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Truck driver isn’t the only one at fault in Humboldt tragedy
Government and industry must accept their share of blame for the catastrophic collision
James Wilt
Photo: Andrew Scheer / Flickr
Few of us will ever grasp the level of pain and trauma that the loved ones of Humboldt Broncos players and staff have experienced since Apr. 8, 2018, when a catastrophic collision between a bus and freight truck in rural Saskatchewan killed 16 people and injured another 13.
So many young lives were stolen, far too soon. Those who survived are dealing with lifelong disabilities, injuries and mental trauma. Some are still hospitalized. Such disasters impact small towns like Humboldt — population 5,869 — with disproportionate force. It will likely take decades for the community to heal.
But this calamity is not the fault of truck driver Jaskirat Singh Sidhu alone.
Yes, Sidhu was at the wheel when the semi truck carrying peat moss ran the oversized stop sign, ignoring a series of glaring warnings ahead of the intersection. That’s clearly why the now 30-year-old pled guilty in early January to all 29 counts of dangerous driving, for which Crown prosecutors are seeking a 10-year prison sentence (the judge’s decision is expected to be released on March 22).
Sidhu was undertrained, overworked, and placed under exceptional pressure.
But the Humboldt crash was the result of much more than that catastrophic momentary lapse. Far more to blame is a combination of massive regulatory failures, infrastructure neglect, and the all-consuming capitalist imperative to maximize profits with higher speeds, longer shifts, and less training.
The public knee-jerk desire to incarcerate him — which will likely lead to his eventual deportation after he serves his sentence — does absolutely nothing to address that reality or protect youth in the future. Rather, it points to the deeply unhelpful reality of our culture’s obsession with carceral punishment of individual offenders, especially people of colour, leaving the true culprits unscathed.
‘I am so, so, so, so, so sorry about this pain’
Sidhu received a trucking licence in August 2017 and started working for Adesh Deol Trucking in March 2018, just after getting married in India.
That was a mere three weeks before the Humboldt crash. His lawyer has admitted Sidhu had a “complete absence of prior driving skill.” Sidhu got lost the day before the crash and was also anxious about a loose tarp covering the peat moss that he’d already pulled over once to try to secure, said the lawyer.
A dire absence of regulatory oversight or inspections allowed Sidhu to continue driving despite major errors.
A report by the Saskatchewan government said that Sidhu had violated 70 trucking regulations and inspection rules. If he had been inspected on the day of the crash, the report concluded, he would have been placed under an immediate 72-hour suspension.
Only a few days prior to the crash, an accurate documentation of his hours would have resulted in a violation of the “maximum on-duty of 14 hours for the day.”
Sidhu was undertrained, overworked, and placed under exceptional pressure after getting lost and having to deal with an errant tarp. A dire absence of regulatory oversight or inspections allowed him to continue driving despite major errors.
These facts are not recited to absolve him of any responsibility. They appear to be very necessary pieces of context given that parents of the victims have publicly described Sidhu as an “arrogant, inconsiderate monster” who “decided to play God and drive through a stop sign,” telling him that his “senseless lack of care has changed everything.”
Sidhu is the only person facing criminal charges. A sentence over six months will almost certainly guarantee deportation back to India once he is released, despite his obvious remorse.
“I can’t even imagine what you are going through, what you have been through. I’ve taken the most valuable things of your life. I am so, so, so, so, so sorry about this pain,” Sidhu recently told the families.
Meanwhile, our governments are absolved from almost all responsibility, and the company owner faces only a handful of potential fines. The legal and moral responsibility has been entirely downloaded on to a single worker.
Compounding failures
A similar situation just a few years ago left almost 50 people dead.
In the summer of 2013, a freight train transporting non-stabilized Bakken crude oil exploded in Lac-Mégantic, a town in rural Quebec. In declaring bankruptcy, the company avoided prosecution. Three workers took the blame, including an engineer who was dangerously overworked and the only crew member when parking the train.
While the workers were found not guilty of criminal negligence in 2018, the legal maneuvering meant that owners and regulators didn’t have to face any repercussions.
It’s a textbook capitalist strategy. A 2013 academic article by scholar Ryan Katz-Rosene observed that trucking in Canada operates in a “highly neoliberalized setting” that relies on governments not implementing “hard cap” regulations that impede capital accumulation.
In both cases — Lac-Mégantic and Humboldt — disasters could have easily been avoided.
Here are just three of the critical failures in the Humboldt situation, which had nothing to do with Sidhu.
Roundabouts and other road safety infrastructure: According to the Transportation Research Board, highway roundabouts cut deaths by 90 per cent, injuries by 80 per cent and collisions by 40 per cent. As automotive journalist Jim Kenzie put it, “you simply cannot have a T-bone crash at a roundabout.” A report on a 1997 crash at the exact same intersection, which killed six members of the same family, recommended the installation of rumble strips and other warning devices, which the government rejected.
Seatbelt regulations: CBC’s The Fifth Estate acquired documents in late 2018 revealing that Transport Canada had advised implementing seatbelts in coach buses way back in 2001. The government of the day ignored the recommendation. Motor Coach Canada had for years lobbied for the regulatory change, describing it as an “extremely important safety issue.” Federal transport minister Marc Garneau has promised to impose seat belt rules by 2020.
Training and log-keeping: Singh was extremely ill-equipped to be on the roads. “He probably didn’t even know what his responsibilities were. Somehow the system allowed for that,” said Scott Thomas, a parent of one of the players who died in the crash. Sukhmander Singh, owner of the trucking company, currently faces eight counts of failing to comply with safety and log-keeping regulations. In late January, transportation ministers across the country agreed to implement a national training standard for freight drivers.
A government-commissioned study identified 13 improvements needed for the intersection where the crash occurred, including the removal of trees on nearby private property that impede sight, the installation of rumble strips, and the widening of highway shoulders. Or, as economist Jim Stanford recently advised on Twitter, “Treat truck driving like a high-value essential public service, with training, strong regulation, safe hours, and a living wage-rather than seeing drivers as a cheap, flexible ‘productive input.’”
The loss of unions in trucking has also severely impacted safety and wellness for workers. “The capitalist dream for truck drivers has become a living nightmare,” noted a July 2018 article from Fightback.
Yet the government will not face any consequences for failing to address these issues ahead of time. As the families and surviving players continue to grieve, only Sidhu will pay the price, via incarceration, mental and spiritual anguish, and likely deportation.
“It’s a mistake the trucking industry is not held to a higher standard across the country and our federal and provincial governments aren’t jumping all over this to change laws in a much more significant way,” said Celeste Leicht, parent of a 19-year-old victim in the crash, in the sentencing hearing.
It’s not just a problem with trucking.
Saskatchewan has the highest per-capita traffic fatality rate in the country: 10.9 people per 100,000 in 2016, compared to the national average of 5.2. There are many factors behind such a devastatingly high number, but the dire lack of urban and intercity public transportation certainly plays a major role.
That situation was made far worse recently with the provincial government’s shuttering of the 70-year-old Crown corporation Saskatchewan Transportation Company, combined with Greyhound pulling out of Western Canada.
The pitiful lack of dependable and affordable passenger rail service in Canada only compounds this issue, to say nothing of the potential for getting a good portion of semi-trucks off the road with public funding for electrified freight trains and tracks.
The crash was a product of an almost innumerable number of factors spanning decades worth of policy decisions. Yet all the blame falls on Sidhu.
‘They seek vengeance’
The racial politics of this situation also can’t be ignored.
As Abdullah Shihipar observed on Twitter: “I have a hard time believing that if the driver was a white trucker that there would be such venom in these statements, that the crown would be pushing for ten years. this was an accident and they seek vengeance.”
The victims and families of the victims are almost exclusively white. While clearly that doesn’t diminish the suffering they have experienced, it must inform how we think about such traumas, particularly given the lack of public response to the suicide crisis among Indigenous youth, the recent murder of Colten Boushie by farmer Gerald Stanley in rural Saskatchewan, and the regular deaths of Black and Indigenous people at the hands of police.
Journalist and activist Nora Loreto was slammed with months’ worth of death threats and harassment for observing on Twitter that “the maleness, the youthfulness and the whiteness of the victims are, of course, playing a significant role” in the generous fundraising for the families of victims (raising $15.2 million, the campaign was the second largest on GoFundMe in 2017).
This situation takes on particular urgency given the prospect of Sidhu’s deportation once he is released from prison. It’s not a situation where someone makes a serious mistake, admits wrongdoing, and seeks reconciliation with families and society in subsequent years. Instead, it’s a dismally cruel and banal process: entirely vindictive and unforgiving.
We can’t bring back the 16 people who were killed on April 8, 2018. But we can fight to ensure their lives are genuinely honoured, and that Sidhu — and far more importantly, the state and trucking company owner — take responsibility and make amends. That means collectively demanding a less carceral and more restorative process: one that centres reconciliation, regulatory improvements, and far better training to ensure a devastating crash like this never occurs again.
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Moratorium sought for MCAS exam
By Katie Lannan State House News Service
BOSTON - Educators and advocates urged lawmakers to press the pause button on the use of the state's standardized test program as a graduation requirement and a component of school accountability measures.
Bills filed by Rep. Marjorie Decker and Sen. Michael Rush would impose a three-year moratorium on what critics describe as the "high-stakes" nature of the MCAS exam, temporarily halting consideration of the results for graduation, accountability rankings, and teacher evaluations.
Supporters of the bills told the Education Committee that the MCAS tests are not working as intended, and a break would give state education officials a chance to come up with new methods of measuring student and school performance.
Jack Schneider, research director for the Massachusetts Consortium for Innovative Education Assessment, said standardized tests can act as a gauge of family income, race, and parents' educational attainment, while not always capturing "many facets of a good school."
"The solution is to figure out how not to simply measure demography in disguise while at the same time measuring the many things that good schools do," he said. "Now, if you don't do that, we will continue to suffer from the unintended consequences of the present system that we have. Just to name a couple of those, teaching to the test, which is absolutely incentivized by the current system, narrowing of the curriculum, which is also incentivized by the present system, stigmatization of low-income and historically marginalized racial groups, which is absolutely linked to the current system, and the systemic disengagement of young people in districts that will not, by virtue of their demography, automatically get high test scores."
In addition to the moratorium, the bills (H 431, S 328) would create a grant program that would support districts in the development and piloting of "alternative assessment models" and would direct the state auditor to audit the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and its contract practices at least every three years.
"Data shows that high stakes testing doesn't measure outcomes that matter. Assessments are good, but these tests have done nothing to shrink the achievement gap," Decker posted on Twitter.
Massachusetts has required students to pass the MCAS test in order to graduate high school since 2003. State education officials in 2016 embarked on an effort to overhaul the exam into a "next-generation" MCAS taken on a computer.
No one testified against the moratorium bills at Monday's hearing. A total of 42 lawmakers are signed on to the House bill, and 12 on the Senate bill. There are 40 seats in the Senate and 160 in the House.
The Education Committee last session included a similar bill in a study order, effectively killing it.
Rep. James Kelcourse, an Amesbury Republican, asked supporters what would happen without the MCAS requirements in place. He said he attended high school before there was testing, but there was a reason the exam model was put in place.
In response, Hull fifth-grade teacher Deb McCarthy described the dynamics in her district during testing periods and said the MCAS experience has changed since the exam was first launched.
"In that time it has morphed into two months of a testing warehouse at our elementary school, grades three through five, where kindergarten schedules are changed, lunch schedules are changed," she said. "I no longer have a paraprofessional in my classroom. All of our resources are reallocated to the score, because in Hull we're constantly treading water to make sure we don't come below that accountability measure that will put us into a category that's to shame and blame."
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How Open World Games Adapt Reality
December 31, 2017 14:12:25
In many art forms, recreating something that already exists can often be more difficult than building something new. This is especially true when the source material is well-recognized, like a cult movie, a famous painting, or… a whole city.
The process of developing video games is a long, winding road, and in this article I want to focus on just one part of it, one that is usually limited to open-world titles. The question I’m going to address is, what happens when a studio chooses a real-life location as the setting for their video game?
Galileo Observatory (Griffith Observatory) – GTA V
The whole process usually starts with gathering as much reference material as possible. For example, while making Grand Theft Auto V, Rockstar had multiple teams visit California to take pictures and make sure that Los Santos was a faithful reinvention of Los Angeles. Even though it was supposed to be a humorous take on the real place, every detail still mattered, from lighting and ambience to capturing what people live in which neighbourhood. In the end, they had over 250,000 images and many hours of video to work with.
Another leader in the open-word genre, Ubisoft shares a similar approach. During its production of Watch Dogs 2, apart from photographing the streets of San Francisco, developers interviewed people who live there to discover their views on various areas and subcultures within the city. These opinions were later reflected in the game, in conversations you overhear while walking down the streets. One of Ubisoft’s many offices is actually located in San Francisco, so the company obviously wasted little time recreating the opportunity surrounding them.
Ubisoft Offices and Golden Gate Bridge – Watch Dogs 2
When a game’s story is set in the past, things change a bit. In the case of the Assassin’s Creed series, the studio employs historians and experts to study books, old maps and encyclopaedias, and to research how a given time period was depicted in popular culture. The goal is to infuse the game with as much historical accuracy as possible, without infringing on its fictional story.
Its myriad problems and terrible optimization aside, Assassin’s Creed: Unity did get a few things right. Île de la Cité, an island in the middle of Paris and home to the famous Notre-Dame de Paris, has been adapted with incredible attention to detail and scale. Of course, 220 years ago the island looked a lot different, but even the preserved differences are accurate – such as the streets being narrower to reflect their former width or the presence of the graveyard behind the cathedral.
Palais de Justice – Assassin’s Creed: Unity
The series has had its ups and downs over the years, but each Assassin’s Creed title was impressive for how it depicted the world. The games are an interesting example of virtual historical tourism, be it when climbing Big Ben in 1868, sailing alongside Blackbeard on the Caribbean Sea, or sneaking through Paris during the French Revolution.
Westminster Abbey – Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate
The level of detail in any game inspired by a real place largely depends on the scope of its world. In Tom Clancy’s The Division, the map only covers a portion of Manhattan, so the game designers had an opportunity to be a bit more accurate with the city’s layout. Watch Dogs 2 incorporated San Francisco, Oakland, Marin, and Silicon Valley, which meant that many areas had to be squished or completely removed. It can be tricky to decide which places should remain, and which should go – beyond major landmarks, there are often less popular locations that people who live there would consider key to the city’s experience.
That is not to say the current technology couldn’t replicate one giant city, even though optimizing such a game would certainly pose a challenge. I imagine that a bigger problem for developers would be making sure that all locations are distinctive enough, so players don’t get bored with roaming sameish-looking streets. That’s probably one of the reasons why in GTA V, the actual city covers only a quarter of the map.
New Bordeaux – Mafia III
There are also titles that deliberately aim for inaccuracy. Mafia III’s New Bordeaux is based on New Orleans, and even though the characteristic southern architecture and the atmosphere of the sixties are there, upon closer inspection you may find more differences than similarities. Previous instalments in the series were also set in fictional cities, only partially inspired by real ones. This allows the games to distance themselves from reality to an extent, regardless of the references to real-life events that are very often present in the story. Post-apocalyptic games like the Fallout series or The Last of Us tend to feature familiar cities as well, though in a much different form, often ruined, abandoned or overgrown.
Lastly, even games that play out in a fully fictional setting don’t shy away from using references to real life. The waterside tenement houses and the majestic harbour crane in Novigrad, a major city in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, were created with medieval Amsterdam and Gdańsk in mind.
Novigrad Crane – The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Exploring real cities in video games can be a fascinating experience, especially if you’ve had a chance to visit them yourself and see how well they’ve been adapted. What are your favourite real-life locations like this, and what others would you’d like to see recreated?
Header photo source: IGN’s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTTvkDR6euk
Paweł Horbanowicz
Just another fantasy & sci-fi geek from Poland. When he's not busy studying or writing about World of Warcraft, he spends most on his time catching up on TV shows he should've watched ages ago. A fan of everything Blizzard-related, loves long winters and games with good stories.
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Sara Barta
Raised in London, Sara’s musical journey began when she started playing the piano at the age of six. She was singing by age seven. She first dipped her toe into songwriting soon after, at the tender age of twelve. A few years later, at fifteen, Sara picked up the guitar and the rest is history.
Born to Hungarian parents, and raised in London, Sara’s journey has been an unconventional one. Although Camden is her home, she is currently completing a degree at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, America, returning to London regularly. Her sound as an artist draws upon the Pop/Indie genre and she takes influence from the likes of Ellie Goulding.
Sara has been sharing her songs on Soundcloud for five years and recently released her first EP, Flying High. She plans to gig at a variety of venues and festivals across London and the UK, showcasing her unique sound, in the coming months. Stay tuned for updates to be the first to hear about news and upcoming events.
Dance For Your Life
by Sara Barta
https://sarabarta.fm/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Dance-For-Your-Life-fade-out.wav
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Listen to the latest tracks & releases
FRESH FROM SZIGET - LIFE CHANGING MUSIC After her breath-taking performance at the Sziget Festival in Budapest, Sara Barta will be performing the same, scintillating set, live, in London on 7th September, in collaboration with Nordoff Robbins, the UK’s leading music...
Future Mag Interview – Starting out: Singer / Songwriter
From as far back as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to be a singer. As a little girl, I used to ‘perform’ in front of the mirror with a hairbrush – and I was always singing! At the age of six, I started to play the piano, and by seven I was completely obsessed with...
Sara Barta releases Dance For Your Life video
Sara Barta releases the video for her summer anthem, Dance For Your Life!...
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Sara Barta @SaraBartaMusic
Apparently, Apple has released new emojis for #WorldEmojiDay that includes new disability ones. To think that it's taken this long for them to make a wheelchair user emoji is disappointing.
Am I the only person on this planet that doesn't watch Love Island but is thoroughly entertained by the #Michael #Joanna #Curtis #Francesca and #Molly hashtags? https://t.co/ePhMGoxQAR
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.” Dr Seuss gives the best advice to get you going on a #MondayMorning #MondayMotivation #mondaythoughts
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Rates & Terms
SBA Lawyers are experienced, creative and enthusiastic. We bring a variety of backgrounds, experience and a framework to problem solving to address our client's needs.
Our employees have a passion for the law and are eager to assist you solve your legal needs as a team. We value our clients and are dedicated to providing a commercially valuable service that meets and exceeds their needs and objectives.
The team enjoys working in a relaxed and friendly office environment.
Our aim is to provide valuable and practicable legally sound solutions to our clients’ problems in a commercial environment while pursuing our own personal and professional goals.
Stephen Blanks
Elizabeth Steer
Kathleen Douch
Stephen has 30 years’ post-admission experience, having graduated in Law and Arts from the University of New South Wales in 1983, and commenced legal practice in 1985.
Stephen commenced his own legal practice in 1991, and has now been in his own practice for more than 24 years. In 1996, Stephen became an Accredited Specialist in Commercial Litigation.
Stephen has always, since first being admitted as a lawyer, worked in litigation matters and advised on corporation and commercial transactions.
On the litigation side, Stephen has acted in significant litigation involving takeovers, schemes of arrangement, compulsory acquisition of shares, intellectual property infringement, winding up companies and general commercial disputes. The matters have been in a wide variety of Courts, including the High Court of Australia, the Federal Court of Australia, every Supreme Court in Australia (except Northern Territory and South Australia), and various lower Courts and Tribunals.
On the corporate and commercial side, Stephen has advised on significant business acquisitions and sales, intellectual property development and licensing, joint ventures, venture capital transactions, franchising, company formations, trade practices issues, trade marks and property transactions. Stephen’s clients have tended to be in industries dependent on intellectual property, especially in the IT and biotechnology industries.
Running his own practice has enabled Stephen to pursue many interesting areas in and around the law.
At present, one of Stephen’s major areas of interest is commercialising intellectual property, and Stephen is a director of and shareholder in Vecor Limited, a company commercialising technologies for the utilisation of waste fly ash from coal-fired power stations. Stephen is also active in the human rights and civil liberties space, and is currently the President of the New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties. Stephen appears frequently in the media on a variety of issues in this role.
Contact Stephen | +61 2 9555 8654 | stephen@sbalaw.com.au
Liz is admitted as a lawyer in the Supreme Court of New South Wales and the Federal Court of Australia. She is also admitted to practice in New Zealand. She holds the degrees of Bachelor of Laws (with Honours) and Bachelor of Arts (Geography) from Auckland University, and Bachelor of Civil Law from the University of Oxford.
Prior to joining SBA Lawyers, Liz gained extensive experience in the field of commercial litigation, working at Herbert Smith Freehills and Arnold Bloch Leibler for over 13 years. She has also worked as in-house senior counsel at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in relation to its Financial Planning review and remediation program.
Liz has acted for corporate clients and individuals in contentious litigation, as well as in relation to regulatory investigations and inquiries, including investigations by ASIC, ACCC and ICAC. She also has experience in coronial inquests.
Liz’s strengths are strategic advice and decision making, and her ability to work positively, collaboratively and effectively.
Her current practice at SBA Lawyers comprises mainly of commercial litigation. Liz also has an interest in human rights and is actively involved in SBA Lawyers’ pro bono practice for asylum seekers and detainees.
Contact Elizabeth | +61 2 9555 8654 | elizabeth@sbalaw.com.au
Kathleen Douch joined the SBA Lawyers team in 2013 as a graduate lawyer and was admitted as a solicitor in the Supreme Court of New South Wales in February 2014. Kathleen advises on a broad range of commercial and corporate transactions including sale and purchase agreements, shareholder agreements and IP commercialisation transactions. Kathleen is involved in the full life-cycle of projects assisting clients resolve disputes or commence litigation. Kathleen brings a pragmatic approach to the drafting of commercial documents and the resolution of disputes. She highly values client relationships and is committed to ensuring that client objectives are met.
Kathleen is passionate about human rights and is currently involved in a number of administrative law matters on a pro bono basis. Outside of the office, Kathleen is active committee member of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties and is co-convenor of the asylum seekers and refugees action group.
Contact Kathleen | +61 2 9555 8654 | kathleen@sbalaw.com.au
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Chicago P.D. season 5 release date
Are you ready for Chicago P.D. season 5? Looking for the release date in 2017? Let’s wait for the new episodes’ premiere!
Are the creators of the series Chicago P.D. ready to tell us the release date of the 5th season? This television project has not lost its viewers for four years, so the right holders think about a renewal for a new season.
It is known that if the fifth season is ordered, a new specialist will deal with the creation of fifth season, because Matt Olmstead leaves this post after the fourth season. Experts’ opinions about the replacement of the showrunner are divided, but everyone agrees that no one is going to cancel the show.
