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Agios Minas
Ano Pedina
Aristi
Asprageli
Dikorfo
Kapesovo
Kipi
Koukouli
Megalo Papigo
Mikro Papigo
Plikati
Pramada Tzoumerka
Skamneli
Tzoumerka
Vitsa
Zagorohoria
Epirus, Ioannina, Perama
The village of Perama is located 4 km far from the city of Ioannina, attracting tourists mainly because of the Cave of Perama. The Cave of Perama is one of the most beautiful ones in the Balkans and it is in the interior of the hill of Gkoritsa, on the fringes of which the village of Perama lays. The cave stretches on 14.800 sq. m., with length of 1700 m. and with a visiting tourist tour of 1.100 m. It is among the cave of limestone and it is part of the watercourse of a river that was opened up 1.500.000 years ago, when the waters of Lake Pamvotida covered the entire basin of Ioannina and Gkoritsa hill was an island.
Ioannina Airport: +30 26510 27058
Tourist Police in Ioannina: +30 26510 65938
Police in Ioannina: +30 26510 26290
Hospital in Ioannina: +30 26510 80111, 26510 99111
Bus services in Ioannina: +30 26510 26286
Map for Perama
The village of Agios Minas is located on the slope of a hill, between Kastraki, Papigo and Vicos and is one of the villages of the cluster of Zagorohoria. The village is named after the church of Saint Minas and having Agios Minas as a starting point you can visit the Monastery of Evaggelistria, the...
Ano Pedina is a village located on the southwest slopes of Tymfi and Mitsikeli mountains, built at an altitude of 960 meters over a small plateau. The village has been proclaimed as traditional village retains its characteristic zagorian architecture and is one of the villages of the cluster of Zagorohoria....
The village of Aristi is located in Central Zagoria, near the village of Papigo and Vikos Gorge, thus has a large tourist development in recent years. Until 1928 it was called Artsista but it was renamed in Aristi. There are many hotels in Aristi for your accommodation and many restaurants.
The village of Asprageli is located near the city of Ioannina thus is surrounded by natural beauty. The former name of the village was Dovra and it is built at an altitude of 1,000 m on the slopes of Mount Mitsikeli. There are hotels and rooms in Aspraggeli for a pleasant stay.
Dikorfo is one of the villages of the cluster of Zagorochoria. It is built at an altitude of 1,000 meters on the north eastern slopes of Mount Mitsikeli. Dikorfo is 38 km far from Ioannina situated in an area surrounded by forests rich in fauna. The subsoil of the area consists of shale and limestone....
Elati is a village amphitheatrically built in a wooded area north of Mount Mitsikeli, overlooking the mountains and forests of Mount Tymfi with excellent climate. It is a destination close to the city of Ioannina, but also a village located in the centre Zagoria and makes a good base for visiting the...
The dominating landscape of Ioannina and almost everywhere present is the serene waters of Pamvotida lake. The Island in the middle of Lake Pamvotis makes a nice vehicle-free escape, while also boasting unique historical attractions. The Island is famous as the place where the local warlord Ali Pasha...
The village of Kapesovo is built amphitheatrically offering great views with beautiful stone built houses and mansions. One of the most beautiful stonepaved alleys of Kapesovo is the one that connects the village of Kapesovo with this of Vradeto and a walk on this should not be missed during your visit....
The village of Kipi is situated at an altitude of 800m and is a village of Zagorohoria cluster built amphitheatrically with view to a valley that is crossed by two small rivers on the banks of which are built two arched bridges. During your stay you should visit the Folk Museum where there are many traditional...
In the past few years, the town of Konitsa has been elected as the capital of alternative tourism and this is because it has a unique geophysical terrain located close to the villages of Zagorochoria with unique natural beauties. Outdoor sport activities, forms of alternative tourism and international...
The village of Koukouli is located near the southern tip of the Vikos Gorge and the National Park of Vikos-Aoos. It was formed as a settlement in the 13th or 14th century and in the 18th and 19th century has seen great economic prosperity as the locals dealt with trade. There are hotels and restaurants...
Megalo Papigo is located very close to the Vikos Gorge and within the National Park of Vikos-Aoos. It is surrounded by lush trees attracting numerous tourists throughout the year in many of the hotels and restaurants in the village. The summit of Mount Tymfi, Astraka dominates the background of the village...
Metsovo is one of the most picturesque traditional settlements of Greece and a top winter destination. It is a mountainous town, built on the slopes of Mount Pindos, at an altitude of 1150m., and is an ideal destination for all seasons, as the visitor can enjoy scenery, winter sports in the ski center...
Mikro Papigo is the smaller neighbourhood of Megalo Papigo nested beneath the stone blocks of Astraka, the summit of Mount Tymfi. The village is one of the villages of the Zagorohoria cluster and has an extensive network of stone paths where you can enjoy walking surrounded by the astonishing beauty...
Monodendri is built at an altitude of 1060m and is worth visiting for admiring the mansions built according to the local architecture, the cobbled steep streets and the churches. From the square of Monodendri you can take the path to the canyon gorge and the sources of Voidomatis River. There are modern...
The village of Perama is located 4 km far from the city of Ioannina, attracting tourists mainly because of the Cave of Perama. The Cave of Perama is one of the most beautiful ones in the Balkans and it is in the interior of the hill of Gkoritsa, on the fringes of which the village of Perama lays. The...
The village of Plikati is unique worldwide for the wide variety of the vegetation in the surrounding area. Plicati offers accommodation in hotels and guesthouses and good food at taverns and restaurants.
Pramada is the biggest settlement on the slopes of Tzoumerka Mountains. In the main square of the village there is a long aged plane tree and a water fountain. Apart from the hotels and the restaurants in Pramanda, it is worth visiting the village to get to know its friendly residents with special intellectual...
Skamneli is the last village before Gyftokampos. The nearby ruins bear witness to the area was inhabited since prehistoric times. Skamneli offers good food in restaurants and taverns and stay in beautiful hotels and hostels.
The area of Tzoumerka Mountains is between the regions of Arta and Ioannina. Dotted on the slopes of the mountains of Tzoumerka there are beautiful villages and traditional settlements surrounded by gorges, ravines and steep mountains. The place is ideal for touring by car and exploring the rich forests...
Vitsa is one of the villages that have been singled out because the close proximity to the entrance of the gorge of Vikos. From the Misios Bridge over the Vitsa you can descend into the gorge and live a unique experience. The area has been developed with hotels, guest houses, taverns and restaurants....
Zagorohoria is the name of a cluster of 46 preserved mountain villages dotted on the slopes of the mountain range of Pindos. The name of Zagorohoria derives from the Slavic term Zagora meaning behind the mountain and horia, the Greek word for villages. Although the villages are remote, they are connected...
Oblations for Perama
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Home » Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10 (Hardcover)
Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10 (Hardcover)
By Marcus Luttrell, Patrick Robinson (With)
Not In Stock - Usually Available in 1-5 Days
Related Editions
Kobo eBook (June 12th, 2007): $10.99
Hardcover, Large Print (July 9th, 2014): $31.99
A Navy SEAL's firsthand account of American heroism during a secret military operation in Afghanistan.
Inspiration for a major motion picture by Mark Wahlberg.
On a clear night in late June 2005, four U.S. Navy SEALs left their base in northern Afghanistan for the mountainous Pakistani border. Their mission was to capture or kill a notorious al Qaeda leader known to be ensconced in a Taliban stronghold surrounded by a small but heavily armed force. Less then twenty-four hours later, only one of those Navy SEALs remained alive.
This is the story of fire team leader Marcus Luttrell, the sole survivor of Operation Redwing, and the desperate battle in the mountains that led, ultimately, to the largest loss of life in Navy SEAL history. But it is also, more than anything, the story of his teammates, who fought ferociously beside him until he was the last one left-blasted unconscious by a rocket grenade, blown over a cliff, but still armed and still breathing. Over the next four days, badly injured and presumed dead, Luttrell fought off six al Qaeda assassins who were sent to finish him, then crawled for seven miles through the mountains before he was taken in by a Pashtun tribe, who risked everything to protect him from the encircling Taliban killers.
A six-foot-five-inch Texan, Leading Petty Officer Luttrell takes us, blow-by-blow, through the brutal training of America's warrior elite and the relentless rites of passage required by the Navy SEALs. He transports us to a monstrous battle fought in the desolate peaks of Afghanistan, where the beleaguered American team plummeted headlong a thousand feet down a mountain as they fought back through flying shale and rocks. In this rich , moving chronicle of courage, honor, and patriotism, Marcus Luttrell delivers one of the most powerful narratives ever written about modern warfare-and a tribute to his teammates, who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
Petty Officer Marcus Luttrell joined the United States Navy in March of 1999 and became a combat-trained Navy SEAL in January, 2002. After serving in Baghdad, he was deployed to Afghanistan in the Spring of 2005. Patrick Robinson is known for his best-selling US Navy-based novels and his autobiography of Admiral Sir Sandy Woodward, One Hundred Days, was an international best-seller. He lives in England and spends his summers in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, where he and Luttrell wrote Lone Survivor.
History / Military / Afghan War (2001-)
Biography & Autobiography / Military
CD-Audio (November 19th, 2013): $25.00
Prebound (May 2008): $29.40
Paperback (November 19th, 2013): $17.00
Mass Market (November 19th, 2013): $9.00
Mass Market (May 2009): $9.00
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Gee’s activities rock commission
Plenty of apprehension exists within West Virginia’s higher education community already, without new behind-the-scenes maneuvering adding to it.
What Gov. Jim Justice had hoped would be a comprehensive, objective look at the future of our state’s colleges and universities is in danger of succumbing to hidden agendas, or at least the fear of them.
Earlier this summer, Justice established a Blue Ribbon Commission on Four-Year Higher Education. The hope was the panel would take a look at all aspects of state colleges and universities and recommend policies to maximize the institutions’ value to West Virginians.
There has been talk for years about whether taxpayers could afford the network of colleges and universities we have. One or two should be closed, it has been suggested.
Governance and funding of higher education also have been discussed. Some legislators question the effectiveness of the Higher Education Policy Commission.
If ever there was a recipe for college and university leaders to adopt defensive postures, this is it.
Then, during a meeting last week of the governor’s commission, acrimony erupted. West Virginia University President E. Gordon Gee, one of the panel’s three co-chairs, was the target.
An article in “The Chronicle of Higher Education” reported that Gee played a role in Justice’s decision to set up the commission. It added that Gee wants to eliminate the HEPC.
What seemed to annoy several panel members was learning of Gee’s activities from a published source, rather than discussing his goals during a commission meeting.
Shepherd University’s representative on the panel, Eric Lewis, was upset. “We haven’t done anything in 30 days, except schedule when the next meetings are … we could have had a committee working on organization, we could have had a committee working on the HEPC.”
To that, commission member Ellen Cappellanti, formerly chairwoman of the WVU Board of Governors, responded: “It’s kind of hard to form committees if we don’t trust one another, and the level of trust in this room just isn’t here today.”
Clearly, it was not. Either the article in question is accurate or it is not. One way or another, Gee needs to have a candid conversation with fellow commission members. If they think he is pulling strings backstage of other commission members, an us-against-them atmosphere will prevail — and little or nothing constructive will ensue.
The ball, in short, is in Gee’s court.
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Michigan Judge Under Hit-and-Run Crash Investigation
October 30, 2017 Katie Stathulis
A Michigan judge who usually sentences criminals for hit-and-run crimes could possibly be ending up in front of another judge for the very same reason. The Detroit Free Press reported that Roseville District Court Judge Catherine Steenland of the 39th District Court is being investigated for fleeing the scene of an accident.
On the night of September 25, 2017, Judge Steenland allegedly sideswiped another vehicle while she was making a turn. She then left the scene and returned to her home. The car collision allegedly took place on Gratiot between 13 Mile and Masonic. The driver of the other vehicle supposedly followed Judge Steenland to her home and watched her exit her vehicle. The two never spoke to each other. Anonymous sources tell CBS Detroit that police officers later reported to Judge Steenland’s home, and she refused to cooperate with them. The sources also say that Judge Steenland’s vehicle has since been impounded.
Roseville Police Chief James Berline said in a statement that “a complaint was made, and as Judge Steenland is a sitting judge responsible for the City of Roseville, the matter was turned over to the Michigan State Police for investigation. Any comment regarding this matter will have to come from MSP.”
This is not the first legal trouble Judge Steenland has faced. In June of 2008, she pleaded guilty to operating a vehicle while visibly impaired in Ogemaw County. She was charged in the 82nd District Court in West Branch in northern Michigan. She was suspended without pay for 90 days.
In Michigan, the driver of a vehicle who knows or who has reason to believe that he has been involved in an accident shall immediately stop his or her vehicle at the scene of the accident and shall remain there...or immediately report the accident to the nearest or most convenient police agency or officer. In other words, if there’s a chance you were in an accident, you need to stay on the scene until you are able to talk to the police. There may be exceptions in cases where it would be dangerous for the driver to remain on scene. Fleeing the scene of an accident is generally considered a misdemeanor crime, that carries with it a 90 day prison sentence and/or a $100 fine.
Leaving the scene of an automobile accident isn’t OK for anyone to do. It may seem like an easy way out, but it can just create more problems down the line. What could be a minor car collision that could easily be handled by an exchange of insurance information could become a much bigger legal matter if you decide to flee. By staying at the scene of a car accident and cooperating with first responders and investigators, you may be able to avoid having to call an accident attorney or criminal lawyer because you made a bad decision in the moment.
Hit-and-run accidents can be a legal headache for the person who fled the scene, but can also lead to prolonged pain and suffering for the other victims of the car crash. If you or someone you know has been the victim of a hit-and-run accident, call The Michigan Law Firm, PLLC at 844.4MI.FIRM for a free legal consultation.
Roseville Car Accident Attorneys
Roseville, Michigan car accident? We file lawsuits for those who have been injured in car accidents. See if you are eligible for pain and suffering benefits.
Tags Hit And Run, Car Accidents, Auto Accidents, Aggressive Driving Car Accident Lawyer, Michigan State Police, Michigan Legislature, Roseville Michigan
← Detroit Submits Bid for Amazon's New HeadquartersHalloween Driving Safety Tips →
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Young Black Men 21 Times More Likely Than Whites to Be Shot Dead by Police
Filed to: CultureFiled to: Culture
Police stand guard along Florissant Avenue in Ferguson, Mo., Aug. 21, 2014, in a bid to prevent a repeat of the unrest that followed the recent death of Michael Brown. The unarmed 18-year-old was shot and killed by a Ferguson police officer on Aug. 9.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
There are two sides in the debate surrounding the fatal police shooting of unarmed Ferguson, Mo., teen Michael Brown and still not many answers. There are those who believe he must have done something to have been stopped and ultimately shot to death by Officer Darren Wilson, and those who believe that police unfairly target and fatally shoot black boys.
An alarming report reveals that the latter group just might be on to something. Federal data of fatal police shootings from 2010 to 2012, reviewed and analyzed by ProPublica, expose in grim numbers that young black men are “21 times more likely to be killed by police than their white counterparts,” or, as the Daily Beast notes, “In order for whites to have been at equal risk over those three years, 185 more—that’s more than one per week—would have had to have been killed.”
According to the report, “Blacks, age 15 to 19, were killed at a rate of 31.17 per million, while just 1.47 per million white males in that age range died at the hands of police.”
The report also noted that from 1980 to 2012, 41 teens, 14 years or younger, had been fatally shot and 27 of them were black, eight were white, four were Hispanic and one was Asian.
The report pointed out that white officers have mostly been responsible for the fatal shooting deaths of black boys, and noted that while black officers make up a little more than 10 percent of all fatal shootings, 78 percent of them involved young black men.
According to the ProPublica findings, “There were 151 instances in which police noted that teens they had shot dead had been fleeing or resisting arrest at the time of the encounter. Sixty-seven percent of those killed in such circumstances were black. That disparity was even starker in the last couple of years: of the 15 teens shot fleeing arrest from 2010 to 2012, 14 were black.”
Read more at ProPublica and the Daily Beast.
As Part of a $3 Million Investment, Serena Williams Adds Her Power to the Fight Against Maternal Mortality
Maiysha Kai
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BRG Launches Strategic Collaboration with Hitotsubashi University Graduate School of International Corporate Strategy
BRG press release
Berkeley Research Group is pleased to announce the launch of a strategic collaboration with the Hitotsubashi University Graduate School of International Corporate Strategy (Hitotsubashi ICS) in Japan. BRG has a strong presence in Asia Pacific with offices in Hong Kong, Mumbai, Singapore, Beijing and Tokyo. Hitotsubashi University was founded in 1875 and is home to the prestigious Hitotsubashi ICS global MBA program. Hitotsubashi ICS offers a world-class curriculum that combines best practices in business education from all over the world, with a focus on Japan and Japan's role in global and Asian economies.
BRG and Hitotsubashi ICS are cutting-edge organizations seeking to provide clients and students with the knowledge and tools to thrive in the rapidly changing global business environment. BRG Chairman and Cofounder David Teece said, “This collaboration is a natural coming together of two organizations that place a premium on innovation and staying ahead of the curve by maximizing the knowledge potential of our clients, whether they be current or future industry leaders.”
Hitotsubashi ICS Dean Kazuo Ichijo said, “BRG and Hitotsubashi have been informal partners for years through the decades-long friendship between David Teece and Ikujiro Nonaka, professor emeritus at Hitotsubashi, both recognized leaders in the field of knowledge management. I am proud to help take this relationship to the next level. The synergies that will result from the knowledge sharing between our two organizations will benefit not only Hitotsubashi students and alumni, but the broader efforts of Japanese firms.”
BRG Director Larry Futa, a representative of BRG Japan, said, “This collaboration with Dean Ichijo and Hitotsubashi ICS will further strengthen our ability to provide expert support to our clients and stakeholders in Japan and abroad. I am very excited for the opportunity to work with Dean Ichijo and the world-class programs he and his team are building at Hitotsubashi ICS.”
David Teece
Higher Education Strategic & Operational Consulting
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Investment Overview for Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI)
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Avigilon Deal Will Add New Revenue Streams
In mid-2018, Motorola Solutions acquired Avigilon, a maker of security cameras and video analytics systems. The deal could allow the company to capitalize on the current backlash against Chinese-made tech products such as surveillance cameras in Western markets.
Significant share repurchases
Motorola Solutions has been very generous with its share buybacks and the company recently allocated another $2 billion to its buyback budget, even when $400 million still remain pending from the previous plan.
Below are key drivers of Motorola Solutions' value that present opportunities for upside or downside to the current Trefis price estimate for the company:
Motorola Solutions Gross Profit Margins
Motorola Solutions Products' Gross Profit Margins: Motorola Solutions Products' gross margins have slightly declined from around 58% in 2012 to just under 55% in 2018. We expect this metric to decline over the long-term, as the company faces a threat from the new FirstNet first responder network in the U.S. and also due to a higher mix of non-LMR sales, which could have lower margins. However, if Motorola Solutions' margins actually increase to reach historical levels of around 58% by the end of our forecast period, there could be an upside of about 5% to our ${trefisprice}.
Services Revenue as % of Product Revenue: Motorola Solutions Services Revenue as % of Product Revenue has increased from 48% in 2012 to over 65% in 2018. This was primarily on account of lower product sales and addition of Airwave revenues to the services division. Going forward, we expect this percentage to increase as the company shifts its focus more towards software and services. Most of Motorola's recent contracts are in the Services domain which reflects the company's increasing focus towards Services as a line of business. The company's services backlog stood at $7.1 billion at the end of Q3’17, up 6% from last year. Services currently contribute about 40% of the company's top line and we expect this to increase gradually going forward. If Motorola Solutions' Services Revenue as % of Product Revenue increases more than our expectations to reach levels of around 80% by the end of our forecast period, there could be an upside of about 8% to our ${trefisprice}.
Motorola Solutions is a mission-critical telecommunications equipment provider and sells radios, accessories, base stations, and other equipment to government agencies, including law enforcement and emergency services agencies, and commercial clients. It also provides comprehensive services for government, public safety, and commercial communication networks.
Government Security devices are the devices used for:
Aiding police departments to communicate with its patrol cars and help respond to crime incidents efficiently.
Tools for electric power distribution, fire station alerting, irrigation control, and video instruments for traffic control purposes.
Commercial Security devices are the devices used for:
Baggage tracking at airports and transit authorities.
Retailers to drive workforce productivity with wireless WLAN.
Healthcare centers as technologies instruments.
Wireless connectivity at universities.
We believe the Products segment is the most valuable segment for the following reason:
Revenues from Products
Motorola’s product revenues in 2011 and 2012 were boosted by the narrow-banding mandate issued by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which necessitated a switch to a more efficient spectrum band for public safety operations. With most of the narrow-banding related equipment upgrades now complete and government agencies going slow on their capital spending, Motorola's North American products business faced headwinds in the first half of 2014, which somewhat continued to 2015. However, with product backlog building upon account of several contracts wins, which has been enabled by consistent product innovation, we expect the company's product revenues to increase steadily going forward.
Widespread LTE shift
The adoption of LTE for public safety use along with the broader trend of an analog-to-digital shift in the U.S. and internationally, are likely to be the key drivers of Motorola’s value in the near future.
U.S. public safety spending in the coming years will be bolstered by the job creation bill passed in 2012 that reallocated the D Block spectrum for public safety use and provided a funding of $7 billion to build out a nationwide network over eight years.
Motorola is also likely to benefit from the stickiness of its government customers as well as its strong market position. The large installed base of security devices is also expected to grab a big chunk of that market going forward.
Continued government spending on critical security systems
Government is increasingly migrating to more technologically advanced systems with real-time data storage while replacing manual activities. This will require similar upgrades to its systems. In such a scenario, Motorola's services department is going to be a major beneficiary.
Due to increased security deployed by the government at the airport to deter illegal immigration, the government will need technical support. Motorola's Biometrics service meets that need.
Silver Lake investment will help innovation
Motorola Solutions announced in 2015 that Silver Lake is planning to invest $1 billion in the company, which it plans to reinvest in technologies for smart public safety solutions. With Silver Lake’s investments, the company will have enough cash reserves to continue its strong share buyback program (it announced another $2 billion tender in Q2 2016) and keep investing in innovations. Motorola is leveraging its strong product innovation to remain a step ahead of its competitors, which is helping it win critical contracts.
Airwave acquisition to help recurring revenues
In 2015, Motorola acquired Airwave Solutions, which operates and owns one of the largest public safety radio networks. The company announced at the end of the year that the acquisition was complete and that Airwave will increase Motorola’s recurring revenue pool by close to 50% going forward. Given that much of Motorola’s growth is dependent on its ability to win new contracts and extend the existing ones, an increase in recurring revenues will surely ease some pressure. While Motorola is not short on order backlogs, the market opportunity is relatively limited since it is directly linked to governments’ public safety budgets. Airwave Solutions provides TETRA (Terrestrial Trunked Radio) communication systems for the U.K. fire, police, and ambulance emergency services. The acquisition can help Motorola strengthen its presence in the U.K., and can also help in technological advancements in the U.S. By leveraging Airwave’s technological expertise, Motorola can create a more reliable communication network for its TETRA radio devices being used by law enforcement and other government agencies in the U.S. The company mentioned in its recent earnings call that, in addition to being a recurring revenue source, Airwave provides a platform to expand its managed services business globally.
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Gliwice in Województwo Śląskie
in Gliwice of Województwo Śląskie, Poland
Gliwice Glider Airport (2 mi)
Opole-Polska Nowa Wieś Airport (46 mi)
Gardens and Castle at Kroměříž (Unesco heritage, 90 mi)
Centennial Hall in Wrocław (Unesco heritage, 90 mi)
Chorzów - Śląski Ogród Zoologiczny (zoo, (14 mi)
Explore Gliwice
Gliwice in Gliwice (Województwo Śląskie) with it's 198,835 inhabitants is located in Poland about 167 mi (or 269 km) south-west of Warsaw, the country's capital.
Local time in Gliwice is now 02:42 AM (Friday). The local timezone is named Europe / Warsaw with an UTC offset of 2 hours. We know of 12 airports in the wider vicinity of Gliwice, of which 4 are larger airports. The closest airport in Poland is Gliwice Glider Airport in a distance of 2 mi (or 3 km), South. Besides the airports, there are other travel options available (check left side).
Depending on your travel schedule, you might want to pay a visit to some of the following locations: Knurow, Pyskowice, Zabrze, Ornontowice and Zbroslawice. To further explore this place, just scroll down and browse the available info. Let's start with some photos from the area.
Diament Plaza
ul. Zwyciestwa 30
Diament Economy
Qubus
Gold Hotel Silvia
Ul. Studzienna 8
Ul. Jana Matejki 10
Hotel Malinowski Business
Ul. Portowa 4
3 Światy Spa & Wellness
Ul. Jana Kilinskiego 14
Modrzewiowy Dwór
Ul. Mazowiecka 44
Zielony Ogród
Ul. Roberta Miki 3
Ul. Gen. Aleksandra Zawadzkiego 68
Yoshinkan Aikido - Shobukan Dojo Gliwice 養神館 合気道
Author: AikidoYoshinkanPL
Pokaz Shobukan Dojo w Gliwicach - grupa średnio-zaawansowana (5 kyu). Techniki prezentują: Julia, Martyna, Ewa, Adam, Kamil, Wiktor, Olaf, Bartek. Utwór: "Naruto's main theme" autorstwa...
Dworzec Kolejowy Gliwice 2014-06-22
Author: Diskawery
TEST NA ŻYWO - podkład Lirene City Matt
Author: * Make Me Up *
Hej! Dziś przetestujemy podkład Lirene z serii City Matt w kolorze 204 "naturalny". Test jest 7-mio godzinny. Z góry Was przepraszam za moje "rzęsy", ale dopiero wyłapałam ich "nieudolnoś...
Trening Otwarty Street Workout Gliwice - 24.06.2013
Author: AntaresPoland
Filmowe podsumowanie Treningu Otwartego na Placu Krakowskim w Gliwicach. Nagranie z 24.06.2013. Zdjęcia i montaż: Brygida Markiewicz © 2013 All Rights Reserved Grupa Street Workout ...
Ślad Losu - Droga Krzyżowa - Gliwice
Author: Damian C
Młodzież parafii NMPWW w Gliwicach-Sośnicy 20.03.2015.
Odcinek Gliwice - Kędzierzyn-Koźle z tyłu pociągu TLK Zefir - Linia kolejowa E30/D29-137
Author: chris73926
23 listopada 2013 rok - Przejazd pociągiem TLK Zefir spółki PKP IC relacji Kraków Główny - Kołobrzeg na odcinku Gliwice - Kędzierzyn-Koźle. Odcinek Kędzierzyn-Koźle - Opole Główne...
Hedonskating #4: Gliwice
Author: hedonskate
24.05.2014 / Gliwice / Poland Bad weather didn`t hold us from having a good session! Check what went down during Hedonskating #4 in Gliwice just before storm forced us to leave the park!
Moja Bajka - Gliwice
Author: Maciej Kaliszan
Etiuda artystyczna - impresja o Gliwicach. Niesamowite miasto nieodkrytych detali architektury. Poetyckie stare miasto secesyjnych kamieniczek. Perła.
Gliwice Politechnika
Author: Marek Szczepanski
Koniec prac w dzielnicy akademickiej w Gliwicach.
Kawalerka do wynajęcia - Gliwice, Zwycięstwa
Author: Agencja Nieruchomości Direct Home
Oferujemy do wynajmu luksusową kawalerkę położoną na czwartym piętrze kamienicy w ścisłym centrum Gliwic. Mieszkanie bardzo przestrone bo aż 48 mkw powierzchni, świeżo po kapitalnym...
Zabrze is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. The west district of the Silesian Metropolis is a metropolis with a population of around 2 million. It is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Bytomka river, a tributary of the Oder. Zabrze is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship which was reformulated in 1999, previously it was in Katowice Voivodeship.
Zabrze, Cities in Silesia, City counties of Poland, Cities and towns in Silesian Voivodeship
Gliwice is a city in Upper Silesia, southern Poland, near Katowice. Gliwice is the west district of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union – a metropolis with a population of 2 million. The city is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Kłodnica river (a tributary of the Oder). Situated in the Silesian Voivodeship since its formation in 1999, Gliwice was previously in Katowice Voivodeship.
Gliwice, Cities in Silesia, City counties of Poland, Cities and towns in Silesian Voivodeship
Gleiwitz incident
The Gleiwitz incident (German: Überfall auf den Sender Gleiwitz; Polish: Prowokacja gliwicka) was a staged attack by Nazi forces posing as Poles on 31 August 1939, against the German radio station Sender Gleiwitz in Gleiwitz, Upper Silesia, Germany on the eve of World War II in Europe.
Gliwice, 1939 in Germany, False flag operations, World War II deception operations, Invasion of Poland, Nazi propaganda, 1939 in international relations
Knurów is a town near Katowice in Silesia, southern Poland. Knurów borders on the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union, a metropolis with a population of two million. Knurów is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Bierawka River, a tributary of the Oder River.
Knurów, Cities and towns in Silesian Voivodeship, Gliwice County
Górnik Zabrze is a Polish football club from Zabrze. The club has won numerous championships, and was a dominant force in the 1960s and 1980s. For now Górnik has the most titles in Poland. The club plays in white or dark blue-red kit, and is based at the Ernest Pohl Stadium. Their main local rival is Ruch Chorzów.
Górnik Zabrze, Football clubs in Poland, Association football clubs established in 1948, 1948 establishments in Poland
Gliwicki Klub Sportowy Piast Gliwice is a Polish football club based in Gliwice, Poland. Founded in June 1945 by the Poles who had been forced to leave their homeland in present-day Western Ukraine, Piast's football team played as many as 32 seasons in the Polish Second Division, before finally being promoted to the Ekstraklasa in 2008. Having played two seasons in the top division, the club was relegated in 2010.
Gliwice, Football clubs in Silesian Voivodeship, Football clubs in Poland, Association football clubs established in 1945, 1945 establishments in Poland
Silesian University of Technology
Silesian University of Technology is a university located in Gliwice, Silesia, Poland. It was founded in 1945 by Polish professors of the Lwow Polytechnic, who were forced to leave their native city and move to the Recovered Territories.
Gliwice, Universities and colleges in Poland, Universities and colleges in Katowice
Ernest Pohl Stadium
Ernest Pohl Stadium also Górnik Zabrze Stadium is a football stadium in Zabrze, Poland. It is the home ground of Górnik Zabrze. The stadium holds 10,000 people and was built in 1934.
Górnik Zabrze, Football venues in Poland, Buildings and structures in Zabrze, Sports venues in Silesian Voivodeship
Makoszowy
Makoszowy - Poland, Silesia - is a district of city Zabrze called Zabrze-Makoszowy
Silesia
New Synagogue (Gliwice)
New Synagogue was a synagogue in Gleiwitz, Germany (today Gliwice, Poland). It was built in 1859-1861, designed by Salomon Lubowski and Louis Troplowitz. The synagogue was destroyed by Nazis during Kristallnacht on 9–10 November 1938. {{#invoke:Coordinates|coord}}{{#coordinates:50.2954714|N|18.666566|E|source:dewiki_region:PL-SL_type:landmark|||| |primary |name= }}
Buildings and structures in Gliwice, Former Reform synagogues in Poland, 19th-century synagogues, Synagogues destroyed during Kristallnacht
Przyszowice
Przyszowice (German Preiswitz) is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Gierałtowice, within Gliwice County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. The village has a population of 3,199. It lies approximately 5 kilometres north-east of Gierałtowice, 7 km south-east of Gliwice, and 18 km west of the regional capital Katowice. Among the most notable landmarks of the area is an eclectic palace of the von Raczek family built between 1890 and 1895, the St.
Located at 50.25, 18.75 (Lat. / Lng.), about 5 miles away.
Villages in Gliwice County, Palaces in Poland
Gliwice Castle
The so-called Piast's Castle in Gliwice, southern Poland dates back to the mid-14th century. It consists of a tower from 1322, which was originally part of the city walls, and an adjoining building which was probably an armory. Modifications were carried out in the 15th century, between 1558-61 it became the residence of Friedrich von Zettritz. Later it was an armory, a jail, a magazine and since 1945 a museum. Between 1956-59 it was thoroughly rebuilt and partially reconstructed.
Castles in Silesian Voivodeship, Buildings and structures in Gliwice, Museums in Silesian Voivodeship, History museums in Poland
Gierałtowice, Silesian Voivodeship
Gierałtowice (German Gieraltowitz) is a village in Gliwice County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Gierałtowice. It lies approximately 9 kilometres south-east of Gliwice and 21 km west of the regional capital Katowice. The village has a population of 3,752. It is first recorded in the 13th century.
Villages in Gliwice County
Stadion Piast
Stadion Miejski w Gliwicach is a football stadium in Gliwice, Poland. It is the home ground of Piast Gliwice. The stadium holds 10,037 spectators.
Football venues in Poland, Buildings and structures in Gliwice, Sports venues in Silesian Voivodeship
Paniówki is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Gierałtowice, within Gliwice County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately 5 kilometres north-east of Gierałtowice, 10 km south-east of Gliwice, and 17 km west of the regional capital Katowice. The village has a population of 2,297.
Żernica (former German Zernitz) is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Pilchowice, within Gliwice County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately 8 kilometres south-west of Gliwice and 29 km west of the regional capital Katowice. The village has a population of 2,549.
Boniowice
Boniowice is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Zbrosławice, within Tarnowskie Góry County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately 4 kilometres south-west of Zbrosławice, 13 km south-west of Tarnowskie Góry, and 27 km north-west of the regional capital Katowice. The village has a population of 105.
Villages in Tarnowskie Góry County
Czekanów, Silesian Voivodeship
Czekanów is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Zbrosławice, within Tarnowskie Góry County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately 8 kilometres south of Zbrosławice, 15 km south-west of Tarnowskie Góry, and 22 km north-west of the regional capital Katowice. The village has a population of 1,000.
Karchowice is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Zbrosławice, within Tarnowskie Góry County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately 6 kilometres south-west of Zbrosławice, 15 km south-west of Tarnowskie Góry, and 28 km north-west of the regional capital Katowice. The village has a population of 308.
Przezchlebie
Przezchlebie is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Zbrosławice, within Tarnowskie Góry County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately 8 kilometres south-west of Zbrosławice, 16 km south-west of Tarnowskie Góry, and 26 km north-west of the regional capital Katowice. The village has a population of 843.
Świętoszowice
Świętoszowice is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Zbrosławice, within Tarnowskie Góry County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately 6 kilometres south of Zbrosławice, 14 km south-west of Tarnowskie Góry, and 24 km north-west of the regional capital Katowice. The village has a population of 595.
Szałsza
Szałsza is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Zbrosławice, within Tarnowskie Góry County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately 10 kilometres south of Zbrosławice, 17 km south-west of Tarnowskie Góry, and 23 km north-west of the regional capital Katowice. The village has a population of 323.
Zawada, Tarnowskie Góry County
Zawada is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Zbrosławice, within Tarnowskie Góry County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately 7 kilometres south-west of Zbrosławice, 16 km south-west of Tarnowskie Góry, and 29 km north-west of the regional capital Katowice. The village has a population of 310.
Ziemięcice
Ziemięcice is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Zbrosławice, within Tarnowskie Góry County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately 7 kilometres south-west of Zbrosławice, 15 km south-west of Tarnowskie Góry, and 24 km north-west of the regional capital Katowice. The village has a population of 925.
2010 Central European floods
The 2010 Central European floods were a devastating series of weather events which occurred across several Central European countries during May, June and August 2010. Poland was the worst affected. Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia, Serbia and Ukraine were also affected. At least thirty-seven people died in the floods and approximately 23,000 people were evacuated. The city of Kraków declared a state of emergency.
Floods in Europe, Floods in Poland, Floods in Germany, Floods in Austria, Floods in Hungary, Floods in Slovakia, Floods in the Czech Republic, 2010 floods, 2010 in Austria, 2010 in Poland, 2010 in Germany, 2010 in Slovakia, 2010 in Hungary, 2010 in the Czech Republic, 2010 in Ukraine, Genoa lows
These are some bigger and more relevant cities in the wider vivinity of Gliwice.
Knurow
Sosnicowice
Zory
Jankowice Rybnickie
Kobior
Local Webcams
Gliwice › North-West, Gliwice (source)
Webcams provided by webcam.travel are under the copyright of their owners.
Gleiwitz, Gliwice, Gliwice-Sosnowiec, غليفيتسه, Горад Глівіцы, Гливице, Glivitse, گلیویتسه, גליביצה, Գլիվիցե, QLC, グリヴィツェ, 글리비체, Glivicės, Glivice, ग्लिविस, Гљивице, Glywicy, Глівіце, گلیویتسہ, 格利维采
Srodmiescie
Zwirki i Wigury
Szobiszowice
Trynek
Sikornik
Obroncow Pokoju
Ligota Zabrska
Zatorze
Zerniki
Wojtowa Wies
Bojkow
Stare Gliwice
Sosnica
Labedy
Czechowice
Czekanow
Ziemiecice
Zernica
Ostropa
Mikulczyce
Krywald
Gieraltowice
Nieborowice
Travel is glamorous only in retrospect.
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Download Free George Washington S Secret Six The Spy Ring That Saved The American Revolution Book in PDF and EPUB Free Download. You can read online George Washington S Secret Six The Spy Ring That Saved The American Revolution and write the review.
George Washington s Secret Six
*Now with a new afterword containing never-before-seen research on the identity of the spy ring’s most secret member, Agent 355 “This is my kind of history book. Get ready. Here’s the action.” —BRAD MELTZER, bestselling author of The Fifth Assassin and host of Decoded When George Washington beat a hasty retreat from New York City in August 1776, many thought the American Revolution might soon be over. Instead, Washington rallied—thanks in large part to a little-known, top-secret group called the Culper Spy Ring. He realized that he couldn’t defeat the British with military might, so he recruited a sophisticated and deeply secretive intelligence network to infiltrate New York. Drawing on extensive research, Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger have offered fascinating portraits of these spies: a reserved Quaker merchant, a tavern keeper, a brash young longshoreman, a curmudgeonly Long Island bachelor, a coffeehouse owner, and a mysterious woman. Long unrecognized, the secret six are finally receiving their due among the pantheon of American heroes.
The First Conspiracy
Format Type: PDF, Kindle
Taking place during the most critical period of our nation’s birth, The First Conspiracy tells a remarkable and previously untold piece of American history that not only reveals George Washington’s character, but also illuminates the origins of America’s counterintelligence movement that led to the modern day CIA. In 1776, an elite group of soldiers were handpicked to serve as George Washington’s bodyguards. Washington trusted them; relied on them. But unbeknownst to Washington, some of them were part of a treasonous plan. In the months leading up to the Revolutionary War, these traitorous soldiers, along with the Governor of New York, William Tryon, and Mayor David Mathews, launched a deadly plot against the most important member of the military: George Washington himself. This is the story of the secret plot and how it was revealed. It is a story of leaders, liars, counterfeiters, and jailhouse confessors. It also shows just how hard the battle was for George Washington and how close America was to losing the Revolutionary War. In this historical page-turner, New York Times bestselling author Brad Meltzer teams up with American history writer and documentary television producer, Josh Mensch to unravel the shocking true story behind what has previously been a footnote in the pages of history. Drawing on extensive research, Meltzer and Mensch capture in riveting detail how George Washington not only defeated the most powerful military force in the world, but also uncovered the secret plot against him in the tumultuous days leading up to July 4, 1776. Praise for The First Conspiracy: "This is American history at its finest, a gripping story of spies, killers, counterfeiters, traitors?and a mysterious prostitute who may or may not have even existed. Anyone with an interest in American history will love this book." —Douglas Preston, #1 bestselling author of The Lost City of the Monkey God “A wonderful book about leadership?and it shows why George Washington and his moral lessons are just as vital today. What a book. You’ll love it.” —President George H.W. Bush “This is an important book: a fascinating largely unknown chapter of our hazardous beginning, a reminder of why counterintelligence matters, and a great read.” —President Bill Clinton
Code Breakers and Spies of the American Revolution
Cassandra Schumacher
The American Revolution was a war fought by soldiers and won by spies. The Continental Army did not stand a chance against the British superpower, but with accurate and fast intelligence, General George Washington was able to gain an advantage and win the war. From early intrigue in France to the Culper Spy Ring in New York, this book explores it all. Readers will learn how the first American spies turned the tides of the war and helped win independence.
Summary of Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates
Warning This is an independent addition to Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates, meant to enhance your experience of the original book. If you have not yet bought the original copy, make sure to purchase it before buying this unofficial summary from aBookaDay. OVERVIEW This review of the book Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates by Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger includes a detailed summary of each chapter, followed by an analysis. The book presents a fairly straightforward, chronological account based on original sources, focusing on the challenge presented to the newly established United States by Mediterranean pirates, supported by and based mainly in four North African states. Wealthier European countries paid protection money to keep their shipping unmolested; the United States could afford neither the exorbitant fees set by the Barbary states, nor the depredations by the pirates on U.S. merchant shipping in the Mediterranean, and the impact on the developing country's economy. Sources used by the authors to develop the story included personal documents, such as journals and correspondence, and official documents, such as ships' logs and other naval documents, and official records of the U.S. Congress. The authors studied the accounts of those involved in the business of dealing with the Barbary pirates, thus achieving as close a perspective as is possible, without actually having lived the events themselves. They include a bibliography of "the best of the primary and secondary works" written on this subject, for those readers who wish to explore further. The authors focus mainly on those who were "on site," as it were, serving in the Mediterranean either as diplomats or in a military capacity. Just as in more recent times, their efforts were both aided and hampered by politics back home. Brian Kilmeade is a television broadcaster and radio host for FOX News, as well as a bestselling author with a passion for history and a talent for storytelling. His previous books include George Washington's Secret Six: The Spy Ring that Saved the American Revolution (also with Don Yaeger), The Games Do Count: America's Best and Brightest on the Power of Sports, and It's How You Play the Game. Don Yaeger is an Associate Editor for Sports Illustrated, an award-winning motivational speaker, and author of more than twenty books, including seven New York Times best sellers: Under the Tarnished Dome: How Notre Dame Betrayed Its Ideals for Football Glory; Never Die Easy: The Autobiography of Walter Peyton; Ya Gotta Believe: My Roller-Coaster Life as a Screwball Pitcher, Part-time Father, and my Hope-Filled Fight against Brain Cancer; It's Not about the Truth: The Untold Story of the Duke Lacrosse Case and the Lives It Shattered; I Beat the Odds: From Homelessness, to the Blind Side, and Beyond (with Michael Oher), Play Like You Mean It: Passion, Laugh, and Leadership in the World's Most Beautiful Game (with Rex Ryan); and Nothing to Lose, Everything to Gain: How I Went from Gang Member to Multimillionaire Entrepreneur (with Ryan Blair). Available on PC, Mac, smart phone, tablet or Kindle device. (c) 2015 All Rights Reserved
The President s Shadow
The number one New York Times bestselling author of THE INNER CIRCLE delivers the third novel in the blockbuster Culper Ring Trilogy. Beecher White, a humble archivist at the U.S. National Archives by day, has a secret: he belongs to the Culper Ring, a network of spies founded by George Washington during the American Revolution. Over the course of his time working for the Culper Ring, White has discovered countless secrets and saved more lives than he knows - including the President's. And then, one day, White makes an alarming discovery on the White House grounds: a severed arm buried in the Rose Garden. As he investigates, he realizes it's a message... one that may have dire repercussions for the President. But that's not all - the message also turns Beecher's personal life upside-down, pointing him towards the dark truth about his father's death.
Discloses the names of the convicted criminals in the NFL, the stunning severity of their crimes, & why they're still playing.
Dot Richardson
The star of the Olympic gold medal-winning U.S. softball team offers a personal account of her athletic career and training for the 1996 summer games.
The CAM Coach
Doctor Who Serpent Crest 5: Survivors In Space
The Royal Mummies (Duckworth Egyptology)
XSHAKESPEARE ANZ
Somewhere I'll Find You
Usagi Yojimbo: Book 4
Audel Machine Shop Basics
Mit aller Gewalt
The Beatles Piano Solos
Sorry I Peed on You
1958 (Time Passages)
Discourses, Fragments, Handbook
Treatment for Hoarding Disorder
Forty Years with Ford Tractors
A Case of Need
Playwork: Theory and Practice
On Being Different
Great Again: How to Fix Our Crippled America
Boston Globe Sunday Crossword Omnibus Vol 2
Mermaids Singingmermaids Singing
The Medieval Christmas
Match a Pair of Shoes
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Closing the Sale
Notebook of a Return to My Native Land
Talking to Animals
Broken Pieces: A Novel
Quack Said Billy Goat
An Introduction to Western Medical Acupuncture
The Jesus Storybook Bible Deluxe Edition
The Bounty Mutiny
The Penny Pot
The Raw Cure
The Perfect Christmas
Straight to the Top
XWITCH LAST TEAR TV TIE BK PEO
The Edge of Anarchy
Favorite Classics, Bk 1: Solo
The Law of Attraction CD Collection
Walking in Austria
Modern Chess Openings
Fish, Indian Style
Swim Speed Secrets
DIY Industrial Pipe Furniture and Decor
HBR's 10 Must Reads 2016
The Charge of the Light Brigade and Other Poems
The Ultimate Guide to Home Butchering
Beginning Google Sketchup for 3D Printing
2019 Guide to the Night Sky
The Best Short Stories of Edgar Allan Poe
My First Maze Book
Finding God in the Waves
Glory Lost and Found
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Rapid response to sexual and gender based violence in emergency and humanitarian settings in West and Central Africa
Nnoko Mejane Angela
The West and Central African regions are faced with complex emergency crises. In the Lake Chad Basin (LCB) some 17 million people in Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria, are affected by insecurity, food insufficiency, droughts, and diseases. A breakdown in civil order following disasters consistently increases the occurrence of sexual violence, exposure to sexually transmitted infection such as HIV, and unwanted pregnancies. Sexual and gender-based violence is higher in sites for those who are internally displaced such as refugee camps and conflict areas.
UN Volunteer Nnoko Mejane Angela presenting during the workshop. (UN Women, 2017)
The Gender Based Violence Sub Cluster Report from West and Central African countries facing armed conflict revealed that the prevalence of sexual and gender-based violence has drastically increased since the last report in 2016. It is in this line that we jointly organized, in 2017, a regional capacity building workshop on gender mainstreaming, prevention and response to Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in emergency and humanitarian settings in Dakar, Senegal. The workshop was conceived by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, (UN Women), in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
In a region shaken by several natural, political and security crises, where conflict-related sexual violence is recurrent, it is essential that the protection of women, girls, men and boys is placed at the center of the humanitarian response.
Serving as a UN Volunteer with UN Women has given me the opportunity to be involved in many aspects of the agency’s work in the region, such as this important event. This workshop had as objective to train national and international gender and GBV experts on their responsiveness to implement urgent measures enabling a strategic and operational positioning of the gender and GBV agenda in a multi-sectoral and complex humanitarian response.
UN Agencies’s GBV and Gender coordinators and focal points in the humanitarian and crises-affected countries including Mali, Central Africa Republic (CAR), Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) attended the workshop. Participants discussed how to strengthen coordination and timely assistance of affected communities including survivors of GBV and sexual violence, in the event of a human-induced crisis, natural disaster or health crisis such as Ebola.
The presence and support of national actors from countries of West and Central Africa at the workshop highlight the commitment of governments to improve the protection of civilian and survivors of GBV and sexual violence at the national level.
Participants and facilitators stressed the importance of holding such a workshop in view of the alarming indicators in the region. Discussions and shared best practices on challenges, opportunities and achievements regarding gender integration, GBV prevention and response has led to the formulation of key recommendations for a positioning of these sensitive issues at both strategic and operational levels.
A crucial outcome of this workshop is the creation of a Regional group called "Network of West and Central Africa VBG Experts” composed of 26 experts. The group will serve as a network allowing experts to stay in touch, to exchange, and share tools and knowledge. The group fosters the continuation of a well-functioning inter-agency collaboration with national and international partners, but above all aims to strengthen GBV capabilities in the region. In addition, the group will constitute a roster of experts for quick deployment in the region.
Becoming a UN Volunteer has allowed me not only to play a role in launching this initiative and to be a part of it, in such moments, it taught that our work and contributions can go far beyond our own individual actions.
UN Women UNFPA UNHCR Senegal gender conflict-related sexual violence
SDG 3: Good health and well-being, SDG 5: Gender equality
Europe and the CISSDG 10: Reduced inequalities, SDG 17: Partnerships for the goals
Writing a new chapter: how a Syrian-Armenian is changing the lives of others like her
Arab StatesSDG 10: Reduced inequalities, SDG 17: Partnerships for the goals
Protecting vulnerable refugee children in Cairo, and helping them beat the odds
Launch of UN Volunteer Population Data Fellowships - a joint initiative between UNFPA and UNV
Sub-Saharan AfricaSDG 10: Reduced inequalities, SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities, SDG 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions
Statelessness - UN Volunteers with UNHCR identify thousands of unregistered people in Côte d'Ivoire
Sub-Saharan AfricaSDG 10: Reduced inequalities
Refugees become change agents through volunteerism
Sub-Saharan AfricaSDG 4: Quality education, SDG 10: Reduced inequalities, SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities
Volunteer opportunities for refugees by refugees, in West and Central Africa
Six Volunteers - One Goal
Latin America and the CaribbeanSDG 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions, SDG 17: Partnerships for the goals
Volunteers create support for refugees from Venezuela
Asia and the PacificSDG 3: Good health and well-being, SDG 5: Gender equality, SDG 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions, SDG 17: Partnerships for the goals
UN Volunteer brings life-saving skills to refugee camp in Bangladesh
Sub-Saharan AfricaSDG 8: Decent work and economic growth
Refugee community in Kakuma empowered through volunteering
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The Insurgent Delegate
Selected Letters and Other Writings of George Thatcher
Edited by William C. diGiacomantonio
BUY Cloth · 650 pp. · 6 × 9.25 · ISBN 9780997519105 · $49.50 · Jun 2019
George Thatcher served as a U.S. representative from Maine throughout the Federalist Era (1789-1801)—the most critical and formative period of American constitutional history. A moderate on most political issues, the Cape Cod native and Harvard-educated lawyer proved a maverick in matters relating to education, the expansion of the slave interest, the rise of Unitarianism, and the separation of church and state. Written over his forty-year career as a country lawyer, national legislator, and state supreme court justice, the over two hundred letters and miscellaneous writings selected for this edition will appeal to historians, lawyers and legal scholars, teachers, and genealogists as an encyclopedic resource on the Founding generation, and to all readers captivated by the dramatic immediacy and inherent authenticity of personal letters. Following Thatcher’s journey as a New England Federalist, abolitionist, religious dissenter, and pedagogical innovator is to add depth and complexity to our understanding of the early American Republic.
Distributed for the Colonial Society of Massachusetts
William C. diGiacomantonio, Chief Historian of the U.S. Capitol Historical Society, spent most of his career on the editorial team that recently completed the twenty-two-volume Documentary History of the First Federal Congress.
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Babysitters » PA » Pittsburgh Metro Area » Youngstown
Youngstown, PA Babysitters Near Me
Youngstown babysitter profiles include videos, qualifications & parent reviews.
Available babysitters in Youngstown, PA
"Hey all! I'm a 28 year old woman and I’m a pediatric nurse. I have been babysitting since I was 14, as well as growing up with two younger siblings. Additionally, I have been a pediatric nurse for 5 y..." Sign Up to See Full Profile
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"I grew up helping family and friends by watching their children during the work day, mostly over summer breaks. In the past, I have babysat newborn children up to 12 years old. I have also taken care..." Sign Up to See Full Profile
"Hi I'm Monica. I am 20 and a communications major at Penn State New Kensington. My experience includes but is not limited to working for my church's daycare during small group, as well as volunteering..." Sign Up to See Full Profile
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Jessica is a winner at the National UK Blog Awards
Culinary Arts Management student Jessica Simmons has won a National UK Blog Awards trophy (Food and Drink category) for her blog Nourishing Jessica.
For the last year Jessica has been blogging about fitness and nutrition, healthy eating, happiness and wellness and sharing recipes of her own creation – for breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as a wide range of healthy and delicious snacks and smoothies.
In autumn last year she entered the first round of the competition, and the nominations went to public vote in November. She was shortlisted as a finalist in December and her blog, as well as others from a range of categories, were judged by expert industry panels earlier this year.
The judging criteria for the awards consisted of five main elements: design, style, content, marketing and usability. The judges for the Food and Drink category were Eleanor Crossland, Social Media Manager at Square Meal Publications and Elaine Stocks, Deputy Editor of the BBC Good Food Magazine.
Jessica was then invited to attended the awards evening earlier this month at The Montcalm Hotel in London, where she heard the good news and was awarded her Blog Awards trophy.
“I never intended for my blog to become something big, but now it is a part of me and who I am,” said Jessica. “I love food, photography, writing and inspiring people to try new recipes, and Nourishing Jessica is a combination of all of those. To be recognised for my passion is a feeling I could never express.
“I wouldn’t have my success without my followers, lecturers, friends, family, colleagues and everyone’s constant support – so thanks to all of you.”
Jessica has had her recipes featured on various websites such as Active in Style, Organic Burst, BuzzFeed and Grazia.
She is also one of our UCBloggers, and you can read her UCB student blog here for an insight into what it’s like to study at the university.
The UK Blog Awards was created to recognise true viral style and creative excellence in blogs across a variety of 12 UK industries, giving bloggers the chance to be acknowledged and recognised as knowledge providers within their industry.
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CRISPR Joins Battle of the Bulge, Fights Obesity Without Edits to Genome
By Jason Alvarez
A weighty new study shows that CRISPR therapies can cut fat without cutting DNA. In a paper published Dec. 13, 2018, in the journal Science, UC San Francisco researchers describe how a modified version of CRISPR was used to ramp up the activity of certain genes and prevent severe obesity in mice with genetic mutations that predispose them to extreme weight gain. Importantly, the researchers achieved long-lasting weight control without making a single edit to the genome.
Though the human genome contains two copies of every gene in an individual, one from each parent, scientists know of at least 660 genes where a mutation in just one copy can lead to diseases, some of which are devastating. One such condition is severe obesity, which the authors of the new study used as a model to develop a new therapeutic approach for treating these disorders.
Nadav Ahituv (right), PhD, works in his lab with postdoc Fumitaka Inoue.
Mutations in a single copy of SIM1 or MC4R – two genes critical for regulating hunger and satiety – are the most frequently observed mutations in severely obese individuals. When both copies of these genes are functioning, people are generally able to manage their food intake. But mutations can render one copy non-functional, forcing the body to rely exclusively on a single working copy, which on its own, doesn’t sufficiently signal satiation, leaving afflicted individuals with an unrelenting appetite. As a result, they can’t control their food intake and end up severely obese. But recent advances in CRISPR technology may offer a solution.
“We thought that if we could increase the dosage of the existing functional copy of the gene, we could prevent many human diseases in individuals harboring these mutations,” said Nadav Ahituv, PhD, professor of bioengineering and therapeutic sciences and senior author of the new study. “We were able to accomplish this by using a novel CRISPR-based technology developed right here at UCSF.”
CRISPRa Activates Appetite-Suppressing Genes
The technology in question is CRISPRa (a for activation). Developed at UCSF in the lab of Jonathan Weissman, PhD, professor of cellular and molecular pharmacology, CRISPRa differs from conventional CRISPR in that it doesn’t make cuts to the genome. It retains CRISPR’s guidance system, which can be programmed to home in on a particular DNA sequence, but replaces the molecular scissors with a volume control knob. When CRISPRa finds its target, it amplifies the activity of that gene. No edits are made.
Recognizing its potential, the researchers created CRISPRa systems that targeted sequences that regulate the activity of SIM1 or MC4R. They used a viral-delivery system to introduce these CRISPRa constructs into the hunger-control regions of the brain in mice that were genetically engineered to have only one functional copy of either gene.
Mice that received the CRISPRa constructs produced more SIM1 or MC4R than those that didn’t. Furthermore, the amounts were comparable to what mice with two working copies of these genes normally produce. Most importantly, the increased dose was enough to prevent the mice from becoming obese.
“The results were dramatic. Mice that were missing one copy of the Sim1 gene received the CRISPRa injections at four weeks of age and maintained a healthy body weight like normal mice. Mice that didn’t receive CRISPRa injections couldn’t stop eating. They started gaining weight at six weeks of age, and by the time they were 10-weeks old, they were severely obese on a regular diet” said Navneet Matharu, PhD, a researcher in the Ahituv lab and lead author of the new study.
CRISPRa-treated mice were 30 to 40 percent lighter than their untreated counterparts. The effects were also long-lasting. The researchers monitored the mice for 10 months – a significant fraction of a mouse’s normal lifespan – and found that those that received a single CRISPRa treatment maintained a healthy weight for the duration of their monitoring.
“These results demonstrate that CRISPRa can be used to up the dosage of genes in diseases that result from a missing copy, providing a potential cure for certain forms of obesity as well as hundreds of other diseases,” said Matharu.
CRISPRa Can Overcome the Limits of Gene Editing
The researchers believe they could have achieved similar results by using CRISPR to edit the genomes of these mice, but they argue that CRISPRa has a number of advantages over the standard version of the gene-editing technology.
“For therapeutic purposes, CRISPRa may be preferable to conventional CRISPR. It solves many of the problems associated with making permanent modifications to the genome, and it has the potential to treat a variety of genetic diseases for which gene editing isn’t an option,” said Christian Vaisse, MD, PhD, the Vera M. Long Endowed Chair in Diabetes Research at UCSF and co-author of the study.
Though CRISPR targets specific DNA sequences, off-target effects have been observed. With conventional CRISPR, this can lead to inadvertent but permanent changes to the genome with potentially harmful outcomes. However, off-target effects associated with CRISPRa are less likely to be damaging because no permanent changes are made. In fact, the new study shows that using CRISPRa to target promoters and enhancers – noncoding DNA sequences that control when and where a gene is turned on – seems to prevent off-target effects while confining the desired effects to specific tissues of interest.
The researchers also note that CRISPRa could be used to treat other kinds of genetic disease. Diseases that arise from so-called microdeletions – a term that counterintuitively refers to the loss of large chromosome segments that span millions of nucleotides and multiple genes – are currently too large for conventional CRISPR to repair. In such cases, CRISPRa could be used to compensate for the deletion by increasing the activity of several genes on the unaffected copy of the chromosome. And in cases where a gene is completely lost, CRISPRa could activate another gene with a similar function to compensate for the missing gene, the researchers said.
“Though this particular study focused on obesity, we believe our system could be applied to any situation in which having only one functional copy of a gene leads to disease,” Ahituv said. “Our method demonstrates tremendous therapeutic potential for numerous diseases, and we show that we can achieve these benefits without making any edits to the genome.”
Authors: Additional UCSF authors on the paper include Sawitree Rattanasopha, Serena Tamura, Lenka Maliskova, Yi Wang, PhD, Adelaide Bernard, Aaron Hardin, PhD, and Walter L. Eckalbar, PhD. Rattanasopha is also affiliated with Chulalongkorn University.
Funding: This study was supported by grants 1R01DK090382, R01DK106404 and R01DK60540-09 from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; the UCSF Nutrition and Obesity Research Center funded by National Institutes of Health grant P30DK098722; the UCSF School of Pharmacy 2017 Mary Anne Koda-Kimble Seed Award for Innovation; National Cancer Institute grant 1R01CA197139; National Institute of Mental Health grant 1R01MH109907; National Institute of Child and Human Development grant 1P01HD084387; National Human Genome Research Institute grant 1UM1HG009408; the UCSF Catalyst Program; the Royal Golden Jubilee PhD Program grant PHD/0071/2554; the American Diabetes Association Mentor Based Award 7-12-MN-79; and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences Institutional Research and Academic Career Development award K12GM081266.
Disclosures: Ahituv is an equity holder and heads the scientific advisory board for Encoded Therapeutics, a gene regulation therapeutics company. Ahituv and Matharu are co-founders of Enhancer Therapeutics Inc.
UC San Francisco (UCSF) is a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. It includes top-ranked graduate schools of dentistry, medicine, nursing and pharmacy; a graduate division with nationally renowned programs in basic, biomedical, translational and population sciences; and a preeminent biomedical research enterprise. It also includes UCSF Health, which comprises three top-ranked hospitals – UCSF Medical Center and UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals in San Francisco and Oakland – as well as Langley Porter Psychiatric Hospital and Clinics, UCSF Benioff Children’s Physicians and the UCSF Faculty Practice. UCSF Health has affiliations with hospitals and health organizations throughout the Bay Area. UCSF faculty also provide all physician care at the public Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, and the SF VA Medical Center. The UCSF Fresno Medical Education Program is a major branch of the University of California, San Francisco’s School of Medicine.
Gene Editing and CRISPR
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Introducing NME Gold Paul Weller
Michael Bonner
Meet the latest addition to the Uncut family...
TAGS: Paul Weller
A new week, a new magazine. This time, please allow me to cue up the latest issue of NME Gold – a new joint project from Uncut and our sister title, NME.
As you can probably tell by now, this new edition has been curated by Paul Weller.
NME Gold is in shops from Thursday, but you can also buy a copy from our online store. Here’s John Robinson, who’s overseen NME Gold, to explain what it’s all about.
“From the extensive archives of NME (and its sister title, Melody Maker), Paul has painstakingly put together a selection of legendary features about his heroes, his esteemed contemporaries, and the artists who have influenced him to become the icon that he is today. Never mind a day in the life – it’s a life in music, in 100 pages.
“It is, if you like, a printed mixtape. In it you’ll find Paul’s choices from historic pieces about longtime heroes like The Beatles, Curtis Mayfield and the Small Faces, but also bands whose influence on him has maybe been a little less frequently broadcast. Paul now also shares his thinking on the likes of the Nick Drake, Noel Gallagher, The Lovin’ Spoonful, Bob Marley and Dr Feelgood and many more, as he introduces his selections from the archive.
“Weller is also up for talking about his own place in the firmament, revealing his feelings about his journey in a wide-ranging – and characteristically frank – interview. From The Jam to the Style Council and the many magnificent reinventions of his solo career, this is Paul Weller’s life in music.
“’It was noticeable, seeing people around you, thinking this is really special, and that I’m really special,’ he tells Hamish MacBain. ‘And I just thought, ‘I’m just doing what I’ve always fucking done, don’t get excited.’”
I should also remind you that the current issue of Uncut is currently in shops. Joni Mitchell is our cover star and inside you’ll find an extensive tribute to Mark E Smith plus exclusive interviews with the Breeders, Josh T Pearson and many more.
Follow me on Twitter @MichaelBonner
Like us on Facebook to keep up to date with news from Uncut
The April 2018 issue of Uncut is now on sale in the UK – with Joni Mitchell on the cover. Elsewhere in the issue, we pay tribute to Mark E Smith and there are new interviews with The Breeders, Josh T Pearson, Brett Anderson, The Decemberists and Chris Robinson and many more and we also look at the legacy of Rick Hall’s FAME Studioes. Our free 15 track-CD features 15 tracks of this month’s best new music, featuring Graham Coxon, Gwenno, Guided By Voices, Jonathan Wilson, David Byrne, Tracey Thorn, The Low Anthem and Mélissa Laveaux
Uncut: the past, present and future of great music.
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#WCWinSTEM: Esther Ngumbi, Ph.D.
Dr. Esther Ngumbi is an educator, author, entrepreneur and entomologist whose research focus on understanding the mutual beneficial associations between soil bacteria and plants!
Esther Ngumbi at Auburn University Plant Science Research Center Greenhouses (picture taken by Dr. Ramohhan Balusu).
A postdoctoral fellow at Auburn University, Dr. Esther Ngumbi is an inductee to the National Academy of Inventors. She holds three U.S. patents for her research on basic and applied aspects of using microbial inoculants to promote growth in crops and enhance their tolerance to drought stress. Microbial inoculants are agricultural products/amendments made from beneficial microbes (tiny microscopic organisms such as bacteria and fungi). They are used in agriculture because they offer multiple benefits to crops including improving growth and protecting them from insects, plant diseases, drought and other climate change-related extremities. They also are environment friendly products.In addition, Dr. Ngumbi is a Food SecurityFellow with The Aspen Institute New Voices and has penned multiple opinion pieces for outlets such as CNN, Scientific American, Time Magazine, NPR, Al Jazeera, Los Angeles Times, SciDev. Net and World Policy Institute.
Dr. Ngumbi is the founder of Oyeska Greens, an agriculture focused startup that empowers farmers on the Kenyan Coast, and the co-founder (with her parents) of the Dr. Ndumi Faulu Academy, an elementary school on the Kenyan Coast. Among the many awards under her belt, Dr. Ngumbi was also a finalist for President Clinton Global Hunger Award and was named by One World Action as one of the 100 powerful women who change the world. As this week’s #WCWinSTEM, Dr. Ngumbi is excited to share her journey as a global leader.
B.S. Biochemistry and Zoology, Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya
M.S. Biotechnology, Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya
Ph.D. Entomology, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama
I am an entomologist (chemical ecologist) and my research over the years has focused on beneficial soil microbes-plant-herbivore interactions as well as the chemical ecology of microbial-plant-insect interactions and bacterial-mediated biotic and abiotic stress tolerance.
My current research focuses on beneficial soil bacteria. I am specifically working with plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria, which are naturally occurring soil bacteria. The cool thing about them is that they form mutual beneficial associations with plants such as maize, peppers and tomatoes. Some of the benefits they are associated with include making soils more fertile and fending off plant stressors such as insects and diseases. Beneficial soil bacteria enable plants to better tolerate extreme temperature fluctuations and other challenges that come with a changing climate. Furthermore, they help plants grow better and increase crop yields. Ultimately, my research is about understanding the mechanisms by which these soil bacteria impart all these benefits to plants.
For farmers struggling to adapt to climate change, especially small-scale farmers with limited resources, an increase in yield can open fresh opportunities for the simple reason that crop sales generate cash, including money that can be invested in a range of “climate-smart” farming techniques that will further conserve water and soil, and sustainably increase production on small plots of land.
As concerns about food security increase along with global temperatures, beneficial soil bacteria could be the next key tool for food security, helping farmers around the world conserve water, increase yields and improve nutrition despite the changing climate.
My research is focused on finding sustainable ways to feed our expanding population without hurting our environment.
First hand experiences. Growing up in my community, I saw firsthand the impact of insects on food security. Many times, our crops were attacked by insects in the field, and as a result, we would lose all the plants and harvest nothing. We also battled poor and unpredictable rainfall patterns and farmed on unhealthy soils. We worked hard but most of the time we were hungry because there was nothing to harvest. These personal experiences inspired me to pursue a career in science — especially agricultural science.
I wanted to pursue a career that would allow me to positively impact agriculture and food security.
Today, as a woman scientist with three U.S. patents related to my understanding of beneficial soil microbes, my research is helping farmers grow crops amidst the changing climate, and I feel humbled and happy to be contributing positively to alleviate the issues farmers face.
That there would be few of us — especially women of color. That funding would also be an issue that I would have to deal with all through the science career. That straight on, I should seek for true mentors who would be there to walk with me through this journey of academia.
Esther Ngumbi at Auburn University Plant Science Research Center (picture taken by Laryssa Ferrara).
Do you have any woman of color in STEM sheros? Who and why?
I admire Dr. Agnes Kalibata. She received her PhD in entomology in the U.S. but now serves as the president of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa. I also have a lot of respect respect for Nobel Prize winner and late professor, Dr. Wangari Maathai. I also admire every other woman of color who is making it in these STEM careers despite the many hurdles. Most importantly, I admire scientists who apply their knowledge of science to solve today’s global challenges which include hunger, poverty and climate change.
I would also like to mention Dr. Laura Boykin who is not a woman of color, but I just love that her research is generating solutions to real life challenges. Her research is dedicated to helping smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa to control white flies — serious pests for cassava, a staple crop.
I am a passionate food security advocate and have continued to participate in activities geared towards inspiring and mobilizing everyone into taking action against hunger and food insecurity. I have pursued activism related to world food stability gaining some notoriety as a spokesperson for these issues. As a motivational speaker, I have spoken on the need to find sustainable solutions to hunger and food insecurity at several universities across the U.S. including North Carolina State, Texas Tech, University of Idaho and Kansas State, as well as in my native homeland, Kenya.
I am also a strong advocate for novel solutions that research and science has to offer in an effort to grow food under a changing climate. Recognizing that climate change is affecting how smallholder farmers around the world grow their food, I have continued to offer my thoughtful opinions and have published over 50 opinion pieces in several prestigious outlets including Food Tank, The Conversation and UN Inter Press Service Agency. Through these articles, I continue to call on all the stakeholders in agriculture to continue to support the efforts to harness the innovations from microbial inoculants, because they have the potential to help create a food secure world. More importantly, as a result of continued outreach efforts with farmers in Kenya, our farm was selected to serve as the official host for the 2016 United Nations World Food celebrations for Kwale county, which has a population of over 600, 000 people.
I also serve in several professional organizations, many of which are working to improve the availability of food while alleviating hunger and food insecurity. I have served as a faculty expert for World Food Prize Global Youth Institute and as a judge for the Agricultural Innovation Prize and for President Clinton Global Hunger Leadership Award. I am an advisory board member to many organizations including Soil4Climate, The Virginia Gildersleeve International Fund and Cards against Humanity. I am also currently a member of Entomological Society of America Science Policy Committee.
Why do you think it’s important to highlight women of color in STEM?
First, growing up, I always wanted to be an accountant because they were the only positive role models I had access to. I still remember how I would go to the bank with my parents to collect their paycheck, which they would cash in to send us to school, and I would see the accountants in suits and ties and beautiful clothing, and they were all seated in an air conditioned office. I would tell my parents that I look forward to the day when I would be an accountant. I had never been exposed to a scientist for me to love science or to think that it would be an awesome career! But after high school, I was invited to Kenyatta University to pursue a bachelor of science. And once I discovered science, I never looked back. Perhaps, If I had women scientist role models as I was growing up, my love for science would have been nurtured early on.
However, the more I got involved with science, the more I loved it. When I graduated with a Ph.D. in entomology, I was overwhelmed, because I realized that I had become the first woman in my community to graduate with a Ph.D. in STEM. From that day, I vowed to reach back and become a role model to many other girls/women of color so that they know that we can be scientists too.
Secondly, I think there are still fewer women of color scientists in the U.S. and around the world. So, we have to positively show our younger girls that YES, girls of color can succeed in science and we need to do so by actively featuring and showcasing women of color pursuing and making it in science. Because highlighting the work of these women of color sends a positive message to the incoming scientists and we need to keep at it.
Esther Ngumbi at Auburn University Plant Center Research Center — (picture taken by Dr.Joseph Kloepper).
Are there institutions, groups or organizations you would like to give a shoutout?
Shoutout to the American Association of University Women, the Schlumberger Faculty for the Future and Auburn University.
Is there anything else you’d like us to know about you?
I am a passionate woman scientist. I love science so much that I requested that my wedding gifts be donations that could help me build a science lab that will help me inspire the next generation of women scientists.
You can connect more with Dr. Esther Ngumbi on her website, medium and Twitter.
Thank you, Dr. Ngumbi, for your dedication to agricultural sustainability and STEM outreach in Kenya and the world beyond! Keep up the good work and best wishes as you continue on championing for change!
#WCWinSTEM: Shelby Wilson, Ph.D.
Jedidah Isler January 26, 2018 plants, food, startup, farmers
#WCWinSTEM: Ranthony A. C. Edmonds, M.S.
#WCWinSTEM: Pamela E. Harris, Ph.D.
Jedidah Isler January 22, 2018 math, professor, research
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Alexandra Lucia Sourbis and Justin Bischoff’s Romantic Wedding in the Catskills
by Brooke Bobb
Somebody was supposed to take the Stefana off our heads, but we were all so wrapped up we completely forgot and walked all the way back from the aisle with it still on. When we got to the end, we looked at each other and started laughing. We did not remember a single thing from our rehearsal.
Photo: Amber Gress
Sourbis, who is the PR manager of Ted Baker London, and Bischoff, an assistant director (The Get Down, Vinyl), knew that they wanted to get married in the summer and, particularly, at the romantic, rustic, and very well-appointed Foxfire Mountain House in the Catskills. “I had a rough time explaining our wedding’s aesthetic to people,” Sourbis says. “I kept telling friends that I wanted it to feel like a modern spin on A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Not a surprising reference for a bride who was studying literature at The New School in Manhattan when she met her future husband, who, at that time, had already finished school and was working on the film It’s Kind of a Funny Story. The wedding date was set for August 6, 2016, a date inspired by one of Sourbis’s favorite excerpts from Natalie Babbitt’s Tuck Everlasting. The beginning of the passage reads: “The first week of August hangs at the very top of the summer, the top of the live-long year, like the highest seat of a Ferris wheel when it pauses in its turning.”
To add to this deeply romantic undertone, Sourbis also explains that she “had a neon sign made with one of my favorite quotes from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, which reads ‘If music be the food of love, play on.’ The sign was wrapped in lush vines and hung over the gazebo by the lily pond.” The bride gives much credit to florist Sarah Monteiro for creating such a stunning and “whimsical and dreamy” atmosphere at the inn. Though Sourbis was highly involved in and focused on the interior design of her wedding, she also took great care in carefully cultivating her own special look that day. “I’d always dreamed that I would wear Temperely London the day I got married,” she says. “I wanted something romantic with lots of lace, and something that looked as if it could be from another time, and so I thought Temperely was it. But then I stepped into this breathtaking Yolan Cris dress and it fit me perfectly. The high neck had a Victorian feel, but the low back gives it a bohemian twist.” She added a pair of 5-inch Loeffler Randall pink heels (which were later switched out for a more comfortable pair of Soludos espadrilles), as well as a pair of earrings borrowed from her mother and a gold tasseled bracelet watch from her grandmother.
After the aesthetics were all sorted, it was time for Sourbis to walk down the aisle, and she did to a rather unusual tune. “We played the song ‘A Fistful of Dollars’ by the Italian Western composer Ennio Morricone,” Sourbin explains. “Justin’s dream is to direct a Western film, and my alternate-reality dream is to star in a Quentin Tarantino movie, so we had so much fun walking down the aisle to this song. There were definitely a few laughs.” But then the couple turned to tradition for the remainder of the ceremony. “My father’s side of the family is Greek, and my parents were married in the Greek church,” she says. “While Justin and I aren’t religious, we wanted to incorporate some Greek traditions into our ceremony.” She and Bischoff were married by Sourbis’s cousin Leah and neither of them had a bridal party. The couple performed the Greek rituals of drinking from the common cup, and had Sourbis’s parents’ Stefana (two crowns connected by a silk ribbon) from their wedding placed on their heads by the best man. Then they read their vows to each other. As Sourbis says, “I promised Justin I would always wait in the movie theater to see his name in the credits roll, and he promised to love me forever and always take care of me.”
Once the deed was done and the wedding bands were on, it was time to dine. “We had a Mediterranean spread served family-style,” Sourbis recalls. The menu included dishes like braised short ribs with crushed sunchokes, falafel-encrusted striped bass, and roasted halloumi. For dessert, the couple chose several different types of cakes from Taartwork. Sourbis and Bischoff danced to “Strangers” by The Kinks for the very first time as husband and wife. Later, more dancing ensued and, in fact, so much so that the reception went way past the scheduled end time. “There were dance-offs, someone ripped their pants, and we thanked my parents with a rather chaotic ouzo toast,” Sourbis says of the after-dinner reveling. “My aunt led what could be described as a traditional Greek dance that quickly devolved into a fun but messy wedding mosh pit.” But later, things began to quiet down: “We eventually lit a small bonfire by the lily pond, where guests polished off their drinks before going to bed.” And just like that, these imaginative, romantic newlyweds got their happily ever after.
In This Story:Vogue Weddings, Fall Weddings
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Wayne County Board of Elections
The members of county boards of elections are appointed by the Secretary of State. Each county’s board of elections has four board members, two members representing each of the two major political parties. Boards of elections carry out state and federal law as instructed by the Secretary of State and by board policies adopted by the board’s members. Board members serve for staggered terms of four years. The Board of Elections re-organizes in odd-numbered years. (Year term ends.)
Elizabeth Sheets (D) - Chair (2023)
Ann M. Obrecht (R) (2021)
K. William Bailey (D) (2021)
Charlie Hardman (R) (2023)
The board members must appoint a director, who is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the board of elections office. The board members also may appoint a deputy director and other employees, as the board members deem necessary for the board to fulfill its statutory duties. The director and deputy director are appointed to two-year terms. However, the director, deputy director and employees serve at the pleasure of the board.
Julie Leathers Stahl - Director
VACANT - Deputy Director
Linda Woodruff - Election Specialist II
Joni Hagans - Election Specialist II
Meredith Holder - Election Specialist I
Nancy Carr - PT Election Specialist
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As congressional races draw big interest, Democrats still filling out statewide ticket
by Patrick Svitek July 13, 2017 12:01 AM
By Patrick Svitek, The Texas Tribune July 13, 2017
"As congressional races draw big interest, Democrats still filling out statewide ticket" was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
Lillie Schechter, the new chairwoman of the Harris County Democratic Party, has watched in recent months as at least seven candidates have come through the doors of the party headquarters to introduce themselves, eager for their shot at U.S. Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston.
That's seven candidates that she can recall, but she may be forgiven for forgetting: Texas' 7th Congressional District is one of several that have already drawn a swarm of Democratic candidates for 2018. The bonanza is unfolding not just in districts like the 7th — one of three in Texas that national Democrats are targeting — but also in even redder districts, delighting a state party that is not used to so much interest so early.
"When we have competitive primaries, we get to engage with more Democrats," Schechter said. "I do not see that as a negative thing."
Yet it's just one part of the picture for Democrats at the outset of the 2018 election cycle. While the congressional races are overflowing with candidates, the party remains without a number of statewide contenders — a reality that is coming into focus ahead of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott's anticipated announcement Friday that he's running for re-election. Barring any last-minute surprises, Abbott will make his second-term bid official without the presence of a serious Democratic rival.
The state's Democrats are urging patience, saying they are in talks with potential Abbott challengers and other possible statewide candidates.
"I think if you look in past years, traditionally candidates will start filing in the fall, and by the end of the filing deadline, I think we'll have a full slate of strong candidates to run statewide," said U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro of San Antonio, who himself took a pass on statewide race earlier this year, declining to challenge U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. "I know there's been a lot of energy across the country and in Texas on the Democratic side, and so many people want to get a move on already, but by the end of year, I'll think you'll see a full slate of strong Democratic candidates."
Several holes to fill
So far, Democrats have three statewide candidates they see as serious: U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke of El Paso for U.S. Senate, Houston-area accountant Mike Collier for lieutenant governor and Kim Olson, a retired Air Force colonel, for agriculture commissioner. They are without similarly credible contenders for governor, comptroller, land commissioner, railroad commissioner and attorney general — a seat considered particularly worth targeting because the GOP incumbent, Ken Paxton, is under indictment.
By far the biggest profile belongs to O'Rourke, who announced his challenge to Cruz in March. As the top of the ticket — assuming he wins his party's primary next year — he stands a chance of being Texas Democrats' standard-bearer in 2018, regardless of whom they ultimately put up for the other statewide jobs.
In an interview Monday, O'Rourke said he was not worried about the lack of company so far on his party's statewide ticket.
"I can't worry about what I can't control, and so we're just going to focus on our campaign," he said.
But he also expressed optimism for the party's prospects up and down the ballot in 2018 "as more people become aware of how significantly the dynamics have changed in Texas."
It may be somewhat early, but the lack of a gubernatorial candidate — or even a well-known potential contender — is particularly glaring. Taking out Abbott would likely be an even steeper climb than usual for Texas Democrats seeking statewide office, as the governor has a massive $34.4 million war chest. It's a number expected to grow by the millions when he discloses his latest fundraising numbers next week.
"We’ve had conversations with a handful of folks who are considering a run for governor," said Manny Garcia, deputy executive director of the Texas Democratic Party. "They’re the kind of people that make us excited. They’re the kind of people who can raise credible resources, they have a great story to tell and they’re the kind of people who, most importantly, could get the job done.”
Of the last four Democratic nominees for governor, none of them announced his or her campaign this early. The closest was 2006 nominee Chris Bell, whose announcement came on July 28, 2005 — 467 days before Election Day. The 2018 election is currently 481 days away.
Yet previous cycles have typically brought a bit more excitement and buzz leading up to such announcements. There were the months of speculation that came before the launch of South Texas millionaire Tony Sanchez's 2002 bid to become the first Hispanic governor of Texas. In 2014, former state Sen. Wendy Davis kept Democrats waiting until 14 weeks after her anti-abortion filibuster made her a national star.
This time around, such hype is subdued at best. Perhaps the most prominent name to garner some speculation is former state Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer of San Antonio, who recently told his hometown newspaper a potential candidacy is "not a conversation that I'm entertaining at this time."
While there has not been frenzied speculation about the governor's race, Democrats note their talent was on full display earlier this year when two rising stars, O'Rourke and Castro, both seriously considered the Senate race. While Castro ultimately declined to run, there's still another statewide contest that could involve two credible Democrats: former state Rep. Allen Vaught of Dallas is weighing whether to join Collier in the race for lieutenant governor.
Flood of congressional contenders
In any case, the current state of Democrats' statewide ticket provides a contrast with the congressional map, where several vigorous Democratic primaries are already underway — not just in the three districts in the crosshairs of national Democrats but also in a few not on their radar.
There are at least half a dozen Democratic candidates in the 21st district, which is currently represented by Lamar Smith, a San Antonio Republican who drew only two challengers in 2016 and won re-election by more than 20 percentage points. In the 31st district, John Carter, a Round Rock Republican, is up to at least four Democratic foes after just one ran in the primary last time.
Candidate after candidate points to a common denominator in their decision to run.
“Knowing what happened on Nov. 8 and knowing that Donald Trump is our president ... it’s just really galvanized a lot of Democratic support all around the state and locally, and people are stepping up," said Ed Meier, a former Hillary Clinton staffer looking to unseat U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Dallas.
Early signs indicate some of the races are also drawing big money. In the 32nd district, Meier's campaign says he raised $345,000 in its first two months, while another Democratic hopeful, Colin Allred, took in more than $200,000 over a similar period, according to his team. In the 7th district, Democratic contender Alex Triantaphyllis says he raised over $450,000 in eight weeks, while primary rival Lizzie Pannill Fletcher has announced a haul of more than $365,000 in seven weeks.
With Abbott's announcement looming, though, the spotlight is intensifying on Democrats' statewide recruits. Republicans say they are being anything but complacent as they wait for Democrats to fill out their statewide ticket.
"Texas Democrats have two problems aside from being unable to field a full slate of credible candidates in 2018: We're mobilizing our grassroots as vigorously as if they did have that full slate, and Texas Republicans continue to deliver for Texans," state GOP spokesman Michael Joyce said in a statement.
Harris County, the biggest in Texas, will no doubt be on their radar next year. While Clinton easily won it in the 2016 presidential election, it has a history of being a battleground for both parties — and a highly prized ingredient in any recipe for statewide victory.
For all the Democratic enthusiasm in the Trump era, Schechter said she was not too surprised it has not yet translated into a full and robust statewide slate.
"I think Texas is a really big state, and it's a really big challenge," she said, adding that her central focus is the countywide ticket in 2018. "We still need to shore up our votes in a major metropolitan area like Harris County to make it an easier statewide run."
Abby Livingston contributed to this report.
Texas Democrats begin to plot out strategy for 2018 midterms
O'Rourke on Cruz challenge in 2018: "I really want to do this"
With 2018 election looming, Texas back in court over political maps
<p>This article originally appeared in <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/">The Texas Tribune</a> at <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2017/07/13/democrats-2018-election-so-far/">https://www.texastribune.org/2017/07/13/democrats-2018-election-so-far/</a>.</p> <link rel="canonical" href="https://www.texastribune.org/2017/07/13/democrats-2018-election-so-far/"> <p><strong>Texas Tribune mission statement</strong></p> <p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.texastribune.org/">The Texas Tribune</a> is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.</p> <script src="https://dot.texastribune.org/static/dist/dot.min.55eef7d282ec435600d1.js" integrity="sha384-kWHbWWrJHsBy04/FLYpSF8whX7iznTaWu7KCwxjA7qmPD3La29VFha61MJDfKQ+e" crossorigin="anonymous" data-tt-canonical="https://www.texastribune.org/2017/07/13/democrats-2018-election-so-far/"></script>
As congressional races draw big interest, Democrats still filling out statewide ticket By Patrick Svitek July 13, 2017 Lillie Schechter, the new chairwoman of the Harris County Democratic Party, has watched in recent months as at least seven candidates have come through the doors of the party headquarters to introduce themselves, eager for their shot at U.S. Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston. That's seven candidates that she can recall, but she may be forgiven for forgetting: Texas' 7th Congressional District is one of several that have already drawn a swarm of Democratic candidates for 2018. The bonanza is unfolding not just in districts like the 7th — one of three in Texas that national Democrats are targeting — but also in even redder districts, delighting a state party that is not used to so much interest so early. "When we have competitive primaries, we get to engage with more Democrats," Schechter said. "I do not see that as a negative thing." Yet it's just one part of the picture for Democrats at the outset of the 2018 election cycle. While the congressional races are overflowing with candidates, the party remains without a number of statewide contenders — a reality that is coming into focus ahead of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott's anticipated announcement Friday that he's running for re-election. Barring any last-minute surprises, Abbott will make his second-term bid official without the presence of a serious Democratic rival. The state's Democrats are urging patience, saying they are in talks with potential Abbott challengers and other possible statewide candidates. "I think if you look in past years, traditionally candidates will start filing in the fall, and by the end of the filing deadline, I think we'll have a full slate of strong candidates to run statewide," said U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro of San Antonio, who himself took a pass on statewide race earlier this year, declining to challenge U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. "I know there's been a lot of energy across the country and in Texas on the Democratic side, and so many people want to get a move on already, but by the end of year, I'll think you'll see a full slate of strong Democratic candidates." Several holes to fill So far, Democrats have three statewide candidates they see as serious: U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke of El Paso for U.S. Senate, Houston-area accountant Mike Collier for lieutenant governor and Kim Olson, a retired Air Force colonel, for agriculture commissioner. They are without similarly credible contenders for governor, comptroller, land commissioner, railroad commissioner and attorney general — a seat considered particularly worth targeting because the GOP incumbent, Ken Paxton, is under indictment. By far the biggest profile belongs to O'Rourke, who announced his challenge to Cruz in March. As the top of the ticket — assuming he wins his party's primary next year — he stands a chance of being Texas Democrats' standard-bearer in 2018, regardless of whom they ultimately put up for the other statewide jobs. In an interview Monday, O'Rourke said he was not worried about the lack of company so far on his party's statewide ticket. "I can't worry about what I can't control, and so we're just going to focus on our campaign," he said. But he also expressed optimism for the party's prospects up and down the ballot in 2018 "as more people become aware of how significantly the dynamics have changed in Texas." It may be somewhat early, but the lack of a gubernatorial candidate — or even a well-known potential contender — is particularly glaring. Taking out Abbott would likely be an even steeper climb than usual for Texas Democrats seeking statewide office, as the governor has a massive $34.4 million war chest. It's a number expected to grow by the millions when he discloses his latest fundraising numbers next week. "We’ve had conversations with a handful of folks who are considering a run for governor," said Manny Garcia, deputy executive director of the Texas Democratic Party. "They’re the kind of people that make us excited. They’re the kind of people who can raise credible resources, they have a great story to tell and they’re the kind of people who, most importantly, could get the job done.” Of the last four Democratic nominees for governor, none of them announced his or her campaign this early. The closest was 2006 nominee Chris Bell, whose announcement came on July 28, 2005 — 467 days before Election Day. The 2018 election is currently 481 days away. Yet previous cycles have typically brought a bit more excitement and buzz leading up to such announcements. There were the months of speculation that came before the launch of South Texas millionaire Tony Sanchez's 2002 bid to become the first Hispanic governor of Texas. In 2014, former state Sen. Wendy Davis kept Democrats waiting until 14 weeks after her anti-abortion filibuster made her a national star. This time around, such hype is subdued at best. Perhaps the most prominent name to garner some speculation is former state Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer of San Antonio, who recently told his hometown newspaper a potential candidacy is "not a conversation that I'm entertaining at this time." While there has not been frenzied speculation about the governor's race, Democrats note their talent was on full display earlier this year when two rising stars, O'Rourke and Castro, both seriously considered the Senate race. While Castro ultimately declined to run, there's still another statewide contest that could involve two credible Democrats: former state Rep. Allen Vaught of Dallas is weighing whether to join Collier in the race for lieutenant governor. Flood of congressional contenders In any case, the current state of Democrats' statewide ticket provides a contrast with the congressional map, where several vigorous Democratic primaries are already underway — not just in the three districts in the crosshairs of national Democrats but also in a few not on their radar. There are at least half a dozen Democratic candidates in the 21st district, which is currently represented by Lamar Smith, a San Antonio Republican who drew only two challengers in 2016 and won re-election by more than 20 percentage points. In the 31st district, John Carter, a Round Rock Republican, is up to at least four Democratic foes after just one ran in the primary last time. Candidate after candidate points to a common denominator in their decision to run. “Knowing what happened on Nov. 8 and knowing that Donald Trump is our president ... it’s just really galvanized a lot of Democratic support all around the state and locally, and people are stepping up," said Ed Meier, a former Hillary Clinton staffer looking to unseat U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Dallas. Early signs indicate some of the races are also drawing big money. In the 32nd district, Meier's campaign says he raised $345,000 in its first two months, while another Democratic hopeful, Colin Allred, took in more than $200,000 over a similar period, according to his team. In the 7th district, Democratic contender Alex Triantaphyllis says he raised over $450,000 in eight weeks, while primary rival Lizzie Pannill Fletcher has announced a haul of more than $365,000 in seven weeks. With Abbott's announcement looming, though, the spotlight is intensifying on Democrats' statewide recruits. Republicans say they are being anything but complacent as they wait for Democrats to fill out their statewide ticket. "Texas Democrats have two problems aside from being unable to field a full slate of credible candidates in 2018: We're mobilizing our grassroots as vigorously as if they did have that full slate, and Texas Republicans continue to deliver for Texans," state GOP spokesman Michael Joyce said in a statement. Harris County, the biggest in Texas, will no doubt be on their radar next year. While Clinton easily won it in the 2016 presidential election, it has a history of being a battleground for both parties — and a highly prized ingredient in any recipe for statewide victory. For all the Democratic enthusiasm in the Trump era, Schechter said she was not too surprised it has not yet translated into a full and robust statewide slate. "I think Texas is a really big state, and it's a really big challenge," she said, adding that her central focus is the countywide ticket in 2018. "We still need to shore up our votes in a major metropolitan area like Harris County to make it an easier statewide run." Abby Livingston contributed to this report. Read related Tribune coverage Texas Democrats begin to plot out strategy for 2018 midterms O'Rourke on Cruz challenge in 2018: "I really want to do this" With 2018 election looming, Texas back in court over political maps "As congressional races draw big interest, Democrats still filling out statewide ticket" was first published at by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
Link back to the original article, which is located at https://www.texastribune.org/2017/07/13/democrats-2018-election-so-far/.
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Live Archives Vol 1 1984-1990
By Paul McCartney • Unofficial live• Part of the collection “Paul McCartney solo work by MisterClaudel”
This image is a cover of an audio recording, and the copyright for it is most likely owned by either the publisher of the work or the artist(s) which produced the recording or cover artwork in question. It is believed that the use of low-resolution images of such covers qualifies as fair use.
Timeline See what happened in 2017
MisterClaudel
mccd-553/554
Live Anthology XI (1966)
Live Archives Vol. 2 (1990-1997)
Spread the love! If you like what you are seeing, share it on social networks and let others know about The Paul McCartney Project.
Aspel & Company
I Lost My Little Girl
Written by Paul McCartney
0:14 • Live
Concert From "Aspel & Company" in , United Kingdom on Jun 07, 1984
Written by Buddy Holly, Jerry Allison
For No One
Written by Lennon - McCartney
Yesterday - You're My Sunshine
Let It Be (original live vocal/mic failure)
Let It Be (studio fixed version)
Written by Bob Geldof, Midge Ure
Written by Buddy Holly
100TH Anniversary Jingle
Long Tall Sally
Written by Richard Penniman, Enotris Johnson, Robert Blackwell
Paul's Introduction
Dancing in the Street (Paul on Acoustic Guitar)
Only Love Remains
Lady Madonna
Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On
Written by Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney
Listen To What The Man Said
It was Sixty Years Ago Today (Sgt Pepper parody)
Don't Get Around Any More
Lawdy Miss Crowdy
Spin It On
Once Upon A Long Ago
In Liverpool
Rave On
Written by Norman Petty, Sonny West, Bill Tilghman
How Many People
Blue Suede Shoes – Distractions
Improvisation (voice over)
Put It There
Figure Of Eight
My Brave Face
Written by Paul McCartney, Declan MacManus / Elvis Costello
Band Introduction
Written by Carl Perkins
Written by Richard Penniman, Albert Collins
From giginjapan:
Paul McCartney’s 70’s almost overlaps his 30s. In the thirties who got talent and motivation burning hotly led the band called wings, flew fruitfully in the seventies. And it was supposed to continue even after the 1980s. But in the first year of the 1980’s, there were two major incidents for Paul. First of all in January 1980 I was arrested on cannabis possession in Japan that I visited for the concert. Paul was held in detention, and as the interrogation that may be over continues, band members who have left off numbness will return home. Especially even after returning to Denny · Lane who was a faithful “Friday”, Wings will collapse. Paul lost the band and it was impossible to go on tour. And at the end of the same year, John Lennon was murdered by a crazy person. Young people who follow up when Yukiko Okada committed suicide continue, as in the Diet on the agenda, there are people who are being inspired and imitating in any age and in any case. Paul seemed seriously afraid at this time that he might be shot from the audience seating standing on the stage whether it was his turn next. As a result, I do not do any tours in the 1980s, so I will spend silent time in terms of live activity. Meanwhile, although I did not come out on tour, I will do a live appearance with a single shot as it is. This work is a series of chronologically recorded miniature live performances that are not recorded in many Collector’s Items, spotlighting such single Paul’s live appearance. The first piece of this work includes one-off live from 1984 to 1990, TV appearance, radio appearances and so on.
On June 9, 1984, this will be the first public performance after the wings are dissolved. “I Lost My Little Girl” is a hoax song about to play with a jokes, the middle part to be added later is incomplete at this time, singing the title on a melody. It was something that I showed off with a song that I composed for the first time in the talk of a conversation with a television host. And in the ending of this program, while sitting on a piano performance with Buddy Holly’s “That’s Be The Day” with a microphone, it is singing like a promo film of “Coming Up” . Although women are singing together, this is Tracy Ullman who assisted in “Ya! Broad Street.”
【SOUTH BANK SHOW】
It was recorded on October 14, 1984. Paul is singing “For No One” with just the guitar. In the place where French horn enters halfway Paul supplements it by putting a scat by himself. I am performing perfectly with a solid performance. In this period, the movie “Ya! Broad Street” was released and appeared as a promotion. It would have been said that he performed this song played in the same movie. It is the first live performance throughout the Beatles era. It will be officially picked up on the stage later in the 2005 tour.
It was recorded on October 23, 1984. Paul sang with a guitar in the hands of “Yesterday” touching only like being drunk and then singing lightly to “You’re My Sunshine”. It is a light playing playing degree, but this is the only one that is singing this song. It is a valuable song, live · take which never sang anything unexpectedly, sound check and others.
It is a performance with that famous historical live aid on July 13, 1985. Paul who was consulted for appearance from Bob Geldof at this time refuses once because it does not have a band, but if it is, then it would be good to play “Let It Be” at the piano I decided to appear in advance. The selection “Let It Be” was for the reason that you can play only with the piano without bands. On the day, satellite broadcasts are being made to the whole world, Paul’s vocals are turned off for the first half of the song due to trouble. Not only in the TV but also in the actual venue, the same symptoms are occurring, and while only the sound of the piano clearly flows, Paul’s vocals are faintly heard off-mic. There are places where cheers are boiled twice. The first cheer is the moment when staff who noticed Mike trouble repaired and Paul’s vocal turned on. And the second time, when Bowie, Pete, Townsend etc appeared as a chorus. By the way, the next day, Paul is recording the first half of the song whose microphone was turned off in the studio. At this time Bob Geldof stated that it did not consider any commercialization, but as a pole it was probably recorded for some time. It is put to use when it is made into a DVD later. In this work, it records two of take in real time where the former half vocal turned off by microphone trouble and take rewritten the next day. Because the vocal is contained neatly from the beginning to the end of the re-record take, the first cheering boils unnaturally, but there is no way to recover. And at the end of this event “Do They Know It’s Christmas” sung by all performers is recorded. Paul does not take vocals but is just jumping Pyon Pyeon behind the stage, but for the time being, it is participating.
【THE REAL BUDDY HOLLY STORY】
It is a performance at the appearance of Buddy Holly’s history program recorded on December 12, 1985. I play ‘Words Of Love’ with just Akogi. Interlude is passing through Paul with a shrill voice. While arranging with “BEATLES FOR SALE”, the beauty of the melody can not be hidden, it is a very beautiful performance.
It is the THE TUBE 100th anniversary jingle recorded April 4, 1986. It repeats “100 congratulations congratulations!” According to the hard rock style guitar.
【PRINCE’S TRUST CONCERT】
It is a Prince Trust Concert held under the seat of the Crown Princess and Mrs. June 20, 1986. Paul shows “I Saw Her Standing There”, “Get Back” “Long Tall Sally”, and the repertoire of the Beatles era. In the back there are famous musicians such as Elton John and Tina Turner and it seems that Paul has evoked the pleasure of playing on the stage. In the interview later I told that the experiences at this time gave me the opportunity to do the 1989 World Tour. A somewhat plump appearance pole playing while sweating like a ball. It’s a while away from the stage so Paul’s voice is not perfect, but enjoying and playing it is a very well-communicated entertainment. “Dancing In The Street” is a duet by Mick Jagger and David Bowie, but Paul is playing Akogi on the back. As a digression, “Back In The USSR” appears in the lyrics.
November 24, 1986 It is a performance at the Royal Variety Performance. It is the same event as the Jewel Jarrajara which the Beatles appeared in 1963. Before playing Paul touched this John’s joke of the time and was laughing. This day we are playing “Only Love Remains” from the album “PRESS TO PLAY” just released. It is a famous piece with grand songs and universal lyrics, it can be said to be a suitable selection for playing in front of the royal people. Paul sits on the piano and Linda wears a chorus. Listening at Paul’s vocal which is not processed at all, the goodness of this song will be transmitted again.
【UNICEF GALA】
It was recorded December 4, 1986. When sending a message to the advertisement for UNICEF, I play “Lady Madonna” at the piano. It is the performance of the same song for the first time in ten years since 1930’s Wings tour. It is not just singing, but it is a jingle-like performance of playing that impressive phrase of the same song with a piano before and after the message.
On November 11, 1986, this is also a performance on a television program that appeared for the promotion of the new album “PRESS TO PLAY” at this time. Paul’s performances and songs, and the chorus are all live, not miming. In the studio version, the place where the orchestra enters extensively is simply a piano only as it is. It feels like hearing the naked version of “The Long And Winding Road”. If the result entrusted to the producer is the studio version, I even think that this sort of song that the individual intended himself should be this. In the ending, he played “Whole Lotta Shakin ‘Going On” lightly. This is a familiar song even for sound check and get back session.
【WOGAN】
It was recorded on November 20, 1987. At this time, Paul has released the best board “ALL THE BEST”. It is the best board for the first time in ten years since “WINGS GREATEST”. “WINGS GREATEST” contrary to the title recorded not only Wings but also solo name songs, but since it was a single album, there were many hit songs that were not selected. “ALL THE BEST” was a very well-selected song such as a double album and new songs and songs that can only be obtained with a single. This program appeared for the promotion of the new best board, showing two songs “Jet” of the Wings and “meddlesome girl” to that girl. It is a very rare thing called Wings’ s music played in the 80’s. Paul like the bass has been extensively mixed. Whether it is a haste band just for television appearance or not played, I can enjoy it with a different taste than what I can hear on the tour etc. after it returns.
【BIRTHDAY MESSAGE FOR ALAN FREEMAN】
It is a performance for Alan Freeman’s 60th birthday recorded in 1987. The song is a replacement for “SGT. Pepper’s”, which is a pretty panquish arrangement.
It was recorded November 27, 1987. This is also an appearance for the promotion of “ALL THE BEST”, but the songs that I play are three songs not recorded in the album “Do not Get Around Any More”, “I Saw Her Standing There”, “Lawdy Miss Crowdy” is there. Paul who is singing Oldies number very much with Novgorovi is impressive. Particularly the part of “Do not Get Around Any More” is Moe Point. “I Saw Her Standing There” is an important stage repertoire of Paul from the Beatles era to the present, but the performances that can be heard here are all different from those of 80’s arrangements. The last “Spin It On” was played as a closing jingle of the program and there is no song.
It was recorded December 2, 1987. As you can see from a female announcer that overlaps the intro’s “Jam”, this is the one that appeared in the Dutch program. This first “Jam” is a live performance, but “Once Up
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Shorter 'pantscraper' tower given green light for Collins Street
By Aisha Dow
The Collins Street "pantscraper" will go ahead after the Andrews government reached an agreement with developer Cbus Property to cut more than 20 metres from the top of the interconnected twin towers.
Concerns about overshadowing of the Yarra River saw two planning ministers earlier reject the $1.25 billion, amid claims these decisions had been politically motivated because of the applicant's union links.
But an in-principle deal for the prime city block at 447 Collins Street was finally confirmed by Planning Minister Richard Wynne on Tuesday.
It will likely see the creation of a new central city park around the two 41-storey skyscrapers connected by a sky bridge.
Mr Wynne said the removal of six storeys from the towers had alleviated his concerns about overshadowing of the Yarra River. Although the skyscrapers still shade the north bank, the shadows no longer reach to the south bank in the winter solstice.
"It's a significant win in terms of getting a development that protects the amenity of the Yarra River and more importantly it speaks to the enormous energy and appetite there is for development in this corner of the city," Mr Wynne said.
Melbourne lord mayor Robert Doyle, who had feared Cbus would sell the land to a less-sympathetic developer in the face of the continual rejections, said the agreement was a "victory for commonsense".
"The last thing I wanted [to happen] was Cbus to walk away and the site gets flipped to a developer that doesn't really care about the streetscape of Melbourne and we get another glass tower right on Collins Street."
Town Hall's support of the plan was heavily driven by Cbus' promise to provide 2000 square metres of its land for public open space and fund the development of half of the adjacent Market Street into green space.
The new agreement means these parks will still go ahead.
Shadow diagrams comparing the impact of the 47-storey skyscrapers (top), compared with the 41-storey plan (bottom) given the tick of approval by the government this week.
The towers, designed by Woods Bagot and SHoP Architects, have been dubbed the "pantscraper", as the bridge that connects the twin buildings at their highest point prompted the comparison to a pair of trousers.
The lord mayor said he was not sure he liked the label for the "elegant" building design. "Perhaps we should call it 'The Strides' because it does look like it is moving," he added.
Mr Wynne said he thought it was an "interesting design".
"It is certainly going to be talked about," he said.
The towers will include retail stores, office space, a hotel and apartments and brings the value of property development approved by the planning minister this year to almost $7 billion.
Changes to the planning rules and a ministerial permit will be required before Cbus can start construction, but Mr Wynne said he hoped there would be "digging in the ground by the end of the year".
The block is the former site of the 27-storey National Mutual office building, which was demolished after some of its marble cladding crashed to the ground in 2012.
Cbus' first proposal for the site was for a 295-metre, 100-storey building that would have overshadowed the south bank of the Yarra. That application was rejected by former planning minister Matthew Guy in 2014.
Cbus Property chief executive Adrian Pozzo could not be contacted on Tuesday for comment.
Aisha Dow
Aisha Dow reports on health for The Age and is a former city reporter.
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Memo Canberra: it's time for debate
June 8, 2013 — 3.00am
The 2010 federal election was widely lamented as an ideas-free contest, and the looming national ballot is shaping up as perhaps more disappointing. This is primarily because the ALP is, yet again, spending an unseemly amount of time on internecine machinations - focusing on internal politics rather than public policy. In doing so, the parliamentary members of the Labor Party are treating voters and the community at large with contempt.
Two ALP members, Victoria's Alan Griffin and NSW's Daryl Melham, have started packing their offices, an apparent anticipatory capitulation before the campaign has even officially begun. Mr Griffin holds his seat by a margin of 8 percentage points. They are treating their electors with disrespect.
Kevin Rudd appears to be again presenting his leadership credentials, through a round of high-profile public engagements. The former prime minister is cloaking himself in righteousness, claiming to be seeking to rally his dispirited Labor colleagues to put up a fight in the face of an increasingly widespread perception that the Coalition will win the election. But Mr Rudd also is making a pre-emptive strike against becoming a scapegoat should, as appears likely, voters remove the government. Nonetheless, while it is difficult not to see Mr Rudd's renewed visibility as an invitation to be drafted back to the leadership, his argument that the government ought to focus on presenting its policy credentials is correct.
Politicians are funded by taxpayers to make laws in the best interests of the entire community. Enlightened laws can only come about as the result of rigorous and robust policy debate. The election is less than 100 days away. The Saturday Age would like to implore all parties to spend that time presenting and debating ideas and policies. This is an important moment for our nation. The investment phase of the mining boom has peaked and the economy is delicately placed. Recent national economic statistics suggest an economic slowdown. The announcement by Ford that it will cease making cars in Australia underlines the precarious position of manufacturing. Vocational training needs far greater focus in a nation pondering sources of economic growth after the mining investment boom. There is a need to debate infrastructure requirements caused by the rapid growth of our population and expansion of our major cities. That means looking at funding options, yet there is almost no discussion on using increased public debt to pay for intergenerational assets such as roads, rail links and schools. Debt financing is the most effective and fair way to build assets that will be used for many decades.
There is a need to debate the structure and size of the tax base. Tony Abbott has correctly left open the door to a discussion about increasing the goods and services tax, an option the Labor Party will not countenance, but should. By international standards, Australia does not have a big-taxing, big-spending government, yet our politicians appear trapped in a simplistic, Orwellian shouting match about who might be better at producing a budget surplus. The budget needs to be set in the context of the state of the economy, and voters merit a far more sophisticated fiscal debate.
Politicians, please get on with the debates you owe the public.
Wagner's Ring-around
The radical departure of Richard Mills as conductor of Wagner's lengthy tetralogy, Der Ring des Nibelungen, opens a chasm in Opera Australia's ambitious plans. Next to the composer, it is the conductor by whom a Ring stands or falls (fortunately, the director, Neil Armfield, is staying where he is). The first of three cycles in the State Theatre does not open until late November, but that is a nano-second as far as scheduling is concerned: a Ring is forged, not produced, and this enterprise must be measured in years rather than mere months - preferably with the same creative team along the way. Wagner conductors, if not already committed to Valhallas and Valkyries elsewhere, are still in comparative short supply.
We wish OA artistic director Lyndon Terracini good luck as he rushes to the phone to find a replacement. It would be an irony if Australian conductor Simone Young, who 10 years ago was unceremoniously dumped as OA's music director, were to grasp the baton in place of Mills. She certainly has the Rings on the board, especially at the Hamburg State Opera, where she has been music director for eight years. We shall see.
What needs clarification, however, is why Mills has quit so drastically late in the process. He cites lack of ''personal chemistry'' and lack of ''unity of vision'', yet had committed himself to the project almost three years ago. Chemistry with whom exactly? Did he really leave on his own accord, or is there something more to this departure that the Opera is not revealing? In hindsight, it might have been more practical had OA staged The Ring in sections, not all in one go. It can work (the Wagners' own Bayreuth Festival has done its Rings this way since 1876, as, more recently, did the State Opera of South Australia with its two cycles), but Wagner is always a risky business. Expensive, too. A replacement conductor will not be cheap in terms of fee, travel costs or living expenses. We hope this curious matter is resolved quickly and efficiently.
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cats-logo logo image
Western Michigan University- Miller Auditorium, Detroit
Cats, the record-breaking musical spectacular by Andrew Lloyd Webber that has captivated audiences in over 30 countries and 15 languages, is now on tour across North America! Audiences and critics alike are rediscovering this beloved musical with breathtaking music, including one of the most treasured songs in musical theater — "Memory." Winner of seven Tony Awards including Best Musical, Cats tells the story of one magical night when an extraordinary tribe of cats gathers for its annual ball to rejoice and decide which cat will be reborn. The original score by Andrew Lloyd Webber (The Phantom of the Opera, School of Rock, Sunset Boulevard), original scenic and costume design by John Napier (Les Misérables), all-new lighting design by Natasha Katz (Aladdin), all-new sound design by Mick Potter, new choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler (Hamilton) based on the original choreography by Gillian Lynne ( Phantom) and direction by Trevor Nunn (Les Misérables) make this production a new Cats for a new generation!
