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Alien Opponent (2010)
Written by: Colin Theys
Directed by: John Doolan
Starring: Jeremy London, Roddy Piper and Cuyle Carvin
Reviewed by: Brett G.
“Now go my children...and let's blow this motherfuckin' bitch into unhallowed damnation!"
We live in an age of mash-ups and memes, so much so that they’ve begun to inform our movies; last year, we saw Cowboys and Aliens, a film whose title was expected to be cool enough to carry the proceedings (it wasn’t). In a similar tradition, we now have Alien Opponent, which could really be titled Aliens vs. Everyone or, even better, Aliens vs. Morons since that’s what this one basically boils down to. It’s the type of movie that probably started with a simple pitch--“what if we had a battle royal with a bunch of outrageous characters and an alien?”--which was then followed up with a question of what names they could afford to star in it (the answers here: Roddy Piper and Jeremy London). Now, I’m generally the type of person who hears “Jeremy London and Roddy Piper rumble with an alien” and gives it the benefit of the doubt, so it’s kind of alarming that even I’m left scratching my head and wondering just how Alien Opponent went wrong.
The setup is simple enough: one night, an alien craft crash lands in the backyard of a local junkyard baron’s farm, and it happens at a particularly bad time since he’s in a row with his gold-digging young wife (Ashley Bates), who’s also screwing around on him. Before he can dispense his own form of shotgun justice, the girl’s mom plants a hammer in the base of his skull. Both are kind of thrilled that they can now claim all of his money, and they’ve even got this crash-landed alien to blame it on, so they stage a competition and put a bounty on the dead guy’s body. Locals everywhere crash the farm in hopes of scoring $100,000--as long as the alien doesn’t dispatch them first.
Alien Opponent even bothers to set up some of these combatants; among them are a sweet waitress, a man looking to reconnect with his daughter, a stripper, a priest, and whatever Jeremy London is supposed to be. From what I can gather, he’s just a guy who bounces from strip clubs to bars, and I think he’s both the requisite laconic badass and the sleazy slime ball all in one. He’s often seen in the presence of alcohol, and I could hardly blame London if he were knocking back actual whiskey while filming Alien Opponent. As I watched it, I was kind of hoping he’d share because this is just a parade of stupid people doing stupid things, only the movie itself thinks it’s being clever when it arbitrarily offs characters and undercuts big showdowns. It’s perhaps cute the first time it happens--there’s a moment early on when the aforementioned guy starts connecting the dots and figures out one of his fellow combatants might be his daughter before swiftly being blown away in a hail of gunfire.
The problem is that Alien Opponent keeps telling that same joke, as it’s the only one it has, and it’s delivered with an impetuous “hey look at me” attitude. We’re left with no characters to care about simply because we imagine they won’t be around for too long anyway, plus the ones that do survive are either bland or obnoxious. I mean, if you’re going to introduce a character and generate sympathy for her by having her get pelted with bags of vomit, she might be the one to keep around. That Alien Opponent has to do something that outrageous to make a character seem likeable speaks volumes, I suppose, and it doesn’t help that it just keeps piling on more and more characters that show up for a minute before being disposed by their foe, who really just wants to go home. In fact, he decapitates a little boy and uses his head to relay that very information; no matter--everyone schemes and pushes on and most of them die horribly (as in their fates are horrible and horribly relayed by poor effects and camerawork).
Alien Opponent is kind of like watching a demo reel of fatalities from Mortal Kombat; in fact, the alien even has technology to generate a landshark that mows down anyone in its path, which I’m pretty sure was a fatality in Mortal Kombat 3. This sort of batshit, balls out insanity is nice, and there’s all kinds of egregious button pushing and general stupidity, whether it’s in the form of a kung fu troupe comprised of 10 year olds or some muscle heads from a local baseball team (that sort of reminded me of The Warriors) that try to take down the alien. Execution is sorely lacking, as this is all somehow dull and boring, probably because the film has no concept of pacing or character development and instead prefers to keep piling up bodies and ideas (at one point, zombies come into play--sort of). Outside of a pretty funny Starman joke and Ashley Bates’s somewhat inspired performance as the ditzy blonde, I didn’t find a whole lot to admire about Alien Opponent. It’s clumsy on multiple fronts, from the weak, one-note screenplay and the meager budget (if anything, they were smart enough to keep this mostly confined to one set).
You can definitely see what type of movie Alien Opponent was meant to be--a big, gore-soaked exploitation romp without a serious bone in its body. Unfortunately, you never see a good version of this since it falls completely flat and ends up being kind of like Predator, only it’s filled with hicks, yokels, and boobs (some of whom also have boobs--rather large ones). It even has a former wrestler and everything, though Piper looks like he’d much rather be jobbing to Hulk Hogan instead of featuring in this. Despite my feelings about the movie itself, Shout Factory has at least prepared a decent DVD for it; presenting the uncut version of the film you couldn’t see when it premiered on Chiller, it also boasts a sparkling anamorphic transfer and a 5.1 surround track. The extras are a little light and only include about 6 minutes worth of deleted scenes (all of which deserved to stay on the cutting room floor) and 3 minutes worth of outtakes; there is a commentary track that’s quite crowded and features director Colin Theys assistant director Paul Melluzzo, writer John Doolan, talent coordinator Jill Sacco, creature performer Ben Chester, property master John Randall, and cinematographer Matt Wauhkonen. It’s a live commentary, so everyone sort of talks over each other at times, but everyone involved seems to have the right attitude towards the movie; plus, this commentary is actually the second go-round due to a technical error the first time they recorded it. There’s a lot of laughs during the commentary, which is something I can’t say about the actual movie; unfortunately, I’m forced to toss Alien Opponent over the top rope. Trash it!
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Many of the most interesting wines grown in Italy come from regions that were unknown (or very underestimated) just a few years ago. Campania is now established as an excellent source of distinctive, forceful red and white wines from native grape varieties, but even in Campania there are growing areas that seem to come out of nowhere; one such surprise is the Amalfi Coast. I had associated the area mainly with Limoncello and honeymooners, but after tasting with some small producers from the region it became clear to me how interesting these wines can be.
Luigi Reale runs his family's inn and restaurant in the village of Tramonti, on the hills above the Amalfi Coast. Almost as a hobby he also makes about 1,000 cases of wine each year, all from varieties indigenous to Campania and indeed to this area specifically. We import two of these wines, the ‘Aliseo’ white and the ‘Cardomone’ red. Both are cleanly made, individual and delicious. Luigi's vines are between 70 and 120 years old, which is to say pre-Phylloxera; they are ungrafted*.
* Most grapevines anywhere in the world have to be grafted onto the roots of American rootstocks, because of the spread of an American root-louse with the imposing name of Phylloxera Vastatrix (the American vine-roots are not affected by the insect). 'Own-rooted' or ungrafted vines are those which have been planted on their own roots because the soil does not support the Phylloxera insect. These soils, mostly consisting of sand or slate, are rare, and whole vineyards of ungrafted vines are extremely rare. The volcanic soils of southern Italy and Sicily support more ungrafted vines than any other wine-growing area I have visited, but it's still very unusual. Most of these vines at Reale pre-date the arrival of phylloxera in this area.
Named after the wind that brings good weather, the ‘Aliseo’ is made of 50% Biancolella, 40% Biancazita (said to be a type of Falanghina), and 10% Pepella. The grapes come from very old vines, planted on their own roots* between 70 and 120 years ago; yields are very low. The wine is fermented and aged in stainless steel to allow the best expression of the fruit, with no malolactic fermentation. Aromas and flavors include flowers, lemon-peel, herbs (including tarragon), and wet stones; the mouthwatering fresh acidity gives a very long finish. This is one of the best southern Italian white wines I have drunk, and there is stiff competition these days. 200 cases produced.
Cardamone
Named after the district where the vineyards are found, Cardamone is made of 80% Per' E Palummo (the local name for Piedirosso) and 20% Tintore di Tramonti, a local grape known for its very dark color. The grapes come from very old vines, planted on their own roots* between 70 and 120 years ago; yields are very low. The color of this wine is indeed a deep appetizing dark purple-red with violet glints. In aroma and flavor the wine is plummy, spicy (especially black pepper), chewy, and very long; it shows very attractive fresh fruit flavors from such a warm climate. The winemaking is expressive but completely clean, fermentation is done in stainless steel, and aging in stainless steel and 400L barrels. 450 cases produced.
Reale Website
Luigi Reale on Facebook
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IIC. JACL Activities in Camp
GENERAL ASSESSMENT OF JACL IN CAMP
At the request of WRA Director, Dillon Myer, the FBI undertook a survey of the ten camps. This survey was headed and the report written by Myron Gurnea. In it, Gurnea gives his official assessment of the presence of the JACL in camp.
One of the greatest causes for internal disorder has perhaps been the Japanese-American Citizens League. The members of the Japanese-American Citizens League have been very outspoken in proclaiming their loyalty to the United States. It is, of course, commendatory that these individuals would be loyal to this country; however, there are some indications that their views are as political as patriotic. It is the consensus of opinion among the Japanese that the Japanese-American Citizens League, in collaboration with the United States Government, “sold them out” and did not put up a fight to block relocation. This feeling is so predominant that the Japanese now refer to Mike Masuoko [sic], the national president of the Japanese-American Citizens League, as Moses Masuoko [sic], stating that he “led them out of California.” Many of the individuals who received beatings have been members of the Japanese-American Citizens League, and as such are individuals who either cooperated with the Government agencies or were active in sponsoring loyalty programs.201
Gurnea’s survey was made up of two parts. The above comments were contained in Part I. In Part II, Gurnea conducted interviews with WRA personnel at each of the camps. In his interview of WRA personnel at the Minidoka camp, the following comments were made.
Stafford also stated at this point, it is his desire to keep the Japanese-American Citizens League from indulging in any political activity in the center.202
Comments from personnel at Poston expressed that
[a] great number of Japanese feel that the Japanese-American Citizens League sold them out to the Americans. For that reason there is a considerable amount of resentment among the Japanese toward the former members and officials of the Japanese-American Citizens League.203
One of the main causes of resentment against the JACL stemmed from allegations that many of the leaders had been informants for government intelligence agencies and continued in that capacity while in camp. We have already examined the former allegation. Now let us turn our attention to the latter.
NISEI STOOGES/JACL INFORMANTS
A Western Defense Command confidential Memorandum, circa August 1942, indicated the Army’s intention of utilizing informants from within the internee population for security purposes. The report recommended:
that Civil Affairs Division discover the Kibei leaders in all assembly centers and camps through security police, camp management, and the use of Nisei stooges in staging a similar meeting as was held in Manzanar.204
Attached to this memorandum are letters written by Tokie Slocum, Karl Yoneda, and Fred Tayama in response to meetings held by Kibei at Manzanar, conducted in the Japanese language.
In fact, Assistant Project Director Ned Campbell allegedly remarked that “I didn’t know it, but there are Army and Navy Intelligence and FBI agents right here in camp, but don’t you worry, they haven’t got the power you think they have.“205
This is, perhaps, a good seque into the topic of whether any JACLers were involved in these roles and activities.
A number of the members of the Anti-Axis Committee of the Southern District Council of the JACL were highly prominent and outspoken in their work to aid Federal Intelligence Agencies prior to internment. As many Japanese-Americans in the Los Angeles area eventually were interned at Manzanar, it follows that these same individuals would be prominent and outspoken in the same capacity at Manzanar. One of the most infamous of informants, both prior to and during internment was none other than Tokie Slocum.
At Manzanar, rumors that “Slocum is an FBI agent” cropped up as early as May, 1942, immediately following his arrival at the Center. These rumors were frequently traced to Slocum himself, who privately let it be known among enough people for such circulation that he was in constant correspondence with agents of the FBI in Los Angeles as well as prominent officials in veterans groups to which he belonged.206
Slocum had also let it be known what the results of his work with the FBI were.
Slocum also bragging on turning in 40 people to FBI.207
Tokie Slocum testified before “Senator A. B. ‘Happy’ Chandler of Kentucky, who had headed up another of the several state and congressional investigatory subcommittees which sprang up after the Manzanar riot.“208 Slocum responded to Chandler’s question of what he was doing in camp.
So I went and put in 8 months over there and put in 8 months as an observer for the FBI, with the blessing of Mr. Hood, who is the head of the FBI in Los Angeles, and all the time I was there it was my duty, at $16 a month, which is the standard salary of all internees in the camp, to make observations and analyses, trace down the rumors, gossips, and various subversive activities in camp and make reports to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and I was allowed postage and envelopes and that is all I asked. During that time I believe I was of some help to our government.209
According to another source,
there is ample evidence to support the statement (that) Slocum created the impression at Manzanar that he was “working for the FBI.” My personal opinion is that Slocum was never employed as a paid agent of the FBI but volunteered information and correspondence regularly.210
Slocum’s activities are confirmed by other government sources. An FBI document, dated January 23, 1943, regarding “Tokutaro Slocum Activities in War Relocation Centers, Internal Security-J,” states,
it is recommended that Slocum be contacted in Washington, D.C. and warned against representing that he has been employed by the Bureau.211
Since much of the document has been “blacked out,” it is difficult to know the entire context of this statement. The reference to Manzanar and the date would indicate that the FBI’s concern was over Slocum’s testimony before the Chandler Committee, previously reviewed.
Another memorandum, dated August 14, 1943, from John F. Embree, Chief Washington Analyst of the WRA, to John H. Provinse, Chief of Community Services also of the WRA, refers to Tokie Slocum’s activities.
. . . little information of real significance to the military authorities in this country could come to the attention of this government via the Nisei. However, this does not mean that there have not been Nisei anxious to aid the intelligence agencies to the utmost of their abilities. Tokie Slocum, while not in all ways an admirable character, should at least satisfy intelligence agencies by his stool pigeoning activities.212
A person who shared in Slocum’s notoriety both during Anti-Axis days as well as at Manzanar was Fred Tayama. This should not be surprising. We have learned in an earlier section how Tayama was originally chairman of the Anti-Axis Committee but welcomed Slocum into the group and quickly turned over the reins of leadership to him.
A confidential WCCA Report from the Inspection and Fiscal Division on Manzanar, dated August 12, 1942, provides information on a number of Japanese-Americans at this camp. The notes on Fred Tayama state that he reports to FBI, G-3 Army, G-3 Navy.213 Later in the same document, Tayama is referred to as “Fred (FBI) reporter . . .” 214 The second reference misspells his surname as Toyaura, but given the context of Joe Kurihara, Ted Akahoshi and the Block Leaders Council, the reference had to be to Tayama.
Even a JACL document contains a reference to Tayama reporting to the FBI. George Inagaki wrote a memo to the National Staff dated Saturday, January 16, 1943, which was stamped received January 18, 1943. The heading read, “Rumor from Manzanar.”
Story is that Tayama’s report to FBI or Naval Intelligence got into the hands of Slocum and the latter, in order to focus hatred away from self, circulated copy of letter among people in center. Believe it’s just one of those reports, don’t see he could get a copy.215
Now the rumor isn’t whether Tayama reported to the FBI or Naval Intelligence. According to the context, the rumor is whether Slocum got his hands on said report.
An entry in Ralph Merritt’s diary should convert the alleged rumor into fact. Merritt was the Project Director at Manzanar during the riot of December 6, 1942. His diary entry for November 13th and 14thof 1945 when he visited the Tule Lake camp, recorded a visit with Joe Kurihara, one of the participants of the riot.
Said he wanted to apologize for trouble he had caused and then launched into story . . . Tayama reporting to FBI. Slocum making copies of his reports (4 and 7) and giving to Kurihara.216
If the last sentence of the diary entry can be read to mean that Slocum made copies of Tayama’s reports, the[n] Tayama made quite a few reports to the FBI and Slocum did indeed circulate copies.
Informants were not limited to Manzanar. An undated Memorandum from the District Intelligence Officer of the 11th Naval District (San Diego) to the Director of Naval Intelligence on the subject of “Activities of Inmates, Japanese Relocation Centers,” writes:
1. From time to time this District Intelligence Officer has forwarded to the Director of Naval Intelligence information as to the serious anti-American and pro-Japanese activities carried out within the relocation camps at Poston, Arizona and Manzanar, California. The information has been obtained from informants within these camps and believed to be reliable . . . .
9. At the present time Lyle KURISAKI, who has cooperated with this office, is on thirty days leave from Poston #1. His family is still in the camp and, according to information, is being made to suffer serious mistreatment . . . 217
Kurisaki’s work with the FBI and ONI prior to evacuation through the Imperial County Citizens Welfare Committee has already been addressed. This present memorandum indicates that Kurisaki continued in his capacity and was an informant with the ONI while in Poston. Now it is possible that the Memo meant to refer to his previous intelligence work. But given the context that the Memo was discussing information obtained within Poston and Manzanar, it appears that Kurisaki was an informant.
A secondary cause for resentment against the JACL during the internment period had to do with the issue of self-government. As a cause of resentment, it was particular to the leadership and events at specific camps.
An early look into the conditions at the Minidoka Center reveal[s] an initial expectation by members of the JACL that they would inherit the internal leadership. In a September 3, 1942 Memorandum from the District Intelligence Officer, 13th Naval District, to the Director of Naval Intelligence, the DIO gives the following report.
The Japanese American Citizens League faction, which was in charge of the internal administration at the Puyallup Assembly Center, apparently took it for granted that they would be asked to carry on similarly at Minidoka. This, however, has not been the case. The Relocation Authorities have decided that there shall be no group or clique control but a free government based upon elections after arrival of all evacuees.218
The DIO described the JACL faction as a “clique” and contrasts their internal administration at Puyallup with “free government” pursuant to elections at Minidoka, as if the two descriptions are mutually exclusive. Moreover, this description of the JACL group at Puyallup is consistent with what earlier commentators, such as Frank Miyamoto, Bill Hosokawa, and Ken Nishimoto, told us about the lack of elective process at Puyallup.
The Manzanar Camp also had its self-government woes. We are told that,
in the early stages of Manzanar’s development, there is little doubt that individuals associated with the two groups expressed this rivalry in efforts to secure key administrative jobs. In a real sense, there was jockeying and maneuvering for what may be described here as political control or leadership of the population.219
One of the two groups was, of course, the JACL. However, it is difficult to examine self-government and the JACL’s role in any problems associated with it outside of the context of one of the most major disturbances at a camp, the December 6, 1942, Manzanar Riot.
MANZANAR RIOT
While most newspaper accounts at the time characterized the disturbance as Pro-Axis violence targeted at Pro-American victims, the primary sources from that era did not see it that simply. We will begin our examination of this incident from the point of view of one of the participants, Togo Tanaka, Documentary Historian at Manzanar.
The Manzanar Riot of December 6 was the logical outgrowth of pre-evacuation factional conflicts among evacuees, clashes of ideology intensified by War, and the unhealthy condition of accumulating resentment within the limited area of the Center.220
Tanaka identifies three groups at Manzanar as I) the JACL; II) those anti-JACL but, more accurately, left-wing with some being Communists; and III) Anti-Administration-Anti-JACL, which, unlike the previous two, had no pre-evacuation history but was primarily indigenous to Manzanar. 221
Tanaka continues and says that
on December 6, 1942, Manzanar was not unlike a powder keg. Groups I, II, and III constituted exceedingly short fuses. One single incident-the attack on Fred Tayama and the subsequent arrest of Harry Ueno-ignited the whole barrel.222
The question remains whether JACL had any role in the resentments or actions which led to the “exceedingly short fuses” within Manzanar. Tanaka’s response is yes.
Efforts of pre-evacuation JACL leaders to continue their activities within Manzanar were undoubtedly a contributing cause to the situations which eventually culminated in the December 6 riot. That the JACL and the individuals who more or less stood impressed in the public mind as representing it (Fred Tayama, Togo Tanaka, Joe Masaoka, Tad Ueno, Tom Imai) as a group enjoyed little-if any-popularity from the outset of the project is generally conceded.223
From this point on, the JACL group found itself excluded from administrative jobs, they complained about life in camp and about Issei control over the Block leaders’ Council, and finally kept in contact with Headquarters at Salt Lake City. Fred Tayama was the acknowledged chairman of the group. 224
The impression early gained among the Japanese-speaking population that the JACL was persecuting the Japanese people, spying upon innocent Issei for the FBI (an impression due more to the activities of a single individual than to any group-that individual in the estimation of the JACL group being Tokutaro Slocum), that the JACL was, to translate a frequently used Japanese expression, “putting the noose around our neck.“225
The next incident occurred when then Project Director, Roy Nash, made the announcement that the Block Leaders Council would be replaced by an elected council of U.S. citizens only. The reaction was
a camp-wide furor arose; it was directed principally against the JACL; its chief target was Fred Tayama, its lesser targets the individuals associated with him.226
Even though an announcement explained that the restriction to U.S. citizens came from Washington, D.C., this did not dispel the rumors that the JACL was responsible.227
Tanaka relates that part of the animosity was due to the failed effort by the JACL group to organize a “Manzanar Citizens Federation” in July and August of 1942.228
The next conflict developed when Fred Tayama, elected Chairman of the Manzanar Work Corps, came into conflict with Harry Ueno, organizer of the Japanese Mess Hall Workers Union. “A campaign of slandering ensued with unusual vigor, even for Manzanar.” 229 Threatening posters from the Blood Brothers appeared.
Another event which has a bearing on the timing of the attack on Tayama and the riot which followed was the JACL Convention held in Salt Lake City, Utah in mid-November. One of the Convention’s reported resolutions pledged Nisei as willing to volunteer for the armed forces if given the opportunity to do so from the relocation centers. That this resolution was seized upon by the Ueno-Kurihara-Yamaguchi group to arouse intense anti-JACL sentiment in Manzanar was evident everywhere in the Center, and Kurihara was reported to have gone about various blocks announcing that “we’re going to have another Poston riot here, only it will be a hundred times worse; we are going to kill all the dogs.“230
Morris Opler, the Community Analyst for Manzanar, writes of the impact of JACL advocating for the Nisei Draft upon the Manzanar riot.
Many of the JACL leaders never entered Centers. From their Salt Lake City headquarters, they issued manifestoes which were designed to assure the American people of the patriotism and pro-democratic views of those of Japanese ancestry in this country. They underestimated the disillusionment and cynicism over such slogan which the people in the Centers felt. There grew a marked disjunction between the public statements of the leaders of the JACL and the material published in their journal, and what the people in the Centers were thinking. When the JACL advocated the formation of a Nisei battalion, the smoldering rebellion broke out into violence and JACL representatives in Manzanar were intimidated or beaten up. This was an important factor in the incident of December 6, 1942.231
In fact, tension was already building when the announcement of the JACL Convention appeared.
Each Center was to name two official delegates. Obviously, with feeling against the JACL at fever pitch, there could be no open election of delegates at Manzanar. When some prominent young men of the Center, who were obviously preparing to go somewhere, were asked about their destination, they gave evasive answers. It was not until the men in question had left that a notice appeared in the Free Press, giving the names of these who had gone to Salt Lake City as “representatives from Manzanar.”
It was known that the JACL had been active in Second Front petitions and in appeals that Americans of Japanese ancestry be used in the draft. There was apprehension among the residents concerning what action the National body would take at this convention, especially since the JACL had been charged with speaking without authorization for all Japanese in America on other occasions of crisis. There were threats about what would be done to the “delegates” if they dared to claim that they represented the people of Manzanar or if they took any objectionable action which was in any way binding upon the residents of Manzanar.232
Needless to say, Fred Tayama was one of the Manzanar delegates. He returned to camp on December 4, 1942. Coincidentally, the night of his return was marked by the removal of a Block Representative by the FBI.
When Fred Tayama was beaten and Harry Ueno accused of being one of the attackers, the powder keg blew. To be fair, “JACL Activity” was by no means the only contributing cause to this event. Tanaka also lays blame at the “inadequate, ill-prepared or ill-advised Administrators,” to the government decision of mass evacuation based upon race, and basic incompatibility of the conflicting groups.233
Government sources, other than Opler, also lay the blame for the disturbance, in part on JACL members. When Robert Throckmorton, the Project Attorney concluded his memorandum to Ralph Merritt on the “events leading up to the Riot of December 6, 1942,” he wrote the following:
Perhaps, the main significance of these comments is that they show that the primary reasons for the demonstration did not involve the question of loyalty or disloyalty or the fact that the anniversary of Pearl Harbor was at hand. The primary causes appear to be (1) those which led the people to believe that Ueno had been unjustly arrested; and, (2) those which led them to hate Fred Tayama, other JACL leaders and certain members of the Administrative staff.234
Ralph Merritt himself, in a letter to Dillon Myer, dated January 7, 1943, referred to “the chief sources of the disturbance to the peace of Manzanar-the Los Angeles JACL crowd, headed by the Tayamas . . . and the Tanakas.“235
It may be fair to say that the actions of a handful of men, who were one of several contributing causes for the riot at Manzanar, should not bring down the organization to which they belonged. However, as was pointed out by one of those men, Togo Tanaka, these men, more or less represented in the public’s mind the JACL. Any impact they had upon events leading up to December 6, 1942 was and has been perceived as JACL’s impact on the same events.
IID. Position and Action on Loyalty Oath
NO-NOs
After registration, what were the JACL’s position and actions towards those who answered NO to questions 27 and 28 of the “Application for Leave Clearance” first distributed on February 10, 1943?
Inter-office correspondence beginning May 19, 1943 from Saburo Kido to Teiko Ishida contains the following discussion:
Regarding members who answered “no”, Mike suggests that we send out a bulletin to all chapters that such members will be suspended. He believes this is necessary for our records; that is, we should be clear as to the loyalty of our members. Also we cannot accept anyone who has answered, “no.”236
The response, dated Mary 21, 1943, from Teiko Ishida to Kido offers this:
Mike certainly has had a change of heart. We felt right along that the no-no’s should be segregated and no further effort be expended upon them. However, a bulletin to all chapters announcing that all “no-no” members would be suspended will be of no avail unless we have a list of such registrants. Furthermore, we must have this list of no-no’s in order to refuse membership to certain individuals. Please have Mike secure such a list from the WRA before we can issue such a bulletin or know to whom to refuse membership.237
Kido writes another letter, dated May 25, 1943 to Hito Okada and Teiko Ishida, which begins with this paragraph:
As far as the “no-no” ones are concerned, I don’t think we can possibly find out so the best thing is just issue the request to sign the loyalty pledge of all associated members. Then if there is a chapter, issue a special letter to the chapter that the “no-no” ones will have to be suspended until such time as the records are cleared. And if they have any reason for changing the answer to yes, possibly we can suggest to write to the WRA. It is the best that we do this and protect our position.238
The response, dated May 27, 1943, was that “we shall continue having our associated members execute the Oath of Allegiance if they have not previously done so.” Also, only two chapters would be requested to suspend their “no-no” members. This same information was also sent to Mike Masaoka by Teiko Ishida on the same date, May 27, 1943. 239
It would seem that JACL’s position towards the “no-nos” was that they should be segregated. This was expressed by Teiko Ishida, a staffer at the Salt Lake City Headquarters Office. Not just segregated but “no further effort expended upon them.” Interestingly, Masaoka was not of the same opinion initially, as was reflected in Ishida’s letter, but must have come around. What is both implied and expressed in this correspondence is the presumption that those who answered “no” to both questions were disloyal, and should be dealt with accordingly.
Contrast the JACL view with the concerns expressed to Dillon Myer by Ralph Merritt, Project Director at Manzanar. In his February 27, 1943 letter, he states:
On the other hand, it is important to determine whether the “no” answer on the loyalty question actually means a renouncing of citizenship or whether it is a protest indirectly arising from the pressures of the father who is a non-citizen or directly representing the outcry of a man who has, in his opinion, been ruthlessly and wrongfully deprived during the last year of his rights and position as a citizen. When all the motives have been reviewed, it must be concluded that there is no such thing as a line of strict demarcation. . . . It is my considered conclusion that the answer “No” has many shades of meaning and is prompted by many motives, some of which are attributable to our failure, both past and present, and some of which may yet be modified and reversed without damage to the principles of American citizenship.240
Thus, unlike the JACL, Merritt saw no presumption of disloyalty in the “no” answer and acknowledged both the possibility of WRA errors and a means of rehabilitation.
On the other hand, the JACL was well aware of the confusion posed by Question #28, particularly to the Issei. In Bulletin No. 3-D, dated February 23, 1943, from JACL National Headquarters, listed a number of items of which the Washington representative was requested to seek clarification.
Confusion exists as to whether question No. 28 has been officially changed or not.241
The concern expressed was that Japanese nationals might become citizens without a country if they answered in the affirmative. The clarification was that “Question No. 28 has been officially changed by the WRA and recognized by the War Department. The justice of the Issei complaints was quickly realized.“242
On the issue of renunciation of citizenship, an April 13, 1944 letter to the War Relocation Authority from Teiko Ishida, now Acting National Secretary, indicated JACL’s position. “It is a matter of debate, but we agree with Attorney General Biddle that those who answered in the negative to question 28 heretofore have not expatriated. In other words, they are still American citizens.”243
Abbreviations used:
AAC Anti-Axis Committee
CWRIC Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians
DIO District Intelligence Officer
DNI Director, Naval Intelligence
JACL Japanese American Citizens League
JACL Archives Japanese American Citizens League Archives, San Francisco
JARP Japanese American Research Project, Special Collection, University Research
Library, University of California, Los Angeles
JERS Japanese Evacuation and Resettlement Study, Bancroft Library, University of
California, Berkeley
Merritt Collection Merritt Collection, #122, Special Collection, University Research
NA National Archives, Washington, D.C.
ND Naval District
NDC Northern District Council
ONI Office of Naval Intelligence
RG Record Group
SDC Southern District Council
WRA War Relocation Authority
(201) Myron Gurnea, FBI Survey of Japanese Relocation Centers, p. 7, File E 11.00, JERS.
(202) Part II, Gurnea Report — Inteview with WRA Personnel, p. 280, Box 1, Entry 17, RG 210, NA.
(203) Ibid., pp. 291-292.
(204) Manzanar, File 323.3, Box 12, Entry 1, RG 338, NA.
(205) Togo Tanaka, Documentary Reports, 6/42-7/42, pp. 122-123, File 0 10.06, JERS.
(206) Tanaka, “Report,” p. 34.
(207) “Law & Order Misc.” File, Box 17, Merritt Collection.
(208) Weglyn, Years, p. 153.
(209) Chandler Investigation Folder, pp. 121-122, Box 15, Merritt Collection.
(210) Tanaka, “Report.” pp. 90-91.
(211) “Tokutaro Slocum Activities in War Relocation Centers, Internal Security-J,” 1/23/43, The Michi Weglyn Collection.
(212) Memorandum, John F. Embree to John H. Provinse, 8/14/43, “August 1943,” p. 2, Box 286, RG 210, NA.
(213) “Manzanar,” p. 6, File 323.2, Box 12, Entry 1, RG 338, NA.
(214) Ibid., p. 7.
(215) Memorandum, George Inagaki to National Staff, 1/16/43, JACL Archives.
(216) Merritt Diary, 11/13-14/45, Box 17, Merritt Collection.
(217) Memorandum, DIO, 11th ND, to DNI, undated, File “WRA,” pp. 1-2, Box 2, Entry 17, RG 210, NA.
(218) Memorandum, DIO, 13th ND, to DNI, 9/3/42, File “WRA,” Box 2, Entry 17, RG 210, NA.
(219) Togo Tanaka, Documentarian Report, 1/25/43, File 0 7.50, JERS.
(220) Tanaka, “Report,” p. 1-2.
(221) Ibid. pp. 3-4.
(222) Ibid. p. 9.
(223) Ibid. p. 46.
(226) Ibid.
(230) Ibid. pp. 51-52.
(231 Morris Opler, “Registration 1944-1945,” p. 13, File #9, Box 23, Merritt Collection.
(232) Morris Opler, “A History of Internal Government at Manzanar, March 42-December 42,”
7/15/44, pp. 97-98, Box 12, Merritt Collection.
(233) Tanaka, “Report,” pp. 59, 46.
(234) Memorandum, Robert Throckmorton to Ralph Merritt, 12/6/43, p. 3, Box 16, Merritt Collection.
(235) Letter, Ralph Merritt to Dillon Myer, 1/7/43, Box 16, Merritt Collection.
(236) Memorandum, Saburo Kido to Teiko Ishida, 5/19/43, JACL Archives.
(237) Memorandum, Teiko Ishida to Saburo Kido, 5/21/43, JACL Archives.
(238) Letter, Saburo Kido to Hito Okada and Teiko Ishida, 5/25/43, JACL Archives.
(239) Letter, Teiko Ishida to Mike Masaoka, 5/27/43, JACL Archives.
(240) Letter, Ralph Merritt to Dillon Myer, 2/27/43, Box 15, Merritt Collection.
(241) Bulletin #3-D, 2/23/43, JACL Archives.
(242) JACL Archives.
(243) Letter, Teiko Ishida to WRA, 4/13/44, Box 142, Entry 16, RG 210, NA.
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Weekend Plot: Rorschach Test
This weekend you are invited to contemplate a plot which, for obvious reasons, is not available on arXiv. Here is a plot by the PVDIS collaboration recently published, quite suitably, in the Nature magazine:
To understand what is depicted here we need to make a slight detour. The Standard Model of particle physics is being tested not only in high-energy colliders, but also via precision measurements at low energies. One important class of precision experiments goes under the name parity violating electron scattering, PVES in short. This enterprise consists in shooting a beam of polarized electrons at various targets: hydrogen, deuteron, spiders on the wall, etc. In the language of effective theory, the process can be described by 4-fermion operators with 2 electron and 2 quarks fields. For PVES experiments, the relevant operators are those that violate the parity symmetry, for example
There is nothing exotic here: these 4-fermion operators are predicted by the Standard Model, as they are effectively induced by the Z boson exchange between electrons and quarks. Their effect is that left- and right-handed polarized electrons interact differently with quarks. Thus, they lead to different cross sections for left- and right-hand electron scattering on atoms. The left-right asymmetry -- the difference of these two cross section normalized to the sum -- is a convenient observable to measure in a experiment. In fact, the asymmetry was experimentally observed already back in 1978 at SLAC, and at the time it was an important confirmation of the Standard Model structure of weak interactions. Nevertheless, it makes sense to measure the asymmetry (and therefore the parameters Cq) more precisely so as to test the Standard Model predictions. There are two ways new physics could affect this observable. On one hand, the couplings of the Z boson to electrons and/or quarks could be modified, and then the Z boson exchange diagrams would lead to different coefficients Cq than the ones predicted by the Standard Model. On the other hand, new heavy vector boson with mass M interacting with electrons and quarks with strength g would induce contact interactions between the two that would effectively shift the parameter Cq by the amount of order g^2 v^2/M^2.
Now the parameters C1u and C1d have been measured quite precisely, with 3% accuracy, and they agree well with the Standard Model predictions (see here for the most recent update). This can be translated as order 1% constrains on the Z boson couplings to quarks and leptons. It is worth stressing that for the couplings to quarks these are the most stringent constraints to date (better than the ones from LEP) so these experiments are really exploring new territories.
The parameters C2u and C2d are more tricky because, in order to access them in scattering experiments, one needs to resolve the internal structure of the target atom. Here enters the PVDIS experiment at Jlab. They studied the left-right asymmetry of deep-inelastic polarized electron scattering on deuterons. They were able to demonstrate, for the first time, that a particular combination 2 C2u - C2d is non-zero, in agreement with the Standard Model. The resulting constraints on the Z-boson couplings are weaker than those coming from previous experiments. However, since they probe different operators, the provide non-trivial constraints on some new physics, in particular those that produces only C2q and not C1q. The plot reproduced at the top of this post is a more graphic presentation of their results. In the plot, the combined constraints from several low-energy experiments are recast in terms of the scale Λ=Mass/coupling of new physics that contributes to the C1q and C2q coefficients. The yellow and red regions show the new physics reach before and after including the PVDIS results. The exciting thing about the plot is that it explicitly shows these experiments probe the mass scales of order 10 TeV, which is well beyond the reach of the LHC.
Complementary constraints from ATLAS can be found here.
Weekend Plot: axing axions
Assuming the B-modes observed by BICEP2 originate from the metric field fluctuating during inflation, implications are profound. Obviously, inflationary models are now constrained to reproduce the energy scale 10^16 GeV driving the expansion (equivalently, the Hubble scale during inflation 10^14 GeV). But the consequences extend to more general new physics scenarios that a-priori have nothing to do with inflation. One prominent example is high-scale axions. Axions are hypothetical particles that pop up in many theories: as a solution to the strong-CP problem in QCD, as a dark matter candidate, as a prediction of string theory, etc. Here is a snapshot of the axion parameter space after BICEP2:
The plot shows the maximum fraction of dark matter that high-scale axions can account for versus the axion mass. If the axion scale f is larger than 10^14 GeV then the axion field can wildly fluctuate during inflation. Axion fluctuations are uncorrelated with those of the inflaton field, and give rise to the so-called isocurvature perturbations where density fluctuations in radiation and matter add up to zero. The isocurvature perturbations, in turn, are severely constrained by Planck's CMB measurements: their power has to be less than 4% of the adiabatic perturbations produced by the inflaton field. Hence the severe constraint on the axion: its initial displacement angle has to be small enough as to suppress the oscillation amplitude. But the same displacement angle gives rise to the production of axion dark matter. Combining these two inputs, we learn from BICEP2 that high-scale axions alone cannot account for the observed abundance of dark matter in the universe. Moreover, even giving up on axion dark matter, one has to fine-tune the initial displacement of the axion fields to a tiny value (of order 10^-8 for f = 10^16 GeV).
Of course, like for any model that crashed after the BICEP2 announcement, Microsoft-style patches are already available. In this case, one solution is simply to take f < 10^14 GeV, that is the global symmetry whose breaking gives rise to the axion particle gets broken only after the inflation ends (although this scenario has problems of its own). Another possible fix is to ensure the axion acquires a large mass (>10^14 GeV) during inflation, or that the isocurvature modes were diluted by late-time entropy production. Nevertheless, high-scale axions are clearly less motivated than they were a week ago.
A commenter pointed out that the results in this plot disagree with other literature on the
subject. The point is that, for the axion scale larger than the Hubble scale during inflation, the minimum displacement angle is of order H/f. For the relevant scales this always produces too much isocurvature perturbations. Thus, the conclusions from BICEP2 are stronger than what I wrote above: high scale axions are excluded (up to the caveats in the previous paragraph) irrespectively of any assumptions about the initial displacement angle. The plot on the right visualizes the situation for the QCD axion. The yellow region is excluded by astrophysical and CMB constraints, while the green region corresponds to the BICEP2 measurement of the Hubble scale during inflation. The QCD axion is now constrained to a narrow window of 10^9 ≤ f ≤ 10^11 GeV. At the top of this window it accounts for all dark matter in the universe.
Curly impressions
Today the BICEP2 experiment announced a significant detection of the primordial B-model in the CMB power spectrum (the excess at lower multipoles in the plot). From that one can infer that the tensor-to-scalar ratio of primordial fluctuations is somewhere between 0.1 and 0.2. Cosmologists are strongly represented in the blogosphere, so for the description of technical aspects of the BICEP results and their impact on the models of inflation better see elsewhere, for example here or here or here. In this post, let me throw in a few random impressions from a particle physicist.
If this holds up, it's huge, comparable in magnitude to the discovery of the Higgs boson. Probably even more exciting because of the surprise element.
"If this holds up" is the central question now. This sort of experiments is subject to pesky instrumental effects and systematic effects due to foreground emission. It's not impossible that BICEP screwed up; in fact, experts point out some worrying aspects of the data, for example the excess in the BB spectrum at high multipoles. So I would say at this point it's fifty-fifty. Fortunately, there are many experiments out there with similar sensitivity (Planck, ACTPole, SPT, POLARBEAR) that should be able to confirm or refute the claim in the near future. In particular, the release of Planck polarization data this year should straighten many things out. For the sake of this post I'll drop the conditional, but there really should be "If this holds up" in front of every sentence below.
The big thing here is not gravitational waves (we observed them before), and not an evidence for inflation (we've already had a few from the CMB alone: the temperature isotropy across the sky, the scalar fluctuations, the spectral index). The point is that the amplitude of the primordial tensor modes is directly related to the energy density during inflation. This turns out to be (2*10^16 GeV)^4 -- a whopping energy scale unavailable to particle accelerators in this century. Consequently, the Hubble scale during inflation has also been nailed down, and it's 10^14 GeV. While cosmologist study the universe when it was being born, particle physicists are getting a glimpse of physics at a very high-energy scale.
The proximity of the inflation scale to the unification scale in minimal supersymmetry is certainly intriguing. It may be a numerical accident.... but I'm sure that there will soon be models on arXiv "predicting" this coincidence.
The plot shows the basic parameters of inflation as of today.
If you think that the Planck region is not what you remember, that's right, it's not the one usually shown. The red region in this plot is the Planck constraint when the spectral index ns is allowed to run, that is to say, to depend on the distance scale. It is a challenge for inflationary models to get the required amount of running. In the more likely scenario with small running the BICEP result is in about 3 sigma tension with the Planck constraints.
There's more challenge for inflation model building. In the single-field inflation one can relate how much the inflaton field was displaced during inflation to the value of r and the number of e-folds (the so-called Lyth bound). For r~0.2 one finds that the displacement is larger than the Planck scale. For particle physicists, who generally like effective field theories, the focus now will be on identifying all exceptions from this rule. But from another (e.g. string-theoretical) point of view this is an opportunity: may be inflation can be our probe of transplanckian physics? In the coming week there will surely be an arXiv flood on both of these fronts.
Speaking about model building, Higgs inflation is ruled out, at least in the current version. A robust prediction of Higgs inflation is no tensor modes at an observable level. In other words, we have a new evidence for new physics beyond the Standard Model.
It is worth remembering that the gravitational waves during inflation is the most plausible but not the unique explanation of BICEP results. For example, an early phase transition or decay of massive particles during inflation may also generate tensor perturbations. That's another model building direction worth following in the coming weeks.
If you hear a sledgehammer in the corridor of your lab, that may be your local Planck member banging his head on the wall. Yeah, apart from many noble aspects, science also has this lowly competition side. A billion dollar experiment that misses a Nobel-prize-worth low-hanging fruit... I wouldn't wish to be in their skin if BICEP is right.
One more thing we learned from the BICEP announcement: mankind can study the universe moments after the bing bang, but setting up an internet connection is a totally different story ;)
The BICEP2 paper is here, for more material see this page.
Weekend Plot: flexing biceps
All of us will spend this weekend waiting for it to pass. To kill time, you may stare at the plot of the parameter space of inflation. This is the current status after the measurements of the Cosmic Microwave Background temperature fluctuations by the Planck satellite:
Take a good look as it won't be the same on Monday. COBE was first to measure the amplitude As of the primordial scalar fluctuations in the CMB. More recently, WMAP and Planck and other experiments pinned down the so-called spectral index ns (x-axis in the plot), which measures the departure of the scalar fluctuation spectrum from scale invariance. In the vanilla model of inflation, these two parameters are related to three parameters of the inflationary potential: the absolute value, and the first and second derivatives during inflation. To connect all dots we need another observable - the amplitude At of the primordial tensor perturbation spectrum, or equivalently, the tensor-to-scalar ratio r=At/As (the y-axis of the plot). This observable is directly related to the absolute value of the potential during inflation. To measure the tensor amplitude, one needs to see a special pattern in the CMB polarization spectrum - the so-called B-mode (more precisely, the primordial B-mode; the non-primordial B-mode, induced by gravitational lensing effects on the CMB, was observed by the SPT and POLARBEAR experiments). The rumor is that BICEP2 - a small-scale experiment down at the South Pole measuring the polarization of the CMB - pinned down the primordial B-mode. Various rumors quote the measured value of the tensor-to-scalar ratio between 0.06 and 0.2. For the former value, it is hard to understand how BICEP2 could obtain a statistically significant discovery, while the latter value is in tension with the results from WMAP and Planck. We'll see on Monday, when the press conference of BICEP2 is scheduled. If this is true, we learn that the energy scale where inflation happened is around 2*10^16 GeV. This would be the first direct evidence for a new particle physics scale between the electroweak and the Planck scales.
One final remark: newspapers are spinning this story as the discovery of gravitational waves. Right, there is a connection: the primordial B-mode amplitude originates from fluctuations of the metric at the time when CMB photons decoupled from matter. So finding the B-mode can be viewed as another (after the Hulse-Taylor binaries) indirect confirmation of the existence of gravitational waves. But the discovery of the primordial B-mode in the CMB is much much bigger than that.
For more rumors and counterrumors see here and here and here. Another rumor is that Guth and Linde will be present at the press conference on Monday.
Weekend Plot: all of dark matter
To put my recent posts into a bigger perspective, here's a graph summarizing all of dark matter particles discovered so far via direct or indirect detection:
The graph shows the number of years the signal has survived vs. the inferred mass of the dark matter particle. The particle names follow the usual Particle Data Group conventions. The label's size is related to the statistical significance of the signal. The colors correspond to the Bayesian likelihood that the signal originates from dark matter, from uncertain (red) to very unlikely (blue). The masses of the discovered particles span impressive 11 orders of magnitude, although the largest concentration is near the weak scale (this is called the WIMP miracle). If I forgot any particle for which a compelling evidence exists, let me know, and I will add it to the graph.
Here are the original references for the Bulbulon, Boehmot, Collaron, CDMeson, Daemon, Cresston, Hooperon, Wenigon, Pamelon, and the mother of Bert and Ernie.
Signal of WIMP dark matter
You may have heard about the excess of gamma-ray emission from the center of the Milky Way measured by the Fermi telescope. This excess can be interpreted as a signal of a 30-40 GeV dark matter particle - the so-called hooperon - annihilating into a pair of b-quarks. The inferred annihilation cross section is of order 1 picobarn, perfectly fitting the thermal dark matter paradigm. The story is not exactly new; the anomaly and its dark matter interpretation was first claimed 4 years ago. Since then there has been a steady trickle of papers by different groups arguing that the signal is robust and proposing dark matter or astrophysical explanations. Last week the story hit several news outlets, see for example here for a nice write up. What has changed that the anomaly was upgraded from a tantalizing hint to a compelling evidence of WIMP dark matter?
First, here is a bit more detailed description of the signal. The Fermi satellite measures gamma rays from all sky with a good angular and energy resolution. Many boring astrophysical processes produce gamma rays, for example cosmic rays scattering on the interstellar medium, or violent events happening around black holes and pulsars. However, known point sources, galactic and extragalactic diffuse emission, and the emission from the Fermi Bubbles do not seem to be enough to explain what's going on in the center of our galaxy. A better fit is obtained if one adds a new component with a spatial distribution sharply peaked around the galactic center and the energy spectrum with a broad peak near 2 GeV, see the plot. How much better fit? This paper quotes 40 sigma preference for this new component in the inner galaxy region. That's hell of a significance, even after translating the astrophysical sigmas to the ones used in conventional statistics ;)
Now, WIMP dark matter can easily reproduce the new component. Cold dark matter is expected to be sharply peaked near the galactic center, with the 1/r or similar profile. Furthermore, when dark matter annihilates into charged particles, the latter can radiate a part of their energy producing photons via the final state radiation, Compton scattering, and bremsstrahlung. This leads to emission of gamma rays with the energy spectrum depending on the dark matter mass and the identity of particles it annihilates into. Annihilation into leptons (electron, muons, taus) would produce a sharper peak than what is observed. As the plot shows, annihilation into quarks, whether the bottom or lighter one, fits the signal much better. All in all, the excess can be explained by a 15-40 GeV dark matter particle annihilating into quarks with the cross section in the 0.1-1 pb range.
This was known before, more or less. As far as I understand, the recent paper by Daylan et al. adds the following. They repeat the analysis using a subset of the Fermi data where the photon direction is more reliably reconstructed. This allows them to better study the morphology of the signal. They show that the excess is steeply falling (approximately as 1/r^1.4) all the way to about 2 kiloparsecs from the galactic center. Moreover, they demonstrate that the excess is to a good degree spherically symmetric. This can be regarded as an argument against conventional astrophysical explanations. For example, a school of several thousand milisecond pulsars could produce a similar energy spectrum as the excess, but would not be expected to be distributed this way.
Ah, and what does the Fermi collaboration have to say about it? As far as I know, there is no official statement about the excess. In this talk one finds the quote "[In the inner galaxy], diffuse emission and point sources account for most of the emission observed in the region". So we seem to have two slightly discrepant stories here: 40 sigma vs. nothing to see. If the truth were in the middle that would be great ;)
In any case, continuous emission from the galactic center will never be regarded as a convincing evidence of dark matter. To really get excited we would need to find a matching signal in a less messy environment. One possibility is the dwarf galaxies - small galaxies consisting mostly of dark matter that orbit the Milky Way. The Fermi collaboration recently reported the limits on the dark matter annihilation cross section based on observations of 25 dwarf galaxies, see the plot. Intriguingly, there is a small excess (global p-value 0.08) that may be consistent with the dark matter interpretation of the signal from the galactic centre... More data should clarify the situation, but for that we probably need to wait a few more years.
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Rusik was the first Russian police sniffer cat at Stavropol near the Caspian sea. He made an important contribution in the search for hidden illegal cargoes of Sturgeon fish, an endangered species, and caviar.
Rusik began his crime-fighting career when he appeared at the police checkpoint in 2002. Following his adoption by the staff, Rusik demonstrated his ability to sniff out sturgeon-smugglers’ stashes with astonishing accuracy. His talent for sniffing out poached fish soon found him taking over the job of the police’s canine team member.
Rusik died in the line of duty on 12 July 2003, when he was hit by a mafia owned car during an inspection. He had apparently found smuggled sturgeon in the same car some time before, according to personnel at the police checkpoint. Some local sources expressed their belief that Rusik was the object of a contract killing, but the truth is still unclear.
I think being a sniffer cat is a really cool story and I think that the first sniffer cat needs honoring by having his own cattery prefix. It is also really sad that his career was short-lived due to being so good at his job.
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"The most original of knights errant" - Ángel Ganivet’s The Conquest of the Kingdom of Maya
"Flying Hippo," photocollage by Kleemass, used with his kind permission.
More of Kleemass' work can be seen at http://www.kleemass.deviantart.com/
I’d find it difficult to dislike any work where in the first pages the protagonist declaims a line like this one:
...there are difficult moments in the life of a man, during which he finds himself constrained to abdicate his sovereignty and calmly obey the first pachyderm that comes along.
The pachyderm in question in Ángel Ganivet’s hugely entertaining and disquieting 1897 novel, The Conquest of the Kingdom of Maya (La conquista del reino de Maya, por el último conquistador español, Pío Cid), is a hippopotamus. More precisely, it’s a sacred hippopotamus allegedly capable of flight, and astride it rides the intrepid Spanish entrepreneur Pío Cid into the hidden heart of Africa to be welcomed as a divinity by the tribe named in the title. If the name Maya and the story (minus its pachyderm and African setting) sound familiar, it’s because Ganivet’s picaresque novel is also a lancing, Swiftian satire of Spain’s colonial enterprises, with allusions to the conquest of Mesoamerica (the ghost of Hernán Cortés even makes an appearance) as well as a broader view of colonialist exploits, given that Ganivet began the novel while assigned to the Spanish consulate in Antwerp as Belgium was conducting its genocidal conquest of the Congo. The Sanskrit meaning of “Maya” as “illusion” holds perhaps greater significance (as a student, the polylingual Ganivet wrote a thesis on Sanskrit), since the illusions of Europeans’ aspirations regarding those they colonized form the novel’s center of gravity.
Given the protagonist’s name and his self-identification as “the most original of knights errant,” The Conquest of the Kingdom of Maya also consciously addresses itself to its great predecessors in Spanish literature, most evidently The Poem of the Cid and Cervantes’ Don Quixote, situating itself firmly in the tradition of the chivalric and picaresque. But in its mixture of acidic irony; absurd, surrealistic elements; and presciently modern themes, Ganivet’s novel looks towards the future of literature. The “magical realism” of Gabriel Garcia-Marquez begins to look a bit threadworn after plunging into Ganivet’s world of hippopotami-borne chevaliers, oracles who interpret parrot songs, velocipede-peddling pygmies and a spiritual mythos in which worlds are stacked one upon the other like a layer cake, the terrestrial tier awaiting a rapture when a race of half-human/half-monkey slaves will descend to liberate humankind from toil.
I don’t recall where I first heard of Ganivet – almost certainly in an on-line forum regarding worthy works not yet translated into English. Thus my copy of the book is in French (La Conquête du royaume du Maya), translated by François Gaudry and with a terrific introduction by novelist Álvaro Mutis. Mutis describes Ganivet’s work as occupying “a singularly premonitory place upstream of the vast amount of literature that irrigates, up to the present, the Spanish imagination – and perhaps even more so, the Hispanic-American imagination.” An early member of the “Generation of '98” and close friend of Miguel de Unamuno, Ganivet matriculated from the university in his native Granada before leaving Spain to spend his adult life in the Spanish diplomatic corps, serving in Antwerp, Helsinki and finally Riga, where, at age 33, suffering from depression and syphilitic madness, he drowned himself in the icy waters of the Dniva. An essayist and playwright as well as novelist, he’d authored several idealistic treatises exploring the qualities of Spain’s national character and proposing a vision for the country’s future, noted by Mutis as constituting - along with the correspondence between Ganivet and Unamuno - “the most significant works of Spanish thought of the last two centuries.” This overarching concern for the development of a nation lies at the heart of The Conquest of the Kingdom of Maya, the first of Ganivet’s two novels, both of which feature Pío Cid (the second, The Works of the Indefatigable Creator Pío Cid, appeared a month prior to Ganivet’s death and seems to be unavailable in English or French translation).
Pío Cid, a patriotic Spaniard of “independent and proud character,” has honed his practical and commercial skills in various European capitals before taking a position in Zanzibar, where tedium and the exotic travel accounts of European explorers lure him to take leave to explore the African continent. Accompanying a group of Arab traders as they leave the coast for Africa’s interior, Cid is separated from the group and captured by head-hunters. Narrowly escaping with his life and fleeing into the jungle, he stumbles upon a hippopotamus adorned with a bridle of vines which carries him into the hitherto unknown land of the Maya, rulers of a kingdom “the size of Portugal and shaped like a salted cod.” Using his wits to profit from the Maya’s belief that he is a long sought Igana-Igaru, or divinity, Pío Cid re-invents himself as the embodiment of a previous such “divinity” who went missing 20 years before under suspicious circumstances. This set-up, dispatched in the first chapters, provides the platform from which Cid launches into a lengthy account of his intimate life with the Maya. He describes in detail their history, customs, religion, government and social institutions before embarking on a self-appointed attempt to reform all of that, as Ganivet’s satire now subtly turns its focus from the Maya’s primitivism (it need hardly be said that the Maya are presented as completely over-the-top caricatures of early European explorers’ accounts of “the Dark Continent”) to Pío Cid’s efforts to introduce a “superior” civilization. Of unshakeable confidence, Cid lets no fleeting doubts regarding his assumptions and decisions hold him back. Through his blinders (and blunders), Spain itself, its colonial adventures, and a broad swath of European attitudes and behaviors are revealed in their ignorance, arrogance and cruelty. Never does Pío Cid fully recognize his own role in sending ripples (and tidal waves) through Mayan society, which result in not only a coup d’etat but eventually in his own assumption of power as a kind of prime minister pulling the strings behind an easily malleable, ineffective, alcoholic king.
Through a series of ruses that exploit the Maya’s gullibility and susceptibility to new technologies and the promise of commercial gain, Pío Cid institutes major reforms. These include the creation of a Constitution (temporarily abandoned due to its unwieldy length, not to mention the illiteracy of most of the inhabitants); a top-down reorganization of government (with an expansion of the power of the Maya’s religious clerics and teachers, formation of a vast bureaucracy of useless administrative functionaries whom Cid sees as the glue that provides stability in government, and increasing concentration of the country’s resources and riches in himself). He inaugurates massive infrastructure projects including the building of new cities, the canalization of the territory, and the installation of nighttime lighting, as well as a panoply of other efforts such as replacement of loincloths with multicolored robes, the introduction of soap, establishment of a laundry, development of the arts and sciences, and the transformation of a society of ritual into one of spectacle. These efforts to “civilize” the refractory and backwards Maya, introduced with lofty intentions and convoluted rationalizations, somehow always accrue to Cid’s personal advantage (during his stay, while proclaiming only the best and least prurient of intentions, Cid acquires an exponentially growing number of wives, which for matters strictly of manageability he finally caps at 50). His efforts also spawn complications that require even further reforms. Initial misgivings that introducing an industry of alcohol production might create detrimental side effects are dismissed by Cid’s racist assumption that the Maya will react to drink differently than his own countrymen (predictably disastrous consequences ensue). Cid proudly sums up his accumulated reformist efforts as a “tableau,” suggesting that for him (and underscoring the Sanskrit meaning of the title) they have served primarily an aesthetic role. The end result of Pío Cid’s impact is neatly represented in the book’s final pages by a crudely drawn map of the Kingdom of the Maya pre- and post-Cid, the most noticeable change being that the map has been turned upside down.
To succeed, satire must hew close to the truth; what makes The Conquest of the Kingdom of Maya so devastatingly effective is that it reads, with tremendous seductiveness, like an actual explorer’s account. Ganivet never breaks character in his serious narrative façade, even as his protagonist, like a blindfolded person holding a match while walking down a corridor stocked with fireworks, sparks plenty of shock, awe and hilarity. I found it difficult to isolate – for purposes of quoting in this post – passages that succinctly conveyed Ganivet at his most satirical, for he develops his attacks painstakingly and at such length that their objects manifest themselves belatedly. One can read along for pages before a subtle accumulation of incredible details reaches a tipping point, and the absurdity of what’s just been described suddenly becomes apparent. The solemnity with which he describes an ink used by the Maya seems plausible until one pauses to reflect on the farcical quality of its ingredients: palm oil, the tint from a giant yellow flower, and the blood of a rabbit. He accomplishes a similar sleight of hand with his larger themes, inviting identification with Pío Cid’s more magnanimous and altruistic ideas - Cid is, after all, a complex and often sympathetic figure - then stringing his readers along until, too late, we recognize we’re on extremely shaky terrain just at the moment the bottom falls out.
Ganivet’s treatment of judicial processes ably demonstrates his ability to deliver his barbs with subtlety, patience, and blistering humor. The judicial system of the Maya is introduced in Pío Cid’s first decision as Igana Igaru, in which he’s called to pass judgment in the case of a farmer who’s allowed his mule to wander into a sacred temple. Playing to the crowd, Cid rules in favor of the mule, condemning its poor owner to swift decapitation, with the mule left braying madly “from joy or from distress, I could not tell.” Years later, driven by an idle calculation of the number of persons he’s condemned, he begins to seek ways to mitigate the barbarity of these executions, a section of the novel that fiercely lampoons both the inhuman theatricality of judicial processes as well as the inhumanity of incremental reforms in matters of life and death. After unsuccessfully trying a gradual introduction of symbolic animal sacrifices to stand in for the human ones (resulting in little more than a co-mingling of bovine and human blood he fears will offend the Maya), Cid replaces decapitation with an idea borrowed from his beloved bullfighting, with the condemned forced to do public battle with angry bulls (and later, to enhance the show, a panther). Acknowledging that the end result – dead prisoners – is the same, Cid expresses pride in having turned justice into an energetic, cathartic, participatory activity that offers the added bonus of generating heroes out of those few fortunate enough to vanquish their animal foes. Beneath a lot of Ganivet’s humor, there’s as much madness and horror as can be found in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, which appeared a mere two years later.
The Conquest of the Kingdom of Maya wowed me with its inventiveness, panoramic vision, subtle but scorching satire, rich language, and sustained ironic tone that made reading the novel a nearly delirious experience (and a challenging one; the many Mayan terms devised by Ganivet would have made a glossary helpful). There’s a warmth and lack of righteousness in Ganivet’s writing that makes his satire palatable even as it’s piercing, investing the reader in questioning his or her own assumptions and motivations, bringing to the surface the myriad ways people can rationalize their most altruistic intentions to unconsciously serve themselves. Lancing human foibles and frailties with an eye on the profound and the eternal, the broad sweep of Ganivet’s novel lights on targets easily recognizable in today’s world: racism and xenophobia, the treatment of immigrants and minorities, the rush to war as a means of fomenting patriotism, the hidden injuries of class, governmental bureaucracy and corruption, the pernicious effects of capitalism and commercialization, the seductions of technology, the arrogance and self interest of imperial power, the destruction of traditions and rituals, the patriarchal organization of societies (I have not even touched on Ganivet’s confounding treatment of gender in the Maya’s polygamous, polyandrous society). Ganivet’s novel seems far ahead of its time, addressing global issues, melding satire and idealism, introducing elements of the surreal and magical, parodying ethnographic assumptions and imperializing aspirations, and undermining narrative authority in the unforgettable, beguiling, ridiculously sublime and increasingly mad voice of the last Spanish conquistador, Pío Cid. Here’s one major work of Spanish literature long overdue for translation into English.
Read as part of Spanish Literature Month co-hosted by Richard of Caravana de Recuerdos and Stu of Winstonsdad's Blog.
For biographical details, I am indebted to Judith Ginsberg's outstanding monograph, Angel Ganivet, Tamesis Books Limited, London, 1985.
Labels: GANIVET Ángel
Amateur Reader (Tom) July 27, 2012 at 6:47 PM
It seems unfair somehow to write about books that you have invented yourself.
I mean, I am impressed at your ingenuity, but come on! I am not fooled.
seraillon July 27, 2012 at 9:04 PM
You know what's even better? This may well be an outstanding example of "clerk literature," given that Cid is recounting his story after contracting a fever while leaving Africa and after finding himself reduced to a functionary position not unlike those he rationalizes in his account. The final scene is one of hallucinatory madness. I am ruining nothing with these revelations.
Oh, and in approaching Spanish Literature Month, I wasn't about to let the 19th century go unnoticed.
Fario July 28, 2012 at 1:28 AM
In recent weeks I've been toying with the idea of translating something of Ganivet's (maybe _Travails of the Tireless Creator_; haven't read _Maya_) and your excellent review reassures me that perhaps that idea isn't so mad, after all.
seraillon July 29, 2012 at 10:53 AM
Fario - Thanks. I don't think it's a mad idea at all to get Ganivet into English translation. so let this reply be a note of encouragement. I'd be most grateful if you'd let me know if you do end up doing one.
Fario August 2, 2012 at 4:13 AM
Any Ganivet I do will have to wait until I clear the table, so to speak, but I'll be sure to let you know if I get one done. I suspect, for the rest, that I, in my redneck guise, am the author of the forum post about Ganivet that you refer to in your review.
seraillon August 3, 2012 at 12:49 PM
That may very well be possible, so I feel doubly indebted. I recall only a line or two suggesting that it was a pity Ganivet's work was unavailable in English. I hope that when your table finally gets cleared, you'll be able to rectify the situation. All best, Scott
Tony August 9, 2012 at 4:36 AM
You had me at flying hippo ;)
A Non-Poet King of Poetry: Ramón Gómez de la Serna...
"The most original of knights errant" - Ángel Gani...
Celestina, Out of the Sky
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SPD Seeks Info on Unsolved Missing Person Cases
SAVANNAH, GA (June 19, 2019) – The Savannah Police Department’s Special Victims Unit is seeking information on two unsolved missing person cases from 2015.
“Both of these cases have gone cold, but we believe that there is someone in this area who knows something about these disappearances,” said Sgt. Tiffany Manuel. “We urge anyone with any information to reach out to us. We hope that someone can provide details that will bring answers to their grieving families.”
Monica Jackson – younger years
Lewis Williams – younger years
Monica Denise Jackson, also known as “Strawberry,” was 48 when she was reported missing in 2015. She is a black female, who is approximately 5-foot-4 and 150 lbs., with black hair and brown eyes. At the time of her disappearance, she was known to frequent the 600 block of W. 39th Street, the 200 block of W. 32nd/Barnard Street, and the 100 block of Oglesby Avenue in Garden City. She previously lived near W. 34th and Jefferson streets.
Lewis Alexander Williams, Jr., also known as “Spiderman” and “Mr. Car Wash,” was 49 when he was reported missing in early 2015. He is a black male, who is approximately 5-foot-6 and 165 lbs. He was known to frequent the 33rd and Montgomery streets area, 42nd and Jefferson streets area, as well as 39th and W. 31st streets.
Lewis Williams
Monica Jackson
Anyone with information in either case should contact the Special Victims Unit at (912) 651-6742 or the SPD Tip Line at (912) 525-3124. Tips can also be forwarded to CrimeStoppers at (912) 234-2020. Tipsters remain anonymous and may qualify for a cash reward.
By Bianca Johnson|2019-06-19T08:50:22-04:00June 19th, 2019|BREAKING NEWS|0 Comments
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Just got back from a very inspiring and energizing trip to New England where I spoke at the MassCOSH awards dinner in Boston and the annual Connecticosh conference the next morning in Hartford.
It's always good to get out of Washington, particularly since my current day-job doesn't provide for as much contact with workers and union members as my old AFSCME job did.
COSH groups, for those who don't know, are local coalitions of workers (union and non-union), unions, public health advocates and environmentalists who provide training and advocacy on a variety of different workplace safety, workers comp and labor issues. In addition to traditional workplace safety issues, COSH groups have been particularly active in training for immigrant and young workers. The COSH National Network coordinates the activities of the different COSH groups. They're funded by local unions, individual members, some foundations, and OSHA grants. The COSH groups received a sizable OSHA grant during the Clinton administration to address immigrant workers concerns which has survived until the present, despite the Bush administration's incessent attempt to kill OSHA's entire worker training program.
MassCOSH has active campaigns supporting immigrant and teen workers. The Teens Lead at Work Initiative uses a team of Youth Organizers to conduct workshops and other forums for peers to make them aware of their rights to a safe and healthy working environment and opportunities for advocacy and organizing to protect these rights.
One of the awardees at the MassCOSH banquet was Taciana Ribeiro Saab whose 16 year old son was killed in 2004 chasing a CVS shoplifter. She was become an activist and was awarded MassCOSH's Young Worker Justice Award. Other awardees were Byron de Leon who won the
Immigrant Worker Award of Courage, Lenore Azaroff winning the Health Tech Champion and Bill Allen who won the Buddy Adams award. Allen had recently been fired from city employment because he complained about the lack of confined space precautions. Massachusetts is one of 26 states without workplace safety protections for public employees. MassCOSH is also running a campaign to pass a bill that would provide public employee OSHA.
Next stop on the New England tour was Hartford for the Connecticosh annual meeting. The meeting was also attended by a large and spirited group of workplace safety activists. Connecticosh has also been around for over 20 years and has been active in
getting workers the right to know about chemical hazards, getting funding for worker education, establishing and supporting occupational health clinics, improving workers’ compensation, and fighting for issues such as getting rid of mandatory overtime, better health for migrant farmworkers, improved indoor air quality in schools, and reducing chemical exposures.
Let 1000 COSH's Bloom
Although speaking at these functions and spending a little time talking with people was, as I said, energizing and inspiring, it was also a bit depressing. On paper, there are 23 COSH groups, most on the East and West Coast -- with Detroit, Chicago, Houston and Arkansas filling in the middle. Many, like Masscosh and NYCOSH have several full time staff, while others exist only on a few kitchen tables.
I often receive letters from family members of workers who were killed on the job, people like Taciana Ribeiro Saab. Almost universally they tell me they want to do something to make sure that the same thing doesn't happen to anyone else. They're angry, the feel frustrated and forgotten by OSHA, by the former employer, and often by the former union. In Boston, or Hartford or New York, or Houston there's someplace they can go, but in 33 states and dozens of metropolitan areas they're left with nothing. With the demise of the AFL-CIO's health and safety department and the downsizing of their staff, the low rate of unionization in this country, the vast majority of active workers, injured workers and families of the injured and dead have nowhere to turn.
The only things needed to form a COSH group are activists, organization and money, the latter being the most significant problem. But it can be done and many more COSH groups are needed.
If you're interested in starting a COSH group in your area, check out the National COSH's site on "Starting Your Own COSH Group."
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I offer the following essay for consideration by all in the Church who have a role in determining what the Church sings during the celebration of the Liturgy of the Eucharist and who have responsibility for providing the Church with resources in accordance with this determination. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own; I ask only that they be judged on their own merits.
Liturgical Music in the Catholic Churches of Australia:
Crisis and Response – Reflections and Suggestions
By David Schütz
A. Personal Background and Expertise
Through experience in various roles in service of the Church, I have formed a broad understanding of Christian church music and hymnody both ecumenically and in the Catholic Church in particular.
In 1986, as a third year seminary student, I was invited to join the Department of Liturgics of the Commission on Worship of the Lutheran Church of Australia as their minute secretary. Over the years following, I was appointed to full membership of this Department, and to the Department of Hymnody and to the Commission on Worship which oversaw the work of both departments. From 1989, I worked as research officer for two major liturgical publications of the Commission: “Church Rites” (Openbook, 1994) and “Rites & Resources for Pastoral Care” (Openbook, 1998).[1] From 1995 to 2000 I was also a member of the Australian Consultation on Liturgy for the Lutheran Church. From 1997 till the time I left the Lutheran Church in 2001, I was the project manager for the Lutheran Worship Resources, a complete package of officially produced and sanctioned resources for liturgy and song to accompany the three year lectionary, produced electronically and provided free to all pastors of the Church.[2]
Of course, in addition to this, after my ordination in 1992 I served as a parish pastor for nine years, first in Adelaide, and then in Melbourne in a three congregation parish. This experience continually grounded and expanded my understanding of the role of liturgy and song in the pastoral context.
When I left the Lutheran ministry in 2001, I was employed part-time by Fr Gregory Pritchard as the Parish Music Coordinator of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Catholic Parish in Ringwood. I had responsibility there for training and organising the choir and cantors, for coordinating the organists and music groups, for school liturgies and music, and for generally resourcing the parish in liturgical song. I held this position until 2004. Today I am a rostered cantor for one Sunday each month in my current parish (St Joseph and St Bernadette’s Parish in Boronia). I also serve at St Patrick’s Cathedral as the regular cantor for lunchtime Masses on feasts and solemnities.
B. My Lutheran Experience
When I came to the LCA Commission on Worship in 1986, they had just completed the production and publication of the “Supplement” to the 1972 Lutheran Hymnal. The Commission gained a great deal of expertise from this simple task and had to face directly the monumental changes that had taken place in English liturgy and song between 1972 and 1986, such as the change from archaic to contemporary English, the explosion of new hymnody, and the radical changes in style between traditional hymnody and the new material.
Several serious challenges faced the Lutheran Church in those years. Firstly there was a general “do-it-yourself” attitude toward liturgy among the majority of pastors. Home-made liturgies were fast replacing the Church’s traditional Divine Service. Secondly, the rise of “contemporary worship” was a challenge to the traditional musical styles and content of Lutheran hymnody. Contemporary composers had banded together to produce a collection of folk-style songs in the first two books of what became the “All Together Now” series. This was widely replacing the 1972 hymnal in many parishes.
In the 1990’s the “worship wars” escalated. No longer simply a battle between “traditional” and “contemporary” styles, the emerging Church Growth movement among US Evangelicals was challenging the very purpose of Christian worship and the Sunday service toward evangelistic goals. Hymnals and liturgy books began to be replaced by overhead projectors and photocopied worship sheets. Parishes were no longer bound by materials that they could find in published (official or otherwise) volumes, but were sourcing material more freely via means of the internet and subscription services.
At that time the proposal came for the production of a new edition of the Australian Hymnbook on broad ecumenical lines. The Lutheran Church of Australia realised that its resources for creating and publishing a new hymnal of its own were limited, and so joined this ecumenical effort. The Department of Hymnody undertook a complete review and revision of the traditional repertoire of Lutheran hymnody (including retranslation of older texts) as well as selecting the best of the new music that had emerged from the (ever expanding) series of “All Together Now” songbooks. These were submitted to the Australian Hymnbook Committee and most were accepted for inclusion.
“Together in Song” contained no liturgical ritual material as such, and so it became clear that the Commission on Worship had to resource the parishes of the LCA in some other way. By the late nineties there was a flood of materials appearing on the internet and freely being used in Lutheran worship services. The Commission realised that it had little real effective authority by which to limit the use of unsatisfactory materials and so set about to create an alternative resource, cheaper and more easily accessible than the competition. This is where the Lutheran Worship Resources project came in. I initiated and piloted a prototype with about 100 participating parishes. The success of this pilot led to me being appointed as the project manager for a complete Church-wide resource, involving extensive work and commitment from the voluntary personnel of all five departments of the Commission (Hymnody, Liturgy, Music, Visual Arts, and Drama)[3]. The project also included:
Several volumes of settings for responsorial psalms for the three-year lectionary – produced freely by musicians of the Lutheran Church, copyright-free for use by parishes of the Lutheran Church of Australia
An extensive list of recommended hymns and songs for each Sunday from the three available resources (the Lutheran Hymnal and Supplement, All Together Now series, and Together in Song).
Newly translated versions of traditional hymns in contemporary English.
Collects, intercessions, acclamations and antiphons for each Sunday of the lectionary cycle.
The Lutheran Worship Resources were produced electronically and distributed free of charge and free of copyright to all parish pastors. Over a period of four years, these officially produced materials effectively stemmed the tide of foreign material entering into the LCA. From reports and personal experience I know that they continue to be used in Lutheran parishes today.
