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3 November 1810-4 November 1811
Edited by J.C.A. Stagg, Jeanne Kerr Cross, and Susan Holbrook Perdue
This carefully annotated and indexed volume sheds new light on many of the domestic and foreign tensions that were soon to culminate in the War of 1812.
The twelve-month period covered in this volume was dominated by foreign policy concerns, as Madison sought ways to compel Great Britain to respect America's neutral rights. The documents chronicle the consequences of Madison's decision to impose non-intercourse against Great Britain to force a repeal of the orders in council following Napoleon's claim that he had repealed French trade restrictions. British doubts that the French appeal was valid—shared by many Americans and possibly even Madison himself—are amply documented. The apparent failure of the diplomacy of commercial restrictions increasingly brought Madison under pressure at home to change his policies, and by November 1811 he was ready to request Congress to prepare for war.
Madison's attention was also occupied during the year by the continuing disintegration of the Spanish colonial empire. His correspondence addresses the consequences arising from the annexation of West Florida, and records America's first diplomatic contacts with other rebellious Spanish-American colonies.
On the domestic front, this volume illuminates Madison's painful decision to dismiss Secretary of State Robert Smith and replace him with James Monroe.
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6 Controversial Clothing Items That Had To Be Pulled From The Shelves
Sometimes you have to wonder what retailers are thinking. These are the clothes that have been deemed "too offensive to sell." See if you agree.
There’s a fine line between “edgy” and “offensive.” Retailers sometimes have to learn that lesson the hard way, with stores that cater to a young and hip crowd getting in the most trouble. When a retailer shows poor taste, though, the internet responds.
Stores pulled every item of clothing on this list from the shelf following massive public outcry. For some, it’s easy to see why. Others, you might not agree with the controversy. Either way, though, these clothes are definitely controversial. In fact, they’re too controversial for the marketplace.
1. Selling Tragedy
In 1970, nervous Ohio National Guard troops opened fire on a group of Vietnam-war protesters on the campus of Kent State University. The troops took the lives of four students and injured nine others, many of whom were not involved in the protest but merely passing by.
The event was a tragedy that reverberated throughout the culture. Still, Urban Outfitters thought it would be a good idea to sell a $129 sweatshirt bearing the Kent State University logo and apparent imitation blood splatters.
The University issued a statement that summed up the feelings of many consumers who saw this sweatshirt.
“We lost four students that day while nine others were wounded and countless others were changed forever,” said a statement from Kent State University.
“We take great offense to a company using our pain for their publicity and profit,” the statement continued. “This item is beyond poor taste and trivializes a loss of life that still hurts the Kent State Community today.”
Urban Outfitters responded by suggesting that the whole thing was just a misunderstanding.
“It was never our intention to allude to the tragic events that took place at Kent State in 1970 and we are extremely saddened that this item was perceived as such,” the company wrote in a 2014 press release. “This one-of-a-kind item was purchased as part of our sun-faded vintage collection. There is no blood on this shirt nor has this item been altered in any way.”
Still, they pulled the item from their web store. Only one was sold, Urban Outfitters said, apologizing.
2. Marketing Mental Illness
Oh, Urban Outfitters. Will you never learn?
The same year the retailer landed in hot water for their insensitive Kent State sweatshirt, they also ran afoul of mental health advocates—plus just about anyone decent. They marketed a cute black and white crop top in 2014.
The problem? The shirt was covered with a flippant font spelling out the word “depression” over and over.
“Oh yeah @urbanoutfitters,” tweeted Matt Haig. “Depression is so fun and fashionable. It’s right up there with colon cancer.”
Oh yeah @urbanoutfitters, depression is so fun and fashionable. It’s right up there with colon cancer. pic.twitter.com/7Y42nQYYLv
— Matt Haig (@matthaig1) January 5, 2014
It didn’t take long for the retailer to respond.
“Hey everyone, we hear you and we are taking the shirt down from the site,” Urban Outfitters tweeted in January 2014.
Hey everyone, we hear you and we are taking the shirt down from the site.
— Urban Outfitters (@UrbanOutfitters) January 5, 2014
The shirt was never on the shelf in brick-and-mortar stores, they say, and now it’s not available online either. So that’s good.
3. Spreading the Wrong Message
We’re not picking on Urban Outfitters, we swear. It’s just that the ultra-hip retailer keeps creating problems for themselves.
In 2010, Urban Outfitters marketed a sleek gray v-neck shirt. It looks comfortable. Unfortunately, the slogan emblazoned on the shirt upset people who have struggled with eating disorders. “Eat less,” the shirt said.
E Online
The model wearing the shirt on the company’s website was, of course, very thin. Critics pointed out that this probably wasn’t the most body-positive move Urban Outfitters could make, and they pulled the shirt from their website. It was still available in stores, reported The Cut in 2010.
Around the same time, Perez Hilton stopped selling a T-shirt that read, “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.”
It seems like 2010 was a big year for the pro-anorexia (often referred to as “pro-ana”) movement; it was also a big year for calling retailers out for trying to profit off of it.
4. Robin Thicke…for Children
Robin Thicke’s 2013 party track “Blurred Lines” might be the most controversial track of the early 2010s. The lyrics seem to “blur the lines” of consent. It certainly didn’t help that the video portrayed three fully-clothed male performers cavorting with scantily clad women.
Getty Images (via Hollywood Reporter)
So it’s not a song you’d associate with, you know, children. Target somehow missed that point when they sold a pint-sized T-shirt portraying My Little Pony’s Rainbow Dash along with the words “Blurred Lines.”
Consumers responded with a Change.org petition asking Target to pull the shirt from their stores. A total of 100 people signed. The T-shirt is no longer available on Target.com, and it’s not likely to come back.
5. No Politics
It doesn’t seem controversial to pull shirts that promote unhealthy lifestyles, misogyny, or insensitivity. But what about complex political issues you may or may not agree with? Sears ran into the gray area of consumer response when they decided they would no longer allow clothing bearing the slogan “Free Palestine” in their online store.
Sears didn’t produce the shirts; they were sold on the Sears Marketplace, an online retailer that allows third-party sellers to reach Sears’ consumers. The shirts, which the Jerusalem Post reports were being sold by a company called Spreadshirt Collection, featured the graphic of a fist in the colors of the Palestinian flag. “End Israeli Occupation,” the shirt also said.
A reporter from the Jerusalem Post contacted Sears about the item. They offered this response:
We will be removing the items soon. Please allow us 24 hours. Thank you for understanding. We do not want our members to be unhappy. This item is sold by a third-party seller via the Sears Marketplace. Given the feedback we’ve received, we are currently evaluating the items in question to determine appropriate action. We will fix it and ensure this is not repeated.
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict proved too hot-button a political issue for Sears. They no longer sell “Free Palestine” clothing from Spreadshirt Collection. Meanwhile, Amazon still sells the T-shirt.
6. Uncomfortable Shoes
When fashion designer Jeremy Scott was a kid, he had a toy called My Pet Monster. The stuffed beast came complete with a set of neon-orange shackles, presumably to keep his monstrous impulses under control.
In 2012, Scott collaborated with Adidas to design a pair of sneakers, he said, based on his childhood toy. So he added bright orange shackles. To the sneakers.
GetTheFive
That didn’t sit well with Rev. Jesse Jackson, who saw the shoes as an exploitive reference to American slavery.
“The attempt to commercialize and make popular more than 200 years of human degradation, where blacks were considered three-fifths human by our Constitution, is offensive, appalling, and insensitive,” Jackson wrote in a statement. “Removing the chains from our ankles and placing them on our shoes is no progress.”
Hours after Jackson’s statement, Adidas announced they were canceling the project. Scott denies that the shoes referred to slavery. Still, the shoes were gone before they even arrived.
MY WORK HAS ALWAYS BEEN INSPIRED BY CARTOONS, TOYS & MY CHILDHOOD… http://t.co/gLzTR4sh
— JEREMY SCOTT (@ITSJEREMYSCOTT) June 18, 2012
All of these stories prove the same point: Retailers listen to their customers. If you see a T-shirt that offends you, make some noise. Tweet about it. Find enough people who agree, and you stand a pretty good chance of convincing stores to pull the item from the shelves. In the United States, consumers do have power. The only question is how to use it.
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US sanctions 17 Saudi nationals over Jamal Khashoggi's killing
The sanctions came after Saudi Arabia said it will seek the death penalty for five suspects among 11 charged in the killing of the journalist.
US sanctions 17 Saudi nationals over Jamal Khashoggi's killing The sanctions came after Saudi Arabia said it will seek the death penalty for five suspects among 11 charged in the killing of the journalist. Check out this story on USATODAY.com: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/11/15/jamal-khashoggi-saudi-arabia-seek-death-penalty-writers-murder/2009827002/
Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY Published 6:12 a.m. ET Nov. 15, 2018 | Updated 6:03 p.m. ET Nov. 15, 2018
Protesters hold candles and pictures of Jamal Khashoggi during a demonstration in front of the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.(Photo: Erdem Sahin, EPA-EFE)
The United States sanctioned 17 Saudi nationals Thursday in connection with the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The announcement came hours after Saudi Arabia's public prosecutor said he would seek the death penalty for five suspects among 11 charged in the killing of The Washington Post columnist last month in Istanbul.
Among those sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department is Saud Al-Qahtani, a former senior adviser to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The sanctions immediately froze the U.S. assets of the 17 Saudis and prohibit Americans from doing business with them.
The sanctions were brought under the Magnitsky Act, a global anti-corruption and human rights law. The sanctions won't directly affect the crown prince.
"The Saudi officials we are sanctioning were involved in the abhorrent killing of Jamal Khashoggi," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. "These individuals who targeted and brutally killed a journalist who resided and worked in the United States must face consequences for their actions. The Government of Saudi Arabia must take appropriate steps to end any targeting of political dissidents or journalists."
More: Report: Saudis discussed killing other enemies long before Khashoggi's death
Saud Al-Mojeb, the kingdom's public prosecutor, said his office would seek capital punishment for five of the Saudi nationals who confessed to Khashoggi's murder.
He said the most senior official behind Khashoggi’s murder in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2 is Ahmad al-Assiri, a former deputy intelligence chief.
Al-Assiri was arrested and fired for ordering Khashoggi's forced return to Saudi Arabia, an operation Riyadh tried to characterize as a botched rendition by rogue operatives. Al-Mojeb did not say whether Al-Assiri faces the death penalty. He said 21 people are in custody and 11 have been indicted in connection with the case.
Turkey said it has audio evidence that Khashoggi’s murder was sanctioned at the highest level in Saudi Arabia, probably in coordination with the Saudi crown prince, the nation’s de facto ruler and a close U.S. ally.
Monday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau became the first Western leader to confirm that Turkey shared this evidence with other countries’ intelligence agencies. President Donald Trump acknowledged its existence but has not said whether he has heard it. The recording was shared last month with CIA Director Gina Haspel.
More: White House aide Bolton says Jamal Khashoggi audio doesn't implicate Saudi crown prince
Al-Mojeb did not address the recording and requested only that Turkish authorities release additional information about their investigation. He said Khashoggi’s murderers drugged and killed the writer inside the consulate before dismembering the body and handing it over for disposal by an unidentified local collaborator.
After Al-Mojeb's remarks, Turkey released a statement urging Saudi Arabia to reveal who ordered Khashoggi's killing. It called the prosecutor's comments "unsatisfactory" and insisted that the suspects be extradited to Turkey for trial.
Khashoggi's remains are unaccounted for more than a month after he entered the consulate to obtain legal documents needed to marry his Turkish fiancee.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he pressed the Saudis for answers over the case and told Salman in a phone call that "the United States will hold all of those involved in the killing of Jamal Khashoggi accountable." In a statement Thursday about the sanctions, Pompeo said, "The State Department will continue to seek all relevant facts, consult Congress and work with other nations to hold accountable those involved in the killing of Jamal Khashoggi."
In Congress, lawmakers said the U.S. sanctions on the 17 Saudis were a good first step but called on the Trump administration to go further.
“Today’s action does not put this issue to rest,” said Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “It remains unclear whether the Trump Administration has determined who is responsible for this horrific incident.”
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, R-Tenn., said he had “a lot of concerns about the trajectory that Saudi Arabia is on right now, and I think a price needs to be paid.”
Three Republicans and three Democrats introduced legislation Thursday that would suspend U.S. weapons sales to Saudi Arabia and impose mandatory sanctions on individuals responsible for Khashoggi’s death. It would also require the Trump administration to document human rights in Saudi Arabia and impose new accountability measures for the Saudi-led war in Yemen.
“This legislation is an important way to hold Saudi Arabia accountable for various acts in Yemen as well as the death of Jamal Khashoggi," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
Republican Sen. Bob Corker, who as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has reviewed the U.S. intelligence into what happened to missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi, said the focus has to be on Saudi Arabia right now. (Oct. 11) AP
Heather Nauert, the State Department’s chief spokeswoman, said the administration is still gathering and reviewing evidence in Khashoggi’s case and could take additional steps if warranted.
“We will continue to work diligently to ascertain the facts,” Nauert said.
Nauert said the U.S. sanctions were not coordinated with the Saudi’s announcement. The two statements came within hours of each other.
Deirdre Shesgreen contributed.
Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/11/15/jamal-khashoggi-saudi-arabia-seek-death-penalty-writers-murder/2009827002/
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AAA's Welsh to retire
Amy Neff Roth
AAA Northeast regional general manager Ed Welsh will retire at the end of this month after 34 years with the automobile club.
“I first encountered the AAA brand when I served on the school safety patrol at PS 100 in Queens, New York, as a youngster and knew the AAA brand was special,” Welsh said in a statement. “I was thrilled to become a AAA employee 34 years ago and it has been an honor and privilege to work for our members and our staff all these years. Helping and serving others as a way of life is the AAA Northeast ethos. I have always been proud of our company and have felt fortunate to be a small part of such a great organization.”
Welsh, a Utica Republican, has also said he’ll step down from the Oneida County Board of Legislators when his term expires at the end of the year. Welsh has served on the board since 2002.
Over the years, Welsh has also served the community in a number of volunteer capacities, including as chairman of the Central Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired and as a volunteer chef for the Rescue Mission of Utica’s Gourmet Guys to the Rescue fundraiser.
Welsh started working for the national AAA office in 1985 and became auto club manager for AAA Utica & Central New York in 1990. He was promoted in 1991 to vice president of operations, marketing and public affairs.
He moved up to become regional general manager for AAA New York in 2007 and kept the position in 2015 when AAA Northeast was formed.
In his role as general manager, Welsh played an important role in the following advancements, according to AAA:
• The arrival of the second battery service vehicle in the country in Utica in 1998 to beta test the program.
• Expansion of the road service call center in Utica in 2010, which brought more than 100 new jobs.
• The opening of a branch office in New Hartford in 2016 and another in Oneonta in 2018.
• The location of insurance services and the exclusive vacations call center in Utica in 2017.
• Renovation of 430 Court St. in Utica, which will have regional call centers, the battery service and a new branch office. Completion is expected this fall.
Contact reporter Amy Neff Roth at 315-792-5166 or follow her on Twitter (@OD_Roth).
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Village Services
Harvard University Announcement
Harvard University announced over the weekend that from now on undergraduate students from low-income families will pay no tuition. In making the announcement, Harvard's president Lawrence H. Summers said, "When only ten percent of the students in elite higher education come from families in the lower half of the income distribution, we are not doing enough. We are not doing enough in bringing elite higher education to the lower half of the income distribution."
If you know of a family earning less than $60,000 a year with an honor student graduating from high school soon, Harvard University wants to pay the tuition. The prestigious university recently announced that from now on undergraduate students from low-income families can go to Harvard for free… no tuition and no student loans!
To find out more about Harvard offering free tuition for families making less than $60,000 a year, visit Harvard's financial aid website at: http://www.fao.fas.harvard.edu / or call the school's financial aid office at (617) 495-1581.
Affordable Colleges Foundation
Hempstead Family Resource Center
Press / Media Contact
My Hempstead
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99 James A. Garner Way
Hempstead, New York 11550
When are the Village Offices Closed?
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Village of Hempstead Hours of Operation
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Facebook refuses to shut rape page run by schoolboy
By Philip Sherwell in New York
Updated October 17, 2011 — 11.47am first published at 11.40am
Nobody knows better than MJ Stephens that rape is no laughing matter. So as the victim of a sexual assault, she was horrified when she encountered the contents of a Facebook page full of jokes about rape and violence towards women.
But worse was to come when the young American tried to argue with people who had attached comments to a page called: "You know shes [sic] playing hard to get when your [sic] chasing her down an alleyway" - most of them teenagers and young adults from Australia and Britain.
You’re dropped ... Frequent, unimportant posts were the top reason for people being ‘‘defriended’’ on Facebook. Credit:Getty Images
In sickeningly explicit terms, several of them threatened her and expressed the wish that she be raped again.
Such pages, full of ugliness, aggression and pornographic language are multiplying on Facebook, drawing lucrative user traffic to the social networking site.
Now it has emerged that one of the "administrators" of the page - users with the right to edit its content - is believed to be a British schoolboy linked to a network of hackers in Australia, Britain and America who have set up Facebook pages featuring offensive sexual and violent content.
Micheal O'Brien, a Canadian computer systems engineer who co-founded the Rape Is No Joke (RINJ) campaign to pressure Facebook to delete "rape pages" via petitions and boycotts, has tracked the activity on several such pages and contacted participants online.
He told London's The Sunday Telegraph that associates of 4chan, a loose-knit collection of international "cyber-anarchists" who champion absolute online freedom, including the right to share pornography, have founded and administer several of the pages.
The RINJ's own website has been attacked by hackers and campaigners have been subjected to virulent online onslaughts since they started to draw attention to the 4chan connection last week. Pro-4chan images have also been posted to the "alleyway" page.
Facebook protects the identity of those who set up and run pages but Mr O'Brien has identified several posters as likely page administrators, including college students in Australia and a teenage boy in Britain.
With nearly 210,000 people indicating that they "like" it, and many million of monthly visitors, the "alleyway" page is the most popular. Others include "Abducting, raping and violently murdering your friend as a joke", "Pinning your mate down while someone HIV positive rapes him for a laugh", "Police call it a restraining order, we call it playing hard to get" and "Turning into a chain smoking sexual predator when you drink".
Many of the regular users who "post" on the pages are young Australians and Britons- many still at school, judging from information on their own Facebook profile pages. The website allows any child aged 13 or older to open an account.
Activists and victims' support groups in Britain and America, where Facebook is based, have urged the social networking site to shut down and remove the pages. But despite an online petition signed by more than 200,000 people worldwide, the internet giant is refusing to do so.
Facebook did not respond to repeated requests for comment by The Sunday Telegraph. But in response to previous complaints about the pages, the company has said that while they may express "outrageous or offensive" opinions, they do not violate its rules banning content that is hateful or incites violence.
"It is very important to point out that what one person finds offensive, another can find entertaining," a spokesman said. "Just as telling a rude joke won't get you thrown out of your local pub, it won't get you thrown off Facebook."
An administrator of the "rape page" posted an online defence in response to the controversy, insisting that he did not support or promote rape but then directing a sarcastic barb at critics.
"i d[o] not support rape this group doesn't," the person wrote, with a lack of grammar and in internet shorthand characteristic of many postings. "thanks for supporting us uve made us get even more likes i thank u for that but this group has not dne anything wrong according to the terms and cnditions f facebook groups s if it does get taken down it will result in court because it has done nothing wrong."
Jane Osmond, co-editor of the Women's Views on News website, which has led the campaign in Britain, said: "It's ludicrous to compare the content on this page to pub humour. Rape is a crime and we live in a society where the threat of rape is in the mind of every woman who has walked down a street alone at night. Making a joke about rape is not just not funny. It allows people to dismiss it as something not serious.
"Those who post in this way are certainly mostly teenage boys and young men saying inappropriate things, but we do believe that these sites have attracted sexual predators too. It is a dangerous group with some dangerous users."
Activists who have gone online to make their case, and to publish images for a campaign promoting consensual rather than forced sexual activity, have been subjected to such a violent response that some have complained to the police.
Campaigners on both sides of the Atlantic have now switched their attention to businesses as they believe Facebook is inclined to allow the pages to continue because of the viewers and hence advertising revenue they bring in.
"Facebook will only listen to money, so we are now targeting the advertisers who have appeared on their pages," said Miss Osmond.
Major companies that advertise on Facebook were furious to discover that their advertisements were appearing on the "rape page" and demanded they be removed. They included Barclays, 02, John Lewis, Sony, BlackBerry, American Express, Groupon, Heinz, National Lottery, the White Company and PepsiCo.
After complaints from several businesses to Facebook, the "alleyway" page was "whitelisted" last week, meaning that no adverts could be rotated on it. But advertisements continue to appear on other pages where the content was just as offensive.
The Sunday Telegraph, London
Additional reporting by David Harrison in London.
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Home / Featured / Revival(ism) and the Reformed Faith
Revival(ism) and the Reformed Faith
Can belief in the reformed confessions and revival(ism) co-exist?
Written by Dewey Roberts | Thursday, February 1, 2018
Many people, including those of reformed persuasion, too quickly eschew subjective grace as smacking of subjectivism. That is a grievous error that must be avoided and corrected. Subjective grace and subjectivism are not the same thing. Subjective grace is not opposed to objective grace, but rather it is the means whereby a sinner believes in the gospel. Subjectivism is an emphasis on the experience apart from faith in the objective truths of the gospel. We must not throw out subjective grace in our effort to counter unbiblical subjectivism which is too often what happens.
There is a school of thought in reformed circles that belief in the reformed confessions and revival(ism) cannot co-exist. That idea is not new, but it is wrong. The Old Side-New Side split of the Presbyterian Church in 1741 divided the 18th century Presbyterian church in America over the issue of the spreading revival known as the Great Awakening. The Old Side-New Side Presbyterians should not be confused with the Old School- New School division of the Presbyterian Church in 1838. That latter division was over the issue of theological purity.
My former professor, Dr. Morton H. Smith, often stated in our classes at Reformed Theological Seminary that much of the Presbyterian church’s spiritual heritage could be defined as New Side/Old School. In other words, Smith believed (and I agree) that the best form of reformed theology combines a commitment to revival(ism) with the purity of the reformed faith as expressed in the various reformed confessions and creeds.
As one who has spent a large portion of the last 42 years studying the Great Awakening, Dr. Smith’s statement above is my conviction as well. In addition to the books in my library on the Great Awakening, I have six filing cabinet drawers full of materials on that revival, including numerous photocopies of unprinted manuscripts or out-of-print sermons, books, etc. Additionally, I have spent countless hours tediously reading sermons and manuscripts from that period on a microprint reader in various major libraries.
The 18th century, especially the Great Awakening, has been my first love in church history. My newest book, Samuel Davies: Apostle to Virginia, was written about events related to the Great Awakening. The Great Awakening, like all movements in the history of the church, was tinctured with imperfections. How could it have been otherwise? The Reformation was not completely pure. Puritanism was not perfectly pure.
In his work, Thoughts on the Revival of Religion in New England, the calm-spirited Jonathan Edwards has a section titled, “We should distinguish the good from the bad, and not judge the whole by a part.” In that section, Edwards wrote:
The weakness of human nature has always appeared in times of great revival of religion, by a disposition to run to extremes, and get into confusion; and especially in these three things, enthusiasm, superstition, and intemperate zeal. So it appeared in the time of the reformation very remarkably, and even in the days of the apostles. Many were exceedingly disposed to lay weight on those things that were chimerical, giving heed to fables, (1 Tim. i.4. iv 7. 2 Tim. Ii.16. and ver. 23. And Tit 1.14 and iii.9). Many, as ecclesiastical history informs us, fell off into the most wild enthusiasm, and extravagant notions of spirituality, and extraordinary illuminations from heaven beyond others.[1]
If we are going to condemn a movement, any movement, because we are uncomfortable with some of the rhetoric, practices, and phenomena associated with it, then the whole history of the church will necessarily be castigated. Such censoriousness would evidence a judgmental spirit in contradiction to Christ’s words in Matthew 7:1-5. Yet, the Old Side ministers in the time of the Great Awakening did that very thing and their modern-day followers still mimic their example.
When the seraphic Samuel Davies went to Hanover, Virginia in 1748, he was immediately called on to defend the Great Awakening against various accusations included in a printed sermon by John Caldwell, “An Impartial Trial of the Spirit. . ..” Caldwell’s message was preached against the Great Awakening phenomena. Rev. Patrick Henry, Sr. (uncle of the more famous Colonial statesman and an Anglican minister in Hanover County) wrote the preface in which he stated:
The following sermon. . . is now published in this colony, chiefly with a design to open the eyes of some deluded people among us, who are imposed upon by the itinerants, who have frequently preached here of late, and let the world see, what the Presbyterians, in the Northern provinces are in reality, a set of incendiaries; enemies not only to the Established Church, but also common disturbers of the peace and order of all religious societies wherever they come.[2]
Caldwell himself was a Presbyterian minister, later to be disgraced when his thievery became known, and a member of the Old Side ministers who opposed the Great Awakening. One of his objections to that revival was that there were several strange phenomena taking place which ought to have been condemned, such as crying, tears, and various convulsions. Davies effectively answered that charge in his aptly named response, The Impartial Trial, Impartially Tried, and Convicted of Impartiality:
Must we conclude a sinner’s conviction of his sin and danger irrational because it is so affecting to his soul that it affects his body too? Must we pronounce his sense of condemnation under the penalty of the violated law delusive and diabolical because it is attended with such commotions as would not be thought strange in one that sees himself condemned to death at a human bar, as weeping, crying, swooning?[3]
Two hundred and seventy years after Davies first asked those questions, the opponents of the Great Awakening and/or revival(ism) have still not attempted to answer them. The fact is that the presence of tears, crying, and various emotions neither prove nor disprove a conversion to be genuine. Thus, we cannot conclude that someone who feels deeply his sense of danger and expresses it with loud crying, tears and strong emotions to be deluded or subject to false emotion.
Would we make such a harsh judgment about someone who lost a child and responded with an outburst of tears and great emotion? Of course not! Then, why would we condemn a person as being deluded because he/she expresses such strong emotions in repenting and believing? Did not the Philippian jailer cry out with strong emotions and tremblingly ask, ‘What must I do to be saved?’ after he was assured that he did not need to take his life because all the prisoners were still in the prison? Did not the immoral woman wash Jesus’s feet with her tears and wipe them with her hair? Did not the publican beat on his chest, refusing to even lift up his eyes to God, while crying out, ‘God be merciful to me, the sinner’? So, objecting to the Great Awakening or revival(ism) because of the various emotional outbursts experienced by some people is a dog that won’t hunt!
I have often told people that the most important day in American history was March 5, 1740 which causes quizzical looks to appear on their faces. That was the day that Gilbert Tennent preached his famous or infamous sermon, “The Dangers of an Unconverted Ministry” at Nottingham Presbyterian Church in Maryland. No minister in the history of the church has received as much verbal abuse for one sermon as Tennent has for that one. When people say that they disagree with the rhetoric of the Great Awakening ministers, it is almost always this sermon that they mention as an example of such rhetoric. Interestingly, I doubt that most of those people have ever read that sermon. If so, they would have a hard time stating wherein it differs from Christ’s own warning (“Beware of wolves who come to you in sheep’s clothing.”). Certainly, Tennent preached that sermon in a heated spirit for which he cannot be exonerated, but his doctrine was correct and necessary.
Both sides in the Old Side-New Side split accused the other side of being unconverted. Tennent was not the first person to do that. In fact, the documentary evidence indicates that the Old Side, in their castigation of the Great Awakening, was the first ones guilty of such. It is interesting that those who condemn the phenomena of the Great Awakening while pretending to be impartial never mention the wrongs of the Old Side ministers. Maybe, in the words of Davies, their professed “impartiality” is really partiality. There were many harsh, mean-spirited, censorious, and uncharitable things that the Old Side ministers did to the New Side ministers. If we are going to discuss the errors of the eighteenth century, we must include those also or else we are guilty of partiality.
Yet, there were some very real and important differences between the Old Side and New Side proponents. For one thing, many of the Old Side Presbyterians (like most ministers of all denominations at the time) believed that it was not necessary for a minister of the gospel to be converted. Their motto was that a converted minister is best, but an unconverted minister can still do much good. For that reason, people would remain in their churches under languid, unbiblical preaching. Tennent’s sermon put an end to that. It was the cannon shot that sparked the explosion of the Great Awakening as church members all across the colonies left their churches to go out into the open air to hear the revival preachers.
1740 was the high point of the Great Awakening. People flocked to the revival preachers and many thousands were converted to Christ. Tennent’s principle is still deeply imbedded in the minds of American Christians. I have often had Christians tell me that their minister has warned them that if their church ever ceases to preach the gospel they are to flee it with their fingers in their ears. Nothing has contributed, in my opinion, more to the protection of evangelical Christianity in this country than this deeply imbedded principle in the hearts of American Christians.
The Old Side Presbyterians made a formal confession of their agreement to the Westminster Standards, but many of them were not truly orthodox. Many Old Side ministers and other opponents of the Great Awakening believed in baptismal regeneration, some form of nomism with respect to salvation, and denied that assurance of salvation was possible. Unless someone studies that era with a jaundiced eye, he will be constrained to acknowledge that the documentary evidence clearly indicates that both the greatest supporters of the revival and the most thoroughly reformed ministers hailed from the New Side or New Light branch of Presbyterians. If you want to read reformed sermons of that period, you will find them almost exclusively among the New Side Presbyterians. While opposing the Great Awakening, the Old Side ministers have left little documentary evidence to indicate their agreement with the Westminster Standards. Archibald Alexander therefore wrote concerning the Presbyterian Church:
Under such a state of things, it is easy to conceive that in a short time vital piety may have almost deserted the church, and that formality and “dead orthodoxy” have been all that was left of religion.[4]
It is certainly an uninformed opinion to hold that the Old Side Presbyterians as a whole were staunch advocates of justification by faith alone and the guardians of the reformed faith while the New Side Presbyterians promoted the revival and emphasized emotional experiences. Anyone who thinks that needs to read the sermons of the New Side ministers. The fact is that the New Side ministers believed in both objective grace and subjective grace whereas the Old Side men denied subjective grace.
There is another interesting twist to this controversy. Gilbert Tennent quickly apologized for his harshness of language and made numerous efforts to be reconciled to the Old Side Presbyterians. Yet, the Old Side men never apologized for removing the New Side ministers from the denomination in violation of their due process; they never apologized for the terrible and false accusations they made against the New Side ministers; they have never apologized for passing a canon to excommunicate any church member who even went to hear a sermon preached by the New Side ministers. Before someone castigates some of the rhetoric of the Great Awakening ministers, he must also castigate such sinfulness on the part of the Old Side ministers, if he wishes to be impartial.
It has been said that Charles Hodge considered Jonathan Edwards to be guilty of ‘pantheism.’ In his Systematic Theology, Hodge has a large section on Pantheism, but never mentions Edwards. I can find no place where Hodge makes that charge against Edwards. On the other hand, Hodge vindicates Edwards from the allegation that he did not hold to the Protestant doctrine of justification by faith alone. Of course, one must always go back to primary source material first rather than quote second or third hand materials as proof of anything. Edwards has a discourse on the doctrine of justification by faith alone in the large two-volume set of his Works printed by the Banner of Truth. A review of that sermon clearly proves that Edwards believed in the imputation of Christ’s righteousness as essential to our justification and most certainly did not hold to the Catholic idea of the infusion of righteousness for our justification. Here is what Edwards said in one part of that sermon about imputation:
It is absolutely necessary, that in order to a sinner’s being justified, the righteousness of some other should be reckoned to his account; for it is declared, that the person justified is looked upon as (in himself) ungodly; but God neither will nor can justify a person without a righteousness; for justification is manifestly a forensic term, as the word is used in Scripture, and a judicial thing, or the act of a judge. . .
Believers are represented in Scripture as being so in Christ, as that they are legally one, or accepted as one, by the Supreme Judge; Christ has assumed our nature, and has assumed all in that nature that belongs to him, into such a union with himself, that he is become their head, and has taken them to be his members. And therefore what Christ has done in our nature, whereby he did honour to the law and authority of God by his acts, as well as reparation to the honour of the law by his sufferings is reckoned to the believer’s account. . .[5]
There are many more quotes to the same effect that we could give from this sermon by Edwards. He believed that the imputation of Christ’s righteousness to the believer is just as essential a part of justification as the imputation of Christ’s sufferings on the cross. It is possible, perhaps, that Edwards later changed his position on justification, but I highly doubt it.
Many people, including those of reformed persuasion, too quickly eschew subjective grace as smacking of subjectivism. That is a grievous error that must be avoided and corrected. Subjective grace and subjectivism are not the same thing. Subjective grace is not opposed to objective grace, but rather it is the means whereby a sinner believes in the gospel. Subjectivism is an emphasis on the experience apart from faith in the objective truths of the gospel. We must not throw out subjective grace in our effort to counter unbiblical subjectivism which is too often what happens. Edwards held to both objective grace and subjective grace in their proper balance and distinctiveness, even as all the great reformed theologians have done so since the time of Augustine. Indeed, those terms of distinction are used by all of them—Calvin, Turretin, Hodge, Bavinck, Edwards, Warfield, Buchanan, Cunningham, Bannerman, etc. Objective grace concerns the grace of what God has done for us in salvation and subjective grace concerns what God does in us through the Holy Spirit. It is not enough that Christ died on the cross for sinners. The Lord must pour out on us the Spirit of grace and supplication so that we can look on Him whom we have pierced and mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son” (Zechariah 12:10).
In conclusion, I agree with those authors who have rightly stated that revivals are extraordinary effusions of the Holy Spirit which give life to the church and prevent it from dying. America has basked in the sunlight of the Great Awakening for the better part of three centuries. The greatness of American Christianity for such a long period is owing to the tremendous impact that the Great Awakening has had on shaping American Christianity.
Instead of falling into the sacramental errors of Christianity in other parts of the world and in other periods of church history, American Christianity has been more purely evangelical and more centered on the gospel. We can thank Gilbert Tennent, Jonathan Edwards, Samuel Davies, Samuel Blair, George Whitefield, and all their fellow laborers for the wonderful heritage that they bequeathed us through the purity of the gospel they preached. Instead of criticizing their errors, let us honor them for what they did well. Especially, let us continue to hold to the principle that we must flee from any church or ministry that fails to preach the gospel. Meanwhile, let us pray that the Lord who sent the former blessings will send the latter rains on our nation during this period of great need as spiritual declension is all around us.
Dewey Roberts is a minister in the Presbyterian Church in America and is Pastor of Cornerstone Presbyterian Church in Destin, Fla.
[1] Edward Hickman, rev., The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Volume One (Edinburgh, Scotland and Carlisle, Pennsylvania: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1974), 372.
[2] John Caldwell, An Impartial Trial of the Spirit Operating in this Part of the World: By Comparing the Nature, Effects, and Evidences of the Present Supposed Conversion, with the Word of God (Williamsburg, VA: William Parks, 1747). 5.
[3] Samuel Davies, The Impartial Trial, Impartially Tried, and Convicted of Partiality (Williamsburg, VA: William parks, 1748), 40-1.
[4] Archibald Alexander, The Log College (London: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1968), 17.
[5] Hickman, Works of Jonathan Edwards, Volume One, 636-7.
Anti-Scholasticism, Revival(ism), Pietism, Or The…
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Old Princeton: Samuel Miller the Intellectual…
John 3 Might Not Mean What You Think It Does (2)
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Home > new music > theartsdesk Q&A: Musician Thea Gilmore
theartsdesk Q&A: Musician Thea Gilmore | reviews, news & interviews
theartsdesk Q&A: Musician Thea Gilmore
On looking forwards, not back; and why 'female singer/songwriter' is not a genre
by Lisa-Marie FerlaSunday, 17 May 2015
'I like the idea that I can literally just do anything': Thea Gilmore
It takes a particular combination of talent, guts, perseverance and sheer bloody-mindedness for an artist to take the creative decisions that Thea Gilmore has across her approaching 20-year career and get away with it – thankfully, all qualities that the Oxford-born songwriter has in spades. Since the release of her debut album, Burning Dorothy, when she was still a teenager, Gilmore has won admirers ranging from Bruce Springsteen to Joan Baez, re-recorded an entire Bob Dylan album, pioneered fan-supported songwriting and even flirted with the UK Top 40 on her 14th album.
If you thought that the time was right for a retrospective, you’d be in agreement with record labels and fans alike. But Gilmore, whose last-project-but-one was an album made up of long-lost lyrics by folk rock icon Sandy Denny set to Gilmore’s own compositions, had bigger plans in mind. While the resulting collection, Ghosts & Graffiti, gathers some of her more recent radio hits in one place, they’re augmented and accompanied by new songs and re-recorded versions of some of her oldest and best-loved material. They include “Inch By Inch”, a song written on the day Barack Obama was elected in 2008 featuring vocals by Joan Baez; one of Gilmore’s political poems recited by John Cooper Clarke over a minimalist electro backdrop; and a new version of 2001’s proto-feminist anthem “This Girl Is Taking Bets” performed with Joan As Police Woman.
From the mouthy young songwriter challenging the music industry with her desire to “make lightning” rather than “swim in the mainstream”, to the just as mouthy mother of two penning scathing lyrics about contemporary politics and growing old disgracefully, Thea Gilmore’s work has always been personable, passionate and thought-provoking. And, on the strength of this new collection, seems likely to stay that way for many years to come.
Watch the making of Ghosts & Graffiti and hear new song "Coming Back to You" below
LISA-MARIE FERLA Did the time seem right to you to do a retrospective?
THEA GILMORE I’ve been making albums for a long, long time now and I’ve had people interested in the past, the old record label, say come on, let’s put a "Best Of" out. I hate Best Ofs – I just think they’re horrible. They sound like a bit of a death knell for somebody’s career, and I much prefer looking forward.
But when I thought about the idea of revising songs that I wrote years and years ago, I kinda liked that. I didn’t want to produce them as they were when I released them – I wanted to bring something new to them. Songs have lives: they are characters and personalities in themselves, and I didn’t want to ignore that. They develop as time goes on, as you play them, and as different people interpret them as an audience. I think I wanted to reflect that a song is a living, breathing beast.
So, that was the reasoning behind it. That, and I was trying very hard to avoid anybody releasing a "Best Of".
But did it still feel like producing a standalone album when you put it together?
I didn’t want to feel like I was harking back to the old days, or trying to recapture what I felt like or how I sounded when I was 21, because that’s a pointless exercise. It was important to me that it did feel like a standalone album, that the whole thing had a really new vibe to it and that it didn’t feel like I’d just covered songs to stick together to tell a story. There are a lot of diehard fans out there who’ll say, "Yeah, but you missed off a particular song that I liked" – but there’s a lot of them out there, and it was really hard to choose which songs to actually do. Even now I think I could make another one, and make it completely different, and tell a completely different story.
There are so many interesting collaborations on the album. How did these come about?
It came about because I’m really indecisive, and because there were so many different albums I could have made out of this. Over the years I’ve been really lucky and basically been inspired and nourished, I suppose, by contact and unexpected support from other artists. I wanted to connect with those people: people who have become, in some cases, friends and in other cases really solid supporters, by asking them what they thought I should record and, if they liked it, to record it with me.
In a lot of cases, for example with someone like Mike Scott from the Waterboys (who appears on a new version of “Glistening Bay” from the Sandy Denny album), it probably wouldn’t have been a track that I’d have chosen if I’d been left to my own devices. It has a very personal space on the album, the way that he’s done it. That really helped me out – I think it gives the album a bit more life, and makes it take a deeper breath somehow.
There’s quite a strong political undercurrent on some of the new tracks, and with us speaking a couple of weeks before the election I was wondering whether you set out to make an album with a timely political focus?
If the question is, did you know it was going to be released before the election and, if so, is that the reason that you put political songs on it: no, I had no idea. In terms of the political songs, they were songs that were out there in the world. “My Voice”, the song that I do with Billy Bragg, was actually written in 2010 and the Joan Baez song was written on the day that Obama was elected. They’re historical in a way, but have never quite found a home.
It wasn’t intentional: I wasn’t thinking oh, we’re got an election coming up, this is going to be really good for PR if I put these political songs on it. It was more that the songs seemed to speak to the rest of the album. I knew that Joan Baez wanted to work with me, and I knew that Billy Bragg liked that song. I wanted to give them a life and a home outside of occasional playing when it felt necessary.
Maybe it’s because we’ve kind of grown up together, but I feel as though you embraced the current trend of artists building a community directly with their fans through social media and crowdfunding before everybody else did. Has that connection always felt important to you?
It’s massively important. It is literally the difference between me being able to do what I do and me having to get a job in a supermarket – not that there’s anything wrong with that, let me just state that clearly. It enables me to be an artist.
Really, it’s a very simple transaction: I make music and there are, I’m lucky enough to say, people out there who listen to it. It is that simple. With music, it’s almost more simple than anything else because you have such an emotional connection with people when you create music, when you send it out into the world and people adopt it into their lives.
I think that big record labels and big conglomerates choose to distance their artists from the audience, and I think that putting a distance between those two sets of people was folly from the start. We live in a world now where we have a young, entire group of music consumers who don’t really feel in any way personally connected to artists anymore; but then there’s another set, who are passionate and who buy into the personal connection that we can now achieve more than ever because of the internet and social media.
It’s so important for me as a kind of mid-range artist, someone who’s probably never going to be selling One Direction-style sales: I know so many of my fans by name. I see them at gigs all the time and I know who they are, I know what they’re about and what they like and what they don’t like. It keeps what I do vital, and it keeps me interested. It’s just a joy to see them. It’s the most important thing about what I do, because without them I couldn’t do it.
You’ve been releasing and recording music professionally for almost 20 years now. Presumably your approach to songwriting has changed over time; but how, and have your influences remained the same?
The influences are the same. I’m very driven by injustice, and I suppose I consider myself to be an angry person in some ways. That always inspires me to write. It’s quite a rare songwriter who will write when they feel literally happy. Sadness or anger, negative emotion, will always inspire you more.
My songwriting has changed a lot. I think when you’re in your teens, you don’t realise it at the time but you’ve got so much time on your hands. You just open your eyes and get up in the day, and the day can take you wherever it wants. Obviously, I’ve grown up. I’ve worked at this job and in order to maintain any sort of sense of career in it you can’t just drift around and think the world owes you a living because it doesn’t. I have to work really hard. I’ve got two children. The main way that my songwriting’s changed is that I have to be extremely disciplined.
I was always disciplined to a certain extent in that I would always write a lot, but there was never a need for me to go out and write 10 songs because if I didn’t I would’t have time to do it. I never had that sort of pressure on me, but nowadays I do. When I started doing a subscription site a good few years ago, that was a great discipline – having an audience waiting for a song at the end of every month, and if you didn’t do it you were basically breaching a contract you had with them. People have a view of what being a musician should be like but, realistically, if you look at successful musicians they work so much harder than a lot of people just in order to keep their head above water.
In your case, it’s almost like the family business [Gilmore’s husband, Nigel Stonier, left, with Gilmore, is her musical partner and producer]. How do you manage to separate your work from your family life?
I’m really lucky in that I don’t have to. I suppose that when you work in a creative business, your work is your life. If it’s not, then you’re doing something wrong. If you’re writing songs, or you’re creating art, or you’re writing novels, you have to be living it. You’re not really inhabiting the work that you’re putting out there if you don’t.
Combine that with the fact that although there’s a lot of hard work, it’s flexible. I can call the shots. I am my own boss. It means that my children can be very much part of what I do, and I like that. I like them seeing that creative industry is as hard work as anything else out there, and I like them feeling like it’s do-able as well. I remember as a kid, I looked at people writing songs and making music and thought, well, that’s not a real job, nobody can actually do that for a living. But it is quite possible these days to make a living out of being creative. You just have to be very dogmatic about it and very tenacious.
You’ve embraced so many interesting projects, like a Christmas album and the Sandy Denny album. Do you feel as though there’s a pressure on you to keep reinventing the album format, to keep it interesting?
I don’t tend to feel pressure. Well, I feel pressure all the time but probably not that sort of pressure because it’s a difficult market. We’re heading back to the beginning of rock ’n’ roll, aren’t we, where albums were literally that: a collection of singles. I feel like with downloads now making up such a huge proportion of music sales, we’re heading back to a situation where people can literally just choose the songs they want. The album itself, as an art form… it’s not irrelevant, but it’s kind of heading in that direction.
I don’t mind it, really. I’m not celebrating it either, but I think that music and the music industry is very cyclical in nature. It’s natural, really, for every generation to want to connect differently. I love the album as an art form, but I’m not worried if it disappears for a while. I think it’s interesting. Change and movement always is, particularly in music. We have to feel like we’re constantly in motion because that’s what creativity is about. I think it might make some writers, including myself, work a bit harder to make sure that every song they write counts, and there’s no filler. I kind of like that idea as well.
Does it feel strange to still be performing a song like “This Girl Is Taking Bets” this far into your career and at a different place in your life? Or has its meaning changed to you over that time?
It doesn’t feel strange at all. The songs, they evolve and become something different, with every person who listens to them and every person who comes up and talks to me about a particular lyric in a song. I’m one of those writers – and I think there are a lot of us about – who will write a song and have absolutely no idea what it means until you’ve played it 70 times. And once you’ve played it 70 times and think you know what it means, you’ll play it another 70 times and it’ll mean something else.
To me, singing that song feels just as vital as it used to when I was… however old I was when I wrote that song, 21 or whatever. Obviously my focus on various different bits of it has changed. I hope I feel like I understand what I was trying to talk about a little bit more now than I did then.
The friend who got me listening to your music in the first place used to give different friends a line from that song. Perhaps it’s like the line that describes you has changed over time.
Absolutely. I think I’m the tag on the toe right now. That’s my line right now.
Hear "This Girl is Taking Bets" as recorded in 2001
You’ve been in the music industry now for a long time, and as feminist discourse has become increasingly a part of the media conversation. Do you feel that much has changed for women over the course of that time – and have attitudes towards you from elsewhere in the industry changed?
I think very little has changed. The music industry is very much full of sexism, and we still haven’t come very far. I think that, personally, no matter what your gender you gain a sense of confidence as you get older, and I think that’s changed things for me personally to a certain extent. But I still come up against the “no, we can’t take her, we’ve already had a female singer on this month”. Ugh.
But that is absolutely endemic in the music business. The idea that “female singer/songwriter” is a genre literally hasn’t changed since the days that I started in the music industry. Pick up any glossy music magazine. Obviously we’ve got some great female-centric blogs and online brilliance in the media, but trying to get any sort of coverage for female artists is so hard because if a publication has had one, or already has one, it’s just not interested. It’s like they’ve ticked that box. The idea that women are a box to be ticked drives me fucking insane.
Now that you’ve done a retrospective, what’s next for Thea Gilmore? Is this album a full-stop on a particular phase of your career, or a reappraisal?
That’s a good question. I’ve got plenty of plans at the moment. Nothing formulated. I keep saying that this album makes me think "end of side one" on a tape, you know, because I’m that generation. I like the freedom that that allows me. I like to think that I’ll probably start thinking about what I’m doing next in the middle of the year. I like the idea that I can literally just do anything.
It’s looking at what I’ve done so far, thinking about what got me here and the luck that I had as well – being grateful for it, but also thinking, right. Go out there and do something different if you want to. Or not. I think that for me that’s just a beautiful situation to be in. I really do count my blessings for that.
Ghosts & Graffiti is out now. Thea Gilmore is currently on tour
It’s quite a rare songwriter who will write when they feel literally happy. Sadness or anger, negative emotion, will always inspire you more
CD: Thea Gilmore - Ghosts and Graffiti
Thea Gilmore Rediscovers Christmas
Thea Gilmore, Cecil Sharpe House
Unfinished Business: Writing Songs With the Dead
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Canadian Mixed Curling Championship in Yarmouth Nov. 13-19
Published: Nov 13, 2016 at midnight
<p>Host committee members including Melanie Surette-Kenny and Rick Allwright, along with event ice technician Jon Wall, are looking forward to a week of national curling at the Mariners Centre in Yarmouth.</p> <p> </p>
YARMOUTH, N.S. – The 54th edition of the Canadian Mixed Curling Championship gets underway Sunday at the Mariners Centre at Yarmouth. The opening ceremony is at 6 p.m. Sunday, following by the first draws at 7 p.m.
The Mixed, which began in Toronto in 1964, has been won a leading 11 times by Alberta, while Nova Scotia has captured seven titles — by skips Mark Dacey (2002 and 2010), Paul Flemming (1999 and 2003), Steve Ogden (1995 and 1998) and Scott Saunders (1993).
It will mark the first time that Yarmouth has hosted a Curling Canada championship, but it will be the third time the Canadian Mixed has been staged in Nova Scotia, following the 1977 and 2002 editions, which were both held at the Mayflower Curling Club in Halifax.
Once again this year, the championship will feature 14 teams (10 provinces plus Northern Ontario, Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon) seeded and separated into two pools of seven teams each (based on their won-lost records in last year’s Canadian Mixed at Toronto), who will first play a round robin within their pool.
At the conclusion of the round robin, the top four teams in each pool advance to the Championship Round, when the teams play the teams from the opposite pool, carrying forward their full won-lost records.
Meanwhile, the bottom three teams in each pool will go to the Seeding Round, where they will compete against the three teams from the opposite pool. These teams also carry forward their full won-lost records.
The Championship Round concludes on Friday and will be followed by two semifinals Saturday morning at 10 a.m. AT, pitting 1 vs. 4 and 2 vs. 3. The two winners then advance to the final Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. while the two losing teams meet in the bronze-medal game at the same time.
Final results will determine seeding for next year’s Canadian Mixed at Swan River, Man.
All games throughout the competition are eight ends. Also, no tiebreaker games will be played at the conclusion of either round. Instead, any unsolvable ties for position after head-to-head results will be determined by accumulated Draw Shot results.
The winning team will then represent Canada at the 2017 World Mixed Curling Championship, Oct. 6-14 at Champéry, Switzerland. Last year’s winning Canadian Mixed team, skipped by Alberta’s Mick Lizmore, competed in last month’s World Mixed Curling Championship in Kazan, Russia. After winning its group with a 7-0 mark, then beating Czech Republic in the round of 16, Canada lost its quarter-final match to Scotland, 6-5 and was eliminated from medal contention.
Every province, plus Northern Ontario, has won at least one Canadian Mixed Curling Championship since 1964.
This year, Nova Scotia will be skipped by two-time (1999, 2003) Mixed champion and veteran Brier competitor Paul Flemming of Halifax. The lineup also includes several world junior champions — skips Braden Calvert of Manitoba (2015), who is also a two-time (2014, 2015) Canadian Junior champion, Evan Asmussen of Alberta (2012) and New Brunswick’s Charlie Sullivan (1988), another Brier veteran who was the silver medallist in 1990 to Ontario’s Ed Werenich at the Canadian men’s curling championship, when playing third for Jim Sullivan.
Also in the field is Ontario’s Wayne Tuck Jr. and his team from Ilderton, the runner-up at the 2009 Canadian Mixed, and Manitoba’s Kerri Einarson, playing third for Calvert, who will be skipping her own team at the 2016 Home Hardware Canada Cup, presented by Meridian Manufacturing, at Brandon, Man., Nov. 30-Dec. 4.
Over the years, the Mixed has been won by other well-known skips such as Jeff Stoughton, Rick Folk, Rick Lang, Kevin Koe, Mark Nichols, Colleen Jones, Barry Fry, Jean-Michel Ménard, Robert Campbell and Shannon Kleibrink, who became the only female to win the Mixed as skip in 2004 at Schumacher (Timmins), Ont.
This year, Prince Edward Island’s Veronica Smith, a three-time provincial junior champion, will try to join Kleibrink as the second female skip to win the event.
Saskatchewan’s Larry McGrath is the only three-time winning skip, having won the Mixed in 1967, 1968 and 1971.
Windsor rink wins Provincial Club Mixed Championship
Updated Jan 24, 2018 at 12:56 p.m.
Next up: Nationals – Shelburne curling team even surprises itself by winning provincial masters event
Published Mar 05, 2018 at 8:15 p.m.
Gushue, Nichols all for the move to ban Russia from Olympics
Updated Dec 06, 2017 at 5:35 a.m.
Windsor curler excelling in the sport while creating tight bonds with fellow players
Published Jan 14, 2018 at 11:22 a.m.
Gushue moves into second-place tie at Olympic Trials
Brad Gushue punches ticket to semifinal at Olympic trials
Gushue drops heart-breaker to Jacobs; drops to 2-2 at Olympic Trials
No 'A' grades yet, but Gushue curlers making improvement
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Home book Chief of Thieves
Chief of Thieves
Steven W. Kohlhagen was inspired to write his first novel, Where They Bury You, after reading Hampton Sides‘ Blood and Thunder, a non-fiction history of Kit Carson and the West. Sides’ reporting of the factual murder of Marshal Joseph Cummings on August 18, 1863 led Kohlhagen to conduct further research on Carson and Cummings and to write the sequel, Chief of Thieves. We have conducted an interview with him.
What inspires you to write "Where They Bury You''?
I was inspired to write it after reading Hampton Sides‘ "Blood and Thunder," a non-fiction history of Kit Carson and the West. Sides’ reporting of the factual murder of Carson's Marshal Joseph Cummings on August 18, 1863 led me to conduct further research on Carson and Cummings.My discovery of a historical gang of con artists led to the creation of the fictional characters who, along with the surviving historical characters, drive the action in both books.
How do you craft the characters in its sequel ''Chief of Thieves''?
The survivors of the gang in "Where They Bury You" were already crafted. The new characters in "Chief of Thieves" flowed naturally from the first story and the realities of 19th Century ranching and the Indian Wars on the Plains up to the Battle of Little Bighorn.
When did you set this story and why is this setting interesting for you?
I find the known and unknown stories of the American West in the 1860's and '70's to be simply fascinating.
How did you first came to know about ''Battle of the Little Bighorn''?
Wow! As a young boy growing up in Texas and Colorado with a German immigrant father who, like many Germans, loved the West, it was osmosis. Movies? Books? Oral tradition? Who knows?!?
Which other thriller authors do you read? Who influences your writing?
I believe I have learned the most from those I have enjoyed the most: Ross Thomas, Michael Connelly, Robert B. Parker, Lee Child, and, especially, Elmore Leonard.
Chief of Thieves Reviewed by JaamZIN on 3:55:00 PM Rating: 5
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LATEST VICTIM
ISIS Beheads U.S. Aid Worker
Omar Ibrahim/Reuters
On Sunday, ISIS released a video showing decapitated U.S. aid worker Peter Kassig. A U.S. official confirmed the video’s authenticity. The beheading is not seen in the 16-minute long video, but a masked militant dressed in black holds Kassig’s severed head. The militant speaks with a British accent and appears to be the same one in the four other ISIS videos showing the murders of American and British hostages over the past four months. “This is Peter Edward Kassig, a U.S. citizen, of your country; Peter who fought against the Muslims in Iraq, while serving as a soldier,” said the militant in the video. Kassig served in Iraq before being honorably discharged for medical reasons in 2007. He converted to Islam—adopting the name Abdul-Rahman—and founded a charity to help provide food and medical supplies to Syrian refugees. He was captured by ISIS in October 2013. The Kassig family has asked the news media to “avoid playing into the hostage takers’ hands and refrain from publishing or broadcasting photographs or video distributed by the hostage takers,” it said in a statement. “We prefer our son is written about and remembered for his important work and the love he shared with friends and family, not in the manner the hostage takers would use to manipulate Americans and further their cause.”
Read it at ABC News
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Putin’s Shadow Shock Troops Roil Ukraine
Vladimir Putin draws on his background as a master spy, testing and teasing the new regime in Kiev and its backers in Washington.
Christopher Dickey
World News Editor
Updated 07.12.17 12:56PM ET / Published 02.28.14 11:33AM ET
The world woke up Friday morning to the spectacle of Russia staging a non-invasion invasion of Ukraine: mysterious armed men in uniforms occupied the airport in the Crimean capital of Simferopol while what appeared to be conventional Russian troops reportedly blockaded the military airport at Sevastopol. The previous day, in the pre-dawn dark, another group of men had occupied the regional parliament building. And all this took place against the background of 150,000 Russian troops on the move and Russian jets roaring through the skies just across the border.
Ukraine’s acting interior minister, Arsen Avakov, raged over what he called “an armed invasion and occupation” in Crimea. He declared the airport takeovers were in violation of “all international treaties and norms” and claimed they were intended to provoke “armed bloodshed.”
Yet there had been no armed confrontation. The civilian airport is still operating. And the way the moves were carried out—possibly by Russian soldiers, or maybe local Ukrainian Russian-speakers, or, who knows? – clouded the question of who, precisely, was doing what to whom.
American intelligence agencies have concluded that most likely there will be no open invasion of Ukraine. But analysts expect there will be more moves by Russian President Vladimir Putin of the sort we’ve seen over the last two days.
Putin was a spy before he was a politician and he will use all the tools at the disposal, overt and covert, to force Ukraine back into his orbit, or punish it for trying to pull out.
The overthrow of the Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was “a real setback for Russia,” says Charles Kupchan of the Council on Foreign Relations. “In some ways it is a frontal assault on Russia’s vision of its place in the world, and that is going to leave Putin angry and smarting.” Part of his strategy now seems to be to test and tease the new Ukrainian government and its supporters in Europe and the United States.
The Russians lease a huge naval base for their Black Sea Fleet at the Crimean port of Sevastopol, so they already have considerable forces on the ground. “What I worry about is a provocation in the Crimea that gives the Russians an excuse to start using the 15,000 troops they have there to lock down part of the peninsula or stir up trouble,” Kupchan said shortly before the news broke about the airports. Tensions would ratchet up until “the most likely scenario for a [Russian] use of force would be a murky bout of bloodletting in which Russia deploys troops in the name of preserving order and preventing further loss of life.”
The new Ukrainian government clearly worries about the same thing. On Thursday it demanded that Russian troops in Crimea stay confined to quarters under terms agreed in the 1997 lease agreement for the Sevastopol base. Interim President Oleksandr Turchynov warned that “any movement, particularly with weapons, outside official residences … will be interpreted by us as military aggression.”
So, what happened at Simferopol airport? Interim Interior Minister Avokov said that first about 100 men who called themselves “Cossacks” without further elaboration tried to occupy the airport on Thursday night. But they left in trucks around one in the morning on Friday. Then “119 armed soldiers in camouflage apparently belonging to the Russian armed forces”—but without insignia—“arrived at the airport building at 1:30 a.m. and settled in an airport restaurant.”
When police asked the men if they were indeed soldiers and if they had permission to be in the airport, they simply refused to answer. Eventually they deployed outside the airport as well as inside.
A paper being distributed to members of the U.S. Congress by the Ukrainian embassy in Washington offers a chronology of several incidents preceding the airport occupations, including other small-scale Russian military deployments around the peninsula.
The paper calls on the United States to “promote a peaceful solution to this challenging situation” and to support “Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.” And Secretary of State John Kerry has been trying to do just that. He says again and again that he hopes Russia will cooperate to stabilize the situation in Ukraine.
But if Putin doesn’t see things that way, the Americans’ tools for pressuring him are limited. As Kupchan points out, Washington’s short term strategy probably has to be to lean on the new Ukraine regime “to behave and exercise restraint and to build a government that represents an inclusive tent and that avoids actions that could be seen as rubbing the Kremlin’s nose [in its defeat].” It would also be wise, says Kupchan, for the United States and Europe to “avoid rhetoric and actions that would play into Putin’s paranoia.”
Yet at some point the Obama administration may have to define what it means by “grave” consequences for Russia if it intervenes in Ukraine. At this point no one seems to know what those would be: Withdrawing ambassadors? Some form of sanctions? “It would depend on the nature of the intervention,” says Kupchan, but if the situation really gets ugly, “U.S.-Russian relations would take an adversarial turn of the sort we have not seen since the collapse of the Soviet Union.”
Former NATO commander James Stavridis, now dean of the Fletcher School, takes much the same view. “I hope Vladimir Putin is listening closely to Secretary of State Kerry's warnings against intervention in Ukraine,” he tells The Daily Beast. “Doing so would be a geopolitical disaster for all sides.”
Most likely, Putin will continue to taunt Kiev and Washington as he did this morning in Simferopol airport, biding his time like those nameless soldiers sitting in the coffee shop, until he thinks the moment is right for a more decisive move.
Additional reporting by Eli Lake
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Women's rights and gender equality
Female genital mutilation practised in Iran, study reveals
First authoritative research shows FGM is carried out in four major provinces
Saeed Kamali Dehghan
@SaeedKD
Thu 4 Jun 2015 04.00 EDT Last modified on Mon 4 Mar 2019 08.01 EST
A woman wearing a niqab in Iran’s Hormozgan province, which has the highest incidence of FGM in the country. Niqabs are only worn in southern provinces. Photograph: Kamran Jebreili/Getty Images/arabianEye
The first authoritative study into female genital mutilation in Iran has found the practice is being carried out in at least four major provinces while officials are silent on the matter.
According to research by social anthropologist Kameel Ahmady released on Thursday, FGM is more prevalent in the southern province of Hormozgan and its nearby islands (Qeshm and Hormuz) than in any other parts of the country.
It is also being practised to a lesser degree in Kurdistan, Kermanshah and West Azerbaijan provinces, which are situated in western Iran close to the Iraq border.
Ahmady’s research shows that FGM is mainly an issue concerning the Shafi’i sect of Sunni Muslim Iranians, a minority in the Shia-dominated country. Only a small fraction of the Shia population living in proximity of Sunni communities practise FGM.
“FGM is practised in Iran in some cases to tame girls’ sex drive before marriage; it is made to preserve their chastity,” said Ahmady. “The attitude of officials and authorities is that FGM doesn’t exist in Iran. The Iranian public is also largely ignorant about the subject.”
Ahmady first decided to focus on FGM in Iran when he was working with relief NGOs in Africa in early 2000s. Over the course of 10 years he has spoken to around 3,000 Iranian women who have experienced FGM in Iran, as well as 1,000 men. His research was published to coincide with the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression, observed every year on 4 June.
“I returned to Iran in 2005 to study FGM in my home country and instantly I was shocked to discover that it even happened to the closest members of my own family and relatives,” he said. “In fact, many in Iran don’t have a clue that [FGM] is being practised in some parts of the country.”
FGM, which has affected millions of girls and women alive worldwide, predates Islam and Christianity and has been practised in many different cultures and societies, from Coptic and Catholic Christians in Eritrea and in Ethiopia, to Beta Israel society, Australian aboriginal tribes and some parts of the Middle East and Asia. It is usually performed on girls between the ages of four and 12 and can include partial or in extreme cases total removal of external parts of female genitalia.
In Iran, the practice, referred to as Khatne or Sonat, is usually carried out outside hospital without anaesthesia or prior consent by amateur midwives. The tools used include sharp razors.
Mehrangiz Kar, a leading Iranian human rights lawyer, said it was tragic that such mutilation was carried out by women. “It’s one of those instances where the violence against women is carried out by women in unhygienic circumstances,” she told the Guardian. “In areas where FGM exists, unfortunately it’s usually the mothers who insist that their daughters should be cut.”
In at least one extreme case which had involved stitching up after cutting, Kar said an Iranian mother refused to allow her daughter to have her stitches removed before marriage. “The daughter told me that she was afraid of marriage; she feared she would have pain during sexual intercourse.”
Although Ahmady’s research is unprecedented in its depth, other people have also studied FGM in Iran, including Fatemeh Karimi and Rayehe Mozafarian, who have both published books on the subject. Mozafarian said that the Iranian authorities had let activists research FGM in Iran and had allowed those books to be published.
“When people in Iran learned for the first time seven or eight years ago that women are being cut there, it was a cultural shock,” she said. “People didn’t believe that it was being practised.”
Mozafarian said she had reached out to the country’s vice president for women’s affairs, Shahindokht Molaverdi, who is considering her proposal for a nationwide campaign to end FGM. Iran’s penal code criminalises mutilation but does not specifically mention FGM.
Mozafarian warned that in some parts of Khuzestan province, home to many Arab Iranians, an extreme form of FGM known as infibulation, which involves the removal of the clitoris as well as the narrowing of the vaginal opening by creating a covering seal, is being practised.
Influenced by events in the neighbouring Kurdistan region of Iraq, which prohibited FGM in 2007, female circumcision is in decline in Iran’s Kurdistan but still goes on. Hormozgan is less affected by that change.
Not all Sunni Iranians practise FGM, such as those belonging to the Hanafi sect or those living in other provinces. In West Azerbaijan, FGM exists among Sunni Shafi’i Kurds of Sorani dialect but not among Sunni Shafie Kurds of Kermanji dialect, Ahmady’s report shows. In Iran’s Kurdistan, where prevalence of FGM is patchy, it is mainly seen in rural areas, some villages and communities but not usually in urban areas. Even in provinces where FGM exists, many communities do not practise it.
“The majority of women I spoke to who were circumcised defended FGM, saying that it is a tradition that had existed for hundreds of years,” said Ahmady. “Some Sunni mums even boasted that their daughters were more virtuous than the majority Shia girls because they were cut.”
Shia clerics also avoid interfering in what they see as a Sunni issue. The government, wary of inciting anti-Shia sentiment among the country’s Sunni minority, is also largely quiet. In Hormozgan, minimal traces of FGM is seen in Shia communities in some village, the report shows.
Female genital mutilation (FGM)
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George Hill scores 25, Jazz beat Mavericks 97-81
George Hill
Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert lays on the floor after injuring his right ankle during the second quarter in an NBA basketball game against the Dallas Mavericks Monday, April 11, 2016, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) more >
By KAREEM COPELAND - Associated Press - Wednesday, November 2, 2016
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - The offseason acquisition of George Hill was a clear upgrade at the point guard position for the Utah Jazz, but few expected this type of production from the nine-year veteran.
Hill scored 25 points and the Jazz defeated the Dallas Mavericks 97-81 on Wednesday night.
Hill continued to power the Jazz offensively after coming to the team in a three-way trade with the Pacers and Hawks last summer. He has scored 18-plus points in all five games, the only Jazz player to do so.
“Some of the things that he’s doing, you were hopeful that he would do,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. “But you’re equally pleased that he’s doing them. He’s made big shots at crucial times. What I’ve seen is his willingness to (say), ‘Where do you need me? Do you need me to score? Do you need me to get a stop? Do you want me to lead?’
“The leadership component, to me, is probably the most unique. That’s something our team is responding to.”
The Mavericks trailed the entire game except for a 16-15 lead at the beginning of the second quarter. After shooting just 37.0 percent in the first quarter, the Jazz hit 49.2 percent the rest of the way. They were 12 for 25 from 3-point range.
“I’m just happy we’re winning, I don’t care about the numbers,” Hill said. “Just doing what it takes to try to win a game. I’m glad my teammates have confidence in me to control the tempo out there and try to make plays.”
Rodney Hood scored 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Jazz as teammate Rudy Gobert had 12 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks.
Harrison Barnes led the Mavericks with 14 points, but they shot just 26.9 percent behind the arc.
“It’s been a tough start for us,” Mavs center Andrew Bogut said. “No one is going to give us anything easy, so we got to dig ourselves out of this hole.
“We weren’t in the game, really from the start. Whatever it was, we were kind of chasing our tails from the start. Our bench did a great job of getting us back in the game. Made a run. We just couldn’t sustain it.”
Mavericks: Dirk Nowitzki started after missing the last two games with an illness. He scored nine points on 4-for-14 shooting. … Point guard Deron Williams, who was drafted by the Jazz No. 3 overall in 2005, was still booed five years after being traded away.
Jazz: Derrick Favors matched a season-high with 23 minutes as he works his way back from a knee injury. … Dante Exum matched a season-high 10 points off the bench.
STICKING AROUND
Gobert signed a lucrative multi-year extension Tuesday to keep from entering restricted free agency after the season. The 7-foot-1, 245-pound center averaged career-highs in points (9.1), rebounds (11.0) and blocks (2.2) last season and has developed into one of the top defenders in the league. Gobert said the extension puts both he and the team on the same page and reinforces their belief in him. He knows he has to produce, but said there isn’t any extra pressure. “As a human, it wasn’t really impacting my game, but in my mind you think about it a little bit,” Gobert said. “Now that it’s done I’m focused on basketball and the team.”
MORE OFFENSE
The Mavericks entered the game ranked No. 15 in the league averaging 103.7 points per game. Coach Rick Carlisle is looking for more on that end of the court, but didn’t get it Wednesday. “We want to move the ball,” Carlisle said. “We want to get it in the paint as much as possible. We’ve had some tough luck with shot-making, but that will come.”
Mavericks: Host the Portland Trail Blazers and star point guard Damian Lillard on Friday.
Jazz: Host the Spurs on Friday after upsetting Kawhi Leonard and company in San Antonio on Tuesday.
Copyright © 2019 The Washington Times, LLC.
LOVERRO: Underappreciated Mussina could have entered Hall as an Oriole
Haynesworth thanks fans for support after kidney diagnosis
15-year-old Wimbledon star Coco Gauff could play in Citi Open
Nationals’ bullpen collapse gives Orioles 9-2 victory
SNYDER: Rui Hachimura has a role, and goals, beyond the court
Alex Ovechkin to visit China as NHL ambassador
Scherzer’s status still in flux ahead of pivotal Braves series
Eagles, Cowboys earn best ‘Madden 20’ ratings while Redskins middle of pack
Steve Buckhantz calls out Ted Leonsis, Wizards over play-by-play ouster
Josh Norman loses out on $200,000 skipping voluntary OTAs
Pedro Severino finally finds his stroke with Orioles
WNBA’s Riquna Williams suspended 10 games after domestic violence arrest
Justin Kutcher to replace Steve Buckhantz as Wizards’ play-by-play man
Juan Soto gets bruised, hits bruising homer as Nationals beat Orioles
Capitals sign Vrana to two-year, $6.7 million deal
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Interview mit Außenminister Ksachstans ENGLISCH
Sonstige / Sonstiges / Facebook / 2017-07-10 06:00
Christian Wehrschütz :
Kazakhstan is a country that shares 7,500 km long border with Russia and 1.700 km long border with China. Kazakhstan is said to be a country that is situated between the Russian bear and Chinese dragon.
How does this influence the principles of your foreign policy, known as a multi-vector one?
Kairat Abdrakhmanov:
You know, your question is very interesting, urgent and pressing, that is why I am going to answer it gladly. All the more so because Kazakhstan can state proudly that, according to the total length of our borders the longest border we have is that with the Russian Federation and with China but at the same time with other Central Asian partners as well.
So, along the whole border we have managed to create mutually beneficial cooperation, partnership that is based on friendship, good neighbourliness and mutual respect. The Russian Federation is our strategic ally. We are in the same economic space that has already been shaped as part of Eurasian Economic Union. This long border that you mention is a border of active exchange between average people, this is a border of trade, a border of investments. Furthermore, we have age-long history of peaceful existence with Russia.
For the last 25 years, i.e. since the establishment of diplomatic relations, the PRC has also turned out to be a reliable strategic partner for Kazakhstan. I would like to remind you that not long ago, in the times of the Cold War, the Kazakh-Chinese, or better to say, the Soviet-Chinese border separated two opposing states. But today this border has become a zone of peace, stability, good neighbourliness, or if we put it in more practical terms, today this is a border of free trade, and we want to make it a transit border, for example, for the supply of Chinese goods to European or Middle Eastern markets.
In that way we are going to use that huge transit transportation potential that Kazakhstan possesses by being situated between Russia and China, as you have said correctly. Besides, on June 9, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization had its summit in Astana. I would also like to remind you that this organization began to shape itself almost 20 years ago with certain measures of trust that we put along the Chinese border with Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Today, in the first line due to the goodwill and pragmatic policy of its member states this organization has also become a border of trade, investments and cooperation. In general, this is a border of friendship. And it is not accidentally that now the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, in which Russia and China have been playing the leading roles as the major economies, has acquired new members, India and Pakistan. This happened a here, in Astana. And today you can calculate the statistics yourself and see, how large the share of global population belonging to this organization is and what GDP is produced in the SCO countries. But nothing of the kind could have been possible without those friendly and neighbouring relations that Kazakhstan has with Russia and China.
Christian Wehrschütz:
The SCO members have different geopolitical or political orientation. On the other hand, if we see the situation in the European Union, 60 to 70% of its trade is still with Russia and Belarus, which are really integrated. It means that the EU shows the development potential which the Eurasian Union has. If you compare these two organizations, where can you see, first of all, a strategy of development — in economy or in policy, like a guarantor of stability and peace?
Your question contains a part of its answer. Both the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Eurasian Economic Union should mutually complement each other, and we are moving in that direction. The point is that, as I have just said, the SCO includes India and Pakistan now, and the Eurasian Economic Union is growing today due to the attention we all pay to common trade. According to our statistical data, in the first months of 2017 the volume of trade within the Eurasian Economic Union has increased by 138%. This figure is impressive enough. We can also study the history of the Eurasian Economic Union and understand that the ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) is really close to us, I mean not from the point of view of geography but that of the integration degree. 20 years ago they also had really low level of internal trade. But today ASEAN has declared itself a reliable and influential regional organization. That is why the Shanghai Cooperation Organization concentrates the potential of the above-mentioned large countries and, furthermore, includes also Central Asia that is a huge market with more the 50 million of population and growing production. Trade, investments, use of transportation and logistics potential — these priorities are typical for both organizations, i.e. the SCO and EAEU. And because of that I can say that in the nearest decades if not years we should supplement each other. For instance, the question has arisen as to how to combine the Chinese “One Belt, One Road” initiative with the ambitious infrastructural project “Nurly Zhol” that is being realized by Kazakhstan. Nowadays, according to the volume of container transportation, we are a quickly growing region, and at the same time we all are members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Eurasian Economic Union. There are also principles of free trade, free economic zones. More and more countries begin to look at the potential of the Eurasian Economic Union. About 10 countries are interested in concluding bilateral treaties on free trade with the Eurasian Economic Union. And the above-mentioned potential of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization itself proves that the organization will always remain in the centre of positive geoeconomical tendencies that we are witnessing now in our part of the world. Neither of the member states brings any bilateral problems to the SCO that it may have with any of its neighbours or other countries and regions. It means that we are at an important stage of the development of both organizations, and the goodwill of our leaders, governments of our peoples is the basis for our confidence that we will be able to keep peace, stability, security and stable development along to entire long border, which Kazakhstan has, as you have said.
I think 4 years ago nobody could believe that a war between Russia and Ukraine or a war in Eastern Ukraine could be possible. I know this for sure because in 2014 I was in Donetsk and Lugansk, I am an Austrian TV reporter in Ukraine. What does this war in the post-Soviet space mean for Kazakhstan?
We share the pain that you have as a journalist, who has worked in that part of the world. The conflicting parties in Ukraine, or, as you mean by your question, Ukraine and Russia… The most important for us in this situation is that this argument, that is a debate concerning territory, is resolved by means of bilateral negotiations based on the fundamental principles of international law. We would like to see Ukraine as an independent, stable and integral state.
Does it mean only eastern Ukraine or the Crimea too?
Certainly. When I say about the territorial debate, I mean the Crimea as well. One of the principles of our foreign policy is rigorous observance of the fundamental principles of international law. And it was the Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbaev, who during the 70th session of the UNO has called on the international community to convene a conference with view of re-stating the basic principles of international law.
Approximately 50% of your trade is done with the European Union. It means that the EU is an important partner for you. And you must know it better than the EU citizens. How do you estimate the EU development now, taking into consideration that since 2008 the EU has been struggling with a serious crisis, which began with the financial crisis, then Brexit followed. What does it mean for you and how do you see the future of the EU? It was a really attractive model of social and economic development but now there are plenty of unsolved questions concerning the internal status of the European Union.
You are right for sure when you say that Kazakhstan sees the European Union as the biggest commercial and investment partner. That is the reason why we would like to see the EU as our decade-long reliable partner, which has been supporting us since the first years of our independence. For example, we were one of the first countries to conclude an Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with the EU. This is a very profound document with far-reaching goals. It has not been ratified by all EU members yet, we are still waiting. But once it is ratified this document is certain to open new horizons for our partnership with the European Union.
I do not think that those tendencies you mention can produce any negative effect on realization of our quite ambitious plans we make for us and the European Union. We are optimistic. For our part we guarantee that Kazakhstan will remain a trustworthy partner that will create the most preferable work conditions for the EU and, first of all, its business circles. On the other hand, we would also like to expect a constructive approach from the EU, for instance, concerning liberalization of the visa regime for our citizens. In other words, the work is underway, our bilateral cooperation is increasing in full swing, we are going to make this partnership deeper based on the above-mentioned agreement as well.
Have you already started any negotiations with the European Union concerning the visa-free regime?
I must say that with the exception of very few EU member states most of the countries have already provided us with visa-free travel with diplomatic passports. Only a couple of countries are left that should conduct certain procedures within their governments and take a decision. We would like our Kazakhstan citizens that are not a source of any danger to have an opportunity of free travel in Europe. We are not a country of high migration risks. We have provided the Europeans with similar conditions. Citizens of all OECD and EU member states may now visit Kazakhstan and stay here for up to 30 days visa-free. It means that citizens of countries with a serious investment potential, there are almost 50 of them, can come to Kazakhstan without a visa and remain here for 30 days as tourists or business people.
Christian Wehrschuetz:
But the negotiations have not been started yet?
All negotiations are mostly bilateral now but Brussels refers to the position of certain EU members. In other words, we have to convince several EU members of the potential of cooperation with Kazakhstan, in the sphere of visa-free travel among other things. But I am sure that we are going to make another breakthrough for liberalization of visa regime.
What does Expo mean for Kazakhstan? If I speak for my generation, when I was young I have associated Kazakhstan with Baikanur, but it was the Soviet Union then. How does Kazakhstan want to position itself? What does Expo mean?
Expo is an international event that is actually organized with view of providing all countries, the whole developing world, with access to pure renewable and accessible energy as well as technologies in the energy field. As you know, unfortunately, not all poor countries on different continents and oceans have access to energy. The statistics is depressing. It is awful to see how many people have no access to energy. That is why, when aspiring to organize EXPO in Astana, we also proposed this theme — future energy — to provide equal access to energy for all countries without any exception by means of this specialized exhibition. For this reason after EXPO we are not going to forget about this issue. Based on Expo, literally on the base of these premises that will remain after the exhibition, an Astana International Financial Centre will be created, an international centre for green economy and new technologies, first of all, in the field of energy. An international startup will also be situated here, an IT startup. Certain research projects will be put into execution based on EXPO in the sphere of new energy technologies. We see a huge potential hidden in the theme of this “Future Energy” global exhibition and in the enthusiasm of our international partners that take part in it: 115 countries and 22 international organizations, from America to Pacific islands, from the Caribbean to Africa. We are happy to have this opportunity of providing all these countries with such an active and interactive platform in Astana.
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Behold the power of the thank-you note
Julie Kaiser
'Tis the season for thank-you notes. Whether you have graduated from high school or college, interviewed for a job or recently received a birthday, wedding or shower gift, a handwritten thank-you note can set you apart.
'Tis the season for thank-you notes.
Whether you have graduated from high school or college, interviewed for a job or recently received a birthday, wedding or shower gift, a handwritten thank-you note can set you apart.
Consider the consequences of neglecting the appreciation cards.
If you don’t send a thank-you note, you miss an opportunity to connect with a potential boss or future in-law. At the very least, you provide the grandma set with conversation fodder about how today’s young people neglect their manners.
Before she retired in 2001, Marion Richter conducted business and social etiquette training for the Midwest region of Bank One (now JPMorganChase). Today she teaches etiquette training for adults and children for various Springfield, Ill.-area organizations including the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce, University of Illinois Extension Service, the Springfield Urban League and others.
Teaching the nuts and bolts of writing a sincere thank-you note remains high on her priority list.
“They are the simplest thing you could possibly do, and they have an enormous impact because they make people feel appreciated,” Richter says. “Also, it is rare that people take the time to do them. So when you get them, it is, like, ‘Wow, I got one.’”
According to Richter, occasions that merit a thank-you note include:
- If you are a guest in someone’s home.
- If a person did you a favor.
- After a job interview.
- If you receive a promotion.
- After you receive an award.
- To a teacher.
- For Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.
- If someone has given you advice.
While your list of people to thank may be lengthy, the beauty of thank-you notes is the shorter, the better — usually three to five sentences. This isn’t the time to expound upon your child’s outstanding grades, the dog’s successful potty training or an exciting work project ahead. All you really have to do is be sincere.
Here’s the formula Richter recommends:
Start with your greeting and make sure to use the person’s name. Your first sentence should thank the person for the gift using the specific name of the gift and a descriptive word or two. The second sentence should include one of the things you like about the gift and how you plan to use it. The last sentence can be the shortest: “Thanks again.” Sign your name.
What happens if the gift happens to be an ugly shade of chartreuse and there is very little to like about it?
“No matter how disenchanted you might be with the gift, you can still write a great thank-you note,” Richter says. “You want to do this sensitively. You have to guard against using a double meaning. Surely there is something redeeming you can say about the gift: it was a lovely color of blue or it was just my size. You don’t have to be bubbly but you do have to be grateful without being insincere.”
Expressing appreciation even when you don’t understand the gift can be especially challenging for children. Richter gives each of her younger students a small gift bag with a common item in it. She’s used a can of soup, a hair ribbon or a jump rope. Then she asks them to pen a thank-you note for that item. She’s been delighted at what the kids find to be thankful about.
“I’ve used little bitty things. The other day I included coin wrappers,” she says. “The point is not that every gift you get is something you really want or really like, but that you can still write a nice thank-you.”
A common question posed to etiquette mavens involves whether or not to use technology to make writing thank-you notes less of a chore — e-mailing your entire thank-you list with one click of the “Send” button.
“The world is changing,” Richter says. “It used to be that thank-you notes had to be written by hand exclusively, but that was before e-mail and texting. Even the etiquette men and women are yielding a little bit for certain circumstances.
“Unless your grandmother is an avid e-mail or texter, those kinds of thank-you notes should always be handwritten. And they should always be written by hand for special circumstances.”
Richter makes allowances for people to send an e-mail thank-you note if the relationship is primarily electronic. However, she does still recommend sitting down and writing notes by hand for social and family thank-yous.
Like eating vegetables, sometimes knowing you should doesn’t mean you do. Even Richter occasionally forgets to put a note in the mail.
“I’m as guilty as anyone,” she says. “I was cleaning off my table just today and came across a purse a friend of mine had passed down to me, and I realized I have never sent a thank-you note. And I’m going to.”
Being late isn’t an excuse not to write the notes. Richter encourages people not to write five sentences apologizing or explaining why you forgot.
“Make a brief mention and then thank them,” she says. “It’s so simple. It’s just a matter of doing it.
“Thank-you notes are magical,” she adds. “They can set you apart and make a huge difference. And you feel good when you get them done.”
Want to learn more about etiquette for social and business occasions? Check out these resources for additional information.
- The Emily Post Institute: Etiquette’s Home on the Web. www.emilypost.com
- “101 Ways to Say Thank You: Notes of Gratitude for All Occasions” by Kelly Browne. Sterling, 2008.
- “365 Manners Kids Should Know: Games, Activities, and Other Fun Ways to Help Children Learn Etiquette” by Sheryl Eberly. Three Rivers Press, 2001.
- “Etiquette for Dummies” by Sue Fox. Published by For Dummies, 2007.
- “The Thank You Book: Hundreds of Clever, Meaningful, and Purposeful Ways to Say Thank You by Robyn F. Spizman. Active Parenting, 2004.
- “Business Class: Etiquette Essentials for Success at Work” by Jacqueline Whitmore. St. Martin’s Press, 2005.
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William S. Hein & Co., Inc.
OPINIONS OF THE CONFEDERATE ATTORNEYS GENERAL. 1861-1865
Patrick, Rembert W.
Pages: xxiv, 608p.
Published: Buffalo; William S. Hein & Co., Inc./Bflo; 2005.
Subjects: CONSTITUTIONAL LAW, COMPARATIVE LAW, POLITICAL SCIENCE, SLAVERY AND THE LAW
For the first time since the collapse of the Confederacy, these opinions were made available to the general reading public. More than 200 opinions of four Confederate attorneys general, and Wade Keyes, who was at various times Assistant, Acting, and Ad Interim Attorney General, are found in this work. With the exception of 15, none of these opinions had been officially published until this volume was produced.
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Much to do in strengthening new environment laws
How England’s post-Brexit environmental law still has a way to come.
By Tony Juniper, Executive Director of Advocacy and Campaigns at WWF-UK.
England’s post-Brexit environmental law still has a way to come
Britain’s wildlife is disappearing at a terrifying pace – from hedgehogs to bees, numbers of wild creatures are plummeting. The UK is now one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world.
But as we leave the EU, we face a pivotal moment. And we have a choice.
Things could get even worse; we could fail to adequately replace the important EU bodies that enforce our environmental laws, setting our nature on the path to even steeper decline.
Or things could get better; with the right course of action, nature in the UK could be restored to its best. With natural habitats and wildlife populations recovering, with the clean air, healthy seas and fertile soils we demand, we could position ourselves to lead a global deal for nature around the world.
The draft Environment Bill published on Wednesday marked a serious test of the government’s ambition. Our Executive Director for Advocacy and Campaigns, Tony Juniper, assesses which path our government is taking.
As Brexit uncertainty continues, domestic arrangements to protect our environment after the UK leaves the EU will be vital to get right. Central to how this will work are provisions set out in a new Environment Bill, a draft of which was published this week.
The draft Bill marks a significant victory for Michael Gove in his battle for a greener Brexit, against others in government who are looking to slash and burn environmental ambition after the UK leaves the EU.
Areas to be welcomed include the proposed legal underpinning of the 25 Year Environmental Plan, a commitment to reverse the loss of nature and the aim of putting environmental ambition and accountability at the very heart of government.
We must, however, be in no doubt that the Bill still has a long way to go if the Government is to uphold the promise to leave nature in a better state for the next generation. This is why WWF will be campaigning for serious improvements in certain areas as the Bill passes through Parliament. This includes legally binding targets for the restoration of nature, a truly independent environmental watchdog and a duty to reduce our country’s global footprint.
One reason why the draft Bill is better than might have been expected, and why Michael Gove’s hand was strengthened, was because of the huge number of voices backing strong laws. Tens of thousands of WWF supporters were among those writing the 176,746 responses received during the consultation period. So many of us speaking out in support of UK nature made a critical difference and we’ll need to maintain and increase that momentum going forward.
Some of the key issues that we will need to focus on include matters relating to the new watchdog, questions about the environmental principles included in the Bill and the level of ambition linked to environmental improvement in the future.
The new watchdog
One of the most talked about elements in advance of the Bill was the new environmental watchdog, the body set up to enforce our environmental protections - replacing the enforcement currently provided by The European Commission and the European Court of Justice which between them investigate complaints from the public, stop unlawful activity and, where necessary, take legal action.
For instance, in 2012 WWF made a complaint to the EU because of the UK’s failure to properly protect harbour porpoises. Subsequent intervention by the EU and the threat of the European Court of Justice forced the UK governments to take action and thanks to that the UK now has six special areas of conservation for harbour porpoises, covering around 70,000 square kilometres of sea. If the UK is to protect its environment after leaving the EU, all these functions will need to be replicated by the new watchdog. After all, our environmental laws are only as strong as the body that enforces them.
The draft Bill sets out plans for a new ‘Office of Environmental Protection’ (OEP). But disappointingly, this office will lack true independence from government. Environmental organisations have repeatedly pointed out how we need to see the establishment of a truly independent and fully funded body, one focused on long-term and robust environmental protection and with real teeth and powers.
The Bill as drafted gives ministers control over the OEP’s funding and board members, with the Secretary of State providing a budget. This means the OEP will essentially be within the control of the Government – the same Government it is meant to be holding to account. This does not bode well for the long-term effectiveness and sustainability of the OEP - particularly if we look at how official wildlife agency Natural England has during the past several years been starved of cash and sidelined in decision making.
While there are some positive elements to the draft Bill – for example in the OEP being able to set its own strategy and investigate citizens’ complaints – ultimately though if we’re to uphold our environmental laws and protect our nature we’ll need an environmental watchdog with both a fiercer bite and greater freedoms than presently provided for. The OEP must for example be able to act independently from government, so that it can stand up for citizen’s complaints and all environmental wrong-doing, including through an easily accessible judicial system.
Environmental Principles
EU environmental law has been hugely important. As a result of rules negotiated with European partners we have for example enjoyed elevated standards in relation to pollution control, waste disposal and recycling, there is stronger regulation of chemicals and dangerous substances, wildlife protection is tighter and more recently there has been European level action on climate change. All these have been backed by well-recognised principles, such as the need to act with precaution and that the polluter should pay, and these must apply into the future too.
WWF wanted the draft bill to put these environmental principles on the face of the Bill and Ministers have done that. While this is to be welcomed, we dislike the fact that the Secretary of State will determine how the principles will be interpreted.
There is also a ‘get out of jail free card’ in that the Secretary of State can exempt the application to principles where he considers there would be no significant environmental benefit to the development or revision of policies. This is not equivalent with the EU, where the principles are applied as objectives to be achieved by EU policy.
Environmental Improvement Plans
The Bill places a duty on the Secretary of State to prepare an environmental improvement plan. In effect, this provides a statutory underpinning for the Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan. This is to be welcomed and is a big step towards underpinning legislation for reversing the loss of nature.
It is, however, not enough. As well as the need to have a clear plan, this must be adopted as a means to achieve the more important duty of actually restoring nature across the country. Progress against that overall duty to improve the environment must be judged against a series of official targets, which also need to be set out in the new law.
A First Step
Ultimately, the Bill is a first step, providing the framework through which Parliament must now build momentum. We need to see an overarching duty to restore nature (going beyond merely plans), an environmental watchdog sufficiently independent and with full powers to hold the government to account, and an obligation to reduce the UK's global environmental footprint.
If this bill is improved during the coming months, it could mark an act of real leadership at a time when our seriously threatened planet needs it most.
We will be campaigning for the Bill to be improved and we hope that you will join with us and the other conservation and environment groups in making sure that we achieve the kind of law that our children and grandchildren will be proud of and will thank us for.
Fight for Nature Discover some of the UK's lesser-known species 5 threats to UK wildlife 7 species we rarely see now
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Regis Prograis getting ready for 2nd NOLA fight
"Right now, I'm the No. 1 seed, I'm ranked No. 1 in the world, and Terry Flanagan is just another notch on my belt."
Author: Ricardo LeCompte
Updated: 7:34 PM CDT October 10, 2018
Regis Prograis came home Wednesday for a workout and to do publicity for his fight at UNO coming up in 17 days.
Prograis is now in a tournament to decide the best 140-pound fighter in the world.
He fought over the summer in New Orleans, for the first time as a headliner and he couldn’t help but get caught up in the New Orleans atmosphere at the UNO Lakefront Arena.
“Like, I was the main event and like for me, I was a fan at that moment. Then I had to go in and fight. So, I had to go and switch my mindset around,” Prograis said.
‘The Rougarou’ had to deal with Juan Jose Velasco inside the ring.
“I'm not going to lie, I was kinda nervous going into the fight. I ate a little bad right before the fight. I ate a po’boy and some gumbo, right before the fight. It wasn't before the fight, but it was something I wasn’t supposed to eat and I felt that in the fight,” he said.
Despite the nerves and the meal choice, Prograis still recorded an 8th round technical knockout over Velasco. However, Prograis didn’t feel at his world-class best that night at the Lakefront.
“I should have never even got touched as much, and I should have knocked him out way, way earlier. It was a good show, and for me it was a real good learning experience,” he said.
Prograis returns to the Lakefront Arena Saturday, Oct. 27, to begin the WBSS super-lightweight tournament. He is the No. 1 seed and will face Britain’s Terry Flanagan in the quarterfinals.
“He's tough, he's like scrappy. He's going to fight, so he has a lot of experience. So that's, for me why I picked him. I wanted to fight the hardest fight first and fight the best,” he said.
