the exhibition Process: The Working Practices Of Barney Bubbles at London's Chelsea Space.[4] The show attracted the largest attendance of any exhibition held at the gallery.[5]
In 2011 Gorman consulted on, and sourced material for, the British exhibitions Postmodernism: Style & Subversion 1970–1990 [6] and Snap Crackle & Pop: British Pop Art Meets The High Street In The Swinging Sixties.[7] In September 2011 Gorman staged a dedicated Barney Bubbles exhibit at Mindful of Art, a group show at London's Old Vic Tunnels.[8]
In January 2012 Gorman curated the exhibition Lloyd Johnson: The Modern Outfitter, presenting the work of the London fashion retailer whose boutiques provided clothing for a variety of performers including Fred Astaire, George Michael, The Clash, Tom Waits and Bob Dylan.[9]
Gorman consulted on and sourced material for British Design 1948–2012: Innovation in the Modern Age, which ran from March – August 2012 at the V&A.[10]
In May/June 2012, Gorman curated The Past The Present & The Possible, a dedicated section presenting 300 artworks by Barney Bubbles as part of the group exhibition White Noise: Quand Le Graphisme Fait Du Bruit at Les Subsistances, Chaumont, Champagne Sud, France.[11]
Gorman consulted on and sourced material for Glam! The Performance of Style, an exhibition about the visual, social and creative aspects of the 70s glam rock genre which opened at Tate Liverpool in February 2013[12] and moved to Frankfurt's Schirn Kunsthalle in June 2013[13] and Lentos Kunstmuseum in Linz, Austria, from October 2013 to February 2014.[14]
In August 2014, Gorman co-curated an exhibition about Malcolm McLaren's engagement in fashion with Young Kim of the Malcolm McLaren Estate. Staged as part of the Copenhagen International Fashion Fair, it was entitled Let It Rock: The Look Of Music The Sound Of Fashion.[15] The exhibition was based around six sections dedicated to the retail outlets McLaren operated with Vivienne Westwood in the 1970s and 80s.[16]
The exhibition received a positive response from the media. Financial Times fashion editor Charlie Porter noted "the hang of the garments is exceptional"[17] while prominent style blogger Susie Bubble greeted the exhibition as "an incredibly detailed and well-put together overview specifically about McLaren's fusion of music and fashion".[18]
In autumn 2014 Gorman was one of the curators of Art In Pop, an exhibition about the engagement between the worlds of art and popular music at the Centre National d'Art Contemporain gallery Magasin in Grenoble, France.[19] Overseen by Magasin curator Yves Aupetitallot, Art In Pop included a large space curated by Gorman and Young Kim dedicated to McLaren's work and including clothing exhibits, a soundtrack and photographs of his student paintings executed in the late 60s. Marie France described it as "an invigorating exhibition not just to see but hear as well".[20]
In summer 2018 Gorman curated an exhibition about the resurgence of independent magazines in the digital age in the Terrace Rooms Gallery at Somerset House. Print! Tearing It Up was co-curated with Somerset House senior curator Claire Catterall and ran from June 8 - August 22, 2018.[21]
Plagiarism case against Vivienne Westwood, Ian Kelly and Picador
In October 2014, following the publication of the authorised biography Vivienne Westwood by the fashion designer and her co-author Ian Kelly, Gorman accused the authors and the publisher Picador of plagiarising substantial sections of material from his book The Look: Adventures In Rock & Pop Fashion.[22]
Gorman also described the Westwood biography as "sloppy" and "riddled with inaccuracies" and claimed it contained serious libels against two individuals, one of whom was pronounced to be dead by Westwood when in fact the individual was alive and practising as a therapist in west London.[23]
Picador publisher Paul Baggaley told The Bookseller: "We always take very seriously any errors that are brought to our attention and, where appropriate, correct them."[24]
The Look: Adventures In Pop & Rock Fashion (Sanctuary, 2001). Foreword by Malcolm McLaren.
In Their Own Write: Adventures In The Music Press (Sanctuary, 2001). Foreword by Charles Shaar Murray.
Nine Lives with Goldie (Hodder & Stoughton, 2002).
Let's Make This Precious: The Story Of Dexys Midnight Runners with Kevin Rowland (Virgin Books, 2003). Unpublished
Straight with Boy George (Century, 2005).
Blood & Fire: The Story Of UB40's Ali & Robin Campbell with Tim Abbot (Century, 2005).
The Look: Adventures In Rock & Pop Fashion (Adelita, 2006). Introduction by Paul Smith, foreword by Malcolm McLaren.
Cry Salty Tears (Arrow Books, 2007). Foreword by Boy George.
Reasons To Be Cheerful: The Life & Work Of Barney Bubbles (Adelita, 2008). Essay: Peter Saville, Foreword: Malcolm Garrett, Introduction: Billy Bragg.
Rebel Rebel: Anti-Style with Keanan Duffty (Adelita, 2009). Foreword by BP Fallon.
Reasons To Be Cheerful: The Life & Work Of Barney Bubbles (Adelita, 2010). Essay: Peter Saville, Foreword: Malcolm Garrett, Introduction: Billy Bragg, A chat with Art Chantry.
Mr Freedom: Tommy Roberts – British Design Hero (Adelita, 2012). Foreword by Paul Smith.
Derek Boshier: Rethink/Re-Entry (Thames & Hudson, 2015). Edited by Gorman. With a foreword by David Hockney.
The Story Of The Face: The Magazine That Changed Culture (Thames & Hudson, 2017). Foreword by Dylan Jones.
The Look: Adventures in Rock and Pop Fashion was named in the top ten fashion books of all time by The Independent.[25]
Reasons to be Cheerful won Mojo's "Book of the Year" in 2010.[26]
^ Paul Gorman. "Taking on the Britboys: Spice Girls. By Paul Gorman : Articles, reviews and interviews from Rock's Backpages". Rocksbackpages.com.
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 29 August 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2014. CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link)
^ "King's Road Music and Fashion Trail". Rbkc.gov.uk. 17 September 2009.
^ "Process: The Working Practices of Barney Bubbles". Creative Review.
^ "#34 Barney Bubbles – PROCESS:The working practices of Barney Bubbles". CHELSEA space.
^ "Closed Exhibition – Postmodernism: Style and Subversion 1970 – 1990 – Victoria and Albert Museum". Vam.ac.uk.
^ "Pop Art " Paul Gorman is…". Paulgormanis.com.
^ "MINDFUL EVENT – Curated by Stuart Semple. ArtHertz to host screenings on 26th September". ArtHertz.com.
^ Wilson, Lois (11 January 2012). "Lloyd Johnson: 'My designs were pure rock'n'roll'". The Guardian. London.
^ "Closed exhibition – British Design 1948–2012: Innovation in the Modern Age – Victoria and Albert Museum". Vam.ac.uk. 12 August 2012.
^ "CIG – Chaumont". Cig-chaumont.com. Archived from the original on 2 August 2014.
^ "Glam! The Performance of Style". Tate. 9 May 2012.
^ "Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt | Exhibition". Schirn.de. 22 September 2013. Archived from the original on 23 June 2013.
^ "GLAM! The performance of style (2013/14)". Annebean.net. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014.
^ "Malcolm McLaren Is the Subject of CIFF's New Fashion Exhibition". W Magazine. 6 August 2014.
^ Jones, Matt (5 August 2014). "Four ways Malcolm McLaren revolutionised the style scene – GQ.COM (UK)". Gq-magazine.co.uk. Archived from the original on 7 August 2014.
^ "At the Malcolm McLaren show in Copenhagen, the hang of the garments is exceptional". Charlie Porter.
^ "Moving Still". Style Bubble.
^ http://www.paris-art.com/exposition-art-contemporain/art-in-pop/david-bowes-daniel-johnston/16612.html#haut
^ http://www.mariefrance.fr/culture/expos/grenoble-pop-140037.html
^ https://www.somersethouse.org.uk/whats-on/print-tearing-it-up
^ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2796970/vivienne-westwood-accused-plagiarism-author-claims-took-quotes-book-new-autobiography.html
^ https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/vivienne-westwood-accused-of-plagiarism-over-book-on-her-life-9799821.html
^ http://www.thebookseller.com/news/gorman-claims-westwood-biography-plagiarism
^ The Independent, 15 January 2008
^ Mojo, January 2010
Online home of the Barney Bubbles book
The Look blog
Accessed: 24 March 2008 Collected journalism at Rock's Back Pages
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The Beeryard · 218 East Lancaster Ave · Wayne, PA 19087 · Tel 610.688.3431 · info@beeryard.com
Monday - Thursday 10AM-10PM · Friday - Saturday 10AM-11PM · Sunday Noon-5PM · Holidays - call for hours
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October 17, 2007 - Yards Leases Delaware Avenue Property, Will Move Brewery There In January
Yards Brewing Company has signed a 10-year lease for 28,000 square feet of space in a building at 901 Delaware Avenue, a block off of Spring Garden St., and will move its brewery there by the end of the year, company founder and president Tom Kehoe told The Beer Yard late this afternoon.
"We just signed the papers,"a relieved Kehoe said in a telephone call. "I've been working on this deal for over a month. Now we have a lot of work to do and that starts right away. We will clean the place up and move the brewhouse in next week and begin building platforms and doing the plumbing work to turn it into a brewery."
The new location has been empty for the past few years after having been a skateboarding facility in its previous incarnation. It has an interior loading dock which is accessible from a side street, Kehoe said, simplifying the process of loading and unloading trucks in that busy section of the riverfront.
Kehoe and former partners Bill and Nancy Barton split up this past summer. He has continued to operate Yards out of their Kensington plant under a lease which runs until the end of the year. The Bartons are in the process of creating Philadelphia Brewing Company, which will begin producing beer at the site after Kehoe and Yards leave.
Kehoe says that, as far as he is concerned, brewing positions at the new facility "belong to the Yards brewers, the guys who are producing the beer now. They've said that they want to stay with me and I've told them the jobs are theirs, but I will need a formal commitment soon."
That conflicts with what Bartons told The Beer Yard last month, that the brewing team would all be joining their new company. If that should happen, Kehoe said, "I have plenty of applications from people wanting to brew for Yards, more than I can handle, in fact."
"We'll no longer be hidden away in a dark corner of the city," Kehoe added, laughing, "but right out there on the Delaware River with great exposure to the public. We'll have a lot of architectural work to do, a lot of construction and plumbing, but I believe we will at least be in position to brew at some level by January, assuming we've gotten all the permits. I'd guess we'll be very heavy on draught when we start up, then move back into regular bottling schedules."
To the extent possible, he added, he will try to stockpile as much packaged beer as he can through the rest of 2007 to keep as strong a Yards presence in the market as possible through the changeover.--JACK CURTIN
© 2000-2019 The Beeryard
design :: centre grafik
code :: pete
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See also Kelly (disambiguation) and Brooke (disambiguation).
Also known as: Poppy
Born: November 23, 1979 (1979-11-23) (age 39)
Rochester, Kent, England, UK
Measurements: 30H-24-35
Bra/cup size: 30H (65H)
Body type: Curvy
Shown: Topless, Bush, Full frontal
Kelly Brook (born November 23, 1979 in Rochester) is an English model, actress, and occasional swimwear designer and television presenter.
3 Presenter
4 Actress
5 Strictly Come Dancing
6 Measurements
7 Filmography
8 Television movies
9 TV appearances
10 Big tit movies / pictures of Kelly Brook
After leaving school in Rochester, Brook studied at the Italia Conti stage school in London for three years before becoming a professional model.
Brook's modeling career began at 16 after winning a beauty competition, her early work was in a range of advertising campaigns, including for the new "Bravissimo" company that specializes in bras and lingerie for big breasted women, and for Foster's beer. Brook is 5 feet, 6 inches (168 cm) tall, and her voluptuous figure caught the eye of the editorial team of the Daily Star who began featuring her as a Page Three girl.
She then appeared in a Pulp video "Help the Aged' with Huck Whitney of the cult band The Flaming Stars, in a slow dance sequence.
Brook's picture soon began appearing in other lad mags such as FHM (repeatedly landing in its list of the "100 Sexiest Women of the Year") and Loaded. She topped the 'FHM 100 Sexiest Women in the World 2005' list, which was said to have polled 15 million people. In a poll over 5,000 women in April 2005 for Grazia magazine she was considered to have the best British female body. She ranked 5th at 'FHM 100 Sexiest Women in the World 2006' list.
Brook has also done a large amount of commercial swimwear, sportswear, and hosiery modelling, and a limited amount of nude & semi-nude modelling. Some modelling work for Triumph Bras caused quite a stir because of specially commissioned 50-foot high billboards of Brook's bust.
In 2005, Brook shot a ten page, mostly nude black and white portfolio with photographer David Bailey. The shoot featured in British design magazine November 2005 issue of Arena magazine.
In 2006, she released successful ranges of swimwear and lingerie at New Look stores nationwide.
In February 2007, it was announced that Kelly had signed a contract, reported to be worth £1m, to be the new face and body of Unilever's Lynx body spray, known as Axe in the US and on continental Europe. Kelly has been on billboards, in newspapers and online as part of the advertising campaign.[1]
In 1997, still barely 18, Brook started getting work presenting youth television programmes on MTV, Granada and Trouble TV.
Brook had a breakthrough into mainstream presenting in January 1999 when she was chosen to replace Denise van Outen as the female half of The Big Breakfast presenting team, alongside Johnny Vaughan. Brook's tenure was not a success. Some say she failed to recreate the on-screen chemistry that van Outen had achieved with Vaughan, while others commented she was perfect for the job, and that it was time in fact, that Vaughan left the show. After some some debate, she decided to leave the show in July, 1999.[2]
Brook picked up roles presenting for MTV again. In 2005 she presented the reality television programme Celebrity Love Island for ITV.
Kelly Brook has appeared in minor roles in a string of movies including Sorted and Ripper. She played the girlfriend of Clark Kent/Superman's best friend Lex Luthor in four episodes of Warner Bros.' Smallville during the show's first season (2001-2002). She has also completed assignments as a movie actress in Canada and made a short appearance as Lyle's girlfriend in the 2003 movie The Italian Job. In 2004 she played character Nikki Morris in the video game Need for Speed Underground 2, alongside Brooke Burke. Brook's first starring role was in School for Seduction, a 2004 film.
In 2005 she appeared in the Philippe Vidal film House of 9, a thriller about nine seemingly unconnected strangers captured and locked in a house together. The people are forced to compete against one another, in order to survive.
She recently starred in a Marple drama on ITV. She caused a minor controversy over her most recent film Survival Island (previously known as Three), in which she co-starred with fiancé Billy Zane, when Brook and Zane requested her nude scenes be excised from the final cut, which the producers refused to do.
In December 2000 she played lap dancer Anya in the play Eye Contact at the Riverside Theatre in Hammersmith, a role that gathered considerable tabloid publicity as the finale of the show involved Brook stripping naked.
On September 13, 2007 it was announced that Brook is participating in the 2007 celebrity dancing competition Strictly Come Dancing on BBC1 with professional ballroom dance partner Brendan Cole. During the series, her father Kenneth died from cancer[3], and although originally deciding to continue with the show, she later withdrew from the competition[4].
For her initial lingerie shoots with Bravissimo in 1997, Kelly's bra size wa 32E, and she remained at this size for many years. During her time on Strictly Come Dancing Kelly experienced growth of her breasts by a couple of sizes, she has been quoted saying "I've grown to a 30FF, my boobs are under my chin". Since turning 30, Kelly has gained weight - in July 2012 she admitted to being 1 stone (14lbs) heavier than during her twenties, and gained a further 10lb over winter 2012/3, consequently her shape has become ever more voluptuous. Although there has been no recent confirmation of Kelly's measurements or bra size, there is no doubt that in August 2013 Kelly's breasts are at their largest ever size. Most lingerie bloggers now suspect Kelly requires an H cup bra.
This shot is from one of Kelly's first shoots for Bravissimo at the age of 17. Her bra size at this time was 32E, which although large but not unusual by modern standards for lingerie models, was totally unheard of in 1997-8 when lingerie models were a standard size 34B.
Kelly Brook in July 2012, showing off a figure that has become ever more voluptuous since turning 30 in November 2009. Her current bra size is unconfirmed, however it is significantly larger than the 30FF that she was fitted as by the lingerie manufacturer Freya in 2007.
Sorted (2000), Sarah
Ripper (2001), Marisa Tavares
Absolon (2003), Claire
The Italian Job (2003), Lyle's Girlfriend
School for Seduction (2004), Sophia Rosselini
House of 9 (2005), Lea
Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo (2005), Beautiful Woman in Painting
Three (2006), Jennifer
In the Mood(2006), Eva
Fishtales (2007), Neried
Piranha 3D (2010), Danni Arslow
Television movies
The (Mis)Adventures of Fiona Plum (2001), Fiona Plum
Romy and Michele: In the Beginning (2005), Linda Fashiobella
Smallville, Victoria Hardwick - in various episodes in season 1 (2002)
Marple: Elsie Holland - in the episode "The Moving Finger" (2006)
Hotel Babylon, Lady Catherine Stanwood - in season 2's episode 3 (2007)
Moving Wallpaper (2008), "Kelly Brook", a fictional version of herself
One Big Happy (2015), Prudence - six episodes, series regular
Big tit movies / pictures of Kelly Brook
Mr Skin Kelly Brook (celebrity movies and pictures)
Kelly Brook links at FreeOnes
Kelly Brook at pimpyporn.com
↑ http://www.utalkmarketing.com/Article.aspx?id=1502 Utalkmarketing.com Retrieved on 05-01-07
↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/408073.stm News.bbc.co.uk Retrieved on 05-01-07
↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7118453.stm
The text in this article is based on the Wikipedia article "Kelly Brook" used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License or the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA license. See Boobpedia's copyright notice.
Retrieved from "http://www.boobpedia.com/wiki/index.php?title=Kelly_Brook&oldid=586018"
November 23 birthdays
H cup
30H bra
Page 3 girls
Long nipples
Television personalities
Bravissimo models
Boob growth
A big boobs fan last modified this page at 17:44, 21 November 2018.
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Emergency Medical Squad (EMS)
Article 1 — Organization Name
The name of the organization shall be the Brooklyn College Emergency Medical Squad, as charted by the State of New York (1977) and as registered by the CLAS and SGS Club Association, BCSFA and Central Depository.
Article 2 — Objectives of the Squad
A. To provide emergency pre-hospital medical care and ambulance services.
B. To provide limited medical screening and "stand-by" services
C. To provide first aid and CPR training to the college community in the form of classes, seminars and demonstrations.
D. To provide for loan, when available, wheelchairs free of charge to members of the college community.
E. To provide the above services to the Brooklyn College community, Midwood High School and P.S. 152 without cost or obligation to the patient and without compensation to the members of rendering services.
F. The squad shall be nonpartisan, nonsectarian and nonpolitical in all actions, policies and affairs. The squad shall not endorse any political affiliation, nor shall any member by word or action imply such endorsement or affiliation by BC-EMS.
G. It is the intent of this squad to cooperate fully with all private, public and college agencies and services toward the implementation of the above objectives.
Article 3 — Membership
Section 1 — Membership Requirements
A. Membership shall be limited to persons at least 16 years old.
B. A member shall be considered probationary for one semester or until dispatcher status is reached. Probationary members are not eligible to nominate or vote in squad elections.
C. In order to maintain good standing, a member must abide by the rules and regulations of the squad as stated in this Constitution, the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) Manual and other policies as mandated by the State of New York Department of Health.
D. The personnel officer may grant a leave of absence for a six-month period of time. The board of directors must approve leaves of more than six months.
E. All members shall volunteer their services free of charge. Any member may accept no salary for services rendered. Service and scholarship awards may be may be granted by the board of directors and the Vice Presidential Committee and are subject to the guidelines of the BCSFA and this constitution.
Section 2 — Officers
A. The elected officers of the squad shall consist of the president, chief of operations, training officer, equipment officer, safety officer, communications officer, personnel officer, house officer, scheduling officer, secretary, treasurer and two CLAS and one SGS member at large. Each officer shall be a voting member of the board of directors. The term of office shall be from Sept. 1 to Aug. 31.
B. The administration of Brooklyn College in the form of the Vice Presidential Committee on Emergency Care reserves the right to appoint through hiring, with the board of directors approval, a paid administrator thus replacing the position of president. In this case, the administrator will assume all the responsibilities of the president.
C. To be eligible for an elected office, candidates must be active for one full semester (14 weeks). They must meet the requirements of office as outlined in this Constitution.
D. Officers must be elected by a majority vote. Where more than two candidates are nominated for an office, and a majority vote has not been received, a run-off between the two top vote-getters will determine the election.
E. Nominations will take place at the April General Membership Meeting. The board of directors shall act as a nominating committee to submit a slate of candidates to the April general membership meeting.
F. Elections will take place at the May general membership meeting.
G. Vacancies occurring in any elected office will be filled at the next general membership meeting by majority vote.
Section 3 — Requirements for Office
A. The president/administrator shall have a minimum certification of Emergency Medical Technician and Certified Lab Instructor. He or she shall act as the liaison between the squad and the administration of Brooklyn College.
B. The chief of operations shall have been a past operational officer of the squad. They shall hold Crew Chief Certification and Driver Certification is recommended.
C. The chief of operations shall appoint an assistant to help facilitate the day-to-day running of the squad. The minimum requirement for this position is EMT.
D. The training officer shall be a crew chief.
E. The equipment officer shall be an EMT or an EMT candidate with a May completion date.
F. The safety officer shall be a nonprobationary driver.
G. The communications officer shall be a nonprobationary dispatcher.
H. The minimum requirement for all other offices is member in good standing.
I. The faculty adviser shall be a member ex-officio of the board of directors.
Article 4 — Board of Directors
Section 1 — Powers and Duties
A. The board of directors shall conduct the affairs of the squad subject to the provisions set forth in this Constitution.
B. All policies or prospects not covered in this Constitution or in the SOP will first be brought for approval to the board of directors. After receiving board approval, they will be presented to the general membership for approval.
C. The board of directors shall suggest and review all plans for raising and/or increasing funds.
D. Each elected officer shall have one vote.
E. The assistant chief of operations shall have one vote.
F. Any board member who is absent from three consecutive meeting without cause shall be dismissed from the board.
G. The board shall be empowered to dismiss any elected or appointed officer; a two-thirds vote is needed for dismissal. This vote may be overturned by a two-thirds vote of the general membership.
H. At the September board of directors meeting, the board will elect a chairperson from among its ranks. The chairperson shall schedule and preside over all board meetings. In the absence of the administrator/president, the chairperson shall preside at general membership meetings.
Section 2 — Board Meetings
A. The board of directors shall meet prior to each general membership meeting.
B. Two-thirds of the board of directors shall constitute a quorum.
C. Special meetings may be called by the chairperson, or by written request to the chairperson by three or more members of the board.
D. All special meeting notices must contain the names of members requesting the meeting and the purpose of the meeting. No other business may be transacted at this meeting.
Article 5 — General Membership Meetings
A. Written notice shall be mailed at least seven days in advance of said meeting.
B. One-half or 25 members, whichever is less, shall constitute a quorum at all regular and special meetings.
C. Proxy votes and written absentee votes will be accepted at all regular and special meetings.
Article 6 — Order of Business for General Membership and Board Meetings
Roll call of officers
Reading of minutes of the previous meeting
Reports of officers
Old business
Good and welfare
Article 7 — Amendments
A. This Constitution may be amended, altered, repealed or added to in any manner not inconsistent with the state of New York, or the provisions of the Brooklyn College Association.
B. Proposed amendments must be submitted in writing and may be submitted at any regular or special general membership meeting called for that purpose. Said amendments must be tabled and written notice must be sent to the membership at least 10 days before the amendment may be acted on. A two-thirds vote is required to pass an amendment.
Article 8 — Parliamentary Procedures
A. Any business or question arising, not specifically covered herein or in the SOP, shall be governed by Robert's Rules of Order, Revised.
B. The secretary shall record all changes, amendments and revisions to this Constitution so that they may be printed and distributed periodically.
Article 9 — Standard Operating Procedures
A. A Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) Manual shall be available to all members.
B. Temporary operating procedures (TOP) may be used for 30 days in situations where there is no SOP to govern a situation.
C. Proposed changes to the SOP Manual must be ratified by two-thirds vote of the board of directors.
Article 10 — Policies and Procedures Committee
A. A committee consisting of three officers and two non-officers shall be formed in the fall semester of all even-numbered years to review the policies and procedures of the squad.
B. This committee shall report all recommendations for change or amendments to the board of directors at the November board meeting.
OSHA Manual
Dispatcher's Manual
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Kirchberg ’18 nets 13 goals in water polo’s 4-0 weekend
Team veteran reflects on his time at Brown, victories in Santa Clara tournament
By Tess Demeyer
Anita Sheih / Herald
Tyler Kirchberg ’18 recorded 13 goals at the Julian Fraser Memorial Tournament last weekend. He is also the NWPC Co-Player of the Week.
The men’s water polo team traveled to Santa Clara, California to compete in the Julian Fraser Memorial Tournament last weekend. Led by Tyler Kirchberg ’18, the Bears defeated California Baptist University, Loyola Marymount University, Santa Clara University and Fresno Pacific University. Kirchberg accounted for 13 of Brown’s 43 total goals, eight of which came in the fourth quarter of overtime, and totaled six assists and 14 steals in the process. In the victory over Fresno Pacific, he recorded a game-high five goals, netting one for the win in the final 50 seconds to keep Bruno undefeated in California.
In addition to receiving Brown Student-Athlete of the Week honors, Kirchberg was also recognized as the Northeast Water Polo Conference Co-Player of the Week. For his leadership in the pool and clutch performances over the weekend, Kirchberg has been named The Herald’s Athlete of the Week.
Herald: How did you first get into water polo?
Kirchberg: I got into water polo when I was about 12. I actually started swimming when I was a lot younger than that and swam on a recreational summer team. I wanted to get faster at swimming and all the water polo players I knew who were on that rec team were really, really fast. So I was like, “Alright, I’ll give it a try.” I had been playing baseball, so it kind of integrated swimming and baseball. I always stuck with swimming, though more on a recreational level. I swam on my high school team over the summer, but I played water polo year round starting my freshman year of high school. That’s when I really committed to the sport.
Congratulations on going 4-0 this weekend. How did that feel?
It was great! Looking back, I think it was a little unexpected because the games were all really close, and they all could have gone either way. The last game we played — Fresno Pacific — we weren’t winning until the last 50 seconds of the game. The entire game was exciting. It was a battle. We were down the whole time, and it was pretty much like that for each individual game. Right up until the last buzzer sounded, it was pretty up in the air who would come out as the winner. I think it was really good for our team to go 4-0. It was really exciting and good for us to battle back from a lot of those games that were close, and come out victorious.
Your final season of water polo at Brown is coming to a close. Do you have any personal aspirations?
As a senior, my personal goals are just to keep contributing as I have but also encourage a lot of the younger guys to step into the roles I think everyone on the team knows they can fill. It’s a big step going from high school and club water polo up to the collegiate level. … Just helping to make those guys comfortable while they’re playing and giving them the confidence they need to do well while they’re in is definitely something I’m going to try to do toward the end of this season. And just enjoying it while I have my last few games of water polo left.
What are the team’s goals?
We have two more weekends of conference games — one this weekend and next weekend. We’d love to go 5-0 with the rest of our conference games and put us in a really good spot for our conference tournament that’s coming up in about a month. The goal is always to win the conference tournament. When I was a freshman, we ended up winning that, which gave us a berth to the NCAA tournament. The past two years, we’ve been really close. We lost in the championship last year and in the semi-finals the year before, so we’re always hovering around that first, second, third place spot. This year, I think if our team comes together like we did this past weekend, it will be a really exciting tournament.
Looking back, what has been your most memorable moment?
There’s definitely a few that come to mind. Winning my freshman year was really incredible. That was a really fun experience and kind of unexpected. We were the underdogs, and it was a really great way to start off my water polo career at Brown. Overall, just being with each team has been different because the team has had a different personality each year depending on who’s on it. But each year there’s different small things like dinners and bus rides that are really, really fun and fond memories that I look back on. We’ve had team success, but it’s definitely just being with the guys on the team that’s been the most memorable. I’ll miss playing, and it’s fun to compete, but what I’ll probably miss the most is the team camaraderie we have.
What has been your favorite class you’ve taken so far?
There have been a few. I study biology, so I really liked Genetics. It was a pretty intense class, but I liked it a lot. I also really liked The Digital World just because I have no experience with CS, and I thought it was an awesome introduction. … Probably my favorite class I’ve taken is called Emergency Medical Systems. I’m pre-med looking to go to medical school after graduation, and this class was taught by two ER physicians who worked down at Rhode Island Hospital. Part of the class involved shadowing at the hospital, so that was a really cool experience. I got to go down there, hang out with an ER physician for about four hours two times during the semester and got to really just be thrown into the craziness of an ER and see it firsthand. That was really cool because that’s a profession that I want to end up doing.
The water polo team will be back in action Saturday as they host the Ivy Club Championship and gear up for the NWPC Championship.
Topics: Bruno athletes, sports, spotlight on brown athletes
Mark Liang: On writing
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Elise Zappia
Home Town Huntington Beach, CA
Resides Huntington Beach, CA
College UCLA
United States 13th $1,950
AVP 13th $950
Overall 13th $1,950
Zappia was a three-year starter at Mater Dei High School. She earned first AAA rating at the age of 15, and played for Elite Beach Volleyball Club Manhattan Beach. Zappia began competing for UCLA's sand volleyball program in the spring of 2015. She has an older brother, John, who is a middle blocker for UCLA. Zappia has a black belt in taekwondo.
Season Assoc Played 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 7th 9th Money Points Rank 13th 17th 21st 25th 29th 33rd 41st
2015 AVP 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 $700.00 195.0 66th 1 0 1 0 0 0 0
2016 AVP 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 $0.00 185.0 102nd 0 0 1 0 1 0 1
2018 AVP 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 $0.00 224.0 103rd 0 0 0 1 0 1 1
2018 p1440 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 $1,000.00 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
(526th) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 $1,950.00
(422nd) 860.0 1 2 2 2 1 1 3
Total 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 $1,950.00 860.0 1 2 2 2 1 1 3
Partner Played 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 7th 9th Money Points 13th 17th 21st 25th 29th 33rd 41st
Jenna Belton 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 $250 210.0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2
Corinne Quiggle 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 $700 195.0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0
Isabelle Carey 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 $0 135.0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0
Tory Paranagua 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 $0 60.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Jacqui Wood 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 $0 96.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Carly Wopat 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 $0 90.0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Jessica Gaffney 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 $0 74.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Total 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 $950 860.0 1 1 2 2 1 1 3
Tory Paranagua 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 $1,000 60.0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0
Jenna Blocksom 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 $0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 $1,950 860.0 1 2 2 2 1 1 3
Location Assoc Played 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 7th 9th Money Points 13th 17th 21st 25th 29th 33rd 41st
California: Hermosa Beach AVP 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 $250 155.0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0
California: Huntington Beach p1440 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 $0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
California: Manhattan Beach AVP 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 $700 309.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3
California: San Francisco AVP 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 $0 75.0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
California: San Jose p1440 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 $1,000 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
Illinois: Chicago AVP 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 $0 321.0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0
8/13-16 Manhattan Beach Corinne Quiggle Q11,30 13 $700.00 120
Q2: d. Nicole Bateham / Lauren Sieckmann (Q22) 21-18, 22-20 (0:40)
Q3: d. Tori Grafeman / Jaimi Gregory (Q6) 21-19, 21-15 (0:40)
W1: l. Lane Carico / Summer Ross (3) 14-21, 14-21 (0:35)
C1: d. Allison Buck / Tess Rogers (19) 21-10, 21-18 (0:35)
C2: d. Delaney Knudsen / Katie Spieler (20) 21-18, 21-14 (0:36)
C3: l. Nicole Branagh / Jenny Kropp (5) 16-21, 14-21 (0:45)
8/27-30 Chicago Corinne Quiggle Q5 21 75
6/23-26 San Francisco Isabelle Carey Q22 21 75
Q2: d. Laura Ratto / Tanya White (Q11) 16-21, 21-12, 15-7 (0:46)
Q3: l. Jace Pardon / Brittany Tiegs (Q6,15) 18-21, 10-21 (0:39)
7/14-17 Manhattan Beach Jenna Belton Q32 41 50
Q1: d. Chloe Luyties / Madi Yeomans (Q33) 21-14, 21-17 (0:36)
Q2: l. Katie Jameson / Tracy Jones (Q1,17) 14-21, 12-21 (0:38)
9/1-4 Chicago Isabelle Carey Q16 29 60
Q1: d. Ashley Delgado / Katie Smoot (Q17) by Forfeit
Q2: l. Bre Moreland / Jacqui Wood (Q1,21) 18-21, 13-21 (0:37)
Ranking: 102nd
7/20-23 Hermosa Beach Jenna Belton Q37,23 17 $250.00 95
Q2: d. Melanie Fleig / Alicia Zamparelli-Flavia (Q28) 23-21, 22-20 (0:53)
Q3: d. Taylor Nutterfield / Simone Priebe (Q5) 21-19, 21-12 (0:35)
Q4: d. Deveney Pula / Stacey Smith (Q12) 21-16, 16-21, 15-10 (0:50)
W1: l. Caitlin Ledoux / Maria Clara Salgado (10) 10-21, 10-21 (0:30)
C1: l. Sheila Shaw / Xi Zhang (9) 19-21, 7-21 (0:33)
Q2: d. Meg Dawson / Camie Manwill (Q33) 21-19, 21-15 (0:44)
Q3: l. Lara Dykstra / Jace Pardon (Q1,16) 13-21, 7-21 (0:28)
8/31-9/3 Chicago Jacqui Wood Q16 25 96
Q2: d. Nicole Bateham / Katherine Wanket (Q17) 21-17, 21-15 (0:33)
Q3: l. Lara Dykstra / Jace Pardon (Q1,17) 17-21, 15-21 (0:41)
Sets Won-Lost: 10-9
7/26-29 Hermosa Beach Tory Paranagua Q15 25 60
Q2: d. Addison Hermstad / Tarin Mergener (Q79) 21-18, 20-22, 15-7 (0:59)
Q3: d. Carly Perales / Ashley Robert (Q18) 21-9, 21-14 (0:42)
Q4: l. Falyn Fonoimoana / Priscilla Piantadosi-Lima (Q2,17) 14-21, 18-21 (0:43)
8/16-19 Manhattan Beach Jessica Gaffney Q40 41 74
Q2: d. Madelyne May Anderson / Keara Rutz (Q25) 12-21, 21-17, 15-10 (0:53)
Q3: l. Bailey Bars / Molly Turner (Q8) 19-21, 21-18, 12-15 (0:58)
8/30-9/2 Chicago Carly Wopat Q36 33 90
Q1: d. Jessie Gerig / Rachel Krabacher (Q29) 21-15, 17-21, 15-8 (0:51)
Q2: l. Falyn Fonoimoana / Priscilla Piantadosi-Lima (Q4,20) 24-22, 16-21, 10-15 (1:00)
2018 p1440
9/28-30 San Jose, United States Tory Paranagua 23 17 $1,000.00
W1: l. Ali McColloch / Corinne Quiggle (10) 20-22, 18-21 (0:40)
C1: l. Janelle Allen / Kerri Schuh (8) 21-17, 18-21, 15-17 (1:00)
11/30-12/2 Huntington Beach, United States Jenna Blocksom
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Home | Features | October 18 | Canadian Franchise Association
Franchising in Canada represents about $96 billion per year for the country’s GDP, equaling 5% of the nation’s economy. At last count there were 75,765 franchise units operating under 1,300 brands accounting for $61 billion in total household wages, making franchising the 12th largest industry in Canada.
Uniquely designed, franchising is business model that helps drive our nation’s economy across a number of business industries. A successful brand is one that manages to blend the optimum in franchisor and franchisee relations and operations down the same successful path.
Franchising is a distinct relationship between an individual or company that owns the rights to an original concept and brand which is developed into multiple duplicate systems. The creator – or franchisor – then contracts the use of the new brand and operating system for what is known as a franchise fee. After the initial investment, the franchisee agrees to pay a royalty back to the franchisor on an ongoing basis – usually in monthly installments over the fixed term of the agreed-upon contract. The franchisee essentially leases the brand and its associated peripherals, but never actually owns it.
At the core of the contract is an agreement between both sides that the franchisor will provide a proven business model along with proprietary products and services which must be used by each individual franchisee. Compliance of the rules and regulations for each franchise setup are always enforced, although some more strictly than others. It is those that tend to have the most success.
The franchising business model is beneficial to both sides; it provides the franchisor with faster access to an increased number of markets and final points of distribution of their products and services. From the franchisee perspective, he or she is given immediate and continued support and instant name recognition of the brand.
Since its inception in 1967, the Canadian Franchise Association (CFA) was created to oversee the many franchising opportunities that were burgeoning from coast to coast to coast. The non-profit organization was created by several franchisors who wanted to have a more systematic and regulated process, especially for lobbying efforts to the federal and provincial and territorial governments.
The CFA represents more than 700 franchise operations and the professionals who support the industry as a whole.
The Canadian Business Journal recently spoke with John DeHart, Chair of the CFA about the association and its ability to create a cohesive voice regarding lobbying and a system to promote best practices across all industries. DeHart is based out of Vancouver and owns two very successful franchises, including Nurse Next Door, which he started about 18 years ago with a partner. It’s an in-home seniors-care company where we take care of the elderly in their own homes.
“We’re going into our 11th year of franchising and we have close to 200 franchises across North America now,” he says.
Following Nurse Next Door DeHart launched a second brand, which is now in its third year called Live Well Exercise Clinic. In fact, DeHart joined the Canadian Franchise Association before launching his own franchise system.
Promoting Business
Serving as the primary platform for all franchising in this country, the CFA promotes the positive aspects to ensure all programs and initiatives are used to their full advantage. Furthermore, the CFA educates Canadians about the finer points of franchising, and can assist in tracking down specific opportunities that may be of particular interest to an individual or group.
Whether it’s a business to business company, automotive, retail or quick-service restaurant, the procedure is essentially the same. It is up to the individual franchisee to ensure all quality control standards are met and that the consistency in the products, goods and services are maintained. Part of that consistency includes adhering to the specifications set out by the franchisor.
In order to make an informed, educated decision on what type of franchising may be best suited for a particular individual, it’s important to know all the facts of that specific industry and a brand before jumping in with both feet. It’s a common mistake people can make, and DeHart has seen all too often. Due diligence is key. To buy into an existing franchise is a major step in one’s career given the amount of time and finances required to make a successful go of it.
The coming together of a franchisee and a franchisor is much like a marriage. It’s important to select the right business brand because the marriage is going to last for a long time.
“At the CFA our mission is to help everyday Canadians pursue the dream of business ownership; that’s why we exist and do what we do,” says DeHart.
The big, medium and small-sized franchises each have their own unique needs and they all get different kinds of benefits in being members of the CFA. In order to help everyday Canadians reach their dream of business ownership the CFA engages in three specific areas:
The first is advocacy. Anything that is going to be a risk to the franchise business model or small business the CFA is a strong advocate for. The larger brands rely on the association for being the voice to the government that represents all franchising.
Education is the second key element. How can the CFA make franchisors become better so they develop more successful franchisees? Big or small they all share in that. The start-ups and emerging brands get the most value from it.
“For the first time this year we’re doing something called the Boot Camp for Emerging Franchisors. It’s a two-day event and we’ll have some of the biggest brands and pioneers of franchising who will be teaching for those two days,” says DeHart.
The third pillar of the CFA is to help people to find the business opportunity that is best suited for them.
“We match franchisors with people who are looking to become part of a franchise brand,” says DeHart.
As a means of moving with the ever-changing times the CFA has also spearheaded a rebranding process of its own. It’s all about efficient transferal of knowledge.
“We realized as a group that our purpose is to help everyday Canadians pursue the dream of owning a business. Franchising is all about small business and giving people the tools, the system and the process that they need to start their own business. The CFA brings that dream a giant step closer to reality,” mentions DeHart.
“In the past year we’ve undergone a process to really understand the power, influence and impact of franchising and it’s come from our advocacy program. It’s an important thing to understand when we talk about franchising. Our government and many people often don’t understand,” continues DeHart.
The primary benefits to individual business people coming onboard under a brand name as opposed to going alone as a one-off entity are numerous. According to the Harvard Business Review about 75% of all new enterprises fail. Franchising takes a large portion of risk away. The failure rate for franchising is likely the inverse of that number because of already being equipped with a known brand, the trademarks, the operational manuals and the processes. There is also have the benefit of learning about what the existing franchisor and franchisees have gone through in their experiences.
“Franchisors and franchisees made many mistakes along the way before becoming successful and getting to where we are at now. New franchisees don’t have to trudge through those same mistakes,” advises DeHart. “If you start a business without a franchise system, you are going to go through a lot of growing pains.”
Individuals who may be considering a venture into the franchising realm have a number of different resources to engage, including the CFA website, which contains various tutorials and newsletters. There is also the Franchise Canada magazine, which comes out every other month both in print and online. The website LookForAFranchise.ca is another medium where people can explore the various franchising opportunities to investigate concepts and brands. Last but not least the Franchise Canada Show is an excellent opportunity for members of the public to get a first-hand look at what franchising is all about. It is held at Exhibition Place in Toronto on October 13 and 14 as well as Vancouver’s Convention Centre on November 3 and 4 and provides the public with an opportunity to meet face-to-face with franchisors and also attend seminars on such things as legal and finance aspects of the business.
DeHart would like to see stronger recognition from the federal and provincial governments about the powerful engine of franchising.
“What we have realized at the CFA in the last two years is that we need a seat at the table as an industry. We represent a huge amount of the economy so I want to make sure that everybody is well educated on what franchising entails and the influence it has on this country.”
www.cfa.ca
Canada Needs New Data For a New Economy Time to focus on assessing skills in workforce development
Shopify Investing $500M in Toronto
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Home National Security
Global experts sound alarm on malicious use of AI in next decade
TOPICS:AIArtificial Intelligencecyber security
Author: Staff Writer February 22, 2018
Global security experts have shone light on the implications artificial intelligence (AI) could cause if it was used maliciously, by criminals and terrorists.
A total of 26 experts have jointly compiled a report, “The Malicious Use of Artificial Intelligence: Forecasting, Prevention, and Mitigation”, to analyse the implications malicious use of AI could have on the world over the next 10 years.
The 100-page report forecast rapid growth in cyber-crime, misuse of drones during the next decade, and an increase in the use of ‘bots’ to manipulate everything.
Within the report it identified three security domains – digital, physical and political security – as particularly relevant to the malicious use of AI and urged governments and corporations worldwide to address the danger inherent in the myriad applications of AI.
The report has also recommended measures to take to mitigate the threats posed by malicious use of the technology. It said policy-makers and technical researchers should work together and be prepared for such incidents.
Even though AI has many positive applications, it is a dual-use technology and AI researchers and engineers should be mindful of and proactive about the potential for its misuse, it said.
The report says: “It is troubling, but necessary, to consider the implications of superhuman hacking, surveillance, persuasion, and physical target identification.”
The report said best practices should be learned from disciplines such as computer security, which have a longer history of handling dual use risks. Additionally, the report also called for expansion of the range of stakeholders involved in preventing and mitigating the risks of malicious use of AI.
The authors suggested several interventions to reduce threats associated with AI misuse, including rethinking cyber-security, exploring models of openness in information sharing, promoting a culture of responsibility, and seeking institutional and technological solutions for those defending against attacks.
– GDS pushes the technology forward in the digital age
The authors are from various organisations and disciplines, including Oxford University’s Future of Humanity Institute; Cambridge University’s Centre for the Study of Existential Risk; OpenAI, a leading non-profit AI research company; the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an international non-profit digital rights group; and the Center for a New American Security, a US-based bipartisan national security think-tank.
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Theresa May at Davos: UK can lead world in AI
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Home / China / Top News
Time-honored brands set for a facelift
By XU JUNQIAN in Shanghai | China Daily | Updated: 2018-05-26 01:02
East Nanjing Road is the most well-known shopping street in Shanghai. The city government will further promote time-honored brands with strong Shanghai features as part of efforts to build the city into a modern shopping paradise. provided to china daily
In a bid to bolster the city's retail sector and boost consumption, authorities will be providing support for local companies with great historical significance to innovate and stay relevant in this modern era
Shanghai's shopping scene is set to become more vibrant through the revitalization of local time-honored brands as part of efforts to build the "four brands of the city", said the municipal government in May.
The four brands refer to services, manufacturing, shopping and culture.
"A shopping paradise is defined as a place where people can get whatever they want," said Shang Yuying, director of the Municipal Commission of Commerce, during a news conference detailing the three-year plan to turn the city into a shopping paradise.
Besides satisfying the current needs of shoppers, the city would also need to anticipate new demands in order to compete with the likes of New York, London and Tokyo, added Shang.
"Apart from globally reputable brands, the 'bricks' to turning shopping into one of the city's four brands are the hundreds of local time-honored brands which will not only lure more international and domestic tourists, but also aspire young and old locals to spend more," she said.
The four-brand concept, which was first initiated by the city government at the end of 2017, is expected to further elevate China's eastern metropolis into a growth engine for the domestic economy and an influential player on the global stage.
Shanghai boasts an annual airport passenger traffic of over 100 million people, according to the commerce commission. In 2017, the city's retail industry consolidated 1.18 trillion yuan ($185.53 billion), up 8.1 percent, to maintain its position as China's top shopping destination.
There are more than 3.25 million people working in this particular industry, accounting for almost one quarter of the city's employment.
The apparel and accessories sector, which accounts for about 20 percent of the retail industry, enjoyed the fastest year-on-year growth rate at 18.4 percent.
Old brands, new life
As part of the revitalization project, 50 time-honored brands, most of which have been around for more than half a century, will be selected to undergo upgrades before being reintroduced to domestic shopping spots like tax-free shops, train stations, airports and pop-up stores at prime locations.
Shanghai is now home to 222 time-honored brands, 180 of which are considered to be of national-level importance, the most of all Chinese cities.
The concept of time-honored brands was first proposed in the 1990s by the Ministry of Commerce and was first launched in 2006. While there is no clear definition as to how much history a brand should have in order to carry the title, the ministry noted that a brand must at least reflect Chinese heritage and cultural traditions.
Among the first 50 time-honored brands to be revitalized is Shanghai Yimin No 1 Food Factory, which has capitalized on the initiative to launch its most expensive ice cream ever — an upgrade of its vanilla ice cream brick sold at 8 yuan a piece.
Featuring the use of higher quality milk powder and a packaging featuring a polar bear, the new offering is expected to hit the shelves this summer at thousands of supermarkets and e-commerce portals.
"As a State-owned company and time-honored brand, we have a greater responsibility to keep our products affordable for the mass market," said Li Weitao, assistant director of the Shanghai-originated food factory. "But this has also restricted our investments in R&D and ability to introduce premium products to cater to the demands of the younger population."
Founded in 1913, Yimin No 1 Food Factory is one of the first ice cream makers in China. Originally a conglomerate that produced beverages, canned foods and snacks, the company later made ice cream and sold it under the brand "Bright" during the 1950s.
At its peak, Bright accounted for 80 percent of ice cream sold across the country. By the early 1990s, the company produced 15,000 tons of ice cream every year, 18 times the amount when it was started four decades ago.
But with the aggressive expansion of foreign brands in the late 1990s, the brand fell down the pecking order in the market. Its main consumers today are middle-aged consumers looking for a slice of nostalgia.
In 2017, the company recorded 200 million yuan of sales across its product categories, up 10 percent from the previous year.
However, a low profit margin and a dissipating market share, especially in areas outside Shanghai where people are less attached to the history of the brand, remain big concerns for the company, according to Li.
"Today, with appliances such as air-conditioners and fridges, the ice cream is no longer the go-to item to stay cool. We need to find new ways to attract customers," he said.
Li is hoping that the new polar bear logo for their high-end offering could eventually become a prominent IP like characters from Disney, in turn drawing more young people to try their product which is available in three flavors — vanilla, cheese and strawberry yoghurt.