A major difference between Australian Lutherans and Australian Catholics is that Lutherans view singing in the liturgy as the norm and sing with enthusiasm. They see nothing unusual about a fully sung liturgy interspersed by half a dozen hymns and songs. In the Lutheran Church it is generally the pastor who chooses songs for worship, usually to match the theme of his preaching. Cantors and “music ministers” are not common, as most parishes are easily able to sing with only an organ or another instrument to lead them. Taking all resources available to me in my parish, as a parish pastor I had access to more than 2000 hymns and songs (850 in the Hymnal and Supplement, 450 in the All Together series, and a further 900 in Together in Song). I could rely upon my congregations to know at least half of these.
C. The Crisis facing the Australian Catholic Churches
In an era when even the Holy Father speaks of a “sharing of gifts” via ecumenical relations with other ecclesial bodies, one ought to be able to see the sharing of expertise in and enthusiasm for music in the Protestant bodies as at least one such gift. It is commonplace to hear complaints from converts to the Catholic Church about the state of liturgical music and song in Australian parishes, yet most Australian Catholics themselves seem completely unaware that there is anything amiss or unusual going on.
But to newcomers the crisis in liturgical music and song is glaringly obvious. As I have travelled around Australian parishes in the last ten years, there are some general observations that are made all the more notable for the very few exceptions I have experienced. Here are some of my observations regarding the current state of liturgical music and song in our parishes:
Except in some ethnic Catholic cultures, there is a general resistance to the acceptance of singing as an integral part of worship. This is usually attributed to the Irish heritage.
In an effort to overcome this resistance, parish “music ministers” feel pressured to “give the people what they like”, although their judgement on this matter is usually based on their own tastes rather than any authentic or objective research.
Parish pastors are often untrained, unskilled and/or ignorant in liturgical music and song, and so delegate the choice of music used in the liturgy to lay coordinators (who often may be capable musicians but may not be much better trained or prepared in the liturgical and theological principles).
Due to a shortage of trained musicians and to the new technology now available, cantors and musicians are being replaced by vocal recordings. Since many worshippers are conditioned by our entertainment society, they have learned to listen to these recordings rather than join in the singing themselves, with the result that recorded song tends to discourage congregational participation rather than encourage it.
At the same time, no published print resource of Catholic liturgical music and song which has been authorised by ecclesiastical authority currently exists for purchase in Australia today.
This leaves a vacuum which is being filled by other enterprises, usually driven by commercial interests of composers and publishers rather than by the interests of the Church and of what is most appropriate to the liturgy of the Roman Rite.
Nevertheless, new material is being produced and introduced into our parishes and schools at a vast rate by private enterprise, with the result that Australian Catholics have no shared repertoire of song among themselves, let alone with other English speaking Catholic Churches, nor any lasting personal appropriation of the Church’s song, nor any consolidated patrimony to pass on to new generations.
On the contrary, a “cult of the new” is being fostered by publishers and composers to the detriment of the Church’s patrimony in music and song.
The music of this new material is often too difficult or unsuitable for congregational singing, having been written and designed for solo performance by the song writer at concerts.
The new music often has little connection with the tradition of the music for the Roman Rite.
Many of the texts of the new material suffer from a number of drawbacks, primarily theologically, such as in the naming of God, the use of the voice of God, meaningless or trite phrases, or doctrine simply contrary to the Catholic faith.
Many new texts are also deficient linguistically (they contrast markedly to the language of the new translation of the missal) and poetically.
Many of the new texts display a lack of comprehension of the purpose of liturgical music and song, not only in ritual terms, but also in terms of the theological function of liturgical praise and adoration.
D. Some Insights from my Lutheran Experience
While it is my observation that the crisis in liturgical music and song facing the Catholic Churches of Australia today are more extreme than anything we ever faced in the Lutheran Church between 1986 and 2001, I do see similarities. The Bishops Commission for Liturgy and the National Liturgical Music Board obviously have responsibility for a Church community much larger and more diverse than that for which the LCA’s Commission on Worship was responsible, but on the off chance that the experience I have gained from both my national and parish level involvement in liturgy and hymnody may be of some service to the Church, I humbly offer a few suggestions here for how the Commission and the NLMB might proceed in the current circumstances.
Two fundamental and related problems face the Catholic Churches of Australia in relation to liturgical music and song today: the first being the huge influx of new, untested and unauthorised material into our parishes; and the second being the absence of any alternative officially authorised Australian Catholic resource for parishes to use as a source and guide. There are two ways of responding to this crisis. Both must be adopted and used together as a single strategy.
The first way of response is by official authorisation of suitable material and the parallel rejection of unsuitable material. The Lutheran Commission on Worship was well aware that official condemnations were an ineffectual method to forestall the use of inappropriate material and resources in public worship. Catholic clergy are, in the current climate, perhaps approaching a level of disdain for authority similar to their Lutheran brothers, but at least Catholic bishops, in contrast to comparable Lutheran authorities, do have a real and effectual canonical authority and oversight over the liturgy in their diocese. Catholic bishops in Australia have the authority to act and must act to authorise appropriate material and to restrict the use of material that is inappropriate. At the same time the ACBC Commission on Liturgy and the National Liturgical Music Board would do well to heed the Lutheran awareness that authoritative declarations alone are not well received by the Australian psyche. Authoritative declarations will always be received negatively as “restrictive”.
The second way of response must therefore be used at the same time: ample, accessible, authorised and (above all) affordable resources must be offered to parishes by the Church itself in the place of the substandard material currently being provided by private commercial enterprise. The Lutheran Commission on Worship found this strategy very effective. No matter how opposed a parish pastor may be to dictates coming out of “head office”, if we provided everything on a platter for them, they used it. We discovered that when parish pastors and musicians were provided with a quality resource in a number of formats (including electronically) with as little copyright restriction as possible, and to which they could quickly go to for everything they need to prepare Sunday liturgy, they no longer went to the effort of searching out resources from unofficial sources. Moreover, they saw the provision of such materials as positive action on the behalf of the Church, and became more open to looking to the authorised bodies for material rather than unauthorised commercial publishers. We succeeded in beating the commercial interests on a competitive playing field because we were the Church producing for the Church.
To repeat: the two steps to overcome the current crisis in liturgical music and song are the official restriction of unauthorised, poor quality material on the one hand and the provision of high quality, authorised resources on the other hand.
But perhaps the first step is even more fundamental: We must first realise that a crisis actually exists and that the time for action is now. When Dr John Kleinig became the Chair of the Commission on Worship in the early nineties, he declared to us that there was no longer any room on the Commission or any of its departments for “free-riders”. The members of the Commission and its Departments had a responsibility to produce quality resources quickly to answer to the urgent needs of the Church.
E. What is the immediate crisis?
Over the last decade, in response to Liturgiam Authenticam, great care and attention has been given to the accuracy of the English translation of the Ordinary Rite of the Roman Mass, on the principal that the words and language which we use to worship directly affects what we believe. Yet at the same time, action in regard to the songs that are sung in our Eucharistic liturgies has received much less attention. Some years ago, I attended a lecture by a visiting American Methodist liturgical scholar. He related an anecdote of an old African American woman who said to him: “When I hears it, I thinks about it; but when I sings it, I believes it!”. This is, of course, simply the old rule of lex orandi lex credendi at work. St Augustine was getting at something similar, surely, when he said “He who sings prays twice.” What is sung has twice the power to affect what the singer believed compared to texts that are simply spoken. By attending to the language of the Liturgy we have plugged a leak, but, by not attending to the songs which are sung in our parishes, we have left the tap running.
Of course, the NLMB has responded to the Liturgiam Authenticam’s request for a list of recommended songs, and has now also received the Holy See’s response. This process took far too long, but at this point we must look to the future. Now that the Holy See’s response has been received, it must be urgently acted upon. The task of reviewing the music and song currently in use in our Churches must be completed and work must begin on the production of a resource for Australia-wide use that will enable the whole of the Catholic Church in this country to sing “as one voice”.
Already the delay in this vital project has created a vacuum into which one resource in particular has inserted itself with gusto. The “As One Voice” series of song books is, according to the editor of Catholica Australia[4], used in 80% of our parishes (note: the editor of Catholica is closely connected to the people behind Willow Connection, the publisher of “As One Voice”). Yet in the NLMB’s list of recommended songs, only 55% of the first volume and 34% of the second volume’s contents made the recommended list. That means the greater percentage of songs in these two volumes did not come up to the standard of the criteria of the NLMB for use in the liturgy of the Church. Now, the Willow Connection is launching its new “Next Generation” book and preparing to hold the “As One Voice National Christian Music Conference” in September to promote it. It is plain to see from their advertising material that this Conference is intentionally targeting Catholic parishes. And Willow Connection has never submitted its material to the Bishops Commission for approval nor ever sought either an imprimatur or a nihil obstat from the Bishops for their publications.
In addition there are a host of individual composers of new liturgical music bypassing all authoritative revision processes and selling their wares to our parishes. Whatever the quality of this work, what the Church sings in the liturgy should not be dictated by composers and publishers who have a vested financial interest in promoting their material. Yet as long as there is a vacuum of authorised collections of liturgical music and song that is accessible and affordable, these commercial interests will continue to impose themselves upon the Church’s liturgical practice. The longer this vacuum exists, the harder it will be to introduce and promote authorised resources when they finally become available.
F. What must be done right now?
The time has come to recognise that there is a real crisis in the area of liturgical music and song in the Catholic Churches of Australia, and to act to meet this crisis. The question of how the crisis is best to be met and how the Church is best to be resourced to meet the requirements of Liturgiam Authenticam is a question for the Bishops Commission on Liturgy and the National Liturgical Music Board.
Permit me, however, to make a few suggestions for action:
The NLMB’s review of all liturgical music currently available must be completed as a matter of urgency.
The completed “Recommended List” must be promoted by the Bishops in a way that encourages the use of the recommended material and discourages the use of material that fails to meet the Church’s criteria.
The Bishops Commission and the NLMB must work towards the production of a resource based on the “Recommended List” for Australian parishes that is authoritative, accessible and affordable.
To achieve this as speedily as possible, two visions will be required. The first is a vision of what kind of resource would be desired in an ideal world. This will set the benchmark. But at the same time a second vision is required, a vision of what kind of resource can actually be produced in the short term, given the urgency of the task. It must be recognised that if we delay until we are able to produce the perfect resource, the Church will not succeed in meeting the challenge of the current crisis.
A time line for the production of the resource must be determined.
Financial and human resources must be made available to achieve this production time-line.
There are many variables in this outline. For instance, we may discover that there is not a market for a hardcopy “complete-in-itself” hymnbook. Australian parishes have embraced the electronic technology that makes it possible to reproduce material for a whole parish by purchasing just a couple of music editions for the music team and (with a copyright licence such as that from “Word of Life”) reproducing the material by means of powerpoint and overhead screens. The sales of “Together in Song”, for instance, have been much lower than for the previous “Australian Hymbook” for precisely this reason. It may be difficult to convince a commercial publisher to invest in the project of producing a hardcopy hymnal as sales may not be projected into profits. It may be that an electronic resource rather than a printed resource may have to be considered. Alternatively, a joint publication with another English-speaking publisher (eg. Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops) could be considered, in the same way that Gather Australia “piggy-backed” off the American GIA produced Gather.
The financial considerations are indeed considerable. I believe that it has to be accepted that it will be a very expensive enterprise for the Church to produce any liturgical music and song resource at all. However the return for such an investment will also be considerable. The Church invests in many different endeavours, but the one activity of the Church in which the most Catholics regularly participate is the Sunday liturgy. Although the financial cost of such a resource will be very high, there will be a rich return in terms of the spiritual life of the Church at every level for generations to come. But the alternative is terrible to contemplate, and the inevitable cost of inaction to the spiritual life and evangelising mission of the Church will be a continued decline in the faith of the Church.
Another difficulty that must be faced is the fact that new compositions and texts will continue to be produced. This is, in fact, a gift of God’s Spirit, and should be embraced, but at the same time a simple, speedy and accessible process must be put in place to allow composers and writers to submit their material for the process of approval by competent authorities. I have a suggestion in this regard. The responsibility for reviewing new material for provisional use might be delegated to the bishop of each diocese. He may decide that writers and composers of new material be required to submit their material to the local diocesan liturgical officer for approval before they use it in their parish. After approval and a period of provisional use, the material, if deemed suitable and of value, could be forwarded to the NLMB for more general approval for use throughout Australia. In part, this constant production of new material – not to mention the rehabilitation of older material that has fallen out of use and could well be revived – might mean that a rather more “open ended” resource should be envisaged, perhaps as a series of books such as “As One Voice” currently represents.
There is yet the problem of the decline in available musicians that has seen the rise of the use of pre-recorded music in our parishes (played either on CD or as MP3’s on a computer). The problem with using pre-recorded songs is that they are not designed for congregations to sing along; in fact the recorded voice of the professional singer or choir actually encourages the congregation to become a non-participatory audience which listens to rather than sings the song. I would personally recommend that in the production of any resource by the NLMB, the Bishops Commission consider also providing a complete set of pre-recorded musical accompaniments – without vocal tracks – for use by parishes that do not have musicians. These may be CD’s, MP3’s or (conceivably) even midi files (designed to be played through the many high standard electronic keyboards currently available). A resource that provided a seamless combination of print music, electronic texts for powerpoint projection and recorded musical accompaniment would make a very attractive package for Australian parishes.
Willow Connection must also be commended for their initiative in holding a conference for parish musicians to resource them for their ministry. Any authorised resource produced by the Church would want to utilise the methodology of seminars and conferences held around the country, perhaps even on an annual basis, to provide skills and formation for parish musicians and cantors. Such seminars would give opportunities to educate in matters of copyright, selection of music for the Sunday mass, and proper use of the resource.
I have sought to offer these reflections and ideas out of love for the Church and a desire to see us move forward in such a way that the liturgical music and song we use during the celebration of the Eucharist be suitable for the Mass of the Roman Rite and the new translation of this liturgy soon to be introduced. I pray that God will bless our Bishops, the work of the Bishops Commission on Liturgy and the work of the National Liturgical Music Board as they give attention to these matters for the good of the whole Church.
[1] For a full list of the resources the LCA provides for its congregations, see this pamphlet online: http://www.lca.org.au/resources/cow/worshipneeds.pdf and also this page on their website: http://www.lca.org.au/worship/published.cfm
[2] Available online at: http://www.lca.org.au/worship/worship_resources_CD.cfm
[3] Acknowledgement of my role in this project and the background to the project can be found here: http://www.lca.org.au/resources/cow/batch%201/a-Readme/2-Introduction.rtf
[4] http://www.catholica.com.au/media/013_aov_070508.php
66 Responses to Liturgical Music in the Catholic Churches of Australia: Crisis and Response – Reflections and Suggestions
Past Elder / Terry Maher says:
Hmm. My dad, a convert from Protestantism to Catholicism in 1941, would have identified the crisis differently, in that any of this should even come up.
He thought the “new Mass” simply brought into the Catholic Church all the stuff he thought he had left behind when he found out worship was more than a good sing and a long sermon and a few prayers.
I grew up in the church to which he converted, and on that basis find the whole “crisis” similarly foreign to anything identifiable as Catholic. It simply reflects a different mindset.
Maybe it’s worth pondering the difference between a missal and a hymnal. A text is independent of any given setting of it, and needs none essentially, nor is any essential to it. That is why musical settings exist in separate books. That is also why chant is not music in the modern sense; it is primarily textual, and the chanting serves not to be musically beautiful but to highlight the text — it is a form of speech, not music. The appearance of chant-hymns, nice as they are, is a relatively late development. Music in our sense began when this was no longer the case, and other voices would be sung over a word, or mot, rather than the chanted text itself. Metre, previously foreign, was suspect unless it was triple, reflecting the Trinity; duple metres, now the standard of “traditional” hymnody, were suspect and the subject of papal bulls.
All of which developments never obscured the fundamental distinction between text and settings thereof, or made missals into hymnals. Congregational singing, other than maybe a processional and/or recessional, is what you do when you no longer have the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and have to come up with something else for worship.
Which is exactly what he thought he had left behind in finding the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass which mirrors the life of Christ, first in teaching (Mass of the Catechumens) then in action (Mass of the Faithful), not words, let alone singing, with even the canon said silently to focus on the action of Christ. And exactly what I left behind in bailing from this new Protestantism with a Pope pathetically calling itself Catholic.
In reality, prior to V2, Aussie Catholics sang hokey Irish hymns. Now we just sing hokey American hymns.
When I am Queen of Australia, I shall outlaw all music (particularly in churches) which is not chant, Palestrina, Bach and a few others I can’t remember right now. That’ll fix it.
There will be strict penalties for breaches of this law – floggings etc.
Peter Golding says:
Could not agree more Louise!
Let’s give these philistines the Spanish Inquisition treatment.
Schütz says:
I, on the other hand, couldn’t disagree more (with Louise and Peter, that is). I don’t want to see us do what the Eastern Churches have done to both their art and their music, that is, sanction only a very restricted style and tradition. I believe the West has always had more trust in its artists than the East has (possibly the number of heresies that were faced in the East compared to the West as something to do with this). But this Western “faith” was also “faith” (justifiable in the past) that the artists and musicians were catechised sufficiently to know what they were doing theologically in their art and music. I think the major difference today is that we can no longer assume the same depth of catechesis. We need guidance in our art and music, and a high degree of readiness on the part of the artists and musicians to work within the confines of tradition and orthodoxy, but we wish to leave open the possibility of creativity as a gift of the Holy Spirit.
Sometimes, you’re just no fun, David! :) Who am I going to flog, then?
I know, I’ll start with Shane Warne. He could do with a couple of dozen.
Collin Nunis says:
Mate, it is true Eastern Churches sanction a restricted style and tradition. Some Eastern Church are slowly branching out and trying new things, artistically and musically. I remember the Ukrainians singing their liturgical hymns in modern musical arrangements (non-classical). I guess the difference between the Latin Rite churches who are going through this and the Eastern Churches i.e. the Ukrainians are 2 things:-
1. The TEXT of the hymns and liturgical hymnody. Always remember that the Easterners are very anal about their theological wording. They will never compromise that for any musical arrangement. Ultimately, this is where Latin Rite music ministers need to pay extra attention to. Even when I play for Masses just to help the youth across my house,
2. That hymns were chanted are unnegotiable. The voice is the ultimate instrument of praise, and while I definitely believe that talent in playing a musical instrument is definitely a spiritual gift, it is better used for ministry outside church and liturgical settings. When we come together for our praise and Eucharist, we unite as one, not just by faith in the Lord and our baptism, but our voices. However, if one were to argue that this does not apply to the West, that is fine. To each their own. The question of instruments is ultimately a matter of semantics.
I did suggest to some Byzantine Catholics that we can ultimately experiment with new musical arrangements and commission musical talent to arrange new music for the Liturgy, especially for churches in the Western diaspora; without diluting or “watering down” the liturgical texts, and things like the Troparions/Kontakions. The Russians have done a great job, but unfortunately, we live in a world where the concept of “imperial court” is a long gone fable. If anyone would love to help me, let us Melkites and Ukrainians know. ;D
Yes, I can see it now. Eventually you’ll have your own denomination: The Church of Tasmania or Tasmanlicanism.
PS, Your Highness.
Yesterday our choir, those that could attend, sung at a funeral for a fellow choir member’s dad (a Chinese-born Malaysian).
We sang
– The Lord is My Shepherd (Crimmond)
– On Eagles Wings (an arrangement by one of our own which our congregation seems to love)
– A New Commandment
– Jesus, Name Above All Names
– Seek Ye First, and
– Jesus, My Lord, My God, My All.
Oh, and we opened with Come As You Are and closed with How Great Thou Art.
Off with our hokey heads?
Some of these, not others, are on the NLMB’s recommended list. Since some that are – such as Eagle’s Wings and A new Commandment – use “the voice of God/Jesus” in the mouth of the people, it is likely that these will have to be rewritten in a way that make it actual praise or adoration of the people to God to be permitted in the future. Eg. “I am the bread of Life” does this too, but may be corrected if we simply sang the whole song as “You are the Bread of Life” etc.
If we can’t sing ‘I am the bread of life’ or ‘A new commandment I give unto you’, presumably we can’t read John 6 V35 or John 13 V34 in any sort of public setting?
No, Tony. You, like many others, have failed to grasp the difference between a “proclamation” of the Word and public “praise” or “adoration”. A hymn is either directed to God in adoration or directed to others in praise of God. Hymns do not serve the function of “proclamation”. When we read the scriptures in Mass, or even use parts of the scriptures as proper chants, these are proclamations. Their function is very different from hymns of praise and adoration.
I accept that I have ‘failed’ in your terms, but I’d suggest that such failure is common.
Your reaction comes across to me as both legalistic and technical and far removed from the experience of most parishes.
Quite so. David speaks from the Catholicism of dreams, reveries, fantasies and hallucinations, Tony speaks from the Catholicism that actually is. Thanks be to God I no longer experience the torture of living in the latter while trying to maintain the former.
It is no more “legalistic” to properly identify the way in which parts of the liturgy function than it to define the ay in which gravity functions. Of course, we have Newton’s first law of gravity, but the law is objectively found in reality, it was not invented by Newton.
Liturgical “science” is able to observe not only the way in which rituals and ceremonies function as a whole, but also in their parts. For instance, the function of the Penitential Rite is not the same as the function of the Sanctus. The function of the Reading is not the same as the function of the Psalm. Thus, all liturgical song does not serve the same purpose: The question of who is singing, what they are singing, to whom they are singing, and when they are singing all depends upon hte function of the song.
The function of “praise” is different from the function of “adoration”. You praise someone not by addressing them directly, but by telling others how wonderful they are. Thus you use the third person in speaking of the object of praise. If, on the other hand, the same words are addressed to the object of praise themselves, you use the second, rather than the third person, and it becomes “adoration”.
If a song is not praise or adoration, what is it? It may be a song about me/us, and about the way I/we feel and what I am/we are thinking or doing. Is the liturgy the place for such songs?
A soloist or choir may sing a song which is addressed to the people. If this is not mere performance, such a song will either be praise of God (speaking to us about him) or addressing us with God’s word – a kind of sung proclamation of the Word. If it is the latter, it has a place – as with the Good Friday reproaches. But this is, I believe, rare in the liturgy.
When congregations take the “voice of God” in their songs, the function of liturgical song is all skewed. God, after all, has not come to the liturgy to sing to us! What sense does it make to sing God’s Word back to him? What can it mean when I sing “I am the Bread of Life” when I am NOT the Bread of Life? Worse still, can I ever sing the words “I will be Yahweh who walks with you”? Who is the “I” in this sentence? God, after all, is not singing the song!
This is not being “legalistic”. It is simply pointing out that something is disfunctional.
I have no reason to doubt that what you say is how the church wants to operate, David, but the logic just doesn’t make sense to me.
God, after all, has not come to the liturgy to sing to us!
By that logic, nor has God come to ‘speak’ to us (I’ll refrain from the exclamation mark).
What sense does it make to sing God’s Word back to him?
The same ‘sense’ that it makes to speak (read) God’s word?
What can it mean when I sing “I am the Bread of Life” when I am NOT the Bread of Life?
The same as it ‘means’ when I ‘read’ it?
Worse still, can I ever sing the words “I will be Yahweh who walks with you”? Who is the “I” in this sentence? God, after all, is not singing the song!
Nor is God reading the Gospel, nor is St Paul reading the epistle, nor is the psalmist singing the psalm?
Surely if they are on the approved list as published by the NLNB and ratified by the Bishops, they are approved “as is”. Otherwise what’s the point of the list.
You are right, Justin. The list has been ratified by our Bishops Conference, but has yet to be ratified by the Holy See. For now, whatever is on the NLMB list may be taken as “approved” – until the reply of the Holy See determines otherwise. My guess is that a number of songs on the current list will not survive the next round of review, or at least not in the current form. But that’s just my guess… and my opinion has no authority.
Would I also be correct then in applying the logic you have outlined, which I do understand, that motets such as Tallis’ If Ye Love me should also now come out of the repertoire?
No, that would not be a correct understanding of what I wrote. There is a place, as I said, for solist or choral voices to sing such texts. Tallis wrote his motets for choirs to sing, not for congregational singing. In this case, such motets function properly as God’s address to the gathered assembly. When the choir sings “the voice of God” they are singing to the people, not to God. That is a valid liturgical function of choral song. But it just doesn’t function when we put the same words into the mouth of the assembly, for then the obvious question is “to whom are they singing?” Obviously not to God. Then to whom? Themselves?
I find your approach to who can sing “voice of God” texts utterly bizarre and inconsistent with two thousand years of Catholic tradition.
When we pray and sing in the liturgy it is as the Body of Christ, head and members. Spirit-filled, we are joined with Christ in praise of the Father. It’s not a matter of the choir singing to the people. The whole assembly is joined with Christ singing to the Father.
There is no prohibition on the entire assembly singing the texts of the antiphons, many of which contain “voice of God” texts. In fact the GIRM encourages the assembly to sing these texts. A few examples:
Holy Thursday Communion antiphon “This body will be given for you. This is the cup of the new covenant in my blood; whenever you receive them, do so in remembrance of me.”
Palm Sunday Communion antiphon “Father, if this cup may not pass, but I must drink it, then your will be done.”
Ascension Communion antiphon “I, the Lord, am with you always, until the end of the world, alleluia.”
4th Sunday Yr A Communion antiphon “Happy are the poor in spirit; the kingdom of heaven is theirs!”
1st Sunday of Lent Yr A Entrance antiphon: “When he calls me, I will answer; I will rescue him and give him honour….”.
And it is impossible to pray the Liturgy of the Hours, which is an exercise of Christ’s priestly office intended to be prayed in community, without praying or singing “voice of God” texts. The psalms themselves are full of “voice of God” phrases.
Where on earth did you get the idea that the assembly can’t sing these texts?
I am looking for my cat’o’nine tails as we “speak,” Tony.
Although I have an affection for “Eagles Wings’ on account of a dear lady I knew who loved it, God rest her soul. Maybe I will pardon you, for her sake.
A little too much information there, Louise!
And assessing a hymn in terms of ‘affection’ sounds a little ‘hokey’ to me.
I’ve always thought that OEW was on the hokey side but our particular arrangement is a challenge to sing and our congregation seems to love it.
‘Come As You Are’ is one hymn that seems to have attracted the ire of those ‘in the know’ and, while I can see where they are coming from, it does ‘speak’ to people and I have a personal reason for hoping that it doesn’t get (effectively) black listed.
As for “affection” in hymnody, there was a notable change in the development of Protestant hymnody following the era of Orthodoxy (eg. Paul Gerhard) which emphasised the doctrinal and catechetical and corporate function of hymnody when the era of Pietism was ushered in, which emphasised personal devotion and feelings and affection. Unfortunately, Catholic hymnody, both of the 19th Century and today, tends to be “affective” rather than catechetical.
I agree with previous commentators – we tend to forget that the real music intended to be sung at the Mass is not hymns (tacky and unorthodox or otherwise), but the ‘Propers’ (such as the processional antiphon typically either ignored or muttered in a desultory way) set for the relevant day, and the ordinary (kyrie etc).
And for both of these the proper norm, as reaffirmed by Vatican II and subsequent Popes, is Gregorian chant.
Chant is not as hard as it seems at firt blush, and there are lots of excellent resources (including online recordings of simplified versions of the propers for each Sunday, etc) around.
There is a chant revival going on around the world, and Australia should jump on board and rediscover our truly distinctively catholic heritage.
Anything else is peripheral and should be treated as such.
we tend to forget that the real music intended to be sung at the Mass is not hymns (tacky and unorthodox or otherwise), but the ‘Propers’ (such as the processional antiphon typically either ignored or muttered in a desultory way) set for the relevant day, and the ordinary (kyrie etc)
True and not true at the same time, Terra. I have posted an old article that I wrote in 2003 called “Liturgical Music and Song: An examination of Conscience”, which was published in the ACCC’s journal “The Priest”. Pertinent to your comment is the following section from this article. Note especially the idea of “degrees” of importance about what is sung. In the “third degree” there certainly is scope for “hymns”, although once again it should be admitted that primary idea of an “entrance” or “communion” song is the psalmoday set down as “propers” (of which only the paltry “antiphon” has made it into our English missals in the past). Nevertheless, hymns are not excluded by GIRM; even though you rightly point out that they are neither first, nor even second, degree issues:
A re-reading of Musicam Sacram (1967) has a few surprises. Once we have agreed on the value of sacred music and song, our next question will be “what should we sing?” Musicam Sacram suggests three “degrees of participation … for reasons of pastoral usefulness”. It suggests that “these degrees are so arranged that the first may be used even by itself, but the second and third, wholly or partially, may never be used without the first.” What therefore, belongs to the “first degree”?
(a) In the entrance rites: the greeting of the priest together with the reply of the people; the prayer.
(b) In the Liturgy of the Word: the acclamations at the Gospel.
(c) In the Eucharistic Liturgy: the prayer over the offerings; the preface with its dialogue and the Sanctus; the final doxology of the Canon, the Lord’s Prayer with its introduction and embolism; the Pax Domini; the prayer after the Communion; the formulas of dismissal.
The “second degree” consists of the Kyrie, Gloria, Creed, prayer of the faithful, and Agnus Dei. It is not until we reach the “third degree” that we encounter
(a) the songs at the Entrance and Communion processions;
(b) the songs after the Lesson or Epistle;
(c) the Alleluia before the Gospel;
(d) the song at the Offertory;
(e) the readings of Sacred Scripture, unless it seems more suitable to proclaim them without singing.
The irony of this is that, at least in Australia today, it is almost universally the practice to reverse these three “degrees”, such that those parts of the liturgy listed under the “first degree” are the least likely to be sung, and those parts under the “third degree” (with the exception of chanting the readings) the most likely. The result is that many of our liturgies tend to resemble the protestant “four hymn sandwich”, where between the spoken parts of the mass, sung hymns are inserted at the entrance, offertory, communion and recession. The principle, as far as MS is concerned, is that
“in selecting the parts which are to be sung, one should start with those that are by their nature of greater importance, and especially those which are to be sung by the priest or by the ministers, with the people replying, or those which are to be sung by the priest and people together.”
Salvatore says:
I was just drawing up a response pointing to the priorities laid out in Musicam Sacram when I saw you had beaten me to it.
Logically, therefore, the first step in addressing the crisis – which would require nothing but courage – would be the abandonment of hymns* entirely, until such time as we build a strong tradition of the congregation (clergy as well please!) singing the invariable prayers, dialogues & litanies of the Mass itself?
* Not a native part of the Roman Rite in any case.
I don’t think this is the “logical” conclusion. It is the suggestion of Jeffrey Tucker in “Sing the Mass”, but I do not agree with him on this point. Many things have, over the centuries, been included in the Roman Mass which are not “native” to it – a clear example is the addition of the Nicene Creed, which was not an original component of the Mass of the Roman Rite, but became an essential part of it over the centuries following the Council of Nicea. The Mass is open to additions. Hymn singing during Mass was known before the Reformation – although the Protestants capitalised on this more than Catholicism did (to their benefit!). I see hymn singing as a positive addition to the Mass, as long as the hymns that are sung are appropriate to it.
I do believe that it takes “courage”, as you say, to actually sing the mass itself. But I do not see this as an “either/or” situation – and I don’t think the Church does either.
Sorry, I fear I’ve confused the issue with a spurious aside. The origins of vernacular hymnody are beside the point.
It seems to me that the Church has made herself pretty clear in Musicam Sacram: first off you sing the all bits in category one; then you sing all the bits in category two; and then, if you’ve got any strength left, you can sing the bits in category three. As the propers (or their hymnodic substitutes) are in category three, we really oughtn’t to be signing them ‘til we’ve got the rest down – and, let’s be frank, we’re a long way from that.
Arguably the Church is trying to move us away from the idea of the Liturgy as a spoken performance with musical interludes, (back?) towards the idea of the Liturgy as an integral union of music and text. Surely this is a good thing? Worth foregoing the pleasure of a few hymns for?
If it were an easy choice, that is, if my parish priest said to me: “we are going to ditch hymns for a while and concentrate on singing the mass in line with Musicam Sacram”, I would be all in agreement with the proposal, Salvatore. Unfortunately, all I see at the moment is an apathy toward singing AT ALL, and it would be a great crime if – by discouraging hymn singing at mass – that were to happen.
Congratulations. This is the first comment that actually gets down to it, instead of all kinds of sociology and cultural anthropology.
It also illustrates why congregational hymn singing in the Catholic Mass is an interruption of what is essential, rather than anything essential itself.
The first and second degrees of Musicam Sacram name parts of the Mass itself, which will be there whether sung or not, including the classic five parts of the Mass as a musical form (Kyrie, Gloria, Credo — not Credimus — Sanctus, Agnus Dei).
Likewise, nowhere in an antiphonale or graduale does one find anything like “Hymn of the Day”.
Yet it is not just Australia, where I have never been, but anywhere in the US where it has been my misfortune, in former years even self-imposed, to endure the novus ordo instead of a Catholic Mass, that one finds precisely the phenomenon you describe, wherein the three degrees are reversed and the four-hymn Protestant sandwich rules.
Throw up such sociology and cultural anthropology as one will, but replacing sappy hymns with better ones does not change this.
Nor is it the result of the proverbial ageing hippies with better times just around the corner. Nor did Hans sit in the sacristy with a shotgun enforcing this on the sanctuary for all leaping Judas’ sake. It is the reality of the RCC, what is actually done in practice regardless of whatever sits in the print of tomes somewhere, and this despite a hierarchy that supposedly continues the Apostolic overseeing of the faith. It is there because the RCC put it there, and it was not there before.
“Hymn of the Day” is, of course, not a Catholic category. However, GIRM makes it clear that in three the third category songs, hymns may be used: the songs at the Entrance and Communion processions, and the song at the Offertory. All of these, including the at the Offertory, are in a sense processional songs. There are (in the Latin original of the Mass) proper chants taken from the psalms for all these processions, but they have not been made available to us in English or in any form other than Gregorian Chant.
The choice is therefore as follows:
If something is to be sung during these processions, it may be:
1) the proper chant only,
2) a hymn only,
3) or both.
In some places, such as St Patrick’s Cathedral here in Melbourne, it is the practice for the choir to sing the proper introit and then the congregation to follow this with an entrance hymn. In the same way, the communion chant is sung by the choir at the beginning of communion, and a hymn is sung after the communion. This seems a happy situation to me, where choirs or solists are available who can sing the chants and where it is deemed desirable that the congregation join in with song as well.
The other place a song is usually sung is during the Recessional. This is in fact a complete free-for all according to GIRM, because GIRM does not address it at all. The reason for this is that the Mass is determined to have finished with the “Ite, missa est”. Anything sung after this does not come under any restrictions of the Church as far as I know.
Peregrinus says:
What Terra said.
David writes extensively above about his Lutheran background, and rightly so. The truth is that in the Catholic liturgical tradition – at least, the Eucharistic liturgy – hymn-singing is a late arrival, and one to which the Irish Catholicism (which shaped the Catholicism that many of us experienced) never really took.
Ireland has a strong and living musical tradition, but hymns as sung in Irish churches were always completely disconnected from it. They were imported from a musical tradition wholly foreign to Irish congregations, who sung them – if at all – out of duty, not enthusiasm. Moreover in the nineteenth century, when hymn-singing was finding its place in the Catholic liturgical tradition, the Irish church was materially very poor. The challenge it faced was one of building churches and educating the faithful. There were simply no resources to put into any kind of musicianship – no choir schools, no organ scholarships. Not a lot of organs, in fact. So under-resourced and often second-rate amateur musicians struggled to comprehend an alien musical tradition and to introduce it to the people with minimal support from the leadership of the church. Is it any wonder we never got beyond “Bring Flowers of the Fairest”? Is it any wonder that half the congregation mutters hymns, and the other half is silent?
So I don’t think the challenge facing us is to revive a decent musical tradition in the Irish church, and the Anglophone churches which it has spawned; it’s to develop one.
It’s interesting to note that both Terra and Louise advocate a ressourcement not by going back to really good hymns, but by singing (or chanting) the proper texts (which are of course what Byrd, Palestrina, Mozart, etc set to music).
I love the great classical settings of the mass, but I don’t want mass to become a concert, in which those people over there make music to which I listen, even if I listen with pleasure. I was at an Anglican Cathedral once where the choir and organist were simply fantastic, and the preacher assured us that the rest of us were “praising God with our ears”, and I see the point. But still . . . So, I think there’s a place for, e.g., a Mozart mass, but that shouldn’t be the norm for music in the liturgy.
I think chant works, however. It’s not that difficult to learn the principal chants, and everyone can participate. I was taught them in school. For about twenty years I never heard them used liturgically but, when I did again, I had no trouble picking up where I left off.
As for hymns, I think they really need to emerge from, and form part of, the demotic musical tradition. The tradition to which David looks does emerge from a demotic tradition, but unfortunately I’m not part of the demos concerned, and neither are most Australians. So the hymns from that the tradition mostly seem to me to be stilted, artificial, insincere.
I realise I am dangerously close to talking myself into an endorsement of “Christian Rock”, as practiced in certain Pentecostal traditions, and the truth is I’d rather beat my own brains out with a brass candlestick than put up with that. The bottom line, though, is that if liturgical music doesn’t speak in a musical voice to which the people of God respond, it’s not doing what it needs to do.
hymn-singing is a late arrival
I would be interested to know just how “late” it actually is, Perry. Whatever the Irish experience, I think you will find that hymn singing was a part of the pre-reformation tradition in Catholic parishes in Europe. I don’t think the Lutherans invented it, however much they might have monopolised it. Of course, what they had was not the modern “four-hymn sandwich” which undoubtedly IS of Protestant origin.
Ah, well, now that is a point. And a real attempt was made after Vatican II. It was just that without any previous experience in the area, the English Church of the time was more affected by the 1960’s/1970’s folk movements than borrowing from their protestant cousins who had a long and glorious tradition of English hymnody.
It is almost as if, having gotten off on the wrong foot, we need to start again from the very beginning.
Of course, “ressourcement” was a catchcry of the 2nd Vatican Council – and I still think there is a way in which we can bring it to this discussion too. It is not just a revival of the old but a way of re-inventing the old, giving it new clothes, so to speak. We can look to the ancient tradition for inspiration for new directions that meet the challenges of today – not slavish imitation, but inspiration.
I am a firm believer in congregational participation in liturgical song. I am absolutely opposed to our congregations being encouraged any further in the direction of “entertainment” worship – even if that entertainment is Bach and Palestrina.
I agree one hundred percent. If we bother to learn it, it can be really effective. Perhaps we need to simplify the old styles, and we definitely need to make the leap to English chant (purists who insist that chant can only be done to Latin are in part responsible for killing it). The point about learning it in schools is also taken. START YOUNG!
I’m not part of the demos concerned, and neither are most Australians
Dunno about that. English and Scottish Australians come from traditions in which hymn singing has a great history. Ditto for many European Australians. We need to be careful of writing the Irish experience too broadly across Australian Catholicism.
I rather object to the description of polyphonic or orchestral masses as purely ‘entertainment’. I’m not advocating them as a thing every parish should or could do of course – as I’ve said previously chant should be the norm.
But quite a few great cathedrals or other parishes devote one of their Sunday masses to something a little more elaborate than the norm, and rightly so.
I have a particular take on this subject because exposure to a couple of orchestral masses was important to my own conversion – as a musician, exposure to a couple of ‘ordinary’ masses as a teenager had completely turned me of catholicism. The methodist church I attended devoted a lot of effort to its music (I first arrived there initially as part of a group invited to play a Mozart church sonata during a service). The bizarre abberrations at the catholic parishes I occasionally visited simply served to reinforce a view that catholics had no sense of reverence whatsoever, and couldn’t possibly be engaging in any real worship of anything but themselves.
My view changed when I visited Europe, attended a couple of orchestral masses performed in thier proper liturgical context as part of a sacred music festival, and then discovered places like the Brompton Oratory and found it didn’t have to be like that, allowing my journey towards truth to commence.
Some important points to remember.
First, vocal congregational participation is not required at each and every possible opportunity within a particular mass, nor at all in each and every mass. Far more important is turning ourselves interiorly to what is happening, and good music can help us do that.
Secondly, many great composers have been inspired to raise music to God, and these too are part of our great catholic cultural patrimony. The real crime is that these rarely get performed in their proper liturgical context these days, and are treated purely as entertainment; they become so much more when performed liturgically.
Thirdly, the purpose of the Mass is above all to praise and give honour to God. When we pull out all the stops in terms of music, vestments and ritual to do this, it is particularly praiseworthy, as the Holy Father has suggested on a number of occasions.
If as a side effect of this objective we happen to particularly enjoy this kind of music and a particular occasion when it is used, we should be doubly glad at this gift from the choir/orchestra and God – Catholics should not, after all, be puritans.
Dear Terra,
I wholeheartedly disagree with you on this point
First, vocal congregational participation is not required at each and every possible opportunity within a particular mass, nor at all in each and every mass.
In fact it is. See para 34 of Musicam Sacram
Secondly there are many mass setting that were never intended for use in the liturgy. We need to be careful to discriminate accordingly.
Terra and Justin are both correct.
Musicam Sacram 34 reads:
34. The songs which are called the “Ordinary of the Mass”, if they are sung by musical settings written for several voices may be performed by the choir according to the customary norms, either a capella, or with instrumental accompaniment, as long as the people are not completely excluded from taking part in the singing.
In other cases, the parts of the Ordinary of the Mass can be divided between the choir and the people or even between two sections of the people themselves: one can alternate by verses, or one can follow other suitable divisions which divide the text into larger sections. In these cases, the following points are to be noted: it is preferable that the Creed, since it is a formula of profession of faith, should be sung by all, or in such a way as to permit a fitting participation by the faithful; it is preferable that the Sanctus, as the concluding acclamation of the Preface, should normally be sung by the whole congregation together with the priest; the Agnus Dei may be repeated as often as necessary, especially in concelebrations, where it accompanies the Fraction; it is desirable that the people should participate in this song, as least by the final invocation.
All this can be worked into a classical mass – as is done every Sunday at St Patrick’s, where, for instance, the Sanctus of Mass XVIII is sung with an extended choral hosanna at the end. Note that regarding the Sanctus, MS says “normally”. There can be occasions when a choral mass is used that does not include the people singing these parts, but it is not to be normal.
I am largely with Terra on this point. Chant is easily sung by a congregation when it is led well.
And there is no reason why at least a Cathedral shouldn’t offer one Mass in the week with an orchestral Mass.
I think (good) hymns etc are excellent for other liturgical occasions and cannot see why they must either be included in Mass or saved specifically for other things e.g. prayer meetings, processions etc. In such a case, new work would still have an object and be encouraged.
And MS, like every other text of Vatican II, needs to be interpreted in the light of tradition – the hermaneutic of continuity!
By way of a sidenote, I looked up the websites of the two churches I attended when I was growing up. The little, but very dynamic methodist church, http://www.dunedinmethodist.org.nz/archive/prsh/mtn.htm, still espouses a commitment to enjoying ‘worshipping God through music’ (follow the link Schulz, it contains an interesting article on hymn singing that will resonate with your concerns, by composer Colin Gibson, who was a leading member of the congregation thirty plus years ago when I was there!) . The Presbyterian Church I went to before that, http://www.knoxchurch.net/, now features a choir that performs much of the catholic mass repertoire inter alia, including masses with orchestra…
Sad when protestants have picked up the traditions we’ve abandoned!
Though NZ-wise, the Christchurch Cathedral still does great things musically…
Thanks for this sidenote, Terra. I once met Colin Gibson years ago at the Conference launching Together In Song. He is a very good poet and has the genre of the “hymn” well and truly “under his belt”, even though some of the hymns he has written have a theology that would not be at home in the Catholic liturgy. (And, BTW, my name is Schütz, not Schulz – as in the Christmas Carol “No L, No L”!)
Unfortunately, there has not been an authoritative document on music from the Vatican since Musicam Sacram (1967) by which we are able to more firmly place it within the Tradition. The Hermeneutic of Continuity requires that there be something continuing!
Apologies on the name, just writing too fast and not paying attention (I’ll blame my aching elbow still recovering from a fracture)!
In terms of continuity, it is not just what comes after that one must look to, but what came before!
My point is that we shouldn’t assume that MS intends to change anything in terms of existing practice unless it is very clear about doing so (and in fact in most cases Vatican II documents were put into effect by later specific legislation).
Have you not read Pope John Paul II’s Chirograph on Sacred Music (2003), which elaborates on the place of MS in the context of the tradition, both prior to and after Vatican II.
Yes, of course, you are quite correct. I have read this document – very good, of course. And so I should update my comment to say that there has been “only one” follow up to Musicam Sacram rather than none at all. It may be found (here on the Vatican website. However, given that Pope JPII said that by this document he wished to “re-propose several fundamental principles for this important sector of the life of the Church, with the intention of ensuring that liturgical music corresponds ever more closely to its specific function”, it seems a pity that so little has actually been done since to actually ensure this correspondence.
Thomas Day made the exact observation in his book “Why Catholics Can’t Sing.” The heritage of the Irish who celebrated so many “quiet” Masses under English oppression was brought to this country at a time when the church was heavily dominated by Irish and German clergy. Singing was seen by the Irish as a concession to their Anglican overlords.
I’m not sure missals versus hymnals have all that much to do with it. That doesn’t seem to be the case in continental Europe. German and Italian Catholics sing quite well in their churches.
I also saw this comment in connection with a review of Day’s book:
The Irish became the musical puritans of the American Catholic church, frowning on greats such as Mozart and Palestrina while promoting their familiar and maudlin native hymns. With most of the American Church inured to such insipid church music over the course of a few generations, it wasn’t a giant leap for the 60s radicals to impose their own brand of theologically questionable and musically awful “folk” and pop music on the Church, which is still with us today.
With the new missal texts we will all be using shortly there very much needs to be a review of the abysmal state of music in the churches. For those Catholic parishes that use a resource such as “The Adoremus Hymnal” they are truly blessed.
And I don’t mean by my prior comments that there is no room for “contemporary” music, but it has to have a certain quality to be acceptable in a liturgical environment.
Some contemporary hymns are excellent (and personally, I even like some of the shoddy ones, b/c I am still, to some extent, a child of this age).
And those American hymns ARE hokey, Louise, no doubt about it. Still, I’m 100% supporting your ascension to the throne. Mozart, Palestrina and Victoria can send me straight to St. Paul’s third heaven.
With my Lutheran background I always loved Bach but as a Catholic those three venerable composers have stolen my heart.
The mindset out of which the liturgy developed existed before anything like what you call music now, or even the ethnicities you mention, existed.
A different mindset entirely has replaced it. Once again the RCC looks everywhere but itself for the source of its problems, because it is only and entirely about itself, its own god, which a priori must always be right and therefore any number of alternate realities will be invented in whichwill it is right.
Meanwhile, both the world and the catholic church goes on without it.
Not wanting to be smart or anything, PE,but somebody who assures us that the world and the catholic church are going on without the RCC is not well-positioned to accuse others of inventing alternate realities.
For good or ill, the reality is that the RCC is very much a part of the world, and of the catholic church, unless you have a very non-obvious definition of “world” and of “catholic church”.
Well Perry, I like you, so far as I can tell in a virtual environment, so no harm done.
Were it not for my particular background, I would like most people have little to no contact with or knowledge of the RCC, nor see any reason to seek it. A curious anachronism at best, maybe useful if a Catholic hospital is around and you’re sick, or a Democrat here seeking to hold the Catholic vote, since the bishops pretty well tow the liberal line except for abortions and contraceptives though they are common enough among the “faithful”.
And yes, all the other heterodox churches with liturgical pretensions have quite hopped aboard the Vatican II bandwagon, but they are as irrelevant to the world or the catholic church as the RCC.
I would agree though that the RCC is very much a part of the world, but I don’t think I mean that in the sense you do.
I think though Perry that this revisionism applied to church music — which after four degrees in music I may have picked up a thing or two — is really just a little more than I can bother with.
I cannot, for the life of me, work out why anyone would need four degrees in music. Or why we need to know about it.
Oh I dunno, geez, Louise, I guess it sort of looks good when one applies for professorships in a field to have some credentials (high school diploma, bachelor, master, doctor) in it.
And sometimes, though apparently not here, general audiences like to know if a person stating something actually has some background or training in it.
You count your high school diploma??? Good grief.
No. I count the high school diploma in music I got from the National Guild of Piano Teachers, not my high school diploma from Lourdes High School.
And I left out altogether master classes with Royal Academy of Music faculty, since there was no degree associated with them.
“…Or why we need to know about it.”
Well you’ve got to admit it’s kinda relevant to the current discussion. ;)
Unless I’m mistaken, this isn’t a job application. I have no objection to listening to people better qualified than myself, but I’m less inclined to do so with someone who is typically belligerant and who insists on telling us he has *four* degrees.
PE had an experience of the Church which he seems to assume was more or less as the Church had always been and then when it changed (and I’m the first to admit that the changes at the parish level were dire) became so disenchanted that now he is a Lutheran, via Judaism, and cannot tell us where we can find Christ’s Church.
He tells us we hold all our views a priori, yet he is no different as far as I can tell. He is right, a priori. He’s even got the 4 music degrees to prove it.
Sorry, I thought I had made it quite clear in other posts here that I in no way thought, nor was I taught to think, that the post-Trent church was the way it had “always been”, and that change is not the issue, but change into what.
If you find what I have to say inconvenient, that’s too bad, but if you want to refute it, then refute it rather than make it about me.
From a report filed by the BBC yesterday:
The pontiff appeared buoyed up by the size of the huge and enthusiastic crowd of pilgrims from many countries who gathered in front of the basilica dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima.
Wow. Doesn’t sound to me like the world is passing the Catholic Church by.
It’s always interesting when those who were part of the preconciliar Catholic Church leave and claim they have no further interest in it. Even more interesting of the need to continue to show up to convince us of our error when the very Church they claim we are not a part of is the one they now soundly reject anyway as the whore of babylon (yep, I intentionally used lowercase).
When Terry no longer feels the need to to this I’ll believe he’s made a total break with the Church of Rome.
Wonderful. Argumentum ad hominem, the only defence of postconciliar “Catholicism” — he can’t have anything to say because there is something wrong with him, so we need not address what he said.
I have no interest in the form of Protestantism calling itself Catholicism these days. What I have an interest in is a Lutheran pastor who fell for it.
No worse than an argument “from authority,” Mr I Have Four Degrees In Music!
I realise that facts carry very little weight in RC thinking, however, argumentum ad verecundiam is not typically conducted by an appeal to oneself as that authority, as evidenced by the classic “ipse dixit” (he said it himself, not I said it myself), which derives from Cicero’s description of the arguments of Pythagoreans in De natura deorum (On the nature of the gods, Latin carrying little weight in the “Latin” rite either).
However, it is not unknown, and is sometimes called “proof by tenure”, but not having tenure let alone a professorship since 1984 I doubt I could pull that off, let alone be accused of it.
Argumentum ad verecundiam is a defect of induction. It is not the fact that an authority says it that makes a statement true; rather it is the truth of the statement and independent arguments supporting it that has led the authority to state it. But by the same token, or rather its converse, if the authority is not an authority based on other factors that does not make the statement necessarily false.
In this thread, the conversation had narrowed from not matters theological and ecclesial in general to music, and while I might have expected, instead of the routine dismissals based on psychololgical analyses of my emotional or spiritual condition, to be challenged in that I am not an elder now, not a clergyman, not a theologian by training or credentials, instead to be dismissed by argumentum ad hominem from saying something because I do have degrees in that something.
Oh well, if my first theory professor, an Eastman graduate also ordained ad organum for the Abbey and director of the schola cantorum in which I sang could be ousted by a triumvirate of a professor in German, in sociology and in theology in the Brave New Church, I suppose I should be honoured.
Nah — make that DR I Have Four Degrees In Music!
An Liaig says:
Hymns were used very early on in Catholic liturgy but not in the mass. They always formed a part of the Divine Office in the cathedral tradition – less so in the monastic. The tradition was always that the mass was sung not that songs were sung in the mass. However, as you rightly point out, all the places where hymns can be sung during the mass are processional in some form and such processions were normally not accompanied by chant but by music. This seems to me to be a godd substitution if the the rest of the liturgy is also sung. If it is not, then the importance of those places which are sung is distorted.
I invite anyone who is interested to come to mass at St. Patrick’s Mentone (Melbourne, Australia – okay, a bid of a trip if you are overseas but you would be most welcome!) on 11.00am Sunday to see and hear what can be done in a normal parish church.
To add to mentone, I have just been overseas and frequented a small parish in which the congregation sings the Missa De Angelis most Sundays – it can be done. The ultra-purists mightn’t like it – transcription into a modern five-line stave and organ accompaniment – but that type of purism is indeed self-defeating.
I then went to Notre Dame in Paris where they choir sang some of the same Mass a capella, alternating verse by verse with the congregation supported by the organ. Again, some purists mightn’t like it, but it works.
that type of purism is indeed self-defeating.
“Purism” has its place to remind us of the ideals for which we strive, but the ideal should never be confused with the messy reality in which we have to work!
Brent Egan says:
Dear Schutz,
I was a blessed little boy. The Lutherans up the road loved the fact that I had huge lungs and loved to sing traddie hymns just when we Catholics were ditching all things traditional in the 1970’s. I didn’t receive Holy Communion with the Lutherans, but wow, I loved sharing their respect and love for good music, which has permeated my life. I loved singing then and now, and wish the Catholics at the “progressive” sites would stop saying that we don’t have a problem with music, because we clearly do! It’s OK to say we now have choice, but the fact is, we don’t. I can count on one hand the Catholic churches in Sydney that promote good music, and that is not good enough!
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You are here: Home › physics › Ludwig Boltzmann and Statistical Mechanics
Ludwig Boltzmann and Statistical Mechanics
physics 20. February 2019 0 Tabea Tietz
Ludwig Boltzmann and co-workers in Graz, 1887
On February 20, 1844, Austrian physicist and philosopher Ludwig Boltzmann was born. His greatest achievement was in the development of statistical mechanics, which explains and predicts how the properties of atoms determine the physical properties of matter.
“Who sees the future? Let us have free scope for all directions of research; away with dogmatism, either atomistic or anti-atomistic!”
— Ludwig Boltzmann, “Lectures on Gas Theory”, translated by Stephen George Brush (1971), p. 26
Ludwig Boltzmann was born in Vienna as the son of Ludwig Georg Boltzmann, a tax official, and his wife Maria Katharina, neé Pauernfeind, descendant of a wealthy merchand family. He was educated at home as well as in Linz before enrolling at the University of Vienna in 1863. Boltzmann graduated in physics and mathematics three years later and became the assistant to his teacher, Josef Stefan, who was back then the Head of the Physics Institute in the city. Boltzmann completed his dissertation on the Kinetic Theory of Gases, which seemed to presuppose the reality of atoms and molecules, but unfortunately many scientists like Ernst Mach and Wilhelm Ostwald disbelieved their existence, which resulted in long debates [4].
Already at the age of 25, Ludwig Boltzmann became a full Professor of Mathematical Physics at the University of Graz. In the late 1860s and early 70s, he traveled through Germany, studying and researching with Robert Bunsen, Hermann von Helmholtz,[5] Gustav Kirchhoff [6] and many more before joining the University of Vienna as a Professor. In this period, women were still not allowed to attend university lectures officially in Austria. However, Boltzmann met the passionate teacher of mathematics and physics, who was refused permission to audit lectures unofficially. He helped her successfully to appeal and married her just four years later.
The Statistical Concept of Nature
Going back to Graz, Ludwig Boltzmann began developing his statistical concept of nature. Boltzmann’s reputation was quite impressive and was known to often defend his theories through lectures across Europe. But unfortunately, his theories were often questioned by philosophers, wherefore Boltzmann himself started studying philosophy in order to combine the subject with his research in physics. And indeed, his lectures in natural philosophy were quite successful. For his talks, the largest lecture halls were chosen and still, people had to stand in the room to follow his words. Still, his work in philosophy was often criticized by contemporary philosophers. He founded the Austrian Mathematical Society in the early 1900s and to some of his most famous students belonged Lise Meitner and Paul Ehrenfest.[7]
Boltzmann Statistics
However, Ludwig Boltzmann’s most important scientific contributions were in kinetic theory. The Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution for molecular speeds in a gas and the Maxwell–Boltzmann statistics as well as the Boltzmann distribution over energies remain the foundations of classical statistical mechanics. They proved to provide a significant insight to the meaning of temperature. Unfortunately, throughout his lifetime, many scientists still doubted the reality of atoms and molecules and Boltzmann went though numerous lively discussions considering the topic. But, shortly after his passing, Jean-Baptiste Perrin‘s [8] studies of colloidal suspensions, which based on Einstein’s theoretical studies of 1905, confirmed the values of Avogadro’s number and the Boltzmann’s constant. He was finally able to convince the world that the tiny particles really exist. Max Planck then stated that
“The logarithmic connection between entropy and probability was first stated by L. Boltzmann in his kinetic theory of gases“
and the formula for entropy S = kB lnW (with kB being the Boltzmann constant) was engraved on Boltzmann’s tombstone.
Boltzmann’s health had been very poor for a long time. Because of “neurasthenia” (nervous weakness) he was in psychiatric treatment several times. He suffered from extreme mood swings, states of highest excitement alternated with deepest depression. He was extremely short-sighted, as early as 1873 he expressed the fear that he would soon go blind. By 1900 his vision had already deteriorated so much that he hired a lady to read him scientific literature. He dictated his own works to his wife. He suffered from asthma, nasal polyps, headaches, kidney and bladder ailments and various other physical complaints. On 5 May 1906 Boltzmann was given sick leave due to “severe neurasthenia”, Stefan Meyer took over his lectures. Boltzmann spent the summer of 1906 with his family on the Adriatic in Duino, north of Trieste. On September 5, 1906, one day before his planned journey home, he hanged himself in his hotel room.
At yovisto academic video search, you may be interested in a video lecture by Leonard Susskind, introducing Statistical Mechanics.
[1] Boltzmann’s Work in Statistical Physics at Stanford
[2] Ludwig Boltzmann Society
[3] Dieter Flamm: Boltzmann – a pioneer of modern physics
[4] Ernst Mach and the eponymous Mach Number, SciHi Blog, February 18, 2018.
[5] Hermann von Helmholtz and his Theory of Vision, SciHi Blog, August 31, 2015.
[6] Gustav Kirchhoff and the Fundamentals of Electrical Circuits, SciHi Blog, March 12, 2014.
[7] Lise Meitner- The Misjudged Genius, SciHI Blog, October 27, 2018.
[8] Jean Baptiste Perrin and the Brownian Motion, SciHi Blog, September 30, 2016.
[9] Ludwig Boltzmann at zbMATH
[10] Ludwig Boltzmann at Mathematics Genealogy Project
[11] Ludwig Boltzmann at Wikidata
[12] O’Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., “Ludwig Boltzmann“, MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, University of St Andrews.
[13] Timeline for Ludwig Boltzmann, via Wikidata
atomic theory, Austria, entropy, Ernst Mach, Hermann von Helmholtz, Lise Meitner, Ludwig Boltzmann, mathematics, physics, statistical mechanics
Nikolaus Copernicus and the Heliocentric Model
Girard Desargues and Projective Geometry
Steven Weinberg and the Great Unifying Theory
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WNBA rebrands with new logo, eyes next generation of fans
WNBA Headlines
Dolson makes late go-ahead basket, Sky top Dream 77-76
Storm's Natasha Howard denies abusing her wife
Lynx scoring leader Odyssey Sims appears on DWI charges
Surging Aces have won 5 straight, sit atop power poll
Trio of first-timers headline WNBA All-Star reserves
Trio of Chicago players headline WNBA All-Star reserves
By DOUG FEINBERG
AP Basketball Writer
NEW YORK (AP) The WNBA's logo is getting a new look and the league is resetting its brand for the upcoming season.
The league unveiled its plans Monday, intent on embracing the optimism of the women across the WNBA in building the next generation of fans.
"We are excited about all of it," WNBA chief operating officer Christy Hedgpeth said by phone last week. "It starts with our purpose, which is to expand our audience and grow at a faster rate.
"We believe we'll do that by becoming more and more culturally relevant over time. It led us to a new target consumer, new design target that's much, much younger - the 16-to-34 millennials, who are very diverse, very socially conscious, engaged in issues of today."
The WNBA's 23rd season begins May 24, with the Seattle Storm the defending champion.
The league partnered with Sylvain Labs, an innovation and brand design consultancy last year, to learn more about its existing fans and potential new fans. They developed a long-term growth strategy and identify new marketing opportunities.
"We've engaged very, very closely throughout this process," Hedgpeth said. "Six months working with Sylvain Labs to develop what the new brand will stand for."
The two groups, along with player input, came up with the league's new logo.
"They took the silhouette out of the box which is a massive breakthrough as she was perceived totally different," Hedgpeth said. "She was free, there was more movement there, taking up more space. She's more athletic, longer physique. This is basketball on our terms. That was a phrase that really resonated with the players. That's really symbolic in that regard."
The new logo is different from others affiliated with the NBA.
"The NBA logo, there's a rectangle around him, he's in a box. Same with the G-League logo and the previous W-logo. She had a box around her," Hedgpeth said. "The box is going away. It's powerful, it's freeing and it's expansive."
It's the first time the league will have a new logo since 2013. While the new logo won't be on the uniforms or balls until next year because of the lack of production time needed to do it, it will be everywhere else around the league.
Hedgpeth insisted that the logo wasn't modeled after one player and that the hair was a huge part of the conversation. The logo has a bun which represents the way many players wear their hair.
The league also has a new marquee partner in AT&T.
"They are a perfect fit," Hedgpeth said. "They have such a great fit to diversity and inclusion and accurately portraying women in advertising."
Follow Doug Feinberg on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/dougfeinberg
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British Royals 24th January 2019
The Windsor Week: royal support for the work of care homes
Duke of Cambridge on mental health: “I still find it very difficult to talk about”
The Duke of Cambridge meets Al Gore at the World Economic Forum
Photo credit: The Royal Star & Garter Homes
The support given to people across the UK by care homes has been highlighted this week by two royal visits. The Countess of Wessex toured a new facility in Hampshire while Princess Alexandra popped into a long established facility in Surrey with very old royal links to celebrate its volunteers.
Sophie spent Tuesday in Winchester where she officially opened the new home and dementia service, Shared Care, run by Brendoncare of which she has been patron since 2003. Sophie saw a new set of flats designed to allow couples to stay together if one of them is living with dementia. The site, at Otterbourne Hill, is one of a small number of establishments in the UK which provides that possibility.
The Countess of Wessex in Winchester (photo Royal Family Twitter)
The countess had laid the foundation stone at Otterbourne in 2016 and this week she returned to see the new apartments which are designed to be dementia friendly. Sophie also had the chance to meet some of those who have now moved into the flats as well as the staff who support them.
On Wednesday, Princess Alexandra paid a visit to the Royal Star and Garter Home in Surbiton. The engagement co-incided with the charity’s Founders’ Day, marking its 103rd anniversary.
The Royal Star and Garter Homes were set up in 1916 on the initiative of Alexandra’s grandmother, Queen Mary, to provide support for wounded veterans. They now look after former military personnel at three homes across England – as well as the Surbiton site visited by Alexandra, there are facilities at Solihull and High Wycombe.
During her visit, Princess Alexandra met many of the residents at the home and heard about the care they receive. She spent time in the physiotheraphy room to see the exercise classes put on there and she was also given a demonstration of an Omni table, an interactive light table which offers help with therapy and movement.
Princess Alexandra is shown an Omni table (photo The Royal Star & Garter Homes)
Alexandra also met many of the staff and volunteers who help keep the homes going. Among them was John Parvin who has been volunteering for Royal Star and Garter for over a quarter of a century. In the recent New Years’ Honours List he was awarded the British Empire Medal for his services helping veterans.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the Duchess of Cornwall saw the support provided by Jewish Care’s Brenner Centre in Stepney in east London. It offers elderly residents in the area the chance to meet up on a regular basis and Camilla met many of those who have been supported by it.
Related ItemsCountess of WessexPrincess Alexandra
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Brittani Barger18th July 2019
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Rookie Lowe agrees to $24 million, 6-year contract with Rays
MLB Headlines
Sale snaps Fenway skid, BoSox 2-hit Jays
Harper, Hoskins rally Phils past Dodgers
Yankees' Boone tossed after profane rant
Athletics hope to stay hot against Twins
Surging Indians try to beat Tigers again
Nationals open key series in Atlanta
Giants aim to continue push up standings
Marlins top Padres with 1st walk-off win
Royals finish 4-game sweep of White Sox
Reds put 2 more catchers on injured list
(AP Photo/Chris O'Meara, File)
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. (AP) Rookie Brandon Lowe, who made his big league debut last August, has agreed to a $24 million, six-year contract with the Tampa Bay Rays.
Lowe's deal, announced Wednesday, includes club options for 2025 and 2026 with escalators based on MVP voting that could make the agreement worth $49 million over eight seasons.
The 24-year-old infielder and outfielder has just 58 days of major league service.
Lowe joins Evan Longoria, Matt Moore and Chris Archer as players with less than one year of major league service when they long-term deals with Tampa Bay.
Lowe joined the Rays on Aug. 4 and appeared in 43 games. From Aug. 15 on, he hit .273 with six homers and 25 RBIs in 37 games.
He gets $1 million this year, $1.5 million in 2020, $2.5 million in 2021, $4 million in 2022, $5.25 million in 2023 and $8.75 million in 2024. Tampa Bay has a $10.5 million option for 2025 with a $1 million buyout, and if that is exercised the Rays have an $11.5 million option for 2026 with a $500,000 buyout.
His option salaries would escalate by $1 million for each top five finish in MVP voting in any earlier season, up to a $2 million maximum for each option.
More AP MLB: https://apnews.comMLB and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports
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Panarin's overtime tally powers Blue Jackets over Sabres 5-4
By MITCH STACY
AP Sports Writer
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) Columbus coach John Tortorella had trouble explaining how his team could blow a two-goal lead in the third period Saturday night only to come back and win 31 seconds into overtime. Finally, he resorted to quoting Forrest Gump.
"It's a box of chocolates - you just never know what you're going to get from shift to shift at certain times," Tortorella said. "I guess that's just what the game is."
Panarin's shot from the left circle glanced off the far post and into the net to give the Blue Jackets a 5-4 victory over the Buffalo Sabres, who had scored a pair of goals in a two-minute span of the third period to erase the deficit and force the extra period.
That all came after Cam Atkinson scored two goals in 31 seconds of the second period to give Columbus what looked like a comfortable lead.
"I just don't understand it sometimes," Tortorella said. "But we found a way to get two points."
Atkinson and Panarin each had two goals and an assist, and Pierre Luc-Dubois had a goal and a pair of assists, including the pass to Panarin low in the circle that set up the overtime goal.
Joonas Korpisalo stopped 34 shots and is undefeated in four starts for the Blue Jackets, who won their second straight and ended a three-game winning streak for Buffalo.
Jeff Skinner and Jason Pominville each had a goal and an assist, and backup goalie Linus Ullmark - who previously had given up just one goal in two starts this season - had 32 saves for Buffalo.
Kyle Okposo got his third goal of the season for Buffalo 1:38 into the game on a 2-on-1 rush. Dubois evened it with a snipe from the middle of the right circle later in the first, with Panarin getting his fourth primary assist in the past two games.
Skinner got a fortunate deflection right onto his stick at the bottom of the right circle and slipped the puck between Korpisalo and the near post to get his team-leading sixth goal and make it 2-1 Sabres at the end of the first.
Dubois returned the favor to his linemate early in the second with a feed that led to Panarin's finish from the left circle to tie it again.
Atkinson's pair in the second period gave Columbus a 4-2 lead, but Buffalo got goals in the third from Pominville and then Casey Middelstadt on a power play to even the score and set up Panarin's overtime heroics.
"He's one of the best players in the league, and it kind of showed in this game," Ullmark said. "It was a good shot."
Buffalo was trying to win four straight for the first time since 2014. It didn't happen, but coach Phil Housley was pleased with the effort.
"I have to give credit to our guys for finding a way to battle back," he said. "We would have loved to have won that game in overtime, but getting a point after being two down in the third period says a lot about our group."
NOTES: Atkinson's fifth and sixth tallies of the season in a 31-second span of the second period broke a franchise record for quickest back-to-back goals.... Sabres F Evan Rodrigues missed the game because he returned to Buffalo for personal reasons. ... The Blue Jackets had a three-goal second period for the second straight game and the fifth time this season. ... Columbus F Markus Hannikainen replaced Sonny Milano for the second straight game. ... Pominville has four goals and four assists in the last four games.
Buffalo: Hosts Calgary on Tuesday night.
Columbus: Hosts Detroit on Tuesday night.
More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/tag/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports
Follow Mitch Stacy on Twitter at https://twitter.com/mitchstacy
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NHL on Twitter
Tweets from @cbcsportslists/nhl
Follow all NHL Players »
#22 - Buffalo Sabres
Position Center
Birthdate July 25, 1992
Birthplace Lau, Sweden
Draft 2010 - Round 2 (56 overall) by Minnesota
Date vs Score G A P +/- PIM PP SH S HT BS SHF TOI
4/6/19 @ DET W 7-1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 3 - 16 13:06
4/4/19 OTT W 5-2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 2 1 21 17:54
4/2/19 NAS L 2-3 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 0 - 1 16 11:23
3/31/19 CLB L 0-4 0 0 0 -3 0 0 0 1 - - 14 8:43
3/30/19 @ NYI L 1-5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 19 16:10
3/28/19 DET L 4-5 (OT) 0 1 1 1 2 0 0 1 3 - 18 12:47
3/26/19 @ OTT L 0-4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 1 22 17:09
3/25/19 @ NJ L 1-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 - 17 13:38
3/23/19 @ MON L 4-7 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 - - 21 14:30
3/20/19 TOR L 2-4 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 2 2 22 14:25
Season Team GP G A Pts +/- PIM PPG SH Shots Sh%
18-19 BUF 73 6 8 14 -8 37 0 1 79 7.59
17-18 BUF 80 4 13 17 -30 49 0 1 86 4.65
16-17 BUF 36 6 5 11 -7 20 1 0 49 12.24
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Archaeologists Discover “4,000-year-old lost city with 230-foot-tall pyramid and pits filled with human SKULLS”
Archaeologists have made an absolutely stunning discovery in China. Approximately 4,000 years ago, a huge city thrived on a ridge located above China’s Tuwei River. It contained a massive stepped pyramid that stood at least 230 feet tall, and it was defended by a huge wall which surrounded the 988 acres inside the city. Archaeologists also found six pits that contained “decapitated human heads”, and this indicates that human sacrifice was quite common. As the Daily Mail has reported, this discovery is altering the way that researchers view the development of civilization in early China… (Read More.....)
The Avenue Of The Sphinxes
Archaeologists in Egypt are excavating the first stretch of a two-mile avenue lined with hundreds of carved sphinxes. Reportedly, this “Avenue of the Sphinxes” was built more than 3,000 years ago. It linked two giant temples together, and some scholars believe that it was only used once a year for a very significant religious procession. But to be honest, so much about ancient Egypt remains a complete mystery. The truth is that we know very little about what motivated the people of that time. But now tourists will be able to visit the first part of this excavation within just a few weeks. However, the remainder of the project will remain off limits to the public for now. Eventually the remaining portion of the project that still needs to be excavated – 75 yards wide and flanked originally by an estimated 1,350 sphinxes, will be opened to the public in the next few years. (Read More.....)
The Mystery Of The Giant Ancient Pyramids All Over The Earth
Almost everyone knows about the amazing pyramids in Egypt. We will have much, much more to say about those extraordinary structures in future posts. Many people out there even know about the massive pyramids that have been found in South America. But very few people know about the pyramids that have now been discovered in China, Bosnia, the United States, Europe and Russia. The truth is that hundreds of giant ancient pyramids have now been discovered all over the world. Can all of these pyramids be attributed to one source? How could so many diverse civilizations all over the globe build such similar structures involving such advanced engineering? This is one of the truly great mysteries of the ancient world. You see, techniques were used in the construction of some of these ancient pyramids that mankind is only just now able to understand. (Read More.....)
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Croatia’s INA ousts Romania’s OMV Petrom as SEE top blue chip
By Siana Mishkova
The total capitalisation of the nine SEE bourses rose 3.6% in 2015 to 103.6 billion euro, slowing from a 6.1% growth in 2014. Three-fifths of the companies that made it into the ranking saw their market capitalisation increase in 2015, with the banking sector shining as a major gainer, while most oil and gas firms and telecom operators lost ground.
Once again, the ranking of the biggest listed companies in Southeast Europe saw little change at the top, as the 10 largest regional blue chips for 2015 remained the same as in 2014, although with some reshuffling. The top three spots remained reserved for the oil and gas sector, but after three consecutive years on the top, Romania’s OMV Petrom ceded its leading position to Croatian peer INA, which weathered better the global oil price slump. While the Romanian company, majority owned by Austria’s OMV, recorded a nearly 30% drop in market capitalisation, INA, controlled by Hungary’s MOL and Croatia’s government, posted a much smaller 19% decline. Romanian natural gas producer Romgaz kept its third spot despite a fall of 24%, closely followed by Slovenian drug maker Krka, which boosted its market capitalisation by 9.4% and thus climbed one spot higher.