Thus, the release date of the 5th season of Chicago P.D. should soon be announced, and we will immediately publish it in this article. Follow the updates.
The city Chicago has never been famous for its safety. Being a policeman here is a big responsibility. In the center of the plot are two completely different groups of police detectives, who are at different levels of power.
Chicago P.D. season 5 release date – [September 27, 2017] (officially)
Their joint work gives the result…
UPDATE 1 (May 10, 2017): NBC renewed the series for a fifth season.
Chicago Med season 2 premiere date
Chicago P.D. season 4 start date 2016
Chicago Fire season 5 start date 2016
«Chicago Fire» season 2: premiere date
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Mr. Language Curmudgeon defines "martyr"
Readers of this blog will note that I frequently inveigh against the creeping Orwelliazation of the English language, that is, the taking of wholly useful, commonly understood words and infusing them with a new and different meaning and, then, all too often, denying that the prior definition ever existed.
I am old enough to remember, for example, when "gay" meant "happy." Once upon a time, children, "queer" meant "odd" or "different." "Marriage" was the union of a man and a woman. "Police action" meant Officer O'Flaherty swinging a billy club at some miscreants, not hundreds of thousands of American troops fighting wars in Asia. For that matter, "war" meant a violent confrontation between nations, or among groups of nations, fought with armies and navies and air forces, not a public relations campaign against (pick any or all of the following) poverty, drunk driving, obesity, drugs....
Another word which has been hijacked and perverted (without apparent protest!) is "martyr."
Suicide bombers are lionized in certain parts of the world as "martyrs."
Victims of terror bombings are sometimes also referred to as "martyrs."
Murderous brutes launch rockets from the courtyards of mosques or school playgrounds, hoping to draw retaliation at the launch point. The inevitable casualties will be hailed as "martyrs," while the monsters ultimately responsible for their deaths will have slunk away, dragging their portable rocket launchers with them.
None of these, though, are "martyrs."
A martyr does not commit suicide. A martyr is murdered. A martyr does not kill others; he or she is killed.
How then does the martyr differ from any murder victim? A murder victim does not know that he will be murdered. He may know -- as an inner city gang member, for example -- that his life expectancy is short, but he does not know the day or the hour.
As a young boy in a fairly progressive Catholic school there were often times during the school day when I had finished my assignment and was free to pull a book off the shelves to read.
The options were fairly limited, of course, but there was all the excitement and adventure (and blood and guts and gore) a boy could wish for in The Lives of the Saints. Oh, sure, some stories were boring -- impossibly good priests or nuns, devoted to prayers and scrubbing floors, reluctantly performing miracles for the faithful who gathered 'round in expectation -- but, then, there were the stories of the martyrs.
Early Christians endured hundreds of years of persecution before Constantine had his vision of the Cross. The persecutions produced legions of martyrs -- men and women and children singing hymns of praise and thanksgiving as they bravely marched into the Coliseum to be devoured by lions or hacked limb from limb by gladiators.
Later, of course, I would learn that the Romans had been remarkably tolerant of other faiths in their day, co-opting the local deities whenever they conquered a region, building temples to the local favorites (and doing their best to identify the hometown heroes with someone in their own pantheon). The trouble was that the early emperors also co-opted the eastern idea that rulers were gods on earth, thus entitling them to sacrifices. It became something of a loyalty oath -- give the emperor his stick of incense and worship whoever else you wanted.
This the Christians could not do. (Well, some did, of course, but none of them ever made it into The Lives of the Saints.) Jesus had taught the early Christians to render unto Caesar the things that were Caesar's and to God the things that are God's. And they took Him quite literally. Worship was over on the God side of the line and hundreds -- thousands -- of Christians refused to cross that line.
The Christian martyrs did not court death. They hid out. They tried to fly below the radar (the Catacombs, surely, qualify). Like Thomas More in a later age, they tried to say nothing rather than say anything that would damage their lives here or in the Hereafter.
But, sometimes, the Christians were forced out into the open. Perhaps they were betrayed. Or the local officials were required to make a proper demonstration. Each tale of martyrdom had its unique elements. But there was a unifying theme: The Christian martyrs did not volunteer to die; they were condemned because of their faith. They did not choose death except as a less evil alternative to dishonor and damnation. They had to choose between sacrificing to the emperor or sacrificing themselves.
In making this awful choice, the Christian martyrs became braver than the bravest firefighter or police officer or soldier. The firefighter or police officer is trained to cope with danger and learns to live with the possibility that any call may be his or her last. Soldiers are trained to cope with the possibility that enemies will try to kill them -- and, preferably, how to kill the other side's soldiers first. But the martyrs knew they were going to die and they would not, and could not, fight back.
And they went in singing.
For a boy reading The Lives of the Saints, this was awesome, inspirational stuff. It made quite an impression on the Romans, too. Though the martyrs were anything but terrorists, their calm acceptance of their fate terrified many Romans. The deaths of the martyrs inspired a lot of Romans to convert. Eventually the bloody path of martyrdom led to the Milvian Bridge.
The important thing, for a modern person, is that the loser who wires his body with explosives trying to kill women and children at a bus stop is not a "martyr." He is a suicide and a murderer. He is a criminal. And, in the long run, he will inspire no one.
Labels: Catholicism, History, Mr. Language Curmudgeon, Religion AND Politics
Given the subject, I hate to use the word; but, damn you are a good writer.
Whilst I totally agree with your rant against the reinvention of the meanings of words - I, too, remember the earlier uses of gay and queer - and the inability of the younger members of society to accept a word may have multiple meanings depending on context, you may have fallen into the same trap.
One definition of the word martyr is "one who dies willingly rather than deny or change their religious faith". A suicide bomber dies willingly in the pursuance of their personal religious end - I'm not defending them or saying they are right. Whether it is for religious reasons or any other - if you want to kill yourself, do it, just don't take anyone else with you. They may not want to go yet.
Eileen -- Thank you for your comment. But I stand by what I said and I don't think the definition you've quoted contradicts me at all:
"One who dies willingly rather than deny or change their faith" -- that does not mean suicide -- and it certainly does not in the case of suicide bombers who are in no danger of being drummed out of their religion except by their own, stupid, criminal action -- and it says nothing about killing others at the same time.
Moreover, a suicide bomber is not pursuing a religious end; he or she is committing a heinous crime, both in the eyes of man and God.
I might be wrong here - but I suspect they don't think it is suicide. It is we westerners who have termed them "suicide bombers" - they believe they are warriors fighting a just war. Therein lies the problem - two sides speaking two totally different languages and with mind-sets that simply cannot comprehend that of the other. They have a distorted view of their religion.
The greatest irony? According to all the religious background, the god at the far end is the same for all of them, whether Christian, Jewish or Islam.
Joseph said...
I believe many Christians (myself included) don't agree that Islam's Allah is the same god as the Jews' & Christians' LORD.
That they are not the same seems obvious from the contrast between the behaviour of their respective adherents.
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Sergei says “ballet must shake off elitist image or die” July 29, 2017
By Pam Boehme Simon | August 8, 2017
Sergei Polunin says ballet must shake off ‘elitist image’ or die
Controversial Ukrainian star says classical dance must seek out talented directors from the worlds of films and musicals
Sergei Polunin in rehearsals with his own ballet company. Photograph: Sarah Lee for the Guardian
By Dalya Alberge
Saturday 29 July 2017 19.05 EDT
Ballet must get rid of its elitist image, seek larger audiences and woo the best directors from films and musicals, according to Sergei Polunin, one of classical dance’s biggest and most outspoken stars.
The Ukrainian, who controversially quit the Royal Ballet in 2012 aged 21, will return to Britain in December, performing with his own company, Project Polunin,at the London Coliseum.
Polunin, now 27, told the Observer that he feared for the future of his art: “It’s almost died, classical dance. There’s a lot of interest from the public, but if nothing happens from inside… ” Audience numbers were too small to interest the most talented directors, who prefer to work elsewhere, he observed: “There’s no directors. There’s no new music written.”
Dance was a language that everybody understood, he said: “It opens up people’s minds. Unfortunately, in our society, nobody wants people to think. So that’s why it’s kept too elitist, but my goal is to open it for everybody.” The Royal Ballet had “started slowly to open up”, Polunin said: “They have such a great name, they can expand like crazy. They can be the biggest thing in the world. They decide to keep it to themselves, to the small world of those people.”
He added: “They show football every day on TV. You don’t see ballet.”
The Royal Ballet said that the company was “increasingly reaching out to larger audiences”, with live screenings in hundreds of cinemas in the UK and 35 countries and subsidised tickets, among many programmes: “Digital technology has particularly helped us reach new audiences and World Ballet Day, initiated by the Royal Ballet, last year had more than 6.7 million views on Facebook.”
Polunin’s own YouTube video – in which he danced to Hozier’s Take Me to Church – has been viewed more than 20 million times.
As a child prodigy, he studied at the Royal Ballet school. In 2010, aged 19, he became the company’s youngest-ever principal – only to shock the dance world in 2012 with his sudden departure. His future plans include establishing an agency to look after dancers, many of whom receive neither enough money nor recognition, he believes. Ballet was “probably 20 years behind” other industries, he said.
“There’s no agents or managers to represent them. Dancers don’t have any voice. They have nothing.” The pay was particularly shocking as stage careers were so short, he said: “Nobody can afford a flat to live in. They have to share to be able to survive. In a place like the Royal Ballet, that shouldn’t happen.”
“Corps de ballet [dancers] get a monthly salary of [around] £1,800, which is ridiculous… You only have a 10-year career. You don’t have longer. This is it. It’s a very hard profession and you have to go through the longest [training] . It’s like nine years.
“I danced in corps de ballet for 11 hours a day. That was the hardest work I have ever done in my life. I haven’t seen anybody else work more.” These dancers “will be left alone when they’re 35”, he said. “That’s the problem. Nobody will need them.”
He believes one way of furthering careers may be for older dancers to become agents for younger ones: “We need to create this infrastructure for us to exist. Otherwise, there is nothing. There is emptiness. I know dancers who are like tramps now. Most dancers are lost after [their career finishes] because, imagine from age nine, all you did was dance… and suddenly you can’t do that.”At the Royal Opera House (ROH), he said, a “little bit of money from opera advertisements” would enable Royal Ballet dancers to be paid three times as much as they got now. Through Project Polunin, he also wants to extend the working life of dancers by giving them an actual voice in dance-theatre productions.
• Project Polunin, London Coliseum, December 5-10. Public booking opens 10am on Wednesday.
Eye For Film Interview 2016
Sergei Can Jump.
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Anthony Ervin Takes 50m Free at Arena Pro Swim Series at Charlotte
| Saturday, May 14, 2016
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Olympic gold medalist Anthony Ervin (Valencia, Calif./Unattached) raced to the men’s 50-meter freestyle title in 21.98 seconds to highlight a full slate of racing Saturday at the Arena Pro Swim Series at Charlotte.
Ervin, who began training with Charlotte-based SwimMAC Carolina three weeks ago, surged down the stretch to take the win ahead of Canada’s Santo Condorelli, who was second in 22.15, and Josh Schneider (Cincinnati, Ohio/New York Athletic Club), who grabbed third in 22.16.
“We’ve been doing a lot of technique work the last few weeks. Technique work with the training, as well as trying to get that start down … I think it’s been paying off,” Ervin said. “I not only hopeful, I’m enthusiastic about the next few weeks.”
A quartet of USA Swimming National Team members picked up their second victories of the meet, paced by Olympic gold medalist Conor Dwyer (Winnetka, Ill./Trojan Swim Club), who led wire-to-wire to take the men’s 400m free in 3:47.37 for victory No. 2 after winning the 200m free on Friday.
Leah Smith (Pittsburgh, Pa./Cavalier Swimming) completed the same double, winning the women’s 400m free in a meet and pool record 4:05.21. After winning the 400m IM on Friday, Olympian Cammile Adams (Cypress, Texas/SwimMAC Carolina) cruised to her second win of the meet, taking the 200m fly in 2:08.14. Cody Miller (Reno, Nev./Badger Swim Club) completed a sweep of the men’s breaststroke events, winning the 200m breast in 2:12.22.
Held at the newly renovated Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center, the long-course meters meet concludes Sunday with daily prelims at 9 a.m. EDT and finals at 6 p.m. EDT.
Other winners Saturday included:
· Dana Vollmer (Granbury, Texas/California Aquatics) in the women’s 50m fly in 25.87
· Annie Lazor (Beverly Hills, Mich./Auburn University) in the women’s 200m breast in 2:24.96
· Jonathan Gomez of Colombia in the men’s 200m fly in 1:57.36
· Chantal Van Landeghem of Canada in the women’s 50m free in 24.43
· Kylie Masse of Canada in the women’s 100m back in 59.98
· Arkady Vyatchanin in the men’s 100m back in 54.80
· Condorelli in the men’s 50m fly in 23.82
Complete results from Charlotte can be found here.
Television coverage of May 14-15 finals from Charlotte will air on NBC Sports Network on delay, while NBC Sports Live Extra will stream May 14-15 finals live. A live webcast of the entire meet also will be available at usaswimming.org.
The Arena Pro Swim Series at Charlotte is the fifth of seven stops of the 2015-16 Arena Pro Swim Series. As part of USA Swimming’s partnership with swimwear leader Arena, the circuit will feature a record $350,000 in overall prize money. Swimmers may earn awards for all individual Olympic events across the series. At each meet, $1,000 will be provided for the top-three finishes finish, $600 for second and $200 for third. In addition to the single-event prize money, the overall male and female winners of the season-long Series will earn a $10,000 bonus.
For the third consecutive season, longtime USA Swimming partner BMW will award the grand prize of a one-year lease of a BMW vehicle to the highest-scoring eligible male and female U.S. swimmers.
Male and female overall Arena Pro Swim Series champions will be honored at the conclusion of the 2015-16 series based on the number of points accumulated throughout the seven meets. Participants will be awarded points in each individual Olympic event throughout the duration of the Series (Five points for first, three for second, one point for third place).
#ArenaProSwim
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Maersk Honam
March 7, 2018 Paul Hancock
Photo: Indian Coast Guard
On March 6, the 353 meter long, 162051 dwt container ship Maersk Honam caught fire in the Arabian Sea near the Agatti Islands. The Maersk Honam had departed from Singapore and was enroute to the Suez Canal when fire broke out in the one of the containers in the cargo hold. The 27 crew on board began fire fighting efforts to contain the blaze, but the fire quickly spread to other containers. Flames engulfed the main deck and the fire was out of control. The Maersk Honam sent out a distress call before the crew abandoned ship. Twenty-three crew members were later rescued by the cargo vessel ALS Cicero responding. Several crew members had sustained injuries and required medical attention. Four crew were reported as missing and presumed to be still on the Maersk Honam.
Vessels on scene with the Maersk Honam reported several explosions from the intense fire on the container ship. Flames from the main deck reached 25 meters high nearly reaching the Maersk Honam’s bridge.
Indian Coast Guard has launched search and rescue operations to find the missing crew. Specialized vessels have been dispatched to assist while authorities coordinate salvage efforts with the vessel’s owners.
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Current: The Origin of Crystal Palace FC Vol.1 Book
The Origin of Crystal Palace FC Vol.1 Book
Brand new Crystal Palace book volume 1 detailing the origins and birth of the football club.
The narrative follows the fortunes of its fooball club through its highs and lows, from its commencement in 1861, its role in the backbone of the early football associaition, its part in the creation of the FA Cup competition, via its evolution to professionalism in 1905 in Volume 1: to its complete seperation from the company in 1914, its eviction from Crystal Palace Park in 1915, its moves to other grounds and its relocation to Selhurst Park in 1924 in Volume 2.
Drawn entirely from primary sources and four years in the writing, the book reveals fascinating bigraphic information about the men who founded the club in 1861 and about the commercial pressures and ambitions which motivated the Crystal Palace company to persevere on and off with its football club through six decades as an attraction in Crystal Palace park
Written by Steve Martyniuk this book is Hard covered, A4 size and 400 pages.
We only have a limited number of copies of this book in stock.
The Origin of Crystal Palace FC Vol.2 Book £50.00
19/20 Home Shirt £49.99
19/20 Home Shirt Pro Fit £51.99
19/20 Home Shirt Ladies £49.99
19/20 Home Shirt Youth £39.99
19/20 Home Baby Kit £39.99
19/20 Home Shorts £24.99
19/20 Home Shorts Youth £19.99
19/20 Home Socks £13.99
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NWN! RELEASES
RARE AND OOP
Zines and Books
Imperator "The Time Before Time" MC
NWN
The Time Before Time by Imperator
ANTI-GOTH 435
The story of Imperator is one that should not be entirely surprising, considering the band’s emergence in the Eastern Bloc country of Poland during the waning years of the Cold War and amid its oppressive effects in the region. The gifting of a primitive acoustic guitar to founding member Bariel by way of his mother in the summer of 1983 set into motion a series of events that would lead to the band’s formation in September of that year. Fifteen years old at the time, Bariel befriended a classmate that month at his new high school, invited his collaboration, and chose the name Imperator (Polish for “emperor”) for his “Speed Black Metal” band as a fitting reference to the brutality of the Russian czars and emperors, whose tyranny had in part led to Poland’s then-current state of affairs. A series of lineup changes occurred in the band’s formative years, during which they recorded their first demo, “Endless Sacrifice” (1987), whose distribution gained Imperator some degree of international recognition. A second live demo, entitled “Deathlive,” and the band’s third demo, “Eternal Might,” were released over the next two years as well. During this time, Bariel had developed a friendship with both Dead and Euronymous from Mayhem (Norway), which serves as a testament to the admiration the band had begun to garner in Europe despite its relative obscurity. In fact, Bariel was invited to play in another of Dead’s bands, The Moon, and Euronymous offered to release Imperator’s first full-length recording on his infamous Deathlike Silence label. However, undisclosed circumstances led to the unfulfillment of this plan, and the lone Imperator album, “The Time Before Time,” was instead released in 1991 by a Polish label named Faceless Productions, which in its existence released only one other demo cassette from another band. Due to the obscurity of the label, a complete lack of promotion, and the fact that it was only released on vinyl during the heyday of CDs, “The Time Before Time” was not given its full due. Since then, it has been released on CD and cassette a few times on different labels, the most notable of which was the Pagan Records CD from 1997. Nuclear War Now! Productions is proud to once again offer this gem of early Polish death black metal with, in addition to CD and cassette versions, the first-ever vinyl reissue on LP with a bonus 7” containing two bonus tracks recorded on Easter of 1993, following the band’s reunification after a hiatus of several months. “The Time Before Time” is perfectly characterized as an archetype of the sound that tended to emanate from the Eastern European extreme metal scene of the time. It features varying tempos that change abruptly, uniquely unorthodox riff progressions, a healthy dose of tremolo-bar-infused guitar leads, and Bariel’s gruffly barked vocals. This NWN! reissue also includes extensive liner notes written by Bariel himself and a layout that features the original artwork of P. Szymaniak, whose designs also adorned the work of Pandemonium, a contemporaneous compatriot of Imperator’s in Poland. In this most recent of Nuclear War Now’s ongoing efforts to reissue all-but-forgotten metal obscurities from this time and region, it is hoped that “The Time Before Time” will receive the recognition it deserved upon its original release.
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Grizelda "A War Drenched In Fantasy" Demo
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Naglfar "Principium" LP
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Copyright © 2019 NWN! PRODUCTIONS
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Surge in electro-mechanical hardware makes ongoing FM training more important than ever
Allegion UK Commercial Leader Pete Hancox suggests that facilities management training needs to keep pace with rapidly developing building technologies for building and occupant wellbeing.
In the UK, the staff who manage our facilities can come from all walks of life. Ask any facilities manager about how they got into the trade, and then go and ask another, and you will more than likely get two different answers.
Why is this? Traditionally, people in the Facilities Management sector have often 'fallen into' the industry, explained the FMJ (Facilities Management Journal) in their 'From the tools: The Making of the Manager?' feature (March 2017). Our facilities managers could have worked their way up from frontline positions such as cleaning, catering, engineering or security. Increasingly, we can also see academic graduates choosing facilities management roles, too.
To become a facilities manager, the UK's National Careers Service website simply states that "there are no set requirements, but you'll usually need a qualification in facilities management." Once you become a facilities manager, bodies like the British Institute of Facilities Management and Royal Institute of British Architects can provide training and CPD courses, but it is all optional to development - there is no legal requirement to train.
This is in stark contrast to other professions where wellbeing is concerned. Take gas engineers, for instance. Gas engineers in the UK, according to a leading jobs website, reed.co.uk, must have relevant qualifications, usually an NVQ Level 3 in Gas Installation, and also be Gas Safe registered. Apprenticeship is a common route for attaining a gas engineer position, too.
Of course, diversity in our industry is welcome, and diversity is known to bring outside-of-the-box solutions. However when we start comparing the two professions, we can start to see how gas engineers will be 'singing from the same hymn sheet,' whereas our facilities managers could be working from all manner of different pages.
For the future of facilities management, this very diversity could potentially be harming our buildings, and our occupants' wellbeing, as opposed to aiding them. We could be creating an environment where knowledge levels, procedures, best practices and the way building hardware solutions are selected is all different and varied.
While it could be years before we reach a standardised route similar to that of gas engineers, we should at least be encouraging our facilities managers to complete ongoing training, particularly to keep pace with daily developments.
The Electro-Mechanical Game Changer
We are now coming to a stage in the door hardware industry where development is rapidly overtaking existing knowledge. Electro-mechanical 'smart' hardware means the ability to unlock doors from phones, control access to secure areas and remotely lockdown, these are all functions that would be greatly beneficial in any facility manager's life.
Fully integrated building solutions and biometrics are also becoming more readily available and affordable, so that we can give our facilities managers greater control over their buildings, as well as scalability for the future.
Choosing the right solution is a lot more difficult though, one which requires a comprehensive analysis of the building, the users, the ongoing maintenance and the ability to upscale or upgrade in future.
Ongoing training is crucial in this respect. Without a proper understanding of the technology, it can be quite easy to make a decision that is not beneficial to the long term sustainability of the building. For the facilities management team, it can eventually lead back to compromising health and safety.
A case in point happened as recently as 2016, when a fire door in a hospital that was fitted with a self-closing device shut on an elderly patient, causing injury. Unfortunately, this injury contributed to that patient's death. Intended to be an aid for the door, it has instead caused accident and a tragedy.
After the case, the Department of Health suggested that risk assessments should be carried out on all fire door closing devices to assess appropriate closing times, taking into account the occupancy of the building. For facilities managers who are 'self-taught' and have little knowledge in these electro-magnetic devices and risk assessments, we can immediately see how ongoing training in this area will benefit them.