Staying in tune with market demands
Shanghai Hero Group, a time-honored company that makes pens, has enjoyed slightly better fortunes.
Thanks to the ongoing "techo culture" trend in Japan and China which has people using book journals instead of smart phones to record their daily itineraries, the century-old company's sales of pen and ink have risen by more than 20 percent between 2015 and 2017.
This year, the company introduced 24 ink colors that are packaged in bottles resembling nail polish.
"Young people barely write today. But that doesn't mean they cannot pay for pen and paper," said Li Li, the chairman of the group. "In fact, the more we make and market them into a luxury product, the more desirable they are."
Leon Zhang, a partner at global branding consultancy Prophet, noted that a product's relevance to target consumers is very important, and advised time-honored brands to look at the bigger picture.
"Time-honored brands are often obsessed with their own heritage and overlook the fact that consumers choose a brand because of relevance and not how historical it is. Companies need to view things from the consumer's perspective," said Zhang.
The municipal government expects consumption to contribute up to 60 percent of the city's economic growth annually by 2020.
Apart from revitalizing time-honored brands, there are also plans to build two world-class streets for shopping as well as create another 50 new local brands with strong Shanghai features.
Contact the writer at xujunqian@chinadaily.com.cn
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Contract approved for new Crawford AuSable School District superintendent
The Crawford AuSable School District will get a fresh start under new leadership as a contract was approved with its next superintendent of schools on Monday.
The Crawford AuSable Board of Education, at its regular monthly board meeting held on Monday, April 8, approved a contract with new superintendent Justin Gluesing. He is slated to start as the next school chief on July 1, but will transition into the job in June.
Gluesing is the associate superintendent for human resources and labor for Alpena Public Schools. He and his family have lived in Alpena for the last 15 years.
Gluesing was a finalist for the superintendent’s job for the Crawford, Oscoda, Ogemaw and Roscommon Intermediate School District (COOR ISD), which was filled earlier last year. He and his family have a strong connection with the Grayling community.
“We love the area. As a family, we have spent countless nights camping on the banks of the AuSable River and as many days floating and fishing in its waters,” he said. “We have always been drawn to the area on a personal level. As a professional, I’ve long known about the many accomplishments of the Crawford Ausable School District (CASD) – its staff and students. In addition, you can feel a strong sense of community throughout. We are excited to join the school family and to make our home in the community.”
Gluesing said there will be no drastic changes to what is already in place with the school district, stressing he will sit back and observe when he assumes his role as the new leader.
“Throughout the interview process, I shared that I will look and listen before I lead. CASD and the Grayling community has much to be proud of, and I plan to learn all I can about the great things already occurring in our schools and in our community,” he said. “Moving forward, my goals will be to look for ways to improve upon the successes we’ve had and look for new opportunities. As a leader, I am constantly reflecting. How can we do this better? Where are the opportunities we should be exploring? What are the obstacles impeding our advancement? What am I hearing from staff, students, families, and our community? What is the profile of our graduates now and what will it need to be in the future? These are just a few questions that I continually ponder.”
Gluesing was born and raised in Escanaba, Michigan in the Upper Peninsula. He lived in Marquette, when he attended Northern Michigan University. Gluesing earned a bachelor of arts degree in secondary education with an emphasis on English and history. He was also a walk-on player for the college’s football team, and eventually served as a team captain.
Gluesing went on to earn a master’s degree from Marian University in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin focused on teacher development and educational technology. He then attended Oakland University, where he received his degree as an education specialist with a focus on educational leadership and school adminstration.
Gluesing started his career as an adult education teacher. He then went on to teach for the Hartford Union High School in Wisconsin. Gluesing returned to Escanaba, where he served as a teacher and athletic director for four years.
In 2004, Gluesing was hired to serve as the athletic director for Alpena Public Schools. He also served as an assistant principal and principal before moving into school adminstration for the district.
“As I move into my new position with CASD, I carry with me a diverse professional work history. Across my almost 25-year career, I have been a classroom teacher, a coach, an advisor, an athletic director, an assistant principal, a principal, a human resources director, and am currently an assistant superintendent,” Gluesing said. “Throughout all these various roles, I have maintained a students-first perspective and well recognize the tremendous effort that goes into each and every day of school. I respect the work of every employee and believe that every employee – regardless of role – contributes to the education of our children.”
Gluesing has been married to his wife, Janelle, for 12 years. He has two children – Logan, 20, and Josie, 17.
“We are excited to make our home in Grayling, and I am also looking forward to building relationships with our staff, students, families, and the larger community,” he said.
As least five new teachers will be in place by the time Gluesing starts with the school district. All school administrative positions have also been filled. He will help with transitioning the fifth grade from the Grayling Elementary School to the Grayling Middle School and helping develop a play area for the younger students near the school.
“Having the opportunity to work in human resources has helped me engage with our staff on a different level than I have in my other positions. It has provided me the opportunity to be at the center of negotiations and labor relations for the last five years,” he said. “I am proud of the relationships I’ve built with our union leadership in Alpena, and I look forward to establishing strong relationships within CASD. I also serve on the Board for the Michigan Negotiators Association and plan to continue in that role moving forward.”
“For many reasons, human resources is a position like no other within an organization. Having lived it for the last five years, the experience has been invaluable to my growth and has widened my perspective to the challenges we face in our schools,” Gluesing added. “Recruitment is one of the main functions in my current position, and hiring and keeping good people is one of the most important tasks of any good organization. I do believe my experiences in human resources will benefit CASD in the years ahead.”
Seventeen people applied for the superintendent’s position, and seven were interviewed.
The other final candidate for the position was Raphael Rittenhouse, the superintendent for Iron Mountain Public Schools.
Gluesing’s second interview pushed him ahead of the others with the superintendent search team and school board members.
“I was much more relaxed during the second interview,” Gluesing said. “Having the opportunity to sit and visit during breakfast with the search team members and the community helped me engage on a personal level with the group. It was a great morning, and I think that benefited me throughout the rest of the day.”
Crawford AuSable School District Superintendent Joe Powers retired from his position with the school after 13 years on the job on March 31 of last year. He was later brought back on a part-time basis to serve the school district through a month-to-month contract.
Powers took a job working as an educational consultant for Wolgast Construction, which has several locations throughout the state.
Powers served as a coordinator for the superintendent search. He will work with Gluesing during the transition period in June.
“I will be helping him start successfully in his job,” Powers said.
School Board President Lewis Madill said the board and staff are elated to have a new superintendent in place.
“I just think it’s going to be a smooth transition,” Madill said. “Everybody that met with him during the final assessment felt he was a good fit. We’re looking forward to it.”
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← Class and minority struggles in Iran today: Interview with Kamran Matin
A Freight-ening Tale: Bulgaria Finally Stands up to the EU →
Transformations of housing provision in Romania: Organizations of subtle violence
by Ioana Florea and Mihail Dumitriu
This article is based on empirical data and is a small part of an ongoing research project on housing struggles and transformations in housing policies in Romania. We look at these transformations within the wider historical and economic context, outlining some of the links between privatization and austerity measures, individualization and privatization of housing provision, and the role of NGOs as subtle facilitators of such (often violent) processes.
Waves of housing policy in the context of “transition”
In Romania, as in other ECE countries, “the implementation of housing reform became one of the first acts” of the post-89 governments, with “privatization, deregulation, and cuts in state funding” as its main principles (Stanilov 2007, p. 177). Scholars of post-socialism have shown that these policies were cemented by the influence of international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the IMF overseeing the entire “transition” process (Pichler-Milanovic, 2001, apud Stanilov 2007, p. 176). In 1990, 30% of the housing stock was state owned (Vincze, 2017) – including buildings constructed during socialism (especially blocks of flats) but also buildings nationalized in the 1950s from the richer strata (especially villas, mansions, and small apartment blocks). After 1990, the housing reform followed three main paths:
The rapid and continuous sale of the state owned stock, which today stands at less than two percent of the country’s housing stock.
The deregulation and persisting lack of regulations with regard to urban development, working as a form of support for the private real-estate sector. In the mid 2000s, the retreating state informally shifted the responsibility for drafting urban regulations to the private sector (a process sometimes legitimized as participatory working group practice). This opened new legal doors for private accumulation through dispossession.
Re-privatization through restitutions (to former pre-1950 owners, their heirs, or their legal rights-buyers) of the nationalized housing stock, at first through financial compensation (for inhabited buildings) and in-kind (for unused buildings), and then through in-kind complete restitutions of buildings (despite the fact the state tenants were still living there and no relocation solution was envisaged).
The restitution law (10/2001) – although appearing to have only localized effects – has been actually very destructive, producing waves of evictions, gentrification, rent increases, transformations in the function of buildings ( from housing into profit making functions).This law was backed by the dominant anti-communist discourse which claims that the socialist regime wronged the interwar landlords when it nationalized their properties, and that these landlords and their heirs are rightfully entitled to these properties regardless of what may happen to the tenants of the state who currently inhabit them. Such tenants of the state who are affected by evictions from restituted buildings very often belong to vulnerable social groups. These evictions get almost no media attention and the evictees get almost no support from authorities and public opinion, because the right to property prevails over tenants’ rights, and because people belonging to vulnerable social groups are subjected to social stigma (invisibilized and marginalized).
In addition, for more than a decade, most of the national housing programs work to benefit the emerging/aspiring middle classes. Since 2009, “The First Home” (Prima casa) mortgage program and Bauspar program have been developed by the state in partnership with ERSTE financial group and Raiffeisen Bank, backed with about 4.5 billion euro in public funds. ANL (Agentia Nationala pentru Locuinte, The National Housing Agency) receives funds from the Ministry of Development – more than 1 billion euro since 2007 – to build flats, which are then sold to young families who can afford private mortgages. Another program supporting homeowners for the thermo-rehabilitation of blocks of flats has consumed billions of Euros (funds from the local and national authorities, plus EU funds) since 2009. In comparison, since 2007, less than 200 million euro were allocated for all kinds of social housing in total.
a satellite image of Bucharest in 2001
Bucharest sprawl in 2017
During the “transition”, the amounts spent on public housing declined, while overall housing construction rose. In 2015, 20% of Romania’s population was affected by severe housing deprivation. In urban areas, in 2014, there were over 67.000 applications for around 28.000 remaining, but already inhabited, social housing units. Moreover, following the liberalization of utility prices and their alignment with Western Europe since 1996, in response to the increasing cost of living, informal forms of housing amplified as ways of resistance and survival. It is estimated that almost half a million persons live without documents in informal types of housing.
Looking at housing provision within wider economic processes, we can say that since 1990, the IMF, World Bank and EU-imposed privatization policies have also meant a constant drop in wages and a constant attack on labour rights. These culminated in 2011 with changes in the Labour Code and Social Dialogue Code in the aftermath of the crisis, with severe impact on workers’ lives and housing options. Since then, unionizing has become almost impossible, 44% of employees earn below the minimum wage, 25.4% of the population has fallen below the poverty line, over 40% of the population is at risk of poverty, and 42.6% of those employed spend more than 40% of their income on housing costs (2014-2016 data according to Eurostat).
After 2009, austerity measures brought cuts in most social benefits, legitimized by a rising discourse simultaneously for the “efficiency of the state” and against the poor. At the same time, most of the post-89 governments implemented tax-cuts for large companies, with recent tax-cuts for real-estate-developers enacted since 2017, and most of the post-89 governments deregulated the banking sector, paving the way for expensive and risky loans, which led to increased household debt. All these processes are part of Romania’s integration into the highly financialized global economy. The transformation of housing from public provision into private real-estate investment is a key aspect in these structural processes.
The role of NGOs in the context of “transition”
In Romania, one of the first laws passed by the first “transition” government was the Law on political parties and NGOs – rushed on the 31st of December 1989. Several authors have mentioned the role of NGOs, as ideological and economic actors, in smoothing such processes of global market integration and transition.
“The rise of advocacy groups and NGOs has, like rights discourses more generally, accompanied the neo-liberal turn and increased spectacularly since 1980 or so. The NGOs have in many instances stepped into the vacuum in social provision left by the withdrawal of the state from such activities. This amounts to a process of privatization by NGO. In some instances this seems to have helped accelerate further state withdrawal from social provision. NGOs thereby function as ‘trojan horses for global neoliberalism’” (Wallace, 2003).
David Harvey (2006), drawing from the work of Tina Wallace and David Chandler, has strongly criticized the role of NGOs in legitimizing and fabricating consent for the withdrawal of the state from social provision, for accumulation through dispossession, and for military humanitarianism. Adam Fagan (2005) discusses the impositions, limitations, hierarchies and ideologies that come with Western aid towards CEE. Cornel Ban (2014) also criticizes the self-assumed democratic role of the NGOs, as a form of technocratic de-politicization. He also illustrates the transformation of the early NGOs of the 90s into economic think-tanks advancing neoliberal ideas and policies, with massive financial support from the World Bank and IMF. Reading these authors, we want to highlight that NGOs work at the intersection of global, national and local levels: they might offer important local aid to their (selected) beneficiaries while, at the same time, they often engage in subordinate relations to Western donors and, as experts and mediators, also engage in power relations with national and local authorities.
Looking at the changes in housing policies outlined above, we can see how, legitimized by the “transition” and the “crisis”, reformed public organizations transpose responsibility for housing provision from the state, to individuals. In this frame, many local authorities claim their own incapacity to deal with the impoverished population, and invest the NGOs with this responsibility. Moreover, NGOs are constantly promoted in World Bank reports and policy recommendations as “strategic partners” in national housing policies. We briefly present some of the NGOs active in the housing field in Romania, and the mechanisms of subtle violence that they operate with (and within). Our examples will show how the discourses of NGOs can blur the idea of housing as public provision, and frame it as an individual opportunity/incapacity, and how the actions of NGOs can legitimate the retreat of the state from housing provision, limiting even further the access to housing, and facilitating the uneven accumulation of resources.
Organizations of subtle violence
In the Romanian context, the oldest NGOs in the housing field are those which, since the early 1990s, offer direct social assistance to persons living in precarious housing conditions. They offer one or more direct assistance services such as basic goods, basic medical care, assistance with formal paperwork, educational, therapeutic or community activities, or some forms of temporary shelter. We can observe that the work of such NGOs is marked by contradictions. They are organized as charities, around humanitarian ideas, but they are also organized around ideas of personal responsibility which actually block solidarity – both for the “beneficiaries” (for example, taking personal responsibility to “lift themselves” from their precarious situations) and the NGO workers/ volunteers (taking up roles as “problem solvers” in the field of housing). Several direct assistance NGOs and night shelters around the country are run by churches which, at the same time, are important real-estate developers involved in evictions and gentrification. Other housing NGOs depend on corporate sponsors which are involved in real-estate development or urban regeneration projects which produce displacement (see for example the corporate sponsors of SamuSocial, one of the main NGOs offering direct assistance for unhoused adults).
An illustrative example is Habitat for Humanity, a large global NGO working in Romania and in other 70 countries. It builds and repairs houses for the impoverished, mostly in rural and small localities, using corporate donations and volunteer labour. Corporate volunteers are involved through corporate social responsibility (CSR) or team building programs and offered meaningful construction (and “savior”/ heroic) work compensating for the loss of meaning in their daily jobs. Impoverished households selected as beneficiaries are conditioned by micro-credit and/or many hours of free labour. But not many households can actually afford these conditions, and thus not many are selected for this – private and quite limited – NGO housing program.
Other NGOs practice a technical approach and a specialized understanding of housing. They are mostly connected to the eco-technical and urban development branches of architecture.
Eco-technical NGOs usually draft solutions on existing plots (site-specific) for passive, off grid houses, with individual or social functions. They usually don’t have a social approach and thus create a discursive rupture between people and houses, with emphasis on the latter and on the eco-architectural significance of the built environment. NGOs focused on urban development usually analyze and project the city in the neoliberal paradigms of sustainable development, private sector investments and public sector deregulation – also a way of legitimizing their own existence. They work in real-estate as mediators between the private sector and public authorities, claiming the role of the neutral actor. Often they proclaim the state as an incapable, overweight, and corrupt apparatus which is to be reduced and replaced with the means of and by the private initiative. Thus they justify a model of commodified living, and sustain the neoliberal ideology.
In addition, there are NGOs with cultural and educational approaches to housing, most of which use narratives on housing histories, architecture, aesthetics that overlap with complex political discourses that legitimize violent housing exclusions for certain social groups.
Most cultural NGOs in the field of housing (such as ProDoMo, Arcen, or Save Bucharest) are part of the heritage protection movement and draw on the myths of pre-socialist history. Being particularly sensitive to aesthetic issues, they aim to “save” historical buildings and ensembles, mostly interwar and pre-war buildings, and historical places and squares.
During the 1950s and 1960s, new state policies placed many working class people (in need of housing) in nationalized houses which had been built in pre-war periods and confiscated by the state in the early 1950s from the upper classes. Nowadays, the pauperized working class living in historical buildings is pointed at for supposedly being unable to sustain, recognize and enjoy the cultural values that their homes have. In brief, such NGOs and their networks advance a “savior” practice that focuses on buildings before people, constantly emphasizing the importance of preserving the buildings. They draw attention to the lack of means of the current inhabitants and thus on their incapacity to take “good care” of the buildings – in this way, they actively contribute to legitimizing evictions.
Moreover, working at the intersection of the global, national and local levels, some NGOs have become key-actors in facilitating public-private events and partnerships, leading to new processes of accumulation by dispossession. In 2017, Habitat for Humanity Romania, together with several corporations producing construction materials, and a bank from the global ERSTE group, organized a housing forum called “Romania, closer to home. Initiatives and policies for everyone to have accessible and energy efficient houses”. Held at one of the most expensive hotels in Bucharest, the event was meant to create a common ground between government, NGOs and business interests. Among the participants were officials (state secretaries, government advisers), private sector representatives (business groups presidents, bank representatives) and independent sector representatives (NGOs, independent and affiliated researchers), all discussing profitable ways to develop affordable and energy efficient houses.
Three main ideas generated consensus at this meeting: that social housing should be aimed only towards the poorest; that accessible housing should be made available for those with low income; that the state would never be able to solve the social housing issue and, thus, needs private interventions. These ideas were emphasized repeatedly, imposing a clear separation/fragmentation of the impoverished working class into two categories: those confronted with extreme poverty, and the around 3 million people who are too poor to access the current mortgage market, but not poor enough to qualify for social benefits. The latter group was targeted for “accessible housing” public-private partnerships and policies. Private companies would build for them, the banks would create “tailored” micro-credits, the NGOs would mediate, and the state would build the legal framework and direct financial support towards the private partners. The fact that, in this process, the risks are transferred to the households and huge public funds are transferred to the private sector was easily left out.
A similar facilitation-event took place in March 2018 in Bucharest. Titled “SOS Informal Housing in Romania”, the event was organized by a coalition of NGOs and hosted by the Bucharest Municipality Cultural Center. Representatives of several local authorities from Bucharest and around the country were present. Among invited speakers were representatives of global electricity and gas corporations, as well as from one global financial institution. Dwellers without housing documents and community facilitators were brought to the same speakers’ table, staging consent. The main message from the organizers was the necessity to start acting together with other interested corporations and local authorities, in order to formalize informal housing – thus ensuring new utility contracts and new signups for micro-credit to pay for the costs of formalization. It was explained that the EU requires, and partly sponsors, such endeavours.
The risk of even further displacement in informal settlements, brought through household debt and high utility costs, was obscured. The huge profits extracted by banks, construction and utility companies from the wide pool of low income groups were dressed up in corporate social responsibility programs. Thus, the violence of dispossession, the potential for corporate profit, and the complicity of local (and EU) authorities with global capital were blurred by NGO technical talk and expertise.
Concluding remarks: bringing the Right to Housing into focus
It is important to say that – beyond these alliances of subtle violence – there are community organizations, grassroots groups and alliances that oppose and challenge these dispossessive mechanisms in the housing field.
Housing justice and anti-racism protest in Cluj, 2018
The Roma emancipatory networks (including several NGOs with juridical expertise) were among the first to struggle for housing rights. There are grassroots community organizations that later acquired NGO status such as LaBomba, which has been organizing protest events in Bucharest since 2006. For such organizations, in the post 1989 context, NGO status was needed in order to be able to formally register funds, to be able to file formal complaints and event authorizations, to be able to enter institutional spaces of decision making, and just to be heard as a legitimate actor. Moreover, the anti-capitalist “Housing BLOC” was organized in 2017 as a national action network, including NGOs together with grassroots radical groups. The contentions of these smaller and hybrid actors puts pressure on the larger NGOs to clarify their positions, and to acknowledge the symbolic violence they are involved in. Thus, in this hybrid space, we observe the existence of emancipatory possibilities, beyond violence legitimized by “transition” and austerity.
To sum up, we would say that, on one hand, many NGO discourses blur the idea of housing as public provision, and frame it as an individual opportunity versus incapacity. Blurring dispossession, and also blurring social rights, is – we argue – a form of operating discursive violence. On the other hand, many NGO programs showcase that forms of housing protection can be achieved through private initiatives, and that the “deserving poor” are not left behind. These programs/actions (and their media representations) legitimate the further retreat of the state from housing provision, and the further involvement of private companies. These NGO programs further limit the access to housing to their selected (“deserving”) beneficiaries, and facilitate the redistribution of resources towards their own activities and staff, towards public-private partnerships and (through certain mechanisms such as micro-credits, utility costs and unpaid labour) from their beneficiaries towards private capital.
We think that these NGO-facilitated mechanisms are similar to what researcher Nicholas De Genova (2013) termed “the scene of exclusion, the obscene of inclusion” in the process of accumulating profits through the social construction and showcased solving of illegality (in his case migrant informality, in our case evictions, houselessness and informal dwelling).
This article is written as part of the “Housing BLOC”, action network supported by the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, and as part of the “Housing, social mobilisations and urban governance in CEE” ongoing research project funded by The Swedish Research Council FORMAS (Grant No. 2016-00258).
Mihail Dumitriu and Ioana Florea are involved in the Common Front for Housing Rights (FCDL), a platform for housing activism created in Bucharest by a group of evicted persons, persons living under the constant threat of forced eviction, together with relatives, friends, activists and artists. FCDL is part of the Housing BLOC, a national action network bringing together militant groups for the right to housing, housing justice and the right to the city. Mihail and Ioana are also involved in the editorial team of the Political Art Gazette (GAP), a critical online and printed journal that discusses, analyzes and promotes the social and political dimension of the most diverse forms of cultural and artistic projects. Ioana is a post-doc at the University of Gothenburg. Mihail is active in the Political Theatre Platform in Bucharest.
Ban, Cornel, 2014, Dependency and Development, Tact.
Chandler, David, 2002, From Kosovo to Kabul: Human Rights and International Intervention, Pluto Press.
De Genova, Nicholas, 2013, Spectacles of migrant ‘illegality’: the scene of exclusion, the obscene of inclusion, Ethnic and Racial Studies, 36:7, 1180-1198.
Fagan, Adam, 2005, Taking Stock of Civil-Society Development in Post-communist Europe: Evidence from the Czech Republic, Democratization, Vol.12, No.4, pp.528–547.
Harvey, David, 2006, Spaces of Global Capitalism, Verso.
Stan, Lavinia, 2013, Civil Society and Post-communist Transitional Justice in Romania, in O. Simić and Z. Volčič (eds.), Transitional Justice and Civil Society in the Balkans, p.17-31.
Stanilov, Kiril (ed.), 2007, The Post-socialist City, Springer.
Vincze, Enikő, 2017, The Ideology Of Economic Liberalism And The Politics Of Housing In Romania, Studia Ubb. Europaea, LXII, 3, pp. 29-54.
Wallace, Tina, 2003, NGO Dilemmas: Trojan Horses for Global Neoliberalism? Socialist Register, pp. 202-219.
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We That Are Young
by Preti Taneja
Galley Beggar Press
Money, power, corruption and desire. Unimaginable wealth. Unspeakable hardship. A family divided.
When Jivan Singh returns to his childhood home after a long absence, it’s only to witness the unexpected resignation of Devraj, the founding father of the Company – a vast corporation at the heart of Indian life. On the same day, Devraj’s youngest daughter absconds – refusing to submit to marriage. Her older sisters Radha and Gargi are handed their father’s company… So begins a vicious struggle for power, ranging from the luxury hotels of New Delhi and Amritsar, the Palaces and slums of Napurthala to the beautiful, broken city of Srinagar, Kashmir.
Praise from the Desmond Elliott Prize
“A commemorative portrait of a destroyed dynasty, a triptych dedicated to three departed sisters: one thinks of We That Are Young in painterly terms, the gravest of themes rendered in glorious colour, multiple canvases depicting intensely moving individual episodes. The voices equally enthral, from his daughters’ fervid dialogue to Bapuji’s mad soliloquising. Prose as sensual, perfumed and parti-coloured as a wedding basket of ladoo, inset with gems of pure poetry. Yet pungent enough to match the Dhimbala’s fetid starvelings. Everywhere as remarkable to the ear as it is revelatory of the soul.”
Preti Taneja was born in the UK to Indian parents and spent most of her childhood holidays in New Delhi. She has worked as a human rights reporter on Iraq, in Jordan, Rwanda, and Kosovo, and her work as been published in the Guardian, the New Statesman and Open Democracy. A fellow at Warwick University, she is also the editor of Visual Verse and was selected as an AHRC / BBC Radio 3 New Generation Thinker for 2014.
View full details on the publisher’s website
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S.Sudan sees record hunger levels, despite peace deal
By AFP Jun 14, 2019 in World
A record number of almost seven million people are facing severe hunger in South Sudan, despite a peace agreement which has largely stopped fighting after more than five years of war, UN agencies warned Friday.
"Every year, hunger reaches new and unprecedented levels in South Sudan with millions of people unsure where their next meal will come from, particularly at this time of the year when hunger peaks from May to July," Hsiao-Wei Lee of the World Food Programme (WFP) said in Juba.
UN-backed assessments use a ranking called the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), which rates hunger levels from one to five.
The WFP, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and children's agency Unicef said about 1.8 million people in South Sudan were in an "emergency," or level four, which means large gaps between meals, acute malnutrition and excess deaths.
More than five million others are also having to skip meals.
At the beginning of 2019, it was estimated that 6.1 million people were facing hunger.
But this figure now stands at 6.9 million people -- about 61 percent of the population.
Under the IPC system, level five is classified as "catastrophe," and when it applies to 20 percent of the population is deemed a famine.
South Sudan declared a "man-made" famine in 2017.
While the technical requirements for a famine are not currently met, the overall number of people requiring food aid has increased by about two million.
A statement from the agencies said the annual lean season "started early following record low stocks from the poor 2018 harvest and has been further extended by the delayed onset of 2019 seasonal rains."
Persistent economic instability, years of fighting and displacement and high food prices have all made access to food more difficult.
If the current situation continues, about 21,000 people could slide into "famine" conditions, said Pierre Vauthier, deputy country director for the FAO.
This estimation has dropped from about 30,000 in January.
"With greater stability in the country, access to those in need has improved, allowing us to treat more than 100,000 children suffering from severe malnutrition in the first five months of the year, with more than 90 per cent of those children recovering," said Mohamed Ag Ayoya, UNICEF's representative in South Sudan.
"But malnutrition levels remain critical in many areas and our fear is that the situation could worsen in the coming months."
South Sudan descended into war in 2013 when President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy and fellow former rebel leader Riek Machar of plotting a coup.
The war, marked by ethnic violence and brutal atrocities, has left about 380,000 dead while some four million have fled their homes.
Under a peace agreement signed in September, Kiir agreed to set up a unity government with Machar, who is to return from exile, but that has been delayed by six months until November.
More about ssudan, Unrest, Hunger, Emergency
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Infographics. Statistics of victims in Northern Caucasus in Quarter of 2019 under the data of the Caucasian Knot
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In January 2019, 15 people fell victim to armed conflict in Northern Caucasus
At least 15 people suffered during the ongoing armed conflict in Northern Caucasus in January 2019. They include nine casualties and six wounded persons. These are the results of the calculations run by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and other information from open sources.
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In 2018, in the Stavropol Territory, at least 8 persons fell victim to the ongoing armed conflict in Northern Caucasus. Of them, 6 persons were killed and other 2 were wounded. The number of victims by 33.3 percent exceeds the figure for 2017, when there were 6 victims. These are the results of the calculations run by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from other open sources.
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At least nine people suffered during the ongoing armed conflict in Northern Caucasus in December 2018. Six of the victims died and three were wounded. These are the results of the calculations run by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from open sources.
Infographic. Statistics of victims in Northern Caucasus in December 2018 under the data of the Caucasian Knot
In November 2018, six persons fell victim to armed conflict in Northern Caucasus
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Home • Arcadia • Friedrich Haberlandt’s Failed Vision: Soy in European Food...
Friedrich Haberlandt’s Failed Vision: Soy in European Food Cultures, 1873–1945
by Ernst Langthaler
Arcadia, Spring 2018, no. 3
Portrait of Friedrich Haberlandt, c. 1870
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Public Domain Mark 1.0 License.
One of the attractions at the 1873 Viennese World’s Fair was the exhibition of the Japanese Empire. The exhibits included Japanese flora, among them soybean plants. The soybean had been part of Japanese and other East Asian food cultures for many centuries. These strange plants caught the attention of the Austrian botanist Friedrich Haberlandt (born 1826 in Bratislava, died 1878 in Vienna). As an agricultural scientist, he became curious about the potential of this alien crop for domestic cultivation. Thus, he purchased sample seeds, most of them from China, in order to conduct cultivation experiments in various regions of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy.
In his book Die Sojabohne: Ergebnisse der Studien und Versuche über die Anbauwürdigkeit dieser neu einzuführenden Culturpflanze (1878), Haberlandt enthusiastically promoted the introduction of the soybean plant in domestic agriculture. The soybean could be successfully cultivated in Central Europe due to its high adaptability to different climate and soil conditions. Moreover, Haberlandt praised the soybean’s exceptional nutritional value, especially its high protein and fat content. He strongly emphasized the soybean’s twofold importance for the “general welfare of the people” (allgemeine Volkswohlfahrt), both directly, as human food, and indirectly, as animal feed. Haberlandt envisioned the transfer of an integral element of Eastern food cultures to the West. However, his vision was framed by a Eurocentric point of view: instead of adopting time-consuming Asian cooking styles, he proposed grinding the beans and adding the resulting meal to other ingredients according to European culinary conventions. In short, the “oriental” element should be integrated into—and, thus, subordinated to—the “occidental” food culture.
Cover of Haberlandt’s Die Sojabohne, 1878
Click here to view Hathi Trust image source.
Haberlandt was not the first Western scientist to deal with the beans from the Far East. However, the soybean did not enter European food cultures prior to the late nineteenth century. One reason was the failure of efforts to cultivate late-maturing soybean varieties on European fields, which mostly fell victim to autumn frosts. Another reason was the successful adoption of crops of American origin, which improved European diets: maize and potatoes. Thus, Haberlandt did not discover the soybean in late nineteenth-century Europe, but rediscovered it. More precisely, he recognized the suitability of early-maturing soybean varieties to the environmental conditions of Central European agriculture, as well as the bean’s high nutritional value for humans. But most importantly, he effectively disseminated his findings through his writings and lectures in the scientific community and beyond. Although Haberlandt died in 1878, his vision had already attracted followers from both academia and civil society.
Why did Haberlandt’s vision gain considerable attraction in fin de siècle Europe? After Europe’s agrarian societies had been caught for centuries in the “Malthusian trap” of periodic famines, they found two ways out of this trap: First, the improvement of the nutrient flows in the traditional farming system by using nitrogen-fixing crops such as clover and additional manure from barn-held livestock raised the productivity of agricultural land. Second, the access to the “subterranean forest” of coal provided European countries with the energy and technology that made it possible to acquire additional foodstuffs from overseas settler colonies for their fast-growing domestic populations. The provision of cheap food on a global scale was coordinated by the emerging nation-state in charge of “public nutrition” (Volksernährung).
Feeding Europe’s industrializing nations was not only a question of quantity, but also one of quality. According to the German chemist Justus von Liebig, protein as a sort of “embodied fuel” provided the main energetic source of muscular strength. While Liebig’s protein dogma was widely undisputed, nutritionists quarreled about the adequate sources of protein. While vegetarian intellectuals preferred protein from leguminous plants, other experts argued that animal protein from meat would most effectively fuel the (white, male and middle-class) body. In popular debates, meat-rich diets became associated with values such as “strength” and “wealth.”
Illustration of a soybean plant by Engelbert Kaempfer, 1712
Click here to view Soy Info Center image source.
Haberlandt’s vision of soy’s integration into European food cultures conformed to these debates: soy would improve arable farming and animal husbandry, as a nitrogen-fixing plant and protein-rich feedstuff, as well as human nutrition, as a direct or (via livestock feed) indirect source of cheap plant protein. Against this backdrop, Haberlandt’s vision was compatible with powerful discourses of his lifetime and after. However, his vision of soy as an element of food culture simultaneously clashed with the emerging preference for animal protein. Up to the mid-nineteenth century, meat-rich diets had been restricted mainly to the aristocracy and bourgeoisie. In the course of industrialization, falling food prices and rising purchasing power enabled working-class families not only to afford more foodstuffs, but also to shift from a cheap plant-based diet rich in carbohydrates to a costlier—but more prestigious—animal-based diet rich in proteins. Eating meat became constitutive of the image of the white, male, and well-to-do worker. Within this hegemonic discourse, there was not much room for soy.
Despite the limited success of Haberlandt’s vision in the prewar era, the “age of extremes” from 1914 to 1945 created renewed demand for cheap supplies of protein. Ensuring national food security became a prime goal of the interventionist state, while simultaneously mobilizing for a “total war” or struggling with a “great depression.” Nutritionists in collaboration with state agencies and food companies promoted soy flour as a cheap “ersatz” version of scarce foodstuffs. Germany in particular, most aggressively engaged in the two world wars and most severely hit by the world-economic crisis, made efforts to exploit soy’s nutritional potential. Nazi Germany enforced soybean cultivation in Southeast Europe and distributed soy-based rations among its soldiers; thus, the Western Allies coined the term “Nazi bean.”
Even in these times of political and economic distress, the attempts to integrate soy in European food cultures failed in the long run. As a cheap “ersatz” version of scarce foodstuffs, soy was associated with food for the poor in times of need. Thus, those with middle-class tastes became reluctant to eat it, at least in times of plenty—which were to come in the “miracle years” after the war. In the heyday of welfare society, with meat as signifier of middle-class lifestyles, Haberlandt’s vision had lost momentum. It took several decades to revive this vision in the face of the world-ecological “limits to growth.”
Meat consumption in Germany, 1816–2011
Authors own work. Based on data by: Teuteberg, Hans-Jürgen, and Günter Wiegelmann. Der Wandel der Nahrungsgewohnheiten unter dem Einfluss der Industrialisierung. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1972; http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/.
This work is used by permission of the copyright holder.
Langthaler, Ernst. “Friedrich Haberlandt’s Failed Vision: Soy in European Food Cultures, 1873–1945.” Environment & Society Portal, Arcadia (Spring 2018), no. 3. Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society. doi.org/10.5282/rcc/8177 (link is external).
Environment & Society Portal, Arcadia
2018 Ernst Langthaler
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Further readings:
Carpenter, Kenneth J. Protein and Energy. A Study of Changing Ideas in Nutrition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994.
Drews, Joachim. Die “Nazi-Bohne.” Anbau, Verwendung und Auswirkung der Sojabohne im Deutschen Reich und Südosteuropa (1933–1945). Münster: Lit-Verlag, 2004.
Du Bois, Christine M., and Sidney Mintz. “Soy.” In Encyclopedia of Food and Culture, edited by Solomon H. Katz. Vol. 3, 322–26. New York: Scribner, 2003.
Langthaler, Ernst. “Gemüse oder Ölfrucht? Die Weltkarriere der Sojabohne im 20. Jahrhundert.” In Umkämpftes Essen: Produktion, Handel und Konsum von Lebensmitteln in globalen Kontexten, edited by Ruth Sippel and Cornelia Reiher, 41–66. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2015.
Prodöhl, Ines. “Die Dynamiken globaler Vernetzung: Mandschurische Sojabohnen auf dem Weltmarkt.” Zeitschrift für Agrargeschichte und Agrarsoziologie 61 (2013): 75–89.
Prodöhl, Ines. “Versatile and Cheap: A Global History of Soy in the First Half of the Twentieth Century.” Journal of Global History 8 (2013): 461–482.
Sorosiak, Thomas. “Soybean.” In The Cambridge World History of Food, edited by Kenneth F. Kiple and Kriemhild Coneè Ornelas. Vol. 1, 422–427. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
Shurtleff, William, and Akiko Aoyagi. Friedrich Haberlandt—History of his Work with Soybeans and Soyfoods (1876–2008)
Langthaler, Ernst
Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria
Ernst Langthaler is Professor of Social and Economic History at the Johannes Kepler University Linz and Head of the Institute of Rural History in St. Pölten. From January to June 2016, he was a Fellow at the Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society in Munich. His research focuses on agricultural and food history at regional to global scales from the nineteenth to the twenty-first centuries.
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By Ed Dove
Africa have been consistently represented at the Women's World Cup since Nigeria's Super Falcons qualified for the inaugural tournament in 1991, but a title has not nearly been in sight.
Only once has an African side reached the quarterfinals, and that was in 1999 when Nigeria reached the top 8, and that was as far as they went.
What should be expected of the three participating nations in France, namely Nigeria, South Africa, and Cameroon, and can any improve the continent's fortunes in the tournament?
The Super Falcons
Nigeria are, indisputably, the continent's dominant force in women's football.
They won two unofficial African Women's Championships in 1991 and 1995, before hosting, and winning, the first official event in 1998.
That was the first of five consecutive official continental titles, although they've struggled to translate their African dominance to the global stage.
Despite winning 11 African titles, and qualifying for all eight World Cups to date, they've only once escaped past the Group Stage.
That was in the United States in 1999, when they dispatched North Korea and Denmark in the opening round before falling to Brazil after extra time in the quarterfinals.
It's the highlight of an underwhelming record on the grandest stage of all for the Super Falcons, who have won just three of their 22 matches to date at the tournament.
Things are unlikely to get any easier in France, where they've been paired in Group A with South Korea, Norway, and the hosts.
It's an ominous opening round, but while the hosts are favourites to top the group, the Super Falcons will fancy their chances of qualifying alongside them.
In three-time African Footballer of the Year Asisat Oshoala, they boast one of the potential stars of the tournament, with the tricky forward recently moving to Barcelona after a productive spell in the Chinese Super League.
Oshoala headlines an exciting and dangerous forward unit, although recent defeats by Austria (4-1) and Belgium (1-0) in the Cyprus Cup have raised concerns about their defensive solidity.
This may explain why, at 36, defender Onome Ebi will feature in her fifth World Cup - a record for an African player - after making her bow at the 2003 tournament.
The 2018 Nigerian Footballer of the Year, Ebi's performances belied her advancing years at the Africa Women's Cup of Nations, and she will again offer nous, consistency and leadership in the backline. Don't expect a repeat of last year's 8-0 friendly mauling at the hands of France.
Nigeria qualified for the tournament as winners of the 2018 Awcon, where they defeated Cameroon and South Africa on penalties in the semifinal and final to clinch the continental crown.
Despite their success, it wasn't a wholly convincing showing by Thomas Dennerby's charges, although the Swedish coach will hope that, with improved preparation, they'll be able to give a better account of themselves this time.
Nigeria open their campaign against Norway on June 8 in Reims, before facing South Korea in Grenoble four days later.
Their meeting with France in Rennes on June 17 could be one of the most compelling matches of the first round, and may prove decisive if the Falcons are to advance past the group stage again at the fifth attempt.
Banyana Banyana
While success in the Awcon final ultimately proved beyond Desiree Ellis's South Africa team, they had already achieved their primary goal of a first appearance at the World Cup.
Now, they'll be out to prove that they're not just there to make up the numbers, although an opening group containing Germany, China, and Spain represents a particularly menacing hurdle.
Their recent form hasn't been good, but there's unity within the squad and a smattering of real talent as well.
Versatile midfielder Linda Motlhalo will be key, both offensively and defensively, while experienced heads such as Janine van Wyk and reigning African Women's Player of the Year Thembi Kgatlana must be at their best if Banyana Banyana are to navigate their tricky opening round.
The latter, who plays for Beijing BG Phoenix, was top scorer at the Awcon, and boasts over a half-century of caps despite being only 23.
Seasoned head coach Ellis raised a few eyebrows by including inexperienced youngsters Bongeka Gumede, Mapaseka Mpuru and Sibulele Holweni in her squad, although they - like the rest of this South Africa collective - will hope to learn a lot from the campaign in France.
Banyana open against Spain on Saturday, before a showdown with China at the Parc des Princes five days later. They're matches that will be watched with anticipation back home after the national side won many admirers during their run to the Awcon final, although the team must demonstrate - and fast - that they can address their poor recent record against non-African opponents.
Ellis and co. will hope to still be in the running for the Second Round by the time their final group game - against Germany in Montpellier - rolls around on June 17.
The Indomitable Lionesses
While Ghana (1999, 2003, 2007), Equatorial Guinea (2011) and the Ivory Coast (2015) have previously represented Africa at the Women's World Cup, only Cameroon - in 2015 - have matched Nigeria in escaping from the group stage.
On that occasion - their first appearance at the tournament - the Indomitable Lionesses smashed a poor Ecuador team in Vancouver and then defeated Switzerland in Edmonton to advance to the Round of 16, where they were duly eliminated by China in a showing that offered hope for the future.
Now's the time to realise the potential hinted at four years ago, because while Cameroon fell short at the Awcon - they defeated Mali 4-2 in the third-placed playoff to qualify for France - they have enough talent to escape from Group E.
The Central Africans open against Canada in Montpellier on June 10, before a potentially gruelling showdown with European champions the Netherlands in Valenciennes five days later.
They conclude their campaign against New Zealand - who have never won a match at the tournament - back in Montpellier on June 20.
As with Nigeria and Oshoala, and South Africa and Kgatlana, Cameroon's hopes will be pinned on their chief attacking threat, with Gabrielle Onguene capable of making the difference between first-round elimination and progression.
The CSKA Moscow forward works well alongside Ajara Nchout, with the duo having demonstrated their understanding with two goals apiece during the Awcon.
At the other end, Christine Manie will be pivotal, and offers experience and leadership in defence. She's been there before, and knows what it takes to escape from the group.
In true Fecafoot fashion, however, preparation has been less than stellar, with Awcon coach Joseph Ndoko dismissed five months before the tournament.
He's been replaced by the team's fitness coach Alain Djeumfa, adding an element of uncertainty to the Lionesses' strategy in France.
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Third Year’s a Charm for DOC10, Chicago’s Only Documentary Film Festival
BY LISA TRIFONE ON APRIL 5, 2018
In just three years, Chicago’s DOC10 film festival has become a destination for the year’s best documentaries as they make their way through the festival circuit. Just one weekend each April, the festival, presented by the Chicago Media Project, screens ten films making their Chicago premieres. Often, these films—selected with care by festival programmer Anthony Kaufman—go on to be some of the most talked about non-fiction filmmaking of the year.
The 2018 edition, happening April 5-8 at the Davis Theater in Lincoln Square, proves to be another solid year of strong offerings, with highly anticipated premieres like Won’t You Be My Neighbor? about the life and career of Fred Rogers, and Minding the Gap, the Sundance Film Festival selection produced by Chicago’s own Kartemquin Films.
If you’re so inclined, there are worse ways to spend a weekend than knocking out ten films in four days. Not only is it supposed to be cold and snowy all weekend (so why not spend it inside a movie theater?), but the festival organizers have bolstered the film programming with a VR experience, a festival panel and a seriously impressive list of guests, from directors and subjects to film-centric musical performances and more.
We had a chance to check out a few of the ten films on offer at this year’s festival; here’s a look at what’s in store.
Image courtesy of DOC10
What becomes of our possessions—and what story do they tell about us—when we depart this world? That’s the central question of 306 Hollywood, the whimsical, wonderful documentary directed by siblings Jonathan and Elan Bogarin. As a film student, Elan started interviewing her grandmother from the septuagenarian’s kitchen table at 306 Hollywood Ave. in New Jersey, where Annette lived for decades. When she died in 2011, Elan and Jonathan inherited the house and everything in it; their mother would’ve been happy to sell the house and trash everything in it, but the siblings have other ideas. And thank goodness for that.
As they explore the mountains of stuff Annette left behind, they discover the endless stories contained within it all, and with a visual flair that belies more filmmaking talent than one might initially assign these debut directors. Alongside the archival footage of Annette’s interviews, Elan and Jonathan narrate both their thought process and their grieving. And in between, they fill in the screen time with some of the most captivating imagery this side of a Wes Anderson live action flick. Colorful and eccentric, Annette’s life and legacy, from her fashion designs to her sense of humor, is winningly captured by two grandchildren who clearly loved her very much.
306 Hollywood screens Saturday, April 7 at 6:30pm; filmmakers Elan and Jonathan Bogarin will be in attendance for a post-film Q&A.
Bisbee ’17
Documentaries abound about the historical stories and figures we all know well. When a film can take a story unknown to most and make it a riveting, compelling look at an under-appreciated story, you know you’ve got a winner on your hands. Such is the case with Robert Greene’s latest, Bisbee ’17; through a variety of techniques, Greene recounts the true story of a miners’ strike in Bisbee, AZ in the summer of 1917. The workers, subjected to low pay and poor working conditions, staged a walk-out as union leaders organized the laborers into a force to be reckoned with. But company owners were having none of it, and in one devastating day, the town authorities rounded up the strikers and literally shipped them out of town for their transgressions.
Greene, who made 2016’s Kate Plays Christine, itself a uniquely styled documentary following an actress as she prepared to play the newscaster who infamously committed suicide on an evening broadcast, employs similarly non-traditional methods in Bisbee ’17. Often, what we see is less polished documentary and more behind-the-scenes footage, the parts other, less confident filmmakers might’ve shied away from sharing. We join the town on its plans to commemorate the deportation’s centennial, and watch as locals are cast as miners, lawmen and protesters for the reenactment, many of them with ancestors who were part of the actual events. Though the film could be twenty minutes shorter, it’s nevertheless a unique vision of a worthy subject.
Bisbee ’17 screens Saturday, April 7 at 1pm; director Robert Greene will join for a post-film Q&A via Skype.
Crime + Punishment
The conversation around police misconduct, from bureaucratic corruption to outright unwarranted brutality, isn’t new and nor is it going anywhere anytime soon. Stephen Maing, an editor making his documentary feature debut with Crime + Punishment, has crafted a powerful commentary on the state of municipal law enforcement as he follows a group of New York officers who filed a class-action lawsuit against the department for persisting in quota enforcement even after the practice was outlawed. Known as the NYPD 12, Maing follows the minority officers (not just in number; they are all African American and Hispanic) as they build their case against a massive system designed as much to protect the public as it is to protect itself.
What’s most impressive about the film is how Maing manages to weave their stories, from the personal lives behind the badge to the group’s community meetings and press conferences, with concurrent police violence cases and a very personal story about a victim of the quota system, a young man stuck in jail on a trumped up charge of which he’s clearly innocent. A cynical (right-wing?) take may see Crime + Punishment as anti-cop; it certainly pulls no punches as it recounts the resignation of then-commissioner Bill Bratton and the impact of the NYPD 12’s lawsuit. But in fact, the film on the side of anyone, officer or civilian, who’s willing to challenge broken systems, to stand up for integrity and accountability, and—as my mother is fond of saying—to do the right thing, even when no one’s looking.
Crime + Punishment screens Friday, April 6 at 9p; one of the film’s most compelling (and impressive) subjects, Sgt. Edwin Raymond, will be in attendance for a post-film Q&A.
The Other Side of Everything
I was in high school in the late ’90s, and as such I was not paying much attention to the political and economic turmoil of the era happening half a world away in Serbia as Slobodan Milošević rose to power and subsequently sunk the country into chaos. Srbijanka Turajlić, the subject of her daughter Mila’s moving and galvanizing film The Other Side of Everything, had no such luxury. As a professor at the University of Belgrade at the time, she became an outspoken activist in the resistance against Milošević and his communist party. To this day, she lives in the apartment in downtown Belgrade that her parents owned after World War II; as the country embraced socialism, authorities made the family split up the apartment, locking a door in their living room to create a new space on the other side. That door would remain locked for decades, a symbol of all the family sacrificed and shut out over the years.