The sharp drop in oil prices and heightened market volatility resulted in a net loss of 690 million lei (155 million euro) for OMV, its first negative result in 12 years, while INA reported a consolidated loss for the third year in a row, but managed to cut it by 25% from 2014 to 1.42 billion kuna (189 million euro) on the back of improved operating results. Both majors have promised to keep on reducing costs amid the continuing volatile low price environment, with INA focusing on internal optimisation, productivity increase, and retail restructuring, and OMV Petrom scaling back investments alongside strict cost discipline and cash management. The Croatian company slashed its staff numbers by 10% in 2015 to 11,256, while its bigger Romanian rival cut its workforce by 5.4% to 16,038. At the same time, the total hydrocarbon production of INA rose 6% last year to 40,900 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day, while that of OMV Petrom fell 1% to 178,600 boe.
The remaining Top 10 positions were taken up by three Romanian and as many Croatian entrants, including four banks. In the wider top 100 ranking, Croatia had a clear dominance with 27 companies, as many as in 2014, trailed by Romania with 20 (20 in 2014), Bulgaria with 17 (15 in 2014), Slovenia with 11 (20 in 2012), Bosnia with eight (10 in 2014), Macedonia with five (four in 2014), and Montenegro with four (three in 2014). At the same time, the biggest bourse in the region remained the Romanian one, BVB, with a market capitalisation of 32.3 billion euro at end-2015, followed by the Zagreb Stock Exchange (ZSE) with 27.4 billion euro and the Ljubljana bourse (LJSE) with 24.2 billion euro. The other six stock markets in SEE remained well behind the leaders, with Belgrade at the fourth spot with a capitalisation of only 5.6 billion euro, equal to less than a fifth that of BVB, trailed by Sofia with 4.4 billion euro.
Among the best individual performers in the rankings, Crnogorska Komercijalna Banka, a subsidiary of Hungary’s OTP, shines as the most successful newcomer at the 13th spot. It is also the best placed Montenegrin entrant, accounting for more than a quarter of the local bourse’s market capitalisation. Also, Bosnia’s UniCredit Bank outperformed the pack with a jump to the 24th position from 77th, following a more than fourfold rise in market capitalisation. On the opposite side, Bulgarian fuel trader Petrol recorded the biggest loss – of 46 places to 95th position with a 54% drop in capitalisation.
The total number of newcomers to the 2015 ranking was 11, down from 16 a year earlier, as the entry threshold climbed 8% to 86 million euro.
SEE Link securities trading platform to provide more efficient access for investors, brokers, more visibility for regional bourses
Low liquidity and fragmented stock markets have long been a major hurdle to attracting bigger capital inflows to the region, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. At end-March 2016, SEE Link, a regional platform for trading of securities listed on equity markets in SEE, was launched. It was initiated in 2014 by Bulgaria, Macedonia and Croatia, with the help of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), aiming to improve accessibility and visibility of securities and thus boost liquidity.
Presently, only Bulgarian, Macedonian and Croatian listed companies trade via the platform, but the bourses of Belgrade, Ljubljana, and Banja Luka are expected to join it soon, following the completion of certain technicalities. The Montenegro Stock Exchange (MNSE) and the Athens Stock Exchange – the biggest one in the region – have also agreed to join the project.
As of April 1, 2016, SEE Link started calculating two 10-share blue chip indices – SEELinX and SEELinX EWI – with a base level of 100 points. SEE LinX is a market capitalisation weighted index adjusted for the free-float of each constituent, while SEE LinX EWI is an equally weighted index with the same constituents. By September 15, SEELinX gained 10.4% to 110.01 points, while SEELinX EWI added 7.7% to 107.55.
Despite a slow start, SEE Link is expected to gather momentum and draw investment funds’ interest in the coming months. However, it should be supported by the listing of more liquid, higher quality companies on the regional bourses, as well as by better regulations, many analysts believe.
Political crises-hit Croatia and Macedonia lead stock market gainers in 2016
Looking at the regional stock market performance, measured by the major bourses’ blue chip indices, we see an overall declining trend in 2015, which was most obvious in Bulgaria and Slovenia, with the SOFIX and SBI TOP losing 11.7% and 11.2%, respectively during the year. Macedonia’s MBI10 was the best performer, losing only 0.6%, despite the protracted deep political crisis in the country.
In the first nine months of 2016, however, most major indices gained ground, with Croatia’s CROBEX leading the pack with an 11.3% rise by September 15. It was backed by tourism and industry companies and weathered heightened domestic political instability as the country called an early general election less than a year after the previous one. According to local analysts, the outcome of the snap vote on September 11, in which conservative HDZ party fell short of an outright majority, will likely have no dramatic impact on the financial market. Yet, the formation of a stable government is seen as a prerequisite for the good performance of the domestic economy and hence local companies and the stock market.
The second best performer this year has been the MBI10 with a 6.5% gain till mid-September, confirming the tendency that political turmoil has little impact on stock market performance in SEE. Macedonia, which has been mired in an almost two-year political deadlock, missed two scheduled election dates in 2016 – in April and in June – and scheduled another one for December 11.
At no. 3 and 4 in the list of growing stock markets came Slovenia and Bulgaria, which erased partly their 2015 losses, climbing 5.8% and 2.9%, respectively. On the opposite end of the table, Serbia and Romania extended their declines, with Belgrade’s BELEX shedding 1.4% by mid-September on top of a 3.4% fall in 2015, and BVB’s PET edging down 0.4%, following a 1.6% decline last year.
In election year, Romania’s stock market stays lacklustre despite strong economic growth
by Catalin Chivu,
CEO of online broker TeleTrade Romania
Romania’s stock market started 2016 with a large decline in line with the rest of the international equity markets, which were heavily drawn down by fears regarding China’s economy slowing that put investors’ nerves to test. Then, in the next two months, the local market recovered some of the losses, especially due to some companies surprising investors with dividends.
In January, the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) lost more than 10% in value, marking the weakest debut year from 2011, but investor mood improved afterwards and in February and March the markets returned to growth, helping the bourse post a loss of about 4 % for the first quarter. This development placed Romania as one of the biggest losers in the region, while the Budapest and Warsaw stock exchanges had yields of 7.5%. Developments on the BVB were related more to those on the stock markets in Western Europe, mainly Germany, and the U.S., rather than to the evolution of exchanges in Central and Eastern Europe. However, most Western stock markets have already recovered the losses caused by the 2008 financial crisis with major stock indices reaching values above the 2007 highs, while BVB’s benchmark index BET should rise by about a third to reach the 10,000 points threshold, where it was in 2007.
In the second quarter, BVB indices fluctuated, but in general continued to fall. BET, which tracks the 10 most liquid listed companies, closed the first half at 6,487 points, down 7.4% compared to the beginning of the year, marking the third first-half stock market decline over the last 20 years. But in 2016, there is one key difference – Romania has a better economic growth than most other European Union countries and the decline did not come after a rally.
Among the factors that pushed down the BVB are pessimism related to China’s economic slowdown, the drop in oil prices, which hit record lows in February, fears that the U.S. Federal Reserve would embark on a more aggressive rate hike policy, and most recently, the UK referendum result that put Britain on a path to exit the EU.
However, in the past two months, BET managed to recover strongly, reaching levels from the start of the year, but still far from the 2007 highs. I have no great expectations for the rest of the year on new listings or liquidity, since it is an election year and the politicians, who should contribute to promoting the Romanian capital market in the category of more developed markets globally, towards the Emerging market status*, will have other concerns.
*editor’s note: In March, FTSE Russell, one of the most important international institutions, which analyses global capital markets, supported by the opinions of international experts and investors, certified that Romania’s stock market meets all but one of the nine criteria required to be classified as Emerging market, with the exception being the liquidity criterion.
Tourism remains key driver of Croatia’s stock market growth, players hope for big IPOs to boost liquidity
by Alen Kovač,
Chief Economist, Erste Bank Croatia
Trading on the Zagreb Stock Exchange (ZSE) this year was marked by the general recovery of stock indices, with a continued negative trend of liquidity. ZSE’s wider blue chip index, CROBEX, rose 5% in the first seven months, while the CROBEXtr market capitalisation weighted total return index gained some 7%. It seems that positive macroeconomic developments, with Croatia emerging from a sixyear recession in 2015, transferred part of the optimism onto the capital market.
Tourism remained in the focus of investors. In the past few years, despite the prolonged recession, tourism recorded growth in arrivals and overnight stays, as well as a rapid rise in stock prices. Once again, this year’s geopolitical events and the difficulties encountered by Croatia’s main competitors in the Mediterranean shifted investor focus to that sector. The tourism sector index has gained almost 14% this year, after a cumulative jump of more than three times in the last three years. One of the major winners, Valamar Riviera, was the only of the 10 most liquid stocks that recorded an increase in turnover.
This year, tourism was joined by the industry sector, which, underpinned by exporters, posted a growth of 11.5% year-to-date.
In tourism, mergers and acquisitions continued this year, with PPHE Hotel Group fully acquiring Arenaturist and a number of privatisations, including the tenders for state shares in hotel operators Imperial, Suncani Hvar, Korcula and HTP Hotel Maestral, of which the first three were successfully completed, while the last attracted no bidders. Although Croatia took eight companies out of its ‘strategic list’ in May with the intention of privatising them, the collapse of the government in June resulted in the sale only of a 20.5% stake in Koncar Elektroindustrija through a block transaction on the ZSE. Those transactions, valued at some 50 million euro, slightly improved ZSE’s liquidity, while at the same time regular stock turnover entered its ninth consecutive year of decline.
Bourse turnover was dominated by the food, travel, and telecom sectors, which together with holding company Adris make up nearly 70% of the turnover. Regular stock turnover on the bourse in the first seven months of 2016 was about 30% lower year-on-year, while at the same time there was an increase in block transactions and on the OTC market. Block turnover was only 15% lower than regular turnover this year, a result of poor regular turnover and a growth in block transactions, primarily in Koncar, Ledo and Hrvatski Telekom, which were quite active in block trading.
The lack of new issues on the stock market is one of the reasons for the low liquidity in regular trading, while on the demand side, the number and structure of investors is to blame. An increasingly smaller number of major players have a growing importance on the market. Among them are the main domestic pension funds, which have longer investment horizon and shareholding period. From 2009 to 2016, their domestic equity investments rose 3%, reaching 7.5% of the total stock market capitalisation. However, if we look at the free shares in circulation, this proportion is as high as 30%.
On the supply side, after a seven-year pause in initial public offerings (IPOs), agricultural company Granolio made a successful placement of new shares and listed on the bourse in late 2014, followed by shipping company Tankerska Next Generation in early 2015. However, bigger listings, like for example HEP, Agrokor or Hrvatske Autoceste (HAC), are still absent. These trends led to a concentration of trading in the most liquid stocks, so the 10 most traded issues this year made up almost 70% of total turnover, compared to 60% last year.
Further developments on the stock market will largely depend on the sustainability of macroeconomic growth, while the revival of stock turnover requires new issues, public offerings and privatisations to boost the number of shares in circulation. Also, if the pace of mergers and acquisitions intensifies, it might push individual stocks to the forefront, and thereby contribute to the boost of the overall stock market liquidity.
Takeover speculations, privatisations to keep driving Slovenia’s bourse
by Sašo Stanovnik,
Head of Research and Chief Economist, ALTA Invest
So far, till mid-August 2016, the main Ljubljana Stock Exchange (LJSE) index SBITOP hasn’t moved much as it is up by a meagre 2.8%. However, it should be noted that most companies included in the index paid out a very generous dividend yield, on average standing at roughly 4.7% gross for the index. Therefore, the total return should be quite satisfactory for investors in Slovenia. Hefty dividends were also one of the key catalysts that moved the market in spring months, only to be adjusted after ex-dividend dates.
Another catalyst was the rumour, regarding Gorenje acquisition by Panasonic. Consequently, Gorenje is so far a star of LJSE with its price up by more than 55% year-to-date. Note that Panasonic owns 10.7% of Gorenje and that Gorenje announced Panasonic will perform a due diligence of Gorenje Group till end-September with no decision yet made regarding any transaction. Any pending decision from Panasonic will therefore influence Gorenje share price severely in the autumn and consequently also influence the mood on LJSE in the following months. Presently, Gorenje trades at 6.7 times EBITDA with trailing earnings still being negative, while management strategic goals remain ambitious.
Otherwise the biggest year-to-date increase in LJSE prime market was recorded by logistic provider Intereuropa, with its share price up 75%. While divestment of majority stake by a bank consortium faltered, better results probably contributed to an improved sentiment.
Significantly trailing Gorenje’s second place was insurance group Sava Re, where again sentiment is slightly driven by takeover speculations. Namely, Adris Group has been raising its stake in the insurer, while a regulatory approval for boosting stake to 30% is still awaited.
On the other side of the spectrum, port operator Luka Koper recorded a stagnation of its share price year-to-date while pharmaceutical company Krka experienced a 10% drop. Luka Koper reported excellent results and throughput growth, so the main culprit could be a small free float or corporate governance issues that were quite evident in June, when a labour strike hampered operations for several days. Krka, on the other hand, reported results mostly in line with analyst expectations; however these were burdened by currency weaknesses in Russia and price erosions in Western Europe. Note Krka now trades at 6x EBITDA while Luka Koper at 5x.
We believe the rest of 2016 will depend much on how the above mentioned takeover speculations materialise. Also any change in state asset strategy, which would move a company more toward portfolio classification, could be beneficial to the overall market sentiment. In the absence of this, a continuation of stagnation is envisioned, as earnings growth projections are positive but far from spectacular. It’s true however that spring 2017 should again bring a more positive dynamics, as the 2016 dividend levels are likely to repeat in 2017 as well, delivering a very generous dividend yield. A major story could be a listing and privatisation of the biggest Slovenian bank, NLB, albeit news about this process are still vague.
Disclaimer: The author of this article is owner of Petrol and Krka shares. ALTA Invest and related entities can be owners of mentioned shares.
Serbia sees difficult year with old pain from lack of blue chips, but attractive valuations
by Mladen Dodig,
Head of Research, Erste Bank Serbia
2016 will prove particularly difficult for the Belgrade Stock Exchange (BSE). Not only has liquidity not improved, but some of the previously most traded stocks will be delisted after takeovers and squeeze-outs. The regular trading value (excluding arranged block transactions) halved in January-September as compared to the same period of 2015 and the liquidity weakness has even caused the main benchmark BELEX15 to shed two more components in 2016, with one more expected to leave the index by the end of the year. Consequently, the muted trading has smoothed the index’s movements, bringing its performance slightly above the major regional benchmarks, but far below emerging markets. So, historical events such as Brexit are barely visible on the BELEX15 12-month chart. However, the valuations for many listed companies remain very inviting.
Let us look at the positive developments. The new general manager of the BSE has managed to include the state-issued fixed income securities in the Prime Listing, bringing some fresh volume to the market. This move was also significant as investors have been given an indicator of the yield curve, with maturities ranging from two to 10 years, both in dinars and in euro. In today’s world of positive yield scarcity, Serbian bills and bonds are very attractive to both institutional and individual investors. Furthermore, the BSE management has initiated education of attractive big local companies that are in private ownership, informing them about all the benefits of IPO launching and (dual) listing(s). Some of these companies have expressed interest in raising capital this way, so it is fair to say that 2017 might bring the first IPO on the Serbian market. If that happens, many others would follow, and that would be a significant boost to the BSE.
Favorable winds are also coming from the macroeconomic side, as plenty of the indicators point to restored real growth of over 2%, excellent fiscal performance, revived domestic consumption and solid export performance. Serbia remains on the EU path and some major milestones in membership negotiations were reached. The credit rating of the country is stable and with the current dynamics a positive revision might be expected in the foreseeable future. However, the main challenges remain in the form of necessary reforms, particularly in the domains of SOE, legal framework and public administration rightsizing.
The most recent reviews of Serbia’s economic performance under the ongoing standby arrangement with the IMF reveal many details on reforms and the restructuring of the SOEs, as well as potential models of privatisation for banks and major companies. Bringing those companies to the bourse after their transformation would erase the BSE’s major disadvantage – its lack of blue chips with large capitalisations (and free floats). Telecoms provider Telekom Srbija, power utility EPS, postal and railway operators, etc., would attract even the biggest players from the asset management industry, bringing new life to the BSE.
Low liquidity continues to weigh on Bulgaria’s stock market, big new listings needed to boost attractiveness
by Nadia Nedelcheva,
Portfolio Manager, Karoll Capital Management
The Bulgarian stock market has been among the worst performers in the past years, with the blue chip SOFIX index still standing around 75% below its pre-crisis peak. From this perspective it offers solid catch-up potential as at the same time other markets performed far better. Generally, the local market has almost no correlation with the developed ones. In the past weeks we have seen some positive signs as it finally managed to erase year-to-date losses. Compared even to the regional markets, the Bulgarian one is among the smallest ones and low liquidity is one of the most serious issues. While low liquidity may accelerate a negative movement, the market can also rise quickly as a consequence of poor – so, fast movements can be observed on markets like the Bulgarian one. Still, liquidity is an issue when it comes to allocation by foreign investors in the region as few companies from the local stock exchange can pass the liquidity filters of foreign institutional investors.
From a fundamental perspective, the outlook for the Bulgarian market is relatively promising – the macroeconomic status of the economy is pretty solid – just like most of the regional economies, the Bulgarian one is faring quite well as domestic consumption is compensating the fairly milder external conditions – GDP was up by 3% year-on-year in the second quarter, which was much higher than the EU average – the same is actually valid for other economies in the region. Thus, many companies posted strong results for the first half of 2016, with valuation ratios suggesting significant upside. The average P/E for the market is below 8x (on a ttm basis) which is among the lowest not only in the region but also globally. Of course, liquidity is a strong impediment and that is the major reason why such levels of valuation ratios do not look too compelling for the big investors. Still, we believe that SOFIX will finish the year higher.
In the next months we expect another IT company to debut on the local stock exchange – the size of the issue however is too small to attract serious interest from abroad, but it is expected to serve as a test for the capital market. If successful, the IPO may convince other companies to go public. However, the market needs really many more and bigger companies to become more attractive.
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iSimangaliso Wetland Park
iSimangaliso Wetland Park|iSimangaliso Wetland Park|iSimangaliso Wetland Park|iSimangaliso Wetland Park|iSimangaliso Wetland Park|iSimangaliso Wetland Park|iSimangaliso Wetland Park||| |||||||||
Elephants, giraffes and leopards inhabit the grasslands and forests of the nearby Western Shores and Charters Creek areas. To the north, Sodwana Bay is known for its colourful coral reefs.
Bourscheid Castle | Luxembourg | Attractions
in Attractions
Bourscheid Castle is located near the village of Bourscheid in north-eastern Luxembourg. The medieval castle stands on a site with archeological evidence of structures dating back to Roman times. Standing majestically some 150 metres above the River Sûre, it is enclosed by a circular wall with 11 watchtowers.
Al-Masjid an-Nabawi | Saudi Arabia | Attractions
The Prophet's Mosque is a mosque established and originally built by the Islamic prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him), situated in the city of Medina in the Hejazi region of Saudi Arabia. It was the third mosque built in the history of Islam, and is now one of the largest mosques in the world.
Kaaba | Saudi Arabia | Attractions
The Kaaba, also referred as al-Kaʿbah al-Musharrafah, is a building at the center of Islam's most important mosque, that is Al-Masjid Al-Ḥarām, in the Hejazi city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is the most sacred site in Islam.
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AIM Protest Shuts Down Senate
Posted on March 8, 2016 March 8, 2016 Author Michael Orton 8
Just before 3 PM Monday, as the Senate resumed normal business on second reading calendar, a group of 5 to 6 people who had patiently waited for the right moment, broke into shouts and unfurled banners and signs bearing symbols of the American Indian Movement, (AIM) condemning what they termed as the genocide of America’s native peoples.
The demonstration stemmed from the previous Senate defeat of SB 170 – Indigenous Peoples Day, sponsored by Senator Jim Dabakis (Democrat -Salt Lake City).
Angry shouts of “You’re on stolen land!,” and “Stop treating us like we’re dead! We’re still here, you know ?!” reverberated along the marbled walls normally reserved for polite and ordered discussion.
There was nothing polite or ordered about this demonstration that lasted several minutes before the disruptors could be led from the chamber gallery and into the hall on the fourth floor of Utah’s capitol building. From there, the noisy procession moved down a flight of stairs and to the same level as the Senate floor itself.
On hand to ensure public safety were several of the Sergeant-at-Arms staff and troopers with the Utah Highway Patrol,
The UHP has powers to police the capitol campus’ uniquely state-maintained jurisdiction.
Senate leadership quickly invited the protesters inside the Senate lounge for a closed-door meeting that lasted more than 90 minutes by some accounts and because the media were kept from the private discussions, none of the protesters’ names were obtained or released. Senate business quickly resumed with Senator Ralph Okerlund (Republican – Monroe) taking the President’s gavel. No arrests were made.
Some of the dissidents’ leaders specifically called-out Senator Todd Weiler (Republican – Woods Cross) who spoke and voted against Dabakis’ bill when it was presented last week. That became the basis for the disruption, seemingly a retaliatory move against Weiler and any of the other senators who voted to defeat the measure attempting to honor Utah’s Indigenous People.
During the Senate debate on March 1, it was noted that Utah already did have an “Indigenous People’s Day” on the books, designated as the Monday before Thanksgiving weekend in each November. Senator Dabakis had dismissed the supposed equality of the prior designation by describing the November date as “lesser than a national holiday” when compared to Columbus Day, a holiday observed by schools, banks, and state and federal government. In the ensuing discussion on the bill’s merits, Senator Weiler, speaking in opposition, said that referring to Christopher Columbus as anything but a hero would be “rewriting history.”
In the ensuing discussion on the bill’s merits, Senator Weiler, speaking in opposition, said that referring to Christopher Columbus as anything but a hero would be “rewriting history.”
Indigenous peoples in modern-day America have become more politically active and assertive in public policy discussions that have traditionally been the purview of white and male decision makers.
Their activism actually has roots in the protests of the 1960s and 70s at a time when Alcatraz Island was occupied for several weeks. Last October, a tribal coalition sought President Obama’s assistance to designate hundreds of thousands of acres of public lands near “Bears Ears” in South Eastern Utah declared a national monument.
Native American activism comes at a time when Utah’s congressional delegation has introduced their “Public Lands Initiative,” led by Utah Congressman Rob Bishop (Republican) and summarily denounced as “wholly inadequate and insensitive,” patently insufficient to allow for honoring native people’s ancestors by Native American leaders.
Category: 2016 Legislative Session, In the Senate Tag: American Indian Movement, Columbus Day, Jim Dabkis, protest, SB 170 2016, todd weiler 8 Comments
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8 Replies to “AIM Protest Shuts Down Senate”
How else are the Native American people to be heard? We are a minority and no voice to be heard. Even in the history books of America our tribal stories and tribal history is not written. Senator Weiler and Congressman Bishop choose to turn their eyes and ears to the past history and injustice of the Native American, and specifically of the true Native People of Utah… This land of America was land of the Utes, Navajo, Piutes, Lakotas, Kiowas, Pawnee, Shoshone, and other Native American tribes. Invaded by Christopher Columbus, who thought he was on India, brought the non-indigenious people to this land. And then the whiteman stole and took our lands from us through homestead and other acts of Congress.
Today the Ute Indian Tribe is fighting to keep our Uncompahgre Reservation .. and Congressman Bishop is spearheading to take our lands from us.. He has chosen to treat us unfair and on terms as less than human, as he has demonstrated in meetings with our Tribal Council and Tribal Attorney’s. Bishop ignorance is shameful and if that is representation of Utah, people had better read the history and treatment of the Native American. We are the ” Proud Utes”…
Yes, Native Americans should be heard. We all feel the same. says:
I am glad for the
It is time to write the TRUE history, not the fiction that the liars and thieves have shoved down every non questioning American throat since Columbus discovered he had no idea where he really was as history. Why is it when people stand up for what is rightfully theirs it’s called activism and not TRUTH!!
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Henri says:
It is not rewriting history. It is correcting his-story.
Earth-Feather says:
In Utah only 60% of the State are Mormons/LDS members. I am a member of the LDS Church. I believe there is one Creator. I have faith in God, who is our Heavenly Father,who is also our Creator and our Brother, Jesus Christ, who is our advocate, and also our mentor. I am the first of my family to become a member of the LDS Church. I believe there are corrupt people in all religions. I am not there to share the negative behaviors of the people of my faith. I am here to help uplift others. Before my mother’s death she had visited the spirit realm. I have also visited the spirit realm. This world is not what it seems to be. There is an unseen fight to be won. Still we are all connected. I believe it is in my destiny to help and advocate for my Indigenous people.
What brought me to the LDS faith is they believe in the Lamanites, Nephites, Jeridites, and Mulekites People. These are people, like the Lamanite people who came to the Americas before Columbus, and were ordained by God, they are the chosen people, like the descendants of Abraham. Most Mormons believe the Native Americans are from these people, and are blessed by God to bring people closer to God. I also understand that allot of Tribes have been here since the beginning. I believe we are an advanced spiritual nation.
There is a scripture in the LDS faith, as to the end times. D&C 49:24- “the Lamanites shall blossom as the rose.” For this prophecy from the Mormon church to become true, members of the church need to be compassionate towards the Indigenous People. I believe the church may also need to make an amends to our Native American People. To make this Amends, Christopher Columbus Day needs to be Abolished! Also, the Doctrine of Discovery needs to be Rescinded! We are Rising, we are the 7th and 8th fire!
Christopher Columbus voyage is prophecies in the Book of Mormon. Even so, his ungodly behaviors were not condoned by God. The acts of rap, torture, and enslavement of an Indigenous Tribe where they are brought to extinction, is not okay! Continued oppression of my people, is not okay! We must recognize the past mistakes, make amends, so we will know not to behave, condone, or accept this type of behavior ever again, by any race or nation!
“If a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey it, he is obligated to do so” (Thomas Jefferson).
Mike Hakes says:
In the Interest of Humanity in this Americas,
The first world war started in the 1600s when the Pilgrims began the process of murdering woman, children and elder grandparents of the Pequot peoples. This was my gramma’s people (dad’s mom) who I was never told about. Why, to this day is this sacrilegious holiday known as Thanksgiving not shown in the light of the murderous psychopathic (anger, hate, racism… ) that it is.
You see, the Pilgrims celebrated in the murder of a whole village “while they slept”. Imagine 300 people in your town or city 4 or 5 block neighborhood being killed in their sleep until ALL were dead. You now claim ownership of their homes, cars, bank accounts and everything else and you are not responsible for this act. There is no one to hold you accountable.
This first incident, that created the Thanksgiving holiday was the reason the europeans then held the belief that the “easiest” thing to do was kill the natives and claim the land. And they called themselves “men of God”. What mental illness aside from being a pure psychopath allows a person to murder and hold it as a “calling of God”.
Many of our original contracts drawn up by the Early American leaders borrowed immensely (excepting the world where woman had equal rights and all people had equal voice which was in the Native American cultures) from the principles of a Federation as described by the Iroquois people who still Iive here in upstate New York.
I have (2) two grandmothers that would be considered full blood Native woman. Both have strengths that I do not see in some other cultures living here now. One thing that I do know now after having my DNA tested for markers is that even though I am a strong representative of European ancestry, over 12% of me has markers from Mayan peoples, NW Mexican peoples, Colombian peoples and two separate sections of Brasilian peoples, none of which are european anything.
If you want a further reference, when I was learning to speak and understand the cherokee that is of my own mother’s peoples, I was writing the syllabary one day while waiting for Taiji to start while working in Canada. I was asked by me teacher what I was doing… I showed her and a few of the other students came over to see what we were discussing and to my amazement, the Cherokee language had MANY words that sound the same as some modern words, some with different meanings, but most with the same or similar implied meanings. And I now have friends who are Cherokee who go to China and can speak Mandarin fairly quickly. NONE of you in this Assembly would understand the importance of this as a direct link to ancient heritage from Asia, some more than 15,000 years ago.
When you come here and express a “belief” about the history of this place that is called America, you may need to take Moses OUT of the references to WHO actually is the source for your own National Constitution.
There’s much more to this story, but I hope in today’s world you have the Heart (which is how Natives will judge you) to speak the truth and learn a truth that will open your eyes, minds and souls to a much more fuller expression of what it is to be a Human Being.
adanvdo
mch (aka gogv unega)…
John OBrien says:
Today, 16 states, including Alaska, Hawaii and Oregon, don’t recognize Columbus Day as a public holiday. South Dakota has celebrated Native American Day since 1990.
Talking about calling into question the honesty of history; when it comes to Christopher Columbus, I have to start by saying “I love you Seattle!”
Now with that being said I should begin with Christopher Columbus like the written history we were taught in grade school with our little pilgrim hats on reciting “Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 14 hundred and 92…. stopping there lets begin with Christopher Columbus was not his real name; it was Cristoforo Colombo.
Why the United States celebrates this man as “discovering” America and just putting aside the paradox of “discovering” a land that already had a population I am supposing it still all comes down to ones definition of “America”.
Lets look at his accomplishments for just a minute.. On his 1492 voyage, Chris landed on a number of islands including some in the Bahamas very close to mainland Florida, but as far as I know, no U.S. landfall. On his second voyage, he landed at Hispaniola, Cuba, and Jamaica among others. All great islands; but no mainland U.S. On his third, he named Trinidad and landed in present-day Venezuela. Then, on his fourth, final voyage, he landed at present-day Panama. So, yes, in 1498 and 1502, he did reach the Americas, South and Central America to be exact, but by then he was hardly the first… Even if you discount the fact that people lived in these places all along.
So what exactly are we celebrating? Sure, Columbus was addicted to opium, but a lot of people were at the time. And, sure he was directly responsible for the enslavement, torture, mutilation and murder of thousands of indigenous people in the Caribbean islands during his quest for riches. And he could be credited for marking the establishment of institutionalized slavery in the West Indies, which, of course, led to a demand for more slaves and eventually hundreds of years of African slave trade… but… I suppose that was par for the course with explorers at the time, so I’ll leave labels up to you. (You may want to add this into the equation.) None of this rhymed with “Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 14 hundred and 92…” so of course it was all omitted.
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Prospects of Kim Jong-un’s Visit to Russia
Konstantin Asmolov
Current rumours concerning the future visit of North Korea’s leader to Russia reflect speculation both regarding its prospects and about the current state of Russia-DPRK relations.
Speculations that Kim Jong-un will soon arrive in Russia have been around for quite a long time, and have intensified recently, especially since September 2018. However, one should not forget that the summit involves discussions on high-level issues that need to be decided upon by the heads of state. Otherwise, such a meeting between the leaders of nations turns into a merely ceremonial event, which in essence means only emphasising friendly relations or expressing support.
Let's look at the relations of both countries from this angle. On the one hand, Russia has a very limited set of levers of influence on North Korea. There is economic cooperation, but it is burdened very much by sanctions, which the Russian Federation is obliged to follow as a member of the UN Security Council. Sanctions hamper the development of existing joint projects, and within the framework of their execution, by the end of 2019 Russia should theoretically get rid of its North Korean workers, which, as we note, are very highly valued by Moscow for providing a successful combination of low cost, punctuality and a readiness to obey local laws. From a political point of view, Russia understands Pyongyang’s nuclear claims, but does not accept them. Moreover, Russia ranks the Far East, including Korea, third in terms of priority, after the Post-Soviet space and the Middle East.
However, at the same time, Russia to a lesser extent has played the role of teaching the North Koreans what to do. That is why both in the government and among ordinary North Koreans, the attitude towards Russia and the Russians is very friendly.
The current situation in relations between North Korea and the United States in many ways corresponds to the Russian-Chinese plan of "double freezing." Moscow understands that the complete nuclear disarmament of North Korea is unrealistic, but the declared course of detente and a moratorium on measures, which exacerbate the situation, can continue indefinitely, and the process here is more important than the result, and the direction is more important than speed. Russia supports this trend and generally believes that the efforts of North Korea, which has already made a certain number of irreversible actions, should be minimally rewarded, and the current negotiation process should not turn into unilateral concessions.
On the grounds of the above, let us think about a possible agenda for the meeting between Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un. Perhaps there will be a place to coordinate the strategy and inform Moscow about the results of the Hanoi summit. Both Moscow and Pyongyang perceive this event not as the end of the dialogue, but as temporary difficulties that may slow the negotiation process, without interrupting it. Therefore one must think about how to make sure that the current state of affairs lasts as long as possible.
Probably, the parties will touch upon the issues of economic and humanitarian cooperation, which on the one hand can be mutually beneficial amid the current sanctions regime; on the other, this regime can be weakened or circumvented.
We cannot rule out, that the parties will discuss joint activity related to Russia's support for North Korean’s position, since the very fact of the summit will undoubtedly indicate an increase of Kim Jong-un’s contractual capacity, and also that Russia occupies an important place in North Korean foreign policy, together with the US or Beijing, which Pyongyang is trying to turn into interaction not only with China, but also with other countries.
Will the visit of the North Korean leader to Moscow serve to strengthen relations between the two countries? Of course, yes, but it will not be a very big "brick" in the foundation. The development of the relationship between Moscow and Pyongyang is largely limited by the global political situation. Something can be done in this direction, and perhaps this will be discussed at that hypothetical summit.
Kim – Trump: I Know that You Know I Know
At a news conference in Pyongyang on March 15, 2019, North Korean Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Choe Son-hui said the DPRK was considering suspending further talks on denuclearization with the US. According to Choe, the US is obsessed with its own political interests and is not sincerely interested in achieving results, and thus, missed its “golden” opportunity to reach an agreement at the summit in Hanoi.
Second Trump-Kim Summit: Started with a Bang, Ended in a Fizzle
In a recent piece I gamed out predictions for the second summit of the US and North Korean leaders while preparing to analyze the final statement that came out of the summit, as I did with the previous documents of this kind. Regrettably, this time I will have to figure out where my prediction went wrong instead.
North Korea: The Winding Road to Denuclearization
Georgy Toloraya
The second summit of US President Donald Trump and leader of the DPRK Kim Jong-un took place in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, on February 27–28. High hopes were pegged on this summit: the sides were expected to push forward the denuclearization process of the Korean Peninsula and also to reach agreements on the end of the state of war.
Views expressed are of individual Members and Contributors, rather than the Club's, unless explicitly stated otherwise.
I recommend you this article on the Valdai Club website: http://valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/prospects-of-kim-jong-un-s-visit-to-russia/
Current rumours concerning the future visit of North Korea’s leader to Russia reflect speculation both regarding its prospects and about the current state of Russia-DPRK relations.
Trump-Kim: Impromptu Photo Opportunity or Nobel Prize? Follow the link
North-East Asia: Hopes and Anxieties Follow the link
What Xi Jinping’s Visit to Pyongyang Means for Stability in the Korean Peninsula Follow the link
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Australian Imperial Force
10783 Sgt. Arthur Frederick Wishart (1888 – 1952)Wishart14182018-04-13T10:57:23+01:00
10783 Sgt. Arthur Frederick Wishart (1888 – 1952)
Born on 12 January 1888 in Bald Hills near Bealiba, Victoria, Arthur Frederick Wishart was the third of five children of Francis Wishart, a local labourer working for the railway survey department, and his wife, Mary Elizabeth Goddard.
By 1903 the family had moved to Moonee Ponds where young Arthur would eventually find work as a grocer. He joined the Grocers’ Employees Union and soon became active in campaigning for equal pay for its members. On 23 November 1912 Arthur married Elizabeth Annie Ridd in Clifton Hill, a suburb of Melbourne, and lived with her at 6 Emma Street in nearby Collingwood. A son named Francis James was born at the end of May 1913, however, tragically he only lived for three days and would be the only child of the marriage. In his spare time, Arthur was an active member of the Essendon Rowing Club in Moonee Ponds and competed in numerous regattas before the war. His crew won several races including the Stewards Challenge Cup (Senior Four) at Henley.
Arthur enlisted in Melbourne on 5 July 1915 and joined the Australian Army Service Corps. Initially based at the AASC Training Depot, he was eventually sent to the camp at Ascot Vale in Melbourne and stationed there between 1 October and 15 December, after which he was posted to the main AIF camp at Broadmeadows. In March 1916 Arthur was taken on strength of the Headquarters Company, 3rd Divisional Train and embarked in Melbourne for Europe on board the transport ship Persic on 3 June.
After arriving in Plymouth on 27 July, Arthur’s unit was sent to Larkhill Camp on the Salisbury Plain and engaged in a further period of training before proceeding to France from Southampton in late November. Arthur didn’t leave with the initial draft and crossed the Channel on 30 December where he joined the 867th Company, 3rd Divisional Train, AASC. After a spell taking an anti-gas course at the 3rd Divisional School Arthur eventually marched out to join his unit, who were based at La Creche, during February 1917.
On 29 April 1917 Corporal A. F. Wishart wrote to the editor of The Winner newspaper from ‘somewhere in France’:
I wish you would thank two dinkum sports through your columns for sending me copies of “The Winner” every mail. I’ll take a shade of odds they are rowing men. Have struck lots of the boys I used to meet at various regattas over here. The V.R.A. are keeping their end up, believe me.
We all had a pretty rough time during the winter. The weather has been right over the odds. Just now it is lovely, and we are going right on with the business. I am feeling well. Put on about two stone since my last race in Victoria, senior eight at Barwon. Kindly remember me to all the boys who are left through your paper.
During June, while based at Nieppe, the 867th provided support and transport for the Divisional attack on the Messines Ridge. Arthur had recently been promoted to lance sergeant and worked as a part of the divisional pack transport during the battle. At the end of July, he was admitted to the 11th Field Ambulance suffering from a varicocele and sent to the divisional rest station to recover. He returned to his unit several days later and was eventually given two weeks leave to Paris on 21 September.
At the time Arthur returned to the 867th, they were based near Ypres and were involved in a supportive role in the battles at Broodseinde and Passchendaele. At the end of the year, the company was based southeast of Steenwerck and Arthur was promoted to sergeant at the beginning of February 1918. During May, for unknown reasons, he spent another ten days sick in hospital and was given leave to the UK shortly after the 3rd Australian Division had taken part in the Battle of Amiens in early August. He returned after the Second Battles of the Somme (1918) and was possibly present at the Battle of the St Quentin Canal in late September.
Arthur returned to England shortly before the Armistice and found himself based in Warminster for the remainder of 1918. He was eventually discharged from duty while at the ASC Training Depot in Parkhouse and sailed for Australia on board the City of Exeter on 7 January 1919.
After the war, Arthur and Elizabeth lived in the Melbourne suburb of Northcote. Arthur (or Artie as he was known) continued rowing for Essendon and eventually became president of the Yarra Yarra rowing club. He worked as a shop assistant and died aged 64 on 14 February 1952 at Prince Henry’s Hospital in Melbourne. A year later a trophy was presented in memory of Arthur at the Victorian Rowing Association’s annual senior pairs event by the Yarra Yarra club. He was also the brother of 10146 Pte. Ronald Henry Wishart.
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309379 Clk. Alexander Wishart (1873 – 1959)Wishart14182018-04-16T15:19:16+01:00
309379 Clk. Alexander Wishart (1873 – 1959)
Alexander was born in Portobello in 1873, the sixth of seven children of a local farm servant named Andrew and his wife, Christina. Like his father, his first job was a farm servant, however, by the age of 27, he had become a confectioners vanman. On 9 December 1898, he married Agnes Lock in Musselborough and two children were born of the marriage.
Having spent much of the war working as a warehouseman, Alexander eventually enlisted in 1918 and joined the RAF as a clerk 3rd class on 24 October. Following the Armistice, he went into the RAF reserve on 26 February 1919 and was eventually discharged from service a year later on 30 April.
After the war, Alexander worked as a valve spring inspector and lived in Musselborough until his death in 1959.
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T/419654 Pte. Edward Wishart (1882 – 1938)Wishart14182018-09-06T22:21:43+01:00
T/419654 Pte. Edward Wishart (1882 – 1938)
Edward Wishart was born during 1882 in North Kensington, London. He was the sixth of seven children of John Wishart, a harness maker from Kennoway, and his wife, Elizabeth Bewley. In 1891, when Edward was nine, his father died and his mother eventually took her children to live in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire. His first job after leaving school was as a fitter’s labourer and on 8 February 1903 at the local parish church, Edward married the daughter of a local painter named Harriett Elizabeth Branch. Four children were eventually born of the union (three before the war, one after) and the family lived in a pretty Victorian terraced cottage at 15 Talbot Road.
During the early years of the war, Edward worked as an army equipment maker and was conscripted into the military at Bedford on 23 September 1916. In his medical examination, Edward was recorded as being 5′ 6 3/10″ in height, weighing 160 lbs with a 37″ chest and was eventually called up for active service the following year at Watford on 28 March 1917.
Edward joined the 29th (Works) Battalion, Middlesex Regiment stationed at Thetford in Norfolk, however, in April the unit was transferred to the Labour Corps as the 5th Labour Battalion. On 27 July Edward was sent to the 401st H.S. (Home Service) Employment Company and quite possibly engaged in salvage work before being transferred to the Army Service Corps on 23 February 1918. He worked in the Motor Transport section at Kempton Park in Surrey until demobilisation on 1 August 1919.
After the war, Edward returned to Rickmansworth where he lived until his death in 1938 (Harriet died the same year.)
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Home / Fight Videos / Fabricio Werdum: “Junior Dos Santos Needs To Get Out Of The Closet”
MMA Fighting
Fabricio Werdum: “Junior Dos Santos Needs To Get Out Of The Closet”
As everyone knows by now, the Nevada State Athletic Commission didn’t clear Cain Velasquez to compete at UFC 207 on December 30 in Las Vegas. However, his opponent Fabricio Werdum wants to stay on the card and says he is willing to fight any other heavyweight.
“We’re waiting. I’m on standby. If the UFC calls me, I’ll fight. I’m ready to fight. If the UFC says they have an opponent, I’ll fight. I’ll fight anyone, like I always did. I always fought the best. My record shows that. If I were afraid of anyone, I wouldn’t be in this sport.”
Apparently, Junior dos Santos disagrees with that statement. He tweeted that Werdum turned down a fight against him at UFC 207. According to Werdum, that’s not true.
“What ‘Cigano’ said was a bit weird. He has been chasing me for a long time. You usually go after the belt, not a fighter. I think that’s weird. I wasn’t offered this fight. He’s saying I turned it down. I’d fight him just to end this story of him chasing me.”
www.mmamania.com
Let’s not forget the history of animosity between both Brazilian former champions. After all, it was Junior Dos Santos who knocked Werdum out cold and got him released by the UFC in 2008.
“Some people think he’s jealous because I became champion beating his ‘dad’ Cain Velasquez, but I don’t think that’s the case. I think he didn’t come out of the closet yet. I don’t have anything against homosexuals, but ‘Cigano’ needs to get out of the closet. He must have something because he won’t forget me. I already told him I’m married. Nothing against gays, but everyone does their own thing.”
The UFC has already announced Werdum will not be fighting this Friday in Las Vegas, as Dos Santos is scheduled to face Stefan Struve on Feb. 19, but Werdum said he’d fight him Friday night if the UFC wanted him to.
“He said something yesterday, he said I’m not a good fighter. I’ll show him inside the Octagon. Put us both in there now, no problem. He thinks I’m that same Werdum from 2007. Look at both of us and see who evolved more. My game changed completely.”
Previous Former UFC Champion Is Pulled From UFC 207
Next Cody Garbrandt: “I Smell Blood All Over That P***y”
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A TITAN MOVES ON
[Posted January 28, 2013] I saw the news yesterday, and while it was understandable, it still came as a surprise; Senior Justice Harry Carrico passed away Sunday morning, at 96.
Others will have observations that are far more personal than anything I can possibly offer; I’m fairly certain that I never spoke with him at any point when there was not a lectern between us. But Harry Carrico was, for a generation, the chief justice; he occupied the center chair so long that many lawyers were sworn in by him, and practiced law for a full twenty years with him still there, presiding over the court with politeness and civility to which we can aspire. I was one of those lawyers. From the time I became a lawyer in 1982 until 2003, when he became a senior justice, it was always the Carrico Court.
There’s a stereotypic image of a gracious, polite southern lawyer, aided by Harper Lee’s portrayal of Atticus Finch. But by all accounts, Harry Carrico lived that image. By doing so, he encouraged the rest of us to follow suit. To this day, attorneys at the Supreme Court’s lectern may expect to receive tough questions, but they’ll virtually never see a vicious question. Based on Justice Carrico’s example, the court simply doesn’t operate that way. That’s because, as he recognized, people shouldn’t operate that way.
I mentioned that I never spoke directly with Justice Carrico outside an oral argument, but I did have one personal contact with him that I treasure. On the occasion of his retirement from the center chair – not from the bench, of course – in 2003, I wrote a short note to him, congratulating him and thanking him for his service to the Commonwealth.
To my surprise, he wrote back. Remember, this was a legal titan, the man who had accepted my oath as an attorney, a man whom I’d never met personally. As far as I knew, to him I was just one of a long string of nameless lawyers who came to argue an appeal, and them stepped aside for the next case. But he wrote, thanking me for my note and wishing me well. The part of that note that I’ll always remember most fondly was the salutation. Despite our lack of direct acquaintance, he didn’t begin the note with, “Dear counselor,” or even “Dear Mr. Emmert.” Instead, he started with something that made me feel special.
Dear Steve . . .
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“THE VOICE FLYWAY” CONTEST OFFICIAL RULES
95-7 THE VIBE’S “THE VOICE FLYWAY” CONTEST OFFICIAL RULES
A complete copy of these rules can be obtained at the offices of radio station KCHZ (“Station”), owned and operated by Cumulus Media Holdings Inc. or one of its subsidiary companies, 5800 Foxridge Drive, Suite 600, Mission, KS 66202, during normal business hours Monday through Friday or by sending a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the above address.
The Station will conduct the 95-7 The Vibe’s “The Voice Flyaway” Contest (the “Contest”) substantially as described in these rules, and by participating, each participant agrees as follows:
1. NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCE OF WINNING. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. ALL FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL REGULATIONS APPLY.
Eligibility. This Contest is open only to legal U.S. residents, excluding Florida and New York residents, age twenty-one (21) years or older at the time of entry with a valid Social Security number and who reside in the Station’s Designated Market Area (“DMA”) as defined by Nielsen Audio, who have not won a prize from the Station in the last 30 days or a prize valued at $500 or more in the 30 days, and whose immediate family members or household members have not won a prize from the Station in the last 30 days or a prize valued at $500 or more in the last 30 days. Void where prohibited by law. Employees of Cumulus Media Holdings Inc., its parent company, affiliates, related entities and subsidiaries, promotional sponsors, prize providers, advertising agencies, other radio stations serving the Station’s DMA, and the immediate family members and household members of all such employees are not eligible to participate. The term “immediate family members” includes spouses, parents and step-parents, siblings and step-siblings, and children and stepchildren. The term “household members” refers to people who share the same residence at least three (3) months out of the year. The Contest is subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations. Participation constitutes entrant’s full and unconditional agreement to these Official Rules and Station’s decisions, which are final and binding in all matters related to the Contest. Winning a prize is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements set forth herein.
2. Contest Period. The Contest will begin at 6:01am CT on Monday, March 26, 2018 and will run through 5:59pm CT on Friday, April 6, 2018. (the “Contest Period”). The Station’s computer is the official time keeping device for this Contest.
3. How to Enter. To enter:
(i) On-Air: Listen to the Station weekdays in the 6:00 AM, 11:00 AM and 5:00 PM hours during the Contest Period. When the Station plays the “cue-to-call” sounder, listeners should call the Station at 576-7957. Caller seven (7) to the Station, as determined by the Station in its sole discretion, will be entered to win $30.00 in Kansas Lottery The Voice Instant Scratch Tickets and will be entered to win the grand prize. Time Delay Between Over-the-Air Analog Signal and Internet Broadcast: Due to the time delay that exists between the Station’s analog over-the-air signal and the Station’s online webcast, listeners who listen to the Station online may hear the cue to call later than listeners listening to the Station’s analog over-the-air signal. As a result, the odds of an online listener entering this Contest on-air may be diminished.
(ii) Online: Visit the Station’s website www.957thevibe.com during the Contest Period and click on the “Contest” link, (ii) click on the “The Voice Flyaway” Contest link, and (iii) complete an entry form. All entries must be received by 5:59 pm CT on Friday, April 6, 2018. to be eligible for the grand prize drawing. Limit one (1) entry per person per email address. Multiple participants are not permitted to share the same email address. Any attempt by any participant to submit more than one (1) entry per day by using multiple/different email addresses, identities, registrations and logins, or any other methods will void that entry and the participant may be disqualified. Use of any automated system to participate is prohibited and will result in disqualification. Station is not responsible for lost, late, incomplete,
invalid, unintelligible, inappropriate or misdirected registrations, all of which will be disqualified. In the event of a dispute as to any registration, the authorized account holder of the email address used to register will be deemed to be the participant. The “authorized account holder” is the natural person assigned the telephone number by the wireless carrier or an email address by an Internet access provider, online service provider or other organization responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted address. Potential winner may be required to show proof of being the authorized account holder. All entries become the sole and exclusive property of Station and will not be returned. Station reserves the right to contact entrants and all other individuals whose email address is submitted as part of this promotion. No mail-in entries will be accepted.
4. Winner Selection. On or about 6:00 pm CT on Friday, April 6, 2018, Station will select one (1) entry for the Grand Prize in a random drawing from among all valid entries received by Station during the Contest Period. The winning entrant will be contacted using the email address and/or telephone number provided with the entry and may be awarded the prize (subject to verification of eligibility and compliance with the terms of these rules). Station’s decisions as to the administration and operation of the Contest and the selection of the potential winner are final and binding in all matters related to the Contest. Failure to respond to the initial verification contact within three (3) days of notification will result in disqualification.
5. Verification of Potential Winner. THE ELIGIBILITY OF ALL POTENTIAL CONTEST WINNERS IS SUBJECT TO VERIFICATION BY STATION WHOSE DECISIONS ARE FINAL AND BINDING IN ALL MATTERS RELATED TO THE CONTEST. The potential winner must continue to comply with all terms and conditions of these Official Rules, and winning is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements. The potential winner may be notified by email and/or telephone call after the date of random drawing and/or winner determination. The potential winner will be required to sign and return to Station, within three (3) days of the date notice is sent, an affidavit of eligibility and a liability/publicity release (except where prohibited) in order to claim his/her prize, if applicable. A winner who returns the affidavit of eligibility and liability/publicity release will be deemed to have accepted the contest prize and thereafter will not be permitted to rescind their acceptance of the prize and/or return the prize. If a potential winner cannot be contacted, fails to sign and return the affidavit of eligibility and/or the liability/publicity release within the required time period (if applicable), or if the prize or prize notification is returned as undeliverable, potential winner forfeits prize. In the event that the potential winner of a prize is disqualified for any reason, Station may award the applicable prize to an alternate winner by random drawing from among all remaining eligible entries. 6. PRIZES. On-Air Prizes. INSERT NUMBER of On-Air Prizes will be given away. Each On-Air Prize is $30 worth of Kansas Lottery The Voice Instant Scratch Tickets ARV of Each On-Air Prize is Thirty Dollars ($30.00). Grand Prize. One (1) Grand Prize will be awarded in this Contest. The Grand Prize is a trip for two (the winner and a guest) to Los Angeles, which consists of round-trip coach airfare for two to Los Angeles; two (2) nights single-room, double-occupancy hotel accommodations in a hotel in the Los Angeles area as selected by Station; and two (2) tickets to see a taping of The Voice on April 24, 2018. ARV: Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00). Ground transportation is not included. Hotel will require a credit card for incidentals. Winner is responsible for all taxes associated with prize receipt and/or use. Odds of winning the Grand Prize depend on a number of factors including the number of eligible entries received during the Contest Period and listeners participating at any given time. There is no substitution, transfer, or cash equivalent for prizes, except that the Station may, at its sole discretion and to the extent permitted by law, substitute prizes of comparable value or cash. The prizes are expressly limited to the item(s) listed above and do not include taxes, gratuities or any other expenses. Any tickets and/or gift certificates/cards awarded as part of a prize will be subject to the terms and conditions set forth by the issuer and are valid only on the date(s) printed on the tickets or gift certificates/cards. Other restrictions may apply.
Grand Prize Trip must be taken between Monday, April 23, 2018 and Wednesday, April 25, 2018. Trip is non-transferable. Should the Winner be unable to travel for any reason, then the Winner automatically forfeits the Grand Prize and at that time the Station may select an alternate Winner in its sole and exclusive discretion. Travel dates are non-negotiable and inability to travel will result in forfeiting the grand prize and no substitution will be made. Winner and guest must travel on the same itinerary. Winner’s guest must be eighteen (18) years of age or older. Grand Prize Trip is non-transferable and no substitution will be made except as provided herein at the Station’s sole discretion. If Winner elects to partake in any or all portions of his/her Prize with no Guest, the Prize will be awarded to Winner and each participating Guest and any remainder of the Prize will be forfeited and shall not be subject to further or alternative compensation. All elements of the Prize must be redeemed at the same time, and no changes will be permitted after confirmation of any redemption
7. Entry Conditions and Release. By entering, each participant agrees to: (a) comply with and be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of the Station, which are binding and final in all matters relating to this Contest; (b) release and hold harmless Station, Cumulus Media Inc., and its subsidiaries, related and affiliated companies, participating sponsors, the prize suppliers and any other organizations responsible for sponsoring, fulfilling, administering, advertising or promoting the Contest, and each of their respective past and present officers, directors, employees, agents and representatives (collectively, the “Released Parties”) from and against any and all claims, expenses, and liability, including but not limited to negligence and damages of any kind to persons and property, including but not limited to invasion of privacy (under appropriation, intrusion, public disclosure of private facts, false light in the public eye or other legal theory), defamation, slander, libel, violation of right of publicity, infringement of trademark, copyright or other intellectual property rights, property damage, or death or personal injury arising out of or relating to a participant’s entry, creation of an entry or submission of an entry, participation in the Contest, acceptance or use or misuse of prize (including any travel or activity related thereto) and/or the broadcast, exploitation or use of entry; and (c) indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Released Parties from and against any and all claims, expenses, and liabilities (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or relating to an entrant’s participation in the Contest and/or entrant’s acceptance, use, non-use or misuse of the prize.
8. Publicity. Except where prohibited, participation in the Contest constitutes winner’s consent to use by the Station and its agent of winner’s name, likeness, photograph, voice, opinions and/or biographical information (including hometown and state) for promotional purposes in any media, worldwide, without further payment or consideration, unless otherwise prohibited by law.
9. Taxes. All State, Local, Federal and/or other taxes, duties, tariffs, title fees, licensing fees, or other fees for prizes awarded become the sole responsibility of the winner. All those who win a prize or prizes valued $600 or more in any given year will be issued an IRS Form 1099 to report their winnings.
10. General Conditions. Station reserves the right to cancel, suspend and/or modify the Contest, or any part of it, if any fraud, technical failures or any other factor beyond Station’s reasonable control impairs the integrity or proper functioning of the Contest, as determined by Station in its sole discretion. Station reserves the right in its sole discretion to disqualify any individual it finds to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Contest or to be acting in violation of these Official Rules or acting in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner. Any attempt by any person to deliberately undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest may be a violation of criminal and civil law, and, should such an attempt be made, Station reserves the right to seek damages from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. Station’s failure to enforce any term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision.
11. Limitations of Liability. The Released Parties are not responsible for: (1) any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by Station, entrants, printing errors or by any of the equipment or
programming associated with or utilized in the Contest; (2) technical failures of any kind, including but not limited to malfunctions, interruptions, or disconnections in phone lines or network hardware or software; (3) unauthorized human intervention in any part of the entry process or the Contest; (4) technical or human error which may occur in the administration of the Contest or the processing of entries; or (5) any injury or damage to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from entrant’s participation in the Contest or receipt or use, non-use or misuse of any prize. No more than the stated number of prizes will be awarded. In event that a production, technical, programming or other error causes more than stated number of prizes as set forth in these Official Rules to be claimed, Station reserves the right to award only the stated number of prizes by a random drawing among all legitimate, unawarded, eligible prize claims.
12. Disputes. Entrant agrees that: (i) any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Contest, or any prizes awarded, shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action; (ii) any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Contest, or any prizes awarded, shall be resolved exclusively by the United States District Court or the appropriate state court located in the Station’s listening area; (iii) any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with entering this Contest, but in no event attorneys’ fees; and (iv) under no circumstances will entrant be permitted to obtain awards for, and entrant hereby waives all rights to claim punitive, incidental and consequential damages and any other damages, other than for actual out-of-pocket expenses, and any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of entrant and Station in connection with the Contest, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the state in which the Station is located, without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules (whether of the state in which the Station is located or any other jurisdiction), which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the state in which the Station is located.
13. Entrant’s Personal Information. Information collected from entrants is subject to Station’s Privacy Policy, which is available on the Station’s website under the “Privacy Policy” link. All entry blanks, forms, devices, and materials gathered during the course of entry, as well as all information contained therein, shall become the sole property of Station to be used, disposed of or destroyed in its sole discretion. Station is not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information entered by website users, and assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to Station’s website.
14. Contest Results. A winners list may be obtained within thirty (30) days after the Contest Period expires by sending a self-addressed stamped envelope to the Station identified below.
CONTEST SPONSOR: Cumulus Media Holdings Inc., KCHZ, 5800 Foxridge Drive, Suite 600, Mission, KS 66202
Filed Under: Contest Rules
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Hunga Tonga is Teeming with Life although it didn’t even Exist 4 Years Ago
An underwater volcano in the South Pacific Ocean spawned an island called Hunga Tonga.
This rare volcanic pop-up emerged right in between the two confirmed islands of the Kingdom of Tonga. There has been no official announcement about its name but the locals like to call it Hunga Tonga, on the basis of its location. It is only the 3rd known volcanic island that has arisen in the last one and a half century. This discovery presented an amazing opportunity to learn more about the sprawling formation of such islands. Similarly, Hunga Tonga allowed the researchers to investigate its esoteric environment, which may help scientists to determine its resemblance with other rocky terrains.
Exploring Hunga Tonga on Foot
Scientists have been studying this island for years, but most of these scientific expeditions were performed through aerial or satellite surveys. Recently, a group of researchers visited Hunga Tonga by boat to observe the young island by themselves. Dan Slayback, a Remote Sensing Scientist at the Goddard Space Flight Center of NASA who is considered an expert on Hunga Tonga, described his experience in the following words:
“We were all like giddy school children. Most of it is this black gravel, I won’t call it sand – pea-sized gravel – and we’re mostly wearing sandals so it’s pretty painful because it gets under your foot.”
This research expedition was organized by the Sea Education Association of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, in October 2018. A group of students and scientists accompanied Slayback on this journey. The researching team conducted aerial surveying through drones and GPS measurements to gather some useful data about the landscape of Hunga Tonga. They recorded a number of geological factors including multiple erosional features and the elevation of boulders. Slayback said,
“Immediately I kind of noticed it wasn’t quite as flat as it seems from satellite. It’s pretty flat, but there’s still some gradients and the gravels have formed some cool patterns from the wave action. And then there’s clay washing out of the cone. It’s mud, this light-colored clay mud. It’s very sticky. So even though we’d seen it we didn’t really know what it was, and I’m still a little baffled of where it’s coming from. Because it’s not ash.”
Life is Spreading Rapidly on Hunga Tonga
The most impressing thing about this young island is its pace to embrace life. In addition to patches of vegetation on the land, the team found hundreds of Sooty Terns (a seabird) in the cliff gullies of Hunga Tonga. Similarly, a solitary Barn Owl was also observed on the island. Slayback was simply delighted to experience all this. He expressed his feelings by saying,
“It really surprised me how valuable it was to be there in person for some of this. It just really makes it obvious to you what is going on with the landscape.”
Dangerous Signs for Hunga Tonga
Despite all the promise, this life-embracing landscape is already under threat due to excessive levels of erosion. Generally, volcanic islands survive for a few months after which they are eroded back to nothingness. Although none of the scientists can accurately predict the lifespan of Hunga Tonga, the prognosis seem pretty grim. Slayback talked about the erosion on the island and explained that it is eroding much more quickly than they had imagined. They were primarily focused on the erosion on the south coast where the waves are crashing down but the whole island is going down, too.
In these circumstances, researchers are trying to extract as much information from Hunga Tonga as possible. Likewise, it is a memorable experience for the students who visited the island for this research voyage. They are not only getting some considerable knowledge with regards to their profession but are also collecting some amazing memories for themselves. Mariah Reinke, one of the researching students, acknowledged that by saying,
“I climbed down into the small boat along with a few others, ready to make the short voyage to the island that is best described as a landmass similar to Mars. As I jumped out onto the pebble-like black sand beach, I questioned how I would later describe this to others.”
Here’s a glimpse of what gave birth to this mysterious island.
Computer Scientist by qualification who loves to read, write, eat, and travel
Nature, planet earth
Aerial Surveying, Barn Owl, Dan Slayback, erosion, GPS, Hunga Tonga, Kingdom of Tonga, Mariah Reinke, Sooty Terns, South Pacific Ocean, Underwater Volcano, Volcanic Island, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Why is Uranus Spinning on its Side?
Researchers Measured the Density of Rock Layers in Gale Crater
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Home > News and Events > News > 2014 Acura RDX - Still fun but more refined
2014 Acura RDX - Still fun but more refined
Dominic Racine – Acura Brossard
The first generation Acura RDX left no one indifferent when it was unveiled in 2006. The first compact SUV from the manufacturer certainly had personality. In a highly competitive niche like the one of the RDX, it is mandatory to always offer more.
The first generation Acura RDX left no one indifferent when it was unveiled in 2006. The first compact SUV from the Japanese manufacturer certainly had personality with its sharp handling, its powerful engine and attractive driveability. That being said, in a highly competitive niche like the one of the RDX, it is mandatory to always offer more. Performance and handling in a tight curve are just a few factors that buyers of this type of SUV consider.
With the 2014 Acura RDX, Acura still offers a luxury compact sport utility vehicle both dynamic and fun to drive, but more comfortable and more spacious than the previous model, while being more economical. In short, the 2014 RDX is a better-balanced vehicle and in a better position to appeal to a more diverse group of buyers than the first model ever was.
The previous generation of Acura RDX was powered by a four-cylinder turbocharged engine. If this type of engine generally offers interesting performances, especially in cities, it is not the engine best suited to a heavier and more refined compact luxury SUV. That is why Acura engineers have swapped the turbo for the 3.5-liter V6 that now propels the 2014 Acura RDX. Equally efficient, it offers a more linear power curve at any time.
With an output of 273 horsepower and 251 lb-ft of torque, the V6 of the 2014 Acura RDX offers dynamic acceleration in town and snappy pickups on the highway. It is also less rough than the old engine and quieter in daily usage.
Consumption-wise, it is much more economical than the turbo engine. Indeed, the average advertised consumption of the 2014 Acura RDX is 10.7 L/100 km in the city and 7.3 L/100 km on the highway for an average of 9.2 liters combined. Only one transmission is offered on the 2014 Acura RDX. It is an automatic 6-speed transmission with manual mode. Pallet shifts are mounted on the steering wheel and allow the driver to control the power range more effectively.
Those who do not like winter driving will be happy to learn that the 2014 Acura RDX is only available with the standard AWD. It works effectively and very quickly to preserve the stability of the vehicle, regardless of road conditions.
Inside, the 2014 Acura RDX stands out with its spacious and versatile interior. The driver and passenger in the front seat have generous leg- and headroom while the rear seat can accommodate two adults or three teens in comfort. Meanwhile, the trunk is well designed with a low load floor for easy loading. Cargo volume is 739 liters with all seats in place and 2178 liters when the rear seat is lowered.
More refined and elegant but still dynamic, the 2014 Acura RDX offers something for everyone. Come try it today at Brossard Acura!
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2014 Acura MDX - Standing out, as always
2014 Acura ILX - The compact luxury
2016 Acura TLX V6 Tech SH-AWD
Acura Brossard
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Why You Should Book Your Royal Cruise Before November 1st
Bad news from Royal Caribbean for those of you who like to book your cruises early. A change to the way they will handle advance bookings moving forward means you’re going to have to choose between locking in a good price and having the flexibility of a refundable deposit.
What Royal Caribbean Is Saying
PHOTO: ROYAL CARIBBEAN
The news was announced in a letter sent to travel agents this week. After declaring their dedication to the travel agent community, and saying that Royal Caribbean’s success “will forever be dependent upon your success,” the line went on to explain the change… and the reasoning behind it.
“We would like to inform you of an upcoming change to our Non-Refundable Deposit Program,” they said, “resulting from a review of booking analytics over the past year. Based on this research, the onboard credit earned when booking six months or more prior to sailing will no longer apply. This update will take effect on all new bookings made on or after November 1st, 2018.”
They went on to assure agents, “We are confident that this change will not impact your business. The Non-Refundable Deposit Program continues to offer the best pricing available – and will always be priced lower than the standard fare during brand promotions.”
Why You Should Book ASAP
Harmony of the Seas docked in Nassau.
From now until November 1, anyone booking a non-refundable deposit automatically receives an onboard credit of up to $100 per stateroom. But as a result of having “regularly monitored booking analytics” over the past year, Royal Caribbean came to the conclusion that the onboard credit “was not influencing the consumer’s buying decision” and thus, “the decision was made to sunset” the credit in favor of focusing on making sure that the Non-Refundable Deposit program “continues to offer the lowest pricing.”
This change comes on the heels of Royal Caribbean imposing several other rules and fees which make it crucial for guests booking cruises with a non-refundable deposit to know exactly when they want to sail and on what ships. For example, a change fee of $100 per guest is charged to any reservation booked with a non-refundable deposit should the cruiser opt to change the date of their sailing or the ship upon which they’ll cruise. The information provided to travel professions says, “Such fees will be incurred, without exception, at time of change,” and encourages agents to make sure that their clients are aware of these terms at the time of booking.
Carnival Executive Talks Carnival Sunrise [Transcript]
Norwegian Escape Review, Destination Awards + News
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History of the CIC Markhor Award
October 2012, Vol 10-1
The CIC Markhor Award celebrates outstanding conservation performance by individuals, private or public institutions, enterprises, or projects that link conservation of biodiversity to human livelihood through the principles of sustainable use, in particular hunting, as part of wildlife and ecosystem management.
Rolf D. Baldus conceived of this award whilst president of the former CIC Tropical Game Commission. The search for a name that would do the concept justice soon led to the exemplary Pakistani success in the conservation of mountain ungulates. Spearheaded by communities in the provinces of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and Balochistan, and in close cooperation with WWF-Pakistan and IUCN-Pakistan, a number of different projects resulted in an astonishing recovery of markhor subspecies such as the Astore Markhor (Capra falconeri falconeri), the Kashmir Markhor (Capra falconeri cashmiriensis), and the Suleiman Markhor (Capra falconeri jerdoni). The efforts also benefited other mountain ungulates and even predators like the snow leopard (Uncia uncia).
The well-known German wildlife artist Bodo Meier created an impressive Suleiman Markhor head as logo and the Spanish taxidermist and artist Ramon Garoz from Los Yébenes, a village close to Toledo, sculpted an impressive 44 cm-tall Suleiman Markhor head in bronze.
The Markhor Award and Bronze is presented biennially at the Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD CoP). The first award ceremony took place at CBD CoP 9 in Bonn in 2008 and the CIC Markhor Award was presented jointly to the Niassa National Reserve, Mozambique, and to the Selous-Niassa Wildlife Corridor which links the Niassa Reserve with Tanzania’s Selous Game Reserve. In 2010, the award ceremony took place during the CBD CoP 10 in Nagoya, Japan. Members of the Society for Torghar Environmental Protection (STEP) celebrated their deserved recognition enthusiastically on the main stage of the conference venue.
And now in 2012, at the 11th Conference of the Parties in Hyderabad, India, the CIC Markhor Award goes back to Africa and recognizes the achievements of the Namibia Communal Conservancy Movement represented by Namibia Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) and Namibia Association of CBNRM Support Organizations (NACSO).
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Employee restraint of trade voided by non-compliance with contract by employer
Restraints of trade in employment contracts may be difficult for an employer to enforce if they have not performed their contractual obligations. This was made clear in a recent decision by the Supreme Court of Victoria (SCV) in a contractual dispute between Crowe Horwath (CHA) and its ex-employee Anthony Loone (Loone).
When Loone terminated the contract on 12 July 2016 CHA applied to the Court and obtained an interlocutory injunction which prevented Loone from providing accounting services to 89 clients with whom he had dealings with in the previous 12 months.
Loone sought to establish that the Restraint did not survive termination of the contract because CHA had repudiated the contract. A party is said to repudiate a contract by demonstrating to the other party an intention not to comply with its own contractual obligations. Repudiation by one party entitles the other party to either accept the repudiation and terminate the contract or affirm the contract and continue to perform their contractual obligations.
The problem for the employer in this case was that it had not paid bonuses to Loone that were owed to him, which was a repudiation of the contract.
In light of this case, it is unlikely that Courts will enforce a restraint of trade in circumstances where the employee has terminated the contract as a result of the employer’s repudiatory breach.
Employers should be mindful of the type of conduct that could constitute repudiation: wrongful dismissal or underpayment of remuneration for example. This case, a cautionary tale, demonstrates the consequences flowing from an employers’ repudiatory breach of an employment contract.
Employers should avoid conducting themselves in ways that demonstrates to a reasonable person in the position of their employee, an unwillingness to perform their contractual obligations as employer.
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Ophelia in My Arms, by Mike Jansen
Book Reviews, Horror, Online Content, Weird Stories
Online ContentMovie Reviews
Gagarin: First in Space DVD
Roderick MacDonald
Movie Reviews, Online Content
In Russian with English subtitles.
Just released on DVD, this is a Russian State sponsored movie about the first time a human went into space. The event occurred in 1961 and Yuri Gagarin, had he still been alive, would have reached his 80th birthday but he died aged only 34 following a plane crash in 1968. Though Pavel Parkhomenko’s experience of film directing may be a bit limited he has nevertheless created what can only be termed as a really good retro movie (in more ways than one if you consider the rockets) which definitely has the feel of 1960s Soviet culture. This isn’t science fiction, it’s dramatised science fact without any aliens or bug eyed monsters excepting, of course, for some of the Politburo hierarchy.
The early 1960s were strange times. The world was gripped in the Cold War and one of the areas of contest was the space race. A few years earlier in 1957 the Soviet Union caused a sensation when they launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, and it was all systems go to get a man into space. The Americans had announced a moon landing programme but as yet hadn’t launched more than monkeys in the Mercury space capsules. There was no razzmatazz with the Soviets to compare with the West and even the Soviet public wasn’t aware of space events until they actually happened. Thus, on April 12, 1961 it was a bit of a shock to find out that not only had a man, Yuri Gagarin, been launched into space on a spacecraft called Vostok 1, he had actually gone into orbit.
Satellites and men into space were significant events which demonstrated quite forcefully the fact that the Soviets had very powerful rockets, more powerful than anything from the West. Powerful rockets meant the potential delivery of nuclear bombs and that was very worrying. It was only in 1967 at the Paris Airshow when the Vostok launcher was put on view to the public, allowing the strange looking design to be seen for the first time. Derivatives of the rocket are still used today to launch men and materials into space. It’s a sad reflection that while the Americans have gone through lots of designs which are now defunct, they no longer have the capability of putting a man into space and it’s the Russian rocket which is still used to serve this purpose.
The movie commences with Gagarin’s preparation to get into the rocket and blast off. However, before that happens and also during the event, it delves into the reminiscing of the cosmonaut’s life from an early age under German occupation during World War II, to his training as a pilot in the Soviet Air Force. Coming from a lowly background, his father a peasant woodcutter, he makes his way through college, the military, and eventually selection to become a spaceman! Four people become prominent in the movie, one being Sergei Korolev, the Soviet mastermind behind the space program, and, Gherman Titov, who was Gagarin’s rival to become the first man in space. The others were Nikita Khrushchev and Gagarin’s wife, Valentina. Quite a lot is made of the training programme which involved endurance tests in hot and cold conditions, centrifuges with huge G force pressures and also intelligence and dexterity examinations. During that time two pilots begin to stand out, that being Gagarin and Titov. While both were very keen to be the first man, the final decision was probably a political one and it was likely made by Khrushchev who favoured Gagarin’s background as opposed to Titov who was more of an intellectual.
We are taken into space on board Vostok 1. What comes through is a sense of uniqueness. You begin to experience that this really was the first time a man went into orbit! Use of CGI is made and there are several scenes of simulated real-time video. The latter is the only point of disappointment in the movie. Only at the very end do you see some actual footage from Gagarin’s presentation to the world but it would have been good to watch real scenes from the actual project itself. One aspect which is not properly explored is the effect on Gagarin himself. In order to make the first flight, a very special individual was required with abilities particular to that task, but to then take that individual and put him through a merry-go-round of state promoted publicity is another thing entirely. While the cosmonaut managed this very well, even meeting the Queen, it was a strain on himself and his family. The same was true with Neil Armstrong who became reclusive. Oddly enough, it transpired that the second men, Titov and Aldrin, were probably better suited in nature to have become subjects of massive publicity. One wonders what will be the effect of the same on the first human to set foot on Mars or to travel to the nearest star?