Running Time:2hr 20min (1 intermission)
Dates:Opening Night: May 15, 2020
Final Performance: May 17, 2020
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Tiananmen Revisited: Can China Face Its Past?
On the anniversary of the 1989 crackdown, China remains unwilling to publicly confront what happened. The latest in an ongoing series of discussions with ChinaFile.
ChinaFile
The bodies of dead civilians lie among mangled bicycles near Beijing's Tiananmen Square in this June 4, 1989 file photo. (AP)
David Wertime:
The memory of the 1989 massacre of protesters at Tiananmen Square remains neither alive nor dead, neither reckoned nor obliterated. Instead, it hangs specter-like in the background, a muted but latent and powerful symbol of resistance.
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There's no question that an honest accounting of the incident, colloquially known as "6/4," would change China's future. Clearly, Chinese authorities have calculated that facing the truth of Tiananmen would be more trouble than denying it. After all, a great deal of grassroots blowback could result from this revision to recent history. Who wants to be the official held responsible for that? Even if China's new leaders -- who were too junior in 1989 to have had personal culpability in the brutal crackdown -- wanted to make a clean break from the past, doing so would implicate numerous power brokers and patrons within the Communist Party superstructure. Such a shift in the balance of power among a risk-averse leadership is unlikely to happen any time soon.
Yet putting aside internal power politics for a moment, a compelling argument can be advanced that it makes sense to face Tiananmen's demons, not only for China's long term stability, but for the Party's. For one, the rise of digital media, which began in earnest in 2009, has made it harder to enforce the process of collective forgetting. Online censors are on high alert in the days leading up to and including the June 4 anniversary; this year, Internet company Sina even removed the candle emoticon from its Weibo platform. Nonetheless, they remain powerless to stop opinion leaders from discussing 6/4, or at least alluding to it in code. Anyone under 30 is probably too young to remember Tiananmen personally, but those older Chinese confronted with mentions of "that day, that month, that year" know what it means. Overlooking the cumulative impact of these allusions requires an affirmative effort.
It's hard for authorities to plan around such an unstable quantity. Better for China's leaders to give some breathing room to collective discussion of Tiananmen, even if no one is prepared to apologize yet. If censors stood down, the Party could take the people's temperature on the issue, and gain a better sense of how it might explain its actions in a way that both satisfies most Chinese and accounts for the truth. This could be the start of a healing and self-examination process that would render the words "six, four" less explosive, although never inert.
Until the Chinese Communist Party takes the difficult step of facing its recent past, it will continue to abdicate an important leadership role to the nation's dissidents and public intellectuals: guardian of the nation's history and its conscience. That duty needs wider stewardship. An increasingly pluralistic, confident, and digital China surely can do better. Near-term change is unlikely, but we can always dream aloud.
Isabel Hilton:
I agree with both these points: that China would be better for it, and that it is unlikely to happen. This is obviously a resonant date, but Tiananmen is not the only significant piece of recent history that cannot be discussed: China is one of the rare places in the world where the profession of historian is truly hazardous. The long drawn out refurbishment of the National History Museum, one of the few high profile Chinese state projects in modern times to overshoot its deadline by more than two years, exemplifies the difficulties faced by a history minded nation that cannot freely discuss its recent past. Since we are writing on this day, it's worth remembering that one of the after-effects of those 1989 events was that history was declared a matter of national security: the old revolutionary history was displaced in favor of the nationalist version taught today, with its founding assertion that the interests of the nation and the interests of the Party are the same. This version blames outside forces for China's decline in the 19th century, and fails to explore the first thirty years of CCP rule -- land reform, the Anti-Rightist Movement, the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution -- where most of the bodies lie. It is a temporal landscape swarming with ghosts and, in the Chinese tradition, unhappy ghosts will go on causing trouble in the present until their needs are met.
Ouyang Bin:
In 1989, I was in primary school in Sichuan. My experience of the Tiananmen Incident started with recognizing unfamiliar, scattered words and phrases. Beginning early that summer, I frequently heard the phrase from my aunt who was then in college: "Hunger strike." Each day, on my way to school, I found the buildings on my route covered with posters. One word stood out: "Democracy." The context in which these words were spoken didn't become clear to me until I went to Beijing for college. "Liu Si" --Chinese for 6/4, and code what happened in Tiananmen that June 4 -- became a siren call. The day was a dangerous, forbidden, tantalizing secret, especially when people abruptly veered away from talk of it if they felt the conversation might touch on this time and place.
But I have always been able to hear the siren. It returns from time to time. One day, after a long talk with a professor of mine, he unexpectedly recounted how he had tried to persuade one of his favorite students not to go into the streets on June 4 and how he later carried his body back to campus. When I began work as a journalist, I discovered that many people were holding onto their stories of that day like secrets, no matter if they were environmentalists, journalists, lawyers or officials. When getting familiar with them, they didn't mind telling me their stories, quietly and in vivid detail.
But not everybody's willing to hear siren. In 2004, on the 15th anniversary of the incident, I went to Tiananmen with a colleague. Plainclothes cops outnumbered the tourists posing for photos, smiling, excited, and a little tired. Each year, the government orders universities to watch their students more closely around June 4, but the order seems increasingly paranoid and ironic. When, for instance, I called another college professor of mine to check in, she told me students were busy looking for jobs and preparing for final exams. Without the order to remind them, June 4 would be like any other day.
At a high school reunion dinner back in my home town, I talked with old classmates about the secret. One woman who'd shared my cynicism when we were teens, raised her head and looked at me with surprise and slight disappointment, saying, "You are such a contrarian."
Wu Guoguang:
I would remind readers that the Deng Xiaoping era, which carried on through Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao and continues today under President Xi Jinping, started with the famous slogan "in solidarity look forward" (tuanjie yizhi xiang qian kan) -- a slogan that can be interpreted as a reproach to avoid facing the past.
Though China's political values today may be more diverse across different social groups, it seems to me that most Chinese still are impacted greatly by government attitudes in their choice of approach to social, political, and historical issues.
China is a nation with a written history of 5,000 years. It is perhaps because of the length of its story that the nation often is cynical about its often heavy past. China remembers like an old person, recalling remote history more easily than it remembers yesterday. Political cleansing of people's memory is one of the problems. I am sure, for instance, that every high school pupil in China knows more about 221 BC -- the year Qin Shihuang unified China -- than he does about 1912. What happened that year? What about in 1989?
I know that more and more young people today have become curious about 1989 and are getting around to exploring what happened. But these people are but a very tiny portion of the Chinese populace. In the 1980s, Deng's slogan was mocked and rewritten as "in unity looking at money" (xiang qian kan). If only my fellow Chinese could see a chance to make money in the past, they definitely would remember the past, face the past, and make use of the past. Otherwise, there is no such thing called the past.
Dorinda Elliott:
What kills me about the fact that the Chinese don't look at or know their recent history is the growing sense that there could have been no other way. Since June 4, 1989, the Communist Party has been extremely effective in spinning the narrative to suggest that if the army hadn't cracked down, there would be chaos in China today. What is forgotten is the fact that what was at play was nothing short of a power struggle at the highest level, between leaders with different visions for the future.
Party Secretary Zhao Ziyang, despite being a product of the Communist system, had started to see the dangers of not reforming the system politically: He launched a political reform institute that was exploring various models that might be adopted by China. He may not have seen it all clearly back then, but over the years, he came to believe that parliamentary democracy was the only way forward. As Zhao said in secretly taped interviews, published in 2009 as a memoir, "Prisoner of the State":
If a country wishes to modernize, not only should it implement a market economy, it must also adopt a parliamentary democracy as its political system. Otherwise, this nation will not be able to have a market economy that is healthy and modern, nor can it become a modern society with a rule of law. Instead it will run into the situations that have occurred in so many developing countries, including China: commercialization of power, rampant corruption, a society polarized between rich and poor.
When talking about corruption or the injustices of authoritarian rule, the Chinese often have a way of shrugging their shoulders and saying "沒辦法," or "there's nothing you can do about it." But it's important for young Chinese to know their history, to understand that things could have taken a very different direction, so that they can approach the future with open minds and help their country forge a better path.
Andrew Nathan:
One pull on this thread and the whole edifice of political control starts shaking. If June 4th can be mentioned, the actions of senior retired leaders can be questioned: they and their clients will fight to protect themselves, ending the tenuous truce in elite politics. If June 4th can be mentioned, the legitimacy of the current leaders can be examined: they are the heirs of Jiang Zemin, who was installed in 1989 in an illegal coup by Deng Xiaoping. If June 4th can be mentioned, the issue it was all about can be raised: democracy. No wonder the leaders are scared of the topic. But June 4th keeps coming back. And it sits silently at the heart of those discussions that are allowed and semi-allowed, about abuse of power, rule of law, universal values, official corruption, and constitutionalism. The issue seems to get harder to suppress as time goes by rather than easier. The effort to suppress it shows the vulnerability of the regime.
Orville Schell:
The place of memory, West and East. What a paradox that the society that has been most obsessed with remembering its history over the many milennia of its long evolution -- even to the point of writing exhaustive dynastic histories as a way to memorialize the past, the better to start anew -- has arrived more recently at a place where political sensitivities make it too complicated to allow its historical gate keepers to chronicle most of what has happened since 1950, honestly and publicly. The Chinese Communist Party's infinitely complicated relationship to its own history has left so many historical no-fly zones, that Chinese today confront a picture that is something like a mosaic with most of the pieces missing. One giant missing piece is, of course, the traumatic events of 1989.
Does it matter? Is it possible that sometimes it may be best just to forget, if not forgive, rather than dwell on some unwelcome occurrence? Is the Chinese Communist Party perhaps wise not to dwell on the barbarous and tragic events that enveloped their capital city in the spring of 1989? After all, what's done is done. What's the point of rubbing salt in wounds by continually raising an event which has now passed, never to be re-enacted or set right again?
Perhaps the great Chinese writer Lu Xun was wrong when in 1926, after a group of students were shot dead in front of the Tiananmen Gate, he wrote: "This is not the conclusion of an incident, but a new beginning. Lies written in ink, can never disguise truths written in blood. All blood debts must be repaid in kind: the longer the delay, the greater the interest" Maybe.
One of the building blocks of modern Western civilization is the very Freudian notion that a life unexamined -- one that is not introspective and does not strive continually to remember, understand and deal with how the past has made us who we are -- is a recipe for disaster. Behind this assumption lays the also-very-Western notion that memory is a key to the process of maintaining mental health and comprehending something about how we came to be psychologically formed -- or malformed, as the case may be. Implicit in all these assumptions -- to which much of Western literature is consecrated -- is the idea that the interior world of our being needs constant gardening to remain whole, humane, and functional; that it is not enough just to try and rearrange the exterior furniture in the room through various kinds of revolutions, but that we must also attend to our interiors, our psyches. Traumatic events, by this logic, are assumed to come back to haunt a person unless they are retrieved carefully and dealt with in a self-reflective way ... before they start creating errant behavior.
By this same logic, a society that refuses to look inward and carefully call into consciousness and process its own history -- especially a history that shows leaders harming their constituents in some grievous way -- is a society destined to be unstable, unpredictable and to act out to the detriment of other societies around it, and to its own people.
When speaking either of individuals or societies there clearly are inappropriate, and certainly counter-productive, times to raise painful past incidents and historical events. But, that is not to say that what Freud called "repression" can be a successful long-term strategy for remedy. In the end, it is doubtless true that if individuals, like societies, are ever to escape their parlous pasts, it will often be only through the painful, almost psycho-analytic process of remembering, processing, coming to terms with, and perhaps even finally forgiving.
Such may sound like an indelibly Western notion steeped irrevocably in Judeo-Christian kultur with little relevance to Eastern cultures. But, in this day and age, you do not have to a follower of Sigmund Freud to believe that a healthy person, like a healthy society, almost inevitably needs to come to terms with who, or what, it is. To do that effectively, the always-painful process of engaging the gears of historical memory is almost inevitable. For the Chinese Communist Party to imagine that it alone might somehow be exempt from this ineluctable verity would seem arrogant folly.
Every society, like every person, makes grievous mistakes in the course of its existence. After the fact, the critical question becomes: What is each willing to do to correct those mistakes by way of understanding why they did what they did and by making amends both to themselves and others who have been harmed in the process. This is never an easy process, as any post-WWII German will tell you. And for a society like China, which for so long has been engaged first in the process of waging revolution against external enemies, and then just as aggressively leaning into the process of gaining the equally external affectations of "wealth and power" (明朝), the very internal process of righting the wrongs of the past -- all too many of which were self-inflicted -- certainly will not be easy.
But, is it unavoidable? I suspect so. June 4th raises a challenge equally as daunting as making a revolution or enriching a nation -- a challenge that represents but one of the many painful memories that Chinese leaders ultimately will have to address to undertake this painful but inescapable process of self-absolution.
A version of this post appears at ChinaFile, an Atlantic partner site.
ChinaFile is an online magazine published by Asia Society's Center on U.S.-China Relations.
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Jewel Howard Taylor: Meet the woman behind the epic victory of George Weah
by Ohimai Godwin Amaize 2 Comments
It is often said that behind every successful man, there is a woman. The epic rise of Liberia’s soccer legend – George Tawlon Manneh Oppong Ousman Weah from the football pitch to the pinnacle of victory as Liberia’s president-elect paints a classical portrait of this truism.
Considered one of Africa’s greatest ever footballers, Weah had taken a shot at the Liberian presidency in 2005 but lost to Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. His second major political effort in 2011 aimed at the vice-presidency was equally unsuccessful. But Weah was not to be put down. In the characteristic stamina for which he was known in football as a world class striker, he mustered a comeback, announcing his aspiration to run for president again in 2017. But this time, Weah had his eyes clearly set on the goal. With his shot on target, he sealed an alliance with Senator Jewel Howard Taylor – former wife of ex-Liberian leader Charles Taylor, picking her as vice-presidential candidate.
A fiercely contested October 10th, 2017 presidential poll ended in a run-off scheduled for November 7th. Then came Charles Brumskine of the Liberty Party (LP) challenging the validity of the elections, forcing Liberia’s Supreme Court to put the presidential run-off on hold. An entire nation held its breath as the world awaited the decision of the court. After several weeks of waiting, and another failed attempt by the governing Unity Party (UP) to halt the run-off polls, the Supreme Court whistled a go-ahead for a December 26th presidential run-off.
All eyes turned on Liberia as the country’s political odyssey was set to birth a new chapter. It was Boxing Day, December 26th. The stakes were high as the outcome would deliver a final verdict in what would be the West African country’s first transfer of power from one civilian administration to another since 1944. For Team Weah, it was injury time. This was going to be a defining moment of history.
Enter Senator Jewel Howard Taylor – the woman who has been described as “the jewel in George Weah’s crown.” Married to Charles Taylor just before his election as the 22nd President of Liberia in 1997, she parted ways with the powerful warlord in 2006, while he was living in exile in Nigeria. She went on to build a formidable political career for herself in a political climate dominated by men. Her exploits in politics arrested the Liberian nation when she was elected in 2005 as a senator in Bong County, the nation’s third most populous county.
“The first thing I’ve done is to believe that I am able to make the changes I talk about. I have made promises I have fulfilled in education, healthcare and infrastructure development, and so I hope over the past 12 years Jewel Howard has become her own person working for peace, working for prosperity and working for development,” she told AFP in a recent interview.
Although some political analysts have described Howard Taylor as a surprise pick for vice-president, as many expected her to run for the presidency herself, her political alliance with George Weah has proven to be the magic wand the former World Footballer of the Year needed to finally clinch the Liberian presidency!
In 2005 when he stood for president, Weah won just 10.7 percent of the vote in Howard Taylor’s Bong County, but in the first round of voting in 2017 his share of the vote skyrocketed to 40.6 percent. Clearly, Howard Taylor’s National Patriotic Party (NPP) coalition with Weah’s Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) was a masterstroke.
Howard Taylor who holds a graduate degree in banking and two bachelors’ in banking and economics has never minced words about her great admiration for George Weah. “The George Weah I have come to know, love and respect is one who has a heart for Liberia. Because of his background, he has felt the pinches of poverty, loss and inequality. He’s a team leader, he’s a manager, he’s an inspiration to all of us. What we need at this point in time is not just a President who’s concerned about infrastructure and youth employment. We need a leader who is interested in reconciling our people and I think he’s that reconciler. He has a space at the table for everyone. Our country needs healing, our country needs unity, our country needs inclusiveness. This is someone I believe has what it takes to take us to the next level… When people say he’s just a footballer, I always say he’s not just a footballer. He’s the best footballer in the world. No one has beaten his record up till now. And I think he brings all of what he brings to the field into politics and I know he will be a great leader”, she said of George Weah in an October 2017 interview.
Weah on his part has refused to underestimate the humongous political equity picking Jewel Howard as running mate has added to his aspiration for the country’s top job. “She’s my colleague in the Senate. She’s a hardworking woman. Now, she’s a former wife of Charles Taylor. She is a Liberian, capable, qualified, and Liberian people love her. I also believe in gender and equality, so I think having a woman as my vice president is a good thing,” he told Deutsche Welle.
With the official results coming out of the Liberian presidential polls, George Weah now stands elected as Liberia’s 25th president. Alongside Howard Taylor, he would be saddled with the enormous task of delivering a future Liberia firmly rooted on the promise of change and hope.
George WeahJewel Howard Taylorliberia
Toes75 December 29, 12:01
But she is in jail in the UK for war crimes. You did not mention that part??????
Phil December 29, 14:32
NO.Taylor had multiple wives. She is not the one in jail.
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$2.30 Billion in Sales Expected for SunTrust Banks, Inc. (STI) This Quarter
April 17th, 2019 - By Scott Moore - Comments Off on $2.30 Billion in Sales Expected for SunTrust Banks, Inc. (STI) This Quarter
Filed Under: Consensus Rating Articles - Finance
Wall Street brokerages predict that SunTrust Banks, Inc. (NYSE:STI) will post sales of $2.30 billion for the current fiscal quarter, Zacks Investment Research reports. Six analysts have issued estimates for SunTrust Banks’ earnings, with the lowest sales estimate coming in at $2.28 billion and the highest estimate coming in at $2.32 billion. SunTrust Banks reported sales of $2.24 billion in the same quarter last year, which indicates a positive year over year growth rate of 2.7%. The firm is scheduled to announce its next earnings results before the market opens on Thursday, April 18th.
On average, analysts expect that SunTrust Banks will report full year sales of $9.50 billion for the current year, with estimates ranging from $9.42 billion to $9.59 billion. For the next financial year, analysts anticipate that the business will post sales of $9.76 billion, with estimates ranging from $9.63 billion to $9.97 billion. Zacks’ sales averages are an average based on a survey of analysts that follow SunTrust Banks.
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SunTrust Banks (NYSE:STI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.10. SunTrust Banks had a return on equity of 12.40% and a net margin of 26.61%. The company had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.09 EPS. SunTrust Banks’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year.
A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on STI shares. Sanford C. Bernstein cut SunTrust Banks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $64.72 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, February 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut SunTrust Banks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 8th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on SunTrust Banks from $61.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 11th. Zacks Investment Research raised SunTrust Banks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $58.00 target price for the company in a research report on Saturday, January 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered SunTrust Banks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. The company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.96.
STI traded up $0.42 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $63.71. 151,688 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,627,955. SunTrust Banks has a 52-week low of $46.05 and a 52-week high of $75.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market cap of $28.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.18, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.53.
In other news, Vice Chairman Mark A. Chancy sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.38, for a total value of $653,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 205,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,458,211.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jorge Arrieta sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.25, for a total value of $265,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $573,857.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Manhattan Co. grew its stake in SunTrust Banks by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 13,154 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $779,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Rowland & Co. Investment Counsel ADV grew its stake in SunTrust Banks by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Rowland & Co. Investment Counsel ADV now owns 66,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,333,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. JOYN Advisors Inc. grew its stake in SunTrust Banks by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. JOYN Advisors Inc. now owns 1,718 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Dixon Hubard Feinour & Brown Inc. VA grew its stake in SunTrust Banks by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Dixon Hubard Feinour & Brown Inc. VA now owns 11,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $595,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Berkeley Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in SunTrust Banks by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. 81.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
SunTrust Banks Company Profile
SunTrust Banks, Inc operates as the holding company for SunTrust Bank that provides various financial services for consumers, businesses, corporations, institutions, and not-for-profit entities in the United States. It operates in two segments, Consumer and Wholesale. The Consumer segment provides deposits and payments; home equity and personal credit lines; auto, student, and other lending products; credit cards; discount/online and full-service brokerage products; professional investment advisory products and services; and trust services, as well as family office solutions.
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Casual Fridays Infiltrate Men’s Fashion Week
By Noah Johnson
Photo: Courtesy of Opening Ceremony
“The rules have changed,” says Carol Lim, co-founder of Opening Ceremony, at the brand’s showroom on Centre Street where she’s presenting the spring ‘16 men’s collection. The line consists of everything needed for “a week in the life of a modern man,” according to the press release, but there isn’t a suit on the racks. “It’s all about individual style,” Lim says.
It’s true. It started with casual Fridays. Once guys got a taste of that sweet sartorial freedom, it was inevitable. Then came the tech boom. “Think of Steve Jobs and his dress code,” Lim says, citing the turtleneck, jeans, and sneakers the Apple founder made iconic. Hard to imagine, but there was a time when wearing sneakers and jeans to a corporate event would have seemed ludicrous. “It’s become acceptable,” Lim adds.
That kind of endorsement of anything-goes style may sound rich coming from someone who, with her partner, Humberto Leon, has helped to define the current landscape of men’s fashion, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t true. Over the past 15 years, Opening Ceremony has carried the most avant-garde and the most accessible brands in the business, so she should know.
The OC presentation included reversible bombers (silky satin on one side, soft, familiar jersey on the other), velour suits, and tailored shirts with rugby stripes. It was the first stop for many on the schedule of the second-ever New York Fashion Week: Men’s, which runs through February 4. Over the course of these four days, we’re sure to see many more versions of the experimental weekend/workout wardrobe that’s come to define style for this city’s guys. There will be sneakers and track pants worn with tailored overcoats, graphic prints in places you wouldn’t expect to find them, and all manner of hooded sweatshirts, with unfathomable drawstrings, zippers, and hemlines.
It may be easy to dismiss what will appear on the runway this week as spectacle for the purpose of exciting a very small group of industry so-and-sos, but the men’s market really is having a moment — which is why it now has its own week in New York on the fashion calendar (prior to last summer, men’s fashion shows happened concurrently with the women’s) — and much of it will easily reflect what’s already being worn on the street. Who knew that casual Fridays and the birth of an industry founded by guys who work out of their moms’ basements would lead us here? “I think there’s a sense of adventure,” says Lim. “I think men are a lot more open to wearing different things, not just a blue dress shirt and slacks. Those things don’t matter anymore.”
nyfw mens 2916
carol lim
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RIO GRANDE-STANDER?
Beto Tries to Trick Hispanics Into Thinking He's One of Them
As he ponders his 2020 plans, voters and media people need to get it right. He’s a political chimichanga—an American invention that just seems Mexican.
Ruben Navarrette Jr.
Updated 02.22.19 10:30PM ET / Published 02.22.19 4:39AM ET
Chip Somodevilla/Getty
For several months, I’ve been thinking about why Robert Francis O’Rourke—who goes by “Beto” when he is nibbling tacos in West Texas but was “Robert” when he attended prep school and Columbia University—bugs the hell out of me.
I may have finally figured it out.
And not a moment too soon. The Hamlet of West Texas—who recently retired from Congress after somehow managing to lose a Texas Senate race against an opponent with sky-high negatives despite raising more than $70 million from a national donor base, and then went on a “listening tour” across America to find himself—recently acknowledged that he is trying to make up his mind about whether to spend 2020 running for president or taking another stab at the Senate by challenging Republican incumbent John Cornyn.
My guess is that O’Rourke will ultimately travel whatever road is lined with the most television cameras. Of course, vanity—even to the point of narcissism—is not a disqualifier in a politician. It’s practically a job requirement.
But cultural appropriation is another matter entirely.
To be fair, at least as far as I know, Robert Francis has—in a political career that took him from the El Paso City Council to Congress to who-knows-what’s-next—never gone out and told a group of Mexican-Americans that he was a member of the tribe.
But from what I’ve seen in both the Senate race and its aftermath, he doesn’t mind if some Latinos jump to that conclusion and vote for him because of some misplaced sense of ethnic loyalty.
And judging from the mail and tweets I get when I write about O’Rourke, I can tell you that many Latinos think he is one of us. Perhaps they can’t imagine that anyone would—in Donald Trump’s America—volunteer to be Latino if they weren’t born that way.
About this cultural confusion, I’m sure Beto would shrug and say: “Está bien.” That’s fine.
By the way, he also speaks Spanish, though rarely to white audiences. What’s the point of that?
It’s all part of Beto’s storyline as a cultural enigma.
Take the name, which he switches on and off like a light switch. He was “Robert” at birth, “Beto” in childhood, “Robert” again in boarding school and at Columbia, and “Beto” again when he returned to El Paso to run for office.
Either this guy has an identity crisis the size of Texas, or he is just crafty enough to try to have his flan and eat it too—becoming Latin, or a white male, whichever is more convenient.
The urban legend has it that O’Rourke came by his nickname the ol’ fashioned way—by having it bestowed upon him by Latino friends in El Paso, who thought he was pretty decent for a white guy, dubbed him an honorary Mexican, and declared that, from that day forward, he would be known as “Beto.” According to this narrative, O’Rourke became Latino simply by rubbing shoulders with Latinos. It’s like how you get poison oak.
Now, this is not unheard of. The original Robert Francis—as in Robert Francis Kennedy, or as my grandma called him, “El Bobby”—was welcomed into East Los Angeles in the spring of 1968 like he was one of our own.
Besides, I sort of like this idea that you can become part of a tribe by simply being in close proximity to them.
Sign me up. If I wasn’t Mexican-American, I’d be Armenian because I grew up around lots of Armenians near Fresno. Or I’d be Irish because I went to college in Boston (well, Cambridge, close enough).
While we’re on the subject, do you know who else is Irish? Beto! And yet, a few months ago, when former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley endorsed Robert Francis O’Rourke for president in 2020—despite the fact that O’Rourke hadn’t even entered the race yet, and still hasn’t, we did not hear howls about the scourge of “identity politics” by the likes of Fox News’ Tucker Carlson.
As for the legend about the name, it might carry more weight if his father hadn't told reporters years ago that he was the one who came up with it because he thought it would be politically advantageous for his son, given that Texas is now about 39 percent Latino.
I don’t see Beto as Latino. I see him as a chimichanga, a U.S.-born invention of something that then gets passed off as authentically Mexican. He’s that Mexican restaurant that white people like because the salsa doesn't burn.
If he takes a pass on the Senate and runs for the Democratic nomination for president in 2020, Beto will be that “Mexican” candidate who appeals to white liberals who want to say they voted for a Mexican without having to take the chance of actually voting for one—like say, Julian Castro, the former Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, who has already entered the race.
You see, some say, you have to be careful when voting for a real Mexican. You just don’t know what they’ll do if they get a little power. Why, they might give Arizona back to Mexico—only to have our neighbor reject the offer with a friendly: “No gracias.” But with Beto, there’s no risk. White people pretty much know what he’s going to do. Because he’s one of them.
He can tell a reporter that, not only does he oppose Trump’s proposed border wall, but he’d go so far as to “tear down” whatever barriers we have now. He later backed off that sort of open border nonsense.
About Castro. And I knew we were going to get here. The fact that I don’t have a lot of nice things to say about O’Rourke has nothing to do with my friendship with Castro, whom I have also been critical of on occasion. It has more to do with the fact that so many people in the media seem so intent on pitting these two guys against each other.
“O’Rourke became Latino simply by rubbing shoulders with Latinos. It’s like how you get poison oak.”
A few weeks ago, I was doing a radio interview with a station in the Rio Grande Valley. The host asked: “Doesn’t the battle between Julian and Beto come down to the Latino vote, and who gets it?”
“Why is that?” I asked.
Who sets up these paradigms? Oh yeah, white people. Why not ask if Beto can compete for the African-American vote with Kamala Harris or Cory Booker?
That’s silly, right? Beto isn’t black. And he’s not Mexican either. Now you’re getting it.
All of which brings us finally to what it is about Beto that bugs me. It’s that he’s that dude, that dude I knew in college. He’s the dude who got in on his daddy’s name, partied all the time, and breezed through the four years without going to class or getting good grades or breaking a sweat. He embodied white privilege before we even had a name for the concept.
So what if he got arrested twice—once for breaking into the University of Texas at El Paso, and once for drunk driving? He grew his hair long and joined a rock band, and all was forgiven. He majored in English and then channeled Jack Kerouac to hit the road in search of America. And folks called it charming.
The dude flips his hair, and grins. And it’s all good. The next time a poll comes out, he’ll be high on the leaderboard.
In short, Beto is no Mexican. Those people—my people—have to work twice as hard, and we can’t make mistakes. We spend our lives trying not to agitate white people by getting all radical on them. There is no privilege for us, and no guarantees. There’s only the vague promise of something better around the corner if you’re willing to pay the price.
I bet that Beto has no idea what I’m talking about.
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Beverly Hills Murder: Scott Joseph Barker’s Life Before Homicide
Who stabbed the son of a movie producer in a posh L.A. neighborhood that hasn’t seen a homicide in years? Will Doig on the young suspect accused of killing for love.
Will Doig
Impromptu memorials of votive candles, cards, flowers and a large banner adorn a home where Katsutoshi "Tony" Takazato was stabbed to death. Credit: Reed Saxon / AP Photo
When he graduated high school five years ago and left his small town of West Springfield, Massachusetts, Scott Joseph Barker was a young man in search of a bigger life—one that included VIP parties, glamour, and fame.
On Thursday, his wish for fame was fulfilled. Barker and his girlfriend, Chie Alexandra Coggins-Johnson, were charged with the first murder in years to take place in the posh Beverly Hills neighborhood of Trousdale Estates. The victim, 21-year-old Katsutoshi “Tony” Takazato, the son of a B-movie producer, was found savagely stabbed to death outside his father’s multimillion-dollar house on a swanky stretch of road known as Carla Ridge.
Although Barker was never known to pick fights for no good reason, he wouldn’t hesitate to battle if provoked.
Much about the horrific crime defies stereotype. Trousdale Estates is a serene, well-appointed neighborhood whose wealthy residents rarely appear outside their homes’ towering security gates. It’s a world away from where Barker grew up, a leafy, picturesque town nestled on the bank of a river in western Massachusetts, the type of town parents consider the perfect place to raise a family and children consider a stifling backwater.
And Barker, 23, and Coggins-Johnson, 20, seemed like decent kids. She was a talented rhythmic gymnast who took home a silver medal at the 2004 Junior Olympics. He was a high-school basketball star with no shortage of charm, a quality that netted him many friends and admirers. Judging by the makeshift memorial that’s sprung up outside the crime scene, Takazato was well-liked, too.
According to prosecutors, Takazato’s death is the result of a love triangle that spawned a revenge killing. He and Coggins-Johnson had dated before she started dating Barker—and Barker heard that Takazato hadn’t been very nice to her. Apparently, he learned that Takazato may have even physically abused her while they were a couple. Prosecutors say that Barker was enraged upon hearing this, and in retaliation, began plotting Takazato’s grisly demise.
The murder apparently took place sometime during the night of July 19—a night on which Takazato reportedly threw a party at the lavish house on Carla Ridge. The owner of the house, Takazato’s father, a producer of low-budget movies like Red Meat and Lured Innocence (starring Dennis Hopper), lives in Japan and wasn’t there. Takazato’s body was found by police early the next morning, and Barker and Coggins-Johnson were arrested for his murder on Tuesday. Yesterday, Coggins-Johnson pleaded not guilty and remains jailed on $3 million bail. According to Barker’s lawyer Brad Brunon, Barker’s arraignment, also scheduled for yesterday, was postponed for “medical” reasons. Both face life in prison if convicted.
If the prosecutor’s theory is correct that this was a killing to avenge a wronged woman, it would fit with Barker’s history of protectiveness toward young women he knew, according to a longtime friend. She says that Barker always reacted forcefully when he believed a girlfriend or a female acquaintance was in a bad situation. He wasn’t afraid to confront whoever he felt was doing wrong by the women in his life, and there were many of these women—Barker was a seasoned flirt. The friend adds that although Barker was never known to pick fights for no good reason, he wouldn’t hesitate to battle if provoked. And he had a temper that could explode at inopportune times—more than once, the friend observed arguments between Barker and a girl he was dating devolve into public, nerve-jangling screaming matches.
These loud arguments sometimes took place at high-school parties, at which the popular Barker was a fixture. He even threw a few blowouts of his own at his parents’ house with typical teenage bravura. They were your usual small-town throwdowns with lots of drinking and maybe some weed, but no hard drugs. When he wasn’t partying or playing ball, Barker hit the gym—he may not have been very tall, but he kept himself muscled.
After graduation, many of his peers stuck around or enrolled at nearby UMass-Amherst. Barker had more glamorous aspirations. He fled West Springfield for Florida, then headed to Los Angeles with dreams of getting involved in the entertainment industry. He also had designs on becoming a club promoter, which would have suited his naturally social demeanor. It’s unclear whether he ever got his foot in the door. The friend who knows him from high school says she last heard from him a year ago, when he sent her a Facebook message telling her that he was still working on making a name for himself in entertainment.
Now his name has been made, though not in the way he had planned. And Takazato’s name is spelled out in an array of white votive candles placed outside the house where he was killed, arranged to spell “R.I.P. TONY T.” A pack of Parliament Lights sits in the center of the “O,” and snapshots of Takazato standing on the beach in low-slung jeans are scattered under a large white banner hung on the security fence reading “Rest in Peace.”
Meanwhile, back on the cul-de-sacs of West Springfield, it’s a good 20 degrees hotter than in balmy L.A., and those who knew the accused back when he was a small-town boy are buzzing about who he might have become in his search for a more interesting life.
Will Doig is the features editor at The Daily Beast. He has written for New York, The Advocate, Out, Black Book and Highlights for Children.
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East-West tensions at Munich highlight urgent need for action on nuclear threat
Lakhdar Brahimi Mary Robinson nuclear disarmament political leaders ethical leadership dialogue
Lakhdar Brahimi and Mary Robinson announce The Elders' new agenda for nuclear minimisation at the Munich Security Conference in February 2019. (Photo: MSC / Mueller)
Heightened tensions between the US and Russia, and within the traditional transatlantic alliance, formed a timely if ominous backdrop to the presentation of The Elders’ new initiative on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation at the Munich Security Conference (15-17 February).
Mary Robinson and Lakhdar Brahimi presented their “minimisation” agenda on the main conference stage following a broader panel discussion on arms control where the tensions and differences between the US and Russian positions were plain to see, particularly regarding the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.
Sergei Ryabkov, Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, appeared on stage alongside Andrea Thompson, Under-Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs at the US State Department but both vigorously disputed the other’s assertions of respective violations of the INF Treaty, giving little sense of a spirit of dialogue or compromise.
Mary Robinson and Lakhdar Brahimi meet Sergei Lavrov during the Munich Security Conference in February 2019.
The Elders urged the leadership in Washington and Moscow, and in all nuclear-armed states, to take urgent steps to rebuild trust and commit to a minimisation agenda that offers a realistic long-term path to the total elimination of nuclear weapons.
The minimisation agenda is focused on four key principles: Doctrine, whereby every nuclear state should make an unequivocal “No First Use” declaration; De-alerting, with almost all warheads taken off high alert status; Deployment, with a substantial reduction of all nuclear warheads that are currently operationally deployed; and Decreased numbers, to dramatically cut the number of nuclear weapons in existence.
Mary Robinson told the conference:
“Nuclear weapons pose an existential threat to the future of humanity, and tensions between key powers are dangerously high. The only way to tackle this threat is through tough, credible and sustained multilateral engagement. The shared goal must be to reduce stockpiles and prevent weapons being acquired or developed by any further states, which could have catastrophic humanitarian consequences for the whole world.”
Mary Robinson at the Munich Security Conference in February 2019.
The two Elders explained the urgency of tackling this existential threat to global peace at bilateral meetings with key interlocutors on the sidelines of the conference, including Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, former Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, the Executive Director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) Beatrice Fihn, representatives of the Nuclear Threat Initiative including former US Senator Sam Nunn and former US Energy Secretary Ernie Moniz, and the UN High Representative for Disarmament Izumi Nakamitsu.
A recurrent theme in all discussions was the indispensability of multilateral institutions and processes in tackling nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, as well as the urgent need to revive military-to-military dialogue between the two superpowers. Unilateral actions by nuclear-armed states threaten to weaken the wider global security architecture and make it harder to persuade other powers to abide by existing treaties, the Elders warned.
In their meeting with Iran’s Javad Zarif, the Elders reaffirmed their support for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) negotiated between Iran and the international community in 2015. Despite the US withdrawal, the Elders continue to believe that the JCPOA offers a successful model of multilateral diplomacy to prevent nuclear proliferation.
The Elders also discussed ongoing conflicts in the Middle East including Yemen and Syria, urging all regional powers and their backers to prioritise saving civilian lives and engaging with credible international-led peace processes.
On the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Elders’ delegation met with former Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and emphasised that only a credible two-state solution can bring peace by offering justice to the Palestinians and security to Israelis. Tzipi Livni’s subsequent decision to retire from political life illustrates how challenging it is to argue for a two-state solution in the current Israeli political landscape, but The Elders continue to believe that without such an option, meaningful peace will remain elusive.
Mary Robinson and Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair discuss the risks posed by Brexit to peace in Northern Ireland, during the Munich Security Conference in February 2019. (Photo: MSC / Karl-Josef Hildenbrand)
As in previous years, the spectre of Brexit and its implications for the future of the European Union hung over the conference, with repeated declarations of regret by senior German and other European participants that the UK seems intent on leaving an organisation that has helped guarantee peace and security in Europe in the post-war era.
Mary Robinson discussed the issue together with former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair at a private lunch organised by the ZEIT-Stiftung. Both agreed that Brexit was a retrograde step that has alarming implications for peace in Northern Ireland. Tony Blair argued that the future of the EU should be seen in terms of power projection; Mary Robinson countered that it should be based on defending European values of tolerance, rights and dignity as a counterweight to the growing trends of nationalist populism and xenophobia.
Lakhdar Brahimi takes part in a Facebook Live discussion on the nuclear threat facing the world at Munich Security Conference in February 2019.
Alongside the physical meetings and debates, the Elders also engaged in digital advocacy in Munich to reach a global audience. Mary Robinson and Lakhdar Brahimi participated in a “Facebook Live” discussion on the new nuclear initiative together with Camille Grand, NATO Assistant Secretary-General for Defence Investment and former Director and CEO of French defence think tank Fondation pour la recherche stratégique (FRS). The main conference presentation was also streamed live on the MSC website and broadcast on Bavarian state television.
The Elders will continue to advocate their minimisation agenda at relevant events over the course of 2019, and provide support to all groups working to eliminate nuclear weapons.
As Lakhdar Brahimi expressed it:
“Today’s leaders must commit to the vision and legacy of the United States and Soviet Union at the end of the Cold War that a nuclear war can never be won and must never be fought.”
Former Algerian freedom fighter, Foreign Minister, conflict mediator and UN diplomat; an expert in peacekeeping and post-conflict reconstruction.
A New Era of Nuclear Rearmament
The international arms-control architecture is at risk of collapsing. Ernesto Zedillo warns of the risks of a new nuclear arms race between the US and Russia, and urges every nuclear-armed state to act responsibly to prevent catastrophe.
The Elders propose ‘minimisation agenda’ as urgent first step to nuclear disarmament
The Elders today called on all nuclear powers to take urgent steps towards nuclear disarmament, in the form of a “minimisation” agenda, to counter a dangerous rise in geopolitical tensions and distrust between states.
Nuclear powers must get serious about disarmament, and act now to prevent unparalleled devastation
The Elders advocate a "minimisation" agenda to further the cause of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation and safeguard peace.
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Pawsome!!! Man and his dog called Pussy win gold for THIRD time in thrilling bike sport
Stuart Dowell October 10, 2018
Igor, 41, and his dog Pussy beat off much younger competition to win gold for the third time in the international Bikejoring competition. Igor Tracz / Facebook
Champion dog musher and dog sled racer, Igor Tracz, has become international champion for the third time after winning gold with his dog, Pussy, in the unusual sport of bikejoring.
The biking fanatic from Pomerania beat off much younger competition from 19 other countries to take first spot by a margin of only 2.6 seconds from Spanish rival Victor Carrasco in the discipline in which a single dog is connected to a competitor’s bicycle by a 2.5 metre elastic rope.
Igor told TFN: “At the start of the event, I wasn’t confident about winning.
“I was focused on the masters’ class for older competitors and not the open class,” the 41-year-old Pole said.
“But after the first round, I was only a few seconds behind the leader so I knew that in the second round I had a good chance.”
The event, which took place at the weekend in Lubieszów in Lower Silesia as part of the ICF World Championships, is decided by the fasted combined time over two rounds of the 5 km course, which competitors start at staggered intervals.
“When you are out of the course, you can’t see the other riders, but I felt good and I was working well with my dog, so I just went for it,” Igor explained to TFN.
Another factor in Tracz’s victory was his excellent relationship with his dog, a Greyster, which is a cross between a Greyhound and a Viszla. I’ve been training with Pussy since she was a puppy so we have an excellent understanding, he told TFN.Igor Tracz / Facebook
Tracz, who previously won the same competition in Canada in 2015 and in Italy in 2013, felt greater pressure on him because the event was in Poland this year.
“There were definitely greater expectations for me to do well, so it was good that the course favoured me. I had trained on the course with my dog for one month before and because it is a technical route with many sharp turns, it favours skill over brute strength, so my experience as an older competitor really paid off,” Igor told TFN.
Another factor in Tracz’s victory was his excellent relationship with his dog, a Greyster, which is a cross between a Greyhound and a Viszla. “I’ve been training with Pussy since she was a puppy so we have an excellent understanding,” he told TFN.
“In bikejoring, the dog is faster than the rider but the dog doesn’t pull the rider along,” he explained.
“You can’t just go full speed all the time, otherwise the dog will burn out. You have to know when to slow down, how fast to take a corner, when to build up speed and when to use the dog’s extra power. Knowing your dog well is the key to success in this sport,” he told TFN.
Tracz has a pack of 14 dogs now. “We train all year round. Even the older dogs, who are 16-17 years old, go out training, although they don’t compete anymore,” he says.
When he’s not training with his dogs, Igor spends a lot of time in the gym working on his impressive fitness.
Bikejoring is enjoying increasing popularity in Poland, of which the world championships in Lubieszów which Igor and Pussy won are testimony. Igor Tracz / Facebook
He is also heavily involved in competing in 4 and 6-dog sled racing. In his career so far he has won 7 international titles and 11 European titles in all disciplines, making him something of phenomenon.
“I got involved in mountain bike racing as an amateur in 1992. Then in 2000 I bought a Husky with my girlfriend for PLN 100 from an ad in the paper. We didn’t know anything about the breed or the sport, but step-by-step I learned about the dogs and I started training with them,” said Igor.
“By 2004, we had four dogs, so we moved away from the centre of Gdansk to the countryside, and each dog since has been a proper sports dog, a Greyster. At first I raced with Huskies, but they are not as fast as Greysters,” Igor explains.
Bikejoring started as a sport in Western Europe in the 1990s, but it is enjoying increasing popularity in Poland, of which the world championships in Lubieszów are testimony.
Races normally involve individual time trials on courses from 4 to 10 km. A rider and a harnessed dog can achieve speeds of up to 50km/h in a forest terrain, which is why the discipline is often regarded as an extreme sport.
Competitors are referred to as mushers, and related sports include skijoring, dog carting and dog scootering.
Tags: sport, Igor Tracz, bikejoring
Gold Rush: Poland finishes European Athletics Championships with yet another gold medal
It’s another gold: Poland wins top spot in women’s shot put
Polonia volleyball team take second place in UK match
Record breaking gamers are inaugurated into first World Cyber Games Hall Of Fame
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Greenwash
Qatar to use biofuels? What about the country's energy consumption?
Fred Pearce
Qatar announces the future use of biofuels on its airline, but its domestic carbon emissions are shockingly free and easy
Thu 14 Jan 2010 02.00 EST First published on Thu 14 Jan 2010 02.00 EST
Qatar's West Bay financial district in Doha. The country has the highest per capita carbon emissions in the world. Photograph: Gavin Hellier / Alamy
Qatar made the news twice this week. First, the Manchester United squad flew out to the Gulf state for a few days to get in some training without the hassle of snow – hoping to revive their fortunes after a draw with Birmingham City . Second, it announced a "major environmental initiative" aimed at curbing the carbon emissions of its national airline through the use of biofuel.
They won't actually be cutting emissions any time soon, of course. Those are soaring, because, bucking the global recession, the airline expects to carry 11% more passengers in the current year.
But the airline is doing an analysis to see if it might one day start burning biofuels. Perhaps the biofuels will be grown on the huge chunk of farmland the state controversially wants to buy in Kenya.
Qataris have the highest carbon footprint on the planet. The country's per-capita emissions from burning fossil fuels are way ahead of any other nation, and almost three times those of everybody's poster bad boy, the US. This is all the more extraordinary since Qatar's electricity is mostly generated from burning natural gas, which has half the emissions of coal.
Those emissions have also risen almost fourfold since 1990. But, thanks to the vagaries of the Kyoto Protocol, the country is not penalised for this. Qatar is by some measures the second richest country in the world, but for the purposes of climate law, it is classified as a developing nation. And so it has no emissions targets.
How come Qatar's emissions are so high? The main reason is its soaring use of energy. By the end of next year Qatar will have six times the electricity-generating capacity it had as recently as 1995. One outlet for all this power is industry, based round its huge natural gas reserves. Just this week, the national gas company announced a deal with ExxonMobil for a new $6bn (£3.69bn) petrochemicals plant.
A lot of Qatar's gas is exported as liquefied natural gas – the country is the world's largest producer of the stuff. It's a fairly clean fuel at our end, but takes a lot of energy to liquefy in Qatar. So to that extent Qatar is taking a hit to allow Europe and North America to cut their emissions – handy for helping us meet the Kyoto Protocol, but not much good for the planet.
The Qatari government recently used this argument to downplay its emissions. In its recent Human Development Report, it called them "relatively modest".
But that is not the real story. Those Qatari emissions are so extraordinarily high for another reason. Qataris just don't seem to care.
Sure, there is the biofuels initiative from the state airline. Sure, a year ago Qatar held a conference to discuss how to cut its emissions without damaging the economy.
But if its rulers were serious about cutting emissions they might charge for their energy supplies. Yes, you read that right. Qatari households get their electricity free. So why would they cut down on how much they burn?
Oh, and they get their water free as well. And in Qatar, even more than most places in the Middle East, water is liquid electricity. Almost every drop coming out of the taps is produced from desalinating seawater. This is extremely expensive in energy – and therefore expensive in carbon emissions.
But because the water is free, Qataris waste it like, well, water. Despite being a desert state with virtually no rainfall, the country has among the highest per-capita water uses in the world. Use averages around 400 litres per head per day. According to Hassan Al-Mohannadi, a geographer at the University of Qatar, people in "big, often palatial houses" consume up to 35,000 litres per day.
Even here, they have a way of blaming foreigners. According to Hassan Al-Mohannadi, one reason water use is so high is that "the large number of foreign domestic servants, who come from water-rich countries, are not educated in water conservation".
Water consumption continues to rise, so Qatar is building more desalination plants. If Qatar was serious about cutting its carbon footprint it would do something about water demand. At the least, it might charge for the stuff.
Will Qatar's emissions carry on up? Looks Likely. Electricity demand is currently rising by about 7% a year. That is not as fast as the national economy, which is growing by 11% annually – the fastest boom on the planet.
But stopping this out-of-control carbon-emitting juggernaut will take more than an Airbus full of biofuels.
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Berwick-upon-Tweed
Shaftesbury
Beddgelert
Nicknamed 'The Blues' for the colour of their strip, Chelsea F.C was formed in 1905.
The club is based in Fulham, West London, and home games are played at the Stamford Bridge stadium.
The club's honours include five Premier League titles, the UEFA Champions League in 2012, eight FA Cups and the Europa League in both 2013 and 2019.
Start Exploring London
24 reasons to visit London
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Guildhall, London
Picture the scene: a Thursday evening in London, a posh limo, a red carpet with waiting paparazzi, a champagne reception, a room full of very famous people, and me in a dinner jacket. No, it’s not the Star Wards Christmas Staff party, it’s the Morgan Stanley Great Britons Awards. And our very own Marion Janner was up for a gong. (Or in this case, bizarrely shaped statuette.)
To be exact, she’d been nominated for the Great Briton award in the category of Campaigning and Public Life. There were three people on the shortlist: Sir Ranulph Fiennes, the explorer; Shami Chakrabarti, head of Liberty, and Dame Marion Janner of Muswell Hill.
Now I could write this account in a way that built up the tension, that left you wondering until the very last moment whether or not she’d won. But, let’s face it, if she’d won we’d have certainly told you all by now. And anyway, that wouldn’t have been quite true to the event, because when we got in there we had a kind of feeling that it was not going to be our night. For a start we were situated on a table around three and a half miles from the stage; if Marion’s name had been called, she’d have had to have got on a bus to collect her award. Secondly, the winners all had little films made about them. Marion was absolutely positive that, were any film ever to be made about her, she would know about it. (In fact she would want to be in it.)
No, in the end Shami Chakrabarti of Liberty won the award. And deservedly so. Still, as many people said to Marion and I on the night itself, it’s a tremendous achievement to have been shortlisted, and a real testimony to the impact that Star Wards is having up and down the country. Of course, at the risk of getting far too gushing, we were only there because what you and dedicated staff like yourselves have done with Star Wards ideas. We’re constantly enthused, amazed and impressed by your creativity and hard work. As Star Wards 2 will show – with it’s estimated 400 new ideas!
Given that nearly all the people on the various shortlists – people like Lewis Hamilton, J.K. Rowling, Damien Hurst, Stephen Fry – were household names, it was fantastic to have our project featured in such a high profile event.
I enjoyed the evening. (But then, being a writer, I always enjoy events where there is free food and alcohol: it’s kind of what we writers do.) There were some tricky moments, admittedly. Like just before we set off, when I had to accompany Marion to the shoe shop otherwise she’d have had to go wearing her trainers. Or the moment, when all the photographers who, up to then had been busy taking snaps, suddenly stopped when Marion and I walked down the red carpet. (I took a photo myself to prove it.)
Dame Marion Janner, captured on the red carpet by the paparazzi. (Well, me, actually.)
Perhaps the trickiest moment when Lady Thatcher got a lifetime achievement award and addressed the crowd quite clearly believing that she was talking to a load of party workers. This, even for those of us who remember the Thatcher years with a certain shudder, was quite a poignant thing. As Marion observed, leaving aside the politics, maybe we should just celebrate the fact that an elderly lady with dementia was given the freedom to address all these people. Given that so many politicians fake short-term memory loss, it was quite refreshing to find someone who genuinely suffers from it.Sadly we didn’t get to meet J.K. Rowling. She couldn’t make the awards because she was doing something really important in Edinburgh. Like rolling around in her money. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton won the Great Briton award for sports. (He’s a great Briton because (a) he came second in the world championship and (b) he’s moved to Switzerland.) But we did get to say hello to Tim Smit of Eden Project and Heligan fame – and what a lovely man he turned out to be. He even managed to ignore Marion’s nervously muddled up opening line which informed him that ‘She’d always been a hero of his’. (I also managed to shake the hand of Nick Park, creator of Wallace and Gromit. I gushed effusively about his work, while he smiled and tried to attract the attention of security.) I also met excellent people like the social entrepreneur (and last year’s Public Life award winner) David Robinson, who has been a tremendous supporter of Star Wards; and a film director called Chris Atkins whose film Taking Liberties is up for a Bafta.
And I can’t think of anyone more deserving of a nomination than Marion. She has turned a traumatic experience into a project which works collaboratively with hundreds of wards up and down the country, resulting in happier patients and staff. I’ve worked with Marion for around 10 years now. She’s a bundle of energy, a passionate campaigner. She’s a Great Briton. All 4 foot 9 inches of her.
Now, where did I put my OBE?
Nick Page
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Boy Scouts of America considers filing for bankruptcy, report says
The Boy Scouts weighing bankruptcy amid sexual harassment lawsuits
December 13, 2018 at 10:58 AM EST - Updated December 13 at 1:16 PM
(RNN) - The Boy Scouts of America, one of the nation’s largest youth organizations, is considering filing for bankruptcy, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.
The organization has hired law firm Sidley Austin LLP to assist with the possible chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, the journal reported Wednesday.
“We are working with experts to explore all options available to ensure that the local and national programming of the Boy Scouts of America continues uninterrupted,” said Michael Surbaugh, chief scout executive, in a statement to CNN.
"We have an important duty, and an incredible opportunity, to focus as an organization on keeping children safe, supported and protected, and preparing youth for their futures through our nation's foremost program of character development and values-based leadership training."
The report comes amid the organization facing shrinking membership and legal costs from sexual abuse lawsuits. Boy Scout participation is down, from 4 million scouts in the early 2000s to 2.3 million in 2013, according to PBS.org.
In 2017, the organization announced that it would welcome girls and transgender scouts into the ranks.
Earlier this year, Surbaugh announced a name change from Boy Scouts to Scouts BSA.
Surbaugh’s statement Wednesday also referred to abuse victims.
"We believe (victims), we believe in fairly compensating them and we have paid for unlimited counseling, by a provider of their choice, regardless of the amount of time that has passed since an instance of abuse," the statement said.
The Boys Scouts is one of the largest charities in the country, with an estimated private donation of $296 million in 2016, according to Forbes.
Copyright 2018 Raycom News Network. All rights reserved.
Adult dancers, angry neighbors and a Louisville bar fighting to stay open
Natalia Martinez
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Walter Wink
You are here: Home / Membership / Westar Fellows / Meet the Westar Fellows / Walter Wink
Professor of Biblical Interpretation Emeritus,
Auburn Theological Seminary, New York
Walter Wink was an internationally known lecturer and workshop leader whose areas of interest were the development of a participative style of Bible study ("Transforming Bible Study"), an exploration of the biblical theme of principalities and powers (which has led to a trilogy of books and as many spinoffs), and Jesus' teachings on nonviolence. He led nonviolence workshops in South Africa in 1986, 1988, and 1998. In 1988, refused a visa, he entered South Africa without a visa, taught nonviolence workshops, and turned himself in to the authorities, who deported him. He and his wife, June, also led nonviolence workshops in (then) East Germany, Northern Ireland (twice), South Korea, Palestine, and Mexico (around the Chiapas struggle). They also lectured and held workshops in New Zealand, Chile, (then) West Germany, Scotland, and England. He and June were United Nations election monitors in El Salvador in 1994. In 1989–1990 he was honored as a Peace Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C.
Read “Write What You See,” an autobiographical sketch by Walter Wink that appeared in The Fourth R in 1994.
Homosexuality and Christian Faith: Questions of Conscience for the Churches, 1999
The Powers That Be, 1998
When the Powers Fall: Reconciliation in the Healing of Nations, 1998
Proclamation 5: Holy Week, Year B, 1993
Cracking the Gnostic Code: The Powers in Gnosticism, 1993
Engaging the Powers: Discernment and Resistance in a World of Domination, 1992
Transforming Bible Study: A Leader's Guide, 2nd ed., 1990
Violence and Nonviolence in South Africa, 1987
Unmasking the Powers: The Invisible Forces That Determine Human Existence, 1986
Naming the Powers: The Language of Power in the New Testament, 1984
The Bible in Human Transformation: Toward a New Paradigm for Biblical Study, 1973
John the Baptist in the Gospel Tradition, 1968
Academic Credentials
A.B., Southern Methodist University
B.D., Union Theological Seminary, New York
Th.D., Union Theological Seminary, New York
Oxford University, 1990
Guild for Psychological Studies, San Francisco, 1972
Professor of Biblical Interpretation, Auburn Theological Seminary, 1976–
Associate Professor, Union Theological Seminary, 1970–1976
Assistant Professor, Union Theological Seminary, 1967–1970
Pastor, First United Methodist Church, Hitchcock, Texas, 1962–1967
National Steering Committee, Clergy and Laity Concerned, 1967–1976
Editorial Board, Forum
Editorial Board, Journal of Violence and Religion
Editorial Board, Journal of the Guild for Psychological Studies
Editorial Board, Nonviolence International
Editorial Board, National Center for Violence Prevention
Board of Directors, The American Committee on Korea
Board of Directors, Americans for Religious Liberty
Board of Directors, Colloquium on Violence and Religion
Board of Directors, the Education Center
Board of Directors, The Guild for Psychological Studies
First place, Evangelical Press Association for the article, "The Redeeming Power of the Small," The Other Side (July/August 1993)
1992 Book of the Year awarded to Engaging the Powers by the Academy of Parish Clergy
1992 Book of the Year awarded to Engaging the Powers by Pax Christi
1992 Book of the Year awarded to Engaging the Powers by the Midwestern Publishers Association
Peace Fellow, United States Institute of Peace, 1989-1990
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Monthly Meet & Greet with The Historical Society of West Covina
Location: The Historical Society of West Covina
336 S Glendora Ave
Join The Historical Society of West Covina
Every Third Friday of each Month from 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. at
The Historical Society of West Covina Museum
for the Monthly Meet & Greet.
Come out and meet your neighbors, service organization and the leadership of the community within the city and hear their amazing stories!
For more information click here or go to The Historical Society of West Covina Facebook Page
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‘Shocking’: Ohio State doc abused 177, officials were aware
FILE – This undated file photo shows a photo of Dr. Richard Strauss, an Ohio State University team doctor employed by the school from 1978 until his 1998 retirement. Investigators say over 100 male students were sexually abused by Strauss who died in 2005. The university released findings Friday, May 17, 2019, from a law firm that investigated claims about Richard Strauss for the school. (Ohio State University via AP, File) (Source: Uncredited)
By KANTELE FRANKO and JULIE CARR SMYTH | May 17, 2019 at 10:06 AM EDT - Updated May 17 at 9:27 PM
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A now-dead Ohio State team doctor sexually abused at least 177 male students from the 1970s through the 1990s, and numerous university officials got wind of what was going on over the years but did little or nothing to stop him, according to a report released by the school Friday.
Dr. Richard Strauss groped or ogled young men while treating athletes from at least 16 sports and working at the student health center and his off-campus clinic, investigators from a law firm hired by the university found.
"We are so sorry that this happened," Ohio State President Michael Drake said at a news conference, using words like "shocking," ''horrifying" and "heartbreaking" to describe the findings.
He said there was a "consistent institutional failure" at Ohio State, the nation's third-largest university, with nearly 65,000 students and a half-million living alumni. The school "fell short of its responsibility to its students, and that's regrettable and inexcusable."
At the same time, Drake, who has led the institution since 2014, sought to distance Ohio State from what happened more than two decades ago: "This is not the university of today."
The report on Strauss, who killed himself at age 67 in 2005 nearly a decade after he was allowed to retire with honors, could cost Ohio State dearly by corroborating lawsuits brought against it by a multitude of victims.
The findings put Strauss in a league with gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar of Michigan State University, who was accused of molesting at least 250 women and girls and is serving what amounts to a life sentence. Michigan State ultimately settled with his victims for $500 million.
Similarly, the Jerry Sandusky child sexual-abuse scandal that brought down legendary Penn State football coach Joe Paterno in 2011 has cost the university more than a quarter-billion dollars in settlements, fines, legal costs and other expenses.
The abuse at Ohio State went on from 1979 to 1997 and took place at various locations across campus, including examining rooms, locker rooms, showers and saunas, according to investigators. Strauss, among other things, contrived to get young men to strip naked and groped them sexually.
The report describes one patient who came in with strep throat. Strauss spent five minutes fondling his genitals and never examined another part of the body. Another victim had grown up in a rural area and had never had a proper medical exam; Strauss put a stethoscope on his penis.
Many told investigators that they thought his behavior was an "open secret" and that they believed their coaches, trainers and other team doctors knew was going on. The students described the examinations as being "hazed" or going through a "rite of passage." Athletes joked about Strauss' behavior, referring to him with nicknames like "Dr. Jelly Paws."
The report concluded that scores of Ohio State personnel knew of complaints and concerns about Strauss' conduct as early as 1979 but failed for years to investigate or take meaningful action.
Ohio State Provost Bruce McPheron said the report does not address whether anyone went to law enforcement at the time or was required to do so under the law back then.
In the wake of the findings, some of Strauss' victims called on the university to take responsibility for its inaction and the harm inflicted by the doctor.
"Dreams were broken, relationships with loved ones were damaged, and the harm now carries over to our children, as many of us have become so overprotective that it strains the relationship with our kids," Kent Kilgore said in a statement.
Steve Estey, an attorney for some of the former students who are suing, said: "If OSU refuses to take responsibility we will continue with civil litigation and put this in front of a jury for 12 people to judge their actions."
No one has publicly defended Strauss, though family members have said they were shocked by the allegations.
At least 50 members of the athletic department staff, including many coaches, corroborated victims' accounts of Strauss' abuse, the report said. But students' allegations never left the department or the health center until 1996.
At that point, Strauss was investigated and let go as a team doctor and physician at the health center but was allowed to retain his tenured faculty position.
Investigators said Strauss set up an off-campus clinic within months, receiving assurances from the associate vice president of health sciences and academic affairs that "there would be no issue" with him engaging in part-time private practice while on the faculty. The abuse continued there.
He continued to plead for his job back as an on-campus doctor, finally going to then-President Gordon Gee with a letter in 1997. His pleas were rejected, at which point Strauss was allowed to retire with emeritus status, a mark of honor. Gee, now president of West Virginia University, said Friday he has no recollection of Strauss.
Former nursing student Brian Garrett said he briefly did administrative work at the off-campus clinic but stopped after witnessing abuse by Strauss and then experiencing it himself.
"I thought all along he hid that from the university," said Garrett. "Now I find out they actually knew about the off-campus clinic, are you kidding me?" He added: "I'm mad. I thought I was mad before."
The lawsuits against Ohio State are headed for mediation. They seek unspecified damages. Drake said the investigation alone has cost the school $6.2 million.
Separately, the U.S. Education Department's Office for Civil Rights is examining whether Ohio State responded promptly and fairly to students' complaints. The department could cut the university's federal funding if it is found to have violated civil rights protections.
Before Friday's release, the doctor's accusers had alleged that Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan was one of the coaches back then who were aware of suspicions about Strauss and didn't stop him. Jordan, an assistant wrestling coach from 1987 to 1995, was not mentioned by name in the report, and a spokesman said the document showed the congressman did not know about the abuse.
This story has been corrected to show that it was Provost Bruce McPheron, not President Michael Drake, who said the report is unclear on whether anyone contacted law enforcement.
Associated Press writers John Seewer in Toledo and Andrew Welsh-Huggins and Mitch Stacy in Columbus contributed to this report.
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In News, Ziad K Abdelnour
Tagged: World bank
The World Bank. The IMF. The Federal Reserve. These are just some of the central financial institutions that ensure that the global elite continues to rule us by using a very tight core of banks and other mega-corporations to dominate the world.
How? By enslaving the world in debt and keeping us in the dark about it and by controlling mainstream media.
When you think about how the elite not only command the most powerful financial corporations but also own the big media companies, you can recognize how easy it is for them to filter everything that mainstream media releases to the public.
However, these statements can no longer be dismissed as conspiracy theories. Here is the story of someone who worked in the World Bank’s Legal Department for more than 20 years and maybe as one of the most credible sources for what really goes on between the global elite and financial corporations.
Karen Hudes is the anti-bank activist billing herself as the “World Bank Whistleblower” and is now aggressively trying to expose just how corrupt the global elite are along with the financial system that they control. In 1999, Hudes would report the corrupt take-over of Philippine National Bank (PNB) which was then the second largest bank in the Philippines.
Lucio Tan is the owner of Philippine Airlines and crony of Joseph Estrada, the then President of the Philippines. The Philippine government had loaned $493 million to PNB, $200 million of which from the World Bank. And despite Philippines securities laws, Tan was able to acquire stock owned by government employees in PNB valued at more than 10% of the bank’s outstanding capital without disclosure.
The Philippines’ World Bank’s Country Director would reassign Hubes after asking him to sign a letter warning the Philippine government that because the loan conditionality was not met, the Bank would not disburse its loan without a waiver signed by the Board of Executive Directors. However, just two days after she informed the Board’s Audit Committee of the cover-up, she would be reprimanded and placed on probation. Ultimately, these revelations would lead to her firing.
Hudes told her story then and continues to do so. She speaks of the 147 financial institutions and central banks which were created by Congress but are, in reality, owned by a cartel of private banks.
“This is a story about how the international financial system was secretly gamed, mostly by central banks — they’re the ones we are talking about. The central bankers have been gaming the system. I would say that this is a power grab,” Hudes would say.
Karen Hudes isn’t the only one exposing the world’s elitist. In 2012, pressure group Tax Justice Network carried out research estimating the extent of global private financial wealth held in offshore accounts. After all, it makes perfect sense that the world’s wealthiest wouldn’t place their wealth in local banks like the rest of us do; instead, they stash their assets in offshore accounts where they can escape taxes.
The study, which used data from the United Nations, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and central banks, revealed that the estimated sum of global private financial wealth held offshore to be between $21 and $32 trillion, representing up to $280 billion in lost income tax revenues.
With the World Bank, IMF, Federal Reserve and other central banks literally controlling the flow of money globally, can these whistleblowers, exposes, and studies be enough to dismantle their whole corrupt system?
Collectively, we can do more to put a stop to the elite’s power to control the world. We can start by not accepting every narrative that is fed to us and instead, question everything – from their motives to mainstream media to the politicians and lawmakers to the corporations pushing their agendas.
The words consent of the governed have become an empty phrase. Our textbooks on political science and economics are obsolete. Our nation has been hijacked by oligarchs, corporations, and a narrow, selfish, political, and economic elite, a small and privileged group that governs, and often steals, on behalf of moneyed interests. This elite, in the name of patriotism and democracy, in the name of all the values that were once part of the American system and defined the Protestant work ethic, has systematically destroyed our manufacturing sector, looted the treasury, corrupted our democracy, and trashed the financial system. During this plundering we remained passive, mesmerized by the enticing shadows on the wall, assured our tickets to success, prosperity, and happiness were waiting around the corner.
It is high time to wake up.
Written by Ziad Abdelnour
Ziad Abdelnour is a political activist and is the Founder and President of the United States Committee for a Free Lebanon.
GETTING STARTED IN REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT
Smart v/s Dumb Money – Which one to Opt for?
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Rethinking the Ḥamzahids of Ḥiṣār
Welsford, T (2011). Rethinking the Ḥamzahids of Ḥiṣār. Asiatische Studien / Études Asiatiques, 65(3):797-823.
This article considers a hitherto understudied episode in the history of 16th-century Central Asia. The Ḥamzahids of Ḥiṣār were a family of actors who for approximately 70 years governed a territory to the east of central Mā warā al-nahr, in what is today southwestern Tajikistan, and whose activities have long been regarded as marginal to the history of Central Asia under Abū’l-Khayrid rule. Drawing upon material from a range of narrative, epistolary and epigraphic sources, I argue that the Ḥamzahids were in fact a highly influential party who maintained close relations both with their Abū’l-Khayrid neighbours and with the rulers of Badakhshan and elsewhere. By comparing the treatment accorded to the Ḥamzahids in contemporary sources with what we find in sources composed after their downfall in 1573, I argue that ideas of a ‘marginalised’ Ḥamzahid Ḥiṣār stem largely from a later, Bukharo-centric narrative tradition which has often exerted undue influence on modern scholarly perspectives. I conclude that rethinking the history of the Ḥamzahids of Ḥiṣār may allow us to gain a clearer perspective upon the nature of dynastic politics more generally in early modern Central Asia.
186 downloads since deposited on 13 Mar 2012
Journals > Asiatische Studien / Études Asiatiques > Archive > 65 (2011) > 3
950 History of Asia
Schweizerische Asiengesellschaft / Verlag Peter Lang
Permanent URL: https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-58879
Welsford, T
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A Community Bank…Built By and For The Community
Posted on January 3, 2011 March 18, 2015 by web
In 1986, after Peoples Bank had been sold to Third National, and Lebanon Bank had been sold to First Tennessee, there seemed to be a void within the banking community in Wilson County. A void the community felt, and a void the community was ready to fill.
Nine men came together to fill that void in the form of a brand new institution, and Wilson Bank & Trust was born. The initial board members consisted of Jack Bell, Tony Patton, Harold Patton, Jerry Franklin, Mackey Bentley, John Freeman, Marshall Griffi th, W.C. Marks and Randall Clemons. These men came from all walks of life, and together they put forward the proposition that Wilson County was ready for an independent, community-focused bank.
In May of 1987, led by Randall Clemons, in a small, two-bedroom caretaker’s home on the Castle Heights campus in Lebanon, the initial eight staff members opened for business. “We wore many, many hats,” noted Randall Clemons, who today is the Chairman of the Board and CEO. “We were working in very close quarters. I was a teller, loan offi cer, public relations specialist, human resource manager, you name it, and at the end of the day would take the trash out back and burn it,” he says with a smile, obviously proud of the bank’s humble beginnings.“No job was too small or too big for any of us. And like any new business we knew we were taking a risk with this new venture. I remember the staff and I would rotate our cars in the parking lot during the day, so we would look busier than we were.” With this Randall brightens up and chuckles.
Stories like this are what have endeared WB&T to the community. Everyone knows someone who either helped establish the bank, works at the bank or most importantly deposits their hard-earned dollars at the bank.
In 1987 WB&T stock was offered to approximately 1,000 locals for $10 a share.
“Many people had never owned bank stock before and took great pride in owning local stock,” noted Clemons. “We knew we were on to something when we hosted our fi rst Open House in early January of 1988. It was snowing outside and very, very cold, and I looked out, and a line had formed to the point that people were standing outside in the snow waiting to come in.” More than 1,000 people attended that event, a testament to the fact the community was ready to support a locally owned and operated bank. “Initially the bank sold five million dollars in stock and today has grown to 140 million.
WB&T made a profit from its very first month in operation and has never lost any money any month or year since,” he added. In these times, numbers and facts like these are impressive.
The key, Randall noted, is that the bank has always been conservative in its operation. “Nobody is exempt from the current times, and we all feel a degree of hurt. However, because we have always run the bank responsibly, we have remained profi table in this market.”
Another reason the bank remains a rock in these tough economic times is because it strives to be more than just a financial institution. “It is very important to us that the community is better because WB&T is here,” Clemons said. With that principle in mind the bank sponsors or participates in each and every community where they have a presence. From festivals to parades to health fairs to car shows to senior sponsored trips to school banks, WB&T is a beacon for community events. “Employees are encouraged to participate and volunteer in their communities and spend time with customers and neighbors at local gatherings.”
To this point, in addition to a Board of Directors, the bank also has a Community Council made up of different members of the community who serve three-year terms. “These men and women are our eyes and ears. We hear about local needs from the members of the community itself, and we do what we can to always participate wherever we are needed.”
In December of 1987, construction was completed on a new office, and the small staff moved into the building. Since then, the main offi ce located on West Main Street has expanded twice and still serves as the hub of operations.
The new Lebanon branch was followed very quickly by branches in Watertown and Gladeville, and later Mt. Juliet, Smithville, Alexandria, Carthage, Gordonsville, Hartsville, Leeville, Hermitage, Donelson, Murfreesboro and Smyrna, as well as additional locations in Lebanon.
In April of 2011, the Providence Branch in Mt. Juliet will be complete, and in July the fi rst Gallatin offi ce will open. “With the Gallatin offi ce we will now be in every county bordering Wilson County,” Randall proudly announced.
WB&T will celebrate its 25-year anniversary in May 2012. The organization has grown to the point where it’s large enough to compete against any national bank. “We have every possible product, the latest technology and don’t depend on any other financial institution for anything,” Clemons said.
The bank also has regular planning retreats and always keeps a 10-year plan in place. “We believe in keeping employees for the long-term. Becky Taylor, Kay Johnson and Lisa Pominski are just a few who have been with the bank from the very beginning. Long-term employees are good for business and good for our customers because we have depth in management. This means as one department head steps down, there is someone with experience ready totake over,” Randall explained.
Asked the million-dollar question, whether there are any plans to sell, Randall once again smiled and immediately affirmed, “Our plan is to remain independent and continue to serve the community.”
From its modest beginnings in a two-bedroom home only two decades ago, WB&T has grown to 23 offices throughout six Middle Tennessee counties. Amid all the growth, WB&T remains steadfast as an independent institution, makings its own decisions and staying in touch with the community that launched it.
“We started a tradition many years ago,” remarked Randall, “that whenever we open a new branch in an area, we send everyone in that community a key. It’s important that we let them know that all are welcome, and we are ready to earn their business.”
Posted in Business & Nonprofit
Blushing Bridal Show promises one-stop shopping for brides and grooms to be
Telling Tales – Cleanliness is next to…
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I Was a Cybercrook for the FBI
Author: Kim ZetterKim Zetter
David Thomas loves movies. He took his online nickname -- "El Mariachi" -- from a Hollywood flick, and his conversation is occasionally peppered with dialogue from Scarface and other favorite films. He says he once legally changed his name to "Darius Jedburgh," a character from a popular old BBC miniseries called Edge of Darkness. In the series, Jedburgh is a CIA operative from Texas.
DAVID R. THOMAS
By the time David Thomas eased his Cadillac into the parking lot of an office complex in Issaquah, Washington, he already suspected the police were on to him.
An empty Crown Victoria in one of the parking spaces confirmed it. "That's heat right there," he told his two passengers – 29-year-old girlfriend Bridget Trevino, and his crime partner Kim Marvin Taylor, a balding, middle-aged master of fake identities he'd met on the internet.
It was November 2002, and Thomas, then a 44-year-old Texan, was in Washington to collect more than $30,000 in merchandise that a Ukrainian known as "Big Buyer" ordered from Outpost.com with stolen credit card numbers. His job was to collect the goods from a mail drop, fence them on eBay and wire the money to Russia, pocketing 40 percent of the take before moving to another city to repeat the scam.
Ignoring Thomas' suspicions, Taylor walked into the Meadow Creek Professional Center to collect the Outpost shipment, and found the cops waiting for him. Thomas and his girlfriend tried to escape in the Cadillac but were caught half a mile away.
The Shell Game
David Thomas ran one of the most popular online crime hubs, while the FBI ran him. (You are here.)
Tightening the Net
The Grifters operation makes headway against the notorious "King Arthur," the Moriarty of cybercrime.
Tracking the Russians
A U.S. agent tells of the frustration of tracking Eastern European criminal masterminds.
The Boards Come Crashing Down
The FBI shuts down its operation, as the Secret Service drops the hammer on the underground carding scene.
Download the entire series as a PDF file!
An ID badge that Taylor wore when he was arrested indicated that he worked for Microsoft. But that was no more accurate than the two-dozen other employee badges he possessed for E-Trade and AT&T Broadband, or the 15 driver's licenses from various states that featured his congenial face and a dozen aliases. Nor did Thomas' California driver's license help authorities identify him. Although it had his picture, the name and address on the ID belonged to a producer for the A&E channel.
With so many fake IDs in play it was unclear to police exactly who they had in custody. Then as they read Thomas his rights, he told them: "Get me some federal agents and I'll give you a case involving the Russians and millions of dollars."
Thus was the beginning of Thomas' turn to the other side. For 18 months beginning in April 2003, Thomas worked as a "paid asset" for the FBI running a website for identity and credit card thieves from a government-supplied apartment in the tony Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle.
From bedrise to bedrest, seven days a week, he rode the boards and forums of his and other carding sites using the online nickname El Mariachi. He recorded private messages and IRC chats for the FBI as "carders" schemed to, among other things, sell stolen credit and debit card numbers, defraud the George Bush and John Kerry campaign sites, drain hundreds of thousands of dollars from bank and investment accounts, sell access to Paris Hilton's T-Mobile account and run phishing scams against U.S. Bank and the FDIC. He did it all while battling denial-of-service attacks against his site and dodging attempts by his old partner Taylor and other carders to track his whereabouts and out him as a fed.
Just as his enemies were closing in on him in September 2004, the FBI pulled the plug on his work and cut him loose. But not before Thomas had given authorities a valuable look at the internet's underworld, even though the strain of leading a double life nearly broke him.
Now Thomas is telling the story of his work during this period. It's a tale that provides a rare glimpse of the thriving international computer underground of high and low-tech thieves and swindlers whose crimes cost millions each year. It also illuminates the rarely seen world of federal law enforcement's war against these organized criminals, and the moral and ethical tradeoffs sworn agents make in pursuing their mission – providing crooks with an electronic marketplace where they can congregate and conduct their ignominious business anonymously. Even allowing some crimes to go unpunished.
The full scope of the problem is hard to judge, but nonetheless staggering. U.S. banks lost $546 million to debit card fraud in 2004, according to banking research firm Dove Consulting, and credit card fraud losses were estimated to be about $3.8 billion globally in 2003 according to The Nilson Report. The Federal Trade Commission estimates that 10 million Americans are victims of identity theft each year. The financial impact of identity theft remains untold.
Thomas says he is telling his story now because he's tired of the life he's lived on the boards over the last five years and resentful of the control the FBI maintained over him for so long. He also wants to warn the public about the risks they face from the carding community and deter kids from being seduced into a life of crime.
The FBI's Seattle office wouldn't discuss Thomas, and neither confirmed nor denied that he worked for them. But over the last year Wired News verified other key aspects of Thomas' account in dozens of interviews with members of the underground, victims of online crimes he observed, as well as attorneys and other people connected with Thomas – his former apartment manager, for example, confirmed that the FBI paid Thomas' rent.
Additionally, Thomas provided hundreds of chat logs and forum posts from his former website, The Grifters 11 – a criminal marketplace that played a key role in a parade of diverse frauds, ranging from bank theft to telephone records hacking, all unfolding in a sprawling international tableau spanning from the former Soviet empire to the tropics of Colombia.
It was July 2004 and Brian Campbell had been on Isla Mujeres off the coast of Cancun for three days for a relative's wedding when he discovered he'd been scammed.
An American MBA student studying in Australia at the time, Campbell (not his real name22) was accustomed to checking his investment portfolio daily over the internet. But the wedding distracted him a couple of days, and when he finally got online, he found he was locked out of his Schwab trading account.
He called Schwab and discovered that his user name and password had been changed. What's more, $106,000 had recently been wired from his account to a Fortis bank account in Belgium. Campbell hadn't requested the transfer.
Unknown to Campbell, a cyber thief who went by the nick "desertmack" had gained access to his e-mail account and had been watching him for weeks. The Mexico wedding was the break desertmack needed. He'd been hoping a little tequila and sunshine would distract Campbell from obsessively checking his brokerage account long enough to steal the money and send it to Brussels, where an accomplice would withdraw it.
But while desertmack was watching Campbell, the FBI was watching him. Or at least David Thomas was. Sitting in a 500-square-foot Seattle apartment, window shades drawn and cramped with three computers that emitted an oppressive heat, Thomas recorded every conversationthat desertmack and his accomplice, who used the nick jonjacob, exchanged in a private area of TheGrifters.net.
TheGrifters was a members-only "carding" site that Thomas launched in December 2003, eight months after beginning his work for the FBI. The goal of the site was to attract identity and bank thieves. It was the kind of site authorities called a "build it and they will come" site. And they did.
By mid-2004 the site was crawling with thieves trafficking in fake IDs, stolen credit card numbers, card-embossing equipment and ATM skimmers that capture data on a debit card's magnetic stripe so criminals can encode it on blank cards and drain an account. TheGrifters was a successful crime hub in a crowded field, competing with other sites like Shadowcrew, CarderPlanet and DarkProfits to attract the biggest criminals.
None of the carders knew that Thomas was working for law enforcement, although there were many who accused him of it. Indeed, if a carder was arrested and returned to the boards, as Thomas had done, often he was working for "LE," in carder lingo. But the boards were always thick with a fog of police paranoia, and no one took the accusations seriously enough to stay away from Thomas.
Thomas began following desertmack closely after he saw the crook purchase a credit report for Campbell from a Florida woman who used the nick Decepgal. Decep ran a carding site called Muzzfuzz and, according to bankruptcy filings in her real name, worked as a transcriber of psychiatrists' notes. She also ran a side business selling credit reports to identity thieves – $40 for a standard report or $75 for full-info reports that included a victim's property holdings, bankruptcy filings and lists of possible relatives33
The report, coupled with e-mail account statements, gave desertmack all he needed to access Campbell's Schwab account and initiate the money transfer. Jonjacob and another associate in Brussels then opened a Fortis business account – chosen because of the bank's $40,000-a-day withdrawal limit on such accounts. As the day for the transfer neared, the thieves could hardly contain their excitement: "Hehe, fingers firmly crossed, along with my legs, testicles and anything else I can think of," one associate wrote desertmack.
Then, on the day of the theft: "well ... I expect our friends are off enjoying their holiday. And with a bit of luck, you're busy raping that juicy account of theirs."
The night before the attack, desert mack changed the contact number on Campbell's account so Schwab would call him for verification instead of Campbell if it suspected the wire request was fraudulent. The ruse worked. Within 24 hours the money was on its way to Brussels. But that was the last desertmack heard of it. Once the funds were overseas, his accomplice jonjacob disappeared.
If desertmack suspected a double-cross, he was wrong. Campbell, who confirmed the details of the theft for Wired News, learned from Schwab that a suspect was arrested in Brussels while trying to withdraw money from Fortis.44)
Shortly after that, it appears that desertmack was arrested too, though not for the Schwab crime. Oregon sheriffs arrested a 47-year-old man on unrelated identity theft charges in September 2004, after his wife was involved in a car accident and deputies discovered outstanding warrants on both of them for an old eBay fraud caper.
Police searching the couple's apartment found equipment for making credit cards and fake IDs, as well as 432 stolen credit card numbers, 176 bank account and routing numbers and boxes of credit reports in other people's names. E-mail found in the suspect's computer inbox was addressed to desertmack@mailvault.com.
"He was very organized," Oregon deputy sheriff David Thompson told Wired News. He had 510 dossiers on victims that consisted of "each person's credit cards and IDs that he had created, bundled up with a rubber band so that he could just grab a bundle and have that identity for a day to go out and go shopping." The suspect claimed it was all research for a book he was writing about fraud prevention.
Oregon FBI spokeswoman Beth Ann Steele said the man was suspected of initiating the Schwab wire transfer, but said the bureau didn't pursue charges because local authorities had a stronger identity theft case against him.
The Schwab case illustrates a running theme in Thomas' dealings with the FBI. Although Thomas says he provided his handlers at the Seattle FBI with logs depicting desertmack's scheme, the bureau apparently never acted on that information – the Oregon FBI only learned of the theft because Campbell, the victim, reported it himself after it occurred. "If we had left it up to Schwab, they might never have gotten the FBI involved at all," Campbell says55,
Schwab, too, was less than responsive. Campbell got his money back from the company only after several calls to the firm pointing out the obvious security flaws in a system that failed to flag a wire request made on an account a day after contact information on the account was changed. "Schwab was pretty bad with customer service," Campbell says. "For a long time they wouldn't tell me they were going to take responsibility for it and return (the money)." (Schwab had no comment).
As for Thomas, he was unaware of desertmack's fate until Wired News tracked down the suspect. As with all of the information Thomas provided the FBI, he was kept in the dark and never knew what, if anything, the agency did with the intelligence he gave his handler.
Thomas began his work for the FBI five months after his Issaquah arrest and after serving three months in jail. His partner, Kim Marvin Taylor, known by the nick "Macgyver," left Washington before he could be charged, and landed quickly back on Shadowcrew, where he was a top administrator of the site.
After Thomas' arrest, federal agents came to see him in jail, as he'd requested. He told Secret Service agent Michael Levin what he'd done for the Russians, but Levin wasn't impressed. According to Thomas, the agent replied that he had multi-million-dollar cases on his desk and wasn't going to waste time on a lousy $50,000 internet scam.
Seattle FBI Agent Steve Butler also came to see him and seemed just as unresponsive at first. The jailhouse chat through a glass partition lasted less than 10 minutes with no mention of a job. But when Thomas was transferred to Nebraska to face an outstanding warrant for check fraud, Butler showed up for a repeat visit, an assistant U.S. attorney in tow.
The agent laid out his plan: Thomas would work for the Northwest Cyber Crimes Task Force in Seattle to gather intelligence and teach Butler how the carding sites operated; in return, the FBI would pay his rent and all of his expenses. It would be an intelligence gathering mission, not aimed at making arrests, but rather at learning how the international carding scene operated.
"They made a big show down there," Thomas says. "They told me that they'd take care of me, and I'd have a legit job with them."66.
He didn't have to think twice. No one had ever sought him out for work before, and in an age of background checks they likely wouldn't. But that wasn't the only reason he took the offer. He wanted to write a book about the carding world, and figured this was the perfect chance to gather material. "(The FBI) wanted to see just what they could get out of it, and I wanted to see what was really going on and to write about it," Thomas says. "It was a win-win situation."77.
His lawyer got the Nebraska charges reduced to a misdemeanor and fine, and by April 2003 Thomas was back in Seattle, where girlfriend Trevino joined him, and on the boards, using computers the FBI supplied him.
But almost immediately the words he'd spoken in Issaquah came back to bite him. On CarderPlanet, someone posted a copy of his police report containing the statement he made to police about the Russians and federal agents. Taylor, still a fugitive, took to the boards and accused Thomas of selling him out to the feds. A war of words broke out between Thomas' supporters on CarderPlanet and Taylor's supporters at Shadowcrew.
"All of a sudden, whatever I was hired to do (for the FBI) looked like I wasn't going to be able to do it," Thomas says. "In my mind I was toast. Because that report was too damning."
Thomas denied the claims to little avail. Then, two months later Taylor was jailed in Colorado on new charges unrelated to the Issaquah bust. He served eleven months before being released in May 2004.
But his absence did little to foster calm. Over the next year, the board war would escalate from verbal scuffling to all-out Joe Jobs and DDoS attacks. And every 45 days or so when things would quiet down, someone would repost Thomas' police report to stir them up again.
Between battling other carders and gathering information for the feds, Thomas's workdays were long and full of non-stop activity.
He became obsessed with knowing everything that was happening on the boards. He'd often sleep during the day, then work all night when the boards were most active. Each day when he awoke, he'd hop on the boards to see what had happened while he'd slept. Were any carding sites down? Had anyone been arrested? Then he'd run through a checklist of scams unfolding that day. He spent 18 to 20 hours a day online with 15 to 20 chat windows open on his screen at a time. When he wasn't chatting online, he was talking on the phone.
"People would talk to me – I've got this deal, I've got that deal. What do you think of this, what do you think of that?" he says. "El had a huge following."
His job was to log every message he received and sent as well as every note that members posted to the boards. At the end of each day he sent Butler a report. Sometimes there were more than 300 messages in a single discussion thread. Every morning Butler debriefed him by phone, and once a week they met in person. Everything he recorded for the FBI, he recorded for himself as well.
His task for the FBI was to track who was doing what, which wasn't always easy since members changed their nicks often and used anonymous e-mail, proxy servers and pre-paid cell phones to mask their identities and whereabouts. Occasionally, however, they'd let their guard down. Thomas never pressed for details. But like a good psychiatrist, he did the cyber equivalent of nodding with interest, and people were happy to talk.
Ironically, even though the carders constantly accused each other of working for the feds, they often acted as if a cloak of invisibility shielded them. Larry Johnson, special agent for the Secret Service's investigative division who headed an undercover operation for his agency on the boards, says agents were often dumbfounded by the carders' lack of discretion. "If I were going undercover they would accuse me, accuse me and accuse me (of being a fed) and then buy something from me (anyway)," he says. "Figure that out."
Thomas says the carders believed they operated in a protected world. "It was all some fantasy criminal paradise," he says. "Nobody believed law enforcement was out there in force."
In truth, law enforcement agents were (and still are) some of the fraud sites' most determined users, and it wasn't just undercover U.S. feds scouring the boards. There were also agents from Russia, the U.K., Australia, Israel and Brazil. Fraud investigators from Visa, Bank of America, eBay and others also lurked on the sites, determined to gather intelligence about threats to their customers.
The Nebraska prosecutor, Andrea Belgau, who Thomas says was present at the Nebraska meeting with Butler and Berry, was also very reluctant to discuss the meeting. "I can't speak very completely about it other than he did offer assistance to the federal authorities," she said. She wouldn't discuss the details, but said she wouldn't dispute what Thomas told me either. "I don't think it's appropriate for me to delve into it," she said. "The defendant may be free to speak about it, but those of us employed by government agencies have more restrictions." (Return to story)
The presence of so many watchers meant that authorities sometimes targeted the wrong person for investigation. Although U.S. agencies held deconfliction meetings to apprise each other of who was doing what, word didn't always get around. When Thomas once asked Butler who was the biggest target the feds were tracking, Butler laughed and replied, "You're the biggest target. Everyone is after you."
Although the Seattle neighborhood where Thomas lived was upscale, his apartment was strictly low-rent. Except for a small couch and TV, the only living room furniture was an Ikea table that groaned from the weight of two desktop computers – one for watching the boards and chatting with carders, the other later used for hosting TheGrifters – and a laptop for compiling reports to Butler. Trevino occasionally helped out with research but for the most part avoided Thomas's work and spent her time chatting with friends online and playing digital games.
"I didn't want to be there doing what he was doing," Trevino says. "I didn't want to be a part of it. Because I had done my time (in the carding community) and I didn't want to do any more."
To conduct his work, Thomas was allowed to facilitate and commit crimes, but only after clearing them with Butler. Butler said undercover agents from other agencies who didn't know what Thomas was up to would try to set him up, and Butler would need to run interference when he saw it happening. He was also told that if he committed any crimes without clearing them first, Butler would make sure that he went to prison, and that other inmates would know he'd worked for the FBI. 88.
The boards had a strict hierarchy that Thomas had little trouble infiltrating. At the top were administrators, like Taylor, who handled day-to-day operations and served as gatekeepers to private areas of the board where the best deals were made. Admins also meted out punishment to carders they didn't like or to "rippers" who cheated fellow carders.
An admin could ban someone from the board or, worse, post his photo online and expose his identity. The pictures came from fake-ID vendors who often held on to the photos of customers just to use them when someone got out of line.
Beneath the admins were moderators who oversaw forums dedicated to various topics, such as bank fraud and identity theft. Then came vendors and reviewers. Before a vendor could sell his merchandise on the boards, a reviewer evaluated the quality of his offerings based on such criteria as the quality of a hologram on a fake ID, or whether the stolen credit card numbers a vendor was hawking were still live and valid. Most reviews consisted of a couple of lines: "Cards good. Premium numbers with high balances."
The organized chain of command allowed a rich economy to flourish – and the range of products and services at offer was staggering. While credit card fraud was a staple of the cyber underground, a wide variety of other crimes also unfolded – and still unfold – on the boards. Some underground denizens offered spamming and "bullet-proof" hosting services from servers placed in locations unreachable by law enforcement. Extortionists used botnets to deliver DDoS attacks against websites that didn't pay protection money. And hackers designed and sold rootkits, spyware and spam mailers, alongside peddlers of stolen source code from companies like Microsoft. Pretty much anything went in the underground if it could produce a profit.
Of course, the quickest way to make money was to, literally, make money. And when a Colombian counterfeiter named Dexer showed up on the boards peddling top-quality fake dollars and euros, Thomas was interested.
After consulting with Butler, Thomas asked Dexer to send him some sample bills to review their quality. Two weeks later they arrived at an FBI mail drop in Seattle, secreted in a hollowed-out book cover.
Although Thomas never saw the bills, Butler told him the counterfeiters had bleached $1 and $5 bills then printed $50 and $100 denominations onto the paper to produce near-perfect fakes. Thomas gave Dexer a glowing review on CarderPlanet, and orders began pouring in – that is, until members started complaining that bills they ordered never arrived. Dexer said U.S. customs was holding them up. He discussed plans to get around the blockade, but shortly thereafter his nick disappeared from the boards, leading others to wonder whether he'd been arrested or simply skipped out to avoid the anger of dissatisfied customers who never received their bills.
Did the FBI move in on Dexer? As usual, Butler kept Thomas in the dark. The uneven power relationship between Thomas and his handler, and the increasing claustrophobic nature of Thomas's life, took their toll over time. The strain wasn't helped by the differences in Thomas' and Butler's personalities.
As Trevino describes him, Butler was the polar opposite of Thomas – tall and confident with tightly cropped blond hair and the physique and jaw of a college jock. According to Thomas, Butler's background was in drug investigations not cyber crime, and the two of them frequently butted heads over how to run the operation, often resulting in shouting matches in Butler's car as they drove around the neighborhood for their debriefing sessions.
"He was very intelligent," Thomas says. "But ... we just never hit it off."
The conflict came to a head one day after Butler rebuffed Thomas's requests for some time off to get some rest. When Butler next phoned for their routine debriefing session, Thomas, exhausted, refused. "I'm on vacation."
Another shouting match ensued, culminating in Butler coming to the apartment and carting off the computer Thomas used to host TheGrifters website. As Butler left with the PC, he told Thomas he was fired and gave him a week to leave the apartment. Dumbfounded, Thomas sat there for days struggling to figure out where he'd go with no money when Butler, his point finally made, called back. "Okay. Are you ready to get back to work now?"
When TheGrifters went back online Thomas had to cover for his downtime by telling board members he'd been taken out by a DDoS attack.
The troubles with Butler were only compounded by the continuing attacks that Thomas faced from enemy carders trying to expose him and take out his site. To deal with the stress of maintaining his double identity and battling Butler, he'd often retreat to the bathroom where he'd turn on the shower and lie on the floor, letting the water run for hours to clear the chatter from his head.
The shower ran so long one month that the FBI got a bill for 18,000 gallons of water. Thomas says federal investigators appeared at his door to see if he was growing marijuana or making homebrew. "They opened a federal investigation to find out where the water went," Thomas says laughing. "And the water went down the drain. Because it was my only way to relax."
Tomorrow: Enter the Russians.
View Related Slideshow
1... posts from his former website, The Grifters. The logs appear to be legitimate but Wired News was unable to verify that they were recorded on behalf of the FBI or that they were unaltered by Thomas. (Return to story)
2Campbell asked Wired News not to publish his real name for fear that other thieves would target him. (Return to story)
3... and lists of possible relatives. According to Thomas, Decep had previously worked for a Florida prosecutor and had access to a Lexis-Nexis database used by law enforcement agents and businesses. (Return to story)
4... trying to withdraw money from Fortis. I was unable to confirm the arrest in Brussels with either Schwab or the FBI. (Return to story)
5__ "If we had left it up to Schwab, they might never have gotten the FBI involved at all."__ Even then, it was the Oregon sheriff's department that nailed the suspect on unrelated charges. And the Oregon prosecutor handling the identity theft cast against the suspect says no one told him about the Schwab crime and investigation. The victim, Campbell, said he was told that authorities were able to connect the suspect to the theft of his Schwab money because the suspect had changed the contact phone number on his account to the suspect's real cell phone number. I was unable to confirm this. (Return to story)
6"They told me that they'd take care of me, and I'd have a legit job with them." One of Thomas's former public defenders in Seattle, Thomas Hillier, was reluctant to speak with me but confirmed the jailhouse visit with Butler. He said his memory of the four-year-old case was foggy and that he didn't recall a federal job offer for Thomas, although his file notes do contain a cryptic reference to a job offer next to the name of former assistant U.S. Attorney Hugh Berry. According to Thomas, Berry was the U.S. attorney who visited him in Nebraska with FBI agent Steve Butler.
7__ "It was a win-win situation."__ Thomas says the FBI paid him no salary, but covered his rent and expenses. The former apartment manager at the complex where Thomas lived confirmed that the FBI paid rent on the apartment and that FBI Agent Steve Butler and another agent whom the manager identified as an FBI district supervisor accompanied Thomas the day he and Trevino moved in. The manager, who asked not be identified by name because he spoke without permission from his former employer, said Butler gave him his cell phone number and told him to call if Thomas caused any problems while living there.
Candace Hamel, who worked in the property management head office at the time, said she couldn't confirm that the FBI paid for the apartment, but then added after a pause and without prompting, "I'm not denying it either." When asked if the management company had an ongoing deal with the FBI to supply the agency with apartments, as Thomas contends, Hamel again said she couldn't confirm or deny then added, "That's confidential information."
FBI Agent Steve Butler was polite and friendly but declined to comment on whether Thomas worked for the FBI. "We would never confirm or deny something like this," he said, saying that such comments would make other people reluctant to work in such capacity with the FBI. I should note here that there is a David A. Thomas who works for the FBI as chief of the agency's Cyber Division Criminal Computer Intrusion Unit. He's often quoted in articles about cyber crime and should not be confused with David R. Thomas, who is the source for this story. (Return to story)
8Butler would make sure that he went to prison, and that other inmates would know he'd worked for the FBI Thomas says he was cowed by Butler's threat and never considered committing crimes behind his back because he assumed the feds were watching his every move. But recent court records involving another carder in South Carolina show how easily a criminal working for the feds can commit crimes under the nose of agents who are supposed to be watching him. According to an affidavit in the case, while working a few hours each day out of a government-supplied apartment, this other carder allegedly continued to card secretly on the side. (Return to story)
E-Gold Gets Tough on Crime
Confessions of a Cybermule
How Bot Those Nets?
Crazy-Long Hacker Sentence Upheld
Known Hole Aided T-Mobile Breach
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Scientists Wield Wiimote To Measure Evaporation
Author: Ars TechnicaArs Technica
Consumer technology is advancing at such a rate that it is becoming increasingly common for such technology to find its way into various scientific applications. One of the more obvious examples is seen in the benefits high-performance computing has received from consumer graphics cards. We have also seen laptops used to measure earthquakes, and accelerometers such as those found in the Wiimote, iPhone, and other consumer electronics used to measure the flight patterns of the Malayan colugo.
In a recent paper in Water Resources Research, a team reports on the use of the Wiimote to measure evaporation. Natural evaporation rates are an important part of the water cycle; estimates of evaporation are required for weather forecasts, flood forecasts, and water resource planning, among other things.
One of the common means of measuring evaporation is simple enough: you set out a pan of water and measure the change in water level over time. Unfortunately, automated measurement typically requires a pressure transducer to accurately measure the water level, and those costs hundreds of dollars. The use of the Wiimote has the potential to substantially reduce the cost of measurement.
The methodology is simple enough. The Wiimote tracks the four brightest points in a near infrared image. Ordinarily, these four points will be the four Wii IR LEDs used to determine where the Wiimote is pointing. However, by affixing IR reflectors to a float in the water pan, the researchers were able to track the water level. This sounds simple enough, but these pans are often themselves floating in natural water bodies, and the combination of the two is likely to make waves.
To test the sensitivity of their technique to waves, the team used a small wave generator. A low-flow pump was used to change the water level. They found that even with substantial wave activity, they were able to measure changes in the average water level to within one millimeter.
However, they did find a slight bias in their absolute estimate of water level during wave activity. They hypothesize that this is due to a lag in the rates of rise and fall of their float that could be fixed with a modification. Using the Wiimote's accelerometer to measure motion of the entire pan could also improve accuracy.
While I have to admit that I found this paper a bit mundane for what it was, the idea of using cheap sensors to measure environmental fields is one I find fascinating. For example, I wonder if the XBox 360's depth-sensing Kinect camera could be used to measure particles such a large snowflakes in a wind field.
A first-order calculation suggests that its depth pixels are a few millimeters across for nearby objects, but it is not clear that the method it uses to calculate depth will work for small, fast-moving objects. Still, a $150 3D Particle Imaging Velocimeter would be a huge win. Environmental problems are prone to high time and space variability, and anything that can lower the cost of measurement has the potential to increase the number of measurements one can make.
The scientific community isn't alone in getting excited about this tech. Its promise is also consistent with IBM's recently-released Next 5 in 5 YouTube video: their prediction for the five innovations that will change our lives in the next five years. IBM predicts that simple sensor networks based in cell phones and laptops will be increasingly used to map environmental events. In addition, a large Department of Transportation project called IntelliDrive envisions using embedded sensors in cars to monitor environmental conditions.
Chime in below with your own ideas for scientific usage of consumer technology.
This story was written by Ethan Gutmann and originally published by Ars Technica on Dec. 28.
Photo: ginnerobot / Flickr
#R&D
#toys
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How the Boston Marathon Messes With Runners to Slow Them Down
Author: Nicholas ThompsonNicholas Thompson
Ryan McBride/AFP/Getty Images
The Boston Marathon course looks like it should be fast. You start out in the distant suburb of Hopkinton—elevation 490 feet above sea level—and then cruise steadily downhill until about mile 9. The finish line has an elevation of a mere 10 feet above Boston Harbor. Fans pack the sides cheering you on. The route is pretty straight, west to east, with few 90-degree turns of the sort that slow your momentum. The road is asphalt, which is more forgiving than concrete.
So when the gun goes off Monday morning for the 123rd running of the race, everyone should feel good about hitting a personal best, right? Of course not. As every veteran marathon runner knows, Boston is slow, wicked, and tempestuous. It’s a wonderful course if you want to experience camaraderie, history, and emotional uplift. It’s a terrible course if you want a personal best.
The average finishing time in Boston is fairly good, but that’s just because you have to qualify for it. People run fast in other marathons so that they can get into Boston, where they will then slow down. The men’s winner in Boston last year ran 2:15, while the winner in Berlin ran 2:01. The 10th place man ran 2:27 in Boston, a time that would have gotten him 72nd in Berlin. The 10th place woman in Boston ran a time that would have gotten her 39th in Berlin.
Of course, one race on one day isn’t a good way to analyze results. The weather last spring on Marathon Monday in Boston was hellacious: driving wind and freezing rain. More than 60 percent of the elite men dropped out. So many elite women dropped out that a Spanish teacher at my Boston-area high school, who had never placed remotely as highly in a major road race before, came in fourth. In other words, 2018 was a particularly bad year to head from Hopkinton to Kenmore Square. But it’s also true that, in general, Boston is slow. And the reason comes down to at least four factors, all of which are partly endemic to the course itself.
The first and most important is temperature. Running quickly generates heat, which the body needs to dissipate. The ideal temperature for running a marathon is roughly 45 degrees Fahrenheit, though the faster you are the colder you want it . Cloud cover is probably good. In Boston, if the sun’s out and you’re not paying attention, you’ll get a sunburn on the right side of your body. Rain, which makes roads slippery and clothes heavy, can feel good but is actually bad. Humidity matters too, since the more vapor there is in the air, the harder it is for a runner to dissipate heat. Boston’s weather in the spring is famously unpredictable. In 2004, temperatures on the course reached 85 degrees. In 2007, the wind chill was in the 20s. In 2012, it went back up into the 80s and more than two thousand runners needed medical treatment for heat-related illnesses.
What’s the weather going to be on Monday? Not great. Enter the current nasty forecast for Boston—15 mph winds, 50 degrees, and 75 percent humidity—into a race calculator, and it suggests one should revise one’s goals downward by roughly two to three minutes. And that isn’t even taking into account the hills.
The second factor affecting the speed of a course is elevation, and downhill is good. But downhill isn’t unambiguously good. Runners have to fire their quadriceps muscles to keep from tipping over when a hill is too steep. The wear and tear builds up over the course of a race, particularly for runners who haven’t been training on similar terrain. And Boston has a series of famously steep uphills between miles 16 and 21, just when your glycogen stores are running out. “Downhill running requires a bit of braking and eccentric contractions that can wipe your legs out,” says Michael Joyner, a former elite marathoner and current sports scientist. “And the hills at Boston are at exactly the right place to make people suffer as a result.”
The hills don’t hurt everyone the same. I spoke with Alan Ruben, a legendary local runner who completed 15 consecutive New York City marathons in under 2:40. His theory is that Boston is actually faster than New York, and possibly as fast as London, with its historically quick course. “Boston is a hard course to execute correctly, given where the hills are. It sucks you into going too fast from the start,” he says. But he adds that if you take your time early on, the net downhill pays huge dividends. The course, in other words, is hell for rookies. But good for wily veterans who don’t blow up their quads.
The third and most interesting factor is wind. Most marathon courses finish roughly where they start, meaning that the wind will likely blow in your face as frequently as it blows at your back. The Berlin Marathon begins on one side of the Brandenburg Gate and ends on the other. On a course like that, you just want there to be as little wind as possible. On courses like New York—which is roughly south to north—you want a little tailwind, though you also know that any winds blowing from the south will hit you in the face as you come down from the Bronx toward Central Park. In general, marathon runners spend about 2 percent of their energy overcoming wind resistance on a normal day.
Boston, though, is run almost entirely west to east, which means the wind can be either entirely in your face or at your back, adding an extraordinary variability to the results. In 2007, an easterly wind pummeled runners for the entire journey. The winner finished in 2:14, and the wheelchair winners finished in 1:29 (men) and 1:53 (women). In 2011, the winds reversed. Geoffrey Mutai crossed the finish line first in the best time ever recorded there, 2:03. The wheelchair winners came in at 1:18 and 1:34.
There are ways, of course, to deal with the wind. Runners can draft behind each other, a strategy that could save approximately 1 percent of energy expenditure on an average day. (This is assuming you can draft the entire time off of someone the same size as you who doesn’t start spitting at about face height in frustration with you.) That doesn’t sound like much, but it’s the difference between running a 3:01 marathon and a 2:59. When Eliud Kipchoge set out to break the two-hour marathon, in conditions arranged meticulously by Nike, runners arranged themselves in a V shape for the entire race to cut the wind. On Wednesday, I spoke with Mebrahtom Keflezighi, who won the Boston Marathon in 2014. His advice is to tuck into a group of runners, but not too tightly. You don’t want them to bump into you or knock off your stride. And be strategic. If the wind is coming from the front, move to the back. If it’s coming from the right, move to the left.
Wind at one’s back helps, unless of course there’s too much. I spoke with Amby Burfoot, who won the Boston Marathon 51 years ago, and he told the story of how it can hurt. “In 1979, I was in New Orleans for the New Orleans Marathon, a citywide tour. The police went on strike at midnight before the marathon, and the race directors had to find a course that didn’t need security.” The race took place on the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway Bridge, beginning just as a massive storm was dying down. “The wind blew directly at our backs at 30 mph for 25 miles. Tons of people set personal records. Not me. I distinctly remember that the wind forced my body to go faster than it was conditioned for, and hence my legs cramped up.”
The fourth factor is the number of turns. Marathons are measured precisely so that the shortest line from the start to the finish is exactly an international standard based on the distance Pheidippides purportedly ran in 490 BC. But almost no one can run on that exact line. You’d have to take every turn precisely on the inside, and with every twist of the road you’d have to “run the tangents,” which means following a precisely straight line to the furthest point you can see. This is hard to do running on any road. It’s nearly impossible when jostling with 50,000 other runners, some of whom are dressed up as Elvis or Wonder Woman. A decent rough estimate is that every substantial turn in a marathon slows runners down by approximately a second. This fall, I ran both the Chicago marathon and the New York City one. According to my GPS data, my pace was better in New York, but my overall time was better in Chicago. How could that be? Because the total distance I covered in Chicago, with its simpler course, was about a tenth of a mile shorter.
So how much molasses does Boston really add to your legs? The best estimate I’ve found comes from Ken Young, an obsessive analyst of running data, known as the Nate Silver or Bill James of the sport. Over the years, he meticulously tracked runners and racers, spending roughly 50 hours a week entering numbers into spreadsheets and studying courses. According to his data, the Berlin Marathon is the second-fastest major race around, with elites going about 81 seconds faster than they would in an average race. (Paris tops the list.) Boston is one of the slowest, with elites going about 90 seconds slower. Eliud Kipchoge, who in 2018 set the world record at 2:01 in Berlin, could have put in the same effort in Boston, on a day with average weather, and finished in 2:04. He wouldn’t have even gotten the course record.
Of course no one knows what will happen on Monday. Every runner is different, and every day is different too. But if you’re doing the race, wake up on Monday morning and refresh the weather forecast. Pray for a cool, cloudy, rainless day. And, most of all, pray for winds, not too strong, blowing WSW. Also, take the advice that Keflezighi gives. “The first thing is that a marathon is going to hurt, no matter what.” And, he adds, “if it rains, it’s going to rain on everybody.”
Updated 4-11-2019, 1 pm ET: The story was updated to clarify how marathons are measured.
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Why It's Almost Impossible to Run a Two-Hour Marathon
One of the world's finest distance runners came so close to achieving the greatest feats of athleticism in history: a sub two-hour marathon. To do it, the Eliud Kipchoge should have maintained an average pace of at least 13.1 miles per hour. So, we timed how long WIRED staffers could run at that speed. Needless to say, we didn't last long. Here's why only a handful of people in the world could ever come close to a two-hour marathon.