With an objectivity one might not expect from a daughter making a film about her mother, Turajlić crafts a story that marries the intimacy of family with the turbulence of political upheaval. The elder Turajlić is, undeniably, a modern hero, brave and outspoken in a way that commands attention without compromising her warmth and compassion. In one breath she’s recounting what it’s like to speak her truth in front of massive crowds of demonstrators (legs shaking, she assures us); in the next, she’s hosting an election results party and debating the state of modern politics around the dinner table with friends. Along the way, we discover what’s on the other side of that door, as Mila discovers just how entwined her family story is with that of her country.
The Other Side of Everything screens Sunday, April 8th at 2p; Mila and Srbijanka Turajlić will be in attendance for a post-film Q&A.
Directors Betsy West and Julie Cohen have pulled off something that very few filmmakers could ever imagine doing—building an entire documentary around a sitting U.S. Supreme Court Justice, perhaps the only one of the current lineup who can also be called an activist. RBG is a remarkable and detailed telling of the life and career of 85-year-old Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who, as an attorney, argued before the Supreme Court several times in landmark cases involving women’s rights, including ones involving equal pay for equal work, military benefits for the survivors of female members of the military, social security benefits, and more.
The film paints the “Nortorious RBG” as a workaholic who needs to be dragged to bed every night to get even the minimal amount of sleep. RBG is also a love story about the Justice and her college sweetheart (and later husband) Marty, a gifted attorney in his own right who never failed to support his wife’s booming career over the decades. Ginsberg takes us through her thought process on many of her most famous cases on both sides of the bench, and discusses what it’s like to be the lead dissent writer on the many cases that get ruled in favor of the more conservatively minded court. The movie also reveals her great sense of humor (footage of Ginsberg watching “SNL’s” Kate McKinnon’s impersonation of her for the first time is worth the price of admission). Above all, Ginsberg is revealed to possess the classic soft voice with a big stick—where the stick being her razor-sharp mind and knowledge of the law. The film covers a great deal of legal and emotional ground, and every minute of it is a lesson in feminist history and powerful human behavior. Do no miss it. -Steve Prokopy
RBG screens on Saturday, April 7 at 9pm, followed by Q&A with directors Betsy West and Julie Cohen, and new songs about Ginsberg by Patrice Michaels with Kuang-Hao Huang on piano. RBG opens theatrically in Chicago on May 4 at the Landmark Century Center Cinema.
Paula Froehle April 19, 2018
Mr. Rogers meets Mexican drug cartels at the Doc10 documentary festival
3rd annual DOC10 Film Festival to be held in Lincoln Square
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Lilo and Stitch Was Originally Much More Violent
Tristan Cooper
@TristanACooper
In the pantheon of Disney animated movies, Lilo & Stitch has always been a little different. This is especially true for the substantial changes made to the film before it hit theaters. We've talked a bit already about how Zootopia and Toy Story had surprisingly dark undertones early in production, but in those cases most everything was ironed out before animators got to work. But Lilo and Stitch had completed whole scenes and massive setpieces that ended up dramatically altered for the finished product -- some for understandable reasons, and some not.
One of the more drastic tweaks was made to an action scene about an hour into the running time. The alien Jumba had just been fired from his mission that required him to use safe and clandestine methods to capture Stitch -- which he took to mean "Now I can use dangerous and loud methods to capture Stitch." What follows is essentially a silly home invasion bit that ends with Lilo's house destroyed.
Test audiences weren't happy with the scene, which they thought was too violent. And so, step-by-step, the scene was watered down. Originally, Jumba was going to destroy the roof while trying to shoot Stitch with his laser gun -- but after the changes, those lasers became thrown dishes.
You can tell they re-used a lot of the same animation and only changed some of the particulars. One of the big exceptions is Jumba himself, who apparently lost a lot of weight during reshoots. That's one of the hazards of re-animating scenes so long after the fact; besides losing all sense of menace, it seems like the re-do was farmed out to a studio that wasn't super-concerned with keeping characters on-model.
Some of the excised moments don't have equivalents in the theatrical edition, like this part:
When it came time to take a harder look at the bit where Lilo gets chased by an out-of-control chainsaw, Disney was like "Nah, maybe we don't need to threaten this six-year-old with dismemberment."
Even though you can see where they were coming from with some of the changes, they may have gone too far in a couple cases.
Jumba's original Swiss Army Knife of Doom was goofy from the start. An omnitool that includes an axe, a buzzsaw and a dart is inherently ridiculous and far removed from reality, but it was excised all the same in favor of something out of Tiny Toons. Lilo & Stitch has a bite to it that separates it from a lot of other Disney cartoons, and changes like this dull that unique edge.
The end product is fine but the pre-focus test version was admirable in its brashness. In the theatrical edition of the movie, Lilo's house blows up because a carrot causes Jumba's gun to backfire. The house still blew up in the original cut, but it was because a giddy Stitch cut the gas main.
Making all of these edits may have made for a more family-friendly film, but it did so at the price of de-toothing one of its main characters. In the very same scene, Stitch was just seen brandishing a chainsaw and tossing a VW bug around -- having him play hot potato while wearing a plunger on his head goes a long way to neutering his character.
While Disney saw fit to at least see this sequence through with finished animation, the same can't be said for a quieter moment that explores life as a native of Hawaii. These pencil sketches show us a somber scene in which Lilo interacts with (i.e. barely tolerates) a handful of racist yokels that visit the island for pleasure.
Imagine having to deal with this shit in your every day life. Dickbags like this would roll up next to you in their jeep, take one look at the color of your skin and a) assume you know where the beach is and b) are more than happy to play tour guide for any passerby. These are the same shitheels who assume every non-white person they come across speaks English as a second language (at best). The saddest part about these Walmartian pissants is that you just know they exist in reality, and local Hawaiians have to deal with them on a daily basis.
Keeping this in mind, you can't help but be on Lilo's side when she fakes a tsunami warning to clear the beach of annoying tourists.
She's right, you know. In all likelihood, you probably don't know what it's like to live in a place that most people only visit.
You know people on the creative team cared about this scene -- but production stopped short of screening in front of test audiences. It's not a stretch to suggest that we're looking at a result of executive interference. Maybe some Disney suit figured that this sober reflection of America might offend some mouth-breathers who wouldn't understand the irony of a white person being offended by white people being offensive.
Though you could argue that Disney made a bad call not including such an insightful scene, the same can't be said for the drastically different ending that never made it to theaters. Like the version that everyone has seen, Lilo is still kidnapped by Captain Gantu and the rest of the gang still gives chase. But in the original cut, Stitch does this by hijacking a 747.
In full production by 2001, Lilo & Stitch existed both in the time before and after the September 11 attacks. When that fateful day came, everyone at Disney realized that there wasn't a chance in hell they could show a plane being hijacked in their cartoon, much less by their protagonist. And so the 747 instead became Jumba's huge spaceship.
But that wasn't the only thing they had to change. See, the script initially called for the 747 to fly through Honolulu and crash into buildings, terrorizing the local populace. Yeah. They animated all of that.
The finale was heavily revamped, and the setting of the climactic chase scene shifted from the city to the mountains, thus saving millions of parents everywhere from whispering under their breath "Oh... oh, god..." while trying to keep cool in front of their kid.
Tristan Cooper can be found on Twitter.
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Switzerland Proposes Rubik Agreement With Belgium
Belgian Foreign Office Minister Didier Reynders and Swiss Finance Minister and acting President Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf on September 4 discussed a Swiss proposal for a bilateral withholding tax agreement to deal with undeclared assets held in Swiss banks by Belgians and to settle long-standing tax issues.
Under the so-called Rubik agreement, taxpayers would pay a percentage of the value of their undeclared assets in lieu of back taxes and continue to deposit assets anonymously but legally in Swiss bank accounts. In the future, they would pay taxes equivalent to what they would pay if the assets were declared, with the banks acting as go-betweens to preserve the taxpayers' privacy. At the same time, the agreement would grant easier access to the banking market of the other signatory state.
Germany and the United Kingdom signed Rubik agreements with Switzerland in the fall of 2011, and Austria followed suit in April. Switzerland is also negotiating Rubik agreements with Greece and Italy.
The Agreement With Germany
The Germany-Switzerland withholding tax agreement, signed on August 10, 2011, provides for a regularization for German taxpayers who hold an account in a Swiss bank on both December 31, 2010, and January 1, 2013 (ensuring that the taxpayer did not move his money to Switzerland after December 31, 2010). (For prior coverage, see Doc 2011-17332 or 2011 WTD 155-1 .) The taxpayers can either declare their assets directly or indirectly to German tax authorities or make an anonymous payment for back taxes at a rate ranging from 21 percent to 34 percent (and 41 percent in special cases) of their assets. To guarantee the payment of those amounts, the Swiss banks will make an advance payment of CHF 2 billion to Germany in January 2013.
German taxpayers who held an account in a Swiss bank when the Rubik agreement with Switzerland was signed may transfer their assets out of Switzerland before the agreement enters into force. Switzerland will, however, inform Germany of the 10 countries to which the taxpayers transfer the most assets.
After the initial regularization, German taxpayers may pay tax on their Swiss account anonymously. The tax, which will be withheld by the Swiss banks, will correspond with the amount the account holders would pay if they declared their assets in Germany. It will be a final tax and will discharge them fully of any tax liability for the tax year. For German taxpayers, the rate will be 26.375 percent for investment income and capital gains (a 25 percent tax plus a solidarity surcharge), and 35 percent for interest income in accordance with the agreement on taxation of savings income between Switzerland and the EU.
If an account holder dies, the heirs will have the choice of declaring the account and paying inheritance tax, or arranging for the respective bank to pay an amount corresponding to 50 percent of the value of the assets anonymously.
The agreement preserves Swiss banking secrecy. Banks and their employees who were involved in financial offenses committed before the agreement was signed are protected against criminal prosecution, and the purchase of stolen data is not permitted. Switzerland will monitor the banks' compliance with the agreement, and Germany will have the right to submit a limited number of information requests, under a facilitated procedure, to ensure that the agreement is being respected.
German tax authorities estimate that the regularization is likely to generate around €50 billion, and Swiss banks will gain easier access to Germany's domestic market.
Other Agreements
The agreement with the U.K. is similar. (For prior coverage, see Doc 2011-18159 or 2011 WTD 165-1 .) The cutoff date is April 30, 2013; the rates vary between 21 percent and 34 percent (and 41 percent in special cases). The withholding tax rates are 48 percent for interest, 40 percent for dividends, and 27 percent for other investment income; the inheritance tax rate is 40 percent. The U.K. will receive an advance of CHF 500 million.
The agreement with Austria has lower rates for back taxes: 15 percent to 30 percent (and 38 percent in special cases). The withholding tax rate is 25 percent for investment income and 35 percent for interest income in accordance with the EU agreement on the taxation of savings income. Austria has no inheritance tax.
Romanian authorities also may be interested in entering into a Rubik agreement with Switzerland rather than pursuing a European solution in which negotiations are kept confidential and are rarely discussed.
Reaction in Belgium
Reynders reported the proposal and suggested that the Parliament give it serious consideration. He said his Swiss counterparts had calculated that Belgian taxpayers have €30 billion stashed in secret Swiss bank accounts and that a Rubik agreement could result in a windfall of about €10 billion for Belgium.
However, the proposal was not favorably received by most of Reynders's government partners. The Socialist Party did not close the door definitively, but John Crombez, secretary of state for the fight against social and tax fraud, did. He said the aforementioned amounts would actually be in Swiss francs, not euros, and that under a Rubik agreement, Belgium would abandon ambitions of ever auditing the secret bank accounts. Moreover, foundations, discretionary trusts, and insurance contracts are outside the ambit of the agreement, as are royalties, real property income and remuneration, and assets in the Singapore branch of a Swiss bank.
Crombez said he has more faith in the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act and the intergovernmental agreements negotiated by the U.S. with France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the U.K. to implement FATCA. The next step would be for the other EU member states to follow suit; that would be the beginning of automatic exchange of information in a large part of the world, he said. Crombez said no government of which he was a member would sign a Rubik agreement.
"Pity," Reynders responded wryly, "he was a good colleague."
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On a Friday
Here’s what’s been happening in Radioheadland
Updates around here have been sparse lately so here’s what has been going on that you may have missed:
Radiohead has added a tour date in Mexico City for April 17, 2012. Tickets go on sale December 1st. More information can be found here.
Three pre-Jonny Greenwood Radiohead demos from 1986 have apparently surfaced. Hmmm….. & more hmmm…
Radiohead’s Thom Yorke: “This is no hippy tugboat”
Hey, check out this Radiohead juggling routine.
Radiohead and tacos? Of course. (thanks PearlyXG)
Other Lives will be the opening act for Radiohead’s upcoming US tour.
Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien visited the University of Glamorgan to talk about the music industry.
House music producer Deadmau5 has done a cover of Radiohead’s “Codex” which you can listen to below.
Radiohead – Codex (deadmau5 cover) by fuckmylife
OAF articles
by Jonathan on August 21, 2002
Both Pitchfork and the NME have articles up about the recent discovery of the supposed On a Friday demo tracks.
At this point, it has neither been confirmed or denied that these are real. Maybe someone in the band would care to comment?
(thanks to Cera & Zach)
On a Friday mp3s
Some may be questioning the validity of the recently discovered On a Friday demo tracks. While we can’t say that we’re 100% sure that this is definitely Radiohead, we feel pretty confident that they are. Here’s some more info I received from Marc Gommans about how these were discovered:
This is an extract taken from the From A Great Height book:
“Around the beginning of 1991, a young man named John Butcher visited the {Courtyard} studio. In his pocket was a tape of fifteen sonds made by a band that featured two of his former classmates at Abingdon, Thom Yorke and Colin Greenwood. It was the first recording by On A Friday. {Chris} Hufford’s response was one of reserved interest. “There were some good tunes but it was all obviously ripped off mercilessly,” he remembers. The final track stood out for him, though; he describes it as a “weird looped-up dance thing which was completely mental.” Hufford was interested enough to ask for more.”
googlyamnesiac, a member of the Atease messageboard, picked up a CD in a record store (Bleeker Street Records) in New York which contained all these unreleased tracks + bonus tracks (for more information about the tracklist + scans, click here: http://koti.mbnet.fi/latez/demo/)
This CD is obviously not real (because it was originally recorded on tape). But the material IS real. Sure, only 14 tracks were reveiled yesterday (instead of 15), so there is either one track missing from the originally recorded demotape, or the information in the book (From A Great Height) is inaccurate.
But it makes sense, right? This last track Hufford was talking about, must have been “The New Generation”. And it obviously IS a completely mental looped-up dance thing.
My guess is that someone got his hands on this demo tape a couple of years ago, and decided to make some money out of it. So this person started to make several bootlegs discs (with extra bonus tracks), and sold it to record stores. And now, after all these years, the tracks finally got leaked onto the internet.
Download the tracks here or here and decide for yourself.
Rare On a Friday
Some very rare On a Friday demo tracks have recently become available for download. If you don’t know, On a Friday is name Radiohead used before signing their record deal.
Here are the track names:
1. Keep Strong
2. Somebody Else
3. I Want To Know
4. I’m Coming Up
5. Jerusalem
6. What Is That You Say?
7. Something You Hate
8. I Can’t
9. Without You
10. Give It Up
11. How Can You Be So Sure?
12. Everybody Lies Through Their Teeth
13. Rattlesnake In The Big City
14. The New Generation
To download them, head on over to http://www.fullyclothed.org/hats/.
(thanks to rhfreak, audiothief, stimp, googlyamnesiac, Mark, & Marc)
News for April 23, 1998
by Jonathan on April 23, 1998
Well the US tour is over and done with. Don’t expect anymore tour dates from them. They are scheduled to play at the third annual Tibetan Freedom Concert in Washington DC on June 13 and 14. Tickets for this mammoth concert are going on sale May 2 at your local TicketMaster outlets. For more info on this and the whole “Free Tibet” thing, visit www.tibet98.com.
What is this? This year’s Glastonbury Festival seems to have a band by the name of “On A Friday” on the bill. For those of you just joining us, “On A Friday” was the name Radiohead had before signing their record deal. Keep in mind folks, this is just a rumor… don’t get crazy yet.
As reported earlier, Thom is supposedly a guest on Cartoon Network’s Space Ghost Coast to Coast which airs Friday nights at midnight. No date has been announced for the show’s airing, but it is said that the show was taped last Saturday.
Radiohead has been nominated for two Ivor Norvello Awards (the UK’s most important songwritting awards.) Karma Police is nominated for Best Contemporary Song while Paranoid Android is nominated for Best Song Musically and Lyrically.
The Airbag/ How am I Driving EP should be available now to everyone. You can read a nice review of it in the L.A. Times by teasing your mouse here.
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Steve Lamacq
Ed and Thom on BBC 6 Music, talk about In Rainbows and touring
If you missed Ed and Thom on Steve Lamacq’s BBC 6 Music program, don’t worry! You can listen to it by clicking this link. You’ll need RealPlayer, though.
– Thom being asked what he did the day the album was released online: “I seem to remember sitting at home thinking there’s something I’m supposed to be doing today. I didn’t do anything that day.”
– Thom and Ed talk about how they recorded part of In Rainbows in a dilapidated mansion and slept in caravans on the grounds. Nigel wanted to throw the band “in an uncomfortable” situation. “Bodysnatchers” was recorded in a live take there.
– Nigel limited the band to about 15 or 16 songs to focus on to record.
– Thom on why “Reckoner” is completely different than the live version: “Because it’s not the same song. There was a song called Reckoner. I wrote a second part to it and then Jonny wrote another part to it and the song as it was left the building.”
– Thom on why “Nude” took so long to be released: “I think it’s because I used to hate the way I sung it.”
– “Down is the New Up” is described as “mental” by Thom. “Wait till you hear it.” He really wanted it to be on the album but according to Ed, it didn’t fit.
– Thom talked about all the “mad theories on the net”, specifically about the theory of 10s.
– Ed remarked that he was happy that Thom’s voice on In Rainbows was upfront and not “pulled back.”
– If they could relive one Radiohead moment again, both Thom and Ed would relive Glastonbury 1997 where the lights and PAs blew up.
– Speaking of Glastonbury, it sounds like they may be playing it this year if “they want us.”
– Though not finalized or confirmed, they may be playing the US for a couple of weeks starting in May. Europe would follow in June/July. Again, nothing is confirmed!
Steve Lamacq’s Evening Session
by Jonathan on May 30, 2001
Thom, Ed, and Colin joined three Radiohead fans on Steve Lamacq’s Evening Session on Radio 1 last night. One of the highlights of this interview was the talk of the legend that is “True Love Waits”, the song everyone loves but hasn’t been released yet making the title very appropriate. Thom gave us a simmer of sunshine when he talked about the recording of “True Love Waits”:
“We’d love to record that. We’d love to find a way to do it, other than on an acoustic guitar. We have an entire section in our tape store just for ‘True Love Waits’ versions. Every time we start a version of it we get a different song. For ‘OK Computer’ we got ‘Push Pull’ out of it.”
To listen to this wonderful interview, check out the Radio 1 site.
The concert that Radiohead played for Canal+ on April 28 will be aired on Spain’s Canal+ on June 5 at 23:45. It will also air the same night on TELE PIU’ BIANCO (an Italian satellite network), which will also show a “Making of…” special at 6:05pm followed by the concert at 10:45pm. {thanks to Francesca and Mar}
You can still watch last Monday’s concert in France at http://orange.lesinrocks.com/radiohead/. {thanks to Pieter and Jon Paul}
Radiohead will appear on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine for the first time. The mag will hit US store shelves on June 29. {thanks to David}
There is a French interview with Ed here. {thanks to Ludovic}
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You are here: Home > Prognostic test could enable...
Prognostic test could enable personalised treatment of IBD
Urine test could offer a non-invasive approach for diagnosis of IBS
Integrated, multi-'omic' studies of asthma could lead to precision treatment
New genetic test helps predict side effects of chemotherapy
3 May, 2019 02:59 PM
Scientists at the University of Cambridge have developed a new test that can reliably predict the future course of inflammatory bowel disease in individuals, transforming treatments for patients and paving the way for a personalised approach.
Researchers at the Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust previously showed that a genetic signature found in CD8 T-cells could be used to assign patients to one of two groups depending on whether their condition was likely to be mild or severe (requiring repeated treatment). However, isolating CD8 T-cells and obtaining the genetic signature was not straightforward, making the test unlikely to be scaleable and achieve widespread use.
In the latest study, published in the journal Gut, the researchers worked with a cohort of 69 patients with Crohn's disease to see whether it was possible to develop a useful, scaleable test by looking at whole blood samples in conjunction with CD8 T-cells and using widely-available technology.1
The team used a combination of machine learning and a whole blood assay known as qPCR to identify genetic signatures that re-created the two subgroups from their previous study.
The researchers then validated their findings in 123 IBD patients recruited from clinics in Cambridge, Nottingham, Exeter and London.
"Using simple technology that is available in almost every hospital, our test looks for a biomarker - essentially, a medical signature - to identify which patients are likely to have mild IBD and which ones will have more serious illness," says Dr James Lee, joint first author of the study.
"This is important as it could enable doctors to personalise the treatment that they give to each patient. If an individual is likely to have only mild disease, they don't want to be taking strong drugs with unpleasant side-effects. But similarly, if someone is likely to have a more aggressive form of the disease, then the evidence suggests that the sooner we can start them on the best available treatments, the better we can manage their condition."
The accuracy of the test is comparable to similar biomarkers used in cancer, which have helped transform treatment, say the researchers. They found the new test was 90-100% accurate in correctly identifying patients who did not require multiple treatments.
Biasci D et al. A blood-based prognostic biomarker in inflammatory bowel disease. Gut; April 2019;DOI:10.1136/gutjnl-2019-318343.
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Expanding Rochester’s Affordable Housing
The Cobbs Hill Village Project
For more than 60 years, Cobbs Hill Village has played an important role in providing below-market-rate senior housing for residents of the Monroe and Culver neighborhoods of our city. Nonprofit Rochester Management’s latest Cobbs Hill Village plan for enabling today’s seniors to age in place, avoid isolation, and enjoy basic comforts reflects input and direction received from residents, the community and the city, so this urban residential community may be modernized to allow us to continue to meet Rochester’s housing needs.
Cobbs Hill Village will continue to serve individuals aged 55 years and older and will continue to operate under the New York State Mitchell-Lama Program, just as it has since 1957. Under that program, our units are available to individuals earning percentages of the Area Median Income (AMI) for the Rochester, NY region. For more information on Mitchell-Lama, please visit www.nyshcr.org/Programs/Mitchell-Lama. For additional details on AMI and income limits, which are set by the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, please visit www.hud.gov.
In effort to preserve affordability, the nonprofit has made every effort to increase the supply of the most affordable units as part of this modernization plan. As a result, after the project is complete, Cobbs Hill Village will offer 72 units affordable to people earning 50% or less of AMI, compared to the 60 units it currently offers at this level. For Rochester, as of April 1, 2018, this would be $25,900 or less per year for single-occupancy units.
Cobbs Hill Village contains six one-story buildings with a total of 60 affordable apartments exclusively for tenants 55 years or older. The community is located at 645 Norris Drive off Culver Road in Rochester, just outside the boundaries of the beautiful Cobbs Hill Park with which it shares its name.
At the behest of community leaders and advocates for seniors and veterans, Rochester Management built Cobbs Hill Village in 1957. Originally, the property’s deed allowed for the city to take over operations and management of the affordable housing complex once the first mortgage was paid off, but like many local governments and other agencies we partner with, the city chose to continue leveraging our expertise running safe and comfortable low- and middle-income residences at Cobbs Hill Village.
As a not-for-profit affordable housing provider serving Rochester, Canandaigua and Syracuse, Rochester Management sees the effects of our community’s affordable housing shortage on a daily basis, with our more than 3,600 low- and middle-income units fully occupied and people on waiting lists for our residences. With an aging population that continues to grow, it’s critical that we work together as a community to consider how best to expand Rochester’s affordable housing options. A new Cobbs Hill Village will help meet that need.
Rochester Management began planning for how to best utilize its Cobbs Hill property in 2014. Given that the apartment complex was built nearly 60 years ago, it is in need of significant upgrades apart from the annual maintenance work we undertake at each of our properties. Further, many people over 55 today are living longer, healthier and more active lives than their parents and grandparents did after WWII, so our tenants’ needs are changing. While structurally sound, the current “motel-style” apartments at Cobbs Hill Village open directly onto sidewalks and parking lots. Cinder block interior walls, tiny kitchenettes, little room for visitors and aging mechanicals are some of the outdated elements which cannot be addressed through renovation. Nor can renovation provide the sense of privacy and security that can be achieved from modern architecture and new construction.
Rochester Management began working on its Cobbs Hill Village redevelopment plan in 2014 in partnership with City of Rochester departments including Neighborhood and Business Development, Legal and Zoning.
In April 2016, we presented an initial proposal to modernize and replace the current 60 units contained in six one-story structures on Norris Drive. In April 2017, updated plans were released to reflect extensive input provided by current residents and members of the community, increasing the project’s cost by $2.5 million. Following direction provided by the Rochester City Planning Commission in January 2018, we unveiled further revised plans in April 2018, adding another $2.7 million to the total cost.
The latest architectural designs include 104 units, in a variety of sizes and layouts, among two apartment buildings with a maximum height to two uphill-facing stories, or three downhill-facing stories, along with a row of townhome-style units. It will also include a community building for residents to gather. In addition, new exterior-finish materials and colors, new landscape design, increased pedestrian connectivity throughout the site, additional outdoor amenities, and design changes to windows and entries are among the changes reflected in the updated plans.
All of these changes were requested during numerous meetings with neighborhood and other community groups, current residents and city officials. In addition, one-on-one meetings were held with current residents of Cobbs Hill Village’s 60 existing apartments to garner their input and address their questions.
The new Cobbs Hill Village is designed to help seniors age in place and includes full-size kitchen appliances, energy efficient HVAC systems and more accessible bathrooms. While not luxurious, the addition of a small fitness room, a computer lab, more accessible laundry rooms, and an indoor community space will allow senior residents to avoid isolation, having places to enjoy the company of neighbors, friends and family year-round, whenever they choose.
Rochester Management is committed to continue working with local community groups, city officials and residents in order to develop a finished product that will be an asset to the entire Rochester community and the Cobbs Hill park neighborhood.
New Community Building
Rochester Management’s plans for modernizing Cobbs Hill Village will expand Rochester’s limited stock of affordable housing for seniors aged 55 years and older. All units in the modernized Cobbs Hill Village will continue to be affordable under state guidelines, serving individuals earning 30% or less of the Area Median Income (AMI) up to 80% of AMI. For Rochester, as of April 1, 2018, this would be $15,550 (30% AMI) to $41,450 (80% AMI) for single-occupancy units. Cobbs Hill Village will also continue to serve individuals aged 55 years and older.
We are committed to ensuring that every current Cobbs Hill Village resident who wishes to remain in the affordable housing complex can do so. All 60 current residents of the complex will continue to pay the same rent they pay today, including existing utilities, in their new unit in the modernized Cobbs Hill Village for as long as they live there. This commitment was made to current residents at the outset of the project, reiterated throughout the process and documented in writing in December 2016 for each Cobbs Hill Village resident.
Importantly, the rents on these 60 units are guaranteed for at least 15 years, meaning that if any residents move out sooner than 15 years, new residents will be able to move in at the same rates for the balance of the 15 year term. In addition, we have committed to keeping 20 of these units at their current rent levels for an unprecedented 40 years.
At project completion, the modernized Cobbs Hill Village will offer:
72 units at or below 50% Area Median Income (AMI)
8 units at 60% AMI
24 units at 80% AMI
Long-term, once current residents no longer live there and the 15-year guarantee on their units has expired, Cobbs Hill Village will offer:
40 units at or below 50% AMI
As the largest operator of affordable housing in Rochester, we have served individuals with limited incomes for nearly 70 years. Our plans for Cobbs Hill Village will allow us to provide affordable and more accessible housing to Rochester’s senior citizens for many generations.
One of the greatest amenities Cobbs Hill Village residents have enjoyed for many decades is proximity to the adjacent Cobbs Hill Park. However, Rochestarians who enjoy the park may never have noticed the six apartment buildings located downhill from Reservoir Road. In its current location on Norris Drive, the apartment community is also out of view from Monroe Avenue, Highland Avenue and Cobbs Hill Drive.
The modernized Cobbs Hill Village will continue to remain downhill and out of sight from those locations, as existing structures will be replaced by new buildings on the same land that has been dedicated to affordable senior housing since 1957, in no way encroaching on the Park’s boundaries. Rochester Management is committed to preserving the natural beauty of the surrounding area, including the majority of the mature trees on the site. Cobbs Hill Village will also continue to be less visible from Lake Riley than adjacent private retail development along Culver Road.
249 Norton Village Lane
Copyright © 2019. Cobbs Hill Village Project.
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HVAC Regulatory News
OEWG meeting in Geneva concludes
Apr 13, 2016 | HVAC Intelligence | No comment | HVAC Regulatory News
EUROPE – The 37th Open-Ended Working Group meeting (OEWG37) took place in Geneva from the 4th to the 8th of April and was the first in a proposed series of meeting to discuss the scale down in the use and production of climate-damaging CFC’s. The meeting in Geneva served to kick start the negotiation process on the future global HFC phase-down.
The meetings are the result of the deal reached in Dubai in November 2015, also known as the ‘Dubai Pathway on HFCs’, whereby countries are committed to working within the Montreal Protocol towards delivering an HFC amendment in 2016. The first step of this process was defined as the need to find feasible solutions to the remaining challenges in managing HFCs.
Unfortunately, despite progress being made in negotiating solutions to certain challenges, it was not possible to finalise a text following the meeting. However, it has been announced that inter-sessional work will continue and the OEWG37 meeting will resume before the next scheduled meeting, which is timetabled for July.
A report on alternatives to ozone-depleting substances, which was published by the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel (TEAP), outlined a list of 80 alternatives, most of which are newly developed HFC blends, including some which have rather high global warming potential (GWP).
With discussions starting in rather general terms, countries moved on to addressing a list of concrete challenges that had already been identified in the previous meeting. The need for increased financial support was highlighted by a number of developing countries as a key challenge that needs to be resolved before negotiations on an amendment itself can begin.
Developing countries are seeking reassurances that they will be able to fulfil additional obligations to reduce consumption and production of HFCs on top of the on-going phase out of HCFCs. Delegates from developed countries, meanwhile, argued that it is difficult to estimate necessary funding levels at this stage, before certain parameters including baselines, freeze levels and freeze start dates are known.
Other challenges that were discussed at length included the relationship between the current HCFC phase out and future HFC phase-down schedules, intellectual property rights, flexibility in implementation, and non-party trade provisions, as well as legal aspects related to the UNFCCC and others.
The most significant progress made during last week’s meeting was the tentative agreement reached on an exemption for high ambient temperature countries, such as those in the Gulf region. Concerns about a lack of readily available low-GWP alternatives for warm climates were reiterated by Gulf countries, who made it clear that negotiating exemptions would be a clear priority and precondition for further debate.
After long hours of formal and informal negotiations, the US together with Saudi Arabia presented a proposal for high ambient temperature countries, which would see 34 countries qualify for an initial four-year exemption (with the possibility to renew) from the HFC phase-down in certain types of air conditioning equipment, including multi-split AC for commercial and residential use, split ducted AC, and commercial packaged (self-contained) AC.
The proposed text will be further considered at the extraordinary Meeting of the Parties in July.
The OEWG37 meeting will resume in order to continue formal negotiations before OEWG38, which will be held on 18-21 July 2016. Countries are expected to continue informal discussions in the meantime, with hopes high that an agreement could be worked out by the end of 2016, with the extraordinary Meeting of the Parties scheduled for 22-23 July and the 28th Meeting of the Parties for October 2016.
ALUR act: third party financing for the implementation of energy renovations
ASHRAE publish new standard
IIR appoint new commission C2 president
French charter of voluntary commitments to energy renovation of condominiums
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DWF heads for LSE Pre-Brexit listing
08 February 2019 at 11:45 BST
Law firm DWF is heading for a pre-Brexit March £75m listing on the London Stock Exchange, but partners face five-year lock-up period.
If successful, DWF will be the biggest law firm listing, overtaking the Knights £50m listing last June, and will become the first legal practice eligible for admission in the FTSE.
Quarter free float
The firm said it expects to announce the final offer price following its marketing and book-building process. DWF said it expects the company to have a free float of at least 25 per cent of its issued share capital, and intends to use the proceeds to repay a portion of members’ capital contributions, invest in its infrastructure, to provide working capital including funding for acquisitions and to pay expenses related to the listing. The firm also expects partners, who have received shares in the company in exchange for the capital they have paid into the business, to sell shares as well in connection with the offer.
Partner lock-ups
However, the partners will be subject to a lock-up post admission which will expire in April 2024. Shares will be released from lock-up in tranches, 10 per cent each year following the firm’s financial results, and a further 10 per cent subject to performance. Locked up equity will also be released in the event an individual becomes a ‘good leaver,’ with provisions to claw back locked up equity if an individual becomes a ‘bad leaver’ or if performance requirements are not met. DWF said it would target a dividend payout ratio of up to 70 per cent of its profit after tax.
The Manchester-based firm has announced a series of international moves over the past 18 months including an ‘exclusive association’ with Los Angeles-headquartered firm Wood, Smith, Henning & Berman (WSHB) and office openings in Singapore, Italy and Qatar, as well as adding new offices in Australia, and a ‘strategic alliance’ formed in Turkey.
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On Exhibit
Ice, Rock, Wind, Sky
The Andes of Southern Patagonia are covered by the most extensive area of glaciers outside the earth’s polar regions -- namely the north and south Patagonian ice fields. Today, these ice fields cover an area roughly the size of New Jersey, though they are merely remnants of a much larger continental ice sheet that once spanned the width of the continent from the Pacific to the Atlantic. The advancement and retreat of these glaciers in concert with plate tectonics, volcanic activity, and volatile weather have shaped Southern Patagonia’s rugged landscape – a region dominated by ice, rock, wind and sky.
Images by Kaija Jones. All rights reserved.
Images by Josh Terrell. All rights reserved.
Midsummer in Latvia
Last summer I went back to Latvia for the first time since 1990 and was fortunate to experience Jāņi, Latvia's summer solstice celebration.
On Jāņi Eve women and girls wear a crown made of flowers, while men wear a crown of oak leaves. Across the countryside you'll see people gathering wild flowers from seemingly endless fields.
According to tradition, the shortest night of the year must be spent by staying awake all night at the bonfire. The time is spent singing folksongs and enjoying traditional foods like cheese with caraway seeds, and beer. The belief is that those who go to sleep before sunrise on Jāņi Eve will be sleepy all summer along.
Bonfires can be found across Latvia on this night on almost every hilltop and in every yard. The fires shed light on the fields and ensure prosperity and fertility for the coming year.
We were also lucky to spend time in Riga, which has really blossomed since the end of the Soviet occupation. It was just wonderful to see Latvia and its culture and traditions thriving once again.
All images provided by Kaija Jones. All rights reserved.
In Iceland
Iceland’s landscape is incredibly diverse and mostly uninhabitable. There are active volcanoes, vast lava fields, and bubbling thermal pools…glaciers, geysers, and abundant waterfalls. Its coastline is rocky and marked by misty fjords and fishing villages, and there are far more sheep than people.
One of my most memorable impressions of Iceland is that nature hasn’t been paved, ramped, or signed. And because nature is so dominate, active, and everywhere, people in Iceland have a direct and inevitable relationship with it. This connection is evident in their buildings, both traditional and modern, as well as within their culture. Along with isolation and prolonged, dark winters, the severe environment in which Icelanders live has shaped them into fiercely independent, creative people, devoted to literature, music, fashion, and visual arts. In fact, young Icelanders are by far the most stylish and artistically inclined people I’ve seen. The thing is, once outside the two major cities, the likelihood of seeing anyone milling about is a rarity.
What I love about the rolling, sensuous landscape of the Palouse is its elegant simplicity – the way the fields flow from planting to harvest – the way the roads follow the contours of the land. Winding through the labyrinth of roads in the Palouse is like navigating through an enormous graphic that changes with the seasons. It’s a visual masterpiece born from the combination of undulating landforms and the crops that dominate them today.
For the past six years, farmers and the way they sustain and cultivate the earth and the people they feed have been the focus of my work. With photography, I hope to create new pathways of thinking around issues of community and farming--to change pre-conceived concepts and to capture the work farmers do to feed the world. I have explored the themes of The Three Sisters in our food system: the tertiary dependence of corn, beans and squash and how it relates to the grower, market and consumer creating sustainable and beneficiary circles. My current work, The Female Farmer Project focuses on the rise of women producers in agriculture and how they are transforming our food systems.
This collection represents the quiet, intimate moments in between. A reverence of the circle of farm life is a poetry that I strive to capture with my lens. Join me on a journey of birth, growth, harvest and sunset.
Antarctica: The Ross Sea and Beyond
These images capture the essence of the Ross Sea Region and other parts of Antarctica not usually seen in photographs. They were taken within a large swath of land and frozen sea from Ross Island to the Trans-Antarctic Mountains. Selected from a larger collection of photographs taken over a two-year period, they uniquely capture these difficult-to-access areas of the continent.
What you don’t see in the images are the scientists who have invested their careers in learning what is special about this place and how this information is relevant to us today. As a field trainer for the US Antarctic Program I have worked alongside these scientists, training them in cold weather survival, glacier travel, and sea ice safety. I have traveled with them to their field camps, functioning as a mountaineer to ensure the safety of their teams. Hence, the places in these images are not the places that cruise ships travel to, nor film crews, nor other photographers. It is this that makes this collection of images unique.
It is my goal that these images show just how incredible this vast landscape of ice is and, consequently, how important continued scientific research and environmental protections for this area are.
Images provided by Alasdair Turner. All rights reserved.
In the course of growing up, I’ve wanted to be many things. In my early teens, I was going to be a writer and a photojournalist; by high school, I had moved on to cinematography. When I headed out to college, I stowed my creative side at home and devoted myself to the world of numbers, leaving with degrees in economics and finance. But before all of this, I wanted to be a detective.
I remember as an eight-year-old poring over The Young Detective’s Handbook. In addition to learning how to lift fingerprints, I trained myself to observe and deduce … obsessively. Years later, when a camera found its way back into my hands, I had in my head a burgoo of ideas that had stewed over the years and bubbled into my motivation to make photographs again.
“Street photography” is a convenient moniker for the way in which I approach making pictures. While the term can sometimes invoke mental images of gritty, true-life, black and white photographs, I tend to gravitate towards scenes that feel preconceived, almost staged. Scenes that look like they could have been designed by a filmmaker and lifted from a movie – yet, are still a spontaneous and unique moment. Ultimately, the reason I press the shutter, however, is the connection that I feel to the people I see.
Photography is a way for me to interact with my surroundings: to continue to observe and make deductions about what is going on around me. The images in this collection are a result of ideas, thoughts, and experiences from my own life that I recognize in scenes that play out for other people. My hope is that perhaps you can connect one of these images to an experience from your life. If it works, perhaps you’ll see yourself in one of these photographs … or at least someone like you.
Images provided by Mikel Ugarte. All rights reserved.
My photos in this show feature reflections. These are 'real' reflections. I use Photoshop, but in a very minimal way: no layers; no double exposure; and no cloning. I simply apply some tonal adjustments. Everything in the image was in front of my camera at the time the photo was taken. While I have no problem with photographic manipulation, if that is what other photographers choose to do, personally I prefer to pursue a more old-fashioned approach. I do not advocate purity for its own sake, but I do think that concentrating on what was actually there has a certain undeniable charm. But, even I'm not a fanatic. I applied a mild Photoshop filter [cut-out] to part of one of the images -- Walking Accordion. – M R McDonald
The objective of my photography is to capture light and layers that express a mood, a feeling of the temporary moment that is never still, an active interplay between light and shadow that creates depth, poetry and mystery. Light and shadow set the mood and evoke response. Color sings the melody. Where ever I see light or gesture or color that strikes a chord in me, I shoot it. – Larry Larsen
Images provided by M R McDonald and Larry Larson. All rights reserved.
A Beautiful Dream: Photographs from the Pine Ridge Reservation
Like many Indian reservations scattered throughout the United States, Pine Ridge is a place that is forgotten by many people living in South Dakota, and it is virtually unheard of throughout American society. The Pine Ridge Reservation is located in the Great Plains on the border of Nebraska in the southwest corner of South Dakota.
In the late 1800’s, reservations were set up throughout much of America, arbitrarily dividing through tribal boundaries. Slowly over time, with the discovery of gold in the Black Hills, the Pine Ridge Reservation was made smaller and smaller, violating the treaties between the US government and the Lakota people. In 1890 approximately 350 men, women, and children were brutally murdered at the hands of US soldiers at the massacre of Wounded Knee. Today, Pine Ridge is in one of the poorest counties in the United States.
Despite the area’s history of oppression, the culture and respect running through the traditional Lakota way of life is unmatched. People throughout the reservation show amazing resiliency and respect for their culture and what lies ahead for them in the future. Many of the community elders are involved in ongoing efforts to inspire the youth by involving them in cultural and spiritual activities in an effort to pass on their way of life and reconnect the youth with their cultural heritage.
Matthew Williams is a freelance photographer currently based in Seattle, Washington. His work has appeared in publications including The New York Times, TIME, Newsweek, and The Wall Street Journal. In addition he is an alumni of the Eddie Adams Workshop as well as the recipient of several national awards for his work on the AIDS situation in Thailand. Matthew was the recipient of the 2011 Artist Trust Fellowship for his work. Over the past 8 years, Matthew has devoted his time and energy focusing on photographically exploring the intimate relationship between the Lakota people of Pine Ridge and their interaction with contemporary culture. In addition, Matthew’s work has a strong focus on global issues in an effort to bring awareness to issues such as AIDS in Thailand, War Funerals in America, and the Poverty Gap in Rio de Janeiro.
Images provided by Matthew Williams. All rights reserved.
Seattle: Exploration in Black & White
The photographs in this exhibit represent a sample of how and what I see when I take photowalks on the streets of Seattle. I look for moments that rely on the interplay of light and shadow to help fulfill my vision of what I want the final image to convey.
My inspiration for this style of photography largely is drawn from the photographer Ray Metzker (1931-2014), who often depicted his cityscapes and street photography using extremes of light and darkness.
The result is the viewer is drawn to the essential elements of what the photographer wants you to see. Anything considered to be unessential to that vision is eliminated when developing the image in the darkroom or on the computer. I do this by deepening the shadows and mid-tones so that the lighter elements are emphasized. Similar emphasis can be achieved in color, however I choose black & white for its graphic simplicity and directness.
The scenes in these images are mostly the result of serendipity: Being in the right place (unintentionally) and at the right time (somewhat more intentionally). I choose a general location to explore (downtown, Capitol Hill, Pike Place Market, Pioneer Square) at a time of day or season when the sunlight is more severely angled, and see what unfolds before me.
Hinterlands
The tradition of landscape photography is shrouded in mystique and pervaded by the legacy of celebrated photographers. In practice, however, once the image has been composed, the medium and the photographer both are subject to the transitory ebb and flow of light and time. When this tide, this flux of inconsistencies aligns, it is then that the photographer must seize the moment, and only then, can the evidence of this quintessence be engrained. This instant, engrained as a negative, becomes the vessel that allows the photographer to communicate a narrative in the form of a finished print.
Interestingly, landscape photography for me was originally peripheral. Yet as an accomplished photographer and an ardent outdoorsman the conditions for our entanglement could not have been more favorable. Half a decade ago as I continued to transverse the American West my ambitions of photographing the landscapes I bore witness to began to take root.
Much to my dismay the fleeting quintessence I sought to capture often failed to manifest despite my perseverance and presence. My camera, it seemed, was condemned to a dry-sack deep within my backpack. It soon became decidedly obvious that the light was always too harsh or too flat, the vistas too often obscured, and the skies either too devoid of character or too muddled with clouds. Patience rewards those who wait, and however infrequently, I soon found that I was often in the right place at the right time.
The photographs before you are a cross-section of my travels throughout the West and my attempts to encapsulate the fleeting quintessence I stood witness to. I invite you to take a moment to journey through these hinterlands and hope you too will find that the narratives express the uninhibited grandeur of the Western landscape.
Images provided by Nathan Wall. All rights reserved.
http://www.wallography.com/
Kolkata: 9 to 5
As a photojournalist and traveler, I have passed through various regions of the world, in search of unique stories and intriguing subjects. Through my work, I want to hand the reader a telescope to give them a glimpse into the lives of their fellow humans in different places or social groups. I strive to complicate people’s understanding of different cultures while hinting at the similarities we all share.
This work began as I delved into the neighborhoods of Kolkata with open eyes, ears and mind. I slowed down and peered into the crannies of the city to discover what had been right in front of me the whole time. I am consistently drawn to the livelihoods of those that exist so close to the streets. The streets of Kolkata are crammed with commerce, and an endless variety of vocation.
In Kolkata, work can happen anywhere. Whether on the sidewalk, or in a crevice tucked in the back corner of an alley; in the same shop for generations, or constantly moving to meet demand, people continuously toil away. While all the professions shown exist here in Seattle, they exist in Kolkata with less constraint of space and time. The average neighborhood is still a place where lives and livelihoods do not adhere to our 9 to 5.
Images provided by Joey Anchondo. All rights reserved.
The Colors and Cultures of SE Asia
These photographs were shot during a seven-week journey through SE Asia. Via boat and bus, Ian & his wife covered the entire length of Vietnam before traveling west and cycling through the hill tribes of northern Laos. Following Laos they spent some time in northern Thailand before flying south to the world-famous beaches of Ko Pha Ngan. These images represent just a fraction of what Ian captured during this journey into the colors and cultures of SE Asia.
Ian Mackie moved to the Pacific Northwest 10 years ago, leaving behind the suburbs of Massachusetts in search of higher mountains, desolate trails and deeper snow. Captivated by the diversity and beauty of the Pacific Northwest, Ian always finds an excuse to pack up the skis, bike or sea kayak in search of a new adventure. Ian’s photographs have been used by various organizations, including REI, Scarpa, The Canadian Avalanche Association and Washington Environmental Council, to name a few. His work was also displayed at the world-famous Art Wolfe Gallery in Seattle.
Images provided by Ian Mackie. All rights reserved.
I make pictures. My first camera was a Brownie Hawkeye that my father bought in Yellowstone National Park when I was ten years old. During my painter period I considered photography with disdain. It seemed to me that it was merely a mechanical means of documenting images of the real world. Many years later I took up photography again with a digital camera. I have come to appreciate the use of light, color, gesture and time.
Photography seems very easy. Just press the shutter. Photography is actually very difficult. A photographer has to manage the equipment, composition, timing, color, light and gesture, all in 1/125th of a second. Sometimes there is time to set up a tripod, take test shots and recompose. Even then the photographer must be ready to take advantage of the unexpected. 1/125th of a second can make a world of difference in a photograph.
The thing I love about photography is that it gets me out into the world. It is the wonderment of what the world will present to me that I try to capture with my camera.
The images in this exhibit incorporate the concept of ‘transport’ both literally, as well as emotionally. Perhaps evoking feelings of joy, mystery, or remembrance.
Images provided by Larry Larsen. All rights reserved.
Transcience
Since these photos were taken at a definite location and at a particular time, one cannot avoid a certain ‘documentary’ aspect to the images. It is not my primary intention, however, to ‘document’ anything, although it is perhaps a positive by-product. The quasi-geological cultural layering of the sites photographed, so vulnerable to time and weather, are often also targeted for municipal cleanup. So it is that these relics from the city and its neighborhoods, and the cultural happenings within them, are retrieved from their inevitable and irrecoverable obliteration.