The impact on health and safety compliance
Without question, the role of the facilities manager is to guarantee the health and safety of occupants, and there are strict guidelines and classifications to door hardware that must be met.
However, the varying level and difference in understanding of door hardware leads to different ideas between the supply chain. Architects strive for the aesthetic; facilities managers must comply with health and safety regulations but also meet budgets; installers and contractors look for products that are retrofit, or quick and easy to install, and choice of hardware becomes based on those factors.
As a result, while compliance standards can be met, these competing forces mean the solution or hardware that is chosen may not be best for the users.
Fire doors are another area that require debate and thought. Heavy in nature, but a necessity to fire safety, they can become dangerous when the hardware used with them does not facilitate easy passage or use. Primary school children may not have the strength to push open doors, while in care homes, mobility and escape in a fire situation becomes an issue.
The easy, perhaps even cost-effective, option would be to select a manual fire door closer, compliant to the weight of the fire door. However, we would advise in these situations to help those building occupants by choosing an electromagnetic door closer instead that is linked to the fire alarm system. In this way, you can legally hold open fire doors, aid daily passage and use, reduce wear and tear and still stay within compliance.
Another case where an electromechanical device could potentially have prevented injury occurred in 2015, where a mother claims her five-year-old daughter lost part of her finger in a fire door at school after being left unsupervised.
Margaret Chan's daughter got her finger caught in the heavy fire door at Cuddington Croft Primary School in Cheam, Surrey. The incident is claimed to have occurred after the child was left unattended after being "sent back into the school building toilet alone unsupervised via a classroom where there are two fire doors", said Margaret. The school could not tell the mother what had happened, as the incident was 'unwitnessed' (Daily Mail, 2015).
Short-term costs, long-term gains
As with all training, there is an associated cost. It can be hard to see past this cost if benefits are viewed as minimal or not even applicable to current situations. In facilities management, it is even harder to see why we need training in disciplines such as biometrics or computer-aided systems, when traditionally these applications have only been used in select, sensitive buildings.
However, we as manufacturers are constantly exploring technology that can enhance door hardware capabilities and the customer experience, simply because it is our duty to continue innovating for the better. Technologically enhanced door hardware will soon be more accepted as the norm as we become accustomed to the benefits it offers, as well as if costs on such hardware continues to fall.
Therefore, if we do not encourage our facilities managers to train, in the end we are ultimately costing more to our buildings, and to the welfare of our occupants, than the initial outlay of training may be suggesting.
www.allegion.com.
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« No Good Deed Should Go Unpunished: Functus Officio and Merion Constr. Mgt., LLC v. Kemron Environmental Serv., Inc.—Part I
Re Colorado Energy Management, LLC v. Lea Power Partners, LLC: Another Appellate Division holds Construction Arbitration Award should be Vacated, but this time for Good Reason »
The Tenth Tells us Time (Usually) Waits for No One: United Food & Commercial Workers Int’l Union v. King Soopers, Inc.
May 7th, 2014 Appellate Practice, Arbitrability, Arbitration Practice and Procedure, Authority of Arbitrators, Awards, Grounds for Vacatur, Judicial Review of Arbitration Awards, Labor Arbitration, Practice and Procedure, State Arbitration Law, State Arbitration Statutes, State Courts, Statute of Limitations, United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, United States Supreme Court Comments Off on The Tenth Tells us Time (Usually) Waits for No One: United Food & Commercial Workers Int’l Union v. King Soopers, Inc. By Philip J. Loree Jr.
Arbitration is supposed to be a speedy alternative to litigation, and that is supposed to be true as respects commercial or employment arbitration governed by the Federal Arbitration Act (the “FAA”) and labor arbitration arising under the Railway Labor Act, 45 U.S.C. §§ 151, et. seq., or Section 301 of the Taft-Hartley Act (a/k/a the Labor Management Relations Act (“LMRA”)), 29 U.S.C. § 185. Arbitration awards are generally presumed to be valid, which puts the burden on challengers to establish their invalidity, at least provided the challenging party entered into a valid and enforceable arbitration agreement with the defending party.
Adjudicating a non-frivolous award challenge usually takes time, and if the challenge turns out to be valid, an order vacating the award does not usually resolve the underlying dispute, which, absent a settlement, must be resolved through further ADR or judicial proceedings. Delay is inevitable and delay undermines arbitration’s ability to compete with litigation.
The FAA and most or all state arbitration statutes try to minimize delay by not only by restricting t he scope of judicial review of awards, but also by imposing short limitation periods for vacating awards—for example, three months under the FAA and 90 days under many state arbitration statutes. See 9 U.S.C. § 12; see, e.g., N.Y. Civ. Prac. L.& R. § 7511(a); Fla. Stat. § 682.13(2); Wash. Rev. Code § 7.04A.230(2). Some state statutes impose shorter periods. See, e.g., Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-420(b) (30 days); Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 251, § 12(b) (30 days); but see Cal. Code Civ. P. § 1288 (100 days).
By contrast, a motion or petition to confirm an award is usually subject to a longer statute of limitations. Cases governed by Chapter 1 of the FAA (e.g., domestic arbitrations between domestic parties), for example, are subject to a one-year limitation period. See 9 U.S.C. § 9.
Under the FAA, and presumably under many or most state arbitration statutes, if a party does not bring a timely petition to vacate, and the other moves to confirm after the time period for vacating an award has elapsed, then the challenging party cannot raise grounds for vacatur as defenses to confirmation, even if it does not seek an order vacating the award. See, e.g., Florasynth, Inc. v. Pickholz, 750 F.2d 171, 175-76 (2d Cir. 1984) (FAA); Kutch v. State Farm Mutual Auto. Ins. Co., 960 P.2d 93, 97-98 (Colo. 1998) (Colorado law); but see Lyden v. Bell, 232 A.D.2d 562, 563 (2d Dep’t 1996) (Where a confirmation proceeding “is commenced after the 90-day period, but within the one-year period. . . .[,] a party may, by cross motion to vacate, oppose the petition for confirmation on any of the grounds in CPLR 7511 even though his time to commence a separate proceeding to vacate or modify under CPLR 7511(a) has expired.”) (citations omitted) (New York law); 1000 Second Avenue Corp. v. Pauline Rose Trust, 171 A.D.2d 429, 430 (1st Dep’t 1991) (“an aggrieved party may wait to challenge an award until the opposing party has moved for its confirmation”) (New York law).
In United Food & Commercial Workers Int’l Union v. King Soopers, Inc., No. 12-1409, slip op. (10th Cir. Feb. 28, 2014), the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reminds us that the same rules apply to LMRA Section 301 labor-arbitration-award enforcement actions. Section 301 does not specify limitation periods for vacating arbitration awards, and as a general rule, courts “borrow” the most analogous state statute of limitations. See, e.g., Local 802, Assoc. Mus. of N.Y. v. Parker Meridien Hotel, 145 F.3d at 88-89 (2d Cir. 1998). In King Soopers the Tenth Circuit borrowed Colorado’s 90-day statute of limitations for vacating an award.[1]
King Soopers might be looked at as a refresher course in how important it is to act quickly and decisively when one finds oneself at the wrong end of an arbitration award that might not meet the modest criteria for summary confirmation or enforcement. While roughly nine years elapsed between the date the employee filed the grievance and the date the arbitrator issued the award, the Court, reversing the district court’s decision to the contrary, held (quite correctly) that King Sooper’s just-over-90-day delay in asserting grounds to vacate the award foreclosed it from opposing the union’s suit to enforce the award.
Apart from the mystery surrounding the long (but irrelevant) delay between the filing of the grievance and its adjudication—something the Tenth Circuit said was not apparent from the record—King Soopers was a straightforward case. The employee grieved a claim that King Soopers, a grocery chain, had exposed it to a hostile work environment by “fail[ing] to protect him from a disagreeable customer.” Finding King Soopers had breached a statutory duty to protect the employee from a hostile work environment, the arbitrator (the “Arbitrator”) directed King Soopers to “take all steps necessary” to protect employees from such an environment, including adopting a “zero tolerance policy for violence, with appropriate notices to employees and the general public,” and barring from the store the customer at fault “until the parties are satisfied with his behavior.” King Soopers did not comply with the award, but did not attempt to vacate it either.
Several days after Colorado’s 90-day statute of limitations for vacating an award had elapsed, the union brought an action in federal district court under Section 301 to enforce the award. King Sooper responded by raising four affirmative defenses:
The parties did not agree to arbitrate hostile-work-environment disputes in cases where the hostile environment resulted from a customer’s inappropriate conduct rather than that of the employer;
The award deprived King Sooper of its bargained-for and exclusive right under the Collective Bargaining Agreement (the “CBA”) to formulate and implement workplace policies;
The Arbitrator “imposed his own brand of industrial justice” because the CBA did not purport to regulate hostile work conditions caused by a third party’s inappropriate conduct; and
The Arbitrator was not authorized to impose a remedy after determining that the employer violated the CBA, let alone one that substituted his own judgment for that of the employer in an area that was within the exclusive prerogative of the employer.
The District Court Decision
The district court acknowledged that in Electrical Workers Local v. Babcock & Wilcox, 826 F.2d 962, 964 (10th Cir. 1987), the Tenth Circuit had ruled that, if a party does not timely assert statutory grounds for vacating an award, it cannot raise those grounds as affirmative defenses in an action to enforce the award. The district court also held the four affirmative defenses King Sooper raised were time barred because they could have been asserted in a timely petition or motion to vacate the award on the ground the Arbitrator exceeded his powers. See United Food & Commercial Workers Int’l Union v. King Soopers, Inc., No. 11-cv-02449-BNB-KMT, slip op. at 5-9 (D. Colo. Sept. 18, 2012) (the “District Court Decision”).
But the district court nevertheless concluded that the award could not be confirmed because it did not “draw its essence” from the CBA. District Court Decision, slip op. at 9-12. The district court relied principally on the U.S. Supreme Court’s recitation of the “essence of the agreement” standard in Enterprise Wheel and Misco. See Steelworkers v. Enterprise Wheel & Car Corp., 363 U.S. 593, 597 (1960) (An “award is legitimate only so long as it draws its essence from the collective bargaining agreement. When the arbitrator’s words manifest an infidelity to this obligation, courts have no choice but to refuse enforcement of the award.”); United Paperworkers v. Misco, Inc., 484 U.S. 29, 38 (1987) (“[A]s long as the arbitrator is even arguably construing or applying the contract and acting within the scope of his authority, that a court is convinced he committed serious error does not suffice to overturn his decision.”); District Court Decision, slip op. at 9-12.
The district court thus viewed passing the “essence of the agreement” test to be a precondition to the enforcement of a labor arbitration award. It thought the award failed the test for two reasons.
First, the district court held that the award contravened the CBA’s “zipper clause,” which stipulated that arbitration awards “shall not change, alter or modify any of the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement.” According to the district court, one of those terms and conditions was the arbitration agreement itself, which stated that “[s]hould any dispute or complaint arise over the interpretation or application of this Agreement, there shall be an earnest effort on the part of the parties to settle such promptly through the following steps[,]” the last of which was arbitration. Finding that “the arbitrator is limited to arbitrating disputes that arise over the interpretation or application of the CBA,” the district court concluded that nothing in the CBA even “remotely relate[d] to the imposition of a duty on King Soopers to provide a work environment free from customer hostility.” District Court Decision, slip op. at 11. According to the district court, the “arbitrator referenced only federal and state laws, internet articles, prior arbitration decisions and other materials unrelated to the CBA” to support his decision. Id.
Second, the district court held that the Arbitrator’s imposition of the “zero tolerance” remedy was contrary to Article 5, Section 14 of the CBA, which stated: “[t]he Employer retains the right to manage the store or stores, to direct the working forces, and to make necessary reasonable rules and regulations for the conduct of business, providing that said rules and regulations are not in conflict with the terms of this Agreement in any way. . . .”
We think the district court’s first ground for concluding the award failed to draw its essence from the agreement was highly questionable given the Arbitrator’s professed reliance on federal and state statutes regulating the work environment, and the absence of any indication that the Arbitrator’s decision was not at least a barely colorable interpretation of those statutes. While the subject matter addressed by the statutes may not have been addressed in the CBA, the arbitrator might well have concluded that those statutes are, as a matter of law, part of the parties’ agreement. That is, after all, a basic contract law principle, and, in any event, if the “law of the shop” is deemed to be part of a CBA, then surely it would be reasonable for an arbitrator to conclude that applicable state and federal employment laws are likewise part of a CBA.
Perhaps there was more to the district court’s conclusion about the remedy imposed, but even that aspect of the district court’s conclusion was doubtful. The CBA provision concerning workplace policies contemplated King Soopers making “necessary reasonable rules and regulations” concerning the workplace. The Arbitrator might have concluded that the employer had failed to make “necessary” workplace rules that would have spared the employee from whatever indignity he or she suffered at the hands of the errant customer. If so, and assuming no express provision in the CBA clearly prohibiting the remedy imposed, the remedy likely drew its essence from the CBA.
The Tenth Circuit Decision
The Tenth Circuit did not address the merits of either ground for vacatur, nor was there was any reason for it to do so. It held that the district court erred in effectively concluding that passing the “essence of the agreement” test was a precondition to award enforcement. While the Court did not suggest that the snippet from Enterprise Wheel quoted above was not susceptible to the being interpreted as imposing a precondition to award enforcement, the Court correctly noted that “there was no issue in Enterprise [Wheel] about the timeliness of the challenge to the enforcement of the arbitrator’s award, and the Supreme Court saw no need to address the matter.” The Court also said that “[t]here is nothing peculiar about ruling that a potentially meritorious argument is barred by delay in raising it[,]” and, “[a]s the Supreme Court has pointed out, ‘It goes without saying that statutes of limitations often make it impossible to enforce what were otherwise perfectly valid claims. But that is their very purpose . . . .’” Slip op. at 8 (quoting United States v. Kubrick, 444 U.S. 111, 125 (1979)).
The statute of limitations, concluded the Court, is an important consideration as respects arbitration-award enforcement in general, given that arbitration is designed to resolve disputes quickly, and thus disfavors delayed challenges to awards. And, explained the Court, it is all the more important in labor arbitration “where labor peace is threatened by the prolongation of disputes.” Slip op. at 8.
King Soopers also attempted to convince the Court that there were policy reasons for allowing parties to assert vacatur grounds as affirmative defenses to an enforcement action brought after expiration of the vacatur statute of limitations. King Soopers argued that “requiring it always to move to vacate an improper award would be a waste of resources because the Union may not bother to try to enforce the award.” The Court rejected that argument not only because it was contrary to Babcock & Wilcox, but because “King Soopers provide[d] no evidence that unions regularly, or even occasionally, do not pursue their arbitration victories.” “If,” said the Court, “a union does not often bring actions to enforce awards that is likely because employers generally comply.” Allowing them not to comply by asserting time-barred vacatur-based affirmative defenses would not save any resources and would encourage delays in the award enforcement process. See Slip op. at 13.
The rule applied by the Tenth Circuit is neither new nor controversial in either FAA- or Section 301-governed arbitration, and as we said, state courts construing their own arbitration statutes frequently apply the same rule, including the Colorado state courts. See Kutch, 960 P.2d at 97-98. And in Section 301 cases where the borrowed state limitations period is not applied by state courts to defenses to motions to confirm brought after expiration of the vacatur statute of limitations, federal courts are not required to borrow anything other than the length of the limitations period, and can be expected not to “borrow” that state-law-based interpretation of the statute. See Parker-Meridien, 145 F.3d at 88-89 (borrowing New York’s 90-day statute of limitation period but not New York’s judicial “gloss on the limitations statute that is inimical to the important federal interests of promoting resolution of labor conflicts quickly and effectively through arbitration.”).
Nevertheless, cases where parties attempt to raise time-barred vacatur grounds as affirmative defenses to post-expiration suits to confirm or enforce awards are still more common than one would expect, despite the presence of controlling authority deeming such affirmative defenses to be time-barred. One can only speculate whether that is because the rule prohibiting the assertion of such time-barred affirmative defenses may be counterintuitive (an affirmative defense is different, for example, from an affirmative claim for relief), because the limitation periods are very short or because of something else or a combination of some or all of the above considerations.
King Sooper raises one more point worthy of brief mention. Quoting from a footnote in Brotherhood of Teamsters Local No. 70 v. Celotex Corp., 708 F.2d 488, 491 & n.4 (9th Cir. 1983), King Sooper argued that the Ninth Circuit had “reject[ed] the argument that ‘a court faced with a petition to confirm [an arbitration award] has no choice but to confirm the award entirely if the party opposing the confirmation had failed to previously move to vacate the award within the applicable statutory period.’” Slip op. at 10. The Tenth Circuit correctly noted that King Sooper “misread” Celotex because the Ninth Circuit did not “reject” the argument; it declined to address it other than to say that the cases the Celotex award-challenging party cited did not support the argument. See Slip op. at 10; Celotex, 708 F.2d at 491 & n.4.
But the Tenth Circuit also explained that “the Ninth Circuit’s reluctance to endorse the view that courts must always confirm an award that was not timely challenged is not necessarily inconsistent with our holding.” Slip op. at 10-11. (emphasis in original). That “reluctance,” said the Court, “could stem from concern about awards challenged on grounds that could not have been raised in a timely motion to vacate, awards whose substance is contrary to public policy (such as an award requiring racial discrimination), or awards imposed on persons not parties to the arbitration agreement.” Slip op. at 10-11 (emphasis in original).
[1] The statute was subsequently amended to provide 91 days to vacate an award, that is, 13 weeks. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-22-223(2). The result in King Soopers would have been the same under the 91-day statute of limitations.
Tags: 90-Day Statute of Limitations, collective bargaining agreement, Colorado Arbitration Statute, Colorado Supreme Court, Commercial Arbitration, CPLR Article 75, Defenses to Confirmation, Defenses to Enforcement, Essence of the Agreement, FAA Section 10, FAA Section 12, Federal Arbitration Act, Florasynth v. Pickholz, Grounds for Vacatur, Labor Arbitration, Labor Management Relations Act, LMRA Section 301, Ninety-Day Statute of Limitations, Paperworkers v. Misco, Taft-Hartley Act, Three-Month Statute of Limitations, Uniform Arbitration Act, United Food & Commercial Workers Int’l Union v. King Soopers Inc., United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, United Steelworkers v. Enterprise Wheel & Car Co, Zipper Clause
This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 7th, 2014 at 2:57 pm and is filed under Appellate Practice, Arbitrability, Arbitration Practice and Procedure, Authority of Arbitrators, Awards, Grounds for Vacatur, Judicial Review of Arbitration Awards, Labor Arbitration, Practice and Procedure, State Arbitration Law, State Arbitration Statutes, State Courts, Statute of Limitations, United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, United States Supreme Court. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
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Potdar RD, Sahariah SA, Gandhi M, Kehoe SH, Brown N, Sane H, Dayama M, Jha S, Lawande A, Coakley PJ et al. Improving women's diet quality preconceptionally and during gestation: effects on birth weight and prevalence of low birth weight—a randomized controlled efficacy trial in India (Mumbai Maternal Nutrition Project). Am J Clin Nutr 2014;100(5):1257–68.
At Women's Fitness Company, we strive everyday to support and empower women to change their lives through fitness and education. We do this by focusing on relationships with you, our member and by providing the highest quality of service and the most knowledgeable staff in the valley. You do not have to feel alone in reaching your fitness goals because everything we do starts and ends with you!
Women need more of this mineral because they lose an average of 15 to 20 milligrams of iron each month during menstruation. Without enough iron, iron deficiency anemia can develop and cause symptoms that include fatigue and headaches. After menopause, body iron generally increases. Therefore, iron deficiency in women older than 50 years of age may indicate blood loss from another source and should be checked by a physician.
Trans fatty acids, also known as trans fats, are solid fats produced artificially by heating liquid vegetable oils in the presence of metal catalysts and hydrogen. They also pose a health risk, increasing LDL or "bad" cholesterol and increasing your risk of coronary heart disease. They are often found in cookies, crackers, icing and stick margarine, and in small amounts in meats and dairy products. Beginning in January 2006, all food manufacturers had to list the amount of trans fatty acids in foods, resulting in a significant reduction in the amount of these fats used in prepared foods. In its guidelines, the American Heart Association notes that trans fats increase risk of heart disease by raising "bad" LDL cholesterol and should be avoided as much as possible. In addition, research has shown that trans fats can also decrease "good" HDL cholesterol, increase inflammation, disrupt normal endothelial cell function and possibly interfere with the metabolism of other important fats—even more evidence that they are very bad for overall health.
Consider including peppermint in your pre-workout snack or drink. In a small study published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, men drank 2 cups water with 0.05 milliliters (basically, a drop) peppermint oil mixed in and then ran on a treadmill to test their stamina and power. The mint appeared to help relax muscles, boost oxygen to muscles and the brain, and elevate pain threshold, leading to improved overall performance.
While the rates of the leading causes of death, cardiovascular disease, cancer and lung disease, are similar in women and men, women have different experiences. Lung cancer has overtaken all other types of cancer as the leading cause of cancer death in women, followed by breast cancer, colorectal, ovarian, uterine and cervical cancers. While smoking is the major cause of lung cancer, amongst nonsmoking women the risk of developing cancer is three times greater than amongst nonsmoking men. Despite this, breast cancer remains the commonest cancer in women in developed countries, and is one of the more important chronic diseases of women, while cervical cancer remains one of the commonest cancers in developing countries, associated with human papilloma virus (HPV), an important sexually transmitted disease. HPV vaccine together with screening offers the promise of controlling these diseases. Other important health issues for women include cardiovascular disease, depression, dementia, osteoporosis and anemia. A major impediment to advancing women's health has been their underrepresentation in research studies, an inequity being addressed in the United States and other western nations by the establishment of centers of excellence in women's health research and large scale clinical trials such as the Women's Health Initiative.
Having the proper footwear is essential for any workout, and for winter runs, that means sneaks with EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate), says Polly de Mille, an exercise physiologist who oversees New York Road Runner's Learning Series for first-time New York City Marathon runners. “Polyurethane tends to get really stiff and cold in the winter, which could increase your risk of injury.” Another important feature is a waterproof and windproof upper: Look for shoes made with Gortex, or wrap your mesh uppers in duct tape to keep feet dry and warm.