#marathon
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Gauff, just 15, shocks 5-time champ Venus, 39, at Wimbledon
United States' Cori "Coco" Gauff, right, greets the United States' Venus Williams at the net after winning their Women's singles match during day one of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Monday, July 1, 2019. (AP Photo/Tim Ireland)
July 1, 2019 at 2:21 PM CDT - Updated July 6 at 8:47 PM
By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer
WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Coco Gauff grew up admiring the Williams sisters. Picked up a tennis racket as a little girl because of them. And on Monday at Wimbledon, still just 15, Gauff beat one of them.
Gauff, already the youngest competitor ever to qualify at the All England Club in the professional era, showed the poise and power of a much older, much more experienced player, pulling off a 6-4, 6-4 victory in the first round over Venus Williams, who at 39 was the oldest woman in the field.
When it ended, Gauff dropped her racket and put her hands on her head. After a handshake and exchange of words at the net with Williams, Gauff knelt by her sideline chair and tears welled in her eyes. Up in the stands, her father leaped out of his seat.
"Honestly, I don't really know how to feel. This is the first time I ever cried after a match. Or winning, obviously; I've cried after a loss before," said Gauff, who is based in Florida. "I don't even know how to explain how I feel."
This was her third tour-level match; Williams has played more than 1,000. This was Gauff's first at Wimbledon, where Williams has played more than 100 and won five titles. By the time Gauff was born in 2004, Williams already had spent time at No. 1 in the ranking and owned four of her seven Grand Slam singles trophies.
It was by far the most anticipated match of Day 1 at the grass-court tournament, but hardly the only upset. Two-time major champion Naomi Osaka, who was No. 1 until a week ago, lost 7-6 (4), 6-2 to Yulia Putinseva, joining two young members of the men's top-10, No. 6 seed Alexander Zverev and No. 7 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, on the way out.
Gauff came into the week outside the top 300 but was granted a wild card by the All England Club for qualifying. She rolled through those rounds at a nearby site, knocking off the event's top seed.
But this was a whole other task: a main-draw match against an idol on No. 1 Court, with its seating capacity of more than 12,000.
Gauff was sensational and showed zero signs of the moment or the matchup being too daunting for her. It's the sort of unusual calm and steady way she has progressed through the various levels of youth tennis, including reaching the U.S. Open junior final at 13 and winning the French Open junior title at 14.
The first set was remarkable: Gauff had 10 winners to only two unforced errors, all the while trading powerful groundstrokes at the baseline with Williams, and never facing a break point.
"The sky's the limit," Williams said. "It really is."
Gauff, who is black, long looked up to Williams and her younger sister, Serena, the first African American women since Althea Gibson in the 1950s to win a Grand Slam singles championship.
Asked about Gauff over the weekend, Serena said she reminds her of Venus.
When they spoke after Monday's match, Gauff said she thanked Venus "for everything she did."
"I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for her," said Gauff, who joined the crowd in applauding for Venus as she walked off the court. "And I was just telling her that she's so inspiring. Like, I always wanted to tell her that. And even though I met her before, I guess now I have the guts to."
She showed plenty of grit in this match, particularly after getting broken to make it 4-all in the second set. Gauff steadied herself right there, though, breaking right back with a pair of forehand passing shots that drew errant volleys.
And then in the final game, Gauff needed to erase the disappointment of wasting her initial three match points. She did just that, converting her fourth when Venus put a forehand into the net.
"I never thought this would happen," Gauff said. "I'm literally living my dream right now. And not many people get to say that."
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Robin Stratton: How I Write
"Writers are inspired when they are in the company of other writers; the energy and enthusiasm makes them want to go home and write."
A passionate supporter of the writing community, Robin Stratton has been instrumental in helping fellow wordsmiths get their work out there. To that end, she founded both a literary journal, Boston Literary Magazine, and a small press, Big Table Publishing. As a writing coach for 25 years, Robin Stratton is especially well-known in the Boston literary scene, though she’s worked with clients from all over the country. In 2015, she started the Newton Writing and Publishing Center, where she promotes her Big Table Publishing authors as well as other local and national writers. In addition to her work in the literary community, Stratton is also a well-respected writer, having published several novels and books of poetry.
Novels vs. poetry
I never wrote or read poetry until just before I started my magazine; it simply wasn’t a genre that interested me, because I have always been a novelist. But once I tinkered with my first poem and was happy with it, I was hooked. Even though I don’t consider myself a “poet,” I do find that sometimes an event or news article or conversation will trigger a poem, and I can’t wait to sit down and write it. Writing a novel can take years – in my case, sometimes 20 years. But a poem can be done and tweaked and perfected in an hour or two.
I was a novelist struggling to get published long before I was a coach, and I remember writing queries to publishers saying that my book was “pretty much done.” One of the first things I noticed when I started taking on clients was how many of them would use that same phrase! So No. 1 tip: Don’t submit until it’s DONE. “Pretty much done” is never going to be good enough. I also tell my clients to read everything out loud, workshop their writing in a group, and research markets carefully.
As a publisher, I can tell you that nothing is more annoying than getting a query from someone who has obviously not even been to our website. Only submit what a publisher requests – no more and no less. And be ready to submit the whole manuscript if they ask for it. I can’t tell you how many people have submitted a decent proposal and, when I ask to see the rest of it, they admit that it’s not done yet or that they want to go over it one more time.
Writing center inspiration
Writers are inspired when they are in the company of other writers; the energy and enthusiasm makes them want to go home and write. That’s an important part of the center. I have often been called a literary cheerleader, which I love. Of course, seeking (and receiving with an open mind) feedback on your writing is the best thing you can do, but just as important is offering feedback [for others]; often we don’t see the weaknesses in our writing until we see it in someone else’s.
Writing routine
The sad truth about running a small press and a literary magazine is that you don’t exactly get rich doing it, despite the hundreds of hours each month. It’s vital to have lots of projects going all the time, and that cuts back – way back – on my own writing time. Sometimes I’ll head into the dining room at 4 in the afternoon and write for an hour, then write while I eat, and then write for an hour or so afterwards – then go back to my other work.
What she looks for in others’ work
We love narratives with a strong sense of character and are not as interested in descriptive writing. We love feeling as if we are getting to know someone; what drives them to behave in a certain way. We love human dynamics and peering in on people interacting, whether it’s lovers, best friends, or parents and children. We love being surprised by an ending.
Allison Futterman is a freelance writer based in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Read more author interviews:
Angela Flournoy: How I Write
Jami Attenberg: How I Write
Wil Haygood: How I Write
Jenna Blum: How I Write
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By Allison Futterman
Why story trumps plot
Do you really have to write every day?
How to cope with making mistakes
Gregory Pardlo: How I Write
“I’m interested in coaching, modeling, and teaching various writing practices and less in discovering talent.”
Writing prompt: These boots were made for talking
Write a short story or poem from the perspective of a pair of shoes. What kind of shoes are they? What kind of life have … Read More “Writing prompt: These boots were made for talking”
Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen: Better together
The two have fueled their years-long friendship with their remarkable similarities. Now, they’ve culled their editor-author relationship into a blockbuster co-writing duo.
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Father left with more questions than answers over son's death inside jail
Updated: Jan 11, 2019 - 5:43 PM
CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. - A father is desperate to find out how his son was arrested on a Friday and then found dead in his jail cell three days later.
Trenton Brinson said his family has asked over and over for the jail to explain how his son, Nicolas Jackson, 30, died.
Brinson told Channel 2’s Tom Jones that in the nearly three months since, the Clayton County jail has said nothing. He said that's piling more pain on top of pain.
“You never think your child is going to go before you do,” Brinson told Jones. “My mind is wondering every day what happened to my child. It's on my mind every day. What happened to my child?”
Jackson was arrested for entering an automobile on Oct. 19 last year. Three days later, Brinson said he got a call that his son was no longer alive.
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“He was found unresponsive in his cell. That's all I know,” Brinson told Jones.
Brinson said the jail refuses to give him any information about what happened.
His daughter, who is listed as Jackson’s next of kin, told Jones that she's in the dark, as well.
Jones called Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill's spokesperson and emailed him last Friday. He has yet to hear back from him.
Brinson said his son had no health issues he knew of and when he talked to him days before he was arrested, he was full of joy.
He said the sheriff's silence sends the wrong signal.
“Makes me feel like they are hiding something. Make me feel like they are covering up something and don't want us to know,” Brinson told Jones.
Brinson said the Sheriff's Office told him it couldn't say anything because the Georgia Bureau of Investigation was looking into the incident.
The GBI told Jones it has no record of an investigation involving a Nicholas Jackson. Brinson said he just wants to know how his son died.
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Grand jury indicts captain of Missouri tourist boat that sank and killed 17 people
Grand jury indicts captain of Missouri tourist boat that sank and killed 17 people, including 9 from Indiana family.
Author: KSDK Staff
Published: 10:55 AM CST November 8, 2018
Updated: 8:49 AM CST November 9, 2018
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Charges have been filed against the captain of a Missouri tourist boat that sank and killed 17 people, including nine people from an Indiana family.
A federal indictment released Thursday charges 51-year-old Kenneth Scott McKee with 17 counts of misconduct, negligence or inattention to duty by a ship's officer, resulting in death.
The deaths occurred July 19 when an amphibious vessel known as a duck boat sank on Table Rock Lake near Branson after a sudden and severe storm rolled into southwest Missouri. The indictment alleges McKee didn't properly assess the weather.
The dead also included people from Missouri, Arkansas and Illinois, and five were children.
The company that operated the boats, Ripley Entertainment, suspended the operation after the accident.
The U.S. Coast Guard said in August that it found probable cause the accident resulted from McKee's "misconduct, negligence, or inattention to the duties."
(Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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Yale Swimming & Diving Assoc. / Make a Gift
New Aquatic Facility
Bulldogs Face First Big Test at Terrier Invitational
Goksu Bicer. (photo by Sam Rubin '95, Yale Sports Publicity)
NEW HAVEN, Conn. - After a season-opening win against Columbia that saw its freshmen account for six individual wins, the Yale men's swimming and diving team heads to Boston University for the Terrier Invitational. The meet is one of the Bulldogs' most competitive of the season, and will serve as a good measuring stick for just how far this new-look Eli squad can go.
Last weekend was certainly a good start for the Bulldogs, as they avenged a loss to Columbia in the first meet of last season with their 178-122 victory. Newcomers were the story, providing 17 top-three finishes. One of them, freshman Robby Harder, was particularly impressive, turning in three individual victories, all in freestyle events. Two of those - the 1000-yard freestyle and 200-yard freestyle - were back to back. Harder took the 1000 in 9:30.61 and the 200, the next event, in 1:30.09.
Harder's fellow freshmen, Alwin Firmansyah, also took home multiple wins against the Lions. His first was in the 200-yard butterfly, which he finished in 1:47.59. Firmansyah followed that up with a win in the 100-yard freestyle in 46.09, and a victory in the 200 IM (1:51.65). Transfer Paschall Davis made it a clean sweep for the Eli newcomers in freestyle events with his win in the 50 free (21.17).
Another member of the class of 2015, Ronald Tsui, grabbed a win in the 100-yard breaststroke, while sophomore Danny McDermott took first in the 200-yard breaststroke, and senior Goksu Bicer grabbed the Elis other individual win with a time of 49.76 in the 100-yard butterfly.
Yale's divers also got off to a solid start against Columbia, posting two top-three finishes to round out a good all-around meet for the Bulldogs.
The action in Boston gets underway Friday morning at Boston University, and continues through Sunday.
Report filed by Chelsea Janes '12, Yale Sports Publicity
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Houston Rockets vs. Indiana Pacers
Sportsbook » Sportsbook » Houston Rockets vs. Indiana Pacers
July 24th, 2018 Sportsbook
As the 2014-15 NBA Regular Season 2nd Half games continue this coming Monday Night the 23rd of March 2015, we have the Houston Rockets 46-23 (3rd Western Conference) playing the Indian Pacers 30-39 (9th Eastern Conference) and the game will be played at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana and tip-off will be at 7 PM ET and seen on NBA TV.
The Indiana Pacers still have a possibility of making this year’s playoff, but presently they are on the outside looking in after going through an extended loss streak. While the Rockets in their last game crashed against the Phoenix Suns and seek to redeem them in this game with Indiana.
If you’re a Rockets fan surely you know that their star Harden did not have enough gas in his tank to see them through their last game with the Suns of Phoenix, as he and the Rockets sputtered out and lost the game 117 to 102 and that was a home game. That came after the Rockets of Houston had just completed a great 3 game win streak.
Although the Rockets Harden scored some 16 points in the game he only completed 5 of his 19 field goal attempts which was measly 26%, and what was amazing was that in his game before Phoenix, he scored 50 points against the Nuggets of Denver, and that was his career high. But we can’t cut him short as he is still having a great season, as in his last 7 games has average 7 assists, 6 rebounds and 29 points per game. The Rockets would like to see the same performance they got from Harden against the Pacers back on the 19th of January 2015 as he accumulated some 45 points in that game and they slipped by Indiana 110 to 98 in that game. In the Rockets last road games they were 9-11 SU & ATS.
If you’re a Hoosier or and Pacers fan from Indiana and Bet on NBA at a Sportsbook, we are sure you are aware that lately the Pacers have when on a extremes pattern in just a few weeks, as they completed 7 games with wins, and since then have managed to lose 5 consecutive games, and that actually moved them, at least for the moment, out of the scene for the 2014-15 NBA playoffs. As we mentioned earlier, outside and looking in!
A Indiana team that has been known for the great defensive units but has now in their last 5 games looking for that defensive talent as they allowed their opponents some 106 points each game ( and that ranks 3rd in NBA), and think about that, as it happens to be 9 points more than their points scored in each game which has be 97. That defense allowed this past week the Nets to score some 123 points as the Nets shot 61% from the field and that’s and incredible percentage in a league.
The Pacer admittedly have had difficulties in their last 4 games, but you can be sure their coach Vogel will create some type of plan to overcome his team’s poor play making displayed in their last outing, so let’s watch for a change forthcoming. One expert thinks this will happen and has predicted that the Pacers of Indiana would win this game and cover the spread against the Houston Rockets.
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SCO has established the honorary degrees of Doctor of Ocular Science and Doctor of Humane Letters to recognize worthy individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the public good. SCO grants these honorary degrees to those whose achievements are in concert with the mission of the College, the profession of optometry, and the public at large. Recipients of honorary degrees will forever be associated with the college; therefore, recipients of an honorary degree from Southern College of Optometry must be of sufficient stature and character as to honor the College.
SCO's Honorary Degree Policy (PDF)
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Mark Walsh Courtroom
Posted Tue, April 10th, 2018 10:46 am
Bio & Post Archive »
Argument preview: Justices to reconsider sales-tax collection in internet era
Posted Tue, April 10th, 2018 10:46 am by Mark Walsh
In 1992, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Quill Corp. v. North Dakota that the Constitution’s commerce clause prohibits the states from imposing a sales tax on out-of-state retailers that do not have a physical presence in the state, such as a store, warehouse or sales representative. Next Tuesday, the justices will hear oral argument in South Dakota v. Wayfair Inc., which could result in overruling Quill and could significantly affect sales-tax collection in the digital age. In Quill, the justices closely weighed an earlier decision that had articulated the physical-presence rule. In 1967, in National Bellas Hess, Inc. v. Illinois Department of Revenue, which also involved mail-order sales, the court ruled that a “seller whose only connection with customers in the state is by common carrier or the United States mail” lacked the requisite minimum contacts with the state to justify “impos[ing] the burdens” of collecting taxes on interstate sales.
The North Dakota Supreme Court, in upholding that state’s law imposing a sales tax on out-of-state retailers such as Quill Corp., a mail-order office-supply provider, had declined to apply Bellas Hess to the North Dakota law. The North Dakota court held that the physical-presence rule was no longer appropriate because of “wholesale changes” in the law and the economy, including that mail-order sales had gone from being a niche enterprise to a sales “goliath.”
The U.S. Supreme Court, in considering the appeal in Quill, questioned the validity of the physical-presence test based on several of its intervening commerce clause rulings. But, citing principles of stare decisis, the justices declined to overrule Bellas Hess. The court in Quill also expressed concern that mail-order retailers faced difficulties in complying with tax obligations from some 6,000 separate state and local taxing jurisdictions nationwide.
Not long after the 1992 Quill decision, the “wholesale changes” in out-of-state sales took on new meaning. The onset of the world wide web brought a revolution in commerce, with internet-based retailers such as Amazon.com becoming popular choices for shoppers. Based on the physical-presence rule, many web-commerce sites declined to collect sales tax, giving them an end-price advantage at the transaction stage. (Consumers who do not pay a sales tax are supposed to pay a use tax in most states, but compliance levels are low.) States and local governments, who say they lost out on $26 billion in sales and use tax just in one recent year (2015), have urged Congress to act, but to no avail.
In 2015, however, the states got a boost from Justice Anthony Kennedy. In a concurrence in Direct Marketing Association v. Brohl, a Colorado case related to state sales and use taxes, Kennedy called for the court to re-examine Bellas Hess and Quill. “There is a powerful case to be made that a retailer doing extensive business within a state has a sufficiently ‘substantial nexus’ to justify imposing some minor tax-collection duty, even if that business is done through mail or the internet,” Kennedy wrote. “This argument has grown stronger, and the cause more urgent, with time.”
Kennedy, who had joined the result in Quill, noted that e-commerce sales were totaling more than $3 trillion per year in the United States. “Because of Quill and Bellas Hess, states have been unable to collect many of the taxes due on these purchases,” Kennedy continued. “States’ education systems, health care services and infrastructure are weakened as a result.” “The legal system should find an appropriate case for this court to re-examine Quill and Bellas Hess,” Kennedy concluded.
South Dakota responded in 2016 by passing a measure known as Senate Bill 106, which looks to a retailer’s economic presence rather than its physical presence within the state. Retailers must collect sales taxes if they have more than $100,000 in sales or more than 200 transactions in South Dakota. The measure also sought to protect retailers from retroactive liability.
The state sued four web-based retailers under the new law. One opted not to assert a Quill defense, while the three others — Wayfair Inc., Overstock.com Inc., and Newegg Inc. —challenged the law. (Amazon is not part of the case, nor has it filed or joined an amicus brief. The giant retailer agreed in 2017 to start collecting sales tax in every state that has one, although it does not do so on sales by its “Amazon Marketplace” partners.)
The retailers moved for summary judgment on the ground that under Quill, they do not meet the physical-presence test and cannot be compelled to collect the state’s sales tax. The state conceded that it cannot enforce SB 106 without the Supreme Court’s overruling Quill, and the South Dakota courts agreed.
In its merits brief in the Supreme Court, the state stresses that “times have changed” in the retail world and that “in the digital age where ubiquitous e-commerce is projected into our homes and smartphones over the internet, traditional ‘physical’ presence is an increasingly poor proxy for a company’s ‘nexus’ with any given market or state.” The state argues that abrogating the physical-presence requirement is now essential to eliminate arbitrary and unclear results, promote interstate commerce, and avoid important, ongoing, and unjustifiable harms to the states.
The state says that 25 years after Quill was decided, it remains “surprisingly unclear” why a seller’s physical presence is significant for sales-tax collection requirements but not for other tax or regulatory burdens of “comparable severity.” Retailing on the internet has made the physical-presence rule more arbitrary and unclear, the brief contends, as “the internet now makes it possible for out-of-state sellers to reach consumers with engaging, interactive virtual storefronts in our homes or on our smartphones at any hour of the day.”
The physical-presence rule is also reshaping American communities and distorting the national economy, South Dakota argues. “Changing conditions mean that Quill no longer props up a retail niche but rather provides a further advantage to companies like respondents on a playing-field already tipped against small, local businesses,” the brief says.
The state also resists the retailers’ claims that compliance with sales-tax obligations remains cumbersome, maintaining that technological advancements have made such collections much simpler and more streamlined. “Rate calculation … is now as easy as typing a shipping address into a search bar” of tax-calculation software, the brief says.
Finally, among other arguments, South Dakota contends that there are no concerns about retroactive tax liability for retailers should the physical-presence rule be eliminated, because SB 106 expressly bars any such retroactive taxation. And if the high court were worried that other states might seek retroactive application, there are significant legal and political barriers to that happening, the brief says.
South Dakota has amicus briefs on its side from the U.S. solicitor general, 41 other states, an association of shopping centers, an association of South Dakota retailers, and numerous law professors and economists.
For their part, the retailers argue primarily that despite efforts to simplify sales-tax collection, “state sales and use tax systems remain inordinately complex and burdensome during the Internet era, just as they were before it began.”
The retailers rely heavily on a U.S. Government Accountability Office report from November 2017, which concluded that state and local governments may, under current law, require remote sellers to collect about 75 to 80 percent of the taxes that would be owed if the physical-presence rule were eliminated. In contrast to the South Dakota brief’s citation of estimate of $33.9 billion in lost sales-tax revenue annually to all states because of Quill, the GAO report estimated a revenue gain of between $8 billion to $13 billion if all states and local taxing authorities had the power to collect sales tax from all remote sellers.
“The GAO Report is consistent with other market trends that indicate the level of uncollected sales tax is steadily declining, not increasing,” the retailers argue. According to the retailers, the GAO report undercuts South Dakota’s “erroneous claim that sales tax collection software is the ‘silver bullet’ to eliminate the burdens of multi-state compliance.” “The non-partisan GAO found … that the costs of sales tax compliance are manifold and significant,” the retailers assert, including software installation, implementation, and integration; mapping of thousands of products to software categories; per-transaction software licensing fees; administrative costs; legal fees in connection with assessments and audits; and the costs of keeping up to date on changes in the laws of thousands of taxing jurisdictions.
The retailers say their fears of retroactive tax liability in states other than South Dakota are not overblown, as some 30 states have laws on their books that might qualify. They point out that the amicus brief filed on South Dakota’s side by Colorado and 40 other states informs the court that the states may choose to “apply their laws retroactively.” (That brief generally contends, though, that there would be multiple factors that would limit any retroactivity.)
The retailers stress in their brief that Congress “is the institution best-suited to resolve the competing interests in remote sales tax collection and to select the proper policy outcome.” If the physical-presence requirement were removed, the states would no longer have the incentive to participate in a political solution, the brief says. “It is only Congress, and not the states or the courts, that has the institutional expertise to weigh the national implications of expanded state taxing authority and to craft legislation that will ensure state tax obligations do not unduly burden interstate commerce,” the retailers argue.
Support for the retailers comes from some of their fellow e-commerce companies (including eBay Inc., Etsy Inc., and America’s Collectibles Network Inc.), as well as the American Catalog Mailers Association, the Cato Institute, and two states that do not collect statewide sales taxes — Montana and New Hampshire.
Despite the wide-ranging estimates of how much sales tax is at stake, there is little doubt that the outcome of the case will be felt across the country. The GAO says that 45 states and the District of Columbia levy sales taxes, and 37 of the states authorize further levies by local governments such as cities and school districts.
[Disclosure: Goldstein & Russell, P.C., whose attorneys contribute to this blog in various capacities, is among the counsel to the petitioner in this case. The author of this post is not affiliated with the firm.]
Posted in South Dakota v. Wayfair Inc., Featured, Merits Cases
Recommended Citation: Mark Walsh, Argument preview: Justices to reconsider sales-tax collection in internet era, SCOTUSblog (Apr. 10, 2018, 10:46 AM), https://www.scotusblog.com/2018/04/argument-preview-justices-to-reconsider-sales-tax-collection-in-internet-era/
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Polymers for Electronic Components
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Polymer-Plastics Additives .pdf
Plastics Additives
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Polymers Plus User Guide Volume 1
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Semiconducting Polymers
The Plastic Film and Foil Web Handling Guide
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13252548 From Polymers to Plastics Van Der Vegt aK VSSD 2002
Practical Guide to Polyvinyl Chloride
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Handbook of Polymer Reaction Engineering
Biodegradable Polymers
Practical Guide to Polypropylene
Polymer Electronics
Handbook of Plastic Films
Rapra Industry Analysis Report Series
Polymers for
K. Cousins
Europes leading plastics and rubber consultancy
with over 80 years of experience providing
industry with technology, information
Polymers for Electronic
A Rapra Industry Analysis Report
Keith Cousins
Rapra Technology Limited
Shawbury, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY4 4NR, UK
http://www.rapra.net
The right of Keith Cousins to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by
him in accordance with Sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
2001, Rapra Technology Limited
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwisewithout the prior permission of the publisher,
Rapra Technology Limited, Shawbury, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY4 4NR, UK.
1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Background ............................................................................................................. 1
1.2 The Report .............................................................................................................. 1
1.3 Methodology............................................................................................................ 2
2 Executive Summary ....................................................................................................... 3
3 Review of Materials and Properties................................................................................ 9
3.1 Introduction.............................................................................................................. 9
3.2 Polymers for Electronic Components..................................................................... 10
3.2.1 Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene (ABS)............................................................. 10
3.2.2 Acetal Copolymer (POM) ................................................................................ 10
3.2.3 Polyarylamide ................................................................................................. 10
3.2.4 Liquid Crystalline Polymers (LCPs) ................................................................. 11
3.2.5 Polyamide (PA) ............................................................................................... 11
3.2.6 Polybutylene Terephthalate (PBT) .................................................................. 12
3.2.7 Polycarbonate (PC)......................................................................................... 12
3.2.8 Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) ......................................................................... 13
3.2.9 Polyetherimide (PEI) ....................................................................................... 13
3.2.10 Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) ................................................................ 13
3.2.11 Polyethylene (PE) ......................................................................................... 13
3.2.12 Polypropylene (PP) ....................................................................................... 13
3.2.13 Polyphthalamide (PPA) ................................................................................. 14
3.2.14 Polyphenylene Sulfide (PPS) ........................................................................ 14
3.2.15 Polystyrene (PS) ........................................................................................... 14
3.2.16 PS-Modified Polyphenylene Oxide (PPO) ..................................................... 15
3.2.17 Polysulfone (PSU)......................................................................................... 15
3.2.18 Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) ..................................................................... 15
3.2.19 Polyurethane (PU)......................................................................................... 16
3.2.20 Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) ............................................................................... 16
3.2.21 Polyvinylidine Fluoride (PVDF)...................................................................... 16
3.2.22 Styrene-Acrylonitrile Copolymer (SAN) ......................................................... 16
3.2.23 Elastomers .................................................................................................... 16
4 Electronic Components ................................................................................................ 19
4.1 Enclosures............................................................................................................. 19
4.2 Batteries ................................................................................................................ 22
4.3 Cable Glands......................................................................................................... 23
4.4 Cable Ties and Markers......................................................................................... 23
4.5 Capacitors ............................................................................................................. 23
4.6 Coil Formers.......................................................................................................... 27
4.7 Connectors ............................................................................................................ 27
4.8 Heaters.................................................................................................................. 32
4.9 Membrane Keypads .............................................................................................. 32
4.10 Plugs and Sockets............................................................................................... 32
4.11 Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) ............................................................................. 33
4.12 Relays ................................................................................................................. 37
4.13 Resistors ............................................................................................................. 37
4.14 RFI Screening ......................................................................................................38
4.15 Sensors................................................................................................................39
4.16 Switches ..............................................................................................................40
4.17 Terminals .............................................................................................................40
4.18 Touch Screens.....................................................................................................40
4.19 Other Components...............................................................................................41
5 Overview of European Electronic Component Markets.................................................43
5.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................43
5.2 Market Analysis......................................................................................................44
5.3 Telecommunications ..............................................................................................50
5.4 Automotive Applications .........................................................................................56
5.5 IT ...........................................................................................................................58
5.6 Fuel Cells...............................................................................................................59
5.7 Contract Electronics Manufacturing........................................................................61
5.8 Component Distribution..........................................................................................66
6 Key Trends and Developments.....................................................................................67
6.1 Moulding, Machining and Fabrication.....................................................................67
6.2 Polymer Developments ..........................................................................................67
6.3 Supercapacitors .....................................................................................................69
6.4 Lithium Polymer Systems.......................................................................................70
6.5 Flat Panel Displays ................................................................................................71
6.6 Other New Technologies........................................................................................74
6.7 Recycling ...............................................................................................................77
6.8 Chemical Safety.....................................................................................................79
7 Future Outlook..............................................................................................................81
7.1 Optical Applications................................................................................................81
7.2 Bio-Based Polymers...............................................................................................82
7.3 Self-Repairing Polymers.........................................................................................82
7.4 Search For New Products ......................................................................................82
7.5 Bluetooth Technology ............................................................................................84
7.6 QTC Material..........................................................................................................85
7.7 Superconducting Plastics .......................................................................................86
7.8 Low Molecular Weight Liquid Crystals....................................................................86
8 Company Profiles .........................................................................................................87
The European plastics manufacturing industry employs more than 70,000 people and has
annual sales of over ELOOLRQ 0DQXIDFWXULQJ LQYHVWPHQW LV RI WKH RUGHU RI ELOOLRQ ZLWK
investment in research and development estimated at ELOOLRQ $FFRUGLQJ WR WKH
Association of Plastics Manufacturers (APME), total plastics consumption, including nonplastics applications (use of fibres or coatings in products which are not seen as plastics
products in their own right) was 38,803,000 tonnes in 1998. The percentage division by
end-use market is shown in Figure 1.1.
Electrical/Electronic
Large Industry
Household/Domestic
Source: APME
Large industry represents non-packaging uses including machinery not covered by other sections
Figure 1.1 Plastics consumption by end-use market, 1998
According to the APME, plastics represent 20% of the weight of modern electronic
electrical applications with this percentage forecast to rise still further due to
unbeatable properties of plastics. Plastics materials are claimed to make a
contribution to weight reduction, thermal insulation, electrical/electronic power control
reduced transportation costs.
Figures from the APME for 1998 show that 2,381,000 tonnes of plastics were used in the
European electronics and electrical sector. Plastics waste, weighing 675,000 tonnes,
accounted for less than 0.1% of the sectors waste by weight. Of this, plastics containing
halogenated compounds represented 11% of the total.
1.2 The Report
The key findings of the report are summarised in the Executive Summary (Section 2).
Brief notes on the properties and applications of the most commonly used polymers by the
component makers form the basis of Section 3. Requirements for individual components
are considered in Section 4. An overview of European electronic component markets is
presented in Section 5 which goes on to review the major component users:
the telecommunications sector, boosted by its constituent mobile phone sector,
the automotive sector, with the increasing electronics content of new models
compared to predecessors, and
the information technology (IT) sector.
The growing use of contract electronics manufacturing is reviewed in this section, which
also identifies issues of significance in individual European markets.
Key trends and developments affecting the current and future use of polymers in
electronic component applications are considered in Section 6, including their use in
batteries, capacitors, transistors, displays, fuel cells and rapid prototyping processes.
Plastics recycling is also discussed.
The future outlook for the use of polymers in the components sector is reviewed in Section
7, and a selection of company profiles of the leading suppliers and consumers in this
sector is given in Section 8.
This report has been compiled largely by the extensive use of desk research, the internet
and the Rapra Abstracts database. I would also like to express my thanks to the many
company and trade association representatives I met, mainly at trade exhibitions, and to
those companies who responded to my requests for information.
Designers of electrical and electronic components have a wide choice of polymers at their
disposal and this report lists the most commonly used with brief notes on their properties.
Industry studies have shown the most popular polymers in Europe for electronic and
electrical applications, including wire and cable, to be polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which is
used mainly for cable sheathing but also used for cable clips, grommets and shrouds,
polyethylene (PE), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), polystyrene (PS) and
polypropylene (PP).
Figure 2.1 Breakdown of materials used in electronic/electrical applications
Cost is a prime consideration but competition in the market place is imposing ever more
stringent specification criteria on the equipment designer who, in turn, is demanding
significantly improved performance from his polymer supplier.
The mobile phone industry, currently said to be the largest market for electronic
components, demands ever smaller components which are lighter in weight. This
translates into component outer cases which have thinner, but equally strong, walls which
may withstand the handset being dropped on a concrete floor, for example. Mobile
phones now incorporate moulded interconnected device (MID) technology which enables
functions or tracks to be directly incorporated into the housings.
The outer case of a mobile phone handset must also be resistant to everyday chemicals,
e.g., sun tan oil. If the owner is sunbathing on a sandy beach, then the mobile phone must
be able to tolerate the ambient beach temperature, be sealed against the ingress of sand
and also withstand the temperature of the car seat on which it is placed for the journey
Environmental concerns are also at work as exemplified by the planned (2008) enforced
adoption of lead-free solder in Europe for environmental reasons. This will result in higher
reflow soldering temperatures with the result that components designed to come into
contact with higher temperature solder must now be made from polymers with a higher
temperature tolerance. Components built to satisfy military standards have always needed
to comply with tighter specifications.
More compact designs are often accompanied by heat dissipation problems; these have
been addressed by the greater use of thermally conductive polymers. Electrically
conductive polymers also have their place and may be one solution for components
whose outer cases must act as a protective screen against the passage of
electromagnetic or radio frequency interference (EMI/RFI).
Most components are produced by injection moulding where ever smaller parts demand
ever tighter moulding tolerances and such factors as freedom from shrinkage, warpage,
creepage and water absorption. These constraints effectively limit the choice of polymers
for specific applications. Further constraints in some applications include the use of
halogen-free flame retardant materials, again limiting the choice of polymer. The net result
is that an electrical connector manufacturer, for example, will offer products moulded from
different polymers depending on the end-use for which the connector is being used. For
example, a budget design may use PS whereas a top-of-the-range model may be made
from polyetheretherketone (PEEK).
The European Union market for electronic components, according to the industrys trade
association (European Electronic Component Manufacturers Association, EECA), is
dominated by three countries which collectively account for 67% of the total market.
Germany leads (with a national market of around ELOOLRQ IROORZHG E\ WKH 8. DURXQG
ELOOLRQ DQG )UDQFH DURXQG ELOOLRQ
The telecommunications sector is seen as the most important growth element though
Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) services will not make a
measurable contribution to the figures in 2001. The President of the EECA added his
belief that the automotive sector will remain the second strongest market for passive
components and will continue to grow. Further growth is to be found in the subcontracting
sector. Major growth in the mobile phone sector is tied to the successful launch of third
generation (3G) UMTS systems. However, the European Commission (EC) has criticised
the high cost of licences and lack of harmonisation in licence conditions from country to
country. The Commission believes that this could handicap the launch of 3G services
across Europe.
The customers for electronic components manufacturers can be categorised in four major
groups: catalogue distributors, contract equipment manufacturers (CEMs), original
equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and overseas distributors. It has been reported that
CEMs now account for between 35% and 40% of the component sales of some
distributors. However, with the total European components market reported to exceed
US$45 billion, the picture across Europe is that distributor sales accounted for only a
quarter of the business in 1999, the remainder going to OEMs. The picture is changing
dramatically and it is forecast that the distributor percentage will rise to 40% before the
end of the decade.
A growing number of electronic equipment suppliers have opted to sub-contract their
manufacturing operations to specialist contractors. These fall into two distinct categories:
the small specialist serving niche markets with an annual turnover of around US$5 million
and the major multinationals which move their volume business round the world, largely
favouring low labour cost countries notably in Asia, Eastern Europe and South America.
Growth in the world contract manufacturing market is exemplified by the 67.5% rise from
ELOOLRQ LQ WR ELOOLRQ LQ RI ZKLFK (XURSH DFFRXQWV IRU -DSDQ
accounts for 18%, America accounts for 31% and South East Asia accounts for 28%.
Business-to-business e-commerce polymer operations have started with the Omnexus
collaboration between leading thermoplastics suppliers, including BASF, Bayer,
Blasterfeld, Clariant, Dow, DSM, DuPont, PolyOne, Solvay and Ticona/Celanese, to
create a customer-focused global e-market. This will be established as a stand-alone
business with an initial investment of US$50 million. Following its US launch in 2000,
Omnexus has started its Europe-specific services in France, Germany and Spain as the
initial phases of a pan-European launch. Eventually a complete package of business-tobusiness functions (including electronic invoicing, multi-currency purchasing and order
tracking) will be available.
The main electronic components market for polymers is for passive components which
represent around 85% of the number of components on a typical printed circuit board. In
1999, passives accounted for 9% of the world sales of electronic components with active
components taking 71%, and electromechanical components taking 20%. However,
because of the much higher unit costs of semiconductors, passives only account for
around 5% of the total component cost. The year 2000 generated record sales with some
suppliers reporting sales turnover increases over the previous year of between 30% and
40%. 2001 is unlikely to be as successful but double-digit percentage sales increases are
still expected. Suppliers have brought additional manufacturing capacity on stream and so
price levels may come down.
The health of the components sector is dependent on the market for electronic products.
The consumption of polymers in the communications sector is reported to have grown
from 500,000 tonnes in 1996 to an estimated 800,000 tonnes in 2001.
Another major market for electronic components is the automotive industry where demand
for components is reported to be growing at 17% per annum with up to 10,000 passive
components installed in a typical current model of luxury car. The value of the electronic
systems in a typical car is said to represent a quarter of its sales value, with the electronic
content of the vehicle growing by around 8% per annum to reach around 30% of the cars
value by 2005. In recent years, there has been a move away from thermosets to
thermoplastics for automotive components. Thermoplastics are now the preferred choice,
usually reinforced with glass fibre. Germany is the dominant location of the automotive
electronics manufacturing sector and accounts for approximately 60% of the market.
The most successful moulders are those who have been shown to collaborate closely with
mould makers and machinery manufacturers. This is because of the growing trend
towards partnership between the moulder and his customer in order to react swiftly to
changes in market demand.
In the field of contract manufacture the most successful companies have been shown to
be those with the most up-to-date machinery. Companies in Malaysia, the Philippines,
Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand have scored highly in this respect. The major American
injection moulding companies have exported their manufacturing expertise to Asia, often
owning or investing in those companies which are the beneficiaries of their expertise.
The search for greater operating efficiency involves working at higher temperatures thus
putting the pressure on polymer suppliers to deliver products with superior performance.
DuPont offers high-temperature polyamide (PA) grades with a melting point of around
300 C, compared to 275 C for PA. These high-temperature grades are claimed to offer
better dimensional stability and greater thermal resistance than PA 66.
The arrival of electrically conductive polymers in the late 1970s and now thermally
conductive polymers, both of which derive these properties from additives, has opened up
new application opportunities especially where heat dispersion from an electronic
component is a significant design factor. Research is proceeding into the use of
conducting polymers in ultracapacitor, also known as supercapacitor, applications. The
capacitors will act like batteries to deliver high pulses of power and store energy.
Supercapacitors have minimal contact resistance because the conducting polymers can
be synthesised directly on to the current collector. The electrode material can be formed
as thick films, powders or sub-micron coatings with the latter offering the possibility of
diffusion times of the order of microseconds.
Polymers have long been used in the manufacture of capacitors with their incorporation in
supercapacitors being an extension of this application. However, their employment in
batteries, other than as battery container material, is a new trend exemplified by the
lithium-ion polymer types. The latest technologies include rechargeable lithium polymer
systems in both flat and curved versions. The cathodes are basically lithium nickel cobalt
oxide (LiNiCoO2); the polymer construction technology is licensed from Motorolas energy
systems group. Developments in this sector have been driven by the strength of the
mobile phone and portable computer markets, stimulated by the need for ever more
efficient battery power systems. Not only are polymers being used for power storage but
they are also being used for memory storage. Sony has introduced a Memory Stick the
size of a stick of chewing gum.
Liquid crystal displays (LCDs) have traditionally dominated the flat panel display market
along with active matrix LCDs (or AMLCDs), which were originally designed for the
personal computer market. The polymer dispersed liquid crystal display technology
(PDLCD) from Philips is claimed to be a reflective, high-contrast, low-power display which
permits the manufacture of flexible displays. The advantages of this polymer-based active
matrix include lower production costs, because fewer production steps are involved and
the clean room conditions are not as demanding as the more usual production process
involving amorphous silicon-based thin film transistors (TFTs) which account for the major
cost component of the complete display. The technology of light emitting polymers (LEPs)
is another new technology destined to revolutionise the displays sector.
Rapid prototyping, a growing products and services market worth around US$500 million
worldwide, involves the computer generation of solid components using the technology of
stereolithography, which is capable of production tolerances of 0.1 mm.
The pervasiveness of polymers throughout the electronics industry is illustrated by reports
of the commercialisation of Cambridge University research which has discovered the
technology to manufacture low cost plastic micro-chips involving plastic transistors. Plastic
Logic, a company funded by venture capital and Dow Chemical, has been created to
commercialise the technology with the objective of launching demonstration prototypes in
the summer of 2001. The process is said to utilise exotic plastic materials with the
manufacturing technique similar to that of ink-jet printing. These materials come from such
families as the polythiophenes and oligothiophenes which can be doped to change their
fundamental insulating properties and thereafter become semiconductors.
Polymer recycling is not a feature of the components industry because reprocessed
materials may lose their Underwriters Laboratories (UL) rating. However, the European
Confederation of Telecommunications Manufacturers (ECTEL) is operating a voluntary
take back scheme in collaboration with four network operators. The scheme accepts
mobile phones for recycling at shops displaying the schemes logo. The returned items
are separated into handsets, batteries, chargers and other accessories for recycling. The
European Union and Norway intend to introduce a compulsory take back scheme.
On 13 June 2000, the EC published the latest issue of its proposal for the Directive on
Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), which seeks to establish high
recycling targets for certain categories. Such figures are not feasible if several polymers
are combined in the same product because of the costs involved in dismantling.
Consequently it is unrealistic to expect significant recycling savings in the small
components sector. The WEEE draft proposals, which involve separate collection and
selective treatment of all components containing halogenated flame retardants, is
considered to be neither practical or economical because of increasing integration and
miniaturisation in the electrical and electronic sector.
The electronics industry is constantly seeking new products which will attain must have
status. Having recognised that sales of mobile phones cannot maintain their current
growth rates, the search is on for new products which will generate greater sales of
components. One of the problems manufacturers face is that, in their infancy, these new
products are invariably expensive. Volume sales bring down prices but even the most
powerful marketing campaign may not generate sufficient sales to build up sales to the
levels at which dramatic price cuts become possible.
One possible product in this category is the new multipurpose IC-R3 receiver from Icom
which combines the functions of television set, video display and radio in one small handheld package powered by a rechargeable battery which provides twenty seven hours of
viewing time per charge on a two-inch liquid crystal display.
Toshiba is one of the promoters of small molecule light emitting diode (SMLED)
technology which offers better visibility and lower power consumption than LCDs.
Currently only monochrome screens are on offer but Toshiba has announced the 2002
launch of a six inch full colour screen with laptop full colour screens to follow in 2004 and
television set screens to follow shortly afterwards.
One of the latest technologies to hit the market is the Bluetooth short range wireless
technology networking standard developed by Ericsson and allows personal computers,
laptops, hand-held computers, mobile phones, printers and other electronic controlled
products to communicate with each other by means of radio links of up to ten metres.
More than two thousand companies have signed up to the Bluetooth standard special
interest group with many, including Johnson Controls and Visteon, being key members of
the Bluetooth Automotive Expert Group which is working on automotive applications of the
technology. On average, a car contains approximately fifty embedded chips which could
be linked by Bluetooth technology in the future.
New materials with great potential include superconducting plastics which have been
discovered at Bell Laboratories in America after research extending over twenty years.
The material, whose superconducting temperature is below 270 C, is made by
depositing a solution of polythiophene in a thin film. The organic polymer will only act as a
superconductor when all its molecular chains are lined up like uncooked spaghetti, to
quote the researchers involved. Future applications have been cited as quantum
computing and extremely fast, low power integrated circuits.
3 Review of Materials and Properties
The selection of polymers for component use is governed by the need to manufacture,
cost-effectively, a high quality product at high speed with daily production volumes of up to
30,000 units. The criteria for the selection process are summarised below:
Wall thicknesses are frequently less than 1 mm so the polymer must have good melt
flow properties during the moulding process without sacrificing performance in other
respects.
Having designed the wall thickness to be less than 1 mm, the resulting product must
have the necessary mechanical strength to fulfil its design purpose. Within the normal
parameters of wear and tear products, made from plastics will have a service life of
between five and twenty years though many will have been discarded or replaced by
then.
Dimensional stability is important so shrinkage and warpage should be minimal since
typical tolerances are below 5 m. This feature is particularly important in the case of
printed circuit board (PCB) material
Flame resistance should be secured by the use of halogen-free flame retardants
where possible.
The need to solder components calls for the material to have high thermal stability
since the temperature of solder baths is around 270 C and the reflow soldering
process involves brief exposure to high temperatures.
The material must be resistant to any chemicals which may splash on or immerse the
component. These typically include hydraulic oils, cleaning agents and lubricants.
In view of the occasional need for sliding components to work within an enclosure,
such sliding should not produce dust and so good tribological qualities are required.
These qualities can be varied by the selective use, for example, of additives and
modifiers, such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) powder, silicone oil or molybdenum
disulfide. PTFE is banned as a lubricant in some areas because of the Blue Angel
environmental standard. The Blue Angel environmental standard is linked to ISO
14001:1996 (Environmental management systems-Specification with guidance for
use). The Blue Angel is a symbol modelled on the United Nations environment
symbol which dates back to 1972. Environmentally-friendly products are awarded and
carry the symbol for three years. The symbol is awarded by a non-governmental jury
on payment of a fee.
Complex product geometry, readily attainable with thermoplastics, may be
unavoidable in order to achieve the required product specification.
The polymers electrical performance is also important in applications where the
resistivity and tracking performance figures may be laid down in the product
specification.
Humidity may be a problem in some instances because some polymers are subject to
hydrolytic degradation, which results in embrittlement.
This report also covers the use of composites where a polymer may be combined with a
fibre and the choice of fibre type, fibre orientation and matrix options determines its overall
physical properties. The objective is to secure optimum performance with minimum
weight. Typical advantages possible from the use of composites include equivalent
strength and stiffness to steel, high chemical resistance, definable electrical and thermal
properties anywhere between an insulator and a conductor, good mechanical
performance up to 250 C and the ability to generate complex shapes.
The individual volume of the majority of components involved is less than 1 dm3 and the
individual weight is less than 2 kg. Many of the electronic components described below
are produced by injection moulding using a variety of polymers. Alternative manufacturing
methods include low-cost dip moulding, for which PVC is particularly suitable. Industry
studies have shown the most popular polymer in Europe for electrical and electronics
applications, including wire and cable, to be PVC (25% of the market), which is used
mainly for cable sheathing but also used for cable clips, grommets and shrouds, followed
by PE (19%), ABS (14%), PS (13%) and PP (12%).
3.2 Polymers for Electronic Components
3.2.1 Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene (ABS)
ABS is a popular choice of polymer for the production of intricate parts and the many
manufacturers offer different grades according to the end use. Bayer grades include
Lustran and Novodur; Dow offers its Magnum range. Component applications include
antenna clips, sealed maintenance free battery containers and transparent window plugs
for inspection purposes.
3.2.2 Acetal Copolymer (POM)
POM is widely used and has a melting point of 163 C whereas the related acetal
homopolymers have a higher melting point of 175 C with greater mechanical strength.
However, POM is a strong enough material to be used for the manufacture of plastic
fasteners of all types. It is resistant to attack by oxidation and by solvents and fuels. POM
may also be used for such components as push buttons where there is a sliding contact
with a housing. In such an application, the housing would be made from another polymer,
typically polybutylene terephthalate (PBT).
Several grades of POM are available (including Ultraform (BASF) and Hostaform (Ticona,
which claims to be the worlds largest manufacturer). Other branded polyacetals include
Delrin (DuPont), an acetal homopolymer, and Ertacetal (DSM).
3.2.3 Polyarylamide
This product family, available as IXEF from Solvay, includes some of the stiffest
thermoplastics available and which are claimed to have properties almost equal to metal.
Applications include growing use in mobile phones where, despite the case getting
smaller and lighter in weight, there is still a need for stiffness in order to protect the
IXEF is also used in other applications where extra stiffness and precision are needed
notably connectors, switches, housings, motor end frames and telecommunications parts.
3.2.4 Liquid Crystalline Polymers (LCPs)
LCPs offer, at a higher price than some competing polymers, better flow characteristics to
fill the thin walls of modern connectors, for example. LCPs also possess the improved
thermal performance needed by printed circuit boards to withstand the high temperatures
experienced during the soldering process. LCPs are sufficiently tough to accept
interference fit loading of contacts without cracking and enable production operations to
be carried out marginally faster than with other polymers. The toughness should also be
sufficient to prevent protruding catches or other projecting items from breaking off.
The standard formulation used in the electronics industry involves the addition of 30%
glass fibre reinforcement (GFR). Experiments with 45% GFR have also been carried out
but the higher glass fibre content was found to lower the tensile strength of the material.
The general effect of glass fibre reinforcement on thermoplastics is to improve their
mechanical characteristics. Potential benefits include greater strength, better radiation
resistance and lower water absorption rate. Electrical benefits include greater dielectric
3.2.5 Polyamide (PA)
Polyamides are selected for use in electrical components because of their good electrical
and mechanical properties, flexibility and relative immunity to fracture. They are inherently
fire resistant without the use of flameproofing agents. AlliedSignal has been developing
several grades of non-halogenated, flame-retardant PA 6 which deliver improved
environmental performance and reduced corrosion in moulding equipment compared with
halogenated PA. Grilon PA 6 is used by the connector maker Lemo for bridge plugs and
plugs with parallel sockets, available in a range of nine colours viz. blue, white, grey,
yellow, brown, black, red, orange and green.
The dimensional stability of PA may be inadequate for interconnected parts. Sales of PA
engineering polymers have achieved double-digit sales growth over the past five years
with projected further growth of around fourteen per cent over the next few years. Dow
estimates that the world market for PA for electrical and electronics applications is around
300 million per annum with annual sales growth of five to seven per cent within the
electrical and electronics sector.
Of the grades used in component manufacture, the markets for PA 6 and PA 66 are
relatively mature with greater sales growth in PA 12. PA 68, PA 11 and PA 46 are also
available. Leading suppliers of PA 6 include AlliedSignal, BASF, Honeywell and Rhodic.
The main suppliers of PA 66 include DuPont, Radicci, BASF/Bayer and DSM. Dow offers
Vydyne PA 66 resins, in partnership with Solutia Inc., for a wide range of electronics
applications including cable ties, connectors, housings and screws. PA 6 may also be
used for some of these applications.
DSMs Stanyl PA 46, made from adipic acid and 1,4-diaminobutane, has been described
by the company as a material which bridges the gap, in terms of heat resistance, between
PBT and PA 6, PA 66 and the higher end resins, notably LCPs, polyphenylene sulfide
(PPS) and PEEK. Stanyl competes with LCPs for use in connectors. As the temperature
beneath car bonnets rises to levels which PA 6 and PA 66 are unable to tolerate, Stanyl is
able to take over because it uses the same moulds and the same tooling. Stanyl sales
have been growing at an annual rate of between 10% and 12% and DSM increased the
manufacturing capability of its Geleen plant in the Netherlands in 1995, 1998, 1999 and
DuPonts Zytel HTN grade competes with Stanyl and the company is experiencing
growing demand for the product to the extent that it is doubling the capacity of its
Canadian compounding facility at Maitland, Ontario.
High viscosity grades of PA 12 are selected for extrusion and low viscosity grades for
injection moulding A glass fibre content of either 10%, 20% or 30% will increase stiffness,
improve the temperature rating and increase creepage and shrinkage resistance. A layer
of PA 12 confers ballistic, rodent and termite resistance to a product.
3.2.6 Polybutylene Terephthalate (PBT)
PBT, branded by Ticona as Celanex and by DuPont as Crastin, is used in components
because of its high dimensional stability, good electrical and mechanical properties and
absence of dioxin- or furan-forming substances. Some PBT grades have improved flow
performance which enables much smaller parts to be moulded. DuPonts Crastin HR PBT
grade also benefits from good hydrolysis resistance. PBT also has a high continuous
service temperature of 130 C and a UL rating of UL94 V-0 (tests for flammability of
plastic materials for parts in devices and appliances). PBT is typically used with 15% or
30% glass fibre reinforcement.
Qualities claimed for Celanex include high strength, heat deflection temperature and
rigidity, good creep behaviour, absence of stress cracking and extreme hardness. It is
also said to have good electrical characteristics and good resistance to chemicals and
weathering. Favourable anti-friction and anti-abrasive behaviour together with high
dimensional stability and a gloss finish, even if glass-reinforced, are further qualities
claimed for the material. Ticona also offers Vandar (PBT-HI) for technical injection
mouldings and extrusions. Vandar offers good resistance to organic solvents, automotive
fuels, lubricants and brake fluid. It is also claimed to have good processing properties and
high abrasion resistance.
GE Plastics Valox 71 is unusual in that it has a 600 volt continuous tracking index (CTI).
This is an important quality for electrical and electronic components to possess and is
unusual to find in thermoplastic materials.
3.2.7 Polycarbonate (PC)
PC has high impact resistance, a wide processing temperature range, good resistance to
chemicals with the further option of transparency. Around 30% of glass fibre may be
added. Brands include Calibre from Dow, Lexan from GE Plastics, Makrolon from Bayer
and Xantar from DSM. If the use of PTFE as an additive to assist lubrication is ruled out
for environmental reasons, alternatives exist including Lubriloy from LNP in the
Netherlands, a lubricated, PTFE-free, halogen-free, flame retardant PC.
PC may be blended with ABS to produce a rigid material with a good appearance and
good flow properties. One such PC/ABS blend is Bayblend from Bayer, which is used for
a wide range of products including thin-walled telephone handsets where its strength and
light weight combine to produce a very cost-effective product. Magnetic shielding can be
provided by inserting a metal film or metallised plastic film within the housing. Mobile
phones now incorporate MID technology which enables functions or tracks to be directly
incorporated into the housings.
Fire is a potential risk with many polymers but now PC users have the opportunity to
specify Nucycle from Dow, which resulted from collaboration between NEC Corporation
and Sumitomo Dow Ltd. Nucycle is free of halogen compounds and employs a proprietary
silicone as its ignition resistance additive. This allows the material to have a UL 94 V-0
rating at 1 mm. Furthermore, the impact strength of Nucycle was found to be much higher
than that of PC containing traditional halogen additives though the costs are broadly
similar. In the USA, Dow Plastics is marketing Nucycle under the designation PCX. Three
grades are available. The first targets a V-0 rating at 0.95 mm and 5V at 2.5 mm. The
second grade offers V-0 at 1.5 mm and 5V at 2.5 mm. The third grade contains 20% glass
fibre and meets V-0 at 1.5 mm. Dow and NEC have also developed transparent grades of
these materials with a flammability rating of V-0 at 2.0 mm.
3.2.8 Polyetheretherketone (PEEK)
PEEK is a semi-crystalline polymer, insoluble in all common solvents, and can be used at
temperatures of up to 300 C. It can be injection moulded and because of its cost tends to
be used by engineers and designers as a material of last resort.
3.2.9 Polyetherimide (PEI)
PEI is one of the intrinsically flame resistant polymers used to manufacture injectionmoulded printed circuit boards.
3.2.10 Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)
PET is one of the materials used in flexible printed circuits. In other applications where
higher temperatures are likely to be encountered, flame retardant PET may be used.
Brands include Impet from Ticona, which has good flow properties enabling complex and
thin-walled injection-moulded parts to be easily produced.
Impet with glass fibre reinforcement is widely used in the electrical and electronic sectors
where it offers high heat deflection temperature, resistance to chemicals and weathering,
rigidity and hardness. Other claimed qualities include excellent creep strength, favourable
anti-friction and anti-abrasion properties together with very good electrical characteristics.
3.2.11 Polyethylene (PE)
High density polyethylene (HDPE) is typically used to produce push-in cable tie clips for
insertion in pre-drilled holes in wood masonry and other materials. It is also used in cable
clips with small pre-fitted nails to enable cables to be clamped to masonry, wood and
plaster surfaces. PE is also used to mould the bushings which insulate the rough cut
conduit ends in flexible moulded cable and flexible metallic conduit.
3.2.12 Polypropylene (PP)
PP is a relatively low-cost material available in different grades for different applications.
For example, the Novolen grade from Targor (now Basell) is claimed to have a wellbalanced relationship between toughness, stiffness and hardness with the additional
benefits of high heat resistance, excellent resistance to chemicals, low water absorption
and low permeability to water vapour, easy processing and low density. These qualities
enable PP to be used for a wide variety of electrical and electronics applications including
battery containers, cable retention clips, screws, nuts and washers. Alternatively, long
fibre reinforced thermoplastics, including Celstran from Ticona, may be used for battery
trays and components because these materials are acid resistant, of low density,
lightweight as well as providing high stiffness and stability over a wide range of
temperatures.
Inspire Spheripol process-based PP is manufactured by Dow Plastics in Germany and are
used in electronics and a wide range of other applications.
Borealis offers its PP homopolymer for use as a biaxially orientated dielectric capacitor
film which may be metallised. Two super-high quality, ultra-low ash content grades are
available with claimed good stiffness, low dissipation factor and outstanding processing
capabilities. The metals and chloride content are close to the detection limit. Whilst both
the HB311F and HC312BF grades may be used for metallisable film, the latter grade will
produce highly consistent rough surface films with easy surface roughness control.
Unusual applications include the use of LNP Engineering Plastics Verton MFX long fibre
reinforced PP injection-moulded cones for Tannoy loudspeakers. The high strength-toweight ratio of Verton MFX enables the cones wall thickness to be just 0.4 mm and this
feature is claimed to deliver real improvement in sound clarity and a superior performance
to that achieved with standard and mineral-filled grades of polypropylene.
3.2.13 Polyphthalamide (PPA)
PPA offers the user relatively high operating temperatures and good physical properties.
PPA injection mouldings have been selected to replace metal alloy diecastings with the
40% glass fibre grade being comparable to aluminium and brass castings. Leading
manufacturers include BP Amoco which offers the Amodel brand and EMS whose Grivory
GV grade is seen as a metal replacement. Grivory GV is a high-rigidity PPA material.
The high-temperature Grivory HT grade will tolerate up to 270300 C and so is suitable
for reflow soldering. The adoption of lead-free solder in Europe for environmental reasons
will result in higher reflow soldering temperatures. Grivory is also selected for hightemperature tolerant injection mouldings operating below the bonnet of a motor vehicle.
Other grades include Grivory HTV, a glass fibre reinforced version with a glow wire
resistance of 960 C, and mineral-reinforced Grivory HTM grades which are claimed to
have an excellent surface finish.
3.2.14 Polyphenylene Sulfide (PPS)
PPS is a crystalline engineering plastic especially known for its high heat performance
with heat deflection temperatures in excess of 260 C. It is claimed to have exceptional
processability when injection moulded on conventional equipment. It is also claimed to
have outstanding dimensional stability and so is particularly suitable for precision
moulding to severe tolerances. It can also be used as a replacement for high-performance
thermosets or metal, especially brass, in some applications.
Ryton PPS, produced by Phillips Petroleum Chemicals, is used by connector
manufacturer Lemo for the over-moulding of some elbow socket shells for printed circuits.
3.2.15 Polystyrene (PS)
PS offers good dimensional stability with low water absorption and shrinkage. It is also
Dow claims to be the worlds largest producer of PS resins for the injection moulding,
extrusion and thermoforming markets. Its Styron range includes general purpose, high
impact and ignition resistant properties with formulations designed to meet the
requirements of specific applications.
BASF offers a range of PS for office and IT equipment including the new Polystyrene
495F grade.
BP produces both crystal and impact grades of Empera PS. Its plants at Marl (Germany),
Trelleborg (Sweden) and Wingles (France) have a combined PS annual capacity of
400,000 tonnes.
Questra, Dows proprietary syndiotactic PS engineering polymer, is a metallocene-based
crystalline polymer. Questra has a high heat tolerance and relatively low density. It has a
high flow characteristic which Dow claims is better than PBT or PPS and which
approaches that of LCP over which it has price and weight advantages. Questra is offered
for automotive lighting and electronics, electronic connectors, fuse holders, printed circuit
boards and circuit breakers. Questra resins are claimed to have the same density of 1.05
g/cm3 in both their amorphous and crystalline regions and to have the same shrinkage
rates in both regions. Consequently moulded parts will conform more precisely to the
tolerances of the tooling facilitating the production of flat parts immune from warpage.
Typical applications include printed circuit board input/output switches and connectors.
Questra is recognised as being more expensive initially than some of its competitors but is
seen to outperform them in ease of processing and yield.
Questra has been targeted at both medium-, where it competes with PBT, and hightemperature applications where it competes with high-temperature PA, LCP and PPS.
3.2.16 PS-Modified Polyphenylene Oxide (PPO)
PS-modified PPO is produced by GE plastics and marketed under the trade name Noryl.
Applications include UL94 V-0 flame retardant PCB enclosures and glass fibre filled selfextinguishing UL94 V-1 relay bases. The latter application permits 600 V operation with an
operating temperature of 110 C and a short-term tolerance of 135 C.
3.2.17 Polysulfone (PSU)
PSU, branded by BP Amoco as Udel, may be 30% glass filled and can also be blow or
injection moulded, extruded or thermoformed. Polyethersulfone (PES) is a related
polymer, which also may have a 30% glass fibre content, and is exemplified by BASFs
Ultrason grade; other manufacturers include BP Amoco and DuPont. This is a relatively
expensive engineering polymer with good heat resistance, used where other polymers are
found wanting.
3.2.18 Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)
PTFE is outstanding in terms of its chemical and thermal stability, biocompatibility and
superb dielectric properties.
PTFE is used in connectors and printed circuits, especially in hostile environments calling
for heavy duty models. It can also be used to produce computer chip packages and
shielding gaskets, where it can be employed in an expanded form.
The selection of PCB material is determined by the application and to achieve the
required performance ceramic-filled PTFE composites, with or without the addition of
woven or non-woven glass fibre, may be used. PTFE may also be used in heavy duty
electrical connectors, and when connectors are moulded on to cables.
PTFE has a reputation for being difficult to process but researchers at ETH Zurich, the
Swiss University of Technology, are reported to have discovered a new moulding
technique involving the combination of PTFE powders of different molecular weights and
viscosities into a dense form capable of being moulded when warm. This technique opens
up the possibility of using PTFE to make mechanically strong and complex components
which cannot be produced in other ways.
3.2.19 Polyurethane (PU)
Polyurethane potting compounds are used to encapsulate electronic devices and their
components to give them enhanced mechanical and electrical stability.
Polyurethane/polyester copolymer spacers are used for cable retention with polyurethane
used for cable ties.
3.2.20 Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)
PVC is a partially crystalline plastic which melts at approximately 240 C and has a glass
transition temperature of about 80 C. Processing is normally in the range 170-200 C.
The polymer often requires the use of lubricants to modify the rheological and frictional
characteristics.
PVC is used in the manufacture of enclosures and low-cost flexible components.
3.2.21 Polyvinylidine Fluoride (PVDF)
PVDF is a fluorinated semi-crystalline thermoplastic which has a continuous use service
temperature of up to 150 C and a very low dielectric constant. The Solvay company has
been making and marketing PVDF, branded as SOLEF, for more than twenty-five years.
PVDF is used for the manufacture of high-capacity capacitor film and is also used in
lithium batteries and telecommunications applications.
3.2.22 Styrene-Acrylonitrile Copolymer (SAN)
SAN has the properties of clarity and toughness. It is a stiff resin with good chemical
resistance, high heat resistance and good dimensional stability having excellent
processability and good surface finish. Dow claims major economic advantages are
possible using its Tyril SAN resins, adding that the low cost for such broad engineering
property performance is unmatched by any competitive polymer.
SAN is used in electrical components and suppliers include Bayer (Lustran), Dow (Tyril)
and Enichem (Kostil). SAN can also be blended with other resins including ABS.
3.2.23 Elastomers
Elastomers used for connector insulators include polychloroprenes, silicones,
fluorosilicones and heat-setting compounds which enable the special characteristics of
flame resistance, low toxicity and low smoke, for example, to be incorporated.
Polychloroprene is used as spacer material and also for washers where its sealing
qualities, good resistance to cracking, rotting, oils and petrol and its good low-temperature
flexibility may be beneficial in specific applications.
Silicone rubber is used for key pads of hand-held devices, process controllers, access
control panels, military communications and other equipment. Other options include the
combination of plastic keytops with a rubber mat.
Blending, alloying and compounding are especially important in the production of
materials to fulfil demanding specifications. These involve the addition of various fillers
and reinforcements, including glass fibre, in order to build in the desired properties.
Another option is to use two-component injection moulding techniques, advocated by
Ticona, to produce optimised hard/soft combinations. This design development reduces
the need for subsequent assembly and favours the production of multifunctional
components. Alternatives offered by Ticona include
Celanex PBT with nitrile rubber, styrene elastomers or polyurethane elastomers,
Fortron PPS with nitrile or acrylate rubbers after pre-treatment or silcone rubber
without pre-treatment, and
Hostaform POM with nitrile rubber, styrene elastomers or polyurethane elastomers.
Applications include locating clamps for car CD players and cable clamps for car floor
Composite shapes can be produced by the hot bonding of elastomers on to substrates of
different materials including metal alloys, PTFE, polyimide (PI), carbon fibre, and aramid
and other textiles.
4 Electronic Components
Components are allocated an ingress protection (IP) number, laid down in IEC 60529:
2001-02 (Degrees of protection provided by enclosures (IP code)), which denotes their
protection against the ingress of foreign bodies or water as per Table 4.1.
Table 4.1 Component IP number
(defined by selecting the first digit from the first column and the second digit from
the third column)
Degree of Protection
No protection against accidental
contact, no protection against
No protection against water.
intrusion of solid foreign bodies.
Protection against contact with
any large area by hand and
Protection against water drips.
against large solid foreign bodies
with diameter greater than 50
Protection against water drips
the fingers, protection against
large solid foreign bodies with
(up to an angle of 15)
diameter greater than 50 mm.
Protection against tools, wires or
similar objects with diameter
Protection against diagonal
greater than 2.5 mm. Protection
water drips (up to angle of 60)
against small foreign bodies with
diameter greater than 2.5 mm.
As above but with diameter
Protection against splashed
greater than 1 mm
water from all directions.
Full protection against contact.
Protection against water spray
Protection against interior
from all directions.
detrimental dust deposition.
Total protection against contact.
Protection from temporary
Protection against intrusion of
flooding.
Protection against temporary
immersion.
Protection against water
Source: IEC 60529: 2001-02
4.1 Enclosures
Portable electronic equipment of all types is invariably packaged within an enclosure,
which may be an off the shelf standard design or a customised special. The requirements
of the application, and price, will determine the selection of suitable polymers and a
selection of these is shown in Table 4.2.
Table 4.2 Polymers for enclosures
Easy to machine lightweight enclosures with good resistance
PC, ABS/PC
to chemicals, wide temperature range, transparency option
Enclosures for hostile atmospheres, good resistance to
Polyester reinforced with
chemicals, good temperature range capability, can be used
both indoors and outdoors
Plug cases and enclosures with good resistance to
chemicals, lightweight, normal temperatures. ABS can also
be flame retardant
Standard cases including wall-mounted versions
Where transparency is required
High heat and chemical resistance, good dimensional stability
and low melt viscosity
Note: Plug cases incorporate a built-in mains plug to enable the whole enclosure to be plugged into
a suitable wall socket, as in the case of a switched mode power supply or compact charging unit for
rechargeable batteries.
Source: Industry Sources
As in other applications, pressure on costs leads manufacturers to seek savings by
reducing wall thickness thus reducing the polymer content of the product. Samsung
design engineers faced this problem when seeking to reduce the cost of computer monitor
housings. With the help of polymer supplier, GE Plastics, they brought the wall thickness
down from 3.2 mm to 2.3 mm. An added bonus was Samsungs ability to mould the 2.3
mm thick housings on the same machines as those used to mould the thicker housings.
Over the course of the six-month project, features were incorporated into the design to
maintain the required mechanical strength. These included modifications to the existing rib
and boss features with re-design of the vents on the top of the monitor also being
necessary. Early fears that warpage and shrinkage would occur were not fulfilled.
Another GE Plastics customer was a Samsung competitor who managed to reduce the
wall thickness of his product from 3.18 mm to 2.03 mm. This reduced the material cost by
over 5%. Further savings in processing costs enabled a total cost saving of approximately
10% to be achieved.
The hazards of the polymer selection process are illustrated by the example of an
electrical enclosure manufacturer that had been using PBT resins. These proved too
difficult to mould to the required dimensional tolerances. Polycarbonate was substituted in
order to improve productivity and meet the required tolerances. However, this polymer
also proved to be unsuccessful because its higher viscosity made it too difficult to
process. The OEM went on to evaluate Dows Questra crystalline resin because of its
ability to satisfy the dimensional requirements of the specification with further added
benefits. These include Questras hydrophobic qualities which deliver cost savings
because the resin does not have to be dried prior to moulding. This property prevents
dimensional changes taking place in the moulded parts during use. Lower resin density
than other semi-crystalline resins results in less material, by weight, being required to fulfil
production requirements.
Before selecting a polymer for a specific application thorough testing is necessary. For
example, a mobile phone manufacturer had to switch to PA after discovering that the PC
he was using was not resistant to sun tan oil.
Protection against EMI can be achieved by applying a conductive coating. Electrodag
coatings from Acheson Colloids include silver-plated copper, silver-plated copper and
silver flake, and silver and tin options.
The alternative is to use metal-loaded paints with those containing silver being most
commonly specified. In the past the use of harsh solvents, usually methyl ethyl ketone
(MEK), aided adhesion to the substrate. With the trend towards the employment of
PC/ABS blends to produce thin-walled mouldings has come the need to minimise the
effect of the coating on the substrate. This has resulted in the development of safe-onsubstrate paints which use mild solvents and which can be mechanically removed to allow
the plastics to be subsequently recycled.
In some high volume applications, notably mobile phones, the value of the silver
recovered, after removing and burning off the coating, is sufficient to finance the recycling
process. Water-based paints are being evaluated and may be introduced towards the end
of 2001.
Chomerics, a division of the Parker Hannifin Corporation, offers a family of ready-to-spray
conductive, acrylic paints. Cho-shield 2054 is a water-borne coating, comprising
acrylic/urethane polymer and a silver-plated copper filler, suitable for solvent-sensitive
plastics whereas Cho-shield 2056 is a low-cost solvent-based acrylic polymer system
containing silver-plated copper and silver flakes. Both systems are claimed to adhere to
various substrates including PC, PC/ABS and ABS. They provide a shielding
effectiveness of more than 75 dB between 100 MHz and 10 GHz. Chomerics also offers a
range of Soft-Shield 4000 EMI protective gasket materials.
Other EMI shielding products from Chomerics include EmiClare LF 65 EMI shielded
windows which are specifically designed to address EMI problems involving plasma
display panels. The product achieves optical clarity by combining the use of a proprietary
shielding mesh with precision lamination. Each fully laminated window incorporates front
and rear UL94 V-0 rated, optical grade PC, or glass, substrates with optically matched
adhesives.
Shielding is provided by the enclosed mesh layer, optimised to provide exceptional optical
clarity. It is also possible to incorporate an optional infrared (IR) filter at the rear for use in
applications where IR transmitting devices, wireless headphones for example, are being
used close by. The maximum window size is said to be 95 cm x 150 cm with standard
thicknesses in the range 4.4 mm to 4.8 mm. The electrical termination options for these
EmiClare windows include a mesh extension over a CR gasket, copper tape over a silver
busbar or copper tape over a mesh extension. Applications for this product are in
commercial avionics, high definition television displays or other environments where there
is a need to comply with specified radiated emission requirements.
Chomerics has linked up with Nypro Inc., in a strategic alliance with a joint manufacturing
operation at Oldenburg in Germany, to produce insert-moulded conductive gasket
products. These shield against EMI interference in mobile phones and other electronic
devices. The venture supplies components assembled from Nypro plastic mouldings and
Chomerics conductive elastomer over-moulds.
Alternatively, DuPont is offering conducting grades of its Zytel DMX modified PA to be
moulded into EMI/RFI shielded housings and other devices. These resins are claimed to
be able to produce thinner mouldings than PC/ABS alloys whilst still delivering suitable
strength toughness and effective shielding. The resulting mouldings are claimed not to
need subsequent coating or painting. A further option is to use electroplating by
chemically or electrically depositing a layer of nickel over a layer of pure copper.
Other manufacturers of EMC screening products include Schlegels Kemtron subsidiary
whose 100-300 Series range includes knitted wire mesh over an elastomeric core which is
normally silicone or CR. An alternative 400 Series comprises a solid or sponge silicone
elastomer (fluorosilicone to special order) in which is embedded Monel or aluminium wires
orientated perpendicularly to the mating flange surfaces. A further 500 Series option
comprises a thin composite sheet of woven aluminium, expanded Monel, or aluminium
mesh impregnated with CR or silicone rubber.
To be fully effective, the shielding of an enclosure needs to involve the gasket materials of
any sealed apertures. For example, the Schlegel E/E (Environmental/EMI shielding)
hybrid gasket utilises a single-flange format and comprises highly conductive cladding
over ethylene propylene diene terpolymer (EPDM). This provides both EMI and
environmental shielding and gives good weatherproof protection. Alternatively, highly
conductive silver-plated PA yarn may be knitted over a soft flexible fire retardant UL 94
approved polyester foam core. Other options are available.
Other polymers being promoted for use in enclosures include PVC and rigid
polyurethanes. The latter may be cast at room temperature using a mixture of polyol resin
and an isocyanate hardener. Benefits of the material include the ability to cast
economically in small quantities with low-cost tooling, coupled with the capacity to
produce precise and complex three dimensional components. Accuracy and repeatability
are good, as is machineability and the facility for thick to thin wall sections. Injectionmoulded polyurethane is also used as a seal material between the enclosure and its
cover. Where cost is a prime consideration a general-purpose, black polystyrene may be
4.2 Batteries
Polymers are use in battery construction in three distinct ways. The polymer may be part
of the electrochemical operation of the battery as in the case of the new lithium-ion
technology. The polymer may be used in the manufacture of the battery separators, used
in traditional cells to provide physical separation of the positive and negative plates whilst
permitting electron flow through the electrolyte. The third function is as a battery container
material which must resist chemical attack by the electrolyte and give the container
mechanical strength.
Lithium-ion polymer batteries are rechargeable and offer significant advantages over lead
acid and silver zinc batteries in terms of both weight and power. The batteries may be
moulded into the shape most applicable to the end product and so are likely to prove
particularly attractive to manufacturers of mobile phones, hand-held computers and other
physically small electronic products.
Lithium-ion polymer batteries are being selected by the US Navy to power its underwater
vehicles because they offer a longer cycle life than silver zinc types and this leads to a
lower lifecycle cost. Major advantages over lead acid types are a substantially improved
energy density and freedom from gassing during the charging process.
A wide variety of battery separator materials are on offer including PVC, PE and PE
including a small natural rubber content of approximately 20%.
4.3 Cable Glands
These are used to protect and often anchor cables where they enter housings or pass
through panels. The polymers selected for their manufacture are governed by the
environmental conditions and include PA 6, which may be reinforced with glass fibre, with
CR seals. Low-cost glands are made from glass fibre reinforced PS with soft rubber or PE
seals.
The Skintop ST PA cable gland from Contact Connectors offers IP 68 protection up to a
pressure of 0.5 MPa with an operating temperature range from 30 C to +80 C with a
short-term temperature peak of +150 C according to model. The gland incorporates a
Neoprene (CR) seal, and depending on application possibly a Perbunan (NBR) O-sealing
ring, and features an anti-vibration lock with a multi-entry thread for speedy insertion since
only one turn is needed to tighten and protect the cable. Budget-priced designs are made
from PS with rubber sealing rings. Accessories include PS blanking plugs to close up preengineered threaded holes no longer required and polyamide hexagon lock nuts.
4.4 Cable Ties and Markers
This is an application where PVC is the preferred material choice for markers with PA for
ties. UL listing may be needed for export and in these circumstances the least expensive
material option is ruled out. For the most demanding applications, polyketones offer a
temperature range from 50 C to +100 C and are impervious to humidity and exposure
to ultraviolet (UV) light.
4.5 Capacitors
Capacitors, which enjoy the status of the fastest growing sector of the passive electronic
components markets, are available in a wide variety of shapes, sizes and chemical
composition. Capacitor safety has recently been addressed by a new industry initiative
sponsored by the EECA, the European Passive Components Industry Association
(EPCIA) and the main interference suppression capacitor and filter manufacturers in
Europethe ENEC Group. The members will use a single European safety mark, known
as the ENEC Mark, which is being introduced in 2001. The scheme will provide the
European platform and support for the initiative. Similar initiatives are planned for other
passive products including chokes. Speciality polymers are used in solid aluminium
electrolytic capacitors. Polymers used in capacitor design include:
Metallised Mylar
Mylar polyester film is a product of the 50:50 joint venture, dating from 31 December
1999, between DuPont and Teijin Limited. DuPont Teijin claims to be the worlds leading
supplier of PET and polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) polyester films and also supplies
Melinex polyester film.
Metallised PC
This category includes extended foil wound, non-inductive types with Mylar tape outer
wrapping and specially formulated conductive epoxy end fill to maximise heat exchange.
Switch mode power supply applications are available with a choice of axial and tab
terminations with a grounded copper shielding option. In these applications 50 V dc, 75 V
dc and 100 V dc versions are available in capacities ranging from 1 F to 50 F.
However, according to one leading manufacture, polycarbonate types are being phased
out in favour of polypropylene.
This category includes high voltage, 1 kV dc to 15 kV dc, 0.001 F to 1 F designs which
are self-healing, lightweight and compact with excellent capacitance stability. They will
hold charge for several days and so need to be handled with care. They are produced in a
wrap and fill tubular configuration with axial leads. Applications include electrostatic
copiers, oscilloscopes and high voltage power supplies. The operating temperature range
is from 40 C to +85 C.
Lower voltage versions, extending to 200 F/30 V dc or 5 F/400 V dc are constructed
from bi-oriented metallised polyester film with Mylar tape outer wrapping with specially
formulated conductive epoxy end fill to maximise heat exchange. An option of axial leads
or tab terminations is offered. Features of these designs include compact configuration,
high current carrying capability, high operating temperature (up to 85 C), low equivalent
series resistance (ESR) and low equivalent series inductance (ESI). The capacitors will
also withstand rapid rates of voltage increase.
Applications are primarily for use in dc circuits such as blocking, coupling, decoupling,
bypass and dc line filtering where the radio frequency and audio components are small in
comparison with the dc rating. They have also been used successfully in such alternating
current (ac) power applications as power factor correction and ac line filtering. They may
be operated at all temperatures from 55 C to +85 C with derating to 50% at 125 C.
They are intended for use in sealed encapsulated assemblies.
Panasonic Industrials metallised polyester film capacitors are claimed to have an inherent
safety mechanism which limits the loss in capacitance in the event of any dielectric
breakdown. The capacitor structure is composed of a number of discrete units to confine
and isolate any dielectric breakdown. The area affected is disconnected by the action of
the fuse at the head of each electrode unit. This prevents complete capacitor failure by
confining the fault to a localised area.
Metallised polyester film types are also offered by Vishay Intertechnology whose
capacitance range extends from 1000 pF to 4.7 F, the latter model rated at 40 V dc and
capable of operating between 55 C and +100 C.
The Electronic Concepts metallised polyester range extends to 200 F/30 V dc to 5
F/400 V dc at operating temperatures from 55 C to +85 C.
Metallised PP
These designs utilise a non-inductive, extended foil winding with Mylar tape outer
wrapping. Manufacturers offering this technology, with its self-healing properties, include
Electronic Concepts (USA), Ducati Energy (Italy), BC Components International (the
Netherlands) and Evox Rifa (Sweden), which has production plants in Finland and
The PP dielectric separates the electrodes and is able to surround holes created in the
electrodes by power spikes. This maintains the insulation and helps to prevent short
circuits thus prolonging the life of the capacitor. Capacitor performance deteriorates with
time as the number of holes increases.
The Electronic Concepts metallised PP 5MP2 range extends from 10 F/600 V dc to 1.2
F/2,000 V dc at temperatures from 55 C to +105 C. The MP80 range extends to 50
F/400 V dc to 5.6 F/1,500 V dc at temperatures from 55 C to +105 C.
Special manufacturing techniques may be used to optimise use in high current, high
capacitance and low ESR applications.
Advantages claimed for PP types include low losses, low dielectric absorption, long-term
stability and high insulation resistance.
For 450 V ac electric motor applications, the capacitors can be supplied in metal or plastic
case styles with stud mounting if required. UL94 V-0 flame retardant materials are used
and the capacitors comply with VDE (Verband Deutscher Elektrotechniker), IEC
(International Electrotechnical Commission) and SEV (Schweizerischer Elektrotechnischer
Verein) internationally recognised standards. Added operating safety results from the
provision of an internal anti-pressure mechanism.
Medium and high power TPC (formerly Thomson-CSF Passive Components) aluminium
metallised polymer film capacitors from AVX are available with PP, which account for 90%
of its metallised polymer film capacitor sales. PP with higher crystallinity extends the
upper working temperature to 120 C. Versions are available without impregnation or
impregnated with rapeseed oil.
These designs have controlled self-healing whereby the capacitance is divided into
several million capacitor elements. The weak points of the dielectric are insulated and the
capacitor continues to function normally free of any short circuit or explosion. The
capacitor acts in a similar manner to a battery. It ages during use, suffering a decline in
capacitance, finally falling to 5%, or even 2%, of its nominal value at the end of its working
Medium power designs are available for printed circuit board and also rigid mechanical
mounting with voltage ratings from 75 V dc to 3 kV dc; high power designs extend from
1.4 kV dc to 2 kV dc. According to type classification, the medium power capacitor case
may be plastic or aluminium and be filled with a thermosetting resin. High power designs
may be packaged in rectangular stainless steel cases with brackets.
Applications include power supplies, motors and drives, induction heating and military
use. These designs are preferred to electrolytic types because of their longer life, high rms
(root mean square) current ratings and superior tolerance of surge voltages.
Electronic Concepts claims to have developed a new capacitor construction in this sector
which incorporates heavy metal electrodes in a very densely packed configuration. The
technique is claimed to be able to extract significantly more current per microfarad at rated
voltage than competing brands.
PS acts as an extremely loss dielectric material with low loss dielectric absorption. It offers
good long-term stability, with very high insulation resistance and a small negative
temperature coefficient. The capacitor construction involves the use of extended foil radial
PS in a flame retardant epoxy resin case. High-performance, low-cost, axial PS types are
also available, e.g., from LCR Components.
Traditional tantalum capacitors have employed a manganese dioxide cathode plate but
this is now being superceded by a conductive polymer cathode which offers very low ESR
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The polymer technology is claimed by Hitachi to offer a more stable dielectric layer which
can reduce the necessary level of voltage derating to 20% with consequently better space
utilisation. At the manufacturing stage, a forming voltage is applied to the tantalum chip to
produce a layer of tantalum pentoxide on its surface. The capacitors operating voltage is
defined as a percentage of the forming voltage and so 20% derating means that the
operating voltage is 80% of the forming voltage. In other types of tantalum capacitor, the
operating voltage is much less than the forming voltage and this represents far greater
deration.
These capacitors have improved capacitance retention at high frequency. One reason is
that the resistivity of manganese dioxide is at least 160,000 times that of tantalum.
Furthermore, the use of conductive polymers delivers the desired capacitor self-healing
properties without the undesirable ignition failure mode. The two main self-healing
theories are that localised heating leads to the evaporation of the polymer at that point
leading to a breakdown in the connection there. The second theory put forward is that
polymer absorbs oxygen and creates a high resistance at that point as would be the case
with a manganese dioxide cathode. The manufacturing process involves building up the
polymer thickness by repeated dipping and drying.
The mobile telecommunications boom led to lengthening delivery times for tantalum
electrolytic chip capacitors. The lead time immediately prior to Christmas 2000 was six
months but the market downturn early in the New Year brought this figure down to
between two and three weeks.
There is a world shortage of tantalum and demand in 2000 exceeded supply with some
users seeking ceramic and other alternatives. One alternative to tantalum is the closely
related element niobium, which in contrast is abundant and inexpensive. Epcos claims to
be the first manufacturer to launch capacitors using niobium. These new designs are
claimed to offer superior volumetric capacitance with greater capacitance in a smaller
space. In high denominations, 100 F for example, the niobium version is said to be
capable of providing between two and three times the capacitance possible from a
tantalum version, in the same package volume.
Sanyo recently claimed an industry first with the launch of a new family of aluminium
electrolytic capacitors with hybrid cathode electrolytes produced by adding
electroconductive polymer to the cathode electrolyte. The American NIC Components
Corporation offers Surface Mount Specialty Polymer Solid Aluminium Electrolytic
Capacitors to replace multiple tantalum chips in high current power supplies and voltage
regulator applications.
Polymers which are normally insulators can become electrically conductive, and suitable
for use in capacitors, by appropriate doping. These polymers include, for example,
polyacetylene and polypyrrole where the polymer is employed as a cathode instead of
manganese dioxide. This also reduce the capacitors ESR.
Passive elements may be manufactured using conductive polypyrrole formulations. These
formulations, which may include photoinitiators, solvents and additives to give flexibility,
can be used along with the methods of the invention to form passive circuit elements
including capacitors, resistors and inductors in multichip modules or printed wiring boards.
Other conducting polymers available to the component designer include polythiophene,
polyparaphenylene, polyaniline and polyparaphenylene vinylene (PPV).
Kemets KO-Cap range extends from 150 F to 220 F, with a tolerance of 20%, to
voltages of 3.3, 5 or 8 V dc. The absence of manganese dioxide eliminates the oxygen
source which can fuel ignition in the event of device failure due to a short circuit or
excessive fault current. Polypyrrole cathodes also reduce the capacitors ESR.
Premature ageing is one of the problems encountered when using reflow soldering to
attach polymer aluminium capacitors to a printed circuit board. Nippon Chemi-Con claims
to have avoided the problem, whereby the organic polymer electrolyte breaks down due to
the heating effect of the surface mounting process, in its PX capacitor range. The 4 to 25
V dc PX series is designed for digital equipment and incorporates a new conducting
functional polymer as its electrolyte. It has a high heat reflow capability and is claimed to
be solventproof.
The F55 capacitor range of resin moulded, solid organic polymer chip tantalum types from
Nichicon extends from 68 F at 2.5 V to 330 F at 10 V and will also operate at 105 C, or
down to 55 C.
Solvays SOLEF polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) is a fluorinated semi-crystalline
thermoplastic which the company has been making and marketing for more than twentyfive years. It has a continuous use service temperature up to 150 C, a very low dielectric
constant and is used for the manufacture of high capacity capacitor film. It is also used in
lithium-ion polymer batteries and telecommunications applications.
4.6 Coil Formers
Coil formers, which carry windings in inductors, motors and transformers, must be tough
and able to withstand the temperatures experienced. Polymers used include PBT and
phenolic resins.
Moves to the use of Litz triple insulation wire, which can permit the move to smaller
bobbins, mean that the wires to be terminated must spend a longer time in a higher
temperature solder bath in order to burn off the insulation prior to tinning. Consequently it
is necessary to use higher temperature tolerant materials.
UL approved materials include glass reinforced LCP, PA 46, PA 66 and high-temperature
PA with and without glass reinforcement, glass reinforced PBT and PET and glass/glass
and mineral reinforced PPS.
4.7 Connectors
In 1999, the EU connector market grew by approximately 3% in value and 8% in volume
indicating a fall in unit costs. This is largely due to the distinct trend from customised to
standard off-the-shelf products.
A wide range of polymers is used in electrical connectors. The criteria used by a leading
connector manufacturer for polymer selection include:
dielectric strength,
comparative tracking index,
surface and volume resistivity,
continuous service temperature,
water absorption,
radiation resistance,
flammability rating, and
resistance to hydrocarbons.
Military standard connectors from Nanonics have recently been redesigned to utilise new
high temperature LCP insulator material. The new interconnection system is reported to
have passed MilPrf 83513 level qualifications and is said to be ideal for applications where
space, weight and reliability are critical. The polymers temperature stability has been
selected to withstand in-line, pick-and-place, surface mount technology (SMT) solder
processing and is rated for applications from 200 C to +225 C.
The end use of the connector has a strong influence on polymer selection. For example,
the heavy duty, environmentally sealed Buccaneer design range from Bulgin
Components, which offers IP68 sealing and is rated at up to 600 V ac or dc with a current
carrying capacity of up to 32 A per pole, is made from a UL94 V-0 rated PA with impact
resistance and flame retardant properties. UL94 V-0 rated flame retardant PA 66 is also
used by other connector manufacturers.
Edge connectors for printed circuit boards are often used; the connector housings are
typically made from PBT or PC. The US connector manufacturer, ITW, opts for
syndiotactic PS (SPS) or PPS insulation.
The German connector manufacturer, Wago, a PA 66 user for forty years, now employs a
modified version which is free of halogens, fluorocarbons, chlorinated hydrocarbons,
silicone, asbestos, cadmium and formaldehyde. It has a CTI of 600 V, according to the
IEC 112 standard, and so it is possible to reduce the air and creepage distances thus
making smaller components possible. An average moisture content is 2.5% (absorbed
from the surrounding atmosphere).
The material will not corrode and has a FV-2 self-extinguishing rating according to UL 94.
It is temperature stabilised to permit continuous operation at 105 C according to the IEC
216 standard parts 1 and 2. The short-term upper temperature limit is approximately 170
C for grey, dark grey, orange, red, blue and green/yellow designs and 200 C for the light
grey version. The lower temperature handling limit is 35 C with a mechanically stressfree storage temperature of 50 C.
The basic stabilisation provides sufficient protection against ozone or ultraviolet light over
many years of service life. Other inherent protection exists against adverse, notably
tropical, weather conditions, earth bacteria and termites. The material is also resistant to
fuel, most oils, fats and detergents.
The Buccaneer connector is made by Bulgin Components, a medium-volume
manufacturer of connectors, switches, battery holders, fuseholders, indicators and filters
with an annual output of up to 20 million pieces from a range of 3,000 products. Bulgins
fuseholders are made from UL94 V-0 flame retardant PA and glass-filled polyester
materials which achieve an ac breakdown voltage of at least 2 kV and an insulation
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AB Connectors uses CR as an insulation material whilst the Swiss company, W.W.
Fischer, offers PTFE, PBT or PEEK insulator material options in its 405 series of
cylindrical connectors according to the requirements of working temperature and other
criteria. PEEK is an expensive polymer which tends to be employed when other materials
fail to meet the specification requirements of the application. Other Fischer connector
types employ polyamideimide (PAI) or POM. Elastomeric seals used by Fischer in
conjunction with their connectors are made from acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR),
fluoroelastomer, CR, EPDM or styrene-ethylene-butadiene-styrene thermoplastic
elastomer (TPE-S).
PBT is also used by Conec in its range of waterproof connectors which meet IEC 529
specifications by means of a hood sealing mechanism and an internal rubber coating to
the connector. The moulded PBT GF 30 UL94 V-0 frame is attached to the mounting
panel with an O-ring inserted in-between. Frameless types are also offered and these can
operate at up to 130 C. These connectors may be used in environments where moisture,
high humidity and dust are present. They are also resistant to various commonly
encountered chemicals.
BASF offers Ultramid PA and Ultradur PBT for use in automotive connectors.
PEEK has been selected by the connector manufacturer Tyco/AMP for the switching jack
inside its recently introduced coaxial connector for use in connection with its hands-free
mobile phone kit in cars. The function of the connector is to switch the phone signal from
the phones own internal antenna to the vehicles external antenna since this significantly
improves the clarity of the signal. Factors for the selection of PEEK include its excellent
dielectric strength over a wide range of environmental conditions together with its inherent
strength and wear resistance with a capability to deliver an estimated 30,000 switching
The switching jack is cost-effectively injection moulded incorporating a central signal pin,
with stainless steel switching contacts embedded in the base. The high-temperature
resistance and dimensional stability of PEEK enable it to withstand the soldering
operations. Furthermore, its long-term mechanical properties are claimed to render it
ideally suited to fully automated pick-and-place assembly.
Material suppliers include AlliedSignal which offers two grades of glass reinforced V-0
rated polyester, the copolymer based Petra 130 FR and the homopolymer based Petra
330 FR. This product is targeted at connector, coil bobbins and coil encapsulation.
Connector sealing gaskets tend to be made from silicone rubber with a vacuum-tight
requirement being satisfied by the use of fluorosilicone rubber. Epoxy resins are used for
sealing purposes.
Viewed from the polymer manufacturers perspective, the trend in connector use is
towards SMT versions where soldering temperatures of between 220 C and 240 C are
likely to be encountered. These call for the use of high-temperature PA such as DuPonts
Zytel HTN and LCP resins which are forecast to experience sales growth rates of between
fifteen and twenty per cent over the next few years.
European legislation to ban the use of lead and other harmful substances in solder is
likely to come into force in 2004, a date said to have been further deferred to 2008, with
Japan expected to introduce its own legislation. Whereas peer pressure, and the desire to
appear environmentally green, will motivate some companies to adopt lead-free solders
relatively quickly, others will wait until the last minute before making the change. Higher
soldering temperatures allow less margin for error in the soldering operation so precise
temperature control of the manufacturing will become imperative.
Some Japanese companies have been using lead-free solders in their flow soldering
processes since 1997. Sony uses lead-free solders in its MZ-E900 Walkman and
Panasonic, for example, has committed itself to the removal of all lead solder from its
products by March 2003. The Japanese solder manufacturer Senju is to market its full
range of lead-free solders in Europe. Senju, which has manufacturing facilities in Asia,
America and Europe, claims that its lead-free solders are compatible with existing
production processes.
Other Japanese manufacturers of copper/silver lead-free solders include Nihon Almit,
which has lowered the melting point of its LFM8 grade to 219 C by adding a small
quantity of bismuth rendering the solder suitable for applications where assembly is reflow
temperature sensitive. However, brittleness becomes an increasing problem as the
percentage of bismuth is increased and 3% bismuth is a realistic maximum percentage
(which could lower the solder melting point by up to 5 C). The new lead-free solders
include tin/silver/copper formulations and the addition of bismuth makes the
manufacturing process more difficult.
Advocates of lead-free soldering include the SMART (Surface Mount and Related
Technologies) Group which claims to be Europes largest technical trade organisation with
over five hundred corporate members. In February 2001, the Group, in collaboration with
the UK Government Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), sent a group of industry
experts on a lead-free soldering fact finding mission to Japan where they discovered that
most Japanese companies are likely to produce lead-free products within eighteen
months. The information obtained during the mission is being widely disseminated through
seminars, reports and CDs.
The US congress has yet to involve itself in the lead-free solder question to any significant
extent though, should it do so, there would be a major impact on European importers and
exporters.
Lead-free solders typically involve even higher temperatures around 260 C, which have
major implications for moulders and polymer suppliers. However, lower temperature leadfree formulations are available, where the lead content has been replaced by unspecified
percentages of silver and copper.
This market for materials which will tolerate lead-free solders is also addressed by
Eastman Chemical whose polycyclohexyenedimethylene terephthalate (Thermx PCT) has
a heat deflection temperature of 260 C and is thus in competition with PPS and hightemperature PA. Other high-temperature, high-performance and easily processed resins
from Eastman include Thermx LCP and PET. These resins are available in both flameretardant and non flame-retardant grades.
Electronic applications of Shells Carilon aliphatic polyketone semicrystalline resins, which
may be extruded or injection moulded, include miniature mobile phone connectors. The
material previously used by Tycos AMP subsidiary in the Netherlands had experienced
problems with moisture take-up in humid environments. This had led to loosening and
failure of interlocks. Changing to a thin-wall moulding grade of Carilon cured the problem
by providing moisture resistance and elasticity thereby satisfying AMPs wear and
endurance requirements.
Automotive connectors operate in a hostile environment involving periods of excessive
heat and humidity. Whilst polyester and PBT have traditionally been used, even higher
temperatures and more demanding test criteria from automotive manufacturers are forcing
components to consider other polymers. These must also take into account the
diminishing size and the higher thermal resistance required.
PA is favoured by Weidmller which also uses Wemid, a thermoplastic specially modified
to meet the requirements of the companys products. The modifications include superior
flame retarding properties to PA, an increased continuous operating temperature of 120
C as opposed to 100 C for PA, halogen- and phosphorous-free flameproofing agent and
no dioxin- or furan-forming substances.
Medical applications require connector casing materials which may be sterilised in an
autoclave at temperatures around 134 C thus necessitating the use of PEEK or LCP. The
Swiss manufacturer Lemo uses black POM, grey or white PSU and beige PEEK, which is
said to offer excellent mechanical properties whilst being suitable for gas or vapour
sterilisation. Some models are fitted with an outer shell of cream-coloured
polyphenylsulfone (PPSU), which is especially recommended if the connector is to
withstand hundreds of vapour sterilisation cycles. Other connector manufacturers use
PPS which is selected because its ease of flow enables delicate but extremely stiff
components to be produced.
For the majority of applications involving a temperature range from 40 C to 120 C, PBT
may be used as is the case of connectors supplied by Siemens to Volkswagen. PEEK and
PTFE are also used in the harsh environments to be found in the nuclear and chemical
industry sectors. PVC is often used when a connector is moulded on to a cable.
The Japanese Shin-Etsu Polymer Company offers an interesting interconnection
technology using silicone rubber. The company has long-term experience in the
manufacture of solderless elastomeric interconnectors to mount LCDs. The z-axis
conductive silicone rubber is supported by insulating silicone rubber in the interconnector,
which is inserted between the contact surfaces with a slight degree of compression.
This technology has been developed by the company into the GB-type design where a
number of 50 m- or 100 m-pitch fine gold-plated brass filament wires installed adjacent
to each other in or around silicone rubber support material. The individual wires are 30 m
or 40 m thick and can each carry 50 mA with two or more wires per contact pad
providing a good electrical connection. In a typical interconnection application between
two parallel printed circuit boards, each with a row of contact pads with a minimum pitch of
0.2 mm, the minimum distance between the boards would be 1 mm. The interconnector
would be sandwiched between the two boards with a recommended compression of
between 5% and 15%.
Typical applications for this technology are to be found in small-scale, high-volume
products including mobile phones, pagers and watches. Medium-volume applications
include computers, instruments, integrated circuit testers and sensors.
Another derivative of the technology uses a matrix configuration of gold-plated wires to
connect chips, modules and arrays without the need for complex soldering processes.
These are sometimes used to carry out hardware or software upgrades. In these
applications the minimum distance between the board and the chip or module falls to 0.3
Yet another derivative involves the use of U-shaped interconnectors wrapped around a
core of silicone sponge rubber.
4.8 Heaters
This most unusual application involves the enclosure of thin, radiant heating, electric
elements within dielectric, high temperature resistance silicone rubber, which is able to
withstand temperatures of up to 200 C. The heaters, manufactured by FlexHeat use
printed circuit board technology to etch the elements photochemically with precision. This
permits exact watt densities and powers to be defined to a customised size and level of
heating for virtually any application. The flexible heaters can be wrapped round the object
to be heated with hot and cold zones as required. Rapid heating is possible because of
the high thermal mass of the heaters.
Applications invariably involve the creation of localised optimum working conditions for a
device when the ambient environmental temperature is too low. The silicone cover of the
heaters provides a moisture, chemical and ozone resistant electrically insulated barrier.
Peel-and-stick adhesive backing can be used to attach the heater to the device to be
heated. The heater may be sandwiched between, attached or even vulcanised to the
surface to be heated. Standard types are available for those users who do not need a
customised design.
4.9 Membrane Keypads
These are typically built on a polyester base membrane (PETP 35 m Cu-laminated) with
polyester spacer membrane, safety chamber and front membrane. The snap disc is goldplated stainless steel. Other designs use electrical contacts made from silver, silver on
carbon or carbon only. Keypads may also be made from conductive silicone rubber.
Conventional computer keyboards, made from ABS, polyester or other polymers, may be
covered by a polymer overlay to protect it against dirt, dust, water or other substance
present in a hostile environment. Polyester and PVC overlays are used in a wide variety of
applications. Typical casing materials include PC and CR.
The size of the keyboard market is vast with one leading supplier, Cherry, making around
five million each year.
4.10 Plugs and Sockets
Polymers used to insulate plugs and sockets include PA and TPEs. However, for plugs
moulded on to cables the universal polymer choice for plug bodies is PVC, which can
tolerate temperatures up to 60 C. One leading German socket manufacturer analysed
sales as being ABS or PC (80%), high-temperature PBT (10%) and high-temperature PA
Domestic mains sockets are moulded from tough materials designed to withstand abuse
during the installation process. Polymers used include PBT, which may be used with glass
fibre reinforcement, in the manufacture of lamp sockets where its resistance to
discolouration and heat are valuable qualities. In applications where higher temperatures
are likely to be encountered, flame-retardant PET may be used.
Polyester and glass fibre reinforced polyester bodies are a popular choice for industrial
plugs and sockets, especially those destined to be used in hazardous environments
where ATEX (from the French atmospheres explosible) directives apply. The relevant
Article 100a of ATEX Directive (94/9/EC) was issued by the EC in 1994 and will become
law from 1 July 2003.
The Directive is designed to ensure that installers of connectors (and other electrical and
mechanical equipment) in any areas where a risk of explosion exists must be diligent in
fitting compliant products. The essential design feature of such plugs and sockets is that
the electrical connection/disconnection takes place within a flame proof chamber. These
plugs and sockets will normally comply with IP65 or IP66 sealing ratings. The connectors
will be marked with a classification standard, typically EexdellC T6 (E indicates European
certification, Exde indicates hazardous area equipment, flameproof enclosure with
increased safety components, II C indicates Category 2 (Zone 1), and T6 indicates a
maximum surface temperature of 85 C. The details of the designation are subject to
amendment by ATEX). Another of the key design features of connectors for hazardous
areas is that connection/disconnection when the power supply is on is impossible.
It is important to note that no guarantee of safety or protection will exist if the plug and its
mating socket are sourced from different manufacturers. Furthermore, any on-site product
modification will invalidate the certification. The ATEX classification of hazardous
environments is as follows:
Zone 0 is where an explosive mixture of gas, vapour or dust is always present.
Zone 1 is where an explosive mixture of gas, vapour or dust is likely to occur during
normal operation.
Zone 3 is where an explosive mixture of gas vapour or dust is not likely to occur
during normal operation and, if it occurs, it will only exist for a short time as in the
case of a leak.
Zone 21 is when a cloud or layer of combustible dust is present.
Zone 22 is when a cloud or layer of combustible dust is present for short periods.
4.11 Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs)
According to the EECA, in 1999 Europe accounted for 22.9% of the billion market for
PCBs with America taking 31.1%, Japan taking 23.4% and South East Asia taking 18.9%.
In general-purpose applications, competitively priced thermosets are used for the PCB
material. The most common type of PCB produced today, with approximately 90% of the
market, is said to be FR4 multilayered board made up from woven glass fibre and epoxy
resin. Traditionally bromine additives, e.g., tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBA), have been
used as flameproofing agents, but the trend towards less hazardous, halogen-free
materials has stimulated the search for alternatives which include phosphorus
One of the critical properties when selecting PCB laminate materials is its glass transition
point, which becomes increasingly important in the event of a move to the use of lead-free
solders with higher melting points than traditional lead-based formulations. High
temperature FR4 material has a glass transition point of 150 C, a continuous operating
temperature of 130 C, and will also withstand temperatures of between 260 C and 280
C for brief periods. However, the use of polyimides will permit continuous operation at
such elevated temperatures. Other materials used in special applications, involving single
chip carrier modules for example, include cyanide esters and bismulemit triazine (BT). BT
epoxy laminates, marketed by Polyclad Technologies, are compounds of FR4 material,
polyimide and cyanide ester with a glass transition point of 200 C.
For those companies requiring rapid prototype production, the UK Sigtronics company
offers its Quickboard service claiming to offer delivery within 24 hours to anywhere in the
UK. Computer-aided design (CAD) files can be submitted to the companys website which
will respond with a quotation within one hour during the working day. The boards are not
produced in the normal manner which involves etching unwanted copper from copper clad
laminate. Instead a conductive copper-filled polymer is applied to an engraved bare
laminate. The surplus polymer is wiped off leaving the polymer filled tracks. The board is
then cured and the polymer changes colour from copper to silver. The production process
can normally be completed within three hours.
Automotive applications may involve PCBs within close proximity to or inside the engine
compartment where the elevated temperatures may subject the boards to considerable
thermal stresses. At 260 C, in the so-called T260 test, standard FR4 material will
delaminate after fifteen minutes. However, a German company, Isola AG, has produced a
resin formulation which confers a far better thermal stability. Isolas Duraver-E-Cu 104 TS
and Univer-E-Cu 104TS will withstand 260 for more than an hour before delamination
occurs whilst featuring the same favourable properties as standard FR4.
The selection of the board material is governed by the end-use of the product with
ceramic filled PTFE composites being selected for high frequency applications. Other
PTFE composites with or without the addition of woven or non-woven glass fibre can be
provided. In high temperature applications PPA may be used.
Materials offered by GE Electromaterials include GETEK laminates which incorporate
epoxy and PPO resins which are claimed to provide processability and the improved
thermal and electrical properties required for sophisticated circuitry. They also deliver
significant cost savings and are suggested as replacements for polyimides, PTFE and
other substrate materials in many existing applications.
Lower cost flexible printed circuits use polyester base materials with more expensive
polyimide, including DuPonts Kapton, selected for applications where higher performance
is required. It is not possible to solder polyester so connections must be made by
clamping, by the use of zero insertion force (ZIF) or simple crimp-on connectors, or by
other methods including conducting adhesives though epoxy and acrylic adhesives are
said to have a short shelf life. Flexible/rigid laminates are available with up to twenty-two
layers. Advanced printed circuits are used in missiles and the Eurofighter where
applications include aircraft engine control and management systems.
Manufacturers of flexible printed circuits include Chichester, UK-based Teknoflex, which
selects materials according to application, with PI being used because of its thermoset
characteristics and tolerance of higher temperatures (e.g., in the engine compartment and
exhaust system and for sensor use in the braking system). PI is also preferred if high
flexing cycles are involved. For less arduous automotive applications, as in instrument
clusters, headliner and door panel circuits, lower cost PET would be chosen. In
intermediate conditions, PEN may be selected. This material is growing in popularity
because of its performance profile between PI and PET. Should EMI/RFI screening be
necessary, arguably the best solution is to use silver polymer screens encapsulated with a
screen-printed or photo-imageable coating. Multilayer flexible circuits involving layers of
copper/adhesive/polyamide/adhesive/copper are also available from Teknoflex.
The benefits of flexible circuitry when set against conventional wiring harnesses are
considerable. The cost of flexible circuitry is around 70% of the cost of a comparable
wiring harness, its weight is around 30% of that of the comparable wiring harness and it
will only occupy 40 % of the space required by the comparable wiring harness.
Adhesives are used to attach surface mount components to the printed circuit board prior
to the soldering process. These include PD977 from Heraeus which has been specially
developed for the purpose. It is a single component, solvent-free, epoxy-based,
thermosetting polymer which cures quickly at low temperatures in the range 80 C to 120
C with a suggested optimum temperature of 90 C when the curing time is three minutes.
The adhesive may easily be removed from unwanted areas with a number of water and
solvent-based cleaning compounds prior to curing. The residual thermoplasticity of the
adhesive allows defective components to be replaced by means of spot heating.
Flexible printed circuits may be produced using polymer thick film (PTF) technology where
Poly-Flex Circuits claims world leadership. The company uses lead-free attachment
technology involving Poly-Solder, a silver-loaded isotropic conductive adhesive. PolyFlex
prodces more than fifty million circuits annually with both US and UK manufacturing
facilities and employs 350 people worldwide. It was formerly a subsidiary of Cookson plc
which sold it to the US Parlex Corporation in October 2000.
Whereas traditional printed circuit boards are flat or flexible, injection-moulded three
dimensional versions, also known as MIDs, have been developed with an estimated world
market size of around PLOOLRQ 7KH EHDXW\ RI WKH FRQFHSW LV WKDW Lt combines into one
unit a circuit board, enclosure, connector and cable. The only limitation to its shape and
size is said to be the available injection moulding capability. Customers for products
utilising the technology include BMW, Braun, Deutsche Telekom, Philips and Siemens.
The technology lends itself to automotive applications and favoured resins for the
performance parts include LCPs and PEI, with ABS to be used elsewhere. Cost is a
consideration in polymer selection.
The techniques of installing the electronic circuitry on to the MIDs include laser imaging,
two-component moulding or hot foil stamping. The laser technique lends itself to fine line
work on small parts. The technique is flexible because design changes involve
amendments to the software rather than to the hardware. Furthermore, it is relatively easy
to draw circuitry to 50 m width.
Two-component moulding should only be considered for parts with complicated
geometries where the annual unit volumes exceed 250,000, because of the high tooling
costs involved. The process involves the combination of one plateable material with
another non-plateable one. The plateable material can only be seen where circuit traces
are desired.
In some cases PA is used for both. For example, a glass-reinforced, impact-modified PA 6
may be used as the plateable material and an unfilled PA 12 used as the non plateable
material. The PA 6 is etched by an acid and the metal is attached to the exposed filler
whilst the PA 12 remains intact.
