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NewsWorld
Brits will have to pay to enter Europe after Brexit
Posted: 12:30 PM, Dec 14, 2018
In post-Brexit Britain, trips to the European Union will get a little more expensive for millions of Brits in search of a continental break.
The European Commission confirmed on Friday that UK travelers will be required fill out an online form and cough up €7 ($7.90) for visa-free travel, which will be valid for three years.
Natasha Bertaud, a spokeswoman for the commission's President Jean-Claude Juncker, likened the "simple form" to the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) scheme used by the United States -- which requires travelers to pay $14 to apply for permission to enter the country.
She also pointed out that the EU's version, called ETIAS, will be "way cheaper."
But this all comes with a major caveat. If the UK crashes out of the EU with no agreement in place, Brits will be required to get a visa to travel to the EU, a commission spokeswoman told Reuters on Friday.
ETIAS, which is expected to come into force in 2021, will apply to countries outside the EU whose citizens can currently travel in Europe visa free. There are currently 61 such countries, including the United States, Israel and Singapore.
It will cover the so-called Schengen group of 26 European countries that share largely open land borders.
The electronic visa waiver system was conceived to "identify any security or irregular migratory risks posed by visa-exempt visitors traveling to the Schengen area while at the same time facilitate crossing frontiers for the vast majority of travelers who do not pose such risks," according to the commission .
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Section 1738c. Reduction of certain debt
7 U.S. Code § 1738c. Reduction of certain debt
(a) Authority to reduce debt
(1) In general
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the President may reduce the amount owed to the United States or any agency of the United States, and outstanding as of January 1, 1990, as a result of any credits extended under subchapter II to a country eligible for benefits from the Facility.
(2) Availability of appropriations
The authorities under this section may be exercised only to the extent provided for in advance in appropriation Acts.
(b) Limitation
A debt reduction authorized under subsection (a) shall be accomplished, at the direction of the Facility, through the exchange of a new obligation under this subchapter for obligations of the type referred to in subsection (a) outstanding as of January 1, 1990.
(c) Exchange of obligations
The Facility shall notify the Commodity Credit Corporation of an agreement entered into under subsection (b) with an eligible country to exchange a new obligation for outstanding obligations. At the direction of the Facility, the old obligations that are the subject of the agreement may be canceled and a new debt obligation may be established for the country relating to the agreement. The Commodity Credit Corporation shall make an adjustment in its accounts to reflect a debt reduction under this section.
(July 10, 1954, ch. 469, title VI, § 604, as added Pub. L. 101–624, title XV, § 1512, Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 3658; amended Pub. L. 102–237, title III, § 303, Dec. 13, 1991, 105 Stat. 1855.)
1991—Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 102–237 substituted “Availability” for “Avaliability” in heading.
Delegation of Functions
For delegation of functions of President under subsec. (a) of this section, see section 1 of Ex. Ord. No. 13345, July 8, 2004, 69 F.R. 41901, set out as a note under section 1738 of this title.
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Inspiring Festival Of Learning Award Winners Show The Power Of Learning To Transform Lives
Learning and Work Institute has announced its Festival of Learning award winners for 2019. The 12 winners, revealed at a prestigious awards ceremony in central London, include inspiring individual stories, as well as outstanding tutors, employers, programmes and institutions.
Festival of Learning, a national celebration of lifelong learning, has been running for almost 30 years. All of this year’s winners show the power of learning to transform and enrich people’s lives.
Michael Shakil, a care-leaver from London, who overcame a difficult childhood to go to university and pursue his dream of becoming a furniture designer, has been selected by HRH The Princess Royal to receive the Patron’s Award.
City Lit, a pioneering adult education institute, has been awarded the President’s Award. Opening in 1919, City Lit taught sign language to returning soldiers who had been deafened by shell fire. A beacon for lifelong learning for the last century, City Lit has helped more than 1 million Londoners develop their skills and pursue their passions.
Diana Omokore, an inspirational young woman from Leicester has been awarded the Outstanding Individual Award. Taken into care as a teenager, Diana grew a passion for helping other young people. After overcoming adversity, she is studying paediatric surgery and volunteering to support vulnerable children.
Marie Smith, from Wolverhampton, overcame severe depression and transformed her life after returning to education. She has been awarded the Learning for Health Award after going from being trapped at home to returning to work and studying for a degree.
Keoghs LLP, a Bolton-based law firm, with an outstanding commitment to investing in both its staff and community, has been recognised with the Employer Award. Keoghs offers more than 30 apprenticeships a year and has supported 100 unemployed people access work.
Fiona Pickett, from London, has won the Tutor Award. After losing her hearing, Fiona thought she would never teach again. But she has gone on to become a lipreading tutor, including training 70 lipreading tutors, and transformed the lives of hundreds of people facing similar challenges.
Emma Searle, from Devon, received the Learning for Work Award. After seeing paramedics attend a family emergency, Emma was inspired to go back to college and study to be a paramedic so that she could help others too.
Vicky Seagars, from Sittingbourne in Kent, overcame severe anxiety by taking part in family learning at her children’s school. She has won the New Directions Award after going on to university to study midwifery and inspiring family members to start learning again.
Seong Ngoh Chua, from Wolverhampton, who learnt very little English growing up in Malaysia, attended ESOL classes to help her feelings of isolation and empower her children, has won the English Language Learning Award. She is now supporting others to do the same.
Nurturing Recovery, a Somerset-based horticultural project, run in partnership with Bridgwater & Taunton College and North Somerset Council, which helps people recovering from addictions and mental ill health enhance their skills and confidence has received the Project Award.
Stuart Ferris, a community centre caretaker from Oldham, has won the Return to Learning Award. His undiagnosed dyslexia led to Stuart having difficulties with his literacy skills at school, but he returned to education in his 50s to improve his literacy and find work.
Dr Peter Shukie, from Blackburn, has been awarded the Social Impact Award after creating an innovative online platform to support people accessing community learning.
Learning and Work Institute, a policy, research and development organisation dedicated to lifelong learning, employment and inclusion organise Festival of Learning each year. Chief executive, Stephen Evans said:
“Adult learning has never been more important. Learning can help people into work or climb the career ladder. It can help you make new friends or be active in your community. Learning ca improve health and wellbeing. However, the number of adults in learning has fallen over the last decade and our research shows stark and persistent inequalities, with some groups far less likely to participate.
“Our award winners show just how powerful learning can be and the difference that great tutors and learning providers can make. I hope their stories both help to inspire others to go into learning, and help to persuade policymakers of the need for a renewed commitment to – and investment in – lifelong learning.”
Festival of Learning is supported each year by the Department for Education. Anne Milton, minister of state for skills and apprenticeships, said:
“I’m thrilled to see the Festival of Learning Awards recognise and celebrate the achievements of people who are taking the opportunity to change their lives through learning new skills and knowledge.
“We want everyone to have the skills they need for life and work and Learning and Work Institute is doing some amazing work. It’s so important that we recognise the achievements of those that follow this path and make sure they get the recognition they wholeheartedly deserve. I congratulate all of the twelve winners and I look forward to hearing more about the progress they make.”
For more information, including further details on each winner and interview opportunities, contact Rhian Short, marketing and communications manager, [email protected] 0116 204 4217 or 07880 724062
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Leadership (CD-Audio)
By Doris Kearns Goodwin, Intro and Afterword Read by the Author (Read by)
The New York Times bestselling book about the early development, growth, and exercise of leadership from Pulitzer Prize-winning author Doris Kearns Goodwin “should help us raise our expectations of our national leaders, our country, and ourselves” (The Washington Post).
“After five decades of magisterial output, Doris Kearns Goodwin leads the league of presidential historians” (USA TODAY). In her “inspiring” (The Christian Science Monitor) Leadership, Doris Kearns Goodwin draws upon the four presidents she has studied most closely—Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson (in civil rights)—to show how they recognized leadership qualities within themselves and were recognized as leaders by others. By looking back to their first entries into public life, we encounter them at a time when their paths were filled with confusion, fear, and hope.
Leadership tells the story of how they all collided with dramatic reversals that disrupted their lives and threatened to shatter forever their ambitions. Nonetheless, they all emerged fitted to confront the contours and dilemmas of their times. At their best, all four were guided by a sense of moral purpose. At moments of great challenge, they were able to summon their talents to enlarge the opportunities and lives of others. Does the leader make the times or do the times make the leader?
“If ever our nation needed a short course on presidential leadership, it is now” (The Seattle Times). This seminal work provides an accessible and essential road map for aspiring and established leaders in every field. In today’s polarized world, these stories of authentic leadership in times of apprehension and fracture take on a singular urgency. “Goodwin’s volume deserves much praise—it is insightful, readable, compelling: Her book arrives just in time” (The Boston Globe).
Doris Kearns Goodwin’s interest in leadership began more than half a century ago as a professor at Harvard. Her experiences working for Lyndon B. Johnson in the White House and later assisting him on his memoirs led to her bestselling Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream. She followed up with the Pulitzer Prize–winning No Ordinary Time: Franklin & Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II. She earned the Lincoln Prize for the runaway bestseller Team of Rivals, the basis for Steven Spielberg’s Academy Award–winning film Lincoln, and the Carnegie Medal for The Bully Pulpit, the New York Times bestselling chronicle of the friendship between Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft. She lives in Concord, Massachusetts. Visit her at DorisKearnsGoodwin.com or @DorisKGoodwin.
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Publication Date: September 18th, 2018
History / United States
Business & Economics / Leadership
Paperback (October 2019): $18.00
Library Binding, Large Print (September 19th, 2018): $35.99
Paperback, Large Print (December 4th, 2019): $19.00
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More records for Israeli swimmers
Once more, however, the level in Beijing proved too high for Israel's best.
By Allon Sinai, BEIJING
swimmer 88. (photo credit: Courtesy)
Another successful day at the Olympic pool ended with two more Israeli records, but once more the level in Beijing proved too high for Israel's best and Nimrod Shapira Bar-Or and Tom Be'eri failed to advance to the semifinals. Bar-Or, who smashed the Israeli record in the 200 meters freestyle to advance to the semis in shocking fashion on Sunday, improved Yoav Bruk's 11-year-old record in the 100m free by more than a second on Tuesday, setting a time of 49.10 seconds to finish 26th overall. "It's very special to break Bruk's record," Bar-Or said. "My aim for the future is to reach an Olympic final and perhaps become the first Israeli to scale the podium in swimming at the Games." Be'eri obliterated his Israeli record in the 200m breaststroke by almost two seconds, touching the wall after 2:11.44 minutes. Despite his superb achievement, Be'eri only finished in 20th place overall and missed out on a semifinal berth by 25 hundredths of a second. An illustration of how much swimming has advanced since the Athens Games is that in 2004 the time set by Be'eri on Tuesday would have seen him finish in fifth place in the final. "I wasn't surprised by the fact that I didn't make the semifinal," Be'eri said. "I did what I could and there's no reason for me to be disappointed."
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Davar newspaper.(Photo by: EBAY)
Histadrut revives ‘Davar’ socialist newspaper online
By GREER FAY CASHMAN
Some of Israel’s leading literary and political figures worked as journalists for the daily.
Even old socialists have a second act.
The Histadrut labor federation – in an attempt to convey its message of solidarity, equality and social justice – has revived its long-defunct newspaper Davar and re-launched it as an online publication. In addition to news, the site will have worker- based features as well as general interest stories.
Established in June 1925 as the daily newspaper of the Histadrut, with Berl Katznelson as its founding editor, Davar was the paper of choice among Israeli workers. It also had several subsidiary publications for women and children.
At the end of its first quarter century of existence, it had close to 400 employees.
When Katznelson died in 1944, he was succeeded by Zalman Shazar, who later became the third president of Israel.
For several years, Davar and The Jerusalem Post were sister publications.
Shazar was succeeded by Hanna Zemer, a Holocaust survivor who was the first female editor of the newspaper, which had become the leading Hebrew daily.
She had been a political correspondent, and during her 20 years at the helm of the publication – until 1990 – she appointed Israel’s first woman print media military correspondent, Tali-Lipkin Shahak (then Tali Zelinger), whose father, Azariah Rapoport, was Israel’s first ever military correspondent.
Some of Israel’s leading literary and political figures worked as journalists for the daily. Among them were Shmuel Yosef Agnon, Israel’s first Nobel Prize laureate, Natan Alterman, Leah Goldberg, Uri Zvi Greenberg, Dahn Ben-Amotz, Israel Prize laureate Haim Gouri, Amnon Dankner and Yossi Beilin.
Following Zemer’s retirement, it took two men to fill her shoes: Yoram Peri and Daniel Bloch.
By then the paper had fallen on hard times financially, and Peri and Bloch did not stay in their respective posts for very long.
The last editor of the newspaper before it closed in 1996 was Ron Ben-Ishai, a respected military correspondent.
During his tenure, the paper’s name was changed to Davar Rishon, a word play meaning “First Thing.”
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Home Multimedia Fr Paddy's Blog A Mickey Mouse Country
Fr Paddy's Blog
A Mickey Mouse Country
In this week’s blog Fr Paddy writes about how with the upcoming Budget, the vulnerable will suffer and are suffering at the hands of our state government.
Much media attention, coupled with anxiety and fear has been given to the forth coming budget in early December. In a time of cut-backs, no doubt, the vulnerable will be affected most. This must be challenged. I recently sat through a talk given to elderly people concerning the ‘Fifty Cent’ increase in prescription charges per medication, monthly. One lady shared with us that she takes eighteen tablets a day amounting to over Eight Euro a month extra on her prescription charge. Again the unemployed, elderly and most vulnerable are being punished. I find this so difficult to reconcile, as the country faces bankruptcy after bailing out greedy, wealthy, bankers and developers at a cost of over Thirty Billion Euro taken from tax payers money.
I remember not so long ago, a representative of the hospital consultant’s organisation famously suggested that a Quarter of a Million Euro per annum was a ‘Mickey Mouse’ salary. The offer on the table to the consultants at the time, was an annual salary of two hundred and five thousand, plus bonuses of forty five thousand euro. Unacceptable, derisory, ‘Mickey Mouse’. Who could possibly expect consultants to work for a Quarter of a Million Euro a year? Who could possibly expect John Brophy pay an extra Nine Euro per month on his medical card prescription expenses out of One Hundred and Ninety Eight Euro a week???
There is, officially at least, no class system in Ireland. People tend to live in self-enclosed worlds, with little appreciation or knowledge of how other people live – or partly live. The longer we live in that world, the more protected it becomes and the more they only listen to the echo of their own voices, the more unreal is the belief that somehow or other that the world can be sustained – even when it is clear that it is coming apart at the seams.
The same is very true in relation to the Catholic Church, one of the biggest difficulties is that we refuse to accept that the old world has crumbled under our feet and rather than clinging to the vestiges of the past that we should be engaging with the present if we want to be part of the future. What tends to happen when previously self-contained groups come under pressure is that the only voices that are heard are those who make the right noises. The result is that the draw-bridge goes up, the wagons are circled, the mega phone comes out. Everyone is out of step, but us. And if people would listen, they would realise that the continuation of this cosy world is for your own good. Those who become leaders, are perceived to be those who can defend but never score, centre backs rather than strikers, dull corner backs, rather than creative wingers.
Its difficult to figure out where are we going. In building a new frame-work where opportunity and equality co exist at all levels in our society, justice is an essential ingredient. Fundamental change is truly necessary in so many structures and institutions in our society. The voice of the vulnerable needs to be represented loudly to those who are preparing to punish them first, next December.
Fr. Paddy Byrne
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Chance to nominate inspiring young people
THROUGHOUT January there is an opportunity to nominate inspiring Charnwood teenagers for a special award.
Loughborough Echo
Updated 16:15, 29 AUG 2013
The 2013 Lord-Lieutenant’s Award scheme has been launched to recognise young people who have made an outstanding contribution to society.
Young people from Leicester and Leicestershire who are aged 13-19 by January 31, 2013 are eligible for nomination.
Various categories are available - last year Harriet Cooper from Rothley scooped the Young Sports Personality of the Year award.
The deadline for nominations is January 31 and this year’s categories are:
• Young braveheart of the year
• Young volunteer of the year
• Young voice of the year
• Young scientist of the year
• Young artist of the year
Lady Gretton, Lord-Lieutenant of Leicestershire, said: “One of the joys of being Lord-Lieutenant is having the opportunity of meeting many young people and seeing some truly remarkable examples of volunteering in their communities.
“I am delighted with the way my award has helped to raise the profile of their achievements.”
The awards are run in partnership with organisations offering services to young people, including LeicestershireCounty and Leicester City Councils, as well as the business community
To find out more about the awards, and to nominate a young person, visit: www.leics.gov.uk/llawards
You can also request as form by emailing: lieutenancyoffice@leics.gov.uk or by calling 0116 3056053.
You can also follow the awards via Twitter @leicslieutenant
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The Life In Ketosis Podcast
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8/8/18 E50 It’s Never too Late to Get Started…Eve’s Story
August 08, 2018 / Chad Brown
Have you caught yourself thinking that it's too late for you to start your own fitness journey? Maybe you've said to yourself "if only I knew about this 20 years ago, THEN I'd do something about it"...Well, today's episode is for you! We have a special guest who has a message you need to hear. Her name is Eve and she is a coaching client of Eric's. Her progress has been incredible and the things she's achieved in just a few short months will get you excited about your own journey.
Emotional eating, surgeries, and mid-life crises...
Eve shares her experience of being hungry for 6 months straight!
How can I be an athlete if I don't carbo load?
"Are you sure I can eat cheese?"
What was the change like going from paleo to keto?
How fasting resulted in PR's for Eve.
Using beta to deadlift 300 pounds!
And Eve shares a (sometimes brutal) behind the scenes look at what it's like to be coached by Eric...
Hey, want some cool gifts? Eric and Chad spend a lot of time on this podcast trying to provide valuable content to listeners like you. If you have found value in the podcast, would you consider becoming a patron?
Check out our link at www.patreon.com/lifeinketosis
We also have some really awesome exclusive gifts there for listeners that pledge!
If you have any questions on this episode (or any questions in general) don’t hesitate to reach out to us at bioteam@biofitcoaching.com, or submit a question on www.lifeinketosispodcast.com.
And if you’re interested in starting your own journey, you can find out more information at biofitcoaching.com or on Facebook at facebook.com/becomebiofit.
Eve: 00:00 Uh, I, I just think no matter where you are in your journey, just to, I think sometimes it's hard not to look back and grieve, you know, whether how far you've come from, where you want to be and that it's never, never, ever too late to pick up the gauntlet and start
Chad: 00:17 They say a Journey begins in a single step or in my case, one less piece of bread.
Chad: 00:28 My name is Chad and I'm your test subject. I have sought out an expert in the field of nutrition and fitness, so I hope it helped me feel better. They call him the biohacker, but I call him Eric. I hope you'll join me on a path that leads you and I to optimal fitness as we live our lives in ketosis. This is the life and Ketosis podcast, a biohackers guide to optimal body performance.
Chad: 01:02 Hello everyone. My name is Chad and this is my quest to achieving optimal body performance with a man that can get me there. The biohacker himself. Mr Eric Bischof every episode. Eric gives us his crazy intense sciencey knowledge and I break it down with my regular, non crazy guy. Take as we explore the principles of ketogenics and KPR performance training, whether you're just looking for a way to feel better or if you look at whether you're just looking for a way to look to feel better or if you're an elite athlete looking for that edge. We're here to help. And today I'm, I'm particularly excited about this episode. I, these are my favorite. We've only done a couple of them and, uh, I, I, I love these conversations because it's keto stories and uh, and it's real life information. It's real life experience and I absolutely love it. So today we have a guest on with us, Eve Bryant from Austin, Texas, one of my favorite cities in the entire country. And uh, we're just so excited to have you. Eve, how are you?
Eve: 02:02 I am doing very well. And Hello, Eric and Chad. No Land Guy. He excited to have you on.
Chad: 02:13 And how are you eric?
Eric: 02:15 I'm doing good. And like I just said, we're real excited to have you on Eve and I've been coaching you for quite a while and so this is exciting. I'm really excited that you took us up on this.
Eve: 02:28 Yeah, I appreciate you having me on there.
Chad: 02:31 Yes. So you guys have a, you have a really cool kind of history together at this point. I don't know. Give me A. Eric, why don't you give us just a little bit of a history. You mentioned that you, she is, you do coach Eve and um, and that kind of stuff, but kind of give us an idea. How long have you guys been working together and uh, what's, what's been the goals? What are you guys working on that sort of student?
Eric: 02:54 Uh, we started in March, yeah, in
Eric: 02:55 March, right? First. First of March, Friday, I think it was first of March.
Eve: 02:58 That is, that's right, yeah. I found you in February. I listened to the podcast and I, uh, after about four or five podcasts its funny because Chad kept saying, well, you know, or you, you would say, uh, I don't want to get into the science. And after about five episodes, I was like, get into the science. I want more
Chad: 03:20 coming. This is coming from a pharmacist. I will just tell everybody. I mean, Eve is a pharmacist by trade, so special case,
Eve: 03:30 don't hold it against me.
Eric: 03:35 No, I was really excited to hear from eve when she, um, when she made contact and, and it was exciting to start her journey with her as far as another keto course to ketosis and then also as far as coaching because she was heading into the triathlon world. So that was in a real exciting start for us to start at the very beginning. She's basically a Newbie, you know, she did it. You did a try right kind of a simple one before.
Eve: 04:02 I think I was in my early thirties and I tried to do it. I tried triatholon and I've, I did not do well. It was like five minutes on the transitions and I was looking at the birds and taking selfies and yeah, I didn't, I didn't place, well I was definitely in the bottom five percent of my age. Just put it that way. It's not a successful endeavor and do that.
Chad: 04:27 So why don't we start off, I love giving just a little bit of a history, both mindset and, um, physical history of your health, exercise, um, athletics, all of that kind of stuff. Can you just kind of give, uh, give us an overall picture of where you come from as far as health goes? Sure, sure.
Eve: 04:46 Um, so I started, I really started this, what I consider this portion of my journey about February of 2016. Um, I was really at my very heaviest. I was, I'm a pretty heavy drinker, pretty heavy as far as just eat it literally heavy as far as pretty much eat anything. I consider myself an emotional eater and at that point I was in my mid 40's. I'm turning 46 this year, so I was about 43 and I was just pretty much at an all time. I always was kind of the fattest athlete I knew. I mean I was always, I was, I was always like running and doing things, but I was always at a very heavy. And you know, my mom always told me that I was, you know, I was just big boned, it was just the way I was always going to be.
Eve: 05:37 And so I was the slowest runner in the room, but I always gave it. My ca gave it the old college try. Um, and about May of 2016, I was walking down the stairs and I heard a click and I tore the medial meniscus in my right knee. Uh, and so June first I had surgery, I got the stitches out June eighth and I was sitting on my couch in a kind of pool of vodka and twinkies and very unhappy and just not knowing my way out of it. And I decided I'd had enough. And so around the holidays of that time, uh, I actually started with a nutritional coach here in Austin named David King. And then we did kind of a Paleo low carb, really controlled carbs and hadn't really gotten the idea about Keto at that point. Started doing some exercise and then worked through a start, signed up for crossfit December of that year and started lifting weights.
Eve: 06:37 And trying to get mobility back into that knee. And then January 11th, I really just dropped the hammer of 2017 and I decided to, I took my before picks. I went and got a Dexa scan. I decided I was just gonna. I was gonna tear it up like I, I was in. I had to make a change because I knew the next step was just, it was a serious spiral. I was in some midlife crisis, you know, I just, I just couldn't go any further than I was ever into. Kind of unhappy spiral of overweight and not knowing how to do something about it. So I was uh, uh, January 11th of that year when I had my dexa had done, I was 40 percent body fat. I was about 180 pounds and I'm five seven. And uh, and I was, I had 96 pounds of lean mass.
Eve: 07:24 And then I did a calories in, calories out, kind of a thousand calories a day less than, you know, anywhere between 10 to 15 percent carbs. So I was. And then the rest was just do your protein and your fat as you see it. And so I was, I was very hungry for six months and was very unhappy, very hungry. I was doing two a day workouts, 45 minutes in the morning, 45 minutes at night, just anything I could do to just scrape, scrape the fat off my frame. And at a June 30th of that year I was down to 136 pounds and I was 102 pounds of lean. I was 20, I was 20 pounds, 20 percent, 20, 20 percent bond. So in six months I was, I had lost 20 percent body fat. And so. And I got to say it was hard. I did it the hard way.
Eve: 08:16 It was not a pleasant way to do it, but what I wanted it and I wanted it bad. And so I, I went and got it. And so right now I'm at about 1:45 ish, about a little over probably 21 percent body fat. I've kept the same, maybe a little bit more lean mass. So I need to get a Dexa. I haven't had, I think I had one. I haven't had one done in a while. So I think that some eric and I are probably going to have done at the end of this year. Yeah. So then that summer of summer of 2017, I got my crossfit certification. I started doing teaching crossfit. I started doing a little bit, a little bit more running. I was really into the Paleo lifestyle, but I really did miss dairy. Um, and I, I, uh, I really noticed that at that summer of 2017, uh, the end of it, I was, I had gone really hard and fast for over a year.
Eve: 09:14 I was at about a year and a half mark and I just didn't have anywhere to go with where I was at. I mean the calories. I was stuck at eating 700 to a thousand calories if I wanted to stay that weight and my weight was starting to creep up and I just, I just didn't have anywhere. I really didn't have anywhere to go to figure out like how could I live and thrive where I'm at right now. And, and I was, I had lost all the weight, so it was like, well, what do I do with this? I wasn't eating in restaurants, I wasn't, I couldn't go out to parties. I didn't know how to eat. I didn't know where to go. So I was almost living in this like fear bubble of gaining the weight back, you know, this and I, and I wanted to do more but I didn't know how.
Eve: 09:55 And then I heard your podcast and I reached out to Eric and got on the phone with him and we chatted for a while and then he mentioned that he was taking his biofitters new these new triathletes to, uh, to the rage in Nevada. And I thought, well that sounds like a pretty cool goal. And so I asked him if I could come along, if I could fly in from Austin and medium up there. And he's like, oh sure, we have as like, is five weeks long enough to change data to train? And he said, yeah, sure. And then, and then, and then it began and then, and then the training began.
Chad: 10:39 So was was the podcast, the life in ketosis podcast. Was that your first introduction to keto?
Eve: 10:46 Uh, I had heard key keto, nutritional ketosis thrown out before in my, with my previous coach, but I don't think the depth of understanding of truly what keto is, was I really didn't understand it until I started listening to yours and Eric's conversations on the podcast. And then I started, I started really getting curious about it and I, and I, and I knew I needed help with it, you know, I just wanted to, I wanted to understand it better.
Chad: 11:17 I'm always interested to know what people's first thoughts or reactions were to the idea of Ketosis, high fat, low carb, a no calorie deprivation sort of thing. What were some of your first thoughts or, or ideas that came to your brain as you heard about this craziness?
Eve: 11:36 Well, I think, I think the idea of, of what I kept hearing was being not being hungry. You know that, that you would be full, that you could, you could, you could eat more and you can eat satisfying food and still be healthy and not gain weight. And then I didn't really understand how the energy of it work. Like how am I supposed to be an athlete if I don't car blowed and I, that's what I, that's what I didn't really understand because everything, even even other athletes I talked to, you know, they, they might've done low carb most of the time, but they were always popping a sweet potato and some oatmeal before they'd go run a run a five k or something like that. And so it was odd to me and I didn't really understand the energy of it, but it made sense to me, you know, because I knew that when I. Somehow when I stumbled into it with low carb and kind of dealing in the Paleo, I knew that when I was, I could eat more and I didn't feel as hungry when, when my mouth tasted funny with the key.
Eve: 12:40 When you're, when you're in Ketosis, I just, or my appetite wasn't as bad whenever I seem to go longer with this low carb and so I didn't really understand it and I wanted to understand more about the energy of it and what, what, how, how can, how can I make this into something that is usable, you know?
Chad: 12:58 Yeah. Seems so counterintuitive at the, at the forefront for what we've been conditioned for. Right. Um, whether it's calorie deprivation or were, you know, carb loading or any of that kind of stuff. It tends to be intuitive to what we've been taught. Trained and not
Eve: 13:15 and anything like, like, uh, you know, drinking whole milk. I mean I would look at milk or cheese or you know, something, you know, bacon or anything with fat on it. And I'd be like, it would immediately be almost like unclean to me, you know, I've got to get some nice clean, nice clean and skim milk. Can, you know, just, it just seemed totally counterintuitive to be able to have, you know, really good, delicious, you know, higher fat food that is fantastic. And then like dairy, oh my gosh. When I had cheese, like I actually, I asked Eric like twice, are you sure I can have cheese? I was like, okay, wait, so, so I could put the cheese in my mouth and chew it and swallow it. Right? And he's like, yes.
Eve: 14:02 I took a bite of like some, some cheddar cheese that I felt my knees go weak and I got tears in my eyes. I mean, seriously for a year and a half I hadn't had bread or cheese or cream or anything. I mean all I ate was meat and veg and avocado and I mean I just was like, to be able to have the freedom to kind of think outside that box. It was, it was amazing. I mean it just, it opened my social life up again because. And I wasn't trapped inside this fear bubble of putting something in my mouth that, that was the typical diet. You know, I was sick of eating grass and chicken breast. Terrible.
Eric: 14:40 Don't forget bacon. Okay. Everyday your macros. Bacon, Bacon, Bacon,
Eve: 14:53 of course, who's on keto and doesn't have bacon every day.
Eric: 15:00 But she loves it. She loves her baking. So good. I cook everything.
Chad: 15:07 So what did you, what did you notice? Um, you have an interesting perspective that I think would be valuable coming from a Paleo standpoint. What did you notice difference wise from going from Paleo to to keto?
Eve: 15:23 Uh, I mean, of course the obvious, the dairy Paleo absolutely does not allow for dairy at all. And so, and that, and I come from, I've come from a crossfitter background, so I've been pretty heavy crop. I mean I was crossfit before, but I've been really heavy crossfit since I coach it as well and they coach something completely different than from a nutritional standpoint as well, which is, which is Paleo. And so it was a, it's a lot of, you know, they allow for more fruits, more nuts. Definitely no dairy, no dairy. Um, it's just, it's just very, it's very different from, from that perspective. And it seems, you know, I always try to explain it. I'm like, well, just keto, keto is Paleo but, but you know, but add dairy and, and they won't touch it with a 10 foot pole. I mean, they just considered dairy as being, you know, the evil, the evil thing and I don't know why, I have no idea. They don't. They don't know what they don't know,
Eve: 16:26 but yeah, its slightly different. And I think, I think really the, uh, where I came from, that was even more as it seems like just the just eating. I really eating low carb when people consider things low carb. I think there's a big difference in, in, in, in understanding that keto is just, it's just very different. And I think keto is really, it's about, it's about keeping yourself in ketosis and there's other things involved in it like fasting and, and you, you won't, you won't catch a crossfitter fasting. I mean you just won't. And the Paleo across the fasting is not part of the Paleo lifestyle. They're terrified of it. Which, you know, I think when you're having, when you're lifting heavy weights and having that type of workout, I think there's this fear that if you, if you walk in fastest, you're going to pass out and not be able to lift the heavy weight. Which I've found to be exactly the opposite. I've gotten some of my best is whenever I've been 40 hours fasted or three, and I've gotten a really good pr when I was three day fasted. It's so I've gotten my best deadlift when I was three day fast and
Eve: 17:29 oh wow. I hit the three. I had the 300 pound club when I was three days fasted. It's so I deadlifted 300. I can't even do. I can't even do that. That's incredible.
Chad: 17:47 I can't, I can't even deadlift. my five year old son. Well, oh sorry. Interest.
Eve: 17:54 See, I don't have that, that crossfitter body either. I mean I'm, I'm a relatively, I'm not, I'm by no means a small girl, but I mean when I say that I deadlifted 300 pounds. I mean I'm, I'm, I'm 140 145 and 5'7. So I'm pretty. I'm pretty lean. So I mean it's a lot. That was a lot of power that we were able to gain just because you know, between the with the Beta and the recovery and nutrition, we've really, really gained a lot of power in my muscles just in the several months that Eric and I worked together, so it's incredible.
Chad: 18:28 Hey friends, Chad here. I wanted to quickly tell you about a way that you can support the podcast. Producing. This podcast takes a lot of time and a little bit of money, so we're looking to you to help us to continue to publish this podcast. We've set up a patreon page, patreon.com/lifeinketosis where you can go and pledge a small amount of money for every episode that we've produced. In addition to feeling just fantastic for being a podcast supporter. There's also really cool rewards like t shirts and stickers, so if this podcast has helped you at all, encouraged you, supported you, or entertained you, encourage you to go to our patreon page and make a pledge per episode. We really appreciate it. Now, back to the show.
Chad: 19:07 What's Eric? What's what's happening there? I mean, as we talk about, and especially in the context of ease, experience, what do you notice with her as she crossfits and, and I, I think it's really cool that we get to have this conversation. We don't talk to a lot of crossfitters in the keto realm. Right? And so, um, but what's happening as far as muscle recovery and ability, what's, what is keto adding to her experience as a crossfitter that maybe some of the other nutritional plans don't offer?
Eric: 19:35 Well, the main thing is she's, she's deriving a different energy source. Okay. And she's talked about it. It's the Beta. Okay. She's gonna produce more, more energy from, you know, ATP production with less free radicals or reactive oxygen species. So she's actually going to get more power output utilizing more ATP. All right? And also with recovery, she's eliminating all her, her inflammation markers and everything else through the Keto Diet. So muscle recovery and, and being in Ketosis is, is, is, uh, expedited. It's really efficient. And so through the whole, you know, Ketosis, you know, we get into the science of it. What she's doing is just producing more energy, more output and plus in the training that she's been doing. And, and crossfit is great. I mean, you know, one thing that, that I learned from Eve that, you know, being a crossfitter and out of anybody I've, I coach, she, she really humbled me because she, you know, I do a big thing about the pain cave threshold, how deep you can go in and there's people who in all honesty, you can't go as deep as I can. And I was giving her my workouts and I was just humbled by her because she can go into the pain cave. She can really go into it. And I was like, whoa. I was so impressed with that and I thought, how hard can I push her? You know, how deep can she go? So she recovered so fast
Eve: 21:07 and there've been a couple times when I was pretty mad at you. I was like, I'm a soon as I'm done with this workout, I'm going to call Eric and fire him because I'm really hurting.
Eve: 21:18 And then I'll send him an email and he'll go, man, I didn't even think you were going to be able to finish that work out yet. Eric, tell, tell, Tell Chad what's your wife said after you showed her the workout that you were going to give me?
Eric: 21:29 She thought I was crazy. She goes, what are you trying to do to her? That's insane. You can't do that. That's insane. She was like, because I'll, I'll, I'll do the workouts and then I'll just say, hey, what do you think of this workout? Because I get a new one and she's like, no way. There's just no way you you can't expect that. And I said, and I asked Eve, what do I always say? I said in the email with the where I go, this one's going to hurt you. I say, this one's going to hurt. It's amazing. When I.
Eve: 21:59 Well that there was one workout you gave me American. And honestly it's like it changed my entire world to. Because I. You told me, just go as hard as you can, don't look at how fast you're going and go and keep your heart rate here. And I, I got out on the street and I ran a five k, you know, after a swim and a bike and I ran and I didn't look at how fast I was going and I got back and I laid on the sidewalk and once I was able to, um, think a thought that, that wasn't um, with a curse word in it
Eve: 22:30 towards you. I looked at the time on my watch and I had, I had gotten a five k at an average of six minutes and 55 seconds a mile and I broke down and I just started crying because my, the, the voice of my, you know, woe of my people in my life who had told me before that you were too heavy. You're not a, you're not a fast runner, you're, you're always going to be heavy or big boned or whatever that was that I was. I was always like, you know, for lack of a better word, I was always the fat slowgirl, you know, and there I was like, I had held three miles at, under a seven minute mile and I had to, I rechecked my device. I was like, that can't be right, that can't be right. And I kept looking at it over and over again, and then when I realized it was right, that was when I just sat there. I just started crying like I couldn't. Like I couldn't, I could. That was not me. That's not my mile time.
Eve: 23:24 Talking about, that's that fast girl is not me. So it was, it was, it was. So really.
Eve: 23:31 I mean, in every time I have a workout like that where Eric pushes me further than I thought I could go, it's, it's unbelievable to me how this athlete that I never knew existed as being unlocked and am. I'm a late bloomer. I didn't start this training until I was in my forties and now now I'm 45 and I'm stronger and faster than I've ever been in my life and I feel better and I think better in my thoughts are better and I mean I can't, I can't say enough about it. It's just, it's crazy, you know, and it's like
Eric: 24:03 she's already been on the, she's already on the podium a few times already on the podium and she's a Newbie, you know, and I'm all about, I'm all about the energy pathways, Chad. I Talk Phospho, creatine lactate, Mitochondria respiration, how to, how to improve that. That's how the training goes and she is just, she's, she's really positive.
Eve: 24:27 Three, three sprint triathlons. And I got, I got fourth in fourth year and the rage and then a month later I got third and then I did another one a month later and I just, this was this last July 15th, two weeks ago. I got second and so I got.
Eve: 24:44 I've got one in August, 26th and I'm shooting for first. Y'All
Chad: 24:51 just counting down
Eric: 24:54 and like I said, she's in three, two, one. No, no, it's been fun. It's been so much fun.
Chad: 25:04 So, um, this is my favorite part of the conversation where I get to ask each of you about the other one. So we'll start with Eric. Eric, as you have, you've been able to work with eve and coacher. What are some of the things that you see both in her habits and in her, um, in personality and attitude that has made her successful through this journey?
Eric: 25:26 She's, she's got passion and conviction and anytime you're coaching, you know, anyone, it's amazing when you can get with somebody that has a passion and you know, we always talk about that reason why you do it. And, and we all struggle with that. Why do we do this? Why don't we put ourselves through this. Especially some of the workouts that I give her, you know, I'm sure she has to say why sometimes even I say why, you know, through some of these workouts and, and I've been doing it for a long time and she just has just the, her conviction, she doesn't quit, she just, she sticks to it and even whatever I throw at her, you know, sometimes I get carried away and like, Hey, I don't want to hurt her. And so, and in she'll tell you, I'm real careful about recovery and her heart rate drops and safety and all that kind of stuff.
Eric: 26:15 But she's learning, you know, beyond just the racing and the training. She's learning ketosis. She's, she's, she's taught herself, you know, not just listening to me and me telling her why you do this or how the science behind it. She actually incorporates it and learns a lot of it herself. And so she has more of a testimony of it, let's say, because she has the knowledge that she's actually producing for herself. And that's real impressive to me. You know, sooner or later shoe she would just take over. So it's like, you know, it's just awesome to work with her and I'm really proud of her and I really appreciate the opportunity to be her friend and to be her coach and to share a lot of success. I, I, it's, it's, it's been amazing. It really has been. I really appreciate it. And she's patient with me too because I'll, I'll talk too much a lot and then. And go too deep or no, no, no, no, no, no. In my training methods I'm always trying to explain it and so I always go over why, why I'm pushing you this way, what, why we're reaching this threshold and why we're transferring over from, you know, Phospho creatine to the lactate. Why were, you know, getting her intermuscular fat going and she's real patient with me. She doesn't tell me to be quiet. She just listens. It's, I, I appreciate that. If she's actually asleep, hold on.
Chad: 27:46 Uh, so I get to, I get to turn the tables now a to you, a, and this is Eric's least favorite part of these interviews, so we get to make him blush a little bit, but just talk a little bit about what it's like to work with Eric and, and what, uh, within his training and coaching, what has helped you be so successful and achieve some of these incredible milestone?
Eve: 28:09 I think I, I am big on understanding the why. So it's a great, it's a great match for Eric and I had to be. I knew I knew probably about five months ago when I was really stalling out on my journey that I needed to find somebody that I could respect and that knew their stuff and that could mentor me and someone I could believe in. And I, I'm a, I am a big proponent of having coaches. Um, I mean I've done the whole psycho therapy stuff where you look backwards and I knew I needed somebody that was gonna take me forward and I was looking for that person and I was just, I felt so blessed that I came upon your podcast because I knew, I knew as soon as I heard Eric, about three, three episodes in that this was someone who I could respect who knew their stuff well enough and he was just crazy enough to coach me a bit because I am an all in person.
Eve: 29:09 If you're not standing on the edge, you're taking up too much space. And so I am. I'm 100 percent. Like I'll, I'll sit back and I'll wait to see if it's right. But once I know it's right, the switch gets flipped and I'm in and I, there've been a couple of times where I've been, you know, when we've been training really hard and I didn't understand it, but I've seen nothing but gain after again, after gain. And so when he takes the time to explain about the science, it helps me understand why I'm going to stick in the pain cave and I stay a little bit longer than I want to, but I understand the why that, that I, you know, I have to, I have to train this way, number one, because I can't be afraid. Come race day. I have to know what my body's going to do and I think that's where he's taking me.
Eve: 29:56 And it just, uh, it's just, uh, it's a trust and he's a, he's an extremely trustworthy man and he's an honorable man and he's, he's a truth teller and he always finds the way to, he finds the way to set the hook with me, which is incredible. Like he'll say just one text or just one message and all of a sudden that hook gets set in my lip. And I'm like, oh, we're going down. We're going giddy up today. We're going to get a good workout in today. Okay. You think I can't do it? Don't tell me what I can do. It's go in.
Chad: 30:30 He is good at pushing those.
Eve: 30:32 You know, I, I was telling him, uh, yesterday, I just can't imagine what I've, what my life was like before him, you know, it just seems like life with Eric there. It was, it was before if a bee and a before eric and after Eric. I'm so grateful. I love working with him. I just, I can't imagine. I can't imagine not having that support and, and, and, and just the relationship that we've developed has been incredible. So I'm appreciative. I'm appreciative, Eric. Absolutely.
Eric: 31:03 Thanks. Thank you.
Chad: 31:04 That's great. So Eve as, as people are listening to this podcast are in all different cities, all different situations, all different phases of ketosis or not ketosis. Maybe considering jumping in, maybe just curious, is there any advice or words of encouragement that you can share with our listeners? Um, maybe they're in a hard part, maybe they're trying to figure out what this is right for them. Just from your experience and from what you feel today, is there any words of encouragement or advice that advice,
Eve: 31:40 no matter where you are in your journey just to. I think sometimes it's hard not to look back and grieve, you know, whether how far you've come from, where you want to be and that it's never, never, ever too late to pick up the gauntlet and start really paying attention and taking care of yourself from a nutritional standpoint and also to get moving and get yourself healthy. Because, you know, I, I was worried whenever it came to nutritional ketosis and the, and the journey of being a little bit more physically fit that maybe it was too late for me. You know, it's, I'm done. You know, I had my twenties and thirties and it's over and it's. But it's not, you know, and every single day that every single day that I'm eating in a well, and I'm, I'm taking on, you know, this, the knowledge of the ketosis and putting, putting the right things in my body.
Eve: 32:33 You know, I know that I'm, I'm healing myself from all of those years of, you know, trashing myself with whatever else I was putting in my body that I didn't know was wrong at the time. And so it's, uh, it's been a game changer. Just from a cognitive standpoint, I mean I'm, I'm, I'm, you know, my brain works better than it ever has. My emotions are more stable and every single day that I continue to go forward it just gets better and better everyday. I mean, I look up and I, I can't, I can't believe I get to be this happy in this healthy and, and feel this good and have people in my life that support me on this. So definitely if you just get started, you know, just just get started on it and, and take the years that you have left and make them make them great.
Chad: 33:18 Yeah, I love that so much. It's never, ever, ever too late to feel good. It's just not. And there's answers in the end. I love that. Eric, I'll give you the last word. Just kind of let you agree cap this, what are, what are some things that you noticed or something that you notice about this conversation or is there anything else you want to make sure our listeners take home from Eve's story?
Eric: 33:38 Yeah. We didn't go into a lot of detail, but he has a great story and you know, she's come a long way in her own personal life and all the goal she set and all the obstacles he's overcome. And it just, it's been amazing to watch her grow through this. And also, you know, when we look at ketosis in so many different ways, you know, therapeutic aesthetic and also now she adapted it in her training live because she's a crossfitter. She's very athletic and now she's adapted to keto, lifestyle in insider training and racing. And so just to see her maker goals and, and overcome, you know, everything that's been placed in front of her and in her own life. And it, it just goes with everybody out there that, that, that gets a coach or gets into this ketosis and whatever reasons they get into it, they really discover why they're into it. Uh, and they really start to learn about their own health and their own lifestyle and, and how things are expressed, you know, uh, every day in their life. And they really develop a passion for a better life. And so it's been real exciting to work with them in real. Exciting.
Chad: 34:44 Well, that's great. Well, thanks so much for, uh, for being on here with us. We really, really appreciate it. I love hearing your story. Love having you on and I get to hear the behind the scenes and Eric Rave about how awesome you are all the time. So thank you so much for being on here.
Eve: 34:59 Thank you so much for. It's been my pleasure.
Eric: 35:02 Hey, thanks Eve. Appreciate it. Yup. Awesome.
Chad: 35:05 And thanks so much for biohacking with us, Eric.
Eric: 35:07 Thank you.
Chad: 35:09 And I want to thank you for joining us on this quest for optimal fitness. If you're ready to begin your own journey and live your life in Ketosis, be sure to check out biofitcoaching.com or biofit coaching on instagram. That handle is @biofit_coaching. Lots of goodies there, lots of keto tips, all of that kind of stuff. So join us there. We would love to have you. If this podcast has helped you at all or inspired you, we'd we'd encourage you to consider going to itunes and leaving us a five star rating and a review. That helps us find more people and build our community here and until next time, stay keto.
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Preface Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Chapter 41 Chapter 42 Chapter 43 Chapter 44 Chapter 45 Chapter 46 Chapter 47 Chapter 48 Chapter 49 Chapter 50 Chapter 51 Chapter 52 Chapter 53 Chapter 54 Chapter 55
All Themes Female Independence vs. Marriage The European Old World vs. the American New World Art and Morality The Dangers of Wealth
All Characters Isabel Archer Ralph Touchett Gilbert Osmond Madame Merle Lord Warburton Caspar Goodwood Mrs. Touchett Mr. Touchett Henrietta Stackpole Edward Rosier Pansy Osmond Countess Gemini
All Symbols Architecture Doorways
Instant downloads of all 1020 LitChart PDFs (including The Portrait of a Lady).
Female Independence vs. Marriage
The European Old World vs. the American New World
Art and Morality
The Dangers of Wealth
Isabel Archer
Ralph Touchett
Gilbert Osmond
Madame Merle
Lord Warburton
Caspar Goodwood
Mrs. Touchett
Mr. Touchett
Henrietta Stackpole
Edward Rosier
Pansy Osmond
Countess Gemini
The Portrait of a Lady Study Guide
Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Henry James's The Portrait of a Lady. Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.
The Portrait of a Lady: Introduction
A concise biography of Henry James plus historical and literary context for The Portrait of a Lady.
The Portrait of a Lady: Plot Summary
A quick-reference summary: The Portrait of a Lady on a single page.
The Portrait of a Lady: Detailed Summary & Analysis
In-depth summary and analysis of every chapter of The Portrait of a Lady. Visual theme-tracking, too.
The Portrait of a Lady: Themes
Explanations, analysis, and visualizations of The Portrait of a Lady's themes.
The Portrait of a Lady: Quotes
The Portrait of a Lady's important quotes, sortable by theme, character, or chapter.
The Portrait of a Lady: Characters
Description, analysis, and timelines for The Portrait of a Lady's characters.
The Portrait of a Lady: Symbols
Explanations of The Portrait of a Lady's symbols, and tracking of where they appear.
The Portrait of a Lady: Theme Wheel
An interactive data visualization of The Portrait of a Lady's plot and themes.
Brief Biography of Henry James
Henry James was born in 1843 to a wealthy New York City family, with his father a clergyman and well-connected intellectual. James’s older brother William became a highly regarded psychologist and philosopher, while his younger sister Alice was an accomplished diarist. The family traveled extensively during James’s youth, residing in London, Paris, and Geneva. As an adult, James departed America to live in Europe for a twenty-year period, based in France and England. He drew on his Transatlantic experiences to write often on the topic of Americans living in Europe, and vice versa. At first creating straightforward and simplistic texts, James began to focus on writing dramas and short stories, before entering a new career phase in which he completed long and complex novels. He was a dedicated observer of human behaviors, himself a socially awkward individual who never married and formed few close friendships. Gaining British citizenship in 1915, he was awarded a British Order of Merit the following year for services to World War I. James died in 1916, likely the result of stroke three months earlier. Throughout his life he produced a prolific literary output of approximately twenty novels and numerous short stories and letters
Get the entire The Portrait of a Lady LitChart as a printable PDF.
Historical Context of The Portrait of a Lady
The influence of James’s European experiences is central to his works, including The Portrait of a Lady, as he specialized in contrasting American “New World” progressiveness against European “Old World” sophistication. American audiences were greatly invested in Transatlantic tourism during James’s lifetime; the United States experienced economic prosperity after the Civil War, and Americans began to increasingly travel or permanently move to Europe. James socialized with elite crowds while living in France and London for a twenty-year period. He particularly admired English aristocracy and opposed the social desire for democracy that was gaining widespread traction in Britain, and inserted both attitudes into The Portrait. His novel is also set against the background of Aestheticism, a literary and artistic movement that privileged the pursuit of “art for art’s sake” without requiring social or moral purpose. Certain characters such as Gilbert Osmond and Ralph Touchett embody aesthetic ideals because they pursue artistic objects for beauty alone.
Other Books Related to The Portrait of a Lady
Bridging the literary periods of realism and modernism, Henry James wrote in a unique style of the time that was noted—indeed largely criticized—by contemporary audiences for its lack of substantial plot. In this move toward modernist fiction, James was greatly influenced by Ivan Turgenev, a Russian author who focused on character development at the expense of action. As a work of psychological realism, The Portrait of a Lady is similar to intensely character-driven novels by renowned writers such as Fyodor Dostoevsky, Edith Wharton (who was also mentored by James), Virginia Woolf, William Faulkner, Arthur Miller, and Patrick McGrath. Of particular note is Wharton’s The Reef for its thematic similarities to The Portrait in featuring American characters experiencing complicated romantic entanglements in various European locations. Virginia Woolf and William Faulkner’s respective Mrs. Dalloway and The Sound and the Fury are also acclaimed for their use of stream of consciousness in scenes that echo Isabel’s motionless reflections on her marriage in The Portrait. Like The Portrait, James’s novels Daisy Miller, Washington Square, and The Bostonians are all narratives about American women who confront challenges in identity and independence. More recently, John Banville has written a sequel to James’s The Portrait of a Lady called Mrs. Osmond, which continues on from James’s ambiguous ending regarding Isabel’s decisions after Ralph’s death.
Key Facts about The Portrait of a Lady
Full Title: The Portrait of a Lady
When Written: 1879-1881
Where Written: London, Paris, Florence, Rome, and Venice
When Published: First published as a serial in America’s The Atlantic and England’s Macmiltan’s Magazine in 1880-1881. First published as a novel in 1881 and extensively revised in 1908.
Literary Period: Realism and modernism
Genre: Psychological realism
Setting: England, Italy, France, and the United States
Climax: Isabel, sitting in her room, reflects on her unhappy marriage and considers the events that led her here.
Antagonist: Madame Merle and Gilbert Osmond
Point of View: Third person
Extra Credit for The Portrait of a Lady
Family Inspiration. Critics agree that James based the The Portrait of a Lady’s Isabel Archer on his beloved cousin, the energetic and charismatic Minny Temple, who tragically died at age twenty-four.
Brotherly Influence. Despite a keen rivalry throughout their lives, it seems that siblings Henry and William James influenced one another greatly. Henry James is much admired for the intense psychological modes performed in his works, while his brother was a psychologist often described as writing like a novelist, even publishing some of his own pieces in literary outlets.
Archibald, Georgie. "The Portrait of a Lady." LitCharts. LitCharts LLC, 23 Feb 2019. Web. 18 Jul 2019.
Archibald, Georgie. "The Portrait of a Lady." LitCharts LLC, February 23, 2019. Retrieved July 18, 2019. https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-portrait-of-a-lady.
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Avalara Announces First Quarter 2019 Financial Results
Posted on : 14/May/2019 10:02:22
Avalara, Inc. (NYSE: AVLR), a leading provider of tax compliance automation for businesses of all sizes, today announced financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2019.
“We are off to a strong start in fiscal 2019, as our first quarter revenue grew 38% over the prior year’s quarter”
“We are off to a strong start in fiscal 2019, as our first quarter revenue grew 38% over the prior year’s quarter,” said Scott McFarlane, Avalara co-founder and chief executive officer. “In addition, we strengthened and expanded our leadership team during the quarter. We believe that the automation of transaction tax compliance will be adopted over an extended period, as customers upgrade systems, expand their businesses both domestically and internationally, and respond to changing government rules, such as the recent legislative responses to the Supreme Court’s Wayfair decision. Based on our broad tax content, robust platform, partner channel, and pre-built integrations, we believe Avalara is positioned as a clear choice to lead this automation cycle.”
Adoption of the New Revenue Recognition Standard – ASC 606
Avalara adopted the new revenue recognition accounting standard Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 606 effective January 1, 2019 on a modified retrospective basis. Financial results for reporting periods during 2019 are presented in compliance with the new revenue recognition standard. Historical financial results for reporting periods prior to 2019 are presented in conformity with amounts previously disclosed under the prior revenue recognition standard ASC 605. This press release includes additional information to reconcile the impacts of the adoption of the new revenue recognition standard on the Company’s financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2019, including the presentation of financial results during 2019 under ASC 605 for comparison to the prior year.