“Right now, I'm the No. 1 seed, I'm ranked No. 1 in the world, and Terry Flanagan is just another notch on my belt.”
This time, the undefeated champ assures he’ll be at the top of his game as the big ticket.
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Canada Border Services Officers buy meals for US Customs & Border Protection workers in Detroit
Posted: 7:16 PM, Jan 18, 2019
By: Kim Russell
When Canada Border Services Officers heard that their American counterparts were being forced to work without pay, they felt empathy. They rely on their paychecks to provide for themselves and their families.
DETROIT, MICHIGAN (WXYZ) — When Canada Border Services Officers heard that their American counterparts were being forced to work without pay, they felt empathy. They rely on their paychecks to provide for themselves and their families.
“All my colleagues here, we rounded up for the past few days raising $600. We got pizzas for all three of their shifts. We also brought coffee and donuts as well,” said Mike Bechard, a Canada Border Services Officer.
They took that money and teamed up with Antonino’s Pizza, a restaurant that serves 32 slice “King” size pies and canolis. The restaurant gave them a discount so they could feed as many officers as possible.
“I definitely feel bad for them. It is not fair to them or for the rest of the country for that to happen,” said James Scott, Antonino’s Pizza Manager.
The officers WXYZ spoke to say they hope the meals send a message.
“It was just a kind gesture to our U.S. colleagues to show them our support,” said Officer Sandrine Fleurancois.
“Their Canadian counterparts are thinking of them,” said Officer Bechard.
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Video: Celebrating 45 Years
Yale Field Hockey Assoc. / Make a Gift
Year by Year Won-Lost
Senior Day Saturday Includes Chance to Win Ivy League Title
Brown (4-13, 0-7 Ivy) 0 0 0
Yale (11-6, 6-1 Ivy) 4 3 7
The Yale Field Hockey Class of 2012: Kirsten Krebs, Taylor Sankovich, Chelsey Locarno, Mia Rosati, Dinah Landshut, Erin Carter. (photo by David Silverman, DSPics.com)
1st - 7:06 - Holland, Georgia (Yale)
1st - 13:04 - Rosati, Mia (Yale)
1st - 21:40 - Sankovich, Taylor (Yale)
1st - 25:19 - Krebs, Kirsten (Yale)
2nd - 42:06 - Carter, Erin (Yale)
2nd - 60:33 - Krebs, Kirsten (Yale)
Sh: 6 Players (#1, #7, #8, #14, #16, #22) - 1
Sv: Shannon McSweeney - 20
G: 2 Players (#7, #15) - 2
A: Erica Borgo - 4
Sh: Mary beth Barham - 9
Sv: Heather Schlesier - 2
Bulldogs Tied for First with One Ivy Game Left
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale Field Hockey Class of 2012 has been a part of 40 wins over the past four seasons, more than all but one class in school history. One more victory -- on Saturday vs. Brown at Johnson Field on Senior Day (1 p.m.) -- would guarantee the Bulldogs at least a share of the Ivy League championship. Yale enters the final weekend of the regular season tied for first in the standings with Princeton.
It has been 31 years since Yale (10-6, 5-1 Ivy League) last earned an Ivy title. The 1980 squad went 4-0-2 to claim the crown, edging out Dartmouth and Penn (both 4-1-1). The Bulldogs have come agonizingly close to a championship recently, including four second-place finishes in the last eight years.
Yale was among the teams receiving votes in the latest NFHCA national poll and was ranked No. 19 in the latest womensfieldhockey.com poll. The Bulldogs enter Saturday's game on a roll, having won six games in a row and having outscored their opponents 27-5 in that span.
The offensive explosion in recent weeks has already put this Yale team in the record books. This year's Bulldogs now have the school single-season team records for goals (62), assists (59) and points (183). Yale is currently ranked No. 7 in the country in goals per game (3.88).
One of the individuals behind those team records is senior back Erin Carter (Perkiomenville, Pa.), who scored the school record-breaking 56th goal for the Bulldogs in last Sunday's 8-0 win over Holy Cross. Carter has eight goals in the last four games and 16 for the season, the fifth-best total in Yale history. Her 36 points this season are fourth-best. Carter was named Ivy League Player of the Week on Tuesday, the third time this season she has earned that honor.
Carter is also among Yale's career leaders in goals (33, 6th) and points (73, t-6th). She is tied for sixth on the career points list with senior midfielder Dinah Landshut (Hamburg, Germany), whose 15 assists this season have her one away from the Yale single-season record in that category (Katie Cantore '10 in 2009). Landshut became Yale's career assist leader last Sunday with three assists vs. Holy Cross, giving her 43 for her career -- one more than Sarah Driscoll '05.
Landshut and sophomore forward Erica Borgo (Randolph, N.J.) are both in the top 15 nationally in assists per game (Landshut is sixth at .94 and Borgo is 13th at .81). This is just the second time in school history that Yale has had two players reach double digits in assists in the same season (in 1979, Maggie Smeal '82 had 14 and Janet Colarusso '82 had 13). Borgo's assist total for the year (13) is tied for seventh-best on Yale's single-season list.
Senior forward Mia Rosati (Lower Gwynedd, Pa.) and sophomore midfielder/back Georgia Holland (Stony Brook, N.Y.) are tied for second on the team in goals with eight. Borgo and senior back Taylor Sankovich (Short Hills, N.J.) are next with five. Goalie Emily Cain (Laytonsville, Md.) is 19th in the country in save percentage (.750) and has a 1.95 goals-against average.
Carter, Landshut, Rosati, Sankovich and their classmates (forward/midfielder Kirsten Krebs (Selinsgrove, Pa.) and midfielder/back Chelsey Locarno (Boston, Mass.)) will be honored on the field before the game as part of Senior Day. Only the Class of 1999 (45 wins from 1995 to 1998) has won more games than those six.
Brown (4-12, 0-6 Ivy League) has won four of the last six in the series with Yale, including a 3-2 win in Providence last year. The Bears are in their first season under head coach Jill Reeve, a former U.S. Olympian who played at Old Dominion with Yale head coach Pam Stuper. Forward Meghan O'Donnell leads the team in goals and points (8-1-17). Midfielder Avery Burns leads the team in assists with seven. Goalie Shannon McSweeney has a .718 save percentage and a 3.38 goals-against average.
Back Laura Iacovetti and forward Leslie Springmeyer were honorable mention All-Ivy League selections last year; Springmeyer is a three-time All-Ivy pick. They are two of the five Brown seniors making their final appearance for the Bears Saturday, along with midfielder Kit Masini, back Bridget McNamara and forward Abigail Taft.
By the time Yale's game with Brown starts on Saturday the Bulldogs will know whether they are playing for the outright Ivy League title or a share of the crown, because Princeton plays Penn on Friday night in Philadelphia. Only one team gets the Ivy League's spot in a play-in game vs. the winner of the Northeast Conference on Tuesday, Nov. 8, and that game determines which team gets an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. That play-in game will take place at the site of the Ivy League representative at 1 p.m. Tuesday, and if Yale and Princeton finish tied for first the Tigers would advance to the play-in game (they hold the first tiebreaker, which is head-to-head result). The full 16-team NCAA Tournament field -- including five teams with automatic berths, three winners of play-in games and eight at-large selections -- will be announced Tuesday night. The tournament begins Saturday, Nov. 12.
Every goal Yale scores this season brings the world closer to a cure for myotonic dystrophy. Junior goalkeeper Ona McConnell (London, England) has been diagnosed with the disease, the most common form of muscular dystrophy. The Bulldogs are taking pledges for a season-long "Goal-a-thon" as part of their "Get a Grip" campaign to raise awareness and funds for the Myotonic Dystrophy Foundation. For more information, visit http://www.yalebulldogs.com/getagrip
Yale Statistics
Brown Statistics
Live Stats Saturday, 1 p.m.
Yale Field Hockey on Twitter
Directions to Yale's Johnson Field
Weather Forecast for New Haven, Conn.
Report by Sam Rubin '95 (sam.rubin@yale.edu), Yale Sports Publicity
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About the Abbey / History / College Hall
This is the oldest continuously used dining room in London. It was part of the building of the new Abbot's House, together with the Jerusalem Chamber, by Litlyngton. It is not open to the public.
The hall was finished in 1376 when the windows were glazed. It was used for dining by the household and guests of the Abbot, who would preside from the raised dais at the far end. Heating was provided by a fire on a hearth in the centre of the hall - this continued as the source of heating until 1847. Most of the roof is original, including the louvre or lantern in the centre to let out the smoke. The hall was originally hung with tapestries and the wainscot was added in 1733.
The dining tables in College Hall
At the Reformation the hall was used by both the Dean and Chapter and the King's Scholars of Westminster School. The School performed an annual Latin play here in the 16th century. The gallery at the south end, perhaps for musicians, dates from the mid 17th century. In the 17th century the Abbey clergy no longer required the hall as a dining area and it was used solely by the School, whose main dining hall it remains to this day. It survived bomb damage.
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ELF CAROLINA COUNTY BALL Limited Numbered Purple 180gram Audiophile Vinyl LP
Two years after the release of their eponymous debut, Elf recorded Carolina County Ball. After touring with Deep Purple they were influenced by their music and created a complex sound that brought together elements of hard rock, funk, blues and honky-tonk. It's the most versatile album and their most spectacular achievement. While listening to this album you'll hear the raspy vocals from the main man himself, Ronnie James Dio (Black Sabbath, Rainbow). Deep Purple's bassist Roger Glover produced the album.
Elf was an American rock band founded by singer and bassist Ronnie James Dio, keyboardist Doug Thaler, drummer Gary Driscoll, and guitarists Nick Pantas and David Feinstein (Dio's cousin). The band was originally called The Electric Elves, but was shortened to The Elves and finally Elf in 1972. Elf disbanded in 1975 after recording three albums and after most of the lineup had been absorbed into Ritchie Blackmore's new group, Rainbow.
Carolina County Ball is available as a limited edition of 1500 individually numbered copies on purple vinyl.
180-gram audiophile vinyl
Limited edition of 1500 individually numbered copies on purple vinyl
1. CAROLINA COUNTY BALL
2. L.A. 59
3. AIN’T IT ALL AMUSING
4. HAPPY
1. ANNIE NEW ORLEANS
2. ROCKING CHAIR ROCK ‘N’ ROLL BLUES
3. RAINBOW
4. DO THE SAME THING
5. BLANCHE
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William Cook starts production on export orders for Alstom Rail in Canada
William Cook Rail has moved into full production of a multi-million pound export order to supply one of the world leaders in light rail systems.
The family-owned business is manufacturing ultra-high specification cast steel components for Alstom’s range of Citadis Spirit light rail vehicles for service in Ottawa, Canada.
The structural parts for bogies are among the most complex cast steel components ever made and they will be showcased at InnoTrans, the International Trade Fair for Transport Technology this September.
William Cook has created 20 new engineering jobs in Leeds to help fulfil the orders, taking headcount to 180 people at the newly modernised factory.
Sir Andrew Cook, chairman of William Cook, said: “We are proud to be flying the flag for world-class UK manufacturing and securing highly skilled jobs in the North of England.
“This represents a major order for our new £15m rail plant in Leeds and we are gearing up for an increase in activity as the year progresses.”
The Citadis Spirit vehicles are designed for high capacity commuter lines and can operate in the most extreme weather conditions.
Alstom has won contracts to supply 72 trains for Ottawa and a further 61 for Toronto.
The French company has sold more than 2,500 Citadis trains to more than 50 cities in 20 countries worldwide.
Alstom is also leading the consortium which will supply the rolling stock and signalling, as well as operation and maintenance services, for the driverless light metro system for Montreal.
Canada is investing C$3.6bn to upgrade and improve public transit systems across the country.
William Cook Rail will be exhibiting at InnoTrans, which takes place in Berlin, Germany from September 18-21.
William Cook Rail is part of William Cook Holdings, a family-owned engineering group with factories in Sheffield, Leeds and Stanhope, County Durham.
William Cook manufactures sophisticated engineered components, assemblies and systems for a huge range of applications.
William Cook has recently completed an extensive overhaul of its factories, including the modernising and re-equipping of its Leeds plant at a cost of £12m and its Sheffield plant at a cost of £6m.
A further £5 million investment program is currently being completed at its Stanhope plant.
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The Rise Of Wisconsin's 'Hyper-Patriots' During World War I
The 'Traitor State' Label Spurred Wisconsinites To Prove Their Nationalistic Fervor
Hayley Sperling
WisContext
Wisconsin Public Television
Aug. 30, 2018 | 8 a.m.
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<h1>The Rise Of Wisconsin's 'Hyper-Patriots' During World War I</h1> World War I was a defining moment for the United States. Soldiers shipped out to the Western Front, many more people took on unconventional roles at home, and Americans across the board were forced to make compromises in daily life. Wisconsin stood out, though, in a few ways as the nation entered the war in 1917. It was anecdotally known as the "traitor state," as nine of the state's 11 U.S. representatives voted against going to war. One city in particular illustrated how much views on the war could be polarized: Milwaukee.<br /> <br /> Wisconsin's most populous city had long been home to a large population of German immigrants and their descendants, and was one of the nation's biggest centers of German-American culture. Milwaukee was likewise the home of U.S. citizens known as "hyper-patriots" who made it their mission to force out any trace of German Kultur in the city and force upon their neighbors a love for Uncle Sam. This story of the city's internal conflicts in the Great War was told in an October 28, 2017 presentation for <a href="https://www.wisvetsmuseum.com/?event=world-war-100-a-centennial-symposium" target="_blank">World War 100: A Centennial Symposium</a>. Recorded for <a href="https://wpt.org/University-Place/great-war-home-wisconsin-part-i" target="_blank">Wisconsin Public Television's <em>University Place</em></a>, the talk brought together three historians who detailed the role of patriotism during the war in Milwaukee. <br /> <br /> <a href="https://www.wiscontext.org/richard-l-pifer" target="_blank">Rick Pifer</a>, a retired director of reference at the <a href="https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/" target="_blank">Wisconsin Historical Society</a> and author of <a href="https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/whspress/books/book.asp?book_id=545" target="_blank"><em>The Great War Comes to Wisconsin</em></a>, explained that despite the "traitor state" label, plenty of Wisconsin political leaders were determined to prove their patriotism by supporting the war effort. The first example of this came during the 1917 draft, Pifer explained. Fearing that draft riots would break out in the state because of its sizeable German-American population, the military offered to supply troops to maintain peace on registration day. Then-Gov. Emmanuel Philipp, however, declined the offer. Without incident, more than 218,000 Wisconsin men registered for the draft, fulfilling requirements and then some. <br /> <br /> This rise in patriotism, however, came with a dark side. As <a href="https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS15086" target="_blank">Leslie Bellais</a>, curator of social history at the Wisconsin Historical Society, noted, hyper-patriots made an aggressive effort to clear the state of its unpatriotic reputation. These hyper-patriots were typically business leaders and other white-collar professionals, and as Bellais explained, they were not people who were used to having their authority questioned. When they wanted something done, it got done, whether this was pressuring neighbors to buy <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_bond" target="_blank">Liberty Bonds</a> or forcing housewives to sign the Food Pledge, which stated that all "patriotic" men and women would voluntarily restrict their food usage so that the soldiers overseas were always well fed. <br /> <br /> Efforts by the hyper-patriots to enforce support for the war were particularly rampant in Milwaukee. Along with being heavily German-American, the city also happened to be governed by a Socialist mayor — it was the home of "<a href="https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/tp-043/?action=more_essay" target="_blank">sewer socialism</a>" — whose party opposed the war. Kevin Abing, archivist at the <a href="https://milwaukeehistory.net/" target="_blank">Milwaukee Historical Society</a>, explained that despite the mayor's political views, Milwaukee rose to answer the calls to support the war effort, partly because the hyper-patriots did not allow for any gray areas.<br /> <br /> As for the German Americans living in Milwaukee during World War I, they faced a particularly uneasy situation. "If they did not enthusiastically support the war, they were deemed unpatriotic," Abing noted. "But if they embraced the Allied cause, they were suspected of being hypocrites."<br /> <div class="asset-wrapper asset aid-9871 asset-wpt-video"> <!--<strong > </strong> --> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-name-field-iframe-code field-type-iframe field-label-hidden embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="field-iframe field-iframe-instance"><iframe src="https://video.pbs.org/widget/partnerplayer/3009990765/?&amp;autoplay=false&amp;chapterbar=false&amp;toolbar=true&amp;topbar=false&amp;endscreen=false" title="U Place: The Great War at Home in Wisconsin: Part I" width="100%" height="340" class="field-iframe field-iframe-instance" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" transparency="0" id="iframe-field-iframe-code-0--2" name="iframe-field-iframe-code-0--2">Your browser does not support iframes, but you can use the following link. <a href="https://video.pbs.org/widget/partnerplayer/3009990765/?&amp;autoplay=false&amp;chapterbar=false&amp;toolbar=true&amp;topbar=false&amp;endscreen=false" title="U Place: The Great War at Home in Wisconsin: Part I">Link</a></iframe></div></div></div></div></div> </div> <h4>Key Facts</h4> <ul> <li>During World War I, many German Americans in Milwaukee and beyond shed or changed their last names in attempt to free themselves of the often toxic social climate they faced. Within the first four months after the U.S. declaration of war, 250 people reportedly abandoned their German familial names. Additionally, the number of German language teachers in the Milwaukee dropped from 200 to one during the war.</li> <br /> <li>German Americans weren't the only people feeling pro-war pressure in their communities. Socialists, religious leaders and the Milwaukee labor movement were all subject to harassment and intimidation from the hyper-patriots. Factory owners saw any attempt by workers for improved pay or conditions as pro-German plots to disrupt industrial capacity. Troublemakers were quickly silenced by government agents.</li> <br /> <li>Wisconsin's "Yankee population," residents who hailed from New England or New York, were those most likely to become hyper-patriots. They used U.S entry into World War I to reinforce their definitions of patriotism and loyalty and impose them upon other Wisconsinites.<div class="asset-wrapper asset aid-9931 asset-image"> <div class="entity entity-asset asset-image view-mode-left_image_caption_right "> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-9 "> <div class="field field-name-field-asset-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="https://www.wiscontext.org/sites/default/files/assets/images/whs_image_id_1952.jpg" title="" class="colorbox" data-colorbox-gallery="" data-cbox-img-attrs="{"title": "", "alt": ""}"><img class="img-responsive" src="https://www.wiscontext.org/sites/default/files/assets/images/whs_image_id_1952.jpg" width="4000" height="3200" alt="" title="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-asset-image-photo-credit field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Image/IM1952" target="_blank">Wisconsin Historical Society</a></div></div></div> </div> <div class="col-sm-3 "> <div class="field field-name-field-asset-image-description field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Milwaukeeans participated in home front activities during World War I, including the Motor Corps of the National League for Women's Service.</div></div></div> </div> </div> </div> <!-- Needed to activate display suite support on forms --> </div></li> <li>Milwaukee was a center of the socialist movement in the U.S., which elected officials to multiple levels of government. The city was governed by a socialist mayor, Dan Hoan, and was also the home to one of the Socialist Party of America's heaviest hitter, Victor Berger. The latter is known for being the first socialist elected to the U.S. Congress. In February 1918, Berger was indicted by the federal government and convicted on charges of treason and sedition.</li> <br /> <li>One of the most outspoken hyper-patriots of Milwaukee was Wheeler Bloodgood, a lawyer from Dutch New York. In March 1917, Bloodgood founded the Wisconsin Defense League — whose name was later changed to the Wisconsin Loyalty Legion — in attempt to dispel any notion that Wisconsin was a "hotbed for sedition and disloyalty." Bloodgood famously asked the federal government to impose martial law in Milwaukee if Hoan won the April 1918 election. Bloodgood's demands, however, were not met. </li> </ul> <h4>Key quotes</h4> <ul> <li>Pifer explaining how Wisconsin became known as the "traitor state": "The people of Monroe, Wisconsin voted overwhelmingly against going to war. Wisconsin's prominent Socialist Party rejected participation in any way [in] the capitalist conflict. Nine of Wisconsin's 11 [U.S.] representatives voted against the war. Senator Robert M. La Follette led a filibuster to prevent arming American merchant ships. He was one of six senators to vote against the war. He lead opposition to conscription, the sale of bonds to finance the war and repression of free speech. Everywhere they looked, the Wisconsin Loyalty Legion believed they could see ample evidence of disloyalty, sedition and unpatriotic behavior."</li> <br /> <li>Pifer on Wisconsinites accepting U.S. involvement in World War I: "Without fuss or fanfare, 218,700 young men registered for the draft in Wisconsin, 106 percent of the number estimated as eligible. On the home front, activities such as food conservation provided one of the most universal ways in which civilians displayed their patriotism and support for the war effort."</li> <br /> <li>Abing on Milwaukee's commitment to supporting the war: "[Milwaukee] easily fulfilled the city's draft quotas and they oversubscribed its allotments in all four Liberty bond drives by millions of dollars. Milwaukee factories churned out every conceivable product for the military with only minor labor disturbances. Women demonstrated their loyalty by moving into factory jobs, thus avoiding a potentially severe labor shortage, and ordinary citizens planted victory gardens, they did Red Cross work and abided by government meatless, wheatless, lightless and gasolineless restrictions."<div class="asset-wrapper asset aid-9926 asset-image"> <div class="entity entity-asset asset-image view-mode-left_image_caption_right "> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-9 "> <div class="field field-name-field-asset-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="https://www.wiscontext.org/sites/default/files/assets/images/whs_image_id_26240.jpg" title="" class="colorbox" data-colorbox-gallery="" data-cbox-img-attrs="{"title": "", "alt": ""}"><img class="img-responsive" src="https://www.wiscontext.org/sites/default/files/assets/images/whs_image_id_26240.jpg" width="5870" height="4120" alt="" title="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-asset-image-photo-credit field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Image/IM26240" target="_blank">Wisconsin Historical Society</a></div></div></div> </div> <div class="col-sm-3 "> <div class="field field-name-field-asset-image-description field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">A 1919 parade in Milwaukee celebrated the return of soldiers from World War I.</div></div></div> </div> </div> </div> <!-- Needed to activate display suite support on forms --> </div></li> <li>Abing on the German-American experience in Milwaukee over the course of the war: "This time undoubtedly was a bitter pill to swallow for Milwaukee's German Americans. For years, they had been praised for being industrious civic and business leaders. German theater, music and intellectual endeavors were at the pinnacle of the city's cultural landscape. But the war turned everything upside down. … By 1917, most German Americans in Milwaukee were second- or third-generation Americans and certainly loyal to the U.S., but even those who were natives of Germany recognized their obligation to their adopted homeland."</li> <br /> <li>Bellais on the targets of hyper-patriots' attacks: "Wisconsin's hyper-patriots not only attacked German-Americans, but also socialists, pacifists and those who they labeled disloyal politicians. In a way, my thinking is that all of these groups challenged their understanding of what it meant to be American while questioning their right to define Americanism."</li> <br /> <li>Bellais on the legacy of hyper-patriots: "Wisconsin's patriots worked tirelessly to put [Sen. Robert La Follette] in his place, though ultimately without success. In the end, Wisconsin's World War I hyper-patriots have not been remembered as true patriots if anyone remembers them at all. Instead, it's their enemies, [Victor] Berger and La Follette, they're the ones who have been honored and frequently treated as the true emblems of American ideals."</li> <br /> <li>Abing on the Great War's lasting impact: "The post-war failure of President [Woodrow] Wilson's peace efforts, widespread race riots and labor unrest, the frightening specter of Bolshevism, the onset of Prohibition, and foundering of Progressive ideals all contributed to a sense that the war, a crusade to make the world safe for democracy, fell far short of that goal."</li> </ul> <p><a href="https://www.wiscontext.org/rise-wisconsins-hyper-patriots-during-world-war-i">The Rise Of Wisconsin's 'Hyper-Patriots' During World War I</a> was originally published on <a href="https://www.wiscontext.org/">WisContext</a> which produced the article in a partnership between Wisconsin Public Radio and Wisconsin Public Television.</p>
A 1917 cartoon portrayed then-U.S. Senator Robert M. La Follette, Sr. as a traitor for opposing American involvement in World War I.
World War I was a defining moment for the United States. Soldiers shipped out to the Western Front, many more people took on unconventional roles at home, and Americans across the board were forced to make compromises in daily life. Wisconsin stood out, though, in a few ways as the nation entered the war in 1917. It was anecdotally known as the "traitor state," as nine of the state's 11 U.S. representatives voted against going to war. One city in particular illustrated how much views on the war could be polarized: Milwaukee.
Wisconsin's most populous city had long been home to a large population of German immigrants and their descendants, and was one of the nation's biggest centers of German-American culture. Milwaukee was likewise the home of U.S. citizens known as "hyper-patriots" who made it their mission to force out any trace of German Kultur in the city and force upon their neighbors a love for Uncle Sam. This story of the city's internal conflicts in the Great War was told in an October 28, 2017 presentation for World War 100: A Centennial Symposium. Recorded for Wisconsin Public Television's University Place, the talk brought together three historians who detailed the role of patriotism during the war in Milwaukee.
Rick Pifer, a retired director of reference at the Wisconsin Historical Society and author of The Great War Comes to Wisconsin, explained that despite the "traitor state" label, plenty of Wisconsin political leaders were determined to prove their patriotism by supporting the war effort. The first example of this came during the 1917 draft, Pifer explained. Fearing that draft riots would break out in the state because of its sizeable German-American population, the military offered to supply troops to maintain peace on registration day. Then-Gov. Emmanuel Philipp, however, declined the offer. Without incident, more than 218,000 Wisconsin men registered for the draft, fulfilling requirements and then some.
This rise in patriotism, however, came with a dark side. As Leslie Bellais, curator of social history at the Wisconsin Historical Society, noted, hyper-patriots made an aggressive effort to clear the state of its unpatriotic reputation. These hyper-patriots were typically business leaders and other white-collar professionals, and as Bellais explained, they were not people who were used to having their authority questioned. When they wanted something done, it got done, whether this was pressuring neighbors to buy Liberty Bonds or forcing housewives to sign the Food Pledge, which stated that all "patriotic" men and women would voluntarily restrict their food usage so that the soldiers overseas were always well fed.
Efforts by the hyper-patriots to enforce support for the war were particularly rampant in Milwaukee. Along with being heavily German-American, the city also happened to be governed by a Socialist mayor — it was the home of "sewer socialism" — whose party opposed the war. Kevin Abing, archivist at the Milwaukee Historical Society, explained that despite the mayor's political views, Milwaukee rose to answer the calls to support the war effort, partly because the hyper-patriots did not allow for any gray areas.
As for the German Americans living in Milwaukee during World War I, they faced a particularly uneasy situation. "If they did not enthusiastically support the war, they were deemed unpatriotic," Abing noted. "But if they embraced the Allied cause, they were suspected of being hypocrites."
During World War I, many German Americans in Milwaukee and beyond shed or changed their last names in attempt to free themselves of the often toxic social climate they faced. Within the first four months after the U.S. declaration of war, 250 people reportedly abandoned their German familial names. Additionally, the number of German language teachers in the Milwaukee dropped from 200 to one during the war.
German Americans weren't the only people feeling pro-war pressure in their communities. Socialists, religious leaders and the Milwaukee labor movement were all subject to harassment and intimidation from the hyper-patriots. Factory owners saw any attempt by workers for improved pay or conditions as pro-German plots to disrupt industrial capacity. Troublemakers were quickly silenced by government agents.
Wisconsin's "Yankee population," residents who hailed from New England or New York, were those most likely to become hyper-patriots. They used U.S entry into World War I to reinforce their definitions of patriotism and loyalty and impose them upon other Wisconsinites.
Milwaukeeans participated in home front activities during World War I, including the Motor Corps of the National League for Women's Service.
Milwaukee was a center of the socialist movement in the U.S., which elected officials to multiple levels of government. The city was governed by a socialist mayor, Dan Hoan, and was also the home to one of the Socialist Party of America's heaviest hitter, Victor Berger. The latter is known for being the first socialist elected to the U.S. Congress. In February 1918, Berger was indicted by the federal government and convicted on charges of treason and sedition.
One of the most outspoken hyper-patriots of Milwaukee was Wheeler Bloodgood, a lawyer from Dutch New York. In March 1917, Bloodgood founded the Wisconsin Defense League — whose name was later changed to the Wisconsin Loyalty Legion — in attempt to dispel any notion that Wisconsin was a "hotbed for sedition and disloyalty." Bloodgood famously asked the federal government to impose martial law in Milwaukee if Hoan won the April 1918 election. Bloodgood's demands, however, were not met.
Pifer explaining how Wisconsin became known as the "traitor state": "The people of Monroe, Wisconsin voted overwhelmingly against going to war. Wisconsin's prominent Socialist Party rejected participation in any way [in] the capitalist conflict. Nine of Wisconsin's 11 [U.S.] representatives voted against the war. Senator Robert M. La Follette led a filibuster to prevent arming American merchant ships. He was one of six senators to vote against the war. He lead opposition to conscription, the sale of bonds to finance the war and repression of free speech. Everywhere they looked, the Wisconsin Loyalty Legion believed they could see ample evidence of disloyalty, sedition and unpatriotic behavior."
Pifer on Wisconsinites accepting U.S. involvement in World War I: "Without fuss or fanfare, 218,700 young men registered for the draft in Wisconsin, 106 percent of the number estimated as eligible. On the home front, activities such as food conservation provided one of the most universal ways in which civilians displayed their patriotism and support for the war effort."
Abing on Milwaukee's commitment to supporting the war: "[Milwaukee] easily fulfilled the city's draft quotas and they oversubscribed its allotments in all four Liberty bond drives by millions of dollars. Milwaukee factories churned out every conceivable product for the military with only minor labor disturbances. Women demonstrated their loyalty by moving into factory jobs, thus avoiding a potentially severe labor shortage, and ordinary citizens planted victory gardens, they did Red Cross work and abided by government meatless, wheatless, lightless and gasolineless restrictions."
A 1919 parade in Milwaukee celebrated the return of soldiers from World War I.
Abing on the German-American experience in Milwaukee over the course of the war: "This time undoubtedly was a bitter pill to swallow for Milwaukee's German Americans. For years, they had been praised for being industrious civic and business leaders. German theater, music and intellectual endeavors were at the pinnacle of the city's cultural landscape. But the war turned everything upside down. … By 1917, most German Americans in Milwaukee were second- or third-generation Americans and certainly loyal to the U.S., but even those who were natives of Germany recognized their obligation to their adopted homeland."
Bellais on the targets of hyper-patriots' attacks: "Wisconsin's hyper-patriots not only attacked German-Americans, but also socialists, pacifists and those who they labeled disloyal politicians. In a way, my thinking is that all of these groups challenged their understanding of what it meant to be American while questioning their right to define Americanism."
Bellais on the legacy of hyper-patriots: "Wisconsin's patriots worked tirelessly to put [Sen. Robert La Follette] in his place, though ultimately without success. In the end, Wisconsin's World War I hyper-patriots have not been remembered as true patriots if anyone remembers them at all. Instead, it's their enemies, [Victor] Berger and La Follette, they're the ones who have been honored and frequently treated as the true emblems of American ideals."
Abing on the Great War's lasting impact: "The post-war failure of President [Woodrow] Wilson's peace efforts, widespread race riots and labor unrest, the frightening specter of Bolshevism, the onset of Prohibition, and foundering of Progressive ideals all contributed to a sense that the war, a crusade to make the world safe for democracy, fell far short of that goal."
This report was produced in a partnership between Wisconsin Public Radio and Wisconsin Public Television. © Copyright 2019, Wisconsin Educational Communications Board and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
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What is a Sushi Bond?
A sushi bond is a bond issued outside of Japan by a Japanese company and denominated in a foreign currency. Sushi bonds are typically bought by institutional investors in Japan, although they are available to other buyers as well. Because the sushi bond is issued beyond Japanese jurisdiction, it is not applied to regulatory limits on foreign investment. A number of other colorful terms are used to describe other types of Japanese and Asian bond products, including dragon bonds, samurai bonds, and shogun bonds.
In the case of a sushi bond, the issuing institution often issues the bond in United States dollars, although not necessarily. The size of the bond issue can vary and people can buy bonds directly or on the secondary market. There are a variety of reasons to issue bonds overseas, ranging from the desire to access new investment opportunities to wanting to provide a mechanism for offshore investment for institutions interested in investing outside their home nation. Like other bonds, sushi bonds receive ratings on the basis of their reliability as a purchase.
Firms issuing sushi bonds release information about upcoming bond issues for the benefit of potential investors, allowing them to prepare when they learn about the size of the bond issue and the interest being offered. The ability to invest overseas with a sushi bond can be important for companies interested in taking advantage of shifting financial markets, and bonds can be long or short term investments, depending on how the offering is structured.
As with other financial products, buyers must keep careful records about the bonds they buy for regulatory purposes. The issuer also maintains records, registering bonds and their buyers. These records are used when payments need to be distributed and when regulators audit accounting practices to confirm that a company is doing business in accordance with financial regulations. In the case of publicly traded companies, general information about bond issues and their size is available, although detailed information about individual investors is not.
A concept related to the sushi bond is the shogun or geisha bond, issued in foreign currency by a foreign company operating in Japan. A German financial company could issue a bond in Tokyo denominated in euros, for example. The samurai bond is a bond issued in Japan by a foreign company, denominated in yen, allowing foreign companies to trade in yen. Dragon bonds are any bonds issued in Asia, not just Japan, and denominated in US dollars.
What Is a Dragon Bond?
What is a Samurai Kimono?
What is a Samurai Market?
What is a Yankee Bond?
What is a Japanese Government Bond?
What is a Eurobank?
What is a Eurocredit?
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January 14, 2017 May 13, 2019 World Biography News 0 Comments Biography Hillary Clinton, Hillary Clinton Biography, Hillary Clinton Biography career, Hillary Clinton Biography net worth, Hillary Clinton Early Legal Career, Hillary Clinton Early life, Hillary Clinton Net Worth, Hillary Clinton Political, Hillary Clinton Top 10 Facts, Hillary Diane Rodham, Hillary Marriage to Bill Clinton, Political Career Hillary Clinton, Presidential Campaign Hillary Clinton
Personal Information About Hillary Clinton
Name:-
Hillary Diane Rodham
Nick Name:-
Hillary, Hill, HRod, Mrs, Clinton
D.O.B:-
National Side:-
Place of Birth:-
Zodiac sign:-:-
Religion:-
Height:-
5feet 4 inches
Marital Status:-
Profession:-
Education:-
Maine East High School (1964)
Maine South High School (1964-1965)
Wellesley College (1965-1969)
Yale Law School (1969-1971)
Hillary Clinton Family Info
Father Name:-
Hugh E. Rodham
Mother Name:-
Dorothy Howell Rodham
Brother Name:-
Anthony Rodham, Hugh Rodham
Sister Name:-
Not Know
Children:-
Hillary Clinton Husband Name:-
Bill Clinton (Former President of U.S)
Hillary Clinton Net Worth:-
$32 Million As Of August 2016
Here in this post, you will read about Hillary Clinton Biography, Facts, Career, Family, Net Worth. Hillary Clinton is an American lawyer and political figure who served as the 67th U.S Secretary of the country from 2009 to 2013. Hillary was also the nominee of the Democratic Party for the President of the U.S in the 2016 election, she lost to her Republic opponent Donald Trump. Hillary married to former United States President Bill Clinton, Hillary has served as the First Lady of the U.s during the presidency of her husband from the year of 1993 to 2001. Hillary was determined and ambitious from a young age. Hillary qualified as a lawyer from the Yale Law School and started on a successful legal career before venturing into the politics. Hillary began developing her own political career and she was sworn in as United State senator in 2001, January. Hillary was easily re-elected to a second term. In 2015 Hillary formally announced her candidacy for the post of presidency in the election of 2016 and was formally nominated at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. After a polarizing campaign against Donald Trump GOP Candidate, Hillary Clinton was defeated in the general election 2016.
Hillary Clinton Early life, Childhood, and Education
Hillary Diane Rodham was born on 26th October 1947, in Chicago, Illinois, the United States, she was growing up in Park Ridge, Hillary Clinton was the eldest daughter of his parents, his father Hugh Rodham a prosperous fabric store owner, and her mother name is Dorothy Emma Howell Rodham, she has two younger brothers, Hugh Jr. and Anthony. Hillary Clinton graduated from Maine South School in 1965, is a National Merit Finalist, her parents wanted her to have an independent career, not limited by gender brassiness.
Hillary enrolled in 1965 at the Wellesley College, majoring in political science. During Hillary’s college years, she was energetic and active in student’s politics and was selected as the president of the Wellesley Young Republican. Hillary’s political standing changed during the decade of the 1960s. Hillary was observed as someone having a conservative mind with a liberal heart. Hillary was elected as the President in 1968 for Wellesley College Government Association and worked on the post with full conviction.
In 1969, Hillary was graduated from the college with a BA degree with departmental honours in political science, Hillary took up different odd jobs before getting herself a seat at the Yale Law School. Hillary was selected to work with the United States Senator Walter Mondale’s sub-committee on migrant workers in 1970. Hillary interned at Oakland, California, with the law firm of Treuhaft, Walker, and Burnstein, she was working on child custody and some other cases.
In 1973, Hillary Clinton was awarded a Juris Doctor degree from Yale. Thereafter she started her one-year postgraduate courses with studies of children and also medicine at the Yale Child Study Center. This was while pursuing Hillary postgraduate studies that she served as the staff attorney for the Children’s Defense Fund.
Hillary Marriage to Bill Clinton
On 11 October 1975, Hillary married Bill Clinton, at their home in Fayetteville. The couple got their first baby, their daughter name is Chelsea Victoria and she was born on 27th February 1980. Hillary worked on Jimmy Carter’s successful campaign in 1976 for president while her husband Bill Clinton was elected attorney general. At the age of 32, Bill Clinton was elected governor in 1978, lost reelection in 1980, but he came back to win in 1982, 1984, 1986 and 1990.
In 1977, Hillary joined the Rose Law Firm in Little Rock and was appointed to part-time chairman of the Legal Service Corporation by President Jimmy Carter. As the first lady of the state for many years, she chaired the Arkansas Educational Standards Committee, co-founded the Arkansas Advocates for the Children and families. Hillary was also served on the boards of Wal-Mart and TCBY. In 1988 and 1991, the National Law Journal name Hillary Clinton one of the 100 most powerful lawyers in America.
Hillary Clinton Early Legal Career
In 1974, Hillary was appointed as a member of the impeachment inquiry staff in Washington, advising the House Committee on the Judiciary during the scandal of Watergate. The work of the committee directed to the resignation of President Richard Nixon. Hillary took the teaching criminal law in 1974 at the University of Arkansas. After two years Hillary shifted to the state capital of Arkansas after her husband Bill Clinton was selected as the Arkansas Attorney General.
Hillary Clinton in 1974 took up employment with the Rose Law Firm, specializing in patent infringement and intellectual property law. Hillary Clinton even worked pro bono in child advocacy. In the same year, Hillary co-founded the Arkansas Advocates for the Children and families.
Hillary’s tremendous political capabilities provide her an appointment as the chief on the board of directors of the Legal Service Corporation in 1978 by the Jimmy Carter. She retains the chair until 1980. Hillary Clinton enhanced the funding for the Corporation more than 3 times, from $90 million to $ 300 million, additionally Hillary was the first woman to serve the position.
Read More:- Barack Obama Biography, Career, Facts, Family, Net Worth
In 1979, with the appointment of Bill Clinton as the Governor of Arkansas, Hillary became the First Lady of Arkansas, a status which she held for 12 years, from the years of 979 to 1981 and 1981 to 19922. Hillary Clinton was selected as a chair the Rural Health Advisory Committee and was given with the mission of providing medical facilities in poorest zones.
Hillary took the control of the Arkansas Educational Standards committee in 1983, during her tenure, Hillary worked to get better the educational standards and made teacher testing mandatory. Moreover, Hillary set standards for curriculum and classroom size.
From 1982 to 1988 for six years, Hillary Clinton chaired a commanding position in the New World Foundation. In between 1987 and 1991, Hillary served as one of the board of directors of the American Bar Association’s Commission on women in the Profession, struggling and fighting against gender biases. Hillary was also served on the boards of the TCBY and Wal-Mart.
Hillary Clinton as the First Lady
Hillary Clinton joined her husband in successful campaigned in 1992 for a seat in the Presidential elections as a democratic candidate. Hillary undertook a valuable part in the elections and was a crucial element for the victory of Bill Clinton.
In 1993 with the appointment of Bill Clinton as the President of U.S, Hillary became the First Lady of the U.S. Hillary was the first Lady to hold a degree of Postgraduate and the first to have an office in the West Wing in addition of the First Lady office in the East wing.
Hillary played an energetic and active part in public policies and she was often claimed to be the co-president. Hillary picked almost 11 people for the topmost positions and many others at lower levels.
Hillary as a first lady was appointed in 1993 to head the Task Force on National Reform. Popularly known as Clinton Health care plan, Hillary’s aimed at making employers give health coverage to their employees. In September 1994 due to lack o support led to abandoning of the plan.
It was the failure plan of Clinton health care that acted conversely and went to the downfall of the popularity of the Democrats and eventual growth of the Republicans in both House and Senate elections. Following this, Hillary’s role in policy matters was decreased.
Read More:- Donald Trump Biography, Career, Facts, Family, Net Worth
Hillary came up with the Children’s Health Insurance Program in 1997, which helped and supported children to gain health coverage through state support. Moreover, she promoted immunization, compulsory mammogram for females to check the disease of breast cancer, and funded research on prostate cancer and also childhood asthma.
Hillary Clinton commenced the initiation of different acts including, Adoption and Safe Families Act and Foster Care Independence Act. Hillary made an office on Violence Against Women at the Department of justice and hosted many conferences.
Hillary Clinton as the First Lady visited 79 countries, including Pakistan and India to amend their relations with the United States, during the trip, Hillary envisioned the pitiable status of women which forced her eventual career in diplomacy.
Hillary along with Bill Clinton was invested in the Whitewater real estate project, this project, Morgan Guaranty Savings, and Loan, unsuccessful and failed, costing the federal governments $73 million. Later Whitewater real estate became the subject of congressional hearings and an independent counsel investigation.
In 1998, the White House was engulfed in the sex scandal of Monica Lewinsky. Though Hillary publically supported her Husband Bill Clinton, but reportedly considered leaving her marriage. Bill Clinton was impeached, but the United States Senate failed to conflict him and he remained in the office.
Hillary Clinton Political Career
Hillary contested for the United State Senate seat from the New York eventually winning the same by a big margin and was sworn in on 3 rd January 2001. With this victory, she became the first wife of a president to seek, successful and win national office and the first woman to be elected to the United States Senate from the New York. In November 2006, she easily won re-election.
During her post terms, Hillary strongly supported military action and operations in Afghanistan, reworking on the security of the country following 9/11 attacks, she was obtaining funds for supporting recovery attempts or efforts in New York.
Hillary in 2007 hinted about her attention of contesting the post of president in the presidential elections of 2008, thus Hillary becoming the first woman to be nominated by a major party. Hillary lost the elections to Barack Obama, but she was appointed as the Secretary of the State of America.
Hillary Clinton as the Secretary of the State continued to raise her voice for the rights of the women and also human rights. Furthermore, Hillary outstandingly and prominently advocated United State military intervention in Libya and was the forefront of United State response to Arab Springs. Hillary Clinton was one of the most traveled secretaries of the country. Hillary relinquished the position on 1 st February 2013.
Hillary Clinton and the 2016 Presidential Campaign
Clinton formally announced her candidacy in April 2015 for the presidency in 2016 elections. Here Hillary faced a very strong challenge from democratic socialist Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont but appeared to be formally nominated at the year of 2016 Democratic National Convention in July 2016.
Donald Trump of the Republican Party for the post of the presidential chair, Hillary held a strong lead in national polls over Donald Trump throughout most of 2016.
During her campaigns based her economic philosophy on inclusive capitalism and she supported the United States Export-Import Bank. She is also called for a United States constitutional amendment that would outcome or results in overturning the 2010 Citizens United decision.
Hillary supported the right to same-sex marriage and also equal pay for equal work. Hillary focused on the issues of family in her campaigns and she was fully in favor of universal preschool and also the Affordable Care Act.
With her many controversies surrounding her opponent Donald Trump, it seemed for a while that she might win the presidential election, but she lost the presidential election to Donald Trump.
Hillary Clinton as the Mother-in-Law and Grandmother
Hillary Clinton’s daughter Chelsea married with former Golden Sachs investment banker and presently hedge fund manager Marc Mezvinksy in 2010. On 26 September 2014, Hillary Clinton became a first-time grandmother when Chelsea gave birth to Charlotte Clinton Mezvinsky. On 18 June 2016, Chelsea gave birth to her second child name Aidan Clinton Mezvinsky.
Hillary Clinton Awards and Achievements
Hillary has been the proud recipient of so many awards, achievements, and medals for her brilliant and outstanding contributions as a politician and also in the field of the law. Hillary was reckoned in every part that she took up, Hillary was also been conferred with many honorary degrees from the different universities across the globe.
Hillary Clinton Net Worth
The most recent estimates of Hillary Clinton’s net worth put her wealth between $30 million and $50 million. Hillary’s disclosure to the Federal Election commission shows that she is worth $31 million. According to Forbes estimates the combined worth of Hillary Clinton and her husband former president Bill Clinton is $45 million.
Top 10 Facts about Hillary Clinton
Hillary Clinton was once a Republican, 1964 during the presidential elections, she worked on Republican nominee Barry Goldwater’s campaign. Hillary switched the sides and campaigned in 1968 for Democratic presidential nominee Eugene McCarthy. But both of them lost.
Hillary wanted to be an astronaut and even she wrote to NASA regarding pursuing her dream to join NASA. But NASA relied back on saying that they didn’t accept women.
Hillary Clinton is a winner of Grammy Award. In 1997 she won the award for the Best Spoken Word Album for the audio recording of her book “It Takes A Village.
Apart from being the former First Lady, she has many other “First” to her name. Hillary is the First Lady to have a degree of postgraduate and to be elected to the national office. Moreover, Hillary Clinton is also the first lady to be subpoenaed and fingerprinted by the FBI.
Hillary is the most traveled Secretary of the State. During Hillary’s 4 years tenure, she visited almost 112 states and she spent roughly a quarter of her terms time in the air.
Hillary has the unique distinction of being both senators and also the First Lady for 20 days. Hillary held both these positions from 1 st January 2001 to 20 January 2001. On 20 January 2001, Bill Clinton left the White House.
Hillary Clinton was a member of the presidential impeachment inquiry staff in 1974 during the Watergate scandal, later that year President Nixon resigned.
Hillary Clinton several times out-earned her husband Bill Clinton, when he was the governor of Arkansas, at that time period Hillary was working as a lawyer at a private firm.
She has quite a capacity to drink, during a tour of Estonia in 2004, once she out-drank John McCain, when both of them were senators. In the game of shots of Vodka Clinton beat McCain by a margin of four.
Hillary had a habit of talking to dead persons. Bob Woodward famous journalist mentioned in his book “The Choice” that while in the White House, when Hillary chatted with former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and the Indian Leader Mahatma Gandhi.
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Tag Archives: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Compulsory voting
Posted on March 3, 2015 by jazzy800
Compulsory voting, enforced.
Compulsory voting, not enforced.
Compulsory voting, enforced (only men).
Compulsory voting, not enforced (only men).
Historical: the country had compulsory voting in the past.
ContentsCompulsory voting is a system in which electors are obliged to vote in elections or attend a polling place on voting day. If an eligible voter does not attend a polling place, he or she may be subject to punitive measures such as fines or community service. As of August 2013, 22 countries were recorded as having laws for compulsory voting and 11 of these 22 countries as enforcing these laws in practice.
Athenian democracy held that it was every citizen‘s duty to participate in decision making, but attendance at the assembly was voluntary. Sometimes there was some form of social opprobrium to those not participating. For example, Aristophanes‘s comedy Acharnians 17–22, in the 5th century BC, shows public slaves herding citizens from the agora into the assembly meeting place (pnyx) with a red-stained rope. Those with red on their clothes were fined.[2] This usually happened if fewer than 6,000 people were in attendance, and more were needed for the assembly to continue.
Arguments for[edit]
Supporters of compulsory voting generally look upon voter participation as a civic duty, similar to taxation, jury duty, compulsory education or military service; one of the ‘duties to community’ mentioned in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.[3] They believe that by introducing an obligation to vote, it helps to overcome the occasional inconvenience that voting imposes on an individual in order to produce governments with more stability, legitimacy and a genuine mandate to govern, which in turn benefits that individual even if their preferred candidate or party isn’t elected into power.
Compulsory voting systems can confer a high degree of political legitimacybecause they result in high voter turnout.[4] The victorious candidate represents a majority of the population, not just the politically motivated individuals who would vote without compulsion.[5]
Compulsory voting also prevents disenfranchisement of the socially disadvantaged. In a similar way that the secret ballot is designed to prevent interference with the votes actually cast, compelling voters to the polls for an election reduces the impact that external factors may have on an individual’s capacity to vote such as the weather, transport, or restrictive employers. If everybody must vote, restrictions on voting are easily identified and steps are taken to remove them. Countries with compulsory voting generally hold elections on a Saturday or Sunday to ensure that working people can fulfill their duty to cast their vote. Postal and pre-poll voting is provided to people who cannot vote on polling day, and mobile voting booths may also be taken to old age homes, hospitals and remote communities to cater for immobilized citizens.
If voters do not want to support any given choice, they may cast spoilt votes or blank votes. According to compulsory voting supporters, this is preferred to not voting at all because it ensures there is no possibility that the person has been intimidated or prevented from voting should they wish. In certain jurisdictions, voters have the option to vote none of the above if they do not support any of the candidates to indicate clear dissatisfaction with the candidate list rather than simple apathy at the whole process.
Another perceived benefit of the large turnout produced by compulsory voting is that it becomes more difficult for extremist or special interest groups to get themselves into power or to influence mainstream candidates. Under a non-compulsory voting system, if fewer people vote then it is easier for lobby groups to motivate a small section of the people to the polls and influence the outcome of the political process. The outcome of an election where voting is compulsory reflects more of the will of the people (Who do I want to lead the country?) rather than reflecting who was more able to convince people to take time out of their day to cast a vote (Do I even want to vote today?).
Other advantages to compulsory voting are the stimulation of broader interest politics, as a sort of civil education and political stimulation, which creates a better informed population. Also, since campaign funds are not needed to goad voters to the polls, the role of money in politics decreases. High levels of participation decreases the risk of political instability created by crises or charismatic but sectionally focused demagogues.[5]
There is also a correlation between compulsory voting, when enforced strictly, and improved income distribution, as measured by the Gini coefficient and the bottom income quintiles of the population.[6]
Arguments against[edit]
Voting may be seen as a civic right rather than a civic duty. While citizens may exercise their civil rights (free speech, right to an attorney, etc.) they are not compelled to. Furthermore, compulsory voting may infringe other rights. For example,Jehovah’s Witnesses and most Christadelphians believe that they should not participate in political events. Forcing them to vote ostensibly denies them their freedom of religious practice. In some countries with compulsory voting, Jehovah’s Witnesses and others may be excused on these grounds. If however they are forced to go to the polling place, they can still use a blank or invalid vote.
Similarly, compulsory voting may be seen as an infringement of Article 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees freedom of political opinion and thus the right of citizens to believe in a political system other than a democratic one, such as an absolute monarchy. However, it may also be argued that citizens may legitimately be required to vote since the right to believe in a different political system does not conflict with the obligation to conform with legal requirements of the system in place.
Another argument against compulsory voting, prevalent among legal scholars in the United States, is that it is essentially a compelled speech act, which violates freedom of speech because the freedom to speak necessarily includes the freedomnot to speak.[7]
Some do not support the idea of voters being compelled to vote for candidates they have no interest in or knowledge of. Others may be well-informed, but have no preference for any particular candidate, or may have no wish to give support to the incumbent political system. In compulsory voting areas, such people often vote at random simply to fulfill legal requirements: the so-called donkey vote may account for 1–2% of votes in these systems[citation needed], which may affect the electoral process. Similarly, citizens may vote with a complete absence of knowledge of any of the candidates or deliberately skew their ballot to slow the polling process or disrupt the election.
Low voter participation in a voluntary election may not be the result of political apathy. It may be simply an expression of the citizenry’s political will, indicating satisfaction with the political establishment in an electorate.[citation needed]
The Australian system of preferential voting means a person’s vote usually ends up favouring one of the two main political parties, even though the voter may not wish to advantage either. Former Australian opposition leader Mark Latham urged Australians to lodge blank votes for the 2010 election. He stated the government should not force citizens to vote or threaten them with a fine.[8] At the 2013 federal election, despite the threat of a non-voting fine of up to $170,[9] there was a turnout of only 92%,[10] of whom 6% lodged either informal or blank ballot papers.[11] In the corresponding Senate election, contested by over 50 groups,[12] legitimate manipulation of the group voting tickets and single transferable vote routing resulted in the election of one senator, Ricky Muir of the Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party, who had initially received only 0.5% of first-preference support.[13] The system was accused of undermining the entitlement of voters “to be able to make real choices, not forced ones—and to know who they really are voting for.”[14]
By countries[edit]
Historical[edit]
Austria – introduced in 1924 and exercised during 1925 presidential elections
Chile – removed from the Constitution and replaced with voluntary voting in 2009; voluntary voting was regulated and put into practice in 2012; all eligible citizens over 17 are automatically enrolled (only those over 18 on election day may vote; although the act of voting itself is voluntary, polling officer duties are not if chosen by a commission for the job)[15]
Fiji – Abolished in 2014 [16]
Italy – Introduced in 1945, abolished in 1993.
Netherlands – introduced 1917 along with universal suffrage, abolished in 1967.
Spain – 1907–1923, but not enforced
US State of Georgia in 1777 (10 years before the adoption of the federal Constitution of 1787):
Every person absenting himself from an election, and shall neglect to give in his or their ballot at such election, shall be subject to a penalty not exceeding five pounds; the mode of recovery and also the appropriation thereof, to be pointed out and directed by act of the legislature: Provided, nevertheless, That a reasonable excuse shall be admitted.
—Constitution of Georgia, 5 February 1777, Article XII [17]
This provision was omitted from the revised Georgia constitution of 1789.[citation needed]
Venezuela – removed in 1993[18]
Present day[edit]
As of August 2013, 22 countries were recorded as having compulsory voting.[1] Of these, only 10 countries (and one Swiss canton) enforce it. Of the 30 member states of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 10 had forms of compulsory voting.[19]
Enforced[edit]
These are the 11 countries that enforce compulsory voting:
Argentina – Introduced in 1912.[20] Compulsory for citizens between 18 and 70 years old, non-compulsory for those older than 70 and between 16 and 18. (However in primaries, citizens under 70 may refuse to vote, if they formally express their decision to the electoral authorities, at least 48 hours before the election. This is valid only for the subsequent primary, and needs to be repeated each time the voter wishes not to participate.)
Australia – Introduced in 1924.[20] Compulsory for federal and state elections for citizens 18 years of age and above. The requirement is for the person to enroll, attend a polling station and have their name marked off the electoral roll as attending, receive a ballot paper and take it to an individual voting booth, mark it, fold the ballot paper and place it in the ballot box. The act does not explicitly state that a choice must be made, it only states that the ballot paper be ‘marked’. According to the act how a person marks the paper is completely up to the individual. In some states, local council elections are also compulsory.[21] At the 2010 Tasmanian state election, with a turnout of 335,353 voters, about 6,000 people were fined $26 for not voting, and about 2,000 paid the fine.[22]
Brazil[23] – Compulsory for literate citizens between 18 and 70 years old. Non-compulsory for Brazilian Youth age 16-17 or over 70 or illiterate citizens of any age. A justification form for not voting can be filled at election centers and post offices.
Cyprus – Introduced in 1960.[20]
Ecuador – Introduced in 1936.[20] Compulsory for citizens between 18 and 65 years old; non-compulsory for citizens aged 16–18, illiterate people, and those older than 65.
Luxembourg – Voluntary for those over 70.
Nauru – Introduced in 1965.[20]
Peru[24] – Introduced in 1933.[20] Compulsory for citizens between 18 and 70 years old, non-compulsory for those older than 70.
Singapore – Compulsory for citizens above 21 years old on 1 January of the year of election
Uruguay – Introduced in 1934, but not put into practice until 1970.[20]
Schaffhausen canton in Switzerland has compulsory voting – Introduced to Switzerland in 1904, but abolished in all other cantons by 1974.[20]
Not enforced[edit]
Countries that have compulsory voting on the law books but do not enforce it:
Belgium – compulsory for every citizen from 18 it is compulsory to present themselves in a polling station, legal sanctions still exist, but only the sanctions for absent appointed pollingstation staff have been enforced by prosecutors since 2003.[25][26]
Bolivia – Introduced in 1952.
Dominican Republic – Compulsory from the age of 18.
France – (Senate only)[27][28]
Indian state Gujarat had passed a bill by legislative assembly in 2011 and approved by Governor of Gujarat in November 2014 which makes voting compulsory in local civic body elections and punishment for not voting.[29]Government of Gujarat chose not to notify law or enforce it citing legal implications and difficulty in enforcement.[30]
Lebanon – men only[31]
Libya – technically compulsory
Paraguay – compulsory for citizens between 18 and 75 years old, non-compulsory for those older than 75.
Turkey – the₺22 fine in law is generally not enforced.[32]
Measures to encourage voting[edit]
Although voting in a country may be compulsory, penalties for failing to vote are not always strictly enforced. In Australiaand Brazil, providing a legitimate reason for not voting (such as being sick or outside the country) is accepted. In Argentina, those who were ill on voting day are excused by requesting a doctor to prove their condition; those over 500 km (310 mi) away from their voting place are also excused by asking for a certificate at a police station near where they are. Belgianvoters can vote in an embassy if they are abroad or can empower another voter to cast the vote in their name; the voter must give a “permission to vote” and carry a copy of the eID card and their own on the actual elections.
States that sanction nonvoters with fines generally impose small or nominal penalties. However, penalties for failing to vote are not limited to fines and legal sanctions. Belgian voters who repeatedly fail to vote in elections may be subject todisenfranchisement. Singapore voters who fail to vote in a general election or presidential election will be subjected to disenfranchisement until a valid reason is given or a fine is paid. Goods and services provided by public offices may be denied to those failing to vote in Peru and Greece. In Brazil, people who fail to vote in an election are barred from obtaining a passport and subject to other restrictions until settling their situation before an electoral court or after they have voted in the two most recent elections. If a Bolivian voter fails to participate in an election, the person may be denied withdrawal of the salary from the bank for three months.[28][33]
Posted in 03. voting, 4.Turkey, Libya | Tagged Argentina, australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, citizens, compulsory education, Compulsory voting, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, election day, Fiji, Gabon, Grexit, Guatemala, Honduras, Italy, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Mexico, Nauru, Netherlands, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Schaffhausen, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Uruguay, Venezuela | Leave a comment
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El Desencanto, a Spanish Cult Classic
We are excited to spread the word about a special film that is coming to our theater on Friday 4/19 at 7:30pm! It’s a one night special showing of a film that has never been released before in the U.S.
The film El Desencanto is a cult classic documentary made in the 1970s. Think of it as a Spanish Grey Gardens. Oddness prevails in this fast talking, poetic Spanish documentary film in which we see a family’s history and dynamic unfold through intimate and sometimes heated conversations exposing their perceptions of their own disenchantment.
Author Aaron Shulman personally brought this film to audiences in the states due to his passion for the incredible personalities in this film. Aaron takes us deeply into the lives, loves, and poetry of the Paneros, Spain’s most compelling and eccentric family, whose lives intersected memorably with many of the most storied figures in the art, literature, and politics of the time—from Neruda to Salvador Dalí, from Ava Gardner to Pablo Picasso to Roberto Bolaño.
Personally, I watched the film today and was fascinated at how unusual the family interacted, how their intellect and poetic speaking blended into arguments and story telling. I think this is a fantastic opportunity to see a film that you may never get the chance to see anywhere else again.
Please come to Zoe this Friday 4/19 @ 7:30pm for the film and a talk with the author following. Plus we have cozy couch seating, popcorn, drinks, cocktails, beers and snacks to keep you even happier. Hope to see you there!
Trailer here.
Podcast with Author here
ZOETROPOLIS TICKETS HERE
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Howie, Clara Winifred (1881–1960)
by Carol F. Gaston
Clara Winifred Howie (1881-1960), nurse and administrator, was born on 27 June 1881 at Glenelg, Adelaide, fourth of five children of George Cullen Howie, ironmonger, and his wife Clara Jane, née Hotham, both from Scotland. Laurence Hotham Howie was her eldest brother. Winifred's father died in 1883. Two years later Clara took the children to live with her father Rev. John Hotham, a Congregationalist minister, at Port Elliot where she ran the home as a boarding house in summer and as a small private school in winter. Winifred trained (1906-09) as a nurse at the Adelaide Children's Hospital and completed a midwifery course at the Queen's Home in 1910. Next year she began work with the District Trained Nursing Society (later District and Bush Nursing Society).
In 1912 Howie was the first nurse sent by the society to Hergott Springs (Marree), 360 miles (579 km) north of Adelaide and 150 miles (241 km) from the nearest doctor. The town was home to a thriving community of Indian and Afghan cameleers, and a photograph shows Sister Howie in her starched nursing uniform, riding a camel. She was obliged to 'live at the public house and . . . interview her patients there'. In 1918 she moved to Goolwa where she opened a branch of the D.T.N.S. In the following year she was appointed assistant-superintendent of nurses at the society's Adelaide headquarters; she was its general secretary and superintendent of nurses in 1926-49; Edith Maude Bottrill (d. 12 August 1960) was her deputy (from 1926). Their work involved frequent tours of the country branches. A plump woman, with large, mild eyes and a calm expression, Howie showed unfailing sympathy for the sick poor and handled their problems tactfully.
She was a member (from 1924) of the Australasian Trained Nurses' Association, acting-president (1937) and president (1937-41) of the South Australian branch and its representative on the State Registration Board. In 1936 she joined the centenary committee which published Nursing in South Australia (1938): the book included a tribute to her and to the A.T.N.A. written by Rev. John Flynn. During World War II the work of the D.T.N.S. was often heavy, monotonous and trying, due to the lack of domestic help in homes and hospitals.
Sister Howie required her outback staff to attend Aborigines living in bush camps and to encourage them to come to the nursing hostels for treatment. She developed a special relationship with Daisy Bates and corresponded with her for many years. The D.T.N.S. central office acted as a post office for Bates. By 1947 Howie was supervising about thirty sub-branches, and her nurses made 103,000 visits. In 1948 she was appointed M.B.E. Although she resigned in 1949, she continued her care for the sick through the auxiliary of the Royal Adelaide Hospital. Distressed by the news of the death of Miss Bottrill, she died on 13 August 1960 at her Forestville home and was cremated.
J. Durdin, They Became Nurses (Syd, 1991)
Port Augusta Despatch, 7 Nov 1913
Advertiser (Adelaide), 16 June 1937, 19 Oct 1949, 15 Feb 1960
Royal District Nursing Society of South Australia, Minutes of Board Meetings, 1912-49 (held by District Nursing Society, Adelaide)
private information.
Carol F. Gaston, 'Howie, Clara Winifred (1881–1960)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/howie-clara-winifred-10559/text18755, published first in hardcopy 1996, accessed online 19 July 2019.
Glenelg, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Forestville, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
nurse (general)
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Cources
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Short lessons
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IELTS - the International English Language Testing System, is designed to assess the language ability of candidates who need to study or work where English is the language of communication.
IELTS is jointly managed by the University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations (Cambridge ESOL), British Council and IDP: IELTS Australia. IELTS conforms to the highest international standards of language assessment.
There are three modules of the IELTS:
- Academic Module and
- General Training Module
- There is also a separate test offered by the IELTS test partners, called IELTS Life Skills:
- IELTS Academic is intended for those who want to enroll in universities and other institutions of higher education and for professionals such as medical doctors and nurses who want to study or practise in an English-speaking country.
- IELTS General Training is intended for those planning to undertake non-academic training or to gain work experience, or for immigration purposes.
- IELTS Life Skills is intended for those who need to prove their English speaking and listening skills at Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) levels A1 or B1 and can be used to apply for a ‘family of a settled person’ visa, indefinite leave to remain or citizenship in the UK.
The IELTS test has four parts:
- Reading (60 minutes)
- Speaking (11-14 minutes)
- Listening 30 minutes (plus 10 minutes' transfer time)
- Writing (60 minutes)
The test total time is: 2 hours and 55 minutes.
Reading,Listening and Writing are completed in one sitting.
The Speaking test may be taken on the same day or up to seven days before or after the other tests.
The Reading paper has three sections and texts totaling 2,150-2,750 words. There will be a variety of question types, such as multiple choice, short-answer questions, identifying information, identifying writer’s views, labeling diagrams, completing a summary using words taken from the text and matching information,headings,features in the text,sentence endings. Test takers should be careful when writing down their answers as they will lose marks for incorrect spelling and grammar.
Texts in IELTS Academic
Three reading texts, which come from books, journals, magazines, newspapers and online resources written for non-specialist audiences. All the topics are of general interest to students at undergraduate or postgraduate level.
Texts in IELTS General Training
Section 1 contains two or three short texts or several shorter texts, which deal with everyday topics. For example, timetables or notices - things a person would need to understand when living in an English-speaking country.
Section 2 contains two texts, which deal with work. For example, job descriptions, contracts, training materials.
Section 3 contains one long text about a topic of general interest. The text is generally descriptive, longer and more complex than the texts in Sections 1 and 2. The text will be taken from a newspaper, magazine, book or online resource.
The speaking test is a face-to-face interview between the test taker and an examiner.
The speaking test contains three sections.
Section 1: introduction and interview (4-5 minutes). Test takers may be asked about their home, family, work, studies, hobbies, interests, reasons for taking IELTS exam as well as other general topics such as clothing, free time, computers and the internet.
Section 2: long turn (3-4 minutes). Test takers are given a task card about a particular topic. Test takers have one minute to prepare to talk about this topic. The task card states the points that should be included in the talk and one aspect of the topic which must be explained during the talk. Test takers are then expected to talk about the topic for 2 minutes, after which the examiner may ask one or two questions.
Section 3: discussions (4-5 minutes). The third section involves a discussion between the examiner and the test taker, generally on questions relating to the theme which they have already spoken about in Section 2.
Listening:
The module comprises four sections, with ten questions in each section.It takes 40 minutes: 30 - for testing, plus 10 for transferring the answers to an answer sheet.
Sections 1 and 2 are about everyday, social situations.
Section 1 has a conversation between two speakers (for example, a conversation about travel arrangements)
Section 2 has one person speaking (for example, a speech about local facilities).
Sections 3 and 4 are about educational and training situations
Section 3 is a conversation between two main speakers (for example, a discussion between two university students, perhaps guided by a tutor)
Section 4 has one person speaking about an academic subject.
Each section begins with a short introduction telling the test taker about the situation and the speakers. Then they have some time to look through the questions. The questions are in the same order as the information in the recording, so the answer to the first question will be before the answer to the second question, and so on. The first three sections have a break in the middle allowing test takers to look at the remaining questions. Each section is heard only once.
At the end of the test students are given 10 minutes to transfer their answers to an answer sheet.Test takers will lose marks for incorrect spelling and grammar.
The Writing paper has two tasks which must both be completed. In task 1 test takers write at least 150 words in about 20 minutes. In task 2 test takers write at least 250 words in about 40 minutes. Test takers will be penalised if their answer is too short or does not relate to the topic. Answers should be written in full sentences (test takers must not use notes or bullet points).
Task 1: test takers describe a graph, table, chart or diagram in their own words.
Task 2: test takers discuss a point of view, argument or problem. Depending on the task, test takers may be required to present a solution to a problem, present and justify an opinion, compare and contrast evidence, opinions and implications, and evaluate and challenge ideas, evidence or an argument.
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Dun Mac Uisneachan / Dun Mac Sniachan
Ardchattan Parish Archive » Places » Beregonium » Dun Mac Uisneachan / Dun Mac Sniachan
Dun Mac Sniachan / Dun-mac-Sniochain / (or Dun Mac Uisneachan/ Dun Mac Uisneadian) is a large vitrified fort in Benderloch at 245 m by 50 m.
The site is also known as Beregonium around which there is considerable folklore which is explored on that page.
Tbe fort has been called, although rarely, Ban Tighearna, or the Lady's Fort; one entrance is called Sraida Bhan Tighearna, or the Lady's Street, and may point to Deirdre, who was so renowned from Loch Etive to Lochness. (R Angus Smith)1
The Vitrified fort dates from the 1st millennium AD (around 350 AD) mostly likely established on a pre-existing defensive site and settlement that may have been used for 500 - 1000 years before.
It was first excavated in 1873, then in 1874 (Smith 1875)
description of the fort and vitrification by R Angus Smith in Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Vol 9
DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF ANTIQUITIES NEAB LOCH ETIVE.—No. 5. PLAN OF DUN-MAC UISNEACHAN. BY E. ANGUS SMITH Proc Soc Anti Scot Vol 12
Descriptive List of Antiquities near Loch Etive. Part III.
from this paper : -
The first point worthy of mentioning is the wall of Dun Macuisneachan itself. It is of a height of 5 or 6 feet in some places, and vitrified outside chiefly. I touched it tenderly. Inside the vitrified wall was a regularly built wall, but without mortar. The stones were flat. The inside wall is built of pretty regular stones, the outside of rubble concreted by fire. I found this at two points, not daring to go round it all. It would seem to imply that the more refined houses were built within the less refined, the first standing in place of our plaster, whilst more covering may have been upon it than there is now. Among the stones that fell from this built wall was a piece of a sword a few inches long, the tang for the handle, and a part of the blade. It is of iron, and presents nothing unusual in shape. It is excessively rusted, and the layers begin to separate. It is made of pieces, thin and imperfectly welded together; two pieces at least are prominently, exposed by a split.
This was in the northern part, looking towards the ruined Lochnell house. In the compartment enclosed by this wall, a trench about 18 inches deep brought out the rock, and nothing important was found, but the natural ground was reached. A few remains of burnt bones were also found. The second compartment from the sea was most fully protected, and I expected to find most there, and dug it first. It showed a wall crossing the fort, and was properly a partition not vitrified. The inside of the compartment had rubbish in the middle to the depth of 7 feet. There were bones found at more than one depth, and especially at about 4 feet, with abundant pieces of charcoal. The bones were of the present breed of cattle and horses.
At the depth of about 3J feet was found an iron brooch or fibula of the ring pattern. It is very much corroded, but there is no difficulty about the intention. We have silver brooches exactly the same used at the present day. It is in principle the Tara brooch. There are two iron fibulte in the Dublin Museum. I know of no iron brooch exactly like this. (See annexed fig.) Some call it' a mere ring ; I think otherwise.
There is a fresh water spring on the southeast edge of the hill.
This first section of the fort “measures about 245m in length by a maximum of 50m in width internally,” and much of it can still be traced all along the full length and breath of the geological ridge upon which it sits. However, the timber-laced walls that stood all round the edges have, obviously, all but disintegrated. This earlier part of the fort, wrote Richard Feacham (1977), “was superceded by a small subrectangular, now vitrified fort, about 170 feet long by 60 feet wide, and by a circular and probably vitrified dun measuring about 60 feet in diameter.”
This fort was occupied for some considerable time into the Common Era, as material remains found amidst excavation work here at the end of the 19th century, “including metalwork of Roman date…suggests an occupation in the early first millenium AD.” (Harding 1997)2
Dun Mac Sniochan.—Dr Angus Smith so fully mapped and described this interesting dim that I shall only notice a few novel points that struck me on visiting it last autumn. I was surprised that neither on his map nor on that of the Ordnance Survey is there marked a mound which separates the higher from the lower part of the main fort, although, this mound is quite as distinct as the enclosing one. I think also that an indubitably artificial mound stretches from the south-west angle of the fort to the Bealach na Banrigh of Angus Smith's map. Dr Smith does not expressly state that he uncovered the whole wall of the fort, although it is so represented on his map. Possibly he only made a series of openings, and concluded that tlie intervening unopened parts were of the same structure as the parts actually revealed. At all events, the only vitrifaction now visible in the main work is in five or six places on the outside-of the north-west wall, where breaks in the green mound show a few square feet of stone at each place, all vitrified however. An intelligent herd boy showed me an excavation he had made in a mound, facing eastwards, at the extreme north-east end of the hill topj exposing a vitrified surface 5 or 6 feet in length and 2 or 3 feet high, with a hollow space underneath at the level of the ground a few inches high, several feet wide, and at least 3 feet deep. This mound, together with what seemed to be pretty distinct traces of another, running westward from it on the south side, makes it probable that the confused foundations on the east end of the site were surrounded by a fortification originally.
Dun Valanri or BTiail an Ri.—I could find no trace of a fort on this well-known promontory near Dun Macsniochan
The monument is of national importance as an excellent and rare example of three successive defensive sites in use or re-used from at least the Iron Age into the early historic period.
postcard of Beregonium in 1909
It has several large area of complex structures.
There is a well, a street connecting it to the Dun at Dunvalenrigh/Craigneuk
It is rare to find a vitrified fort in this area and there are few so far north.
there is a lot to learn about this highly signficant site in the middle of our community
Scheduling information http://portal.historicenvironment.scot/designation/SM2179
The monument is an impressive group of prehistoric defensive remains comprising two successive forts and a dun, dating to the Iron Age (between 500 BC and AD 500) and later. The monument is located on the summit of a steep-sided rock outcrop aligned NE-SW, known as Dun Mac Sniachan. It is visible as a series of grass-grown stony banks, with sections of exposed vitrified walling, enclosing the outcrop and two further areas within it. The outcrop rises to a height of 40m above sea level and is situated close to the NE shore of Ardmucknish Bay and overlooking Benderloch to the E. The monument was first scheduled in 1961, but the documentation does not meet modern standards: the present rescheduling rectifies this.
The earliest fort is the largest of the three, taking in much of the rocky outcrop. It covers an area measuring approximately 245m by 50m, enclosed by a wall running around the margin of the summit. The wall survives for much of the perimeter as a low grass-grown stony bank, though some sections of vitrified material can be traced. The entrance to this fort was located probably from the E where a natural gully ascends the outcrop. The later fort is much smaller and sits within its predecessor at the SW end of the ridge. The interior measures 52m by 21m and is enclosed by a vitrified wall, which is visible for the most part as a grass-covered stony bank, spread up to 6m wide in places and standing up to 1m high. On the NW edge the wall clearly overlies that of the earlier fort. On the SE edge of this fort a stretch of vitrified inner facing stones is exposed. The dun is situated at the NE (lower) end of the ridge and measures about 18.3m by 15.2m within a wall about 3m thick. The wall survives as a grass-grown bank of stony debris. Immediately SW of the dun are the remains of two outer walls running across the width of the outcrop, each with a gap in the centre forming an entrance. No corresponding entrance can be seen in the dun itself, although four large earthfast boulders are in alignment with the other entrances through the two ramparts and may indicate a blocked entranceway.
The area to be scheduled is irregular on plan and includes the remains described above and an area around them within which evidence relating to the monument's construction, use and abandonment may survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map.
Statement of National Importance
Cultural Significance
The monument's cultural significance can be expressed as follows:
Intrinsic characteristics
Despite considerable vegetation cover, much of the walling and earthworks survive and the main features and structural components of both of the forts and the dun are visible. There are numerous patches of exposed vitrified walling, including a considerable stretch on the SE edge of the later fort which stands over 1m high. The interiors of the structures appear relatively undisturbed despite the presence of trees and shrubs, and only a small area of the later fort has been excavated. There is excellent potential for the survival of important archaeological remains.
Limited archaeological excavation of the later fort in the 19th century revealed considerable stretches of vitrified walling in the later fort and evidence for modification and reconstruction of the fort during different phases. There were also traces of rectangular stone buildings within the fort and a number of finds were recovered, including a tanged iron sword, an iron dagger, iron ring, enamelled bronze circular mount, a bronze ring, several querns and a considerable quantity of animal bone. The excavation evidence places the later fort's construction and occupation around the early first millennium AD. The presence of an earlier fort and a later dun demonstrates that there is a considerable time-depth to the monument's development sequence, making it a particularly important site. There is good potential for the survival of further structures, sub-surface features, artefacts and ecofacts, all of which can provide information about the site's occupants and daily life, the construction, function and layout of both forts and the dun, and many other aspects of prehistoric society and economy. The site also has excellent potential to contribute towards the study of vitrified forts and to help further our understanding of their design, construction and purpose. Overall, this is a particularly important example of Iron Age and early historic defensive settlements of different forms and phases, and has excellent potential to enhance our understanding of the nature of such sites, their origins, development, use and re-use.
Contextual characteristics
The monument is a rare and impressive example of a group of three successive defensive sites occupying and re-using a rocky ridge. Whilst close proximity to similar sites is relatively common in Argyll, it is unusual to have three successive defensive structures constructed at the same location over a long period. A similar example is known at Dun Skeig in Kintyre where there are three successive sites comprising a fort and two duns. Dun Mac Sniachan is particularly interesting as it comprises two vitrified forts, which are far less common than duns in Argyll; and the dun itself is atypical as a notably large example with outworks.
Duns and forts in Argyll are frequently as impressive for their location as their preservation, and they vary considerably in terms of size and complexity. Dun Mac Sniachan is a fine example of the exploitation of topography to help construct a defensible site. This isolated ridge is surrounded by sheer cliffs on most sides; it dominates the landscape and is in an ideal settlement location, close to the shore of Ardmucknish Bay and overlooking agricultural land. From the summit, there are excellent views in all directions, but especially out to sea and across to a number of other potentially related, broadly contemporary sites on the islands of Mull, Kerrera and Lismore.
Its importance is enhanced by its close proximity to the supposed location of 'Beregonium', the legendary capital of the Dalriada. The Scottish philosopher, Hector Boece, located this site just to the SE of Dun Mac Sniachan in his 'Scoturum Historiae', written in the 16th century. This monument has much to tell us about the factors influencing choice of location, the importance of defence and protection, and the significance of visibility to and from and between these sites. The continued or repeated use and re-use of this important location has the potential to illuminate the patterns of landownership and the division of land during the Iron Age. It is clear that this was a significant place to many generations of prehistoric people.
Associative characteristics
The place-name 'Dun Mac Sniachan' indicates the presence of a defensive settlement and suggests the site has been occupied over a long period. Both forts and the dun are shown on the 1st edition Ordnance Survey map: the southernmost fort is labelled as 'vitrified', while the dun is labelled as 'stone circle (remains of)'. Today the site is popular for its views with walkers and visitors: access to the summit is up the gentler NE slope along a well-worn grassy path.
National Importance
The monument is of national importance as an excellent and rare example of three successive defensive sites in use or re-used from at least the Iron Age into the early historic period. The defensive works and sections of vitrified walling are well preserved and there is high potential for surviving artefactual and ecofactual remains and structures within and around the forts and dun. The site has an inherent potential to make a significant addition to our understanding of the past, in particular the design and construction of Iron Age and later defensive sites, their occupation and reuse over time, and the links these places had with contemporary sites elsewhere, particularly in western Scotland and the Irish Sea region. The loss of the monument would significantly diminish our future ability to appreciate and understand early Scottish communal fortifications.
Feacham, Richard, Guide to Prehistoric Scotland, Batsford: London 1977.pp. 109.
Harding, D.W., “Forts, Duns, Brochs and Crannogs,” in The Archaeology of Argyll (edited by Graham Ritchie[Edinburgh University Press 1997]).
Royal Commission on the Ancient & Historical Monuments, Scotland, Argyll- volume 2, HMSO: 1974.
Smith, R. Angus, Loch Etive and the Sons of Uisnach, Alexander Gardner: London & Paisley 1885.
Harding, D W 1997, 'Forts, duns, brochs and crannogs: Iron Age settlements in Argyll', in Ritchie, G, The archaeology of Argyll, Edinburgh, pp. 131.
MacKie, E W 1976a, 'The vitrified forts of Scotland', in Harding, D W, Hillforts: later prehistoric earthworks in Britain and Ireland, London, pp. 227, 233-4.
Nisbet, H C 1974a, 'A geological approach to vitrified forts, part I: the archaeological and scientific background', Sci & Archaeol, vol. 12, pp. 4, 5, 7.
Nisbet, H C 1975a, 'A geological approach to vitrified forts, part II: bedrock and building stone', Sci & Archaeol, vol. 15, pp. 12.
RCAHMS 1975, The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Argyll: an inventory of the ancient monuments: vol. 2: Lorn, Edinburgh, pp. 69-70.
Smith, R A 1875a, 'Descriptive list of antiquities near Loch Etive. Part III', Proc Soc Antiq Scot, vol. 10, pp. 78-80.
The area was excavated in the late 19th century
The late 19th century excavations on Dun Mac Sniachan produced Iron Age metalwork dating to the early 1st millennium AD, although how these relate to the complex of structures at the site is less clear (Smith 1875).
Graham Ritchie - The Archaeology of Argyll (edited by Graham Ritchie [Edinburgh University Press 1997])
other references for the future
Reconnaissance excavations on Early Historic fortifications and other royal sites in Scotland, 1974-84: 2, Excavations at Dunollie Castle, Oban, Argyll, 1978 - Leslie Alcock* and Elizabeth A Alcock : the only chronological pointer for the complex Dun Mac Sniachan is a bronze disk with red and yellow enamelling which is perhaps first century AD, or later (MacGregor 1976, cat no 175
We are creating this wiki for the community, near and far, to work together to develop an encyclopedia of the natural, family and social history of Ardchattan.
1. http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-352-1/dissemination/pdf/vol_010/10_070_090.pdf
2. https://megalithix.wordpress.com/2008/10/04/dun-mac-sniachan/
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Armenian Relief Society UN Summer Internship Commences
ARS UN Interns Anoosh Kouyoumdjian (left) and Alec Mesropian
NEW YORK—The Armenian Relief Society Central Executive Board has announced the start of the ARS UN Summer Internship program, with the arrival of two of the four interns to the United Nations. Alec Mesropian and Anoosh Kouyoumdjian will be based in New York City during the summer, representing the ARS at the UN Headquarters during meetings and projects initiated by various UN missions, UN agencies, and non-governmental organizations in affiliation. Azniv Khaligian and Arev Ebrimian will begin their internship in August 2019.
Mesropian is an undergraduate student at the University of California, Berkeley. He is pursuing a B.A. in Global Studies with a special concentration in Global Development and a regional specialization in Asia; he is also studying Japanese at Berkeley. Kouyoumdjian is an undergraduate student at Fordham University. She is pursuing a B.A. in Natural Sciences on the Pre-Health track. Khaligian is an undergraduate student at Carthage College, pursuing a double major in Neuroscience and Music. Ebrimian is an undergraduate student at St. John’s University, pursuing a B.S. in Advertising Communication.
ARS UN Interns Anoosh Kouyoumdjian and Alec Mesropian at the Mission of Armenia with Permanent Representative of Armenia to the UN Mher Margaryan (far right)
“The ARS is overjoyed to have such high-achieving undergraduate students joining us at the United Nations in New York this summer,” stated ARS UN Coordinator Christina Mehranbod. “We hope that this internship opportunity gives them insight on the relevance of the UN in all Armenian issues: be it women’s rights, domestic and foreign policy, health advocacy, humanitarian relief, and more,” she added.
As interns, both Mesropian and Kouyoumdjian will also be working on individual projects, which will be implemented by the ARS. Kouyoumdjian will be researching the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action of 1995 in order to prepare and plan for the 25th anniversary commemoration, as well as preparing for the 64th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. For his project, Mesropian will focus on the incorporation of UN’s Sustainable Development Goals into ARS’s participation in Geneva Peace Week and how the themes of Geneva Peace Week and the UN’s SDGS relate to the concerns of both Armenia and the Armenian diaspora.
From l to r: Valentine Berberian, Chairperson of the ARS UN Committee, Anoosh Kouyoumdjian, and Alec Mesropian
“It is an honor for me to be interning at the United Nations this summer, especially with the ARS, an organization that values human rights, gender equality, and more for the Armenian people and for others,” said Kouyoumdjian. “For pre-health students, it is essential to gain exposure to the way people live and how we can best help them. This opportunity allows for greater Armenian presence and voices at the UN, to show the role of Armenian youth in promoting a better future for all.”
“Walking the halls of the United Nations has been a dream of mine ever since I became interested in international affairs and global issues at a young age,” said Mesropian. “In an increasingly turbulent world, a diligent and careful understanding of world issues and global forces has become a necessity, and I am grateful to the Armenian Relief Society for providing me with the opportunity to participate in the salient dialogue fostered by the United Nations. I look forward to using my time interning this summer to both further develop my professional skills as well as contribute to the Armenian cause.
ARS UN Interns Azniv Khaligian (left) and Arev Ebrimian will begin their internship in August 2019
Established in 1910, the ARS is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that operates in 28 countries serving the humanitarian needs of Armenians and non-Armenians alike. The organization was admitted into the ranks of the UN’s Economic and Social Commission (ECOSOC) in 1998. Through its active participation in various committees, ARS remains a champion of human rights, social justice, and universally endorsed values and principles.
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Florida’s Three-Tier System Works for Retailers
Many home-brewers have a shared dream of abandoning their 9-to-5s to pursue the craft beer business full time, but few of these visions come to fruition. Florida’s three-tier system provided the structure and support Bold City Brewing Company needed to turn their passion into profit.
When Susan Miller and son Brian Miller left their steady jobs at a major corporation to open a brewery in 2008, the future was unclear. With everything at stake, the Millers poured their passion and labor into the creation of Bold City Brewing Company, a brand that captures the vibrant personality of their family and community.
Charming anecdotes, their hometown of Jacksonville, and a beloved pet boxer inspired Bold City’s flagship beers, all of which are available in cans. “Duke was my dog. I loved him to death, and he got sick,” brewmaster Brian Miller told us during a recent visit to the brewery. “I wanted to brew him a beer before he died.” Thus, Duke’s Cold Nose Brown Ale was born.
According to Susan Miller, another favorite, the Killer Whale Cream Ale derives its name from a family vacation, when young Brian Miller stood debating whether to jump from the top of a waterfall into the pond below. “Do it, Killer Whale!” shouted a bystander. The nickname stuck. Susan said, pointing out a detail in the can design, “Because it’s a mother-son business, we have a ‘MOM’ tattoo on the whale’s fin.”
It’s easy to see how Bold City became a Florida favorite, but behind the delightful stories and delicious ales, there’s another crucial facet that the Millers attribute to their success – their utilization of the three-tier system to efficiently and widely supply bars, restaurants, and retailers with their product.
Florida law requires the “three-tier” system for beer distribution. Breweries create the product (Tier 1), distributors pick up the beer, support the brewers’ brands and then, of course, deliver by the truckload (Tier 2), to bars and retailers across the state (Tier 3). This system makes Bold City’s beer accessible to craft aficionados near and far.
“When we started developing our business plan, part of what we had to do was figure out how we were going to distribute our beer,” Susan explained. “We looked at all the requirements and decided, ‘Well we could do this,’ so we formed our own distribution company.”
Through a great deal of effort, they managed to form relationships with around 40 retailers within the first year. However, the responsibility of running separate businesses in two of the three tiers demanded much of the time they had previously spent experimenting with the beer itself. “We found out doing that part of the business distracted from what we were really about, which was the brewing and the packaging.” Susan said.
Self-distribution also proved to be more costly than they had expected. “You have to have the trucks, the liability insurance, the staff to clean the lines, the salesmen,” Susan said. “There’s a lot that goes into it. At a certain point we decided we needed to look for a larger distributor.”
After interviewing several independent distributors in the Jacksonville area, the Millers chose to partner with North Florida Sales, who distributes beers from AB-Inbev, Constellation Brands, Inc. and Sweetwater Brewing Company, as well as many other import, regional, and local brewers. Their distribution territory is also one of the largest, covering twelve Florida counties in the northeast region of the state. “When we met them, we had an almost automatic bond.” Susan said. “They’re a family business, we’re a family business.”
“It really was a handshake deal, and you just don’t find that very often these days. Working with them has been a wonderful experience.” Susan said.
“We move a lot of beer through North Florida Sales,” Brian said. “They have the relationships with the retail outlets to ensure we get good product placement, that our taps stay on, that the lines are clean and the customers are happy.”
The distributor also helps promote Bold City’s brand, solve any problems with retailers, and support the growth of the business. “It really is a partnership,” Susan said.
“I consider these guys my friends,” Brian added. “I feel like if there was ever a time in need, I could call on them and they would be there. Not only because they sell my product and we do business together on a daily basis, but I just think there’s a respect there now; of what we do, and of what they do.”
Florida’s three-tier system allows breweries like Bold City to specialize in their craft, with freedom to experiment and run their business as they see fit. And, what sets Bold City apart is the value placed on each individual, their personal stories, and the simple love of a great, cold beer. It takes tremendous group effort to flourish in the beer business and these companies are doing just that.
© 2016 Three - Tier Delivers. All Rights Reserved.
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Book Review: "Anna and the French Kiss" Trilogy by Stephanie Perkins
By Angela Maria Hart
Stephanie Perkins wrote an amazing trilogy. Technically, Anna and the French Kiss, Lola and the Boy Next Door, and Isla and the Happily Ever After could be stand-alone novels, but they are exceptionally well written and superbly executed by Perkins, reserving the right (in my opinion) to be read in order. If you are like me, you need to read them from start to finish beginning with Anna and the French Kiss.
Perkins writes in a similar fashion to one of my other favorite authors, Rainbow Rowell. What they do incredibly well is what I prefer to call “the movie-montage sequence.” Instead of seeing the two characters fast-forward fall in love, the authors write it out in detail, the small moments between characters such as hands touching or going out on a first date are written incredibly well. Perkins and Rowell write in a manner in which the reader can see emotions build and learn more about the characters themselves, not just bypassing key moments. The elements of falling in love is noticeable in all three of the stories, Anna, Lola, and Isla. When Anna moves to France to attend S.O.A.P., she is introduced to the characters. Upon first meeting St. Clair, he has a girlfriend. Yet, Anna is attracted to him and they clearly have a connection. The pair don’t want to pursue it because he already has a relationship and she is unsure of the current circumstances. Watching them build a bond and craft a friendship is really interesting and enjoyable to see.
As a reader, I got to see Anna and St. Clair pop up throughout the other two novels as if I was seeing old friends again. When Anna was first mentioned in Lola and the Boy Next Door, I could barely contain my happiness. If you start with Isla or Lola, it is not the same when Anna and St. Clair would pop up as minor characters. Whenever they would reappear in the other two stories, I would instantly become more interested in what was currently going on because my two favorite characters were back! This joy demonstrates that Perkins crafted two excellent characters. I LOVED Anna and the French Kiss, so much. When Lola goes to work at the movie theater and Anna is there working behind the counter, due to her own interest in films, I was thrilled to see her name appear. I had to read the line twice.
I also wanted to note that Perkins is really funny with some of her key lines and dialogue, there were moments when I had to put the book down because I was laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes. The books are witty and make the characters come alive. Being a huge fan of Wes Anderson, myself, I loved it when Anna made note of his directing style. Fun details like this make the story come alive and create multi-dimensional characters.
Isla and the Happily Ever After was a great way to end the trilogy. Isla is brilliant and dedicated to her school work. However, when she starts a relationship with Josh, she can not believe that a “guy like him” would actually fall for a girl like her. This thought process actually offers insight into her confidence and personality, making her relatable and captivating. The hesitation with Isla offers a different dynamic than the other two relationships. Anna had the obstacle of St. Clair and his girlfriend, while Lola was currently dating someone when Cricket moved back to California. Isla and Josh have no other boundaries aside from themselves.
All three novels deserve 5 out of 5 stars!
Also, please check out my BookTube Review Here!