The hot foil stamping process is more suited to simpler parts since it is fast, of low cost
and usable on all plastics, though part dimensions are limited.
The manufacture of moulded electronic circuits uses another technology for the
production of three dimensional printed circuit boards which lends itself to mass
production. The process allows the manufacture of the circuit and its moulding on to a
rigid thermoplastic base to be carried out simultaneously. The first of the five production
stages involves the definition of the required interconnection patterns by the plating of
copper on to a low-cost aluminium foil through a pattern of light-sensitive photoresist.
The patterned foil is then rinsed and dried before being placed in the mould cavity of an
injection moulding machine. The molten thermoplastic resin is forced into the cavity
against the plated pattern. Then, after cooling, the chemical removal of the foil reveals the
three dimensional moulded circuit.
Whilst this is the basic process it is also possible to include connectors, heat sinks or
other metal sections in the moulding. The selection of the right polymer is crucial to the
success of this process and the polymers heat deflection temperature (HDT) provides an
indication of its suitability.
Whilst reinforced crosslinked thermoset resins traditionally have high HDT ratings and are
thus suitable for the production of solderable printed circuits, thermoplastic resins have, in
the past, had low HDT ratings. However, it is now possible to incorporate additives and
thereby raise the HDT figure. The use of certain fillers provides sufficient resistance to the
high temperatures encountered in modern soldering processes.
Additives may also be incorporated to improve flame retardancy. For example, the USbased supplier, the Albemarle Corporation, offers Saytex HP-7010 brominated
polystyrenes to be used in the production of printed circuit boards. Albemarle has also
introduced proprietary brominated and halogen-free flame retardant materials. It considers
HP-7010 to be particularly suited to be used with thermoplastics in applications such as
connectors.
The choice of polymer includes two distinct product categories: high-temperature
amorphous plastics and semi-crystalline plastics. The former category includes PEI, PES
and polyarylsulfone (PAS). Typical HDT figures of these acid and alkali resistant polymers
are below 220 C with a continuous operating temperature of 180 C. The semi-crystalline
category includes LCPs, PA, polyesters and PPS with continuous operating temperatures
ranging from 130 C (PBT) to 220 C (PPS). PPS is claimed to offer outstanding
resistance to acids and alkalis with no known solvent below 200 C. A further important
factor in the selection of suitable polymers is water absorption since the presence of water
vapour during the process could affect its success. HT amorphous polymers absorb
between 0.1% and 1% water whereas the absorption figure for PBT and some other semicrystallines is less than 0.01%.
Moulded circuits produced by this process are used in aerospace, automotive and military
applications; all areas where hostile environmental conditions may be encountered. Less
arduous applications include cordless and mobile telephone headsets and remote
controllers for television sets and video recorders. The fact that the surface of the circuitry
is flush with the surrounding plastic makes these mouldings particularly suitable for
applications involving a wiping action or sliding contact with other components.
The system has been used in domestic television sets by Grundig and its partner
company, Thomson-Brandt. A comparison of the MIDs made with relatively expensive
materials and conventional printed circuit boards revealed that, despite material costs
being up to 2.5 times the cost of conventional printed circuit board material, the MID
system using thermoplastics offers cost savings. A galvanic process can be used to
deposit the copper tracks rather than employing foil lamination, etching, drilling or
punching. Furthermore, the galvanic process uses less chemicals and can thus be
considered more environmentally friendly, especially since it is recyclable by grinding
scrap parts to a powder with particle sizes less than 1 mm. Gravitational separation is
used to secure 99.9% separation of the metal from the plastic. The usage of MID
technology is being promoted by the 3-D-MID research organisation which is based in
Germany at Erlangen.
4.12 Relays
In the selection of plastics materials for use in relays, invariably compliant with UL94 V-0,
low degassing properties are required. The requirement arises because some polymers
are inherently hygroscopic and so must be dried thoroughly before use. Other polymers
may absorb gases during the manufacturing process and these may be subsequently
released by the mouldings used as actuating combs, base plates, coil elements and
housings of the finished sealed relays. The sealing prevents the ingress of polluting gases
from the environment. However, the long-term reliability of the relay would be affected if
moisture, for example, were to be released by the plastic components and corrode the
relay contacts.
Pickering reed relays use a polybutadiene polyol inside with an epoxy exterior though
silicone rubber is sometimes employed.
4.13 Resistors
The main polymer use in chip resistors relates to the encapsulation material, which is
frequently PA but may be epoxy resin. Silicone rubber encapsulation, which provides a
cushioning layer to isolate the resistive element from external stresses, and polymerised
moisture protection layers are two other uses of polymers in resistors. Encapsulated
resistor capacitor (RC) networks utilise epoxy/anhydride conformal body material.
Conformal implies a coating of uniform thickness as would be obtained by a dipping
process for example.
Small wire-wound resistors are made by winding the resistance wire round a proprietary
bobbin and then encapsulating it in silicone rubber over which an epoxy shell is moulded.
Other resistor formats use foil elements with Kapton insulation coated with epoxy enamel.
An interesting development in variable resistor design is the use of a conductive polymer
as the resistive element of the design. The polymer used is effectively a thick film ink
similar to the cermet (ceramic/metal) compounds which are also used in variable resistors.
Conductive polymers are superior to cermet in respect of their dynamic noise
characteristic but have inferior moisture resistance, temperature coefficients, power
dissipation and wiper current capacities. The temperature coefficient and power handling
capabilities of wire-wound resistors are higher of course.
The cost of conductive polymers is low and they offer minimal contact resistance variation
coupled with a long rotational life (i.e., several million operating cycles). There is virtually
no friction or wear, even after a few million operating cycles of the wipers movement over
the resistive element, due to the polymers surface which is smoother than that of cermet.
The user has a choice of a wide range of resistance values and tapers.
Further benefits of the conductive polymer design include essentially infinite resolution,
good high frequency operation (because of its low inductance due to the flat design) and
absence of a coil. In conclusion, the limitations include low wiper current ratings, low
power capabilities and a moderate temperature coefficient.
The Hybritron design combines the qualities of wire and plastic since a conductive plastic
coating is added to a wire-wound element. The temperature coefficient and resistance
stability approach that of a pure wire-wound element. Furthermore, it benefits from the
long operational life, essentially infinite resolution and low noise characteristics associated
with pure conductive polymer elements. Although the design combines the best features
of both technologies, it is not recommended for applications involving high wiper currents
and so should be confined to voltage divider use.
Polymer-based positive temperature coefficient (PTC) resettable devices, from Bourns,
Littelfuse and other suppliers, may be coated in a flame retardant epoxy polymer
insulating material, which meets UL94 V-0, and cured. PTC devices act as circuit
protectors because, provided the current flowing through the device is lower than its
specified level, the resistance of the device will be negligible and no self heating will
occur. In a fault condition the current will exceed the specified value, self heating of the
device will occur, its electrical resistance will rise and therefore reduce the current flowing
through the circuit thus protecting other circuit components.
PTC devices are available in a range of specifications to meet defined requirements in low
voltage electronic circuits where they may, for example, protect automotive electronic
circuits, cellular phones, laptop computers, loud speakers, power transformers,
rechargeable battery packs, security and fire alarm systems and other products.
Raychems PolySwitch VTP battery protection devices are polymeric PTC resettable
fuses, 5 mm wide or less, which operate as low resistance series elements between
battery cells and circuitry. They are particularly useful when used in conjunction with
lithium-ion batteries where an accidental short circuit in the load could have serious
consequences. If this happens with the fuse in place, the electrical resistance of the fuse
will increase rapidly thus reducing the current flowing in the circuit.
4.14 RFI Screening
Screening against RFI may be provided by incorporating nickel-coated particles, a lower
cost option than silver particles, in an elastomer. RFI Shielding offers a gasket material
using silicone and fluorosilicone resins in two grades Supershield NG1000 (nickel/graphite
in silicone) and NG1000F (nickel/graphite in fluorosilicone).
An XY800 variant is also available for use with the Xyshield form-in-place gasketing
process whereby small section RFI/MI (magnetic interference) seals are formed directly
on to intricate electronic enclosures. XY800 can be vulcanised at room temperature and is
cured by reaction with water vapour in the atmosphere. It is applied in fluid form through
computer-controlled dispensing heads thus obviating the need for additional gasket fitting
Warth International is another specialist suppler of thermally conductive polymer
insulators. The companys Kool-Pads are supplied as discrete pads for insertion between
metal electronic components, typically transistors, and a metal heatsink in order to allow
the heat generated in the component to be dissipated whilst maintaining electrical
isolation. Some designs also incorporate an integral RF shield. These include oriented
Monel or aluminium in silicone or fluorosilicone rubber, carbon-loaded elastomer, nickelor silver-plated aluminium loaded elastomer and copper or aluminium/polyester.
4.15 Sensors
Sensors enable equipment operating conditions to be measured and monitored. Some
types of thermocouples are inherently fragile and may be mounted on a temporary PA film
carrier, which is tough, flexible and dimensionally stable with a continuous rating of 230 C
and peeled off prior to installation. Other models are constructed on an insulated PA
carrier. Housings may be made from glass-filled PA, PBT, PC or ABS.
Temperature sensors are non invasive and can be attached to either flat or curved
surfaces. Platinum resistance temperature detectors may be used to measure the
temperature of items with a low mass where it is importance that the sensor itself does not
affect the temperature being measured.
Occasionally permanent magnets are needed in sensor applications. Ferriflex from
Groupe Carbone Lorraines Ugimag subsidiary is produced from hexaferrite bonded into
an elastomer which may be NBR for continuous use at 100 C or EPDM for continuous
use at 75 C.
General-purpose sensors for air flow temperature measurements may be encased in
black ABS housings. However, sensors in relatively heavy polyester cases are selected
for applications requiring a delayed time response as in process controls for refrigeration
and heating. Should small size, low cost, versatility and fast response be required then
durable epoxy encapsulation should be selected. The size of the assembly will governed
by the choice of thermistor and wire size. Sensors with polyacetal housings are
considered excellent for environmental controls and applications involving temperatures
below 100 C. PA pipe sensors are used in environmental and water heating/cooling
Some sensors have to operate in harsh chemical environments and the German
manufacturer, Hans Turck GmbH & Co., KG, is offering capacitive sensors made from
PVDF for such applications. These are claimed to reliably detect all metallic and nonmetallic materials including water, metal, wood, glass, cardboard, plastic, concrete block,
glue, thin wire, silicon wafers and numerous other materials.
Ticona has supplied its two-shot Vectra LCP for sunlight sensor holders. The grade used
for the first shot is able to be permanently metallised and the second shot employs a high
flow capacity grade.
In an interesting new application under development at the University of Illinois, USA,
fibre-optic sensors are being promoted for the detection of faults in train wheels and
railway tracks (including buckling). They can also be used to detect the presence and
speed of trains passing over the tracks. Such sensors already monitor pedestrians
approaching road crossing points.
The operating principle is that fibre compression limits the light from a laser source
reaching a photodetector along sensitive optical fibres attached to the rail track. The
University has developed three types of fibre-optic sensors including a twisted pair of
optical fibres sandwiched between two metallic plates and held in place with an epoxy
filler. The second type is constructed around a coil of polymer optical fibre and the third
type involves the use of single-mode optical fibre in a more complex design incorporating
optical polarisers, quarter-wave plates laser diodes and photodetectors.
The benefits of optical fibres include their immunity to electromagnetic interference.
Optical sensors and couplers are often encapsulated in PC housings.
4.16 Switches
Outdoor switches and sockets must withstand severe weather and other adverse
environmental conditions. Suitable protection can be secured by installing high impact,
chemical and UV resistant housings. Hagers IP56 rated Ashley range incorporates a
specially developed gel seal and will withstand dust, heavy seas or even water jets. Other
materials used include glass-filled phenolic resins, thermosets and thermoplastics.
Indoor applications are less demanding and Bosch-Siemens uses Ticona Hostaform
polyacetal in its domestic appliance switches. Ticona also supplies Vectra LCP for use in
miniature short stroke switches where its high flow capacity confers high production safety
Typical materials for normal switches and fuseholders include PA 6, glass-filled PPA and
PC where transparency is required. Heat-resisting and self-quenching (UL94 V-0)
materials include diallylphthalate (DAP) and PSU.
Miniature switches mounted on printed circuit boards variously use glass fibre reinforced
PBT, PA, LCPs, high-temperature PPS as base materials and glass fibre reinforced POM,
glass fibre reinforced PBT and PA as actuator materials. Polyester film is used to provide
a top seal with epoxy employed as a potting material.
EAO employs self-extinguishing PEI for actuator casings selecting polymethyl
methacrylate (PMMA) or PC for the lenses of its pushbutton switches.
4.17 Terminals
Crimped terminals are a popular way to terminate cables. The choice of polymer for the
terminals themselves will be governed by environmental circumstances. Normally PVC is
used but high-temperature applications will call for PA or PC insulators.
Terminal blocks are made from glass-fibre reinforced PA, polyester or PE. PA 6/66 may
be self-extinguishing to UL94 V-2 whereas a brown glass filled PA could conform to UL94
V-0. The latter material is better suited to operate at elevated temperatures. PA 68 is also
Camden Electronics, which claims to be the prime UK source of PCB terminal blocks uses
UL94 V-0 flame retardant Lexan PC with an operating temperature range from 20 C to +
125 C and a short-term temperature tolerance of 160 C.
4.18 Touch Screens
Whilst the mouse is the preferred control option of many personal computer users, touch
screens are increasingly being used in industrial and other applications including
computer installations in post offices. The various control technologies do not invariably
involve the use of polymers. Those which do include the resistive system whereby a clear
acrylic, PC or glass substrate is attached to a second flexible polyester layer.
Alternatively, two flexible layers may be mounted on a solid clear window. The surface of
the clear substrate is coated with indium tin oxide (ITO) on to which a small electrical
current is constantly applied. The ITO coating is also applied to the polyester overlay
whose surface is covered by a pattern of hundreds of microscopic dots which keep the
substrate and the overlay apart. Finger or other pressure on the outside of the overlay
produces a local short circuit in such a way that the computer recognises the X and Y
coordinates of the point of contact and acts accordingly.
IR technology operates by means of miniature LEDs which are mounted beneath the
bezel which surrounds the computer screen. LEDs are housed in epoxy packages which
may be water clear or tinted. LEDs offer significant advantages over incandescent lamps.
Whilst they are more expensive, LED clusters will operate for around 100,000 hours
before they have to be replaced whereas incandescent lamps will need replacement after
1,000 hours. LEDs are also more reliable and have a lower power consumption. They now
have higher brightness and are available in a wider range of colours than in the past.
Alternative systems operate on the basis of acoustic, capacitive or laser technology. The
Zytronic touch screen is capacitive with fine wires and polyvinyl butyral (PVB) or PU layers
sandwiched between glass panels. Touching the screen affects its local capacitance.
Applications include automated teller machines (ATMs) for cash withdrawal.
4.19 Other Components
Other components include protective covers for components operating in hostile
environments. For example, switches operating in the food industry can be protected by
fluorosilicone rubber boots against frequent washing down. Circuit breakers and push
buttons cab be protected from the corrosive effects of dust, dirt and salt spray by the use
of caps made from suitable elastomers. Insulating pillars to mount a printed circuit board
above a panel, for example, are moulded from PA 66. PA mouldings are also widely uses
for the manufacture of miscellaneous hardware including nuts, bolts, washers, clips and
other fasteners and blanking plugs. Occasionally glass filled polyester is used in heavy
duty versions of some components.
5 Overview of European Electronic Component Markets
The European Union market for electronic components, according to the EECA, is
Germany leads, with a national market of around ELOOLRQ IROORZHG E\ WKH 8. ZLWK D
market size of around ELOOLRQ DQG )UDQFH ZLWK DQ DSSUR[LPDWH ILJXUH RI 7 billion. In
1999, passive components accounted for 9% of the world components sales with active
components taking 71% with 20% for electromechanical components. Growth of
European passive component sales in 1999 was reported to be around 5%, the switches,
panels and keyboards (SPK) sector reported a similar growth figure. European SPK
production is concentrated in the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain.
Market sizes are becoming increasingly difficult to define due to the increasingly panEuropean activities of both suppliers and users, notably companies central purchasing
departments, contract electronic manufacturers moving production between countries and
component distributors operating seamlessly across national boundaries. Multinationalism
involves dedication to securing the best price and delivery by exploiting economies of
The EECA illustrates the current state of affairs with a hypothetical example of product
ordered from a company in Germany with payment to be made in France, shipment to be
made ex-works in Italy with delivery via the UK to the end-user in Ireland. Traditionally the
country where the invoice was paid satisfied the market criterion for statistical purposes
but this definition is no longer valid in 2001.
Despite the difficulties of definition, there is universal agreement that the European
electronic components market, in sales terms, has grown every year since 1988 with the
sole exception of 1992, the aggregate growth from 1988 to 1999 being 146% in value
terms. Growth rates have varied significantly from year to year with a relatively small 1.8%
increase in 1998 and a far higher 10.6% in 1999.
Component production in Europe has grown more slowly with an aggregate 116% rise
from 1988 to 1999. Dividing production statistics into their domestic and export
components reveals, according to EECA, that the tripling of exports during the period has
been accompanied by a tripling of imports. Since the value of imports is approximately
double the value of exports, the net result has been a loss of market share by domestic
For some sectors of the market, notably connector and PCB manufacture, the year 2000
was a vintage year, better than any of the past fifteen or even twenty years. This was
because, exceptionally, the three major markets of Europe, the Far East and the USA
were all busy at the same due largely to the impact of growth in all sector of
telecommunications and internet businesses. The normal situation is for one of the three
major markets to be depressed with its manufacturers dumping their products at low
prices in the other two major markets.
PCB manufacturers saw their turnover increase by 30% in value over the previous year
with prices rising by between 8% and 15%. The price increase meant that the board area,
or quantity, sold did not rise to the same extent. Semiconductor manufacturers did not
share the success of the PCB producers.
Whilst the strength of sterling against the euro has been blamed for much of Britains
manufacturing weakness, the dollar, which has remained reasonably stable against
sterling, has also risen by around 25% against the euro. Consequently US manufacturers,
seeking to retain their markets in mainland Europe, have had to lower their prices
significantly in order to remain competitive. Another option for them has been to transfer
their export manufacturing activity to their European subsidiaries. Component
manufacturers in the Far East, with exchange rate problems of their own, have not
lowered their prices to the same extent.
The state of the UK manufacturing activity is illustrated by reports that the sole source of
growth since 1995 has been the electronics and telecommunications manufacturing
sectors where technology linked output has grown by 37% since 1995. Now even these
sectors are going into reverse with a January 2001 fall of 4.8% in electronics and
telecommunications output as these mainly foreign owned companies cut investment in
the UK. Output in other manufacturing sectors has fallen by 1%.
In some cases, particularly in consumer electronics, manufacture and assembly in the UK
is no longer economically viable and so companies have closed their UK plants or else
have moved their manufacturing operations to low labour cost countries. One of the most
recent announcements, by Compaq in April 2001, is of the transfer of computer assembly
operations at Irvine in Scotland, with the loss of seven hundred jobs, to a Taiwaneseowned contract electronics manufacturer in the Czech Republic. Compaq is to retain a
workforce of 2,400 at its plant in Ayr.
The German injection moulding specialist, Inotech, has sought to achieve the best of both
worlds by siting its German and Czech plants seventy kilometres apart. Consequently, the
processes with a high labour content are located on the low wage cost, Czech side of the
border whilst other services are performed on the German side.
The claimed advantages of this system include:
German headquarters staff are continuously on the spot,
daily deliveries between the two plants,
no border hold-ups because customs clearance is carried out in the company, and
German-speaking staff trained at the German headquarters.
A revealing survey conducted by Mori for the UK Engineering Employers Federation
(EEF) showed that 35% of those interviewed already had part of their manufacturing
production carried out overseas and that this figure was destined to grow to 49% in five
years time. The surveys 500 respondents were selected from chief executives, managing
directors and board members of EEF companies with 26% of companies being engaged
in electronics and electrical engineering.
The European electronics sector has benefitted to the extent that its exports are relatively
cheap and this has resulted in a growth in the numbers employed of around 15% with
German companies in particular seeking employees.
5.2 Market Analysis
In January 2001, EECA, with affiliated members in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany,
Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the UK, evolved into a new, more focused,
industry association where it seeks to promote and defend the vital interests of the
European electronic components industry and to support its competitive position in the
global market place. The EECA claims to represent more than 95% of European
electronic components production involving more than one thousand companies, mostly
small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) which directly employ more than 235,000
The new organisation comprises four autonomous industry associations with members
drawn from the national trade associations of the member countries as well as from
manufacturing and related industries. The associations are:
European Semiconductor Industry Association (ESIA),
European Display Industry Association (EDIA),
European Packaging and Interconnection Association (EPIA), and
European Passive Components Industry Association (EPCIA).
The February 2001 EPCIA newsletter reports on the Associations General Assembly
which took place in January 2001, where the President stated that the 40% sales growth
was clearly driven by tantalum and ceramic multilayer capacitors with price increases due
to the strength of the US dollar, the palladium price and the excess of the demand. The
President went on to forecast continued growth in 2001 with growth in the second quarter
questionable. There was also a question mark over the development of the US dollar.
However, he saw a possible restart of demand in the second half of the year; he
estimated overall growth in 2001 to be within the band 5% to 10%.
UMTS services will not make a measurable contribution to the figures in 2001. The
President added his belief that the automotive sector will remain the second strongest
market for passive components and will continue to grow. Further growth is also to be
found in the subcontracting sector. However, the universal, and serious, concern from
passive component manufacturers relates to the ongoing price increases in almost all raw
materials. Polymer manufacturers have been imposing price increases due largely to the
rise in the cost of oil.
ways as catalogue distributors, CEMs, OEMs and overseas distributors. It has been
reported that CEMs now account for between 35% and 40% of the component sales of
some distributors. However, with the total European components market reported to
exceed US$45 billion, the picture across Europe is that distributor sales accounted for
only a quarter of the business in 1999, the remainder going to OEMs. The picture is
changing dramatically and it is forecast that the distributor percentage will rise to 40%
before the end of the decade.
Some CEMs and OEMs show a marked lack of enthusiasm for the assembly of
electromechanical components, which may be more time consuming and less amenable
to automated processes than printed circuit board assembly. The fitting out of enclosures
with cables and connectors, fans and heaters, front panels and backplanes, adds another
customer sub-category where pioneers include Radiatron Engineering Design Solutions
(REDS) and Time 24 (which has 320 employees and has seen its turnover grow annually
by around 38% to its current figure of over 11 million).
collaboration between leading thermoplastics suppliers including BASF, Bayer,
create a customer focused global e-market. This will be established as a stand-alone
initial phases of a pan-European phased launch. Eventually a complete package of
business-to-business functions including electronic invoicing, multi-currency purchasing
and order tracking will be available.
Ticonas resins are already distributed by GE Plastics distribution operation, GE
Polymerland, which also has an on-line operation. Polymerland has taken the whole GE
Plastics operation onboard and is aiming for sales of over a billion dollars from its on-line
operations. The Polymerland operation is being used as a model by other GE divisions.
Enhancements of the operation include the monitoring of customers silos such that
deliveries are made when stocks fall to predetermined levels.
A parallel operation exists for elastomer e-commerce. The technology is also used for online auctions where bidders steadily reduce their bids in VWHSV XQWLO WKH SXUFKDVHU
is left with a sole supplier. In one bid for plastic bottles, Bayer secured a 25% reduction in
the offer price. Bayer uses this process widely in its purchasing operations via the
Chemplorer chemical industry one-stop shopping site where 100 traders and distributors
representing over 2,000 manufacturers trade in more than 800,000 frequently needed
articles. Purchases are made at the pressing of a button. Chemplorers simplified systems
have securing savings of over 60% compared with traditional purchasing methods. Bayer
is also using the internet to sell its products and will soon sees annual sales of up to
billion annually using this route. By the end of 2000, around one hundred of Bayers
largest customers in the plastics and polyurethanes business sector were able to buy via
the groups wwwbayerone.com and the enlargement of these activities is ongoing.
represent around 85% of the number of components on a typical PCB. However, because
of the much higher unit costs of semiconductors, passives only account for around 5% of
the total component cost. Ironically, athough the number of integrated circuits (ICs) on a
typical PCB has fallen dramatically in recent years, the number of passive components
has hardly changed.
The year 2000 generated record sales with some suppliers reporting sales turnover
increases over the previous year of between 30% and 40%. 2001 is unlikely to be as
successful but double-digit percentage sales increases are still expected. Suppliers have
brought additional manufacturing capacity on stream and so price levels may come down.
The consumption of polymers in the communications sector is reported to grown from
500,000 tonnes in 1996 to an estimated 800,000 tonnes in 2001.
The electronic components market per product sector and application in the fifteen
member states of the European Union according to the EECA is shown in Tables 5.1 and
Table 5.1 EU electronic components market by product sector, 1998 and 1999
Rest of EU
TOTAL EU
Note: ( ) denotes decline
EDP = Electronic Data Processing
Source: EECA 1999 Industry Report
Table 5.2 EU electronic components market by component type, 1998 and 1999
1999/1998 (%)
[ 9
Communications and automotive applications represent the largest markets for
components. The other major markets are the wireless and consumer entertainment
electronics, data processing and industrial sectors. The scale of the world electronics
market is illustrated by the statement from AVX that more than 110 million personal
computers were shipped in 1999, a rise of nearly 23% from the previous year with similar
sales growth expected to be reported in 2000.
Possibly the most important industrial application is in instrumentation and control where
the objective is to cut costs and economise on the use of electricity by electric motors by
the employment of electronic speed control. Efficient use of electricity is one of the ways
companies can minimise their payment of the recently introduced Climate Change Levy of
0.43 pence per kilowatt hour in the year 2001 to 2002 which, in many cases amounts to a
15% surcharge on energy bills except where dispensations have been granted. These
include a 50 million energy efficiency fund designed to help small and medium-sized
businesses. The help comprises encouragement, advice and promotion. An initial
allocation of 100 million has been made in the form of Enhanced Capital Allowances
(ECAs) for businesses to invest in qualifying energy efficient technologies.
The world market for variable speed drives is valued at approximately $6.2 billion with
typical uses including cranes, fans, machine tools and pumps. Other important areas
where electronic components are used extensively in the control systems include fire
alarm systems, heating, lighting and air conditioning.
The energy savings attainable by the use of variable speed drives in pumps are
particularly significant because the power required varies according to the cube of the
speed. Consequently, reducing the pump speed by 20% will result in a 50% saving in
energy consumption.
Few power-operated consumer products are now sold without electronic controls of some
description being installed to improve efficiency and ease of operation. Pure electronic
controls have taken over from electromechanical systems since they are invariably less
expensive and more reliable.
In the data processing sector, the manufacture of personal computers and laptops in
Europe is largely a case of building the finished product up from sub-assemblies made in
Asia or other low labour cost countries. Until quite recently set-top boxes, designed to
convert in-coming digital signals received from the transmitter into an input for an existing
analogue signal television set, have been manufactured in the UK. Now the manufacturer,
Pace Micro Technology, has decide to outsource all production and close its factory at
Saltaire in Yorkshire with the loss of 470 jobs. However, the company will continue to
employ 670 non-manufacturing employees in the UK with the intention of adding a further
80 employees to this side of the business later in 2001.
Seen from the perspective of the component manufacturer, a capacitor manufacturer for
example, where the largest companies in the sector are Matsushita, Epcos, NisseiArcotronics, BHC Aerovox, BC Components, Vishey and Wima, the strength of the
competition and the state of the market will be seen to vary from one type of capacitor to
Film capacitors, which are made by approximately four hundred companies around the
world, use polymer films including polyester and polypropylene as the non-conducting
dielectric layer. Film capacitors are used in audio and video equipment, automotive
electronics, lighting, measuring equipment, industrial electronics and telecommunications
equipment. The market for film capacitors is expected to grow at an annual rate of about 5
% during the next three years.
In the case of paper capacitors, which are used for interference suppression in mains
electricity supplies for example, the market size is expected to remain stable during the
coming three years. The leading manufacturers of paper capacitors are Evox Rifa and
Wima, a German company.
Aluminium electrolytic capacitors are sold for applications in telecommunications, lighting
and automotive electronics and for the electronic controls of electric motors. The markets
are growing rapidly in Europe and less so in North America, especially in the automotive
industry. The largest companies in the sector are Matsushita, Epcos, Nissei-Arcotronics,
BHC Aerovox, BC Components, Vishay and Wima.
Most dramatic of all has been the increasing demand for tantalum capacitors which
showed compound annual growth of 20% over the three years to 2000.
In its report for the first half of 2000, Epcos, the leading German passive electronic
component manufacturer, reported that growth was being driven, above all, by
telecommunications and automotive electronics. Consequently those countries with the
greatest manufacturing presence in these sectors will benefit from the greatest growth.
The company went on to report that its expansion was also being boosted by
developments in industrial and consumer electronics. However, high labour costs in some
Western European countries are driving television set assembly, for example, from
Western Europe to Eastern Europe and further afield. The situation is not clear cut
because the production of traditional designs with a 4:3 screen format is moving offshore
whereas production of the more modern widescreen 16:9 screen format is growing in
Europe in response to greater consumer demand. Similarly, set-top box (digital decoder)
production for digital television reception is growing but this activity is often outsourced to
CEMs and so the exact manufacturing location may not be known.
Manufacturers seeking the lowest cost manufacturing base in the euro zone have
selected Portugal where the government provides an incentive package to attract
business. Philips, Siemens and Samsung are amongst the major electronics companies
which have major manufacturing subsidiaries in Portugal. Samsung also has a mobile
phone handset manufacturing plant in Spain where production output rate has doubled to
1.5 million handsets per annum. The unit began production in January 2001 and is
currently operating two production lines on a three shift day basis.
Austria is at the opposite end of the euro-zone engineering component manufacturing cost
spectrum from Portugal with the highest figures in the zone according to data published in
The Engineer magazine [D. Fowler, The Engineer, 1998, 287, 7420, 17]. However, as the
following paragraph shows, this is not an impossible burden to bear.
Austria is the home of Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik AG (AT&S), one of Europes
leading major circuit board manufacturers, with annual sales of PLOOLRQ DQG WKUHH
thousand employees (2,130 in Europe) and which claims market leadership outside
Japan. Under the auspices of the R&D Austrian Technology Platform programme, which
was set up in 1999, AT&S linked has linked up with a group of companies including
DuPont, Ciba Geigy, Atotech AG and Isola AG, together with universities in Austria and
Germany, to advance the development of the printed circuit board by the adoption of new
materials and processes. AT&S has an impressive customer portfolio including Ericsson,
Motorola, Nokia and Siemens (from whom it has secured a licence for the embedding of
passive components into printed circuit boards).
The companys base is at Leoben-Hinterberg and it has three other plants in Austria as
well as a plant in Germany in Augsburg. Around 34% of AT&Ss business is generated in
its domestic market. In 1999, it bought a PCB plant at Nanjangud in India and is currently
investing up to PLOOLRQ LQ D QHZ SODQW QHDU 6KDQJKDL LQ &KLQD ZKLFK LV GXH FRPH RQ
stream early in 2002. The output from the plant in China will include a variety of PCB
designs destined for the Chinese mobile communications market and will include cellular
handset and base station components. Plans also exist to establish production facilities in
North America, the Far East and elsewhere in Europe.
The split of the customer base of AT&S has been reported as 54% hand-held devices
including mobile phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs), just under 10% in
telecommunications infrastructure, nearly 10% in industrial applications and a further 10%
in automotive applications. Its objective is to increase the hand-held device component to
60% with major growth in the telecommunications infrastructure and automotive sectors.
An indication of the extent to which downturn of the US economy could affect European
companies is provided by estimates by analysts that Alcatel relies on the US market for
around 22%/23% of its sales, Marconi between 20% and 30% of its sales with Ericsson
and Nokia in the mid to low 20% range. Multinational companies see the world market
dominated by the three major constituent markets of America, Asia and Europe. It is
unusual for all three to be in a growth phase so the normal practice is to move marketing
effort and resources from the weakest to the strongest. Consequently growth in Asian and
other markets has compensated Ericsson and Nokia for weakness in the US market.
The extent to which the structure of the Asian electronics market has changed is
illustrated by the fall in Japanese manufacturers share of the copier market from a 70.6%
peak to a current 40.7%. Formerly Japanese companies made nearly 100% of the active
matrix liquid crystal displays used in top-of-the-range laptop and desk top computers. The
sales efforts of LG and Samsung reduced this figure to just over 50%.
In a move designed to strengthen the position of Taiwanese companies vis--vis their
Japanese competitors, Acer Display Technology and UMCs Unipac Optoelectronics are
to merge their thin film transistor liquid crystal displays (used in computer screen
applications) operations. The new company, AU Optronics, will be capitalised at T$29.7
billion (approximately US$919 million) and will be second only in production terms to
Samsung Electronics of South Korea and of a similar size to the current number two, LG
Philips.
One of the major businesses driving the market at the present time is mobile
communications where the world market for telephone handsets is said to have grown
from an estimated figure of 280 million units in 1999 to a projected figure of more than a
billion in 2004 rising still further to reach 1.34 billion in 2006. This figure may not be
achieved because some sectors of the industry have detected a slowing down of the pace
of expansion. Passive component manufacturer Epcos put the market size into
perspective when it stated in its 2000 Annual Report that the volume of the mobile phone
market was four times that of the entire computer market.
One factor stimulating demand for mobile phones is the trend of users to upgrade to the
latest technologies. Industry sources expect a user to replace his mobile phone every
eighteen months or so. A typical mobile phone handset, with an approximate 50%
polymer content, will contain approximately 500 discrete components of which around 200
will be passives. There are also around 200 passive components in a notebook computer
with a conventional colour television set containing approximately 400 passive
Productivity improvements have been achieved by applying a hard coating to the tools
used for injection moulding. Balzers claims that the service life of an ABS telephone
handset moulding tool increased from approximately 150,000 shots to 700,000 without
wear when a coating of Balinit A was applied. Balzers claims that the tool and reworking
costs amounted to ZLWK DQ DGGLWional gain of twenty production days.
The growth in demand for telephone handsets has forced manufacturers to invest in stateof-the-art assembly operations using multi-axis robots which, unlike traditional pick-andplace operations, can be readily re-programmed to accommodate design changes.
Robots currently load and unload injection moulding machines as well as being utilised for
gasket and display protection tape positioning, display window assembly, inspection and
cover handling. One of the leading robot manufacturers, Stubli Unimation, has increased
its production of RX robots, used by handset and other manufacturers, to over one
thousand machines per annum.
World semiconductor sales grew by 18% from US$136 billion in 1998 to US$160 billion in
1999 with more rapid growth projected in 2000. Sales grew fastest in Asia with sales in
Europe rising at around 10% per annum. However, there has been a sales slowdown in
2001 with memory chip sales particularly affected. Nokia is also seeking to secure
leadership of the 3G Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA) infrastructure
market with a 35% targeted market share. Nokia is working towards a 3G system launch
in 2002; W-CDMA faces competition from an incompatible third generation standard,
cdma.2000.
In 2000, Nokia reported sales of 128 million handsets when the world market volume was
reported to be 405 million units. Nokia is also the worlds second largest provider of
mobile phone infrastructure installations after Ericsson. Nokia continues to be seen as a
key factor in its countrys national economy. In cash terms, Nokias worldwide sales have
doubled on a year-to-year basis and reached US$30 billion in 2000.
Nokia sources injection-moulded parts from all over the world and carefully seeks out
those suppliers which are prepared to put themselves out in pursuit of the support of
concept development. Nokia has stated that it is looking for technology partners who can
offer new solutions in the fields of product design, materials selection and the ability to
bring designs to market more quickly.
Typical materials for Nokias cell phone mouldings include PC, ABS and PC/ABS blends.
The company considers that third-generation formats, including video capability and larger
screens, may pose material challenges. One of the companys research executives
admitted that it was scary to design a product with a new material for a production run of
100 million units.
In the competitive world of mobile phones product variety and decoration are of prime
importance. Development, tooling and processing times are getting ever shorter. Pressure
on price is also intense with Hewlett-Packard, for example, aiming to reduce prices by ten
percent every calendar quarter. This translates to pressure on moulders and plastics
processors to reduce their prices by up to five per cent per calendar quarter.
World handset sales in 2001 have been forecast to be between 400 million and 500
million. Market penetration in Finland must be approaching saturation with 73% of the
population said to own mobile phones. In the UK, there are reported to be approximately
forty million mobile phones in use; this represents use by around two-thirds of the
population. The figures for the first quarter of 2001 (Table 5.3) illustrate the state of the UK
mobile phone market.
BT Cellnet
Table 5.3 UK mobile phone market, 2001
2001 increase
An indicator of impending saturation is the revelation from Vodafone that 9% of its
customers had neither received nor made a call on their mobile phones during the course
of the previous three months. This is probably a reason why the phone companies are
dramatically reducing the subsidies provided to purchasers of pre-pay mobile phones who
contribute nothing to the networks when they are not using their phones. The higher cost
of pre-pay phones is to encourage potential users to take on a contract arrangement.
Scope for expansion in the use of mobile phones is greater in France where market
penetration is reported to be 49%, or in the USA where penetration is only 48%.
Penetration rates in most West European countries are forecast to be heading towards
85% over the next two to five years so saturation is likely to occur if these projections are
realised.
Motorola and Ericsson, each with a 14.4% market share at the end of 2000, follow Nokia
in second and third positions respectively. Siemens was the worlds fourth largest
manufacturer in 2000, up from eighth position in 1998, but component shortages limited
production and were expected to do so again in 2001 prior to the market downturn.
However, the manufacturing outsourcing decisions by Ericsson and Motorola are believed
to have propelled Siemens into the number two European handset manufacturing slot
behind Nokia. The April 2001 announcement by Siemens that it was to reduce by two
thousand the total workforce at its three German mobile phone manufacturing plants
shows that it is not immune to the business downturn.
Ericssons weaker position is confirmed by its admission in March this year that its mobile
handset sales in 2001 would be considerably lower than in 2000 when it incurred
considerable losses on handset production. By contrast, Ericsson reported profits of SEK
27 billion from its production of telecommunications systems.
Philips, with estimated mobile phone sales in 2001 of between 16.6 million and 17.3
million units, is also expecting to lose money on this area of its operations and may even
decide to withdraw from this sector. Philips also has a joint venture with the South Korean
LG company in the field of liquid crystal displays. Results from this activity are
disappointing due to a market slowdown and low selling prices.
Other handset manufacturers include Alcatel which reported a loss on this area of activity,
which represents 7% of group sales revenue, in the first quarter of its current financial
year. The year-on-year decline is attributed to excess inventory in the distribution channel
at the start of the year linked to a general slowdown in the market; the company is
reacting by closing its two handset manufacturing plants at Illkirch and Laval in France for
one week in March and one week in May. The two plants have a combined workforce of
1,500 people.
Alcatel, however, has experienced strong growth in both its networking and optical carrier
based activities. The current situation is being addressed by the implementation of a costcutting programme which seeks to streamline the supply chain and reduce operating
expenses. According to a company spokesman the programme will not involve job losses.
Materials used by Motorola for its palm-sized mobile phone range include Bayers
Makrolon DP1-1456 PC resin for the front and rear housings. This is an impact-modified
material designed for thin-walled injection mouldings down to a thickness of 0.025 inches.
It also includes a thermally stable impact modifier system to allow greater residence time
in the barrel.
New products from Motorola include its P8767 Timeport model which is claimed to be the
first mobile phone to have a plastic semiconductor display, a Tohoku Pioneer organic
electroluminescent display which uses Kodak technology. Ironically, other companies
have gained more benefits than Philips, the inventor. Philips has also been active in the
development of computer displays, the polymers being used are under development by
Merck (a German chemicals company) and others.
In 2000, Motorola launched its Timeport 260 model which was the first to use the socalled 2.5G General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) standard which is claimed to be an
intermediate step in the transition from todays Global System for Mobile Communications
(GSM) digital mobile phone standard, with 700 million users worldwide, and the eagerly
awaited 3G technology. When a GPRS phone is used to access the internet it is faster
than its predecessors and users are charged according to the volume of data used rather
than the time they spend on line. Consequently services such as e-mail become more
The reported opinion of Motorolas European Vice-President and Director of Marketing of
the companys personal communications segment (PCS) is that GPRS rather than 3G is
the real revolution since nine out of ten mobile phone applications do not need 3G. Five of
the six new mobile phone handsets being launched by Motorola in 2001 are dedicated to
GPRS technology so success in this field is extremely important to the company. Most of
the new sets will be available this summer with the Timeport 288, for example, targeted at
business users who will be able to access fax, data and e-mail services. Users will also
benefit from a relatively large, high resolution screen which will facilitate presentation of
stock market prices and other information. An added benefit is the provision of an optional
Bluetooth facility to permit wireless connection to a computer or headset. Other new
models include the V120 designer version with a built-in MP3 music player and a facility to
download tunes and screensavers. Motorola has a brief lead over Nokia whose GPRS
products will not reach the market before the end of 2001. Ericsson and Samsung also
exhibited GPRS mobile handsets at the March, 2001 CeBIT exhibition at Hanover in
At the end of March 2001, Motorola claimed that there were already more than thirteen
operators in Europe with GPRS networks. They state that they have already shipped more
than 150,000 GPRS handsets with orders from one major European customer for a further
500,000 handsets in the second quarter of the year.
Major growth in the mobile phone sector is tied to the successful launch of 3G UMTS
systems. However, the EC has criticised the high cost of licences and lack of
harmonisation in licence conditions from country to country. The EC believes that this
could handicap the launch of 3G services across Europe. Eleven of the European Unions
fifteen member governments have allocated licences and received total licence fees of
approximately ELOOLRQ 7KH OHDGLQJ UHFLSLHQWV *HUPDQ\ DQG WKH 8. KDYH UHFHLYHG
39% and 29.5% of this total respectively. Handicapped by the large fees which they paid
for their licences, the successful bidders in Germany and the UK are seeking permission
from their respective regulators to reduce their 3G infrastructure costs by seeking some
form of collaboration between competitors. There is also press speculation that the
European Unions European Investment Bank may be called in to assist with the financing
of the new networks.
The European UMTS technical specifications have undergone radical revision with the
final versions set to be confirmed in early April 2001. Some industry sources are
concerned that UMTS performance may be inferior to that of the GSM equipment it is set
to replace. The critics maintain that this complex development should have been given
more development and testing time than the European authorities have allowed.
3G systems offer fast data transmission, CD-quality sound and video services. The
worlds first 3G service, designated FOMA (Freedom of Mobile multimedia Access) is
scheduled to be launched in May 2001 in Japan by NTT DoCoMo the Japanese operator.
FOMA is based on W-CDMA and is being built on the success of its I-mode service which
has attracted over twenty million customers since its Japanese launch in February 1999.
DoCoMo reported over twenty million subscribers for its I-mode multimedia service by
early March 2001. This service offers PlayStation games to subscribers in Japan. In
Europe, plans exist for Vodafone to offer PlayStation games to its subscribers. DoCoMo is
already planning to launch its fourth generation (4G) system in 2006, four years earlier
than originally envisaged.
DoCoMo has teamed up with Hewlett-Packard to develop multimedia delivery and
network applications over 4G wireless broadband networks. 4G phones will be 2,000
times faster than existing phones and will even have transmission speeds ten times faster
than the forthcoming 3G system. The 4G data transmission rate is stated to be in excess
of twenty megabits per second thus enabling reception of high resolution films and
television programmes.
DoCoMo is planning to open new UK headquarters in April 2001 and also a research and
development centre in Germany within the next three months. Technical partnerships are
to be established with UK companies.
Mobile phone operators in the UK, where 3G services will start in 2002, comprise BT,
Vodafone, One-to-One, Orange and the Hong Kong based Hutchison Whampoa which
has since created a joint venture, 3GopCo, with DoCoMo of Japan and KPN Mobile of the
Netherlands. A joint venture between BT, Vodafone AirTouch and Japan Telecom has
been cleared by the European Commission to take up a 3G licence in Japan. The
financial success of 3G services in the UK is far from assured since the licensees have
many obstacles to overcome before they can even recoup their investments. Mounting
public opposition to the potentially hazardous health implications of siting masts in
sensitive areas, school premises for example, linked to greater scrutiny by planning
authorities will make it more difficult to place the 30,000 new masts needed to provide the
service in he UK.
Germany and other markets are counting the licence cost they had to pay in the auctions
to operate 3G systems. In Germany the six successful bidders each paid DM16 billion
(approximately 5 billion) for a 3G licence. Vodafones German Mannesmann Mobilfunk
D2 mobile phone subsidiary is opposed to sharing its 3G system infrastructure and has
announced that it will cut the subsidy, currently DM300 (approx. 97) per handset, it
provides to new customers. Advocates of sharing include BTs Viag Interkom subsidiary,
which is in discussions with Deutsche Telekoms T-Mobil D1 operation. Deutsche
Telekom owns the UK mobile phone operator One2One. The other German 3G licence
holders are E-Plus, Group 3G and MobilCom. Group G is a joint venture between
Telfonica of Spain and Sonera of Finland.
An indication of the dynamic growth of the mobile phone sector in Germany was revealed
by DaimlerChryslers recent sale of its Debitel mobile phone subsidiary for ELOOLRQ WKLV
resulted from a PLOOLRQ LQYHVWPHQW LQ WKH FRPSDQ\ QLQH \HDUV SUHYLRXVO\.
Prior to the opening of the 2001 Hanover CeBIT exhibition the President of Bitkom, the
German association for IT (Information Technology), telecommunications and new media,
stated that around fifty million people in Germany communicate with each other using their
mobile phones. The growth in mobile phone sales in German is expected to lead to a
situation where there will be more mobile phones than people in the country by the year
2003. This is because the trend is for users to have a second mobile phone using a
different technology. The so-called 2.5 G GPRS and the 3G UMTS services call for
different handsets. More than DM100 billion is said to have been invested in the
acquisition of UMTS frequencies.
The German economy is the largest in the euro zone and accounts for around a third of
the zones output. The economic outlook is dependent on the health of the US economy
which was responsible for Germanys export boom in 1999 and 2000. The exposure of the
German economy to the US market is around 25% higher than other countries in the euro
area because of its high volume of industrial goods exports to America. France has
managed to increase its GDP faster than Germany for the past six years.
The situation in France is different to the extent that insufficient bidders applied for
licences thus denying the French government its anticipated financial windfall. The
European Union is reported to have told France to issue four licences in order to maintain
a competitive market place. The successful first round bidders, France Telecom and
Vivendi, are reported to have made it clear that they will reject licences if bidders in the
second round are granted more favourable terms. The successful launch of 3G phones
across Europe is essential if the momentum of rising handset sales, and the consequent
component sales is to be maintained.
France Telecom has been conspicuously successful in its expansion strategy with fixed
line services in ten countries attracting a consumer base of 39.2 million customers. The
companys majority-owned Orange mobile phone business is Europes second largest
with 33.1 million customers in 22 countries. Internet access is offered to 2.6 million
customers in 10 countries. France Telecoms consolidated revenue in 2000 were
billion, an increase of 24% over the 1999 figures. International business now accounts for
26% of sales revenues up from 13% in 1999.
The euro zones slowest growing economy is Italy, Europes third largest economy after
Germany and France. Bank of America data shows that economic growth in Italy has
risen each year since 1995 by an average of 1.7% whereas the growth rate for the Euro
currency zone as a whole has been 2.5%. The competitiveness of Italian industry has
declined and the countrys trade surplus, as a percentage of GDP, has fallen from 4.4% in
1996 to an estimated 0.2% in 2000.
Italians are, however, avid mobile phone users and between 1997 and 2000 the number
of subscribers rose from 6.4 million to 30 million, with an anticipated figure of 47 million by
2003. The personal computer market in Italy has been slow to develop with only 16.2% of
households having a computer at the end of 1999. Internet use has still to take off with
only 8.2 million users in the country at the end of 1999. Rapid growth is likely to raise this
figure to around 29 million users by 2003.
The Italian telecommunications infrastructure has undergone major change in recent
years initiated by the acquisition by Olivetti of a majority 55% stake, which is planned to
fall to 44%, in the countrys formerly state-owned Telecom Italia monopoly in 1997. At the
time, Telecom Italias 60%-owned TIM (Telecom Italia Mobil) subsidiary was Europes
largest mobile phone company with around fifteen million customers. Following the
Telecom Italia acquisition, Olivetti had to sell its stake in Omnitel, its partially owned
mobile phone subsidiary, to Mannesmann and which, following the sale of Mannesmann
to Vodafone, is now 76.12% owned by Vodafone. The two other mobile phone companies
in Italy, with fixed line interests, are Wind (in which the state-owned Enel electricity supply
authority has a financial interest) and Infostrada which belongs to Vodafone via
Mannesmann. Vodafone recently sold Infostrada to Enel for a reputed ELOOLRQ DIWHU
Enel agreed to sell off extra electricity generating capacity as pre-condition for acquiring
Italys second largest fixed line network. Enel also assumes ELOOLRQ RI ,QIRVWUDGD GHEW
Outside of its Telecom Italia interests the Olivetti Group has restructured its businesses
with the industrial and internet operations merged into Olivetti Tecnost S.p.a., with around
5,400 employees worldwide and approximate 2000 sales revenues of 2,200 billion lire.
5.4 Automotive Applications
components installed in a current luxury car. The value of the electronic systems in a
typical car is said to represent a quarter of its sales value with the electronic content of the
vehicle growing by around 8% per annum to reach around 30% of the cars value by 2005.
Germany is the dominant location of automotive electronics production and accounts for
approximately sixty percent of the market.
One of the avenues for greater use of electronics in cars is the installation of multimedia
networks, formerly confined to top-of-the-range models, into mid-range vehicles. These
networks permit the coordinated operation of individual products including CD and DVD
players, mobile phones, car navigation computers, audio tuners and amplifier. The use of
a recognised industry standard networking protocol, Communication and Control
Electronics (C&CE) D2B standard, for example, allows the driver to operate the cars full
range of integrated systems from one controller using a touch screen system or even
voice recognition. The D2B standard recognises many of the industrys audio and control
standards and is claimed to be able to act with virtually any device currently available.
Microsoft is also active in this sector via its Car.NET infrastructure technology which is
based on the Microsoft.NET. Bosch and Denso are reported to be planning to build invehicle devices using Windows CE for Automotive v3 which is an integral component of
Car.NET. This is an open system which gives designers the opportunity to select the
hardware platform, user interface and software configuration appropriate to their
Microsoft, which is working in partnership with component makers Bosch, Clarion, Delphi,
Siemens and Visteon, claims that its Windows CE for Automotive technology is smart
enough to know whether or not it is operating and, if not, it does not draw power from the
battery.
It has been predicted that 50% of all new cars, and up to 90% of top-of-the-range models,
will be equipped with telematic-capable appliances by 2006. These appliances will lead to
the installation of novel in-car computers able to provide drivers with hands-free
communication, access to personalised information on the internet, the ability to summon
emergency services and a range of convenience and entertainment applications.
European growth in this sector is being promoted under the auspices of MEDEA (MicroElectronics Development for European Applications) established within the framework of
the European Unions EUREKA programme which is designed to ensure EU technological
and industrial competitiveness.
In unitary terms, electronic component demand is forecast to grow by around 20% per
annum. In 1998, a typical car was said to contain 300 connectors, 2000 terminals and a
mile of insulated wire. However, price pressures in the automotive industry are likely to
result in revenue growth more like 8% to 10%. Within a car, operations previously carried
out hydraulically are giving way to electrical and electronic solutions. DaimlerChrysler has
its own automotive electronics business unit, TEMIC, which saw its 1999 order intake rise
by 38% to ELOOLRQ IURP PLOOLRQ LQ
One response to pricing pressures is to automate processes in order to cut costs by
reducing employee numbers. For example, the automotive electric switch manufacturer,
Stoneridge Pollak (SPL), has installed a five-axis Toshiba robot to load and unload its
injection moulding presses. The robot is used to produce injection-moulded components
for the production of 7,000 switches per day to be used in VW Golf and Skoda cars.
Previously the 24 hours/day three shift process had needed two operatives. Overall the
companys moulding facility produces around two hundred different components for the
automotive market using its fifty five injection moulding presses.
In recent years there has been a move away from thermosets to thermoplastics for
automotive electronic components. Thermoplastics are now the preferred choice, usually
reinforced with glass fibre. Encapsulated components which use PA 66, PBT or PBT can
be rated at up to 155 C (Class F-IEC 371 Standard). Other encapsulants include LCPs
which are capable of continuous operation at over 175 C. PPS and LCP are favoured for
many electronic component applications including coil formers, connectors, plugs and
switch parts.
The use of injection-moulded thermoplastics for encapsulation results in lower production
costs and improved quality when compared with previous methods involving thermoset
potting and moulding technologies.
Insert injection moulding is considered to be a clean, repeatable process readily adaptable
to automation and cellular manufacturing techniques. Furthermore, the finished
encapsulated parts do not require subsequent trimming or deflashing as would be the
case from a thermoset operation. Another benefit from the process is the facility to add
mounting brackets or other features to a single multifunctional part thus creating
assemblies with lower part counts and lower assembly costs. Encapsulation grades of PA
66 have been firmly established as the workhorses for this purpose though PA 612 resins
may be a better choice to encapsulate sensors or integrated circuits.
Automotive sensors require the use of wire-friendly grades of PA 66 and PA 612 since
these are free of metal salts which could contribute to electrolytic corrosion of magnet
wire. The sensors use very fine wire (35 to 45 AWG American Wire Gauge) where
corrosion can quickly result in failure; wire-friendly resins contribute to greater reliability.
Atofina, formerly Elf Atochem, offers the R 45 HT grade of hydroxylated polybutadienes
under the Poly Bd trademark for encapsulation and casing applications. After reaction with
isocyanates it produce polyurethanes which are claimed to have excellent hydrolysis
resistance superior mechanical properties including low temperature flexibility, excellent
electrical insulation and excellent chemical resistance to mineral acids and bases. The
material is recommended for the encapsulation of fragile electrical components in a
relatively stress-free environment even at low temperatures.
DuPonts Zenite 7130, an LCP reinforced by 30% glass fibre which features a heat
distortion temperature of 285 C and low creep at high temperatures, is used by Epcos,
formerly Siemens Matsushita Components, for coil bobbins in its range of transformers
chokes and other surface mount devices.
The components for surface mounting are first glued temporarily on to the printed circuit
board before being soldered permanently in place. The coil bobbins must withstand
soldering temperatures of up to 450 C and still remain sufficiently stiff and dimensionably
stable. Zenite has been found to satisfy the companys requirements in respect of the
provision of bobbins with thin-wall flanges which are immune to fracture or deformation in
the course of the winding process. In addition, the materials should contribute to the
achievement of a high productivity surface mount operation.
Phillips Petroleum is promoting Ryton PPS as a replacement for LCPs in the electronic
connector and socket market. Recent introductions include Ryton R-4-230NA, with low
gas generation, high flow and low flash, and Xtel PPS alloys using polymer end-group
control, filler coupling and post-polymerisation additives.
Long-term factors which will increase the electronic content of cars include the
development of hybrid vehicles where the petrol engine is used to generate electricity
using an alternator and the wheels are driven by electric motors, with power being stored
in an intermediate battery. Another version of the system enables the road wheels to be
powered either directly by the petrol engine or by using battery-powered electric motors to
boost its power, the engine performing a secondary role of charging the battery. The latter
design uses the petrol engine on its own in cruising condition, utilising battery assistance
at low engine speeds, when climbing hills for example, when the petrol engine is
incapable of delivering its full torque. Battery-powered assistance is also beneficial when
accelerating. The battery is recharged by regenerative braking thus improving the
vehicles energy efficiency and minimising brake pad wear. This energy efficiency is
underlined by claims that Hondas Insight hybrid is capable of eighty miles per gallon (34
km/l).
The system can be further refined by splitting the petrol engines power output so that it is
divided between driving the road wheels and charging the battery. The version which
confines the road wheels to battery power is most energy efficient because the petrol
engine speed is relatively constant at the level at which it most efficiently charges the
motive power battery.
In 2000, Pioneer launched a car radio incorporating organic light-emitting displays on the
US market. Recently in Japan, Tohoku Pioneer, the Semiconductor Energy Laboratory
and Sharp announced their intention to establish a joint venture, to be called ELDis, to
work on active matrix organic electroluminescent displays (OLEDs) which have selfgenerated luminescence and high-resolution quality claimed to be on a par with traditional
cathode ray tubes. They have a rapid response for the display of moving images with low
power consumption at low voltages. Products using active matrix displays are expected to
be launched in August or September 2002.
ELDis is to manufacture and market OLED thin film transistor TFT substrates. Production
is planned to rise to 500,000 two-inch panels per month from an initial capital investment
of 35 billion (201.5 million).
5.5 IT
Other growth areas for electronic component usage include computers, including laptop
versions whose sales will increase as prices come down. GE Plastics made a study of
fifteen laptop models to identify their design features. GE found that the average wall
thickness had dropped from 2.0 mm to 1.5 mm. The results of the study showed a
measurable but moderate reduction in impact strength as a result of the reduction. The
decline in impact performance was less for unfilled PC/ABS than for glass-filled PC.
Manufacturers are continuously searching for ways to produce thinner, lighter and
cheaper laptops. Compaq prefers to use parts moulded from amorphous PC or PC/ABS
which do not normally need to be painted thus producing cost savings. Sometimes
processing problems necessitate painting for cosmetic reasons but Compaq has reached
the stage where only one or two major plastic parts from a total of fourteen to eighteen
need to be painted. Some of Compaqs competitors use PA mouldings which do need to
be painted and so are more expensive.
The staggering increase in internet usage will also necessitate increased investment in
telecommunications infrastructure which has also had to be expanded to meet the needs
of the mobile phones companies. The major computer manufacturers protect themselves
by confining themselves to a narrow range of components which are purchased on longterm contracts thereby eliminating price fluctuations.
Dell Computer is widely admired because it is able to build, customise and ship more than
80% of its orders within eight hours. With only seven days of inventory stock, representing
around half of the industry average, the company is in the enviable position of being paid
for its products before it builds them.
One of the features of the components sector which can distort demand is the tendency
for some companies to double order when demand exceeds supply and delivery times are
extended. Furthermore, forecasting is complicated by the fact that the order situation
varies from supplier to supplier and so growth forecasts will differ.
5.6 Fuel Cells
Further into the future are vehicles powered by solid polymer, also known as protonexchange membrane fuel cells, which convert the fuel directly into electricity with only
water vapour as an exhaust gas. The leading vehicle manufacturers are already testing
prototypes including the Necar from DaimlerChrysler, a model from Toyota and a fuelcelled Focus from Ford (which hopes to start producing fuel-celled powered cars as early
as 2004). Currently the price of a car-size fuel cell is around US$35,000 partly because
they are said to be hand built to spacecraft specifications. Mass production and further
design development are necessary before the cells can be sufficiently reduced in price to
be viable car power sources.
Ford is also promoting Think plastic-bodied electric cars built by its Norwegian Pivco
subsidiary purchased three years ago. These models are already on sale for US$15,000
(10,416) in Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands with planned launches over the
coming year in Italy, France and Switzerland though not in the UK. Other Ford ecological
initiatives include a Ford Ka running on ethanol and a Galaxy MPV people carrier which
can be powered by petrol or natural gas.
DaimlerChrysler has announced that approximately thirty Mercedes-Benz Citaro city
buses powered by fuel cells will be delivered to transportation companies in Europe and
Australia within the next three years. Trials with these buses will begin at the end of 2002
and continue into 2003 in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Hamburg, London, Luxembourg,
Oporto, Reykjavik and Stuttgart. Trials are also taking place in Vancouver and in
California as well as in parts of South America. Citaro buses are expected to cost
approximately PLOOLRQ DURXQG 786,000) each which is far more expensive than the
RU VR FRVW RI D VWDQGDUG VLQJOH-decker urban bus. Since the refuelling of the
buses will be carried out by the bus company, the lack of any national hydrogen refuelling
infrastructure is not a problem. DaimlerChrysler goes on to say that it is the first
automotive manufacturer in the world with this technology and believes that its
development programme is around two to three years ahead of its closest rival.
The potential to reduce pollution is confirmed by the US Department of Energy which has
estimated that regulated air pollutants would be cut by a million tons annually, and carbon
dioxide by sixty million tons if ten per cent of cars in the USA were powered by fuel cells.
Industry experts forecast a potential fuel cell powered car market of at least one million
vehicles by 2010.
Companies involved in the development of fuel cell membranes and membrane cell
assemblies (MEA) include a collaboration between Celanese AG and Honda R&D Co.,
Ltd., of Japan. The power of the major car manufacturers is underlined by the fact that
60% of worldwide motor vehicle output was produced by five companies and the
remaining 40% by a further eleven companies. These companies wield considerable
purchasing power which is used to drive down the price of components resulting in major
mergers of component suppliers as each endeavours to secure the cost benefits of largescale production.
Other proton-exchange fuel cell membrane research is being carried out by DuPont,
which offers Nafion membrane material, conductive plates and gasketing. DuPont is
utilising its expertise in fluoropolymers, engineering polymers and coatings to establish
itself as the premier supplier of fuel cell materials and components.
Other types of fuel cell include alkaline, molten carbonate, phosphoric acid and solid
oxide. Each type, from the miniature power source of a pocket-sized electronic product to
the megawatt rated power source device driven by sewage works methane, has its own
specific operating criteria with working temperature being particularly important.
Consequently, the projected application will determine the choice of fuel cell type.
In the electronic components sector Motorola Energy Systems, which is expected to
launch its own range in two to four years time, has stated that fuel cells would be able to
power a laptop computer for twenty hours and a mobile phone for thirty days. These
would be direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) which are less efficient than proton-exchange
membrane (PEM) types, but which have the advantage that the anode catalyst draws the
hydrogen directly from methanol, thus eliminating the need for a reformer. Motorola is
reported to have said that the fuel reservoir of its methanol-powered fuel cells would be
around the size of a fountain pen ink cartridge and be able to supply power for up to ten
times as long as the rechargeable batteries currently being used.
DMFC fuel cells are also being developed by Energy Related Devices of Los Alamos,
which is a subsidiary of Manhattan Scientifics of New York (which also owns NovArs
based in Passau, Germany, and which is working on PEM types). The NovArs pilot
production line is scheduled to begin making fuel cells in 2002 with full-scale
commercialisation estimated to follow two or three years later.
The UK Innogy company is developing PEM systems, designated Regensys, to collect
cheap surplus energy at night and release it during the day. The demonstration plant at
Little Barford in Cambridgeshire, which is due to be completed in the second half of 2002,
is to cost 14 million and is rated to provide approximately 120 MWh of energy with a
power rating of up to 15 MW which will be linked into a nominal 33 kV distribution system.
DuPont is to supply over 16,000 m2 of Nafion membrane material. The fuel cell employs
two electrolytes, sodium bromide and sodium polysulfide, one on each side of the ion
exchange membrane.
Approximately six months later a second project, for the Tennessee Valley Authority in
Mississippi, USA, is due to be up and running. Innogy is preparing to offer prospective
shareholders a stake of up to 25% in the Regensys business, estimated to have a total
value of around 1 billion, before the end of 2001. Critics of the offer feel that the share
offer is premature prior to proof that the laboratory operation can upgraded to a
commercially viable system.
In the Regensys system, the electrolytes change state and are charged with chemical
potential energy when voltage is applied across the electrolytes. The electrolytes are
stored in tanks until the potential energy is needed when they flow back through the cell
and release their stored energy via a power converter system to the national grid. The
converter is needed because the fuel cell is a direct current device. Unlike batteries, which
each have their own electrolytes, all the modules of the fuel cell share the same source of
electrolyte. Furthermore, the same electrolytes remain in the plant throughout its lifetime
and there is no discharge into the local environment.
In contrast to battery practice, the electrodes do not suffer permanent damage in the
event of a full discharge or if overcharged. The pilot plant has been running for over four
years and engineers have forecast a service life of up to 4,000 cycles over fifteen or
The German energy and utilities group, RWE AG, is Germanys fifth largest company and
claims to be amongst the top three providers in each of its four business sectors:
electricity, gas, water and wastewater, and waste and recycling. RWE sees gas-powered
fuel cells as potential domestic power sources and hopes to be installing small power
plants in household cellars by the year 2010, at the latest. RWE estimates that in the long
term, defined as being by around 2015, some 10% of Germanys electricity power supply
will be generated by fuel cells. The best case scenario sees this development leading to a
reduction of up to 62 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually thus assisting
the country to meet its Kyoto climate change conference commitments. RWE has stated
that it is firmly backing the technology and is committed to taking an active role in forcing
market developments forward in close collaboration with manufacturing companies and
other partners.
One of the stumbling blocks to the greater use of electronic systems in cars, the 12 V
battery system which involves component ratings of 13.8 V, is being removed with the
planned move in around 2003 to a 42 V power system (36 V battery) which will reduce the
current consumption of a component to a third of its former value whilst maintaining the
power consumption at its former value. This means that in many instances thinner wires
than at present will be able to be used with resulting savings in costs, bulk and weight.
Manufacturers are already offering higher voltage components which may also give better
performance. The move will also accelerate the change from mechanical and hydraulic
power in vehicles to the greater use of electric motors and actuators with their
accompanying electronic control systems.
5.7 Contract Electronics Manufacturing
The market for electronic components in Europe has been dramatically transformed in
Europe by the growth in contract manufacturing whereby a growing number of electronic
equipment suppliers have opted to sub-contract their manufacturing operations to
specialist contractors. These fall into two distinct categories: the small specialist serving
niche markets with an annual turnover of around US$5 million and the major
multinationals which move their volume business round the world, largely favouring low
labour cost countries notably in Asia, Eastern Europe and South America. Life can be
difficult for medium-sized contract electronics manufacturers.
ELOOLRQ LQ WR ELOOLRQ LQ RI ZKLFK (XURSH DFFRXQWV IRU -DSDn for
18%, America for 31% and South East Asia for 28%.
The world market for contractors electronics manufacturing services (EMS) is estimated
to be worth US$100 billion per annum, a figure which could grow to US$200 billion, plus
or minus 10%, by 2003. The current growth rate is of the order of 21%.
Sub-contracting manufacturing operations further aids the cost reduction process by
removing the need for capital investment in the manufacturing process. The final decision
on component selection, which accounts for between 70% and 90% of an electronic card,
usually rests with the client but sub-contractors, which can have considerable purchasing
power due to the scale of their operations, may propose, subject to the approval of the
clients engineers, less expensive components which comply with the buyers
specifications. Extensive use is made of the internet and computer software to devise
cost-effective solutions for customers.
The decision to outsource is critical to a company since, having relinquished its
manufacturing expertise, a subsequent decision to move back into manufacturing will be
extremely expensive to carry out. In practice, specialist sub-contractors will buy clients
existing manufacturing facilities and take on its former employees. Occasionally
manufacturers seek to buck the trend as in the case of at least two companies in the UK.
Texcel Technology combines the role of contract manufacturer with the design,
manufacture and marketing of its own proprietary products. Texcel has annual sales of
5.7 million and justifies its policy with the assertion that the contract operation makes an
essential contribution to the companys manufacturing overheads.
Siemens, via its Siemens Manufacturing Services subsidiary, is going down the same
route. The company claims that despite being part of a global organisation, Siemens
Manufacturing Services retains a close working relationship with its OEM partners and is
able to add value in such areas as market forecasting time-to-market issues and supplier
management where it can provide purchasing power. Siemens customer service
managers are dedicated to certain accounts where they act as a direct interface between
Siemens Manufacturing Services and the OEM. Siemens goes on to maintain that
everyone is treated equitably with no conflict of priority between in-house work for
Siemens and OEM business.
Celestica, Canada, spends around $8 billion annually on components from suppliers.
However, on occasion, it has difficulty in sourcing its requirements especially if the
customer has made last minute design changes necessitating alternative components. At
the end of 2000, Celestica signed an electronic trading and sourcing agreement with
PartMiner which operates the Free Trade Zone (FTZ). This is an on-line marketplace
which assists buyers to find price and availability information on the internet from a wide
range of suppliers. Not only has Celestica signed up with PartMiner. but it has also taken
an equity stake in company which is reported to have over 140,000 users. PartMiner
recently launched the Excess Trade Zone (XTZ) to assist clients to secure better prices
for their excess component stocks.
PartMiner has also linked up with users of the Yahoo Electronics Marketplace to offer
them technical design content and market making services from its Free Trade Zone.
PartMiner has a database of more than twelve million components with information on
chips, passives, connectors and electromechanical devices from eight hundred
The widespread existence of component sourcing difficulties in 2000 was illustrated by the
decision of the European Power Supply Manufacturers Association to withhold its Vendor
of the Year award because of the poor performance of component suppliers. The
Associations chairman recently stated that semiconductor and component industries have
offered very indifferent service to the power supply industry. He went on to say that in
some cases their performance had been appalling and yet many have been endeavouring
to renegotiate price increases to exploit product shortages. The situation has been
reversed in 2001 due to a slowdown in mobile phone handset and personal computer
production. The results have been lower prices and better deliveries.
The component supply problems did extend into the first quarter of 2001 with contract
manufacturers being pressed to deliver products within six weeks, for example, when
some of their constituent components are on thirty weeks delivery. Component supply
problems have affected the cash flow and profitability of UK contract manufacturing, a
highly competitive market with low profit margins of one or two percent. The cost of the
materials used accounts for around 70% of sales revenue and is not a source of profit,
which has to be generated from the remaining 30%. However, OEMs in the UK continue
to outsource their manufacturing operations, the latest being Tandberg Television of
Hedge End, Hampshire, which is to outsource production to ACW Technology. Asian
CEMs, including Malaysia-based TruTech Electronics and Pioneer Technology from
Japan, are coming to the UK to set up European operations.
With the sale of most of its communication equipment production facilities to the Floridabased Jabil Circuit company for US$390 million (262 million), Marconi, the
telecommunications company, is one of the latest converts to outsourcing. The three year
agreement between Jabil and Marconi, estimated to be worth US$4 billion, involves the
transfer of up to 2,900 employees at five factories in the UK (Coventry and Liverpool), the
USA, Italy and Germany to Jabil which will manufacture a full range of
telecommunications products for Marconi. However, Marconi will retain some higher end
manufacturing operations, optical switching for example.
Jabil is also strongly established in Mexico where it has a 37,000 m2 production facility
which employs four thousand people building sub-assemblies and complete products for
Cisco, Dell and Hewlett Packard. Other contract manufacturers with production facilities in
Mexico include Flextronics which has a 75-acre site outside Guadalajara.
However, the trend to outsourcing could be affected by future European Union legislation
following the adoption of the Charter of Fundamental Rights at the Nice summit in
December 2000. The charter strengthens the rights of company employees and their
representatives who will have to be consulted about major business changes which
include the transfer of workers and assets to a new organisation, a routine consequence
of outsourcing.
Solectron, Scotlands largest electronics manufacturing services company with over 1800
employees, illustrates the trend. At Dunfermline, Solectron offers a complete
manufacturing service from initial design, prototyping, assembly and testing to end
product servicing and support and so can be seen as a prime customer for components.
Elsewhere in Scotland, Solectron has a printed circuit design centre at Ayr, a SMART
(Surface Mount And Related Technologies) Modular Technologies centre at East Kilbride
and a new product introduction centre at Inverclyde. Recent Solectron sales successes
include the establishment of a four-year US$10 billion partnership with Nortel.
Recent moves by Silicon Valley-based Solectron include the planned acquisition of two
Sony manufacturing plants in Asia. The Miyagi plant in central Japan employs 1,300
people and manufactures car stereo and navigation equipment whilst the second plant at
Kaohsiungin Taiwan employs 750 people and makes lithium-ion batteries for mobile
phones and computers. The employees at both plants will be offered jobs at the same
salaries by the new owners. Earlier, in October 2000, Solectron bought its Singaporebased rival, Nat-Steel Electronics for US$2.4 billion.
Solectron is being affected by the business downturn in America and in March 2001
announced the loss of 8,200 jobs which represents 10% of its workforce. However, the
company simultaneously announced that it did not expect its sites in Scotland, Wales and
Northern Ireland to be affected.
Sony is already outsourcing much of its manufacturing requirement, especially to
companies in mainland China where between 60% and 70% of Sony radios are built
together with most of the companys speakers and headphones and 50% of the groups
stereo units sold worldwide.
Component manufacturers are also moving more of their manufacturing operations to
mainland China and other Asian locations. These include the US-owned multinational
connector manufacturer, Molex, which is in the unusual position of generating more of its
sales and profits outside the USA than within its domestic market. Its Shanghai operation
is qualified to ISO 9002 standards and the motor industrys QS 9000 certification
standards. Molex Shanghai Limited was founded in October, 1995 and is a recognised
supplier to an impressive list of OEMs including Compaq, Intel, Mitsubishi, Motorola and
Sharp. Around 60% of the companys products are shipped back to the USA and to the
companys South Asia headquarters in Singapore. The remainder is consumed locally in
Business for Molex in China has been growing at the rate of 30% per annum with this
figure set to rise to 50% as the company expands into the automotive sector. The
company has moved to larger premises in China with double the number of injection
moulding machines in order to satisfy the growing demand for its products.
In March 2000, Flextronics acquired Boschs GSM mobile phone manufacturing activities
at Pandrup in Denmark. Other recent deals include a five-year US$30 billion supply
agreement between Singapore-based Flextronics and Motorola which is reported to
represent only 15% of Motorolas electronic manufacturing requirements over the period.
Motorola has gone on to sign a three-year deal with Canada-based Celestica worth
around US$1 billion. The products to be built include cellular phones, messaging devices,
two-way radios and accessories. The deal involves Celesticas purchase of Motorolas
Dublin and Mount Pleasant, Iowa manufacturing facilities for approximately US$70 million.
Celestica has undertaken to continue manufacturing at these sites for at least two years.
The change will reduce Motorolas workforce by around 2,870 people. At the end of 2000,
Celestica acquired the Telford, UK-based mobile phone manufacturing activities of NEC
together with approximately 450 NEC employees.
Subsequently, in March 2001, Motorola announced 7,000 job losses from its mobile
handset manufacturing operations but declined to state which of its seven handset
manufacturing plants would be affected. In another announcement made at the same
time, Motorola stated that it was considering up to 700 job losses at its UK Swindon plant
where mobile phone base stations are produced.
The Swedish Ericsson company, which had been losing market share to Motorola and
Nokia, has decided to halt low-cost consumer handset production, which will result in the
loss of 11,000 jobs. The work will be outsourced to Singapore-based Flextronics, which
will take on some Ericsson manufacturing plants and 4,200 former Ericsson employees,
and other beneficiaries of the outsourcing include the Taiwanese Arima and GVC
companies. The consequence of the outsourcing decision is the termination of handset
production at Ericssons UK Carlton (Nottinghamshire) factory with the loss of 1,000 jobs
with 500 further potential job losses at the companys Scunthorpe plant.
Whilst Flextronics will initially take over Ericssons manufacturing operations in Sweden,
Mr Michael Marks, Chairman and Chief Executive of Flextronics, indicated that
manufacturing will eventually take place primarily, but not exclusively, in low-cost
locations. These include Puebla, Mexico, and a new industrial park in Poland.
Ericsson will retain staff in the areas of research and development, design, sales and
marketing and is also reported to be retaining the right to manufacture GPRS (General
Packet Radio Service) 3G handsets and other high technology products. Recent
acquisitions by Flextronics include two optical equipment manufacturers in the USA, Wave
Optics and Faco Fiber Optics. The latter company is also a manufacturer of passive
optical components.
Even Nokia, the market leader, is moving some of its manufacturing operations, currently
being undertaken outside the USA, to facilities in Korea and Mexico. The situation in
March 2001 was that Nokia was outsourcing approximately 60% of its networks
infrastructure business but only 10% of its handset production. However, it then made a
decision to outsource even more of its networks infrastructure business to the Alabama,
USA company, SCI Systems which is already working for Nokia.
The collaboration between Nokia and SCI began in 1998 when SCI acquired Nokias
facilities at Oulu in Finland and Motala in Sweden. SCI employs over 37,000 people in 51
factories in nineteen countries and will increase its labour force by 1,250 with the
acquisition of Nokias Finnish plant at Haukipudas and its Camberley plant in the UK. The
downturn in the US economy is beginning to affect SCI which recently announced a 10%
cut in its workforce because of a downturn in the personal computer sector.
Some leading contract manufacturers are listed in Table 5.4.
Table 5.4 Leading European contract manufacturers
Flextronics, SCI
C-MAC, MCMS
APW, Flextronics
Elcoteq, Flextronics, SANM, SCI
APW, ACT, C-MAC, Flextronics, Sanmina, SCI, Solectron
APW, C-MAC, Elcoteq, Flextronics, Solectron
Benchmark, Flextronics, Jabil, JIT, Natsteel, SCI
ACT, APW, Benchmark, Celestica, C-MAC, Flextronics, IBC, MSL,
Sanmina, SCI, Solectron, SMTC
APW, Flextronics, Jabil
Jabil
Flextronics
Solectron
MSL, SCI
Benchmark, Flextronics, SANM, SCI, Solectron
APW, Benchmark, Celestica, C-MAC, EMS, Flextronics Jabil, Mion,
Plexus, Remploy, Sanmina, SCI, Solectron
Domestic contract electronics manufacturers are struggling to survive in market where the
major multinationals can shift production to those areas where labour costs are lowest.
This trend was illustrated by the demise of Quantum Electronics based in South Wales
which was employing approximately 180 people up to the end of 2000. In national market
terms, UK producers find it difficult to compete in Europe due to the strength of sterling
against the Euro.
5.8 Component Distribution
Only the largest users buy components directly from component manufacturers. The
normal supply route is via stockholding distributors who can invariably offer shorter
delivery times often overnight. The best known distributors offer a broad range of products
and aim to be a one-stop shop for their customers. Others concentrate on specialist
market sectors, as in the case of TTI whose activities are confined to passive components
and connectors.
The Dallas, Texas-based privately owned TTI company claims to be the worlds largest
specialist distributor of connectors and other passive components with annual sales of
around US$1 billion. In Europe, TTI now has a centralised warehouse in Munich and nine
sales offices in France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain and the UK, with four further office
openings planned in 2001. The first new offices will be opened to serve the Scandinavian
market. TTI sales in Europe have grown from US$12 million two years ago to a forecast
US$80 million this year. TTI aims to be the leading European distributor for each of the
manufacturers whose products it distributes. It is already Vishays top distributor in the UK
and number 2 distributor in Germany. It is also Kemets number two distributor in
Germany and the UK. TTIs European operation currently serves more than 3,500
customers in 6 countries from a range of over 200,000 different passive components and
Other distributors operate on a national basis. The UK Association of Franchised
Distributors of Components (AFDEC) reported that the UK distributors share of
components market is around 20%. UK sales grew by 30% in 2000 whereas the total
available component market grew by 27% to reach 10 billion. This conveys the
erroneous impression that distributors are taking a higher share of the available business.
In actual fact major growth is occurring in sectors to which AFDEC distributors have
limited access including automotive components, communications products and smart
cards.
Whilst distributors have traditionally sold from catalogues, e-commerce is growing
significantly. Competition between distributors is fierce and Premier Farnell, for example,
keeps a close watch on its customers requirements in order to offer a service more
closely matched to their needs. For example, potential customers visiting the companys
website five times to seek information on the same part will receive a phone call, e-mail or
mail regarding the part in question on the front cover. The company supports its
operations with two databases, one relating products and the other relating to customers.
6 Key Trends and Developments
6.1 Moulding, Machining and Fabrication
Arguably the most important customer for the polymer producer is the injection moulder.
Superficially his most important role is to produce mouldings at the lowest price but,
although price is a prime consideration, other factors come into play. These include
location and proximity to assembly plants. Injection moulding involves high tooling costs
dependent on the complexity of the part being produced with many parts acknowledged to
be unsuitable for injection moulding.
One way to reduce the cost of polyurethane moulding is to adopt the technique of reaction
injection mouldings (RIM) which uses patterns to produce hard wearing epoxy resin mould
tools which are claimed to deliver a mould life of 1,000 to 2,500 and above shots per
annum. The technique is claimed to bridge the gap between high-cost/low-volume
prototyping and traditional high-cost/high-volume injection moulding. The technique allows
for design changes to be made at any stage, both quickly and cost effectively.
Subsequent machining can be carried out.
In some cases it may be less expensive to adopt a 100% machining solution to
manufacture components using acetal, PA 66 or other polymer which is readily
machineable. Part design and anticipated batch quantities are key factors in making
decisions regarding the production methods to be employed and the materials to be used.
Advocates of fabrication techniques maintain that they are cost effective for small batch
production, offer short lead times, more readily permit part design modifications, enable
tighter tolerances to be secured and eliminate the need for parts to have a draft angle.
Surveys of buyers have shown that the ability to change product design very quickly and
the ability to be a full partner in bringing new products rapidly to market are also of major
importance. The most successful moulders have been shown to be those who collaborate
closely with mould makers and machinery manufacturers.
Flexibility is essential to keep pace with the current climate of ever-shortening product life
cycles. For example, according to component buyers, the typical lifecycle of a personal or
notebook computer in the years from 1995 to 1998 was around fourteen months. This
shrunk to less than eight months in 1999, a figure set to fall to less than six months in the
medium-term future up to 2003.
As the experience of contract manufacturers shows, the most successful companies are
those with the most up-to-date machinery. Companies in Malaysia, the Philippines,
owning or investing in the beneficiaries of their expertise. Success or failure may depend
on the age of a companys installed machines and its management skills.
6.2 Polymer Developments
The search for greater operating efficiency may involve working at higher temperatures
thus putting the pressure on polymer suppliers to deliver products with superior
performance. DuPont offers high-temperature PA grades with a melting point of around
300 C, rather than PA 66 which melts at 275 C. These high-temperature grades are
claimed to offer better dimensional stability and greater thermal resistance than PA 66.
component is a significant design factor. Four new grades of Ticonas Fortron PPS have
been launched which have up to ten times the thermal conductivity of standard grades.
These are used in applications where heat dissipation and other thermal management
issues are important. The thermal conductivity of these electrically insulating grades
varies from 1.1 to 3.0 W/mK. Potential applications of thermally conductive compounds
include heat exchangers and coolers, heat sinks, heat pipes, housings, electronic
interfaces, power supplies and transformers.
The US RTP Company, which has European manufacturing facilities at Beaune in France,
claims leadership of the speciality compounding sector with thermally conductive
compounds of all the major thermoplastics. RTP also offers electrically conductive grades.
It also claims that its thermally conductive compounds (TCCs) are light in weight and
economical to process either by injection moulding or by extrusion into sheet or tape. The
service RTP offers to its customers is modification of over sixty engineering
thermoplastics and thus provides them with a customised product offering the perfect
combination of price and performance with five to ten day lead times for standard
TCCs are also said to have good chemical resistance and provide an excellent alternative
to metal heat exchangers which may have failed due to corrosion. The compounds
incorporate fillers which reduce the incidence of hot spots by absorbing and distributing
heat more evenly than unfilled resins.
Other manufacturers of TCC plastics include the US company, LNP Engineering Plastics
Inc., whose Konduit compounds are tailored to specific applications; the lower cost types
typically comprise 70% ceramic and 30% resin, by weight. High-performance compounds
use a carbon fibre filler to achieve a thermal conductivity of 10 W/m K. Resins used
include PA 6, PP and PPS.
In the most recent development of conducting polymers a way has been found to
manufacture semiconducting polymers and, therefore, plastic microchips.
Electrically conducting additives used in conducting polymers include multiwalled
nanotubes, with a graphite microstructure and high aspect ratio, which are used in
automotive and electronics applications. The US Cambridge Massachusetts-based
manufacturer, Hyperion Catalysis International, is developing applications in the fields of
supercapacitors, batteries and fuel cells catalyst and catalyst support, filters and
conductive inks.
Conducting polymers are used in the Neocapacitor which has been developed by the
Energy Devices Division of the NEC Corporation. The construction of this capacitor
involves the use of a sintered tantalum slug as anode and polypyrrole (PPy) as solid
electrolyte. The use of a tantalum anode enables the new design to maintain the small
size of a conventional tantalum chip capacitor. However, the highly conductive PPy
delivers a much lower ESR and higher permissible ripple current than that of a
conventional tantalum capacitor. Furthermore, the new design possesses a superior selfhealing capability than that of a conventional tantalum capacitor. This capability is a
consequence of the two-step decomposition of doped PPy whereby the doped anion,
initially, and then the polymer backbone are decomposed.
6.3 Supercapacitors
Research is proceeding into the use of conducting polymers in ultracapacitor, also known
as supercapacitor, applications. The capacitors will act like batteries to deliver high pulses
of power and store energy. Typical cell capacitance values are 2,700, 100 and 8 farads at
a cell voltage of 2.3 volts with modules rated at 100 farads, 56 volts. The claimed
advantages for the use of intrinsically conducting polymers in electrochemical capacitors
rather than carbon-based or mixed metal oxide electrodes may be summarised as follows.
They have extremely long operating lives of at least ten years, comprising at least
500,000 charge/discharge cycles and energy densities several orders of magnitude higher
than conventional electronic capacitors. They also have power densities significantly
higher than those of batteries.
Epcos claimed in its 2000 Annual Report that currently it was the only manufacturer
making double-layer ultracapacitors in volume.
as thick films, powders or sub-micron coatings, the last of which offer the possibility of
Electrochemical capacitors operate on the basis of the known concept of doping and
undoping of polymer electrodes. This concept is used to promote the fast and efficient
shuttling of the ions between the polymer and the double layer created at the
electrode/electrolyte interface. The anions and cations involved in these double-layered
electrochemical types are contained within the electrolyte. Conducting polymers are
invariably used in the case of solid electrolytes. Some designs utilise liquid electrolytes
which are usually in aqueous or organic solution. The difference between electrochemical
and conventional electronic capacitors is that ions perform the charge transfer in the
former type and electrons in the latter type.
The employment of large surface areas, which can be increased by adopting multilayer
designs, and the high intrinsic conductivity of the material confer both high power and high
energy density. A further benefit is the ability to produce conducting polymers on a large
scale at relatively low cost.
Drawbacks experienced with the current generation of electrochemical capacitors, when
compared with conventional electronic capacitors, are their relatively high ESR and their
loss of capacitance when called upon to supply very short duration bursts of high current.
Ions move relatively slowly from anode to cathode and so a finite time is required for the
nominal device capacitance to be established; this is measured after a delay of one
second. On the other hand, electrons are relatively fast moving and so the charge transfer
is considered to be instantaneous.
BestCap totally solid, high conductivity, proton polymer electrolyte electrochemical
designs from AVX Ltd., have addressed these drawbacks and allow high current, short
duration pulses to be delivered with a minimal voltage drop. These non polar types are
available in very thin formats, down to less than 0.7 mm, and have low leakage currents
less than 0.05 A/mF. The capacitance range extends from 40 mF to 500 mF.
Other new polymers which have been developed during the last decade include Topas,
the cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) from Ticona. The polymers properties include rigidity,
very high moisture barrier effect, good stability to hydrolysis, excellent chemical resistance
to polar media, high transparency and low density. Typical electronic applications include
metallised film use in capacitors and, with glass fibre reinforcement, in injection moulding
material for components. Topas is considered by its manufacturer, Ticona, to be superior
to PP and PVC for these applications. Topas is produced at a 30 kt per annum capacity
plant at Oberhausen in Germany.
The ongoing miniaturisation of electronic components is crucially dependent on the ability
of machinery manufacturers to supply products and processes capable of meeting their
customers needs. This limitation is illustrated by a recent announcement from Samsung
Electronics and the Shipley Corporation stating that they have developed a mass
production technique for a photoresist polymer for argon fluoride (ArF) lithography. The
technique is needed to print circuitry on semiconductors, with a capacity of one gigabit or
higher, with a design rule no greater than 0.09 m; the previous circuit linewidth of 0.10
m was thought to be the lowest figure technologically possible.
Samsung plans to use the new technology to bring gigabit microprocessor chips to market
launch in 2002.
6.4 Lithium Polymer Systems
The strength of the mobile phone and portable computer markets has stimulated the
search for ever more efficient battery power systems. The latest technologies include
rechargeable PolyStor lithium polymer systems now available in both flat and curved
versions. The cathodes are basically lithium nickel cobalt oxide (LiNiCoO2); the polymer
construction technology is licensed from Motorola Energy Systems. Motorola Energy
Systems has also announced a co-operation agreement with National Semiconductor to
design and develop new methods of protecting and energy-managing lithium-ion and
lithium-ion polymer batteries with the declared objective of significantly reducing the parts
count and size of lithium energy systems. The agreement adds National Semiconductors
expertise in the field of low-voltage power management chips to Motorolas safety
experience and knowledge of lithium-ion and lithium-ion polymer technologies. The two
companies have, between them, at least fifteen patents relating to the subjects covered by
their agreement.
Other companies with an interest in rechargeable lithium-ion batteries include TotalFinaElf
whose Kynar PVDF is said to be used to bind the mineral powders of the electrodes in
over 80% of these products. PVDF is used because of its electrical performance and its
resistance to chemicals.
PolyStors Prismatic cell range extends to 360 Wh/l and 130 Wh/kg at a rating of 1350 mA
h. PolyStor is working on a range of curved cells with capacities extending from 160 to
1200 mA h. Custom designs can also be supplied. Varta is also working on lithium-ion
polymer battery technology and plans to launch its range of lithium ion polymer batteries
in 2001. Other work in this field is being carried out by DuPont which has established a
pilot line at Towanda, Pennslvania in order to validate the technology and manufacturing
processes relating to the production of lithium, polymer-based, rechargeable batteries.
The pace of change in lithium battery design, according to one manufacturer Moli Energy,
is so rapid that their chemical composition is said to change every six months. The net
result is that performance testing is unpredictable. Furthermore, an instrument to test
lithium-ion batteries will not provide reliable readings when tested with lithium-ion polymer
Lithium-ion polymer batteries are also seen as a potential power source for electric cars.
DaimlerChrysler is developing the Electric Powered Interurban Commuter (EPIC), which is
based on the Chrysler Voyager internal combustion-engined vehicle. Earlier experimental
versions of the vehicle were fitted with nickel metal hydride batteries. However, it has now
been found that, by moving to lithium-ion polymer technology, power and energy density
can be significantly improved thereby enabling the vehicles range to be increased with
the added benefit of cost reduction. This project is one of the first to combine expertise
from the former Chrysler facilities at Auburn Hills, Michigan, and those of Daimler in
Germany at Stuttgart.
Not only are polymers being used for power storage but they are also being used for
memory storage. Sony has introduced a Memory Stick which is the size of a stick of
chewing gum. Memory Sticks can save photographs, data, music and other digitised
information and have already been targeted at digital cameras. Other applications include
electronic books, telephones, televisions and Walkmans. Data storage capabilities range
from 4 MB to 64 MB, the equivalent of forty floppy disks, with the planned introduction of a
256 MB device this year. The technology has also been adopted by Aiwa, Casio, Fujitsu,
Sanyo and Sharp who will incorporate Memory Stick bays into their products.
6.5 Flat Panel Displays
In this information age, flat panel displays are increasingly being employed as the medium
to convey information to the user. The equipment manufacturer has a wide choice of
options available with downward pressure on prices as sales volumes increase and
manufacturing improvements are implemented.
LCDs have traditionally dominated the flat panel display market along with AMLCDs,
which were originally designed for the personal computer market.
European companies are continuing to turn to Asia to source components. Densitron
Technologies, for example, is establishing an alliance, DV3, with a local LCD
manufacturer in Dong Guan, China to manufacture standard and custom LCD panels and
modules which will sell at less than 1 each.
The polymer dispersed liquid crystal display technology from Philips is claimed to be a
reflective, high-contrast, low-power display, permitting the manufacture of flexible
displays. The advantages of this polymer-based active matrix include lower production
costs because fewer production steps are involved and the clean room conditions are not
as demanding as the more usual production process involving amorphous silicon-based
TFTs which account for the major cost component of the complete display
Another of the technologies employed involves the use LEDs where the conventional
manufacturing technique is to use an epoxy-dip process which takes between 4 and 12
hours. Global Light Industries in Germany has developed an injection moulding process,
with cycle times of between 1 and 2 seconds, using thermoplastic polymers. The new
process offers the benefits of speed, accuracy and flexibility.
Global Light Industries claims to be the only company in the world using the process,
which involves the accurate positioning of the diode lead frame in a mould which is then
closed and the molten plastic then injected. The resulting tolerances are claimed to be
around 150 m rather than the 250 m attainable with current techniques. Global also
claims that the thermoplastic can withstand conventional soldering processes. It is also
said that the injection moulded LEDs have flat bases and better weathering characteristics
than epoxy-based devices.
Light emitting polymers (LEPs) are another new technology destined to revolutionise the
displays sector. Cambridge Display Technology (CDT) has spent five years developing
the technology and is now investing US$25 million in a new plant at Godmanchester, UK,
fifteen miles from the companys Cambridge headquarters. The new plant is due for
completion by the first quarter of 2002 with production scheduled to start approximately
two months later. Initial ink-jet technologies are forecast to evolve into roll-to-roll flexible
substrate manufacturing processes. Currently CDT is able to demonstrate a two-inch
square glass colour screen which has 270,000 dots of colour. The next stage of the
development is to print on a thin plastic sheet rather than glass.
The original ink-jet idea is said to have come from Seiko Epson in 1998 and enables dots
of LEP to be printed at a rate of twelve metres of screen per minute, far faster by a
claimed order of ten, than printing on glass. The refresh rate of earlier technologies was
slow to the extent that it was almost possible to detect individual frames. With LEDs the
refresh rate is fast enough to provide a flicker free image. Furthermore, the 170 degree
angle of view is far wider than some competing technologies.
Potential initial markets for the new products include camcorders, digital cameras and
mobile phones. The new facility will be used to test and demonstrate the technology and
to carry out limited production runs. CDT has licensed the technology to third parties
including DuPont, which purchased former licensee Uniax. Several licensees will launch
commercial products this year.
Other future developments of CDTs LEP technology include electric lamps, which would
consume much less power than fluorescent lamps. These could appear around the year
2005. The company also offers the possibility of reversing the action to derive electricity
from a light source shining on to the LEDs and a sister company has been set up to
develop this type of solar cell technology.
DuPont is developing polymeric LEDs which are multicoloured viewing screens on plastic
substrates. These are more flexible, lightweight and durable than glass and can be either
curved or flat. Applications include cell phones, mall computers, laptops and hand-held
computers. Dow is also working in the field of polymeric LEDs for electronic devices and
laptop computers.
Research carried out by the University of Utah has revealed that LEDs made from
electrically conducting polymers and oligomers under the influence of microwaves are
superior to conventional designs. Formerly it was believed that no more than 25% of the
energy consumed by an LED could be emitted as light with the balance being generated
as heat. The new materials enable between 41% and 63% of the supplied energy to be
emitted as light; this represents a considerable improvement. The materials were tested in
super-cold temperatures in magnetic fields in the USA and in India, and research is
continuing into ways of doping the polymers to eliminate the need for microwaves. The
university physics team chairman, Valy Vardeny, is reported to have said that the team
has not broken any laws of physics, merely fooled them.
CDTs Covion Organic Semiconductor licensee in Germany has recently completed a
US$5 million extension to its polymer production facility and is now able to manufacture
more than 40,000 litres of conjugated polymer annually. Its customers include Philips
whose Dutch Heerlen plant uses LEPs in its PolyLED mobile-phone displays. The
organic-LED display market, which also includes personal digital assistants, digital
cameras and camcorders, is reported to have doubled in 2000 to US$24 million with
further growth to US$3.3 billion by 2005.
Philips produced the first display where each pixel was driven by a polymer transistor and
continues to work on polymeric LEDs where the polymer layer is a semiconducting soluble
derivative of polyphenylene vinylene sandwiched between two electrodes. The lower
electrode is the anode which is formed by depositing a thin ITO layer on to a glass
substrate. The upper electrode, the cathode, is a vacuum-deposited metal electrode. The
colour of the light output may be changed by modifying the polymers chemical structure.
The long-term aim is said to be to use flexible substrates rather than glass as at present.
Efficiency gains secured over the past ten years have involved improvements in the
stability of various plastics by the use of better sealing techniques to exclude air and
moisture more efficiently. Tests have shown that some polymer LEDs have continuous
working lives in excess of 50,000 hours.
Philips is reported to have developed a 64x64 active matrix display in which each pixel is
driven by a TFT based on a polymer semiconductor. The display operates at switching
frequencies of up to 100 Hz with each of the 4096 pixels driven by its own TFT.
Transistors are formed on a solid substrate though the polymeric content is confined to
the semiconductor part of the transistors. The same team of researchers at Philips have
previously demonstrated all-polymer transistors built on flexible substrates.
Other companies in this field include the American E Ink Corporation which, in
collaboration with the Canadian Lucent Technologies Inc., claimed to have developed the
worlds first flexible electronic display using Lucents flexible plastic transistors to produce
so-called electronic ink. The claimed advantages of this technology include flexibility,
readability, low power consumption and low manufacturing cost. The end product is
claimed to have a similar appearance to ink on paper with good reflectivity and contrast. It
is said to be a comfortable medium for people to read and handle, even in bright light and
sunlight where the use of other electronic technologies may pose problems.
E Inks electronic ink is so constructed that the image it displays changes when it is
exposed to an electric field. It comprises thousands of so-called microcapsules, each of
which is a tiny 100 m diameter sphere which is filled with two types of electrically
charged pigment; the white pigment carries a positive charge and the blue pigment a
negative charge. The pigments can be manipulated as soon as the spheres are subjected
to an electric field between the electrodes of the device. Consequently, charging the upper
electrode or viewing side of the device positively would result in that side turning blue
whereas a negative charge on the upper electrode would colour it white. By this means it
is possible to produce letters and words bearing in mind that one square inch of surface
area comprises approximately 100,000 microcapsules. Unlike competing technologies,
electronic ink will retain images for weeks at a time without the application of power.
The beauty of the electronic ink process is that the ink may be printed using existing
screen printing processes thereby keeping costs under control and far below those of
other flat panel display processes. The first E Ink Immedia display was put on display at a
US J.C. Penney department store in 1999 and other users include Safeway in the States.
These displays are ideal for easily changed point of sale messages and are widely
available but only in white lettering on blue background versions. Each Immedia display
has a power consumption of approximately 0.1 W.
The state of the development of the E Ink technology, as at March 2001, is that the
system allows a change of colour up to ten times per second thus enabling animation
exercises to be carried out. Other competitors in this sector include the Irish NanoChrome
subsidiary of Nanomat Ltd., which claims that its technology is superior to that of E Ink.
Looking to the future, the Vice-President of Display Operations at the Santa Barbara,
USA-based Uniax Corporation was reported in 2000 to have stated that the arrival of full
colour, low power, all plastic displays would be of interest to manufacturers of wireless
internet handsets where designers have sought viable alternatives to current designs,
especially in view of the predicted future dramatic expansion of demand in the sector.
Other systems include microdisplays where the maximum diagonal distance across the
display is 25 mm. These high-definition displays, which are viewed indirectly, can be
made inexpensively by semiconductor manufacturers and are incorporated in personal
viewers for camera viewfinders, games, headsets, mobile communications and mobile
computers. They are also ideal for incorporation in head-mounted or near-eye displays.
The net result of these developments, especially with the prospect of technological
progress and falling prices, is that displays are now an integral part of products rather than
an add-on feature. Customer choice will flow from the wide range of major display
manufacturers, niche players and business start-up companies that are taking a serious
interest in these new technologies.
6.6 Other New Technologies
The recently reported ability of electronic engineers at the University of Surrey to develop
light emitting silicon, at room temperature, by bombarding it with boron atoms could affect
the future prospects of polymer devices. The new LED is reported to be entirely
compatible with conventional semiconductor manufacturing processes but emission levels
are low.
The component sector will benefit from new technologies which are being developed.
These include the use of high-power diode lasers to weld thermoplastics to each other or
to such metals as aluminium and steel, using an interlayer material called LaserBond.
stereolithography which is capable of an accuracy of plus or minus 0.1 mm. The Somos
9120 grade is a new addition to the DSM Somos family of stereolithographic resins. It is
designed to be used in laser stereolithography rapid prototyping machines. DSMs Somos
91 resins have been designed to mimic the properties of PP. They are sufficiently durable
for functional prototyping and parts made from the Somos 9100 Series can be substituted
for injection-moulded parts in short production runs. Colouring is carried out by applying
aniline dyes to the set resin.
Electro Optical Systems GmbH of Munich, which has associate companies in France and
Italy, claims to be Europes leading manufacturer of rapid prototyping systems. The
companys laser sintering process builds up solid components from 3D CAD data on a
layer basis. The EOSINT P system uses Duraform and other PA, including glass-filled
versions, to make mechanically resilient prototypes economically within hours. Duraform
has around 80% of the strength of injection-moulded parts which, though slightly porous,
can be filled with a variety of additives to meet the desired specification. Component
accuracy is plus or minus 0.15 mm. PS is used as a medium in EOSINT P system when
the objective is to make moulds for the production of investment castings.
The technique uses a master model as a pattern for silicone rubber tooling which is
normally able to produce between twenty and twenty-five PU copies of the original part.
These copies may be used to mimic a wide range of materials, including ABS, glass-filled
PA and rubber, with an accuracy within 0.075 mm of the master pattern.
Other exponents of rapid prototyping technology include Vantico, the former Performance
Polymers division of Ciba, which acquired its new status in June 2000 following a buy-out
by Morgan Grenfell Private Equity. Vantico comprises three divisions: polymer specialities
and electronic polymers based in Basle, Switzerland, and the adhesives and tooling
division based in the UK at Duxford near Cambridge. The products of this division include
the well-known Araldite adhesive as well as Vanticos Parts in Minutes (PIM) process,
which produces PU prototypes which simulate both the appearance and characteristics of
moulded thermoplastics.
The PIM process employs a polymer and a hardener. The two materials are dispensed
together into a silicone mould where the mixture sets within one or two minutes. Additives
may be used to prolong the fluid stage. This technique is used to produce a weekly output
of hundreds of production parts. For the quantities involved, this process is preferred to
injection moulding which would be a more cumbersome process. Vantico offers a range of
around sixteen materials from rubbers and HDPE to PP and ABS.
Vanticos rapid prototyping polyurethanes, under the Ureol brand, can be cast into
silicone, polyurethane or epoxy moulds with a yield of up to forty parts per mould per day.
It is thus possible to produce quality prototypes and parts which simulate the appearance
and replicate performance properties of injection-moulded thermoplastics. These are
available for testing in as little as fifteen minutes.
A further option from the French Axson company is an extrudable epoxy paste which is
applied as a 1:1 mixture with a hardener and sets within 24 hours with minimum
shrinkage. The compound can subsequently be milled to the required shape.
One such material is Cast-IT 2000 Epoxy which has been used to build 20,000 injection
moulds in Japan. This two-component package contains a pre-blended high ratio of
aluminium thus eliminating the need to add additional dry metallic fillers and so ensuring
full dispersion of the aluminium. The mixed epoxy offers good fluidity and is easy to pour
over the master model. After curing, the dimensionally stable moulds offer an ideal
combination of high strength, high glass transition temperature with good thermal
characteristics capable of withstanding exposure to typical injection moulding pressures
and temperatures. The epoxy exhibits good chemical resistance and a good surface
finish. The process is typically used to make prototypes or short production runs of
injection-moulded ABS, PC and PP parts.
Another approach to the rapid production of relatively small quantities of moulded parts is
by the use of Swift Technologies Swiftool material which is described as a Smart
Polymeric Composite (SPC). SPC is a fibre-reinforced polymer, with a one hour curing
time, which has the ability to withstand sustained temperatures up to 250 C and
compressive loads of up to nine tonnes per square inch.
The manufacturing process involves initially setting the master pattern into a rapid cure
modelling compound where the split line of the future mould is defined. The Swiftool
material is then packed against the protruding half of the master pattern and then cured
using Swiftool processing equipment. This applies vacuum and pressure to the packed
pattern in order to eliminate air voids and ensure uniform mould density.
The inherent microflexion or dynamic memory capability of the SPC composite facilitates
the removal of the master pattern from the mould and subsequently the mould from the
moulded components.
Materials which can be moulded by the Swiftool process include ABS, PE, POM, PP and
PA 66 with a glass fibre content of up to 50%. Tests have generated a yield of 50,000 PP
shots from a Swiftool mould.
The pervasiveness of polymers throughout electronics is illustrated by reports of the
commercialisation of Cambridge University research which has discovered he technology
to manufacture low-cost plastic microchips. A company, Plastic Logic, funded by venture
capital and Dow Chemical, has been created to commercialise the technology with the
objective of launching demonstration prototypes in the summer of 2001. The process is
said to utilise exotic plastic materials with the manufacturing technique similar to that of
ink-jet printing. These materials come from such families as the polythiophenes and
oligothiophenes which can be doped to change their fundamental insulating properties
and thereafter become semiconductors. There is considerable research and development
activity in this field by such companies as DuPont, Hitachi, Hoechst, IBM, Lucent
Technologies, Mitsubishi, Philips and Xerox but none is yet believed to have announced
commercial products.
The Philips research relates to TFTs produced by means of a three-level
photolithographic process. Philips is also reported to be developing polymer-based
devices for use in disposable flexible and intelligent supermarket barcode labels which
could be read remotely at the checkout without the need to remove purchases from the
shopping trolley. The labels under development would be capable of being read even if
severely bent, a common occurrence in the case of the packaging of soft products.
Plastic microchips would have slower switching speeds, operating at the rate of thousands
of operations per second rather than the millions of operations per second attainable with
silicon devices. They would therefore only be suitable for certain applications. However,
their low cost, possibly even a few pence each, would open up new markets especially in
active matrix displays, domestic appliances and industrial control and management
systems where switching speed requirements are relatively modest.
The lower cost is due to the fact that the cost of a microprocessor on a plastic substrate
production line would only be a fraction of the cost of a silicon device manufacturing
facility. The low cost could create new markets, disposable smart labels for example.
These were ruled out in the past by the cost of silicon devices. The plastic substrate is
typically made from a PI foil with a layer of conducting polyaniline which contains a
photoiniator. The reduction of the conducting polyaniline layer to non-conducting
leucomeraldine is achieved by exposing it to deep ultraviolet light whilst suitably masked
to create the desired network of shaped electrodes and interconnects.
Devices can be produced by the application, using a spin coating process, of a 50 nm
semiconducting layer of polythienylenevinylene which is converted to an electrode at an
elevated temperature in the presence of a catalyst. The polyvinylphenol spin coated layer
is used as gate dielectric, which is deposited between the gate and the source to drain the
channel of the device. It also acts as insulation for the second layer of interconnect which
is created in the top polyaniline layer by using a second mask.
The reality of todays highly competitive marketplace is ever faster product launches with
concept to production times in some areas down to less than three months.
High-volume production of ultra-thin mobile phone cases, fine pitch connectors and smart
cards calls for injection moulding machines operating at high speed and high pressures.
However, one of the manufacturers of such machines states that 95% of the challenge in
this area is down to mould design.
The use of sequential gate moulding, which has for some time been used in the
automotive sector, is being used in electronic component applications to reduce the
thickness of portable devices to as little as 0.88 mm. Typical wall thickness is up to 2 mm.
Colour is being used to differentiate the appearance of products. GE Plastics has
launched a ColorXpress website with thousands of colour combinations. Customers are
able to order small batches of between ten and fifty pounds of a resin to produce and
evaluate samples. A premium custom colour matching service is available at a cost of
US$2,500 per match. There are some colour limitations in respect of specific polymers,
GE Plastics high temperature Ultem being a case in point.
6.7 Recycling
Polymer recycling is not a feature of the components industry; reprocessed materials may
lose their UL rating. However, the European Confederation of Telecommunications
Manufacturers (ECTEL) is operating a voluntary take back scheme in collaboration with
four network operators. The scheme accepts mobile phones for recycling at shops
displaying the schemes logo. The returned items are separated into handsets, batteries,
chargers and other accessories for recycling. The European Union and Norway intend to
introduce a compulsory take back scheme.
The recycling objective is for materials to be capable of being reprocessed five times and
still retain their UL rating. Added pigments should be suitably V-0 qualified. IEC standards
are growing in importance vis--vis UL standards. However, the products of European
companies must have UL approval to be sold in the US market. In practice, this means
that even components sold to the European subsidiaries of US parents for assembly into
products sold by hose companies in Europe must also be UL approved. Some
applications may call for compliance with German VDE, Canadian CSA or other
standards. Buyers should be aware that some lower quality polymer materials and
mouldings may be spuriously offered in Europe as having UL approval. This practice can
occur due to the lack of policing of the UL standard in Europe.
The use of polymer additives should also be taken into account when taking
environmental considerations into account. Flame retardancy often involves the inclusion
of brominated flame retardants and a 1997 study for the APME revealed that only 2.5%
(103,000 tonnes) of plastics electrical and electronics waste contained halogenated flame
retardants. This waste tends to comprise printed circuit boards and small electronic
components such as coil formers and capacitor housings.