It is impossible to avoid some of the words and letters that appear in the posters, except in a few instances, but I do not include them for what they say, rather I am interested in how they function as design elements.
It is, I think, important to understand that I do not do any manipulation of the posters or poster sites. I take photos of what I find. To adjust, rip, tear, and/or otherwise alter the images would be a perfectly valid aesthetic, but it is not what I have chosen to do. That is, of course, conducive to the documentary viewpoint, but the foremost motivation remains for me, to retrieve from what is ostensibly mere urban waste, the aesthetic importance that is 'really there.'
Images provided by M R McDonald. All rights reserved.
Scenes from the Mountain Loop
The Mountain Loop Highway begins a little over an hour’s drive north and east of Seattle in the small town of Granite Falls where it promptly heads into the southwestern reaches of the North Cascades. Seventy-eight miles later it reaches its conclusion in the city of Arlington.
I have been photographing this area since the early 90s. These images were taken along the 43-mile stretch of this route leading up to the town of Darrington and beginning at the ranger station in Verlot. Here the road travels the valleys of the South Fork Stillaguamish and Sauk Rivers through 100+ year-old forest with smatterings of old growth.
The scenes I am attracted to generally have an unusually rich texture or poetry of lines alongside an engaging quality of light. I seek not so much a literal interpretation as an emotional one. For me, the lack of color imparts a timeless feel to the work and moves it away from the literal elucidation towards the emotional.
Ultimately, I believe that my photographs are really a public dialogue between myself and my God. That dialogue has often been a source of great joy and is the core reason my photos exist. As to exactly what is conveyed in that dialogue I must beg your indulgence as I can only describe it as a sense of hope for a time when all of life's most difficult questions are answered.
Images provided by Jeff Krewson. All rights reserved.
A Pilgrimage: Photographs from Nepal
In 2008 I decided to take a 4-week pilgrimage to Nepal. With its ancient culture and the Himalayas, I found that religion in Nepal is not just a set of beliefs and accompanying rituals; rather it is a complex intermingling of traditions primarily where Hinduism and Buddhism intermingle. I had the opportunity to attend an auspicious Buddhist festival called Mani Rimdu. The festival symbolizes re-creation of legendary events; the establishment of Buddhism in Tibet. These photographs give a glimpse into the people of Nepal who have managed to preserve their tradition amidst globalization.
Rajiv Kapoor was born in Mumbai, India, and has lived in Ireland and the United States. Formally educated in business and marketing, he pursues photography while maintaining a corporate career. He took on photography to develop a better understanding of the world we live in.
Images provided by Rajiv Kapoor. All rights reserved.
Full of variance and unknowns, the world offers me, as a willing traveler, a continually shifting experience wherein there exists an enormous potential for the excitement that accompanies the unpredictable. Beyond the routines and comforts of my home life lies a world full of drama, brimming with unseen risks and rewards. Yet, even as I wish for never-ending adventure, I’m aware that I need, in equal parts, the stability and support of my home community. My photography is created within the tension between these two existences.
Acting as a binding entity between these two halves of my life, photography serves as a simple method of communication between disparate experiences of life. Each photograph I take depicts a peak moment of experience within my isolation as a traveler. In creating this representation I am able to return home with a translatable record of who I was while away. In sharing this visual record I provide continuity to the always-changing dialogue between myself and my community.
To create new images I must travel, opening myself to new landscapes, but I must also have an established and stable community with which to share my growth and experiences. Without both of these aspects, I would have no desire to photograph.
Philip Kramer is a Seattle based artist and Washington State native. He has an Associate in Fine Arts in Photography from Everett Community College and exhibits regularly around the Puget Sound. His photographs have appeared internationally in a variety of media.
Images provided by Philip Kramer. All rights reserved.
Being Thai
In the fall of 2007, my wife Kirsten and I set off on a short trip to Thailand, my mother and father as guides. Long overdue, this would be Kirsten's first trip to the Far East, and my first trip as an adult to visit my family's homeland. For Kirsten, this would be a chance to experience the culture that has shaped so much of who I am as a first generation Thai-American. For me, it would be a chance to explore my roots and visit family I rarely see. I was especially excited to photograph the home where my mother was born, a modest wood house on an army base in Northern Thailand.
Over the course of a few weeks, we visited a myriad of places, from the hurried streets of Bangkok to the slow and deliberate pace of traditional towns like Ampawa, in search of the essential Thailand. Photographing with a small rangefinder camera, I aimed to capture moments that represent life in Thailand without disturbing them. Ultimately, I did photograph my mother’s home, an amazing experience. However, I found this series of environmental portraits much more fascinating than the photos I originally sought out. These images represent artifacts of our experiences in Thailand, pieces of my understanding through chance encounters, interactions, and observations. In them, I see fragments of a vibrant culture that may be exotic to the western world, but also emotion and thoughts that are familiar to all people.
Images provided by Daniel Leng. All rights reserved.
Waiting for Right Now: In Between Time in Rural Bolivia
Landscape and the harsh requirements for life in rural Bolivia demand much of its inhabitants. People emulate the austerity of place and find patience in waiting— a waiting that has become an active part of life, maintaining and enhancing connections to where they live and to one another.
Yet despite a decidedly stark backdrop, life in Bolivia proceeds with the calm lightness of the ordinary and the familiar. The time in between events provides an opportunity to engage, to observe, to be present. The vibrancy and authenticity in between even the simplest of moments—preparing food, walking through a village, cleaning a dwelling—is palpable.
After living and working in Bolivia for most of 2008, I’ve returned to the Northwest to work as a Program Director for a local non-profit—and to continue exploring the in between times of this place.
Images provided by John Mauro. All rights reserved.
Streetward
During the twentieth century the tradition of street photography materialized as an idiosyncratic way of seeing. Coupled with the emergence of the miniature camera, or Leica, a visual rhetoric was rigorously established that broke with esteemed compositional theory, textbook camera technique, and regarded the camera as the sole cropping apparatus. The street photographer employs the camera as an extension of the self and in doing so fashions a visual chronicle of subsequent rovings. In pursuit of the image the street unfolds before the photographer’s gaze as a circus where nonsensical phenomenon and fleeting scenarios abound. The street photographer must then recognize the ‘decisive moment’ within this proliferation of quotidian happenstance and seize the image prior to its eminent disappearance.
‘Streetward’ as the adjective of the word ‘street’ is used as a title to further recount my personal photographic wanderings. The twelve photographs exhibited here, a fraction of a more comprehensive street photography oeuvre, represent a synopsis of my contemporary work, and are moreover presented as fragments of my own visual chronicle specific to the distinctive insight of how the street unfolds before my gaze.
Living Among the Trees
From the impressive Douglas fir spreading its branches into the crisp alpine air of the Cascades, to the giant and dewy-green western red cedar drawing water from low-lying and meandering riverbeds, trees occupy a mythical space in the lore of the Northwest. Since ancestral times the region's old-growth forests have captured the imaginations of the inhabitants of this land. The Northwest's trees are larger than life. They inspire us. They serve as our literal and symbolic connection to the earth. Fir and cedar may be the iconic species of the wet, coastal side of the mountains. But the Northwest's connection to trees is not limited to the moisture-laden west side of the Cascade mountains. Inland, where the land is higher, the climate often hotter, and the soil thirstier, the Western Larch and the Ponderosa Pine dominate and Aspen quiver in the drier air. The trees of the Northwest are more than part of us; they define our lives and our connection to Nature.
Images provided by Stephen Matera. All rights reserved.
The Decisive Moment
Forty years ago a friend loaned me her Leica and introduced me to photography. I still remember that first roll of film as I removed it from the film tank and looked at those first wet negative images. I was hooked. From the beginning, I have been in love with the street work of the early black and white masters. I’ve always loved grabbing some cameras and film and going out for a walk to see what I could see. It was like fishing. Sometimes I would come home with a great catch and sometimes I would come home empty handed. Either way, it was always a wonderful experience. Soon I was carrying my camera everywhere. I was constantly struck by little compositions, like small pieces of music, all around me when I walked.
These photos represent a very small piece of my walkings. Although my commercial shooting is now exclusively digital, I still have several old film cameras around and am once again starting to use them on a daily basis. All of a sudden it feels like those early years full of exuberance and curiosity. After all this time, now in my 60’s, I can still see the light of my youth through my lenses.
Images provided by Jerry Davis. All rights reserved.
This series of work by Seattle photographer Tara McDermott explores the area joining ocean and shore throughout the Pacific Northwest. With a minimalist approach, she focuses on the vanishing point between water, sky, and earth, portraying them as anonymous locations without specific reference points.
Beaches have always been an integral part of her external landscape, from her formative years growing up on the rocky and protected north shore of Long Island, NY, until her latest move to Seattle. With their unpredictable weather and rugged coastlines, she finds west coast beaches to have a more varied personality than their eastern cousins. The same spot can yield vastly different images, depending on the direction the camera is pointed, or even the time of day. These are portraits, in a way, evoking the changeable nature of these wild spaces. She hopes you find them as fascinating and alluring to experience.
Images provided by Tara McDermott. All rights reserved.
The Way of the Buddha
The remote Buddhist realms of Tibet and Ladakh, often called “Little Tibet”, are surrounded by the massive but receding glaciers of the Himalayan Mountains. The intense colors of the monasteries lie in stark contrast to the high desert landscape formed when still-moving continents collided millions of years ago.
In June/July 2004, I had the good fortune to travel through Tibet with National Geographic photographer, Steve McCurry, author of several books on the Tibetan people and culture. Although he had been to Tibet many times, Steve sadly told me he may never return. The destruction of the Tibetan culture was evident. Monasteries like the once mighty Drepung, previously home to 10,000 monks, are now inhabited by only a handful.
Steve told me that if I wanted to experience Tibet, I should go to Ladakh; in September 2007 I did. First open to the outside world in 1974, Ladakh is in the most remote region of northern India. Its mountain passes are among the highest in the world, open an average of only four months every year. Ladakh is large monasteries perched on the sides of soaring mountains; ancient palaces clinging to sheer rock walls; a barren landscape splashed with brilliant patches of bright green farmland. But most of all it’s the people – gentle, compassionate, colorful and friendly – who made my visit a true journey of a lifetime. I am indebted to Steve McCurry for sharing it with me.
Images provided by Joyce McClure. All rights reserved.
Precise Abstractions
I was first drawn to photography as a teenager by the spectacular black and white imagery of Ansel Adams. In addition, I’ve always had a great appreciation for architecture, the subtleties of light and shadow, and the strong bold lines of modern buildings.
My photography encompasses all of these passions, often striving to combine the drama of Adams’ work with a contemporary vision of the commonplace - the graceful contours of a freeway overpass, or the contrast between billowing clouds and the bold angles of a modern structure. In recent years, color and more traditional “scenic” photography have also found a place in my work, as I expand into genres that I rarely pursued before the advent of digital photography.
I don’t hide “deep meaning” in my images, but attempt to show how captivating even the most mundane subjects can be when viewed in a unique way. Most of my images are narrowed down to very precise elements. There’s rarely anything in a composition that I didn’t intend to be (and if there is, I probably won’t sleep well at night).
Images provided by Jesse Young. All rights reserved.
Cascade Alpine Research
Award-winning photographer Ian Mackie moved to the Pacific Northwest from Massachusetts, leaving behind the suburbs in search of higher mountains, desolate trails and deeper snow. Captivated by the diversity and beauty of the Pacific Northwest, Ian always finds an excuse to pack up the skis, bike or sea kayak in search of a new adventure. Unable to find the right words to describe the beauty and magic of our natural surroundings, Ian chooses photography to convey a unique and inspiring look at man and the environment.
As a member of 1% For the Planet, Ian donates at least 1% of all sales to local and national organizations who are looking out for the health of the planet.
Zipangu - Images of Japan
Rob Tilley has been fascinated with Japanese culture since his first trip to Japan more than 35 years ago, and subsequently lived there on and off for more than 15 years. The tranquility of a Japanese temple garden, the intricate detail of an embroidered kimono, the Japanese attention to detail, their love of nature and the changing seasons, all of these things catch Rob’s eye and the focus of his lens. Color, texture, patterns and design are all tools that Rob uses to convey the spirit of Japan’s unique and rich cultural heritage. Hopefully, these images will allow you to feel as if you have visited Japan if only for a brief moment.
Rob’s exhibition is a very small example of how he has captured his own personal connections to Japan. Zipangu is the name Marco Polo gave to Japan and the origin of our English word.
Images provided by Rob Tilley. All rights reserved.
Bordering Bangladesh, China, India, Laos, and Thailand lies one of the most beautiful countries in Southeast Asia. Not only does the beauty lie in the land, but more so in its people. Anyone educated in the history of Burma knows the troubles of the people and the strength of spirit that keeps the kindness of their smiles pure.
My 28-day visa in Burma led me through treks of the Chin and Shan States, biking through ancient ruins of Bagan, a voyage down the Ayerarwady River and personal experiences that left me with incredible friendships. I hope that viewing these images leaves a desire for more knowledge about this amazing country and its people.
The Free Burma Coalition.Org is an excellent resource to acquire this knowledge.
Images provided by Julie McMackin. All rights reserved.
The Eclectic Imagination
For as long as he can remember, William Thompson has had an unquenchable thirst for adventure. At 20 he bought a bike, quit University, and biked through Mexico. After University he decided to become a fine arts painter and enrolled in an MFA program. This, without reason, morphed into obtaining a PhD with a focus on cultural anthropology. But at that point rock climbing and mountaineering were his real passions. Every free moment was spent in the mountains of the west. His interest in mountaineering ultimately led to owning a mountain climbing guide service in Grand Teton National Park.
Then magic happened. William discovered a fascinating and direct channel to his brain—the camera lens—his ultimate “paintbrush.”
Thompson’s first photo assignment was for National Geographic and, continuously, for the ensuing twelve years he made images from exciting corners of the earth. With an anthropological frame of reference, he saw things in terms of the essential truth of his subjects’ lives — that gleam of light in the heart of darkness.
For Thompson it was 12 years of extraordinary visual exploration; living for three years in the Himalaya working on three major NGS stories was a highpoint. He created the first and only complete aerial coverage of Mt. Everest for the 100 year anniversary issue of the magazine entitled Exploring The Earth. Other major stories included the Kathmandu Valley and Heart of the Himalaya.
Thompson photographed Bhutan traveling by yak train through the Bhutanese Himalaya. Thompson traveled the depths of Africa (occasionally living and traveling with pygmies) and Asia for two years photographing the elephant on its tragic path toward extinction—almost becoming extinct himself after contracting cerebral malaria while in the darkness of the Central African Republic.
Two decades ago Thompson moved into commercial image-making, creating film and stills for premier global corporations. His iconic images are well recognized in marketing campaigns for clients including Wells Fargo, Leo Burnett, Starbucks, Marlboro, Boeing, United Airlines, Intel, Holland America, etc.
Thompson has turned his skills and experience towards film “that matters.” He states that his goal now “is that my imagery will enlighten, spawn ideas, define passions, allow discovery, and above all, make a ‘difference that makes a difference’. In light of this directive, Thompson is bringing to life the vanishing American icon—The Cowboy—a subject that has been in front of his lens for decades. Additionally, given that the elephant is in a tragic dilemma, Thompson is working on a film project to examine man's relationship to this amazing mega beast and hopefully have an impact on ending the slaughter of this 12,000 lb canary.
Other recent creative endeavors include two books: a compilation of his Mount Everest images, Mount Everest—an Aerial Image Odyssey and one on Kathmandu—The Way It Was.
William Thompson lives in a 90-year old log home near the waters of Puget Sound along with his best pal, Emmett, his 15 year old chocolate lab. William still finds adventure in climbing. Following a recent gallery show and workshop in Wyoming, he and his son climbed the Grand Teton.
Images provided by William Thompson. All rights reserved.
Landscapes of a Western Mind
Building Landscapes
A series of digitally taken and printed photographs by Stephen Malshuk of new architectural styles for public buildings from both Tacoma and Seattle. These designs utilize old-fashioned plane geometry and the newly utilized fractal geometry in a way that mimics the natural landscape. Like the natural landscape, the weather and the time of day change the look of these architectural subjects dramatically both in look and color.
Mr. Malshuk’s photographs have been published in Camera Arts magazine, the Seattle P-I, and the website for the Seattle Art Museum. He has also exhibited at the Tacoma Art Museum, the Silver Image Gallery, and the Treasure Island Gallery on Vashon Island. In 2005, he was one of 67 photographers selected nationwide for an exhibit entitled Focused! at Photographic Center Northwest in Seattle.
Images provided by Stephen Malshuk. All rights reserved.
Northwest Wild
Stephen Matera’s photographs capture the wild character of the Northwest, including Oregon, Washington, Montana, Alaska, and British Columbia. Traveling to some of the most remote and rugged regions of the Northwest, Stephen captures this impressive landscape in dramatic light, stunning graphic composition, and fleeting atmospheric conditions. The three pillars of landscape photography: clouds, form, and light interact to create stunning images of many unseen areas of the Northwest, as well as some unique perspectives on other more accessible areas. Many of these images are captured after physically challenging backpack trips with a heavy overnight pack. The only way to capture these fleeting moments is to spend extended periods in the wilderness and to be ready when the three elements converge.
Stephen Matera is a Seattle-based outdoor photographer who regularly travels around the western United States and Alaska seeking out these moments of convergence.
head×light \-,lit\ n (1861) 1 : a light with a reflector and special lens mounted on the front of an automotive vehicle to illuminate the road ahead; also : the beam cast by a headlight.
- Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, 2005.
After almost five years of exclusively black & white documentary photography, an assignment to photograph urban city lights for the Hollywood film, “A Lot Like Love”, revived my interest in shooting color. Nighttime photography certainly poses unique challenges, but at the same time, opens up new possibilities. The uncertainty of what long shutter speeds, flash, and movement will result in makes getting my film processed exciting. I take more of a freestyle approach to this work, which is a departure from my more static documentary work. A refreshing change, I found myself enjoying shooting various cityscapes and other artificially lit scenes. As I reviewed my body of new work, a common theme appeared…”headlights”.
Images provided by Kristen Imig. All rights reserved.
Earth's Body / The Interpretive Landscape
I am an Earth sign…lots of earth…and lots of water. I have always made photographs of rocks and trees and flowing waters – of natural things – things of Mother Earth. From my first trip out with a camera at age 11, walking alone with head bent down, I examined every rock and twig, along with a frequent glance upward to study the direction of the light illuminating the trees, watching how it changed throughout the day. I love broad empty deserts full of silence, sun, and wind with bare raw earth rising up to greet the sky. I love the ocean’s edge where water moves and molds the earth to create amazing forms, or to be by the river’s edge where water flows over rock, revealing and concealing their varied luminous forms – forms sculpted from the constant influence of the elements working their magic to carve, shape, and transform hard stone into new, imaginative forms.
I like to be alone and silent when I photograph. It is necessary for seeing. Exposing a negative doesn’t take that long, but seeing does. Over time, themes emerge and refrains repeat themselves like silent echoes from one photograph to another. There is an inner-communication, an on-going involvement and evolution with the process that defines and shapes what the eye sees, what the heart responds to. In theses photographs, rocks, water, trees, and light become reflections of the inner psyche, contours of the earth’s body seen as symbols and sculptured forms.
Images provided by Jahnavi Lisa Barnes. All rights reserved.
Images of Africa
The images shown here were taken during a trip to southern Africa, made possible by receiving the grand prize in the National Geographic Traveler photo contest. Kristen spent two weeks with National Geographic Expeditions on safari with NGS photographer, Chris Johns. She then traveled to Lesotho and South Africa documenting Habitat for Humanity projects. Kristen concluded her trip by exploring and relaxing in Mozambique with the escort of a friend and Peace Corp volunteer. Although fascinated by the wildlife seen on safari, Kristen found the people of southern Africa most captivating. She is intrigued by the fusion of native customs and culture, colonial influence, and the global culture that is exported through modern media. Kristen relates to her subjects based on the respect of their common humanity.
Seattle by Night
I trolled the streets of Seattle in an attempt to capture the mystique and vibrance of an alter idem of the city by night.
Our city has many prominent faces – scintillating city lights, the classic view of the Space Needle, and more. But there’s another Seattle, a more realistic one epitomized by the cloud-dulled waters of the sound splashing against boats in a marina, soaring buildings reflected in puddles of rain water, the dust and grit of ongoing construction forming a haze against the city lights…
These images celebrate the beauty of urban life after dark and reflect my fascination with Seattle’s myriad colors and shapes viewed against the softer hues of the night sky’s palette.
Images provided by Gopal Seshadrinathan. All rights reserved.
Moments Seen
In certain ordinary moments, the inanimate objects before our eyes exude presence that matches that of living, breathing beings. I see these moments in the familiar sights of common existence. These unremarkable items, by their regular presence in our world are what we recognize as “real”. I seek to record the essence of reality, of being, of seeing.
I use Polaroid film to reduce the distance between the instant observed and it’s reproduction. Cracks, scratches, spots, and inconsistent colors are common. Enlargement of the small original intensifies the moment seen.
These images are simple and direct records of moments seen.
Images provided by Luke Strosnider. All rights reserved.
Back to Artists
Patagonia - Kaija Jones
Patagonia - Josh Terrell
Latvia - Kaija Jones
In Iceland - Kaija Jones
Palouse - Kaija Jones
Life on the Farm - Audra Mulkern
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Street - Mikel Ugarte
M R McDonald / Larry Larsen
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Seattle: Dean Forbes
Hinterlands - Nathan Wall
Kolkata - Joey Anchondo
SE Asia - Ian Mackie
Transport - Larry Larsen
Transcience - M R McDonald
Mountain Loop - Jeff Krewson
A Pilgrimage - Rajiv Kapoor
Wildlife - Philip Kramer
Being Thai - Dan Leng
Bolivia - John Mauro
Streetward - Nathan Wall
Trees - Stephen Matera
The Decisive Moment - Jerry Davis
Shoreline - Tara McDermott
Buddha - Joyce McClure
Precise Abstractions - Jesse L. Young
Alpine Research - Ian Mackie
Zipangu - Rob Tilley
Burma - Julie McMackin
Eclectic - William Thompson
Landscapes - William Thompson
Building Landscapes - Stephen Malshuk
NW Wild - Stephen Matera
Headlights - Kristen Imig
Earth's Body - Jahnavi Lisa Barnes
Africa - Kristen Imig
Seattle by Night - Gopal Seshadrinathan
Moments Seen - Luke Strosnider
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Being Fair: 'We must be the change we want to see in the world'
Valerie Mason-John, Independent Scholar
What is fair and just in the world that we live in today? The conflict that flourishes in this world, within each of us, in our families, at work and out there in the world is proof enough that people do not feel they live in a world that treats them impartially.
Who am I to talk on this subject when you could look at my life and count the privileges I have had on more than one hand? Winner of several awards, including an honorary doctorate for the research and writing that I have contributed to the African and Asian diasporas, a home owner, and someone who has lived and worked in three different continents and visited numerous places in the world.
My world became a kinder place when I stopped being a victim; when I moved from being a victim of my race, gender and sexuality, and became a survivor and then finally someone who could live comfortably in my skin and in the world that I had created for myself.
Research I conducted in India 2006 and now published as a nonfiction book in 2008, Broken Voices: ‘Untouchable’ Women speak out, changed my life forever. I came back from living seven months in India among the Dalit community, some of the poorest people in that country. Poor because a caste system has rendered them unfit to be included in the caste system; considered polluted, not fit enough to drink water from the same fountain as anyone else from a higher caste, and born to do literally the shit work. Still today this attitude prevails.
Being born a woman and a Dalit, perhaps is considered the worst curse, as the Manusmirti, one of the sacred Hindu texts states that women are born to serve their fathers, their, husbands and their sons.
After listening to story after story of women killed in dowry burnings, women beaten by drunk husbands, women forced into marriages with men 20 or more years their senior, women trafficked, women living on the streets as beggars, women living in slums I came back to the United Kingdom with less complaint. I realised that my life was pretty okay. Not to say I hadn’t suffered any oppression, but I knew if I had lived my life in my country of origin on the Africa continent, or in India, my life may have been very different.
How fair is that?
Since my visit, India has chosen its first woman president, Smt. Pratibja Patil, who is an advocate of the empowerment of Dalits and especially the masses of poor women. A year ago India’s parliament also unanimously elected its first woman Speaker – a Dalit – Meira Kumar to the Lok Sabha, the lower House of Parliament.
This is all a wakeup call to remind me that the majority of the women in the world are still domestic slaves. Many of us in the west live a life that often negates these women’s experiences, through our ignorance and our need not to want to look back and to carry on fighting for the equality and humanity of all women in the world.
Living in Canada has brought it home to me much more. As a black queer woman living my 20s and 30s in Brixton, a black borough in South London, I could not be out on the streets, through fear of being attacked, raped or beaten. And to walk down the road with my white lover hand in hand – forget it. It was bad enough walking down the road with a white male colleague, and receiving all the insults under the sun from black men hanging out on the streets. I was in their eyes sleeping with the enemy, and from their point of view I could see how they could think this, as to be a black male on the streets of London has no fairness at all.
Listen to Valerie Mason-John's interview on Bookmark.
My life as a black queer woman is totally different here in Canada; there is a professional acceptance, and an acceptance on the streets from the black community. However, working with youth in the education system, I can see that although there is an overwhelming tolerance of queerness, there is still much hatred and intolerance within some of the fundamental religious communities, so all is not bliss.
And in the mainstream Canadian community I still have to navigate racism. It is masked in by the fact that my status has gone up a notch living here. I am no longer at the bottom of the pile; it is the First Nations people who are visibly and overtly discriminated against. However, as a black person in Canada I can feel invisible. There is this unspoken notion that I should not complain; that it is the First Nation people who are oppressed.
I know this is not the whole picture. I have no idea what it would be like to be black in Canada and not have the language English or French. What I do know is that many people think I speak such brilliant English, and I must be extremely clever. The sensible Canadians realise I am British.
Navigating my life as a black queer woman in Canada also has its issues. It is not the first identity I would refer to myself as. But as I have left a body of work behind me, author of the only two books to document the lives of black and Asian lesbians in the United Kingdom, author of one of the cult plays in the UK Sin Dykes, a story about three black lesbians and three white lesbians and sexuality, and once the artistic director of London Mardi Gras Arts Festival and host of the biggest women’s club in Europe for a while, and much more, it is hard to throw off this label. Named a Black Gay Icon, chapters and papers written about my work, it is hard to step sideways from a label that others put on you.
Admittedly once upon a time, my race, gender and sexuality were at the centre of my life. I grew up as an angry young black woman because of growing up in orphanages, living on the streets at 14, incarcerated at 15, sexual abuse, racism and homophobia.
Listen to Dr. Mason-John discuss Borrowed Body.
At the age of 19 when I attended Leeds University, I found the lesbian feminist separatist community which I believe saved my life. It was the beginning of a healing journey within a community where I could talk about the abuse in my life without being judged. However, I left and became a journalist reporting stories about the underdog. Black deaths in custody, Aboriginal land rights, Nicaragua, South Africa, the Black Riots in the United Kingdom.
When I wrote my first book on lesbian issues, I was dumped by the black British media. I had gone from giving talks with John Pilger, offered the chance to interview Margaret Thatcher when she was Prime Minister, though her office later reneged, to being silently shunned. But I was young and I didn’t care on the surface. I needed to protest, shout out aloud for my rights.
I am a contented human being now, who has found the Dharma, the teachings of the Buddha and has found perhaps my Prozac to survive in the world: Meditation.
Listen to Valerie Mason-John’s Loving Kindness body meditation.
I continue to write, but who I write about continues to change. My master’s in creative writing, education and the arts revitalised the researcher in me. Since then my research has led me to writing a book about hatred, anger and fear, to the caste system in India, the rebel war and indigenous religions of Sierra Leone.
Most recently I am beginning to research the slave trade in Canada, my new home. I descend from a long lineage of slaves. And so it is apt that I should be embarking on such a project, especially as in Canada there is a link between slavery, Nova Scotia and Sierra Leone.
Meanwhile, if I am to aver an identity that encapsulates the essence of equity and social justice, it would be Buddhist. But of course once we begin naming, we are moving into unfairness, exclusivity. I try to live my life observing an ethical practise, one of not harming life, taking the not given, aware of my speech, intoxicants, sexual misconduct, hatred, covetousness and ignorance. It is the best I can do.
As Gandhi said, ‘we must be the change we want to see in the world’.
Valerie Mason-John is an educator, writer, poet, playwright and performance artist in Edmonton.
Equity Matters
Lesbian/ Gay/ Bisexual/ Transgendered/ Queer/ Intersex/ Two-SpiritedInterculturalism and pluralismEquity Matters
Where Are Women Safe? Some Thoughts on International Women’s Day
SSH News: PSE funding in Ontario and Quebec, the value of SSH in science education, and SSH research in media
Russian anti-gay legislation sparks critical thought--Sochi and beyond
Challenging casual homophobia
SSH News: CIBC report, call for papers for Sexuality, Human Rights, and Public Policy conference, and the official website for Congress 2014
Stan Douglas: Impossible Pictures
Storytelling and Strength: Voices from Indigenous theatre in Canada
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Synthetic organisms are about to challenge what ‘alive’ really means
in: Big Problems,Biotech,Genetics,New Discoveries
We need to begin a serious debate about whether artificially evolved humans are our future, and if we should put an end to these experiments before it is too late.
In 2016, Craig Venter and his team at Synthetic Genomics announced that they had created a lifeform called JCVI-syn3.0, whose genome consisted of only 473 genes. This stripped-down organism was a significant breakthrough in the development of artificial life as it enabled us to understand more fully what individual genes do. (In the case of JCVI-syn3.0, most of them were used to create RNA and proteins, preserve genetic fidelity during reproduction and create the cell membrane. The functions of about a third remain a mystery.)
Venter’s achievement followed an earlier breakthrough in 2014, when Floyd Romesberg at Romesberg Lab in California succeeded in creating xeno nucleic acid (XNA), a synthetic alternative to DNA, using amino acids not found among the naturally occurring four nucleotides: adenine, cytosine, guanine and thymine.
And, most recently we have seen huge advances in the use of CRISPR, a gene-editing tool that allows substitution or injection of DNA sequences at chosen locations in a genome.
Together, these developments mean that in 2019 we will have to take seriously the possibility of our developing multicellular artificial life, and we will need to start thinking about the ethical and philosophical challenges such a possibility brings up.
In the near future we can reasonably anticipate that a large number of unnatural single-cell life forms will be created using artificially edited genomes to correct for genetic defects or to add new features to an organism’s phenotype. It is already possible to design bacterial forms, for example, that can metabolise pollutants or produce particular substances.
We can also anticipate that new life forms may be created that have never existed in nature through the use of conventional and perhaps artificially arranged codons (nucleotide sequences that manage protein synthesis). These are likely to make use of the conventional machinery of mitotic cell reproduction and of conventional ribosomes, creating proteins through RNA or XNA interpretation.
And there will be increasing pressures to continue this research. We may need to accelerate the evolution of terrestrial life forms, for example, including homo sapiens, so that they carry traits and capabilities needed for life in space or even on our own changing planet.
All of this will bring up serious issues as to how we see ourselves – and behave – as a species. While the creation of multicellular organisms that are capable of sexual reproduction is still a long way off, in 2019 we will need to begin a serious debate about whether artificially evolved humans are our future, and if we should put an end to these experiments before it is too late.
Via Wired
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Narada Michael Walden Premieres New Song, 'Billionaire On Soul Street,' Opens Up About Legendary Career With Whitney Houston, Carlos Santana, Aretha Franklin And More [EXCLUSIVE]
By Michael Lello Aug 14, 2015 11:52 AM EDT
Narada Michael Walden has one of the most prolific, accomplished and star-studded resume in modern music history. As a producer and writer, he has helped Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and a pantheon of other legendary artists rise to fame, and he has the hardware to prove it: three Grammy Awards and an Emmy.
The successes have not led to any sense of complacency for Walden, however. He continues to develop new artists through his record label, Tarpan Records, and he leads the Narada Michael Walden Foundation, which helps young musicians through grants, scholarships, mentorship and other assistance. And today he releases a brand new song, "Billionaire On Soul Street," which has a lyric video that makes its exclusive debut below with Headlines & Global News. The song can be purchased via iTunes here.
Walden, who has also performed alongside luminaries like Michael Jackson and BB King, got his start as a drummer for the Mahavishnu Orchestra, the influential and iconoclastic jazz-fusion group.
In conjunction with the premiere of the lyric video, we spoke exclusively with Walden about his storied career and dream collaborations, his "older brother" Carlos Santana, the changing state of the music industry, his foundation and the brand new song.
Tell us about your new song "Billionaire On Soul Street," specifically the writing and recording process?
The inspiration came from my assistant here at the studio, Kimrea. Something she said to me, "Billionaire on Soul Street," she was expressing something about her life and that hit me, "that would make a wonderful song," so I do as I do, I just zoomed to my keyboards and I made up a song using that title.
Primarily it hit me because I am going through a transformation with now two new children in my life. I have a 19-month-old baby named Kelly and a 6-month-old named Kaylah. It's really transformed me to open up my heart all over again to realize how precious life is, and I do feel like a Billionaire on Soul Street in the fact that my life is so enriched with these children and an abundance of sheer satisfaction and delight.
Most composers seem to come from a guitar or piano background. How does your background as a drummer impact how you write and maybe make your composing style unique? What instrument or instruments do you primarily use when starting to write a new song?
Drumming is my heart and rhythm is my heart, my soul and my heart. I early on had a passion for songwriting and the songwriters like Nina Simone... all the great songwriters. I would go to my piano and bang out songs and then learned composition and learn chord structure. Drumming and piano, out of those two things comes everything for me. My Uncle Travis helped to open me to the piano. I watched him a lot.
How have the massive changes in the music industry (the decline of the record labels and album sales as streaming has come to the forefront) affected your career and people like you?
Music is a gift from God, yes. And to God goes the glory. We who are the artist and songwriters and producers solely rely upon the music business for our support and sustenance. It's very important to realize this. It is not a joke. It is our livelihood. Without it we would be forced to take other jobs. So I strongly support paying musicians and buying our music. This is what will enable us to continue to give you are best! We consciously give of our hearts and souls to our music and when the public, our fans, support us, we are grateful and are able to feed our families. What more is needed to say?
There has been a lot of talk and speculation about what needs to happen for the music industry to be able to survive. What changes do you feel need to occur? What direction do you sense things are going in as far as the business side of the music world?
What I feel is the independent record companies are becoming more empowered. They are becoming the A&R wings for the labels like it used to be in the old days. Like myself, I can discover someone I love, like a 20-year-old from the UK or whoever I might dig, you know, Shae up in Oregon and whoever it is, and record them and develop them and put them out on our own independent record label Tarpan Records. I think this is the wave of the future all over again because we can actually take the time to develop these artists, which the majors don't do anymore. They want someone already pre-cooked, pre-fab, already hot on the Twitters, hot on the Facebooks, where I can just take something that I just know is great and help it develop along, whatever we need to do. Everything I've ever done in my life has needed that kind of nurturing. Yeah, you may find a Whitney Houston, but a Whitney needs great songs and needs to them to be produced in the studio, you know, trial and error, try things. You cut that hard ingredient out, you're cutting out a big part of baking a pie, baking a cake. So I want to say one last thing, by virtue of our President Steffen Franz and Tarpan Records we are able now to re-craft this whole business thinking in this new day and age of how to maintain wonderful music, the heart and soul of music, keeping it alive.
How did you become friends with Carlos Santana? How would you describe your relationship?
I became friends of Carlos Santana through Mahavishnu Orchestra's John McLaughlin. They were both disciples of guru Sri Chinmoy. And when I became a disciple I became very close friends with John McLaughlin. Once I went to his home, Carlos was there with his wife Irmala. His spiritual name is Devadip, which means the eye of God, as he is extremely soulful, extremely spiritual and very forthcoming with his insight on life. At that time we were all just soaking in the light that Guru was giving us and the peace of mind that Guru was giving us, guiding us along the way toward God Realization and Spirituality.
I would describe my relationship with Carlos as brothers. He's my older brother, in a way, I guess I would be his younger brother. I mean we are very close in age, but really he's my older brother in that he's done things that I would only dream to do and he is very free to express these things with me. Like when he met Jimi Hendrix in the studio and how turned out he was to see Jimi cry in the studio. Of course he was at Woodstock and the experience of all that. He's just been a real champion on the guitar and a champion band leader. I look to him for inspiration and I look to him for guidance. He has been all these things for me since I've known him. I met him in 1973.
Regarding Whitney Houston, how did you know she was a special talent? How would you describe your relationship with her? And how do you remember her now that she's gone?
Whitney I met... I think she was about 9 or 10 years old, while I was recording my first album "Garden of Love Light." Her mother Cissy Houston was asked to sing on the "Garden of Love Light" background vocals, and she brought with her, the daughter. I saw this beautiful girl sitting in the corner, and that was young Whitney, just absolutely an angel. Fast forward to when she was 18, 19 years old, I'm asked to record her first hit "How Will I Know," and I'm blown out by how much control she has, yes, and how beautiful she is... absolutely impeccable control. Her mother really raised her to be the greatest singer on the planet. And then you got to keep in mind, Dionne Warwick is her aunt, Aretha Franklin she looked to... and all the backing sessions with her mom. She had all these influences there... and Dee Warwick, so much history in that family of three champion singers. So there she is, all that embodiment and carrying the torch forward.
I would describe our relationship as very, very close... that of the family, spirit family feeling. I felt very protective about her, and I know she felt protective of me and we really came together in a oneness spirit to make beautiful music. Clive Davis would give us beautiful song ideas that he would have, and we would take them and make them Whitney's. Really, really carve them to be Whitney's jewels. And Whitney trusted me and I trusted her. We would go to the piano and play Burt Bacharach music like "Walk on By" or "Alfie" and just get in our heart zone and spread that same feeling in that song we were working on that day. We worked very quickly together, that's how we were able to make 18, 19 songs together.
I remember her as a sparkle of light and electricity. She was always full of laughter, happiness and electricity and very, very confident. Like when I asked her on the second album, "are you nervous about making the second album and having a sophomore jinx?" And she said, "No, if they loved me the first time, they will love me now." That's how she really was, so she inspired my confidence.
And from that point on I've always felt her extreme confidence, it's always like that, never any worry that I'm not good enough, this is not gonna make it. She was always 100 percent confident.
What other collaborations stand out to you as particularly memorable, special or career high points for you?
Working with Aretha Franklin, "Freeway of Love," "Who's Zooming Who," that album, working with Aretha Franklin and George Michael on "I Knew You Were Waiting For Me," her first million seller, her first platinum, my first million seller, my first platinums, of course touring with the Mahavishnu Orchestra, traveling the world with that band, working with Sir George Martin, Tommy Dowd, my albums, and Ken Scott ... and Dennis McKay, Jimmy Douglass, all these great veterans from Atlantic Studios, Ahmet Ertegun, Arif Mardin, just so much history of people that carved the way that helped to teach me, like working with great Ray Charles, that's like the Himalayan Mountains, my friend Sting is always inspiring, Stevie Wonder is definitely challenging, James Taylor, Elton John, Carlos!
You've worked with so many major artists from various genres, but who else is on your wish list?
I would like to do something still on Madonna; I was going to back in the old days, but even now it would be nice to work with her. Prince, it would be nice to work with him, I like Pharrell Williams, it would be nice to do something with him in the future, I like Beyonce, it would be nice to do something with her. I like all the people that are really, really super-gifted and even if I don't know who they are or they are unknown, God finds a way to have them tap on my door and it always works out. I learned to never block a blessing.
Why did you start your foundation, and what strides has it made? The cuts being made to music education has been a highly publicized issue. Are we close to losing music education?
I started the foundation help to love and serve humanity and the children of the Marin County area, over in Sausalito, the Performing Stars of Marin, they needed help with singing lessons and dance and musical instruments, at Christmastime I would always help them, and then I always wanted to feel like we could do things throughout the year to help kids with music. Since music is no longer being taught in schools I wanted to be a foundation that could help children with music. I know how much music has meant in my life so I wanted to be able to impart that to kids.
School budgets are so hacked and slashed in our America. Only the private schools are able to keep alive that musical program, but most schools not. Even the private schools, I will go to those schools and speak there because they need a dose of inspiration. Music is a gift from God and I see it as such, so that's my life purpose.
What types of music do you listen to for your own enjoyment? Has anything new caught your ear lately?
Everything, from Alice Coltrane to Donovan, a lot of the music of the '60s meets now, like Jason Derulo, I like his stuff. I just listen to everything, because that's what keeps it current, that's what keep it fresh. I often have my engineers A/B our music to other current music so that we are on the cutting edge. You have to know what's happening. Jidenna's "Classic Man," I like that record a lot. The Weeknd, he's hot. I think he's probably one of the hottest cats now. Everything he's putting out has the edge. Jidenna, I like his album a lot, done with Janelle Monae. Meghan Trainor's got heat; I like her. I listen to some of Kendrick Lamar's stuff as well and I have to give a big nod to Bruno Mars, everything he touches is consistent.
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Israel Ready To Consider Extension Of Settlement Freeze
Israel's U.S. Ambassador Michael Oren: 'Israel Will Be Ready To Consider Extension Of Ten Month Settlement Freeze In Framework Of Direct Negotiations With Palestinians'
'U.S. Fully Supports Israel's Right To Enforce Sea Blockade Of Gaza & Israel Has Accepted Adjustments To Ease Supplies To Gaza'
IsraCast Assessment: Israel's Apparent Readiness To Consider Extending Ten Month Settlement Freeze Could Be Part Of New Israeli Initiative To Kick-start Direct Negotiations With Palestinians This Fall
Michael Oren
In an interview with Israel Radio's English News, Ambassador Michael Oren has indicated the Netanyahu government will be ready to consider an extension of the ten month settlement freeze in Judea & Samaria. However, such a possibility had to be dealt with in direct negotiations with the Palestinians. Until now, Prime Minister Netanyahu has declared the building freeze will expire after its ten month time-frame runs out on September 26th. Until now, government leaders have indicated that building in the settlements woll then be resumed. In another development, Israel has made clear that she will not permit any vessels sailing to Gaza to violate her maritime blockade. IsraCast analyst David Essing assesses the implications.
Israel must use UN as an offensive tool
Is Obama worse than Chamberlain?
Let Hezbollah and Islamic State destoy one another
IRAN & ISRAEL GO TO THE BRINK
For the first time, an Israeli official has indicated that Jerusalem will be ready to consider an extension of its current ten month settlement freeze, in return for the Palestinians returning to face to face negotiations with the Palestinians. Ambassador Michael Oren did not state categorically that the Netanyahu was ready to strike such a deal, but that was the obvious implication. He added that that the issue itself had not been raised yet with the U.S., however Oren recently had a private meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the Palestinian track was obviously high on the agenda. Special U.S. envoy George Mitchell, the middleman in the current proximity talks, has also been meeting not only with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Abbas, but also with Arab leaders in the region.
Oren told Israel Radio's English News that the four-month time frame for the proximity talks would actually expire in late August or early September- he related that this was actually an ongoing process although it has been perceived by the media as not ever getting off the ground. The diplomat stressed that Jerusalem and Washington saw eye-to-eye on the proximity talks serving as a 'corridor' to direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. However, the Ambassador said that Israel and the U.S. were not on the same page over Israeli building across the old 1967 lines in Jerusalem. Nonetheless, the two sides had agreed had agreed on a 'mechanism for preventing unpleasant surprises' such as the Ramat Shlomo announcement during the official visit by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden. In protest, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas canceled the proximity talks and Netanyahu to freeze settlement building in Judea & Samaria for ten months as an inducement to the Palestinians.
Binyamin Netanyahu (Photo: Amit Shabi)
Until now, Prime Minister Netanyahu has declared that settlement building will be resumed after those ten months run out on September 26th. If the Israeli leader is prepared to discuss an extension of the settlement freeze as part of new face-to-face negotiations with the Palestinians, this would mark a major shift in policy. He would have to receive major Palestinian concessions in return. Likud hardliners such as cabinet ministers Benny Begin and Moshe Yaalon, as well as Right-wing coalition partners are likely to hit the roof. Such a decision would trigger a political firestorm in Israeli politics, perhaps threatening to topple the government coalition. Netanyahu would have to receive a comparable quid pro quo from Abbas. Defense Minister Ehud Barak, about to begin a round of talks in Washington, has been pressing the Prime Minister to launch a new diplomatic peace initiative and the settlement freeze could be linked to such a gambit. Overall, Ambassador Oren described Israeli-U.S. relations as now 'being in a very good place' after the recent tensions. Washington supported Israel's maritime blockade of Gaza to prevent the smuggling of rockets and weapons to Hamas for fresh attacks on Israel. On the other hand, the U.S. had suggested adjustments to ease the flow of goods through the Israel's land terminal to Gaza and Jerusalem had taken this advice. The U.S. also agreed that any vessels should offload their cargoes at the Israeli port of Ashdod, just up the coast from Gaza, from where they would be transported by truck after being checked.
On another question, Washington also supported the civilian inquiry established by Israel to investigate the Marmara ship incident. Nine Turks were killed during a violent attack on the Israeli naval commandos, who diverted the vessel to Ashdod in keeping with Israel's blockade of Gaza. The bottom line was that if any vessels again try to violate the Israeli blockade they will be forced to change course for the Israeli port of Ashdod where their cargoes will be offloaded for inspection to search for rockets and weapons. Only then will Israel permit the cargoes to be transported by truck to Gaza.
The Iranian Missile Range
P.S.: Is Israel's warning of the Iranian nuclear threat finally getting through? At a Congressional hearing, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates warned:'Iran can launch dozens even hundreds of missiles at Europe!' However, Gates described Russia's yes and no about imposing sanctions on Iran as 'schizophrenic'. Although Moscow recognized the security threat posed by a nuclear Iran but on the other hand it wanted to take advantage of 'economic opportunies' that Gates said were not only available to the Europeans. In response, an angry Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told the the Wall Street Journal: 'The U.S. has nothing to lose by imposing more sanctions on Iran because she has no ties with Iran like Russia and China'. America, as leader of the Free World sacrifices most of her lucrative ties with Iran in confronting the nuclear threat, and then is told by countries like Russia and China that she has now nothing to lose economically, so don't interfere with our business. Is this not the kind of international immorality that drives most of the UN's decisions and actions.
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Suicide Squad hits cinemas
Our Work | August 5 2016
This hotly anticipated film hits cinemas today and we can’t wait to see it. Its made up of a host of comic book characters and some serious supernatural goings on. Directed by David Ayer, the film is fully committed to the superhero look and feel, with its motley crew of convicted felons, who in exchange for a better prison deal, are sent on an insanely risky mission by the US government (operating under the name of “Suicide Squad”) that will probably get them killed. We teamed up with Kinetic to introduce the squad ahead of the film’s UK release by covering the nation with thousands of eye-catching posters.
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Semenya accuses IAAF of treating her like 'human guinea pig'
PARIS, France (AFP) — South Africa's double Olympic 800m champion Caster Semenya on Tuesday accused world athletics' governing body the IAAF of using her as a "human guinea pig".
"The IAAF used me in the past as a human guinea pig to experiment with how the medication they required me to take would affect my testosterone levels," said Semenya.
The South African is locked in a bitter dispute with the IAAF over the federation's rule requiring women with higher than normal male hormone levels, a condition known as hyperandrogenism, to artificially lower their testosterone to compete in races at distances of 400m to the mile.
"Even though the hormonal drugs made me feel constantly sick, the IAAF now wants to enforce even stricter thresholds with unknown health consequences," Semenya said in a statement.
"I will not allow the IAAF to use me and my body again. But I am concerned that other female athletes will feel compelled to let the IAAF drug them and test the effectiveness and negative health effects of different hormonal drugs. This cannot be allowed to happen."
The athlete, who won the women's 800 metres at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, unknowingly underwent a gender test shortly before she won gold at the 2009 Berlin world championships which allegedly showed she had both male and female characteristics.
She was forced to spend eight months out, the IAAF clearing her to compete again in July 2010.