First Quarter 2019 Financial Results – ASC 606 (standard adopted effective January 1, 2019)
Revenue: ASC 606 total revenue was $85.0 million. Subscription and returns revenue were $78.2 million. Professional services revenue was $6.7 million.
Gross Profit: ASC 606 GAAP gross profit was $59.7 million, representing a 70% gross margin. ASC 606 non-GAAP gross profit was $61.6 million, representing a 72% non-GAAP gross margin.
Operating Loss: ASC 606 GAAP operating loss was $9.7 million. ASC 606 non-GAAP operating loss was $1.5 million.
Net Loss: ASC 606 GAAP net loss was $9.2 million. ASC 606 non-GAAP net loss was $1.0 million.
Net Loss per Share: ASC 606 GAAP net loss per share was $0.14 based on 68.4 million weighted-average shares outstanding. ASC C 606 non-GAAP net loss per share was $0.01 based on 68.4 million weighted-average shares outstanding.
Deferred Revenue: ASC 606 total deferred revenue was $132.7 million at March 31, 2019. The current portion of ASC 606 deferred revenue was $131.7 million at March 31, 2019.
Cash: Net cash used in operating activities was $10.4 million, compared to $13.4 million used in operating activities in the first quarter of 2018. Free cash flow was negative $12.5 million, compared to negative $17.0 million in the first quarter of 2018. Our cash and cash equivalents totaled $146.9 million at March 31, 2019.
Calculated Billings: Calculated billings were $96.4 million in the first quarter of 2019, compared to calculated billings of $73.0 million in the first quarter of 2018.
First Quarter 2019 Financial Results – ASC 605
Revenue: ASC 605 total revenue was $85.0 million, up 38% from $61.4 million in the first quarter of 2018. Subscription and returns revenue was $78.3 million, up 35% from $57.9 million in the same period last year. Professional services revenue was $6.7 million, up 91% from $3.5 million in the same period last year.
Gross Profit: ASC 605 GAAP gross profit was $59.7 million, representing a 70% gross margin, compared to a GAAP gross profit of $43.9 million and a 71% gross margin in the first quarter of 2018. ASC 605 non-GAAP gross profit was $61.6 million, representing a 72% non-GAAP gross margin, compared to a non-GAAP gross profit of $45.1 million and a 73% non-GAAP gross margin in the first quarter of 2018.
Operating Loss: ASC 605 GAAP operating loss was $16.1 million, compared to a GAAP operating loss of $15.3 million in the first quarter of 2018. ASC 605 non-GAAP operating loss was $7.8 million, compared to a non-GAAP operating loss of $10.3 million in the first quarter of 2018.
Net Loss: ASC 605 GAAP net loss was $15.6 million, compared to a GAAP net loss of $15.2 million in the first quarter of 2018. ASC 605 non-GAAP net loss was $7.4 million, compared to a non-GAAP net loss of $10.3 million in the first quarter of 2018.
Net Loss per Share: ASC 605 GAAP net loss per share was $0.23 based on 68.4 million weighted-average shares outstanding, compared to a GAAP net loss per share of $2.47 based on 6.2 million weighted-average shares outstanding in the first quarter of 2018. ASC 605 non-GAAP net loss per share was $0.11 based on 68.4 million non-GAAP shares outstanding in the first quarter of 2019, compared to ASC 605 non-GAAP net loss per share of $0.16 based on 65.7 million non-GAAP shares outstanding in the first quarter of 2018.
Deferred Revenue: Total ASC 605 deferred revenue was $146.2 million at March 31, 2019, up from $134.7 million at December r 31, 2018. The current portion of ASC 605 deferred revenue was $136.7 million at March 31, 2019, up from $125.3 million at December 31, 2018.
Cash: The adoption of ASC 606 did not have an impact on cash and free cash flow.
Reconciliations of GAAP to non-GAAP financial measures have been provided in the tables included in this release.
Operating Highlights
· Key Metrics: We ended the first quarter of 2019 with approximately 9,700 core customers, up from approximately 9,070 core customers at the end of the previous quarter. Net revenue retention rate was 107% in the first quarter of 2019 and has averaged 107% over the last four quarters.
· Announced New Leadership Team Members: We announced the appointment of Amit Mathradas as president and chief operating officer (COO), Sanjay Parthasarathy as chief product officer (CPO), and Ross Tennenbaum as executive vice president of strategic initiatives. Based out of the company’s Seattle headquarters, the three newly created positions joined Avalara’s leadership team and more than 1,800 team members worldwide.
Amit Mathradas, president and COO, will oversee the end-to-end customer experience for businesses seeking tax compliance support, including business development, sales, marketing, customer success, global compliance, and professional services. Prior to joining Avalara, Mathradas served as general manager and head of North American Small Business at digital payments company PayPal, where he led the company’s small business segment, managing teams responsible for acquisition, activation, cross-sell, and retention for millions of merchants. Sanjay Parthasarathy, CPO, joined Avalara from Indix, an artificial intelligence-based product information platform, after its acquisition in February 2019. As CPO, Parthasarathy is charged with unifying global product management, enhancing the in-product customer experience, and driving the long-term global product roadmap. Before founding Indix, Parthasarathy was a senior executive and leader at Microsoft for nearly 20 years. Ross Tennenbaum is now executive vice president of strategic initiatives, which encompasses products from various investments and acquisitions, and is at the heart of many of Avalara’s primary growth initiatives. He joined the company from Goldman Sachs, where he served as a managing director in its technology investment banking division.
· Recognized as a Leader in First IDC MarketScape Report on Global Tax Automation: We were named as a Leader in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide SAAS and Cloud-Enabled Sales Tax and VAT Automation Applications 2019 Vendor Assessment (doc #US43263718, January 2019). The report highlights an increase in business interest and need for a tax automation solution to mitigate new compliance risks resulting from a rapidly expanding global digital economy, new legislation acroross the globe to capture new revenue from this digital transformation, and enhanced indirect tax enforcement tactics. The IDC MarketScape report is a guidance tool for businesses seeking to digitize their tax compliance processes. The report suggests considering Avalara when “your business is growing and encountering indirect tax management challenges, such as navigating regulatory change, beginning an omni-channel ecommerce strategy, facing new product expansion, or selling in new geographic areas.”
For the second quarter of 2019, the Company currently expects:
ASC 606 total revenue between $84.0 and $85.0 million.
ASC 606 non-GAAP operating loss between $7.5 and $8.5 million.
For the full year 2019, the Company currently expects:
ASC 606 total revenue between $346.0 and $349.0 million.
ASC 606 non-GAAP operating loss between $10.0 and $15.0 million.
Avalara will host a conference call at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time (or 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time) today, May 7, 2019, to discuss its financial results and business highlights. The conference call can be accessed by dialing (844) 882-5970 from the United States and Canada or (647) 253-8697 internationally with conference ID 3856977.
A live webcast of the call will also be available on the Avalara investor relations website at investor.avalara.com.
A telephone replay of the conference call will be available until 8:59 p.m. Pacific Time on Tuesday, May 14, 2019 and a webcast replay will also be archived at investor.avalara.com. The telephone replay will be available by dialing (800) 585-8367 from the United States and Canada or (416) 621-4642 internationally with conference ID 3856977.
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Latin American Politics & Culture
Profile, Film, The New York Times
After ‘Gravity,’ Alfonso Cuarón Had His Pick of Directing Blockbusters. Instead, He Went Home to Make ‘Roma.’
What Cuarón wanted, the director told me, was to make “a kind of spiritual X-ray of my family, with its wounds and its sores.” Staring into childhood trauma, stylizing it, exploring it from the vantage of maturity in order to understand the construction of the self: Such therapeutic forensics are so common among artists that they’re almost a cliché. Cuarón’s brilliance lies not in his subject but in his decision to make himself a peripheral character. Almost every scene includes an event that would have been unforgettable for a young boy: the night he witnessed a fire, the afternoon he discovered a family secret, the day he nearly killed a sibling. But you need to track back to piece that all together, because Paco, the character based on Cuarón, rarely holds the center of the frame. Instead “Roma” follows Cleo — a character based on a domestic worker who has lived with Cuarón’s family ever since he was a newborn.
https://nyti.ms/2Gdz1PP
En español: https://www.nytimes.com/es/2018/12/13/alfonso-cuaron-roma-entrevista/
The New York Times, Profile, Books, Politics
Mario Vargas Llosa: The Last Titan
Why has García Márquez’s magical realism cemented its place on American bookshelves and syllabuses while Vargas Llosa’s gritty masterpieces are neglected? Vargas Llosa’s best books are harder to read than García Márquez’s. He’s less sentimental, dirtier, raunchier, angrier. “One Hundred Years of Solitude” looks like a Hallmark card next to “Conversation in the Cathedral.” You might be fired for assigning Vargas Llosa in high school English. And Vargas Llosa has published so many novels — 18 in all — that the tours de force can get lost among the mediocrities. His buttoned-up public demeanor hasn’t helped. “Gabo” was not only a tremendous writer; he was an expert showman who once worked in advertising and cannily played up his Caribbean exoticism for foreign audiences. When the two fell out in the 1970s, many intellectuals leaned left toward García Márquez, while Vargas Llosa was shunned.
https://nyti.ms/2C7VhYE
The DACA ‘Fix’ That Immigration Activists Fear
“Overwhelmingly, Republicans tell me: ‘Yes, I could support giving these young immigrants permanent status in our country,’ ” Curbelo told “All Things Considered,” “ ‘as long as we continue moving towards better border security, the enforcement of our immigration laws.’ ” Yet among the undocumented activists whom I got to know while reporting in Arizona earlier this year, such a compromise is hardly viewed with relief. Rather it is the Catch-22 that they have been dreading ever since Trump was elected.
Staying Power: Is It Possible to Resist Deportation in Trump’s America?
Ever since Arizona passed Senate Bill 1070, one of the toughest anti-undocumented bills ever signed into law, the state has been known for pioneering the kind of draconian tactics that the Trump administration is now turning into federal policy. But if Arizona has been a testing ground for the nativist agenda, it has also been an incubator for resistance to it. Among the state’s many immigrant rights groups, Puente stands out as the most seasoned and most confrontational. In the weeks and months following Election Day 2016 — as progressive groups suddenly found themselves on defense, struggling to figure out how to handle America’s new political landscape — Garcia was inundated with calls for advice. He flew around the country for training sessions with field organizers, strategy meetings with lawyers and policy experts and an off-the-record round table with Senators Dick Durbin and Bernie Sanders in Washington. A soft-spoken man with a stoic demeanor and a long, black ponytail, Garcia was also stunned by Trump’s victory. But organizers in Phoenix had one clear advantage. “All the scary things that folks are talking about,” he told me, “we’ve seen before.” On Nov. 9, he likes to say, the country woke up in Arizona.
The New York Times, Politics
Why did 1 in 3 Latinos in Florida vote for Trump? It's complicated.
When Florida turned red on Election Day, I was stunned — especially after I saw the demographic breakdowns. Nearly one in three Latino voters in Florida cast their ballots for Trump. According to a CNN and Latino Decisions exit poll, his support among Cuban-American voters was even higher: 54 percent. “Definitely there was a hidden, secret Latino vote,” Jorge Ramos, the Univision news anchor, told me. “We’re seeing a new divide within the Hispanic community. The wall that Trump was talking about is clearly apparent now within the Hispanic community.”
Follow @valdesmarcela
RT @monica_campbell: 1/ Just toured "soft-sided shelters”/tents in El Paso that CBP/border officials will use to hold migrants soon. Fam… https://t.co/slSlMPNWJ6
RT @dmorenochavez: Ay, guey 2019 🇲🇽 Alfonso Cuarón 2018 🇲🇽 Guillermo del Toro 2017 🇺🇸 Damien Chazelle 2016 🇲🇽 Alejandro Glez Iñárrit… https://t.co/zL8VKnnECu
Felicitaciones a @alfonsocuaron! https://t.co/XQ1sDlguTS
New York Times Magazine, Sept. 18, 2016
New York Times, Sept. 28, 2015
Washington Post, April 18, 2014
The Nation, Dec. 8, 2008
Washington Post Magazine, Sept. 3, 2006
Marcela Valdes is a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine who specializes in Latino and Latin American politics and culture. Her work has also appeared in The Washington Post, The Nation, The Virginia Quarterly Review, The Believer, Bookforum, and NPR.org, among other publications. In 2010 she received a Nieman Fellowship in Journalism from Harvard University and the Roger Shattuck Award for Criticism from the Center for Fiction. A selection of her past publications may be found here.
Valdes was born in Massachusetts and grew up in California before moving to New York City and, later, Maryland. She has worked as a book review editor for Publishers Weekly and as a columnist for The Washington Post Book World. She was a founding editor of Críticas, an English-language magazine devoted to Spanish-language books, and has twice served on the Board of Directors of the National Book Critics Circle. She has appeared on “The Diane Rehm Show,” “All Things Considered,” “Morning Edition,” “The Kojo Nnamdi Show,” and “Morning Joe.”
“All great writing begins with an open-minded attempt to understand a subject — be it a book, an event, or a person.”
TO CONTACT MARCELA WITH TIPS, STORY IDEAS, OR MEDIA REQUESTS, PLEASE COMPLETE THE FORM BELOW
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Heat Rocks - Episode 95
with David Ma
Music journalist David Ma has been in the game for a long time, writing for The Guardian, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, The Source, and many, many others. He's also the host of Dad Bod Rap Pod, a hip-hop roundtable discussion show from the Bay area. When he told us he wanted to talk about GZA's debut solo effort, Liquid Swords, we knew we were in for a good conversation. Show notes
Switchblade Sisters Episode 39: 'The Big Lebowski' with 'Never Goin' Back' Director Augustine Frizzell
This week we're very lucky to have the director of A24's new film Never Goin' Back, Augustine Frizzell. She's on the show to talk with April Wolfe about the Coen Brothers' The Big Lebowski. April and her discuss the friendship on screen between Jeff Bridge's character 'The Dude' and John Goodman's 'Walter', and how that relationship is the emotional center of the film. Augustine relates this to the friendship she crafted in her film, and how writing for those characters was walking a fine line between pathetic and endearing. They also compare these two films in terms of capturing the essence of a city; Los Angeles for The Big Lebowski and Dallas for Never Goin' Back. Plus, Augustine has a pretty fascinating story of how she came to filmmaking after being a broke, single Mom at the age of eighteen. And she explains how those life experiences helped shape her debut film.
You can see Never Goin' Back in theaters now.
And if you haven't seen it yet, go watch The Big Lebowski
With April Wolfe with Augustine Frizzell
You can let us know what you think of Switchblade Sisters at @SwitchbladePod on Twitter. Or email us at switchbladesisters@maximumfun.org
Never Goin' Back
Bullseye With Jesse Thorn: Prodigy Of Mobb Deep
Posted Tue, 08/27/2013 - 11:50 by MaxFun Intern | 1 comment
Carolyn Kellogg
And if you're looking for a particular segment to listen to or share, check us out on Soundcloud.
Prodigy: Member of Mobb Deep, Crusader From Queensbridge
Queensbridge, New York is an important place for hip-hop. Not since Motown, 25 years earlier, has such an astonishing number of artists with a distinctive, sought after sound, emerged from such a specific neighborhood. Nas, Marley Marl, Cormega--these are just a few of the huge names that sprang from America's largest housing projects, located just across the bridge from Manhattan in Queens. Since the early 1980s, Queensbridge has been a veritable hotbed for new directions in East Coast hip-hop.
And no rap-group has drawn inspiration from Queensbridge more vividly than Mobb Deep. Composed of rappers Havoc and Prodigy, Mobb Deep create music that makes you feel like you, too, grew up in Queensbridge. Listen to Shook Ones Pt. 2 enough times, and you'll feel like you could stab an unlucky sucker's brain with his nosebone.
Jesse sat down with Prodigy, aka Anthony Johnson, after the release of his autobiography, My Infamous Life in 2011. Prodigy had just recently been released from prison, where he spent three years on gun charges. He talks about growing up with sickle-cell anemia, being dragged along on his father's jewelry store robberies as a teen, and how he used his time in prison for some serious personal transformation.
If you liked this, let someone know! Click here to share this segment with your friends.
Carolyn Kellogg Recommends: Farewell, My Lovely and The Crying of Lot 49
Carolyn Kellogg, book critic and staff writer for the LA Times, joins us to recommend two of her all-time favorite books.
First, she recommends Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler. This hardboiled Los Angeles noir features Chandler's iconic language--analogies stronger than the libations his protagonists down in LA's most dimly lit nightclubs.
Kellogg's next pick is Thomas Pynchon's novel The Crying Of Lot 49. At less than 200 pages, The Crying Of Lot 49 is an accessible, pun-filled entry into the dense world of Pynchon.
Read more of Carolyn's writing on books, authors, and publishing online at the LA Times' blog Jacket Copy.
The Outshot: Randy Newman's "Sail Away"
If "You've Got A Friend In Me," is the only thing you think of when you hear the name Randy Newman, we've got an Outshot for you.
Farewell My Lovely
My Infamous Life
The Crying of Lot 49
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Parent Category: Greece
Category: Tinos
Tinos is one of those sleeper hit islands. It’s known widely for its sacred Greek Orthodox pilgrimage site: the Church of Panagia Evangelistria, in the port and main town, Hora. But as soon as you leave the throngs in town, Tinos is a wonderland of natural beauty, dotted with more than 40 marble-ornamented villages found in hidden bays, on terraced hillsides and atop misty mountains. Also scattered across the brindled countryside are countless ornate dovecotes, a legacy of the Venetians. There’s a strong artistic tradition on Tinos, especially for marble sculpting, as in the sculptors’ village of Pyrgos in the north, near the marble quarries. The food, made from local produce (cheeses, sausage, tomatoes and wild artichokes), is some of the best you’ll find in Greece. Tinos’ religious focus is this neoclassical church and its icon of the Virgin Mary. The hallowed icon was found in 1822 on land where the church now stands, after a nun in Tinos, now St Pelagia, was visited by visions from the Virgin instructing her where to find it. From the start, the icon was said to have healing powers, thus encouraging mass pilgrimage. Our Lady of Tinos became the patron saint of the Greek nation. As you enter the church, the icon is on the left of the aisle, and is totally draped in jewels. Hundreds of silver lamps hang from the ceiling, each dangling a votive offering: a ship, a cradle, a heart, a pair of lungs, a chainsaw. The church, built of marble from the island’s Panormos quarries, lies within a pleasant courtyard flanked by cool arcades. The complex has sweeping views all around and museums (with variable hours) that house collections of religious artefacts, icons and secular art. Respectful attire must be worn.
https://www.mazalien.nl/photography/europe/greece/tinos/tinos-2014#sigProId0a8c9494ed
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The Unexamined Life
Is Exercise Better Than Medicine For Mental Health Issues?
May 31, 2019 12:01 AM By Seema Prasad
As the risks involved in taking antidepressants sometimes outweights the positives, researchers and the federal government are working toward finding more effective solutions to treat mental illness. Case in point being the expedited approval in March by the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) of the nasal spray, esketamine, for sufferers of treatment-resistant depression (TRD). However, the restrictive usage under supervision and its short term benefits are the drawbacks worrying critics.
Another such solution was studied by researchers at University of Vermont to examine a multidisciplinary approach to managing mood disorders and psychosis. The particular differentiator in this study was the guided enforcement of an hour long exercise routine four times a week, imparted to patients using the in-patient facilities. Titled the "Positive Patient Response to a Structured Exercise Program Delivered in Inpatient Psychiatry," the paper was published in Global Advances in Health and Medicine last week.
There has been considerable research before on the connection between exercising and reduced symptoms of depression, which is evidenced by this study of 1.2 million people across 50 states in America. The largest study of its kind, published in the Lancet Psychiatry Journal, said that people who exercised 3 to 5 times per week for 45 minutes experienced depression for 1.5 lesser days than those who failed to exercise.
Taking this wholesome perspective a step forward, the in-patient adults at University of Vermont’s Medical Center participated in hour-long exercise sessions held by group therapists who were either nurses or mental health technicians. A wide range of medical equipment, such as fitness balls, ellipticals, bikes, rowers and aerobic exercises, was introduced to creatively bolster physical flexibility and stamina.
They did not stick to a single routine and incorporated many styles of exercise for lasting affect. Stretching, muscle activation and free style exercises were practiced by them for an entire period of 12 months, four times a week. Enrolment in the study was voluntary and conducted with safety measures in place, the researchers said.
The secondary goal of the study was to facilitate an individualistic and patient-centric approach to managing symptoms of mood disorders and psychosis, so they also additionally participated in 60-minute long discussions, sharing nutrition-related information. Researchers tried to figure out if patients had knowledge of food categories and labels and the importance of the gastrointestinal system to psychological well-being.
Researchers at University of Vermont examined the benefits of exercising and providing detailed nutritional advice on 100 patients receiving treatment at the inpatient facility. Fernando Cabral/Unsplash
The exchange happened two ways since the therapists tried to understand the barriers to leading a healthy lifestyle, brought on by battling impaired cognitive function. Volunteers and students helped gather specific information to hold individual consultations to apply solutions based on specific advice given to them. Surveys and questionnaires were distributed before and after the various educational and interactive ssessions, even the exercise sessions.
“The pre- and postsession surveys addressed overall mood, willingness to engage in further education, physical condition, physical fitness/readiness, and movement-based practices, nutrition group attendance, and perceived body image, using a combination of binary (yes/no) responses and Likert-type scales, with reported percentages and P value from McNemar’s test and P value from Wilcoxon signed-rank test,” the study said.
The results of the study analysing the response to nutritional education and the willingness to exercise were divided into two categories — responses of patients receiving treatment for mood disorders and responses of patients admitted for psychosis.
A whopping 93.2 percent of people with mood disorders answered in the affirmative to the question on whether they were pleased about how their body felt. Interestingly, 90.6 percent of those with psychosis said “yes” to the same question.
All patients, that is to say, a 100 percent of the psychosis group, answered positively to the question of exercising more, while 97 percent of those people with mood disorders said that they would exercise again.
The larger goal of the study to contribute to the abundance of research and provide valuable information on mental health was met, for it was able to confirm older studies, saying that exercise can reduce symptoms of various mental illness.
Women Who Exercise Still More Prone To Depression Than Men
Ketamine Can Help Fight Depression, New Study Reveals
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Scientists Predict Medical Conditions By Analyzing Facebook Posts
Jun 19, 2019 12:44 AM By Darwin Malicdem
To date, there are more than one billion people estimated to be active on Facebook. The rise of social media has provided a number of benefits, from connecting people to growing businesses.
And the health community is starting to utilize the platform to improve healthcare. A new study shows Facebook could actually help predict medical conditions of people.
Researchers said that by analyzing personal profiles they were able to determine at least 21 types of conditions, including pregnancy, diabetes and skin disorders. Facebook also guided the team in identifying mental health problems, such as anxiety, depression and psychosis, CNN reported Monday.
"People's personality, mental state, and health behaviors are all reflected in their social media and all have tremendous impact on health," the researchers said in the study that is to be published in the journal PLOS One.
The findings come from the analysis of nearly 950,000 Facebook status updates from 999 participants. The researchers also reviewed each participant’s electronic medical records and compared it with their social media posts.
They found certain language that may indicate characteristic behavior or symptoms of certain diagnoses. The people who commonly used the words "drink," "drunk" or "bottle" in their Facebook posts were likely experiencing alcohol abuse, the researchers said.
The team hopes the study could help improve healthcare in the future. Analyzing social media patterns offers a new way to personalize medical services for patients.
However, the researchers noted predictive words are not necessarily causal mechanisms. They added some challenges may occur in promoting the use of social media to predict medical conditions, such as privacy concerns and data ownership.
Facebook and Privacy
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg previously admitted the social networking company had issues securing personal data of users. One major issue was the Cambridge Analytica scandal and another security breach that revealed private information of at least 50 million users.
The company was also criticized for tracking users to sell targeted advertisements, which provided it $56 billion in 2018. Reports also claimed Facebook used to give companies some access to user information, including friends list and private messages. However, Zuckerberg announced in March that Facebook would now become a "privacy-focused" platform.
The rise of social media has provided a number of benefits, from connecting people to growing businesses to improving healthcare. Pixabay
Facebook Addiction: Why It’s Becoming More Common
Facebook Moderators Report ‘Inhumane’ Treatment, Stress At Work
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2. The Chinese Girl’s Umbrella
All his life he had been telling stories. First to the Great Khan in his summer tents out on the steppes. Then to the children of Venice in those first hard years when he had come home to find himself forgotten. And then to his Genoese jailors after the ill-fated Battle of Curzola. But compared to all these audiences she was by far the trickiest. He had married her in the years when he had grown prosperous by trading on the rubies that the Great Khan had given him. She was a merchant’s daughter, a little thing and Venetian through and through, with pale skin, dark hair, long eyes and pale, small lips. She had a high bosom and narrow hips, and she had terrorised his suppliers, fought with his creditors, entered the figures every day in the big ledger book.
She was mightily unimpressed by him, with no time for poetry and not much time for fashion and so it was all the more surprising that on cold winter nights, when they lay together in the big double bed, dressed in the wolf-skin robes, courtesy of the Khan, and with bed socks and night caps as well, she would stretch out her hand across the double bed, which was as wide as the Silk Road, and say, ‘Tell me a story.’ And the story that she asked for more than any other was the story of the treasures in his museum.
All night he talked as the mists came in across the lagoon. Sometimes he fell asleep in mid-story and when he woke it was daylight and the first rays of the sun were shafting through the mists and turning them into heaps of vaporous-looking laundry – whilst downstairs in the kitchen he could hear Donata dishing out the grief to the scullery girls.
After a while he saw what she was up to. Although he had never said anything she must have guessed that the owner of the umbrella was someone who had been dear to him. And so, as fast as she tried to lead him towards the Chinese girl’s umbrella, he tried to lead her away from it. He thought he would die before her and he feared for the fate of the delicate umbrella. But he got it wrong. Donata died before him, giving birth to their third child. ‘You never asked me for my story,’ she told him and he was stricken to see the tears in her eyes. Afterwards he realised that the Chinese girl was dead as well. Somehow in those long nightly battles when he had tried to protect her he had lost the vivid image on his inner eye, and the Chinese girl had died as well.
The Chinese Emperor's Encyclopedia
3. The Museum of the World
Putting Ourselves Into History/Museum of Marco Polo
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| ERROR: type should be string, got "https://www.middletownpress.com/news/article/Work-group-focuses-on-New-Mexico-marijuana-measure-14093323.php\nWork group focuses on New Mexico marijuana measure\nUpdated 11:08 am EDT, Saturday, July 13, 2019\nSANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — There's no question Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham wants state lawmakers to take up the matter of legalizing marijuana when they meet again in January.\n\"Better that we embrace it, deal with the public safety issues, be earnest about it, be upfront about it and don't try to narrow the public's involvement with a 30-day legislative session. Let's do it on the front end and let's do it right,\" the first-year governor said at a news conference earlier this week.\nA work group she established to help get that done had its first meeting this week.\nThe group isn't starting from scratch as it's looking to use legislation from the last session as a template.\nThat measure, which stalled in the Senate, would have imposed a tax of at least 17% on marijuana sales. The revenue would have toward health, law enforcement and research programs.\nAlbuquerque City Councilor Pat Davis, the leader of the roughly 20-member group, said more than five dozen different cannabis-related bills have been introduced since 2012. Most of them have been thoroughly analyzed, he said.\n\"We have a tremendous amount . of resources and New Mexico-based data,\" Davis said.\nThe group plans to hold at least four more public meetings before making a final recommendation to Lujan Grisham by the end of October. Those meetings will include events in Albuquerque and Las Cruces.\nDemocratic Rep. Javier Martinez of Albuquerque, who sponsored this year's legalization bill, expressed optimism about the process and praised the governor's leadership on the issue.\n\"New Mexico is ready to lead the nation with a comprehensive legalization program that will right the wrongs caused by the failed war on drugs and develop new and profitable economic opportunities for all New Mexicans,\" Martinez told the Albuquerque Journa l after Wednesday's meeting.\nThe working group will have to grapple with thorny issues that have tripped up previous legalization attempts, including public safety concerns and the potential effects to the more than 70,000 people who have medical marijuana cards.\nIn addition, this year's bill would have legalized recreational marijuana sold through state-run stores, an idea that drew opposition. The working group will focus on the first version of the bill, which does not include that provision, though later versions will also be studied.\nThe legislation would have to make it through the House and Senate in what will be an election year for all 112 state lawmakers.\nRepublican Sen. Cliff Pirtle of Roswell acknowledged election dynamics could be a factor.\n\"At the end of the day, as legislators we need to not focus on the next election and instead on passing good policy,\" he told the Journal.\nState lawmakers did approve a separate proposal during this year's session that reduced penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana.\nJust two other states — Illinois and Vermont — have legalized marijuana legislatively. The other nine that have legalized recreational cannabis use have done so through voter petition or referendum efforts, which are not allowed in New Mexico."
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https://www.middletownpress.com/nfl/article/Jets-WR-Eric-Decker-catching-on-in-New-York-11793264.php
Jets WR Eric Decker catching on in New York
Dennis Waszak Jr. The Associated Press
Published 5:03 pm EDT, Wednesday, June 11, 2014
In this May 28 file photo, New York Jets wide receiver Eric Decker runs with the ball during an organized team activity in Florham Park, New Jersey.
Photo: Julio Cortez — The Associated Press File Photo
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. >> Diapers and playbooks.
That’s what life is all about these days for Eric Decker — brand-new father and big-time wide receiver for the New York Jets.
“She’s been keeping me up at night,” a smiling Decker said Wednesday about three month-old daughter Vivianne. “I get a couple of hours (sleep) here and there. That’s about it.”
Talk about a life-changing week: He agreed to terms on a five-year deal with the Jets on March 12, and six days later, wife Jessie James gave birth to their first child.
Decker is learning to balance his increased responsibilities on the field with a new team and at home with a new baby, which is why he has no regrets about missing time last week at the Jets’ voluntary practices to travel to Nashville with his recording artist wife to attend the CMT Music Awards. The wide receiver received some criticism from fans and media for not attending the practice, but received full support from coach Rex Ryan and the team.
“A marriage is give-and-take, and any relationship is give-and-take,” Decker said. “It’s funny how this became such a story. It was an opportunity for us to get down there and be around our friends and be around the music industry that she’s a part of.
“When your wife gives birth and goes through nine months of tough days to give you a child, you respect the woman a lot more. Obviously, she’s very important to me and her career is very important, as well.”
Ryan has often mentioned that his biggest regret in football is missing the birth of his second son, Seth, because he was coaching. So, when family events come up — particularly in “voluntary” offseason sessions — Ryan knows where his players are coming from. That’s why the coach made it clear last week that he was on board with Decker spending time with his wife, even if it was at a country music awards show.
“It’s huge, and that’s what’s so great about Rex Ryan, and really this organization,” Decker said. “Everyone here is family and you take care of one another. That’s how you build a winning culture. I’ve got a lot of respect for him and for him to stand up and say that, it means a lot to me.”
Decker is doing his best to seamlessly work himself into Marty Mornhinweg’s offense, one that was in dire need of a playmaking No. 1-type target. He had 87 receptions for 11 touchdowns last season while catching passes from Peyton Manning, and totaled 172 catches for 2,352 yards and 24 TDs the last two years.
When Decker signed with the Jets — before Michael Vick was on the team — he talked about how impressed he was from afar with Geno Smith’s development as a rookie. After working with him for several weeks, that feeling has only grown as Smith and Vick compete for the starting quarterback job.
“We’re all out there busting our butts and he’s a guy leading the charge,” Decker said about Smith. “I think he’s done a good job of getting guys on the same page, making sure we’re coming to work and we’re motivated every day. Sometimes in the offseason, if you’re not playing for something, it can get hard at times, but he’s been making sure guys are grinding.
“It’s good to see a leader at the quarterback position like that, and him to be so mature at his age.”
Decker and David Nelson are the veterans among a group of receivers that mostly lacks experience, other than Jeremy Kerley, who led the Jets with 43 catches last season. New York also has former Raiders receiver Jacoby Ford, but the rest are either still finding their way in the NFL — such as Stephen Hill, Clyde Gates, Greg Salas, Saalim Hakim and Michael Campbell — or were drafted last month: Jalen Saunders, Shaq Evans and Quincy Enunwa.
“We’ve got a young group in there,” Decker said. “We’ve got a lot of raw talent. It’s about kind of finding your identity and for a lot of these guys, this is the time to do it, through practice. And through my experiences, I hope to help.”
During the special teams period of practice Wednesday, Decker was off to the side with wide receivers coach Sanjay Lal. The two were going over details, a discussion that included talk of routes and play calls as Decker tries to get up to speed with Mornhinweg’s offense. The less he thinks on the field, the more he can focus on making big plays — just like the Jets are counting on.
“Change and stuff takes time, but it’s been a good transition for me,” he said. “Every day, I feel more comfortable, and been getting a better grasp of the system. It’s always easier when you get more reps and more experience with it, so to have these practices under my belt, I feel good lining up, I feel good with what we’re doing and all the guys have been tremendous.”
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https://www.middletownpress.com/opinion/article/Another-view-West-must-consider-Russia-after-11792874.php
Another view: West must consider Russia, after Putin
By Sergei Guriev
Published 12:06 pm EDT, Friday, June 12, 2015
Last year, thanks to its aggression in Ukraine, Russia changed in many important ways. But one crucial transformation has gone largely unnoticed: Long-term thinking has completely disappeared, and the Russian regime no longer talks about the future.
Russian leaders’ discourse centers on the standoff with Ukraine and the West (and their “puppets” within Russia) and references to the heroic past (mostly to World War II). The regime is now fully focused on its own survival.
This has not always been the case. In 2000, Vladimir Putin went to the Kremlin with a 10-year “Gref program” that included a vision of Russia as an open and modern country. His first presidential term implemented parts of this program. Long-term development strategies — mostly based on this vision — were discussed and updated until 2012.
Even when Putin returned as president that year, he put together a set of programmatic op-eds in Russian newspapers outlining long-term plans on the economy, social policy, governance, federalism and foreign policy.
He converted these into a number of presidential decrees that he signed on his first day in office. These decrees provided transparent targets that he promised to achieve by 2018.
By now it is clear — and even publicly acknowledged by Putin himself — that these decrees will not be carried out. What alternative future does Russia’s president propose to his citizens? There is no answer. No long-term policy planning for Russia’s future is occurring. Previously, Russia took pride in moving from one-year to three-year budgets.
This is no more: The Kremlin has no credible financial plan beyond 2016 except for hoping for oil prices to recover. Its foreign policy doctrine centers also on regime survival.
Around the world, Russia fiercely defends the sovereign right of non-democratic governments to stay in power indefinitely.
The regime is right to worry about its immediate future. The Russian economy is in recession and is unlikely to grow at more than 2 percent per year even when — or if — the recession ends. For the first time in Putin’s 15 years in power, Russians’ real incomes are falling.
The propaganda benefits of annexing Crimea are subsiding. And another war is not affordable — in addition to direct military costs, being subjected to another round of sanctions could destroy important banks, which could easily result in widespread panic and the collapse of the regime.
Given this environment, it is not surprising that the West, too, talks to Russia only about short-term issues. But whether we think about the future or not, it will come.
At some point, this regime will have to go, and it is not clear at all what will replace it, how turbulent the transformation will be and whether Russia will ultimately emerge as a democratic country. As the Arab Spring has shown, such regime changes can be very peaceful or very violent.
A peaceful transition is not unlikely. Russia is richer and better educated than the Arab Spring countries; in fact, it is richer and better educated than any country in history that has moved from dictatorship to democracy. But it is also clear that the top figures in the regime are unlikely to readily surrender their hold on power.
They are scared of being brought to justice for crimes against international law and humanity, and for grand corruption within Russia. The best scenario one can hope for is some form of transitional government that would provide certain guarantees to the outgoing elites and oversee new elections.
It is certainly in the West’s interest not to “lose Russia” again.
Given Russia’s nuclear arms and its diminished but still large economic, energy and geopolitical roles, a turbulent transition and the rise of another aggressive non-democratic regime would be costly for the world.
A democratic and capitalist Russia would contribute to the global economy and the world’s ability to address international challenges, including regional instability, environmental threats, terrorism and corruption.
Can the West do anything to affect the outcome? Eventually, Russia’s destiny will be decided by Russians. But the West can still play a role.
With a Marshall Plan-style program, it can contribute to shaping a new Russia by helping to rebuild an economy destroyed by corruption; supporting governance, education and health-care reforms; and investing in Russia’s infrastructure.
Most important, the West should articulate a path for reintegrating Russia into the free world.
Russians ultimately think of themselves as a part of European civilization, and even Putin’s aggressive rhetoric refers at times to his Western “partners” and looks for his policies’ roots in “true European values.”
The West should be clear about what it will take for Russia to reengage with the European Union, NATO, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and other international bodies.
These issues are difficult; addressing them will require major intellectual and political efforts. What is worrisome is that Western leaders treat such questions as too distant to bother with. We should learn a lesson from 1991, when the quick disappearance of the Soviet Union took everyone by surprise.
But we must be careful not to be misled by the fact that 1991 was relatively peaceful. This time, the stakes are much higher for the ruling elite. The West should get prepared now for sudden and turbulent change in Russia.
Guriev is an economics professor at the Paris Institute of Political Studies, also known as Sciences Po.
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Meeting to discuss Honiton's church future
Clarissa Place
St Michael's Church, Honiton. Photo by Terry Ife
A public meeting will be held to discuss the future of Honiton's 15th century church.
Church officials have expressed their hope to reopen St Michael's Church in Honiton for the use of the community ahead of the meeting tonight (May 2) at St Paul's Church.
The Diocese of Exeter says there are no plans to sell St Michael's and has had a number of meetings with church and secular bodies with no viable future use for the building being identified.
The 15th century building was closed to the public earlier this year because of poor attendance and a need for major structural repairs.
St Paul's was built in the 19th century to serve Honiton's growing population resulting in St Michael's being re-designated as a chapel of ease.
The Right Reverend Robert Atwell, Bishop of Exeter, said: “Honiton is one of the most attractive and important towns in the county.
“St Michael's has a unique place in its history and landscape, and I hope that together we can find a way to bring this ancient building back to life in the service of its community.”
Ahead of the meeting, Charles Courtenay, the current Earl of Devon, expressed his hopes for the church, which has a strong connection with his family.
Lord Devon said: “Honiton holds a special place in my family, as my grandfather and his five sisters enjoyed a blessed childhood at the rectory, with many fond memories of the parish.
“Our medieval links to St. Michael's Church are also significant, and I am enthusiastic about encouraging a modern community use for this remarkable old building.
“I fully support the diocese's efforts to engage with the community in the renewal of St. Michael's.”
The churchyard remains open for burials and continues to be the responsibility of the Parochial Church Council.
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5-Nation Spy Alliance Too Vital for Leaks to Harm
Associated Press | By Nick Perry and Paisley Dodds
WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- Britain needed U.S. intelligence to help thwart a major terror attack. New Zealand relied on it to send troops to Afghanistan. And Australia used it to help convict a would-be bomber.
All feats were the result of a spying alliance known as Five Eyes that groups together five English-speaking democracies, and they point to a vital lesson: American information is so valuable, experts say, that no amount of global outrage over secret U.S. surveillance powers would cause Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand to ditch the Five Eyes relationship.
The broader message is that the revelations from NSA leaker Edward Snowden are unlikely to stop or even slow the global growth of secret-hunting, which is increasingly crucial to the security and prosperity of nations.
"Information is like gold," Bruce Ferguson, the former head of New Zealand's foreign spy agency, the Government Communications Security Bureau, told The Associated Press. "If you don't have it, you don't survive."
The Five Eyes arrangement underscores the value of this information -- as well as the limitations of the information sharing.
The collaboration began during World War II when the allies were trying to crack German and Japanese naval codes and has endured. The alliance helps avoid duplication in some instances and allows for greater penetration in others. The five nations have agreed not to spy on each other, and in many outposts around the world, Five Eyes agencies work side by side, allowing for information to be shared quickly.
But Richard Aldrich, who spent a decade researching a book on British surveillance, said some Five Eyes nations have spied on each other, violating their own rules.
The five countries "generally know what's in each other's underwear drawers so you don't need to spy, but occasionally there will be issues when they don't agree" -- and when that happens, they snoop, Aldrich said.
In Five Eyes, the U.S. boasts the most advanced technical abilities and the biggest budget. Britain is a leader in traditional spying, thanks in part to its reach into countries that were once part of the British Empire. Australia has excelled in gathering regional signals and intelligence, providing a window into the growing might of Asia. Canadians, Australians and New Zealanders can sometimes prove useful spies because they don't come under the same scrutiny as their British and American counterparts.
"The United States doesn't share information," said Bob Ayers, a former CIA officer, "without an expectation of getting something in return."
Britain is home to one of the world's largest eavesdropping centers, located about 300 kilometers (186 miles) northwest of London at Menwith Hill. It's run by the NSA but hundreds of British employees are employed there, including analysts from Britain's eavesdropping agency, the Government Communications Headquarters -- or GCHQ. Australia is home to Pine Gap, a sprawling satellite tracking station located in the remote center of the country, where NSA officials work side-by-side with scores of locals. The U.S. also posts three or four analysts at a time in New Zealand, home to the small Waihopai and Tangimoana spy stations.
The intelligence-sharing relationship enabled American and British security and law enforcement officials to thwart a major terror attack in 2006 -- the trans-Atlantic liquid bomb plot to blow up some 10 airliners.
The collaboration, sometimes called ECHELON, takes place within strict parameters. Two U.S. intelligence officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak about the program to the news media, said only U.S. intelligence officers can directly access their own vast database.
A Five Eyes ally can ask to cross-check, say, a suspicious phone number it has independently collected to see if there is any link to the U.S., the officials said. But the ally must first show the request is being made in response to a potential threat to Western interests.
Ferguson said that in New Zealand, cooperation with the U.S. improved markedly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Still, he said, his agency was kept on a need-to-know basis. He said he never knew what information was being provided to other Five Eyes nations, and none of the countries would have shared all their intelligence anyway.
Ferguson said a small country like New Zealand benefited by a ratio of about five-to-one in the information it received compared to what it provided. He said that as chief of the defense force, a role he held before taking over the spy agency in 2006, he could never have sent troops to Afghanistan without the on-the-ground intelligence provided by the U.S. and other allies. He said New Zealand continues to rely on Five Eyes information for most of its overseas deployments, from peacekeeping to humanitarian efforts. The intelligence is vital, he added, for thwarting potential cyber threats.
In Australia, prosecutors in 2009 used evidence from a U.S. informant who had been at a terrorist training camp in Pakistan to help convict one of nine Muslim extremists found guilty of planning to bomb an unspecified Sydney target. The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation wrote in an email to AP that "intelligence sharing between countries is critical to identifying and preventing terrorism and other transnational security threats."
Canada's Department of National Defence had a similar response, saying it "takes an active role in building relationships with allies. Collaborating with the personnel of the Five Eyes community in support of mutual defense and security issues is part of this relationship building."
Both agencies declined requests to provide more specific information.
In the decades since World War II, the allies have formed various other intelligence allegiances, although few as comprehensive or deep as Five Eyes. While the Snowden revelations will test the relationship, it has survived tests in the past.
New Zealand has long asserted an independent foreign policy by banning nuclear ships, and some are now calling for the country to go further and opt out of Five Eyes. Lawmaker Russel Norman, co-leader of New Zealand's Green Party, is one of many people calling for a public review of the relationship.
"I want to live in a free society, not a total surveillance state," he said. "The old Anglo-American gang of five no longer runs the world."
But John Blaxland, a senior fellow at the Australian National University's Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, said politicians Down Under have often criticized the security relationship until they've gotten into power and been briefed on its benefits.
Then, he said, they tend to go silent.
"The perception is that the advantages are so great, they'd be crazy to give it up," he said.
-- Dodds reported from London. Associated Press writers Lara Jakes and Matt Apuzzo in Washington and Rob Gillies in Toronto contributed to this report.
Robert Mueller: A 'Magnificent Bastard'
Former FBI Director Robert Mueller was once a "Magnificent Bastard" in the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines.
Obama Commutes Sentence of Chelsea Manning
President Obama has commuted the sentence of Chelsea Manning, the former Army analyst who leaked info to the website WikiLeak...
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Please Review – Puget Sound Flying Flag at Half-Mast for Billy Graham
– March 5, 2018
Dear Mikey Weinstein,
I am a former US-Navy service member who follows a few Naval Bases’ Facebook pages. I’ve also spoke with you years ago, and thought to send this to you.
Today I came across a notice that: “As a mark of respect for the memory of Reverend Billy Graham, the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff over Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility, until sunset, March 2, 2018.”
However, I have never heard of the flag being flown at half-mast on a military facility for a person who never served in the Armed Forces nor was ever a governmental employee.It seems this is an example of religious favoritism, as Billy Graham is only notable for his fervent proselytizing of the christian faith.
The relevant post is located here:
https://www.facebook.com/PSNSandIMFontheWaterfront/photos/a.98809928052.91842.91016063052/10155236324158053/?type=3&theater
Regards & Respectfully,
Response by MRFF’s Senior Research Director Chris Rodda
Hi (name withheld) …
I’m Chris Rodda, MRFF’s research director.
You are far from alone in your reaction to the flag being flown at half-staff for Billy Graham.
It is not unprecedented for a president to issue a proclamation ordering that flags be flown at half-staff for someone who didn’t serve in the military or in some other capacity in the government, but the only example that anyone seems to be able to come up with is that Lyndon Johnson issued a proclamation ordering that flags be flown at half-staff when Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. (I’m actually doing some research to see if I can find any other examples.)
But, obviously, although Martin Luther King was also a Christian minister, this was not the reason for President Johnson’s proclaiming a national day of mourning in his honor and ordering that flags be flown at half-staff at all military installations and other government buildings until his burial. It was King’s service to the nation as a civil rights leader, and, if you read the words of Johnson’s proclamation, was a call in the wake of his assassination for the nation “to deny violence its victory” and to “stand against divisiveness in our country and all its consequences.”
In contrast to the clear reason for honoring Dr. King and the larger purpose of President Johnson’s proclamation, Trump’s proclamation ordering that flags be flown at half-staff for Billy Graham gave no reason at all for this honor other than its being a “mark of respect for the memory” of someone who was nothing but a purely religious figure who promoted one particular religion. While Johnson’s proclamation was a call to take a “stand against divisiveness in our country,” Trump’s proclamation was in effect an order exemplifying divisiveness by forcing every member of the military as well as civilian government employees to honor a man for nothing more than his proselytization of fundamentalist Christianity.
I’ve already written about Trump’s order to the military, in which he not only forced every member of the military, regardless of their beliefs, to honor a fundamentalist Christian preacher, but incompetently cited a Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day law as the law under which he issued this order, and plan to write more about this clear example of the Christian nationalism that is becoming an ever bigger threat than ever to our country in this age of Trump.
You can find the piece I already wrote here: http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/3/2/1746125/-Trump-Cites-Pearl-Harbor-Remembrance-Day-Law-to-Order-Flags-Flown-at-Half-Staff-for-Billy-Graham
Thanks for reaching out to us, and, as I said at the beginning of this email, you are far from alone in your reaction to this forced veneration of Billy Graham that was foisted upon our entire military.
Chris Rodda
Senior Research Director
Military Religious Freedom Foundation
Mikeys Mouse
Billy Graham was a very honorable man and a man of integrity. This was only for one day, good grief, get over it.
We are well on our way of close to 100,000 signatures on a petition to Pres.Trump to name an official Billy Graham Day as an official holiday.
No Graham was not an honorable man with no integrity.
Retired Senior Air Force Officer
Posted March 9, 2018 at 11:48 AM
There is really no need for an argument, about whether Reverend Graham should be honored with an official holiday.
We only need to review the United States Constitution, the Law of the Land, to see that it unequivocally violates the First Amendment and therefore it is against the law. Period. No more discussion necessary.
The First Amendment, to the Constitution, states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion…”
Reverend Graham is simply a well-known Fundamentalist Christian figure, no more than that, and by creating a national holiday, in his honor, would establish a “preference or endorsement,” of the Christian faith, by Congress, and therefore, be illegal.
Posted March 9, 2018 at 12:06 PM
Dear Retired Senior Air Force Officer,
Establishing a national holiday would not violate the first amendment anymore than Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who was also a pastor, have a national holiday named after him.
Secondly, Rev. Graham was no fundamentalist figure, he was an Evangelical evangelist, and great friends with the lat Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
And you may have no choice but to recognize his death as a national holiday if Congress approves it and remember who has control of Congress.
What is sad is that the only living President to attend his funeral was Pres. Trump, especially when other living presidents called on Rev. Graham for advice.
Mr. G,
How can you say that Rev, Graham was not an honorable man with no integrity. He had more honor and integrity than you will ever have in many lifetimes and more than the remaining living Presidents and Congress has. All you have to do is look in a mirror and you will see a person who has no integrity or honor, think about that eh!
MM, you don’t even know me so you can’t anything about my honor and integrity. In addition, Graham had no integrity when he associated himself with Republican presidents and Republican congressional men and women who have destroyed the country politically, economically, and spiritually.
Hey G,
Same could be said for the Democrats Rev.Graham associated himself with, those who have murdered 60 million babies and sold their parts to willing buyers, started the KKK, voted against desegregation and was for slavery in the Civil War.
Hey, MM, those Democrats who started the KKK, voted against desegregation, and was for slavery are now Republicans. You also got corporations dealing with body parts for huge profits: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrBwTFkncfE
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Holloway: The commitment and desire was there
Manager Ollie provides his post-match assessment
Millwall boss Ian Holloway said he was pleased by the 'commitment and desire' of his players during the 3-3 FA Cup Third Round draw with Bradford City.
The Bantams took an early lead at The Den but Ollie's men fought back thanks to efforts from Scott McDonald and Ricardo Fuller. An unfortunate Sid Nelson own goal and Billy Knott's second of the afternoon, however, turned the tie back in Bradford's favour, before Fuller completed his brace late on to secure the replay.
"I feel a little bit frustrated not to win because I think the lads did a lot of good things in the game," Ollie said afterwards.
"We did get a few things wrong and it seems that teams are punishing us for those mistakes at the moment. But we can keep working to improve those areas of our game.
"What pleased me was that the commitment and desire was there from the boys. That maybe hasn't been the case in the last couple of weeks, and the players have been as disappointed as I have been with some of the performances and results.
"Out there today, though, I was pleased with how the team kept going and didn't let their heads drop after going behind. We could've folded but fought our way back into things.
"We managed to get the ball into wide areas better than we have been and you could see how much we stretched Bradford in doing so. We got crosses into the box and scored goals.
"Defensively there were a few things for us to look at but at least we are still in the draw. Hopefully now we can go up there and get a result which would hopefully kick-start things."
The club announced before kick-off that Scott Malone had been given permission to speak to Cardiff, and Ollie once again confirmed that he is working hard to bring players in during the January transfer window.
"We want to do some serious work this month and at this moment we are spinning a few plates," he said.
"As a group we need better balance and more options so hopefully we can find that over the next few weeks.
"I want a team that attacks and entertains our supporters, but we have to find the balance that allows that.
"Hopefully we can have one more in door early next week that helps us further. After that we will keep working to find the right types."
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https://www.mrt.com/sports/article/COLLEGE-FOOTBALL-Gibbs-named-new-Tech-DC-7398296.php
COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Gibbs named new Tech DC
Published 4:19 pm CST, Monday, January 5, 2015
Houston interim head coach David Gibbs after the Armed Forces Bowl lst Friday in Fort Worth. Gibbs was hired as the new Texas Tech defensive coordinator on Monday. (AP Photo/Sharon Ellman)
Photo: Sharon Ellman
LUBBOCK — Texas Tech head football coach Kliff Kingsbury announced the hiring of David Gibbs as defensive coordinator Monday.
Mike Smith, who had served as interim defensive coordinator following the resignation of Matt Wallerstedt on Sept. 18, will return to his role as co-defensive coordinator.
Along with the appointment of Gibbs, Kingsbury announced that Zac Spavital will join the staff as a defensive assistant coach while current running backs coach Mike Jinks has been elevated to associate head coach.
Gibbs comes to Texas Tech after spending the last two seasons as defensive coordinator at the University of Houston. He also served as interim head coach of the Cougars in Friday’s 35-34 win over Pittsburgh in the Armed Forces Bowl. Trailing 24-6 at the end of the third, Houston scored 29 points in the fourth to set the NCAA record for the largest fourth quarter comeback in a bowl game.
The 22-year coaching veteran will bring both experience and stability to a Texas Tech defensive unit that has been led by six different coaches since 2009. Gibbs has seven years experience as a defensive coordinator at the FBS level and nine years of NFL coaching experience.
“I couldn’t be more excited about joining Coach Kingsbury and the rest of our coaching staff,” Gibbs said. “I have followed Kliff’s career and believe special things are happening in Lubbock. There are several talented, young defensive players that will contribute for years to come. I am grateful for this opportunity and look forward to getting started soon.”
In his first season at Houston in 2013, Gibbs led a Cougar defense that was the third-most improved scoring defense in the FBS. The Cougars ranked 20th nationally in allowing 21.8 points per game in 2013 after allowing 36 points per game in 2012. The 2013 Houston defense led the nation with 43 turnovers forced to help lead the Cougars to a nation’s best plus 25 turnover margin.