On 13 June 2000, the European Commission published its latest issue of the proposal for
the Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) which seeks to
establish high recycling targets for certain categories. Such figures are not feasible if
several polymers are combined in the same product because of the costs involved in
dismantling. Consequently, it is unrealistic to expect significant recycling savings in the
small components sector. The WEEE draft proposals, which involve separate collection
and selective treatment of all components containing halogenated flame retardants, is
The requirement to remove hazardous substances was originally part of the WEEE but
was subsequently detached and established as a separate directive. It includes the
requirement to phase out lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, halogenated
flame retardants and other hazardous substances by 1 January 2008. Lead-free solders
are currently being introduced and should be universally employed before 2008. The
German ZVEI (Zentralverband Elektrotechnik- und Elektronikindustrie) Electrical and
Electronics Industry is reported to believe that around 50% of components currently in use
may be unable to withstand the revised soldering line conditions. Hybrid circuits are said
generally to be less vulnerable than most. However, concern was expressed that the ban
could have a knock-on effect on the industrys customers.
There is also a requirement to phase out brominated flame retardants, notably
polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) and polybrominated diphenylthers (PBDEs). Plastics
containing these compounds will be present in the wastestream for some years thus
inhibiting the recycling of plastic products currently in use.
The EU is endeavouring to ensure that electronic and electrical equipment is designed
and manufactured in such a way that when operated under its design conditions, it has a
minimal effect on the environment during its lifecycle. Furthermore, equipment should be
efficient both in terms of its power consumption and in its use of natural resources with
minimum pollution during use and during maintenance. The EU is also promoting
recyclability and the use of recycled materials.
Combustion trials carried out by the APME at a German research centre at Karlsruhe by
Dr Vehlow, one of the worlds leading specialists on combustion, have demonstrated that
safe combustion in state-of-the-art municipal incinerators, alongside other municipal
waste, is the optimum way to treat plastic waste containing flame retardants. Later APME
research has revealed that in the disposal of printed circuit boards, which have a high
content of recoverable precious metals, in a metal smelter the plastics content acts as a
reducing agent and fuel.
Over the course of the last fifteen years, the APME has been committed to the
development and introduction of oligomeric or chemically bonded halogenated flame
retardants as well as halogen-free solutions. However, in order to meet the stringent
specifications needed to ensure safety in some applications, the use of brominated flame
retardants may be indispensable.
The French LNP Eurostar subsidiary (based in Fosse) of US LNP Engineering Plastics
offers its Starflam non-halogenated flame retardant PA 6 and PA 66 resins which are
claimed to have good processing features and which do not corrode tools. These
polymers have very low specific gravity and thus produce more components per weight of
material. They are also claimed to be environmentally friendly because they do not
release chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) into the atmosphere. Applications include
components used in connectors, laptop computers, pagers and switches.
One interesting potential solution to the safety problems surrounding flame retardant
plastics results from research carried out at the University of Pennsylvania where
scientists suggest the addition of between 1% and 5% natural clay to the compound. It
has been revealed that this addition to some plastic composites will change their physical
qualities making them less permeable to liquids and gases, tougher and more flame
retardant since, when plastics containing clay are burnt, the clay forms a char layer on the
outside, insulating the material beneath. The clay, which is added during the final
processing stages, is finely dispersed throughout the compound by thermodynamic
forces. As only very small amounts of clay are involved, the processing equipment does
not experience any additional wear.
6.8 Chemical Safety
The European Commission is also examining the safety of chemicals and recently
published a white paper on the subject. The Commission is seeking to speed up decisive
action on the 100,000 or so chemicals which have never been fully tested to determine
their impact on people and the environment. A shorter list of twenty-seven chemicals was
covered by the 1998 Ospar agreement, signed by a group of sixteen governments, which
pledged to phase them out within a generation. The list contains some flame retardants
and some PVC additives (see Table 6.1).
Table 6.1 Chemicals contained in the Ospar agreement
4-tert-butyloluene
Brominated flame retardants
Certain phthalates dibutylphthalate and
diethylhexylphthalate
Dicofol
Dodecylphenol
Endosulfan
Hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) isomers
Hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDS)
Lead and organic lead compounds
Mercury and organic mercury compounds
Methoxychlor
Nonylphenol/ehoxylates (NP/NPEs) and
Musk xylene
Octylphenol
Organic tin compounds
Pentachlorophenol (PCP)
Polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
Polychlorinated dibenzdioxins (PCDDs)
Polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs)
Short-chained chlorinated paraffins (SCCP)
Trichlorobenzene
1,2,4- Trichlorobenzene
Earlier action than the governments anticipated has occurred because of the decision by
do-it-yourself retailers, B&Q and Homebase and other companies, to phase out toxic
chemicals from their own label products by 2005. This customer pressure could affect the
selection of polymers for DIY products.
One of the markets features which suppliers ignore at their peril is the arrival of fastgrowing new companies. For example, chip maker Texas Instruments has stated that it
has been selling 30% of its mobile phone sector output to new telecommunications
companies.
7 Future Outlook
7.1 Optical Applications
The growing use of fibre-optic cables has stimulated the demand for ancillary components
to facilitate connections and other requirements.
Optical fibre is moving into the car, the home, small offices and into consumer products.
Polymer optical fibres (POFs) are cheaper than glass and are easier to manufacture and
use although their maximum effective operating length is of the order of a few hundred
metres. POFs offer the prospect of being able to employ simple low-cost, moulded plugs
to make rapid connections. One contributory factor to the simplicity is the fact that POF
has a diameter of up to 1 mm, which is around eight times the diameter of a standard
single mode silica fibre. POF is more tolerant of connection misalignment than silica.
The automotive use of optical fibre networks has been pioneered by DaimlerChryslers
Mercedes subsidiary in its S-Class cars where it is offered as an optional extra. POF
automotive application benefits include resistance to vibration. DaimlerChrysler is a
member of the Media Oriented System Transport (MOST) consortium, whose members
also include the Becker Group and BMW, which has developed an optical bus standard
for automotive use.
Polymers used date back to the DuPont introduction of PMMA in the 1960s. Since then
the introduction of perfluorinated graded-index (PFGI) has enlarged the transmission
window with lower losses and dispersion. In 2000, Asahi, a leading plastic fibre supplier,
launched its new Lucina POF which incorporates its Cytop transparent perfluorinated
polymer. According to Asahi, Cytop has the same properties as conventional
fluoropolymers with the bonus of much higher optical transparency.
An indication of the importance of the new technology is provided by the November 2000
opening of the Polymer Optical Fibres Application Centre (POFAC) at Nuremberg in
Germany, which has received funding of approximately DM 4.75 million from the Bavarian
government. The centre is reported to be involved in the support of construction projects
to demonstrate and pilot POF systems. POFAC will also measure the characteristics of all
types of POF, components and systems.
Confirmation of growth in the optical sector is provided by Alcatel Optronics, a leading
supplier of optoelectronic components which reported a sales increase of 144.1% from
1999 to 2000, up from PLOOLRQ WR PLOOLRQ 7KH LPSRUWDQFH RI UHVHDUFK DQG
development is underlined by expenditure of PLOOLRQ RI VDOHV
One interesting joint development, by the Information and Communications University and
ZenPhotonics in Korea, involves the use of polymer planar lightwave circuits in variable
optical attenuators. The light entering the device from a singlemode waveguide then feeds
into a multimode waveguide via a taper. The application of a voltage to an electrode in the
multimode region lowers the refractive index of the polymer using the thermo-optic effect
to excite higher order modes which are subsequently filtered out as they pass through
another taper into an output single mode waveguide. Polymers have been chosen in
preference to silica because of their low power requirements and ease of manufacture.
The low power requirement is illustrated by the ability of 80 mW input power to give 30 dB
attenuation at 1,550 nm.
7.2 Bio-Based Polymers
Another interesting DuPont development, with potential application in the electronics
industry, is the groups first bio-based polymer known as Sorona. Scheduled for
demonstration in 2001, it is forecast to be operating with lower unit costs than polymers
from petrochemical sources within three years. DuPont has entered into a five-year
collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to develop this biotechnology
outside the realms of traditional agriculture.
DuPont considers Sorona to be one of the most significant new polymers to be developed
by the company in recent years, and a new continuous polymerisation plant has been
started up at Kinston, North Carolina. This plant is using 1,3-propanediol (PDO) derived
from petroleum feedstocks and made for DuPont by Degussa. This plant is able to switch
to corn-based PDO as soon as the process economics and market demand justify making
the change.
The electronic application envisaged is for resins to be used in the production of
Bio-based polymers enjoy the advantage of being readily recyclable with such diverse
ingredients as recycled newspapers and coffee grounds, a waste product from instant
coffee factories which produce several million tonnes annually worldwide.
7.3 Self-Repairing Polymers
Developments at the University of Illinois in the USA include self-repairing polymers. This
feature is obtained by the dispersal within the polymer of tiny capsules of monomers.
These are activated if cracks develop in the material since rupturing of the capsules will
release monomers which will link up with each other in the presence of catalysts and thus
heal the cracks. Researchers have reported that the material retains around 75% of its
original toughness when healed in this way.
7.4 Search For New Products
levels at which dramatic price cuts are possible.
One possible product in this category is the new multi-purpose IC-R3 receiver from Icom
which combines the functions of television set, video display and radio in one small handheld package powered by a lithium-ion rechargeable battery which provides twenty-seven
hours of viewing time per charge on a two inch liquid crystal display.
Mobile phones have been an exception to the normal marketing procedure because the
manufacturers decided to subsidise the cost of the handsets from the anticipated
subsequent call revenue from the users, as anyone who has had to replace a lost or
stolen phone at its true cost will confirm.
The future is seen as a coming together of the internet and mobile communications with
the internet use moving from fixed to mobile communications. According to the president
of Bitkom, the German association for IT, telecommunications and new media, the size of
the mobile commerce market across Europe in 2000 exceeded DM 2.5 billion
(approximately US$1.2 billion). The association expects an annual growth rate of 200% in
most European countries up to 2003, thus Europe may be seen to be growing faster than
the USA in this respect.
One of the areas of convergence is the combination of personal digital assistant (PDA)
and mobile phone where Nokia is a pioneer, having introduced its Communicator model,
the first of its kind, in 1996. Sales have grown slowly because of the relatively high unit
cost of around 250. However, Nokia is about to launch an improved 9210 model with a
full colour screen and redesigned keyboard in an attempt to increase sales which are
miniscule in comparison with its cellular handset sales. The 9210 model is claimed to be
the first to use the complete IBM/Symbian package which includes components from
IBMs Tivoli device management, Lotus Notes and DB2 database management software.
Symbian, which is jointly owned by Ericsson, Matsushita, Motorola, Nokia and Psion, has
developed an operating system and software which is being used by the majority of
smartphone designers including Ericsson, Nokia, Psion and Sony.
Toshiba is one of the promoters of small-molecule LED technology which offers better
visibility and lower power consumption than LCDs. Currently only monochrome screens
are on offer, but Toshiba has announced the 2002 launch of a six-inch, full colour screen
with laptop full colour screens to follow in 2004 and television set screens to follow shortly
The market is believed to be more receptive to mobile internet devices with an e-mail
capability, WAP and data communications. Manufacturers are launching interesting new
products. For example, the Ericsson R380 is reported to combine a mobile phone with
PDA-like functionality, WAP, e-mail and messaging services. Kyocera is said to have
launched its own version of a smartphone with even Microsoft entering the fray with its
Stinger model, which will support voice and data communications including GPRS and
versions of its own Outlook and Internet Explorer technology. The designers dilemma is
to construct a suitably compact and comprehensive package of services at a price which
the market is willing to pay.
Microsoft has also supported the British handset manufacturer, Sendo, which is planning
to launch its Z100 Smartphone in the autumn of 2001. The Z100 will have a colour TFT
screen and will provide e-mail and full internet wireless access using the GPRS standard.
The 99 gram phone will also play MP3 music files. Sendos manufacturing strategy is to
build a basic electronics module in China, then ship it to the Netherlands for customisation
and fitting into its outer case.
Even manufacturers have difficulty in deciding the direction of joint ventures as was
shown by the dissolution of the Odin joint venture between Motorola and Psion Computers
to develop an advanced mobile handset. Whilst the two companies both wished to offer a
mobile phone with data handling capabilities, they are reported as not being able to agree
on the specification or physical dimensions of the product.
Another avenue of development is to start with a laptop computer and build into it a mobile
telecommunications facility. The first obstacle to be overcome is the inability of laptops
totally encased in metal boxes to receive or transmit radio signals. An external antenna is
probably unacceptable so the laptops magnesium lid has to be replaced with a plastic lid
to permit wireless communication. Alternatively, the magnesium lid may be retained to
protect the screen and a durable polycarbonate/ABS blend used as casing material for the
lower half of the laptop. The additional functions increase the load on the laptops
batteries so the pressure is on to find a power source to provide sufficient energy for a
whole days operation of ten hours or so.
The television set manufacturing industry is seeking to accelerate set replacement by the
adoption of a wider screen format which provides owners of traditional sets with dark
bands above and below the picture if the set presents the format at the expense of picture
height. The alternative is to retain the full height of the picture and sacrifice the left and
right hand extremities. These sets usually offer digital sound which is claimed to offer
higher sound quality whilst simultaneously reducing the broadcasters bandwidth
transmission requirement. Digital radios are also being sold but their high prices have kept
them out of the mass market.
Therefore, whilst digital radio and television services are growth markets for electronic
components, much of the growth has been confined to the set-top box sector of the
market. These boxes convert the incoming digital signals to a format acceptable to the
television receiver. Fully digital television and radio receivers, other than personal
computers equipped with a tuner, are still very expensive and will only come down in price
as sales volumes increase. Worldwide sales of set-top boxes in 2001 are expected to be
around 35 million units. The UK situation is unusual because the major digital
broadcaster, BSkyB, has almost completed the transfer of its customer base from
analogue to digital services. Consequently the UK market could be the only one to report
a downturn in sales figures with year 2000 sales of 3.8 million boxes forecast to fall to 3.2
million in 2001. A survey by the UK government telecommunications watchdog, Oftel,
revealed that digital television had reached 19% (4.5 million) of UK homes by May 2000.
7.5 Bluetooth Technology
technology networking standard. The system has been developed by Ericsson and allows
personal computers, laptops, hand-held computers, mobile phones, printers and other
electronically controlled products to communicate with each other by means of radio links
of up to ten metres. Three classes of radio performance are available:
Class 1 with a maximum output power of 100 mW and a working distance of 100
metres,
Class 2 with an output of 2.5 mW and a working distance of 10 metres, and
Class 3 with an output of 1.0 mW and a working distance of 1 metre.
No interconnecting cables are needed.
A working demonstration of Bluetooth technology in Hall 13 at the March 2001 CeBIT
exhibition at Hanover in Germany experienced some teething problems which were later
sorted out and blamed on defective software.
The Bluetooth technology also allows domestic appliances, home heating and other
systems to be included thus permitting the coordinated control of everything electrical
within the home from a PDA which also combines the functions of calendar and address
The PDA is a hand-held computer designed to offer the user rapid access to personal
information. The world brand leader is the US manufacturer Palm followed by Handspring,
which has sold almost two million units in the USA but recent sales have suffered due to
the downturn in the US economy. The latest Handspring model the Visor Edge, has user
appeal in the form of an ultra-thin metal case. It also has another benefit, a lithium-ion
polymer battery, which enables it to operate for a claimed forty hours before needing to be
recharged.
Lithium-ion polymer, Varta PoLiFlex 3 volt batteries are available from Varta Batteries in
25 mAh (29 mm x 22 mm x 0.4 mm) and 7 mA h (29 mm x 9 mm x 0.4 mm) versions
which are highly flexible and easy to laminate with low self discharge and long shelf life.
The operating temperature range extends from 10 C to + 70 C. Safety and reliability
are assured because the batteries contain no liquids and do not leak. Typical applications
include smart cards. Varta reported total sales in 1999 of ELOOLRQ RI ZKLFK
million related to portable batteries with over 70% exported.
The first commercial Bluetooth product to reach the market is Ericssons mobile phone
headset though current production is insufficient to meet demand. However, more
Bluetooth products will be launched in 2001 with mass production well under way by the
end of the year and into 2002. Alcatel estimates that mobile phones will account for 49%
of the Bluetooth market by 2003, followed by desktop computers with 16% and smaller
percentages from automotive, computer peripheral and set-top box applications. The 5%
figure for headsets has been contested by some as an underestimate.
Now more than two thousand companies have signed up to the Bluetooth standard
special interest group, with many, including Johnson Controls and Visteon, being key
members of the Bluetooth Automotive Expert Group working on automotive applications of
the technology. On average, a car contains approximately fifty embedded chips which
could be linked by Bluetooth technology in the future.
Dow is targeting its Questra crystalline polymers at the systems 3D-moulded antennae
interconnect products. These are being made by a Rochester, New York-based moulder
with plateable grades of Questra using a two-shot process. At the frequencies allocated to
Bluetooth devices Questra shows low dielectric losses.
Already a prototype Internet House has been built in the suburbs of London where a
portable computer is used to control all the electrical features of the house, including
heating and security systems, garden sprinklers, a refrigerator stock control system which
automatically orders replenishment supplies from the supermarket when stocks are
running low, five cordless phone sets, four personal computers, two flat screen television
sets and a multi-room audio/visual system. This system involves seventy-two data
communications ports and has been installed by Cisco systems of the USA as an
example of web technology controllable in situ or, potentially, from anywhere in the world!
The use of Bluetooth technology is merely a technological step further.
7.6 QTC Material
QTC (quantum tunnelling composition) material falls into the category of promising new
products in search of a market and it has attracted much interest from potential users.
QTC is a solid composite, described as a matrix of conductive particles in a nonconductive elastomeric medium, which can change its electrical resistance under pressure
from 1012 WR OHVV WKDQ 7KH LQWHUDFWLRQ RI WKH particles and the polymer is
understood to the extent that the performance of the composite can be designed to meet
the requirements of the customer. Furthermore, it is possible to design in a resistance with
a negative voltage dependence.
Durham University is reported to have confirm that the functioning of the composite is due
to quantum tunnelling between the particles rather than the apparent explanation of
physical contact between the conducting particles. The material is able to operate at logic
levels and does not visibly deflect in operation.
Prospective applications include touch-sensitive components although in most cases
potential users to not wish to disclose their interest.
The QTC material is the brain child of Peratech, a small three years old Darlington, UKbased company, which has attracted venture capital funding and awards for its
7.7 Superconducting Plastics
discovered at the Bell Labs in America after research extending over twenty years. The
material, with a superconducting temperature below 270 C, is made by depositing a
solution of polythiophene in a thin film. The organic polymer will only act as a
superconductor when all its molecular chains are lined up like uncooked spaghetti to
7.8 Low Molecular Weight Liquid Crystals
Liquid crystals are widely used in a variety of computer displays from the smallest screens
found on pocket calculators to those fitted to large monitors because of their ability to be
easily manipulated under the influence of magnetic fields. Separate research work at
Kyushu University in Japan and the University of Leipzig in Germany is said to be targeted
towards the conversion of the electrical energy of low molecular weight liquid crystals, and
composite systems in which they are combined with liquid crystal polymers, into
mechanical energy. This research is directed towards the development of new
nanomachine designs incorporating the microactuating characteristics of the so-called
electromechanical effect phenomenon.
Research from the University of Leipzig has focussed on the properties of liquid crystals
which are widely used in a variety of computer displays from the smallest screens to be
found on calculators to those fitted to large monitors. They are selected because of their
ability to be easily manipulated under the influence of magnetic fields. The scientists at
Leipzig have sought to harness these properties for use in extremely small
nanomachines, namely nanoscale motors transducers, sensors or actuators, in which
electrical energy of the liquid crystals may be transformed into mechanical energy.
The achievement of the Leipzig scientists has been to produce low molecular weight liquid
crystals with the ability to exert or sustain mechanical stress to create a ferro-electric
polymeric network of liquid crystals which combines the mechanical properties of rubber
with the electrical properties of liquid crystal.
8 Company Profiles
AVX is a subsidiary company of the Japanese Kyocera Corporation. Between January
1990 and August 1995 AVX was wholly owned by the Kyocera Corporation. On 15 August
1995, Kyocera sold 39,300,000 AVX common shares (22.9%) with a further 4,400,000
common shares sold in a public offering. In February 2000, a further 10,500,000 AVX
common shares were sold by Kyocera whose stake is now approximately 70%.
With approximately 18,000 employees worldwide, AVX, with 26 manufacturing facilities in
12 countries, is a leading company in the passive components and interconnection
products industry. Total net sales reported in 2000 were $1.63 billion, up from $1.25 billion
the previous year, with gross profit up to $340.5 million in 2000 from $167.4 million in
1999. European markets accounted for 26% of AVX sales with 32% of sales going to
Asian markets.
The company claims that, on any given day, the majority of the worlds telephone users
could be using an AVX component adding that it is possible for a mobile phone to contain
more than 400 component parts! The telecommunications applications sector is the major
user and accounts for 36% of sales followed by contract equipment manufacture (19%),
information technology hardware (18%) and instrumentation (13%). Other user sectors
include consumer (4%), military/government (4%), automotive (3%) and medical (3%).
During the fiscal year 2000, AVX acquired TPC, the former Passive Component Division
of the French conglomerate Thomson-CSF, which brought with it French manufacturing
facilities as well as production plants in Brazil, Malaysia and Taiwan. The companys
largest plant is the tantalum capacitor manufacturing plant at Lanskroun in the Czech
Republic. Other labour-intensive plants are located in El Salvador, Mexico and Northern
Ireland.
BASF AG
D-67056 Ludwigshafen
BASF enjoys the status of being Germanys and the worlds number one chemical
company. In March 2001, BASF, which has around 105,000 employees worldwide,
reported total sales of ELOOLRQ LQ XS IURP WKH ILJXUH RI ELOOLRQ UHFRUGHG
in 1999. Operating income rose by more than 15% to ELOOLRQ %$6) KDV SURGXFWLRQ
facilities in thirty-eight countries and maintains contact with customers in a hundred and
seventy nations. The group comprises the BASF AG parent company at Ludwigshafen as
well as the network of 133 subsidiaries and sixteen joint ventures in which BASF has an
equity stake in excess of 50%.
BASF is structured into segments of which the Plastics & Fibres Segment comprises
styrenic polymers, engineering plastics, polyurethanes and fibre products. Plastics &
Fibres is the largest BASF segment and accounts for approximately 29% of group sales.
The group, which has a polymer chemicals manufacturing plant at Seal Sands near
Middlesborough, has stated that its operations in the UK are being handicapped by Britain
being outside the euro zone. A possible confirmation of this statement is provided by a fall
in employee numbers at the Seal Sands plant from 650 in 1999 to 450 in 2001. Future
investment is more likely to be made at the Antwerp (Belgium) site, which has around
3,400 employees and sales of approximately ELOOLRQ RU DW %$6) (VSDola at
Tarragona (Spain). The Tarragona plant, which has more than 950 employees and sales
of around PLOOLRQ LV DOUHDG\ VFKHGXOHG WR UHFHLYH LQYHVWPHQW RI DURXQG PLOOLRQ
by 2005 to expand production of PP, to carry out propane dehydrogenation and for other
The product range includes Terluran ABS, Terlux transparent methyl methacrylate
acrylonitrile butadiene styrene copolymer (MABS), PU, SAN, Ultradur PBT, Ultraform
POM, PVC, Ultramid PA, Ultrason PSU an Ultrason E PES.
POM production capacity has been increased at Theodore, Alabama USA.
Acquisitions have included DSMs ABS business which was integrated in the spring of
1999. Notable joint ventures include the Elenac 50%/50% PE joint venture with Shell and
the Solvin, 25% BASF/75% Solvay PVC joint venture founded in January 1999. The
Targor PP joint venture was established with Hoechst in 1997 and operated until
December 1999 when it became a fully-owned BASF subsidiary. Targor had six
production sites in Germany, England, France, Spain and the Netherlands and marketed
as Novolen PP and Hostacom PP compounds.
BASF and Shell have since agreed to combine the Elenac, Montell and Targor
subsidiaries to create Basell which they consider will be one of the worlds largest
polyolefin companies in which each will hold a 50% interest. This project would remove
polyolefin activities from the BASF Plastics & Fibres Segment and thereby reduce its
sales and profit figures.
Amongst BASF subsidiaries, the Elastogran Group, with operational responsibility for the
European, African and Middle Eastern markets, plays an important role as a major
polyurethane supplier with four locations in Germany and six in the rest of Europe.
Evidence of extensive BASF research and development comes from the groups
investment of over ELOOLRQ LQ WKLV DFWLYLW\ ZLWK UHVHDUFKHUV ILOLQJ DSSUR[LPDWHO\
patent applications in 1999 alone.
D-51368 Leverkusen
Polymer sales, which represent Bayers largest business sector with approximately 38%
of group sales, achieved very strong growth with sales of ELOOLRQ LQ D
increase over the 1999 figure of ELOOLRQ ZKLFK ZDV KLJKHU WKDQ WKH
figure. A sharp rise in raw material prices cost Bayer an extra ELOOLRQ OHDYLQJ WKH
company with a 10% return on sales. In 1999, the operating result before exceptional
items was ELOOLRQ OHVV WKDQ LQ 7KH RXWORRN IRU LV EHWWHU GHVSLWH
the uncertainties facing the US economy. A supporting factor is the implementation of cost
containment programmes in all areas of the polymers segment, claimed to be able to
generate savings of more than PLOOLRQ D \HDU DV IURP
In the polymer sales sector, Bayer claims to be second to GE Plastics and ahead of Dow
Chemicals. On a product by product basis, PU sales grew by 4.7% to ELOOLRQ VDOHV
of other plastics by 10.6% to ELOOLRQ DQG UXEEHUV E\ WR ELOOLRQ
At the end of 2000, Bayer announced its intention to double its PC production, where
brands include Makrolon and the high-temperature Apec version targeted towards
automotive applications, to become the number one producer in this sector where its profit
margins exceed 20%, the highest figure in the polymer portfolio, and where annual sales
growth is of the order of 9%. The expansion is taking place at Bayers Asian facilities with
output at the Map Tu Phut plant in Thailand to rise from 50,000 tonnes to 350,000 tonnes
annually. The design capacity of the new plant under construction in Shanghai, China is to
rise to 100,000 tonnes annually when it comes on stream in 2004. Simultaneously, Bayer
is raising production at its European and US facilities to an aggregate total capacity of
850,000 tonnes. The success of Makrolon in the production of compact discs was
recorded in May 2000 when the 20 billionth disc was produced from this material. The
production of DVDs began in 1997 and now the daily production rate of these products
has reached 175,000 DVDs plus around 650,000 CDs.
Other Bayer polymers include Bayblend ABS/PC blend, Durethan PA, Lustran SAN,
Novodur ABS and Pocan PBT. In March 2000, Bayer bought the polyols business of the
Lyondell Chemical Company of Houston, Texas, to become the worlds largest
manufacturer of polyurethane raw materials. Baymidur, Baygal and Blendur are the
brands of polyurethane and PIR casting resins used in electrical and electronic
Bayer is moving to the outsourcing of its distribution activities with the award to the
Spanish branch of ABX Logistics, a subsidiary of Belgian Railways (SNCB), by Bayer
Hispania of a contract to distribute four thousand pallets of Bayer chemical products
Bayer has announced its intention to sell its 50% stake in Erdlchemie to BP on 1 April
2001 and also to reduce its stake in the Dystar group. However, it has established a
manufacturing joint venture with DuPont which will come on stream early in 2003. Other
joint ventures include one with Rhm GmbH for the production of transparent
polycarbonate and polyester sheet.
Bayer is also linked to the electronics industry via its H.C. Starck subsidiary, which is a
leading supplier of tantalum powder to the electrolytic capacitor industry. It also supplies
Baytron P transparent conductive polymer, which can be used to manufacture organic
LEDs.
BCcomponents
605 LT Eindhoven
The BCcomponents operation, which was originally part of the Philips Passive
Components Group, includes BCcomponents Beyschlag GmbH which is based in Heide,
near Kiel, in North Germany. Beyschlag was founded in 1931 and employs approximately
550 people with sales of around DM 100 million. At the World Expo 2000 in Hanover the
company received the most Environmentally Conscious Company award from the
Society for Economic Research and Development in its home state of Schleswig-Holstein
in recognition of its environmental programme in the region. BCcomponents previously
won the award in 1992.
The group also includes Centralab in Hong Kong. At the beginning of the year 2000, the
group took steps to acquire full control of its joint venture in China. In total, BCcomponents
has approximately 4,300 employees and sales of around ELOOLRQ 7KH JURXSV ZRUNLQJ
capital was increased by PLOOLRQ LQ DV D UHVXOW RI D FDVK LQMHFWLRQ IURP
shareholders. Group policy has been to transfer the emphasis from being a product driven
business towards being a customer/market driven organisation with a specific focus on
growth in selected industries and territories. This has involved restructuring and the
movement of activities between locations.
BCcomponents is reported to be one of the worlds largest manufacturers of passive
components and the largest European passive components supplier in the electronics
industry, and its product range includes electrolytic, ceramic, film and variable capacitors
together with linear, non-linear and variable resistors.
telecommunications sectors. The company has a strong position in the interference
suppression film capacitor sector where it claims to be at the forefront of polypropylene
film capacitor technology.
Borealis Holding A/S
Lyngby Hovegade 96
DK-2800 Lyngby
Borealis claims to be one of the worlds largest manufacturers of polyolefins, notably PE
and PP, with an annual production capacity of over three million tonnes. Borealis was
founded in 1954 and is 50% owned by the Statoil Norwegian oil and gas group. The
remaining 50% is owned by the Austrian oil and gas company OMV (25%) and by the
International Petroleum Investment Company of Abu Dhabi (25%). OMV is the largest
listed company in Austria and is 35% state owned with IPIC having a 19.6% holding.
Borealis group sales turnover in 2000 was ELOOLRQ XS IURP ELOOLRQ LQ D
rise of 25.7%. However, operating profits fell by 57.4% to PLOOLRQ LQ IURP
million in 1999. The workforce fell from 5,400 employees to 5,188 employees. The
company is reported to be Europes largest PE producer and second only to Basell in PP
production with a manufacturing plant at Schwechat in Austria which was completed in
Joint ventures include Speciality Polymers Antwerp N.V., a 50%/50% joint venture with
DuPont which employs 220 employees and which makes ethylene copolymers and PE
with a capacity of 125,000 tonnes/annum.
BP Amoco plc
Britannic House
1 Finsbury Circus
London EC2M 7BA
BP Amoco has been growing rapidly in recent years. The company was established on
the 31 December 1998 by the merger of the British Petroleum Company with the Amoco
Corporation. On 1 April 1999, BP Amoco went on to establish a combination with the
Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO) of Los Angeles. Subsequently, BP Amoco went on to
acquire Burmah Castrol plc in July 2000. However, the groups business turnover in
chemicals fell from US$11,445 million in 1997 to US$9,691 million in 1998 and down
further to US$9,392 million in 1999. Prior to its decision to divest its US$250 million-a-year
polymer business, BP Amoco was making a range which included PPS, PSU, PES, PPA,
LCPs, PAI and aromatic polyketones.
One contributory factor to the downturn was the US$121 million sale of the Plaskon
electronics materials business, based in Alpharetta, Georgia, with operations in Singapore
and the USA, to Cookson Electronics in July 1999. Plaskon manufactures polymer-based
moulding compounds which are primarily used for the encapsulation of electronic devices
including semiconductors. Cookson Electronics, an American subsidiary of the British
Cookson group employs approximately six thousand people and sales of around US$1.2
billion. Cookson Electronics, which accounts for approximately 20% of group sales, has
not been immune to the economic downturn in America and is reported to have
experienced a fall in sales of between 35% and 40%.
In 1997, BP Amoco sold its advanced materials and plastic resin business in the UK.
Acquisitions included the Germany-based Styrenix Kunststoffe plastics business in 1998.
In terms of revenue, BP Amoco claims to be the worlds third largest petrochemicals
company with an annual output of over 25 million tonnes of petrochemicals, intermediates,
plastics and specialities. The companys seven core products where it claims worldleading positions are acetic acid, acrylonitrile, aromatics, purified terephthalic acid (PTA),
linear alpha olefins, purified isophthalic acid (PIA) and PP. However, the companys
engineering polymers of greatest interest to this report are ABS, Xydar LCP and Amodel
PPA resins.
Other products from BP Amoco include the EnerGraph DBX series of ultra-high
crystallinity graphites which can be used in the anodes of lithium polymer thin film battery
Bulgin plc
Bypass Road
Essex IG11 0AZ
Bulgin is an independent designer of electromechanical components and power supplies
for use in a wide variety of application sectors with reported annual sales in 2000 of 14.4
million and pre-tax profits of 665,000. The workforce comprised 387 people of whom 278
were engaged in production.
The range of electromechanical components comprises mains connectors, waterproof
connectors, switches, battery holders, fuseholders, indicators and filters and extends to
almost three thousand products with an annual output of almost twenty million pieces.
The markets served include communications, construction, control equipment,
instrumentation, lighting, marine, medical, office equipment, security and utilities.
Customers include catalogue distributors, overseas distributors, OEMs and contract
electronics manufacturers to whom the OEMs are outsourcing their assembly operations.
Bulgin products include the Buccaneer 900 series range of connectors, which incurred
development costs of approximately 250,000. The company considers itself to be a
medium-volume manufacturer.
Karl-Arnold-Platz 1a
D-40474 Dusseldorf
The new Degussa results from the 2001 merger, initiated in February 2000, of DegussaHls AG and SKW Trostberg AG into what is claimed to be the worlds largest speciality
chemicals company.
Prior to the merger, at the end of 1999, Degussa-Hls had sold to BASF its 50% stake in
the engineering plastics joint ventures, Ultraform GmbH and Ultraform Company.
The companys speciality polymers division is based in Frankfurt and employs 5,300
people and plans, over the next three years, to increase sales from approximately DM 2.6
billion to over DM 3 billion.
Degussa has developed its own patented Elamet process to coat engineering polymers
with a 99.8% pure coating of aluminium to provide high levels of EMI/RFI screening. The
process, which involves the evaporation and deposition of the aluminium in a vacuum
chamber, is environmentally friendly because it uses no solvents, nor does it have any
harmful by-products. UL approvals exist for over sixty-five substrates. The coatings are
ductile and have a smooth metallic appearance. Recycling is straightforward because the
aluminium may be dissolved away by sodium hydroxide.
In 2000, Degussa bought Laporte, the UK supplier of chemicals to the plastics industry.
The German electricity generating company Eon, formed in 1999 by the merger of Veba
and Viag, is the ultimate owner of Degussa. However, one of the conditions of Eons
acquisition of UK Powergen energy company is that Eon must sell its Degussa chemical
operations which accounted for 22% of its sales in 2000.
Dow Europe SA
Bachtobelstrasse 3
Based in Midland, Michigan, USA, and founded in 1897, Dow Europes Dow Chemical
Company parent reported an outstanding financial performance in 1999. Sales rose by
2.6% to US$18.92 billion with earnings before interest and tax up 4.6% to US$.476 billion.
In February 2001, Dow completed the acquisition of its Union Carbide competitor for a
reported US$10.2 billion.
The company comprises fifteen international businesses serving customers in 164
countries and employs around 39,000 people worldwide. It has 123 production locations in
32 countries and supplies over 3500 products. Dow Chemical has recently launched an ecommerce facility for the sale of its epoxy resins and related products that is scheduled to
add access to products and information from other manufacturers. The site provides 24hour access to regularly updated market prices denominated in both dollars and euros
and includes product specifications and material safety data sheets.
Dow Plastics is the worlds largest plastics supplier and claims to be the worlds leading
producer of PE and PS. It produces a wide range of branded engineering plastics
including Calibre PC, Inspire PP, Isoplast TPU, Magnum ABS, Prevail TPU blends, Pulse
PC/ABS resins, Questra PS, Tyril SAN and Vydyne PA. European manufacturing
operations include PC at Stade in Germany, PP at Schkopau in Germany with Magnum
ABS, Pulse technical polymers and Tyril SAN polymers being produced at Terneuzen in
the Netherlands. The Vydyne operation is a joint venture with Solutia Inc.
Acquisitions include the general-purpose rubber business of Shell Chemical Limited with
plants in Berre, France and Pernis in the Netherlands. It also purchased a Basell
(BASF/Shell) plant in Cologne.
DSM Polymers International
6130 AA Sittard
The DSM group, which employs approximately 22,000 people at more than 20 sites
worldwide, reported 1999 sales of ELOOLRQ '60 KDV JURXSHG LWV DFWLYLWLHV LQWR WKUHH
strategic clusters, namely, Life Science Products, Performance Materials and Polymers &
Industrial Chemicals. On 1 January 2001, the business groups of DSM Polyethylenes,
DSM Polypropylenes and DSM Hydrocarbons were merged into the single business group
DSM Petrochemicals.
DSM Engineering Plastics, which has a PBT joint venture with Ticona, has joined the
Omnexus e-marketplace trading venture. Other events in 2000 included the opening of a
new PA 6 production plant in the Netherlands at Emmen. DSM halogen-free, hybrid
reinforced PA 6, branded Akulon, was selected as the housing material for an innovative
new digital time switch. Other DSM brands include Stanyl PA 46, Arnitel copolyester
elastomers, Xantar PC and Arnite thermoplastic polyesters.
DuPont de Nemours International SA
Chemin du Pavilion 2
CH-1218 Le Grand-Saconnex
DuPont, based in Wilmington, Delaware, USA, reported worldwide net sales of
US$26.918 billion in 1999, up from US$24.767 billion in 1998. Net income in 1999 was
$7.69 billion. The group operates in 65 countries worldwide and its main European
markets, with their 1999 net sales figures, are Germany (US$1.743 billion), France
(US$979 million), United Kingdom (US$960 million) and Italy (US$884 million). However,
even DuPont is not immune to the economic downturn in the USA where it announced
4,000 job cuts in April 2001 with one third of them to be carried out in 2001. DuPont is
also cutting 1,300 contract jobs with half the cuts being implemented in the groups
polyester and PA businesses.
The group, which has a portfolio of 2,000 trademarks and brands, manufactures a wide
range of plastics materials for the electronics components industry and these are not
confined to a single company strategic business unit or operating segment.
Performance Coatings and Polymers, which reported total 1999 segment sales of
US$6.111 billion, comprises automotive finishes, engineering polymers and elastomers.
Pigments and Chemicals, with 1999 sales of US$3.660 billion, comprises white pigment
and mineral products, speciality chemicals and fluorochemicals. Polyester Enterprise, with
1999 sales of US$2.649 billion, includes Dacron polyester high-performance films, resins
and intermediates. Speciality Polymers, with 1999 sales of US$4.255 billion, includes
photopolymers and electronic materials, packaging and industrial polymers, Corian solid
surfaces and fluoropolymers including Teflon PTFE which has applications in the
semiconductor industry and can be used for washers where its chemical resistance and
ability to tolerate elevated temperatures qualities are needed.
Automotive and electrical/electronics industries are the largest markets for engineering
polymers which broadly comprise Zytel PA, Delrin acetals, Rynite PET and Crastin PBT,
Hytrel TPEs, Zenite LCPs, Vespel PI parts and shapes, Tribon composites and Tynex
filament. Vespel grades include Vespel TP for maximum geometric flexibility, Vespel CP
for superior heat resistance and strength and Vespel CR for maximum chemical
resistance.
Typical electrical/electronic applications for Zenite include power supply components for
laptop computer displays, where it is used for coil formers and insulators.
Applications for Zytel include its substitution for metal in automotive components. It can
withstand the high temperatures of the engine compartment and can also tolerate
constant vibration and is also capable of being moulded into complex shapes. The new
Zytel FR50HF flame retardant grade offers UL94 V-0 rating at 0.35 mm thickness and 5V
at 1.5 mm thickness. The company claims that this new, high flow, flame retardant resin
delivers excellent productivity when moulding connectors, especially difficult to fill DIMM
(dual in-line memory module) or RIMM (Rambus in-line memory module) memory sockets
and other thin wall parts.
Other products include Aramid reinforced laminates for use as PCB material.
In 2000, DuPont announced a new patented polymer technology to improve performance
and mouldability of its toughened PA 66 resins. Two new series of Zytel HTN highperformance polymers are claimed to deliver an improved combination of stiffness,
strength and toughness under wet dry and hot conditions than earlier HTN grades, as well
as better hydrolysis resistance.
Zytel ST801A Advantage, the latest development of this family, offers designers better
flow and mould capacity together with improved strength and durability at a price around
5% to 10% higher than existing products. The new material enables flow lengths to be
extended between 34% and 51% further than classic Zytel even at lower temperatures.
DuPont claims that operators are thus able to fill moulds at lower pressures using smaller
machines. This results in a saving in crystallisation and cooling time. Designers are thus
able to produce longer and tougher parts, with thinner cross-section, using the existing
tooling which was made for use with standard PA. Cost savings come from shorter cycle
times, lower locking force machines, reduced energy consumption, less machine wear
and fewer tooling changes. Furthermore, the parts produced from ST801A weigh less
than their PC equivalents and are more resistant to household solvents than PC or ABS.
They are also more resistant to repeated impact than previous grades. Applications
include cable ties and connector parts.
New manufacturing facilities for Crastin and Hytrel have been established at Charleston,
South Carolina, and the previous outmoded production plant at Chambers works, New
Jersey, has been closed.
In the field of mid- and high-performance elastomers the 50:50 joint venture, DuPont Dow
Elastomers, claims to be the leading global supplier. Recent launches include the Nordel
IP EPDM product line based on Dows INSITE process and catalyst technology. The joint
venture has also established a capital project at Dows Baton Rouge, Louisiana, facility to
expand the manufacturing capacity for Engage polyolefin elastomers, its fastest growing
DuPonts DuPont Teijin Films joint venture specialises in films and related products for
electrical and electronic applications as well as for advanced magnetic media
photographic systems and industrial packaging. Brands include Melinex and Mylar
polyester films, Teijin Tetoron PET, and Teonex and Kalodex PEN film, and Cronar
polyester photographic base film. The joint venture has an annual production capacity of
300,000 tonnes and forecast sales in excess of US$1 billion.
DuPont i Technologies, formerly Photopolymer and Electronic Materials, has been
established to be the groups major player in the global information market. It markets
Kapton polyimide film, Riston dry film photo resists, Birox thick films, Pyralux flexible
laminates and Fodel photoimagineable thick film pastes to the flexible printed and
microcircuit segments of the electronics industry.
The Kapton production capability at Bayport, Texas, has recently been expanded and a
further US$90 million investment in a new Kapton film production line is being made at
Circleville, Ohio. The new line, which is expected to be completed in 2002, is understood
to be dedicated to the production of material for flexible circuit applications for wireless,
digital and computer markets. The Riston resists provide digital imaging capabilities using
a laser writer to image circuit boards thus eliminating the traditional phototool process.
New speciality thick film materials have been developed for Cyngus Inc., for use in the
GlucoWatch non-invasive bio-sensor glucose monitor for use by diabetics.
DuPont i Technologies acquired Krystal Holographics International Inc., in order to
produce a new class of optical components which will significantly enhance he
performance of electronic displays and security devices. As a result, DuPont has become
a world leader in holographic optical components and holograms for electronic, security
and authentication applications.
DuPont has also acquired a 51% controlling interest in the Taiwan-based Wirex
Corporation which makes polyimide film and flexible laminates. This acquisition has
enabled DuPont to increase its participation in the adhesive-less, flexible laminate
materials market. These are used to produce high density circuitry for use in future
generations of electronic devices including cellular phones notebook personal computers,
PDAs and camcorders.
Other recent DuPont alliances include one signed with the Bekaert Group of Kortrijk,
Belgium to develop and produce thin metal laminate for flexible circuit applications. A joint
venture with Borealis, one of Europes largest producers of polyolefins, is expected to
generate growth from the employment of new technology involving polyester resins and
polyolefin catalysts.
DuPont is reported to have formed a fuel cell business unit in response to developments
in the PEM market where its products include Nafion perfluorinated membranes which
have been used in space travel applications for over thirty-five years. DuPont envisages a
US$10 billion market for fuel cells by the year 2010. In 2000, the company opened a multimillion dollar fuel cell technology centre close to its Wilmington, Delaware, headquarters.
Existing partnerships with other interested parties include that with Innogy in respects of
its Regenesys technology.
DuPont intends to apply its integrated expertise in polymer coatings and electrochemicals
technology and will initially supply advanced materials and engineering polymers.
Subsequently, over the next few years, it plans to supply PEM fuel cell stack components
including membrane electrode assemblies and onductive plates. DuPont is also actively
engaged in the development of direct methanol fuel cell technology.
Eastman Chemical Company
The company was founded in 1920 by George Eastman, founder of the Eastman Kodak
company. It now has 15,000 employees in thirty countries and reported sales of US$5.3
billion in 2000. The company produces more than 400 chemicals, fibres and plastics. In
the field of electrical engineering and electronics, it offers two proprietary
polycyclohexylene dimethylene terephthalate (PCT) engineering resins: Thermx CG033
and Thermx CGT33. These are designed to be used in automotive connectors located in
the hostile environment beneath the bonnet. These polymers are claimed to fulfil the
markets need for a polymer with higher thermal stability.
Eastman also offers a range of high temperature resistant, easy-to-process highperformance resins which are claimed to have excellent mechanical properties and
chemical resistance. These include Thermx LCP, PCT and PET which are used in
electrical/electronic connectors and printed circuit board components. Both flame
retardant and non flame-retardant grades are available. The companys Thermx polyester
products are claimed to meet the markets needs in respect of thin-walled moulding
capability, high contact density, surface mounting properties and price.
EMS-Chemie (UK) Limited
Drummond Road
Astonfields Industrial Estate
Stafford ST16 3HJ
EMS-Chemie is the polymer manufacturing division of the Swiss EMS-Chemie AG group
based at Domat/Ems whose sales turnover represents approximately 60% of the total
group turnover. Other income comes from licensing the groups process technology to
third parties. The group specialises in the production of Grilon PA 6, PA 66 and Grilamid
PA 12, (low friction and wear) and also Grivory PPA. Outside Switzerland, the group has
manufacturing operations in Sunter (USA), GrossUmstadt (Germany), Taipei (Taiwan)
and Tokyo (Japan). Group gross sales turnover in 1998 was CHF 1.064 billion.
Epcos AG
Epcos, which is the worlds second largest manufacturer of passive components,
produces more than one hundred million electronic components every day including 6
million capacitors. The company was formerly a 50:50 joint venture between Siemens and
Matsushita. It became a public company in October 1999 via an initial public offering with
each company retaining a shareholding of 12.5% plus one share.
The company employed 13,237 people in 2000 and reported a 85% growth, from
billion to ELOOLRQ LQ QHZ RUGHUV IURP WR 1HW VDOHV JUHZ LQ WKH VDPH
period from ELOOLRQ WR ELOOLRQ ZLWK EXVLQHVV RXWVLGH *HUPDQ\ DFFRXQWLQJ IRU
75% of sales and business outside Europe representing over 34% of sales. The Epcos
sales situation is given in Table 8.1.
Table 8.1 Epcos sales by product, 1999-2000 ( PLOOLRQ
Ceramic components
Surface acoustic wave (SAW)
% growth
Source: Epcos Annual Report, 2000
The global nature of the Epcos business is clearly illustrated by the list of the companys
manufacturing sites (Table 8.2), often chosen to take advantage of low wage economies.
Gravatai Brazil
Table 8.2 Epcos manufacturing sites
Deutschlandberg,
Balan Island,
Iselin, NJ, USA
Palo Alto, CA, USA
Nashik, India
Szombatheley,
Xiaogan, China
Wuxi, Japan
Heidenheim,
Evora, Portugal
Kalyani, India
Sumperk, Czech
Zhuhai, China
Amongst the companys successes was its tripled sales of tantalum capacitors, to
approximately 1.5 billion annually, which propelled it from seventh position to fifth position
worldwide with market leadership in Europe. Epcos also claims European market
leadership in aluminium electrolytic capacitors, EMC components, ferrites, film capacitors
and microwave ceramics. Global leadership is claimed in the fields of power capacitors,
surface acoustic wave filters, surge arrestors, thermistors and varistors. Products less
than three years old now account for more than 70% of Epcos sales.
Evox Rifa AB
S-391 29 Kalmar
The parent company, Evox Rifa Group Oyj, was established on 1 November 2000 when it
was floated by Finvest Oyj on the Helsinki Stock Exchange as a result of the division of
Finvest into four separate companies, the other three companies being Finvest Oyj, eQ
Online Oyj and Vestcap Oyj. After Finvest Oyj divided into four companies each Finvest
shareholder received one Evox Rifa share for each Finvest share held. Evox Rifa is now
growing as a result of acquisitions and partnership agreements.
Evox Rifa Group Oyj owns all of the share capital of Evox Rifa Oy. The other group
companies are Evox Rifa AB (Sweden), Evox Rifa Pte., Ltd., (Singapore), Seoryong
Singapore Pte., Ltd., (Singapore), P.T. Evox S.R. (Indonesia), Evox Rifa GmbH
(Germany), Evox Rifa (UK) Ltd., (United Kingdom), Evox Rifa Inc., (USA) and the affiliated
company Schaffner EMC Pte., Ltd., (Singapore).
On 8 March 2001, the company reported that, in 2000, net sales increased almost 28% to
PLOOLRQ IURP PLOOLRQ LQ ZLWK D RSHUDWLQJ SURILW RI PLOOLRQ
compared with an operating loss of PLOOLRQ LQ 7KH \HDU SURILW EHIRUH
extraordinary items was PLOOLRQ FRPSDUHG ZLWK D PLOOLRQ ORVV WKH SUHYLRXV \HDU
Owing to the favourable market situation, the order backlog of Evox Rifa Group Oyj grew
to PLOOLRQ DW WKH HQG RI WKH \HDU FRPSDUHG ZLWK PLOOLRQ DW WKH HQG RI
Evox Rifa designs, manufactures and markets capacitors and produces approximately
800 million capacitors a year. It is the largest manufacturer of capacitors in Scandinavia
and the sixth largest in Europe, with targeted market areas in North America, Europe and
Asia. It has carefully chosen its customer segment to form the foundation for its growth.
The strongest increase in year 2000 net sales, compared to the previous year was 43% in
Asia, with a significant increase also taking place in Europe and North America due to the
introduction of new products and distribution channels. The net sales from paper
capacitors increased the most, by almost 68 %, of all the product groups. There was also
significant growth in the other main product groups compared to the previous years, i.e., in
film and electrolytic capacitors as well as in inductive components.
The Evox Rifa Group Oyj had 1,504 employees at the end of the fiscal year 2000 of whom
1,256 were production workers and 248 were office staff. There was an average of 1,406
employees during the fiscal year, of whom 1,164 were production workers and 242 office
staff. The employee numbers were increased to satisfy the need for increased capacity
caused by high demand and order backlog.
In its outlook for the year 2001, the company commented that the instability of the markets
has continued since the beginning of 2001 with no signs of it ending. The cuts to
excessive inventories started in the USA with revisions to given forecasts as well as
rescheduling of orders. The company anticipates that its growth will exceed the growth of
the market. Its expectations are based on current market forecasts and the good reception
of new products.
Evox Rifa manufactures film, paper and electrolytic capacitors with film types accounting
for 50% of output, paper capacitors accounting for 23% of output and aluminium
electrolytic types the remaining 27%. Evox Rifa forecasts annual market growth in the film
capacitor sector, stability and lack of growth in the paper capacitor sector and rapid, but
not quantified, growth in the aluminium electrolytic sector.
General Electric Plastics BV
1 Plasticslaan
NL-4600 AC Bergen op Zoom
GE Plastics has fifteen thousand employees worldwide and contributed sales of US$6.9
billion to the total General Electric sales revenue figure for 1999 of US$112 billion, a
contribution which rose to US$29.9 billion in 2000. The company has over forty plants and
joint venture facilities and has sales operations in more than twenty countries. The GE
Plastics operation includes the GE Polymerland distribution subsidiary which includes the
Polymerland on-line facility which offers 24 hours a day, seven days a week customer
access and which is being used as a model by other GE divisions. General Electrics
aggregate on-line sales operations have grown from virtually nothing in 1998 to US$1
billion in 1999 with a further rise to US$7 billion in 2000. In 2001, the company expects
15% of its total revenue to come from on-line sales.
The companys range of engineering polymers includes Lexan PC, Cycolac ABS, Cycoloy
PC/ABS blend, Getek PCB laminates, high-temperature Ultem PEI, Valox PBT and
PBT/PET blends and Xenoy polymer blends. GE Plastics and BASF are expanding PBT
production at their joint venture at Schwarzheide in Germany.
The demand for Lexan has been increasing for telecommunications applications and such
products as CD-ROMs, CDs and DVDs. This resulted in additional investment at the resin
plants at Cartagena, Spain, and Burkville, Alabama, USA, to add 200,000 tonnes of
additional capacity. New compounding plant investments were opened in China and
Thailand in 2000 to support the high demand of the Asian market. A new agreement was
announced in 2000 with GE Plastics joint venture partner, Toshiba, and with Shin-Etsu to
create the additional manufacturing capacity needed to respond to the rapidly increasing
demand in the Asian region.
500 Huntsman Way
Utah 84108
The Huntsman Corporation, which is the largest privately owned chemicals group in North
America, has more than 14,000 employees and sales revenues of approximately US$7
billion with facilities in 43 countries.
Huntsman has grown by acquisition and acquired the polyurethanes, titanium dioxide and
various petrochemicals businesses of ICI in 1999. Huntsmans businesses comprise four
principal product groups: base chemicals, intermediate chemicals, performance products,
and polymers and resins. The Huntsman performance polymers business produces PP,
PE and flexible and amorphous polyolefins to meet demanding specifications involving
strength, quality, consistency and exceptional performance.
Rogers NV
Afrikalaan 188
Rogers US parent was founded in 1832 and has a tradition of polymer chemistry. Since
1973, it has been manufacturing flexible PCB laminates for its in-house operations and
has since become a supplier to flexible circuit fabricators worldwide.
The Microwave and Circuit Materials Division of Rogers offers a range of PCB material
onto which copper may be electrodeposited or rolled. Boards can also be supplied clad
with aluminium brass, copper and other thick metal backings. The polymers used to
produce the board material include ceramic thermoset polymer composites with or without
glass fibre reinforcement, ceramic PTFE composites and other PTFE grades with or
without glass fibre reinforcement.
Rogers US parent recently announced the acquisition of the Advanced Dielectric
business of Taconic based in Petersburgh, New York. This business manufactures and
markets high frequency PCB material laminates at Petersburgh and also at Mullingar in
Ireland. The acquisition is to be merged with its new parent to form Rogers Microwave
Materials Division. No significant changes in the product offerings or manufacturing
locations of either company are planned Other Rogers products include Poron cellular PU
foams which are widely used in mobile phones, for example, where they provide
protective cushioning and prevent voice distortion, fill gaps and seal out dust. They can be
attached to PET substrates for use as gasket material. They can also form the basis of
EMI/RFI seals.
Sabic Global Limited
Kensington Centre
66 Hammersmith Road
London W14 8YT
Sabic is based in Saudi Arabia where it produces PE, PET, PP, PS and PVC under the
Ladene brand. Total 2000 production design capability at Sabics plants, including
expansion during the year, is shown in Table 8.3. Overall polymer sales volume in 1999
was 2.56 million tonnes.
Table 8.3 Sabics polymer production capacity,
2000 (000 tonnes)
Source: Sabic Annual Report, 1999
Shell Centre
London SE 7NA
The financial performance of Shells chemical segment is improving as shown in Table
Table 8.4 Chemicals sales/net proceeds (US$ millions)
Other Eastern Hemisphere
Other Western
Source: Shell Chemicals Annual Report, 2000
This business sector comprises the production and sale of base chemicals, petrochemical
building blocks and polyolefins globally. In order to strengthen the business it has been
reduced from over 21 business areas to 11 business areas. Some businesses have been
sold and others closed.
One of the major developments has been the agreement with BASF to create the 50:50
joint venture Basell, a global polyolefins business which immediately became one of the
worlds leading producers combining the businesses of Elenac, Montell and Targor.
In addition, Shell has been negotiating the sale of the Resins and Versatics business to
Apollo Management and the sale of Kraton Plymers to Silverwood Holdings. Shells
strategy is to focus on petrochemical building blocks and high volume polymers whilst
maintaining an emphasis on enhancing the portfolio, meeting customer needs, reducing
costs and engaging and developing people. In March 2001, Shell completed the sale of its
Kraton polymers business to Ripplewood Holdings. The sale of the groups PET
businesses to the Mossi and Ghisolfi Group was completed in June 2000. Earlier, in
February 2000, the Carilon polymer was withdrawn from the market after Shell failed to
find a buyer for the business.
The general-purpose rubber business was sold to Dow Chemicals in June 1999, and the
PS business to Nova Chemicals Corporation in October 1999. Shells PVC and VCM
assets in the Netherlands and France were sold in December 1999.
The Raigi SAS subsidiary, a French manufacturer of epoxy and urethane resins systems,
was reported in January 2001 to be subject to a management buy-out.
Solutia Europe
270-272 avenue de Tervuren
Solutia was spun off from the St. Louis, Missouri-based, Monsanto company on 1
September 1997. The companys origins date back 100 years and it now has 11,000
employees and more than 30 manufacturing sites across the world. Sales revenue in
1999 was approximately US$2.83 billion with a net income of approximately US$206
million. Solutias operations can be categorised as Performance Films, Speciality
Products, Pharmaceutical Services and Integrated Nylon.
Solutias electronics activities are centred on its CPFilms, Canoga Park, California,
subsidiary which was formerly Courtaulds Performance Films. CPFilms is a specialist
supplier of sputter-coated films which are used in the manufacture of membrane switches,
electroluminescent lamps transparent heaters and medical sensors.
Solvay Chemicals Limited
Grovelands Business Centre
Boundary Way
Hemel Hempstead HP2 7TE
Solvay Chemicals is a subsidiary of the Belgian Solvay Group whose plastics strategic
business unit reported 1999 sales turnover of ELOOLRQ DQ LQFUHDVH RYHU WKH
previous year. Sales to the electrical and electronics sectors accounted for 2% of
turnover. In the plastics sector, the company has established the Solvin joint venture
(Solvay 75%/BASF 25%), which links the PVC activities of the two companies throughout
Europe except in Spain. Solvin and Elf Atochem have jointly acquired the vinyl chloride
monomer and PVC activities of Shell Chimie SA in France.
The group sees itself as a supplier of a range of advanced materials and polymer
specialities in fields where it has a competitive cost structure and processing expertise.
This results from its involvement in the most dynamic end-use markets of automotive,
medical applications, pipes, engineering and construction. Its performance in some of
these areas is shown in Table 8.5.
Table 8.5 Performance of Solvay strategic business unit
Polyolefins
PE-HD
BENVIC
Specialty polymers
SOLEF, IXEF, PRIMEF
Source: Solvay Annual Report, 2000
Ticona GmbH
Ticona was formed in 1961 as a joint venture of Hoechst AG and the Celanese
Corporation of America. Hoechst acquired Celanese in 1987 and, following subsequent
restructuring, established Celanese AG in 1999 as a separate company within which
Ticona operates independently. It is now the technical polymers business of Celanese AG
with a worldwide workforce of around 2,400 and production, compounding and research
facilities in Germany (Frankfurt-Hchst, Kelsterbach and Oberhausen), the UK (Milton
Keynes and Telford), USA and Brazil. Group sales, excluding discontinued operations, in
1999 totalled PLOOLRQ 7LFRQDV &HODQHVH SDUHQW HPSOR\V DURXQG 13,900 people at 32
production plants in eight countries and reported 1999 sales of ELOOLRQ (XURSHDQ
sales account for 33% of Celaneses turnover.
Ticona states that polyacetals represent the largest group of products within its product
portfolio. These are distributed worldwide under the Celcon and Hostaform brands.
Ticonas polyester product line includes Celanex (PBT), Impet (PET), Riteflex (TPE-E)
and Vandar blends. Ticona also claims world leading status in ultra-high molecular weight
polyethylene GUR, and Vectra LCP. Other products include Topas, the COC material
produced with metallocene catalysts, which is considered by Ticona to be an important
product for innovative solutions. Celstran, Compel and Fiberod long fibre reinforced
thermoplastics are some of the companys advanced materials along with its Fortron PPS.
The first commercial Topas plant was constructed in Germany at Oberhausen where
production began in mid-2000. The polyacetal production capacity of Kelstebach plant in
Germany was increased to 77,000 tonnes per annum in 1999. Other substantially
increased production capabilities were installed for Celstran, Compel and Fiberod at the
Kelsterbach and Winona (Minnesota, USA) plants.
Group structural changes include the sale, at the end of 1999, of Celaneses 50% share in
the Targor PP joint venture to BASF AG. At the same time, Celanese also sold, to 3M, its
46% holding in the Dyneon fluoropolymer manufacturer. Later, in September 2000,
Celanese and DSM of the Netherlands signed a memorandum of understanding for a PBT
joint venture in Europe which will come on stream in 2003.
At the beginning of November 2000, Ticona announced European price increases of a
number of its technical polymers including standard Hostaform POM grades (+NLOR
Hostaform glass-reinforced grades (+NLOR +RVWDIRUP VSHFLDOLW\ JUDGHV
(+NLOR &HODQH[ 3%7 DQG ,PSHW 3(7 NLOR 9DQdar thermoplastic polyester
blends (+NLOR 5LWHIOH[ 73(-E (+NLOR DQG )RUWURQ 336 NLOR
Ticona is expanding its product range by introducing additional grades of its proprietary
polymers Celanex, Fortron, Hostaform and Vectra LCP. For example, the recently
launched Hostaform XEC is said to offer a 25% improvement in volume resistivity, tensile
modulus and notched impact strength when compared with its Hostaform ELS grade
predecessor.
TotalFinaElf SA
2 Place de la Coupole
The company has benefited from rising oil prices to the extent that 2000 group sales rose
by 53% to ELOOLRQ FRPSDUHG ZLWK SUR IRUPD VDOHV ZLWK RSHUDWLQJ LQFRPH
up a staggering 134% to ELOOLRQ $ QHZ RUJDQLVDWLRQDO VWUXFWXUH LV EHLQJ
implemented comprising the three sectors of Upstream, Downstream and Chemicals.
These have been subdivided into 27 business units worldwide and the key figures for
chemicals are shown in Table 8.6.
TotalFinaElf is a major world supplier of polymers and claims to be the worlds second
largest producer of PP, the third-largest producer of HDPE in Europe and the third largest
supplier of PS in the USA.
During 2000, the company dissolved its PP joint venture with BP (Appryl) and withdrew
from BPs Grangemouth facility in Scotland whilst consolidating its positions in Gonfreville
and Lavra. In PE, the group had removed a bottleneck at Gonfreville and built up
production at Bayport in the USA. Bottlenecks had also been removed in PS production.
In PVC the group had integrated Shells French assets at Berre and had built a new unit at
Table 8.6 Performance of TotalFinaElf
Sales by sector
Petrochemicals & Plastics
Intermediates & Performance Polymers
Operating income*
Operating income by sector*
* excluding non-recurring items
** +16% excluding inks, sold year-end 1999
*** +17% excluding inks
+ 4**
+ 9***
Source: TiconaFinaElf press release, 14 March 2001
TT Group plc
Clive House
22-28 Queens Road
Surrey KT23 9XB
The TT group is unusual in so far as it is both a major contract electronics manufacturer
(AB Electronic Assemblies Limited and Welwyn Systems Limited) and a major
manufacturer of passive electronic components including connectors (AB Connectors),
PCB manufacture (Prestwick Circuits), resistors (AB Mikro-electronik, Austria,
International Resistive Company Inc., USA, Welwyn Components Limited, UK), and
sensors (AB Automotive Inc., USA, and AB Elektronik GmbH, Germany).
On 8 January 2000, the group agreed to buy BI Technologies, from Emerson Electric Inc.,
for a 39.7 million cash consideration. BI Technologies manufactures inductors, resistors,
sensors and trimmers with factories at Fullerton in California, Mexicali in Mexico,
Glenrothes in Scotland and Kuantan in Malaysia. The acquisition will expand the groups
sales penetration in the Far East and also provides the group with two well-established
low labour cost operations in Malaysia and Mexico.
Group sales turnover was 612.4 million in 1999 and the BI Technologies acquisition is
reported to have a 1999 turnover of 57.1 million with operating profits of 3.6 million.
However, the group plans to dispose of its packaging and other non-core activities.
Declining TT profits of 38.0 million, down from 65.0 million, are partially attributed to the
strength of sterling against the euro.
The Zurich Center
Tyco International is believed to be the world's largest manufacturer and service company
in the fields of electrical and electronic components, as well as undersea
telecommunications systems. It claims to be the worlds largest supplier of passive
electronic components and also claims to be the world's largest manufacturer, installer
and provider of fire protection and electronic security services. It also claims leading
positions in the fields of disposable medical products, plastics, and adhesives, and the
manufacture of flow control valves. Tyco operates in more than 80 countries and is
reported to have 215,000 employees.
Total Tyco sales revenue in 2000 rose by 29% to $28.9 billion with earnings up 46% to
$3.7 billion. Tycos 2000 electronics sector sales totalled $9.9 billion with operating
income of $2.4 billion.
In the electronic components sector it has acquired the well-known connector companies
of AMP (by merger in 1999), Raychem Corporation (by acquisition in 1999) and the
electronic OEM business of Thomas & Betts (by acquisition in 2000). Other acquisitions
include Siemens Electromechanical Products GmbH & Co., (1999) and the UK Critchley
Group plc (2000). In December 2000, Tyco went on to purchase Lucent Technologies
Power Systems (LPS), which provides energy and power products for telecommunications
service providers and for the computer industry.
Tyco Electronics claims to be a leader in the supply of automotive electronic components
and states hat it would be hard to find a car anywhere which does not contain a growing
list of AMP and M/A-COM products including GPS antennas, relays, switches, brake and
light sensors, engine control connectors, fuse and relay boxes.
Tyco claims that, in 2000, 60% of the approximately 410 million cell phones sold
worldwide contained one or more Tyco products. These included gallium arsenide chips
and input/output connectors. Furthermore, Tyco almost doubled the sales of its fibre-optic
communications products in 2000 to $420 million from $215 million in 1999. Tyco is also
major producer of multilayer PCBs, backplanes, smart radar sensors and heat shrink
products. In 2000, sales of the Tyco Printed Circuit Group nearly doubled to $835 million
and a new printed circuit board manufacturing plant was opened in Shanghai, China.
Tyco is enthusiastic about e-commerce and claims that AMPs website customers can
order 110,000 different electronic products online.
Victrex plc
Hillhouse International
Lancashire FY5 4QD
Victrex began life in 1993 as a management buy-out of the PEEK polymer business from
ICI and has since gone to become one of the worlds leading high-performance polymer
suppliers with the possibly unique distinction, for a British company, of currently exporting
95% of its output.
Victrex is best known for PEEK, which is employed in environmentally hostile applications
and which accounts for more than 90% of its current manufacturing output. PEEK is a
semi-crystalline polymer, insoluble in all common solvents and can be used at
temperatures of up to 300 C. The production of PEEK in 2000 was around 1,300 tonnes.
An earlier decision to outsource the production of PEEK pellets to a company in the
Netherlands has been reversed to bring the complete production process in-house. This
was achieved by installing a new melt filtration and pelletising facility, with automated
process control, at the Thornton Cleveleys site.
The company reported a 27% sales increase to 58.7 million in the year to 30 September
2000, with profits up by 25% to 15.9 million. Double-digit percentage increases were
reported in Asia-Pacific markets, Europe and the USA. Sales growth in Asia was
particularly strong with turnover up 66% to 7 million.
A deal has been made with Laporte, now a Degussa subsidiary, which supplies raw
materials used in the production of PEEK. The deal, struck in January 2000, involved the
establishment of a 50/50 joint venture with Laporte to undertake a key material processing
step in the production of PEEK whereby difluorodiphenyl methane (DFDPM) is oxidised to
form benzonone difluoride (BDF), the raw material for PEEK. Victrex has already
purchased Laportes DFDPMs manufacturing business in Rotherham which is the first
step of the two-step manufacturing process, the conversion of DFDPM to BDF being the
second step.
One of the most interesting new applications, from an electrical viewpoint, is for fuel cell
membrane material where an agreement with the leading Canadian manufacturer, Ballard
Power Systems, has been signed. The four-year agreement involves the joint
development of a manufacturing process for ionomers, the polymers which conduct the
protons in fuel cell membranes. The objective is to produce an effective material which
has low manufacturing costs. Having developed a suitable material, the two partners will
establish, probably in the UK, a pilot production plant capable of producing around fifty
tonnes of ionomers per annum. Victrex expects to invest approximately 500,000 a year
in the project over the four-year period.
Ballard Power Systems is generally acknowledged to be the world leader in the
development of PEM fuel cells with automotive partnerships with DaimlerChrysler and
Ford and other partnerships with key potential fuel cell users including a joint
manufacturing venture with Alstom for power conditioning in electricity grid distribution
systems. These companies cover a wide range of product sectors. Ballard, which has
never made a profit in any of the past twenty years of its existence, has secured over 130
patents to protect its technology. Up till now, its products have been considered to be too
heavy and too large to be practicable though it is believed that a technological
breakthrough is imminent. Ballards new CAN$400 million plant is due to come on stream
in September 2001. This new plant is seen as the key to cutting costs by employing mass
production techniques. Ballard reported sales of CAN$25 million in 1998, rising to
CAN$33 million in 1999 and still higher to CAN$41 million in 2000.
Ballard has linked up with Alstom, the Japanese Ebara Corporation and GPU Inc., as in
Ballard Generation Systems (BGS). BGS is participating in a pioneering Japanese project
for the Japanese residential market. BGS and its partners have built four prototype 1 kW
PEM units which, when connected to the domestic natural gas supply, will generate
electricity for use in the home and will also heat domestic water with waste heat from the
fuel cell. Preliminary tests with the prototype generator have recorded a dc gross electrical
efficiency of 42% and a heat recovery efficiency of 43%. Ebara Ballard, which has built the
four prototypes at its Fujisawa plant in Japan, is pressing on with the development in
pursuit of improvements in performance and reliability whilst simultaneously seeking to
reduce costs.
At the end of 1999, the company launched its polyetherketone polymer which extends the
performance of PEEK by the provision of superior temperature resistance and mechanical
strength. It has a heat distortion temperature of 165 C and an estimated continuous use
temperature of 260 C (UL 746B).
Vishay Intertechnology Incorporated
63 Lincoln Highway
Pennsylvania 19355
Founded in 1962, Vishay reported year 2000 sales of $2.5 billion and claims to be the
largest US and European manufacturer of passive electronic components (resistors,
capacitors and inductors), discrete semiconductors, infrared communication devices plus
power and analogue switching integrated circuits.
The company employs more than 20,000 people in 66 plants in fourteen countries
including the USA, Austria, China, the Czech Republic, France, Mexico, Germany,
Hungary, Israel, Phillipines, Portugal, Taiwan and the UK.
Market sectors include automobiles, computers, domestic appliances, medical equipment,
military and aerospace equipment, satellites, telephones and television sets. Major
customers include AT&T, Alcatel, Bosch, Delco, Ford, IBM, Intel, Lockheed, Motorola,
Samsung, Siemens, Sony Sun Microsystem and Texas Instruments.
Rapra Technology Limited is the leading international organisation
with over 80 years of experience providing technology, information
and consultancy on all aspects of plastics and rubber.
The company has extensive processing, analytical and testing
laboratory facilities and expertise, and produces a range of
engineering and data management software products, and
computerised knowledge-based systems.
Rapra also publishes books, technical journals, reports,
technological and business surveys, conference proceedings and
trade directories. These publishing activities are supported by an
Information Centre which maintains and develops the worlds most
comprehensive database of commercial and technical information
on plastics and rubber.
Shawbury, Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY4 4NR, United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 (0)1939 250383 Fax: +44 (0)1939 251118
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Applications of Ionic Liquids in Electrochemical Sensors
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a n a l y t i c a c h i m i c a a c t a 6 0 7 ( 2 0 0 8 ) 126–135
available at www.sciencedirect.com
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/aca
Di Wei 1 , Ari Ivaska ∗
Process Chemistry Centre, c/o Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry, Åbo Akademi University,
Biskopsgatan 8, FI-20500 Turku/Åbo, Finland
a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t
Article history: Ionic liquids (ILs) are molten salts with the melting point close to or below room temper-
Received 7 June 2007 ature. They are composed of two asymmetrical ions of opposite charges that only loosely
Received in revised form fit together (usually bulky organic cations and smaller anions). The good solvating prop-
11 December 2007 erties, high conductivity, non-volatility, low toxicity, large electrochemical window (i.e. the
Accepted 11 December 2007 electrochemical potential range over which the electrolyte is neither reduced nor oxidized
Published on line 23 December 2007 on electrodes) and good electrochemical stability, make ILs suitable for many applica-
tions. Recently, novel ion selective sensors, gas sensors and biosensors based on ILs have
Keywords: been developed. IL gels were found to have good biocompatibility with enzymes, proteins
Ionic liquid and even living cells. Besides a brief discussion of the properties of ILs and their general
Electrochemical analysis applications based on these properties, this review focuses on the application of ILs in
Sensors electroanalytical sensors.
© 2007 Published by Elsevier B.V.
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
2. Properties of ILs and their general sensoric applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
3. Applications of ILs in electrochemical analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
3.1. Ion selective sensors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
3.2. Voltammetric sensors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
3.3. Gas sensors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
3.4. Gelation of ILs and their use in biosensors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
3.5. Biosensors based on carbon–ILs composites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
3.6. Other applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
4. Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Corresponding author. Tel.: +358 2 2154420; fax: +358 2 2154479.
E-mail address: ari.ivaska@abo.fi (A. Ivaska).
Current address: Centre of Advanced Photonics and Electronics, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, 9 JJ Thomson
Avenue, CB3 0FA Cambridge, UK.
0003-2670/$ – see front matter © 2007 Published by Elsevier B.V.
doi:10.1016/j.aca.2007.12.011
a n a l y t i c a c h i m i c a a c t a 6 0 7 ( 2 0 0 8 ) 126–135 127
1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium cation (EMIM+ ) and tetrafluo-
roborate anion (BF4 − ) were reported and found to be resistant
to traces of moisture [13]. Since then, different ILs that are not
limited to chloroaluminate salts have been synthesized. An
increasing number of new ILs have been prepared and used as
solvents in synthesis during the last decade [14]. Comprehen-
sive reviews on ILs as electrolytes have also been published
recently [15,16]. Although there are some reviews concerning
the application of ILs in analytical chemistry [17–19], there are
only a few reports on the use of ILs in electrochemical sen-
Scheme 1 – Imidazolium and pyridinium cations in ILs. sors and electroanalytical applications in general. This paper
is devoted to review the recent developments in this aspect.
2. Properties of ILs and their general
sensoric applications
One of the key factors in developing new materials is
the solvent where the materials are synthesized. Ionic
The solvent properties of ILs such as melting point, dielec-
liquids, ILs, belong to a special group of electrolytes con-
tric constant, viscosity, polarity, water-miscibility, etc. can be
sisting only of ions and are free of any molecular solvent.
tailored by combining different cations with suitable anions
A typical IL that is stable in air and water is based
[14]. Influence of chloride, water and organic solvents on the
on combination of organic cations (e.g. N-alkylpyridinium,
physical properties of ILs has been investigated [20]. It has
N,N -dialkylimidazolium) with a variety of anions (e.g. Cl− ,
been shown that viscosities of the hydrophobic ILs are strongly
Br− , I− , AlCl4 − , NO3 − , PF6 − , BF4 − , CF3 SO3 − , CF3 COO− ,
dependent on the amount of dissolved water [21]. The pres-
[(CF3 SO2 )2 N− Tf2 N− ], [(C2 F5 SO2 )2 N− Pf2 N− ]). The big differ-
ence of water and organic solvents will decrease the viscosity
ence in the size of a bulky cation and a small anion does
of ILs, while the presence of chloride increases the viscosity.
not allow packing of lattice, which happens in many inor-
Electrochemical studies of the intrinsic properties of ILs have
ganic salts, instead, the ions are disorganized. This results in,
also been reported [20,22–24] and the electrochemical window
that some of these salts remain liquid at the room tempera-
of ILs can be as wide as 4.5 V compared with 1.2 V in most aque-
ture. The properties of ILs can be tuned to certain extent by
ous electrolytes [25]. Properties such as non-flammability, high
varying the combination of anions and cations to find an opti-
ionic conductivity, electrochemical and thermal stability of ILs
mum solvent [1,2]. In addition, special ILs can also be designed
make them ideal electrolytes in electrochemical devices like
by developing novel cations and anions to meet the specific
in batteries [26–29], capacitors [30–32], fuel cells [33], photo-
physical properties required for each specific application [3].
voltaics [34–39], actuators [40], and electrochemical sensors.
For example, selective ion transport, e.g. of Li+ , can be real-
Only recently, ILs have captured the attention of the analysts
ized either by using liquid imidazole–borane complex [4] or
to use them in different analytical applications as well. ILs
molten salts bearing an anion receptor [5]. Imidazolium and
can improve separation of complex mixtures of both polar and
pyridinium are the most common cations in ILs and are shown
non-polar compounds when used either as stationary phase
in Scheme 1.
or as additives in gas–liquid chromatography [41–44], liquid
The IL, ethyl ammonium nitrate was initially mentioned as
chromatography [43], and capillary electrophoresis [45,46].
early as 1914 [6]. Afterwards, one of the first room-temperature
They are also used in optical sensors [47,48], and to enhance
ILs based on tetraalkylammonuim cation (Scheme 2) and
the analytical performance of the matrix-assisted laser des-
chloroaluminate anion (AlCl4 − ) has extensively been studied
orption ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) [49]. The
by Osteryoung and co-workers [7,8]. Systematic study on the
use of ILs in different applications is determined by their
ILs composing of chloroaluminate anions was performed by
intrinsic properties. Scheme 3 briefly lists the general appli-
Hussey and co-workers [9–11], and the first major review of
cations of ILs.
this type of ILs was published in 1983 [12]. However, the ILs
ILs can generally be divided into two groups according
based on aluminium halides are extremely reactive towards
to their solubility in water. The first type, water-immiscible
oxygen and water, and thus have to be handled in anhydrous
(hydrophobic) IL such as 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium
conditions. It was not until the 1990s that new ILs based on
hexafluorophosphate ([BMIM][PF6 ]) and 1-decyl-3-
methylimidazolium bis(trifluoro-methylsulfonyl)imide
([DMIM][Tf2 N]) have been used in formation of films on
glassy carbon electrode and carbon ceramics [50,51]. Due to
hydrolysis of PF6 − [52] the imidazolium salts with Tf2 N− are
increasingly used as hydrophobic ILs. Water-immiscible ILs
form non-polarizable interfaces when in contact with water
and they have the advantage to be easily prepared in aqueous
solution. They can also be obtained in very dry state and they
are especially suitable for applications in electrochemical
Scheme 2 – Tetraalkylammonium cation. systems from which moisture should be excluded even over
128 a n a l y t i c a c h i m i c a a c t a 6 0 7 ( 2 0 0 8 ) 126–135
Scheme 3 – Applications of ILs.
a long period of operation. In contrast, less attention has of water of ILs based on anions such as BF4 − and CF3 SO3 −
been paid to the second type, water-miscible (hydrophilic) ILs is dependent on the structure of the cations, even though
(e.g. [BMIM][BF4 ]), because they have so far been considered they in general are miscible with water. The miscibility will
unstable in aqueous solutions. However, it was recently decrease with the increase in the cation chain length. Surface
found that water-miscible ILs can also form films with active and aqueous interfacial tensions have been measured for a
electrochemical properties on glassy carbon electrode and series of water-immiscible room-temperature ILs based on
can be used in aqueous media [53]. The miscibility of ILs in 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium cations (Cn mim, n = 6, 8, 10, and
water is strongly dependent on the anions [20,54]. Cl− , Br− , 12) and anions of Tf2 N− and Pf2 N− [55]. It was found that
I− , NO3 − , CH3 COO− and CF3 COO− are anions that make the the surface tensions of the ILs increased with the increasing
ILs miscible with water. ILs composed of anions such as PF6 − cation chain length in the similar way as has been found
and Tf2 N− are in contrast immiscible with water. Miscibility with n-alkanes. Interfacial tensions of the ILs with aqueous
Table 1 – The ionic liquids mentioned in this review
Full name Abbreviation
1-Ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate [EMIM][BF4 ]
1-Butyl/hexyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate [BMIM]/[HMIM][PF6 ]
1-Decyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoro-methylsulfonyl)imide [DMIM] [Tf2 N]
1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate [BMIM][BF4 ]
1-Dodecyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride [DMIM][Cl]
1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate [BMIM][PF6 ]
1-Butyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium bis(trifluoro-methylsulfonyl)imide [BDMIM][Tf2 N]
Dodecylethyldiphenylphosphonium bis(trifluoro-methylsulfonyl)imide [DEDPP][Tf2 N]
N-Octylpyridinium hexafluorophosphate [OPy][PF6 ]
1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoro-methylsulfonyl)imide [BMIM][Tf2 N]
1-Octyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate [OMIM][PF6 ]
Phosphonium dodecylbenzene-sulfonate [P6,6,6,14 ][DBS]
1-Ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoro-methylsulfonyl)imide [EMIM][Tf2 N]
Hexyltriethylammonium bis(trifluoro-methylsulfonyl)imide [N6,2,2,2 ][Tf2 N]
1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride [BMIM][Cl]
1-Decyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide [DMIM][Br]
N-Butylpyridinium hexafluorophosphate [BP][PF6 ]
1-(2-Hydroxyethyl)-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate [HEMIM][BF4 ]
solutions, however, were found to decrease with the length of ([BDMIM][Tf2 N]) and dodecylethyldiphenylphosphonium
the cation chain. This is due to the increased surface activity bis(trifluoro-methylsulfonyl)imide ([DEDPP] [Tf2 N]) were used
of the longer chain cations. Elongation of the alkyl chain to plasticize the PVC and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)
also causes pronounced depression of fluidity and ionic con- membranes and to bring ion-selecting ability to these polymer
ductivity for ILs composed of 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium membranes as well. Good and stable response to (relatively
cations with different alkyl chain lengths [56]. Thus, by hydrophobic) cations and anions were obtained with these
varying the alkyl chain length or the anion the properties electrodes and they were also found to be suitable to analyze
such as hydrophobicity, viscosity and ionic conductivity can compositions of surfactants [68].
be changed in controllable manner. In addition, the surface Safavi et al. [69] have constructed a potentiometric ion
ordering ability of amphiphilic ILs has also been observed as sensor based on a mixture of graphite powder and the ionic liq-
they always introduce ordered self-organized structures [57]. uids N-octylpyridinium hexafluorophosphate [OPy][PF6 ] and
To use ILs in analytical work has attracted the attention [BMIM][PF6 ]. Because these electrodes do not have any
of the researchers in variable branches of chemistry and engi- ionophore in the membrane the response of the electrodes
neering. Comparing with the relatively thorough studies of ILs is based solely on partition of the ions between the aque-
in other applications, the use of ILs in electrochemical analy- ous phase and the electrode membrane. Selectivity of these
sis, however, is still an area under strong development.The ILs sensors was not studied but cannot be expected to be high.
mentioned in this review are listed in Table 1.
3.2. Voltammetric sensors
3. Applications of ILs in electrochemical In addition to potentiometric measurements, ILs have more
analysis widely been used to detect ions via other electroanalytical
methods, particularly by voltammetry. Trace amount of chlo-
3.1. Ion selective sensors ride has been determined electrochemically by using linear
sweep, square wave and cathodic stripping voltammetry [70].
All-solid-state miniaturised planar reference electrodes based Low levels of chloride (ppb) in [BMIM][BF4 ], [BMIM][Tf2 N] and
on ILs have recently been reported [58]. The Ag/AgCl pla- [BMIM][PF6 ] were detected.
nar microelectrodes were covered with PVC membranes IL-type carbon paste electrode has been proposed by Liu et
containing the IL, 1-dodecyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride al. [71]. In a recent work the IL imidazolium salt-functionalized
[DMIM][Cl], which provides an internal solid electrolyte. These polyelectrolyte was used in flow-injection analysis in the elec-
electrodes showed good potential stability and reproducibil- trochemical detector working in the voltammetric mode [72].
ity and are big achievements in developing reliable solid-state All the three electrodes (working, reference and auxiliary)
reference electrodes. Kakiuchi and Yoshimatsu have also are placed close to each others in the flow channel and are
reported a concept for a solid-state reference electrode and covered with a thin film of the water insoluble IL. In this con-
they thoroughly discussed the thermodynamics of such a figuration the electrodes are all the time in contact with the
device [59]. electrolyte although air bubbles in the carrier flow may occur.
Potentiometry with ion selective electrodes (ISEs) is an The electroactive compounds to be determined have, however,
accurate, fast, and inexpensive analytical method [60–64]. to diffuse from the carrier stream into the thin layer of the
ISEs have provided the possibility to detect chemical species ionic liquid and to the surface of the working electrode. This
with reasonable selectivity and low detection limit. Solid- may result in a small dead time in the detector signal but in
state ISEs can be realized by applying conducting polymers most cases should be negligible.
as the transducing layer in the electrode construction [65]. Maleki et al. have studied the electrocatalytic activity of
Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT), a frequently used the ILs [OPy][PF6 ] and 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium hexaflu-
conducting polymer, can be electropolymerized in ILs with orophosphate [OMIM][PF6 ] in carbon paste electrode by using
bulky organic anions [66]. A PEDOT electrode made in such a the redox probe Fe(CN)6 3−/4− [73]. Even addition of traces of
way showed linear anionic potentiometric response in 10−5 to the ILs increased the electrocatalytic activity of the electrode.
10−1 M KCl aqueous solutions. Up to now, the reports on the
use of ILs directly in ISEs are few [67,68]. However, ILs were 3.3. Gas sensors
found to be excellent materials to prepare membranes for
ISEs due to their polymer plasticizing ability and ionic nature. Due to the entire ionic composition, which eliminates the
Coll et al. [67] found a remarkable selective response to the need to add supporting electrolyte, the intrinsic conductiv-
highly hydrophilic sulfate anion by using the hydrophobic IL ity and negligible vapor pressure ILs are unique compounds
([BMIM][PF6 ]) to prepare the poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) mem- to be used in the development of stable electrochemical sen-
branes used in anion selective electrodes. This provides an sors for gaseous analytes such as O2 , CO2 , and NH3 [74–80].
alternative way to use ILs as ionic additives in conventional ISE The superoxide radical (O2 •− ) which is generated in situ by
membranes. The response to the target sulfate ions was, how- the reduction of O2 was found to be stable in ILs at glassy
ever, still generated by the ionophore, polyazacycloalkane. carbon, gold (Au) or platinum (Pt) electrodes [74–77]. This
Recently, Shvedene et al. [68] have reported a method to use makes the amperometric detection of O2 possible and the
ILs in various polymer membranes both as the plasticizer reported solid-state O2 gas sensor based on porous polyethy-
and the ion-responsive media. The compounds 1-butyl- lene supported [EMIM][BF4 ] membrane has a wide detection
2,3-dimethylimidazolium bis(trifluoro-methylsulfonyl)imide range, high sensitivity and excellent reproducibility [74]. With
increasing levels of CO2 in the sample, cyclic voltammetry mass of the IL film. The sensing mechanism of a QCM sen-
shows an increased cathodic peak current from the production sor using ILs is based on the fact that the viscosity of the
of O2 •− radicals together with the decreased peak current from IL membrane decreases rapidly due to solvation of the ana-
the reverse scan of oxidation. This indicates that the generated lytes in the ILs. The change in viscosity, which varies with
O2 •− radical reacts irreversibly with CO2 to form peroxydi- the chemical species of the vapors and the type of ILs, results
carbonate ion, C2 O6 2− [76]. The kinetics of this reaction has in a frequency shift of the quartz crystal. QCM is particularly
been studied in [EMIM][Tf2 N] and hexyltriethylammonium suitable to detect complex odors, because it allows the depo-
bis(trifluoro-methylsulfonyl)imide ([N6,2,2,2 ][Tf2 N]). Despite of sition of a wide range of selective interfaces on the surface of
the significantly different viscosities of these two ILs, the reac- the crystal. An IL piezoelectric gas sensor using phosphonium
tion between O2 − radical and CO2 was found to proceed in a dodecylbenzene-sulfonate [P6,6,6,14 ][DBS] as sensing materi-
similar mechanism in both cases [78]. This also provides an als coated on QCM transducers was demonstrated to be able
amperometric way to detect CO2 . to detect both polar (ethanol or dichloromethane) and non-
The electrochemical oxidation of the nitrite ion (NO2 − ) and polar (heptane or benzene) organic vapors at high temperature
nitrogen dioxide gas (NO2 ) in [EMIM][Tf2 N] have been stud- [88]. The sensor gives linear, fast and reversible response even
ied by cyclic voltammetry on Pt electrodes of various sizes at temperatures up to 200 ◦ C. In the same study it was also
[81]. From chronoamperometrical measurements, the follow- shown that there is a big change in viscosity of the ILs upon
ing solubility values were calculated: 7.5 mM for NO2 − and ca. absorption of organic vapors at room temperature. However,
51 mM for NO2 , indicating that this IL is a potential media for the change of viscosity caused by the gas absorption becomes
sensing the NO2 gas. very small at high temperature and the frequency changes are
Determination of ammonia based on the electro- then mainly due to changes in mass of the IL film.
oxidation of hydroquinone in dimethylformamide (DMF) ILs offer many options for chemical modifications and
and [EMIM][Tf2 N] has also been reported [79]. Ammonia can hence a huge flexibility in tailoring molecular recognition sites
remove protons from the hydroquinone molecules reversibly in their structures by controlled organic synthesis and surface
and thus facilitate the oxidation process giving a new wave design. These possibilities provide exciting opportunities to
at less positive potentials in the cyclic voltammogram. Sim- explore the applications of ILs not only in high temperature
ilar responses were found both in dimethylformamide and gas sensing but also in high sensitive and selective determina-
[EMIM][Tf2 N]. The detection limit of ammonia based on this tion of trace analytes using ILs in sensor arrays. For example,
method is 4.2 ppm in DMF. a task specific IL with an amine group on the cation has been
An amperometric membrane-free gas sensor consisting of designed to capture CO2 and was reported to enhance signif-
a two-electrode cell has been designed [80]. The surface of the icantly the solubility of CO2 in that particular IL [89]. A set
working electrodes (gold microelectrodes) is modified with a of diverse ILs showed selective responses to different organic
thin layer of IL which serves as a non-volatile electrolyte, elim- vapors due to structural differences in the used ILs. Therefore,
inating the need for a gas permeable membrane to separate a sensor array of ILs would be able to effectively differentiate
the sample and the internal electrolyte layer. The viscosity different vapors in using pattern recognition methods, and
of an IL is generally higher than that of organic solvents (1–2 having increased selectivity to organic vapors both at room
orders of magnitude higher) inducing a significantly slower and high temperatures [84]. For complex odors, artificial olfac-
mass transport. Although the slow mass transport will cause tory systems ideally consist of series of different sensors and
a longer response time of the gas sensors based on IL, it is often with different sensor principles. The feasibility of using
still adequate in many practical applications. Such sensors [BMIM][PF6 ] as the selective layer on QCM for artificial olfac-
will have potential applications particularly in more extreme tory systems has been studied [90]. Since the physicochemical
operating conditions, such as high temperature and pressure properties of ILs can be tuned to fit in particular applications
where conventional solvents would evaporate or decompose. the ILs can provide high solubility of analytes and hence short
The low-volatility and remarkable thermal stability make ILs response and desorption times, as well as an excellent base-
suitable for gas sensing especially at high temperature. line recovery after exposure to sample vapors. Such sensors
Solubility and thermodynamic properties of different gases can therefore make significant contribution to sensor arrays
such as CO2 , H2 and O2 in [BMIM][PF6 ] have been thoroughly of artificial olfactory systems which rely on employing a mul-
studied [82]. ILs are a new class of sensing materials for titude of sensor principles and selective materials. However, it
detection of organic vapors when using the quartz crystal should also be noted that since the frequency change appar-
microbalance (QCM) technique [83–85]. QCM is a mass sen- ently depends on both the mass load as well as the change
sor and the working principle of QCM is based on the change in viscosity of the IL, it would be necessary to understand
in frequency that is measured between a reference state and in detail to what extent the change in sensor signal is due
when the quartz crystal is exposed to a sample vapor. The to viscosity changes and to what degree it is due to chances
theoretical sensitivity is in the range of 0.1–1 ng [86]. In an in mass load when such a system is used in quantitative
ideal case, the frequency change is only caused by the change determinations. A straightforward interpretation of the sensor
in mass loading on the surface of the vibrating crystal. The response might be demanding, in particular when the sensor
change in mass can be calculated from the frequency shift by is exposed to multi-component mixtures. Nevertheless, gas
using the Sauerbrey equation [87]. However, Liang et al. [83] sensors relying on QCM with ILs may serve as alternative or
showed that changes in viscosity of the IL film upon absorp- complementary sensors. The use of trapped ILs in alumina
tion of organic vapors at room temperature was the main nanopores was reported to avoid all the problems in signal
cause for the change in frequency rather than change in the interpretation connected with dewetting and viscoelasticity
[85]. Pure gravimetric sensors using ILs as transducing layers Direct electrochemical reduction of hemin has been stud-
was constructed based on these porous alumina layers. ied by cyclic voltammetry and chronocoulometry in the ILs,
Understanding the interference of different factors on the [BMIM][PF6 ] and [OMIM][PF6 ] [109]. N-Methylimidazole (NMI)-
liquid phase behavior of ILs with other liquids is useful in ligated hemin had a lower E1/2 than pyridine-ligated hemin
developing ILs as designer solvents. A systematic study of in both ILs, which is consistent with the stronger electron
the influence of different factors on the phase behavior of donor characteristic of NMI. It was further discovered that
imidazolium-based ILs with alcohols has been presented [91]. while hemin is electrochemically active in IL, its behavior is
An IL ethanol chronoamperometric sensor with nickel elec- modified by the ligand field strength and surface adsorption
trodes proves to be highly sensitive (detection limit of 0.13% phenomena at the working electrode. Electrochemistry and
(v/v)) based on the redox reaction between the Ni(OH)2 /NiOOH electrocatalysis of a number of heme proteins entrapped in
couple in ILs [92]. agarose hydrogel films in [BMIM][PF6 ] have also been inves-
tigated [50]. UV–vis and FTIR spectroscopy show that the
heme proteins retain their native structure in agarose film.
3.4. Gelation of ILs and their use in biosensors Cyclic voltammogram shows that the direct electron trans-
fer between the heme proteins and glassy carbon electrode
ILs have shown good compatibility with biomolecules and is quasi-reversible in [BMIM][PF6 ]. The redox potentials for
enzymes, and even whole cells are active in various ILs. hemoglobin (Hb), myoglobin, HRP, cytochrome c, and cata-
[BMIM][Cl] was found miscible with silk, which is an attractive lase were found to be lower than those in aqueous solution,
biomaterial with excellent mechanical properties and biocom- indicating the catalytic effect in the IL matrix. The heme
patibility. The patterned films cast from this silk–IL solution proteins can catalyze electroreduction of trichloroacetic acid
supported normal cell proliferation and differentiation [93]. and tert-butyl hydroperoxide in [BMIM][PF6 ] [50]. Direct elec-
Recently, some authors have reported increased stability of trochemical response of HRP [108], myoglobin [111] and Hb
enzymes in ILs compared with stability in some organic sol- [112] have been observed on IL modified electrodes. Nafion
vents [94–96]. ILs were also found to act as agents to stabilize was used as a binder to form a Nafion–IL composite film
proteins effectively at elevated temperatures [97]. Laszlo and and to help [BMIM][PF6 ] to adhere on the glassy carbon elec-
Compton have also reported the catalysis of hemin activated trode effectively. The composite film can readily be used
by an electron acceptor in IL solutions and it was found that as an immobilization matrix to entrap HRP, which can still
the activity of hemin increased with the enhanced amount of retain its bioactivity [110]. [BMIM][PF6 ] can also replace paraf-
IL in the methanol–IL system [94]. Elaboration of biosensors fin as binder in carbon paste electrode where the immobilized
incorporating ILs is a particularly fertile area for exploration. Hb showed excellent electrocatalytic activity in reduction of
It is assumed that the hydrogen bond and the electrostatic H2 O2 and nitrite [112]. N-Butylpyridinium hexafluorophos-
interaction between the IL and the enzyme result in a high phate ([BP][PF6 ]) can also be used as binder to immobilize
kinetic barrier for unfolding of the enzyme. Therefore, the Hb in the Nafion/nano-CaCO3 film, which shows electrocat-
rigid structure of the enzyme can be protected from being alytic behavior in reduction of H2 O2 , trichloroacetic acid and
destroyed [96]. Further work should be carried out to investi- nitrite [113]. Myoglobin can be adsorbed tightly on the sur-
gate thoroughly the mechanism for the high activity and good face of the basal plane graphite electrode in the presence
thermal stability of enzymes immobilized in IL based matri- of 1-(2-hydroxyethyl)-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate
ces. However, it should also be pointed out that some ILs can, [HEMIM][BF4 ] [111]. Promotion for the direct electron trans-
unfortunately, also inactivate enzymes [98,99]. The choice of fer between myoglobin and basal plane graphite electrode
the best IL always depends on the specific application. was observed. [BMIM][BF4 ] based sol–gel modified electrode
Addition of water to either 1-decyl-3-methylimidazolium was prepared by immobilizing [BMIM][BF4 ] into silica sol–gel
bromide ([DMIM][Br]) or its nitrate analog has shown to trig- matrix on the surface of Au electrode via a simple sol–gel
ger self-assembly of IL and formation of ionogels [100]. These method [114].
ionogels can be tuned to have special properties simply by It has also been reported that the water-miscible
careful selection of the anion and adjustment of the water con- imidazolium-based ILs can interact with glassy carbon elec-
centration. This provides a versatile platform for preparation trode and form molecular films on the electrode surface [53].
of nano- and mesoporous materials. Several different gelation These molecular films are found to possess striking electro-
methods for ILs have been reported to produce matrices for chemical properties such as electrocatalysis in oxidation of
biosensors [101–106]. ascorbic acid and the capability to facilitate direct electron
Dramatically enhanced activity and thermal stability of transfer in HRP.
horseradish peroxide (HRP) were obtained when it was immo-
bilized it in the [BMIM][BF4 ] based sol–gel matrix [107]. The IL 3.5. Biosensors based on carbon–ILs composites
was used as a template solvent for the silica gel matrix via a
simple sol–gel method via hydrolysis of tetraethyl orthosili- Carbon nanotube (CNT) modified glassy carbon electrodes
cate in [BMIM][BF4 ]. This particular HRP immobilized sol–gel show enhanced sensitivity and stability in oxidation of pheno-
matrix was further used in amperometric biosensors [108]. lic compounds [115]. The CNT modified electrodes were also
The novel amperometric hydrogen peroxide biosensor based found to show good electrocatalytic ability to biomolecules
on this ionogel exhibited excellent stability and sensitivity. such as dopamine (DA), ascorbic acid (AA) and dihydronicoti-
The detection limit for hydrogen peroxide is reported to be namide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) [116–119]. CNTs usually
1.1 M. exist as tangled bundles that are difficult to dissolve in both
aqueous and organic media. However, they can be well individ- ther modified by adsorption of Hb on it. The eletrochemical
ualized in ILs due to ‘cation–’ interactions and a CNTs–IL gel response of that modified electrode was found to be stable.
can easily be prepared using IL as the binder [120], where the The enzyme catalase kept its activity to hydrogen peroxide
CNTs greatly enhances the conductivity of the system. Electro- even after adsorption to the gel modified electrode. A modi-
chemical functionalization of single wall carbon nanotubes in fied carbon electrode has also been made by mixing [OPy][PF6 ]
[BMIM][PF6 ] was used to make a glucose sensor by covalently and graphite powder [131]. That electrode was used in voltam-
binding glucose oxidase (GOD) to the modified nanotube [121]. metric determination of l-cysteine in neutral aqueous media.
Gels of acid treated multiwall CNTs with water-miscible IL, The electrode shows electrocatalytic activity in oxidation of l-
[BMIM][BF4 ] were made by grinding them together [122]. Glassy cysteine and no deactivation of the electrode was found during
carbon electrode modified by this gel was used in direct elec- the studies.
trochemical study of heme proteins (Hb and HRP). The heme Nitric oxide (NO) is released by many cells in mammalian
proteins entrapped in CNTs-[BMIM][BF4 ] gel exhibit good bio- systems and play a number of important role in biological
catalytic activity towards H2 O2 due to the biocompatibility of systems. From the biochemical as well as from the medical
[BMIM][BF4 ]. This composite material has shown to keep the point of view it is important to differentiate the NO gener-
bioactivity and to facilitate direct electron transfer of heme ated in abnormal and normal tissues. However, NO reacts
proteins. Carbon fiber microelectrode has also been modi- rapidly with hemoglobin, O2 , and other biological oxidative
fied by CNTs–IL gel and used in bioelectrochemical studies species in vivo and/or in vitro. Voltammetric detection of NO
[123]. The carbon fiber microelectrode modified by CNTs–IL gel by microelectrodes can be used in situ measurements of NO
promotes greatly the direct electron transfer of glucose oxi- in single cells near the source of the NO synthesis. A novel
dase and exhibits effective catalytic activity to biomolecules, gel microelectrode based on the hydrophobic IL, 1-hexyl-3-
such as DA, AA, and NADH. IL has also been used as binder methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([HMIM][PF6 ]) has
to modify electrode surface of multiwall carbon nanotubes. been reported [132]. A cavity is first etched at the tip of a elec-
This construction has better electrochemical properties than trode, and then it is filled with a conductive gel composite
by chitosan or Nafion modified electrodes. The GOD adsorbed containing single wall CNTs and the IL. This microelec-
at this modified electrode shows good stability and has good trode is then coated with a Nafion membrane, which can
electrocatalytic activity to glucose with a broad linear concen- eliminate interferences from nitrite and some biomolecules.
tration range up to 20 mM [124]. The sensing reaction involving NO is proposed to follow an
At a conventional solid electrode such as glassy carbon, the electrochemical–chemical (EC) oxidation mechanism and it
oxidation potentials of AA and uric acid (UA) are close to that of has a linear response range from 100 nM to 100 M.
DA, resulting in an overlapping voltammetric response [125].
Nevertheless, selective detection of DA in presence of AA and 3.6. Other applications
UA on a glassy carbon electrode modified by multiwall CNTs–IL
([OMIM][PF6 ]) gel has been reported [126]. The anodic peaks of Use of microwave activated electrochemistry has been pro-
AA, UA and DA can be well separated in the mixture since the posed for electroanalysis [133]. It was discovered that the
peak potential of AA is shifted to a more negative value, while microwave activation also induces high temperature–high
that of UA is shifted to a more positive value. The detection speed electrochemical processes in ILs [134]. The high viscos-
limit of DA by using differential pulse voltammetric technique ity of ILs, which is sometimes a drawback in electroanalysis,
is ca. 1.0 × 10−7 M in the presence of a large excess (more than can be overcomed by thermal activation.
100 times excess) of AA in neutral pH solutions. An effective, Au nanoparticles and nanorods have widely been used
quick and sensitive sensor was developed to determine DA in in assay of biological samples by means of electroanalytical
the presence of UA and of AA. and/or optical methods [135,136]. Synthesis of Au nanoparti-
Safavi et al. [127] have also observed the anodic peak cles modified ILs based on the imidazolium cation has been
separation of DA from AA and UA on the carbon compos- reported [137]. Combining the specific property of biocom-
ite electrode, which is made of mixing N-octylpyridinium patibility of some ILs and the physical and electrochemical
hexafluorophosphate [OPy][PF6 ] with graphite powder. The properties of Au nanoparticles would make a unique matrix
IL [OPy][PF6 ] is used as the pasting binder in place of non- for electrochemical detection in biological samples. Palla-
conductive organic materials in conventional carbon paste dium nanoparticles have been dispersed in a carbon electrode
electrodes. It was possible to simultaneously determine DA, modified with [OPy][PF6 ] [138]. The electrode showed electro-
AA, and UA by using this electrode composition. The carbon catalytic activity to reduction of dissolved oxygen in basic,
composite electrodes using IL as the binder were reported acidic and neutral aqueous solutions.
to combine the advantages of CNTs, pyrolytic graphite and
carbon paste electrodes [128]. The high performance car-
bon composite electrodes based on IL can provide high-rate 4. Conclusions
electron transfer with resistance towards fouling caused the
biomolecules. Fouling is usually caused by the adhesive film ILs are solvents that can be designed for special applications
formed by oxidation products of phenolic compounds passi- either by synthesizing new ILs or by paring different cations
vating the electrode surface [129]. and anions to fine-tune the properties of a particular IL.
Surface of a glassy carbon electrode was modified by Electrochemical methods such as potentiometry, voltam-
applying on it a gel containing multi-wall carbon nanotubes metry and QCM have been used in ILs to develop new
and [BMIM][PF6 ] [130]. The surface of this electrode was fur- generation of ion selective sensors, voltammetric devices, gas
sensors and biosensors. The good catalytic ability together [24] B.M. Quinn, Z. Ding, R. Moulton, A.J. Bard, Langmuir 18
with the simple preparation procedure will greatly promote (2002) 1734.
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trodes to be used in biosensors and other bioelectrochemical Piatnicki, D.S. Azambuja, R.F. de Souza, J. Dupont,
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devices. ILs with the appropriate properties should be selected
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sensing is a promising and exciting area of research and def-
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Meet the Yorkshire volunteers who are helping the plight of Indian children
John Veitch, the Calderdale businessman who founded Hope Community Village, with some of the children it has supported.
Laura Drysdale
Through the founding of a children’s care village in India, John Veitch and a team of volunteers have supported young people out of poverty. Laura Drysdale reports.
Siblings Sebi, Seena and Sini were the first three children to walk down the path into Hope Community Village. They had lost both of their parents and had been brought to the care community in India by their elderly tribal grandmother, with only a handful of possessions to their name.
Some of the children that Hope Community Village has supported.
John Veitch and his wife Norma were there to welcome them. “These three children came down the pathway...and between them, they had one half filled plastic carrier bag,” John recalls. “That was their total belongings. You just saw them coming and thought My God that’s all they have in life.”
Why rare gas decontamination centre in Yorkshire town is reminder of war effort on Home Front
John, a West Yorkshire businessman founded Hope to support children in crisis in the Indian state of Kerala around 25 years ago. Since those first youngsters arrived in 1996, aged seven, five and three, the charity has helped more than 100 orphaned and destitute children, by offering them long-term family care and educational opportunities. “All of the children that have come to us have come to us from poverty, from poor backgrounds and many of them have been abused physically or sexually,” John, 79, explains. “The whole idea is that we look after children in a family and not just feed them but best educate them...We aim to take them out of poverty.”
Today, the Hope village is made up of six houses , each with a ‘mother’ who is allocated a family of up to 10 children to care for, ranging from toddlers to teenagers. A few kilometres away is a hostel to accommodate the facility’s older boys, and also on site is a kindergarten attended by its younger children, as well as around 60 more from nearby areas. Completing the village is an accommodation block for retired ‘mothers’ and an IT suite and library from which both Hope’s children and the local community can benefit. The site is also used as a centre for providing medical services for families living in the district.
IT skills are a top priority for children at Hope Community Village.
“I think it is important that children have a family life and are part of a family,” says John, who lives in Skircoat Green in Halifax. “We’ve got a playground, they play out. We do all sorts of things that probably they wouldn’t get if they were in a more institutionalised environment.” The bond between ‘mothers’ and children and among house siblings is “amazing”, he says. “You will not believe how they just are brothers and sisters and friends. It’s just like a family life. It’s amazing how they just operate as a family and right from coming in as well. They fall into it very easily.”
Hope tries to emulate the life of a typical Indian family. An average day will see children wake up early, do their homework and then head to their local schools after breakfast. Their evenings will include leisure and playtime, more homework and dinner, and across evenings and weekends there are various activities available including music and dance classes and football.
The role of the ‘mothers’, who receive an income, is to provide the children with shelter, food, support and encouragement and undertake general housekeeping. English and IT skills are high on the priority list for children, to give them “the greatest opportunity to go on to gain good employment”, whilst the mothers are taught conversational English too. “It’s not just a matter of looking after the children and taking them out of poverty. It’s the same for the mothers,” John says.
The father-of-two was inspired to set up the charity, which is modelled in part on SOS Children’s Villages in India, after making several trips to the south of the country for business. He had studied economics at the University of Hull, going on to work in marketing for Proctor and Gamble, before he launched his first company Oaklea Products in 1977, three years after he and Norma, a now-retired primary school teacher, settled in Calderdale. He later sold the business and launched a second company, JVL Products.