Switzerland's top court last week rejected an IAAF request to re-impose their rules on testosterone after it had temporarily suspended them following an appeal by Semenya.
Semenya had contested a decision by the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport which previously found that the rules were "discriminatory" but "necessary" to ensure fairness in women's athletics.
The athlete's lawyers, however, issued a statement on Tuesday welcoming the "publication by the CAS of the arbitral award setting out the CAS Panel's reasoning and limitations in making its award".
The CAS Panel states that "Ms Semenya is a woman. At birth, it was determined that she was female, so she was born a woman".
"She has been raised as a woman. She has lived as a woman. She has run as a woman. She is — and always has been — recognised in law as a woman and has always identified as a woman."
Semenya's lawyers said that the "IAAF has taken it upon itself to decide who is, and who is not, woman enough in the eyes' of the IAAF, and to discriminate on that basis".
"While the IAAF publicly claims that it is not engaged in sex testing, the CAS Award makes it clear that the IAAF is doing exactly that," they said.
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The Hairy Bikers Ride Route 66!
Tuesday 19th February, 2019
The boys are about to embark on their most iconic road trip to date: America’s Route 66.
Coming to BBC Two later this year, The Bikers Ride Route 66 is a brand new series. They will motor through eight different states, all with their own distinct landscapes, history, flavours and people.
The Bikers' journey will be carved into six legs, in which they’ll visit destinations like Chicago, St Louis and Las Vegas, and travel through incredible landscapes from vast prairies in Oklahoma to the staggering scale of the Grand Canyon. The breadth of food on offer will allow them to experience everything from the very latest L.A. trends to regional specialities that only the locals know about.
“America has a multicultural food scene and is the home of some outrageous food," says Si. "We’re all accustomed to the supersized portions and all-you-can-eat challenges that the USA has become known for, but we’ll be seeking out the best and most diverse cuisine this fascinating country has to offer.”
“Route 66 is a bucket-list trip for us and it truly is an American dream to take in the sights and scenery of this part of the world" adds Dave. "All whilst enjoying some delicious local delicacies along the way.”
David Brindley, Head of Popular Factual and Factual Entertainment, says: “It’s always a joy to have the Hairy Bikers on our screens, and they are sure to bring the excitement and thrill of this iconic cross-country road trip to audiences on BBC Two later this year.”
Dan Adamson, Director of Programmes at Twofour, says: “This will be the ultimate American road trip and a real treat for fans, celebrating the greatest food, characters and locations along the ‘Mother Road’ of the USA. In this epic adventure the boys serve up plenty of delicious looking food and definitely not just the usual burgers, brisket and BBQ.”
The Hairy Bikers Ride Route 66 is produced by Twofour for BBC Two. The Executive Producers for the Twofour Group are Dan Adamson and Melanie Leach. It was commissioned by Patrick Holland, Controller, BBC Two and David Brindley, Head of Popular Factual and Factual Entertainment. The BBC Commissioning Editors are Catherine Catton and Max Gogarty.
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From owner-imap@chumbly.math.missouri.edu Wed Jun 11 11:04:43 2003,
Date: Tue, 10 Jun 2003 23:28:04 -0500 (CDT)
From: cxpowell <GATAComm@aol.com>
Subject: Bush’s Barrick Corp Drops Bombshell
Bush’s Barrick Corps drops bombshell
From Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee (GATA), Tuesday 10 June 2003, 1:19a ET
(one more piece of evidence. It can hardly be denied any more that the dollar exchange rate control mechanism, the magic invoked behind the scenes when the US talks up the dollar, has been the suppression of the price of gold by essentially short-selling massive quantities of central bank gold. The world economy is in deep doodoo)
Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:
Barrick Gold has confessed that it and its bullion banker, JP Morgan Chase & Co., are the direct agents of the central banks in the international control of the gold price.
Barrick’s confession was filed in U.S. District Court in New Orleans as part of a legal maneuver to gain dismissal of the federal anti-trust lawsuit brought against it and Morgan Chase by Blanchard & Co., the New Orleans-based coin and bullion dealer. Barrick moved to dismiss the Blanchard lawsuit on the grounds that the suit had failed to include as defendants some indispensable parties whose vital interests are at stake, the central banks; that the central banks, having what is called sovereign immunity against suit, simply could not be included in the suit; and that the suit therefore had to be dismissed.
Barrick’s confessional motion was dated February 28 this year and is posted at the Barrick Internet site here, headlined Memorandum in support of motion to dismiss for failure to join indispensable parties :
http://www.barrick.com/2_Press_Releases/
GATA has copied the memorandum and posted it at GATA Chairman Bill Murphy’s Internet site for some permanence in case Barrick removes it from the company’s own Internet site. GATA’s copy of the memorandum is posted here:
http://www.lemetropolecafe.com/img2003/memoformotiontodis.pdf
Fortunately, the judge hearing the Blanchard lawsuit, Helen G. Berrigan, denied Barrick’s motion two weeks ago after an exchange in open court with one of the company’s many lawyers, Mark D. Wegener. That exchange is appended here. The judge concluded that Barrick’s motion to dismiss argued in effect that an illegal action involving so many powerful entities from all around the world is going to be immune from being challenged.
That’s, as we say, not acceptable, Judge Berrigan said, denying Barrick’s dismissal motion.
Barrick and Morgan still have other dimissal motions pending and much remains to be done before they can be held fully accountable for themselves in court and compelled to produce evidence and testimony.
But it is thrilling that Judge Berrigan has indicated that she will not be intimidated by all the (fiat) money and power in the world, and thrilling that one of the issues on which GATA consultant Reg Howe’s trail-blazing federal lawsuit against the same conspiracy foundered—sovereign immunity—has been removed as an obstacle in the Blanchard case because of the much smaller number of defendants.
Building on the Howe case, the Blanchard case has an ever-improving chance of bringing transparency and honesty to the gold market and to national economic policy generally. GATA supports the Blanchard suit and urges its friends to inform the mining industry about the suit’s encouraging progress.
CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
From oral argument in
Blanchard & Co. et al
Barrick Gold Corp.
and JP Morgan Chase & Co.
U.S. District Court
for the Eastern District of Louisiana
Judge Helen G. Berrigan, presiding
The Court: How would those contracts be challenged, under your theory that everybody has to be involved? Because, how do you get jurisdiction over everybody?
Mr. Wegener: You can’t.
The Court: So you all can just tally-ho and do anti-competitive stuff? ... So the idea is, if you get enough people involved in a monopoly, then you’re immune from litigation?
Mr. Wegener: Well, I don’t think it’s quite that. ...
The Court: And you’re saying it’s not possible to bring everybody in?
Mr. Wegener: Yeah, I think you can’t bring the central banks in, because they’re immune. You can’t bring in all the bullion banks, because they’re beyond the jurisdiction of the court. ...
The Court: I mean, if what you say is correct, then it sounds like the legal remedy is for individual plaintiffs, like, say, Blanchard, to go to the United States court, like he’s done here, and go after J.P. Morgan. And then wherever these other entities are, to go to those courts, in those countries, in those locales, and try to seek the same relief. ... But I’m very much troubled by the end result of your argument, which is to the effect that if an outfit is large enough and involves enough people, enough entities, then they can kind of do what they want. .. But I just don’t find it possible to think that something could—if, in fact there is an anti-trust violation going on here—that because it involves so many powerful entities from all around the world, therefore it’s going to be immune from being challenged. That’s, as we say, not acceptable.
Mr. Wegener: Uh-huh.
The Court: If that’s the logical result of your argument, then I’m going to have to find some other way to deal with it than that.
Judge Berrigan denied Barrick’s motion to dismiss.
Recommended Internet sites for daily monitoring of gold and precious metals
http://www.jsmineset.com
http://www.mineweb.com/
http://www.gold-eagle.com/
http://www.kitco.com/
http://www.usagold.com/
http://www.GoldSeek.com/
http://www.goldenbar.com/
http://www.silver-investor.com
http://www.thebulliondesk.com/
http://www.sharelynx.net
http://www.mininglife.com/
http://www.financialsense.com
http://www.goldensextant.com
http://www.goldismoney.info/index.html
http://www.depression2.tv
http://moneyfiles.org/
http://www.minersmanual.com/minernews.html
http://www.a1-guide-to-gold-investments.com/euro-vs-dollar.html
http://www.lemetropolecafe.com/
Eagle Ranch discussion site
http://os2eagle.net/checksum.htm
To subscribe to GATA’s dispatches, send an e-mail to:
gata-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
To unsubscribe, send an e-mail to:
gata-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
c/o Chris Powell, Secretary/Treasurer
7 Villa Louisa Road
Manchester, CT 06043-7541
GATA is a civil rights and educational organization under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code and contributions to it are tax-deductible in the United States.
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Organized labour and economic liberalization.
India: Past, present and future
By Debashish Bhattacherjee,
Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, n.d. (year 2000)
2.Contrasting views on trade unions as institutions. A comparative framework
3.The changing economic environment and its effects on organized labour in India
3.1The four phases of unionism: An evolutionary approach
3.1.1 The first phase of unionism (1950 to mid-1960s)
3.1.2 The second phase of unionism (mid-1960s to 1979)
3.1.3 The third phase of unionism (1980-1991)
3.1.4 The fourth phase of unionism (1992-2000)
3.2 The issues
3.2.1 Unionization and employment
3.2.2 Union structure and union density
3.2.3 Wages and working conditions
3.2.4 Collective bargaining
3.2.5 Industrial conflict
3.2.6 Labour management relations
3.2.7 Inter-state variations
3.2.8 Women workers and unionization
3.2.9 Changing public perception of trade unions
4.Future role of trade unions in India: Organizing the unorganized
4.1 The private corporate sector
4.2 Public sector enterprises
4.3The informal sector
Appendix: Tables
Table 1. Employment in the organized sector (in 000,000s)
Table 2. Number of registered unions and membership of unions submitting returns
Table 3. Industrial conflict (1950-1997)
Table 4. Economic indicators
Table 5. Employment elasticities in major sectors
Table 6. Sectoral distribution of employment in the formal economy (in 000,000s)
Table 7. Sector-wise number and membership of trade unions submitting returns
Table 8. Index numbers of consumer prices (1960-61 to 1993-94)
Table 9. Index number of wage rates
Table 10. Real wages in organized manufacturing, 1960/61 - 1983/84
Table 11. State-wise number and membership of trade unions submitting returns
This paper examines the role of organized labour in India in a structural and historical context. It attempts to trace the economic, political and social effects of the trade union movement and its strategies over time. These effects are felt at enterprise- and/or firm-level, industry-level, regional and national level. First we consider the effect of changing economic conditions on the evolution of trade unions and bargaining institutions in largely urban labour markets in the post-independence period (1947 onwards). Some contemporary issues affecting the organized labour movement in India today are then discussed.
This essay has two main objectives: (a) to present a history of Indian industrial relations, broadly understood as the changing relationships between workers, trade unions, employers, the economy and the state; (b) to posit a political economy of trade unionism in India.
The evolution of trade unionism (and industrial relations in general) is described in terms of the "four phases of unionism". This corresponds with structural changes in the economy and we trace the effect of these changes on labour markets as well as on the (very broadly defined) industrial relations arena. The first phase (1950 to mid-1960s) corresponds to an era of state planning and import substitution, when public-sector employment and public-sector unionism rose phenomenally. Unions and bargaining structures were highly centralized; the two main federations were the nationalist Indian National Trade Union Congress and the communist All India Trade Union Congress. State intervention in the determination of wages and working conditions was the norm and "state-dominated pluralism" was the labour regime during this first phase.
The second phase (mid-1960s to 1979) is associated with a period of economic stagnation and political turmoil. Employment slowed down, there were massive inter-union rivalries, and industrial conflict increased. Centralized bargaining institutions now started feeling the pressure of dissent from below, and both the Hind Mazdoor Sabha and the Centre of Indian Trade Unions made significant progress in the labour movement. The crisis culminated in the May 1974 railway strike that was followed by the 1975-77 Emergency Regime of Mrs. Gandhi. An "involuted" pluralism dominated Indian labour relations during this second phase.
The third phase (1980-1991) corresponds to a period of segmented and uneven economic development. Decentralized bargaining and independent trade unionism enter the stage in a significant way. Two major strikes (the 1980/81 Bangalore public-sector strike and the 1982 Mumbai textile workers strike) marked this phase, and inter-state and inter-regional variations in the nature of labour-management regimes became much wider. In the more profitable economic sectors the unions gained, but in the unorganized and declining sector, workers lost out and unions were left with few strategies.
Finally, the fourth phase of unionism (as yet incomplete, 1991-2000) represents the post-economic reform period. The stabilization and structural adjustment programmes led to demands for increased labour market flexibility, especially employment flexibility. This has led to a recruitment freeze in many public sector sites, and unions in these sectors now have to cope with competition at local level. In non-viable public enterprises, unions are coming to terms with "voluntary" retirement schemes. In the early years of economic reform there were sincere attempts by all parties to engage in tripartite consultations, but there now seem to be several barriers to this form of engagement.
The essay then gives a more detailed presentation of crucial issues which are particularly relevant to the trade union movement in India today. These are: the relationship between unionization and employment; union structure and union density; wages and working conditions; the changing nature of collective bargaining; changing patterns of industrial conflict; the nature of labour-management relations; the (extremely important) issue of inter-state and regional variations in labour regimes; the question of women workers and unionization; and the changing public perception of trade unions. The main findings are summarized below.
In both the public and private sectors, employment in industry has substantially declined, especially since the economic reforms; however, employment in public sector services has increased since the third phase of unionism. The trend in most industries is to reduce permanent employment and to use more contract, temporary and casual workers.
Trade unions have performed well in profitable industries, mainly in private (often multinational) enterprises, but also in some public sector firms with decentralized bargaining structures. However, they lack new strategies in the older and declining sectors of production where industry-wide bargaining structures are typically the norm. Whereas workers and unions in non-viable public enterprises are facing closure and an uncertain future, centralized unions representing employees in public services remain strong due to the monopolistic nature of their product markets.
The number of plant-based independent and unaffiliated trade unions has risen, which may have caused a decline in the power of centralized affiliated unions, especially in the private sector.
Two critical changes in collective bargaining are the expansion of coverage and scope of long-term agreements. Competitive market pressures, especially since the beginning of economic reform, have forced bargaining outcomes to be decided at local level.
The procedural environment required for competitive industrial pluralism to work at its best is still absent from the Indian industrial relations system (absence of a secret ballot, absence of a single bargaining agent, absence of third-party arbitration and strong restraints on "legal" strikes). This makes the organized labour movement still very dependent on state recognition and patronage. All parties recognize the urgent need for comprehensive labour law reform.
Modern human resources management has significantly altered labour-management relations in the advanced sectors of production without necessarily leading to a decline in union bargaining power.
Inter-state and inter-city variations in labour-management relations have increased since the mid-1980s, and in the absence of a concerted effort on the part of the central government to reform labour laws, these variations are likely to be accentuated with the progress of economic reform.
Women workers are largely concentrated in the self-employed and unorganized sectors with little representation in trade unions. Non-governmental organizations have made considerable efforts to organize women in these vulnerable occupations.
The paper concludes with a discussion of the future role of trade unions, concentrating on the unionization of informal sector workers. Given the low levels of unionization in India (relative to comparable countries), and given that a large proportion of workers are employed in the informal sector (a trend which is likely to intensify with the economic reforms currently underway), the trade union movement has to make a determined effort to organize informal sector workers. This calls for concerted action on the part of the centralized trade union federations in alliance with other social movements and non-governmental organizations. It is only through this kind of extensive mobilization that "public action" can be triggered to "level-up" the labour market institutions of vulnerable sections of the workforce.
The organized labour movement will have to come to terms with global competition, technology, new industrial organization and structural/demographic changes in the workforce. The earlier, relatively insulated, systems for regulating employment will have to give way to more market-sensitive and flexible systems, ultimately even in the public sphere. Unions, especially in the service sector, will have to become sensitive to consumer needs. In the private sector, trade unions have adapted their structures in response to the decentralization of industrial relations, but these adjustments are painful and difficult in the public sector. There is no other way but to increase membership, which means organizing vulnerable workers in the informal sector. This is the most obvious way for unions to win broader community support. Finally, trade unions can only gain by cooperating and working together. Perhaps the new millennium will witness a series of mergers leading to a united and independent labour movement.
This paper examines the role of organized labour in India in a structural and historical context, tracing the economic, political, and social effects of the trade union movement over time. We look at union strategies at the level of the enterprise and/or firm, the industry, the region and the nation. The effect of changing economic conditions on the evolution of trade unions and bargaining institutions are described in largely urban labour markets in the post-independence period (1947 onwards). Then we consider some contemporary issues affecting the organized labour movement in India today.
The paper has two main objectives: a) to present a history of Indian industrial relations, broadly understood as the changing relationships between workers, trade unions, employers, the economy and the state; and b) to posit a political economy of trade unionism in India. The contrasting views of Freeman and Medoff (1984) of trade unions as "monopoly" institutions, or as the "collective voice" of workers serves as a theoretical framework here. From a policy perspective in democratic and pluralistic societies, the objective must be to minimize the "monopoly" effects and to strengthen the "collective voice" effects.
The position taken here is "that the evolution of labour institutions is determined by the objective interests of social groups inherent in the logic of a modern industrial society" (Zeitlin, 1987, p. 163), and that these "interests" are inevitably "ambiguous and context dependent". Consequently, it is difficult to establish mechanisms to ensure that labour institutions, such as trade unions, collective bargaining and the state, continue to play the parts assigned to them. The second proposition of this essay is that "no single approach to the study of labour organization is at present adequate - which is to say that the study of these matters is usually informed from several points of view" (Williamson, 1985, p. 241).
The organization of the paper is as follows. Section 2 provides a comparative framework by examining some proposals regarding union behaviour, economic performance and industrial/labour relations strategy. Section 3, on the changing economic environment and its effects on organized labour in India, consists of two parts. The first part expounds the "four phases of unionism". The second part deals with unionization and employment, union structure and density, wages and working conditions, collective bargaining, industrial conflict, labour-management relations, inter-state variations, women workers and unionization, and the changing public perception of trade unions. The concluding section comments on the future role of trade unions in India, with a focus on organizing non-unionized workers.
2. Contrasting views on trade unions as institutions
Freeman and Medoff (1984) examined the impact of unionism on the employment relationship in the US economy, contrasting the "two faces of unionism": the "monopoly" versus the "collective voice" view. These lead to a completely divergent analysis of the union as an economic and political institution; the policy implications of the two views are therefore fundamentally incompatible.
The first view analyses unions as large monopolies in the labour market whose basic objective is to increase their members' wages above the market level by restricting labour supply. This "wage mark-up" leads to a misallocation of human and capital resources, and is therefore not only economically suboptimal, but may also be socially undesirable in that it leads to greater inequalities within the workforce. In addition, strikes of all kinds impose an easily measurable loss on the economy. Finally, "union work rules", embedded in contract provisions often lower the productivity of both labour and capital by creating inflexibilities at the workplace. While these arguments typically emanate from free-market economists, social theorists who subscribe to this view often characterize unions as undemocratic and crime-riddled institutions.
In sharp contrast, the collective voice view asserts that unions have positive economic, political and social effects in pluralist democracies. The union's collective voice, determined by a "median voter", provides management with information on workplace and shopfloor issues, acting as a communication channel. This leads to the development and retention of specific skills, improves worker morale, provides conditions that eliminate quitting, and enables the union to pressure management to act fairly and efficiently in its daily operations. It is believed that unionized work environments are more productive than comparable non-unionized environments. Finally, unions are socially beneficial as they represent the interests of lower income groups and vulnerable sections of society.
Using the above framework, Freeman and Medoff examine union effects on economic efficiency and the distribution of income. They also examine the social nature of the union as an institution of modern industrial society. Questions about economic efficiency usually relate to whether unions enhance productivity through their collective voice or whether they block technological change through "monopoly" routes, such as inflexible contract provisions. These often compel employers to substitute capital for labour and to invest in better "quality" labour. This leads to productivity growth only in the sectors concerned, at the cost of overall employment growth in the economy. Questions relating to income distribution have to do with the effects of unions on non-unionized and unorganized workers. That is, do unions have positive or negative "spillover" effects on unorganized labour markets? Generally speaking, the higher the degree of unionization in an economy, the greater are the positive spillover effects and the smaller the wage inequalities within the workforce. Finally, the "monopoly" view holds that unions fight for their own selfish interests at the expense of others, and blames their political lobbying for bureaucratic and corrupt practices. The "collective voice" view sees unions as the economic and political institutions of the weaker segments of society.
It is clear that the political charter of the "collective voice" is based on pluralistic democratic principles, enlightened management and responsible trade unionism (Turnbull, 1991). The crucial assumptions of the "collective voice" are the following: (a) political and industrial pluralism; (b) interest group politics being played out in a multi-party regime of political liberalism; (c) a strong belief in the efficiency and fairness of "regulated conflict"; (d) an efficient and fair procedural environment, which implies the just implementation of unambiguous labour laws and a degree of symmetry among adversaries' bargaining resources; and, finally (e) trust in neutral third-party arbitration when confronted with a labour relations impasse. According to Williamson (1985, p. 241), "the institution of arbitration lies at the core of industrial pluralism". The basic premise of pluralist bargaining is that interest group conflict approximates the public interest. This paper explores the extent to which the assumptions and beliefs of pluralist industrial relations have evolved in India as structural changes have taken place and the political economy has developed.
A comparative framework
It is now a truism that economic performance is related to the nature of labour market institutions (see Horton et al., 1991; Nelson, 1991; Freeman, 1992; Buchele and Christiansen, 1992). Economic performance here means controlling inflation and generating employment, which implies productivity growth. In the world of unions and collective negotiations, the key variables frequently cited as determining economic performance are: the level at which bargaining takes place (plant, firm, industry/region, nation), and the nature of trade union structures.
Until at least the mid-1980s, the literature suggested that economies with a decentralized bargaining structure (enterprise-based unions negotiating at plant and firm level, as in East Asian countries, Japan and Switzerland) and economies with a centralized bargaining structure (national agreements with centralized trade union federations, as in Austria, Norway and Sweden) "performed" better than economies having industry-wide agreements with industry-wide unions, as in the US and UK. Put another way, "collective voice" effects seem to be maximized in centralized bargaining structures, whereas "monopoly" effects seem to be greatest at medium levels of centralization. This is the famous "Calmfors-Driffil" relationship, based on the premise that the extent of labour-management cooperation (or conflict) is determined by the degree of centralization of the bargaining institutions. Its relevance to developing countries was examined by Nelson (1991), the argument being that as centralized labour market institutions cannot easily be replicated in these countries, decentralized labour institutions may be the most efficient arrangement (see Horton et al., 1991). The whole debate on labour market flexibility and globalization is concerned with the degree of decentralization of labour market institutions (see for example, Katz, 1993).
While most commentators would agree that labour market flexibility is required for facilitating economic restructuring, heated controversy surrounds the question of how this flexibility is to be achieved. As transition will involve considerable social costs, what is to be the role of the state and the trade union movement in managing this transition? The debate acquired particular significance with the release of the World Bank World Development Report: Workers in an integrating world (1995) and an ILO report: World Employment 1996-97 - National policies in a global context. (Endnote 1) The World Bank Report hypothesizes increasing employment and labour incomes with greater integration of nations into the global market, positing a reduced role of the state in the labour market and expecting trade unions to be responsible and non-political. On the other hand, the central message of the ILO Report is that state intervention with centralized bargaining institutions can return economies to full employment policies, which it sees as the only way to create jobs and better earnings opportunities (D'Souza, 1998).
Where does India fit in this comparative framework? The Indian economy represents a mix of all three bargaining levels and a variety of union structures. In the private corporate sector, plant-level bargaining takes place with enterprise-based unions that may or may not be affiliated to parliamentary political parties. In public-sector enterprises, centralized trade union federations affiliated to political parties bargain with the state (as employer) at industry-and/or national-level. Central and state government employees in the service sector (transport, postal services, banking and insurance, police and firefighters, etc.) are usually represented by politically affiliated unions bargaining at national and/or regional level. Most of these centralized bargaining and union structures were stable during the period of planned industrialization while India pursued a policy of import substitution. However, since the mid-1980s the economy has opened up to greater domestic and international competition, and these structures have come under increasing pressure to decentralize. These pressures have become stronger since the economic liberalization programme was introduced in 1991, especially in the public sector. As in other countries, the state has gradually retreated from its earlier role of creating permanent employment and regulating union-management bargaining.
India has had mixed experience with creating labour institutions that are compatible with a pluralist industrial relations model. In the early years, the government officially promoted industrial pluralism and bilateral collective bargaining, but the institutions responsible for this were largely controlled by the state. This "state-dominated" pluralism, coupled with ambiguous labour laws regarding trade union recognition and "industrial disputes", eventually led to a multiplicity of party-based trade unions. This considerably weakened the political power of the organized labour movement as a whole, although in some strategic sites in the public sector centralized unions had considerable bargaining strength. Although unions could impose severe costs on key sectors of the economy, the organized labour movement as a whole was not strong enough to impose a cooperative solution at national level. This is still true today.
With economic liberalization, competitive forces began to affect the structure of the union movement. In several private enterprises, "independent" rank-and-file led unions came into existence and engaged in informed and militant bargaining, often with multinational employers, securing substantial wage and non-wage gains in the process. As these unions "traded off" increased wages against employment growth, and as employers shifted to "outsourcing" from non-union sites, the traditional party-based unions found their potential recruitment terrain both challenged and curtailed. More recently, since the liberalization process officially began in 1992, many of these centralized party-based unions have united under a common front to resist government attempts at privatization and decentralization in the public sector. However, the organized labour movement as a comprehensive organization continues to face a fractured and segmented constituency, divided by skill, region, industry and ethnicity. In addition, major labour law reform continues as an unfinished (and forever postponed) agenda.
In terms of the "monopoly" versus the "collective voice" framework, the early years after independence witnessed the state acting as the 'collective voice' of workers for the purpose of rapid industrialization with minimum industrial strife. In so doing, the state minimized the potential "monopoly" effects, wages and working conditions were administered rather than decided through collective negotiations in the public sector. An implicit "incomes policy" kept the "'union wage mark-up" in check. Over time, however, as both inter- and intra- industry differentiation developed, especially within the private sector, other, more radical and militant, union "voices" emerged that quite effectively began to challenge the state hold on the organized labour movement. In the private sector, efficient productivity bargaining with informed unions kept "monopoly" effects within the firm in check while "collective voice" effects increased. However, in public sector enterprises and services, the union "voice" led to rigid and inflexible contract provisions. With pay increases unrelated to improvements in productivity, union "monopoly" effects intensified. There seems to be some agreement now among labour commentators and researchers that (since at least the early 1980s) some segments of the organized workforce made substantial wage and non-wage gains in the more profitable sectors of production. The large majority of workers, however, continue to face increasing employment insecurity, if not lower wage growth, both in declining industries in the formal sector and in the growing informal sectors. With the onset of economic liberalization, these "negative union spillover" effects may accentuate inequalities within the workforce. Clearly there is need for a concerted attempt by the state and the organized labour movement to actively reverse these trends by levelling-up the labour market institutions which affect the wages and working conditions of the unorganized.
3. The changing economic environment and its effects on organized labour in India
3.1 The four phases of unionism: An evolutionary approach
3.1.1 The first phase of unionism (1950 to mid-1960s)
The first phase of the (post-independence) (Endnote 2) Indian trade union movement generally corresponds to the first three Five-Year Plans (1951-56, 1956-61, 1961-66), a period of "national capitalism". A state-led industrialization policy with an import substitution strategy resulted in the formation of large, employment-intensive public sector enterprises, mostly in the capital and intermediate goods sectors. This massive development of the public sector aided the private corporate sector in terms of supplying the necessary intermediate and capital goods (Desai, 1975). Between 1951 and 1965, industrial production increased at an average annual rate of 7.7 per cent, and manufacturing output increased at the rate of 7.6 per cent (Nayyar, 1981). High growth rates were sustained by public investment in capital and intermediate goods, while growth in consumer durables slowed down. Rigid import-substitution policies guaranteed the domestic market and stimulated private sector investment (Patnaik and Rao, 1977).
The expansion of large public enterprises led to employment growth in the formal economy, mainly in such enterprises, but also in the private sector, notably in services, transport and education. Average employment growth increased rapidly from around 0.4 per cent per annum from 1951 to 1956 to around 2 per cent per annum from 1961 to 1966 (Papola, 1994). Public sector employment quite naturally led to public sector unionism. The number of registered trade unions increased from 4,623 in 1951/52 to 11,614 in 1961/62; membership in the registered unions that submitted returns more than tripled during this period (Venkataratnam, 1996). (Endnote 3)
The communist-led All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) had dominated the organized labour movement since before independence (for example, in the textile and engineering industries of Mumbai, Calcutta, Kanpur). The growing public sector now provided a new terrain for large- scale unionization. It is here that the Congress Party-controlled Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) made early inroads. Unlike the AITUC, which rose from the rank and file, the INTUC was imposed on the labour movement from the outside. There were no ambiguities in the chain of command from party to union. As (the then) Prime Minister Nehru stated (Chatterjee, 1980, p. 152):
It goes without saying that the INTUC has been sponsored and nursed mostly by Congressmen and derives its strength from the moral and other support of the Congress��.�it is imperative that in all political matters all Congressmen working in the INTUC should treat the Congress as its supreme body and abide by its code of conduct.
Myron Weiner's (1962, p. 78) observation of the INTUC leadership was succinct: "Their loyalties are to the Congress Party, then to the present (Congress) government, to the nation and last of all to the workers who belong to their unions." When confronted with a choice between the patronage of the ruling party and genuine worker support, the INTUC usually opted for the former (Chatterjee, 1980). Since chief ministers, labour commissioners, registrars of trade unions, inspectors, conciliators, tribunal officials, magistrates, police officers and all other officials who dealt with unions (during this first phase) were appointed by the Congress government, management officials were often requested or pressured to assist INTUC unions to establish themselves or defeat rival unions (Kennedy, 1966).
This relationship between the state (i.e. ruling government) and its affiliated trade union federation during the first phase of unionism seems to have tied in neatly with the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act (IDA) of 1947 which, according to Datta Chaudhuri (1996, p. 12), is "the single most important piece of legislation between the worker and his employer". The Act makes no provision for procedures to determine the representative union in what would normally be a single bargaining unit, and as employers were under no legal obligation to bargain with unions, there were no built-in incentives for either party to engage in collective bargaining. Early writings on Indian industrial relations consistently pointed to this aspect of the Industrial Disputes Act and the way in which it impeded collective bargaining during this period (Kennedy, 1966; Punekar, 1966). Coupled with this was the Indian Trade Union Act of 1926; the Act allowed any seven workers to register their trade union, but made no provision for union recognition (e.g. through a "secret ballot" procedure). While the opposition unions were for a "secret ballot" to determine union strength, the INTUC was against it, favouring instead the "check-off" system of membership receipts, a system that could easily be manipulated. (Endnote 5)
after the Labour Minister who resigned in protest, and many commentators see this as a major setback to the development of a mature industrial relations system (Ramaswamy, 1984). In more contemporary language, it may have been a strategic mistake: one can only imagine how the industrial relations system would have developed if the "Giri Approach" had been adopted.
State intervention in the determination of wages and working conditions was the norm during the first phase; wages were determined by political and institutional considerations (Myers, 1958; Fonseca, 1964; Jackson, 1972). The structure of bargaining was very centralized, usually at national level, but at industry level in some regions (e.g. Mumbai textiles). In a few cases private- sector bargaining was at enterprise level. Wage determination during this first phase was known at the time as "tripartism" and "political bargaining".
In terms of the movement of real wages of industrial workers during this first phase, India was held out as an example of the Lewis model of growth at work, with both product and consumption wage growing slower than labour productivity (Jackson, 1972). Low unionization, inter-union rivalries sharpened by political affiliation, excess supply of labour and state intervention of a complex and peculiar type contributed to a wage lag (Deshpande, 1992). As the famous Report of the National Commission on Labour (1969), examining the real wages of industrial workers for the period 1951-64, stated: "increases in money wages of industrial workers since Independence have not been associated with a rise in real wages nor have real wage increases been commensurate with improvements in productivity". The labour relations regime promoted "responsible unionism" subject to maintaining industrial peace (Johri, 1967). Both the number of strikes and the number of workers involved in strikes during the first phase were significantly lower than during the second phase and beyond (Johri, 1967; Sengupta, 1992). By the end of the first phase of unionism, further splits had occurred in the labour movement: the Socialists broke away from the Congress and formed their own trade union federation, the Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS), and during the Indo-Chinese conflict, the radicals broke away from the Communist Party of India and formed the Communist Party of India (Marxist) which generated its own trade union, the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU).
The first phase of unionism represented a period of state-driven industrialization that possibly required the government to guide or control the labour movement. At enterprise level, the capital-labour relationship was dominated by a paternalistic labour relations system based on the belief that the state knew more about workers' needs than they did themselves. In this way, the state appropriated the various "union voices" for the "collective" purpose of rapid industrialization with minimum industrial strife. In public sector enterprises and services, internal labour markets (Endnote 6) generated social harmony and a feeling of belonging.
Given the large number of statutes governing the terms and general conditions of employment(Endnote 7)
it is clear that the state attempted to execute the "idea of a national minimum". However, freedom to contract between capital and labour was restricted and mediated through the state. In addition, the idea of planned and rapid industrialization possibly excluded the basic premise of mature industrial pluralism, i.e. the belief that "regulated conflict" can be both productive to the economy and fair to the involved parties.
During this first phase of unionism, few strategic choices were open to unions or to employers as labour relations outcomes were over-determined by the state. The institutional structures that facilitate efficient collective bargaining remained underdeveloped. Government attempts at developing participatory choices at the small group level, through its legislated Work Committees (1947) and later through Joint Management Councils (1958), received at best a lukewarm response from management and unions (Venkataratnam, 1996).
During this first phase, union "voice" effects were probably larger than "monopoly" effects, as both unionization and employment in the organized sector increased significantly (see tables 1 and 2). In addition, given a phenomenal rise in the number of registered trade unions during this phase, one could argue that there were positive union spillover effects to previously unorganized sectors.
3.1.2 The second phase of unionism (mid-1960s to 1979)
The second phase of unionism more or less corresponds with the Annual Plans for 1967-69, the Fourth (1969-74) and Fifth (1974-79) Five-Year Plans. "The rate of inflation rose above the politically sensitive danger-mark of 10 per cent in 1966/67 and 1967/68, and food price inflation was even higher (around 20 per cent)" (Joshi and Little, 1994, p. 48). Inflation worsened in 1973/74 and there were food riots in various states. The period is associated with industrial stagnation (Nayyar, 1981). Thus, between 1965 and 1975, the average annual rate of growth in total industrial production and in manufacturing output increased at only 3.6 per cent and 3.1 per cent respectively (Nayyar, 1981). Political economists have posited various explanations for this slowdown: the deceleration in public investment (Raj, 1976; Vaidyanathan, 1977; Patnaik and Rao, 1977), the unequal terms of trade between agriculture and industry (Mitra, 1977), the inefficiencies of state regulation in the public sector (Bhagwati and Srinivasan, 1975), and changes in the structure of demand resulting from growing income inequalities (Nayyar, 1981).(Endnote 8)
In addition, the economy suffered oil price shocks in 1973 and in 1978. During this phase, especially during the Fourth and Fifth Five-Year Plans, actual growth rates for industrial production were far below plan targets (Ahluwalia, 1991, p. 11). It is quite clear that the deceleration adversely affected the level of employment in the economy as a whole.
Structural changes in the economy obviously had an effect on union activity, collective bargaining practices, industrial labour markets, and labour relations in general. There was a dramatic increase in the number of disputes (strikes and lockouts), the number of workers involved and the number of workdays lost between 1966 and 1974 (Sengupta, 1992). New forms of protest, such as the "hartal" (go-slow), often resulting in considerable violence, emerged during this second phase. In certain regions, such as West Bengal, these were used quite frequently and effectively, leading to a significant outflow of capital to other parts of the country.
Disillusionment with the INTUC's internal practices and its ineffectiveness at enterprise level led to a proliferation of unions affiliated to other, more radical, political organizations during the first part of this second phase. Workers sought more skilled politicians and negotiators to lead their struggles. The relationship between the rank and file and outside leadership in the non-INTUC unions could be characterized, to use Holmstrom's (1984, p. 289) phrase, as "a transaction between the membership and a politician known as a good negotiator". Two demographic factors may be associated with this change in worker preferences: a) a growing proportion of workers were young people who had not participated in the pre-independence labour struggles; and b) (probably more important), the leaders of the radical unions at this time were mostly not party politicians but committed lawyers and student activists well-versed in the bureaucratic rites of the Indian industrial relations system (Chatterjee, 1980). An analysis of industrial disputes by "union-type" revealed that the number of disputes involving two or more central trade union federations increased between 1966 and 1973 compared to the first phase (Bhattacherjee, 1987a, p. 57), reflecting a period of intense inter-union rivalry. Uncertainties within the organized labour movement finally culminated in the all-India May 1974 railway workers' strike that shook the economy and the country.
During Mrs. Gandhi's Emergency Regime of 1975 to 1977 the right to strike was suspended, and this is clearly reflected in time-series strike data (Sengupta, 1992). In addition, the emergency regime pre-empted bargaining on key issues, froze wage increases, reduced the minimum annual bonus from 8.3 per cent to 4 per cent, and transferred increments in the cost-of-living allowance to a compulsory savings scheme (Rudolph and Rudolph, 1987). Two important interventions took place during this regime. The first was an attempt by the government to establish the National Apex Body, composed of 12 trade union federations and 11 employer representatives, in order to encourage a bipartite approach to industrial relations (as opposed to the earlier tripartite approach). On the surface this seemed more responsive to trade union preferences for voluntary collective bargaining, but this was not the case.
The second intervention was the 1976 amendment to the Industrial Disputes Act, that arose either from trade union pressure (unlikely during the Emergency!) or as a populist measure, which led to employment inflexibility: firms employing more than 300 workers had to get (state) government permission before they could lay off workers. Needless to say, government permission was seldom forthcoming. However, this apparently pro-union measure had an unexpected (at the time) effect: for the first time since independence, the number of workdays lost to lockouts exceeded the number of days lost to strikes (Sengupta, 1992).
During the post-Emergency regime of the Janata government (1977-80),there was a qualitative change in the political climate but not much rethinking in the industrial relations structure (Sengupta, 1992). A government attempt to put forward an industrial relations bill banning strikes and lockouts in essential industries and services met stiff opposition from most trade unions. The bill was not passed (Sengupta, 1992). In 1977, the major central trade union organizations in decreasing order of membership were the Indian National Trade Union Congress, the All India Trade Union Congress, the Hind Mazdoor Sabha, and the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (Bhattacherjee, 1987a).
The second phase of unionism saw significant changes in collective bargaining practices,. The Industrial Disputes Act of 1947 did not provide for the compulsory recognition of a representative union as the sole bargaining agent, nor did it encourage or compel parties to bargain in good faith; more importantly, it gave no legal status to collective bargaining agreements. However, the 1965 amendment to the IDA gave a "higher legal footing" to agreements reached through conciliation and adjudication. Patil (1982) describes how employers and unions have used the 1965 amendment to transform agreements into legal documents. First, there is a form of coalition bargaining between multiple unions and employer in an enterprise so as to arrive at a satisfactory settlement. Then conciliation is sought (not after the failure of direct negotiations as in the first phase) in order to convert the agreement into a legally binding document. The terms of the agreement are signed in the presence of the conciliation officer, making the contract legally binding on all parties.
The states can add their own labour legislation to the central labour statutes, and in the early 1970s, Maharashtra, Gujerat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh enacted laws on trade union recognition. The Maharashtra Recognition of Trade Unions and Prevention of Unfair Labour Practices Act became effective from 1975. Failure to bargain with the (now-defined) representative union became an unfair labour practice under this Act. Its actual capacity to penalize is, however, questionable (Deshpande, 1992).
In terms of wage dynamics in the urban labour markets, the second phase of unionism was marked by significant changes as well. While the evidence suggested declining, or at best stationary, real wages during the first phase of unionism, Madan (1977) pointed out that the data used in earlier studies suffered from a serious downward-bias as they referred to a restricted category of low-paid workers. Using wage data generated by the Annual Survey of Industries (all workers) he found that the real wages of manufacturing workers had in fact increased since the early 1970s; he also showed that the proportion of low-paid workers to all workers had declined during the second phase. This hypothesis finds further support in the papers by Tulpule and Datta (1988; 1989) who, using Annual Survey data for 1967-84, found evidence of substantial real wage gains since the late 1970s, with substantial variations across industries.
It could be hypothesized that since the mid-1970s, segments within the union movement shifted their goals from those of right to those of interest. This distinction roughly corresponds with the value placed by unions on centralized lobbying (rights) vis-à-vis decentralized collective bargaining (interests). Various factors conditioned such a shift and these became apparent during the third phase of unionism; see below. Some of the key factors were: (a) uneven development of firms within an industry, as well as increasing inter-industry differentiation, meant that some sites were considerably more profitable than others. Unions in these sectors exploited the increased "capacity to pay" during collective bargaining, while unions in the declining sectors had no such opportunity; (b) workers and unions in the profitable sites were more aware of their firm's financial performance through their informed bargaining practices and/or through management willingness to share this information with unions, and (c) workers in these units realized that the leaders of many traditional party-based unions were averse to intense decentralized bargaining, because of their party commitments and their more national concerns.
These shifts and fractures within the organized labour movement had serious implications for union strategies, especially in maintaining solidarity across the entire organized labour movement. Specifically, it become increasingly difficult for the trade union movement in India to act as an "all encompassing" organization, especially during the third phase of unionism. A rather pessimistic variant of neo-institutional analysis of labour unions and collective action (Olson, 1971) can partly explain the above difficulties. According to this "logic of collective action", the assumption of rationality and self-interested behaviour on the part of individuals does not always lead to groups acting in the (collective) interest. This is because of the "public goods" nature of this collective interest: "though all of the members of the group therefore have a common interest in obtaining this collective benefit, they have no common interest in paying the cost of providing that collective good" (Olson, 1971, p. 21). In our context, the "cost" of obtaining collective benefits is different for the various segments of the organized labour movement. To the extent that these "costs" become similar across certain sectors with the onset of liberalization (especially in sectors facing closure, privatization and restructuring), there will be fewer barriers to the trade union movement acting as an all encompassing organization.
The second phase reflected an objective crisis of accumulation in industry under the state-led industrialization regime, and a subjective crisis of legitimacy of the "state pluralism" model in the existing industrial relations system. This mode of regulation caused the organized labour movement to split up. The unions of the left had alternate voices, and employers often found them easier to deal with in spite of their greater militancy. The Emergency Regime represented a failed attempt by the state to impose a Latin American-type of corporatism in labour-management relations. Dissension occurred at the end of this second phase both within capital and labour. In the growth sectors the labour-management relationship increasingly turned to an informed decentralized bargaining mode, while in the declining sectors, the government and the large centralized trade unions found themselves enmeshed in the "state pluralism" mode.
The analysis of Rudolph and Rudolph (1987, Ch. 10) illustrates the fact that "organized labour has not been able to challenge India's centrist ideology and politics, that is, to mount or support a left class party" (p. 259). These authors characterize the Indian industrial relations regime as one of state domination and "involuted pluralism", using the term involution "as a metaphor for a decline or loss of vigour that results from a replication of units whose increase in number is accompanied by a decline in effectiveness" (p. 269). They refer to the multiplicity of trade unions: in 1950/51 there were 2,002 registered trade unions, and in 1979 there were 10,021, while the average size of unions increased only marginally (see table 2). According to Rudolph and Rudolph, this "debilitating process" tends towards entropy, so that even though the number of unions increases manifold, union density keeps falling.
One might argue that the silent changes that took place in collective bargaining practices in the growth sectors of the economy represented attempts by both unions and capital to arrive at new governance and institutional structures so as to minimize transaction costs. The fractionalization of unions into smaller groups could then be interpreted as an efficient solution to organizing workers in a changed economic environment. In the public sector sites, economic crises created uncertainties in previously stable internal labour markets. In terms of industrial relations strategy, employers and unions in a few sectors had some strategic choices at their disposal.
Towards the end of this phase it became apparent that there were troubling union "monopoly" effects, especially in the public sector. Public sector and government employees received considerable fringe benefits, whereas in the private sector, unions had to bargain hard for such benefits in a competitive economic environment. Inflexible contract provisions, especially those relating to deployment and retraining and to seniority rules, increased costs substantially in the public sector. Overall, fractured union "voices" searched for a collective mode of expression as this second phase of unionism witnessed more industrial strife than the other three phases both in terms of the number of disputes and the number of workers involved (see table 3).
3.1.3 The third phase of unionism (1980-1991)
This phase corresponds to the Sixth (1980-85) and the Seventh (1985-90) Five-Year Plans, as well as the two Annual Plans (1990-92). Average annual growth rates during this decade were about 5.7 per cent but employment grew at only around 1.8 per cent (Papola, 1994). Employment elasticities in major sectors, especially in services, fell drastically during this time (Papola, 1994). In terms of Joshi and Little's (1994) analysis, the third phase of unionism corresponds to two distinct sub-periods: 1979/80 to 1984/85 and 1985/86 to 1990/91.(Endnote 9) During the first part, the economy suffered from severe internal and external shocks: one of the worst droughts since independence occurred in 1979, there was trouble in the northeast, an industrial recession in 1980/81, rising inflation and increasing oil bills. All this led to a balance of payments crisis and then to a massive IMF loan. In May 1984, India terminated the programme after drawing SDR 3.9 billion (Joshi and Little, 1994, p. 60). This period was also turbulent on the political front with Mrs. Gandhi's return to power in 1980, the assault on the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Mrs. Ghandi's assassination in October 1984 and the landslide victory of the Congress Party with her son Rajiv as Prime Minister.
The second part of this phase is associated with Rajiv Gandhi's economic liberalization measures. The economy moved away from import substitution towards strategies that encouraged export promotion and domestic competition. This was bought about by partial deregulation, financial liberalization, exchange rate policy, taxation, and export incentives (Joshi and Little, 1994, p. 62).(Endnote 10) After 1988 the country experienced severe unrest. The 1990 Gulf crisis was followed by economic recession and political turmoil.
India was now facing a full-scale macroeconomic crisis. "Agreement was reached with the IMF in January 1991 on a loan of $1.8 billion, partly out of the Compensatory Financing Facility (to offset increased oil imports) and partly as a first credit tranche standby" (Joshi and Little, 1994, p. 66).
The macroeconomic changes during this phase had a profound effect on the political economy of trade unionism and labour markets, as well as on the structure of industrial relations. On the union front, this phase started with a massive public sector strike in Bangalore during 1980/81 which involved giant public enterprises such as Hindustan Machine Tools, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Electronics Corporation of India, and Indian Telephone Industries.
The event that characterized the first part of this third phase was the famous, and much studied, Mumbai textile strike of 1982 (see Patankar, 1981; Pendse, 1981; Bhattacherjee, 1988; 1989; Van Wersch, 1992). This started as a wage and bonus issue in a few mills in late-1981, and soon developed into an industry-wide stoppage that ultimately became the longest strike in post-independence labour history. The basic cause was disquiet among the rank and file about the 1947 Bombay Industrial Relations Act, which had imposed an industry-wide bargaining structure with an unrepresentative union (affiliated to the Indian National Trade Union Congress) as the sole bargaining agent of workers. As a result of the internal differentiation within the mills which took place during the 1970s, workers wanted more control over their labour market- and industrial relations outcomes at the level of the individual mill. They approached Dr. Datta Samant to lead their struggle: his main project was to form and lead an "independent" trade union movement in Western India.