Tagged: Anna and the French Kiss, Isla and the Happily Ever After, Lola and the Boy Next Door, Isla, Lola, New Adult, Young Adult, Anna, Stephanie Perkins, Book, Novel, Book Review
Newer PostAn Eternal Fan Letter to Meg Cabot
Older PostBook Review: "A Little Something Different"
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7 Key Disruptions that Will Change the Way You Work
"It's been estimated that 57% of all jobs are at risk of being automated within the next 5 years" Here are 7 key disruptions that most likely will change the way people work in the future.
Technological and social forces are transforming how work gets done, who does it, and even what work looks like. And while technology can make workers more productive, there will be significant turbulence as organizations grapple with the complexity and unpredictability of a changing workforce.
Research by Deloitte Consulting shows that there are seven powerful disruptors reshaping work as we know it. In order to address these disruptors, business leaders need to engage in transformative thinking that will not only re-design but re-imagine the way work gets done in their organizations. They need to think big, start small, become more agile, and—ultimately—move faster than the new realities of work.
Are organizations ready for Industry 4.0?
Deloitte’s Readiness Report explores senior executives’ views on the impact of Industry 4.0, that is, the industrial change associated with automation and digital technologies. According to the report, business leaders are uncertain they have the right talent to be successful in this new era of technological advancement. Only 25% are highly confident that their workforce has the skill sets needed for the future. Only 14% are highly confident in their ability to harness the changes associated with Industry 4.0. Yet 86% of business leaders think they are doing all they can to build the right workforce. Even more surprising, less than 20% of business leaders regard talent and HR issues as a high priority. In a nutshell, leaders don’t seem to think radical change is needed to get them where they need to go.
But radical change is needed. Consider the impact of automation. It’s been estimated that 57% of all jobs are at risk of being automated within the next 5 years. Emerging economies in the ASEAN region (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) are the most vulnerable to job automation. But developed economies will be impacted as well. In Singapore, for example, workplace automation is expected to double in the next three years.
To be sure, the likelihood of an entire profession disappearing due to automation is low. It is far more likely that parts of an occupation will be replaced by technology. Human talent will be working alongside artificial intelligence, machine learning, natural language processing—or anything that can replace tasks in a business process and make them quicker, more accurate, and less costly. In this scenario, the most suitable resource, be it technological or human, can now be matched to deliver the most productive outcome.
Naturally, this has implications for the workforce and completely disrupts traditional talent models. Organizations will have to find the right balance of humans and machines to complement each other, re-designing roles to maximize talent and potential.
Augmentation also challenges current talent structures and practices by making them more flexible. Workforces will become more and more contingent, with off-balance sheet workers (freelancers, contractors, and gig workers) increasingly utilized by businesses who want to capitalize on access to the smartest people to solve complex business problems. In fact, in the United States, more than 90% of net new jobs in the past five years were performed by off-balance sheet workers. Respondents to Deloitte’s Global Human Capital Trends 2018 report indicate that only 42% of their workforce is made up of salaried employees.
From the workers’ perspective, such augmentation through technology means people can now decide where best to work, whether it’s from an office or at home, in a satellite space, or in shared workspace. This fits the Millennial and Gen Z value of flexibility in the workplace—a key finding from the Deloitte Millennial Survey 2018. For these workers, the gig economy’s increased income potential and flexibility hold great appeal. According to the survey, a clear majority have already taken on such roles or would consider doing so.
This is of particular importance in Asia, where almost 60% of the working population is 28 years old, compared to 40% globally. With the vastly different career expectations of this age group, organizations need to adjust talent models to attract and retain the workers that will take their business into the future.
Remaining relevant in the future of work
The half-life of a skill has dropped from 30 years to an average of 6 years. This holds true even for fresh university graduates. This means that the model of “learn at school” and “do at work” is no longer sustainable and constant reskilling and lifelong learning will be a way of life at work. According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs report, reskilling is the top priority for organizations looking at their future workforce strategy. And with working lives getting longer, reskilling is important for all workers, not just the young.
Individuals, companies, and educational institutions must find collective and elegant solutions that work for everyone and must push for smart ways to promote fairness and progressive thinking at work. Governments and policy makers can play a role in this new paradigm by showing bolder leadership in education and labor market regulations and by developing standards that enable and accelerate future of work opportunities. A collective response will create the platforms that enable and empower individuals to reinvent themselves to embark on new pathways and progress their careers.
Business leaders can no longer be passive consumers of ready-made human capital. They need to put talent development and workforce strategy front and center in their growth plans. This requires a new mindset to understand the challenges workers face and evolve talent programmes and models that unlock their potential.
By Philip Yuen
Edited by Shawn Chou
Wimbledon Tennis Tournament is Reducing Single-Use Plastics
Made-in-Taiwan Biodegradable Plastic, Delivering Big for Starbucks and Apple
The World's Cheapest Solar Power is Provided by India
The World’s Most Expensive Places to Own a Home
How Fintech is Setting Southeast Asia's SMEs Free
This UK Supermarket Aims to Go Packaging-Free
South Korea Takes the Lead in Food Waste Recycling
Papercraft Artist Johan Cheng Cuts a Slice of Life’s Most Beautiful Moments
India Will Soon Overtake China in Population
Hong Kong Plans to House 1 Million People on Artificial Islands
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Recommendation 1521
See related documents
Recommendation 1521 (2001)
Csango minority culture in Romania
Author(s): Parliamentary Assembly
Origin - Text adopted by the Standing Committee, acting on behalf of the Assembly, on 23 May 2001 (see Doc. 9078, report of the Committee on Culture, Science and Education, rapporteur: Mrs Isohookana-Asunmaa).
1. Further to its report on the endangered Uralic minority cultures in Russia and the adoption of Resolution 1171 (1998) the Assembly is concerned about the situation of the Csango minority culture, which has existed in Romania for centuries.
2. The Csangos (Ceangăi in Romanian) are a non-homogeneous group of Roman Catholic people. This ethnic group is a relic from the Middle Ages that has survived in Moldavia, in the eastern part of the Romanian Carpathians. Csangos speak an early form of Hungarian and are associated with ancient traditions, and a great diversity of folk art and culture, which is of exceptional value for Europe.
3. For centuries, the self-identity of the Csangos was based on the Roman Catholic religion and their own language spoken in the family and the village community. This, as well as their archaic lifestyle and world view, may explain their very strong ties to the Roman Catholic religion and the survival of their dialect.
4. Those who still speak Csango or consider it their mother tongue have been declining as a proportion of the population. Although not everybody agrees on this number it is thought that between 60 000 and 70 000 people speak the Csango language.
5. Today in Moldavia, the language of the school and the church is Romanian. There is local teaching in Ukrainian and the study of Polish, Roma and Russian as mother tongues. Despite the provisions of the Romanian law on education and the repeated requests from parents there is no teaching of Csango language in the Csango villages. As a consequence, very few Csangos know how to write their mother tongue.
6. The Csangos make no political demands, but merely want to be recognised as a distinct culture. They ask for assistance in safeguarding it and, first and foremost they demand that their children be taught the Csango language and that their church services be held in their mother tongue.
7. The Assembly recalls the texts which it has adopted on related matters, notably Recommendation 928 (1981) on the educational and cultural problems of minority languages and dialects in Europe, Recommendation 1203 (1993) on Gypsies in Europe, Recommendation 1283 (1996) on history and the learning of history in Europe, Recommendation 1291 (1996) on Yiddish culture and Recommendation 1333 (1997) on the Aromanian culture and language.
8. Diversity of cultures and languages should be seen as a precious resource that enriches our European heritage and also reinforces the identity of each nation and individual. Assistance on the European level, and in particular from the Council of Europe, is justified to save any particular culture and is needed in the case of the Csangos.
9. The Assembly therefore recommends that the Committee of Ministers encourage Romania to ratify and implement the European Charter of Regional or Minority Languages and to support the Csangos, particularly in the following cases:
9.1. the possibility to be educated in the mother tongue should be ensured in accordance with the Romanian Constitution and the legislation on education. In the meantime classrooms should be made available in local schools and teachers working in the villages teaching the Csango language should be paid;
9.2. Csango parents should be informed of the Romanian legislation on education and instructions should be issued on how to apply for its provisions concerning languages;
9.3. there should be an option for Roman Catholic services in the Csango language in the churches in Csango villages and the possibility for the Csangos to sing hymns in their own mother tongue;
9.4. all Csango associations should be officially recognised and supported. Particular attention should be paid to the correct registration of the Csango minority at the next official census;
9.5. access to modern mass media facilities should be promoted. Financial support should be given to Csango associations in accordance with the availability of funds, in order to help them to express actively their own identity (in particular through the issuing of a monthly publication and the functioning of a local radio station);
9.6. specific programmes should be set up for the promotion of Csango culture in the context of raising awareness of and respect for minorities. International discussions and seminars of experts should be organised to study the Csangos;
9.7. an information campaign should be launched in Romania concerning the Csango culture and the advantages of co-operation between the majority and minorities;
9.8. the unique linguistic and ethnographical features of the Csangos should be appropriately recorded;
9.9. the economic revival of the area should be encouraged, for example, through the establishment of small and medium-sized enterprises in Csango villages.
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Seven New, Weird D.C. Bands Are About To Debut At St. Stephen’s — For A Cause
By Emily Hilliard
Hat Band DC aims to mix things up in D.C.'s indie-rock scene. (The hat part isn't literal, but top hats are funny.) Via James Morley
This Saturday, seven new D.C. bands with names like King Donut and the Road Sodas, IRL Stine and Jerkhole will take the stage at St. Stephen’s Church. For all the bands on the lineup, it’ll be their first gig, and probably also their last.
The randomly formed groups — composed of both seasoned musicians and newbies — have been playing together for a little more than two months as part of Hat Band, a project devised by Shira Mario, a library associate at D.C. Public Library.
Here’s how Hat Band came together: In February, 31 participants threw their names into a figurative “hat” via an online form. After indicating their music experience and preferred instruments, they were filtered into seven different bands of three to four people each. Those bands spent the next couple of months figuring out an act.
Finally, this Saturday at the Columbia Heights church, the hat bands will make their grand debut. They all get 10 minutes to play, and they’re each required to perform at least one original song.
Proceeds from the show will benefit music education group Girls Rock DC!, where Mario volunteers.
Mario, 29, was inspired to organize Hat Band after participating in similar events in Richmond and Philadelphia — but she also says she felt driven by what she sees as monotony in D.C.’s punk and indie music scenes.
“D.C. is a place where people play in the same types of bands over and over again and don’t break out of their comfort zone,” Mario says. “Other people want to play music but need a push. This is a fun, quick creative project to help bring those types of people together.”
Noel Schroeder, 28, one of two guitar players in Wood Bone Kitten (the name was drawn out of a hat, much like the band itself) hadn’t played in a real band since high school and was looking for something that forced her back into it.
“I wanted to create something with people of different abilities, interests and backgrounds,” Schroeder says. In its first practice, the group played covers of Green Day’s “Basket Case” and a Sleater-Kinney song, and they started working on an original. She says she felt lucky to have been matched with her bandmates.
“I’ve already learned a lot from them about writing and performing, and it’s helped me to pick my skills back up, much more than if I were just playing alone,” Schroeder says. She adds that she hopes her band lives on beyond Saturday’s Hat Band gig.
Mario, who expects most groups to play some form of punk music, finds it fitting for Hat Band proceeds to benefit Girls Rock DC!, because the two share a similar philosophy.
“Empower yourself to play music,” Mario says, “and in doing so, shake things up, build confidence and have fun.”
The Hat Band DC show takes place April 25 at St. Stephen’s Church.
Tags Girls Rock DC, Hat Band, Indie, Punk, Shira Mario, St. Stephen's
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From whom does Broken Arrow Public Schools receive its money?
A majority of the district’s money comes from state sources, usually around 60 percent. Other sources include federal, intermediate and local.
Where does the money go?
Figures may slightly vary from year to year.
Instruction: 59%
Administrative support: 13%
Operations and Maintenance: 8%
Student Support Services: 8%
Transportation: 5%
Instructional Staff Services: 5%
Community Service Operations: 1%
What is the district’s budget?
The district runs on a $130 million dollar budget generated from property taxes and state funded revenue, which serves more than 19,000 students and 2,000 employees. This state aid is distributed through a complex formula that considers the number of students and factors like poverty levels, English Learners, and the need for transportation and special education services.
When does Broken Arrow Public Schools receive money from the State?
The timeline in which the state of Oklahoma adopts a budget and allocates money to education is complicated. Just as a salaried employee isn’t paid annually in one lump sum, school district’s aren’t paid that way either. Learn more about the time by visiting our budget timeline infographic.
What funds make up the district’s budget?
The district's budget is made up of eight different funds: General Fund, Building Fund, Bond Funds, Sinking Fund, Activity Fund, Child Nutrition, Trust Fund and the Internal Service Fund. Each fund has a purpose in ensuring the district properly receives and uses money.
What is the General Fund normally spent for?
The General Fund provides direct and support services for all students enrolled in the district. This includes salaries/benefits, instructional supplies/materials, equipment, utilities, insurance, and other costs. School districts typically spend 80 to 95 percent of the General Fund on salaries and benefits.
What is the Building Fund normally spent for?
The Building Fund provides for maintenance and repair operations, upkeep and construction of district facilities and grounds, contractual services, and salaries/benefits for custodial and maintenance service. By law, only salaries and benefits for these purposes may be paid from the Building Fund.
What can bond issue proceeds be spent for?
Bond issue proceeds must be spent for constructing or purchasing new facilities; remodeling or repairing existing buildings; or acquiring school furniture, fixtures, equipment, uniforms, technology and transportation equipment.
No less than 85 percent of all bond issue proceeds must be spent on the list of projects included in the bond resolution and approved by the voters. The remaining 15 percent can be spent on similar-type projects as approved in the bond issue election or can be used to reduce the sinking fund debt.
Can bond funds pay employee salaries?
According to Oklahoma law, bond funds CANNOT be used to pay employee salaries or benefits.
How are bond issues paid off?
Principal and interest for a bond are paid out of the district’s Sinking Fund, which is funded by property taxes.
School bonds are limited to a 25 year term by state law, but five to ten year bonds are typical.
What is the Sinking Fund?
This fund consists of funds derived by local taxes for the payment of bonds and legal judgments against the district.
What is the Child Nutrition Fund normally spent for?
The Child Nutrition Fund provides for the purchase and delivery of food services to the district’s students and staff on a daily basis. This includes food costs, salaries/benefits for cafeteria staff, and the purchase, maintenance, and repair of equipment.
What is the Activity Fund used for?
The Activity Fund is NOT funded by taxpayers dollars. They are student raised funds for the purpose of extracurricular events like athletic and fine arts events.
What is State Aid?
State Aid represents the funds appropriated by the state legislature for school districts and distributed by the State Department of Education through the “State Aid Formula.”
State Aid is primarily based on student counts with allowances made for various student characteristics represented as grade and categorical weights.
If a district’s student count increases, the State Aid is adjusted in the current year. If a district’s student count decreases, the State Aid does not decrease for two years.
The State Aid calculated using these student counts is then reduced for local revenue collections by subtracting “chargeables.”
What are “chargeables”?
“Chargeables” are a district’s local revenue sources that are included in its annual State Aid calculation. The revenue sources are: Ad valorem property taxes, motor vehicle collections, gross production taxes, school land earnings, county 4-mill taxes and rural electric association taxes. The amount of these funds collected by a district (current year for ad valorem & previous year for others) are “charged” or subtracted from the district’s State Aid since these funds are collected locally. As these revenue sources, such as ad valorem taxes, rise, the district’s “chargeables” also increase, meaning less State Aid for the district.
Can school districts “borrow” money?
Oklahoma statues generally prohibit school debt, except for the following three instances:
Bond issues
Lease-purchase agreements
Non-payable warrants
The most common way that school districts “borrow” money is through the passage of bond issues. State law requires approval of at least 60 percent of the voters in a bond election before a district can issue bonds.
What is “fund balance”?
Fund balance is the “unencumbered” or “available” balance of funds at the end of a fiscal year that has not been reserved to pay for any goods/services that will be received after June 30 (the end of the fiscal year). This is also referred to as a “carryover” or “savings account.”
Why is a fund balance necessary?
A fund balance is necessary for the following reasons:
To help districts fund payroll and other costs during the first half of the school year when expenditures are more than revenue collections because there is no State Aid payment received in July, and the majority of ad valorem tax revenue is not received until January and April. (NOTE: State Aid payments are received equally over a period of 11 months — August through June. State Aid is not paid to the district in a “lump sum” at the beginning of the fiscal year.)
To meet any unanticipated expenses.
To help fund future budgets, if planned expenditures exceed anticipated revenues.
The percentage of fund balance that can be carried into the next year is limited by state law. The penalty for excess carryover is a reduction to state aid the next year.
ABCs of School Funding
subnav - Frequently Asked Questions
Annual Report for 2017-2018 (pdf)
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« WAR: Time To Plan The Victory Parade | Main | BASEBALL: The Ace Has Arrived »
BASEBALL: No Longer Just A Humble Carpenter
Yes, this is basically an edited version of the email Bill posted. And in my defense, I didn't see his email in my Yahoo! box until at least a half hour after he sent it . . .
Bill Simmons and I were having a discussion about how much precedent there is for Chris Carpenter having the sort of dominant, Cy Young-caliber season* he's had this year, given that Carpenter is 30 years old and has had a mediocre, injury-riddled career.
The obvious precedent is Mike Scott. Scott through age 29 had career bests of 10 wins, a 3.72 ERA, 154 innings, and 83 strikeouts. At age 30, Scott went 18-8 with a 3.29 ERA and 137 K, and the next year exploded on the league, going 18-10 with a 2.22 ERA in 275 IP, striking out 306 batters, throwing a division-clinching no-hitter, and winning the Cy Young Award.
So, who else is similar to Carpenter? Well, recall first that, like Scott, Carpenter built up to this with what looked, just a year ago, like a career year: he was 15-5 last year with a 3.46 ERA (121 ERA+) and 7.52 K/9. I don't think anyone predicted this season after he broke down (yet again) at the end of last year (me, I've been arguing for years that he should be converted to a closer due to his fragility). If you look at guys with big bust-out seasons in their 30s, there's a bunch of examples of less dramatic turnarounds by guys who were inconsistent or injury-prone in their 20s (Mike McCormick, Kevin Brown, Curt Schilling, Mike Cuellar, Bob Tewksbury), were previously relievers (Wilbur Wood, Hank Aguirre), pitched OK and got huge run support (Steve Stone) or just didn't get a shot in the majors until they were past 30 (Dazzy Vance, Spud Chandler, Sal Maglie). But I could think of four others who have a similar profile:
1. If you look at the top 10 most similar pitchers to Carpenter entering 2005 on baseball-reference.com, you'd find Jason Schmidt at #9. Schmidt's career-bests through age 29 were 13 wins, a 3.45 ERA, and 196 K, all set or matched at age 29 (his age-29 season is quite similar to Carpenter's). At 30, Schmidt went 17-5, 2.34 ERA, 208 K, pitching comparably to Carpenter, if winning a few less games and throwing a few less innings.
2. Bucky Walters, through age 29, had career bests of 15 wins (at age 29) and a 4.17 ERA. At 30, he went 27-11 with a 2.29 ERA and won the MVP Award; other than Scott, he's probably the most similar case.
3. John Tudor's career bests were 13 wins and a 3.27 ERA, until at age 31 he posted the 1.93 ERA in 275 innings and won 21 games. Getting out of Fenway and getting Ozzie behind him had a lot to do with that, of course.
4. Dave Stewart's career high in wins through age 29 was 10, and he'd never tossed 200 innings before. Stewart at 30 started the string of four consecutive 20-win seasons, although he didn't instantly dominate the league.
I could be forgetting someone - I didn't exactly do a systematic study - but I think those are the most dramatic examples.
* - I'll save for another day the Carpenter vs. Roger Clemens Cy Young debate. Suffice it to say that Carpenter's season is of legitimate Cy Young quality; the question is whether you can give the award to someone other than Clemens, given how well he's pitched.
Posted by Baseball Crank at 9:29 AM | Baseball 2005 | Comments (6) | TrackBack (0)
What about Steve Stone? He was pretty average through the 1970's, had a great year in 1980 and then I guess he blew his arm out and retired after the 1981 season.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/s/stonest01.shtml
Posted by: steve at September 13, 2005 11:48 AM
Oh wait -- you mentioned Steve Stone. Sorry.
Carpenter was a pretty highly regarded young pitcher, who spent his 20's injured and inconsistent. I think that probably makes him more like the better guys on the list, rather than the Steve Stones who just had everything click for them one season.
Posted by: Jerry at September 13, 2005 12:02 PM
If you look at Dave Stewart's career stats, he was mostly a reliever until the A's picked him up. Aside from one year with Texas, he'd never started more than half the games he was in until he won 20 at 30.
Posted by: Tom at September 13, 2005 1:55 PM
From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Carpenter's last start:
"22nd consecutive quality start, the longest streak in the National League since the Cardinals' Bob Gibson had 22 in 1968. According to Elias Sports Bureau, Carpenter is the first pitcher in the live-ball era (since 1920) to go undefeated in 16 starts while throwing at least seven innings and not allowing more than three runs in those games.
His ERA over his previous 18 games is 1.41, and the team has won 16 straight with Carpenter starting. He also was the first to win 20, to win 19, to win 18, and so on since 16."
Clemens is having a great year, no doubt about it. But Carpenter consistently pitches into the 8th and 9th. Clemens doesn't. I think the above numbers make the best case.
Posted by: Nick at September 13, 2005 3:33 PM
I'm guessing that Moyer is a notch below even if he's had longevity that Tudor didn't have.
Posted by: David Gerstman at September 13, 2005 9:09 PM
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A Study in Social Change
The Domestic Violence Prevention Movement in Taiwan
Author: Elaine Chao
Taiwan has dramatically improved its response to domestic violence within the last fifteen years, becoming the first East Asian country to pass major legislation criminalizing domestic violence. Ethnographic research on the origins, development, and operations of the domestic violence prevention movement shows how individuals from diverse backgrounds acted collectively to achieve this social reversal. Activists have profited from feminist social networks, the growing economic and political power of women, domestic violence models from other countries, a unified vision of creating new legislation, and an atmosphere open to change. Their efforts were catalyzed by three widely publicized cases regarding violence against women and culminated in the passage of the Domestic Violence Prevention and Treatment Act in 1998. The domestic violence prevention movement in Taiwan provides a valuable case study of social change and a model for other East Asian countries interested in passing similar legislation.
Countries: Taiwan
© 1994 ILO/Cid S.
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Home Technology Harvard Study: Apple Slows Down Older iPhones To Keep Millions Buying New...
Harvard Study: Apple Slows Down Older iPhones To Keep Millions Buying New Models
AnonHQ
(The Last American Vagabond) Time and time again I’ve heard people complain about their iPhones or Mac laptops getting slower and slower, forcing them to purchase entirely new products. However, many people who have experienced this technological lull also noticed that the deterioration of their Apple products coincided with the launch of Apple’s new products.
To be honest, if Apple was doing this, it would be a pretty smart business move. They launch new products periodically, and all of them are really just slightly fancier versions of their older models. People don’t often need these products, they simply want them. They only become a “need” when their older models break or malfunction.
Personally, I love these products! But every 2-4 years, my iPhones all of a sudden malfunction and my MacBook will randomly get slower. The question is: Are these products simply malfunctioning thanks to “old age” and natural wear and tear, or are they breaking because Apple purposefully slows down its older models prior to releasing new ones?
Study Suggests That Apple Deliberately Sabotages Old Products
A study performed by student Laura Trucco at Harvard University aimed at determining whether or not there was any truth behind the claims that Apple sabotages its own products prior to releasing new models.
The study reviewed worldwide searches for “iPhone slow” and discovered that this particular phrase was searched for significantly more whenever a new iPhone was about to be launched. Trucco then compared those results to the findings of other searches for Apple’s competitors’ phones, such as “Samsung Galaxy slow,” and found that the phrase was not searched for more around the time that a new Samsung phone model was released.
As you can see, the number of Google searches for “iPhone slow” spiked every time a new phone model was launched and made available to the public:
You can then review the number of searches for “Samsung Galaxy slow” in comparison to the release dates for their new phone models:
This isn’t the first time anyone has publicly discussed these claims, suggesting that Apple does in fact sabotage its old products prior to releasing new ones. For example, Catherine Rampell of the New York Times suggested that Apple could design its new operating systems so that they only properly work on their newer devices.
Rampell even stated that her own iPhone 4 got slower when she downloaded the new operating system at the time, and that the only solution to fix it would be to purchase the newer version of the iPhone.
Rampell explained, “When major innovations remain out of reach, and degrading durability threatens to tick off loyal customers, companies like Apple can still take a cue from the fashion industry.”
Apple doesn’t necessarily need to make its products more advanced in regard to technology in the same way that many other tech companies need to. Apple can simply make slight technological advancements in addition to more appealing aesthetic changes and still convince customers that they need to buy their newest products, even if they operate extremely similarly.
Even if their older models are still functioning, they continue to perpetuate this consumer mindset that “we need to follow the latest trends,” similar to the fashion industry. It’s largely about aesthetics.
It’s important to keep in mind that, although Apple could be purposefully slowing down older models in order to convince you to purchase their newer ones, this is not a hard fact. Smartphones and laptops naturally slow down over time, especially when you’re updating your software and apps constantly as well as filling them steadily with more digital debris.
So, although your phones may seem slower after updating them, this may not actually be proof of this “conspiracy theory.” Plus, if Apple is actually sabotaging their own products, is there anything really “wrong” with that? They’re a business, and ultimately their number one goal is to profit. By selling you more phones, they will obviously make more money, which is their end goal anyways. Sure, it may seem unethical to the consumer, but it’s not necessarily “wrong.”
Either way, there’s no way of knowing 100% whether or not Apple purposefully slows down its products prior to launching its new ones. However, if you do notice that your phone or laptop is slow and you need a new one, do not just throw them out. Either give them or sell them to someone who could actually use it, return it to Apple so they can reuse it for parts, or get it fixed so you don’t need to purchase an entirely new product.
These electronics are by no means “good for the environment,” there are parts that need to be mined for and they require a lot of energy to produce. When you can prevent having to purchase something new or save something from ending up in a landfill, do it.
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Adam September 8, 2017 at 7:38 pm
Isn’t it possible that people are looking for an excuse to buy the next iFad and search for like minded delusionals?
It would be interesting to see the searches performed on Amazon Prime Day or Black Friday.
Can’t stand Apple. So I’m not a fanboy making excuses.
Chingompiew September 9, 2017 at 7:38 pm
“Plus, if Apple is actually sabotaging their own products, is there anything really “wrong” with that?…Sure, it may seem unethical to the consumer, but it’s not necessarily “wrong.” ” – YES it is wrong you dimwit of a writer. It is called DEFRAUDING, SWINDLING, CHEATING. Just like If your car dealership fidgeted with your car during maintenance every year just before the launch of a new model to make your car perform worse or break faster in an effort to convince you to buy a new car. Unfortunately many mechanics do this to their customers as most of us are well aware. So YES it is obviously very wrong.
Mark September 22, 2017 at 10:44 am
VERY WRONG and not surprising….the arrogance is tyical.
Leo September 22, 2017 at 8:14 pm
Well said, the writer is a dimwit!
Travis September 25, 2017 at 1:21 am
I must agree, such a dimwit. It is DEFINATELY unethical, it should be a crime, you bought the phone, and own it, so they have NO right to sabotage it any more than a roofing company has a right to drill holes in your roof so you’ll enlist their services. Furthermore, the last two paragraphs the author wrote contradict one another and are also stupid. “Give your old phone to someone who needs it” : well, maybe I could if apple wasn’t ruining it, DUH! And give your products back to the company so they can re-use them? Because THEY need more money! This is the sort of consumer culture crap that is a large part of what is wrong with our society as a whole right now.
Nick September 10, 2017 at 7:42 am
” They’re a business, and ultimately their number one goal is to profit. By selling you more phones, they will obviously make more money, which is their end goal anyways. Sure, it may seem unethical to the consumer, but it’s not necessarily “wrong.” ”
You just touched on an important fundamental paradox in the current system – why are “unethical” and “wrong” considered different things?
Similarly, i find it offputting that the author seemsto excuse this potential deception as “ok” in the name of profit.
thaguz September 20, 2017 at 6:37 pm
I have to wonder if there are impacts to benchmark scores after each new iOS update.
If you took an iPhone 4 and installed it’s original OS, ran a test, then updated to each subsequent version of iOS… would we see a slowdown?
Victor Manuel Rodriguez Silva September 20, 2017 at 7:47 pm
que malditos :p
AL September 21, 2017 at 4:11 pm
Highly irresponsible article.
This is merely correlation between a release date and a subjective variable. While someone with no scientific knowledge could read into this and think it’s malicious, it’s HIGHLY irresponsible to write an article suggesting Apple does this on purpose. The authors here are riling up people on pseudoscience claims that are based on circumstantial evidence at best.
Scientific facts? Seriously? What about the statistics? And since when as responsibility been a prerequisit for “news”?
I will give you this..author seems to think that since this alleged fraud was committed in the interest of profit, its ok. I think this reflects an attitude prevailing in modern culture..and its a departure as well as abondonement of ethical business standards once regarded as foundational in America.
Scott Dixon September 21, 2017 at 5:01 pm
People buy “durable” products such as autos and iPhones, and pay good money for them, with the expectation that they will last for a number of years. I get that slower processors in older phones may have a difficult time running subsequent operating system releases as the years pass, due to their increasing complexity, but to deliberately slow them down is simply unethical, i.e. WRONG. Making money is a logical and necessary goal for all companies, but it’s expected that the pursuit of that goal is done ethically, and it’s the responsibility of our government to ensure that it’s done that way.
Jhett September 21, 2017 at 6:12 pm
” Plus, if Apple is actually sabotaging their own products, is there anything really “wrong” with that? They’re a business, and ultimately their number one goal is to profit. By selling you more phones, they will obviously make more money, which is their end goal anyways. Sure, it may seem unethical to the consumer, but it’s not necessarily “wrong”. ”
The author cannot be this blindly fucking stupid.
In what possible way would it Not be wrong to literally sabotage someone’s personal property.
Louis gentile September 21, 2017 at 8:10 pm
So u think it not ethnically wrong to sabotage a product that we purchased already so we have to go out and buy new phones? Because I think that’s bullshit.
Jason September 22, 2017 at 12:31 am
All phone companies do it. Don’t be fooled Samsung users. It’s called basic marketing to make more money. And this is why they’re worth millions and you’re all sitting at home writing your stupid comments behind a computer screen.
Allen September 22, 2017 at 1:41 am
Could be with the new phone comes the new software update. Making some of the older phones slow for awhile also while they are updating internally.
fred September 22, 2017 at 10:48 am
Welcome to the modern morally vacant person. You’ll see more and more of them in the future.
“Plus, if Apple is actually sabotaging their own products, is there anything really “wrong” with that?”
If you can just cheat and lie to get what you want, and win, aren’t you still winning?
In the world Kanye, the Kardashians and the rest, this is the new norm.
Motoservo September 22, 2017 at 7:43 pm
If they really want to know they could just put it on the bench and test it. This reeks of the smear campaigns that Apple Insider has traced to Seoul in the past. Using search phrases is ridiculous, anyway, especially since new releases with iPhone and iOS always correlate. And Samsung and Android rarely do.
Why not research “Android slow”? That would be a more accurate phrase for somebody who just updated their Android and found issues.
Chris R. September 23, 2017 at 1:50 pm
Unfortunately this is likely a lay person misinterpretation of a technical reality. As a software developer and computer scientist, I can tell you that the operating systems and apps get more complicated over time, putting a strain on the current state of the art processors and memory. Usually there are new features and security principles baked into each new minor and major update of the operation systems. Those are also constantly improved in order to remain competitive with the alternative OS’s (ex. iOS vs Android or Mac vs. Windows vs Linux) Hardware is usually well matched from a performance perspective with the level of complexity for each new phone model, but last generation’s hardware is significantly less capable than the new one. This is guided by an observation called Moore’s law. Feel free to look it up if you are curious, but basically it states that transistor density will double every year. This has held true since 1965 as scientists push the envelope with computing hardware innovations every year and there is no foreseeable end to this trend. This principle is also more broadly true of processor power or your observed speed of processing transactions. However, since that increased horsepower is also running in parallel with the similarly increasing demands of the software (driven by competition and security), your hardware from one or two generations ago trying to run today’s operating systems will “feel” slower than the time matched software it came with. Now, here is where it gets tricky. Every year the supplier wants to release a new device and also wants to take advantage of the increasing horsepower to bring you the very best product they can manage, so they continue to improve (make more complex) the operating system, which also becomes the “updates” for the older devices. You might ask, why not leave the originally performance matched software in place on the original device so as not to slow it down with the new updates. There are three solid answers and maybe a fourth if you are conspiracy theory inclined.
1) major and minor security vulnerabilities are constantly being uncovered by researchers and hackers that put your devices and personal data at risk, so they need continually patching to keep the devices as safe as possible.
2) People want updated features on their devices by and large. Making new capabilities available on a device you have already purchased is kind of a bonus that many people really appreciate. Imagine if your car just suddenly got an update and it added cruise control where that didn’t already exist. Most people would be pretty happy about bonus feature and it turns out that manufacturers like to add value with these updates.
3) maintaining multiple versions of software is a nightmare. If they had to keep making security and performance updates to all of the last 4 or 5 generations of phones it would be 4-5 times the cost to keep them going. Also, each app developer (Facebook, eBay, Google, Twitter, etc…) would have to have more versions of the individual apps that maintain compatibility with each OS version. This would be very burdensome for the device manufacturer and the app developers and is not the industry best practice. As a note, you will see that at some point each manufacturer makes a maximum update version for each device. This is because they know the old device cannot run the latest software with an acceptable level of user experience.
4) this is where you can insert your conspiracy theory about planned obsolescence or whatever, and maybe there is some element of truth that it is added to some closed door leadership discussions in the company, but it is not necessary to explain the observations above.
To wrap it up, phones are pocket sized computers and there is much more difference between the generations than the physical appearance. Specifically the processing power and memory are improving dramatically each time. That is the main reason we feel this effect.
Creedence September 24, 2017 at 1:34 pm
Of course this is all true, but why then do these searches spike during a release of a new iPhone, while their competitor Samsung has no such issue? Surely Samsung’s technology adheres to the same issues that you’ve mentioned.
arjil September 23, 2017 at 6:52 pm
It’s called “Planned obsolescence”
This is not a new phenomenon by any stretch. This is why my parents had one microwave for 30 years, and then 3 more since. or a stereo- had one for 20 years that still functions except for the cd player, and I’ve gone through 4 more since that went out. They’re built to break now. They’re also built to be next to impossible to repair. This isn’t conspiracy, it’s a mainstay of modern consumer economy.
Part of it is, in order for more people to afford to consume, things have to be cheap, cheap isn’t durable: it’s the Wal-Mart model thing. But part of it, because everybody is trying to compete with that model, they’ve figured out that they can make more money off a cheap pos with a high margin that people will throw out and purchase new than can be made off of a durable good that can be passed down through the generations and repaired.
this is actually quite a problem- it drove my dad out of the shoe business. What would happen is that places like pay less and wal-mart would either sell at cost or take a loss on actual decent shoes that would last for several years, undercutting him, and make up the difference on cheap knockoffs (like .50 cents a pair, cost, sold for 15 bucks) that only last about 6 months.
The whole retail economy has been going this way increasingly for the last 30 or so years.
Tech companies don’t have to build that in. They can do it with software, remotely, whenever they choose. Chris R above explained the non nefarious bits well- and true, this tech moves fast. But that’s not All that’s going on.
Hell, I had an airline pull this trick when I was flying to england a few years ago. They cranked the AC to full blast for a couple minutes, then sent the flight attendants around offering ten dollar blankets. After everybody who wanted them had purchased them, they turned the AC back up to reasonable.
– that, by the data, seems to be what apple is doing here.
And they seem to be clever about it- it gets the people who can afford to, to upgrade, but doesn’t lose the people who can’t and they maintain a loyal customer base.
tricksy.
Don Kelly September 24, 2017 at 1:27 pm
From personal experience I’d say this is absolutely going on. New major updates to iOs result in incremental slow downs in older equipment. I first noticed this on my original iPad mini. Each progressive update resulted in degraded performance until it finally got to the point that my device wouldn’t function for some critical apps. Note, there was no warning of this from either Apple or the application developer. For those who doubt this, I’ll simply point to Apple’s long standing policy to sabatoge third party hardware vendors by using software updates. All the better to secure the market for their own overpriced chargers, cables, and accessories.
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Home >> Blog >> Future Public Media >> Q&A With Georgiy Molodtsov, Winner of the "Media That Matters" Award for UNBIND YOURSELF
Q&A With Georgiy Molodtsov, Winner of the "Media That Matters" Award for UNBIND YOURSELF
Georgiy Molodtsov, a Fulbright scholar in the MA program at American University, was this year's winner of the "Media That Matters" award for his work on "Unbind Yourself". The project was recently presented at Cannes Lions, the biggest advertising festival in the world.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
Tell us about your project "Unbind Yourself". How did it get started?
My non-profit organization "Social Advertising Laboratory" has been working for more than 10 years on social cause advertising campaigns. We are based in Russia and recently started a series of workshops where we work with local organizations to educate emerging creators about social cause advertising for local needs. Over the course of 5-6 days, groups of local creators develop and produce advertising campaigns based on the social problem of the selected non-profit. We usually get support from local tv-stations and other media, as well as equipment and resources from local production companies.
In this case, I was invited to Kyrgyzstan to conduct a workshop for OPEN Line Public Foundation, which has been working on women's rights, specifically protection against domestic violence and bride kidnapping, for more than six years. In 2012, we did training on the subject of bride kidnapping, and the videos were so successful that the women's rights community and Open Line pushed the government to change legislation against violators. In 2015, we decided to continue and expand our work to concentrate on three issues: women's equality, domestic violence and bride kidnapping.
In January 2015, I travelled to Kyrgyzstan, where we worked with 16-18 local emerging creators. The first three days we worked on the creative part - brainstorming, ideas, storyboards and presentations. Over the following three days, we created 8 videos, a series of posters, an interactive film, as well as the campaign branding.
It took me an additional month to finish post-production and develop the outreach strategy. We were ultimately really happy with what we did, as it was the first campaign of such a scale that combined traditional and new media in Kyrgyzstan.
How was this campaign distributed?
I built the outreach strategy in three ways. We started with a trailer of the campaign and the ideos on women's equality, which were immediately picked up by major media. These videos were really positive and non-controversial, so the media was very willing to post it. At the same time, the First National Women's Forum took place in Kyrgyzstan and our videos (the first of their kind) were in focus there, so additional coverage came through the forum.
The second wave against domestic violence included my "Unbind Yourself" posters, an interactive film against domestic violence and a few more video ads. They were much more controversial, but because media coverage of the first wave was so huge, most of the audience was reached with the second wave as well.
The third wave was about bride kidnapping and received an even bigger social media response than the 2012 campaign.
What kind of engagement is your project having?
The reach of the products was incredible: OTRK TV Channel provided us with donated media at least 3 times a day over a month-long period, which brought us coverage to around 80% of Kyrgyz population (total population is around 6 million people). Our Facebook, Twitter and Youtube accounts reached over 1.5 million people all over the world and gained attention from both Kyrgyz and international media. The campaign's landing page, which we developed to provide information about crisis centers and bride kidnapping prevention, was really popular and helped to promote the OPEN LINE website.
But, most importantly, OPEN Line helped at least 3 victims of domestic violence and 2 victims of bride kidnapping during the initial campaign. The campaign was relaunched again in the fall, and this outreach helped us to understand that people need these kind of messages and that our work saved someone's life.
Our idea was to not only create the campaign, but to educate emerging creators from Kyrgyzstan on how to create this kind of media and build a network between non-profits, creators, television channels and other media. We did this so that after I leave, these creators could continue to make this kind of media. And that's what I see happening now.
Can you tell us about the visual elements of the campaign?
A white scarf is a symbol of purity and innocence that reflects the marital status of women. And I thought that if we are dealing with the violation of women's rights, we can creatively and provocatively change the meaning of this traditional image to show that this scarf is limiting women's freedom. We've been able to raise awareness and facilitate discussions, mostly started by women who have suffered from these injustices.
The second image is the logo of the campaign - two clapping hands with the small heart in the middle, which was created by local art director Dilshad Matkulov. The idea comes from the local traditional proverb that "One needs two hands to clap". For me it was a perfect symbol of what equality is - that the best results will come if both men and women equally participate.
What's next for you as a filmmaker?
I've become interested in 360 degree videos and I see huge potential in social cause advertising and creative filmmaking. I am also on the selection committee of the Moscow International Film Festival in Russia, as well as the VP of the Russian Documentary Guild. I'm really grateful to the Fulbright Program for giving me an opportunity to receive a Master's Degree from a really prestigious film school in the United States, and I really hope that the knowledge and skills I gain will be used for good in Russia.
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Ben Hills
Award winning author / journalist
Princess Masako
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Japan – Behind the Lines
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Japan Unlimited
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Crime shoguns under siege
Inside the Yakuza - Japan’s gentleman/gangsters
Articles » Japan Unlimited » Crime shoguns under siege
The Godfather bows courteously and offers his visitors hot towels, iced tea and an immaculate business card printed on hand-made paper. Nothing as crass as Murder Inc. No corporate ID at all, in fact. Just his name, his phone number, and his office address in the suburbs of the ancient imperial capital of Kyoto.
Tokutaro Takayama feels he needs no introduction. This courtly man with grey sidelevers, dressed in pristine grey three-piece worsted, is as close as they get in Japan to a capo di tutti capi, the boss of all bosses of the yakuza, who are 10 times the size, and nearly as nasty, as the American Mafia
Just over a year ago the Japanese Government passed draconian legislation designed to exterminate them. Last month the Government admitted that after its highly-publicised war on the Mob, there were still 90,600 yakuza at large.
Mr Takayama is the living proof. He is the boss of the Aizu Kotetsu, which, according to the police, has 1,600 members (and according to an indignant Mr Takayama, double that number.) Recruiting is going along fine in spite of the new law, he says.
Aizu Kotetsu (Aizu is the ancient name for the region, kotetsu is a short Japanese sword much favoured by gangsters) is the fourth-biggest of what the police call boryukodan, the 3,570 remaining “violence gangs” who control most of the rackets from drugs and gambling to prostitution and extortion.
It is dwarfed by the 37,000-strong army of the Kobe-based Yamaguchi-gumi. But when the bosses of the Big Four met for a summit in Osaka last year to plan their strategy for fighting the new law, they showed their respect by appointing Mr Takayama the host and chairman. At 65, he is both grandfather and godfather of the Mob.
The gang’s headquarters is a modern, three-storeyed building overlooking a small stream which flows among the wooden houses and red lantern bars of Kyoto’s Iwataki-machi, a seedy residential neighbourhood. Next door is a bath-house.
The taxi driver loses his way in the maze of back alleys and stops to ask for directions. Imagine leaning out of a cab in South Central Los Angeles and asking: “Excuse me, my man, could you direct us to Local 401 of the Crips?”Instead of a faceful of shotgun, he is given polite directions. The Aizu Kotetsu sign on the building may have been taken down as a token gesture of compliance with the new law … but the neighbours all know where the Mob hangs out.
We are met by a posse of young men with impassive faces, identical oiled punch-perms, and wearing grey tracksuits with the gang’s name embroidered in gold on the pocket. Aizu Kotetsu’s corporate logo is a drinking vessel (the founder’s mentor was inordinately fond of sake) topped with the character for”large” – they could, accurately but irreverently, be called the Big Gourd Gang.
There are four large, black Mercedes and a black Seven-Series BMW parked under the building – left-hand-drive, of course – the favourite wheels of the Mob. “None of these are the boss’s … he is a modest man,” volunteers one of the grey tracksuits, noticing my interest. There is no beat-up Subaru 4WD in sight.
A lift takes us to a marble-floored corridor lined with closed doors and dominated by an enormous stuffed polar bear. Mr Takayama explains later that this was no personal feat of arms – like just about every piece in his office, into which we are silently ushered, it was a “gift from a business associate”. He declines to elaborate.
He is particularly proud of a bronze Napoleon on a horse which he says is 100 years old. In the corner is a brass grandfather clock two metres tall which punctuates the audience by booming out Big Ben’s chimes every 15 minutes. A gold-plated bonsai tree sits in a glass case. Sprays of orchids give a splash of colour to the dark wooden panelling.
Mr Takayama does not offer his hand, but a discreet check shows that he is not missing any fingers – the best-known trademark of the yakuza. If a man is disloyal to his gang, he is expected to hack off joints of his fingers -beginning with the left pinkie – wrap them in cloth and present them to the boss as a sign of atonement.
The boss of at least one gang, Yamaguchi-gumi, keeps a collection of fingers pickled in surgical spirits in a jar in his office – but Mr Takayama says he does not go in for such things, and has the fingers decently buried on a mountainside so that they can “rest in peace”.
Like many yakuza, Mr Takayama comes from a minority group marginalised in Japanese society. In his case, he was treated like an “insect” because of his Korean ancestry – many of the young dropouts he recruits also come from the so-called burakumin class, descendents of people like leatherworkers who are still regarded as untouchables, or at any rate unmarriables, in Japan.
“The first thing for you to know,” says Mr Takayama, lighting the first of a chain of Vogue Slims, “is that there is no similarity at all between the yakuza and the Mafia. We come from a long and honourable tradition of loyalty and chivalry.” That is the first of many debateable assertions.
True, scores of Japanese movies glorify the exploits of the bakuto – bands of gamblers dressed in serge hoods and capes and carrying short swords – who roamed the tollroads of 18th century Japan and are widely imagined to be the ancestors of the present-day yakuza. They are often depicted in Robin Hood roles, robbing the rich and defending the poor townsfolk against the ravages of the samurai.
However, Japan’s leading expert on the Mob dismisses this as having little relevance to the yakuza, 1993. Hiroshi Ishizuki is head of the organised crime intelligence division of the national police – a man dedicated to wiping out the yakuza.
“In the past,” he says, “they have found it useful to promote an image of Robin Hood or … what is the equivalent in Australia … Ned Kelly? However, since about 30 years ago they have been just gangs – violent gangs involved in organised crime.”
Mr Takayama still insists that Aizu Kotetsu has a long and honourable tradition – it was founded in 1861, and when he was installed as boss seven years ago he was only the fourth leader in its history. The portraits of his predecessors, clad in black ceremonial garb, hang from the walls.
When I took sake I felt the heat behind my eyeballs,” he says, referring to the initiation ceremony in which the new recruit sips sake with his gang boss in front of a Shinto shrine and pledges that he will be a yakuza till the day he dies. “The boss said, ‘If anyone is cold, take off your kimono and give it to them. If anyone is hungry, give them your food. This is the chivalrous way.’ ”
However, pressed as much as is prudent in the circumstances, Mr Takayama concedes that not everything he has done has been chivalrous. “I have done things I should not have done,” he says, singling out dealing on the black market after the war. He also admits having spent a total of 10 years in the”pig pen” following three convictions for what he described as “fighting”. It turns out later that this is something of a euphemism. One of the “fights” was in fact a full-scale gang war which broke out over control of gambling at a bicycle racetrack. A total of eight people were murdered, including several hacked to death with swords.
Mr Takayama is keen to emphasise that – unlike the Mafia – the yakuza gangs do not deal in hard drugs. But again, police intelligence flatly contradicts this assertion.
So how powerful are the yakuza – and how effective the new legislation in controlling the gangs? If it were a country, the Japanese Mob would be a place with a gross national product somewhat larger than Kenya. The latest estimate by the National Police Agency is that its annual income – in spite of being hit by the economic downturn like every other business – is $15 billion.
The biggest source of revenue (34 per cent) is amphetamines – a racket the yakuza got into during the war when substances like “ice” were handed out by the handful to workers and soldiers. Nineteen per cent of yakuza income comes from legitimate businesses, particularly the construction industry. Sixteen per cent is from gambling, while the rest is protection money, prostitution, mediating disputes, collecting debts, terrorising shareholders at company annual meetings and other standover tactics.
Heroin use, once rare in Japan, is also increasing – there were 15,000 arrests last year, nearly half of them yakuza-related; 163 kilos of heroin and 31 kilos of cocaine were seized.
The most recent alleged yakuza outrage involves the internationally-known film director producer Juzo Itami, who attempted to debunk the yakuza myth with a warts-and-all film called Minbo no Onna. He was brutally beaten by a gang near his home and had his face slashed. Five men associated with the Yamaguchi-gumi gang have been charged.
“There is nothing romantic about it,” says Mr Ishizuki. “They may deny it -a thief will deny he has stolen something – but (Aizu Kotetsu and the other boryukodan ) are involved in activities hostile to individuals and companies -drugs, firearms, extortion, murder.”
Mr Ishizuki is convinced that the new law is making inroads into the Mob. Under the legislation, police have the power to declare an organisation to be gang-controlled. Once that happens, they can take out orders barring members from dealing with businesses such as entertainment, construction, refuse, bars and restaurants.
So far, 76 per cent of the known gangs have been designated, including Yamaguchi-gumi, Aizu Kotetsu and the 16 other largest groups. More than 150 gangs have gone out of business, and the number of yakuza is declining, says Mr Ishizuki.
Several hundred orders have been taken out preventing “tens of thousands”of crimes. In conjunction with this, tens of millions of dollars have been spent establishing a nationwide network of anti-yakuza centres. Here, citizens can get advice on how to resist extortion, and gangsters are given rehabilitation assistance.
Citizens, says Mr Ishizuki, are beginning to stand up to the Mob. In Gunma Prefecture, for instance, restaurant owners have stopped paying $50 to $200 a month each for phoney advertising dodgers. In Tochigi, pachinko (pinball)parlours have also refused to pay protection money.
However, in spite of Mr Ishizuki’s optimism, a closer look at the figures reveals a rather different story. Makato Endo, a lawyer representing the Yamaguchi-gumi in a challenge to the constitutionality of the new law, says that the gangs which have disappeared have in fact just been taken over by larger gangs – Yamaguchi-gumi actually increased its membership during the year.
Furthermore, says Mr Endo, the total number of gangsters (if you include those the police quaintly classify as “associate gangsters” or part-timers)decreased by only 400, to 90,600, in 3,490 gangs. Of these, 56,600 were full-time yakuza – by comparison, at its height in America, the Mafia is reckoned to have had no more than 5,000 full-time members in 24 “families”. And if a measure of success is a reduction in crime, then the campaign must be judged a total failure.
Although Japan remains enviably low on the international crime table – the whole country has fewer murders than New York – the number of cases of major crime such as murder, robbery, arson, rape and kidnapping, increased more than seven per cent last year to over 10,000. Crime clean-up rates dropped to 36 per cent, an all-time low.
Mr Takayama, for one, is not surprised by the figures. They are, he says, a direct result of the police pressure on the yakuza. The Mob, he says, exercises discipline on its members – “anyone I find touching drugs gets excommunicated”. However, since the new law came into force, many of the younger gangsters have broken away to become freelancers, and have turned to drugs. He says the rehabilitation centres have been a total failure. “They are just amakudari (a soft job) for retired police … I wish they would spend my taxes in a better way.”
The Godfather is also incensed at the way his charity is now being rejected. He likes to be thought of as a social benefactor. However two years ago, when he tried to donate $100,000 to the Red Cross hospital where his grandmother had been treated before her death, it was dubbed “dirty money”. This year, for the first time in 20 years, the Kyoto City Council refused his annual New Year’s gifts of food, drink and several thousand dollars cash.
He is now banned from entering America, the Philippines, and Australia, where many of his colleagues in crime repair in the winter … strictly for a holiday, of course. Aizu Kotetsu has no interest in real estate, or any other business, Down Under.
In response to what they describe as harassment – police even raided his locker at the golf course, “looking for guns” Mr Takayama says sarcastically -the leaders of Japan’s top crime syndicates met in Osaka last year to formulate a plan of action.
In spite of their well-known historical connections with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party – it has recently been revealed that yakuza helped former Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita get elected – the Mob had been unable to prevent passage of the legislation through the Diet. Now it was time for a new strategy.
It must have been quite a sight as more than 20 big, black American limousines sped through the city to the rendezvous in a local hotel. There, hosted by Mr Takayama, the creme de la crime sat down to talk, surrounded by several dozen of their top lieutenants: Yoshinori Watanabe, head of the Yamaguchi-gumi, Yuko Inagawa, of Tokyo’s feared Inagawa-kai, and Shigeo Nishiguchi, boss of the rival Sumiyoshi-kai. Between them, they command more than 90 per cent of Japan’s gangsters.
Only a few years ago, such a summit would have been unthinkable. In 1985, in an ambush described as the St Valentine’s Day massacre, the boss and two top lieutenants of Yamaguchi-gumi were shot at an apartment building in Osaka, triggering a two-year war in which 26 mobsters were murdered.
However, faced with a law they obviously feared more than gunfire, the four gang bosses agreed to a truce – and to join forces in a legal challenge against the law. For the first time in the 300-year history of the yakuza, relative peace prevails as the Mob’s mouthpieces argue in various courts that the new law is discriminatory, unconstitutional, and a deprivation of civil rights.
At his office 400 kilometres away in Tokyo, Mr Ishizuki seems confident that this will not interfere with his pursuit. In fact, later this year, even tougher measures will come into effect, making it illegal to cut off one’s finger tips.
Aged 47 – young enough to be his arch-enemy’s son – he says he hopes to see Mr Takayama and the rest of the yakuza put out of business for good before he retires.
Down in Kyoto, practising his putting in his spacious office, Mr Takayama smiles at the news. He looks up at the portraits of his predecessors, staring stony-faced down from the wall. “No, I will not be the last boss … Aizu Kotetsu will go on for ever,” he says.
The Japanese mob: Yakusa
Annual income: $15bn Australian
34% Amphetamines.
19% Legitimate businesses (particularly construction).
16% Gambling
31% Protection money, prostitution, mediating disputes, collecting debts, terrorising shareholders.
Gangsters: 90,600 (3,490 gangs)
Of these: 56,000 full-time yakusa.
Japan: Murders, rapes, robbery, arson, kidnapping increased 7% to over 10,000.
Crime clean-up rate dropped 36%.
Source: National Police Agency
Publishing Info
Pub: Sydney Morning Herald
Pub date: Wednesday 19 May 1993
Edition: Late
Section: News and Features
Sub section:
Caption: Hey, we’re great guys, really … Tokutaro Takayama, boss of the Aizu Kotetsu gang, with a portrait of a predecessor.
Table: The Japanese mob: Yakusa. Source: National Police Agency
© Copyright 2014, Ben Hills. Website by Native Technology.
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California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States of America. It is the most populous U.S. state with 38 million people, and is the third largest state by area (after Alaska and Texas).
Beautiful planet Satpara Lake, Skardu, Pakistan
Satpara Lake is basically a natural lake that falls in the vicinity of Skardu in the Gilgit-Baltistan province of Pakistan. This lake is basically one of the primary sources of water that goes to the Skardu Valley
Beautiful planet Tunnel Beach, New Zealand
June 5, 2014 by Mother Earth
The tunnel is made out of rock on the beach and is hand carved so that one would get to the base of the sheltered beach. One has to enter a private farm land and then get into the tunnel. It is popular for its breathtaking view from above the rocks and even from the beach.
Beautiful planet London, United Kingdom
Beautiful planet Ladakh, India
Often known as “Little Tibet”, Ladakh is a magical land in the country of India. Its history dates back to the Neolithic times and finds mention in the works of ancient historians such as Herodotus, Ptolemy and Megasthenes. Ladakh had been the cause of rift between Tibet and China.
Beautiful planet Bernese Alps
Location The Bernese Alps can be found in the western part of Switzerland. Parts of it are located in Fribourg, Valais and
Beautiful planet Venice – Italy
Location Italy neighbors Slovenia, Austria, Switzerland, Lichtenstein and France, and the former Yugoslavian countries across the Adriatic sea. Venice is located in
Beautiful planet Amazing Slovenia
Where is Slovenia? Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a nation state in southern Central Europe at the crossroads of main
Beautiful planet Namtso Lake, Tibet
Historical background Referred as the “heavenly lake” in the Tibetan language, Namtso Lake is the second largest salt lake after the Qinghai
Beautiful planet Cayman Islands
Beautiful planet Iguassu Waterfalls, Brazil
Stretching over a width of 1.7 miles and spanning over a height of 60 to 82 meters, the Iguazu falls are much longer and twice as wide as the Niagara falls. The falls have a long U shaped chasm about 150 meters wide called the Devil’s Throat which houses many islands within the falls.
Beautiful planet Highlands Castle, Loch Laggan, Scotland
Historical background and people of Loch Laggan Loch Laggan is a freshwater lake found in Lochaber, east of Fort William in Highland,
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Where does Open Access stop and ‘just doing good science’ begin?
14 October 2008 No Comment
I had been getting puzzled for a while as to why I was being characterised as an ‘Open Access’ advocate. I mean, I do adovcate Open Access publication and I have opinions on the Green versus Gold debate. I am trying to get more of my publications into Open Access journals. But I’m no expert, and I’ve certainly been around this community for a much shorter time and know a lot less about the detail than many other people. The giants of the Open Access movement have been fighting the good fight for many years. Really I’m just a late comer cheering from the sidelines.
This came to a head recently when I was being interviewed for a piece on Open Access. We kept coming round to the question of what it was that motivated me to be ‘such a strong’ advocate of open access publication. I must have a very strong motivation to have such strong views surely? And I found myself thinking that I didn’t. I wasn’t that motivated about open access per se. It took some thinking and going back over where I had come from to realise that this was because of where I was coming from.
I guess most people come to the Open Science movement firstly through an interest in Open Access. The frustration of not being able to access papers, followed by the realisation that for many other scientists it must be much worse. Often this is followed by the sense that even when you’ve got the papers they don’t have the information you want or need, that it would be better if they were more complete, the data or software tools available, the methodology online. There is a logical progression from ‘better access to the literature helps’ to ‘access to all the information would be so much better’.
I came at the whole thing from a different angle. My Damascus moment came when I realised the potential power of making everything available; the lab book, the data, the tools, the materials, and the ideas. Once you connect the idea of the read-write web to science communication, it is clear that the underlying platform has to be open, accessible, and re-useable to get the benefits. Science is perhaps the ultimate open platform available to build on. From this perspective it is immediately self evident that the current publishing paradigm and subscription access publication in particular is broken. But it is just one part of the puzzle, one of the barriers to communication that need to be attacked, broken down, and re-built. It is difficult, for these reasons, for me to separate out a bit of my motivation that relates just to Open Access.
Indeed in some respects Open Access, at least in the form in which it is funded by author charges can be a hindrance to effective science communication. Many of the people I would like to see more involved in the general scientific community, who would be empowered by more effective communication, cannot afford author charges. Indeed many of my colleagues in what appear to be well funded western institutions can’t afford them either. Sure you can ask for a fee waiver but no-one likes to ask for charity.
But I think papers are important. Some people believe that the scientific paper as it exists today is inevitably doomed. I disagree. I think it has an important place as a static document, a marker of what a particular group thought at a particular time, based on the evidence they had assembled. If we accept that the paper has a place then we need to ask how it is funded, particularly the costs of peer and editorial review, and the costs maintaining that record into the future. If you believe, as I do, that in an ideal world this communication would be immediately available to all then there are relatively few viable business models available. What has been exciting about the past few months, and indeed the past week has been the evidence that these business models are starting to work through and make sense. The purchase of BioMedCentral by Springer may raise concerns for the future but it also demonstrates that a publishing behemoth has faith in the future of OA as a publishing business model.
For me, this means that in many ways the discussion has moved on. Open Access, and Open Access publication in particular, has proved its viability. The challenges now lie in widening the argument to include data, to include materials, to include process. To develop the tools that will allow us to capture all of this in a meaningful way and to make sense of other people’s record. None of which should in any way belittle the achievement of those who have brought the Open Access movement to its current point. Immense amounts of blood, sweat, and tears, from thousands of people have brought what was once a fringe movement to the centre of the debate on science communication. The establishing of viable publishers and repositories for pre-prints, the bringing of funders and governments to the table with mandates, and of placing the option of OA publication at the fore of people’s minds are huge achievements, especially given the relatively short time it has taken. The debate on value for money, on quality of communication, and on business models and the best practical approaches will continue, but the debate about the value of, indeed the need for, Open Access has essentially been won.
And this is at the core of what Open Access means for me. The debate has placed, or perhaps re-placed, right at the centre of the discussion of how we should do science, the importance of the quality of communication. It has re-stated the principle of placing the claims that you make, and the evidence that supports them, in the open for criticism by anyone with the expertise to judge, regardless of where they are based or who is funding them. And it has made crystal clear where the deficiencies in that communication process lie and exposed the creeping tendency of publication over the past few decades to become more an exercise in point scoring than communication. There remains much work to be done across a wide range of areas but the fact that we can now look at taking those challenges on is due in no small part to the work of those who have advocated Open Access from its difficult beginnings to today’s success. Open Access Day is a great achievment in its own right and it should be celebration of the the efforts of all those people who have contributed to making it possible as well as an opportunity to build for the future.
High quality communication, as I and others have said, and will continue to say, is Just Good Science. The success of Open Access has shown how one aspect of that communication process can be radically improved. The message to me is a simple one. Without open communication you simply can’t do the best science. Open Access to the published literature is simply one necessary condition of doing the best possible science.
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> News > Events > Report on Activities of the Literacy Week
The week of Literacy at The Bridge International School was observed from Monday, the 4th to Friday, the 8th of February, 2019.
Activities that marked that week of celebration were scheduled as follows:
Monday: There was a presentation at the (Gym) assembly by Ms Diymba and Mr Assurance on what literacy is. This presentation was preceded by literacy games at the Patio. These games were organised by the department of English and supervised by Mr Enongene and Ms Diymba. Students were also sensitised on the week’s activities.
Tuesday: literacy games continued at the Patio and colleagues were encouraged to incorporate activities that were geared towards literacy in their lessons.
Wednesday: more literacy games at the Patio before form time. The time for ECAs on that day was allocated for a presentation on musical literacy by Mr Ezekiel. This activity involved the whole school.
Thursday: Many of the week’s activities took place on this day. It was declared a mufti day. The objective here was to encourage students to donate money to support the department’s aim to buy games to enhance such events in the future. Furthermore, there was an extension on the silent reading time of that day, up to 8.50 am. Students dressed in their best character outfit or outfit with letters, words or educative quotes on them, as part of a sensitisation campaign. During reading, students were encouraged to exchange books, in a bid to foster camaraderie.
On Friday, all primary and secondary pupils and students (but for examination classes) were assembled at the Gym for a “grand finale”. The day culminated in various competitions among the Houses in school. They competed in spelling bee and common errors in English. These activities were coordinated by all members of the department. Results of the competitions were declared and there was an overall double tie. The houses of North America and Europe were tied on 17 on a scale of 40 while Africa and Asia also drew with a score of 14.
The department (from donations made) raised the sum of 39.000 frs CFA; this money, as it was aimed, would be used to buy more games for the students to be more engaged in subsequent events.
The HOD, English,
Ms Diymba Amabelis.
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Singapore to contribute to South India flood relief
Singapore: The Singapore Government will contribute $75,000 towards the Singapore Red Cross' South Asia Floods 2015 public appeal, following devastating floods in Chennai city and other parts of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
In a letter to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J.Jayalalithaa on Saturday, Singapore Minister of Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan said he was saddened by the hundreds of lives lost and disrupted due to the severe flooding in South India, Channel News Asia reported.
"Like many Singaporeans, I hope that the floods will recede soon. I am confident that normalcy will return to your state in the near future under your leadership," he wrote. Balakrishnan added that he hoped the Singapore government's contribution to the fund would be able to help those affected.
"We hope that this will be of some assistance to those affected by the floods, and demonstrate Singapore's solidarity with the people of Tamil Nadu during this difficult period," Balakrishnan added. Chennai and its suburbs were battered by record rains for the past one month, leaving at least 325 people dead.
Unlike some areas such as Mylapore, Adyar and Annasalai where the water level has receded and electricity supply has been partially restored, people in many pockets in north Chennai continued to remain cut-off.
Trump visits areas affected by Florence, promises residents aid
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Tag: Celestial City
Celestial City: misunderstanding the administration of immigration restriction
The administration of the Immigration Restriction Act in early 20th-century Australia was complex, contradictory, opaque, ambiguous and capricious. After reading through hundreds of individual case files of Chinese Australians created as part of this administrative system, I still find myself puzzled and surprised and confused when trying to comprehend what really went on. Why was a particular decision made? Why was one case treated so differently from another? Why was the law applied harshly at times, leniently at others? It is not an easy history to understand well, nor are its complexities easy to communicate simply. But this doesn’t excuse getting the history wrong, as is the case in the Museum of Sydney’s Celestial City exhibition.
The second-to-last part of the exhibition is titled ‘Exiles and Ancestors’ and explores anti-Chinese immigration restriction and the White Australia Policy. The introductory panel unfortunately repeats the mistake that the Immigration Restriction Act 1901 was the ‘first law passed by the newly federated Commonwealth’. In fact it was the 17th piece of legislation passed by the Australian Parliament in 1901, the last one that year, after things like the Customs Act, Excise Act, Post and Telegraph Act and, significantly, the Pacific Island Labourers Act. An easy mistake to make perhaps since it crops up everywhere, but when visiting the exhibition it didn’t bode well for what was to come (especially as it was repeated in a following panel on ‘The White Australia Policy’). The introductory panel goes on to say that, under the Immigration Restriction Act, Chinese living in Australia were ‘denied the freedom to come and go between Australia and China’:
… after 1901 Chinese were effectively exiled in Sydney, their futures uncertain. Those who had made their lives here were unwilling to risk returning to, or visiting, China for fear they would not be allowed to return. So they stayed in Australia, raised families and became the ancestors of generations of Chinese Australians.
Yet what follows in the exhibition are case studies and documents that demonstrate the mobility of Chinese residents and Australians of Chinese and part-Chinese descent. Historian Michael Williams estimates that 6000 or so individuals identified as ‘Chinese’ made over 26,000 journeys through the port of Sydney between 1902 and 1959 (Williams 2004: 37). If you have trouble imagining quite how many people that is, have a look at Tim Sherratt’s The Real Face of White Australia, an experiment in making the people in the archives of White Australia visible (using records from NAA: ST84/1 in Sydney). To me, this is not a population who were afraid — it is a population who were getting on with their lives, dealing with the bureaucracy as necessary, and testing and challenging the system on many, many occasions.
On the wall of ‘Exiles and Ancestors’ is an enlargement of the back of a 1903 Certificate of Domicile for cabinetmaker Tin Lee (NAA: ST84/1, 1903/261-270). The certificate has front and side portraits of Tin Lee, a handprint, official stamps and certification by Customs officer JTT Donohoe. The front of Tin Lee’s 1903 certificate and a piece of correspondence are also included in a display titled ‘Negotiating the Bureaucracy’. From the certificate it is clear that Tin Lee went to China on the Empire in December 1903. Certificates were valid for three years. The piece of correspondence, written by the Collector of Customs, Nicholas Lockyer, gives permission for the extension of Tin Lee’s certificate for one more year, to the end of 1907 (meaning that if he returned before that date he would not be made to sit the dictation test). On the front of Tin Lee’s certificate Donohoe has noted in red that the certificate was cancelled as Tin Lee had landed in Sydney on the Chingtu on 1 June 1907.
Tin Lee’s Certificate of Domicile on the wall of ‘Exiles and Ancestors’ in the Celestial City exhibition, Museum of Sydney
Considering that this information is all clearly stated on the documents included in the exhibition, it’s curious that the text reads thus:
Tin Lee was a cabinet-maker who had lived in Botany since 1888. After being here for 18 years he applied for an extension of his Certificate of Domicile, a proof of residency that allowed him to re-enter Australia if he left. His certificate was extended by one year, to 31 December 1907. This meant that if he departed Australia after that time, perhaps to visit family in China, he would not be allowed to return.
The curator seems to have completely missed the fact that Tin Lee was already overseas when the extension was applied for. The National Archives also holds a correspondence file relating to Tin Lee which dates from 1903 to 1941 (NAA: SP11/27, C1941/1178 — not digitised, and I haven’t looked through it) and a further six CEDTs documenting his travels back and forth over at least four decades. So, it wasn’t the case that once his certificate expired in 1907 that Tin Lee would be unable to travel overseas and return again — he was able to apply for a new certificate, and then another one and another one.
Also on display in ‘Negotiating the Bureaucracy’ are documents relating to Maggie Yee Lee, the Sydney-born daughter of cabinetmaker Yee Lee. Here the interpretive text is fine, although it states that Maggie and her siblings ‘needed a Certificate of Domicile … to re-enter Australia after their sojourn in China’. Strictly this isn’t correct, as many young Chinese Australians like Maggie travelled using their birth certificates as proof of domicile, but having a certificate certainly made sure that a return home to Sydney went as smoothly as possible. The text accompanying the other set of documents on display, relating to hawker and herbalist Charlie Hing, is similarly fine.
The final display in the ‘Exiles and Ancestors’ part of Celestial City is where the interpretation of the archival documents relating to immigration restriction really falls apart. The display is titled ‘Repatriating George Nomchong’ and the main text states that the case in question involved the ‘repatriation’ of the eldest son of Braidwood resident Chee Dock Nomchong. The use of the term ‘repatriation’, which to me means ‘returning to the country you came from’ or ‘returning to your own country’, is wrong. George Nomchong, the eldest child of Chee Dock and Mary Nomchong, was born in China in 1887. He was left in the care of his grandmother in China when Mary went with Chee Dock to live in Australia. How could it be that China-born George Nomchong was being repatriated in 1908 when he was actually going to Australia for the first time?
‘Repatriating George Nomchong’ display in the Celestial City exhibition, Museum of Sydney (photo by Michael Williams)
Chee Dock Nomchong was a long-term resident of Braidwood and he was naturalised in NSW. So the term ‘repatriation’ seems to have been used in the exhibition to make the point that as the son of a naturalised British subject domiciled in Australia, George Nomchong might also have had the right to live in Australia — ‘As the child of a British subject, George should have been exempted from the provisions of the Immigration Restriction Act 1901‘, it says. Except things were not this simple. The concept of nationality in Australia in the early 20th century was fuzzy and complicated by its intersection with ideas of race, but it was based on birthplace not parents’ nationality (meaning, for example, that children born in Australia to ‘alien’ Chinese parents were British subjects by birth) (Dutton 2000). George’s personal and familial circumstances might have meant there was a moral imperative to allow him to come to live in Australia, but there was not a clear legal one. The previous year the case Ah Yin v. Christie had been heard in the High Court, where it was decided that Ah Yin, the China-born-and-raised son of a Chinese man living in Victoria, did not have the right to live to Australia simply because his father was living here. Ah Yin was still in his mid-teens, a minor, yet George Nomchong was already twenty-one when his father applied for him to come to Australia. George was not a minor child dependent on his father and mother, but a grown man.
The George Nomchong case study in the exhibition includes seven archival documents, four pieces of correspondence and three CEDTs, each with accompanying interpretive text. The correspondence is taken from a 145-page Department of External Affairs file (NAA: A1, 1926/9963), while there is further material on the case in a Sydney Customs file (NAA: SP42/1, C1910/4678) not used in the exhibition. The CEDTs are from series NAA: ST84/1. The National Archives holds other later files about George Nomchong and his own wife and children, but these aren’t digitised (and I haven’t looked at them before) and they don’t appear to have been drawn on for the exhibition. The events covered in the 145-page External Affairs file are complex, but I believe that an important part of the story has been overlooked, either because it did not fit with the exhibition’s presentation of the story of George Nomchong’s ‘repatriation’ to Australia or because the curator simply failed to understand what happened.
Here’s Celestial City‘s presentation of the George Nomchong case.
Repatriating George Nomchong
In 1908 the Immigration Restriction Act was tested in an unusual case concerning the eldest son of Chee Dock Nomchong. The boy was born in China in 1887, three years after his father had been naturalised as a British subject, and was left in China with his grandmother while his parents returned to Braidwood. Twenty-one years later, Chee Dock began the protracted process of repatriating his son, known as George, to Australia. As the child of a British subject, George should have been exempted from the provisions of the Immigration Restriction Act 1901. However, as these immigration records show, he was subjected to the same scrutiny and surveillance that shadowed any Chinese immigrant after 1901.
Letter to A Hunt from Chee Dock Nom Chong, 21 March 1908
Letter to Chee Dock Nom Chong from A Hunt, 28 March 1908
‘By giving me some idea of the test I can acquaint him of it …’ writes Chee Dock Nomchong to Secretary of External Affairs Mr Atlee Hunt. However, since the dictation test could be given in any European language, not necessarily, as Mr Hunt admits, ‘one with which the intending immigrant was acquainted’, Chee Dock’s attempt to prepare his son for the test was futile. Customs officers selected the language most likely to eliminate ‘unwanted and undesirable’ immigrants. Between 1902 and 1909 the dictation test was given to 1359 people. Fifty-two were successful. After 1909 no one passed.
Refusal of Domicile for Chee Dock Nom Chong, 6 May 1910
Letter from James Gregg to Chee Dock Nom Chong, 18 May 1910
In 1910, on his way to Fiji, George Nomchong briefly visited his family in Braidwood. His father’s request that he be allowed to stay was denied, and George was subsequently deported as a restricted immigrant. His father pursued the case with a large petition, signed by the residents of Braidwood, asking that special consideration be given. The petitioners’ representative, Mr James Gregg, pointed out that this case different from ‘what the real framing of the Act was intended for’ because the immigrant in question was of a respectable family and the son of ‘one of the most liberal and best citizens we have in Australia’.
Certificate Exempting from Dictation Test for George Nom Chong, 20 May 1926
Certificate Exempting from Dictation Test for George Nom Chong, 4 May 1935
After years of waiting, and in view of the exceptional circumstances of the case, in 1913 George Nomchong was issued with a Certificate Exempting from Dictation Test that was valid for four years. He worked at the Nomchong market gardens near Goulburn and for the next 40 years lived an uncertain life as a temporary resident, successively renewing his certificate until the dictation test was abolished in 1958.
(Off topic a bit, but why are Chee Dock Nomchong and George Nomchong referred to by their first names, while Atlee Hunt is ‘Mr Atlee Hunt’ or ‘Mr Hunt’?)
As I said before, George Nomchong — a man born in China to a Chinese mother (who at the time of his birth had never been to Australia) and a naturalised Chinese father resident in Australia — did not necessarily have a greater legal right to enter Australia under the Immigration Restriction Act than any other Chinese man of Chinese birth, and officials initially treated his case accordingly. Over the time between when Chee Dock Nomchong first applied for permission in 1908 and when permission was finally granted in 1913, however, the administration was learning that the Chinese community in Australia was not going to passively sit by and have their rights as Australians be dismantled. While the power ultimately remained with the government, family members and community leaders — mostly well-to-do, English-speaking, long-term residents of the merchant class like Chee Dock Nomchong — pushed and pushed and pushed in individual cases to attain fairer outcomes. Officials learned that the Chinese community would and could take cases as far as the High Court and be successful, as it had been with the Potter v. Minahan case in 1908, or it would cause the government serious embarrassment through widespread bad publicity over decisions that were seen as heartless and anti-Christian, such as the Poon Gooey deportation case between 1910 to 1913. Better to compromise in cases such as George Nomchong’s, where there were ‘exceptional’ or ‘special’ circumstances, than face the costs of defeat in the courts or the press.
From 1914 to 1920, George Nomchong was issued with a series of Certificates of Exemption — not Certificates Exempting from Dictation Test or CEDTs, as stated in the exhibition. Certificates of Exemption were like visitors visas, allowing someone to enter Australia and take up temporary residence for a set period. CEDTs on the other hand were issued to people already living or ‘domiciled’ in Australia granting them permission to return without having to sit the dictation test. Two different sorts of exemption for two different categories of people. George’s Certificate of Exemption was granted on his arrival in Sydney in April 1914, for a period of four years, and was extended in 1918 for a further two years. George then made a visit to China from May to December 1919, after being granted permission to return after his trip and remain for the unexpired portion of his exemption period. After a further application by Chee Dock Nomchong, in March 1920 George’s exemption was extended again for four years. This practice of issuing an ongoing series of Certificates of Exemption was not at all unusual — it seems to have been a common way that government officials worked around their own restrictions against permanent admission of new Chinese, a way to make allowances in ‘exceptional’ cases without setting an official precedent of permanent entry.
What is missed entirely in the Celestial City telling of George’s story is that in 1920 officials decided that his case should be ‘closed’ — that is, that he could remain permanently in Australia without having to keep reapplying for his Certificate of Exemption to be extended. A memo from Atlee Hunt in March 1920 informed the Collector of Customs in Sydney that ‘no further action need be taken to remind this Chinese of the expiration of his exemption as the case may be considered closed’ (NAA: A1, 1926/9963, p. 21). Atlee Hunt had pondered how to resolve George Nomchong’s case, admitting that the government ‘had given him a CEDT last year and thereby acknowledged his right to remain’ (NAA: A1, 1926/9963, p. 25). It is not clear from the file when, how or if the Nomchongs were informed of this decision, but after 1920 there were no further applications to extend George’s Certificate of Exemption. There were, however, applications for CEDTs, the first one issued in 1926 before George made a two-year trip to China. Apart from difficulties raised when three prohibited immigrants were found working on George’s Boorowa market garden in 1922, by the mid-1920s George’s right to live in Australia was settled. The CEDTs on display in Celestial City are not evidence of the precariousness of George’s presence in Australia, but rather proof that his Australian domicile was no longer questioned.
Although ‘Repatriating George Nomchong’ seems to have been written based on the archives alone, I wondered whether family perspectives had entered into how these archives were read and how George’s life was remembered. There can be no denying that the system was unfair and that officials could wield their power in ways that created insecurity for migrant Chinese living in early 20th-century Australia. This insecurity, along with the basic inequality of the system and the intervention and interference of authorities in the lives of Chinese Australians (such as during the 1922 incident with the illegal workers on George Nomchong’s garden), is often rightly remembered by descendants who have heard first hand what life was like under White Australia. There is no mention, however, of Nomchong family members having been interviewed and their memories being incorporated into the George Nomchong narrative in the exhibition, so I can only assume that the curator has worked from the archives alone.
One later file about George Nomchong, dating from 1939 to 1942, might have helped the exhibition clarify his legal status and identify whether or not George had been granted the right to remain permanently. It appears that George Nomchong inquired about naturalisation in 1939, perhaps in response to the Aliens Registration Act 1939 (see handwritten note at the bottom of page 5 in NAA: 1926/9963). It is unlikely that he would have been granted naturalisation, but I can find no obvious alien registration documents for him in Sydney either (NAA: SP1732/4). The file that might answer such questions (NAA: A659, 1942/1/6634) remains, however, unexamined in the archives.
You might ask if it really matters that details in the Celestial City exhibition aren’t spot on. How much detail do people take in during an exhibition visit anyway? Isn’t it more important for them to get a strong general impression — in this case of the extent and nature of anti-Chinese ideas in 19th and early 20th century Australia — than fretting over minutiae? To me, getting facts wrong in an exhibition like Celestial City, which has obviously had a lot of money put into it and a lot of publicity created around it, seems like a wasted opportunity. I can almost forgive the exhibition for reducing the vibrant, diverse and fascinating tale that is ‘Sydney’s Chinese Story’, full of characters and life and surprising twists, to something more akin to ‘What Racist White People in Sydney Thought About the Chinese’.* But the history of the Chinese in Australia, particularly the history of discrimination during the White Australia period, is too important for us to settle for the sort of sloppy reading of the archives and failure of historical understanding shown in Celestial City. Instead we need to be measured, considered, rigorous and meticulous in the research we do and the historical stories we tell. To do otherwise is to leave ourselves open to accusations of dishonesty, inaccuracy, exaggeration and sensationalism.
* There is certainly a place for examining white Australian attitudes towards the Chinese in the 19th and early 20th century, but as Alan Mayne has stated, ‘By emphasising unrelenting European intolerance and aggression towards Chinese settlers, historians have tended to overlook Chinese agency and the permeability of racial boundaries’. A better approach is to work towards a more nuanced understanding of European discrimination towards the Chinese and, in doing so, ‘deny Chinese passivity and marginalisation, and point instead to Chinese strategy and many-faceted engagement with colonial society’ (Mayne 2004: 2).
David Dutton. 2000. ‘The Meaning of Citizenship: Citizenship in Australia‘. In Citizenship in Australia: A Guide to Commonwealth Government Records. Canberra: National Archives of Australia.
Alan Mayne. 2004. ‘”What you want John?” Chinese-European interactions on the Lower Turon goldfields’. Journal of Australian Colonial History 6: 1–13.
Michael Williams. 2004. ‘Would this not help your Federation?’ In After the Rush: Regulation, Participation, and Chinese Communities in Australia 1860–1940, edited by Sophie Couchman, John Fitzgerald and Paul Macgregor: 35–50. Kingsbury, Vic.: Otherland Literary Journal.
Celestial City
Immigration Restriction Act
Museum of Sydney
The real face of White Australia
White Australia Policy
First impressions of Celestial City
I’ve been keen to see the Musuem of Sydney’s new exhibition, Celestial City: Sydney’s Chinese Story, since it opened last month. So, with two weeks of school holidays and three kids to amuse, it seemed that a trip to Sydney was in order. I hope to have a chance to write up some more detailed thoughts on the exhibition, particularly on its treatment of gender, but for now I’m going to give some quick impressions from our visit. Our party of seven included two adults (one historian, one non-historian) and five kids, ranging from age 4 to age 11.
One of the first things you see walking into the exhibition space are large reproductions of two of the best-known anti-Chinese cartoons, images that are (to my mind at least) racist and offensive. One, which depicts the Australian colonies as beautiful young women working together to dispose of ‘the Chinese pest’ in the form of the large, disembodied head of a Chinese man, particularly caught the little kids’ eyes. The other cartoon, the Bulletin’s notorious ‘Mongolian Octopus’, also caught their attention. On surrounding walls are other large reproductions of illustrations of 19th-century anti-Chinese activities. These images were a sudden and unfortunate introduction for the kids to an exhibition that claims to celebrate ‘the diversity of experiences and successes within the Chinese community’.
These images dominate the space so much that our only real conversation in the exhibition was about racist ideals of White Australia, not about the old and deep connections that tie Sydney to China and the Chinese to Sydney. Supervising the kids meant I didn’t get to read everything for myself, or even to take note of other objects or text that might have told this deeper story in the first part of the exhibition. But if I didn’t see it, the kids certainly didn’t either. (I do have photographs, though, which I’m going to refer to again – it’s just first impressions here.)
The only other item in the exhibition that really caught the little kids’ eyes was a labour contract written in Chinese. Three of the little kids are studying Chinese and have spent significant amounts of time in China. They keenly tried to spot words that they knew. From memory, there is only this one piece in the exhibition in Chinese (actually, now I think about it, there is also an article from a Chinese newspaper and a Chinese-English word book). It would have been great to see more Chinese language material included in the exhibition (and yes, it does exist), particularly as the museum seems keen to attract a Chinese-speaking audience (there is a Chinese-language version of the exhibition catalogue).
When interrogated the day after we saw the exhibition, my 8-year-old said that along with ‘those cartoons’, the thing she remembered from the exhibition was ‘the speaker with the Nomchong thing’, an oral history recording with Lionel Nomchong. She said she listened to a bit of it until her 4-year-old sister came and snatched it off her. Such are the perils of visiting museum exhibitions with (even littler) kids.
The 11-year-old gave the exhibition a much more considered look than the four younger ones. A little way into the exhibition, though, she told me she was confused, although she later said she had ‘mostly understood’ what it was about. Her favourite part was the bit on hawkers and market gardeners – she liked the objects that accompanied it. And she liked Margaret Tart’s Chinese jacket (but hadn’t understood who it belonged to or why she had it).
And as for the impressions of my non-historian friend and me? She thought Celestial City was ‘shallow’, with that shallowness mostly coming from the dominance of White Australian voices throughout the exhibition. White Australians saying how the Chinese were good, White Australians saying how the Chinese were bad. She also didn’t feel she had learned anything new, that the ‘Yellow Peril’ material didn’t really expand her understanding of what life was like for Chinese at the time. Largely that’s how I felt about the exhibition too.
I would have loved to see some of the more recent scholarship on Sydney’s Chinese communities being drawn into the exhibition (e.g. Mei-fen Kuo’s Making Chinese Australia), as well as newer theoretical approaches such as transnationalism. I also have some real concerns about the historical accuracy in parts, the language used (e.g. ‘influx’), and parts of the story that are omitted (which I’ll blog about separately when I’ve had time to think it through a bit more). I had wanted so much to love this exhibition – and there is some great material there, even an item or two that were new to me! – but overall I’m afraid we all came away disappointed. Sydney’s Chinese story is just as fabulous as the exhibition’s publicity hype says it is. Unfortunately this exhibition just doesn’t manage to convey it.
children in museums
Chinese language sources
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Know About The Incredible Frozen Lakes Of India
8 Routes of Double Decker Trains In India
Posted on Feb 16th, 2016
Double decker trains have been in operation in India since 2012 with the first of them being the Ahmedabad-Mumbai superfast Double decker. Since then, its popularity has increased and there is also a need to ferry an increased number of passengers on certain routes and so there has been a total of 8 routes while ply double decker trains in India. Check them out
1. Ahmedabad to Mumbai CentralÂ
Runs between the Mumbai Central and Ahmedabad Junction once a day, six days a week. It has 12 AC chair cars and 2 EOG cars. It covers a distance of 491 kilometers in a little over 7 hours and has an average speed of 70 km/hr.
2. Chennai to Bangalore
It is the first double decker to ply in South India and plies between the two metro cities. It comprises of 10 Chair cars and 2 compartments for Passenger Luggage and Guards room with the total composition coming up to 12. The train has a GPS- based passenger information system which provides real time information about the train’s speed and distance to the next station.
3. Jaipur to Delhi Sarai Rohila
A superfast express train that runs on a daily basis between the Jaipur Junction to Delhi Sarai Rohila via Alwar, Rewari and Gurgaon and presently comprises of 13 AC chair cars, 2 executive class cars and 2 EOG coaches. It covers a distance of 303 kilometers in 3.5 hours with an average speed of 67 km/hr.
4. Guntur to Kacheguda
A superfast express that operates twice weekly and is the first of a kind operation between the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. It comprises of 10 chair cars and covers a distance of 287 kilometers in 3 hours stopping only 4 times in-route. Standout features of the train include Very Early Smoke detection system, the first of its kind used in India.
5. Kacheguda to TirupatiÂ
A superfast express which connects the cities of Hyderabad and Tirupati, which connects the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Comprises of 10 AC chair cars, it operates twice every week on Wednesdays and Saturdays and covers a total distance of 636 kilometers.
6. Mumbai to GoaÂ
The latest of the double decker trains to be introduced on 7th December 2015 it operates tri-weekly on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays from Mumbai the Shatabdi Express connects the cities of Mumbai and Madgaon. It covers a distance of 750 kilometers in just under 12 hours. The train has a seating capacity of 120 passengers in its 8 chair car coaches.
7. Lucknow to New Delhi Anand Vihar
First double train service to be implemented in the state of Uttar Pradesh, the train operates twice a week on Friday and Sunday. It covers a total distance of 480 kilometers in about 8.5 hours and stops just thrice on route. It is the fifth dedicated train service between Lucknow and Delhi.
8. Indore to Bhopal Intercity Express
Rounding of the list, this is another superfast AC service which runs within the state of Madhya Pradesh connecting its two major cities. It comprises of 11 chair cars all f which are equipped with real time GPS service. It covers a distance of 263 kilometers in just over 4 hours and is operated daily.
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10 Facts About Hindi Language You Must Not Be Knowing
While you are busy conversing in your daily life with your fellow Indians, it might
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Netflix says 'The Christmas Chronicles' is Kurt Russell's biggest movie ever
Posted December 3, 2018 4:5 PM
Netflix's content boss, Ted Sarandos, said Monday that "The Christmas Chronicles," starring Kurt Russell, had 20 million views in its first week.
"If every one of those was a movie ticket purchase, that's a $200 million opening week," he said.
We don't know how many of those were repeat viewings, however.
Netflix doesn't release viewership numbers, but claimed "The Christmas Chronicles" is the biggest movie of Kurt Russell's career.
Netflix's Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos discussed the movie, which debuted last month, at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference on Monday. It stars Russell as a "savvy, straight-talking" Santa Claus who teams up with young siblings to save Christmas after the pair crash his sleigh.
Sarandos said that, according to Russell, "The Christmas Chronicles" had the "most impact" of any of the actor's movies after its release.
"It's because, even in his successful career, he's never had that many people see one of his movies in the first week ever," Sarandos said. "That's a testimony to what we can bring to the market for storytellers today that we couldn't have ten years ago."
According to Sarandos, "The Christmas Chronicles" had 20 million views in its first week.
"If every one of those was a movie ticket purchase, that's a $200 million opening week," he said. "Even movies that go on to $1 billion don't typically do that in the first week."
But since Netflix doesn't release concrete viewing data, we don't know how many of those views are repeat viewings, or how many people watched the entire movie.
For comparison's sake, according to Box Office Mojo, Russell's biggest theatrical release in the US before inflation is Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" last year. The movie scored $146.5 million in its opening weekend and $183 million in its first week. It went on to gross almost $390 million domestically and $863 million globally. His biggest movie worldwide is "Furious 7" in 2015, which grossed over $1.5 billion total.
NOW WATCH: Drinking too much water could be surprisingly hazardous to your health
Credit: Netflix
Reference: http://uk.businessinsider.com/netflixs-christmas-chronicles-kurt-russells-biggest-movie-ted-sarandos-2018-12
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Collector’s Den
The Bootleg Files
List Junkies
PC Thugs
I Love You Beth Cooper (2009)
Posted on August 19, 2010 by Felix Vasquez
Riddle me this: Do you love movies about child molestation, child rape, animal cruelty, drug abuse, pedophilia, homophobia, alcohol abuse, and bulimia all of which is played for wacky comedy, sight gags, and relentless running gags? Well then strap in for “I Love You, Beth Cooper” a movie that actually turns a character with an eating disorder in to a pun where the camera man zooms in to her stick thin waist as if to draw some form of giggles from a crippling potentially deadly psychological disorder. I couldn’t believe the editor tried to use this as something of a joke and treat it with such a tongue in cheek manner. Do you think I’m being a kill joy? Well then you probably haven’t seen this mean spirited utterly cruel romance comedy that is probably one of the creepiest teen misadventures I’ve ever seen.
Deep down “I Love you Beth Cooper” wants to be the new “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” a film about an uptight geek being shown the night of his life by the girl of his dreams. Instead of a rebellious male slacker we have a hot girl who takes our resident geek on all sorts of close calls with bullies, miscreants, and the encounters with his woefully unaware parents. They even go so far as to cast Alan Ruck as main character Denis’ father. What’s attempted to be passed off as courageous comes off as just plain rude as high school geek Denis makes a speech and confesses his love for the dreamy Beth Cooper, all the while spitting bile at class mates insulting them relentlessly. This is supposed to be brave, or one for the geeks, but really it’s just a blatant attempt to set up various plot devices as we know Denis will soon come face to face with these people eventually throughout the film.
Part road trip comedy, part coming of age dramedy, Chris Columbus’ teen flick is filled with nothing but vapid one dimensional teen characters, and absolutely pointless flashback sequences, all the while anxiously trying to invoke the best of John Hughes and failing quite painfully. Denis is a pathetic loser void of any redeeming qualities whose sexually ambiguous best friend goes along with his dream girl Beth and her two friends, after a disastrous party at his house. Hayden Panettiere would be the perfect dream girl if Beth Cooper was at all interesting or humanistic. When she’s not laughing at Denis’ injuries inflicted by her, or mocking him about his hygiene and clothes, she’s hitting him with cars, knocking him unconscious thanks to her bad driving, turning him in to a literal slave, and humiliating him in public, all of which Denis takes with a laugh.