Based in Myhtholmroyd, the firm supplied major supermarkets with stock including coir mats imported from India and basketware from China. “You couldn’t help but see the poverty, children on the streets,” he says, recalling his trade tips to India. “As an individual, you do look and feel sorry for what’s going on.” The deprivation endured by some locals, particularly children from disadvantaged families, prompted John to take action and he set about fundraising for the cause. By running the London Marathon in 1994, he raised £8,500 to buy land on the outskirts of Alappuzha and he later cycled hundreds of miles up the coast from there to Goa, raising another £6,500 to build the first house.
A committee is responsible for the day-to-day running of the Hope village, which currently cares for around 70 children, whilst a board of trustees, all volunteers, runs the UK arm of the charity, based in Halifax. Their role is one of overall oversight, as well as generating the £8,000 per month costs of running Hope, including through donations from charitable trusts, fundraising events and encouraging people to sponsor children.
The charity has been John’s main focus since he retired from business around 14 years ago and his family too are involved - Norma as a trustee and their sons Patrick and Jonathan both as sponsors for children. More than half of the trustees are from Calderdale including Steve and Liv Redmond, who became heavily involved in the charity in 2005 and have helped to raise more than £100,000 over the past few years.
Discerning Boris Johnson’s plan for Britain is like peering through a dense bank of fog and evasiveness – Andrew Vine
“We get to know the children, see them develop, see their successes. It’s very, very rewarding work,” Steve says. “Very often the children have been traumatised or they may have suffered emotionally and we need to turn that around. The family-based approach that we have is very successful at doing that. You end up with so many happy smiling faces.” Like John, the couple, retired teachers who live near Hebden Bridge visit Hope every year to see the children “blossom”. “You can see troubled children arriving in the facility there who have come from backgrounds which are very, very, dubious,” says Steve. “It could be that they have been maltreated in some way or abused and it takes them a few months but they do settle and they bond with the mothers and it is a lovely relationship.”
The children, he says, are often too young to understand what the alternatives could have been “but we make sure they are brought up in a caring and loving environment in such a way that they can benefit emotionally and overcome whatever difficulties they might have had in their own families. It’ a model of good practice.”
The aim for Hope is to break the cycle of poverty and return its children to the community as confident, independent adults, knowing they will always have a family in the village and somewhere to turn for advice and support. Some of the girls who were raised there are now married “and we’ve actually got grandchildren now”, Steve says. “It’s an interesting twist to the whole scenario of family life.”
Hope pays for education, including at post-16 level. Several of its children have completed training courses and university degrees and now hold jobs in IT and engineering and as chefs, nurses, and hotel workers. “The fact is that we make a significant difference to the lives of these children,” says John. “The important thing is they carry this story forward. They are very conscious about helping children in need.”
As for Hope’s first arrivals the eldest is now a top chef in Doha, Qatar, one sister works as a housekeeping supervisor in a 5* hotel and the other is happily married with a child of her own. “That’s a success story,” says John with pride and genuine thanks to all those who continue to support Hope. “Well, all of them are.”
To find out more about the work of the charity, or pledge support, visit www.hopeindia.org
VIDEO – Sheffield United closing in on transfer targets ahead of Premier League return
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About the YES!
National Final 2018
National Final – YES! 2018YES! Team2018-10-29T12:33:30+02:00
The winning teams of the YES! 2018
Photo: (c) YES!
1st place:
Fritz-Erler-Schule Pforzheim II
2nd place:
Cecilien-Gymnasium Düsseldorf
3rd place:
Gesamtschule Waldbröl
Day 1 of the National Final 2018
Welcome to the YES! 2018
It’s the first day of this year’s final – a new location, teams from four different regions, two moderators and twelve solutions that have made it through the regional finals.
The teams prepared themselves with printouts of the solutions for the upcoming presentations. Photo: (c) YES!
Conny Czymoch and David Patrician, our moderators, gave a warm welcome to the participants and forwarded the greeting by Peter Altmaier, the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, the patron of the YES!. In his written statement, he stressed the importance of the economic education for students and thanked all the scientists, teachers and students for the efforts and engagement.
To be the first team to come onto the stage is always tough, but the group of the Carl-Maria-von-Weber Gymnasium from Eutin did a great job promoting their idea. They had chosen the topic of “Why don’t they care? Nudges to improve willingness to help?” by Lena Detlefsen and Katharina Lima de Miranda from the IfW Kiel. Their idea focused on teaching younger children how to make the first response in case of an emergency. Their concept of a seal for schools to provide such seminars for their students was strongly supported by one of the experts, Bernd W. Böttiger. Prof Böttiger of the University Hospital of Cologne emphasised that such a concept has the potential – if properly implemented – to save thousands of lives each year. The second expert, Karsten Schmidt of the Roskilde University and an expert on nudging, indeed saw the potential as well, but also recommended some improvements on the nudging side of the project.
Second on stage was a team from the new region East. The Alfred-Nobel-Gesamtschule Potsdam wants to involve young school students in research. Their supporting scientist, Henry Sauermann of the ESMT Berlin, proposed the topic “Involving Citizens in Research: Improving Science and Society”. The team came up with the concept of an online platform, directed to teachers and students, that include citizen science projects that are suitable for using them at school. The two experts were Katrin Vohland of the Museum for Natural Science in Berlin and Ole Wintermann of the Bertelsmann Stiftung. They both recognised the positive elements of the idea immediately, but also recommended some improvements to benefit from the existing platforms.
“Sustaining the World’s Oceans” by Christine Bertram of the IfW Kiel was the topic to talk about after the first break of the day. The team of the Alexander-von-Humboldt-Schule Neumünster introduced their booklet for children with some animal characters to teach young children how to behave correctly to prevent further pollution of the seas. Our experts for this session, Mirjam Steffensky from the IPN – Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education, and Achim Lauber from the JFF – Institut für Medienpädagogik, expressed their support for the booklet right away. They pointed out that such a brochure is not designed to solve a problem like the pollution of the oceans, but a good starting point to educating younger children and thus being an essential step in the right direction.
The team Cecilien-Gymnasium Düsseldorf discussed their solutions with our experts Wiebke Weger and Lars Müller. Photo: (c) YES!
The fourth proposal of the morning was presented by a team from the region South-West, Otto-Schott-Gymnasium Mainz-Gonsenheim: “Citizen’s Assistant – Improve Efficiency in Public Administration”. The idea is a response to the challenge by Sebastian Blesse and Thomas Schwab of the ZEW called “eGoverning Germany: The future of public administration“. In a lively presentation, the group outlined their expectations for a service-oriented citizen service by the public administration. This time, three experts commented on the solution. Nuria Villanova of the OECD, Dirk-Hinnerk Fischer of the Tallinn University of Technology and Thomas Langkabel of the Initiative D21. They all supported the basic idea of making public services more available in a digital fashion but also agreed that it is a long way to go to do this change.
Next on stage after a relaxing lunch break was the team Cecilien-Gymnasium Düsseldorf. They tackled the problem of lack of trust in shopping reviews on the Internet, as described in the challenge “Transactions via the Internet – How can trust be built?” by the researchers Rebekka Rehm and Clemens Recker of the iwp Institute for Economic Policy at the University of Cologne. Their answer to this question is called “1Feedback”, a system that combines writing reviews of purchases across the Internet along with a gamification aspect and a reward system. The experts for this session were Wiebke Weger, an experienced and independent marketing expert, and Lars Müller, CEO of the marketing agency wigital. They were impressed by the presentation of the team, yet they also pointed out how difficult a project like this could be regarding data protection and the interchange between online shops.
“New ways for a future-proof and generation-appropriate care” was the topic provided by Ingo Kolodziej of the RWI Leibniz Institute for Economic Research in Essen. This was the task, and the team of Gesamtschule Waldbröl developed the concept of an online platform where young people get a bounty in various forms to help older adults. Karsten Schmidt of the Roskilde University and Juliane Zielonka of the Techniker Krankenkasse as experts on this topic quickly engaged in a discussion on the pros and cons of the proposal.
What a way to end a presentation on “High-Five”, the solution proposed by the Fritz-Erler-Schule Pforzheim. Photo: (c) YES!
The final presentation of the first day was left for the team of Fritz-Erler-Schule Pforzheim, and their topic was one that affects a large number of children: “How to combat child poverty and how can children and adolescents be best supported”, which was proposed by Holger Stichnoth of the ZEW Centre for European Economic Research in Mannheim. The team presented their approach “High Five”, which includes activities at schools and the communities to support children that excluded from many activities because their families can’t afford them. The discussants, Dagmar Balve-Hauff of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, Sabine Hübgen of the WZB Berlin Social Science Centre and Achim Lauber of JFF – Institut für Medienpädagogik, all agreed on the importance of a proposal like “High Five” and to put children in the focus of the project.
What a great Day 1 it was at the YES! 2018 National Final. We certainly enjoyed the presentations, the critical questions both from the experts and the audience and how the presenters found arguments to defend their idea.
We are looking forward to the Day 2 with the remaining five teams and the voting.
After the long first day, the teams returned on Friday morning to the Bucerius Law School to attend the final five presentations. The first team took us to Africa! BBS Burgdorf dealt with the topic “How to Strengthen the Economy in African Developing Countries”, which was proposed by Roland Dörn of the RWI Essen. The solution they came up was an app called “Ubatimu” – an app that should help African farmers, by simulation and gamification, to find the best possible crops and fertilisers for their land. Our experts, Martin Foth-Feldhusen of the GIZ and Holger Thiele of the University of Applied Science Kiel, were critical towards the approach for several reasons but also acknowledged the innovative format of the solution.
Second on stage was the Georg-Büchner-Gymnasium Berlin. By having an interactive presentation of their solution “RSMS – A Better indicator for Economic Forecasting”, the group kept the audience interested in their topic “Sense and Nonsense of Economic Forecasts: Motivation and Methods for macroeconomic Forecasts” by Ferdinand Fichtner of the DIW Berlin. Nora Hesse of the European Commission and Cyrus de la Rubia, chief economist of the HSH Nordbank, both thought that the idea is a good step in the right direction. In a lively discussion, the team responded to the many questions by the audience.
“Promoting financial inclusion: New policies and technological innovations through digital finance”, by Helke Seitz and Tim Kaiser of the DIW Berlin was the next topic on the table. The team of Berlin International School tackled this problem and came up with “Virgo – A Financial Ecosystem Reinventing Microfinance”. This system, based on an app, should enable people in developing countries to get access to finance more easily. Three experts joined the discussion, Cyrus de la Rubia, Nora Hesse and Thorsten Grenz of KIMBRIA. Quickly, an active debate evolved regarding the Virgo system, blockchain technology and microfinancing in general.
The last session before the lunch break circled around the topic “Promoting Digitisation in Business” by Jörg Ohnemus and Steffen Viete of ZEW Mannheim. The team Saarpfalz Gymnasium Homburg developed the concept of “M.I.T. – A Certificate for Digital Skills”, a system of training opportunities for employees. This session was moderated by Susan Djahangard, editor at “Die Zeit”, who welcomed Dagmar Balve-Hauff of the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy and Dirk-Hinnerk Fischer of the Tallinn University of Technology. The experts agreed with the team that there is the need for a continuous qualification on the job, but they also saw an already established market in this field.
Ranking the solutions at the YES! is not easy, but takes a lot of discussions. Photo: (c) YES!
The final presentation of the YES! 2018 was about “The Facebook Business Model -You are the Product” by Cora-Wacker-Theodorakopolous and Timm Leinker of ZBW Leibniz Information Centre of Economics. The team of Gymnasium Wellingdorf asked themselves what kind of data has Facebook of each user. They used the options Facebook provides of downloading the user’s data and developed the concept of an app to visualise the data to understand more easily. The experts, Anne Riechert of Stiftung Datenschutz and Jil Sörensen of Hamburg Media School, pointed out how important it is to be sensible about the personal data and that such an app could undoubtedly improve the awareness.
Next, after the 1-minute-pitches of each team and a clear instruction on the voting procedures, the announcement of the winners was on the agenda.
Each team ranked the others and distributed 11 points to their favourite, 10 to the next and so on. And, as something new to the YES! in 2018, representatives of each team came to the stage to tell and explain, which team they ranked first. Excitingly, it showed that all the teams did a great job because a great variety of solutions was as the favourite solutions.
The three winning teams of 2018. Photo: (c) YES!
But not only the large numbers count. And so the winning teams finally were announced. Third place was the group Gesamtschule Waldbröl. The second was Cecilien-Gymnasium Düsseldorf, and the first place went to, drum roll please, Fritz-Erler-Schule Pforzheim II.
After two long days at the final, four regional finals and more than half a year of working with the teams, the organising team of the YES! certainly is happy for the winners, but we also feel with the teams that didn’t make it to the top. However, we know that they worked hard. And the past years have shown to us, that you don’t need to be in the top 3 to have a great idea that can change something.
We thank all of the teams, the teachers, the research institutions and their scientists for their support throughout the year. We are looking forward to coming back again next year, even larger with the fifth region South-East and a true nationwide competition.
Your YES! team
Finalists and their solutions
in order of their appearance
Carl-Maria-von-Weber Schule Eutin
The SHIELD Seal — a Nudge to Improve Help in Critical Situations
The SHIELD-seal increases the willingness to help and strengthens collective solidarity in our society by promoting extended first-aid-workshops at schools.
Alfred Nobel Gesamtschule Potsdam
Interlinking Citizen Science and School Learning
A website and an app which categorises Citizen Science Projects into subjects and classes to get students into doing projects.
Alexander-von-Humboldt-Schule Neumünster
Booklet for Children – Save the World’s Oceans with Ruby and his Friends
A booklet for children in elementary school to teach them about sustainability and how to protect the world’s oceans from getting even more polluted by fighting the causes of the pollution.
Otto-Schott-Gymnasium Mainz-Gonsenheim
Citizen’s Assistant – Improve Efficiency in Public Administration
Citizen’s Assistant: The key to unlocking the potential to save billions, improve services, cut time and effort, by establishing the win-win situation that is the digital state.
1Feedback – Let’s Make the Internet a Fair Place for Trading
1Feedback, a multi-platform review system, encourages users to give more qualitative feedback, thus increasing trust in online markets.
Yes, We Care! Bring Young and Old Together for a Generation-appropriate Care System
High Five – Five Ways to Make a Change
Create a network that gives children equal opportunities to engage in activities and to offer fast and feasible support.
BBS Burgdorf Team 1
UBATIMU – Let’s Help to Learn Farming
Learn to optimise farming in Africa with the app Ubatimu!
Georg-Büchner-Gymnasium Berlin I
RSMS – A Better Indicator for Economic Forecasting
Berlin International School
VIRGO – A Financial Ecosystem Reinventing Microfinance
Virgo is an attempt to increase the accessibility of the basic financial services to people who would otherwise be denied the right to use them, whilst minimising, at the same time, the negative aspects of informal financial services, such as, Microcredit.
Saarpfalz Gymnasium Homburg I
M.I.T. – The Certificate for Digital Skills
M.I.T. stands for Media, Internet, Technology certificate. It supports digitisation in companies by providing more qualified employees, and it’s free for everyone who is interested because different companies sponsor the lessons.
Gymnasium Wellingdorf
FaceMe: start thinking about the problem by visualising the massive amount of data Facebook has about you
Achim Lauber
Achim Lauber, M.A., graduated in Media Education and Communication, Sociology and Pedagogy from the University of Leipzig. He currently works as a researcher at JFF – Institut für Medienpädagogik in Forschung und Praxis and as a referent for media competence, research and programme at the state media authority of Thuringia. His fields of research include online media for children, media acquisition by children and youths, and youth media protection.
Anne Riechert
Prof Dr Anne Riechert is the scientific director of the Stiftung Datenschutz. Since 2009 she is a professor for “Data Protection Laws and Laws of Information Processing” at the Frankfurt University of Applied Science. There, Anne Riechert is also a member of the Center for Applied European Studies (CAES).
Bernd W. Böttiger
University Prof Dr.Bernd W. Böttiger is the director of the “Klinik für Anästhesiologie und Operative Intensivmedizin” at the University Hospital Cologne. He is also the chairman of the “German Resuscitation Council (GRC) / Deutscher Rat für Wiederbelebung”. Amongst others, a key aspect of his scientific and sociopolitical engagement is the non-professional reanimation, in particular, the training of school students with reanimation techniques.
Conny Czymoch
Moderator of the YES! 2018
Conny Czymoch is an independent international moderator and journalist. She has been engaged in conference moderation for the European Union, German ministries, blue-chip German corporations and non-profit organizations covering a host of global topics.
Cyrus de la Rubia
Chief Economist, HSH Nordbank
Dagmar Balve-Hauff
Dr Dagmar Balve-Hauff is an economist and sinologist working at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi). After her doctorate at the University of Heidelberg, she worked for the FAZ and the OECD. In 2004, she joined the BMWi to work in the areas of European economic and monetary policies, international oil and gas markets and doing research on economic and structural policies. From 2009 to 2011, she served at the German Embassy in Tokyo as a referent for economic affairs and traffic.
David Patrician
David Patrician is a freelance journalist and event moderator based in Hamburg, Germany.
Prior to that, he hosted a weekly show, in German, for Delta Radio. In addition, he has filed stories for the Westdeutsche Rundfunk, RTL Nord, Radio Bremen, Voice of America, Deutsche Welle and Newsweek. He worked for the Voice of America, Washington, D.C., for several years and filed stories for both the English and Korean language services. He is currently the Fulbright alumni coordinator for the Hamburg regional chapter.
Dirk-Hinnerk Fischer
Dirk-Hinnerk Fischer is a PhD student at the Ragnar-Nurkse Department for Governance and Innovation of the Tallinn University of Technology. His research fields include innovation management, regulation of the financial market and public administration – with or without algorithms. In addition, he also is part of consultations to governments, public administrations and international institutions.
Henneke Lütgerath
Joachim Herz Stiftung
Holger Thiele
Holger D. Thiele is a professor of agricultural economics and statistics at the University of Applied Sciences in Kiel and head of the ife Institute of Food Economics in Kiel. He was born in Hamburg and studied agricultural economics, business administration, and economics. He worked at the German Universities of Kiel, Giessen, and TU Munich and the University of New England in Australia. Until 2008 he was head of the Institute of Food Economics at the Federal Dairy Research Centre in Germany. Since then he has been working as the head of the ife Institute of Food Economics in Kiel and professor at the University of Applied Sciences in Kiel
Jil Sörensen
Jil Sörensen is a research fellow at the Hamburg Media School and a PhD student at the University of Hamburg’s Institute for Media Economics.
Most of her work focuses on the economics of news markets and media bias. In a current project she, together with her colleagues, investigates the consequences of the NetzDG.
Julia Plötz
Project Manager, Joachim Herz Stiftung
Julia Plötz is a Project Manager at the Joachim Herz Stiftung where she coordinates projects in the Program Area Economics. Among others, she is responsible for the YES! – Young Economic Summit and the Economy Camp of the Joachim Herz Stiftung. Julia Plötz graduated from the University of Tuebingen and holds a Dual Masters‘ Degree in Economics from Université Catholique de Louvain in Belgium and Católica Lisbon School of Business and Economics in Portugal. During her studies, she worked as a trainee at Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, KfW Development Bank and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung.
Juliane Zielonka
Juliane Zielonka works at the digital office for corporate development of the Techniker Krankenkasse in Hamburg. Her tasks include the digital transformation, innovation scouting and digitalisation of healthcare. She also consults healthcare entrepreneurs to find new business opportunities for digital services and is a speaker on digital health topics.
Katrin Vohland
Dr Katrin Vohland is Research Director “Science Programme Public Engagement with Science” at the Museum für Naturkunde – Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science in Berlin. For years, she has been working on the interface of biodiversity research, politics and practice. She also co-organises the network forum “Biodiversitätsforschung Deutschland (NEFO)”. In addition, she supports the integration of citizens and stakeholders into science by developing networks (e.g. BürgerSchaffenWissen.de or the upcoming portal EU.citizen.science) as well as by doing research on citizen science (e.g. COST Action 15212 „Citizen Science to promote creativity, scientific literacy, and innovation throughout Europe“)
Karsten Schmidt
Karsten Schmidt is a Ph.D. student in the field of behaviourally informed policy at Roskilde University, Denmark. His research revolves around creating, implementing and experimentally evaluating nudges in collaboration with the Danish Business Authority.
Klaus Tochtermann
Director, ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics
Since June 2010, ProfessorTochtermann has been the director of the ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics in Hamburg and Kiel. He also holds a professorship for Digital Information Infrastructures at Kiel University.
Lars Müller
Lars Müller is CEO of the digital agency wigital GmbH in Kiel. For more than 20 years, he has been working in the fields of digital marketing, content and creation as well as product management and consulting. As the chairperson of the association “Digitale Wirtschaft Schleswig-Holstein (DiWiSH)”, he organises the exchange between the digital sector and regional companies.
Martin Foth-Feldhusen
Martin Foth-Feldhusen is an agricultural engineer and social scientist. He works at the GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) in the regional office North, where he coordinates the activities of the federal states regarding development politics with programs of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. His previous works include projects on the coast and sea protection as well as being a consultant on environmental management and organisational developments.
Mirjam Steffensky
Photo: (c) Stefanie Urban
Prof. Dr. Mirjma Steffensky is Professor of Chemistry Education – Early Science Education. Leibniz-Institute for Science and Mathematics Education (IPN) at the Christian Albrechts University Kiel. Her research is focused on early science education as well as competences of preschool and school teachers. She is currently speaker of the research line 1 “Frühe Bildiung” at the IPN, member of the expert group “Naturwissenschaftliche Bildung in Kindertageseinrichtungen” of the wiff-initiative and member of the TIMSS consortium.
Nora Hesse
Nora Hesse is an economic and fiscal policy advisor at the EU Commission Representation in Germany, focusing in particular on the European Semester – the framework for the coordination of economic policies across the EU. During 2015-2017 she was coordinating the macroeconomic forecast for Romania at the Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs of the European Commission. Nora holds master’s degrees in Economics and Politics and in International relations and has taught Economics and Intercultural Communication for several years in Berlin.
Nuria Villanova
Nuria Villanova works for the OECD on the coordination and mainstreaming of communication campaigns and the promotion of the OECD Better Life Index, a project on citizen engagement and measurement of well-being. Prior to working at the OECD, she worked in the private sector as a consultant for EU Government Affairs in Brussels. Ms Villanova graduated from Sciences Po Paris and holds a Dual Masters’ Degree in International Public Management and Political Economy from the Paris School of International Affairs and the London School of Economics.
Ole Wintermann
Dr Ole Wintermann is the Senior Project Manager of the programme “Business in Society” at the Bertelsmann Stiftung. He is a member of the Governance 2.0 Network Germany and launched the international blogger platform Futurechallenges.org. Dr Wintermann is a co-founder of the human rights platform weye and is concerned with the future of work, globalisation, demographics, freedom of the web and open educational resources.
Sabine Hübgen
Sabine Hübgen works as a research fellow at the WZB and writes her dissertation in sociology at the Free University of Berlin. In her dissertation, she examined the causes of lone mothers’ high poverty risks in Germany.
Susan Djahangard
Susan Djahangard studied political science in Düsseldorf, Nottingham and Berlin. As a free journalist, she wrote for several different media. She graduated from the Henri-Nannen-School for Journalism and currently works in the economics department of “Die Zeit”.
Thomas Langkabel
Thomas Langkabel is the National Technology Officer of Microsoft Germany. After studying aerospace engineering, he has been involved in information technology and administrative modernisation for more than 25 years. He is a member of the board of the “Digital Government” working group at BITKOM and has worked for several institutions and civil society initiatives for many years. Thomas Langkabel is Vice President of Initiative D21 and participates in the D21 working groups “Innovative State” and “Digital Ethics”. He is a member of the NEGZ National E-Government Competence Center and a member of the Board of Trustees of Fraunhofer FOKUS.
Thorsten Grenz
Managing Partner, KIMBRIA Gesellschaft für Beteiligung und Beratung mbH
Prof. Dr. Thorsten Grenz is Managing Partner of KIMBRIA Gesellschaft für Beteiligung und Beratung mbH, Berlin and Professor of Economics and Social Sciences at Christian-Albrechts University of Kiel. Since 2009 he is Vice President of the Bundesverband der Deutschen Entsorgungswirtschaft, Berlin.
Wiebke Weger
Wiebke Weger is a freelance marketing expert with more than 20 years of working experience in the fields of digitisation of customer communication, strategy development and consumer goods marketing.
Willi Scholz
Head of Project, Young Economic Summit
Dr Willi Scholz is Head of Project of the YES! – Young-Economic-Summit. Moreover, he is Science Policy Consultant at the ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics and Adjunct Professor for International Affairs at the Vesalius College in Brussels.
Wolf Prieß
Director of the Program Area Economics, Joachim Herz Stiftung
Dr Wolf Prieß is Director of the Program Area Economics at the Joachim Herz Stiftung. After studying business administration, he completed the subsequent doctorate at the Department for Vocational Studies and Economic Education of the Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel. He also worked for several years in the formation of secondary and vocational teachers at the Institute of Education at the CAU before joining the Joachim Herz Stiftung in the program Area Economics in 2012.
Programme Day 1
The YES! – Young Economic Summit is a joint project of the ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics in Kiel and the Joachim Herz Stiftung in Hamburg.
The ZBW is the world’s largest research infrastructure for economic literature, online as well as offline, and well positioned to provide students with information and the competency to do research.
The Joachim Herz Stiftung is an financially independent and politically neutral foundation. The JHS promotes education, science, and economic and scientific research, as well as the personal development of young people and young adults.
The YES!-Young Economic Summit has been under the patronage of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy since 2015.
Academic Partners:
Press Area (in German only)
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Ameriprise Fined Millions For Failing To Protect Customers From Misappropriation
Ameriprise Financial Services Inc. (CRD: 6363) is a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) registered broker-dealer and investment adviser based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, who has been censured and ordered to pay a $4,500,000.00 civil penalty as part of resolving the SEC’s allegations that the firm neglected to establish and apply procedures and policies with a view towards protecting assets of investors from being misappropriated by its own representatives. Administrative Proceeding File No. 3-18642, August 16, 2018.
The SEC found that between 2011 and 2014, Ameriprise implemented select surveillance mechanisms as part of its supervision and compliance based systems to identify circumstances when a representative (a registered representative of the broker or investment adviser representative) possibly committed fraud through the misappropriation of assets held in a customer’s investment account. Apparently; however, one of its systems was significantly limited and the other malfunctioned, causing the firm to be unable to detect five of the firm’s representatives’ misappropriation of more than $1,000,000.00 in customers’ funds.
The Order indicated that one of the systems used by Ameriprise was the Fraud Early Detection System (“FEDS”), which was meant to uncover circumstances in which representatives tried to change addresses linked to the customers’ investment accounts to alternative addresses linked to the representatives, including addresses of representatives’ homes and businesses. FEDS, according to the Order, failed to work correctly because of a glitch that the firm had not discovered until December of 2013. As a result, Ameriprise customers were defrauded by one of the firm’s representatives, Barbara Josephine Stark, who inappropriately changed the customers’ addresses with those controlled by Stark and her daughter, Susan Elizabeth Walker.
The findings revealed that the firm also employed an automatic transaction-based analysis tool which was designed to detect when a representative endeavored to distribute cash from a customer’s account to an address that the registered representative controlled. Yet, between the 2011 and 2014 timeframe, the analysis tool was apparently not capable of identifying situations when unapproved cash was disbursed from a customer’s account and sent to an address controlled by the representative. The Order reported that the analysis tool was also deficient with regard to uncovering instances where unauthorized disbursements were effected by wire because of the reliance by the firm on manual procedures. The SEC concluded that there were several instances in which fraudulent fund transfers were executed from customer accounts to addresses controlled by representatives.
The SEC identified five registered representatives who misappropriated customer funds and had been terminated by the firm for their misconduct:
Jennifer Rebecca Johnson (CRD: 2668325) was a registered representative of Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. based in St. Paul, Minnesota. Evidently, in 2014, she defrauded a customer and misappropriated $21,000.00. On April 26, 2017, Johnson was barred by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) from acting as a broker or assisting with a broker-dealer firm.
Justin Matthew Weseloh (CRD:5321024) was a registered representative of Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. based in Independence, Ohio. The Order stated that five Ameriprise customers had been defrauded by him between 2011 and 2013. A total of $676,000.00 had been stolen by Weseloh from the customers’ accounts, $373,00.00 of which had been taken from accounts at Ameriprise. Weseloh was barred by FINRA in all capacities on June 17, 2014.
Jeffrey Scott Davis (CRD: 3081852) was a registered representative of Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. based in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Between 2012 and 2013, a fraud had been perpetrated by Davis in which five customers were victimized. The Order stated that $200,000.00 in funds had been stolen by Davis from the customers’ accounts. On March 11, 2014, Davis was barred by FINRA from acting as a broker or assisting with a broker-dealer firm.
Barbara Josephine Stark (CRD: 1328134) and her daughter, Susan Elizabeth Walker (CRD: 1823041), were both registered representatives of Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. based in Wayzata, Minnesota. Between 2008 and 2013, about 600 hundred fraudulent transactions had been executed by Stark and Walker, resulting in $1,000,000.00 in funds having been misappropriated from customers. FINRA Barred Stark and Walker in all capacities on July 8, 2013.
The Order stated that all of the foregoing representatives committed violations of Section 206(1) and 206(2) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. In addition, some of those representatives committed violations of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 because of their misappropriation involving selling securities from customers’ accounts.
The SEC found that Ameriprise committed violations of Section 206(4) of the Investment Advisers Act and Rule 206(4)-7. Moreover, the SEC found Ameriprise failed to supervise its representatives in violation of Section 15(b)(4) of the Securities Exchange Act as well as Section 203(e)(6) of the Investment Advisers Act.
Gregory Tendrich, P.A. is focused on recovering losses for investors who are victim to misappropriation of funds and sales practice violations committed by registered representatives and their firms. If you have lost money by investing with the foregoing Ameriprise registered representatives, contact Gregory Tendrich today for a review of your case and discussion of your legal options.
By Gregory Tendrich, P.A. | Posted on August 16, 2018 Tags: Ameriprise, Boca Raton Investment Fraud Lawyer, Boca Raton Investment Fraud Lawyers, Misappropriation of Funds
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Breaking Trail
Reviewed: August 29, 2005
By: Joanne Bell
Publisher: Groundwood Books
Becky is a youngster with problems. First and foremost is the fact that her family seems to be breaking up. It used to be that she and her parents and little sister, Rachel, lived what she recalls as an idyllic life in the Yukon bush. Dad was a trapper and loved the life. But when the bottom fell out of the fur market, it seemed like it also fell out of his soul.
Becky's mom says he's brain-sick, and the whole family hopes that a late winter trip back to the cabin will help the medication do its work.
Becky has another problem, though. She's taken on the challenge of raising and training a dog team, starting with a clutch of reject puppies that the owner of a local kennel didn't think worth the effort.
Becky had always dreamed of doing this, of having her dad coach her through it and teach her the fine points. Now she's having to do it all herself, trying to beat the thaw on a trip to the wilderness and also trying to hide the fact that Ginger, her choice for a lead dog, is pregnant.
About the only thing helping her with that last chore is the fact that her parents are so wrapped up in their strained marriage that they are making most of the journey on automatic pilot and really don't notice much about the girls.
We jump right into the middle of this young adult novel, with the background given to us through italicized flashbacks; Becky's memories of better times and lessons learned being triggered by events in the present.
While the story contains all the personal conflict and action needed to make a good read, it is particularly good at simply celebrating the everyday realities of life in the bush: making camp, rising early, mushing, breaking trail, making tea. The book is full of evocative descriptions of outdoor life, written by someone who has loved it and knows it.
This is not one of those stories that ties all the plot threads up neatly for you at the end, but neither is it one that will leave you unsettled. Though it is not without its share of tragedy and disappointment, it closes with a bit of promise on several fronts.
Breaking Trail is a first novel by Joanne Bell, who might be better known to other Yukoners as Joanne Bell-Fraughton. Joanne has been writing, teaching,k and encouraging young people to love books and writing in Dawson for a number of years, and her short stories have won her a few prizes. She has completed the MFA program at the University of British Columbia.
This novel for teens is something she had tucked away out of sight until her parents and her daughter, Elizabeth, to whom it is dedicated, persuaded her to send it out to some publishers and see what happened.
Readers will agree that it's a good thing they nagged her into it. I read this while mechanics were fussing over the engine of a grounded Air North flight at the airport in Calgary, and it kept my mind off the situation for the entire time.
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Yalantis
How to Port Your App to Another Platform
Kate Abrosimova
CMO and co-founder at Kaiiax
If you're reading this, you probably have an iOS or Android app that you're thinking about porting to another platform. Whether you're looking for a developer or just researching the topic, we hope this article will help you find the answers you're looking for.
How to port an app
There are four things you need to consider when porting an iOS app to Android or porting an Android app to iOS: requirements gathering, development, design, and testing.
Gathering requirements is the fastest part of the process of porting to a new OS. Our clients don’t need to worry about preparing long specifications, making tons of Skype calls, and spending weeks writing emails. Since there is already an existing application, we can use it as a guide when developing for the second OS.
Porting an Android app to iOS is not about translating Android code to iOS code. Whether you want to port an iPhone app to Android or the other way round, this process is actually about developing a product from scratch.
Developing an app for a specific platform requires knowledge of platform-specific particularities. Porting an iOS app to Android (or vice versa) cannot be done by merely replicating code in a different language. When we design an app for multiple platforms we have to deal with different hardware configurations, operating system support, and customization.
1) Hardware Configurations.
Even though iOS devices are produced exclusively by Apple, there are still many different types of iPhones and iPads. Android devices are shipped by a large number of manufacturers. For a developer, this means that hardware configurations including screen resolution, layout, processor architecture, memory capacity, fingerprint readers, buttons, and more will vary among devices.
When we develop an iOS app, we usually make it compatible with the current and the previous versions of the iPhone (e.g. iPhone 5, 6, and 6S). When it comes to Android, we choose the most popular devices including those that our client prefers and those that are popular in a given market.
Selecting the right hardware is crucial for app development. Mobile apps normally use a device’s firmware provided by the manufacturer. Basic apps - such as camera, widgets, gallery, and contact book - rely on underlying firmware that can vary by manufacturer. In other words, the way this functionality is implemented under the hood is not always the same. Android manufacturers can customize the look and feel of their firmware, which produces a large segmentation in the area of GUI design and may lead to usability issues. For example, different producers of Android devices work differently with the Exchangeable image file format. This is the reason why certain cameras invert photos. We can fix this problem and test photo capturing functionality on a large number of Android devices.
To make an app look nice on any device we also need to work with different sizes, fonts, margins, and screen resolutions. We may apply adaptive UI or even alternative UI if the layout has certain limitations. For example, a custom font in the action-bar in one of our apps didn’t show up on LG smartphones and even caused crashes. We used a standard font for this particular device.
On another project, the lack of space on the screen of iPhone 4 forced us to hide images in the posts and only use text, while in iPhone 5S and 5C we were able to show both text and images.
On average, we work on about 30 Android and 50 iOS app development projects per year. We know these platforms' operating systems literally inside and out. Our depth of experience helps us foresee possible hardware issues that affect an app’s functionality and fix them before the app lands on a user’s screen.
Read more: Diversification of iOS and Android platforms
2) Support for OS.
iOS devices receive regular updates from Apple. The update cycle for Android devices varies widely. Other than with Nexus devices, it takes some time for device manufacturers to upgrade to the latest version of Android.
We typically make an iPhone app compatible with the latest and the previous iOS versions (e.g. iOS 9 and iOS 8).
With Android, we recommend supporting the latest version, the most widely used version, and those versions which are popular in a given country. For example, we almost always support Jelly Bean 4.1 because it’s used by 89% of Android devices worldwide. Sometimes our clients also need support for Ice Cream Sandwich because in some countries this is still the most common version.
Since each new version of an OS comes with new functionality, we can’t ensure that the same features will work on the previous version of the system. In this case, we’ll either find a ready-made solution or create one for you. For example, auto layout only appeared in iOS 6, and gesture recognition only appeared in iOS 4. Prior to those releases we had to implement these features ourselves (yes, we're that old!).
The more OS's we support, the larger the probability of bugs. Some bugs are very rare and can show up with a new version of the operating system or on a certain device. That’s why we integrate Crashlytics, a crash reporting system, and offer all our clients support for their products once they're launched.
Read more: Testing and Quality Assurance at Yalantis
3) Customization.
We all know that iOS is a closed-source operating system while Android’s source code is released under open-source licenses. Does this mean we’re free to choose how we want to develop our Android apps, but restricted when it comes to iOS? Yes and no.
While it might be true that Android gives more freedom to developers and we can customize anything from top to bottom, we’re also more likely to deal with platform-specific issues that will inevitably restrict our possibilities. For example, developing advanced video recording functionality on Android is a big challenge. Some features, such as Slow Motion, cannot be implemented, because nearly all Android phones fail to provide hardware support for video recording at frame rates required for the Slow Motion effect. You can read more about developing an Instagram for video on Android here.
Apple provides a lot of great tools out of the box, but it still doesn’t mean that we can’t create our own library or use one from a third-party. There is no question anymore whether one should develop a component for iOS or Android. If we build a good tool for iOS, we’ll undoubtedly port it to Android and the other way round.
For example, we’re building a number of open-source animations for both platforms, and can customize them for our clients’ projects regardless of the app we’re building. Check them out on our GitHub repository.
Now we've figured out what it takes to write code for another platform; but what about design? Porting an existing app to another platform usually means leveraging the same content, structure, and graphics. Let’s talk about that a little bit.
Moving design from one platform to another requires a deep understanding of that platform's standards and user behavior. At Yalantis, designers and developers work together to map out the best way to deliver the ultimate user experience and achieve an aesthetically pleasing user interface.
Multi-platform design adaptation can be of three types: platform-oriented, brand-oriented, and mixed.
We help our clients figure out which approach will work best in their case by analyzing the app's existing UX and core features, and suggesting a solution that can solve specific user experience problems.
Apps with rich functionality - like social networks, for example - should be designed with a specific platform in mind. In other words, we typically orient our design around platform guidelines when designing this type of application.
Following conventions of the iOS or Android platforms makes it easy for users to access an app’s content. When we port iPhone apps to iPad, or smartphone apps to wearable devices, we consider screen sizes, resolutions and user interactions which are very different across these devices.
If an existing app uses custom components and has earned the love of a large number of users, we should maintain brand consistency but at the same time avoid simply copying and pasting. Functional design elements like navigational iconography should be kept within the rules of the platform guidelines. There are exceptions to this rule, however. One of our projects, the PicklePick app, has custom everything. This design works best for the PicklePick app and the way users interact with it.
A mixed approach is best when we port iOS to Android or Android to iOS, but it's also the most complicated method. Adhering to platform specifics while remaining true to a brand’s values can satisfy all design criteria.
Check out: How to adapt user interface design to different platforms
When developing an app for another platform we spend a significant amount of time on testing. As we already mentioned, a large number of devices and OS's increase the probability of bugs. The only way to make sure crucial issues don’t go to production is to carry out a thorough testing procedures.
We have a large number of iOS and Android devices and a professional team of QA engineers who use the most effective testing approaches. Our clients can rest assured that major and critical bugs are will be detected and fixed promptly.
But even the best QA team in the world can’t substitute for real-world scenarios. When an app is launched we have to be on hand for reported problems to roll out bug fixes.
Working with Yalantis, you can port your existing app to another platform and grow your business within a short period of time. Even if you don't choose us as your app development partner, we still recommend that you pay attention to the specifics described above so that your users remain happy with your app no matter what platform they are using.
If you want to read more about porting an app from one platform to another, check out our article on <!--td {border: 1px solid #ccc;}br {mso-data-placement:same-cell;}--> why to convert iOS app to Android.
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by Editorial Board
Imam Yassine is not only a scholar who founded a school of thought, called the Justice and Spirituality School, but he is also the leader and spiritual guide of a movement, called the Justice and Spirituality Movement, that translates the School into action.
The Justice and Spirituality School embodies a comprehensive approach, called the Prophetic Method, was developed by Imam Abdessalam Yassine to revive and renew Islam as it was originally taught by the Prophet, may God grant him blessings and peace, while responding to contemporary realities. It draws on the prophetic example in that it seeks to bring together a group of Muslims within a system conducive to a shared vision, a unified effort, and a shared progression on the spiritual path. And the School is therefore open for all who wish to join from all over the world.
Imam Yassine’s efforts didn’t stop at the visionary and theoretical stage by founding a school of thought. For years, he worked diligently to unite Muslim consciences and energies within an organized collective effort that crystallized into the Justice and Spirituality Movement, aiming at making positive and significant change, locally, nationally, and internationally for both Muslims and people of other faiths. Inside this organizational framework, members, men and women, are introduced to the virtues and branches of faith in practice, following the prophetic method and under the spiritual and organizational leadership of Imam Yassine and the School’s guiding council [majlis al-irshād].
The Imam of Renewal
“Branches of Iman” by Imam Aabdessalam Yassine
Proceedings of the conference: “Political Transformation, Stakes and Prospects”
International Conference: JSM Commemorates the Fifth Anniversary of the Passing of Imam Yassine
The Ordeal of Palestine
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Russell scores career-best 44, Nets rally past Kings
March 19, 2019 Sports
By MICHAEL WAGAMAN , Associated Press
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Brooklyn coach Kenny Atkinson tried just about everything to kick the Nets into gear. There were quick timeouts, angry, animated discussions with his players and even switching from man to zone defense.
When nothing else worked, D’Angelo Russell and a handful of Brooklyn reserves took over and carried the Nets to an improbable win on their longest road trip of the season.
Russell scored 27 of his career-high 44 points in the fourth quarter, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson made a layup with eight-tenths of a second remaining, and the Nets rallied from 28 points down in the second half to beat the Sacramento Kings 123-121 Tuesday night and snap a four-game losing streak.
“We were at our wit’s end, it was kind of desperation,” Atkinson said. “It was a little bit like, ‘Let’s conserve our main guys and kind of play it out.’ I wasn’t expecting an amazing comeback, I just have to be honest. And then slowly but surely we started cutting the lead.”
Brooklyn was sluggish and out of sync for three quarters before Russell sparked the Nets’ biggest comeback of the season.
After scoring 17 points in the first half and going without a point in the third quarter, Russell shot 10 of 15 in the fourth quarter, repeatedly burning Sacramento’s defense with quick drives to the basket. He scored 16 straight points during one stretch while getting plenty of help from his teammates.
“I give a lot of credit to our bigs,” Russell said. “They set screens and got me open, got me downhill. Once you get downhill, any player that can get downhill and see the floor like that and see the rim wide open, the sky’s the limit.”
Russell’s 27 points are the most in a fourth quarter in the NBA this season. Russell also had four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, breaking Allen Crabbe’s single-season record of 201, set last season. Russell has 202.
“Once you get in that groove it’s hard to get you out of it,” Russell said. “No matter what defense a team throws at you, you’re going to find a way to get it done. That’s kind of what it was.”
Hollis-Jefferson had 14 points off the bench, and none more important than his game-winning layup after Sacramento’s Marvin Bagley III stepped out of bounds with 5.5 seconds left.
Hollis-Jefferson took the inbound pass from Joe Harris and looked for Russell, who was being double-teamed. With the clock winding down, Hollis-Jefferson drove from near the 3-point arc and went around a Kings defender near the hoop to score.
Jarrett Allen added 13 points and seven rebounds for Brooklyn. Spencer Dinwiddie scored 10 points.
It was a much-needed boost for Brooklyn, which had lost the first three games of a seven-game trip. The Nets were also struggling to hold onto seventh place in the East before Russell led the comeback.
De’Aaron Fox scored 27 points for Sacramento. Bagley had 29 points on 12-of-15 shooting for the Kings (35-35). Nemanja Bjelica added 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Harrison Barnes scored 17.
Two days after beating woeful Chicago 129-102, Sacramento was well on its way to a lopsided win over a contending team in the East before things slipped away.
“We relaxed and were very casual,” Kings coach Dave Joerger said. “Didn’t run back on defense, turned the ball over a ton and took a lot of jump shots because we thought it was going to be easy.”
The Kings led by 28 points and shot 51.6 percent from the floor.
Nets: Jarrett Allen picked up a technical foul in the first quarter. . Allan Crabbe missed his third consecutive game with a sore right knee.
Kings: Buddy Hield went 0 of 8 beyond the arc and remains nine 3s shy of the franchise single-season record of 240, set by current Sacramento assistant general manager Peja Stojakovic in 2003-04.
WASTED TIMEOUT
Atkinson was so frustrated with the Nets that he called a timeout 20 seconds into the second quarter, moments after Bogdan Bogdanovic made a 3-pointer that put the Kings ahead 41-25. Atkinson was quite animated during the break as he spoke to his players before getting up and walking away. It worked briefly, until the Kings scored 20 straight to open the third quarter.
“The coaching was terrible,” Atkinson said. “The zone was terrible. I used up my timeouts. They never responded. We put a group of players out there that have a great bond and a great spirit and were working their tails off behind closed doors. It was 100 percent on them. That’s player ownership.”
Nets: Play the Lakers in Los Angeles on Friday.
Kings: Host Dallas on Thursday.
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Christmas 2018: December 14th
Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: You Better Watch Out! (1989)
I can't imagine a film as ridiculous as “Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2” making much money at the box office. At the same time, a movie that's 40% stock footage probably didn't have to earn much to become a financial success. Yet the booming video market in the late eighties and early nineties allowed all sorts of horror films to bloom into full-blown franchises. If “Sleepaway Camp” and “Prom Night” could make it to three movies, and beyond, “Silent Night, Deadly Night” could obviously reach the same goal. The sequel even seemed to score a major coup when Monte Hellman, critically acclaimed director of “The Shooting” and “Two-Lane Blacktop,” agreed to direct. Was that enough to distinguish the sequel from the Santa slashers that went before it? What do you think?
Turns out, traumatized orphan and murderous Santa Ricky Caldwell was not shot to death by police at the end of “Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2.” He merely fell into a coma, scientists reconstructing his brain with a translucent dome device. Since then, Dr. Newbury has been trying to reach the comatose killer. His latest scheme is to have blind, teenage psychic Laura make contact with Ricky. The psychic connection with the deranged murderer upsets Laura, so she leaves to spend Christmas with her brother at her grandmother's house. The telepathetic link awakens Ricky and gives him a new desire to hunt Laura down. The revived killer murders people as he goes over the river, through the woods, and to grandmother's house. His doctor and a detective are on the trail, hoping to get to Laura and her family first.
“Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2” was characterized by a likely unintentional streak of absurd humor. At times, you wonder if part three was also going for laughs. The decision to replace the top of Ricky's skull with a clear dome – that looks like a salad bowl, with some electronic junk glued to it – makes him impossible to take seriously. There's a howler of a scene where Ricky attempts to hitchhike, despite looking like he does and wearing a hospital gown. He gets a ride within minutes. Later, his left arm slams through a door to grabbed a surprised victim. When that doesn't work, his right arm breaks through as well! That moment almost seems like an intentional subversion of typical monster movie antics.
For the most part though, “Silent Night, Deadly Night 3” is painfully dull. This is among the sleepiest slasher movies I've ever seen. All the murders take place off-screen. The few times blood is on-screen – spraying onto a desk – it looks like ketchup. Hellman seems utterly uninterested in generating thrills. When big jump scares happen, they are delivered limply and with zero impact. Moreover, very little actually happens in “You Better Watch Out!” An entire subplot is devoted to the doctor and the detective driving to Laura's grandmother's house, the two shooting the shit. At one point, they even begin discussing cellular phones. The action at grandma's house is just as uninteresting. Laura's brother and his girlfriend take a bath together or wander around outside, talking. Even after Ricky starts to attack them, everyone seems so relaxed and lackadaisical. There's absolutely no tension. It feels like the filmmakers were just trying to fill time.
One of the few interesting things about “Silent Night, Deadly Night 3” is that the cast features three actors associated with David Lynch. Eric Da Re, who plays Laura's brother, and Richard Beymer, who plays her doctor, would both appear in “Twin Peaks.” Laura Harring, as the girlfriend, would star in “Mulholland Dr.” much later on. None of them especially distinguish themselves. In fact, the cast in “You Better Watch Out!” is as sleepy as the pacing. Samantha Scully plays Laura. It's one of three credits for the actress, whose performance is blank and unconvincing. Once the beefy Eric Freeman, his years in a coma has presumably whittled Ricky down to a scrawny Bill Moseley. (Yet he has no problems getting up and walking right after waking up.) While Moseley is famous for manic and unhinged characters, this film sticks him in the part of a largely silent and somnolent brute. The only actor who seems engaged is Robert Culp as the excessively sarcastic detective.
“Silent Night, Deadly Night 3” also seems somewhat ashamed of the series' killer Santa roots. There's some light Christmas atmosphere and Ricky's psychosis is triggered by festive items – a Santa hat, an ugly Christmas sweater, presents under the tree – but he's just dressed like a guy otherwise. The sequel does continue the series tradition of stock footage, throwing in some scenes from the first movie. The problem is it seems to conflate the first film's Billy with the second's Ricky, among other continuity errors. Apparently, Monte Hellman wrote the whole movie in a week, shot it in a month, and had it screening at festivals a few weeks later. He's proud of getting the whole movie done so quickly. Which I guess is an accomplishment. Yet “Silent Night, Deadly Night 3” is a deathly boring film, especially when compared to the sleazy or ludicrous heights of the last two. [4/10]
Batman: The Animated Series: A Bullet for Bollock
As I’ve said before, Batman and Christmas are irrevocably connected in my mind. What makes a better contrast against the Dark Knight than the holly, jolly holidays? The creators of “Batman: The Animated Series,” of course, did a proper Christmas episode with season one’s “Christmas with the Joker.” They would return to December with season four’s “A Bullet for Bullock,” adapted from a comic story by Chuck Dixon. It involves Harvey Bullock, Gotham’s most hard boiled cop. He’s been receiving death threats and has seen two attempts on his life. Knowing there’s a long list of potential suspects, he asks Batman for assistance. The two reluctantly work together, eventually tracking down a newly released drug lord.
All of “B:TAS” took cues from film noir but “A Bullet for Bullock” is especially noir flavored. The episode features a fantastically jazzy score, even throwing in a variation on the show’s beloved theme song at the end. The focus is really on Bullock’s slovenly lifestyle. The dude’s apartment is decorated with roaches and huge tears in his walls. He’s not often seen without some junk food. Alfred compares him to “an unmade bed.” He’s belligerent to almost everyone around, even the people trying to save his life. But that doesn’t make him unlikable. In fact, there’s something appealing about Bulock’s griminess. Such as a funny line he has about his laundry.
The critical praise the show had received by this point is also evident in this episode’s content. “A Bullet for Bullock” gets away with stuff most kids cartoons couldn’t touch. There’s a lot of realistic firearm action. A drug kingpin eventually emerges as the episode’s primary antagonist and there’s even mention of crack houses. The conclusion is fantastically comical but still fits the cynical, noir tone. And, as always, the voice cast is phenomenal. You might have to squint to notice the Christmas content. There’s snow all around but only one shot of decorations being taken down. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed this one. [8/10]
Labels: animation, batman, christmas 2018, eighties horror, holiday horror, horror, other television, slasher films, superheroes
Zack Clopton's 2018 Flm Retrospective
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NO ENCORES: Don't Open Till Christmas (1984)
Christms 2018: December 9th
Christmas 2018: December 8th
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Christmas 2018: December 3rd
Christmas 2018: December 2nd
Christmas 2018: December 1st
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☰ ✎ Edit navigation Home Blog Contact
About Councillor Hamid
A resident of Milton for over a decade, Councillor Zeeshan Hamid lives in ward 4 with his wife and children. After serving two terms as a Town Councillor, he was elected as a Regional Councillor with overwhelming support, receiving more votes than his four rivals combined.
Zeeshan Hamid is an active volunteer and gives his time to matters he feels passionately about, including mental health, sustainability and livable communities. He is the founder of the MiltonTalk™ Facebook group and has served as a director in the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Halton and Hamilton, Milton Public Library Board and Milton Transit Advisory Committee. He has also served as the President of Milton Toastmasters and the co-chair of Milton Economic Development.
During the previous term of council, he raised over $150,000 in private donations to sponsor several refugee families as well as to help struggling families in Milton. His annual bowling fundraiser raises over $10,000 every year for youth mentorship in our community.
Outside of his council duties, Hamid is a technology leader in a large multinational.
Boards and Committee Involvement
Halton Healthcare Services: With an annual budget of $434 million, HHC includes 3 community hospitals (Milton District Hospital, Georgetown Hospital and Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital) and numerous community-based services in Milton, Halton Hills, and Oakville.
Halton Community Housing Corporation: HCHC owns and operates 27 communities within Halton Region, providing housing to low-income families and seniors.
Halton Health & Social Services: This Committee deals with matters relating to the areas of public health and social services, including (but not limited to) paramedic services, clinical health, healthy families & environments, housing, services for seniors, children’s services and employment services.
Conservation Halton: Spanning 1000 Sq. Km of land, 17 flowing creeks, approximately 26 km of Lake Ontario shoreline, extensive forest cover and 80 kilometres of Ontario’s Niagara Escarpment, Conservation Halton creates avenues for sustainable synergy between the natural world we live in and the 450,000 residents that make up the Conservation Halton watershed.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Halton and Hamilton: Provides quality mentoring relationships to children in need.
Chair, Milton Budget Committee (2019 and 2021)
Contact me if there's anything I can help with
✎ Edit footer
Town of Milton
Region of Halton
© 2019 Zeeshan Hamid. • Terms & Privacy • Created by CampaignRaven
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You are requesting information from Mark Zilbert on Atlantic One at The Point
Home > Apartamentos > Atlantic One at The Point
Atlantic One at The Point - Apartamentos à Venda
21200 Point PL, Aventura/Golden Beach, FL 33180
Dados Sobre Atlantic One at The Point
Incorporadora: Coscan Atlantic I LLC
Architect: Robert M.Swedroe
Tamanhos da unidade: De 246.8-387.50m²
Descrição de Atlantic One at The Point
The Atlantic at The Point is an Aventura condo near the eastern edge of the city with an amazing array of amenities and high end residential features that uphold the standards of living in an Aventura condo. Atlantic towers- as well as the two Point towers and courtyard homes- are set amidst 36 acres of landscaped park area. Within this community, residents have access to a variety of exercise and relaxation activities, such as: two oversized swimming pools, a waterfront social pool, and children’s pool and play area, four Har-Tru tennis courts, and an Intracoastal viewing pier. The community also features a waterfront promenade surrounding The Point marina; this boardwalk provides residents with a convenient 1-mile path directly to the local shopping and fine dining at The Waterways Shoppes across the bay.
Lying at the center of The Atlantic / Point community is the 25,000 square foot Residents Club & Spa. The expansive clubhouse features Mediterranean architecture, and is open only to Atlantic and Point residents. The facilities include: The Point Place Café; a fully equipped cardio, weight training, and aerobics facility; his and hers spa and treatment facilities; billiard, garden, and media rooms; and a private nail care studio.
However- in addition to these community luxuries- the Atlantic One Tower itself features in-tower amenities, such as: a private home theater with stadium seating, a library and reading room, tea rooms, children’s rooms, and private party and conference rooms. The tower also includes extra suites available for guest accommodation, as well as a separate staff quarters. Resident hospitality services include valet, concierge, and 24-hour security of the grounds.
The residences of Atlantic at The Point feature nine foot ceilings, oversized terraces, sliding glass doors and come with up to five bedrooms.
Aventura is arguably most famous for its namesake mall, a popular shopping destination near Atlantic at The Point and also very popular among South Floridians.
Atlantic at The Point’s location also puts it close to several golf courses, parks and a wealth of popular restaurants featuring a wide array of ethnic dishes;
All of the Atlantic One condominiums feature window and terrace views on at least two sides of the building. To the north, residents have beautiful waterfront views of the Golden Isles Waterways and Golden Isles Lake; the eastern side provides views of the Intracoastal Waterway as well as the Atlantic Ocean lying beyond a small strip of Golden Beach. Views to the south and west provide a panoramic vista overlooking the landscaped gardens and private marina of The Point community.
36 acres of landscaped park area
Waterfront social pool with whirlpool and The Aqua Grill
Two on-deck swimming pools and sundecks
Children’s pool & play area
Intracoastal viewing pier
Barbeque area
Four lighted Har Tru tennis courts
One-mile waterfront promenade
24-hour guarded gatehouse
Resident Club & Spa Amenities
Vaulted two-story lounge area
The Point Place Café
Fully-equipped cardiovascular center
State-of-the-art weight training center
1,500 square foot aerobics facility
Men’s & women’s personal treatment centers
Men’s & Women’s therapeutic sauna, steam, and whirlpool facilities
Outdoor cascading Roman tub
Nail care studio
Library & reading room
Atlantic One Condo Amenities
Two-story marble lobby
Private theater with stadium seating
Children’s game room
24-hour attended reception desk
24-hour valet
Two available guest suites
Staff quarters
Air-conditioned storage
Private 2-car garages with direct building access
Temperature-control wine cellar
Thinking About Selling Your Condo at Atlantic One at The Point ?
Atlantic One at The Point Mapa e Orientações
Atlantic One at The Point Planos Baixas
15 Apartamentos Para à Venda no Atlantic One at The Point
2 Bedroom Apartamentos Para à Venda no Atlantic One at The Point
2902 $1,190,000 $4,687 2/2½ 253.9 m² 26/8/2018
Novo 2404 $1,245,000 $4,223 2/3½ 294.8 m² 9/7/2019
604 $990,000 $3,358 3/3½ 294.8 m² 22/5/2019
22.5% 903 $999,999 $3,392 3/3½ 294.8 m² 4/1/2019
8.0% 2202 $1,150,000 $4,660 3/3½ 246.8 m² 1/12/2018
30.3% 904 $1,150,000 $3,901 3/3½ 294.8 m² 24/6/2018
403 $1,190,000 $4,037 3/3½ 294.8 m² 24/5/2019
2304 $1,260,000 $4,274 3/3½ 294.8 m² 6/5/2019
605 $1,680,000 $4,335 5/5½ 387.5 m² 5/11/2018
2605 + Sui $2,890,000 $7,458 5/6 387.5 m² 2/4/2019
Histórico de Vendas de Apartamentos no Atlantic One at The Point
2 Bedroom Apartamentos Vendidos em Atlantic One at The Point
33.8% 502 $489,900 $469,900 $1,904 2/2½ 246.8 m² 7/6/2011
11.2% PH 290 $1,190,000 $1,155,000 $3,918 3/3½ 294.8 m² 30/4/2019
13.3% 1404 $1,299,999 $1,270,000 $4,308 3/3½ 294.8 m² 18/12/2018
9.9% 2504 $1,350,000 $1,218,000 $4,132 3/3½ 294.8 m² 5/12/2018
28.5% 2503 $1,180,000 $1,150,000 $3,901 3/3½ 294.8 m² 2/11/2018
9.1% 2303 $1,445,000 $1,275,000 $4,325 3/3½ 294.8 m² 13/2/2018
4.4% 2302 $1,299,000 $1,154,000 $4,545 3/3½ 253.9 m² 21/12/2016
1004 $1,300,000 $1,275,000 $4,325 3/3½ 294.8 m² 8/8/2016
9.1% 403 $850,000 $835,000 $2,832 3/3½ 294.8 m² 10/9/2015
904 $1,300,000 $1,250,000 $4,240 3/3½ 294.8 m² 19/9/2014
2203 $1,449,000 $1,335,000 $4,528 3/3½ 294.8 m² 5/11/2012
11.2% 404 $585,000 $540,000 $1,832 3/3½ 294.8 m² 21/10/2011
1.1% 1502 $904,990 $860,000 $3,485 3/3½ 246.8 m² 20/10/2011
2404 $1,149,000 $952,000 $3,229 3/3½ 294.8 m² 31/8/2011
702 $950,000 $850,000 $3,348 3/3½ 253.9 m² 9/8/2011
18.2% 403 $511,000 $511,000 $1,733 3/3 294.8 m² 28/4/2011
3.2% 2104 $1,350,000 $1,200,000 $4,104 3/3 292.4 m² 15/7/2010
8.0% PH04 $1,195,000 $1,075,000 $3,647 3/3½ 294.8 m² 23/10/2009
1404 $1,100,000 $970,000 $3,290 3/3½ 294.8 m² 23/10/2009
15.1% 2303 $1,099,000 $900,000 $3,053 3/3½ 294.8 m² 2/7/2009
603 $599,900 $605,000 $2,052 3/3½ 294.8 m² 19/6/2009
8.7% 2702 $1,049,000 $987,000 $3,999 3/3½ 246.8 m² 10/10/2008
702 $1,035,000 $1,000,000 $3,939 3/3 253.9 m² 18/7/2006
704 $1,025,000 $975,000 n/a 3/3½ n/a 5/6/2006
2004 $1,150,000 $970,000 $3,273 4/3 296.4 m² 6/6/2008
90.8% 605 $1,750,000 $1,550,000 $4,000 5/5½ 387.5 m² 8/6/2018
7.7% PH1-28 $2,399,000 $2,275,000 $5,901 5/5½ 385.5 m² 20/3/2018
2.5% 705 $1,949,000 $1,859,700 $4,799 5/5½ 387.5 m² 15/4/2016
905 $2,065,055 $1,860,000 $4,800 5/5½ 387.5 m² 21/12/2015
0.1% PH 1 $1,893,000 $1,760,000 $4,544 5/5½ 387.3 m² 15/2/2013
11.0% PH2705 $1,775,000 $1,652,000 $4,263 5/5½ 387.5 m² 3/11/2010
13.6% 701 $1,550,000 $1,430,000 $3,692 5/5½ 387.3 m² 15/4/2010
405 $970,200 $975,000 $2,516 5/5½ 387.5 m² 20/11/2009
19.2% 2001 $1,899,000 $1,675,000 $4,325 5/5½ 387.3 m² 24/5/2007
405 $1,817,000 $1,768,000 $4,586 5/5½ 385.5 m² 6/7/2006
Zilbert notes on Atlantic One at The Point
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With its colourful islands, mesmerizing culture, and idyllic nature, the Aloha State has always been an otherworldly place. As the meeting point of the Pacific world, it has always played an important role in human history. For centuries, the islands served, not only as a bridge between continents, but also as a melting pot for many cultures.
Today, Hawaii is viewed as an ideal destination for quality living by people around the world. The Town of Aina Le’a, is offering the citizens of the world a golden opportunity to become a part of this dream and own a precious piece of Hawaii at the newest and most lively neighborhood of the Big island.
In real estate, luxury is beyond location and physical amenities. It is a pleasant experience that makes people feel sophisticated, serene, and special. With meticulous attention to detail, Aina Le’a created a master-planned community for the affluent people who will use it.
Consisting residential units, retail areas, a clubhouse, and lakes and parks, Aina Le’a is more than a residential project. It is a diligently-planned urban community, which has already begun to attract families that appreciate a style of living with unmatched comfort and elegance.
A`ohe hana nui ka alu`ia.
There is a beautiful saying in Hawaii: No task is too big when done together. From its inception to its completion, collaboration with locals and respect to nature have shaped every detail of Aina Le’a.
The vision of Aina Le’a is to bring together the modern civil design techniques and state-of-the-art green energy technologies with the cultural heritage of the Island of Hawaii.
Similarly, by working together with the County of Hawaii, Aina Le’a has established a condominium division for the local residents of the Island as well. Moreover, from their names to their values, every community within the Town of Aina Le’a will carry the Aloha spirit.
A message from our chairman
Hawaii is more than heaven on earth. It is a strategic investment location, an inter-continental meeting point. Here, Asian, American, European and Native Polynesian cultures blend harmoniously. Every visitor feels at home here, and a great many of them actually decide to have a home here.
People around the world want to own a piece of this paradise, and the Gold Coast of the Big Island in particular, has become a magnet for the global elite. It is an ideal location for high-end real estate investment plans. That said, currently, a residential community does not exist on these precious lands. When we started to develop the Town of Aina Le’a program, our dream was to create an actual living space, a real town in this wonderful part of the island and therefore, we consider ourselves very lucky to have acquired such a strategically valuable project site to work with.
It is truly, our privilege to contribute to the development of such a special corner of planet Earth. Aina Le’a offers a great opportunity for global entrepreneurs to join us in building a community where wealthy people from around the world will own property, live here full-time and enjoy the benefits of the Big Island life all year long. Working in beautiful Hawaii, creating meaning and value for the future, and doing this with partners from both sides of the Pacific is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. On behalf of my crew and our Hawaiian friends who support our efforts, I welcome you to Aina Le’a.
Mahalo.
Robert Wessels
Aina Le’a Inc. – Chairman and CEO
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About Alex Miller
Alex's books
Alex on writing
Alex Miller
Alex Miller's twelfth novel, The Passage of Love, published in 2017, is his most autobiographical novel yet, an ambitious story of the writer's early struggles and loves from the vantage of old age.
Alex is twice winner of Australia's premier literary prize, the Miles Franklin Literary Award, first in 1993 for The Ancestor Game and again in 2003 for Journey to the Stone Country. He is an overall winner of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize, in 1993 for The Ancestor Game. His fifth novel Conditions of Faith won the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction in the 2001 NSW Premier's Awards. In 2011 he won this award for the second time with his novel Lovesong. In 2007 Landscape of Farewell was published to wide critical acclaim and in 2008 won the Chinese Annual Foreign Novels 21st Century Award for Best Novel and the Manning Clark Medal for an outstanding contribution to Australian cultural life. Following the publication of Autumn Laing he was awarded the prestigious Melbourne Prize for Literature in 2012. His novel, Coal Creek, won the 2014 Victorian Premier's Literary Award. The Simplest Words a collection of short pieces of fiction and non-fiction was published in 2015. Alex is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities and a recipient of the Centenary Medal for an outstanding contribution to Australian cultural life. Alex is published internationally and widely in translation. Read more...
Click here to see some pictures from Alex's personal collection
'A thoughtful autobiographical work by an award-winning Australian novelist…traces themes of art and commitment through Crofts' relationships with three women. Miller pulls back from the narrative several times in interludes that return to the first person of the much older man and highlight how memory has many layers. A rich addition to the growing shelf of autofiction from a seasoned storyteller.' Kirkus, starred review. Read more...
Watch the trailer for The Passage of Love
Visit allenandunwin.com
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Gallery » E » El Greco
« Goback 3 / 25 Forward »
Title: Opening of the Fifth Seal
El Greco (1541-1614)
Opening of the Fifth Seal
Oil on canvas, 1608–1614
224.8 cm × 199.4 cm (88.5 in × 78.5 in)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, USA
The Opening of the Fifth Seal (or The Fifth Seal of the Apocalypse or The Vision of Saint John) was painted in the last years of El Greco's life for a side-altar of the church of Saint John the Baptist outside the walls of Toledo. Before 1908 El Greco's painting was referred to as Profane Love. Cossio had doubts about the title and suggested the Opening of the Fifth Seal. The Metropolitan Museum, the painting is kept, comments: "the picture is unfinished and much damaged and abraded."
The very subject is taken from the Book of Revelation (6:9-11), the souls of persecuted martyrs cry out to God for justice upon their persecutors on earth. The ecstatic figure of St. John dominates the canvas, while behind him naked souls writhe in a chaotic storm of emotion as they receive white robes of salvation.
The upper portion of the canvas appears to have been considerably cut down (it was destroyed in 1880). This lost upper portion may have resembled that of another altarpiece, the Concert of Angels, painted by El Greco for the same church, and also cut off. Many believed that the bottom section, which has been preserved, depicted profane love, while the missing upper part depicted divine love.
In the 19th century, the painting was owned by Antonio Cánovas del Castillo, Prime Minister of Spain. Dissatisfied with the poor condition of the work, he had it "restored" around 1880. The restorators actually trimmed it by at least 175 centimetres (68.9 in), leaving John the Evangelist emphatically pointing no. It was this strange quirk in composition that perhaps intrigued modern viewers the most and contributed to the painting's fame in modernist circles.
After Cánovas' death in 1897, the painting was sold for 1,000 pesetas to Ignacio Zuloaga, a painter who was instrumental in reviving European interest in El Greco. The painting may be seen in the background of his work Mis amigos, representing several notable members of the Generation of '98. Zuloaga is known to have demonstrated the painting to Pablo Picasso and Rainer Maria Rilke. He declared it as possessing a "visionary power" that made it a "precursor of modernism". In 1956, the Zuloaga Museum sold this artwork to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, it is on exhibit today.
It has been suggested that the Opening of the Fifth Seal served as an inspiration for the early Cubist works of Pablo Picasso, especially Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, which mirrors the expressionistic angularity of the painting. When Picasso was working on Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, he visited his friend Zuloaga in his studio in Paris and studied El Greco's Opening of the Fifth Seal. The relation between Les Demoiselles d'Avignon and the Opening of the Fifth Seal was pinpointed in the early 1980s, when the stylistic similarities and the relationship between the motifs of both works were analysed. Art historian Ron Johnson was the first to focus on the relationship between the two paintings. According to John Richardson, a British art historian, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon "turns out to have a few more answers to give once we realize that the painting owes at least as much to El Greco as Cézanne".
Efi Foundoulaki insists on the "activity of the triangle Picasso-Cézanne-El Greco, which is established in Les Demoiselles d'Avignon". Foundoulaki analyzes the Opening of the Fifth Seal and states that the clothed figure in the left part of the painting and the naked figures to the right showed the contradiction between profane and divine love. According to Rolf Laesse, this may have been the original inspiration of Picasso who in a preliminary drawing of the Demoiselles depicted a medical student holding a skull or a book and entering a room there is a sailor among nude women. Richardson, however, conjectures that Picasso knew the interpretation by Cossio concerning the Opening of the Fifth Seal and based his theory extensively on this conjecture.
Richardson and Foundoulaki emphasize on the morphological parallels between the Opening of the Fifth Seal and Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, and explore the Picasso-Cézanne-El Greco relationship. Foundoulaki asserts that there is a similarity of shape and that Picasso ingeniously repeated the game with the |V and the inverted triangles of El Greco, something he had already begun in The Villagers. According to Foundoulaki, "the dialogue Picasso inaugurated with El Greco in Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, by means of Cézanne, is carried on in Cubism". Richardson sees the Apocalypse in El Greco's Opening of the Fifth Seal as the catalyst which showed Picasso how to harness the spiritual energy of a great religious artist to his own demonic ends. According to Richardson, Picasso followed this apocalyptic vision his whole life.
Ludwig, Count von Löwenstein
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Which roles are played by Cloris Leachman | Characters played by Cloris Leachman
Cloris Leachman has played the role of Herself - Nominee: Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role in 11th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards TV Film released in 2005.
Herself in 13th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards TV Film released in 2007.
Herself in 2009 Game Show Awards TV Film released in 2009.
Herself in 50 Years of Funny Females TV Film released in 1995.
Victoria Douglas in A Brand New Life TV Film released in 1973.
Old Mam Hawes in A Girl Named Sooner TV Film released in 1975.
Edwina 'Ed' McKevin in A Little Piece of Heaven TV Film released in 1991.
Gnorga in A Troll in Central Park Film released in 1994.
Mary Ann in Adult World Film released in 2013.
Maggie Dale in Advice to the Lovelorn TV Film released in 1981.
Herself in AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Mel Brooks TV Film released in 2013.
Herself in AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Meryl Streep TV Film released in 2004.
Grandmother in Alex & Emma Film released in 2003.
Herself in America Salutes Richard Rodgers: The Sound of His Music TV Film released in 1976.
Sandy in American Cowslip Film released in 2009.
Aunt Agnes in Annabelle's Wish Video released in 1997.
Actress in Baby, Baby, Baby Film released in 2015.
Grandma in Bad Santa Film released in 2003.
Old Woman on Plane and Bus in Beavis and Butt-Head Do America Film released in 1996.
Great Gam Gam in Beerfest Film released in 2006.
Archival in Betty White's 2nd Annual 90th Birthday TV Film released in 2013.
Anna Collura in Between Love and Honor TV Film released in 1995.
Fran Sato in Blind Alleys TV Film released in 1985.
Herself in Brando TV Film released in 2007.
Herself in Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age Film released in 2016.
Agnes in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Film released in 1969.
Herself in Buzz Film released in 2005.
Dancing Nightclub Patron - Vaughn Monroe sequence in Carnegie Hall Film released in 1947.
Herself in Castle in the Sky: Character Sketches Video released in 2010.
Herself in Castle in the Sky: Creating 'Castle in the Sky' Video released in 2010.
Herself in Castle in the Sky: The World of Laputa Video released in 2010.
Dorothy Mantooth in Champ Kind vs. Dorothy Mantooth Video released in 2014.
Nettie Appleby in Charley and the Angel Film released in 1973.
Narrator in Cities for People TV Film released in 1975.
Herself in Comedy Central Roast of Bob Saget TV Film released in 2008.
Melba in Crazy Mama Film released in 1975.
Hilary Kelton in Crime Club TV Film released in 1973.
Mrs. Ezra Miller in Daisy Miller Film released in 1974.
Charlotte Raynor in Deadly Intentions TV Film released in 1985.
Mrs. Singleton in Death Scream TV Film released in 1975.
Susan Davies in Death Sentence TV Film released in 1974.
Anna Sage in Dillinger Film released in 1973.
Sister Eugenio in Dixie: Changing Habits TV Film released in 1983.
Herself in Donald Duck's 50th Birthday TV Film released in 1984.
Aunt Agatha/Aunt Sofia in Double, Double Toil and Trouble TV Film released in 1993.
Jean Mitchell in Dying Room Only TV Film released in 1973.
Herself in Eight Characters in Search of a Sitcom Video released in 2003.
Mary Kovacs in Ernie Kovacs: Between the Laughter TV Film released in 1984.
Annie in Expecting Mary Film released in 2010.
Ruth in Fade to Black TV Film released in 1993.
Grandma Gladys Gibson in Family Dinner Video released in 2009.
Ruth Fine in Fine Things TV Film released in 1990.
Brand X Lunch Lady in Foodfight! Film released in 2012.
Samantha in Foolin' Around Film released in 1980.
Martha Berry in Forgotten Children TV Film released in 1952.
Kayo in Gake no ue no Ponyo Film released in 2008.
Grandma Merle in Gambit Film released in 2012.
Helga Kleinman in Gen�� Video released in 2000.
Mrs. Haldane in Going to the Chapel Film released in 1988.
Pat Mozell in Hanging Up Film released in 2000.
The Witch in Hansel and Gretel Film released in 1987.
Ronda in Happy Mother's Day, Love George Film released in 1973.
Ellen Blunt in Haunts of the Very Rich TV Film released in 1972.
Aunt Louise in Herbie Goes Bananas Film released in 1980.
Nurse Diesel in High Anxiety Film released in 1977.
Madame Defarge in History of the World: Part I Film released in 1981.
Claire Stevens in Hitchhike! TV Film released in 1974.
Ruth Westerman in In Broad Daylight TV Film released in 1991.
Maxine in Is That a Gun in Your Pocket? Film released in 2015.
Clara Oddbody in It Happened One Christmas TV Film released in 1977.
Herself in James Dean: Forever Young Film released in 2005.
Christina Bailey in Kiss Me Deadly Film released in 1955.
Lulu Ames in Ladies of the Corridor TV Film released in 1975.
Sadie Bickerman in Lake Placid 2 TV Film released in 2007.
Laura Casella in Long Journey Back TV Film released in 1978.
Ruth Weaver in Love Hurts Film released in 1990.
Mrs. Anglin in Love Is Never Silent TV Film released in 1985.
Miss Hattie Clarence in Love Takes Wing TV Film released in 2009.
Bernice Henderson in Lovers and Other Strangers Film released in 1970.
Herself in Making a Scene TV Film released in 2010.
Helen in Manna from Heaven Film released in 2002.
Herself in Mary Tyler Moore: The 20th Anniversary Show TV Film released in 1991.
Doc Betty in Miracle Child TV Film released in 1993.
Agatha Blaine in Miss All-American Beauty TV Film released in 1982.
Herself - Miss Chicago 1946 in Miss America: Beyond the Crown TV Film released in 1994.
Herself in Monty Hall's Variety Hour TV Film released in 1976.
Pearl 'Billie' Schwartz - Tarnower's Sister in Mrs. Harris TV Film released in 2005.
Ruth Rendell in Mrs. R's Daughter TV Film released in 1979.
Herself - Presenter in MTV Video Music Awards 2011 TV Film released in 2011.
Assunta Guaspari in Music of the Heart Film released in 1999.
Maggie The Zombie Expert in My Boyfriend's Back Film released in 1993.
Hydia in My Little Pony: The Movie Film released in 1986.
Olive in Never Too Late Film released in 1996.
Mitzie (segment "Joshua Marston") in New York, I Love You Film released in 2008.
Herself - Guest in NFL Players Association Awards Dinner TV Film released in 1973.
Laura Evans in Nobody's Girls: Five Women of the West Film released in 1995.
Grandma Albertson in Now and Then Film released in 1995.
Mary Turner in Of Thee I Sing TV Film released in 1972.
Tillie Schaefer in Pete 'n' Tillie TV Film released in 1974.
Herself in Picture This: The Times of Peter Bogdanovich in Archer City, Texas Film released in 1991.
Mrs. McFarland in Prancer Film released in 1989.
Assunta Guaspari in Premio Donostia a Meryl Streep TV Film released in 2008.
Frau Bl?cher in Role Model: Gene Wilder TV Film released in 2008.
Molly Brown in S.O.S. Titanic TV Film released in 1979.
Mrs. Norris in Scary Movie 4 Film released in 2006.
Mildred Carruthers in Scavenger Hunt Film released in 1979.
Herself - Performer in Screen Actors Guild 50th Anniversary Celebration TV Film released in 1984.
Millie Crown in Shadow Play Film released in 1986.
Herself in She Turned the World on with Her Smile: The Making of 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show' Video released in 2002.
Ginny in Silent Night, Lonely Night TV Film released in 1969.
Nurse Spex in Sky High Film released in 2005.
Laura Hyatt in Someone I Touched TV Film released in 1975.
Evelyn Wright in Spanglish Film released in 2004.
Herself in Speechless TV Film released in 2008.
Pamela Beale in Spies TV Film released in 1992.
Joanne Hackett in Suddenly Single TV Film released in 1971.
Herself - Cameo in Super Night at the Super Bowl TV Film released in 1976.
Herself in TCM: Twenty Classic Moments TV Film released in 2014.
Herself in Telly... Who Loves Ya Baby? TV Film released in 1976.
Dola in Tenk� no shiro Rapyuta Film released in 1986.
Ruth Popper in Texasville Film released in 1990.
Herself - Presenter in The 26th Annual Genesis Awards TV Film released in 2012.
Herself - Winner: Best Supporting Actress in Comedy and Nominee: Best Lead Actress in a Drama in The 26th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards TV Film released in 1974.
Herself - Presenter in The 28th Annual Tony Awards TV Film released in 1974.
Herself in The 2nd Annual TV Land Awards TV Film released in 2004.
Herself - Nominated: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama or Comedy Special in The 30th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards TV Film released in 1978.
Herself - Presenter: Best Actor in a Play in The 30th Annual Tony Awards TV Film released in 1976.
Herself - Winner: Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program & Nominated: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or a Special in The 36th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards TV Film released in 1984.
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Herself - Presenter in The 42nd Annual Golden Globe Awards TV Film released in 1985.
Herself - Winner: Best Actress in a Supporting Role & Co-Presenter: Short Film, Animated & Live Action in The 44th Annual Academy Awards TV Film released in 1972.
Herself - Presenter: Best Actress in a Supporting Role in The 45th Annual Academy Awards TV Film released in 1973.
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Herself - Winner: Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series and Presenter: Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series in The 50th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards TV Film released in 1998.
Herself - Co-Presenter: Best Supporting Actress in The 52nd Annual Academy Awards TV Film released in 1980.
Herself in The 54th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards TV Film released in 2002.
Herself - Past Winner in The 70th Annual Academy Awards TV Film released in 1998.
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Nurse Betty Nelson in The Acorn People TV Film released in 1981.
Dolly Amati in The Amati Girls Film released in 2000.
Granny in The Beverly Hillbillies Film released in 1993.
Lilian Forrester in The Bronx Bull Film released in 2015.
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Joan Greenway in The Demon Murder Case TV Film released in 1983.
Beverly Ann Stickle in The Facts of Life Down Under TV Film released in 1987.
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Narrator/The Elder Amy in The Giant of Thunder Mountain Film released in 1991.
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Lynette in The Longest Yard Film released in 2005.
Iris Havlicek in The Love Boat TV Film released in 1976.
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Maureen in The Oldest Living Graduate TV Film released in 1980.
Dotty Rounder in The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure Film released in 2012.
Tina Hoffman in The People Next Door Film released in 1970.
Caroline in The Rack Film released in 1956.
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Claire/Aunt Louise in The Walt Disney Comedy and Magic Revue Video released in 1985.
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Grandma Palmer in The Wedding Ringer Film released in 2015.
Maggie in The Women Film released in 2008.
Estelle in This Is Happening Film released in 2015.
Herself in This Is Your Life TV Film released in 1987.
Lois Ellison in Thursday's Game TV Film released in 1974.
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Narrator in Unity Film released in 2015.
Margaret Shand in Walk Like a Man Film released in 1987.
Darla Jean in Willa TV Film released in 1979.
Mrs. Samuels in Without a Kiss Goodbye TV Film released in 1993.
Philomene in WUSA Film released in 1970.
Mrs. Kramer in Yesterday Film released in 1981.
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Frau Bl?cher in Young Frankenstein Film released in 1974.
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Connie Wingate in 77 Sunset Strip TV Series released in 1958.
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Laurie Sherman in A Man Called Shenandoah TV Series released in 1965.
May Lemke in ABC Afterschool Specials TV Series released in 1972.
Judy in Adam-12 TV Series released in 1968.
Old Marceline in Adventure Time with Finn & Jake TV Series released in 2010.
Meg Bent in Alcoa Premiere TV Series released in 1961.
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Herself in American Masters TV Series released in 1985.
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Mrs. Jaffray in Backstairs at the White House TV Series released in 1979.
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Phyllis Lindstrom on 'Mary Tyler Moore' in Biography TV Series released in 1987.
Herself in Biography TV Series released in 1987.
Professor's Mom in Blue Mountain State TV Series released in 2010.
Regular (1952) in Bob and Ray TV Series released in 1951.
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Katie Cortner in Cain's Hundred TV Series released in 1961.
Effie Perrine (1950-1952) in Charlie Wild, Private Detective TV Series released in 1950.
Marilyn Parker in Checkmate TV Series released in 1960.
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Mrs. Sullivan in Climax! TV Series released in 1954.
Anne Colt in Climax! TV Series released in 1954.
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Herself in Cubed TV Series released in 2009.
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Sudie in Diagnosis Murder TV Series released in 1993.
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Nettie Appleby in Disneyland TV Series released in 1954.
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Herself - Guest in Ellen: The Ellen DeGeneres Show TV Series released in 2003.
Herself in Entertainment Tonight TV Series released in 1981.
Herself in Fame, Fortune and Romance TV Series released in 1986.
Herself in Family Guy TV Series released in 1999.
Grandma Margaret in Ferris Bueller TV Series released in 1990.
Herself in Food, Wine & Friends TV Series released in 1979.
Irina Lottye Kruskal in Franklin & Bash TV Series released in 2011.
Anna in Frontier Circus TV Series released in 1961.
Martha in Frontier Justice TV Series released in 1958.
Leah Beth in General Electric Theater TV Series released in 1953.
Miriam Raskin in General Electric Theater TV Series released in 1953.
Mrs. Svorski in Girl Meets World TV Series released in 2014.
Karen Murdock in Going My Way TV Series released in 1962.
Herself - Guest in Good Morning America TV Series released in 1975.
Flory Tibbs in Gunsmoke TV Series released in 1955.
Boni in Gunsmoke TV Series released in 1955.
Lois, Peter's Mother in Happy Family TV Series released in 2003.
Ruth Tennenbaum in Hawaii Five-0 TV Series released in 2010.
Ginny in Hawaiian Eye TV Series released in 1959.
Ms. Lachman in Hawthorne TV Series released in 2009.
Herself in HBO First Look TV Series released in 1992.
Herself in Here's Hollywood TV Series released in 1960.
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Peg in Hot in Cleveland TV Series released in 2010.
Herself - Guest in In the Mix TV Series released in 2005.
Herself in Intimate Portrait TV Series released in 1993.
Molly Strong in Ironside TV Series released in 1967.
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Aunt Olive in Joan of Arcadia TV Series released in 2003.
Jessica Winthrop in Johnny Staccato TV Series released in 1959.
Louise Lockhart in Judd for the Defense TV Series released in 1967.
Herself in Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List TV Series released in 2005.
Herself in Katie TV Series released in 2012.
Shirley Kluszewski in Kirstie TV Series released in 2013.
Joan Lindsay in Kraft Mystery Theater TV Series released in 1959.
Kitty Foyle in Kraft Television Theatre TV Series released in 1953.
Angel Day in Lancer TV Series released in 1968.
Hester in Lancer TV Series released in 1968.
Sarah in Laramie TV Series released in 1959.
Herself - Guest in Larry King Live TV Series released in 1985.
Ruth Martin in Lassie TV Series released in 1954.
Herself - Guest in Late Night with Conan O'Brien TV Series released in 1993.
Ella in Letter to Loretta TV Series released in 1953.
Ruth Harron in Letter to Loretta TV Series released in 1953.
Herself - Guest in Live with Regis and Kathie Lee TV Series released in 1988.
Beverly Lapeer in Love & Money TV Series released in 1999.
Dottie in Lux Video Theatre TV Series released in 1950.
Ida in Malcolm in the Middle TV Series released in 2000.
Barker's Ex-wife in Mannix TV Series released in 1967.
Jean Cullen in Marcus Welby, M.D. TV Series released in 1969.
Phyllis Lindstrom in Mary Tyler Moore TV Series released in 1970.
Claire De Cintre in Matinee Theatre TV Series released in 1955.
Beasy in Maybe This Time TV Series released in 1995.
Dorothy Hummer in Mr. Novak TV Series released in 1963.
Tuppence in Nash Airflyte Theatre TV Series released in 1950.
Mrs. Fulton (segment "You Can't Get Help Like That Anymore") in Night Gallery TV Series released in 1969.
Herself - Guest in One on One with John Tesh TV Series released in 1991.
Miss Temple in Our House TV Series released in 1986.
Maddy in Outlaws TV Series released in 1960.
Gloria Shine in Perry Mason TV Series released in 1957.
Mrs. Feyersied in Phineas and Ferb TV Series released in 2007.
Dr. Doofenshmirtz's Mom in Phineas and Ferb TV Series released in 2007.
Phyllis Lindstrom in Phyllis TV Series released in 1975.
Herself in Pioneers of Television TV Series released in 2008.
Mrs. Fremont in Twilight Zone: It's a Good Life in Pioneers of Television TV Series released in 2008.
Aunt Ethel Mooster in Promised Land TV Series released in 1996.
Maw Maw in Raising Hope TV Series released in 2010.
Maw Maw/Norma June in Raising Hope TV Series released in 2010.
Mary Ann Belden in Rawhide TV Series released in 1959.
Phyllis Lindstrom in Rhoda TV Series released in 1974.
Herself in Rome Is Burning TV Series released in 2003.
Lydia in Route 66 TV Series released in 1960.
Deborah Wilson in Run for Your Life TV Series released in 1965.
Herself - Guest Judge in RuPaul's Drag Race TV Series released in 2009.
Helen Graham in Saints and Sinners TV Series released in 1962.
Irma in Screen Directors Playhouse TV Series released in 1955.
Martha in Shirley Temple's Storybook TV Series released in 1958.
Mildred Rodgers in Somerset Maugham TV Theatre TV Series released in 1950.
Eunice Stocker in Stoney Burke TV Series released in 1962.
Marcy Yates in Storefront Lawyers TV Series released in 1970.
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Georgianna Romani in Sunday Dinner TV Series released in 1991.
Ruth Shaw in Suspense TV Series released in 1949.
Margaret Sou in Suspense TV Series released in 1949.
Betty in Target: The Corruptors TV Series released in 1961.
Molly Brown in Telephone Time TV Series released in 1956.
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Mary Nicholson in The Associates TV Series released in 1979.
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Herself - Guest in The Bonnie Hunt Show TV Series released in 2008.
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Angela Simms in The Defenders TV Series released in 1961.
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Iris in The Donna Reed Show TV Series released in 1958.
Dot Richmond in The Ellen Show TV Series released in 2001.
Beverly Ann Stickle in The Facts of Life TV Series released in 1979.
Dora the Maid in The Ford Theatre Hour TV Series released in 1948.
Helen Wasson in The Frank Sinatra Show TV Series released in 1957.
Vera in The Guns of Will Sonnett TV Series released in 1967.
Herself in The Hollywood Squares TV Series released in 1965.
Herself - Guest in The John Kerwin Show TV Series released in 2001.
Herself - Guest in The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson TV Series released in 2005.
Karen Cooper in The Love Boat TV Series released in 1977.
Lisa Andersen in The Love Boat TV Series released in 1977.
Herself - Guest in The Megan Mullally Show TV Series released in 2006.
Herself - Guest in The Merv Griffin Show TV Series released in 1962.
Herself - Guest in The Mike Douglas Show TV Series released in 1961.
Herself - Actress in The Mike Douglas Show TV Series released in 1961.
Herself - Guest in The Morning Show with Mike & Juliet TV Series released in 2007.
Herself in The Muppet Show TV Series released in 1976.
Vera Walker in The Name of the Game TV Series released in 1968.
Clara Mueller in The Nanny TV Series released in 1993.
Elsie Condon in The New Breed TV Series released in 1961.
Mrs. Beaumont in The Norm Show TV Series released in 1999.
Ms. Frick in The Nutt House TV Series released in 1989.
Ms. Frick/Mrs. Nutt in The Nutt House TV Series released in 1989.
Herself in The O'Reilly Factor TV Series released in 1996.
Lily Hanaday in The Office TV Series released in 2005.
Herself in The Oprah Winfrey Show TV Series released in 1986.
Herself in The Pat Sajak Show TV Series released in 1989.
Jenny Blanchard in The Philco Television Playhouse TV Series released in 1948.
Marianne Dashwood in The Philco Television Playhouse TV Series released in 1948.
Enid Powers in The Powers That Be TV Series released in 1992.
Herself - Guest in The Queen Latifah Show TV Series released in 2013.
Amadee in The Road West TV Series released in 1966.
Herself in The Rosie O'Donnell Show TV Series released in 1996.
Mrs. Glick in The Simpsons TV Series released in 1989.
Judith Eaton in The Sixth Sense TV Series released in 1972.
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Herself - Guest in The Talk TV Series released in 2010.
Herself in The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson TV Series released in 1962.
Herself in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno TV Series released in 1992.
Cat Lady (segment "Cop 'n Kitty") in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno TV Series released in 1992.
Herself - Guest in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno TV Series released in 1992.
Herself - At Elton John's Oscar Party in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno TV Series released in 1992.
Isobel Ballentine in The Trials of O'Brien TV Series released in 1965.
Mrs. Fremont in The Twilight Zone TV Series released in 1959.
Mrs. Mailer n?e Billie Trager in The Untouchables TV Series released in 1959.
Julie Liemer in The Untouchables TV Series released in 1959.
Clara in The Virginian TV Series released in 1962.
Ellen McKinley in The Virginian TV Series released in 1962.
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Beatrice Stafford in Thriller TV Series released in 1960.
Herself in Toast of the Town TV Series released in 1948.
Herself - Guest in Today TV Series released in 1952.
Herself in Tonight Starring Jack Paar TV Series released in 1957.
Herself in Top Gear USA TV Series released in 2010.
Herself in Totally Tracked Down TV Series released in 2010.
Ruth in Touched by an Angel TV Series released in 1994.
Herself - Interviewee in TV Land Confidential TV Series released in 2005.
Herself in TV Land's Top Ten TV Series released in 2004.
Ruth Harper/Miss Storey in Twice in a Lifetime TV Series released in 1999.
Norma in Two and a Half Men TV Series released in 2003.
Loretta in Wagon Train TV Series released in 1957.
Emily Collins in Walter & Emily TV Series released in 1991.
Ann Barchester in Wanted: Dead or Alive TV Series released in 1958.
Herself - Guest in Watch What Happens: Live TV Series released in 2009.
Queen Hippolyta in Wonder Woman TV Series released in 1975.
Martha Jessop in Zane Grey Theater TV Series released in 1956.
Which roles are played by Cloris Leachman, name the characters played by Cloris Leachman, list of roles potrayed by Cloris Leachman
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This Year’s UNESCO Session Was an Insult to World Heritage
A partial view of the world’s largest collection of medieval cross-stones at the cemetery of Djulfa, photographed in the Soviet era (courtesy Argam Ayvazyan archives)
Djulfa, a sacred site for Armenian Christians, is disqualified from consideration because the host of this year’s UNESCO World Heritage Committee session, the government of Azerbaijan, has erased its existence and destroyed tens of thousands of Armenian cultural monuments.
BY SIMON MAGHAKYAN
From Hyperallergic
Moments ago, the global organization for cultural preservation — UNESCO — announced the final list of 29 historical and natural wonders that have now officially joined the ranks of the Pyramids and Grand Canyon as World Heritage Sites. But the celebrated site of Djulfa, which boasted the world’s largest collection of exquisitely-carved medieval cross-stones as remnants of the area’s once-thriving community of Armenian Christians, was not among the 35 candidates vying for World Heritage Site designation. The legendary historical site is disqualified from such an honor, because the host of this year’s UNESCO World Heritage Committee session, the government of Azerbaijan, has erased its existence.
In December 2005, Nshan Topouzian, the leader of north Iran’s Armenian church, posted a chilling video online. An Iranian border patrol had alerted him to the deployment of Azerbaijani troops at Iran’s border with Azerbaijan, where Djulfa had stood for centuries. The tearful Bishop rushed to videotape over 100 Azerbaijani soldiers armed with sledgehammers, dump trucks, and cranes as they destroyed the sacred site, pounding the intricately carved sacred medieval headstones into rubble and then dumping their pulverized remains into the river. Within weeks, thousands of sacred stones, which had memorialized numerous medieval Armenian merchants — a community whose legacies include Europe’s first cafés and Captain Kidd’s pirated loot — had disappeared. This erasure is part of a state-sanctioned war on history that is arguably the worst act of cultural cleansing of the 21st-century. Yet unlike the cultural crimes of ISIS or the Taliban, few have heard of it.
As Sarah Pickman and I exposed in an investigative report in February, Azerbaijan’s destruction of Djulfa was the grand finale in a broader campaign. Between 1997 and 2006, the authoritarian regime in Azerbaijan worked systematically to demolish every trace of medieval Armenian Christianity in the region called Nakhichevan (formally called the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic). The final toll included 89 medieval churches, 5,840 cross-stones — half of which were at Djulfa, and 22,000 tombstones. One of the churches erased was the majestic Saint Thomas cathedral of Agulis, originally founded as a chapel in the 1st century and one of the oldest churches in the world. According to official Azerbaijan, none of these 28,000 monuments were destroyed: they never existed to begin with.
As the preeminent organization charged with protecting global heritage, UNESCO was expected to speak out to prevent Azerbaijan’s erasure of Nakhichevan’s Armenian past. Instead, UNESCO has not only avoided a public condemnation of this destruction but also praised Azerbaijan as a “land of tolerance.” The cooperation between UNESCO and Azerbaijan became strong in 2013 after the latter donated $5 million to the cash-strapped organization. In 2011, after Washington cut a quarter of UNESCO’s budget due to member states’ vote in favor of Palestinian membership, the organization had to seek alternative funding.
Undoubtedly, UNESCO conducts vital operations across the world. Its different arms oversee the designation of cultural and natural World Heritage Sites, educate children, empower women, and serve vulnerable communities around the globe. The 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, an important international treaty, is one of many lasting legacies of the organization.
Underfunded international organizations cannot be too picky about their donors. Resourceful countries with questionable motives know this all too well, which is why Azerbaijan has made its courting of UNESCO a top foreign policy priority. An exiled Azerbaijani dissident historian, Arif Yunus, thinks that his government’s obsession with receiving UNESCO’s approval has more to do with domestic than international politics. “Nothing projects the Aliyev dictatorship’s power to Azerbaijani dissidents,” Yunus told me last year, “like committing cultural genocide in Nakhichevan then showering in international praises of tolerance.”
But others explain the destruction through the lens of ethnic conflict. Following the USSR’s sudden dissolution in 1991, Djulfa — along with the wider Nakhichevan region — became an exclave of independent Azerbaijan. By then, Nakhichevan’s indigenous Armenian population had dwindled to zero. This fate was precisely what the Armenian-majority population of another autonomy within Soviet Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh, had wished to avoid by seeking independence. That led to the early 1990s Armenian-Azerbaijani war, which Azerbaijan lost.
Having lost territories and amassed refugees, Azerbaijan’s narrative blames every problem and criticism alike on “Armenian occupiers.” According to official Azerbaijan, Armenians’s latest plot is fabricating destruction of imaginary monuments for the purpose of laying new territorial claims. “Absolutely false” fabrication by “the Armenian lobby.” That is how, in April 2006, Azerbaijan’s president berated a confirmation of Djulfa’s destruction by a now-exiled journalist. Another dissident, the famous Azerbaijani novelist Akram Aylisli, has been under house arrest in Baku since 2013 for the crime of authoring Stone Dreams, a novel that pays homage to the vanished Armenian past of Aylisli’s native Nakhichevan.
Whether UNESCO should altogether sever its ties with an oil-rich country that destroyed 28,000 cultural monuments may be up for debate. But hosting the world’s top preservation summit in that country crosses a red line. The cruel irony of UNESCO hosting the World Heritage Committee session in Azerbaijan this week is nothing short of an insult to all world heritage.
ardachece barseghian - July 9, 2019 said:
Decidedly, Mrs Azoulay, at the head of this institution is unworthy of her appointment and function which suggests that the strong corruption of the petro dollars has also subordinated her, which is seriously reprehensible so she must escape from this institution at the top of the preservation of the culture and education of humanity
GB - July 9, 2019 said:
The world corruption will end up with destruction of mankind!
ardachece barseghian - July 10, 2019 said:
I believe that our President Sarkissian must request a hearing in URGENCE and make a strong reclamation or even a severe protest OFFICIAL
Edward Minaei - July 10, 2019 said:
It’s so absurd and sad that even an organization such as UNESCO accepts corrupt government’s bribes in expanse of what is important to do.
Because of this the world has lost a one of a kind historic place.
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Fighting Words: Home Cooks vs. Chefs, Who Makes The Best Gumbo In Chicago?!
Photo via Oprah.com.
Uh oh. Look what Frontier's Brian Jupiter has started.
The chef, who happens to be a Bayou native, has thrown down the gauntlet to see who brings the fire when it comes to the best gumbo in the Windy City. His first-ever Gumbo Cook-Off occurs Sunday, Nov. 17 at 2pm (during the Saints vs. 49ers game) at the restaurant.
And while the likes of Hugo's Frog Bar, SmallBar and Tavern on Rush will be competing, there will be some amateur cooks in the mix as well.
To get in on the action—if you think you've got what it takes—send an email right here with your name, recipe and photo of the dish by Nov. 1. Those invited to compete will go up against some of the best chefs in the city.
The gumbo will be judged by a public vote at the event, and three winners will receive cash prizes of $500, $200 and $100 for first, second and third places. Judging will occur at halftime of the game, and winners will be announced at the end of the game (around 6pm).
In addition to tasting up to 12 varieties of gumbo that day, guests will also get to indulge in a number of food and drink specials, including $13 shrimp Po'Boys, $10 red beans and rice with grilled Andouille sausage, $9 Gumbo Ya Ya and $10 roast beef Po'Boys.
Served deliciously by 312 Dining Diva at 4:38 PM
Fighting Words: Home Cooks vs. Chefs, Who Makes Th...
Michael Kornick's County Barbeque Offers Relief Fo...
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May 29 2015 May 29, 2015 June 17, 2015 by Juan McGuinness
Juan’s Top 10 Players Past Their Peak
Posted in Top 10 List
For this top 10 list I’ve looked at players who I think are most likely to find 2015 just one season too far and fall away from their previous heights.
It’s a gut feel top 10 with an eye on the salary they take home being a factor as to their value versus their returns. All of these players are stars of the NFL and have been producing at a high level for a number of years and most haven’t yet shown that they’re completely spent. I have gone for guys who I think are pushing their bodies just one year too far and this will turn out to be a disappointment and possibly their last year.
I hope I’m wrong as I’d happily pay to watch them play in 2016.
Counting down from number 10 here we go…
10. Larry Fitzgerald
One of the best receivers in the league for years his recent numbers, including only 2 touchdown receptions in 2014, have been declining in a Cardinals team that has otherwise proved to be quite successful. Recently signed to a multi year deal guaranteeing some big money I’m not sure his performances in 2015 will support this contract. At 31 he should still have a couple of years left in the tank but if he is taking up a lot of cap room he will need to show that he earns it sooner rather than later.
9.Adam Vinatieri
Despite being voted into the top 100 NFL players by his peers, father time has to catch up with Vinatieri soon. With more and more being asked of kickers in both distance and accuracy on FG’s and PAT’s I think the Colts will be looking towards a cheaper more long term option after this season. I mean the guy has kicked competitively around 2500 times, there is no way his hamstrings and other leg muscles are in tip top shape with that repetition over the last 20 years although he hasn’t been on kick off duties since 2008.
8. RGIII
After such a fantastic start to his career it’s all gone terribly wrong for RGIII. Unlike most of this list he is still young enough to have a second chance but I think he’s already past his peak. As a mobile quarterback he’s suffered too many injuries to keep that style going and hasn’t adapted to improve his pocket passing game. I can see him finishing the season on the bench and his career as a starter or franchise player all but ending by week 16.
7. Antonio Gates
Antonio will be 35 when the 2015 season starts which is clocking on for tight ends, even fountain of youth sipper Tony Gonzalez started to think heavily about retirement at that age. His connection with Phillip Rivers has been a major plus point for the Chargers over the last decade but they can’t keep relying upon the combination to win them games and I think this will be the season where Gates drops off from being Rivers’ go to receiver.
6. Peyton Manning
Write him off at your peril? Even operating at 75% of Peyton Manning’s normal levels would put him above the Dalton scale but the tail end of the 2014 season suggested that Manning couldn’t keep up his normal standards for 16 games a season. He’ll still go down as one of if not the greatest quarterback of all time and his records will take some beating, he deserves respect simply for coming back from neck surgery and playing at a level most players can only dream of but like most of this list he just can’t beat old age. I think it’s widely accepted that this is one last roll of the dice at getting a SuperBowl but this is looking like coming up as a bust.
5. Carson Palmer
Has enjoyed a rebirth akin to the name of the town in which he now plays the past couple of seasons when on the pitch, however that is also the main reason why he’s made this list. After being dumped out of Cincinnati and being unfortunate enough to land at the Raiders during some of their worst seasons it seems the curse has followed him to his knee now he’s blessed with one of the toughest defences in football on his side. At 35 time would be running out for him anyways but after his injury plagued past few seasons I can’t see Carson returning to the levels he had at the start of 2014 and sadly I don’t see him playing beyond next season.
4. Anquan Boldin
A fantastic piece of business two seasons ago by the 49er’s to pick up the tough veteran WR to add to an exciting array of offensive weapons, he delivered with 2 1000+ yard seasons in the twilight years of his career. Now with the 49er’s decimated as a team with players retiring left and right it looks like too much pressure to be placed on Boldin’s aging shoulders. With the best will in the world I can’t see him producing anywhere near the numbers he has done in the past 2 years and having had 12 tough seasons as the possession receiver maybe an easy life in retirement would be an easier choice than fighting it out for a team rebuilding.
3. Frank Gore
A San Francisco warhorse who has come to the end of his run as a top level running back. His body has seen 11,000+ hard yards over the past 10 seasons in the NFL and at the wrong side of 30 the move to the Colts looks like being a good final pay day for Gore but not the numbers on the field to match it. I wasn’t sure about putting Gore this high up the list as he is a beast of a man and the Colts have a great offence but there’s only so many miles on every running backs meter and the Colts have broken their fair share of backs in recent years, it’s a combination I can’t see working in 2015.
2. Drew Brees
Probably my most controversial choice in both making the list and placing him this high on the list. I’ve always had a soft spot for this guy ever since he was struggling on San Diego and I loved watching him play at Wembley the year the Saints won the Superbowl. The guy is gunslinger that makes Brett Favre look conservative and you’ve got to watch this YouTube video to appreciate just how accurate he can be. But…. and it’s a big but…. he’s 36, earning more in salary than any other NFL player by a considerable margin and he’s just lost his #1 receiver in the off season. Last year was statistically great for Brees but not great for the Saints winning games and I think after this year New Orleans will be moving on.
1. Wes Welker
Currently still a free agent after an injury plagued 2014 season and question marks over his future due to lingering concussion fears. God bless him he’s probably the leagues greatest underdog, or he was until he went to the Bronco’s and became the guy with the giant helmet. At 34 I think one more season is too much to ask of his body in such a high impact position of slot receiver, if a team does decide to pick him up I can’t see him producing anywhere near the same numbers as he has in the past, but part of me hopes he does and it’s against Denver.
That’s all folks, if you agree or disagree strongly with these choices then please let us know @3legs4thdown or @Rhumsaa I look forward to hearing from you
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RazorsKiss on the Christian God as the Basis of Knowledge – Part 5: Exodus 3:14
In his interrogation of Mitch LeBlanc, presuppositional apologist RazorsKiss (“RK” hereafter) immediately drew attention to a statement found in Exodus 3:14:
God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you’.”
It is not clear from his own statements why RK deemed it important to bicker with LeBlanc over the significance of this passage, unless it was to demonstrate LeBlanc’s own supposed ignorance of the historical meaning of the “I AM” clause, which by itself would have no relevance to the thesis which RK has elected to defend.
Now some Christian apologists claim that this passage contains biblical affirmation of the law of identity, a fundamental law of logic, in the clause “I AM WHO I AM.” Gary Crampton, for instance, makes the following statement:
Also fixed in Scripture are the two other principle laws of logic: the law of indentity (A is A) and the law of the excluded middle (A is either B or non-B). The former is taught in Exodus 3:14, in the name of God itself: “I AM WHO I AM.” And the latter is found, for example, in the words of Christ: “He who is not with Me is against Me” (Luke 11:23). [SIC] (The Westminster Confession of Faith and Logic)
I do not know whether or not RK holds the view which Crampton expresses here regarding Exodus 3:14, but there are some points to be made against it.
First of all, the passage in which the “I AM” clause is found does not identify what it states as a fundamental law of logic. (I’m assuming that Crampton means the law of identity, for I have never heard of a logical law known as “indentity” – perhaps this is a principle which copyists used in reproducing ancient manuscripts.) For that matter, the bible nowhere speaks intelligibly of logic as an epistemological method. The claim that this passage conveys a divinely inspired statement of a fundamental principle of logic, is a blatant case of trying to assimilate legitimate philosophical principles into a Christian context and back-fill them with Christian presuppositions. The law of identity is axiomatic, so it’s not as if we need an invisible magic being to communicate it to us, or to “make it true” (which would simply abrogate the objectivity of the law in the first place).
Moreover, logic as a method of inferring and validating new knowledge is anathema to what the bible does promote as the believer’s source of knowledge. RK himself pointed to what he calls the “sensus divinitatus” as the faculty by which the believer presumably acquires knowledge. Transmission of “knowledge” from the beyond into one’s mind by supernatural means is not a function of logic; reception of “knowledge” via the “sensus divinitatus” is characterized as a passive process, while scrutinizing the logical integrity of knowledge claims is an active process. Also, to suppose that one must submit the deliverances of the “sensus divinitatus” to the tribunal of logical evaluation in order to determine their validity or truth value, would only suggest that logic is higher than the source of such deliverances. This would be an expression of “autonomous reasoning,” i.e., taking something other than the revelation of the Christian god as “the ultimate reference point” in one’s development of his knowledge, and presuppositionalism scorns “autonomous reasoning” as the fount of all sin. As presuppositionalist Richard Pratt puts it:
This, then, is the essence of sin: man’s rebellion against recognizing his dependence on God in everything and the assumption of his ability to be independent of God. (Every Thought Captive, p. 29)
Logic, of course, requires intellectual liberty. It requires that the mind be free to follow logic wherever it leads him, regardless of who disapproves. This means that logic is not possible apart from the precondition of independence, the very value which the presuppositionalist notion of “autonomous reasoning” is intended to vilify. Ayn Rand put this principle succinctly when she wrote:
These two—reason and freedom—are corollaries, and their relationship is reciprocal: when men are rational, freedom wins; when men are free, reason wins. (“Faith and Force: The Destroyers of the Modern World,” Philosophy: Who Needs It, p. 66)
Those who scorn the value of independence, scorn reason, scorn logic, and scorn man as a rational animal. This attitude is not difficult to find in the Christian worldview by any means. In Christianity, the disposition desired of the believer is that he take whatever his god tells him unquestioningly. The believer is not to question what he believes his god has told him, regardless of how his god has presumably communicated to him. Greg Bahnsen himself makes point this clear when he tells us that his god’s “word and character are not questionable” (Van Til’s “Presuppositionalism”).