The movie does seem to capture the uniqueness of the Soviet psyche prevalent the time and as such it can appear to be somewhat alien to watchers from the West. There are Soviet sayings and jokes which don’t really translate into English but this is all part of the fun. Perhaps we are too used to American movies! Overall, this is a very good movie which is definitely worth watching because it represents a very significant point in history, the first time a human being left the surface of the planet and went into space. Many more followed and in the process they made much longer voyages, some dying in the process, but it’s always the first that will be remembered by everyone. It’s not a film full of rocket science and technology and you won’t find many details of the Vostok spacecraft on display but there are other programmes on this elsewhere. Rather, it’s a film about people and a challenge, a challenge which they overcome and master for the benefit of all. Khrushchev thought he was doing it for the Soviets but it transpired that Gagarin represented the world.
Cold WarPavel ParkhomenkoSoviet UnionSpace RaceVostok 1Yuri Gagarin
Gravity Comics Massacre, No. 5, by Vincenzo Bilof
Lights of the Deep, by Brad R. Torgersen
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175 Years of Diplomatic Relations
Although official diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Austria began in 1838, the relationship between the two countries started decades earlier with the Austrian Empire’s interest in exploring opportunities for trade and commerce in the New World. As history shows, the relationship did not always progress harmoniously. More importantly, however, it did evolve to overcome obstacles of historic impact. Now, 175 years later, the two countries are closely bonded in their pursuit of common goals for a secure and just world. In 1777, Congress appointed William Lee as the first U.S. representative to Vienna. Austria, however, did not receive him, declining to recognize a country that had rebelled against a monarchy.
The Hofkanzlei’s files referred to American officials as “rebels” and “insurgents.” The Empire nonetheless conducted trade in arms with the colonies during the American Revolution, and pursued commercial interests in cotton and tobacco markets. This ambiguity marked the Empire’s position toward the U.S. until the late 19th century. Austria did, however, recognize the United States in 1797 by accepting Conrad Frederick Wagner as U.S. Consul at Trieste. In 1820 an Austrian Consulate was established in New York under the direction of Alois (Lewis) Baron von Lederer.
On December 20, 1825, Secretary of State Henry Clay announced that the United States was ready to conclude a commerce and navigation convention with the Austrian Empire. In 1828 Emperor Francis I instructed Baron von Lederer to negotiate a treaty, leading to formal discussions on trade. The Treaty of Commerce and Navigation between the United States and Austria was signed in Washington, D.C. on August 27, 1829, and entered into force February 10, 1831, after the exchange of ratifications. It remained in force until the U.S. entered World War I. Official diplomatic relations, however, were established with the appointment of Henry A. Muhlenberg as first American Minister to Vienna on February 8, 1838. He presented his credentials November 7, 1838.
The Austrian Empire’s first Minister to the United States, Wenzel Philipp Baron de Mareschal, established an Austrian Legation in Washington, D.C. presenting his credentials October 13, 1838. By 1850 Austria had established 11 honorary Consular Offices mostly along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts, focusing mainly on trade in tobacco and cotton. Over time and despite two world wars, the U.S. and Austria built and rebuilt trade relations that prosper today. The U.S. is Austria’s third largest investor. For U.S. companies, Austria represents an attractive and affluent export market. American companies have invested more than $20 billion in Austria and now employ more than 30,000 Austrians; 130 Austrian companies have invested more than $6.9 billion in the U.S. and employ 25,000 Americans. For the U.S. and Austria, trade and investment is a dynamic, continuously expanding two-way street. (Courtesy: U.S. Embassy, Vienna)
Economic relations between U.S. and Austria
Recent figures, due to the recovery of both economies after the financial crisis, are looking quite favorable. The year 2012 saw an increase of 9.4% from 2011 in U.S. exports to Austria; in total, exports amounted to $5.28 billion, while U.S. imports from Austria accounted for $8.89 billion. According to these numbers, the United States are Austria’s fourth largest trading partner overall, and the leading trading partner outside of Europe. In 2012, imports from the United States came from sectors such as machinery, medical devices, pharmaceuticals and chemicals, aircraft and aircraft components, as well as computer equipment and parts.
Austria exported specialized industrial machinery, pharmaceuticals, glassware, electric power machinery and food products to the U.S. Austria serves many U.S. companies as a gateway to Central and Southeastern Europe, and is perceived as a good export market for U.S. technology and services with a geographical advantage, providing access to Eastern Europe. Historically, Austria possesses close cultural and historical relationships with its neighbors. Many companies set up their headquarters for these regions in and around Vienna. Altogether, some 340 U.S. companies have established subsidiaries in the area, contributing to a strong economic network between the two countries. With Austria being a European Union member state and the possibility of a Free Trade Agreement currently negotiated between the United States and the European Union, trade relations between Austria and the U.S. are likely to flourish in the future. Today, the U.S. and the EU are already each other’s top trading partner, covering together nearly half of the world output and a third of all trade.
Note from the Ambassador
Austrian-American Relations From Cold War to Post-Cold War
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Wave Water Works Looks to Revolutionize Energy Industry
A company housed at the Oakland University Smartzone Business Incubator is receiving international attention for an invention which could potentially revolutionize clean energy throughout the Great Lakes region and beyond.
Wave Water Works LLC, founded by inventor and long-time engineer Phil Padula, is in the testing phases for its patented Oscillo Drive which creates clean, electrical energy from the motion of the waves. The device converts bi-directional rotating movement, or oscillation, into a single direction-rotational movement. As the wave rises and falls, gears capture the mechanical energy created, which is then transferred through a generator to create electricity.
The company is currently launching its first test-site on the water at an undisclosed location in Port Huron but has already received potential offers for partnerships from Macomb County, Israel and Lebanon. The device produces no odors, smoke, or other harmful factors to the environment, according to Chuck Keys, project director and business manager for Wave Water Works.
With some tweaking, the Oscillo Drive could also work to capture energy from places like the back of a truck or a swaying skyscraper— any kind of oscillation which produces enough mechanical energy to be converted into electricity. When asked how much power each device can create, Keys said that less than five Oscillo Drives could potentially power an entire port city.
“Take Northville for example. A few of these could light up the downtown area … The applications for this drive are endless, we don’t even know all of them yet, the industry will definitely decide where it’s going to go,” Keys said. “We’re going to make it available and look for strategic partners who have a common interest to help develop it with us.”
The company is also in talks with water filtration system manufacturers in Indiana to explore options of attaching those systems to the device, essentially creating completely hydro-powered water filters which have the potential to clean up or mitigate algae blooms. The same could potentially be done for air filtration.
“The market is there for the taking. Hydro-energy is the least popular (compared to solar and wind energy), it has the least amount of competition, and yet, it’s completely renewable. It never ends. There is no end to ocean waves, they literally continue on forever and every time we look at them we can see there is a huge potential that is untapped,” Keys said.
As a client at the Oakland University Incubator, Wave Water Works has worked with 43 students from Oakland University’s School of Engineering and Computer Science, totalling an estimated value of $1.5 million in professional engineering services over the past two years.
CREDITS: THE OAKLAND PRESS
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Featured on Sep 19, 2011
I was a senior in Computer Science and Cognitive Science at CMU in 1999 when I woke up one morning and realized I didn't want to spend the next seven years pursuing a Computer Science Ph.D; that was the beginning of a love affair with startups. I lived in the Valley from '99-'03, then came back east in '03 as one of the first engineers in Google NYC. At Google, I started the group focused on search over structured data, which created the technology behind products like Google Squared and powers a substantial set of enhancements to core web search. I spent a couple years in AdWords and display advertising, before leaving Google in '08 to dive into the NYC startup scene. Since then, I've been at a few great startups in the city. This summer I joined up with Rent the Runway, where I'm having a great time solving the problems in scaling, recommendation, personalization, and operations that are going to turn this into a billion-dollar business. I'm very fortunate to have carved out a role where I get the fun developing and operating a team, while still churning out loads of code every day.
Title: SVP, Engineering, Rent The Runway
Contact: @jtbetz, blog.jayteebee.org
You are part of the Hudson River Angels, which is an angel investing group composed of Googler and Xoogler engineers and product managers. What types of startups are you interested in when looking at potential investments?
HRA is what you'd call a "strategic angel" - we take a pretty small stake, then work closely with entrepreneurs to help build the business. When you need to hire an engineer, we tap our personal network of engineers we've worked with in the past to help fill that spot; when you need help building systems in areas like search, information extraction, or storage, we do a whiteboard talk with your engineering team to run through the basic issues and design choices involved. That means we're looking for startups where we feel we have some unique insight or ability to help with the business, we don't just spray money into some area that's "hot". Our ideal entrepreneur is someone we've worked with in the past, though a sterling introduction can be just as compelling. But the most important thing is that we need to have some ability to help with the business, particularly the technology piece.
What have you found to be the biggest difference between working at a company like Google and a startup like Rent the Runway?
In a lot of ways, Rent the Runway in 2011 reminds me of Google when I joined in 2003 - there are loads of exciting ideas just waiting for someone to build them, there are a lot challenges of growth and scaling to be solved, and we have the privilege of being incredibly selective in our engineering hiring. I love Google, and it remains a fantastic company, but I ultimately left because by 2008 it no longer felt like a place where one motivated person could impact the company. I often describe the difference between Google and any startup like this: at Google, if you leave work at 5pm, the company will continue to succeed, it will keep printing money regardless, but at a startup, every extra hour you put in at the end of the day will create new value for the company immediately. That's an exciting and engaging feeling, and it keeps me coming back every day. And, of course, Google never had models coming in to the office for photo shoots - I'm still getting used to that.
Everything about you on the Internet is fairly engineering/work related. What do you like to do for fun when you’re not in front of a computer?
That's a funny question to me, because I have a very love/hate relationship with computers - I love building software, and I genuinely believe that if someone guaranteed my kids' college educations and my retirement would be paid for, I would just build software for free because I wouldn't know what else to do. On the other hand, by the end of the day, I usually get pretty burned out from staring at a screen all day, so I think I have a lot more off-line time than many engineers.
When I am offline, I spend as much time as I can with my wife and my kids, Charlotte (6 1/2) and Jeremy (5). I couldn't ask for more wonderful children. I try to do as much as I can to volunteer with my alma mater, Carnegie Mellon, where I serve on a couple of boards. Other than that, I'm a fairly avid runner, and I once got so into hang-gliding as to buy my own hang-glider and become a certified pilot. But mostly it's time with the family.
SVP of Engineering
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Edo period
Previous (Edna St. Vincent Millay)
Next (Edom)
The Edo period (江戸時代, Edo-jidai), also called the Tokugawa period, is a division of Japanese history running from 1603 to 1867. The period marks the governance of the Edo or Tokugawa shogunate, which was officially established in 1603 by the first Edo shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. The period ended with the Meiji Restoration, the restoration of imperial rule by the fifteenth and last shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu.
The Edo period is known as the beginning of the early modern period of Japan. Tokugawa Ieyasu, assisted by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Oda Nobunaga, succeeded in unifying most of Japan under a single government, and set up a system of centralized feudalism which lasted for the next two hundred years. During this period, the emperors ruled in name only, while the real political power was in the hands of the shoguns. The shogunate maintained control by enforcing a strict social hierarchy and concentrating land ownership in the hands of about three hundred daimyo. The daimyo were prevented from accumulating too much wealth and power by the sankin kōtai system which required them to reside at court every other year, and by frequent levies and mandatory subscriptions to support construction projects and public works. Samurai became landless retainers of the daimyo.
1 Rule of Shogun and Daimyo
2 From Openness to Seclusion
4 Economic Development
5 Artistic and Intellectual Development
6 End of the Shogunate
6.1 Decline of the Tokugawa
6.2 End of seclusion
6.3 Bakumatsu Modernization and Conflicts
Japan developed many of its modern social and economic structures during the Edo period. Castle towns became centers for commerce and manufacturing, and a prosperous middle class of merchants and artisans emerged. Although the Tokugawa shogunate attempted to enforce isolation from foreign influences, there was some foreign trade. In the late Edo period, a variety of factors weakened the shogunate, including a top-heavy bureaucracy, antiquated economic policies, and rising unrest among the lower classes. Industrialization in the West forced the shogunate to seek foreign knowledge and technology in order to maintain their military strength. A final crisis was provoked when the United States forced Japan to open its ports, and the daimyo became divided over how to deal with the threat of foreign colonization. The Edo period ended with the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, when power was restored to the emperor and the last Tokugawa shogun was reduced to the ranks of the common daimyo.
Rule of Shogun and Daimyo
Tokugawa Ieyasu as shogun
In the centuries from the time of the Kamakura bakufu, which existed in equilibrium with the imperial court, to the Tokugawa shogunate, an evolution occurred in which the bushi (samurai class) became the unchallenged rulers in what historian Edwin O. Reischauer called a "centralized feudal" form of government. The founder of the new bakufu was Tokugawa Ieyasu, who benefited from the achievements of Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi in bringing most of the feudal domains of Japan under central control. Already powerful, Tokugawa Ieyasu transferred his headquarters to Edo (modern Tokyo), a strategically situated castle in the rich Kanto area. There he maintained 2.5 million koku of land, and had an additional two million koku of land and 38 vassals under his control.
After the death of Hideyoshi in 1598, Ieyasu moved quickly to seize control from the Toyotomi family. Ieyasu's victory over the western daimyo at the Battle of Sekigahara (1600) gave him virtual control of all Japan. He rapidly abolished numerous enemy daimyo houses, reduced others (such as that of the Toyotomi), and redistributed the spoils of war to his family and allies. Though he had failed to achieve complete control of the western daimyo, his assumption of the title of shogun helped consolidate the alliance system. After further strengthening his power base, Ieyasu installed his son Tokugawa Hidetada (1579-1632) as shogun and himself as retired shogun in 1605. The Toyotomi were still a significant threat, and Ieyasu devoted the next decade to their eradication. In 1615 the Toyotomi stronghold at Osaka was destroyed by the Tokugawa army.
The Tokugawa (or Edo) period brought two hundred years of stability to Japan. The political system evolved into what historians call bakuhan, a combination of the terms bakufu and han (domains) to describe the government and society of the period. In the bakuhan, the shogun had national authority and the daimyo had regional authority, a new unity in the feudal structure, which had an increasingly large bureaucracy to administer the mixture of centralized and decentralized authorities. The Tokugawa clan became more powerful during their first century of rule; land redistribution gave them nearly seven million koku, control of the most important cities, and a land assessment system which reaped great revenues.
The feudal hierarchy was completed by the various classes of daimyo. Closest to the Tokugawa house were the shinpan, or "related houses." They were 23 daimyo on the borders of Tokugawa lands, all directly related to Ieyasu. The shinpan held mostly honorary titles and advisory posts in the bakufu. The second class of the hierarchy was the fudai, or "house daimyo," rewarded with lands close to the Tokugawa holdings for their faithful service. By the eighteenth century, 145 fudai controlled such smaller han, the largest assessed at 250,000 koku. Members of the fudai class staffed most of the major bakufu offices. Ninety-seven han formed the third group, the tozama (outside vassals), former opponents or new allies. The tozama were located mostly on the peripheries of the archipelago and collectively controlled nearly ten million koku of productive land. Because the tozama were least trusted of the daimyo, they were the most cautiously managed and generously treated, although they were excluded from central government positions.
The Tokugawa not only consolidated their control over a reunified Japan, they also had unprecedented power over the emperor, the court, all daimyo, and the religious orders. The emperor was held up as the ultimate source of political sanction for the shogun, who ostensibly was the vassal of the imperial family. The Tokugawa helped the imperial family recapture its old glory by rebuilding its palaces and granting it new lands. To ensure a close tie between the imperial clan and the Tokugawa family, Ieyasu's granddaughter was made an imperial consort in 1619.
A code of laws was established to regulate the daimyo houses. The code encompassed private conduct, marriage, dress, and types of weapons and numbers of troops allowed; required residence at Edo every other year (the sankin kōtai system); prohibited the construction of ocean-going ships; proscribed Christianity; and stipulated that bakufu regulations were the national law. Although the daimyo were not taxed directly, they were regularly levied for contributions for military and logistical support and for such public works projects as castles, roads, bridges, and palaces. The various regulations and levies not only strengthened the Tokugawa but also depleted the wealth of the daimyo, thus weakening their threat to the central administration. The sankin kōtai system forced the daimyo to spend their wealth traveling with large entourages to and from the court at Edo for the stipulated periods of residence there, while the inns and towns along their routes of travel prospered. The han, once military-centered domains, became mere local administrative units. The daimyo had full administrative control over their territory and their complex systems of retainers, bureaucrats, and commoners. Loyalty was exacted from religious foundations, already greatly weakened by Nobunaga and Hideyoshi, through a variety of controls.
From Openness to Seclusion
The samurai Hasekura Tsunenaga, Japan's first official ambassador to the Americas and Europe, in 1615
Like Hideyoshi, Ieyasu encouraged foreign trade but was also suspicious of outsiders. He wanted to make Edo a major port, but once he learned that the Europeans favored ports in Kyūshū and that China had rejected his plans for official trade, he moved to control existing trade and allowed only certain ports to handle specific kinds of commodities.
A 1634 Japanese red seal ship
The beginning of the Edo period coincides with the last decades of the Nanban trade period, during which interaction with European powers took place and Christian missionaries were welcomed to Japan. At the beginning of the Edo period, Japan built her first ocean-going Western-style warships, such as the Japanese warship San Juan Bautista, a 500-ton galleon that transported a Japanese embassy headed by Hasekura Tsunenaga to the Americas then to Europe. Also during that period, the bakufu commissioned around 350 red seal ships, three-masted, armed trade ships for intra-Asian commerce. Japanese adventurers, such as Yamada Nagamasa, used those ships to travel throughout Asia.
The difficulty of controlling both the Christian daimyo in Kyūshū and their trade with the Europeans was known as the "Christian problem." By 1612, the shogun's retainers and residents of Tokugawa lands had been ordered to forswear Christianity. More restrictions came in 1616 (the restriction of foreign trade to Nagasaki and Hirado, an island northwest of Kyūshū), 1622 (the execution of 120 missionaries and converts), 1624 (the expulsion of the Spanish), and 1629 (the execution of thousands of Christians). Finally, in 1635 an edict prohibited any Japanese from traveling outside Japan or, if someone left, from ever returning. In 1636 the Dutch were restricted to Dejima, a small artificial island, and thus, not true Japanese soil, in the harbor at Nagasaki.
The shogunate perceived Christianity as a political threat, and began persecution of Catholicism. The Shimabara Rebellion of 1637-1638, in which discontented Catholic samurai and peasants rebelled against the bakufu and Edo called in Dutch ships to bombard the rebel stronghold, marked the end of the Christian movement, although some Christians survived by going underground, the so-called Kakure Kirishitan. Soon afterward, the Portuguese were permanently expelled, members of the Portuguese diplomatic mission were executed, all subjects were ordered to register at a Buddhist or Shinto temple, and the Dutch and Chinese were restricted, respectively, to Dejima and to a special quarter in Nagasaki. Besides small trade between some outer daimyo and Korea and the Ryukyu Islands, to the southwest of Japan's main islands, by 1641 the policy of sakoku limited foreign contacts to Nagasaki.
By 1650, Christianity had been almost completely eradicated and external political, economic and religious influence on Japan became quite limited. Only China and the Dutch East India Company enjoyed the right to visit Japan during this period. Other Europeans who landed on Japanese shores were put to death without trial.
The first goal of the newly established Tokugawa government was to pacify the country after a long period of inner conflict. Influenced by Confucian principles of social order, the shogunate created a balance of power that remained relatively stable for the next 250 years. Most samurai lost direct possession of the land; all land ownership was concentrated in the hand of the about three hundred daimyo. The samurai had to choose between giving up their swords and becoming peasants, or moving to the cities of their feudal lord and become paid retainers. Only a few landed samurai remained in the border provinces of the north, or as direct vassals of the shogun, the five thousand hatamoto. The daimyo were placed under the tight control of the shogunate. Their families had to reside in Edo, and the daimyo themselves had to reside alternately in Edo for one year, and in their province (han) for the next. This system was called sankin kotai.
The population was divided into four classes: the samurai (about five percent of the population) were the governing elite, and the peasants (more than 80 percent of the population) were on the second level. Below the peasants were the craftsmen, and even below them, on a fourth level, were the merchants. Only the peasants lived in the rural areas. Samurai, craftsmen and merchants, each restricted to their own quarter, lived in the cities that were built around the daimyo's castles. A few descendants of the Imperial Court in Kyoto, the kuge, were above the system. Although the kuge regained their splendor after the poverty of the war years, their political influence was minimal.
Below the merchant class were the so-called eta and hinin, those whose professions broke the taboos of Buddhism. Eta were butchers, tanners and undertakers. Hinin served as town guards, street cleaners and executioners. Another group of outsiders was made up of entertainers and prostitutes. The word eta literally means "filthy" and hinin, "non-humans," a reflection of the attitude held by other classes that the eta and hinin were not even people. Sometimes eta villages were not even included on official maps.
The individual had no legal rights in Tokugawa Japan. The family was the smallest legal entity, and the maintenance of family status and privileges was of great importance at all levels of society.
Economic development during the Tokugawa period included urbanization, increased shipping of commodities, a significant expansion of domestic and, initially, foreign commerce, and a diffusion of trade and handicraft industries. The construction trades flourished, along with banking facilities and merchant associations. Increasingly, han authorities oversaw the rising agricultural production and the spread of rural handicrafts.
By the mid-eighteenth century, Edo had a population of more than one million; Osaka and Kyoto each had more than 400,000 inhabitants; and many other castle towns were flourishing. Osaka and Kyoto became busy trading and handicraft production centers, while Edo was a center for the supply of food and essential urban consumer goods.
Rice was the base of the economy, as the daimyo collected the taxes from the peasants in the form of rice. Taxes were high, about 40 percent of the harvest. The rice was sold at the fudasashi market in Edo. To raise money, the daimyo used forward contracts to sell rice that was not yet harvested, similar to modern futures trading.
Artistic and Intellectual Development
A Japanese-made clock of the eighteenth century, or Wadokei
During the Edo period, Japan progressively studied Western sciences and technology (called rangaku, "Dutch studies") through the information and books received through the Dutch traders in Dejima. The main areas of study included geography, medicine, natural sciences, astronomy, art, languages, physical sciences such as the study of electrical phenomena, and mechanical sciences as exemplified by the development of Japanese clockwatches, or wadokei, inspired by Western techniques.
The flourishing of Neo-Confucianism was the major intellectual development of the Tokugawa period. Confucian studies had long been kept active in Japan by Buddhist clerics, but during the Tokugawa period, Confucianism emerged from Buddhist religious control. This system of thought promoted a secular view of man and society. The ethical humanism, rationalism, and historical perspective of neo-Confucian doctrine appealed to the official class. By the mid-seventeenth century, neo-Confucianism was Japan's dominant legal philosophy and contributed directly to the development of the kokugaku (national learning) school of thought.
Japan's first treatise on Western anatomy, published in 1774
Advanced studies and growing applications of neo-Confucianism contributed to the transition of the social and political order from feudal norms to class- and large-group-oriented practices. The rule of the people, or Confucian man, was gradually replaced by the rule of law. New laws were developed, and new administrative methods were instituted. A new theory of government and a new vision of society emerged as a means of justifying more comprehensive governance by the bakufu. Each person had a distinct place in society and was expected to work to fulfill his or her mission in life. The people were to be ruled with benevolence by those whose assigned duty it was to rule. Government was all-powerful but responsible and humane. Although the class system was influenced by neo-Confucianism, it was not identical to it. Whereas soldiers and clergy were at the bottom of the hierarchy in the Chinese model, in Japan some members of these classes constituted the ruling elite.
Members of the samurai class adhered to bushi traditions, with a renewed interest in Japanese history and in cultivation of the ways of Confucian scholar-administrators, resulting in the development of the concept of bushido (the way of the warrior). Another special way of life, chōnindō, also emerged. Chōnindō (the way of the townspeople) was a distinct culture that arose in cities such as Osaka, Kyoto, and Edo. It encouraged aspiration to bushido qualities of diligence, honesty, honor, loyalty, and frugality, while blending Shinto, neo-Confucian, and Buddhist beliefs. Study of mathematics, astronomy, cartography, engineering, and medicine were also encouraged. Emphasis was placed on quality of workmanship, especially in the arts. For the first time, urban populations had the means and leisure time to support a new mass culture. Their search for enjoyment became known as ukiyo (“the floating world”), an ideal world of fashion and popular entertainment. Professional female entertainers (geisha), music, popular stories, kabuki and bunraku (puppet theater), poetry, literature and art, exemplified by beautiful woodblock prints (known as ukiyo-e), were all part of this flowering of culture. Literature also flourished with the talented examples of the playwright Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653-1724) and the poet, essayist, and travel writer Matsuo Bashō (1644-1694).
The Great Wave at Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849)
Ukiyo-e prints began to be produced in the late seventeenth century, but in 1764 Harunobu produced the first polychrome print. Print designers of the next generation, including Torii Kiyonaga and Utamaro, created elegant and sometimes insightful depictions of courtesans. In the nineteenth century, the dominant figure was Hiroshige, a creator of romantic and somewhat sentimental landscape prints. The odd angles and shapes through which Hiroshige often viewed landscape, and the work of Kiyonaga and Utamaro, with its emphasis on flat planes and strong linear outlines, later had a profound impact on such Western artists as Edgar Degas and Vincent van Gogh.
Buddhism and Shinto were both still important in Tokugawa Japan. Buddhism, combined with neo-Confucianism, provided standards of social behavior. Although not as powerful politically as it had been in the past, Buddhism was espoused by the upper classes. Proscriptions against Christianity benefited Buddhism in 1640 when the bakufu ordered everyone to register at a temple. The rigid separation of Tokugawa society into han, villages, wards, and households helped reaffirm local Shinto attachments. Shinto provided spiritual support to the political order and was an important tie between the individual and the community. Shinto also helped preserve a sense of national identity.
Shinto eventually assumed an intellectual form shaped by neo-Confucian rationalism and materialism. The kokugaku movement emerged from the interactions of these two belief systems. Kokugaku contributed to the emperor-centered nationalism of modern Japan and the revival of Shinto as a national creed in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The Kojiki, Nihongi, and Man'yōshū were all studied anew in the search for the Japanese spirit. Some purists in the kokugaku movement, such as Motoori Norinaga, even criticized the Confucian and Buddhist influences—in effect, foreign influences—for contaminating Japan's ancient ways. Japan was the land of the kami and therefore had a special destiny.
End of the Shogunate
Decline of the Tokugawa
The end of the Edo period is referred to as the late Tokugawa shogunate. There is considerable debate over the cause for the end of the Edo period. A major factor is thought to be the forced opening of Japan to the world by the arrival of Commodore Matthew Perry of the United States Navy, with an armada (known by Japanese as "Black Ships") in Edo Bay. Several artificial land masses were created to block the range of the armada’s weapons, and this land remains in what is presently called the Odaiba district.
The Tokugawa shogunate did not collapse simply because of intrinsic failures. Foreign intrusions helped to precipitate a complex political struggle between the bakufu and a coalition of its critics. The continuity of the anti-bakufu movement in the mid-nineteenth century finally brought down the Tokugawa. From the beginning, the Tokugawa shogunate had attempted to restrict the accumulation of wealth by individual families, and had fostered a "back to the soil" policy, in which the farmer, the ultimate producer, was the ideal person in society.
A Japanese-made perpetual clockwatch, 1851
Despite these efforts to restrict wealth, and partly because of the extraordinary period of peace, the standard of living for urban and rural dwellers alike grew significantly during the Tokugawa period. Better means of crop production, transportation, improved housing, food, and entertainment were all available, as was more leisure time, at least for urban dwellers. The literacy rate was high for a pre-industrial society, and cultural values were redefined and widely imparted throughout the samurai and chōnin (merchant, townspeople) classes. Despite the reappearance of guilds, productive economic activities were relatively unrestricted, and the spread of commerce gave rise to a money economy. Although government imposed heavy restrictions on the merchants and viewed them as unproductive and usurious members of society, the samurai, who gradually became separated from their rural ties, depended greatly on the merchants and artisans for consumer goods, services, and loans. In this way, a subtle subversion of the warrior class by the chōnin took place.
The entrepreneurial class began to rebel against the political limitations imposed on them by the shogun. The government ideal of an agrarian society no longer reflected the reality of commercial distribution. A top-heavy government bureaucracy had evolved, which now stagnated because of its discrepancy with a new and evolving social order. Compounding the situation, the population increased significantly during the first half of the Tokugawa period. Although the magnitude and growth rates are not known with certainty, there were at least 26 million commoners and about four million members of samurai families and their attendants when the first nationwide census was taken in 1721.
Drought, followed by crop shortages and starvation, resulted in 20 great famines between 1675 and 1837. Peasant unrest grew, and by the late eighteenth century, mass protests over taxes and food shortages had become commonplace. Newly landless families became tenant farmers, while the displaced rural poor moved into the cities. As the fortunes of previously well-to-do families declined, others moved in to accumulate land, and a new, wealthy farming class emerged. Those who benefited were able to diversify production and to hire laborers, while others were left discontented. Many samurai fell on hard times and were forced into handicraft production or working at salaried jobs for merchants.
Although Japan was able to acquire and refine a wide variety of scientific knowledge, the rapid industrialization of the West during the eighteenth century created, for the first time, a material gap in terms of technologies and armament between Japan and the West which had not existed at the beginning of the Edo period, forcing Japan to abandon its policy of seclusion and contributing to the end of the Tokugawa regime.
Western intrusions increased during the early nineteenth century. Russian warships and traders encroached on Karafuto (called Sakhalin under Russian and Soviet control) and on the Kuril Islands, the southernmost of which are considered by the Japanese as the northern islands of Hokkaidō. A British warship entered Nagasaki harbor searching for enemy Dutch ships in 1808, and other warships and whalers were seen in Japanese waters with increasing frequency in the 1810s and 1820s. Whalers and trading ships from the United States also arrived on Japan's shores. Although the Japanese made some minor concessions and allowed some landings, they generally attempted to keep all foreigners out, sometimes using force. Rangaku (Western studies) became crucial not only for understanding the foreign "barbarians" but also gaining the knowledge necessary to fend them off.
By the 1830s, there was a general sense of crisis. Famines and natural disasters led to unrest and a peasant uprising against officials and merchants in Osaka in 1837. Although it lasted only a day, the uprising made a dramatic impression. The government sought to remedy the situation through moral reform, rather than by addressing the institutional problems. The shogun's advisers pushed for a return to the martial spirit, more restrictions on foreign trade and contacts, suppression of rangaku, censorship of literature, and elimination of "luxury" in the government and samurai class. Others sought the overthrow of the Tokugawa and promulgated the political doctrine of sonnō jōi (“revere the emperor, expel the barbarians”), which called for unity under imperial rule and opposed foreign intrusions. The bakufu persevered amidst growing concerns over Western successes in establishing colonial enclaves in China following the First Opium War of 1839–1842. More reforms were ordered, especially in the economic sector, to strengthen Japan against the Western threat.
In July of 1846, when Commodore James Biddle appeared in Edo Bay with two warships, Japan rejected a demand from the United States, which was expanding its own presence in the Asia-Pacific region, to establish diplomatic relations.
End of seclusion
Commodore Matthew C. Perry
When Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry's squadron of four ships appeared in Edo Bay in July 1853, the bakufu was thrown into turmoil. The chairman of the senior councilors, Abe Masahiro (1819–1857), was responsible for dealing with the Americans. Having no precedent to follow in managing this threat to national security, Abe tried to balance the desires of the senior councilors to compromise with the foreigners, of the emperor—who wanted to keep the foreigners out—and of the daimyo who wanted to go to war. Lacking consensus, Abe decided to compromise by accepting Perry's demands for opening Japan to foreign trade while also making military preparations. In March 1854, the Treaty of Peace and Amity (or Treaty of Kanagawa) opened two ports to American ships seeking provisions, guaranteed good treatment to shipwrecked American sailors, and allowed a United States consul to take up residence in Shimoda, a seaport on the Izu Peninsula, southwest of Edo. A commercial treaty, opening still more areas to American trade, was forced on the bakufu five years later.
The resulting damage to the bakufu was significant. Debate over government policy was unusual and had engendered public criticism of the bakufu. In the hope of enlisting the support of new allies, Abe, to the consternation of the fudai, had consulted with the shinpan and tozama daimyo, further undermining the already weakened bakufu. In the Ansei Reform (1854–1856), Abe tried to strengthen the regime by ordering Dutch warships and armaments from the Netherlands and building new port defenses. In 1855, a naval training school with Dutch instructors was set up at Nagasaki, and a Western-style military school was established at Edo; by the next year, the government was translating Western books. Opposition to Abe increased within fudai circles, which opposed opening bakufu councils to tozama daimyo, and he was replaced in 1855 as chairman of the senior councilors by Hotta Masayoshi (1810–1864).
At the head of the dissident faction was Tokugawa Nariaki, who had long embraced a militant loyalty to the emperor along with anti-foreign sentiments, and who had been put in charge of national defense in 1854. The Mito school, based on neo-Confucian and Shinto principles, had as its goal the restoration of the imperial institution, the turning back of the West, and the founding of a world empire under the divine Yamato Dynasty.
In the final years of the Tokugawa, foreign contacts increased as more concessions were granted. The new treaty with the United States in 1859 allowed more ports to be opened to diplomatic representatives, unsupervised trade at four additional ports, and foreign residences in Osaka and Edo. It also embodied the concept of extraterritoriality (foreigners were subject to the laws of their own countries but not to Japanese law). Hotta lost the support of key daimyo, and when Tokugawa Nariaki opposed the new treaty, Hotta sought imperial sanction. The court officials, perceiving the weakness of the bakufu, rejected Hotta's request and suddenly embroiled Kyoto and the emperor in Japan's internal politics for the first time in many centuries. When the shogun died without an heir, Nariaki appealed to the court for support of his own son, Tokugawa Yoshinobu (or Keiki), a candidate favored by the shinpan and tozama daimyo as shogun. The fudai won the power struggle, however, installing Tokugawa Yoshitomi, arresting Nariaki and Keiki, executing Yoshida Shoin (1830–1859, a leading sonnō-jōi intellectual who had opposed the American treaty and plotted a revolution against the bakufu), and signing treaties with the United States and five other nations, thus ending more than two hundred years of exclusion.
Bakumatsu Modernization and Conflicts
Tokugawa Yoshinobu, the last shogun, in French military uniform, c. 1867
During the last years, the bakufu took strong measures to try to reassert its dominance, although its involvement with modernization and foreign powers made it a target of anti-Western sentiment throughout the country.
The army and the navy were modernized by the Ansei Reform. After the naval training school was established in Nagasaki in 1855, naval students were sent to study in Western naval schools for several years, starting a tradition of foreign-educated future leaders, such as Admiral Enomoto Takeaki. French naval engineers were hired to build naval arsenals, such as Yokosuka and Nagasaki. By the end of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1867, the Japanese navy of the shogun already possessed eight Western-style steam warships around the flagship Kaiyō Maru, which were used against pro-imperial forces during the Boshin war, under the command of Admiral Enomoto. A French military mission was established to help modernize the armies of the bakufu.
Japanese warship Kanrin Maru, Japan's first screw-driven steam warship, 1855
Revering the emperor as a symbol of unity, extremists wrought violence and death against the Bakufu and han authorities and foreigners. Foreign naval retaliation in the Anglo-Satsuma War led to still another concessionary commercial treaty in 1865, but Yoshitomi was unable to enforce the Western treaties. A bakufu army was defeated when it was sent to crush dissent in the han of Satsuma and Chōshū provinces in 1866. In 1867, Emperor Kōmei died and was succeeded by his minor son Emperor Meiji.
Tokugawa Yoshinobu (Keiki) reluctantly became shogun and head of the Tokugawa clan. He tried to reorganize the government under the emperor while preserving the shogun's leadership role. Fearing the growing power of the Satsuma and Chōshū daimyo, other daimyo called for a return of the shogun's political power to the emperor and a council of daimyo, chaired by the former Tokugawa shogun. Keiki accepted the plan in late 1867 and resigned, announcing an "imperial restoration." The Satsuma, Chōshū, and other han leaders and radical courtiers, however, rebelled, seized the imperial palace, and announced their own restoration on January 3, 1868.
Following the Boshin war (1868–1869), the bakufu was abolished, and Keiki was reduced to the ranks of the common daimyo. Resistance continued in the North throughout 1868, and the bakufu naval forces under Admiral Enomoto continued to hold out for another six months in Hokkaidō, where they founded the short-lived Republic of Ezo.
1600: Battle of Sekigahara. Tokugawa Ieyasu defeats a coalition of daimyo and establishes hegemony over most of Japan
1603: the emperor appoints Tokugawa Ieyasu as shogun, who moves his government to Edo (Tokyo) and founds the Tokugawa dynasty of shoguns
1605: Tokugawa Ieyasu resigns as shogun, and is succeeded by his son Tokugawa Hidetada
1607: Korean Yi Dynasty sends an embassy to Tokugawa shogunate
1611: Ryūkyū Islands become a vassal state of Satsuma domain
1614: Tokugawa Ieyasu bans Christianity from Japan
1615: Battle of Osaka. Tokugawa Ieyasu sieges Osaka Castle, all opposition from forces loyal to the Toyotomi family. Tokugawa authority becomes paramount throughout Japan
1616: Tokugawa Ieyasu dies
1623: Tokugawa Iemitsu becomes the third shogun
1633: Tokugawa Iemitsu forbids traveling abroad and reading foreign books
1635: Tokugawa Iemitsu formalizes the system of mandatory alternate residence (sankin kotai) in Edo
1637: Shimabara Rebellion (1637-38) mounted by overtaxed peasants
1638: Tokugawa Iemitsu forbids shipbuilding
1639: Edicts establishing national seclusion (sakoku rei) are completed. All Westerners except the Dutch are prohibited from entering Japan
1641: Tokugawa Iemitsu bans all foreigners, except Chinese and Dutch, from Japan
1650: with peace, there evolved a new kind of noble, literate warrior according to bushido ("way of the warrior")
1700: Kabuki and ukiyo-e become popular
1707: Mount Fuji erupts
1774: The anatomical text Kaitai shinsho, the first complete Japanese translation of a Western medical work, is published by Sugita Gempaku and Maeno Ryotaku
1787: Matsudaira Sadanobu becomes senior shogunal councilor and institutes the Kansei Reforms
1792: Russian envoy Adam Laxman arrives at Nemuro in eastern Ezo (now Hokkaidō)
1804: Russian envoy Nikolai Rezanov reaches Nagasaki, and unsuccessfully seeks the establishment of trade relations with Japan
1837: Rebellion of Oshio Heihachiro
1841: Tempo Reforms
1854: the United States forces Japan to sign a trade agreement (Treaty of Kanagawa) which reopens Japan to foreigners after two centuries
1855: Russia and Japan establish diplomatic relations
1864: British, French, Dutch and American warships bombard Shimonoseki and open more Japanese ports for foreigners
1868: Tokugawa Yoshinobu resigns, the Tokugawa dynasty ends, and the emperor (or "mikado") Meiji is restored, but with capital in Edo/Tokyo and divine attributes
Keene, Donald. Anthology of Japanese Literature, from the Earliest Era to the Mid-Nineteenth Century. UNESCO Collection of Representative Works. New York: Grove Press, 1955. ISBN 0802150586 ISBN 9780802150585
Keene, Donald. Japanese Literature: An Introduction for Western Readers. New York: Grove Press, 1955.
Keene, Donald. World Within Walls: Japanese Literature of the Pre-Modern Era, 1600-1867. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1976. ISBN 0030136261 ISBN 9780030136269
Lane, Richard. Images from the Floating World: The Japanese Print : Including an Illustrated Dictionary of Ukiyo-E. New York: Putnam, 1978. ISBN 0399121935
Ōkawa, Naomi. Edo Architecture, Katsura, and Nikko. The Heibonsha Survey of Japanese Art, vol. 20. New York: Weatherhill, 1975. ISBN 0834810271
Plutschow, Herbert E. A Reader in Edo Period Travel. Folkestone, Kent, UK: Global oriental, 2006. ISBN 1901903230
Reeve, John. Floating World: Japan in the Edo Period. London: British Museum Press, 2006. ISBN 0714124346
Shimizu, Yoshiaki. Japan: The Shaping of Daimyo Culture, 1185-1868. Washington: National Gallery of Art, 1988. ISBN 0894681222
Turnbull, Stephen R. The Book of the Samurai, the Warrior Class of Japan. New York: Arco, 1982. ISBN 0668054158
Watson, William. The Great Japan Exhibition: Art of the Edo Period, 1600-1868. New York: Alpine Fine Arts Collection, 1981. ISBN 0933516487
All links retrieved September 25, 2017.
Edo Japan, A Virtual Tour
Art of the Edo Period – WebMuseum, Paris
Edo period history
History of "Edo period"
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Rules & Handicapping >
Rules >
The Rules of Golf specify the equipment which may be used to play the game. These specifications can be found in Rule 4.1 (clubs) and Rule 4.2 (balls) in the Equipment Rules. In general, they are 'descriptive' and 'restrictive' in nature – defining what a golf club should look like and how far a golf ball can travel.
In an historical context, the game of golf has seen progressive developments in the clubs and balls available to golfers who, through almost six centuries, have sought to improve their playing performance and enjoyment.
While generally welcoming this progress, in 1924 The R&A issued a statement which "deplored that players, instead of trying to master the use of golf clubs, should endeavour to overcome difficulties of the game by using implements which have never been associated with it".
More recently, in a written 'statement of principles' published jointly by the international governing bodies, The R&A and the USGA, it was acknowledged that "History has proved that it is impossible to foresee the developments in golf equipment which advancing technology will deliver." However, both The R&A and the USGA remain vigilant when considering the equipment Rules. The main objective of Rule 4 and Equipment Rules is to protect golf's best traditions, to prevent an over-reliance on technological advances rather than skill, and to ensure that skill is the dominant element of success throughout the game.
It is the role of The R&A's Equipment Standards Committee to interpret and apply the Rules relevant to clubs and balls, and to determine and advise which conform to the Rules and which do not. This Committee is also responsible for recommending modifications to these Rules, if and when changes are believed to be necessary.
All clubs submitted by Australian manufacturers to The R&A are retained for future reference and, collectively with clubs submitted from all over the world, they form an amazing array of unusual designs and ingenious mechanisms – including a putter head in the shape of a motor car and a shaft which doubles up as a spirit-level.
In addition to new and amended club designs, Australian manufacturers should also submit golf balls to The R&A for testing and, if ruled conforming, such balls are entered onto the List of Conforming Golf Balls which is updated on a monthly basis.
In these subsections, you will find various equipment information which is relevant to Australian golfers and competition committees. An array of detailed information relating to equipment can also be found on The R&A website.
Since the days when selecting a club was done purely by “eye”, there has been development of aids available to players to help gauge distance. Initially, there was the introduction of course yardage charts, distance markers at the sides of fairways and distances on sprinkler heads. More recently, technological advancements have resulted in devices, often referred to as Distance Measuring Devices (DMDs), which can accurately measure distance using a variety of technologies.
Since 2006 the use of such devices has been allowed, but only under a Local Rule put in place by the relevant Club or Competition Committee. Now, the 2019 Rules of Golf allow the use of DMDs without the need for a Local Rule. But, in the situation when an Committee wants to restrict the use of such devices, it can put a Local Rule in place prohibiting the use of DMDs
Although the Rules of Golf allow the use of DMDs, players must ensure that the device they use complies with the restrictions in Rule 4.3a(1) . For additional guidance on distance measuring devices, please see the information here.
DRIVING CLUBS
The R&A periodically issues a List of Conforming Driver Heads that lists driving clubheads that have been evaluated and found to conform with the Rules of Golf.
The R&A periodically issues a List of Conforming Golf Balls that lists balls that have been tested and found to conform with the Rules of Golf.
View information regarding the regulations on clubs and golf balls (including the List of Conforming Golf Balls).
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« The Surge Afghanistan Needs
Waiting for Common Sense on Afghanistan »
History in Stone: the untapped riches of Afghanistan
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/016/279tznqi.asp?pg=2
I turned carefully to scan the horizon. Nearby, French archeologists had recently uncovered 40 stupas and three Buddhist monasteries, but I couldn’t see them. With just a foot of crumbling mud brick separating me from a 60-foot fall, I didn’t push my luck.
I was on top of the Minar-i-Zadyan, Afghanistan’s oldest minaret, also known as the Minaret of Daulatabad, 20 miles from Balkh. I’d allowed my Afghan friends’ kids to climb the dark, steep internal stairway with me and a voluble young Afghan archaeology buff, Reza Hossaini. But the minaret is missing as much as a third of its original height, coming to an end in broken masonry rather than a platform from which the call to prayer would have sounded. I was worried that seven-year-old Leeza, who has no fear of heights, would lose her balance as she shifted around to examine the view.
Although it was first documented in 1938 by the Western researcher Eric Schroeder, the minaret was not surveyed until 1952 and is not described in any of the classic travel books on Afghanistan, not even in Nancy Hatch Dupree’s comprehensive 1977 guide. The only web reference is on the site of a preservation organization Dupree founded in 1994, the Society for the Preservation of Afghan Cultural Heritage (SPACH).
The obscurity of the minaret is explained by the fact that, until recently, getting there from Balkh took three hours on an appalling road, enough to deter all but the most fanatic devotees of medieval Islamic architecture. It was only a year ago that a spanking new asphalt road reduced the travel time between Balkh and Daulatabad, 27.5 kilometers away, from more than two hours to 10 minutes.
A further half-hour over 14 kilometers of dirt road, winding around storybook mud brick Turkmen villages, brings you to Zadyan, the village that contains the minaret. The men and women who live in the surrounding villages still wear the striking national dress–pointed hats with headscarves for the women, vibrantly colored handwoven caps for the men and boys–and weave carpets for a living. If you don’t look too hard, it can seem as though time stopped here when the minaret was built–around 1108-09, according to the Archaeological Gazetteer of Afghanistan.
At 60 feet the minaret is squat; taller, its proportions would have been perfect. Today its beauty is in the astonishingly well-preserved bands of geometric decoration that wind all the way up, and the subtleties of the fine brickwork. Reza pointed out that the thick relief of the brickwork provides ample footholds for climbers; local kids occasionally scale the tower and, he said, some have fallen to their deaths in the attempt.
The minaret ends abruptly just above the second of two Arabic inscriptions. Reza transcribed the splendid but baffling Kufic into modern Arabic script I could read with some help:
In the name of God, the Merciful and Compassionate, Oh you believing people, called by the azan on the day of Friday, try to pray to God. The building of this minaret the great ruler the trusted by the government (doulat) and honor of the community, Abu Jafar Mohammed Ibn-Ali….
The inscription trails off into fragments.
A steady trickle of Afghan pilgrims visited the minaret while we were there–spillover from a mysterious shrine a hundred feet away, known as Hazrat Saleh, or Honored Saleh. The building doesn’t look ancient, and the legend of the obscure Islamic prophet Saleh to which it refers is also associated–with much more probability–with a 2,000-year-old Arabian site, Maidan Saleh. (Saleh was a prophet sent by Allah to the Arabs before Mohammad.) Reza pointed out that the green-draped tomb of Saleh inside the shrine is facing east, while Islamic graves are customarily arranged so that the deceased face Mecca, which is west of Afghanistan. He thinks this indicates the pre-Islamic origins of the site. Another oddity: On the outside of the shrine is an arched niche where pilgrims have left pats of mud in the hope of a cure for skin ailments.
While locals make pilgrimages to Hazrat Saleh and the minaret, there were no other foreigners around. In fact, the only foreigners I have ever seen at ancient sites in Afghanistan are the archaeologists working there. Mainly because of misapprehensions about security, the astonishing historical and archaeological riches of Afghanistan are nearly unvisited. Prehistoric petroglyphs, Achaemenid citadels, Buddhist stupas and monasteries, Greco-Bactrian and Kushan sites with Hellenistic columns and fire altars, and a thousand years of Islamic architecture jostle for space, and many can be seen just off the main roads. Potential visitors lump the area around Balkh and the whole Afghan north, which are as safeas dozens of other developing countries, with the war zones of Helmand and Kandahar.
While most foreigners bemoan the loss of the Bamiyan buddhas–for the record, Robert Byron thought neither had any artistic value–the surprising good news is that the losses due to the years of war will probably be dwarfed by the treasures still undiscovered.
A handful of recent finds suggest that the best is yet to come. Two hours and 150 kilometers from Mazar towards Kabul at Pul-i-Khumri, the British scholar Jonathan Lee has just documented what is now Afghanistan’s largest sculpture, the 6.5-by-4.9 meter relief known to locals as Rag-i-bibi, or Lady Fatima’s Vein. This is an 1,800-year-old Sassanian rock relief mysteriously located 1,600 kilometers east of its nearest counterparts. He believes another, last described by a French traveler in 1857, awaits rediscovery.
n Balkh, the archaeologists at the Délégation Archéologique Française en Afghanistan (DAFA) have spent the last four years unearthing hundreds of Greek and Buddhist building fragments, and as recently as last year they identified the largest known Achaemenid city in Afghanistan–three square kilometers–an hour further south at a city that may be the site of the legendary marriage of Alexander and Roxana at Tangi Cheshmeh Shafa, “the gorge of the healing spring.”
Meanwhile, in the far southwest of Afghanistan, the desert province of Nimroz holds miles of ruins last systematically explored by the Smithsonian Institution in the 1970s. That team excavated only a dozen or so of more than 150 sites; the sole surviving member, William Trousdale, now approaching 80, hopes to publish their notes as a tribute to his late colleagues. The Sistan basin would be a tourist attraction anywhere else, but even most Afghans have never heard of it.
The pattern of discovery in Afghanistan suggests that these archaeologists have just scraped the surface of what is there. “What’s amazing,” says Jonathan Lee, an archaeologist with long experience in Afghanistan, “is that most of the discoveries have been within a few hundred yards of the roads, and there aren’t many roads in Afghanistan.”
The bad news is that Afghanistan’s archaeological heritage is being looted by Afghans and their foreign accomplices, while the international organization with the greatest potential to save these treasures, UNESCO, stands by, spending donor money on endless conferences and studies. The Afghan government officials responsible for archaeology range from well-meaning to corrupt, but even the best are handicapped by the limitations of an archaeology police of just 350 men and four cars.
Last November I asked Brendan Cassar and Masanori Nagaoka, the two men who make up UNESCO’s international staff in Kabul, why UNESCO wasn’t paying for watchmen for major sites. “We don’t have the money to guard all the sites,” Cassar answered. Like Nagaoka, he is an elegantly turned-out man who looks more like a Wall Street banker than an M.A. in historic preservation working in dusty Kabul.
I suggested a program of targeted donations, whereby people could spend $1,000 or $2,000 a year to protect a specific site. “But that wouldn’t be developing capacity in the Afghan government,” Cassar replied, dunking a freshly made spring roll into a dipping sauce. We were eating–at the UNESCO team’s suggestion–at Kabul’s only five star hotel, the Serena. “We work with the Afghan government. We want to build capacity.”
His answer didn’t surprise me. “Building capacity” has to be the most common phrase in the lexicon of aid workers in Afghanistan. It can mean anything from an excellent training program to doing nothing. I responded that it would take 20 years to train a new generation of Afghan preservationists, and by then all these sites will be destroyed.
I might have anticipated this unfulfilling encounter had I read between the lines of UNESCO’s description of its work in Afghanistan:
The project to safeguard the Bamiyan site is a further example of cooperation between Afghanistan and UNESCO. It has allowed monuments to be consolidated and dated. Furthermore, the restoration of the Kabul Museum was made possible through the support of numerous governments and international organizations. Afghanistan joined UNESCO on May 4, 1948. The country serves as an example in the fight against illiteracy. Several projects have been implemented jointly with UNESCO such as the LAND AFGHAN project (2002-2005), which aims to promote literacy and non-formal education. Gender parity in education and in the media as well as the development of the University of Kabul are the current priorities of cooperation between UNESCO and Afghanistan.
Gender parity in education and the media? Worthy goals indeed, but served by numerous education-oriented NGOs and governmental organizations working in Afghanistan. Afghanistan: an example of the fight against illiteracy, with one of the world’s highest illiteracy rates? Amidst the picnic spots and conferences, an important aspect of UNESCO’s mandate–as stated in its constitution, “assuring the conservation and protection of the world’s inheritance of books, works of art and monuments of history and science, and recommending to the nations concerned the necessary international conventions”–seems to have gotten lost.
It’s hard to find anyone in preservation or archaeology in Afghanistan with a good word for UNESCO, which has antagonized smaller groups by competing with them for the same scarce donor funds, winning contracts, and then banking the money while doing nothing–unless you count lavish dining-out. UNESCO efforts in Afghanistan have concentrated on two World Heritage Sites, Bamiyan and the Minaret of Jam. Roland Besenval of DAFA explains that UNESCO has never asked DAFA about potential sites for conservation and ignored DAFA’s request to protect Afghanistan’s oldest mosque, the 8th-9th century No Gonbad, an hour away from the Minaret of Daulatabad.
In 2007 UNESCO withdrew support from a Cambridge archaeology team that was doing promising work at Jam.
“We have shared our data with UNESCO and other interested parties, but never received anything in return,” team member David Thomas explains from Australia, where he teaches at La Trobe University. “We are excluded from the Expert Working Group meetings on Jam, despite being the only archaeological project to have worked at the site since the French in the early 1960s.”
A third site nominated for UNESCO World Heritage status, the magnificent old city of Herat, was in danger of falling off the list from sheer inaction until the Aga Khan Trust for Culture’s country officer, Jolyon Leslie, raised the issue. The Aga Khan Foundation has been documenting the state of the antiquities of Herat.
“UNESCO spent only a couple of days in Herat,” Leslie explains. “I wanted them to take the time to look in detail at what needed to be done. You can’t see what you need to see in the time they spent.” The “restoration” of the National Museum–incorrectly called the Kabul Museum on UNESCO’s website–has meant the refurbishment of a half-empty building, with one room of artifacts from Nuristan and perhaps a hundred items from the archaeological collection on view. (And at that, much of the work was overseen by SPACH, the roof was restored by the U.S. government, and the Nuristan room was paid for by an Austrian expert, Max Klimburg.)
The excuse for the paucity of exhibits is that the museum doesn’t have the security system to show more valuable parts of its collection–including the Bactrian gold on view in the marvelous traveling exhibit that left Washington’s National Gallery of Art last September and moved to the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. It is now on view at Houston’s Museum of Fine Arts.
The problem isn’t lack of donor funds: $350,000 donated by the Greek government to UNESCO for the National Museum, which could have paid for a security system, is being used to create what Jonathan Lee sardonically refers to as a “pastiche Moghul Garden” behind the Museum. When I met with Omar Khan Massoudi, the genial director of the National Museum, the strategy behind this baffling choice became clearer. The Afghan government plans to relocate the National Museum to a more central location, in a much larger building designed to be a museum. If the Museum can come up with $3.5 million to purchase the land from the Kabul municipality, the plans will go forward. It is likely that they will, since the Afghan government has already received $800,000 as its share of the ticket revenue from the Bactrian gold exhibit–in a dedicated account for cultural activities. Roland Besenval estimates that 30 percent to 40 percent of the ticket price of the Musée Guimet’s show of the gold went to the Afghan account; with some luck, it will actually go to a worthy purpose.
Massoudi explains that the current building was the former Kabul Town Hall; it has drainage problems and old-fashioned windows that allow dust to enter. He couldn’t give me a good reason for spending a large chunk of donor money to put a garden around a building that soon won’t even be a museum, but it’s also true that there’s no point in putting a security system in a building that soon won’t be a museum. Massoudi, who is a passionate advocate of educating Afghans about their heritage, is pessimistic on the practicality of exhibiting the Bactrian gold in Kabul anytime soon, even with a modern security system. The problem is the failure of the Karzai government to make Kabul free of the threat of terrorist attacks. (On a happier note, since last fall the museum has been open on Fridays, the only day off for most Afghans, which has increased attendance significantly.)
Ana Rodriguez, the volunteer head of SPACH who catalogued the holdings of the National Museum, is a staunch supporter of Massoudi, who was one of the museum employees who hid the Bactrian gold during the civil war years. “He has a plan,” she explains, “but it isn’t articulated in the way foreigners want.”
But she drew my attention to the laughable tawildar system at the museum. Together with the absence of a security system, this ancient practice, which allocates a certain number of objects to the charge of an individual who has keys to the area where they are stored, is why only a fraction of the museum’s holdings are on exhibit. The individual responsible for a set of objects may know nothing about them; tawildars aren’t curators. But because it’s their skin if objects are lost or damaged, they are reluctant–crazily reluctant, from the viewpoint of foreign researchers–to make objects available for expert study, much less exhibition.
Massoudi hopes foreign museums will eventually lend works to the new, secure National Museum. So far, the only show of overseas art has been a poorly mounted exhibit of the work of six obscure German photographers that left Afghan visitors baffled. (It turns out that the German government trained six Afghan photographers in Germany so, lo and behold, six German photographers’ works were sent here. But as Massoudi says, “Anything is better than an empty room.”)
From the beginning of European engagement with Afghanistan, many archaeological discoveries here have been fortuitous and accomplished by independent scholars or inspired amateurs: Ai Khanum, the Minaret of Jam, No Gonbad. The most recent major find, the Rag-i-Bibi relief, was brought to the world’s attention by one of the former, an extraordinary British explorer and historian, the 57-year-old Jonathan Lee.
Lee has been working in Afghanistan whenever possible for the last 30 years, closely associated with the British Academy-funded Learned Societies and the Royal Asiatic Society. Although he received his university degree in 1972, Lee could not afford to return to get his doctorate for many years, receiving it in 1999. In the intervening years he funded much of his exploration himself, supporting his archaeology work by consulting in Afghanistan, leading tours to the former Soviet Central Asian countries, selling his photographs to stock footage companies, and teaching high school.
Among other achievements, Lee has also found an important Sassanian fresco in a cave and the remains of a Seljuk shrine; rediscovered an important 2nd-century A.D. Bactrian inscription lost during the years of war; and retrieved another important Bactrian inscription from western Bamiyan from the hands of a commander now high up in the Afghan government.
In December 2002 Lee addressed a conference on Afghanistan at the British Museum. He told me: “An Afghan journalist, Najibullah Razaq, who was in the audience, later approached me and showed me video footage of the site which he and a BBC correspondent had visited earlier in 2002.” In December 2003 Lee briefly visited the site, near a Pashtun village called Shamarq, in the middle of a snowstorm. In May 2004 he mounted a joint SPACH-DAFA expedition with the eminent French Central Asian specialist Franz Grenet. Life-sized photos of the relief were taken from elaborate scaffolding, permitting further study off-site.
Local officials in Baghlan province took an unusually active role in supporting the documentation and guarding the relief. UNESCO was not so cooperative.
“In 2004,” Lee says, “the provincial official responsible for the protection of historic monuments in Baghlan informed UNESCO of its presence during a conference in Kabul, but no one was asked to make a survey or a proper recording. Had it not been for Najibullah attending a conference in the British Museum later in the same year and showing me his video, the site would still probably not have been on the national, and world, archaeological map.”
Today Rag-i-Bibi is one of the few Afghan archaeological sites protected by the government. It’s guarded by a couple of teenaged archaeology police who have rifles but no telephones and, for that matter, little more than the clothes on their backs. Their $70 monthly salary doesn’t go far, even in Afghanistan–but at least the site is protected.
Rag-i-Bibi is powerful and intriguing, but elusive both in terms of its location (high up on a cliff face far from any signs of settlement) and its purpose and symbolism. We see a horse but only the legs of his rider; background figures in low relief are the only human figures surviving. Lee and Grenet identify them as Sassanid courtiers and defeated Kushans, occupying the usual role in Sassanian reliefs of conquered peoples. Two phalerae (round metal discs used on both human armor and horse trappings in antiquity, with heraldic significance in ancient Iran) suggest the high status of the rider. And two rhinos–one being chased, one under the horse’s hooves–suggest the centrality of the hunt in this lost world. Lee points out that the reason the torso and upper body of the rider hasn’t survived is that these parts would likely have been clay add-ons, more fragile than stone. The same explains the disappearance of the rhinoceros’s horns: “You can see the holes where the horn of the rhino was.”
According to Grenet, the sculpture depicts the Sassanid king Shapur I (240-272 A.D.), who had other similar reliefs made in the last years of his reign. This one would have celebrated his victory and subjugation of the Kushan kings of the region. Yet this sculpture is 1,600 kilometers east of the other known examples. It shows the hunt of an Indian rhinoceros–an animal never found in Afghanistan but royal prey in India–and a mango tree, also native to India. Grenet believes these motifs are the result of Shapur’s pretensions that his rule extended to India, which then began in Peshawar.
A few hours northwest, in Balkh, DAFA has been working in the spring and fall on sites a few hundred years older. Their excavations at Tepe Zargaran in Balkh are thrilling. A giant tumulus–the Persian tepe means hill, and the site’s name means “hill of the gold-workers”–has been painstakingly opened up to reveal, in one area, the remains of buildings, and nearby, a massive collection of Bactrian and Buddhist stone building fragments, evidently used in an ancient irrigation channel.
Philippe Marquis of DAFA, on-site when I visited, tells me that the first dig is from the 3rd century A.D. or later, but has not yet been conclusively identified. At the second site, the graceful top of a broken Corinthian column had just been unearthed; a very similar piece is currently in the traveling show of treasures from the Afghan National Museum. Nearby, the stone fragments recovered from the site have been divided into two collections. The upper layer of digging revealed about 450 pieces in all, of which half were originally part of Buddhist buildings from the 2nd century.
Marquis explains that they probably came from a couple of stupas destroyed by the Sassanid builders of the irrigation channel. Excavations lower down yielded Greek pieces from the 3rd and 2nd centuries B.C. The DAFA team will try to reconstruct the stupas from the pieces they have. The finds from the excavation will go into a 1,200 square-meter museum the French are funding in Mazar, the first of several projected regional museums the Afghan government is trying to finance. Designed by a French architect to echo local domed forms, the plans for the museum suggest that it will be Afghanistan’s finest to date. It is projected to open in 2011.
Lee believes that there is more to find: “The most famous site yet to be discovered in the Balkh area is the temple of Zar-i Aspa (Golden Horse) dedicated to the Iranian goddess Anahita,” he says. “Greek sources record this temple, dedicated to the guardian spirit of the Oxus, actually straddled a part of the Balkh river.”
DAFA’s most important recent discovery, Tangi Cheshmeh Shafa, lies along this river 30 kilometers south of Balkh. Much of the way is on a dirt road used by locals that runs alongside the Balkh River, but it is still only an hour from Mazar, allowing the DAFA team to commute from their Mazar home. Tangi Cheshmeh Shafa has yielded Afghanistan’s largest Achaemenid site to date, about three kilometers square, dating to 500-600 B.C.
The situation of the former citadel is spectacular, affording wide-angle views of the countryside. David Jurie at DAFA’s Kabul office explains the likely reason the Achaemenids built here: “From the top of the citadel, you can see 25 kilometers on either side. The road to Bamiyan and India passes by and it is very narrow at this point. So if you controlled this site, you could dominate the trade route.”
For this reason it was also used as a fort by the mujahedeen during Afghanistan’s civil war, and they are likely responsible for the extensive looting of the hillside site. Acres of the slope are pitted by crude diggings to a depth of four to five feet. But on a flat plain below, another part of the site awaits professional excavation.
Just a half hour’s drive from Tepe Zargaran and an hour from the Minaret of Daulatabad, Afghanistan’s oldest mosque, the 8th-9th century No Gonbad (“Nine domes”) stands in tranquil farmland. Yet this masterpiece, one of the oldest mosques west of Iraq, was only published in 1968, after two Americans, Lisa Golombek (now curator emeritus of Islamic Art at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto) and photographer Deborah Klimburg-Salter (wife of the expert who refurbished the Nuristani collections at the Kabul Museum) stumbled upon it. It is also known as Haji Piyada, or Saint Piyada, after a much more recent shrine located next to the ruined mosque.
Powerful even without its roof, the mosque is imposing in a way that the more human-scaled minaret of Daulatabad is not. The pillars’ stucco decoration has the sublime confidence of early Islamic art. Golombek points out the similarities between the vegetal and geometric forms used here and in other nine-bay 9th- and 10th-century mosques across the Middle East and North Africa.
Although one of the mosque’s arches is in danger, it seems likely that DAFA’s major program for the site will rescue it in time. They are digging down 1.75 meters to the original floor, now covered by dust and masonry from the collapsed roof. DAFA hopes to rebuild the roof from these fragments.
The ruins that offer the most extreme combination of visual drama and remoteness are 600 miles away by road in Nimroz. This province, in the far southwest between the Baluch areas of Pakistan and Iran, is closer by air to Dubai than to Kabul, and its capital, Zaranj, is so close to the Iranian border that locals use Iranian currency and women wear the Iranian black chador.
There is no NATO military presence or Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) here, and the security situation is iffy because most of the province is uninhabited. The ruins here are the remains of a once-thriving civilization that extended from Kandahar well into Iran and went by the name of Sistan for most of its history. They lie in a 70-mile-wide, 100-mile-long desert basin periodically flooded by the Helmand River. Two-thirds of the area is within Nimroz Province but the rest is now in Iran. Some of these places have been inhabited since prehistoric times.
A 30-year-old description by Nancy Hatch Dupree, doyenne of Afghan architecture, whets the appetite:
the southern Hamun basin contains the greatest assemblage of 15th century A.D. architecture anywhere in the Middle East….The remains speak of a sophisticated culture, of affluence permitting a rich variety of architectural forms and ornamentation, of stately manor houses containing sometimes more than sixty rooms fashioned from sun-dried and kiln-baked bricks.
The reality is magnificent, but literally eroded. Here is one case where the hand of man is not at fault; wind and flood have done their work, and the buildings I saw were less detailed than the photographs I had seen from the early 20th century. The three-hour, 90-kilometer trip southeast from Zaranj to Shahr-i-Gholghola, “the city of screams,” is the second-worst driving I’ve ever experienced in Afghanistan. It was a great relief when the first set of remains of Shahr-i-Gholghola appeared abruptly in front of us.
There were battlements behind battlements, three concentric rings, with 50 or 100 yards of open ground between them. The site is so large–a square kilometer–and the terrain so flat that it is difficult to keep perspective. The walls had once been 50 or 60 feet high–and in fact still are, but the lower 30-40 feet are now shrouded in sand. At some points you could walk up nearly to the top and then descend an equal slope to the next area of flat ground. In the center is a fantastic honeycomb of mud brick arches and domes, battlements and stairs, with smashed pottery everywhere.
The last serious study of Shahr-i-Gholghola ended abruptly in 1978 when the Smithsonian team that Trousdale led pulled out. Trousdale may be the last man alive to know the area well. He worked in Helmand and Nimroz provinces during 1971-78, excavating for three years at Shahr-i-Gholghola. The Smithsonian team surveyed more than 150 sites from the 4th millennium B.C. to the 15th century A.D. and excavated a dozen until the arrival of the Soviets made it impossible to work. Trousdale and a geologist also investigated early mining and smelting sites, both in Afghanistan and in Pakistani Baluchistan across the border.
When we met in London last winter Trousdale explained, with an intensity and quickness of mind that would have been intimidating in a much younger man, that there was much more detail to Shahr-i-Gholghola when he visited 30 years ago. But mingled with his sadness is a satisfaction few of us experience. He writes to me in an email:
The last word should belong not to a scholar at the end of his career but to one at the beginning, my companion on the trip from Kabul to Balkh, Reza Hossaini.
“Do you see those mountains on the left side?” he asks, pointing to a rugged slope on the south side of the Kabul-Mazar highway, just after the Salang Tunnel that marks the beginning of the Central Asian plain. “I have found petroglyphs on the back side there. I walked 40 kilometers in one day to go there and back.”
“How did you know they would be there?”
“I have some ideas from reading, and I ask the local people, I become friendly with them. Also I am using Google Earth.”
Reza’s passionate pursuit of learning–on a salary of $360 a month–bodes well for a new generation of Afghans to set their mark on the study of their own country.
This entry was posted on Sunday, March 15th, 2009 at 11:35 pm and is filed under Afghanistan, Archeology & Heritage. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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There are 5 posts filed in Pashtuns or Pathans (this is page 1 of 2).
Afghanistan and Canada: Is there an Alternative to the War?
Co-Authors: Asad Ismi, Michael Neuman, Murray Dobbin, D’Abord Solidaires, John W. Warnock, Tariq Ali, Echec a la Guerre, Stephen Cornish, Linda McQuaig, Ira Basen, Ligue des droits et libertes, Richard Preston, Cheshmak Farhoumand-Sims, Rose Marie Whalley, John Foster, A. Walter Dorn, Pierre Beaudet, Claude Castonguay, Richard Preston, Peggy Mason, Lucia Kowaluk and Steven Staples. Black […]
May 12, 2008 | Comment
Pakistan: Another U.S.-Made Disaster: Pakistan Election Doesn’t Curb U.S. and Military Dominance
By Asad Ismi The February election in Pakistan makes no difference to United States and military dominance of the country. The Pakistan army has never allowed any elected politician to rule the state, even when they had won a majority of the vote. No party gained a majority in the February election. The biggest share […]
in Afghanistan, Articles, Asia, Assassinations, Awami League, Balochis, Balochistan, Bangladesh, Benazir Bhutto, Bengalis, Britain, Capitalism, CIA, Civil War, Colonialism, Corruption, Crimes against humanity, Drug Trafficking, East Pakistan, Economic Crisis, Education, Fascism, Genocide, Governments supporting terrorism, Health Care, Human Rights, Hunger and Malnutrition, Imperialism, India, Inter-Services Intelligence, Islam, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Massacres, Military Coup, Nawaz Sharif, Neocolonialism, Neoliberalism, North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), Oil and Gas, Pakistan, Pakistan Army, Pakistan Peoples Party, Paramilitary death squads, Pashtuns or Pathans, Pentagon, Plunder, Poverty and Inequality, Punjab, Punjabis, Repression, Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rehman, Sind, Sindhis, Socialism, State Terrorism, Taliban, Torture, U.S. Special Forces, U.S. State Terrorism, United States, War, War Crimes, Wealth Redistribution, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto | March 1, 2008 | Comment
An Interview With Afghan MP Malalai Joya: Karzai Government Treats Women as Brutally as Did the Taliban
By Asad Ismi Malalai Joya, 29, is the youngest female member of Afghanistan’s parliament and has been elected twice from the western province of Farah. She is a popular women’s rights activist and an outspoken critic of the government of Hamid Karzai and the Northern Alliance, which is now being defended by U.S., Canadian and […]
in Afghanistan, Articles, Asia, Canada, Canadian military, Capitalism, Corruption, Drug Trafficking, Human Rights, Imperialism, Malalai Joya, NATO, Neocolonialism, North America, Pashtuns or Pathans, Pentagon, Plunder, Rape, Repression, Taliban, U.S. State Terrorism, United States, War, War Crimes, Women | December 1, 2007 | Comment
Afghanistan: U.S. Sets Up and Supports the World’s No.1 “Narco” State
By Asad Ismi The close link between U.S. military and covert intervention and drug trafficking continues in Afghanistan today. When it invaded and occupied the country in October 2001, Washington replaced the ruling Taliban with President Hamid Karzai and the Northern Alliance, a group of warlords whose armies are financed by growing and selling opium. […]
in Afghanistan, Articles, Asia, CIA, Corruption, Drug Trafficking, Human Rights, Imperialism, Islam, NATO, Neocolonialism, Neoliberalism, North America, Pashtuns or Pathans, Pentagon, Rape, Repression, Taliban, United States, War, War Crimes, Women | September 1, 2004 | Comment
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Uplive Sponsors the Most Exclusive VidCon After Party
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Abby Arterburn August 29, 2018
Social Media Sensation Danielle Cohn Joins Uplive
Uplive Sponsors 34th Sarasota Powerboat Grand Prix
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Baseball Completes Sweep Of Storm In 13-4 Victory
Walsh (19-14, 12-6) 2 1 0 1 0 0 4 4 1 13 9 0
Lake Erie (12-16-1, 10-8) 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 4 7 2
2B: Avery Janning; Jared Telecky; Alec Debruler
HR: Andrew Czech
2B: Wes Birchmeier
HR: Corbin Paxton; Wes Birchmeier; Nathan Erzen
(NORTH CANTON, Ohio) – A 13-4 victory over Lake Erie completed the series sweep that started Friday and gave Walsh another important win in the G-MAC's North Division. The Cavaliers (19-14, 12-6) not only moved two games ahead of the Storm (12-16-1, 10-8), but it also put them in a tie for fourth place with Malone.
As the standings sit now, the top five teams in the North Division would qualify for the G-MAC Tournament in mid-May. The top three teams in each division get automatic bids, while the final two spots are given to the teams with the best conference records regardless of division.
Walsh jumped out to an early lead thanks to Andrew Czech's team-best 13th home run of the season that also plated Marcus Bobb for a 2-0 lead. A pair of sacrifice flies by Cobe Hutchison and Jacob Beachy in the second and fourth allowed the Maroon and Gold to go up 4-0.
Lake Erie, who served as the home team on the scoreboard because they were originally schedule to host the game, rallied in the bottom of the fifth when it belted three home runs.
The tie game was short-lived as Czech one again provided the go-ahead heroics with a bases-loaded RBI on a walk with two outs. Reigning G-MAC Player of the Week Avery Janning followed with a bases-clearing double for an 8-4 lead. The Cavs went on to score four more in the eighth and another insurance run in the ninth.