She might have given him brain trauma, but it’s Beth Cooper, so Denis is okay with that. I kept wondering why anyone would like this girl at all. At one instance she tells him he smells like “A Dead Homeless Guy,” which sparks a laugh from Denis. My response would be “Go fuck yourself, shrew,” but hey, I don’t write for the movies. Somewhere down the road we’re force fed a mopey back story about her life and how she may never get in to a good college and will be a low class housewife. But by then it’s much too late, as Beth is a truly abusive and utterly horrendous character we have to believe is someone every guy would pine for. Writer Doyle horribly backpedals by trying to turn Beth in to a conflicted popular girl forced with obligations, but we’re never let in on her motivations or personality, so she’s nothing but a broad representation of everything wrong with this “comedy.” The only redeeming quality of this entire excruciating experience is that mid-way Denis realizes aloud “This is not the girl I thought I wanted.”
Which makes Beth mock him even more! Nevertheless this is the modern form of film culture comedy where the men are dorky, goofy, and played for utter torture regardless of their personality, while they endure abuse from girls with pleasant grins because they’re hot, so that makes it okay, somehow. After endlessly unfunny mishap after mishap, “I Love You, Beth Cooper” presents nothing but a hint of a potentially excellent dramedy that is turned in to a cruel and often creepy sex comedy that does nothing but consume our precious time and wish for movies that represents something true about the American teenager. In some dark twisted corner of the movie fandom, “I Love You, Beth Cooper” is a hilarious raucous realistic teen comedy, but on its surface it’s nothing but a painful, tedious, cruel, and mean spirited exercise in sadism that actually tries to transform child molestation in to a comedic bit. An honest to goodness comedic monologue. Go watch “Dazed and Confused,” go watch “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” watch anything but this!
This entry was posted in Movie Reviews and tagged Adventure, Comedy, I, Road Trip, Romance. Bookmark the permalink.
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Black Panther expected to set records for a black-cast flick
Here's the place to talk about DVDs (or VHS) films and movies you have seen on television and recommend or don't recommend. Discuss actors and scores, too.
jserraglio
Post by jserraglio » Fri Feb 16, 2018 12:48 pm
LOS ANGELES — “Black Panther,” Marvel’s African-oriented comic book adaptation, is shaping up to be the most successful movie at the box office for a film with a primarily black cast.
And it’s raising hopes for a new wave of broad-interest commercial films featuring black actors and stories.
“That a predominantly black-cast movie is getting this kind of traction finally shows what we all intuitively know: Make great art and people will respond,” said the actor-musician Common, who like many African Americans in entertainment has criticized the industry for ignoring the potential of black-oriented films.
But some in Hollywood also worry that “Black Panther” may prove more the exception than the rule. For all the enthusiasm over the movie, they say it has attributes – like Marvel’s massive production and marketing machine – that will make it easy to be dismissed as an outlier by executives contemplating future projects. It also comes after decades during which films from black artists struggled to gain traction in Hollywood.
Hollywood has long underinvested in African American movies. The movie industry makes assumptions about audiences that don’t match their behavior, say African American and white critics of the current system.
For many years, they note, studios executives believed that white moviegoers wouldn’t come out in droves to a black-driven film, a corollary to another long-standing trope: that black stars don’t fare well internationally. As it turns out, minorities now help drive the box-office of many blockbusters.
“I think no matter how much money this movie makes, it will be seen by a lot of people in [studio] staff meetings and greenlight committees as just a one-off,” said a prominent African American figure in the Hollywood development world, asking for anonymity so as not to be perceived as criticizing potential business partners. “And the question is: How many more ‘one-offs’ will we have before they realize it’s a pattern?”
Ryan Coogler’s take on the 1960s hero Black Panther, starring Chadwick Boseman, Lupita Nyong’o and Michael B. Jordan, has turned into a cultural event. Opening Friday, the movie comes from Disney and its Marvel subsidiary, two of the most potent commercial forces operating in Hollywood.
It is projected by tracking services to gross $175 million at the domestic box office over the four-day holiday weekend and even has a chance to top $166 million for the Friday-Sunday period — which would put it in the top 10 openings of all time. Over coming weeks, the action-adventure is expected to sail past $350 million domestically and could well surpass $400 million. Marvel gave Coogler a budget pegged by trade reports at $200 million, nearly unheard of for a black director.
The social context is ripe for “Black Panther” to be a breakout. Rhea Combs, the curator of film and photography at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, said: “‘Black Panther’ comes in the midst of Black Lives Matter and all the other important social movements that are happening now. It makes for a very powerful combination.”
Black stories are hardly ever made at top production and marketing budget levels, and thus often perform at more midrange levels. They include the movies of Tyler Perry, which reliably gross between $50 million and $70 million.
One of the highest-grossing films to date with a largely black cast, 1988’s “Coming to America,” ranks at No. 291 on the all-time U.S. list when adjusting for inflation, with $274 million. Even that was an anomaly. The 30 years since have brought very little else of its kind, as the studios constructed most movies with primarily black casts as lower-budget niche offerings.
But “Black Panther” breaks that pattern. “What’s unprecedented is here we have a film with a black lead and majority black cast that’s also a tentpole film,” said Darnell Hunt, a professor and director of social science at UCLA who specializes in issues of Hollywood and race, using the term for a modern, expensive, effects movie.
“Black Panther” has been tracking extraordinarily well with African Americans. According to a survey conducted two weeks ago by the data analytics firm YouGov, 74 percent of African Americans said they planned to see the movie on some platform in coming months. (By contrast, the highest percentage of African Americans who said they’d seen any of the other 17 movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe was 44 percent, for 2008’s “The Incredible Hulk.”)
But it’s white audiences where the numbers really pop: 49 percent of white respondents said they planned to watch “Black Panther” on some platform. That’s actually a higher proportion than has seen any other Marvel movie. The next closest was the three-part Iron Man franchise, which drew 46 percent of respondents.
“What you see here are numbers across the board with all races,” said Larry Shannon-Missal, the head of data services for YouGov in the United States. “Black people will turn out in a very significant way, but so will white moviegoers.”
UCLA’s Hunt drew an analogy: to “The Cosby Show.” “You knew black people were going to watch it,” he said. “But what made that show a hit was that a lot of white people watched it.”
For a lot of movies, that may not be even necessary. Minority audiences are actually helping propel box-office success for the biggest blockbusters. According to Hunt, who heads up an annual study of diversity in Hollywood, minority groups constituted more than 50 percent of U.S. ticket buyers on five of the top 10 highest-grossing global releases in 2015, the most recent year for which statistics are available. It was the first time that threshold had been reached. His study of 2016’s box office, due at the end of the month, could see that number rise, he said.
Other parts of the entertainment industry have long understood — economically if not ethically — the importance of diverse artists, says Marc Morial, the former mayor of New Orleans and the current president of the National Urban League. “From Motown to Prince to hip-hop, the music business understands black artists have a lot of broad appeal beyond the black community,” Morial said. “So why hasn’t Hollywood understood that?”
Until recently, Hollywood studios have indeed been far more reluctant to make movies that went beyond a single black star or that dealt with black-specific stories — even though movies with African American leads such as Will Smith and Eddie Murphy have been major box-office champions for years.
Only in the past several years have studios begun producing movies with predominantly black casts that deal with such themes. (Some of them, including “Get Out” and “Straight Outta Compton,” each topped $150 million domestic on budgets far smaller than that.)
For a long time, Hollywood refused to believe that white audiences would attend minority movies — or even bothered to test the theory. A group of largely white male executives rarely greenlit stories about black America.
On the rare occasions those stories were made, they tended to find profitability — John Singleton’s 1991 inner-city drama “Boyz N The Hood” and the films of Spike Lee, particularly 1992’s “Malcolm X,” both of which came from major studios and topped $75 million in domestic box office when adjusting for inflation. But that success happened very infrequently and, observers say, with little regard for its meaning.
Still, some activists privately wonder why it took so long for Marvel to finally have a black superhero lead, particularly when many other lesser-known superhero characters were mined in the interim. Disney began actively developing “Black Panther” in 2009, driven by Nate Moore, Marvel’s key executive who is also African American. Disney declined to make anyone involved in the movie available to comment.
Until Disney gave African American filmmaker Ava DuVernay $100 million to direct next month’s “A Wrinkle In Time,” no black woman had ever been handed a budget that high.
The activists also wonder if the effect of “Black Panther,” inside and outside Hollywood, might be exaggerated.
“This movie is a fantasy,” said Todd Boyd, a professor of cinema and media studies at USC who specializes in race and popular culture. Spike Lee’s “Malcolm X,” he noted, raised awareness for a political movement and even catalyzed others to carry the mantle. “I don’t think this will change anything,” he said. “Hollywood has never put its muscle behind telling the story of the real Black Panthers, so why would a fictional movie about a fictional place make them do things differently?”
Transforming “Black Panther” into a springboard for more representation in executive suites and on film slates won’t be easy, other diversity advocates acknowledge. But they say the fact so many are embracing an African-centric story could make the strongest case for more black-oriented movies.
According to the YouGov study, 15 percent of Americans who have never seen a Marvel movie say they will break that pattern for “Black Panther,” suggesting the movie is broadening audiences.
“The best part of this film’s success is it will show a black movie can be not just important culturally,” said the Urban League’s Morial, “but a big winner economically.”
Steven Zeitchik covers the business of entertainment for The Washington Post.
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You are here: Home / Blog / Bulletins / Climate Change & Wildlife Impacts: Part 2
Climate Change & Wildlife Impacts: Part 2
March 31, 2016 /in Bulletins /by Admin
(click to download formatted pdfs of this full article or a one-page synopsis)
By Jennifer Hushaw, Si Balch, and Eric Walberg
In Part I of this bulletin, we described how climate change may soon rival human influence as the biggest driver of biodiversity change, and in this piece we look more closely at the links between climate and the habitat requirements of some specific groups of wildlife and game species in North America.
We don’t have much knowledge about exactly how climate will affect wildlife, even when compared to the uncertainties of forest response to climate change (as discussed previously). This is because wildlife species are higher up the trophic chain, with complicated interactions that determine their health and geographic limits (e.g. predator-prey relationships). In contrast, the distribution of vegetation communities is linked directly to climatic drivers and a short list of other factors, such as soils. The key to anticipating potential impacts is to understand the habitat characteristics that allow a species to survive in a particular place and determine how climate change might influence those conditions. The most robust predictions will be cases where a species has life history traits that are known to be particularly climate sensitive, such as the snowshoes hare’s reliance on snow cover for camouflage.
Wildlife species are far more mobile than plants and will therefore be able to respond quickly to changing climate conditions—changes in the behavior, distribution, or population of wildlife species are early indicators of climate change in the field. Quick response times will also make it easier for managers to adjust their management strategies and adapt based on results that are observable within a decade or so, rather than the multiple decades, or longer, needed to observe shifts in vegetation.
The impacts of climate change are not always direct—climate can and will affect species in less obvious ways through shifting habitat suitability, changes in prey availability or abundance, altered patterns of herbivory, and others. These indirect impacts can pose a major risk to wildlife when they exacerbate existing stressors. Any effort on the part of forest owners or managers to maintain, improve, or increase habitat for climatically-vulnerable species will help buffer against shifts in desired wildlife.
Species Highlights
Studies examining the impacts of climate change on specific wildlife species are still a relatively new realm of science and, while there is an incredible amount of research being done, the information available varies greatly depending on the species—as shown in the relative length of the sections below. The management recommendations included here are also general in nature, reflecting the fact that many of the standard wildlife management techniques we already employ are suitable for responding to the impacts of climate change for number of species.
Deer, Moose, Elk
Climate change will affect the population dynamics, range limits, habitat selection, browsing/foraging behavior, and disease outbreaks of these ungulate species.
As conditions change, moose and deer may alter their habitat selection, shifting where and when they utilize certain types of habitat. For example, decreases in lake ice in Michigan have led to more lake effect snow that creates harsh winter conditions for deer and increases their reliance on shelter in conifer swamps (although this increased precipitation is expected to shift more toward rain over the next century) (Hoving & Notaro 2015). White-tailed deer are not expected to decline as a direct result of climate change, but these types of changes in migration patterns and seasonal habitat are likely (Hoving et al 2013). Similarly, it has been documented that moose will change their behavior to alleviate heat stress, by moving to areas of higher and denser forest canopy when they reach a daytime temperature threshold of around 68⁰F (Melin et al 2014; Street et al 2015; NWF 2013a).
Range limits will also shift, and in some cases they already have, e.g. white-tailed deer have expanded into western boreal forests and climate has been shown to be an important factor determining their presence in that region (Dawe et al 2014). At the northern edge of their range, white-tailed deer are controlled by low winter temperatures and snow depth, so conifer stand deer yards are important for their survival because they provide thermal cover and reduced snow depth. As the climate changes, this cold/snow limiting line will move and two things are likely to result: (1) the more southerly deer yards will become less critical to survival and (2) deer populations will increase. Similarly, research on moose in China has revealed that climate is an important factor influencing population dynamics there; increases in late spring temperatures, in particular, have the potential to shift the southern limits of moose distribution northward (Dou et al 2013).
Changes in moose and deer population dynamics have been linked to large-scale climate patterns, particularly the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), which determines much of the snowfall and winter temperatures in northern latitudes (Post & Stenseth 1998). Likewise, recent research suggests that warmer temperatures and a shorter period of high quality forage in spring have led to nutritional deficiencies in maternal moose that decreased recruitment in the southern part of their range (Monteith et al 2015). As cold-adapted species, moose are generally considered to be highly vulnerable to climate change and decreases in abundance are likely by the middle of the century (Hoving et al 2013).
Climate change-induced decreases in snowpack have also led to shifts in browsing or foraging behavior in both moose and elk. In the case of moose, low snow conditions can increase browse on balsam fir compared to sugar maple or Viburnum (Christensen et al 2014). For elk, less snowpack means easier access to aspen shoots, which has caused substantial declines in aspen recruitment, particularly in the Rocky Mountains (Brodie et al 2012). In fact, climate change may actually provide some positive benefits for elk in the form of milder winters and better forage (NWF 2013a). Importantly, these kinds of climate-driven changes in plant-herbivore interactions can have wide reaching affects within the larger ecological community (Auer & Martin 2012).
Lastly, as discussed in Part I, climate change is altering pest and disease dynamics, including the transmission of wildlife diseases. White-tailed deer are vulnerable to hemorrhagic disease (HD), including epizootic hemorrhagic disease and bluetongue viruses, which are transmitted by biting midges. The first fall frost usually kills the insects, but longer summers will mean longer exposure times and hot, dry weather (which is likely to increase) has been strongly associated with past outbreaks, which suggests that the risk of widespread deer mortality from these diseases will increase (Hoving et al 2013; NWF 2013a). In recent years, warmer, shorter winters have also spelled trouble for moose populations, as winter ticks have proliferated enough to cause a significant increase in moose mortality (heavy infestations leave moose weak, vulnerable to disease, and at risk of cold exposure and death in cases where they rub off their insulating hair in an attempt to rid themselves of the ticks) (NWF 2013a).
Management Considerations:
Monitor for changing browsing patterns.
Provide areas of high, dense forest canopy for moose, particularly in southern parts of their range.
Factor increased deer browsing into regeneration planning.
Climate change will affect the population dynamics, distribution and abundance of prey species, hunting success, connectivity with peripheral populations, and range margins of lynx populations.
Canada Lynx is a charismatic animal that has drawn a great deal of conservation interest since its listing as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act in March of 2000. It is considered highly vulnerable to climate change because it is a cold-adapted species that is particularly well-suited to hunting in deep snow, which gives it a competitive advantage over other predators (an advantage that will be lost with decreasing snow cover).
The decrease in snow cover will not only affect hunting success, but will also affect the distribution and abundance of the primary prey species, the snowshoe hare, whose populations are expected to shift northward due to climate change (Murray et al 2008). This is partly because hares in southern locations (with decreasing snow cover) often find themselves mismatched with their surroundings when they molt into their white winter coat in the absence of snow, which makes them far more visible to predators, with weekly survival decreases up to 7% (Zimova et al 2016). In contrast, the range of snowshoe hares has expanded in some northern locations, particularly Arctic Alaska, where warming temperatures and expanded shrub habitat have created more suitable conditions (Tape et al 2015).
Along with prey species abundance, climate itself is an important determinant of lynx population dynamics. Large-scale climate patterns, including the North Atlantic Oscillation index (NAO), the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI), and northern hemispheric temperature, play a role in producing and modifying the classic 10-year population cycles associated with lynx and snowshoe hare in the boreal parts of their range, by influencing rain and snowfall patterns (Yan et al 2013).
Climate change is also affecting connectivity between core and peripheral lynx populations, especially island populations that are sustained by immigration of individuals from other areas. Individuals from the core of the lynx range migrate over frozen rivers to reach island habitats, so warming conditions and less frequent formation of ice bridges will leave these populations even more isolated (Koen et al 2015; Licht et al 2015). As a result, range margin shifts are expected (and in some cases already observed) that include contraction of these smaller, peripheral groups, as well as northward contraction of the southern range boundary and the core population areas (Carroll 2007; Koen et al 2014).
Provide large, contiguous tracts of landscape, especially where there is connectivity with more stable Canadian populations of lynx.
Maintain patches of young, dense conifers for hare habitat.
Climate change may affect bat population distributions, reproductive success, hibernation behavior, and access to food.
Climate is known to influence the biogeography of bats, as well as their access to food, timing of hibernation, development, and other factors, so it is likely that changing climate conditions may adversely impact some bat species—some specific life history characteristics that may put bats at risk from climate change include (Sherwin et al 2012):
Small range size,
high latitude or high altitude range,
range that is likely to become water stressed,
fruit-based diet,
restricted to aerial hawking (prey pursued and caught in flight),
and restricted dispersal behavior.
Throughout the globe, there have been a number of documented cases of shifting bat populations linked to climate change, including range expansion of at least one Mediterranean species (Ancillotto et al 2016) and mostly northward shifts in a number of species in China (Wu 2016). In the Czech Republic, evidence suggests that a temperate, insectivorous bat is benefiting from rising spring temperatures, but the effect may be buffered by excessive summer rain that decreases reproductive success (Lučan et al 2013)—an example of the complicated nature of predicting exactly how climate change will impact a given wildlife species.
Of course, climate change is not the most immediate concern in the United States, where the introduction of white-nose syndrome to the eastern U.S. in the early 2000’s led to a massive decline in bat populations. However, changing climate conditions do have the potential to further stress these decimated populations, which is a cause for concern. This also highlights the need to protect the genetic diversity within refugial populations, especially on the leading edge for northward migration (Razgour et al 2013).
One particularly hard hit species, the Northern Long-eared Bat (NLB), was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and a final rule was released in January 2016 detailing the protections for this species under the ESA. Use these links to access a range map for the NLB and up-to-date maps of documented cases of white-nose syndrome, as well as details about the Final 4(d) Rule for the NLB under the ESA—there are some considerations for forest managers.
Leave a ¼ mile buffer around known hibernaculum*.
Leave a 150ft buffer around documented or potential maternal roosting trees*, especially during the pupping season in June & July.
* Contact your state agency or US Fish & Wildlife Service for more information about hibernaculum and maternal roost tree locations.
Forest Song Birds
Climate change will alter migration patterns, population dynamics, and the quality and availability of habitat for forest song birds.
Song bird species have exhibited a variety of responses to recent climate change. In particular, shifts in timing have been observed for some migratory species, including spring arrival shifted several days to more than a week early (depending on the species), such as Baltimore Oriole, Eastern Towhee, Red-eyed Vireo, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, and Mountain Bluebirds (NWF 2013b; Manomet). There is mixed evidence regarding changes in fall migration, with both early and late shifts observed in migrants passing through Massachusetts (Ellwood et al 2015).
Birds have the advantage of being able to respond rapidly to warming temperatures, but their ability to adapt depends on where they overwinter, how they receive their migration cues, and the level of mismatch between migration timing and the availability of associated food sources. In fact, evidence from 33 years of bird capture data collected by Manomet’s land bird conservation program suggests that short-distance migrants respond to temperature changes, while some mid-distance migrants respond to temperature and/or changes in the Southern Oscillation Index, and long-distance migrants tend not to change over time (Miller-Rushing et al 2008).
The vulnerability of individual species is also related to their specific habitat requirements and whether climate change may alter the availability of quality breeding or foraging areas. For example, a study of over 160 bird species in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California found that those associated with alpine/subalpine and aquatic habitats ranked as the most vulnerable, while those associated with drier habitats (i.e. foothill, sagebrush, and chaparral associated species) may experience range expansion in the future (Siegel et al 2014). Challenges may also arise for bird species that rely on temperature-sensitive prey species for food, such as aerial insectivores (e.g. Common Nighthawk, Chimney Swift, and Bank Swallow) that eat flying insects.
Lastly, as we have seen for other groups of species, rapid shifts in the distribution of wild birds will have implications for the spread and abundance of wildlife diseases (Van Hemert et al 2014).
Use silvicultural techniques that promote the type of forest structure preferred by desired species, e.g.
See recommendations for a select number of important bird species that favor fully stocked stands in Birds with Silviculture in Mind (part of the Foresters for the Birds program by Audubon Vermont and the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation)
Use guidance and resources from your local NRCS field office to develop forest structure for bird species that prefer early successional habitat
Note: Visit the Climate Change Bird Atlas from the U.S. Forest Service for maps of projected change in species distribution for 147 birds in the eastern U.S.
Game Birds (Grouse, Turkey, Quail)
Climate change may affect habitat suitability and availability for important game bird species, as well as their breeding success and population dynamics—positive and negative projections vary from species to species.
Climate plays a role in the distribution of game bird species, as it does with many others. In fact, the population dynamics of several gamebirds seem to be influenced by large-scale climatic patterns (Kozma et al 2016; Williford et al 2016; Lusk et al 2001), but the effects of climate change are expected to vary significantly from one species to the next. For example, Black Grouse in Finland have experienced population declines for four decades related to seasonally asymmetric climate change. In particular, springs have warmed faster than the early summer period, so grouse lay their eggs earlier and then experience higher chick mortality when they hatch before temperatures are sufficiently warm (Ludwig et al 2006). Similarly, Spruce Grouse is considered moderately vulnerable because its montane spruce-fir habitat is rare (and likely to decline) in the southern edges of its boreal range. On the other hand, Ruffed Grouse is a resident species in the northeast U.S. whose range is projected to decrease and shift further north, even as overall populations remain relatively stable (Rodenhouse et al 2008; Hoving et al 2013).
In contrast, some gamebirds are likely to fare even better under climate change, including Wild Turkey (which has expanded northward (Niedzielski & Bowman 2015) and will benefit from less severe winters (Hoving et al 2013)), Northern bobwhite (which is likely to increase (Hoving et al 2013)), and Sage Grouse (which studies suggest may enjoy an increase in suitable habitat in some regions, such as southeastern Oregon, by the end of the century (Creutzburg et al 2015)).
Follow habitat guidelines from the Ruffed Grouse Society, Wild Turkey Federation, Timberdoodle.org, the Wildlife Management Institute and others.
Climate change has already led to increased temperatures in freshwater systems, putting cold-water fish species at risk of physiological stress or extirpation in certain waterways, while some warm-water species may experience increased growth rates and northward expansion.
Climate change has the potential for significant adverse impacts on cold-water fish species such as brook and rainbow trout. These species depend on access to cold water for reproduction and may also suffer from an increase in summer low flow stream conditions. As discussed in the August 2014 Bulletin, designing stream crossings to accommodate floods associated with the increase in heavy precipitation also has the benefit of minimizing fragmentation of aquatic habitat. Intact stream systems allow fish and other aquatic species to move in search of appropriate temperature and flow regimes.
For warm-water fish, evidence suggests that some species, such as small mouth bass, may experience increased growth rates as temperatures rise (although this growth effect may taper off if conditions become too warm later in the century) (Pease & Paukert n.d.). Some warm-water fishes have also moved northwards and are likely to continue expanding into freshwater systems traditionally dominated by cold-water species (Groffman et al 2014).
Upsize culverts, transition to arched structures, or use removable crossings to provide the win/win of reduced infrastructure damage from floods and enhanced connectivity of aquatic habitat.
Climate change will drive changes in habitat availability and suitability for amphibian species, which are highly sensitive to changes in temperature and precipitation.
There is weak evidence that climate change is driving observed declines in amphibian populations in various locations worldwide (Li et al 2013), but a number of studies suggest that future climate change is likely to lead to declines and/or range contractions (Barrett et al 2014; Loyola et al 2014; Wright et al 2015). These changes will be driven by a reduction in climatically suitable habitat, reduced soil moisture (which will reduce prey abundance and lead to loss of habitat), reduced snowfall and increased summer evaporation (which will change the duration and occurrence of seasonal wetlands) (Corn 2005).
Amphibians are particularly vulnerable to changing climate because their ectothermic physiology makes them very sensitive to temperature and precipitation changes, they have low dispersal capability, and often have strong associations with temporary wetlands that are likely to be threatened by climate change (Tuberville et al 2015).
Maintain appropriate buffer areas around water bodies, vernal pools, ephemeral and intermittent streams that act as amphibian habitat.
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Wu, J. 2016. Detection and attribution of the effects of climate change on bat distributions over the last 50 years. Climatic Change. 134(4): 681-696.
Yan, C., Stenseth, N.C., Krebs, C.J., Zhang, Z. 2013. Linking climate change to population cycles of hares and lynx. Global Change Biology. 19: 3263-3271.
Zimova, M., Mills, L.S., Nowak, J.J. 2016. High fitness costs of climate change-induced camouflage mismatch. Ecology Letters. 19(3): 299-307.
Climate Change & Wildlife Impacts: Part 1 Modeling Future Forests
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How Philosophy Can Help Your Portfolio
By Sanjit Deepalam '20 December 6, 2016 December 16, 2016
Warren Buffett, a billionaire and one of the most successful investors of the twentieth century, was once asked about what made him so much more successful than the rest of the market. Steve Forbes, the interviewer, enquired, “What makes you different? In investing there are a lot of bright people. They’ve all claimed to have read Graham and Dodd. They’ve all claimed to be disciplined, and yet there’s only one Warren Buffett.”
Buffett first started by mentioning that, unlike many people, he was lucky in that he found his passion. Then, he changed gears and talked about an internal quality that truly made him unique: “You don’t need a lot of brains in this business…What you do need is emotional stability. You have to be able to think independently and when you come to a conclusion you have to really not care what other people say.”
There are dozens of books published every year about how to get rich off the stock market. All of these books teach slightly different methods and investing approaches. They all claim to be able to teach people how to invest – or the process behind investing. The truth of the matter is, these books all say something very similar: buy low and sell high. What investors really need to learn, aside from different investing methods and styles, is the emotional stability Buffett credits with his success. One of the best sources for this stability can be found in the ancient philosophy of Stoicism.
Stoicism was founded in Athens, Greece by Zeno of Citium toward the end of Ancient Greece in the 3rd century BC. Like many Greek ideas and values, it flourished in the Roman Empire, and was most famously practiced by Seneca the Younger, a wealthy banker and advisor to the emperor Nero; as well as Marcus Aurelius, Rome’s emperor from 161 to 180 AD.
Stoicism asserts that “virtue” – or happiness – is achieved after a person identifies and accepts what is within and what is outside of one’s control. The Stoics accepted that life was very difficult. Hope had no place in Stoic philosophy and was actually frowned upon by its practitioners. The Stoics took a more indirect path to happiness. They believed that happiness was achieved when no external events could impact one’s internal state of mind and emotions. As Marcus Aurelius wrote in his Meditations, “You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”
The strength Marcus refers to is meant to sustain a person as they endure life’s difficulties. In his own life, Marcus used Stoicism to remain calm, content, and gracious even as he had to deal with constant wars on the edges of his empire on top of the struggles of being the emperor of Rome. Similarly, investors can benefit from Stoicism the same way Marcus Aurelius and Seneca did: by having a framework to process, understand, and deal with the emotional aspects of investing that could get in the way of profits.
In order to do this, investors first have to understand that controlling emotions in the market is difficult, in the same way the Stoics understood that life in general is difficult. In today’s online world, investors have to deal with a variety of different opinions on where a stock is going, where the market is going, and what they should buy, hold, and sell. The amount of advice is overwhelming and there are so many differing opinions about the future that it is hard to discern which viewpoints have merit and which do not. Naturally, many market predictions do not come true, and investors suffer losses as a result.
The Stoics, though, can help in dealing with this situation. According to the Stoics, no one can control the opinions of other investors or pundits. An individual investor can only control his or her perception, analysis, and thought process. Naturally, that is all that should be trusted.
Stoicism also helps investors deal with one other thing: fear. The fear of losing money is something all investors have to deal with, no matter their track record. There is never a one hundred percent guarantee that a certain investment will work out, and it is natural to fear the consequences of an uncertain future. Stoicism advocates for acceptance in the face of fear.
As Alain de Botton, a philosopher and advocate of Stoicism puts it, “The Stoics advised us to take a different path. To be calm, one has to tell oneself something very dark: It will be terrible… but one must keep in mind that one will nevertheless be okay.” Stoics found boldness and courage in the realization that, in the end, they will be okay.
Any and every investment could fail. However, it is important to understand and accept that one will be okay despite what could happen as long as a trusted strategy is followed with discipline. As billionaire hedge fund manager Seth Klarman put it, the qualities of a successful investor include “the arrogance to act, and act decisively, and the humility to know that you could be wrong.” As long as investors focus on the facts and think independently, there is no reason to be terrified of fear. All they need to do is accept that they cannot always be right and move forward.
There are many different approaches to investing. Each one claims to offer the best way for investors to evaluate a company and the market. What is arguably more important than a particular approach, though, is the mental and emotional stability of an investor. To some investors – Warren Buffett being one of them – this kind of stability comes naturally. Others have to work harder and be more diligent. The best way to achieve this is to have a way of thinking – or a philosophy – as a guide. For investors, Stoicism, despite its ancient origins and sometimes depressing tone, offers the best chance for achieving this necessary stability.
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Professor Wörner, A Member of the German Academy of Science, Visited and Lectured at the USTC
With the invitation from Prof. Yilin Xiao of our university, Prof. Dr. Gerhard Wörner from the University of Göttingen (Germany), a member of the German Academy of Science, visited USTC in the period of April 7 to 18. During his stay in our university, besides academic activities, he had a series of lectures (up to 6 hours) for the graduate students of the School of Earth and Space Sciences.
Professor Gerhard Wörner is giving lecture for students
Professor Gerhard Wörner is explaining the evolution of the solar system
The series of lectures involved many important geological issues:
(1) The basic astronomic and geological conditions for life on planets
(2) The origin and evolution of continents, oceans and the atmosphere; the evidence for the core-mantle differentiation, the formation of the Moon.
(3) The evolution of the early Earth's atmosphere and global CO2 cycling.
(4) The composition and geochemical evolution of the continental crust.
Prof. Wörner is being recognized for his outstanding research in using element and isotope geochemistry to solve geological problems in various tectonic settings. His research has focused on physical volcanology, the evolution of magmatic systems – from the crystals to the orogenic scale, magmatism in continental rifts and at convergent plate boundaries, and the interaction between tectonic and magmatic processes in orogenic belts. With his outstanding scientific achievements, he has received many awards, including the Goldschmidt Prize in 1988, the Leibnitz Prize in 1997 (the highest research prize in Germany), and the Distinguished Geologic Career Award of the Geological Society of America (GSA) in 2013. He was selected as Member of the German Academy of Science to Göttingen in 2003.
As a guest professor of the USTC, Dr. Wörner has visited our university at least once each year since 2009. These visits have not only greatly advanced the collaboration between the USTC and the University of Göttingen, but have also been important to establish exchange relations for students from our university visiting Göttingen for their PhD research.
Reported by Haiyang Liu and Ye Tian (Graduate students)
Prof. Shearer, fellow of National Academy of Sciences of US,...
Professor Wörner, A Member of the German Academy of Science,...
First Chinese Wins Houtermans Award
SELENIUM2013 Held
SUM 2012 Kickoff at USTC
Copyright © 2011 School of Earth and Space Science @USTC Tel : +86-551-3601384; E-mail: dyy@ustc.edu.cn
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Alabama abortion ban: Should men have a say in the debate?
http://www.alsenaterepublicans.com/
Most of the US states banning or severely restricting access to abortions have been voted on by male politicians. Should men have the right to rule on an issue that impacts women so intimately?
The corridors leading up to the Alabama Senate are lined with black-and-white photographs of past legislative sessions – each framed poster like a yearbook page from a distinctly male-only school.
But inside the dim public gallery, looking down onto the Senate floor, nearly every seat is filled by a woman. They are young and old, some in suits and some in bright shirts with pro-choice slogans emblazoned across the front.
They watch the drama play out in the chamber below, as a handful of Democrats and an even smaller number of women make clear their outrage over the abortion ban that will pass in just a few hours, and in a day, will become law.
The activists next to me in the gallery laugh and gasp with each argument and reply. Some shout an ‘Amen!’ in agreement as the debate continues.
When a female lawmaker steps up to the microphone, she says: We do not police men’s bodies the way we police women’s – and this decision about an issue concerning women so intimately is being made almost entirely by men.
Though women make up 51% of Alabama’s population, its lawmakers are 85% male. There are only four women in the 35-seat Alabama Senate, and they are all Democrats.
A new law in Alabama makes abortion illegal in almost all cases
Outside the stark white walls of the State House on Tuesday night, however, women were in the majority. Groups of pro-choice supporters chanted for hours in the courtyard, holding signs calling for abortion freedoms, for women alone to decide what happens to their own bodies.
Delaney Burlingame, one of the young pro-choice activists I met there, told me: “These people don’t care about protecting human rights. It’s about controlling women.”
“They just want to be able to say: ‘I control what happens in your body’.”
So, should men be involved in this debate at all?
Alabama’s abortion ban – one of several in a Trump-era surge in anti-abortion legislation – has reignited the debate around another key question: Should men be involved in this battle at all?
Internet forums like Reddit and social platforms like Twitter and Facebook are saturated with arguments for both sides. Yes – these laws affect everyone, including men. No – only women get pregnant, so why should we let men decide?
Travis Jackson was one of the few men who joined in the protests outside of the Montgomery capitol building, donning a shirt that read: real men support women’s rights.
But Mr Jackson would not offer his own opinion on abortion, exactly, saying instead he prefers to stay silent on the specifics since “women are the only experts when it comes to their bodies”.
“When it comes to the abortion debate, I think men should say it is a woman’s right to choose,” he explains.
“That is their body, that is their choice, and that is their business. No man whatsoever has a right to tell a woman what’s right for their body.”
Jordan Kizer is against abortion but says he thinks Mr Jackson’s decision is “honourable”, and that men should “share their privilege”.
“Believe women, trust women. If they’re telling you they feel a certain way or that this is their experience, you [as a man] don’t get to say no, it’s not,” he says.
Mr Kizer is a part of the New Wave Feminists group in Austin, Texas, that seeks to promote women’s rights as a means of making abortion eventually “unthinkable and unnecessary”.
“I think a woman should absolutely have a say over her body, I just draw the line between her body and this different body that’s inside of her body,” he says. “I know that’s kind of a tricky distinction to make for some.”
On the other side of the debate, Oren Jacobson, a founder of the Men4Choice advocacy group, also believes the issue affects everyone – but that male allies should fight for women to have the freedom to make whatever decision they choose.
“Too many pro-choice men think this is just a ‘women’s issue’ and it’s not their place. This is an issue that impacts all of us, and will require all of us to engage if we want to create a society where all are free to pursue the life they envision for themselves and their family.”
Mr Jacobson tells me the issue really isn’t about abortion, but freedom and control.
“No person can be free if they don’t control their own body, their own healthcare, and their own reproductive decisions. The role of men is to advocate for the basic freedom and dignity of all people.”
Dina had to give birth to her rapist’s child – under Alabama’s abortion ban women would have no choice
Anti-abortion activists, however, argue that placing the burden of choice entirely on a woman alienates men and allows them to shirk the responsibilities of fatherhood.
Derrick Jones, communications director for the oldest US anti-abortion group, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), told me men should be involved in the discussions because “statistically speaking, half of the children aborted every year are male”.
“To say that this is wholly a woman’s issue misses the point of it being much larger than that. It’s a human rights issue. To say, you’re a man, you’re not carrying this child, to dismiss the idea that men can have an opinion on human rights is insulting.”
Mr Jones adds that there should “absolutely” be more female representation when it comes to legislative bodies like Alabama’s, but notes that many of the anti-abortion movement’s leaders are women.
Women are just as divided about men
Carol Clark was one of the first protesters to show up in front of the state house in Montgomery, and she stayed into the night, right until the bill passed the Senate.
“Let a woman choose what she’s going to do with her body,” she told me, voice cracking with emotion. “It’s not his body. It’s her body.”
That view is echoed by most of the women I spoke with at the protests in Alabama; that women should dictate abortion laws because women must carry the baby, must deal with the social and medical repercussions of pregnancy and having a child.
“Abortion is not OK” – women in Alabama react to the bill passed there
But on the streets of downtown Montgomery – and many other US states with conservative leanings – there are many women against granting that choice.
Some are nuanced – like a mother who could only say she was against abortion but that it was “complicated” – but others are just as hard-line as some Republican lawmakers – like two young women who told me abortion should be banned even in cases involving rape, incest or the health of the mother.
Catherine Coyle, a psychologist and an advocate for men in the anti-abortion movement, says that giving women “unilateral power in abortion decisions is inconsistent with the notion of equality between the sexes”.
“As equal citizens [men] should surely have a right to voice their opinions on the topic of abortion,” Ms Coyle says. “As co-creators of life, they should be acknowledged as having a legitimate interest in the protection of that life.”
Where do most Americans stand?
For all the debate, the views across the country on abortion are largely the same even along gender lines.
According to a 2018 Pew Research Center study, 60% of women say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, with 57% of men in agreement.
Around 60% of black and white Americans polled were also in support of legal abortion in most cases, though the support was lower among Hispanic Americans at 49%.
But along pro-choice or anti-abortion lines, a 2018 poll from Gallup found the country split evenly – though it did not break the data down by gender.
Gallup also reported that though around “eight in 10 Americans believe abortion should be legal in all or some circumstances, further probing of their attitudes finds the public favouring more restrictive rather than less restrictive laws”.
Are men really making these laws?
It is true that in states with more conservative abortion laws, men make up a greater percentage of the legislative houses.
In Alabama, though the governor who signed the abortion bill into law is a woman, The Rutgers University Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) still ranks Alabama as 47 out of 50 in terms of female representation in the legislature.
And while women saw major gains in holding public office during the 2018 mid-term elections, the vast majority of those new female lawmakers were Democrats who support pro-choice laws.
A Washington Post analysis of the state legislative houses in Alabama, Missouri and Georgia found that out of 367 in favour votes on abortion bans, seven out of eight votes were from men – and mostly Republican men. Of the total 154 votes against in the chambers, over half were from women, though most women lawmakers even at the state level are Democrats.
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signing the anti-abortion bill into law
In the four states that passed six-week abortion bans – “heartbeat bills” – this year, women make up an average of 23% of the state legislature, according to CAWP. Mississippi is the lowest of that group and the nation, with women holding just over 13% of seats.
Even so, anti-abortion activists are quick to point out that Alabama’s ban was sponsored by state congresswoman Terri Collins and signed into law by one of the nation’s few female governors, Kay Ivey.
Destiny Herndon-De La Rosa, founder of New Wave Feminists, adds: “The irony is that it was older white men that gave us Roe [vs Wade] in the first place.”
“We tend to pick and choose which older white men we want to agree with. You have to get beyond that and realise that a lot of the people in this [anti-abortion] movement are very diverse, and we are females.”
Should men have a say in abortion debate?
Most of the US states banning or severely restricting access to abortions have been voted on by male politicians. Should men have the right to rule on an issue that impacts women so intimately? The corridors leading up to the Alabama Senate are lined with black-and-white photographs of past legislative sessions – each framed poster like a yearbook page from a distinctly male-only school.
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Zimbabwe cricket suspended over ‘political interference’
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Lake effect snow warning in effect until Wednesday
Dec 26 , 2017
Jefferson, Lewis and Oswego counties were placed under a lake effect snow warning. An additional 1 to 2 feet of snow may blanket the Lake Superior and Lake Michigan snowbelts of northern Michigan, with lighter total accumulations in southern Lower Michigan.
What will weather be like this Christmas?
The big question is: how far north with the snow move? Snow will be widespread, with a general 3"-6" of accumulation with the heaviest accumulations to the north of the Mohawk Valley. "A lot of this stuff will break up as it moves over the mountains, so even where any snow does manage to reach the ground, odds are not high it will stick".
Suspect shot, killed woman, two children in Phoenix on Christmas
Officers were called to the Highland Apartments at approximately 3:45 p.m. The woman's body was found outside an apartment at Highland Apartments. The 11-year-old child was found dead. However, in hopes that one or both of the children were alive, police allowed negotiations for the man's surrender to continue for hours, Howard said.
As much as 20 cm now predicted for Christmas morning
With the snow falling steadily Sunday evening, a number of collisions were reported around the GTA. It will bring snow to the area this afternoon which will intensify across Southern Ontario this evening. The day's high will be -6 C but the wind chill will make things feel like -25. Toronto and much of the GTA are now under a special weather statement as brisk winds hit the area and snow continues to amount throughout the day.
Reliance Jio Surprise Cashback Offer
To start with the cashback vouchers, Reliance Jio users will get 100 percent cashback vouchers of worth Rs 400 on every recharge of Rs 399 plan or above. 399/- or above to avail the offer. There's no mention on when will Jio credit the voucher, but all that is known is that it will be credited to your MyJio app and will be in the form of eight vouchers of Rs.
Plane coming from Georgia skids off taxiway in Boston
We just skidded on the ice", the pilot said, according to ABC News . Passengers on board applauded the pilot when the plane came to a halt. "We just need a tow". MA transit officials told CBS Boston on Monday that airport crews were unable to keep up with the snow as it fell early this morning. The inclement weather still caused delays and backups, though Christmas Day is usually a light travel day.
Israeli court extends detention of Palestinian teen icon
The "Ofer" Israeli military court decided, Monday, to remand world-renowned teen journalist 'Ahed Tamimi , for four more days, after refusing to release her on bail, and accusing her of "threatening Israel's security". Her cousin was arrested the following day. At the time, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (now president) met with the Palestinian girl personally to convey his admiration for her bravery.
Protesters clash with police over Fujimori pardon
But the move came after Fujimori's son Kenji drained votes away from a parliamentary bid on Thursday to impeach Kuczynski on suspicion of corruption; sparking speculation the pardon was political payback. "Out, out PPK! Out, out PPK!" angry demonstrators chanted in reference to the president, who had promised during his electoral campaign in 2016 that he would not free Fujimori.
The Pentagon's UFO Program Raises a Serious Policy Issue
While reports differ and deeply classified data remains undiscovered, it's now more clear than ever that the truth is out there. The US Defence Department revealed this week it spent $28.7 million on the program set up to investigate UFOs .
Rahul Gandhi finds a new admirer who thinks he is handsome
Reaching out on social media - for which union minister Sushma Swaraj has received much respect and affection from the people - is a first for the leader, who took charge of the Congress recently from his mother Sonia Gandhi . Her one wish. To meet @OfficeOfRG Rahul Gandhi! The Congress president gave a "big hug" to the birthday girl on twitter and called her to wish her personally.
Kulbhushan Jadhav's wife, mother meet Sushma Swaraj upon return from Pakistan
On Monday, Jadhav met his wife and mother - but from behind a glass screen - in a carefully choreographed event that unfolded in tweets, photos and TV footage. Pakistan did not even fail to once remind the press about the confessional statement. Pakistan also claimed that Jadhav's meet with his family "was not a last one".
Valmiki community lodges complaint against Salman, Shilpa for hurting sentiments
Khan had used the word to describe the way he danced, while Shetty used the word to describe how she looks when she is at home. We have filed a complaint. The use of the term " bhangi " in an inappropriate way has apparently irked the Valmiki community that has sought action against the film stars, reported ANI.
Churches provide dinner, essentials to those in need
Anne Veldhuisen, pastor at Christ United Presbyterian. Marlene and Larry attended the dinner for the first time Monday, they said, because this year has been a hard one. "We started this 19 years ago to help people who really needed the food, whether that be the homeless or people who are alone for the holidays", Susie Hooley, coordinator for the dinner, said.
Ambassador Nikki Haley praises reduced United Nations 2018-2019 budget
Nine countries voted against the resolution, including Israel, the United States, Guatemala, Honduras and Togo. In an announcement on Sunday, the USA mission to the United Nations stated that in addition to these significant cost savings, it was successful in reducing the UN's "bloated management and support functions, bolster [ing] support for key U.S.
Moscow bus crashes into pedestrian passageway, killing 4
Several people were killed and more than a dozen injured when a bus drove into an underground passageway in Moscow . However, it is believed that the tragedy occurred either because of a auto accident with the participation of another vehicle or a technical failure of the bus.
BJP's film franchise would be called 'Lie Hard': Rahul Gandhi
The party workers' meet will be held at Gujarat University Convention Hall at GNBC ground in Ahmedabad. Sensing the damage the news could do in the majority Hindu state, Gujarat, during the elections, the Congress came up with a claim that Rahul is a janeu-dhari (the one who wears Brahminical thread) Hindu.
Vijay Rupani takes oath as Gujarat CM ; 20-member new council
Rupani and Nitin Patel were elected as the leader and deputy leader, respectively, of the BJP legislature party at its meeting on 22 December. Earlier, PM Modi arrived in Ahmedabad where he was greeted by Rupani and other BJP leaders at the airport.
Lake effect snow warnings, advisories for parts of Northeast Ohio
Travel in these areas will be challenging with low visibility and high winds. Snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches an hour possible. Ashtabula and Erie Counties should especially be on the lookout for heavy snow throughout today and tonight, according to the National Weather Service.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry join royal family at Sandringham
From left, Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry and Prince Philip arrive to the traditional Christmas Days service, at St. The crowd was larger than in past years, perhaps because of curiosity about Markle. "This Christmas, I think of London and Manchester, whose powerful identities shone through over the past 12 months in the face of appalling attacks", she is expected to say.
Snow arrives in Kitsap County for Christmas
In order to have a real white Christmas, there needs to be at least an inch of snow on the ground on Christmas Day. Northern counties including Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden, Worcester, and Middlesex could get as much as eight inches, plus blustery conditions throughout the day on Christmas.
N. Korea says giving up nukes a 'pipe dream' of US
As one way to heighten transparency on the sanctions imposed by China, reports would be submitted to US officials from Chinese officials in charge of trade, customs and finance every few weeks or months regarding what China has implemented in relation to North Korea.
Trump Signs Tax Bill Into Law
But the bill also cuts the top marginal tax rate on households earning more than $600,000 a year, and provides a new tax break for owners of partnerships, limited liability companies and other so-called pass-through entities. Republican-run Kansas, Ward says, is the ideal example for the potential fallout given the state's experience since Gov. Sam Brownback's sweeping tax cuts after he took office in 2011.
Pope calls for two-state solution; Guatemala moving embassy to Jerusalem
The decision comes three weeks after the United States chose to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and move its embassy, and four days after Guatemala was one of only nine countries in the UN to vote against a resolution slamming the USA move.
Guatemala to move Israel embassy to Jerusalem
In a statement, Netanyahu praised Morales' decision and said that he was waiting in Jerusalem . Guatemala's president announced on Christmas Eve that the Central American country will move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem , becoming the first nation to follow the lead of U.S.
Trevor Ness Sells 10000 Shares of IPG Photonics Corporation (IPGP) Stock
Somerville Kurt F who had been investing in Ipg Photonics for a number of months, seems to be less bullish one the $11.43B market cap company. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 5,892 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,090,000 after acquiring an additional 3,465 shares during the last quarter.
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Our Lady Star of the Sea
545 A1A North, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082
The parish of Our Lady Star of the Sea welcomes you! Our pastor, Msgr. Keith Brennan, invites you to celebrate Mass with us; Mass times are listed below.
We are located in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL and you can find directions to our parish here.
Our faith community welcomes you!
Also, be sure to download the Our Lady Star of the Sea mobile app. It is a great way to get all the latest news from Our Lady Star of the Sea. It is free, and available for both Apple and Android.
Msgr. Keith Brennan
http://www.olsspvb.org
Diocese of Saint Augustine
Saturday8:30am, 5:30pm - Vigil
Sunday7:30am, 9:00am, 11:00am, 5:30pm
Wednesday8:30am, 7:00pm
AdorationFri: 8:00pm, Wed: 9:00am
ConfessionsSat: 4:00pm-5:00pm, Wed: 6:00pm-6:45pm
Two miles south of J. Turner Butler Blvd on A1A in Ponte Vedra Beach.
Stay up to date with what is happening at Our Lady Star of the Sea. Each week we will send you an email update with a link to the current week's bulletin.
Signup for weekly bulletin updates for Our Lady Star of the Sea.
First Command
Jax Beach, FL
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Maynard Media Critique: Mainstream Media tend to ignore Blacks’ mental health problems
By Joshunda Sanders
From Metta World Peace to Rudy Eugene, African-Americans confronting mental health challenges are often portrayed as isolated examples of crazy or deranged people rather than members of a marginalized community suffering an illness.
July is National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, established in 2008 in honor of Bebe Moore Campbell, an acclaimed author and mental health advocate. But beyond the black blogosphere and social networking events, the dismal state of black mental health treatment and awareness hasn’t been covered by mainstream print, online and broadcast media.
Before she died at age 56 in 2006, Campbell was an advocate for mental health awareness through organizing and her writing. Her children’s novel, “Sometimes My Mommy Gets Angry,” was given the 2003 Outstanding Media Award for Literature by the National Alliance on Mental Illness. It is about a girl who learns how to cope with her mother’s bipolar disorder.
In 2005, Campbell wrote “72 Hour Hold,” a novel focusing on an adult daughter, the onset of mental illness and challenges faced by mentally ill African-Americans in America’s health care system. The book is believed to have been inspired by the experience of her daughter, actress Maia Campbell, with mental illness.
Journalists, writers and experts cite many reasons why the mainstream media don’t cover African-American mental health responsibly or consistently. Among them are racism, lack of context about how African-Americans interact with the health care system and stigmas that remain entrenched in the black community and discourage those who struggle with depression, schizophrenia or other mental health problems from discussing them.
“Mental health in general has been a sub-beat in the mainstream media,” says journalist Amy Alexander, co-author with Dr. Alvin F. Poussaint of the 2001 book, “Lay My Burden Down: Suicide and the Mental Health Crisis among African-Americans.” Rarely do mainstream media outlets have the luxury of assigning a reporter to cover only mental health since most are now responsible for several beats simultaneously.
A prominent exception was Clifford J. Levy, now a New York Times editor. He won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting, and a George Polk Award, for a three-part series exposing sometimes fatal neglect of the mentally ill in privately run adult homes regulated by New York State.
Alexander says, “It used to be that no one would write about mental health, and the way it would be covered would be piecemeal in the context of a report coming out from the Centers for Disease Control [and Prevention] or the National Institutes of Health. Or you would see a story pop up around a horrific event.”
Since Alexander’s and Poussaint’s book was published, little has changed. The bizarre case of Rudy Eugene, 31, an African-American in Miami who chewed off a homeless man’s face in May before being shot to death, made “bath salts” a buzz phrase nationwide.
Eugene took his clothes off along the MacArthur Causeway from Miami Beach before attacking Ronald Poppo, 65, in what The Miami Herald called a “ghoulish, drawn-out assault in plain view on a city sidewalk captured by a Miami Herald security camera. Eugene was shot by a police officer who found him chewing chunks off Poppo’s face.”
The head of the Miami police union publicly speculated that “bath salts,” synthetic stimulants believed to be the cause of psychotic episodes elsewhere around the country, prompted Eugene’s actions. But, according to the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s office, only marijuana was found in his system.
More likely, Kristen Gwynne wrote for the online magazine AlterNet, is that Eugene had a history of mental illness. “But pinning a tragedy to a drug scare is easier (and perhaps more lucrative) than explaining a non-existent safety net for the mentally ill,” she wrote. “Bath salts, the mainstream media naively believes, can be banned and eradicated. Treating mental illness is a far more complicated story.”
Other than sensationalized portraits of individuals, the only consistent coverage of mental illness in the black community focuses on the psychological fallout of depression and other mental health issues facing black celebrities.
These portrayals are opportunities for mainstream media to explore larger questions about the escalating suicide rate among black men, the entrenched stigma of appearing weak and vulnerable in the black community by seeking help and the dearth of African-American mental health professionals. Instead, stories focus on the unique narrative surrounding individual celebrities and not mental health problems of a broader community.
When “Soul Train” creator Don Cornelius died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in February at age 75, far more media attention was given to his legacy than his mental state. Instead, his stoicism was noted in a New York Times obituary. During divorce proceedings in 2009, James C. McKinley Jr. wrote, Cornelius “mentioned having ‘significant health problems’ but did not elaborate.” Another friend of Cornelius’s simply described him as being “very private.”
When World Peace, a Los Angeles Lakers player formerly known as Ron Artest, has spoken honestly and publicly about his therapy for mental health issues, reporters have mocked him. In September 2010, a year before Artest changed his name, Los Angeles Times columnist Bill Plaschke referred to him as “the looniest Laker” even as Artest was addressing middle schoolers, urging them to communicate to health care professionals what ails them psychologically.
Journalist and author Ellis Cose says these examples explore “celebrities much more so than the black community.”In 1994, Cose wrote “The Rage of a Privileged Class: Why Are Middle-Class Blacks Angry? Why Should America Care?” and last year, “The End of Anger: A New Generation’s Take on Race and Rage.”
Neither the Cornelius obituary nor Plaschke’s column, for the most part, was linked explicitly to race. Poussaint, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, did suggest that Cornelius’s death might launch a conversation about suicide prevention among blacks. “But his take was the exception rather than the rule,” Cose wrote in an e-mail.
Even when the topic is more about black celebrity than race, mental illness, particularly in famous athletes, is viewed as “evidence of a criminal character,” says David J. Leonard, author of “After Artest: The NBA and the Assault on Blackness.” He is an associate professor in the Department of Critical Culture, Gender, and Race Studies at Washington State University.
“Media go immediately to focusing on the purported pathologies of the players themselves and don’t want to see what the broader context is,” Leonard says. “The history of race and mental health is a history of racism and the white medical establishment demonizing and criminalizing the black community through writing about their ‘abnormal personalities’ and being ‘crazy.’
“That history plays out in mainstream media coverage, but it also affects public discussions about mental health because it has so often been used to justify exclusion, segregation and inequality” in mental health treatment for African-Americans.
Online alternative media and black-oriented websites such as The Root, theGrio and independent blogs have reported more consistently and thoroughly on mentally ill African-Americans.
Danielle Belton, who blogs at blacksnob.com, has written for bp Magazine (bphope.com) about her perspective as someone with bipolar disorder, formerly called manic depression, according to webmd.com. Recently, Bassey Ikpi, a writer and blogger working on a book about her bipolar disorder diagnosis in 2004, founded The Siwe Project, a global nonprofit, as a forum for African-Americans to share experiences about mental health in the black community.
To encourage dialogue about a topic rarely discussed publicly, Ikpi created No Shame Day on July 2. On social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, African-Americans worldwide shared stories of navigating mental health in a culture that actively discourages blacks from seeking talk therapy, she says.
“We didn’t get any mainstream media coverage for No Shame Day,” Ikpi says. “There were 80,000 mentions of No Shame Day and The Siwe Project within a six- to eight-hour period on July 2. No Essence, Ebony or Huffington Post. I think it’s changing a little bit, but mainstream media is not moving with the same speed as online publications.”
At least partial resistance to mainstream reporting on black mental health is tied to blacks’ historical stoicism and belief that religion can serve as a substitute for professional therapy or, when necessary, medication.
“We have survived Jim Crow, beating, lynchings and fire hoses,” says Mychal Denzel Smith, a mental health advocate, commentator and writer. “We pride ourselves on strength. I spoke at a high school, and the teacher said, ‘Black folks just don’t have time to be depressed.’
“Of all the things that we’re up against, mental health seems to be last on the list, but if you look at the totality of our experience in America, it can lead to mental illness. But it seems like the last thing you would need to address among all of the ills that plague our community.”
No Shame Day and The Siwe Project are important starting points for continuing a conversation outside mainstream media about the importance of self-care, Smith says.
“What Bassey did with No Shame Day was very proactive activism . . . it’s something she’s been planning for some time. It’s about taking control and being proactive in defining our narrative for us instead of waiting for other people to do it.
“That’s the thing about mental health that we have to know – not waiting for someone to diagnose us. We know that there’s something wrong in our community. There’s something wrong with that uncle that’s always drunk or the aunt that’s on drugs. We have to be more proactive in addressing these issues and making sure that we take our health into account.”
Joshunda Sanders writes media critiques for the Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education. Her stories and other media critiques are available atwww.mije.org/mmcsi and can be republished free of charge. For more information, please contact Elisabeth Pinio at epinio@mije.org or 510-891-9202.
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Tag Archives: crofting regulator
Review highlights “notable and worrying failures” in governance within the Crofting Commission
Rural Economy Secretary, Fergus Ewing, has asked the Crofting Commission to take urgent action to improve performance in crucial areas following the publication of the Governance Review [PDF] undertaken on the instruction of the Scottish Government by business advisors and accountancy firm Scott-Moncrieff.
The Scottish Government ordered the Governance Review of the Crofting Commission following the crisis of confidence in the organisation due to the inappropriate actions taken on common grazings committees and the subsequent breakdown of relationships within the Commission.
A full action plan including prioritising work to deliver the necessary improvements in the way regulatory cases and Board proceedings are managed will be delivered in response to the findings of the Governance Review.
The Crofting Commission Governance Review highlighted a range of areas that need urgent action including:-
Governance standards, procedures and other arrangements, at both executive and non-executive levels, to underpin effective decision-making, particularly in relation to the Bohuntin, Upper Coll and Mangersta Common Grazings cases [Note: The review did not look at the regulatory decisions themselves]
Arrangements for handling conflicts of interest
Ensuring that capacity building and development needs of Board members are met and that the necessary training is provided.
Rural Economy Secretary, Fergus Ewing, said:-
This review highlights notable and worrying failures in the governance of the crofting commission which must be improved immediately. That is why I have asked the new Chief Executive to urgently prepare an action plan to take this forward.
Crofting is an integral part of Scottish rural life and it is essential that it has an effective regulator. This review, and the action plan which will follow, must help to deliver the necessary changes and ensure the commission is able to lead the crofting industry forward.
Crofting Commission Chief Executive, Bill Barron, said:-
A number of important points have been made in the governance review and we are committed to ensuring robust processes are in place to achieve a high standard of governance within the organisation. I will be putting in place a full action plan to ensure these points are addressed, as requested by the Rural Economy Secretary.
We have already made some of the improvements recommended in the review and we are developing a comprehensive induction programme for the new Board of Commissioners following the elections in March 2017.
Continuous improvement within the Commission, and building on the recommendations from the review, will help us to create a focussed and effective organisation working to secure the future of crofting.
The Scottish Crofting Federation has welcomed the pledge by the Scottish Government to put in place an action plan to address the failures highlighted by the Governance Review. Their Chair, Russell Smith, said:-
The Governance Review of the Crofting Commission, instigated by Scottish Government at our request, has exposed many weaknesses in basic operating procedures and in how the organisation copes with extraordinary individual behaviours. The review has made it clear that a robust Commissioner appraisal process is required, to help identify and deliver ongoing training and skills development. We are particularly keen to see a rationalisation of the roles of Commissioners, establishing when they should be delegating to the executive staff or referring to other bodies that have the required expertise. Commissioners should have a strategic and advisory capacity only. It is clear that they got too involved with executive procedures that they did not have the competence or remit for.
The review team recognises the huge damage done to the reputation of the Commission by the in-fighting and particularly that the vote of no confidence in the convener did not achieve a tangible result, that is, his removal. Frustratingly, the review does not suggest how this will be resolved, though the government’s recent exoneration will open up options.
It is alarming that the review team found there to be fundamental inconsistencies and gaps in records of events that led to the breakdown of the organisation. This appears to have handicapped the review to an extent, and is telling in itself.
The list of areas for improvement is long and the minister for crofting, Mr Fergus Ewing, has instructed that an action plan to address them be put in place as a matter of urgency. This will, we hope, sort out some of the fundamental issues that allowed the near collapse of this significant organisation. We are strongly of the opinion that the purpose and role of Commissioners needs to be appraised and a clear boundary to be set between their overseeing strategy and the staff’s executive function. This seems critical to the health of the Crofting Commission.
No comment appears to have been made by the Convener of the Crofting Commission, Colin Kennedy, on the “notable and worrying failures” found whilst he was at the helm.
Mr Kennedy has, however, as part of his campaign for re-election to the South West Highlands seat on the Crofting Commission, stated to The Oban Times that his “experience prompted” him “to make representations to the Scottish Government, which included insisting an external review was required to establish what was, or was not, going on“. One would, therefore, think that the review was instigated at the insistence of Mr Kennedy!
It was, of course, as a result of the alleged abuse of power within the Crofting Commission whilst Mr Kennedy was in charge that I and the Scottish Crofting Federation, amongst others, called on Fergus Ewing to instigate a review into goings on at Great Glen House.
As far back as April 2016, I stated:-
In 1883 a Royal Commission (The Napier Commission) was set up by Gladstone’s Liberal Government. Its purpose was ‘to inquire into the conditions of the crofters and cottars in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland’ and everything concerning them. This came on the back of The Highland Clearances and ‘The Battle of the Braes’ where the Braes crofters stood up against the 50 policemen brought in from Glasgow following the loss of their hill pasture on Ben Lee and a rent strike in protest. The Report by the Napier Commission resulted in the first Crofters Act in 1886 providing security of tenure for crofters.
130 years after security of tenure was given to crofters a new form of clearance is happening in the Highlands and Islands: The clearance of common grazings committees by the Crofting Commission. They are wielding power in an unjustified and brutal manner reminiscent of landlords from the nineteenth century. We are about to see I believe ‘The Battle of Great Glen House’ (this time perhaps fought with paper and ink rather than stones) and the Scottish Government must now institute an inquiry into the actings of the Crofting Commission and everything concerning them.
In May 2016 the then Chair of the Scottish Crofting Federation, Fiona Mandeville, referring to a meeting held in Ullapool to discuss the common grazings crisis said:-
The meeting was unequivocal in its opinion of the Crofting Commission’s conduct. As well as a vote of no confidence in the Commission, the meeting thought that it would be appropriate for the convener of the Commission to stand aside whilst an investigation is carried out into the summary dismissals of grazings committees and the internal procedures of the Commission that has led to this debacle. The Scottish Crofting Federation fully supports this.
Then in June 2016 the Scottish Crofting Federation reiterated its call on Scottish Ministers to intervene in the crofting common grazings debacle and to instigate an external examination of the Crofting Commission, following revelations of a cover-up. Fiona Mandeville then said:-
We reiterate our petition that the Scottish Ministers intervene and ensure that an impartial examination of the Commission’s recent conduct is carried out by a competent external body.
This is extremely disappointing. It seems that the only way to deal with this is through an external audit of the Commission’s behaviour over the common grazings. And we do mean a full audit.
Also in June 2016 Brian Wilson writing in The Scotsman said:-
The immediate question is whether the Scottish Government is prepared to back their quango’s interpretation of the law and its heavy-handed approach to enforcement.
In the short term, a rapid inquiry into why the Crofting Commission has got itself into this mess and how it can be helped out of it may seem a relatively attractive option.
In September 2016 the West Highland Free Press called for decisive Ministerial intervention in the crofting crisis. Their editor stated:-
As crofting minister Mr Ewing has a duty to be open and transparent in the exercise of his responsibility. He is not just another interested observer.
He also has a duty to the crofting community to ensure that its governing body adheres to best practice and does not trample crofters into the ground.
The West Highland Free Press have also, of course, repeatedly called on Fergus Ewing to remove Colin Kennedy as Convener of the Crofting Commission. They were of the view that “more than anybody else, Mr Kennedy spearheaded the assault on the grazings committees“.
So, no, it was not Colin Kennedy who asked for the Governance Review. But it was his actions that were certainly behind the call by the many who did want to see such a review and are not surprised at all by its findings. I will consider those findings in some detail in future posts on this blog.
Image Credit: Commission on the Rocks – Cartoon © A concerned crofter
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged Bill Barron, Bohuntin, Brian Wilson, Cabinet Secretary for the Rural Economy and Connectivity, Chair of Scottish Crofting Federation, Chief Executive of the Crofting Commission, Colin Kennedy, Common Grazings Committee, common grazings committees, conflicts of interest, Convener of Crofting Commission, crofting, Crofting Commission, Crofting Commission Board, crofting regulation, crofting regulator, Fergus Ewing, Fergus Ewing MSP, Fiona Mandeville, governance review, Governance Review of the Crofting Commission, Great Glen House, Mangersta, Russell Smith, Scott-Moncrieff, Scottish Crofting Federation, Scottish Government, South West Highlands, The Oban Times, The Scotsman, Upper Coll, West Highland Free Press, WHFP on February 18, 2017 by Brian Inkster.
Law Awards of Scotland recognise Crofting Endeavours
Brian Inkster has been shortlisted for Solicitor of the Year at the Law Awards of Scotland.
This nomination recognises his endeavours in crofting law over the past year and in particular his quest to see justice done over the alleged abuse of power within the Crofting Commission over the sacking of three common grazings committees.
Brian Inkster has been very vocal in the press, radio and on TV over the issue. He has written 97 blog posts on this topic alone over the past six months.
The Crofting Commission recently accepted their decisions as being wrong and issued an apology to the crofters affected. However, conflict continues within the Crofting Commission with a clear divide between their convener and the other commissioners.
Brian Inkster said:-
I am honoured to be one of only three solicitors in Scotland shortlisted for this award.
Hopefully it will help to highlight further the plight of the ordinary crofter at the hands of a regulator that is out of control.
There is still much more that the Scottish Government needs to do to restore confidence in the Crofting Commission and I will be making my views known on that in the coming months.
Inksters Solicitors who have offices in Glasgow, Inverness, Forfar, Portree, Wick and a visiting base in Lerwick have also been shortlisted for Litigation Firm of the Year and their trainee solicitor, Alistair Sloan, for Trainee of the Year at this year’s Law Awards of Scotland.
The winners will be announced on 24 November at a gala dinner at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Glasgow.
This entry was posted in Crofting Lawyers and tagged abuse of power, Alistair Sloan, apology, blog posts, Brian Inkster, Common Grazings Committee, Convener of Crofting Commission, crofters, Crofting Commission, Crofting Commissioners, crofting law, crofting lawyer, crofting regulator, crofting solicitors, Forfar, Glasgow, Inksters, Inksters Solicitors, Inverness, Law Awards of Scotland, Lerwick, Litigation Firm of the Year, Portree, press, radio, Scottish Government, Solicitor of the Year, solicitors, Trainee Solicitor of the Year, TV, Wick on October 28, 2016 by Brian Inkster.
First Minister answers questions on “intolerable” Convener
The First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon MSP, answers questions from Tavish Scott MSP on the turmoil at the Crofting Commission
At First Minister’s Question Time in the Scottish Parliament today Tavish Scott MSP questioned the First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon MSP, over what could possibly be dubbed Broragate.
Tavish Scott asked:-
Is the First Minister aware of the turmoil in the Crofting Commission caused by the intolerable behaviour of the current convener?
Does she know that other commissioners have asked for his resignation and that the previous Chief Executive, Catriona Maclean, left because of the convener’s behaviour and the pressure that is being placed on commission staff?
In those circumstances will she and her rural secretary now take action to make the commission work for crofters across the crofting counties without the disruptive presence of the convener?
Tavish Scott MSP asking the First Minister questions on the turmoil at the Crofting Commission
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon answered:-
Well Tavish Scott raises a very important issue.
The Cabinet Secretary for the Rural Economy has already welcomed the apology from the board of the Crofting Commission but it is disappointing that the convener was not a party to that apology.
It is important that we get to the stage of being able to draw a line under recent events.
The resources spent on dealing with these issues by the commission would in my view be far better used in being an effective regulator in contributing to a sustainable future for crofting.
While the Government would not ordinarily intervene in the internal operations of an independent statutory body the legislation does give Scottish Ministers power to act if required, and I can assure Tavish Scott that the Cabinet Secretary continues to monitor the situation very closely and would be very happy to discuss it further with Tavish Scott.
You can watch this exchange between Tavish Scott and the First Minister on YouTube at about 24:42 in:-
This entry was posted in Common Grazings, Crofting Commission and tagged apology, Broragate, Cabinet Secretary for the Rural Economy and Connectivity, Catriona Maclean, Chief Executive of the Crofting Commission, Convener, Convener of Crofting Commission, crofters, Crofting Commission Board, Crofting Commissioners, Crofting Counties, crofting regulator, disruptive, First Minister, First Minister's Question Time, intolerable, Nicola Sturgeon, Nicola Sturgeon MSP, resign, resignation, rural secretary, Scottish First Minister, Scottish Government, Scottish Ministers, Tavish Scott, Tavish Scott MSP, turmoil on October 6, 2016 by Brian Inkster.
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Home » HISTORY AND ARCHEOLOGY » 2014-1 » Valentyn Danylenko and Melitopol region: the first steps to the big science
Valentyn Danylenko and Melitopol region: the first steps to the big science
in 2014-1, HISTORY AND ARCHEOLOGY 2,875 Views
Roman Klochko
Melitopol museum of local history, Melitopol, Ukraine
Field: History and Archeology
Title: Valentyn Danylenko and Melitopol region: the first steps to the big science
Paper Type: Research Paper
City, Country: Melitopol, Ukraine
Authors: R. Klochko
Valentyn Danylenko
Stone Grave
Melitopol museum of local history
Melitopol region
The scientist Valentyn Danylenko is the well-known person as both in Ukrainian and in the world archaeology. His monographs have been still important nowadays. But we know nothing about his activity in youth. This work highlights this period of his life and shows the relations between scientist and his native land in his further career. Valentyn Danylenko began his career in Melitopol museum of local history in 1932. Since that time he had been interested in archaeology and participated in many archaeological expeditions in Ukraine, researching many archaeological sites. After World War II he became a researcher at the Institute of Archaeology of the USSR, but he did not interrupt relations with his native land until his death, researching the Stone Grave – the most unique site of nature and archaeology in the world. Valentyn Danylenko made a great contribution to the study of Stone Grave and its emergence as a reserve.
1. Danylenko V.M. (1986). Stone Grave. Kyiv: Scientific thought.
2. Danilenko Valentin Nikolaevich (1983). Soviet archeology, № 2, 319-320.
3. Danylenko M.V. (2013). Valentin Nikolaevich Danilenko. Life of the archaeologist. Kyiv: The centre of textbooks.
4. Gavrylyuk N.O. (1996). Danylenko Valentyn Mykolayovych. Dictionary-reference book of archaeology, 395.
5. Kruglov S. (1934). The new burial is found. Soviet steppe, №116, 2.
6. Myhaylov B.D. (2006). Stone Grave and its surroundings. Zaporizhya: Wild field. Obolduyeva T.H. (1947). Sarmatian mounds near Melitopol. Archaeological sites of USSR, Vol.IV, 43-46.
7. The order book of Melitopol museum of local history (1941). Melitopol.
8. Timofeev V.M. (2009). Review of archaeological collection of Melitopol museum of local history. Melitopol.
9. Yurenko S.P. (2004). Danylenko Valentyn Mykolayovych. Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine, Vol.2, 287.
The scientific legacy of Valentin Danilenko has been well-known to the public. His monograph devoted to the Neolithic and Eneolithic sites of Ukraine has remain relevant nowadays. However, the first Danilenko`s steps in the archaeological science and their influence on its follow-up has almost become uninvestigated.
The information about Melitopol period of his life is pretty short. There are a very few sources about it. By the 2013 we have only one his biography compiled by his son Miroslav V.Danilenko and presented at the opening of the conference «Northern Azov in the era of the Stone Age – Chalcolithic» (Danylenko, 2013).
It expands our knowledge about his life before World War II, but contains a very few information about his scientific activity in Melitopol. Reference books contain even less information about him. For example, article in 2nd volume of the «Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine» have only laconical information such as his place of birth, years of study and work in Melitopol museum of local history (Yurenko, 2004). «Dictionary-reference book of archaeology» informs us only about his work in Institute of Archaeology (Gavrulyuk et al, 1996). Another problem is the aforementioned reference books have no reference to the source. The only reference to an article in one of the issues of the magazine «Soviet archaeology» is incorrect (Soviet archaeology, 1983).
The purpose of this publication is to highlight the first steps of V.M.Danylenka in archeology while working in Melitopol museum of local history (hereinafter – MMLH) and its future relations with the homeland.Source base of study is based on the order book of MMLH, museum inventory card-file and mentions about research of V.M.Danylenko in Melitopol region in his books and scientific works by other authors.
The scientific activity of Valentyn Danylenko
His career began in MMLH November 10, 1932 as head of the Department of Polytechnic when he was 19 years old (The order book, 1941).Director of museum at that time was a local historian I.P.Kurylo-Krymchak, who was just over 10 years old than V. Danilenko. The founder of the institution, equally known local historian and archaeologist D.Ya.Serdyukov had also worked there as a secretary. Perhaps familiarity with such a man, though very short, contributed to his later becoming an archaeologist.
His first coming as a scientist did not stay long. For the next order at number 17 on December 16, 1932 you can find the information that he applied to be released from his duties as head of Polytechnic part (The order book, 1941). Is he retired from the museum at all – is unknown. The next mention about V.Danylenko is in order № 14 of December 5, 1933, indicating he was appointed “as assistant of the museum with the duties of guardian” since December 1, 1933 (The order book, 1941). However, he did not stay long here again. According to order № 1 on January 16, 1934 he was dismissed for “systematic absenteeism and inability to cope with his responsibilities”(The order book, 1941). It seems difficult to say how systematically he violated the labor discipline because other documents of the museum did not survive. As far as order book it shows a fairly strict style of I.Kurylo-Krymchak’s management. It is full of orders of dismissal and disciplinary sanctions imposed by director.
After release of I.Kurylo-Krymchak in December 1934 as a “bourgeois nationalist” V.Danylenko reappeared in the museum. In January 1935 he was appointed to the post of head of the department of pre-capitalist formations with the salary of 200 rubles per month (The order book, 1941). This time he worked at the museum for much longer – up to June 1936. There is only one case of violation of labor discipline recorded to the order book. In March 1936 V.M.Danylenko was put on view for “frivolous relation to his responsibilities” and inventing “various experiments with flint and other museum exhibits” (The order book, 1941). Obviously, the administration of the museum simply did not understand the motives of his experiments – it is possible that V.Danylenko engaged those research areas, which are now called experimental archeology. On the whole, records in the order book testifies that new chief treated him with more respect: this shows at least that in May and August 1935 acting director M.I . Sobol, departing on a business trip, left him as a deputy (The order book, 1941).
Direct and indirect information about V.Danylenko’s activities at this time can be found both in his own book “Kam’yana Mohyla”, the later reports of other authors and even in Melitopol press 30s.He says the following: “In 1932, this writer, then research worker of Melitopol museum of local history, found a short notice of inspection of Stone Grave by M.I.Veselovsky in the the Archaeological Commission report for 1893 and studying of this site became one of the areas of the museum.By the 1934 about ten places with traces of images and settlements to the east of Stone Grave had already known” (Danylenko, 1986).He led the fieldwork and elsewhere.At newspaper “Soviet steppe” in 1934 reported that on May 19 V.Danylenko on behalf of Local History Society at miskplan and Museum began excavations of the burial ground near the village Voznesenka (now Melitopol district).Burial was family. The previous study of skeletons gave evidence it made about 3,000 years ago (Kruglov, 1934). During 1934-1935 V.M.Danylenko held another excavation – at Novo Pylypivka village Melitopol district, near the Stone Grave.There were collective burial places, located on the bank of the Molochnaya river.Apparently, it belonged to the Sarmatian time and contained three skeletons: men, women and children also.Funerary equipment included iron arrow heads, bronze bracelets with thick wire biconical bulges at the ends, heshyr, polishes, glass beads, small bronze mirror smooth, silvered bronze cruciform fibula, dagger, four earthen vessels, including zoomorphic jug with handle and linear patterns, quern and bits.These finds persisted in Melitopol museum and died during the German occupation.1947, based on the information on these excavations provided Danilenko, the employee of the Institute of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR T.H.Obolduyeva conducted a study Sarmatian burial mounds near the Melitopol (Oboldueva, 1947).
Another researcher, B.D.Myhaylov reported about the finds of dilapidated Hun time burial at Kiziyarskiy ravine, researched in the early 1930s in one of his publications.There was found 20 large amber beads, a massive gold ring with cross shield decorated with inlays of agate and ruby, as well as fragments of brown molded receptacle, mixed with fireclay in batter, decorated by circular pockets on the rim.The remains of the vessel resembled a kitchen ceramics of late Zarubinetska culture.He also got information from V.Danylenko (B.D.Myhaylov, 2006).
Order book of MMLH also contains some information about the activities of young researcher. In May 1936 he twice went on a mission “for the study of the land.”From 4 to 12th June he was at the conference “Industrial strength of Azov region” in Dnepropetrovsk, and from 12 to 16 June he was sent to the Priazovsky district “for inspection of cemetery found during the excavations of gas parties”(The order book, 1941).
June 20, 1936 V.Danylenko left the museum on his own (The order book, 1941). Notifications of his career in the last prewar years are rather contradictory. Scientist reported that in 1938 he participated in excavations in the Stone Grave as participant of the Azov-Black Sea expedition led by O.M.Bader as an employee of MMLH. Prior to the commencement of work he was able to open a multi-layered settlement located to the south of this site (Danylenko, 1986). As mentioned already the 2nd volume of the “Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine” reported that in 1936-1939 V.Danylenko was an employee of the museum in city of Valday (modern Novgorod region, Russia) (Yurenko, 2004). His son states that V. Danylenko returned to Melitopol from Valday in 1937 and recommenced his work in MMLH. Unfortunately, there were no orders in order book of museum for this period, so his statement cannot be confirmed documentally.
After end of World War II V.Danylenko became a researcher at the Institute of Archaeology of the USSR, where he worked for the rest of his life.However, the relationships between him and the museum, and Melitopol region did not interrupt.Already in 1947, led the Azov expedition he resumed the study of Stone Grave. In 1952, he returned here as participant of Melitopol-Terpinniya expedition led by M.Rudynsky, exploring Mammoth Grotto (Danylenko, 1986).
His good memory enabled him to help his former colleagues from MMLH in the postwar years.During the German occupation of almost the entire museum collection was lost, and the museum had to be created virtually from scratch.However, reading the fund, Danilenko was able to identify some museum objects which survived the war. They were products from Melitopol rural county agricultural exhibition in 1898. These are the entries in the inventory card storage group “Things” by the numbers 551, 552, 553.It is possible that some archaeological finds, such as: stone hammer and pestle of carcass culture, quern of Sarmatian time, stone of Doukhobors, dated 1840s and the sculpture of “Khazar horse” of the 10th century were determined by V.Danylenko as things from the pre-war funds (Timofeev, 2009).
As for the Stone Grave, the study of this monument became to V.M.Danylenko the work of his life.He worked here since 1969 as a chief of Azov expedition of Institute of Archaeology, Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR. During the work he opened new tips and a few hundred images.The outcome of the researcher was the monograph “Stone Grave” which was published in 1986, after his death (Danylenko, 1986).In this book, he not only analyzes the results of the excavations of monuments and its environs, but also makes proposals for the preservation of Stone Grave and hopes that eventually it will turn into an active reserve.Today we can confidently say that this is an outstanding scientist hopes are embodied in life.National historical-archeological reserve “Stone Grave” became a reality.
The studied sources allow us to conclude that scientific activity of V. Danilenko was associated with archaeological sites of Melitopol region since the first years of his career. He was interested in different periods of archaeology but the Stone Grave became the one of major streams of his researches just in that time. The work in Melitopol museum of local history played the important role in his becoming as a scientist.
Danylenko V.M. (1986). Stone Grave. Kyiv: Scientific thought.
Danilenko Valentin Nikolaevich (1983). Soviet archeology, № 2, 319-320.
DanylenkoV. (2013). Valentin Nikolaevich Danilenko.Life of the archaeologist. Kyiv: The centre of textbooks.
Gavrylyuk N.O. (1996). Danylenko Valentyn Mykolayovych. Dictionary-reference book of archaeology, 395.
Kruglov S. (1934). The new burial is found. Soviet steppe, №116, 2.
Myhaylov B.D. (2006). Stone Graveand its surroundings. Zaporizhya: Wild field. Obolduyeva T.H. (1947). Sarmatian mounds near Melitopol. Archaeological sites of USSR, Vol.IV, 43-46.
The order book of Melitopol museum of local history (1941). Melitopol.
Timofeev V.M. (2009). Review ofarchaeological collection of Melitopol museum of local history. Melitopol.
Yurenko S.P. (2004). Danylenko Valentyn Mykolayovych. Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine, Vol.2, 287.
Svitlana Dubina
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Selma Blair Caught In Argument With Ex-Hubby - Enquirer
Man, I didn't know Selma Blair was even married until now! Where have I been? I've got to admit she's got the simple combination West Cost / Midwest girl-next-door look down to a fine science. I guess her now-ex-hubby Ahmet Zappa (think son of the late and lengendary rocker Frank Zappa) thought so too, because he married her in 2004.
I only became aware of Selma via the movie "Cruel Intentions" -- one of my favorites. In the movie, which also features now coupled Ryan Philippe and Reese Witherspoon, Blair became very well-known for this kiss:
Well she's not going to be kissing on Zappa anytime soon because they had a nasty argument in a parking lot, which ended with her screeching off in her car after he walked off.
She's on the market and free to give a kiss like the one above to some deserving guy -- this time!
Suri Cruise Rumored Not To Be Tom Cruise's Baby - Enquirer
The Enquirer reports that the much celebrated baby of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes is not the product of whatever sexual intercourse the couple had. This news was covered in several other online media publications like Gawker and Perezhilton.com and led to speculation regarding who the father may be.
Some pointed to old Holmes flame Chris Klein as the father because of the similarity in the shape of their eyes. But regardless of who the real father may be, it's certainly clear that Suri is the child of Tom and Katie now.
Sunday, September 17, 2006 0
Pamela Sue Anderson and Courtney Love Roasted
This a totally funny video of both Pamela Sue Anderson and Courtney Love being roasted on the Comedy Central program.
Monday, August 28, 2006 0
Rolling Stones In Concert In Boston - Video
The Rolling Stones come to Boston September 20th; you can get tickets here, and see the video for "Paint It Black" below:
Wednesday, August 23, 2006 0
Tom Cruise Dumps Paramount So Paramount Dumps Tom Cruise
The buzz is all around that Paramount dumped Tom Cruise, but if you read the fine print to the story, it was the other way around.
It seems that Paramount reacted childishly to Cruise and Paula Wagner's decision to seek other movie financing. I don't know what they expect to accomplish, other than making a good deal for Cruise and some other organization just by proving his ability to draw headlines.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006 0
"Snakes On A Plane" Launches Samuel L. Jackson Into Cult Status
First it was "Pulp Fiction" and now, after a long layoff from cult moves, Samuel L. Jackson ups his cult status stock with the hit "Snakes On A Plane."
Now I haven't seen the movie -- yet. But I will. What fascinates me the most is the Internet-based viral marketing this movie's tapped. Wow.
Take a look at this blogger's post, where Samuel L. Jackson's pictured cussing about -- what else? -- Snakes on A Plane.
Here's a video interview of people who are going to see the movie:
Friday, August 18, 2006 0
Banarama - Cruel Summer Video
This is one of my all time favorite songs. I never tire of hearing it, and it's still hard to believe it's 23 years old. But Banarama's still going strong; their most recent album's called "Drama."
The Rolling Stones On The Mike Douglas Show
This is vintage video footage of the Rolling Stones on The Mike Douglas Show.
Black Velvet - YouTube Video With Alannah Myles
If you thought the timeless rock song Black Velvet was a product of The Wilson Sisters -- as I did -- you're flar wrong. The amazing voice behind this classic is of none other than Alannah Myles. Take a look and give a listen here:
Here are the lyrics (according to Songfacts, it's about Elvis Presley, but I thought it was refering to black men in the South, or an African American man she knew -- wishful thinking):
Mississippi in the middle of a dry spell
Jimmy Rogers on the Victrola up high
Mama's dancin' with baby on her shoulder
The sun is settin' like molasses in the sky
The boy could sing, knew how to move, everything
Always wanting more, he'd leave you longing for
Black velvet and that little boy's smile
Black velvet with that slow southern style
A new religion that'll bring ya to your knees
Black velvet if you please
Up in Memphis the music's like a heatwave
White lightening, bound to drive you wild
Mama's baby's in the heart of every school girl
"Love me tender" leaves 'em cryin' in the aisle
The way he moved, it was a sin, so sweet and true
Every word of every song that he sang was for you
In a flash he was gone, it happened so soon, what could you do?
(Solo)
If you please, if you please, if you please
Bruno Kirby Of "When Harry Met Sally" Dies at 57
This report by Niki Finne makes you understand how short and precious our lives are. Click on the link to read it. Here's an except below:
From AP: Bruno Kirby, the veteran character actor who co-starred in When Harry Met Sally and City Slickers has died at age 57 in Los Angeles from complications related to leukemia, according to a statement today from his wife, Lynn Sellers. He had recently been diagnosed with the disease. "We are incredibly grateful for the outpouring of support we have received from Bruno's fans and colleagues who have admired and respected his work over the past 30 years," his wife said. "Bruno's spirit will continue to live on not only in his rich body of film and television work but also through the lives of individuals he has touched throughout his life."
`N Sync's Lance Bass Says He is Gay - San Jose Mercury News
What's interesting about this is fans wondered if Bass was gay as far back as 2001, and yet he denied it at the time
`N Sync's Lance Bass says he is gay - July 26,2006 - San Jose Mercury News
Lance Bass, band member of 'N Sync, says he's gay and in a ``very stable'' relationship with a reality show star.
Bass, who formed 'N Sync with Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick, tells People magazine that he didn't earlier disclose his sexuality because he didn't want to affect the group's popularity.
``I knew that I was in this popular band and I had four other guys' careers in my hand, and I knew that if I ever acted on it or even said (that I was gay), it would overpower everything,'' he tells the magazine.
'N Sync is known for a string of hits including ``Bye Bye Bye'' and ``It's Gonna Be Me.'' The band went on hiatus in 2002. Bass has also found headlines for undertaking astronaut training and failing to raise money for a trip into space.
Bass says he wondered if his coming out could prompt ``the end of 'N Sync.'' He explains, ``So I had that weight on me of like, `Wow, if I ever let anyone know, it's bad.' So I just never did.''
The singer says he's in a ``very stable'' relationship with 32-year-old actor Reichen Lehmkuhl, winner of season four of CBS' ``Amazing Race.''
Bass and Fatone, 29, are developing a sitcom pilot inspired by the screwball comedy ``The Odd Couple,'' in which his character will be gay.
``The thing is, I'm not ashamed -- that's the one thing I want to say,'' Bass says. ``I don't think it's wrong, I'm not devastated going through this. I'm more liberated and happy than I've been my whole life. I'm just happy.''
Here's Lance Bass at The Sundance Film Festival:
Superman Returns...As O.J. Simpson
Now before you get into a tizzy, I'm not implying that O.J, Simpson killed his wife. I don't believe he did. But he did do something that Superman does in Superman Returns, and so they have at least one action in common.
To determine what that is, read on.
I came into the theater wanting to like Superman Returns before I saw it. In other words, I came with a bias. I'm one of those who remembers watching the black-and-white "Superman" TV show as a kid. I was never really into the Superman comics, preferring Wonder Woman (!), but I did watch "The Super Friends" and "The Justice League of America" cartoons.
Then there was Richard Donnar's "Superman" -- a masterpiece of a film that launched the career of soap opera actor Christospher Reeve, who we think of as anything but now.
What made Superman an incredible film was that it was faithful to the character I and others of my generation remember as kids: the defender of truth, justice, and the American way.
And that doesn't go for invading Iraq.
In other words, Superman was part of my childhood. I never watched one episiode of the popular TV series "Lois and Clark" or "Smallville" for that matter. (Well, I did see one "Smallville" story, which was pretty good.) They don't present the Superman I remember.
In other words, I don't associate Superman with sex, child support, birth control, jealously, stalking, homelessness, or alcoholism. Yet Brian Singer's deals with all of these issues either directly or indirectly in Superman Returns.
A Work Not Marvelous, But I Do Wonder...
Superman Returns is the result of a 13-year collective quest to make a new Superman movie, an effort that seemed as if it was going to be stuck in development hell until it was saved by Director Brian Singer and Producer Chris Lee. Two years and $250 million later, Superman Returns was released on June 30, 2006.
Superman plays Brandon Routh, who like Reeve before him was a soap opera actor, and who basically looks like a cross between Reeve and Dean Cain from "Lois and Clark" -- he's more Reeve than Cain, to be sure. 23-year old Kate Bostworth takes on Lois Lane, a character set in Zeitgeist stone by Margo Kidder and Terry Hatcher.
The cast is rounded by the appearance of Frank Langella as Perry White, the editor of The Daily Planet. (As a momentary aside, Langella's getting a lot of work of late, and he's sinks his teeth into every role.)
Finally (at least for the purpose of this review) one of my favorite actors, Kevin Spacey, plays Superman's enemy, Lex Luthor.
The question is how does each actor do compared to the ones who've come before them. My answer: not bad at all. It's not the actors that are the problem, it's the material they're given.
It's terrible.
The story goes like this: Superman crash land on Earth -- and right onto his adopted mother's farm -- after a five year absence. Apparently astronomers discovered the remains of Krypton so Superman went back to investigate the find for himself. After all it's his home planet.
The trouble is he left without telling anyone where he was going -- except his Mom. So after enjoying some sleep in a comfortable bed at home and a game of "fetch" so unfair to the dog the canine gives up, Clark Kent returns to Manhattan -- opps, Metropolis -- and to his old job at the newspaper The Daily Planet, courtesy of Editor-In-Chief Perry White.
Jimmy Olsen's there (played by Sam Huntington) as is Lois Lane, at least her chair's there; she's part of a press group on the maiden voyage of a Boeing 777 carrying a new Space Shuttle into the sky.
He's reacquainted with her after a spectacular scene segment -- hampered by one major flaw -- where Clark Kent / Superman saves the 777 from crashing into a baseball stadium after a midair malfunction directly related to the doings of Lex Luthor.
Clark Kent / Superman is obviously anxious to see Ms. Lane, but discovers that she's moved on. She's got a husband-to-be -- Richard, played by James Mardsen -- and a five year old kid with an asthma problem and a weird ability to throw pianos when excited. Right, five years old. When Clark Kent / Superman sees the photo of Lois new family and Olsen fills him in on the new beau, Kent cracks the picture frame in an anger he struggles to hide. This guys jealous, big time. But he's Superman, which means that he could do some damage if he gets pissed. Better a planet than a family, right?
When Clark Kent / Superman leans of the home address of Ms. Lane, he flies off as Superman to -- well, go there. He arrives and while floating in air, uses his X-ray vision to observe the activity of the Lane household. We and he see the action one room at a time, and I feel creepy. At this point, I started to put this segment together with the picture frame cracking accident and think of Clark Kent / Superman as...
O.J. Simpson.
Finally Clark Kent / Superman sees Lois and Richard in the kitchen and with his super hearing listens to her say she's not in love with Superman anymore. At this point, he hangs in the air for a moment just long enough to make you believe he may do something rash, like blow the house down. Just think if he caught them making love, which the segment seems to communicate the possibility of happening. What then? Pound his fist in anger hard enough to make them think there's an earthquake and stop?