The improvement continued in 2014 as the Cougars finished the regular-season ranked 19th nationally in total defense (334.6 yards-per-game), 11th in scoring defense (19.5 points per game) and ninth in turnovers gained (30).
Before Houston, Gibbs’ last collegiate coaching stop was 2005 when he served as defensive coordinator at Auburn. The Tiger defense ranked sixth nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 15.5 points per game while ranking 11th in sacks with 39 and 16th in third-down defense.
On the professional level, Gibbs spent a combined nine seasons in Denver, Kansas City and Houston as a defensive backs coach.
Spavital, who just completed his seventh season at Houston, will join Gibbs’ defensive staff at Texas Tech. His coaching assignments have not yet been determined. Spavital spent seven seasons working with the Houston defensive backs and added the title of recruiting coordinator in 2011.
Jinks, Texas Tech’s running backs coach since 2013, has been promoted to associate head coach.
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Local Investor Buys 248-Unit Indy Community
Ardizzone Enterprises paid well over $12 million for the asset. U.S. Bank, the seller, had foreclosed on the property in 2016.
Jeff Hamann
Wyckford Commons
Ardizzone Enterprises has purchased the 248-unit Wyckford Commons in Indianapolis for $12.3 million from U.S. Bank, according to Yardi Matrix data. Merchants Bank of Indiana provided the new owner $9.8 million in acquisition financing. The seller took control of the asset in August 2016 following a foreclosure action, when the previous owner defaulted on an $8.1 million mortgage.
Located at 7777 Wyckford Court in Indianapolis’ Wayne West submarket, the community is a mile and a half from Interstate 465. The Chapel Hill Shopping Center is in the immediate area, with a public bus route providing direct access downtown, 8 miles away.
Constructed in 1974, Wyckford Commons contains a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units, with floorplans ranging between 700 and 1,576 square feet. Community amenities include a swimming pool, laundry facilities, fitness center, volleyball court and clubhouse. The property was 94.4 percent occupied as of October.
In June, a 753-unit asset changed hands on the northeastern side of the city, just 15 miles from Wyckford Commons.
Image courtesy of Yardi Matrix
Berkadia Brokers Sale of 261 Units in the Midwest
CS Acquisition Group Sells 272-Unit IN Community
Berkadia Arranges Indianapolis Community Sale
The Annex Group Begins Work on Affordable Development in Indiana
NHI Venture Buys Senior Housing Portfolio for $128M
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By Kathryn Jean Lopez
Follow Kathryn Jean Lopez on Twitter
We frequently run a best-of-the-year-that-was on NRO during the final day of a given year. This year, even with all that happened, a link to our WFB memorial archive seems most appropriate.
The more you reread Bill, the more you long to emulate the style. The more you want to protect the legacy. The more you want to do what he did.
There’s so much to reread of what Bill wrote (thank you, WFB!), but I frequently come back to this: “We do not abandon reason, we merely recognize its limitations. We reason to the existence of God, it is revealed to us that His Son was the incarnation, and that such was His love of us that He endured a torture excruciating in pain, and unique in aspect — the God of hosts, mutilated by His own creatures, whom He dies forgiving, loving. Can we do less? Yes, we do less, but we must try to do more, until we die.”
The more you know a great man (or woman), the more you are reminded he is but a man. That’s true of getting to know those who are living and reading the letters and honest biographies of those we could never know. We are reminded that we’re all called to greatness in our roles in the world. Bill was a remarkable man. It was an honor to know him, to read him, to love him. But he might be the first to remind us that he was a man. Like so many who have come before us who we admire. Who we miss. Whose legacies we will protect and defend and cherish and shape the future with.
Whether you or a man or woman of faith or not, is there little doubt WFB’s life story is that of one who did what he was born to do? Will you permit me to pray you do exactly that this coming year, whatever your field, whatever your responsibilities, wherever you are? Those of us in the political world have very many lessons to take from his life, but if we all reflect on that — a life well lived — I don’t think Bill would mind at all.
I’m taking this next day or so to recharge a little and hope you can too. Have a great New Year and new year. I hope you spend much of it here!
Kathryn Jean Lopez is a senior fellow at the National Review Institute and an editor-at-large of National Review. Sign up for her weekly NRI newsletter here. @kathrynlopez
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Art, nature and justice beat greed and politics
Update from Zilbeti
Late in 2015, NATURAL LIGHT reported a remarkable case of environmental protest art that helped in the fight to save the magnificent beechwoods of Zilbeti, in the foothills of the Navarran Pyrenees.
Mining company MAGNA, supported by the Government of Navarra, proposed to fell 54,000 trees to enable the extension of a magnesite mine. People from the tiny village of Zilbeti and their supporters in neighbouring areas, local conservation groups and national NGOs such as SEO-BirdLife Spain resorted to guerrilla art to highlight the injustice, and the environmental damage, that would be caused by such a fragrant breach of EU law.
While SEO-BirdLife led a legal fight in the Navarran High Court, the local activists created Guernica de Zilbeti - a 25 metres wide by 15 high reproduction of Picasso’s Civil War protest painting, using harmless pigment on the trees themselves. In October 2015, we reported a High Court victory, but that proved not to be the end of the story. MAGNA, along with some local authorities, challenged the regional High Court’s decision in Spain’s Supreme court. Two weeks ago, on 29 March, a definitive decision was made, once and for all, confirming full protection for the forest.
State of Nature inspires poetic response
An Open Field now online
In May 2013 twenty-five conservation organisations published a report into the State of Nature in the UK. It revealed that nature is in trouble - overall we are losing wildlife at an alarming rate. Insects are the hardest hit, with the inevitable effect on the rest of the food chain: once common species like the lesser spotted woodpecker, barbastelle bat and hedgehog are vanishing before our eyes.
The organisations created the Watchlist Indicator - an index that shows the fortunes of a suite of 77 moths, 19 butterflies, 8 mammals and 51 birds. This shows a shocking decline over the last fifty years, and provides a basis for tracking nature in the decades to come.
Fevered Sleep, the arts company whose Artistic Director David Harradine we featured last week, have responded to this narrative of loss and change with an on-line artwork, launched today, called An Open Field. Last week Harradine told NATURAL LIGHT "When I read the report, and understood the scale of loss of species and habitats, I wondered what this meant to the people who live and work in those places."
"We invited people from various locations to take a walk with our Associate Artist Luke Pell, he recorded the conversations, and we've turned the words into a poetic landscape. It's an attempt to recreate the experience of walking in a real place but in a different form, an on-line form.”
Pell found that ordinary and remarkable things were shared and revealed from those places, and from those people’s lives. Memories surfaced and changes were noticed. Each encounter carefully excavated years of detail, unearthing how deeply people know themselves in relation to the places where they live and walk.
The words on-screen at anopenfield.co.uk are the words of the participants, and the final artwork is a poetic expression of the conversations that happened through each encounter as they walked.
An Open Field is launched today and is produced by Fevered Sleep. Developed and led by associate artist Luke Pell. Design by Valle Walkley. Made with the support of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.
Perceiving things differently
A conversation with David Harradine
It's a good sign when you go to an arts company's home page and see they have a category called "bees". Even better when it turns out a couple of hives-full are members of the company, and may perform in a future project. But then Fevered Sleep, founded nearly twenty years ago by David Harradine and Sam Butler, is no ordinary company.
"I was never interested in doing the normal stuff about human-to-human relationships". David told me, "I am interested in people's relationships with other things, like nature, or the weather, or place." We had chosen our meeting-place well, then: the wild, windy, seabird cliffs near Bempton, in David's home county of Yorkshire.
Laura Cubitt in Above Me The Wide Blue Sky photo: Matthew Andrews
I first met David at Above Me The Wide Blue Sky in 2013. It was a performance piece that was at the same time an installation, an audio-visual landscape. It was based on stories collected from the general public that told of "our deep-rooted, deeply felt, easily overlooked and profoundly important connection to the land, the sky, the sea, the weather, and the other living things that surround us".
The event didn't stop when the performance was over. David and the team gathered some chairs together for a discussion session with members of the audience. It was the kind of extended interaction, the shared exploring of issues, that has become a Fevered Sleep trademark.
"My ambitions have never really been about profile or scale," he explained as we peered over the cliffs at the kittiwakes and puffins, "deeper connections with fewer people seem to me more important than the mass market." Over the years the company has made works that explore issues ranging from ageing to climate. A number of recent works have been with, by and for children, such as Dusk. "We strongly feel children's cultural rights are compromised, we want them to have access to art and be engaged from the start."
It was a connection to nature that made it possible for me to be an artist
David Harradine and Leuca at Bempton Cliffs RSPB reserve
“I didn’t grow up in a family that prepared me for being an artist at all, we weren’t going to the theatre or listening to music or reading books. I spent all my time completely immersed in nature.” David grew up in Clifford, a small village near Wetherby, where his family were market gardeners. “I was always in the fields and streams around the village and I feel that connection was what made it possible for me to end up being a professional artist.”
He moved to London study biochemistry but found he was more in tune with the students reading English and drama.
“There’s something within people who are interested in and connected to nature that seems to me to be the same thing that is within artists – the same quality of attention, and empathy, and interest in detail, a desire to properly look at things and understand things. Being interested in things you don’t understand.”
He made the switch to Middlesex Polytechnic – now Middlesex University – and a Performing Arts degree. After graduating, David and fellow student Samantha Butler formed Fevered Sleep "because we wanted to continue working together". Looking back, David feels the early years lacked real coherence but things changed when in 2008 they were invited by the Brighton Festival to make a work based around the town's special light quality. An Infinite Line has since become a long-term series of projects inspired by the quality of natural light in different places. During 2016 filming will take place on the coast and estuaries of Merseyside, recording various light-inspired performances. In 2017 the film will be presented as "a lasting document of the infinite variability of Merseyside’s light, and a visual poem celebrating Merseyside as a place that is always on the move".
"Our work is about creating a space where people can observe or perceive things differently." He draws an interesting parallel between our respective professions. "Conservation and art both try to model the world in a different way, imagining how things could be different."
recreating the experience of a real place in a different form
Traditional haymeadows photo: Laurence Rose
I wanted to know what David and the team were working on right now, and the answer was closer to home than I was expecting! Twenty-five organisations, including my own, the RSPB, produced the State of Nature Report in May 2013. "When I read the report, and understood the scale of loss of species and habitats, I wondered what this meant to the people who live and work in those places" he says.
"We've made an on-line artwork inspired by State of Nature, and we're launching it this month." "what exactly is an online artwork?" I ask, trying to get him to reveal something ahead of the launch. "Well... State of Nature is a narrative of change, and so is this new piece, which we call An Open Field.
"We invited people from various locations to take a walk with our Associate Artist Luke Pell, he recorded the conversations, and we've turned the words into a poetic landscape. It's an attempt to recreate the experience of walking in a real place but in a different form, an on-line form. You drift through the space and encounter experiences in the same unplanned way. There's no designated route, no map, you can get lost, you can get bored with it and leave."
That doesn't seem very likely, but like everyone else, I'll have to wait until next week to know for sure. An Open Field is launched on 21 July.
Music for endangered species: guest blog
Robin Perkins, also known as producer El Búho, asked eleven musicians from across South America to create a track each, inspired by the song of a different endangered species. NATURAL LIGHT invited him to write a guest blog. He also sent us this video!
From Patagonia to the Amazon rainforest, South America has some of the most biologically diverse areas on the planet. It is also home to an incredible range of bird species, many of which are under threat of extinction, such as the Hooded Grebe with only around 800 adults left in the wild or the critically endangered Araripe Manakin, endemic to Brazil.
Through A Guide to the Birdsong of South America I want to help tell their tale and spread their song through inspiring music by some of the continent's rising stars.
The idea began a few years back when, as a producer I started experimenting with the idea of making music inspired by birdsong. I knew a lot of bands and producers across the continent, and thought, why not use this to highlight the wave of exciting musicians across South America, as well as the plight of its wildlife?
I came up with a tentative list of threatened birds from the seven countries represented by the list of artists. Then I took this list to the community birdsong site Xeno Canto to source and get permission to use the rare song samples themselves. Once I had 22 birds, each musician chose their song and species and went to get inspired!
I wanted to ensure the project also supports the organisations working on the ground to protect these birds. I reached out to an NGO called Aves y Conservación, a partner of BirdLife International in Ecuador that works to protect and raise awareness about bird species. Proceeds from the album will support them and their work.
I have also been working with the graphic designer Scott Partridge who has created 12 unique illustrations, one for each species.
The list of artists is confirmed, they have chosen their birds and are now hard at work making their birdsong inspired tracks. These will be completed in the next month and from there I will send the tracks to be mastered and produce the album. Scott's bird designs are done and looking fantastic (see below) so we can't wait to get them printed!
Now I’m raising the 2,500 Euros needed for professional mastering, vinyl pressing and packaging, the illustrations, printing costs and the distribution all over the world. I have all of this lined up and ready to go. At the last count we had over 1700 Euro in the form of dozens of small donations through our Kickstarter project
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408d ago / 4:20 PM UTC
Apple wants to clean up digital advertising (and maybe get back into the industry)
Chief executive Tim Cook is positioning Apple as the face of "responsible tech."
After taking some verbal shots at Facebook, Apple on Monday announced its first major step toward ending the pervasive surveillance culture of the internet. Apple is updating its software to block Facebook's like and share buttons, which enable the social media company to track people across the internet, according to NBCNews reporter Alyssa Newcomb.
Cook explained that it's reasonable for consumers to assume that an app or website knows some info about them but that all the data collection and ad targeting that goes on behind the scenes is questionable at best.
"We think that when a person leaves one web site, and goes to another and another and another, they do not have a reasonable expectation that that original website is still following their every move," Cook said during an interview with NPR. "And so we want to do what we can do there to try to prevent that."
"It's the crafting of a detailed profile and tracking you in places were you don't reasonably expect to be tracked, and companies gathering information well beyond what you would have voluntarily shared if you knew what they were doing - that's what we have a problem with," Cook told NPR.
That doesn't mean Cook is against digital advertising.
Apple is looking at ways to create a new kind of ad network business. It has held talks with Snap and Pinterest about it, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Apple's last foray into the ad business, iAds, was unpopular and ended in 2016 because advertisers found it was expensive and didn't offer marketers enough data. That Apple is revisiting the idea is intriguing.
Separately, Cook told NPR that it denied Apple had ever requested or received Facebook user data, as suggested in a New York Times article.
Fox renews MLB rights as big tech remains on sidelines for major sports deals
Another major long-term sports deal just got inked, and television's grim reapers — the tech platforms — failed to deal a death blow to the TV ecosystem.
Fox said Thursday it has a new deal to extend its two-decade-long relationship with Major League Baseball by another seven years. Variety reports suggest Fox is paying $5.1 billion, which translates to a 30 percent rise over the previous deal.
Facebook acquired streaming rights for 25 weekday MLB games and Amazon acquired non-exclusive rights to Thursday Night Football, but tech players have not yet stepped up to write the big checks for exclusive rights.
Fox will win some additional streaming and social media rights in addition to its current TV license, but it appears that Amazon and any other tech platforms failed to swoop in and take MLB away from broadcast TV.
Patrick Crakes, a former senior vice president of programming at Fox Sports who is now a sports consultant, said: "If MLB thought a digital partner was viable/worth the risk they would not have agreed to the extensions. Truth is there's a lot of risk for leagues, teams and conferences in partnering with platforms."
MLB, which also has deals with ESPN and Turner, did however create something of a new digital window. Moments after the news of the new Fox deal broke, John Skipper's new venture, DAZN, shared news that it's creating a new live show hosting coverage of highlights of ongoing games. It's being described as akin to NFL’s "Red Zone" offering, which breaks into important moments in live games. Skipper, a former president of ESPN, is looking to grow DAZN into a new subscription sports venture, financed by billionaire Len Blavatnik.
Meanwhile Fox's tab for sports is ballooning.
* MLB $5.1 billion from 2021-2028
* NFL Thursday Night Football $3 billion from 2018-2022
* WWE $1 billion from 2019-2023
What could be next? Disney's RSNs and perhaps Nascar?
ABC News alums slam Trump in an open letter
A group of former ABC News employees, including former correspondents and executives, have added their names to an open letter denouncing President Donald Trump’s “sustained attack on the free press.”
“We denounce Donald Trump's behavior as unconstitutional, un-American and utterly unlawful and unseemly for the President of the United States and leader of the free world,” reads the letter, which had nearly 100 signatures on Facebook as of Tuesday afternoon.
The organizer, Meredith Wheeler, a former writer and producer who worked with several ABC News anchors, asked for members of an ABC News alumni Facebook group to share the letter with current employees and friends at other media outlets. She even suggested the possibility of crowdfunding to take out a full page article in The New York Times or The Washington Post.
The letter comes in response to the death of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi and Trump’s recent praise of Rep. Greg Gianforte, R-Mont., who assaulted Ben Jacobs, a reporter for The Guardian, last year after Jacobs asked a question about healthcare.
Several current ABC News employees contacted by NBC News expressed caution about putting their names on an open letter denouncing Trump, at least while they work in the news division.
But one insider said they would be willing to put their name on the letter, “depending on how it was presented within the organization.”
The current version of the letter, posted in the ABC News alumni Facebook group, reads:
"On the heels of the recent brutal murder of a The Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, President Donald Trump chose to celebrate the assault of The Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs by an American congressman—an attack that occurred while the journalist was simply doing his job, posing questions to a politician.
Montana Congressman Greg Gianforte (R) body-slammed Jacobs, knocking him to the ground and beating him severely enough to send him to the hospital. Although Gianforte pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault and was fined, the President of the United States praised this violent behavior at a Trump rally in Missoula, Montana, on October 18.
Trump’s condoning of political violence is part of a sustained pattern of attack on a free press—which includes labeling any
reportage he doesn’t like as “fake news” and barring reporters and news organizations whom he wishes to punish from press briefings and events.
One of the pillars of a free and open democracy is a vibrant free press.
At his inauguration the President of the United States swears to protect the U.S. Constitution, including the First Amendment.
This President is utterly failing to do so and actively working not simply to undermine the press, but to incite violence against it as well.
In a lawsuit filed by PEN, the writer’s organization, against Donald Trump, they charge him with violating the First Amendment. We, the undersigned, past and present members of the Fourth Estate, support this action.
We denounce Donald Trump's behavior as unconstitutional, un-American and utterly unlawful and unseemly for the President of the United States and leader of the free world."
Dylan Byers
Katzenberg reveals name of short-form video project
Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman have revealed the name of their highly anticipated new short-form premium video platform: “Quibi.”
The name, a contraction of “Quick Bites,” hints at what Katzenberg and Whitman are trying to do: create high-quality, HBO-caliber content that people watch on their mobile devices in minute-long snippets.
Every major Hollywood studio has invested in the project, but there’s still a great deal of skepticism among Hollywood and Silicon Valley insiders over the viability of their effort. There is also little available evidence that consumers want to watch “quick bites” of shows like "Game of Thrones" or "Stranger Things” that have traditionally run for an hour.
In an appearance Wednesday at the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit in Beverly Hills, both Katzenberg and Whitman sounded bullish about the demand for premium short-form.
“You’re looking at two old dogs,” Katzenberg said. “We got a new trick.”
Condé Nast loses another top executive in digital re-org
Fred Santarpia, Condé Nast's chief digital officer, is leaving the company, the executive said in a post on Instagram.
"From launching Conde Nast Entertainment's digital video business to leading the acquisitions of Pitchfork and Citizen Net, I’m proud of the lasting contributions we've made to one of the most iconic companies in all of media," Santarpia wrote on Tuesday.
"Unfortunately, there’s never a good time to say goodbye, but with the company’s digital foundation set, this is the right time for me to say farewell."
Santarpia, who had been with the company for seven years, is the latest executive from the luxury magazine house to depart in recent months after a round of reviews by outside consultants focused on cost cutting and re-organizing the company.
Other executives who have departed in recent months include Dawn Ostroff, the president of entertainment at Condé Nast, who joined Spotify as chief content officer. Her departure was announced in June.
Phillip Bacardi, the much-vaunted chief content officer of Teen Vogue left in August to join Out magazine as editor-in-chief.
Josh Stinchcomb, the former chief experience officer at Condé Nast also stepped down in August to join Dow Jones as chief revenue officer.
Condé Nast said it would sell Brides, Golf Digest and W magazine earlier this year. The company had been working with Boston Consulting Group, and had lost about $120 million in 2017, according to The New York Times.
Read the memo from Condé Nast chief executive Bob Sauerberg:
Team -
As Jonathan and I continue to align our core areas and functions of our business we are realizing how much this collaboration is benefiting both organizations.
Underpinning this success has been the collaboration between Co/lab and Condé Nast International’s product and technology teams. This has been 18 months in the making and has enabled the roll-out of Copilot as part of Condé Nast InternationaI’s platform Compass, which launched in Germany, France and in the coming weeks Italy.
This effort represents months of hard work by our people both here and around the world and signals the start of a new era, where our digital and technology innovation can have global impact. In the coming months, Condé Nast International will be lighting up 59 additional sites across the world on our single, global proprietary platform. And this is just the beginning.
We want to build on this success by formally mobilizing our product and technology organizations to work towards a set of common goals for both Condé Nast and Condé Nast International. By deepening our collaboration through the joint platform development, product and technology support, global supplier negotiations and the continued development of our Fashion Show products; we can unlock unlimited opportunities to scale our expertise and drive significant growth.
To that end, today we are announcing the joint leadership of our Product and Technology teams led by Ed Cudahy (Condé Nast) and Lee Wilkinson (Condé Nast International) who will report to Wolfgang Blau and me. They will lead their respective teams with the goal of closer collaboration of our technology function. This move presents a huge opportunity to create a Global Product and Technology team that will enable both companies to grow and thrive in the coming years. I want to congratulate our teams led by Ed and Lee on what they have achieved so far and what we will accomplish together in the future.
I also want to share with you that Fred Santarpia will be leaving us on November 2. Fred has been a great digital leader shepherding our nascent business through the continued development and iteration of Copilot and Spire and laying the cultural foundation from which we evolved. Through dramatic upgrades to our digital products and performance, the ability to scale and monetize our audience and the development of critical digital partnerships, he successfully helped pave the way for a cohesive global effort and we will build on that foundation. Before Fred leaves, we will be working with his leadership team to ensure a seamless transition and their continued impact on our business. Please join me in thanking Fred for his contributions and wishing him well.
I look forward to our continued collaboration with Wolfgang and the team at Condé Nast International as our collective expertise and capabilities are unmatched.
Showtime's David Nevins describes his own 'beach week'
CBS interim CEO Joe Ianniello is making sure he's showing support for his senior executives.
Ianniello, who was chief operating officer at CBS before taking over after the departure of Leslie Moonves, attended the annual Center for Communications lunch in honor of Showtime Network's CEO David Nevins on Thursday.
He was also out earlier this week attending an event honoring colleague Jo Ann Ross, president and chief advertising revenue officer.
Nevins, who has overseen hit shows such as "Homeland," "Billions" and "Ray Donovan," has been floated as a potential CEO candidate at CBS alongside Ianniello, according to Variety.
But if there was any competition between the two men, it wasn't evident at the lunch. The two shared several laughs sitting together at the same table, as "Homeland" actress Claire Danes said at the luncheon that she'd broken away from breastfeeding her newborn to speak to the audience. "Ray Donovan" star Liev Schreiber also joked that he'd soon be going back to filming in the rain in Yonkers.
The lunch wasn't as well attended as in previous years, with some media executives glued to the Senate hearing on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. The hearings kept CBS News President David Rhodes from attending the lunch.
Nevins said he was also from Bethesda, Maryland like Kavanaugh but went to public school. He referenced Kavanaugh's calendars joking that, "beach week" for him, meant "one night on my own in a car." Nevins also urged attendees to lend a hand to those less privileged and help them get their start in the entertainment business.
"TV is the last bastion of oral culture," he said, adding that millions of dollars get invested on the basis of a pitch.
Just a few hours later, CBS submitted SEC filings revealing that Gil Schwartz, CBS chief communications officer under Moonves, is retiring from the company with an exit package worth $7.3 million. Schwartz is also an author and wrote a long-running column for Fortune under the name "Stanley Bing."
Fox News fires contributor after 'reprehensible' comments about Kavanaugh accusers
Fox News on Thursday fired contributor Kevin Jackson after he called Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and other women "lying skanks" for accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct.
Jackson, who has 67,000 followers on Twitter, posted a string of highly offensive tweets over a period of hours as the Senate Judiciary Committee interviewed Dr. Blasey Ford and then Brett Kavanaugh.
The conservative pundit and author, who as of Thursday night still identified himself in his Twitter bio as a Fox News contributor, tweeted: "Dang girl, stop opening your legs and OPEN A BOOK!”
He also tweeted: "Holy Cow, a woman suffering from PTSD hosts STUDENTS from Google. FBI please investigate SEX PARTIES at #ChristineBlaseyFord house."
He capped it off by saying that "Leftist women are skanky for the most part."
In a statement, Fox News said late Thursday: "Kevin Jackson has been terminated as a contributor. His comments on today's hearings were reprehensible and do not reflect the values of Fox News."
The firing comes just days after Fox News' Martha McCallum conducted an exclusive interview with Brett Kavanaugh on Sept. 24.
The topic of sexual assault is a delicate one for Fox News, part of 21st Century Fox, since its late CEO Roger Ailes and former anchor, Bill O'Reilly, exited the network after accusations against them. Both men denied the allegations.
But Fox News' executive suite is now dominated by women. Fox News CEO is Suzanne Scott, and the chief finance officer, ad sales and public relations chiefs are also all women.
Another Fox News personality, anchor Tucker Carlson, also questioned sex assault victims this week, saying in an segment with liberal radio host Ethan Bearman: "Sex offenders tend to commit serial sex crimes. Doesn't she have an obligation to tell someone to stop him from doing it if he is a fact a sex criminal? Where's her obligation here? What about the rest of us?"
That drew howls of protest from pressure group Media Matters which suggested an advertiser boycott.
294d ago / 10:11 PM UTC
HBO pivots away from live boxing
AT&T-owned HBO said on Thursday it would no longer program live boxing, at least in the short term.
The network said in a statement: "Going forward in 2019, we will be pivoting away from programming live boxing on HBO," adding that it could still look at events in the future.
"We're a storytelling platform. The future will see unscripted series, long-form documentary films, reality programming, sports journalism and event specials and more unique standout content from HBO Sports."
HBO featured its first boxing match in 1973, in which George Foreman won a stunning upset over Joe Frazier. Since then, boxing had reigned as HBO's premium live sports offering.
The news, first reported in The New York Times, suggested that live boxing wasn't a big reason that people subscribed to the premium TV service.
AT&T has said it will spend more money on programming, but also told Wall Street that it would find $1.5 billion in annual cost synergies within three years of the deal's close.
It also comes as other players are doubling down on combat sports with ESPN buying UFC rights in order to bring it to a more mainstream audience, and Fox Sports and Comcast sharing rights to WWE. Comcast owns NBC Universal, which is the parent company of NBC News.
Another service, DAZN, is also looking to spend serious money to compete in the sports world. The service, backed by billionaire Len Blavatnik and run by former ESPN president John Skipper, just offered a boxing match as part of a $9.99 monthly subscription — far cheaper than the typical pay-per-view price.
Fox sells its stake in Sky to Comcast
Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox said on Wednesday it would sell its shares in the U.K.-based pay-TV platform Sky to Comcast, removing any shadow of a doubt about the satellite broadcaster’s future ownership.
Comcast emerged as the winner of a recent auction for Sky, bidding around $40 billion for the satellite broadcaster, which has 23 million subscribers in Europe. Comcast owns NBCUniversal, which is the parent company of NBC News.
The winning bid left open a question as to whether Fox would opt to take the Comcast offer or remain a shareholder. Fox owned about 39 percent of Sky.
Fox’s decision-making process was run in conjunction with Disney, since Fox had pledged to sell its Sky stake as part of a separate deal to sell assets to Disney.
Confirmation of Murdoch’s decision to give up the stake ends an era for the global media entrepreneur, now aged 87. Murdoch, the executive chairman of Fox, had a hand in creating Sky when satellite TV was in its infancy.
Sky CEO Jeremy Darroch issued a statement saying: “Nearly 30 years ago Rupert Murdoch took a risk to launch Sky and in the process changed the way we watch television forever.”
Darroch added: “Our aim is to make the next 30 years as exciting for customers, colleagues and all our stakeholders.”
Sky owns sports rights including, Italy's Serie A soccer league, and England's Premiere League and the European Champions League. Sky also has new partnerships with Netflix, Spotify and Italian media company Mediaset.
In a statement, Fox said it had accepted roughly $15 billion for its shares after obtaining Disney’s consent. Comcast had secured 37 percent of Sky's shares as of Wednesday morning, according to a company spokesman.
The Fox stake gives Comcast more than 50 percent of Sky's shares. Sky shareholders have until Oct. 11 to accept the offering.
Fox confirmed the news of its stake sale and in said a statement: “We bet -- and almost lost -- the farm on launching a business that many didn’t think was such a good idea. Today, Sky is Europe’s leading entertainment company and a world-class example of a customer-driven enterprise.”
Just eight years ago, Fox (then known as News Corporation) made an $11.6 billion bid to control Sky. That was scuttled by a phone hacking scandal and scrutiny from the British government.
Comcast, meanwhile, becomes the biggest pay-TV provider in the world with 52 million homes. The acquisition also has the potential to create a global presence in news. Comcast will take control of Sky News and already owns Euronews, based in France, and NBC News and CNBC in the U.S.
Former managing director of Sky Ventures, James Ackerman, told NBC NEWS: “21st Century Fox transformed the media landscape in Britain in a way no other organization has since the creation of the BBC. This is a tremendous opportunity for Comcast (as a platform company) to diversify overseas and unlock further growth for their content divisions. And anyway, it’s about time [Murdoch] cashed out on something.”
AT&T believes in ad targeting and privacy: can the two coexist?
Is AT&T looking to establish a new national ad platform for the TV industry?
The company renamed its advanced advertising business on Tuesday with a promise to offer Madison Avenue something new — targeted advertising at scale. The new unit is called Xandr, after Alexander Graham Bell, who invented the telephone and established The Bell Telephone Company and the American Telephone and Telegraph Company.
AT&T acquired Time Warner’s content business for $85.4 with a stated intention of getting TV and online viewing data and marrying it with ad targeting capabilities — a combo the company says will allow it to charge more for its ad inventory.
Here’s how AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson explained it to Recode’s Peter Kafka.
In a statement about the new branding, the telecom giant noted that it has signed deals with regional cable companies Altice USA and Frontier Communications to aggregate and sell their national addressable TV advertising inventory.
Addressable advertising means ads that are targeted to identifiable consumers. TV and telecom firms have struggled to compete with internet companies simply because online players are much less regulated in what data they can share. “Xandr’s unique differentiator is its commitment to personalization," the company said in its statement.
Still, the departure of Oath CEO Tim Armstrong doesn’t bode well for that kind of data mash-up in the current political climate. Oath is part of Verizon.
In the press release, AT&T said: “This initial step starts to create the foundation of a national TV marketplace for advertisers and premium content publishers.”
With TV measurement firm Nielsen exploring a sale, it appears AT&T is making a bold effort to reshape video ad buying with its extensive data and distribution capabilities.
Speaking at the Relevance Conference, Stephenson criticized media industry innovation, according to a tweet from Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw that was confirmed by the company.
“I have not been exposed to many industries as reluctant to change as the media industry in terms of business models and changing how you deliver the product," Stephenson said. "It is an industry that has about as much inertia as any industry I’ve been part of.”
While the phone company wants to have a closer relationship with their customers and viewers, it’s not clear consumers — or politicians — feel the same way. Privacy remains a huge topic of public concern and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation has a hearing Wednesday about that very topic. The Los Angeles Times lays out who’s attending the high profile event: AT&T, Amazon, Google, Apple, Twitter and Charter Communications, but no consumer advocates.
Stevenson is arguing for the government to step in to regulate privacy, largely to avoid the states doing it themselves.
Craig Newmark backs news site to take on big tech
Craigslist founder Craig Newmark confirmed on Monday he is spending $20 million to back The Markup, a journalism project led by reporter Julia Angwin aimed at pointing out the serious deficiencies in tech platforms and their impact on society.
Angwin, a former Wall Street Journal reporter, most recently worked at ProPublica, where she looked at how Facebook ads could be used to exclude racial groups from housing, which is against the law. Here’s the story.
“The effects of foreign bad actors on our election, that’s been the most shocking to me,” Newmark said when asked about the most surprising negative effects of technology on society.
But rather than criticize the tech platforms, Newmark is choosing to play diplomat. He wants tech giants and the news media to play nice in order to fend off Russian interference in future elections.
“I can say first hand, a great deal of good is coming from all three major tech platforms," Newmark said. "I’m engaged in quiet diplomacy, getting together a platform of people with constructive critics of the platforms. I've been doing it for some years without much traction, but as I get a little louder, I’m becoming more effective.”
Newmark added: “I have a great deal of confidence in what Facebook, Google and Twitter are doing.”
Some might see some irony in journalism funding coming from Newmark, who also gave a $20 million gift to the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism. After all, Craigslist's free online bulletin board drew classified ads away from newspapers, helping kickstart a difficult run for print media that continues.
Newmark pushes back against that narrative, pointing to research that shows the newspaper industry has been in decline for decades.
John Skipper's DAZN looking to punch its way into OTT
Some people might know billionaire Len Blavatnik as the owner of Warner Music and France’s streaming music service Deezer, but he’s also behind a company attempting to upend the direct-to-consumer sports business.
Blavatnik, together with former ESPN president John Skipper, operate a company called Perform Group, which runs DAZN (pronounced "Da Zone"). The streaming service is getting its a big test this weekend, streaming its first major sports event — a boxing match between Anthony Joshua and Alexander Povetkin.
The service is $9.99 per month (first month is free) and offers live and on-demand streaming of boxing matches and mixed martial arts as well as other library programming. Joseph Markowski, head of DAZN North America, told The Query the company is aiming to compete with the pay-per-view boxing matches that typically cost $70 to $100. The streamer is advertising this weekend's match via digital media to win sign-ups.
“We’re not just competing with ESPN+, we’re competing with ESPN,” Markowski said.
He said the firm’s exclusive focus on streaming gives it a leg up versus other broadcasters who have to worry about cannibalizing their TV distribution revenue.
DAZN aims to be in the ring when it comes to negotiating for big sports rights when they are available, though Markowski declined to name any. He said DAZN has plans to grow well beyond its origins in the fighting realm, and we should expect to hear a lot more about their sports offering in the coming months.
Can it challenge a plethora of sports streamers already in the market both from the leagues and their TV partners as well as a possible move by a Facebook, Google or Amazon? Blavatnik’s pockets are pretty deep.
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Can Tom Steyer overcome the challenges of a late entry into the presidential campaign?
Tom Steyer listens during a town hall event in Ankeny, Iowa, on Jan. 9, 2019.Daniel Acker / Bloomberg via Getty Images file
WASHINGTON — The presidential candidates who announce first usually don’t win. (Think John Edwards and Tom Vilsack in the 2008 cycle. Or Ted Cruz in 2016.)
But those who go last — or close to it — have had even rougher times. (Remember Wes Clark in 2004? Or Fred Thompson in 2008?)
And that’s the challenge for Tom Steyer, who yesterday became the latest Democrat to throw his hat into the 2020 ring.
The late bird doesn’t get the worm — unless you’re the biggest bird in the neighborhood, like Joe Biden this cycle or Mitt Romney in 2012.
Consider all of the Dems who have gotten into the 2020 race since Biden’s announcement three months ago:
Michael Bennet (May 2) barely made the first Dem debate, and he struggled to break through.
Steve Bullock (May 14) who didn’t make the debate stage.
Bill de Blasio (May 16) who had a few moments at that first debate, but who still hasn’t caught fire.
And Joe Sestak (June 23).
And remember the criteria to make the third debate stage in September: at least 2 percent in four qualifying polls and 130,000 donors.
That’s a steep challenge, even for Steyer and the millions of dollars he plans to spend. (How do you convince Democratic donors to give money to a billionaire?)
Of course, the $100 million that Steyer plans to drop on the 2020 race can make up for a lot of things — like a late start or a lack of charisma.
But is that enough?
Especially for a Democratic electorate that’s grown frustrated by the large (and expanding) field.
Migrant kids allege sexual assault, retaliation from U.S. agents
“A 16-year-old Guatemalan boy held in Yuma, Arizona, said he and others in his cell complained about the taste of the water and food they were given. The Customs and Border Protection agents took the mats out of their cell in retaliation, forcing them to sleep on hard concrete,” per NBC’s Jacob Soboroff and Julia Ainsley.
“A 15-year-old girl from Honduras described a large, bearded officer putting his hands inside her bra, pulling down her underwear and groping her as part of what was meant to be a routine pat down in front of other immigrants and officers.”
“A 17-year-old boy from Honduras said officers would scold detained children when they would get close to a window, and would sometimes call them "puto," an offensive term in Spanish, while they were giving orders.”
McGrath raised more than $2.5 million in first 24 hours
Kentucky Democratic Senate candidate Amy McGrath raised more than $2.5 million in the first 24 hours of her campaign against Mitch McConnell — over $1 million of it in just the first five and a half hours after she announced, NBC’s Kasie Hunt reports.
McGrath’s campaign manager says it’s the most ever raised in the first 24 hours of a Senate campaign. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee says the next closest was Mark Kelly, Senate candidate in Arizona, who raised $1 million in his first day of campaigning.
By the way, that’s more than what Kamala Harris raised in her first 24 hours as a presidential candidate.
2020 Vision: The Outsider
"Nobody owns me," Tom Steyer said in an interview with NBC’s Alex Seitz-Wald. "I'm not afraid to speak my mind. I'm not beholden to them. I'm not beholden to the establishment."
More Steyer: "It's really a question of, if we're going to reform this system, who are you going to believe? Someone from the outside who's been doing direct democracy grassroots organizing for 10 years, or people from inside the Beltway?" he said. "If you look at the top four people running for president as Democrats, they share 73 years either in the Congress or the Senate. It's a question of insiders versus an outsider."
Joe Biden, in DC, meets with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’ campaign arm, Bold PAC … Steve Bullock remains in Iowa … And John Delaney is in Wisconsin.
Steve Bullock discussed the Electoral College at a campaign stop in Iowa. While some Democratic candidates have called for presidential elections to be determined by the popular vote, NBC’s Maura Barrett reports Bullock’s take: “I think we should be asking, why are losing those places? Not trying to reform a system that's 200 years old. And Democrats need to be able to compete in those areas, so no I wouldn't want to reform the Electoral College system.”
And one Biden note. The NBC team (Priscilla Thompson, Marianna Sotomayor and Maura Barrett) confirmed that former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack will be hosting a meet and greet for Biden on Monday, July 15. According to Vilsack, this isn't an endorsement, but the NBC team flagged, “the event is simply a recognition of the fact that they’ve known the Biden’s for 33 years. According to Vilsack, he and his wife worked on Biden’s campaign in 1986.”
Data Download: The number of the day is … $15.6 million
$15.6 million.
That’s how much money Joe Biden made over the two years since he left the White House.
The Bidens made $11 million in 2017 and $4.6 million in 2018, a massive increase from the $300,000 to $400,000 they made during Joe Biden’s two terms in office.
The Bidens made more money and gave more to charity last year than any of the 11 Democratic candidates who have released their 2018 returns. And only Kamala Harris paid a higher effective tax rate.
But it’s clear that Joe Biden’s wallet is far better off for his time in the White House.
Remember: Only one guy in Washington gets to express his every caustic, impulsive and candid opinion. https://t.co/MaJx4H6OVA
— Glenn Thrush (@GlennThrush) July 10, 2019
A federal judge blocked the Justice Department from swapping lawyers on the Census citizenship case.
The Justice Department doesn't want some of Robert Mueller's deputies to testify in front of Congress.
The British ambassador who criticized President Trump in leaked cables has resigned.
The Justice Department’s inspector general is nearing the completion of his report on the FBI's conduct during the Russia investigation.
Trump agenda: “Falling out”
President Trump claims he had a 'falling out' with Jeffrey Epstein more than a decade ago.
The White House is threatening to veto the Democratic House's defense spending bill over concerns about funding levels, the wall and other provisions.
President Trump's social media summit includes a controversial list of attendees.
2020: Coming to a TV set near you
Tom Steyer has already booked $1 million in television ads as he launches his presidential bid.
Republicans are fighting amongst themselves as they try to rally around a small-donor donation platform.
ABC News and Univision will host the third round of Democratic debates in Houston on Sept. 12 and 13.
A North Carolina state lawmaker has won the state's Third District GOP primary runoff, a blow to Republican woman who were rallying around their own candidate.
Disgraced former Congressman Mark Foley says he may run for Congress again.
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Chiropractic VA legislation passes. The Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Programs Enhancement Act of 2001 (H.R. 3447) requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to offer chiropractic services at many of its facilities. The bill was introduced on December 11th following an agreement by leaders of the Veteran Affairs committees of both houses of Congress. It passed the House that day and the Senate on the 20th. The American Chiropractic Association has stated that the measure was championed by a bipartisan coalition led by House Veterans Committee Chairman Chris Smith (R-NJ); Congressmen Jerry Moran (R-KS), Lane Evans (D-IL), and Bob Filner (D-CA); Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD); and Senators Strom Thurmond (R-SC) and Tim Hutchinson (R-AR). Its provisions include:
The program shall be carried out at sites designated by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for purposes of the program. The Secretary shall designate at least one site for such program in each geographic service area of the Veterans Health Administration. The sites so designated shall be medical centers and clinics located in urban areas and in rural areas.
The chiropractic care and services available under the program shall include a variety of chiropractic care and services for neuro-musculoskeletal conditions, including subluxation complex.
Establishment of a chiropractic advisory committee to advise the Secretary on protocols governing referral to doctors of chiropractic, direct access to chiropractic care, scope of chiropractic and other issues.
"Subluxation complex" is a not a medically recognized term. Chiropractors do not agree on what "subluxations" are or how they should be diagnosed. They also differ about how to find them and where they are located. In addition to seeing them on x-ray films, many chiropractors say they can find them by: (a) feeling the spine with their hand, (b) measuring skin temperature near the spine with an instrument, (c) concluding that one of the patient's legs is "functionally" longer than the other, (d) studying the shadows produced by a device that projects a beam of light onto the patient's back, (e) weighing the patient on special scales, and/or (f) detecting "nerve irritation" with a device. Undercover investigations in which many chiropractors have examined the same patient have found that the diagnoses and proposed treatments differed greatly from one practitioner to another.
Revised book blasts "subluxation" theory as hoax. Ludmil.A. Chotkowski, M.D., FACP, a retired specialist in internal medicine, has published a second edition of Chiropractic: The Greatest Hoax of the Century? The 208-page book, edited by Stephen Barrett, M.D., features case reports plus personal observations at two chiropractic schools, a chiropractic office, and a chiropractic lecture. Its central premise is that "subluxation" theory is a hoax that encourages chiropractors to do inappropriate spinal manipulations. Copies can be purchased for $15 from New England Books,1143 Chamberlain Highway, Kensington CT 06037.
Dietary advice for hypertensive patients. A study supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) suggests that the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet plus reduced dietary sodium can lower blood pressure for most people. [Vollmer WM. Effects of diet and sodium intake on blood pressure: Subgroup analysis of the DASH-sodium trial. Annals of Internal Medicine 135:1019-1028, 2001] NHLBI news release, Dec 17, 2001.] The diet emphasizes fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy foods, whole grains, poultry, and fish and allows smaller amounts of red meat and sweets than does the typical U.S. diet. An accompanying editorial cautioned:
Although many studies have suggested that salt-restricted diets have beneficial effects, most [studies] measured surrogate end points, such as blood pressure or left ventricular hypertrophy [enlargement], rather than clinical outcomes, such as myocardial infarction and stroke. Vollmer and colleagues' trial advances knowledge concerning the magnitude and certainty of short-term effects of low-salt and very-low-salt diets on blood pressure. But given the difficulty of achieving and maintaining very-low-salt diets, the uncertain clinical benefits of either low-salt or very- low-salt diets, and the fact that other therapies have clearer proven clinical benefits, these findings do not give clinicians reason to move salt restriction to the top of the list of items to be discussed with hypertensive adults. On the other hand, it is easy to identify people who consume high-salt diets with a few simple questions. Such people may benefit from and are unlikely to be harmed by the following simple, sound advice: Eat fresh fruit and vegetables, don't add salt during food preparation or at the table, and avoid preprocessed prepared foods. [Mulrow M. Sound clinical advice for hypertensive patients. Annals of Internal Medicine 135:1084-1086, 2001.]
Drkoop.com files for bankruptcy. LifeCare Corp., which does business as Dr.Koop LifeCare Corp, has announced that it has filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy and will cease operations. The company was founded in 1998 by former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop. In November 2001, it launched a private-label line of "natural products" that were sold through Shop NBC and The Vitamin Shoppe. Under Chapter 7, a trustee will liquidate the company's assets. Koop's Web site, which has more than 18,000 pages, is one of the most heavily trafficked health information sites.
Consumer Health Digest changes distribution schedule. Starting with the next issue (1/1/02), this newsletter will usually be issued on Tuesdays rather than Mondays.
This page was posted on December 25, 2001.
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Raising Conn. Juvenile Age Stalls in Senate
By Max Reiss
Published May 4, 2016 at 4:52 AM
Raising Juvenile Age Stalls
http://www.necn.com/news/new-england/Raising-Juvenile-Age-Stalls-in-Senate-378038221.html
CT would become first state to classify juveniles from 18 to 20 (Published Tuesday, May 3, 2016)
Governor Dannel Malloy's Second Chance 2.0 initiative to raise the age of a juvenile has hit a snag in the state Senate.
Debate on the issue was delayed and now it's unclear whether the issue will come up for a vote at all before the midnight deadline Wednesday.
The House approved the measure in April.
“What we’re trying to do is align the law with the new knowledge that we have, so those of us who are supportive of Second Chance, raise the age, think this is the proper way for the state to move forward," said Sen. Gary Winfield.
Texas Girl Gets Doll With Prosthetic Leg in Viral Video
The bill would make Connecticut the first state in the country to raise the age of a minor from 17 to 20 in one-year steps by 2019.
Winfield agrees with the governor's proposal, which is based on recent research completed in Europe and the United States that showed that human brain doesn't fully develop until age 25.
Winfield contends that shows many people who commit crimes, may not quite understand both their actions and potential consequences.
Protesters Punch, Throw Eggs at Trump Supporters in Calif.
“I think at its core what we’ve been trying to deal with is young people that might do some foolish things don’t find themselves in our system," Winfield said.
Opponents, like minority leader Sen. Len Fasano, said there are many circumstances where even 17-year-olds need to be prosecuted as adults. He also said the current system leaves a gap when it comes to punishment.
"They want to treat them as a separate group so if they get probation and they violate probation, they can’t go to a juvenile jail which we have, or an adult jail which we have, so there’s no place to put them," Fasano said.
Fasano said as a whole, the bill is, "not well thought out".
Winfield said raising the age will lead to decreased recidivism.
“What we know is that when young people find themselves in our system, they tend to come back to our system and that’s a cycle that we’re trying to avoid in the state of Connecticut.”
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Trout Fishing Season Gets Underway This Weekend
By Kristen Johnson
Published Apr 14, 2018 at 2:27 PM
Anglers Prepare for Opening Day of Fishing Season
http://www.necn.com/news/new-england/Trout-Fishing-Season-Gets-Underway-This-Weekend-479732203.html
After a long winter, fishermen are more than ready for Opening Day of the fishing season on Saturday. (Published Friday, April 13, 2018)
The banks of the Farmington River will be filled with people starting Saturday for opening day of trout season.
“It was a long winter. It snowed three days ago. So, people have been itching to get out,” Vincent Lodovico, a New Hartford resident, said.
Bait and tackle shops are always a busy place right before opening day as people line up for a fishing license.
“A lot of licenses, a lot of the new five-dollar trout stamps, new fishing line, hooks, sinkers, flies, new fly line, new waiters to replace their leaky waiters. Just about anything you can think of,” Up Country Sport Fishing's Torrey Collins said.
“It’s just about tradition. I’m 59 years old and since I was five years old, this is Christmastime for us,” Jeffrey Musumano, a Bristol resident, said.
Those looking to come home with more than just fish tales should take this advice.
“Just remember that the water’s still cold even though the air temps are warming up,” Collins said. “Make sure you’re doing what you need to do to get your fly, bait, or lure down to the bottom where the fish are.”
Predicting a packed river bank, some said they’ll wait until the waters are less crowded.
“You’ll see people from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, we were just talking about the plates that we see from people who’ve made this a destination,” Lodovico said.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been here last, it used to be elbow to elbow,” added Gary Englert, who lives in Cadott, Wis.
More than a decade after he moved to the Midwest, the Bristol native said it’s a part of Connecticut he’s missed.
“It’s coming back. It’s coming back. It’s small town. It’s New England. It’s everything I grew up loving,” Englert said.
DEEP said Connecticut’s lakes, streams, rivers, and ponds will have 550,000 new trout when they’re finished stocking.
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The House by the River
by Lena Manta
AmazonCrossing | General Fiction (Adult)
AmazonCrossing
Amazon Crossing
General Fiction (Adult)
Pub Date 01 Nov 2017
From acclaimed Greek writer Lena Manta comes an emotionally powerful saga following five young women as they realize that no matter where life leads them, the only constant is home.
Theodora knows she can’t keep her five beautiful daughters at home forever—they’re too curious, too free spirited, too like their late father. And so, before each girl leaves the small house on the riverside at the foot of Mount Olympus, Theodora makes sure they know they are always welcome to return.
Having survived World War II, the Nazi occupation of Greece, and her husband’s death, Theodora now endures the twenty-year-long silence of her daughters’ absence. Her children have their own lives—they’ve married, traveled the world, and courted romance, fame, and even tragedy. But as they become modern, independent women in pursuit of their dreams, Theodora knows they need her—and each other—more than ever. Have they grown so far apart that they’ve forgotten their childhood home, or will their broken hearts finally lead them back again?
Theodora knows...
Lena Manta was born in Istanbul, Turkey, to Greek parents. She moved to Greece at a very young age and now lives with her husband and two children on the outskirts of Athens. Although she studied to be a nursery school teacher, Lena instead directed her own puppet theater before writing articles for local newspapers and working as a director for a local radio station. Manta was proclaimed Author of the Year in both 2009 and 2011 by Greek Life & Style magazine. She has written thirteen books, all of them published by Psichogios Publications, including the bestselling The House by the River, which has sold almost 250,000 copies and is the first of her books to be translated into English. Hers is a voice to be reckoned with, and each new book is a tour de force in the Greek publishing world. Gail Holst-Warhaft is a poet and translator and has worked as a journalist, broadcaster, prose writer, academic, and musician. Among her many publications are Road to Rembetika, Theodorakis: Myth and Politics in Modern Greek Music, The Collected Poems of Nikos Kavadias, Dangerous Voices: Women’s Laments and Greek Literature, The Cue for Passion: Grief and Its Political Uses, I Had Three Lives: Selected Poems of Mikis Theodorakis, and Penelope’s Confession. She has published translations of Aeschylus and several of Greece’s leading novelists and poets. Her poems and translations have appeared in journals in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Her Kavadias translations won the Van der Bovenkamp award from Columbia University’s Translation Center, and her poem “Three Landscapes” won the Poetry Greece Award in 2001. The Fall of Athens, her most recent collection of poetry, essays, and stories about Greece, is forthcoming from Fomite Press.
Lena Manta was born in Istanbul, Turkey, to Greek parents. She moved to Greece at a very young age and now lives with her husband and two children on the outskirts of Athens. Although she studied to...
EDITION Other Format
PRICE $14.95 (USD)
"The House by the River" on Amazon.com
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Sri Lanka likely to play Test in Pakistan: Reports
New Delhi |Friday, 2019 2:45:05 AM IST
Sri Lanka has reportedly agreed to visit Pakistan to play a Test match after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) invited the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) authorities to send its security delegation to their n
Dry weather affects over 5.5 lakh people in Sri Lanka
Colombo |Thursday, 2019 1:15:05 AM IST
Severe dry weather in Sri Lanka has affected over 5.5 lakh people across the South Asian island nation, officials said on Wednesday.
All suspects of Easter terror attacks arrested: Sri Lanka Prez
Colombo |Wednesday, 2019 8:15:05 PM IST
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena said that all suspects involved in the Easter Sunday terror explosions had been arrested following extensive investigations and search operations carried out
Shivraj hits out at Kamal Nath-government over proposed Sita temple in Sri Lanka
Bhopal |Wednesday, 2019 11:15:05 AM IST
A war of words has broken out between former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and the Congress government in the state over the proposed temple of goddess Sita in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka expecting 100,000 tourists in July: PM
Colombo |Monday, 2019 10:15:05 PM IST
Sri Lanka is expecting at least 100,000 tourists to visit the island nation in July after arrivals saw a decline following the April 21 Easter Sunday terror attacks, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesingh
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Raimondo details budget plan at Newport County chamber event
Sean Flynn Daily News staff writer
“If I did nothing else during my years as governor, I want to make sure every Rhode Islander has a real chance to get a good education and a good job,” she said.
NEWPORT — Gov. Gina Raimondo said Tuesday morning she is now supporting the sale of recreational marijuana in the state after rejecting the initiative during her first term of office.