Submitting statements which are said to have proceeded from the mouth of one’s god to tests intended to determine whether or not they are logical, is not an action indicative of the position which rejects independent thought. So if the believer gets his knowledge of the truth from an allegedly divine source, such as the so-called “sensus divinitatus,” then on what basis can he affirm logic as an arbiter of true knowledge, except he compartmentalize his god-beliefs and borrows from an epistemology which assumes the independence, or “autonomy,” of the human mind as the proper standard for man?
But some will nonetheless insist that this is the bible teaching a fundamental law of logic, in spite of the obvious conflict between logic as a means of testing knowledge claims and presuppositionalism’s overt rejection of “autonomous reasoning,” i.e., the position which does not accept assertions attributed by Christianity to the Christian god unquestioningly. The problem with this, however, is that the statement “I AM WHO I AM” could, at best, be an application of the law of identity, not an explicit statement of the law of identity as such. Certainly the statement assumes the law of identity, but all intelligible statements in fact do this, not just the clause found in Exodus 3:14. Exodus 3:14 is nothing unique.
Even worse for Crampton, the statement “I AM WHO I AM” could not be a statement isolating the law of identity, for it is restricted to a specific unit (one which is specified by the personal pronoun “I”), while the law of identity is open-ended (i.e., universal), and thus not restricted to a specific unit, but applicable to any and all units, whether persons, places, or things. The clause “I AM WHAT I AM” is, to put it mildly, far too narrow in its scope of reference to constitute a statement of the law of identity as such. It is because the law of identity is universal in its scope of reference that it is is customarily stated in the form of an equation using an open-ended term, e.g., A is A. For this reason, the clause in Exodus 3:14 cannot legitimately be taken an explicit statement of the law of identity as such, for the universality of the law is not entailed by “I AM WHO I AM.” And while the statement “I AM WHO I AM” can by rightly and logically uttered by anyone who can speak, such as actually existing persons (such as human beings), the law of identity applies not only to animate objects, but also to inanimate objects.
Lastly, in the case of the biblical passage, the statement “I AM WHO I AM” has simply been inserted by an author into the mouth of a storybook character, so ascribing the origin of the law of identity to a person who proclaims it a law (as if the law of identity could be legislated by an act of will) simply reduces to subjectivism.
Posted by Bahnsen Burner at 11:00 PM
Labels: Knowledge, Logic, Presuppositional Gimmickry
Response to MadMax
RazorsKiss on the Christian God as the Basis of Kn...
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Home / John Best's Comment / A modest transit proposal
A modest transit proposal
Posted on April 10, 2017, 3:00 pm
Add to favorites 7 mins
We are now entering the 10th year since the Government of Ontario announced the Move Ontario transit plan that sparked Hamilton’s foray into consideration of LRT. In 2008 Hamilton had just developed its own Transit Master Plan that called for the establishment of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT); as well as introducing what is now known as the city-wide BLAST system. The plan only allowed for the possibility of Light Rail Transit (LRT) at some future date when there was sufficient demand. It was a balanced plan that attempted to address transit needs across the entire city including suburbs.
Somewhere around 2008, the dynamic suddenly changed from an open-ended discussion to an aggressive promotion of LRT over all other modes. Consultants were engaged to drive a public consultation process and a major advertising campaign was launched. From the beginning this process was dominated by lower city interests and persons or groups predisposed towards LRT. Actual attendance at public workshops totalled less than 300 persons. Some 1900 people answered a survey that overwhelmingly supported LRT but only 425 of them identified themselves as regular transit users. 65% of them had not used transit within the last three months. On the strength of what was, arguably superficial public consultation, the two major pieces of today’s transit narrative were set in stone—LRT over BRT and King Street over Main or some other route. It is also interesting and somewhat puzzling to note that the HSR, Hamilton’s transit experts, were largely excluded from this process—a situation that persists right up to the present. A separate office was established to drive the LRT mission in both of the current mayor’s terms in office.
We are being told that we are months away from prequalification of Contractors and the letting of contracts yet the unanswered questions that remain are numerous including:
We still don’t know whether the LRT will operate as a separate entity from the HSR, and therefore we have no way of assessing the financial impact on the HSR when several of its highest revenue – producing routes are eliminated or downgraded.
Aside from the impact on the HSR and the taxpayer, we do not know what will be the operating cost of the LRT and whether Hamilton will be expected to pay all or some of those costs.
It is acknowledged that Hamilton does not have a congestion problem, and that LRT’s primary benefit to Hamilton will be economic uplift. Yet Metrolinx’s King Main Benefits Case’s most optimistic estimate of economic uplift is only about 15% of the Billion dollars annual growth Hamilton has already been recently experiencing.
Hamilton’s transit ridership is declining. The passenger volumes along the B Line corridor are only about a quarter of what most transit experts say is needed to make LRT viable. We have 1100 per hour…the experts say you need 4,000. We need to create a transit culture across the city. That can’t be done by putting all our investment in a single route serving 4 of our 15 wards.
Some LRT supporters are going around saying to councillors, “Will you be the one who said no to the biggest infrastructure investment in the city’s history?”
One could as easily say, “who in their right mind would endorse an expenditure of a billion dollars with so many fundamental unanswered questions, some of them shockingly unanswered at this late date?”
We need better transit in Hamilton and we need and, more importantly, are entitled to provincial investment. Both the Premier and the Transportation Minister have said on the record, “It’s not LRT or nothing”…It’s time to explore that option.
For about half the cost of LRT Hamilton could implement both the “A” and “B” Lines with bus rapid transit and at the same time be able to immediately implement the BLAST network which provides enhanced service where it is most needed – in the fast-growing south mountain and suburbs. The remaining moneys saved could be plowed back into enhanced GO service which many Hamiltonians rely on and many more would use if we had more frequency and service right into Hamilton. All of this could be in place long before LRT would be operating. The argument that the so-called “briefcase crowd” will somehow ride an LRT train when they won’t ride a bus has always been unconvincing to us.
The LRT debate in Hamilton has been driven by a persistent group of people, who however well-meaning at the outset, have allowed a tone of condescension and sometimes outright nastiness to colour the conversation. Too often those opposing LRT have been mocked and even shouted down, as we saw in meetings at Hamilton City Hall over the past year.
Transit’s first function should be to move people around and to help the environment by giving people the option of getting out of their cars. When it has to be justified on grounds like “economic uplift” and more recently sewer and water main renewal we are probably on the wrong track. It’s time to take incremental sensible steps with enhanced bus and BRT service which, in the fullness of time, may actually build the necessary conditions for successful LRT.
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One Comment to: A modest transit proposal
Azher
Your articles raises a number of red herrings. Firstly, you cannot reasonably create “transit culture across the city” in places (suburbs) which were designed for reliance on automobiles. Decades of aggressive urban planning to rezone such areas, time we do not have, would not accomplish what is already present in the core. Secondly, you have to start somewhere with rapid transit, and why not B-line LRT? Thirdly, you are incorrect in that province has clarified that it is LRT or nothing – the $1 billion goes back in the pot for other Metrolinx projects awaiting funding. Again, we don’t have time or resources to go back to the drawing board after 10 years of planning. Fourthly, downtown is the heart of any city, and any downtown in existence has a greater concentration of transit compared to the outer lying/ suburban areas, by definition of being a downtown. You’re argument against B-line LRT investment, “That can’t be done by putting all our investment in a single route serving 4 of our 15 wards.” is arguing against the well being of the city’s downtown, like placing and prioritising the body’s limbs over its heart. A flourishing city needs a flourishing downtown like a healthy body needs a healthy heart. In addition to many other things, LRT is like CPR and to deny its implementation is to put the entire city at risk.
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To: Local and Private Legislation
By: Representative Barnett (116th), Creel, Janus, Simpson
(As Sent to Governor)
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 2, 3 AND 4 OF CHAPTER 931, LOCAL AND PRIVATE LAWS OF 1993, AS LAST AMENDED BY CHAPTER 988, LOCAL AND PRIVATE LAWS OF 1996, TO AUTHORIZE THE GOVERNING AUTHORITIES OF THE CITY OF BILOXI TO PROVIDE FOR ANNUAL COST-OF-LIVING INCREASES FOR CURRENT AND FUTURE RETIRED MEMBERS OF THE BILOXI DISABILITY AND RELIEF FUND FOR FIREMEN AND POLICEMEN, AND BENEFICIARIES THEREOF, IN AN AMOUNT EQUAL TO THREE PERCENT OF THE ANNUAL RETIREMENT ALLOWANCE; TO PROVIDE THAT MEMBERS OF THE DISABILITY AND RELIEF FUND WHO RETIRED BEFORE JULY 1, 2000, WILL ALSO RECEIVE A THREE PERCENT COST-OF-LIVING INCREASE FOR THE 2000-2001 FISCAL YEAR; TO PROVIDE THAT THE COST-OF-LIVING INCREASES SHALL BE PAID IN ONE ADDITIONAL ANNUAL PAYMENT OR IN 12 EQUAL MONTHLY INSTALLMENTS, AS ELECTED BY THE RETIREE; TO PROVIDE THAT THE MAXIMUM CUMULATIVE PERCENTAGE OF ALL ANNUAL COST-OF-LIVING INCREASES RECEIVED UNDER THIS ACT SHALL NOT EXCEED 30% OF THE ANNUAL RETIREMENT ALLOWANCE, UNLESS THE GOVERNING AUTHORITIES AUTHORIZE THE PAYMENT OF ADDITIONAL ANNUAL COST-OF-LIVING INCREASES ABOVE 30% AND CERTAIN CONDITIONS ARE MET; TO PROVIDE THAT THE COST-OF-LIVING INCREASES AUTHORIZED UNDER THIS ACT SHALL BE SUSPENDED IF THE PUBLIC EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM AT ANY TIME DETERMINES THAT CONTINUING THE PAYMENT OF THE COST-OF-LIVING INCREASES WOULD MAKE THE DISABILITY AND RELIEF FUND ACTUARIALLY UNSOUND; TO PROVIDE THAT THE COST-OF-LIVING INCREASES AUTHORIZED UNDER THIS ACT SHALL NOT BE IMPLEMENTED UNLESS THE DISABILITY AND RELIEF FUND CURRENTLY IS ACTUARIALLY SOUND AND WILL REMAIN ACTUARIALLY SOUND IF THE COST-OF-LIVING INCREASES ARE MADE; TO PROVIDE THAT IF THE COST-OF-LIVING INCREASES AUTHORIZED UNDER THIS ACT WOULD MAKE THE DISABILITY AND RELIEF FUND ACTUARIALLY UNSOUND, THE GOVERNING AUTHORITIES ARE AUTHORIZED TO PROVIDE FOR A REDUCED VERSION OF THE COST-OF-LIVING INCREASES THAT WOULD LEAVE THE FUND ACTUARIALLY SOUND; TO AUTHORIZE THE GOVERNING AUTHORITIES TO USE ANY AVAILABLE FUNDS TO SUPPLEMENT THE DISABILITY AND RELIEF FUND TO MAKE IT ACTUARIALLY SOUND; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
SECTION 1. Sections 2, 3 and 4 of Chapter 931, Local and Private Laws of 1993, as amended by Chapter 979, Local and Private Laws of 1995, as amended by Chapter 988, Local and Private Laws of 1996, are amended as follows:
Section 1. (1) Subject to the provisions of Section 3, the governing authorities of the City of Biloxi, Mississippi, in their discretion, are authorized to take any of the following actions:
(a) Establish an additional payment for each retired member and beneficiary of the Biloxi Disability and Relief Fund for Firemen and Policemen who is now or hereafter entitled to receive benefits under any provision of Section 21-29-101, Mississippi Code of 1972. The amount of the additional payment shall be equal to the annual percentage change in the Consumer Price Index set by the United States government, not to exceed three percent (3%) per annum, and shall be computed based upon the amount of the benefits received by the members and beneficiaries in the fiscal year of the disability and relief fund before the effective date of the resolution of the governing authorities of the city establishing the additional payments.
(b) Provide that the additional payments authorized in paragraph (a) shall be either automatically made each year, made for a specified number of years, or authorized on an annual basis by the governing authorities of the city.
(c) Provide that the additional payments authorized in paragraph (a) shall cease or shall not be made for any subsequent fiscal year, regardless of whether a prior action of the governing authorities of the city called for the payments to be made automatically or without additional authorization by the governing authorities.
(d) Provide that if the governing authorities of the city choose to reinstate the additional payments authorized in paragraph (a) after ceasing them for a period of time, the percentage increase shall not be compounded during the interim period unless specifically directed by the governing authorities.
(e) Provide that the additional payments authorized by paragraph (a) may be based upon a percentage specified by the governing authorities of the city, regardless of the maximum percentage allowed in paragraph (a), if the governing authorities also transfer sufficient monies to the Public Employees' Retirement System to fund the increase at the specified percentage.
(f) Provide that the additional payments authorized in paragraph (a) shall automatically cease if continuing the additional payments could make the disability and relief fund actuarially unsound; however, before ceasing the payments, the Board of Trustees of the Public Employees' Retirement System shall notify the governing authorities of the city and give them the opportunity to transfer sufficient funds, if the governing authorities choose to do so, to make the additional payments while keeping the disability and relief fund actuarially sound.
(g) Use funds from any available source to supplement the disability and relief fund to make the fund actuarially sound, and transfer those funds to the Board of Trustees of the Public Employees' Retirement System for that purpose.
(2) After the governing authorities of the city * * * have adopted a resolution to establish the additional payments authorized under subsection (1) of this section and the advisory board provided for in Section 21-29-105, Mississippi Code of 1972, has adopted a resolution supporting the establishment of the additional payments, and after the Board of Trustees of the Public Employees' Retirement System has received these resolutions and received the most recent actuarial study of the disability and relief fund and the certified statement from the actuarial firm, pursuant to Section 3 * * *, that the fund will remain actuarially sound if the additional payments are made, then the board of trustees shall make the payments to the persons authorized and entitled to receive the payments.
(3) Persons eligible to receive the payments authorized under this section shall receive such payments in one (1) additional payment, except that such person may elect by an irrevocable agreement on a form prescribed by the Board of Trustees of the Public Employees' Retirement System to receive such payments in not less than equal monthly installments not to exceed six (6) months during the remaining months of the current fiscal year. In the event of death of a person or a beneficiary thereof receiving monthly benefits, any remaining amounts shall be paid in a lump sum to the estate of the retired member or beneficiary.
(4) After the effective date of House Bill No. 1555, 2001 Regular Session, all new cost-of-living increases for retirees of the Biloxi Disability and Relief Fund for Firemen and Policemen and beneficiaries thereof shall be made under Section 6 and not under this section. All cost-of-living increases previously made under this section shall continue to be paid each year, but no new or additional cost-of-living increases shall be made under this section after the effective date of House Bill No. 1555, 2001 Regular Session.
Section 2. (1) Subject to the provisions of Section 3 * * *, the governing authorities of the City of Biloxi, Mississippi, are authorized, in their discretion, to provide for the payment of minimum monthly benefits in any amount determined by the governing authorities to all persons now or hereafter entitled to receive benefits under any provision of Section 21-29-101 et seq., Mississippi Code of 1972.
(2) After the governing authorities of the city * * * have adopted a resolution to establish the minimum monthly benefits authorized under subsection (1) of this section, specifying the amount of the minimum monthly benefits in the resolution, and the advisory board provided for in Section 21-29-105, Mississippi Code of 1972, has adopted a resolution supporting the payment of the specified amount of the minimum monthly benefits, and after the Board of Trustees of the Public Employees' Retirement System has received these resolutions and received the most recent actuarial study of the disability and relief fund and the certified statement from the actuarial firm, pursuant to Section 3 * * *, that the fund will remain actuarially sound if the minimum monthly benefits are paid, then the board of trustees shall pay those benefits to the persons authorized and entitled to receive the payments.
Section 3. Payment of the additional payments authorized under Section 1 * * * or the minimum monthly benefits authorized under Section 2 * * *, or both, shall not be established unless the Biloxi Disability and Relief Fund for Firemen and Policemen is actuarially sound, as shown by the most recent actuarial study required by Section 21-29-119, Mississippi Code of 1972, and the fund will remain actuarially sound if the additional payments authorized under Section 1 * * * or the minimum monthly benefits authorized under Section 2 * * *, or both, are made, as shown by a certified statement from the actuarial firm that prepared the most recent actuarial study.
Section 4. (1) Subject to the provisions of subsection (2) of this section, the governing authorities of the City of Biloxi, Mississippi, in their discretion, are authorized to provide that members of the Biloxi Disability and Relief Fund for Firemen and Policemen under the provisions of Section 21-29-101 et seq., Mississippi Code of 1972, who retire after April 7, 1995, shall receive creditable service in the fund at the time of retirement for lawfully credited unused, uncompensated annual leave and sick leave earned under the vacation and sick leave policies of the city, in amounts equal to the amounts authorized for members of the Public Employees' Retirement System.
(2) Creditable service for unused, uncompensated leave as authorized under subsection (1) of this section shall not be provided unless the Biloxi Disability and Relief Fund for Firemen and Policemen is actuarially sound, as shown by the most recent actuarial study required by Section 21-29-119, Mississippi Code of 1972, and the fund will remain actuarially sound if creditable service for unused, uncompensated leave as authorized under subsection (1) of this section is provided, as shown by a certified statement from the actuarial firm that prepared the most recent actuarial study.
(3) After the governing authorities of the city * * * have adopted a resolution to provide creditable service for unused, uncompensated leave as authorized under subsection (1) of this section and the advisory board provided for in Section 21-29-105, Mississippi Code of 1972, has adopted a resolution supporting the providing of creditable service for unused, uncompensated leave, and after the Board of Trustees of the Public Employees' Retirement System has received these resolutions and received the most recent actuarial study of the disability and relief fund and the certified statement from the actuarial firm that the fund will remain actuarially sound if creditable service for unused, uncompensated leave is provided, then the board of trustees shall provide creditable service for unused, uncompensated leave to members of the disability and relief fund at the time of retirement in accordance with subsection (1) of this section, and such creditable service shall be used in calculating the members' retirement benefits under Section 21-29-101 et seq., Mississippi Code of 1972.
(4) Except to limit creditable service reported to the disability and relief fund for the purpose of computing a member's retirement benefits provided under Section 21-29-101 et seq., Mississippi Code of 1972, nothing in this section shall limit or otherwise restrict the power of the governing authorities of the city * * * to adopt such vacation and sick leave policies as they deem necessary.
Section 5. (1) Subject to the provisions of subsection (2) of this section, the governing authorities of the City of Biloxi, Mississippi, in their discretion, are authorized to provide that for the purpose of computing retirement benefits of members of the Biloxi Disability and Relief Fund for Firemen and Policemen under the provisions of Section 21-29-101 et seq., Mississippi Code of 1972, who retire after April 11, 1996, earned compensation may include all or a portion of any payment made to a member upon termination of employment for up to thirty (30) days of unused, accumulated personal leave.
(2) The inclusion within earned compensation of those payments as provided in subsection (1) of this section shall not be authorized by the governing authorities unless the disability and relief fund is actuarially sound, as shown by the most recent actuarial study required by Section 21-29-119, Mississippi Code of 1972, and the disability and relief fund will remain actuarially sound if the inclusion of such payments is authorized, as shown by a certified statement from the actuarial firm that prepared the most recent actuarial study.
(3) After the governing authorities of the city have adopted a resolution to include within earned compensation payments as provided under subsection (1) of this section, and after the Board of Trustees of the Public Employees' Retirement System has received the most recent actuarial study of the disability and relief fund and the certified statement from the actuarial firm that the disability and relief fund will remain actuarially sound if the inclusion of such payments is authorized, then the board of trustees may include such payments within the earned compensation of members at the time of retirement, in accordance with subsection (1) of this section, when calculating the members' retirement benefits under the provisions of Section 21-29-101 et seq., Mississippi Code of 1972.
(4) Nothing in this section shall limit or otherwise restrict the power of the governing authorities of the city to adopt such vacation and sick leave policies as they deem necessary.
Section 6. (1) Subject to the provisions of subsection (2) of this section, the governing authorities of the City of Biloxi, Mississippi, in their discretion, are authorized to provide for cost-of-living increases for each retired member of the Biloxi Disability and Relief Fund for Firemen and Policemen, or any beneficiary thereof, who is now or hereafter entitled to receive a retirement allowance under any provision of Section 21-29-101 et seq., Mississippi Code of 1972, in accordance with the following provisions:
(a) Any person who is receiving a retirement allowance on the effective date of House Bill No. 1555, 2001 Regular Session, and who was receiving a retirement allowance on May 1, 2000, shall receive a cost-of-living increase on December 1, 2001, or on July 1, 2001, as provided in paragraph (d) of this subsection, in an amount equal to six percent (6%) of the annual retirement allowance. In subsequent years, in addition to and cumulative to the cost-of-living increase received in the year 2001, any such person or beneficiary thereof shall receive a cost-of-living increase on December 1 or July 1 of the year, as provided in paragraph (d) of this subsection, in an amount equal to three percent (3%) of the annual retirement allowance for each full fiscal year in retirement after June 30, 2001. The cost-of-living increases provided for under this paragraph (a) shall be in addition to and cumulative to any cost-of-living increases previously received under the provisions of Section 1. For the purposes of this section, "fiscal year" means the period from July 1 of any year through June 30 of the following year.
(b) Any person who retires on or after May 1, 2000, or any beneficiary thereof, who has received a monthly retirement allowance for at least one (1) full fiscal year after June 30, 2000, shall receive a cost-of-living increase on December 1 or July 1 of the year, as provided in paragraph (d) of this section, in an amount equal to three percent (3%) of the annual retirement allowance for each full fiscal year in retirement.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (b) of this subsection, any person who retired under the Biloxi Disability and Relief Fund for Firemen and Policemen before May 1, 2000, and later was reemployed by the City of Biloxi or employed by any other municipality or other governmental entity in a position that caused the person to stop receiving a retirement allowance from the disability and relief fund during the person's period of reemployment or subsequent employment, who retires from his or her reemployment or subsequent employment on or after January 1, 2001, and is again receiving a retirement allowance from the disability and relief fund, shall begin receiving the cost-of-living increases authorized under this section in the year that the person retires from his or her reemployment or subsequent employment, if more than one (1) full fiscal year has passed since the person's initial retirement from the City of Biloxi. In the year that the person retires from his or her reemployment or subsequent employment, the person or beneficiary thereof shall receive a cost-of-living increase on December 1 or July 1 of the year, as provided in paragraph (d) of this subsection, in an amount equal to three percent (3%) of the annual retirement allowance. In subsequent years, in addition to and cumulative to the cost-of-living increase received in the year of retirement, any such person or beneficiary thereof shall receive a cost-of-living increase on December 1 or July 1 of the year, as provided in paragraph (d) of this subsection, in an amount equal to three percent (3%) of the annual retirement allowance for each full fiscal year after June 30 of the year of retirement.
(d) The cost-of-living increases authorized under this section shall be paid in one (1) payment in December of each year to any person who is receiving a retirement allowance on December 1 of that year, unless an election is made as follows: Any person or beneficiary thereof who is receiving a retirement allowance on July 1, 2001, or July 1 of any fiscal year thereafter, may elect by an irrevocable agreement in writing filed in the office of the Public Employees' Retirement System not less than thirty (30) days before July 1 of the appropriate year, to begin receiving the cost-of-living increases authorized under this section in twelve (12) equal monthly installments beginning July 1, 2001, or July 1 of any fiscal year thereafter. This irrevocable agreement shall be binding on the retiree and subsequent beneficiaries. Payment of those monthly installments shall not extend beyond the month in which a retirement allowance is due and payable. If a person who is receiving a retirement allowance that will terminate upon the person's death is receiving the cost-of-living increases in one (1) payment and dies on or after July 1 but before December 1, the beneficiary or estate of the person shall receive in a single payment a fractional part of the cost-of-living increase based on the number of months in which a retirement allowance was received during the fiscal year.
(e) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (f) of this subsection, the maximum cumulative percentage of all annual cost-of-living increases received by a retiree or beneficiary thereof under this section shall not exceed thirty percent (30%) of the annual retirement allowance. Any cost-of-living increases previously received by a retiree or beneficiary thereof under the provisions of Section 1 shall not be included in determining when the cumulative percentage of the cost-of-living increases received under this section has reached thirty percent (30%). After the cumulative percentage of the cost-of-living increases received by a retiree or beneficiary thereof under this section has reached thirty percent (30%), the retiree or beneficiary thereof shall continue to receive the cost-of-living payments each year in an amount equal to thirty percent (30%) of the annual retirement allowance for as long as the retiree or beneficiary thereof is entitled to receive a retirement allowance, unless additional annual cost-of-living increases are authorized under paragraph (f) of this subsection or cost-of-living increases are suspended under paragraph (g) of this subsection.
(f) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (e) of this subsection, the governing authorities of the city, by resolution adopted by the city council, may authorize the payment of additional annual cost-of-living increases after the cumulative percentage of the cost-of-living increases received by a retiree or beneficiary thereof under this section has reached thirty percent (30%), if the governing authorities have examined the actual impact of inflation upon the retirement and cost-of-living benefits being paid at that time, examined the effect of paying additional annual cost-of-living increases on the actuarial soundness of the disability and relief fund, and determined that municipal finances will permit the payment of additional annual cost-of-living increases above a cumulative percentage of thirty percent (30%). In addition, any payment of additional annual cost-of-living increases after the cumulative percentage has reached thirty percent (30%) shall be subject to subsection (2) of this section and paragraph (g) of this subsection.
(g) The cost-of-living increases authorized under this section shall be suspended, either in whole or in part as determined to be necessary by the governing authorities of the city and the Board of Trustees of the Public Employees' Retirement System, if the board of trustees at any time determines that continuing the payment of the cost-of-living increases would make the disability and relief fund actuarially unsound; however, before suspending the cost-of-living increases, the board of trustees shall notify the governing authorities of the city and give them the opportunity to transfer sufficient funds, if the governing authorities choose to do so, to make the cost-of-living increases while keeping the disability and relief fund actuarially sound.
(2) (a) The cost-of-living increases authorized under this section shall not be implemented unless the Biloxi Disability and Relief Fund for Firemen and Policemen is actuarially sound, as shown by the most recent actuarial study required by Section 21-29-119, Mississippi Code of 1972, and the fund will remain actuarially sound if the cost-of-living increases authorized under this section are made, as shown by a certified statement from the actuarial firm that prepared the most recent actuarial study.
(b) After the governing authorities of the city have adopted a resolution to establish the cost-of-living increases authorized under this section and the advisory board provided for in Section 21-29-105, Mississippi Code of 1972, has adopted a resolution supporting the cost-of-living increases, and after the Board of Trustees of the Public Employees' Retirement System has received these resolutions and received the most recent actuarial study of the disability and relief fund and the certified statement from the actuarial firm, under paragraph (a) of this subsection, that the fund will remain actuarially sound if the cost-of-living increases are made, then the board of trustees shall make the cost-of-living increases to the persons authorized and entitled to receive the cost-of-living increases.
(c) If the certified statement of the actuary under paragraph (a) of this subsection concludes that the cost-of-living increases authorized under this section cannot be implemented because they would make the disability and relief fund actuarially unsound, then the governing authorities of the city are authorized to provide for a reduced version of the cost-of-living increases authorized under this section that would leave the disability and relief fund actuarially sound, as determined by a certified statement of the actuary.
(3) After the effective date of House Bill No. 1555, 2001 Regular Session, all new cost-of-living increases for retirees of the Biloxi Disability and Relief Fund for Firemen and Policemen and beneficiaries thereof shall be made under this section and not under Section 1. All cost-of-living increases previously made under Section 1 shall continue to be paid each year, but no new or additional cost-of-living increases shall be made under Section 1 after the effective date of House Bill No. 1555, 2001 Regular Session.
Section 7. The governing authorities of the City of Biloxi, Mississippi, in their discretion, are authorized to use funds from any available source to supplement the Biloxi Disability and Relief Fund for Firemen and Policemen to make the fund actuarially sound, and transfer those funds to the Board of Trustees of the Public Employees' Retirement System for that purpose.
Section 8. The provisions of this act are supplemental to the provisions of Section 21-29-101 et seq., Mississippi Code of 1972, and if there is any conflict between the provisions of this act and any provision of Section 21-29-101 et seq., Mississippi Code of 1972, the provisions of this act shall control.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.
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The story that won’t go away…………………..
Posted on September 2, 2010 by Carl Fellstrom
David Cameron must decide if Andy Coulson (right) is really the right man to be communicating his ideas
THE allegations due to be printed in this Sunday’s New York Times magazine go the furthest so far in the tawdry tale of phone hacking at the News of the World. Testimonies from former executives and journalists who have worked at the newspaper confirm what every reporter who ever worked for a national tabloid newspaper from the late 1990s onwards has known. It is, I am afraid to say, just the tip of the iceberg.
To quote Sir Francis Bacon, knowledge is power. In the 21st Century that is truer than at any other time in the history of information-gathering because of the wealth of private electronic data that is now accumulated on every individual through a variety of mediums from mobile phones and email to bank and medical records. I will make no apology here for the wish of every journalist to accumulate “golden nuggets” and “smoking gun” information in a legal manner. It is the raison d’etre of every journalist to accumulate information, disseminate it and educate the public with knowledge while in the pursuit of worthy stories. What is wrong, and open to criminal allegations, is that the pursuit of that information was blinkered by the desire to provide the public with salacious bits of tittle tattle using illegal means without any recourse to the benchmark question; is it in the public interest? There are plenty of occasions where the “dark arts” have been used to to unearth genuine exclusives which have been in the public interest, but even then, and only then after the necessary checks and benchmarks have been applied. And so we come to Andy Coulson, David Cameron’s personal spin doctor and former News of the World editor. Honestly speaking, I do not have any personal knowledge that Andy Coulson knew what was going on or that he was the only executive directing these activities but I know and have worked with many former News of the World journalists whose words I trust. They say Coulson did know and that he has misled the parliamentary committee about his knowledge. I know from personal experience that phone hacking and “blagging” went on wholesale during his tenure, as one reporter put it “even the office cat knew it was going on”. And blagging information is something that still goes on to this day. These kinds of dark practices also went on every working day at a number of other newspapers including the Mail on Sunday, the Sunday Mirror. I recall being told about one Sunday newspaper attempts back in 2002 to access the medical records of a high profile celebrity, who had already been at the centre of a cocaine and call girls scandal. On that occasion the Met Police also investigated and indeed there was evidence of collusion between newspaper executives and a rogue BT telephone engineer. The enquiry petered out into nothing, no newspaper executives were either arrested or charged, but the story had a ring of truth about it even then. In all but a minority of cases there was no public interest justification for the use of such practices, the journalists involved were merely embroiling themselves in “fishing expeditions” at the behest of their scoop hungry editors and woe betide you if you didn’t come up with that exclusive. But there can be no excuses. This type of activity, if unchecked, undermines the bedrock upon which journalistic ethics stands and it is a story that is not going to go away. Be braced because there will almost certainly be more to come on this story.
This entry was posted in andy coulson, david cameron, journalism, news of the world, phone hacking by Carl Fellstrom. Bookmark the permalink.
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Quantum computer hype in Vancouver
The Vancouver Sun shows a picture of computer scientist Scott Aaronson and brags about the vast computational advantages of quantum computers:
“If this all works well, this is five years off. ...
“But who knows what will happen in the future. That's how people used to think about regular computers.”
The field has a dramatic mix of views. One company says that it is in commercial production of 100-qubit computers. A qubit is the basic building block of a quantum computer. If we could make qubits that could be chained together, then we could make quantum computers. We cannot make quantum computers, and predictions vary from saying that it will be possible in 5 years, to saying that it is forbidden by the laws of physics.
Aaronson thinks some problems in mathematics will remain beyond the limits of quantum computing and indeed, he thinks a breakthrough in development of a large-scale quantum computer is many decades, rather than a few years, away.
“Even quantum computers would have significant limitations. If you're just looking for a needle in a haystack. . . then not even a quantum computer will give you an exponential speedup for this problem,” Aaronson said.
He said that view is contrary to most popular representations of quantum computers as infinitely capable.
Nonetheless, he rejects skeptics who doubt they will get built – he's offering a $100,000 prize to anyone who can demonstrate that it's impossible to build a large scale quantum computer.
Aaronson says that I was one of the skeptics that pushed him over the edge to offer his prize.
Czech String theorist Lubos Motl has another view:
Many people have said many stupid things about quantum computation. Many but not all anti-quantum zealots of course believe that quantum computation is impossible because the world must be fundamentally classical and a classical computer of a given size can't solve certain problems after a certain number of steps.
That is not my view. I believe that the world is fundamentally quantized and not classical.
Other people believe in quantum computers but they have used them to "prove" bizarre "interpretations" of quantum mechanics. In particular, David Deutsch has said that the likely existence of quantum computers proves the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics.
At least Deutsch does recognize that a true quantum computer would demonstrate a phenomenon that has never been seen before in any experiment. Because if it had, then that would be a proof of many-worlds, and everyone agrees that there is no proof of many-worlds. And I do not believe that there will ever be any proof of many-worlds, as it is a silly and unscientific idea.
Motl goes on with a little rant about the nature of science:
The only way to rule out a hypothesis is to actually find a wrong prediction that the hypothesis makes, one that disagrees with observations. Various anti-quantum zealots love to use some "alternative", non-scientific ways to falsify theories. A theory doesn't agree with their medieval prejudices so they just decide it means that the theory has to be abandoned. But science hasn't worked in this way for 500 years. What a prejudiced bigot a priori thinks is totally irrelevant in science.
That's right. A-priori opinions about how the world works are irrelevant, whether then come from Einstein or anyone else.
My main reason for being skeptical about scalable quantum computing is that decades of research by really smart people and 100s of millions of dollars have gone into this, and no one has even figured out a way to show that it is even possible. If the dramatic and implausible consequences were really possible, then I would expect to see some evidence of it. At this point, it seems more likely that some law of physics is preventing it, such as the laws of thermodynamics that prevent perpetual motion machines.
Motl concludes:
Quantum computers demonstrate the power of quantum mechanics, the fundamental framework underlying the laws of physics in our Universe, very crisply and if and when they will be produced, the world may substantially change, at least at some level. Let's hope the change won't be catastrophic.
Okay, but that is wishful thinking. If he follows his own advice, then he has to admit that the world may not follow his a-priori prejudices.
Update: Aaronson says he visited D-Wave Systems near Vancouver, and he reiterated his skepticism about their quantum computer:
It remains true, as I’ve reiterated here for years, that we have no direct evidence that quantum coherence is playing a role in the observed speedup, or indeed that entanglement between qubits is ever present in the system. ...
So I hereby retire my notorious comment from 2007, about the 16-bit machine that D-Wave used for its Sudoku demonstration being no more computationally-useful than a roast-beef sandwich. ...
... the fundraising pressure is always for more qubits and more dramatic announcements, not for clearer understanding of its systems. So, let me try to get a message out to the pointy-haired bosses of the world: a single qubit that you understand is better than a thousand qubits that you don’t. There’s a reason why academic quantum computing groups focus on pushing down decoherence and demonstrating entanglement in 2, 3, or 4 qubits: because that way, at least you know that the qubits are qubits! Once you’ve shown that the foundation is solid, then you try to scale up. ...
For the first time, I find myself really, genuinely hoping — with all my heart—that D-Wave will succeed in proving that it can do some (not necessarily universal) form of scalable quantum computation. For, if nothing else, such a success would prove to the world that my $100,000 is safe, and decisively refute the QC skeptics who, right now, are getting even further under my skin than the D-Wave boosters ever did.
In other words, he accused them of being charlatans 5 years ago for over-hyping quantum computing when they cannot even prove that they have one true qubit. But now he hopes that they will make a quantum computer so that he can prove me and the other quantum skeptics wrong! This is pathetic. Aaronson seems to realize that the field is going nowhere.
Posted by Roger at 10:30 AM
Craig August 24, 2012 at 8:21 AM
It is entirely within the laws of QM and gravity that a shattered glass plate can rise up from the ground into someone's hand and be restored into a whole plate. This is because QM and gravity are time-reversible. It's only from the laws of thermodynamics that it is very improbable that this can happen in the real world. Yet nobody is foolish enough to try to invent technology which allows this to be done in practice.
Then why should one think that quantum computing, which is also consistent with QM and I would think should work backwards in time, must also work forwards in time?
Roger August 26, 2012 at 1:47 AM
That is an excellent point. A lot of quantum computer research is at a temperature near absolute zero, where I guess they think that they can get away from the laws of thermodynamics.
IBM joins quest to build a qubit
Bohmian mechanics makes no sense
Universe not so interconnected
Double-slit needs no probabilities
One atom transistor
Sprung from Einstein’s head
No quantum probabilities needed
Quantum mysteries disentangled
Pushed over the quantum edge
Quantum computing not like Martian trip
Space is not digital
The impossibility of quantum computers
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| July 2, 2015, 10:32 am
WATCH: Shaquille O’Neal shoots a free throw on the golf course
By Joe Nguyen
Shaq's free throw percentage is improving.
A video posted by PGA TOUR (@pgatour) on Jul 1, 2015 at 6:06pm PDT
Former NBA great Shaquille O’Neal’s skills from the free-throw line have been, hmm, let’s go with lacking through his basketball career. A career 52.7 percent shooter from the charity stripe — including seven seasons in which he made less than half his shots — O’Neal wasn’t exactly dependable at the line.
But during the Greenbrier Classic Pro-Am Wednesday, O’Neal knocked down a shot with a golf ball into the hole from about 10 feet out.
“I get them when I need them, baby,” O’Neal said after the shot.
Categories: NBA
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Win or lose, these individuals are already an NBA playoff success
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WATCH: Raptors’ Kyle Lowry with a buzzer-beater to force overtime
Is Melo all-star material? — 200 comments
Pencil the Nuggets in at No. 7 — 196 comments
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Finished in five … again — 132 comments
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A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire #1)
Write on: Sat, 30 Jul 2016 by Ojo in Guests Reviews Be the first to comment! Read 1900
This review is for books 1 to 5. That is A Game of Thrones to A Dance with Dragons.
I had two false starts into A Game of Thrones before I started reading the entire series. Being a fan of epic fantasy, I've always enjoyed Wheel of Time and LoTR style magic and world building. A Game of Thrones was my first foray into Grimdark. It quickly took hold of me and wouldn't let go. From the moment when young Brandon Stark was pushed out of a window by a much older man to prevent the leaking of a truly embarrassing as well as shameful truth, I knew I was in for surprise galore. The series has far more surprises and unexpected plot twists than is the norm for fantasy.
The characters were simply marvelous. Nearly everyone who's read the series initially rooted for Ned Stark. I wasn't an exception. The constant killing off of main characters is a theme that is unique to this series. At some point, I stopped rooting for anyone, although I still have some favourites. With the vast array of characters, keeping up with the story can be a bit difficult. But I love these kinds of challenges! Besides, the tight-knotted, heart pounding suspense in the series is enough to make one persist. The characters are of every possible type. There are noble-hearted lords, incestuous twins, black hearted killers, dumb daughters of noblemen, power hungry lords and their ambitious underlings. There is a fire immune dragon lord (or lady), numerous usurpers, conniving double hearted bastards, amongst other people. It makes for an extremely unique reading experience.
The setting is just top class. These days, writers don't do so much of world-building. They'd rather just jump in. The gradual easing of readers into the world is so expertly done you're sucked in without even knowing.
The storyline is the best part. The uniqueness, the relative lack of magic, coupled with the freedom given the characters by the author makes for a truly fresh, original and unique reading experience. It's fantasy, but it is also an accurate reflection of the wide range of the human character. It's an expository on the nature of man.
I do hope Martin doesn't die before finishing the series. It's simply unique!
Did I forget to add? The series is filled with numerous quotes and heavy punchlines!
Ojo is a book lover (obviously) and a lover of all things artistic. That includes paintings, drawings, music, drama...that sort of thing. He's also a football (soccer) fanatic. When he's not reading, he can be found discussing a variety of of topics with people-from women to economics... He's an all-rounder.
Ojo also loves partying!
Latest from Ojo
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Opinion on the Game of Thrones finale
More in this category: « Wizard's First Rule (Sword of Truth #1) Frozen Tides (Falling Kingdoms #4) »
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The end of the journal? What has changed, what stayed the same?
29 November 2015 One Comment
This is an approximate rendering of my comments as part of the closing panel of “The End of Scientific Journal? Transformations in Publishing” held at the Royal Society, London on 27 November 2015. It should be read as a reconstruction of what I might have said rather than an accurate record. The day had focussed on historical accounts of “journals” as mediators of both professional and popular research communications. A note of the meeting will be published. Our panel was set the question of “will the journal still exist in 2035”.
Over the course of 2015 I’ve greatly enjoyed being part of the series of meetings looking at the history of research communications and scientific journals in the past. In many cases we’ve discovered that our modern concerns, today the engagement of the wider public, the challenge of expertise, are not at all new, that many of the same issues were discussed at length in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. And then there are moments of whiplash as something incomprehensible streaks past: Pietro Corsi telling us that dictionaries were published as periodicals; Aileen Fyfe explaining that while papers given to at Royal Society meetings were then refereed, the authors could make only make “verbal” not intellectual changes to the text in response; Jon Topham telling us that chemistry and physics were characterised under literature in the journals of the early 19th century.
So if we are to answer the exam question we need to address the charge that Vanessa Heggie gave us in the first panel discussion. What has remained the same? And what has changed? If we are to learn from history then we need to hold ourselves to a high standard in trying to understand what it is (not) telling us. Prediction is always difficult, especially about the future…but it wasn’t Niels Bohr who first said that. A Dane would likely tell us that “det er svært at spå, især om fremtiden” is a quote from Storm Peterson or perhaps Piet Hein, but it probably has deeper roots. It’s easy to tell ourselves compelling stories, whether they say that “everything has changed” or that “it’s always been that way”, but actually checking and understanding the history matters.
So what has stayed the same? We’ve heard throughout today the importance of groups, communities. Of authors, of those who were (or were trying to be) amongst the small group of paid professors at UK universities. Of the distinctions between communities of amateurs and of professionals. We’ve heard about language communities, of the importance of who you know in being read at the Royal Society and of the development of journals as a means of creating research disciplines. I think this centrality of communities, of groups, of clubs is a strand that links us to the 19th century. And I think that’s true because of the nature of knowledge itself.
Knowledge is a slippery concept, and I’ve made the argument elsewhere, so for now I’ll just assert that it belongs in the bottom right quadrant of Ostrom‘s categorisation of goods. Knowledge is non-rivalrous – if I give it to you I still have it – but also excludable – I can easily prevent you from having it, by not telling you, or by locking it up behind a paywall, or simply behind impenetrable jargon. This is interesting because Buchannan‘s work on the economics of clubs show us that it is precisely the goods in this quadrant which are used to sustain clubs and make them viable.
The survival of journals, or of scholarly societies, disciplines or communities, therefore depends on how they deploy knowledge as a club good. To achieve this deployment it is necessary to make that knowledge, the club good, less exclusive, and more public. What is nice about this view is that it allows us, to borrow Aileen Fyfe’s language, to talk about “public-making” (Jan Velterop has used the old term “publicate” in a similar way) as an activity which includes public engagement, translation, and – to Rebekah Higgitt‘s point – education as well as scholarly publishing as we traditionally understand it as overlapping subsets of this broader activity.
But what has changed? I would argue that the largest change in the 20th century was one of scale. The massive increase in the scale and globalisation of the research enterprise, as well as the rise of literacy meant that traditional modes of coordination, within scholarly societies and communities, and beyond to interested publics were breaking down. To address this coordination problem we took knowledge as a club good and privatised it, introducing copyright and intellectual property as a means of engaging corporate interests to manage the coordination problem for us. It is not an accident that the scale up, the introduction of copyright and IP to scholarly publishing, and scholarly publishing becoming (for the first time) profitable all co-incide. The irony of this, is that by creating larger, and clearly defined markets, we solved the problem of market scale that troubled early journals that needed to find both popular and expert audiences, by locking wider publics out.
The internet and the web also changed everything, but its not the cost of reproduction that most matters. The critical change for our purpose here is the change in the economics of discovery. As part of our privatisation of knowledge we parcelled it up into journals, an industrial broadcast mechanism in which one person aims with as much precision as possible to reach the right, expert, audience. The web shifts the economics of discovering expertise in a way that makes it viable to discover, not the expert who knows everything about a subject, but the person who just happens to have the right piece of knowledge to solve a specific problem.
These two trends are pulling us in opposite directions. The industrial model means creating specialisation and labelling. The creation of communities and niches that are, for publishers, markets that can be addressed individually. These communities are defined by credentialling and validation of deep expertise in a given subject. The ideas of micro-expertise, of a person with no credentials having the key information or insight radically undermines the traditional dynamics of scholarly group formation. I don’t think it is an accident that those scholarly communities that Michèle Lamont identifies as having the most stable self conception have a tendency to being the most traditional in terms of their communication and public engagement. Lamont identifies history (but not as Berris Charnley reminded me the radicals from the history of science here today!) and (North American analytical) philosophy in this group. I might add synthetic chemistry from my own experience as examples.
It is perhaps indicative of the degree of siloing that I’m a trained biochemist at a history conference, telling you about economics – two things I can’t claim any deep expertise in – and last week I gave a talk from a cultural theory perspective. I am merrily skipping across the surface of these disciplines, dipping in a little to pull out interesting connections and no-one has called me on it*. You are being forced, both by the format of this panel, and the information environment we inhabit, to assess my claims not based on my PhD thesis topic or my status or position, but on how productively my claims and ideas are clashing with yours. We discover each other, not through the silos of our disciplinary clubs and journals, but through the networked affordances that connect me to you, that in this case we could trace explicitly via Berris Charnley and Sally Shuttleworth. That sounds to me rather more like the 19th century world we’ve been hearing about today than the 20th century one that our present disciplinary cultures evolved in.
This restructuring of the economics of discovery has profound implications for our understanding of expertise. And it is our cultures of expertise that form the boundaries of our groups – our knowledge clubs – whether they be research groups, disciplines, journals, discussion meetings or scholarly societies. The web shifts our understanding of public-making. It shifts from the need to define and target the expert audience through broadcast – a one-to-audience interaction – to a many-to-many environent in which we aim to connect with the right person to discover the right contribution. The importance of the groups remains. The means by which they can, and should want to communicate has changed radically.
The challenge lies, not in giving up on our ideas of expertise, but in identifying how we can create groups that both develop shared understanding that enables effective and efficient communication internally but are also open to external contributions. It is not that defining group boundaries doesn’t matter, it is crucial, but that the shape and porosity of those boundaries needs to change. Journals have played a role throughout their history in creating groups, defining boundaries, and validating membership. That role remains important, it is just that the groups, and their cultures, will need to change to compete and survive.
We started 2015 with the idea that the journal was invented in 1665. This morning we heard from Jon Topham that the name was first used in the early 19th century, but for something that doesn’t look much like what we would call a journal today. I believe in 20 years we will still have things called journals, and they will be the means of mediating communications between groups, including professional scholars and interested publics. They’ll look very different from what we have today but their central function, of mediating and expressing identity for groups will remain.
* This is not quite true. Martin Eve has called me on skipping too lightly across the language of a set of theoretical frameworks from the humanities without doing sufficient work to completely understand them. I don’t think it is co-incidental that Martin is a cultural and literary scholar who also happens to be a technologist, computer programmer and deeply interested in policy design and implementation, as well as the intersection of symbolic and financial economies.
Weekend reads: What do PhDs earn?; university refuses to release data; collaboration's dark side - Retraction Watch at Retraction Watch said:
[…] Will academic journals still exist in 2035? Cameron Neylon gives his take, looking back at the history of scientific publication. […]
# 12 December 2015 at 2:33 pm
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Letter Of Credit Vs Performance Bond | Application Letter For Performance Bond
Issues in Depth
News Analyses
Expert Videos
Globalization Curriculum
Globalization101 > Issues in Depth > Technology > Financial Markets
Advances in Information Technology
The Impact of Information Technology
Industrial Structure and Jobs
Short-Term Capital Concerns
Improving Sectors of Society: Health, Education, Journalism and Media, and Government
Technology in Warfare
WWI and WWII
Peer Production: A Mighty Fortress of Collective Creativity
Smartphone Usage
Concerns of the Technological Age
Digital Divides in the United States
The International Digital Divide
Privacy and Security Concerns
Ellie Walton and Sunju Ahmadu, young filmmakers
A second area in which the impact of information technology has been profound is in financial markets. Financial markets encompass a wide variety of institutions and practices through which lenders and borrowers are able to interact. Lenders include banks and other financial institutions that make loans to individuals (e.g., for house or car purchases) and to institutions (e.g., for expansion or acquisitions).
These lenders are typically compensated through interest payments or, in some cases, an ownership stake in an enterprise. Individual investors who buy corporate stocks and bonds or government bonds are also lenders, and the companies and governments that sell the investors the stocks or the bonds are the borrowers.
The borrowers hope to use the money raised through these transactions for new equipment, new lines of business, or other productive purposes. The investor-lenders receive compensation for their investments through interest earnings, dividends, or an increase in the value of their stock or bond holdings.
Stock markets are perhaps the most familiar institutions in the financial marketplace, but a wide variety of other institutions and investment vehicles, or “instruments” are available to those hoping to earn or raise money. These include bond markets, foreign exchange markets and futures markets, among others. Each of these markets for financial markets has been impacted by the efficiency improvements from IT.
A combination of policy reforms and IT innovations has transformed financial markets over the past two decades. Governments around the world have modified, or eliminated, regulations that limited innovation and competition in their financial markets. They have also reduced barriers to foreign participation in their markets.
New IT developments have spurred innovation and international expansion in financial markets in three ways:
By permitting complex domestic and international transactions to be conducted rapidly and securely.
By enhancing data storage, analysis, and other data-dependent tasks associated with the management of financial institutions.
By giving market actors of all sizes access to a wide array of information on investment and borrowing opportunities, the performance of companies and financial institutions, economic trends, and policy developments.
Building upon policy reforms and technological developments, private financial firms have over the past two decades created numerous new vehicles, or “instruments,” through which people and institutions can lend, invest, or raise money. Reforms and technology have also helped multiply cross-border linkages among national financial markets.
As recently as the 1970s, individual investors, firms, and governments were generally able to invest or raise capital only within their own self-contained, national financial systems. Access to foreign bank loans, stocks, and other financial instruments was available only to the most sophisticated investors.
Closed markets like these are hard to imagine today. Cross-border financial arrangements have become commonplace. A global financial market has emerged, and the volume and value of the transactions it supports is staggering. The total daily value of foreign exchange transactions (exchanges of one national currency for another) increased from $18.3 billion in 1977 to $4.0 trillion in April 2010 (Spears, 2011).
Next: Benefits
IMF/World Bank
© 2017 The Levin Institute - The State University of New York
Authorship, Copyright, and Citation Notice
Silicon Valley: Developed by
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Romney: Make Obama’s State of the Union his last
TAMPA, Fla — Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney urged voters here to make President Obama’s State of the Union address Tuesday his last and blamed the Democrat for pushing policies that have raised the nation’s unemployment rate, worsened the housing crises and pushed the nation deeper into a sea of red ink.
Standing under an “Obama Isn’t Working” banner, the former Massachusetts governor said that Mr. Obama, during his first three years in office, has “amassed an actual record of debt, decline and disappointment” and pushed the nation toward a “European-style welfare state.”
Along the way, Mr.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jan/24/romney-make-obamas-sta...
Newt's Jacksonian Revolution
The 68-year-old former speaker of the House, twice left as presidential road kill this cycle, won the South Carolina Republican primary in more commanding fashion than either of the two prior GOP nominees.
He doesn't look, talk or act like any major party nominee since the dawn of the television era: too big, too bombastic, too old, too much baggage, too little discipline on the trail. But yet he outperformed George W. Bush, who was none of those things, in South Carolina, a state that has voted quite cautiously since it became "first in the South" in 1980.
There are two ways to win elections. The simplest is to find a way to win the support of the electorate as it exists. But when that's not possible, a candidate must find a way to change the electorate.
That's what Gingrich did on Saturday...
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/01/23/newts-jacksonian-revolution...
House nixes $1.2T hike in debt limit in symbolic gesture
In its first real bit of business to mark the new year, the House passed a symbolic Republican measure against President Obama’s request to increase the federal debt limit by $1.2 trillion.
Last summer’s bipartisan debt and budget agreement allowed the White House to automatically raise the debt ceiling 15 days after the president officially notifies lawmakers that the government is close to the current $15.2 trillion cap. The administration’s request can be halted if both chambers of Congress agree.
The measure opposing raising the debt limit passed 239 to 176, largely along partisan lines. Six Democrats supported the measure, and only one Republican — House Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier of California — rejected it. Two Republicans voted “present.”
But the measure is dead on arrival in the Democrat-run Senate. And even if it somehow clears both chambers, Mr. Obama would almost certainly veto it...
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jan/18/house-nixes-12t-hike-i...
Republicans Spar Over Abortion Issues in GOP Debate
The Republican presidential candidates sparred over the issue of abortion in tonight’s GOP presidential debate. Below, LifeNews is bringing you the unfiltered debate transcript showing that exchange.
Ultimately, each Republican presidential candidate could be called into question for criticism over the pro-life views.
Romney could be said to be not authentic on his pro-life conversion because he supported abortion before that and some say the conversion was political. Santorum has faced questions for endorsing pro-abortion Sen. Arlen Specter, his Pennsylvania college when he served in the U.S. Senate.
Gingrich has faced criticism for not sufficiently believing life begins at conception or fertilization and for not pressing pro-life issues as much as he could have in Congress.
http://www.lifenews.com/2012/01/20/republicans-spar-over-abortion-issu...
Gingrich shuts down questions on personal life, positions candidacy as Romney's chief challenge
Newt Gingrich, rising in the polls, may have captured momentum by not only slamming the door on questions about his personal life, but reminding his rivals -- and voters -- that he's battling to the end to win the hearts and minds of America's conservatives.
The former House speaker, ahead of Saturday's South Carolina primary, used the debate stage Thursday night to position himself as the chief challenger to Mitt Romney. Though he faced tough questions over his leadership style and past support of a controversial health insurance mandate, it was his opening response to a question about salacious allegations made by his second ex-wife that set the tone for the night and left no doubt that Gingrich would take on all-comers.
“I am appalled that you would begin a presidential debate on a topic like that,” Gingrich told the moderator.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/01/19/gop-debate-romney-gingrich-...
Iowa GOP declares caucuses 'split decision' after final count shows Santorum with 34 more votes than Romney
DES MOINES, Iowa – Rick Santorum received 34 votes more than Mitt Romney in the leadoff Iowa caucuses, state Republican officials reported Thursday, after initially claiming Romney was ahead by eight votes.
Party officials were reluctant to declare an official winner, since the results from eight precincts are still missing and any of those could hold an advantage for Romney.
But Santorum's campaign declared victory in a statement Thursday morning, suggesting the surprise ending to the historically close Iowa caucuses has helped undercut the aura of "inevitability" around Romney.
"We've had two early state contests with two winners," Santorum spokesman Hogan Gidley said. "Conservatives can now see and believe they don't have to settle for Romney, the Establishment's moderate candidate. ...
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/01/19/santorum-got-34-votes-more-...
Republicans fume as Obama rejects Keystone pipeline
In an election-year decision that pits the Democrats’ twin pillars of big labor and environmentalists against each other, the Obama administration Wednesday rejected the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline, which would have provided tens of thousands of jobs from the Canadian border to Texas.
President Obama issued a statement Wednesday afternoon saying he agreed with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s decision to reject the $7 billion, 1,700-mile project, which would have carried oil from tar sands in Alberta to refineries on the Gulf Coast. He said the project as proposed “would not serve the national interest.”
The State Department was involved because the project would have crossed an international border.
“This announcement is not a judgment on the merits of the pipeline, but the arbitrary nature of a deadline that prevented the State Department from gathering the information necessary to approve the project and protect the American people,” Mr.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jan/18/reports-obama-reject-k...
Gingrich looks to recharge profile in South Carolina after debate
Another chance to make a first impression?
Fresh off a rousing debate performance that had the Republican audience giving a standing ovation -- purportedly the first in a debate since Ronald Reagan in New Hampshire in 1980 -- Newt Gingrich may be reconsidering how far he can go in the GOP campaign.
Holding a distant second place in several polls, Gingrich said Tuesday that he could stick it out past South Carolina if he performs well enough against front-runner Mitt Romney.
"If (Romney is) at 25 or 30 (percent), we're still in a serious race," Gingrich told CBS' "This Morning." "If he gets up to 40 or 45, you have to be realistic."
The former speaker told Fox News on Tuesday he thinks debate prowess will be a "big factor" in Saturday's election, as primary voters look for somebody who can defeat President Obama on the debate stage.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/01/17/gingrich-looks-to-recharge-...
GOP Hopefuls Perry, Gingrich, Santorum and Huntsman Will Not Be on Virginia Ballot, Judge Rules
A federal judge has ruled that Rick Perry and three other Republican presidential candidates will not be added to Virginia's primary ballot.
District Court Judge John Gibney Jr. rejected their requests, arguing that they filed their challenges to Virginia's stringent ballot requirements too late.
"They played the game, they lost, and then they complained about the rules," he said.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/01/13/judge-rejects-gop-candidate...
GOP Race Close in South Carolina, Romney Leads Florida
Two new polls today show a close race in South Carolina, the location of the third Republican presidential battleground in the race to replace pro-abortion President Barack Obama. Meanwhile, Mitt Romney holds a solid lead in Florida.
With Iowa and New Hampshire having given the former Massachusetts governor victories in the two traditional early primary election states, Romney now holds a slim two-point lead over Newt Gingrich in South Carolina, according to a new survey from the Insider Advantage polling firm. Conducted for the Augusta Chronicle and The Savannah Morning News newspaper, Romney has 23 percent support, and Gingrich has 21 percent.
After the former Speaker, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum has 14 percent, Texas Rep. Ron Paul has 13 percent, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman has 7 percent, and Texas Gov.
http://www.lifenews.com/2012/01/12/gop-race-close-in-south-carolina-ro...
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The Protest of Ukrainian Catholics: “The Pope Supports Russian Aggression”
The archbishop of Kiev gives voice to the bitterness of his faithful, because of the embrace between Francis and the patriarch of Moscow and the “half truths” of the document they signed in Havana
ROME, February 17, 2016 – At the last conclave at which a Catholic power exercised its right of veto, a little more than a century ago, the cardinal who started out in the lead was ejected from the game because he was pro-French, in favor of a pro-Austrian candidate, who was elected pope with the name of Pius X.
Today the accusation that falls upon Pope Francis is that he is pro-Russian. And the latest of many proofs of this would be the joint declaration he signed with Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Rus’, on February 12 at the Havana airport:
> "By God the Father’s will…"
In effect, it was widely predicted that both the modalities of the encounter between the two and the document they signed would provoke lively reactions on multiple fronts, primarily political in nature:
> Over the Embrace Between Francis and Kirill Falls the Shadow of Putin
And this is what happened. With the epicenter of the reactions being Ukraine and in particular its five million Greek-Catholics.
Their major archbishop, Sviatoslav Shevchuk (in the photo), has said:
"Many contacted me and said that they feel betrayed by the Vatican, disappointed by the half-truth nature of this document, and even see it as indirect support by the Apostolic See for Russian aggression against Ukraine."
The archbishop of Kiev agreed wth these sentiments of his faithful in an extensive interview published Sunday, February 14 in Ukrainian and English on the official website of the Greek-Catholic Church:
> "Two Parallel Worlds"
And he has not found himself alone, Shevchuk, in severely criticizing the pro-Russian stance of the Holy See and of the pope. Because he has received explicit support from the apostolic nuncio in Ukraine, Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti:
> Il nunzio in Ucraina sul documento di Francesco e Kirill: "Da dimenticare"
Not to mention the relentless indictment of the document signed in Havana by Francis and Kirill published on February 15 by Myroslav Marynovych, vice-rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University of Lviv, cofounder of Amnesty International Ukraine, a founding member of the Ukrainian Helsinki Group, and a former political prisoner:
> An epochal meeting with epochal consequences
Reproduced here below is the position statement of the head of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, who is awaited at the Vatican for a direct encounter with Pope Francis, after he returns from Cuba and Mexico.
"Two Parallel Worlds"
An Interview with His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk
The meeting of Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill concluded with the signing of a Joint Declaration, which elicited mixed reactions on the part of the citizenry and Church representatives of Ukraine.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav [Shevchuk], the Head of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, shared with us his impressions of the meeting in general and of the document in particular.
Q: Your Beatitude, kindly share with us your impressions of the meeting between Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill. What can you say about the Joint Declaration that they signed?
A: From our experience, gained over many years, we can say that when the Vatican and Moscow organize meetings or sign joint texts, it is difficult to expect something good. Firstly, I would like to say something about the meeting of the Holy Father with Patriarch Kirill, and then I will comment on the text of the declaration.
One notices immediately, especially from their comments after the meeting, that the two sides existed on two completely different planes and were pursuing different goals.
His Holiness Pope Francis experienced this encounter primarily as a spiritual event. He opened his remarks by noting that we, Catholics and Orthodox, share one and the same Baptism. In the meeting, he sought out the presence of the Holy Spirit and received His support. He emphasized that the unity of the Churches can be achieved when we travel together on the same path.
From the Moscow Patriarch one immediately sensed that this wasn’t about any Spirit, or theology, or actual religious matters. No common prayer, an emphasis on official phrases about “the fate of the world,” and the airport as a neutral, that is, non-ecclesial environment. The impression was that they existed in two parallel worlds. Did these two parallel realities intersect during this meeting? I don’t know, but according to the rules of mathematics, two parallel lines do not intersect.
I found myself experiencing authentic admiration, respect, and a certain reverential awe for the humility of Pope Francis, a true “suffering servant of God,” who seeks one thing: to bear witness to the Gospel of Christ before humankind today, to be in the world, but remain of Christ, to have courage to be “not of this world.”
Thus, I would invite all not to rush in judging him, not to remain on the reality level of those who expect only politics from this meeting and want to exploit a humble pope for their human plans at all costs. If we don’t enter into the spiritual reality of the Holy Father and do not discern together with him the action of the Holy Spirit, we shall remain imprisoned by the prince of this world and his followers. Then, for us, this will become a meeting that occurred but didn’t happen.
Speaking of the signed text of the Joint Declaration, in general it is positive. In it are raised questions, which are of concern to both Catholics and Orthodox, and it opens new perspectives for cooperation. I encourage all to look for these positive elements. However, the points which concern Ukraine in general and specifically the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church raised more questions than answers.
It was officially reported that this document was the joint effort of Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) from the Orthodox side and Cardinal Koch with the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity from the Catholic side. For a document that was intended to be not theological, but essentially socio-political, it is hard to imagine a weaker team than the one that drafted this text.
The mentioned Pontifical Council is competent in theological matters in relations with various Christian Churches and communities, but is no expert in matters of international politics, especially in delicate matters such as Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. Thus, the intended character of the document was beyond their capabilities.
This was exploited by the Department of External Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church, which is, first of all, the instrument of diplomacy and external politics of the Moscow Patriarchate.
I would note that, as the Head of our Church, I am an official member of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, nominated already by Pope Benedict. However, no one invited me to express my thoughts and so, essentially, as had already happened previously, they spoke about us without us, without giving us a voice.
Possibly the Apostolic Nuncio can help me understand the “obscure places” in this text and can explain the position of the Vatican in places where it is, in our view, not clearly formulated.
Q: However, paragraph 25 of the Declaration speaks respectfully of Greek-Catholics and the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church is essentially recognized as a subject of inter-church relations between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches.
A: Yes, you are right. They no longer seem to object to our right to exist. In reality, in order to exist and to act, we are not obliged to ask permission from anybody.
The new emphasis here, of course, is that the Balamand Agreement of 1993, which Metropolitan Alfeyev has used until now to deny our right to exist, is now being used for its affirmation. Referring to the rejection of “uniatism” as a method of uniting Churches, Moscow always demanded from the Vatican a virtual ban on our existence and the limitation of our activities. Moreover, this requirement was placed as a condition, in the form of an ultimatum, for the possibility of a meeting of the Pope and the Patriarch.
In the past, we were accused of “expansion on the canonical territory of the Moscow Patriarchate,” and now our right to care for our faithful, wherever they are in need, is recognized. I assume that this also applies to the Russian Federation, where today we do not have the possibility of free and legal existence, or on the territory of annexed Crimea, where we are “re-registered” in accordance with Russian legislation and are effectively liquidated.
This change of emphasis is definitely positive, although essentially nothing new has been said. The recognition that “Orthodox and Greek Catholics are in need of reconciliation and of mutually acceptable forms of co–existence” is encouraging. We have been talking about this for a long time, and both Myroslav Ivan Cardinal Lubachivsky and His Beatitude Lubomyr [Husar] frequently appealed to our Orthodox brothers with these words, but there was no answer. I hope that we will be able to foster bilateral relations with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, moving in this direction without interference from Moscow.
Q: How would you comment on this statement: “We invite all the parts involved in the conflict to prudence, to social solidarity and to action aimed at constructing peace. We invite our Churches in Ukraine to work towards social harmony, to refrain from taking part in the confrontation, and to not support any further development of the conflict?”
A: In general, I would like to say that paragraph 26 of the Declaration is the most controversial. One gets the impression that the Moscow Patriarchate is either stubbornly refusing to admit that it is a party to the conflict, namely, that it openly supports the aggression of Russia against Ukraine, and, by the way, also blesses the military actions of Russia in Syria as a “holy war,” or it is appealing first of all to its own conscience, calling itself to the same prudence, social solidarity, and the active building of peace.
I do not know! The very word “conflict” is obscure here and seems to suggests to the reader that we have a “civil conflict” rather than external aggression by a neighboring state. Today, it is widely recognized that if soldiers were not sent from Russia onto Ukrainian soil and did not supply heavy weapons, if the Russian Orthodox Church, instead of blessing the idea of “Russkiy mir” (“the Russian world”) supported Ukraine gaining control over its own borders, there would be neither any annexation of Crimea nor would there be any war at all. It is precisely this kind of social solidarity with the Ukrainian people and the active construction of peace that we expect from the signatories of this document.
I would like to express a few thoughts on the phrase that encourages Churches in Ukraine “to work towards social harmony, to refrain from taking part in the confrontation, and to not support any further development of the conflict.” Churches and religious organizations in Ukraine never supported the war and constantly labored towards social peace and harmony. One need only to show some interest in the topics raised through the appeals of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations over the last two years.
Instead, the appeal not to participate in the protests and not to support its development for some reason strongly reminds me of the accusations by Metropolitan Hilarion, who attacked the position of “Ukrainian schismatics and Uniates,” practically accusing us of being the cause of the war in Eastern Ukraine, at the same time, viewing our civic position, which we based upon the social teaching of the Catholic Church, as support for only one of the “sides of the participants in the conflict.”
In this regard, I wish to state the following. The Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church has never supported nor promoted the war. However, we have always supported and will support the people of Ukraine!
We have never been on the side of the aggressor; instead, we remained with our people when they were on the Maidan, when they were being killed by the bearers of “Russkiy mir.”
Our priests have never taken up arms, as opposed to what has happened on the other side. Our chaplains, as builders of peace, suffer the freezing cold together with our soldiers on the front and with their very own hands carry the wounded from the battlefield, wipe away the tears of mothers who mourn their dead children.
We care for the wounded and for those who have suffered as a result of the fighting, regardless of their national origin, their religious or political beliefs.
Today, more than ever, the circumstances are such that our nation has no other protection and refuge, except from its Church. It is precisely a pastoral conscience that calls us to be the voice of the people, to awaken the conscience of the global Christian community, even when this voice is not understood or is disregarded by the religious leaders of Churches today.
Q: Your Beatitude, will the fact that the Holy Father signed such an unclear and ambiguous document not undermine the respect that the faithful of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church have for him, given that unity with the successor of Peter is an integral part of her identity?
A: Undoubtedly, this text has caused deep disappointment among many faithful of our Church and among conscientious citizens of Ukraine. Today, many contacted me about this and said that they feel betrayed by the Vatican, disappointed by the half-truth nature of this document, and even see it as indirect support by the Apostolic See for Russian aggression against Ukraine.
I can certainly understand those feelings. Nonetheless, I encourage our faithful not to dramatize this Declaration and not to exaggerate its importance for Church life. We have experienced more than one such statement, and will survive this one as well.
We need to remember that our unity and full communion with the Holy Father, the successor of the Apostle Peter, is not the result of political agreement or diplomatic compromise, or the clarity of a Joint Declaration text. This unity and communion with the Peter of today is a matter of our faith. It is to him, Pope Francis, and to each of us today, that Christ says in the Gospel of Luke: “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”
It is for this unity with the Apostolic See that our Church’s twentieth century Martyrs and Confessors of Faith gave up their lives, sealing it with their blood. As we commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Lviv Pseudo-Synod, let us draw from them the strength of this witness, of their sacrifice which, in our day, at times appears to be a stumbling block – a stone which the builders of international relations frequently reject. Yet, it is precisely this stone of Christ of Peter’s faith, that the Lord will make the cornerstone of the future of all Christians. And it will be “marvelous in our eyes.”
(Interview in Ukrainian: Fr. Ihor Yatsiv)
This interview with the Greek-Catholic archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk brought a harsh reaction, on February 17 on the Russian news agency Interfax, from Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, the second-in-command of the Orthodox Church in Moscow, who was at Kirill's side in Havana:
> "Ukrainian Greek-Catholics have aggressive rhetoric, even Pope not an authority to them"
Hilarion said among other things:
"This reaction was very negative, very insulting not only to our side, but also to the pope. Those statements show that the administration of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church has not changed its position. They are not ready to hear not only the voice of our patriarch, but even the voice of their pope".
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We either lose or we learn
Interviews Motivation Swieqi United by damonshaw
On Thursday night we suffered an 8-3 defeat to Luxol, a team who have a big budget and aspirations of reclaiming the title they lost to Valletta last season. Indeed they have won 3 of the last 5 (once as Balzan) leagues and 4 of the last 6 cups – they are the Helvecia of Malta!
However, the feeling in the team isn’t bad and while I woke up with a sour taste in my mouth, within a couple of hours that was replaced with a good feeling. Messages of togetherness from the players both privately and in the team WhatsApp group show me we are going in the right direction.
We needed a win. We were playing for our chances to play for the title at the end of the season. Now that’s a very tall order with 9 points separating us from Luxol and 12 from Valletta. We’d need to win all our 7 remaining games and Luxol to get just 8 points from theirs.
While we were aiming for that, it was realistically above us… this season. So once we get over the disappointment of the defeat, we can regroup and turn our attentions to the long term goal and of course the cup is an opportunity to right the wrongs of yesterday. We face Luxol on 25th February in the quarter final!
After last night, I can say we are here to compete. We’ve shown that we can be in a game at this level and these are the types of matches we want to be involved in. Games that can go either way. The squad is buzzing for the next challenge v Valletta and I know we’ll compete. We are still very much the underdog in terms of budget and level (for now) but if we play to our strengths we can get something. Much like when I was at Tranmere, I built a team that competed in every game we played – at home at least – taking points off Helvecia, pushing Reading to the end and beating London City.
The squad is new. Before Christmas we had 10 players and now we have 14. 2 have left, so that’s 6 new faces. We’ve grown a lot in the last month, but we’re still someway off where I want us to be but I am very happy with the group and I know they are all keen to keep on improving and eventually get into the top 2. The atmosphere in the team is top and it’s an absolute pleasure to be their coach. Hard at times, but we’ll grow together. Yesterday’s game will only serve to strengthen us!
I was sent to the stand towards the end of the match last night. I think the whole team let their emotions take over a bit too much. Something we need to control. We can’t control the referees and the opposition, but it’s infuriating when a referee buys a dive. It happens a lot. Referees need to be stronger. But I should know better!! I’ll be watching our game with Valletta from the stands with Maxi, who was sent off after an altercation with their player, who should have been off earlier for a 2nd yellow. Things we can’t change, but we will have to learn and improve!!
On a positive – one player told me it was good to see my angry side – it motivates them more!
Everyone is together and it ready to face the next challenge!
New year, new role, new challenge
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Review: Wild Wild Country
April 4, 2018 by David Dubrow 4 Comments
My friend AJ Powers suggested I take a look at the Netflix documentary Wild Wild Country, so I did. All 6+ hours of it.
Wild Wild Country tells the story of the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh’s attempt to build a new city outside the tiny town of of Antelope, Oregon in the early 1980’s…and how everything came apart. Production-wise, it’s very slick, with plenty of B-roll and excerpts from Phil Donahue and all the nostalgia-soaked scenes of big 80’s hair you’d want to see. Interviews of the principal figures (the ones who are still alive) make for a riveting watch: their recollections of events, how they look now versus back then, and their overall description of just what happened out there are amazing.
And yet there’s a frustrating lack of detail, owing mostly to the producers’ obvious (and disturbing) sympathy for the Bhagwan and his cultists. To get the full picture of what they were, what they did, and why they failed, you have to watch between the lines, so to speak, and do your own research. Many aspects of the Bhagwan’s life and his cult’s practices are often glossed over, or presented only through the lens of unreliable narrators like the people of Antelope, who are portrayed as xenophobic, unsophisticated hicks.
To help potential viewers navigate through this minefield, here’s a quick summary:
The Bhagwan created a sex cult in India that focused on acquiring wealth from rich, foolish Westerners. To avoid prosecution for financial crimes in his native country, he bought a huge parcel of land in Oregon and lied to all his new neighbors that he was setting up a ranch; his real intention was to build a new city devoted to his bizarre belief system, aided and abetted by worshipers whose daily highlight was to watch him tool down the main road in one of his 90+ Rolls Royce automobiles. When the local townsfolk, concerned about this new state of affairs, attempted to oust these newcomers, the Bhagwan bused in hundreds of homeless people from around the country to fill the voter rolls. When the homeless people acted out, the Bhagwan surreptitiously drugged them with Haldol. Then the Bhagwan engaged in a massive bio-terror attack, infecting over 700 Oregonians with salmonella. The Bhagwan also plotted to murder US Federal Prosecutor Charles Turner. The Bhagwan’s closest advisor, Ma Anand Sheela, was the mastermind behind these attacks, so when law enforcement finally caught up with the Bhagwan, he was merely deported, where he spent his remaining days living a life of luxury overseas. Minus at least a few of his Rolls Royces.
There’s a great deal of ugly stuff in this documentary, all justified by Ma Anand Sheela, as cool a psychopath as you’re ever likely to see on screen. These were bad people who did bad things, and an attempt to be even-handed about their crimes is a shocking display of moral relativism.
And yet, it’s a fun show. Give it a look and tell me what you think.
Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: bhagwan, morals, oregon, osho, wild wild country
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The Time in Between: Waiting after Katrina and Sandy
By Sandy Storyline New York, NY, USA
Eight years after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, families across New York and New Jersey affected by Hurricane Sandy are asking the same question that plagued Gulf Coast residents for years: “When can I go home?”
Homeowner Al Aubry and his family after Hurricane Katrina. One story from a collection of intertwined narratives produced by LandofOpportunity.
Homeowner Deborah Turner and her daughter, Ayla, after Hurricane Sandy. Produced by Sandy Storyline.
Sandy Storyline, a participatory documentary about Hurricane Sandy, and LandofOpportunity, an interactive video platform about urban equity rooted in post–Katrina New Orleans, have teamed up to explore the (re)building of urban communities in the wake of disasters like Sandy and Katrina. The two projects are aimed at creating tools for people to share their stories and learn lessons across geography and time in order to help build a more just and sustainable future.
In New Orleans, Al Aubry and his family lived for almost three years in a FEMA trailer while they waited for their devastated home to be demolished so they could rebuild after Hurricane Katrina. Now, ten months after Hurricane Sandy, Deborah Turner and her family are also realizing that they may not get back into their home in Brick, New Jersey, anytime soon.
Today, on the eighth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, families across New York and New Jersey are asking some of the same questions that plagued Gulf Coast residents like Aubry. And perhaps the biggest question of all is, simply: When can I go home?
Fifteen months after Katrina hit, 100,000 residents were still living in temporary FEMA trailers.
On August 29, 2005, a staggering 250,000 New Orleans residents were displaced when the levees and flood walls failed during Hurricane Katrina, inundating more than 80 percent of the city. As the U.S. Census Bureau wrote (PDF), the “unprecedented displacement of nearly an entire city was unlike anything experienced in the nation’s history.”
Fifteen months after Katrina hit, 100,000 residents were still living in temporary FEMA trailers, while tens of thousands were scattered to the four corners of the country. The government’s inability to cope with the crisis became the storm’s most lasting legacy. (One federal judge even ruled that FEMA’s aid program was unconstitutionally ineffective and compared it to something out of a Kafka novel.)
Al Aubry, an urban farmer, and his family were some of the hundreds of thousands of people cooped up in so-called “temporary,” and reportedly toxic, trailers after their home in Gentilly, New Orleans, was destroyed by the storm. He turned to gardening to cope with the frustration as he waited for the city to demolish his house and for money to come through so he could build anew.
The first year after the storm, Aubry bought a miniature tree to celebrate Christmas in the trailer. By the second anniversary of the hurricane, he had a patch of carrots, green beans, green onions, squash and other vegetables outside the two-room structure. He also had a pink notice on his former home announcing it would be demolished within 30 days. But that deadline came and passed. And the Aubrys went on waiting.
“How come you can’t knock this place down so we can go ahead and rebuild our house and be normal like everyone else in America?” he asked. “All of America is saying, ‘Well, all these people in New Orleans, if they just pull themselves up by their bootstraps and fend for themselves. . . .’ We can build our house, let us do it. If I didn’t have the garden I would go crazy on stuff like this,” he said.
The FEMA trailer had become the symbol of post-disaster failure and systematic neglect.
The waiting dragged on so outrageously long that, in February 2008, almost two and half years after the storm, presidential candidate Barack Obama traveled to Tulane University to rally in support of people like Aubry who were “languishing in trailers.” Less than six months later, FEMA took the remaining trailers back. But the reconstruction money didn’t necessarily follow, forcing families like the Aubrys to scatter to find their own temporary living arrangements. Finally, in 2011, Aubry and his wife broke ground on their new home, a full six years after the storm hit.
FEMA and the Bush administration were widely criticized for the convoluted and—some believed—purposefully difficult resettlement and aid process. But even if FEMA has tried to learn from its mistakes, that doesn’t prevent thousands of people across New York and New Jersey from being trapped in the waiting game that Aubry’s family endured.
The FEMA trailer had become the symbol of post-disaster failure and systematic neglect. So it was unsurprising when New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg declared that the city didn’t need trailers; he and other officials were determined to prevent the appearance of a repeat Katrina performance. Across the river, only a few dozen trailers made it to the roughly 300 miles of devastated New Jersey coastline, stretching from Bergen County south to the Delaware Bay. (A FEMA rule prohibiting trailers in floodplains, which the agency has ignored after past disasters, was invoked to explain to the public the limited rollout.)
New Yorkers affected by Sandy have had to resort to a shoddy patchwork of rental assistance programs and the short-lived Rapid Repairs initiative that barely scratched the surface of need. Meanwhile, New Jersey has created a complex system of rules and government oversight so tightly controlled that state administrators will pick contractors for homeowners and designs must follow a short list preapproved by the state. All this bureaucracy has created an alphabet soup of programs and applications that constitute a great irony for Republicans like Governor Chris Christie who evangelize small government. It’s also a painstaking headache for average residents like Deborah Turner who are trying their best to recover from the storm.
One last picture hangs in what used to be the Turners’ master bedroom. Photo by Michael Premo / Sandy Storyline, 2013.
We first met Turner in the People’s Pantry, a community relief center in Toms River, New Jersey. Housed in a cavernous 20,000 square-foot storefront in a suburban shopping plaza on Fischer Boulevard, the Pantry has become a permanent fixture of the community. Like many other middle-class residents in limbo, Turner first came to the Pantry in January seeking aid. She ended up volunteering when she realized that they needed help distributing donations to the more than 5,000 families registered to get weekly supplies. She’s since come on board the tiny staff as the Donations Coordinator.
During our conversation, Turner and a younger staff member played with her infant son, Carson “Hurricane” Turner, who was born less than two months after the storm. Turner explained that she and her husband, a retired police officer, have gutted the house to remove the moldy flooring and sheetrock down to the studs. But they are waiting for the funding to rebuild so they can move back in.
A few weeks later, we visited the Turners at their home in Brick, New Jersey—the house that her newborn son has never lived in. Their neighborhood is made up of a network of narrow streets, alternating between paved roadways and Venetian-style canals that residents call lagoons. The backyard of each house borders neat lanes of water leading to the bay. Groups of kids run in and out of each other’s homes. And even though only a handful of residents have returned, during our afternoon visit a couple of boats drifted down the waterway like it was an ordinary summer day on the Jersey Shore.
A quiet lagoon in Brick, New Jersey. Photo by Michael Premo / Sandy Storyline, 2013.
Unfortunately, Turner’s ordeal—in which she, her husband, young daughter and dogs had to flee to a nearby house and later be evacuated as the water rose around them—has put a stain on their view of their bucolic neighborhood. Like tens of thousands of homeowners across New York and New Jersey, Turner is struggling to stay afloat in the midst of a mountain of paperwork, changing rules and mortgage payments that make it impossible for her to either rebuild or walk away.
She would walk away from the property—if not for the mortgage and equity loan she still owes on the house.
“The only thing they haven’t asked for is a DNA sample,” she said, describing the endless applications for rebuilding assistance. “They need to know everything. I couldn’t put one grant in because I couldn’t find my one month-old son’s social security number. I asked, ‘Why do you need his social security number? He’s a baby.’ They said, ‘We need it all.’ And I was like, ‘Do you think I’m making him up? He’s sitting right here!’”
Twice now FEMA has lost the paperwork Turner has submitted. And even though she’s received flood insurance, it’s not enough to rebuild and raise the house. She’s so frustrated that she would walk away from the property—if not for the mortgage and equity loan she still owes on the house.
Last November, many banks promised to give homeowners affected by Sandy a 90-day grace period on their mortgage payments, while Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac floated a soon-to-expire yearlong grace period. But many said they were offered a mere two-week grace period, if any at all.
Turner and her family are living in a house in the nearby town of Tom’s River with the help of the FEMA rental assistance program as they wait. They are still living near the water, which is unnerving, she says, but she sees many people at the People’s Pantry that haven’t been able to find rental housing and are living in much more precarious situations. And working there offers an important way for her to stay busy and focused on moving forward.
“It helps me through the day, so I’m not home thinking about how bad everything is, or when I’m going to get back into my house,” she explained. “I think it has made me a better mother to my children, because I’m not moping. . . . The more you are with people and the less you feel alone, the better you feel, because you are not the only one going through this.”
By Laura Gottesdiener, Rachel Falcone and Michael Premo, co-producers of Sandy Storyline and Luisa Dantas, director of LandofOpportunity.
This article is the second of a series focusing on people across New York City and New Jersey who are “In Between Homes” in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. To add your voice to this growing storyline, please contribute your story.
LandofOpportunity will unveil its interactive site in the weeks leading up to the anniversary of Hurricane Sandy. Find out more here.
Sandy Storyline
Sandy Storyline is a participatory documentary project that collects and shares stories about the impact of Hurricane ...
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Who Needs Fiction: Bad Economy Hurts Golddiggers
It reads like a headline from The Onion, doesn’t it? I’m not kidding. Below is an excerpt from an article in the NY Times. If you click on the title of this post, you’ll be directed to the full article. If you REALLY want to see just how out of touch and entitled these young ladies are, follow the link in the article to the blog. I found it very entertaining.
It’s the Economy, Girlfriend
By RAVI SOMAIYA
The economic crisis came home to 27-year-old Megan Petrus early last year when her boyfriend of eight months, a derivatives trader for a major bank, proved to be more concerned about helping a laid-off colleague than comforting Ms. Petrus after her father had a heart attack.
For Christine Cameron, the recession became real when the financial analyst she had been dating for about a year would get drunk and disappear while they were out together, then accuse her the next day of being the one who had absconded.
Dawn Spinner Davis, 26, a beauty writer, said the downward-trending graphs began to make sense when the man she married on Nov. 1, a 28-year-old private wealth manager, stopped playing golf, once his passion. “One of his best friends told me that my job is now to keep him calm and keep him from dying at the age of 35,” Ms. Davis said. “It’s not what I signed up for.”
They shared their sad stories the other night at an informal gathering of Dating a Banker Anonymous, a support group founded in November to help women cope with the inevitable relationship fallout from, say, the collapse of Lehman Brothers or the Dow’s shedding 777 points in a single day, as it did on Sept. 29.
In addition to meeting once or twice weekly for brunch or drinks at a bar or restaurant, the group has a blog, billed as “free from the scrutiny of feminists,” that invites women to join “if your monthly Bergdorf’s allowance has been halved and bottle service has all but disappeared from your life.”
Theirs is not the typical 12-step program.
Step 1: Slip into a dress and heels.
Step 2: Sip a cocktail and wait your turn to talk.
Step 3: Pour your heart out. Repeat as needed.
About 30 women, generally in their mid- to late-20s, regularly post to the Web site or attend meetings.
“We do make light of everything on the blog and it’s very tongue in cheek,” said Laney Crowell, 27, who parted ways with a corporate real estate investor last month after a tumultuous relationship. “But it all stems out of really serious and heartfelt situations.”
When she introduces other Wall Street widows to the group, Ms. Crowell added, “They call their friends and say, ‘You’re not going to believe what I just read. It’s going to make you feel so much better.’ ”
Once it was seen as a blessing in certain circles to have a wealthy, powerful partner who would leave you alone with the credit card while he was busy brokering deals. Now, many Wall Street wives, girlfriends and, increasingly, exes, are living the curse of cutbacks in nanny hours and reservations at Masa or Megu. And that credit card? Canceled.
Raoul Felder, the Manhattan divorce lawyer, said that cases involving financiers always stack up as the economy starts to slip, because layoffs and shrinking bonuses place stress on relationships — and, he said, because “there aren’t funds or time for mistresses any more.”
(One such mistress wrote on the blog that when she pouted about not having been taken on a trip lately, her married man explained that with money so tight, his wife had taken to checking up on his accounts.)
Harriet Pappenheim, a psychotherapist at Park Avenue Relationship Consultants who wrote “For Richer or Poorer,” a 2006 book on money in marriage, said that the repercussions could be acute for Wall Street wunderkinds who define their identities through their job titles and the size of their bonuses.
“It’s a big blow to their egos and to their self-esteem,” she said of the endless stream of economic bad news, “and they may take it out on their partners and children.”
Ms. Petrus, a lawyer, and Ms. Crowell, who works for a fashion Web site, started the support group when they realized that they were facing similar problems in their relationships with bankers last fall.
“We put two and two together and figured out that it was the economy, not us,” Ms. Petrus recalled at a recent meeting in the lobby bar of the Bowery Hotel. “When guys in banking are going through this, they can’t handle a relationship.”(She and her boyfriend split up last year; he declined to discuss it.)
Many of the women said that as the economic crisis struck last fall, they began tracking the markets during the day to predict the moods that the men they loved might be in later. On big news days, like when the first proposed government bailout failed in Congress, or when Lehman went belly-up, they knew that plans to see their partners would be put off.
“I was like, ‘O.K. I signed up for that, it’s fine,’ “ said Ms. Cameron. “But all of a sudden,” she said, her boyfriend “couldn’t focus. If he stayed over he’d be up at some random hour checking his BlackBerry, Bloomberg and CNBC.”
Ms. Cameron said that she and her boyfriend broke up at the end of November but that they still saw each other occasionally.
One frequent topic among the group is the link between the boardroom and the bedroom.
“There’s actually the type of person who has a bad day on the trading floor and they want to have sex more,” Ms. Spinner Davis offered as she sipped a vodka gimlet, declining to say how she knew.
Ms. Petrus chimed in.
“If you’re lucky you’ll get that guy,” she said, not revealing whether she considered herself lucky. “Middle-case scenario: It gets relegated to the weekends.
“Worst-case scenario,” she began, and then took another sip of her drink.
Brandon Davis, Ms. Spinner Davis’s husband of almost three months, acknowledged in a recent telephone interview that his new job was “certainly more stressful and there’s certainly more pressure” because of the economy, but disagreed that such stresses had affected his home life.
He did not want to talk about golf.
Some women in the group said the men in their lives had gone from being aloof and unattainable to unattractively needy and clinging. Others complained of being ignored — one, who called herself A.P., wrote on the blog that three weeks had passed without her boyfriend “asking a single question” about her life. Another wrote, fearfully, that her beau had told her to make a list of their favorite New York restaurants before the bad market forced a move to the Midwest.
“Next time you are stressing over some finance guy, remember that he is just a math-club nerd,” one woman wrote after recounting a breakup. “This recession just bought everyone an extra two years of the single life.”
Labels: Golddiggers, Who Needs Fiction?
Who Needs Fiction: Economy Hits Criminals Too
Having just cleared the driveway one more time (this winter is set to establish new records for both snow and cold in this area - damn that global warming), one can't help but think about everyone who is being hurt buy the bad economy, including ... gangsters.
While it sounds like a headline from The Onion, it's true. Below is an excerpt from an article on "Japan Subculture Research Center" which describes the consequences of the bad economy for the Japanese Yakuza. If you click on the title of this post, you'll be directed to the full article.
The JSRC is an interesting site. I've created a link for it. Many of us in the West sort of idealize the East, thinking of it as some sort of utopia. Nope. They have their problems too.
Anyway, it's an interesting article. Please pay them a visit.
From The Times Online
Leo Lewis in Tokyo
An attractive residential backstreet, a highly desirable postcode and a hugely provocative bit of corporate relocation could unleash a murderous gang war on the streets of Tokyo.
Veteran observers of Japanese organised crime are predicting a sharp increase in violence in the coming weeks as two rival yakuza crime syndicates threaten to battle it out for supremacy of the protection, prostitution and drugs rackets in the centre of the city.
The stakes are rising fast. With many of their business interests such as property and construction battered by the country’s deepening recession, the gangs are scrambling more aggressively for the profits from rackets such as blackmail and loan-sharking, which thrive in the more glamorous districts of Tokyo, according to one authority on the yakuza.
The immediate risk, said police sources, arises from a short strip of road in the glitzy Akasaka district of Tokyo and potentially explosive relations between the long-term residents and the new neighbours.
Labels: organized crime, Who Needs Fiction?, Yakuza
Happy Year of the Ox
A friend sent me an article, a portion of which I've excerpted a bit below. To read the whole article, click on the title of this post. Along with the article is a nice slide show to go with it. Please check it out.
Celebrations will welcome Year of the Ox
Matthai Kuruvila, Chronicle Staff Writer
In the midst of hundreds gathered in San Francisco's Portsmouth Square on Saturday morning, a Taoist priest used red dye to dab the eyes, ears, nostrils and mouth of Gum Lung, the golden dragon.
Within moments, the 238-foot dragon twirled, soared and zigzagged through the often narrow streets of one of the nation's most historic and largest Chinese enclaves.
Awakened with the red dye that symbolizes blood, the dragon comes to life two weeks a year as Chinatown celebrates the Lunar New Year, which begins Monday and is observed in much of the East Asian world.
Gum Lung is the unquestioned star for the fortnight of festivities, embodying thousands of years of tradition and attracting a legion of local volunteers who carry it during the annual Chinese New Year Parade.
"It's always good luck and prosperity when the dragon comes around," said Frank Ung, 57. As dragon master for the parade, he has overseen the creature's care for 35 years.
Monday marks the beginning of the Year of the Ox. People born in that year are dependable, patient and methodical. They do not back down in the face of obstacles. President Obama is an ox.
Gum Lung (pronounced "goom loong") has a skeleton of bamboo and is connected by rope. Linen, paper, rabbit fur and decorative disks serve as the dragon's sinewy skin. Hundreds of LED and compact fluorescent bulbs vein the body, allowing Gum Lung to glow during the parade the creature will highlight on Feb. 7. For the first time, the dragon will lead rather than end the procession.
Wear and tear render Gum Lung unusable after several years. This year's dragon was made in Hong Kong and brought to San Francisco three weeks ago. It is the longest in the parade's history, which is believed to date back to at least the 1860s.
Weighing an estimated half-ton, Gum Lung is carried and escorted by some 100 volunteers, not including the drummers, stilt walkers and lion dancers who walk in its wake. As the dragon careened down the hilly streets of Chinatown on Saturday, small children and the elderly were left equally awestruck.
"It's cool how that many people can synchronize it," said Megan Van Hoorebeke, 27, of Petaluma. "It's this big bulky creature, and they move it so fluidly."
Tradition attracts many
The long tradition of Chinese New Year celebrations in Chinatown always has drawn many non-Chinese.
Mark Langley's grandfather was an Italian American living in North Beach, but he worked alongside Chinese Americans and often shopped in Chinatown. Langley grew up in the Mission District and remembers coming to his first Lunar New Year celebration in 1968.
The memories of storefront neon lights mixed with incense and patchouli-wearing hippies are still vivid to him. Every year, to mark the past and present, Langley hosts a dinner in Chinatown for 30 friends.
"Chinatown was a magic place, and the parade just made it more so," said Langley, 52, who lives in Concord, one of the many who run while holding up Gum Lung.
The mythology of the dragon is central to Chinese culture, and one of the highest forms of divinity in polytheistic Taoism. It is the most desired birth year in the 12-year cycle of the Chinese horoscope, and is the only mythological creature. With horns of a stag, claws of an eagle, scales of a fish, whiskers of a cat and a body like a serpent, the Chinese dragon embodies many creatures.
Unlike European concepts of dragons, which portray the creatures as evil and destructive, the dragon in Chinese lore is benevolent. It brings luck, longevity and prosperity. The longer the dragon - and San Francisco's Gum Lung is believed to be the largest outside Asia - the more luck it's supposed to bring.
"Everyone is happy to see the dragon," said Jefferson Lee, a head priest with the Ching Chung Taoist Association of America, who awakened Gum Lung on Saturday morning. Lee and several others said traditional belief holds that all Chinese are "children of the dragon."
Prayers to the dragon are also believed to bring rain.
"Hopefully, the blessing of the dragon will bring us some water," said Lee, referring to the fact that California is facing a third straight dry winter.
Dragon energy
Gum Lung is a just a visual symbol. But Lee said Taoist belief holds that meditation can bring dragon energy into your life.
Labels: culture
Martial Arts and Aging
Time flies like an arrow. Just yesterday I was waiting for the Rocky and Bullwinkle show. Now I’m helping my youngest daughter with her college applications.
We age. I’m working on my “next 50 years” now.
My late mother was in assisted living and nursing homes for the last 8 years of her life. I saw everyday what physical wrecks people can become. We can only control to a certain extent what becomes of us, but the people of that generation simply didn’t know what we know now about aging more gracefully.
One of the reasons I decided to study taijiquan was to help myself age more gracefully. The martial art is intellectually engaging, and I’m not sure anyone could ever finish plumbing it’s depths. While push hands practice requires a partner, almost everything I need to do to practice this art, I can do on my own, with no need of a special location or equipment (ie training mats for falling like judo or aikido). I have very good balance, which is the nemesis of old people; the art promotes deep breathing, strong legs, flexibility, etc., etc., and so forth.
Zen over at Zen’s Sekai I sent me a link to an excellent blog entry of which I’ve excerpted a portion below. I’m really only posting a teaser. Please follow the link and read the full entry. It could make all the difference to you several years from now.
Martial Arts and the Art of Aging
We are bombarded by claims (in the hundreds – and counting) in the media that have purported to discover the “secret to longevity” and the ultimate “anti-aging” pill or elixir. We are overwhelmed by such marketing and publicity stunts and over time many people are sucked into purchasing these “magic bullets” and as a result their money and time have disappeared into a black hole of quackery and scams.
The fountain of youth does not exist – at least as we think of it from some “golden time” in the past or on some “golden isle” somewhere – these grand hopes are a part of the mythology and the story telling that captures our imagination – but escapes our reason.
But there are ways in which we can work toward a healthier lifestyle, achieve tranquility, and age with grace and dignity. The approach is straightforward, but yet takes effort and a dedication to the practice and an acceptance of the art. I am convinced that science and medicine are tools by which we can understand – and create – a more complete experience (and existence) in the aging process. But there is more to it than that. We must be our own best stewards of our health by nourishing both the body and mind with activities that sustain well being.
I am not claiming that the following approach is the Holy Grail to defeat the aging process; rather, I am claiming that there are many techniques that create an opportunity for us to embrace the transformations of the aging process in a more creative and adaptive manner.
Furthermore, these activities and techniques are not written out on prescription pad – Rx – nor do they have to be purchased at outrageous prices. The barriers to participation may be more psychological than physical. The involvement will take time and practice and a dedication to the craft- to the art. I am not talking about an obsessive/compulsive approach; rather, I am proposing an approach where the practice is effortless – where the activity is more of a flow – than a burden and drudgery. But in our frantic world of busy distractions, the practice can be vulnerable to displacement and a lower priority compared to all else.
The practice is breath. The practice is stretching. The practice is posture. The practice is a knowing and experiencing of your center, your core, your muscle, your movement, your flexibility, your balance, and your mind.
Walk. Hike. Bike. Meditate and reflect. The practice can be Yoga. The practice can be Pilates.
The practice can be weight training. The practice can be all of the above.
The practice can be Tai Chi. The practice can be Kung Fu.
To age well = stretch and strengthen. The body and the mind.
Aging Well: The Center, the Balance, and the Sphere
In one of the most significant publications on the topic of aging ever produced, Thomas R. Cole, the author of “The Journey of Life”, has captured the developmental essence of the spiritual and scientific understanding for the life course from pre-modern, through modernity, and into the so-called “post-modern” domain of how we come to interpret and dialogue about the meaning of – what it means to be old – and an aging individual.
Now, while I find this publication to be the exemplar of “complete” scholarship in the field of aging, this publication nevertheless had as its primary focus, the Anglo-European traditions as the overarching template and optic for analysis (however, see The Oxford Book of Aging:
Reflections on the Journey of Life, Cole & Winkler, 1994). While this limited focus is fine and worthy in its own right, the complementary perspectives of eastern beliefs, philosophical nuances, and the respective cross-cultural approaches to the aging process also intrigue me (personally and professionally).
My interest has less to do with the role of “alternative medicine” (as compared to the “scientific biomedical model” associated with western perspectives), and rather, more the interest of the belief systems and practices of the martial arts as a potential for enhancing the quality of life as we age in all domains: physical, mental, and spiritual (and very much the totality of all three as integrated). While not all styles of martial arts are necessarily embedded within an “eastern” approach, my approach here is to recognize the diversity of martial arts, while showing the highest respect for the origination of most in the sphere of Asian culture.
Labels: Martial Arts, Ordinary Life
300 Tang Dynasty Poems: : #30 ON MEETING MY FRIEND …
This past weekend, I had to clear the driveway three times within a 24 hour period. I heard that our total snowfall for last winter, the 4th snowiest since they’ve been keeping track was 46”. This year we’re already up to 42”.
Today, Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States of America. No matter how you feel about his politics (I’m a conservative), we all have to hope that the country returns to prosperity during his term.
For many years it’s been customary for an inauguration to be commemorated with a poem. This time it was with a truly forgettable, friggin’ awful poem written by a pointy headed Yale professor.
How unlike the days of the Tang Dynasty in China. The Tang Dynasty was regarded as a Golden Age of art and culture in China. Poetry, good poetry, was especially esteemed. There was no occasion, no event, no homecoming or leave taking which was too small to be commemorated by a poem.
What is considered to be the best poetry of that age has been compiled into a famous anthology, The 300 Tang Dynasty Poems. If you click on the title of this post, you’ll be directed to an online version of this classic book. In the meantime, Below is #30, ON MEETING MY FRIEND FENG ZHUIN THE CAPITAL
ON MEETING MY FRIEND FENG ZHU IN THE CAPITAL
Out of the east you visit me,
With the rain of Baling still on your clothes,
I ask you what you have come here for;
You say: "To buy an ax for cutting wood in the mountains"
...Hidden deep in a haze of blossom,
Swallow fledglings chirp at ease
As they did when we parted, a year ago....
How grey our temples have grown since them!
Who Needs Fiction: Farm Machine Music
While enduring the excrutiating cold (on the way in to work today, the message center in my car indicated -8F, with the radio informed me that the wind chill was -30F, and we will never even approach 0F today), what better way to pass the time than to watch an entertaining video that circulated on the internet some ago, as “Farm Machine Music,” or something similar.
Snopes.com debunked this as an excerpt from a music video. If you click on the title of this post, you’ll be directed to the Snopes page which explains it. It’s still entertaining. Enjoy.
Labels: Music Videos, Who Needs Fiction?
Different Versions of the Dao De Jing Compared
It has been said that the Dao De Jing (Tao Teh Ching) has been translated more than any other book, with the exception of the Bible. If you click here, on the title of this post, or over at the left, you'll be directed to a website that has many different translations of the Chinese text, side by side. It's very interesting to look at.
Taijiquan Manuscripts
If you click on the title of this post, you'll be directed to a blog entitled "A Quan-Shu Manuscript."
It is a collection of martial arts writings, from back in the day. Take a look. These articles were written by people who knew what they were talking about. You'll also find the link over at the left.
Labels: Martial Arts, Taijiquan
Samurai Archery
I just published a post that had to do wtih Japanese Kyudo, which is a fairly modern form of archery as a budo, although it has ancient roots.
A friend sent me the following article that was published on Yahoo. It is about a much older form of Japanese archery that is still practiced today. If you click on the title of this post, you'll be directed to the original article, where there is a slide show.
Samurai archery, an ancient sport, still thrives
By ERIC TALMADGE, Associated Press Writer Eric Talmadge, Associated Press Writer 28 mins ago
ZUSHI, Japan – It is about as far from the Olympic sport of archery as it can get. The bow is taller than the person shooting it, and, to the uninitiated, it appears lopsided and unbalanced. There are no sights, no high-tech stabilizers.
And, of course, it is done on horseback, at upward of 40 mph.
It's called yabusame, and it is the sport of the samurai.
Each year, archers in feudal shooting gear climb atop their decorated mounts for a lively competition on the beach of Zushi, a town just south of Tokyo, galloping in the sand as thousands of onlookers cheer and shout. The first competition was held here in 1199.
The scene is like something out of a movie by the great Akira Kurosawa. Banners flap in the ocean wind marking the beginning and end of the shooting runway. Little boys in bright robes and black hats scamper about collecting the arrows and the debris from the wooden or clay targets destroyed by each hit.
"There is nothing like this outside of Japan," said Ietaka Kaneko, who heads the Japan Equestrian Archery Association and the Takeda School of Horseback Archery, which traces its origins back more than 800 years.
The targets, held about seven feet aloft on small poles or scaffoldings, are roughly the size of a mounted opponent's chest. There are three along the runway, which is only 165 yards long, giving the archer just enough time to raise his bow, load and shoot — three times — all the while spurring on his horse.
When the dull, turnip-shaped tip of an arrow strikes just right, the board explodes in a blur of splinters. But as often as not, the arrows miss, sailing past the targets and thudding into the canvas behind them.
In battle, hitting the target was the whole idea. But yabusame has from its origins been almost as much an art as a sport. In many competitions, hitting the target is almost an afterthought — archers are judged, if they are judged at all, on the beauty of their run and the form they display as they release each arrow.
Here, hitting counts.
"Many schools today see yabusame as more of a ceremonial thing," said Kaneko, a retired veterinarian. "In our school, it is our earnest desire to connect."
Each score brings a loud round of awed cheers and raucous applause and each splintered target is branded with a hot iron commemorating the day and recycled as a good luck charm. A long line stretches along the beach well before the competition is over as spectators make sure they go home with a piece for their collection.
Yabusame in Japan is something like polo in England, or rodeos in America.
Very few people actually participate in yabusame, because few have access to horses or the time to learn all the technique involved in riding them for sport. But Kaneko, whose family roots are in the now-defunct samurai class, grew up around them and his steeds were trained specifically for archery competitions.
"I have been shooting since I was 17," he said. He's 87 now, and was on hand to officiate at this year's beach competition, though he did not shoot at any targets. Instead, he started it all off, as drums beat, with a symbolic draw at the cloud-filled sky.
"The most difficult part is staying absolutely stable no matter how fast the horse is galloping," he said. "The style is not like Western or European equestrian riding."
Archers don't actually sit. They squat, using special stirrups and very light saddles.
There are three main types of shooting.
The first, and most common, involves releasing the arrow at a target directly to the side of the archer from about 10 feet. Targets can also be placed obliquely to the front of the archer's path, or up to 50 feet away.
"When people think of the samurai, they don't realize that in the old days, archery was more important in battle than swords," said Hisashi Yoshimi, one of the featured shooters at the beach competition. "Archers didn't shoot at targets close up. They kept a distance and fired upward so that the arrows would rain down on advancing troops."
Yoshimi said that tradition is reflected in the longbows, which are better suited for long-range attacks on a general area rather than picking off single adversaries.
"The bows haven't really been adapted for this kind of shooting, because there is a big part of the sport that is spiritual, rather than practical," he said. "That's a lot of its appeal."
Labels: culture, Kyudo, Martial Arts
There is a post over at Zen's Sekai I, entitled The Last Ya ... '08. The author is a student of Japanese Archery (kyudo), among other things, and the article is about his last kyudo class of the year.
It is their custom that each of the students fires off one last arrow ("ya" in Japanese) to sum up and let go of the expiring year. With that last shot, you are giving up your disappointments and frustrations; and giving yourself a clean slate with which to begin the new year.
What a wonderful concept.
I don't think those of us who don't practice archery need be left out. Whatever form your practice takes, perhaps dedicate yourself one time to summarizing and letting go of 2008, so you can move forward cleanly into 2009.
Please pay Zen's Sekai I a visit. It's an article worth reading.
300 Tang Dynasty Poems: : #30 ON MEETING MY FRIEND...
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Preview: Clarkson
Clarkson Golden Knights
Record: 5-13-7
Series Record: 58-49-14 Cornell
Last Meeting:
Cornell began its early season success against its ECAC foes from the North Country at Lynah Rink with a 3-1 victory over the Golden Knights. The Casey Jones-led Knights left Lynah perplexed and somewhat annoyed from one of the most memorable aspects of that game. A five-minute major was called in the second that was assessed originally to Ryan. Ryan did not go to the box. Play resumed and Ryan begin to kill off his own penalty. Game play then was stopped. McCarron was then awarded the five-minute major along with a game disqualification, but the entire scenario seemed out of hand. Clarkson by the end, admittedly somewhat justifiably, felt that it had been wronged. I am sure the memories of that event at Lynah have not faded. Nor has the memory of the loss.
The Knights Since Last Meeting:
Clarkson has gone 3-7-2 since the clash between the Big Red and the Golden Knights. The Golden Knights have a Potsdam-valued record of 2-0-1 against the St. Lawrence Saints over that span. The Golden Knights's one other victory came against a faltering Harvard squad. Most recently, the Golden Knights wrestled a surging Colgate Raiders team to a 4-4 tie last night.
It may seem to some to violate the tenet to which WAFT adheres that one should never disrespect one's opponent if we do not expound further upon what the Golden Knights have done, but frankly, I doubt that it will make a difference. Cornell has shown that when it produces a great effort few teams can keep pace with it this season. However, Cornell has proven that it can play as poorly as some of the worst college hockey programs in the nation if it is not invested in the game or makes mental lapses. In the latter case, it would not matter if Clarkson brought a flawless game, its best game, or its worst game, the Knights would leave the ice of Cheel to raucous acclaim and a resounding victory.
Keys to the Game:
The key to winning this game for Cornell seems to be as much mental as physical. Cornell lost the St. Lawrence game from two lapses. One is able to be rationalized, the other is not. MacDonald was called for a five-minute major with 5:34 remaining in the game. The game was tied at 2-2.
Cornell appeared to go to killing off the major as it had the six previous. Some would argue that the penalty killers did not, but I must disagree. I believe that they did. Greg Carey converted on the major just 0:39 seconds into the major to give St. Lawrence the go-ahead goal. St. Lawrence had won the game at this point.
How can I know that? The demeanor of the Cornell team showed that. 4:55 remained in the game. 0:34 of that time would be with Cornell at even strength. Cornell came out flat. The Big Red had much to be confident about. It was still very much in the game. Cornell had killed off six penalties before the final six minutes of the game. Somewhat atypically, Cornell had pressed to challenge for shorthanded goals throughout those six successful penalty kills. However, on the ropes, with 4:55 remaining with one man down and knowing that they would have only 0:34 of even strength at the end of the game, Cornell lost its nerve, retreated to its own ended, and did not challenge for the extra goal.