The Cavaliers received great work from the bullpen as it didn't yield a hit in the final four innings. Luke Miller entered in the sixth and picked up the win to improve to 3-1 on the year. Justin Hovorka entered in the seventh and pitched two near-perfect innings before Joey Beals closed out the game with three strikeouts in the ninth.
Walsh now sets its sights on arch rival Malone for a three-game series scheduled to start this Friday. The Cavs and Pioneers will play one on Friday with a doubleheader set for Saturday.
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Book Review: The Luxury Collection – Room With A View
Book Review: The Luxury Collection – Room With A View – Like a theatrical backdrop, a breathtaking view sets the stage for an uplifting journey of the spirit.
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See also: 10 Free Ebooks with Interior Design Trends
Notable tastemakers, including Valentino global brand ambassador Carlos Souza, art director Sofia Sanchez de Betak, and designer Margherita Missoni, reflect on their favorite views and relate their unforgettable travel experiences. From the pristine sands of Aegean Riviera in Bodrum, Turkey, to the bustle of San Francisco to the verdant Sacred Valley of Peru, at the base of Machu Picchu, this volume is a virtual adventure around the world that will leave readers dreaming of their next escape.
The Luxury Collection is an ensemble of more than ninety-five of the world’s finest hotels and resorts, each noteworthy for its architecture, art, furnishings, and amenities. Sharing a dedication to immaculate service and comfort, each property has a unique heritage inextricably tied to its destination. Curated for their spirit of diversity and genre, each Luxury Collection property has a story to tell.
Andrew McCarthy is an actor, director, and award-winning travel writer, and his travel memoir, The Longest Way Home, became a New York Times best seller. In 2015, McCarthy served as the guest editor of The Best American Travel Writing. He is an editor-at-large at National Geographic Traveler and has written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, The Atlantic, Travel+Leisure, and many others. He has received six Lowell Thomas awards, and been named Travel Journalist of the Year by The Society of American Travel Writers. He lives in New York.
See also: Get inspired by Venice Synagogues
Keep following Best Design Books for the lattest book reviews and the most amazing interior design books and magazines! Don’t forget to leave a comment bellow! Follow us at Pinterest!
Andrew McCarthyAssoulinebest sellerbook reviewInterior design booksRoom With A ViewThe Luxury Collection
Summer Color Trends 2019
Trend Alert: Add Your Bathroom Nature Elements
Color Trends 2019: Introduce Black And Gold Into Your Home Decor
by weblog
Santiago Calatrava Special Edition by Assouline
Book Review: Hôtel Plaza Athénée
Dior Couture BookJune 18, 2016
100 most iconic dresses of the 20th CenturyJune 18, 2016
DIOR 60TH ANNIVERSARY BOOKJune 18, 2016
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BiK-F plays host to International Climate Protection fellow
Frankfurt am Main, July 21, 2011. Andrew Chibuzor Iloh, a Nigerian environmental biologist, will be visiting the Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiK‐F) from September 1, 2011 onwards. His one year stay at BiK‐F is dedicated to assessing the genetic diversity of West African plants. This will help to develop better conversation strategies for plants which are endangered by climate change. The project is funded by the prestigious International Climate Protection fellowship of the German Alexander von Humboldt‐Foundation and will further knowledge transfer with developing countries.
Andrew Chibuzor Iloh is an assistant research fellow at the Biotechnology Advanced Laboratory, Sheda Science and Technology Complex in Abuja, Nigeria, and PhD student at the Department of Botany at the University of Lagos. One of his major research interests is the use of molecular methods in plant conservation. At the Frankfurt‐based BiK‐F, Germany, he will do research on Chasmanthera dependens, a plant which is to be found in his homeland Nigeria. The traditional medicinal plant is endangered, climate change being one of the reasons. An analysis of the plant’s
genome with the help of molecular‐biological methods will provide further insight into the genetic diversity and distance within and among populations of the species.
The genetic composition forms the evolutive pool by which the plant is able to adapt to environmental change. The analysis will thus help to improve the conservation of the species by means of appropriate strategies. The young scientist will be guided in this research by Alexandra N. Muellner, professor at the Department of Biological Sciences at Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main, and head of the project area "Evolution and Climate" at BiK‐F. In this project area, biodiversity, evolution over time, and the influence of climate change on these processes are explored by using molecular biological and other methods.
International Climate Protection Fellowships are awarded to a maximum of 20 outstanding prospective leaders from developing countries each year (14 for the term 2011/2012), enabling them to conduct a research‐related project of their own choice during a one‐year stay in Germany. The Fellowship aims at establishing a network of German and international experts, as well as promoting the transfer of knowledge, methods and technology with which climate change and its effects may be tackled. For BiK‐F and its partners, cooperation with institutions from developing and emerging countries is an important issue, with a particular emphasis being placed upon the transfer of methods. The center therefore welcomes the fellowship being awarded to the Nigerian biologist.
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Goat Simulator Review
Ever, in your life, have you wondered what it would be like to run around as a goat and cause utter destruction and mayhem to a town? Chances are, this thought has never once crossed your mind, and that’s okay because Coffee Stains Studios has answered that question for us. Thanks to the newest generation of goat simulation technology, this game is exactly as the title suggests, you play a goat…yes you read that right, a goat. Unlike most goats though, all this one seems to want is to cause mass chaos instead of eating some nice green grass. First available for the PC gamers out there, now owners of the Xbox 360 and the Xbox One can live out their dreams of being a goat!
Now, if you’re like me, the first time hearing the words “Goat Simulator,” you probably think it’s either a really stupid game or maybe a game for children. Well, the first one is kind of right. That being said though, that’s the whole point! Run around as a goat, head butting people, causing explosions, destroying homes, etc.
There is just so much you can do in this game. For instance, like licking a helicopter with your goat tongue, that can stretch way more than it should, as it takes you up the roof of a skyscraper. What’s on the skyscraper you may ask? None other than Deadmau5 hosting a concert. This is just one of the random events that fill this odd little game.
There’s no story to follow, so we are left wondering why this goat decided today would be the day to ruin small rural areas. The game is also hilariously buggy but it’s meant to be. More bugs than you’ve ever seen in a game, I found myself trapped inside cars, mountains, at one point one of the civilians of the town were even bugged to the point that they were sticking out of my goat as if we were some weird mutant hybrid, but that’s what makes this game so fun. The developers have said they kept every bug in besides the one that would cause the game to crash. So chances are, you might find yourself trapped in a wall too, or accidentally fling yourself up to the moon, but don’t worry, you can respond and happily go on your way of being a goat. I can’t say that enough, you spend this game being a goat!
One of my favorite features is the ragdoll effects. Throw yourself in front of a passing car, trigger the ragdoll effect and watch your body fly. You can also move objects with your tongue, just lick and they’ll stick, because apparently goat tongues are extra sticky and hold as strong as an octopus’s tentacle. You’ll begin to rack up points throughout the game for every action you perform, the point system has been compared to that of the Tony Hawk Pro Skater games, where as you do tricks you earn points, combo tricks together and you earn even more points. It’s generally the same concept here, everything you do besides running can earn you points. Headbutting objects, doing flips, jumping on trampolines, riding rollercoasters, the possibilities are nearly endless.
There’s no real reason for these points besides comparing with friends and arguing who is the master of the goat race, or if you’re an achievement hunter and love racking up your gamerscore. These points are also followed by random tasks you can do, such as wall run for a certain time limit, cause an object to fly a certain distance, and so forth. There are also mutators you can achieve that will add abilities to your goat, or change their appearance in certain ways. Such as when you win the sumo style goat match, you will become buff and it is totally ridiculous looking, or you can even attach a jet pack to your back and fly with a poor controls. Half the time in the air, you’ll spend it spinning out of control, and hoping you don’t smash into the side of one of the homes. The game even grants you a halo if you spend a certain amount of time without causing any damage, because you know, being such a good goat is fun. Chances are though, you’ll spend more time as a four legged demolition machine and just doing random things over worrying about how many point you’ve earned.
For what it is though, the game is surprisingly fun and will make you laugh, a lot at certain times. It’s more enjoyable if you’re playing with friends, or even if they’re just sitting there watching you play. The amount of ridiculousness that comes from this title is amazing. Who ever would have thought being a goat would be this much fun, I know I didn’t. I will say, this is one game that I can’t sit down and play for hours, I can only be a goat for so long before I start to want more out of it, but in small doses it’s a blast. If you’re looking for that game that’s cheap, and can help pass the time with little to follow, look no further. It’s important to point out, don’t take this game seriously, if you do, you’re just setting yourself up for disappointment. The game is dumb but fun. I mean, what else would you expect from a game that makes you be a goat?
REVIEW CODE: A complimentary Microsoft Xbox One code was provided to Brash Games for this review. Please send all review code enquiries to editor@brashgames.co.uk.
Tags:Action & Adventure, Coffee Stain Studios, Double Eleven, Goat Simulator, Rating 7/10, simulation, Simulator, Xbox One, Xbox One Review
Tachyon Project Review
HITMAN 2 – Holiday Hoarders Is Now Available For Xbox One
Stranger Things 3: The Game Is Now Available For Xbox One
Play a giant-battling superhero in Iron Galaxy’s Extinction for PS4
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www.cormacburke.or.ke
Revised Douay-Rheims Bible (‘you’ version)
Confessions of St. Augustine (Pusey's Translation of 1838; in a 'you' version)
Encyclopedia of Catholic Doctrine (Extracts)
Rotal Decisions
Compose tips
Pastors and Penance (Position Papers, no. 262: Oct 1995, pp. 259-264)
Fri, 07/29/2011 - 16:41 — webmaster
Recent decades have seen a remarkable fall-off in the number of Catholics frequenting the sacrament of Penance, one of the two sacraments which they can - and used to - receive frequently. The phenomenon, it should be added, characterizes the "developed" Western world. Africa is certainly an exception; so, it seems, are the countries of Eastern Europe. But allowing for such exceptions, we are in the presence of a pastoral phenomenon that is remarkable, and cannot be without significance. How should we regard it? Are there lessons to be learned from it? Does it matter? If it does, what to be done about it?
A POSTSCRIPT TO THE "REMEDIUM CONCUPISCENTIAE" (The Thomist 70 (2006): 481-536)
Tue, 02/15/2011 - 11:37 — webmaster
I. CONCUPISCENCE AND MARRIAGE: THEOLOGICAL POSITIONS
II. CONCUPISCENCE AND MARRIED LOVE: A DEEPER ANALYSIS
III. MARRIED LOVE AND MARRIED CHASTITY
Marriage - theological
Inculturation: John Paul II and the Third World (East Asian Pastoral Review 32 (1995) pp. 277-290)
Sat, 01/29/2011 - 16:37 — webmaster
"The Split between the gospel and culture", said Pope Paul VI, "is without a doubt the drama of our time"[1]. The drama is still being played out today in two main theaters, each with very distinctive features.
Marriage: a personalist or an institutional understanding? (Communio 19 (1992), 278-304)
Mon, 11/29/2010 - 18:18 — webmaster
For a large part of this century, theologians, canonists and anthropologists have been engaged in a vigorous debate about the ends of marriage, and at times about its very nature. On the one hand was the traditional (often termed the "procreative" or "institutional") understanding, which presented the ends of matrimony in a clear hierarchical manner: a "primary" end (procreation) and two "secondary" ends (mutual help and the remedy for concupiscence). On the other hand, there had emerged a new view which, without necessarily denying the importance of procreation, wished at least equal standing to be given to other personalist values linking husband and wife: mutual love, the conjugal union in its spiritual and not just its physical aspect, etc.
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David Allan Coe
<< PREV – NEXT >>
Click on first letter of artist's first name – for "Johnny Cash", click "J".
Live! If That Ain't Country... (1997)
Penitentiary Blues (2005)
Recommended For Airplay (1999)
David Allan Coe rebuts racism charge (Nov 2000)
David Allan Coe may be the most controversial musician in country music history. Not even Western Swing pioneer Spade Cooley, who was convicted of murdering his wife as their daughter watched, has received as much notorious press as Coe. Prison time. Tattoos and scars. Motorcycle gangs. Cheatin' songs, drinkin' songs and a famously nasty attitude long ago marked Coe as country's outlaw. Oh, and then there's the matter of a pair of X-rated albums that he released in the mid '70's, "Underground" and "Nothing Sacred."... more
Editorials and Country Musings
David Allan Coe: an open letter to the mysterious rhinestone cowboy (Oct 2000)
An open letter to the mysterious rhinestone cowboy Dear David Allan Coe, I wish I had told you this sooner, but I still want you to know that I think "You Never Called Me By My Name" was indeed the perfect country and western song. Unfortunately, the accent has to be on the word "was." Country music has changed a lot in the last few years. Nowadays, you never hear anybody on the radio singing about trains or trucks or � heaven forbid � drinking alcoholic beverages or going to prison. They never sing about their mama either. (But this is understandable; since they started cloning country singers, most of them don't even have mamas.)... more
Coe hospitalized after car crash (Mar 2013)
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Phase 1 sports complex plans submitted to City of Davenport
By Anne Marie Amacher
DAVENPORT — Phase 1 of the Assumption High School proposed sports complex, to be shared with St. Ambrose University, has been submitted to the City of Davenport.
Andy Craig, president of Assumption High School, said various documents have been filed over the past couple of weeks and the plans were submitted June 24.
Shrive-Hattery
Initial plans for the Assumption High School proposed sports complex, to be shared with St. Ambrose University, have been submitted to the City of Davenport for review.
Since the sports complex is a project of Assumption and not St. Ambrose, rezoning is not required.
Craig said Phase 1 includes two all-purpose fields, a softball diamond and parking for 127 vehicles. The location of this phase is north and east of St. Vincent Center, which houses the Diocese of Davenport and Catholic Messenger offices.
Once the city reviews the plans it can determine what works and doesn’t work, according to city codes, Craig noted. When everything is aligned and permits are issued, the project will go out for bid.
He hopes that work can begin in late July or early August, depending on when permits are issued and the weather. If work commences and with few weather delays, Phase 1 could be completed by spring of 2017, he added.
The cost of this phase is estimated at $5 million. “Most of the money is available right now.”
Future plans for the property, including a football field and stadium have not been solidified, Craig said. The first goal is to get Phase 1 under way. “We’re taking this in steps.” At this early point in the project, Craig said he is not sure how long it will take to complete the whole vision. “When this gets rolling we’ll have a better idea of what to look at for the next phase. There are many options.”
(Visit the Catholic Messenger website at www.catholicmessenger.net for updates to this story.)
AHS practice fields, softball diamond near completion
Assumption stadium plans to differ from SAU blueprint
◀ Ribbons a tie to suffering church
Teens make a buzz with service work ▶
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What could these "misfolded" protein molecules be trying to create?
What could these "misfolded" protein molecules be trying to create? A new design, practicing it's mutation without success up until now, that holds a vital evolutionary brain update, the very link to the unfolding of the human race?! Or is it just a misunderstood command to fold left instead of right? Whatever the cause I claim my new advanced brain pattern as Divine Creation.
Here is an amazing article from OHSU:
OHSU researchers develop new drug approach that could lead to cures for wide range of diseases12/09/13 Portland, Ore.
A team led by a longtime Oregon Health & Science University researcher has demonstrated in mice what could be a revolutionary new technique to cure a wide range of human diseases — from cystic fibrosis to cataracts to Alzheimer's disease — that are caused by "misfolded" protein molecules.
Misfolded protein molecules, caused by gene mutation, are capable of maintaining their function but are misrouted within the cell and can’t work normally, thus causing disease. The OHSU team discovered a way to use small molecules that enter cells, fix the misfolded proteins and allow the proteins to move to the correct place and function normally again.
The researchers were led by P. Michael Conn, Ph.D., who was a senior scientist in reproductive sciences and neuroscience at OHSU's Oregon National Primate Research Center and professor of physiology and pharmacology, cell biology and development and obstetrics and gynecology at OHSU for the past 19 years. This month, Conn joined Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center as senior vice president for research and associate provost.
The team’s work will be published this week in the early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The work was the culmination of 13 years of work on the process by Conn and Jo Ann Janovick, former senior research associate at the ONPRC who is now also at TTUHSC. Richard R. Behringer, Ph.D., from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, M. David Stewart, Ph.D., from the University of Houston, and Douglas Stocco, Ph.D., and Pulak Manna, Ph.D., from the department of biochemistry/microbiology at TTUHSC, also contributed to the work.
Conn and his team perfected the process in mice, curing them of a form of disease that causes males to be unable to father offspring. The identical disease occurs in humans and Conn believes the same concept can work to cure human disease as well.
"The opportunity here is going to be enormous," said Conn, "because so many human diseases are caused by misfolded proteins. The ability of these drugs – called ‘pharmacoperones’ – to rescue misfolded proteins and return them to normalcy could someday be an underlying cure to a number of diseases. Drugs that act by regulating the trafficking of molecules within cells are a whole new way of thinking about treating disease.”
Proteins must fold into three-dimensional shapes in precise ways to do their work within human cells. Before recent discoveries about misfolded proteins, scientists believed that proteins that were inactive were intrinsically non-functional. But work by Conn and others revealed that, when the proteins are misfolded, the cell's "quality control system" misroutes them within the cell and they cease to function only because of that misrouting. Pharmacoperones can fix misfolded proteins and thus make them functional again.
Scientists had in recent years observed this process in cells under a microscope. The work of Conn's team is the first time the process has worked in a living laboratory animal.
“These findings show how valuable laboratory animals are in identifying new treatments for human disease,” said Conn. “We expect that these studies will change the way drug companies look for drugs, since current screening procedures would have missed many useful pharmacoperone drugs.”
A wide range of diseases are caused by an accumulation of misfolded proteins. Among the diseases are neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease. Other diseases include certain types of diabetes, inherited cataracts and cystic fibrosis.
Conn said the next steps will be clinical trials to see whether the same technique can work in humans.
The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health (grants OD012220 and DK85040), the Ben F. Love Endowment, the American Heart Association, the Texas Heart Institute and the Robert A. Welch Foundation.
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Locals go Loco for Bats
When San Antonio decided to make the city’s river more accessible back in 2011 they weren’t expecting to find anything under the bridges. Who knew thousands of bats could be so sneaky? A colony of Mexican free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) have been making their home in the heart of the city and, now six years later, kids and adults come to join them for a fun night out on the town.
Many celebrated by dressing up in their batty best!
Courtesy of Katie Jepson / Bat Conservation International
Originally a swamp, the area under the I-35 and Newell bridges was built up to include additional hiking trails and sidewalks when they discovered the colony. “All that stuff was expanded up into this area five years ago and that’s when they found out they had bats.” Fran Hutchins, the Director of the Bracken Cave Preserve with Bat Conservation International explains.
With thousands of Mexican free-tailed bats pouring out from under the I-35 Bridge every night it’s no wonder that people like Hutchins decided to get in on the action. Together with the San Antonio River Authority and Texas State Parks & Wildlife, BCI created a whole new event to feature the amazing bat flight.
Echo the bat leads a batty parade down the street.
Bat Loco takes advantage of the incredible show while giving people a little information about the bats. “It’s in the city so it’s a chance for locals to get out and learn about bats,” adds Hutchins, “people to come and enjoy the river walk, learn something about bats, and watch a bat flight.”
The Bat Loco Bash is a unique way to end the summer for kids all over the San Antonio area. The event takes place on the last Tuesday before school starts and offers not only music, educational booths, and games, but also gives visitors a perfect view of the 60,000 Mexican free-tailed bats taking off for the night.
“People cheer when the bats start coming out,” says Hutchins. “It’s just a lot of fun, you know, having some kind of family friendly event.”
Crowds cheer as the bats take flight.
Things have changed a lot since Bat Loco started back in 2013. Originally there might be as few as 50 visitors to join the educational bat walk along the river, but things have grown quite a bit since then. “It’s really neat seeing how everyone’s embracing the bats,” said Hutchins as about four thousand people now come to the Bat Loco Bash. They have even had to take over both bridges over the river, closing two streets just to fit all of the bat enthusiasts.
And this year's event was no different. With appearances by the Batmobile, Echo the Bat, and even Batman himself, hundreds of young and old alike got to join in on the batty fun and learn about the bats under the I-35 bridge. When asked how this year's event stacked up against past celebrations, Hutchins adds, "This year's event was the best ever!"
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Korean Movie Reviews
Film Review: The Himalayas (2015)
The Himalayas (Review)
South Korea/2015
Format Viewed for Review: Amazon Video
Netflix Streaming: No
Amazon Prime: Yes
"I enjoyed it for what it offered: a genuine experience."
The story of Um Hong-gil (Hwang Jung-min), a renowned mountaineer who climbs Everest in order to retrieve the bodies of his late junior climbers.
The Himalayas is the true story of Um Hong-gil. Off the bat, the film warns you that some events have been changed for the sake of dramatization—I like that. The plot primarily follows Um Hong-gil as he mentors Park Moon-taek (Jung Woo), a junior climber, and his friend Park Jeong-bok. Along with the rest of the team, Hong-gil climbs several mountains in hopes of reaching 16 peaks. His run is cut short due to problems with his leg, so Moon-taek becomes the leader of his own team. At this point, which is around halfway through the movie, the movie becomes a bit more predictable. You'll know exactly where every scene is headed. It's not the biggest flaw, the film based on real events after all, but it does cause the film to lose some steam. It leads to a strong climax and ending, though.
The Himalayas is a very good movie. It is a formulaic, predictable, and safe movie, but I won't fault it too much for that. It's a film based on true events and filmmakers can only 'dramatize' the truth so much before it becomes an insincere experience. I enjoyed the plot, though. I think the characters were handled well. A strong bond was formed between the main characters, so there was chemistry, which created some really emotional scenes. The film is also suspenseful and even downright scary at times. As I stated already, the second half of the film loses some steam, but it still managed to keep me invested. I'm sure this film will be compared to another similar movie, Everest. The Himalayas is very similar, but it has a different vibe. It feels more 'natural'—for lack of a better term. It also has more lighthearted humor. However, in terms of technical aspects, Everest is without a doubt the better, and more expensive, film.
The acting was great. As usual, Hwang Jung-min was charismatic and genuine. He filled his character's shoes perfectly. Jung Woo was also impressive, especially during some of the more demanding scenes. The film was shot beautifully, although it isn't quite Everest-quality—as I already stated. The music was good, too, but it was a little repetitive at times. The film was directed by Lee Seok-hoon. Lee takes the safe route in terms of direction, but he didn't have many options. It's a film based on true events after all. I think he performed well, creating an emotionally-effective experience through the plot's deep characters while also creating plenty of suspense.
Overall, The Himalayas is a very good movie. At times, it's funny and lighthearted. During others, it's intimate and moving. And, it's also suspenseful and even scary. It may resemble other films, but it still has plenty of heart. I enjoyed it for what it offered: a genuine experience.
Parental Guide: Some disturbing images.
Posted by Jonathan at 7:00 AM
Labels: 2015, Adventure, Amazon Prime, Drama, Hwang Jung-min, Jung Woo, Lee Seok-hoon, Reviews, South Korea
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Adak Island
Adak Island, AK weather in October 2000
Temperature for October 2000
In October 2000 the average high temperature in Adak Island, AK was 0.0°F, and this was 47.1°F cooler than the average of 47.1°F. The hottest day in October 2000 was 0 October when the temperature reached 0.0°F. Overnight the average temperature in October is 38.7°F and in 2000 the average overnight temperature was 38.7°F cooler at 0.0°F.
Precipitation for October 2000
In October the average monthly rainfall in Adak Island, AK is 2.17 inches with rain usually falling on 22 days. In October 2000 there was a total of 0.00 inches of rain, that fell on 0 days.
The climate summary for this page is based on data from the Global Summary of the Day and is based on weather observations between October 1942 and December 2012.
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When I Was 17: Melissa Smith
Melissa took this picture on her first day of our We Roam Program. She packed herself a lunch and said it felt like the first day of school.
Melissa Smith runs her own business, The PVA (Personal Virtual Assistant), which connects clients to virtual assistants to help them use their time more efficiently in order to take their businesses to the next level. Melissa’s story really intrigued me because she didn’t follow the traditional route, opting for a vocational school instead of a 4-year college. What started out as a conversation between friends quickly became a master class in starting and running your own successful business. I was so inspired after talking to Melissa, and I know you’ll feel the same after reading this interview. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
When you were 17, what did you want to be?
So when I was 17, I had a bit of a different situation than most teens. A month before I turned 17, I became a mom. So that’s not the norm. But I actually knew I wanted to be a secretary (back then the term administrative assistant had just started floating around). Although I was firmly planted in this, no one was excited about it, everybody thought that was where you start and you work your way up from there. They didn’t think that being a secretary was noble, but I did. I really thought of it as you get to serve people; not everyone can be the CEO, not everyone can be a founder. I always saw it as a really pivotal role and I was not swayed by anyone’s opinion. In fact it probably made me more determined.
When I Was 17: Lydia Gitsels
Lydia celebrating the 1-year anniversary of Nova Connect. A client sent her that cake with the inscription, "Ik ben trots op je," which means "I'm proud of you" in Dutch.
Lydia Gitsels is from Amsterdam, where she runs her own business as a government grant expert. Through her company, Nova Connect, Lydia researches and matches local, national, and European government grant programs with small and medium businesses seeking support. This is just a small segment of what became a three-hour conversation, the perfect reminder for me that this project is as much about connecting with each person as it is about gathering information. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity, obvi.
When I was a teenager…wow, that’s a hard question because when I was a teenager I just didn’t know anything really. When I was younger, I wanted to be an F-16 pilot, but I think I wouldn’t have made the medical test. But it’s never too late; I can still do it. [laughs]. And then in high school I just didn’t know, but we were forced to make a decision and you were forced to think about it and you had to pick a study basically.
When I Was 17: Sarah Haman
Sarah's collection of rad feminist sweatshirts is roughly 60% of the reason we became friends.
Sarah Haman is an account director for DCX, guiding her clients through the creative process to a cohesive branding and advertising campaign. But she didn’t get there by following a master plan. Like many people, she gradually adjusted her goals throughout college, through different jobs, different cities, and different opportunities. Sarah gamely agreed to be my guinea pig for this project, and couldn’t have been a better starting point for this adventure in trying to answer the question, how did we get where we are? Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Probably the editor of Vogue. I don’t think I had a name for it - it was more of a feeling. I just wanted to be a fancy woman who people respected, and I didn’t know what that looked like. I mean, I’m sure it looked like a great outfit and people wanting to work with me.
When I Was 17, I Wanted to Be...
My first day of senior year and my sister's first day of kindergarten. At ages 17 and 5, we had roughly the same level of insight about what we wanted to do professionally.
I’ve been finding myself having the same conversation about prospective majors and careers with a lot of my students lately. I’m hearing a lot of anxiety about not knowing exactly what they want to do in the next four years, and ultimately, not knowing what they want to do with the rest of their lives. My response to this is often to share my own story. Regular readers (i.e., my friends and family) will be familiar with my (nonlinear) journey to this profession, but I’ll share the spiel I give my students.
I tell them that when I was a senior in high school, I had vague ambitions of double-majoring in finance and French. This was mainly due to the fact that I had met a family friend who worked in finance and seemed to go on a lot of business trips to France. Based on my scant knowledge of her job and my extensive admiration for her chic New York City lifestyle, I decided that sounded good to me too. Spoiler alert: I never took a single finance or French class in college.
What I did instead was follow my interests. My childhood love of Shakespeare and Greek and Roman mythology led me to major in classics and minor in English. My year abroad in Rome led to me study Italian, moving on from my four years of high school French. My core curriculum requirements offered the perfect combination of structure and flexibility, pushing me to explore subjects outside my wheelhouse like political philosophy, evolution and genetics, and American pluralism.
The challenge with an abstract major like classics or English is that there is no direct line from that major to a profession, other than teaching those things. But the benefit is that you can do almost anything with those degrees, from medicine, to business, to technology, to professions I’ve never even heard of. The thing I always tell my students is that when I was 17, I didn’t know there was such a thing as an independent college counselor. But the academic and professional experiences I’ve had in the last 15 years have combined to lead me to a career I love, one that I find both challenging and satisfying, and one that I hope to do for decades to come.
So that’s my story. But I’m not unique. In fact, I would argue that I’m the rule, not the exception. As much as students feel pressure to find their path - or at least a path - before they go to college, I think it’s much more common to discover your interests, your strengths, and your ambitions along the way.
To that end, I’m kicking off a new project on the blog. One of the best parts of traveling the world this year has been getting to know the locals who share our co-working spaces, the leaders who are facilitating our adventure, and my fellow Roamers, hearing the stories of how they wound up here, circling the globe and working remotely. We hail from different states, different countries, and almost as many different industries as there are people. I’ll be sharing their stories here every week, starting with my roommate, Sarah, an account director and alumna of Virginia Commonwealth University. My hope is that through this, students and parents will start to see the value of simply being curious, even if you’re not completely certain.
What does a college list have in common with a racecar?
Originally posted on vivedconsulting.com
When I was a kid, one of the highlights of the week was going out for pizza after a softball game or a Girl Scout meeting. The parents would sit at the table and manage the chaos of 14 girls’ pizza topping preferences. And the kids would crowd into the tiny little arcade that boasted three or four video games. I was always most compelled by the racecar game, where you’d select your car (about which I knew nothing) and your location (Miami, Paris, Outer Space). What I remember most vividly about this game was the hypersensitive steering wheel. You’d nudge the wheel slightly to one side, and your car would go careening into the guardrail or off a cliff. It made me terrified of driving an actual car; I couldn’t believe my parents were skillful enough to keep the vehicle in a straight line on the road. Now I know that real cars aren’t like that, but that image has stuck with me, of trying to correct in one direction or another and instead of veering wildly off to the side.
I use this metaphor a lot with my students when we’re in the college search process. Finding colleges that are the right fit is an art, not a science. A student can tell me that they love Loyola Marymount’s Southern California location, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be equally enamored with University of Redlands, Chapman University, and Occidental College. Or a student can identify January term as one of the things they’re looking for in a school, but that doesn’t mean that Colby College, Saint Mary’s College of CA, and Elon University are all a similarly good fit. And so searching for the right colleges can feel a little like that racecar game, where for every one appealing college, five schools aren't quite right. But there is no perfect list of schools, no ten colleges that are right in a sea of 2,500 that are wrong. In reality, colleges have more that unites them than divides them. So there aren’t just ten colleges where you can be happy; there are hundreds.
The students I work with who have great college experiences do so because they’ve given thoughtful consideration to what they need from a school. They’ve come up with ideas of what they want to do when they get there: clubs to join, opportunities to apply for, and academic programs to explore. Students go in with openness and enthusiasm, ready to give as much to a school as they hope to get. A successful college experience (and after college too, for that matter), depends on what you do than where you go. And just like crashing into the walls in that racecar game helps you find stability, taking the time to sift through the colleges that aren’t right for you will help you recognize the ones that are.
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Out of Chaos, a Torrent of Awards
A Feirstein professor’s unwavering belief in a film he produced helped lead to a Cannes Jury Prize, a Golden Globe nomination, and perhaps this weekend, an Oscar.
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By Jamilah Simmons
Distinguished Lecturer Jason Kliot, left, with Capernaum director Nadine Labaki and her husband Khaled Mouzanar, another producer on the film, at a screening at the Barry R. Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema.
Jason Kliot, a distinguished lecturer at the Barry R. Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema and head of the producing tract, knew what a wonderful project he was working on when he signed on to help produce Capernaum, a foreign film about a young boy who runs away and finds himself roaming the tumultuous streets of Beirut.
Finding money to front the production—only the third for the female director, Nadine Labaki, working with non-actors on an Arabic language film about a depressing topic—was an uphill battle.
"No one really wanted to give me the time of day," says Kliot, whose wife and producing partner Joana Vicente, a member of the Feirstein Advisory Council, also worked on the film.
So when Capernaum (the title is a word that means chaos) not only got into the vaunted Cannes Film Festival but also won its Jury Prize with a 15-minute standing ovation at its screening, then went on to be nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film, it was "a series of unbelievably joyful moments," says Kliot.
When he learned the film had been nominated for an Academy Award, he was "over the moon." This weekend, he and Vicente will attend the 91st annual award ceremony for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, where their film will face off against the ballyhooed Roma for Best Foreign Language Film.
"It was a very improbable film to have this kind of success," says Kliot. "I made a lot of movies I believed in that didn’t have this kind of success. Believing in a movie and then having the world believe in it the way you do is one of the most satisfying things a producer can ever have."
This is the second time Kliot has been nominated for a golden statuette, and if the film wins, it will mark the second year in a row that a Brooklyn College professor has produced an Oscar-nominated movie. Last year, Howard Rosenman '65, who has taught for a few semesters at Feirstein, produced Call Me By Your Name, which won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.
Watch the official trailer for Capernaum.
Last semester, Kliot arranged for a screening of Capernaum at Feirstein with Labaki and her husband and producer Khaled Mouzanar, who stayed for a question and answer session.
"They said it was one of the best screenings they ever had," says Kliot. "They felt the excitement and enthusiasm of the students and saw that they connected with the film in a way that other audiences hadn’t."
Kliot has produced more than 40 feature films and worked with everyone from acclaimed directors like Brian De Palma and Steven Soderbergh to relative newcomers like Labaki. With Vicente, he has founded three production companies, Blow Up Pictures, Open City Films, and HDNet Films, and is recognized as a leading figure in the digital film revolution.
He has taught in the film programs at both New York and Columbia universities but "fell in love" with Feirstein. "The students are motivated and hungry in a way that you don’t get at these other places," he says. "Now I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else."
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Tag: Vox
Leftist Lexicon Word of the Week
This past week, there was a great disturbance in the conservative Force, as though millions of voices cried out in anger and were silenced. Turns out YouTube just demonetized Steven Crowder’s videos after a Vox reporter got mad at some of the “harassment” he received from Crowder’s fans. That Vox reporter, Carlos Meza, refers to himself as queer and, surprise surprise, got upset when Crowder called him one! (Granted, there were other statements made to deride Meza, but the point is still the same.)
After YouTube initially said Crowder didn’t violate their Terms of Service, they reversed field like an NFL running back and demonetized his videos, meaning they wouldn’t be promoted and he wouldn’t receive ad revenue from them. Had it not been for Meza’s complaining to YouTube about their allowing Crowder a platform, we might not have the chance to analyze this relatively new Leftist tactic to shut down conservative speech: deplatforming.
What the Left thinks it means – not allowing hateful or potentially dangerous speech an audience
What it really means – a Leftist tactic to discourage discourse they don’t like
There is a key concept central to understanding deplatforming: this isn’t directly a free speech issue. Our right to speak doesn’t guarantee an audience. This principle is backed up by the fact so many talk shows get cancelled after the first season. Complicating matters in Crowder’s case is the fact YouTube is a private company and can set its own rules for use.
That is as long as those rules are enforced equally. And in YouTube’s case, they make Barney Fife look like Sherlock Holmes. Put simply, YouTube’s enforcement is all over the board, with conservatives and those perceived as conservatives (i.e. hateful according to Leftists) bearing the brunt of the punishment. Channels that promote racism, homophobia, and general hatred are struck down while those that promote racism, heterophobia, and general hatred go untouched.
And it’s not just on YouTube. Leftists on college campuses (or would it be campusi?) have found ways to prevent people from Ben Shapiro to Milo Yiannopoulos from speaking on campus through the use of procedural roadblocks, false security issues, and general overall whining, while they allow more radical left-leaning speakers a free pass in spite of outrage at what these speakers have said and done in the past.
As a side note, I’ve created a pretty reliable test for parents and students to determine the best schools. It’s called the Mumia Test. If the college your son or daughter wants to attend has had or would consider infamous cop-killer and Leftist icon Mumia Abu Jamal speak via telephone or other communication method, don’t send him or her there because it’s too far gone.
Anyway, the Left is able to have its cake and eat it too through deplatforming. They can still portray themselves as champions of free speech (that they approve of) while making a case that not all speech is worth hearing. And it’s consistent with the letter of the First Amendment, but not the spirit. Back in the Founding Fathers’ day, their remedy for bad speech was good speech. They didn’t run to George Washington whenever something bad was said about them (and, believe me, a lot was said about Thomas Jefferson that would make TMZ look like the New York Times before Leftists took it over and turned it into, well, the print version of TMZ.
The reason Leftists rely on deplatforming conservatives whenever they can is simple: they can’t hang in the marketplace of ideas. Leftist ideology is all about control: what you see, what you hear, what you do, what you think. If they eliminate the competition, they have more control over all of that. Part and parcel of that approach is they don’t have an answer for what conservative rhetoric outside of name-calling and forcing platforms to abide by its own rules, even when it would require using situational and biased decision making.
This is why YouTube demonetizing Steven Crowder (and many others who are being caught up erroneously by YouTube’s algorithms) is such a big deal. Crowder’s comments/insults were crude and over the line, but others who have said far worse have been given a lighter punishment…if they’ve been punished at all. And if you think this is “whataboutism” to defend Crowder, check out fellow YouTuber Gazi Kodzo, whose nickname in some parts of the Interwebs is “Black Hitler.” He has been just has hateful as Crowder (if not moreso, given his open hatred for whites and straights), but there does not appear to be any attempt to demonetize him on YouTube.
Yes, I know the tech giants went to Capitol Hill and swore up and down they were enforcing the rules right down the middle, but that’s as believable as Joe Biden writing his own material. The truth is YouTube, Google, Facebook, et al, lean left and apply the rules with that in mind. Hence, Crowder gets deplatformed and Kodzo gets ad revenue. Unfortunately, those tech giants are pretty much the only games in town if you want an online presence.
That’s why it’s important to fight back within the rules, and that starts with your mindset. If you express any opinion to the right of Che Guevara, no matter how reasonable it may be, Leftists will attack you, often personally as a means to get an emotional reaction out of you. As someone who’s been at the receiving end of such vitriol, it’s hard not to fight fire with fire, but I’ve learned to fight fire with sugar water. Don’t sink to their level, address the meat of their concerns (provided they have any meat), and let them keep escalating. In time, they will either get frustrated you aren’t taking the bait or will act in a way that even the Leftist gatekeepers can’t ignore the bad behavior of their online allies and drop the hammer. Most of the time, it will be a Nerf hammer, but the goal isn’t to get them deplatformed because you complained. It’s to protect yourselves and let the haters deplatform themselves.
It’s harder to do the same on college campuses than it is online, but it’s not impossible. Demand to hear other speakers from all sides of the ideological spectrum. If the colleges and universities can’t or won’t fulfill that need, find ways around it. Nothing says a college conservative club can’t have an off-campus event with a famous or semi-famous figure in conservative circles. Plus, the added bonus is if there are any threats of violence from Leftists or actual violence and property damage from Leftists, the police can get involved, thus bypassing campus security altogether. And I’ll bet there would be more than a few members packing heat (check local CCW/open carry laws before attempting), so security shouldn’t be an issue. Just serve cake and punch and you’re set!
Although deplatforming isn’t against free speech, it’s certainly a corrosive force that undermines it. With a little intellectual judo, though, it can be overcome while maintaining a true appreciation and love of free speech.
Plus, there could be punch and cake involved, so that’s a win-win!
Author ThomasPosted on June 9, 2019 June 8, 2019 Categories Guest Author, PoliticsTags Carlos Maza, deplatforming, free speech, Leftist Lexicon, Steven Crowder, Vox, YouTube
Implausible Deniability
This past Sunday, Liz Plank of Vox (America’s #1 online fake news source) was on CNN’s “Reliable Sources” (America’s #1 cable fake news source) discussing the latest developments in the Jussie Smollett case. If you haven’t heard or were smart enough not to pay attention, Smollett is now being suspected of fabricating the alleged hate crime he said happened, using two of his “Empire” co-stars as fall guys. Defending her fellow journalists, Plank said she felt the accusations of the “crime” being committed by two guys wearing MAGA hats was the result of celebrity Tweets and not true journalists.
With all the introspection of a, well, Vox employee, Plank didn’t bother to look at what other media outlets, including CNN, had said about the alleged hate crime. Had she done so, she might have noticed the screamingly obvious: the media ran with the hate crime narrative without checking the facts because the story fit their preconceived biases. And now they’re pretending they had no part in pushing a narrative that fix these biases by saying “We were just reporting the facts.”
The “we were just reporting the facts” is a variation of the “we’re objective journalists” line the media use to shield themselves from criticism when they fail to act like they claim they do. The problem is they don’t always act like they say they do. Most of the time, they’re Leftist stenographers who rarely, if ever, give credence to any other point of view. Take their more recent attempts to discuss global climate change. Leftists have pressured media providers into denying the so-called “climate deniers” on shows to debate the issue and the science behind global climate change. I’m not sure how much pressure they needed to put on their media cohorts, but the point remains. Those in charge of the media are controlling what you see, hear, and believe, either through overt promotion of an ideology or covert censorship of any opposing views.
And when the media make a mistake, they either don’t apologize, post an apology on Twitter well after their initial report, change the subject, or stick any corrections so far back you’re lucky to find them. In this case, Leftist Twitter has done its job and tried to change the subject from Smollett’s possible/probable deception to what impact it will have on real victims of hate crimes.
Like, say, MAGA hat wearers? Naaaaaaah!
The Left doesn’t consider Donald Trump supporters to be victims in the Smollett case because the Left hates them. In their minds, Trump supporter (real, imaginary, or supposed) are subhuman, which makes mocking and slandering them okay. But when those same people call the media “fake news,” Leftists battle to be the first to call out such “vile behavior.” And don’t you dare question the integrity of the press. These brave men and women put their lives on the line to get us the stories that no one else is talking about (except for everyone else in their circles)!
Thin-skinned egotistical hypocrites say what?
If the Smollett case were the first time the press had jumped to a conclusion, I might cut them from slack here. Unfortunately for them, it isn’t, thus no slack and no quarter will be given. And if the press wants to know why, it started with their coverage of Saint Trayvon of Martin. Although neither party involved was an angel, the media portrayed (and continue to portray) Martin as a poor victim instead of a possible criminal who got shot in the process of committing a violent crime. From there we had Michael Brown, “Mattress Girl,” the Covington Catholic school boys, and many other stories that had more sizzle than steak (mmmmm…steak). As of yet, we are still waiting on apologies from the media outlets who pushed these and other ideologically driven stories for not getting the facts right. Want proof? We still have people thinking “Hands Up Don’t Shoot” is a thing!
And media types of Brian Stelter of CNN’s “Reliable Sources” wonder why the public doesn’t trust them anymore.
Then again, he’s the guy who thought someone from Vox would be reliable and/or a source, so there’s that.
Regardless, the media are part of the problem, but they can be part of the solution if they can learn something I learned as a boy: admit when you screwed up, and learn from it so you don’t screw up the next time. Given how long they’ve made the same mistake over and over, I’m guessing it’s above the media’s paygrade.
Author ThomasPosted on February 20, 2019 Categories Guest Author, PoliticsTags Jussie Smollett, MAGA, media, Vox
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South Africa Suffers Capitalist Crisis Déjà Vu
3 April by Patrick Bond
Student protesters in South Africa. Photo credit: “Landmark case to have major repercussions for protests in South Africa,” Business Tech, January 25, 2018.
A year ago, the majority of South Africans stared into the abyss. They faced either a continuation of corrupt misrule by a stereotypical kleptocrat—Jacob Zuma—whose anti-imperialist rhetoric failed to disguise worsening austerity, or a potentially dramatic change of political direction toward liberal capitalism. [1] Next door in Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe had just been pushed out in a wildly popular palace coup that at least superficially shared South Africa’s ideological overtones, given that his successor, Emmerson Mnangagwa, also courts big business while maintaining a liberal veneer. [2] The choice was obvious at least for South Africa’s urban citizenry, a large subset of which had campaigned against Zuma and his increasingly notorious cronies in the 2017 “Zuma Must Go!” movement. Finally, in late December 2017, 52 percent of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) delegates voted for the party’s next president, narrowly electing business tycoon Cyril Ramaphosa over former African Union chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Zuma’s loyal ex-wife.
Ramaphosa, who, according to Forbes, was worth more than $450 million in 2015, grew rich through ownership of McDonald’s and Coke franchises, as well as banking and extensive coal and platinum mining interests. But as the major local investor in Lonmin—the British producer of platinum metals operating in South Africa’s Bushveld Complex—in August 2012, he e-mailed the police and mining ministers to describe a wildcat strike at the Marikana platinum mine as “dastardly criminal” and requiring “concomitant action.” The next day, police massacred thirty-four workers in what became known as the Marikana massacre. Ramaphosa only apologized for his e-mail in 2016, and in early 2018 admitted the need for “atonement” for Marikana. The $1,000/month minimum wage demanded by the Lonmin rock-drill operators in the mines was never won, in part because the platinum price soon plummeted. Lonmin lost 99.3 percent of its share Share A unit of ownership interest in a corporation or financial asset, representing one part of the total capital stock. Its owner (a shareholder) is entitled to receive an equal distribution of any profits distributed (a dividend) and to attend shareholder meetings. value in 2015 as the commodity supercycle collapsed and, facing bankruptcy in 2017, agreed to a friendly takeover by a firm (Sibanye) prepared to fire 40 percent of its workforce as soon as the takeover is completed this year. [3]
Prior to this incident, Ramaphosa had epitomized the ANC liberation movement’s venerated old guard, having led the mineworkers’ union in the 1980s, served as the ANC’s secretary general (chief operations officer), and chaired the drafting team for the country’s first democratic constitution in 1996. The focus on constitutionalism had prevented Ramaphosa from winning the power struggle within the ANC to become Nelson Mandela’s heir apparent. Nevertheless, during the fifteen years that Thabo Mbeki edged him out of politics, his business career boomed. There were, however, snags along the way, including two embarrassing bankruptcies in the late 1990s, at a time when all South Africa’s black business elites learned the limits of borrowing money at expensive rates in order to buy into white companies that were suffering share-price overvaluation. [4]
But soon enough, Ramaphosa evolved into the ideal Johannesburg branch-plant comprador partner to multinational corporations, aiding both Lonmin in brazen Illicit Financial Flow (IFF) profit Profit The positive gain yielded from a company’s activity. Net profit is profit after tax. Distributable profit is the part of the net profit which can be distributed to the shareholders. transfers to Bermuda, and MTN—the largest African cellphone firm, which he chaired—in its prolific profit outflows to Mauritius. He also featured as a tax-haven abuser, via his main holding company, Shanduka coal, in the Paradise Papers leak in late 2017. [5] Yet, as a nationalist politician, Ramaphosa retained sufficiently strong organizational skills to advance within the ANC. In the immediate wake of the Marikana massacre, incongruously, he was chosen as Zuma’s deputy party president. He became the state deputy president during Zuma’s second term in power, from 2014 to 2018.
Even though Ramaphosa and his allies pushed Zuma out of power last February, fourteen months ahead of schedule, the corruption-riddled era is not yet over. Bitterness prevails within the ANC’s patronage network, especially in Zuma’s heartland of KwaZulu-Natal province, home to an ongoing ethnicist Zulu backlash. Vast sums of tenderpreneurship winnings are at stake in state procurement contracts of more than $45 billion annually. [6] For this reason, and because the Zulu people represent the country’s largest ethnic group and yet lack a single regional leader among the ruling party’s top six officials, a rump of Zuma’s supporters continue to slow Ramaphosa’s desired modernization, liberalization, and professionalization of the party, state, and economy.
In order to win more than 50 percent of the vote in the May 2019 national election, Ramaphosa must restore ANC unity and avoid the kinds of debilitating splits that lost it 9 percent of the vote to the right in 2009 and 6 percent to the left in 2014. From winning a high of 68 percent of national votes in 2004, the ruling party fell to 55 percent in the 2016 municipal elections. As a result of the far-left Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) refusing to support the ANC at that point, the major cities of Johannesburg, Pretoria, and the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality came under the control of the center-right Democratic Alliance, which had also run Cape Town for a decade. Among the half-dozen largest cities, the ANC only retained local power in Durban and the eastern Johannesburg metropolis. With ever-lower turnouts, the share of eligible voters who supported the ANC dropped from 53 percent in 1994 to 42 percent in 1999, 39 percent in 2004 and 2009, 36 percent in 2014, and 31 percent in 2016. Early polls suggest that in the largest province, Gauteng, voters in Johannesburg, Pretoria, and surrounding areas will give the ANC less than 50 percent of their support. Furthermore, there is the distinct possibility of a coalition government with the EFF, which could trade a provincial alliance for a few national EFF-led cabinet ministries.
Labor, Capital, and Corruption
This context of internecine party power battles, ethnicity, and a potentially decisive shift in voter loyalty against the ANC risks the overpersonalization of the South African struggle for social justice. As an antidote to the official leadership’s electoralism, it is tempting to prioritize the durable class and race struggles underway in the world’s most unequal country. [7] After all, every year since 2012, South Africa has been rated as having the world’s most confrontational working class by the World Economic Forum. [8] As a result, in 2018 the political elite finally acknowledged that the vast colonial and apartheid land dispossessions would become a powerful election issue, with the ANC now promising “expropriation without compensation.” However, Business Day comforted its readers that “the land debate is largely a political tactic to neutralise the EFF and radical elements in the ANC.” [9]
As the newspaper’s main political analyst, Carol Paton, put it last August: “For many years the governing party (and its trade union ally) could bluster left and then with a nod and wink to investors, walk right, with the explanation, ‘Don’t mind the noise; we are a robust democracy.’” [10] In late 2013, in part due to the Marikana massacre, the largest union—the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), with 350 thousand members—broke from the ANC-aligned Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU). The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) was then launched in 2017. COSATU still has the lion’s share of organized workers—around 1.7 million (more than double that of its left-wing rival)—with its center of gravity now no longer in mining or manufacturing, but in the civil service.
As a result of these divisions, the class struggle in South Africa is mainly being waged from the top down. Johannesburg’s business district of Sandton has been dominated by rising financial, e-commerce, and merchant circuits of capital. The largest firm is owned by an Afrikaner, Koos Bekker, whose apartheid-supporting media house struck gold when he bought a third of the Chinese equivalent of Facebook, Tencent, in 2001. At the time, the Chinese company was worth $100 million and grew to a peak of $570 billion earlier this year. Bekker’s Naspers displaced former mining (Anglo American), alcohol (SABMiller), and tobacco (British American) firms in leading the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). Tencent then faced Beijing’s regulatory wrath and was told to stop importing popular Japanese video games, losing more than a fifth of its value. Similarly, the JSE peaked in early 2018 and dropped 20 percent by November, although South Africa still has the world’s highest “Buffett Indicator,” which measures the ratio of share value to GDP GDP
Gross Domestic Product Gross Domestic Product is an aggregate measure of total production within a given territory equal to the sum of the gross values added. The measure is notoriously incomplete; for example it does not take into account any activity that does not enter into a commercial exchange. The GDP takes into account both the production of goods and the production of services. Economic growth is defined as the variation of the GDP from one period to another. , and South African profit rates are among the half-dozen highest measured by the International Monetary Fund IMF
International Monetary Fund Along with the World Bank, the IMF was founded on the day the Bretton Woods Agreements were signed. Its first mission was to support the new system of standard exchange rates.
When the Bretton Wood fixed rates system came to an end in 1971, the main function of the IMF became that of being both policeman and fireman for global capital: it acts as policeman when it enforces its Structural Adjustment Policies and as fireman when it steps in to help out governments in risk of defaulting on debt repayments.
As for the World Bank, a weighted voting system operates: depending on the amount paid as contribution by each member state. 85% of the votes is required to modify the IMF Charter (which means that the USA with 17,68% % of the votes has a de facto veto on any change).
The institution is dominated by five countries: the United States (16,74%), Japan (6,23%), Germany (5,81%), France (4,29%) and the UK (4,29%).
The other 183 member countries are divided into groups led by one country. The most important one (6,57% of the votes) is led by Belgium. The least important group of countries (1,55% of the votes) is led by Gabon and brings together African countries.
http://imf.org (IMF). [11]
Bekker’s pure luck aside, the South African ruling class includes exceptionally corrupt corporate leaders, who in 2018 once again bested Kenya and France for first place in PricewaterhouseCoopers’ biannual global economic crime rankings. [12] Although politicians and civil servants have been rising in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (since 1994, South Africa has gone from twenty-third to seventy-first least dishonest country out of 180 polled), South African state malfeasance still pales in comparison to that of the Sandton and Stellenbosch capitalists. [13] But the two often come together, as in the case of the notorious Ajay and Atul Gupta—brothers who, fusing corporate and state graft with exceptional potency from 2009 to 2017, dealt a significant blow to the ANC while building a wide-scale patrimonial crime syndicate that numbered in the thousands.
During the mid–1990s, the Guptas began their South African careers selling street-side merchandise from their cars. By 2013, they were powerful enough to take over state military facilities for their personal parties and run massive parastatal corporations by remote control. However, such power was too vast to last and, in mid–2017, their state-capture empire imploded when tens of thousands of their private e-mails were hacked and leaked to investigative journalists. Within a year, watching from their flight haven of Dubai, the Guptas saw their toxic influence bring down Zuma, two finance ministers, a half-dozen other cabinet members, the two top men in the tax authority, and the leaders of the largest parastatal agencies providing electricity and rail transport. [14]
As a result, the relationship between the government in Pretoria and corporates in Sandton, just a half-hour drive south, became strained and confused. In 2017, the London Public Relations firm Bell Pottinger received a (literal) corporate death sentence due to its Gupta account, replete with its rhetoric of “White Monopoly Capital” (utterly different than the analysis Paul Sweezy offered in the pages of Monthly Review). [15] In subsequent months, the same ignominy appeared likely for the venal local offices of consultants KPMG, McKinsey, Bain, and the German software firm SAP, which were all bound up in e-mail revelations from the “Zupta” (Zuma-Gupta) zone. To their credit, a wide variety of liberal and centrist elites, particularly the mining house AngloGold Ashanti’s chairperson Sipho Pityana and the reformist financier Magda Wierzycka, had spent the 2010s risking Zuma’s ire to campaign for a less corrupt capitalist state. Their desperation was so palpable and their victory over Zuma’s forces so sweet that talk of “Ramathusiasm” briefly uplifted business and consumer confidence in early 2018. However, the new dawn was a false dawn. The super-exploitative conditions of society, as experienced in the elemental process of labor reproduction, endured.
Social Services Suffer from Austerity
Today, 65 percent of South African society suffers poverty, measured using $3.33/day as the “upper bound poverty line” rate. [16] After 1994, the dramatic rise of unemployment to 40 percent of workers (including those who have given up looking for work) and the introduction of a subminimum wage for youth apprentices since 2016 have, together, offset recent minor labor-policy gains. Last year, the introduction of a national $0.75–$1.33/hour minimum wage (with lower pay going to more than a million farmworkers and public-works construction staff) was applauded by COSATU, but protested by SAFTU as inadequate. The labor movement’s right to strike was also curtailed; a shopfloor ballot is now required instead of a decision by union leadership.
During the higher-growth period of the mid–2000s, when commodity prices and consumer-credit access both soared, the neoliberal Treasury achieved a primary budget surplus (that is, before debt payments). But after 2009, the world financial crisis and ongoing economic stagnation resulted in higher annual public deficits. The aggregate (historical) public debt as a share of GDP fell from 52 percent in 1996 to 27 percent in 2009, but then rose back up to 53 percent by 2018. Although overall state spending as a share of GDP rose steadily from 24 percent in 2003 to 33 percent by 2018, South Africa continued to spend a small fraction of GDP on social programs compared to the world’s top forty economies. On average, their governments spent 22 percent of GDP on social programs, while South Africa only spent 8 percent, with only India, Indonesia, Mexico, and China spending less.
South Africa’s oft-lauded social grants are minimal, providing less than thirty dollars a month to raise a child, down from the equivalent of thirty-seven dollars in 1996. For pensions and disability grants, just over one hundred dollars a month is provided. The number of South Africans receiving these monthly grants soared from fewer than three million in 1994 to eighteen million today (out of fifty-eight million residents). Consistent with neoliberal philosophy, these grants were means tested, although in their first decade of roll out, social-grant spending became increasingly regressive—that is, less directed to the poorest. [17]
The bias in state services also exists in most municipalities. Trash collection occurs regularly in mainly white neighborhoods, but rarely, if at all, in the shack settlements that house a third of a typical city’s residents. The qualitative differentiation results not only from the legacy of racial apartheid, but also from the ongoing class-segregatory processes associated with the residential locations from which people send children to school. The result in most schools is an extremely low-quality education. The World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2015–16 rated South African schools the worst out of 140 countries in terms of science and mathematics training, and 138th in overall quality. Education spending is meant to be a proxy for human capital investment, but in many cases the result is better considered disinvestment. As researcher Nicholas Spaull remarked after studying 1994–2011 outcomes: “With the exception of a wealthy minority, most South African pupils cannot read, write and compute at grade-appropriate levels, with large proportions being functionally illiterate and innumerate.” [18]
In contrast, the wealthy minority’s public schools are sufficiently financed and produce extremely high-quality education, in part because of systems in which parents contribute additional funds. Extreme inequality in educational opportunities leads to about half of all students being pushed out of the system before reaching the twelfth grade. This, in turn, produces systemic illiteracy and skill shortages that reinforce unjustifiable pay gaps. It could, therefore, just as easily be argued that inequality is amplified, not mitigated, by the tokenistic manner in which public education is provided to the low-income majority. [19]
Large parts of the public health system are chaotic and labor’s hopes for a National Health Insurance appears dashed against the forces of fiscal constraint. Under massive pressure from Moody’s credit-ratings agency, the 2018–19 national budget cut funds for basic-needs infrastructure in a manner described as “savage” even by Business Day. [20]
In addition to fiscal austerity, all indicators point to rising interest rates Interest rates When A lends money to B, B repays the amount lent by A (the capital) as well as a supplementary sum known as interest, so that A has an interest in agreeing to this financial operation. The interest is determined by the interest rate, which may be high or low. To take a very simple example: if A borrows 100 million dollars for 10 years at a fixed interest rate of 5%, the first year he will repay a tenth of the capital initially borrowed (10 million dollars) plus 5% of the capital owed, i.e. 5 million dollars, that is a total of 15 million dollars. In the second year, he will again repay 10% of the capital borrowed, but the 5% now only applies to the remaining 90 million dollars still due, i.e. 4.5 million dollars, or a total of 14.5 million dollars. And so on, until the tenth year when he will repay the last 10 million dollars, plus 5% of that remaining 10 million dollars, i.e. 0.5 million dollars, giving a total of 10.5 million dollars. Over 10 years, the total amount repaid will come to 127.5 million dollars. The repayment of the capital is not usually made in equal instalments. In the initial years, the repayment concerns mainly the interest, and the proportion of capital repaid increases over the years. In this case, if repayments are stopped, the capital still due is higher…
The nominal interest rate is the rate at which the loan is contracted. The real interest rate is the nominal rate reduced by the rate of inflation. in coming months due to adverse global conditions, exacerbating consumer bankruptcies. For the bottom decile of the population, such debt was a full third of asset Asset Something belonging to an individual or a business that has value or the power to earn money (FT). The opposite of assets are liabilities, that is the part of the balance sheet reflecting a company’s resources (the capital contributed by the partners, provisions for contingencies and charges, as well as the outstanding debts). value by 2015, while for the top decile it was only 9 percent. Widely differential costs of credit are another feature of inequality, with loan-shark mashonisas (higher-cost informal lenders) and high-priced micro-financiers dominating the lower end of the market. As the IMF remarks, “the bottom quintile’s access to loans and credit cards is only one tenth of the access of the top quintile. Hence, bottom quintile households account for 33 percent of loans from mashonisas compared to 8 percent for the top quintile.” At the high end, income-biased banking services typically include a discount on interest Interest An amount paid in remuneration of an investment or received by a lender. Interest is calculated on the amount of the capital invested or borrowed, the duration of the operation and the rate that has been set. rates and service charges for the wealthiest consumers.
Table 1. Quality of Credit by Decile
Income decile
Percent of bank accounts
Percent of loans from bank
Percent of credit cards
Percent of loans from microlender
Percent of loans from mashonisas
6.3 5.2 3.2 17.2 13.0
7.9 5.0 2.7 6.1 11.2
8.2 4.3 2.9 12.1 9.5
10.7 6.9 4.2 3 11.8
11.8 8.6 5.0 8.1 8.3
13.0 13.9 8.5 6.1 8.3
13.7 22.3 23.6 13.1 7.1
Source: “Financial Inclusion by Income Decile,” South Africa: Selected Issues, Country Report No. 18/247, International Monetary Fund (IMF), 2018, p. 19 [PDF].
The year 2008 was the most painful. Once the United States ironically became the safe haven during the global financial meltdown emanating from its housing-market crash, interest rates climbed so the Reserve Bank could attract flight capital back. But this left half of the twenty million borrowers with what the National Credit Regulator (NCR) termed “impaired credit” profiles—meaning, having missed at least three payments. Although the default rate peaked and gradually diminished, in 2017 the NCR recorded nearly twenty-five million credit-active consumers, of whom fifteen million “were in good standing, while the balance Balance End of year statement of a company’s assets (what the company possesses) and liabilities (what it owes). In other words, the assets provide information about how the funds collected by the company have been used; and the liabilities, about the origins of those funds. of 9.69 million (39 percent) had impaired records.” [21] Pre-2004 household debt/GDP levels of 55 percent rose to nearly 90 percent in 2008, declining only to 70 percent a decade later.
Another way in which poor people were adversely affected by financial and monetary policies was through inflation Inflation The cumulated rise of prices as a whole (e.g. a rise in the price of petroleum, eventually leading to a rise in salaries, then to the rise of other prices, etc.). Inflation implies a fall in the value of money since, as time goes by, larger sums are required to purchase particular items. This is the reason why corporate-driven policies seek to keep inflation down. . According to IMF calculations, high interest rates exacerbated by the world financial meltdown from 2009 to 2017 reduced inflation to the low level of 5.1 percent for the wealthiest fifth of the population, thus preserving their financial asset base. But for the poorest 60 percent, average inflation was more than 7 percent.
Table 2. Inequality Amplified by Price Inflation, 2009–17
Expenditure Quintile
Average inflation
Probability of facing highest inflation
Average inflation, given particular
quintile faces highest inflation
Source: “South Africa: 2018 Article IV Consultation,” International Monetary Fund (IMF), 2018, p. 76 [PDF].
Accumulation Crisis and Ecological Stresses
In short, the view of capitalism from above is all the more sobering. With South Africa formally in recession again in 2018, conditions remain dire for capital accumulation, and even more so for redistribution of wealth. The last GDP growth spurt dates to 2002–08, followed by a period of stagnation during which income per person has plateaued. Business sentiments fell quickly from “Ramaphoria” to “Ramageddon,” especially after land expropriation without compensation became official policy. [22]
More recently, a stimulus package was launched featuring (an unspecified) $3.3 billion in state-spending reorientation, but it was generally considered too little too late for an economy producing $300 billion in annual GDP. A proposed $27-billion infrastructure fund may begin to reverse the Treasury austerity budget. However, the state’s prolific outsourcing and procurement spending remain mired in corruption. According to leading Treasury oversight official Kenneth Brown, of $44.4 billion in 2016 state procurements, $17.3 billion was fraudulent expenditure: “It means without adding a cent, the government can increase its output by 30–40 percent.… That is where the real leakage in the system actually is.” [23] (In early 2017, Brown resigned from the Treasury after receiving death threats.) Such explicit rent seeking represents a form of redistribution not covered in the mere income statements of managers and shareholders.
Petty corruption abounds within small-scale infrastructure. But the main National Development Plan megaprojects are vehicles for not only South Africa’s notorious corporate collusion and price fixing in construction, but also Gupta or ANC-related kickbacks. They are also characterized by excessive capital intensity, dependency on imported components and export commodity markets, and large-scale ecological damage. Until Ramaphosa came to power, Zuma’s 2014 deal with Vladimir Putin to build eight Rosatom nuclear reactors costing $100 billion was potentially the most damaging of the megaprojects, but social resistance and the Treasury’s fiscal restraints perpetually stalled it. This left three other obvious white elephants:
The biggest is a $53-billion rail line designed mainly to export eighteen billion tons of coal on South China Rail locomotives, currently financed with a $5-billion loan from the China Development Bank, with more than $1 billion identified in back-handers to the Guptas.
Second are the two massive coal-fired power stations costing $15 billion each. They are being constructed in part by Hitachi, in partnership with the ANC’s own investment wing, and financed by the World Bank World Bank
WB The World Bank was founded as part of the new international monetary system set up at Bretton Woods in 1944. Its capital is provided by member states’ contributions and loans on the international money markets. It financed public and private projects in Third World and East European countries.
It consists of several closely associated institutions, among which :
1. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD, 189 members in 2017), which provides loans in productive sectors such as farming or energy ;
2. The International Development Association (IDA, 159 members in 1997), which provides less advanced countries with long-term loans (35-40 years) at very low interest (1%) ;
3. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), which provides both loan and equity finance for business ventures in developing countries.
As Third World Debt gets worse, the World Bank (along with the IMF) tends to adopt a macro-economic perspective. For instance, it enforces adjustment policies that are intended to balance heavily indebted countries’ payments. The World Bank advises those countries that have to undergo the IMF’s therapy on such matters as how to reduce budget deficits, round up savings, enduce foreign investors to settle within their borders, or free prices and exchange rates.
’s largest-ever loan ($3.75 billion). [24] Hitachi already paid a $20-million fine in 2015 for violating the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act through implicit bribery of Zuma’s party apparatus.
Third is the $17-billion Durban port-petrochemical expansion, which aims to raise annual container traffic from the current 2.5 million to 20 million by 2040. It will also benefit from likely nearby offshore oil and gas drilling by ExxonMobil, Norway’s Statoil, Italy’s ENI, and South Africa’s Sasol.
Notwithstanding a growing movement against climate change, with public interest lawyers achieving small but important court victories against fossil fuel projects, there is no indication that the ongoing National Development Plan rewrite will replace these commitments with infrastructure to meet basic needs. To take the megaprojects forward, several new multibillion-dollar loans were made to electricity parastatal Eskom by the China Development Bank in 2017–18, and hundreds of millions were committed to both Eskom and parastatal port and rail manager Transnet by the BRICS New Development Bank. Eskom’s 2030 plan for energy production that was announced in August is even more fossil-centric than ever.
Instead of considering solar and wind as attractive state-run alternatives, the government commissioned 10 percent of the country’s electricity supply from private companies. This is strongly opposed by left critics, including the metalworkers’ and mineworkers’ trade unions, which last May proved themselves capable of sabotaging the whole country’s energy supply. They did so when offered a 0 percent nominal wage increase, which they were able to raise to 8 percent in subsequent negotiations, and again in November 2018, when these two ideologically opposed unions marched together against the outsourcing of renewable energy to European companies. The NUMSA metalworkers’ historic role in fighting for a Just Transition was threatened by Eskom’s unilateral decision to close coal-fired power stations without replacement jobs for tens of thousands of affected workers. [25]
Moreover, any South African economic recovery must confront the extremely hostile global and regional context, including the strong likelihood that the next world recession will degenerate into another financial crash and full-fledged depression. With the advent of Donald Trump’s U.S. presidency and resurgent hostilities in the Middle East, worsening economic chaos comes amid tumultuous geopolitical realignments. Commodity prices are far below 2011 peaks for South Africa’s main exports (platinum, gold, coal, and iron ore) and the economy has suffered a rapidly declining trade to GDP ratio even before Trump imposed tariffs against steel and aluminum. So-called emerging markets crises are also unfolding in Argentina, Turkey, and India, and these regularly bleed into South Africa, what with the currency value crashing from 11.5 ZAR = 1 USD to 15.3 ZAR = 1 USD in just weeks in mid–2018, before recovering to a level of around 14 ZAR = 1 USD (far lower than the prior commodity supercycle peak level of 6.3 ZAR = 1 USD in 2011).
South Africa began receiving junk-quality credit ratings on international bonds in 2017 and therefore must continue offering among the world’s highest interest rates to foreign creditors: in 2017–18, the ten-year state bond Bond A bond is a stake in a debt issued by a company or governmental body. The holder of the bond, the creditor, is entitled to interest and reimbursement of the principal. If the company is listed, the holder can also sell the bond on a stock-exchange. rate was in the 8.5–10 percent range, with only Turkey’s rate being consistently higher. Tragically, the country’s foreign debt, both public and private, rose from $25 billion in 1994 to $183 billion today, with large periods of growth due both to the 2010 soccer World Cup and imports for stadium construction, and to major outflows of profits to companies that were once locally headquartered in Johannesburg but moved to London and New York twenty years ago. In addition, South Africa’s Illicit Financial Flows—often as simple as trade misinvoicing and other tax dodges—have been measured at $21 billion annually by Global Financial Integrity. [26]
Accumulation crises are also evident in the four Southern African economies that are South Africa’s main local trading Market activities
trading Buying and selling of financial instruments such as shares, futures, derivatives, options, and warrants conducted in the hope of making a short-term profit. partners—Angola, Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe—due to extreme levels of debt and foreign currency shortages, generating pressures that push the region’s economic refugees to South Africa. Zimbabwe is hit particularly hard, having lost its own currency in a 2008 inflationary catastrophe, one it repeated in 2018 when the state’s electronic salary payments began to rapidly devalue at a time of extreme shortages of its main currency, the U.S. dollar. Moreover, climate refugees come to South Africa because the region is already suffering prolonged droughts, drying soils, hotter temperatures, floods, and other extreme weather events. In one dramatic example, two years of far below-average rainfall left Cape Town’s dams at just 14 percent capacity before the mid–2018 rains, resulting in the forced rationing of thirteen daily gallons of water per person in 2017–18. [27]
As a result of all these processes, an economic upturn is unlikely to occur spontaneously. Due to the business capital strike, very low-gross fixed-capital investments occur, despite at least $100 billion in idle corporate cash holdings. Along with structural overaccumulation, there is excessive corporate concentration in most sectors. [28] Few of the Black Economic Empowerment strategies of assimilation into big companies have led to broad-based wealth creation. The proposed Mining Charter satisfied none of the participants, with more battles anticipated from communities opposed to mining and greater labor demands for higher wages, occupational safety, and health improvements.
South Africa enjoys the world’s greatest mineral resource endowment, valued by Citi Group at $2.5 trillion at its peak. [29] The mining houses receive generous subsidies, including electricity Special Pricing Agreements, which have especially assisted two giant mining houses, BHP Billiton and Anglo American. They pay $0.01/kWh, the world’s lowest rate (often consuming in excess of 5 percent of the grid). [30] The state has also failed to comprehend and mitigate natural capital depletion by the extractive industries, which also exceeds $20 billion per annum. [31] Indeed, there are many other forms of corporate welfare that more than offset social spending. Reflecting weak regulation, the inability of the Treasury and Reserve Bank to monitor banks’ foreign currency transactions was exposed in 2016, when seventeen banks were alleged to have been manipulating the rand, according to the Competition Commission. [32]
This terrain of deregulation, corporate corruption, and excessive financial speculation has generally been more beneficial to those at the upper end of income distribution. The financial system has continued to operate in the interests of wealthier holders of financial assets, in part because of the extremely high rates of returns on interest-bearing assets. In addition, South African real estate was by far the world’s most price inflationary during the 1997–2008 global property bubble Property bubble A property bubble is a speculative bubble on the entire property market. It is characterized by a sharp rise in the prices of real estate; this entails a significant and persistent gap between the price of property and the variation of fundamental economic determinants such as salaries and rental value. (twice as high as second-ranked Ireland in the Economist database). Moreover, in the same spirit of financialization, the JSE grew rapidly through October 2017, reaching a Buffet Indicator ratio unprecedented in world economic history and 3.2 times higher than the world average.
The uptick in commodity prices in 2016–17 helped restore South Africa’s trade surplus, even if outflows of profits, dividends, and interest (“balance on income”) to London and other overseas financial headquarters remain unsustainable. The current account deficit fell from its high of 7 percent of GDP in 2009, particularly after the commodity crash of 2015. The currency had dropped to as low as 17.9 ZAR = 1 USD in January 2016, which compelled cuts in imports and assisted export recovery. The current account deficit continues at 2–3 percent of GDP even in good years, such as 2016–17, in which $6.6 billion were earned in net-trading income. But in those two years, there were $23.5 billion in net profit and transfer outflow.
Table 3. The Current Account in Perpetual Deficit Due to Profit Outflows
Est. Projected Projected
Balance on
current account -21 -17.8 -15 -8.2 -8.6 -11 -12.7
Balance on goods
and services -8 -5.3 -4 1.8 4.8 1.9 -0.1
Exports of goods
and services 114 110 96 90.8 104 112.5 116.3
Imports of goods
and services -122 -116 -100 -89 -99.2 -110.6 -116.4
income -10 -9 -8 -8.2 -10.5 -10.1 -10.2
Income receipts 7 8 8 6 6.1 14.3 16.7
Income payments -16 -17 -16 -14.2 -16.6 -24.5 -27
transfers -3 -3 -3 -1.9 -2.9 -2.7 -2.3
Source: See Table 2, p. 42.
Given the volatility of the currency, caused in part by this income insecurity, activity of daily over-the-counter foreign exchange (OTC OTC
Over-the-Counter market An over-the-counter or off-exchange market is an unregulated market on which transactions are made directly between the seller and the purchaser, as opposed to a so-called organized or regulated market where there is a regulatory authority, such as a stock exchange. FX) markets is far greater in South Africa than anywhere else, rising to 17 percent of GDP by 2017. The central reason for South Africa’s vulnerability to high levels of net-income payment outflows and currency speculation against the rand is Pretoria’s regular loosening of exchange controls.