Internationally, many United Nations agencies such as the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)[171] and UNICEF[172] maintain specific programs on women's health, or maternal, sexual and reproductive health.[1][173] In addition the United Nations global goals address many issues related to women's health, both directly and indirectly. These include the 2000 Millennium Development Goals (MDG)[142][43] and their successor, the Sustainable Development Goals adopted in September 2015,[47] following the report on progress towards the MDGs (The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015).[174][37] For instance the eight MDG goals, eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality and empowering women, reducing child mortality rates, improving maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS malaria and other diseases, ensuring environmental sustainability, and developing a global partnership for development, all impact on women's health,[43][11] as do all seventeen SDG goals,[47] in addition to the specific SDG5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.[109][175]
Women have also been the subject of abuse in health care research, such as the situation revealed in the Cartwright Inquiry in New Zealand (1988), in which research by two feminist journalists[165] revealed that women with cervical abnormalities were not receiving treatment, as part of an experiment. The women were not told of the abnormalities and several later died.[166]
Nutritionists recommend choosing a rainbow of fruits and vegetables because each one provides a unique blend of nutrients. Within the color spectrum, yellow or orange veggies are great sources of vitamin A for skin and eye health and better immunity against infection. At the top of the list are carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, and the many types of squash. While it takes just one whole carrot or six baby carrots to make one serving (one-half cup), you’ll need only half a starchy sweet potato.
After 40, your hormone levels (estrogen) drop. This causes your insulin (hormone that helps your body use sugar) rise. Your thyroid levels go down. This combination makes you hungrier. You end up eating more and burning fewer calories. Much of the weight gain occurs around your belly. Eat more foods with fiber (berries, whole grains, nuts) to fill you up and help you eat less. Aim for 25 grams of fiber each day after the age of 40. Other ways to increase your metabolism include:
I subscribed to this in MY early 20's way back in the magazines infancy. Back when the cover photo's were black and white and most of the cover "models" were female athletes. It's changed since then, catering a little more to the "Cosmo" crowd. Which is fine, just not for me. It just doesn't feel like it applies as much to someone in their thirties married with kids as someone in their twenties who apparently has the money and lack of self-control to spend $90 on a designer t-shirt (really).
Important sexual health issues for women include Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and female genital cutting (FGC). STIs are a global health priority because they have serious consequences for women and infants. Mother-to-child transmission of STIs can lead to stillbirths, neonatal death, low-birth-weight and prematurity, sepsis, pneumonia, neonatal conjunctivitis, and congenital deformities. Syphilis in pregnancy results in over 300,000 fetal and neonatal deaths per year, and 215,000 infants with an increased risk of death from prematurity, low-birth-weight or congenital disease.[74]
Obviously, the best treatment plan for poor nutrition is to change your diet. Most Americans eat too little of what they need and too much of that they don't. For many women, decreasing fat and sugar consumption and increasing fruit, vegetables and grains in your diet can make a big difference. Many women also need to boost consumption of foods containing fiber, calcium and folic acid. Compare your diet to that suggested by the food pyramid and compare your nutrient intake to the suggested daily levels. Adjust accordingly, and you may be able to dramatically improve your health.
Poor nutrition can manifest itself in many ways. The more obvious symptoms of a nutritional deficiency include dull, dry or shedding hair; red, dry, pale or dull eyes; spoon-shaped, brittle or ridged nails; bleeding gums; swollen, red, cracked lips; flaky skin that doesn't heal quickly; swelling in your legs and feet; wasted, weak muscles; memory loss; and fatigue.
Wood, Susan F.; Dor, Avi; Gee, Rebekah E.; Harms, Alison; Mauery, D. Richard; Rosenbaum, Sara J.; Tan, Ellen (15 June 2009). Women's health and health care reform: the economic burden of disease in women'. D. Richard. Washington DC: George Washington University, School of Public Health and Health Services, Jacobs Institute of Women's Health. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
WHO (1948). "WHO definition of Health". Archived from the original (Preamble to the Constitution of the World Health Organization as adopted by the International Health Conference, New York, 19–22 June 1946; signed on 22 July 1946 by the representatives of 61 States (Official Records of the World Health Organization, no. 2, p. 100) and entered into force on 7 April 1948.) on 7 July 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2016., in WHO (2016)
If you usually head to the gym after work, take heed: Mental exhaustion can make you feel physically exhausted, even when you have plenty of energy, reports a Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise study. When people played a brain-draining computer game before exercising, they reported a subsequent workout as being harder, yet their muscles showed the same activity as they did doing the same workout after an easy mental game. So if you think you can’t eke out those last 10 minutes on the rowing machine, remember: You can! [Tweet this motivation!]
The average woman should get 10 to 35 percent of her daily calories from protein. Protein helps prevent muscle tissue from breaking down and repairs body tissues. Sources of animal proteins include meat, fish, poultry, eggs, milk and cheese. Vegetable proteins include dried beans and peas, peanut butter, nuts, bread and cereal. (A three-ounce serving of cooked chicken contains about 21 grams of protein.)
Sleeping seven to nine hours a night for five days straight may stave off bags under your eyes as well as saddlebags on your thighs. When women get enough sleep, they don’t take in extra, unnecessary calories to stay awake, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Read: Adequate beauty rest can help you pass up pick-me-up snacks and head off added pounds.
A workout partner not only keeps you accountable, she also may help you clock more time at the gym and torch more fat. A British survey of 1,000 women found that those who exercise with others tend to train six minutes longer and burn an extra 41 calories per session compared to solo fitness fanatics. [Tweet this fact!] Women with Bikram buddies and CrossFit comrades said they push themselves harder and are more motivated than when they hit the gym alone.
Use MyPlate (PDF – 281 KB) as a guide to build a healthy diet. Think about filling your plate with foods from the five food groups — fruits, vegetables, grains, proteins, and dairy — at each meal. Snacks can be a good way to fill in fruits and whole grains you might have missed at meals. Most of us don’t need complicated calorie counting programs or special recipes for healthy eating.
There are a number of cultural factors that reinforce this practice. These include the child's financial future, her dowry, social ties and social status, prevention of premarital sex, extramarital pregnancy and STIs. The arguments against it include interruption of education and loss of employment prospects, and hence economic status, as well as loss of normal childhood and its emotional maturation and social isolation. Child marriage places the girl in a relationship where she is in a major imbalance of power and perpetuates the gender inequality that contributed to the practice in the first place.[93][94] Also in the case of minors, there are the issues of human rights, non-consensual sexual activity and forced marriage and a 2016 joint report of the WHO and Inter-Parliamentary Union places the two concepts together as Child, Early and Forced Marriage (CEFM), as did the 2014 Girl Summit (see below).[95] In addition the likely pregnancies at a young age are associated with higher medical risks for both mother and child, multiple pregnancies and less access to care[96][11][93] with pregnancy being amongst the leading causes of death amongst girls aged 15–19. Girls married under age are also more likely to be the victims of domestic violence.[92]
“Berries, and a lot of fruits, are an excellent source of antioxidants and water-soluble vitamins,” says Julia Hincman, MS, RD, LDN, a registered dietitian with Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. “They are important for the prevention of cancer and to maintain your weight.” They may also lower your risk of coronary heart disease. One of the many studies done on the benefits of berries looked at blueberries, a known powerhouse. Researchers found that all their benefits remained even after cooking. The serving size is one-half cup of fresh berries (or one-quarter cup if they are dried).
Community centers ↑ MN provision, ↑ health care utilization, ↑ knowledge about FP, ↑/NC use of FP ↑ MN provision, ↑ health care utilization, ↑ knowledge about FP, ↑/NC use of FP ↑ knowledge about nutritional needs, ↑ MN provision, ↓/NC maternal mortality, ↓ parasitemia, ↑ health care utilization, ↑ hospital deliveries, ↑ knowledge about FP, ↑/NC use of FP, ↑ STI testing
Research is a priority in terms of improving women's health. Research needs include diseases unique to women, more serious in women and those that differ in risk factors between women and men. The balance of gender in research studies needs to be balanced appropriately to allow analysis that will detect interactions between gender and other factors.[6] Gronowski and Schindler suggest that scientific journals make documentation of gender a requirement when reporting the results of animal studies, and that funding agencies require justification from investigators for any gender inequity in their grant proposals, giving preference to those that are inclusive. They also suggest it is the role of health organisations to encourage women to enroll in clinical research. However, there has been progress in terms of large scale studies such as the WHI, and in 2006 the Society for Women's Health Research founded the Organization for the Study of Sex Differences (OSSD) and the journal Biology of Sex Differences to further the study of sex differences.[6]
The increasing focus on Women's Rights in the United States during the 1980s focused attention on the fact that many drugs being prescribed for women had never actually been tested in women of child-bearing potential, and that there was a relative paucity of basic research into women's health. In response to this the National Institutes of Health (NIH) created the Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH)[154] in 1990 to address these inequities. In 1993 the National Institutes of Health Revitalisation Act officially reversed US policy by requiring NIH funded phase III clinical trials to include women.[119] This resulted in an increase in women recruited into research studies. The next phase was the specific funding of large scale epidemiology studies and clinical trials focussing on women's health such as the Women's Health Initiative (1991), the largest disease prevention study conducted in the US. Its role was to study the major causes of death, disability and frailty in older women.[155] Despite this apparent progress, women remain underepresented. In 2006 women accounted for less than 25% of clinical trials published in 2004,[156] A follow up study by the same authors five years later found little evidence of improvement.[157] Another study found between 10–47% of women in heart disease clinical trials, despite the prevalence of heart disease in women.[158] Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death amongst women, but while the number of women enrolled in lung cancer studies is increasing, they are still far less likely to be enrolled than men.[119]
“The reason most people don't see changes isn't because they don't work hard—it's because they don't make their workouts harder,” says Adam Bornstein, founder of Born Fitness. His suggestion: Create a challenge every time you exercise. “Use a little more weight, rest five to 10 seconds less between sets, add a few more reps, or do another set. Incorporating these small variations into your routine is a recipe for change,” he says.
“It was a privilege to have taken the course with you. Already, I have used the cueing methods on 2 clients. I have also taken the initiative to ask one of my post-natal client today about her birthing journey and she was so open and excited to share with me. It struck me that usually nobody asks them about it as more attention is focused on the baby.”
Nutrition-sensitive approaches are difficult to link to women's nutritional status (5, 102). This is due to limited measurement of benefits to program beneficiaries, families, households, and communities, limited timeframes to evaluate long-term impact, logistical and political realities that make implementation difficult, and different priorities of different stakeholders in multisectoral programs (102). Many nutrition-sensitive approaches, as will be described, thus focus on more distal measures of impact (e.g., coverage, knowledge) and not more proximal measures of women's nutritional status (e.g., BMI, anemia status, etc.).
Iron helps to create the hemoglobin that carries oxygen in your blood. It’s also important to maintaining healthy skin, hair, and nails. Due to the amount of blood lost during menstruation, women of childbearing age need more than twice the amount of iron that men do—even more during pregnancy and breastfeeding. However, many of us aren’t getting nearly enough iron in our diets, making iron deficiency anemia the most common deficiency in women.
Most vegetarians eat milk products and eggs, and as a group, these lacto-ovo-vegetarians enjoy good health. A healthful vegetarian diet falls within the food pyramid guidelines offered by the USDA. However, meat, fish and poultry are major sources of iron, zinc and B vitamins, so pay special attention to these nutrients. Vegans (those who eat only plant-based food) should consult a health care professional about adding vitamin and mineral supplements; make sure you consume sufficient quantities of protein, vitamin B12, vitamin D and calcium.
There has been an international effort to reduce this practice, and in many countries eighteen is the legal age of marriage. Organizations with campaigns to end child marriage include the United Nations[97] and its agencies, such as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights,[98] UNFPA,[99] UNICEF[91][93] and WHO.[95] Like many global issues affecting women's health, poverty and gender inequality are root causes, and any campaign to change cultural attitudes has to address these.[100] Child marriage is the subject of international conventions and agreements such as The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW, 1979) (article 16)[101] and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights[102] and in 2014 a summit conference (Girl Summit) co-hosted by UNICEF and the UK was held in London (see illustration) to address this issue together with FGM/C.[103][104] Later that same year the General Assembly of the United Nations passed a resolution, which inter alia[105]
Women with ovaries but no uterus may be able to use a gestational carrier. This may also be an option for women who shouldn't become pregnant because of a serious health problem. In this case, a woman uses her own egg. It is fertilized by the man's sperm and the embryo is placed inside the carrier's uterus. The carrier will not be related to the baby and gives him or her to the parents at birth.
Vinyasa and power may not be the only forms of yoga that will get you closer to that long, lean, limber look. Research presented at the 73rd Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association found that restorative yoga—which focuses more on relaxing and stress-reducing movements rather than a challenging flow or balancing poses—burns more subcutaneous fat (the kind directly under your skin) than stretching does. By the end of the yearlong study, yogis who practiced at least once a month lost an average of about three pounds, nearly double the amount lost by those who only stretched. So if you don’t feel up for a more athletic yoga class, ease your way into a practice with a gentle one.
You should eat a healthful, well-balanced diet during pregnancy. However, you should avoid certain foods, including raw or undercooked fish, poultry and meat; raw or partially cooked eggs or foods containing raw eggs; unpasteurized juices; raw sprouts; unpasteurized milk products; and some soft cheeses (cream cheese is OK). Avoid deli meats and frankfurters unless they have been reheated to steaming hot before eating. To prevent food-borne illnesses, take the following precautions:
You don't want to be judged, gawked at, or hassled when working out at a fitness center. Everyone has different goals when they begin their fitness journey. What brings us together as a family is our common bond — we ALL want great results! Helping you look and feel great is our passion. If you think Bella Women's Fitness is just like any other fitness center, you'll need to stop in for a reality check! We would be glad to show you how the Bella Fitness experience can change your life.
A BMI of 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight and one 30 or above is considered obese. For an idea of what this means, a 5-foot 5-inch woman who weighs 150 pounds is overweight with a BMI of 25. At 180 pounds, she would be considered obese, with a BMI of 30. Keep in mind that the tables aren't always accurate, especially if you have a high muscle mass; are pregnant, nursing, frail or elderly; or if you are a teenager (i.e., still growing).
Our review highlighted how a focus on delivery platforms could indicate who is missed by different nutrition interventions, by evaluating where there is overlap or divergence in where interventions are delivered (as represented in the Venn diagram in Figure 1). Our findings showed that a large proportion of nutrition-specific interventions were delivered at clinic-based settings or community-based health posts. Health centers are important delivery platforms, particularly for pregnant and lactating women (113, 210). However, only half of women worldwide even attend the appropriate number of antenatal care visits (with nearly 86% of women attending 1 visit) and only 59% receive appropriate postnatal care (211). Other delivery platforms, such as schools and universities, were more effective at reaching some adolescents and women of reproductive age. However, interventions delivered at “facilities” (schools, health clinics, health posts) require participation with those facilities, and participation is often limited because of time, costs, distance, and other responsibilities, including work and childcare (116). Facilities-based care is also more likely to miss certain groups, including older women.
Educational interventions most often targeted school-age children and adolescent girls, and there were few examples of programs targeting women of reproductive age (174). The majority of education interventions were delivered in formal school-based settings (174). However, this is a “selective” delivery platform given that not all adolescents attend schools (193). School fees and distance to school are major barriers to school enrollment (174, 194). Educational interventions need to be sensitive to the reasons why girls are not in school, e.g., work, and to the hours and locations that might make education interventions more accessible (193). Nonformal education, alternative education, mobile schools, and literacy programs can target women and girls not in school, although these approaches were less common and not as well evaluated (174). Interventions that target girls who are no longer in school provide valuable examples about how such interventions could be delivered to hard-to-reach groups (182).
Notice that alcohol isn't included in a food group. If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation, up to one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men. Alcohol offers little nutritional value, and when used in excess, can cause short-term health damage, such as distorted vision, judgment, hearing and coordination; emotional changes; bad breath; and hangovers. Long-term effects may include liver and stomach damage, vitamin deficiencies, impotence, heart and central nervous system damage and memory loss. Abuse can lead to alcohol poisoning, coma and death. Pregnant women should not drink at all because alcohol can harm the developing fetus and infant. According to the March of Dimes, more than 40,000 babies are born each year with alcohol-related damage. Even light and moderate drinking during pregnancy can hurt your baby. If you are breastfeeding, discuss drinking alcohol with your health care professional. After clearing it with your doctor, you may be able to have an occasional celebratory single, small alcoholic drink, but you should abstain from breastfeeding for two hours after that drink.
Female genital mutilation (also referred to as female genital cutting) is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as "all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons". It has sometimes been referred to as female circumcision, although this term is misleading because it implies it is analogous to the circumcision of the foreskin from the male penis.[76] Consequently, the term mutilation was adopted to emphasise the gravity of the act and its place as a violation of human rights. Subsequently, the term cutting was advanced to avoid offending cultural sensibility that would interfere with dialogue for change. To recognise these points of view some agencies use the composite female genital mutilation/cutting (FMG/C).[76]
Long-term goals are imperative, but they can make you feel overwhelmed or discouraged at times. Instead of thinking about how many dress sizes smaller you want to be in four months, focus on small everyday victories, suggests Michael Snader, BodyAware specialist and nutritionist at The BodyHoliday, a health and wellness resort in St. Lucia. “For example, today you are going to eat breakfast, fit in a workout, and drink more water,” he says. Stay focused on the present, and your future will be successful.
In 2013 about 289,000 women (800 per day) in the world died due to pregnancy-related causes, with large differences between developed and developing countries.[11][37] Maternal mortality in western nations had been steadily falling, and forms the subject of annual reports and reviews.[38] Yet, between 1987 and 2011, maternal mortality in the United States rose from 7.2 to 17.8 deaths per 100,000 live births, this is reflected in the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR).[38] By contrast rates as high as 1,000 per birth are reported in the rest of the world,[11] with the highest rates in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, which account for 86% of such deaths.[39][37] These deaths are rarely investigated, yet the World Health Organization considers that 99% of these deaths, the majority of which occur within 24 hours of childbirth, are preventable if the appropriate infrastructure, training, and facilities were in place.[40][37] In these resource-poor countries, maternal health is further eroded by poverty and adverse economic factors which impact the roads, health care facilities, equipment and supplies in addition to limited skilled personnel. Other problems include cultural attitudes towards sexuality, contraception, child marriage, home birth and the ability to recognise medical emergencies. The direct causes of these maternal deaths are hemorrhage, eclampsia, obstructed labor, sepsis and unskilled abortion. In addition malaria and AIDS complicate pregnancy. In the period 2003–2009 hemorrhage was the leading cause of death, accounting for 27% of deaths in developing countries and 16% in developed countries.[41][42]
Abortion is the intentional termination of pregnancy, as compared to spontaneous termination (miscarriage). Abortion is closely allied to contraception in terms of women's control and regulation of their reproduction, and is often subject to similar cultural, religious, legislative and economic constraints. Where access to contraception is limited, women turn to abortion. Consequently, abortion rates may be used to estimate unmet needs for contraception.[71] However the available procedures have carried great risk for women throughout most of history, and still do in the developing world, or where legal restrictions force women to seek clandestine facilities.[72][71] Access to safe legal abortion places undue burdens on lower socioeconomic groups and in jurisdictions that create significant barriers. These issues have frequently been the subject of political and feminist campaigns where differing viewpoints pit health against moral values.
What is a healthy weight? The answer is different for everyone. But it’s important to know what a healthy weight is for you. Check out our top questions and answers on weight, weight gain, and weight loss. And talk to your doctor or nurse about your weight goals. Women often gain and lose weight differently, so the steps you need to take to lose weight may be different from the steps someone else needs to take.
Although women in industrialised countries have narrowed the gender gap in life expectancy and now live longer than men, in many areas of health they experience earlier and more severe disease with poorer outcomes. Gender remains an important social determinant of health, since women's health is influenced not just by their biology but also by conditions such as poverty, employment, and family responsibilities. Women have long been disadvantaged in many respects such as social and economic power which restricts their access to the necessities of life including health care, and the greater the level of disadvantage, such as in developing countries, the greater adverse impact on health.
“Whole grains help with digestion and are excellent for your heart, regularity [because of the fiber content], and maintaining a steady level of blood sugar,” says Hincman. “They are also a great source of energy to power you throughout the day.” Whole grains, such as oats, also help improve cholesterol levels. While food manufacturers are adding fiber to all sorts of products, whole grains, like whole wheat, rye, and bran, need to be the first ingredient on the food label of packaged foods, she stresses. Watch your serving sizes, however. Current guidelines are for six one-ounce equivalent servings per day (five if you’re over 50). One ounce of whole-wheat pasta (weighed before cooking) is only one-half cup cooked.
Women and men differ in their chromosomal makeup, protein gene products, genomic imprinting, gene expression, signaling pathways, and hormonal environment. All of these necessitate caution in extrapolating information derived from biomarkers from one sex to the other.[6] Women are particularly vulnerable at the two extremes of life. Young women and adolescents are at risk from STIs, pregnancy and unsafe abortion, while older women often have few resources and are disadvantaged with respect to men, and also are at risk of dementia and abuse, and generally poor health.[17]
Adult women, and particularly women with children, were the primary targets for empowerment interventions. Empowerment interventions were predominantly delivered through community-based programs, including home visits, community groups, and community centers (5, 161, 163). There was some evidence that empowerment interventions that included delivery platforms such as radio and television, as a complement to the community- and home-based delivery platforms (5), could have some impact on reaching a wider audience. Adolescent girls were largely not the target of empowerment interventions, except for those relating to reproductive health (158), and could potentially benefit from them.
“Nuts are a great source of protein and monounsaturated fatty acids,” says Hincman, as well as much needed vitamin E. Examples of great choices include walnuts, almonds, and hazelnuts. Nuts are also very calorie-dense, however, so you need only a palmful for good nutrition and to feel satisfied — just one-half ounce of nuts is considered equivalent to one ounce of a typical protein choices, like chicken or beef. Hincman suggests extending the volume in a serving of nuts by adding in raisins or dried cranberries.
In addition, more research is needed to evaluate the impact of targeting women alone compared with targeting women alongside other members of their families and communities (e.g., with groups of other women, men, husbands, children, parents, in-laws, other family members, other community members, etc.). Interventions that targeted women with their children during child health visits or alongside other members of their communities through community mobilization and mass media campaigns showed improvements in knowledge and some health and nutrition behaviors of women. The inclusion of boys and men, for instance, as well as the inclusion of other family and community members, could enhance the impact and delivery of nutrition interventions for women through support of certain practices, reminders, time-savings, and normalization of nutrition behaviors. However, more research is needed to identify effective targeting mechanisms (i.e., alone or alongside other members of households and communities) and we expect that these will likely need to be context- and content-specific.