“I resisted it for four years,” she told more than 100 people gathered for the annual Newport County Chamber of Commerce annual breakfast at the Hotel Viking.
“It’s here already, whether you like it not,” Raimondo said about her change of heart. “Massachusetts has already moved to recreational marijuana and Connecticut is about to.”
Rhode Island residents in many communities of the state are about a 20-minute to a half-hour drive from shops selling legal marijuana, she said. Most of the residents on the other side of the state will have equally easy access soon, she said.
“Part of the Westerly Parade route goes through Connecticut,” she said.
The marijuana presence has to be dealt with, according to the governor.
“I want to register all the products and keep them safe,” she said.
The state can learn from the experiences of other states like Colorado, where cannabis products like candies with very potent THC concentrations proved to be problematic, she said.
“I put forward a program that would be the most restrictive of all our neighboring states,” Raimondo said. “Let’s do it right.”
The governor got into the subject after she was asked about it by a woman in the audience who said she grows marijuana for medicinal use. Her business is being hurt the longer the state delays acting on the measure, the woman said.
Raimondo spoke mainly about the priorities in her fiscal 2020 state budget that is now before the General Assembly, and recreational marijuana was not one of them.
When the last recession hit the state in 2007-2008, three out of every four jobs that were lost required only a high school degree, she said.
“Since 2010, nine out of every 10 jobs that were created in the U.S. required a college degree or some other type of advanced degree or certification,” Raimondo said.
Since her administration established PromiseRI, which enables students to go to the Community College of Rhode Island tuition free, “there has been a big increase in enrollment and a big increase in on-time graduation,” she said.
A requirement of the free tuition is timely completion of a degree.
A provision of her upcoming budget would allow every four-year old in the state to attend a pre-kindergarten program if the parents wanted that, the governor said.
Pre-kindergarten education helps ensure a child can read by the third grade, which is a predictor of whether a child will graduate from high school, she pointed out.
Also, Real Jobs RI, has trained and placed into jobs more than 5,000 people since she took office, Raimondo said.
Whether participants are being trained to work in the fields of cybersecurity, information technology, health care jobs, or more traditional apprenticeships, the program works closely with companies in those fields who are looking for qualified employees, she said.
She cited CVS, Amica and Fidelity as examples of companies that work with the state on training programs.
“Before, the strategy was ‘Train and Pray,’ ” Raimondo said. “The state trained and hoped they could get a job.”
The training programs also teach responsibility, like making sure people report to work on time.
“If you’re late more than twice, you’re out,” Raimondo said.
She talked about a dishwasher she met who went through a training program, and got a job that tripled his wages and provided him with full benefits.
“In the past two years, we have had the highest growth rate in wages in the country,” she said.
Most people in the state work for companies with less than 100 employees.
“We first doubled the amount of money available for small business loans and then doubled it again,” she said. “My budget is heavy in its investments in education and job training.”
Manuel Vales, senior vice president for the Savings Institute Bank & Trust that has branches in all Aquidneck Island communities, told the governor he was concerned about the structural deficits built into state budgets.
Raimondo pointed out that of the total state budget, about $1 billion goes into Medicaid, about $1 billion in mostly school aid and other types of aid to cities and towns, and about $1 billion is “all the rest.”
She said she is proud that more than 98 percent of children and about 96 percent of all adults now have health care coverage, “but it’s not free.”
There are large employers like Walmart who do not provide health care to workers and pay them so little they qualify for Medicaid, she said.
Her budget contains a proposal to levy a fee of up to $1,000 per employee on Medicaid, to be paid only by companies than have more than 300 employees.
“That would allow us to chip away at the structural deficit in Medicaid,” she said.
Other measures of cutting into the structural deficit included restructuring the health insurance plans of state employees, the governor said.
"We have cut the overall structural deficit in the budget by about one third since I took office," she said.
sflynn@newportri.com
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Quick links... All Star Game 2019 Cleveland Browns Indians Cavaliers Ohio State 2021 NFL Draft
SportsBrowns
No-win situation: Browns can't finish in tie with Steelers
Posted: 8:06 AM, Sep 10, 2018
By: Associated Press, Tom Withers
Image copyright 2018 Getty Images. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Joe Robbins
<p>CLEVELAND, OH - SEPTEMBER 09: Bud Dupree #48 of the Pittsburgh Steelers breaks up a pass by Tyrod Taylor #5 of the Cleveland Browns during the second quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium on September 9, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)</p>
When the ball deflected off T.J. Watt’s left hand and fluttered to a water-logged landing, well short of the crossbar, there was nothing more the Browns could do.
Their 17-game losing streak was over. Without a win — or a loss. Nothing to celebrate.
“A sour feeling,” quarterback Tyrod Taylor said.
More bitterness.
Cleveland didn’t take advantage of forcing six turnovers by Pittsburgh and missed a chance at its first win since 2016 on Sunday, tying the Steelers 21-21 in overtime in a game that turned into another emotional roller-coaster for fans who were so close to seeing their team go 1-0 for the first time in 14 years.
But the Browns, being the Browns, couldn’t finish the job.
“Tying in the NFL is really weird,” left guard Joel Bitonio said. “I never even thought I would be a part of it.”
Bitonio could have never imagined playing on an 0-16 team, either, but that’s what happened last season when the Browns went through their entire schedule without posting a win. At least that can’t happen again.
Watt capped a brilliant performance by blocking Zane Gonzalez’s 43-yard field-goal try with 9 seconds left to preserve the tie for the Steelers, whose drama-filled week around Le’Veon Bell ended with more theatrics.
It was the league’s first Week 1 tie since 1971, and the first time in 133 games the Browns and Steelers couldn’t settle their rivalry on the field.
The Browns rallied from a 21-7 deficit in the fourth quarter to stun the Steelers, who blew their own chance to win it in OT when Chris Boswell’s 42-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left.
Pittsburgh was without Bell, whose contract holdout will carry into the season’s second week. But the Steelers, who sacked Taylor seven times, refused to offer any excuses after falling dangerously close to becoming the first team to lose to the Browns in Week 1 since 2004.
“Hell yeah, it feels like a loss,” Steelers defensive tackle Cam Heyward said. “I’m sorry for using that kind of language, but if we settle for those, we’re going to be an awfully (steamed) off bunch. We didn’t get the job done. I credit T.J. for getting that block, but the outcome was already decided. It just gives you a sick taste in your mouth.”
Here are some other takeaways from the league’s first tie in two seasons:
BAD BEN
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger hardly looked like a future Hall of Famer, throwing three interceptions in the first half and losing two fumbles. He made some uncharacteristic errors, forcing a pass into double-coverage that was picked off by Browns rookie cornerback Denzel Ward, who had two interceptions in his pro debut.
Roethlisberger passed for 335 yards, but he was upset Pittsburgh’s offense couldn’t put away the Browns.
“It’s just frustrating that we can’t make the plays down the stretch,” he said. “We just didn’t make them.”
GREAT GARRETT
Browns defensive end Myles Garrett seemed to be everywhere. He forced two fumbles, recorded two sacks and rushed Roethlisberger into making some indecisive throws.
“I think he is going to have a great year,” Browns coach Hue Jackson said. “He is showing that he was worthy of being the first player drafted a year ago. A healthy Myles Garrett means a ton to this organization and football team. He just has to do it week in and week out and be this player every week.”
The Browns were last in the league with just 17 takeaways last season.
WATT A PLAYER
Watt already had four sacks and 11 tackles when the made the game’s defining play.
“When it snapped, I’m just trying to do my job and get penetration,” Watt said of his game-saving block. “I threw my hand up at the last minute, and it hit my hand — tie game.”
GORDON’S GRAB
Josh Gordon made just one catch — one mesmerizing, jaw-dropping, game-tying catch.
With the Browns trailing 21-14, Gordon leaped and snagged Taylor’s 17-yard pass over Steelers cornerback Cameron Sutton for a touchdown with 1:58 left in regulation.
It was another positive for Gordon, who missed most of training camp to address health issues and was playing in his first season opener since 2012 because of drug and alcohol addictions. Gordon has also been battling a hamstring issue.
ROUGH START
Browns undrafted rookie left tackle Desmond Harrison had a long day.
Harrison, who moved into the starting lineup this week, was penalized for two false starts in the first half and had some other assignment issues.
Harrison wasn’t the only offending Cleveland player as the Browns were called for 11 penalties for 87 yards.
“Disappointed,” Jackson said of the infractions. “Our team has got to get better. It is not good enough. You take the turnovers, and the penalties that we had and our inability to do some things early offensively, those are huge keys to a tie game. We have to do some things better.”
BROWNS SCHEDULE
WEEK 1 · Thu 08/08 · 7:30 PM EDT Washington Redskins (News 5)
WEEK 2 · Sat 08/17 · 4:00 PM EDT at Indianapolis Colts (News 5)
WEEK 3 · Fri 08/23 · 7:30 PM EDT at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (News 5)
WEEK 4 · Thu 08/29 · 7:30 PM EDT Detroit Lions (News 5)
WEEK 1 · Sun 09/08 · 1:00 PM EDT Tennessee Titans (CBS)
WEEK 2 · Mon 09/16 · 8:15 PM EDT at New York Jets (ESPN)
WEEK 3 · Sun 09/22 · 8:20 PM EDT Los Angeles Rams (NBC)
WEEK 4 · Sun 09/29 · 1:00 PM EDT at Baltimore Ravens (CBS)
WEEK 5 · Mon 10/07 · 8:15 PM EDT at San Francisco 49ers (ESPN)
WEEK 6 · Sun 10/13 · 1:00 PM EDT Seattle Seahawks (Fox)
WEEK 7 Bye
WEEK 8 · Sun 10/27 · 4:25 PM EDT at New England Patriots (CBS)
WEEK 9 · Sun 11/03 · 4:25 PM EST at Denver Broncos (CBS)
WEEK 10 · Sun 11/10 · 1:00 PM EST Buffalo Bills (CBS)
WEEK 11 · Thu 11/14 · 8:20 PM EST Pittsburgh Steelers (Fox, NFL Network, Amazon)
WEEK 12 · Sun 11/24 · 1:00 PM EST Miami Dolphins (CBS)
WEEK 13 · Sun 12/01 · 4:25 PM EST at Pittsburgh Steelers (CBS)
WEEK 14 · Sun 12/08 · 1:00 PM EST Cincinnati Bengals (CBS)
WEEK 15 · Sun 12/15 · 4:05 PM EST at Arizona Cardinals (CBS)
WEEK 16 · Sun 12/22 · 1:00 PM EST Baltimore Ravens (CBS)
WEEK 17 · Sun 12/29 · 1:00 PM EST at Cincinnati Bengals (CBS)
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Deep sea sharks pig out on beef, lamb and veg we throw away
Life 9 December 2015 , updated 10 December 2015
Just wait, and dinner will come floating down. That seems to be the feeding strategy for sharks and other bony fish that thrive in the western Mediterranean Sea, at depths exceeding 2000 metres.
Beef, goat meat, dolphin blubber, vegetables and fruit – even a bunch of grapes, for example – were gratefully received and gobbled down by these fish, living in or around a canyon called the Valencia trench, midway between Barcelona, Spain, and the Balearic Islands.
Joan Cartes of the Institute of Marine Sciences in Barcelona and his team unpicked deep-sea dining habits by catching 445 live fish – mainly three species of shark and six bottom-dwelling bony fish – and analysing their gut contents.
The work is the first to assess the extent to which deep-dwelling fish rely on bounty from above. It was also the first to examine how much of what they ingested was derived from human activity – food jettisoned from ships, plastic rubbish, debris from fishing nets and so on – versus what could be said to be sourced from nature.
The researchers say our food waste and debris could be affecting deep-sea food webs, which are already under stress from trawling.
The fishes’ guts included microplastic fragments and strands from fishing nets, although in amounts too small to cause problems for large fish. “Plastics were frequently found, but in small volumes of the total diet, typically less than 2 per cent by weight,” says Cartes.
Much more important were foodfalls of other dead fish and animals, which provided as much as 70 per cent of the stomach contents in some fish, particularly sea sharks such as Portuguese dogfish and blackmouth catfish. The remains of members of their own species accounted for much of what they ate.
A surprise, however, was the range of food surviving at that depth from human activity, which accounted for around 5 to 6 per cent of the diet. Such items turned up in fish living beneath routes frequently plied by ferries, and within fishing grounds.
Cartes thinks that the same may be happening elsewhere in the world, and so could be an underappreciated factor affecting deep-sea ecology. “I think all deep-sea systems in the world may be exposed to similar impacts,” he says.
“Humans have probably had all kinds of effects on food availability to deep-sea scavengers through fisheries discards, changes in fish stocks and whaling,” says David Bailey of the University of Glasgow, UK. “In the enclosed Mediterranean, the effects of food from the land are likely much stronger than out in oceans. So while I’m not surprised by these findings, they’re interesting and show how much we’re affecting deep-sea systems, even though they’re out of sight.”
Journal reference: Deep Sea Research I, DOI: 10.1016/j.dsr.2015.11.001
Read more: “Plastic Age: How it’s reshaping rocks, oceans and life”
Image: Kelvin Aitken/Biosphoto/FLPA
Magazine issue 3052 , published 19 December 2015
Raft made of dust carries water droplets across a sea of oil
Pandas don't lack sex drive, they just need to fancy each other
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Home News Politics UN General Assembly: President Akufo-Addo’s Speech
UN General Assembly: President Akufo-Addo’s Speech
President Akufo-Addo speaking at the UN General Assembly
The Ghana News Agency, hereby, publishes the full text of the speech delivered by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the 72nd Session of United Nations General Assembly in New York on Thursday.
ADDRESS DELIEVERED BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA, NANA ADDO DANKWA AKUFO-ADDO, AT THE 72ND SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS’ GENERAL ASSEMBLY, ON THURSDAY, 21ST SEPTEMBER, 2017, NEW YORK.
Mr. President, Your Excellencies
It has been sixty years since my country, Ghana, became a member of this Organisation. We joined at our independence some twelve years after the first meeting of the Organisation in San Francisco, and Ghana has been an active participant in the United Nations since then.
I want, Mr President, to thank the United Nations for the honour done Ghana by my appointment, by the Secretary General, as co-Chair of the Group of Advocates of Eminent Persons of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, to continue in the position that was held by my predecessor as President, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama. This mark of trust in Ghana’s leaders is a matter of justifiable pride for the Ghanaian people, a trust I pledge to uphold.
On 25th September, 2015, when the SDGs were adopted, there were sceptics who feared that the goals were too many and too complex to be successfully tackled, even with concerted effort.
The lesson that we have learnt, however, from the experience of this Organisation is that, once the world puts its collective mind to something, the chances are we would get it right.
And, every day, something happens to bring home to us, the inhabitants of this planet, that we are in it together. There is no better dramatic indication of this truth than the images that have recently dominated our television screens of devastation caused by floods in Houston Texas, in Dhaka Bangladesh, in Mumbai India, in Palpa Nepal, in Dominica, Puerto Rico, Antigua and Barbuda, and St. Martin, all in the Caribbean, and in Niamey Niger.
One of the most modern cities in the richest, most powerful nation on our earth, was suffering the same fate as Niamey in the Sahel region of Africa, one of the poorest parts of the world. At the height of the raging waters, one thing has become clear: it does not matter if you are in the richest or poorest part of the world, the awesome power of nature was on display, and we, humans, came across as the same sad creatures at the mercy of nature.
As I watched and listened, along with the rest of the world, it occurred to me that, all put together, the SDGs are, indeed, a worthwhile set of goals for the world. They bear repeating: no poverty, zero hunger, good health and well-being, quality education, clean water and sanitation, decent work and economic growth, industry, innovation and infrastructure, reduced inequalities, sustainable cities and communities, responsible consumption and production, life below water, life on land, peace, justice and strong institutions and topped up with partnerships for the goals. We should work hard to achieve these goals. The world will be a much better place.
Ghana was the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to gain her freedom from colonial rule. This year marks the 60th anniversary of that independence, and it is auspicious that I am addressing this Assembly for the first time on the birth date of our historic first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, a day we have set aside to commemorate him.
We believe it is time Africa comes of age and holds its rightful place on the world stage. This Africa will be neither a victim nor a pawn. This Africa will be honest to itself and to the world, and this Africa will shed its cloak of poverty, and become prosperous.
We are not under any illusions about the hard work that it will take to achieve our stated goals, but we are not afraid of hard work. We know that a critical ingredient in making sustainable economic progress is to ensure a stable democratic system of governance.
I believe we are making this progress in Ghana. After years of political turmoil and the accompanying economic chaos, a consensus has emerged in our Fourth Republic. We have had political stability for the last 25 years under a multi-party democracy, where regular elections are now an accepted feature of our governance.
I am here, today, because of elections last December in which the people of Ghana voted out an incumbent government, and gave me and my party the mandate and honour to govern our nation for the next four years. We continue to be a beacon of democracy and stability on the continent, our institutions of state are growing stronger, and we have made more progress with our economy than at any time since independence.
Mr President, we are nowhere near where we want to be, but we are determined to realise our potential and make Ghana a prosperous nation.
There will always be adventurers amongst us Ghanaians who would want to seek challenges in different parts of the world, and we would wish them well, and expect that wherever they go, they would be welcome and treated with dignity.
But we are working to grow our economy and open up opportunities for all our citizens. No longer should Ghanaians feel they have to subject themselves to the intolerable and inhumane conditions of crossing the Sahara, and drowning in the Mediterranean, in the hope of making a living in Europe.
We have just started the Free Senior High School programme, which aims to guarantee secondary education for all of Ghana’s children. The programme will ensure that all our children will be educated to at least secondary level, and money, or the lack of it, will no longer mean a denial of education. This has already led to an increase of over 90,000 children, who have entered secondary school this academic year, who would otherwise have dropped out at this stage. SDG 4, which aims at ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all, will be within our reach by the target date.
We do not want to be a scar on anybody’s conscience. We want to build an economy that is not dependent on charity and handouts. Long and bitter experience has taught us no matter how generous the charity, we would remain poor.
We want to build a Ghana which looks to the use of its own resources and their proper management as the way to engineer social and economic growth in our country. We want to build an economy that looks past commodities to position our country in the global marketplace.
We are not disclaiming aid, but we do want to discard a mind-set of dependency and living on handouts; we want to build a Ghana beyond aid. It is an easier platform on which to build sustainable relationships.
In talking about sustainable relations, Africa, and, indeed, Ghana, remains committed to remaining a nuclear weapon-free continent. Three weeks ago, highly-enriched uranium was flown out of Ghana back to China, signalling the end of the removal of all such material from the country. Our nuclear reactor has, subsequently, been converted to use low-enriched fuel for power generation. A world, free of nuclear weapons, must be in all our collective interest.
Mr. President, I wish to reaffirm my country’s commitment to maintaining friendly and cordial relations with all the countries and peoples of the world. The full engagement of Ghana, through the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), in the process of West African integration, and through the African Union (AU), in the process of African integration, remains a goal of my government. Regional and continental integration are in Ghana’s interest, as they represent one of the surest ways towards establishing the conditions for prosperity in our region and on the continent in the decades ahead, as well as helping to ensure peace and security and combating the scourges of terrorism, extremism and intolerance. The conflicts that continue to plague our continent in Libya, South Sudan, Congo DRC, and Mali, would be more effectively resolved if the international community was to support, not undermine, the efforts of our regional and continental organisations to deal with them. Ghana will also continue to be active in the multilateral organisations to which we belong, such as La Francophonie, the Commonwealth of Nations, and this United Nations, because we believe multilateral action and international co-operation are in the interest of all of us.
We want to build a Ghana that will enable our people deal with the rest of the world on an equal basis. I say nothing new, when I draw attention to the urgent need to reform this Organisation.
It has been talked about and scheduled for a long time, but, somehow, we have never found the courage and the will to reform the United Nations. Ghana supports the process of UN Reform, especially of the UN Security Council, as set out in Africa’s Common Position on UN Reform, based on the Ezulwini Consensus. The time is long overdue to correct the longstanding injustice that the current structure and composition of the UN Security Council represent for the nations of Africa.
We cannot continue to preach democracy and fairness around the world, we cannot insist on peace and justice around the world, when our global organisation is not seen by the majority of its members as having a structure that is just and fair. It is, indeed, seen by many as helping to perpetuate an unfair world order.
This Organisation provides the best vehicle for the world to manage its many varied problems, and we would undermine its credibility and fail in our duty if we do not reform the United Nations. We dare not let ourselves and future generations down. The time for reform has come.
I thank you very much for your attention.
Source: GNA/NewsGhana.com.gh
72nd Session
President Akufo-Addo’s Speech
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo
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Companies 'Must See Cyber Attacks as Inevitable'
By Hayley Richardson On 2/16/15 at 1:07 PM EST
An employee works near screens in the virus lab at the headquarters of Russian cyber security company Kaspersky Labs in Moscow July 29, 2013. Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters
Business Cyber Attack Sony hack Internet Security Germany
A top executive from the firm whose forensic experts investigated the Sony Corporation cyberhack last year says we "shouldn't be surprised" by the recent cyber robbery of up to $1bn - deemed one of the world's biggest cyber heists to date - and that companies should plan for the worst and see attacks as an inevitability.
A report by Kaspersky Lab, a cyber security company, revealed on Monday that up to 100 banks and financial institutions in 30 countries, including Russia, France, Germany, the UK, Spain, Poland, Norway and Switzerland, have been attacked in an unprecedented cyber robbery.
The gang responsible, dubbed 'Carbanak' and comprising of members from Russia, China and Ukraine, is believed to have been taking up to $10m at a time from banks over periods of two to four months since 2013, using various techniques including 'spearfishing' - the sending of malware-infected emails to individual employees which activate once opened.
Well-organised and more sophisticated cyber attacks are becoming more prevalent and a serious threat to large corporations. Last year Sony Corp suffered a massive breach of its systems by hackers who infected company PCs with malware, forced much of its network offline, exposed a tranche of confidential emails and released five Hollywood film scripts.
Richard Turner, EMEA vice president at cyber security firm FireEye, says this recent security breach is not a unique incident and that we will continue to see similar attacks. He says he feels we are a "significant way away" from getting the problem under control and a combined effort from governments and government agencies and greater information sharing is needed to tackle it.
"We can encourage businesses to spend as much money on this as we like, but until we can create a disincentive for people pursuing this career there will be an ongoing tide of talent moving into cyber crime and the problem will cease to reduce," he says.
"Legislatures should focus on building more collaboration between different countries and law enforcement agencies, so we can see a corresponding increase in successful prosecutions against this ever-growing wave of cyber attacks.
"FireEye is a big advocate of sharing intelligence - there is a significant role for government and government agencies to play in this."
He says financial services organisations are the most targeted group of commercial organisations, based on threat analysis compiled by FireEye on a regular basis, and that many are vulnerable to security breaches as they are not keeping up with the pace of the threat.
"In reality, most spending in security is on technology designed to protect, which is great until one of these groups manages to compromise them. In that scenario the organisation is vulnerable," he says. "In addition to spending money to prevent attacks, companies must have the mindset that breaches are inevitable, and they've got to be able to identify breaches quickly after they have occurred and then launch a proportionate response. This is a challenge for many businesses as they're not security companies."
He adds that businesses should look at their security spending and determine if it is enough, but emphasises that there should not be a call for ever-increasing sums of money to be spent on security - rather "quality rather than quantity". He says companies ought to consider developing partnerships with outside organisations to help them minimise the volume of attacks and understand how hackers got in and why.
"They must look at the risk a hack might have on their shareholder value and whether it has the potential to seriously harm the business," he says.
Meanwhile, Caroline Baylon, a research associate in science, technology and cyber security in the international security department at Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, says this recent attack highlights the problem of the 'loop system', where cyber criminals become more wealthy and resourceful following a successful hack operation.
"It's much cheaper to attack than to defend," she observes. "Cyber criminals are stealing money from banks, so now they have even more money; they become very successful and well financed. Launching an attack is cheap compared to the potential pay off."
She says she wouldn't be surprised if, in the future, this method of attack was used by warring states to destabilise their financial sectors.
"No state wants to open this can of worms," she says. "But if you had tensions between two states, as we do at the minute, then if you can undermine confidence in the financial sector and banks, that could be more effective than launching a physical attack."
Companies 'Must See Cyber Attacks as Inevitable' | Business
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Syrian Truce in Danger of Collapse From Government Attacks
By Reuters On 2/29/16 at 3:48 PM EST
People attend a protest against forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, Russia and the Syrian Democratic forces, in Tariq al-Bab neighbourhood of Aleppo, Syria, February 29. The banner reads: "The people want to overthrow the regime, the ongoing revolution, Aleppo Rebels." Abdalrhman Ismail/Reuters
World Syria Syria Conflict Aleppo Bashar al-Assad
BEIRUT/GENEVA (Reuters) - A senior official from Syria's main opposition group said on Monday that a fragile international attempt to halt nearly five years of fighting was in danger of total collapse because of attacks by government forces.
The cessation of hostilities drawn up by Washington and Moscow faced "complete nullification" because Syrian government attacks were violating the agreement, the official of the Saudi-backed opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) said.
France said there were reports of attacks on opposition forces in breach of the deal, which came into force on Saturday, and countries backing the Syrian peace process met to try to clarify the situation.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the pause in the fighting was largely holding, despite some incidents that he hoped would be contained. The Kremlin said the process was under way, although it had always been clear it would not be easy.
In Washington, the White House said the United States remained committed to implementing the cessation of hostilities despite reports of violations over the weekend.
The cessation deal does not include jihadist groups such as Islamic State and the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, however, and Russia, which is backing the Syrian government with air power, has made clear it intends to keep bombing these groups.
An aide to Saudi Arabia's defense minister said on Monday, meanwhile, that defense ministers from the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State had discussed the possibility of a Syrian ground incursion two weeks ago in Brussels.
"It was discussed at the political level but it wasn't discussed as a military mission," Saudi Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri told Reuters. "Once this is organized, and decided how many troops and how they will go and where they will go, we will participate in that."
The cessation of hostilities agreement, the first of its kind since the Syrian civil war began in 2011, is a less formal arrangement than a ceasefire. It is meant to allow peace talks to resume and aid to reach besieged communities.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it was largely holding with casualties greatly reduced compared with before the agreement took effect.
Syrian forces made some gains, however. The Observatory reported they had taken territory near Damascus on Monday after a battle with the Nusra Front and other Islamist rebels.
Syrian government forces also regained control of a road to the northern city of Aleppo after making advances against Islamic State fighters.
Aid trucks carrying non-food items such as blankets on Monday entered Mouadamiya, a suburb of Damascus under siege by government forces, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent said.
The United Nations and other agencies hope to deliver aid to more than 150,000 people in besieged areas over the next five days.
Gloomy Assessment
Asaad al-Zoubi, head of the HNC's delegation to the peace talks, gave a gloomy assessment of the truce. "We are not facing a violation of the truce ... we are facing a complete nullification," he said on Al Arabiya al Hadath TV.
"I believe the international community has totally failed in all its experiments, and must take real, practical measures toward the (Syrian) regime," Zoubi said, without elaborating.
He said there were no signs of any preparations for peace talks, which the U.N. wants to reconvene on March 7.
Talks in Geneva in early February collapsed before they started, with rebels saying they could not negotiate while they were being bombed.
HNC spokesman Salim al-Muslat said the truce was a step in the right direction, but a mechanism was needed to stop such violations and encourage negotiations.
"There has to be a power that really stops what Russia and what the regime is doing," Muslat said in a television interview with Reuters in Riyadh. "Today there [were] about 10 Russian air strikes, about 16 air strikes done by the regime."
Syrian officials could not immediately be reached for comment on claims that government forces were violating the cessation. The government has said it is abiding by the agreement.
However, a Syrian foreign ministry official accused Saudi Arabia of trying to undermine the cessation of hostilities agreement by saying there would be a "Plan B" if it failed. He did not give details of the plan, which is believed to include military action.
Russia on Monday also rejected any suggestion of a Plan B, which has been alluded to by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.
Countries belonging to the "International Syria Support Group" (ISSG), led by the United States and Russia, met in Geneva on Monday.
They are supposed to monitor compliance with the deal and act rapidly to end any flare-ups.
"We have received indications that attacks, including by air, have been continuing against zones controlled by the moderate opposition," French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said in Geneva. "All this needs to be verified."
Air Strikes Are Heavy
The HNC said the cessation of hostilities was broken by the Syrian government 15 times on the first day, and that there were further violations by Russia and Hezbollah, both allies of President Bashar al-Assad.
On the ground, rebels said the violence was below pre-ceasefire levels in some places and little changed in others.
Colonel Fares al-Bayoush, head of a Free Syrian Army group called the Northern Division, told Reuters: "The air strikes are heavy today, especially by Russian planes."
Abu al-Baraa al-Hamawi, a fighter with the Ajnad al-Sham group in northwestern Syria, said the government had shelled a number of villages. "It is regular bombardment, no change. The regime after the truce is as it was before."
A fighter in the Aleppo area said the overall level of violence had gone down, but there were many violations and people were pessimistic.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the war through a network of contacts on the ground, said the number of people dying each day had gone down substantially since the cessation started.
"Yesterday, around 20 people died, both fighters and civilians. Before, there was an average of maybe around 180 people a day. It's a big reduction in terms of human losses," Observatory director Rami Abdulrahman said.
Syrian Truce in Danger of Collapse From Government Attacks | World
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Ceasefire in Syria Turns Putin's Eye on Ukraine Again
U.N. Rights Chief: Thousands May Have Starved in Syria
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Manhattan Party Boy Continues to Steal While On Bail Reports a NYC Criminal Lawyer
A Manhattan man was out on bail after being locked up for shoplifting. Then, before he could get turned around good, he was arrested again for stealing luxury loot. His latest round of stealing managed to get him busted on Mondays of identity theft and forgery. According to NYC Criminal Lawyers, he is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail this time.
His latest spree took place at Hermes on Madison Avenue near East 62 Street about 2 pm on May 12. He illegally used someone else’s American Express card to purchase 2 handbags for $11,595. NYC Criminal Lawyers indicate that this was the beginning of what was probably going to be a really big shopping trip for the man.
And true to form, about an hour after the initial purchase, he used the card to make three purchases in the amount of $1,861, $3,713 and $1,007 at the Burberry store on Madison Avenue. According to a NYC Criminal Lawyer it is extremely unfortunate that Parker lost his way because at one time he was a fixture on the Manhattan social circuit attending parties at Vogue, Chanel and Christie’s.
The firm of Stephen Bilkis & Associates and its New York Criminal Lawyers and convenient locations in the New York Area including Malverne, NY can be very helpful to you if you find yourself involved in a criminal prosecution. Facing charges without a New York Criminal Lawyer is a losing option.
Updated: June 28, 2010 12:00 am
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Archives|More Conservatives for the Courts
More Conservatives for the Courts
In a further effort to remake the federal courts in its own ideological image, last week the Bush administration proposed two more nominees for appellate judgeships whose views seem well to the right of the legal and political mainstream. One is a former assistant to Kenneth Starr, the other an African-American judge best known for a major ruling against affirmative action. With these choices, the White House is once again showing that it has no interest in selecting a judiciary whose views are broadly representative of the American public. The Senate should be prepared to reject either or both of them.
The administration has nominated Brett Kavanaugh and Janice Brown to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, often considered the nation's most important court after the Supreme Court. Mr. Kavanaugh, 38, would be one of the youngest federal judges and has no judicial experience. The main items on an otherwise thin résumé are Mr. Kavanaugh's loyal service to Mr. Starr during the divisive investigation of President Bill Clinton and, later, his loyal service as an assistant to President Bush, in which capacity he has helped engineer the confirmation of the administration's judicial nominees.
Justice Brown, of the California Supreme Court, is best known for writing a 2000 decision interpreting California's Proposition 209, which bars racial preferences, in a way that deeply troubled many members of racial minorities. The chief justice of the California Supreme Court, writing separately in the case, criticized Judge Brown's opinion as a ''serious distortion of history'' and asserted that it was ''likely to be viewed as less than evenhanded.''
Senators should examine these nominees carefully. In Justice Brown's case, they should see whether her views are substantially outside the legal mainstream and be prepared to reject her if they are. In analyzing Mr. Kavanaugh's record, senators should look for positive evidence that he is fit, by experience and temperament, for high judicial office. Given the vast number of federal and state judges, seasoned lawyers and academics who could be named to the circuit, it is hard to believe that Mr. Kavanaugh is the most qualified candidate available.
A version of this editorial appears in print on July 29, 2003, on Page A00022 of the National edition with the headline: More Conservatives for the Courts. Today's Paper|Subscribe
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Television|The Force Behind HBO’s Documentaries
Television | Television
The Force Behind HBO’s Documentaries
By ELIZABETH JENSEN JUNE 11, 2010
ONE recent midday eight producers, editors and researchers of an HBO documentary on postwar traumatic stress, “Traumatology: The Art of Coming Home,” were gathered in Sheila Nevins’s “documentary clubhouse” — a pale turquoise, art-filled 12th-floor apartment on East 86th Street in Manhattan, downstairs from her home, that serves as an editing room. They were there to view work in progress, but Ms. Nevins, the president of HBO Documentary Films, wanted to talk about one producer’s unusual medical condition.
Work stopped while Ms. Nevins — curled in a leather recliner, wearing the loose black ankle-tied knit pants she adores — bore in. “I’ve never heard of this ailment,” she said. Soon everyone knew intimate details about salivary stones, the equivalent of gallstones in salivary glands. Then it was back to war.
Lowbrow to highbrow, the political to the personal, what captivates Ms. Nevins matters, because that’s often how HBO documentaries materialize. She has talked openly of how her son’s struggle with substance abuse motivated HBO’s 2007 multipart “Addiction” project, and the similar “Obesity,” planned for 2012, dovetails with her fascination with eating issues. “Taxicab Confessions,” filled with passengers engaging in often-bawdy conversations and activities, stemmed from her chats with cab drivers. After she saw the cellphone video of Neda Agha-Soltan, killed a year ago in Tehran during the protests following the disputed Iranian presidential contest, she commissioned a project to track down the back story. “For Neda,” part of HBO’s 10-week summer documentary series, will be shown beginning Monday.
Ms. Nevins has been at HBO since 1979 (with a brief time out to produce), having figured out how to use her editor’s eye, knack for zeroing in on viewers’ appetites, competitive drive and outrageousness to build a successful empire. Now, at 71, her influence is greater than ever, even as many in the documentary community fret both about her outsize power and if HBO will continue its commitment to documentaries after she leaves.
Would-be filmmakers, spurred by the advent of cheap digital technology, are churning out documentaries in startling numbers. The Hot Docs festival in Toronto and the Full Frame festival in Durham, N.C., for example, each received about 2,000 entries this year, said the veteran documentarian D. A. Pennebaker, at a recent event at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan.
Sheila Nevins, president of HBO Documentary Films, has overseen dozens of award-winning films. Credit Timothy Greenfield-Sanders/HBO
But getting a payday afterward is tough. “It’s as much a business as the priesthood is a business and as financially rewarding,” said Thom Powers, a filmmaker and the documentary programmer for the Toronto International Film Festival, who has had three films shown on HBO.
The commercial market for feature documentaries has crashed after briefly flourishing when “the Michael Moores of the world” were seen to have breakout potential, said Geoffrey Gilmore, chief creative officer of Tribeca Enterprises and the former director of the Sundance Film Festival. Risk-averse distributors have concluded that “the upside potential just isn’t as great,” he said.
While Oprah Winfrey’s forthcoming OWN network has announced plans for a documentary film club, in public television the already tight money situation has deteriorated. Some money-strapped foundations have stopped financing documentaries altogether, causing several longtime producers to throw in the towel; other producers are competing for funds with the most successful public TV documentarian, Ken Burns, after one of his corporate underwriters ended its commitment. And “American Experience,” on PBS, a series devoted to historical documentaries like Robert Stone’s “Earth Days,” just lost financing and will be cut back in 2012.
All of which has meant a “pitiable line of filmmakers trailing out the doorway” of the HBO headquarters, Mr. Powers said.
Ms. Nevins’s budget hasn’t increased in recent years, but she can produce more films for the same money, thanks to digital technology. On average HBO pays in the “mid to high hundreds of thousands per hour, equal to the highest end of PBS,” said one executive who has worked in both worlds. The difference? HBO pays immediately, while public television can take five years.
This year Ms. Nevins’s unit will put out 45 documentaries for HBO and HBO2, not including late-night and family programs; 10 years ago that figure was 27 (for HBO and Cinemax). While that is a mere fraction of HBO’s offerings, she provided a steady hand as HBO’s original programming team grappled to find its footing post-“The Sopranos” and “Sex and the City.”
Neda Agha-Soltan killed during protests in Iran last year, is the subject of one of the latest, “For Neda.”
HBO specializes in celebrity-filled premieres, and Ms. Nevins is at the center of many of them, with her poofy blond hair, giant dangly earrings (the length dictated by the seriousness of the topic, she said) and a $600 silver sequined oversize Coach bag, which she said she bought using credit card points.
In contrast to her public persona, she insisted, she’s really a loner who hates being bored. She studiously avoids pre-event cocktail parties and rarely attends dinner parties. “I don’t like to see baby pictures,” she said. “I don’t want to hear about their travels. I don’t want to pretend. It’s just exhausting.”
Theater, however, is a passion. (She said she sees about 30 shows a year.) “Somebody wrote it, so they must have edited it,” she said. “It’s the unedited part of talking that’s rough.”
Her own editing skills draw praise from filmmakers. “Sheila has opinions, and she has a lot of good opinions,” said Mr. Powers, whose films include “Loving and Cheating.”
At the “Traumatology” editing session, in the space of two hours, Ms. Nevins praised the choice of interviewees in one section, but rearranged the sequence of video, pressed the filmmakers on the overall message (“We don’t want to give the message you send your son to war and he comes back half a person”) and vetoed a clip from a John Huston short film about World War II veterans with mental trauma. (“I didn’t believe it,” she said, questioning whether the vets interviewed had been rehearsed. And, she added, “I’m bored.”)
Jon Alpert, who has made at least a dozen films for HBO and is working on “Traumatology,” said of working with Ms. Nevins: “The sword that gets tempered in the fire comes out stronger.” He added later: “There is a dreaded existential moment in every production in which Sheila looks up and says: ‘What’s this film about? I don’t understand what this film’s about.’ ”
A scene from “For Neda,” part of HBO’s summer documentary series, being shown on Monday. Credit HBO
He has been banished more than once because “we’ve had disagreements in which we needed time to cool off,” he said. But he added, “If I didn’t think this was the best and luckiest place for a documentary filmmaker I wouldn’t be going up to her office.”
HBO won’t break out financial numbers, but former HBO employees say Ms. Nevins’s internal success is partly due to her more salacious productions, like “Real Sex,” an explicit magazine series about sexual trends. Her tastes, however, seem to be mellowing. Where a decade ago she was fascinated by what she calls “freaks,” including people who have sex with animals (a project that was eventually scrapped, she noted), the most provocative documentary in this summer’s Monday night lineup, which began last week, is “No One Dies in Lily Dale,” about a New York town that is home to the world’s largest community of mediums.
The others look at the paparazzo Ron Galella, homeless children, a Florida abortion rights battle, lottery winners, Jack Kevorkian, a Kenyan man’s quest to find the woman who sponsored his childhood education, natural gas drilling and salsa dancers. On tap later this year are Spike Lee’s follow-up on Hurricane Katrina, Alex Gibney’s “My Trip to Al Qaeda” and “Traumatology.”
Since the terrorist attacks in 2001, Ms. Nevins said: “I’m more interested in the world. 9/11 made me less narcissistic about what we choose.”
“For Neda” began, as many projects do, with Ms. Nevins — a graduate of Barnard College and the Yale University School of Drama — in the gym, watching reports of Iranian protests on CNN. Five minutes after seeing a video of the final moments of Ms. Agha-Soltan’s life, she called Nancy Abraham, senior vice president of documentary programming for HBO, and that day the British filmmaker Antony Thomas agreed to see what he could find. “It took a lot of guts to go out that day,” Ms. Nevins said of Ms. Agha-Soltan. “I wondered why a woman would go out like that.”
Given her power in the industry, public criticism of Ms. Nevins is minimal. But murmurs persist that she favors directors of the moment, whose work she acquires postproduction, sometimes in a bid to ensure HBO’s continued dominance at the awards ceremonies.
The Santo Rico Dancing Training Group in “El Espiritu de la Salsa,” which is scheduled to be shown in August on HBO. Credit Paul Schiraldi/HBO
Last year the channel originated 60 percent to 70 percent of its documentaries, provided finishing funds to 15 percent and acquired the remainder. “If I want something badly enough, I’ll take a bigger part of my budget to get it,” Ms. Nevins said. (She does occasionally lose a project she wants, like “Restrepo,” about a United States platoon in Afghanistan, and “The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers.”) During her tenure HBO’s documentaries have won 21 Academy Awards, 47 Emmys and 31 Peabody Awards.
“There’s a yearning for HBO to be there for everyone and when what you’re doing doesn’t fit for them, it does give you a burning feeling as a filmmaker because where else are you going to go,” Mr. Powers said of the criticisms of Ms. Nevins.
She has no plans to go anywhere. The job, she said, “is my life, I love every minute of it, and I’m never bored.”
If she ever leaves, Rosie O’Donnell, with whom she has made three films, wants her to do a joint stand-up act. Never, Ms. Nevins said. “It’s spontaneous. I can’t do it rehearsed.”
But Alexandra Pelosi, who has done six documentaries for Ms. Nevins, has long badgered her to be allowed to turn a camera on her patron. That will never happen either, Ms. Nevins said. “I think I’m in all of the documentaries a little bit and it would be redundant,” she told the 92nd Street Y crowd when Ms. Pelosi publicly renewed her quest.
She added, “I don’t want to know more than I already know about myself.”
A version of this article appears in print on June 13, 2010, on Page AR17 of the New York edition with the headline: The Force Behind HBO’s Documentaries. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe
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Reader Center|A Job ‘Unlike Any Other’: Maggie Haberman on Covering President Trump
A Job ‘Unlike Any Other’: Maggie Haberman on Covering President Trump
CreditCreditDamon Winter/The New York Times
By The New York Times
Our White House correspondent Maggie Haberman is one of The Times’s most prominent and prolific reporters. Her days are often marathons of meetings and encrypted messages that frequently end in long nights working on front-page scoops about the Trump administration.
We recently invited readers to ask Maggie questions about her career and reporting methods. We heard from about 400 readers. Maggie answered a selection of the questions, which have been edited for clarity.
On reporting
Q. While many sources are kept anonymous from readers, obviously their identities are known to you. What steps do you take to ensure that your sources are accurate, that they are not inventing a story for their own agenda?
— James Posipanko, West Windsor, N.J.
A. It’s a really important question. We verify information to make sure that something is accurate. This has come up a lot since the first Trump campaign in 2016; oftentimes it was very difficult to get to a basis of agreed-upon facts, and it has required making sure that multiple sources confirm what is being presented in our report.
This may be a silly question but how do you “gather” information from your sources? Midnight phone calls from “secure” telephone booths? Meetings in dark restaurants wearing raincoats? Meetings in parking garages (you get that one)?
— David Nuwave, Ithaca, N.Y.
It’s not silly, it’s a good question! Reporting involves some version of all of the above (although the parking lot is still very much a Woodward and Bernstein province). There are encrypted messages, phone calls and meetings in spots where we won’t run into people who can identify one or both of us. Protecting the confidentiality of sources is vital.
Describe the editorial process after a story is pitched or submitted. Specifically, what efforts are made to ensure that the journalists and editors involved are not operating in an echo chamber? Confirmation bias is real and we’re all susceptible to it.
— Oliver S., North Carolina
We spend a lot of time trying to think about storylines from different perspectives, from the vantage point of the person we are writing about, as well as that of their critics or opponents.
For myself, I try to read as much media across the board as possible, to see what topics different conservative or liberal outlets are discussing. It helps to provide a fuller view. I try to see how the same story is being covered in different places.
The only cure for implicit bias is being as open-minded as possible.
On covering Trump
Are you received in a welcoming manner or is there hostility?
— Connie Wilson, St. Helena, Calif.
When it comes to the president, he is personally very averse to interpersonal conflict, so he rarely is hostile toward us in small settings. And many members of the White House and administration staff are professional and try to maintain that.
Given President Trump’s penchant for exaggeration, distortion and falsehood, do you find yourself approaching your coverage of him differently from what you’ve done in the past when covering other political figures? Has your approach to covering him evolved during his time in office; if so, how?
— Rebecca LaVally, Carmichael, Calif.
Every politician I’ve ever covered has said things that aren’t true or exaggerated, but the scale here is quite different. So even when it comes to basic things, we have to find additional corroboration.
One thing I realized during the 2016 campaign was that the president benefited from the way traditional news stories were constructed; we have tried to make clear when he is saying something false, or when his aides are, in the first paragraphs of stories instead of just repeating the false statement.
I get the impression the president actually likes The Times and has for years because of its reach and the publicity it provides for him, whether good or bad. What’s your take? Am I right, or way off, or what?
— Ed Garcia, California
I don’t know if I’d use the word “likes” when describing President Trump’s feelings for The Times. I do think the paper occupies a singular place in his psyche, representing, to him, the elites who he thought didn’t take him seriously when he was a developer from Queens trying to move into the Manhattan market.
I think the most revealing bit of journalism about the president and The Times was an episode of The Daily podcast from earlier this year. It was audio of a lengthy exchange between our publisher, A. G. Sulzberger, and the president, which took place in the Oval Office. I would strongly encourage people to listen to it.
Maggie Haberman interviewed President Trump in the Oval Office along with Peter Baker, The Times’s chief White House correspondent (right), and A. G. Sulzberger, our publisher (third from right).CreditTom Brenner for The New York Times
On Trump vs. Obama
What are three significant differences you’ve noted between the current administration and President Obama’s? Are there any similarities?
— Joan Vohl Hamilton, South Hadley, Mass.
I didn’t cover the Obama administration day to day the way I do the Trump administration, so it’s a little hard to list three specific differences. I would say, generally, that the Obama administration complained about media coverage a lot more than people realize. All presidents and their aides do, but the volume was quite high. I think on the issue of leak hunts, the two administrations have some similarities. And, to some extent, the two presidents have similarities in how they have approached foreign policy.
But there are major differences.
The Obama White House generally had a lot more respect for traditions, as well as for concerns about how perceptions matter in governing.
Obama was also much more conscious of trying to preserve the institution of the presidency and the norms and laws around it. Trump has flouted or broken almost every norm that exists, and, according to watchdogs, several aides have violated the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from engaging in political activities while they are on the job.
And the Trump White House has done what it can to ignore Congress as an independent branch of government.
What is the value of Twitter to a journalist? Is it worth all the vitriol coming at you?
— Phyllis Greenbaum, Columbia, Md.
This is a great question, for which I don’t have a great answer. I was one of the biggest Twitter scolds in the 2012 campaign, which is the first one where it was in wide use.
I think it makes everything look flat and small and the same. It’s hard to differentiate a significant story from a quote, and the context is all gone.
We now have a president who uses it a primary means of communication, so journalists who cover him don’t really have the luxury of staying off it, and I have tried.
But we could all be better on Twitter, especially me. I have gotten into needless fights that have made me come off poorly, or made people question my intent, and I deeply regret those moments.
On her background
How do you call yourself an independent journalist when your mother is connected with the Kushner family and you’re writing an “insider” account of the White House to publish for profit?
— Dick Ainsworth
There’s been a persistent and false conspiracy floated on the internet about my mother and the Kushners.
For 40 years, my mother has worked for a very large public relations firm in New York, which has represented a pretty broad range of clients over the years. The firm represented the Kushners at one point, including, to my knowledge, during their purchase of a paper called The New York Observer. The firm stopped representing the family in 2011, according to what I have read. I know nothing of the details about their representation of the Kushners beyond those facts.
My mother is not connected to the family in any way, other than working for the firm that represented them almost a decade ago.
I am no longer writing the book that I was under contract to write.
On life with a grueling job
Describe a typical day.
— Annie Bennett, Seattle, Wash.
All of the days are a blur at this point, but they’re generally a combination of a series of phone calls in the morning, a source lunch and then working into the evening. The news cycle just moves so fast now that there isn’t much downtime. Some days I don’t write any stories; other days I am involved in three.
I generally travel to Washington, D.C., a few times a month.
Please briefly explain how you manage to do such an emotionally and professionally demanding job while you are the mother of three children. This not a criticism on my part. I am awed by your responsibilities and (as a one-time working mother of two) I’d like to hear your various strategies!
— Mitsi Wagner, Cleveland, Ohio
The last four years have been very hard on my children, and I am trying to carve out as much time for each of them as I can. It means putting down my phone as much as possible and being present for them.
I don’t have any great explanation for it. I often tell people that I feel like I did when I had a newborn for the first time, and life felt like one long day.
On career advice
What tips and thoughts do you have for young aspiring journalists?
— Kyle J. Mullins, St. Petersburg, Fla.
On tips, get coffee with anyone who wants to meet with you. Try to be the last person still working when others have gone home. Work hard never to get beat on a story. And remember that this is an incredibly important job, and one that is unlike any other.
Articles by Maggie Haberman
2016 All Over Again
Inside Trump’s Hour-by-Hour Battle for Self-Preservation
Trump Told Russians That Firing ‘Nut Job’ Comey Eased Pressure From Investigation
Trump Sought to Fire Mueller in December
Michael Cohen Has Said He Would Take a Bullet for Trump. Maybe Not Anymore.
In a Call to The Times, Trump Blames Democrats for the Failure of the Health Bill
A note to readers who are not subscribers: This article from the Reader Center does not count toward your monthly free article limit.
Follow the @ReaderCenter on Twitter for more coverage highlighting your perspectives and experiences and for insight into how we work.
A version of this article appears in print on , Section A, Page 2 of the New York edition with the headline: Five Questions for Maggie Haberman. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe
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Oasis International Schools Partner with Bandar Rimbayu to Build American International School in Kuala Lumpur
Oasis International Schools Partner with IJM Land SDN BHD to Oasis International School at Bandar Rimbayu Township.
Oasis Press Release
Oasis International School to Open in Kuala Lumpur Fall 2018
Oasis International Schools is excited to announce the 2018 opening of our new school in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Oasis Enterprises has been setting the groundwork for this project for the last four years, and recently received the license from the Ministry of Education in Malaysia.
The school will be located in the Kota Kemuning area, just beside the South Klang Valley Expressway (SKVE). A partnership between the IJM Land SDN BHD and Oasis has been signed; the school will be located in the beautiful new Bandar Rimbayu township development.
Phase I of the building construction will begin shortly, with a capacity of nearly 600 students; when completed, the facility will house around 1200 students. The school will be the third school in Klang Valley which uses the American System. Mr. Ben Hale, Director, states: “We will offer an innovative academic model which offers a wide variety of curricular and co-curricular programs taught by world-class American educators.” The K-12 program will also specialize in high-tech integration into the educational process from the earliest grade levels. “Every student and teacher will have access to technology that will enhance the educational process,” states Jessica Hale, Director of Learning Innovation and Technology.
“OIS-KL will be a school that values students, is priced reasonably, and staffed by top educators in their respective fields,” adds Ben Hale, KL School Director.
Mr. Hale adds, “As a part of a worldwide network of international schools, we feel we can start this school at a very high level and be among the best schools in Malaysia very quickly. Our home office is already beginning the process of recruiting certified American educators trained to teach in an international context. This is a college-preparatory school that will quickly gain accreditation, and whose graduates will attend the finest universities in the world.”
Dr. Joe Hale, president of Oasis, adds, “My first visit to KL to consider putting an international school here was in 1995. It’s taken a while, but we’re very thrilled to be adding one of the world’s great cities to our school network.” Oasis operates schools in Korea, Japan, Singapore, China, Indonesia, Kenya, Ghana, Turkey, Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela, Brazil, and the USA. NorthStar Academy, the network’s on-line school is rated tops among all on-line high schools in the USA, and is fully accredited with AdvancEd. Oasis International School will immediately begin the accrediting process with Western Association of Colleges and Schools (WASC).
“We expect the KL school will quickly become one of our largest schools in the network,” adds Dr. Hale.
https://www.ourclassroomistheworld.org/
Copyright © 2019 Oasis. All rights reserved. Website designed by Five Q.
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Obama Foundation Announces Project Management Team for Obama Presidential Center
Chicago, IL – Today, the Obama Foundation announced that three firms have combined talents to lead the project management for the Obama Presidential Center (OPC). The “Center Consortium” will be composed of Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), McKissack & McKissack, and Ardmore Associates, all of Chicago. This team will be responsible for establishing and directing the processes that are necessary to ensure that the OPC is designed and, eventually, constructed in accordance with the budget, schedule, and technical requirements of the Foundation.
JLL is one of the largest real estate services firm in the world, and will bring industry-leading practices to the oversight of the design and construction of the OPC. McKissack & McKissack is an outgrowth of the oldest African American-owned design and construction firm in the United States and was the project manager for the recently completed and award-winning National Museum of African American History & Culture in Washington, DC. Ardmore Associates is also an African American and women-owned professional services firm, with valuable experience working on challenging public and institutional projects across Chicago.
David Simas, CEO of the Obama Foundation said, “We are excited to bring together the combined abilities of JLL, McKissack & McKissack, and Ardmore Associates, who are each first-class project management firms in their own right. We believe that a diversity of experiences and opinions will best help us achieve our objectives for the project. This is a team that will bring best-in-class skills and accountability to all of the processes involved in managing the design and construction of the OPC.”