As one example, in 2018, the Treasury granted permission for an additional $38 billion of pension and insurance funds to be transferred abroad. As another example, whereas in 2015 the maximum annual externalization of funds by wealthy South Africans was $300,000, it went up to $750,000 that year. Such loosening weakens the Reserve Bank’s ability to defend against currency crashes and financial outflows, given that Pretoria’s $50 billion in currency reserves have not increased over the past decade. A major, consistent fear is South Africa’s potential inability to service foreign loans, especially those borrowed by the main parastatals. “If the World Bank issues a default letter,” Paton remarked in 2018 at a time of financial tension at Eskom, “it will trigger a 14-day recall on its $3.75-billion loan, which could trigger a recall on Eskom’s $26-billion debt mountain.” [33]
Eskom has by far the largest portion of state-backed loans, representing a dangerously high contingent liability whose costs are carried by the general citizenry. Eskom is also repaying the World Bank’s largest-ever loan, which was used for the Medupi power plant—the bank’s last such coal-related lending due to a belated climate-change policy. Medupi’s $5 billion worth of boilers were supplied by Hitachi. In addition to corruption, at $15 billion, Medupi cost triple its original estimates and was delayed nine years due to numerous design and implementation flaws (including 7,000 welding mistakes on the Hitachi boilers). [34]
The high costs—exacerbated by a crashing currency—were passed onto poor consumers, whose electricity bills rose far faster than inflation from 2008–17. In mid–2018, Eskom received another $3.5 billion in loans from the China Development Bank to finish the $15-billion Kusile power plant, also with Hitachi/ANC boilers. The bank’s prior major loan to South Africa was to Transnet ($5 billion) for China South Rail’s and Shanghai Zenhua Heavy Industries’ corruption-riddled locomotive and Durban-crane procurement via the Gupta family empire. [35] As noted, such megaprojects mainly benefit well-connected elites at the expense of the poorest.
South Africa’s mid–2018 foreign debt reached $183 billion, or 52 percent of GDP, far higher than the 41 percent level that catalyzed a sovereign default in 1985. The IMF’s 2018 Article IV statement warned Pretoria: “External risks include large gross external financing needs, and a current account deficit financed by flows that are prone to sudden reversals in response to abrupt changes in global financial conditions and sovereign credit ratings. Disruption in trade flows and a fall in commodity prices would worsen the twin deficits and dampen growth.” [36] In short, Mandela and his colleagues’ 1990s gamble—that rapid international economic integration would generate prosperity—has conclusively failed.
A year ago, a new ruling-party leadership came to power in Pretoria, claiming it would clean up the political and economic mess. But their attempts in late 2018 to kickstart the economy through a stimulus package, jobs summit, investment summit, and budget adjustment appear unable to please constituencies and reverse the structural crises. The residual old-guard politicians from the era of Zuma’s patrimonial, corrupt regime still retain enormous power, consisting of at least four of the six leading ANC officials. But instead of placing hopes on personalities, the 2018 decline in economic fortunes suggests that the structural and policy problems dominate.
Given the high degree of dissent, an alternative social policy strategy, ideally pursued by a principled—and, tragically, still to be formed—left-leaning political party in conjunction with radical forces in civil society, would be to develop ideological alternatives to tokenism (not simply doubling the existing grants, as both main opposition parties promise). Within parliamentary politics, the EFF were, without question, the main party of the left advocating improvements in social and economic policy. Their votes rose from 6 percent in the 2014 national election to 8 percent in the 2016 municipal elections, with most projections of double digits in 2019, perhaps even enough to join with the Democratic Alliance and other smaller parties to deny the ANC power over various provincial governments, although an EFF-ANC power-sharing deal is more likely. The leader of the EFF, Julius Malema, is as controversial as any left-populist charismatic personality. [37] In addition, NUMSA and SAFTU held a mid–2018 workers’ summit to launch a Socialist Revolutionary Workers’ Party, but conditions are not ripe for this nascent effort in the 2019 election. [38]
If not from parliament, an alternative politics should ideally emanate from the daily practices of oppressed citizens, in their commoning of social resources. Ideally, such decommodified goods and services would be funded by more progressively applied state tax and fee revenues, and won through bottom-up struggle that shapes policy. For example, AIDS-medicines struggles from 1994 to 2004 led to the commoning of knowledge production against the drug companies’ intellectual property rights. The initiative came from the Treatment Action Campaign, mainly made up of several thousand black HIV+ South Africans, most of whom were women. Because they won these medicines as a free component of the South African public health system, and five million people are currently being treated, average life expectancy rose from fifty-two in 2004 to sixty-four today, a truly miraculous accomplishment. [39] Similar decommodification strategies were used by community groups in Soweto when they illegally reconnected water piping and electricity wiring after disconnections. According to Eskom, which lost $1 billion of supplies in the process, such illicit reconnections provided 86 percent of residents with free electricity in 2018. [40]
In order to establish a genuine socialist project on this basis, a united front of labor, communities, women, youth, the elderly, environmentalists, the gay rights movement, and other progressives is needed. However, in 2014, in an effort initiated by NUMSA to do just that, there were many early growing pains and major fissures continued between labor and other segments of civil society. [41]
In addition, state repression has often been debilitating for organizations that go against the state and big business, producing the world’s highest protest rates. Xenophobia continues to bedevil working-class community movements, a problem that reached critical mass in terrifying national waves of attacks in 2008, 2010, and 2015. Furthermore, homophobia has proved lethal for LGBTQ organizers. In hundreds of environmental battles, resources and supportive state policies remain scarce for those attempting to confront the most crucial ecosocial injustices that will destroy life for future generations.
Still, there is enormous potential. Console Tleane’s recent review of the frustrated black petite bourgeoisie in Monthly Review and my own Monthly Review surveys of South-African leftward momentum in recent years—from township protests to social-movement mobilizations to NUMSA and independent, left union organizing, to the EFF as a jejune political party—should be updated with analyses of the impressive generational and gender-justice campaigns. [42]
The student movement’s #FeesMustFall campaign was mostly victorious in 2015–17 by maintaining a protest culture bordering on urban guerrilla warfare. It was sufficiently strong that, in 2015, the vitally symbolic Cecil Rhodes statue towering over the entrance of the elite University of Cape Town was forcibly removed following a high-profile shower of excrement. In 2015–16, the status of the lowest-paid university workers was changed from “insourced” to “outsourced,” with a doubling of their salaries plus benefits, thanks to the alliances between students and workers. And in 2015–17, a rise in fees of 0 percent, which in inflation-adjusted terms is −6 percent, was won despite the university’s requests for increases of more than 4 percent in real terms. The most extraordinary victory was achieved in late 2017, when Zuma, who was struggling to garner more ANC-delegate votes to swing the odds in favor of his ex-wife, took a strategic left-populist turn and announced that, from 2018, entrants whose annual income was below $26,000 would have free tertiary education. [43]
South Africa’s recent #MeToo struggles and the August 2018 #TotalShutDown march against gender violence, led by enraged, courageous women, have had a major impact. The #TotalShutDown march targeted Ramaphosa specifically, which he temporarily diffused by assenting and offering a Gender Summit. [44] These struggles were preceded by the #TaxiRape and #MenAreTrash campaigns, and especially by attempts in 2006–15 to remind Zuma about his alleged rape of Fezekile Ntsukela Kuzwayo (known as Khwezi), a family friend half his age who passed away in 2016. [45] But in 2017 and 2018, #MeToo forced several powerful men in the state, private sector, academia, and NGOs to resign in disgrace.
Nevertheless, these men are only the tip of the iceberg. According to the main statistical agency, “21 percent of women over the age of 18 reported that they’d experienced violence at the hands of a partner.” [46] At the deepest level, capitalism’s abuse of women is an economic feature of the “articulation of modes of production”—they are unpaid for childrearing, looking after sick family members, their family’s retirement support, and domestic work in general. [47]
Following from all these contradictions, the resulting social protests are very intense, such as in 2018, when scores of commuter-train carriages were burned in Cape Town. As the Sunday Times newspaper lamented in mid–2018,
the police appear helpless. They have no intelligence-gathering capacity to enable analysis and prevention of the train arson. It is the same with the frequent ‘service delivery’ protests all over South Africa, part genuine frustration and part opportunistic criminality. Public-order policing is either primitive or nonexistent. When violent strikers intimidate workers, or roads are blocked with burning tires, or taxi operators shoot one another, the police stand by and watch. [48]
The main research site into community protests is the University of Johannesburg’s Center for Social Change. Its director, Kate Alexander, rebuts:
Schools are very rarely burnt, as they are often protected by community pressure. In protests, people are wounded by rubber bullets and live ammunition and sometimes killed, others are arrested. Mandela and other freedom fighters went to prison for decades. Strikers lose pay and sometimes lose their jobs. It’s true that cops don’t stop all protests. We shouldn’t forget that people have a right to peaceful protest, even if they block a road, which can be annoying, but not necessarily illegal. Public Order Police are expected to clear blocked highways, but not minor roads. However, in my view, there are now so many protests that the cops do experience resource problems sometimes; plus some cops are sympathetic to poorer communities where they often have friends or relatives. [49]
To be sure, the bottom-up experimentation with revolutionary potential has recently produced somewhat less hopeful rebellions by victims of capital and the rancid state. Social movements are weak after years of division along lines of ideology and party (or factional) loyalties, geographical segregation and atomization, silo-mentality specializations, personality conflicts, persistent racial and ethnic divisions, and competition over constituencies and funding. But even if it is not yet organized coherently, Alexander agrees that social protest is escalating, with the annual numbers of major conflicts between communities and the state soaring from just over one hundred in 2005 to a peak of 480 by 2012, and sustained levels of more than 350 since then. [50]
Thinking more about long-term social change, activists can proudly recall at least five major ruptures that followed earlier episodes of grassroots mobilizing:
The 1970s–’90s, which led to the overthrow of apartheid.
The late 1990s, when post-apartheid protests emerged over water and electricity, compelling the state to provide Free Basic Services by most municipalities for low-income residents since 2001 (at the initiative of then-Water Minister Ronnie Kasrils).
The early 2000s, when AIDS medicines—then supplied as branded multinational corporate products—were prohibitively expensive and Mbeki was an AIDS-denier, requiring enormous efforts by the Treatment Action Campaign to win the locally made generic drugs that raised life expectancy so dramatically.
The 2013–18 period, as various citizens’ movements fought the Gupta faction of the state, demanding accountability from government, parastatal, and even multinational corporations, reversing the Johannesburg highway tolling system and successfully protesting about $100 billion in Zuma’s proposed nuclear reactor acquisitions.
2015–17, when #FeesMustFall struggled for free tertiary education and the insourcing of low-paid workers, followed by the unprecedented promise of 50 percent state budgetary increases (from 0.68 to 1.0 percent of GDP).
These bursts of confidence by poor and working-class people, often in alliance with a small middle-class progressive bloc, have sustained the radical imagination for a future socialist movement. Class-disintegrating processes periodically emerge from new twists in capital accumulation: the 1990s’ liberalization, deindustrialization, and outsourcing wave; the 2000s’ financialization boom and mounting worker indebtedness; the 2010s’ winding down of the commodity supercycle; and the current era of creeping austerity prior to a more decisive crash similar to those of 1998 and 2008. The slow, painful process of rising worker and social consciousness emerging from these dislocations—such as the evolution from COSATU to SAFTU, and from the ANC Youth League to the EFF—seems to be genuinely progressive, albeit with stop-start features like xenophobia, outbursts of gendered violence, and questions about the EFF’s integrity. The risk of a fascistic turn—which is attracting so many grieving lower-middle class individuals and workers in the United States, Europe, Brazil, and the Philippines—appears minimal here. The difficulty, as ever, is tying together threads of potential leftist organizing into a political movement that can capture majority support.
Of course, it took a United Democratic Front more than two decades to restore South Africa’s anti-apartheid forces into a national force, following the banning of the ANC and other movements in 1960. Then, after seven years of hard fighting, Mandela was freed, the ANC and South African Communist Party were unbanned, and, four years later, apartheid was formally defeated in 1994. The current ANC leadership is not only bloated with corruption, but is full-on neoliberal capitalist, with a mildly confusing capability to revert to radical nationalist discourse. Furthermore, there is no real continuity between one liberation (racial) to the next (class, social, environmental): the Third International tradition’s fabled “two-stage revolution.” But given how South Africa’s pot keeps boiling, whatever left-black-youth-feminist-ecologist regroupment emerges from the political and economic turmoil that is inevitable in 2019, it cannot come quickly enough.
With the permission of the author
Source: Monthly Review
[1] For background, see Patrick Bond, Elite Transition (London: Pluto Press, 2014) and Patrick Bond, “For South Africa’s New President, ‘Black Economic Empowerment’ Is All About Personal Enrichment,” Nation, February 27, 2018.
[2] Shortly after the coup, he announced, “[P]rimarily, it is economics, economics, economics and trade for Zimbabwe.” South African Broadcasting Corporation, “Zimbabwe is Open for Business: Mnangagwa,” SABC News, December 21, 2017.
[3] Discussion of the incident is in Patrick Bond, “Marikana’s Meaning for Crisis Management,” in ed. Ulrike Schuerkens, Global Management, Local Resistances: Theoretical Discussion and Empirical Case Studies (London: Routledge Press, 2014).
[4] A brief biography of Ramaphosa can be found in Patrick Bond, “South Africa’s Resource Curses and Growing Social Resistance,” Monthly Review 65, no. 11 (April 2014): 1–21.
[5] Details can be found in Patrick Bond, “In South Africa, Ramaphosa Rises as Lonmin Expires,” CounterPunch, December 20, 2017.
[6] Tenderpreneurship is a South African colloquialism for businesspeople using political contacts to secure government procurement contracts (called tenders), often as part of reciprocal exchanges of favors or benefits.
[7] World Bank, Overcoming Poverty and Inequality in South Africa: An Assessment of Drivers, Constraints and Opportunities (Washington, DC: World Bank Group, 2018).
[8] In 2018, South Africa fell to the fifth most militant, in part because, until a November 2018 unity march to Ramaphosa’s Pretoria office against electricity privatization and coal-related retrenchments, the two main labor federations refused to engage in joint action. Klaus Schwab, ed., Global Competitiveness Report 2018 (Geneva: World Economic Forum, 2018).
[9] Genevieve Quintal, “Land Debate a Tactic to Offset EFF and ANC Radicals, Says BMI Research,” Business Day, July 11, 2018.
[10] Carol Paton, “The Inexorable Pull of Populism Takes SA Down a Cul-de-sac,” Business Day, August 2018.
[11] The Buffett Indicator is provided by the World Bank, http://data.worldbank.org; and profit rates can be found in International Monetary Fund, South Africa: 2016 Article IV Consultation—IMF Country Report no. 16/217 (Washington, DC: International Monetary Fund, 2016), http://imf.org.
[12] PricewaterhouseCoopers, Global Economic Crime and Fraud Survey 2018—6th South African Edition (Johannesburg: PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2018), http://pwc.co.za.
[13] Transparency International, Corruption Perceptions Index (Berlin: Transparency International, 2018), http://transparency.org.
[14] Details can be found at the Judicial Commission into Allegations of State Capture, http://sastatecapture.org.za.
[15] In September 2017, the resulting loss of major clients forced Bell Pottinger’s bankruptcy. One Marxist analyst with an inside perspective explains the differences in phraseology: Christopher Malikane, “Some Notes on White Monopoly Capital,” Pambazuka, June 29, 2017.
[16] Josh Budlender, Ingrid Woolard, and Murray Leibbrandt. “How Current Measures Underestimate the Level of Poverty in South Africa,” Conversation, September 3, 2015.
[17] Patrick Bond, “South African Social Policy Tokenism as Austerity Grips,” Africanus 46, no. 1 (2016): 32–51.
[18] Nicolaus Spaull, South Africa’s Education Crisis: The Quality of Education in South Africa 1994–2011 (Johannesburg: Centre for Development and Enterprise Working Paper, 2013).
[19] International Monetary Fund, South Africa: Selected Issues—IMF Country Report no. 18/247 (Washington, DC: International Monetary Fund, 2018), 18–76.
[20] Hilary Joffe, “Savage Fiscal Consolidation Comes as a Legacy of Zuma’s Poison Pills,” Business Day, February 22, 2018.
[21] National Credit Regulator, Annual Report 2016–17 (Johannesburg: National Credit Regulator, 2017), http://ncr.org.za.
[22] Jason Burke, “How South Africa’s ‘Ramaphoria’ turned into ‘Ramageddon’,” Observer, September 9, 2018.
[23] Sam Mkokeli, “Fraud: SA’s Treasury on the Prowl,” Business Report, October 6, 2016.
[24] Patrick Bond, “The Bank Loan that Could Break South Africa’s Back,” CounterPunch, April 4, 2010.
[25] The metalworkers’ role in Trade Unions for Energy Democracy—the global red-green labor network based at the City University of New York—was once formidable, but the main champions for a Just Transition left NUMSA in 2016 and 2017. SAFTU’s November 16, 2018 press statement addressed the apparent contradiction: “Workers and poor communities are being asked to pay the price for an environmental crisis for which they bear no responsibility. It is not the workers but the capitalist system which has caused global warming, climate change and the destruction of our ecosystem. Privatisation will not only not resolve this crisis but make it even worse. Private companies which are only interested in making profits, will do nothing to help the workers whose jobs disappear.” SAFTU, “SAFTU Calls on Workers Join March for Eskom Jobs and Against Privatisation,” http://saftu.org.za. SAFTU endorsed a 2012 NUMSA statement: “To avoid a ‘just transition’ being another capitalist concept, the path to a low carbon economy must be based in worker-controlled, democratic social ownership of key means of production and means of subsistence, including the energy. There is a need for long term collective planning of wealth and production and how needs are met.” Cedric Gina, NUMSA President Speech in New York, http://numsa.org.za.
[26] Dev Kar and Joseph Spanjers, Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries: 2004–2013 (Washington, DC: Global Financial Integrity, 2015).
[27] Amy Maxmen, “As Cape Town Water Crisis Deepens, Scientists Prepare for ‘Day Zero’,” Nature 554 (2018): 13–14.
[28] Pamela Mondliwa and Simon Roberts, “Structural Transformation, Competition and Economic Power,” Econ3x3, March 13, 2018. For background about recent corporate overaccumulation and falling profitability, see Christopher Malikane, “Profitability and Crisis in the South African Economy,” Munich Personal RePEc Archive, January 2017.
[29] John Mala, “Economic Overview,” Access Newsletter, Industrial Development Corporation, April 2012, http://idc.co.za.
[30] Patrick Bond, “In South Africa, the Poor Pay the Electricity Bill of Mining Giants,“ Ejolt blog, October 31, 2012.
[31] Patrick Bond, “Ecological-Economic Narratives for Resisting Extractive Industries in Africa,” Research in Political Economy 33 (2018): 73–110.
[32] “More Banks Probed for Rand Manipulation,” ENCA News, January 12, 2018.
[33] Carol Paton, “Treasury to Approach Banks in Bid to Avert Eskom Default,” Business Day, January 22, 2018.
[34] Patrick Bond, “Theory and Practice in Challenging Extractive-Oriented Infrastructure in South Africa,” Research in Political Economy 29 (2014): 97–132.
[35] Desmond D’Sa and Patrick Bond, “BRICS Bank Should Have Consulted Before Lending to Corrupt Transnet,” Pambazuka, June 22, 2018.
[36] International Monetary Fund, South Africa: 2018 Article IV Consultation—IMF Country Report no. 18/246 (Washington, DC: International Monetary Fund, 2018).
[37] Malema was accused of fixing state procurement contracts when he was an ANC Youth Leader, prior to 2012, and paid large tax penalties for undeclared income. In November 2018, he and his deputy Floyd Shivambu were accused of benefiting from the 2017–18 looting of a provincial bank via family members, although they deny the charges. Perceptions of graft aside, the main ideological controversy that persists is the EFF’s tendency toward racial essentialism. This was vividly on display in 2018 when anti-Indian sentiments were directed toward former Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and Treasury colleagues, who were attacked by the EFF not for their neoliberal policies, but for their ethnicity. Moreover, the strong possibility that Malema will return, in mid–2019, to his former party in a post-election ANC-EFF alliance in order to seek increasing state managerial power, will confirm critics’ fears of his opportunism. However, notwithstanding many such shortcomings, regular claims by prominent center-leftists (and also a few leftists) that the EFF is a protofascist organization suggest a level of hysteria.
[38] Ahmed Kajee, “Socialist Revolutionary Workers’ Party Outlines Plan of Action,” Eyewitness News, November 3, 2018.
[39] Mandisa Mbali, South African AIDS Activism and Global Health Politics (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013).
[40] Isaac Mahlangu, “Soweto Residents Owe Eskom R15bn in Unpaid Bills,” Sowetan, September 18, 2018.
[41] Lekgantshi Console Tleane, “South Africa’s ‘Radical Economic Transformation’,” Monthly Review 70, no. 4 (September 2018): 11–23. My writings here include “South Africa: Exploding with Rage, Imploding with Self-Doubt—but Exuding Socialist Potential,” Monthly Review 67, no. 2 (June 2015): 21–39; “South Africa’s Resource Curses and Growing Social Resistance”; “South Africa’s Bubble Meets Boiling Urban Social Protest,’ Monthly Review 62, no. 2 (June 2010): 17–28; and “From Racial to Class Apartheid: South Africa’s Frustrating Decade of Freedom,” Monthly Review 55, no. 10 (March 2004): 45–59.
[42] For more on these developments, Amandla! magazine is invaluable. Contradictions associated with the metalworkers’ efforts are discussed in Patrick Bond, “African Labour and Social Militancy, Marxist Framing and Revolutionary Movement-Building,” Pambazuka, January 27, 2017.
[43] For background, see Rekgotsofetse Chikane, Breaking a Rainbow, Building a Nation: The Politics Behind #MustFall Movements (New York: Pan Macmillan, 2018); Musawenkosi Ndlovu, #FeesMustFall and Youth Mobilisation in South Africa: Reform Or Revolution? (London: Routledge, 2017); and Susan Booysen, ed., Fees Must Fall (Johannesburg: Wits University Press, 2016).
[44] “Total Shut Down Activists Send Warning to Government,” Eyewitness News, November 3, 2018.
[45] Redi Tlabi, Khwezi (Cape Town: Jonathan Ball, 2017).
[46] Shaazia Ebrahim, “South Africa’s #MeToo Gap,” Mail&Guardian, December 5, 2017.
[47] Annette Kuhn and Ann Marie Wolpe, Feminism and Materialism: Women and Modes of Production (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1978).
[48] “Who Is Behind These Sustained, Flagrant and Widespread Attacks?” Financial Mail, October 4, 2018.
[49] Kate Alexander, e-mail message to author, September 15, 2018. See also Jane Duncan, Protest Nation (Pietermaritzburg: University of KwaZulu-Natal Press, 2016).
[50] P. Alexander, C. Runciman, T. Ngwane, B. Moloto, K. Mokgele, and N. van Staden, “Frequency and Turmoil: South Africa’s Community Protests 2005–2017,” South African Crime Quarterly 63 (2018): 27–42.
Patrick Bond
Patrick Bond is professor of political economy at the Wits University School of Governance in Johannesburg and co-editor of BRICS: An anti-capitalist critique (published by Haymarket, Pluto, Jacana and Aakar).
Other articles in English by Patrick Bond (65)
Messages sent by Patrick Bond and by Bodo Elmers to the CADTM network’s Global Assembly (Tunis from 26 to 30 April 2016)
2 May 2016, by Patrick Bond , Bodo Ellmers
How much is inequality increased by regressive taxation and government spending? (We don’t know, but let’s please ask.)
19 April 2016, by Patrick Bond
As global commodity super-cycle ends, Africans continue uprising against ‘Africa Rising’
5 April 2016, by Patrick Bond
World Bank punches South Africa’s poor and coddles the rich
12 February 2016, by Patrick Bond
BRICS face brewing external capitalist crisis and growing internal strife
5 February 2016, by Patrick Bond
A dozen devils (in the details) which hobbled Mandela’s economy
China’s Path into Africa Blocked
18 January 2016, by Patrick Bond
South African Capitalism’s Train-Smash
8 January 2016, by Patrick Bond
South African Student Protesters Win First Big Victory
19 November 2015, by Patrick Bond
Is BRICS a True Alternative?
10 July 2015, by Patrick Bond
How Wall Street Colonized the Caribbean
12 July - Peter James Hudson
Care debt: patriarchy and capital on the offensive, feminist economics as a proposal
10 April - Blanca Bayas
The Economic Crisis and the Central Banks
25 March - Eric Toussaint
#MeToo: A movement for women workers too!
8 March - Sonia Mitralias
Tourism: the false fix – concentration of profits and social debt
5 March - Marta Ill Raga
As President, Bernie Should Cancel All Student Debt
24 June - Ben Beckett
Lonmin’s murder, by money
6 June - Patrick Bond
The mountain of corporate debt will be the seed of the next financial crisis
3 May - Eric Toussaint
A delicate moment
17 April - Michael Roberts
Socialise Housing across Europe!
5 April - Collective
14 June - Amandla Editorial
South Africa: Resistance and Research for Alternatives to Illegitimate Debt and for Ecosocialism
South Africa: the odious debts generated by coal-fired power-stations
South Africa: The support of the World Bank and the IMF to the Apartheid regime
29 April - Eric Toussaint, Patrick Bond
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DHX MEDIA REPORTS 1st QUARTER RESULTS AND DECLARES DIVIDEND
WWW.DHXMEDIA.COM
TSX: DHX
Halifax, Canada – November 14, 2013 – DHX Media Ltd. (“DHX Media” or the “Company”) (TSX: DHX), a leading independent producer, distributor and licensor of children’s entertainment content, is pleased to announce its financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2013.
Highlights of Q1 2014 Results:
(All amounts in Canadian dollars)
Revenues doubled to $27.00 million from $13.51 million for Q1 2013;
Gross margin increased to $15.26 million (57% of revenues), up 182% from $5.42 million for Q1 2013 (40% of revenues);
Adjusted EBITDA1 of $7.80 million, an increase of 322% from $1.85 million in Adjusted EBITDA for Q1 2013;
One-time charges of $1.23 million ($0.86 million after-tax) for acquisition-related costs associated with the Ragdoll transaction; and
Normalized net income of $3.39 million (up 304% over Q1 2013-$0.84 million), or $0.03 per share, after adding back Ragdoll acquisition-related costs. Q1 2013 reported net income was $2.16 million, or $0.02 per share, up from a net loss of $0.07 million, an increase of $2.23 million in absolute dollars
1EBITDA represents income of the Company before amortization, finance income (expense), taxes, share of loss of associates, development expenses and any impairments, share-based compensation expense, and Adjusted EBITDA includes adjustments for other non-recurring charges. (See Q1 2014 MD&A definition of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA for full details).
Michael Donovan, CEO, DHX Media commented, “We are pleased to announce record first quarter financial results, with triple-digit growth in Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, and Normalized Net Income. The increase in Gross Margin to 57% of Revenue was driven largely by distribution revenue from licenses to digital content distributors. With a library of 9,500 half-hours of children’s entertainment content, we are well positioned to benefit from the proliferation of new digital buyers.”
Dividend Declaration
On November 14, 2013 the Board of Directors approved a dividend for the quarter of $0.011 on each common share outstanding to the shareholders of record at the close of business December 6, 2013 to be paid December 27, 2013.
Analyst call details
The Company will hold a conference call for analysts to discuss its Q1 2014 financial results on Friday, November 15th, 2013 at 10:00 am EST, following the release of its financial results. Media and others may access this call on a listen-in basis. Conference call details are as follows:
To access the call, please dial +1(888)231-8191 toll-free or +1(647)427-7450 internationally. Please allow 10 minutes to be connected to the conference call. Passcode 99284420.
Replay: Instant replay will be available beginning approximately one hour after the call on +1(855)859-2056 toll free or +1(416)849-0833, and passcode 99284420, until midnight EST Friday, November 22nd.
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APSU Opera to perform Hansel and Gretel April 20th-21st
Clarksville, TN – In 1980, a young Austin Peay State University music student named Lisa Conklin-Bishop performed the part of Hansel in the University’s staging of German composer Engelbert Humperdinck’s famous opera, “Hansel and Gretel.”
The work, a powerful folk opera with lush orchestration and tuneful melodies, was extremely popular with Clarksville audiences.
Conklin-Bishop now serves as the director of Opera Theater at APSU, and this weekend she hopes to recreate the success of some 33 years ago with the University’s revival of “Hansel and Gretel.”
The opera, based on folk tales collected by the Brothers Grimm, opens at 7:30pm on April 20th, with a matinee performance at 3:00pm on April 21st, in the Music/Mass Communication Building’s Mabry Concert Hall. APSU undergraduate student Erin Keas will play the part of Hansel, while graduate student Anna Atwater will take on the role of Gretel. Recent APSU music department graduate Karen Crow will play the witch.
The University’s opera performance is a major event each spring because the concert is a large collaborative effort between different areas within the APSU music department. The cast includes vocal performance majors while the APSU Symphony serves as the pit orchestra for each performance.
“It is the most terrifying and exhilarating thing I get to do every year just because there are so many diverse forces involved in this,” Dr. Gregory Wolynec, APSU professor of music and the symphony’s conductor, said.
The collaboration also extends to other areas of the creative arts on campus. APSU theater students helped with makeup and APSU art students helped paint the set, which was designed by Kyra Bishop, Conklin-Bishop’s daughter. Ralph Conklin, Conklin-Bishop’s father, actually built the sets.
Tickets for “Hansel and Gretel” are $8.00 for adults, $5.00 for students and free for APSU students with a valid I.D.
For more information on the show, contact the APSU music department at 931.221.7818.
Topics: Anna Atwater, APSU, APSU George and Sharon Mabry Concert Hall, APSU Music and Mass Communications Building, APSU Music Department, Austin Peay State University, Brothers Grimm, Clarksville TN, Engelbert Humperdinck, Erin Keas, Gregory Wolynec, Hansel and Gretel, Karen Crow, Kyra Bishop, Lisa Conklin-Bishop, Opera, Ralph Conklin
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Austin Peay State University Physics Club named outstanding chapter
Clarksville, TN – Last year, members of Austin Peay State University’s Society of Physics Students (SPS) chapter sent an email to the national organization, loaded with 45 megabytes of attachments.
Somehow, the email made it to College Park, MD, where officials probably spent weeks wading through hundreds of images and documents detailing all the activities the APSU club, known Del Square Psi, had participated in throughout the year.
Austin Peay State University Physics Club
Late last month, the national organization named Del Square Psi as an Outstanding Chapter for a zone that extends throughout most of Tennessee and up into Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois. Only three out of approximately 30 student chapters received this distinction.
“The other two in our zone are Louisville and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, which, based on student body, they dwarf us,” Chris Hayes, chapter president, said. “So, for us to win, it shows we’re extremely active. Per capita, we have more people in our organization than they do.”
Del Square Psi was founded at APSU 50 years ago, in 1963, and the last time it received the “Outstanding Chapter” distinction was for the 2005-2006 academic year. But last year, club members made a concerted effort to be a presence in the local community.
“One of the biggest questions in physics right now is how do we communicate to the general public what we do? Because a lot of people don’t understand our field,” Hayes said. “Even if the community doesn’t understand some of the physics research that is going on, they will appreciate physics simply because they see us involved within the community. We aspire to help the community in many different ways.”
The chapter does that through its participation in numerous events, such as a local chili cooking contest or APSU’s popular “Great Halloween Options for Safe Trick or Treating,” or G.H.O.S.T.
“The biggest thing they do is outreach activities,” Dr. Spencer Buckner, APSU associate professor of physics and co-advisor of the club, said. “We go to schools, or sometimes we’ll get schools to come here. We went to the library here last weekend for science fiction night. We do tailgating. We go to AP Day to meet with incoming students.”
“We host sessions out at the observatory,” Dr. Allyn Smith, APSU associate professor of astronomy and chapter co-advisor, added. “The club seems to attract the better students, the ones that will be more active in the department.”
The club is being honored for its 2012-2013 academic year, when APSU physics student Robert Baker served as president. Hayes and the two advisors said they plan to send an even larger email to the national organization next year, detailing the chapter’s activities.
“We’ve been more active this year, so expect to win again,” Buckner said.
For more information on Del Square Psi, contact Buckner at .
Topics: Allyn Smith, AP Day, APSU, APSU Physics Club, APSU Society of Physics Students, Austin Peay State University, Chris Hayes, Clarksville, Clarksville TN, College Park MD, Del Square Psi, G.H.O.S.T., G.H.O.S.T. Great Halloween Options for Safe trick or Treating, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Knoxville TN, Louisville, Robert Baker, Spencer Buckner, Tennessee, Univeristy of Tennessee
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Year: 2002; Race/Ethnicity: Hispanic; Region: 100 Largest MSAs
Refer to the table below to quickly find a metro area. The table data can be resorted by using the radio buttons in the box in the upper lefthand corner.
Year: 2002; Race/Ethnicity: Hispanic; Ordered: alphabetically
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY 0.1%
Albuquerque, NM 5.8%
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ 0.2%
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA 0.6%
Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC 0.4%
Austin-Round Rock, TX 1.6%
Bakersfield, CA 2.5%
Baltimore-Towson, MD 0.5%
Birmingham-Hoover, AL 0.2%
Boise City-Nampa, ID 0.4%
Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH 0.3%
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT 0.3%
Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Tonawanda, NY 0.3%
Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL 1.5%
Charleston-North Charleston, SC 0.3%
Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC 0.3%
Chattanooga, TN-GA 0.1%
Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI 0.7%
Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH 0.1%
Colorado Springs, CO 1.0%
Columbia, SC 0.4%
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 1.0%
Dayton, OH 0.1%
Denver-Aurora, CO 1.5%
Detroit-Warren-Livonia, MI 0.5%
El Paso, TX 10.6%
Fresno, CA 1.9%
Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI 0.2%
Greensboro-High Point, NC 0.3%
Greenville, SC 0.1%
Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA 0.2%
Honolulu, HI 0.5%
Houston-Baytown-Sugar Land, TX 2.0%
Indianapolis, IN 0.1%
Jackson, MS 0.1%
Jacksonville, FL 0.5%
Kansas City, MO-KS 0.2%
Knoxville, TN 0.3%
Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL 1.1%
Lancaster, PA 0.3%
Las Vegas-Paradise, NV 1.3%
Little Rock-North Little Rock, AR 0.3%
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA 2.4%
Madison, WI 0.1%
McAllen-Edinburg-Pharr, TX 20.8%
Memphis, TN-MS-AR 0.1%
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach, FL 8.5%
Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI 0.4%
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 0.1%
Modesto, CA 2.5%
Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro, TN 0.3%
New York-Newark-Edison, NY-NJ-PA 0.9%
Ogden-Clearfield, UT 0.2%
Oklahoma City, OK 0.9%
Orlando, FL 1.9%
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA 1.0%
Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL 1.4%
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 0.2%
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ 1.0%
Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA 0.4%
Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, NY 0.5%
Providence-New Bedford-Fall River, RI-MA 0.3%
Provo-Orem, UT 0.3%
Raleigh-Cary, NC 0.5%
Richmond, VA 0.1%
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 3.0%
Rochester, NY 0.1%
Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, CA 0.9%
Salt Lake City, UT 0.5%
San Antonio, TX 6.5%
San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA 1.8%
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA 1.5%
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 1.2%
Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice, FL 1.3%
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 0.3%
Springfield, MA 0.2%
St. Louis, MO-IL 0.2%
Stockton, CA 3.0%
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 1.4%
Toledo, OH 0.1%
Tucson, AZ 2.1%
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC 0.6%
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 0.9%
Wichita, KS 0.2%
Worcester, MA 0.5%
Definition: Share of all business firms' sales & receipts going to firms owned by racial groups
Notes: Business ownership is defined as having 51% or more of the stock or equity in the business. Businesses could be tabulated in more than 1 racial group. This can result because: a. the sole proprietor reported more than one race; b. the majority owner reported more than one race; c. a majority combination of owners reported more than one race. Racial/ethnic groups may not add to the total because a Hispanic or Latino firm may be of any race, and because a firm could be tabulated in more than one racial group.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 Economic Census, Survey of Business Owners
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By Alasdair Fotheringham September 05, 2018 8:55pm
Updated: September 05, 2018 10:31pm Race: Vuelta a Espana
Valverde critical of Mitchelton-Scott after Movistar leads Vuelta a Espana chase
Spaniard claims Australian team failed to shoulder responsibility to control the race
Movistar in the lead on stage 11
Alejandro Valverde (Movistar)
Spanish cyclist Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) criticized Mitchelton-Scott for their "failure" to chase down Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) when the Frenchman made a long-distance attack during stage 11 of the Vuelta a Espana on Wednesday, threatening the race lead of Simon Yates.
Vuelta a Espana: Movistar roll the dice on summit to Les Praeres
In the second half of a hilly 200km stage, Valverde's Movistar team did the bulk of the work to keep a 20-rider break including Pinot under control.
Already the winner of two stages in this year's Vuelta, the Spaniard is lying one second behind Yates in the overall standings, whilst his Colombian teammate Nairo Quintana is in third place, 14 seconds down.
"Mitchelton don't work [to bring back breaks] because that's not their philosophy," Valverde claimed to a group of Spanish-speaking media after the stage.
"They only work when they want to do harm, but when it's to defend a lead, it's hard to see them do that. The only team that worked to pull back the breakaway has been us."
Valverde's teammate Quintana was somewhat milder in his criticisms but also commented that "[Mitchelton-Scott] were always on our wheels. That's the way they work."
Speaking separately in his press conference, Simon Yates had analysed how different GC teams had worked during the stage, saying that "if Movistar chased, it's because they have to… they have the best two guys."
Yates also pointed out that Mitchelton-Scott had worked hard to control a very difficult start for the first 100 kilometres of the stage, that they lacked the manpower to keep the peloton under control for 200 kilometres - the Vuelta's longest stage - and said that letting Pinot go was a calculated risk.
Valverde, meanwhile, claimed that Movistar had "saved the day" and that Pinot is a "difficult" rider to handle.
"He's still got options in the overall," added Quintana. "We controlled things the best we could."
Movistar teammate Winner Anacona, the team's sole representative in the break, said it was the most complicated day at the Vuelta so far.
"There were 100 kilometres of attacks and more attacks and then even afterwards, it was still pretty tough," he said.
Anacona argued that it was not a mistake to let Pinot go, because the Frenchman would have worked hard in the break and used up a lot of energy, which could cost him dearly further down the line.
"It was an impressive attack, but the important thing is that both Nairo and Alejandro were both fine, and further down the line when we get to the mountains we'll see them back in the thick of the action again."
'On stages like this, you’ve got to take a shot to win it' says Quintana
Alejandro Valverde Belmonte
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24 Days of Giveaways For Twitter And Facebook Fans For the 2010 Rolex 24 At Daytona
Posted on 1.6.2010 in 2010 Rolex 24 At Daytona
In honor of the Rolex 24 At Daytona on Jan. 30-31, Daytona International Speedway will energize sports car enthusiasts about the prestigious 24-hour sports car classic with a unique promotion through its social network sites Twitter and Facebook called the 24 Days Of Giveaways.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - In honor of the Rolex 24 At Daytona on Jan. 30-31, Daytona International Speedway will energize sports car enthusiasts about the prestigious 24-hour sports car classic with a unique promotion through its social network sites Twitter and Facebook called the 24 Days Of Giveaways.
Beginning Thursday, Jan. 7, fans that follow Daytona International Speedway on its social networking sites – www.twitter.com/disupdates and www.facebook.com/DaytonaInternationalSpeedway -- will have the opportunity to win a Rolex 24-themed prize each day in the 24 days leading up to the twice-around-the-clock challenge, which kicks off the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16.
In the 24 Days Of Giveaways promotion, each day at 3:30 p.m. on both Daytona International Speedway’s Twitter and Facebook sites, there will be a different contest for fans to earn a Rolex 24-themed prize. Prizes include Rolex 24 At Daytona four-day tickets, autographed items and other Rolex 24 merchandise.
The 48th anniversary of the Rolex 24 on Jan. 30-31 offers fans the experience to see the world’s greatest drivers from all racing disciplines compete in the ultimate test of driver and machine.
The event also produces a festival atmosphere with plenty of activities for fans to experience such as a massive driver autograph session, wine and cheese tasting, Chili Cook-Off, the Daytona 5K run/walk and Uncle Robbie’s Breakfast Garage.
Tickets for the Rolex 24 At Daytona are on sale along with the rest of Speedweeks events including the 52nd annual Daytona 500. To purchase tickets, go online at www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or by calling 1-800-PITSHOP. Stay connected with Daytona International Speedway on Twitter (www.twitter.com/disupdates) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/DaytonaInternationalSpeedway)
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can Catholic schools be tuition free?
But it means Catholics have got to learn how to tithe.
When we think of tithing and charitable giving, we usually think of soup kitchens, crisis maternity homes, our parishes, and things like that. What we don’t often think about are our local parochial Catholic elementary schools and high schools.
Decades ago, these institutions were staffed entirely by sisters or brothers, or priests--all talented and gifted people with a religious vocations. Of course now, it’s a rare thing indeed to find a school that has even just one religious on their staff full-time.
And that means one thing: tuition. Lay teachers and staff need (and deserve, of course) salaries. Charging tuition, though, means our modern private Catholic schools are out of reach to many children across the country.
January of this year marked the closure of another network of private Catholic schools, this time in Memphis, Tenn. Jubilee Catholic Schools, which served nearly 1,500 students, closed its doors due to being financially unstable. As a whole, nearly half of the nation's Catholic schools have closed since 1960--from 12,000 down to just over 6,400.
But there is a place in America where Catholic schools are not just surviving, they are thriving--and new ones are being opened.
This blows my mind: Faithful Catholics in the diocese of Wichita, Kan., are tithing--like, ALL OF THEM are tithing.
They are giving 8% of their income to their parishes--and with that generosity, the parishes fund the schools. Since 2002--that’s for the last 16 years--all of the 38 Catholic schools in the diocese of Wichita (that’s including 4 Catholic high schools!) have been TUITION FREE.
For all you moms and dads, let that sink in for a moment. Because right now, I feel like I’m tithing twice--once on my income, and again, for tuition to my parish school.
They educate 11,000 students a year in Wichita. According to an article in the National Catholic Register, the diocese expects all of those families to: "attend Mass each Sunday, participate in religious education, volunteer in parish ministries and make a financial commitment. Each family is asked to fill out a pledge form committing to stewardship. The end result is that families and individuals give not only of their financial gifts, but also of their time."
Superintendent of schools for Wichita, Bob Voboril, says: “The diocese saw that the best way to teach stewardship was not to compete. If a family is paying $3,000-$5,000 in tuition, a family is not inclined to pay its first fruits to the parish,” explained Voboril.
DING DING DING!
“Because enrollment and the budget are not based upon the user’s ability to pay a steep tuition, we are able to serve a much greater cross-section of the Catholic community,” said Voboril. “We have far more ethnic diversity, socio-economic diversity, and even diversity in learning aptitude.” (Quotes pulled from National Catholic Register article linked above.)
Obviously, this level of faithful stewardship doesn't just happen without significant effort and teaching. The bishops and clerical leadership in Wichita have been building this inspired model of stewardship for decades, really since approximately the 1960s--which is when what happened? Oh yes:
Catholic schools started to decline. But not in Wichita.
When Catholic schools are free of the strings of tuition and non-stop fundraising, and are instead full of supportive families who attend Mass together and are all pulling together each month to build up the Body of Christ, something else happens--and it's not just the parish or the school that benefit.
“We’ve been blessed with an abundance of seminarians within the last 10 years,” said Father Kuykendall, pastor of a parish in Schulte, Kansas.
“The diocese has also opened the Lord’s Diner, a soup kitchen that provides a free meal to anyone seeking it, that serves more than 400 people each evening. A second one is being built in south Wichita.”
“There’s a deep sense of faith and parish involvement that permeates the entire diocese,” said Voboril. “The spread of perpetual Eucharistic adoration, 50 seminarians, some of the best Newman Centers in the country, a dynamic natural family planning office, a ‘free’ restaurant and medical clinic, a growing diocesan order of sisters, one of the largest groups of pilgrims to the March for Life each January... all these testify--not to the power of schools that do not charge tuition--but to what happens when everything is united around lived discipleship.” (Quotes pulled from National Catholic Register article linked above.)
Hearing of the possibilities like this created by faithful tithing have been a driving force in the decision Sean and I made to coordinate Financial Peace University at our parish. We're beginning our second class this month with a packed house of attendees.
One of Dave Ramsey's lines from his first lesson is thus: What could the people of God do if they were out of debt?
Change lives. Educate children. Feed the hungry. That's whey they could do.
On the entire other end of the spectrum, of course, are stories like this one out of Connecticut, where a young student at an independent all-girls Catholic school was asked to remove an "I stand with Planned Parenthood" sticker from her laptop.
She refused. Her parents refused. And a group of alumni came together to threaten to pull all current and future donations to the school should the girl be expelled.
The cherry on the top? They would send all their donations, in perpetuity, to Planned Parenthood instead.
The question stands: Aren't Catholic schools supposed to be Catholic?
Yes. And with Wichita in mind, I also say: they're also supposed to be tuition-free. Tuition-free Catholic schools can't be held hostage to a group of decidedly anti-Catholic alumni. Tuition-free Catholic schools find their root identity in the Church and with the many, many families and individuals who are worshiping in that Church and making monthly sacrifices to support them.
Tuition-free Catholic schools. Let's make them happen.
Labels: catholic education, catholic family, catholic schools, dave ramsey at a catholic parish, financial peace university for catholics, planned parenthood, tithing
Laura 3/17/2018 2:31 PM
Hi! Stopping by here after a long long time. So many good thoughts here! I think the connection between decreasing religious vocations and the rising cost of Catholic school is so crucial and so overlooked. I totally agree Catholic schools should be free. Right now we are paying mega bucks to a private Christian school and tithing very little to our parish, because we don't have a parish school. Very sad.
Mary 3/17/2018 8:32 PM
That’s exactly it—our tuition and our tithe are competing (at least, for those of us in the time of life with little kids). It’s a battle that tuition is always going to win. Vocations are so critical and overlooked in this regard. Totally agree with you.
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Tri-Mountain Road, east side
Facing west onto Tri-Mountain Road, the Henry Page House is surrounded by open fields in a rural residential neighborhood.
Address: Tri-Mountain Road, east side
Current Owner: Miller, Harold and Elaine
Historic Name: Henry Page House
The three-bay facade is highlighted by a balustraded veranda supported on lathe-turned columns and exhibiting scroll-sawn brackets. The veranda roof is interrupted by a decorative pediment above the main entry-way. Hidden from view, the facade doorway is located in a recessed entry alcove. The facade also features a large gable-to-street dormer with paired center windows. Both the north and south gable ends feature an overhang and a similar set of paired windows. The eastern ell displays a full-length hip-roofed porch.
Henry Page built this simple 2t story, Queen Anne-style house in 1885. Resting on a brick foundation, the aluminum-sided balloon frame is capped by an asphalt-shingled gable roof. Henry Page (1832-1911), the son of Isaac & Eunice Page, built this house in 1885 across the street from his father's homestead. The Penny Press of Middletown recorded the event on March 13, 1885. "Henry Page and family have moved lnto their new house. It is a fine house." Mr. Page, a successful farmer and well-known agriculturalist, also burned charcoal for a profit. In 1886 he established the Mountain Spring Creamery and operated a successful dairy for many years. Active in local politics, Mr. Page served as a state representative between 1870 and 1872. He married Phebe L. Coe in about 1853 and they raised eight children: Eddie, Harriet, Theron, Lavinia, Henry I, Sarah E., Ben, and Frederick. In 1911 Ben and Fred inherited their father's house and owned it until 1918, when they sold it out of the family. The Henry Page House derives its significance as an important link to Durham's agricultural heritage.
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Nutrition & Healthy Eating >
Created in Newsletter Library, Nutrition & Healthy Eating
In decades past, very few urban kids had ever even heard of a parsnip, a fennel bulb, or a bunch of kale. In those days, fruit and vegetable consumption typically consisted of apples, bananas, corn, potatoes, peas, and lettuce. Oranges were infrequent and grapefruit was a rarity. Today a veritable cornucopia of produce is available year-round, providing the possibility for substantial variety in a family's daily diet. But with the exception of families that include dedicated foodies, most diets could still be considered reasonably barren with respect to consumption of a range of healthful fruits and vegetables. Importantly, taking the single step of providing a variety of produce for the daily table will lead to multiple benefits in terms of health and wellness.
Eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables is so valuable that this daily habit ranks high on the list of federal health and public policy recommendations focusing on nutrition. In the United States, the Department of Agriculture has launched the ChooseMyPlate campaign to support public policy, highlighting the five main food groups: fruits, vegetables, grains, protein foods, and dairy. The ChooseMyPlate program recommends that fully one-half of every plate of food consist of fruits and vegetables.
Physiologically, all bodily systems, most especially the gastrointestinal system and immune system, depend on nutrition gained from fruits and vegetables. Consuming fresh produce daily enables the gastrointestinal system, that is, your stomach, small intestine, and large intestine, to process food effectively and facilitate the transit of food throughout the stomach and intestines. Deficiency of fresh fruits and vegetables will slow transit time, resulting in blockage, bloating, and compromised regularity. Similarly, immune system functioning depends critically on the availability of specific nutrients derived from fresh produce. These nutrients, known as phytochemicals, provide biochemicals that aid immune system cells such as neutrophils, macrophages, and natural killer cells in defending the body against bacteria, viruses, and other microscopic disease-causing invaders.
Nature has provided us with an easy means of identifying the types of produce that contain the most healthful nutrition: the more colorful the fruit or vegetable, the more phytochemicals and other nutrients it contains. For example, foods rich in phytochemicals include blueberries, carrots, greens such as kale and chard, broccoli, apples, oranges, beets, rutabaga, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes. Produce such as bananas do not contain many phytochemicals, but are still valuable sources of complex carbohydrates.
Thus, all of us, both children and adults, need our daily portions of fresh fruits and vegetables. Of course, merely having this information is not sufficient. Action is required. A four-week trial of adding fresh produce to your family's daily diet should provide many indicators of the available health benefits of these marvelous foods. Such evidence will likely be sufficient to cause a healthful long-term shift in your family's dietary habits with numerous positive outcomes in the years to come.
1. Zhang YJ, et al: Antioxidant Phytochemicals for the Prevention and Treatment of Chronic Diseases. Molecules 20(12): 21138-21156, 2015
2. Guillermo Gormaz J, et al: Potential Role of Polyphenols in the Prevention of Cardiovascular Diseases: Molecular Bases. Curr Med Chem. 2015 Nov 27. [Epub ahead of print]
3. Ghosh N, et al: Chronic Inflammatory Diseases: Progress and Prospect with Herbal Medicine. Curr Pharm Des. 2015 Nov 12. [Epub ahead of print]
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Home » Find a Park » South Chilcotin Mountains Provincial Park
South Chilcotin Mountains Provincial Park: Nature and Culture
The area was first proposed for protection in 1937 and was designated a protected area in April 2001. The present boundaries were revised and designated a class A provincial park in late June of 2010. This area has long been recognized as having provincially outstanding conservation and recreation resources and has been the focus on intense public interest for wilderness preservation since the 1970’s. Through various wilderness studies and special management processes, the wilderness of the area has been largely maintained. First Nations have use the area for generations. This area has been used for over 100 years for hunting and recreating. For several decades the Gang Ranch used the area as part of their summer range.
Ranching History
Livestock grazing has occurred in areas now included in the park for over 70 years. From 1939 to 1964, 4300 domestic sheep were herded every May from the grasslands of Lac du Bois Park northwest of Kamloops to the Little Paradise, upper Relay, upper Graveyard, Two Lakes basin and Dash Hill area. On the return to Lac du Bois in the fall, lambs were culled from the herd at Clinton and shipped down to Ashcroft to be sent to markets in the Lower Mainland. Since 1967 the Relay-Paradise-Graveyard area has been used by cattle from Gang Ranch for summer grazing, with very large numbers in early years and considerably decreased use in recent years. Graveyard Creek is known to have had cattle grazing since 1945.
Prospecting in the Big Creek /South Chilcotin Mountains Parks started in the early 1900s with many trails cut and camps established with pack horses. Grant Creek in Big Creek Park and the Eldorado-Cinnebar basin area in South Chilcotin Mountains Park were two such sites. The Gun Creek trail was created and used to service mining activity in the upper Taseko valley, in particular the Taylor Windfall gold mine. Two women, one called Dolly Moore, packed gold from the mine to the processing plant at Gold Bridge. The trail up Gun Creek and over Warner Pass was maintained by the government in the late 1920’s to 30’s and was kept open all year long.
The W. D. Trail from Spruce Lake to Tyaughton Creek is named in honour of W. A. “Big Bill” Davidson, a Bridge River valley pioneer. He built Little Gun Lake Lodge in 1933 and later a lodge on Spruce Lake, this one for VIP hunters and fishermen. He used his many horses to pack supplies in to the Taylor Windfall Mine in the Taseko valley via Warner Pass.
Guiding History
Chilco Choate was a well-known Guide-Outfitter in the Big Creek Park area from 1955 until 1992 using horses and occasionally snowmobiles. His areas of use included Graveyard, Tosh, Grant and Big creeks and Lorna Lake. He cut and recut many trails during the 1950s to 1970s.
The first Guide-Outfitting territory in British Columbia was granted in the Spruce Lake area in the late 1880s and has been operated since then on various sizes of territory. From 1954 it was operated by Pat Garrard who established a series of base camps on Spruce Lake, in Eldorado valley, Tyaughton valley and at Grant Creek and many other smaller camps. Big game hunting was the main activity. The license was purchased by Chilcotin Holidays Ltd. In 1991 and the emphasis was changed to all-season wilderness adventure tourism.
Commercial Recreation
Spruce Lake Wilderness Adventures was the first commercial company to establish in what is now South Chilcotin Mountains Park, offering guided backcountry ski tours in 1982. Their first cabin in the park area was built in 1985 at 2100m.
Since then commercial recreational use of the park has steadily increased and now a number of companies offer a variety of year-round recreational experiences.
The area that is now South Chilcotin Mountains Park is known to have been used by First Nations peoples for at least the past 300 years, and possibly for as long as thousands of years. The area falls within the territory of three Nations: Tsilhqot’in, St’at’imc, and Secwepemc.
Deer and mountain goats were valued for their meat and hides, while wool and horns from goats were used for salmon spears. Special ceremonies were performed before hunting grizzly and black bear as bears were considered to be too human-like. They valued the meat, fat, hides and fur. Moose did not move into the area until about 1920. (Tyhurst, 1984).
The skins of hoary marmots were used for robes and blankets and as trade goods. These were hunted in late summer or early fall after they had hibernated; the meat was smoked and the fat was particularly prized. Dash Hill, Cardtable Mountain, Eldorado Mountain, Teepee Mountain, and Graveyard Creek are known hunting sites.
Beaver and muskrat were trapped for their meat and fur and mink for their fur. Porcupine were killed occasionally as were “rabbits” (presumably snowshoe hare). This was considered “starvation food,” the meat being used in soups and the fur for blankets.
Fishing was most important in the big rivers of the area, but trout were caught in lakes and creeks. Game birds included ruffed, spruce and blue grouse as well as willow and white-tailed ptarmigan while waterfowl included mallard and Canada goose. Birds’ eggs were also valued.
Berry picking and bulb digging in the high country took planning and energy to accomplish and was usually done in larger groups. Spring beauty, or Indian potato, was an important staple and Cardtable and Eldorado Mountain are specifically mentioned as collecting areas. Yellow avalanche lily, wild onion, chocolate lily, balsamroot, dandelion and prickly-pear cactus are also mentioned. Kinnikinnick, soapberry, saskatoon, chokecherry and low bush blueberry were gathered for food and also for their medicinal properties. Whitebark pine seeds or “pinion seeds” were roasted and eaten, while the inner bark of lodgepole pine and white spruce was scraped and eaten.
Many plant and tree species were used for medicinal purposes. Indian hellebore was an important medicinal plant, called “poison plant.” The roots were boiled and used as a decoction to prevent hair loss and dandruff, for bathing, for arthritis, and as an emetic. Lodgepole pine sap was used for colds and balsam fir bark for asthma and tuberculosis (TB).
First Nations travelled by horse and on foot, establishing a network of trails that now form much of the present trail system in South Chilcotin Mountains Park. Major routes were along trails from Hanceville and Taseko Lakes to Bridge River. They left upper Big Creek via Elbow Pass to Tyaughton Creek, Spruce Lake and Gun Creek, and through Warner Pass to Gun Creek. Trails also connected Taseko valley through Iron Pass to upper Big Creek. Further trails dropped down into the Yalakom valley (Tyhurst, 1984). Camping spots were defined by the presence of quality water.
The gently sloping valleys and dome-shaped mountains that typify the Chilcotin Ranges form the core topographic features of the park. The rounded profile of the mountains is evidence of intense glaciation in an area of largely sedimentary rocks during the last ice age. Some of the higher peaks such as Mt. Warner (2834 m) have a comparatively rugged relief resulting from recent alpine glaciation. Mt. Sheba (2550+ m) and Castle Peak (2491 m) are outstanding examples of remnant basalt-capped sedimentary formations of the Southern Chilcotin Ranges.
Retreat of valley glaciers and subsequent stream erosion of fault-guided valleys have created the major drainages and tributaries of the area. Extensive alpine areas supply abundant water to all the creeks in the park. In the southwest, fast-flowing Slim, Leckie and upper Gun Creeks rise from the wet coastal mountains, while in the north east Tyaughton and Relay Creeks and their tributaries flow more gently through the broader valleys of the drier Chilcotin Ranges.
Sub-alpine and alpine lakes and tarns, including South Slim, Leckie, Warner, Trigger and Hummingbird Lakes, occur at the headwaters of Slim, Leckie and Upper Gun Creeks. Spruce Lake sits in the high pass between the Gun and Tyaughton valleys, draining northwards in a steep, narrow valley to Tyaughton Creek. Warner Lake is a milky glacial blue, while Trigger is less milky and Hummingbird less yet. Spruce and Leckie are very clear. Wetlands and braided channels are typical of the upper reaches on all the southern creeks as well as upper Tyaughton Creek. Steep, fast-flowing creeks flow in all directions from the high alpine areas of the Eldorado-Taylor basin area in the south east portion of the park.
South Chilcotin Mountains Park is situated in an area of complex geology that straddles the boundary between the southeast Coast Mountains and the Chilcotin Plateau. The geological history is one of ancient ocean deposits, tectonic plate movement, faulting and mixing of rocks and layers of rocks, deposition of sedimentary rocks in shallow-marine basins, upwellings of granitic rocks and lava flows. Landscape features in South Chilcotin Mountains Park reflect the many complex geological formations that underlie it.
Sedimentary rocks are found in the heart of South Chilcotin Mountains Park through Upper Gun and Tyaughton Creeks and Relay and middle Tyaughton Creeks. They also form the height of land from Lorna Lake to Vic Lake in Big Creek Park.
The serrated mountains in the Slim, Leckie and upper Gun creeks are underlain by granitic rocks that are a characteristic feature of the Coast Mountains. These granitic rocks are components of the continental margin magmatic arc related to subduction of oceanic rocks along the plate boundary to the west. This is a similar process to that still going on today and generating volcanic rocks such as Mt. Baker and Mt. St. Helens.
Volcanic rocks of Early to Middle Eocene (58 – 50 million years ago) age formed in several small volcanic centres scattered through the park. The most spectacular exposure is found at Mount Sheba, on the north side of Gun Creek.
The youngest rocks are part of the great lava flows of 16 to 1 million years ago that formed the extensive Chilcotin Plateau. Outlying remnants of these lava flows occur in the area of Teepee, Relay and Cardtable Mountains. On Relay Mountain the basalts are up to 350 metres thick.
Fossils are an important feature of South Chilcotin Mountains Park and demonstrate the marine origin of many of the sedimentary rocks. Well-preserved late triassic marine fossils (ammonites and bivalves) are found in the Tyaughton Creek area. Lower and middle jurassic rocks in this same general area are also locally rich in fossils (mainly ammonites). The Relay Mountain Group is in part extremely rich in upper jurassic and lower cretaceous fossils. Fossil-rich parts of the Relay Mountain Group are found around upper Relay Creek, Elbow Mountain and on the low bluffs northwest of Spruce Lake.
South Chilcotin Mountains Park comes under the influence of air masses from three directions: wet coastal air from the west; cold plateau air from the north; and, dry interior air from the east. Situated on the lee side of the main Coast Mountain Ranges, the area receives less precipitation either as rain or snow than the mountain areas to the west.
Summer temperatures are moderately cool, although warm air from the interior helps to raise temperatures somewhat and produces less precipitation. The growing season is short throughout, but particularly so in the sub-alpine and alpine areas. Frost can be expected in most months at the lower elevation, and especially at either end of the growing season, in late spring and late summer. In the alpine, frost is expected daily. The lowest elevations of the park in lower Gun and lower Tyaughton Creek valleys are the warmest and driest parts of the park. Wind is often present throughout the year as it is funnelled through the deep valleys.
South Chilcotin Mountains Park is influenced by warmer pacific air in winter that moderates temperatures somewhat.
Forests and plant communities in South Chilcotin Mountains Park generally reflect the leeward-rainshadow climate of the Chilcotin Plateau and Ranges. The position in the transition between northern and southern influences is indicated in the number of plant species that have been found to be at the southern limits of their range and yet others at the northern limits of their range. Temperature extremes and moderate to low precipitation rates combined with the very varied geology of the area create unique and diverse vegetation associations. The most notable are the lush grasslands and meadows in alpine and subalpine and large areas of aspen and mixed aspen – conifer forests occurring in Tyaughton, Gun and Relay Creek valleys.
Forests are characteristically fire patterned, comprising successional stages of Engelmann spruce, sub-alpine fir and Douglas- fir forests. Expanses of lodgepole pine forest are found in flatter ground in Gun and Tyaughton Creeks. Extensive stands of white bark pine forests fringe the timberline in many valleys of South Chilcotin Mountains Park. Sub-alpine meadowland and alpine tundra form the dominant habitats of the upper valley basins and mountain ridges.
South Chilcotin Mountains Park covers several biogeoclimatic zones. The Alpine Tundra zone occurs throughout the many ranges of South Chilcotin Mountains Park, above 2000 m elevation, where it represents over 60% of the land base.
Permanent snow, including glaciers, occurs on Warner Ridge and the south western ranges of South Chilcotin Mountains Park. Large areas of bare rock, steep scree slopes and avalanche chutes are found throughout the alpine. The cool, short growing season at these elevations means that any vegetation is of dwarf form and has a very brief flowering period.
The transition position of South Chilcotin Mountains Park combined with small changes in topography and aspect creates an especially wide variety in the vegetation cover in the alpine. Low shrubs, a profusion of herbs, many mosses and colourful lichens are found in a wide variety of extensive meadow areas. Scrub, willow and bog birch dominate meadows on drier sites, while pink and white mountain-heathers occur in drier sites. Sedge meadows fill wetter sites and stunted trees or krummholz occur at lower elevations.
Large un-vegetated areas are found in the southwest portion of the park in the higher elevations of upper Slim, Leckie and Gun Creek valleys. Alpine meadows are most extensive in the Upper Relay, Little Paradise and Eldorado valleys creating spectacular floral displays in the short summer season. Meadows in other alpine areas are no less spectacular, but less extensive.
The Engelmann Spruce-sub-alpine fir zone (ESSF) occurs below the Alpine Tundra in South Chilcotin Mountains Park. This zone typically has a continuous forest cover of conifers, including various combinations of Engelmann spruce, sub-alpine fir and, on drier sites, whitebark pine and lodgepole pine. At the highest elevations the forest thins out to parkland with clumps of trees in widespread meadows that interweave with similar alpine communities. There are extensive areas of wind-blown clumps of bushy conifers called krummholz throughout the zone.
White-flowered rhododendron is the most common shrub in the zone, and black huckleberry, grouseberry and false azalea frequently occur. Subalpine meadows include heath-dominated meadows, flower meadows and grasslands. Snow often lingers in heath-dominated meadows providing abundant moisture for a variety of mountain-heathers. Flower meadows often contain swaths of Indian hellebore, arrow-leaved groundsel, paintbrush, Sitka valerian and other flowering herbs.
The Montane Spruce zone is represented by a dry cold variant in South Chilcotin Mountains Park. This drier variant occurs below ESSF on the south-facing slopes of middle Tyaughton Creek and the lower slopes of lower Gun Creek, Leckie and Slim Creeks. It is also found as a thin band below the ESSF on the south-facing slopes of the Pearson Creek ridge.
Forests are open with mixtures of lodgepole pine, varying amounts of Engelmann spruce and sub-alpine fir and little understory vegetation. On north-facing slopes Engelmann spruce and sub-alpine fir form dense stands, while Douglas-fir and lodgepole pine are found on drier sites with bluebunch wheatgrass, common juniper, kinnikinnick and balsamroot. Unusual combinations of conifers are found on the dry south-facing slopes of Tyaughton Creek including varying mixtures of Douglas-fir, lodgepole pine, sub-alpine fir, spruce and whitebark pine. Scattered ponderosa pine are also found, where they are at the western and near the northern extent of their range. Extensive grasslands occur on the steep south-facing slopes of Tyaughton Creek; through the middle Gun Creek valley they extend down from those identified in the adjacent ESSF subzone.
The Interior Douglas-fir zone is the driest of the ecosystems in the park and is found in the lowest portions of Gun Creek valley. It is a system that is not well represented in protected areas. Forests are open and dominated by lodgepole pine with Douglas-fir regeneration. Birch-leaved spirea and falsebox are found in an understory dominated by pinegrass. Pure Douglas-fir stands with an understory of saskatoon, birch-leaved spirea and bluebunch wheatgrass occur on dry south-facing slopes.
South Chilcotin Mountains Park provides rich and diverse habitats for a variety of wildlife associated with high-elevation mountain and plateau habitats. Lush alpine and sub-alpine meadows, broad upland valleys and extensive shrubby wetlands are only a few of the habitats available. Cold, long winters restrict the variety of species, but the quality of habitats attracts large numbers of some species, especially during the short summer and fall seasons. This provides visitors with some outstanding wildlife viewing opportunities.
Many species of large mammals are found in the mountains of South Chilcotin Mountains Park. Some essential habitat elements make this area particularly important, including: lush alpine meadows, salty mineral springs, rocky escape terrain, wind-swept and snow-free areas and isolation from human activity or development. Mountain goats share habitat with mule deer and grizzly bear are found with California bighorn sheep and moose. In the Eldorado-Taylor-Cinnabar Basin area grizzly bear share habitats with mule deer and mountain goats. The variety of habitats supports a very wide diversity of mammals.
Mountain goats require undisturbed areas for birthing and rearing, for foraging near escape terrain and for thermal and security cover. In winter they move short distances to forested areas on south and western-facing open slopes or wind-blown ridges. The Eldorado Mountain area is rated as exceptional habitat for goats. Mountain goat winter range and associated significant range is also found on the west-facing slopes of Gun Creek from lower Windy Pass to lower Eldorado Creek. On the ridge from Mount Sheba to the Warner Pass area goats and California bighorn sheep winter together in their preferred habitats. The upper elevations of the southern mountain ridges provide important winter range through upper Gun Creek, Leckie Creek and upper Slim Creek valleys.
The moist forests, shrubby forests, swamps and wetlands of South Chilcotin Mountains Park support numbers of moose in the summer, where they browse on deciduous twigs and foliage. The valley bottoms and wet meadows of Gun Creek and Tyaughton Creek are the best locations in the park to see these large mammals.
The park is an important area for mule deer in the summer and fall. The open forests, clearings and wetlands provide abundant shelter and forage. Mule deer are very visible in the summer months, especially around Spruce Lake and Gun Creek grasslands and in the subalpine. Isolated pockets of deer winter range are found in the park and the Douglas-fir forests on lower Gun Creek and south of the park are also mule deer winter range. Important migration corridors through eastern portions of the park bring deer from lower elevation winter and spring ranges through Lone Valley Creek to Tyaughton Creek and through Dash Creek to upper Relay Creek. Deer collared on the Fraser River have been found later in the year at the headwaters of Tyaughton and Relay creeks.
California bighorn sheep are common but not abundant throughout an extensive area that covers the western and northern portions of the park. In general bighorn sheep are resident in the area, a situation unique to these herds. Bighorn sheep populations in the park are stable and healthy. Sheep are found west to Mt. Sheba, over the ridges of the upper Tyaughton valley into Little Paradise and along the Tyaughton ridge towards Castle Peak. Waterholes in escape terrain are important for sheep use of the dry tundra areas. Lambing is known to occur in the Lizard Creek area. Most sheep summering in the park migrate to winter habitats in the southern end of Big Creek Park (e.g. Tosh Creek, Elbow Mountain and the Lorna Lake Ridge) where sun keeps the snowpack on the slopes somewhat reduced.
Grizzly bears require large, relatively undisturbed areas containing critical habitat elements for feeding, bedding and denning. Forage requirements include glacier lilies, whitebark pine, skunk cabbage and berries. Late spring is spent on avalanche slopes, moving higher as summer progresses to wetter forest riparian sites, meadows and wetlands where there is abundant vegetation. There are few options for fishing in the park. Grizzlies are known to forage for marmots and pika by tearing holes in their burrows. Whitebark pine seeds are an especially important part of a grizzly bear’s food in the park.
Black bear are found throughout South Chilcotin Mountains Park feeding in meadows, riparian areas avalanche chutes and grassy south-facing slopes. Cougar are present but numbers are unknown. Bear and cougar use the upper portions of the park as escape terrain away from contact with cattle. Wolves are known to inhabit the eastern portions of the park.
Hoary marmot, pika and Columbia ground squirrels are just some of the smaller mammals found in the sub-alpine and alpine meadows and edges. All are active for only very short periods in the warmest summer months. They make up an important part of the diet of golden eagles.
A wide variety of small furbearers occur in South Chilcotin Mountains Park including lynx, beaver, mink and muskrat. Marten are found in low numbers using large blocks of undisturbed, slightly wetter Engelmann spruce/subalpine fir forests.
Wolverine, which have been seen in South Chilcotin Mountains Park, prefer undisturbed, remote wilderness. Extensive seasonal movements in search of food mean that they can be found in a variety of places depending on the season. Young are born and raised near natal dens in large boulder talus slopes; in summer alpine tundra and krummholz slopes are preferred where they prey on hoary marmots. They move down to forested areas in winter in a large home range.
The high elevations habitats with short growing season found in South Chilcotin Mountains Park do not support a large variety of bird species. However, the extent of some of the special habitats mean that there are high numbers of certain species. Species that are able to forage for food through the harsh winter conditions are resident year-round, such as seed-eaters, predators, scavengers and those that glean insects from bark. The short season of open water and low productivity in most of the larger lakes mean that waterfowl species are limited, although the haunting call of the common loon is regularly heard on Spruce Lake.
Alpine areas provide habitat for horned lark and American pipit that arrive as snow is melting and leave before the first snows arrive. Rock, white-tailed and willow ptarmigan are permanent residents; South Chilcotin Mountains Park is the southern limit for willow ptarmigan. Franklin’s, blue and ruffed grouse are residents of the high-elevation spruce-fir forests along with red crossbills, white-winged crossbills, gray jay, Steller’s jay and pine grosbeaks. Whitebark pine areas provide abundant food for a variety of birds, the most notable being the Clark’s nutcracker. The seeds of whitebark pine are wingless, so cannot be carried any distance by the wind. Nutcrackers feast on the seeds, gathering as many as a hundred seeds in pouches in their throats; the seeds are disgorged in batches into underground caches. Abandoned or forgotten caches provide the seeds needed for new generations of trees.
A variety of birds of prey are reported to include bald eagle, gyrfalcon, rough-legged hawk, Swainson’s hawk, northern harrierand red-tailed hawk. Cliffs provide nesting sites for golden eagles that feed on large rodents such as hoary marmots and Columbian ground squirrels. Prairie falcon adult and juveniles have been seen near Spruce Lake. Great gray owl and great horned owl are year-round residents, as are three-toed, black-backed, pileated and hairy woodpeckers.
Chickadees, nuthatches, pine siskin, golden-crowned and ruby-crowned kinglet are common throughout the forested areas. American dippers are present in many of the creeks. Hermit and Swainsons thrushes, American robin, magnolia warblerand yellow-rumped warblers are only a few of the summer visitors known to nest.
Few reptiles and amphibians are able to survive the harsh winter conditions found in South Chilcotin Mountains Park. Common garter snake and Western terrestrial garter snake have been reported.
Rainbow trout and bull trout are recorded from most of the larger creeks, with bull trout seeming to stay higher up in creek systems to avoid competition with rainbow trout. Bull trout are known to be resident in the full length of Gun Creek. Bull trout require clean, cold, well-oxygenated water in stream areas with a steep gradient. Ground water seepage channels are also sometimes used for spawning and large, deep pools are needed for overwintering. Spawning, foraging and wintering habitats may be some distance apart so it is important that the connections between all habitat requirements are protected.