Breast cancer is the second most common cancer in the world and the most common among women. It is also among the ten most common chronic diseases of women, and a substantial contributor to loss of quality of life (Gronowski and Schindler, Table IV).[6] Globally, it accounts for 25% of all cancers. In 2016, breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed among women in both developed and developing countries, accounting for nearly 30% of all cases, and worldwide accounts for one and a half million cases and over half a million deaths, being the fifth most common cause of cancer death overall and the second in developed regions. Geographic variation in incidence is the opposite of that of cervical cancer, being highest in Northern America and lowest in Eastern and Middle Africa, but mortality rates are relatively constant, resulting in a wide variance in case mortality, ranging from 25% in developed regions to 37% in developing regions, and with 62% of deaths occurring in developing countries.[17][122]
However, many fortification programs in low- and middle-income countries are regional or voluntary and, thus, might have a limited nutritional impact at the national level (76). Although many efficacy trials show benefits of fortification interventions, scaling up fortification is limited by inadequate coverage and resources (13, 77, 78). Evidence for impact is also affected by suboptimal programming, low-bioavailability fortificants (e.g., reduced iron powder), poor consumption rates, weak enforcement mechanisms, and inadequate monitoring (76, 79, 80). More research is needed to evaluate the long-term impact of fortification and biofortification programs (75). In addition, there is also growing concern about fortifying and promoting food vehicles that have adverse health consequences when consumed in excess, such as salt and sugar, given the rising prevalence of overweight, obesity, and noncommunicable disease (81–83).
Community health posts and home visits provided a platform to make health care services more accessible (109, 110, 124). Community-based platforms for the delivery of health services included community center and home visits from community health workers, mobile clinics, community support groups, mobile phones, and mass media campaigns (105, 110). Community-based services were effective in reducing maternal mortality and managing HIV (106). However, 1 review found that community-based interventions were only effective in reducing maternal morbidity and not mortality (107, 110). In high-income settings, community-based services were associated with hypertension and diabetes management, and cervical and breast cancer screening (106). We found no references for the use of community-based integrated care to address women's nutrition in low- and middle-income settings. It could be an effective way to reach older women and women of reproductive age who do not regularly engage with health centers. For children, community-based services were effective in improving health outcomes, particularly among the poorest wealth quintiles (13, 110). More research is needed on the potential of community-based services to reduce inequities in delivery of care to women in different settings and across different socioeconomic statuses.
I realize that none of the above foods have 100% DV of calcium, and while we all should be getting a variety of these foods through the week to help increase the amount of calcium from whole foods, you can also boost it with a supplement- especially if you fall into any of the above categories. I’ve really been liking the New Chapter’s Every Woman’s One Daily Multivitamin which has calcium and is rich in vitamin D3. Read more on that in the next question!
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declared last week National Women’s Health Week (May 14-20th), but in reality we should be taking care of ourselves and have this awareness all year round, right? To kick this month off inspired by women’s health, let’s talk about health, nutrition, and of course answer your questions from Instagram, Twitter, and email from over this year!
Recent research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that ART babies are two to four times more likely to have certain kinds of birth defects. These may include heart and digestive system problems, and cleft (divided into two pieces) lips or palate. Researchers don't know why this happens. The birth defects may not be due to the technology. Other factors, like the age of the parents, may be involved. More research is needed. The risk is relatively low, but parents should consider this when making the decision to use ART.
A 45-year-old woman who gets less than 30 minutes of daily physical activity in addition to her normal routine should consume six ounce of grains; two and a half cups of vegetables; one and a half cups of fruit; three cups of milk; five ounces of meat and/or beans; five teaspoons of oil; and just 195 calories of additional fat and sugar. With a higher level of daily activity (30 to 60 minutes), this woman would be able to consume a little more in certain food groups: her fruit intake could rise to two cups; meat and beans to five and a half ounces; oils to six teaspoons; and extra fat and sugar to 265 calories.
Iodine is needed for normal mental development of the baby, but it can be difficult to get enough from food. Ways of increasing iodine intake include using iodised salt, eating fish and seafood weekly (see your health professional for advice about safe types and amounts of fish), or using a multivitamin supplement that contains iodine and is safe for pregnancy.
Much of the sugar we eat is added to other foods, such as regular soft drinks, fruit drinks, puddings, ice cream and baked goods, to name just a few. Soft drinks and other sugary beverages are the No. 1 offenders in American diets. A 12-ounce can of regular soda contains 8 teaspoons of sugar, exceeding the daily maximum amount recommended for women.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) food pyramid system (www.mypyramid.gov) provides a good start by recommending that the bulk of your diet come from the grain group—this includes bread, cereal, rice and pasta— the vegetable group; and the fruit group. Select smaller amounts of foods from the milk group and the meat and beans group. Eat few—if any—foods that are high in fat and sugars and low in nutrients. The amount of food you should consume depends on your sex, age and level of activity.
Integrated health care Health clinics ↑ knowledge about FP, NC use of FP ↑ knowledge about diabetes, ↓ incidence of diabetes, ↑ glycemic control, ↑ hypertension screening and Tx, ↓ hypertension, NC mortality (from coronary artery disease), ↓ depression, ↑/NC health care utilization, ↑ knowledge about FP, ↑/NC use of FP, ↑/NC STI screening, NC STI incidence, ↑ cervical cancer screening, ↑ mammography ↓/NC anemia, ↑ Hgb, ↑ glycemic control, ↑ hypertension screening and Tx, ↓ hypertension, ↓ pre-eclampsia, ↓ maternal mortality, ↓/NC placental malaria, ↓ parasitemia, ↓/NC depression, NC health care utilization, ↑/NC hospital deliveries, NC cesarean delivery, ↑/↓ knowledge about FP, ↑/NC use of FP, ↑ STI screening, ↓ STI incidence, ↑ cervical cancer screening, ↑ mammography ↑ knowledge about diabetes, ↓ diabetes, ↑ glycemic control, ↑ hypertension screening and Tx, ↓ hypertension, NC mortality (from coronary artery disease), ↑ health care utilization, ↓ depression, ↑ mammography, ↑ cervical cancer screening
A related issue is the inclusion of pregnant women in clinical studies. Since other illnesses can exist concurrently with pregnancy, information is needed on the response to and efficacy of interventions during pregnancy, but ethical issues relative to the fetus, make this more complex. This gender bias is partly offset by the iniation of large scale epidemiology studies of women, such as the Nurses' Health Study (1976),[162] Women's Health Initiative[163] and Black Women's Health Study.[164][6]
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Tag Archives: Lowery organ
The Sound of The Band
Three weeks after promising you shorter posts, here’s a 1600 word monster. I apologise. This only happened because I’m so familiar with these guys, the research and fact-checking time I needed was minimal.
The Band’s debut album, Music from Big Pink, is not one of the hi-fi masterworks of studio recording. It’s churchy, it’s raw, it’s spontaneous sounding, it’s messy in places. Voices overlap. Players play on top of each other. The sounds are sometimes not quite right for the arrangements, echoes are too prominent, vocals not quite sunk in enough. Nevertheless, it’s a fine-sounding record, made in top-flight studios in New York and LA, with such professionals as John Simon (much more of him to come) and Shelly Yakus (who engineered Moondance by Van Morrison, and is a bit of a genius).
If the members of The Band wanted to recreate the lo-fi, rough-hewn recordings they’d made in 1967 with Bob Dylan, in the basement of the Big Pink house in the Catskills, they didn’t quite manage it. Listen to the rich echo on Richard Manuel’s voice on Lonesome Suzie, the cutting snare drum sound on Chest Fever, the booming tom-tom rolls Levon Helm plays on Tears of Rage – these are all good sounds, great sounds even, but they don’t exactly speak of a band in small room, lots of wood, lots of eye contact, ambient temperatures through the roof. They’re not the true sound of Big Pink.
So for their second album, which would be titled The Band, the group changed its method. Capitol found them a house to rent in the Hollywood Hills, belonging to Sammy Davis Jr. It had a poolhouse that could be soundproofed and made into an ad hoc two-room studio (the second room was the bathroom-echo chamber; there was no separate control room). The pictures of The Band set up in Sammy Davis’s poolhouse, with a pair of feet up on the console, are now among the most iconic in rock ‘n’roll.
l-r Hudson (head bowed over organ), Robertson (gtr), Danko (bass), Helm (drums), Manuel (piano)
This, says John Simon, was exactly how the group set up and recorded, with the addition of more microphones and baffles (barriers set up to absorb and diffuse sound), which were removed to allow Elliott Landy to take his photographs of the session. The difference it made is perhaps subtle, and I’m not sure I was aware of it when I bought Capitol’s Greatest Hits compilation in 2001, but it’s crucial in creating the singular mood and sound world of that second album. Everything is just a bit more together, a bit woodier, a bit muddier, a bit more down-home and funky. The piano is an upright rather than a grand. The bass (recorded direct) has that big Danko bottom end that is present on the Basement Tapes and the pre-Big Pink demos the group cut (Yazoo Street Scandal, for example). The toms don’t have that cavernous low end they do on Big Pink, the guitar sound is smaller and part of the overall mix rather than shined up and haloed with echo as it was on the debut. The mixes are also more consistent from song to song. The drums and bass are always centred, and I think the lead vocal is, too. It’s a spacious sound, but a realistic one. In production terms, this is about as close to portrait painting as a rock ‘n’ roll record gets. Needless to say, it sounds glorious, Helm’s drum sound in particular. Listen to The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down and remember, too, that Helm’s vocal was cut live with the instruments, to ensure that the stop going into the chorus was nice and tight. John Simon’s microphone placement controlled the leakage of vocals into drums, and vice versa, and made it constructive and phase coherent, while Helm’s control of his drumming and singing was truly magnificent.
John Simon has stated that it was always made clear to him by The Band, or at least by Robertson, that his job as producer was to teach them (or at least Robertson) everything he knew, so that they could eventually dispense with his services. Groups often feel as they become more comfortable in studios that they don’t need a producer any more. There’s a lot to be said for and against the record producer (in the old sense of the term – George Martin did not perform the same role as a beatmaking producer does in today’s world), but what is true is that when The Band cut John Simon loose, they lost a key component in their sound. Not only did Simon produce, mix and engineer those first two albums, he also contributed piano, saxophone, tuba and baritone horn. The mournful horn-section sound that is such a key part of the record’s old timeyness came from Hudson on soprano sax and Simon on baritone horn. When Simon left, The Band’s horn arrangements were never again so idiosyncratic and moving.
His replacement for Stage Fright (1970) was Todd Rundgren.
Yeah, this guy.
Not that Todd is not talented. He’s a vastly talented singer, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist. But manager Albert Grossman’s wheeze to have his new boy wonder work with his old favourites The Band was misguided in the extreme. Helm, in particular, was frequently enraged by Rundgren’s bratty arrogance.
When first contemplating how to record their third album, The Band intended to record it in front of an invited audience at a Woodstock theatre called The Playhouse. Unfortunately, the town council weren’t keen on the idea of hordes of rock fans descending on their little community, and as they had with the festival nine months earlier (which was eventually staged at Max Yasgur’s farm at Bethel), they put the kibosh on it. Instead The Band decided to use The Playhouse as a studio and record in private, setting up on the stage and turning the prop cupboard into a control room.
For a combination of reasons – the lack of John Simon, the drying up of Richard Manuel as a songwriter and the corresponding over-reliance on just Robertson for songs, the shape Manuel (booze), Helm (downers) and Danko (everything) were in, Robertson’s reverence for an imagined historic rural idyll turning into a fetish – Stage Fright was a big downward step in quality. Sound quality also suffered. The band had Glyn Johns and Rundgren mix the songs separately and chose three of Johns’s mixes and seven of Rundgren’s. But while fine, the record’s sounds are just sounds; there’s nothing alchemical there. Garth Hudson’s on top form on Stage Fright and Sleeping, and Helm’s drums are dazzling on the latter, but without the songs to inspire their best playing, the group treads water for much of the album.
Things reach a nadir with Cahoots. It was recorded at Bearsville Sound, the studio Grossman set up in the town of the same name, a couple miles west of Woodstock. Recorded by Mark Harman (a Bearsville regular who also made records with Poco, as well as honest workaday folkies like Artie and Happy Traum, and John Hartford), the sounds are again competent, but they have less than ever to do with the mood and feel of the music, and the finished mix is somewhat brittle and hard, a problem that the early-noughties remaster didn’t do much to rectify.
The group’s work between 1972 and 1975 comprised various stopgaps – live albums and a covers album of 1950s rock ‘n’ roll of the sort they’d played with Ronnie Hawkins at the beginning of their career. There’s good music on all of these records (Share Your Love With Me, sung by Manuel, on Moondog Matinee is one of the group’s finest recordings, even if Hudson’s increasingly customised organ sounds are a little gloopy, and the drums are smaller and starting to lose their focus in the mix.
Northern Lights-Southern Cross is a strange finale to the group’s career (out of respect for their magisterial best work, I’ll gloss over Islands. It’s a disaster that shouldn’t have been released). At this point, the group were working in their own Shangri-La studio in California, with a couple of in-house guys engineering with Robertson. The drums, in mid-seventies fashion, are a little too quiet for my taste (they don’t seem to support the vocals in the way they do on The Band) and the horn sound is now a mix of Hudson’s real saxophone and synthesisers, which do sound a little chintzy and cheap on Ring Your Bell and Jupiter Hollow. Nonetheless, Robertson was temporarily reinvigorated as a songwriter and Acadian Driftwood, It Makes No Difference, Ophelia, Forbidden Fruit and Hobo Jungle were as good as anything he’d ever written. The sentimentality still ran out of control at times, but with a good story to tell (and Acadian Driftwood was both a good and necessary story), Robertson was in top form again. Acadian Driftwood also sees the return of a Band signature: the trading of vocals during verses, with three-part harmony choruses. It’s a glorious sound, much missed on Cahoots and Stage Fright.
I doubt there are many people reading this who don’t know The Band’s oeuvre well, but if you don’t, start with the first two records. They are singular acheivements, two of the most influential records ever made. That’s not hyperbole. These are the records that convinced Eric Clapton to break up Cream, that George Harrison was seeking to emultate on All Things Must Pass, that Fairport Convention were aping from a British perspective on Liege & Lief, and that rootsy musicians are still listening to in awe today.
This entry was posted in Music and tagged 1960s, 1970s, Acadian Driftwood, acoustic guitar, Albert Grossman, Allen Toussaint, ambience, arrangement, Audio Engineer, audio engineering, bass guitar, bass players, bassists, Bearsville Sound Studio, Bob Dylan, Cahoots, Chest Fever, compression, country, country music, country-rock, drum sounds, drummers, drummers who can drum/singers who can sing, Drums, electric guitars, Elliott Landy, engineering, Forbidden Fruit, Garth Hudson, George Martin, Glyn Johns, guitars, Happie and Artie Traum, hi-fi, Hobo Jungle, home recording, It Makes No Difference, John Hartford, John Simon, Jupiter Hollow, Levon Helm, Lonesome Suzie, Lowery organ, Mark Harman, Moondance, Moondog Matinee, Music From Big Pink, Northern Lights-Southern Cross, Ophelia, organ, piano, Poco, record production, recording, recording drums, records that sound great!, Richard Manuel, Rick Danko, Ring Your Bell, Robbie Robertson, Rock of Ages, Ronnie Hawkins, Sammy Davis Jr, Shangri-La, Share Your Love With Me, Shelly Yakus, Sleeping, Stage Fright, Tears of Rage, The Band, The Band (album), The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, The Playhouse, The Shape I'm In, The sound of, The Weight, Todd Rundgren, Tony May, Unfaithful Servant, Van Morrison on August 23, 2015 by rossjpalmer.
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Tag Archives: Paul Harris
Stormbringer – John & Beverley Martin
A repost of a piece I wrote three years ago, about a record I think is very special indeed. I listened to it today on my way home from work with my hood pulled up and the rain beating down on me, and it really did take me somewhere else.
In July 1969, John Martyn was a folkie who’d put out two records on Island – London Conversations and The Tumbler – neither of which were anything remarkable in an era where Fairport Convention and Bert Jansch had already done much of their best work, redefining the forms that British folk music was capable of taking in the process (some of The Tumbler is actively embarrassing compared to, say, Fairport’s Genesis Hall).
Beverley Martyn (nee Kutner), meanwhile, had fronted a jug band called the Levee Breakers, and put out a single written by Randy Newman (and featuring John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page, Nicky Hopkins and Andy White), with a Cat Stevens B-side. She’d played at Monterey Pop and been invited to the Bookends sessions by Paul Simon, where she contributed the immortal (spoken) words “Good morning, Mr Leitch, have you had a busy day?” to Fakin’ It. She was, in short, more of a “name” than her new husband and probably expected no more than yeoman musical support from John when they began work on what would become Stormbringer! in Woodstock in the summer of 1969 with engineer John Wood, drummers Levon Helm, Herbie Lovelle and Billy Mundi, bass player Harvey Brooks and pianist Paul Harris.
Somehow or other – and opinions and recollections vary – the project morphed into a duo record, with John’s songs as well as Beverley’s being recorded. In no time, by sheer force of personality and pushiness, John’s voice became the dominant one; he wrote and sang six of the album’s ten tracks, and the album, when it came out, was credited to John and Beverley Martyn.
It’s hard not to feel sympathy with Beverley for having been elbowed aside by her husband in this way, and the record’s producer, Joe Boyd, probably viewed the path that the record took with some regret, too; he seems not massively enamoured with John Martyn as a person, and not terribly impressed with him as a musician – “When John started living with Beverley Kutner, I was stuck with him”, he recalled in his 2006 memoir, White Bicycles. But by any reasonable assessment, John was much the greater talent (at least at that time – we can’t know what Beverley might have been capable of later in her career had she continued with it into the seventies), and Stormbringer! is a far greater record than a Beverley Martyn solo album with a bit of John’s guitar would have been.
When I first heard this album, I was hugely excited to hear the coming-together of two of my very favourite players: Levon Helm, drummer/singer with the Band, and John Martyn himself, whose guitar playing I can honestly call life-changing. Yet Levon, magisterial as he is on John the Baptist, does not play on the album’s most indelible track, on which John’s guitar takes a backseat to the piano of Paul Harris, the sessions’ musical director.
Stormbringer, the title track, features New York jazz player Herbie Lovelle on drums (who also played on another favourite of mine: Dylan’s version of Corrina Corrina from The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan), and Lovelle could easily double for Helm here: same swinging semi-quaver bass drum, same easy but authoritative tom fills, same woody depth of sound.
But Harris’s piano owns the song. His 16-bar solo, sounding like a more pastoral Richard Wright, may be the most beautiful passage on any John Martyn record; playing this graceful and empathetic is rare in any form of music. John Martyn would build a remarkable understanding with double bassist Danny Thompson over the course of half a dozen albums and many live gigs – and anyone who’s heard Fine Lines or Head and Heart knows what Thompson and Martyn could do together – but listening to Stormbringer, you can’t help but think wistfully of what Martyn and Harris might have done in a longer partnership, with perhaps Brooks and Lovelle as their permanent rhythm section. Any songwriter would kill to have a musician with them who so understands their songs that they can play with that kind of empathy.
This entry was posted in Music and tagged Bert Jansch, Beverley Kutner, Beverley Martyn, Billy Mundi, Bookends, British folk-rock, Cat Stevens, Corrina Corrina, Danny Thompson, Fairport Convention, Fakin' It, Fine Lines, folk, folk music, folk revival, folk rock gets funky, folk--jazz, folk-rock, Genesis Hall, Harvey Brooks, Head and Heart, Herbie Lovelle, Joe Boyd, John & Beverley Martyn, John Martyn, John Wood, Levon Helm, London Conversations, Music, Paul Harris, Paul Simon, record production, records that sound great!, Richard Wright, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, The Tumbler, White Bicycles, Woodstock on October 17, 2016 by rossjpalmer.
Stormbringer – John and Beverley Martyn
Every year I find the same thing: as the mornings get darker, the days get shorter and the nights colder, only one kind of music really seems to satisfy me. Jazzy folk rock. I want to hear double basses, fingerpicked guitars and woody low-tuned drums. The perfect autumn music. Here’s the first in a series of posts I’m going to do over the next week or so on some favourite records and artists: expect Van Morrison, Nick Drake, Pentangle, Fotheringay and the like. No apologies for returning again to the music of John Martyn…
Beverley Martyn (nee Kutner), meanwhile, had fronted a jug band called the Levee Breakers, put out a single written by Randy Newman (and featuring John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page, Nicky Hopkins and Andy White), with a Cat Stevens B-side. She’d played at Monterey Pop and been invited to the Bookends sessions by Paul Simon, where she contributed the immortal (spoken) words ‘Good morning, Mr Leitch, have you had a busy day?’ to Fakin’ It. She was, in short, probably a bigger ‘name’ than her new husband and probably expected no more than yeoman musical support from John when they began work on what would become Stormbringer! in Woodstock in the summer of 1969 with engineer John Wood, drummers Levon Helm, Herbie Lovelle and Billy Mundi, bass player Harvey Brooks and pianist Paul Harris.
Somehow or other – and opinions and recollections vary – the project morphed into a duo record, with John’s songs as well as Beverley’s being recorded. In no time, by sheer force of personality and pushiness, John’s voice became the dominant one; he wrote and sang six of the album’s ten tracks, and the album, when it came out, was credited to ‘John and Beverley Martyn’.
It’s hard not to feel sympathy with Beverley for having been elbowed aside by her husband in this way, and the record’s producer, Joe Boyd, probably viewed the path that the record took with some regret, too; he seems not massively enamoured with John Martyn as a person, and not terribly impressed with him as a musician – ‘When John started living with Beverley Kutner, I was stuck with him’ (White Bicycles, 2006). But by any reasonable assessment, John was much the greater talent (at least at that time – we can’t know what Beverley might have been capable of later in her career had she continued with it into the seventies), and Stormbringer! is a far greater record than a Beverley Martyn solo album with a bit of John’s guitar would have been.
When I first heard this album, I was hugely excited to hear the coming-together of two of my very favourite players: Levon Helm, drummer/singer with the Band, and John Martyn himself, whose guitar playing I can honestly call life-changing. Yet Levon, magisterial as he is on John the Baptist, does not play on the album’s most indelible track, on which John’s guitar takes a backseat to the piano of Paul Harris, who was the sessions’ musical director.
This entry was posted in Music and tagged Bert Jansch, Beverley Kutner, Beverley Martyn, Bob Dylan, Corrina Corrina, Danny Thompson, Electric Flag, Fairport Convention, Fine Lines, Genesis, Harvey Brooks, Head and Heart, Herbie Lovelle, Joe Boyd, John and Beverley Martyn, John Martyn, John Simon, John Wood, Levon Helm, Paul Harris, Road to Ruin, Stormbringer, The Band, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Woodstock on October 6, 2013 by rossjpalmer.