Cherryl Thomas, President and CEO of Ardmore Associates, said “It is a privilege to be part of this historic project and it is extremely gratifying that the Obama Foundation has elevated the role of minority and woman-owned firms by encouraging a contract structure that ensures that firms like ours can utilize our considerable experience to participate in the decision-making and strategy-setting of a major project like the OPC. “
“Along with JLL and Ardmore Associates, we are honored to be entrusted with this huge responsibility. We are committed to creating a project management team that will add value to the OPC while always reflecting the values of the Foundation itself: integrity, inclusion, and community engagement,” said Deryl McKissack, Chairwoman and CEO of McKissack & McKissack.
Joe Caprile, Managing Director of JLL said, “This is a tremendous opportunity for us to partner with McKissack & McKissack and Ardmore Associates, two firms we greatly respect and admire. The joint venture is honored to work with the Obama Foundation on a project that is so significant to Chicago, our home city. We look forward to leveraging the resources and experience of our three firms to execute the OPC on schedule and within budget.”
Earlier this year, the Obama Foundation announced that Ralph Appelbaum Associates will lead, in partnership with Civic Projects and Normal, along with artists and educators Amanda Williams, Andres Hernandez, and Norman Teague, the exhibition design team for the OPC. The Foundation also recently announced a landscape design team comprised of Michael Van Valkenburgh Architects and Associates, Site Design Group, and Living Habitats in January. In October 2016, the Obama Foundation announced the formation of an Inclusion Council, led by local leaders to ensure that the work of the Foundation is informed by a diverse set of viewpoints and is in line with the values of diversity and inclusion. In July 2016, the Obama Foundation announced Jackson Park as the site of the future Obama Presidential Center. The Foundation considers the South Side community a full partner in the development and construction of the OPC, including in the integration of the OPC into Jackson Park. In June 2016, the Obama Foundation announced that Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects | Partners and Interactive Design Architects will lead the design phase of the Obama Presidential Center.
JLL (NYSE: JLL) is a leading professional services firm that specializes in real estate and investment management. A Fortune 500 company, JLL helps real estate owners, occupiers and investors achieve their business ambitions. In 2016, JLL had revenue of $6.8 billion and fee revenue of $5.8 billion and, on behalf of clients, managed 4.4 billion square feet, or 409 million square meters, and completed sales acquisitions and finance transactions of approximately $136 billion. At year-end 2016, JLL had nearly 300 corporate offices, operations in over 80 countries and a global workforce of more than 77,000. As of December 31, 2016, LaSalle Investment Management has $60.1 billion of real estate under asset management. JLL is the brand name, and a registered trademark, of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated. For further information, visit www.jll.com.
JLL Project and Development Services is a leader in the development, design, construction, and branding of commercial real estate projects for the world’s most prominent corporations, educational institutions, public jurisdictions, healthcare organizations, industrial facilities, retailers, hotels, and real estate owners. Ranked No. 3 in Building Design + Construction’s 2016 Construction Management Giants survey and No. 5 on Engineering News Record’s 2016 list of Top 100 Construction Management-for-Fee Firms, JLL’s project management team comprises 4,895 project managers across 51 countries and is actively managing $31.1 billion under construction.
McKissack & McKissack is an outgrowth of the oldest minority-owned professional design and construction firm in the United States. A family-owned business for more than 100 years, McKissack has been a leader in planning, design, and construction of more than 6,000 projects, proudly upholding the standards of excellence established by its forefathers. McKissack is currently ranked by Engineering News-Record as one of the top 50 program management firms and top 100 construction management-for-fee firms in the U.S. McKissack provides a wide range of services to a variety of corporations, government agencies, municipalities, private institutions, designers, and developers, and attributes its longevity and success to the talented, service-oriented professionals that comprise the McKissack organization. McKissack takes pride in the thousands of projects they have successfully completed over the years, and enjoys undertaking new challenges within the construction industry that require innovative, yet practical, cost effective solutions. Guided by corporate values of integrity, teamwork, and best-in-class performance, McKissack’s professionals provide outstanding technical expertise and are especially responsive to client needs, budgets, and schedules.
Ardmore Associates
Ardmore Associates is an MBE/WBE/DBE engineering consulting firm specializing in complex infrastructure, transportation, and major building projects. Established in 2003, Ardmore was founded by principals who share over 100 years of experience in municipal, state, federal, and private facility operations, management, and development. Comprised of nearly 90 staff members, Ardmore offers experience, reliability, and results providing professional services in land surveying, program management, project management, construction management, and construction inspection, and consulting. Ardmore solves challenging problems in a high-risk industry while putting safety first. Ardmore’s work is critical to the public at-large as they manage transportation, infrastructure, and building projects that the public uses every day. Ardmore is a dynamic, growing organization that hires people with initiative and high standards, and who are innovative and efficient as they help meet Ardmore’s goals.
Contact: Kate Berner, [email protected]
Topics: Press Releases, Obama Presidential Center
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Albanian Martyrs beatified by Catholic Church
By Oculus News Sunday, November 06, 2016 Catholic Church, Pope Francis
At the Cathedral of "St. Shtejfnit" in Shkodra yesterday are beatified 38 Catholic martyrs persecuted by the communist regime.
Cathedral "St. shtejfnit" transformed for the big event, hosted about 10 thousand believers, 300 priests and high Catholic authorities of the religion and other religions in Albania. The Mass is celebrated by Cardinal Angelo Amatoshtetit, envoy of Pope Francis, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
The Beatification of the martyrs of the Catholic faith follows major events like the bliss of Mother Teresa and the appointment of Ernest Troshani as a Cardinal by Pope.
A day before the Albanian Parliament approved a resolution proposed by the opposition to punish crimes of communism against the clergy as well as a special recognition for the role and activities of clerics in defense of democratic values and freedoms and fundamental rights and human freedoms.
The decree for the Beatification of 38 martyrs of the Albanian Catholic Church signed in April by Pope Francis, is a move that puts them alongside the most prominent figures of the Catholicism world. 2 years ago when the Holy Father visited Albania, portraits of martyrs were placed in the boulevard.
For the Catholic Church and for all the Albanian nation, the day of the beatification of 38 Albanian martirs will be marked as a historic day..
Albanian Martyrs beatified by Catholic Church Sunday, November 06, 2016 Rating: 5
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Savings by Design
Essentials for Architects, 2016 T24 Part 6 Energy Code, Nonresidential Standard
Essentials and More for Architects, 2016 T24 Part 6 Energy Code, Nonresidential Standard
Mia Lehrer: Building Bridges Right Out in Open Space
by Lance A. Williams
When the St. Louis Rams became the team selected by the NFL owners to relocate back to Los Angeles, they were aided in demonstrating their community vision by one of the strongest advocates for environmental sustainability within the community of local landscape architects. Mia Lehrer, President of Mia Lehrer + Associates is no stranger to innovative projects and the prospect of participating in a massive new stadium project provided the kind of challenges that she has long relished. Talk about a game-changer…
The fact that ML+A had been embedded for ten years in Inglewood, the self-glossed City of Champions where the stadium is being built, was a definite plus. Her corporate team had started off developing a Specific Plan for an urban infill project adjacent to the Forum where the Lakers and Kings previously played prior to relocating downtown to the Staples Center.
ML+A’s canvassing effort put them in close touch with local residents. Queries of residents regarding their open space needs yielded solid ideas and the realization that many people liked to walk, ride bikes, and be out in the open. What emerged from these discussions was a clear vision and an expectation of what could be accomplished in a city with a reputation as one of the baddest, hard core neighborhoods in the region.
According to ML+A’s findings, people were on concrete every day around the Forum grounds with all kinds of physical exercise activities happening in the large asphalt parking lot. The landscape architects concluded that a strong open space component in this development was extremely important to the community’s acceptance of the infill project.
Lehrer noted her familiarity with the city and its residents’ quality of life needs. “I’ve been working on the transformation of the old race track, Hollywood Park, for the last ten years. Then it was going offline as they say because people are watching races on TV. It was a sad moment in a lot of ways. But in the sense that it was going to allow for density of housing, and alternative civic spaces in Inglewood, that was very exciting. There was also a provision of 25 acres of park and from a sustainability perspective, we were striving really, really high.”
“There was always this thirty acre site above us because we worked on the Forum also, where we did some restoration, and some garden work. Unfortunately nobody had let us get rid of a lot of the asphalt as of yet. With the economy improving, there was an interest in those thirty acres. Mayor Butts said that the community did not want another big box retail. He said, ‘We want activity, we want jobs, we want intensity in our community that is healthy’,” noted Lehrer.
Then, by January of this year, following a textbook due diligence process, NFL owners voted 30-2 in favor of relocation. The Rams came to town, with the looming possibility that the San Diego Chargers or the Oakland Raiders might join them. Expectations of a big boost to Inglewood’s pocketbook and collective morale, international media exposure, and a return to the Showtime glory days took on epic, SuperLotto-winning golden ticket proportions.
Enter HKS. The worldwide icon of stadium building had been hired to design and build a state of the art facility that promised to set the standard for mixed-use, destination stadiums. HKS is notable in this country for building such iconic edifices as the recently-unveiled U.S. Bank Stadium for the Minnesota Vikings; Lucas Oil Stadium, where the Indianapolis Colts play and the annual NFL rookie combine is held; and the “House that Jerry (Jones) Built”, AT&T Stadium for the Dallas Cowboys.
According to ML+A associate Kush Parekh, when HKS met with Lehrer and her team, “They were impressed with our passion and project history,” as well as the goodwill built in the years of infill planning and execution in Inglewood. They pronounced Lehrer’s team a valuable asset and a viable collaborator to transform the site into the wondrous Taj Mahal depicted in the well-circulated, dynamic renderings.
By virtue of Mia Lehrer + Associates having worked so hard over the years to make the business case that their profession is an integral part of so many community-benefit endeavors, pushing hard for the importance of open space to health and well-being, suddenly they are placed in a unique spotlight as a standard bearer of sustainability to be broadcast to millions of people on national TV for half the year, beginning in 2019.
Is this the ultimate manifestation of the triple bottom line with the added bonus that the project will benefit an underserved community for many years to come? Time will tell.
But this opportunity was many years in the making for Mia Lehrer. Born in El Salvador of German-born Jewish parents, Mia has made the type of significant inroads that are the result of taking the challenging, circuitous route.
“I grew up in a small county where everybody does things. And my father was always involved in many things. So getting things done and inspiring people to support you in the activity of building things was also in my DNA,” said Lehrer, citing early formative influences.
Heading east after high school, she attended Cambridge-area institutions for her professional education. After a stint at Tufts University’s Jackson College for Women, she earned a Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA) from the Harvard University School of Design. While there she met and married Michael Lehrer. They have been together 40-plus years.
Mia was the proverbial sponge. “I had a few professors who were incredibly inspiring and who raised a lot of questions and loved sharing and telling stories,” she recalled. Department Chair Peter Walker and Martha Schwartz, Professor in Practice of Landscape Architecture helped her grow professionally as a landscape architect and became lifelong friends in the process. Mia and Michael moved to Los Angeles to begin their life together.
Her early career was marked by opportunities to build gardens as her practice grew. She pursued the corporate track to middling success until her genuine interests pushed her toward a more fulfilling direction.
A seminal point in Mia’s developing career was that after doing a few small residences, she got involved in some very large residential projects. “Someone had called Martha for a project but she couldn’t do it because she was so far away, she noted.
Mia and Michael had met some up and coming film producers, including Jan de Bont, Doug Wick and Lucy Fisher. Later, she worked for Dustin Hoffman and Jamie Lee Curtis. “It was one of those ‘you know this one, you know that one’ occurrences. They were all building things before any of us was really ready to build anything,” she said. “So I started balancing my work with the really wonderful movie industry folks. They’re enlightened about design and they can visualize things.”
Mia’s career odyssey continued with a shift to public sector interests. By 1992-93, she was working on the LA River with the poet Lewis MacAdams. “Basically, I wasn’t working with him, I was helping to clean the river. I discovered that you could go on Earth Days and clean the river. Then I started working with ASLA and the AIA and ULI on some charrettes on the river. It really opened my mind to the fact that we have so much to offer in the public sector.
“When we did the charrettes, that’s when I realized the power of design in certain issues. You can talk a lot, you can write a lot, but if you can draw, if you can help people visualize solutions, then you have the ability to contribute in a very different and meaningful way,” she noted.
Public service combined with a strong need to become part of the community that she is serving has become an integral part of ML+A’s unique work ethic. It is certainly one of the selling points of her current work.
“I think that I pride myself in nurturing a team that has a set of values that really advocate for community, advocate for design and beauty and a level of environmental justice. I was talking with a friend who spoke of people whom you might consider as provocateurs that are really involved in the community; really involved in advocacy. So I said that’s a better term that I can call myself – a provocateur as opposed to a troublemaker.
“We’re engaged in the community and we love highlighting design. We are agents of change. We’ve brought change to the Vista Hermosa Park; we’ve brought change to the Natural History Museum; we’ve brought change to a new park at 1st and Broadway. Those projects as well as planning projects like the LA River, like Silver Lake, like work we’ve done in Wilmington, are all projects where we sort of look at design in a very site-specific, culturally specific way.
“We tell a story about the environment, the drought, water, and access to spaces. So I’m very proud and I strive to build space but I’m also very proud when the spaces can be inhabited and the messages that people take to their schools, to their homes and to their families are about a better understanding of urban ecology and what it’s about to live in this world and to share across countries and cultures.”
Video Post What Are You Reading?
Architectural Design, Energy Efficiency
Okapi Q&A with Professor Marcela Oliva
Architectural Design, Blog, Saving By Design
Michael Lehrer Interview with Lance A. Williams
Architectural Design, Energy Design for Schools, Energy Efficiency, Saving By Design, sustainablility
Green Schools Spotlight: Q&A with Samer Alzubaidi
The Power of the Sun, inCA Productions, 2005
California Green School Summit Highlights Prop. 39 Funding at Mid-Course
Q&A with USGBC’s Mahesh Ramanujan
Okapi Architecture
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info@okapiarchitecture.com
© Okapi Architecture 2019
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Michelle Teheux: Much to admire in Europe, US
Michelle Teheux
Nov 9, 2011 at 12:01 AM Nov 9, 2011 at 9:16 AM
Five years into my marriage, I feel comfortable saying that Dutch and American cultures are not really all that different. And, yet, there are differences. One is in lifestyles. There’s no question that Europeans have significantly more leisure and family time.
Last week, my family had the pleasure of hosting two of my Dutch husband’s sisters and his twin nieces, who turned 15 while here.
I learned a little more Dutch, and the nieces learned a little more English. We cooked together and swapped recipes.
We introduced a useful new word to the nieces — “crap” — as in the Halloween candy and the Lucky Charms cereal that so charmed the girls that they took a box back with them. (On long car rides, we often heard the phrase, “Let’s eat some crap!” before bits of Halloween candy were passed around).
To these visitors, I was proud to show off my state: Illinois. We visited the Sears Tower (yes, it’s still the Sears Tower to me), The Bean at Millennium Park, the Shedd Aquarium and other sights in Chicago.
We saw the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum and the capitol building in Springfield, Ill. We also visited Wildlife Prairie State Park and many other places.
The girls’ reactions to the views from the observation deck on the Sears Tower reminded me of my reaction to the view from the top of Cologne Cathedral in Germany. Both structures were once the tallest in the world — reminding me again of how many things here and there are similar and how many things are different.
Five years into my marriage, I feel comfortable saying that Dutch and American cultures are not really all that different. We haven’t had any huge cultural divides to jump.
And, yet, there are differences. One is in lifestyles. There’s no question that Europeans have significantly more leisure and family time.
One of my husband’s sisters works four nine-hour days per week and gets enough vacation each year that she can take it a month at a time with plenty left over. She seemed surprised to hear that 50-hour and 60-plus-hour weeks are common here and that you would likely get only one week vacation your first year, and in most cases receive no pension.
One difference seems to be that the ratio between the pay of workers and top executives is different there. The workers there do better. The top executives here do better. (Interestingly, my husband expressed shock at what he considered to be a very poor work ethic among his co-workers at his first American job. He must have stood out because, after a quick series of promotions, he ended up a supervisor there. Perhaps there is a relationship between poor pay and poor work ethic?)
Another difference might be attributable to the money we as Americans pay to support our war machine. The U.S. spends more on its military than every other country in the world combined and has bases around the globe. It’s been suggested before that U.S. military spending on behalf of other countries might explain how they have more money to devote to their domestic spending. Are we, in effect, helping to subsidize Europeans’ lifestyles?
One of the sisters asked me why people would be against making changes in society that would reduce the gap between the haves and the have-nots.
I explained that those who think the system is just dandy as it is accuse anyone who thinks there’s room for improvement of being either a Socialist or a Nazi or both (uh, those terms both just mean “un-American,” right?). Or, they say we’re just looking for a handout from the rich — even those of us who are already supporting ourselves by working our tail ends off.
I didn’t need to be fluent in Dutch to understand her snort. The fact is, there is much to admire about both American and European cultures. There are things we do better. There are things they do better.
One of the sisters suggested it would be nice if we could combine the best ideas of every country. I couldn’t agree more.
Editor Michelle Teheux may be reached at mteheux@pekintimes.com.
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2006 A-Ec
Marc Ecko Biography
Fashion designer and business executive
Born Marc Milecofsky, in 1972, in New Jersey; married Allison; children: one daughter. Education: Attended Rutgers University.
Addresses: Office —Ecko Unlimited, 40 W. 23rd St., 2nd Flr., New York, NY 10010.
Began designing and customizing clothing while in high school; founded Ecko Unlimited with partners, c. 1993; adopted rhino logo; company nearly folded, 1998; signed licensing deal with the National Football League, 1999; launched magazine Complex , 2002; signed licensing deal with Skechers, 2003; opened Ecko Unlimited flagship store, 2004; introduced tailored clothing line, Marc Ecko "Cut & Sew" collection, 2004; launched video game with Atari, Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure , 2005.
Fashion designer Marc Ecko is a modern Renaissance man, moving from a variety of clothing pieces into publishing, skateboards, and video games, most of which are products of his own company Ecko Unlimited (also written as Ecko Unltd. and ecko unltd.). While his trendy clothes reflected street and hip-hop influences and were marketed to a youthful audience, as Ecko has aged, he has brought mature influences into some of his fashions
for men and added lines for women and children. Recognized by many observers as a powerful businessman and marketing genius, Ecko told the New York Times Magazine 's Rob Walker, "I want people to think of me almost as Willy Wonka. A pop-culture Willy Wonka, crossed with [wealthy businessman] Richard Branson."
Ecko was born Marc Milecofsky in 1972 in New Jersey with his twin sister, Marci. (The name Ecko comes from a family story about the twins' birth. Only his sister was physically on an ultrasound; Ecko appeared as just an echo. His parents did not know they were having twins until he was born.) The twins and their sister were raised in Lakewood, New Jersey, where their parents worked as real estate agents. They attended public schools, which were ethnically diverse, with many white, black, and Latino kids in the same class. From an early age, as young as elementary school, Ecko noticed that the way someone dressed allowed entrance to a social group. He also liked drawing and comic books.
As Ecko entered his teens, he became interested in hip-hop culture, rap music, and graffiti art. What became his career began while Ecko was still a high school student at Lakewood High School. Hip-hop and rap music were still relatively underground and the songs and clothes were hard to come by. In the mid-1980s, Ecko began doing clothing design in the family garage, using it as both a studio and showroom to design T-shirts. Because of the importance of customization of clothing in hip-hop, he also began offering this service as well. He made money on the side by customizing clothes for people from his school. Ecko even airbrushed girls' fingernails.
After graduating from Lakewood High School, Ecko studied pharmacy at the Rutgers School of Pharmacy. He did a little graffiti, but mostly created elaborate drawings in books. It was at this time that he took the tag name of Ecko, which he later adopted as his last name. Ecko soon believed that selling T-shirts would be profitable. With investments from his twin sister and friend Seth Gerszberg of several thousand dollars, Ecko founded Ecko Unlimited with them and had some success with the company's first six T-shirt designs. He became known nationwide when this first line of T-shirts was featured on the popular morning show Good Morning America in 1993. In the early days, he primarily focused on making T-shirts, some of which were worn by some of the leading artists of the day like Chuck D., founder of rap group Public Enemy, and filmmaker Spike Lee.
In this time period, urban clothing was not yet embraced by major retailers, but Ecko Unlimited was able to sell its T-shirts in boutiques. They sold well, and Ecko moved into more hip-hop and skater styles. A few years after its founding, the partners adopted the company's signature rhino logo. Ecko decided that his company needed a logo after it appeared at a fashion industry event in Las Vegas, the M.A.G.I.C. Show, for the first time. The choice of the rhino was both personal and symbolic. It was inspired by Ecko's father's collection of rhino statues. Ecko told Julee Greenberg of WWD , "People thought I was crazy. They had no idea why I would pick such a strange-looking animal for my logo. At first it was just an animal, but through time it has taken on new meanings. It is the only four-legged animal that can't walk backwards and by nature it is known as clumsy, which I think has come to represent us as a company."
Ecko Unlimited began having financial problems as it expanded into other types of clothing, such as jeans and jackets, and faced difficulties with manufacturers. While Ecko's clothes were popular, Ecko Unlimited lost about $6 million over the first six years of its existence. By 1998, Gerszberg and Ecko wondered if they should fold Ecko Unlimited or listen to advisors who told them to apply for bankruptcy. They tried to make a deal with another, more-established clothing company in an effort to save their company, but no one was interested. Gerszberg and Ecko managed to save themselves for the short term by having their largest creditor give them a loan to attempt a revitalization of Ecko Unlimited by using better suppliers and more designers than just Ecko.
After the 1998 low, Ecko Unlimited soon rebounded. The retail industry was changing with large retailers embracing the urban/hip-hop look. The company's clothing was featured in hip-hop magazines, not just on rap artists, but also on white and Latino stars as well as sports stars. The use of the rhino as the symbol came to be seen as particularly innovative. Walker of the New York Times Magazine found the choice inspired, writing, "In retrospect, Ecko says that using a visual symbol that had no connective tissue to hip-hop and leaving it open to interpretation were crucial. It looked cool as a graphic, was backed by marketing that played up individuality and achievement rather than you'll-never-be-this-cool exclusivity and yet was unspecific enough that made it made sense on rappers like RZA and Fat Joe, but also on [television character] A.J. Soprano, an archetype of the smirky teen suburbs."
Within several years, sales for Ecko Unlimited were in the hundreds of millions of dollars. While sales in 1998 totaled $36 million, two years later they more than doubled to $96 million and the company was able to pay off all its debts. In 2002, the men's sportswear division of Ecko Unlimited had revenues of at least $300 million. By 2004, Ecko's company's retail sales were more than a half a billion dollars, not including the licensing fees for some products like shoes and baby clothes. Sales grew over this time in part because Ecko Unlimited continually added more products and brands to become a lifestyle company.
Ecko Unlimited served as an umbrella for at least 12 distinct brands. The Ecko Unlimited name was attached to men's wear, while Eckored and Femme Arsenal were for women. Outerwear was sold under the name Ecko Unlimited Function, while Mark Ecko Leather focused on leather goods. Children's wear was sold under the names Ecko Unlimited Boys and Eckored Girls. There were also Marc Ecko watches, Marc Ecko gloves, Marc Ecko Footwear for men, women and children, and a line of cosmetics. Ecko also owned Zoo York, a brand of skateboards and related clothing and gear, and made the clothes for G-Unit, a clothing line for the rapper 50 Cent.
While not every deal Ecko has tried has worked out—for example, he negotiated with female rapper Eve to do her clothing line, but failed to reach an agreement—the contracts he did reach were sometimes quite high profile. In 1999, he inked a licensing deal with the National Football League (NFL) to create a sportswear line targeted at young men and women. The NFL wanted Ecko to bring a youthful appeal to its apparel. In 2003, Ecko signed a foot-wear licensing deal with Skechers to create shoes for both men and women. He also had a line of products specifically created for discount retailer Target.
As Ecko Unlimited continued to grow, he signed a lease in 2004 for the company's flagship store on 42nd Street in New York City. Ecko himself was a husband and father by this time, and in his early thirties. As he aged, he wanted his clothes to evolve with him. In 2004, he introduced the Marc Ecko "Cut & Sew" collection. This line focused on tailored clothing for men and a different logo. Instead of the trademark rhino, "Cut & Sew" featured a pair of sewing shears. Of this evolution, Ecko told Samantha Critchell of the Associated Press, "I design for people I know. They [the garments] are for myself, following my consumption tendencies. I am growing up with our customer. The moment in your life when you throw your back out, you realize you can't do slinky, clingy fabrics anymore."
Ecko used the success of his fashion empire to try to conquer new worlds. In 2002, he launched a magazine called Complex. With a circulation of about 325, 000, it was a lifestyle magazine targeted at young men which was advertised on the tags of his clothing. Three years after the launch of Complex , Ecko reached another goal with the launch of his first video game. A big fan of video games himself, Ecko had already allowed his clothing and the rhino logo to appear in a number of other games. Created in conjunction with Atari, Ecko had a hands-on role in the creation of Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure.
This game returned to Ecko's love of graffiti art. In Contents Under Pressure , gamers play a graffiti artist who is practicing his craft in the fictional city of New Radius. The artist must tag walls with the assistance of well-known graffiti artists like Future while dodging cops. Creating non-fashion works like video games helped further publicize Ecko's name and made him a celebrity in his own right. Ecko particularly took video games seriously, with strong opinions on what was wrong with the industry and what worked from the perspective of a serious gamer. He hoped to make more video games in the future, developing the "Getting Up" name as a brand. Ecko told the publication Official US Playstation , "I think ultimately, as we build the brand, we'll move the product toward [more customization]. I even see derivative products we can take with the Getting Up brand and do more free-form, open-environment, multiplayer experiences—pit one crew against another. We can get there, but first I wanted to put the flag in the ground and create a really cool graffiti experience, and I knew to do that, I needed to have some other hook that would get the cynic on board."
As a successful businessman, Ecko also believed in charity work. He worked on both a national and international level with less-fortunate young people. Ecko funded an orphanage in the Ukraine and also gave funds to maintain the world's rhino population. Though a philanthropist, he liked movies and music as well, owning five iPods with around 30, 000 songs total. He also collected toys and sneakers. Yet Ecko still thought of himself as a graffiti artist, albeit on a bigger scale. He told Official US Playstation , "My whole career is the ultimate form of graffiti. There are going to be people that hate just like there are the skaters that hated on Tony Hawk, but there are also these artists out there that the broader part of pop culture should be honoring. There's not a set aesthetic that has had more influence on popular culture than graffiti over the years.… I'm taking this culture and putting it on a pedestal. Yeah, I'm making a commercial product, but I'm bombing the system.… I make blazers and woven shirts—to me, getting my name inside that label is the same … high that I used to get when I tagged the backseat of a bus. It's the same hustle and swagger that a kid has, to want to make something from nothing."
ANSA English Media Service, January 9, 2004.
Associated Press, May 10, 2004.
Brandweek , May 14, 2001.
DNR , August 16, 1999, p. 8; November 19, 2001, p. 24.
Entertainment Weekly , April 8, 2005, p. 16.
Footwear News , November 3, 2003, p. 4; December 1, 2003, p. 4.
New York Times , May 4, 2003, p. ST13.
New York Times Magazine , July 10, 2005, p. 24.
Official US Playstation , June 1, 2005, p. 34.
WWD , August 28, 2003, p. 9.
"Bios, " Marc Ecko Enterprises, http://www.marc eckonenterprises.com/bios/bios1.shtml (February 12, 2006).
"The Company, " eckounltd.com, http://www.ecko unltd.com/abouteckounltd/thecompany.shtml (February 12, 2006).
"Mark Ecko, " nymag.com, http://www.newyork metro.com/fashion/fashionshows/designers/bios/marcecko/ (February 12, 2006).
— A. Petruso
Marc Ecko Biography forum
Richard Eberhart Biography
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The Rise And Fall Of The Music Industry Rolling Stone contributing editor Steve Knopper chronicles the rise of the record industry — and its subsequent digital-age collapse — in his new book, Appetite For Self-Destruction.
The Rise And Fall Of The Music Industry
January 14, 20094:03 PM ET
Heard on Fresh Air
Rolling Stone contributing editor Steve Knopper chronicles the rise of the record industry — and its subsequent digital-age collapse — in his new book, Appetite For Self-Destruction.
Knopper's work has also appeared in Spin, Esquire, The Washington Post and Wired.
Excerpt: 'Appetite For Self-Destruction'
January 14, 200910:27 AM ET
Steve Knopper
Appetite For Self-Destruction
By Steve Knopper
One man almost destroyed the music industry in the late '70s.
His name was Steve Dahl, and he was a roundish Chicago rock disc jockey with huge glasses and a shaggy bowl cut. In a maniacally nasal voice, he pioneered shock radio with his outrageous stunts. Once, during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, he made random on-air calls to Iran and savagely mocked the first person with a foreign accent to answer. But the WLUP-FM DJ didn't find widespread recognition until he started smashing Donna Summer records in the studio, calling to arms a crazed group of followers he dubbed the Insane Coho Lips.
Dahl's hatred for disco ran deep and personal. He had taken a long road to his first Chicago job, dropping out of high school at age sixteen to work at an underground station near his home in La Cañada, California. He scored a few DJ gigs and married a young woman who'd called one night to request Leonard Cohen's 'Suzanne.' Naturally, they divorced. But when he was nineteen, less than a year after they'd split up, Dahl sat in his Subaru in front of her house, waiting all night for her to come out. This was the 1970s, so rather than having him arrested for stalking, she used personal connections to land him a morning-show job at a struggling station as far away as possible, in Detroit.
Almost overnight, Dahl turned his new station's ratings around. Big-time Chicago rock stations came calling, and Dahl accepted a job at WDAI, where he worked until it abruptly switched formats in 1978, dropping Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones and transforming into 'Disco 'DAI.' Pictures of the Village People started appearing in its promo ads. Dahl, a rock guy, had no choice but to quit. He accepted a morning-show job at another Chicago rock station, WLUP.
'I was just mad at my previous employer,' the now-white-haired, still-Hawaiian-shirt-wearing Dahl says. 'And Midwesterners didn't want that intimidating [disco] lifestyle shoved down their throats.' The antidisco campaign became the centerpiece of Dahl's morning show with cohost Garry Meier. They invited listeners to call in with their most hated disco songs; after airing a snippet, Dahl and Meier would drag the needle across the record and queue the sound of an explosion. The show was wildly popular. When the duo offered membership cards to a kill-disco organization, ten thousand listeners called the station within a week to sign up. Dahl took the show on the road, packing a suburban Chicago nightclub with a 'death to disco' rally. But what was so intimidating about people dancing in nightclubs? Why did rock fans in Chicago hate disco so much?
Because it sucked. That's why.
The songs, the dancing, the roller-skating, the disco balls, the heavy makeup — it was all so massive, so goofy, and over the top. Andy Warhol, Studio 54, Skatetown, USA, 'Disco Duck' — people were getting sick of this stuff. Besides, in order to make it with a lady, during the disco craze, a guy had to learn how to dance And wear a fancy suit! It was an outrage. (It's also possible these rock fans hated disco because black and gay people liked it, although nobody talked about that in public.) Whatever the reason, the backlash was inevitable. Disco needed to be destroyed, and Dahl appointed himself the pied piper for this enraged crowd. He found a compatriot in twenty-eight-year-old Mike Veeck, a failed rock guitarist. 'I loathed disco,' Veeck said later.
Veeck happened to have an excellent forum for what would become the decisive event in Dahl's campaign: Comiskey Park, home of the Chicago White Sox. He was the son of then-Sox owner Bill Veeck, a seventy-five-year-old baseball legend. (When he owned the Cleveland Indians, the elder Veeck made Larry Doby the first black player in the American League.) With his father's permission, Mike Veeck and Dahl hatched a plan. On July 12, 1979, the White Sox were to play a night doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers at Comiskey. In the days leading up to the game, Dahl announced on the air that White Sox fans could enter the park for just 98 cents if they brought a disco record. Sister Sledge, Bee Gees, 'I Will Survive' — it didn't matter. Everything would be obliterated.
The Sox averaged sixteen thousand fans at their home games that year, and they expected a few thousand people more than usual because of Dahl's stunt. They were completely unprepared for the army of fifty-nine thousand fans who showed up at the first game, carrying stacks of Bee Gees albums in their arms. Another fifteen thousand spilled along the surrounding South Side streets. They wore Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath T-shirts, smashed bottles on the ground, smoked God-knows-what and chanted their almighty rallying cry: 'Disco sucks!' In the stands, sharp-edged records flew like Frisbees. The players were clearly unsettled. The Tigers' Ron LeFlore wore his batting helmet in center field during the first game.
Dahl was surprised. And nervous. He had prepared for a monumental failure, not thousands of minions waiting for him to lead. Wearing a green army helmet the size of a fishbowl and a matching jacket with wide lapels, looking like a hippie Colonel Klink, Dahl arrived in center field in a military Jeep between the two games.
'I didn't think that anyone would even show up,' Dahl says today. The Sox fireworks crew had rigged crates of records to explode with dynamite. He managed a few incomprehensible screams and his best anti-disco catchphrase from the radio (borrowed from a popular Second City TV sketch of the time): 'That blowed up real good!' It worked. Unwittingly, he rallied ten thousand fans to storm the field, climbing down the foul poles and turning the record explosion in center field into a raging bonfire. Sox officials hesitated to call in the cops for fear of stirring things up even further. They allowed fans to linger, shredding the dirt and turf beyond recognition. The senior Veeck and legendary baseball announcer Harry Caray impotently attempted to exhort people back to their seats over the loudspeaker. For thirty-seven minutes, Sox fans, disco haters, and all-purpose rabble-rousers united in a massive jamboree of public destruction.
One such Sox fan was a twenty-one-year-old South Sider who'd been sitting in the upper deck with six or seven of his friends from the neighborhood. One by one, they jumped over the barrier, then climbed fifteen feet down to the field. They were delighted to discover they could slide unmolested into third base and casually pick up bats and other paraphernalia their favorite players had left behind. The man was Michael Clarke Duncan, a stockroom employee at the Carson Pirie Scott department store downtown. You may recognize the name: He later broke into Hollywood and earned an Oscar nomination for his work as the hulking, doomed prisoner in The Green Mile, co-starring Tom Hanks. None of the many TV newsclips of the scene captures Duncan, which is surprising, given that he stood 6'5', wore a huge Afro, and was one of the few black people on the field.
Duncan was also perhaps the only disco fan on the Comiskey field that night. 'I loved disco music back then!' recalls Duncan, now fifty-one, a veteran of more than seventy movies, including The Island and Sin City. 'I had the four-inch-wide shoes, the belt buckle, the tight pants with no pockets.' He'd been to tons of all-night-dancing clubs, and his sister often let him borrow her stacks of Donna Summer records.
'After Steve Dahl did that, nobody wanted to wear the platform shoes in the following weeks. Nobody wanted to wear the bellbottoms,' Duncan says. 'People were like, 'Ah, that's getting kind of old now, things are kind of changing.' '
Dahl, who went to work the next morning expecting to be fired, wound up a bigger celebrity than ever. The week of the demolition, July 8 to 14, Chic's 'Good Times' hit the Top 10 — one of six disco songs to do so. On August 18, three disco singles were in the Top 10. By September 22, the number dropped to zero. 'It seemed pretty immediate. Bars that had gone disco immediately seemed to turn back into rock 'n' roll clubs. Live music began to thrive again,' Dahl says. 'All I know is that the Bee Gees and KC, of KC and the Sunshine Band, are still mad at me.'
From APPETITE FOR SELF DESTRUCTION by Steve Knopper. Copyright © 2009 by Steve Knopper. Reprinted by permission of Free Press, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc, NY.
Analysts: Apple's iTunes Alters Digital Music Business June 24, 2003
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Letter to the editor: An update on SGA from Senator Shane Warren
by Rebecca Najera
By Shane Warren | SGA Senator
To the Student Body of UNT:
The Senate, according to Article VI, Section 6 of the Student Constitution, has the power to establish all powers of the Supreme Court.
Knowing this, we declared a mistrial over the Supreme Court decision that presidents and vice presidents can’t ever be out of office hours at the same time during the summer, when student activity is dead enough that only 10 senators have two meetings during a three-month period.
We did this because we believe the decision violated the Senate’s established procedures for Supreme Court (Bylaws, Article IV) by refusing to hold a hearing or allowing a potential President to defend her term in court. The incumbent president decided to veto the mistrial because he believed the decision wasn’t a hearing and therefore didn’t have to guarantee the elected representatives their rights in court as established by our bylaws (Article IV). He also thought that the mistrial invalidated the Supreme Court’s power. This was untrue, which is why a separate bill addressed the Supreme Court’s power grab. I believe that this veto allowed the Supreme Court to blatantly ignore the protections the Student Senate enumerated for people affected by their rulings and invalidate an elected president in the process. That’s why I moved to override. The result? The Senate didn’t vote to override the veto. It also didn’t vote against overriding the veto. How is this possible? When I tried to put the override on the agenda, the speaker decided to allow senators to vote on whether to consider it or not. A little over one-third voted against deliberating, so no vote took place. The speaker, who is also the incumbent vice president, has the unilateral ability to change the agenda of a senate meeting at will. She has done it before and chose not to this time. This silenced any transparent discussion about the decision to override a veto which allowed the Supreme Court to invalidate an elected president’s term because her and her vice president have overlapping internships for a few summer weeks.
After that debacle, I read a bill which condemned the Supreme Court’s decision to impose new duties on the president not outlined in the Constitution. I did so for three reasons: one, the Constitution (Article V, Sections 6 and 7) lays out the duties of our president and vice president and neither of them include office hours.
Two, the Constitution (Article V, Section 6, Subsection K) clearly states that elected senators are the people who assign additional duties to the president and states that the president assigns additional duties to the vice president (Article V, Section 7, Section A).
Three, any Supreme Court effort to impose additional presidential duties without consulting the senate or referencing the presidential duties section of the constitution is a power grab and must be opposed.
Over half of the student senate voted against this principle. Some of the opposing senators had honest points; one mentioned that the Constitution is self-evident and shouldn’t need reaffirming, while others pointed out that resolutions aren’t meant for internal SGA conflict and/or that we approved the Supreme Court’s appointment. However, a group that had a heavy overlap with senators who didn’t want to defend their decision to uphold the incumbent president’s veto decided to accuse me of personal bias, laugh every time I spoke, rolled their eyes and openly berate me to their colleagues. Let me be clear: Refusing to allow deliberation over your own choices while attacking a colleague and mocking them for their own is an embarrassment for SGA and validates pretty much every stereotype students have about it.
To be fair, an overwhelming majority of senators approved helpful legislation like endorsing a harm-reduction approach for student substance use issues, asking for a long-term therapists for students and asking UNT to try and make our faculty as racially diverse as the student body. At the same time, approximately one-third thought affirming our power to seriously represent students and check a president ourselves was worth mocking and attacking me over. What this means for the quality of the overall SGA institution and/or its feelings toward our president and vice president-elects, I’ll leave for my fellow students decide.
Shane Warren
C.L.A.S.S. SGA Senator
Rebecca Najera
I love Google, but our curiosity is at stake
Cartoon: Boney Sanders for President
Intramural insult
Better lighting, more student spaces, less walls, better plumbing systems and more are being worked on in major ren… https://t.co/Mj7XQE2MiK
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In big-money times, NBA teams face biggest risks
By Tim Reynolds
TORONTO, ONTARIO - JUNE 10: Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors warms up prior to Game Five of the 2019 NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena on June 10, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) ** OUTS - ELSENT, FPG, CM - OUTS * NM, PH, VA if sourced by CT, LA or MoD ** (Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)
Golden State owner and CEO Joe Lacob often uses the same phrase when asked about how much money the Warriors are willing to spend to keep a championship-contending roster together.
“Whatever it takes,” Lacob says.
In the NBA, those words have never been as weighty.
The summer spending starts Sunday in the NBA, with teams and players set to reach agreements on more than $2 billion — maybe even more than $3 billion — in new deals over the next few days. It's a risk-reward play, one where teams must dig deeply into their pockets to land the best players and hope that those massive financial commitments don't end up crippling their franchise for years.
The Warriors are likely to offer Kevin Durant a $221 million, five-year deal that will come with two big pills for the team to swallow. One, he'll be on a $38 million scholarship next season while he recovers from Achilles surgery and cannot play. And two, Durant would be owed more than $50 million when his then-35-year-old self plays the final year of that contract.
Not to mention, the Warriors are expected to commit $190 million to keep Klay Thompson — who'll miss several months with a knee injury — for the next five years. Plus, Stephen Curry will make an NBA-record $40 million next season. So if the Warriors keep Thompson and Durant they'll be paying their three best players about $110 million next year and two of those guys are dealing with major injuries.
“We run a business, so it's not being completely fiscally irresponsible,” Warriors general manager Bob Myers said of the team's approach to spending. “But every time I've went to Joe and it seems that it'll benefit us competitively, he's responded affirmatively and said `OK.’ So there's never really been a hard budget, so to speak.”
That's not the case with most teams.
That's part of the reason why this free-agent period is so intriguing.
The Los Angeles Lakers are betting their future on Anthony Davis — he'll be officially acquired via trade on July 6 — and general manager Rob Pelinka's ability to land another big-name free agent to play with Davis and LeBron James. Brooklyn and New York have tons of money to spend, yet neither seems to have a clear vision yet on which players will actually be getting that cash. Toronto will be setting team spending records next season if it is to keep Kawhi Leonard and have a chance for a second straight NBA title.
Philadelphia has tough decisions to make about who to put around Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. Houston spent a ton last year and will try to land Jimmy Butler in a sign-and-trade. The Los Angeles Clippers are likely to get a meeting with Leonard, and will be looking to add to their solid core. And plenty of teams like Denver and Portland will be looking to add good complementary pieces.
“People say it's about winning,” Denver general manager Tim Connelly said after his team won 54 regular-season games and went to the Western Conference semifinals this past season. “If it's about winning, I don't know how we're not 1, 2 or 3 with a bullet.”
Fact is, the dynamics of everything have changed so much in recent years with salaries soaring.
Kobe Bryant was the highest-paid NBA player in the 2015-16 season, pocketing $25 million from the Los Angeles Lakers in what was his final year before retirement.
That was barely three years ago. In the NBA now, that's almost chump change.
In 2022-23, three players — James Harden, Russell Westbrook and John Wall — will have the option of making $47 million for that season alone. Spoiler alert: They're all going to opt in to those deals, because no one could pass up a chance to make $12,000 a minute for an entire regular season. And Wall's contract, combined with his injury issues that kept him off the court for much of last season and may sideline him for the entirety of 2019-20 as well, will undoubtedly serve as a cautionary tale for some clubs.
Plus, there's no guarantee the huge deals pay huge dividends. Or any.
Memphis gave Mike Conley $153 million for five years, then sent him to Utah earlier this month in large part because the numbers no longer made sense for the Grizzlies. Charlotte seems likely to lose Kemba Walker on July 6, partly because it gave Nicolas Batum a $120 million, five-year deal in 2016 and is paying Bismack Biyombo another $17 million next season. Miami is cap-strapped this summer in part because of the big deals it gave in recent years to players like Hassan Whiteside ($98 million) and James Johnson ($60 million) — two players who weren't even Heat starters when last season ended.
So while the NBA championship in 2020 is the immediate goal, teams will be making all their maneuvers starting Sunday with an eye on what the cap balance — and in many cases, the luxury tax bill — will be for years to come.
“I think it all comes down to a timeline, the cycle of your team,” Oklahoma City general manager Sam Presti said. “The reality is that market value for players in free agency, players when they're at the maximum level salary, it's all relative to time.”
For many teams, that time is here starting Sunday.
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'Cinderella' in the gardens, All Lives Matter charity ride and other things you can't miss this week
What are you doing this week?
Newborn Care Class
7 p.m. at Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center, Medical Office Building, 305 Memorial Medical Parkway, Daytona Beach. Taught by a certified happiest baby instructor, this class is aligned with the Happiest Baby Association and teaches tools to calm a crying, fussy baby. The class also addresses tips for practicing safe sleep and reducing the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Cost is $20 per couple. Registration is required and scholarships are available. Call 231-3152 or visit FloridaHospitalBabies.com/classes.
Walking with the Manager
8 a.m. at The Casements, 25 Riverside Drive. Please meet at the entrance. The entire walk will be approximately two miles. Citizens are invited to join in the walk, ask questions, share comments and offer suggestions.
Dinner, Art and a Movie
6 p.m. at the Ormond Memorial Art Museum. The dinner element will be provided by food trucks — Southern State of Mind, The Good Food Truck and Vitamina T Tacos — in the museum parking lot just south of the main building at 78 E. Granada Blvd., from 6 to 8 p.m. Then drop into Free Family Art Night between 6 and 7:30 p.m., followed by a free movie "Cinderella'' at Rockefeller Gardens at 8:30 p.m.
6 to 8 p.m. at the Ormond Beach Gymnastics Center, 432 N. Nova Road. Anyone between the ages of 8-21. An open gym format and there will only be light spotting. Coaches will be on the floor at all times. A waiver to participate must be signed by each person and anyone under 18 years of age must have the waiver signed by a parent. The cost is $5 per participant. Call 676-3250.
Golfn’4 Homeless Prevention
7:30 a.m. at River Bend Golf Club 730 Airport Road. The event will be an 18-Hole Scramble/Best Ball, four person teams, $300 per foursome and $75 for individual players. The golfer’s package will include green fees and cart, coffee and donuts, a cook out lunch in the cool club house, course contests and awards, 50/50 drawing, amazing raffle prizes and great auction items. There is a Hole-in-One Contest Sponsored by Ritchey Buick-Cadillac-GMC, you can will a brand new Buick Encore. Sign up at halifaxurbanministries.org.
SUNDAY, AUG. 7
All Lives Matter Charity Run
11 a.m. at Beaver Bar Daytona, 1105 N. U.S. 1. All Lives Matter Volusia County is looking to raise $5,000 to donate to the following victims of recent shootings: Alton Sterlin, Philando Castile, Lorne Ahrens, Michael Smith, Michael Krol, Patrick Zamarripa and Brent Thompson. The run will start at the Beaver Bar, go to OB's Saloon in DeLand, Safari Lounge in Daytona Beach, Bay 3 Bar in New Smyrna Beach and end at
No Name Saloon in Edgewater. Free food, music and goodies to win. Motorcycles and cars welcome. Anyone interested in donating can search for “All Lives Matter Volusia County on gofundme.com.
Concert 4 Todd Taylor
1 to 6 p.m. at the Beaver Bar Daytona, 1105 N. U.S. 1. Local musician Todd Taylor was injured in a recent motorcycle accident. His knee was shattered into more than 20 pieces, and in the ten days following his accident he had two surgeries, and was in a coma. He is currently starting to wake up, and more diagnostics will be done to gauge the extent of his injuries. Taylor has no health insurance, and will be unable to work for about the next year. Other local musicians are coming together to play a concert to raise money to help assist in paying medical bills and long term care. Search for “Todd Taylor Recovery Fund” on gofundme.com to donate.
MONDAY, AUG. 8
Summer Fun Bling Camp
9 a.m. to noon at the Ormond Beach Memorial Art Museum. In this weeklong camp participants will create accessories to adorn their favorite outfits, such as handbags, hair accessories, jewelry and flavored lip balm. Cost is $112.50 for members and $125 for nonmembers. Call 676-3347.
TUESDAY, AUG. 9
AARP Chapter 1057
10 a.m. at the Ormond Presbyterian Church. Meeting and special program to follow. Meetings held the second Tuesday of every month. Call 252 3547.
Breastfeeding Class
7 p.m. at Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center, Medical Office Building, Classroom B, 305 Memorial Medical Parkway, Daytona Beach. This breastfeeding class is led by an international board certified lactation consultant. Cost is $20. Registration is required and scholarships are available. Call 231-3152 or visit FloridaHospitalBabies.com/classes.
BOX: Save the date!
0.0K Race
5 p.m. at the Ormond Brewing Company, 301 Division Ave. The easiest race you’ll ever run. Cost is $15. Recieve a complimentary beer or non-alcoholic drink in a commemorative pint glass, a 0.0K sticker for their vehicle and a medal, once you cross the finish line. This will be "timed" by Runner's High Race Management.
All net proceeds will be donated to the Veteran's Support Fund, who work to support veterans who reside in the Emory L. Bennett nursing home. The race is also hosted by Team Red White and Blue. Visit teamrwb.org for more info.
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Time testedPublished on June 26, 2019
(left to right) Matt Johnson, Neil Osborne, Dave Genn, Brad Merritt
Photo by: Image provided
Neil Osborne
Co-founder, guitarist, vocalist and song-writer of the rock-combo band 54-40, Neil Osborne thought he might become a teacher or a music producer, but never a musician. Born in Regina, he currently lives in Victoria, but has lived coast to coast across Canada, including Ottawa.
In 1973, he attended Henry Munro Middle School in Ottawa’s Beacon Hill neighborhood, along with actor Tom Cruise and Canadian rocker Bryan Adams. The school lays claim to many notables and teacher Brad Strong of Henry Munro MS says, “It is hard to believe that one school has had so many famous alumni including Neil Osborne, Bryan Adams, Tom Cruise, Tom Green, Glenroy Gilbert, Corey Cowick, Jordan Tannahill and Elizabeth Manley, all of whom have gone on to excel in remarkable and diverse fields.”
Neil’s family moved to Vancouver a few years later where he became interested in music. He met Brad Merritt in high school, and after graduating went to Boston to study at the Berklee College of Music. Brad persuaded Neil to quit after just six months and return to Vancouver to be part of the post-punk scene, inspired by British bands like The Clash and The Cure.
In 1981 Neil and Brad launched their own band at the Smilin’ Buddha Cabaret in East Vancouver. History buff Brad named the band after an 1844 campaign slogan “54-40 or Fight", created by an American Democratic expansionist candidate who wanted to remove control and joint occupancy of a portion of the U.S./Canada border from Great Britain. It would have made all of present-day B.C. part of the U.S.
Their music evolved from grunge, alternative rock, folk, pop and 60s rock and roll, and they debuted their first album Set the Fire in 1984. In the mid-90s their song I Go Blind was covered by Hootie & The Blowfish, and was later featured on the first soundtrack of the popular television show Friends.
Royalties enabled the band to build their own recording studio in Vancouver. In 2017, thirteen albums and forty years later, the band was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame at both the 17th Annual Independent Music Awards (The Indies) and the Canadian Music and Broadcast Industry Awards.
Intuitive and emotive song writing that everyone can relate to is the most important thing for Neil. He credits his wife Geanine Robey for contributing to the band's accomplishments by spending time on the road with them. He's also grateful for the trustworthy company he has kept, including band-mates Brad Merritt, Matt Johnson and Dave Genn. All have played essential roles in shaping the pure quality of their musical journey. Neil has also produced and recorded an album with his daughter Kandle, stressing the importance of being a musician for the right reasons.
What was your big break? In the early 1980s we were doing it all and paid for it ourselves. We had the gumption to write songs and make our first album on our own. We drove down the coast to Los Angeles several times, and record labels in the U.S. started to notice us. We signed with Warner Brothers, which wasn’t the greatest situation in the end, but it was what launched us.
How great is it seeing the reaction of your fans? We feel good because somehow, some way we created a song and got it out there, and it became a hit. A hit song hits people! We are then stewards and caretakers of the song and ensure it is delivered properly. When people come to our shows, many are seeing us live for the first time and they tell us after that they knew every one of the songs we played, but did not know that it was our band who originally wrote them.
Which venues do you enjoy performing at? Every Thanksgiving weekend we play the legendary Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver and are already sold out for this October. In Toronto it is the Horseshoe Tavern. On Lake Muskoka it is the dance hall The KEE to Bala. These are all annual events. We have played at Bluesfest and Barrymore's Music Hall in Ottawa. Our fans like the radio hits that we always play and start singing as soon as we start. I Go Blind and Ocean Pearl are popular favorites.
Is the best yet to come? I’m working on a double-album solo project, which I have never done. I am looking forward to playing more shows with my daughter Kandle. The band is rallying up for our summer shows. We are going to record another album to celebrate our 40th anniversary. It is an amazing feeling to create music that inspires, stands the test of time and touches so many.
Vera Cody
Power of paint
Changing retail landscape
A vision of modern minimalism
Motorized Window Coverings
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It Takes A Village Idiot To Say Kids Belong To State
Posted 04/09/2013 06:35 PM ET
Family: An MSNBC contributor revisits the statist notion that while you gave birth to your children and feed and clothe them, they are only on loan to you by their true parent — a benevolent and all-knowing government.
Melissa Harris-Perry, an African-American professor at Tulane, has endorsed the concept of human ownership by the state, something we thought history would teach her is a bad thing, saying in a promo for MSNBC that "we have to break through our kind of private idea that kids belong to their parents or kids belong to their families and recognize that kids belong to whole communities.
"We have never invested as much in public education as we should have because we've always had a private notion of children; your kid is yours and totally your responsibility. We haven't had a very collective notion of these are our children," Harris-Perry opined.
Our children? It is an idea most famously expressed in recent years by Hillary Clinton in her 1990s best-seller, "It Takes A Village," but it is hardly a new idea.
Collectivists throughout history have said that children do and should belong to the state and that if you control the children, you control the future.
One well-known collectivist echoed such sentiments when he said, "Let me control the textbooks and I will control the state. The state will take youth and give to youth its own education and its own upbringing. Your child belongs to us already... what are you?"