The textile strike ended in a whimper late in 1983: many workers returned to their villages, their lives ruined, employers restructured their mills in the advanced textile sector, and the credibility of the government-installed union in the industry declined to levels from which it could never recover (Bhattacherjee, 1988). Evidence from the immediate post-strike period seems to suggest that workers and unions, at least in the profitable mills, negotiated their own decentralized bargaining agreements (Bhattacherjee, 1989; Van Wersch, 1992). After Datta Samant formed the Kamgar Aghadi Party and won a few seats in Parliament in 1984, many commentators felt that this was a new and encouraging beginning for the organized labour movement in India.(Endnote 11)
Another important feature of this third phase was the proliferation of "independent" unions operating in the major industrial centres and competing with the traditional party-affiliated trade unions (both of the Congress and of the Left). In Mumbai, for example, the decline of the Left unions is partly attributable to their general opposition to intense decentralized bargaining (Pendse, 1981). Segmented and uneven developments in the industrial sector tied workers' earnings to the fortunes of the plant in which they were employed. An analysis of plant-level contracts from the Greater Mumbai-Thane industrial corridor revealed that, ceteris paribus, the "independent" unions delivered a higher wage and fringe package than did the affiliated unions at the beginning of this third phase (Bhattacherjee, 1987b). In a number of multinationals, it was found that workers with their "independent" unions exerted considerable control over the labour relations process, often more than their counterparts in the host country (see the example of Phillips in Banaji and Hensman, 1990).
In the late 1970s there was a phenomenal rise in the number of disputes led by unaffiliated unions and the importance of politically affiliated unions declined (Bhattacherjee, 1987a, p. 57). The ratio of registered unions that submit returns about their membership size to the total number of registered unions fell sharply from 60 per cent in 1962 to 21 per cent in 1974 to 13 per cent in 1982 (Bhattacherjee and Datta Chaudhuri, 1994a, p. 70). This would support the hypothesis of the rise of "independent" unionism, if the total number of registered unions that submit returns proxies the traditional party-affiliated trade unions.(Endnote 12) By 1989 the Labour Ministry listed the following union organizations in their registry: Indian National Trade Union Congress, All India Trade Union Congress, Centre of Indian Trade Unions, Hind Mazdoor Singh, the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sabha (BMS, affiliated to the BJP), the Hind Mazdoor Kamgar Party, United Trade Union Congress (UTUC), United Trade Union Congress Lenin Sarani, National Labour Organization, and a number of small independent unions.
Finally, this phase was marked by increasing inter-regional, inter-state, and inter-city variations in the nature of labour-management relations.(Endnote 13)
In a study of Bombay, Calcutta, Madras and Bangalore, Ramaswamy (1988) points to significant inter-city differences in the texture of labour-management relationships. He writes (1988, p.17): "The driving force of the Bombay labour movement are union leaders who disclaim allegiance to political parties and their trade union federations. What we find here is the most evolved Indian version of business trade unionism", and "the city has witnessed the steady decline, if not eclipse into oblivion, of ideological trade unionism". This clearly has something to do with the fact that private and multinational firms dominate Mumbai's urban economy. As Ramaswamy puts it: "there is an organic linkage between the buccaneering spirit of Mumbai unions and the eclecticism and adaptability of private enterprise".
In sharp contrast is the case of Calcutta, where a highly politicized industrial relations regime prevails with the dominant trade union federation (the CITU) under the close watch of the dominant political party (the CPI-M). This has created considerable inflexibilities for management, and has partly prohibited the growth of independent trade unionism. Bangalore, a city where both private and public sector enterprises thrive, especially those in the information technology industry, has witnessed the rise of plant and firm-based unions (as in Mumbai). Inter-city differences, attributable no doubt to different political, social, and urban histories, emphatically suggest the inherent difficulties in trying to generalize about an "Indian" labour relations system. With the passing of time, especially with the onset of the fourth phase (see below), attempts at this kind of generalization will become more and more difficult.
Changes in union structure, together with macroeconomic developments, considerably affected both employment and the wage structure. Between 1980/81 and 1988/89, while employment growth declined, the capital-labour ratio and labour productivity increased by 8 per cent and 7.5 per cent per year respectively (Ahluwalia, 1992). According to Ghose (1992, p. 95), "The most striking fact is that the 80s have been the best decade in terms of economic growth but the worst decade in terms of employment generation". Moreover, employment growth decelerated in all sectors of the economy and open unemployment increased in the 1980s (Ghose, 1992). The search for labour market flexibility in Indian manufacturing led labour-intensive firms and those engaged in the production of consumer non-durables to subcontract and outsource their production to the unorganized sectors (Ramaswamy, 1999).
Unions in the organized and more profitable sectors (often "independent" unions), managed to secure part of these productivity increases through militant bargaining and/or through productivity bargains that contained effective incentive structures. This resulted in slower employment growth. In the relatively unorganized and less profitable sites, workers and unions lost out. While formal sector employment as a percentage of total employment in manufacturing fell from 24.5 per cent in 1972/73 to 17.4 per cent in 1987/88, real wages of workers and "other employees" in organized manufacturing increased at a rate of 5.8 per cent and 4.1 per cent between 1983 and 1986 respectively, whereas low-paid workers suffered declining real wages (Ghose, 1992, p. 97). As the union wage effect increased significantly in the profitable sites (especially in consumer non-durables) during this phase, employers cut back on hiring and started retrenchment, increasing the capital-labour ratio which in turn increased labour productivity. Thus, according to this scenario, the faster growth of real wages in the 1980s played a role in slowing employment creation (Ahluwalia, 1992).
Bhattacherjee and Datta Chaudhuri (1994b) found that: (a) in the high-paid sector, real wages increased after the late 1970s and there were wage returns from striking, (b) in the low-paid sector, real wages declined after the early 1980s, and employers could lower wages by imposing lockouts; and (c) in terms of union structure, low-paid workers gain as unions submitting returns (proxy for traditional unions) increase their dominance within the union movement, whereas, high paid workers gain as registered unions not submitting returns (proxy for plant-specific unions) increase their dominance. The traditional unions predominant in the older industries provided overall protection to their members as long as these industries grew. As they declined, and as plant-specific unions reaped returns in the high-paid sector, workers in the low-paid sector "became more vulnerable to competitive forces and could no longer count on the traditional 'wage-welfare' functions provided by the party-based unions. Workers in this segment will find it difficult to form strong plant-specific unions due to increasing instability in their product markets" (Bhattacherjee and Datta Chaudhuri, 1994b, p. 459).(Endnote 14)
Jose (1992) examined earnings, employment, and productivity trends for 19 industry groups for the period 1970/71 to 1987/88. His findings were: (a) whereas the 1970s are associated with employment growth in both high and low wage sectors and with stagnant and even declining productivity levels, the 1980s are associated with slower employment growth with rising productivity levels, especially in the high wage sectors; (b) higher productivity brought about the (modest 2-3 per cent per year) increase in real earnings in the high-wage sectors. These findings seem to fit with the characterization of different types of union dominating these two labour markets since the early 1980s. Jose (1992) maintains that technological change led to the rise in wages and productivity, whereas subsequent analysts inverted the hypothesis to argue that union militancy and higher wages resulted in technological change that subsequently led to a decline in employment.
Labour researchers towards the end of this third phase focused on employment inflexibilities embedded in the Industrial Disputes Act (see Mathur, 1992). The 1982 amendment of the Industrial Disputes Act provided that a firm employing more than 100 workers (reduced from >300) needed permission from the state government to lay-off or retrench workers. Fallon and Lucas (1991) showed how employment would have been higher in several sectors without the 1976 and 1982 amendments. Mathur (1992) recommended that the sections pertaining to permission for lay-off, retrenchment or closure be deleted from the Act.
To remedy the limitations of the Industrial Disputes Act and the Trade Union Act, from both the union and the employer point of view, a number of changes were proposed in the Trade Unions and Industrial Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 1988 (Mathur, 1992). The proposed changes would reduce the fragmentation and multiplicity of unions, clearly define the bargaining agent by providing for a secret ballot, promote internal leadership, create state-level industrial tribunals, force employers to set up comprehensive bargaining councils to facilitate internal grievance settlement, and so on. After considerable debate however the bill was rejected because of controversy over the definition of "industry" (Mathur, 1992, p. 50).
The "independent" unions arose in Western India from within the rank and file, throwing up their own shopfloor leaders, and initially encountering considerable hostility from management due to their militant bargaining strategies.These unions arose primarily as a result of dissatisfaction with the bargaining weakness of the traditional unions at enterprise level.
One way to distinguish between unions is to look at the arguments which they emphasize at micro level (Bhattacherjee and Datta Chaudhuri, 1994b). Given the level of demand for organized labour, unions, like employers, face a wage-employment trade-off during contract negotiations. The situation that prevailed during the third phase, and continues to prevail, can be described in the following way. There are two types of union: those that are "altruistic" and those that are "selfish". Given a choice between wage increases and an increase in employment, the "altruistic" unions choose the latter, as membership is the crucial argument to be maximized; consequently, their bargaining strength is positively related to their size. The large and established national trade union federations that are typically affiliated to political parties, display this type of union behaviour. On the other hand, "selfish" unions are interested in maximizing the wages of those already employed in a particular enterprise, and confronted with the trade-off, they opt for wage increases. In this case, small is powerful. The so-called "independent" unions seem to approximate the latter. It is clear why the "selfish" unions would be more likely to sign productivity bargains than the "altruistic" unions; for the latter, productivity bargains cut at the source of their strength, i.e., growing union membership. While at micro level, in profitable sites, bilateral collective bargaining with "selfish" unions seems to have generated efficient and cooperative outcomes, at macro level, the trade union "movement" in a democracy has to be an all-encompassing organization. Here lies the difficulty in formulating a fair but efficient industrial relations policy: what is efficient at the micro level is not fair at the macro level (Bhattacherjee, 1996).
In terms of the "monopoly versus collective voice" framework, labour market evidence from the third phase of unionism seems to suggest that some monopoly effects dominated the collective voice, and that the proliferation of "selfish" unions and their microeconomic success may have had a negative effect on unorganized labour markets. In the private corporate sector, firms attempted "efficiency wage" strategies, usually with the cooperation of unions, but often changing the nature of plant or firm-level unions in the process. In public-sector internal labour markets, unions often became involved in unproductive activities while managing these enterprises. The importance of concepts such as internal governance structures of trade unions and their effects on efficiency and fairness became increasingly relevant during this phase of unionism.
In terms of industrial relations strategy, the actors had more options than before and one could even suggest that some segments operated their own strategy, insulated from outside forces. Thus, effective "gainsharing" resulted from efficient bargaining in some sectors, whereas in the unorganized sectors, a free market regime prevailed. Once more, attempts at serious reform of industrial relations law came to a predictable grinding halt.(Endnote 15)
In June 1991, the ruling minority government decided to adopt the World Bank-IMF stabilization and structural adjustment programme.(Endnote 16)
"In July 1991 the rupee was devalued twice, quotas on the import of intermediate and capital goods were reduced, tariffs were brought down, the state monopoly on exports and imports was ended and a statement on industrial policy was presented along with the Union Budget, which was aimed at reducing the fiscal deficit by two and a half percentage points" (Mathur, 1993, p. 333). The fourth phase of unionism more or less corresponds to the Eighth (1992-97) and the Ninth (1997-2002) Five-Year Plans.
According to Nagaraj (1997, p. 2870) "On average, the Indian economy grew at 5.3 per cent during the first five years of the reforms (1992-96), compared to 5.9 per cent during 1986-91". The tertiary sector grew fastest in the 1990s, at about 6.8 per cent per year. The economy has become considerably more "open" than ever before. There was some apprehension that government expenditure in the social sector would decline significantly, but Nagaraj (1997) found that social spending, averaged over four years since the reforms, did not suffer; most of the cuts made in defense and economic services. Again, contrary to expectations, investment performance in India actually improved after the reforms, with private corporate business emerging as the economy's "leading sector". However, in terms of industrial growth performance, "the manufacturing growth rate since the reforms is lower and its composition is uneven" (1997, p. 2875). Even though public investment had witnessed deep cuts since the reform, "public sector output growth and profitability improved" suggesting better resource utilization. Nagaraj concludes: "In sum, the good news (so far) is that there is no major, unqualified, bad news".
Transnational corporations, as expected, have reacted very favourably to the new economic policy. Chaudhuri (1995) examines the mechanisms through which transnational corporations have achieved entry and growth: through the ousting of Indian partners, through extensive mergers and acquisitions, and through expansion and fresh entry. The gross inflow of foreign direct investment rose from Rs.5.3 billion in 1991 to Rs.141.9 billion in 1994 (US$1 is approximately Rs.0.44), and although Chaudhuri is sceptical about the prospects of this investment leading to export-oriented growth in India, it is expected to generate some employment.
If the 1995-96 period was a slowdown, and 1996-97 was a year of "industrial recession and political uncertainty", the year 1997-98 can be described as an "elusive economic recovery" with a "hesitant government".(Endnote 17) A whole range of issues on the economic reform agenda remain incomplete: infrastructure development, greater transparency in investment procedures, restoration of business confidence, review of import duties, further banking sector reforms, and most important, public sector and labour market reforms.
The available data seem to suggest that economic reform has led to an increase in rural poverty and a decline in urban poverty; in fact, urban poverty was lower in 1993-94 than in any pre-reform year (Sen, 1996). Deshpande and Deshpande (1996) found that although the initial stabilization years "took some toll of organized manufacturing employment", subsequent structural adjustment led to employment growth at around 2.3 per cent between 1992/93 and 1994/95. If this rate continues for the next few years, "employment in the factory sector would be about 12 per cent higher at the turn of the century than in 1990/91" (1996, p. 18). In terms of the structure of employment, these authors found that in some sectors the employment share increased after the reforms (textiles, transport equipment, chemicals, beverages, metal products) while in others the employment share decreased (machinery).
Mundle (1992) presented employment and unemployment projections under "high" and "low" growth scenarios taking into account employment elasticities and labour force participation rates. Even under the most optimistic scenario in the private sector, given declining employment elasticities in organized manufacturing and the unlikely expansion of employment in the public sector, it is quite evident that a "large majority of the nearly 80 million persons who will join the labour force during 1999-2000 will have to find work as self-employed or casual workers" (Visaria and Minhas, 1991, p. 978). In terms of the impact of economic reforms on women workers, Deshpande and Deshpande (1992) believe that female unemployment may go down but the openings available will be low-wage jobs in secondary labour markets. In the light of the above, it seems imperative to expand the existing public employment schemes. However, the most appropriate strategy for a predominantly agrarian economy such as India must be to raise labour force participation rates and shift the workforce away from agriculture into more productive sectors so as to generate large economy-wide productivity gains (Bhaduri, 1993).
One of the main objectives of the economic reform package is the restructuring of unprofitable public sector enterprises.(Endnote 18) These enterprises are free to reduce their workforce through voluntary retirement schemes (VRS) assisted by the national renewal fund (NRF) instituted by the government, and by amendments to the Sick Industrial Companies Act 1985. The strengthening of the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction considerably facilitated this process (Mathur, 1993). The objectives of the NRF were to provide assistance to cover the costs of retraining and redeployment made necessary by modernization, technological upgrading, industrial restructuring, and possible closure. In 1993-94, Rupees 7 billion (US$1 = approx. Rs0.44) were allocated to the VRS in the central public sector enterprises; nearly Rupees 4.9 billion was allocated to the textile sector alone (Muralidhar, 1993).
While recruitment was all but frozen (especially at lower levels), the government also froze the centralized wage bargaining process for a few years after 1992. It later opened the negotiation process and attempted to decentralize bargaining by announcing that any wage increases would have to be absorbed by the specific enterprise as these could no longer be passed on to the final price. In other words, the new policy clearly stated that any additional wage burden would not receive budgetary support (Venkataratnam, 1996).
The need for tripartite consultation was clearly felt during the early years and many meetings took place. Mathur (1993) documents the experience of consultation during the early phase of structural adjustment in India (1990-92), and suggests that although the government partly diffused possible tension through its consultative approach, unions had "serious misgivings about the adequacy of consultation at (the) industrial or enterprise level" (p. 344).
Labour commentators have found that the centralized and traditional union structures often fall short of worker expectations, and in many instances, they are giving way to independent and decentralized union structures (Davala, 1992; Muralidhar, 1994). However, this (current) fourth phase has witnessed the growth of the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, affiliated to the Bharatiya Janata Party. In the state of Maharashtra, the trade union movement has become quite volatile since the locally based Shiv Sena party and its affiliated union, the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sena, made deep inroads.
During this phase the public has become acutely aware (largely through the print and visual media) that trade unions represent a declining "sectional interest group". Bhaduri and Nayyar (1996, p. 139) point this out in no uncertain terms: "The government also needs to protect consumers against sectional interests of many unrepresentative trade unions. While the trade union rights of workers must also be respected in any democracy, the government must also ensure, perhaps through secret ballot, that no unrepresentative union harasses ordinary consumers". They go on to add: "�recognition of workers' rights must go with appropriate regulations for recognizing these rights. All such rules of the game need to be set transparently, and without partisanship".
On 10 January 1999 the government announced the second National Labour Commission (the first NLC was set up 30 years ago). The terms of reference lay down that the commission should suggest rationalization of existing labour laws in the organized sector and recommend umbrella legislation to ensure minimum protection for unorganized workers. The commission has a two-year term and is made up of representatives from government, trade unions and industry. Trade unions feel that workers have little protection from the whims of errant management, and that any alteration in the law would only add to managerial power. For example, the proposal to relax the law on contract labour in order to generate more jobs on contract for the unorganized sector is interpreted by the unions as a move to undercut permanent unionized jobs. More recently, proposed changes in the Industrial Disputes Act will make it difficult for trade unions to call wildcat strikes and the amendments will dilute the need for employers to have government approval for a lockout. On the other hand, they give the tribunals more power to penalize errant employers.
The present government dissolved the National Renewal Fund and entrusted the corpus to the Ministry of Industry. The money in the fund will now be given to public sector enterprises directly by the Ministry. The government hopes to monitor the use of funds more effectively by not involving the administrative departments that control these enterprises. More recently, the government has announced that it will develop a comprehensive strategy to deal with unprofitable public enterprises and "hammer out a mechanism which makes it easier to close chronically sick units". Officials in the Ministry of Finance announced that more funds have to be pumped into the voluntary retirement schemes so that workers can be retrained and redeployed in viable public sector units.(Endnote 19)
In terms of labour market and industrial relations reforms, the continuation of economic liberalization would undoubtedly lead to more employment flexibility, greater decentralization in bargaining structures (especially in public enterprises) and hence less government intervention in the bargaining process, fewer strikes, and a possible halt to the fragmentation of the union movement. On the positive side, this could mean more employment and a more effective union voice at both micro- and macro-level, with industrial pluralism being strengthened. On the negative side, the proposed reforms could increase managerial power and accelerate the growth of the non-union sector, leading to a decline in the power of organized labour. At microeconomic level, unions of all political hues are cooperating with management in the restructuring process (often because they have no choice). However, at the macro-level, the organized labour movement is generally extremely critical of globalization and reform. From a strategic viewpoint, trade union federations of different political affiliations will have to forge a united front at the macro-level to ensure their continuing growth as "all-encompassing" organizations. This means organizing non-union workers.
Differences within the centralized trade unions, political parties, and state governments have indefinitely delayed the passage of industrial relations reforms. The lack of consensus and political instability at the centre since 1992 (several coalition governments have failed to complete their full term), mean a lack of political will to carry out these reforms. A worrying consequence of the inability to reach a national consensus on labour market reform is the future effect on regional labour markets and labour relations in general of heightened inter-state competition to attract foreign and local capital. In the absence of national reforms, various states may attempt to level down their labour market institutions by offering incentives to investment. The latter will have a profound effect on regional variations in labour standards. As these divergent trends will make it increasingly difficult for the centralized trade union federations to act at national level, it is in their immediate interest to press for industrial relations reform.
The above discussion on the four phases of Indian trade unionism sketched out the interaction between changes in the overall economy and their effects on the labour market and on industrial relations. In this section we examine several issues that arise from the discussion and speculate on trends in the near future. These issues are: unionization and employment; union structure and union density; wages and working conditions; collective bargaining; industrial conflict; labour-management relations; inter-state variations; unionization and women workers; and the changing public perception of trade unions.
3.2.1 Unionization and employment
Declining employment elasticities imply that more output is attained with less employment. This could be due to the fact that employers are investing in more capital-intensive technologies, and that there has been a considerable amount of labour shedding in the private and public-sector enterprises since the mid-1980s. Unions can affect these employment elasticities by resisting technological change that increases the possibility of substituting between capital and labour and by limiting the availability of goods and services that compete with the output of unionized firms. In addition, union bargaining power varies indirectly with labour's share in total costs: unions are more powerful in relatively more capital-intensive firms and industries, as the demand for labour is relatively inelastic compared to labour-intensive sectors. Employers in capital-intensive firms find it much easier to meet union wage demands compared to employers in labour-intensive firms. Finally, it is in the interest of unions to raise the price of other inputs, particularly non-union labour, as this increases the cost of switching from union to non-union labour (see Borjas, 1996, pp. 126-127).
To illustrate the usefulness of the above, consider the following. In the current scenario, labour and unions in the more labour-intensive sectors in India face considerably more uncertain and insecure times than their counterparts in more capital-intensive sectors. Several firms in the textile and jute industries are near closure. On the other hand, the majority of plant-based "independent" unions are located in more capital-intensive industries, and union bargaining power in several public sector sites (such as transportation and banking) is high due to its specific market characteristics defined by state monopoly. In some states, such as in Kerala and West Bengal, progressive unions in conjunction with their state governments have improved the wages and working conditions of agricultural and unorganized workers, thereby curtailing the growth of income inequalities within the workforce as a whole.
Over time, average annual growth rates in GDP have outstripped average annual growth rates in employment (table 4) and employment elasticities in major sectors have fallen (table 5). Table 1 shows the level of employment in the private and public sectors over the "four phases of unionism". This table clearly shows the following: in the first phase, public sector employment increased sharply and private sector employment increased marginally; during the second phase, public sector employment increased rapidly, whereas private sector employment remained sluggish; during the third phase, employment growth in both sectors sharply tapered off; and during the first few years of the fourth phase, growth in both sectors remained nearly static.
Table 6 presents a sectoral distribution of employment in the formal economy. We note two trends: since the third phase, growth in employment in manufacturing, both in the public and private sectors, has remained virtually stagnant; however, during the third phase, employment increased in public services. We also observe the phenomenal growth in employment in services (especially in the public sector) relative to manufacturing. Finally, except in manufacturing, the public sector continued to be the dominant employer in the organized economy. Table 7 shows a sector-wise ranking of the number and membership of trade unions that register and submit returns over the four phases of unionism. We observe that: (a) manufacturing leads in the number of unions and membership size; (b) construction lags behind most other sectors.
Given that the macro data on employment and unionization in India are riddled with problems and contain errors of omission, detailed case studies of specific industries and regions have revealed significantly different trends. The Friedrich Ebert Stiftung study (Davala, 1992) is an example. It covers tea plantations and the jute industry in West Bengal, the coal sector, ports and docks, the engineering industries of Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, the power sector in Andhra Pradesh, and the chemical and pharmaceutical industry in Maharashtra. Although the study shows a fair number of inter-industry and regional variations, there were some striking similarities. The trend everywhere was a downsizing of permanent employment and the proliferation of contract, temporary, and casual jobs. There were very low rates of unionization of contract and casual labour, with the unions being more sensitive to the plight of such workers in the newer industries. (Endnote 20) In the state of Maharashtra, permanent workers and their unions in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries have realized that their well-being is ultimately tied to their fellow workers in the "reserve army of labour". The study found that unions organize on an industry- and/or region-wide basis in the older industrial sectors, but the enterprise becomes the unit of organization in the newer industries. This pattern corresponds with the prevalent bargaining structure (i.e., industry- and region-wide in the older industries, and plant-level in the newer industries). As Ramaswamy concludes in this study (Davala, 1992, p. 231):
The common thread running through most of these variations is the desire of workers to gain greater control over their unions. This might well be the case in the older industries as well, but the structure of trade unionism does not permit much scope for the expression of these aspirations. In the newer industries, on the other hand, trade union structure itself appears to have been influenced by this fundamental force.
The "market friendly" views of the relationship between unionization and employment in India, especially during the third and fourth phase, was elaborated earlier, but needs to be emphasized in this section as well. The "monopoly effects" of trade unions, together with inflexible labour laws, have enabled employers to move up their demand curves and have practically frozen employment growth in permanent unionized jobs. Due to union wage mark-ups, employers have increased the capital intensity of production, thereby raising productivity. But this route can only lead to jobless growth, clearly a sub-optimal outcome in a labour surplus economy. Those who oppose this view point out that wage increases took place not because of union power but largely because of an intensification of the labour process resulting from a decline in union power. A disaggregated analysis probably comes closest to reality: in the more prosperous sectors, with low elasticities of labour demand, "selfish" plant-specific unions managed to extract generous wage increases; in the less prosperous sectors, largely in the public sector, "altruistic" unions affiliated to political parties have had little success with centralized bargaining procedures in unstable product markets.
In the buoyant sectors of production, even before 1991, employers have managed to execute viable exit policies through generous Voluntary Retirement Schemes, with the cooperation of enterprise-based unions. In these largely private sector sites, "bringing the union in" has clearly paid dividends in terms of generating "strongly efficient contracts" (that is, when the labour contract leads a unionized firm to hire the competitive level of employment). In the public sector, however, exit schemes (available through the National Renewal Fund) have few individual takers or else they face union resistance at national level. The general secretary of the All India Bank Employees' Association says, "We will resist any attempt to introduce a VRS. As far as we are concerned, job security is more important than wage revision".(Endnote 21)
The practice of "featherbedding" (employing more people than required) in a whole range of public enterprises is no longer financially viable. The union movement as a whole, especially the large centralized and industry-wide public sector unions, may benefit more from unionizing the unorganized than from attempting to preserve unproductive jobs.
The number of registered unions increased from 3,766 in 1950/51 to 55,784 in 1993, whereas the average size of those that submitted returns decreased from 577 to 460 during the same period (see table 2). As stated earlier, not all registered trade unions submit returns on their membership. If we assume that the registered unions which submit returns are the large, established politically-affiliated unions with the organizational resources to engage in this process, whereas the registered unions that do not submit returns are the plant-based independent unions, then movements in the fifth column of table 2 (percentage of unions submitting returns to total registered unions) makes for an interesting interpretation. It appears that the centralized unions dominated during the first phase, lost ground during the second phase, and then sharply declined during the third phase, dropping to an all-time low of only 12 per cent in 1993. Although this is only one possible reading of the data, several detailed case studies have also pointed to these movements in union structure (Ramswamy, 1988; Davala, 1992).
To illustrate the above with some region-specific examples, consider the following: (a) in the jute industry in and around Calcutta, union membership for each of the major unions declined with a fall in the proportion of permanent workers, even though "a large number of small, ultra-left and even unaffiliated unions have emerged during the last decade" (Sen, 1992, p. 48); (b) in the coal mines in Eastern India, the independent unions represent more than a quarter of the total workforce (Sen, 1992, p. 71); (c) in the state of Andhra Pradesh, "the emergence and growth of non-affiliated unions is perhaps one of the most striking features of the trade union scenario in the engineering industry during the last decade" (Guptan, 1992, p. 124); and (d) more than 50 per cent of the unions in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries in the state of Maharashtra are unaffiliated independent unions (Davala, 1992, p. 210). The fourth phase is also associated with the sudden rise of the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sabham, especially in those states governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The decentralized independent unions have in some instances attempted to generate firm-wide agreements but they have been unsuccessful because of considerable employer resistance at firm level. Some recent commentators have suggested that these unions have been on the defensive ever since the reforms. This is partly because they lost staff through voluntary retirement schemes; it was also due to the strategies of multinationals which severely cut back on permanent unionized employment. Other factors were the setting up of non-union facilities at new sites and the practice of subcontracting work to the informal sector (Banaji and Hensman, 1995; Noronha, 1996).
Table 8 provides data on the movement of the consumer price index for industrial workers and urban non-manual employees across the four phases of unionism. Tables 9 and 10 provide some data on the movement of nominal (a general index for 12 industries) and real wage rates (in organized manufacturing).
Standard neoclassical economic theory would argue that increased global trade raises the earnings of unskilled workers relative to those of skilled workers in a country such as India, which has unlimited supplies of the former. This implies that India's exports are largely unskilled labour-intensive products. Nambiar et al. (1999) found that wage disparity for the period 1980/81 to 1992/93 increased but only marginally. In addition, they found that the disparity rises from less skill-intensive to more skill-intensive sectors. To the extent that the union voice reduces earnings inequality within the unionized workforce, employers, especially in the private sector, have "manufactured consent" with the unions in setting up ingenious pay incentive systems.
Wage determination in the organized economy varies significantly between the private and the public sector (Datta Chaudhuri, 1996; Anant and Sundaram, 1998). In the private corporate sector, where collective bargaining largely takes place at enterprise level, unions that are willing to accept some risk have benefited from a form of gainsharing by agreeing to tie a significant part of the monthly pay to incentives. The incentive structures are designed to generate cooperative behaviour at the departmental, plant and firm level. Risk-averse unions, usually more concerned with employment growth than with members' wages have resisted management attempts to impose such systems.
In many of the older sectors, such as tea plantations and jute in Eastern India and textiles in Western India, industry-wide bargaining is the institutional norm. With the advent of economic liberalization, this bargaining structure will be under pressure to decentralize some of the outcomes as inter-plant and inter-firm differences become wider (see 3.2.4 below). Similar decentralizing pressures will be felt increasingly in public sector industries, even though the Bureau of Public Enterprises "sends guidelines for wage settlement to all administrative ministries, setting down norms to be followed in determining basic salaries and the various categories of benefits for different classes of employees" (Datta Chaudhuri, 1996, p. 18). In Coal India, for example, employees in the better-off units feel that their earnings could increase substantially if they were linked more closely to productivity at the unit level. Centralized public sector unions will have to come to terms with these decentralized union "voices".
Salaries and benefits for central government employees in public administration, academic institutions, posts and telegraph, etc., are determined in detail by the Pay Commissions which are periodically set up by the government.(Endnote 22) As Datta Chaudhuri (1996, p. 18) puts it: "The award of the Pay Commission for the Central Government employees becomes the reference point for wage determination in the rest of the public sector." The Pay Commission is the object of considerable lobbying by various unions and employees' associations prior to and during the deliberations.
The recommendations of the Fifth Central Pay Commission have been implemented and employees in the central and state governments have seen their incomes rise substantially. If it is true that the disparity between the average salary of government employees and per capita income is far higher in India than in most other countries,(Endnote 23) the public clearly need to see vast improvements in productivity in this sector given the fairly high additional cost involved in delivering the pay recommendations (Joseph, 1997). The All India Federation of College Teachers' Organizations could, for example, take a lead in self-monitoring their constituency so as to impose work norms and discipline. There are already many rules to deal with employees who do not work and/or who are late; applying these rules occasionally will send strong signals to both employees and to the public (Joseph, 1997).
Industrial accident rates in India, both fatal and non-fatal, are extremely high compared to most countries. While it is true that the occupational health and safety monitoring agencies are weak, it is also the case that unions can intervene significantly more in this area than they are presently doing. Often, workers demand higher wages for increased safety measures during contract deliberations.(Endnote 24) But there are other examples where unions have been closely involved in occupational health and safety matters. One such case is the Occupational Health and Safety Centre that operates out of two union offices in Central Mumbai and was set up largely due to the inefficiencies of the Employees' State Insurance (ESI) Scheme. Among its many achievements, the Centre was able to get the ESI medical board to recognize and compensate mill workers suffering from occupational bysinosis in 1994.
The linking of minimum labour standards and trade agreements, i.e. the "social clause", has generated considerable debate and discussion among trade unions and labour commentators (FES-IIRA, 1996; Hensman, 1996; Bhattacherjee, 1997). There are various economic arguments in favour of the imposition of international labour standards (ILS). To the extent that labour markets in developing countries are beset with imperfect and asymmetric information (for example relating to industrial safety), ILS may level up labour market institutions to correct for market failures of this type. ILS can be used as a redistributive mechanism if the government feels that the market- determined income distribution profile is skewed towards the more skilled workers in relatively protected environments. Trade unions in India interpret this imposed link as a disguised form of protectionism (for the various trade union views, see FES-IIRA, 1996, and Hensman, 1996). This argument leads to the same outcome as those put forward by the 'comparative advantage' trade theorists that the imposition of ILS will lead to a reduction in the net gains from trade, and therefore individual countries should decide on their own labour standards. But surely one has to question this simple view. Why is it that countries with relatively abundant and cheap labour find it difficult to compete in international markets, except in those sectors that have (relatively) lower labour standards? Clearly, this kind of participation in global trade, where inferior labour standards are the "comparative advantage" is unlikely to lead to social progress. Since it is not enough to wait for sustained economic growth to upgrade domestic labour standards, the unions need to forcefully generate demands, both from above and below, for improvements in working conditions. Hensman (1996) spells out an agenda for trade unionists and NGOs that strongly believe that labour standards in India have to be substantially improved, perhaps even through trade links and other forms of international pressure.
Two critical aspects of the collective bargaining system are an expansion of the coverage and scope of long-term agreements and the increasing pressure for decentralized bargaining. These tendencies originated during the third phase of unionism and became acute during the post-reform fourth phase. The restructuring agreements cover (among other things): ban on recruitment, job transfers to non-bargainable category, introduction of parallel production, automation and flexibility, transfer of production to subcontracted units, introduction of voluntary retirement schemes, transfer of permanent jobs to contract/temporary workers, merger of units, and a host of other shopfloor restructuring provisions (Venkataratnam, 1996). Concession bargaining in several units has led to job and wage cuts, a freeze on cost-of-living allowances, and suspension of industrial action for a period of five years. While the above suggests that management has had the upper hand in recent years, Venkataratnam (1996) also lists some "unusual" clauses that suggest a positive union "collective voice" effect: linking allowances such as house rent and children's education to attendance, permitting pregnant women to refuse to work on computer terminals, voluntary retirement schemes for contract labour, and so on.
We have already mentioned government attempts during the post-reform period to decentralize bargaining in public sector units by tying unit-level wage increases to productivity increases (rather than passing them on as price increases), and by consistently announcing its refusal to provide budgetary support to these wage increases. The central trade unions are uniting to pre-empt a government attempt to switch to a 10-year wage settlement in public sector units instead of the present 5-year duration. Union leaders say the move will affect the pay revision prospects of about 2 million workers in the public sector. Private employers have been lobbying for some time to increase the duration of contracts in public sector units so as to prevent disruptions arising from frequent industrial disputes, the costs of which they have to often bear. Unions, especially the All India Trade Union Congress and the Indian National Trade Union Congress, are strongly against such a move.
Even outside the public sector, pressures for decentralized bargaining are emanating from both workers and employers. What happened in the textile industry is now being repeated in the jute industry in and around Calcutta. Due to the uneven development of textile firms in Mumbai in the early 1980s, and due to the undemocratic nature of union representation in the industry, both employers and unions in the more profitable mills wanted to break away from the industry-wide agreement in force and set up their own mill-level agreements (Bhattacherjee, 1988; 1989). Recently, employers in two jute mills defied the industry-wide agreement between the Indian Jute Mills Association and the many unions by offering a higher cost-of-living allowance to avert mill-level strikes. The central trade unions are in a dilemma for the first time in the jute industry: on the face of it, they oppose any kind of bipartite settlement by insisting on an industry-wide agreement at tripartite level. But by encouraging strikes at individual mills, they are indirectly opening up routes for direct negotiation between management and mill-level unions. The trend towards decentralization is reflected in the rising number of unions which have signed the industry-wide agreement: in 1972, there were only four signatories, in 1979 there were 11, and in 1992 there were 16 (Sen, 1997, p. 104).
By decentralizing bargaining structures and expanding the scope and duration of labour contracts, employers and the government are trying to minimize the "monopoly effects" of union work rules embedded in contract provisions that lead to considerable labour market inflexibilities, especially at micro-level. The determinant of public sector negotiations has been pay parity, and as a result there are few incentive structures in this system. Centralized public sector unions will have to come to terms with the microeconomic requirements of productivity growth and increased competition. They can learn from union responses to restructuring programmes in Europe. (Endnote 25)
Even though union density is very low by international standards, India loses more days every year as a result of strikes and lockouts than almost any other country (ILO, 1997/98, pp. 253-254). However, the number of workers involved in strikes and lockouts is considerably lower in India than in Brazil, Italy or Spain (pp. 251-252). This raises the classic question of whether conflict reflects union power or union weakness? It certainly indicates that the basic premise of industrial pluralism, the regulation of conflict, has not been achieved.
The answer to this question in India depends on whether workers resist strikes or whether employers are on the offensive during lockouts. Table 3 presents some time series conflict data. We note that during the third and fourth phase, the number of lockouts rose whereas the number of strikes decreased. The same applies to the number of workdays lost and the number of workers involved. Until 1989 industrial conflict occurred mainly in the private sector in terms of number of disputes, workdays and wages lost, and lost production, although the actual number of workers involved in disputes was higher in the public sector in the early 1980s. Since 1990, however, industrial disputes in both sectors have increased significantly (Venkataratnam, 1996).
Since the economic reforms of 1991, successive national governments have had to deal with considerable industrial conflict in the public sector, especially in banking, insurance, and transport. At regional level, some state governments have had to contend with continuing inter-union and inter-party rivalries, leading to the disruption of public life. Of late, the government has followed a tough line on striking public sector unions, as demonstrated in the dismissals and criminal proceedings against air traffic controllers. There is an imperative need for industrial relations reform in dispute settlement as the average consumer and voter has increasingly come to be a key actor and end-user of the industrial relations system. There are significant differences between the main trade union federations on the issues of secret strike ballot, prior notice to striking and the period of notification, lay-off provisions, the role of voluntary arbitration, multiple union situations, etc. The country as a whole would gain if the union movement could arrive at a consensus and if the recommendations of the Ramanujam Committee (statutory recognition of "representative" trade unions and the creation of an independent authority to arbitrate, mediate and enforce) were implemented. The institution of arbitration, if effective, fair and credible, will significantly improve the quality of industrial pluralism.
Since the mid-1980s the practice of human resources management (HRM) has significantly altered traditional union-management relations in the advanced sectors of production, notably in multinationals and other private firms. Since the economic reforms of 1991, some public sector firms have also incorporated modern HRM practices into their otherwise traditional labour-management relationship. Some of the essential characteristics of these HRM practices are: attempts at direct communication between managers and employees; individualized and/or contingency pay systems; modular organization of production through work teams with team leaders who often form part of the management structure; carefully designed and fairly implemented performance appraisal systems; and so on. While many would argue that modern HRM practices undercut union effectiveness at enterprise level, there is no clear evidence of this in India. Unions have a strong presence in the firms where modern HRM practices are implemented successfully, and it is only with cooperative union-management behaviour that this has been possible. But this applies mainly to the manufacturing sector.
In the skill-intensive service sectors such as information technology, HRM practices continue to pose a challenge and possibly create permanent barriers to union entry and organization. To the extent that information technology redefines the nature of work in banking and insurance, unions will have little success if they resist modernization, given the entry of new, mainly foreign, players in these sites. It is no coincidence that the most publicized post-reform industrial conflict at national level has been in banking and insurance.
If labour law reforms facilitate competitive pluralism and lead to efficient collective bargaining in the private sector, and to tripartism with responsibility and accountability in the public sector, we can postulate that the effectiveness of unions would not necessarily diminish if modern HRM practices were introduced in enterprises.
One critical reason why labour law reform has been continually debated but ultimately shelved, is the lack of a consensus within the labour movement and across different state governments. Since economic liberalization, every state government has attempted to attract national and international capital. This has involved significant media costs, and many states have even hired international consultants to draw up economic renewal agendas. A vital consideration in this post-liberalization discourse has been the question of work ethic and comparative union militancy.
Table 11 ranks the states in terms of the number and membership of registered unions that submit returns according to the four phases of unionism. Although the data are sketchy, some trends can be discerned: (a) the more industrial states of Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu have maintained their high rankings through the four phases; (b) West Bengal ranks high during the first two phases, but we could not find comparable data for the following two phases; and (c) Gujarat is doing well during the fourth phase, no doubt reflecting the rise of unions affiliated to the Bharatiya Janata Party.
One of the most important concerns of social scientists in India today is the effect that economic liberalization will have on inter-state variations in human development, social productivity and civil society at large. States with a less organized labour movement, if controlled by pro-capital state governments, may attempt to attract capital with implicit promises of a union-free environment. This has clearly happened to some extent and has often taken violent forms. Ruling governments in other states with a long history of proletarian politics are desperately attempting to change their signals. These attempts are causing confusion within the union movement, both among the leaders and the rank and file, and also leading to chasms between political parties and their affiliated unions. In several instances, temporary or issue-based alliances have been formed between unions affiliated to opposition parties, especially with regard to privatization of public sector services and utilities.
One example of a state government changing its signals after being in power for over 20 years is the case of the CPI(M) in West Bengal. For the last 20 years, the CPI(M) and its trade union wing, the CITU, has been at the forefront of proletarian resistance to capitalist production processes and management hierarchies that control the labour process. The large-scale flight of industrial and commercial capital from West Bengal, which has been occurring since at least the mid-1960s, is attributed by many commentators to heightened industrial conflict supported by a sympathetic state government. In the meantime, the state's reputation declined, fuelled by a hostile local press. But the fact that the industrial health of the state withered during this time was there for everyone to see and experience.(Endnote 26)
Since the mid-1990s, the CPI (M) has attempted to attract national and international capital at several well-publicized gatherings in Calcutta, through government funded ministerial visits abroad, and through promotional advertising. The state government has been sending strong signals to the trade unions in the state to accept the requirements of industrial regeneration. Unions and employees in hospitals and nursing homes have been warned. As an important CPI(M) minister put it recently: "In the name of trade unionism, we have allowed many things. But enough is enough. We will take immediate action if there's the slightest hint of agitation at a hospital".(Endnote 27) After nurturing (some would say pampering) the trade unions in the state for so long, it is now very difficult to change attitudes, behaviour, customs and institutionalized practices to facilitate capitalist expansion, a process that was anathema to the CPI(M) for so many years. With hindsight, one could argue that if the party had thought out a strategy only a decade ago, the state could have reaped considerable returns from an effective model of social democracy. In the meantime, trade unions are now realizing that there is nothing voluntary about the 'voluntary retirement schemes' being imposed on workers in some well-known large firms.(Endnote 28)
Recently, tensions between the party and its affiliated union (the CITU) came to the fore on two counts. At the Haldia Petrochemicals Limited township the union is demanding that "sons of the soil" be given permanent jobs in the Rs.51.7 billion project. According to management such a recruitment policy would spell financial disaster, and consequently, the state government has gone against the wishes of its affiliated union.(Endnote 29) The second site where tensions are currently running high is the transport sector in the city of Calcutta, where due to environmental pressures the state government wants to implement Euro I and Euro II emission standards as from 1999. This would mean taking nearly 80 per cent of private buses and taxis off the road. The transport workers' unions have threatened indefinite strikes to cripple the public transport system in the city. (Endnote 30)
Calcutta exemplifies the failure of state-controlled unionism where "class consciousness" is dominant. In contrast, the market-driven industrial relations system of Mumbai exemplifies a decentralized regime where the important role played by individual trade union leaders in the city's labour history has added to the "job conscious" nature of industrial relations. Although considerable growth has taken place in Mumbai, this regime has led to almost uncontrollable and corrupt links between politics, the real estate market and the organized labour movement. It is no wonder that post-reform capital has invested in newer industrial locations, and this logic is slowly but surely changing the industrial geography of India (Shaw, 1999). It will thus become increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to generalize about an Indian labour relations system.
The percentage of women members in trade unions that submit returns rose from 7.3 per cent in 1951-52 to 10.3 per cent in 1985; in 1992 it was 11.6 per cent (see table 2). Detailed information on the extent of unionization among women workers is not available, although there are rich case studies of specific sectors/industries where women workers form a substantial section of the workforce (see the chapter on tea plantations by Bhowmik in Davala, 1992).
There is considerable controversy on whether there has been an increasing "feminization" of the workforce over the last decade, especially since the liberalization process began. Deshpande and Deshpande (1992, p. 1998) assessed the short-run impact of liberalization on female employment and participation. They found that: (a) in urban areas, both male and female participation rates increased after liberalization; (b) gender-based wage differentials widened among regular wage/salaried rural and urban workers; (c) women workers were increasingly taking to self-employment and to the informal sectors as their proportion in manufacturing declined even though women's share in the urban workforce rose slightly.
Although in several countries globalization has led to feminization of the manufacturing workforce, Banerjee (1997) argues that in India the reverse has taken place: women's opportunities in the secondary sectors have fallen drastically in all states. However, there has been a slight increase in work opportunities for rural women in agriculture and some gains were made in the tertiary sector. According to Banerjee (1997, p. 433), it would be unrealistic to expect a "mechanical reproduction of international trends in a country the size of India". Women workers account for only 17 per cent of the manufacturing workforce that in turn is only 13 per cent of the total workforce. She goes on to suggest that even if the entire export sector (commodities) were staffed by women, "it is doubtful that this would result in a feminization of the Indian manufacturing workforce as a whole".
Given that a substantial section of women workers in India today are engaged as "homeworkers" in several industries (such as bangle makers, cobblers, dye makers, flower workers, kite makers, lace makers, leather workers, etc.), it is encouraging that the Indian trade union movement, under the leadership of the Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA)(Endnote 31) has taken a lead in drafting an ILO convention on homeworkers (Mukul, 1998).(Endnote 32) A bill was introduced in the upper house in 1988 that attempted to equalize treatment of homeworkers with other wage earners in terms of remuneration, health and safety, minimum wage and maternity protection, with tripartite boards as the enforcement mechanism. Although the bill was dropped, it did contribute to initiating a national debate, according to Ela Bhatt, general secretary of the SEWA (Mukul, 1998, p. 758).
The SEWA model, where poor working women in the informal sector are organized so as to improve their wages and working conditions, and also assisted with credit from banks and cooperatives, needs to be replicated elsewhere in India with considerable urgency. This is already happening in the Working Women's Forum in Chennai and Annapurna in Mumbai. Established trade union federations have to take a lead in fostering these organizational models and cooperating with local NGOs where the situation warrants, especially in states where gender equality is a serious problem (Seeta Prabhu et al., 1996). The CITU has made considerable progress in organizing women workers in the informal sector.
Trade unions should lobby central and state governments to improve education for women and increase state intervention in favour of women's employment. There is also considerable scope for increasing the number of women in leadership roles within the established trade union federations.
The memories of nationalism and independence struggles sustained the image of trade unions as the collective voice of the oppressed, dispossessed and the exploited during the first two phases of unionism. In the third phase, segmented and uneven economic growth fractured union voices, and the public was able to distinguish between them. The Mumbai textile strike of 1982-83 generated considerable solidarity, not just within the organized labour movement, but among the urban citizenry at large. At the same time, however, impatience with the declining work ethic and a growing lack of accountability in the public sector, especially in service and education, often reached critical levels.
Since the liberalization process in 1991-92, the print and visual media have clearly supported globalization. By and large, organized labour, especially in the public sector, has not received a sympathetic press; in fact, coverage of trade union matters has declined considerably. At the same time though, considerable media attention is given to the conditions of unorganized workers, child and women workers, and to the attempts by non-governmental organizations to improve the status of disadvantaged groups. Trade unions in India today face the challenge of convincing the public that they can act on behalf of all employees, unionized or not. This requires the formation of strategic alliances with community bodies, social movements, and other non-governmental organizations. Trade unions will have to come to accept that the credibility of political parties is at a very low level. There is considerable scope for the trade union movement to capitalize on potential alliances, and a concrete beginning can be made by first forging alliances among themselves. However, this could entail a weakening of links with their political parties.
Future role of trade unions in India: Organizing the unorganized
The future role of the trade union movement is linked with a broader concern for ensuring the social cohesion of working people in a large and diverse country. In this final section, we examine union strategies in the private corporate sector, in public sector enterprises, and in the informal sector. It is imperative for the trade union movement to concentrate on organizing the unorganized, so as to create secure incomes and safe working conditions for those with irregular and precarious jobs.