Rainbow trout are present in Spruce, Trigger, Hummingbird and Warner Lakes. Mountain whitefish are recorded in Spruce Lake and Gun Creek, while kokanee originate out of Carpenter Lake.
Little is known about the insect populations in any provincial parks, although most visitors are aware that they are there. Many insects fly up to mountain tops in large numbers to mate, the females staying for brief visits only before returning to their favoured habitat below. Bristly tachinid flies, flower flies, sarcophagid flies, blow flies and swallowtail butterflies are but a few. Ladybird beetles congregate in alpine areas before hibernating together under boulders in large groups. Grizzly bears are known to feed on beetles and moths in the sub-alpine. Although no inventories of Deer and Horse flies have been done in the park, these flies have been known to sample humans here.
Many insects are considered pests in the forests of the park. Mountain pine beetles attack lodgepole pine trees in some numbers every year, but have built up to very large numbers in mature lodgepole forests of the park in the last few years. British Columbia is currently experiencing a landscape level pine beetle event. Infested trees are magnets for a variety of woodpeckers, some of which strip large sections of bark off infested trees to reach the larvae.
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Flemming Family History
History Of The Fleming Name
The “Fleming” name had it’s origin from a region of either Belgium or Northern France then referred to as “Flanders”. Those who lived in this area spoke “Flemish”. The name “Fleming” refers to one who is a native of Flanders. The Flemish and Dutch language probably derived from one another. Variation of the Fleming name are numerous: Flemming le Fleming, Flemings, Flemon, Fliming, Fleman, Flemans, Fleminge and Flemyng. Somewhere through the years “Fleming” has evolved from these variations.
It is an interesting fact to the genealogist that the motto borne by the Fleming, or Flemming, family is the only motto recorded in British healdry which is still written in Gaelic This motto, “Bhear na Righ gan”—“May the King live forever”—must date from a very ancient period, as the Flemings have been in England and Scotland for almost a thousand years.
The English chronicler gives as the first of the family Stephen of Flanders, who first assumed the name of Flanders or Fleming to show the nationality of his forefathers. The Irish descendents of Stephen say theat Stephan's Father, Archembald, a nobleman of Flanders, came from the continent with William the Conqueror and acquired the lordshoip of Bratton in Devonshire.
Stephen Flanders, or Fleming, had a son, Archembald, said to be the ancestor of the Irish family of Flemings who become lords of the estate of Slane, County of Meath, Ireland. There were twenty-three recorded generations of Barons Slane, but the title became dormant in 1726.
William, a younger son of Stephen of flanders, who died in 1197, had a son, Sir Malcom, sheriff of Dumbarton, who died in 1246, and his son Robert was the well-known supporter of Robert Bruce. Robert had two dons, at least-Malcom, who was made Earl of Wigton, and who died in 1362, and Patrick. The son of Malcom, Earl of Wigton, inherited his father's titles and estates, but later sold them.
Patrick married a daughter of Sir Simon Fraser and had a son Sir Malcolm, who had two sons, Sir David and Patrick. The former had a son Malcolm, who married Elizabeth, Daughter of the Duke of Albany, and had Lord Robert Fleming, who married Margaret Lindsay. Their son was Malcolm, who married Euphemia Christon and had Lord John, who married Janet Steward. Lord John died in 1524, leaving a son, Malcolm, who was created Earl of Wigton under a second creation.
The First Earl of Wigton under this new creation had two sons—James, who succeeded to his father's honors and was Lord High Chancellor to Queen Mary, and Lord John, who, after his brother's death, succeeded to the earldom. The latter married Lillian Graham, a daughter of the Earl of Montrose. Their two sons were John and Sir Thomas Fleming. Sir Thomas married Miss Tarleton and emigrated to Virginia and there became the originator of the southern branch of the Fleming family.
Sir Thomas, it is said, had three sons—Tarleton, John and Charles. John died in New Kent, VA., in 1686, leaving a son Charles, who married Susannah Tarleton. The children of this marriage were as follows: Elizabeth; Judith, who married Thomas Randolph; Colonel John, who married Mary Bolling; Tarleton of Rock Castle, who married Hannah Bates; Robert, who was burgess for Caroline county, and Susannah, who married first John Bates and then John Woodson.
Colonel John, the third child and “son and heir” of Charles and Susannah Tarleton Fleming, had five sons and two daughters. Of these the eldest John, was captain of the first Virginia Regiment in the Revolution and was killed at the battle of Princeton in 1776. Charles, the second son, was Lieutenant Colonel of Continental troops in the Third Virginia Regiment; Thomas was Colonel of the Ninth Virginia Continentals; William was judge of the Virgina supreme court, and the yougest son was Richard. John, the eldest, married Susannah—, and had a son John.
Colonel Thomas, the third of these five sons, was the most distinguished. He was born in 1727 and commanded two hundred men in the battle of Point Pleasnt, with the Indians, in 1774. The white forces were in command of General Lewis and the Indians were commanded by Corn Stalk. Fleming's men hid behind trees and held out their hats. The Indians, mistaking the hats for the white men's heads, shot at them. At this, Fleming's men would drop the hats and the Indians would rush forward to scalp their victims. When the Indians got near them, the whites would jump from behind the trees and tomahawk the unwary Indians. These men were all backwoodsmen and knew as well as the Indians, the methods of Indian fighting. There were a thousand Indians and only four hundred whites, but the battle was a signal victory for the whites. Unfortunately, Fleming was severely wounded in this engagement, but he was none the less willing to enter the Revelutionary army a few years later. Thomas Fleming married the daughter of Major John Bolling, the son of Colonel Robert Bolling and the daughter of Thomas Rolf, the son of Pocahontas.
The New Jersey Flemings settled near the old Bethlehem meeting house in Hunterdon County, N.J. There were four brothers, the sons of Malcolm Fleming. These sons were William, Thomas, Andrew and Samuel, but at what date they came to this country is not known. Samuel, the youger, was founder of Flemington, N.J. It is an interesting fact the the genealogy of this branch of the family dates from a few years ago, when Elisha M. Fleming of Belvidere, N.J., found in an old box in one of his barns, papers which proved to be the ancient family records. Malcolm, the father of the four brothers who came to this country, proved to have been a weaver who lived near Cooktown, Ulster province, in the parish of Derryloren, County Tyrone, Ireland. He died some time before 1736.
A third branch of the Fleming family was founded by Solomon Fleming, who came from England to America. His son Sampson lived in New York State, and Sampson's son was Brigadier General Fleming of the state militia. He was born in 1773 and died in 1843. By his wife, Maria Ludlow, he had a son Augustus, born in 1809, and a son William H., of Greenport. The former married Caroline Bennet Lisle. This branch of the family is small and is located chiefly in New York State.
The fourth branch of the Flemming family ( Nantucket) came to the US via Newfoundland. Two brothers were in a tavern in Ireland and were jumped and forced to work (press gang) on a cargo ship. When they got close to land (Newfoundland) they jumped ship and swam for shore. The locals hid them and they added another "m" to thier last name to hide it from anyone that would come looking for them (see more detail in the 1800 and 1900 section).
Although it is probable that all who bear the name Fleming today are descendants of the Stephen Fleming who first assumed the name of Flanders, yet there were several men of the name mentioned in the Dornesday book (Survey ordered by William the Conqueror of England in 1086), and then there have been others who assumed the name of their native country, Flanders.
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Smith and Carlos to represent for Team USA. Right on.
September 27, 2016 / Philip Hersh
The sculpture at the new National Museum of African American History and Culture portraying the now iconic 1968 Olympic podium protest by Tommie Smith (center) and John Carlos (right).
It was going to be just a gesture of reconciliation, a long overdue welcome back for sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos, an invitation for them to be part of the Olympic family in the United States again after nearly 50 years as institutional outcasts.
Now, thanks to an accident of timing and the good intentions of the U.S. Olympic Committee leadership, it can be so much more.
There is a backstory here, and I will talk about it later. But, right up front, it should be said that the USOC’s asking the two 1968 Mexico City medalists to be U.S. Olympic ambassadors and to accompany members of the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic teams on their White House visit Thursday is an important statement in these troubled times for our nation.
“The conversation they started in 1968 is still relevant today. They are still relevant today,” USOC spokesman Patrick Sandusky said.
Smith and Carlos spoke in 1968 by standing shoeless on the awards podium, bowing their heads and making a raised-fist, black-gloved salute during the playing of the National Anthem in the medal ceremony for the 200 meters, which Smith won with Carlos third.
It was a peaceful protest in favor of human rights worldwide, a peaceful show of solidarity with their black brothers and sisters at a time when many African-American leaders had called for a black athlete boycott of the Olympics, a time when racial tension in the United States was overwhelming in the aftermath of the 1968 assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy.
The protest made Smith and Carlos pariahs in an Olympic family led by Avery Brundage, the autocratic, anti-Semitic, misogynistic, morally tone deaf Chicagoan who was then president of the lily-white International Olympic Committee (one black among some six dozen IOC members, all men, in 1968).
At Brundage’s urging, Smith and Carlos were unceremoniously booted from the Olympic Village and sent home, where they faced death threats and less sinister opprobrium in much of their deeply divided country. (Silver medalist Peter Norman, a white Australian who joined Smith and Carlos in wearing an Olympic Project for Human Rights badge, also would be scorned in his homeland.)
It also made the sprinters important figures in the ongoing Civil Rights Movement. At the new National Museum of African American History & Culture in Washington, a sculpture of their podium protest stands at the entrance to the sports gallery.
And now they are coming to Washington, at a moment when their protest has been echoed for nearly a month by athletes in several sports, including NFL and college football, the WNBA and women’s soccer. The Chiefs’ Marcus Peters recalled them by raising a fist. Those athletes all want to start a new conversation about race relations after a relentless wave of fatal shootings of African-Americans by police.
So we have Smith and Carlos representing Team USA. It is symbolically powerful. And it seemed so unlikely.
The United States Olympic Committee is, ipso facto, the country’s most overtly patriotic sports organization. (After all, its athletes wear “USA” on their uniforms.) It is also an organization whose past leadership had very conservative leanings – after being chartered by Congress in 1978, the USOC’s first two executive directors were a retired Army colonel and a retired Air Force three-star general – and has its headquarters in a very conservative place, Colorado Springs.
Dating to Jesse Owens in 1936, many black athletes have been stars on U.S. Olympic teams. Yet the USOC and the sports federations it oversees, like nearly every company, university and non-profit in this country, have struggled to get near the goals for inclusion and diversity they have set, as USOC chief executive Scott Blackmun noted in a speech to last week’s Olympic Assembly in Colorado Springs.
Blackmun, whom associates describe as a true political independent, had never met Smith or Carlos until hurdles legend and two-time Olympic champion Edwin Moses introduced them at a reunion of some 300 Olympians and Paralympians in Las Vegas last March. It was the first such reunion in eight years and the first in Blackmun’s tenure as CEO.
When the athletes were introduced after the dinner, among the loudest cheers were those for Smith and Carlos, never pariahs among their peers. That prompted Blackmun to begin thinking of how to bring them formally back into the fold.
Even if some within the U.S. Olympic movement may still disagree with the action Smith and Carlos took in Mexico City, almost no one thinks they should have been excommunicated since. Before the Rio Olympics began in early August, Blackmun brought up at a USOC board of directors meeting the idea of naming them ambassadors.
Tommie Smith (left) and John Carlos after receiving the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage at the 2008 ESPY Awards.
When the board agreed, the feeling was the best place for an announcement would be the annual U.S. Olympic Assembly, attended by leaders of all this country’s Olympic-related sports organizations.
Reaching out to Smith and Carlos was to be mainly a statement about the USOC’s commitment to having a better record on putting women and minorities in both its management and staff and those of the National Governing Bodies.
“I think Tommie and John have played an important and positive role in the evolution of our attitudes about diversity and inclusion, not only in the United States but around the world,” Blackmun would tell the Assembly last Friday. “And in recognition of that, we have asked Tommie and John to become ambassadors for us as we fight for greater inclusion within the U.S. Olympic movement, and they will be coming to Washington, D.C., with us next week.”
The rationale still rings true. But the context has changed dramatically since the USOC decided to have a formal rapprochement with the sprinters, now 72 (Smith) and 71 (Carlos). Having them join Team USA in Washington will make them part of the heated debate about the recent athlete protests during the National Anthem, and some of those who vociferously and irrationally criticize Colin Kaepernick and others who have followed his example undoubtedly will make a target of the USOC.
It would have been easy for the USOC to leave this at naming Smith and Carlos ambassadors and not inviting them to Washington. That didn’t happen, hopefully because Blackman and others realize how much courage it took for Smith and Carlos to do what they did in 1968.
Whether in powerful wordless gestures or in words, Smith and Carlos’ message sadly must still be delivered as forcefully now as it was in Mexico City. The USOC will be on the side of our better angels if it is seen as endorsing that message by having Smith and Carlos at the White House.
That is what Tommie Smith and John Carlos represent. They represent the Team USA we should all be on, the one that speaks out against injustice and works to remedy it, the one that defends the flag and the Anthem not with false patriotism but by reminding us how far we have strayed from the values those symbols stand for, the values so eloquently expressed in the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence.
And where better to represent than Washington?
September 27, 2016 / Philip Hersh/ Comment
African-American athletes, African-Americans, United States, 1968 Olympics, Protests, Police shootings
Tommie Smith, John Carlos, Black athletes, 1968 Olympics, White House, U.S. Olympic Committee
Will only fools - and dictators - ...
Athletes should just say no to ...
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Early Stages: life lessons on stage and off
By Angela Long
The name of the game says it all: Atoms.
“Coming together as big clumps, or as tiny individuals,” director of Highlands Summer Festival Scot Denton says.
Atoms is a favourite improv game of the students at Early Stages – a month-long theatre apprenticeship program held in conjunction with the Highlands Summer Festival.
“I want to see a wedding cake,” instructor Beth Robertson says.
Fourteen students aged 10 to 14 break into groups. They crouch, they climb, they touch palms. Denton and the other instructor, James Frantowski, watch from the sidelines.
“As a giant group,” says Robertson, “I want to see a farm.”
One student becomes a tractor, another a fence. Three boys contort their features, mooing and oinking until the upper level of the Haliburton Highlands Museum – home of Early Stages since the beginning of July – almost starts to smell like hay.
It’s these acts of transformation, big or small, that Early Stages can spark. But it’s more than that, says Denton.
“It’s learning you have your own journey through the things that happen to you,” he says.
Improv is a tool where you learn to overcome difficulties, work as a team. “If you’re a performer you can’t calculate everything that’s going to happen.”
At Robertson’s command, the students freeze into position, mouths puckered, arms crooked.
“As two groups, I want to see a pizza parlour,” she says.
Dough flips and twirls into the air. A patron sniffs in anticipation. An oven opens its doors.
Robertson orders another wedding cake, then a giant face.
“I’ll be an eyebrow,” says one of the students.
It’s clear this isn’t a singing and dancing camp, a music-theatre camp. Denton calls it “an experience camp.”
Some of the students lie on the ground, arching toward one another, fingertips touching. Others scrunch into balls. They seem to intuit rather than discuss what’s next. It’s past their lunch time, but no one show signs of wanting to go anywhere but deeper into the contours of what appears to be a smile.
“Hold it!” says Robertson and the smile doesn’t waver.
For three days a week, four weeks a year, Denton and the two instructors he hires each season, endeavour to create a space where kids can feel safe to explore their creativity, as individuals and as part of a team. Usually, Denton employs leads from a Highlands Summer Festival production – Robertson played Nancy in Oliver!, Frantowski played her murderer, Bill Sykes.
This year, half the Early Stages students also acted in Oliver! – as workhouse boys and girls and members of Fagin’s gang.
The experience of working alongside their instructors in a play, says Denton, watching while he directs Robertson and Frantowski, shows the students that acting is something “we’re passing on together.”
Teamwork is the secret weapon of any good actor, says Denton, no matter how alone they may appear on stage. Improv is one method to teach this skill, essential to the success of an actor, and, one might argue, life.
Thirteen-year old Alex Elliott, a lifelong Haliburton Highland cottager who has been attending Early Stages since he was 10, has already learned this lesson. He brings his sandwich over to the table where his teachers sit for lunch.
“It’s good for kids to learn about the skills required in acting,” he says, “but I don’t think it’s essential to learn how to act. Teamwork, improvisation, those types of stuff. They’re skills you’ll have to use all through your life and I think it’s good to learn them.”
Elliott says he’s better at having conversations now, a side effect of his Early Stages training.
“We talk a lot about the ‘Yes, and’ principle,” he says and gives an example. “Say I ask you to go waterskiing and you don’t want to go. You could say ‘Yes, and I’ll spot you’,” instead of just saying no, I don’t want to go.”
Frantowski, who began his acting career at the age of four when he starred in Frosty the Snowman, explains the importance of “yes, and” rather than “no, but.”
“No kills a scene,” he says. “Improv is a living, breathing thing that constantly needs to be fuelled.”
There’s no shortage of fuel in the Haliburton Highlands. Denton, who brings over 20 years of teaching experience at Sheridan College and a stellar list of acting and directing credits to the Highlands Summer Festival, recognized this years ago when he first came to the area. Since directing Within Reach in 2012, starring seven young women from the area, he saw the potential of the arts-infused community.
“It’s wonderful to have kids on the stage,” he says. “Everyone loves to see them and they learn so much about responsibility.”
When he developed Early Stages in 2014, he wanted to create something with “less structure than a production but the same sort of opportunity.”
The students attend all Highlands Summer Festival productions. They receive vocal training, participate in team-building exercises, play improv games. They discuss theatre and current events. Before playing Atoms, they discussed the Syrian refugee crisis. Discussing the world-at-large encourages exploration beyond the individual, says Denton. Students imagine how it must feel to be a refugee, for example, further stoking their imaginations.
On Aug. 3, the last day of class, the students performed a theatrical piece based on the journey of the Syrian refugee family expected to arrive in Haliburton this summer.
Robertson, who will be returning to Oakville after the performance, says, “I’ve been blown away by how creative they are, especially when talking about a serious topic like the refugee crisis. We don’t always trust kids to form opinions, but here we give them the opportunity to speak.”
Trust is an important word here.
“You have to feel like you’re part of the team, that you can take risks,” says Frantowski. “Sometimes I just act like an idiot. I try to be myself, and show them it’s OK to do that. It’s important not to take yourself too seriously.”
Denton laughs. “It’s my job to do that,” he says. “Somebody has to watch the clock.”
He looks at his watch. Fifteen minutes until lunch is over. But the students have already begun to clump together – twirling, arching, improvising. Denton watches. Smiles.
“Look,” he says. “Just look at them.”
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More Music - After This
Travis Tritt - I'm Gonna Be Somebody
Plenty of Public Delegations Expected Over Ferguson Drive Apartment Buildings
Wednesday, May 15th, 2019 12:50pm
The City of Woodstock council will be taking a look at two new proposed apartment buildings planned for Ferguson Drive on Thursday night.
WOODSTOCK - Residents of Ferguson Drive are expected to be in attendance at the Woodstock City Council Meeting tomorrow night.
People are upset over the plans to build two new apartment buildings in the area near Fanshawe College. The proposed apartment buildings would include one that has 70 units in one seven story building and another 84 apartment units in an 8 story building. Both buildings would have ground floor parking and surface parking in the front. One of the buildings will be designed with students and young people in mind, while the other building is more geared for seniors and retirement living.
Mayor Trevor Birtch says the developer will be presenting and a lot of the concerns have been addressed.
"The applicant has come forward with a little bit of a redesign. One of the buildings will be reduced by a story and we also now have a walkway in the proposal that will go up the large embankment to the west, into the park, which is right near Fanshawe College. A lot of the concerns of the neighbourhood have been looked into, we have done traffic studies and shadow studies, we are expecting a lot of delegations on Thursday night as a lot of people would like to see the neighbourhood maintain it's current format."
Birtch says the neighbourhood has gone through several changes over the years.
"With condo's added, townhouses, more recently some more townhouses in behind the Retirement Home. We do have a need for more intensification in the City and more apartment buildings for individuals, so we will see what council decides on Thursday."
Residents will have a chance to voice their concerns over the development at the public meeting tomorrow night.
Magic! 7:43pm
Let Your Hair Down
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Historic Beverly, West Virginia
Small Town – Big History
Welcome to Beverly
About Beverly
Walking Around Beverly (A Virtual Town TOUR)
Get Involved With Beverly
HBP Board and Staff
Beverly In History
Beverly: The Concise History
Beverly: A More Complete History (part one of three)
Beverly: A More Complete History (part two of three)
Beverly: A More Complete History (part three of three)
Related Historical Resources
Beverly Today
Beverly Organizations
Town of Beverly
Visiting Beverly
Things To Do In WV
Wild, Wonderful WV
Beverly ON TRAC
Welcome to Historic Beverly, West Virginia
Today a quiet small town, Beverly is a hidden treasure of history in the Tygarts Valley of Central West Virginia. One of the first settlements west of the Alleghenies, Beverly dates back to the era of the American Revolutionary War. By the time crucial Civil War battles were fought nearby in 1861, Beverly was an established county seat and crossroads. The rise of nearby Elkins at the end of the 19th Century left Beverly to be largely unaffected by later development. As a result, Beverly today preserves a unique look into an earlier time.
Historic Beverly and
Historic Beverly Preservation
Beverly, West Virginia, was founded as the county seat of Randolph County, Virginia in 1790. Today this historic significance is recognized through the designation of much of the town as a National Register Historic District. Over a dozen pre-Civil War buildings still survive, and some are open to the public as museums or shops. Learn more about this history of Beverly on this website History and Virtual Tour, or by visiting and experiencing Beverly for yourself.
Historic Beverly Preservation is the non-profit organization dedicated to the restoration, heritage and preservation of historic Beverly. HBP focuses on heritage preservation, awareness, and education for Beverly’s history, on preservation of our historic buildings and stories, and on sharing that heritage with residents and visitors. HBP owns a number of community historic buildings, including the Goff House which houses Historic Beverly Antiques, the IOOF building with retail and event space, and the 1841 Jail and Collett house awaiting rehabilitation. HBP is the sponsor organization for Beverly ON TRAC, which works with the Town of Beverly and other community organizations to engage residents and work toward betterment and economic vitality for the community. We are the non-profit partner with Beverly Historic Landmarks Commission, the Town Commission responsible for historic preservation. And, we are an events and operating partner, with Rich Mountain Battlefield Foundation, in the Beverly Heritage Center. If you are interested in any of these projects or in the work of HPB, you should get involved!
The town of Beverly is an example of the way time and economic pressures can change a community over the years from an important nexus of local affairs to a sleepy backwater. Crossroads of early settlement across the Alleghenies, Beverly’s fortunes peaked in the 1800’s and then declined, as railroads and natural resource extraction moved the center of local life to nearby Elkins. This process, however, worked to preserve in Beverly the buildings of earlier times, and many of these are still in use today.
For more about the history of the town, you can see:
Beverly: A More Complete History (1700’s)
Beverly, West Virginia
(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
Beverly is a town in Randolph County, West Virginia, USA. It is situated on the Tygart Valley River and had a population of 702 at the 2010 census.
Beverly was the county seat of Randolph County, Virginia (later West Virginia) for a century — from 1790 until 1890 — after which the nearby later settlement of Elkins assumed that role following an intense local political “war”
Beverly is located at 38°51′2″N 79°52′3″W (38.850600, -79.867444)
State West Virginia
County Randolph
Elevation: 1,962 ft (598 m)
Time zone: Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.45 square miles (1.17 km2), all of it land.[1]
Historical population
Census Pop. %±
1890 343 46.0%
1910 438 −5.6%
1920 442 0.9%
1960 441 −14.4%
As of the census of 2010, there were 702 people, 323 households, and 199 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,560.0 inhabitants per square mile (602.3/km2). There were 360 housing units at an average density of 800.0 per square mile (308.9/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 98.0% White, 0.1% African American, 0.4% Native American, and 1.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.3% of the population.
There were 323 households of which 30.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.2% were married couples living together, 21.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 38.4% were non-families. 33.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.75.
The median age in the town was 40.5 years. 24.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.5% were from 25 to 44; 27.5% were from 45 to 64; and 17.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 46.6% male and 53.4% female.
This climatic region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Beverly has a humid continental climate, abbreviated “Dfb” on climate maps.[9]
Visiting the Beverly Area
Start your visit to Beverly with a stop at the BEVERLY HERITAGE CENTER, your guide to the best of the area.
Where Is Beverly?
Locating Beverly, West Virginia.
See a list of Beverly Attractions and Scheduled Events.
For info on Randolph County, and other interesting locations and activities around Beverly, see the World Wide Web Site of the:
Randolph County Convention & Visitors Bureau
There is currently no lodging within Beverly itself. However, there are a number of motels in Elkins (about 6 miles north), and several fine Bed & Breakfast establishments there, as well. If you are planning to visit the area, see:
Planning a West Virginia Vacation
(On the Randolph County Convention and Visitors Bureau Website)
West Virginia Division of Tourism
Beverly Heritage Center
Rich Mountain Battlefield
Staunton Parkersburg Turnpike
Historic Beverly Preservation, Inc.
% Beverly Heritage Center
PO Box 227 / 4 Court Street
Beverly, WV 26253
info@historicbeverly.org
Website Copyright 2018 by Historic Beverly Preservation, Inc. — a West Virginia non-profit organization for the preservation and revitalization of the town of Beverly.
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Home * Hajj Products * The Holy Cities, The Pilgrimage and The World of Islam : A History: From the Earliest Traditions Till 1925 (1344H) (Sultan Ghalib al-Qu'aiti)
The Holy Cities, The Pilgrimage and The World of Islam : A History: From the Earliest Traditions Till 1925 (1344H) (Sultan Ghalib al-Qu'aiti)
Author: Sultan Ghalib al-Qu'aiti
Publisher: Fons Vitae (2007)
A Note from the Publisher on 'The Holy Cities' volume:
How fortunate that we may at once benefit from both an Arab and an Indian point of view on the faith, history, politics and civilization of the Islamic World and its sacred sites from the earliest of times. Sultan Ghalib, whose mother is the eldest grand-daughter of the sixth Nizam of Hyderbad, India, was the last ruler of the Hadramaut (South Yemen) and since resides in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, near Makkah and Medina, which are the focus of this monumental work.
As this volume literally brings alive the history of many centuries, it has something of interest for everyone, be he or she a scholar of the Middle East and the Islamic World, a Muslim longing for precious details of the Holy Sanctuaries and pilgrimage, or an art historian drawn to the great architectural complexes the world over.
In his royal style of English, the author transports us on an intriguing journey where we are introduced to hitherto little- or un-known places, personages and events. A real education altering one’s world-view! What astounded me personally were the fascinating details – and even cataloging – of the enormous and fervent support and involvement over the centuries of the entire Muslim world, stretching from South East Asia to West Africa, in the maintenance of Makkah, Medina and Jerusalem. It is surprising to hear of India’s funding the Dome of the Rock and Mosque of al-Aqsa. Staggering sums were consistently donated not only for expansion and the repairs necessitated by such natural disasters as floods, earthquakes and fire, but also for the cities’ indigent population. International patronage was devoted towards education and various charitable endowments. The needed Hijaz railway was financed by individuals as well as the Muslim public from Iran, Morocco, Bokhara, Egypt, Europe, Aden, South East Asia, India, et al.
Included would appear to be mention of nearly all the rulers and key people from the Caliphate onwards. Struggles for power read like tales of mystery and intrigue. The sheer inclusion of the names and dates of all these important personages through time provides the reader with a reference work of substance. One comes to understand what a privilege and responsibility has been the role of those called “the Servitors of the Two Holy Sanctuaries.”
For a Muslim to follow the development of each key element found in the three sacred sanctuaries is deeply moving, such as the story of the Kiswa over tine, the enclosure of the Prophet’s tomb, the Maqam Ibrahim, and the exact circumstances of how Prophetic relics reached the Topkapi. And what a bonus to have included the very prayers which are to be said by Muslims making Tawaf, performing the Sa’y or standing in the Prophet’s garden, ar-Rauda. These prayers will also be of interest to the outsider who may wonder what the circumambulating pilgrims, for example, are saying. How exciting to have a letter from Al-Ghazali (d. 1111 CE) regarding insiring moments at the Hajj.
For the art historian who, for example, studies the Mughal period in India and has seen the portraits of Akbar and Jahangir, it is interesting to be able to envision these sultans alive, in their enthusiasm and involvement while readying the Hajj caravans. We mostly think of Shah Jahan only in association with the Taj Mahal, but now we meet him as a donor to the Holy Cities. Here we learn of the involvement of the Mughal court with Arabia.
I was brought to tears when Umar Fakhrad-din Pasha refused to leave his sworn post in defense of the Prophet’s mosque in Medina. He had held out against all odds and when at last he was torn away from his station, he fell weeping at the tomb of the Prophet, begging his forgiveness for having been forced to forego his oath.
Against the captivating backdrop of history, whether it be World War I, a famine, or the yoke of colonization, we witness the strength of the Muslim ummah working as one.
Quoting from Ihsanoglu’s introduction to the book, I agree that “Possibly the greatest benefit of this valuable book is that to the Western reader it provides a rare and truthful display of the development of events [in the Muslim world] from an Arab perspective which we hope will contribute to redressing the stereotypical misconceptions through which many Western writers have portrayed Islam, Muslim, and heir causes.”
“Mecca and Medina, the world’s most forbidden cities, have long been a symbol of mystery and fascination to outsiders...In this unique, ground-breaking book, one of the world’s leading experts in Arabian history investigates the colourful, often astonishing story of these two great cities. Carefully sifting fact from legend, Sultan Ghalib describes their architecture, religious life, society, and politics, and shows how they have played a pivotal role in the history of Islam. All those with an interest in Islamic civilization, religion, and current affairs, will find this volume an indispensable resource.”
– T.J. Winter, Professor of Islamic Studies, Cambridge University
“The product of years of painstaking research drawing on thousands of sources inaccessible to all but rare scholars of Islam, The Two Holy Cities, The Pilgrimage and the World of Islam by Sultan Ghalib al-Qu’aiti uses the single lens of the pilgrimage and the holy cities of Mecca and Medina to look deep into the history of Islamic civilization. Not only scholars but all who are interested in how Islamic religion and culture have exerted power and fascination down through centuries of intricate Muslim social and political history will benefit from this book.”
– Frank Vogel, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Adjunct Professor of Islamic Legal Studies, Harvard Law School
“...The book offers the reader an inspiring review of the various aspects of cultural life in the two Holy Cities across the centuries, based on authentic journals of contemporary [to each period] travelers and expeditions...This book is the product of an extensive and commendable effort on the part of the author to present the reader with a wide and comprehensible insight into the vicissitudes of time which encompassed the two Holy Mosques, the most sacrosanct and venerated sanctuaries in Islam.”
– Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OLC)
About the Author of Holy Cities:
Sultan Ghalib bin ‘Awadh al-Qu’aiti, the last ruler of the Qu’aiti State, Hadhramaut (presently Yemen), was born in 1948 and educated mostly in England, with an MA from Oxford in Oriental Studies (Islamic history) and another in Arabian Studies from Cambridge, both with honors. The sultan has been a Saudi resident since 1968, presently residing in Jeddah. He has working knowledge of Arabic, English, Urdu/Hindi, French, Persian, and German, allowing for a rare depth in his research of various historical periods and geographic regions.
This is an invaluable reference work including 3 useful appendices:
A: Islamic Dynasties involved with the Holy Cities (632 CE – 1953)
B: Amirs (Governors) of Makkah (630 CE – 1924)
C: Amirs (Governors) of al-Madinah (622 CE – 1936)
Product Reviews for The Holy Cities, The Pilgrimage and The World of Islam : A History: From the Earliest Traditions Till 1925 (1344H) (Sultan Ghalib al-Qu'aiti)
Hajj Belt (Grey) for Ihram
Hajj Belt (White) for Ihram
Hajj and Umrah Made Easy with Lanyard (Neck Strap) (Dr. Taqi Hashmi, Adnan Malik)
Hajj & Umrah : The Islamic Pilgrimage from A to Z : 3rd Edition (Mamdouh N Mohamed)
Good Quality Ihram Towel Set (2) for Hajj and Umrah for Hajjis (Pilgrims) Thick Towels (1300 grams weight approximate)
Easy To Recite Du’as For Hajj & Umrah (Shaykh Noor)
Tell Me About Hajj (PB) Saniyasnain Khan Ages 8 to 12+
My Hajj Fun Book : Puzzles, Crosswords, Wordsearches, Colouring and More (Saniyasnain Khan)
Adam's World 04 (DVD) Take Me to the Kaba
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MainAll NewsInside Israel'Why Doesn't Rightist Govt. Pass the Levy Report?'
'Why Doesn't Rightist Govt. Pass the Levy Report?'
Famed activist questions why right-wing coalition doesn't pass commissioned report legalizing Jewish 'settlement.'
Benny Toker, 07/08/15 13:23
Moshe Zar
Flah 90
Moshe Zar, an activist and redeemer of land in Samaria, spoke to Arutz Sheva on Friday and expressed his disbelief that the right-wing coalition government is not passing the 2012 Levy Report, which proved the Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria is legal according to international law.
Zar began by criticizing radical leftist organizations that have constantly worked against him, noting, "it used to be when I purchased lands I never dreamed that Jews would block me."
"I know some of them personally, and forgive me but they are traitors to the nation of Israel," he said. "They receive huge fundings from foreign money that comes from all sorts of places, and they do it for greed."
The solution to the lawsuits by radical leftist groups against Jewish construction according to Zar is the implementation of the Levy Report, which despite being commissioned by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has yet to be adopted by his governments.
"There's a professional opinion by three legal experts led by (former Supreme Court) Judge Edmond Levy, peace be upon him, and Binyamin Netanyahu selected him," noted the activist. "So why aren't they accepting this opinion and putting an end to all the ridiculous lawsuits against settlement in the land of Israel?"
"We have a right-wing coalition, a prime minister of the Herut movement (that merged with Likud - ed.), a right-wing defense minister, an excellent justice minister, and an excellent internal security minister, all of them right-wingers, so let them all vote for the Edmond Levy Report."
While no member of the coalition government has raised the Levy Report, one party vowed to demand its adoption if elected - that party was the Yachad - Ha'am Itanu joint list with Otzma Yehudit that just missed out of the elections by roughly 10,000 votes.
Zar turned his attention to the recent Supreme Court demolition orders passed against the Draynoff housing complex in Samaria's Beit El, which came despite government processes to complete the full legalization of the structures.
"Agreements need to be honored from both sides, so how does it make sense to give a demolition order on buildings that have a fundamental certificate of approval? They need to remove the authority that the Supreme Court has taken for itself to cancel laws of the Knesset."
Despite the challenges, Zar remains optimistic, saying, "today there is construction and in all the towns they will build a lot, if not more than a lot. Once we were twenty guys and girls, and today there are 700,000 residents in Judea and Samaria. We need to be happy."
Aside from a building permit given after the demolition in Beit El, for the last two years or so there has been a complete covert Jewish construction freeze in Judea, Samaria and eastern Jerusalem for the most part as well.
Tags:Moshe Zar, Edmond Levy, Levy Report
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Mr. Stephen (Steve) Walker
An American engineer, he had a 22-year career with the Department of Defense at the National Security Agency, the Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He was a member of a team that developed the ARPAnet, the breakthrough packet switching system that evolved into the Internet. He is nationally recognized for his pioneering work on the DoD Computer Security Initiative, establishment of the National Computer Security Center and the Defense Data Network. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, but his family soon moved to Kansas City, Missouri. When he was in the sixth grade, they moved to Boston. He holds a BSEE degree from Northeastern University and an MSEE degree from the University of Maryland, College Park. In 1983, he left the government and founded Trusted Information Systems, Inc (TIS), serving as its President and Chief Executive Officer. Initially located in his garage on Shady Lane in Glenwood, Maryland; as the company grew, rather than move to Baltimore or the Washington D.C. suburbs, a small office building was constructed on land next to his new home on Rte. 97. TIS was a computer security research and development company, performing computer and communications (information) security research for organizations such as NSA, DARPA, ARL, AFRL, SPAWAR, and others. The first whitehouse.gov e-mail server was located at their headquarters. TIS's operating system work directly affected BSD/OS, on which the Gauntlet Firewall was based, as well as Linux, FreeBSD, Darwin, and others. The company employed over 350 people and at various times it employed notable information security experts including David Elliott Bell, Martha Branstad, John Pescatore, Marv Schaefer, Steve Crocker, Marcus Ranum, John Williams, Steve Lipner and Carl Ellison. The company went public in 1996 and soon afterward attempted to acquire PGP, Inc. The company was instead acquired in 1998 by Network Associates (NAI), which later became McAfee, who had already bought PGP, Inc. in 1997. The security research organization became NAI Labs and the Gauntlet engineering and development organization was folded into Network Associates' engineering and development. He is currently the Chairman of the Technology Leadership Consortium, a volunteer group of leaders of technology organizations across the region. In that role he is leading the Informatics Initiative, an effort to recognize the significance of informatics in all aspects of our region's development. He received the Secretary of Defense Meritorious Civilian Service Award and the first National Computer System Security Award. He has received the KPMG High Technology Entrepreneur Award and the Greater Baltimore Technology Council's "Baltimore's Extraordinary Technology Advocate" (BETA) Award. He is a member of Board of the Maryland Technology Development Corporation and the Greater Baltimore Technology Council as well as many private company Boards of Directors and several university Boards of Visitors. He has testified often before the U.S. Congress and is widely acknowledged as an expert and leader in information security technology and policy. He is currently President of Steve Walker and Associates and Managing Partner of Walker Ventures, an early stage venture capital fund specializing in the Mid Atlantic region.
UMBC ebiquity
Member of a team that developed the ARPAnet, the breakthrough packet switching system that evolved into the Internet
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It would be a crying shame!
J'can diplomat urges Windrush victims to apply for compensation
VICTIMS of the United Kingdom's Windrush scandal and their families are being urged to take full advantage of the compensation mechanism that is being offered by the British Government, or risk having the hardships foisted upon them in 2018 not being taken seriously.
Jamaica's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom George Ramocan, who was a panellist Monday at a roundtable session at the 8th biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference in downtown Kingston, called on victims and their families to step forward.
“It would be a crying shame upon the Windrush generation if the funds are earmarked for compensation [and] at the end of the two-year window you find that it's only $30 million or $40 million taken up. It would make a mockery of all of us, because it would mean that 'oh' there wasn't really a problem. There is a big job on our hands to ensure that we ensure that the persons who are entitled to these compensation take steps to get it,” Ramocan stated.
British Home Secretary Sajid Javid, had announced the £200 million compensation scheme in April.
Ramocan pointed out that already there are complaints about the challenging application process. “Those things have to be discussed; is it that individuals need help? Is it that we are going to have to be more active? These are things that we have to talk about as a community. It can actually create a good or bad impression on our community, how we handle this,” he said.
Attorney at Bow Law Chambers in the United Kingdom, Simone Bowman, who provided a comprehensive explanation of the genesis of the Windrush scandal, also stressed that it is critical that those affected take advantage of the opportunity for compensation for the devastation to their lives.
She stressed, too, that Commonwealth citizens had been invited to move to Britain to help resolve the post-World War ll labour shortage and help to rebuild that country. She argued that the UK Government had failed in its duty of care to those who had lived, worked, and contributed to the British economy for decades.
Workers from Commonwealth territories such as Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago arrived on the MV Empire Windrush passenger liner in June 1948. According to the BBC, the influx ended with the 1971 Immigration Act, when Commonwealth citizens who were already living in Britain were given indefinite leave to remain.
“They were invited, to work, to sweep the streets that were paved with gold – that's the impression that was given. One part of the impact of the Windrush scandal is that there was a reduction of the legal status of citizens to illegal immigrants, instead of preserving and protecting their citizenship rights,” Bowman stated.
She pointed out that the hostile environment created for immigrant citizens, and culminating in the Windrush scandal in 2018, had been long in the making, facilitated by a series of laws beginning in the 1940s that had eroded the rights of ordinary citizens who should rightfully call the UK their home.
She pointed to the devastating situation faced by thousands of the Windrush generation, including job losses, loss of medical benefits, homelessness, denial of access to welfare benefits, and education, being subjected to deportation, and the resultant emotional anguish.
People eligible for compensation include those from a Commonwealth country who arrived in the UK before January 1973 Commonwealth citizens who settled in the UK before January 1970; a child of a Commonwealth citizen who settled before January 1973, who was born in the UK or arrived in the UK before age 18; as well as individuals of any nationality who settled in the UK before December 31, 1988.
Compensation is also being offered to children and grandchildren of Commonwealth citizens in certain circumstances; the estates of those who are now deceased but who would have otherwise been eligible to claim compensation; and close family members of eligible claimants where there has been a significant impact on their life or where there is evidence of certain direct financial costs.
The roundtable Monday examined the impact if the Windrush immigration crisis and compensation scheme, and the implications of Brexit - Britain's exit from the European Union.
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Home Catalog Support type VINYLS Sanctuary Vol 1 (Vinyl)
Sanctuary Vol 1 (Vinyl)
1. All I Really Want To Do (single version)
2. It's No Use (alternate version)
3. You Won't Have To Cry (alternate version)
4. I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better (alternate version)
5. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue (version 1)
6. She Don't Care About Time (version 1)
7. The World Turns All Around Her (alternate mix)
8. The Day Walk
9. Why (alternate version)
10. John Riley (instrumental version)
11. Psychodrama City
12. Mind Gardens(alternate version)
13. Lady Friend
14. Old John Robertson (single version)
The ringing sound of the Byrds - a band that created at least three rock 'n' roll genres (folk-rock, raga-rock and country-rock) would make any red-blooded music fan reach for the nearest tambourine to beat the jingle-jangle daylights out of it. Sanctuary collects all of the best rarities, alternate takes and 45-only sides into one goose pimple-inducing package, guaranteed to make anyone with a pulse 'Feel A Whole Lot Better.' Most tracks have never before appeared on vinyl!
You are an unconditional fan of BYRDS ? Check if you have all the collection.
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Reinvestigation unlikely to bring harsher punishment
By Kim Tae-jong
Police said Thursday they will look into any further allegations of sexual assaults against disabled students by teachers at a regional school, bowing to growing public outrage in the wake of the release of a film based on the case.
The National Police Agency said it has formed a special team consisting of 15 police officers to reappraise sexual assaults perpetrated by teachers and school staff on students at Gwangju Inhwa School for years from 2000.
“With the growing calls for a reinvestigation, we decided to review all the allegations,” said Jung Ho-hyo, an officer from the National Police Agency. “We can’t reopen a case that has been closed with a court verdict, but we can launch a separate investigation into additional sexual assaults or bribery.”
The special team will investigate any new allegations of sexual assaults by teachers at the school, illegal connections between the school and regional education offices and internal corruption at the school, he said.
Most legal experts, however, are skeptical about the move as the police have to find hard evidence of new crimes, emphasizing those found guilty previously cannot legally be prosecuted on the same charges.
“By law, it’s impossible for a court to reverse a ruling when a case is closed,” lawyer Jang Jin-young said. “We need to see what the police can do but they must secure new evidence to prove extra charges or find out other criminals who have not been charged before.”
Fiction vs. truth
The movie, titled “The Crucible,” is about a newly-appointed art teacher at a school for hearing impaired children. He learns about sexual assaults on students by the school’s teachers and principal and tries to make the case public aided by a human rights activist.
But those involved only receive months-long probation in the movie, which made moviegoers furious, leading them to call for a reinvestigation of the case and harsh punishment for the wrongdoers.
Reacting to the criticism of “too soft punishment,” the Gwangju High Court, which heard the cases, drew a line between the real-life events and fiction.
“I think people should know the movie contains fictionalized parts,” Jang Jung-hee, a judge from the court, said. “It is different from the true story, especially about the court’s ruling.”
In reality, six people including the headmaster were charged with sexual harassment or rape of at least nine of their deaf students.
Of the six, four received prison terms, while the other two escaped punishment because the statute of limitations for their crimes had expired. Among those jailed, two were released later after their terms were suspended.
“The court could not sentence them to harsh punishments because the victims dropped the charges against the perpetrators. We were allowed to conduct legal proceedings only upon the accusation by victims at that time, before the related law was revised in 2010,” the judge said.
Desired solution
Regarding the growing public interest in the case, however, a civic group helping the victims for years asked people to support them in a more patient way.
“We ask people to support us in a more cool-headed manner. We don’t want people to show too excessive interest in the beginning and soon forget about us,” the Committee for Victims at Inhwa said in a statement.
Too excessive attention to the victims from the public and media can also cause them pain, they added.
Other people also demanded more practical changes to be made to prevent such an incident from happening again.
“If we want to stop such a horrible incident as shown in the movie, we should demand the revision of related laws,” Cho Kuk, law professor at Seoul National University, said.
e3dward@koreatimes.co.kr More articles by this reporter
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← Listen to Patterson Hood’s ‘Depression Era’ from ‘That Evening Sun’ Megan Fox: “I don’t want to live that character.” →
Martin Scorsese to receive DeMille Award at Golden Globes
Posted by Guy Lodge · 10:07 am · November 12th, 2009
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has just revealed that the annual Cecil B. DeMille Award for career achievement will be presented to Martin Scorsese at the 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards ceremony on January 17.
Anyone, anywhere, have a problem with this? Didn’t think so.
You may remember that Scorsese himself presented Steven Spielberg with the award earlier this year, so they’re not exactly digging very deep for their honorees, but sometimes the obvious choices are the right ones. In any case, the Globes have quite a few names to catch up on: prior to Spielberg’s citation, the last full-time filmmaker (as opposed to actor-turned-director) to receive the honor was Alfred Hitchcock in 1975.
So congratulations to Scorsese, whose DeMille Award will join his Golden Globe bookends for “Gangs of New York” and “The Departed.” His presentation joins Ricky Gervais’s hosting on the list of reasons to look forward to the ceremony even more than usual. (And hey, kudos to the Globes for still actually, uh, televising their honorary awards.)
Full press release after the cut.
HOLLYWOOD, CA–(Marketwire – November 12, 2009) – Martin Scorsese will be honored at “The 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards” on January 17 with the Cecil B. DeMille Award for his “outstanding contribution to the entertainment field.” The award, voted by the Board of Directors of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, was announced by Vera Farmiga at a morning press conference. The show, hosted by Ricky Gervais, will be broadcast live coast to coast Sunday, January 17 on NBC (5 to 8 pm PT, 8 to 11 pm ET) from The Beverly Hilton.
Scorsese received two Golden Globe Awards for “Best Director of a Motion Picture”; for “The Departed” and “Gangs of New York.” He received five additional Golden Globe nominations, including four as Best Director (“Casino,” “Age of Innocence,” “Goodfellas,” and Raging Bull”) and one for Best Screenplay for “Raging Bull” (with Nicolas Pileggi).
Recent Cecil B. DeMille winners include Steven Spielberg (2009), Warren Beatty (2007), Anthony Hopkins (2006), Robin Williams (2005) and Michael Douglas (2004).
Martin Scorsese was born in 1942 in New York City, and was raised in the downtown neighborhood of Little Italy, which later provided the inspiration for several of his films. Scorsese earned a BS degree in film communications in 1964, followed by an MA in the same field in 1966 at New York University’s School of Film. During this time, he made numerous prize-winning short films, including “The Big Shave.”
In 1968, Scorsese directed his first feature film, entitled “Who’s That Knocking at My Door?” He served as Assistant Director and an editor of the documentary “Woodstock” in 1970, and won critical and popular acclaim for his 1973 film “Mean Streets.” Scorsese directed his first documentary film, “Italianamerican,” in 1974.
In 1976, Scorsese’s “Taxi Driver” was awarded the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. He followed with “New York, New York” in 1977, “The Last Waltz” in 1978, and “Raging Bull” in 1980, which received five Golden Globe Award Nominations and eight Academy Award Nominations including Best Picture and Best Director. Scorsese went on to direct “The Color of Money,” “The Last Temptation of Christ,” “Goodfellas,” “Cape Fear,” “Casino,” “Kundun” and “The Age of Innocence,” among other films.
In 1996, Scorsese completed a 4-hour documentary, “A Personal Journey With Martin Scorsese Through American Movies,” co-directed by Michael Henry Wilson. The documentary was commissioned by the British Film Institute to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of cinema. In 2001, Scorsese released “Il Mio Viaggio In Italia,” an epic documentary that affectionately chronicles his love for Italian Cinema. His long-cherished project, “Gangs of New York,” was released in 2002, earning numerous critical honors.
In 2003, PBS broadcast the seven-film documentary series “Martin Scorsese Presents: The Blues.” “The Aviator” was released in December of 2004 and earned five Academy Awards in addition to the Golden Globe and BAFTA awards for Best Picture. In 2005, “No Direction Home: Bob Dylan” was broadcast as part of the “American Masters” series on PBS and released on DVD worldwide by Paramount Home Entertainment.
Scorsese’s most recent feature, “The Departed,” was released to critical acclaim in October 2006 and has been honored with the Golden Globe, Director’s Guild of America, New York Film Critics, National Board of Review and Critic’s Choice awards for Best Director, in addition to four Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director. “Shine A Light,” Scorsese’s documentary of the Rolling Stones in concert was released worldwide April 4, 2008.
He is currently in post production on “Shutter Island” due for release in the spring of 2010 and he is executive producer on the upcoming HBO drama series “Boardwalk Empire.” Scorsese’s additional awards and honors include the Golden Lion from the Venice Film Festival (1995), the AFI Life Achievement Award (1997), the Honoree at the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s 25th Gala Tribute (1998), and the DGA Lifetime Achievement Award (2003) and The Kennedy Center Honors (2007).
Scorsese is the founder and chair of The Film Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and protection of motion picture history. At the 2007 Cannes Film Festival Scorsese launched the World Cinema Foundation, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and restoration of neglected films from around the world, with special attention paid to those developing countries lacking the financial and technical resources to do the work themselves. Scorsese is the founder and chair.
“The 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards” will be seen in more than 160 countries worldwide and is one of the few awards ceremonies that span both television and motion picture achievements. The special will be produced by dick clark productions in association with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
Philip Berk is President of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Orly Adelson, president of dick clark productions, and Barry Adelman will executive-produce the special. Chris Donovan is the director and dick clark productions’ Bob Bardo is the executive in charge of production.
Nominations for “The 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards” will be announced at 5:00 a.m. on Tuesday, December 15.
→ 12 Comments Tags: Golden Globes, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg | Filed in: Daily
1 11-12-2009 at 11:06 am
aspect ratio said...
Fitting too, publicity-wise, with Shutter Island coming out a month after.
probably my favourite ever director.
3 11-12-2009 at 12:03 pm
leonardo said...
Great news. He totally deserves it.
Ivan said...
Golden Globe predictions
BEST DRAMA
The Hurt Locker*
BEST ACTOR DRAMA
Jeff Bridges/Crazy Heart*
George Clooney/Up in the Air
Colin Firth/A Single Man
Morgan Freeman/Invictus
Jeremy Renner/The Hurt Locker
BEST ACTRESS DRAMA
Abbie Cornish/Bright Star
Helen Mirren/The Last Station
Carey Mulligan/An Education*
Saoirse Ronan/The Lovely Bones
Gabourey Sidibe/Precious
BEST COMEDY
Nine*
BEST ACTOR COMEDY
Daniel Day Lewis/Nine*
Robert De Niro/Everybody´s Fine
Matt Damon/The Informant!
Joseph Gordon Lewitt/500 Days of Summer
Michael Stuhlbarg/A Serious Man
BEST ACTRESS COMEDY
Amy Adams/Julie & Julia*
Sandra Bullock/The Propossal
Marion Cotillard/Nine
Michelle Pfeiffer/Cheri
Meryl Streep/Julie & Julia
Kathryn Bigelow/The Hurt Locker*
Lee Daniels/Precious
Rob Marshall/Nine
Jason Reitman/Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino/Inglourious Basterds
Alec Baldwin/It´s Complicated
Matt Damon/Invictus
Alfred Molina/An Education
Stanley Tucci/The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz/Inglourious Basterds*
Penelope Cruz/Nine
Anna Kendrick/Up in the Air
Melanie Laurent/Inglouirous Basterds
Mo´nique/Precious*
Julianne Moore/A Single Man
Up in the Air*
Bright Star*
Coco Avant Chanel
The Princess and the Frog*
No, I don’t *really* have a problem with this but Scorsese is overrated as the very question above makes blatantly clear.
Still, I guess better Scorsese than, say, Ron Howard. Coppola, imo, would have been a better choice.
P.S. The press release states that “Shutter Island” is currently in post-production. Wasn’t the movie supposed to be finished by now?
moviefan1 said...
Hopefully De Niro presents him the award
Puchika said...
With Rourke and Colin Farrell winning last year and Scorsese getting an honorary this year, I’m already preferring the GGs over the Oscars
8 11-12-2009 at 1:35 pm
Martin totally deserves it.
It’s either going to be DeNiro or DiCaprio or both.
10 11-12-2009 at 1:39 pm
Encore Entertainment said...
I’d like if Cate presents him with it. I’ve always loved how she thanked him effusively in both her Oscar speech and her after the win interview.
Helena said...
Congrats to Marty !
I’d like to see both DeNiro & DiCaprio as the presenters.
Me. said...
Last year the winner was Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese presented the award, almost in tears. I love both of them! Great great great filmmakers. :D
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Home > India Web Directory > Regional Portals > Eastern India companies
This page contains the list of companies in Eastern India category. Click on the company name to get further details of the company.
» East-Himalaya.com
Alpine Nature Beyond Pvt. Ltd. is the leading tour operator of north-east India. naturebeyond began operating in 2002 and within a short period it has become leader in its field of operation in Darjeeling, Sikkim, Dooars and Bhutan.
http://www.east-himalaya.com
» Shri ShirdiSai Sharnam Dham Trust
This article is about the “Shirdi” Sai Baba, an Indian religious figure who lived from the mid-19th to the early 20th century. See Sai Baba for other persons calling themselves Sai Baba.Sai Baba of Shirdi (1838 – 15 October 1918; resided in Shirdi), also known as Shirdi Sai Baba, was a spiritual master who was and is regarded by his devotees as a saint, fakir, avatar (an incarnation of God), or sadguru, according to their individual proclivities and beliefs. He was revered by both his Muslim and Hindu devotees, and during, as well as after, his life on earth it remained uncertain if he was a Muslim or Hindu himself. This however was of no consequence to Sai Baba himself. Sai Baba stressed the importance of surrender to the guidance of the true Sadguru or Murshad, who, having gone the path to divine consciousness himself, will lead the disciple through the jungle of spiritual training.
http://www.saimandir.co.in
(12 Images)Bhoomika Chawla is an Indian film actress.
(10 Images) Bajaj Pulsar 200SS with ABS
(11 Images)Ki & Ka
(10 Images) Kiara Advani
Hindustan Motors Limited
Apollo Hospitals
Infosys Technologies Limited
Larsen & Toubro Limited
IDEA Cellular Limited
Microsoft India (R&D) Pvt. Ltd.
Oracle India Private Limited.
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Brisbane Team to Beat as A-League Finals Series Looms
Brisbane Roar swept all before them in season six of the A-League, setting records for 25 games unbeaten and scoring 58 goals in the process. Admittedly, with extra teams this season there were more games to play, but this should not diminish the startling achievements of a team that finished ninth last time round amid an acrimonious restructuring process. Eight players in the Team of the Year and the coach recognised similarly by the PFA also stand as testament to their brilliance. Now the regular season is over, Brisbane look forward to the finals series with relish.
The sense of rebirth in the A-League can be seen all around. This season’s top three were last season’s bottom three, a startling turnaround of fortunes that is down to the coaching skills of their respective managers. Whilst Ange Postecoglou’s record with Brisbane speaks for itself this year, the less heralded Graham Arnold has also created an impressive revival at Central Coast Mariners. With much of the campaign spent looking up the table with games in hand, Arnold’s charges managed to get the points needed to snatch second spot and earn themselves a second chance finals place in the process, and this whilst blooding youngsters and playing some of the more attractive football in the league.
For Adelaide United in third, it was a season of two halves, with a strong early showing giving way to an erratic second half, whilst the rest of the finals berths were taken up by the often underwhelming and barely watched Gold Coast United, Melbourne Victory – who struggled without striker Archie Thompson and forward Robbie Kruse for large parts of the season – and Wellington Phoenix, who have backed up last year’s finals appearance with another showing this time out, but could be said to be just barely the best of the rest.
Brisbane are no doubt deserved minor premiers. Their final game, a 4-0 thrashing of Gold Coast at home showed all their great qualities as they bowed out of the regular season and in many ways it would be a tragedy if Postecoglou’s side failed to win the Grand Final itself. This is a team who deserve every award going for both their results and their style, and they will face Central Coast in a two-legged semi-final to decide who gets to go straight into the Grand Final.
Based on their season’s head-to-head, Brisbane should easily get there. They beat the Mariners 2-0 at home and then recorded a comprehensive 5-1 victory at their opponents’ Blue Tongue Stadium before twice coming from behind at the same venue to draw 3-3 in a memorable encounter. Overall seven points from nine with an aggregate 10 goals to four suggests Brisbane may have it easy, but this is anything from a foregone conclusion. Central Coast have been in good form and with youngsters such as Mustafa Amini really establishing himself in the squad, and promising forward Bernie Ibini-Isei recently scoring on his first start, there is a sense that good as they are, they remain an emerging force. With talented youngsters, a side may lack consistency, but they do gain the element of surprise. Over the two legs, Brisbane should record an aggregate win, but two score draws from teams not immune to them could see either go through where they would, in all likelihood, eventually face the other in the Grand Final.
The loser of this team plays the winner of the third to sixth place mini-tournament for that second Grand Final berth, and none of those involved will strike fear into either Brisbane or Central Coast.
Adelaide’s record against the duo is particularly poor. For a team that was unbeaten for the first 11 rounds of the season their form dropped substantially and it was a 4-0 defeat away at Brisbane that seemed to shift their fortunes to the mediocre. Admittedly enough good work had been done to keep the side in finals contention, but with just one point from their six encounters with the top two it is clear that Adelaide will suffer at the hands of strong, fast, ball playing teams. The Reds may have recorded the biggest drubbing in A-league history with their 8-1 destruction of bottom club North Queensland Fury, but were no match for Brisbane once they got going and having played the rest of the top six in their last four games and only winning once, last year’s wooden spoon winners may have peaked too soon.
Gold Coast often flattered to deceive this season, but still managed to hold Brisbane to two draws until the very last game of the regular season when, with little to play for, they capitulated away in front of a large and jubilant crowd. Against Central Coast, a record of a win, a loss and a draw suggests Miron Bleiberg’s men would be competitive if they met, but that is a big if because like first up rivals Melbourne Victory, Gold Coast have almost mastered the art of inconsistent results, which makes their tie in the semi-final playoffs perhaps the most intriguing. Whilst Adelaide should see off Wellington with relative ease, Melbourne Victory vs Gold Coast is far harder to predict.
When the two last met, and Melbourne won 2-0, Gold Coast coach Bleiberg was quick to accuse Victory of dirty tactics, but Ernie Merrick has been unwilling to get into a public war of words and instead turned to his own headaches, how to fit all his attacking options into the team, with players coming back to fitness and form at just the right time. Melbourne Victory are the only team to have beaten Brisbane all season, a result that combines with a loss and a thrilling 3-3 draw at the beginning of December. A very similar record against Central Coast suggest that the Melbourne side are the only real challengers from outside the top two, and they have the pedigree too; Twice champions and twice minor premiers, Melbourne Victory have never had to complete a full playoff series to win a prize, but they know what the silverware feels like at least.
Wellington round out the top six with a single win against Central Coast way back in round two, followed by five consecutive losses against the leading pair. More pertinently the New Zealand-based side have to travel to Adelaide for their first match of the finals series and are notoriously bad on the road with just six points garnered out of a possible 45, the third worst in the league. But there is one bright spot for Wellington, with Paul Ifill back in training and ready to board the plane to Adelaide. His involvement will no doubt be crucial if the Kiwis are to get beyond the first finals match.
History strongly suggests that Brisbane or Central Coast will win the Grand Final, but who buckles under the pressure, who gets their best team out after a tiring season and who can get their tactics spot on will no doubt play a big role. After the season they have had Brisbane deserve it all, but the finals series ensures a team is only as good as their last game and Postecoglou’s men are not entirely impregnable. For the other teams, it will be a matter of making sure they are ready for the Brisbane test when it comes.
Adoni Patrikios
Published: Wednesday, 16th Feb 2011
Inside Interview: Sydney FC Coach Vitezslav Lavicka Spirited Melbourne Victory Struggle for Playoff Spot The 10 Greatest A-League Players of All-Time
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I’d Always Welcome New Signings – Liverpool Star
Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren has backed his team to bolster their squad even further and believes the Reds can only improve under Jurgen Klopp.
Klopp's side picked up a whopping 97 points in the 2018/19 Premier League campaign, but were still beaten to the punch by Pep Guardiola's Manchester City, who finished on 98 points.
The Reds, however, still have a chance to end their campaign on a high by winning the most celebrated cup competition in Europe; Liverpool will take on Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League final at Estadio Wanda Metropolitano on 1st June June, hoping to win the tournament for the sixth time.
Looking back on the campaign the Merseyside club have had with new players, Lovren has backed the team to reach greater heights in the coming years.
Speaking to Liverpool's official website, Lovren said: "This year, with the new players, we reached second place with 97 points, it’s incredible, and again the final of the Champions League so definitely we are again one of the contenders for next year to do something great.
"With this team, we can only improve."
Liverpool may have limited room to improve given their performance over the last year, but Lovren insists he will welcome fresh blood as Klopp seeks to make the Reds even better.
He added: "We are still young so we learn every day something new and this is what matters: to keep this team all together in one place and of course, if there are new improvements to come, I mean new players, they are always welcomed.
"But when you look at the quality, it’s really already quite high."
Lovren has competed with Joe Gomez and Joel Matip for the honour of partnering Virgil van Dijk in Liverpool's defence this season.
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InspireMD Receives Frost & Sullivan 2015 European Coronary Stent New Product Innovation Award
Recognized for Successful Introduction of New and Innovative Products, with Emphasis on Quality and Customer Value
BOSTON, MA – July 7, 2015 — InspireMD, Inc. (NYSE MKT: NSPR) (“InspireMD” or the “Company”), a leader in embolic protection systems (“EPS”), a leader in embolic protection systems (“EPS”), today announced that its MGuard Prime™ Embolic Protection System integrated with MicroNet™ has received the Frost & Sullivan 2015 European Coronary Stent New Product Innovation Award. Through active market research efforts, Frost & Sullivan’s global team of analysts and consultants recognize the successful introduction of new and innovative products, with emphasis on quality and customer value.
Frost & Sullivan Senior Research Analyst Parthasarathy Raghava stated, “While significant improvements in clinical outcomes of percutaneous coronary interventions have been achieved with the use of coronary stents, distal embolization remains a major complication, resulting in poorer functional recovery and adverse outcomes. However, our market research activities noted that InspireMD’s MGuard Prime™ with MicroNet™ addresses this challenge with its innovative design to trap and seal thrombus and plaque against the vessel wall, helping prevent distal embolization, while optimizing flow and ensuring excellent deliverability. We are pleased to confer this Innovation Award on InspireMD.”
MGuard Prime™ is a Cobalt Chromium stent wrapped in MicroNet™. MicroNet™ is a bio-stable mesh woven from a single strand of 20 micrometers Polyethylene Terephthalate.
Alan Milinazzo, CEO of InspireMD commented, “We are honored to receive the Frost & Sullivan 2015 European Coronary Stent New Product Innovation Award, supporting our efforts to develop and commercialize embolic protection stent systems that improve patient outcomes by leveraging our proprietary MicroNet™ technology.
“We look forward to further enhancements to our coronary platform, including strategic partnerships in the development of a drug eluting stent system.” Mr. Milinazzo continued, “We are also in active development of new applications for our MicroNet™ technology, in addition to MGuard™ and our carotid system, CGuard™, bringing innovation to treatment programs in the neurovascular and peripheral markets.”
For more information about InspireMD and the Frost & Sullivan New Product Innovation Award, or The Coronary Stent Industry Research Report, visit www.inspiremd.com/en/investors/investor-relations/.
About Frost & Sullivan
Frost & Sullivan, founded in 1961, has more than 40 global offices with more than 1,800 industry consultants, market research analysts, technology analysts and economists. It is a growth partnership company focused on helping clients achieve transformational growth as they work through an economic environment dominated by accelerating change, increasing risk and the powerful disruptive impact of the conversion of new business models, disruptive technologies and Mega Trends on their industry.
Frost & Sullivan is a world leader in growth consulting and the integrated areas of technology research, market research, Mega Trends, economic research, best practices, training, customer research, competitive intelligence, and corporate strategy. For more information, visit www.frost.com.
About MGuard Prime™ EPS
MGuard Prime™ EPS, integrated with MicroNet™, is designed to trap and seal thrombus and ruptured plaque, preventing distal embolization. While offering superior performance relative to standard stents in STEMI patients with regard to ST segment resolution, MGuard Prime™ requires no change in current physician practice – an important factor in time-critical settings.
About CGuard™ EPS
The proprietary CGuard™ Embolic Prevention System (EPS) uses the same MicroNet™ technology featured on the MGuard™ and MGuard Prime™ coronary Embolic Protection Systems. The CGuard™ EPS is designed to prevent peri-procedural and late embolization by trapping potential emboli against the arterial wall while maintaining excellent perfusion to the external carotid artery and branch vessels.
MGuard™ EPS and CGuard™ EPS are CE Marked and are not approved for sale in the U.S. by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration at this time.
InspireMD intends to pursue applications of this MicroNet™ technology in coronary, carotid (CGuard™), neurovascular, and peripheral artery procedures. InspireMD’s common stock is quoted on the NYSE MKT under the ticker symbol NSPR.
This press release contains “forward-looking statements.” Such statements may be preceded by the words “intends,” “may,” “will,” “plans,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “projects,” “predicts,” “estimates,” “aims,” “believes,” “hopes,” “potential” or similar words. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, are based on certain assumptions and are subject to various known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company’s control, and cannot be predicted or quantified and consequently, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks and uncertainties associated with (i) market acceptance of our existing and new products, (ii) negative clinical trial results or lengthy product delays in key markets, (iii) an inability to secure regulatory approvals for the sale of our products, (iv) intense competition in the medical device industry from much larger, multinational companies, (v) product liability claims, (vi) product malfunctions, (vii) our limited manufacturing capabilities and reliance on subcontractors for assistance, (viii) insufficient or inadequate reimbursement by governmental and other third party payers for our products, (ix) our efforts to successfully obtain and maintain intellectual property protection covering our products, which may not be successful, (x) legislative or regulatory reform of the healthcare system in both the U.S. and foreign jurisdictions, (xi) our reliance on single suppliers for certain product components, (xii) the fact that we will need to raise additional capital to meet our business requirements in the future and that such capital raising may be costly, dilutive or difficult to obtain and (xiii) the fact that we conduct business in multiple foreign jurisdictions, exposing us to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations, logistical and communications challenges, burdens and costs of compliance with foreign laws and political and economic instability in each jurisdiction. More detailed information about the Company and the risk factors that may affect the realization of forward looking statements is set forth in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Investors and security holders are urged to read these documents free of charge on the SEC’s web site at http://www.sec.gov. The Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise its forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
InspireMD, Inc.
Craig Shore
Email: craigs@inspiremd.com
PCG Advisory
Vivian Cervantes
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One Minute Remaining: Fast Start Vital To Hawks Success
Fond memories of the 2008-09 campaign won’t help the Blackhawks when the first puck drops October 2 in Finland.
Coming off their best season since moving to the United Center, Chicago will be considered one of the favorites to hoist the 2010 Stanley Cup. But they will probably have to start quickly out of the gate because the season gets progressively tougher approaching April and beyond.
So how can the Blackhawks ensure their spot in the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs -- the first step to the championship? Earning 100 points for the season is a good place to start, and crossing that threshold is the first goal that most elite teams set for themselves in the regular season.
Although it will still be a challenge, the 2009-10 team's quest for 100 points is slightly less daunting than that of previous years. Of the team's six 100-point seasons prior to 2008-09, five of them came in a 78- or 80-game schedule. With 82 games to play, this season's Blackhawks have a little more wiggle room than those teams. If they can earn more than 50 points in their first 41 games, they could play from a position of strength during the second half and -- more importantly -- the playoff run.
By last season’s mid-point, the young Hawks earned 55 points on their way to 104 for the year. If you look back to each of the Blackhawks’ seven 100-point teams, only once did the team hit the halfway mark with fewer than 50 points (they tallied 49 in the 1973-74 season before achieving 105 points in a 78-game schedule).
With their loaded roster, head coach Joel Quenneville’s team should be aiming to surpass the all-time team mark of 107 points this year, but their opponents will not take them lightly. Getting a strong start in the first half will go a long way toward exceeding last season's success.
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Media Music
Artist CDs.
Joe Barretta
barretta
Guitarist, Singer Songwriter.
I was born and raised in Mt. Clemens Mi, approximately 30 miles north of Detroit city. It was a great place to be raised when it came to music. and radio stations and concerts were such a big influence on anyone who lived in the Detroit area. I started playing music at a young age, and when I was 8 years old I was sitting in with bands and learning what it meant to be a musician. At age16 I was the guitarist for Sonny Freeman (BB Kings Drummer). Playing in that band was a real education and was exactly what I was looking for. I developed a real appreciation for the blues. Soon after I relocated to California. I landed in the Modesto because I had family members in the area. I realized San Francisco was the place to be for my music career. While living in the Bay area I was playing gigs and doing session work with so many great musicians. I also did session work for MCA records in Los angeles for a while. As time passed I decided to start a family and moved back to the valley. Playing in various groups around the area and still expanding my bay area connections, I have been going full force since then. I Play live shows and own and operate a music production studio. I release music for myself as a indie artist and I produce music for all media. I released two CDs under my own record label, Titled “barretta and I’m not satisfied.” Some of the tracks from these CDs were featured on the Young and the Restless and other shows as well. Currently I am working on my own music and producing music for all media. I produce music commercials for the local radio stations and currently writing music for TV. There are two sides to this site: The Artist side, and the production music side. You can listen to full versions of my music for free. Give me a shout out on the web on all the usual sites. You can purchase my music too. Just go to ITunes. Thank you for all your support on the web, and please enjoy the music. I have a great band too, and I am very interested when it comes to opportunities to play live. Thank you.
The Gallo Center
The Gallo Center for the arts.
The Gallo Center is pleased to present,
The Joe Barretta Band
February 8th at 8:00pm
for more info, go to
https://www.galloarts.org/
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Dear Sir or Madam, website www.junc-cnc.si uses cookies, which are intended to record visits. This website does not use cookies that contain your personal information.
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The origins of JUNC CNC d.o.o. date back more than 30 years, when in 1981 Franc Junc founded the company as an independent entrepreneur. At the end of 2010, after almost exactly 30 years of operation, the company was transformed into the JUNC CNC limited liability company.
We have been dealing in metal processing using CNC machines since day one. Today the company is already being led by its second generation. We are constantly keeping up-to-date with the latest trends in the field of metal processing using CNC machines. For the last couple of years, we have been intensively robotising and automating all production processes that enable us to do so. We process all types of materials from steel to aluminium and also other metals. We have extensive experience in processing casts from gray cast iron, ductile iron and aluminium. We offer turning and milling services by using the latest CNC lathes with driven tools and CNC machining centres. We are using CNC machines made by world-renowned manufacturers such as Doosan - Infracore, Kitamura, EMAG and STAMA. Automation is carried out using Fanuc and Kawasaki robots. We turn casts, rod material or forged pieces into complex components for the automotive industry as well as for other branches of industry such as machine construction and similar depending on the requirements and wishes of our customers. Our company is equipped and qualified to offer a complete product from design to implementation to serial production. We are a young group of colleagues that is extremely adaptable and capable of bringing a product into production swiftly.
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Junc cnc obdelava kovin d.o.o. T: +386 / 5 / 38 11 333
Poljubinj 89F T: +386 / 5 / 38 11 335
5220 Tolmin F: +386 / 5 / 38 11 334
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The Road Traffic (Permitted Parking Area and Special Parking Area) (Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell) Order 2000
Next: Schedule
SCHEDULE 1MODIFICATIONS OF PROVISIONS OF PART II OF THE ROAD TRAFFIC ACT 1991 APPLIED IN RELATION TO THE PARKING AREA
1.—(1) Section 66 shall be modified as follows.
(2) In subsection (1) the words “in a designated parking place” shall be omitted.
(3) Subsection (2) shall be omitted.
(4) In subsection (3)—
(a)in paragraph (d) for the words “the specified proportion” there shall be substituted “one half”; and
(b)in paragraph (e) for the words “the London authority” there shall be substituted “the parking authority”.
(6) In subsection (5) for paragraph (b) there shall be substituted—
“(b)the parking authority.”
(2) For subsection (1) there shall be substituted—
“(1) Where, in the case of a stationary vehicle, a parking attendant has reason to believe that it has been allowed to remain at rest in any of the circumstances in which a penalty charge is payable under this Act, he or another person acting under his direction may fix an immobilisation device to the vehicle.”
“(8) In this section “relevant authority” means the parking authority.”
(2) In subsection (1) for the words “a London authority” there shall be substituted “the parking authority”.