So said Adolf Hitler, who founded a sate-run youth group that bore his name.
Today's statists oppose anything which puts children out of the absolute control of the state, and education is just the start.
They oppose home schooling, even though the children receive the individual attention educators tout, which is provided in a safe environment by people who genuinely love them.
Statists like Ms. Harris-Perry oppose school vouchers and school choice because that puts the decision of what children will be taught — and where — in the hands of parents. Kids are to be herded into re-education camps known as public schools where they cannot pray, pledge allegiance to God and country, but where they can get condoms and free contraceptives because the state knows better.
The state will feed your children breakfast and lunch because the state knows what they should eat. Forget about packing something in that Justin Bieber lunchbox and sending your tot off to school.
The state will send your child home till you accede to its authority. You can be pro-choice but after you choose to have a child all choices, the statists argue, belong to the state.
Many of the societal problems Harris-Perry would solve through state control are, in fact, caused by state intervention or indifference.
Is it the belief that children belong to the state that explains the states' indifference to the disintegration of the family and traditional marriage, particularly in the African-American community where the illegitimacy rate is upwards of 70%?
It disturbs liberals to insist that an intact nuclear family is the best department of health, education and welfare ever devised.
Children raised by two married parents are less likely to be raised in poverty, less likely to do drugs, less likely to be criminals later in life, and more likely to graduate from and do well in school.
National Review editor Rich Lowry recounts how former Texas Sen. Phil Gramm once told a woman, "My educational policies are based on the fact that I care more about my children than you do."
She said, "No, you don't."
Gramm replied, "OK: What are their names?"
We know the names of our children, Ms. Harris-Perry, and we love them more dearly than the state. You can have them when you pry them from our cold, dead, loving arms.
Read More At Investor's Business Daily: http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/040913-651296-msnbc-host-says-children-belong-to-state.htm#ixzz2QA9WJYHH
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2017: More than a troubling year?
2017 has been a deeply troubling year for international security. Geopolitical tensions between established and aspiring nuclear powers returned with a vengeance, US, Russian, European and Middle Eastern powers doubled down on their roles in foreign wars, and the Trump administration attempted to restore climate change denial to the international mainstream. Yet some hope for 2018 springs from the growing popular and political backlash to extreme economic inequality and tax avoidance, as well as the accelerating technological transition from fossil fuels to sustainable energy sources. As for hard security, the prospects for 2018 are very troubling indeed.
Oxford Research Group is concerned with analysing and promoting non-military responses to security challenges and argues that there are increasingly three primary drivers of international conflict. These are: deepening socioeconomic divisions with consequent mass marginalisation; environmental limits of human activity, especially climate disruption; and a global security culture rooted in the control paradigm, a belief that military responses are usually required. This end-of-year briefing draws on this analysis and includes assessments of the first two factors, but most of the emphasis is on the third. This, in turn, concentrates on two major concerns: Western responses to paramilitary violence since the 9/11 attacks and the changing nature of war, especially the move towards remote warfare.
Socioeconomic Divisions
The central issue with socioeconomic divisions is that they are widening as income inequality increases, and this is on top of long-term divisions. According to the 2018 World Inequality Report , in terms of income, between 1980 and 2016 the richest 1% took 27% of the world’s income and the poorest 50% got just 12%.
The Report found that “inequ ality within world regions varies greatly. In 2016, the share of total national income accounted for by just that nation’s top 10% earners (top 10% income share) was 37% in Europe, 41% in China, 46% in Russia, 47% in US-Canada, and around 55% in sub-Saharan Africa, Brazil, and India. In the Middle East, the world’s most unequal region according to our estimates, the top 10% capture 61% of national income.”
Income inequality is one measure of overall inequality since personal wealth is also distributed in a very unequal manner, but what is most significant is that, according to the Report, “Income inequality has increased rapidly in North America, China, India, and Russia. Inequality has grown moderately in Europe. From a broad historical perspective, this increase in inequality marks the end of a post-war egalitarian regime which took different forms in these regions”. This is the context for developments during 2017, in which there was little evidence of the narrowing of the divide. Indeed, in the United States, Congress has just voted in major tax changes that would benefit large corporations and rich individuals the most.
At the same time there were a number of indications of the growing awareness of the dangers of the divisions. Following the earlier publication of the “Panama Papers” detailing the use of tax havens and other methods of tax avoidance, an even larger volume of material was published following a leak to the German newspaper, Süddeutsche Zeitung and subsequent work by 380 journalists from 96 media organisations coordinated by the US-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
These “Paradise Papers” led to further calls for stronger controls over tax havens and other avoidance systems and there were early indications of modest moves in the European Union and Australia. The UK government, which bears ultimate responsibility for the practices of such overseas territories, Crown dependencies and offshore financial centres as Jersey, the Cayman Islands and British Virgin Islands, seems disinclined to alter its approach. Some indication of the controversial nature of the leaks was then shown by the decision of the key offshore company involved, Appleby, to launch legal proceedings against the Guardian and the BBC for breach of confidence.
Also relevant was the manner in which a change in public mood was evident, not least in the UK, in contrast to the previously dominant response to the 2008 financial crisis of public rescue of private financial institutions followed by a decade of austerity. Some political parties of the left were now arguing that there were alternatives and that the austerity path was essentially ideological. In more general terms, though, these were relatively small indicators of possible change, although NGOs and individual researchers in many countries have increasingly challenged conventional economic thinking, even if the direct impact on policy has so far been very limited.
Environmental Limits
Although problems of food resources and water supplies remain critical, they relate increasingly closely to climate disruption stemming from the release of fossil carbon into the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide and methane. In some respects the problem is greater than it was at the start of 2017 in that climate change denial by Russia has been much exacerbated by the election of President Donald J Trump in the United States. There was a certain irony in that in mid-December President Trump announced a new national security strategy which almost entirely downgraded climate disruption as a problem on the very day that the most substantial forest fire disasters for decades were affecting many part of the western United States.
Even here, though, there are indications that the impact of Trump may be less than feared for several reasons. One is that within the United States, many individual cities and states are enacting their own carbon emission controls and another is the willingness of the European Union to press for further controls and China to seek global political leadership on the issue as it moves rapidly into the use of renewable energy.
Moreover, there continue to be impressive technological developments that make the utilisation of renewable energy resources far more economic than in the recent past, with some sources already at or below grid parity with the cost of electricity generated from the burning of fossil carbon. Further developments in solar photovoltaic systems, wind power and energy storage look well-nigh certain to an extent that was not anticipated only five years ago.
There remain two notes of caution – most use of renewable energy is currently to replace fossil carbon in electricity generation, but this makes up little more than a third of overall energy use, transport, industry and space heating consuming almost all the rest. The other is that 2017, in particular, saw further evidence of the accelerating impact of climate disruption, especially in the intensity of tropical storms. While there is some cause for cautious optimism compared with recent years, there remains a requirement for very much stronger political leadership, combined with intense public pressure for change, if the response to potentially catastrophic climate disruption is to be strong enough and come in time.
There are many issues arising from security challenges in 2017, and those examined here would appear to be the most serious, not least in relation to long term trends. These are conflicts in the Middle East and northern Africa, the challenge of North Korea and the emerging security posture of the Trump administration.
Following an extremely intensive air war against the so-called Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria, which is reported to have killed at least 60,000 IS supporters, Iraqi security forces took the remaining centres of population previously controlled by IS. The security forces were supported by the US-led coalition and numerous Shi’a militias, the latter heavily backed by Iran. While victory against IS is being claimed, there are already indications that it is reverting to guerrilla activities while actively encouraging attacks within Western states.
There is little indication that the Shi’a-dominated Iraqi government will reach out to the Sunni minority, and support for IS and similar groups from an aggrieved minority may therefore increase. Meanwhile, the much-increased influence of Iran in Iraq is viewed with great concern in Saudi Arabia making it less likely that the Kingdom can be persuaded to change its disastrous tactics in Yemen.
IS has also lost most of its territory in Syria, where Russian support for Assad has hugely strengthened the regime’s position. While Russian policy has been effective and has increased Russian influence in the region, it has been economically costly at a time of domestic economic retrenchment, and it is highly likely that Russia will experience Islamist attacks at home. A further complication in Syria is that the US-supported attacks on the IS stronghold of Raqqa relied heavily on Syrian Kurd assistance, much to the suspicion of Turkey which considers Syrian Kurdish paramilitaries to be terrorists supporting the secession of its own southeastern regions. Furthermore, while IS is much diminished in Syria, other Islamist paramilitary movements retain support and control territory there.
Over all of this are three factors. Firstly, in the 16+ years of fighting since 9/11 there have been many occasions when Western-led forces claimed to be near victory, first in Afghanistan, then Iraq and more recently Libya. All have proved mistaken. Secondly, 60,000+ ISIS supporters killed means 60,000 families and clusters of friends affected, powerful inducements for at least some to seek retribution. Finally, the “war on terror” is highly active in many areas beyond Iraq and Syria.
Receiving relatively little attention in the Western media for most of the year were the calamitous circumstances in Yemen, the continuing endemic insecurity in Libya and the six-month Islamist control of the city of Marawi in southern Philippines. Mogadishu, the Somali capital, experienced the worst single paramilitary attack since 9/11 when at least 500 people were killed and hundreds injured when a truck bomb exploded alongside a fuel tanker in a crowded district. Control of northern Mali, where almost 150 UN peacekeepers have been killed since 2013, continued to fragment. There was also an upsurge in violent opposition to the Sisi regime in Egypt and its sustained repression of religious opposition. Some analysts rightly see Egypt as a likely environment for the sudden expansion of IS-style movements.
In many of these less publicised zones of the ongoing “war on terror”, US activity has increased markedly since Donald Trump came to power and gave more authority to the US military. Troop numbers in Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq and across much of northern Africa have been increased and, according to The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, air and drone strikes have increased in Afghanistan and Pakistan, doubled in Somalia and tripled in Yemen.
The situation regarding North Korea remains fraught, with the Kim regime determined to develop a nuclear force sufficient to deter the United States from what it is convinced is US determination to destroy it. The clear Trump view is that North Korea will not be allowed to do this, even if military action is required to prevent it. This is of particular concern in relation to Trump’s evolving security strategy. While many elements to this are disjointed, there are two dominant concerns. One has already been mentioned, the US military being given much more authority to act, and this almost certainly means continuing war across much of the Middle East, West Asia and Africa, even after the supposed defeat of IS. The other is Trump’s belief in the utility of limited use nuclear weapons.
The idea of limited nuclear war has long been an element of nuclear strategy for many states including the UK but it has rarely been featured openly as a realistic policy. This alone means that we are returning to some of the most dangerous trends of the Cold War years and this must be recognised and opposed as such.
2017 has been a troubling year in numerous respects, these have been covered in many of the briefings and they collectively add to the need for the work of organisations such as ORG. Even so, this brief survey does also point to challenges to conventional thinking on economic policy and clear signs that there really are stronger prospects for action on climate change. Even in the most difficult area - the aggressive attitudes of some political leaders, notably Donald J Trump, but also Vladimir Putin, Binyamin Netanyahu and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, among others – the level of concern over their world views is strong. It does mean that there is even greater need both to challenge existing policies and promote innovative thinking.
Image credit: NASA/Public Domain
Paul Rogers is Global Security Consultant to Oxford Research Group and Professor of Peace Studies at the University of Bradford. His ‘Monthly Global Security Briefings’ are available from our website. His latest book Irregular War: ISIS and the New Threats from the Margins was published by I B Tauris in June 2016. These briefings are circulated free of charge for non-profit use, but please consider making a donation to ORG, if you are able to do so.
Copyright Oxford Research Group 2017.
Some rights reserved. This briefing is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Licence. For more information please visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/.
Published: 21st December, 2017
Updated: 1st June, 2018
Right-Wing Populism and Climate Change Policy
Populist party platforms are often hostile to policy designed to address climate change. But there has been relatively little attention paid by researchers to links between populism and climate scepticism, and why such a relationship exists.
Africa's Approach to Climate Change Negotiation
Leaders across the Africa have recognised the need to develop policies that will mitigate climate change and allow the continent to adapt to the effects which are already being felt.
Climate Change and Peace Operations
What can UN peace operations, designed primarily to supervise cease-fires and rebuild states after civil wars, do to protect the environment and combat the effects of climate change?
2018: Passing the Buck
2018 has been a quieter year than many expected from the high tensions at the end of 2017. Yet the underlying drivers of global conflict have continued to increase.
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Will Your Son's or Daughter's Campus Be A Caring Community?
Lots of organizations claim to be a “family” or a “community.” A community comes together around common values and beliefs. A community supports its members, and helps them to fulfill their God-given potential. In a community, individuals may be different, but they are not alone; nobody is overlooked; nobody gets lost. Members of communities care about each other.
It’s hard for colleges and universities to be caring communities because of their sheer size. That’s why PacRim is intentionally small.
The size of the group is a major factor in achieving a caring community. How big can a community be and still be a caring community? Estimates vary, but are usually between 150 and 300 people. Yes, you can recognize the names and faces of more than three hundred people, but can you know, interact with, and care about more than three hundred people on a regular basis? Probably not.
I have had the opportunity to study at a number of universities, including Harvard, Oxford, Waseda, University of Hawaii, and University of Southern California. They all had big campuses and they all had good people, but they were just too big to be caring communities. Today, Harvard University has 20,000 students; Oxford University in England has 23,000; Waseda University in Tokyo has 51,000; the University of Southern California has 43,000; and the University of Hawaii at Manoa has 19,000.
Of course, I made friends at each university, and I am blessed to still be in touch with some of those friends. I also appreciated the attempts made by several universities to create small communities within their large campuses.
For example, in my graduate program at USC, I was in a cohort group, and we formed a small informal community of a dozen students. Oxford and Harvard have done their best to support smaller communities through their colleges and residential “houses.” Oxford University consists of 38 small colleges. I attended Oriel College, which today has 300 undergraduates and 200 postgraduate students. The “houses” at Harvard were based on Oxford colleges. When I was at Harvard, I lived at Eliot House, which was designed for 294 students and today has 454 students. Living together and eating together are a good start, but when classes and most activities are university-wide, the sense of community is still weak.
Overall, these universities were too big, and the students too competitive, to be the kind of caring community we have here at PacRim.
PacRim has approximately 160 students, 22 staff, and 30 faculty members. We know each other, we care about each other, and we pay attention to each other. We are not perfect, but we are together. We see each other every day, in and out of classes, and we worship together once a week. It’s what a Christian learning community should be.
PacRim is the best community I have ever been part of. It is not something I take for granted. It’s not something that you should take for granted, either. Will your son or daughter be part of a caring community like ours?
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Omnibus Theatre is a multi-award-winning independent theatre in Clapham, South London. The heart of our ambitious programme, inspired by our building’s literary heritage, lies in both classics re-imagined and contemporary storytelling. We provide a platform for new writing and interdisciplinary work, aiming to give voice to the underrepresented and challenge perceptions. We believe in affordable tickets and theatre for all.
Since opening in 2013 notable in-house productions include Woyzeck (2013), Macbeth (2014), Colour (2015), Mule (2016), Spring Offensive (2017) and Zeraffa Giraffa (2017). Omnibus Theatre is led by Artistic Director Marie McCarthy. We are a registered charity and receive no core funding.
Patrons include Dame Judi Dench, Sir Michael Gambon, Lord Michael Cashman, Matthew Warchus, Sir Richard Eyre and Maggi Hambling.
Our venue is home to our Theatre (90-110 seats) and the Studio Upstairs (80 seats), a café/bar and two performance and rehearsal spaces. To find out more about How We Programme click here. To see What’s On click here.
The Stage Awards Fringe Theatre of the Year finalist, 2019
Off West End Theatre Award winner, 2018
Peter Brook/Royal Court Theatre Support Award, 2016
Omnibus Theatre is a home of storytelling – a small place to encounter big ideas. We are driven by the legacy of our former library building to tell stories, familiar and unknown, in South London and beyond. Our mission is to create theatre that has the power to inspire audiences, to change minds, to bring us together.
Omnibus Theatre nurtures emerging artists and new voices, presenting work that is ambitious and relevant. We are committed to making our work affordable and introducing it to new audiences. You can expect a warm welcome when you step through our doors.
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Dr. Tony Evans
Listen Archives Podcast Watch on Lightsource.com More...
Alternative View - October 30, 2017
The King’s Servants
My Kingdom is not of this world. If My Kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My Kingdom is not of this realm. - (John 18:36)
Too many believers today are trying to find fulfillment and significance through human means. They are trying to discover their destinies through man’s methods. However, man’s methods have never accomplished God’s goals. Jesus revealed that fully when He answered Pilate straightforwardly. Jesus said, “My Kingdom is not of this world. If My King- dom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My Kingdom is not of this realm” (John 18:36).
In essence, He said, “My method reflects My source.” As believers, we are called to be in the world, but not of the world. Similarly, a boat is made to be in the water but not of the water. If the boat begins to be of the water and starts taking on water inside of it, it will soon go down.
To be in the world and yet not of the world means that worldliness does not define your decisions, relationships, priorities, or even the cadence of how you flow. The King and His kingdom controls your methodology. You seek Him first.
Reflection: How important is it that a Christian be in the world? How can one be in the world but not of the world? Where is your own experience on “in, but not of ” out of balance?
Father, help me to let go of my own agenda and my own methods. Enable me to trust You in how things happen, and to trust that You have a way to accomplish Your will in my life. I give You thanks in advance for all You are doing in and through me.
Watch Online Videos of Dr. Tony Evans and The Urban Alternative at LightSource.com
Listen to Dr. Tony Evans Online Broadcasts at OnePlace.com.
Overcoming Emotional Strongholds
Weighed down by emotional strongholds, depression, anger, anxiety or others? In this new 5 CD compilation, Tony offers you a solution. You'll also get Tony's new book, Overcoming Addictive Behavior, as a thanks for your gift of any amount. You CAN embrace healing and find liberation. Request your CD series and brand new book with your gift of any amount.
About The Alternative
The Urban Alternative is the national ministry of Dr. Tony Evans and is dedicated to restoring hope and transforming lives through the proclamation and application of the Word of God.
About Dr. Tony Evans
Dr. Tony Evans is founder and senior pastor of the 10,000-member Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, founder and president of The Urban Alternative, former chaplain of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, and present chaplain of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks. His radio broadcast, The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, can be heard on more than 1000 US radio outlets daily and in more than 130 countries.
Contact The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans
E-mail: info@tonyevans.org
Website: http://tonyevans.org/
The Urban Alternative
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Crisis in Yemen: what the media is getting wrong
It is important to stop perpetuating misconceptions about the current crisis (i.e., that it’s a sectarian conflict or proxy war among Iran and Saudi Arabia) that make for a good – albeit largely unfounded – story.
Steven A. Zyck
Houthis march in celebration of the Prophet's birthday, Sana'a, 2013. Luke Somers/Demotix. All rights reserved.Watching the media coverage of Yemen’s most recent crisis, it is easy to get a sense that a radical, Iranian-backed and relatively new rebel movement has seized control of the government in a coup d’état. Media reports tell us that the Houthis, a movement associated with the Zaydi branch of Shia’a Islam, is a new group that engineered a coup – and that they are inadvertently creating new opportunities for Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Much of this is at best half-truth and requires some crucial corrections.
1. The Houthis aren’t new
The Houthi movement is not, as recently portrayed in the press, a new or formerly-marginal group. The Houthis fought and won or survived six rounds of conflict with the Yemeni military between 2004 and 2010. But the group was first founded more than three decades ago as essentially an ethno-religious pride organisation dedicated to ensuring that Zaydi youth in northern Yemen didn’t overlook – as had Sunni-crafted textbooks – the more than 1,000 years that Hashemite Zaydi imams ruled much of contemporary Yemen. This movement, known then as Shabab al-Mumin (Believing Youth), eventually turned political and, starting in 2004, involved anti-government protests against the government in Sana’a for its collaboration with the United States, Israel’s most powerful foreign backer. It was a government crackdown on these demonstrations that ultimately led to violence and the strengthening of a militant wing, known as Ansarullah, around the Houthis.
2. The Houthis didn’t want to overthrow the government
While much of the media coverage suggests that the Houthis engineered a coup, it is important to note that they have generally been hesitant to govern. As Helen Lackner noted in a recent article, the Houthis could have easily seized control of the capital and taken over the government, and could have done so months ago. Instead, they chose – since first entering Sana’a in September 2014 – to slowly encircle President Hadi and his government in hopes that they would form what Lackner calls a ‘puppet’ government to present to the international community.
It appears that President Abdu Rabbu Mansur Hadi, his prime minister and his cabinet all resigned not due to pressure from the Houthis. Instead, they resigned to spite the Houthis and essentially to put the ball back in their court – letting them sink or swim in the quagmire they had helped to create.
Even in parts of the Sa’ada governorate in northern Yemen long controlled by the Houthis, the movement has been unwilling to govern in a comprehensive sense and instead has allowed the central government and foreign aid agencies to continue providing key services. Yes, the Houthis have provided security and have adjudicated disputes through efficient local courts, but they have not tried to provide basic services in the same way that Hamas does in Gaza or Hezbollah does in parts of Lebanon. This is because the Houthis have relatively little recent bureaucratic or legislative expertise, lack the resources to undertake large-scale service provision, and acknowledge that their popularity could wane if they try and fail to deliver public goods. This is just what President Hadi had in mind when he resigned: the Houthis will either fail to run the government effectively or will withdraw rather than take on the country’s myriad political, security, and economic challenges (several of which Lackner discusses in her recent article).
3. The Houthis aren’t Iranian proxies, and Iran has little to do with the current situation
Much of the media has reiterated this suspicion that the Houthis are essentially an Iranian proxy or client along the same lines as Hezbollah and are intended to threaten Saudi Arabia. While relations between the Houthis and Iran are primarily a matter of speculation, it is important to note a few things. First, the Houthis are deeply proud and opposed to external interference and would be unlikely to follow any dictates from Tehran. Second, the branches of Shia Islam practiced among Iranians and Yemen’s Shia’a are different, and Zaydi Islam is generally closer to the Shafi’i school of Islam practiced in Yemen than it is to Iran’s Twelver Shi’ism. Thirdly, the Houthis have not demonstrated the sorts of generous financial resources or relatively sophisticated weaponry that Iran traditionally bestows upon its clients in Syria and Lebanon. Lastly, aside from a brief period in 2008-2009, the Houthis haven’t necessarily entered Saudi soil or taken any actions against Saudi Arabia – as one would expect if the group was part of an Iranian plot to destabilise the Kingdom.
Much of the suspicion about Iran’s role comes from US and Saudi officials who see Iran around every corner. In early 2013 the US and Yemeni governments reportedly seized some Chinese-made weapons that they claim were from Iran and bound for the Houthis. However, little evidence of the Iranian connection was ever released, and the US has a history of attributing weapons to Iran with little evidence (and even where allied intelligence agencies reach fundamentally different conclusions). It would be exceptionally difficult for Iran to smuggle vast amounts of weapons to the Houthis given the sheer logistics involved, and the fact that the weapons would need to circumnavigate the Arabian Peninsula and head through some of the most heavily patrolled waters in the world. Besides, as one of the best armed countries in the world – and a recipient of US military assistance – it’s not as though the Houthis didn’t have alternative sources of weaponry.
Furthermore, the Houthis have enough of an ally in former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who stepped down amid the Arab Spring but who retains significant control over parts of the country’s security services. Saleh instructed his loyalists in the military and in elite security units to step down both last September, when the Houthis first entered the capital, and in recent weeks as they rather easily surrounded numerous key government institutions.
4. AQAP or IS could benefit from the chaos, but terrorism in Yemen is hardly the Houthis’ fault.
AQAP, based in Yemen, is widely considered the most capable Al Qaeda franchise. The group has long benefited from the absence of government control over a significant portion of Yemeni soil, and further chaos could expand the AQAP’s ability to operate with impunity. But let’s be careful not to blame this too much on the Houthis’ actions over the past several months. AQAP has long had an ability to operate relatively freely in parts of Yemen, particularly since the country’s security services fragmented among different political factions during and since the 2011 Arab Spring demonstrations there. Indeed, if anyone is enabling AQAP, it’s not the Houthis but instead former President Saleh and those other powerful political figures, particularly the al-Ahmar family, who refuse to help de-politicise the security forces and allow them to operate more effectively.
Furthermore, radical Islamic clerics friendly with past and current regime figures in Yemen – and Saudi support given to increasingly radical forms of Sunni Islam there – owe much more credit for cultivating and enabling AQAP. If anything, the Houthis are going to be a potent ally in helping to counter AQAP and perhaps Islamic State if they gain a meaningful following in Yemen (which is something else the media has reported based on relatively sketchy information).
All of this isn’t to say that the Houthis are necessarily behaving responsibly by taking the government and parts of the capital hostage. The group has a demonstrated history of human rights abuses against non-Zaydis and perceived opponents, in particular in areas it controls. And violent repression of public dissent is already visible, according to Lackner. But it is important for the media to stop perpetuating misconceptions about the current crisis (i.e., that it’s a sectarian conflict or proxy war among Iran and Saudi Arabia) that make for a good – albeit largely unfounded – story.
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Lawyer Praised By Opposing Legal Counsel
Posted on Mar 30, 2007 12:45pm PDT
David H. Perecman, a veteran New York construction accident lawyer and co-founder of the personal injury law firm of the Perecman Firm, was recently praised by opposing legal counsel as a “very experienced attorney” who is “very aggressive in the courtroom.”
The praise came in a construction accident legal case that made headlines, where a 61-year-old construction worker, represented by this prominent New York construction accident lawyer, had fractured his hip when a scaffold collapsed on a job. New York City Civil Court Judge Eileen A. Rakower ruled for Mr. Perecman’s client, awarding him $2.8 million for his injuries.
The case, Kazimierz Brulinski v. 10 East End Avenue Owner’s Inc., made construction accident news as another example of the rising problem of construction accidents in New York City. In an earlier trial, Supreme Court justice Leland DeGrasse had granted summary judgment for the plaintiff, and Judge Rakower handled the damages portion of the trial.
“It was a large case with a very experienced attorney – David Perecman has won a lot of big verdicts. He’s very aggressive in the courtroom, and he’ll tell you that,” Christopher Murray, a senior attorney at Fiedelman Garfinkel & Lesman and legal counsel who lost that construction accident case, told Judicial Reports.
Mr. Perecman’s reputation as a high-quality New York construction accident lawyer has been built on 25 years of representing victims of construction accidents throughout New York City. Mr. Perecman doggedly advocates for victims of construction accidents and their families to make sure they recover for their injuries and their suffering.
Categories: In The News
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Stephen D. Phillips Awarded 2019 Marquis Who’s Who in the World®
By: Stephen Phillips Jun 25, 2019
Phillips Law Offices is proud to announce that managing partner Stephen D. Phillips has been awarded a coveted spot in the 2019 edition of Marquis Who’s Who in the World®. This prestigious publication lists the global leaders and achievers in law, journalism, politics, science, academics, business, design, and a number of other industries.
The Marquis Who’s Who in the World® Publication
Marquis Who’s Who® has published directories of the top professionals in the world for over 115 years. Some publications honor the top professionals in a certain field, such as the Who’s Who in Finance and Business, whereas others honor the top professionals in certain geographical regions. The most exclusive directory is the Marquis Who’s Who in the World®. Less than 3% of professionals in all industries around the world are given a spot on this annual directory.
Each publication contains in-depth biographical information on the chosen professionals. As a result, these publications are often used as reference books by librarians, executives, journalists, and students. The directory is available online as well, which makes it easier for the public to search for top professionals when in need of their services.
What’s the Selection Process?
Professionals cannot pay to reserve their spot on the list of Who’s Who®. Marquis accepts nominations from a number of sources, including:
In-house team of researchers at Marquis
Professionals who have previously been included on a Who’s Who® list
Members of the public
Each nominee is put through a screening process to determine if he or she is should be included in a Who’s Who® directory. The team who decides which professionals qualify consider several factors, including:
Notable honors or achievements
How the nominee has contributed to society
How the nominee has impacted his or her field
Marquis never considers a nominee’s position within society or wealth when determining which professionals qualify. This ensures that the final list only includes the professionals who have earned their spot with hard work and dedication to their craft.
Hiring Professionals On the Who’s Who® List
There are many personal injury attorneys in the city of Chicago, so victims often don’t know who to turn to after an accident. But, the Marquis Who’s Who in the World® directory makes it easy for victims to quickly find a personal injury attorney near them.
The attorneys in this directory, including Stephen D. Phillips, are among the most trusted and successful lawyers in the world. People who use this directory to find a personal injury attorney can rest easy knowing their attorney has proven their commitment to helping victims seek justice.
Stephen D. Phillips earned his spot in this exclusive directory by winning numerous seven-figure settlements and verdicts on behalf of his clients. He has dedicated his career to helping victims recover the compensation they deserve, and will work tirelessly to protect his clients’ best interests.
If you have been injured, put your case in the hands of Stephen D. Phillips, an attorney who has been recognized for legal excellence on a local, national, and global level.
About Stephen Phillips
Stephen D. Phillips is the managing partner at the Phillips Law Offices in Chicago. He is a past President of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers (500 lawyers worldwide) and Former member of Board of Governors of the Illinois State Bar Association. Mr. Phillips earned his Juris Doctor from Loyola University and his B.A. from the University of Iowa. He is an extensively published writer and sought-after lecturer on legal topics related to personal injury and wrongful death matters. Mr. Phillips is also the recipient of a number of awards and honors from various legal groups.
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America’s Top 100 High Stakes Litigators
Recognized annually and on a lifetime basis, America’s Top 100 High Stakes Litigators celebrates the most qualified and accomplished professionals in the nation.
International Academy of Trial Lawyers
International legal organization. Membership is by invitation only and is extended, after careful vetting, to only 500 attorneys around the world.
National Association of Distinguished Counsel
The National Association of Distinguished Counsel invites less than one percent of the attorneys in the U.S. to join its ranks.
The Supreme Court of the United States of America
Established in 1789, The United States Supreme Court is the highest federal court in our nation.
Loyola University Chicago School of Law is the law school of Loyola University Chicago, established in 1909 in downtown Chicago.
Supreme Court of
the State of Illinois
The Supreme Court of Illinois is the highest court of the state of Illinois, located in Springfield and established in 1841.
AVVO Rating 10.0 Superb Top Attorney Medical Malpractice
AVVO, founded in 2006, rates 97 percent of the lawyers in the U.S. Stephen Phillips has the highest AVVO rating which is a 10.0.
Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement
The Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award is the highest distinctions available through Marquis Who’s Who
America’s Top 100 Personal Injury Attorneys
Recognized annually and on a lifetime basis, America’s Top 100, LLC celebrates the most qualified and accomplished professionals in the nation.
Phillips Law Offices
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Second Circuit Affirms Preliminary Injunction in People of the State of New York v. Actavis PLC
Categories: Intellectual Property & Licensing, Monopolization, Unilateral Conduct
by Jonathan H. Hatch on June 1, 2015
We’ve previously covered the New York State Attorney General’s (“NYS AG”) lawsuit against Actavis PLC and Forest Laboratories seeking to prevent them from discontinuing sales of the Forest drug Namenda IR, which is used to treat Alzheimer’s disease. New York has alleged that Actavis and Forest are engaging in “product hopping”—attempting to force prescribers and patients to switch to a new extended-release version of Namenda (Namenda XR) before a generic version can be launched. In December 2014, Judge Sweet of the District Court for the Southern District of New York granted the NYS AG’s request for a preliminary injunction and ordered the Defendants to keep Namenda IR on the market until after the entry of generic competitors. (We discussed this injunction here and here). The Defendants pursued an immediate appeal, and on May 22 the Second Circuit affirmed the District Court. (The full opinion was not released until late last week). In doing so, the Second Circuit is the first federal appellate court to provide guidance regarding product hopping claims.
As we have previously discussed, lower courts have generally distinguished between “hard” switches, where the manufacturer discontinues sales of the old branded drug after the new drug is launched, and “soft” switches, where the manufacturer continues to sell the old drug while promoting the new drug, treating the former with far more skepticism. The Second Circuit explicitly adopted this terminology, finding that Defendants’ hard switch from Namenda IR to Namenda XR likely violated section 2 of the Sherman Act, while implying that soft switches were far more likely to withstand scrutiny under the antitrust laws.
Specifically, relying on the D.C. Circuit’s decision in United States v. Microsoft Corp., 253 F.3d 34 (D.C. Cir. 2001), and its own prior decision in Berkey Photo, Inc. v. Eastman Kodak Co., 603 F.2d 263 (2d Cir. 1979), the Second Circuit found that a critical inquiry for section 2 liability in cases where a monopolist launches a product redesign is whether the product redesign “coerces consumers and impedes competition” by forcing consumers to purchase the new product. (The parties had not disputed that Defendants currently possess a monopoly in the market for Namenda). Acknowledging that “neither product withdrawal nor product improvement alone is anticompetitive,” the Second Circuit nonetheless found that “the combination of introducing Namenda XR into the market and effectively withdrawing Namenda IR” both forced patients taking Namenda to make the switch and impeded competition by frustrating state generic substitution laws. The court rejected Defendants’ justifications for the switch as pretextual, finding that the evidence in the record reflected a clear intent to prevent generic competition.
The Second Circuit also rejected Defendants’ arguments that their patents associated with Namenda IR and Namenda XR could serve as a shield to antitrust liability, relying on the Supreme Court’s decision in FTC v. Actavis, Inc. and finding that Defendants had “tried to use their patent rights on Namenda XR to extend the exclusivity period for all of their memantine-therapy drugs.” The court also rejected the argument that the NYS AG had failed to show irreparable harm, conceding that the harm to patients and third-party payors would be economic in nature but that compensating hundreds of thousands of patients and “an unknown number” of payors would present a daunting logistical challenge. Given its rulings on the section 2 claims, the Second Circuit declined to reach the NYS AG’s section 1 claims, including its allegations regarding Forest’s arrangement with a pharmacy called Foundation Care related to the distribution of Namenda.
In preserving the hard switch/soft switch distinction initially developed by the lower courts (many of which are cited in its decision), the Second Circuit has now provided appellate confirmation of lower courts’ current approach to product hopping claims. Whether this test will continue to hold or be further refined will need to await further litigation (or a possible further appeal of this decision).
Jonathan H. Hatch
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Informatica Adds Developer Edition to Cloud Data-integration Platform
By Chris Kanaracus
Informatica has added a new developer edition to its cloud-based data-integration platform in a bid to further expand a partner ecosystem around the service, the company announced Monday.
Now available through an early-access program, Informatica Cloud Developer Edition provides systems integrators and software vendors with a Java-based programming interface for creating connectors to various cloud services.
The connectors can have "complete native connectivity" to data objects within an application and can also be easily packaged for sale through Informatica's marketplace, according to the company's website.
Also featured in the developer edition are Cloud Integration Templates, a library of pre-built workflows for common data-integration scenarios. The basic templates can be tweaked as desired, according to Informatica. A REST (representational state transfer) API can be used to embed the templates natively into a cloud application.
Developer Edition was announced in conjunction with the general availability of Informatica Cloud's Spring 2012 edition.
The release include easier ways to move cloud integration objects back and forth from development and product environments, as well as Informatica Cloud instances. The update also adds support for using version 24 of Salesforce.com's Web Services API (application programming interface), Informatica said.
Cloud data-integration technology is becoming more and more important as customers adopt on-demand services and wish to tie them back to on-premises systems, as well as to other cloud software.
Informatica Cloud competes with rivals such as IBM's Cast Iron offering and Dell's Boomi platform, as well as open-source offerings such as Talend.
Pricing starts at US$1,000 per month for Informatica Cloud Professional Edition, with Basic, Standard and Enterprise versions available at higher cost. The company also offers a number of Express editions with more limited feature sets.
Chris Kanaracus covers enterprise software and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Chris's e-mail address is Chris_Kanaracus@idg.com
Chris Kanaracus covers enterprise software and general technology breaking news for the IDG News Service.
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AS Jun 11 .pdf
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AS-Jun 11.pdf (PDF, 978 KB)
Centre Number
For Examiner’s Use
Candidate Number
Examiner’s Initials
Candidate Signature
General Certificate of Education
Advanced Subsidiary Examination
CHEM1
Foundation Chemistry
For this paper you must have:
l the Periodic Table/Data Sheet, provided as an insert
(enclosed)
l a calculator.
l 1 hour 15 minutes
l Use black ink or black ball-point pen.
l Fill in the boxes at the top of this page.
l Answer all questions.
l You must answer the questions in the spaces provided. Do not write
outside the box around each page or on blank pages.
l All working must be shown.
l Do all rough work in this book. Cross through any work you do not
want to be marked.
l The marks for questions are shown in brackets.
l The maximum mark for this paper is 70.
l The Periodic Table/Data Sheet is provided as an insert.
l Your answers to the questions in Section B should be written in
continuous prose, where appropriate.
l You will be marked on your ability to:
– use good English
– organise information clearly
– use accurate scientific terminology.
l You are advised to spend about 50 minutes on Section A and about
25 minutes on Section B.
(JUN11CHEM101)
WMP/Jun11/CHEM1
Do not write
outside the
Answer all questions in the spaces provided.
Mass spectrometry can be used to identify isotopes of elements.
1 (a) (i)
In terms of fundamental particles, state the difference between isotopes of an element.
(1 mark)
1 (a) (ii) State why isotopes of an element have the same chemical properties.
Give the meaning of the term relative atomic mass.
(2 marks)
(Extra space).......................................................................................................................
1 (c) (i)
The mass spectrum of element X has four peaks. The table below gives the relative
abundance of each isotope in a sample of element X.
m/z
Relative abundance
Calculate the relative atomic mass of element X.
Give your answer to one decimal place.
1 (c) (ii) Use the Periodic Table to identify the species responsible for the peak at m/z = 64
Suggest one reason why particles with the same mass and velocity can be deflected
by different amounts in the same magnetic field.
1 (e)
Explain how the detector in a mass spectrometer enables the abundance of an isotope
to be measured.
(Extra space) ......................................................................................................................
Turn over
䊳
Norgessaltpeter was the first nitrogen fertiliser to be manufactured in Norway.
It has the formula Ca(NO3)2
Norgessaltpeter can be made by the reaction of calcium carbonate with
dilute nitric acid as shown by the following equation.
CaCO3(s) + 2HNO3(aq)
Ca(NO3)2(aq) + CO2(g) + H2O(I)
In an experiment, an excess of powdered calcium carbonate was added to 36.2 cm3 of
0.586 mol dm–3 nitric acid.
Calculate the amount, in moles, of HNO3 in 36.2 cm3 of 0.586 mol dm–3 nitric acid.
Give your answer to 3 significant figures.
2 (a) (ii) Calculate the amount, in moles, of CaCO3 that reacted with the nitric acid.
2 (a) (iii) Calculate the minimum mass of powdered CaCO3 that should be added to react with
all of the nitric acid.
2 (a) (iv) State the type of reaction that occurs when calcium carbonate reacts with nitric acid.
Norgessaltpeter decomposes on heating as shown by the following equation.
2Ca(NO3)2(s)
2CaO(s) + 4NO2(g) + O2(g)
A sample of Norgessaltpeter was decomposed completely.
The gases produced occupied a volume of 3.50 × 10–3 m3 at a pressure of 100 kPa
and a temperature of 31 °C.
(The gas constant R = 8.31 J K–1 mol–1)
2 (b) (i)
Calculate the total amount, in moles, of gases produced.
2 (b) (ii) Hence calculate the amount, in moles, of oxygen produced.
Hydrated calcium nitrate can be represented by the formula Ca(NO3)2.xH2O where x is
an integer.
A 6.04 g sample of Ca(NO3)2.xH2O contains 1.84 g of water of crystallisation.
Use this information to calculate a value for x.
Show your working.
Fluorine and iodine are elements in Group 7 of the Periodic Table.
Explain why iodine has a higher melting point than fluorine.
Draw the shape of the NHF2 molecule and the shape of the BF3 molecule.
Include any lone pairs of electrons that influence the shape.
In each case name the shape.
Shape of NHF2
Shape of BF3
Name of shape of NHF2 ....................................................................................................
Name of shape of BF3 .......................................................................................................
3 (b) (ii) Suggest a value for the F—N—F bond angle in NHF2
State the strongest type of intermolecular force in a sample of NHF2
A molecule of NHF2 reacts with a molecule of BF3 as shown in the following equation.
NHF2 + BF3
F2HNBF3
State the type of bond formed between the N atom and the B atom in F2HNBF3
Explain how this bond is formed.
Name of type of bond ........................................................................................................
How bond is formed ...........................................................................................................
Turn over for the next question
There are several types of crystal structure and bonding shown by elements and
Name the type of bonding in the element sodium.
4 (a) (ii) Use your knowledge of structure and bonding to draw a diagram that shows how the
particles are arranged in a crystal of sodium.
You should identify the particles and show a minimum of six particles in a
two-dimensional diagram.
Sodium reacts with chlorine to form sodium chloride.
Name the type of bonding in sodium chloride.
4 (b) (ii) Explain why the melting point of sodium chloride is high.
The table below shows the melting points of some sodium halides.
Melting point / K
NaBr
Suggest why the melting point of sodium iodide is lower than the melting point of
sodium bromide.
PDF Document AS-Jun 11.pdf
melting jun11 marks write shown sodium chem1 point shape outside nitric element calculate particles table
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Meet the two colorful visionaries behind Two Boots—filmmaker Phil Hartman and his son, Leon.
The hardest part about writing this month’s cover story (“Free Spirits,” page 32) was keeping it under 2,000 words. Phil Hartman and his son Leon, the colorful and charismatic owners of Two Boots, could be the subjects of a full-length biography. As a screenwriter and director, Phil’s first feature film, No Picnic, won an award at the Sundance Film Festival, and his second, Eerie, starred Felicity Huffman, Will Arnett and Luis Guzman. As Two Boots’ website explains, he transitioned from film into the pizza business after his screenplay for Bleeding Heat, “a punk-rock detective story set in gritty Long Island City, was reconceived as a romp for the Doobie Brothers.”
Leon once ran away to join the circus—more accurately, he and some friends started a circus from scratch and “roamed the country in the vein and footsteps of the Merry Pranksters.” One of his compatriots in that venture was his cousin, artist Asa Jones, whom Leon describes as “a kind of mythical character, like a cross between The Dude and Rasputin” who “illuminated me on some of the mysteries of life and brought me into new areas of consciousness.”
And don’t forget the wonderful pizzas with witty names: the Buckminster, which honors architect and visionary Buckminster Fuller; the V for Vegan, inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement and a certain Wachowski Brothers film; and the Boss Hague, named for a Jersey City mayor “whose legendary lap drawer was a discreet receptacle for bribes large and small.”
As a southerner who eats his way around New Orleans twice a year, my own mojo gets to rising at the notion of a pizzeria that combines Italian cuisine with Cajun cooking. And the more I learned about Two Boots, Phil and Leon, the more I wanted to write about them. So once you’ve perused the print article, head over to PMQ.com and learn about how Leon reimagined the Two Boots website (one of the best pizzeria sites I’ve ever seen) and brought their online ordering system into the modern age and how Two Boots helps keep the arts alive all around New York. There’s a lot more to tell, and Two Boots is just getting warmed up.
Thank You, Steve Jobs, for Billions of Dollars in Pizza Commerce
Fredi Bello: The Richest Man in the World
Pizza Sports are Here to Stay, and Competitors Are Set to Become Stars
2019: Already a Year to Remember
December 2018: The 2019 Pizza Power Report and more!
Chicago is my kind of town
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You are at:Home»News»Race Series News»Aston Martin commits to 2021 Le Mans 24 Hours entry
Aston Martin commits to 2021 Le Mans 24 Hours entry
By Sam Petters on 18th June 2019 Race Series News, Team News
Following the Automobile Club de l’Ouest’s decision to introduce hypercars to the top category of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), Aston Martin has revealed that it will field a minimum of two works Aston Martin Valkyries in the series.
Built as part of a technical collaboration between Aston Martin, Red Bull Advanced Technologies and project partner AF Racing, the Aston Martin Valkyrie will be redeveloped for the 2020/21 FIA WEC season, including the 2021 Le Mans 24 Hours.
In line with the WEC’s newly confirmed hypercar regulations designed to allow race-prepared derivatives of the world’s fastest road cars to compete in world sportscar racing, the Aston Martin Valkyrie race car will draw on the road car and its track-only AMR Pro variant.
The new car, featuring F1 inspired aerodynamic technology, will be equipped with a race-prepared version of its bespoke high-revving normally aspirated 6.5-liter V12 engine, placed within a lightweight carbon fiber structure.
Aston Martin vice president and chief special operations officer David King said, “The FIA WEC and the 24 Hours of Le Mans represent the ultimate challenge for the Aston Martin Valkyrie. Designed and built with the purpose of pushing boundaries on the road, it’s natural to conclude that the next stage in its development would be to measure its capabilities on the track.”
Bentley Motors appoints Paul Williams director of motorsport
AB Dynamics supplies advanced Vehicle Driving Simulator to Alfa Romeo Racing
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There's a little bit of Gary Cooper in Sen. Jeff Bingaman.
Bingaman at pivot of Health, Finance
There’s a little bit of Gary Cooper in Jeff Bingaman, and that’s not bad for President Barack Obama if health care becomes the political High Noon this year that so many expect.
As the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee began its markup Wednesday, the New Mexico Democrat was very much the man in the middle as the sole Democrat who also sits on the Finance Committee, the second big wheelhouse in this summer’s debate. In the absence of HELP Chairman Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), Bingaman has stepped up to help manage the complex issues of insurance coverage at the heart of the fight, and he is a go-between for the two committees which reflect competing wings of his party.
Smart, studied, slow to make decisions — “We worked at a different pace,” recalls his old colleague Republican Sen. Pete Domenici — Bingaman is very much grounded in the character of his native West. A professor’s son from a small mining town, he is reserved and pragmatic but with a certain laconic edge.
“You consider me to be edgy?” he asked, laughing at the suggestion. But this is a rare mountain-state Democrat who has voted against flag-burning amendments and going to war with Iraq, whose Senate office is loaded with art from the Southwest but also McCarthy-era Senate caricatures by the late New York artist William Gropper, who once worked for Pravda and the Daily Worker. And as Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee chairman, Bingaman is central to the climate change debate and was the wagon master this spring for one of the largest Western land conservation packages — nearly 170 bills in one — in a generation.
“He used to say, ‘One of two things happens when you get elected. Some swell. Others grow,’” former Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle told POLITICO. “Over the years, Jeff has grown.”
“He’s a Westerner: quiet, smart, doesn’t behave like a talk show guest, trustworthy and important when it comes time to do the work,” said former Sen. Bob Kerrey of Nebraska. “I have heard people interpret his unwillingness to jump quickly and say, ‘I’ll support that’ at every twist and turn of the legislative process as a sign of indecisiveness and caution. I see careful, methodical, reliable work being done. If Obama signs a bill this year, he’ll be able to because of Bingaman.”
In the hothouse that is the health care debate, Bingaman’s two greatest assets may be this sense of mooring — and an ability to reduce complex issues to pragmatic choices.
“I think it’s more useful to talk about what are the reforms we’re trying to enact to the present system. That’s basically how I’m thinking about it,” he told POLITICO. “Everyone is talking about what a radical idea it is to do this reform. This is not suggesting we throw out what we’ve got and replace it with a whole new health care delivery system.”
The Politico 44 Story Widget Requires Adobe Flash Player.
“I think the president has made clear, anybody who has health care coverage they like, they can keep it. ... What we’re trying to do is to put in place reforms of the current system that will eliminate some of the inequities, will ensure that the system becomes more efficient, will reduce the cost in growth in the system and will expand coverage.”
For the Senate, more than the House, health care is a three-round playoff. First, something must get out of the two committees, then pass the Senate floor with 60 votes and third, be hammered out in the House-Senate negotiations.
No stage can be taken for granted, as seen in Finance’s decision Wednesday to delay its own markup from this week to after the July 4 recess. Come the final in the fall, Obama will step in and surely dominate. But he needs senators like Bingaman to get him there.
Jeff Bingaman
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Coming Up: "To Kill a Mockingbird: A Graphic Novel"
Out Oct. 30. Pre-order from Amazon now.
A beautifully crafted graphic novel adaptation of Harper Lee’s beloved, Pulitzer prize–winning American classic.
"Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird."
A haunting portrait of race and class, innocence and injustice, hypocrisy and heroism, tradition and transformation in the Deep South of the 1930s, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird remains as important today as it was upon its initial publication in 1960, during the turbulent years of the Civil Rights movement.
Now, this most beloved and acclaimed novel is reborn for a new age as a gorgeous graphic novel. Scout, Gem, Boo Radley, Atticus Finch, and the small town of Maycomb, Alabama, are all captured in vivid and moving illustrations by artist Fred Fordham.
Enduring in vision, Harper Lee’s timeless novel illuminates the complexities of human nature and the depths of the human heart with humor, unwavering honesty, and a tender, nostalgic beauty. Lifetime admirers and new readers alike will be touched by this special visual edition that joins the ranks of the graphic novel adaptations of A Wrinkle in Time and The Alchemist.
CATS - First Trailer
Kurtzman Confirms Jean-Luc Picard Will Return To Space In ‘Picard’
TITANS Special Effects Coordinator Killed in Production Accident
Tarantino's Star Trek Will Be 'Pulp Fiction In Space'
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Bowling Alleys Coming To Macy’s? Really?
Posted on December 7, 2015 December 7, 2015 10:45 am
These days anyone who knows anything about physical retail knows that the big money is all in building the experience for consumers. The physical store in some ways can’t compete with online shopping for convenience because it doesn’t really get more convenient than shopping in one’s pajamas in bed. Brick-and-mortar shops, on the other hand, make leaving the house worthwhile for customers if they can build a suitably fun, interesting or engaging experience for them while they shop.
Which leads to the interesting new plans for the redevelopment of downtown Philly’s, which may include an upscale bowling alley as an entertainment option.
Bowling? The Dude would approve, but why?
Well, traditional bowling alleys are losing favor and closing at an alarming rate. But the sport holds on in upscale or “boutique bowling alleys” that are apparently hipper than their older counterparts.
“The higher-end bowling alleys relate to a younger clientele,” said Randy Mineo, executive vice president of Philadelphia’s Core Realty, which is redeveloping the 13-story Macy’s building.
Apart from bowling like a cool kid, the new Macy’s will also reportedly include a 155-room hotel, as well as 311 upscale apartments above that. About 600 parking spaces are planned for the third and fourth floors. Retailers will occupy the first two floors.
The high-end bowling alley, which is not a set in stone as part of the design as of yet, would include plush couches, state of the art AV equipment and upscale food and drink options.
And, bowling.
“Any sort of added amenity would be of real interest to people living and working downtown. I imagine it would be very successful,” said Leigh White, spokeswoman for the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, according to Trib Live.
“Bowling is dying because kids have so much to do these days. When I was 10, the only thing I had to do in the winter was bowl. Now, there’s indoor soccer, indoor baseball, indoor track, you name it,” said Glenn Bell, 53, manager of Arsenal Bowl in Lawrenceville.
So can bowling with an upgrade keep physical retail going? It seems like a strange pairing, but then again, lucky strikes do happen.
Related Items:Bowling, Macy’s, Retail, What's Hot
Restoration Hardware Targets High-Style Fashion
Google Ventures Waves Goodbye To Its European Arm
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Field Blends: Looking back to move forward | Paula Redes Sidore and Stuart Pigott
Field Blends: Looking back to move forward
Wine is often sold by its ‘story’, and every good story needs a conflict. Nature has conveniently provided us with a villain, climate change. Excepting the most obdurate of politicians, the effects of climate change are real, scientifically documented and, for winegrowers, clearly visible. Temperatures are rising, weather is becoming more erratic and extreme. Growing seasons are shortened, water for irrigation is often scarcer. These changes impact ripeness levels, aromas, flavors and textures. Many varieties that have traditionally thrived in a region, even some in their home region, are now being challenged by these profound changes. And other varieties that have traditionally struggled to reach physiological ripeness are thriving. For now.
A good story needs a hero, too. There are many candidates. Some are highly futuristic -- robotic harvesters and self-actuating irrigation systems. Others are highly practical, such as midnight harvests in Spain to beat the heat. Others look back in order to move forward, with Old School technology such as earthen amphorae. All of these different approaches will be on display somewhere here at ProWein, the world’s most largest and relevant trade fair for wines and spirits.The champion for today’s story also comes from that latter category of Old School Cool: the Field Blend.
The idea is as simple as it is traditional: interplanted vineyards of multiple grape varieties grown, harvested and vinified together. In contrast to ‘modern’ viticulture, the blending is done in the vineyard instead of the cellar. Many proponents of field blends consider them to be one of the few reliable and effective transporters of terroir, because many different varieties planted together reflect the unique profile of the wine’s origins in a way that no single varietal can. Undeniably, the varietal’s characteristic aromas and flavors are a necessary part of every varietal wine’s personality and can dominate the vineyard character.
In the eyes of some historians, this traditional style of winemaking is the most original practice of viticulture in Europe. Its documented history goes back to at least the 1600s and it was almost certainly normal practice through the Middle Ages. For that age the varietal concept was unfamiliar and rarely unexplored because of the high risk attached to it. Historically field blends served as a low-tech insurance policy against destruction by weather and pests. In an age where consistent ripeness was often a challenge, any extra edge was a huge benefit. It fell out of favor only after phylloxera, then (powdery and downy) mildew devastated much of Europe’s vineyards in the mid 1800s. In the aftermath of that catastrophe, vineyards were often replanted with single variety grafted vines and the practice of field blends faded largely from memory.