Yes, sometimes it is unwise to challenge for a shorthanded goal, but during the killing of the major there were breakaway chances. WAFT is usually a fan of discipline and conservatism, but the game was on the line so exceptions need to be made. Also, any argument for stability is surely lost when one considers how the Saints scored their fourth goal which is the thing about the St. Lawrence game that is least able to be rationalized.
Cornell drew a penalty with 1:48 remaining in the game. The game would be played 4-on-4 until the last 0:34. Schafer chose to keep Iles on the bench for the extra attacker. I write with the benefit of hindsight, but when St. Lawrence scored on the empty net just 17 seconds later, it makes the decision seem all the more troubling.
Cornell was deflated and retrenched after St. Lawrence scored the go-ahead goal. This is a team that cannot be cocky or hubristic because there is a strong argument that such views are what has put this team is this position. However, the team cannot remain downtrodden. When games become tight or Cornell goes down late in the game, this team has begun to play either not to lose or not to lose by more. It has lost the competitive confidence to go for defeating an enemy soundly that has produced a likely mental block that prevents conversion on great offensive opportunities. Cornell enjoyed a handful of breakaway and short-handed chances against St. Lawrence but converted on none of them.
Cornell is a program in the ECAC that should be confident enough to expect to win. Even in these dire times of being below 0.500, if this team does not regain some semblance of humbled confidence then when it discovers how to win it may be too late. It is almost already too late.
Cornell killed off 85.7% of St. Lawrence's power-play opportunities. That element of its game did not deteriorate after the weekend. The alarming fact is that against both Brown and St. Lawrence, Cornell surrendered a power-play goal very late in the game.
Cornell owns a 0.450 record. Cornell sits two games below 0.500. Cornell sits in eleventh place in the ECAC Standings. Yes, Cornell is second-from-last in the ECAC at this late stage in the season. Were the 2013 ECAC Tournament to begin today, Cornell would begin it on the road without a single post-season game played at Lynah Rink. Currently, the Big Red would begin the 2013 ECAC Tournament in the first round against St. Lawrence at Appleton. Cornell is six points outside of a first-round bye.
Cornell has not scored more than two goals in four games. The Big Red has allowed 3.25 goals over that span. Andy Iles has not delivered a performance that includes a save percentage better than 0.915 over that same span.
A loss at Cheel on Saturday night could prove fatal to Cornell's post-season chances no matter what Cornell can achieve against Quinnipiac next week or even beyond. Cornell needs to make instant headway in the ECAC Standings and cannot allow games to pass without gaining posts. Cornell has played four consecutive ECAC games without gaining a single point.
Historical Dimension:
Cornell's loss last night represents the first time since Fall 1999 that Cornell has lost four consecutive regular-season games. WAFT will remain loyal to its pledge to support this team through ups and downs. It is part of truly being Lynah Faithful. This post in itself was difficult to write after Cornell failed to win a game that it had dominated largely last night. We remain loyal, if somewhat downtrodden.
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Review: Death Becomes Her (1992)
Submitted by Brandt Sponseller on Fri, 2000-09-22 00:00
Black/horror comedies notoriously, but sadly, have had difficulties finding audiences. For whatever reason, many people have a problem accepting a comedy about horrific subjects. It's a shame because black comedies are among my favorite types of film, but on the other hand, their rarity makes me appreciate an excellent example of the genre -- such as Death Becomes Her -- even more.(read more...)
Review: Village of the Damned (1960)
Submitted by Brandt Sponseller on Thu, 2000-09-21 01:00
Ranging from stark and haunting to just a touch of mild yawn-inducement, Village of the Damned covers a lot of territory in its scant 77 minutes -- most of it rewarding.(read more...)
Review: The Lift (1983)
Submitted by Brandt Sponseller on Wed, 2000-09-20 00:00
It's hard to believe that the horror subgenre about "Machines/Technology Gone Wild" actually has a subgenre itself of "Evil Elevator" films, but it does, small as it may be. I suppose it's one of the better targets for machine horror, since many of us have twinges of irrational fears about elevators--we fear that they'll suddenly plummet to the bottom of the shaft, we fear being stuck for indefinite periods of time between floors in a semblance of imprisonment and many of us are claustrophobic to an extent.(read more...)
Review: Kalifornia (1993)
Submitted by Brandt Sponseller on Tue, 2000-09-19 00:00
It's going to be tough to convey the experience of watching director Dominic Sena's film Kalifornia any better, and certainly I can't do so more succinctly, than the following--"If Ingmar Bergman had directed Natural Born Killers."
Reading that catch-phrase and seeing my rating, you might guess that I'm not the biggest fan of Natural Born Killers (NBK). That's not the case. I love Stone's work and NBK is one of my favorite films of all time. But Kalifornia is hardly lacking in quality. It just goes to show that there's more than one way to skin a cat. Or a human, as the case may be.(read more...)
Review: Se7en (1995)
Submitted by Brandt Sponseller on Sun, 2000-09-17 00:00
One of a handful of films that is based on the religious concept of "seven deadly sins," director David Fincher's Seven (or Se7en as the sillier title has it) is an uneven work that contains many excellent elements yet unfortunately drags on as if trying to demonstrate the sin of sloth in a few stretches.(read more...)
Review: The 13th Warrior (1999)
The 13th Warrior, John McTiernan's adaptation of Michael Crichton's novel "Eaters of the Dead," was hampered by delays which caused countless release dates to be set over the course of more than a year, and at one time it was actually rumored to be headed for a straight-to-video release. Delays and rumors like that usually denote a film riddled with problems. The 13th Warrior has its share, but it's a much better film than you might guess, offering an engaging period piece about an Arab unwillingly recruited into a Viking warrior band to fight off an "evil force" afflicting their people.(read more...)
Ode to Vincent Price
Submitted by Nate Yapp on Fri, 2000-09-01 00:00
Of all the horror icons throughout the history of cinema terror, none have affected me as much as Vincent Price. The King of Leer was the first horror actor I heard of, and the first to scare me.(read more...)
Review: Phantasm (1979)
Sure, it may not make a lot of sense for most of your first viewing, and some people might argue that it still doesn't make sense on subsequent viewings, but that's part of Phantasm's charm. It's not supposed to unfold like a textbook on logical entailment.(read more...)
Review: Q: The Winged Serpent (1982)
Q: The Winged Serpent is one of my favorite sleepers of all time. It's full of talent that is severely underrated, and for all of them, it's among their best work.(read more...)
Review: Bless the Child (2000)
The acting performances are actually very good, at times the story and action are captivating, and despite an obvious lack of a summer blockbuster budget, the special effects work well. What unfortunately drags Bless the Child down like a bat into hell is the fact that at least one of the scribes--or perhaps all four of them--never met a Catholic horror cliche they're not willing to invite into their convent to shelter from the demon of originality chasing the plot.(read more...)
Doctor X (1932)
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Shiverin' 6: Creepy Kids, Part Two
Submitted by Bruce Jordan on Tue, 2011-08-23 22:57
Continuing on from where we left off with our last installment of Classic-Horror.com's Shiverin' 6, we will now turn our attention to children who do their devilish deeds as a group. As each of these frightening features will attest, there's only one thing scarier than a creepy kid and that's a whole pack of menacing minors.(read more...)
Review: Ju-on: The Grudge (2003)
Submitted by Rich Dishman on Mon, 2011-08-22 00:58
Perhaps our shiny new century's first significant horror trend was sparked by the cult success of a Japanese film entitled Ringu. Its decidedly non-conventional approach seemed to hit a new and different horror nerve. When the Americanized remake (2002's The Ring) became a colossal international hit a surge of interest in East Asian horror films ensued, allowing US audiences to sample their diverse and fascinating output. The subject of this review, Ju-on: The Grudge, presents a modern ghost story that dispenses almost completely with certain horror elements codified in the US while focusing on others with laser like intensity. This mixture creates a film that is a stylistic breath of fresh air that also happens to be one creepy experience. (read more...)
Jimmy Sangster (1927 - 2011)
Submitted by Simon Powell on Sat, 2011-08-20 18:31
Jimmy Sangster, whose scripts for The Curse of Frankenstein and Horror of Dracula helped seal the reputation of Hammer Studios as the home of British horror in the 1950s and 60s has passed away at the age of 83.
Born in Wales in 1927, Sangster started his movie career aged 16 as a clapper boy, working his way through various jobs, before ending up as assistant director on Hammer adaptations of BBC Radio serials.
Eventually landing the job of scripting the studio's adaption of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, he made one significant change to the source material, moving the emphasis in the story from the monster to the creator, consequently giving Peter Cushing his breakthrough starring role, and Hammer a hit movie, both in the UK and the US.(read more...)
Review: The House That Dripped Blood (1971)
Submitted by Bruce Jordan on Mon, 2011-07-18 23:12
From 1965 to 1973, Max J. Rosenberg and Milton Subotsky's Amicus studios unleashed a string of high quality anthology films that were inspired by the macabre morality tales found in the pages of E.C. Comics. It's a format in which the company would excel, as many of these features are now considered classics. One of the studios finest portmanteau efforts is director Peter Duffel's The House That Dripped Blood. The film is extraordinary from start to finish thanks to its exceptional writing, a star-studded cast, and a crew that enlivens what is, for the most part, a stage-bound production.
The story begins as a police inspector is called in to investigate the disappearance of Paul Henderson, an actor who had moved into a house with a history of strange occurrences. From there the film fractures into four tales which are related to the inspector by the homes real estate agent. They go as follows:(read more...)
Review: Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)
Submitted by Simon Powell on Mon, 2011-06-27 01:21
Assault on Precinct 13 was John Carpenter's first foray into professional filmmaking, and although today it is arguably remembered largely as an urban siege thriller and an homage to the westerns of Howard Hawks, there is also a nod to a classic horror film, as well some weird and ambiguous elements that point to the direction Carpenter was to take with his future work. (read more...)
The mere prospect of a Nazi zombie evokes dread filled imagery and an almost overwhelming sense of terror. With that being said, it's rather amazing that although this mini sub-genre has been around in one form or another since the 1940's, there are very few films within this particular niche that have the ability to frighten an audience. In fact, many consider most of these films (i.e. Zombie Lake, Oasis of the Zombies) to be of such poor quality that they are difficult to sit through, let alone admire. One exception to this generalization is director Ken Wiederhorn's Shock Waves, a film which manages to impress on various levels despite being straddled with a meager budget.
The premise of Shock Waves is quite basic -- a group of tourists find themselves shipwrecked on a remote island with a former SS officer (Peter Cushing) who hides a terrifying secret.(read more...)
Review: Island of Lost Souls (1932)
Submitted by Kevin Nickelson on Sun, 2011-05-29 22:46
With the installation of the Motion Picture Production Code in February 1930, Hollywood, suffering from a damaged image through much of the silents era due to off-screen star scandals and production of some risque films, finally bowed to political pressure for increased censorship. Full enforcement of the code, however, would not happen until 1934, when the chief censoring body, the Hays Office, was finally given final editing authority over the studios. Until then, many juicy gems, like Paramount's 1932 horror classic Island of Lost Souls were able to sneak past editor's chopping block with all the delightfully overt and lurid elements intact. (read more...)
Shiverin' 6: Creepy Kids, Part One
Submitted by Bruce Jordan on Wed, 2011-05-25 00:38
Welcome to another terror-filled edition of Classic-Horror.com's Shiverin' 6. In this installment we will delve into one of the horror genre's most frightening sub-genres: the killer kid flick. Since this is a rather large category of films we've decided to dedicate two separate features to these pictures. Part One will focus on children who act as individual threats and part two will take a look at children acting out as a group. Possession films will be saved for future columns. (read more...)
Submitted by Joseph Maddrey on Mon, 2011-05-02 01:36
The Lance Henriksen Blogathon is this week (May 2-7) and we have a special entry -- a Masters bio for Henriksen written by Joseph Maddrey, the co-author of Not Bad for a Human, Henriksen's autobiography. Find out more about this awesome event at NotBadforaHuman.com
Lance Henriksen is a versatile character actor who's as adept at playing strong, nurturing, heroic characters as he is at playing ruthless psychopaths. His secret is astute observation, empathy, and a willingness to surrender himself completely to every role he takes - whether it's in A-list drama or Z-grade schlock.
Review: Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932)
Submitted by Tom Fallows on Sun, 2011-03-20 23:47
The central thread of Edgar Allan Poe's 1841 short story Murders in the Rue Morgue is one of mystery. Two bodies are found, so degraded that investigators can only imagine a killer with a "grotesquerie in horror absolutely alien from humanity". Poe's novel is cerebral, focusing on analytical observation and the calculating power of the mind. It laid the groundwork for Arthur Conan Doyle's great detective and moved police work into the 20th century. Robert Florey's film adaptation however, holds no such aspirations. Here acumen is replaced by something more visceral and focus shifts to themes of desire, rage and revenge. This is after all the cinema, and here emotion is king. (read more...)
The Mothman Prophecies (2002)
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A Tale of Two Credibilities: Hurricane Sandy and Recent Extreme Weather Reports
by J. Wylie Donald
It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. In North America, anyway. As Hurricane Sandy looms over the Eastern seaboard, we thought it would be worthwhile to take a look at two recent reports about extreme weather. Ceres, the investor focused “advocate for sustainability leadership,” issued in September its report: Stormy Future for U.S. Property/Casualty Insurers: The Growing Costs and Risks of Extreme Weather Events. Munich Re, one of the world’s leading reinsurers, followed in early October with Severe Weather in North America. If you want to read Severe Weather in full, it will cost you $100. If an executive summary will do, that only costs an email address. Ceres’ report sets up the financial climate facing insurance companies today: historically low investment returns, a sluggish economy, and lagging economic performance as measured by return on equity. It then recounts the vicissitudes of recent extreme weather. In 2011 the insurance industry suffered more than $32 billion in losses, and “suffered the most credit downgrades in a single year since 2005.” The federal government issued a record 99 disaster declarations. To get specific: Losses from excessive precipitation during 2008-2011 were the highest on record.Average annual winter storm losses have nearly doubled since the 1980s.Since 1980, wildfires burned the highest amount of acreage in 2005, 2006 and 2007; and in 2010, wildfires caused over $1 billion in damage (and in 2012 record setting wildfires occurred in Colorado and other parts of the West.).Losses from low precipitation (drought) during 2012 will be the highest since 1988. These cap a 30-year trend of increasingly extreme weather. The effect of all this is, according to Ceres, a grave threat to insurers and those that rely on them. Ceres goes on and asserts that climate change “likely” will exacerbate the effects of extreme weather. Nevertheless, Ceres plays it cautiously: “Connecting the linkages and impacts between rising temperatures and extreme events remains a highly technical exercise fraught with uncertainty.” But notwithstanding the uncertainty, the cause of the potential economic problem for insurers is “increasing concentrations of insured assets, along with a changing global climate.” Ceres' recommendations include calling for insurance companies to encourage customers to lower their carbon emissions footprint and to encourage "policymakers to take steps to reduce carbon emissions." Is this unsupported advocacy or prudent business advice? We conclude the former. We start with one of the central themes of Stormy Future: the costs of extreme weather have been rising steadily over the last 30 years. But as the report acknowledges, some part of the increase is due to the fact that there are more people, more infrastructure, and more buildings and other property than there were 30 years ago. Even without any new extremes of weather the costs of weather-related disasters would have increased. But Ceres offers no more than an acknowledgment. There are no details to flesh out the relative contribution of extreme weather as compared to the contribution of increasing coastal populations and increasing property values. We discerned one hint. In the last twenty years state subsidized insurance plans (so-called “residual” plans or state insurers of last resort) have expanded from $55 billion to $885 billion. There would be no need for residual plans if people weren’t migrating to areas of higher risk, which for-profit insurers shun. So with barely any data from Ceres, we went looking. Professors Howard Kunreuther and his colleagues at the Wharton School had some interesting analysis in their 2009 work, At War with the Weather. Id. at 11. When hurricanes from 1900 to 2004 are normalized for wealth (i.e., evaluating each hurricane’s impact if it had hit in 2004), the five hurricanes with the most impact occurred in 1926, 1992, 1900, 1915 and 1944. Hardly a trend for increasing extreme weather. If Hurricane Katrina had been included, it likely would have topped the list, but that would have meant that the top five were 2005, 1926, 1992, 1900 and 1915, and still no extreme weather trend pops out. Another researcher, Roger Pielke, Jr. has concluded similarly that there is no trend toward increasing extreme weather in the form of tornadoes. It seems to us that Ceres should have assessed the impact of wealth concentration and population increase so that readers can reasonably conclude that climate-change-induced extreme weather is becoming an increasing substantial contributor to loss and not be forced to take Ceres at its word. Munich Re does better. Severe Weather relies for its data on Munich Re’s NatCatService, which contains more than 30,000 records on natural catastrophe loss. Based on a comprehensive review Munich Re concluded that extreme weather in North America has nearly quintupled in the last 30 years. In Asia the increase is 4 times, 2.5 in Africa, 2 in Europe and 1.5 in South America. This has resulted in increased losses. Unlike Ceres, Munich Re recognized the importance of addressing the contribution of increasing concentration of wealth and population on rising losses. The press release heralding Severe Weather states: “Up to now, however, the increasing losses caused by weather related natural catastrophes have been primarily driven by socio-economic factors, such as population growth, urban sprawl and increasing wealth.” But the release goes on: For thunderstorm-related losses the analysis reveals increasing volatility and a significant long-term upward trend in the normalized figures over the last 40 years. These figures have been adjusted to account for factors such as increasing values, population growth and inflation. A detailed analysis of the time series indicates that the observed changes closely match the pattern of change in meteorological conditions necessary for the formation of large thunderstorm cells. Thus it is quite probable that changing climate conditions are the drivers. The climatic changes detected are in line with the modelled changes due to human-made climate change. Munich Re concludes that this is the “ initial climate-change footprint” in US loss data from the last four decades. “Previously, there had not been such a strong chain of evidence.” There it is: losses are increasing independently of increases in wealth and population and climate change is a cause. As noted above, others disagree with this conclusion. In fact, Munich Re has been slammed in the press and in the blogosphere for over-hyping the risk in the search for profits. What the criticism misses is that Munich Re is putting its information out into the marketplace. Consumers are free to accept or reject it. Those choices ultimately end up being reflected in the bottom line. This is our fundamental point about climate change and economic activity. Substantially all business decisions are made with some uncertainty. Why would those involving a changing climate be any different? The question to be asked is whether there is enough information to guide action. Climate change is having effects. We know this. Why? Simply because it is occurring. And we also know it because of the mountains of evidence. Prudent business people must think about how those changes will affect them. Munich Re gives some answers. We would submit that business planning based on Ceres’ report would not be prudent – Ceres leaves out a fundamental analysis: what is the effect of increasing concentrations of wealth and population on the increasing loss trends from extreme weather? Munich Re’s report, on the other hand, gives a decision-maker a tool that addresses that uncertainty. One chooses not to listen at one’s peril. Hurricane Sandy is the 18th named storm of this hurricane season. If it lives up to its hype, it will be long-remembered. But even if it does not, that does not change the business imperative: plan with the best information available. We would submit that climate change should be part of that planning.
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Climate Change | Climate Change Effects | Insurance | Sustainability
Tags: Ceres, Munich Re, Stormy Weather, Severe Weather in North America, hurricanes, wildfires, drought, winter storms, Pielke, Kunreuther
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History of Federal Agencies Aberdeen, South Dakota 1881-1981
The National Weather Service was born on February 9, 1870, when President
Ulysses S. Grant signed a Joint Resolution of Congress authorizing the
establishment of a national weather service . Members of the Army Signal
Service served as weather observers of this early organization.
After two decades of struggle, it was felt weather-observing should not
be a function of the military branch; so on July 1. 1891. the weather
service was transferred to the Department of Agriculture and the service
was called simply. the Weather Bureau.
In 1940, the Weather Bureau was transferred from the Department of Agricul
ture to the Department of Commerce. The Weather Bureau. s till under
the Department of Commerce, became part of the Environmental Science Services
Administration (ESSA) in 1965.
Under presidential reorganization in 1970. President Richard M. Nixon
combined various agencies related to Oceanography and the Fisheries with
Earth/Space sciences. At that time. the Weather Bureau became the National
Weather Service under the newly created National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA). but still under the Department of Commerce. So it
is we remain today.
The National Weather Service (under NOAA) has operations in over 400 facilities
in all 50 states and elsewhere around the globe. Altogether, the
Title History of Federal Agencies Aberdeen, South Dakota 1881-1981
Subject Aberdeen, SD -- History
Description This soft bound booklet contains a history of Aberdeen, starting before European settlement. Also includes a history of the Civil Service Act, and a list of Federal Agencies in Aberdeen with their histories.
Publisher Aberdeen Centennial Committee
Contributors Robert J. Murray
Contributing Institution Presentation College
Identifier History of Federal Agencies Aberdeen, South Dakota 1881-1981
Transcript NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE The National Weather Service was born on February 9, 1870, when President Ulysses S. Grant signed a Joint Resolution of Congress authorizing the establishment of a national weather service . Members of the Army Signal Service served as weather observers of this early organization. After two decades of struggle, it was felt weather-observing should not be a function of the military branch; so on July 1. 1891. the weather service was transferred to the Department of Agriculture and the service was called simply. the Weather Bureau. In 1940, the Weather Bureau was transferred from the Department of Agricul ture to the Department of Commerce. The Weather Bureau. s till under the Department of Commerce, became part of the Environmental Science Services Administration (ESSA) in 1965. Under presidential reorganization in 1970. President Richard M. Nixon combined various agencies related to Oceanography and the Fisheries with Earth/Space sciences. At that time. the Weather Bureau became the National Weather Service under the newly created National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). but still under the Department of Commerce. So it is we remain today. The National Weather Service (under NOAA) has operations in over 400 facilities in all 50 states and elsewhere around the globe. Altogether, the 67
History of Federal Agencies Aberdeen, South Dakota...
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January 8, 1927 – December 17, 2018
Donald Brook with his dog Obi in 2018. Photo: Janet Maughan
Late last year Donald Brook died in Adelaide at the age of ninety-one. To those of us who were lucky enough to have worked alongside him and witnessed the scale of his contribution to Australian art, the loss is beyond measure.
The sense of loss is not sentiment. Donald was an unusually acute thinker – a philosopher who was also a gifted artist; possessed of a complex, often contrary spirit that was realised in both his expressions of love for and dislike of, the institutional aspects of the art world.
There was never any doubt about the intense, focused intelligence Donald brought to each aspect of his multiple contributions to the field, shaped by his laser-sharp critical responses and his indomitable energy. Donald was a force to be reckoned with, his influence is profound, but his gift of “shape-shifting” is also what defines the mercurial nature of his legacy.
Throughout his life, he was highly regarded in many roles: as a sculptor, philosopher, teacher, writer, scholar, instigator, creator, facilitator and mentor.
He was born an only child into a very poor family in Leeds, which he later described as, “A cultural wasteland of lower middle-class environment where artistic ambitions persisting into maturity were taken as evidence of insanity.”[1]
In a bid to appease his parents’ anxiety about his future earning capacity, Donald began his tertiary education in electrical engineering, although from an early age he only wanted to make sculpture.
He was conscripted towards the end of the second world war and benefited from the free post-war university training offered to ex-servicemen, choosing to go to art school at the University of Durham, the only university art school that had a sculpture course at that time. Donald got to know Henry Moore as the external examiner of his degree work and was awarded a travelling scholarship to the British School in Athens.
Instead of attending classes he wandered around Crete looking at his favourite Cycladic art, and drawing. Optimistically he went to Paris to be a starving artist. Back in London, he worked for a firm that made props for the film industry, and later for a group making public sculpture commissions for companies. He met and married Phyllis who was a dancer and shortly after applied for a teaching job at a university in northern Nigeria where his friend the British studio potter Michael Cardew was doing important work in the field. Donald headed the sculpture department there for two years, introducing a new emphasis on the arts of Africa but fell foul of the hierarchy over a matter of principle.
Birdman, clay model for bronze commission, Hertfordshire, 1960
Returning to London, he had a solo exhibition which was much admired by John Berger. He was awarded a place in the Digswell Arts Trust, a studio complex sponsored by industry. Finally he had a studio to call his own, but the problem of an income proved insuperable. One day Phyllis saw an advertisement from the Australian National University inviting applications in PhD research studies in the humanities.
“I wrote to John Passmore who was professor of philosophy at the ANU, whose name was in the advertisement, and said I would like to spend three years just thinking about what I was doing. And he said, ‘What are your qualifications?’, so I sent him some of my writings, unpublished philosophical writings about the visual arts, and he seemed very happy with that. He wrote back immediately saying the university would be happy to have me.” Donald arrived in Canberra in 1962.
His research was to consider some fundamental questions about the visual arts world as it was currently regarded, raising questions about how art is appraised and understood, in particular photography and sculpture. Were judgements about contemporary art all really just as flimsy as fashions in clothes or marketing? His supervisor was Bruce Benjamin and the Brooks became close friends with the Benjamins over many years.
Keen to continue making sculpture, he was taken up by Max Hutchison and exhibited at Gallery A in Sydney and put on a small stipend. He was the art critic for the Canberra Times and judged the Mildura Sculpture Prize in 1967. But the five years of thinking and writing and making work (which suited him very well in many ways) came to an end, and he was still short of an income.
When the brand-new Power Institute was established in Sydney he took up a position as a senior lecturer working under the Director, Bernard Smith, who had come from Melbourne University: “… he wanted to make the Power Institute into a European art history department, and he rationalised doing this on the grounds that this was the only way to secure international academic respectability for the Power Institute. His test for whether we were succeeding was to be – he said this explicitly – whether our graduates would be accepted for post-graduate work in European art history at the Courtauld.”
Donald’s interests were diametrically opposed to this notion.
“I had no doubt that I could introduce theory and philosophy of art as well, because it obviously made sense to do that, but it made no sense to Bernard and, indeed, in the end, when I developed philosophy courses expecting to generate some theory of art, I was forced by Bernard to teach them, with David Armstrong’s consent, in the department of philosophy. They… were made available to the Power Institute students, you know, as a concession, but they weren’t officially part of the Power Institute’s teaching.”
“There was then the issue of getting some connection between art history and theory teaching and the practice of visual arts, and I had always believed that an art school should be in a university because that had been my own experience … although I disagreed with everybody, it did seem to me that it was the best environment. There were people thinking at these places about philosophy and history … There was serious research and sciences going on. I believed that universities were the place to put artists. I don’t know if I believe this anymore but, at the time, I was a great advocate of this.”
During this time Donald also worked as the art critic for the Sydney Morning Herald. But his practice as a sculptor had stopped. “I began to think I just liked making things and there is no particular reason why they should be sculptures … I convinced myself that works of art have no logical or intrinsic relation to art, to the concept of art. Works of art are just objects with a function within a certain branch of the entertainment industry… Art is something else. Art is concerned with memetic innovation.”
In line with this he and Marr Grounds founded the now legendary Tin Sheds, an informal venue on campus (and officially for students to explore the materials and methods of the old masters). The reality was that Bert Flugelman, David Saunders and Marr Grounds encouraged arts, architecture, engineering students and anyone who turned up, including Noel Sheridan and Tim Burns to dream up and make and do things of all descriptions. There were very early experiments with computer graphics and the group Optronic Kinetics emerged, creating some of the first environments and interventions.
That year (1968) Clement Greenberg was invited by Bernard Smith to give the inaugural Power Lecture: “… he brought Greenberg out thinking that this would be a fashionable contemporary touch to his own platform of art history, and also it would please one branch, at least, of the notional Sydney avant-garde, the New York school people … [Greenberg] was failing by then. His dominance was really over in America. It’s just that they didn’t know in Australia that it was all over… he wasn’t a fool by any means, he was just wrong, but he wasn’t a fool and he had quite a lively mind and he looked around and he thought that the most interesting stuff, if you were just going shopping in Australia, was the local mythography, the kangaroos, rats and stuff like that … He found what was going on here, apart from the mainstream modernism, was this ‘Antipodean’ art that was really ‘quaint’.”
Bernard Smith invited Donald to give the second Power Lecture in 1969. This was at a time of extraordinary personal upheaval for Donald and Phyllis after the kidnapping and murder of their first child, an event of momentous impact on the course of both their lives. The opportunity was a welcome distraction for Donald and it was obvious to him that it had to be a response to Greenberg.
The lecture, called Flight from the Object, introduced the term Post-object art, and was eventually recognised for the watershed that it was. But at the time, despite a huge audience including all the notable artists, critics, theorists, academics, there was total silence in the commentariat. Donald’s distinction between art and works of art – a major plank of his propositions – was neither debated, nor dismissed; a veil of baffled silence descended. His assertion that the closest we can get to understanding the meaning of the word “art” is to define it as memetic innovation, the engine of cultural evolution, was not something that resonated with the art world at that time, which simply ignored it and continued as before.
Donald’s iconoclastic spirit had no truck with the fine arts dogma determining that real works of art have “aesthetic quality”. He rejected this notion on the grounds of its subjective nature. Aesthetic quality was certainly not the currency at the Tin Sheds. It was clear that cultural shifts were being explored, including innovations in science and technology – electronics, sonics, image-making, communications, computer science. It was in fact a 24/7 experimental lab. The Sheds continued to operate for many years and were an important seeding ground for a vast range of challenging political art practice.
After five years at the Power Institute, the disagreements between Donald and Bernard over how courses should be taught and works of international art acquired for the Power Bequest collection of contemporary art became intense.
Donald, Phyllis and their second son Jon in 1971
“I was trying to point people in the direction that they absolutely didn’t want to go. They wanted either to go along roughly the path that Bernard pointed towards of Antipodean mythography, the establishment of an Australian identity, a figurative expressionism, all of that. That was one direction. And the other was New York, American internationalism, and I believed that neither of these was the right way to go … to think seriously about what art is, never mind whether it’s Australian or not, and never mind whether it’s currently fashionable in New York. But hardly anybody wanted to think like that. Some of the artists did but the authorities didn’t. The university didn’t, the educational authorities didn’t, the galleries didn’t. There wasn’t any money in it, you know.”
Donald applied for the inaugural Chair in Fine Arts at Flinders University and in 1974 he arrived in Adelaide ready to take on a new challenge.
One of the first things he did was change the name of the department from Fine Arts to Visual Arts. Flinders was a new university and there was scope to guide the course in a very different direction, offering a wide range of rigorous study programs across the visual arts. Lecturers were recruited from perceptual psychology, Indigenous cultures and archaeology, European art history and semiotics; post-graduates were free to investigate subjects of their choice.
Janet Maughan under the guidance of Vincent Megaw did primary research in the very early days of Western Desert art culminating in Dot & Circle the ground-breaking exhibition; Western Desert painters were invited to visit the art studio, a first for them and for the students. In 1975 Donald invited Tim Burns, famous for his work with explosives at the Tin Sheds and the Mildura Sculpture Triennial, to be an artist in residence at Flinders where his exploding videotape event was held to the considerable alarm of the university. These were heady days.
Two of Donald’s close friends and colleagues at Sydney University joined him in Adelaide to help shape the progressive new agendas – Bert Flugelman to run the Sculpture Dept at the SA School of Art and David Saunders to head up Architecture at the University of Adelaide. Early friendships with Ian North, photographer and curator at the Art Gallery of South Australia, Clifford Frith, Senior Lecturer at the South Australia School of Art, and Richard Llewellyn who had a small art gallery in North Adelaide, provided willing accomplices for the instigation, in 1974 on a blazing mid-summer day at Henley Beach, of the Experimental Art Foundation. Soon the group had secured an Australia Council grant, premises in the basement of the old Jam Factory in St Peters, and the first Director, Noel Sheridan, a poet, conceptual artist and legendary man in green, who was previously Head of the Dublin School of Art.
“Noel was a lovely man, clever, and understood very well what it was all about and what was needed and he had, as I didn’t, great social skills and a wonderful personality and people liked him and were easily persuaded by him. He could sell things but, if I tried, I could alienate people, so he was just marvellous.”
The EAF became the first “alternative art space” in Australia, and a template for those that followed. A succession of international visiting artists and theorists were part of a distinct sub-culture operating within a free-wheeling structure that rapidly built into a vortex spilling out across the country. Innovators were able to test their theories, including Jim Cowley placing fake billboards with inscrutable messages outside newsagencies, Stelarc’s cancelled suspension piece that became a cause célèbre or Stuart Brisley making a 24-hour performance at the end of which Noel threw a white then a black bucket of paint over his naked body. Most of these events went unnoticed by the general public even though as the art critic for The News I devoted a significant percentage of my columns to what was happening.
In 1992 Donald left Flinders and he and Phyllis went to live in Cyprus where they built a house. Later they moved to Perth where Noel Sheridan was running PICA and where Donald continued to write. In 2001 I invited him to give the Artlink Inaugural Annual Lecture, and the rapturous ovation which he received helped them to make the move back to Adelaide and to one of the first houses completed in the new Christie Walk eco-village in the middle of town.
Donald Brook in 2014
Donald died in that house, where he and Phyllis had enjoyed many years of good company amidst the friendship of the wider arts community. He continued to write prolifically for art magazines and learned philosophical journals and in 2008, Artlink published his first book The Awful Truth About What Art Is, a short, funny and pithy summary of his theories, followed by Get a Life, a larger compilation of autobiographical pieces interspersed with his learned papers published in 2014.[2]
All who knew him are the poorer for losing such a remarkable and wonderful friend and colleague. His wit and wry humour were inimitable, and his willingness to speak out against unpalatable truths was something of a stock in trade that often got him into trouble. But Donald was never interested in easy comfort, and he maintained his brave interest in some of the deeper philosophical issues of our time to his very end.
This and all subsequent quoted extracts are from the interview conducted in 2011 for the Balnaves Foundation’s Australian Sculpture Archive at the Art Gallery of NSW by Senior Curator Deborah Edwards. I am much indebted to her and the Archive for permission to access and quote from this resource. The interview, made when Donald was 84 is a wonderful window onto his life and reveals more than anything his sense of humour and marvellous use of words. The unedited tapes are available from the archives of the Art Gallery of NSW: https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/research/archives/interviews/
Both titles published by Artlink are available for purchase online at https://shop.artlink.com.au/collections/books. A comprehensive bibliography of Donald’s critical writing and response is published in Get a life: An autobiographical anthology of theories, Artlink, 2014, pp. 212–26.
Stephanie Britton AM was the founder editor of Artlink and co-founder of The Australian Network for Art & Technology (ANAT).
Janet Maughan was Chair of the Board of Directors of Artlink for twenty years, as well as practising as a lawyer.
Reprinted with thanks from Artlink
Leave your thought
Posted on July 26, 2015 by Donald Brook
This essay, originally delivered as a lecture under the title ‘More on art is not a verb’ in the Hetzel Lecture Theatre in the Institute Building in Adelaide on 19 March 2015, was prompted by the exhibition ‘Art as a verb’ (14 Feb-26 April 2015). I have significantly updated that text, and reverted to the simpler title ‘Art is not a verb.’
The exhibition title ‘Art as a verb’[1] compresses a fantasy about what art is into four words that don’t stand up to scrutiny. Processes and performances are contrasted with objects not as if they were animated objects but as if they were not objects at all. I made a few sceptical remarks about this when launching the exhibition in Adelaide on 19 February 2015;[2] but more needs to be said.
There have been at least four stories about why some artefacts are more popular than others, and about why their artificers deserve unusual respect. These accounts of the relative virtues of things and of the people who make them have shown up historically in four distinguishable ways, that might conveniently be called the ancient artschtick, the modern artschtick, the heretical artschtick and the awful truth.
This is roughly how it went.
The ancient artschtick
Most if not all cultures seem to have used a pair of words to mark an intuited difference between the use of the word ‘art’ on the one hand and of ‘craft,’ or ‘skill,’ on the other. The categorical nature of this distinction has always been elusive, but the availability of different locutions clearly signals different ways understanding not only why some artefacts are preferred to others but also of why their artificers should be differentially admired.
Words equivalent to ‘artist’ and ‘artisan’ hovered uncertainly between their roles as markers of differences in the degree and of differences in the kind of approbation that would be appropriate. Artful and therefore well-rewarded lawyers would be able to get their manifestly guilty clients off Scott free, unlike merely competent practitioners of legal skills that any diligent student could acquire in law school. Artful and therefore celebrated picture-painters would be able to make speaking likenesses of real things and astonishing images of imaginary things by exercising skills that they seemed not to have acquired by assisting their ordinarily competent teachers. Skills were supposed somehow to underlie displays of artfulness, but commendation as an artist invoked skills that were not merely elevated but also, to some degree, mysteriously inexplicable.
It may have been an impulse to demystify this difference that propelled the story on toward the modern artschtick, in which the significant difference between the skills of artists and those of artisans would be elucidated more explicitly in terms of their sort than of their level or degree. The conviction grew that the skills of artists are so recondite that ordinary artisans would not find it merely difficult to acquire them. They would find it impossible. A myth of genius took hold.
The modern artschtick
For white Australian boat people, if not for the Kalahari bush people or for the Inuit, the modern artschtick had its cultural origins in the European renaissance. We owe the twaddle that now passes for art theory mainly to the ruminations of its late-flowering crop of eighteenth century philosophers. Very roughly: it had always been obvious to everyone that when the grounds of our common admiration for preferred objects and processes are exhaustively spelled out there seems to be an important remaining consideration that doesn’t relate to any useful, or practical, or instrumental consideration that we are able to specify. We are apparently engaged with a free-floating virtue unrelated to identifiable amenities such as comfortably fitting the foot or persuasively telling the bible story or profitably selling soap, or relieving indigestion.
It became increasingly tempting to identify this inexplicable ground of attractiveness with our pleasurable response to certain naturally occurring things that are arguably of no material concern or use to us. Butterflies’ wings, waving daffodils and green tree frogs are typically cited. It is not obvious why cane toads and green slime miss out, but their repellent nature is similarly uncontested. Beauty was and remains the word available in conversational English for this quality.
It became increasingly fashionable in Europe some five or six hundred years ago to attribute beauty not only to favourably endowed natural objects, including people, but also to a culturally favoured set of useful artefacts. These originally comprised expensive buildings and statues of important real and imaginary persons, as well as instructive or morally uplifting wall and panel paintings. Things of these sorts soon came to attract more admiration for being beautiful than they did for being useful, notwithstanding their obvious and continuing practical, social and ideological purposes. A superior kind of artifacture evolved, restricted in its forms and media to the service of a new cultural domain that would come to be called The Fine Arts.
The philosophical basis of the distinction that was opening up between the new fine arts and the older, coarser, arts was obscure and there were rough edges to the emergent cultural practices. Generous appreciators of the ancient handicrafts continued to characterise the exceptionally skilful makers of wheelbarrows and prosthetic limbs as artists. The knot of questions about whether gifted artisans working in these less exalted domains would ever deserve acclamation not merely as artists but as fine artists was not teased out in ordinary conversation. What did it matter, except to the rich and powerful?
Whether it mattered or not, it was the question that prised open the old conceptual lesion allowing the modern rot to take hold. The philosophers moved in and disputation flourished among the wealthy and the literate. Should works of fine art be judged beautiful by virtue solely of their formal or ‘intrinsic’ properties, like peacock’s tails? Does a painting of Heaven qualify as beautiful in the same way as a daffodil qualifies as beautiful? If so, do we not situate artists at some risk of doctrinal self-condemnation, or of a futile raid on the the impossible, when we challenge them to paint for us a beautiful picture of Hell?
One stratagem for coping with this dilemma might be to rule that the beauty of works of fine art should be sought not in their strictly formal attributes but in a more relational or operational way. Should they not rather be conceived as the instrumental sources of a distinctive, intrinsically valuable, inner experience generated in appropriately sensitive human perceivers? An explanation will be required in that case of how and why the inner of experiences of beauty induced by encounters with works of art differ from those that are induced by encounters with naturally beautiful objects. It might call for attention not only to the formal properties of artefactual works but also to their intentional and purposefully inserted content. Only with some such conceptual apparatus might we be able to distinguish clearly between the beauty of works of fine art and that of natural objects; and perhaps even works of coarse art too. A putatively distinctive and virtuous unity of form and content that is perceptible only in works of fine art might do the trick.
We need wade no deeper into the intellectual midden of Philosophical Aesthetics, or press on into the postmodern art school travesty that came to be called Art Theory, to see that a consensus of sorts had emerged by the end of the nineteenth century. The vulgar concept of beauty, rooted as it had been in an inscrutably beneficent Nature, would not be capable of dealing with the more sophisticated demands of the fine arts. Aestheticians would need a more technically circumscribed concept to fit up the sceptics and doubters in the way in which bent cops fit up suspected crims, by drafting their confessions for them and planting the evidence. Beauty must be relegated to casual conversation: aesthetic value will be where it’s at, in the artworld. Only artworld-accredited experts will be deemed capable of speaking with authority about which things standing for recognition as works of fine art do, and which of them do not, incarnate the required quantum of aesthetic value.
By the early to mid-twentieth century it had become the conventional wisdom that there are, strictly speaking, no such things as works of coarse art. These are only arts and crafts. Works of art are, by definition, works of fine art, They are artefacts in which aesthetic value has been purposefully incarnated. There was a radical version of this story in which those things that are judged not to be works of art fail conclusively on the ground they are without aesthetic value. There was also a more plausibly moderate version in which it was conceded that things that do not qualify as works of art might nevertheless have some aesthetic value in them; although not enough to interest the artworld.
Detection of the qualifying amount of aesthetic value in candidate objects had come to be firmly in the hands of accredited agents of the artworld whose processes of introspection disclosed to them the emergence of an aesthetic experience that is indubitably distinguishable from a moral experience, from a near-death experience, from an acid trip, from orgasm and from gastric reflux. Whatever passes this test has aesthetic value, and (subject to vague tests of plausibility on grounds of form and medium) is almost certainly a work of art and not, let us say, merely a ceramic vessel or a video clip.
It was a great felicity of aesthetic value (unlike moral or political or any other value) that it should have turned out as it did to be potentially worth an enormous amount of money. Also, any anxiety that amateur art-appreciators might feel in case they should mistakenly suppose themselves to be encountering aesthetic value when facing up to a pizza with everything can easily be dispelled. It is not a subjective question. When push comes to shove it is an objectively determinable question that will be definitively settled, through the courts if necessary, by accredited agents of the artworld fronting up as expert witnesses.
This patently mythical belief system worked in astonishing harmony with a financial investment industry that had evolved almost simultaneously out of an originally amateurish trade in antiques and cultural collectables. There have always been items of cultural interest that were not considered to be works of art but were nevertheless irresistibly attractive to collectors and investors. I do not know how much Nelson’s waistcoat is worth, or John Fowler’s beam engine or a signed first edition of The origin of Species, but it would almost certainly be blown away by a well-credentialed work of art such as Jeff Koons’ Orange Balloon Dog, of which the aesthetic value was recently determined at public auction to be around $58 million US dollars.
We have not yet come to the awful truth that points us ahead of the history stories toward a curiosity about today’s artworld. Because it is so rapidly shedding the social class and elitist affiliations that once sustained and shaped it, proliferating into cyberspace and flourishing in popular forms and media, one might have expected to see the fine arts breaking up into undifferentiated arts of craftier and more demotic sorts. With the twitterati kneecapping the intelligentsia and cognoscenti whose once authoritative facade is collapsing into the shallow joviality of The Mix,[3] one might have expected to see the concentration of the artworld’s active ingredient diluting to levels familiar in homeopathic medicine.
It isn’t happening. An apparently inexhaustible well of capital gushes up at the artworld’s centre, funding fresh acres of art museum space in roughly inverse proportion to the diminishing stock of agricultural land. The auction houses boom. Artists retain their status as the exploited producers of product; increasingly certificated arts administrators remain the product marketeers and—just as it is with Coles and Woolies—the market rules.
This observation is more than a grace note to my account of why art is not a verb, that I shall come to in a moment. The modern artschtick has not been seriously threatened by those heretics whose spiel will be considered next.
The heretical artschtick
There have always been dissenting voices within the artworld, about what and where the art is. With the objects that artists make and the inner states of their aesthetic contemplators both under suspicion, a new story has emerged. The reason why we remain so unconfident about our ability to assess the aesthetic value of works of art (so we are now told) is not because the experts are untrustworthy. It is because we have been looking in the wrong place. We should be directing our attention neither outwardly toward the objects on display nor inwardly toward our own aesthetic emotions. We should be attending to the distinctive aesthetic process that is allegedly being deployed by artists only when they are making works of art and—by implication—is not called upon when they break off to make a ham sandwich. (Unless, of course, they are offering the process of making a ham sandwich as a work of art).
The catchy way of telling this story in a slogan has been to say that works of art are things that have been arted. This passive construction seems to be derived from a notionally active verb that would need to go: ‘I art; thou artest; he she or it arts; we, you and they art.’ There is seductive backward glance here, toward the ancient artschtick. Arting things is clearly conceived as a skill analogous in some ways to sandpapering or knitting things, except for the obdurate mystery that will not go away. Whereas anyone can acquire such pedestrian skills as knitting and sandpapering things, and even such elevated skills as sequencing DNA, artists alone command the skill of arting things.
Despite its reassuringly backward look and the indubitable fact that many artists have been seduced by it, there is almost nothing to be said for this. Without any appeal to the nit-picking of the dictionaries, there are at least three things seriously wrong with it. First: art—whatever it may be that is named or referred to by the word ‘art’—is not a word, and it can be assigned no grammatical status whatsoever. This consideration alone should be conclusive, but it will not deter the rampant heretics who find appeals to the difference between meaning what one says and saying what one means irritatingly academic.
Second: the process of making something, as when a performance is unfolding, does not contrast appropriately with the object that is being made. A process presented to an audience for appreciation as a work of performance art is an object that is accessible to public appraisal. Actors, dancers and musicians have always understood this. There seems to be a misunderstanding here for which I have myself occasionally been partly blamed; although I plead not guilty. Just 46 years ago I delivered a lecture called ‘Flight from the object,’[4] in which I was mistakenly thought to have contrasted processes with objects as if processes were not objects. But I was contrasting objects of one sort with objects of another sort, offering by way of clarification two concluding principles one of which I called The Principle of Publicity. It went like this:
Whatever the artist, as such, makes or does should be in principle a public entity; because only that which is (in principle) available to anyone is capable of supporting a common language, a common understanding, a community of values.
The attempt to locate art in a process that is distinct from its own public manifestation only pushes question one step back along an infinite regression. Can there not be an art of making the process of making a work of art? If so, shall we find it in the art of making the process of making the process of making a work of art? And so on.
The third and perhaps most compelling objection to a putative skill of arting is conceptual, and very simple. The word ‘art’ is the name of something we find, that we did not expect to find. Contrastingly, the goals of purposeful skills must be and cannot but be anticipated goals. The purposeful performance of an action of making an unanticipated thing that we are unable in any way to represent or to describe prior to or during the course of the action is not merely impractical: it is inconceivable.
The fact that the awful truth about what art is can, at a pinch, be tweeted in 140 characters does nothing for its credibility in the artworld. Art is an illumination that enables actions to be performed that subsequent performers of these actions had not previously known to be possible. It is found everywhere and can’t be purposefully made.
By way of illustration: many years ago I sat at a waterside restaurant table in Greece. Like everyone else I was capable then just as I am capable now of displaying behaviours with no currently assignable goal or expectation. Infants do this and so do adult victims of Tourette syndrome. I was, of course, also capable of performing actions purposefully directed toward anticipated goals that I could optimistically specify. I could, for example, perform the purposeful action of scaring away a seagull that threatened to steal my calamari by clapping my hands. The expected flight of the bird would be the anticipated consequence by virtue of which observant bystanders might confirm their estimate that my hand-clapping behaviour was performed as a purposeful action of seagull-scaring.
This bird-scaring action was certainly related in some intimate way to the bodily movement of clapping my hands; but I characterise this bodily movement neutrally as a behaviour, and not as an action, for the following reason. In a different situation—for example when attending a musical concert—an appropriately timed and pitched behaviour of hand-clapping would qualify me as a performer of the action of applauding the pianist. Under these circumstances nobody should be willing to concede that I might be performing the action of scaring a seagull.
The countless performable actions that are always available to all of us, linked in context-dependent ways to our bodily behaviours, can conveniently be called memes. There are also and always innumerable viable memes potentially available to us that we have not yet assimilated into our repertoires; memes that we do not yet know about, and therefore cannot presently exercise.[5] One such meme became available to me at that restaurant table, as a small epiphany. I clapped my hands in the purposeful performance of an action of scaring a seagull, and to my surprise a waiter came running from the kitchen to me.
This was not such a grand epiphany as the revelation of Christ’s divinity to the Gentiles but it was a revelation nevertheless. I had discovered what was, for me, a new publicly viable and regularly efficacious meme. Under appropriate circumstances I could thereafter purposefully perform an action of summoning a waiter in a Greek restaurant by clapping my hands. The scope of my purposeful engagement with the world, enabled by its objective and publicly exploitable regularities, had been incrementally enlarged.
The example is trivial but its relevance to the concept of art is profound. It offers us the key to an old and invariant use of the word ‘art’ as a name for the unexpected discoveries of ways of thinking, feeling and acting that can thereafter be expressed as skilled performances. New memes stand at first outside our repertoires of competence, in the domain of ignorance or innocence in which purposeful action is inconceivable. There cannot be a purposeful action of ‘arting’ for this reason. The concept of art is not related to the concept of skill along any notional scale of relative competence, or of magically acquired purposefulness. Art is categorically distinct from skill.
Opposition to this awful truth is indomitable in the artworld. Proponents of the modern artschtick and of its heretical variation are equally committed to a conflation of the two words spelled ‘art.’ Nobody conflates the three or more radically different words all of which are spelled ‘bow,’ confusing the front end of a ship with a primitive weapon or with the deferential respect shown by an Australian Prime Minister to an English Prince. Nobody mistakes a garden rake for a deplorable male person habituated to immoral conduct. The artworld, however, trades on its willful conflation of the name of memetic innovation (which is the engine of cultural evolution, and is of profound importance) with the similarly spelled word that is used to name the class of works of art, of which most presented items are trivial, or artless, or both.
Artists are called artists because they make works of art just as pastry cooks are so called because they cook pastry. They are not and cannot be called artists because they make art for the insurmountable reason that this is not merely a difficult task. It is impossible. Artists are often conflicted in their motivation between an intuitive but strongly repressed understanding that art can only be unexpectedly found and the hair-raising demand for purposefully wrought product by an artworld that offers them comfort, support and a flickering prospect of fame, in return for compliance with its mythology.
Central to this mythological system is an idolatry of ‘aesthetic value.’ When I am invited to agree that a work of art is beautiful I think I know roughly what what’s intended and my assent may be spontaneous, and even sometimes unqualified. The beauty of a work of art may be—although it is not necessarily—one of the considerations that motivate me to admire the object or the performance and to commend its author. Contrastingly, when I am asked to agree that a work of art has aesthetic value I don’t know what to say. This was troublesome in my days as a critic, and it probably accounts for the outraged correspondence my editors used to get from dealers whose marketing exploits turned on the flow of testimonials that were the quid pro quo for their advertising revenue.
Let us then, for the sake of argument, give the existence of ‘aesthetic value’ the benefit of the doubt alongside such better-credentialed amenities as moral value, scientific value, polemical or political value and therapeutic value. The point to which I draw attention is that if there is indeed such a thing, and if it is a thing of a sort that can be purposefully generated, then it cannot be identified with art. Truly admirable works of art can do very well without it.
So: despite the melancholy fact that the exhibition ‘Art as a verb’ is seriously misconceived we may take consolation in the thought that, under the eye of eternity, it doesn’t matter much. In practice the processes and performances that are offered up for our contemplation are ingenious, provocative, occasionally hideous, sometimes comical and always entertaining. They serve to keep the artists responsible for them updated about where the visual artworld branch of the entertainment industry is presently going, and about what they will need to do next if they wish to have attention paid to them.
More significantly: in our encounters with works of art it is possible that we shall find the world transfigured by some unanticipated revelation of a new way of grasping its possibilities, of extending our powers and of enriching our lives. Luckily, this is so and it has always been so, whether or not the artworld finally gets it right about what art is.
1. The exhibition, curated in Melbourne, was presented at the Flinders University Art Museum and City Art Gallery, 14 February -16 April 2015 and will travel elsewhere throughout the year.
2. Available at http://www.flinders.edu.au.art_museum_files/Documents/Artisnotaverb.pdf
3. A 2015 ‘Arts’ program of the ABC.
4. See the 1969 John Power Lecture in Contemporary Art. ‘Flight from the object,‘ Sydney: Power Institute of Fine Arts. 1970, 1-22. Also reprinted in my book Get a Life, Artlink, Adelaide. 2014.
5. All of this material is set out with more precision and in greater detail in my book The Awful Truth About What Art Is (Artlink, Adelaide, 2008) as well as in numerous papers: notably ‘Art history?’ in History and Theory 43 (February 2004), 1-17
Posted on June 4, 2015 by Donald Brook
This conference address first appeared in print in Ian North, Ed., Visual animals: crossovers, evolution and aesthetics, published by Contemporary Arts Centre of South Australia, Adelaide, 2007. It was reprinted in my book Get a Life, Artlink, Adelaide, 2015.
Whoever wishes to know what art is had better ignore the Irish advice: if that is where one wants to go it would be better not to start from here.
‘Here,’ for me, is the Anglo-American language-analytical movement that I inherited just after the second world war, along with an optimism that turned out not to be well-founded. The excoriation of essentialist theories of art was already well advanced. William Elton’s 1954 anthology called Aesthetics and Language summarized the state of play. Quite soon George Dickie, Arthur Danto and others, would divert the attention of English-speaking philosophers from the notional referent of the abstract noun ‘art’ to a concrete social formation called ‘the artworld;’ a historical institution credited with the power to determine the admissibility of candidates for recognition as works of art on an ad hoc daily basis.
Speakers of most European languages welcomed the collapse of the eternal verities, but found their Anglo-Saxon obituaries over-fastidious. Whereas English-speakers were cautioned to ‘say what you like, but be careful,’ the University of Paris encouraged its spectacular rhetoricians to go for their lives.
The artworld has never been primarily English-speaking. Most of the artists considered to be important had spoken Italian, and the leading authorities on their importance had mainly spoken German. After the war, the readiness of everyone except the French to speak American did not bring with it a respect for analytical philosophy. It brought instead an accelerating confidence that one could say absolutely whatever one pleased because nothing that anyone said stood the slightest chance of being true. Artists, by and large, did not understand what this bonfire of the verities was really about, but they danced around it gleefully.
Unfortunately, whether the good news was brought to them in guardedly language-analytical or in recklessly deconstructive terms, their old anxiety remained. What artists still wanted to know, even half a century after the end of truth, was not whether to go with Baudrillard on the question whether there had been a first Gulf War. Such intellectual antics dominated the new tertiary subject called ‘Theory,’ but for art practitioners it got no solid grip on the question why Damien Hirst’s pickled shark deserved to win the Turner Prize. The insomnia of the artists was fuelled on rumination about how anyone could tell—never mind about Theory—which works of art are really good, and why. Postmodern libertarianism quickly became a conspiracy in which everyone suspected that everyone else had been admitted to a secret from which he or she had been excluded.
Even before Aristotle tutored Alexander philosophers were generous with advice. Philosophers of art had long equivocated between spelling out for the benefit of practitioners the criteria of identity and individuation for works of art, and promoting doctrines about their value. Language-analysts and post-structuralists joined forces in bucketing essentialism, but all of them found it hard to shake off the conviction they had acquired in childhood that beauty (or ‘aesthetic quality,’ to hedge the bet) is what art is really about. Those few serious philosophers who persisted beyond the eighteenth century with the opinion that pictures are interesting began to call themselves ‘aestheticians,’ as if the essentially aesthetic nature of art—whether on Kant’s account of the word or Baumgarten’s—was common ground.
The association of art with beauty came under savage assault in the second half of the twentieth century, when art galleries began brazenly inviting their visitors to wade in drillers’ mud or to bestow their admiration upon the canned ordure of the artist. The fact is, of course, that philosophers—most of whom rarely visited art galleries and knew about this mainly by hearsay—had never been entirely comfortable with beauty. Beauty has an indelible association in the common mind with birds, bees and flowers, and it turned out not to be at all easy to distinguish ‘aesthetic quality’ as a species of beauty that is peculiar to works of art without defining ‘aesthetic quality’ in a circular way as ‘the sort of beauty that works of art have’.
I do not single out beauty for denunciation because I dislike either daffodils or attractively constructed pictures of them, but because otherwise reputable philosophers have lately been discovered prowling the graveyard of the essences in an attempt to resurrect beauty on behalf of art; perhaps with the aid of neuroscience. This seems to be a project motivated in part by the utopian conviction that neuroscience has overtaken sliced bread in the race to a perfect world; but it must also be responsive to the distress of those practising artists who find themselves mired in the swamp of postmodernity. It takes a callous philosopher to turn a deaf ear to the lamentations of a profession that must rely on the jury of the Turner Prize for instruction on what is and what is not to count as a work of art[1], and must wait until the auction rooms have settled the question if they wish to be sure about how good it is.
One understands the grave-robbers’ motivation, and one wonders whether it is possible to find some way out of the morass of relativism. I believe that there is; although not hand in hand with a revenant beauty. But before I offer a more plausible suggestion, let me go back to a comparatively recent moment in the ‘discourse’ about beauty. In 1995 the popular art theorist Suzi Gablik nailed her colours to the following mast:
[Hilton] Kramer is in the forefront of those who believe that when art is actively engaged with the world, its aesthetic quality is necessarily compromised. I, on the other hand, consider that such art is often intensely aesthetic, because in responding compassionately to whatever it touches, it is helping to create a more beautiful world. Artists whose work helps to heal our soulless attitudes toward the physical world have my full respect and attention because, for me, beauty is an activity rather than an entity, a consciousness of, and reverence for, the beauty of the world.[2]
What I should like to distil from this ardent passage is not at first Ms Gablik’s submission to the beautiful, whether in nature or in art. I draw attention to two other elements of her claim: first, her characterization of art as ‘an activity’ rather than ‘an entity;’ and then her implication that the reverence implicit in this activity is transhistorical and trans-cultural. She is surely right on both these points; but I suggest that she is seriously wrong in her identification of the beauty of the world as the proper object of reverence.
Irrespective of their objective justification, all attributions of beauty—whether natural or artefactual—incorporate a favourable judgment. They bestow a seal of approval upon the object of contemplation. But I am convinced that we do not treat the world with the respect that is due to it as an object of reverence by judging that it deserves our approval, no matter how well-founded we take our endorsement to be. A truly reverential attitude must situate the world as the inscrutable source of all as-yet undisclosed contingencies, many of which—notably including our own extinction as a species—we are likely to find thoroughly uncongenial. Reverence for the world is more like awe than it is like gratitude.
I share, of course, the ambivalence of the prophet Jeremiah about the fate of human kind, and would distinguish hope not only from faith and charity in the usual ways but also—and more clearly than he does—from both optimism and pessimism. We must look forward with a hope that is untainted by anthropic prejudice. A world that is capable of delivering up George W. Bush and the Ebola virus is not intrinsically designed to solicit our approval.
Hope, epiphanies and memes
So here, in a nutshell, is my case.
Whether our psychological attitude is optimistic or pessimistic, we look forward to a world that will endlessly reveal to us new insights into its regularities, and hence new ways of acting with deliberation. We expect to see, day after day, how to do things that we had not known we could do. Our usually self-serving exploitation of newly acquired powers will not necessarily have beneficial consequences, even for ourselves; but it is the anticipation of their emergent availability that dominates our minds as—one supposes—it gets little or no grip upon the minds of beetles. Virtue and vice flourish just because our capacity to act with deliberation is not fixed either by our current genetic endowment or by our current understanding of what it is possible to do. The world commands our reverence not because it is disposed to provide us with some kind of satisfaction but because it is an endless source of new insights into its regularities, and the potential for action that flows from these regularities. Shall we or shall we not buy an iPod? Shall we or shall we not agree that terror and drugs are entities against which warfare can intelligibly be conducted?
So my principal argumentative move is to offer (just as Ms Gablik does) a transhistorical and transcultural account of art; but not to construct it either in terms of gratitude for what we consider to be beautiful or of the conviction that, whether we are grateful for it or not, our lives and histories are shaped by this amenity. Instead, I identify art with revelation; or—to put it less grandly—with the acquisition of new capacities for purposeful action flowing from extensions in our understanding of what it is possible to do. It is the emergence of new insights into the world’s regularities that is of the essence; not the gratification of a taste for beauty.
‘Meme’ is a neologism that I shall use to express the idea of a regular and imitable way of generating any item of a recognisable cultural kind. I have offered an account of the meme that differs slightly from Dawkins’ in several papers[3]. In brief: a meme is a piece of behaviour such that predictable consequences can be expected to flow when and only when it is performed in a correctly recognized context. To raise a hand in a context that is appropriate for generating a vote is not merely to raise a hand; it is to exert what might be called the voting-by-handraising meme[4]. In a different context the same bodily movement will predictably generate not a vote but a greeting, or an application to leave the room, or a summons that will be recognized by taxi-drivers.
There is an obvious analogy between memes and genes. The effect of genes when they are exerted in appropriate bio-chemical contexts is to generate items of specific biological kinds: a partridge, perhaps, or a pear tree. Comparatively, the effect of appropriately exerted memes will be to generate items of specific cultural kinds: a poached egg, perhaps, or a funeral oration. For every individual the discovery of a new and reliable meme is a more or less momentous epiphany; an insight into the way the world’s regularities can be exploited.
The meme can thus be conceived as the fundamental unit of cultural evolution, in parallel with the gene conceived as the fundamental unit of biological evolution. This corresponding apparatus of theory offers to historians a systematic way of understanding how cultural kinds emerge, how they are shaped by variation, and why they eventually pass into extinction. Both new and variant memes, projected as they are into more and less receptive cultural environments, make the evolution of kinds such as the rococo ceiling and the Mars bar as lucidly explicable as the evolution of species like the cuttlefish and the cauliflower.
Most significantly for my immediate purpose, the availability of a truly evolutionary account of culture should encourage the prospects of a revelation theory of art; a theory in which both the acquisition and the successful propagation of new memes play a significant role.
A Revelation Theory of art
Let me remind you of the way the revelation theory of art used to go, in the words of Professor H. D. Lewis. They were written in 1949, when postmodern and language-analytic philosophies were contending for dominance and Jean Baudrillard and I—both of us then in our early twenties—were, in our different ways, highly sceptical.
For the artist is, in the first instance, a seer [whose] essential function, in relation to others, is to make them see something to which they are normally blind. This may be something in Nature or in human life; it does not matter which. But we must in some way be made aware of objects and events in a fashion which is like seeing them for the first time. The artist wrests their secrets from objects and makes them glow with a distinctiveness which escapes normal consciousness of them. This illumination of the world, which almost amounts to a transformation, is the essential function of art, and where some special sense of clarity and penetration is lacking, where there is no heightened consciousness of inhabiting a world which thrusts itself upon the mind with a peculiar sharpness and insistence, there is no art.[5]
I am still out of sympathy with much of Professor Lewis’s general philosophical position, but I believe that in a certain way, and with some drastic revision, he was right about art. Plainly, we cannot countenance the unnatural and perhaps even supernatural powers that he attributes to artists. Individuals certainly differ in the insightfulness of their responses to the world, but increments of understanding are not granted only to those people who have taken the trouble to acquire skills in a recognized genre of art. Small epiphanies are commonplace; even major ones may come occasionally to anyone, by luck or by accident.
Speaking for myself as an artist and as another person, I believe that artists are very much like other people. In particular, artists are occasionally delighted to see something that they have themselves made or done that was not what they intended: something that they did not previously know to lie within their competence. In the course of exercising familiar memes we discover new ones. Artists may even try to surprise themselves, in a way that is strongly discouraged in brain surgery, as it is among short-order cooks. I shall develop in a moment the point that a detached review of what one is oneself doing may be more rewarding within the institution of art than exercises of the intent purposefulness that characterize professional and trade practices.
Another element of Lewis’s account of revelation that must also be repudiated is not the universality of his claim, which I believe to be appropriate. It is its hint of grandiosity. He clearly takes revelation to offer a momentous and profound illumination; but the fact is that most of the new memes we acquire are not only minor and trivial but often distasteful or maleficent in their effect. Great epiphanies are rare in any context, and I suggest that the road to Damascus is no more likely to pass through the art gallery than through the supermarket. If switching a light bulb on and off in the Tate discloses to us a regular way of generating items of a new cultural kind, nobody seems to have found it to be a meme worth perpetuating. In the art schools, of course, imitation is compulsive, but it will be surprising if this fatuous practice propagates as vigorously as the display of prints of Van Gogh’s sunflowers on living room walls.
So, with these reservations, I return to the theme of reverence: the reverence that is appropriate to a world with an apparently inexhaustible capacity to disclose unanticipated but exploitable regularities that enable us to see for the first time what can now be regularly made or done, and how to do it. Such epiphanies are characteristically marked by the exclamation ‘Aha!’ and I suggest that ‘Aha!’ is a more profound expression of reverence for the world than any appreciative response to a presentation that we judge to be beautiful.
The meanings of ‘art’ and ‘work of art’
An identification of art with the transhistorical and transcultural category of revelation sails us close to the wind of essentialism, and there is a consequence that must be confronted. We may be forced to withhold from the artworld a fundamental right that is claimed for it by institutional theorists: namely, the right to decide for itself, in its own way and in its own time, what art is. If art is transhistorically and transculturally identified with revelation, then the artworld not only can be mistaken from time to time about what art is; it usually is mistaken. It will, indeed, be most egregiously mistaken when it identifies art with beauty.
There is a related problem. If—contrary to current dogma—the artworld does not have proprietorial rights over the use of the word ‘art,’ then how shall we explain the fact that the class of works of art has been so variably constructed? Notoriously, those ‘heathen idols’ that were assiduously collected by nineteenth century colonial missionaries did not qualify as works of art until quite recently. It must somehow be possible to concede to the artworld its hegemony over the use of the phrase ‘work of art’, while simultaneously withholding from it the right to speak authoritatively about what art is[6].
There is a way to do this, and it is simple. We need only place no restrictions of scope whatsoever upon those objects of contemplation to which we attribute a revelatory potential. On the basis that everything has a revelatory potential, so-called ‘works of art’ will be comprehended as a set carved out by the artworld in its currently preferred way from the most abundant of all possible quarries. There is a sense in which all sensible people know this already, for everyone except the aesthetician speaks confidently of the arts of viniculture, of medical radiology and of motor cycle maintenance.
This point about the universal scope of art, as contrasted with the restricted scope of artworks, has been an inconvenient part of the artworld’s conventional wisdom ever since Duchamp displayed his ‘readymades’ a hundred years ago. An awkward accommodation has been reached by assigning a dominant role to the word ‘work’ in the phrase ‘work of art.’ The artworld nowadays uses ‘work’ to invoke a concept of artefacture such that readymades do not qualify as works by virtue of being artefactual in the ordinary sense. They qualify by virtue of the ‘work’ that is done by the artworld itself, when it bestows its preferred mode of attention upon whatever it happens to favour as a candidate.
There is a familiar problem here about the particular and the general. How shall we classify particular objects that are significantly similar to recognized works of art, although the institutional ‘work’ of recognizing them has not yet been performed upon them? Here the artworld equivocates. It is confident enough that every hand-painted and framed depiction of rural vegetation will qualify as a work of art sight unseen, while maintaining with equal confidence that most bottle-drying racks and bicycle wheels (however similar they may be to Duchamp’s and whether they do or do not stand on a plinth) do not qualify.
I leave this garden of weeds untended, and merely reiterate my conclusion that, however bizarre its practice and however obscure its justifying theory, the art world does as a matter of fact determine—and from time to time it determines differently—what is to qualify as a work of art. Moreover, in the exercise of this power it is not in thrall to any transhistorical or transcultural account of the meaning of the word ‘art.’ Moreover, the sense in which the artworld can not be wrong is not the shallow sense in which it can not be right either. It is the deep sense in which, because of the universality of art, whatever it nominates from time to time must have, and cannot but have, some revelatory potential. This simple truth is unaffected by the consideration that, from time to time, the artworld or some portion of it does as a matter of fact proclaim a revelation theory of art. When this occurs it is a purely accidental felicity.
So what is the artworld for?
If the art institution is usually mistaken about what art is, and if this is not after all a matter of huge consequence to anyone, we may well ask: what truly art-related purpose does the artworld serve? Manifestly, it serves a range of purposes with no necessary relation to art, such as the decoration of walls, the promotion of political and religious ideologies, the elevation of cultural heroes and the generation of wealth by capital appreciation. Is that the truth, and the end of the matter?
At least it is not a simple truth. The artworld straddles a range of public entertainments, and entertainments in general have a distinctive and important role in our lives. What they significantly share is an audience or visience of participants whose attention, is in a certain sense, disengaged from the performers’ skilfully directed intentions. Spectators at an entertainment are not committed, as they are when participating in a practical task, to the purposefully goal-directed behaviours that unfold before them. It is by virtue of this detachment that they find themselves free to seize upon unanticipated, and occasionally unintended, aspects of what is presented to them. The range of ways in which spectators are entitled to take a performance is radically unrestricted and the availability of epiphanies, whether absolute of merely subjective, is correspondingly enlarged.
Unintended readings of the presentations that are received as entertainment—even gross misreadings of them—offer abundant revelatory opportunities. ‘The arts’ are distinctive only to the extent that, in spite of the prevalence of intentionalistic forms of criticism, their style of entertainment is characterised by the boast that the skills displayed are only a means, and not an end. But in that case, what is the end? I suggest that it is the encouragement of those epiphanies that extend somebody’s—and ideally everybody’s—memetic repertoire.
The custom of calling those entertainers who make works of art artists is merely an artefact of linguistic history. The artworld’s use of the classifier ‘artist’ does not attribute to the performer a reliable understanding of what art is, any more than the classifier ‘sportsperson’ attributes to all-in wrestlers a reliable understanding of what sport is. The demand for an explanation is appropriately met by linguistic historians, not by philosophers.
So, to sum up: I am suggesting that the artworld institutionalises a form of entertainment that, by the simple virtue of its open-ness, is well-adapted to provoking the ‘Aha!’ response that signals the acquisition of a new meme. It makes available what I called, some years ago, the best game in town[7]. It is, of course, far from being the only game in town with a revelatory potential, but it is the one to which H.D Lewis’s prescription offers the best fit. Let me remind you: ‘… where some special sense of clarity and penetration is lacking, where there is no heightened consciousness of inhabiting a world which thrusts itself upon the mind with a peculiar sharpness and insistence, there is no art.’
[1] It is famously untrue that anything goes, even with the most radical of relativists. In 1997 the artist Tony Kaye tried to secure the endorsement of a homeless steel worker as a work of art and as his entry for the Turner Prize, and failed.
[2] Suzi Gablik, in a symposium on The Nature of Beauty in Contemporary Art, a symposium sponsored by the New York Open Center and the International Society for Consciousness in the Arts, October 1995.
[3] See particularly my ‘Art History?’ in History and Theory 43 (2004): 1-17. Also ‘If Art Has No History, What Implications Flow For The Art Museum? In Rethinking History 9:1 (2005): 71-90.
[4] In spite of my earlier dismissive remark about neuroscience I welcome the discovery of what researchers are now calling (I think misleadingly) ‘mirror neurons’. This name is chosen because distinctive patterns of cortical activity are found to be similarly occurrent whether a person is performing a contextually governed goal-dependent action or is watching someone else perform a similar action. (See, for example, Rizzolatti, Fogassi and Gallese, ‘Mirrors in the mind,’ Scientific American 295:5 (2006): 30-37). I am only surprised that these researchers should be so surprised by their discovery.
[5] H. D. Lewis, ‘Revelation and Art,’ Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, Supplementary Volume 23 (1949): 7.
[6] Without applying to the artworld for his license, Major General William B. Caldwell IV, speaking in Baghdad at a news briefing on progress in the Iraq war (as quoted in The New York Times of November 3 2006 and elsewhere) remarked: ‘Every great work of art goes through messy phases …’.
[7] Donald Brook, ‘The Best Game in Town.’ Artlink 6 (1986): 29-31.
This paper was originally contributed to an issue of Artlink [30 (2, 2010): 51-53] called Underground, guest-edited by Lucas Ihlein. It is also reprinted in my book Get a Life (2014)
I am not sure whether the artworld walks past me as if with an iPod in its ear as a reproof, because it thinks that those it has pronounced dead should stay quietly buried, or because my own choice of a subterranean rostrum was imprudent in the first place.
This rumination is provoked by a recent essay in which two historians do not quite decide where to lay the blamei. They write:
Brook never became firmly part of the Australian art establishment … because [he] was not at all concerned about Australian identity, nor about provincialism, nor about regionalism versus internationalism. Brook had argued that there was a difference between dissent within art institutions – within a closed shop – and dissent issuing from art. Only the former, which could be appropriated easily by galleries and their curators, was to remain visible within art discourse.
I go for inaudibility rather than invisibility, but what calls for elucidation is the distinction between a form of dissent that is perceptible to the artworld and one that is not. Much of what I wrote forty years ago certainly registered as dissent within the artworld, as if it had been opinionated critical grandstanding of the usual sort. My important message—what these writers call ‘dissent issuing from art’—did not try to tell ‘artists of high and serious ambition’iii what they should do next. It tried to tell the artworld that it had the wrong idea about what art is.
It has only recently become obvious to me that there is a sense in which having the wrong idea about what art is doesn’t matter very much because art cannot be deliberately made in any case. There is no such thing as knowing how to make it. Back then, however, promoting the right idea about what art is seemed to be important.
Naturally, the artworld did not believe that it had the wrong idea about what art is. It thought then and it continues to think that art can be made, and that its vicissitudes and mutations have a history. The trick it wanted to master was to be so prescient about the way art’s history will go next that the smart operator will be able to get there ahead of it.
The issues here are so hard to untangle that I made a lot of mistakes. In the late ’sixties and early ’seventies. I seemed to be promoting something that I called post-object art as if I conceived it as the upcoming style or movement that was about to annihilate abstract expressionism or Antipodeanism or post-painterly abstraction before being itself overtaken by the next big deal. In more theoretical writings I insisted that this was not what I meant, but those artists who only read exhibition notices in the newspapers and the occasional magazine article could be forgiven for getting the wrong take-home message. I wanted to undermine, not to reinforce, the suggestion that artists need to know what art is in order to make some just as we all need to know what hors d’oeuvres are if we hope to knock up a batch in the kitchen.
My really subversive polemic was directed against the idea that ‘art’ is the word that names the class of works of art. Of course things that have been, or are likely to be, classified as works of art can be deliberately made. Moreover, all of the ways in which they have been made in the past display evolutionary histories. But every attempt I made to speak carefully about this was hijacked by the way casual speech conspires with institutional punditry to generate confusion.
There is an easy way of explaining—but alas no easy way of eradicating—the disputes and exchanges of ill-feeling that constantly break out about all this. Fundamentally, the trouble is that the inscription ‘art’ is a homographiv that deceptively accommodates two very different words. One of them is the word we use in sentences like ‘art is a sort of revelation.’ The other is the word that appears in sentences like ‘some works of art are rubbish’. Art is not instantiated in every work of art just as sucrose is not instantiated in every date; and certainly not in dates such as the 17th of September.
The artworld uses the word ‘art’ to mean ‘the class of works of art’. It also understands, correctly, that the class of works of art has been historically shaped. It then incoherently asserts that art is what it always was, for Aurignacian cave-dwellers just as it is for Generation Y. This contradiction is so egregious that the need to resolve it should have become obvious at least a century ago: certainly after Duchamp’s cathartic challenge and the subsequent triumph of the so called ‘Institutional Theory of Art’.
The artworld still does not understand that although the Institutional Theory is correct it is not—despite its name—a theory about what art is. It a theory about the way in which some things come to be classified as works of art while others do not. The slogan ‘Art is whatever the artworld says it is’ is false. Art is not whatever the artworld says it is. We should say instead ‘Works of art are whatever the artworld says they are’. This is the simple truth.
I cannot myself say what art is in a few words; nor do I need to do so in order to press my argument against the artworld. I believe that ‘art’ is the most appropriate general name for memetic innovation,v and that accidentally generated new memes drive cultural evolution in a way analogous to the way in which accidentally generated new genes drive biological evolution. Most of the artworld believes, quite differently, that art is a distilled essence of aesthetic goodness. This difference is not, however, the basis of the dissent that motivates this essay. It is motivated by the conviction that whatever one takes the abiding nature of art to be (and whether one is right or wrong) it is impossible to have one’s cake and eat it. If art is what it always was, then art does not have a history.
Sadly, an intellectually disreputable branch of scholarship called ‘Art History’ has lent its authority to the incoherent doctrine that what artists make is art, and it changes over time. Art History is an ‘academic discipline’ dedicated to the construction of a rag-bag of stories about the ways in which certain loosely related cultural kindsvi have emerged, have changed, and have eventually been superseded. These cultural kinds are constituted by objects that have come to be classified as works of art, often for quite arbitrary reasons. Minoan oil storage jars, Byzantine religious mosaics and bizarre performances for which the artist does not even turn up are typical examples.
The stories told by ‘art historians’ are a mish-mash of gossip about social and political contexts and the hare-brained ideologies of popes and princes. They are stories about the infidelities of artists and the dodgy practices of dealers; about the fickle tastes of patrons, curators and beady-eyed collectors; about the machinations of auction houses and about accidental finds in attics. If it is ever to claim respect as an intellectual discipline Art History must be re-named; perhaps to ‘The Histories of Artworks’ or even to ‘The Histories of Artworlds’. It must then make the best case it can for adoption by departments of Sociology or Anthropology, against whatever resistance is to be expected. Anthropologists and cultural historians have their own blemishes, but they smell humbug.
Art historians are not the only villains in my piece. Since the eighteenth century a world of philosophical aesthetics has sprung up adjacent to the artworld, conspiring with the art historians to mislead artists. I have a foot in both camps and once offered the world of philosophical aesthetics a document that I called ‘A transinstitutional non-voluntary modelling theory of art’. This bizarre title was compassionately put down by the editor of The British Journal of Aesthetics, who published the essay as ‘A new theory of art,’vii offering me the incidental encomium that ‘[T]his is the most exciting article to reach me since I took over as editor. It is a privilege to accept it for publication’viii.
Whatever got into him, I wonder? My ‘new theory’ has been casually cited perhaps two or three times in thirty years and I think that it may have only once elicited a response from an Australian art historian, who found it extremely distastefulix. To his credit, though, he seems to have intuited that what I set out to address was the question of what art is rather than the question of how things get to be classified as works of art. It would be difficult otherwise to understand why he charged me primarily with the offence of neo-Kantianism, presumably because Kant is known not to have been much interested in works of art. How otherwise should my neo-Wittgensteinean analytics have scored such a flattering association with transcendental idealism?
Here is an important caveat. I do not say that there is no relationship at all between art and works of art. The point I make is that this relationship is contingent and accidental. The manifestation or the embodiment of art is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for classifying a presented candidate as a work of art. Which is not to say, of course, that things are disqualified from figuring in significant passages of cultural evolution merely because they have been classified as works of art.
Many of the things that we now cheerfully classify as works of art were more influential in shaping cultural evolution during the mediaeval and European renaissance periods than their notional equivalents are today. The contemporary artworld is correctly regarded as a branch of the entertainment industry. It has little or no credibility with the general public as the place where intelligent people must go in search of new insights about the best way to expand their minds and revise their social institutions. In these respects the accessibly popularised worlds of digital communications, molecular biology and nanotechnology leave the artworld for dead.
In spite of this the artworld still has a significant social role, distinguishing it from many other branches of the entertainment industry as well as from the everyday world of work. It is the principal promoter of the detached mode of contemplation, actively sponsoring an open-minded responsiveness to its presentations. Without this new and entirely unexpected insights would be crowded out by practical, instrumental, thinking and by the constraints of habit and prejudice.
It has been suggested to me that the artworld’s inability to hear what Barker and Green characterise as ‘dissent issuing from art’ may be attributable to some other cause than the homonymic nature of the inscription ‘art,’ taken together with the adverse conditions of subterranean voice-projection. Could it be that I am simply wrong?
This explanation strikes me as implausible. I prefer to speculate that the ear trumpet of the artworld has been struck by lightning. This misfortune has had the consequence that only those popular voices of confusion delivered by megaphone are clearly audible, and familiar enough to be believed.
i Heather Barker and Charles Green, ‘Flight from the Object: Donald Brook, Inhibodress and the Emergence of Post-Studio Art in Early 1970s Sydney.’ Emaj issue 4, 2009. http://www.melbourneartjournal.unimelb.edu.au/E-MAJ .
ii As above, p.21.
iii I quote the late Clement Greenberg with irony, and some disdain.
iv Homonymity is what may (or may not) make today’s date inedible. Roughly, homographs are different words written in the same way; homophones are different words that sound the same. ‘Art’ as written is a homograph and (when spoken) a homophone.
v For a more comprehensive account see my recent essay in book format, The awful truth about what art is (Artlink, Adelaide, 2008).
vi A cultural kind (such as the motor vehicle or the Etruscan sarcophagus) is like a biological kind (such as the Chinese cabbage or the rock-wallaby). In both cases there is an evolutionary history.
vii ‘A new theory of art.’ British Journal of Aesthetics 20 (No. 4, Autumn 1980): 305-321.
viii T. E. Diffey, in a personal letter dated 9 August 1979.
ix B. Smith, ‘Concerning Donald Brook’s “New Theory of Art”.’ Meanjin 47 (No. 1, 1988): 5-10.
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College of Engineering spinoff SenSound highlighted in national report on economic benefits of federally funded, university-based research
DETROIT - May 11, 2010 A College of Engineering spinoff company is highlighted in a national report that shows how investment in basic research leads to innovation and job creation.
The report, “Sparking Economic Growth: How federally funded university research creates innovation, new companies and jobs,” released by The Science Coalition, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization of 45 of the nation’s leading public and private research universities, identifies 100 success stories—examples of companies started through university innovations.
The WSU spinoff SenSound is one such story featured in the report. SenSound offers software, systems and services for noise source identification and noise-related quality control testing.
Sean F. Wu, distinguished professor of mechanical engineering at Wayne State University‘s College of Engineering, developed this technology to help quiet the noise that surrounds our daily lives. He says that seeing sound through science is the perfect solution to noise problems such as squeaky brakes, noisy dishwashers and more.
SenSound’s technology creates a 3-D image of sound in space and time that can pinpoint the exact source of noise in a large number of products with a high degree of resolution and accuracy. It will provide manufacturers of automobiles, airplanes, ships, consumer appliances and industrial machinery with an invaluable tool to quickly and accurately isolate and resolve problems of unwanted sound. It also serves architectural firms that want to reduce the intrusions of external environmental noise or internally generated noise from heating, ventilating and air conditioning equipment and other sources.
“Wayne State University is playing a major part in the revitalization of Detroit and Michigan as we transition from a manufacturing-based market system to a global, knowledge-driven economy,” said Hilary Ratner, vice president for research at Wayne State. “Our research activities provide new opportunities for commercialization as we transfer university-based intellectual property into the marketplace and create startup companies that generate new jobs and product and service innovations. TechTown, Wayne State’s research and technology park, is home to many of these new ventures and brings the resources of Wayne State to high-technology startup companies to diversify and strengthen Michigan’s economy in emerging high-growth industries.”
To view the full report and database of companies created from university research, visit www.sciencecoalition.org/successstories.
For more information about The Science Coalition, visit www.sciencecoalition.org.
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Pai-Yen Chen honored by two professional groups for research in sensors and electromagnetics
Pai-Yen Chen, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Wayne State University, is being acknowledged for his multidisciplinary research in applied electromagnetics and telemetry sensors by two unique professional organizations, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the International Union of Radio Science (URSI).
Chen has been selected to receive the 2017 IEEE Sensors Council Young Professional Award. It is given annually to promote, recognize and support contributions from IEEE members who are early in their careers and working within the fields of interest of the IEEE Sensors Council, which include the theory, design, fabrication, manufacturing, reliability and applications of devices for sensing and transducing physical, chemical, and biological phenomena.
The award will be presented November 1 at the IEEE Sensors Conference in Glasgow, Scotland.
Chen also received the Young Scientist Award and was invited to attend and present a paper at the URSI General Assembly and Scientific Symposium this week in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Young Scientist Awards are presented at the general assemblies of URSI to recognize an international collection of individuals who have made innovative contributions and discoveries in multidisciplinary research related to electromagnetic fields and waves.
The 32nd triennial symposium will take place August 19 through 26 at the Palais des Congrès in Montreal.
Chen joined the Wayne State University College of Engineering faculty in 2014. He has authored more than 70 published papers and held nine U.S. patents. He has also co-edited a book and six book chapters. Chen is an IEEE Senior Member and has dedicated years of service as a Technical Program Committee chairperson for numerous conferences and symposia and as an associate editor for international journals. He has a Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.
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Re-creating early modern festivals
Fernandez-Gonzalez, Laura (2011) Re-creating early modern festivals. [Project]
Full content URL: http://www.recreatingearlymodernfestivals.co.uk
In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in Early Modern Festivals. Early Modern Festivals were ‘multimedia’ spectacles that played out the tensions of the diverse social strata. Court and city spaces were converted for a few days into a dramatic tableau where everyone was part of the theatre cast, the main role being performed by the ruler, clergy, or foreign dignitaries. Books of festivals and chronicles played a critical role in the dissemination of political propaganda and in highlighting the achievements of participants. Representations of power were highly mediated and were ambiguous reflections of royal authority and rites of passage, since the demands and desires of the ruled, as well as of the ruler, often had to be reflected in words, images and gestures. Ephemeral architecture, theatre, musical performances and delicate objects such as tapestries, paintings, engravings and books were created solely to commemorate these events. The study of festivals is therefore challenging: musicians, music and drama historians, historians, art and architectural historians amongst other disciplines have traditionally been interested in the study of these events. Nonetheless, is it possible to comprehend a multimedia spectacle from the point of view of solely one discipline?
Furthermore, could these celebrations be re-created somehow; e.g. by interpreting the meaning of the iconography, analysing the depictions, or re-creating the music played? What are the limitations of these re-creations? The aim of this project is to explore the boundaries of historical research by re-creating or reconstructing Early Modern Festivals with an interdisciplinary approach, including scholars from diverse disciplines, such as architectural history, music, history, digital reconstruction among others.
This project resulted in a major international conference, an exhibition at the Matthew Gallery in Edinburgh, publications including an edited volume entitled 'Festival Culture in the World of the Spanish Habsburgs' and a website resource which includes an on-line version of the exhibition (found here: www.recreatingearlymodernfestivals.co.uk/exhibition_laura.htm). In addition, this project promoted the creation of the International Network for the Early Modern Festival Study supported by Jiscmail and coordinated by the PI to the project Laura Fernández-González you can find further details here: http://www.recreatingearlymodernfestivals.co.uk/network.htm
This project has been made possible thanks to the generosity of the Spanish Consulate in Edinburgh and the University of Edinburgh. For the conference the Society for Renaissance Studies generously supported student bursaries.
Pageantry, Early Modern Festivals, Digital Humanities, 3D visualisation, Digital Heritage
V Historical and Philosophical studies > V350 History of Art
W Creative Arts and Design > W330 History of Music
Target identifier
http://purl.org/dc/terms/hasPart http://eprints.lincoln.ac.uk/23450
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Alpha- and beta-adrenoceptor-mediated responses of the guinea-pig ileum and the effects of neuronal uptake inhibition
Broadley, Kenneth J. and Grassby, Paul F. (1985) Alpha- and beta-adrenoceptor-mediated responses of the guinea-pig ileum and the effects of neuronal uptake inhibition. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Archives of Pharmacology, 331 (4). pp. 316-323. ISSN 0028-1298
Full content URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00500813
The effects of noradrenaline and isoprenaline were examined on preparations of guinea-pig ileum, in which contractions were induced by three different methods; by transmural electrical stimulation, by exogenous carbachol and by potassium depolarization. Alpha- or beta-adrenoceptor-mediated responses were examined by construction of cumulative concentration-response curves in the presence of propranolol (10(-6) M) and phentolamine (5 X 10(-6) M) respectively. Stimulation of alpha-adrenoceptors by noradrenaline virtually abolished the twitches from transmural stimulation, but only partially inhibited the carbachol- and potassium-induced contractions. The effects on the last two preparations were attributed to a post-synaptic inhibition at alpha-adrenoceptors on the longitudinal smooth muscle. In the transmurally-stimulated preparation there was an additional pre-synaptic alpha-adrenoceptor-mediated inhibition of cholinergic transmission. The maximum beta-adrenoceptor-mediated inhibition of all three preparations to noradrenaline and isoprenaline was of the same magnitude and attributed only to a post-synaptic action on longitudinal smooth muscle. The predominant post-synaptic beta-adrenoceptor-mediated (carbachol-contracted ileum) and pre-synaptic alpha-adrenoceptor-mediated (transmurally-stimulated ileum) relaxations were significantly (P less than 0.05) potentiated by the neuronal uptake inhibitor desmethylimipramine. These receptors may therefore be considered to be closely associated with the sympathetic innervation. The effect on the post-synaptic alpha-adrenoceptor-mediated relaxation was equivocal. Additional minor excitatory responses were identified as a direct alpha-adrenoceptor-mediated contractile response to noradrenaline and as a beta-adrenoceptor-mediated potentiation of transmural stimulation by isoprenaline, possibly due to facilitation of cholinergic transmitter release.
Guinea pig ileum, Uptake inhibition
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Tag: Céline Dion
Confirmed Countries / by Sanjay (Sergio) Jiandani - July 11, 2019 8:27 am
SRF, the Swiss national broadcaster, has confirmed that Switzerland will participate at the forthcoming 2020 Eurovision Song Contest in the Netherlands. Thus Switzerland joins the list of countries who have…
Confirmed Countries / by Sanjay (Sergio) Jiandani - July 19, 2018 11:00 am
Switzerland: SRF confirms participation in Eurovision 2019; scraps televised national final
SRF, the Swiss national broadcaster has confirmed to ESCToday that Switzerland will compete at the forthcoming 2019 Eurovision Song Contest in Israel. Switzerland has come up with a brand new…
Switzerland / by Stratos Agadellis - September 22, 2017 12:15 pm
Switzerland: SRG SSR closes submissions and receives 670 songs
It’s been only a few hours since Switzerland ended the song submission process for their national selection “Die ESC 2018 – Entscheidungsshow”. The Swiss broadcaster association, SRG SSR reports that it…
Past Participants / by Roy Knoops - May 22, 2017 8:13 pm
Switzerland: Céline Dion performs ‘Titanic’ theme song after 20 years
1988 Swiss Eurovision winner, and subsequent superstar, Céline Dion, performed her 1997 mega-hit My heart will go on during the Billboard Music Awards 2017. Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the iconic…
Ukraine 2017 / by Sanjay (Sergio) Jiandani - April 28, 2017 2:30 pm
Eurovision 2017: ESC Photo Exhibition opens at Gulliver Mall in Kyiv
The 2017 Eurovision host city Kyiv is gearing up for the for the upcoming contest. A special Eurovision photo exhibition has opened at Gulliver Mall in the Ukranian capital. Kyiv…
Countries / by Roy Knoops - January 25, 2017 10:00 am
Switzerland: Céline Dion to launch European tour
Céline Dion, winner of the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin, Ireland, will embark on a new European tour starting in June 2017, following her concerts in Las Vegas, the United…
Countries / by Jessica Weaver - October 12, 2016 5:39 am
Ireland/Switzerland: Celine Dion surprises Pat Kenny at IFTAs
Last week saw broadcasting veteran and host of the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest, Pat Kenny, receive the Lifetime Achievement award at the IFTA Gala TV Awards, featuring a special greeting…
Discover Stockholm / by Sanjay (Sergio) Jiandani - May 1, 2016 4:25 pm
Discover Stockholm: The Eurovision Exhibition Interview
ESCToday in collaboration with the City of Stockholm will be bringing you a series of articles leading up to the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest in order to showcase and introduce…
Countries / by Yann Messina - August 30, 2015 4:02 pm
Switzerland: Céline Dion in duet with Fred Pellerin
Eurovision 1988 winner Céline Dion is back to business! The Canadian songstress has resumed her Las Vegas show a couple of days ago and has treated fans to a new song…
Austria / by Fernando Méndez - July 23, 2015 5:02 pm
Eurovision: Meet Federico Ghin, the artist inspired by Conchita Wurst
He created a portrait of the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2014. An image that was used for one of Conchita Wurst’s official items: a scarf that you might…
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Hanzo the Razor: Who's Got the Gold?
Medium: film
Director: Yoshio Inoue
Writer: Takeshi Kanda, Kazuo Koike, Yasuzo Masumura
Keywords: Hanzo the Razor, samurai, historical
Actor: Shintaro Katsu, Ko Nishimura, Mako Midori, Mikio Narita, Asao Koike, Etsushi Takahashi, Daigo Kusano, Keizo Kani'e, Aoi Nakajima, Hiroshi Nawa, Keiichi Noda, Rokko Toura, Michiko Tsukasa, Akira Yamauchi
Url: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0174708/
Website category: Japanese old
Review date: 27 June 2019
It's the most thoughtful, grounded Hanzo the Razor film. This also makes it a bit boring, but I liked it.
The film's problem is that its villains aren't lurid. There's a blind music teacher and moneylender who organises orgies for bored rich men's wives who seem to be doing it voluntarily. No one's being coerced there. Gold has been stolen from the treasury (my heart bleeds) and is being loaned out to the poor (theoretically a good thing). As in the last film, the root of all evil here is just ordinary economics.
The problem isn't the action itself, since lending more money to the poor has often been the basis of international aid campaigns. No, the problem here is that bad people are doing it. They're getting vulnerable people into debt in order to extort from them for profit, blackmail them into crime and if necessary just kill them for their assets.
Hanzo has an old friend, Heisuke Takei, who falls foul of these people. Takei's a nice guy, a proud samurai who knows that some things are more important than money. However he's also one of many victims of an economic downturn, with no income and no hope for a job beyond sitting outside Lord Hotta's house and waiting to get noticed. (Unfortunately he's one of many samurai paupers, all sitting there pathetically every day. They're doomed. You might as well wait for Cinderella's fairy godmother. Hotta's such a cold bastard that the film can get laughs from having him say "the government must help the needy".) You like Takei and you want him to do well... but the guy's an idiot. He had absolutely no plan. He believed that Lord Hotta would come to his rescue if he just sat in the street for long enough, e.g. two or three years. On being asked by Hanzo if he could afford the interest payments, he laughed it off.
Alongside the rape and ultra-violence, this series has always had a fierce social conscience. That's still true. The title's all-important, although the focus is more on "Who's Got No Gold." What's different here is that this third film is spending even more time on poverty and social injustice, which means less nudity, sleaze and killing.
We learn the date of this series! "The first shogun opened the Edo shogunate 250 years ago." It's the 1850s, then, and Commander Perry's sailing the U.S. Navy into Japan around now. Centuries of isolationism will be overturned by modernisation, which is another theme of this film. Thus we have Lord Hotta revering tradition above all lesser foreign things, e.g. ideas, technology and social justice. So the country's full of desperately poor samurai? "Good!" says Hotta. Poverty fits the samurai spirit!
There's a minor theme of sexual inequality, although I'm not sure that fits a series where women love being raped. Nonetheless those aristocrats' wives are right to ask what's so bad about them having a porn-a-like gang bang. (Important men are almost encouraged to commit adultery and their wives can't even complain about it. However death will be the punishment for any wife who strays, or even gets raped.)
The A-plot involves those moneylenders. It starts with Hanzo raping a ghost and discovering some stolen gold. (She's not really a ghost, but was instead ordered to pose as one to scare people away. "Who made you do this?" asks Hanzo, in mid-thrust. Hilariously but soon horribly, the answer is "my husband".) Further investigations then lead Hanzo to that moneylender's orgies, which include Lord Hotta's creepy-as-hell wife. (She's got ohaguro and an unnaturally high-pitched voice that could kill whales.) Naturally Hanzo ends up shagging her too, in the most dangerous possible circumstances.
However there's also a rather odd B-plot about Hanzo helping a wanted man build a Western copper cannon. This makes for a highly entertaining finale, but I'm not convinced that it makes a scrap of sense.
How offensive are the rapes? Answer: not too bad. The first one is consensual within about half a second and the second one is arguably consensual from the start.
This is a mature, thoughtful film, so of course it killed the franchise. It's Hanzo the Razor! Audiences expected sexploitation. Normal viewers wouldn't have touched this franchise with a bargepole after the previous film. Here, though, the rape and ultra-violence feel almost cursory, while the net-hoisting and penis-beating are, frankly, getting old. We've seen them before. They melted my brain in the first film, but I'd like something else now, please. On the upside, though, the magnificent Ko Nishimura gets funnier every film as Magobei 'Snake' Ohnishi.
Is this film good? Well, it's okay. The first two Hanzo the Razor films will blow your mind (although not always in good ways), whereas this one's comparatively normal. I wouldn't really recommend it, but it's still quite interesting. I quite liked it. Apart from anything else, for me it wipes the floor with almost any other film you might see with samurai in it. (Samurai are overrated.)
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Golden Folds of Ease
Gerard Manley Hopkins by Rowan Gillespie
Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889) was one of the greatest religious poets in the English language. Though born an Anglican, in his 20s he began to be drawn to the rituals and beliefs of Catholicism after reading the work of John Henry Newman. Newman was an evangelical academic who had caused a virtual schism in the Church of England in the 1840s when he started the Oxford Movement for those who wished the Church of England to return to many Catholic beliefs and traditional forms of worship from before the Reformation. (There are echoes of this mid-Victorian schism in the Church of England in many novels of the time, including Trollope’s Barchester Chronicles.) In 1845, Newman became a Roman Catholic, eventually rising to the rank of Cardinal. Twenty years later, responding to attacks on him in the press, he published Apologia Pro Vita Sua (A Defense of His Life), and after reading this book, Hopkins decided to follow Newman’s example and convert.
Hopkins entered the Jesuit Novitiate in 1868 and resolved to write no more poetry, but in time he came to see that poetry could be written in service of his beliefs. He wrote in an unusual complex style, using archaic and even made-up words, but their effect is powerful. When studying theology in North Wales, he learned Welsh, and he adapted the rhythms of this melodic language to his verse. He called his technique “sprung rhythm” and described it as “scanning by accents or stresses alone, without any account of the number of syllables, so that a foot may be one strong syllable or it may be many light and one strong.”
In later years as a parish priest and then as a teacher of Latin and Greek in Lancashire and Dublin, he wrestled with his faith, fearing that God was no longer listening to his prayers. He was deeply melancholy and often in ill health, though he pushed on with the exhausting regimen of his chosen life, teaching, grading mountains of papers, preaching, and visiting the sick. He was often close to both mental and physical breakdown and expressed his depression in his verse.
I am gall, I am heartburn. God’s most deep decree
Bitter would have me taste: my taste was me;
Bones built in me, flesh filled, blood brimmed the curse.
Selfyeast of spirit a dull dough sours. I see
The lost are like this, and their scourge to be
As I am mine, their sweating selves; but worse.
Gerald Manley Hopkins died of typhoid fever, aged only 44, in 1889, unknown and unheralded, though he had little time for acclaim. In a letter to a friend, he wrote these memorable words which I believe should be taped to the desk of every writer:
“Fame is a thing which lies in the award of a random, reckless, incompetent, and unjust judge, the public, the multitude. The only just judge, the only just literary critic is Christ, who prizes, is proud of, and admires, more than any man, more than the receiver himself can, the gifts of his own making.”
Nevertheless, thirty years after Hopkins’ death, his poems were eventually published as a result of the efforts of his friend, Robert Bridges, the Poet Laureate. In 1918, Oxford University Press brought out an edition of 750 of Hopkins’ poems, which at last brought the melancholy Jesuit poet to the attention of the “random, reckless, incompetent, and unjust” world.
Hopkins wrote several poems about Easter – this is the most well-known and widely anthologized.
Easter Communion
Pure fasted faces draw unto this feast:
God comes all sweetness to your Lenten lips.
You striped in secret with breath-taking whips,
Those crooked rough-scored chequers may be pieced
To crosses meant for Jesu's; you whom the East
With draught of thin and pursuant cold so nips
Breathe Easter now; you serged fellowships,
You vigil-keepers with low flames decreased,
God shall o'er-brim the measures you have spent
With oil of gladness, for sackcloth and frieze
And the ever-fretting shirt of punishment
Give myrrhy-threaded golden folds of ease.
Your scarce-sheathed bones are weary of being bent:
Lo, God shall strengthen all the feeble knees.
Rebecca Hall as Sylvia Tietjens in "Parade's End"
I recently had the pleasure of watching the enthralling period drama “Parade’s End” produced by the BBC and HBO. (See the trailer here.) Written by Tom Stoppard from the novels by Ford Maddox Ford, it had excellent credentials from the get-go, and these were enhanced by the marvellous nuanced performances by the actors involved. Benedict Cumberbatch (“Sherlock”) was a perfect Edward Tietjens, the moral, upright Englishman who let the world think the worst of him rather than allow the reputation of his volatile and sensuous wife Sylvia to be besmirched. And the magnificent Rebecca Hall as Sylvia, a sharp-witted beauty who kicks over the traces out of sheer boredom, desperate for her husband’s love and attention but too perverse to allow herself to accept it.
This is yet another example of our culture’s enduring fascination of the Edwardian era – the time between the death of Queen Victoria in 1901 and the end of the First World War. In less than two decades, Britain went through a dizzying period of changes, many of which were also happening around the world.
Then, as now, there was a dramatic acceleration of technology in daily life, particularly the widening use of the telephone and the automobiles. And social changes were happening in every area of life - women demanding the vote, the rise of the trade union movement, and the introduction of social welfare legislation by the reforming Liberal government of 1906, including the first national old age pension, free school meals, the National Health Insurance scheme, and unemployment benefits. And all this was before the great disaster epic of the First World War had even begun.
So it’s no wonder that the period has been mined so extensively not only in literature but also in TV (The Forsythe Saga, the original Upstairs Downstairs, and of course Downton Abbey) and films (Howard’s End, The Shooting Party, The Wings of a Dove with Helena Bonham-Carter, and Joseph Losey’s glorious The Go Between). The over-exposure of this era means that it can be hard to avoid clichés – there are those who are tired of seeing or reading about yet another stately home, suffragette march, or muddy trench. Which raises the question of whether there is anything left to say about this period in British history.
Clearly, given that I am writing a novel set between 1911 and 1923, I’m hoping the answer is yes. After all, it’s not as if we put a limit on the number of novels that can be written about the present day. There are always new stories to be told of individuals caught up in the same events and against the same backdrop.
Ultimately, it comes down to whether the reader is interested in my characters and what becomes of them. So it’s up to me to make sure that the people in Albion’s Millennium are absorbing and true to life whether they’re wearing jeans and a teeshirt or the enchantingly feminine clothes of the Edwardian age.
Light after Darkness
Pictures taken at Brookside Gardens, Wheaton MD, February 28, 2013
Do you know what I was, how I lived? You know
what despair is; then
winter should have meaning for you.
I did not expect to survive,
earth suppressing me. I didn't expect
to waken again, to feel
in damp earth my body
able to respond again, remembering
after so long how to open again
in the cold light
of earliest spring‒
afraid, yes, but among you again
crying yes risk joy
in the raw wind of the new world.
Louise Gluck
Posted by Fiona J.Mackintosh at 4:03 PM
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1041. How Cubans' Health Improved When Their Economy Collapsed
By Richard Schiffman, The Atlantic, April 18, 2013
Cubans walked or rode bicycles to get around
during the Special Period
When Cuba's benefactor, the Soviet Union, closed up shop in the early 1990s, it sent the Caribbean nation into an economic tailspin from which it would not recover for over half a decade.
The biggest impact came from the loss of cheap petroleum from Russia. Gasoline quickly became unobtainable by ordinary citizens in Cuba, and mechanized agriculture and food distribution systems all but collapsed. The island's woes were compounded by the Helms-Burton Act of 1996, which intensified the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba, preventing pharmaceuticals, manufactured goods, and food imports from entering the country. During this so-called "special period" (from 1991 to 1995), Cuba teetered on the brink of famine. Cubans survived drinking sugared water, and eating anything they could get their hands on, including domestic pets and the animals in the Havana Zoo.
Cubans became virtual vegans overnight, as meat and dairy products all but vanished from the marketplace.
The economic meltdown should logically have been a public health disaster. But a new study conducted jointly by university researchers in Spain, Cuba, and the U.S. and published in the latest issue of BMJ says that the health of Cubans actually improved dramatically during the years of austerity. These surprising findings are based on nationwide statistics from the Cuban Ministry of Public Health, together with surveys conducted with about 6,000 participants in the city of Cienfuegos, on the southern coast of Cuba, between 1991 and 2011. The data showed that, during the period of the economic crisis, deaths from cardiovascular disease and adult-onset type 2 diabetes fell by a third and a half, respectively. Strokes declined more modestly, and overall mortality rates went down.
This "abrupt downward trend" in illness does not appear to be because of Cuba's barefoot doctors and vaunted public health system, which is rated amongst the best in Latin America. The researchers say that it has more to do with simple weight loss. Cubans, who were walking and bicycling more after their public transportation system collapsed, and eating less (energy intake plunged from about 3,000 calories per day to anywhere between 1,400 and 2,400, and protein consumption dropped by 40 percent). They lost an average of 12 pounds.
It wasn't only the amount of food that Cubans ate that changed, but also what they ate. They became virtual vegans overnight, as meat and dairy products all but vanished from the marketplace. People were forced to depend on what they could grow, catch, and pick for themselves-- including lots of high-fiber fresh produce, and fruits, added to the increasingly hard-to-come-by staples of beans, corn, and rice. Moreover, with petroleum and petroleum-based agro-chemicals unavailable, Cuba "went green," becoming the first nation to successfully experiment on a large scale with low-input sustainable agriculture techniques. Farmers returned to the machetes and oxen-drawn plows of their ancestors, and hundreds of urban community gardens (the latest rage in America's cities) flourished.
"If we hadn't gone organic, we'd have starved!" said Miguel Salcines Lopez in the journal Southern Spaces. Salcines is an agricultural scientist who founded "Vívero Alamar," one of Cuba's best known organopónicos, or urban farms, in vacant lots in Havana.
During the special period, expensive habits like smoking and most likely also alcohol consumption were reduced, albeit briefly. This enforced fitness regime lasted only until the Cuban economy began to recover in the second half of the 1990s. At that point, physical activity levels began to fall off, and calorie intake surged. Eventually people in Cuba were eating even more than they had before the crash. The researchers report that "by 2011, the Cuban population has regained enough weight to almost triple the obesity rates of 1995."
During the period of the economic crisis, deaths from cardiovascular disease fell by a third.
Not surprisingly, the diseases of affluence made a comeback as well. Diabetes increased dramatically, and declines in cardiovascular disease slowed to their sluggish pre-1991 levels. (Heart disease did decline slightly in the 1980s due to improved detection and treatments.) By 2002, "mortality rates returned to the pre-crisis pattern," according to the authors of the study. Cancer deaths, which fell in the years after the crash, also started inching up after the recovery, rising 5.4 percent from 1996 to 2010.
While the study's author's are cautious about attributing all of these changes in disease rates exclusively to changes in weight, Professor Walter Willett, of the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston wrote in an editorial that the study does provide "powerful evidence [that] a reduction in overweight and obesity would have major population-wide benefits."
The findings have special relevance to the U.S., which is currently in the midst of a type 2 diabetes epidemic. Disease rates more than doubled from 1963 to 2005, and continue to rise precipitously. Diabetes and its attendant complications have been called one of "the main drivers" of rising health care costs in the U.S. by a report which was published last month by the American Diabetes Association (ADA). "Recent estimates project that as many as one in three American adults will have diabetes in 2050," according to Robert Ratner, the chief scientific and medical officer of the ADA.
Cardiovascular disease is statistically an even bigger scourge. This illness, which was relatively rare at the turn of the twentieth century, has become the leading cause of mortality for Americans, responsible for over a third of all deaths. Heart disease is associated with our increasingly sedentary lifestyles, obesity, and artery-clogging diets.
The Cuban experience suggests that to seriously make a dent in these problems, we'll have to change the lifestyle that helps to cause them. The study's authors recommend "educational efforts, redesign of built environments to promote physical activity, changes in food systems, restrictions on aggressive promotion of unhealthy drinks and foods to children, and economic strategies such as taxation."
But they also acknowledge that the changes that they are calling for are tough to engineer at the government level: "So far, no country or regional population has successfully reduced the distribution of body mass index or reduced the prevalence of obesity through public health campaigns or targeted treatment programs."
So where does that leave us? If the United States want to stem the rise of diabetes and heart disease, either we get serious about finding ways for to become more physically active and to eat fewer empty calories -- or we wait for economic collapse to do that work for us.
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1040. Venezuela Forces Cuba's Pace of Change
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