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Revised Statutes
Chronological List of Statutes
Alphabetical List of Statutes
Constitution of Sri Lanka
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Print Edition Order
Bulletin-2012
SAUMYAMOOTHI THONDAMAN MEMORIAL
FOUNDATION ACT
Arrangement of Sections
1. Short title.
Establishment of the Saumyamoorthi Thondaman Memorial Foundation
2. Establishment of the Saumyamoorthi Thondaman Memorial Foundation.
3. Board of Management of the Foundation.
4. The Seal of the Foundation.
5. The objects of the Foundation.
6. Powers and functions of the Foundation.
7. Service to the Foundation deemed to be service to the Government for the purpose of certain contracts.
8. Staff of the Foundation.
9. State property immovable made available to the Foundation.
10. Fund of the Foundation.
11. Accounts and audit.
12. Exemption of Foundation from taxes.
13. Directions.
14. Board's report to be placed before Parliament.
15. Foundation deemed to be a Scheduled Institution within the meaning of the Bribery Act.
16. Members of the Board and officers and servants of the Foundation deemed to be public servants.
17. Protection of action taken under this Act.
18. Rules.
19. Sinhala text to prevail in case of inconsistency.
20. Interpretation.
19 of 2005.
AN ACT to provide for the establishment of a foundation called the Saumyamoorthi Thondaman Memorial Foundation; to specify its objects and powers; and to provide for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
[Date of Commencement: 15th June, 2005]
1. Short title.
This Act may be cited as the Saumyamoorthi Thondaman Memorial Foundation Act.
2. Establishment of the Saumyamoorthi Thondaman Memorial Foundation.
(1) There shall be established a Foundation, in order to perpetuate the memory of the late Mr Saumyamoorthi Thondaman to be called "The Saumyamoorthi Thondaman Memorial Foundation”, (hereinafter referred to as "the Foundation”).
(2) The Foundation shall by the name assigned to it by subsection (1), be a body corporate and shall have perpetual succession and a common seal and may sue and be sued in such name.
3. Board of Management of the Foundation.
(1) The Foundation shall be administered by a Board of Management, (hereinafter referred to as the "Board”) consisting of—
(a) the Minister in charge of the subject of Plantation Infrastructure;
(b) the Leader of the Opposition;
(c) Mr Arumugam Thondaman during his life time, and thereafter the eldest surviving descendent of the late Mr Saumyamoorthi Thondaman:
Provided however that if Mr Arumugam Thondaman becomes for any period an ex-officio member of the Board, the eldest surviving descendent of the late Mr Saumyamoorthi Thondaman shall during such period serve as a member of the Board:
Provided further that in the event of the eldest surviving descendent being unwilling or unable to serve as a member of the Board the next eldest surviving descendent shall serve as a member of the Board;
(d) the Secretary to the Ministry of the Minister incharge of the subject of Finance or his representative;
(e) the Secretary to the Ministry of the Minister Incharge of the subject of Plantation Infrastructure or his representative;
(f) the General Secretary of the Ceylon Workers Congress or his representative;
(g) two persons appointed by Mr Arumugam Thondaman during his lifetime and thereafter by the Board, from among persons of recognised competence or eminence, dedicated and committed to upgrading the living conditions, cultural and social development of the community.
(a) a member appointed under paragraph (g) of subsection (1) may resign from office by a letter in that behalf addressed to the Board.
(b) a member appointed under paragraph (g) of subsection (1) may, for reasons assigned, be removed from office at any time by the Board.
(c) subject to the provisions of paragraphs (a) and (b) the term of office of a member appointed under paragraph (g) of subsection (1) shall be three years from the date of his appointment.
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Other Class Reunions
Saint Columbkille
Welcomes You Home
Welcome Home to Saint Columbkille
For more than 115 years, Saint Columbkille Partnership School has served as a community anchor for the residents of Allston & Brighton and has provided its children an education that combines academic excellence with the tenets of the Roman Catholic faith.
The Alumni Board welcomes you home and encourages you to reconnect with your school. Over the years, a unique cast of characters has populated the hallways and classrooms of this institution. Both together and alone, they triumphed in the classroom, on the stage and on the field. Upon graduation from Saint Columbkille, they have gone on to a variety of careers in law, medicine, aeronautics, business and education. For more than a century, our teachers have worked tirelessly to enrich and shape our students on their journey to adulthood.
These pages are both dedicated to a celebration of the past and recognition of our role as stewards of the future of this institution. We urge you to look through these pages and find ways to reconnect with Saint Columbkille. We strongly encourage you to check out the many exciting things happening at the school on our website. And, please follow us at Alumni Association Facebook and STCPS Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.
Saint Columbkille founded in Brighton
Kate Ward, Director of Institutional Advancement
Email: kward@stcps.org
Phone: 617-254-3110 ext. 147
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Bronwen Jones-New Zealand
A journalist of many years, Bronwen now writes fiction and memoir.
During her time in residence at Stiwdio Maelor, she is working on final edits of her second novel. Set in the south of New Zealand in 1886 and 1832, this novel incorporates synergies between the colonisation of New Zealand and Wales, and the subsequent struggles to revive language, culture and identity.
Her first novel deals with redemption, women’s issues and the environment. The novel was long-listed in the UK-based Historical Novel Society’s unpublished manuscript awards 2012, and was awarded a mentorship and assessment by the New Zealand Society of Authors. A re-write is planned for next year to once again ready the manuscript for publication.
Bronwen began her writing life after completing a post-grad Diploma of Journalism at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, in 1979. She worked on The Press in Christchurch then returned to Japan, where she had lived previously, to work on English-language publications there. Fired by human rights issues, she became an investigative journalist, and her feature articles were published in Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.
Always interested in the mystical, Bronwen learned to practice Zen meditation in Japan, and completed a BA in Philosophy and Religion at the International Division of Sophia University, in Tokyo.
Now she is in Wales to explore her Welsh ancestry. She soon fell in love with the Welsh landscape, sacred places, ancient monuments, and web of myths and folktales, and is taking a course on the Mabinogi with myth specialist, folksinger and bard, Dr Gwilym Morus-Baird. She also attended a Songlines of Britain course with Eric Maddern and Hugh Lupton at Ty Newydd, the National Writers’ Centre of Wales in Llanystumdwy, as well as a week of poetry writing at Ty Newydd with award-winning Irish poets, Tony Curtis and Paula Meehan.
Bronwen has a Master of Creative Writing and an MBA, both from the University of Auckland in New Zealand.
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Next:WEAPONS: New U.S. Army Sniper Rifle
Intelligence: Horny Troops Succumb to Chinese Vamps
April 26, 2007: Japan has discovered a widespread Chinese effort to use sex to steal military technology. Attractive Chinese female intelligence agents are marrying members of the Japanese armed forces, and then using that access to obtain military secrets. The situation has been complicated by the military attempts to keep these "embarrassing incidents" secret. The government was particularly anxious to keep the Americans in the dark about all this, since the Chinese apparently got their hands on Aegis anti-aircraft system technology via their lady spies.
Actually, most of the Chinese agents don't have to marry Japanese troops. Just putting out usually does the trick. In Japan, the military doesn't get much respect, and many of the bases are in backwaters. So the troops are pretty lonely. It's not unusual for Chinese women to be in the country, as many come, legally or illegally, looking for jobs. The set-up is perfect for using the old "honey pot" (sexual entrapment) routine to extract military secrets.
The military geeks are the most sought after by the Chinese spies, as these guys have access to the most valuable military secrets. Geeks tend to be least experienced with women, and most vulnerable to a clever, and shapely, Chinese spy. Military commanders are not sure if they have got the problem under control, but now that the situation is out in the open, there will be more efforts to tighten up security. As the Japanese expected, the Americans were not amused. And the Chinese honey pot scandal was apparently one reason for refusing to sell F-22s to Japan. To make matters worse, part of the Japanese cover-up involved prosecuting the Chinese spies on immigration, not espionage, charges.
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ATTRITION: Losses In the Tribal Territories
WEAPONS: New U.S. Army Sniper Rifle
Intelligence: Current 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999
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Review: Grey Goo
Posted on January 18, 2016 by Tyler F.M. Edwards
It saddens me to no end that the RTS genre has fallen to the wayside as it has, so I try to snap up any decent-looking one I can find.
Enter sci-fi RTS Grey Goo.
I’ll say upfront that this review focuses on the single-player campaign. I’ve heard it said that the multiplayer community for Grey Goo is virtually nonexistent, and I didn’t have much interest in playing it competitively anyway.
Grey Goo centers on the conflict between three races: a ragged group of alien refugees called the Beta, a hyper-advanced far future version of humans, and the titular all-consuming nanotechnology.
Interestingly, we first experience the game through the eyes of the Beta, not the humans. The Beta have spent generations fleeing across the stars to escape something called “the Silent Ones.” When hostile probes begin appearing on their world, they fear the Silent Ones have found them again, but the new threat is discovered to be something altogether alien to the Beta — though rather familiar to players.
And through it all is the rising danger of the Grey Goo, a ravenous breed of nanotechology consuming all in its path to attain some unknown goal.
Based on the setting and the trio of races, I had expected Grey Goo to be something of a StarCraft clone, but it turns out to play more like the old Dune or Command and Conquer games. I have since learned a lot of former Westwood people worked on Grey Goo, so that explains that.
It’s not my favourite style of RTS, but with the genre flagging as it is, beggars can’t be choosers, and it’s been so long since I played a game in this style that there was something pleasantly nostalgic about it.
There’s just one resource to gather, catalyst, and the races aren’t terribly distinct. Beta and humans play pretty much the same with only subtle differences.
The Goo are a bit different. Their units are still fairly similar to those of other races in a lot of cases, but there are more deviations (the Goo, for instance, cannot field air units), and their economy is completely different. There are no structures, only protean blobs of Goo that then transform into units.
Each race can also field epic units, which are akin to Age of Mythology’s Titans. They are very difficult to create, but nearly unstoppable once produced. Although Goo were my least favourite race to play, their epic unit, the Purger, was the most fun for me. Nanotech Cthulhu.
This is a rare case where I actually liked the humans best. An interesting twist is that in Grey Goo, humanity plays the role of the super advanced aliens, with the Beta technology being far more basic and rough around the edges. At one point a human dismisses the Beta as primitives by saying, “They’re still using bullets in their guns.”
I mostly enjoyed the campaign, but it does suffer from two major flaws, which sort of feed off each other.
The first is that it’s very short. There are only five missions per race, and I was able to finish the entire campaign within ten hours.
As a result, it can also be quite rushed. There isn’t enough time to fully flesh out the characters or develop the story arcs.
The other issue is that this is one of those games that really throws you into the deep end and hopes you learn to swim. This is true of both the gameplay, as Grey Goo does offer a relatively steep learning curve, and the story, which throws you right into the middle and leaves you to try to figure out what’s going on. It took until midway through the final campaign for me to get a clear picture of Grey Goo’s backstory and what was really going on. This is undoubtedly the result of how small the campaign is.
There’s a DLC campaign, Emergence, to help flesh things out, but it’s quite brief, so while it does add some welcome insight into the events of the campaign, it doesn’t do much to help the game’s length issue. It’s also very difficult and thus somewhat frustrating.
There are a few other hiccups, as well. The mission design is old school in the extreme, with nearly every mission being some variation of “go destroy the enemy base.” The difficulty is a bit oddly tuned, too, with some missions being fairly simple, but others, especially near the end, being incredibly frustrating even on the easiest difficulty setting.
That said, once you finally figure out what’s going on, the story of Grey Goo is pretty interesting, with some good twists and excellent use of its core sci-fi concepts.
This is definitely not the same style of sci-fi StarCraft is — IE just fantasy with space ships and guns — but a game that is serious about its science fiction. Grey Goo is about as close to hard sci-fi as I’ve yet seen in a video game. Which still isn’t that close, but still.
Putting aside the issues mentioned above, the storytelling is of a high quality. Cutscenes are frequent and spectacular, and the voice acting is very strong.
Despite some stumbles, I would like to see a sequel or expansion to Grey Goo. There’s a really interesting premise here, and the world needs more quality RTS games.
Overall rating: 7.3/10
Also, because I can:
I’ve only ever seen one episode of Archer. The ants thing was the only part that made me laugh.
This entry was posted in Games, Reviews and tagged Grey Goo, review, sci-fi by Tyler F.M. Edwards. Bookmark the permalink.
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View Obituary Courier Press Obituaries
John Schuta
John Schuta Evansville, Ind. - John Schuta, 91, of Evansville, Indiana, passed away Tuesday, July 9, 2019. John was born in Thompson, Pennsylvania on September 1, 1927 to the late John Frank Sehuta and Helen Mascella Sehuta. He attended Redstone High School and Cleveland Technical College in Cleveland, Ohio. John joined the United States Army and was with the First Army, Patten's Big Red One, as a communications sergeant in World War II. He later moved to Evansville in 1951 to work as an engineer at WJPS radio. He joined WTVW-TV Channel 7 in 1956 as chief engineer and retired in December 2005. John was an active member of St. Theresa Church. He received the Pelican Award for Catholic scouting and also the St. George Award. In addition, John received the Simon Brute Award for his service to the church. John attended All Saints Parish, St. Anthony. He was an early member of Operation City Beautiful and was on the planning committee for the city's Sesquicentennial in 1969. John was preceded in death by his daughter, Catherine Marie Holmes; son, Kenneth Robert Schuta; brother, Michael; and sister, Anna; and his parents. John is survived by his wife, Elizabeth Ann Schuta (nee Forster); son, David John Schuta of Greensburg, IN; daughter, Julie Ann Kahley (Tim) of Rockford, IL; son, John Carl Schuta of Evansville, IN; daughter, Karen Elizabeth Joest (Tony) of Evansville, IN; son-in-law, Douglas Holmes of St. Augustine, FL; brother, George Sehuta of Cleveland, OH; grandchildren, Sarah Holmes Peacock (Justin) of Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, Heather Holmes Krumholtz (Jak) of St. Augustine, Florida, Erin Kahley (John Thiede) of Madison, WI, Tanya Kahley (Aaron Johnson) of Rockford, IL, Emily Joest Smith (Brad) of Indianapolis, IN, Nicholas Joest of Evansville, IN; and his eight great-grandchildren. Services will be held at 10:00 AM on Saturday, July 13, 2019 at St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery Mausoleum Chapel, with Father Jay Davidson officiating. The Retired Veteran's Memorial Club will conduct military rites. Burial will follow at the cemetery. Friends may visit from 3:00 PM until 7:00 PM on Friday, July 12, 2019 at Browning Funeral Home, 738 Diamond Ave., Evansville, IN 47711. Memorial contributions may be made to Keep Evansville Beautiful, 209 Main St., Evansville, IN 47708, and St. Vincent dePaul Food Pantry, 809 N. Lafayette Ave., Evansville, IN 47711. Condolences may be made online at www.browningfuneral.com .
Browning Funeral Home
738 Diamond Ave.
St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery Mausoleum Chapel
, , IN
738 Diamond Ave. , Evansville, IN 47711
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Helping transport become safer is the central focus of every Commission inquiry. Here you can find details of every investigation we have opened, inquiry reports, and links to recommendations made.
Home » Investigations » AO-2010-008
Aviation AO-2010-008
Cessna 152 ZK-TOD (Cessna A). Courtesy of Flight Training Manawatu.
Cessna 152 ZK-TOD and Cessna 152 ZK-JGB, mid-air collision near Feilding, Manawatu, 26 July 2010
Occurrence Date:
Report Publication Date:
Jurisdiction: NZ
On Monday 26 July 2010, two Cessna 152 aeroplanes were being used for training flights in the vicinity of Feilding Aerodrome. One was climbing away from the aerodrome circuit with a solo student pilot on board and the other was returning to the aerodrome circuit with an instructor and another student pilot on board. The 2 aeroplanes collided at an altitude of 1300 feet about 1100 feet above the ground.
The aeroplane with 2 on board lost part of one wing in the collision and became uncontrollable. It was destroyed when it crashed, killing both occupants. The engine on the other aircraft was damaged in the collision and soon stopped, but the solo pilot was able to glide the aeroplane back to Fielding Aerodrome and made a successful landing. That aeroplane was extensively damaged but the pilot was uninjured.
Both aeroplanes were flying in uncontrolled airspace under visual flight rules (VFR). They were constrained by a 1500-foot altitude limit, above which was controlled airspace for aircraft flying into and out of Ohakea and Palmerston North Aerodromes. The 1500-foot limit meant that aircraft arriving at and departing Feilding Aerodrome were generally forced closer together than would be normal at other aerodromes.
The pilots of both aircraft were making the required radio calls announcing their locations and intended flight paths, but in spite of this neither the instructor nor the students appear to have recognised early enough to prevent the collision that they were on converging paths. The surviving pilot did not see the other aeroplane before the collision. It was not possible to determine if the flying instructor and student in the other aeroplane saw his plane before the collision.
One reason for the 2 aeroplanes colliding was that the pilots of both aircraft appear to have either not heard or heard and not comprehended the importance of the radio calls of the other aircraft. Radio calls reporting an aeroplane's position and intended flight path help pilots to build full mental pictures of the situation. Knowing what aircraft were in their vicinity would have helped the pilots to locate and avoid those aircraft, a concept known as “see and avoid”. See and avoid is a fundamental requirement for flight under VFR.
The Transport Accident Investigation Commission (the Commission) made findings about the importance and known limitations of the see-and-avoid concept, the overall risk of mid-air collisions, and the use and viability of aircraft lighting and technology that could further reduce the risk of mid-air collisions involving general aviation aircraft.
The Commission made 3 recommendations: the first on the requirement for instructors to ensure first the safety of their aircraft before attending to their students; the second for pilots to improve their active listening skills, to help form accurate mental plots of the locations of other aircraft and therefore assist in seeing and avoiding those aircraft; and the third for operators and pilots to use high-intensity strobe lighting to help ensure their aircraft are as visible as possible.
The key lessons learnt from the inquiry into this occurrence were:
- the first priority for an instructor, as the pilot-in-command, is to maintain command of their aircraft and ensure its safety before attending to the training needs of the student pilot
- pilots must make clear, concise, accurate and timely radio transmissions, and they need to listen actively to the transmissions of others to help build accurate pictures of what is occurring around them
- pilots need to maintain a good lookout and ensure that their scans cater for any blind spots in the cockpit, either by moving their heads to look around any obstructions or by manoeuvring their aircraft
- pilots need to be aware of the limitations of the human eye and understand how this can affect their ability to see and avoid other aircraft.
Related Safety Recommendation(s):
Feilding aerodrome (-40.2333,175.9000) [may be approximate]
Investigation Report (PDF 1.92 MB)
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talesandlegends —
Packing up Home - The lost Chapters in the Tales Of The Jedi [entries|archive|friends|userinfo]
The lost Chapters in the Tales Of The Jedi
[ Tramp Freighter | Tales & Legends of the Jedi ]
[ Tome Of Knowledge | Holocron ]
[ Combined Knowledge | jedi archive ]
[ OCC shuttle bay | Departing in 5 mins ]
Packing up Home [Mar. 30th, 2009|10:48 am]
talesandlegends
[fbi_serenity]
[ Status | depressed ]
It didn't take very long to pack up the few things she planned on taking with her.
She was in her room, working on packing her clothing into a small suitcase.
She didn't have much, but the house was her whole world. She still didn't know if she could handle being a Master again. She hadn't used the Force for 7 years. She didn't know if she could be the same Jedi she had been close to 20 years ago. Things were different now. But she felt like she needed to give it a chance. If not for herself, for her son. It was the best reasoning she could give herself. It was easier to use her son, then to own up to it.
She was in her dresser, pulling out a few of her things out of it and putting them into a suitcase. She didn't hear anyone come into her room.
From: taljr
Tal could sense her distress through the Force and tried his best to put on a smile as he walked into the room. He leaned against the door dressed entirely in his father's old Jedi robes. "Hey mom. You ready?" He said crossing his arms.
From: fbi_serenity
She turned, the shock of seeing her son looking so much like her father brought a tear to her eye. She wiped it quickly, giving him a smile. "You look so much like your father. I wasn't expecting you to ever wear those." She said, grabbing a few things out of her dresser, putting them into the small case on the bed.
"I remembered where you put them. When I was younger I used to sneak up to the attic and put them on. They didn't fit like they do now." He watches his mom for a moment and sat down on the bed, "Mom...I miss him too. But this is something we can do in his name for the better of the Force. Don't worry, it the Force 3 times to kill dad, I imagine I inherited that trait." He said with a smile.
She sighed, "I can't believe you would sneak up there. I always meant for you to have them one day. I guess I didn't realize how soon that day would come." She sat down next to him, putting her hands on her own knees. "He would have loved this place. Loved how small it was, how perfect the rooms were. He would have worked in the garden. It's why I've got a hard time leaving here. He would have loved it, and I don' t want to let it go."
"But you aren't letting it go mom. You're just going to stay some place else for a while. You'll still have this place to call home." He put his hands on hers, "And I'll always consider this home, no matter what." He smiled again and stood, "But before we go, you have to start developing on your Force abilities again. If you're going to be teaching, you'll have to teach by example."
Tal looked to the bags on the floor, "Is this all you're bringing then? We've got the rest already set to go. Jeanne is coming with us too. I have the ship ready to go. All she needs is her pilot." He was referring to Serenity's ship that had been sitting in space dock for such a long time. Tal had taken the liberty of making sure it was up to par and ready to go. "Ready to the amazing Jedi I know you are?"
She sighed, "I know you're right. You're just like your father in that respect. He was usually right, too." She said, thinking about her ship in the dock. She hadn't done much of the things she use to do.
"Yeah. Let's go." She said, moving into the living room. She grabbed a few picture frames, putting them into her bag. She made it to the entry, turning to look back at the place that had been her home for 20 plus years.
Tal helped carry the bags and things to the ship, where Jeanne was waiting for them. She stood standing infront of the landing ramp smiling brightly, her thinks by her side. She didn't have much, just a bag, and a few other random things. She was wearing a leather jacket with black pants and a black shirt with her blaster on her hip. She had a small hat on her head that looked vaguely like an Imperial officer's hat, but without the insignia.
"We all set?" Jeanne nodded and helped with the bags. "Master Skywalker has been alerted to our coming. Apparently he is ecstatic to be having the Jedi Master who taught the great Les Crafter coming to his Academy."
"I resent that remark!" Said Les walking up behind them with Brandon, a big smile on his face. "All set then?"
Serenity followed behind, smiling at the group that was waiting by her ship. "As I'll ever be." She said, moving up the ramp of her ship. It had been years since she stepped onto the ship, and she breathed it in. Memories flooded her, overwhelming her with the past. She felt like she couldn't breathe. She wasn't ready for this. Wasn't ready for over powering sense of sadness that surrounded her.