Except in a few places like Austria, which kept the practice alive albeit in a different form. Austria’s traditional “heurige” (current wine) were easy-drinking, anonymous field blends consumed in open air stands in autumn. Viennese winemaker Fritz Weininger of Weingut Weininger (Hall 17, Stand F 10), however, saw a chance to accord field blends the recognition and prestige they deserved. His goal was to set new quality measures for the wines of Vienna by producing field blends from prized vineyards. “This is the wine of the Viennese,” he said. He founded the winemakers’ group WienWein (2006) and was one of the driving forces behind the recent “Wiener Gemischter Satz DAC” (2013). Situated in Austria’s capital city, the new DAC involved the unusual decision to inexorably and legally link the 637 ha of famous vineyards of Vienna to a specific style of wine in its very name. His single-vineyard Nussberg (first vintage 1999) is a liquid testament to his achievements. Considered and complex yet never weighty, Nussberg embraces the traditions that brought it to where it is today, as well as acknowledges with its delicately bitter finish the challenging journey that still lies ahead.
But as noted above, field blends can be more than just an aesthetic choice. In the face of increasingly extreme variations, field blends provide winemakers with the flexibility to protect yields and minimise risk. They give the winemaker a hedge that greatly helps accommodate changing vintage conditions not just now, but for the foreseeable future. A dynamic solution as some varieties struggle and others thrive. And so the magic of Gemischter Satz DAC is that it not only harnesses the regional flavor of the place, but also rewards producers who understand the need to be “flexible, creative and persistent to master the new [climatic] challenges” (Journal of Wine Economics, Vol 11, Num. 1, 2016).
This renewed focus on both trend and tradition is not reserved for the world’s cool climate countries. A 2017 report on Viticulture in Portugal declared that in “regions already presenting warm climates (e.g. Alentejo, Douro), climate change may thus endanger the balanced ripening of grapes and the sustainability of the existing varieties and wine styles.” Grim climactic predictions indeed, particularly when you consider that these regions are already using some of the latest ripening grape varieties available. Yet Portugal’s willingness to embrace the traditions and varieties of its past may well prove its saving viticultural grace. Rather than focus on new plantings or methods, winemakers largely accept that the preservation of the existing biodiversity and traditional winemaking as critical. Concretely, the field blends of the Douro, such as Quinta do Vallado (Hall 10, Stand G 22), have garnered incredible praise for their balance and elegance. A balance and elegance, many would argue, that is simply not achievable from the single varietals planted in the region.
The trend extends to New World winegrowing as well. California in particular has a storied tradition of field blends, dating back to the period after the Gold Rush when Zinfandel, not Cabernet Sauvignon, was king. These wines were often marketed as “burgundy” or “claret” bottlings. Then in the aftermath of WWII, focus shifted to single varietal planting. Today, the wisdom of these old plantings is being once again recognized. And these old vine field blends are now fetching high prices, with exclusive bottlings by renowned producers such as Stag’s Leap or Ridge Vineyards (Hall 9, Stand C 06).
Vintners who embrace diversity now -- viticultural diversity, mind you, although the other kind isn’t a bad idea either -- seem more likely to give themselves the flexibility needed to succeed in a changing climate. In many places, it is ironically the winegrowers who have gone too far establishing a specific varietal identity, often locked into place by wine laws, that may struggle as that very identity literally withers. The answer is sometimes right in front of us all along. As the ultimate transporter of terroir, field blends further a whole identity that begins in the vineyard, from the roots on up.
Further trend articles
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Dog Soldiers.
“If you haven't fought for your life for something you want, you don't know what's life all about": First Edition of Dog Soldiers; Signed by Robert Stone
Stone, Robert.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1974.
First edition of the author’s National Book Award-winning novel. Octavo, original cloth. Signed by Robert Stone on the title page. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Paul Bacon.
''Compulsively readable . . . As forcefully as any novel one can think of, this novel conveys the cynicism, the terror, and the appetite for new experiences that have marked recent years" (New Yorker). Time magazine included it in its list of 100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005. It was adapted into the 1978 film Who'll Stop the Rain starring Nick Nolte, from a script that Stone co-wrote.
"They killed my girl," Rheinhardt said, walking down the street. "I'm gonna to bust up the bar": First Edition of A Hall of Mirrors; Lengthily Inscribed by Robert Stone
A Hall of Mirrors.
First edition of the author’s first book. Octavo, original half cloth. Signed by Stone who has additionally added the line from this title as follows, “They killed my girl,” Rheinhardt said, walking down the street. “I’m gonna to bust up the bar. Robert Stone.” Laid in a program from a literary festival signed by Stone as well. Light rubbing to the bottom cloth, near fine in a near fine dust jacket. A unique example.
First Editions of Lord Skidelsky's Monumental Biography of J.M. Keynes; Each volume inscribed by Him
Skidelsky, Robert.
John Maynard Keynes: Hopes Betrayed 1883-1920; The Economist as Savior 1920-1037; Fighting For Britain 1937-1946.
London: Macmillan, 1983-2000.
First editions of each volume in the author’s acclaimed biography on J.M. Keynes. Octavo, 3 volumes, original cloth, illustrated. Inscribed by the author in each volume. Each are near fine with the dust jackets that show only light wear.
"The adventure is over. Everything gets over, and nothing is ever enough. Except the part you carry with you:" Rare First Edition of From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler; Signed by E.L. Konigsburg
Konigsburg, E. L.
From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.
New York: Atheneum, 1967.
First edition of the author’s Newbery Award-winning novel. Octavo, original cloth. Signed by E.L. Konigsburg on the title page. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Rare in this condition and signed.
"Like all Israelis, I yearn for peace. I see the utmost importance in taking all possible steps that will lead to a solution of the conflict with the Palestinians": First Edition of Warrior: An Autobiography; Inscribed by Ariel Sharon
Sharon, Ariel with David Chanoff.
Warrior: An Autobiography.
New York: Simon & Schuster, 1989.
First edition of Sharon’s autobiography. Octavo, original half cloth, illustrated. Inscribed and dated by Ariel Sharon on the half-title page. Laid in a lecture announcement by Sharon. Near fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Lawrence Ratzkin.
First Edition of The Portable MBA in Investment; Inscribed by Peter Bernstein
Bernstein, Peter L.
The Portable MBA In Investment.
New York: Wiley, 1995.
First edition of this “indispensable resource for anyone who is serious about investing” (Claude Erb). Octavo, original black cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the editor on the front free endpaper, “For William- For MBA and beyond. Best regards- Peter Bernstein.” Fine in a near fine dust jacket.
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new freelancer
calibre rw1212
Aligning with the finest Swiss watchmaking traditions, RAYMOND WEIL is innovating by creating a new movement. Its distinctive characteristic is the 6 o’clock front-dial positioning of its regulating organ. Named Calibre RW1212 as a nod to the postal code of the company headquarters in Grand-Lancy Geneva, it pays tribute to 40 years of RAYMOND WEIL creations and to the Brand’s determination to highlight the richness of watchmaking expertise, while infusing it with its uniquely free-spirited attitude.
Brand & Values
MUSIC-INSPIRED WATCHMAKER
RAYMOND WEIL has always strived to achieve watchmaking excellence and use its know-how and expertise to meet the prerequisites of the much sought-after Swiss made label. While this knowledge and the passion have been handed down from generation to generation within the family, so has the love of music! Music has always been an essential part of RAYMOND WEIL’s DNA. With over 35 years of involvement in the music industry across all genres, the Swiss watchmaker composes its timepieces the way musicians compose their chef d’oeuvres.
A homage to that which has always inspired the Swiss Watchmaker, the new film, Precision is my Inspiration, evokes the creation of two masterpieces, the one watchmaking and the other musical – in two universes intimately bound together. “Our watchmaking Company has been involved with music, ever since its foundation”, confides Elie Bernheim, RAYMOND WEIL Genève CEO. The Music that was yesterday’s source of inspiration, today becomes the vehicle of the values, the know-how and enthusiasm of the watchmaker music lover – to the extent that it becomes an integral part of the Company’s marketing.
Aestheticism is a constant preoccupation in the development of RAYMOND WEIL timepieces. The Brand takes great care of the design of its watches in order for them to combine ergonomics, refinement and modernity. This aesthetic pursuit results in distinctive and identity-marked models.
The RAYMOND WEIL Brand brings together all the elements of excellence of the Swiss luxury watchmaking industry. Precision, quality, reliability, nobility and technical nature of the materials are many standards that the Geneva-based Brand combines to create its models. This know-how confers RAYMOND WEIL its watchmaking legitimacy.
Precision and attention to detail set the tone throughout the creation process. Inspiration is what is found at the basis of each work of art; precision is the indispensable condition required for achieving excellence.
Switzerland’s centuries of carefully handed-down watchmaking skills and know-how are harnessed by RAYMOND WEIL and reflected in its choices and developments of materials, components and craftsmen in all the stages of production and assembly, to meet the prerequisites of the “Swiss made” label. The Company is situated in Geneva, home of Switzerland’s most prestigious watchmakers, together with the industry’s topmost expertise in component and materials supply.
SWISS MADE QUALITY
A priority among the Brand’s guiding principles is its orientation towards the future. This principle is applied in the constant upgrading of technical know-how and equipment within the Company, enabling the computer-aided design and production of new products, using methods and materials which are truly visionary. The Company is constantly looking for new ways and approaches to secure its future evolution. It has chosen to build rather than rest on its laurels.
Beauty and aesthetic proportions are no coincidence. Thanks to its experience, know-how and to the mechanical precision of its watchmakers, RAYMOND WEIL is capable of transforming a design concept into a high quality watch to please its demanding clients. From conception through to the final stage of assembly, RAYMOND WEIL’s attention to quality is constant. The experienced watchmaker’s hands and eyes and his traditional tools, are highlighted by highly sophisticated technology. Each watch is minutely examined and undergoes 350 checks before receiving the RAYMOND WEIL quality label.
TRIBUTE TO MR. RAYMOND WEIL
Raymond Weil was a great man whose vision led to the creation of a Company which, over the course of almost four decades, has gained international renown – the Company remains to this day one of the last few independent family-run watchmakers – and is the legacy left by an exceptional man to his family. Elie Bernheim, grandson of the founder, today heads the RAYMOND WEIL family business, and with the maestro collection is offering a truly unique limited edition timepiece, paying fitting tribute to a life’s work.
To pay homage to Mr. Raymond Weil, we asked our partners and friends around the world to choose the one word that best describes our founder according to them.
Here is what they said.
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The “offer to make amends” in defamation cases: No longer a useful tool for defendants?
Two recent cases have shed further light on the pros and cons of a Defendant availing of the “offer to make amends” procedure under the Defamation Act, 2009.
Padraig Higgins v Irish Aviation Authority
Section 22 of the Defamation Act, 2009 allows a Defendant to Court proceedings to make an offer to make amends in order to save legal costs and avoid protracted court battles. This offer to make amends envisages a Defendant offering a suitable correction to the defamatory statement concerned and an apology along with the payment of compensation or damages to the Plaintiff(s). Section 23 of the Defamation Act states that in the absence of agreement on the damages or costs this will be decided by “the Court”. The legislation does not specifically address whether Section 23(c) provides for a Judge to decide on the necessary award or whether it should go before a Judge and Jury.
This question was raised in a recent High Court case where there was a dispute between the parties to a defamation action as to the level of damages to be paid. The Plaintiff, Padraig Higgins, sought the case to be brought before a Judge and Jury which was opposed by the Irish Aviation Authority. The High Court found in favour of the Plaintiff which was appealed by the Defendant.
Mr Justice Hogan, on behalf of the Court of Appeal, stated that the Oireachtas should have taken the opportunity to “put the matter beyond doubt” by the use of clear and express language in the 2009 Act. Mr. Justice Hogan stated that the failure to use sufficiently clear language compelled him to acknowledge another key principle of statute interpretation – the presumption against unclear changes in law. He held that, as the role of a Jury in the award of damages in defamation cases “is embedded in the fabric of common law” and that right has been expressly preserved in the Courts of Justice Act 1924 and the Supreme Court of Judicature (Ireland) Act 1977, a Jury should determine the damages under Section 23.
Daniel Ward v The Donegal Times Limited and Liam Hyland; Sean Quinn v The Donegal Times Limited and Liam Hyland
On 8 November 2016, the High Court gave a decision on two connected cases in which this firm acted for the Defendants. The Plaintiffs had sued for defamation arising out of two articles in the Donegal Times newspaper. The Defendants had made offers to make amends and ultimately the Plaintiff had refused the apologies and damages offered as part of the process.
The benefit for a Defendant in making an offer to make amends is that when it comes to awarding damages to a Plaintiff, in a situation where the damages cannot be agreed between the parties, it empowers the Judge (in this case the parties had agreed that the damages could be determined by a judge alone) to apply a discount to the damages he/she believes should ordinarily be awarded. Discounts of up to 50% have been applied in the UK where there is a similar process.
Judge McDermott, having regard to a previous High Court decision in Christie v TV3 (see our Media Bulletin – December 2015), discounted the damages that he held were due to the Plaintiffs by 20% and not the 33.33% allowed in the Christie case. The Court reduced the discount on account of what it considered to be the lateness and insufficiency of the apology offered by the Defendants. In addition, the Court took a dim view of two articles published by the Defendants after the offers to make amends had been made and which “rehashed” the earlier defamatory articles on foot of which the Plaintiffs had sued. As regards the subsequent articles, while the Court rejected the Plaintiff’s argument that these two articles could be a basis for seeking aggravated damages, given the manner in which the cases had been pleaded, it felt that it was more appropriate that the articles be taken into account in terms of the discount to be afforded to the Defendants.
As an aside, while the newspaper in question had a limited circulation of approximately 5,000 copies, the Court noted that “in a small rural area a newspaper can have a very large effect on local views and the regard neighbours will have for each other”. While the breadth of publication i.e. circulation in this instance, is relevant to the amount of damages to be awarded it seems that the Court equated the saturation effect of a local newspaper such as the Donegal Times in a small area with the impact that a national newspaper might have over a much broader area.
The Court of Appeal decision effectively renders the “offer to make amends” procedure unusable for Defendants in defamation cases given the uncertainty as to what certain juries may award in damages. Any discussion surrounding the decision on the discount that was applied in the more recent High Court decision is therefore largely moot. These decisions will offer little solace to Defendants in defamation claims, in particular the media, who will welcome the current review of the Defamation Act, 2009 and will hope that the inadequacies in that legislation will result in the publication of amending legislation in the near future.
If you have any queries in relation to the content of this update, please contact -
Charles Waterhouse, Solicitor, charles.waterhouse@rdj.ie, +353 21 4802705;
Darryl Broderick, Partner, darryl.broderick@rdj.ie, +353 21 4802767
€85,000 Defamation award to former Premier League footballer upheld
Court of Appeal affirmed a jury award of €85,000 made to a former footballer.
Media law update - September 2016
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"The size and scope of government is increasing. Look at the number of laws, regulations and lawsuits companies have to contend with."
–Kirk Blalock, Republican lobbyist
"We have plenty of people looking for work, and there are jobs. They’re just not aligning. There is a group … that has been left behind."
-Helen Stefan Moreau, Midtown Group
"We’re seeing an enormous transfer of income from taxpayers to the Washington economy."
-Stephen S. Fuller, George Mason University
Inequality - By the numbers
Explore key data that tell the story of income inequality in the United States. Full Coverage
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Matt T. Turner
Home / About Revere / Matt T. Turner
Matt T. Turner serves as a Senior Vice President at Revere Capital with responsibility for debt origination, structuring and sourcing investment opportunities. Prior to joining Revere Capital, Mr. Turner was the President and Managing Partner of Canvasback Capital, a Dallas private equity firm that made real estate investments via acquisitions and development of commercial and multi-family properties. Mr. Turner spent the majority of his real estate career with Lincoln Property Company (LPC), one of the largest and most successful, private real estate firms in the United States. Mr. Turner spent over 10 years at LPC where he was responsible for financing over a $1.5 billion of commercial development, redevelopment, and acquisitions for office, industrial and retail assets. Mr. Turner brings a diverse skill set over multiple disciplines in real estate and finance – equity and debt structuring, asset management, leasing, and investment sales.
Mr. Turner earned a BA with Honors and BBA from The University of Texas at Austin and an MBA in Finance and Real Estate from the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin.
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Qishloq Ovozi
What Next For The Islamic Movement Of Uzbekistan?
IMU leader Usmon Ghazi (second left) and his fighters are shown taking an oath of allegiance, in Arabic, to IS and its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
In early August, news broke that Usmon Ghazi, the current leader of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), had pledged the Central Asian militant group's allegiance to Islamic State (IS). Ghazi had voiced the IMU's support for IS in September 2014, but stopped short of saying his group was joining IS.
There were plausible reasons for Ghazi's hesitancy last year and plausible reasons for his recent decision to tie IMU's fortunes to those of IS.
But questions surround Ghazi's "bay'ah," or oath, to IS, not least of which is how much support Ghazi actually enjoys within the IMU.
In an attempt to shed some light on the IMU's current situation, RFE/RL's Turkmen Service, known locally as Azatlyk, assembled a panel to discuss the recent changes, what they could mean for the IMU's future, and, most of all, who is Usmon Ghazi and what credentials he has to be the IMU's leader.
Azatlyk director Muhammad Tahir moderated the panel, which comprised two members of RFE/RL's Uzbek Service, known locally as Ozodlik -- director Alisher Sidik and Sirojiddin Tolibov. I also participated in the discussion.
Ghazi's recent announcement was not so surprising, given that the IMU leadership's relations with the group's Taliban allies have become strained in recent years. Ghazi and others from the IMU had been critical of Taliban leader Mullah Omar's long absence -- and Ghazi's pledge of allegiance to the extremist IS group came after the Taliban admitted publicly that Omar had been dead since 2013.
The panelists suggested there were also some basic reasons for aligning with IS.
According to Tolibov, the IMU "was forced to join Islamic State because of the financial difficulties they face." He said that funding from Gulf countries had dried up to a large extent in recent years and that the group was now struggling to survive.
Change Of Focus
Since late 2001, most IMU militants had been living in Pakistan's tribal areas, chased there from their lairs in Afghanistan after the United States military had bombed the group's sanctuaries in northeastern Afghan provinces. The IMU joined their Taliban and Al-Qaeda allies in the tribal areas, carrying out cross-border attacks in Afghanistan and increasingly fighting against Pakistani forces.
IMU leader Juma Namangani was killed in the U.S. bombing of Afghanistan's Kunduz Province in November 2001. Two successive IMU leaders -- Tohir Yuldash and Odil Usmon -- were killed in drone strikes during the time the IMU was in the tribal areas.
The IMU's focus changed as they spent years in Pakistan. The aim of overthrowing the Uzbek government was supplanted by the need to survive in the tribal areas and the group gradually became part of the military-political landscape of the rugged mountain area along the Afghan-Pakistani border.
Sidik suggested that Ghazi's pledge, in some ways, brings the group closer to its original goals. "The IMU in that sense is coming back to its original claim, [which] was to establish a caliphate in this vast region," he said.
The longer the IMU kept its base mainly in Pakistan, the harder it was for the group to attract recruits from Central Asia. According to Sidik, the IMU may now "be capable of engaging more new recruits, more extremist youth." By allying with IS, Sidik said, the IMU is setting its stall out "to fight the real jihad" rather than being seen as a militant group carrying out raids and ambushes on Afghan and Pakistani security forces.
Ghazi's statement was posted on the IMU's website so it is the official word of the group's leader. But the situation on the ground in Afghanistan is extremely confusing at the moment and it is not clear how many IMU members -- stretched out across Pakistan's tribal region and northern Afghanistan -- are heeding, or will heed, their leader's call.
Split With The Taliban?
Many, and possibly most of the IMU fighters in Pakistan have been driven into northern Afghanistan since the Pakistani security forces launched a large-scale military operation in North Waziristan in the spring of 2014. These IMU fighters joined their long-time allies, the Taliban, and Afghan officials blame the drastic increase in violence in northern Afghanistan this year on the arrival of the Uzbek militants.
Ghazi's statement appears to have been made in Pakistan's tribal areas. But the bulk of his forces are fighting alongside Taliban militants against Afghan government forces and the Taliban leadership has already criticized IS involvement in Afghan affairs.
At the same time, Sidik noted, the IMU "has been very much in disagreement with the Taliban, which they claim in their statements have become more nationalist -- more pro-Pashtun type of nationalists." But, of course, this only pertains to the IMU leadership based in the tribal areas, not the rank-and-file militants living with the Taliban in northern Afghanistan.
There is a big question about how much support Usmon Ghazi has among IMU fighters. Every time an IMU leader has been killed, the organization has splintered. (The Islamic Jihad Union is one example of a group that was once part of the IMU.)
There is also evidence that the IMU split after Odil Usmon was killed in 2012 and Ghazi was named leader. One group went to Syria to join Al-Qaeda militants there.
"The Katibut Imam al-Buhari [group] who are now in Syria, there are several hundred of them…are Salafis, Wahhabis," Tolibov said. "But the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan has always been proud of being Hanafi."
Another group apparently went to Afghanistan's northwestern Faryab Province where violence started increasing in April 2013.
A Murky Figure
There is not a lot of information available about Ghazi.
"All we know is he is from Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan," Tolibov said. "He grew up in an educated family, a typical Soviet family, and he was not a popular figure, or a well-known figure even among the IMU fighters."
Sidik pointed out that in one report about Ghazi -- admittedly from a website believed to be controlled by Uzbekistan's National Security Service (SNB) -- an SNB official called "Mikhailov" said he "was not very much respected but he was from the very beginning with the IMU." According to Mikhailov, Ghazi left Uzbekistan when he was 30 and went to Tajikistan, where he joined the IMU.
Unlike the three previous IMU leaders, Ghazi has no reputation as a fighter and appears to have spent most of his career with the IMU away from the battlefield. According to Sidik, Ghazi does not quote the Koran very much in his speeches, something former leader Tohir Yuldash did quite frequently.
There was consensus that the fate of the IMU, at least in the near future, rests to a great extent on what happens with the Taliban.
Sidik said Ghazi could afford to pledge the IMU's allegiance to IS now, because the Taliban are divided, more so since the death of Mullah Omar was officially confirmed. The Taliban cannot presently do much to prevent the IMU from defecting to IS, even if that represents a threat to its own existence due to the presence of large numbers of IMU fighters in Afghanistan.
But since there have been no reports of black IS flags suddenly being raised across northern Afghanistan, it seems IMU fighters there are also waiting to see if the Taliban, the IMU's allies for nearly two decades, can reunite and reinvigorate under new leader Mullah Mansur.
The roundtable went on to discuss these topics and other issues in greater detail. You can listen to the entire discussion in this audio recording:
Roundtable Discussion On The Islamic Movement Of Uzbekistan
by RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty
Pop-out player
Another Challenge For Tajik Opposition Members: Finding Work
Rahmatullo Zoirov, the leader of the opposition Social Democratic Party of Tajikistan, is unable to make a living in his homeland, just like many other rank-and-file party members. (file photo)
According to the deputy leader of the opposition Social Democratic Party of Tajikistan, (SDPT) "help wanted" signs in Tajikistan should specify "opposition party members and their relatives need not apply."
Shokirjon Hakim, who earned a law degree in Moscow, has been seeking employment for three years in his native Tajikistan. The search has been frustrating and fruitless and Hakim told RFE/RL's Tajik Service, known locally as Ozodi, that he thinks he is facing discrimination because of his work in the SDPT.
Hakim said he has been searching for employment in government and nongovernment organizations. He listed some of them for Ozodi: the Institute of Philosophy, Politics and Law at Tajikistan's Academy of Sciences, the National University, Technical University, Commercial University, the Institute of Economics and Rights, the Slavic University, Tajikistan's branch of Russia's Lomonosov University, and other Russian-sponsored universities in Tajikistan.
"When you're labeled opposition, they wouldn't give you work as a janitor," Hakim said. He added that his wife, who is a librarian by training, cannot find work either even though she "is not a member of any party and does not have any interest in this [politics]."
Ozodi spoke with the deputy director of the Institute of Philosophy, Politics and Law, Khayriddin Idiev and asked about Hakim's situation. Idiev said, "I know Shokirjon well, earlier we worked together in this institute."
Idiev said that, in the three months he has held his current position, he has not heard from Hakim.
"Depending on the availability of places in this or that department, his request [for employment] would absolutely be reviewed. There are no problems here," he added.
Idiev denied that there were any political motives behind the institute's hiring policies.
But Hakim said he had spoken in early August with Deputy Prime Minister Marhabo Jabbori and other members of the government who "were surprised at my ordeals and said the situation should not have reached this point. Hakim said he had not heard from them since that conversation.
Ozodi reported that Hakim is not the only member of an opposition party to encounter difficulties finding work in Tajikistan. SDPT chief Rahmatullo Zoirov makes a living practicing law outside Tajikistan. SDPT member Amniyati Abdulnazar, who worked for the Interior Ministry, has not been able to find work for five years, and Davlatsho Shohnusayriev, who worked for the UN, has also been without gainful employment for nearly as long. The party's head in the eastern Gorno-Badakhshan region, Alim Sherzamonov, a mathematics teacher, was forced to migrate to Russia to find work after he could not find a job in his home area.
Another opposition party, the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT), has received some attention during the last few years due to a long series of mishaps, which the party's leadership claims is part of a government campaign to eliminate the party. And the IRPT is now close to being banned in Tajikistan for the first time since 1997.
IRPT leader Muhiddin Kabiri is out of the country since he could face arrest on charges of illegally selling land that date back more than a decade. The party leadership just met in Turkey earlier this month, the first time the IRPT leadership has held a meeting outside Tajikistan since the days of the country's civil war.
Mirzo Salimov of RFE/RL's Tajik Service contributed to this report
Qishloq Ovozi is a blog by RFE/RL Central Asia specialist Bruce Pannier that aims to look at the events that are shaping Central Asia and its respective countries, connect some of the dots to shed light on why those processes are occurring, and identify the agents of change.
Bruce Pannier
Content draws on the extensive knowledge and contacts of RFE/RL's Central Asian services but also allow scholars in the West, particularly younger scholars who will be tomorrow’s experts on the region, opportunities to share their views on the evolving situation at this Eurasian crossroad.
The name means "Village Voice" in Uzbek. But don't be fooled, Qishloq Ovozi is about all of Central Asia.
Tajik Officials Use Family Members To Pressure Critics To Return
Turkmen President Acts Tough In Videos, But Keeps Distance From Real Threats
Majlis Podcast: Youth Group Breathes Life Into Kazakh Politics
Hectic Times In Kazakhstan Recently, And For The Foreseeable Future
The Biggest Loser In The Kazakh Presidential Election Could Be The Government's Reputation
Majlis: Latest Podcast
Majlis Podcast: What's Happening With Gulnara Karimova?
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Complex Torts & Product Liability
Compliance, Investigations & White Collar
Directors & Officers Liability
Privacy, Data & Cyber Law
Real Estate, Zoning & Land Use
Rivkin Rounds
About Rivkin Radler
Rivkin Radler Welcomes Four New Attorneys
February 14, 2018 | Real Estate, Zoning & Land Use | Complex Torts & Product Liability | Construction | General Liability | Insurance Fraud | Corporate
Uniondale, New York – February 14, 2018 – Evan H. Krinick, Managing Partner of Rivkin Radler LLP, has welcomed four new attorneys, Christina M. Bezas, David I. Gise, Robert C. Kern Jr. and Amanda S. Reynolds to the firm.
Christina M. Bezas, of Long Beach, N.Y., is an Associate in the Insurance Fraud Practice Group. Christina prosecutes complex civil lawsuits under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, including affirmative actions to recover insurer claim payments to physicians, medical clinics, attorneys, public adjusters and others involved in complex, large-scale insurance fraud schemes.
Prior to joining Rivkin Radler, Christina served as an Assistant District Attorney for 4 1/2 years in the Queens County District Attorney’s Office, where she prosecuted and investigated a wide array of felony cases, including attempted murder, kidnapping, burglary, gun possession, robbery and theft-related offenses.
David I. Gise, of East Northport, N.Y., is a member of Rivkin Radler’s Construction and Real Estate, Zoning & Land Use practice groups. David is serving as Counsel to the firm and has extensive experience representing and advising companies and individuals in all aspects of complex commercial litigation in New York state and federal courts.
David has litigated matters involving, among other things, corporate ownership disputes, condominium and real estate disputes, commercial and residential foreclosure matters, estate litigation, construction and lien litigation, commercial landlord/tenant litigation, Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganizations and shareholder disputes concerning public and private companies.
Robert C. Kern, of New York, N.Y., is a member of Rivkin Radler’s Corporate Practice Group. Robert focuses his practice on corporate transactions, representing small to midsize private companies as well as individuals, with an emphasis on the creation and governance of business entities (including the formation, operation and governance of limited liability companies), startups, joint ventures, venture capital and private equity financing, mergers and acquisitions, employment, service and vendor agreements, as well as advice to clients on general commercial matters.
Bob’s practice includes drafting and negotiating licenses and providing outside general counsel services to businesses and individuals in the fashion, lifestyle, consumer products and entertainment industries.
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Matthew Spero Presents CLE on Bankruptcy Issues
June 17 | 2010
Matthew Spero, an associate in Rivkin Radler's Corporate & Commercial Practice Group, presented a CLE entitled, "Understanding Preferential Transfers and How They...
A. Eagle, A. Murray & M. Sirignano present AI seminar
April 30 | 2010
On April 30, 2010, Alan Eagle, Anne Murray and Michael Sirignano co-presented a seminar entitled, "Additional Insureds, Unfair Claim Settlement Practices Regulation 64, and...
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October 7 | 2010
Benjamin P. Malerba, a partner in the firm's Corporate & Commercial and Health Services Practice Groups, presented a CLE at the Nassau...
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5 Unforgettable Things I Learned From The Office
Fellow fans of The Office television show are sharing a moment of sadness this morning. Last night was the series finale of the documentary-style comedy show that exposed the silly side of the workplace for nine years. For me, the show coincided almost perfectly with my move from Australia back to America and my own journey of joining an American workplace, and then leaving to become my own boss around the time that one of the main characters in the show (Jim) first did the same.
But the real star of the show left last year – a lovably lonely character named Michael Scott played by Steve Carrell. Over the years, his character illustrated the highs and lows of having a grown child for a boss. In a signature moment early in the series, Michael Scott is asked by the documentary crew about his philosophy of leadership. Would you rather be feared or loved, they ask. After thinking for a moment, he responds: “Easy, both. I want people to be afraid … of how much they love me.” That was The Office.
A little off center, always entertaining, and routinely smarter about offering sage business advice than anyone usually appreciated.
So to celebrate the show, here are five of the most unforgettable marketing, leadership and business lessons I will remember from Michael Scott and the cast of The Office:
1. Vulnerability Builds Trust.
The moments in the show when you see a glimpse of the real sad personality of Michael Scott are the moment when the audience (and the other characters in the show) connect with him. They trust him because it is easy to see what he feels in his heart. Of course, his character is an exaggeration of this type of personality … but the lesson in it is a powerful one for building trust. The less guarded we can be, the more likely someone will see our real personalities and trust us more as a result.
2. The Boss Isn’t Always The Leader.
Though the boss at The Office changed several times throughout the show, it was always clear that the heart of The Office was the character of Jim, played by John Krasinski. He created the memorable pranks that became the signature opening segments for every episode. He organizes the “Office Olympics.” And when he leaves, there is a real void in The Office unlike at any other moment. In real life, there are people like Jim who form the heart of a corporate culture. Often, they are not the boss. But identifying them is always critical to retain (or change) an office culture.
3. Love What You Sell.
The character of Dwight, played by Rainn Wilson is unapolegetically an enthusiast for paper. He loves to sell it and knows all about it. At one point, when his character looks for another job – he considers “Scranton Breadworks.” His rationale? “Bread is the paper of the food industry. You write your sandwich on it.” Of course his love of paper is over the top, and a little unbelievable … but in the show he also routinely wins any competition for top salesman. His passion shows results – and that happens in real life as well.
4. Flip The Camera.
In later seasons, the audience starts to get a chance to go behind the scenes of the documentary. We see the sound guys and camera guys filming. We go behind the scenes, and the show becomes more real as a result. In companies, this can have the same effect. Though brands are often reluctant to turn the camera around, sharing some “making of” style content and taking people behind the scenes of what you do can pay off highly in terms of building more understanding for what you do.
5. Don’t Overestimate Technology.
One of the most entertaining storylines in the show for anyone who works with digital technology or online marketing has to be the way that the show continually pokes fun at the out of touch technogeek who embraces the tools “of the future” without regard for how silly or wrong they may be. The ecommerce initiative for the paper company fails miserably – because it fails to make life easier for the sales people. Dwight introduces his avatar in Second Life and reminds Jim that “Second life is not a game. It is a multi-user virtual environment. It doesn’t have points or scores; it doesn’t have winners or losers.” To which Jim perfectly responds, “oh it has losers.”
And that may be the perfect moment to capture what made The Office so funny in the first place. It was one of those rare shows, like Seinfeld, that had the ability to take the things around us and shine a much needed spotlight on the hidden humor we might otherwise have missed. And sometimes the lessons are so profound we can only remember them through humor. As Michael Scott so memorably said, “Sometimes you have to take a break from being the kind of boss that’s always trying to teach people things. Sometimes you just have to be the boss of dancing.”
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Central Methodist Church – Spartanburg, S.C.
233 North Church Street
Courtesy of the Coleman – Meek Collection, 2016
City Directories and History: This Gothic Revival sanctuary, constructed in 1885-86 with substantive alterations in 1896-97, 1909-10, and 1930, is an excellent example of late nineteenth and early twentieth century interpretations of the Gothic Revival style and is associated with some of the most prominent architects of South Carolina and the Southeast during the period. Central Methodist, the first church established in Spartanburg, was founded in 1838 and known as Spartanburg Methodist Church until 1889. The first sanctuary, a frame building, was built soon afterwards and served the congregation until 1854, when it was demolished and replaced by a more substantial church. The second church was demolished in
Courtesy of the SC Dept. of Archives and History – 1982
1885 and replaced in 1886 by the present Gothic Revival church, described as “an ornament to our town” shortly before its dedication. The outside walls are a light yellow stucco, with beveled cast stone window sills, belt courses and
Central United Methodist Church – Images courtesy of the Segars Collection
matching drip moulds over pointed arched window and door openings. A 100-foot bell tower on the southwest corner was adorned with a steeple, gables on each side, and pinnacles at all four corners. The 1896-97 renovations are attributed to and were carried out according to plans by the noted order-by-mail house architect, George F. Barber of Knoxville and under the supervision of an architect named Hill of Charlotte included two large additions, a small secondary steeple, and a large addition to the main steeple. By 1909-10, the congregation had increased to more than 800 members, and reviewed plans by the Atlanta architectural firm of Norrman, Hentz, and Reid for another expansion intended to increase the size of the sanctuary by some sixty percent. Within twenty years, the church needed still more room, and the church hired Charles W. Fant of Anderson as the architect for a Sunday School addition and a remodeling of the auditorium. Listed in the National Register October 3, 2003.
North Church Street looking toward Central Methodist Church and Wofford College. Courtesy of the Willis Collection – 2016
(Courtesy of South Carolina Department of Archives and History)
TEXT – NR NOMINATION
NATIONAL REGISTER – IMAGE(S)
Filed Under: FEATURE, North Church Street, Town of Spartanburg Tagged With: Central Methodist Church, Charles W. Fant, George F. Barber, Hentz, Moore Brothers Builders, Norrman, Reid
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Police identify Rockford man killed in fatal Loves Park crash
Feb 26, 2016 at 8:14 AM Mar 1, 2016 at 12:45 PM
LOVES PARK — Police have identified a 58-year-old Rockford man killed in a head-on crash at 9:24 p.m. Thursday at Windsor Road and Gables Drive.
John D. Reiling, 58, driving a westbound Buick car was pronounced dead at the scene, Loves Park Police Department officers said.
The Buick crossed the center line and crashed into an eastbound Chrysler minivan driven by a 17-year-old Loves Park girl. She and a passenger in the Buick, Jacob Reiling, 22, of Rockford, were extricated from their vehicles and transported to an area hospital for treatment of injuries that were not life-threatening.
Reiling appeared to die as from injuries suffered in the crash, Winnebago County Chief Deputy Coroner William Hintz said in a news release.
Windsor Road was closed for hours after the crash as a Winnebago County Sheriff's Department crash reconstructionist conducted an investigation.
It is not known what factors led to the crash, Loves Park police said.
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CIA director blames social media for strength of ISIS
Published time: 13 Mar, 2015 20:48
Reuters / Stringer © Reuters
The internet has “greatly amplified” the Islamic State’s campaign of terrorism and has consequently stifled attempts to diminish the spread of the extremist group’s ideologies, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency says.
Speaking Friday at the Council on Foreign Relations, CIA Director John Brennan said the group calling itself the Islamic State (also known as ISIS or ISIL) has been so successful at staying intact and afloat largely because it has embraced new tools, such as social media, which enable it to achieve a transnational diffusion of ideas in real time over the web.
“What makes terrorism so difficult to fight is not just the ideology that fuels it, or the tactics that enable it. The power of modern communications also plays a role,” Brennan said. “New technologies can help groups like ISIL coordinate operations, attract new recruits, disseminate propaganda and inspire sympathizers across the globe to act in their name.”
Brennan described the group as both well-armed and well-financed in his prepared remarks and said that, if unchecked, it would “pose a serious danger not only to Syria and Iraq, but to the wider region and beyond, including the threat of attacks in the homelands of the United States and our partners.”
READ MORE: Right into enemy hands? ISIS shows off new weapons allegedly airdropped by US (VIDEO)
Yet while the United States has led a multi-nation military effort which has conducted around 2,800 airstrikes on the group in recent months, Brennan said that one of the major contributing factors with regards to keeping the group afloat has been its use of the internet.
“The overall threat of terrorism is greatly amplified by today’s interconnected world, where an incident in one corner of the globe can instantly spark a reaction thousands of miles away; and where a lone extremist can go online and learn how to carry out an attack without ever leaving home,” Brennan said.
“Indeed, for all its advantages, the Information Age brings with it an array of new challenges that have profound implications for CIA’s mission—implications that go beyond counterterrorism.”
According to a report released earlier this month, a 68-page 'ISIS Twitter Census' authored by J.M. Berger and Jonathon Morgan for the Brookings Institute, the group has indeed embraced social media with considerable results.
“Jihadists will exploit any kind of technology that will work to their advantage,” Berger, an expert on online extremism, told The New York Times last week. But the Islamic State, he said, “is much more successful than other groups.”
READ MORE: CNN insists ISIS lures women... with Nutella & kittens. For real
The Brookings report found that ISIS supporters opened at least 46,000 Twitter accounts during the last four months of 2014 – averaging around 1,000 followers a piece – and maintain an active presence on the web, notwithstanding attempts from the microblogging service to suspend accounts.
“Much of ISIS’s social media success can be attributed to a relatively small group of hyperactive users, numbering between 500 and 2,000 accounts, which tweet in concentrated bursts of high volume,” the authors determined. Elsewhere in the report, the researchers write that a spam and bot analysis undertaken of ISIS social media accounts suggested that 20 percent of all messages were created with automated software. With around one-fifth of all pro-ISIS accounts posted in English, however, the messages being spread en masse – fabricated or not – may have a very real impact with advancing the group.
On Wednesday, US Secretary of Defense Martin Dempsey told members of Congress that any victory against the Islamic State will be achieved not by the military, but rather through thwarting the group’s ability to so widely spread its ideals.
“We can harden the region against it militarily, but the ideology has to be defeated by those in the region,” Dempsey said.
Trends:ISIS news
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Honorary Committee
I Am FACE of LA
Saigu Stories
Faith Partnerships
KCCD Events
Other Community Events
Program Booklets
2017 SAIGU Events
2012 SAIGU Commemorative Service Photo Galleries
2012 SAIGU Commemorative Service Video Gallery
2017 SAIGU Commemorative Service
2012 SAIGU Campaign
We asked members of the 2017 SAIGU committee to reflect on their memories, thoughts and experiences with the riots. Here, you'll find a collection of their comments
LA Voice is honored to participate with KCCD and other partners in uplifting a story that we need to re-tell and re-interpret again and again until we understand the depth of our pain, the breadth of our love, and the horizon of our vision. We believe that these kinds of engagements are integral to our wholeness as a people, as we strive for a county of racial equity and abundant life for all—a place where kinship reigns over fear and division. We lean into kinship and hope with our friends at KCCD.
— Zachary Hoover, Executive Director, LA Voice
“Advancement Project California was born when the co-founders realized that the injustice we witnessed in 1992 between communities of color could not be resolved without thinking about the systems and structures in our society, which lift certain people into power and leave the rest of us to fight for the crumbs. And so, 25 years later, we take pride in our partnerships with local organizations and community leaders such as KCCD, to build voice and power in Los Angeles and throughout California. We are pleased to see a growing number of elected officials that come from our communities. But there is a lot more to do. There are still too many systems and policies that need dramatic reform to fulfill the dignified dream we all share. As we commemorate with the SAIGU Campaign, let us continue to broaden our unity in our fight for a progressive California.”
— Advancement Project California
We the City HRC support the SAIGU Campaign and the great work being done by the KCCD/FACE leading up to the Commemoration Service of the 25th Anniversary of the Los Angeles Riots, all are in favor.
— City of Los Angeles Human Relations Commission
Came away wondering if after 25 years our racial relationships are deep enough? Have we yet not learned about racial and cultural diversity? The Civil Rights Act changed laws and changed external behaviors toward African Americans and Mexican farm workers. But it is obvious today we need to go deeper and broader to include Asians, American Indians-all of God’s children.
— Dr. Jesse Miranda, The Jesse Miranda Center for Hispanic Leadership
A quarter century ago I could see from the rec yard of a Whittier youth correctional facility plumes of hot smoke rising from the city of LA. The mostly black and brown youthful offenders surrounding their counselor watched in silence, so close and yet so far from the destructive reaction to the racial divide they already knew existed. Later we talked about ‘hurt’ being the cause and ‘anger’ being the effect. I could not give a quality answer to their hurtful and angry accusations toward a justice system that absolutely did not acquit them of any of their crimes. I still can’t give a quality answer, only hopeful questions. Anniversaries are watermarks for where we’ve been and where we are. I hope we’re not where we were.
— Jack Miranda, Program Director, Jesse Miranda Center for Hispanic Leadership
The Ecovillage Movement has grown into a worldwide phenomenon, creating healthier, more socially just, and more environmentally sustainable neighborhoods, villages, and towns. The Los Angele Eco-Village grew out of the 1992 uprisings in the north end of Koreatown, and is now among the world’s most prominent urban ecovillages. As a 37 year resident of this neighborhood and a founder of the L.A. Eco-Village, I am proud to be commemorating SAIGU with KCCD and the many diverse groups with whom we continue to engage in positive change in our communities.
— Lois Arkin, Founder/Executive Director, LA Eco-Village
I am excited to be part of the SAIGU Campaign for the 25th Anniversary of the LA Riots and the excellent work that KCCD is doing in bringing the multicultural communities together, especially the Korean and Black communities. What makes this city great is the work that the KCCD is doing along with other faith-based organizations.
— Lem Daniels, VP/Financial Advisor, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management
A few days after 4.29, my mother took me to a peace rally in Seoul International Park in Koreatown. I participated in a peace march along with thousands of Angelenos that afternoon, and observed the charred ruins of Koreatown along Western Ave. We chanted in unison, “We want peace! We want justice!” I envisioned a movement towards the “beloved community” that day and that’s why today, I am an attorney who is playing a role in helping this City bridge the gap between communities and create more equities for those in need.
— Paul Jung, Attorney, Project 4R/API RISE
At the end of April, 1992, I was studying for finals on the other side of the country, in New York City. I followed the news closely as events unfolded across the community, including areas of town where my father grew up. But in what may have been one of my last expressions of teenager-dom, I neglected to call home to check in on my parents in Santa Monica. After a couple of days, when I finally called, my mother read me the riot act (so to speak). Clearly, one of our core principles, shared by African Americans, Korean Americans, Latinos, and Jews alike (and everyone else), is “Call your mother!”
— Shawn Landres, PhD., Commissioner, County of Los Angeles; City of Santa Monica
KoreanAmericanStory.org is honored to partner with KCCD to capture the stories of those whose lives were impacted by SaIGu. As a nonprofit organization whose mission is to capture and preserve the stories of the Korean American experience, we consider LA Riots to be one of the seminal moments in the history of the Korean American community. Its impact reverberated from KoreaTown in LA to all different parts of the United States where Korean Americans worked and lived. Those of us in LA struggled to rebuild our lives after the traumatic, life-altering experience of violence and destruction aimed at Korean Americans. Many of us were angry at the injustice of racism that still pervaded parts of our society, and some of us were challenged to be introspective about our own role in miscommunication and misunderstanding that existed between Korean and Black communities.
— HJ Lee, President, KoreanAmericanStory.org
During the LA Riots I was living in Van Nuys, and I watch everything unfold in the news, an extraordinary event!
After so much tragic that happen and after years that have passed I have witness better community relations between African American and Latinos. I believe God has done great work with both communities to create a better Los Angeles today.
— Pastor Jose Moreno, Iglesia Pentecostes Pena de Horeb
Centro de Vida Victoriosa Church has been part of Los Angeles for more than 30 years, and many of our members were affected by the tragedy of the Los Angeles Riots. We are pleased to join with KCCD in remembering the 1992 civil unrest. This event in not only about remembering this tragedy, but more important about how we can work together for the unity and the betterment of our communities in our city.
— Pastor Carlos Rincon, Centro de Vida Victoriosa Church
Hyepin Im and KCCD have brought forward a tremendous platform for healing with the annual Saigu 429. While time has passed since the LA Riots the scars remain. With a movement like Saigu 429 we can embrace our differences and find a common ground to heal and love.
— Schenae Rourk, President, Redwood Resources/NAWBO-LA
We join KCCD in remembering Saigu, and reaffirming the collective power of our communities in the fight for peace and justice.
— Renee Tajima-Peña, Filmmaker and Professor, UCLA Center for Ethno Communications
Remembering our past and creating a community vision for the future is exactly what Saigu is about. We’re honored to be a part of a campaign with such a diverse group of organizations and community leaders.
— John Yi, President, Korean American Democratic Committee
The SAIGU Campaign is an amazing example Christ’s hope, healing, and humility in the world. As a young grad student/pastor, I’m constantly inspired by Hyepin Im and KCCD’s example as they blaze the trail of healing and restoration for generations to come. On a personal note, I’m extremely grateful for Ms. Im’s direction and mentorship in becoming a community change agent.
— Kevin Kang
SAIGU Prayer Breakfast
Our “only in LA” moment - a truly multi-faith, multi-ethnic prayer breakfast at a historic synagogue that stands as a symbol of civic unity - was the ideal way to begin the SAIGU commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the events of 1992. It was a powerful reminder of the faith community’s crucial role in ensuring the freedom and dignity of the most vulnerable.
This morning gave me tremendous hope for the future and reminded me of the countless blessings in all our lives.
— Rabbi Beau Shapiro, Wilshire Boulevard Temple
I was so touched today at SAIGU’s Prayer Breakfast by the powerful stories shared by a diverse group of faith and community members who attended. Stories of pain and suffering, and stories of love and hope that were in display during and after one of the darkness moment in Los Angeles. Today, I was reminded to seek forgiveness because I was so disconnected from so much pain, and I hope always to stand in solidarity with others in pursuing the breakdown of the walls of oppression, so that this part of history does not repeat again.
— Guillermo Torres, CLUE LA
It was amazing to be part of a beautiful tapestry of cultures, sharing a united vision of peace and harmony.
— Rabbi Susan Nanus, Wilshire Boulevard Temple
Today’s prayer breakfast gave me a glimpse of what it can look like when heaven comes to earth. It was amazing to see people from various faith traditions to gather and seek the peace of the city. The table is definitely much larger than we can ever imagine!
I was reminded again of the truth of these words from the Prophet Jeremiah: “And seek the welfare of the city and… pray to the Lord in its behalf; for in its prosperity you shall prosper. “(Jeremiah 29:4-7) We are all in this together.
— Rabbi Laura Geller, Rabbi Emerita, Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills
"We are excited about the opportunities that the SAIGU campaign will create as well as new possibilities for the city of Los Angeles. Being a resident of South Los Angeles during the L.A. Riots, I saw firsthand not only the destruction of property, but worse, the destruction of the dreams and hopes of both residents & merchants in the region. As we approach the 20 year anniversary of the unrest, we are grateful to be partnering with KCCD along with other organizations and community leaders to build bridges, foster new relationships, and work together to restore the hopes and dreams that were displaced during that time."
Pastor Touré Roberts
One Church International
"I remember the riots because April 29th was on a Friday! My last day of work for a company in the City of Bell, after accepting the job to come work for the church the following Monday, May 2nd, just a mile away from the epic center of Florence & Normandie. My faith had been challenged from the first day on the job; wondering if I had made the right choice. We had no power in the area, most of the stores, gas station, and other service centers in the area were destroyed. Twenty years later, I am still in the business of helping to save communities."
Robert Rubin
Executive Director, Vermont Village Community Development Corporation
"The image of a past moves me through a two dimensional gallery that reminds me of an inner volcanic cloud of disorder that engulfed, killed, stole and destroyed a City Of Angels. Today, I join KCCD, the SAIGU partnership and all those who have raised themselves from the suffocating ashes to breathe life into a new foundation that will be the cornerstone of the 20th year anniversary."
Sal Martinez
Commissioner, L.A. County Department of Probation
"The financial loss my family incurred is about 350K. Two storefronts and 250K in wholesale inventory. My mom didn't have the proper insurance to cover it, so it was a complete loss. She got out of small business completely and helped my father who was in a different business - real estate - which at the time was a very down market. It was a difficult time for my family. I saw my parents fight a lot during this time - mostly because of the financial strain, im sure. I have two siblings and am just now realizing how expensive it is to raise children in LA. I'm grateful to my parents for shielding me from the problems they had and allowing me to grow up like normal kid. We were victims. But, I speak for my whole family when I say we certainly don't feel like victims. God provided miraculously, as he always does, and we are all well today except for my father who passed away 2 years ago."
Sean Na
Realtor, Modern Realty Co.
"I am proud to be part of SAIGU, which aspires to build a better Los Angeles. It is indeed only together that we can build a better society, and Muslims are happy to join hands with our Korean brothers and sisters in doing just that."
Shakeel Syed
Executive Director, Islamic Shura Council of Southern California
"Being a part of ‘Chung Yuhn Dahn,’ a youth task force who patrolled Koreatown during the LA Riots 20 years ago, I did the best I could to protect some parts of my hometown while I watched other parts burn up in flames. I hated the police, the white media, Blacks, Latinos, and even some Koreans for a long time. My feeling are much different now, and rather than living in the past, I'm doing what I can to support SAIGU and continue to move forward."
Sonny Kang
Koreatown native
“The 20th anniversary of the Los Angeles Riots is an opportunity for us to reflect on the progress we’ve made in building a city and a community that is more inclusive, more diverse and stronger than before. The causes of the riots were complex and varied, and in rebuilding neighborhoods affected by the riot, we were also building those ties that have brought us closer together. We are proud of the diversity in Los Angeles, and we are proud that our city is home to folks spanning every culture and community in the world. Organizations like Korean Churches for Community Development have helped lead us in the rebuilding effort early on, and in healing the wounds and divisions that led to the riots in the first place.”
Speaker John A. Pérez
"The Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC) is pleased to join with KCCD in remembering the 1992 civil unrest. APALC worked with many leaders after the civil unrest to heal racial tensions and to restore economic vitality to the communities. We continue to work with the Korean American community to provide services and to advocate for political engagement."
Stewart Kwoh
President & Executive Director, Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California
"I salute the riot victims for their fortitude, courage, and faith in America in painstakingly restoring what appeared to be irreparable damage, to preserve the city. Though excruciatingly painful, it is imperative to re-examine the incident to prevent a recurrence and improve the progression of our great society. We learned and took positive steps toward better relationships, however, we must go beyond political rhetoric. We must establish a level of opportunity, happiness, and equality for the minority as well as the majority. In that regard, KCCD's active leadership is deeply appreciated."
William P. Min
Former President , Korean American Legal Advocacy Fund (KALAF)
"The Los Angeles Riots were one of America's great tragedies, especially for the Korean-American community. Chaos Theory Music is committed to telling this story and capturing its sound. We will gladly provide music production and creative content in support of this important and necessary campaign."
Woody Pak
CEO & Composer, Chaos Theory Music, Inc.
“I feel truly blessed and honored to be part of the SAIGU Committee. After almost twenty years since the L.A. Riots, I hope that we can bring our multi-ethnic communities together to heal and grow. Instead of a quilt of communities with separate blocks and borders, our communities must intertwine to create the unbreakable tapestry that is Los Angeles.”
Yonah Hong
Community Affairs Specialist, CRA-LA
"Much like George Holliday capturing the infamous Rodney King video, David Kim has caught the unconscionable acts against Korean American's on camera. His documentary is not to be missed."
Jennifer Sanderson
Executive Director, Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment (CAPE)
“As a Christian pastor, I honor my Korean brothers and sisters, along with all the guests who gather today seeking to advance the cause of unity and reconciliation. Your steadfast belief that the tragedies of the past can be transformed into new possibilities will undoubtedly bring health and hope to all who reside within the boundaries of this City.