On average, private enterprises employ around 30 per cent of all formal sector workers in India; in manufacturing and trade, this proportion is around 70 per cent, whereas in transport, electricity and construction the figure is less than 5 per cent (Datta Chaudhuri, 1996).
In successful private companies enterprise-based trade unions (that may or may not be politically affiliated) will have to accept that their pay is partly (if not largely) determined by productivity. Rather than blind resistance to this kind of pay structure, a cooperative strategy may pay greater dividends in terms of gainsharing at enterprise level. Unions will have to use their "collective voice" effectively in collective bargaining when incentive structures are proposed and negotiated. While the independent unions will find this strategy quite natural, those which are affiliated to the centralized federations may find it difficult. In either case, the extent to which a union is willing to take a risk will partly determine the composition of pay (performance-based "risk" pay and "steady" pay).
While the majority of contracts in this sector are (and probably always will be) negotiated at enterprise- or plant-level, unions in some organizations, possibly in the multinationals, could concentrate on attaining firm-wide agreements in the face of considerable management opposition. Firm-wide agreements will strengthen union power at the corporate-level, and to achieve this, unions may have to trade off some plant-level gains. An example of this situation is being played out at Bata India. Management recognizes the enterprise unions in its various plants across the country, but the loosely united All India Bata Employees Federation is not recognized. It appears that management is willing to talk to the federation if it agrees to restructuring plans at the plant in Faridabad. If the federation agrees to these plans in exchange for management recognition, this would clearly reduce union influence at the plant.
In the older industries in the private sector, where industry-wide bargaining is the dominant structure and where inter-firm differentiation has grown considerably since liberalization, unions and employers are finding it difficult to reach industry-level agreements. Unions will continue to face obstacles to industry-wide solidarity in this sector.
What have been the effects of economic liberalization on the connections between unions and political parties, and what has this meant for the private corporate sector? To the extent that most of the centralized trade unions continue to oppose the basic implications of economic liberalization, there has been a surprising reconciliation of unions affiliated to opposing political parties on a range of issues at both regional and national level. There has been a gap between the preoccupations of political parties and the macro-objectives of trade unions since the reforms. This has created a dilemma for most of the unions in this sector: while the loosening of ties with the parent body inevitably leads to greater autonomy in decentralized decision-making, it also means a lessening of centralized lobbying power. Market forces will increasingly dominate union strategies in this sector.
On average, the public sector employs around 70 per cent of all formal sector workers in India; in transport, mining, construction, electricity and services this proportion is high (>80 per cent), but it is considerably lower in agriculture (40 per cent), manufacturing (<40 per cent), and trade (<35 per cent) (Datta Chaudhuri, 1996).
In non-viable public sector enterprises that are ready for closure, most of which are in the East, the situation continues to be very grim. Workers have not been paid for several months and the endless talk of revival now sounds hollow. The closure of these firms seems to be the only solution and unions can do no more than see that lay-offs are implemented fairly and as generously as possible. In several state-owned enterprises and organizations unions have accepted that privatization is the only way of saving the unit, and that informed negotiation is required.
As a result of increased competition from both domestic and international producers, the output of public enterprises and services has improved substantially. Nowhere is this more true than in the state-run airlines. But unions in the public sector, especially those in services such as medicine, education, the police and municipal workers, can substantially increase their credibility by agreeing to enforceable accountability procedures. This would mean internal monitoring, which the unions are reluctant to accept.
Although the government has indicated a preference for decentralization, the centralized bargaining structures have not yet been dismantled. Unions could campaign for a restructured central system that allows for greater local autonomy and minimizes bureaucratic inflexibilities. For the public sector to deliver long-run productivity improvements in the post-liberalization period, unions will have to partly align their objectives with those of the end-user - the average voter/consumer - who has become an important voice in the labour relations system.
4.3 The informal sector
In terms of union density, India fares rather badly compared to other large developing countries. According to the ILO World Labour Report 1997-98, union membership as a percentage of non-agricultural labour dropped from 6.6 per cent in 1985 to 5.5 per cent in 1995 (the corresponding figure in 1995 for Argentina was 23.4 per cent, Brazil 32.1 per cent and Mexico 31 per cent). Union membership as a percentage of formal sector workers in India declined from 26.5 per cent to 22.8 per cent between 1985 and 1995 (the corresponding figures in 1995 were Argentina 65.6 per cent, Brazil 66 per cent, Mexico 72.9 per cent). If the figures are derived only from registered unions that submit returns, it is possible that they may somewhat underestimate union density in India. According to the above source, less than 2 per cent of workers in the formal and informal sectors in India are covered by collective bargaining agreements. Clearly, a large proportion of workers (certainly those in the formal sector) fall within the ambit of labour legislation, even though they are not covered by a collective agreement. Nevertheless, it is apparent that considerable organization of workers remains to be undertaken in the Indian economy.
If one were to assume that the formal sector corresponds with the unionized sector (in reality, the unionized sector is a subset of the formal sector), then the following figures give an idea of the extent to which unions in future can organize workers in the various sectors. In total, less than 10 per cent of all workers are in the formal sector. The proportion of workers in this sector by industry groups is: mining and quarrying (56.9 per cent), manufacturing (19 per cent), construction (17.5 per cent), trade (2.1 per cent), transport (38.7 per cent), and services (38.7 per cent). Clearly, there is enormous potential for organizing workers in construction, manufacturing and trade. In addition, detailed surveys in several industries have found that the existing unions do not sufficiently represent the interests of casual and temporary workers (see the studies in Davala, 1992). Finally, according to National Sample Survey Organization data, there is a "high incidence of women's involvement in unorganized sector activities, ranging anywhere between 20 to 25 per cent of total employment in urban areas and anywhere between 30 to 40 per cent of total employment in rural areas - figures which far outweigh women's recorded involvement in productive activities from Census sources" (Mukhopadhyay, 1997, p. 485).
In sharp contrast to the formal sector, "the unorganized sector has little by way of protective legislation or union representation" (Anant and Sundaram, 1998, p. 833). In this site, the "not so invisible" forces of demand and supply determine wages and working conditions. There are no automatic cost-of-living adjustments and substantial improvements are required in designing need-based minimum wages for unorganized workers (Jhabvala, 1998) and providing them with assured employment for a minimum number of days (Unni, 1998). In this regard, the government's recent signal about labour law reform consisting of "umbrella legislation for welfare of unorganized sector workers" as part of the agenda should be critically examined. The government proposes to relax contract labour laws so as to generate more jobs, arguing that this would ensure better overall security and welfare provisions for unorganized workers. Unions, however, feel that any such move will only undermine permanent jobs. In any case, there are strong economic reasons why the wages and working conditions of informal sector workers should be improved through welfare legislation. Such measures improve the capabilities of the disadvantaged and vulnerable sections of working people. In the absence of enhanced capabilities the economy suffers a net loss.
It is clear that unions have a whole range of workers to organize in the coming years, since the majority of labour market entrants will probably work as self-employed or casual/temporary/ contract workers. Visaria and Minhas (1991) estimate that nearly 80 million people will join the labour force between 1990 and 2000. A whole range of non-governmental organizations have successfully organized (not necessarily unionized) several informal sector occupations and sites in India during the last decade, but it seems that these interventions are resented by the established trade union federations as an intrusion into their terrain (often, it is claimed, with financial backing from abroad). These fears are probably unwarranted, and cooperation between trade unions and NGOs is required to level up working conditions in these relatively neglected labour markets.
One way of organizing workers could be through union mergers and a joint trade union front. However, the latter presupposes a certain number of shared objectives among the large centralized trade union federations, and this unity is not yet on the agenda. The All India Trade Union Congress, the Hind Mazdoor Sabha, and the Indian National Trade Union Congress have talked of mergers and unity, but the Centre of Indian Trade Unions has taken a different approach; they have proposed a confederation of central trade unions which will preserve the individual identities (Muralidhar, 1994).The large unions have considerable differences on the efficacy of a secret ballot system to generate the legitimate bargaining agent. However, one good sign is the increasing willingness of trade union federations to work together in spite of the differences between their political parties on reform. In many states acute differences are surfacing between political parties and their affiliated unions and these issues are now being openly debated.
It is well-known that the informal sector in India contributes significantly to employment generation and to value added in industry. It is also true that there are considerable links between the formal and informal sectors and that there is a crucial regional dimension to informal sector manufacturing (Shaw, 1990; 1994). The attempt to unionize the unorganized in India has been difficult, although some progress has been made in certain regions with sympathetic state governments. But in other states, the situation of informal sector workers remains grim, and will probably get worse unless there is a concerted effort by trade unions and NGOs, hopefully with the assistance of local and state governments, to level up the labour market institutions of the informal sector. In these endeavours, the organized labour movement should not view NGOs as competitors.
To what extent will alliances between trade unions break the links with their respective political parties? Or, will such alliances lead to the emergence of national unions without explicit political affiliation? It is too early to answer these questions but the tensions between some political parties and their trade union affiliates have come onto the regional and national stage since economic liberalization began in the early 1990s. In the private sector, these tensions emerged during the third phase of unionism and resulted in the proliferation of independent unions. It may be premature to suggest that independent unions, if they can be organized at industry/regional level, will lead to far greater "collective voice" effects and less "monopoly" effects than the existing industrial relations system. With economic liberalization and its effects on regional variations in economic activity, it seems that battles over working conditions will increasingly be fought at local and regional levels. Trade unions will have to forge deep links with neighbourhoods and communities, urban movements, environmental groups and regional NGOs to enhance their effective power. Ultimately, it all depends on "public action", participation in the process of social change. Public action refers not to what the state does for the public, but to action taken by the public (Dreze and Sen, 1989). The trade union movement could trigger this much needed "public action" through broad-based alliances.
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Table 1. Employment in the organized sector (in 000,000s)
Four phases of unionization Year
(end of March) Employment
Public sector Private sector Total
The first phase
(1950 to mid-1960s) 1956 52.34 � �
1961 70.5 50.40 120.9
1962 74.17 51.60 125.77
(Data above are not comparable with those which follow)
The second phase
(mid-1960s to 1979) 1966 93.79 68.13 161.92
1969 100.95 65.28 166.23
1973 119.71 68.49 188.2
The third phase
(1980 to 1991) 1980 150.79 72.27 223.06
The fourth phase
(June) 194.11 80.65 274.76
Source: (a) For 1956-1969, Basic Statistics Relating to the Indian Economy, Vol. 1: All India, Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), October 1980; and (b) For 1970-1994, India's Social Sectors, CMIE, February 1996.
Note: Organized sector covers all the enterprises in the public sector and only the non-agricultural establishments in the private sector employing 25 or more workers from 1961 to 1965 and 10 or more workers from 1966 onwards.
Table 2. Number of registered unions and membership of unions submitting returns
Four phases of unionization Year No. of registered trade unions No. of unions submitting returns Percentage of unions submitting returns Membership of unions submitting returns (in thousands) Average membership per union submitting returns
(1950 to mid-1960s) 1949-50 3522 1919 54.5 1689 120 1809 949
1950-51 3766 2002 53.2 1649 106 1757 577
1957-58 10045 5520 55.0 2682 332 3015 546
1965 13248 6932 52.3 3565 223 3788 546
The second phase (mid-1960s to 1979) 1966 14686 7244 49.3 4078 314 4392 606
1975 29438 10324 35.1 6063 488 6550 634
The third phase (1980 to 1991) 1980 36507 4432 12.1 3509 218 3727 841
1989 52210 9758 18.7 8207 1088 9295 953
1990 52016 8828 16.97 6181 838 7019 795
The fourth phase (1992 to 2000) 1992 55680 9165 16.5 5148 598 5746 627
1993 55784 6806 12.2 -- -- 3134 460
Source: Indian Labour Yearbook, Labour Bureau, various years.
Table 3. Industrial conflict (1950-1997)
Four phases of unionization Year Number of disputes No. of workers involved
in disputes (000's) No. of work days lost
in disputes (000's)
Strikes Lock-outs Total Strikes Lock-outs Total Strikes Lock-outs Total
The first phase (1950 to mid-1960s) 1950 -- -- 814 -- -- 720 -- -- 12807
1951 -- -- 1071 -- -- 691 -- -- 3819
1952 -- -- 963 -- -- 809 -- -- 3337
1961 1240 117 1357 432 80 512 2969 1950 4919
1962 1396 95 1491 575 130 705 5059 1062 6121
1964 1981 170 2151 876 127 1003 5724 2001 7725
1965 1697 138 1835 889 102 991 4617 1853 6470
The second phase (mid-1960s to 1979) 1966 2353 203 2556 1262 148 1410 10377 3469 13846
1967 2433 382 2815 1340 151 1491 10565 6583 17148
1976 1241 218 1459 550 186 737 2799 9947 12746
1977 2691 426 3117 1912 281 2193 13410 11910 25320
The third phase (1980 to 1991) 1980 2501 355 2856 1661 239 1900 12018 9907 21925
1982 2029 454 2483 -- -- 1469 -- -- 74615
1985 1355 400 1755 878 201 1079 11487 17753 29240
The fourth phase (1992 to 2000) 1992 1011 703 1714 767 485 1252 15132 16127 31259
1993 914 479 1393 672 282 954 5615 14686 20301
1996 -- -- 1166 -- -- 939 -- -- 20285
Source: Various issues of: Indian Labour Yearbook, Labour Bureau; Indian Labour Statistics, Labour Bureau; Indian Labour Journal, Labour Bureau.
Four phases of unionization Plans Annual average growth rates
GDP Employment
(1950 to mid-1960s) 1951-56
(First Five-Year Plan) 3.6 0.39
(Second Five-Year Plan) 4.2 0.85
(Third Five-Year Plan) 2.8 2.03
(mid-1960s to 1979) 1967-69
(Annual Plans) 3.9 2.21
(Fourth Five-Year Plan) 3.3 1.99
(Fifth Five-Year Plan) 4.8 1.84
(1980-1991) 1980-85
(Sixth Five-Year Plan) 5.7 1.73
(Seventh Five-Year Plan) 5.8 1.89
(Annual Plans) 3.4 1.5
(Eighth Five-Year Plan) NA NA
(Ninth Five-Year Plan) NA NA
Source: Five-Year Plan and Intervening Annual Plan Documents as in Papola (1994).
Sector 1972-73 to
1977-78 1977-78 to
1983 1983 to
Agriculture 0.66 0.49 0.36
Mining 0.95 0.67 0.85
Manufacturing 0.55 0.42 0.26
Construction 0.35 1.00 1.00
Electricity, gas and water supply 1.00 0.74 0.48
Transport, storage and communications 0.76 0.92 0.35
Services 0.80 0.99 0.42
All sectors 0.61 0.55 0.38
Source: Papola (1994).
Year (ending in March ) Agriculture and allied Mining and quarrying Manufacturing Power, gas and water supply Construction Services@
Public Sector Private Sector Total Public Sector Private Sector Total Public Sector Private Sector Total Public Sector Private Sector Total Public Sector Private Sector Total Public Sector Private Sector Total
1961* 1.80 6.70 8.50 1.29 5.50 6.79 3.69 30.20 33.89 2.24 0.40 2.64 6.03 2.40 8.43 55.45 5.20 60.65
1975* 3.34 8.18 11.52 6.94 1.23 8.17 10.19 41.11 51.30 5.08 0.39 5.47 9.56 1.27 10.83 93.72 15.89 109.61
1976 3.59 8.27 11.86 7.19 1.32 8.51 11.13 41.58 52.71 5.36 0.35 5.71 9.92 0.94 10.86 93.52 15.99 109.51
1977 3.66 8.38 12.04 7.57 1.30 8.87 12.26 41.65 53.91 5.63 0.35 5.98 10.09 0.83 10.92 98.45 16.18 114.63
1978 3.87 8.53 12.40 7.58 1.27 8.85 13.55 43.21 56.76 5.99 0.34 6.33 9.98 0.83 10.81 101.03 16.25 117.28
1979 4.08 8.41 12.49 7.71 1.24 8.95 14.16 44.33 58.49 6.34 0.34 6.68 10.32 0.83 11.15 104.14 16.93 121.07
1983 4.76 8.47 13.23 8.84 1.20 10.04 16.34 45.56 61.90 7.21 0.37 7.58 11.20 0.68 11.88 116.20 18.24 134.44
1991 5.6 8.9 14.5 10.0 1.0 11.0 18.5 44.8 63.3 9.1 0.4 9.5 11.5 0.7 12.2 136 20.9 156.9
@ Services include (1) trade and commerce, (2) transport, storage and communications, (3) financing, insurance, real estate, etc. and (4) public administration.
* Data before 1975 are not comparable with data after 1975 because industrial classification changed in April 1975.
Source: Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy.
Table 7. Sector-wise number and membership of trade unions submitting returns
Sector The first phase (1950 to mid-1960s) The second phase (mid-1960s to 1979) The third phase (1980 to 1991) The fourth phase (1992 to 2000)
1958-59 1968 1986 1992
Number of unions submitting returns Membership of unions (in '000s) Number of unions submitting returns Membership of unions (in '000s) Number of unions submitting returns Membership of unions (in '000s) Number of unions submitting returns Membership of unions (in '000s)
Value Rank Value Rank Value Rank Value Rank Value Rank Value Rank Value Rank Value Rank
Agriculture and allied activities 121 VIII 447 III 306 VI 487 III 258 VI 288 VI 381 VI 458 V
Mining and quarrying 123 VII 269 IV 205 VIII 330 IV 142 IX 164 VII 179 IX 154 VII
Manufacturing 2101 I 1203 I 4222 I 2077 I 3141 I 1707 II 3479 I 2014 I
Construction 66 IX 50 IX 117 IX 49 IX 158 VIII 314 V 214 VIII 327 VI
Electricity, gas
and water 258 VI 87 VIII 269 VII 161 VIII 195 VII 115 IX 286 VII 76 IX
Commerce 602 II 141 V 1016 III 277 VI 456 V 121 VIII 451 V 127 VIII
Transport, storage and communication 454 III 583 II 734 IV 1146 II 833 III 2032 I 1201 III 880 III
Services 387 V 106 VII 1106 II 279 V 1605 II 918 III 1808 II 745 IV
Activities not adequately described 442 IV 141 V 434 V 194 VII 763 IV 700 IV 1074 IV 958 II
Source: Indian Labour Yearbook, Labour Bureau of various years.
Table 8. Index numbers of consumer prices (1960-61 to 1993-94)
Four phases of unionization Year Index Percentage increase over
Industrial workers
(Base 1982=100) Urban non-manual employees
(Base 1984-85=100) Industrial workers Urban non-manual employees
(1950 to mid-1960s) 1960-61 20 19 -- --
1961-62 21 20 4.0 4.0
1964-65 26 23 14.2 9.7
(mid-1960s to 1979) 1965-66 28 25 7.8 6.5
1966-67 32 27 12.9 10.6
1968-69 35 30 -0.6 1.3
(1980-1991) 1979-80 73 62 8.8 7.8
1983-84 111 92 12.1 9.7
1984-85 118 100 6.3 8.7
1988-89 166 136 11.4 7.9
1990-91 193 161 11.6 11.0
(1992-2000) 1991-92 219 183 13.5 13.7
1992-93 240 202 9.6 10.4
Source: Basic Statistics: India, August 1994, Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy.
Table 9. Index number of wage rates (as in January) (Base: 1963-65 = 100)
Four phases of unionization Year General index for twelve industries
(mid-1960s to 1979) 1969 150.3
(1980-1991) 1980 421.0
(1992-2000) 1992 1480.7
Note: Index number of wage rates depict movement of relative change experienced in the wage rates over a period of time. These indices have been compiled by the Bureau in selected industries since 1969.
Table 10. Real wages in organized manufacturing, 1960/61 - 1983/84 (1960 prices)
Year Real wage
(rupees/year) Product wage
(rupees/year)
1960/61 1197 1197
Note: Real wage is nominal wage in manufacturing deflated by CPI for industrial workers, and product wage is nominal wage deflated by GDP deflator for manufacturing.
Source: Joshi and Little (1994, pp. 92, 120 & 155).
State/ union Territory The first phase (1950 to mid-1960s) The second phase (mid-1960s to 1979) The third phase (1980 to 1991) The fourth phase (1992 to 2000)
Andhra Pradesh 262 VI 178 VIII 505 VI 277 VIII .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ....
Assam 89 IX 248 V 116 XIV 244 IX .... .... .... .... 268 VIII 250 VII
Bihar 428 V 371 III 525 V 492 IV .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ....
Delhi 233 VIII 216 VII 364 VII 359 VI 294 VI 1009 III .... .... .... ....
Goa .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... 87 IX 37 VIII 89 XI 74 XI
Gujarat .... .... .... .... 273 XII 202 X 744 III 613 IV 1409 III 1329 I
Haryana .... .... .... .... 181 XIII 52 XVI 305 V 260 VI 331 VII 258 VI
Himachal Pradesh .... .... .... .... 53 XVI 11 XVII .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ....
Mysore/Karnataka .... .... .... .... 344 VIII 170 XI .... .... .... .... 858 IV 393 IV
Kerala .... .... .... .... 809 IV 285 VII 0 XIII 0 XIII 399 VI 202 IX
Madhya Pradesh .... .... .... .... 313 X 127 XII .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ....
Bombay/Maharashtra 1023 I 613 II 1208 I 1034 I 2445 II 2811 I 1668 II 1243 III
Manipur .... .... .... .... 8 XX 2 XXI 56 XI 12 X 111 X 17 XII
Meghalaya .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... 0 XIII 0 XIII 31 XIII 12 XIII
Nagaland .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... 5 XII 1 XII .... .... .... ....
Orissa 60 X 45 X 100 XV 82 XV 105 VIII 112 VII 85 XII 123 X
Punjab 234 VII 57 IX 329 IX 87 XIV 491 IV 380 V 418 V 335 V
Rajasthan .... .... .... .... 283 XI 108 XIII .... .... .... .... 222 IX 207 VIII
Madras/
Tamil Nadu 746 III 334 IV 1140 III 553 II 2815 I 1102 II 3184 I 1293 II
Tripura 16 XI 8 XI 22 XVIII 8 XVIII .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ....
Uttar Pradesh 652 IV 242 VI 1208 I 483 V .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ....
West Bengal 867 II 733 I 1 XXI 511 III .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ....
Andaman and Nicobar 9 XII 3 XII 20 XIX 4 XIX 66 X 12 X .... .... .... ....
Pondicherry .... .... .... .... 27 XVII 3 XX 145 VII 18 IX .... .... .... ....
Endnote 1:
Both these reports have been reviewed in India in the influential Economic and Political Weekly. See Breman (1995), Mazumdar (1997) on the World Bank report, and D'Souza (1998) on the ILO report.
There is a substantial literature on the trade union movement in India during the pre-independence years. Most works on labour history cover trade union struggles in the Bombay textile industry ( Morris, 1955; 1965) and the Calcutta jute industry (Chakrabarty, 1989). For an orthodox Marxist approach to the early working class movement in India see Sen (1977).
Statistically, there are three types of trade union in India: those that do not register and are statistically invisible, those that register but do not submit returns to the Registrar of Trade Unions on membership size, and those that register and submit returns on membership figures.
In the case of the Bombay Industrial Relations Act of 1946, which imposed an industry-wide bargaining structure on the textile industry, the INTUC rationalized the check-off system in the following way: "�the choice of a union must be a well considered long-term choice, which will be possible only on the basis of an insistence on continuing paid membership of a union. Temporary excitement and propaganda will influence the result of an election by secret ballot" (Karnik, 1966, p. 165).
V.V. Giri, a veteran trade union leader, served as Labour Minister between 1952-54. He felt strongly that compulsory adjudication discouraged genuine collective bargaining, which he tried to make statutory.
Internal labour markets are administrative units within which all decisions on pricing, compensation, promotion, recruitment, and training are determined by a set of internally-generated rules based on custom, tradition, and past practice. "Ports of entry" are usually at the lower levels, with workers' careers rising through predictable paths with assured lifetime employment (see Doeringer and Piore, 1971 for the original formulation). Wages are attached to jobs rather than to individual productivity. Internal labour markets seem to thrive during times of prosperity (when product markets are stable and growing); however with increased globalization, international competition and computerization, these markets have become expensive to maintain and reproduce.
For a complete list of all statutes governing employment and employment security see Annex 1 in Mathur (1992).
This period is also associated with industrial concentration. An official survey revealed that in 1964, seventy-five top "business houses" (the representative unit of Indian capital), controlling less than 6 per cent of all non-banking firms in the country, owned 47 per cent of total company assets. By 1969, their share had gone up to 54 per cent, with the top twenty houses registering individual gains of 55 per cent to 196 per cent (Hiro, 1976). Some argued that the nationalization of major commercial banks in 1970 strengthened the existing monopoly houses (Bagchi, 1982).
This discussion on macroeconomic trends relies heavily on Joshi and Little (1994).
Endnote 10:
According to Joshi and Little (1994: 63): "The above liberalization was not all that bold looked at from the vantage point of the 1990s, but it was certainly faster than the funeral pace of 1975/76 to 1984/85. While it can be criticized as being lopsided in some respects, it was largely pointed in the right direction from the viewpoint of efficiency and growth".
On founding this party, Samant seemed to have voiced a real shopfloor concern of the times: "We have now realized that workers should have a political party controlled by them rather than be controlled by the parties". Interview in the Illustrated Weekly of India, 10-16 February 1985).
Trade union membership data in India are notoriously unreliable, as there is a political economy to its collection and presentation. In addition, the only union membership data that are available are from those unions that submit returns. Assuming that these are the large, centralized, politically-affiliated unions, and assuming that the biases do not change significantly over the years, Bhattacherjee and Datta Chaudhuri (1994a) estimated trade union growth in India for the period 1962-84 using a modified Bain and Elsheikh (1976) type equation. Some of their findings were: increased money wages increased union membership, but not for real wages (i.e. a strong "credit" effect and a weak "threat" effect), the unemployment rate negatively affected union membership, and union density (of unions that submit returns) negatively affected membership growth. The authors interpret the latter as possibly indicating a saturation effect of conventional unionism.
For an analysis of labour contracts that uses "region" as a proxy for union and employer preferences for the type of bargaining structure in India, see Bhattacherjee (1992).
Nagaraj (1994) suggests an alternative explanation for the observed wage increases in the 1980s. Distinguishing sharply between the wage rate and earnings, and using data from the Occupational Wage Surveys, he suggests that earnings per worker increased primarily as a result of an increase in the number of workdays per employee, i.e., an intensification of the labour process. The latter to him indicates a decline in union power.
In an influential academic intervention in Indian labour history, indeed in labour history in general, Chakrabarty (1989), studying the jute mill workers in Bengal between 1890 and 1940, heavily criticized the teleological Marxist narrative of class consciousness and eventual socialist emancipation (as was dominant in Indian labour history till then). He showed how "culture" enmeshed the worker's sense of identity, and these conflicting identities, derived from language, religion and ethnicity, only further strengthened these divisions. It is this book that has forced the issues of "working class culture" on to any serious discussion of labour relations in India today. In the light of what transpires in the fourth phase, i.e. the growth of ethnic and community-based worker organizations, the intervention seems to be all the more important.
In the orthodox view, structural adjustment is defined as "a process of market-oriented reforms in policies and institutions, with the goals of restoring a sustainable balance of payments, reducing inflation, and creating conditions for sustainable growth in per capita income. Structural adjustment programmes generally start with a conventional stabilization programme, intended to restore the viability of the current account and the budget, but they are distinguished from pure stabilization programmes by the inclusion of a set of microeconomic-institutional policy reforms" (Corbo and Fisher, 1995, p. 2847; cited in Nagaraj, 1997). For a completely different view of what economic liberalization should mean to India's political economy, one that avoids the extreme positions of both the left and the right, see Bhaduri and Nayyar (1996).
I am grateful to my colleagues, Professors A. Ray and A. Sinha, for permitting me to use expressions from their unpublished annual economy reports.
To get an idea of the magnitude of the problem, consider the following: Steel Authority of India (SAIL, the public sector giant) has about 170,000 workers producing 10 million tons of steel, whereas Essar Steel (a private sector firm) has 1,700 worker producing 2 million tons of steel. In SAIL, several skilled workers have opted for the voluntary retirement scheme in search of greener pastures in the private sector (Economic and Political Weekly, 12 June 1999, p. 1469).
The Business Telegraph, (Calcutta), 28 May 1999.
In the jute industry for example, (unionized) permanent workers often employ casual workers (bhagawalas) themselves to meet production targets.
The Business Telegraph, (Calcutta), 4 March 1999. This industry-wide scheme, drawn up by the Indian Banks Association, aims to cover over 10 lakh (1 lakh=100,000) employees in 27 nationalized banks.
Five Pay Commissions have been appointed: 1948, 1957, 1970, 1985 and 1995.
According to Joseph (1999, p. 1167), "�Indian government employees enjoy several perks and privileges that are unusual and would be the envy of their colleagues in other countries. Part of this is a legacy from the days of British rule in India and part what the employees have been able to extract from government after independence". Some of these unique benefits are: commutation of pension, annual accumulation of leave, reimbursement of petrol and telephone bills.
Managers from the coal sector, when questioned about the appalling accident rates in Indian mines, often state that workers refuse to carry oxygen cylinders on their backs and demand a wage increase for doing so.
ILO, 1997-98, Ch. 5 and 6.
According to the state labour department, 17 well known industrial units have pulled down their shutters during the past year, rendering over 36,000 workers jobless. The McKinsey Report on the state called "Manifesto for a Business Revolution" has questioned the depth of the state government's commitment towards industrialization. It has said that though the new industrial policies framed by the state are commendable, prospective investors are waiting to see whether pro-investor policies would be followed. Source: The Sunday Statesman, (Calcutta), 7 February 1999.
The Telegraph, (Calcutta), 12 February 1999.
The Business Telegraph, (Calcutta), 16 March 1999.
The Telegraph, (Calcutta), 25 May 1999.
The Telegraph, (Calcutta), 5 June 1999.
"The SEWA has been organizing home-based workers in India for 20 years. SEWA members include small artisans like weavers and carpenters and piece-rate workers like garment and bidi workers. SEWA is a union of 143,000 members and sponsors cooperatives to produce alternative employment. So far it has 63 cooperatives including a cooperative bank and cooperatives providing social protection like healthcare, childcare and housing to its members" (Jhabvala, 1995).
In 1996, the ILO voted in favour of an international convention on "homework", defining the latter as "work carried out by a person in his or her home or in other premises of his or her choice, other than the workplace of the employer, for remuneration, which results in a product or service as specified by the employer, irrespective of who provides the equipment, materials or other inputs used, unless this person has the degree of autonomy and economic independence necessary to be considered an independent worker under laws, regulations or court decisions" (see Mukul,1998).
Updated by RS. Approved by JMS. Last Updated 5 January 2000.
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There are scenes of a growing radicalisation. In Basel, dozens of people blocked on Monday the access to the UBS Headquarters on aeschenplatz in Zurich which wa
09 Temmuz 2019 Salı 22:00 - 44 reads.
There are scenes of a growing radicalisation. In Basel, dozens of people blocked on Monday the access to the UBS Headquarters on aeschenplatz in Zurich which was the headquarters of the Credit Suisse on the parade square, the target of a Blockade. Provisional balance sheet: A large contingent of police had to clear in the afternoon in Basel, the Bank's input and has taken a handful of activists, in Zurich, 64 persons were discharged. You trespass and coercion are accused of.
The climate movement, which originated from a Swedish girl with dark blonde pigtails, has not reached only verbally a whole new level of aggressiveness, but also with – illegal – acts. Announced it had blocked the escalation in the beginning of June, as in the name of the climate, dozens of people access to the Federal house.
So, these activists achieve on the inside and most Active only one: There is not more discussion about climate policy, but about the illegality of their protests.
It is not clear in what proportion actually Greta Thun, mountain, climate children to the blocking of the interior and occupants. Apparently, a part of the detainees has arrived for the action, especially from abroad, and the most likely to be a lot older than the typical climate of young people.
all this evidence suggests that the radicalization of people that sit astride the genuine concern and deep-felt idealism of the Generation of the Greta, in order to realize their radical ideas of climate policy and the critique of capitalism. It would be then, as so often in the history of protest movements: With the radicalization they lose their actual objectives.
However, even if one of these Hotheads is that you are basically alone, as climate goes, it is clear that the illegal "Action" against the banks and the Federal house is the opposite of what the climate youth with their peaceful demonstrations going on. It is discussed not and more about global warming and its consequences, but about the aggressiveness and illegality of these actions. And thus is recovered for the climate, nothing.
Video: police attacks before the CS is a Illegal action: In Zurich, 64 people were arrested. Video: Tamedia (editor-in-Tamedia)
Created: 09.07.2019, 07:47 PM
96-year-old walker-the woman on raise-lower-bridge:...
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Marianne Desautels-Marissal will host a workshop on scientific popularization!
We are very pleased to announce that a workshop on scientific popularization is planned for the afternoon of Thursday, November 2nd, and that it will be hosted by the scientific journalist Marianne Desautels-Marissal!
Marianne Desautels-Marissal is a Biochemistry graduate from UQAM who became interested in scientific journalism during her undergrad, when she worked as a group leader at Débrouillards day camps. In 2014, she received one of the most prestigious Canadian scholarships in scientific journalism, the Fernand-Séguin scholarship. This affords the unique opportunity for young, promising journalists to learn their craft by working directly with professionals from major media outlets. This enabled Ms. Desautels-Marissal to work in journalism as a website editor for Radio-Canada (CBC). Now, she is a reporter for both the CBC radio broadcast Les Éclaireurs and the new TV broadcast Électrons libres from Télé-Québec, where she works alongside Pierre Chastenay and Rabii Rammal, with an aim towards scientific popularization. Marianne Desautels-Marissal is also a first-time author of a popular science work on microbiota, known as “Mille milliards d’amies: Comprendre et nourrir son microbiome” (roughly translated as “Thousands of Billions of Friends: How to Understand and Feed Your Microbiota”).
This workshop will include a section during which Ms. Desautels-Marissal will describe her experience as a scientific journalist and her “popularization tips”, as well as a Q&A session.
We are very much looking forward to welcoming Marianne Desautels-Marissal this fall at Journée Phare!
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Interview with Jon Reiner
Welcome to Jon Reiner, author of The Man Who Couldn't Eat. I reviewed his book yesterday and I was given the opportunity to send him some questions and here are the answers . . .
1. What do you find yourself rambling about?
I've been accused of treating our living room like the set of a talk show and my family as guests just dying to be enlightened by my unsolicited ramblings. Hey, now! If you angle the coffee table just so and fluff the throw pillows on the couch, the room does conjure the look of the old Dick Cavett show, so maybe they've got a point. You name the subject, and I'm off to the races. Politics, history, culture, books, music, movies, sports, gossip, more politics, the eccentric genius of Paul McCartney's "Honey Pie" - will it never end? Fortunately, even in my own home, I get paid by the word.
2. This book The Man Who Couldn't Eat is a memoir and your next book Chutes and Ladders looks to be non-fiction as well, have you ever dabbled in fiction? What genre would you ever consider publishing in?
The opportunity to publish my memoir happened in the most unlikely way. The offer was an absolutely mind-bending fluke, and, of course, I said yes and jumped at the chance to make a debut with a major publisher (Simon & Schuster/Gallery). However, I've studied and been writing fiction for 25 years, so, yes, you could say I've dabbled. Before I wrote The Man Who Couldn't Eat, I wrote the manuscript of a novel titled Ice-Out. It received some extremely enthusiastic critical comments such as, "This is a powerhouse of a novel, which is all the more reason that I'm sorry we are declining to publish your book." On the other hand, Doris Lessing read the manuscript at Philip Glass's invitation - how's that for gratuitous name dropping - and hated it. I've kept her typewritten letter. It's so cutting, you can't help but laugh. Literary fiction is my genre.
3. When becoming an author, did you have any speed bumps along the way? If so, how did you overcome then?
Speed bumps? How about the Himalayas? Rejection, illness, unemployment, poverty, and I was in a real funk for after Larry Sanders went off the air. Oh, the hardships I have endured. However, I didn't give up. It took me all these years to get published, or as my Esquire editor Mark Warren put it, "You almost had to die to get published." We all suffer for our art, but did mine have to be so literal? Eventually, when I was presented with a life-changing opportunity to write my story, I was prepared and excited to say yes and believe in my ability to produce a quality manuscript. Even though I failed for years to break through, and was often discouraged about my situation, psychologically I never quit on myself. I never stopped believing that I would become a published author, or that I had the talent to do so. You must have confidence, even arrogance, regarding your ability. It's a bold action to write a story and send it out for the public to accept or reject. Writing is not a sport for weaklings. I prefer to look at all this another way, though. As John Berryman famously said, "The artist is extremely lucky who is presented with the worst possible ordeal which will not actually kill him. At that point, he's in business."
4. What is your favorite part of the writing process? And why? (i.e. beginning, middle or end)
Finishing is it's own reward, of course, but it's also illusory. I never feel that I'm truly finished trying to write perfect sentences. Even now, I've been on a book tour reading passages of The Man Who Couldn't Eat, and I can't resist the impulse to improve a phrase, or add an idea, which I have done extemporaneously on occasion. Henry James was motivated to do the same thing, rewriting his published work before he died (and he was a million laughs). I don't mean to put myself in James's league, but I can understand why he felt inspired to continue reworking his prose. If you're a writer, you love to write, and I do. Beginning, middle or end - it doesn't matter. There's nothing as creatively exciting as having the ideas in your head flow through your fingertips onto the screen.
5. If you could convince anyone to write a memoir, which person's would you want to read?
This will have zero meaning to anyone else, but I'd want to read a memoir written by my paternal grandfather, Jacob Reiner. It's impossible for many reasons, starting with the fact that he died 20 years before I was born. He immigrated from a speck-on-the-map in Galicia with no family in the U.S., no money, no education, no language skills, and by first walking across Europe to a steamer in Hamburg. He was a teenager and had the nerve to get himself halfway around the world. People like Jake had a courage that was astounding. I'd like to understand that and have him tell the story.
6. Beyond Chutes and Ladders is there anything else on your plate that you are working on?
I've written some short fiction in the past year that has wound its way into several stories that interconnect through generations of characters, set in Maine. The opening story is called Private Way and the second is Straightback '66. I plan to continue the collection. I've also been working on a novel for a while that has a title I like: Uncle Moses in the Promised Land. It's a big story about identity. I wonder what Doris Lessing would think of it? Aside from that, I'm also working out in the batting cage, improving the timing of my opposite field swing. I swear to God, give me a few months, and I can crack the Yankees' lineup when they break camp for the 2012 season.
Thank you so much to Jon Reiner for answering my questions, your smart humor and honest answers were a joy to read and share.
Ti said...
You asked some really interesting questions. I love his answer to your speed bump question.
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As we approach the end of May, a familiar ritual begins to occur throughout the United States. Young men and women, clad in polyester robes will don cardboard hats that will only be worn once. These youngsters will be shuffled into gymnasiums, auditoriums, amphitheaters, and football stadiums in front of thousands of their friends and families. There is a familiar custom, one in which everyone participates, though I suspect few actually understand it. As these newly christened adults are seated, almost invariably they will all be treated to an overly lengthy (and repetitive) performance of the trio section of a 100-year-old British march, originally written for orchestra by a man named Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934).
It is a curious affair, one that I reckon that most people sitting in the bleachers don't spend too much of their time thinking about it. Your atypical graduation attendee has a sole purpose in mind. They want to see their young charge walk across the stage and shake hands with a small group of dignitaries. They can't be bothered to consider the important musical history being recognized at that moment. However, being a veteran of many more of these ceremonies than I care to recall, I have noticed there are two types of people that usually attend.
People with air horns, and people without air horns.
If you have not attended a commencement ceremony recently, I should warn you that decorum has seemingly evaporated as an expected protocol. You may have noticed articles in the media concerning school districts banning specific outbursts from audience members or articles opining the lack of respect some people display at such events. Some students have even been denied their diplomas for the egregious behavior of their own friends and family. I'll leave the decision of appropriateness to you to decide. What we'll focus on here is the quaint little bit of British-ness that remains a centerpiece in the American version of this ceremony.
It was summertime in Connecticut in the year 1905. Edward Elgar had seen a groundswell of popularity in the United States following several successful performances of his works. He had already become a household name in England, having slowly accumulated popularity and sealing his name in the annals of history with his "Engima Variations". Elgar and his wife, Alice, had worked incredibly hard over the past two decades to bring his craft to the forefront of the music scene. They had moved to London, moved back to Worchestershire after experiencing tepid success, Alice's family denounced her for marrying a musician, and they listened to music constantly. Sometimes taking in 3 or 4 performances per week (remember, this is pre-iPod so you actually had to go somewhere to hear music). As a result, Elgar's palette tends to adopt a large swath of European styles of the late Romantic. Despite this broad acculturation, Elgar was considered by his own people as quintessentially British.
Could anyone possibly be more British than this?
So, where does the graduation march come into play? Well, what most of us recognize as Pomp and Circumstance is only half the story. The melody does indeed come from Elgar's 1st Pomp and Circumstance Military March in D major. The title itself comes from Shakespeare's Othello"
"Farewell the neighing steed and the shrill trump,
The spirit-stirring drum, th'ear-piercing fife,
The royal banner, and all quality,
Pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war!"
The interesting bit comes when we examine the march closer, the portion that is almost unanimously adopted as the graduation processional is only the trio section of the march, a smallish bit in the middle. After its publication, several of Elgar's friends commented that the melody of the trio would be able to stand as its own work. A short time later, he arranged it as a standalone work and it was set to words by the author and poet, A. C. Benson. It came to be known as "The Land of Hope and Glory", and in some circles it's considered as sacred as "God Save the Queen."
How it came to its place in American academia is another story. Elgar had an American friend, Samuel Sanford, who was the professor of Applied Music at Yale university. He convinced Elgar to come visit him and eventually arranged for him to be the recipient of an honorary doctorate of music from Yale the summer of 1905. The ceremony honored several big names in America at the time, but Elgar was definitely considered the main attraction. The publication, Yale Alumni Weekly, later reported that, "...his name was received with unusual demonstration."
I'm sure that it was overwhelming...
So as the ceremony came to an end, the last piece of music the orchestra performed was Elgar's March No. 1. In the coming years, other ivy-league schools began to adopt the practice of performing the march and as time wore on, it was cropped to just the trio and expanded across the country as the expected custom at commencement ceremonies, taking America by storm.
Much like Britain's final attempt to regain control of the colonists.
Our listening example comes today from the master himself. The film comes from the inaugural recording session at the Abbey Road Studios in London (yes, the very same studio in which the Beatles recorded and the street upon which they are crossing above) where Edward Elgar himself conducts the London Symphony Orchestra in playing the trio from Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1. As he takes the podium, you may notice the string players tapping their bows on the edge of their music stands. This is a traditional sign of respect and admiration. As he prepares to begin, Elgar addresses the musicians as such:
"Good morning gentlemen. Glad to see you all. Very light program this morning. Please play this tune as though you've never heard it before."
Homework: Free write this week! Write about whatever comes to mind.
http://www.npr.org/
http://www.elgar.org/
Photo of Yale student is from the New Haven Register, New Haven, CT.
Photo of Prince Harry is from TIME magazine.
Photo the Beatles from their album, Abbey Road is believed to belong to the label, Apple (Parlophone)/EMI, or the graphic artist(s), Iain Macmillan.
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Boca Raton, FL - AND THE TONY GOES TO...: An Evening with Liz Callaway
Spanish River Worship Center 2400 Yamato Road Boca Raton, FL, 33431 United States (map)
Broadway star, Liz Callaway, is a Tony nominee and Emmy Award-winning actress, singer and recording artist. She made her Broadway debut in Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along; received a Tony Award nomination for her performance in Baby; for five years, won acclaim as Grizabella in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats; and starred as Ellen in the original Broadway cast of Miss Saigon.
Accompanied by the South Florida Symphony, Liz Callaway will present an evening of songs from Broadway musicals and her various recordings.
Miami, FL - AND THE TONY GOES TO...: An Evening with Liz Callaway
Key West, FL - AND THE TONY GOES TO...: An Evening with Liz Callaway
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Tag Archives: paris sex laws
Blog, Criminal, Family, International, Legal News
France to introduce 15 as legal age of consent for sex
France announced plans to make 15 the legal age of consent for sex after high-profile cases including those of two men who escaped rape charges for having sex with 11-year-old girls caused national outrage.
Equality Minister Marlene Schiappa told the AFP news agency Monday that “the government has decided to set the age at 15” following public consultations and recommendations from a panel of experts.
The legislation, which will be presented to lawmakers for approval later this month, is part of a slew of government measures to tackle sexual violence, gender-based discrimination and harassment.
Adults can be charged with groping and sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison if they’re found guilty of abusing a child under 15. The more serious charge of aggravated sexual assault or rape of a child carries a sentence of up to 20 years — but coercion or violence must be proven.
Full Article – https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/03/06/france-introduce-15-legal-age-consent-sex/399119002/
age of consentfeaturedfrancefrench lawsparis sex lawsrape chargessex lawssexual assault laws
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Sex, lies and the LBC
If there is one man who wishes the earth would open up and swallow him, it is probably Mazen Abu Jawad. On the 15th of July the LBC had broadcast an interview with him on its show "Ahmar bil khat al Areed" (The Thick Red Line). During this interview, Abu Jawad talked frankly about his sexual exploits and conquests and the audience were given a detailed insight into his views on the subject. Since then, the Jeddah office of LBC has been shutdown indefinitely and Abu Jawad is languishing in a cell somewhere, wondering what will happen to him.
There will be two accounts describing this event. The first, more prominent one, will be parroted by the self-proclaimed champions of civilization, humanism and individual freedom as yet another example of an oppressive society forcing its morality down everyone's throats. They would argue that there is nothing wrong in Abu Jawad talking healthily about a subject which is natural and normal. He must be given his freedom to speak without fear and to experience sexuality with no fear of consequences. Yet in their mind, they think that the stifling oppression they are fighting, as well as its reaction in sleaze like the LBC broadcasts, is the incarnation of a Foucaltian's bad dream; A self pornographication and subsequent moral disgust in a society where the power structure has gone mad in trying to maintain itself.
In the second account, largely Islamic but also Christian and Jewish, this episode will serve as yet another example of the steadily decomposing state of morality that the region is being subjected to by the anti-culture which is seeping in through the televisions and radios. People I speak with are getting sick and tired with the sexualisation of Arabic popular culture, they are tired of sexually abusive men and women who dress like harlots and they are sick and tired of the stupid ideology of individual freedom that is parroted without understanding. The older generation tell me that there were always certain people of a particular standard and it was known that they were no good, or that there were certain areas where morality was less stringently monitored than others, but what is happening in streets across the Arab world is nothing short of bewildering to them. In short, they say, it was easy to avoid rubbish by avoiding these people or areas but today it surrounds them and it is forcing its way into their homes and families.
There is no doubt that Mazen Abu Jawad is a fool. There is also no doubt that he was exploited by a sleazy television programme for a channel which has always been known to prefer displaying women with little or no clothing. However if we think that this sexualisation of pop-culture is there because of a demand, we must think again. Hypocrisy, and this may disappoint Europeanised and Americanised Arabs who relish exposing it in the people around them, is not news. The morality of Arabs and Muslims can accomodate the adage, "It is better to have standards and miss than to not have any standards at all", as the greater evil is not hypocrisy, but corruption. I agree with the latter group rather than the former. We are not Victorians, we are Arabs and Muslims - deal with it.
Labels: "Cool Arabia", Rebels without a clue
People I speak with are getting sick and tired with the sexualisation of Arabic popular culture, they are tired of sexually abusive men and women who dress like harlots and they are sick and tired of the stupid ideology of individual freedom that is parroted without understanding. The older generation tell me that there were always certain people of a particular standard and it was known that they were no good, or that there were certain areas where morality was less stringently monitored than others, but what is happening in streets across the Arab world is nothing short of bewildering to them.
This is nothing. Wait for another decade. You will be shocked of what becomes of the Middle East.
I'm shocked now. These people are worse than animals.