Tal felt her sadness and set the bags down. Walking up behind her, he put his hands on her shoulders, "One step at a time mom."
Les stepped in for a moment and nodded, "I remember her well. Good ship. And you got yourself a good pilot." He said nodding to Tal. "We'll see you back at the Temple when we're done. May the Force be with you."
"May the Force be with you Les." Tal said and squeezed his mother shoulders, "Come on mom. Let's get goin. But I get the pilot's seat!" He said with a smile.
She nodded to Les, "May the Force be with you, Les." She said softly, moving up to the cockpit with her son. "You'll have to fly. I don't think I remember how." She said simply, taking the seat behind the pilot's. She would let Jeanne sit in the co-pilot seat. It had been years since she flew, and she pulled the seat belt on her lap. She just wanted it to be over, to be at a temple, to feel some kind of peace for all this.
Tal looked back at her, "Relax mom. Remember a Jedi feels no fear." He said with a wink, repeating the words she had said to him many times in his youth.
The ship shuddered as it lifted off the ground and rose into the air. He got the clearance from the tower and vector to take as they shot into the atmosphere. Tal and Jeanne piloted the ship with ease and grace as they plotted the course to Yavin 4 and the ship shot into hyperspace.
A small light began to flash slightly on the counsel and Tal checked it out, "Ah, damned coils. We should have had them replaced before we left. No problem though, I'll go give them a tune up real quick."
Tal moved off into the back of the ship, opening up a hatch and sticking himself inside. He found the coil that was shaking slightly and began to tune it with the spanner. His legs stuck out of the hatch into the air as he used the Force to grab the other tool he needed to fix the wiring problem behind the coil. He was getting good and greasy, just the way he liked it. He loved working on ships. Very easy to fix.
Serenity walked back, letting Jeanne control the ship while she went back to watch her son work. She leaned against the frame of one of the doorways, smiling at him as he worked. He looked so much like his father, working as quickly as he was. Tal was the same way, and she was pleased to see that her son was the same kind of man that his father had been.
"Need any help?"
Tal disappeared out of sight then his head popped out from the hatch, "Sure! You want to help me rewire the hydroconduit on junction C? The wires are a bit corroded. Also, the transporting unit seems to be shooting sparks for some reason. Not sure why." He disappeared inside the hatch again, inside the belly of the ship, working and torquing, trying to get the ship up to par.
She laughed, moving into the hatch with her son. She had built the hydroconduit herself, knowing exactly what it needed to be fixed. She grabbed the tools she needed, removing the corroded wires and replacing them. It took her only a few moments, putting it back where it belonged. "Got it. Did you get the transporting unit?" She asked, wiping her hands on her travel clothes.
Tal looked down at his mom's work and grinned, "Dang mom. You're holding out on me!" He moved his way into a narrow crack that he just barely fit into to get to the transporting unit. As he got close a spark jumped out and hit his hand, singing it slightly, "OUCH!" He said and smirked, "Guess I deserved that for not paying attention." Chuckling, he fastened it to where it was supposed to be and moved back to look at it. It stopped shooting sparks and he nodded in satisfaction.
"Perfect." He said to himself, "Alright next." He said to himself as if going down a list. "The hydro mixer is spitting out dirty water. I think you'll just have to replace it. But other then that, there really isn't anything too important that needs attention right away. Nothing we can't work on at the Temple that is."
Tal looked back up, "So how you holdin up mom?"
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The Reality of ibn Taymiyya
Quoting His History in Context from Reliable Sources
Tag Archives: ijaza
Not Much Attention was Given to the Works of ibn Taymiyya and ibn al-Qayyim
Not much attention was given to the works of ibn Taymiyya and ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya:
QUOTE Article –
Changing Views of ibn Taymiyya by Khaled el-Rouayheb
Bio-bibliographical sources provide yet further support for the view that Ibn Taymiyya’s influence in subsequent centuries can easily be exaggerated. The Damascene scholar Najm al-Din al-Ghazzi wrote a biographical dictionary of Sunni scholars and notables who died in the tenth century of the Hijra (1492-1588), a work that incorporates material from biographical dictionaries by the Ottoman scholar Ahmet Taskropuzade (d. 1568), the Aleppine scholar Radi al-Din Ibn al-Hanbali (d. 1563), the Egyptian scholar ‘Abd al-Wahhab al-Sha’rani (d. 1565), and the Damascene scholar Ibn Tulun (d. 1564). Al-Ghazzi’s compilation has been edited and thoroughly indexed by Jibra’il Jabbur. The index of titles mentioned by al-Ghazzi provides for an interesting contrast with the index to a contemporary introduction to Islamic religious history such as Berkey’s The Formation of Islam. Al-Ghazzi’s text does not mention a single work by Ibn Taymiyya or Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya. By contrast, the kalam works of al-Taftazani are mentioned ten times; the semantic rhetorical works of al-Taftazani ten times; the kalam works of al-Jurjani fourteen times; books on logic thirteen times; Ibn ‘Arabi’s works seven times; the Jam’ al-Jawami’ of al-Subki twenty-seven times (mostly along with the commentary of al-Mahalli); the Shifa’ of al-Qadi ‘Iyad ten times; and the Mawahib of al-Qastallani four times.[1]
The more detailed obituaries of scholars in ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Jabarti’s well-known chronicle of eighteenth-century Egypt also provides valuable information on the books studied by prominent Egyptian scholars. Again, there are no references to the works of Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, while the theological works of al-Taftazani, al-Sanusi, and al-Laqani appear regularly, as does the Shifa’ of al-Qadi ‘Iyad and the Mawahib of al-Qastallani.[2]
The athbat – ie. works listing the books one had a certificate to teach – by prominent seventeenth – and eighteenth-century scholars in the Hijaz tend to reinforce the impression obtained from biographical entries. The thabat of the Meccan Shafi’i scholar Ahmad al-Nakhli (d. 1717), for example, does not mention any works by Ibn Taymiyya or Ibn al-Qayyim, but mentions the Sharh al-‘Aqa’id al-Nasafiyya of al-Taftazani and the Jawharat al-Tawhid of al-Laqani, as well as Ibn ‘Arabi’s Futuhat, al-Mahalli’s commentary on al-Subki’s Jam’ al-Jawami’, al-Shifa’ of al-Qadi ‘Iyad, and al-Mawahib of al-Qastallani.[3] The thabat of the Meccan scholar ‘Abdallah ibn Salim al-Basri (d. 1722) likewise does not mention the works of Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn al-Qayyim, while mentioning the theological works of al-Taftazani, al-Jurjani, al-Dawani, and al-Laqani, as well as the Shifa’ of al-Qadi ‘Iyad and the works of Ibn ‘Arabi.[4] Even the thabat of the Damascene Hanbali scholar Abu al-Mawahhib al-Hanbali (d. 1714) does not mention the works of Ibn Taymiyya or Ibn al-Qayyim, while mentioning the theological works of al-Taftazani, al-Sanusi and al-Laqani, as well as the Mawahib of al-Qastallani, the Shifa’ of al-Qadi ‘Iyad, and the works of Ibn ‘Arabi.[5] To be sure, the evidence of the athbat is not conclusive, partly because they sometimes mention works under a general description, such as “all the works that he is certified to teach” or “the books of the jurists of the school, both earlier and later.” It is thus not unlikely that some of the mentioned scholars were acquainted with the works of Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya. Yet, it is striking that Ibn ‘Arabi, whose ideas were supposedly dealt a decisive blow by Ibn Taymiyya, and philosophical theologians such as al-Taftazani and al-Jurjani, whose field was supposedly marginalized by the victory of traditional neo-Hanbalis, appear regularly in these athbat while Ibn Taymiyya does not.
The Ottoman scribe and polymath Katip Celebi, author of the well-known bibliographic compilation Kashf al-zunun ‘an asami al-kutub wa al-funun was obviously much better acquainted with the works of Ibn Taymiyya’s critics than with the works of Ibn Taymiyya himself. For example, he mentioned Ibn Taymiyya’s Minhaj al-sunna, but did not give the incipit, presumably because he had not actually seen a copy of the work. Instead, he quoted Ibn Taymiyya’s critic Taqi al-Din al-Subki to the effect that it was a powerful response to a Shi’i polemical work by Ibn Mukhtar al-Hilli (d. 1326), but also expounded the heretical views that created things need not have a beginning in time, and that non-eternal attributes subsist in God.[6] After mentioning Ibn Taymiyya’s Kitab al-‘arsh, Katip Celebi again did not give an incipit, but quoted the grammarian and Qur’an commentator Abu Hayyan al-Andalusi (d. 1344) as stating that he had seen this work, and that Ibn Taymiyya had written there that God is literally seated on the throne, and had left a place on it for the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) to sit next to him.[7] After mentioning Ibn Taymiyya’s work [Iqtida’] al-sirat al-mustaqim, Katip Celebi yet again did not give an incipit, and merely wrote that this was the work in which Ibn Taymiyya, according to Taqi al-Din al-Hisni, expressed the outrageous view that the venerable Companion and transmitter of Hadith Ibn ‘Abbas (radhiallahu ‘anh) was an unbeliever.[8]
[1] – Al-Ghazzi, al-Kawakib al-sa’ira,, 3:314-316. Al-Ghazzi mentions one work by Ibn Taymiyya’s grandfather Majd al-Din ibn Taymiyya (d. 1254) – a handbook on Hanbali law entitled al-Muharrar.
[2] – ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Jabarti, ‘Aja’ib al-athar fi al-tarajim wa al-khabar (Cairo: al-Matba’a al-‘Amira, 1297AH), 1:309-310, 2:25-26, 2:227-228, 4:185-186.
[3] – Ahmad al-Nakhli, Bughyat al-talibin al-mashayikh al-muhaqqiqin al-mu’tamadin (Hyderabad: Da’irat al-Ma’arif al-‘Uthmaniyya, 1328AH).
[4] – Salim ibn ‘Abdallah al-Basri, al-Imdad bi ma’rifat ‘uluww al-isnad (Hyderabad: Da’irat al-Ma’arif al-‘Uthmaniyya, 1328AH).
[5] – Abu al-Mawahib al-Hanbali, Mashyakha, ed. Muhammad Muti’ Hafiz (Damascus & Beirut: Dar al-Fikr, 1990).
[6] – Hajji Khalifa, Kashf al-zunun, 2:1872.
[7] – Ibid., 2:1438
Posted in Followers & 'Fans', ibn Taymiyya - the Misguided Innovator, ibn Taymiyya's Companions, Students
Tagged al-andalusi, al-ghazzi, al-jurjani, al-nahwi, al-sanusi, al-sha'rani, al-subki, al-taftazani, arsh, athbat, books, ibn 'arabi, ibn al-qayyim, ibn taymiyya, ijaza, isnad, radi al-din ibn al-hanbali, sanad, sitting, takfir, thabat, throne, works, writings
Everyone is Misguided Except for Me – Ibn Taymiyya & Ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab
Imam Anwar Shah al-Kashmiri – ibn Taymiyya Thought Deen was Revealed According to his Understanding
Imam ibn Nasir al-Din al-Dimashqi calling ibn Taymiyya a Deviant? – Visiting the Grave of the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam)
ibn Taymiyya Affirms Limits for Allah in the Six Physical Directions
Imam Muhammad Zahid al-Kawthari – Conspiracy Against ibn Taymiyya?
Followers & 'Fans'
ibn Taymiyya – the Misguided Innovator
ibn Taymiyya in the Eyes of Later Scholars
ibn Taymiyya in the Eyes of the Noble 'Ulama of Deoband
ibn Taymiyya's Companions
ibn Taymiyya's Companions, Students, Followers & 'Fans'
ibn Taymiyya's Isolated Opinions
ibn Taymiyya's Lacking Intellect
ibn Taymiyya's Misguided View on Visiting the Prophet's Grave (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam)
ibn Taymiyya's Misguided Views on Talaq
ibn Taymiyya's Misguided Views on Tawassul
ibn Taymiyya's Problematic Creed
ibn Taymiyya's Slander of Sahabah
ibn Taymiyya's Unscholarly Traits
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Pokémon GO is now the biggest mobile game in U.S. history
We finally have numbers to support what you might have already guessed: Pokémon GO is the biggest mobile game in U.S. history.
Shooting to the top of the app store on the day it was released, within 24 hours Pokémon GO beat out indie hit Slither.io and Supercell’s heavily promoted blockbuster Clash Royale to become the biggest game of 2016, as measured by daily active users.
Note: Candy Crush was widely reported to have 93 million total DAU at its peak, though this figure includes all countries and all devices. For the purposes of comparison we compared both apps on the basis of US smartphone audience.
And that’s not all. Within three days of its release, Pokémon GO attracted more users than Twitter, and rose to the top of the App Store revenue charts, earning millions of dollars a day for its publisher, Niantic.
As of yesterday, Pokémon GO attracted just under 21 million daily active users in the United States, surpassing Candy Crush saga’s rumored peak US smartphone audience of 20 million and making it the biggest mobile game in US history.
Pokémon Go left Twitter in the dust. Now it’s gunning for SnapChat (and Google Maps!)
So what’s next? At its current rate of growth, Pokémon GO is on track to pass Snapchat within a couple of days on Android.
Plus, as unbelievable as it sounds, Pokémon GO Android could surpass Google Maps itself as the largest user of Alphabet’s mapping data.
It’s too soon to call Pokémon GO a home run for Niantic and Nintendo
Despite what Nintendo’s share price might suggest, it’s too early to declare Pokémon GO a win for the business. Nintendo have a minority stake in Pokémon GO, and will pocket just a small slice of the game’s profits.
History hasn’t always been kind to games that generate tremendous hype. Back in 2012, Draw Something consumed the public consciousness for a few weeks before its user numbers dropped like a stone. Nintendo’s last mobile game, Miitomo, met a similar fate, finding early success that was ultimately unsustainable.
Pokémon GO is already an unbelievably huge game, and if it can retain its legions of new users and convert them into highly engaged and paying players, then it could be a huge financial success. For now, we’ll have to wait and see.
By Tanya Koenig
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Frank Interviews
Frank Interviews, Magazine, The Italian Job
This story starts a long time ago, even before I was born. If you have a clue about what the theatrical tradition is like in Italy and how important the Neapolitan theatre and comedy has always been there, you must have heard about Eduardo De Filippo.
Italian actor, author, poet, playwright and screenwriter born in 1900, Eduardo De Filippo was the mind behind Neapolitan masterpieces such as Side Street Story and Filumena Marturano.
I was two months’ old when he passed away in 1984, and even if I’m not from Naples in any shape or form, I’ve always quite been into his theatre plays, to the point I know most of the Natale in casa Cupiello (Christmas at the Cupiello’s) script by heart.
“SMILE. Your eyes sparkle when you do”. C. J. Ginger
The man I’m interviewing today started his own career as a stage actor in the 70s, aged 20 or less, mentored by Eduardo De Filippo himself in his stage company and – not because of that but in addition to that, he is one of the most talented Italian theatre actors of his generation, as well as an incredibly gentlemanlike, unpretentious and lively human being.
In addition to be a performer, playwright, screenwriter and director, Vincenzo Salemme is also a novelist and singer who has worked on stage, screen, cinema movies, TV films – and has taken part in amazingly amusing performances as well as in incredibly heartbreaking stuff (dare to listen to ‘E Femmene without crying like a river).
His talents are way too many and too wide to fall into just one category, but when it comes to Vincenzo Salemme, there’s something you can be certain about: no matter what he does, he’ll always put all himself in it, he’ll always do his absolute best. And I think you can feel it, I think this is why the audience in Italy loves him so much.
And so I feel massively honoured (and also quite terrified to be honest) to be interviewing Mr Salemme on how to become a stage actor.
Thank you so much for taking the time to do this, Vincenzo.
You’re welcome, Silvia. Thank you for asking.
So, first of all, you know I am a big fan of you. Really. You make me laugh out loud.
Oh, thank you.
And you know what, you make me laugh in a good way, in a clever way, it’s not just like ah-ah. You can tell there’s certain calibre in your comicality.
So you are not ashamed of laughing after I made you laugh…
Exactly! (I laugh) So, before becoming an actor you got your A-Levels* in Italian, Latin, Greek and Classical Civilisation (*Liceo Classico)… what was your dream job as a child?
When I was really really young I was dreaming of being a wall painter, as we were renovating our house and there was always a lot of them around… and this is something I still enjoy… I really like having workmen at my place! You know, my grandfather was a bricklayer, he used to bring me along on construction sites, and I enjoyed so much the smell of concrete mixed with the smell of those sandwiches we had for lunch… mostly sandwiches with aubergines and red peppers for our lunch break. This was a wonderful moment for me. I remember those whitewashed shirts workmen were wearing… it was the 60s, and it was great.
Did it happen in Bacoli, near Naples? How old were you?
Yes, this was in Bacoli. When I used to go on the construction sites with my grandpa I was about 5.
Weren’t you enrolled in a Catholic nuns’ nursery by then? I read somewhere that, aged 5, you fell in love with your nun teacher Sister Angelina…
Sister Angelina was there when I was at the nursery school, and yes, I fell in love with her and I insisted on bringing her flowers when I was about to leave to go to primary school… I forced my mum to buy flowers for Sister Angelina whom I saw as an older (than me) lady… but then I thought she was like 16 or 17. She was a very young nun.
And before wanting to be a wall painter? What did you want to do as a very little kid?
Well, to be honest, I still would like to do actually any kind of jobs, even the astronaut. But I’ve always liked being an actor as since I was very little I was always kind of imitating and caricaturing people. At Christmas, I used to write letters, but instead of the typical Christmas letter for my parents, I would summarise what had happened over that year and I would play all the characters that were in my family, such as my mum and dad… all this happened after every Christmas Eve’s dinner. Theatre has always been my big passion.
Was there a plan B if you didn’t make it?
Mmm… I am not sure…
SSC Napoli Football Club‘s quarterback?
Hahaha, no, I used to play football but I was crap at it… mamma mia, I was a zero, but I insisted a lot on football… although I think I might have liked being a football coach, instead. I also loved Athletics… when I watched Pietro Mennea (late Italian sprinter, winner of a gold medal at the 1980 Moscow Olympics – Editor’s note) I would get excited… and when he set a world record in 1979, I cried… I cried in front of the telly. I like Athletics and I like sports in general… maybe I would have enjoyed my father’s job, he was a defence attorney.
You would have made the court laugh…
Eheh, yes, maybe… you know, at some point in the latest years I underwent some psychotherapy, and my very elderly psychiatrist just couldn’t stop laughing at me… he was over 80 and told me that this had never happened to him before… and that (unfortunately), I was making him really laugh.
Haha… I have a question about that. How do you protect your right to be sad or melancholy? I mean, I am not sure, but I suppose that being a comedy actor of this calibre also means that people would get surprised if you’re not always rolling in the aisles… so how do you protect your right to be whatever you want to be?
Well, I’ve got a house. And I can be whatever I want when I’m home.
What about outside the house?
When I am around… I try not to be melancholy.
Fair enough. What is the most important lesson you learned from Eduardo De Filippo?
Well… it’s more than a lesson, it’s a way of approaching our work… this is what I learned. I am not trying to be like him; instead, I try to approach this job in the way he seemed to be doing, in the most authentic way I can. I think people should be honest regarding this, they shouldn’t pretend they are something or someone they are not… I don’t want to appear smarter than I really am – or anything like that.
I think this is what really works when it comes to the audience: people can feel whether you’re authentic or a big fake.
Yes, I believe you can feel it, I believe theatre audiences can tell if you’re authentic or not… you know, a lot of children come to me and say they love me because they watched my movies… which are actually adult movies – I mean, not adult in the porn meaning of it – but I think most of them suit an older audience… but in the end, children love these films as well.
But this doesn’t happen with anybody… I mean, I don’t know how to explain this, but there are many actors out there that are just… actors. They’re nothing more. They don’t behave as if they were real people.
But I think life is like that, in general. You’ve got people who decide to be… something or someone else. Well, maybe at some point in life all of us decide we want to be something, and then at the end in life you end up… well, not acting but you eventually pick a role for yourself. And maybe this is fair, as our unconscious self is that varied that we eventually have to make a decision. I believe the reason I am an actor is that I have never been able to choose what I wanted to be in life… so I told myself, OK, so I am just going to be myself, I am just going to say what I think, and then those who love me will accept that.
What do you think foreigners should know regarding the Italian and Neapolitan theatre and plays?
I actually think that supporting the arts within Italy would already be huge mission in itself, in my opinion. When it comes to politics, all the different premierships we had in Italy over the years – and I’m 61, so I witnessed a lot going on – only financed and supported a type of “upper-class” culture, perhaps forgetting about our popular culture heritage. So, getting the authentic regional theatre – not only the Neapolitan theatre – to be known within Italy, it’s already difficult and quite a big deal. I don’t know how you could promote this abroad, I think it would be even more complicated.
Do you think this has anything to do with the dialect thing? I mean, we’re not really promoting our dialects, in Italy; we even call them dialects, when actually they’re totally different languages with totally different grammars, vocabulary and pronunciations. If you look at Spain, they call “languages” dialects that are similar to ours… and languages there are much better protected…
Neapolitan for me is a language that is very, very important. Then, of course, we should speak in a language that everyone can understand. As Eduardo taught me, when I’m not in Naples, I have to italianise Neapolitan words to spread content… and then you know, you’ve got the comic-timings, the harmony among performers, there’s a load of stuff that actually makes a theatre play, it is not only the language you use. And after all, the language is not the thing that worries me the most; languages change and evolve, and this is normal. What I’m sorry for is that much of the cultural heritage when it comes to comedies is being lost, when that would still make people laugh, as comicality is tradition, is not avant-garde.
Do you know what it does really piss me off? It’s that – even in literature – and I know that because I got books published – comedy and comicality are never valued as much as tragedy and… depression. Do you write something about someone who committed suicide? Well, that will always be valued better than a funny but extremely clever book.
Exactly, it’s exactly this. But I really believe that you need to move people, it doesn’t matter whether you do it by making them laugh or… cry. You have to move them in a way or another, and both things should be considered equally useful and worthy of attention.
What do you think about the decline of Cinecittà Studios? There used to be times where directors like Federico Fellini, Martin Scorsese and Mel Gibson chose Rome to shoot their movies. Now everything seems to be gone forever.
You know, this depends on the movie industry. The Cinecittà Studios were working well because it was cheap for US productions to come and shoot their movies in Rome, so this could be done again if it’s a good deal for them again. Nowadays, shooting movies in studios is considered a little bit old-fashioned… then I’m not an expert in the field, but here in Italy there’s a different type of financial investment in films, these days. A lot more money is spent for films by Giuseppe Sorrentino or Giuseppe Tornatore, or for other big productions made for the Academy Awards, but then the rest of the Italian film industry is made by quite low-cost and hand-made products that cannot really compete on an international scale; Italy should be competing on the basis of quality, of content and ideas, in my opinion.