Why the OJ comparison? Well, one thing he did was go to the home of the guy his wife was seeing and peer into his window while she was "doing it" with him. What did he do?
Well, both he and Clark Kent / Superman did get angry. In Clark Kent / Superman's case, he flew off to Earth orbit, crying.
He Can't Find A Home...
Clark Kent / Superman can't seem to find a place to live. On three occasions he says he's still looking for one. Never finds one. He just hangs in space listening to just about everyone on Earth, picking and choosing where he goes at any moment in time. That's fine, but it seems to take away from the responsible Clark Kent, who knows he needs a home and one would think a place to entertain other than the Fortress of Solitude. Instead we get the homeless Clark Kent.
On top of all that Clark Kent / Superman reacts with an annoying indifference to the kid he sires and this is where the material show it's problem of lack of passion. In real life, Clark Kent / Superman would have asked Lois why she wasn't on birth control or something. To be fair, he does sneak back to Lois home to see his kid, but then that's what bugs me yet again.
Why couldn't he have just asked Lois to see him?
Moreover, why didn't Lois invite him? I actually liked Kate Bostworth as Lois. She played the role of Lois as Mom real well.
I also liked Kevin Spacey's Lex Luthor, that is until he and his men beat up Superman / Clark Kent in a scene way too violent for the Superman movies.
$250 Million For This?
Finally, I come to the matter of the special effects that give shape to this movie. The airplane save scenes were really great. But the whole effect just plain fell apart for me when the 777 was in the baseball stadium. The face that it's not really there is obvious by the bleed lines between the aircraft and the real life stadium. It just takes away from the impact of the scene.
It left me wondering where the $250 million went. For that money, they should have been able to realize resolution so detailed the bleedlines were eliminated, but no. Yes, there's two scenes in King Kong that have the same problem, but they're minor and small in time, and way outnumbered by some jaw dropping effects, like Kong himself.
But in Superman Returns these bleedlines are everywhere, even on Superman himself as he flies. It was disappointing.
Do I Or Don't I Want A Sequel?
As I write this, Superman Returns is being clobbered at the box office. It has two problems: Pirates of The Carribean II and it's $250 million price tag. "Pirates" arrghed up $132 million in just a weekend. That would pay for 50 percent of the cost of Superman Returns, which has made $142 million in two weeks, and it's revenue gain is declining; it only took in $21 million last weekend, and with more flicks coming out, the number of screens it's on will shrink, making the breakeven target of $250 million harder and harder to reach. Ouch.
I believe Superman deserves a better movie life than this. Given what Singer brought to the screen this time, I'm not excited to see the sequel. But given the box office, getting one made may be hard to do.
The lesson here is clear. Don't mess with a kid's view of a comic book legend by making him less of a hero. Adults know heroes are flawed, but we don't want our childhood ones to be.
The Superman in Superman Returns is not the Man of Steel I remember as a kid; he's not the one I want to see today. Apparently, many agree.
Heck, I'll bet O.J would too.
Sunday, July 02, 2006 0
Wonder Woman Movie Director Josh Whedon's Reported Script Trouble Scaring The Heck Out Of Wonder Woman Fans
Recently Wonder Woman Movie Director Josh Whedon did an interview where he said he found the script he's writing -- repeat, he's writing -- troubling. This bit of news sent Wonder Woman fans at Ultimate Wonder into a frenzy, with many fearing that the movie would be just terrible -- if it ever was made.
In this video below, Whedon' talks about his approach to the Wonder Woman Movie script.
Spiderman 3 Teaser Trailer - The Real Trailer of Spiderman, Sandman, Mary Jane, Gwen Stacy, and The Black Uniform
This seems to be the plotline fot the film, and it's followed by the actual trailer itself. This is the real-deal, as there's a "fake" running around YouTube. The third installment in the highly sucessful movie series -- I think it's one of the best in film history -- adds "Prmary Colors" Adrian Lester to the cast, and making him the first African American to hold a lead role in the series.
Here's the rumored plot:
Plot: Third film in the highly successful "Spider-Man" series sees several new villains and a new woman enter Peter Parker's life. With his secret now revealed to both Mary Jane and Harry, Peter must face the consequences of his actions and his new life together with Mary Jane as they finally form a relationship. Yet their newfound open display of love has yielded some unfortunate results, not the least of which is Peter's upset boss determined to make his life hell for causing his son emotional distress. Not helping is a young investigative reporter named Eddie Brock who Jameson has hired to find out why Mary Jane dumped his son for Peter - what's Parker's secrets?
At the same time an escaped prisoner hiding out on a remote beach is caught in a dreadful accident and finds himself turned into a shape-shifting sand creature. Peter's investigations into the past of this 'Sandman' (Thoman Haden Church from "Sideways" pictured) brings him in contact with two very different things that will inevitably alter his life. The first a young woman named Gwen Stacy, daughter of the city's new police chief who is developing a soft spot for Peter. The other, a black substance from an accident scene which 'merges' with Peter's costume and gives him new found abilities.
Things come to a head however when Harry Osborn, determined to take revenge against Peter for his father's death and now equipped with what he needs to pull it off, teams with The Sandman in a new variation of his father's Green Goblin guise and causes mayhem. In the ensuing chaos lives are lost, including people very close to Peter, whilst the black substance covering his suit separates from him and merges with a distraught Brock to form something else entirely - a creature unlike anything he's ever faced. A 'Venom' that he may not be able to stop.
Star Jones Out Of "View" - Did Sandra Bernhard Cat Fight Push Her Over?
The View's ever lovely Star Jones annouced she's quitting ABC's women talk show "The View." But to make matters worse, The View's producer, Barbara Walters said today they've fired her.
I don't know the behind the scenes story, but given this racially-coded exchange with Sandra Bernhard which is in the video below -- some call it a cat fight -- it seems race may have played a role and not in the way you think.
It seems that Jones' may not have been the right demographic for the suddenly gay-friendly media. What I think happened is that Walters and her staff made some weird read on society and concluded they better get a lesbian voice on their show -- enter Rosie O'Donnell. But exit Jones?
Well, some people tend to think in a white - male - centered view, where anyone that's not white or male is considerred a minority, thus the stupid decision to trade one minority -- Jones -- for another -- O'Donnell.
Bernhard -- like Rosie -- is also Lesbian, and it's almost certain Lesbian women called for Jones' head after the exchange, and inspite of the fact that it was the acid-tongued Bernhard who opened her mouth too much. (Not to say I disagree with her on the matter of war and women. I mean, the World would be a better place if every woman refused to have sex with a bigot or a warmonger.)
It won't matter. O'Donnell's not a draw. The View will sink into oblivion.
While it's sinking, look at the video!
Jamie Fox Video On LL Cool J and J-Lo - In Oakland He Talks About His Run-In WIth LL Cool J and Telling J-Lo She Couldn't Sing
The Academy Award-winning star of the motion picture "Ray" Jamie Foxx gave a hilarious performance to a sold-out crowd at the Paramount Theater. In this video he talks about how rapper LL Cool J treated him on the set of Oliver Stone's movie "Any Given Sunday" -- leading to a series of altercations -- and that Jennifer Lopez (aka J-Lo) was upset with Foxx because he reportedly said she couldn't sing. A claim he didn't deny in this video.
Here's Jamie Foxx:
American Idol Tour Video - Kelly Clarkson, Katharine McPhee, and Others Sing
Just in time for the American Idol Tour, this video is a compliation of American Idol artists featuring Kelly Clarkson. You can get tickets to The American Idols Tour with a click here.
Billy Preston Passed Away - Video With George Harrison
Billy Preston -- known for his massive hit "Nothin From Nothin Leaves Nothin" -- passed away today at the age of 59. I remember him most for that song, and was totally unaware of his legal problems as reported by CNN. I prefer to remember his music. Here's a video of a concert he recently performed with George Harrison, and both formerly of The Beatles.
New Batwoman is a lesbian - DC Comics Rolls The Dice - CNN
Well, she's got great legs! That's all I have to say.
New Batwoman is a lesbian
Editor: 'We decided to give her a different point of view'
Thursday, June 1, 2006; Posted: 8:47 a.m. EDT (12:47 GMT)
NEW YORK (AP) -- Years after she first emerged from the Batcave, Batwoman is coming out of the closet.
DC Comics is resurrecting the classic comic book character as a lesbian, unveiling the new Batwoman in July as part of an ongoing weekly series that began this year. The 5-foot-10 superhero comes with flowing red hair, knee-high red boots with spiked heels, and a form-fitting black outfit.
"We decided to give her a different point of view," explained Dan DiDio, vice president and executive editor at DC. "We wanted to make her a more unique personality than others in the Bat-family. That's one of the reasons we went in this direction."
(DC Comics, like CNN, is a division of Time Warner.)
The original Batwoman was started in 1956, and killed off in 1979. The new character will share the same name as her original alter ego, Kathy Kane. And the new Batwoman arrives with ties to others in the Gotham City world.
"She's a socialite from Gotham high society," DiDio said. "She has some past connection with Bruce Wayne. And she's also had a past love affair with one of our lead characters, Renee Montoya."
Montoya, in the "52" comic book series, is a former police detective. Wayne, of course, is Batman's true identity -- but he has disappeared, along with Superman and Wonder Woman, leaving Gotham a more dangerous place.
The "52" series is a collaboration of four acclaimed writers, with one episode per week for one year. The comics will introduce other diverse characters as the story plays out.
"This is not just about having a gay character," DiDio said. "We're trying for overall diversity in the DC universe. We have strong African-American, Hispanic and Asian characters. We're trying to get a better cross-section of our readership and the world."
The outing of Batwoman created a furor of opinions on Web sites devoted to DC Comics. Opinions ranged from outrage to approval. Others took a more tongue-in-cheek approach to the announcement.
"Wouldn't ugly people as heroes be more groundbreaking?" asked one poster. "You know, 200-pound woman, man with horseshoe hair loss pattern, people with cold sores, etc.?"
DiDio asked that people wait until the new Batwoman's appearance in the series before they pass judgment.
"You know what? Judge us by the story and character we create," he said. "We are confident that we are telling a great story with a strong, complex character."
DiDio spent most of the morning fielding phone calls from media intrigued by the Batwoman reinvention.
"It's kind of weird," he said. "We had a feeling it would attract some attention, but we're a little surprised it did this much."
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Inadequate heart rate control despite widespread use of beta-blockers in outpatients with stable CAD: findings from the international prospective CLARIFY registry
Tendera, M. et al. (2014) Inadequate heart rate control despite widespread use of beta-blockers in outpatients with stable CAD: findings from the international prospective CLARIFY registry. International Journal of Cardiology, 176(1), pp. 119-124. (doi:10.1016/j.ijcard.2014.06.052) (PMID:25042656)
95647.pdf - Accepted Version
Background: To use CLARIFY, a prospective registry of patients with stable CAD (45 countries), to explore heart rate (HR) control and beta-blocker use.
Methods: We analyzed the CLARIFY population according to beta-blocker use via descriptive statistics with Pearson's χ2 test for comparisons, as well as a multivariable stepwise model.
Results: Data on beta-blocker use was available for 32,914 patients, in whom HR was 68 ± 11 bpm; patients with angina, previous myocardial infarction, and heart failure had HRs of 69 ± 12, 68 ± 11, and 70 ± 12 bpm, respectively. 75% of these patients were receiving beta-blockers. Bisoprolol (34%), metoprolol tartrate (16%) or succinate (13%), atenolol (15%), and carvedilol (12%) were mostly used; mean dosages were 49%, 76%, 35%, 53%, and 45% of maximum doses, respectively. Patients aged < 65 years were more likely to receive beta-blockers than patients ≥ 75 years (P < 0.0001). Gender had no effect. Subjects with HR ≤ 60 bpm were more likely to be on beta-blockers than patients with HR ≥ 70 bpm (P < 0.0001). Patients with angina, previous myocardial infarction, heart failure, and hypertension were more frequently receiving beta-blockers (all P < 0.0001), and those with PAD and asthma/COPD less frequently (both P < 0.0001). Beta-blocker use varied according to geographical region (from 87% to 67%).
Conclusions: Three-quarters of patients with stable CAD receive beta-blockers. Even so, HR is insufficiently controlled in many patients, despite recent guidelines for the management of CAD. There is still much room for improvement in HR control in the management of stable CAD.
Ford, Professor Ian and Greenlaw, Miss Nicola
Tendera, M., Fox, K., Ferrari, R., Ford, I., Greenlaw, N., Abergel, H., Macarie, C., Tardif, J.-C., Vardas, P., Zamorano, J., and Steg, P. G.
College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > Institute of Health and Wellbeing > Robertson Centre
Copyright © 2014 Elsevier
First published in International Journal of Cardiology 176(1):119-124
Publisher Policy:
Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher
Miss Nicola Greenlaw
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8 THOUSAND KM FOLLOWING HER SON
In Deaflympics 2017, athletes are challenging every difficulty, while their families travel thousands of miles for their children. Joy Roach, the mother of South African swimmer Mark Roach, is just one of those names.
Joy Roach who manage a company that operates a food and beverage services in South Africa, came from Johannesburg to Istanbul and then to Samsun by in total of 8,000 miles to support Mark Roach, his swimmer son who competes in Deaflympics 2017.
Roach, who has followed most of his son's performances on site since the 2011 World Deaf Swimming Championships in Portugal, said she only could not go to the 2015 World Deaf Swimming Championships in Texas.
“SAMSUN IS A NICE PLACE"
Joy Roach, who traveled to many countries to support his son, is quite pleased with her time in Samsun. Roach stated her thoughts about the city and people as follows: "Samsun is very clean, according to South Africa, there are less and minor waves. People are very helpful, none of my questions left unanswered."
“I WOULD NOT BE HERE WITHOUT SHE AND HER SUPPORT"
Mark Roach, the South African swimmer who is experiencing his second Deaflympics experience in his career, expressed his commitment to his mother who has traveled 8,000 kilometers to Samsun as follows: "I do not think I could compete here if she and her support were not there. She's a wonderful person, the best mother in the world."
The 20-year-old athlete stated that he came to Samsun for the first time and added that he achieved to compete in the finals of 200M Medley and 100M Butterfly thanks to her mother's support.
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Official website of NYC's Del-Lords
Discography/Lyrics
Frontier Days
Johnny Comes Marching Home
Lovers Who Wander
Elvis Club
Top Ten Blog
Tag Archives: Scott Kempner
Posted on May 26, 2012 by The Del-Lords
It’s an early foggy jet lagged Monday morning. I just got back from NYC a coupla nights ago, having left town with all the band overdubs complete. All the vocals complete. Just a piano overdub and some horns on one song, all to be played by friends of the band, remain. It’s a pretty amazing feeling. For 2 ½ years we’ve been working on this record bit by bit, as time and schedules and money would allow. What happens in the breaks, though, is nerve wracking – for me it is, anyway. It is really hard to listen to incomplete tracks. The anxiety and nervousness (is it just me?) that goes along with hearing your songs incomplete is overwhelming. It’s like, will my little song ever get the percussion and backing vocals it so deserves?? And if so, when? And, will it sound like it does in my head, or will that idea suck???? Is it too slow, or is it too fast – well, maybe a little of both??!!? Really nutso shit, I’m tellin’ ya! But, we are all, fans and bands alike, so trained to listening to finished product that it can be hard to “imagine” what it will sound like, even for us who make these things. You KNOW that little bit of percussion will correct any tempo doubts, but until it’s there, it’s too slow AND too fast! Imagining music is like hearing about a color or about someone else having sex. It’s just, “Whaaaat???? Huh??” You want to hear your record at the same level of quality and completeness as you hear your favorite records, your talismans, your food, air, and water.
So, for the better part of two years that was what I’d been feeling. (That’s why I had knee surgery, to calm me down.) But today, right now, I am feeling good, Jack! I have just finished all my parts, and the band has finished all its parts, and for the first time in twenty years The Del-Lords are about to have available a brand new album. And, I was there – for most of it. Eric though, he was there for all of it.
And, at this point, I want to thank Tim(bo) Hatfield, and Mario Viele, the engineers at Cowboy Technical Services Recording Rig, whose starting point was above and beyond the call of duty, and they never looked down or looked back. They were miracle workers, with such high level expertise that it could be practically invisible. And two great guys, too. Thank you, fellas.
I know I play for a very special band, and I love the noise we make. It’s probably my numero uno favorite noise, actually. I am extremely proud of this record, maybe more proud of it than anything else I’ve ever done. I do hope you dig it. Time to exhale.
So, I am going to go back in time here, and although I have told a more condensed version of this story before, think of this as a reissue/remaster – with bonus tracks. It seems like the right time to tie up this phase of the re-emergence of The Del-Lords:
Ok, then!
Yes, unfinished business is what the new Del-Lords record is all about. When we were making records in the 80’s, we were a band out of time. If for no other reason (and there were other reasons) than, in an age of synth bands and New Wave leftovers, we were a guitar band – with the 80’s being particularly unkind to guitars. All those crappy reverbs and shit were seemingly designed to make your guitar sound exactly like you would never want it to. And, we took guitars very seriously, we did. Even guitar hero, Neil “Spyder” Giraldo, our producer, was hamstrung by the demands of radio at the time, and he, having been hired with the sole purpose of turning in a hit record, by somehow getting one out of us – and nothing less would do. Hey, we did the best we could!
All through this period my guitar brother, Eric “Roscoe” Ambel had been not so quietly forming opinions on all these aspects of our records, and the general state of guitar records, in general. After a bit, Eric’s opinions started to become a philosophy, one that was being given vindication by what we weren’t achieving in the studio. Eric had plenty of ideas he wanted a chance to try out, and this he did, first with other artists, including local boys, The Clintons, as well as The World Famous Blue Jays, and even a Nils Lofgren record on which he got to produce Neil Young himself. But, he never got his chance to produce us the way he wanted to hear us. Then the band broke up and it was all water under the bridge.
But, all these years later, Eric is a well-known and terrific producer, specializing in the kind of bands and artists with whom we would have shared print space back in the 80s for being in a similar musical bag. His records sounded just like he always said he wanted them to sound, live, exciting, and present, and they all sounded just great. As for those guitars, they went from the 80s’ two-dimensional vibe, plus reverb, to a three-dimensional, fully tactile creature of some heft, with teeth. So, here we are taking care of that unfinished business, with Eric at the helm of the new Del-Lords record.
We are not co-producing it – Eric is in charge. For me, having just come off a solo record where I played all the guitars and made all the decisions, I couldn’t be happier with this arrangement. I certainly did not want to make another solo album, and with me writing pretty much all the songs, and singing most of them, as well, the danger of falling into another solo record vibe was a real one. But, this way, I write them, we all arrange them, and Eric has final say on everything. This time around he also played almost every one of the leads throughout, and that too helps give it a much different character than had I done them, or even some of them. It has worked out great. I am more thrilled about this record than anything I’ve ever done before, and this arrangement has turned out to be a primary reason for my enthusiasm.
Of course, there’s Frank. Frank is a brother, a player, a singer, and a student of drums. Every time I see him he’s added some dazzling new moves to his bag of rhythmic tricks. His drum sound is among the most musical I’ve ever heard, and that is something that is in his hands, and not in the gear we use to record him. Everyone has contributed many ideas to the songs, and we’ve used almost all of them, again, giving it more of a band vibe. And that vibe is the heart, soul and nerve center of who we are and why we sound the way we sound when we play together. It sounds just like us, and no one else. I have played with Frank more than with any other drummer, and there have been some damn good ones, like JP Patterson in The Dictators, but something special happens to my songs when it’s us playing them.
To all this, we have added Mike DuClos, or Duke as we call him. It is a tough fit around here. The three of us are airtight, so to squeeze in requires the absolute right guy, and Duke is that. He’s a tremendous player, a total fucking wise-ass, and (I love saying this) he’s played with Pete Townshend & Buddy Hackett (can I get an Amen?), and has just the right vibe to make us whole again. Our fans will have a treat in store when they see & hear Duke. Of course, Duke steps into some big shoes, those of Manny Caiati, who bowed out of the band last year. Manny was a founding member and that is a huge thing in and of itself. At one point The Del-Lords were just Manny and me! But, in spirit, Manny is always gonna be a part of this band, if not part of the day-to-day. That remains. Onward and Upward.
And, as I recall, this record actually started as a solo album. Back in 2008,I was speaking with Eric about possibly doing a duo tour of Spain. I had just been over with The Dictators, and SAVING GRACE, my second solo album, was about to be released. I was speaking to Pepe, our promoter (both Dictators & Del-Lords promoter since back in the 80’s) about coming over to support my record. He said he would be happy to book it for me, but he wanted me to know that of course, it would not be for as much money as if we billed it as The Del-Lords. But, knowing THAT wasn’t gonna happen, I was willing to take my chances using just Eric’s and my name. This was if I could even get Eric to do it.
So, I’m on the horn telling all this to Eric, and we’re just catchin’ up, bullshittin’, talkin’ trash, spendin’ cash, the usual. And, Eric was into the duo idea and we left it at that. In speaking again with Pepe, I told him it would in fact be Eric and me. A few days later Pepe calls me from Madrid. He’s been thinking this over. He says, in effect, that Eric and me on acoustic guitars, “is ok, but its not The Del-Lords reunion he’s been waiting twenty years for” (turns out the two bands I’ve been in are Pepe’s two favorite bands of all time!! Go figure, hah?!!?), and he’s taking this very seriously. He’s been thinkin’, ya see. He says if Frank could do it, great. He understands Manny probably won’t be able to do it, but given the twenty-year gap, as long as it’s Eric and me, we can call it The Del-Lords. And, he knows just the right drummer if Frank can’t do it. Pepe’s been doin’ some thinkin’, ya see.
This is a tough one for me. I do truly believe in the sanctity of “the band” (no, not The Band, our band!) and I have to think about this. I think that maybe since I wrote most of our songs, and given all the time that’s gone by, and how busy Frank was, that I might just have to do this with a new drummer. A scary and unpleasant prospect, indeed. I tell all this to Eric, who agrees it would be ok, under these circumstances, to use the name even if Frank is not there. But, he says, let’s at least call Frank, as well as Manny. So, I call Frank and explain my predicament. I reiterate that of course he’s the real Del-Lords drummer, and that of course, he is still, just like for the last thirty years, the first guy I think of in every musical thing I do. As for Frank? He plays the drums, ya see.
Frank is remarkably understanding. There’s the money thing, there’s the time-gone-by thing, there’s his schedule with Cracker/Camper Van Beethoven, and there’s the, “Ya gotta do what ya gotta do” thing. He’s good with it. For about twenty-four hours, that is. Then the phone calls start. Now, Frank’s been thinkin’, ya see. Frank: “There’s no way anybody else is ever sitting in that drum seat!!! There’s no way anyone else is playing as a member of The Del-Lords!!!! There’s no way!!!” I get the feeling that there’s just no way. It reminds me of when Frank first auditioned for the band back in 1982. First of all, as fate would have it, Frank and Eric auditioned at the same time. This is true. It was a Monday and auditions were just starting, and first up Frank and Eric. Well, THAT was easy! It was instant! We have our band! But, every night for a week, as auditions dragged on and on (there were some forty drummers we had arranged to try out) Frank would call me. The phone would be ringing off the hook when I walked in the door (remember, no cell phones yet), asking me in a completely rhetorical way, “You haven’t found anyone better than me, right? You know I’m the guy, right?” Ok, I won’t keep you in suspense any longer – Frank WAS the guy. Back to 2009. So, that’s how what might have been another solo album set in motion the first Del-Lords record in twenty three years.
The other thing was Eric sending me a new Chip Robinson record he had just produced. I really dug it, and I loved the way it sounded, too. Lots of space, lots of song. Eric had always had this philosophy of going for live ensemble playing when recording, especially for small combo rock’n’roll. A very cool, spacious, guitar/bass/drums/vocals-centric live recording. And, a hot live recording was exactly what i thought I was listening to. I called Eric back to tell him that I loved this record, and I especially loved the production. I was real surprised when Eric informed me it was constructed bit by bit, overdub by overdub, with Eric himself playing drums on some songs. He explained how he had Chip lay down an acoustic guitar and vocal track to a drum machine track, thereby creating a “map” of the song from which to work. He added that the reason he had sent me that record was he figured I probably had some songs that would lend themselves to that type of recording. Well, he figured right. Within a coupla months I was in NYC to start laying down maps of a dozen or so songs. This turned out to be the first baby steps of this new Del-Lords record.
It has taken a while as no one was paying for it, or for us to take a month off everything else in order to block out the time to record. So, with Eric keeping it all together, over the next two years, on a hit and run basis, we recorded a new record. All the overdubs are now done, mixing and mastering awaits, and then it will be available.
The working title is SILHOUETTES ON THE SHADE.
The working sequence is:
CHICKS, MAN!
WHEN THE DRUGS KICK IN
ALL OF MY LIFE
ME AND THE LORD BLUES
LETTER (UNMAILED)
YOU CAN MAKE A MISTAKE ONE TIME
These are all songs I’ve written, except EVERYDAY, which is a co-write with Dion, MAKE A MISTAKE, a co-write with Eric, and SOUTHERN PACIFIC, written by Neil Young.
A long story told the long way. It is quite remarkable looking back to that conversation with Pepe in the Bilbao airport, on our way home from what turned out to be the last Dictators gig to feature the original four members. Who knew? I was already focused on SAVING GRACE being released, and wanting to come back to Spain to play. But, that conversation turned out to be the fulcrum upon which my life turned inside out and upside down – in a good way. I can tell you that one thing I was NOT thinking of was a new Del-Lords record, and/or a Del-Lords tour of Spain! Yet, if I could have just sat back at that moment and closed my eyes and thought about it, I mean, really thought about it, and I could lay out the next couple of years in my head, and have it all come true, I still would not have imagined anything near as great as what, fours years down the old highway, I actually have now. Married to Sharon (finally!!), got a brand new knee (fuck you, pain!), and The Del-Lords WITH a brand new record!! Sign me up!
Posted in Top Ten Blog | Tagged Cowboy Technical, Del Lords, Dictators, Eric Ambel, Frank Funaro, Michael DuClos, Scott Kempner, The Del-Lords | 3 Replies
2011 ON THE WANE, 2012 IN THE WINGS
Posted on November 5, 2011 by The Del-Lords
Things are good. No, things are great! In my personal life, I am about to marry a woman whom I have dated sporadically, as well as briefly, yet it was over a period of some 35 years. Got that? When I say occasionally, well I said, sporadically – same thing – I mean, about a dozen times over those 35 years. We would then lose track of each other for great lengths of time. This last time we had not seen each other or spoken a word to each other in almost eight years! Then suddenly we were thrown together for what has so far been two very happy years. (See kids, this is how Life works sometimes!) And now, Good God A-Mighty, we’s a-gettin’ hitched! There’s a lesson in there, friends– probably several lessons, as well as a helluva story, in fact, none of which I am going to get into at this time or in this place, however. And, that’s because there is Del-Lords activity a-plenty to get to.
Where to start, where to start? Ok, first things first: Duke aka Michael DuClos is officially the new member of the band. He will be taking Manny’s old position, playing the bass as Manny had done since before the beginning. But Manny is no longer able to stay involved on a regular basis, as he is doing good work, important work, that needs someone with Manny’s heart, soul and intelligence to get that job done right. So, while Manny will always be a part of this band, there has been a changing of the guard in the day-to-day.
Duke is a natural fit. It just fell into place with him quickly and painlessly. His personality, his considerable skill, and sense of humor, has been a real shot in the arm. Plus, (I just can’t stop saying this — it’s that amazing!) Duke is the only person alive who has worked with both Pete Townshend AND Buddy Hackett!! This is true! We just finished the final two basic tracks for the record last week, with Duke on board. So, the basics are done, we now turn full time to the details: backing vocals, some guitars, maybe some percussion, a little this, a little that, and whatever other little touches will help this baby shine, roar, and stand out from the pack once it’s out of the garage and out on the street.
Let me tell you, it’s no small thing to be at this point of the record. We’ve done it completely on the resources at our disposal; first and foremost, the band itself being back together, everyone being all in on this thing of ours, our own La Cosa Nostra, for no other band or individuals could do this thing we – Frank, Eric, myself, and now Duke – do quite as we do it, and that, mis amigos, remains the point of the whole shebang does it not? .
What’s left to say about Roscoe? Well, whether I’ve said it before, or you’re hearing it for the first time, stay cool, it bears repeating. Eric “Roscoe” Ambel, he of the many skills and vision needed, not to mention the studio, to produce this record, to take the vision and run with it, but to also know the ins and outs and brass tacks of what that ACTUALLY requires. Plus, at the same time, he’s a full-on performing member of the band, making his hat switching just that much more of a daredevil, high-wire stunt. You could forgive him if one of these duties took a backseat in order to focus on another, but Eric is working them all at a consistently, astonishingly high level. His playing, singing and arranging is on the same par as his considerable producing skills.
Of course, there’s Frank. I remember the day we first met (it was coincidentally the same time I met Eric) and Frank had a sort of wound too tight, edgy, friendly aggressiveness that is usually a hallmark of a great drummer, as it was this time, too. Frank’s musical taste at that time ran the full range from AC/DC to Black Sabbath, and then right back again. But, within months of being in the band, Frank was digesting Louis Armstrong, Hank Williams, Benny Goodman, the Blues, and The Beatles. Now, he’s got it all, and plenty more, stored in his noggin, and he carries it all in his back pocket into every musical situation. An encyclopedia of rhythmic choices is what he can whip out on the spot. To know that he is back there is one of the few things I have learned I can actually count on in this dirty old world. And, oh yeah, he sings great, too. And, like Eric, Frank is my brother. Ten lifetimes of shared experience has forged and tightened that bond a little more each and every day.
And now, with Duke, we are once again whole. When this record is done (should be done in February), it will be released in the Spring on GB Records, run by the great rock’n’roll lifer, fan, friend and patron, Gary Borress. Gary is a man constantly burdened by great, constructive, and realistic plans, as well as a passion for the music that is another basic Del-Lords requirement. We have finalized our deal with Gary, and both he and the band are excited and optimistic about pretty much everything. Yes, things are good. No, make that great!
We did play a coupla shows while I was in town last week. One was at the Lakeside Lounge, which was a total blast. There were friends old and new, and the band found a new, higher gear, stepped on the clutch, and let it ride. Then we played a great house concert at Dan and Liz Boudin’s place in Rhode Island. It was one of my favorite shows we’ve ever done. It was tight, it was loose (way loose), it was rockin’, and the audience was a solid wall of raving, excitable, knowledgeable, and attentive music fans, which is a decidedly different vibe than the feel of a club or festival audience. While a club or festival audience going nuts is great, this too is great, although in a very different way. It is exciting, but there is also a dominant Music as Art factor, an intimate communication, and an undiluted love of music that rules the general feel of the night.
I feel like I gotta mention the Occupy Wall Street movement, which is really dominating the spotlight back in NYC at this moment. Firstly, I am incredibly energized by it, in and of itself, as well as the way it has been catching fire here and there throughout the country. One thing that becomes instantly apparent when you talk to folks who are down there, or listen to them when a reporter sticks a mike in their face, or through some other instant media have suddenly found themselves owning that spotlight for a moment themselves, of ACTUALLY being heard, is that this is not about anything as infantile, or as moronic as “hating the rich”, or “hating money”, etc. Who falls for this shit, anyway? There are lots of issues here: Greed, Big Business and its role in our Democracy, Crime (fraud, insider trading, conspiracy to commit a felony or two or three, etc), the disappearance of the middle class, outrageous inequity, and Fairness in a very broad and very real sense), but the underlying principle that connects them all, at least for me, is accountability. Yes, accountability, as in transparency, investigation, and, if necessary, if you broke the Law, too — on your way to blowing up 20% of the country’s accumulated wealth since we first became a country — for your own personal gain — prosecution. Yep, a fair trial and a fair hangin’. Consider it a crime deterrent.
So, I am now back in California, got the new Beach Boys’ SMiLE Sessions box, something I’ve only been waiting for since my Bar Mitzvah, and it was well worth the wait. It’s on constant replay, although I took some time to check out the latest rough mixes from the Del-Lords album, and yes, they do sound great. And, next week Sharon and I get married. My bro, Neil Giraldo, is gonna be my witness. It will be at one of Neil and my favorite haunts, an Italian joint, just off the beach, around sunset, so we will hopefully have that as a backdrop when the vows are made. And, then the future awaits. Big changes. AND, a soundtrack comes with it.
Posted in Top Ten Blog | Tagged Cowboy Technical, Eric Ambel, Frank Funaro, Michael DuClos, Scott Kempner, The Del-Lords | 4 Replies
DEL-LORDS SPRING 2011 COMMUNIQUE
I’m back in California, fresh, well, sorta, off an eight day trip back to the city of my birth. I say, “well, sorta” because I now have an annoying head cold, accompanied by some rather unpleasant chest congestion. It could be due to the barefoot (I fucking hate that, and I don’t mean he was wearing socks, just his ugly bare feet, ugh) asshole sitting across the aisle from me on the flight, who besides wheezing and coughing almost non-stop for the entire flight and pounding back Alka-Seltzer Cold Shit, refused to turn off his cell phone even when the official “Please turn off all electronic devices” call came, instead hiding it when one of the flight attendants came through. Now, I don’t know what the “electronic devices” interfere with, but I also know I don’t wanna find out. Something in me refused to allow me to snitch, but I did wanna smack him across his smug Modern Dad mug. Man, did he bug me! Barefoot fuckhead! Anyway, how are you? That’s good. Good to hear.
The main mission was more work on the upcoming Del-Lords record, which I am happy to report went just great. Five more tracks for us to build upon, and that brings the total to ten. I figure a few more and we’re there. We recorded out at Cowboy Technical Services, Roscoe’s studio in Williamsburg. It has to be my favorite place I’ve ever recorded, on a par in a different way, to the late great Coyote Studios, where we all worked extensively during its lifetime and which, in fact, started out of our old rehearsal space in the Music Building on 8th Avenue, just south of the Port Authority. Cowboy Technical Services has a great vibe, great sound, and everything is just as you would want it but would normally need at least two days to get it that way before you play one note.
Frank just keeps getting better and better. I have learned that when the question goes out about which song we wanna work on next, if Frank has an opinion, go with it. It means he’s thought it through and he’s gonna nail it before you know what hit you. He was spectacular. Plus, he always brings cookies! The tracks we recorded were DAMAGED, YOU CAN MAKE A MISTAKE ONE TIME (title might get shortened), LETTER (UNMAILED), CHICKS, MAN! & EVERYDAY.
EVERYDAY is a song I wrote with Dion back when there was a proposal on the table for a bio pic of him in the works, with a screenplay by Chazz Palminteri, and Chazz as director, as well. The song was written for the scene when they get to the hotel the next morning in Moorhead, Minnesota, where they all learned of the fatal plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, & The Big Bopper on the Winter Dance Party tour of 1959. Everyone is in a state of shock, and Dion, who was entrusted with Buddy’s guitar (Buddy had told Dion, “Take care of it like you take care of your testicles”, to which Dion thought, “I never heard it put that way before, but I knew what he meant”) opens the case, and in his haze starts strumming it, trying to remember that song, EVERYDAY, that Buddy had played the night before. Not being able to clearly remember it, this song is what came out. Some dramatic license, to be sure, but it’s a heartfelt song of friendship.
MISTAKE is a song I wrote based on a great Eric Ambel riff that sounds a bit like what Led Zeppelin would have sounded like if they were actually American. Oh, and with me singing. Use your imagination. I can tell you that the marriage of the song and Eric’s newly acquired Les Paul reissue was a match made in Guitar Heaven.
DAMAGED is a down the middle Del-Lords style rocker. I once heard someone say that it’s gotten so the first thing I ask a girl when I meet her is, “Hi, what did your daddy do to you’? It stuck with me, and I thought it would be a fun idea to build a love song around. Something about it reminds me of NRBQ, musically at least. They’re one of my all-time favorite bands, and Terry Adams is a friend of mine. In fact, I saw him a few months ago up in San Fran with his new band, who are fucking awesome and a worthy successor to the now defunct, after 40+ years, NRBQ.
LETTER (UNMAILED) is a vow of love that I never got to speak to someone who probably would not have reacted favorably to it anyway. I put it in a letter and it remains unmailed. I think I wrote this almost 20 years ago. Yes, the romantic side of the Del-Lords.
CHICKS, MAN! is a frantic rock’n’roll song based on a country blues lick and amped up to (at least) 11. Breakneck speed and guitars, guitars, guitars. Kinda Punk Blues, perhaps. Lyrics are kinda funny, unless you’ve lived through this, then it’s like SPINAL TAP was to Steven Tyler, “Man, that movie was not funny, not fucking funny at all!!!” Got me?
Eric did another fantastic job arranging, playing and producing, with all his ideas advancing the songs and upping their impact. His overview was and is essential, and for me, as the main writer, Eric gives me more confidence than perhaps I deserve, but I sure do need it to be able to do my job. What a great musician he is.
Thanx to our old pal, Steve Almaas, who played some bass, although a family emergency called him away before we could complete more than one track with him this time around. I actually first met Steve in Minneapolis when his band, The Suicide Commandos and The Dictators shared a bill the night the news of Elvis Presley’s death broke. I believe it was August 17th, the night after his actual passing. An unforgettable night. But, Eric called on Jason Mercer, who came in the next day and was fantastic on those low notes, and we were able to nail another four songs with him. Thanx to both you guys for your great work and presence. A big hand, and a loud shout-out has to go to the great Mario Viele, who engineered, caught every note we dropped, and answered the call above and beyond his already daunting task. Thank you, Mario.
As always, it was just great being with Frank and Eric again, as we have such a strong, unshakable bond, and a shared sense of humor, that exemplifies why it’s called “playing” music, and not “working” music. It fills the heart and soul and I am our biggest fan. There is no one on Earth I would rather make music with, and that feeling only grows as time goes on. Don’t think for one second I don’t know how lucky I am just to know them, let alone have them play my songs. I am really excited and adrenalized about the new record, the band’s new lease on life, and the future. I have a real pet peeve about musicians who DON’T get better with age and experience (they shall remain nameless), and I can assure you that is NOT the case with Frank and Eric. They were always great but now are exponentially greater. I mean, getting older has to count for something, fer cryin’ out loud! As a result, I have no doubt this record will be the best thing we’ve ever done. Can’t wait to get this thing out to you guys.
If you wanna hear more about the prodigal son’s most recent return home (yes, there’s more), check out my forthcoming blog on my own site, scottkempner.com. In the meantime, be well, stay strong, and remember we are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers, no matter what you might hear out there to the contrary.
Posted in Top Ten Blog | Tagged Cowboy Technical, Eric Ambel, Frank Funaro, Scott Kempner, The Del-Lords | 1 Reply
Gig added! December 13th at Beast of Bourbon in Brooklyn.
We have a few copies of "Get Tough" now at the Del-Lords "Store" page.
Del-Lords Jukebox
Del-Lords Linkage
Del-Lords AMG
Del-Lords at Bandcamp.com
Del-Lords at Youtube
Del-Lords Official at Facebook
Del-Lords Wiki
Eric Ambel
Frank Funaro
GB Music
Scott Kempner
Steve Almaas
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Category: Sunken worlds
Bayi is an ancient Roman city, whose lifestyle was similar to that of Sodom and Gomor. I was going to know here for games and recreation. It was
In 2002, in the Indian Gulf, the ruins of an ancient city were found. Since they are at a depth of 40 m, they were found quite accidentally
The Chinese city of Shicheng was founded 1300 years ago, and most of the buildings appeared for the next 300 years after its foundation.
The city, which is 2000 years old, has been the object of archaeological excavations for decades.
Recently, the city, which is 1200 years old, was found under water and gradually reveals its secrets. Artifacts that raise to the surface indicate that at one time
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Churches to Visit for Lent 2017:
Barasoain Church in Malolos, Bulacan
Historic Barasoain Church
EVERY Holy Week, specifically on Holy Thursday, predominantly Catholic Filipinos go on a Visita Iglesia, which in layman’s terms translates to visits to seven churches in one day. It’s a tradition that devout Catholics observe as part of the Lenten season. Some people choose to visit churches with historical and cultural significance. Others opt for churches that are in close proximity to each other. Yet others choose churches that have personal significance to them.
Flavors of Life attempts to present a series on churches that are worth visiting this Lenten season, not only as part of one’s Visita Iglesia on Holy Thursday but as an act of devotion to the Lord during this time of the year when we recall the sufferings and death of Our Lord Jesus Christ and his rebirth on the third day.
The first church that comes highly recommended is Barasoain Church in Malolos, Bulacan. This historic church housed the Revolutionary Congress, which convened from September 1898 to February 1899, with Pedro A. Paterno serving as president. In this church, members of the Revolutionary Congress discussed and approved the Malolos Constitution, which was drafted chiefly by Felipe G. Calderon.
When Barasoain Church was originally constructed, Barasoain was part of Malolos. It was officially separated in August, 1859, but became part of Malolos again in 1903. Rev. Francisco Royo, O.S.A., constructed the old church, which was destroyed by fire in 1884, and then it was rebuilt by Rev. Juan Giron, O.S.A., a year later.
Barasoain Church played an important part in Philippine history
The statue of the first Philippine president, Emilio Aguinaldo
In one area of the church premises, near the gate, stands a statue of Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy, the first president of the Philippines. He temporarily housed the revolutionary government in Malolos, Bulacan, from September 10, 1898 to March 31, 1899, moving it there from Bacoor, Cavite, due to the impending breakout of the Philippine-American War. He convened the Malolos Congress in Barasoain Church to put together the Malolos Constitution that founded the Republic of the Philippines on January 23, 1899. Thus, the country became the first republic in the whole of Asia.
Category(s): Travel
Tags: Barasoain Church, church in Bulacan, Emilio Aguinaldo, historic church, Lenten season 2017, Malolos Bulacan, Visita Iglesia
Chicken Adobo Pasta
The National Shrine
of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage
5 + = thirteen
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From the Corn Laws to Free Trade: Interests, Ideas, and Institutions in Historical Perspective
Schonhardt-Bailey, Cheryl
Boyer, George R.
Published by EH.NET (August 2007)
Cheryl Schonhardt-Bailey, From the Corn Laws to Free Trade: Interests, Ideas, and Institutions in Historical Perspective. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2006. xiii + 426 pp. $47.50 (cloth), ISBN: 0-262-19543-7.
Reviewed for EH.NET by George R. Boyer, Department of Labor Economics, ILR School, Cornell University.
Britain’s repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846 was a significant event in the rise of a global economy in the second half of the nineteenth century. Historians have written extensively about the debates over the pros and cons of agricultural protection that took place both in and out of Parliament from 1815 to 1846. However, Parliament’s repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846 remains a puzzling event, because it was initiated by Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel, the leader of the Conservative Party which as late as the election of 1841 had been committed to maintaining protection. Shortly after the vote to repeal the Corn Laws, the Conservative party fragmented and Peel’s government collapsed. Why did Peel propose repeal, and why did enough Conservative MPs vote with him to achieve repeal? Why did the House of Lords, which was dominated by the landed aristocracy, vote for repeal and against their own economic interests?
In this important study, political scientist Cheryl Schonhardt-Bailey offers a fresh explanation for the puzzle. She argues that previous explanations that focus on changing economic interests (as a result of the spread of industrialization) cannot explain the sudden shift in preferences that led a number of Conservative MPs (the Peelites) to vote for repeal in 1846. While industrialization increased the pressure for free trade, repeal occurred in 1846 only because Peel convinced his followers that a vote for repeal was in line with general Conservative ideology, and that it was necessary to preserve the political power of the landed aristocracy.
After two introductory chapters that lay out the argument and set the stage for what follows, Part I (Chapters 3-6) examines the growing demand for free trade in the 1830s and 1840s. Schonhardt-Bailey contends in Chapter 3 that the emergence of the Anti-Corn Law League as a powerful lobbying group for free trade in the 1830s was a result of the “geographic concentration of the core export industry (cotton textiles)” in Lancashire and the geographic and industrial deconcentration of the overall export sector. She then (Chapter 4) shows how the League was able to “nationalize their interest” (that is, appeal to the general public) by arguing that the repeal of the Corn Laws would lead to national prosperity, that the Corn Laws were immoral and anti-Christian, and that the aristocratic monopoly of economic and political resources was unjust. Chapter 5 presents evidence that in the decades leading up to repeal landowners diversified their portfolios by investing in railways, mining, and industry. Schonhardt-Bailey argues that, as a result of diversification, landowners in many agricultural districts shifted from being staunch protectionists to being neutral or even moderately pro free trade. This led to a cleavage in the Conservative Party between those MPs who continued to represent mostly agricultural and protectionist districts (the Non-Peelites) and those who represented districts with greater diversification (the Peelites). In Chapter 6, Schonhardt-Bailey examines roll call votes in Parliament in the 1840s and shows that well before 1846 “the Peelites thought about issues differently than Non-Peelite Conservatives did” (p. 137). However, up to 1846 the Peelites continued to vote for protection, and therefore against, to some degree, the interests of their constituents. In her terminology, the Peelites voted as “trustees” rather than as “delegates.”
Part II of the book (Chapters 7-10) examines the reasons for the abrupt shift in 1846 of Peel and his supporters (the Peelite Conservatives) from protection to free trade, which paved the way for repeal. Schonhardt-Bailey analyzes parliamentary speeches on repeal using computer-assisted content analysis, in order to determine why MPs voted as they did. Chapter 7 analyzes 587 speeches on trade policy in the House of Commons between the beginning of debate on January 22, 1846 and the final vote on May 15, while Chapter 8 places the 1846 debate in context by analyzing speeches on trade policy during the parliamentary debates of 1814-15, 1826-28, and 1842-44. She finds that, largely because of the propaganda of the Anti-Corn Law League, “protectionist MPs were increasingly alarmed about the prospect of a middle-class and working-class alliance in pursuit of far more radical reforms than repeal” (p. 226). By the mid-1840s Peelites were looking for a way to remain faithful to Conservatism without going against the interests of their constituents. Peel offered them a way to do this in 1846, when he characterized repeal “as a means to preserve the landed basis of Parliament” (p. 187). By reinterpreting repeal, Peel enabled his followers to vote as delegates, while claiming to remain trustees of Conservative ideology. In Chapter 9 Schonhardt-Bailey examines the debate on repeal in the House of Lords. She concludes that peers decided that it was necessary to accept repeal in order to delay challenges from the middle and working classes to their political power. In sum, both Conservative MPs and peers realized by 1846 “that their powers as independent political actors (namely, trustees) were becoming limited by democratic activism ? made conspicuous by the lobbying of the Anti-Corn Law League” (p. 259).
While the book is in general very well researched, a few of Schonhardt-Bailey’s conclusions are based on little evidence. For example, she writes that “had the Peelites (and therefore the Commons) rejected repeal, Peel’s fear of a revolution similar to that seen in France in 1848 may well have erupted in Britain” (p. 290). She offers no evidence in support of this assertion (other than a statement by Peel in 1848 cited on page 16), and I believe it is unfounded. The Chartists demanded parliamentary reform and “a fair day’s pay,” not repeal of the Corn Laws, and they were never allied with the Anti-Corn Law League. Some Conservative MPs might have feared an alliance of the middle and working classes for parliamentary reform, as Schonhardt-Bailey suggests, but there never was much chance of such an alliance occurring.
The book helps to fill a hole in the literature by offering a detailed examination of the parliamentary debates on the Corn Laws in 1846. Schonhardt-Bailey offers many fresh insights into the debate over repeal, although I suspect that not all will be convinced by her story that Peel and his followers, and the House of Lords, chose to abandon protection in order to maintain their privileged status.
This book considers only the political debate over the repeal of the Corn Laws; those looking for information on how the Corn Laws actually worked, and their effect on grain prices, wages, rents, and economic growth, will have to look elsewhere. Finally, the book is not written in a user-friendly style; readers who are not trained in quantitative political science will find large parts of it difficult to follow. That is a shame, because there is a lot to be learned here. From the Corn Laws to Free Trade should be read by anyone interested in understanding one of the most important political debates that took place in nineteenth century Britain.
George Boyer is a Professor of Labor Economics in Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. He currently is doing research on economic insecurity, safety nets, and self-help in nineteenth century Britain.
International and Domestic Trade and Relations
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News in English Čet, 11.07.2019. 18:01
BiH Court revokes judgment in the case Jerko Ivanković-Lijanović et al.
FENA Photo/Archive
SARAJEVO, July 11 (FENA) - The Appellate Panel of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina rendered a decision in the criminal case against the accused Jerko Ivanković-Lijanović et al., granting the appeals filed by defense attorneys for the accused Jerko Ivanković Lijanović, Slavo Ivanković Lijanović, Milorad Bahilj and Mirko Galić. In relation to the referenced appeals, and by applying Article 309 of the Criminal Procedure Code of BiH also on the accused Jozo Slišković, Željko Mikulić, Draženko Kvesić, Mirjana Šakota, Miroslav Čolak, and the legal entities “Farmer” d.o.o. Široki Brijeg, “Farmko” d.o.o. Široki Brijeg and “Optimum” d.o.o. Široki Brijeg, the Trial Judgment of the Court of BiH of 22 October 2018 was revoked in its convicting part, and a hearing ordered to be held before the Panel of the Appellate Division of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
BIH COURT APPELLATE CHAMBER LIJANOVIĆ ET AL.
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Silvia Bellezza
Doctoral Candidate in Marketing, Harvard Business School
Disciplines: Business
Silvia is a fifth-year doctoral student in the Marketing Unit at the Harvard Business School. Her research investigates how consumers use products and brands to express identity and signal status. For example, one of her projects explores the conditions under which nonconforming behaviors, such as wearing red sneakers in a professional context, lead to inferences of higher status in the eyes of others. In another project, she analyzes intergroup dynamics in the domain of exclusive brands and demonstrates the positive effects of non-core users of the brand, the “brand tourism effect.” Silvia’s other research interests include the consequences of product ownership and counterfeit goods. Prior to coming to Harvard, she worked for five years in the marketing departments of Danone and L.V.M.H. Silvia earned her B.A. with honors in Economics from LUISS University in Italy and her MBA from IESE Business School in Spain.
Website: http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=523937
Red Sneakers & Sweatshirts: The Surprising Upside Of Standing Out
By Silvia Bellezza, Francesca Gino & Anat Keinan, Harvard Business SchoolJanuary 22, 2014
Why do some top CEOs skip the suit in favor of casual wear? New research explores when bucking social norms can actually pay off.
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Other available languages: FR
European Commission - Statement
Statement by Michel Barnier at the Plenary session of the European Parliament on the Article 50 negotiations with the United Kingdom
Brussels, 29 November 2018
Thank you, Madame President,
Secretary of State,
Ladies and gentlemen, Members of the European Parliament,
Good morning to each and every one of you and thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak to you on behalf of the European Commission, with an apology on behalf of President Jean-Claude Juncker who is participating in the G20 right now.
Madame President, we are at an important and serious moment, 17 months after the beginning of the negotiation that I am honoured to conduct under the authority of President Juncker and with the support of all of the European Commission.
On Sunday, as you recalled Secretary of State, the European Council endorsed our draft Withdrawal Agreement. It also approved the Political Declaration, which sets out the framework of our future relationship. From my side, I would like to thank the European Council, its President Donald Tusk, all his teams, but also the successive Presidencies with whom I worked, and worked well – the Austrian Presidency today, but also the Bulgarian, Estonian and Maltese Presidencies – and we will continue with Romania in the coming months.
The time for negotiating the Withdrawal Agreement and the Political Declaration is over.It is now time for ratification by the British Parliament, and by the European Parliament and Council. Given the difficult circumstances of this negotiation, and given the extreme complexity of all the subjects related to the UK's withdrawal, the deal that is on the table – the draft Withdrawal Agreement and the Political Declaration – this deal is the only and the best deal possible.
We succeeded together in this first major step, thanks to – from our side – the strong unity of the 27 Member States and all institutions.In particular, Madame President, the Withdrawal Agreement and the Political Declaration owe much to your four resolutions and the careful attention you have shown since the beginning of the negotiation. Obviously, to protect the rights of the citizens you represent – it was your priority and my priority – to protect the EU's interests, the integrity of the Single Market and the indivisibility of the four freedoms, and the autonomy of the European Union's decision-making.
We have co-constructed these two documents throughout the process. And, Madame President, I would also like to thank President Tajani, and please allow me to say a personal word of thanks to Guy Verhofstadt, the Parliament's Brexit coordinator, and to all the members of the Brexit Steering Group: Danuta Hübner, Elmar Brok, Roberto Gualtieri, Gabriele Zimmer, Philippe Lamberts who followed these negotiations, together with their teams, whom I thank, day after day in the Brexit Steering Group. Thanks also to the Presidents of the Groups, and to the President of the Conference of Presidents, Cecilia Wikström. I say thanks, knowing that we are not yet at the end of the road, which will remain difficult.
The agreement reached on Sunday is the result of a method that we decided together with you.We put things in order, starting – logically – by negotiating the Withdrawal Agreement, an orderly withdrawal, before discussing the framework of the future relationship with the United Kingdom. We insisted on first dealing with certain questions that are dear to this Parliament, such as citizens' rights, peace and stability in Ireland, and the financial settlement.
And from the beginning, ladies and gentlemen, we worked in full transparency, meaning in full trust – and we will continue to do so. This method allowed us to explain the issues at stake in each subject. And to show what was possible and what was not possible, taking into account the EU's fundamental principles.
Since the beginning, we explained how we could combine our principles, how we could respect them and at the same time, take into account the UK's official red lines. And finally, we found common ground.
In short, the framework we put in place gave some stability and predictability to this negotiation. Objectively, nobody can be surprised by the contents of this agreement.
It is perhaps useful to recall at this stage that the European Union did not want Brexit to happen. To date, nobody has been able to show me the added value of Brexit, but we respect the democratic and sovereign vote of the British citizens and we, as requested by the government, are going to put in place this process for an orderly withdrawal.
Simply, these two documents agreed on Sunday limit the negative consequences of Brexit for both sides, particularly for the 27 Member States of the Union. The Withdrawal Agreement brings legal certainty to all those people, companies, and regions who are worried about the consequences of the British decision to leave the European Union.
Obviously, the 4.5 million people: EU citizens living in the United Kingdom or British citizens living in the EU.
The people and businesses of Ireland and Northern Ireland, Madame President, who take part in the numerous dimensions – human, social and economic – of North-South cooperation. We have agreed on a backstop to avoid the return of a physical border in Ireland, while protecting the Single Market. This backstop is an integral part of the Withdrawal Agreement. Without a backstop for Ireland, there will be no Withdrawal Agreement.
The public bodies, universities or companies who lead projects funded by European policies and funds, including with British partners. The UK's universities and extremely dynamic laboratories.
Farmers who benefit from the Common Agricultural Policy and who legitimately want to protect their rights and intellectual property, but even more than that, their geographical indications.
All those whose personal data was exchanged with organisations or businesses based in the UK.
These are examples of sectors, and above all the people where we had a duty to create certainty where Brexit created uncertainty. That is the aim of this admittedly very dense Withdrawal Agreement, because it is a precise, comprehensive legal treaty.
The Political Declaration sets out the framework of our future relationship that we will negotiate as soon as possible. In these negotiations, ladies and gentlemen, Members of the European Parliament, the EU should continue to defend its interests and apply exactly the same principles.
In this upcoming negotiation, the European Union, and your negotiator, will adopt the same attitude. There will never be any aggressive attitude, and there never has been. There will never be any feeling of revenge, and there never has been. From my side, there never will be any feeling to punish, and there never has been. We will continue to work with the United Kingdom, never against it, to build our future partnership. We will continue to work with the respect that is due to a great country, which in all circumstances will remain our friend, partner and ally.
With regards to the future relationship, the truth is that – given the British decision to leave the European Union and the Single Market – it cannot be the status quo in the future. It cannot be business as usual and our duty is to say so, particularly to businesses who should be preparing themselves.
But our mutual interest lies in building an ambitious partnership on goods, services, digital, mobility, transport, public procurement, energy, internal security, and obviously for the stability of our continent, foreign policy – with a country that will remain an active member in the United Nations Security Council – defence and lots of other areas.
The more ambitious this partnership will be the more attentive and demanding we will be on our side regarding the level playing field between us. In total, if we finalise this Political Declaration in all its dimensions, allow me to say that this partnership with the United Kingdom will be unprecedented by the extent of the number of areas of cooperation.
As requested by President Juncker, the Member States and your Parliament, we are preparing and will be ready to launch these negotiations on the future relationship once the United Kingdom becomes a third country.
But before that, Madame President, there remains a decisive step: the ratification of our Withdrawal Agreement. Everyone must now take their responsibilities. In the coming weeks, British MPs will vote on the Withdrawal Agreement and the text of the Political Declaration. The future of their country is at stake with this vote. We must – and I will – respect this parliamentary and democratic debate in the United Kingdom. And, on our side, we should give the time to the European Parliament – which was closely associated to every step of the negotiation – to give its consent. You will have the final word.
Thank you for your trust, ladies and gentlemen, Members of the European Parliament. Thank you for your attention.
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Constipation Information
Similar Symptoms
Causes List for Constipation
List of possible causes of Constipation or similar symptoms may include:
Acidemia (Constipation)
Acute adrenal insufficiency (Constipation)
Acute intermittent porphyria (Constipation)
Addison’s Disease (Constipation)
Adiposis dolorosa (Constipation)
Aicardi Syndrome (Constipation)
Alcoholism (Constipation)
Alexander Disease (Constipation)
Alpha thalassemia X-linked intellectual disability syndrome (Constipation)
Alpha thalassemia (Constipation)
Alpha-N-acetylgalactosaminidase deficiency (Constipation)
Alport Syndrome (Constipation)
Amyloidosis (Constipation)
Anal Disorders (Constipation)
Anal Fissure (Constipation)
Angelman Syndrome (Constipation)
Aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase deficiency (Constipation)
Autosomal dominant inheritance (Constipation)
Au-Kline Syndrome (Constipation)
Axial mesodermal dysplasia spectrum (Constipation)
Bartter syndrome (Constipation)
Blepharophimosis-ptosis-intellectual disability syndrome (Constipation)
Botulism (Constipation)
Bowel Obstruction (Constipation)
Cancer (Constipation)
Cardiofaciocutaneous syndrome type 1 (Constipation)
Central congenital hypothyroidism (Constipation)
Cerebral Creatine Deficiency Syndrome type 1 (Constipation)
Chromosome 1p36 deletion syndrome (Constipation)
Cirrhosis of the Liver (Constipation)
Cleft palate (Constipation)
Colon Cancer (Constipation)
Colon carcinoma (Constipation)
Colorectal Cancer (Constipation)
Combined pituitary hormone deficiency (Constipation)
Congenital Disorders (Constipation)
Congenital Hypothyroidism (Constipation)
Congenital disorder of glycosylation (Constipation)
Congenital hypothyroidism due to maternal intake of antithyroid drugs (Constipation)
C syndrome (Constipation)
Dehydration (Constipation)
Demyelination Disorders (constipation)
Depressive Disorders (constipation)
Diabetes Insipidus (Constipation)
Diabetes (constipation)
Diabetic Neuropathy (Constipation)
Diastasis recti (Constipation)
Diverticulitis (Constipation)
Ectodermal dysplasia (Constipation)
Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (Constipation)
Emanuel syndrome (Constipation)
Epidermolysis Bullosa Dystrophica (Constipation)
Epidermolysis Bullosa Simplex (Constipation)
Epilepsy (Constipation)
Epileptic encephalopathy (Constipation)
FG syndrome type 2 (Constipation)
Familial Mediterranean fever (Constipation)
Fatal familial insomnia (Constipation)
Fecal impaction (Constipation)
Floating-Harbor syndrome (Constipation)
GRFoma (Constipation)
Gastrointestinal Disorders (Constipation)
Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors (Constipation)
Gastrointestinal obstruction (Constipation)
Gaucher disease (Constipation)
Generalized Congenital Lipodystrophy With Myopathy (Constipation)
Genetic Disorders (Constipation)
Glucagonoma (Constipation)
Glycosylation disorders (Constipation)
Hemorrhoids (Constipation)
Hereditary coproporphyria (Constipation)
Hirschsprung’s Disease (Constipation)
Holoprosencephaly type 2 (Constipation)
Holoprosencephaly (Constipation)
Hyperparathyroidism-jaw tumor syndrome (Constipation)
Hyperparathyroidism (Constipation)
Hyperphosphatasia with mental retardation syndrome type 1 (Constipation)
Hypophosphatasia (Constipation)
Hypothyroidism (Constipation)
Hypotonia (Constipation)
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (Constipation)
Intellectual Disability (Constipation)
Intellectual disability-seizures-macrocephaly-obesity syndrome (Constipation)
Intestinal Obstruction (Constipation)
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (Constipation)
Jacobsen syndrome (Constipation)
Juvenile-onset dermatomyositis (Constipation)
Kapur Toriello syndrome (Constipation)
Kaufman oculocerebrofacial syndrome (Constipation)
LUBS X-Linked Mental Retardation Syndrome (Constipation)
Late-onset isolated ACTH deficiency (Constipation)
Laxative Abuse (Constipation)
Leiomyomatosis (Constipation)
Leukodystrophy (Constipation)
Liddle syndrome (Constipation)
Lipodystrophy (Constipation)
Lowe oculocerebrorenal syndrome (Constipation)
Lynch syndrome (Constipation)
MALT lymphoma (Constipation)
MELAS (Constipation)
Macrocephaly (Constipation)
Maternally inherited diabetes and deafness (Constipation)
Medication side-effect (Constipation)
Mental retardation-hypotonic facies syndrome (Constipation)
Mental retardation (Constipation)
Mesenteric artery ischemia (Constipation)
Mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome type 1 (Constipation)
Mood Disorders (constipation)
Mowat-Wilson syndrome (Constipation)
Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Type 2 (Constipation)
Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia (Constipation)
Multiple Sclerosis (Constipation)
Myopathy (Constipation)
Myxedema (Constipation)
Narcotic Drug Abuse (Constipation)
Nephrogenic diabetes insipidus (Constipation)
Nerve Disorders (Constipation)
Nerve damage (Constipation)
Neural Tube Defect (constipation)
Neuroferritinopathy (Constipation)
Neurologic Waardenburg-Shah syndrome (Constipation)
Neuropathy (constipation)
Niemann-Pick Disease (Constipation)
Ochoa syndrome (Constipation)
Oculocerebrorenal syndrome of Lowe (Constipation)
Opitz-Kaveggia syndrome (Constipation)
PPoma (Constipation)
Panhypopituitarism (Constipation)
Pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration (Constipation)
Parathyroid carcinoma (Constipation)
Parathyroid hyperplasia (Constipation)
Parkinson’s Disease (Constipation)
Paroxysmal extreme pain disorder (Constipation)
Partial intestinal obstruction (Constipation)
Peripheral hypothyroidism (Constipation)
Peripheral resistance to thyroid hormones (Constipation)
Peritoneal cystic mesothelioma (Constipation)
Pitt-Hopkins syndrome (Constipation)
Pitt-Hopkins-like syndrome type 2 (Constipation)
Polymyositis (Constipation)
Poly-X Klinefelter syndrome (Constipation)
Porphyria due to ALA dehydratase deficiency (Constipation)
Prader-Willi-like syndrome (Constipation)
Primary Peritoneal Carcinoma (Constipation)
Primary congenital hypothyroidism without thyroid developmental anomaly (Constipation)
Proctitis (Constipation)
Progressive external ophthalmoplegia (Constipation)
Propionic acidemia (Constipation)
Proximal tubulopathy-diabetes mellitus-cerebellar ataxia syndrome (Constipation)
Prune belly syndrome (Constipation)
Pseudomyxoma peritonei (Constipation)
Recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa inversa (Constipation)
Recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa-generalized other (Constipation)
Rectal Disorders (Constipation)
Resistance to thyrotropin-releasing hormone syndrome (Constipation)
Rett Syndrome (Constipation)
Rheumatic Fever (Constipation)
Rubinstein-Taybi Syndrome 1 (Constipation)
Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome (Constipation)
Sacral defect with anterior meningocele (Constipation)
Scoliosis (Constipation)
Septo-optic dysplasia spectrum (Constipation)
Severe generalized recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (Constipation)
Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome (Constipation)
Smith-Magenis syndrome (Constipation)
Somatostatinoma (Constipation)
Spinal Cord Lesion (Constipation)
Spinal Muscular Atrophy (Constipation)
Stevenson-Carey Syndrome (Constipation)
Stress (Constipation)
Tabes dorsalis (Constipation)
Thyroid Disease (constipation)
Thyroid ectopia (Constipation)
Thyroid hemiagenesis (Constipation)
Thyroid hypoplasia (Constipation)
Thyrotoxic periodic paralysis (Constipation)
Townes-Brocks syndrome (Constipation)
Toxin-mediated infectious botulism (Constipation)
Tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 associated periodic syndrome (Constipation)
Typhoid Fever (Constipation)
Ulcerative colitis (Constipation)
Ulcerative proctitis (Constipation)
Underactive Thyroid (constipation)
Urofacial Syndrome (Constipation)
Urofacial syndrome type 2 (Constipation)
Volvulus (Constipation)
Waardenburg-Shah syndrome (Constipation)
Wiedemann-Steiner syndrome (Constipation)
Williams Syndrome (Constipation)
Williams-Beuren syndrome (Constipation)
Wolfram syndrome (Constipation)
Wound botulism (Constipation)
dysautonomia (Constipation)
porphyria (constipation)
thalassemia (Constipation)
1p36 deletion syndrome (Constipation)
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Causes Information
More on Causes of Constipation
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Theists in the news
Pile (Talk | contribs)
==Theists in the news==
* Male Escort Exposes 36 Gay Priests in File Sent to Vatican Containing Explicit WhatsApp Chats and Erotic Photos[https://www.newsweek.com/male-escort-exposes-36-gay-priests-file-sent-vatican-containing-explicit-829968]
* Vatican’s Third-Most Powerful Official Cardinal George Pell Convicted on All Charges He Sexually Abused Choir Boys in the 1990s[http://blackchristiannews.com/2018/12/vaticans-third-most-powerful-official-cardinal-george-pell-convicted-on-all-charges-he-sexually-abused-choir-boys-in-the-1990s/]
* “Aryan Pride” for Jesus: An Oklahoma pastor is under arrest after being caught running a prostitution ring with a white supremacist. Pastor Walter Eugene Brazington Jr. is “being charged with procuring for prostitution and possession of a firearm while in the commission of a felony,” according to a report from Tulsa World.[https://www.patheos.com/blogs/progressivesecularhumanist/2017/12/oklahoma-pastor-busted-running-white-supremacist-prostitution-ring/]
Modern stories and links of the many weird things religious people do that make news.
Theists in the news (archive) for many more stories
Republicans in the news
Democrats in the news
Christian terrorists in the news
Priest Abuse
It's a miracle
Male Escort Exposes 36 Gay Priests in File Sent to Vatican Containing Explicit WhatsApp Chats and Erotic Photos[1]
Vatican’s Third-Most Powerful Official Cardinal George Pell Convicted on All Charges He Sexually Abused Choir Boys in the 1990s[2]
“Aryan Pride” for Jesus: An Oklahoma pastor is under arrest after being caught running a prostitution ring with a white supremacist. Pastor Walter Eugene Brazington Jr. is “being charged with procuring for prostitution and possession of a firearm while in the commission of a felony,” according to a report from Tulsa World.[3]
Lawsuit: At least 14 kids abused at hands of North Charleston church volunteer. Jacop Robert Lee Hazlett, 28, of Proximity Drive in West Ashley, faces one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor under 11 years old, according to his arrest affidavit and court records. Hazlett had worked as a volunteer chaperone and day care provider since March for NewSpring Church, located at 5101 Ashley Phosphate Road, supervising children ages 3 to 5 in a room called "the Tree House."[4]
An Illinois priest who spent time in prison for manufacturing and selling a date-rape drug has been removed from ministry again for getting involved in a criminal case without telling his superiors. Peoria Diocese Bishop Daniel Jenky removed the Rev. Jeffrey Windy from his post serving three Ottawa parishes in March.[5]
Gun-related tragedy struck once again this week, this time at a Catholic Supply store in Ballwin, Missouri, a suburb of St. Lous. USA Today reports that a former pastor has been arrested after allegedly attempting to coerce three women into having sex with him at gunpoint. When one of them resisted, he shot 53-year-old Jamie Schmidt in the head and forced the other two to submit to his “deviant” demands. The shooter, 53-year-old Thomas Bruce, has a reputation for right-wing tirades on social media and has ranted against gun-free zones in the past. He was a huge fan of President Trump, attended his rallies, and regularly tweeted about Republican politics. His last tweet read “I’ve already forgotten you. #promisesmade #promiseskept #trump2020 #BuildTheWall” and his feed was full of retweets from white nationalist FOX anchor Laura Ingraham.[6]
Catholic Church Shielded Priests Who Raped Boys, but It Helped Lock Up a Priest Who Swiped Bucks. The monsignor who gambled and traveled on the Archdiocese’s dime remained behind bars as a grand jury reported on the crimes of his peers who preyed on children.[7]
Grand jury report: Priests ran child porn ring in Pittsburgh Diocese[8]
Pastor Timothy Lee Reddin did not practice what he preached, police claim. The Arkansas church leader was arrested this week for allegedly trying to meet with an underage boy to have sex, part of a police sting operation.[9]
A former New Jersey pastor who co-founded the Creation Festival, which bills itself as the country's largest Christian music festival, has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for sexually assaulting multiple young children. Harry Thomas, 75, who formerly pastored Come Alive New Testament Church in Medford and went on to help create the popular music festival, failed in withdrawing his guilty plea on Friday, the Associated Press reported.[10][11]
Revelations that a prominent U.S. cardinal sexually abused and harassed his adult seminarians have exposed an egregious abuse of power that has shocked Catholics on both sides of the Atlantic. But the Vatican has long been aware of its heterosexual equivalent — the sexual abuse of nuns by priests and bishops — and done little to stop it, an Associated Press analysis has found. An examination by the AP shows that cases of abused nuns have emerged in Europe, Africa, South America and Asia, demonstrating that the problem is global and pervasive, thanks to the sisters' second-class status in the church and their ingrained subservience to the men who run it.[12]
A longtime pastor of a Bogalusa church pleaded guilty to the theft of more than $95,000 in Social Security disability benefits, U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans said Thursday. Jerry R. Newton, 54, of Slidell, is set for an Oct. 25 sentencing hearing before U. S. District Court Judge Jane Triche Milazzo.[13]
The Vatican tribunal has convicted a former Holy See diplomat and sentenced him to 5 years in prison for possessing and distributing child pornography in the first such trial of its kind inside the Vatican.[14] Note that the Vatican refused to revoke the perpetrator's diplomatic immunity so he could be prosecuted in the United States.[15]
A Catholic priest is behind bars after admitting to plying an underage boy with alcohol and molesting him. Father Steven Michael Guidry and his attorney reported to the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office on June 13 and confessed to giving alcohol to the minor before sexually assaulting him.[16]
Diocese knew priest arrested for child sex crimes was abusing boys, authorities say. The Diocese of Erie knew since at least May 2010 of the abuse, but this priest was still in active ministry as recently as 2 months ago. The Catholic Church knowingly allows pedophiles to have access to children.[17]
The Rev. William Thomas Faucher, accused of child porn and drug crimes, was role playing with a fellow author in some of the chatroom conversations in which he’s alleged to have said he wanted to rape and kill children, his attorney said in court Friday.[18]
A well-known Alabama evangelist, public speaker and author was arrested in Hoover Tuesday on child sex charges. Paul Edward Acton Bowen, a 37-year-old Gadsden native who now lives in Etowah County's Southside community, was taken into custody by Hoover police about 12:35 p.m. The founder of Acton Bowen Outreach Ministries is charged with second-degree sodomy, enticing a child to enter a vehicle or house for immoral purposes, and second-degree sex abuse. The victim was a young male, but police did not release his age except to say he is over 12 and under 16.[19]
As they back Trump, evangelical leaders face their own sex scandals.[20]
A former Bossier Parish pastor has been arrested after admitting to police he had meth at his Bossier City home. Andy C. Harris, 56, of 2406 Benton Road in Bossier City, was charged with possession of a Schedule II controlled dangerous substance (methamphetamine) and possession of drug paraphernalia. [21]
A 1,200-page dossier containing the names of 34 ‘actively gay’ priests and six seminarians in Italy has been sent to the Vatican by the archdiocese of Naples.The allegations were compiled by Francesco Mangiacapra, a gay male escort who told local media he couldn’t put up with the priests’ "hypocrisy" any longer.[22]
Mari Lopez Lopez credited veganism and a faith in God as the cure for her breast cancer last year, just months before her breast cancer returned. She later died from cancer.[23]
Pastor George Nelson Gregory, 61, of Munhall, Pa., was caught by cops in the backseat of a car with another man who was completely naked and bound with nylon rope in the front seat. Gregory says he was counseling the man, who is battling a drug problem.[24]
100s of child porn images, LSD, ecstasy found in Boise priest’s home, prosecutor says. Longtime Catholic Rev. W. Thomas Faucher, 72, was brought into court in a wheelchair Monday evening for his arraignment on 14 different charges.[25]
Memphis mega-church pastor Andy Savage admits he molested a minor days before his ‘True Love Waits’ workshop.[26]
An Ohio priest under investigation for questionable communications with a minor took his life in Chicago. The Chicago Tribune reports that Father James Csaszar jumped from the 82-story Aqua Hotel in downtown Chicago and the death was ruled a suicide on Thursday by the Cook County medical examiner's office.[27]
Co-founder of nation’s largest Christian rock festival abused minors for 16 years, authorities say, Harry L. Thomas, 74, of Medford Township, faces charges of aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child, according to the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office. [28]
Ralph Shortey, former Trump campaign chairman, Anti-Gay 'Family Values' Former GOP State Senator Guilty of Child Sex Trafficking After Being Found With Teen Boy.[29]
Conservative megachurch founder Bob Coy accused of molesting 4-year-old[30]
Devin Patrick Kelley, a vocational bible instructor, and ex Air Force soldier, opened fire in a Texas church, killing 26 people including children.[31]
Amber James, the mother who killed her nine-year-old son on Halloween, says she prayed, thought about it, and cried before she strangled him to death to “save” him.[32]
A Middletown mother will spend 21/2 to 5 years in state prison for assaulting her daughter because the teen didn't recite Bible verses correctly.Rhonda Shoffner, 41, was sentenced by Dauphin County Judge John F. Cherry after she pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated assault, strangulation, child endangerment and making terroristic threats.[33]
The Vatican trial over $500,000 in donations to the pope’s pediatric hospital that were diverted to renovate a cardinal’s penthouse is reaching its conclusion, with neither the cardinal who benefited nor the contractor who was apparently paid twice for the work facing trial.[34]
Shattered faith: Nearly 100 sex abuse suits against Catholic priests rock island of Guam.[35]
Vatican blames women for pedophile priest scandals. [36]
Vatican rocked: Police raid drug-fuelled gay orgy at cardinal's apartment.[37]
Christian fundamentalist pastor to stand trial over death of two-year-old granddaughter from pneumonia.[38]
Faith-healing parents charged with murder in death of premature twin baby[39]
North Carolina televangelist Todd Coontz – author of numerous books on faith and finances – has been indicted on charges of tax fraud spanning more than a decade.[40]
Ferndale Mother Arrested For Attempted Homicide After ‘Trying to Remove the Demons’ from Her 11-Year-Old Child.[41]
Juror jailed for contempt in mistrial of minister, Brooke Covington, who is accused of kidnapping and beating a parishioner to expel his 'homosexual demons'[42]
Monsignor William A. Dombrow was able to steal $500,000 from a church-owned retirement home, and used the money to pay for gambling, expensive dinners and concerts. He pleaded guilty to four federal wire fraud counts on Thursday. The maligned priest previously ran Villa St. Joseph in Darby for the Philadelphia Archdiocese, which housed aging priests and treated those accused of sexual abuse. Much of the stolen money came from insurance payments for priests who died and from the estates of parishioners.[43]
Conservative Christian and Oklahoma lawmaker Ralph Shortey is charged with engaging in child prostitution and other felonies after being caught in a hotel room with an underage boy.[44]
Oklahoma missionary sentenced to 40 years for sexually assaulting children in Upendo Children's Home in Nairobi, Kenya. Matthew Lane Durham, 21, was sentenced to four decades in prison by Judge David L. Russell on four counts of "engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places," according to court documents. "In a span of just 33 days," prosecutors wrote to the court, Durham "raped three girls -- ages 5, 9 and 15 -- at least eight times. During that same time period, he sexually molested a 12-year-old boy twice."[45]. Christian publications claim missionary was possessed by a Demon named "Luke". [46]
Religious Parents Who Refused to Take Son to Hospital and Thought God Would Resurrect Him Found Guilty of First Degree Murder.[47]
Word of Life Christian Church Pastor Tiffanie Irwin, her brother Joseph Irwin and mother and son church members Linda Morey and David Morey have entered guilty pleas in the church orchestrated beating of two teen boys, leaving one dead and the other severely injured. Reports indicate the teens were beaten because they discussed leaving the congregation. Lucas Leonard, 19, was severely beaten by members of the church last October, suffering injuries to the abdomen, genitals, back and thighs that ultimately proved to be fatal. At the time of the suspects arrest, police said the “spiritual counseling session” at the church was in reality an hours-long attack in which the teen boys were repeatedly whipped with cords, pummeled with fists, and kicked. They suffered severe injuries to the abdomen, genitals, back and thighs. A church member testified that the “counseling session” lasted for 14 hours and only stopped because Lucas “was dead at that point.”[48]
Man Admits to Killing Cancer-Surviving Daughter, But Not Before Asking God to Intervene. 25-year-old Ryan Lawrence pleaded guilty to murdering his 21-month-old daughter, a survivor of eye cancer, in part because he may have been jealous of all the attention she was getting.[49]
Christian who "dedicated his life to Jesus", Richard Keenan, who served as mayor of Hubbard in 2010 and 2011, was indicted last month eight counts of rape and 12 counts of attempted rape and gross sexual imposition of a 4 year old girl.[50]
Brian Mitchell, a youth pastor at a North Olmsted church, a husband and father of three children under the age of 8, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Thursday for raping an unnamed teenager.[51]
24-year-old “Christian Warrior” named Bryce Cuellar was arrested after posting a YouTube video detailing how he was going to kill “gays, faggots, lesbians and satanists.”[52]
Pastor Who Said Pulse Victims Weren't Victims, Got 'What They Deserve' Arrested for Child Molestation. Controversial pastor Ken Adkins has been charged with two counts of child molestation in Georgia and is in the Glynn County jail, officials said.[53]
Gunman fatally shoots Pennsylvania churchgoer after fight over seat at Sunday service.[54]
Jerry Childress, a 75-year-old church organist from Florida, was arrested for indecent exposure after a glory hole attempt went wrong.[55]
An Acadiana priest has been arrested for allegedly possessing over 500 images of child pornography, according to the Louisiana State Police. Father Felix David Broussard, a priest at St. Bernard Roman Catholic Church in Breaux Bridge, was arrested today and booked into St. Martin Parish jail on 500 counts of pornography involving juveniles.[56]
A 3-year-old boy died on Sunday after he was accidentally left in a hot car parked outside a church, according to police. The child’s family was attending an afternoon Bible study at Rehoboth Praise Assembly in Dallas.[57]
London priest charged after allegedly gambling away more than $500,000 meant for Syrian refugees. [58]
Man following "god's orders" tried to crush toddler daughter's skull with a bat to help her get to heaven.[59]
Sam Sutter, A 26-year-old youth minister is facing sexual battery charges following his arrest. According to a Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office report, Sutter was involved in a sexual relationship with a teenage girl he met through his job at the Openwater Church. [60]
Anti-gay pastor, Dave Reynolds, the recently fired pastor of the Cornerstone Bible Fellowship in Sherwood, Arkansas is currently facing 70 counts of distributing, possessing, or viewing child pornography.[61]
The Catholic church in Pennsylvania has been accused of employing “mafia-like” tactics in a campaign to put pressure on individual Catholic lawmakers who support state legislation that would give victims of sexual abuse more time to sue their abusers.[62]
David James Brown, head pastor at First Christian Church of Jeffersonville, Indiana. was arrested after allegedly seeking sex with a minor.[63]
A former Vatican archbishop, Jozef Wesolowski, accused of paedophilia stored tens of thousands of child porn videos and photos on a computer in his office at the Holy See diplomatic compound in the Dominican Republic, it has emerged.[64]
John David Brock, 60, died after a snake bit him in the left arm and he refused medical treatment, according to the Bell County Sheriff's Office. Brock was handling a snake during a church service at Mossy Simpson Pentecostal Church in Jenson, Kentucky.[65]
The president of a Christian charity in Iowa, Jon S. Petersen, of Cedar Rapids admitted that he embezzled nearly a half-million dollars in donations and used the money to pay for a sex addiction, federal prosecutors said Tuesday. [66]
Virginia pastor, Christopher Alan Hogge, 48, has been charged eight counts of possession and distribution of child pornography, according to the Isle of Wight County Sheriff's Office.[67]
A private Christian school in Kansas is reserving the right to expel students who have gay family members. [68]
Grace Baptist Church children’s pastor arrested in sex trafficking operation.[69]
Vehemently Anti-LGBT Pastor Arrested On Child Pornography Charges.[70]
Ohio seminary student arrested for alleged plan to have sex with adopted baby in Mexico [71]
Woman beats disabled man with his own cane for saying he doesn’t believe in God[72]
Phoenix Woman Accused of Killing Atheist Victim, Then Keeping the Body as a “Shrine From God”[73]
Lisa Biron, Anti-Gay Christian Lawyer, Arrested On Child Pornography Charges[74]
Pastor Slept with Young Girls During Prayer Sessions as Part of their “Healing Process”[75]
Sheriff's Office: Harvey catechism teacher promises students a photo of Santa, then shows them naked picture instead[76]
Almost 800 babies and children were buried in a mass grave in Ireland near a home for unmarried mothers run by nuns.[77]
Alabama Pastor Made Daughter Watch While He Sexually Abused Minors.[78]
The pastor and two members of a Corona, CA church pleaded guilty on Monday to torturing a thirteen-year-old boy, including driving him into the desert and forcing him to dig his own grave. Lonny Lee Remmers, James Craig, and Darryll Duana Jeter Jr. abused the child at a group home run by Heart of Worship Community Church.[79]
Minneapolis church struck by lightning, destroying cross[80]
Six Brothers Raped Their Sister For Years While ‘Christian’ Homeschool Parents Did Nothing.[81]
A Tennessee pastor who was recently admonished by police for having sex with another man in a church van parked in a parking lot, was arrested this week for embezzling an estimated $60,000 from his church’s coffers.[82]
Four of six homeschooled brothers, including a pastor, admit to molesting their sister.[83]
Antigay Michigan Pastor Outed by Grindr Messages[84]
A Baptist preacher in Eureka Springs who features prominently in a new video urging repeal of the city's Ordinance 2223, which protects LGBT people from discrimination, pleaded guilty to a series of violent rapes in Oklahoma in 1977.[85]
Texas church members accused of starving ‘demon-possessed’ toddler and then trying to resurrect him[86]
Louisianal youth pastor is accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a 14-year-old girl. Jonathan Bailey has been charged with one count of indecent relationship with a juvenile.[87]
Ax-wielding hair designer burns down Michigan adult store to please God[88]
An 11-year-old Canadian Aboriginal girl with leukaemia, who stopped chemotherapy after "seeing a vision of Jesus," has died.[89]
Anti-LGBT Pastor Arrested for Grabbing Man’s Genitals at Indiana Park[90]
Baptist church leader in Missouri arrested for soliciting "dog sex" on Craigslist.[91]
Woman told police “she was driving and out of no where God told her that he would take it from here and she let go of the wheel and let him take it.” Shortly after letting go of the wheel she ran over a motorcyclist and drove off.[92]
Florida woman accused of killing 2-year-old while re-enacting Bible story[93]
Evangelical Christians want access to more corpses … to hone their ‘raising the dead’ skills[94]
Tennessee woman accused of drowning her baby says ‘Jesus came down’ and did it.[95]
Files released by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee reveal that in 2007, Cardinal Timothy F. Dolan, then the archbishop there, requested permission from the Vatican to move nearly $57 million into a cemetery trust fund to protect the assets from victims of clergy sexual abuse who were demanding compensation. [96]
Belief in god associated with poor mental health.[97]
The chaplain of Milan’s San Vittore prison, 51-year-old Fr Alberto Barin, has been arrested for sustained sexual assault with multiple aggravations and for abuse of authority. Six non-Italian prisoners have accused him of demanding sexual acts in exchange for favours ranging from items of food to living conditions in the prison. Officers investigating the allegations were able to document the incidents by placing a videocamera in the chaplain’s office in the prison.[98]
Rev. Ryan J. Muelhauser, Ex-Gay Counsellor, Arrested For Molestation Of Two Young Men[99]
Priest embroiled in ivory smuggling controversy.[100]
New Orleans pastor who was appointed in April to a local economic development board charged with seven counts of molestation of a juvenile[101]
Pregnant Teenager in Dominican Republic dies after doctors withold cancer treatment because the chemotherapy would harm her unborn child.[102]
Christian musician Randy Travis, who claimed in 2009 his faith in god allowed him to quit drinking in his 20s, was found naked and drunk in Texas, and arrested after he threatened to kill a law enforcement officer[103]
A Northern California jury has awarded $28 million in damages to a woman who said the Jehovah’s Witnesses allowed an adult member of a Fremont, Calif., church to molest her when she was a child. [104]
Christian school rejects admission of Mormon pupil[105]
Family Battle Offers Look Inside Lavish TV Ministry[106]
Court ruling: Jesus doesn't cure cancer.[107]
Heralded "Miracle" toddler found in the wreckage of tornado, dies in hospital[108]
Christian fringe group intimidates Lowes into pulling advertisement from a reality show portrary Muslims as decent people[109]
6 HIV sufferers die after their pastor told them to stop taking their medication, because god would heal them.[110]
Brazil rocked by abortion for 9-year-old rape victim: Church excommunicates mother and doctors – but not accused rapist[111]
Pentecostal Bishop Charles E. Brown indicted on rape, sexual battery charges[112]
Killings in Norway spotlight anti-Muslim thought.[113]
Austrian's religious headgear gives authorities a headache.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14135523" rel="nofollow" title="Source">[ref]
Pray For Newark claims amazing results as its Christian volunteers "prayer walk" the Newark city streets, seeking to pray down crime. Then murders rose 71%http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/5/3/91235/90609/" rel="nofollow" title="Source">[ref]
Preacher sells debt removal through prayer[114]
Authorities have arrested a 52-year-old man they say committed a hate crime against a man he learned was a Muslim. They were having a conversation when the victim admitted he was a Muslim, which prompted the other man to stab him in the neck with a pocket knife.http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/st-pete-man-accused-of-hate-crime-against-muslim/1149809" rel="nofollow" title="Source">[ref]
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley told a church crowd just moments into his new administration that those who have not accepted Jesus as their savior are not his brothers and sisters, shocking some critics who questioned Tuesday whether he can be fair to non-Christians.http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_alabama_governor_christians" rel="nofollow" title="Source">[ref]
The Salvation Army says it refuses to distribute Harry Potter and Twilight toys collected for needy children because they're incompatible with the charity's Christian beliefs.http://www.edmontonsun.com/news/canada/2010/12/08/16478111.html" rel="nofollow" title="Source">[ref]
A couple who prayed for their sick toddler rather than take him to a doctor before his pneumonia death are on trial in Philadelphia, charged with involuntary manslaughter.http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101207/ap_on_re_us/us_prayer_death_toddler" rel="nofollow" title="Source">[ref]
Archdiocese wants to recoup legal fees after a suit alleging abuse by priest in Burnsville was dismissed.[115]
Minister, elders guilty of not reporting sexual abuse of a child - sought to have immunity from criminal liability in failing to report the case of suspected child abuse, "arguing that they acted in good faith in persuading the parents and the perpetrator to make report of abuse."[116]
A Catholic Priest Charged with Sexually Assaulting Boy in ’08 Was Rearrested Last Week and Charged with Hiring Someone to Kill His Alleged Victim.http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7307344.html" rel="nofollow" title="Source">[ref]
Baby dies as family jumps out of window to get away from the devil.http://www.torontosun.com/news/world/2010/10/24/15810081.html" rel="nofollow" title="Source">[ref]
Lamar advertising company will sell billboards to hookers but not atheists.http://www.bnet.com/blog/advertising-business/lamar-sells-billboards-to-hookers-but-not-to-atheists/2412" rel="nofollow" title="Source">[ref]
Religious teen shoots and murders an atheist teen over an argument; judge does not consider it a hate crime and reduces the murder charge; parents outrages.http://www.whotv.com/news/who-story-doyle-family-shooting-100810,0,3732283.story" rel="nofollow" title="Source">[ref]
Study shows atheists and agnostics are more knowledgeable about religion than religious people themselves.http://pewforum.org/Other-Beliefs-and-Practices/U-S-Religious-Knowledge-Survey.aspx" rel="nofollow" title="Source">[ref]
Bishop Eddie Long, a powerful anti-gay pastor becomes ensnared in his own sordid same-sex scandal[ref]
Deaf victim of sex abuse is suing popehttp://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2010/09/23/deaf-victim-of-sex-abuse-is-suing-pope-and-going-public-with-his-story-for-the-first-time/" rel="nofollow" title="Source">[ref]
A fourth young male member of Bishop Eddie Long's megachurch is suing the prominent pastor, claiming Long coerced him into a sexual relationship. The lawsuit was filed by Spencer LeGrande, a member of New Birth Charlotte. New Birth Charlotte is a satellite church run by Long in Charlotte, N.C. The lawsuit said Long told LeGrande "I will be your dad" and invited the 17-year-old to journey to Kenya with him in July 2005. LeGrande said that Long gave him a sleeping pill on that trip and that the two engaged in sexual acts.http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100924/ap_on_re_us/us_pastor_abuse_allegations_lawsuit" rel="nofollow" title="Source">[ref]
According to a recent study, religious belief can cause damage to a society, contributing towards high murder rates, abortion, sexual promiscuity and suicide, according to research published today. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article571206.ece" rel="nofollow" title="Source">[ref]
Pastor George Randall "Randy" Scott, of the Bethel Temple Assembly Of God Church in Bryan, Texas, was arrested after returning from a trip to Sweden with his wife on for allegedly pretending to be a teenager online to meet other minor boys and then blackmailing them into having sex. http://www.kbtx.com/local/headlines/100500214.html" rel="nofollow" title="Source">[ref]
Giant Jesus statue struck by lightning and destroyed. http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2010/06/15/jesus-statue-struck-by-lightning/" rel="nofollow" title="Source">[ref]
Thinking he was possessed by the devil, American cage fighter rips out still-beating heart of his training partner.http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1282647/American-cage-fighter-rips-beating-heart-training-partner-fearing-possessed-devil.html" rel="nofollow" title="Source">[ref]
Christian singer leaves his wife and family and admits hes gay, while continuing his Christian musical career.http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/15/us/15religion.html" rel="nofollow" title="Source">[ref]
Nun Excommunicated For Allowing life-saving Abortion[117]
Janine Denomme, Woman Ordained As Catholic Priest, Denied Catholic Burial By Churchhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/19/janine-denomme-woman-orda_n_582423.html" rel="nofollow" title="Source">[ref]
Guns, high-powered ammunition and explosives equipment have been seized in raids on 12 properties in and near Adelaide linked with the Agape Ministries of God.http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/05/20/2904812.htm" rel="nofollow" title="Source">[ref]
City of Miami uses prayer group to ward off bad weather.[ref]
Jehovah's Witness Couple Disown Son For Receiving Blood Transfusion.http://news.peacefmonline.com/religion/201005/42722.php" rel="nofollow" title="Source">[ref]
Noah's ark found, says evangelical filmmaker.http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/pc-certainty-of-noahs-ark-discovery-on-mount-ararat/story-e6frfku0-1225858591328" rel="nofollow" title="Source">[ref]
British court punishes atheist for leaving flyers in the prayer room of the John Lennon airport.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/7624578/Atheist-given-Asbo-for-leaflets-mocking-Jesus.html" rel="nofollow" title="Source">[ref]
Islamists have warned the creators of TV show South Park they could face violent retribution for depicting the Prophet Muhammad in a bear suit.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8636455.stm" rel="nofollow" title="Source">[ref]
An episode of “South Park” that continued a story line involving the Prophet Muhammad was shown Wednesday night on Comedy Central with audio bleeps and image blocks reading “CENSORED” after a Muslim group warned the show’s creators that they could face violence for depicting that holy Islamic prophet. http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/22/south-park-episode-is-altered-after-muslim-groups-warning/" rel="nofollow" title="Source">[ref]
Catholic church admits Norwegian Bishop resigned last year after admitting he was involved in child molestation.[118]
Pope coordinated assignment of pedophile priest back into circulation.http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/26/world/europe/26church.html" rel="nofollow" title="Source">[ref]
The Roman Catholic Church’s account of Pope Benedict XVI’s handing of a serial paedophile was called into question today when new documents emerged suggesting that his office was kept informed of the offender’s rapid return to working with children. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article7077196.ece" rel="nofollow" title="Source">[ref]
Pope Sexual Abuse Scandal: Benedict Implicated In Cover-Up Of Wisconsin Abuse Casehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/24/pope-sexual-abuse-lawrence-murphy_n_512483.html" rel="nofollow" title="Source">[ref]
Atheist group throws party for teens who had their prom canceled rather than allow a same-sex couple to attend the dance sponsored by religious schoolhttp://www.examiner.com/x-8928-Philadelphia-Atheism-Examiner~y2010m3d12-Atheist-group-offers-to-hold-gay-friendly-prom" rel="nofollow" title="Source">[ref]
Religious massacres continue in Nigeriahttp://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748704869304575109962258328770.html" rel="nofollow" title="Source">[ref]
Vatican chorister sacked for allegedly procuring male prostitutes for papal gentleman-in-waitinghttp://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/04/vatican-gay-sex-scandal" rel="nofollow" title="Source">[ref]
Baby starved to death because he didn't say "amen."http://www.smh.com.au/world/baby-starved-to-death-because-he-did-not-say-amen-20100225-p4el.html" rel="nofollow" title="Source">[ref]
Pakistan's president sacrifices a goat each day to keep evil awayhttp://www.palibandaily.com/2010/02/23/a-goat-a-day-keeps-the-evil-away-pakistans-president-and-his-addiction-to-sacrifices/" rel="nofollow" title="Source">[ref]
Haiti's prime minister said Monday it's clear to him that the 10 U.S. Baptists who tried to take 33 children out of his quake-ravaged country without permission "knew what they were doing was wrong."http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100201/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/cb_haiti_americans_detained" rel="nofollow" title="Source">[ref]
A jury has found Scott Philip Roeder, 51, of Merriam, Kansas, guilty of premeditated first-degree murder in the slaying of Kansas abortion provider George Tiller.http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/27216" rel="nofollow" title="Source">[ref]
Jeff and Marci Beagley have been charged with criminally negligent homicide for not providing medical treatment to their 16-year-old son, who died of an untreated urinary tract blockage. The family belongs to Followers of Christ Church, whose members shun medical care in favor of prayer.[119]
A Republican member of the Iowa Legislature is proposing lawmakers should be required to say "so help me God" when being sworn into office.[120]
Members of a Roanoke church have voted to leave the country's largest Lutheran denomination over its policy to allow gay clergy.[121]
Matt Baker, 38, a former Baptist minister, has been indicted for allegedly drugging and suffocating his wife Kari, whose 2006 death was initially ruled a suicide.[122]
A government witness said Wednesday that the five young woman who testified last year that evangelist Tony Alamo took them as a "wife" and sexually abused them as minors should receive $2.7 million each for physical and mental pain suffered.[123]
Three American Evangelical Christians go to Uganda and teach thousands (including police, national politicians, etc.) how gays and their agenda are trying to destroy Ugandan families and sodomize their children. Result: a bill to impose a death sentence for homosexual behavior.http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/04/world/africa/04uganda.html" rel="nofollow" title="Source">[ref]
School board opts to fire public school teacher who refused to teach evolution, taught creationism and burned crosses into the arms of studentshttp://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/06/21/Freshwater_decision.ART_ART_06-21-08_A1_ABAI539.html" rel="nofollow" title="Source">[ref]
Retrieved from "http://freethoughtpedia.com/wiki/Theists_in_the_news"
Categories: Main sections | News | Theological arguments | Debate resources | Ignorance & Misinformation
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JCAA issues official response to pronouncements made by JATCA
Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority | 2015-08-05 00:00:00
The management of the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority (JCAA) has noted the comments made by representatives of the Jamaica Air Traffic Controllers Association (JATCA) during a recent press conference.