Contrary to your expectations and bravades, the Arab society is the least resistant of all others against this stuff. It was managing to stave off the onslaught until now only thanks to its overall backwardness and stagnation. Western societies may look decadent and such but they have experience of prolonged exposure to these things. The Arab society today, however, is like a North American Indian of the pre Columbus era being introduced for the first time to alcohol. From the moment Haifa Wehbe was spotted learning to duplicate herself the style of the Matrix agent Smith, it was clear for those who could see that within a decade the whole thing would come down like a stack of dominoes.
That is true. For the Arabs the only thing which they had or have going for them is Islam, without it, they are alcoholic Red Indians.
Haifa Wehbes are insidious creatures. Stuff like Islam they are having for breakfast. And not even as a main dish.
All the more embarrassing that the Israelites are losing to them.
Sometimes I think that vanity is the only real thing about the Arabs and their culture. But then if it helps them to feel better in their miserable situation, then I don't mind
Lirun said...
who are we losing to? and what are we losing? i dont get it..
To Haifa-Wehbes, to the Arabs in general
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Chloroplasts in leaf cells of the moss Mnium stellare
Plant anatomy or phytotomy is the general term for the study of the internal structure of plants. While originally it included plant morphology, which is the description of the physical form and external structure of plants, since the mid-20th century the investigations of plant anatomy are considered a separate, distinct field, and plant anatomy refers to just the internal plant structures.[1][2] Plant anatomy is now frequently investigated at the cellular level, and often involves the sectioning of tissues and microscopy.[3]
1 Structural divisions
Plant anatomy is often[4] divided into the following categories:
Vascular tissue of a gooseberry vine from Grew's Anatomy of Plants
Root tip
Flower anatomy
Leaf anatomy
Stem anatomy
Stem structure
Fruit/Seed anatomy
Seed structure
Pericarp
Accessory fruit
Wood anatomy
Phloem
Vascular cambium
Heartwood and sapwood
branch collar
Root anatomy
Root structure
Main article: History of botany
About 300 BC Theophrastus wrote a number of plant treatises, only two of which survive, Enquiry into Plants (Περὶ φυτῶν ἱστορία), and On the Causes of Plants (Περὶ φυτῶν αἰτιῶν). He developed concepts of plant morphology and classification, which did not withstand the scientific scrutiny of the Renaissance.
A Swiss physician and botanist, Gaspard Bauhin, introduced binomial nomenclature into plant taxonomy. He published Pinax theatri botanici in 1596, which was the first to use this convention for naming of species. His criteria for classification included natural relationships, or 'affinities', which in many cases were structural.
It was in the late 1600s that plant anatomy became refined into a modern science. Italian doctor and microscopist, Marcello Malpighi, was one of the two founders of plant anatomy. In 1671 he published his Anatomia Plantarum, the first major advance in plant physiogamy since Aristotle. The other founder was the British doctor Nehemiah Grew. He published An Idea of a Philosophical History of Plants in 1672 and The Anatomy of Plants in 1682. Grew is credited with the recognition of plant cells, although he called them 'vesicles' and 'bladders'. He correctly identified and described the sexual organs of plants (flowers) and their parts.[5]
In the Eighteenth Century, Carolus Linnaeus established taxonomy based on structure, and his early work was with plant anatomy. While the exact structural level which is to be considered to be scientifically valid for comparison and differentiation has changed with the growth of knowledge, the basic principles were established by Linnaeus. He published his master work, Species Plantarum in 1753.
In 1802, French botanist Charles-François Brisseau de Mirbel, published Traité d'anatomie et de physiologie végétale (Treatise on Plant Anatomy and Physiology) establishing the beginnings of the science of plant cytology.
In 1812, Johann Jacob Paul Moldenhawer published Beyträge zur Anatomie der Pflanzen, describing microscopic studies of plant tissues.
In 1813 a Swiss botanist, Augustin Pyrame de Candolle, published Théorie élémentaire de la botanique, in which he argued that plant anatomy, not physiology, ought to be the sole basis for plant classification. Using a scientific basis, he established structural criteria for defining and separating plant genera.
In 1830, Franz Meyen published Phytotomie, the first comprehensive review of plant anatomy.
In 1838 German botanist Matthias Jakob Schleiden, published Contributions to Phytogenesis, stating, "the lower plants all consist of one cell, while the higher plants are composed of (many) individual cells" thus confirming and continuing Mirbel's work.
A German-Polish botanist, Eduard Strasburger, described the mitotic process in plant cells and further demonstrated that new cell nuclei can only arise from the division of other pre-existing nuclei. His Studien über Protoplasma was published in 1876.
Gottlieb Haberlandt, a German botanist, studied plant physiology and classified plant tissue based upon function. On this basis, in 1884 he published Physiologische Pflanzenanatomie (Physiological Plant Anatomy) in which he described twelve types of tissue systems (absorptive, mechanical, photosynthetic, etc.).
British paleobotanists Dunkinfield Henry Scott and William Crawford Williamson described the structures of fossilized plants at the end of the Nineteenth Century. Scott's Studies in Fossil Botany was published in 1900.
Following Charles Darwin's Origin of Species a Canadian botanist, Edward Charles Jeffrey, who was studying the comparative anatomy and phylogeny of different vascular plant groups, applied the theory to plants using the form and structure of plants to establish a number of evolutionary lines. He published his The Anatomy of Woody Plants in 1917.
The growth of comparative plant anatomy was spearheaded by British botanist Agnes Arber. She published Water Plants: A Study of Aquatic Angiosperms in 1920, Monocotyledons: A Morphological Study in 1925, and The Gramineae: A Study of Cereal, Bamboo and Grass in 1934.[6]
Following World War II, Katherine Esau published, Plant Anatomy (1953), which became the definitive textbook on plant structure in North American universities and elsewhere, it was still in print as of 2006.[7] She followed up with her Anatomy of seed plants in 1960.
↑ Raven, P. H.; Evert, R. F. and Eichhorn, S. E. (2005) Biology of Plants (7th edition) W. H. Freeman, New York, page 9, ISBN 0-7167-1007-2
↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Identifiers at line 47: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
↑ Evert, Ray Franklin and Esau, Katherine (2006) Esau's Plant anatomy: meristems, cells, and tissues of the plant body - their structure, function and development Wiley, Hoboken, New Jersey, page xv, ISBN 0-471-73843-3
↑ See e.g. Craig, Richard and Vassilyev, Andrey. "Plant Anatomy". McGraw-Hill. Archived from the original on 24 July 2010. CS1 maint: Multiple names: authors list (link) <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
Eames, Arthur Johnson and MacDaniels, Laurence H. (1947) An Introduction to Plant Anatomy McGraw-Hill, New York
Esau, Katherine (1965) Plant Anatomy (2nd edition) Wiley, New York
Farabee, M.J. (2001) "Plants and their structure" Estrella Mountain Community College, Phoenix, Arizona
Botanical Visual Glossary
Plant anatomy glossary- University of Rhode Island
Anatomy and morphology
Neanderthal anatomy
Dog anatomy
Horse anatomy
Giraffe anatomy
Other vertebrates
Bird anatomy
Fish anatomy
Shark anatomy
Decapod anatomy
Gastropod anatomy
Insect morphology
Spider anatomy
Disciplines of
Superficial anatomy
Microscopic anatomy
Allometry
Brain morphometry
Morphometrics
Angiosperm (flowering)
Plasmodesmata
Hardiness zone
International Code of Nomenclature for Plants (ICN)
- for Cultivated Plants (ICNCP)
Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Plant_anatomy&oldid=2755459"
Branches of botany
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The IP Puzzle That Is 3-D Manufacture
Perhaps the last place I had planned to encounter a cutting-edge issue regarding IP was in the column by James Saft, "The Coming Dollar Bull Run", which appeared in the February 26 issue of Reuters, here The article considered the economic reasons why, according to Saft (and others), the U.S. dollar will become the currency of choice, leading to its strengthening vis-à-vis other currencies. Against this backdrop, towards the end of the piece, the following observation was made:
"Don't underestimate the power of the energy and manufacturing changes now taking root in the U.S. More domestic energy means less money sent overseas and will also tend to make manufacturing at home more internationally competitive. The U.S. also appears to have substantial strengths in the development of 3-D printing, in which highly customizable objects are literally sprayed into existence. To the extent it develops, 3-D manufacturing will be located close to markets and in places where intellectual property - a large part of a 3-D manufacturer's value - are well protected."
Much of the debate about U.S. manufacturing is whether it has arrested and even clawed back some of the position that it once enjoyed on the world business stage. The notion that 3-D manufacturing (a.k.a. additive manufacturing) could serve as a lever significant enough to change the world position of US manufacturers, and that IP will be a central element in that predicted transformation, was something that I had not directly encountered previously. This challenged me to consider Saft's comments further.
First, a brief description of what is meant by 3-D manufacturing. As described by Makerbot, a leader in the world of "3-D printing, also called additive manufacturing, means making things layer by layer according to a 3-D design file. This differs from traditional manufacturing, such as machining, which often involves subtracting a material in order to achieve a certain shape." Per se, 3-D manufacturing has been around for a while, here. What is new is the way that the technology has become scalable and affordable as never before. Customized manufacture, literally on one's desk, will soon be available to a huge swathe of the population.
How does IP fit into this? As with any disruptive technology that promises to improve our ability to both manufacture and distribute products,rights holders may be challenged to protect their interests in the face of the new technology. Think the printing press, photocopy machine, stand-alone PC and the internet—and now, the personal 3-D manufacturing device. The particular challenge raised by 3-D manufacturing seems to focus on copyright issues. In that connection, Rimmer reports the observations made by Michael Weinberg, a researcher for the NGO Public Knowledge here. Thus, Weinberg notes that:
" '[w]hile there are copyright implications for 3D printing, the fact that copyright has traditionally avoided attaching to functional objects – objects with purposes beyond their aesthetic value – may very well limit its importance.’ He comments: ‘Copyright law has long avoided attaching to functional objects on the grounds that patent law should protect them (if they should be protected at all).’ Nonetheless, Weinberg observes: ‘It is unavoidable that some functional objects also serve the types of decorative and creative purposes protected by copyright.’ "
This concern is heightened when files are posted for all to use in their own 3-D manufacture, where third parties have sought to challenge the legality of the files under the copyright laws. It is fair to say that the resolution (and possible legislation) of copyright challenges posed by 3-D manufacturing is only in its infancy.
All of which brings us back to Saft's assertion that effective IP protection in connection with respect to 3-D manufacturing will serve to aid in the continuing renaissance of US manufacturing. I must confess that I am not certain if I fully understand why this should be the case. For one thing, the US will not enjoy a monopoly in the use of 3-D manufacturing technology; other countries with robust IP enforcement systems will also successfully take advantage of the technology. Secondly, it is not clear in which direction IP protection will go—and in particular whether greater or lesser copyright protection will be accorded. Thus, arrangements for public access of 3-D manufacturing designs might well result in low, rather than high copyright protection, where the interest of the common good is placed above the rights of any single individual. Thirdly, IP protection might not really matter at the end of the day; the correlation between successful 3-D manufacturing and robust IP protection might be low.
From the IP perspective, it will be exciting to see how all of this plays out. But protection for 3-D manufacturing in the service of a strengthening US dollar—well, for me, the jury is still out.
Posted by Neil Wilkof at 23:10:00 4 comments:
Labels: 3-D manufacturing, Intellectual Property
The U.S. National Science Foundation I-Corps Program: The Goal is Commercialization
The I-Corps Program is a collaboration between the U.S. National Science Foundation [NSF], Kaufmann Foundation and Deshpande Foundation designed to help bring government funded—NSF funded—inventions to market. As fellow blogger, Neil Wilkof has discussed, the valley of death is a real problem and a search for effective solutions is ongoing. The I-Corps Program is another attempt to solve the problem. The I-Corps Program started out on July 28, 2011 with a plan to fund 100 projects per year at $50,000 for each project. Basically, the program has several parts:
There are three distinct components of I-Corps: Teams, Nodes and Sites. I-Corps Teams are composed of the principal investigator(s) (PI), an entrepreneurial lead (EL), and a mentor. The I-Corps Nodes serve as hubs for education, infrastructure and research that engage academic scientists and engineers in innovation; they also deliver the I-Corps Curriculum to I-Corps Teams. The I-Corps Sites are academic institutions that catalyze the engagement of multiple, local teams in technology transition and strengthen local innovation.
Here is the I-Corps Teams’ role:
Over a period of six months, each I-Corps team, composed of the principal investigator, a mentor, and an entrepreneurial lead, will systematically identify and address knowledge gaps to ascertain the technology disposition: What resources will be required? What are the competing technologies? What value will this innovation add? The I-Corps program will also pilot innovative merit review processes through which promising discoveries emerging from NSF-funded research projects will be identified quickly and efficiently for financial support as well as for mentorship through the national network.
A key component of the program appears to be the required curriculum for all I-Corps teams based on a Stanford “Lean Launchpad” course that is described as “The I-Corps curriculum provides real-world, hands-on, immersive learning about what it takes to successfully transfer knowledge into products and processes that benefit society. . . . [T]he entire I-Corps Team will be engaged with industry; talking to customers, partners, and competitors; and encountering the chaos and uncertainty of creating successful innovations. Getting out of the laboratory/university is what the effort is about.” The Lean Launchpad course was developed by Stanford faculty member Steve Blank and is available online here via Udacity.
According to Xconomy and TechnologyTransfer Tactics, the program is being expanded to include more than the original I-Corps I-Core Sites and/or Nodes—Stanford University, Georgia Tech and the University of Michigan. Now UC Berkeley, UC San Francisco, University of Maryland, Virginia Tech, George Washington University, City University of New York, New York University and Columbia University will participate as I-Core Sites and/or Nodes. Are there any similar programs in other countries?
Posted by Mike Mireles at 22:29:00 No comments:
Labels: commercialisation, commercialization, i-corps, nsf, patents, start-ups, valley of death
Dogs and Cats Living Together? The New WIPO, WTO and WHO Book.
On February 5, 2013, WIPO, the WTO, and the World Health Organization issued a jointly authored book titled, “Promoting Access to Medical Technologies and Innovation – Intersections between public health, intellectual property and trade.” The 253 page book is an ambitious one—tackling the intersection of innovation and access. The press release states:
Today’s health policy‑makers need a clear understanding both of the innovation processes that lead to new technologies and of the ways in which these technologies are disseminated in health systems. This study captures a broad range of experience and data in dealing with the interplay between intellectual property, trade rules and the dynamics of access to, and innovation in, medical technologies.
The study is intended to inform ongoing technical cooperation activities undertaken by the three organizations and to support policy discussions. Based on many years of field experience in technical cooperation, the study has been prepared to serve the needs of policy‑makers who seek a comprehensive presentation of the full range of issues, as well as lawmakers, government officials, delegates to international organizations, non‑governmental organizations and researchers.
The book has four parts: 1) Medical Technologies: The Fundamentals; 2) The Policy Context for Action for Innovation and Access; 3) Medical Technologies: The Innovation Dimension; and 4) Medical Technologies: The Access Dimension. The study is very complete and attempts to tie together a lot of different concepts, and generally does so well (although I know I need to spend more time with it). Some interesting items in the report include: a statement that a goal of the report is to find some “policy coherence” between the three organizations and that the report was made in a spirit of cooperation began by the Doha Declaration, the WIPO Development Agenda, and the WHO Global Strategy and Plan of Action for Global Health; a specific section on traditional medicine and knowledge; a statement that “[t]he overarching condition for providing access to needed medical technologies and health services is a functioning national healthcare system”; a dizzying chart concerning Tanzania’s medical supply systems; placing the human right to health within the intellectual property law context; and a helpful table breaking down pharmaceutical related provisions in FTAs.
On the Bayh-Dole Act and similar policies, the report states:
Such policies, and a general trend towards more active management of technologies created through publicly funded research, are leading to the steady accumulation of publicly held patent portfolios, including on key upstream technologies that provide platforms for a range of new medical technologies.
This report appears to be a great step toward harmonizing a lot of concepts in public health and intellectual property. There is no question that trying to find solutions to the problems outlined in the report requires expertise in a lot of different areas and much collaboration.
Posted by Mike Mireles at 00:52:00 1 comment:
Labels: medical technologies, patents, WHO, WIPO, WTO
Stronger, Better--even FASTR? The Fair Access to Science and Technology Research Act
On Valentine’s Day, the Fair Access to Science andTechnology Research Act [FASTR] was introduced in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. FASTR is a version of the previously introduced Federal Research Public Access Act (three times before), which failed to become law. FASTR requires that federally funded scientific research in papers is made available to the public after six months. Apparently, the agencies responsible for funding the research are also charged with ensuring the publications are accessible to the public free of charge. This seems like a good idea—the public funds the research through taxes so why shouldn’t the public get free access to the research results? And, there are many supporters (Electronic Frontier Foundation, Infojustice, PLOS, the Associationof College and Research Libraries, American Library Association, Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries, Association of Research Libraries, CreativeCommons, Greater Western Library Alliance, Public Knowledge, Public Library of Science and SPARC). But, there is also opposition by the Association of American Publishers. Why the opposition? Well, the Association of American Publishers released some comments in 2008 against the National Institutes of Health’s public access policy to research results after one year (which is somewhat similar to FASTR):
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) policy seeks to address a challenge or problem that has not been proven to exist. In doing so, the NIH policy introduces legal conflicts with an author’s and publisher’s copyright and undermines intellectual property rights and the economic incentive of publishers and rights holders. The policy makes their copyrighted material available without compensation in online sites, for dissemination to anyone, anywhere, anytime. Such mandatory open access erodes and disrupts the proven, balanced economic model that supports and sustains journals as dynamic and effective vehicles for promoting scientific communication for centuries. It removes the substantial safeguards that journal publishers take to protect their journals from unauthorized misappropriation.
North American-based science and technology publishers account for upwards of 40% of all peer-reviewed scientific research papers published annually. Therefore, mandatory public access policies will disproportionately impact U.S. publishers. By severely restricting the scope of protection for a critical class of copyrighted works, the NIH policy deprives both authors and publishers of their free choice to use the business model best suited for disseminating content and could ultimately reduce incentives to make substantial investments in peer reviewing, publishing, and disseminating scientific research.
At the same time, the primary beneficiaries will largely be non-US entities who neither fund nor invest in research but will have free access to the information in the copyrighted journal articles. U.S. publishers have already gathered evidence that companies in China and India are planning to resell and distribute without authorization articles downloaded from NIH's PubMed Central database — material produced by U.S publishers at their own expense.
So, most of the argument seems to be a little protectionist. If we are concerned about the impact on US publishers, we should be able to obtain a rough estimate of the impact of the policy—several years have passed since the policy has been in effect. Indeed, SPARC reports that:
In some disciplines, freely accessible online archives have been proven to boost journal readership, not detract from it. In physics, for example, where nearly 100% of new articles are freely available from birth in the arXiv.org open-access archive created more than a decade ago with US Department of Energy funding, subscription-based journals have continued to thrive. In a report to Congress on the results of its Public Access Policy, NIH reported that it “has no evidence to indicate that the Policy has had any impact on peer review.”
Just as newspaper articles today are read in print form, on their publishers’ Web sites, and in aggregations such as LexisNexis®, potential readers of publicly funded journal articles are well-served by having them accessible in many forms and contexts for differing uses. Even before the Internet, publishers flourished at the same time public libraries provided citizens with free access to their publications.
But, there are other arguments, for example, there is a concern with taking away the publisher’s role in the peer review process. However, the Electronic Frontier Foundation has a quick and cogent argument against that and then some:
[T]he traditional system . . . gives journal publishers substantial control over access to academic work, even though they don't pay a dime in exchange to the authors who do the research, the peer-reviewers who vet the research, or the institutions that help make it possible. Those publishers will doubtless oppose the bill, but it is their own decision to continually raise the bar to access that is driving support for the legislation. For example, subscription prices have outpaced inflation by over 250 percent in the past 30 years, forcing university libraries to pick and choose between journal subscriptions. The result: students and citizens have difficulty accessing information they need; professors have a harder time reviewing and teaching the state of the art; and cutting-edge research is often hidden behind paywalls.
SPARC also states, in response to a question whether FASTR would harm peer review, that:
No. The Fair Access to Science and Technology Research Act contains two key provisions that protect journals and the peer review process:
A delay of up to six months in requiring free access to the articles(versus immediate access for journal readers).
Inclusion in the public archive of the author’s final manuscript rather than the publisher’s formatted, paginated version preferred for citation purposes.
And, that leaves us to the Association of American Publisher’s final argument: “It would require federal agencies to undertake extensive, open-ended work already being performed successfully by the private sector. It would add significant, unspecified, ongoing costs to those agencies’ budgets in the midst of ongoing federal deficit reduction efforts.” What do you think of that argument?
Finally, if you are interested in learning more about FASTR and how it will impact faculty, please see SPARC’s helpful FAQ site here and Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society’s Harvard Open Access Project page here.
Labels: Association of American Publishers, FASTR, federal funded research, Sparc
What Kind of Damages Does an NPE Deserve?
With all of the media attention that has been given the $1.05 billion dollar verdict in the Apple suit against Samsung, it is a bit surprising that there has been relatively less coverage of the $1.17 billion dollar verdict given on December 26, 2012 in favour of Carnegie-Mellon University (CMU) in its patent infringement action against Marvell Technology Group. The jury verdict, if it stands (and not surprisingly Marvell has sought to overturn it), ranks as one of the largest such awards ever given.
The case is now back in the headlines, following the court filing made by CMU this week, requesting that the court award it up to three times the jury award (so-called treble damages) on the ground that Marvell was a willful infringer of the CMU patents here. Under U.S. law, a court may make an award of three times the amount of damages for infringement in such circumstances. Also, CMU is seeking $321 million in pre-judgment interest. The patents in question were issued in 2001 and 2002 and the case was filed only in 2009. The claim is that Marvell, a major chip maker, has sold without CMU's permission billion of chips that incorporate the patented technology.
The court award and CMU's most recent court filing raise once again several related questions in connection with the current state of patent litigation in the U.S. The first is how to calculate damages when the plaintiff is a non-practising entity (NPE). While few would call CMU a patent troll per se, it being a major university engaged in high level research and teaching, the fact remains that CMU is not primarily in the business of creating technology for purposes of tech transfer and commercialization. True, the school seeks commercial opportunities for such transfer and commercialization, but this is certainly ancillary to its educational function. Moreover, whatever the place of such commercial activities within CMU, they do not include manufacture of products made under the university's patents. And so the question—should a special standard be applied for assessing damages be applied when the plaintiff is an NPE of the CMU type?
Second, what should we make of CMU's request for treble damages? Even for a PE-type of plaintiff, the issue of treble damages raises policy issues. In particular, does an award of treble damages provide any realistic deterrent against "willful infringement"? After all, the award is made from one private party to another. In a sense, the private party plaintiff is awarded a windfall in the name of the public interest in future deterrence of patent infringement. Unless there is some good evidence that deterrence does in fact take place, the argument for treble damages seems flimsy. This is especially so, given the sometimes legal hyper-technical nature of what constitutes willful infringement.
A fortiori, should an award of treble damages to an NPE of the CMU type ever be justified? True, as a private university, CMU can use every dollar that it can in maintaining the university (who can't). Still, do we really want CMU (or indeed any NPE) fully engaged in the same manner as Apple and Samsung over the issue of treble damages?
Posted by Neil Wilkof at 12:44:00 1 comment:
Labels: damages, NPEs, treble damages for willful infringement, United States
SMEs, SSOs and Patent Thickets
In this guest posting authored by regular IP Finance contributor Keith Mallinson (WiseHarbor), Keith considers the allegedly thorny issues with so-called patent thickets. The UK IPO’s October 2012 report entitled “A Study of Patent Thickets” and its inconclusive 2011 report on the same matter examine whether patent thickets are a “barrier to entry into patenting for UK enterprises, in particular [SMEs].” While Keith also finds that the latest IPO report lends only convoluted and qualified support to theories of harm from patent thickets, he presents a variety of empirical evidence showing that thousands of SMEs and many others are, instead, flourishing by virtue of—not despite—extensive IP developments, patenting and licensing of Standard-Essential Patents (SEP)s, and with Standard Setting Organizations (SSOs).
Patent thicket -- or work of art? See "Visualizing patent statistics
by means of social network analysis tools", here
According to Keith’s analysis, the open and standards-based environment for ICT in conjunction with (F)RAND licensing that has developed over the last couple of decades has been very fertile technically and commercially for large and small companies including new market entrants. For example, he cites another IPO report which found from survey results that SMEs in hi-tech, (e.g., including communications equipment), where the patent thickets are supposedly most prevalent, have a significantly higher propensity to rely on patents to protect IP than in other sectors. Keith cites evidence of upstream patenting and contributions to standards by start-ups and SMEs with examples in venture capital and mobile communications at SSO ETSI. Examples of successful market entry for SMEs and others in SEP-based market sectors include video codecs (as required for digital TV), mobile handsets and associated software applications where 500,000 U.S. jobs have been created since 2007. For ease of reading, Keith's contribution (which is rather longer than usual) can be accessed here as a PDF document.
Posted by Jeremy at 22:31:00 1 comment:
Labels: patent thickets, UK IPO Report
What is the Value of IP After A Country (Competitor) Steals It? Coordinating the Private Sector with Government to Protect Against the Theft of Trade Secrets
A number of reports have issued from US government officials concerning the theft of trade secrets or cyber-espionage by government sponsored agents. The countries regularly named as sponsors of cyber-espionage include China and Russia. However, one article notes that France and Israel are also guilty although to a much lesser extent than, at least, China. The Washington Post recently reported that a classified National Intelligence Estimate by the National Intelligence Council in the United States indicates that China is by far the largest sponsor of cyber-espionage against the United States. Moreover, the victims do not include just the United States—this report by the Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive lists and discusses other victims such as the United Kingdom, Germany and South Korea (and, it should be noted that this is a two way street—there are allegations of cyber-espionage against the United States). Unfortunately, the harm of cyber-espionage may be hard to quantify because of the unwillingness by private industry to disclose what was taken and its worth (and it may be some time before they even discover the theft). The White House has recently released (February 12, 2013) an Executive Order that may help encourage more cooperation between the private sector and the Government. The Executive Order is titled, “Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity.” The Executive Order provides:
Sec. 4. Cybersecurity Information Sharing. (a) It is the policy of the United States Government to increase the volume, timeliness, and quality of cyber threat information shared with U.S. private sector entities so that these entities may better protect and defend themselves against cyber threats. Within 120 days of the date of this order, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security (the "Secretary"), and the Director of National Intelligence shall each issue instructions consistent with their authorities and with the requirements of section 12(c) of this order to ensure the timely production of unclassified reports of cyber threats to the U.S. homeland that identify a specific targeted entity. The instructions shall address the need to protect intelligence and law enforcement sources, methods, operations, and investigations.
(b) The Secretary and the Attorney General, in coordination with the Director of National Intelligence, shall establish a process that rapidly disseminates the reports produced pursuant to section 4(a) of this order to the targeted entity. Such process shall also, consistent with the need to protect national security information, include the dissemination of classified reports to critical infrastructure entities authorized to receive them. The Secretary and the Attorney General, in coordination with the Director of National Intelligence, shall establish a system for tracking the production, dissemination, and disposition of these reports.
(c) To assist the owners and operators of critical infrastructure in protecting their systems from unauthorized access, exploitation, or harm, the Secretary, consistent with 6 U.S.C. 143 and in collaboration with the Secretary of Defense, shall, within 120 days of the date of this order, establish procedures to expand the Enhanced Cybersecurity Services program to all critical infrastructure sectors. This voluntary information sharing program will provide classified cyber threat and technical information from the Government to eligible critical infrastructure companies or commercial service providers that offer security services to critical infrastructure. . . .
(e) In order to maximize the utility of cyber threat information sharing with the private sector, the Secretary shall expand the use of programs that bring private sector subject-matter experts into Federal service on a temporary basis. These subject matter experts should provide advice regarding the content, structure, and types of information most useful to critical infrastructure owners and operators in reducing and mitigating cyber risks.
Sec. 7. Baseline Framework to Reduce Cyber Risk to Critical Infrastructure. (a) The Secretary of Commerce shall direct the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (the "Director") to lead the development of a framework to reduce cyber risks to critical infrastructure (the "Cybersecurity Framework"). The Cybersecurity Framework shall include a set of standards, methodologies, procedures, and processes that align policy, business, and technological approaches to address cyber risks. The Cybersecurity Framework shall incorporate voluntary consensus standards and industry best practices to the fullest extent possible. The Cybersecurity Framework shall be consistent with voluntary international standards when such international standards will advance the objectives of this order, and shall meet the requirements of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act, as amended (15 U.S.C. 271 et seq.), the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (Public Law 104-113), and OMB Circular A-119, as revised.
(b) The Cybersecurity Framework shall provide a prioritized, flexible, repeatable, performance-based, and cost-effective approach, including information security measures and controls, to help owners and operators of critical infrastructure identify, assess, and manage cyber risk. The Cybersecurity Framework shall focus on identifying cross-sector security standards and guidelines applicable to critical infrastructure. The Cybersecurity Framework will also identify areas for improvement that should be addressed through future collaboration with particular sectors and standards-developing organizations. To enable technical innovation and account for organizational differences, the Cybersecurity Framework will provide guidance that is technology neutral and that enables critical infrastructure sectors to benefit from a competitive market for products and services that meet the standards, methodologies, procedures, and processes developed to address cyber risks. The Cybersecurity Framework shall include guidance for measuring the performance of an entity in implementing the Cybersecurity Framework.
Sec. 8. Voluntary Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity Program. (a) The Secretary, in coordination with Sector-Specific Agencies, shall establish a voluntary program to support the adoption of the Cybersecurity Framework by owners and operators of critical infrastructure and any other interested entities (the "Program").
(b) Sector-Specific Agencies, in consultation with the Secretary and other interested agencies, shall coordinate with the Sector Coordinating Councils to review the Cybersecurity Framework and, if necessary, develop implementation guidance or supplemental materials to address sector-specific risks and operating environments.
(c) Sector-Specific Agencies shall report annually to the President, through the Secretary, on the extent to which owners and operators notified under section 9 of this order are participating in the Program.
(d) The Secretary shall coordinate establishment of a set of incentives designed to promote participation in the Program. Within 120 days of the date of this order, the Secretary and the Secretaries of the Treasury and Commerce each shall make recommendations separately to the President, through the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism and the Assistant to the President for Economic Affairs, that shall include analysis of the benefits and relative effectiveness of such incentives, and whether the incentives would require legislation or can be provided under existing law and authorities to participants in the Program.
The US government is taking other steps to combat state sponsored cyber-espionage. For example, one hundred US prosecutors are being trained to prosecute cases involving cyber-espionage. (Note section 4(e) of the Executive Order— the start of the “cyberdraft”?).
Have other countries adopted more aggressive policies in helping the private sector combat cyber-espionage? (Be sure to click on the Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive poster below if you can't read the fine print.)
Labels: espionage, Trade secrets
Medical Product Developments and the Valley of Death
It is called the "valley of death". While the phrase may seem to conjure up the words of the 23rd Psalm written over two millennia ago ("Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death"), we are talking about something that is very here and now—the financing of medical R&D. There is a serious disjunction between the advances in medical R&D and the financial environment for bringing these advances to market. In particular, there is a severe funding shortfall at the stage between basic research (which is often government –supported) and when final approval is given. This intermediate stage, with its acute shortfall in funding, is called the "valley of death".
One attempt to address this problem is discussed in January 26, 2013 issue of The Economist ("Financing medical research—disease or cure"?) here. As reported in the article, over the past decade there has been a perfect storm in which the returns of pharmaceutical companies have significantly declined, the stock price of leading pharmaceutical companies has diminished by as much as 50%, and venture capital funding in the field has more or less disappeared. It does not help that a critical mass of new therapies is emerging which rests on gene marker technology and addresses markets with less commercial scope than those enjoyed by the more general block-buster drugs of the past two decades. All of these factors have contributed to the "valley of death" in medical product funding.
What to do? One suggestion, according to the article and which seems to have garnered significant attention, is based on a research paper published last year—"Commercializing biomedical research through securitization techniques"— by Andrew Lo and Jose-Maria Fernandez of MIT and Roger Stein of Moody's. Lo, Fernandez and Stein first describe one approach, namely investing in the royalties of approved drugs (what The Economist calls "a return [to the investor] that has similarities to a diversified portfolio"). This structure is already in effect by such entities as Royalty Pharma, DRI Capital and Cowen Healthcare.
But these authors go beyond this relatively straightforward (conceptually at least) investment vehicle to suggest a much broader approach. The contours of their proposal contain the following elements:
1. A number of so-called "megafunds" in an amount up to $30 billion dollars will be created. These funds will be financed by a combination of equity and that dreaded word from the Great Recession—securitization.
2. Unlike a venture-capital fund (at least in the current form of the industry), these megafunds will not have a short-term time horizon for cashing out its investment.
3. Unlike a mutual fund, the megafunds will hold a lot of illiquid assets, such as "products, patents, licences and royalties", "anything in medical research that may eventually produce a cash flow."
4. If structured "properly", the megafunds will have a high likelihood of success in at least one of the invested companies. The scale and diversity of the megafunds will presumably reduce aggregate risk. As such, the expected returns from such funds will be in line with average returns for holding equity or debt.
5. This structure is intended to result in a more even distribution of investment in medical research, unlike the current situation, which is characterized by a small number of successes, if any, and a large number of commercial failures.
6. In response to comments following the publication of their article, Lo, Fernandez and Stein have suggested alterations to their proposal, including "use of credit-default swaps and government guarantees to encourage investors." [Readers will no doubt recall that "credit-default swaps" and "government guarantees" were two main vehicles that are crediting with leading to the financial crisis in 2009.]
The Economist is not overly optimistic about the actual launching of any such megafund. It seems to me that the underlying question is whether high level financial engineering is really the way to address the problem of medical product funding in general. "Securitization" is still in many popular circles a dirty word. The fact that the investment community fell prey to the dark side of securitization in financing the residential housing market, an industry of long-standing and supposedly well-understood, does not bode well for the inherently more risky and uncertain world of royalty streams from medical developments. I have the feeling that challenges of funding in this area will require more than the most imaginative form of financial engineering to get it back on its feet.
Labels: financial engineering, funding of medical developments, securitization
Basic Research – Soon to be a Thing of the Past?
One concern since the Bayh-Dole Act was passed in the United States has been the effect of the Act on the direction of research. Would the Bayh-Dole Act—allowing grant recipients such as universities to take title to government funded invention—make researchers move their agendas away from basic research to applied research? To many, this would be a negative impact of the Act; although some would disagree. And, to some, the movement to applied research is not happening fast enough. I have heard rumors over the years that some universities have already changed tenure standards for professors in the “hard” sciences to include things such as, number of company spin-outs or patents. The other day I received an email from Technology Transfer Tactics which mentions a possible “policy change” in tenure standards at Oklahoma State University and a change in standards at the University of Texas. Apparently, the changes include adding commercialization factors. Here is the text of some of the email:
Commercialization as a Tenure Criterion:
A Powerful Incentive for Faculty Inventors
Live Webinar ~ March 19, 2013 ~ 1:00pm - 2:30pm ET
(also available on DVD, On-Demand Video and Print Transcript)
CLICK HERE to register now or call 239-263-0605
(OUTSIDE THE U.S. DIAL 877-729-0959)
The push for commercialization of university research has become more like a giant shove. Federal and state governments are pinning their hopes on it, economic development agencies work hard to enable it, and university presidents demand it. Pitch competitions, accelerators, funding schemes, outreach efforts, partnerships, incubators, and mentoring programs abound, all trying to encourage it. But there is one glaring, gigantic disconnect in the innovation ecosystem: tenure policy.
While the drumbeat sounds for new models of entrepreneurship and commercialization support, a very old model -- steeped in the academic traditions of yesteryear -- presents a major barrier to realizing the full potential of university innovations. Tenure policies, which reward publishing and teaching but do nothing to incentivize commercialization, arguably represent the single biggest missing link in the innovation ecosystem that so many now agree is critical to economic growth, jobs, and global competitiveness.
These policies -- if they are adjusted to take commercial-focused research into account -- also represent a tremendous untapped opportunity for universities to unleash a deluge of research with market potential, by simply rewarding the behavior that forms the essential foundation for the dynamic innovation activity the world is clamoring for. But changing the entrenched system is anything but simple.
While most university systems continue to resist formal recognition of commercialization activities when evaluating faculty for tenure, a select few have emerged on the leading edge of this issue. Oklahoma State University and the University of Texas System have both gone down the road of including commercialization within their tenure policies. In fact, OSU is currently in the throes of policy change. * * *
Please join Bryan T. Allinson, Executive Director of Technology Commercialization for the University of Texas System - Austin, and Dr. Stephen W. S. McKeever, Vice President for Research and Technology Transfer with Oklahoma State University, for this cutting-edge program. These forward-thinking leaders will present case studies illustrating the key strategies used to gain administration and faculty support, as well as the specifics of their tenure policy changes. Here’s a quick look at the agenda:
Laying the foundation for culture change with:
o Tools for creating an open dialogue with faculty
o Outlining business terms
o Evidence to back up commercialization vs societal impact: they can coexist!
Strategies for getting buy-in from university policy-makers
The benefits of including commercialization as a requirement for tenure consideration
Details of policy changes
Handling push-back from faculty and/or administration
Tactics for obtaining early support from key leadership
Wow! Will basic research be a thing of the past? Changing tenure standards is extreme and a huge threat to academic freedom that I suspect will be ultimately very harmful to the production of break through research that benefits the public. Does anyone have any information about what is happening at OSU? Also, has anyone’s university changed its tenure policies to include commercialization-related factors? If so, I am very interested to see your policy.
Posted by Mike Mireles at 00:36:00 2 comments:
Labels: Bayh-Dole Act, patents, Technology Transfer, universities
Is Nothing Sacred? Samsung Takes Its "Anti-IP" Case to the People.
The American Football championship—the Super Bowl—is this weekend. And, along with it, there is the opportunity to capture the attention and imagination of the American consumer (and make a few bucks)—and IP issues abound. The two teams playing are the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens. Interestingly, the teams are coached by brothers. The 49ers a.k.a. Niners are coached by Jim Harbaugh and the Baltimore Ravens are coached by John Harbaugh. An entrepreneurial fan last year attempted to obtain a trademark registration for the “Harbowl” and “Harboughbowl.” The National Football League (NFL) pressured the fan to abandon his trademark application. The NFL is notorious for enforcing the Super Bowl trademark. And, we have heard about the “Kaepernicking” trademark from fellow blogger Neil Wilkof.
Now Samsung is taking the game to a new level. One of the traditions of the Super Bowl is the anticipation and viewing of creative commercials during the game. Indeed, some fans enjoy the commercials during the Super Bowl more than the game itself, and every year people always ask—what was the best commercial. This year Samsung has an early strong entry that is getting play with the media already. Samsung is taking its “IP law and enforcement is out of control" message to the American consumer—a continuation of its theme from the Apple v. Samsung case. Here is the commercial.
What do you think? I wonder if I'll get a cease and desist letter from the NFL for using "Super Bowl" in this blog entry. Anyone care to analyze the issues?
Labels: commercial, nfl, superbowl, trademark
The U.S. National Science Foundation I-Corps Progr...
Dogs and Cats Living Together? The New WIPO, WTO ...
Stronger, Better--even FASTR? The Fair Access to S...
What is the Value of IP After A Country (Competito...
Medical Product Developments and the Valley of Dea...
Is Nothing Sacred? Samsung Takes Its "Anti-IP" Ca...
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Home > BDS (Boycotts, Divestment, and Sanctions)
Boycotts, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) Resource Page
Boycotts, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) are the tactics of political warfare used against Israel, based on the exploitation of human rights, double standards, comparisons to apartheid South Africa, and false accusations of “war crimes.”
Boycotts of products, culture, and academics – BDS activists lobby stores not to carry Israeli products and encourage others not to purchase them. They send letters to artists, musicians, authors, and academics, imploring them not to perform and appear in Israel or cooperate with Israeli institutions. Boycotts undermine liberal values, such as academic freedom and freedom of expression, by restricting openness and tolerance.
Divestment from companies that do business with Israel – Distorting the concept of ethical investing, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) accuse companies that conduct business in Israel of involvement in war crimes and violations of international law. The NGOs approach investors, primarily large banks and pension funds, and push for the exclusion of these companies.
Sanctions against self-defense measures – Anti-Israel activists demand that the international community enact comprehensive sanctions against Israel – treating Israel as a pariah state. The ultimate goal is legally enforced sanctions by the UN Security Council. Other forms of sanctions include arms embargoes, which are premised on baseless charges of war crimes. Similarly, legal proceedings are initiated against Israeli officials to punish Israel for defensive actions.
BDS is the main component of the “Durban strategy,” which was adopted by dozens of NGOs at the 2001 UN Conference Against Racism held in Durban, South Africa, which crystallized the strategy of delegitimizing Israel as “an apartheid regime” through international isolation.
Other tactics of the Durban Strategy include “lawfare” campaigns against Israeli officials in international courts; lobbying international bodies, including the UN, EU, US and criminal courts; publishing false reports and accusations of “war crimes,” “ethnic cleansing,” and “apartheid”; organizing provocations such as flotillas and violent demonstrations under the guise of humanitarian operations and human rights.
The campaign seeks to end the “occupation and colonization of all Arab lands” and promotes the right of “Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties.” These goals undermine the fundamental right of the Jewish people to self-determination.
This campaign is financed and supported extensively by foreign governments, as well as foundations and religious charities, which provide frameworks for anti-Israel political influence. *See funding chart below.
Most of this money comes from Europe, usually involving taxpayer funds funneled through secret processes to organizations that operate under the banners of promoting human rights, humanitarian aid, democracy and peace.
BDS seeks the elimination of Israel as a Jewish state.
Co-founder of Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) Omar Barghouti (2004): “The current phase has all the emblematic properties of what may be considered the final chapter of the Zionist project. We are witnessing the rapid demise of Zionism, and nothing can be done to save it, for Zionism is intent on killing itself. I, for one, support euthanasia.”
As’ad Abu Khalil, a central activist in the U.S. (2012): “Justice and freedom for the Palestinians are incompatible with the existence of the State of Israel.”
Pro-BDS author Ahmed Moor: “OK, fine. So BDS does mean the end of the Jewish state…. I view the BDS movement as a long-term project with radically transformative potential….In other words, BDS is not another step on the way to the final showdown; BDS is The Final Showdown.”
BDS is not an established organization or movement, but comprised of dozens of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and radical activists.
In practice, the BDS campaign has little success on the ground, but its effectiveness lies in its ability to penetrate the public and political discourse and blur the lines between legitimate criticism of Israel and the complete de-legitimization of Israel in the international arena.
BDS activists utilize the threat of political, economic, academic and cultural isolation as a means of pressuring Israel, and seek to have this idea penetrate the public and political discourse, as a means of influencing governments and businesses to adopt BDS tactics.
Additional sections on BDS funders; BDS tactics; BDS and antisemitism; 1948 agenda; and NGO Monitor’s BDS in the Pews project.
Partial List of NGOs Involved in BDS and Their Funders
BDS Sewer System
Gerald Steinberg, The Canadian Jewish News, Calling Out BDS Anti-Semitism, August 26, 2015
Cnaan Liphshiz, The Times of Israel, Matisyahu Affair Highlights Europe’s Conflation of Jew and Israel, August 26, 2015
Steve Schnur and David Renzer, The Jewish Journal, Recent Actions of BDS Groups Expose Discriminatory, Anti-Semitic Underpinnings, August 25, 2014
Gerald Steinberg, The Canadian Jewish News, The selling of BDS, July 28, 2015
Dan Diker, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA), Unmasking BDS: Radical Roots, Extremist Ends, 2015
Christian Peacemaker Teams, PALESTINE: CPT-Palestine endorses Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement, April 19, 2010
Central Conference of American Rabbis, CCAR Resolution on the 2009 Kairos Document, April 15, 2010
Reut Institute, The Delegitimization Challenge: Creating a Political Firewall, March 2010
Ronnie Fraser, The Academic Boycott of Israel: A Review of the Five-Year UK Campaign to Defeat It, JCPA post-Holocaust and Anti-Semitism project, No. 66, 2 March 2008.
Anthony Julius and Professor Simon Schama, “John Berger is wrong: The call for a cultural boycott of Israel is banal, gestural and morally compromised”, The Guardian, December 22, 2006.
Jon Haber, “The Vampire’s Kiss,” Jerusalem Post, August 31, 2006.
NGO Monitor: “NGOs Continue to Push Divestment/Boycott Campaigns (‘Durban’ strategy)”, (Vol.4 No.5) – 17 January 2006
“Presbyterian Church USA & Families of 9/11 Victims Delegations Meet with Hizbullah”, MEMRI, November 23, 2005
NGO Monitor: “Update: Is the NGO-Led Divestment Effort Losing Support?”, November 15, 2005
Alexander Joffe and Asaf Romirowsky, “Academics against Israel”, Jerusalem Post, October 19, 2005
NGO Monitor: “NGOs and Divestment: Update”, October 16, 2005
Sabeel Conference (Chicago)
Interfaith Group Confronts Sabeel
Church Committees Recommend Against Divestment
NGO Monitor: “European Coordinating Committee of NGOs (ECCP) Meeting to Promote Boycotts and Divestment”, October 6, 2005
Gerald Steinberg, “EU-funded NGOs behind Almog lawsuit”, Jerusalem Post, September 13, 2005
Gerald Steinberg, “Canada’s contribution to the divestment campaign”, Canadian Jewish News, August 31, 2005 .
NGO Monitor: “The Political Agenda of Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT)”, August 22, 2005.
Paul C Merkley, “It is About Israel’s Right-to-Life”, JewishComment.com, Sunday August 21, 2005
NGO Monitor: “Mennonite Central Committee – Promoting Conflict via Divestment (Update),” August 4, 2005.
Gerald Steinberg, “Terror and the divestment campaign,” The Jerusalem Post, July 17, 2005.
NGO Monitor: “NGOs Behind Anti-Israel Divestment Campaign,” July 14 2005.
NGO Monitor: “Sabeel – An Ecumenical Facade To Promote Hatred”, July 10 2005.
“One year on: Palestinian civil society calls for boycott, divestment and sanctions Appeal”, Electronic Intifada, July 9 2005.
“Three Faiths heads slam ACC”, Jewish Chronicle, July 8, 2005.
“United Church of Christ’s Israel Divestment Action ‘Troubling’, Contravenes Months of Interfaith Dialogue,” Anti-Defamation League, July 6 2005.
Sam Ser,“Another US church mulls divestment,” The Jerusalem Post, July 1 2005.
Bar Ilan University’s Site on Academic Boycotts Against Israel and their Implications
Scholars for Peace in the Middle East
Divestment Watch
Boycott Watch
“Report: UK Jews Blast Church Report on Divestiture from Israel,” Ha’aretz, – May 27, 2005.
Ruth Gledhill, “Church Urged to Reconsider Investments with Israel,” Times (London), May 27, 2005.
Gerald Steinberg, “The NGO Network and anti-Israel Boycotts: ‘War by other Means,'” The Jerusalem Post, May 22, 2005.
NGO Monitor: “The Central Role of PNGO in the AUT Academic Boycott,” May 10 2005.
Gerald Steinberg, “Boycotting the Jews,” Wall Street Journal (European Edition), April 29, 2005.
NGO Monitor: “HRW and Amnesty Promote Caterpillar Boycott,” April 13, 2005.
“Review of Caterpillar Sales to Israel is Rejected,” (Link has expired) Reuters, April 13, 2005.
Teresa Watanabe, “Jews Target Caterpillar Shareholder Effort,” LA Times, April 13, 2005.
Eugene Korn, “Stopping Sale of Products to Israel Isn’t Path to Peace,” Sun Times, April 11, 2005.
Sam Ser, “500 Million Christians Urged to Divest,” Jerusalem Post, February 23, 2005.
“ADL Dismayed By World Council of Churches Decision to Pursue Divestment As Means to Punish Israel,” ADL New York, February 22, 2005.
“Letter from Rabbis for Human Rights Condemning Presbyterian Divestment and Boycott Campaign,” July 26 2004.
BDS (Boycotts, Divestment, and Sanctions)
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