Today, I join my heart and hands with yours as we all pursue the Creator’s mandate to ‘love our neighbors as ourselves.’ May God bless your efforts to honor, respect and advance goodwill, peace and prosperity to all. You are indeed a blessing to us!”
Dr. Jim Tolle
La Iglesia En El Camino, Church On The Way
"The LA Riots of 1992 was a historical event that impacted the lives of so many across the city and around the world. We are honored to partner together with the SAIGU campaign to release healing into these past wounds and to envision TOGETHER what is possible as we walk in the power of love and reconciliation."
Jonathan and Sharon Ngai
Lead Directors, Radiance International (Hollywood House of Prayer)
"The Asian Pacific American Legal Center appreciates the leadership of KCCD in remembering the impact of the 1992 civil unrest in Los Angeles. We believe it is important that we learn the lessons of that period. We must work together to make sure that the criminal justice system is fair to all, that we work to peacefully resolve racial tensions and avoid stereotyping, that we make sure that economic opportunities are open for all, and that we make renewed commitments to work together for community revitalization."
Stuart Kwoh
President and Executive Director, Asian Pacific American Legal Center
"The King Riots of 1992 reflect how fragile and complex relationships are within the diverse communities of Los Angeles. The SAIGU Campaign to Serve, Advocate, Inspire, Give and Unite is an integral thread that is weaving our communities together. We salute the Korean Churches for Community Development for commemorating this pivotal event in our history, and for their work to unify Los Angeles and heal the wounds that tore us apart."
John Hope Bryant
Founder, Chairman and CEO, Operation HOPE
"20 years ago our city erupted into chaos leaving 53 dead and causing a billion dollars in damage. The physical and emotional scars are still healing.
And while the riots now belong to history, the consequences and lessons of those days remain with us. The riots forced us to face uncomfortable truths about our society. The truth that entire communities were economically ignored and isolated, left with incredibly high unemployment. The truth that law enforcement must build good relationships and understanding with the people they are sworn to “protect and serve.” The truth that there is no excuse for violence and destruction, which only weakens the cause of justice and destroys our community. And the truth that no one should be left to live without hope and opportunity.
I pray that we have learned from the riots. That we have faced the uncomfortable truths and are continually working toward the changes necessary to be a better city collectively, and better people individually. I believe things are progressing from where they once were, and remembering what happened, I believe, will keep us focused on never letting it happen again.”
U.S. Congresswoman Janice Hahn
Korean Churches for Community Development, 3550 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 736, Los Angeles, CA, 90010, United States(213) 985-1500info@kccd3300.org
KOREAN CHURCHES FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Office: (213) 985-1500 Email info@kccd3300.org
kccd.org
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Another day, another death, another milestone
The U.S. death toll in Iraq reaches 2,500.
Check out this article! https://www.salon.com/2006/06/15/2500/
Tim Grieve
According to MSNBC, the U.S. death toll in Iraq has just reached 2,500.
In other news from the war:
Amnesty for attackers? In an effort to end the insurgency, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is likely to propose pardons for insurgents who killed Americans rather than Iraqis, a top advisor tells the Washington Post. At a press conference, Maliki himself said that amnesty could cover those "who weren't involved in the shedding of Iraqi blood."
Al-Qaida documents? Iraqi security officials say they've discovered a cache of al-Qaida documents and computer files in the rubble of the house where Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed and inside other safe houses. Iraqi National Security Advisor Mouwafak al-Rubaie says the discoveries include a "thumb drive" in Zarqawi's pocket and could lead to "the beginning of the end of al-Qaida in Iraq."
Post-Zarqawi raids: In the days since Zarqawi's death, U.S. and Iraqi military teams have carried out 452 raids and killed 104 insurgents, the U.S. military says. Baghdad remains in a security lockdown, Agence France-Presse says, with 50,000 U.S. and Iraqi troops patrolling the streets. Despite the crackdown, seven bodies were discovered in Iraq's capital this morning.
Tim Grieve is a senior writer and the author of Salon's War Room blog.
MORE FROM Tim Grieve
Iraq Iraq War Middle East War Room
Gold Star families hit with higher taxes
Trump pardons soldier for war crime
America was never a Christian nation
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"This is your lot,
The portion of your measures from Me," says the Lord,
"Because you have forgotten Me
And trusted in falsehood."
I'm sure that I have mentioned it before, but Jeremiah is my favorite prophet. His heart hurt for his people; for the sins they had committed against the Lord. He desperately tried to warn them that judgment was coming; and for his compassion and obedience, he was beaten, ostracized and ignored. Yet he never lost his zeal for trying to turn his nation back to their God.
So, it was with great heartache that I received a particular comment this week. It simply said, "Please be a Jeremiah to us; please pray for my country, the Philippines. Thank you and God bless you, ma'am."
I was instantly humbled. I am no Jeremiah. I am just one woman who decided one day to reach out to others and express my deepest thoughts and emotions about my country, my future, and most importantly, my God.
But I have had a strong sense from day one of Typhoon Haiyan, that judgment was part of this devastation. That's not to say that all bad weather events are evidence of an angry God, or that God enjoys punishing his followers when they disobey or sin. But I kept having a nagging thought that something was going on under the surface of this tragedy.
Then I received an email from a faithful mentor of mine, who asked me to pray for the people of the Philippines and for their specific needs. It seems that the relief teams that have gone in to provide much needed assistance have found that Philippine mythology is very common among the people, and includes a collection of tales and superstitions about magical creatures and entities. Some Filipinos, even though heavily Christianized, still believe in these tales. The prevalence of belief in the figures of Philippines mythology is strong in the provinces.
This story, from one of the relief workers, will reveal the nature of this problem: The old woman sat on the roadside, shivering in the cold. Like everyone else in the Philippines’ Leyte province, her house had been destroyed by Typhoon Haiyan. She had escaped with practically nothing, but she clutched a religious statue worshiped by many on Cebu Island.
A relief team partnering with Baptist Global Response stopped to give her a jacket to shield against the cold. Instead of putting it on, however, she wrapped it around the statue. Then, obviously heartbroken and confused, she spoke to the statue.
“Why have you failed me?” she asked. “Why have you failed me?”
The storm has killed, at present count, more than 3,600 people, and a leader in the Southern Baptist relief efforts said it has shaken most survivors’ faith in the folk religion that keeps them from finding the meaningful lives of hope and purpose God offers. As a result, relief workers have a long-sought opportunity to help survivors find hope for new lives, as well as provide them with the necessities of survival.
“This area is the Philippines’ last frontier, in a sense, because it’s hard, hard ground. The folk religion here is so embedded and strong,” said Stan Smith, a missionary who grew up in the Philippines. “We’ve been praying and praying and praying all these years. Now this great ‘bad’ has shaken these islands. There is a sense of excitement that God is at work here in all of this. We’re bringing in resources to help when the people are very sensitive and open.”
So, you see, in our verse today, Jeremiah is telling us very plainly that God will do whatever it takes to get our attention and turn us away from the lies and deceit of the Evil One; and in this case, it is the worship of false gods and statues. But are we any different from these poor Filipino peasants? We may not be physically clutching a statue, but are we clinging to false promises of happiness and security in people and systems and things that are equally incapable of securing our salvation?
As I said, I am no Jeremiah or prophet; but together, we Christians can pray as a body and petition God, on behalf of the Philippine people, that He will do great works among them and turn this tragedy into a victory for His kingdom. In response to this commenter's fervent plea, let us get on our knees and pray for her country. And while we pray in reverence and awe of His powerful judgment, let us not forget our own nation -- we too have a reckoning coming.
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Tom Baker Joins Sandisk As Vice President Of Human Resources
Twenty-Five Year HR Industry Veteran Brings Global Expertise to SanDisk
SUNNYVALE, CA, Nov. 1, 2005- SanDisk® Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK) today announced that Tom Baker has joined the company as vice president of Human Resources.
Baker has more than 25 years of experience in human resources and organizational development and reports to Judy Bruner, executive vice president of administration and Chief Financial Officer. Baker's responsibilities include developing strategies and programs that enhance the company's recruiting, compensation, benefits, management development, diversity and workplace culture.
Bruner said, "Due to unprecedented demand for our products on a global basis, SanDisk is expanding rapidly and recently surpassed 1,000 employees. Tom has a strong track record of building effective organizations and developing new HR processes and programs and will be a valuable member of our senior management team."
Baker has held a broad range of HR positions over the past 25 years. For the past five years, he was at Palm, most recently as vice president of HR. He has also held senior HR positions at TRW and Avery Dennison. His experience includes key positions in the areas of compensation & benefits, organizational development, training & development and staffing. For several years, he performed a dual role managing HR while serving as the VP of sales and administration, giving him direct experience with sales, order administration, customer service and distribution.
Baker received a B.S. from Cornell University and an MBA from Syracuse University.
SanDisk is the original inventor of flash storage cards and is the world's largest supplier of flash data storage card products using its patented, high-density flash memory and controller technology. SanDisk is headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA and has operations worldwide, with more than half its sales outside the U.S.
SanDisk's product images can be downloaded from www.sandisk.com/corporate/media.asp
SanDisk and the SanDisk logo and are trademarks of SanDisk Corporation, registered in the U.S. and other countries.
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Open Letter to ACM’s Bob Romeo On Justin Moore Eligibility
Trigger Causes 19 Comments
Dear Bob Romero, It is in the spirit of wanting to keep the viability and the storied nature of the ACM’s in tact that I write you to address a concern that I, as well as other country music writers and fans have voiced over the eligibility of Big Machine Records artist Justin Moore for the New Artist of the Year award at the 49th Annual awards set to transpire in a month from now.
Academy of Country Music, ACM Awards, Bob Romero, Jamey Johnson, Justin Moore
ACM’s Respond to Justin Moore’s “New Artist” Ineligibility
Today the Academy of Country Music announced the finalists for their “New Artist of the Year” award to be given out an the ACM Awards on April 6th. By the results of fan voting, the eight-name list of nominees was narrowed down to three performers: Brett Eldredge, Kip Moore, and Justin Moore. The announcement comes as questions continue to loom around the eligibility of Justin Moore’s nomination.
Academy of Country Music, ACM Awards, Bob Romero, Brett Eldredge, Justin Moore, Kip Moore, New Artist of the Year, response, rules
Justin Moore Should Be Disqualified from ACM’s “New Artist”
Forget that Justin Moore signed to Big Machine’s Valory Music imprint in 2008, that he had a #1 single in 2009, and a #1 album in 2011; as first pointed out by Windmills Country, according to the Academy of Country Music’s specifically-stated rules of eligibility for the “New Artist” category, Justin Moore should be disqualified because he’s had not one, but two albums certified gold.
Academy of Country Music, ACM, ACM Awards, Big Machine Records, Brett Eldredge, Justin Moore, Kacey Musgraves, Kip Moore, Lee Brice, New Artist of the Year, Parmalee, Thomas Rhett, Tyler Farr
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Kiwi formula brands deserve protection
Home Business Connect News & Advocacy Media Releases Kiwi formula brands deserve protection
Wednesday, 3rd July, 2013
A united approach to marketing formula in China can only enhance the Kiwi reputation, writes Michael Barnett.
The discovery at a Shanghai Mother and Baby Expo last year that some of the infant formula brands on display might not be from New Zealand even though they were packaged to look as if they were has deservedly propelled a fast response.
The New Zealand exporters at the Expo reasoned that if they could not tell who was offering a legitimate Kiwi product, how possibly could China consumers. Their concern was that other (non-Kiwi) formula producers might be leveraging off the good name of the New Zealand clean, green brand.
Concerned that the use of the Kiwi clean, green brand might not be as it seems triggered them to establish the New Zealand Infant Formula Exporters Association (NZIFEA).
Their quick action to establish NZIFEA is understandable.
First, infant formula is New Zealand's latest export superstar. China's 2008 melamine scandal - in which six babies died and around 300,000 became sick after consuming dairy products tainted with the industrial chemical - resulted in the virtual collapse of the Chinese infant formula industry as consumer confidence in domestic brands hit rock-bottom.
Foreign brands quickly filled the void and New Zealand-made formula products now command a hefty premium, selling for as much as $70 a can. In 2009 formula exports were worth $753 million to the New Zealand economy, up from $63 million in 1999.
Recent commentary suggests formula exports income may now be around $1 billion, helped by the phase-out of tariffs agreed under the 2008 NZ-China Free Trade Agreement.
Multimillion-dollar processing plants (some partly or wholly Chinese-owned) are springing up in New Zealand to manufacture formula for China's rapidly expanding market - worth around $7 billion in 2011 and projected to double by 2016.
Second, the reputation and use of the New Zealand brand in China is at stake.
Now made up of some 20 medium and small exporters, together with businesses involved in product testing, packaging and the supply chain, the main purpose of the association is to secure and protect the reputation of New Zealand infant formula, the Kiwi brand and consumer confidence.
Another objective is to develop and maintain an accreditation process to help improve the overall quality of New Zealand infant formula. The association is encouraging all exporters to comply with the World Health Organisation's International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes (WHO Code).
Reflecting the high importance and potential of the China market but recognising its relatively complex regulatory frameworks, the association has quickly become a sounding board to share experiences, concerns and work collaboratively.
The potential of the market is so huge there is no point in New Zealand exporters pretending that they are competing against each other.
Their real competition threats come from other foreign infant formula producers that might send bulk product to China which is then repackaged locally to look as if it comes from somewhere like New Zealand.
It is reassuring that China's Government has become aware of this possibility and has recently said it will step up monitoring of baby milk brands so products can be traced back to their source.
At the same time, China is a relatively new market and the rules are still being shaped. There are indications, understandably, that China's authorities don't want to be seen to be failing their public on an issue where the public has expressed a great deal of concern.
The association wants to learn how best to build a relationship with Chinese authorities and use this to respond appropriately on behalf of members.
China's Government likes to deal with a single, coherent authority. Though the association doesn't claim to represent all of the New Zealand infant formula exporters, it has quickly become a credible voice for medium-small businesses who want to build a positive relationship with China and do things correctly.
In other areas, China and New Zealand have, over a long time, established a strong reputation of working together to ensure the integrity of traded products. Export assurances are especially important for infant formula exports given, as noted, that China's consumers have strong concerns about food safety, quality and product integrity.
By members adopting shared "best practice" on environmental issues, the WHO Code and infant formula marketing, they reinforce through their behaviour that New Zealand's brand is valuable. This needs to be applied in a consistent way.
I note that Food Safety Minister Nikki Kaye intends to work closely with the industry to further protect and strengthen confidence in our food assurance systems to match the rapid growth in infant formula exports. The association's members can only benefit from this initiative, and we look forward to participating in the work programme that has been proposed.
Association members agree New Zealand's global reputation as a leading producer of safe and trusted food is extremely important to our competitive advantage as an export-led nation.
Michael Barnett is chief executive of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and independent chairman of the New Zealand Infant Formula Exporters Association.
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An elusive Higgs boson decay has finally been spotted
LHC set to see beyond Higgs
by Andrew Grant
Evidence for new Higgs-related particle fades away
Nobel’s sharp cuts
Higgs field prediction lands Nobel Prize in physics
Higgs boson wins scientists Nobel Prize in physics
Higgs boson’s effects on universe boosted
by Ashley Yeager
Hard times for theorists in a post-Higgs world
Higgs discovery helps make sense of matter
by Alexandra Witze
Higgs hysteria
Nature’s secrets foretold
A primer on the long-sought Higgs boson
Higgs found
CMS spokesman: 'We've observed a new particle'
The Higgs Boson Search
Physicists on alert for Higgs announcement
by Nadia Drake
Higgs running out of hiding places
Tantalizing hints of long-sought particle
by Devin Powell
A lighter Higgs, but chase continues
New data suggest a lighter Higgs
by Ron Cowen
Discovery of Higgs at Large Hadron Collider might not make all physicists happy
Elusive Higgs particle has fewer hideouts
Corralling the Mass Maker: Hunting ground shifts for elusive particle
Most-Wanted Particle Appears, Perhaps
Jiggling the Cosmic Ooze
A World-Class Accelerator
View all Search Results for "Higgs boson"
Conversations with Maya: Mary Sue Coleman
Mary Sue Coleman displays her 1961 Science Talent Search project, “Studies in Bacterial Mutation.” Photo: Society for Science & the Public
Maya Ajmera, President & CEO of Society for Science & the Public and Publisher of Science News, sat down to chat with Mary Sue Coleman, President of the Association of American Universities and a former President of the University of Michigan. Coleman is an alumna of the 1961 Westinghouse Science Talent Search (STS) and the 1959 and 1960 International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). She is also a member of the Society’s Board of Trustees. We are thrilled to share an edited summary of the conversation.
I understand you had an opportunity to meet President John F. Kennedy and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson while you were in Washington, D.C., competing in STS. Do you remember that experience, and what was that like for you?
We knew that meeting the president was an extraordinary opportunity. What we didn’t understand was that Kennedy wouldn’t be with us very long after that. In retrospect, it was bittersweet.
All the girls were instructed to wear white gloves and hats to the White House to meet with the president and vice president. Everybody was totally smitten with Kennedy because he was a young, fresh, energetic face of the presidency in a way that everybody was excited about. When he was killed, I couldn’t quite believe that I had that experience of meeting President Kennedy. It was very, very meaningful, and I’ve remembered it forever.
What was your experience at ISEF like?
I was engaged in local science fairs before 1959. I went to a lab school that was associated with the University of Northern Iowa, and the faculty was very encouraging, giving me space and time to do my project, which aimed to demonstrate the development of resistance in bacteria to penicillin. It was very simple, but it was exciting for me.
The fair was exhilarating to me because I was able to meet more students interested in science. I was the only person in my small school who was interested in scientific research and participated in science fairs. Through ISEF, I was able to meet other students from around the country and some international students.
How did STS and ISEF affect your career? We hear from a lot of alumni that the fairs were a pivotal moment in their lives.
STS, in particular, convinced me that I was good enough to compete at the highest levels. I competed during the time of the Sputnik threat. And so I got lots of outreach from companies, from individuals around the state, who just said, “Oh, we’re so glad you’re interested in science.” I felt like I was doing something extraordinarily important, not only for myself but for the country.
You’re a trailblazer. You were a university professor with a Ph.D., at a time when there weren’t a lot of women in the sciences. What kind of challenges did you face?
I was a chemistry major at Grinnell College in Iowa. There were other women who majored in chemistry, and also women in graduate school, but there were no women professors. That was something that I found fairly troubling. In fact, when I went to Chapel Hill in 1990 as a university administrator, I put together some analyses of both Duke University and the University of North Carolina about the number of women faculty. I became quite vocal about increasing the number of women professors.
I never felt like people said, “You can’t do this.” I always got encouragement everywhere I went. That’s not to say I didn’t face obstacles. The first roadblock that I recall facing was obtaining a faculty position at the University of Kentucky. There were no women on the biochemistry faculty, and I had to spend more time as a postdoctoral fellow than was ideal — but I also learned a lot during that time. Eventually, I was able to get a faculty position.
I think one of the reasons that I’ve been successful is that I’ve always promoted opportunity for everybody. Young men in science need just as much support as young women because it’s tough. It’s a tough environment, and it’s a highly competitive environment. We need to be nurturing everybody in the nation who wants to go into science.
You were a chemistry major at a liberal arts college. What are your thoughts on the importance of liberal arts?
Even though I was a chemistry major as an undergraduate, I took art courses. I loved learning about history and literature. I think the critical thinking skills I learned from a liberal arts institution have served me extraordinarily well.
You were president at the University of Michigan from 2002 through 2014 at a difficult time for the state, economically. How did you navigate that and help the campus community?
Michigan went into the Great Recession earlier than most other states and had a far more negative experience. It was a very, very difficult time. Unlike many public universities, the University of Michigan had the advantage of a robust culture of philanthropy. I activated it in a way that I think was really in a crisis mode, but I was also very strategic. This was a time when most universities stopped hiring great faculty, but I put aside money for hiring, which enabled us to hire several hundred additional faculty members. We landed the best people because nobody else was hiring. I thought, if you’re going to spend money, spend it where it’s going to make a difference, and it made a huge difference.
As president of the Association of American Universities, you are familiar with the issues facing college campuses across the country. What are the biggest challenges facing universities today?
Affordability and access are always big issues for students. I think a lot more cooperation among institutions could be helpful. Students might need to start their college career at a community college and then transfer. We must also work more vigorously on communicating the value of higher education.
In 2010, you were asked by Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke to cochair the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship. And then in 2011, President Barack Obama asked you to help launch the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership. What did you do in those roles?
As you may recall, those were initiatives of the Obama administration and the Department of Commerce during the Great Recession, when it was important to highlight a rebirth of American manufacturing. It was important for us to talk about key issues, like why America should care about manufacturing and whether it was bad for our nation to outsource advanced manufacturing to the world. We were trying to give advice, both to the administration and to Gary Locke, about what commerce could do to help stimulate innovation. I was thrilled to be part of it.
One of the things you said that has always stuck with me is “talent is everywhere.” You’ve long promoted the educational value of diverse perspectives in the classroom and also within the academic community. Why is that such an important issue for you?
I think part of it has to do with the time I spent growing up in the South and realizing inequities that existed in opportunities for young people. I have always felt like access to education is a key factor in creating a democratic society. You need to have an educated populace — I don’t think ignorance and democracy go hand in hand very well. And so I’ve just cared a lot about student access. Part of student access involves ensuring students can afford college. That’s why we had to raise so much money at Michigan through philanthropy so that we could recruit students from everywhere.
What advice do you have for young people moving into higher education or their careers?
I encourage young people to avail themselves of all the educational opportunities that they have because I believe that the more education you have, the more opportunities and options you have in your life. That’s why I’m so appalled by the pundits who declare you don’t need to go to college. Is that what they really want for their own children? And so, I tell young people, I hope you love education. I hope you have the advantage of being in an environment where you have excellent teachers and where people can get you excited. There is a huge and wonderful world out there, and you don’t want to be in a position where you don’t know what you don’t know.
There are so many challenges in the world today. What keeps you up at night?
I worry about the skepticism about facts, and I worry that some people don’t believe evidence. I worry about people who don’t understand that climate change is the future. It’s happening now, and it’s based on solid scientific research and scientific discovery. If we lose the ability as a nation to rely on those who are discovering new information, that is going to affect us.
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Cyber Security Challenge announces start of Linux contest
The Cyber Security Challenge UK has launched its first competition, testing participant's ability to detect hacker activity on Linux systems.
Sponsored by Sophos, the Linux Forensics Challenge will test competitors' knowledge of malicious attacks and their ability to prevent them on the open source system. Sophos said that it was asked to develop the competition in response to candidate feedback from the previous year's competitions, and to encourage development of the skills that employers require.
James Lyne, director of technology strategy at Sophos, said: “Because of a lack of ‘malware' compared to other platforms, companies assume that these systems are eminently secure and entrust them with their most sensitive data. However, in reality the dangers are still there, they are just different from those faced by conventional PC systems.
“Many of the institutions that underpin our economy put their faith in this technology to protect their data. With the use of Linux increasing, the future of UK plc falls into the hands of those with the expertise to identify attacks on these systems and improve their security going forward.
“However employers are finding it hard to identify these skills. They are often not covered in school or university courses, which can't keep up with the rapidly changing landscape of internet technology. Without a formal academic path, it's difficult for employers to identify those with the right skills and for potential employees to demonstrate they have them.”
Judy Baker, director of the Cyber Security Challenge UK, said: “One thing we learnt from our first set of challenges was that Linux was the operating system of choice for many of our candidates. In their feedback, many candidates suggested that we develop a competition on Linux.
“With employers searching for people with expertise on these systems, we knew we had to put something together and Sophos took up the baton. When we announced the Sophos Linux Forensics Challenge all 100 initial places were filled almost immediately and we have had to add extra spaces to meet the demand.”
In the competition, candidates will be tasked with detecting the activity of hackers on simulated Linux systems. They will also be asked to make recommendations to prevent similar attacks in the future. The overall winner will be amongst those awarded ‘career enhancing' prizes, whilst a number of successful candidates will qualify for the next stage, the Sophos Malware Hunt.
Once at that stage, competitors will be asked to identify and explain a range of malicious code from the vaults at SophosLabs in a bid to prevent data theft and system failure.
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NHS trust criticised over data loss
University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust lost the personal information of 87 patients when a medical student mislaid an unencrypted memory stick.
According to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the trust breached the Data Protection Act when the personal details of patients, and sensitive information relating to their treatment, were lost last December.
The mistake happened when a medical student, who had been on a placement at the hospital's Burns and Plastics Department, copied data onto a personal, unencrypted memory stick for research purposes.
The ICO's investigation found that the hospital had assumed that the student had received data protection training at medical school and therefore did not provide him with the induction training given to its own staff. The hospital has now agreed to take steps to ensure that the personal information accessed by students is kept secure.
Sally Anne Poole, acting head of enforcement at the ICO, said: “This case highlights the need to ensure data protection training for healthcare providers is built in early on, so that it becomes second nature. Medics handle some of the most sensitive personal information possible and it is vital that they understand the need to keep it secure at all times, especially when they are completing placements at several health organisations.
“NHS bodies also have a duty to make sure their staff, both permanent and temporary, understand their responsibilities on day one in the job.
“While we are pleased that the University Hospital of South Manchester has taken action to avoid this oversight in the future, we will continue to work with healthcare bodies and education providers to make sure that data protection training is a mandatory part of people's education.”
A further undertaking was also signed by the London Ambulance Service, which breached the Data Protection Act after a personal laptop was stolen from a contractor's home. The laptop contained contact details and transport requirements relating to 2,664 patients.
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HomeHow Vera Bradley's founder bagged success
How Vera Bradley's founder bagged success
Barbara Bradley Baekgaard co-founded a handbag and apparel company out of her basement—she named it after her mom—and 33 years later it generates a half-billion dollars in sales.
Don’t be drab. That notion impelled stay-at-home mom Barbara Bradley to begin selling colorful handbags—cutting fabric on her Ping-Pong table—in 1982. She borrowed $250 from her then husband and, with a co-founder and help from a passel of friends and family, launched Vera Bradley. Three decades, a remarriage, and a new surname (Baekgaard) later, she is 76 and her brand is sold in 2,700 specialty shops and 148 company-owned stores and garners annual sales of $509 million. Baekgaard’s story:
I never saw myself going into business. I grew up in Florida, where my father was a sales rep and later part owner of a candle company. My mother, Vera Bradley, was a model for Elizabeth Arden in her youth.
I left college two credits shy of a bachelor’s degree, got married, and had four children in five years. I was a stay-at-home mom in Fort Wayne—my husband owned a paper distributorship—when I met Patricia Miller, who lived on the same street. We became friends. I loved hanging wallpaper, so Pat and I started Up Your Wall, a hobby that made us a little money hanging wallpaper.
In 1982 we came back from visiting my parents in Florida and were at the Atlanta airport when we noticed no one was carrying anything colorful or fun. So we decided to start a company to make handbags and luggage for women. My mother had great style, and we decided to name the company Vera Bradley after her.
We didn’t have any cash, so we each borrowed $250 from our husbands and bought some fabric. A seamstress made the first bag, then we put an ad in the newspaper for people who wanted to sew in their homes. We cut fabric out on a Ping-Pong table, put it with a zipper and other elements in a bag, and gave it to the women who would take them home to sew.
I still had two of my four children at home. We asked them to refrain from answering the phone between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. so there was a more professional atmosphere.
Before long, a friend who believed in the idea gave us a check for $2,500. He said if we were successful, it was a loan. If we weren’t, it was a gift. That check was huge to us. Six months later we went to a bank, seeking a $5,000 loan. The first banker who offered us money seemed reluctant, so we rejected it. You want to work with people who have faith in you. We took out the loan from another bank.
The first year, we did $10,000 in sales. Then things got chaotic. By our third year, we hit $1 million.
We moved into the Taylor Martin Paper Co. building in 1984 and rented space upstairs for the sewing so we could concentrate on marketing and sales. My husband and I divorced, and in 1987, Vera Bradley bought a lot and built its own building in town.
Early on we knew we didn’t know how to price things or do cost analyses. So we got in touch with SCORE, a nonprofit that provides free business mentoring to entrepreneurs, and a volunteer was assigned to help us. I started calling on stores, showing the bags to owners. We had no trouble getting stores to buy our products because there was nothing like it out there.
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Home chemical current affairs currentaffairs 2019 gktoday Global Burden of disease global chemical outlook hazardous hazardous waste India magazine news ozone seekersthoughts thehindu The hazardous waste in developing nations
The hazardous waste in developing nations
June 17, 2019 chemical, current affairs, currentaffairs 2019, gktoday, Global Burden of disease, global chemical outlook, hazardous, hazardous waste, India, magazine, news, ozone, seekersthoughts, thehindu,
We have created some 140,000 new chemicals since the 1950s. Of those, less than half of the top 5,000 most commonly used substances have been properly tested for safety and toxicity.
Many, such as DDT (which lead to the near eradication of birds) and chlorofluorocarbons (which almost destroyed Earth’s protective ozone layer) only revealed their harmful nature by nearly killing us. In short, things look pretty bleak.
The Concept of Environmental Racism
In 1987, when the concept of environmental racism was first coined, researchers discovered that communities of colour and low income communities were far more likely to have polluting industries (power plants and garbage dumps, for example) within their boundaries.
In 2007, researchers went back and re-examined the issue, hoping that awareness of the problem would have led to corrective measures. Instead they found the reverse; the amount of pollution in these communities had increased.
India is a developing country, and industries are a major source of hazardous waste in developing countries.
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Why does the developing countries have more hazardous waste?
But industrial hazardous waste sources presents greater risks in developing countries than in developed countries. The reason behind it remains the poor management and obsolete technologies.
Multinational companies often set their plants in developing countries so, that they can use technologies banned in their home country. The accident at the Bhopal plant in India, which belonged to union carbide of USA, is a prime example of this situation.
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The major source of hazardous solid waste in India are mostly because of industrial activities, agriculture and agro industries, medicine facilities, commercial centers, household and the informal sector.
Small competitive and labour intensive businesses that are not regulated by government are the source of hazardous solid waste that is currently recognized as major problem in developing countries.
What is Chemical’s hazardous Waste?
Hazardous waste in India has been defined as “any substances, excluding domestic and radioactive wastes, which because of its quantity and corrosive, reactive, ignitable, toxic and infectious characteristics causes significant hazards to human health or environment when improperly treated, stored, transported and disposed”.
Chemical wastes refer to wastes that may, or tend to, causes adverse health effects on the ecosystem and human beings.
These wastes pose present or potential risks to human health or living organisms, due to the fact that they: are non-degradable or persistent in nature; can be biologically magnified; are highly toxic and even lethal at a very low concentration of the substance.
Classification of hazardous waste
Wastes are classified as F, K, P and U lists
F- list: - it contains hazardous wastes from non-specific sources that are various processes that may have generated the waste which commonly used in degreasing, metal treatment baths and sludges, wastewaters from metal plating operations.
K-list: - it contains hazardous wastes generated by specific industrial processes like pigment production, chemical production, petroleum refining, iron and steel production.
P and U lists: - The P and U lists contain discarded commercial chemical products, off –specification chemicals, container resides and resides from the spillage of materials.
These two list commercial pure grades of the chemical, any technical grades of the chemical produced or marketed, and all formulations in which the chemical is the sole active ingredient.
Global Chemical Outlook II
The global chemical outlook reports has released which seeks to alert policymakers and other stakeholder about the critical role of chemical waste management in sustainable development.
The global goal to minimize adverse impacts of chemical and waste
The global goal to minimize adverse impacts of chemical and waste set out in 2006 under the UN’s global non-binding chemicals programme, the strategic aproach to international chemicals management will not be achieved by 2020.
The report notes that despite the international agreement, reached at the high-level UN conference and significant action already taken scientists continue to express concerns regarding the lack of progress made.
The report notes that globally harmonized system for classification and labeling has not been implemented are more than 120 countries, mostly developing nations and economies in transition.
The countries still lacks pollutant release transfer register poison centers and capacities for hazard and risk assessment and risk management. The report highlights the example of regulations on lead in paint as a revealing indicator. The report notes that as of September 2018, only 37% of countries had confirmed the legally binding controls on lead in paint. Further, even if regulations on specific chemicals are in place implementation and enforcement may pose challenges.
The report notes that chemical production and consumption is shifting to emerging economies, particularly in china. The Asia –Pacific region is projected to account for more than two-thirds of global sales by 2030 and cross-border e-commerce is growing 25% annually.
The report says that progress remains insufficient and there is an urgent need to take concerted action to develop basic chemicals management systems in all countries.
Status in India: India has been a signatory to several international conventions which deal with the use of chemicals
- Chemical weapons convention
- Rotterdam convention on prior informed consent procedure for hazardous pesticides and chemicals.
- Stockholm convention on persistent organic pollutants.
- Montreal protocol on substances that deplete the Ozone layer.
- Minamata convention on mercury
- Base convention on trans-boundary movement of hazardous waste.
Chemical regulations in India
Two chemical regulations are the most important ones in force in India.
1- Manufacture, storage and import of Hazardous Chemical (Amendment) rules, 1989, 1994, 2000 – The regulation was firstly enacted in 1989 by the ministry of environment & forests and later amended in 1994 and 2000. It regulates the manufacture, storage and imports of hazardous chemical in India. The transport of hazardous chemicals must meet the provisions of the motor vehicle Act, 1988.
2- Ozone depleting substance (R&C) rules (2000) – the regulations strictly controls the production, import and use of ozone depleting substances in India most of ozone depleting substance are banned in India.
In addition, multiple acts which focuses on manufacture and transportation. These include the environmental protection Act, Factories Act, Motor Vehicles Act, Explosive Act, insecticide Act and Petroleum Act.
These are being dealt with by different Ministries, including Environment and forests, labour commerce and industry, petroleum and natural gas, agriculture, shipping and surface transport, some of them at the central level and others at the levels of both the centre and the states.
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India and SAICM
India is also a party to the initiative known as strategic approach to international chemicals management (SAICM), which lays down a roadmap for the participating countries to make the use of chemicals safer. It is a policy framework to promoted chemical safely around the world.
SAICM has its overall objective the achievement of sound management of chemicals throughout their life cycle, in order that by 2020, chemical would be produced and use in ways that minimize significant adverse impacts on human health and the environment.
This “2020 goal” was adopted by the world summit on sustainable development in 2002 as of the Johannesburg plan of implementation.
Read about - 5 lakh death in India alone due to unclean cooking fuel
It needs to be recognized that in order to achieve the 2020 objective, India would need to take steps quickly, concurrently and effectively in several areas, including the following:
- Storage facilities of hazardous chemicals
- Inventorisation of chemical substances in use, including relevant physical, chemical, ecological and toxological data about them
- Legislation for classification, labeling and packaging
- Legislation on registration, Evaluation and approval of toxic or dangerous chemicals.
Considering the efforts needed to achieve the 2020 target and the time it has taken other countries to do so, the following approach merits urgent attention of the government.
It is neccesary that one nodal ministry be entrusted with the preparation or a roadmap and its implementation. The ministry of chemicals and fertilizers would be the most appropriate in this regard.
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Tags # chemical # current affairs # currentaffairs 2019 # gktoday # Global Burden of disease # global chemical outlook # hazardous # hazardous waste # India # magazine # news # ozone # seekersthoughts # thehindu
Labels: chemical, current affairs, currentaffairs 2019, gktoday, Global Burden of disease, global chemical outlook, hazardous, hazardous waste, India, magazine, news, ozone, seekersthoughts, thehindu
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PDMR Transactions in GDRs
Source - EQS
TCS Group Holding PLC (TCS)
TCS Group Holding PLC: PDMR Transactions in GDRs
17-Apr-2019 / 19:30 MSK
Dissemination of a Regulatory Announcement, transmitted by EQS Group.
Limassol, Cyprus - 17 April 2019. TCS Group Holding PLC (TCS LI) (the "Group"), Russia's leading provider of online retail financial and lifestyle services via its Tinkoff.ru financial ecosystem, has been notified of transactions in its GDRs by two of the Group's PDMRs: George Chesakov, CEO of Tinkoff Mobile, and Oliver Hughes, Chairman of the Management Board and CEO of Tinkoff Bank.
Details of the transactions are in the document attached.
For enquiries:
Tinkoff Bank
Darya Ermolina
+ 7 495 648-10-00 (ext. 2009)
Larisa Chernysheva
IR Department
TCS Group Holding PLC is an innovative provider of online retail financial services. It includes Tinkoff Bank, mobile virtual network operator Tinkoff Mobile, Tinkoff Insurance, and Tinkoff Software DC, a network of development hubs in major Russian cities. The Group also has Tinkoff.ru, an evolving ecosystem that offers financial and lifestyle services.
The Group was founded in 2006 by Russian entrepreneur Oleg Tinkov and has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since October 2013.
The Group's key business is Tinkoff Bank, the country's first and only direct bank and the core of the Tinkoff.ru ecosystem.
Tinkoff Bank is the second largest player in the Russian credit card market, with a share of 11.8%. The 2018 IFRS net income of TCS Group Holding PLC amounted to RUB 27.1 bn (a record high year net income in the Group's history), ROE grew to 74.7%.
With no branches, the Group serves all its customers remotely via online channels and a cloud-based call centre staffed by over 10,000 employees, which makes it one of the largest in Europe. To ensure smooth delivery of the Group's products, the Group has a nationwide network of over 2,500 representatives.
In 2018 Global Finance named Tinkoff Bank the world's Best Consumer Digital Bank, in 2018, 2016 and 2015, the Best Consumer Digital Bank in Russia, and in 2017 and 2013 The Banker recognised it as the Bank of the Year in Russia. The bank's mobile app has been consistently praised by local and global independent experts as the best of its kind (in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 by Deloitte and in 2018 by Global Finance).
Some of the information in this announcement may contain projections or other forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial performance of the Group and Tinkoff Bank. You can identify forward looking statements by terms such as "expect", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "intend", "will", "could," "may" or "might", the negative of such terms or other similar expressions. The Group and Tinkoff Bank wish to caution you that these statements are only predictions and that actual events or results may differ materially. The Group and Tinkoff Bank do not intend to update these statements to reflect events and circumstances occurring after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Many factors could cause the actual results to differ materially from those contained in projections or forward-looking statements of the Group and Tinkoff Bank, including, among others, general economic conditions, the competitive environment, risks associated with operating in Russia, rapid technological and market change in the industries the Group operates in, as well as many other risks specifically related to the Group, Tinkoff Bank and their respective operations.
Document title: Details of the Transactions
Document:http://n.eqs.com/c/fncls.ssp?u=NDIPFWWKOK
ISIN: US87238U2033
Category Code: POS
TIDM: TCS
LEI Code: 549300XQRN9MR54V1W18
Sequence No.: 8246
EQS News ID: 801429
End of Announcement EQS News Service
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By Zane
Also items from Martin Luther King Jr., Barack Obama, and Michael Jackson
Rap artist Tupac Shakur's gold and diamond medallion obtained from a close family relation. It is believed that the indentation at bottom was caused by a bullet strike from the mortal wounding of Shakur in Las Vegas on Sep. 13, 1996.
On April 7th rap legend Tupac Shakur will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Brooklyn, New York. On the same day and only a few blocks away, a large selection of Tupac's lyrics, song lists, clothing, and jewelry will be offered in the first "Black History Auction" held specifically to honor the achievements and contributions of African-Americans.
Over 300 items will be sold live by auctioneers Alexander Historical Auctions at The Dumbo Loft, 155 Water St., Brooklyn, New York starting at 2:00 PM.
Offered for sale will be more than three dozen items from the legendary artist, including: 14 sets of lyrics, including "Catchin' Feelins," "Wonda Why They Call U Bitch" and "I Ain't Mad At Cha"; his track list and a master recording for "All Eyez On Me"; his first music contract; contracts made to secure bail money; and his prison identification. Personal items include Tupac's signed Koran, Rolls Royce license plates, his trademark nose and ear studs, screen-worn clothing, and jewelry, including a bullet-struck medallion from his fatal 1996 shooting.
The prison identification card carried by rap artist Tupac Shakur during his incarceration at the Clinton Correctional Facility in New York 1994-95. Producer Suge Knight posted his bail in exchange for a three-record contract. The identification, as well as the record contracts, will be sold at "The Black Heritage Auction."
Also being offered is a signed photo of Dr. Martin Luther King with a quote from the Constitution: "...all men are created equal..." along with a letter by King mentioning "Jackson," Thurgood Marshall, and the Freedom Riders, and an important signed copy of his "Stride Toward Freedom." Malcolm X is represented in a letter from prison discussing the "blackness" of a man, and several other important items. From President Barack Obama is a 2012 NCAA "Final Four" leader board, which appeared on ESPN, signed at the center. Boxer Muhammad Ali is represented in several lots, including a signed print of his painting showing a victory in the ring, adding his famous "Float like a butterfly" quote and a print of a painting later "censored" by the U.N.
Other notable items to be offered include:
- The first literary work of a black American, a first edition of Phillis Wheatley's "Poems," 1773
- Booker T. Washington's notes on the education of blacks
- Early Black Panther items including a very rare armband
- Gen. Colin Powell's dress uniform
- Michael Jackson's fedora, sequined bowtie, belt, shirt, and signed photos
Bidding will be available live, by telephone, and at the bidding websites invaluable.com, the-saleroom.com and liveauctioneers.com. The entire sale may be viewed online at http://www.alexautographs.com/pdfs/AlexanderHistoricalAuctions67.pdf. Alexander Historical Auctions may be reached at 203-276-1570, email: [email protected]
Did Prince Leave a Love Child, Possibly with Cat Glover? Rumors Swirl on Fan Sites
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Letters: Shirley says ‘no’
Letter writer likens events to story of the Emperor's New Clothes
Dec. 10, 2014 4:00 p.m.
In the midst of the holiday season, with its fairy tales and entertainments, the community of Shirley, on Saturday, Dec. 6, was treated to an English pantomime of sorts, entitled “The Emperor’s New Clothes or A Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing.”
The play, in one act, was presented by a Mr. David Laing.
The subtext concerned a young man called David Laing who, after searching high and low for a whole year, chooses a parcel of land above Sandcut Beach Regional Park to build his newest and shiniest Victoria garbage processing plant.
Early on, the young man attempts to engage the audience with all sorts of photos, charts and graphs. He further tries to win over the audience by promising them the acrid, putrid smells, the noise, constant truck traffic, the leftover toxic sludge to be dumped in nearby forests, the poisoning of the air, watersheds, wells, rivers, streams, and animals, the rat and other poisons to be used, will all be magically mitigated by the planting of some lovely new trees, somewhere in the area.
Well, as is expected from the very best pantomime audiences, ours, too, quickly pointed out the villain.
And brava!/bravo! to those who participated amongst the overflowing crowd, whose career and life experiences, skill sets, levels of education, information and intelligence, made the young man at last reveal that the Emperor is indeed naked, and beneath the sheep’s clothing is the big bad wolf.
Before the finale, our Mike Hicks rose up to defend our democracy, and, one assumes, by extension, the Charter of Rights.
The finale began when a member of the audience asked Mr. Laing if the audience was against his plan, would he then walk away? The crowd cheered when he said “yes.”
Another member then called a straw poll, “yes” or “no” to the plan, and the audience rose up and held their hands up high in what can only be called a unanimous and resounding “no”!
Mr. Laing was then asked if he would continue to push for this facility, and he said he would not.
The Shirley community waits with baited breath to find out if this was the final curtain for the garbage dump; stayed tuned.
On behalf of everyone who lives here I hope there will never be an act two.
Helene Harrison
Letters: Great speech
Another View: No dam way they want to sell
How Victoria’s little Ecole Beausoleil is at the heart of a national court case
100-year-old Bank Street school and the Sundance facility to be re-designated an elementary school
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Rediscover: Tinkers
This year marks the 10th anniversary of Paul Harding's Tinkers, which was the surprise recipient of the the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. (Later, the New York Times admitted that it had passed on reviewing Tinkers on its initial publication.) Publisher Bellevue Literary Press, founded in 2007, enjoyed a serious reputation boost. Bellevue was the first small press to win a Pulitzer for Fiction since Louisiana State University Press won for John Kennedy Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces in 1981.
Tinkers follows George Washington Crosby, a former clock repairman now on his deathbed. George thinks back to his impoverished childhood in the backwoods of Maine, and his father, Howard, an itinerant peddler who traveled in a donkey-drawn cart and struggled with epilepsy. The Pulitzer board described the novel as "a powerful celebration of life in which a New England father and son, through suffering and joy, transcend their imprisoning lives and offer new ways of perceiving the world and mortality." In 2013, Harding continued the Crosby family saga with Enon, which follows a year in the life of Charlie Crosby, George Crosby's grandson. In January, Bellevue Literary Press published a 10th anniversary edition of Tinkers with a new foreword by Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and essayist Marilynne Robinson ($16.99, 9781942658603). --Tobias Mutter
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March - 2007 - issue > Company Profile
At the Edge of the Internet
Pradeep Shankar
In 2006, consumers listened to more songs and watched more video over the Web than ever before. Even e-commerce transactions, particularly online holiday shopping, registered an increase, as did the rapid expansion of user generated content on the Web.
One big winner that is cashing in on this trend is Akamai (Nasdaq: AKAM) — the company that helps speed up the secure delivery of content through its global network of servers. “We do not believe that consumer appetite for rich media applications or robust e-commerce will level off any time soon,” says President and CEO Paul Sagan.
Sagan’s view bespeaks conviction if broadband proliferation is anything to go by. While Forrester Research estimates the total number of broadband users in the U.S. to grow 42 percent by 2010, PricewaterhouseCoopers believes that broadband adoption will grow by 80 percent globally. For Akamai, this translates into an opportunity to not only hold on to its present position, but given its size and the robust nature of the market, roar well beyond its present stature.
Consider this: Every time you download something from the Web, you literally add value to Akamai. Last year, the company’s revenue grew more than 50 percent. It registered revenue of $428.7 million with net income of $154 million.
Says Sagan, “2006 was a banner year for Akamai.” Strong demand from online media and entertainment customers helped the company beat its own expectations. “We were completely surprised by the strength of the business. We’ve been the beneficiary of the growing proliferation of broadband in both the consumer and enterprise segments.”
Akamai, which means clever and cool in Hawaiian, has been true to its name. Conceived by MIT brainiacs in 1995 and founded in 1998 [see panel], the company developed algorithms to streamline Internet content routing, aiming to end the “World Wide Wait.” Today Akamai owns the world’s largest system for Web delivery, with over 22,000 servers in 70 countries handling 10-20 percent of Internet traffic. Akamai’s customers include 29 of the top 30 media and entertainment companies, most of the top social networking web sites, and more than half of the top 50 U.S. Internet retailers. These companies are going overboard in adding video downloads, social networks, and interactive games, each of which hog considerable bandwidth.
Powering the Web
With more and more people taking to social networking and online audio / video downloads, big websites like Yahoo! are witnessing massive amounts of traffic. It causes servers to clog and connections to slow to a crawl. This has given rise to a new frustration: that of finding ways to sidestep network congestion as against the erstwhile frustration of generating appeal on the web. In the minds of most big web site publishers, the smartest thing in the world would be a solution that accelerates the limited speed of current network technology.
Akamai, based in Cambridge, MA employs complex math equations and thousands of scattered servers to ship packets of data efficiently and faster to Web surfers.
To understand Akamai’s role, consider how the Internet works today. It comprises a staggering 15,000 different networks. That’s double the number of networks that were operating in the late ‘90s, and all of them must interact for the ‘Net to function smoothly. If all iTunes customers were sent to Apple’s servers in California, the servers would soon be overwhelmed with requests. So Akamai distributes iTunes’ songs, videos, podcasting, and audio-book catalogs to its network of more than 22,000 servers, which are placed on the premises of Internet service providers and other network operators across 70 countries. (Most are happy to host Akamai’s servers without charge, to help their own nets run smoothly). Algorithms direct each customer to the Akamai server that can best handle their request. Usually, it’s right in the same community.
Akamai’s system decides within milliseconds, the fastest route to deliver each request for Web content to an individual surfer. To do that, Akamai continually tracks Internet traffic from nearly 1,000 networks where it has servers located. Rather than funneling all this information to a central point of control and risking a meltdown at the center that would knock out the entire system, the decision-making authority is distributed across all of the company’s systems.
The Internet wouldn’t be the same without Akamai’s ability to store and deliver content and applications for its customers. For some web sites, especially those powered by user communities, a few seconds of transmission speed can be crucial. In 2005, for example, social networking site Friendster was overwhelmed as customers had to wait seemingly forever for pages, some with hundreds of photos, to load. It turned to Akamai, and by March 2006, Friendster’s response time was slashed from 9.4 seconds to 3.4.
According to leading analysts, Akamai now controls well over half the content distribution market. What you see at the company’s premises is an enormous sense of optimism and momentum. This translates into challenging tasks that its engineers constantly dabble with.
Akamaized Culture
In a vulnerable environment like the Internet, Akamai too has to be one step ahead, which represents enough challenge for even the smartest of engineers. Nearly 140 employees at Akamai’s Center in Bangalore are excited by the challenges that lie ahead. The Engineering Department is excited that the software they write gets deployed across Akamai’s 22,000 servers worldwide. The mission critical assignments they engage in ensures that they are constantly challenged.
Sanjay Singh, Managing Director of Akamai India enjoys talking to the engineers about Akamai’s technology. Having spent several years at Akamai’s headquarters, he knows what its takes to make his employees ‘Akamaized’.
At Akamai, the entire concept of career progression is defined around empowering the employees to be the master of their destiny. The company has instituted a Career Progression Planning (CPP) framework to enable its workforce to develop leadership skills and technical competencies. “The CPP enables employees to plan and track their short and long term career aspirations. It’s also an important tool for continuous learning, professional and personal growth. This has helped us in creating a highly motivated workforce,” says Arun Kunnathodi, Manager-Human Resources.
What’s unique to Akamai India is its ability and eagerness to give employees an opportunity to work on challenging assignments. If an employee demonstrates his/her readiness to step up and take on a new challenge, say for a business role, the opportunity is given. “Approximately 15 to 20 percent of our workforce has moved from their previous profile to something different and exciting in the last year,” notes Singh.
Akamai lays emphasis on providing self-development tools and a knowledge base to its employees in order to transform them, and in turn transform the organization. To begin with, every new recruit at Akamai is presented with a copy of the Jim Collins’ ‘Good to Great’. The idea is, the employee not only strives for excellence in his career but also plays a key role in the success of the organization.
Being Innovative
Creating an Akamaized work culture has enabled engineers to not only understand their work environment but also become aware of the customer’s business. For instance, the Engineering team felt that some of the customer facing tools could be reengineered. They leveraged new technologies such as AJAX to recreate the tools in order to provide better user interface. “From an engineering perspective, we give the breath and flexibility to our employees to identify business gaps and reshape some of the processes,” says Singh.
Globally Integrated
Singh isn’t comfortable discussing the India angle. “We have integrated so heavily with our overall company that for us, Bangalore is no different from either Cambridge or San Mateo,” he notes. “We instill in our engineers that their performance has to be at par with global talent pool. The Akamai India culture is highly integrated and collaborative where functions and geographies merge to achieve the overall vision of the organization.”
The challenge for Singh was to get the India center to gain the same technical competency as the headquarters. It wasn’t easy. “Over the last one year, we have invested heavily on knowledge management and training,” he notes. Concepts like Akamai Academy, a global e-learning platform, which enables engineers to take up online courses at their convenience, were born.
Also, in the last one-year there were several people from the U.S. who visited the Bangalore site to train the engineers. A larger number of engineering folks from Bangalore went to the U.S. as well, to learn different skill sets. It is this cross-pollination that enabled the India center to increase the envelope of technical work that gets executed here.
Creation of New Roles
As the India center gained competencies, newer roles were created. For example, today product management also gets executed from Bangalore. “Here you get to drive your own products. I, for example, got a chance to work in the high-tech product management. Very few companies in India provide this kind of opportunity, which allows one to utilize engineering and management capabilities together. The reward for working for a global leader in this space is an additional lure,” says Tarun Bangari, product manager responsible for Akamai’s digital rights management product.
For Singh, working at Akamai is like mastering the art of changing tires of a moving bus.
As content providers bring more of their media assets online, the Akamai platform has to constantly evolve. Over the years, the platform has moved from caching to live or on demand streaming to dynamic content and Web application acceleration, helping companies reach their global user base. This calls for several novel next-generation initiatives. “This new paradigm is paving the way for the next generation of multinationals,” says Singh.
With current traffic of 1.5 petabytes per day and 100 billion hits per day and over 50+ million streams, there is no way the momentum at Akamai can be brought to a stand still!
The Akamai Story
Before there was an Akamai, there were research problems—lots of them. Nearly 15 years ago, Tim Berners-Lee, architect of the World Wide Web, walked down a hallway at MIT and asked math professor Tom Leighton to think about solutions for the future—and now familiar—Internet issues: bottlenecks that form when users flood to a particular site, often along a single Internet supply line. Leighton’s team generated algorithms (and publications and advanced degrees) while figuring out the fastest means to move information from one place to another.
Akamai got its start in the MIT 50K competition, and took off when some big name clients decided to give the company a trial run. Apple and Microsoft recognized the importance of Akamai’s Internet optimization strategy: distributing servers and routing software to the “edge” of the Internet, or end users, rather than centralizing services. Akamai survived the stock market “bubble” and collapse, and now serves a diverse global market. Co-founder Leighton currently serves as Chief Scientist at Akamai.
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Challenges of Software product Vendor Management
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