“(4) The grounds are—
(a)that there were no reasonable grounds for the parking attendant concerned to believe that the vehicle had been permitted to remain at rest in the parking area in circumstances in which a penalty charge was payable;
(b)that the vehicle had been permitted to remain at rest in the place where it was by a person who was in control of the vehicle without the consent of the owner;
(c)that the place where the vehicle was at rest was not in the parking area;
(d)in a case within subsection (1)(d) above, that, by virtue of an exemption given by section 70 of this Act, section 69 did not apply to the vehicle in question; or
(e)that the penalty or other charge in question exceeded the amount applicable in the circumstances of the case.”
(2) For subsections (1) to (3) there shall be substituted—
“(1) The functions conferred on the parking authority by this section shall be discharged by it through a joint committee (“the Joint Committee”) which has been set up in pursuance of arrangements entered into under section 101(5) of the Local Government Act 1972(1) and of which the parking authority and at least two other local authorities are constituent authorities.
(2) In subsection (1) “local authorities” means authorities which are county or district councils in England or county or county borough councils in Wales in whose areas permitted parking areas or special parking areas have been designated under Schedule 3 to this Act.
(3) The parking authority shall—
(a)with the consent of the Lord Chancellor appoint persons to act as parking adjudicators for the purposes of this Act in relation to the parking area;
(b)provide or secure the provision of accommodation and administrative staff for parking adjudicators so appointed; and
(c)determine the places at which such parking adjudicators are to sit.”
(3) In subsection (5) for the words “the London authorities” there shall be substituted “the parking authority”.
(4) Subsections (8) to (10) shall be omitted.
(5) After subsection (12) there shall be inserted the following subsection—
“(12A) The Road Traffic (Parking Adjudicators) (England and Wales) Regulations 1999(2) shall apply to the parking area as they apply to the areas designated by the Orders listed in the Schedule to those Regulations.”
5. For section 74 there shall be substituted the following section—
(1) It shall be the duty of the parking authority to set the levels of additional parking charges to apply in the parking area.
(2) Different levels may be set for different parts of the parking area.
(3) The levels of additional parking charges set by the parking authority under this section shall accord with guidance given by the Secretary of State whether such guidance is given specifically to the parking authority or to local authorities generally.
(4) Guidance given by the Secretary of State under subsection (3) above may be varied at any time by the Secretary of State.
(5) The parking authority shall publish, in such manner as the Secretary of State may determine, the levels of additional parking charges which have been set under this section.
(6) In this section “additional parking charges” means penalty charges, charges made by the parking authority for the removal, storage and disposal of vehicles and charges for the release of vehicles from immobilisation devices fixed under section 69 of this Act.”
(2) After subsection (7) there shall be inserted the following subsection—
“(8) Any order made under subsection (2), and any regulations made under subsection (4), of this section shall apply with necessary modifications, including in particular the substitution for references to a London authority of references to the parking authority, in relation to the recovery of Part II debts payable in relation to the parking area.”
“(1) In this section and sections 66, 69 to 74, 78 and 79 of, and Schedule 6 to, this Act—
“immobilisation device” has the same meaning as in section 104(9) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984;
“the Joint Committee” has the meaning given by section 73(1) of this Act;
“the parking area” means the area designated as a permitted parking area and as a special parking area by the Road Traffic (Permitted Parking Area and Special Parking Area) (Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell) Order 2000;
“parking attendant” has the same meaning as in section 63A of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984;
“parking authority” means Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council;
“penalty charge” means a penalty charge which is payable by virtue of paragraph 3(1) and (2) of Schedule 3 to this Act;
“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Secretary of State; and
“vehicle hiring agreement” and “vehicle-hire firm” have the same meanings as in section 66 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988(3) (hired vehicles).”
(3) In subsection (5) for the words “the London authority concerned” there shall be substituted “the parking authority”.
8.—(1) Schedule 6 shall be modified as follows.
(2) In paragraph 1(1) for the words “the London authority concerned” there shall be substituted “the parking authority”.
(3) In paragraph 2—
(a)in sub-paragraph (1) for the words “the London authority who served the notice on him” there shall be substituted “the parking authority”;
(b)in sub-paragraph (2) for the words “in such form as” to the end of the sub-paragraph there shall be substituted “in writing”;
(c)in sub-paragraph (3) for the words “The authority” there shall be substituted “The parking authority”;
(d)in sub-paragraph (4) for paragraph (c) there shall be substituted—
“(c)that the vehicle has been permitted to remain at rest in the parking area by a person who was in control of the vehicle without the consent of the owner;”; and
(e)in sub-paragraph (7) for the words “an authority to whom representations are duly made” there shall be substituted “the parking authority when representations are duly made to it”.
(4) In paragraph 3 for the words “the London authority concerned” in both places where they occur there shall be substituted “the parking authority”.
(5) In paragraph 4 for the words “the London authority concerned” and for the words “the authority” there shall be substituted “the parking authority”.
(a)in sub-paragraph (1) for the words “an authority” there shall be substituted “the parking authority” and for the words “the authority’s decision” there shall be substituted “the parking authority’s decision”;
(b)in sub-paragraph (2) for the words “the London authority concerned” there shall be substituted “the parking authority”; and
(c)for sub-paragraph (3) there shall be substituted—
“(3) It shall be the duty of the parking authority to comply with any direction given to it under sub-paragraph (2) above.”
(a)in sub-paragraph (1) for the words “the authority serving the notice” there shall be substituted “the parking authority”; and
(b)in sub-paragraph (2)(b)(ii) for the words “the authority concerned” there shall be substituted “the parking authority”.
(8) In paragraph 7, for the words “the authority concerned” there shall be substituted “the parking authority”.
(a)in sub-paragraphs (2)(b) and (5)(d) for the words “the London authority concerned” in both places where they occur there shall be substituted “the parking authority”; and
(b)in sub-paragraphs (6) and (7) for the words “the London authority” in both places where they occur there shall be substituted “the parking authority”.
1972 c. 70.
S.I. 1999/1918.
PrintThis Schedule only
PDF This Schedule only
Web page This Schedule only
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Foreigner 40th Anniversary
Foreigner 40: Lou Gramm, Mick Jones Reveal Birth Of Unique Partnership
Podcasts & Radio
Dallas, TX - March 8, 2017. North American syndicated Rock radio show and website In The Studio with Redbeard: The Stories Behind History’s Greatest Rock Bands examines the birth of late ‘70s rock juggernaut Foreigner with its two creative principles Lou Gramm and Mick Jones.
Foreigner was the brainchild of Englishman and former Spooky Tooth guitarist Mick Jones, a veteran musician in 1977 looking to re-energize his career with a fresh start in America. Jones teamed with fellow Brit Ian McDonald and they auditioned thirty-five singers before discovering Lou Gramm, an unheralded singer then in a band called Black Sheep from Rochester in upstate New York. After a series of auditions with Gramm, this unlikely pair found common ground in the studio, putting together a remarkable debut album Foreigner of ready-made radio hits including “Feels Like The First Time”, “Cold As Ice” and “Long Long Way From Home”.
Foreigner’s first release forty years ago would become the fastest selling album in Atlantic Records history. The skyrocketing success would later manifest as tension in the band and ultimately lead to a lineup change on their fourth effort, but it is the unique relationship between Lou Gramm and Mick Jones which would define Foreigner for a decade.
Speaking to Gramm and Jones, In The Studio producer and host Redbeard gets a clearer picture of the relationship behind Foreigner’s hit machine.
“I felt there was an interesting chemistry...based on Mick’s rock and roll experience and Ian’s eclectic left field background, that there would be some really really interesting songs... That was really appealing to me.” - Lou Gramm
“We (Mick and Lou) weren’t necessarily people who would hang out together. We sometimes found it, and still do find it, awkward to be together sometimes... I’ve gotten to know Lou over these years and he’s gotten to know me. We have different tastes. We have different things we like to do in our spare time. We occasionally get together socially, but it’s quite rare.” - Mick Jones
FOREIGNER @ 40 /InTheStudio interview is available now to STREAM at: "http://www.inthestudio.net/online-on-demand/foreigner-first-mick-jones-l...
Direct Link to InTheStudio broadcast affiliate radio station list: “http://www.inthestudio.net/radio-stations/ “www.inthestudio.net/radio-stations”
Direct Link to Foreigner website: “http://www.foreigneronline.com”
Direct Link to Lou Gramm website: “http://www.lou-gramm.com”
Direct Link to InTheStudio website: “http://www.inthestudio.net”
Mick Jones
Lou Gramm
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Mike Modano.com
Back to Season
World Chapionships
USA Roster
USA Player Stats
World Cup Hockey
Mike Modano once again represented the United States in World Cup Hockey 2004
http://www.wch2004.com/.
Team USA began practice on August 20, 2004.
Mike in World Cup Action
against Russia 9-2-2004
Eight of the top hockey nations in the world battled in the second World Cup of Hockey with several teams having a definite Dallas Stars flavor. Training Camps opened up on August 20 in both North America and Europe, as Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden and the United States all prepared for what any hockey fan would consider a dream tournament.
There were nine Dallas Stars playing in the tournament, including four on Team USA alone (Bill Guerin, Mike Modano, Brett Hull, Jamie Langenbrunner). Team Finland hds three players with ties to the Stars (Niko Kapanen, Jere Lehtinen, Teppo Numminen), while Team Canada (Brenden Morrow) and Team Czech (Martin Rucinsky) each had one.
Below is a preview of the individual teams published prior to the 2004 World Cup of Hockey.
Coach -- Pat Quinn
Training camp site -- Ottawa University/Corel Centre, Ottawa
Exhibition schedule -- USA vs. Canada, Corel Centre, Aug. 23; USA vs. Canada, Corel Centre, Aug. 25; Slovakia vs. Canada, Corel Centre, Aug. 28
Brenden Morrow
What to expect -- As the reigning Olympic champion, Canada is the team to beat. To make the team even more dangerous, Canada will be looking to avenge its final-series loss to the United States in the 1996 edition of the tournament. Team Canada is loaded with explosive playmakers on offense and possesses the best goalie, in many eyes, in New Jersey's Martin Brodeur.
Possible surprises -- It's hard to classify Mario Lemieux as a potential surprise, but he could well open some eyes in this tournament. The Hall of Famer spent the summer working out with noted fitness expert T.R. Goodman and is believed to be in the best shape since he started his comeback. That could spell trouble for opponents. Tampa Bay's trio of Brad Richards, Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier is still flying high from winning the Stanley Cup and could be a dominating trio if reunited by Quinn, who coached Canada to the Olympic gold medal two years ago.
Stars Connection -- Brenden Morrow makes his first appearance on a Canadian National Team of this caliber, which is really telling about how far he has come as a hockey player. He is one of the players Wayne Gretzky and co. feel are the future of Hockey Canada.
Coach -- Vladimir Ruzicka
Training camp site -- Sazka Arena, Prague, Czech Republic
Exhibition schedule -- Finland vs. Czech Republic, Sazka Arena, Aug. 23; Czech Republic vs. Germany, Cologne Arena, Cologne, Germany, Aug. 25; Sweden vs. Czech Republic, Sazka Arena, Aug. 27
What to expect -- It's hard to pinpoint where this Czech team will be come tournament time after the tragic death of coach Ivan Hlinka in an automobile accident this past week. If they can pull together under the tutelage of the popular Vladimir Ruzicka, who replaced Hlinka, they will be among the toughest outs in the field. The Czechs are solid in all three areas of the ice, boasting three top-notch goalies, a solid and mobile defense and a potent offense led by Jaromir Jagr, Patrik Elias and Milan Hejduk.
Possible surprises -- In recent international play, the Czechs have made their name with offensive exploits. But in this tournament, the team is fielding perhaps its most competent collection of defensemen in recent memory. The stellar group is headlined by Roman Hamrlik. It also features speedy youngsters Jaroslav Spacek, Jiri Fischer and Marek Zidlicky, who had a breakout year for the Nashville Predators this past season.
Stars Connection -- Former Dallas Star Martin Rucinsky (2001-02) is one of the veterans on this team who have tasted victory at a high level in International play, having won the Gold with Team Czech in 1998 in Nagano, Japan.
Coach -- Raimo Summanen
Training camp site -- Finnish Sports Institute/Hartwall Arena, Helsinki, Finland
Exhibition schedule -- Finland vs. Czech Republic, Sazka Arena, Prague, Czech Rep., Aug. 23; Finland vs. Sweden, Globe Arena, Stockholm, Sweden, Aug. 25; Germany vs. Finland, Hartwell Arena, Aug. 26
Jere Lehtinen
What to expect -- The Finns will be the hardest-working team in the World Cup of Hockey 2004. The team is populated with industrious players who make the most out of their talent and play an aggressive style that often drives opponents to distraction. Saku Koivu and Teemu Selanne, meanwhile, are all-world offensive talents who can carry the gritty Finns on their shoulders during such a short, intense tournament.
Possible surprises -- World Cup of Hockey 2004 could well be the coming-out party for goaltender Kari Lehtonen of the Atlanta Thrashers. If he can beat out Calgary's Miikka Kiprusoff and San Jose's Vesa Toskala, the young keeper has shown the brilliance necessary to take the spotlight away from more experienced and established players. Lehtonen already has a stellar international resume at the junior level and is now looking to add to it at the senior level. Another young NHLer, defenseman Joni Pitkanen of the Philadelphia Flyers, could join Lehtonen in some spotlight-stealing behavior. Pitkanen had a monster rookie year with the Flyers and has all the skills to be just as dominant on the international scene.
Stars Connection -- Niko Kapanen has played for Team Finland before, but not at this level. He is the future for his native country and should represent Finland several times in the future. Teppo Numminen, on the other hand, has the International experience needed on the blueline to help solidify Finlands' defensive corps. Jere Lehtinen is still one of the best hockey players in the world. Don't be surprised if Coach Summanen reunites him with Koivu and Ville Peltonen, who plays in Switzerland. That line led Finland to the 1995 World Championship goal medal for Finland's greatest hockey success.
Coach -- Franz Reindl
Training camp site -- Cologne Arena, Cologne, Germany
Exhibition schedule -- Russia vs. Germany, Cologne Arena, Aug. 22; Czech Republic vs. Germany, Cologne Arena, Aug. 25; Germany vs. Finland, Hartwall Arena, Helsinki, Finland, Aug. 26
What to expect -- The Germans are the clear underdogs in the tournament with just seven current NHL players on their roster. But that does not mean that the Germans will be outclassed by any means. Fielding a similar, if not weaker, roster at the Salt Lake City Olympics, the Germans advanced out of pool play and gave a hearty scare to Team Canada in final-round play before falling by a 2-1 score. With accomplished goalie Olaf Kolzig manning the nets this time around, the Germans could make a contest out of each of its pool-stage games in this tournament.
Possible surprises -- The Germans will most likely play the same conservative style they employed so successfully in the Olympics, blanking Slovakia and holding the Canadians to two goals. But, the Germans do have a few scorers who can provide the necessary offense. San Jose's Marco Sturm, back from an injury that sidelined him during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, could be among the surprising revelations in the tournament. He could well be joined Sharks' teammates Marcel Goc and Christian Ehrhoff in opening some eyes.
Coach -- Zinetula Bilyaletdinov
Training camp site -- Kloten Arena, Kloten, Switzerland and Ridder Arena, Minneapolis, Minn.
Exhibition schedule -- Russia vs. Germany, Cologne Arena, Cologne, Germany, Aug. 22; Russia vs. USA, Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio, Aug. 27; Russia vs. Slovakia, Corel Centre, Ottawa, Aug. 29
What to expect -- A team in transition best describes Russia's entry into this tournament. The Russians were especially hard hit with the injury bug in the months leading up to the tournament and struggled to put together a team well into August. Still, Russia has some of the most skilled players in the tournament, including youngsters Pavel Datsyuk, Ilya Kovalchuk and Sergei Samsonov, as well as vets Alex Kovalev and Alexei Yashin. Alexander Ovechkin, the No. 1 pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, also will be on the roster.
Potential surprises -- Despite the shakeup to the Russian roster, the team still presents challenges to its opponents in the North American pool. If Russia can find a goaltender to keep the team close, it may well be able to out-gun any team on any given night. The appointment of Bilyaletdinov as the team's coach suggests that we could see a different team style and new duties for individual players as Russia embraces its next generation of superstars.
Coach -- Jan Filc
Training camp site -- Winter Arena, Bratislava, Slovakia and Ottawa University, Ottawa
Exhibition schedule -- Sweden vs. Slovakia, Winter Arena, Aug. 22; Slovakia vs. Canada, Corel Centre, Ottawa, Aug. 28; Slovakia vs. Russia, Corel Centre, Aug. 29
What to expect -- Expect Slovakia to score a lot of goals. The Slovakians have some of the most accomplished scorers involved in this tournament, including Peter Bondra, Pavol Demitra, Marian Gaborik, Ziggy Palffy and Miroslav Satan. The Slovaks may well be the fastest team, on the whole, in the tournament. Also, the team will be looking to improve on a disappointing preliminary-round showing in the 2002 Olympics, adding extra motivation to the campaign.
Possible surprises -- Goalie Jan Lasak is capable of getting hot and dominating a short tournament if things fall right. Although he played last season in Europe, Lasak has experience with the North American game while playing in the Nashville system. Slovakia's defense will also be better than expected, especially with Ottawa's Zdeno Chara anchoring the blue line corps.
Coach -- Hardy Nilsson
Training camp site -- Globe Arena, Stockholm, Sweden
Exhibition schedule -- Sweden vs. Slovakia, Winter Arena, Bratislava, Slovakia, Aug. 22; Finland vs. Sweden, Globe Arena, Aug. 25; Sweden vs. Czech Republic, Sazka Arena Prague, Czech Rep., Aug. 27
What to expect -- The Swedes are unbelievably hungry for success after their spectacular crash-and-burn routine against Belarus in the 2002 Winter Olympics. They are eager to prove to the hockey world that they remain among the sport's elite teams, and they have the players to do just that. As should be expected, Peter Forsberg and Mats Sundin will lead the charge.
Possible surprises -- Goalie Tommy Salo has never been the same since allowing the long-range goal to Belarus that cost the Swedes that epic quarterfinal match in Salt Lake City. He lost his starting job with Edmonton the following season and then was traded to Colorado to serve as a backup to the far less experienced David Aebischer. But, given the opportunity in this tournament, Salo still has the skill set to deliver a gold medal to the hungry-for-success Swedes.
Coach -- Ron Wilson
Training camp site -- Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Exhibition schedule -- USA vs. Russia, Monday, Aug. 23, Nationwide Arena; USA vs. Canada, Ottawa, Ont., Corel Centre; USA vs. Russia, Nationwide Arena
Mike Modano and Ty Conklin
What to expect -- The Americans will be looking to defend the title they claimed in the inaugural edition of this event back in 1996, but they will have to answer some serious questions during the quest. Most importantly, Wilson -- the coach in 1996 -- must find a new goalie to shoulder the load vacated by the retired Mike Richter. He has three untested options in Ty Conklin, Robert Esche and Rick DiPietro. Up front, the Americans are loaded with veterans from the 1996 championship campaign and will have the advantage of playing many of its games before pro-American crowds.
The team has a dozen players back from the team that won the last two games of the best-of-three championship series in Montreal in 1996 to stun Canada and win the title. The returnees include Doug Weight, Keith Tkachuk, Brett Hull, Bill Guerin, Mike Modano, Chris Chelios, and Brian Leetch. It will be a veteran squad for the United States; a vast majority of the 23 skaters on the team are 30 or over.
Possible surprises -- Many eyes will be on center Scott Gomez of the New Jersey Devils, who was a last-minute replacement for the injured Jeremy Roenick. Gomez, who was the NHL's leading point-producer after the 2004 NHL All-Star Game, has a glittering international record as a junior, but has never played at this level of competition. Defenseman Jordan Leopold, who had an outstanding Stanley Cup Playoffs for the Calgary Flames, should find the more free-flowing play much to his liking, as well.
Stars Connection -- All four players with Dallas ties -- Hull, Guerin, Langenbrunner and Modano have experience playing in International hockey at this level, including winning the Silver Medal in the 2002 Olympic Games. And only Langenbrunner was not on the 1996 team that won the Inaugural World Cup. "That says something about our players in a positive way, that we have so many guys who experienced that and can share their experience with the new guys," says Coach Wilson. "We have a rallying cry now, '96!', and we want to defend our title. That's what this is all about, defending the title. The World Cup only comes around every two or four or eight years. So that's it, our World Cup team hasn't lost in eight years!"
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By Regina Villiers. Originally published July 12, 2000 in The Suburban Life, added July 14, 2015
Cliff Berhrmann talked to the Madeira Historical Society in November about the way he remembers Madeira.
Behrmann drove an old 1924 Peter Finch ladder truck, above. The chassis was replaced in 1950 using the same body. The man standing is Floyd Nelson.
The name Clifford Behrmann is a familiar one around Madeira. Even if you’ve never met him, you’ve probably heard his name if you’ve lived here awhile.
Cliff’s fame stems from two fronts. He’s a well-remembered former fireman and fire chief of Madeira, and lately he’s becoming known as a local historian. He moved to Madeira, he says, in 1918 when he was not quite 2-years-old. So he grew up in Madeira. As he aged, so did Madeira. He remembers Madeira the way it was, an isolated little village surrounded by woods and farmland.
“Why I remember when you went north on Miami Avenue, there were no houses past Miss Nelle Hosbrook’s house,” he said. “It was just woods to Kugler Mill Road.”
Last November in a presentation to the Madeira Historical Society, he explained and described early 20th century Madeira in detail, drawing maps to show the location of streets and buildings. Most of the buildings are no longer there, especially in the Camargo and Miami Road areas. He talked about the old Brinkroger Building. The council chamber was in back of this building then, he said. He talked about the history of Meyer’s Feed Store and some of the other small stores. He especially remembers where you could buy penny candy and get three scoops of ice cream for a nickel.
The roads then were mostly dirt roads, he said. Then they brought in creek rock. Euclid and Juler started out as creek rock roads. He says tar was first put on Madeira roads when he was 4-or5-years-old. Camargo was the first concrete road and Miami was the second. This was done with mules and a slip scraper.
Behrmann has always been interested in trains. In a recent return visit to the Historical Society, he talked about the early train station and the importance of trains to Madeira.
“Madeira was a very, very busy spot on the railroad,” he said. “Madeira depended on trains, not only for transportation but to bring in their mail and the goods they used. There were scheduled freight stoppings all the time.”
All forms of transportation fascinate Behrmann. Just as he’s interested in trains, he has had a long history with planes. He loved to fly and still does.
He described a part-time job he once shared with Brownie Morgan in their youth, which involved flying.
Dave White was a Madeira stunt flyer and parachute jumper who would go out to various locations on weekends to do shows. He had had polio, and though he could fly and he could jump, he couldn’t repack his parachute and take care of it. Cliff and Brownie would go along with him to his air shows. Their job was to handle his chute and keep him safe. He would do stunt flying and make his first jump. Cliff and Brownie would repack his chute for him so that he could end the show at 5 p.m. with a spectacular jump.
Once, Cliff himself almost had to make the jumps at a show at Georgetown, Ky. Dave was ailing and didn’t think he could jump and Cliff had never jumped before. The outcome was that Dave recovered enough to do the jumps at the last minute, much to the relief of Cliff.
He flew a lot in the old days. “We flew in open cockpit planes,” he said. And he still loves to fly. Just a few weeks ago, he flew with a friend up to Portsmouth and flew around over Kentucky.
“It was fun,” he said. “I’ve had an interesting life.”
You’d probably figure that Behrmann would choose to serve in the Air Force when World War II came along. He did in the European Theater of Operations.
Cliff had a long career with the Madeira/Indian Hill Fire Department. He joined as a volunteer in 1937. In 1942, he went full-time. “I was working at the bank,” he said, “but when I got a chance to go to the fire department full-time, I took it. I never looked back.”
In the early days, the fire department was just a hose cart, pulled behind a car. “I put out a lot of fires by myself,” he said. “I’d be the only man there at times.”
In 1960, he became the fire chief and served until 1976 when he retired.
Behrmann has been invited back by the Historical Society to continue his reminiscences about Madeira. It would be worth your while to hear him. As he himself said, he has had an interesting life and he has a treasure trove of Madeira memorabilia to show. The last time, he brought old newspapers.
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Home / News / PICTURED: Air Force servicewoman, 38, who was found dead alongside her toddler sons inside their New York home after cops saved her husband from jumping off a bridge - as it's revealed she was sworn in as a U.S. citizen by Obama at the White House
PICTURED: Air Force servicewoman, 38, who was found dead alongside her toddler sons inside their New York home after cops saved her husband from jumping off a bridge - as it's revealed she was sworn in as a U.S. citizen by Obama at the White House
The Air Force servicewoman found dead alongside her toddler sons inside their New York home on Saturday morning was sworn in as an American citizen by Barack Obama at the White House seven years ago, it's been revealed.
New York police are investigating a triple homicide after the mother, named locally as 38-year-old Alla Ausheva, and her two children were found dead at their burning Staten Island home - just hours after her husband almost tried to take his life.
Reports claimed the children, aged two and three, were drowned. They were found face down on the bed, Pix11 reported.
It was not revealed how the Ausheva appeared to have died but it has been reported she had severe injuries to her head and face.
Alla Ausheva was sworn in as an American citizen by Barack Obama at the White House seven years ago. She has been named locally as the mother found dead alongside her toddler sons inside their New York home on Saturday morning
Videos posted online show Alla singing. She is believed to be a member of the US Air Force based in Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn
Russia born Ausheva is believed to be a member of the US Air Force based in Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn. Footage shows her at a Military Naturalization Ceremony in 2012.
Speaking that year Ausheva said: 'It was awesome. I met the president. He's just awesome. I'm so happy.
She told The New York Post: 'I always wanted to live here. This is really a country where you can pursue your dream and do what you want to do.'
Ausheva is understood to have joined the National Guard just three months after moving to America when her husband won the green card lottery.
She said her husband was surprised when she signed up for the New York Army National Guard, adding: 'At first, he was surprised. Then, when I told him I would do it anyway because it was my dream, he was very supportive.'
In 2012 Obama told the new citizens, including Alla: 'All of you did something profound: You chose to serve. You put on the uniform of a country that was not yet fully your own.'
The mother and her two children were found dead at their Staten Island home on Saturday
Her husband was discovered about to jump off the Verrazzano Bridge at 7.45am this morning
Woman and two toddlers found dead on Staten Island
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Her husband of the same age and profession was discovered three hours earlier on the Brooklyn side of Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge.
An onlooker called emergency services when they spotted the man – believed to be the children's father – walking on the Brooklyn Queens Expressway at 7.45am.
He was taken to hospital for a medical evaluation.
Then two miles away from where he was found aimlessly wandering, a colleague of the unidentified deceased woman arrived at her property on Pallisade Street in Arrochar and noticed a small fire on the second story of the brick house.
The door of the home, just off the dead end block of Lilly Pond Avenue, was wide open around 10.30am and the home was filled with smoke according to the witness.
Police arrived before firefighters responded to the 911 call and then extinguished the flames.
A man named Shane Walker is listed as living at the property with Alla. One neighbor told Staten Island Live of him: 'I haven't seen him in a very long time. He was somewhere and recently came back.'
DailyMail.com contacted the NYPD for comment. They confirmed they are yet to release a formal identification on the deceased or the man found on the bridge.
Reports claimed the two-and-three-year-olds were drowned and woman had severe injuries to her head and face
Police said they responded before firefighters got to the scene to extinguish a small fire
Law enforcement said they are not looking for any suspects and currently have one in custody.
The police chief said they had responded to one incident at the home prior to the murder case.
A medical examiner is determining the cause of death for each victim.
No arrests or charges have been made but the husband was in custody Saturday.
The US military has joined the investigation and personnel were at the scene.
SANITY CLAUS 24 June 2019 at 22:31
I COME TO YOUR COUNTRY. I HELP YOU MURDER INNOCENT PEOPLE FOR THE BRITISH EMPIRE NATO HEROIN MAFIA.
I BREED MORE MURDERING BASTARDS TO SERVE THE BRITISH EMPIRE NATO HEROIN MAFIA.
WHO NEEDS REAL AMERICANS?
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Brian Bulfer
Chair of the Mason Gross Extension Division's Department of Art & Design
Brian Bulfer earned a BFA in drawing-painting and a BA in religious studies from California State University Long Beach in 2008. He also received an MFA in visual arts from Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University in 2010. He is the recipient of the Arthur Wesley Dow Award and the Kasser Annual Fund Scholar in Art Education Award. Currently, he is working on an Ed D in Art Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, NY. His research interests include developmental dyslexia, embodiment, visual languages, language development, and semiotics.
His artwork has been exhibited both nationally and internationally, such as in Chiang Mai, Thailand and Lisbon, Portugal. Exploring traditional and digital forms, his work often references scientific, meditative, and metaphysical visual didactics. He is interested in repetitive and concentrative rituals that influence memory and consciousness. In his work he encodes numerous representational systems, showing a shift between language and being. He is also interested in dialogical tensions between text and images, exploring gaps of knowledge between disciplines. His current body of work is concerned with language representation and the meaning-making process, exploring biological, cognitive, psychological, and social dimensions through different forms and materials.
For the past four years Bulfer has held the position of Chair of the Visual Arts Department at the Mason Gross Extension Division where he has been working to develop an art education program. He is interested in creating environments were children feel safe to express themselves and develop curiosity about materials and meaning. Through exploring imagination, culture, memory, and the observable world, he encourages young minds to stay focused and believe in themselves.
Decline of Art Education 1930 to 2010, Cross-Media Project Space, Macy Gallery, New York, NY
Archive III, Catalog Release Exhibition, Alfa Art Gallery, New Brunswick, NJ
Mass Distractions and Cultural Decay, Mason Gross Galleries, New Brunswick, NJ
Color System, Color Strategy, University of Texas at Dallas, Visual Arts Gallery, Dallas, TX
Off The Map, White Box, New York, NY
MFA Thesis Show, Mason Gross Galleries, New Brunswick, NJ
Hit it Big!, Mason Gross Galleries, New Brunswick, NJ
1st Year MFA Exhibition, Mason Gross Galleries, New Brunswick, NJ
Chromaniacs, LA Art Space, Culver City, CA
Insights 2006, UAM CSULB, Long Beach, CA
enigma…healing…revelation…, Unionartspace, Santa Ana, CA
BFA Senior Exhibition, Gatov Gallery, Long Beach, CA
Horizon Show, Max L. Gatov Gallery East, Long Beach, CA
Ed D, Columbia University, Teachers College, New York, NY Art Education
MFA, Rutgers, Mason Gross School of the Arts, New Brunswick, NJ Visual Art
BFA and BA, California State University Long Beach, Long Beach, CA Drawing/Painting and Religious Studies
TC Scholarship
Commission Project, Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University, NJ
Residency Project, ComPeung Village of Creativity, Thailand
Dean’s Scholarship
Robert Watts Graduate Memorial Scholarship
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Rock And Roll Stories - Lynn Goldsmith
Author: Lynn Goldsmith
Publisher: Abrams books
Review by Michael Sherer
Review posted: December 2013
Lynn Goldsmith’s first and clear choice for subject matter to photograph is musicians. She’s been capturing them in a compelling and candid fashion for fifty years. (Goldsmith has a photo of hers published of the legs and feet of the Beatles in their Cuban-heeled boots in ‘64, at the height of Bealtlemania.)
Goldsmith’s newly issued 399 page, large-sized hardcover book is the most complete retrospective of her work yet. The cover dons a striking image of her then live-in boyfriend Bruce Springsteen. It was snapped in ‘78, by which time Springteen had become a major star since breaking through three years prior with his Born To Run record. The leather jacket he’s wearing is Goldsmith’s, and after she had sold off some of her clothing in ’96, which included the jacket, it wound up in the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland. This was unbeknownst to Goldsmith until later. (Springsteen, by the way, felt it had too many studs and was too ostentatious for his taste.)
Born in Detroit in ’48, Goldsmith started photographing as a child after her father, who was photographing and had a darkroom himself, gave her a Baby Brownie camera and later a superior Isola one. Goldsmith used them earnestly to photograph her first subjects: Dolls and her family. Some of these images appear in the first pages of her new book.
Goldsmith relocated to NYC in ’69, where her older sister Ellen was living. Although Goldsmith was seriously into photography, the passion for the medium and art would escalate further in the imminent years to follow. First to come were short stints at Elektra Records in their promotional department and then as co-manager of Grand Funk Railroad, with the late Andy Cavaliere. When Goldsmith walked away from that role in the early ‘70s, she carried with her some disillusionment with being involved with the business side of things. This helped Goldsmith to crystallize the realization that it was photography that served as her guiding light and muse, and she pursued it full tilt from then on. Goldsmith loved and fed off the vibes and interactions it brought, and made her photo studio, as she worded it, “A crucible of positive energy.”
While musicians have been the subjects that resonate most with her, she’s also photographed many actors, politicians, athletes, scientists, and businessmen. However, Goldsmith truly loves music above all, and is a singer herself. This handsome book is chock-full of very recognizable musicians that reflect both Goldsmith’s and the subjects’ personalities and love for what they do. There are far too many artists to list, so get the book for yourself and find out. You’ll certainly do what fellow Michiganian Bob Seeger brilliantly sang about: Turn The Page.
Lynn Goldsmith Online
• Website
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BoD approves results at 31 March 2019
The results of the Interim Management Statement at 31 March 2019 have been prepared showing Magazines France amounts under “Adjusted result from discontinued operations” [1]
Consolidated revenue € 166.8 million versus € 177.7 million at 31 March 2018;
Adjusted EBITDA (before IFRS 16) improves by € 0.5 million reaching € -2.2 million at 31 March 2019;
EBITDA (before IFRS 16) increases by € 3.3 million reaching € -2.8 million at 31 March 2019;
Adjusted net result from continuing operations improves by € 5 million reaching € -8.4 million at 31 March 2019;
Group result improves strongly by € 10.1 million reaching € -3.5 million at 31 March 2019;
Group net financial position (before IFRS 16) improves in the 12 months by € 42.6 million as a result of the steady generation of cash flow from ordinary operations amounting to € -179.3 million
Targets for continuing operations in 2019 confirmed
Slight drop in revenue;
Single-digit growth of adjusted EBITDA (before IFRS 16);
Strong growth in net result (forecast in the range of € 30-35 million);
Cash flow from ordinary operations forecast at approximately € 45 million, creating sustainable conditions for a possible future return to a dividend
[1] In 2019, the “Adjusted result from discontinued operations” included the net result of Mondadori France in the current year, together with the recognition of the fair value adjustment of assets being sold, to reflect the negotiations in progress, previously measured at value in use. This item also includes the financial expense held by the Parent Company, but attributable to Mondadori France and charged to the latter under the intercompany loan agreement (approximately € 0.7 million). The “Adjusted result from continuing operations” and the “Adjusted result from discontinued operations” therefore differ by this amount from the amounts of the statements attached to this document (equal to € 5.6 million in 1Q 2019 and € 0.7 million in 1Q 2018), prepared in accordance with IFRS international accounting standards. To enable a like-for-like comparison, 2018 figures have been restated accordingly.
Today, the meeting of the Board of Directors of Arnoldo Mondadori Editore S.p.A., chaired by Marina Berlusconi, reviewed and approved the Interim Management Statement at 31 March 2019[1] presented by CEO Ernesto Mauri.
PERFORMANCE AT 31 MARCH 2019
Consolidated revenue in first quarter 2019 came to € 166.8 million versus € 177.7 million in the prior year, partly as a result of the change in the scope of consolidation (€ 5.6 million) of the Magazines Italy area (-3.1% on a like-for-like basis).
Adjusted EBITDA[2] (before IFRS 16) came to € -2.2 million, up by approximately € 0.5 million versus € -2.8 million in the prior year.
IFRS 16 adjusted EBITDA came to € 1.7 million and includes the IFRS 16 impact of € +3.9 million.
Consolidated EBITDA (before IFRS 16) increased by approximately € 3.3 million versus the prior year, from € -6.2 million to € -2.8 million. The improvement includes the growth in adjusted EBITDA and strong reductions in restructuring costs recorded in the quarter.
IFRS 16 EBITDA amounted to € 1.1 million and includes the IFRS 16 impact of € +3.9 million.
EBIT (before IFRS 16) improved significantly to € -7.6 million versus € -11.2 million at 31 March 2018, as a result of the dynamics of the above components, and includes amortization, depreciation and write-downs of € 4.7 million, slightly lower than the prior year.
IFRS 16 amortization and depreciation amounted to € 3.6 million.
IFRS 16 EBIT amounted to € -7.2 million and includes the IFRS 16 impact of € +0.4 million.
The consolidated result before tax came to € -9.2 million, improving sharply versus € -14.6 million and includes:
the decrease in financial expense (from € -0.6 million to € +0.1 million), as a result of an average interest rate lower than the prior year (from 1.3% to 1%), and of a lower average net debt;
a positive effect of € 0.5 million from the reimbursement of a substitute tax paid in prior years under the loan agreement;
improved performance by associates (consolidated at equity) of € 1 million.
The adjusted net result from continuing operations improved significantly (€ +5 million) and amounted to € -8.4 million versus € -13.4 million at 31 March 2018.
Mondadori France generated net revenue for the period of € 67.6 million (€ 75.6 million in first quarter 2018) and adjusted EBITDA of € 2 million (€ 3.3 million in first quarter 2018).
The net result from discontinued operations came to a positive € 4.9 million and includes the positive effect of the fair value adjustment of Mondadori France, at 31 March 2019, of € 5.8 million.
The Group’s net result was € -3.5 million, improving strongly by € 10.1 million.
At 31 March 2019, the net financial position (before IFRS 16) stood at € -179.3 million, a sharp improvement of € 42.6 million, as a result mainly of cash generated from ordinary operations of continuing operations of € 50.9 million.
The IFRS 16 net financial position stood at € -286.4 million and includes the IFRS 16 impact of
€ -107.1 million.
At 31 March 2019, with regard to continuing operations, Group employees amounted to 2,111 units, down by approximately 8% versus 2,283 units at March 2018, as a result of the sale of Inthera S.p.A., of Panorama and of efficiency gains in the individual business areas, and net of the 713 units of Mondadori France.
Cost of personnel[3] amounted to € 39.4 million, down by approximately 9% versus the same period of 2018.
BUSINESS OUTLOOK[4]
The Group will continue its strategic repositioning and further focus on its core businesses, in particular by consolidating its leadership in the Books Area, completing the sale of Mondadori France and identifying new areas of development.
In line with the outlined strategy and in light of the current relevant context, including the performance in the first quarter, the operating targets for 2019, based on the current scope, allow the Group to confirm, at a consolidated level, a slight decrease in revenue and a single-digit growth of adjusted EBITDA before IFRS 16 versus 2018.
The net result from continuing operations in 2019 is expected to be significantly higher than last year (in the range of € 30-35 million).
Cash flow from ordinary operations in 2019 is forecast at approximately € 45 million, creating sustainable conditions for a possible future return to a dividend.
PERFORMANCE OF BUSINESS AREAS
In the first quarter of the year, the Trade Books market grew by 0.8%[5], despite the comparison with first quarter 2018, which had included the positive effects of Easter sales.
The Mondadori Group retained its market leadership position in the period, with an overall 25% Trade share.
Revenue from the Books Area amounted to € 70.2 million (-4.6% versus € 73.6 million in first quarter 2018), as a result of the different scheduling of the publishing plan.
Revenue from the Education Area was in line with last year.
Adjusted EBITDA (before IFRS 16) in the Books Area amounted to € -0.4 million, improving versus the same period of the prior year (€ -0.7 million), as a result of the ongoing improvement in operations.
IFRS 16 adjusted EBITDA amounted to € -0.2 million and includes the IFRS 16 impact of approximately € +0.2 million.
Reported EBITDA (before IFRS 16) amounted to € -0.6 million, improving versus € -1 million at 31 March 2018.
IFRS 16 reported EBITDA amounted to € -0.3 million and includes an impact of € +0.2 million.
In the first quarter of the year, the Retail Area recorded revenue of € 41.3 million (€ -4.4% versus
€ 43.2 million at 31 March 2018), due partly to the unfriendly schedule which, in 1° quarter 2019, did not include sales made during the Easter holidays, as in 2018.
The analysis of revenue by channel shows in particular:
a +0.6% growth in direct bookstores, as a result of the opening of two new stores (on a like-for-like basis in terms of stores: -5.2%);
megastores (approximately -16%), due mainly to the drop in Consumer Electronics sales (on a like-for-like basis in terms of stores: -14.6%);
a slight drop by franchised bookstores (-1.7%; on a like-for-like basis in terms of stores -3.1%);
online channel (-7.5%);
a slight drop by the clubs versus the prior year.
In first quarter 2019, adjusted EBITDA (before IFRS 16) was € -2.5 million versus € -1.9 million at 31 March 2018. The performance is due partly to the unfriendly schedule which, in 1° quarter 2019, did not include sales made during the Easter holidays.
IFRS 16 adjusted EBITDA came to € -0.5 million and includes the IFRS 16 impact of approximately
€ +2 million.
Reported EBITDA (before IFRS 16) amounted to € -2.6 million versus € -2.1 million at 31 March 2018.
IFRS 16 reported EBITDA amounted to € -0.6 million and includes an impact of approximately € +2.0 million.
MAGAZINES ITALY
The Italian magazines market contracted both in terms of advertising (-13.1%[6]) and circulation (-13.5%[7]).
In first quarter 2019, revenue generated by the Magazines Italy Area came to € 63 million: -10.2% versus € 70.1 million in first quarter 2018 (-2.5% net of the disposals of Inthera and Panorama).
the performance of circulation revenue (-18%) was affected by the sale of Panorama (-12.6% on a like-for-like basis). The Group’s market share in terms of value in the period was 28.4%[8].
regarding total print + web advertising revenue (-10%), the digital segment recorded a growth of approximately 10% (-20.7% in print sales; -15.8% excluding Panorama also in 1° quarter 2018).
The percentage of digital revenue on the total increased to 42% (versus 35% in first quarter 2018);
revenue from add-on products grew by +7.4% versus first quarter 2018 (+19% excluding Panorama in 1° quarter 2018);
the performance of distribution activities and other revenue (-7.8% versus the prior year) was affected by the sale of Inthera S.p.A. (+10% on a like-for-like basis).
The Mondadori Group retained its position as Italy’s leading digital publisher, with a reach of 75% and 29.5 million unique users in the quarter[9].
Adjusted EBITDA (before IFRS 16) from Magazines Italy amounted to a positive € 2.6 million, increasing versus the same period of the prior year (€ 2.1 million), as a result of the ongoing improvement in the digital area and actions aimed at reducing operating and structural costs.
IFRS 16 adjusted EBITDA amounted to € 2.6 million.
Reported EBITDA (before IFRS 16) amounted to a positive € 2.3 million, an improvement versus
€ -0.8 million at 31 March 2018, as a result of lower restructuring costs.
IFRS 16 reported EBITDA amounted to € 2.3 million.
MAGAZINES FRANCE (discontinued operations)
In first quarter 2019, revenue from Mondadori France amounted to € 67.6 million versus € 75.6 million in first quarter 2018.
circulation revenue (80% of total) fell by 5.9% versus the prior year, with newsstand sales down by -7.1% and subscriptions by -4.6%;
total advertising revenue (print+digital) fell by 18.2% versus the same period of 2018, with the print segment (87% of total) down by -17.3%.
Adjusted EBITDA amounted to € 2 million versus € 3.3 million in the first quarter of the prior year.
Reported EBITDA amounted to € 2.1 million versus € 3.2 million in first quarter 2018.
SIGNIFICANT EVENTS AFTER FIRST QUARTER 2019
On 19 April 2019, following the procedure to inform and negotiate with the French trade unions as set out by law, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore S.p.A. signed an agreement for the sale of its subsidiary Mondadori France S.A.S. to Reworld Media S.A.
As a result of the deal, Mondadori will hold from an 8% to 9% interest in the share capital of Reworld Media S.A.
The documentation relating to the presentation of the results at 31 March 2019, is made available through the authorized storage mechanism 1Info (www.1info.it) and in the Investors section of the Company’s website www.mondadori.it.
The Interim Management Statement at 31 March 2019 will be made available at the Company’s registered office, on the authorized storage mechanism (www.1Info.it) and in the Investors section of the Company’s website www.mondadori.it by the end of today.
PUBLICATION OF THE MINUTES OF THE SHAREHOLDERS’ MEETING AND BYLAWS
Arnoldo Mondadori Editore S.p.A. announces that the minutes of the Ordinary and Extraordinary Shareholders’ Meeting of 17 April 2019, together with the amended version of the Bylaws, are available at the Company’s registered office, at the authorized storage mechanism(www.1info.it) and on the Company’s website www.mondadori.it (Governance section).
The Financial Reporting Manager – Oddone Pozzi – hereby declares, pursuant to art. 154 bis, par. 2, of the Consolidated Finance Law, that the accounting information contained herein corresponds to the Company’s records, books and accounting entries.
Annexes (in the pdf file):
Consolidated balance sheet;
Consolidated income statement;
Group cash flow;
Glossary of terms and alternative performance measures used.
[1] As of 1 January 2019, the Group has adopted the new IFRS 16 – Leases. The new standard provides a new definition of lease (operating leases) and introduces a criterion based on the control (right of use) of an asset to distinguish leases from service contracts, the differences lying in: the identification of the asset, the right to replace the asset, the right to essentially receive all the financial benefits arising from the use of the asset, and the right to control the use of the asset underlying the contract. The standard introduces a single lessee accounting model, by which an asset under an operating lease is recognized in assets with an offsetting financial liability. P/L will no longer record lease payments as operating/general costs, rather the depreciation of the booked asset and the financial expense implicit in the lease payment. An exception to this accounting model are leases regarding low-value assets and those with a term of 12 months or less.
[2] This document, in addition to the statements and conventional financial measures required by IFRS, presents a number of reclassified statements and alternative performance measures in order to better evaluate the operating and financial performance of the Group, the definition of which is explained in the section “Glossary of terms and alternative performance measures used”.
[3] Cost of enlarged personnel includes costs for collaborations and temporary employment
[4] Before application of IFRS 16.
[5] Source: GFK, March 2019 (figures in terms of market value)
[6] Source: Nielsen, cumulative market figures at March 2019: magazines -13.1%; +3% digital.
[7] Internal source: Press-Di, cumulative figures in terms of value at February 2019 (newsstands + subscriptions).
[8] Internal source: Press-Di, cumulative figures in terms of value at February 2019 (newsstands + subscriptions)
[9] Source: comScore, January – March 2019
15 May 2019 / at 14:07 Price Sensitive
BoD approves results at 31 March 2019 (683 kb)
Nicoletta Pinoia Head of Investor relations Tel. +39 02 7542 3695
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Garth Brooks Drops More Hints About Upcoming Gigs: “We’re Touring in a Way I’ve Never Toured Before”
by Jim Casey | @TheJimCasey | July 19, 2018
Earlier this month, Garth Brooks announced he will play an upcoming show at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana—making the G-man the first artist to play a concert on the hallowed field. While a date for the event still hasn’t been announced, Garth has hinted that his upcoming “tour” will be cut from the same cloth as the Notre Dame show, which means we can expect more unique venues and interesting locations.
According to Garth’s latest Inside Studio G Facebook series, he’s going to tour in “a way I’ve never toured before”—a definite change from his exhaustive World Tour (390 shows) that launched in 2014 and capped in 2017.
“You’re gonna have—we’re all going to have—plenty of time in between each gig,” says Garth. “We’ll be able to do a gig . . . the crew will come home, be with their family, and then we’ll run out to another gig. Very rarely, if ever, will there be back-to-back gigs on this one. So, we will be bouncing around, but these are going to be individual events . . . hopefully incorporating the traditions of where we’re playing, which makes them each their own. This should be pretty cool. And when I say we’re touring in a way I’ve never toured before, that would definitely be one of the first steps.”
Watch Garth’s Inside Studio G below.
written by Jim Casey | @TheJimCasey | published July 19, 2018 10:03 AM
category: NCD News | related posts: Garth Brooks, Inside Studi G, tour
← Watch Eric Church Deal, Drive & Deliver in New “Desperate Man” Video
Will Sam Hunt’s New Video for “Downtown’s Dead” Help It Rise Up the Charts? Nah, But It’s Still Cool [Watch] →
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The National Archives > Exhibitions > First World War
The legacy of the war outside the British empire
Outside Britain and its empire, the First World War also ushered in a period of uncertainty and change. Empires fell, to be replaced by republics based on nationalist principles of self-determination. Monarchs fled into exile. People everywhere experienced new rulers and new hardships.
The legacy of the First World War, though positive in some respects, was ultimately a dangerous one. Many of the bitter and unresolved grievances that it aroused cast a long shadow over inter-war Europe.
None of Britain's major allies in 1918 - France, Italy and the USA - emerged in glorious triumph from the war. In economic terms, the conflict had propelled the USA towards global supremacy. However, neither American financial and military power nor the Wilsonian idealism behind the League of Nations persuaded American politicians to adopt a less isolationist foreign policy after 1918.
On 19 November 1919, the US Senate voted to reject the Treaty of Versailles and to refuse membership of the League of Nations. Without American support, the establishment of a viable international system of collective security was stillborn.
President Wilson's
Fourteen Points(134k)
France and Italy
Both France and Italy made substantial territorial gains in the post-war settlements: the French, for example, in Alsace-Lorraine, Lebanon and Syria; the Italians in South Tyrol, Istria and parts of Dalmatia. Yet neither country was satisfied.
France's desire to permanently emasculate Germany was compromised by its failure to secure control over such key areas as the Rhineland and the Saarland. The Italian prime minister Vittorio Orlando - who, like his French counterpart Georges Clemenceau, failed to ensure that all of his country's wartime territorial demands were met in Paris - returned home in 1919 to accusations that he had signed 'a mutilated peace'. In France, such frustrated nationalist sentiments were kept in check by an unstable but durable system of parliamentary democracy. In Italy, they formed the popular basis of Benito Mussolini's Fascist dictatorship.
The Habsburg empire
For the defeated Central Powers, the end of the war brought collapse and revolution. The Habsburg empire imploded. Three new states emerged even before the Paris peace conference - Czechoslovakia, Poland and 'the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes' (known as Yugoslavia after 1929). Austria and Hungary became separate entities, with the former epicentre of the Habsburg empire reduced to a rump state of just eight million people and the last Habsburg emperor, Karl I, forced into exile in Switzerland.
New political forces - most notably nationalism and, for a short time in Hungary under the dictatorship of Béla Kun, Communism - now came to the fore in the region.
Turkey and Germany
Despite substantial losses, both the Ottoman and the German empires survived with their core territories intact. Under the leadership of the war hero Mustafa Kemal, the new republic of Turkey quickly reclaimed some of the territory that it had lost in the Treaty of Sèvres, re-occupying newly independent Armenia in September 1920 and taking back Smyrna from Greece in August 1922.
The new German republic found it harder to come to terms with its reduced status. Saddled with a detested peace treaty and severe economic problems, successive Weimar governments were threatened from the left and the right by violence and revolution: the abortive Spartacist uprising in Berlin in January 1919; the unsuccessful Kapp putsch in March 1920; and the Nazi Party's infamous 'beer hall putsch' in Munich three years later. Although it survived these early attempts to destroy it, the Weimar republic never shook off the stigma of its tarnished origins.
In Russia, the Bolshevik revolution triggered a violent civil war between 'Reds' and 'Whites' that lasted until 1922. More Russians died in this conflict - not only in combat, but also as a result of terror, famine and disease - than in the Great War.
Fearful of a Communist tide sweeping westwards over Europe, many countries, including Britain, offered military assistance to the anti-Bolshevik forces. However, given the costs and dangers of a prolonged campaign in the East, the Allies agreed to withdraw their troops from Russia towards the end of the Paris peace conference. The path was left open for the eventual triumph of the Bolsheviks and the subsequent establishment of the Soviet Union as a fixed part of the international community.
The Bolshevik threat(125k)
The aftermath of the First World War had a number of themes common to the countries that had fought in it: the decline of monarchism and the concomitant rise of republicanism; the emergence of new 'nation states'; the growth of unemployment, inflation and general economic instability; and the continued use of violence to resolve political disputes.
In too many places, 'peace' still meant conflict by other means. The 'European civil war' did not end in November 1918.
The following references give an idea of the sources held by the The National Archives on the subject of this chapter. These documents can be seen on site at the The National Archives.
FO 371/3508-3562: Foreign Office correspondence on Austria-Hungary, 1919.
FO 371/3783-3802: Foreign Office correspondence on Germany, 1919.
FO 371/5477-5486: Foreign Office correspondence on the League of Nations, 1920.
KV 2/577-578: Security Service files on Béla Kun, 1919-52.
WO 32/5656, 5773, 5776: Negotiations with Mustafa Kemal over the military situation in Greece, 1920-21.
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Anxious Zimbabwe awaits presidential election results
By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA and FARAI MUTSAKA, Associated Press
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Hundreds of angry opposition supporters outside Zimbabwe’s electoral commission were met by riot police firing tear gas on Wednesday as the country awaited the results of Monday’s presidential election, the first after the fall of longtime leader Robert Mugabe.
The European Union election observer mission expressed “serious concerns” as Western and other observers gave their first assessments of whether the vote, while peaceful, was free and fair — crucial for lifting international sanctions on the once-prosperous country.
Zimbabwe’s electoral commission said it would say “sometime tomorrow” when it can start announcing the results of the race pitting President Emmerson Mnangagwa against opposition leader Nelson Chamisa, even though it said most of the results “are here with us.” Agents for all 23 candidates have to verify them first, it said.
The ruling ZANU-PF party won a majority of seats in Parliament, the electoral commission said.
The EU observer mission said “a truly level playing field was not achieved” in the election, pointing out the “misuse of state resources, instances of coercion and intimidation, partisan behavior by traditional leaders and overt bias in state media.” It said the election was largely peaceful in a break from the past but wondered why presidential votes were counted first but were being announced last.
“The longer it lasts, the more the issue of lack of credibility arises,” lead EU observer Elmar Brok said. Both the EU and U.S. observer missions urged the release of the presidential results as soon as possible, with the lead observer for the U.S. team, former Liberian leader Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, warning that “the more the presidential vote is delayed, the more it calls into question the population’s confidence in the election process.”
The opposition has alleged irregularities, saying voting results were not posted outside one-fifth of polling stations as required by law.
Opposition supporters in the capital, Harare, threw rocks and denounced the government, tearing down a billboard with an image of Mnangagwa and his campaign slogan: “The voice of the people is the voice of God.”
The riot police backed by armored vehicles with water cannon did not immediately move in to break up the demonstration.
Mnangagwa’s government has accused Chamisa and his supporters of inciting “violence” by already declaring he had won. “Let me also warn such individuals and groups that no one is above the law,” Home Affairs Minister Obert Mpofu said.
The possibility of violent confrontation was an unnerving reminder of the tensions that pervade this southern African nation, debilitated by Mugabe’s long and repressive rule. The 94-year-old former leader had been in power since independence from white minority rule in 1980 until he was forced to resign in November after the military and ruling party turned on him.
Mnangagwa, a former deputy president who fell out with Mugabe and then took over from him, has said his showing in the election was “extremely positive” while urging people to wait for official results.
Chamisa, a lawyer and pastor who leads the opposition Movement for Democratic Change party, has claimed victory based on results supporters said they collected from agents in the field.
“We won the popular vote & will defend it!” Chamisa tweeted.
Zimbabweans desperately hope the peaceful vote will lift them out of economic and political stagnation after decades of Mugabe’s rule, but the country is haunted by a history of electoral violence and manipulation that means trust is scarce.
While the electoral commission has five days from the end of voting to release the final tally, the national mood was growing anxious partly because unofficial results are already swirling on social media.
The opposition’s mood had dampened from Tuesday, when dozens of supporters gathered at their headquarters and celebrated in the belief that they had won.
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Educated at Ampleforth and Magdalene College, Cambridge, Julian Fellowes is a multi-award-winning actor, writer, director and producer. As creator, sole writer and executive producer of the hit television series Downton Abbey, Fellowes has won three Emmy awards and a Golden Globe.
Fellowes received the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Gosford Park (2002). His work was also honoured by the Writer’s Guild of America, the New York Film Critics’ Circle and the National Society of Film Critics for Best Screenplay. Other writing credits for film include Piccadilly Jim(2004), Vanity Fair (2004), Young Victoria (2009), The Tourist(2010), Romeo & Juliet (2013), and the three-part drama Doctor Thorne for ITV. Fellowes also wrote and directed the award-winning films Separate Lies and From Time to Time. Fellowes wrote the books for the Tony-nominated stage production ofMary Poppins and for School of Rock: The Musical which opened on Broadway in December 2015, and was written and produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Fellowes has authored two novels: the international bestsellersSnobs (2005) and Past Imperfect (2008).
Julian Fellowes became a life peer in 2011. He lives in Dorset and London with his wife, Emma.
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CFA Institute - The Herd and the Bees: Can biomimicry improve investment decisions? 5-15min
As career paths of professional investors go, Katherine Collins, CFA, certainly has a diverse one. Formerly a portfolio manager and head of US equity research at Fidelity Management & Research Company, Collins later attended Harvard Divinity School before launching her own biomimicry-based research firm, Honeybee Capital. In The Nature of Investing: Resilient Investment Strategies through Bio - mimicry , Collins examines how a better understanding of the natural world can lead to optimal decision making. In this interview, Collins discusses why honeybees are such good decision makers, the mechanization of the investment industry, and how preparing for uncertainty is different from preparing for risk. ... Biomimicry is the conscious emulation of natural wisdom in our products, processes, and designs. Many people think if you’re just using something from nature, that’s biomimicry. That’s not quite it. It’s the process of looking to nature as a model and a measure of our own endeavors, interwoven in every step of the process.
Also: The New York Times - Our Bees, Ourselves: Bees and Colony Collapse
Tags: Biomimicry, Finance, Investing, Decision Making, Katherine Collins, Nature, Mental Models, Nathan Jaye
Businessweek - How to Get Into an Ivy League College—Guaranteed 5-15min
Ma, a former hedge fund analyst, makes bets on student admissions the way a trader plays the commodities markets. Using 12 variables from a student’s profile—from grades and test scores to extracurricular activities and immigration status—Ma’s software crunches the odds of admission to a range of top-shelf colleges. His proprietary algorithm assigns varying weights to different parameters, derived from his analysis of the successes and failures of thousands of students he’s coached over the years. Ma’s algorithm, for example, predicts that a U.S.-born high school senior with a 3.8 GPA, an SAT score of 2,000 (out of 2,400), moderate leadership credentials, and 800 hours of extracurricular activities, has a 20.4 percent chance of admission to New York University and a 28.1 percent shot at the University of Southern California. Those odds determine the fee ThinkTank charges that student for its guaranteed consulting package: $25,931 to apply to NYU and $18,826 for USC. “Of course we set limits on who we’ll guarantee,” says Ma. “We don’t want to make this a casino game.” ... Some 10,000 students—sixth graders to junior-college grads—use ThinkTank’s services now, generating annual revenue of more than $18 million. Nearly all are Asian immigrants like Ma, 36, who moved to Northern California from Taiwan when he was 11. He reels them in at free seminars, held in Holiday Inn ballrooms on Saturday afternoons. The standing-room-only events, advertised in Bay Area Chinese media, include a raffle of free SAT prep classes and a pep talk for the college-obsessed. Ma reassures the bewildered, multigenerational audiences that top-ranked American universities aren’t nearly as capricious as they seem, once you know their formula. ThinkTank boasts that 85 percent of its applicants get into a top-40 college, as ranked by U.S. News & World Report. “Our model knows more about how to get into many colleges than their own admissions officers know,” he says. ... College admissions officers and other educators scoff at Ma’s guarantees; they say no one can predict acceptances to elite colleges because grades and scores are only one part of the highly subjective process.
Tags: Education, Ivy League, Admissions, Tutoring, Steven Ma, Peter Waldman, College Consultants
MIT Technology Review - Spotting Cancer in a Vial of Blood 5-15min
He watched his brother die from a cancer that no drug could cure. Now one of the world’s most renowned cancer researchers says it’s time for Plan B. ... The answers Bert Vogelstein needed and feared were in the blood sample. ... Vogelstein is among the most highly cited scientists in the world. He was described, in the 1980s, as having broken into “the cockpit of cancer” after he and coworkers at Johns Hopkins University showed for the first time exactly how a series of DNA mutations, adding up silently over decades, turn cells cancerous. Damaged DNA, he helped prove, is the cause of cancer. ... Now imagine you could see these mutations—see cancer itself—in a vial of blood. Nearly every type of cancer sheds DNA into the bloodstream, and Vogelstein’s laboratory at Johns Hopkins has developed a technique, called a “liquid biopsy,” that can find the telltale genetic material. ... The technology is made possible by instruments that speedily sequence DNA in a blood sample so researchers can spot tumor DNA even when it’s present in trace amounts. The Hopkins scientists, working alongside doctors who treat patients in Baltimore’s largest oncology center, have now studied blood from more than a thousand people. They say liquid biopsies can find cancer long before symptoms of the disease arise.
Repeat: Forbes - Is This How We'll Cure Cancer? 5-15min
Tags: Cancer, Cures, Drugs, Healthcare, Science, DNA, Bert Vogelstein, Johns Hopkins, Antonio Regalado
The Daily Beast - You Can Look It Up: The Wikipedia Story 5-15min
In his original version, the syntax Cunningham used for creating links in a text was to smash words together so that there would be two or more capital letters—as in Capital Letters—in a term. It became known as CamelCase, and its resonance would later be seen in scores of Internet brands such as AltaVista, MySpace, and YouTube. ... WardsWiki (as it became known) allowed anyone to edit and contribute, without even needing a password. Previous versions of each page would be stored, in case someone botched one up, and there would be a “Recent Changes” page so that Cunningham and others could keep track of the edits. But there would be no supervisor or gatekeeper preapproving the changes. It would work, he said with cheery midwestern optimism, because “people are generally good.” It was just what Berners-Lee had envisioned, a Web that was read-write rather than read-only. “Wikis were one of the things that allowed collaboration,” Berners-Lee said. “Blogs were another.” ... Like Berners-Lee, Cunningham made his basic software available for anyone to modify and use. Consequently, there were soon scores of wiki sites as well as open-source improvements to his software. But the wiki concept was not widely known beyond software engineers until January 2001, when it was adopted by a struggling Internet entrepreneur who was trying, without much success, to build a free, online encyclopedia.
Tags: Wikipedia, Ward Cunningham, Jimmy Wales, Innovation, Walter Isaacson
Playboy - Iceman Cometh 5-15min
Wim Hof climbed Mount Everest in shorts, can hold his breath for five minutes and can fight off disease with his mind. Now he wants to teach you. ... Hof is one of the world’s most recognized extremophiles. In 2007 he made headlines around the world when he attempted to summit Mount Everest wearing nothing but spandex shorts and hiking boots. He has run barefoot marathons in the arctic circle and submerged his entire body beneath the ice for almost two hours. Every feat defies the boundaries of what medical science says is possible. Hof believes he is much more than a stuntman performing tricks; he thinks he has stumbled on hidden evolutionary potential locked inside every human body. ... Participants have come from across Europe and America for this seven-day training program aimed at extending control over the body’s autonomic processes. The human body performs most of its daily functions on autopilot. Whether it’s regulating internal temperature, setting the steady pace of a heartbeat or rushing lymph and blood to a limb when it’s injured, the body, like a computer, uses preset responses for most external stimuli. Hof’s training aims to create a wedge between the body’s internal programming and external pressures in order to force the body to cede control to the conscious mind. He is a hacker, tweaking the body’s programming to expand its capabilities.
Tags: Wim Hof, Athlete, Endurance, Meditation, Scott Carney, Sports
The New York Times - Larry Ellison Bought an Island in Hawaii. Now What? 5-15min
There is only one town, Lanai City, where virtually all of the island’s 3,200 residents live. Ellison now owned a third of all their houses and apartments; the island’s two Four Seasons-run hotels; the central commons at the heart of Lanai City, called Dole Park, and all the buildings around it; the town swimming pool; the community center; the theater; a grocery store; two golf courses; a wastewater treatment plant; the water company; and a cemetery. In a single sweeping real estate deal, reported to cost $300 million, he had acquired 87,000 of the island’s 90,000 acres. And he would subsequently buy an airline that connects Lanai to Honolulu as well. On all of Lanai, I heard of only a handful of businesses — the gas station, the rental-car company, two banks, a credit union and a cafe called Coffee Works — that are neither owned by Ellison nor pay him rent. ... For Ellison, it seemed, Lanai was less like an investment than like a classic car, up on blocks in the middle of the Pacific, that he had become obsessed with restoring. He wants to transform it into a premier tourist destination and what he has called “the first economically viable, 100 percent green community”: an innovative, self-sufficient dreamscape of renewable energy, electric cars and sustainable agriculture. ... Ellison has explained that Lanai feels to him like “this really cool 21st-century engineering project” — and so far, his approach, which seems steeped in the ethos of Silicon Valley, has boiled down to rooting out the many inefficiencies of daily life on Lanai and replacing them with a single, elegantly designed system. It’s the sort of sweeping challenge that engineering types get giddy over: a full-scale model.
Tags: Larry Ellison, Jon Mooallem, Hawaii, Lanai, Environment, Experiment
GQ - Cliven Bundy's War: Inside the Rancher's Independent Sovereign Republic 5-15min
Did you know there was a revolutionary war fought on American soil earlier this spring? It's true! Back in April, a small band of militiamen led by a rabble-rousing Nevada rancher named Cliven Bundy defeated the United States of America without firing a single shot. And so a brand-new country—sand-choked, heatstroked, and very heavily armed—was formed inside this one. GQ's Zach Baron spent a few days behind the borders of the fledgling republic and discovered that the uprising was the easy part ... Before the republic—that's what I'd been calling it in my head: the Independent Sovereign Republic of Cliven Bundy—this was a disused gravel pit. Now it's a sandy hospitality suite for the men who'd come to fight. American flags flap noisily above folding tables stacked with rifles, banana clips of ammunition, oranges and Milk Duds, nail clippers and pens, lens-cleaning wipes and tortillas. One guy sits on a folding chair cleaning a .50-caliber anti-vehicle rifle, a gun about as long as I am. Another guy, named Cooper, is telling me about the latrines. They'd had them brought in a week ago, but now Cooper, as one of the guys charged with running Tripwire, has to figure out how to get them emptied.
Tags: Cliven Bundy, Nevada, Government, Independence, Zach Baron
Wall Street Journal - Inside Dr. Seuss Inc. 5-15min
In the early 1950s, a former ad man and modestly successful children's book author published a series of illustrated stories for children in magazines like Redbook. They were short, two-to-three page spreads with stamp-sized drawings and minimal coloring. He hoped to publish them in book form but another project gained steam. ... In 1957, he published a book that became an immediate best seller, turning him into a global publishing phenomenon. By approaching learning to read as zany and fun instead of boring and dull, the book altered the children's literature landscape. His name was Theodor Seuss Geisel and the book was called "The Cat in the Hat." While some of the magazine stories eventually made it into a book during his lifetime, others never did. ... On Sept. 9, Random House will publish "Horton and the Kwuggerbug and More Lost Stories," the second collection of Dr. Seuss's forgotten magazine work. The previous volume, "The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories," reached No.1 on the New York Times best-seller list when it was released in 2011. Random House is betting even bigger on "Horton," with an extensive marketing campaign and a large first print-run of 250,000 copies. "It tickles me that a whole new generation will get to read and experience these characters, some new and some familiar," said Audrey Geisel, Ted's 93-year-old widow and head of his estate Dr. Seuss Enterprises. ... Some 600 million Seuss books have sold in 17 languages and 95 countries, according to the books' publisher. Movie adaptations have grossed more than $1.1 billion world-wide
Tags: Dr. Seuss, Publishing, Entertainment, Authors, Anna Russell
SB Nation - Sumo On The Offense 5-15min
He was once a rich and famous sumo wreslter in Japan, now he's going for broke, trying to make it in the NFL ... Known as "Wakanoho Toshinori" in Japan, he was one of the youngest foreign-born wrestlers to advance to makuuchi, the highest of sumo's six divisions. There, he was revered as a celebrity until he was banned for alleged marijuana possession and retaliated by unloading everything he knew about the sport's rampant match fixing. ... Soslan has always been an athlete of extraordinary ability. At age 12, he made Russia's Junior Olympic wrestling team in the freestyle division. By 15, he was a monster in competition and in appearance, beating older wrestlers for gold medals and measuring 6'3, 300 pounds. Soslan's Olympic wrestling career essentially ended, though, the moment the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA) lowered his weight class to 264 pounds. Soslan tried everything to keep his weight down, and on more than one occasion, passed out during practice after skipping meals. ... At his father's request, Soslan visited a few Japanese sumo clubs that had been keeping tabs on both his success and weight predicament. Japan lured Soslan with the desires that run wild through the impressionable mind of a teenage boy: money, fame and girls. He received $15,000 from a club after his first tryout, and he knew two other Russians in the top division who owned brand new Hummers, Mercedes and Maseratis. He saw them partying with beautiful women and wanted what they had as soon as possible. ... By 17, Soslan was married and living the life of an elite sumo wrestler, earning over $40,000 a month and receiving lavish gifts from sponsors for top performances, including cars.
Tags: Sumo, NFL, Football, Soslan Gagolev, Ossetia, Ryan Collins, Sports
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Albums Archives: Gallery
The wildcat shows a high degree of geographic variation. Asiatic subspecies have spotted, isabelline coats, African subspecies have sandy-grey fur with banded legs and red-backed ears.
GalleryBy ycikdevelopment January 13, 2016
Waterbuck stand 120 to 136 cm (47 to 54 in) at the shoulder. Head-and-body length ranges from 140 to 240 cm (55 to 94 in) and tail length from 10 to 45 cm (3.9 to 18 in).
The warthog is named after the two sets of tusks that are found on the face of the warthog.
Steenbok resemble small Oribi, standing 45–60cm (16″-24″) at the shoulder. Their pelage (coat) is any shade from fawn to rufous, typically rather orange.
Springboks are slender, long-necked antelopes, with a total length of 150 to 195 cm (59 to 77 in), and horns present in both sexes Adults are between 70 and 90 cm (28 and 35 in) tall at the shoulder, depending on weight and gender; they weigh between 30 and 44 kg (66 and 97 lb) for the females and 33 and 48 kg (73 and 106 lb) for the males.
The sable antelope is a large species. It ranges from 117 to 143 cm (46 to 56 in) tall at the shoulder and measures 190 to 255 cm (75 to 100 in) long, not counting a tail of 37–76 cm (15–30 in).
The spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta), also known as the laughing hyena, is a species of hyena native to Sub-Saharan Africa
Red Hartebeest
Commonly known as the red hartebeest, it is the most colorful hartbeest, with black markings contrasting against its white abdomen and behind.
The porcupine is one of the worlds largest rodents, with porcupines weighing around 12 kg.
The ostrich is the biggest bird in the world with a male ostrich often growing more than 2 metres tall.
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You are here: Home → Legislation → Acts → Labour Relations → Read online → Amended Labour Relations Act
Amended Labour Relations Act
by lloyd — last modified 2010-08-30 05:47
198. Temporary Employment Services
Labour Relations Act (No. 66 of 1995 )
as amended by the
Amendment - Afrikaans Labour Relations Act 1998, Amendment - Labour Relations Act 1996, Amendment - Labour Relations Act 1998, Amendment - Labour Relations Act 2000, and Amendment - Labour Relations Act 2002
Chapter 9 : General Provisions
(1) In this section, "temporary employment service" means any person who, for reward, procures for or provides to a client other persons-
(a) who render services to, or perform work for, the client; and
(b) who are remunerated by the temporary employment service.
(2) For the purposes of this Act, a person whose services have been procured for or provided to a client by a temporary employment service is the employee of that temporary employment service, and the temporary employment service is that person's employer.
(3) Despite subsections (1) and (2), a person who is an independent contractor is not an employee of a temporary employment service, nor is the temporary employment service the employer of that person.
(4) The temporary employment service and the client are jointly and severally liable if the temporary employment service, in respect of any of its employees, contravenes-
(a) a collective agreement concluded in a bargaining council that regulates terms and conditions of employment;
(b) a binding arbitration award that regulates terms and conditions of employment;
(c) the Basic Conditions o Employment Act; or
(d) a determination made in terms of the Wage Act.
(5) Two or more bargaining councils may agree to bind the following persons, if they fall within the combined registered scope of those bargaining councils, to a collective agreement concluded in any one of them-
(a) temporary employment service;
(b) a person employed by a temporary employment service; and
(c) a temporary employment service client.
(6) An agreement concluded in terms of subsection (5) is binding only if the collective agreement has been extended to non-parties within the registered scope of the bargaining council.
(7) Two or more bargaining councils may agree to bind the following persons, who fall within their combined registered scope, to a collective agreement-
(c) a temporary employment service's client.
(8) An agreement concluded in terms of subsection (7) is binding only if-
(a) each of the contracting bargaining councils has requested the Minister to extend the agreement to non-parties falling within its registered scope;
(b) the Minister is satisfied that the terms of the agreement are not substantially more onerous than those prevailing in the corresponding collective agreements concluded in the bargaining councils; and
(c) the Minister, by notice in the Government Gazette, has extended the agreement as requested by all the bargaining councils that are parties to the agreement.
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