The need to ensure that our systems remain operational and safe for the travelling public is of paramount importance. The management of the JCAA is committed to maintaining safe, reliable and efficient air navigation services throughout Jamaica’s Flight Information Region (FIR). As part of this effort, the JCAA has embarked on a phased implementation of the upgrade, replacement and modernisation of the critical equipment and communications, navigation and surveillance (CNS) systems upon which the air navigation services infrastructure is built.
As the Jamaica Air Traffic Controllers Association is aware, this process for replacing the referenced equipment is advanced. In December 2014, the JCAA commissioned a new microwave radio network, which forms the communication backbone for transporting critical information between Air Traffic Controllers and aircraft flying through our airspace. The new network triples the information carrying capacity of the previous network. In March 2015, the JCAA completed the transition to a new MEVA 111 network using IP technology to bolster our coordination capabilities. Additionally, the JCAA has identified a qualified contractor to supply and install other components, including radars, for the new air navigation services infrastructure over the coming 21-month period. In all of its procurement processes, the JCAA is guided by the Government of Jamaica’s procurement guidelines.
Significantly, as the JCAA awaits the installation of new radar and automation equipment, it has proactively put in place measures in an effort to continue to ensure the safety and reliability of our air navigation systems for the use of the travelling public.
On the pressing issue of the current industrial relations challenges, the JCAA wishes to underscore, that as a statutory body, and portfolio agency of the Ministry of Transport, Works and Housing, we must adhere to the established policies and procedures prescribed by the Government of Jamaica. This extends to our approach to wage claims received from unions and staff associations. The management of the JCAA reviewed the wage claim submitted by the JATCA and responded with an offer that was within the parameters established by the Ministry of Finance & Planning. The management of the JCAA anticipates the JATCA’s participation in the negotiation process.
Further information regarding the contents of the above release may be received by contacting the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority at 960-3948.
The Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority (JCAA) is a statutory organization within the Ministry of Transport, Works and Housing, which is responsible for regulating Jamaica’s aviation industry and supporting its safe and orderly development.
Posted By :Jamaica Authority
Company Name : Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority
Company Address : 4 Winchester Road Kingston 10
Other Press Release By Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority
Service disruptions & implementation of contingency measures in the Kingston FIR
Thales Air Systems representatives visit Jamaica
Aircraft Incident Advisory from JCAA
More press release from Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority
German Embassy donates $ 5.7m to Hurricane “Sandy” relief efforts
The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) will receive a $ 5.7 million donation from the German Government to support recovery and relief efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane “Sandy”.
International journalist to be guest speaker at PAJ awards
Outstanding British journalist and union leader Jeremy Dear is to be the guest speaker at the 2012 Press Association of Jamaica (PAJ) Awards which will be held on Friday December 7 at the Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston.
More Featured Releases...
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UNESCO: The Islamic Golden Age of Science for today’s knowledge-based society
From the 14th to 15th September 2015, UNESCO representatives, worldwide researchers, academics, science historians and political decision makers gathered in Paris to explore UNESCO’s International Year of Light by visiting the progression along with contributions of studies in light from the Islamic Golden Age and beyond
One scholar in particular, Ibn Al-Haytham is distinguished for having highlighted the importance of celebrating and promoting all histories of all peoples as he has been heralded by many historians as “the father of optics”. In her opening address, the UNESCO Director General, Irina Bokova expanded on this point further, declaring that:
...today, at this time of great change, when ignorance and violent extremism are rife, it is essential we do everything to teach the common history of humanity, to share the histories of women and men who did so much in the past to impact on the world as we know it today. Ibn Al-Haytham stands out in this pantheon”[1].
UNESCO Director General, Irina Bokova giving her opening speech to the guests
© UNESCO/ Pilar Chiang-Joo (Source)
Abū ‘Alī Al-Hassan Ibn al-Haytham, commonly referred to as Ibn Al-Haytham was an 11th Century Arab polymath scientist, who was born in Iraq and lived and died in Egypt.
Creative representation bust of Ibn al-Haytham made by artist Ali Amro and commissioned by 1001 Inventions for the UNESCO International Year of Light 2015 www.ibnalhaytham.com
Although he is most renowned for his contributions to the principles of optics, he also made significant contributions to, mathematics, astronomy, engineering, and also wrote on medicine and philosophy amongst others. Perhaps his most important contribution was in laying the foundations of the scientific method. Ibn al-Haytham should also be credited for his objectivity and appreciation of contributions from different cultures and civilisations. He wrote, ‘truth is sought for its own sake’[2]. Similar sentiments were commonplace amongst scientists in Muslim civilisations such as polymaths such as Al-Mas’udi who is quoted to have penned, ‘I do not shun the truth from whatever source it comes.[2]’
It is in this spirit that speakers and participants presented and deliberated various discussions regarding Ibn Al-Haytham and other figures from Muslim civilisation and beyond regarding the potential of innovative light-based solutions to meet current sustainable development goals, notably in the field of energy..[1].
Amongst other academics, the Chair of the Foundation for Science, Technology and Civilisation (FSTC), Professor Mohamed El-Gomati OBE delivered a lecture entitled “Modern Electron Optics and the Search for More Light: The legacy of Ibn Al-Haytham”. Professor El-Gomati began his address by recognising the works of the French historian of science, Professor Roshdi Rashed, stating how “his contributions regarding the life and works of Ibn Al-Haytham far exceeded anybody else alive today who wrote on this subject.”
...Ibn Al-Haytham’s works in optics are ever relevant. In electron optics, my own field of speciality, it is interesting to note that contemporary scientists and engineers are still developing methods and strategies to correct for an optical phenomenon called spherical aberration, first discovered and explained by Ibn al-Haytham" commented, Professor El-Gomati
Professor El-Gomati then highlighted how recent development of white LEDs which mimic natural light have been solely credited to three Japanese Nobel Peace Prize winners, Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura. It was during the late 1980s and early 1990s that they invented the blue LED, which eventually led to the development of the white LED that is now available on the market. In this respect, it is important to note that their discovery and particularly later the efforts by many others in having developed reliable and repeatable methods to grow the needed materials for such inventions (based on gallium nitride, GaN) depended largely on using high resolution electron microscopy.
Professor El-Gomati’s presentation then continued to address how through the eyes of the present day scientist, the role that historians of science might address , which would acknowledge the variety of contributions made by early scientists, particularly in the medieval period. He also explored the importance of dedicated and specialised learned journals on the subject, with rigorously researched material for the benefit and assistance of educators.
A more judicious and balanced historical view of the contributions of earlier civilisations, as perhaps depicted the figure below needs to be promoted:
UNESCO.org: From the Islamic Golden Age to the Age of Photonics
en.UNESCO.org/events: The Islamic Golden Age of Light science for today's knowledge-based Society
en.UNESCO.org: Islamic Golden Age of Science for actual knowledge-based society
FSTC.org.uk: Muslim Heritage also celebrates the IYL2015 with '1001 Inventions and the World of Ibn Al Haytham'
About International Year of Light (IYL 2015)
The International Year of Light and Light-Based Technologies (IYL 2015) is a global initiative adopted by the United Nations (A/RES/68/221) to raise awareness of how optical technologies promote sustainable development and provide solutions to worldwide challenges in energy, education, agriculture, communications and health.
With UNESCO as lead agency, IYL 2015 programs will promote improved public and political understanding of the central role of light in the modern world while also celebrating noteworthy anniversaries in 2015—from the first studies of optics 1,000 years ago to discoveries in optical communications that power the Internet today. The IYL Global Secretariat is located at the Abdus Salam International Centre of Theoretical Physics (ICTP).
In addition to 1001 Inventions, the Founding Partners of IYL 2015 are the American Institute of Physics (AIP), the American Physical Society (APS), the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft (DPG), the European Physical Society (EPS), the Abdus Salam International Centre of Theoretical Physics (ICTP), the IEEE Photonics Society (IPS), the Institute of Physics (IOP), Light: Science and Applications, the lightsources.org International Network, The Optical Society (OSA) and the International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE). Patron Sponsors include Bosca, the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD), Royal Philips Lighting, Thorlabs and UL.
Further information can be found at www.light2015.org
1001 Inventions and the World of Ibn Al-Haytham launches at UNESCO - © UNESCO/ Pilar Chiang-Loo
About 1001 Inventions
1001 Inventions is an award-winning, British based organisation that creates international educational campaigns and engaging transmedia productions aiming to raise awareness of the contributions to science, technology and culture from the Golden Age of Muslim Civilisation.
For one thousand years from the 7th century onwards, inspirational men and women, of different faiths and cultures, built upon knowledge of ancient civilisations, making discoveries that have had a huge and often underappreciated impact on our world. In an area that spread from Spain to China, this Golden Age of Muslim Civilisation saw fascinating advancements in science and technology that helped pave the way for the European Renaissance.
Over the last decade, 1001 Inventions has engaged with over 150 million people across the globe, with educational campaigns in cities such as in London, Istanbul, New York,Washington DC, Los Angeles, Kuala Lumpur, Abu Dhabi and Jeddah.
1001 Inventions works with a network of international partners and leading academics, and through its academic partner FSTC (UK), to produce world-class experiences,interactive exhibits, feature films, live shows, books and classroom learning materials that are being used by hundreds of thousands of educators around the world.
Further information can be found at www.1001inventions.com
[1] UNESCO.org: From the Islamic Golden Age to the Age of Photonics
[2] Craig, Edward. "Science in Islamic Philosophy." In Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Index, 455. 1st ed. Abingdon: Taylor & Francis Group, 1998.
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Choosing Our History: Changing the Name of Thomas Hall
By Kofi Kwakwa on November 12, 2017
College Hall, Photo Courtesy of Carol Lee Diallo ’19.
As a Haverford student who just started getting used to maneuvering my way around Bryn Mawr’s campus, I was concerned (to say the least) when I learned that there had been a change to one of the building’s names. On the surface, the new name change to “College Hall” from the former name “Thomas Hall” seemed more convenient solely because of how much easier it is to remember. Had the reason behind the name change not been questioned in one of my classes at Bryn Mawr (revolving around capitalism and slavery), it is highly possible I would have graduated two years from now with no awareness of the deep history rooted behind this decision.
The story is alarming on all cylinders; not only because of the reason for the name change in itself, but also because of the information provided regarding the actions taken to enact this change. The original name of “Thomas Hall” was a dedication to Martha Carey Thomas, President of Bryn Mawr College from 1894 to 1922. We must not forget how crucial of a component Thomas was for the development of the college; with high standards of academic rigor and entrance exams as hard as those of Harvard University, and as the President of the National College Women’s Equal Suffrage League, she is considered by many as the school’s most influential president. With that being said, Thomas was very outspoken about her negative views towards Jewish and African American people; she worked to bar Jewish people from entering Bryn Mawr – students and faculty alike. “She went as far as paying for Jessie Redmon Fauset’s – an African American Bryn Mawr applicant – tuition to Cornell to ensure she did not accept the scholarship offered to her at Bryn Mawr” (Azalia Hildago BMC ‘18). While Thomas had a notable impact on opportunities for women in higher education, it is safe to conclude that she was an outspoken bigot and comfortably racist.
A key factor to remember here is that the aim was not to erase Thomas from history and ignore the momentous impact she had on the institution; the aim was to avoid choosing to hide important historical evidence solely in order to sugarcoat how societies are viewed today. Azalia Hildago (Bryn Mawr ‘18), was highly involved in the movement to shed light on the reality of this part of Bryn Mawr’s history, and furthermore, the movement to bring to the spotlight the actual leaders of the mission. She stated the importance of remembering that “when History writes it, it is remembered in a different way…let’s not forget all the steps we have taken to get here”. She went on to explain – with corroboration from many other sources – that it is the students who spearheaded this investigative movement. I find trouble with the fact that although the project had been brewing for awhile, the voice of the students was not enough; it took a weekend of violence in Charlottesville by white supremacists who sought to defend a confederate statue for there to be a realization of the urgency of the subject.
Prior to Charlottesville, two students – Emma Kioko and Grace Pusey – spearheaded the ‘Black at Bryn Mawr’ project. Part of the project included an interactive tour on campus: the tour started at Thomas Hall, explained it’s history, and moved throughout the campus. This was open to the public and a great way to inform people from outside of the community. This action was prompted by students who investigated histories of ‘black help’ at Bryn Mawr, students who started to investigate the history of black students at the institution, and in turn, decided to investigate members of staff and the administration.
Despite generating a large following and instilling the informative dialogue we have today, students have never quite been fully acknowledged for their work with the project. This is not the first time the reputable liberal arts college has been faced with a controversial decision regarding racial prejudices. In 2014, two students living in Radnor, one of the college’s dorms, put up a Confederate flag and drew a Mason-Dixie line; and were said to be “very vocal about their points of view with little to no regard of the community which surrounded them” (Hildago, ‘18). Although they were no longer allowed to live on campus, they were allowed to stay enrolled in classes. The lightheartedness of this ‘punishment’ seems to have prompted a lot of student response and kick-started the movement described above which I see as the driving force behind the name change of Thomas Hall.
Though the Bi-Co’s institutions are considered to be among the most liberal colleges in the country this is not reason to overlook the controversial realities of its history; on the contrary, it should serve as a pivotal example of the importance of knowing an establishment’s foundations to avoid repeating history’s mistakes. The mere fact that something like this could go unnoticed (or more accurately, unaddressed) for so long speaks volumes; it is a clear example of the history we choose to share in the interest of our own comfort, rather than in the interest of transparency. This incident should raise awareness and teach us not only to avoid waiting for a reality check to respond to calls for help, but also to listen closely to the calls for help no matter who they come from.
bi-co
Gummere’s 1/1 Faces Flooding Ahead of Bathroom Renovations
Eighth Annual Tri-Co Film Festival to Take Place May 9th
Bi-Co Bike Route Proposal Showcased at Meeting
Apartment 22 Basement to Become International Student Center
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KuwentongBola: A dream, books, ball, and how an unlikely hero captured my heart
HumbleBola June 15, 2019
Graphics: Nicole Miranda (Juan Shot Designs)
We’ve all wanted to be the ones on the court. The ones who create art with dunks, jumpers, and crossovers. The ones who are able to share their own stories through this medium. The ones who roar. Pound their chests. Shout to the crowd. Bask in greatness. To become like our heroes is the dream.
But in the stage of the basketball court, there are other stories meant to be told. The ones from the stands. The ones who lineup for tickets in as early as 9 in the evening the previous day. The ones who spend time making banners and posters. The ones who try their best to copy their heroes when they play pickup.
The story of the athlete matters. But the fan also has his own story to tell, ones that are just as important as their heroes. This is our KuwentongBola.
By: Aljo Dolores
Every kid dreams big. When I say big, I mean really big: grand, bold, unrealistic at times. A Marvel superhero. A Disney princess. A WWE wrestler. The protagonist from their favorite anime. Whoever they want to be. It doesn’t matter if the characters exist in the real world or not. In a kid’s world, everything is possible.
I was once that kid, too. Like the other boys in town, I beamed kamehame waves and ray guns, wielded spirit swords, and frog splashed my friends as if I was every lovable character from afternoon TV shows. I spent a significant portion of my childhood weaving fantasies into my reality.
Sometimes I was a ninja turtle. Sometimes Rey Mysterio. Sometimes a random Pokémon trainer who loved the water type. These were all iterations of me, having fun, being a kid. However, there was one particular version of myself which went beyond bringing joy to my rather simple mind—it defined my childhood.
Back when I was four, maybe five years old, I used to share a bedroom with my two siblings. Just outside our room was an open area where we did the laundry. Being a huge basketball fan that my dad was, he turned that space into a toddler’s basketball halfcourt.
That was my first memory of playing basketball. With a toy football in hand, I took jumpers and dunks on a small hoop attached to a column just four feet above the ground. The place was mostly silent, except for the swish of the net and the bounce of the plastic ball against the pavement.
In my mind though, I pictured myself balling hard at a stadium, in front of thousands of people. I heard the loud cheers from the hometown fans. With the game on the line, I pulled off a jumper at the top of the key. There was a collective gasp as the crowd watched the ball travel mid-air. Three, two, one—swish. Legions of people unleashed a deafening roar as I sank the shot to win the game.
I spent hours playing different basketball scenarios my young mind could imagine. In that court, I was a pro baller who could drop 30 points against the best to ever play the game.
I held on to this version of myself even if I wasn’t playing ball. When I was about nine years old, I proudly displayed my jerseys at our room as if they hanged on the rafters of a basketball gymnasium. Sometimes at night, I just stared at the kits from the top bunk of the double deck bed as I pictured myself playing at the PBA or the NBA.
For a while, the makeshift court and the bedroom became my paradise. I played nonstop throughout summer vacations as I created an alternate reality for myself. In my mind, I was a basketball superstar who played in the Araneta Coliseum, probably Madison Square Garden.
But I didn’t play just for fun. I wanted basketball to be my reality. The real one. As a kid, I had a clear plan for my future. I’m gonna grow above six feet, dominate the PBA and then make the jump to the NBA. I chased my very first dream on the makeshift court outside my room.
At some point, kids lose those fantasies. They would stop acting like they’re the awesome characters they used to play. I wasn’t spared from downfall. I let go of the different characters I played one after another. I was no longer a ninja turtle. A luchador. A famous anime character. All these projections of myself got lost in my past.
That included my basketball superstar self. I lost interest to achieve that shot-to-the-moon dream right before I finished high school. I barely passed five feet at that time. I knew that I might not grow as tall as I wanted to. There’s just little to no chance I’d get to six (thanks, genes).
Moreover, I grew up believing a certain dichotomy: it’s either books or ball. There’s no way anyone could do both. Little by little, studies took over my time. I performed well in school, but I never had the chance to show my skills at a basketball court outside of the miniature one we had at home. I was way closer at being an honor student than I was at being a basketball prodigy.
I knew I had to abandon whatever crazy stupid NBA dream I had. I wasn’t carved out for it. Early on, I already knew that I might become a doctor, an engineer, or perhaps a lawyer if l would just study hard—but never a professional basketball player.
I never stopped loving basketball though. I watched televised games during my free time, especially those weeknight PBA games. I played NBA Live on the computer during weekends. My life outside of school still involved that sport.
Because I watched a lot of games with my dad, I saw the way he reacted whenever Alvin Patrimonio was on the TV screen. He was animated, livid at times. He reacted in every play as if his life depended on it. There was no denying that he had a personal affection towards Patrimonio. I bet that if ever he gets entangled in an argument, he would use everything in his power to prove that his idol was the greatest player to ever set foot in the PBA.
I found it odd that I didn’t have that kind of affection towards any player. Sure, I became a diehard fan of Purefoods, thanks to my dad’s conditioning. I couldn’t remember a time though when I looked up to a certain player and said, “I wanna be like him.”
Maybe it’s because part of me still wanted to be that basketball star I first visualized when I was a child. I knew I won’t ever be. I wasn’t meant to be a basketball player, let alone a pro baller. Unlike me, I always thought that these players who I constantly saw on TV had an easier path when it came to building their hoop dreams. They’re tall. They’re athletic. They’re built for basketball. They never experienced the struggle of a regular person like me.
That was until I met Jeremy Lin.
Well, we didn’t exactly meet. Rather, I witnessed how he evolved from a relative unknown to a worldwide sensation. It was February 2012 and the Knicks were struggling in the lockout-shortened season. Coach Mike D’Antoni, who called the shots for New York, was best known for turning point guards into gods—just ask Steve Nash. Ironically, the Knicks’ PG rotation sucked big time. Baron Davis was injured. Mike Bibby was way past his basketball prime but still way ahead of his Hulk transformation. Toney Douglas was inconsistent. Young Iman Shumpert was still being forced to play the point. With no one else to turn to, D’Antoni took a Hail Mary by sending Lin on the floor.
Prior to that game, I only saw Jeremy Lin’s name on two outlets. The first one was on NBA 2K. I was fascinated by his personal background right from the start: an Asian-American Harvard graduate who tried his luck in the NBA. I would always include him on my season lineups, perhaps a way of saying I wanted him to be successful.
The second one was in online news. Unlike in video games, real life was cruel to Lin. Whenever his name would pop out in the news, it would most likely be about him struggling to stay in the league. He bounced around the NBA quite a few times, never really had a decent start to his career.
In a way, he reinforced the dichotomy I lived into. Books or ball. You just couldn’t have both. It’s one or the other. In his case, his Harvard education was the end of his chances of making it to the NBA. His school was well known at producing scholars and leaders. Not basketball players. Essentially, he had a better shot at being Barack Obama than being Michael Jordan.
So there’s just no way that this Harvard graduate would actually make an impact to the game. He never did in his three years at the end of the benches of several teams. He certainly won’t for this desperate Knicks squad.
But just like how heroes from perfectly-written Hollywood movies saved the day, Jeremy Lin took over Big Apple.
A drive here. A layup there. He played the way he was supposed to, like a man whose life depended on the outcome of the game. He finished with 25 points, five rebounds and seven assists. More importantly, he rallied New York to a much-needed win.
His first notable NBA game started an unexpected moment of joy in me. I was ecstatic to see him breakout of his struggles even for just one game. I had some kind of connection to him, like I somehow felt whatever he’d been through before that night. Perhaps, my affinity towards Lin was already there the first time I knew him. It just waited for the right time to fully take over me as a basketball fan. Either way, I knew I was hooked with Jeremy Lin.
I followed his games online. I watched his highlights. One insane performance after another. Win after win after win. Soon, the shine of his star that is Linsanity beamed out from New York to the rest of the world. I was among the hundreds, maybe thousands of people who were drawn into it. I was completely sold by the way this nobody came out of nowhere and took the NBA by storm.
Perhaps the Toronto game was the final nail that pinned me into Lin’s fandom. I would forever remember the shot that he took towards the end. He drew the play just like how I reenacted the same situation over and over again on the makeshift court I played to as a kid. Game on the line. Ball on his hands. A defender standing between him and the hoop. The clock went down as he dribbled closer to the arc. Three, two, one—
Swish.
I repeated the video of that moment countless times over a few weeks. Every time I watched that shot, I felt like I was watching myself, my basketball superstar self that I created when I was young. More accurately, I felt like I was a kid again.
“I wanna be like him.”
For the first time in my life, I was attached to a certain player. I saw parallelisms of my life to his and it made me feel like I could relate to him. He went to a university known for its academic excellence rather than sports. With it, all the odds were stacked against him making it big to the pros. All his life, he had to fight for his rightful place at the greatest basketball stage in the world. Through Linsanity, Jeremy Lin personified my childhood dream to make it to the NBA.
I became Jeremy Lin’s loyal fan, even after his New York stint. I followed him to Houston, Los Angeles, Charlotte, Brooklyn, Atlanta and Toronto. I stayed through the ups and downs of his career. I sighed in disbelief with every injury he sustained. I smiled from ear to ear with every good game he accomplished. I cursed his coach to death with every DNP he received.
My biggest regret as Lin’s fan was failing to buy his New York jersey. I wanted to wear his name and number every time I stepped on the court. Unfortunately, the money was never there. By the time I had the capacity to buy some years later, all those Lin swingman jerseys were gone. I had a full article about that written on SLAM Philippines for its Grail Week.
That piece wasn’t just a feature, it’s my cry for help to find one. I wanted to be in his clothes, both literally and figuratively. I wanted to swish jumpers, complete nifty passes and celebrate game-winners like he once did, even if just for pickup games. Truth be told, I had the smallest of hopes that my words would reach people who could give me a lead. That’s why with no shame, I sent the article out like a message in a bottle that floated in the vast ocean of the internet.
The article gained some traction from fellow fans, but I didn’t find any means to buy a Jeremy Lin jersey. I thought the quest has ended right after it started. I didn’t expect to wake up two days later with my phone full of notifications. I had no idea why people were looking for me online. Why were they shouting through texts? Did I do something wrong? It took me a minute before I saw what the clamor was all about.
My message found its way to Jeremy Lin himself. “Consider it done,” he said. I was instantly thrown into a concoction of emotions as I try to understand what transpired. Lin would send a jersey from across the world to me. And it’s not just any jersey. It’s my personal holy grail of basketball memorabilia: a Knicks uniform with his name and number in it.
Consider it done!! Lmk how to get this to you! Im rollin w my fans all day like they been rollin w me https://t.co/5ryWRT53PM
— Jeremy Lin (@JLin7) December 7, 2018
A few months had passed before the jersey reached my doorstep. From the moment I laid my eyes on it, I knew that what I received was worth waiting for. He gave me an Away jersey with the words “New York” and “Lin” emblazoned on the royal blue fabric. Below his surname was the number 17 that with his signature written across.
I reminisced a few moments I had since I was a kid. Those shootarounds in the miniature court. Those nights I witnessed my dad cheer for his idol with all his heart. Those days I spent watching the rise of Linsanity. I felt like every little thing that happened to me led me to where I was: at the middle of the room, standing, smiling, holding something that I knew I will treasure for life.
Truth is, Lin meant so much to me than just the personification of my childhood dream. Sure, he turned my four-year-old self’s wildest basketball dreams into reality. But beyond that, Lin serves as an inspiration to my present self. He makes me believe that anything is possible if you just continue to fight for what you want. No matter how many times he failed, Lin found his place not just in the NBA, but in the hearts of his fans around the world, including me.
Soon, Lin’s jersey will hang on the wall of my room, much like how my uniforms were displayed on that shared childhood bedroom. I won’t be leaving the house without looking at all the glory of the royal blue fabric with the name of my hero in it. I may not be able to wear it like what I originally wanted, but that jersey will be so much more than what it was supposed to be on court. It will be my constant reminder to be whoever I want to be. To dream big like a kid. To dream big like Jeremy Lin.
The King Archer
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Juro Morilla April 6, 2019
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Go to the West, young Kai Sotto
HumbleBola March 25, 2019
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The Borderland: El Paso to Mesilla
The Borderland. It stretches from Brownsville, Texas to San Diego, California for over 1,900 miles. The terrain is arid, and uninhabitable--I visited the stretch from El Paso, a few miles from the border, then drove up to Alamogordo, and down through the Organs to Mesilla. A straight shot from El Paso to Mesilla would have taken up 43 short miles of this vast border space, but I took a circuitous and somewhat scenic route, the Old Road to Mesilla. When you visit Mesilla, you are more or less 100 miles from the border if you stay on I-10. The service road (NM-9) takes you close to the border and leads to Columbus, NM, but I'm not sure why anyone would want to take that ride through the desert, except if you're going to Palomas, Mexico. But I'm told it is ill advised. The Borderland is more than just an imaginary boundary. Indian reservations, ranchers and badlands are all present there. On the Mexican side, Cuidad de Juarez is heavily populated very close to the line. The Borderland (I'm talking El Paso to Mesilla) projects everything you can imagine about the Southwest: cowgirls and cowboys, ghost towns, adobe structures, pecan groves, vineyards, Catholic churches, scenic routes, the border fence and Ciudad de Juarez. The Borderland closest to the actual boundary is predictably dry, dusty, sunny, and desolate. A few miles in, It thrives if you're on the right side of the fence. Peering across the Rio Grande dry riverbed into Juarez was a sobering experience. In the area where I stood, less than 100 yards away, the poverty grips you. It's like looking into a View Master, but the reels were made by Uncle Fester, and not by Disney. The partitioning of El Paso del Norte in 1848 (vis-à-vis the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo) leaves no question who received the short end of that stick. I saw areas where months ago narco-traffckers murdered innocents and fellow traffickers in Juarez and across the border. I saw an area of Juarez where young Mexican women were dumped after being disappeared and murdered. The bleached desert exposes une pâleur de tristesse.
The border fence itself is brown and massive. It was as long as the eye could see in either direction. I was impressed by its size and fortitude. It stands silently, re-emphasizing its purpose-yet the ones so desperate, so determined, manage to get to the other side, only to wind up on more desolate deserted soil. But for them, it's American soil. One gets a sense of why people come when staring across the way into Juarez. One gets a sense of why the El Paso del Norte is so enviable. Which ever side of the spectrum you may fall on the issue, the fence will remain and the agents who protect it deserve our respect and support, as their jobs are tedious and extremely dangerous. I left the area with new comprehension and respect for all of the participants in this 21st century border war.
For another perspective, NPR recently did a whole series on the border, which is worth listening to. http://www.npr.org/series/291397809/borderland-dispatches-from-the-u-s-mexico-boundary
Changing gears, since I didn't mean to go down such a dark path, but as a visitor to the Borderland, I sensed the border is something that becomes a part of your psyche, but also something that you can ignore and dismiss, if you live north of it. There were repeated warnings not to cross it, but it otherwise doesn't directly affect the lives of the average
American living in the Borderland.
In La Union, New Mexico, the wine flows at the southwest New Mexico vineyard of La Viña. Tastings/flights are inexpensive, and their estate-bottled varietals are succulent and refreshing. I loved the Viognier and Tempranillo. There are nearly a dozen other vineyards in that area to sample great New Mexican wine. Old Mesilla is always a treat. This time I ate at the Double Eagle. Great margaritas, but I must say I prefer the food at La Posta. The art galleries and curio shops offer authentic New Mexican art, jewelry and other trinkets. I was a little perplexed by the Nambé store. I expected to see crafts from the Nambé Pueblo, but instead, I saw über-designed alloyed cookware and utensils, apparently having nothing to do with the Nambé Indians. The prices would make you shudder! Anyway, I even found a wonderful yoga centric store just off the plaza. This is an easy area to pass an afternoon. Brunch is great at La Savoy de Mesilla. Upscale and delicious.
Cowboy Days at the Farm and Ranch Museum was mildly entertaining, but the cool weather and the winds made for a less than enthusiastic turnout. The Organs are aptly named and quietly loom in the rearview, seemingly ever-present on the east side of Las Cruces. Orogrande was a bizarre little area. A tiny strip of land halfway between El Paso and Alamogordo used to be a booming mining town in Otero County that eventually went bust. Its former name was Jarilla Junction. For me, it was the perfect location for a Rob Zombie horror movie. Stopping at that abandoned gas station was enough for me. I kept expecting Captain Spaulding to show up offering me a tour of his Museum of Monsters & Madmen. Creepy. I didn't go off-road to see the old mines, but not sure that would be that interesting.
Back on the west side of El Paso, there are some great restaurants like Ripe and SuZu, an Asian-Mexican Fusion restaurant. I also learned the Texas one-step and line dancing at Little Bit of Texas. When in Rome...
White Sands was a blast! (No pun intended.) And is my next post!
All photos and content are the property of © Helen Moore 2014
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Home » Context of 'May 18, 1973: Archibald Cox Named Special Prosecutor for Watergate'
Context of 'May 18, 1973: Archibald Cox Named Special Prosecutor for Watergate'
This is a scalable context timeline. It contains events related to the event May 18, 1973: Archibald Cox Named Special Prosecutor for Watergate. You can narrow or broaden the context of this timeline by adjusting the zoom level. The lower the scale, the more relevant the items on average will be, while the higher the scale, the less relevant the items, on average, will be.
2:30 a.m.June 17, 1972: Five ‘Plumbers’ Caught Burglarizing Democratic Offices in Watergate Hotel
Frank Wills, the security guard who discovers the taped doors and alerts the DC police. [Source: Bettmann / Corbis]Five burglars (see June 17, 1972) are arrested at 2:30 a.m. while breaking in to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) Headquarters offices in Washington’s Watergate hotel and office complex; the DNC occupies the entire sixth floor. [Washington Post, 6/18/1972; Gerald R. Ford Library and Museum, 7/3/2007]
Discovery - They are surprised at gunpoint by three plainclothes officers of the DC Metropolitan Police. Two ceiling panels have been removed from the secretary’s office, which is adjacent to that of DNC chairman Lawrence O’Brien. It is possible to place a surveillance device above those panels that could monitor O’Brien’s office. The five suspects, all wearing surgical gloves, have among them two sophisticated voice-activated surveillance devices that can monitor conversations and telephone calls alike; lock-picks, door jimmies, and an assortment of burglary tools; and $2,300 in cash, most of it in $100 bills in sequence. They also have a walkie-talkie, a shortwave receiver tuned to the police band, 40 rolls of unexposed film, two 35mm cameras, and three pen-sized tear gas guns. Near to where the men are captured is a file cabinet with two open drawers; a DNC source speculates that the men might have been preparing to photograph the contents of the file drawers.
Guard Noticed Taped Door - The arrests take place after a Watergate security guard, Frank Wills, notices a door connecting a stairwell with the hotel’s basement garage has been taped so it will not lock; the guard removes the tape, but when he checks ten minutes later and finds the lock taped once again, the guard calls the police. The police find that all of the stairwell doors leading from the basement to the sixth floor have been similarly taped to prevent them from locking. The door leading from the stairwell to the DNC offices had been jimmied. During a search of the offices, one of the burglars leaps from behind a desk and surrenders. [Washington Post, 6/18/1972] The FBI agents responding to the burglary are initially told that the burglars may have been attempting to plant a bomb in the offices. The “bomb” turns out to be surveillance equipment. [O.T. Jacobson, 7/5/1974 ]
Last Mission for Martinez - One of the burglars, Cuban emigre and CIA agent Eugenio Martinez, will recall the burglary. They have already successfully burglarized a psychiatrist’s office in search of incriminating material on Pentagon Papers leaker Daniel Ellsberg (see September 9, 1971), and successfully bugged the DNC offices less than a month previously (see May 27-28, 1972), but Martinez is increasingly ill at ease over the poor planning and amateurish behavior of his colleagues (see Mid-June 1972). This will be his last operation, he has decided. Team leader E. Howard Hunt, whom Martinez calls by his old code name “Eduardo,” is obviously intrigued by the material secured from the previous burglary, and wants to go through the offices a second time to find more. Martinez is dismayed to find that Hunt has two operations planned for the evening, one for the DNC and one for the campaign offices of Democratic candidate George McGovern. Former CIA agent and current Nixon campaign security official James McCord (see June 19, 1972), the electronics expert of the team, is equally uncomfortable with the rushed, almost impromptu plan. Hunt takes all of the burglars’ identification and puts it in a briefcase. He gives another burglar, Frank Sturgis, his phony “Edward J. Hamilton” ID from his CIA days, and gives each burglar $200 in cash to bribe their way out of trouble. Interestingly, Hunt tells the burglars to keep the keys to their hotel rooms. Martinez later writes: “I don’t know why. Even today, I don’t know. Remember, I was told in advance not to ask about those things.”
Taping the Doors - McCord goes into the Watergage office complex, signs in, and begins taping the doors to the stairwells from the eighth floor all the way to the garage. After waiting for everyone to leave the offices, the team prepares to enter. Gonzalez and Sturgis note that the tape to the basement garage has been removed. Martinez believes the operation will be aborted, but McCord disagrees; he convinces Hunt and the other team leader, White House aide G. Gordon Liddy, to continue. It is McCord’s responsibility to remove the tape once the burglars are inside, but he fails to do so. The team is well into the DNC offices when the police burst in. “There was no way out,” Martinez will recall. “We were caught.” Barker is able to surreptitiously advise Hunt, who is still in the hotel, that they have been discovered. Martinez will later wonder if the entire second burglary might have been “a set-up or something like that because it was so easy the first time. We all had that feeling.” The police quickly find the burglars’ hotel keys and then the briefcase containing their identification. As they are being arrested, McCord, who rarely speaks and then not above a whisper, takes charge of the situation. He orders everyone to keep their mouths shut. “Don’t give your names,” he warns. “Nothing. I know people. Don’t worry, someone will come and everything will be all right. This thing will be solved.” [Harper's, 10/1974; Spartacus Schoolnet, 8/7/2007]
'Third-Rate Burglary' - White House press secretary Ron Ziegler will respond to allegations that the White House and the Nixon presidential campaign might have been involved in the Watergate burglary by calling it a “third-rate burglary attempt,” and warning that “certain elements may try to stretch this beyond what it is.” [Washington Post, 5/1/1973] The Washington Post chooses, for the moment, to cover it as a local burglary and nothing more; managing editor Howard Simons says that it could be nothing more than a crime committed by “crazy Cubans.” [Bernstein and Woodward, 1974, pp. 19]
CIA Operation? - In the weeks and months to come, speculation will arise as to the role of the CIA in the burglary. The Nixon White House will attempt to pin the blame for the Watergate conspiracy on the CIA, an attempt forestalled by McCord (see March 19-23, 1973). In a 1974 book on his involvement in the conspiracy, McCord will write: “The Watergate operation was not a CIA operation. The Cubans may have been misled by others into believing that it was a CIA operation. I know for a fact that it was not.” Another author, Carl Oglesby, will claim otherwise, saying that the burglary is a CIA plot against Nixon. Former CIA officer Miles Copeland will claim that McCord led the burglars into a trap. Journalist Andrew St. George will claim that CIA Director Richard Helms knew of the break-in before it occurred, a viewpoint supported by Martha Mitchell, the wife of Nixon campaign director John Mitchell, who will tell St. George that McCord is a “double agent” whose deliberate blunders led to the arrest of the burglars. No solid evidence of CIA involvement in the Watergate conspiracy has so far been revealed. [Spartacus Schoolnet, 8/2007]
Entity Tags: Nixon administration, Howard Simons, Lawrence O’Brien, James McCord, Martha Mitchell, Richard M. Nixon, Richard Helms, Washington Post, Ron Ziegler, George S. McGovern, Miles Copeland, G. Gordon Liddy, John Mitchell, Frank Sturgis, Carl Oglesby, Bob Woodward, Andrew St. George, Central Intelligence Agency, Carl Bernstein, Democratic National Committee, Daniel Ellsberg, E. Howard Hunt, Eugenio Martinez, Frank Wills
Timeline Tags: Nixon and Watergate, Elections Before 2000
April 15, 1973: Justice Department Officials Confront Nixon about Watergate Conspiracy
Attorney General Richard Kleindienst stays up until 5 a.m. going over the evidence surrounding the Watergate burglary with other Justice Department officials. He and Assistant Attorney General Henry Petersen meet with President Nixon, and tell the president that they both believe White House officials as well as officials of his re-election campaign are involved in the cover-up conspiracy. Kleindienst, who along with Petersen will testify to this before the Senate Watergate Committee (see Mid-August, 1973), will recall that Nixon is “dumbfounded”; Petersen’s recollection is that Nixon seems concerned but calm. Kleindienst openly weeps as he discusses the likelihood that his friend and former superior at the Justice Department, former campaign head John Mitchell, may be involved. Kleindienst will testify that Nixon consoles him: “I don’t think since my mother died when I was a young boy that I ever had an event that has consumed me emotionally with such sorrow, and he was very considerate of my feelings.” Petersen urges Nixon to fire both of his senior aides, H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, because he is certain that their continuation as White House officials will become a “source of vast embarrassment.” Petersen says bluntly that if the Justice Department finds any evidence of Nixon’s own involvement, he will not only resign, but will “waltz it [the information] over to the House of Representatives”—where impeachment proceedings begin. When Petersen asks about Pentagon Papers leaker Daniel Ellsberg (see August 5, 1971), before he can even ask about the burglary of Ellsberg’s psychiatrist’s office (see September 9, 1971), Nixon cuts him off, saying: “I know about that. That is a national security matter. You stay out of that.” [Time, 8/20/1973] Peterson passes along Nixon’s instructions to chief prosecutor Earl Silbert, who accuses Peterson of acting as Nixon’s agent. The two get into a shouting match, and take the dispute to Kleindienst, who informs them that because he is recusing himself from the matter (see April 19, 1973), he cannot settle the issue. [Reeves, 2001, pp. 593]
Entity Tags: Nixon administration, H.R. Haldeman, Earl Silbert, Daniel Ellsberg, Henry Peterson, John Mitchell, Senate Watergate Investigative Committee, John Ehrlichman, Richard Kleindienst, US Department of Justice, Richard M. Nixon
Timeline Tags: Nixon and Watergate
May 18, 1973: Archibald Cox Named Special Prosecutor for Watergate
Archibald Cox. [Source: Bettmann / Corbis]Attorney General Elliot Richardson names former Solicitor General Archibald Cox as the Justice Department’s special prosecutor for Watergate. Cox is officially sworn in on May 25. [Washington Post, 2008] Cox, who served in the Kennedy administration, says: “This is a task of tremendous importance. Somehow, we must restore confidence, honor and integrity in government.” Richardson says Cox’s appointment should allay suspicions that the White House will try to influence the investigation, but, “There wasn’t going to be any influence from the White House anyway.” Cox is not Richardson’s first choice for the job. Judge Harold Tyler turned the job down, not wanting to leave the bench and unsure how much independence he would truly have in conducting the investigation. Former Deputy Attorney General Warren Christopher cited similar concerns over “the requisite independence” of the position in turning down the job. Another choice, retired judge and current Wall Street lawyer David Peck, cited “urgent commitments to clients of long standing” as his reason for not taking the post; Richardson’s fourth choice, Colorado Supreme Court Justice William Erickson, was apparently never asked to take the job. Cox is not considered the best choice by Richardson because he lacks extensive experience in criminal prosecutions; Richardson intends to name a deputy for Cox who has such experience in trial work. Cox is not related to Nixon’s son-in-law, Edward Finch Cox. [Washington Post, 5/19/1973]
Entity Tags: US Department of Justice, David Peck, Archibald Cox, Edward Finch Cox, Harold Tyler, William Erickson, Elliot Richardson, Warren Christopher
Mid-August, 1973: Kleindienst, Petersen Testify before Senate Watergate Committee
Henry Petersen. [Source: Spartacus Educational]Former Attorney General Richard Kleindienst and Assistant Attorney General Henry Petersen testify before the Senate Watergate Committee. Both say they had been disturbed by the amount of White House interference they had gotten over their attempts to investigate the Watergate burglary, particularly from White House aide John Ehrlichman. Kleindienst tells of a phone call from Ehrlichman to Petersen demanding that the Justice Department stop “harassing” Maurice Stans, the former Nixon re-election campaign finance chairman. Kleindienst recalls that he told Ehrlichman he was flirting with an obstruction of justice charge, and threatened to resign “if the president tells me that you have the authority and the power to give specific instructions to people in the Department of Justice.” Ehrlichman reassured Kleindienst that “it will never happen again.” Kleindienst also recalls Ehrlichman coming to him in early 1973 asking for “technical” advice about securing lenient sentences or even presidential pardons for the Watergate burglars (see 2:30 a.m.June 17, 1972). Ehrlichman “did not have much of a knowledge of the criminal justice system,” Kleindienst says, and asked such questions as “What happens when somebody is convicted of a crime?… When are you eligible for a pardon? When do the circumstances arise for executive pardon?” (Ehrlichman has already testified that he never sought any executive clemency for one of the burglars, E. Howard Hunt.) Kleindienst testifies that when he told Petersen of the conversation, Petersen declared that the defendants would almost certainly do “jail time,” and said he would strongly oppose any efforts to grant anyone clemency. Petersen testifies that Kleindienst replied, “Tell those crazy guys over there [at the White House] what you just told me before they do something they will be sorry for.” For his part, Petersen says it struck him most how suspiciously everyone at the White House and the re-election campaign were acting. “There were no records,” he recalls. “Things were destroyed. They didn’t act like innocent people. Innocent people come in and say: ‘Fine, what do you want to know?’ It was not like that.” Petersen says that he and the Justice Department could and would have solved the entire case, and that they had the case 90 percent solved when Archibald Cox was appointed to take over the investigation (see May 18, 1973). “Damn it!” he cries, “I resent the appointment of a special prosecutor!” [Time, 8/20/1973]
Entity Tags: John Ehrlichman, Archibald Cox, E. Howard Hunt, Henry Peterson, Nixon administration, Senate Watergate Investigative Committee, US Department of Justice, Maurice Stans, Richard Kleindienst
June 15, 1974: ’All the President’s Men’ Published
Cover for ‘All the President’s Men.’ [Source: Amazon (.com)]Washington Post reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward publish the book All the President’s Men, documenting their 26-month coverage of the Watergate scandal. The Post will win a Pulitzer Prize for its Watergate reporting and the book will be made into an Oscar-winning film of the same name. Between the book and the film, All the President’s Men will become the touchstone for defining the complex, multilayered Watergate conspiracy. [Washington Post, 1996]
Entity Tags: Washington Post, Carl Bernstein, Bob Woodward
March 25, 1975: FBI Official Wants to ‘Go Public’ with Watergate Information to Change Public Impression that Reporters Solved Case
FBI official R. E. Lewis writes an internal memo suggesting that the FBI disclose “some information from the Watergate investigation aimed at restoring to the FBI any prestige lost during that investigation. He argues, “Such information could also serve to dispel the false impression left by the book All the President’s Men (see June 15, 1974) that its authors, Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, not the FBI, solved the Watergate case.”
FBI Ahead of Reporters - “[A] comparison of the chronology of our investigation with the events cited in All the President’s Men will show we were substantially and constantly ahead of these Washington Post investigative reporters,” Lewis writes. “In essence, they were interviewing the same people we had interviewed but subsequent to our interviews and often after the interviewer had testified before the grand jury. The difference, which contributes greatly to the false image, is that the Washington Post blatantly published whatever they learned (or thought they learned) while we reported our findings to the US attorney and the Department [of Justice] solely for prosecutorial consideration.”
Decision Not to Go Public - The FBI will decide not to make any of its information public, citing ongoing prosecutions. In 2005, Woodward will counter: “What Long didn’t say—and what Felt [FBI deputy director Mark Felt, Woodward’s “Deep Throat”—see May 31, 2005] understood—was that the information wasn’t going anywhere until it was public. The US attorney and the Justice Department failed the FBI, as they folded too often to White House and other political pressure to contain the investigation and prosecution to the Watergate bugging (see 2:30 a.m.June 17, 1972). There was also a failure of imagination on the part of lots of experienced prosecutors, including US Attorney Earl Silbert, who could not initially bring himself to believe that the corruption ran to the top of the Justice Department and the White House. Only when an independent special prosecutor was appointed (see May 18, 1973) did the investigation eventually go to the broader sabotage and espionage matters. In other words, during 1972, the cover-up was working exceptionally well.” [Woodward, 2005, pp. 120-121]
Entity Tags: W. Mark Felt, R. E. Lewis, Earl Silbert, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein, US Department of Justice
May 31, 2005: Felt Revealed as ‘Deep Throat’
W. Mark Felt. [Source: Life Distilled.com]The identity of “Deep Throat,” the Watergate source made famous in Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward’s book All the President’s Men, is revealed to have been W. Mark Felt, who at the time was the deputy director of the FBI. As “Deep Throat,” Felt provided critical information and guidance for Bernstein and Woodward’s investigations of the Watergate conspiracy for the Washington Post. Felt’s identity has been a closely guarded secret for over 30 years; Woodward, who knew Felt, had repeatedly said that neither he, Bernstein, nor then-editor Ben Bradlee would release any information about his source’s identity until after his death or until Felt authorized its revelation. Felt’s family confirms Felt’s identity as “Deep Throat” in an article published in Vanity Fair. Felt, 91 years old, suffers from advanced senile dementia. Felt’s character as the romantic government source whispering explosive secrets from the recesses of a Washington, DC, parking garage was burned into the American psyche both by the book and by actor Hal Holbrook’s portrayal in the 1976 film of the same name. Woodward says that Holbrook’s portrayal captured Felt’s character both physically and psychologically. [Washington Post, 6/1/2005] Bernstein and Woodward release a joint statement after the Vanity Fair article is published. It reads, “W. Mark Felt was Deep Throat and helped us immeasurably in our Watergate coverage. However, as the record shows, many other sources and officials assisted us and other reporters for the hundreds of stories written in the Washington Post.” [Woodward, 2005, pp. 232]
Surveillance Methods to Protect Both Felt and Woodward - Felt used his experience as an anti-Nazi spy hunter for the FBI to set up secret meetings between himself and the young reporter (see August 1972). “He knew he was taking a monumental risk,” says Woodward. Woodward acknowledges that his continued refusal to reveal Felt’s identity has played a key role in the advancement of his career as a journalist and author, as many sources trust Woodward to keep their identities secret as he did Felt’s.
Obscuring the Greater Meaning - Bernstein cautions that focusing on Felt’s role as a “deep background” source—the source of the nickname, which references a popular 1970s pornographic movie—obscures the greater meaning of the Watergate investigation. “Felt’s role in all this can be overstated,” Bernstein says. “When we wrote the book, we didn’t think his role would achieve such mythical dimensions. You see there that Felt/Deep Throat largely confirmed information we had already gotten from other sources.” [Washington Post, 6/1/2005] Felt was convicted in 1980 of conspiring to violate the civil rights of domestic dissidents belonging to the Weather Underground movement in the early 1970s; Felt was pardoned by then-President Ronald Reagan. [Woodward, 2005, pp. 146-147] At that time, Felt’s identity as “Deep Throat” could have been revealed, but was not.
Felt, Daughter Decide to Go Public - The Vanity Fair article is by Felt family lawyer John D. O’Connor, who helped Felt’s daughter Joan coax Felt into admitting his role as “Deep Throat.” O’Connor’s article quotes Felt as saying, “I’m the guy they used to call Deep Throat.” O’Connor says he wrote the article with the permission of both Felt and his daughter. Woodward has been reluctant to reveal Felt’s identity, though he has already written an as-yet unpublished book about Felt and their relationship, because of his concerns about Felt’s failing health and increasingly poor memory. The Washington Post’s editors concluded that with the publication of the Vanity Fair article, they were not breaking any confidences by confirming Felt’s identity as Woodward’s Watergate source. [Washington Post, 6/1/2005]
Endless Speculation - The identity of “Deep Throat” has been one of the enduring political mysteries of the last 30 years. Many observers, from Richard Nixon to the most obscure Internet sleuth, have speculated on his identity. Watergate-era figures, including then-Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Nixon speechwriter Pat Buchanan, Nixon deputy counsel Fred Fielding, Nixon chief of staff Alexander Haig, National Security Council staffers Laurence Lynn and Winston Lord, then-CBS reporter Diane Sawyer, and many others, have been advanced as possibilities for the source. Former White House counsels John Dean and Leonard Garment, two key Watergate figures, have written extensively on the subject, but both have been wrong in their speculations. In 1992, Atlantic Monthly journalist James Mann wrote that “Deep Throat” “could well have been Mark Felt.” At the time, Felt cautiously denied the charge, as he did in his 1979 memoir, The FBI Pyramid. [Woodward, 2005, pp. 153-156; Washington Post, 6/1/2005] In 1999, the Hartford Courant published a story saying that 19-year old Chase Coleman-Beckman identified Felt as “Deep Throat.” Coleman-Beckman had attended a day camp with Bernstein’s son Josh a decade earlier, and Josh Bernstein then told her that Felt was Woodward’s source. Felt then denied the charge, telling a reporter: “No, it’s not me. I would have done better. I would have been more effective. Deep Throat didn’t exactly bring the White House crashing down, did he?” Woodward calls Felt’s response a classic Felt evasion. [Woodward, 2005, pp. 158-159]
Motivated by Anger, Concern over Politicization of the FBI - Woodward believes that Felt decided to become a background source for several reasons both personal and ideological. Felt, who idealized former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, was angered that he was passed over for the job upon Hoover’s death; instead, the position went to L. Patrick Gray, whom Felt considered both incompetent and far too politically aligned with the Nixon White House. The FBI could not become an arm of the White House, Felt believed, and could not be allowed to help Nixon cover up his participation in the conspiracy. He decided to help Woodward and Bernstein in their often-lonely investigation of the burgeoning Watergate scandal. Woodward and Bernstein never identified Felt as anyone other than “a source in the executive branch who had access” to high-level information. Felt refused to be directly quoted, even as an anonymous source, and would not give information, but would merely confirm or deny it as well as “add[ing] some perspective.” Some of Woodward and Felt’s conversations were strictly business, but sometimes they would wax more philosophical, discussing, in the words of the book, “how politics had infiltrated every corner of government—a strong-arm takeover of the agencies by the Nixon White House…. [Felt] had once called it the ‘switchblade mentality’—and had referred to the willingness of the president’s men to fight dirty and for keeps…. The Nixon White House worried him. ‘They are underhanded and unknowable,’ he had said numerous times. He also distrusted the press. ‘I don’t like newspapers,’ he had said flatly.” [Woodward, 2005, pp. 167-215; Washington Post, 6/1/2005]
Entity Tags: Diane Sawyer, W. Mark Felt, Vanity Fair, Ronald Reagan, Carl Bernstein, Weather Underground, Winston Lord, Chase Coleman-Beckman, Alexander M. Haig, Jr., Ben Bradlee, Bob Woodward, Patrick Buchanan, Nixon administration, Washington Post, Laurence Lynn, Fred F. Fielding, Hartford Courant, Henry A. Kissinger, Federal Bureau of Investigation, James Mann, J. Edgar Hoover, John D. O’Connor, Joan Felt, Josh Bernstein, L. Patrick Gray, Leonard Garment, John Dean
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Home » Context of 'August 2002: Top Bush Officials Form Group to Sell Iraq War to Public, Congress, and Allies'
Context of 'August 2002: Top Bush Officials Form Group to Sell Iraq War to Public, Congress, and Allies'
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Between Late 2000 and September 11, 2001: Niger Uranium Documents Allegedly Fabricated
A set of documents is forged implicating Iraq in an attempt to purchase 500 tons of uranium oxide, also known as “yellowcake,” from Niger. [Agence France-Presse, 7/19/2003; Reuters, 7/19/2003; New Yorker, 10/27/2003; Talking Points Memo, 10/31/2003; La Repubblica (Rome), 10/24/2005] It is possible that official stamps and letterhead stolen from the Niger embassy in Rome (see January 2, 2001) are used to fabricate the documents, though a subsequent police investigation suggests that the break-in may have been staged to provide a cover story for the origins of the documents. [Isikoff and Corn, 2006, pp. 88] Material gleaned from real Italian intelligence (SISMI) documents dating back to the 1980s concerning Iraq’s yellowcake purchases from Niger during that period are also incorporated into the set of forged documents. [La Repubblica (Rome), 10/24/2005; San Francisco Chronicle, 10/30/2005] But it is unclear who exactly is responsible for the forgeries. In August 2004, the Financial Times will report that according to Rocco Martino, the Italian information peddler who later tries to sell the documents, the documents are fabricated by SISMI, which passes them on to Martino through embassy employee Laura Montini, a paid SISMI asset. [Financial Times, 8/2/2004] In October 2005, the Italian newspaper La Repubblica will suggest the forgery is done by Montini and fellow embassy employee Zakaria Yaou Maiga under the guidance of Martino and Antonio Nucera, the deputy chief of the SISMI center in Viale Pasteur in Rome. [La Repubblica (Rome), 10/24/2005] In 2006, an official investigation will add support to this account, concluding that Montini and Maiga, motivated by money, were indeed the forgers of the documents. [Sunday Times (London), 4/9/2006] SISMI director Nicolo Pollari will later acknowledge that Martino had worked as a SISMI agent in the past, but deny any SISMI involvement in the Iraq-Niger affair. “[Nucera] offered [Martino] the use of an intelligence asset [Montini]—no big deal, you understand—one who was still on the books but inactive—to give a hand to Martino,” Pollari will explain. Author Craig Unger will observe that the issue is, if Pollari is to be believed, just one friend helping another friend by loaning him an intelligence asset to help disseminate forged documents. Martino has a different explanation: “SISMI wanted me to pass on the documents, but they didn’t want anyone to know they had been involved.” The information is quite contradictory. The Italian newspaper La Repubblica will call Martino “a failed carabiniere and dishonest spy,” and a “double-dealer” who “plays every side of the fence.” But Unger will later note that assets like him are valuable precisely because they lack credibility. “If there were a deep-cover unit of SISMI, it would make sense to hire someone like Rocco,” says former DIA analyst Patrick Lang. “His flakiness gives SISMI plausible deniability. That’s standard tradecraft for the agencies.” Until Martino stops talking to journalists in 2005, he will insist he believed the documents were authentic (see Summer 2004). “I sell information, I admit,” he will tell a London reporter. “But I only sell good information.” [Unger, 2007, pp. 236]
Entity Tags: Rocco Martino, Nicolo Pollari, Laura Montini, La Repubblica, Zakaria Yaou Maiga, Antonio Nucera, Craig Unger, SISMI, Patrick Lang
Timeline Tags: Niger Uranium and Plame Outing
September 20, 2001: Bush Policy Adviser Ledeen Writes that US Must Scourge Middle East until ‘Our Rage’ Is ‘Sated’
Neoconservative author, ad hoc White House foreign policy adviser, and one-time intelligence asset Michael Ledeen, one of the loudest voices for US military expansionism throughout the Middle East (see February 19, 1998 and October 29, 2001), writes that the US must use Iraq as the first battle of a much larger war.
Must Expand Mission to Destroy Governments, Not Merely Terror Organizations - In his book The War Against the Terror Masters: Why It Happened. Where We Are Now. How We’ll Win, Ledeen writes that the US must destroy the governments of the nations that he claims sponsor Islamist terrorism. “First and foremost, we must bring down the terror regimes, beginning with the Big Three: Iran, Iraq, and Syria,” Ledeen writes. “And then we have to come to grips with Saudi Arabia.… Once the tyrants in Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Saudi Arabia have been brought down, we will remain engaged.… We have to ensure the fulfillment of the democratic revolution.… Stability is an unworthy American mission, and a misleading concept to boot. We do not want stability in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and even Saudi Arabia; we want things to change. The real issue is not whether, but how to destabilize.”
US a Force for 'Creative Destruction' - The US’s current mission of battling Islamist terror is “unworthy” of such a militarily powerful nation, Ledeen asserts, and defines its true “historic mission:” “Creative destruction is our middle name, both within our society and abroad. We tear down the old order every day, from business to science, literature, art, architecture, and cinema to politics and the law. Our enemies have always hated this whirlwind of energy and creativity which menaces their traditions (whatever they may be) and shames them for their inability to keep pace.… [W]e must destroy them to advance our historic mission.” The US must be “imperious, ruthless, and relentless,” he continues, until there has been “total surrender” by the Muslim world. “We must keep our fangs bared, we must remind them daily that we Americans are in a rage, and we will not rest until we have avenged our deed, we will not be sated until we have had the blood of every miserable little tyrant in the Middle East, until every leader of every cell of the terror network is dead or locked securely away, and every last drooling anti-Semitic and anti-American mullah, imam, sheikh, and ayatollah is either singing the praises of the United States of America, or pumping gasoline for a dime a gallon on an American military base near the Arctic Circle.”
Buchanan: Ledeen's Statement Not Truly Conservative - Conservative author and commentator Pat Buchanan will write in 2003, “Passages like this owe more to Leon Trotsky than to Robert Taft and betray a Jacobin streak in neoconservatism that cannot be reconciled with any concept of true conservatism.” [American Conservative, 3/24/2003; Unger, 2007, pp. 231-232]
Entity Tags: Bush administration (43), Michael Ledeen
Timeline Tags: Complete 911 Timeline, Events Leading to Iraq Invasion, Neoconservative Influence
October 15, 2001: Italian Intelligence Provides CIA with Report Alleging that Niger Agreed to Sell Iraq Uranium
Italy’s military intelligence service (SISMI) provides Jeff Castelli, the CIA station chief in Rome, with papers documenting an alleged uranium deal between Iraq and Niger. Castelli, who is not permitted to duplicate the papers, writes a summary of them and sends the report to Langley. [New Yorker, 10/27/2003; Knight Ridder, 11/4/2005; La Repubblica (Rome), 11/11/2005]
The allegations - The report includes four allegations:
The report states that Iraq first communicated its interest in purchasing uranium from Niger at least as early as 1999. [US Congress, 7/7/2004] As blogger ERiposte will conclude through his analysis at TheLeftCoaster.Org [ERiposte, 10/31/2005] , none of the documents that are later provided to the US as the basis for this allegation include actual proof of uranium negotiations in 1999. Two of the source documents for this allegation do mention a 1999 visit by Wissam Al-Zahawi to Niger; however, no evidence has ever surfaced suggesting that there were any discussions about uranium during that visit (see February 1999). The first document (possibly authentic) is a letter, dated February 1, 1999, from the Niger embassy in Rome to Adamou Chekou, the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Niger, announcing Zahawie’s trip. It does not mention uranium. (Note that the SISMI report does not mention Al-Zahawi’s trip, it only states that uranium negotiations between the two countries began by at least 1999.) The second document is a letter dated July 30, 1999 from the Niger Ministry of Foreign Affairs to his ambassador in Rome requesting that he contact Zahawie, concerning an agreement signed June 28, 2000 to sell uranium to Iraq. The letter is an obvious forgery because it refers to an event that it describes as taking place 11 months later. [Unknown, n.d.; La Repubblica (Rome), 7/16/2003]
The SISMI report states that in “late 2000,” the State Court of Niger approved an agreement with Iraq whereby Niger would sell Iraq a large quantity of uranium. This allegation appears to be based on a forged document titled “Annex 1,” which was possibly an annex to the alleged uranium agreement. It is evident that this document was forged because it says that the state court “met in the chamber of the council in the palace… on Wednesday, July 7, 2000.” But July 7, 2000 was, in fact, a Friday, not a Wednesday. One of SISMI’s reports to the US, possibly this one, actually reproduces this error. [Unknown, n.d.; La Repubblica (Rome), 7/16/2003; ERiposte, 10/31/2005]
According to the report, Nigerien President Mamadou Tandja approved the agreement and communicated this decision to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. The source for this is apparently a forged letter from the president of Niger to Saddam Hussein, in which the president refers to his authority under the country’s obsolete 1966 constitution. At the time the letter was presumed to have been written, the constitution in effect would have been that of December 26, 1992, which was subsequently revised by national referendum on May 12, 1996 and again by referendum on July 18, 1999. [Unknown, n.d.; Reuters, 3/26/2003; La Repubblica (Rome), 7/16/2003; US Department of State, 9/2005]
The report also alleges that in October 2000, Nigerien Minister of Foreign Affairs Nassirou Sabo informed one of his ambassadors in Europe that Niger had agreed to provide several tons of uranium to Iraq. [Unknown, n.d.; La Repubblica (Rome), 7/16/2003] This is seemingly based on a forged letter that accompanied the alleged uranium sales agreement. The letter, dated October 10, 2000, is stamped as being received in Rome on September 28, 2000—nearly two weeks before the letter was presumably written. Furthermore, there is a problem with the signature. Unlike what is reported in the SISMI papers provided to the CIA, the actual letter is signed by Allele Elhadj Habibou, who left office in 1989. This indicates that someone must have corrected this information, replacing the name of Allele Elhadj Habibou with that of Nassirou Sabo (the minister in October 2000), before the letter was included in this report. [ERiposte, 10/31/2005]
Distribution within US Intelligence Community - After receiving the report from its Rome station, the CIA distributes it to other US intelligence agencies. According to a later Senate investigation, the “CIA, Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), and Department of Energy (DOE) analysts considered the reporting to be ‘possible’ while the Department of State’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR) regarded the report as ‘highly suspect,’ primarily because INR analysts did not believe that Niger would be likely to engage in such a transaction and did not believe Niger would be able to transfer uranium to Iraq because a French consortium maintained control of the Nigerien uranium industry.” [US Congress, 7/7/2004] Sources later interviewed by New Yorker’s Seymour Hersh portray US intelligence analysts’ assessment of the report in slightly harsher terms, saying that they “dismissed [it] as amateurish and unsubstantiated.” [New Yorker, 10/27/2003] “I can fully believe that SISMI would put out a piece of intelligence like that,” a CIA consultant later tells Hersh, “but why anybody would put credibility in it is beyond me.” [New Yorker, 5/17/2004, pp. 227] Langley asks for further clarification from Rome and receives a response three days later (see October 18, 2001). [La Repubblica (Rome), 11/11/2005]
Repeated Dissemination - The documents and reports based on the documents are sent to the CIA at least three separate times. They are also sent to the White House, the US embassy in Rome, British and French intelligence, and Italian journalist Elisabetta Burba of the news magazine Panorama. Each recipient in turn shares the documents, or their contents, with others, creating what author Craig Unger later calls “an echo chamber that gives the illusion that several independent sources had corroborated an Iraq-Niger uranium deal.” [Unger, 2007, pp. 237]
Entity Tags: Bureau of Intelligence and Research, Central Intelligence Agency, Craig Unger, Defense Intelligence Agency, Mamadou Tandja, SISMI, Elisabetta Burba, Nassirou Sabo, Wissam al-Zahawie, Saddam Hussein, Jeff Castelli, US Department of Energy
October 18, 2001: CIA Report Says Allegations about Iraq Contained in Italian Intelligence Report Not Corroborated
The CIA issues a senior executive intelligence brief (SEIB) summarizing a recent report from SISMI (see October 15, 2001), Italy’s military intelligence service, which suggested that Iraq had struck a deal with Niger to purchase uranium. The CIA report, titled “Iraq: Nuclear-Related Procurement Efforts,” notes, “There is no corroboration from other sources that such an agreement was reached or that uranium was transferred.” [US Congress, 7/7/2004] As blogger ERiposte of TheLeftCoaster.Org will point out [ERiposte, 11/4/2005] , there is a discrepancy between this report and the Italian intelligence report it is summarizing. In this report, the CIA states that the uranium purchase deal was approved by the State Court of Niger in “early 2001,” whereas the SISMI report had reported that the approval took place in “late 2000.” The document, upon which this reporting is presumably based, states that the deal was approved by the court on Wednesday July 7, 2000 (which was actually a Friday). [Unknown, n.d.]
Entity Tags: Central Intelligence Agency
Timeline Tags: Events Leading to Iraq Invasion, Niger Uranium and Plame Outing
November 20, 2001: French Mining Consortium Says Niger Could Not Have Diverted Uranium to Iraq
The US Embassy in Niamey, Niger’s capital, disseminates a cable summarizing a recent meeting between the US ambassador and the director general of Niger’s French-led mining consortium. The director general reportedly explained that “there was no possibility” that the government of Niger could have diverted any of the 3,000 tons of uranium produced by the consortium’s two mines. [US Congress, 7/7/2004]
February 5, 2002: CIA Issues Second Report on Alleged Iraqi Efforts to Obtain Uranium
The CIA Directorate of Operations issues a second intelligence report from SISMI, Italy’s military intelligence service, on Iraq’s alleged agreement with Niger to purchase 500 tons of uranium annually. This report provides details that were not included in Italy’s October 15 report (see October 15, 2001), including a “verbatim text” of the accord. (It is not clear what the source is for the “verbatim text”. [ERiposte, 3/6/2006] ) According to the report, the purported agreement was signed by Iraqi and Niger officials during meetings held July 5-6, 2000. [US Congress, 7/7/2004; Knight Ridder, 11/4/2005] The SISMI report also draws attention to a 1999 trip to Niger made by Wissam al-Zahawie (see February 1999), Iraq’s former ambassador to the Vatican, and alleges that its mission was to discuss the future purchase of uranium. This is the first report from SISMI that names al-Zahawie and refers directly to his 1999 trip. (SISMI’s previous report had only stated that negotiations had begun by at least 1999.) This report, as well as the previous report, is based on the forged Niger documents. [New Yorker, 10/27/2003; US Congress, 7/7/2004; ERiposte, 11/3/2005] Analysts at the CIA and the DIA are more impressed with the detail and substance of this second report, but analysts at the Department of State’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR) remain skeptical of the report’s allegations noting that it was unlikely that Niger would sell uranium to Iraq because the Nigeriens would have considered the risk of being caught too great. An INR analyst asks the CIA if the source of the report would submit to a polygraph. A CIA analyst who also asks about the source is told by the DO that the source is “very credible.” [US Congress, 7/7/2004]
Entity Tags: Central Intelligence Agency, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, Defense Intelligence Agency
March 1, 2002: State Department Intelligence Memo Argues It Is ‘Unlikely’ That Iraq Attempted to Purchase Uranium from Niger
While former ambassador Joseph Wilson is still in Africa learning about the supposed Iraq-Niger uranium deal (see February 21, 2002-March 4, 2002), Douglas Rohn, an analyst for the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR), writes an intelligence assessment, titled “Niger: Sale of Uranium to Iraq Is Unlikely,” that disputes recent Italian intelligence reports (see October 15, 2001 and February 5, 2002) suggesting that Iraq attempted to purchase uranium from Niger. The assessment reiterates INR’s view that France controls the uranium industry and “would take action to block a sale of the kind alleged in a CIA report of questionable credibility from a foreign government service.” It adds that though “some officials may have conspired for individual gain to arrange a uranium sale,” Nigerien President Mamadou Tandja’s government would have been unlikely to risk relations with the US and other key aid donors. And it cites the logistical difficulties of a secret transaction requiring “25 hard-to-conceal 10-ton trailers” that would have had to travel 1,000 miles and cross one international border before reaching the sea. “A whole lot of things told us that the report was bogus,” Greg Thielmann, a high-ranking INR official, will later explain to Time magazine. “This wasn’t highly contested. There weren’t strong advocates on the other side. It was done, shot down.” The assessment, drafted in response to interest from the vice president’s office (see (February 13, 2002)), is sent to the White House Situation Room and Secretary of State Colin Powell. [Time, 7/21/2003; US Congress, 7/7/2004, pp. 59; Isikoff and Corn, 2006, pp. 96-97; Unger, 2007, pp. 241]
Entity Tags: Mamadou Tandja, US Department of State, Joseph C. Wilson, Douglas Rohn, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, Greg Thielmann, Colin Powell
Late April or Early May 2002-June 2002: French Intelligence Investigates Purported Uranium Agreement between Iraq and Niger; Determines the Allegation Is Baseless
In part due to pressure from Vice President Cheney, the CIA sends a cable to France’s intelligence agency, the Direction Generale de la Securite Exterieure (DGSE), communicating concerns about intelligence suggesting that Iraq is attempting to purchase uranium from Niger. (Another cable had been sent the year before (see Summer 2001).) Specifically, the CIA says it is concerned about an alleged agreement between Iraq and Niger on the sale of 500 tons of uranium that was signed by Nigerian officials. (In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, DGSE official Alain Chouet will note that the details of this agreement matched those of the forged documents.) [Los Angeles Times, 12/11/2005; Unger, 2007, pp. 241] Niger is a former French colony, and the French keep a tight rein on Niger’s uranium production. Hence, the CIA turns to French intelligence to vet the claim of Nigerien uranium going to Iraq. “The French were managing partners of the international consortium in Niger,” former US ambassador Joseph Wilson will later say. “The French did the actual mining and shipping of [uranium].” [Unger, 2007, pp. 208-209] The CIA asks for an immediate answer about the authenticity of the information. [La Repubblica (Rome), 12/1/2005] In response, the DGSE sends its head of security intelligence, Chouet, to look into the uranium deal. The initial information Chouet receives from the CIA is vague, he will later recall, except for one striking detail: Iraq’s ambassador to the Vatican, Wissam al-Zahawie, made an unusual trip to four African countries in 1999, including Niger. CIA analysts fear the trip may have been a prelude to the uranium deal. But Chouet soon learns that the al-Zawahie trip (see February 1999) had not been secret, as the CIA avers, but had been well covered by, among other news outlets, the local Nigerien press. In addition, French, British, and US intelligence had received routine reports on al-Zawahie’s visits. Chouet, head of a 700-person intelligence unit specializing in weapons proliferation and terrorism, sends an undercover team of five or six men to Niger to check on the security of Niger’s uranium. The investigation produces no evidence that al-Zawahie had even discussed uranium with the Nigeriens. [La Repubblica (Rome), 12/1/2005; Los Angeles Times, 12/11/2005; Unger, 2007, pp. 208-209] Chouet will later recall, “[O]nce back, they told me a very simple thing: ‘the American information on uranium is all bullsh_t.’” [La Repubblica (Rome), 12/1/2005] The French summarize the results of their investigation in a series of formal cables they send to CIA offices in Langley and Paris. Chouet will later tell the Times that they communicated their doubts about the claims in no uncertain terms. “We told the Americans, ‘Bullshi_t. It doesn’t make any sense.’” [La Repubblica (Rome), 12/1/2005; Los Angeles Times, 12/11/2005] Choeut’s formal reports to the CIA use less coarse language, but he later describes them as candid. “We had the feeling we had been heard,” he will recall. [Unger, 2007, pp. 241] The DGSE considers the issue closed. [Unger, 2007, pp. 208-209]
Entity Tags: Richard (“Dick”) Cheney, Joseph C. Wilson, Central Intelligence Agency, Alain Chouet, Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure, Wissam al-Zahawie
Late June 2002: Italian Information Peddler Sells Fake Documents to French Implicating Iraq in the Attempted Purchase of Uranium from Niger
Rocco Martino, an Italian information peddler, attempts to sell a collection of mostly forged documents (though it is not clear precisely what documents these are) to the Direction Generale de la Securite Exterieure (DGSE), France’s intelligence agency for $100,000. (According to Martino, he has been selling documents to the French since 1999 (see June or July 1999).) The documents suggest that Niger agreed to sell uranium to Iraq in 2000. [Los Angeles Times, 2/17/2004; La Repubblica (Rome), 10/24/2005; Knight Ridder, 10/25/2005; Sunday Times (London), 11/6/2005] The French insist on reviewing the documents before there is any exchange of money. [La Repubblica (Rome), 12/1/2005] In a matter of days, French intelligence determines the documents are not authentic. [Los Angeles Times, 12/11/2005] SISMI, Italy’s military intelligence service, is reportedly aware of Martino’s dealing with the French, and may have actually arranged them. [La Repubblica (Rome), 10/24/2005]
Entity Tags: Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure, Rocco Martino, SISMI, Antonio Nucera
August 2002: Top Bush Officials Form Group to Sell Iraq War to Public, Congress, and Allies
White House chief of staff Andrew Card forms the White House Iraq Group, or WHIG, which aims to “educate the public” about the alleged threat from Iraq. WHIG is formed concurrently with the Office of Special Plans (see September 2002). A senior official involved with the group will later describe it as “an internal working group, like many formed for priority issues, to make sure each part of the White House was fulfilling its responsibilities.” [Washington Post, 8/10/2003] According to White House deputy press secretary Scott McClellan, the WHIG is “set up in the summer of 2002 to coordinate the marketing of the [Iraq] war,” and will continue “as a strategic communications group after the invasion had toppled Saddam [Hussein]‘s regime.” McClellan, who will become a full-fledged member of the WHIG after rising to the position of senior press secretary, will write: “Some critics have suggested that sinister plans were discussed at the WHIG meetings to deliberately mislead the public. Not so. There were plenty of discussions about how to set the agenda and influence the narrative, but there was no conspiracy to intentionally deceive. Instead, there were straightforward discussions of communications strategies and messaging grounded in the familiar tactics of the permanent campaign.” [McClellan, 2008, pp. 142] Author Craig Unger will sum up the WHIG’s purpose up more bluntly: “to sell the war.” Members of the group include White House political advisers Karl Rove, Karen Hughes, Mary Matalin, James R. Wilkinson, and Nicholas E. Calio, and policy advisers led by National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, her deputy Stephen Hadley, and Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff, Lewis “Scooter” Libby. They meet weekly in the White House Situation Room. A “strategic communications” task force under the WHIG is charged with planning speeches and writing position papers. [Washington Post, 8/10/2003; Unger, 2007, pp. 241]
Marketing Fear, Idea of Invasion as Reasonable - After Labor Day 2002—and after suitable test marketing—the group launches a full-fledged media marketing campaign. The images and storyline are simple and visceral: imminent biological or chemical attack, threats of nuclear holocaust, Saddam Hussein as a psychopathic dictator who can only be stopped by American military force. A key element of the narrative is forged documents “proving” Iraq sought uranium from Niger (see Between Late 2000 and September 11, 2001, October 15, 2001, October 18, 2001, November 20, 2001, February 5, 2002, March 1, 2002, Late April or Early May 2002-June 2002, and Late June 2002). One of the main objectives is to swing the dialogue ever farther to the right, creating the assumption in the public mind that war with Iraq is a thoughtful, moderate, well-reasoned position, and delegitimizing any opposition. To that end, Cheney stakes out the “moderate” position, with statements like “many of us are convinced that Saddam will acquire nuclear weapons fairly soon” (see August 26, 2002), and neoconservatives such as Michael Ledeen pushing the extremes ever rightward with calls to invade not only Iraq, but Iran, Syria, and Saudi Arabia (see September 20, 2001, August 6, 2002, and September 4, 2002). The real push is delayed until the second week of September. As Card reminds the group, “From a marketing point of view, you don’t introduce new products in August” (see September 6, 2002). The first anniversary of the 9/11 attacks is a perfect opportunity to launch the new campaign (see September 8, 2002). [Unger, 2007, pp. 250-251] Wilkinson, the group’s communications director, is tasked with preparing one of the group’s first public releases, a white paper that will describe the “grave and gathering danger” of Iraq’s “reconstituted” nuclear weapons program. Wilkinson will claim that Iraq “sought uranium oxide, an essential ingredient in the enrichment process, from Africa.” [CounterPunch, 11/9/2005]
'Push[ing] the Envelope' - According to an intelligence source interviewed by the New York Daily News in October 2005, the group, on “a number of occasions,” will attempt “to push the envelope on things.… The [CIA] would say, ‘We just don’t have the intelligence to substantiate that.’” [New York Daily News, 10/19/2005] In 2003, three unnamed officials will tell a Washington Post reporter that the group “wanted gripping images and stories not available in the hedged and austere language of intelligence,” what author and reporter Charlie Savage will call “a stark display of the political benefits that come with the power to control information.” [Savage, 2007, pp. 357] In 2008, McClellan will write of “the heightened rhetoric on Iraq, including unequivocal statements that made things sound more certain than was known.” [McClellan, 2008, pp. 137]
Using Friendly Media Outlets - An important part of the WHIG strategy is to feed their messages to friendly journalists, such as New York Times reporter Judith Miller. James Bamford, in his book A Pretext for War, will write: “First OSP [Office of Special Plans] supplies false or exaggerated intelligence; then members of the WHIG leak it to friendly reporters, complete with prepackaged vivid imagery; finally, when the story breaks, senior officials point to it as proof and parrot the unnamed quotes they or their colleagues previously supplied.” [Bamford, 2004, pp. 325]
Entity Tags: Stephen J. Hadley, Scott McClellan, Saddam Hussein, Nicholas E. Calio, White House Iraq Group, Lewis (“Scooter”) Libby, Condoleezza Rice, Mary Matalin, Andrew Card, Craig Unger, James Bamford, Charlie Savage, Karen Hughes, James R. Wilkinson, Karl C. Rove
Timeline Tags: Events Leading to Iraq Invasion, Domestic Propaganda, Niger Uranium and Plame Outing
August 6, 2002: Prominent Neoconservative Wants to Turn Middle East into ‘Cauldron’ of Violence
On August 4, 2002, retired Lt. Gen. Brent Scowcroft said that if the US invades Iraq: “I think we could have an explosion in the Middle East. It could turn the whole region into a cauldron and destroy the War on Terror” (see October 16, 2001, March 2002, and August 4, 2002). On August 6, prominent neoconservative author and sometime intelligence agent Michael Ledeen, who is an informal White House adviser and a sometimes-vituperative advocate for the US invasion of Iraq, mocks Scowcroft. Writing in his weekly column for the National Review, Ledeen says: “It’s always reassuring to hear Brent Scowcroft attack one’s cherished convictions; it makes one cherish them all the more.… One can only hope that we turn the region into a cauldron, and faster, please. If ever there were a region that richly deserved being cauldronized, it is the Middle East today. If we wage the war effectively, we will bring down the terror regimes in Iraq, Iran, and Syria, and either bring down the Saudi monarchy or force it to abandon its global assembly line to indoctrinate young terrorists. That’s our mission in the war against terror.” [National Review, 8/6/2002; Unger, 2007, pp. 231] Author Craig Unger will later comment: “‘Faster, please,’ became [Ledeen’s] mantra, repeated incessantly in his National Review columns. Rhapsodizing about war week after week, in the aftermath of 9/11, seemingly intoxicated by the grandiosity of his fury, Ledeen became the chief rhetorician for neoconservative visionaries who wanted to remake the Middle East.” [Unger, 2007, pp. 231]
Entity Tags: Brent Scowcroft, Michael Ledeen, Craig Unger
Timeline Tags: Events Leading to Iraq Invasion, Neoconservative Influence
August 26, 2002: Cheney Says Hussein Has WMDs, Must Be Countered
Cheney speaking before the Veterans of Foreign Wars. [Source: White House]In a speech to the Nashville convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Vice President Dick Cheney says Saddam Hussein will “seek domination of the entire Middle East, take control of a great portion of the world’s energy supplies, directly threaten America’s friends throughout the region, and subject the United States or any other nation to nuclear blackmail.” He also states unequivocally that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction. “Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction. There is no doubt that he is amassing them to use against our friends, against our allies, and against us.… What he wants is time, and more time to husband his resources to invest in his ongoing chemical and biological weapons program, and to gain possession of nuclear weapons.… Deliverable weapons of mass destruction in the hands of a terror network, or a murderous dictator, or the two working together constitutes as grave a threat as can be imagined,” he says. “The risks of inaction are far greater than the risk of action.… The Iraqi regime has in fact been very busy enhancing its capabilities in the field of chemical and biological agents, and they continue to pursue the nuclear program they began so many years ago.” Therefore he argues, the answer is not weapons inspections. “Against that background, a person would be right to question any suggestion that we should just get inspectors back into Iraq, and then our worries will be over. Saddam has perfected the game of shoot and retreat, and is very skilled in the art of denial and deception. A return of inspectors would provide no assurance whatsoever of his compliance with UN resolutions.” He also says: “Regime change in Iraq would bring about a number of benefits to the region. When the gravest of threats are eliminated, the freedom-loving peoples of the region will have a chance to promote the values that can bring lasting peace.” [White House, 8/26/2002]
First White House Assertion of Iraq's Nuclear Program - Cheney’s speech marks the first major statement from the White House regarding the Bush administration’s Iraq policy following a flood of criticisms from former officials. Significantly, the speech was not cleared by the CIA or the State Department. [Newsweek, 9/9/2002] Furthermore, Cheney’s comments dismissing the need for the return of inspectors, were not cleared by President Bush, according to White House chief of staff Andrew Card. [Newsweek, 9/9/2002] The speech creates a media stir because it is the first time a senior US official has asserted Iraq has nuclear capabilities with such certainty. The CIA is astonished by the claim. CIA official Jami Miscik will later recall: “He said that Saddam was building his nuclear program. Our reaction was, ‘Where is he getting that stuff from? Does he have a source of information that we don’t know about?’” CIA analysts redouble their efforts to collect and review evidence on Iraq and nuclear weapons, but analysts know very little. [Suskind, 2006, pp. 167-169] Cheney’s assertions are contradicted by a broad base of military experts. [Dean, 2004, pp. 138]
Powell 'Blindsided' by Cheney - Three days after the speech, a State Department source tells CNN that Secretary of State Colin Powell’s view clashes with that which was presented in Cheney’s speech, explaining that the secretary of state is opposed to any military action in which the US would “go it alone… as if it doesn’t give a damn” what other nations think. The source also says that Powell and “others in the State Department were ‘blindsided’ by Cheney’s ‘time is running out’ speech… and were just as surprised as everyone else.” [CNN, 8/30/2002] Author and Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward will later describe Powell as “dumbfounded.” [Roberts, 2008, pp. 145] Cheney did, however, inform President Bush he would be speaking to the VFW. He did not provide Bush a copy of his speech. Bush merely told Cheney, “Don’t get me into trouble.” [Dubose and Bernstein, 2006, pp. 175]
'Off Script' - Current deputy press secretary Scott McClellan will later observe that it was always a tactic of the Iraq campaign strategy for Cheney to “lean a little more forward in his rhetoric than the president.” However, McClellan will go on to say that Cheney did not always “stay on message,” and will blame Cheney’s “deep-seated certitude, even arrogance” that sometimes operates “to the detriment of the president.” Cheney’s assertion to the VFW that it would be pointless to send UN inspectors back to Iraq is, McClellan will reflect, “off script.” Bush wants to continue to “show that he [is] exhausting all diplomatic options” before invading Iraq. [McClellan, 2008, pp. 138]
Entity Tags: Colin Powell, US Department of State, George W. Bush, Central Intelligence Agency, Scott McClellan, Jami Miscik, Richard (“Dick”) Cheney, Bob Woodward
September 2002: ’Office of Special Plans’ Created; ‘Stovepipes’ Questionable Intelligence Reports to Office of Vice President
William Luti. [Source: Helene C. Stikkel / Defense Department]Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Douglas J. Feith and Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, both staunch neoconservatives, rename the Northern Gulf Affairs Office on the Pentagon’s fourth floor (in the seventh corridor of D Ring) the “Office of Special Plans” (OSP) and increase its four-person staff to sixteen. [Knight Ridder, 8/16/2002; Los Angeles Times, 11/24/2002; New Yorker, 5/12/2003; Inter Press Service, 8/7/2003; Tom Paine (.com), 8/27/2003; American Conservative, 12/1/2003; Mother Jones, 1/2004] William Luti, a former navy officer and ex-aide to Vice President Cheney, is put in charge of the day-to-day operations [Guardian, 7/17/2003; Mother Jones, 1/2004] , apparently at the behest of Cheney. Luti was, according to former Defense Intelligence Agency official Patrick Lang, a member of Cheney’s “shadow National Security Council.” [Middle East Policy Council, 6/2004]
Transforming NESA - Luti worked for the Near East and South Asian Affairs desk (NESA) at the Pentagon since mid-2001. Lang later describes NESA as having been “a Pentagon backwater, responsible primarily for arranging bilateral meetings with military counterparts” from various nations. Before the Afghanistan war, NESA worked closely with the Defense Intelligence Agency’s Defense Intelligence Officer (DIO) for the Near East, South Asia, and Counterterrorism. During Luti’s first months at NESA, the DIO was Bruce Hardcastle. The Pentagon dismantled the entire DIO system, partly because of friction between Luti and Hardcastle (see Early 2002). Lang will write, “The roots of the friction between Hardcastle and Luti were straightforward: Hardcastle brought with him the combined wisdom of the professional military intelligence community. The community had serious doubts about the lethality of the threat from Saddam Hussein, the terrorism links and the status of the Iraqi WMD programs. Luti could not accept this. He knew what he wanted: to bring down Saddam Hussein. Hardcastle could not accept the very idea of allowing a desired outcome to shape the results of analysis.” Luti transforms NESA into what Lang will call “a ‘de facto’ arm of the vice president’s office,” and in the process shuts Hardcastle out of NESA (and later OSP) intelligence briefings. Luti does not report to either Feith or Donald Rumsfeld, as his chain of command delineates, but to Cheney’s chief of staff, Lewis “Scooter” Libby. OSP staffer Karen Kwiatkowski later recalls being “shocked” to learn that Luti reports to Libby and not to his putative Pentagon superiors. She will say, “In one of the first staff meetings that I attended there, Bill Luti said, ‘Well, did you get that thing over to Scooter? Scooter wants this, and somebody’s got to get it over to him, and get that up to him right away.’ After the meeting, I asked one of my co-workers, who’d been there longer, ‘Who is this Scooter?’ I was told, ‘That’s Scooter Libby over at the OVP (Office of the Vice President). He’s the Vice President’s chief of staff.’ Later I came to understand that Cheney had put Luti there.” Under Luti, NESA becomes a virtual adjunct to the OSP. [Inter Press Service, 8/7/2003; Mother Jones, 1/2004; Middle East Policy Council, 6/2004]
Strong Neoconservative Influence - The Office of Special Plans is staffed with a tight group of like-minded neoconservative ideologues, who are known advocates of regime change in Iraq. Notably, the staffers have little background in intelligence or Iraqi history and culture. [Salon, 7/16/2003; Inter Press Service, 8/7/2003; American Conservative, 12/1/2003; Mother Jones, 1/2004] Some of the people associated with this office were earlier involved with the Counter Terrorism Evaluation Group, also known as the “Wurmser-Maloof” project (see Shortly After September 11, 2001). They hire “scores of temporary ‘consultants‘… including like-minded lawyers, congressional staffers, and policy wonks from the numerous right-wing think-tanks in the US capital.” Neoconservative ideologues, like Richard Perle, Michael Ledeen, and Newt Gingrich, are afforded direct input into the Office of Special Plans. [Guardian, 7/17/2003; Mother Jones, 1/2004; Vanity Fair, 7/2006, pp. 150] Kwiatkowski later says she saw Ledeen going “in and out of there (OSP) all the time.” [Vanity Fair, 7/2006, pp. 150]
Planning for Post-Saddam Iraq - The official business of Special Plans is to help plan for post-Saddam Iraq. The office’s staff members presumably “develop defense policies aimed at building an international coalition, prepare the secretary of defense and his top deputies for interagency meetings, coordinate troop-deployment orders, craft policies for dealing with prisoners of war and illegal combatants, postwar assistance and reconstruction policy planning, postwar governance, Iraqi oil infrastructure policy, postwar Iraqi property disputes, war crimes and atrocities, war-plan review and, in their spare time, prepare congressional testimony for their principals.” [Insight, 12/2/2003]
Covert Source of 'Alternative' Intelligence - But according to numerous well-placed sources, the office becomes a source for many of the administration’s prewar allegations against Iraq. It is accused of exaggerating, politicizing, and misrepresenting intelligence, which is “stovepiped” to top administration officials who use the intelligence in their policy decisions on Iraq. [Knight Ridder, 8/16/2002; Los Angeles Times, 11/24/2002; New Yorker, 5/12/2003; Inter Press Service, 8/7/2003; Tom Paine (.com), 8/27/2003; American Conservative, 12/1/2003; Mother Jones, 1/2004; Daily Telegraph, 7/11/2004; CNN, 7/11/2004]
'Top Secret' - There are very few news reports in the American mainstream media that report on the office. In fact, the office is reportedly Top Secret. [Bamford, 2004, pp. 308] “We were instructed at a staff meeting that this office was not to be discussed or explained,” Kwiatkowski will later say, “and if people in the Joint Staff, among others, asked, we were to offer no comment.” [American Conservative, 12/1/2003]
Part of a 'Separate Government,' Powell Feels - Colin Powell is said to have felt that Cheney and the neoconservatives in this “Gestapo” office had established what was essentially a separate government. [Washington Post, 4/17/2004] Powell’s former chief of staff, Larry Wilkerson, is even more blunt. “When I say ‘secret cabal,’ I mean ‘secret cabal,’ he says of the White House officials behind the OSP. He compares Cheney, Rumsfeld, and the neoconservatives to the Jacobins, the radical zealots who plunged 18th-century France into the Reign of Terror. “I see them as messianic advocates of American power from one end of the globe, much as the Jacobins in France were messianic advocates of the French Revolution. I don’t care whether utopians are Vladimir Lenin on a sealed train to Moscow or Paul Wolfowitz. You’re never going to bring utopia, and you’re going to hurt a lot of people in the process.” [Unger, 2007, pp. 299-300] Among the claims critics find most troubling about the office are:
Heavy Reliance on Intelligence from Exiles and Defectors - The office relies heavily on accounts from Iraqi exiles and defectors associated with Ahmed Chalabi’s Iraqi National Congress (INC), long considered suspect by other US intelligence agencies. [New Yorker, 5/12/2003; Salon, 7/16/2003; Guardian, 7/17/2003; Inter Press Service, 8/7/2003; Independent, 9/30/2003; Mother Jones, 1/2004] One defector in particular, code-named “Curveball,” provides as much as 98 percent of the intelligence on Iraq’s alleged arsenal of biological weapons. [CNN, 7/11/2004] Much of the information provided by the INC’s sources consists of “misleading and often faked intelligence reports,” which often flow to Special Plans and NESA directly, “sometimes through Defense Intelligence Agency debriefings of Iraqi defectors via the Defense Human Intelligence Service and sometimes through the INC’s own US-funded Intelligence Collection Program, which was overseen by the Pentagon.” [Mother Jones, 1/2004] According to Kwiatkowski, the movement of intelligence from the INC to the Office of Special Plans is facilitated by a Colonel Bruner, a former military aide to Gingrich. [Newsweek, 12/15/2003; Mother Jones, 1/2004; Salon, 3/10/2004] Bruner “was Chalabi’s handler,” Kwiatkowski will tell Mother Jones. “He would arrange meetings with Chalabi and Chalabi’s folks.” [Mother Jones, 1/2004] Kwiatkowski also finds that OSP personnel, along with DIA and CIA officials, are taking part in the debriefing of INC informants. She will recall confronting one DIA officer, John Trigilio, about the practice: “I argued with [Tregilio] after the president’s Cincinnati speech (see October 5, 2002 and October 6, 2002). I told him that the president had made a number of statements that were just not supported by the intelligence. He said that the president’s statements are supported by intelligence, and he would finally say, ‘We have sources that you don’t have.’ I took it to mean the sources that Chalabi was bringing in for debriefing… Trigilio told me he participated in a number of debriefs, conducted in hotels downtown, or wherever, of people that Chalabi brought in. These debriefs had Trigilio from OSP, but also CIA and DIA participated… If [the information] sounded good, it would go straight to the OVP or elsewhere. I don’t put it out of possibility that the information would go straight to the media because of the (media’s) close relationship with some of the neoconservatives. So this information would make it straight out into the knowledge base without waiting for intelligence [analysts] to come by with their qualifications and reservations.” [Middle East Policy Council, 6/2004]
Cherry-Picked Intelligence - The Office of Special Plans purposefully ignores intelligence that undermines the case for war while exaggerating any leads that support it. “It wasn’t intelligence—it was propaganda,” Kwiatkowski will later explain. “They’d take a little bit of intelligence, cherry-pick it, make it sound much more exciting, usually by taking it out of context, often by juxtaposition of two pieces of information that don’t belong together.” [New York Times, 10/24/2002; New Yorker, 5/12/2003; Salon, 7/16/2003; Guardian, 7/17/2003; Inter Press Service, 8/7/2003; Independent, 9/30/2003; Mother Jones, 1/2004] “At the OSP, what they were doing was looking at all the intelligence they could find on WMD. That was the focal point, picking bits and pieces that were the most inflammatory, removing any context that might have been provided in the original intelligence report, that would have caused you to have some pause in believing it or reflected doubts that the intelligence community had, so if the intelligence community had doubts, those would be left out… They would take items that had occurred many years ago, and put them in the present tense, make it seem like they occurred not many years ago… But they would not talk about the dates; they would say things like, ‘He has continued since that time’ and ‘He could do it tomorrow,’ which of course, wasn’t true… The other thing they would do would be to take unrelated events that were reported in totally unrelated ways and make connections that the intelligence community had not made. This was primarily in discussing Iraq’s activities and how they might be related to al-Qaeda or other terrorist groups that might be against us, or against Israel… These kinds of links would be made. They would be made casually, and they would be made in a calculated way to form an image that is definitely not the image that anyone reading the original reports would have. The summaries that we would see from Intelligence did not match the kinds of things that OSP was putting out. So that is what I call propaganda development. It goes beyond the manipulation of intelligence to propaganda development.” [Middle East Policy Council, 6/2004]
No Intelligence Oversight - The OSP bypasses established oversight procedures by sending its intelligence assessments directly to the White House and National Security Council without having them first vetted by a review process involving other US intelligence agencies. [New Yorker, 5/12/2003; Salon, 7/16/2003; Guardian, 7/17/2003; Mother Jones, 1/2004] The people at Special Plans are so successful at bypassing conventional procedures, in part, because their neoconservative colleagues hold key positions in several other agencies and offices. Their contacts in other agencies include: John Bolton, undersecretary of state for arms control and international security; Bolton’s adviser, David Wurmser, a former research fellow on the Middle East at the American Enterprise Institute, who was just recently working in a secret Pentagon planning unit at Douglas Feith’s office (see Shortly After September 11, 2001); Elizabeth Cheney, deputy assistant secretary of state for Near East Affairs; Stephen Hadley, the deputy national security adviser; Elliott Abrams, the National Security Council’s top Middle East aide; and Richard Perle, Newt Gingrich, James Woolsey and Kenneth Adelman of the Defense Policy Board. The office provides very little information about its work to other US intelligence offices. [Salon, 7/16/2003; Guardian, 7/17/2003; Inter Press Service, 8/7/2003]
'Stealth Organization' - Greg Thielmann, the former director of the Strategic, Proliferation and Military Affairs Office at the State Department’s Intelligence Bureau, later says of the OSP: “It was a stealth organization. They didn’t play in the intelligence community proceedings that our office participated in. When the intelligence community met as a community, there was no OSP represented in these sessions. Because, if they had done that, they would have had to subject their views to peer review. Why do that when you can send stuff right in to the vice president?” [Middle East Policy Council, 6/2004; Unger, 2007, pp. 299] Lang will say in January 2004 that what happened was fundamentally different from anything that had happened under previous presidents. Cheney’s staff and allies “behaved as though they had seized control of the government in a ‘silent coup,’” The result, according to Lang, is “a highly corrupted system of intelligence and policymaking, one twisted to serve specific group goals, ends, and beliefs held to the point of religious faith.” [Unger, 2007, pp. 301]
Pressuring Intelligence Analysts - Retired Marine Lieutenant Colonel Dale Davis, who headed the International Programs Department at the Virginia Military Institute until March 2004, and an expert on Middle East affairs, later says he believes intelligence analysts at the CIA and other agencies were pressured indirectly. Davis will say, “By creating the OSP [Office of Special Plans], Cheney was able to say, ‘Hey, look at what we’re getting out of OSP. How come you guys aren’t doing as well? What is your response to what this alternative analysis that we’re receiving from the Pentagon says?’ That’s how you do it. You pressure people indirectly.” Vincent Cannistraro, a former senior counterterrorism official with the CIA, will agree: “Over a long period of time, there was a subtle process of pressure and intimidation until people started giving them what was wanted… When the Senate Intelligence Committee interviewed, under oath, over 100 analysts, not one of them said, ‘I changed my assessment because of pressure.‘… The environment was conditioned in such a way that the analyst subtly leaned toward the conceits of the policymakers… The intelligence community was vulnerable to the aggressiveness of neoconservative policymakers, particularly at the Pentagon and at the VP’s office. As one analyst said to me, ‘You can’t fight something with nothing, and those people had something. Whether it was right or wrong, fraudulent or specious, it almost didn’t make any difference, because the policymakers believed it already, and if you didn’t have hard countervailing evidence to persuade them, then you were at a loss.’” [Middle East Policy Council, 6/2004]
Strong Pro-Israel, Anti-Arab Biases - Lastly, the people involved in Special Plans openly exhibit strong pro-Israel and anti-Arab bias. The problem, note critics, is that the analysis of intelligence is supposed to be apolitical and untainted by ideological viewpoints. [American Conservative, 12/1/2003] According to a CIA intelligence official and four members of the Senate’s Intelligence Committee, Special Plans is the group responsible for the claim Bush will make in his 2003 State of the Union address that Iraq had attempted to procure uranium from an African country (see 9:01 pm January 28, 2003). [Nation, 6/19/2003; Information Clearing House, 7/16/2003]
Personal Grudges against Intelligence Community - The OSP reflects the personal grudges and ill will of many in the Office of the Vice President against the intelligence community, in part because of the CIA’s refusal to give much weight to the claims of Chalabi and the INC. “This had been a fight for such a long period of time, where people were so dug in,” a friend of one of Vice President Cheney’s senior staffers will later reflect. A colleague of the senior staff later says, “They so believed that the CIA were wrong, they were like, ‘We want to show these f_ckers that they are wrong.’” [New Republic, 11/20/2003]
Propaganda - Kwiatkowski will later recall that the OSP generated a large amount of what she terms propaganda, in the form of “talking points” used in briefings and in press conferences. “With the talking points, many of the propagandistic bullets that were given to use in papers for our superiors to inform them—internal propaganda—many of those same phrases and assumptions and tones, I saw in Vice President Cheney’s speeches and the president’s speeches,” she will say. “So I got the impression that those talking points were not just for us, but were the core of an overall agenda for a disciplined product, beyond the Pentagon. Over at the vice president’s office and the [neoconservative news magazine] Weekly Standard, the media, and the neoconservative talking heads and that kind of thing, all on the same sheet of music.” Kwiatkowski identifies Abram Shulsky, a neoconservative academic and recent Pentagon hire, as the source of many of these talking points. [Middle East Policy Council, 6/2004]
Denials, Counter-Accusations after Public Learns of OSP - After the existence of the Office of Special Plans is revealed to the public, the Pentagon will deny that it served as a direct conduit to the White House for misleading intelligence, instead claiming that its activities had been limited to postwar plans for Iraq. [New Yorker, 5/12/2003] And a December 2003 opinion piece published in Insight magazine will call the allegations surrounding the Office of Special Plans the work of conspiracy theorists. [Insight, 12/2/2003]
Entity Tags: Colonel Bruner, Colin Powell, Abram Shulsky, Craig Unger, Office of the Vice President, David Wurmser, Elizabeth (“Liz”) Cheney, Dale Davis, Douglas Feith, Donald Rumsfeld, James Woolsey, John Trigilio, Office of Special Plans, Kenneth Adelman, Stephen J. Hadley, Vincent Cannistraro, Lawrence Wilkerson, Karen Kwiatkowski, Richard Perle, Paul Wolfowitz, Richard (“Dick”) Cheney, Newt Gingrich, Patrick Lang, Greg Thielmann, Elliott Abrams
Timeline Tags: Events Leading to Iraq Invasion, Neoconservative Influence, Domestic Propaganda
September 4, 2002: Neoconservative Michael Ledeen Advocates Overthrow of Iraqi, Iranian, Syrian, and Saudi Arabian Governments
Neoconservative Michael Ledeen argues in a piece published by the Wall Street Journal that the US must not limit the next military strike to Iraq alone. Rather, according to Ledeen, the US “should instead be talking about using all our political, moral, and military genius to support a vast democratic revolution to liberate all the peoples of the Middle East from tyranny.” In addition to Iraq, he says, the governments of Iran, Syria, and Saudi Arabia must also be overthrown. “Stability is an unworthy American mission, and a misleading concept to boot. We do not want stability in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and even Saudi Arabia; we want things to change. The real issue is not whether, but how to destabilize.” [Wall Street Journal, 9/4/2002]
Entity Tags: Michael Ledeen
September 6, 2002: White House Officials Describe How They Plan to Sell Iraq War to Public, Congress, and US Allies
White House officials, in interviews with the New York Times, describe the administration’s strategy to convince the public, Congress, and US allies of the need to confront Iraq. They say the centerpiece of the strategy will be Bush’s September 11 speech at Ellis Island in New York Harbor, which they have been planning since at least June. (The speech will not actually make a case for confronting Iraq. Bush will first make his case to the nation in his October 7 speech (see February 20, 2001).) Explaining why the White House did not launch this effort in August when the administration’s plans came under intense criticism from a number of different quarters, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card tells the New York Times, “From a marketing point of view, you don’t introduce new products in August.” Card is the founding member of the White House Iraq Group (see August 2002 and June 9, 2008), which was formed to “educate the public” on the alleged threat from Iraq. The officials also tell the Times that one of the administration’s goals is for Congress to pass a resolution approving the use of force in Iraq within the next four to five weeks. “In the end it will be difficult for someone to vote against it,” one administration official tells the Times. [New York Times, 9/7/2002] In 2007, author and reporter Charlie Savage will write: “The proposed hurry-up vote on the eve of the first election since 9/11 presented a win-win scenario for the White House: If Democrats voice caution or skepticism about the proposed war resolution (see October 11, 2002), then the GOP could portray them as weak on terrorism ahead of the election, and if Democrats supported the bill, then the Bush-Cheney administration would fortify its powers by eliminating even the suggestion that it might later need to ask for permission to launch any war against Iraq” (see August 2002). By mid-September, Republican Congressional candidates will make Iraq a central issue of their campaigns, proclaiming unwavering support for Bush and attacking their Democratic opponents. In New Mexico, Republican House candidate Mike Pence will say of his opponent, John Arthur Smith, who is still considering whether or not to support the invasion, “While Smith ‘reflects’ on the situation, the possibility of a mushroom cloud hovering over a US city (see September 4, 2002) remains.” In Minnesota, Republican Senate candidate Norm Coleman will attack Democratic incumbent Paul Wellstone for refusing to “stand with the president.” Similar tactics will be used in campaigns around the country. As a result, almost every Democrat facing re-election joins Republicans in supporting the war authorization. Savage will write, “Thus, even though the Founders wanted Congress to make the final decision about when the United States should go to war, lawmakers abdicated their responsibility and delegated their power to the president.” [USA Today, 10/13/2002; Savage, 2007, pp. 156-157]
Entity Tags: Norm Coleman, Mike Pence, Andrew Card, White House Iraq Group, Bush administration (43), John Arthur Smith, Charlie Savage, Paul Wellstone
Timeline Tags: Events Leading to Iraq Invasion, Domestic Propaganda
September 8, 2002: White House Marketing Group Launches Iraq PR Blitz
The White House Iraq Group (WHIG—see August 2002) launches its Iraq marketing campaign with a blitz of the Sunday morning talk shows. Vice President Dick Cheney appears on NBC (see September 8, 2002 and September 8, 2002), Secretary of State Colin Powell on Fox (see September 8, 2002), Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on CBS (see September 8, 2002), and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice on CNN (see September 8, 2002). Rice is the first to use the characterization, “We don’t want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud” (see September 4, 2002), but President Bush and his senior officials repeat the phrase over and over in the following days. Author Craig Unger will note “Cheney’s most Machiavellian flourish” in having all four officials cite “evidence” of Iraq’s nuclear program, suspicious aluminum tubes, and attribute the information to the New York Times. Cheney and the others are referring to a story by the Times’ Judith Miller and Michael Gordon (see September 8, 2002) that Iraq had tried “to buy thousands of specially designed aluminum tubes” that American experts believe could be used in centrifuges to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons. The story is attributed to “unnamed administration sources;” Miller and Gordon do not inform their readers that the story comes from Cheney’s office. In essence, Cheney planted disinformation in the New York Times, then cited the Times article to prove his contention. Gordon will later insist that he and Miller had to pry that story out of the administration, but Unger will note that it is hard to equate Gordon’s contention with four of the administration’s highest officials going on television simultaneously to spread the story and cite the Times article. Furthermore, because of the scheduling practices on the four networks, it appears that the four officials’ simultaneous appearances were arranged in advance. As the Times is the flagship newspaper of the US press, over 500 other newspapers and broadcast outlets pick up on the Times story and the officials’ appearances, giving the story tremendous visibility throughout the world. [Unger, 2007, pp. 252-254]
Entity Tags: George W. Bush, Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell, CNN, CBS News, Craig Unger, Judith Miller, Donald Rumsfeld, Richard (“Dick”) Cheney, NBC News, New York Times, Michael Gordon, White House Iraq Group, Fox News
September 19, 2002: Reports that Aluminum Tubes May Not Be for Nuclear Use Ignored
Eleven days after the New York Times published a front-page article detailing Iraq’s supposed attempt to procure components for creating nuclear weapons (see August 2002 and September 8, 2002), the Washington Post’s Joby Warrick has a story published, “Evidence on Iraq Challenged; Experts Question if Tubes Were Meant for Weapons Program,” that disputes the Times’ article and questions whether the components—aluminum tubes—are indeed intended for nuclear use. Warrick cites “a report by independent experts” from the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) questioning the conclusion that the tubes must be for use in constructing nuclear weapons (see September 23, 2002). The ISIS report also notes that the Bush administration is trying to rein in dissent among its own analysts about how to interpret the evidence provided by the aluminum tubes. “By themselves, these attempted procurements are not evidence that Iraq is in possession of, or close to possessing, nuclear weapons,” the report says. “They do not provide evidence that Iraq has an operating centrifuge plant or when such a plant could be operational.” In recent days, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice has told television viewers that the tubes “are only really suited for nuclear weapons programs, centrifuge programs” (see September 8, 2002). But Warrick’s story is buried on page 18 of the Post and widely ignored. Author Craig Unger will later write: “No one paid attention. Once the conventional wisdom had been forged, mere facts did not suffice to change things.” [Washington Post, 9/19/2002; Unger, 2007, pp. 254]
Entity Tags: Institute for Science and International Security, Condoleezza Rice, Craig Unger, New York Times, Joby Warrick, Washington Post
January 30-February 4, 2003: Powell’s Top Aide Refuses to Include Material From White House Reports in Powell’s Upcoming UN Speech
Colin Powell’s chief of staff, Larry Wilkerson, meets with other administration officials and aides at the CIA’s Langley headquarters in a conference room down the hall from George Tenet’s office to review two White House reports on Iraq’s alleged illegal activities. The team includes George Tenet, John McLaughlin, William Tobey and Robert Joseph from the National Security Council, and John Hannah from Vice President Cheney’s office. (Tenet had intended to leave for a Middle East junket, but Powell stopped him from going, insisting on his input and participation.) The two dossiers are meant to serve as the basis for Powell’s upcoming speech at the UN (see February 5, 2003). One of the reports—a 48-page dossier that had been provided to Powell’s office a few days earlier (see January 29, 2003)—deals with Iraq’s supposed arsenal of weapons of mass destruction while the other, a slightly more recent report totaling some 45 pages, addresses the issue of Iraq’s history of human rights violations and its alleged ties to Islamic militant groups. Shortly after Wilkerson begins reviewing the 48-page report on Iraq’s alleged WMD, it becomes apparent that the material is not well sourced. [Vanity Fair, 5/2004, pp. 230; Isikoff and Corn, 2006, pp. 177; Unger, 2007, pp. 276]
Dossiers Contain Large Amounts of White House Misinformation - Wilkerson has been given three dossiers: about 90 pages of material on Iraq’s WMD, on its sponsorship of terrorism, and on its violation of human rights. Wilkerson is not well informed about the variety of machinations surrounding the WMD issue, but it doesn’t take him long to realize there is a problem. The CIA has an array of analysts with decades of experience studying Iraq’s weapons programs, rigorous peer review procedures to prevent unreliable intelligence from making it into the final assessments, and a large budget devoted to Middle East intelligence. But the CIA had not produced Wilkerson’s dossiers. They had been prepared by Libby, Cheney’s chief of staff. Wilkerson is taken aback by such a breach of procedure, especially on such a critically important matter of state. Former NSC counterterrorism chief Richard Clarke later says, “It’s very strange for the Vice President’s senior adviser to be… saying to the Secretary of State, ‘This is what you should be saying.’” As Wilkerson goes through the material, he realizes, in Unger’s words, “just how aggressively Cheney and his men have stacked the deck.” Wilkerson first reads the 48-page WMD dossier, and is not impressed. “It was anything but an intelligence document,” he later says. “It was, as some people characterized it later, sort of a Chinese menu from which you could pick and choose.”
Cherry-Picked Intel - Wilkerson will continue, “When we had a question, which was virtually every line, John Hannah from the vice president’s office would consult a huge clipboard he had.” Hannah, a former official of the pro-Israel Washington Institute for Near East Policy, had coauthored the dossier with Libby. He had also worked closely with Libby in the White House Iraq Group (see August 2002). Hannah cites the source of each questionable datum Wilkerson asks about, and Wilkerson and his team set about tracking down the original sources of each item. They spend hours poring over satellite photos, intercepts of Iraqi military communications, and various foreign intelligence reports. Wilkerson and his team find that in almost every instance, the original sources do not support the conclusions drawn in the dossier. “Once we read the entirety of those documents,” he will recall, “we’d find that the context was not quite what the cherry-picked item imparted.” Wilkerson believes that much of the dossier’s intelligence comes from Ahmed Chalabi and the Iraqi National Congress (see 1992-1996), a belief given credence by the fact that Hannah had served as the chief liaison between the INC and Cheney’s office. As Wilkerson will later recall, “It was clear the thing was put together by cherry-picking everything from the New York Times to the DIA.” Reporters Michael Isikoff and David Corn will later write that “a Defense Intelligence Agency report was not being used properly, a CIA report was not being cited in a fair way, a referenced New York Times article was quoting a DIA report out of context,” and will confirm that much of the material had come from the Iraqi National Congress. [US News and World Report, 6/9/2003; Isikoff and Corn, 2006, pp. 177; Unger, 2007, pp. 276-278]
Incomprehensible 'Genealogy' - According to Wilkerson, Feith’s office had strung together an incomprehensible “genealogy.” “It was like the Bible,” Wilkerson later recalls. “It was the Old Testament. It was ‘Joe met Bob met Frank met Bill met Ted met Jane in Khartoum and therefore we assume that Bob knew Ralph.’ It was incredible.” [Isikoff and Corn, 2006, pp. 180-181]
Link to Office of Special Plans? - Powell’s staff is also “convinced that much of it had been funneled directly to Cheney by a tiny separate intelligence unit set up by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld” (see Summer 2002 and September 2002), Vanity Fair magazine later reports. [Vanity Fair, 5/2004, pp. 230]
Cheney's Aides Attempt to Reinsert Deleted Material - Soon Wilkerson’s team faces the same difficulties with the dossier on Iraq’s connections to Islamist terrorism that it faced with the White House-prepared dossier on Iraq’s WMD (see January 30-February 4, 2003). Tenet has tried manfully to give the administration what it so desperately wants—proof of Iraq’s connections to the 9/11 attacks. The CIA’s unit on Osama bin Laden had gone through 75,000 pages of documents and found no evidence of any such connections. Vice President Cheney and his staffers have always insisted that such a connection does indeed exist. Their strongest claim to that effect is the supposed meeting between 9/11 hijacker Mohamed Atta and an Iraqi intelligence agent in April 2000 (see September 14, 2001). This claim has long been discredited (see September 18, 2001), but Cheney’s people keep attempting to bring it back into play (see February 1, 2003-February 4, 2003). [US News and World Report, 6/9/2003; Bamford, 2004, pp. 370-1; Vanity Fair, 5/2004, pp. 230; Unger, 2007, pp. 276-278]
Information about Australian Software Erroneous - One item in the White House’s original draft alleged that Iraq had obtained software from an Australian company that would provide Iraqis with sensitive information about US topography. The argument was that Iraqis, using that knowledge, could one day attack the US with biological or chemical weapons deployed from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). But when Powell’s intelligence team investigated the issue, it became “clear that the information was not ironclad” (see October 1, 2002). [US News and World Report, 6/9/2003]
'Idiocy' - “We were so appalled at what had arrived from the White House,” one official later says. [Vanity Fair, 5/2004, pp. 230] As another senior official (likely Wilkerson) will later recall, “We went through that for about six hours—item by item, page by page and about halfway through the day I realized this is idiocy, we cannot possibly do this, because it was all bullsh_t—it was unsourced, a lot of it was just out of the newspapers, it was—and I look back in retrospect—it was a [Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Douglas] Feith product, it was a Scooter Libby product, it was a Vice President’s office product. It was a product of collusion between that group. And it had no way of standing up, anywhere, I mean it was nuts.” [Bamford, 2004, pp. 368-9]
Starting from Scratch - After several hours, Wilkerson and Tenet are both so fed up that they decide to scrap the WMD dossier entirely. “Let’s go back to the NIE,” Tenet suggests, referring to the recently released National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq (see October 1, 2002). Wilkerson is not aware of how badly the NIE had been, in author Craig Unger’s words, “tampered with,” but Powell should have known, as his own intelligence bureau in the State Department had disputed key elements of the NIE. [Bamford, 2004, pp. 368-9; Vanity Fair, 5/2004, pp. 230; Isikoff and Corn, 2006, pp. 177-178; Unger, 2007, pp. 276-278]
Entity Tags: Richard (“Dick”) Cheney, Office of the Vice President, National Security Council, Richard A. Clarke, White House Iraq Group, Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Robert G. Joseph, William H. Tobey, Lawrence Wilkerson, John Hannah, Michael Isikoff, Iraqi National Congress, Colin Powell, Central Intelligence Agency, Ahmed Chalabi, Craig Unger, David Corn, Donald Rumsfeld, John E. McLaughlin, George J. Tenet, Douglas Feith
May 29, 2003: Libby Calls for Information about Wilson’s Trip to Niger
According to the subsequent investigation by special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald, Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff, Lewis “Scooter” Libby, calls the State Department to ask about the results of former ambassador Joseph Wilson’s trip to Niger (see February 21, 2002-March 4, 2002). Libby is particularly interested in learning who the “unnamed ambassador” was, and who sent Wilson to Niger. [Raw Story, 11/2/2005; Dubose and Bernstein, 2006, pp. 216] According to the New York Times, Libby asks an undersecretary of state, presumably Marc Grossman (see 12:00 p.m. June 11, 2003), for the information. [New York Times, 2006] Grossman later testifies that Libby did indeed contact him for the information (see January 23-24, 2007). Grossman is allegedly involved in a nuclear smuggling ring (see (1997-2002) and Summer 2001), and knows Wilson’s wife, Valerie Plame Wilson, is investigating the ring (see Summer-Autumn 2001).
Libby Contacts Bolton? - However, according to a 2005 report by the news Web site Raw Story, Libby asks Undersecretary of State John Bolton for the information regarding Wilson’s mission to Niger. Bolton refers the query to Grossman, who directs the State Department’s intelligence arm, the Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR), to prepare a report concerning Wilson and his trip (see June 10, 2003). Within days, Grossman informs Libby of Wilson’s identity. The INR memo is written as part of a work-up order orchestrated by the White House Iraq Group (WHIG—see August 2002). [Raw Story, 11/2/2005; CounterPunch, 11/9/2005]
CIA Tells Bolton of Plame Wilson's Identity - Bolton also learns that Wilson’s wife, Valerie Plame Wilson, is a CIA official. He learns this from his chief of staff, Frederick Fleitz, who also serves as a senior CIA Weapons Intelligence, Nonproliferation, and Arms Control official. Bolton tells his aide David Wurmser, who is working concurrently in Cheney’s office. Wurmser passes the information along to another Cheney aide, John Hannah. Around June 11, Fleitz will inform Libby of Plame Wilson’s status (see (June 11, 2003)).
Bolton's Connections to CIA - According to Raw Story, Bolton has “his own connections to agents at the CIA who share… his political philosophy on Iraq.” Greg Thielmann, a former director at the State Department who was assigned to Bolton and entrusted with providing him with intelligence information, will later say of Bolton, “He surrounded himself with a hand-chosen group of loyalists, and found a way to get CIA information directly.” [Raw Story, 11/2/2005]
Entity Tags: US Department of State, Valerie Plame Wilson, White House Iraq Group, Richard (“Dick”) Cheney, Marc Grossman, Weapons Intelligence, Nonproliferation, and Arms Control, Joseph C. Wilson, Lewis (“Scooter”) Libby, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, Central Intelligence Agency, Frederick Fleitz, David Wurmser, John Hannah, John R. Bolton, Greg Thielmann
June 23, 2003: Libby Outs CIA Official to New York Times Reporter
Lewis “Scooter” Libby, chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, “outs” a covert CIA agent to a reporter. Libby tells New York Times reporter Judith Miller, who has been a reliable outlet for administration leaks and disinformation (see December 20, 2001, August 2002, and May 1, 2003), that Valerie Plame Wilson is a CIA official. Plame Wilson is a covert CIA officer currently working at CIA headquarters on WMD issues in the Middle East. More importantly for Libby, she is the husband of former US ambassador Joseph Wilson, who went to Niger to verify the administration’s claims that Iraq had attempted to purchase uranium there (see February 21, 2002-March 4, 2002), and who has become an outspoken critic of the administration’s war policies both on television and in print (see July 6, 2003).
Libby Blames CIA for 'Slanted Intell' - Miller meets Libby at the Old Executive Building. Her focus is, as she has written in her notebook, “Was the intell slanted?” meaning the intelligence used to propel the US into war with Iraq. Libby is “displeased,” she notes, by what he calls the “selective leaking” of information to the press by the CIA. He calls it a “hedging strategy,” and Miller quotes him in her notes: “If we find it, fine, if not, we hedged.” Miller feels that Libby is trying to use the interview to set up a conflict between the White House and the CIA. He says that reports suggesting senior administration officials may have selectively used some intelligence reports to bolster their claims about Iraq while ignoring others are “highly distorted.” The thrust of his conversation, Miller will later testify (see September 30, 2005), is to try to blame the CIA for the intelligence failures leading up to the Iraq invasion. The CIA is now trying to “hedge” its earlier assessments, Libby says. He accuses it of waging what he calls a “perverted war” against the White House over the issue, and is clearly angry that it failed to, in his view, share its “doubts about Iraq intelligence.” He tells Miller, “No briefer came in [after the State of the Union address] and said, ‘You got it wrong, Mr. President.’”
Joseph Wilson and 'Valerie Flame' - Libby refers to “a clandestine guy,” meaning Wilson, and tells Miller that Cheney “didn’t know” about him, attempting to disassociate Cheney from any responsibility for Wilson’s trip. In her notes, Miller writes, “wife works in bureau?” and she will later testify that she is sure Libby is referring to the CIA. In her notes, she also writes the words “Valerie Flame,” a misspelled reference to Wilson’s wife. [New York Times, 10/16/2005; Vanity Fair, 4/2006; Unger, 2007, pp. 310; MSNBC, 2/21/2007]
No Story from Interview - Miller does not write a story based on the conversation with Libby. [New York Times, 10/16/2005; New York Times, 10/16/2005]
Libby a 'Good-Faith Source' - Miller will later recall Libby as being “a good-faith source who was usually straight with me.” [New York Times, 10/16/2005] She will note that she was not accustomed to interviewing high-level White House officials such as him. For Miller, Libby was “a major figure” and “one of the most senior people I interviewed,” she will say. “I never interviewed the vice president, never met the president, and have met Karl Rove only once. I operated at the wonk level. That is why all of this stuff that came later about my White House spin is such bullsh_t. I did not talk to these people.… Libby was not a social friend, like Richard Perle.” [Vanity Fair, 4/2006]
Initial Incorrect Dating by Times - In October, the New York Times will initially, and incorrectly, identify the date of this conversation as June 25. [New York Times, 10/8/2005]
Entity Tags: Judith Miller, Richard (“Dick”) Cheney, Lewis (“Scooter”) Libby, Joseph C. Wilson, Valerie Plame Wilson, Central Intelligence Agency
Timeline Tags: Domestic Propaganda, Niger Uranium and Plame Outing
July 2, 2003: Libby Discloses NIE Information to New York Times Reporter
New York Times reporter David Sanger interviews Lewis Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff, about Secretary of State Colin Powell’s UN presentation in February (see February 5, 2003). As he and Cheney have planned (see August 2002, June 27, 2003, July 7-8, 2003, 8:30 a.m. July 8, 2003, (July 11, 2003), July 14 or 15, 2003, and July 18, 2003), Libby discloses classified information from the October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate to Sanger (see October 1, 2002). [US District Court for the District of Columbia, 3/5/2004 ; US Department of Justice, 2/2007 ; Marcy Wheeler, 2/12/2007]
Entity Tags: David Sanger, Colin Powell, Richard (“Dick”) Cheney, Lewis (“Scooter”) Libby
July 20, 2003: New York Times Reporter Blames Failure to Find WMD on Pentagon Ineptitude
The New York Times’s Judith Miller, an outlet for information planted in the media by the Bush administration in he run-up to the Iraq war (see December 20, 2001, August 2002, September 8, 2002, and September 18, 2002), now reports the number of suspected WMD sites in Iraq as 578—a figure far lower than the 1,400 she had reported during the first hours of the war (see March 19-20, 2003). Miller blames the US failure to find any WMD on Pentagon ineptitude: “chaos, disorganization, interagency feuds, disputes within and among various military units, and shortages of everything from gasoline to soap.” Deeper in the story, she writes, “To this day, whether Saddam Hussein possessed such weapons when the war began is unknown.” [New York Times, 7/20/2003; Rich, 2006, pp. 101]
Entity Tags: US Department of Defense, Judith Miller, Bush administration (43)
Timeline Tags: Events Leading to Iraq Invasion, Iraq under US Occupation, Domestic Propaganda, Niger Uranium and Plame Outing
August 4, 2003: Wall Street Journal: Bush Never Used Phrase ‘Imminent Threat’
A Wall Street Journal op-ed claims that President Bush never claimed the Iraqis posed an “imminent threat” with their putative WMD programs, and that former ambassador Joseph Wilson is unfairly “moving the goalposts” by saying that the threat posed by Iraq’s WMD never passed what they call the “imminent threat test.” As far back as September 2001, after the attacks on New York and Washington, the Bush administration began claiming that Iraq posed a serious threat to the US (see September 11, 2001-March 17, 2003, Shortly After September 11, 2001, September 14, 2001, August 2002, and September 6, 2002). Bush had apparently characterized Iraq as an “imminent threat” even before becoming president (see May 17, 2000). Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has used the term “imminent threat” (see September 18, 2002), as have other members of the administration, such as press secretary Ari Fleischer, communications chief Dan Bartlett, and Defense Policy Board chief Richard Perle. Vice President Dick Cheney had publicly threatened Iraq with military action as far back as December 2001 (see December 11, 2001). Bush had included Iraq as one of the now-infamous “Axis of Evil” in early 2002 (see January 29, 2002). And Bush, Cheney, and top White House officials had characterized Iraq and Saddam Hussein as a threat since March 2002 (see March 24, 2002, August 15, 2002, August 20, 2002, August 26, 2002, Fall and Winter 2002, September 7, 2002, September 8, 2002, September 8, 2002, September 12, 2002, September 13, 2002, September 18, 2002, September 19, 2002, September 24, 2002, September 26, 2002, October 1, 2002, October 1, 2002, October 3, 2002, October 7, 2002, October 7, 2002, January 10, 2003, and March 6, 2003). Wilson will later observe, “While the Journal may have been technically correct that the president had not uttered those exact words, he [and his top officials] walked right up to the phrase.” He will note that Bush’s “staff and administration allies, of course, had been less concerned about splitting hairs as they promoted the invasion.” [Wilson, 2004, pp. 367-368]
Entity Tags: Donald Rumsfeld, Ari Fleischer, Dan Bartlett, Richard Perle, Wall Street Journal, Joseph C. Wilson, Richard (“Dick”) Cheney, George W. Bush
January 22, 2004: Grand Jury Subpoenas White House Records
The federal grand jury investigating the leak of Valerie Plame Wilson’s covert CIA identity subpoenas a large amount of White House records, including Air Force One telephone logs from the week before Plame Wilson’s public outing (see July 14, 2003); records created in July 2003 by the White House Iraq Group (WHIG—see August 2002), a White House public relations group tasked with crafting a public relations strategy to market the Iraq war to the public; a transcript of press secretary Ari Fleischer’s press briefing in Nigeria currently missing from the White House’s Web site (see 3:20 a.m. July 12, 2003); a list of guests at former President Gerald Ford’s July 16, 2003 birthday reception; and records of Bush administration officials’ contacts with approximately 25 journalists and news media outlets. The journalists include Robert Novak, the columnist who outed Plame Wilson, Newsday reporters Knut Royce and Timothy Phelps (see July 21, 2003), five Washington Post reporters including Mike Allen and Dana Priest (see September 28, 2003 and October 12, 2003), Time magazine’s Michael Duffy (see 11:00 a.m. July 11, 2003), NBC’s Andrea Mitchell (see July 8, 2003 and October 3, 2003), MSNBC’s Chris Matthews (see July 21, 2003), and reporters from the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and the Associated Press. The subpoenas will be accompanied by a January 26 memo from White House counsel Alberto Gonzales that will set a January 29 deadline for production of the subpoenaed documents and records. Gonzales will write that White House staffers will turn over records of any “contacts, attempted contacts, or discussion of contacts, with any members of the media concerning [former ambassador Joseph] Wilson, his trip, or his wife, including but not limited to the following media and media personnel.” White House spokeswoman Erin Healy later says, “The president has always said we would fully comply with the investigation, and the White House counsel’s office has directed the staff to fully comply.” White House press secretary Scott McClellan will say: “It’s just a matter of getting it all together.… At this point, we’re still in the process of complying fully with those requests. We have provided the Department of Justice investigators with much of the information and we’re continuing to provide them with additional information and comply fully with the request for information.” [US District Court for the District of Columbia, 1/22/2004; US District Court for the District of Columbia, 1/22/2004; Newsday, 3/5/2004; Washington Post, 3/6/2004]
Entity Tags: Chris Matthews, US Department of Justice, Bush administration (43), Valerie Plame Wilson, Wall Street Journal, White House Iraq Group, Ari Fleischer, Time magazine, Alberto R. Gonzales, Andrea Mitchell, Scott McClellan, Timothy Phelps, Newsday, Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr, Erin Healy, Dana Priest, Knut Royce, Robert Novak, NBC News, Michael Duffy, Associated Press, New York Times, MSNBC, Mike Allen
March 5, 2004: Libby Lies to Grand Jury
Lewis “Scooter” Libby, the former chief of staff for Vice President Dick Cheney, testifies under oath before the grand jury investigating the leak of CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson’s identity (see December 30, 2003 and January 2004). According to the indictment that will later be issued against Libby (see October 28, 2005), he commits perjury during his testimony. [US Department of Justice, 3/5/2004 ; MSNBC, 2/21/2007; Washington Post, 7/3/2007] Libby is questioned by special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, who is aided by deputy special counsels Ron Roos, Peter Zeidenberg, and Kathleen Kedian. At the beginning of the questioning, Fitzgerald ensures that Libby understands the circumstances that constitute perjury.
Denies Being Source for Columnist - Fitzgerald asks Libby about his involvement as a source for columnist Robert Novak, who revealed Plame Wilson’s secret CIA status in a column (see July 14, 2003). Libby denies being a source for Novak.
Admits Learning about Plame Wilson's CIA Status from Cheney - He admits that Cheney told him that Joseph Wilson’s wife was a CIA officer: while discussing Wilson’s trip to Niger (see February 21, 2002-March 4, 2002), Libby says of Cheney: “And in the course of describing this he also said to me in sort of an off-hand manner, as a curiosity, that his wife worked at the CIA, the person who—whoever this person was. There were no names at that stage so I didn’t know Ambassador Wilson’s name at that point, or the wife’s name.” Libby also admits that he knew Plame Wilson worked at the “functional office” of the CIA that handled the Iraq WMD issue.
Libby 'Forgot' He Already Knew about Plame Wilson - Later in the interview, Fitzgerald asks again if it is “fair to say that [Cheney] had told you back in June, June 12 or before… that his wife worked in the functional office of counterproliferation of the CIA (see (June 12, 2003)). Correct?” Libby answers, “Yes, sir.” Fitzgerald then asks: “So when you say, that after we learned that his wife worked at the agency, that became a question. Isn’t it fair to say that you already knew it from June 12 or earlier?” Libby then answers: “I believe by, by this week I no longer remembered that. I had forgotten it. And I believe that because when it was told to me on July 10, a few days after this article, it seemed to me as if I was learning it for the first time. When I heard it, I did not think I knew it when I heard.” Libby is referring to his claim that he originally learned of Plame Wilson’s identity from NBC reporter Tim Russert (see July 10 or 11, 2003), a claim that Russert will strongly deny (see February 7-8, 2007). [US Department of Justice, 3/5/2004 ]
Claims Not to Have Discussed Plame Wilson until after Novak's Column Published - Fitzgerald asks Libby if he recalls the question of whether the possibility that Plame Wilson sent her “husband on a junket” (see July 7, 2003 or Shortly After), and whether he discussed it with Cheney. Libby replies: “I don’t recall the conversation until after the Novak piece. I don’t recall it during the week of July 6. I recall it after the Novak… after the Novak article appeared.” Fitzgerald, obviously unconvinced by Libby’s claim, asks, “And are you telling us under oath that from July 6 to July 14 you never discussed with Vice President Cheney whether Mr. Wilson’s wife worked at the CIA?” Libby responds: “No, no, I’m not saying that. On July 10 or 11 I learned, I thought anew, that the wife—that the reporters were telling us that the wife worked at the CIA. And I may have had a conversation with the vice president either late on the 11th or on the 12th in which I relayed that reporters were saying that.” Libby is lying by claiming he never discussed Plame Wilson with Cheney or other White House officials between July 6 and July 14 (see July 7, 2003 or Shortly After, July 7-8, 2003, July 8, 2003, 12:00 p.m. July 7, 2003, and July 10 or 11, 2003). [US Department of Justice, 3/5/2004 ; National Journal, 1/12/2007]
Denies Learning of State Department Memo until Late September 2003 - Libby also denies learning of the State Department’s interest in the Wilson trip and in Wilson’s wife until after the investigation into Plame Wilson’s identity became public on September 28, 2003, “a couple days after that,” he says. “I don’t have any recollection of an INR [Bureau of Intelligence and Research, the State Department’s intelligence bureau] document prior to that date.” Libby is lying; he learned about the State Department’s inquiry into the Wilson trip, and Plame Wilson’s CIA status, much earlier (see 12:00 p.m. June 11, 2003). He also denies asking the State Department’s Marc Grossman for information on Wilson’s Niger trip, which is most likely another lie (see May 29, 2003). And he claims not to remember if he learned from Grossman that Plame Wilson was a CIA official.
Denies Talking to CIA Official - Libby also claims not to remember discussing Plame Wilson with Robert Grenier, the CIA’s Iraq mission manager. “I don’t think I discussed Wilson’s wife’s employment with, with Mr. Grenier,” he testifies. “I think if I discussed something it was what they knew about the request about Mr., about Mr. Wilson. I don’t recall the content of the discussion.” Asked “if there was an urgency to the conversation” with Grenier, Libby replies, “I recall that I was reaching Mr. Grenier—I was trying to reach Mr. McLaughlin [John McLaughlin, then the CIA’s deputy director, who spoke to Cheney the day before about Plame Wilson—see 12:00 p.m. June 11, 2003) and couldn’t, and spoke instead to Mr. Grenier. And so if I did that instead of just waiting for Mr. McLaughlin, it was probably something that was urgent in the sense that my boss, the vice president, wanted, wanted to find something out. Not, not necessarily in the real world, but he wanted an answer and usually we try and get him the answer when we can.” Libby did indeed meet with Grenier, and quizzed him about Plame Wilson (see 2:00 p.m. June 11, 2003).
Denies Leaking Name to Post Reporter - Libby claims not to be sure if he was a source for a June 2003 article by Washington Post reporter Walter Pincus (see June 12, 2003), but says he is sure he did not divulge Plame Wilson’s identity to him. “I have no recollection of having discussed it with Mr. Pincus and I don’t think I did,” Libby testifies. He acknowledges that his own notes, entered into evidence by Fitzgerald, show that he discussed the Pincus article with Cheney before it was published. Libby also denies revealing Plame Wilson’s identity to two New York Times reporters, David Sanger and James Risen.
Challenges Wilson's Characterization of Iraq-Niger Claims - Using language similar to that he and other members of Cheney’s staff have used in press conferences and to individual reporters, Libby says that Joseph Wilson’s questioning of the Iraq-Niger claims were ill-informed, and that Wilson was wrong to speculate that Cheney had deliberately ignored the evidence that those claims were false to insist that Iraq had an active nuclear weapons program and therefore constituted a danger to the US (see March 24, 2002, August 2002, March 16, 2003, and July 6-10, 2003). Libby says of Wilson’s op-ed in the New York Times (see July 6, 2003), “It’s a, it’s a bad article.” He admits to being angry over the article, then changes it to being “concerned because it didn’t seem to me an accurate portrayal of the facts.… Upset’s a fair word, I guess.” He admits to discussing the Wilson op-ed with Cheney shortly after its publication, though he is unsure of the exact date of that discussion (see July 6-10, 2003, July 7-8, 2003, 8:30 a.m. July 8, 2003, and Late Afternoon, July 12, 2003). Libby acknowledges that notations on a copy of the Wilson op-ed are in Cheney’s handwriting (see July 7, 2003 or Shortly After). [US Department of Justice, 3/5/2004 ]
Entity Tags: Robert Grenier, Robert Novak, Walter Pincus, Valerie Plame Wilson, US Department of State, Richard (“Dick”) Cheney, Ron Roos, Peter Zeidenberg, Tim Russert, Marc Grossman, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, David Sanger, John E. McLaughlin, James Risen, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, Kathleen Kedian, Lewis (“Scooter”) Libby, Joseph C. Wilson
Summer 2004: Bush Foreign Policy Dominated by Small Core of Insular, Ill-Informed Advisers
Former Defense Intelligence Agency analyst Patrick Lang writes that, in his opinion, a “small group of people who think they are the ‘bearers’ of a uniquely correct view of the world… sought to dominate the foreign policy of the United States in the Bush 43 administration, and succeeded in doing so through a practice of excluding all who disagreed with them. Those they could not drive from government they bullied and undermined until they, too, had drunk from the vat.” (Lang correlates the phrase “drunk from the vat” with the common metaphor of “drinking the Kool-Aid,” a particularly nasty turn of phrase sourced from the 1978 Jonestown massacre in Guyana. The phrase now means, Lang explains, “that the person in question has given up personal integrity and has succumbed to the prevailing group-think that typifies policymaking today.”) The result is the war in Iraq, Lang argues, with steadily rising body counts and no clear end in sight.
'Walking Dead' Waiting for Retirement - Lang notes that senior military officers have said that the war’s senior strategist, General Tommy Franks, “had drunk the Kool-Aid,” and many intelligence officers have told Lang that “they too drank the Kool-Aid and as a result consider themselves to be among the ‘walking dead,’ waiting only for retirement and praying for an early release that will allow them to go away and try to forget their dishonor and the damage they have done to the intelligence services and therefore to the republic.” Lang writes that the US intelligence community has been deeply corrupted, bent on serving “specific group goals, ends, and beliefs held to the point of religious faith” and no longer fulfilling its core mission of “describing reality. The policy staffs and politicals in the government have the task of creating a new reality, more to their taste.… Without objective facts, decisions are based on subjective drivel. Wars result from such drivel. We are in the midst of one at present.”
Shutting out Regional Experts - There is little place in Bush administration policy discussions for real experts on the Middle East, Lang writes: “The Pentagon civilian bureaucracy of the Bush administration, dominated by an inner circle of think-tankers, lawyers, and former Senate staffers, virtually hung out a sign, ‘Arabic Speakers Need Not Apply.’ They effectively purged the process of Americans who might have inadvertently developed sympathies for the people of the region. Instead of including such veterans in the planning process, the Bush team opted for amateurs brought in from outside the executive branch who tended to share the views of many of President Bush’s earliest foreign policy advisors and mentors. Because of this hiring bias, the American people got a Middle East planning process dominated by ‘insider’ discourse among longtime colleagues and old friends who ate, drank, talked, worked, and planned only with each other. Most of these people already shared attitudes and concepts of how the Middle East should be handled. Their continued association only reinforced their common beliefs.” The Bush administration does not countenance dissent or open exchange and discussion of opposing beliefs. The Bush policymakers behave, Lang writes, as if they have seized power in a ‘silent coup,’ treating outsiders as political enemies and refusing to hear anything except discussion of their own narrow, mutually shared beliefs.
Using INC Information - Beginning in January 2001, the Bush administration began relying heavily on dubious intelligence provided by Ahmed Chalabi and his Iraqi National Congress (INC—see January 30, 2001). The INC began receiving State Department funds in what some White House officials called the “Information Collection Program.” While the US intelligence community had little use for Chalabi, considering him an unreliable fabricator (see 1992-1996), he had close ties with many in the administration, particularly in the office of the vice president and in the senior civilian leadership of the Pentagon (see 1960s, 1985, and 1990-1991). Lang writes that while the INC excelled in providing Iraqi defectors with lurid, usually false tales, “what the program really did was to provide a steady stream of raw information useful in challenging the collective wisdom of the intelligence community where the ‘War with Iraq’ enthusiasts disagreed with the intelligence agencies.” The office of the vice president created what Lang calls “its own intelligence office, buried in the recesses of the Pentagon, to ‘stovepipe’ raw data to the White House, to make the case for war on the basis of the testimony of self-interested emigres and exiles” (see August 2002). From working as the DIA’s senior officer for the Middle East during the 1991 Gulf War and after, Lang knows from personal experience that many neoconservative White House officials believe, as does Vice President Cheney, that it was a mistake for the US to have refrained from occupying Baghdad and toppling Saddam Hussein in 1991 (see August 1992). Lang calls some of these officials “deeply embittered” and ready to rectify what they perceive as a grave error. [Middle East Policy Council, 6/2004]
Entity Tags: Richard (“Dick”) Cheney, Defense Intelligence Agency, Bush administration (43), Ahmed Chalabi, Iraqi National Congress, Thomas Franks, Office of the Vice President, US Department of State, Patrick Lang
Timeline Tags: US International Relations
March 15, 2005: Veteran Bush Adviser Named to Conduct Outreach to Islamic World; Immediately Takes Six-Month Leave
The Bush administration appoints veteran Bush adviser Karen Hughes as the undersecretary of state for public diplomacy. Her main job will be to craft an administration marketing and public relations policy that will reach out to the Islamic and Arab worlds, and to convince Muslims and Arabs that the US is indeed their friend (see August 2002). But Hughes is immediately granted six months of personal leave before facing Senate confirmation in the fall. And Hughes’s staff will include no Muslims. As a result, a high-level US official warns that “the gap between rhetoric and reality” will undermine the US’s credibility in its outreach program. Hughes’s deputy, Dina Powell, is not expected to take her position until at least May. The new initiative is at least partially sparked due to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report criticizing the administration for failing to develop a policy to improve the US image in the rest of the world. “[R]ecent polling data show that anti-Americanism is spreading and deepening around the world,” the report finds. “Such anti-American sentiments can increase foreign public support for terrorism directed at Americans, impact the cost and effectiveness of military operations, weaken the United States’ ability to align with other nations in pursuit of common policy objectives, and dampen foreign publics’ enthusiasm for US business services and products.” Another US official says the dearth of Muslims in the administration is worrisome. (Powell is Egyptian-American, but is a Christian, not a Muslim. The few officials of Arab descent in the Bush administration are, by and large, Christians.) “It’s very important for American Muslims to be involved, as they’re an important conduit to the wider Islamic world and they should be speaking out,” that official says. “But American Muslims generally feel they’re not included like other communities. We should be talking to them, as they have a lot of knowledge of the region.” Thomas Carothers of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace says, “You can do Muslim outreach without Muslims and it doesn’t mean Dina Powell can’t be effective, but the administration has not made much effort to integrate Muslim Americans in this effort.” Carothers says many in the administration confuse public diplomacy with marketing. “There’s deep confusion within the administration about what public diplomacy means,” he says. “For some, it’s simply selling America’s image in the world. For others, it’s something deeper that has to do with creating a partnership between America and Muslim countries to replace the current antagonism.… The administration is convinced that if only the Muslim world understood us better they’d like us more, whereas many Muslims feel it’s precisely because they understand us that they’re unhappy.” [Washington Post, 4/18/2005; Rich, 2006, pp. 165]
Entity Tags: Karen Hughes, Bush administration (43), Dina Powell, Government Accountability Office, US Department of State, Thomas Carothers
Before October 19, 2005: Second Cheney Aide Cooperating with Plame Wilson Investigation
David Wurmser, an aide to Vice President Dick Cheney, begins cooperating with the investigation into the exposure of Valerie Plame Wilson as a CIA agent. This follows the news that another Cheney aide, John Hannah, is also cooperating (see Before October 17, 2005). The news that Wurmser is cooperating comes from sources close to the investigation. He is expected to provide special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald with evidence that the leak of Plame Wilson’s identity was part of a coordinated effort to discredit her husband, war critic Joseph Wilson (see June 2003, June 3, 2003, June 11, 2003, June 12, 2003, June 19 or 20, 2003, July 6, 2003, July 6-10, 2003, July 7, 2003 or Shortly After, 8:45 a.m. July 7, 2003, 9:22 a.m. July 7, 2003, July 7-8, 2003, July 11, 2003, (July 11, 2003), July 12, 2003, July 12, 2003, July 18, 2003, October 1, 2003, April 5, 2006, and April 9, 2006). Wurmser is Cheney’s adviser on Middle East affairs, and formerly served as an assistant to then-Undersecretary of State John Bolton (see May 29, 2003). The sources say Wurmser is cooperating in order to negate potential criminal charges for his role in exposing Plame Wilson’s identity. Wurmser was a key member of the White House Iraq Group (WHIG—see August 2002), the propaganda group that operated primarily out of Cheney’s office. The sources say that in June 2003, Wurmser and Hannah were ordered by their superiors in Cheney’s office to leak Plame Wilson’s name and CIA identity in an attempt to discredit her husband, Joseph Wilson. In 2004, Wurmser was questioned by the FBI for his role in divulging classified national security information to Israel, an investigation that included Hannah and several prominent neoconservatives in the Defense Department. Wilson says: “John Hannah and David Wurmser, mid-level political appointees in the vice president’s office, have both been suggested as sources of the leak.… Mid-level officials, however, do not leak information without the authority from a higher level.” [Raw Story, 10/19/2005]
Entity Tags: Valerie Plame Wilson, David Wurmser, John Hannah, Joseph C. Wilson, White House Iraq Group, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, Richard (“Dick”) Cheney
November 28, 2005: Media Critic: Woodward’s Career Traced from Outsider to ‘Access Journalist’ in Plame Wilson Investigation
Washington Post media critic Howard Kurtz profiles Bob Woodward, the Post reporter and managing editor who has gone from trailblazing investigative reporter during the Watergate days (see June 15, 1974) to protecting Bush administration sources and lambasting the Plame Wilson investigation while concealing his own involvement as a leak recipient (see November 15-17, 2005 and November 16-17, 2005). “Three decades older and millions of dollars richer, Woodward still has plenty of secret sources, but they work in the highest reaches of the Bush administration,” Kurtz writes. “They are molding history rather than revealing Watergate-style corruption. Some have even used the press to strike back against a critic of their war by revealing the identity of a CIA operative. And the public is no longer as enamored of reporters and their unnamed informants.… In today’s polarized political atmosphere, Woodward’s journalistic methods have been assailed by those who view him as dependent on the Bush inner circle for the narratives that drive his bestsellers.” Kurtz quotes Post executive editor Leonard Downie, Jr. as saying that Woodward “has gone from being someone who was on the outside to someone who has such access, who’s famous, who’s recognized on the street, who’s treated by celebrities and very high officials as an equal.… [H]is access has produced a lot of information about the inner workings of this White House, the Clinton White House, the first Bush administration, and documents, actual documents, that nobody else has gotten.” Downie says that Woodward has admitted to withholding newsworthy information for his books, and has promised to write in a more timely fashion for the Post when he receives such information. But Kurtz then quotes journalism professor Jay Rosen: “Woodward for so long was a symbol of adversarial journalism because of the Watergate legend. But he really has become an access journalist, someone who’s an insider.” David Gergen, a Harvard professor and editor at US News and World Report, says of Woodward: “I do think that Bob’s politics have changed some over the years. He’s much more sympathetic to the establishment, especially the Republican establishment.” Mary Matalin, a former adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney, says: “There is a really deep respect for his work, and a deep desire by [President Bush] to have a contemporaneous, historically accurate account. The president rightly believed that Woodward, for good and ill, warts and all, would chronicle what happened. It’s in the White House’s interest to have a neutral source writing the history of the way Bush makes decisions. That’s why the White House gives him access.” [Washington Post, 11/28/2005] Author and media critic Frank Rich will note that “some of what Woodward wrote was ‘in the White House’s interest’ had to be the understatement of the year. Dubious cherry-picked intelligence from the Feith-WHIG conveyor belt (see August 2002) ended up in Plan of Attack (see Summer 2003) before that information was declassified.… No wonder Matalin thought Woodward had done ‘an extraordinary job.’ The WHIG gang had spun him silly.” [Rich, 2006, pp. 192]
Entity Tags: Howard Kurtz, Bush administration (43), Bob Woodward, Clinton administration, Frank Rich, Leonard Downie, Jr., Washington Post, Jay Rosen, David Gergen, Mary Matalin, Richard (“Dick”) Cheney
June 9, 2008: Senate Report Ignores White House Propaganda Group
The recently released Senate Intelligence Committee report on misleading, exaggerated, and inaccurate presentations of the prewar Iraqi threat by the Bush administration (see June 5, 2008) leaves out some significant material. The report says that the panel did not review “less formal communications between intelligence agencies and other parts of the executive branch.” The committee made no attempt to obtain White House records or interview administration officials because, the report says, such steps were considered beyond the scope of the report. Washington Post reporter Walter Pincus notes that “[o]ne obvious target for such an expanded inquiry would have been the records of the White House Iraq Group (WHIG), a group set up in August 2002 by then-White House Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr.” WHIG (see August 2002) was composed of, among other senior White House officials, senior political adviser Karl Rove; the vice president’s chief of staff, Lewis “Scooter” Libby; communications strategists Karen Hughes, Mary Matalin, and James Wilkinson; legislative liaison Nicholas Calio; and a number of policy aides led by National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and her deputy, Stephen Hadley.
WHIG Led Marketing of War - Scott McClellan, the former White House press secretary, recently wrote in his book What Happened that WHIG “had been set up in the summer of 2002 to coordinate the marketing of the war to the public.… The script had been finalized with great care over the summer [for a] “campaign to convince Americans that war with Iraq was inevitable and necessary.” On September 6, 2002, Card hinted as much to reporters when he said, “From a marketing point of view, you don’t introduce new products in August” (see September 6, 2002). Two days later, the group scored its first hit with a front-page New York Times story about Iraq’s secret purchase of aluminum tubes that, the story said, could be used to produce nuclear weapons (see September 8, 2002). The information for that story came from “senior administration officials” now known to be members of WHIG. The story was the first to make the statement that “the first sign of a ‘smoking gun’ [proving the existence of an Iraqi nuclear weapons program] may be a mushroom cloud” (see September 4, 2002); that same morning, the same message was repeated three times by various senior administration officials on the Sunday talk shows (see September 8, 2002, September 8, 2002, and September 8, 2002). WHIG did not “deliberately mislead the public,” McClellan claimed in his book, but wrote that the “more fundamental problem was the way [Bush’s] advisers decided to pursue a political propaganda campaign to sell the war to the American people.… As the campaign accelerated,” caveats and qualifications were downplayed or dropped altogether. Contradictory intelligence was largely ignored or simply disregarded.”
Records Perusal Would 'Shed Light' - If indeed the White House “repeatedly presented intelligence as fact when it was unsubstantiated, contradicted, or even nonexistent,” as committee chairman John D. Rockefeller (D-WV) has said, then an examination of WHIG’s records would, Pincus writes, “shed much light” on the question. [Washington Post, 6/9/2008]
Entity Tags: New York Times, Karen Hughes, John D. Rockefeller, James R. Wilkinson, Condoleezza Rice, Bush administration (43), Andrew Card, Karl C. Rove, Mary Matalin, Senate Intelligence Committee, Stephen J. Hadley, Walter Pincus, White House Iraq Group, Nicholas E. Calio, Scott McClellan, Lewis (“Scooter”) Libby
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Home » Entities » Robert Bevelacqua
Profile: Robert Bevelacqua
Robert Bevelacqua was a participant or observer in the following events:
Early 2003: Analysts Repeat Talking Points about Iraqi WMD While Personally Dismayed at Lack of Evidence
Former Green Beret Robert Bevelacqua, a Fox News military analyst and a part of the Pentagon’s propaganda operation to promote the Iraq war (see April 20, 2008 and Early 2002 and Beyond), is, along with other analysts, briefed about Iraq’s purported stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction. When he asks his briefer about “smoking gun” proof, the briefer admits, “We don’t have any hard evidence.” Bevelacqua and the other analysts are alarmed by the concession. Another analyst, retired Army lieutenant colonel Robert Maginnis, who works in the Pentagon for a military contractor, is at the same briefing. Maginnis later confirms Bevelacqua’s recollection, saying that he felt “very disappointed” and that he and the other analysts were being “manipulated” to believe in weapons that were not proven to exist. Yet Bevelacqua, Maginnis, and other analysts are firm in their on-air insistence that these weapons do indeed exist. Bevelacqua has started a new defense contracting business, the wvc3 Group, and hopes to win lucrative government contracts. “There’s no way I was going to go down that road and get completely torn apart,” he will later say. “You’re talking about fighting a huge machine.” [New York Times, 4/20/2008]
Entity Tags: Fox News, Bush administration (43), US Department of Defense, wvc3 Group, Robert Maginnis, Robert Bevelacqua
Timeline Tags: US Military, Events Leading to Iraq Invasion, Domestic Propaganda
April 21, 2003: Nation Magazine Finds Military Analysts Have Ideological, Financial Interests in Promoting War
Barry McCaffrey. [Source: NBC]The Nation examines the use of so-called “military analysts” by the broadcast news media, retired generals and high-ranking officers brought on camera to share their knowledge and expertise regarding the invasion of Iraq. The report finds that, like Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and many other administration officials and supporters, the retired military analysts have consistently taken a pro-military, pro-administration slant that has led many of them to make consistently wrong judgments and analyzes. It will be five years before the New York Times exposes the Pentagon propaganda operation in which many of these analysts take part (see April 20, 2008 and Early 2002 and Beyond).
Ideological and Financial Interests in Promoting the War - While many of them indeed have what one analyst, retired Lieutenant General Barry McCaffrey, calls “a lifetime of experience and objectivity,” many of them also have what the report terms as “ideological or financial stakes in the war. Many hold paid advisory board and executive positions at defense companies and serve as advisers for groups that promoted an invasion of Iraq.” As a result, the report says, these analysts’ objectivity must be questioned. McCaffrey and his colleague, retired Colonel Wayne Downing, both NBC analysts, are both on the advisory board of the Committee for the Liberation of Iraq, a lobbying group formed to bolster public support for the invasion. Its mission is to “engage in educational advocacy efforts to mobilize US and international support for policies aimed at ending the aggression of Saddam Hussein,” and it deliberately reaches out to influence reporting in both the US and European media. Downing has also served as an unpaid adviser to Ahmed Chalabi’s Iraqi National Congress, a prime source of the fraudulent propaganda and disinformation that provided a rationale for the war (see June 1992 and (1994)). NBC viewers are unaware of McCaffrey’s and Downing’s connections to these pro-war organizations.
McCaffrey and IDT - Neither are they aware of McCaffrey’s seat on the board of four defense firms—Mitretek, Veritas Capital, Raytheon Aerospace, and Integrated Defense Technologies (IDT)—all which have multimillion-dollar defense contracts. IDT is of particular interest, as stock analysts believe that its currently floundering financial state could be remedied by hefty government contracts. McCaffrey has been an outspoken critic of Rumsfeld and his war policies, but his primary objection is his repeated statement that “armor and artillery don’t count” enough in the offensive. He recently told an MSNBC audience, “Thank God for the Abrams tank and… the Bradley fighting vehicle,” and added that the “war isn’t over until we’ve got a tank sitting on top of Saddam’s bunker.” In March 2003, IDT received over $14 million in contracts relating to Abrams and Bradley machinery parts and support hardware.
Downing and Metal Storm - Downing is a board member of Metal Storm Ltd, a ballistics-technology company with both US and Australian defense contracts. According to its executive director, Metal Storm’s technologies will “provide some significant advantage” in the type of urban warfare being fought in Iraq.
Fox News and wvc3 - Fox News analysts Lieutenant Colonel William Cowan and Major Robert Bevelacqua are CEO and vice president, respectively, of the wvc3group, a defense consulting firm that serves as a liaison between arms companies and the US government. The firm recently signed a contract to promote military aviation equipment produced by a New Zealand firm. The firm promotes itself by advising potential customers of its inside contacts with the US military and the Defense Department. A message on its Web site, augmented by a sound file of loud gunfire, reads, “We use our credibility to promote your technology.” Another Fox analyst, Major General Paul Vallely, represents several information-technology firms. Vallely is most valuable, says Fox bureau chief Kim Hume, as a commentator on psychological operations.
Little Concern at the Networks - The networks are relatively uninterested in any potential conflicts of interest or possible promotions of ideological or financial agendas. Elena Nachmanoff, vice president of talent development at NBC News, dismisses any such concerns: “We are employing them for their military expertise, not their political views.” She says that the analysts play influential roles behind the cameras at NBC, helping producers decide on what to report and how to report it. But, she says, defense contracts are “not our interest.” Hume says that Fox “expect[s] the analysts to keep their other interests out of their commentary, or we stop using them.” Hume admits that Fox has never severed its connection with any analyst, though it is aware of Cowan’s, Bevelacqua’s, and Vallely’s ties to their respective defense firms. Interestingly, Vallely, the expert on so-called “psyops” warfare, developed a concept he called “MindWar,” a psychological propaganda strategy that uses, in his words, “electronic media—television and radio” in the “deliberate, aggressive convincing of all participants in a war that we will win that war.” Nation reporters Daniel Benaim, Priyanka Motaparthy, and Vishesh Kumar muse, “With the televised version of Operation Iraqi Freedom, we may be watching his theory at work—and at a tidy profit, too.” [Nation, 4/21/2003]
Entity Tags: The Nation, Raytheon, Priyanka Motaparthy, Veritas Capital, William Cowan, wvc3 Group, Vishesh Kumar, Wayne Downing, Robert Bevelacqua, NBC, Donald Rumsfeld, Daniel Benaim, Elena Nachmanoff, Committee for the Liberation of Iraq, Barry McCaffrey, Ahmed Chalabi, Bush administration (43), New York Times, Paul Vallely, Iraqi National Congress, Fox News, MSNBC, Metal Storm Ltd, Mitretek, Kim Hume, Integrated Defense Technologies
Timeline Tags: US Military, Iraq under US Occupation, Domestic Propaganda
April 20, 2008: Pentagon Domestic Propaganda Campaign Revealed; Relies on ‘Military Analysts’
Former NBC analyst Kenneth Allard. [Source: New York Times]The New York Times receives 8,000 pages of Pentagon e-mail messages, transcripts and records through a lawsuit. It subsequently reports on a systematic and highly orchestrated “psyops” (psychological operations) media campaign waged by the Defense Department against the US citizenry, using the American media to achieve their objectives. At the forefront of this information manipulation campaign is a small cadre of retired military officers known to millions of TV and radio news audience members as “military analysts.” These “independent” analysts appear on thousands of news and opinion broadcasts specifically to generate favorable media coverage of the Bush administration’s wartime performance. The group of officers are familiar faces to those who get their news from television and radio, billed as independent analysts whose long careers enable them to give what New York Times reporter David Barstow calls “authoritative and unfettered judgments about the most pressing issues of the post-Sept. 11 world.” However, the analysts are not nearly as independent as the Pentagon would like for Americans to believe. Barstow writes: “[T]he Bush administration has used its control over access and information in an effort to transform the analysts into a kind of media Trojan horse—an instrument intended to shape terrorism coverage from inside the major TV and radio networks.… These records reveal a symbiotic relationship where the usual dividing lines between government and journalism have been obliterated.”
Administration 'Surrogates' - The documents repeatedly refer to the analysts as “message force multipliers” or “surrogates” who can be counted on to deliver administration “themes and messages” to millions of Americans “in the form of their own opinions.” According to the records, the administration routinely uses the analysts as, in Barstow’s words, “a rapid reaction force to rebut what it viewed as critical news coverage, some of it by the networks’ own Pentagon correspondents.” When news articles revealed that US troops in Iraq were dying because of inadequate body armor (see March 2003 and After), a senior Pentagon official wrote to his colleagues, “I think our analysts—properly armed—can push back in that arena.” In 2005, Ten analysts were flown to Guantanamo to counter charges that prisoners were being treated inhumanely; the analysts quickly and enthusiastically repeated their talking points in a variety of television and radio broadcasts (see June 24-25, 2005).
Ties to Defense Industry - Most of the analysts, Barstow writes, have deep and complex “ties to military contractors vested in the very war policies they are asked to assess on air.” The analysts and the networks almost never reveal these business relationships to their viewers; sometimes even the networks are unaware of just how deep those business connections extend. Between then, the fifty or so analysts “represent more than 150 military contractors either as lobbyists, senior executives, board members or consultants. The companies include defense heavyweights, but also scores of smaller companies, all part of a vast assemblage of contractors scrambling for hundreds of billions in military business generated by the administration’s war on terror. It is a furious competition, one in which inside information and easy access to senior officials are highly prized.” Some of the analysts admit to using their special access to garner marketing, networking, and business opportunities. John Garrett, a retired Marine colonel and Fox News analyst, is also a lobbyist at Patton Boggs who helps firms win Pentagon contracts, including from Iraq. In company promotional materials, Garrett says that as a military analyst he “is privy to weekly access and briefings with the secretary of defense, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other high level policy makers in the administration.” One client told investors that Garrett’s access and experience helps him “to know in advance—and in detail—how best to meet the needs” of the Defense Department and other agencies. Garrett calls this an inevitable overlap between his various roles, and says that in general, “That’s good for everybody.”
Exclusive Access to White House, Defense Officials - The analysts have been granted unprecedented levels of access to the White House and the Pentagon, including:
hundreds of private briefings with senior military officials, including many with power over contracting and budget matters;
private tours of Iraq;
access to classified information;
private briefings with senior White House, State Department, and Justice Department officials, including Vice President Dick Cheney, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley.
Conversely, analysts who do not cooperate take a risk. “You’ll lose all access,” says CBS military analyst and defense industry lobbyist Jeffrey McCausland.
Quid Pro Quo - Fox News analyst and retired Army lieutenant colenel Timur Eads, who is vice president of government relations for Blackbird Technologies, a rapidly growing military contractor, later says, “We knew we had extraordinary access.” Eads confirms that he and other analysts often held off on criticizing the administration for fear that “some four-star [general] could call up and say, ‘Kill that contract.’” Eads believes that he and the other analysts were misled about the Iraqi security forces, calling the Pentagon’s briefings about those forces’ readiness a “snow job.” But Eads said nothing about his doubts on television. His explanation: “Human nature.” Several analysts recall their own “quid pro quo” for the Pentagon in the months before the invasion (see Early 2003). And some analysts were far more aboveboard in offering quid pro quos for their media appearances. Retired Army general Robert Scales, Jr, an analyst for Fox News and National Public Radio, and whose consulting company advises several firms on weapons and tactics used in Iraq, asked for high-level Pentagon briefings in 2006. In an e-mail, he told officials: “Recall the stuff I did after my last visit. I will do the same this time.”
Repeating White House Talking Points - In return, the analysts have, almost to a man, echoed administration talking points about Iraq, Afghanistan, and Iran, even when some of them believed the information they were given was false or inflated. Some now acknowledge they did so—and continue to do so—for fear of losing their access, which in turn jeopardizes their business relationships. Some now regret their participation in the propoganda effort, and admit they were used as puppets while pretending to be independent military analysts. Bevelacqua says, “It was them saying, ‘We need to stick our hands up your back and move your mouth for you.’” Former NBC analyst Kenneth Allard, who has taught information warfare at the National Defense University, calls the campaign a sophisticated information operation aimed, not at foreign governments or hostile populaces, but against the American people. “This was a coherent, active policy,” he says (see Late 2006). The Pentagon denies using the military analysts for propaganda purposes, with spokesman Bryan Whitman saying it was “nothing other than an earnest attempt to inform the American people.” It is “a bit incredible” to think retired military officers could be “wound up” and turned into “puppets of the Defense Department,” Whitman says. And other analysts, such as McCausland, say that they never allowed their outside business interests to affect their on-air commentaries. “I’m not here representing the administration,” McCausland says. Some say they used their positions to even criticize the war in Iraq. But according to a close analysis of their performances by a private firm retained by the Pentagon to evaluate the analysts, they performed to the Pentagon’s complete satisfaction (see 2005 and Beyond).
Enthusiastic Cooperation - The analysts are paid between $500 and $1,000 per appearance by the networks, but, according to the transcripts, they often speak as if the networks and the media in general are the enemy. They often speak of themselves as operating behind enemy lines. Some offered the Pentagon advice on how to outmaneuver the networks, or, as one said to then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, “the Chris Matthewses and the Wolf Blitzers of the world.” Some alerted Pentagon officials of planned news stories. Some sent copies of their private correspondence with network executives to the Pentagon. Many enthusiastically echoed and even added to administration talking points (see Early 2007). [New York Times, 4/20/2008] Several analysts say that based on a Pentagon briefing, they would then pitch an idea for a segment to a producer or network booker. Sometimes, the analysts claim, they even helped write the questions for the anchors to ask during a segment. [New York Times, 4/21/2008]
Consequences and Repercussions - Some of the analysts are dismayed to learn that they were described as reliable “surrogates” in Pentagon documents, and some deny that their Pentagon briefings were anything but, in the words of retired Army general and CNN analyst David Grange, “upfront information.” Others note that they sometimes disagreed with the administration on the air. Scales claims, “None of us drink the Kool-Aid.” Others deny using their access for business gain. Retired general Carlton Shepperd says that the two are “[n]ot related at all.” But not all of the analysts disagree with the perception that they are little more than water carriers for the Pentagon. Several recall being chewed out by irate defense officials minutes after their broadcasts, and one, retired Marine colonel Wiliam Cowan of Fox News, recalls being fired—by the Pentagon, not by Fox—from his analyst position after issuing a mild criticism of the Pentagon’s war strategies (see August 3-4, 2005). [New York Times, 4/20/2008]
Entity Tags: Thomas G. McInerney, Stephen J. Hadley, Timur Eads, wvc3 Group, William Cowan, Robert Scales, Jr, US Department of Defense, Robert Bevelacqua, Robert Maginnis, Richard (“Dick”) Cheney, CBS News, CNN, Carlton Shepperd, David Barstow, David Grange, Bush administration (43), Bryan Whitman, Fox News, Jeffrey McCausland, Alberto R. Gonzales, New York Times, Donald Rumsfeld, National Public Radio, Kenneth Allard, John Garrett, NBC, Rick Francona
Timeline Tags: US Military, Events Leading to Iraq Invasion, Iraq under US Occupation, Domestic Propaganda
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Committed to your successes.
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Home › Professionals › Attorneys › Jon E. Newman
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Jon E. Newman | Partner
T 316-265-7741F 316-267-7803E newman@hitefanning.com
Jon Newman is a partner in the firm of Hite, Fanning & Honeyman, L.L.P., concentrating his practice in the area of employment law, civil litigation and workers compensation. He is admitted to practice in Kansas state and federal courts and the U.S. District Court, District of Kansas. Jon has been listed in Best Lawyers in America in the categories of Employment Law-Individuals and Workers Compensation - Employers. He was named Best Lawyer's 2014-15 Wichita Workers Compensation - Employers Lawyer of the Year.
Jon represents clients in employment matters in federal and state courts as well as administrative agencies. He handles all types of employment law issues, including wage and hour violations, such as the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Kansas Wage Payment Act (KWPA). Jon represents both individuals and corporations, including in the context of class action law suits. He also handles claims involving discrimination, retaliation, wrongful discharge, harassment, FMLA and other issues. Jon consults with clients on the front end to avoid costly litigation in the future by ensuring compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws. He assists clients in preparation of employee handbooks and policies, employment contracts, and severance agreements.
Jon handles general civil litigation in both state and federal courts such as personal injury and property loss claims.
He is a frequent lecturer to national, regional and local businesses and legal professionals in Kansas regarding various legal issues.
A member of the Wichita, Kansas and American Bar associations since 1995, Jon has also served in various leadership roles. He is also a member of the Defense Research Institute (DRI), Kansas Self-Insurers Association, and is a Kansas Representative to the National Workers Compensation Defense Network (NWCDN).
Taking an active role in his community, Jon served on the Kansas Humane Society Board of Directors as Chairman for 2012-2013. In 2005, Jon was selected to receive the Wichita Business Journal "40 Under 40" award for his community and professional accomplishments.
Jon received a B.S. in Journalism from Kansas University and his J.D., with honors, from Washburn University School of Law. While in law school, he worked on a treatise regarding health information management. Prior to attending law school, Jon worked in the advertising and publishing fields. Jon joined Hite, Fanning & Honeyman, L.L.P. in 1997.
Kansas (1995)
U.S. District Court, District of Kansas (1995)
Best Lawyers in America, Employment law--Individuals (2018-2019)
Best Lawyers in America, Lawyer of the Year, Wichita Workers Compensation Law—Employers (2014-2015)
Best Lawyers in America, Workers Compensation Law—Employers (2012-2018)
Wichita Business Journal "40 Under 40" honoree for community and professional accomplishments (2005)
Wichita Bar Association (WBA) (Member: 1995-present); President (2010-2011); President-Elect (2009-2010); Vice President (2007-2008); Secretary/Treasurer (2006-2007); and Board of Governors (2004-2006)
Kansas Bar Association (KBA) (Member: 1995-present)
American Bar Association (ABA) (Member: 1995-present)
Wichita Bar Foundation, Board of Trustees (2010-2011)
Wichita Young Lawyers Society, President (2001-2002); Vice President (1999-2000)
Sedgwick County Law Center LLC, Board of Trustees, Secretary (2009-2011)
Kansas Association of Defense Counsel (2012-present)
Defense Research Institute (DRI) (2007-present)
Kansas Self-Insurers Association (2002-present)
Kansas Representative to the National Workers Compensation Defense Network (NWCDN) (2007-2017)
University of Kansas, B.S., Journalism, 1990
Washburn University School of Law, J.D., with honors, 1994
Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Board of Trustees (2005-2007)
Kansas Humane Society, Board of Directors (2006-2013); Chairman (2012-2013); and Treasurer (2010-2011)
Wichita Downtown Rotary (2017-present)
Navigating the Maze of FLSA Requirements, Kansasa Department of Administration, 2019
Employment Law Settlement Agreements: Covering all the Bases, Kansas Bar Association, 2018
Settlement Agreements Following Mediation, Kansas Bar Association, 2018
Human Resources Issues and Local Government Law, National Business Institute (NBI), 2018
Wage and Benefit Issues, National Business Institute (NBI) 2018
Avoiding Wage and Hour Violations, National Business Institute (NBI), 2016
Drafting Must-Have Policies for Today's Handbooks, National Business Institute (NBI), 2016
Telecommuters or Remote Work Force Injuries, Kansas Self-Insurers Association, 2012
New Workers Compensation Law Changes in Kansas, Construction Financial Management Association, 2011
Update of Kansas Appellate Court Decisions, Kansas Self Insured Association, 2010
Casco and Johnson: A View from the Trenches, Kansas Division of Workers Compensation Seminar, 2008
Work Disability Compensation in Kansas, Kansas Division of Workers Compensation Seminar, 2004
Fundamentals of Work Comp, Sterling Education, 2003
Determining Workers’ Compensation Eligibility in Kansas, Lorman Education Services, 2001
Kansas Employee Privacy Laws, Thomson Reuters, 2016
Kelly Rundell leads Wesley E. Brown American Inn of Court
Kelly Rundell has been elected president of the Wesley E. Brown Inn of Court for the 2017-2018 year. The Inn’s 100 members are selected through an application process. The membership is made up of Masters, Barristers and Associates, depending on the attorney’s experience. Kelly is a Master and has been a member of the Inn since its formation in 2008.
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Elite Beat Agents Might Be Getting a Sequel?
Quite a few DS owners might remember the game Elite Beat Agents. Meant as a Western sister game to the Japanesw rhythmn game Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan!, it was hugely popular in its day and got some great review scores back in 2006.
Unfortunately, activity in regards to its series has been… slow at best over the last decade. Indeed, since Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2 in 2007, the series has basically been on hiatus for years on end.
But could thing be changing? Possibly, since popular gaming site Polygon got a chance to speak with the game’s director Keiichi Yano. What did he say when asked about the possibility of another game in the series? This:
I have a great relationship with Nintendo. I think, as with many of these types of games that have this following and at some point they come back, I think there will be a right time when it feels like [the series] should come back. A lot of times, the platform will dictate those kind of things.
I think, as with many of these types of games that have this following and at some point they come back, I think there will be a right time when it feels like [the series] should come back. A lot of times, the platform will dictate those kind of things.
I’d certainly love to make another version of it, and hopefully it’s on the next platform
So what does it all mean? Well to be honest, it means that the game could get a sequel if the console seems well suited for one.
And what kind of platform could that be?
Well, the original one was on DS, which was a touch screen focused system aimed at a wide audience that wanted quicker and easier to play games. So my guess is either a system with an interesting new gimmick that makes this kind of game more creative or one aimed at an audience like the DS’. Could it be the Nintendo NX? Possibly, though we can’t take any set in stone confirmation from the quote above.
But what do you think? Do you want a new Elite Beat Agents game? And what system should it be released on?
Will we ever get an Elite Beat Agents sequel? We asked the creator – Polygon
What’s Nintendo Planning for 3DS in 2014?
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« It's Official. Now What? Red Stars, Fire Make Moves »
Cubs Thu Dec 03 2009
Cubs Trade Aaron Miles and Jake Fox to Oakland
By Brian Livingston
The Cubs have traded utility infielder Aaron Miles, first baseman Jake Fox and cash considerations to the Oakland Athletics for relief pitchers Jeff Gray and Ronny Morla and infielder Matt Spencer.
Miles was acquired via free agency last winter to replace Mark DeRosa who had been traded to the Cleveland Indians. Miles had an absolutely god-awful season batting just .185. He was coming off his second best season in 2008 with the St. Louis Cardinals where he batted .317. He was in the second year of his two year contract. To his credit though Miles spent more time on the disabled list than the field.
Jake Fox was a man without a country so to speak, while he proved he could hit at the big league level he didn't play a position that wasn't already occupied by a veteran player. In 82 games with the Cubs he batted .259 with 11 home runs and 44 RBIs. For all intents and purposes he was a DH in the National League and should be able to find a spot in Okland's starting lineup next season.
He filled in admirably at third base for the injured Aramis Ramirez. In the 23 games he started at the hot corner he only made 2 errors.
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« Gapers Block Sox Nights -- See a Game for Cheap! Running Into Fear »
Cubs Tue Apr 16 2013
Benefits (and Roadblocks) of Wrigley Field Renovation
By Chad Ruter
Editors Note: Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone affected by the tragedy at yesterdays Boston Marathon. The Tribune Sports section nailed it. We are one with our friends in Boston.
Sunday night brought news that an agreement had been reached between the Ricketts family and the city on a $500 million renovation deal for Wrigley Field and the surrounding areas owned by the organization. The next step is public vetting before being voted on for approval. The process will more than likely be drawn out over the next few months, but there's little question of it's passing now that a framework is in place that includes mayor Rahm Emanuel and alderman Tom Tunney.
Despite having to bend in a few areas to make things work, the Cubs mostly got what they wanted. That fact isn't a big surprise considering the team is flipping the bill for the entire project, which is quite rare in this era of ballpark renovation.
Here are some of the benefits the team and fans should look forward to (if/when the deal gets full approval):
Upgraded Facilities. "We don't want to tell our players this is a first-class organization and then give them second-rate facilities," chairmen Tom Ricketts said yesterday. The clubhouse and training facilities are tiny (for both the Cubs and visitors), and there is no indoor batting cages for use during games. This is the one player-centric facelift Wrigley will see in the renovation and it's badly needed. Many baseball players dream of playing for the Cubs and in front of the ivy laced walls. But once the game is over, they return to one of the most depressing places in all of baseball: the Wrigley clubhouses. Most minor league facilities are better in this regard and it could turn into a more enticing draw for potential free agents.
Behind-The-Scenes Changes. Wider and easier to maneuver through concourses will make the experience of getting to and from seats easier, along with more and better food options. Many hope that the troughs will be removed from the mens' bathrooms, but it's likely that urinals will be added as an option. The troughs, despite their lack of privacy, make for getting out of the bathroom quicker because there are rarely lines.
More Night Games. An increase from 30 to 40 night games per year is part of the deal, along with leeway if Major League Baseball pushes games back for national television. Some folks in the neighborhood will be upset about more night games interrupting their schedule, but that's part of the deal if you live in Lakeview. For the Cubs, it's getting closer to being on par with other teams. Night games mean more TV viewership, more fans in and around the stadium (helping those businesses around the area too), and opens the opportunity for more fans to attend more games without missing work. It also allows for 3:05pm starts on Fridays. Revenue for the team, and more chances for fans to see Cubs baseball -- win, win.
New Videoboard. Without question, the most contentious issue surrounding the agreement. Ricketts was quoted yesterday that the videoboard to be constructed in left field would be 6,000 square feet, which is larger than anyone had previously reported or anticipated. It will finally allow fans inside the stadium an opportunity to see what folks at home and in nearly every other stadium can already: instant replays. It also is a major revenue coup for the team, so there's mutual benefit. Detractors point to Wrigley Field as being vintage and that a monstrosity like that takes away from the nostalgia. Fenway Park added a video board and seats on top of the famous Green Monster with few complaints now, so it's doubtful fans inside the stadium will be upset after it's completion.
The rooftop owners, on the other hand, will have plenty to say. The board will most likely obstruct the views for the buildings in far left field and center field to the left of the current scoreboard. The Cubs plan to try and limit the obstruction is to move the back wall in left field out farther (which won't affect the field dimensions). When Ricketts was asked about the last time he had talked to rooftop owners, the answer was, "I have not spoken to any rooftop owners lately. We'll take that issue as it comes."
In as many words, Ricketts basically said bring on the lawsuits. Without knowing the exact wording of the agreement between the rooftop owners and the Cubs that runs through 2023, it's hard to predict the outcome of any potential litigation. The Cubs may offer to waive some of the 17 percent take they get from rooftop revenue, and it's unknown how upset the rooftop owners as a whole will be since the videoboard affects less than half (and also the lesser profitable) of the rooftops.
The agreement is great news for the Cubs and their fans. It will improve the stadium amenities, enhance the gameday experience, and bring in revenue the team can pour into baseball operations. The hope now is that the organization won't have to wait 'til next year.
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Understanding the Signs
Geoff Hall
Born in Virginia, Hall moved frequently as a child, but spent the majority of his developmental years in Memphis, Tennessee. His earliest memories of music are of listening to his parents play John Denver records at home and of the orchestral concert performances on the Fourth of July. At age 12 he began playing guitar when a friend introduced him to the rock‘n’roll music of Rush and taught him some basic chords. “In those days I was influenced by a wide range of guitar players -- Alex Lifeson of Rush, Eric Johnson, Yngwie Malmsteen, Trevor Rabin of Yes, David Gilmore of Pink Floyd, and Andy Summers of the Police among others.”
Throughout his teens and early twenties Hall performed in a local rock band and as a solo act. Hall continued to study music and music theory throughout his teen and college years. At 21, “I was introduced to acoustic fingerstyle music and heard Will Ackerman for the first time. For a long time after that, I left the electric guitar behind and immersed myself in that solo acoustic playing style. As I discovered other players in that vein, my emphasis really shifted from electric to acoustic, both steel-string and nylon-string. I started listening to Alex de Grassi, Franco Morone, Don Ross, Michael Hedges, Andrew York, Ottmar Liebert, and other great players in that solo guitar space. After a few years, I was hooked, and my electric guitars rarely made it out of their cases.”
Hall spent the first half of his music career performing on guitar and the latter half studying piano/keyboards/synthesizers, composing, orchestrating, arranging, and producing - while managing to continue playing guitar along the way. He has studied and performed electric, acoustic fingerstyle, and classical guitar across numerous genres that include solo guitar, classical, folk, rock, and heavy metal. Hall is especially grateful for the guitar instruction he received over the years from legendary players such as Shawn Lane, Alex de Grassi, and Franco Morone.
The next musical evolution for Hall encompassed his passion for film scores. “When I was a teenager I had occasional opportunities to take guitar lessons from Shawn Lane. I soon realized he was a huge fan of film scoring and an accomplished pianist – in addition to being a phenomenal guitarist. Shawn actually helped me to expand my awareness of film scores because it made a huge impression on me that this incredible guitar player found a lot of his inspiration from the works of John Williams and other famous composers. As I started to hear the scores for films like Gladiator, Braveheart, the Spielberg movies, and way too many others to try to list here, I developed an immediate interest in the impact and complexity of orchestral and hybrid music.” The works of John Williams, Hans Zimmer, Harry Gregson-Williams, James Horner, and others have inspired Hall, and the styles of these composers echo in Hall’s film score compositions, (some of which can currently be heard on SoundCloud). Hall’s study program at Berklee College focused on “Orchestration and Scoring for Film and Television.”
Following a long run with the guitar, Hall’s first steps into multi-instrument composing began in the early 2000s when he purchased his first keyboard, built his own studio, and began to explore the possibilities of creating orchestrated works using a combination of live musicians and modern technologies. “When composing I will often begin by sitting down at our piano; I have always found it easier to visualize concepts on the piano as opposed to the guitar,” explains Hall. “I often start with piano to begin ‘sketching’ an initial idea which could be melody lines, harmonies, and/or progressions. Then I move those ideas to my studio and begin orchestrating and arranging them. From that point, I’ll continue to develop ideas until the final orchestration and arrangement fall into place.”
While It Lasts
Hear Film Score Demos
Geoff Hall - Music
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Women and Men: Partnership for a Healthy Planet
World Women's Congress for a Healthy Planet
Statement presented to the
Miami, Florida, USA, August 8-14, 1991
"The well-being of mankind, its peace and security, are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established. "These prophetic words, uttered by Bahá'u'lláh during the closing decades of the nineteenth century were all but ignored by the leaders of that day. However, in the closing decade of the twentieth century, humanity has become increasingly aware of its interdependence and is convinced at last that no individual, institution or nation can live in total isolation from the whole. The environment/development crisis has caused many to rethink their view of the world and begin to look at the earth as a single organic, interdependent and unified system. Consequently, the search for balance between the needs of society and the limited resources of the natural world is taking place within the larger context of the search for balance, peace, and harmony within society itself.
The intimate link between the unity of the human race and equality of the sexes is explained in the Bahá'í Writings: ". . . woman must be given the privilege of equal education with man and full right to his prerogatives. That is to say, there must be no difference in the education of male and female in order that womankind may develop equal capacity and importance with man in the social and economic equation. Then the world will attain unity and harmony. In past ages humanity has been defective and inefficient because it has been incomplete. War and its ravages have blighted the world; the education of woman will be a mighty step toward its abolition and ending, for she will use her whole influence against war. Woman rears the child and educates the youth to maturity. She will refuse to give her sons for sacrifice upon the field of battle. In truth, she will be the greatest factor in establishing universal peace and international arbitration. Assuredly, woman will abolish warfare among mankind."
To date, most systems of social organization have marginalized women. Overall, modern development strategies have tended to reinforce and, at times, exacerbate conditions of inequality. To address inequality of the sexes, the United Nations launched the land-mark "United Nations Decade for Women: Equality, Development and Peace (1975-1985)."As a result of research undertaken during the Decade, the vital contributions of women to the social and economic life of their nations became more visible. The new research also highlighted the unnecessary burdens borne by women and the obstacles preventing their full participation in society. More significantly, the Decade brought women together and provided them with unprecedented opportunities to exchange views and experiences. Women found that their shared concerns for their own future and for that of the human family enabled them to transcend national, class, and racial boundaries. In addition, the Decade catalyzed the revitalization of traditional women's organizations and the creation of new grass-roots Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) addressing specific needs of women. These NGOs have facilitated an extensive networking among women, empowering them to articulate their needs, design their own programs, and begin affecting policy-making at all levels. As a result of efforts undertaken during the Decade, development planners have begun to address women's lack of access to resources such as education, technology, and credit. United Nations agencies, national governments, and international development agencies have established divisions to address the needs and concerns of women.
These are significant achievements which must be greatly strengthened and expanded. Despite some progress, however, women remain on the fringes of policy making, and the systems which have traditionally oppressed them remain largely intact. These systems adhere to the pattern of domination that has characterized society for thousands of years: men have dominated women; one racial or ethnic group has dominated another; and nation has dominated nation. Notwithstanding humanity's reluctance to change, "the balance is already shifting-"according to the Bahá'í Writings, "force is losing its weight and mental alertness, intuition, and the spiritual qualities of love and service, in which woman is strong, are gaining ascendancy. Hence the new age will be an age less masculine, and more permeated with the feminine ideals-or, to speak more exactly, will be an age in which the masculine and feminine elements of civilization will be more evenly balanced."
While women must develop their capacities and step forward to play an active role in solving the world's problems, the impact of their actions will be limited without the full cooperation of men. Women working together in unity and harmony have already achieved a great deal within the spheres of influence open to them. Now women must come together with men as equal partners. When men lend their full support to this process, welcoming women into all fields of human endeavor, valuing their contributions, and encouraging their participation, men and women together will help create the moral and psychological climate in which peace can emerge and an environmentally sustainable civilization can advance and flourish.
The transformation required for true equality will undoubtedly be difficult for both men and women because both must re-evaluate what is familiar, what is routine. Blame must be relinquished because no individual can be faulted for having been shaped by historical, sociological forces. Guilt must be shed in favor of responsibility for growth. In the face of the profound challenges facing humanity, all are accountable for recognizing that the old model no longer works, and all will be answerable to future generations for their stewardship of human civilization and its relationship to the earth.
Change, however, is an evolutionary process requiring patience with one's self and others, loving education, and the passage of time. The transition will be eased when men realize that they will be unable to achieve their full potential as long as women are prevented from attaining theirs. Indeed, when men actively promote the principle of equality, women will no longer have to struggle for their rights. Gradually, both women and men will discard long- held unhealthy attitudes and progressively incorporate into their lives the values conducive to true unity.
In the opinion of the Bahá'í International Community, the emerging world civilization will be sustained by a common commitment to a new set of values, a shared understanding of the balance between rights and responsibilities, and the willingness on the part of each to serve the best interests of humanity as a whole. For Bahá'ís, the commitment to the emancipation of women is not a recent development nor is equality of the sexes a vague ideal. It is our conviction that the unification of the human race depends on the establishment of the equality of men and women. Humanity, the Bahá'í Writings explain, having passed through the stages of infancy, childhood, and turbulent adolescence, is now approaching maturity, a stage that will witness "the reconstruction and the demilitarization of the whole civilized world -- a world organically unified in all the essential aspects of its life."
(c)1997 -- The Bahá'í International Community United Nations Office
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אתם כאן: דף הבית מחקרים British PM criticized for wearing leopard print high heels
Canada : Bill 15 negotoations get mixed reviews
Negotiations with city employees came to an end ahead of the provincial deadline with what the administration considers to be an excellent success rate. According to information released by the city,
90 per cent of retirement plan restructuration agreements were signed before July 31, while 76 per cent of collective agreements have been renewed for the next few years.
Mayor Marc Demers made mention of the difficulties imposed by Bill 15, adding that he always believed that negotiations would work. The city also noted that back in 2013, agreements were reached that made it easier to bring current negotiations to a conclusion, all while reducing costs for citizens.
With regards to retirement agreements, the city has reached an entente with all employees groups with the exception of the Fraternité des policiers de Laval; talks will continue with the police service in the coming weeks.
As for the collective agreements, 10 out of 13 groups have current agreements with the city (notably, the white-collar professional and technical services employees who signed on July 27).
Still in negotiaton are the blue collar workers union, the Fraternité des policiers de Laval and the leisure service auxilliaries, who are connected to the Alliance de personnel professionnel et administratif de la Ville de Laval.
Following the negotiations, oppposition councillors from Parti Laval suggested that Mayor Demers perhaps did not have good reason to laud the city’s negotiation skills.
Jean Coupal and Michel Trottier believe there is a serious lack of transparency when it comes to the negotiations. They see no significant gain for the city and say that council was not informed about the details of the negotiations; in other words, no one has seen any numbers.
“I understand the mayor’s excitement over the negotiations...[but] the city will have to support an additional annual charge of over $10 million,” said Fabreville councillor Michel Trottier.
According to calculations made by Parti Laval, Laval taxpayers will be bailing out the town’s coffers in the amount of $40 million over the next 15 years.
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Link leads Senate in appointing new ethics watchdog
SPRINGFIELD – Assistant Majority Leader Terry Link (D-Indian Creek) led the Senate today in approving Carol M. Pope as new Legislative Inspector General, a post responsible for investigating complaints made against lawmakers and legislative employees.
“Judge Carol Pope has all of the necessary experience and background to be an excellent Legislative Inspector General,” Link said. “It is vitally important that allegations of misconduct are investigated and properly handled. I have the upmost trust that Judge Pope will live up to those expectations.”
Judge Pope was recommended unanimously by the Illinois Legislative Ethics Commission in December to fill the post full time after Julie Porter was appointed to serve as temporary inspector general until a permanent appointment was made.
Hastings champions measure to reform corrupt Illinois Toll Highway Authority
SPRINGFIELD – With many troubling questions surrounding its governing board, the Illinois Tollway will get a much-needed ethical makeover thanks to the support of State Senator Michael E. Hastings (D-Tinley Park).
Hastings last week helped push through the Illinois General Assembly important legislation that would restore accountability and integrity at the Illinois Toll Highway Authority. Media reports have chronicled multiple examples of jobs and contracts being awarded to unqualified political insiders and well-connected businesses through non-competitively bid processes.
Hastings supported Senate Bill 1298, which ends the terms of the currently appointed members of the Tollway Board and requires the Governor to appoint new Board members by Feb. 28, 2019. The legislation also requires the Tollway Board’s by-laws to direct members to avoid potential conflicts of interest and requires these by-laws to be posted to the Tollway Authority’s website.
“The time to restore accountability and integrity to the Illinois Tollway is long overdue,” said Hastings. “The Illinois Tollway Authority needs to start putting the needs of the working people of Illinois ahead of political insiders and corrupt special interest groups.”
Hastings said he will continue his work to reform state government and restore faith in its ability to move Illinois forward.
“As we start the 101st General Assembly, it’s important to me to continue to take a closer look at aspects of state government that are in dire need of reform,” he said. “I look forward to working with Gov. Pritzker and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to ensure government is working for the people of Illinois.”
The bipartisan reform passed without opposition in the House and Senate and awaits the Governor’s signature.
Castro hits reset button on Illinois Tollway
SPRINGFIELD – Senator Cristina Castro (D-Elgin) voted Wednesday to hit the reset button on the Illinois Toll Highway Authority Board and give the next governor the chance to increase transparency and ethics.
“The hiring and spending at the tollway has been disturbing. It was time to fumigate the board and start over,” Castro said.
Multiple investigations done by the Daily Herald found that there was likely unethical behavior going on within the Illinois Toll Highway Authority involving political favoritism regarding its hiring practices and contracts.
The Majority Report - Week ending June 8, 2018 (AUDIO)
The Majority Report - June 8, 2018 - State budget winners: Schools, universities, local government
Castro to file legislation that will smooth process of investigations
SPRINGFIELD – Needless bureaucratic hurdles are slowing ethics investigations and need to be removed, state Senator Cristina Castro said in filing legislation to streamline the process.
“We have a skilled investigator on the job. We need to empower her to do that job and deliver results quickly,” said Castro, an Elgin Democrat and the newest member of the Legislative Ethics Commission.
Here’s the problem with the current system.
Legislative ethics commission appoints inspector general, new member
With reports about sexual harassment and other complaints going uninvestigated, the Legislate Ethics Commission held an emergency meeting Saturday to appoint a legislative inspector general to the post that was vacant for two years. Former U.S. Attorney Julie Porter was appointed to begin the process of investigating complaints and ethics violations in the legislature.
Porter is well known for her work trying complex cases as the corruption case that led to the conviction of Illinois powerbroker Bill Cellini and top Mayor Richard Daley’s top aide Robert Sorich, among others. Porter worked at the U.S. Attorney’s office for 12 years and was appointed chief of the office’s criminal division before leaving to join a private practice in Chicago.
Elgin Democratic Senator Cristina Castro iss the newest member of the Legislative Ethics Commission as of Friday, November 3. Castro said she intends to push the agency to be more timely and responsive in its handling of complaints.
“I want to make it clear that I intend to help drive a culture of swiftness in the actions of the Commission. When there are accusations of wrongdoing, I intend to be thoughtful and fair – but the Commission should make every effort to act in a timely manner,” said Illinois State Sen. Cristina Castro, a Democrat from Elgin.
Castro, a former marketing and communications manager in the private and public sector, was first elected to the Illinois Senate last year. She now serves as a full-time legislator for the 22nd State Senate District.
Castro said her first priority is filling a vacant inspector general post so complaints that have lingered can be investigated and adjudicated.
“It’s unacceptable to have complaints sit as long as they have. That’s going to change,” Castro said.
The eight-member commission is charged with ruling on findings of ethical misconduct within the legislative branch and its employees. The commission was created in December 2003 by the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act.
For more information about the commission, visit its website.
Senator Castro released the following statement in response to Julie B. Porter’s appointment to Inspector General of the commission:
“Julie Porter has a proven record of fighting public corruption as the Assistant United States Attorney,” Castro said. “She has extensive experience seeking justice for the people of Illinois. I look forward to seeing her get to work as our new Inspector General. I’m confident she will work swiftly and thoroughly to investigate and resolve all outstanding complaints.”
Senator Terry Link (D-Vernon Hills), Chairman of the ethics commission, released the following statement on the selection of former Assistant United States Attorney Julie B. Porter as the new Legislative Inspector General:
“Julie Porter is a skilled attorney who has experience trying public corruption and fraud cases. I look forward to working with Ms. Porter to quickly get the Ethics Commission back on track, address the complaints that exist and move forward.”
Steans introduces legislation to close lobbying revolving door
Manar, McCann seek to close executive ethics loophole
Morrison ethics package would increase lawmaker accountability
SPRINGFIELD – Two proposals that would increase the level of accountability among Illinois lawmakers were recently introduced by State Senator Julie Morrison (D - Deerfield).
Senate Bill 3107 would require state legislators to publicly disclose potential conflicts of interest before casting a vote on any legislation. While some lawmakers currently make conflict of interest disclosures public, the practice is not required under state law.
“The public has a right to know when lawmakers have a conflict of interest,” Morrison said.
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One Size Doesn't Fit All: Towards a Heterogeneous System for Copyright Protection
Copyright Commentary Notes
Written by Matt Gelfand Edited by Harry Zhou Editorial Policy A major criticism of the current copyright system is the overbreadth of the protections it affords, in terms of duration, works covered, and uses covered. With the Copyright Act of 1976 and subsequent international treaties and legislation, copyright has become quasi-permanent, and breadth-limiting formalities such as notice and registration requirements have been eliminated.[1] Virtually any use of the creative expressive content in a work is subject to control by a copyright-holder,[2] and attempts to invoke the “Fair Use” exception can result in protracted legal disputes. The result is near-constant technical infringement of copyright, made bearable only by virtue of limited enforcement. These concerns about breadth highlight the fundamental balance that an intellectual property system must strike between its goals, generally related to a creator or his/her work, and the ways in which it limits use of an idea or expression by the general public or another creator. Debates about copyright law often focus on the success of the copyright system at promoting the goals to which it is directed — incentivizing creation, rewarding creators, protecting artists’ personality interests in their work, and stimulating cultural development — in the context of a modern, networked society. Among these different goals, and among a diverse set of creators, different forms of copyright protection are justified. Take breadth of protection, for example. A commentator concerned with incentives (the goal) for the creation of high-budget commercial films by movie studios (the users) might argue for a level of protection that is sufficiently strong to provide that incentive, but not so strong as to unnecessarily increase the difficulty of creating films down the line. A commentator concerned with the development of a cultural zeitgeist through the manipulation of popular symbols might argue for weak protections against derivative uses of the work, while at the same time recognizing that protections against verbatim copying provide a useful incentive to create the symbols themselves. The focus of this sort of criticism is on finding an ideal system that does the best job for a commentator’s favored goal or user. But maybe we should be asking a more fundamental question: should copyright continue to take a one-size-fits-all approach? Perhaps the differently-motivated participants in our modern society would be best served by different copyright systems altogether. For creative professionals and corporations making a substantial investment of time, resources, and/or risk in a creative enterprise, the existing system of economic rights (with exceptions for unprofitable and socially beneficial uses[3]) is at least somewhat appropriate. But for the tortured artist who considers his work to be a reflection of his own personality, a strong system of moral rights may be better. For a fame-obsessed YouTube phenom, a right of attribution alone would suffice; a computer programmer who wants her work to keep serving society, on the other hand, would prefer robust copyleft-style protections to prevent the proprietization of downstream derivative works. A blogger writing purely for the satisfaction of expressing herself might not need any protection at all! The existing copyright system does a bad job serving most of these groups. This comment begins with a description of the most well-known system of alternative rights designations: the Creative Commons (“CC”) licenses. Different CC licenses will be discussed in the context of the users who are likely to choose them and the real aims of those users. Next, some drawbacks of using the CC license system to carve different rights reservations out of the existing copyright system will be addressed. Finally, this comment will propose two solutions to the homogeneity of the existing system: a radical move to a heterogeneous copyright system, and a more modest change to the copyright registration system.[4] The Creative Commons Licenses Under the existing copyright regime, the assorted schemes described above must be carved out of a set of strong economic rights using in-personam licenses. The most well-known licensing scheme for this purpose is the Creative Commons (“CC”) license system. Creative Commons was established in 2001 by Lawrence Lessig, Hal Abelson, and Eric Eldred, with the aim of providing content creators an alternative to the strong default protections under copyright. The CC licenses allow creators to license their content to users with restrictions chosen from a menu of commonly-desired moral and economic rights reservations — for example, prohibiting derivative works or modified downstream licensing. Licensees typically receive the licensed content and the license grant directly via the Internet, often from a content repository like Wikimedia Commons, Google Books, or Flickr, without direct contact with the copyright holder. As long as the licensee complies with the terms of the rights reservations selected by the copyright holder, she is free to use and redistribute the work without further restriction. The licenses do not affect any moral or personality rights that might be associated with a work, and they expressly disclaim any modification of limits on copyright, such as fair use exceptions. The licenses also provide that the copyright holder offers downstream recipients of the work a license to the work under the same terms as the original license. Four rights reservations are provided by the CC system: by, which requires attribution; nc, which prohibits commercial uses;[5] nd, which prohibits the creation of derivative works; and sa (share-alike), which requires that derivative works be licensed under an equivalent license to the underlying work. All of the current CC licenses include the by reservation, and each of the six licenses reflects one of the six possible (logically-consistent) combinations of the remaining rights reservations. The CC licenses serve creators with diverse needs quite well. For a creator interested in gaining maximum exposure for her work in the interest of notoriety or to further her professional reputation, the CC-by license casts aside impediments to distribution while guaranteeing that credit will be given. A creator who perceives his work to be socially beneficial and who wants his work to have maximum social benefit can choose one of the ‘ShareAlike’ licenses, CC-by-sa or CC-by-nc-sa, to prevent the proprietarization of his work through the creation of derivative works. When a work is highly personal to its creator, or if its creator does not want to risk being misrepresented, its integrity can be protected using the CC-by-nd or CC-by-nc-nd licenses. Creators can expand the scope of traditional exceptions to copyright (such as fair use) to include noncommercial uses by licensing under CC-by-nc or CC-by-nc-sa. A seventh instrument, called CC0, rounds out the collection by providing a means by which to disclaim all copyright and related rights in a work; for creators interested only in the inherent rewards associated with creation, this provides a effective way to bypass the default copyright protection associated with his works. Drawbacks of the Creative Commons System While these licenses provide creators an opportunity to choose reserved rights that fit their specific needs, they suffer from their status as kludgy carve-outs from the predominant system of economics rights. Fundamentally, this limits the opportunity for creators to receive certain kinds of enhanced rights in exchange for the rights that they are giving up. For example, a creator cannot use a mere license to reach derivative works that are beyond the scope of copyright law, such as those allowed by fair use, even if the author would be willing to give up other rights in exchange.[6] Similarly, a license cannot extend the duration of copyright, even in situations like a reservation of the attribution right alone, where the license condition is not onerous and where intellectual honesty would often demand attribution in any case.[7] The other major problem with relying on licenses alone to create alternative schemes is that the default system of strong economic rights predominates because of psychological predispositions toward the default, the effort involved in choosing a license, and the lack of a central catalog for recording license grants to the public. The tendency to choose default choices has been recognized and exploited to benefit the public in such domains as retirement saving and public health; in the copyright domain, however, it operates to remove the vast majority of creative works from the public domain.[8] Except for creators who publish using mechanisms that offer license designation (such as Flickr), publicizing one’s choice of a CC license requires an additional step in the publishing process. The lack of a centralized registry for license designations exacerbates this problem, making it difficult for potential users of CC-licensed works to find and license those works. Although a potential licensee could separately contact the creator and attempt to negotiate a license directly, this would represent a transaction cost, and such an effort is rendered particularly difficult in the context of Internet-published works, in which creators are often identified by an alias.[9] The result of these drawbacks is that the CC license system provides an incomplete solution to the problem of copyright homogeneity. A creator must make and publicize an explicit choice to provide her work under a CC license; the licenses represent the release of a subset of copyright rights without any rights gained in return; and there is no central registry for potential users to consult in order to determine the license status of a work. As a result, the primary advantage of copyright heterogeneity — a copyright system that better serves diverse groups of creators and conflicting policy aims — is not fully realized through the CC licenses. The remainder of this comment discusses two alternative proposals that would get us closer to a genuinely heterogeneous copyright system. A Radical Proposal This Comment’s first proposed solution is a wholesale restructuring of the copyright system to provide a fixed menu of schemes from which creators can choose. Each scheme would represent a different package of rights, and each right within a scheme would be assigned an appropriate duration. The schemes would be designed for particular creation models, such as those discussed above; some would be limited to certain classes of works or certain classes of creator, or both.[10] The creator’s choice from among the schemes would be required to occur within a limited time window or else the opportunity to choose a non-default scheme would be lost. Because additional rights (longer durations of protection, for example) would be offered as part of some of the non-default schemes, there would be additional incentives for choosing such a scheme. By combining the rights scheme choice process with traditional copyright registration, the uncertainty-reduction function of the return to formalities advocated by many commentators would be realized. By taking the homogeneity out of copyright law, we can address many critics’ concerns while avoiding some of the pitfalls of their proposals. Duration can be limited for classic economically-incentivized works, where extraordinary durations provide no additional incentive, but lengthened for works created by those who are concerned only with the personality benefits of continued attribution. The disentanglement of different moral rights would be enhanced by the creator’s opportunity to choose different packages of moral rights to suit her own desires. Blanket licensing schemes and widened derivative works exceptions could be thrust upon profit-maximizing creators but left out for those who choose a more moral-rights-focused package. More generally, a considerably higher percentage of creators would feel that the copyright system itself was addressing their specific needs. What independent musician wouldn’t love selecting the “Indie” package of rights on a new, friendlier “registration and rights selection” form? Naturally, any major policy proposal faces an enemy that can ignore even the best-articulated rationale: potential political inexpediency. Although this debate focuses on the balance of social benefits and harms from existing copyright law, no social benefit can come of a proposal that is never adopted. Most of the ideas advanced by copyright critics, and certainly the idea of a multi-faceted system put forward above, would require acts of Congress (and, frequently, changes to international law) to advance. It could prove difficult to overcome the opposition of the wealthy and connected groups who benefit from the current system and who have advocated for some of the very changes, such as increased duration, that have subjected the current system to such criticism.[11] The approach that I have suggested here could avoid opposition from interest groups by providing a package of rights that strongly resembles the current package of rights enjoyed by content creation giants. Particularly if these companies believe that new content will be made more available (via the alternate schemes) to be incorporated into their own works under the proposed system, they may support it. Of course, inertia alone would make any major reform a difficult proposition. A Modest Alternative Perhaps there is a way to get some of the benefits of a copyright-endorsed menu of rights schemes while taking advantage of the existing carve-out system utilized by the Creative Commons license: by merging the existing, voluntary system of copyright registration with the process by which creators designate their work as available under a particular Creative Commons license. This could potentially be achieved through the regulatory prerogative of the Copyright Office, without Congressional action. In its simplest form, such a change would involve adding an optional license designation as a step in the copyright registration process, with the government or a non-profit organization as the licensee.[12] Adding license designation to registration would provide the same sort of “nudge” as would the multiple-schemes system described above, as some authors who otherwise would not expend the effort to research and choose a Creative Commons license would take the opportunity to do so in the context of registering their work for copyright. This would increase the quantity of works available under free licenses and reduce the transaction costs of determining the conditions under which a copyright owner is willing to license her work for free. This approach would also increase the proportion of works for which the authors seek copyright registration. At present, creators who have made the choice to license their own work under a Creative Commons license often do so by publishing the work to a website that allows license designations, such as Flickr or Wikimedia Commons. Once the designation is made a part of copyright registration, these creators might shift away from disparate content aggregators toward the centralized copyright registration system, further reducing information costs. Such a shift would be facilitated if reduced fees were offered for those making a Creative Commons license designation at the time of registration.[13] An even more drastic impact could come from a more complex solution involving a partnership between the Copyright Office and the organizations that currently aggregate freely-licensed works. These organizations collect content either as part of their charitable mission (e.g., Wikimedia Commons) or because they receive a direct or indirect profit from hosting the content on behalf of the user (e.g., Flickr and YouTube), and they could easily modify their data entry forms to accommodate all of the information required as part of copyright registration. By outsourcing most or all of the work involved in copyright registration to these organizations, national copyright offices could sharply reduce user fees and the remaining fees could be paid by the organizations rather than the copyright owners. The Creative Commons licenses could be updated to make the licensee a duly-authorized agent of the author for copyright registration purposes, allowing the aggregation organizations to register copyrights in any Creative Commons-licensed work uploaded to their websites.[14] Because it would provide the opportunity for free copyright registration, this public-private partnership would bring new creators into the free licensing world and drastically reduce the difficulty of finding and licensing works from which derivatives could be produced. Conclusion Copyright law in the United States is a one-size-fits-all system of strong economic rights designed to incentivize creation and reward creators, within traditional content creation paradigms. For creators outside these traditional channels, and for other worthy policy aims, our current system performs less well. The Creative Commons licenses address this homogeneity through the mechanism of licensing, carving alternative rights schemes out of the strong economic rights provided by default. Unfortunately, these licenses suffer both from their status as a carve-out and from a tendency toward the default. This Comment has presented two proposals for adding heterogeneity to the copyright system. The first is a radical proposal that involves restructuring the system into a menu of rights schemes, from which a creator can choose. Although this proposal could successfully address both of the difficulties associated with existing some-rights-reserved licenses, it would likely prove difficult to implement. The second proposal — an integration of existing license-based solutions with the copyright system as part of the registration process — combines some of the best aspects of making copyright heterogeneity official with the relative ease of regulatory action. Especially given the ripe environment for interesting public-private partnerships presented by this second proposal, it should be investigated further.
[1] Christopher Sprigman discusses this shift in the Introduction of his article advocating for a reinvigoration of certain copyright formalities.
[2] Section 106 of the Copyright Act creates exclusive rights to reproduction, creation of derivative works, distribution, and in the case of certain classes of works, performance, display, and digital audio transmission.
[3] As with, for example, the exceptions for “fair use” and production of materials for the blind under US copyright law.
[4] The seed for these ideas comes from Sprigman’s proposal (see page 564) to incorporate Creative Commons-type designations into a reinvigorated system of copyright formalities.
[5] The nc license prohibits uses that are “primarily intended for or directed toward commercial advantage or private monetary compensation.” The appropriate boundaries of non-commercial use have been the subject of considerable study by Creative Commons, but the precise limits are subject to legal interpretation by courts.
[6] It is possible to encumber licensees with restrictions beyond the scope of copyright, if they also rely on the license to make other uses of the work that are within the scope of copyright. The Creative Commons licenses do not attempt such restrictions, but some free software licenses take this approach to restrict licensees’ exercise of patent rights, for example.
[7] This anti-plagiarism instinct was, for example, part of the justification for the “reverse passing off” claim in the Dastar case.
[8] As described above, this is the result of the elimination of formalities from the copyright system.
[9] By way of example, the author of this note has been attempting for six months to get in touch with a Wikipedia user to discuss licensing his work.
[10] The VARA, a U.S. law offering moral rights to visual artists, is similarly limited; however, these rights are granted in addition to the traditional economic rights granted by the Copyright Act, rather than as a package of rights that can be selected instead of traditional economic rights.
[11] Hence the alternative name for the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998: The Mickey Mouse Act.
[12] The Creative Commons and similar free licenses deputize the licensee to distribute the work to downstream recipients with the guarantee of a license from the copyright owner. Issuing a license to an organization organized for the public benefit guarantees availability of the work under the originally-chosen license regardless of the future choices of the copyright owner. The availability of termination of transfer rights may frustrate this scheme, however.
[13] Because some Creative Commons licenses reduce an author’s opportunity to profit monetarily from her work, registration may prove too costly unless reduced fees are offered. In the U.S., the Copyright Act requires that fees reflect the actual costs of processing an application but provides that fees be set giving “due consideration to the objectives of the copyright system.”
[14] In fact, this could even operate retroactively because many copyright owners have licensed their work under a particular free license “or any later version.” Wikipedia was relicensed in this manner.
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What the markets tell us
My colleagues at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, Victor Cha and Lisa Collins, have just released a remarkable new report on their website, Beyond Parallel. Using a combination of overhead satellite imagery and micro-level surveys within North Korea, the CSIS scholars have concluded that there are 436 officially sanctioned markets across North Korea generating approximately $56.8 million a year.
According to the study’s micro-surveys within North Korea, a significant majority of North Koreans now appear to receive their daily foodstuffs and household goods from either the officially sanctioned markets included in the CSIS study or from illegal “black” markets. The report’s detailed map indicates that the officially sanctioned markets are distributed across North Korea, averaging close to 50 per province.
The bottom-line conclusion is that markets are now a fully institutionalized feature in North Korean society.
The authors of the CSIS report are careful not to speculate too much about what this means for the future of North Korea. Since I was not one of the authors, I will feel free to engage in just such speculation in this column.
There are three broad ways to interpret the significance of these market forces in North Korea.
The first and most optimistic interpretation would be that we are seeing the early seeds of reform and opening up in North Korea. China’s reform and opening up under Deng Xiaoping began first with the establishment of local markets and the Communist Party’s recognition of limited individual property rights. From those seeds sprouted China’s openness to trade and investment and membership in the World Trade Organization.
Pyongyang introduced its own reforms in July 2002, allowing local markets because the public distribution system had broken down with the collapse of the Soviet Union and famines of the 1990s. This may have been reform under duress, but China’s reforms were also introduced in large part because of the Communist Party’s failures during the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution.
A farmer’s market in Hamhung, South Hamgyong, North Korea, in 2011. [JOONGANG PHOTO]
Pyongyang’s efforts since 2002 to limit market forces and social disruption through currency redenomination and Security Ministry crackdowns have angered North Koreans, according to the CSIS micro surveys, but they have done little to constrain the growth of markets.
The Kim Jong-un regime is now dependent on markets to allow society to function and people to survive. If there is an inevitability to further market opening as there was in China, then the international community might want to prioritize engagement with North Korea that accelerates that process.
The second and more pessimistic scenario is that the institutionalization of local markets is irrelevant to Kim’s internal repression and nuclear weapons programs. Dependence on markets for food distribution may represent a failure of collectivism under communism and Juche, the North’s state ideology, but not necessarily a failure of authoritarianism. Hitler’s Germany and Saddam Hussein’s Iraq had thriving markets, as do Sudan and Uzbekistan, which Freedom House lists as the most repressive regimes on earth after North Korea. Authoritarian states have successfully used instruments of coercion, such as the secret police, to prevent markets from weakening political control in more cases than not.
Moreover, North Korea’s tolerance for markets has happened at the same time the regime has institutionalized its nuclear-armed status in the Constitution. Under the more pessimistic scenario, the institutionalization of markets in North Korea indicates the regime’s resilience as it continues the dangerous pursuit of intercontinental ballistic missiles and continued human rights violations. Isolation and pressure make the most sense if this scenario is right.
A third and more nuanced scenario suggested by the new CSIS report is that North Korean society and the North Korean state may be in the early stages of decoupling. With the proliferation of markets and increasing opportunities for internal communication through cell phones and informal private sector distribution, North Koreans are increasingly motivated to “organize separately from the state,” as Prof. Andrew Yeo finds in defector interviews cited in the CSIS report. The North Koreans do so not out of ideological opposition to the Kim regime per se, but rather because of the basic need to feed themselves and their families.
Under this scenario, the Kim regime cannot co-opt the nascent civil society forming in North Korea and may even resort to increased repression to limit its influence. Nuclear weapons would still be critical for regime survival, but this evolution from below could ultimately lead to the collapse of regime control.
If the third scenario represents the most accurate interpretation of current market forces within North Korea — and I think it does — then the right policy would be a mix of pressure and selective engagement. It is information and social organization resulting from markets that matter, not markets per se.
Any economic engagement should therefore be designed to empower North Koreans rather than put cash in the hands of the regime that seeks to repress them. And since the evolution of market-driven social connectivity is happening at a much slower pace than North Korea’s nuclear weapons development, we cannot rely on markets to spare us from the threat of Kim’s arsenal. A strategy to impose costs, deter Pyongyang and roll back its weapons programs has to be established on its own merits and not based on wishful thinking about markets.
But that said, the CSIS report suggests why we should position ourselves for the North Korea that could be rather than the North Korea that was.
JoongAng Ilbo, Aug. 31, Page 29
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Earthquake strikes 50 km off Pohang
A 4.1-magnitude earthquake struck off the southeastern city of Pohang, North Gyeongsang, Sunday, but there have been no reports of damage, meteorological officials said.
The quake occurred at 12:53 p.m. in waters 50 kilometers (31 miles) northeast of the port city at a depth of 21 kilometers, officials at the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said.
The KMA had earlier announced the quake’s magnitude was 4.0 but later revised it.
“This is a quake-prone region, but the magnitude is larger than usual,” a KMA official said. “We’re trying to check if there is any damage, but there have been no reports of damage received so far as the location is about 50 kilometers off the coast.”
The official also said the quake is unlikely to cause a tsunami as its magnitude was less than 6.0.
“This is not believed to be related to the 2017 quake in Pohang, but an additional examination is necessary,” the official said, referring to a series of powerful quakes with magnitudes of up to 5.4 that damaged more than 2,000 homes and buildings in the city and left dozens of people injured and more than 1,000 displaced from their homes.
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Reputation and Profits: The "Good Corporate Citizenship" Question
In the world of Buzzword Bingo or your standard corporate blah-blah-blah, one of the favorite expressions that marketing and PR folks like to use for their clients - especially their Big Boy clients - is that they're "good corporate citizens."
Just so you know how 'true' that is, Enron was one. Their marketing people said so.
It's an interesting question, though. What, exactly, is "good corporate citizenship"? What do you have to do to be a "good corporate citizen"? And why should you bother?
The reason why you - and I mean you, personally - should bother is because it's all about your reputation. Your image in the larger society in which you operate - whether you're the local dry cleaner or a global player - is greatly impacted by how you're perceived to treat the area and people in which your organization exists.
But, you say, we're a Big Boy multi-national? We're everyplace. How are we supposed to really do the "good corporate citizen" thing...and why should we?
Take a moment and think about Jack Welch, the so-called "legendary" former CEO of General Electric.
Did he accomplish amazing things in his company? Yes. Did he create shareholder value that exceeded anyone's dreams? Yes.
Did he, by fighting regulators for over 10 years after it was found that GE was polluting the Hudson River with the cancer causing agents, PCBs, not only put the population of the area but his company and its reputation at risk...as well as taint his own reputation? Yes to that, too.
So much for good corporate citizenship and the renowned Mr. Welch. Even now, over a decade later, when Jack Welch puts himself forward, someone remembers the Hudson and what he didn't do.
It's a good thing for GE that Mr. Welch's successor, Jeff Immelt, understood and acted upon the good image and good business of being a "good corporate citizen" - because he turned around the hit that GE's reputation took, both locally and globally. His smart decisions and 'green' strategy, put them back on track to be a trusted partner and corporate provider.
But it doesn't take a giant effort like GE's to make the "good corporate citizen" difference. You achieve just as big - if not bigger - gains by simply showing your support in your local area.
And for that, let's look at Larry Ellison, yet another "legendary" CEO - who founded and runs Oracle.
Ellison's reputation is as a near wild man - and he seems to thrive on it.
That's okay, because his company does things like support the local community where they're headquartered by being a major sponsor of a money-raising effort to ensure that music continues to be taught in the schools.
From the locals' perspective, that makes Oracle a good company. What that turns into, for all the IT managers, business executives and SMB owners whose kids go to those schools, is that Oracle becomes a preferred provider.
What does this mean for you?
It means it's time to start taking your role as a "good corporate citizen" seriously. It's time to go beyond using the pretty words and put your money where your marketing mouthpieces are saying you are.
It doesn't take a lot - but it does take a decision. Your decision.
What do you want your and your company's legacy to be? How do you want to be seen now and in the future?
More importantly, how do you want to use your good corporate citizenship - your investment in the betterment of society through business - to make a difference in people's lives...and your company's profits...now?
It's time to do something different. Business isn't only about profits. In fact, in your company and on the larger scale, profits are simply there as fuel for growth. Yours and society's.
Be a good corporate citizen by doing real things that make a difference. A real difference.
That's what you'll be remembered for - even as everyone who sees what you're doing make their decision to buy what you have to offer now.
Tagged: Corporate Social Responsibility, Education, GE, Jack Welch, Jeff Immelt, Larry Ellison, Legacy, Oracle, Reputation, corporate citizenship
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Home › News › Mar 2019
Sen. Isakson Reintroduces Legislation to Honor WWII Army Rangers
U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., reintroduced the bipartisan Merrill’s Marauders Congressional Gold Medal Act, S.743, this week with the support of 21 Senate cosponsors. The bill would bestow the Congressional Gold Medal on the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional) in recognition of the heroic unit’s extraordinary efforts and sacrifices during World War II.
The Fort Benning, Ga.-based 75th Ranger Regiment traces its history to this unit, which was created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on Sept. 18, 1943, when he called for an American Long Range Penetration Special Operations Jungle Warfare Unit. Nearly 3,000 soldiers serving stateside and around the world volunteered as special operations soldiers. Named “Merrill’s Marauders” after the unit’s first commander, Brigadier General Frank Merrill, the unit fought Japanese forces deep in the mountains and forests of Burma during World War II to secure victory for the United States in Southeast Asia.
“The bravery and sacrifice of the soldiers who volunteered to be a part of this elite group of warriors should be honored and remembered,” said Isakson, who is chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. “I’m proud that the legacy of Merrill’s Marauders lives on today at Fort Benning with the 75th Ranger Regiment, and I’m proud to reintroduce this legislation to honor Merrill’s Marauders with the Congressional Gold Medal.”
After months of training in the Himalayan Mountains, Merrill’s Marauders began combat operations in February 1944, and in just over five months, marched more than 1,000 miles, participated in five major battles and fought the Japanese army 32 times. At the time the unit was relieved from duty, there were only 130 original members left who were fit to fight, and only two had not been seriously injured or grievously ill throughout the campaign. The unit received the Presidential Unit Citation, and every member of Merrill’s Marauders received the Bronze Star.
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yesterday's budae-jjigae
Below are three pics of yesterday's budae-jjigae-- the first time I've made the stew in America. It was fortunate to pass muster with the Korean work crew, and even Mom-- who was originally grossed out* by the concept when I first told her about it a few years back-- ended up liking it. The huge amount I'd made is all gone now, except for a tiny bowlful.
You can read about budae-jjigae here. Take the origin stories with a grain of salt; there are so many myths and legends surrounding the beginnings of this stew that it's hard to know whom to trust on the topic. Almost everyone seems to agree, though, that the bizarre fusion of American crap (spam, hot dogs, and fatty ground beef) with traditional Korean stew ingredients had something to do with the Korean War.
What ingredients can you identify?
*Many Korean immigrants who came to America following the Korean War have not kept up with culinary trends on the peninsula. I grew up, as a result, with a very traditional idea of Korean food, and that's why I was freaked out, when I first settled into a job in Korea in the mid-90s, to discover cheese kimbap. Since then, I've been exposed to all manner of good and bad East/West Korean fusions, and it's amusing to be able to relay my discoveries to Mom. Mom, for her part, has been brought up to speed regarding most of the recent culinary trends, as many aspects of la cuisine coréenne actuelle appear on her beloved Korean cable dramas. She's quite happy we have cable again, by the way; the Verizon guy did most of the installation yesterday, and will be back for a followup visit on Monday morning.
lunch: successful
I made my first-ever batch of budae-jjigae in the United States, and it passed muster with the Korean crew, some of whom had seconds. Even Stan, the Verizon tech, ate a whole bowl of jjigae when he took a break. I asked him whether he could stand spicy food; he smiled and said, "I'm Jamaican. We love spicy."
I took a few pics of the jjigae before I'd added the broth; will append an image or two sometime later tonight.
it happens today
Verizon is arriving in a few minutes, and will be rooting around the house for a few hours, installing FiOS service for the computer and a new cable service for the downstairs TV.
Back in a while, then. Happy Halloween.
I really shouldn't compare myself to this guy, but he puts me to shame
The above gent, Kim Gi Joon, a dude in his 30s, did the end-to-end route of the Appalachian Trail, staying on the route the entire time except when he ran out of supplies. He completed the over 2000-mile route in what is, for me, an astonishingly short amount of time: a mere 5 months. That's not five months on paved roads, folks-- that five months' hard mountain hiking. The mountains in that range aren't that high (probably nothing over 4200 feet-- mere hills by Rockies standards), but you'll come to respect them after you've tried hiking over one or two of them in a day.
Yes, Kim puts me to shame. I can try to comfort myself by noting what the article says about his training: 6th dan in seonmudo (literally, Zen martial arts), 3rd dan in hapkido, etc. The guy was obviously tough as nails going into this, even though he'd had no experience hiking such a long distance before. I can also tell myself that his purpose was simply to cross the distance, nothing else. But part of me still can't help comparing my easy trek to his feat. Of course, the flip side of my reaction isn't quite so self-centered: I admire and respect the guy for his accomplishment, and hope he ends up making some money off this experience (he'd worked in a laundromat before embarking on this hike, and said he wanted to make some money).
Pretty amazing, eh?
Side note: it's become something of a morning ritual for me to try to puzzle over the Korean newspaper, something I do with Mom's help as she's busy making herself up and I'm busy making, uh, stuff while on the pot.
a murky beginning to Halloween
the problem of petitionary prayer
I remember, as a second-grader who'd recently seen "Star Wars"* back in 1977, asking my dad whether God was like the Force. You might laugh, but back then I thought I saw a connection between (a) something Ben Kenobi had said and (b) the concept of petitionary prayer. Not only was the Force "an energy field created by all living things" that "surrounds us, penetrates us, [and] binds the galaxy together," but it was also something that interacted with us:
LUKE: You mean it controls your actions?
OBI-WAN: Partially. But it also obeys your commands.
Old Ben Kenobi seemed to be saying that the Force did one's bidding, and this was the possible parallel I saw with petitionary prayer. During such prayers, we ask God to do something for us:
Lord, it's been dry here for weeks. Let it rain.
Lord, it's been rainy here for weeks. Let it stop raining.
Lord, I've always been a Skins fan. Let them beat those Cowboys today.
Lord, I've always been a Cowboys fan. Let them beat those Skins today.
Lord, make me fast and accurate.
I want you to kill Peter Parker.
My dad disabused me of the idea that we mere mortals could command God, which pretty much ended that discussion. At age seven, I wasn't theologically sophisticated enough to press the issue.
Now, thirty-two years on, I find myself pondering the issue of petitionary prayer again thanks to this nonsense:
An al Qaeda leader has called for President George W. Bush and the Republicans to be "humiliated," without endorsing any party in the upcoming U.S. presidential election, according to a video posted on the Internet.
"O God, humiliate Bush and his party, O Lord of the Worlds, degrade and defy him," Abu Yahya al-Libi said at the end of sermon marking the Muslim feast of Eid al-Fitr, in a video posted on the Internet.
Libi, one of the top al Qaeda commanders believed to be living in Afghanistan or Pakistan, called for God's wrath to be brought against Bush equating him with past tyrants in history.
The remarks were the first comments from a leading al Qaeda figure referring, albeit indirectly, to the U.S. elections. Muslim clerics often end sermons by calling on God to guide and support Muslims and help defeat their enemies.
We'll leave aside the right-wing maneuvering on the Drudge Report that made this article so prominent ("Oh, no! If Obama wins the election, we'll be overrun by Muslims!") and concentrate instead on the issue of petitionary prayer, of which the above article provides an example.
The holy scriptures of various traditions often invite us to view the divine as a source of help, comfort, and refuge, so it is perhaps only natural for people to respond to such a message by actively seeking help, comfort, and refuge from the divine. From a modern scientific perspective, however, this all begins to look more than a bit... well, controversial, to say the least. Petitionary prayer strikes me as a type of magical formula, where "magic" here refers to words, gestures, and rituals designed to produce actual physical effects-- a fairly standard definition of "magic" in fields like anthropology. Case in point: attempting to pray away a disease.
But can one truly make a claim that prayer is physically efficacious? Can you consistently pray away a storm? A drought? A raging cancer? Some people respond to the skeptic's line of questioning by suggesting that, even if there's no divine power at work, prayer is at least efficacious as an auto-suggestive technique, a sort of placebo. Personally, I think it best just to leave aside the question of divine involvement-- something that can't be conclusively proven one way or another-- and focus exclusively on whether claims about prayer are consistently true.
This is, after all, the reason why so many modern folks are skeptical about the power of prayer: there's no consistent evidence that it works. At best, the evidence we have, such as it is, is anecdotal, i.e., scientifically useless. What prayer is and does often doesn't seem to make sense, either. As Carl Sagan noted, people pray at cross-purposes: one general prays for the divine to aid his army; the opposing general requests divine aid for his army. And whether the force of a petitionary prayer is multiplied by the number of pray-ers is in doubt: if one person prays for the health of a cancer-stricken loved one, is this less powerful than twenty people praying for that person? How about a thousand? As Sagan asks: if thousands of people pray for a sick national leader, and that leader dies, does this constitute data about the efficacy of prayer?
The reason there's a discussion about prayer at all is because many people of faith insist on making the claim that "prayer does X"-- e.g., prayer heals. This is a claim about prayer's physical efficacy, which means the results of prayer should be observable and measurable (here, we're not talking about more abstractly worded prayers along the lines of "Lord, help me better understand my wife"; we're focusing purely on prayer-- or the divine-as-motivated-through-prayer-- as an instrument of physical manipulation). If the theist tries to evade systematic skeptical inquiry with a dismissive, "No, no; you're missing the point," I'd say that it's actually the theist who's missing the point: you don't make an unsubstantiated claim about the physical world ("prayer can cure cancer") and then walk away before the claim's been tested! The burden of proof lies squarely on the claimant.
The scorecard doesn't look good for prayer, if for no other reason than the fuzziness that surrounds discussion about prayer's effectiveness. Some people will, for example, claim that failed prayers, i.e., prayers that are either answered in the negative or not answered at all, produce no positive outcomes because the pray-er didn't possess enough faith, either at the time the prayer was uttered, or afterward. Such misguided rhetoric often leads innocent people to blame themselves for the death of a loved one. "If only I'd had more faith... if only I'd prayed more often..." But the main problem, for the purposes of our discussion, is that we have no way of testing whether a divinity is actually at work in answering (or not answering) prayers. Anyone can claim anything about prayer.
It gets worse for prayer, though: the stats simply don't back up the claims. Here's the beginning of a 2006 article by Michael Shermer, founder of Skeptic Magazine, titled "The Verdict is in and the Results are Null" (if you visit the link, scroll down to find the article):
In a long-awaited comprehensive scientific study on the effects of intercessory prayer on the health and recovery of 1,802 patients undergoing coronary bypass surgery in six different hospitals, prayers offered by strangers had no effect. In fact, contrary to common belief, patients who knew they were being prayed for had a higher rate of post-operative complications such as abnormal heart rhythms, possibly the result of anxiety caused by learning that they were being prayed for and thus their condition was more serious than anticipated. (italics mine)
The faithful will hear about such studies and make up ad hoc theology to refute them. Possible responses to the above:
1. Well, prayer works better when it's done by people we know, not by strangers.
2. You can't measure the power of God. Who do these doctors think they are?
3. The person being prayed for needs to know they're being prayed for; they have to choose to accept divine help!
I could go on, but you get the idea: a sufficiently determined theist will concoct any number of rationales to justify their stance on prayer.
Whether it's from an al-Qaeda goofball praying for George Bush's humiliation, a person praying for travel mercies, or someone trying to help out a sick friend or relative (or national leader), petitionary prayer often strikes me as futile. To discern the futility, one need not even address the question of whether a divine power actually exists; as you've seen, I've tried to confine the discussion to the empirical. We aren't discussing God (or Whoever); we're discussing the effectiveness of prayer-- a human action.
None of which is to say that I hate prayer or believe I can conclusively prove there's no divine reality at work behind it. I obviously can't. And truth be told, some prayers are positively beautiful, and are, in my opinion, eloquent formulae for moral guidance. My favorite is the prayer attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi:
Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love:
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
A close second is, strangely enough, this prayer from the movie "The Thirteenth Warrior," uttered before the great battle:
Merciful Father, I have squandered my days with plans of many things. This [battle] was not among them. But at this moment, I beg only to live the next few minutes well. For all we ought to have thought and have not thought, all we ought to have said and have not said, all we ought to have done and have not done-- I pray thee, God, for forgiveness.
You might think me cold for my analysis of one of the most intimate of sacred gestures, but for what it's worth, I am moved by the above examples of prayer. Prayer does have power, in its own weird way... just not the way some people think.
*This was before the movie had been retroactively subtitled "A New Hope" in the first of many Orwellian attempts, by George Lucas, at rewriting history.
the problem of holiness
The problem highlighted in my first "Irreligious Religiosity" post produced one overriding response: if everything is holy... what isn't holy, and does the word "holy" even mean anything?
I don't have time right now to go into this conundrum in detail, but a large part of the problem is our imprisonment in the world of language and concepts. An attempt at discursively delineating my religious position is bound to end in failure, but I take comfort in the fact that I'm not the first or only person to be "mired" (I don't really think I'm mired, but it may seem that way from a ruthlessly logical perspective) in the paradoxes produced by cleaving to a nondualistic position.* Consider the company I keep:
1. What, in Taoism, is not Tao? Does "Tao" mean anything when everything is Tao?
2. In pantheism: what isn't God? Does "God" mean anything when everything is God?
3. If, in Mahayana Buddhism, the conviction is that everyone (and, according to some masters, everything) is enlightened, what's there to strive for? Does "enlightenment" mean anything when everyone and everything is "already there"? (I see hints at an answer in places like the Heart Sutra.)
4. From a theological voluntarist perspective: if everything is the will of God, do we categorize even those things that horrify us as a function of God's will? What's the significance of doing anything, when it's all equally God's will? Philosophically speaking, how do we justify divvying up divine and human responsibility for this or that tragedy? Here we see how this problem has repercussions in theodicy.
I'm not sure that any of these riddles is soluble in a logical manner. As much as I prize logical thinking, I think we are, as some half-remembered public television science program once put it, feeling beings that happen to think. We approach reality primarily through emotional experience; logic, manifesting itself in greater and lesser degrees, is what gives that experience a specific, explicit structure.** Because logic requires premises as starting points, even logical discussion begins with something like a leap of faith. How we come to embrace the fundamental premises-- the basic convictions-- that orient our lives is most likely not a logical process, if it can be described as a process at all.
More on this later, I hope. And once I have more time, I'll be writing Part 2 of "Irreligious Religiosity."
*A long time ago, a reader questioned whether the term "nondualistic position" is even coherent. I sympathize, and have no good answer to that. Such are the pitfalls of language. We're edging ever closer to that dreaded meeting with Jacques Derrida, but when I do finally drag the old boy out of his casket, I plan on using him to my own ends.
**It's likely that the general structure of experience is hard-wired into our consciousness; the ways in which human beings approach reality are shaped and constrained by human nature, starting with the nature of the five senses and the stimuli they convey (or generate!). Contra certain schools of postmodernist thought, we aren't natureless tabula rasas immune to description by certain "totalizing metanarratives," such as the one being constructed by neuroscience. In Hindu terms, there is indeed a "dharma of being human." That dharma might not be something that can be written up in a single tech manual, but it's there. To borrow from St. Paul, this dharma is that in which we live and move and have our being.
A major hurdle has been overcome: the deck framework passed inspection with flying colors. "This is some great work," the inspector told Dad. We all took a moment to congratulate ourselves and each other; just about everyone had some role in the construction of that deck.
The next immediate step is, finally, the ordering of the actual deck, which will be fitted atop and around the framework and bolted into place. I'm impatient to see at least one part of the house completed in the next seven days, and the deck appears to be the area that will cross the finish line first. As the monkey said when it laid its tail across the train tracks: it won't be long now.
en attendant Frodo
It's after noon, and we're still waiting for the Fairfax County inspector to show up and give our deck a look-see; he was supposed to arrive at 10AM. I have little to do at the moment, but once the inspector has come and gone, I'll be helping Dad take down another major fixture from our living room: the giant mirror that has sat above our fireplace since The Beginning, when we moved here in the early 1980s (1982, I think).
In the meantime, a bit of balanced reading for you regarding Barack Obama:
1. REI guru (and CouchSurfing host) Rico points us to Andrew Sullivan's very positive take on Obama:
Those conservatives who remain convinced, as I do, that Islamist terror remains the greatest threat to the West cannot risk a perpetuation of the failed Manichean worldview of the past eight years, and cannot risk the possibility of McCain making rash decisions in the middle of a potentially catastrophic global conflict. If you are serious about the war on terror and believe it is a war we have to win, the only serious candidate is Barack Obama.
2. Canuck blogger Skippy's very negative take on Obama:
Obama has a major fundraising scandal on the horizon that would cripple his presidency if any Republicans were likely to survive next Tuesday, but that’s not going to be a problem, now is it? At this point, the Democratic nominee for president could get drunk and run over 5 pre-schoolers and Joe the Plumber with a fucking steamroller, and he’d still win the Commonwealth of Virginia by six points. [This election] is over and has been ever since the banking industry collapsed.
[A word of caution: this post contains a vulgar Mondegreen in animated GIF form. I'm a big fan of Skippy, but if you're one of my more delicate readers, you might have to steer clear of him, period.]
Don't just read the people who agree with you, especially when it comes to politics. As Michael Shermer pointed out in his lecture on "Why People Believe Weird Things," we're all prone to confirmation bias, i.e., to weeding out discomfirmatory evidence so as to focus on and remember only the evidence that confirms our basic orientation. Certain strains of environmentalism* again come to mind (see earlier discussion-- and the comments appended thereto), but this bias is just as evident in other human pursuits, like religion and politics. Whether confirmation bias is an inherently bad thing is debatable, but it is something we need to watch out for, because little good comes of being wrapped up in a world-denying cocoon.
*From the above-linked article:
One thing does seem very clear, however; science is only beginning to get a handle on the big picture of global warming. Findings like these tell us it's too early to know for sure if man's impact is affecting things at the political cry of "alarming rates." We may simply be going through another natural cycle of warmer and colder times - one that's been observed through a scientific analysis of the Earth to be naturally occuring for hundreds of thousands of years.
that's right: frost on my tent
NB: I'm still perfectly warm and dry inside the tent. The yurt-like pile of blankets keeps me snug, as long as I pull the top blanket over my head at night.
yeeeeeeeow!
Forget coffee: the best way to wake up is with a faceful of freezing AIR!
dawg tahrd
Dog-tired after a long day's work. According to my brother David, I stink. We were in the car just a few minutes ago, driving around town in search of a McDonald's triple-thick chocolate shake, and my stench must have been too much for David, who doesn't normally complain about such things.
Today, we finished up the deck's foundation and Dad put in an online request for another inspection by the county tomorrow-- our eighth. We can't install the actual deck until this inspection has been passed; the final deck inspection won't happen until everything is ready to be inspected.
Finishing up the deck involved digging a deeper trench under the stairs to allow more concrete to be poured and to set beneath them. We had to nail on more braces, and also had to fill in the huge holes into which the support posts for the deck stairs had been driven. Those holes had already received their dosage of concrete, so they needed to be filled with earth, which in turn needed to be tamped down.
Tamping loose earth down into a large hole is hard work, as I think I mentioned in one of my previous posts. Today's labor involved the use of a 2x4; to fill the hole, we had to recover a lot of the earth we had shoveled against the sides of the new dining room (this was dirt from the twelve other holes that had been dug by Juan, et al.). Recovery wasn't easy because that entire area is now covered by the deck-to-be; maneuvering between those joists and shoveling out the dirt is a task for the long-legged. Dad eventually had enough and dug a separate hole in the back yard from which to gather enough earth to fill the two newest post holes.
I had to break off from work to make ddeok-bokgi for the crew. Mom had made mieok-guk for everyone; I'm not sure why we chose to offer two full-scale dishes for lunch; my dish lost out, with only yours truly eating the ddeok-bokgi at lunchtime; everyone else said they were too full. The crew didn't get to try my dish until the end of their work day, i.e., around 6PM, at which time they proclaimed my attempt at Chongno-style ddeok-bokgi "very good."
After the crew had gone, we somehow mustered the energy to make dinner. In our continuing quest to use up leftovers, we made spaghetti by using three pounds of meat (about 1.5 pounds each of ground beef and pork sausage), some leftover button mushrooms, and two bottles of Ragu spaghetti sauce. Our pantry yielded up enough pasta for several servings, and thus did we further dent our supplies.
There's a good chance that, at some point in the near future, the parents are going to end up either tenting it, like I am, or staying at a friend's house for a night for two. The dreaded sanding day is approaching; Mom remains hopeful that she and Dad will be able to remain in the house. Me, I'm betting they're going to get kicked out: the ambient dust particles will prove too dangerous.
Maqz, my brother Sean's dog, didn't enjoy today. The noise, the smells, the unfamiliar people... even though the work crew was nice to Maqz, the poor dog was obviously agitated. Mom, the designated pamperer, took as much care of the twitchy chihuahua as she could, but even that wasn't enough to calm Maqz down. At the end of the day, the boshintang jokes started up again, and Juan told me that they sometimes eat dog in Guatemala, too-- only they eat it raw. Why? Because the dog's meat tastes best right after you kill it, he said. And I thought I was brave for having tried boshintang!
Maqz can relax a bit now; the day is over. We start up again, bright and early, around 6:30 or 7AM.
bedecked
We're supposed to finish up the deck's framework today, I'm told. The work crew got here about 8AM this morning, catching us a bit off guard: for the past few sessions, they've been arriving around 9AM.
The crew continues to prime and spackle. Every gap in the drywall, every depression made by a screw, must be filled to produce perfect flatness. Once this process is done, the sanding begins, at which point we'll have to move about the house in masks. Dad's currently out on another Home Depot run ("I live there," he jokes); when he gets back, he and I will be working on finishing up the deck.
Last night, my brother Sean brought his chihuahua Maqz over; Sean's off to Florida for a friend's wedding this weekend, so we're dog-sitting until Monday. Maqz has never seen the house in this state before; he's excited and scared, unsure what to make of all the activity and foreign smells. With a Korean crew here, boshintang jokes abound.
The day promises to be a full one. More later.
...to heaven?
la cucina, as seen from the dining room
our living room, bare and primed
hole digging
There are two four-foot-deep holes in front of the deck-- dug by the intrepid Juan, if I remember correctly. The holes will be filled with concrete; posts will be added, and the result will be a place on which to pose the new deck stairs. Alas, the holes apparently weren't spaced quite right; Mr. Jeong's measurements were a few inches off. Something had to be done.
Now as you know, you can't grab a hole and move it the way you'd move a garbage can, but you can widen one side of it until you've got what you need. That's what Dad and I did this morning using a variety of equipment-- items with names I don't even know. One tool was a simple shovel. Another was a menacing iron bar about six feet long; it had a hexagonal cross-section, and one end was pointed like a spear while the other was flattened out like a wedge or chisel. A third tool (if my Google search is correct, it's called a post hole digger) looks like a pair of giant mutant chopsticks with duck-billed ends for gouging out cylindrical chunks of earth.
I used all three tools to widen a hole today, and came away with a great appreciation for what those dudes and dudettes on the road and at the constructions sites are doing. They might not all look like the lads and lasses on Diet Coke commercials, but I'd bet real money they've got rock-hard deltoids and trapezius muscles, and can rip your head off without much effort. Even as I type this, I'm feeling the burn of this morning's work in my unconditioned shoulders.
Today's work has been beneficial, though; along with cutting back on meals, I need to keep expending calories. I've gained back five pounds since arriving home, which isn't good news. Truth be told, I'd like to be out walking every day, but renovation-related duties here keep me pretty much bound to the house. Once all this settles down-- probably by the first week of December, as Mr. Jeong's new contract begins then-- we'll be back to more normal blogging. Hang in there. Enjoy the moment. Contemplate the Korean Zen notion of man haeng, the "ten thousand practices." Everything you do, every moment, is practice, from prayer to nose-picking to hole-digging.
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the primed-over walls of our basement are freaking me out
one tired (and possibly sick) Kevin after an evening of furniture-moving and tarp-wrapping
death everywhere
My brother David sends me this link to a story about a mass murder (and fire) in Seoul.
Here in the States, we're all reading about Jennifer Hudson's family tragedy. On top of that, there's now this: tragedy strikes the campus of the University of Central Arkansas, where two people have been shot dead.
porta-johns doing latrine duty because the water's out
the stage on which I was just sitting
I just finished five miles of the ten-mile walk I should have done yesterday, and am tapping this post out while sitting on a concrete stage at the events pavilion of Fort Hunt Park. The park's entrance is at about Mile 2.75, but the restrooms are about a quarter-mile in, rounding my walk off at five miles.
I'll be heading back after a quick skip to ma' loo. The regular loo isn't working; the park service has a sign up saying they shut off the park's water.
This morning, poor Dad was disappointed not to have a hearty breakfast of eggs and whatnot from the camp kitchen; instead, he got cereal. But unlike me, Dad's not a grumbler, so he took the disappointment in stride. I might make him breakfast burritos for lunch. Assuming I'm back at the house in time.
Dad's on the road right now, acquiring more cargo skids on which to place, well, pretty much the rest of our house. The attic needs to be cleared out in the next couple of days, as do the living room and all the upstairs bedrooms: the upstairs is getting a brand-new hardwood floor. We'll also be taking out some more of the downstairs furniture in preparation for the dust storm I talked about in the previous post.
Right... time to mosey on back home. Ah, but first-- butt first! To the toilet, men!
pic dump: as the renovation continues...
Here are some recent photos of the ongoing renovation project. As you'll see, Dad and Mom have been hard at work on the deck, having been conscripted by Mr. Jeong, whose contract doesn't include deck assembly. As a result, Dad has done the lion's share of joist- and post-cutting, and both he and Mom have spent hours putting in braces and learning all about Mr. Jeong's weird and wonderful power tools.
One of my favorite power tools is the pneumatic hammer, which you'll see in the photos below. You stick a nail into it so that the tip is pointing out, you press the nail onto the target surface, then let 'er rip. The loud tap-tap-tap of the hammer blats out like an immense fart, causing me no end of amusement. I wonder what the neighbors think.
Also below are pictures of the camp kitchen, which is now fully functional, though not Mom's favorite place to be. The kitchen is now well-protected from wind and weather (it survived yesterday's gusts just fine), but I don't think Mom likes crossing the distance from the house to the kitchen and back, especially when it's cold out. Can't say I blame her, but I've spent the last several months exposed to the elements, so I don't really care that much about a breezy fifteen-yard walk.
Dad, who still doesn't cook, professes amazement at what Mom and I have produced in that kitchen, but if Dad did cook he'd know that it's not a magical process at all. We're on our way to using up our enormous store of food; below, you'll see a picture of a collaborative bit of "surf n' turf" I whipped up with Mom's help: she provided the sweet potato and made the salad, while I grilled the steak and shrimp and made the salad's strawberry vinaigrette. If we weren't so tired all the time, I'd say, "Come on over and help eat us out of house and home!" We're practically "out of home" as it is!
The pic below doesn't show it clearly, but that immense pile of books at the back of the utility room, flat against the wall where the oil tank used to be, represents all my work, one of the few tasks about which I can rightfully be proud. It took all day to move thousands of books-- some Dad's, most mine-- but it was worth it, as it helped clear out the basement. In the larger scheme of things, though, Dad and Mom are doing a lot more work than I am. They've thrown themselves into demanding tasks like carpet removal, wallpaper stripping and, as you've already seen, certain aspects of deck assembly.
One more comment about the above picture: poor Aunt Gertrude! The woman deserves better treatment. She used to hang in a place of honor in our living room, but now she's relegated to keeping watch over our water heater and furnace. One day soon, she'll be back where she belongs.
A comment about the above pic: as you can see, the kitchen wasn't completely tarped over. The dining fly, essentially a gigantic mosquito net, was still exposed on its eastern and western sides, and there was no protective covering for the northern side, i.e., the entrance. This has since been taken care of. The ridge pole at the front of the tent was also taken out to allow the tarp to droop during the rain, adding a tad bit more protection. As of this writing, the kitchen is now a true pojang-macha. There's absolutely no wind when you're inside the tent.
I think the above kitchen, built by Mom, represents her lack of enthusiasm about going outside to use the other kitchen. I asked her if she wanted me to take the camp kitchen down, but she waved her hand dismissively.
Below are shots of what Dad called "literally the first fruits of the kitchen." I made breakfast for the parents: omelettes, toast, and a fruit bowl that included a chocolate sampler (Halloween candy lying around) and a chunk of Gouda.
Actually, I served Mom and Dad before I thought to take a picture of the meal, so what you see, above and below, is my meal.
Above: deck assembly continues. What you're looking at, in this series of pictures, is the process of laying out the undergirding framework for the deck. The deck itself is a prefab, pre-ordered kit that simply requires snap-in assembly, according to Mr. Jeong. I'll be participating in that project because of the lifting it involves. The deck material won't be normal wood, but some sort of pressure-treated and chemically enhanced composite that will require little to no maintenance, and which should be easy to repair, Lego-style, should any parts get damaged over the course of time.
Below: Mom with that nifty pneumatic hammer. She accidentally shot a nail across the yard-- a scary experience for her, but amusing for us guys. No one was hurt.
The above photo was dinner two nights ago. Many thanks to Dad for starting up the grill. In case you're interested: the steak was from a Costco package of New York strips-- six to a box, or something like that. I grilled two, one for me and one for Dad. Grilling the steaks simply involved rubbing salt and pepper into them and letting Mother Nature do the rest. The shrimps were a bit different; for those, I used a combination of salt, pepper, parsley, garlic, and butter. I layered tin foil onto half of the grill to keep those little guys from falling through. Dad had said "yes" to my suggestion of sprinkling bleu cheese onto the steaks, so I put the cheese onto the grilled steaks, layered the shrimp on top of that, and voilà-- family-style surf n' turf. Mom made the salad and microwaved the sweet potato that served as a baked potato surrogate; I had made the strawberry vinaigrette about a week ago, and it was still good.
More pics to come; the main basement and the Dungeon have been drywalled, so we now have the beginnings of a solid ceiling downstairs. What happens next, though, has everyone talking in fearful whispers because the basement is about to become almost totally uninhabitable.
Apparently, the cracks between the drywall panels will need filling, as the panels don't fit together with absolute precision. Given the nature of drywall, absolute precision is nearly impossible to achieve, hence the need to fill the gaps with some sort of goo. Once the filler hardens, some of it will have begun sagging due to gravity, creating unsightly bulges that will need to be sanded down.
It's the sanding-down process that has everyone fearful, because every renovation story we've heard goes the same way: the micro-particles are so light that they just hang in the air for an eternity. You don't want to be in the area, breathing that stuff in, nor do you want those particles getting into your electronics, or your furniture, or least of all, your carpet. We were asked by Mr. Jeong whether we planned to change out our current carpet for a new one. The parents' reply was "no," given the expense. Mr. Jeong and his team gave us looks that said, "OK; it's your funeral."
So we have to start thinking about either wrapping up the items that still remain in the basement (this includes the main entertainment center) or moving them somewhere safe. The carpet will have to fend for itself. I've assured the parents that my enormous Dirt Devil carpet cleaner-- a device I'd ordered from Amazon.com while I was living in a studio apartment close to Old Town Alexandria-- would be able to handle the mess if we did several thorough cleanings. Here's hoping I'm right.
Other major tasks still lie ahead. We have to clear out the attic soon; to this end, Dad has to go out and get more cargo skids on which to place all those boxes, and we need another mess of tarps and bungee cords. None of these items is cheap; tarps, even the flimsiest ones, can be about $25 per unit, and bungee cords are a lot more expensive than a pack of M&Ms. Also, the parents will be switching their phone and computer service entirely over to Verizon; that happens at the end of this month. Cox Cable isn't going to be happy; they still don't know about the switchover. Easier to ask forgiveness than permission, eh?
The kitchen is a story in itself. The parents have ordered their new cabinets; I'm not sure whether they ordered the countertops for the main kitchen and the new island. The new oven and stovetop, LG products this time around, are being held for us at Home Depot; I don't remember what the parents had said about their new fridge (our third!). The new kitchen sink has arrived; it's sitting in the old dining room area, still inside its box. No idea what's happening with the flooring.
We've begun joking about whether we'll have a house in which to celebrate Thanksgiving. Mom has already gotten an offer from one of her Korean friends, Ms. Lee, to go celebrate at her house. I think it'd be nice if we could celebrate in our own house, but October is waning, and there's still so much to be done. It's going to be a photo finish. I'd like to show you pics of us inside our new dining room, sitting around a table covered in food made in our new kitchen. Otherwise, it's gonna be photos of makeshift tables made of unused drywall paneling and apple boxes, which is what we're currently using downstairs this weekend.
whew, glad that's done
I just finished writing up a 49-lesson curriculum calendar for my first French tutoree. I'm relying on a Barron's book, Learn French the Fast and Fun Way, as the basal text, and am using a website run by-- of all places-- the University of Texas (Austin) for purposes of audio reinforcement. It's called Le français interactif, and despite a few typos, it seems pretty solid. I plan to toss in other multimedia resources as I can, but I don't want to inundate the woman I'm teaching.
In the morning, I plan to take a walk-- my first in over a week. Both my knees are a bit achy, but I've been itching to be out and about instead of trapped here during all the renovation. The work crew is never here over the weekend, which usually gives us a chance to relax, but I still had this curriculum to write, and that took several hours.
It's after 2AM as I write this, and I'm too tired to put up the promised pictures. The process of converting them to blog-friendly format isn't difficult, but it is time-consuming, so I'll save that project for tomorrow. In the meantime, I'll attempt to distract you with some surreal haiku:
"Don't kill me!" it cries.
My spoon stops an inch above
quivering oatmeal
drunken earthworms howl
songs of purple lust, then they
puke and stumble home
squid slips on a thong
one that was made for a beast
sporting nine crotches
I open the door
see a deer on my toilet
playing Sudoku
ponder armpit hair
or here's a better idea:
let's NOT ponder it
I really shouldn't compare myself to this guy, but...
the primed-over walls of our basement are freaking...
one tired (and possibly sick) Kevin after an eveni...
porta-johns doing latrine duty because the water's...
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Human Rights in Ukraine. Website of the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group
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Donbas reintegration law poses human rights risks & doesn’t help hold Russia to account
Dabaltseve February 2015 (photo Reuters), excavation of mass grave after Girkin & his fighters fled Sloviansk
Ukraine washes its hands of civilian victims of Russian-sponsored war in Donbas
Ukrainians get no compensation for destroyed homes in Russia-backed Donbas ’republics’
Poroshenko signs ’reintegration law’ on deoccupation of Donbas
Ukraine will only help Russia if it strips Donbas residents who take Russian citizenship of their pensions
A contentious bill on reintegrating occupied parts of Donbas could be passed by Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada on Thursday despite warnings from major human rights NGOs that it poses serious dangers unless important amendments are made.
Law No. 7163 was tabled in parliament by President Petro Poroshenko as urgent on October 4, 2017 and passed in its first reading just two days later. Amendments were then processed and adapted or rejected by the National Defence Committee behind closed doors, before the amended bill was put forward for the second reading. The final vote was scheduled for January 16, but the process of going through amendments has been slow and the Verkhovna Rada is now due to vote on No. 7163 on January 18 after considering the last 49 amendments and several contentious issues.
The bill identifies the territory of the so-called ‘Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics’ as occupied, and Russia as an aggressor state. It specifically states that “the Russian Federation has initiated, organized and supported terrorist activities in Ukraine, is carrying out armed aggression against Ukraine, as well as the occupation of parts of its territory”, and goes on to speak of Russia’s deployment of its own military servicemen, instructors, advisors, etc, and its support, including financial, for armed formations and mercenaries on occupied territory.
While Russia’s role may not be in dispute, the problem lies in the details, including those pertaining to what Ukraine’s role must be.
Concern has also been expressed by human rights groups over the secrecy regarding the texts of proposed amendments. Olena Lunyova from the Human Rights Information Centre notes that the bill reworked behind closed doors is very different from the bill tabled by the President in October 2017. Her NGO is one of several that have issued a joint statement with Donbas SOS, focusing on five norms which they believe pose a direct threat to human rights. .
1. The Russian Federation is identified as bearing liability for moral and material damages caused to the Ukrainian state, to executive bodies and bodies of local self-government, as well as to individuals and legal entities.
This may well be true, but the norm will not help those individuals who have or are suffering material losses. Lunyova notes that the law does not stipulate the timeframe for such liability, or the territory which it applies to. Most importantly, this is a norm of domestic legislation, not an international agreement, and therefore need have no legal consequences for the aggressor state. Just saying that Russia is liable will not bring compensation any nearer. Possibly quite the contrary, and it is this that Donbas SOS and other human rights NGOs have sounded the alarm over.
The victims are Ukrainians on Ukrainian territory, and Ukraine cannot pass the buck. At present, mechanisms (such as they are) for compensation are envisaged under Ukrainian legislation, yet this new law is proposing to place liability with a country from whom compensation can only be obtained through international courts such as the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court and the European Court of Human Rights.
2. The bill simply proposes that ensuring the rights of individuals on occupied territory in Donbas will be in accordance, “after the necessary amendments”, with the current law on ensuring rights and on the legal regime on occupied territory, which at present applies solely to Crimea. What the necessary amendments will be is not stipulated, nor when they will be added to the law. The NGOs therefore warn of warranting grounds for fearing that issues linked with safeguarding the rights of citizens in occupied Donbas will simply remain unregulated. This is of particular importance given the significant differences between the situation in Crimea and areas of Donbas not under Ukrainian government control.
3. The bill changed since its first reading proposes giving a wide range of powers to military personnel, law enforcement officers and others involved in measures linked with safeguarding national security. Donbas SOS and other NGOs note that there are no mechanisms specified for control over the use of such powers. This is particularly alarming since they involve the use of weapons, ability to detain people, check documents, carry out inspections of individuals, their things, as well as gaining access to premises in undefined “security zones adjacent to the area of military action”.
The bill will significantly restrict freedom of movement by the civilian population from and to areas under occupation through imposing the need for yet another permit and placing control over the regime for crossing from and to with one single body. The NGOs fear that this could lead to a sharp reduction in the number of civic organizations working in the military zone and ‘grey zone’ adjoining it.
The NGOs also warm that the President is being given powers which are not foreseen by the Constitution, for example, to decide, without parliamentary control, to deploy the Ukrainian Armed Forces against Russian aggression in Donbas.
The Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union [UHHRU] has also reiterated its earlier call back in late November on parliament to return No. 7163 for crucial reworking.
Back then, together with the Kharkiv Human Rights Group and the Media Initiative for Human Rights, they pointed to serious failings in the bill. These include a dangerously selective approach to fulfilling Ukraine’s commitments as per international humanitarian law. There needs to be clear acknowledgement of all four Geneva conventions and the protocols to them. This means that Ukraine must take responsibility for protecting civilians in danger conditions, as required by these conventions. The bill fails to cover this and does not provide regulations for ensuring the safety of protected persons, such as prisoners of war, hostages, those who are missing in action or who have their freedom restricted.
There is no clear procedure set out for classifying the conflict in Eastern Ukraine. This is important since our opinion that Russia’s role is obvious is not enough for international courts. While recognizing Russia’s occupation of Crimea as an international armed conflict back in 2016, the International Criminal Court’s Prosecutor’s Office is still considering evidence of Russian involvement, to determine to what extent the conflict can be deemed international;. UHHRU proposes considering a similar approach, whereby the conflict is considered both a non-international and an international armed conflict at the same time.
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The Pied Piper of Zion
Hamelin, a small town in Germany (not so far from where I was born), was infested with rats. In their despair, the burghers called upon a rat-catcher and promised him a thousand guilders for liberating them from this plague.
The rat-catcher took his pipe and played such a sweet melody that all the rats came out of their holes and joined him. He marched them to the Weser river, where they all drowned.
Once freed from this plague, the burghers saw no reason to pay. So the piper took out his pipe again and produced an even sweeter melody. The enchanted children of the town gathered around him and he marched them straight down to the river, where they all drowned.
Binyamin Netanyahu is our pied piper. Enchanted by his melodies, the people of Israel are marching behind him towards the river.
Those burghers who are aware of what is happening are looking on. They don't know what to do. How to save the children?
The Israeli Peace Camp is in despair. No savior is in sight. Many just sit in front of their TV set and wring their hands.
Among the rest a debate is going on. Will redemption come from within Israel or from outside?
The latest contributor to this debate is Amos Schocken, the owner of the "Haaretz" newspaper. He has written one of his rare articles, arguing that only outside forces can save us now.
Let me first say that I admire Schocken. "Haaretz" ("The Land") is one of the last bastions of Israeli democracy. Cursed and detested by the entire rightist majority, it leads the intellectual battle for democracy and peace, All this while the written media are in dire financial straits, in Israel and around the world. From my own experience as a magazine owner and editor – who lost this battle – I know just how heroic and heartbreaking this job is.
In his article Schocken says that the battle to save Israel from within is hopeless, and that we must therefore support the pressures coming from outside: the growing worldwide movement for boycotting Israel politically, economically and academically.
Another prominent Israeli who supports this view is Alon Liel, a former ambassador to South Africa and current university lecturer. Based on his own experience, Liel asserts that it was the worldwide boycott that brought the apartheid regime to its knees.
Far be it from me to contest the testimony of such a towering expert.
I never went to South Africa to see for myself. But I have talked to many participants, black and white, and my impression is a bit different.
It is very tempting to compare present-day Israel with apartheid South Africa. Indeed, the comparison is almost unavoidable. But what does it tell us?
The accepted view in the West is that it was the international boycott of the atrocious Apartheid regime that broke its spine. This is a comforting view. The conscience of the world woke up and crushed the villains.
But this is a view from the outside. The view from the inside seems to be quite different. The inside view appreciates the help of the international community, but it attributes the victory to the fight of the black population itself, its readiness to suffer, its heroism, its tenacity. Using many different methods, including terrorism and strikes, it finally made Apartheid impossible.
The international pressure helped by making the whites increasingly aware of their isolation. Some measures, such as the international boycott on South African sports teams, were especially painful. But without the fight of the black population itself, international pressure would have been ineffective.
The highest respect is due to the white South Africans who actively supported the black struggle, including terrorism, at great personal risk. Many of them were Jews. Some escaped to Israel. One was my friend and neighbor, Arthur Goldreich. Strange as it seemed to some, the Israeli government supported the apartheid regime.
Even a superficial comparison between the two cases shows that the Israeli apartheid regime enjoys major assets which did not exist in South Africa.
The South African white rulers were universally detested because they quite openly supported the Nazis in World War II. The Jews were the victims of the Nazis. The Holocaust is a huge asset of Israeli propaganda. So is the labeling of all critics of Israel as anti-Semites – a very effective weapon these days.
(My latest contribution: "Who is an anti-Semite? Someone who tells the truth about the occupation.")
The uncritical support of the powerful Jewish communities throughout the world for the Israeli government is something the South African whites could not even have dreamed of.
And, of course, there is no Nelson Mandela in sight. Not after Arafat's isolation and murder, at least.
Paradoxically, there is a little bit of racism in the view that it was the whites in the Western world that delivered the blacks in South Africa, and not the black South Africans themselves.
There is another big difference between the two situations. Hardened by centuries of persecution in the Christian world, Jewish Israelis can react to outside pressure differently than expected. Outside pressure can turn out to be counterproductive. It may re-confirm the old Jewish belief that Jews are persecuted not for what they do, but for who they are. That is one of Netanyahu's main selling points.
Years ago, an army entertainment group sang and danced to the joyful tune of a song that started with the words: "The whole world is against us /But we don't give a damn…"
This also concerns the BDS campaign. 18 years ago, my friends and I were the first to declare a boycott on the products of the settlements. We wanted to drive a wedge between Israelis and settlers. Therefore we did not declare a boycott of Israel proper, which would drive ordinary Israelis into the arms of the settlers. Only direct support of the settlements should be rejected.
That is still my opinion. But everyone abroad should make up his/her own mind. Always remembering that the main objective is to influence public opinion in Israel proper.
The "Inside-Outside" debate may sound purely theoretical, but it is not. It has very practical implications.
The Israeli peace camp is in a state of despair. The size and power of the right wing is growing. Almost daily, obnoxious new laws are proposed and enacted, some of them with an unmistakable fascist flavor. The Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, has surrounded himself with a bunch of male and female rowdies mainly from his Likud party, compared to whom he is a liberal. The main opposition party, the "Zionist Camp" (alias Labor), could be called Likud B.
Apart from some dozens of fringe groups who brave this wave and do admirable work, each in its chosen niche, the peace camp is paralyzed by its own despair. Its slogan could well be "Nothing can be done anymore. No point doing anything".
(Jewish-Arab cooperation in the common fight inside Israel – now sadly lacking - is also essential.)
In this climate, the idea that only outside pressure can save Israel from itself is comforting. Somebody out there will do the job for us. So let's enjoy the pleasures of democracy while it lasts.
I know that nothing is further from the thoughts of Schocken, Liel and all the others, who fight the daily fight. But I am afraid that this may be the consequence of their views.
So who is right: those who believe that only the fight inside Israel can save us, or those who put their trust entirely in outside pressure?
My answer is: neither.
Or, rather, both.
Those who fight inside need all the outside help they can get. All the moral people in all the countries of the world should see it as their duty to help those groups and persons inside Israel who continue to fight for democracy, justice and equality.
If Israel is dear to them, they should come to the aid of these brave groups, morally, politically and materially.
But for outside pressure to be effective, they must be able to connect with the fight inside, publicize it and gain support for it. They can give new hope to those who are despairing. Nothing is more vital.
The government realizes this. Therefore it is enacting all kinds of laws to cut Israeli peace groups off from foreign help.
So let the good fight go on – inside, outside, everywhere.
http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/channels/avnery/1454081725/
Tutu's Prayer
Despair of Despair
Gaza: Why We Must Act Now
Growing Isolation: Boycott of Israel Crosses to Governments’ Realm
Israel: International Anger Mounts
israel israeli south fight outside world inside peace view apartheid pressure boycott black camp despair africa international save democracy regime
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Loud Family - Scott Miller
Music Player: Listen to Game Theory's classic album Lolita Nation in its entirety.
Click here to open the player in a new window
Game Theory's Supercalifragile is now available at Bandcamp.
Omnivore Recordings followed its releases of Blaze of Glory, Dead Center, Real Nighttime, Lolita Nation and The Big Shot Chronicles with Two Steps From the Middle Ages (June 9, 2017). The album is available on translucent orange vinyl as well as on CD. This reissue contains the original 13 songs supplemented with a whopping 11 bonus tracks—demos, live performances and covers—all previously unissued. Packaging includes rare and previously unseen photos from the band's photographer, Robert Toren, as well as essays from producer Mitch Easter, Ken Stringfellow (The Posies, Big Star), and Franklin Bruno (The Village Voice, Salon.com). This reissue is lovingly dedicated to Gil Ray, who was involved in all aspects with the Game Theory reissue series, including this title.
Gil Ray
To know Gil Ray was to love Gil Ray. He was warm, kind, and also hysterically funny—a real Southern gentleman. And, of course, he lent his incredible drumming skills to the Loud Family, Game Theory (which he joined in 1985), and several other bands, including Rain Parade, the Happy Eggs and Fade to Black. He also released a solo CD in 2006, I Am Atomic Man! Gil passed away on January 24, 2017 after a long struggle with cancer, which he documented on his blog, pobuck.blogspot.com.
Don't All Thank Me At Once: The Lost Pop Genius of Scott Miller, by Brett Milano, is now available from 125 Records (which also brought you Music: What Happened?). Included in this biography are revealing interviews with nearly every member of his bands, and renowned collaborators like producer Mitch Easter, Posies member Ken Stringfellow and songwriter Aimee Mann. Though his story took a tragic turn, this book celebrates a fascinating body of work and the complex individual who created it.
Holly George-Warren, author of A Man Called Destruction: The Life and Music of Alex Chilton, wrote: "Brett Milano's finely tuned exploration of Game Theory founder Scott Miller's life and work sheds light on the late singer-songwriter's literate pop rock and sadly underappreciated talent. As Aimee Mann once said of Miller's combo the Loud Family, 'I was truly shocked that band didn't get more attention.' Milano also delves into the vagaries of the '80s and '90s record business and college-rock scene."
Purchase the Kindle version or the trade paperback from Amazon.com
Purchase the EPUB version from Kobo - iTunes Store - Smashwords
Special order the paperback through your favorite indie retailer: IndieBound
Scott Warren Miller
I wish it weren't true, but as much as it pains me to write these words, Scott passed away on April 15, 2013. He was a wonderful, loyal friend as well as a brilliant musician, and I will miss him for the rest of my life.
Scott had been planning to start recording a new Game Theory album, Supercalifragile, this summer, and was looking forward to getting back into the studio and reuniting with some of his former collaborators.
If listening to Scott's own music is too painful for you right now, as it is for me, I can tell you that he absolutely loved David Bowie's new album, The Next Day. He found Bowie's late-career resurgence to be hugely inspirational. I'm sure that if there had been a 2013 chapter of Music: What Happened?, one of the songs from that album would have been right at the top.
(Photo at right by Robert Toren)
—Sue Trowbridge, LoudFamily.com webmaster, 1995-present
A scholarship fund has been established for Scott's daughters. Please click here if you would like to donate to it: Scott Miller Family Memorial Fund
Now Available: The Third Edition!
Featuring the brand new 2011 chapter!
If you already purchased the first edition, click here to download a PDF version of the 2010 chapter, and click here to download a PDF version of the 2011 chapter. Order the book from 125 Records.
Scott Miller has released more than a dozen albums with his bands Game Theory and the Loud Family, and his music has been described as "a cross between Alex Chilton, James Joyce, and the Electric Prunes" (Stereo Review) and "smart, funny, and instantly memorable" (Rolling Stone). In Music: What Happened?, Miller writes about each of the past 55 years in popular music—1957-2011—via countdown song lists, blending the perspectives of a serious musician, a thoughtful critic, and an all-devouring music fan. Miller not only tells you why he loves particular songs, but also what was going on in the musical world in which they competed to be heard.
The book is based on the series created for this web site, but Scott re-examined and rewrote much of the text; in addition, it's all been edited and fact-checked (though we still anticipate the odd error might sneak through, and if you find one, you're welcome to send in a correction—we'll fix it in the next printing). The book also contains bonus chapters (2007-2011) that did not appear online, as well as a foreword and an interview with Scott by his longtime friend and fan Bob Lloyd.
Order the book from 125 Records, or download the Kindle edition or the Barnes & Noble Nook Book now. It is also available from Google Books.
Don't miss this interview with Scott by Matthew Perpetua at Fluxblog.org, and this one from Middlemojo.com. And here's one from Rocker.
Acclaim for Music: What Happened?
Four stars from Rolling Stone Magazine! "Scott Miller was the cerebral indie-pop auteur behind the band Game Theory, whose classic 1987 album Lolita Nation is a head-spinning classic. But he puts a lifetime of musical smarts into this book. The premise is simple: Miller breaks down songs from every year since 1957, more than 1,000 in all. But his insights are dazzling. It's rare to see anybody say something new about Dark Side of the Moon, which he blames for crummy-sounding records that followed: 'The managed jazz influence... and sequencer bloops had nations erroneously reasoning, "Who needs big, fat-sounding anything?"' When he digs into details that make a song work, he'll make you want to hear 'Hey, Jude' right now—and make you feel like you're hearing it for the first time."
—Rob Sheffield in the April 14, 2011, issue of Rolling Stone
"Miller's writing demonstrates a level of skill, intelligence, sensitivity, and wit that I'm nearly jealous of, he pulls it off so well... Music: What Happened? is an inspiration to dig that much deeper into my own collection with relish and to seek out some new favorites with a fresh perspective."
—Jon Kanis, Ugly Things Magazine
"Not only does Miller totally acquit himself as a rock critic, he's produced one of the most interesting compendiums of music journalism since Robert Christgau's Rock Music of the ‘70s... Miller has a great writing style—very alive, specific and entertaining."
—Jordan Oakes, Stlmag.com
"You're thinking: it's not every day that someone writes about music on the internet, especially to pick favorite pop music; we can all thank Scott for finally troweling that wide cultural gap. But really—this is a new and lively style of music writing that you just keep wanting to read more of."
"In capsule reviews of half-forgotten pop records, Scott Miller manages actual humor (a first in music criticism) and major insights that may change the way you think about, for example, 1967. Almost a new art form."
"The way he describes the songs he loves—some very indie, some anything but—is tremendously suggestive. If only he or some acolyte could spin a worldview around those observations we might really have something to go on."
—Robert Christgau, Dean of American Rock Critics
"Scott Miller's the wizard behind some of pop's most beguiling melodies (and he's no slouch in the lyrics department, either). Who better to be your guide on a curated tour of the rock era's top recordings, a genre-hopping jaunt through the big hits and lost gems, each placed in its own contextual niche by the thoughtful, funny, enthused Miller. Skim it to see what he says about your fave raves, or delve deeper to discover the unknown sonic pleasures that await you. A must for the dedicated music fiend."
—Kim Cooper, Scram Magazine editrix and author of Neutral Milk Hotel's 'In The Aeroplane Over The Sea' (33 1/3 Series)
"Whether they admit it or not, all great songwriters tend to keep an eye on the competition. So it should come as little surprise—especially to anyone familiar with the often-intertextual brilliance of the music he's made with Game Theory and The Loud Family—that Scott Miller's book about other people's songs overflows with the same insight and linguistic firepower that animates his own compositions. Music: What Happened? is his custom-built canon—more than a thousand songs; 20 favorites for each year from 1957 to 2009—and it distills a lifetime of obsessing about music into an endlessly quotable and re-readable listener's guide. There are bite-sized epiphanies on every page—about lyrics, about sound, about how music finds its way into our lives, about what we do after it arrives. It's an exhilarating read, highly recommended to music geeks (and wannabe music geeks) of all ages."
—Andy Zax, music producer and former "Beat the Geeks" co-star
All content © The Loud Family / Scott Miller.
Web site: interbridge. Photos of Scott: Kristine Chambers Miller. Book design & layout: Betsy Lescosky.
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