You once said that it takes 40 years of life to return to childhood and to what we were as kids; I love this – do you want to add anything about that?
Yes, I think it’s actually like that. We search and search for the things that we used to be as kids. You know what, when I write down a new comedy theatre play, I usually write it straight away, in a single day, or so. Then, obviously I get to change and change and change it again when we make the rehearsals with the troupe… but in the end, the stronger idea was always the first and original one. So, maybe we’re a little bit like James Joyce’s Ulysses, and we need to travel and travel and see the mermaid… just to return to the starting point.
This makes me return to my original point and the following question: do you think comedians might be in a way more skilled than drama actors? I mean, if you can make people laugh, you can probably make them cry as well, and you should be able to also cover all the possible roles in between. But this doesn’t work vice-versa.
That would be a very long answer, as I think being an actor is something really, really rare.
What do you mean by “rare”?
I mean that, unfortunately, it’s hard to tell – and even to tell to myself in this case – what an actor is. I cannot always be free. Being an actor is a synonym of freedom, as actors are the only creatures that can repeat the same thing over and over again without being influenced, because that thing is not real. Life itself isn’t free because we are all influenced by everything… by the sun shifts position at birth, by winds, by wars… we are influenced all the time by everything. Freedom is utopia, is non-existent, we cannot do, every single day, whatever we want, because every single time something different happens and we have to change the route. But actors, if you really think about it, are the only ones that can actually take the same route every single day; however, this is quite impossible even for an actor. Many ask how we could act the same way, all days – but this is untrue, because you never ever do exactly the same thing. Even those who work on the most classical theatre plays and are supposed to read a line – and always the same line, with the same voice and intonation… well, I tell you that it’s never exactly the same. So I prefer breaking this taboo and let the play come into my life, into my days and my states of mind. For me, the “before” and “after” the show doesn’t really exist; what does exist is that now I’m talking with Silvia, then I’m finishing talking with Silvia, then I’m sitting there eating some chocolate, then I take a phone call and so on, and then when the time has come, I cross the curtain, I hear the audience and I start the show. So, every time I try to start the show as if I had never pronounced those words before.
It is like colours, isn’t it? It’s like if you’re normally… red, but you cannot always stay the same shade of red…
Yeah, that’s impossible…
So you are shifting all the time from a lighter to a darker shade or red, even if you do basically remain red.
Exactly, and I think it’s better if you let those influences come to you, especially if you’re an actor. Stage actors are the only that can be totally honest.
This is a paradox, isn’s it?
Yes, that’s paradoxical, indeed.
A basic question now: what are the pros and cons of the job of theatre actor?
The problem is that when you’re at the beginning of your career, it’s incredibly hard. You can attend an acting academy, you can see your name plus the word “actor” printed on some bulletin board… but it’s still extremely hard to find work, because you need to pass a lot of auditions, and then nowadays you’ve got a lot of TV and cinema works but – alas – not enough theatre work is being produced. So it’s easier to break on the screen before you even start acting on stage… but for me, the real “pro” for a budding actor, actually is the theatre. And the cons is that there’s not enough theatre production out there. So, what I would suggest to young people interesting in a theatre acting career, is not to lose their strength of spirit, to carry on and to work a lot in the theatre before trying and do the rest.
As you mentioned the sun shift position at birth before, and I know you’re a Leo and I am a Leo too, I can perfectly see all our astronomy features here…
Hahaha, I wasn’t really talking the Zodiac!
I know, I know, but this is a girl thing. So, it seems you possess all of our typical Leo characteristics: vehemence, generosity, transparency and so on. Have these characteristics helped (or maybe obstructed) your acting career?
Haha, well, I don’t believe in star signs but undoubtedly I am exuberant, and because of my own desire of being not a hypocrite, I sometimes overreacted, I provoked people, I provoked people’s reactions, and this didn’t help me much. However, sometimes they later found out some kind of sweetness into my aggressiveness, so even some people who maybe weren’t crazy for me in the past, end up appreciating me in the end.
So very Leo. But you turned the negativity of it into positivity…
Yes, but it took many many years… it took ages.
So maybe there’s still a chance for me to calm down… OK, just one more thing. The homepage of the Vincenzo Salemme official website says something like this: “be happy to love, but don’t love to be happy”. I found it brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.
Would you like to add anything else at all about your new projects?
I was scouted to make some films as an actor, I don’t know if and when this will be, and then I would like to make my own film as a director next year.
Great great. Thank you, Vincenzo, for your time and your wonderful insights!
“Chest’è”. Good luck with your translations, guys 😉
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how to become a comdey actorhow to become a comedianhow to become a stage actorhow to become a theatre actorhow to become a theatre actressVincenzo Salemme Albina Fabi partner moglie compagnaVincenzo Salemme attoreVincenzo Salemme EnglishVincenzo Salemme filmsVincenzo Salemme interviewVincenzo Salemme intervistaVincenzo Salemme Italian actor playwright directorVincenzo Salemme Italian screenwriterVincenzo Salemme moviesVincenzo Salemme NaplesVincenzo Salemme Napoli
The Shortlisted™ is the UK’s 1st Independent Career Magazine: nothing but the truth about work and career.
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Ziporyn, Brook
Spring 2020. University of California, Berkeley
Spring 2020. University of California, Berkeley
Brook A. Ziporyn is a scholar of ancient and medieval Chinese religion and philosophy. Professor Ziporyn received his B.A. in East Asian Languages and Civilizations from the University of Chicago, and his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. Prior to joining the Divinity School faculty, he has taught Chinese philosophy and religion at the University of Michigan (Department of East Asian Literature and Cultures), Northwestern University (Department of Religion and Department of Philosophy), Harvard University (Department of East Asian Literature and Civilization) and the National University of Singapore (Department of Philosophy).
Ziporyn is the author of Evil And/Or/As the Good: Omnicentric Holism, Intersubjectivity and Value Paradox in Tiantai Buddhist Thought (Harvard, 2000), The Penumbra Unbound: The Neo-Taoist Philosophy of Guo Xiang (SUNY Press, 2003), Being and Ambiguity: Philosophical Experiments With Tiantai Buddhism(Open Court, 2004); Zhuangzi: The Essential Writings with Selections from Traditional Commentaries (Hackett, 2009); Ironies of Oneness and Difference: Coherence in Early Chinese Thought; Prolegomena to the Study of Li (SUNY Press, 2012); and Beyond Oneness and Difference: Li and Coherence in Chinese Buddhist Thought and its Antecedents (SUNY Press, 2013). His seventh book, Emptiness and Omnipresence: The Lotus Sutra and Tiantai Buddhism, was published by Indiana University Press in 2016. He is currently working on a cross-cultural inquiry into the themes of death, time and perception, tentatively entitled Against Being Here Now, as well as a book-length exposition of atheism as a form of religious and mystical experience in the intellectual histories of Europe, India and China.
In Spring 2020 he will be teaching an intensive two-week seminar on intra-sectarian Tiantai debates during the Song and Yuan periods.
Biography from University of Chicago, Divinity School Faculty profiles. Image source: University of Michigan.
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Leonardo DiCaprio headed on an expedition to Mongolia
WENN.com
Leonardo DiCaprio is set to put his survival skills from The Revenant to the test after successfully bidding $95,000 for an expedition to Mongolia.
The Oscar nominee was among the big stars in attendance at the amfAR New York gala last week, and it has since emerged he offered up the generous bid for the opportunity to embark on the 10-day trip with Swedish explorer Johan Ernst Nilson.
The expedition will include the exploration of Lake Hovsgol, nicknamed the Dark Blue Pearl of Mongolia, while travellers will be taken horseback riding and hunting with falcons, Nilson tells the New York Post.
They will also enjoy a meal with a nomadic family as part of the excursion, but it won’t be quite as rough as Leonardo’s experience shooting The Revenant, as they will sleep in a traditional tent, known as a yurt, and have a chef and local guides to help them feel comfortable on the trip.
"When I do these trips, I take people out of their comfort zone in terms of the inner journey and get them doing things they normally wouldn’t do," Nilson explains to the Post. "If you push your limits, the reward will be much higher. It’s going to be amazing."
Leonardo portrays real-life fur trapper Hugh Glass in The Revenant, which documents his struggle for survival after he is mauled by a bear and left for dead.
The actor he has previously discussed the tough times he had to endure while shooting the intense survival thriller in freezing conditions in Canada and Argentina.
"I can name 30 or 40 sequences that were some of the most difficult things I’ve ever had to do," he told Yahoo! Movies last year. "Whether it’s going in and out of frozen rivers, or sleeping in animal carcasses, or what I ate on set. (I was) enduring freezing cold and possible hypothermia constantly."
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HomeInteresting Facts About Nigeria
Here are all the Interesting facts about Nigeria, information about Nigeria geography, economy, the people’s way of life.
I went all out on current happenings in Nigeria and with a more comprehensive and straight forward information about the country Nigeria.
The situation of things in Nigeria. We have information on the living conditions of the People of Nigeria, Health facts on Nigeria and even religious facts
General Nigeria Facts
Nigerian General facts
Nigeria is a country of over one hundred and fifty million people, being the most populated black nation on earth, enormously rich in mineral resources as well as human resources. The country is made up of 36 state and Abuja, the federal capital Territory.
Lagos state of Nigeria is the most industrialized state and the former capital of Nigeria, with over Nine million people, it is the second most populated state in Africa, second only to Cairo. The state is the most recognized Nigerian state with over ninety percent of all the tribes in Nigeria being represented.
According to preliminary results from the 2006 national census the second most populated state in Nigeria is Kano with about 3.8 million people living in it, third on the list is Ibadan with about 2.6 million in population, followed by Kaduna (1.7) and Port Harcourt with 1.3 million people living in it.
Fact About Nigeria Geography
Interesting Facts About Nigeria Geography
Nigeria is the largest country in west Africa, sharing boarders with four other African countries – Chad and Cameroon in the east, Republic of Benin in the west, Niger in the north while it boarders with Lake Chad from the northeast.
Nigeria is estimated to be twice the size of California, being about 923768 sq km (land area) and leaving just about 13000 sq KM to water.
There are three ecological zones that are commonly represented in the country Nigeria – The northern Sudan Savanna, The Guinea Savanna zone or Middle Belt and The southern rain forest zone.
Interesting Facts About Nigeria Economy
Here are interesting facts about Nigerian economy – The Nigeria Economy is highly dependent on oil revenue which accounts for over 70% of our exports and brings in over 60% of government total revenue.
In 2007 Nigeria had an estimated gross domestic product (GDP) of US$166.8 billion according to the official exchange rate and US$292.7 billion according to purchasing power parity (PPP), this figure had an increase of 5.40, 5.05, 5.48 percent from 2008 to 2010 respectively.
Nigerian Per Capita Income was estimated at $2,748 by the world bank. It is believed that Nigeria has what it takes to put the name of the country on the G20 list by 2020, all it would require is good leaders and efficient governance.
In 2009, Nigeria economy was estimated to be the third fastest growing economy in the world… If that is something.
Below is more Interesting Facts About Nigeria.
Health Facts on Nigeria
The Nigeria health system require a lot of “fixing” for the average Nigeria to totally rely on Nigeria hospitals. Only very few hospitals in Nigeria have the complete equipment that is required for optimum performance.
It is no longer news that most Nigerian politician seek medical attention off the shores of Nigeria, it is believed that Nigeria health facilities are not as advanced as what we get in developed countries but we hope that the new generation in government will change all of this.
Facts About Nigeria Transportation System
The major system of transport in Nigeria is road transportation, Although it account for over 50% of all recorded accidents. On a busy day, the average Nigeria prefer to move around with okada (motor-bike riders), it is the easiest and simplest way to beat the traffic… and which is more…, you get comfort and confidential treatment… at least for me.
Air Transportation is the most lucrative way to move around in Nigeria, it comes with very little risk and almost complete rest of mind.
Nigeria is working pretty hard to improve the transportation system in Nigeria by constructing more road and renovating already existing ones. Lagos state is at the verge of constructing the first light rail system in west African, we just hope it doesn’t remain “unfinished” forever.
Interesting Facts About Nigeria Religion
There are three basic religions in Nigerian, the Islamic religion which is prevalent in the northern part of the country, the Christian religion which is widely practiced in the eastern part of Nigeria and middle belt and the traditional religion.
The Islamic religion was introduced to Nigeria by trader from Mali ( according to history) while The Christian religion was introduced to the Easterners by British missionaries
About Nigeria Languages
There are three main
Languages Spoken in Nigeria – Hausa Igbo and Yoruba then about a hundred other minor languages in Nigeria. English is the central languages used in secondary schools and universities.
The Educational system of Nigeria is unlike what we have in other country, in Nigeria it goes like this – most people start from the age of 1.5 to 2 years in Nursery school, then at the age of About 3 to 4 they migrate to primary school, then secondary school at the age of about 10 to 15.
In Nigeria the educational system is such that you can move into the tertiary institution (College of education or universities) at any age although you will not be allowed to attend youth service if you are above 35 years or there about.
You need to see this page about
Here is a page about Beautiful Nigerian Girls,
a reason to be proud of the country.
Nigerian Foods
Nigerian People
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Trussle Blog» Leasehold, Freehold, And Commonhold Mortgages Explained
Leasehold, Freehold, And Commonhold Mortgages Explained
Looking at whether a property is freehold, leasehold, or commonhold is important before you decide to buy. Each type of ownership has an impact on the type of mortgage you’ll be eligible for. If you’re a leaseholder, the length of the lease could have a big effect on whether or not you’ll be able to get a mortgage, especially as the lease nears expiry. Getting a mortgage on a freehold house is very common, but getting a mortgage on a freehold flat is more difficult.
Where do freeholds and leaseholds come from?
What is a freehold?
What is a leasehold?
What is a commonhold?
Historically, freeholds and leaseholds date back to the 11th century, when wealthy landowners wanted to keep hold of their power whilst maximising their earnings. Leaseholds meant tenants could work the land to earn money but the freeholder (the landlord) still owned the land (the freehold), taking rent as payment.
Fast forward a few hundred years and rather than farming the land, leaseholders own property on the land belonging to the freeholder. Legislation has given leaseholders more rights, such as protection against eviction and the power for a group of leaseholders to club together and buy the freehold through a process known as collective enfranchisement. However, once a lease has expired, ownership transfers back to the freeholder.
Owning the freehold means owning the property outright, as well as the land it stands on. Most houses are freehold but some flats can be freehold too, although this is less common.
As the freeholder, you’re responsible for the upkeep of the property. If you’re the freeholder of a group of flats, it falls on you to cover the costs of any structural damage.
Owning the freehold means you don’t have to worry about the lease running out, and you won’t have to pay any ground rent or service charges.
Can I get a mortgage on a freehold house?
Given that most houses are freehold, getting a mortgage on a freehold house is very common.
Can I get a mortgage on a freehold flat?
Getting a mortgage on a freehold flat is harder. A freehold flat is a rarity - most flats are leasehold. Lenders are more reluctant to agree a mortgage on a freehold flat because if any major structural problems arise, there can be difficulties deciding who’s liable for the costs.
If you’re the owner of a freehold flat, it’s a good idea to have a legal agreement in place with the owners of neighbouring properties to make sure there’s no confusion over structural repairs and who’s expected to pay for them. Using a property management company can help avoid disputes by outlining the freeholders’ responsibility for management.
You own the property and the land for the length of the lease when you own your home as a leasehold. Leases usually range from 80 to 155 years, but in rare cases they can drop to 0 years. Some new-build flat developments have leases as high as 999 years.
While you own the property for the length of the lease, the communal areas and the ground it stands on are owned by the freeholder. You’re liable to pay ground rent and a service charge to the freeholder for the maintenance and upkeep of the communal areas of the building.
Ownership transfers back to the freeholder once the lease comes to an end. In reality, it rarely gets to this point, as there’s a number of things leaseholders can do to avoid this happening, such as buying the freehold or extending the lease.
Once your lease dips below the 80 year mark it can be harder to sell because the buyer will need to take into account the cost of extending the lease (which can get expensive with legal fees, not to mention the cost of the lease itself). A shorter lease can also limit the number of lenders who are willing to offer a mortgage on the property, so it’s important to think about extending your lease or buying the freehold before your lease reaches this point.
Can I get a mortgage on a leasehold flat?
Getting a mortgage on a leasehold flat is entirely dependent on how long the lease is. With a lease of more than 70 years at the time of application you’re likely to be able to get a mortgage.
If you let the lease drop much less than this, lenders will be wary that the value of the property falls significantly upon reaching this point.
Fewer lenders will be willing to lend to you with less than 70 years left on the lease, but there are still options available. Halifax are happy with 70 years left at the time of application, while Santanderand Nationwide accept 55 years left at the time of application.
Often lenders will have a lower loan to value (LTV) ratio for leasehold flats, meaning lenders aren’t willing to lend you as much. If you’re buying a freehold house, you might be able to get a LTV of 90%, or sometimes even 95%, meaning you could have a deposit of 10% or 5%. With a leasehold flat, you’re more likely to be able to get around 85% LTV, so a deposit of 15%, although 90% LTV is still very attainable. Halifax, Nationwide, and Natwest all accept 90% LTV on second home leaseholds, but a higher deposit is required for new builds.
Generally, the LTV could be even less if the lease is under around 70 years.
Can I get a mortgage on a leasehold house?
Leasehold houses aren’t very common, but for a time they were becoming more so for new build houses. This trend has reversed, as house builders were warned by the government against the practice of selling houses as leasehold, but it’s still important to check the details of the freehold before signing anything. Cases have arisen recently of property developers selling houses as leasehold, then selling the leases to a third party as an investment, which could leave you having to shell out thousands to purchase the lease.
Commonhold was introduced in 2002 as an alternative to both freehold and leasehold ownership. There’s no freehold or leasehold with a commonhold - instead, both the property and the ground it stands on belong to the same person.
Each flat owner is part of a Commonhold Association (the equivalent of a residents association), which owns and manages the communal parts of the property on behalf of the residents. Commonhold is a very secure type of ownership - there’s no risk of the flat reverting to the freeholder’s ownership once the lease has expired.
Can I get a mortgage on a commonhold property?
There wasn’t much takeup for commonhold properties when they were introduced. As a result, there aren’t many commonhold homes around. Given that developers can make a lot of money from charging ground rent and service charges, as well as by selling leases, it’s not surprising that new flats are rarely built as commonhold.
It’s possible to get a mortgage on a commonhold property, but it can be tricky. Many big lenders don’t offer commonhold mortgages, so the mortgage options are limited. Commonhold mortgages can also have higher rates than leasehold mortgages.
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Yahoo friends Facebook once again as patent dispute is settled
by Richard Broughton – 9th July 2012
Facebook and Yahoo announced they have settled all patent disputes between the two companies along with entering into an advertising partnership.
As part of their new agreement both companies have signed a cross-license deal which allows access to one another’s patent portfolio as well as a new advertising partnership.
Yahoo filed a lawsuit against Facebook in March 2012 in the U.S. District Court in San Jose, California, stating that the “patents-in-suit are a reflection of Yahoo’s research and development achievements.” Yahoo was an innovator in methods of advertising, privacy controls, and social networking, according to the law suit document.
Yahoo had claimed that in terms of social networking “Yahoo! recognised the importance of social interaction on the internet and developed technology that allows users to customize information about themselves, join groups of others with the same interest as themselves, and share interesting information.”
Yahoo said in the complaint that these terms are in what the company calls the “648 Patent” or the “Yahoo Social Networking Patent.”
In the complaint Yahoo also pointed out that Facebook was started 10 years after yahoo was founded and Yahoo claims this is largely attributed to Facebook using Yahoo’s patented technology. Yahoo had claimed that features like the News Feed on Facebook were patents to Yahoo.
Facebook then hit back at Yahoo with its own lawsuit the following month.
Facebook denied Yahoo’s claims of Patent infringement and said that Yahoo has infringed 10 Facebook patents.
In Facebook’s response to Yahoo’s lawsuit, the company accused Yahoo of infringing on Facebook patents by way of the Yahoo home page, content optimisation and relevance engine (C.O.R.E), the Yahoo Flickr photo sharing service, along with Yahoo Finance, sports, news, games, movies, shopping, travel, autos, and advertisements displayed throughout Yahoo.
Facebook also said that Yahoo was infringing upon patent violations such as “the Photostream, recent activity and groups activity on the Yahoo! flickr photo sharing service.”
Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s COO, says the company is pleased to resolves the patent dispute
“I’m pleased that we were able to resolve this in a positive manner and look forward to partnering closely with Ross and the leadership at Yahoo!,” said Sandberg in a statement. “Yahoo!’s new leaders are driven by a renewed focus on innovation and providing great products to users. Together, we can provide users with engaging social experiences while creating value for marketers.”
The advertising partnership will aid Yahoo! in the advertising arena as they can tell current and potential advertising customers that they have a concrete social aspect.
Yahoo’s large event coverage will also be brought to Facebook consumers. Facebook social integrations will be available on the Yahoo website.
“We are excited to develop a deeper partnership with Facebook, and I’m grateful to Sheryl and her team for working hard together with our team to develop this dynamic agreement. We are looking forward to building on the success we have already seen to provide innovative new products and experiences for both consumers and sponsors,” said Ross Levinsohn, interim CEO of Yahoo!. “Combining the premium content and reach of Yahoo! as the world’s leading digital media company with Facebook provides branded advertisers with unmatched opportunity.”
Mobile is the name of the game
Social media news: Twitter posts no longer appear on LinkedIn
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The New Turkey > Opinion , Politics , World | Updated: May 7, 2019
Lies, Damned Lies and Fake News
By Hakkı Öcal
The advance of fake news and information is not a new phenomenon but the media by which it is being exercised now is making it all the more effective and harmful.
An ice sculpture is seen spelling out the word "truth" by artist duo Ligorano Reese, with the US Capitol in the background, in Washington, DC on September 22, 2018. Getty Images
Research shows that we are trusting beings. It also shows that unlike traditional media, new media does not follow the journalistic ethics and verification rules. If you put these together, you reach an understanding of the Goebbels Law of the Big Lie.
“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.”
The fascistic mind behind this Law is problematic at best and catastrophic at the end, and the entire praxis is related to the state apparatus, yet the basic tenets in the contemporary forms of communication are the same. As Hitler’s Minister of Propaganda of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, it is rather difficult to find a criminal mind as Goebbel’s to explain why and how the modern governmental and non-governmental organizations engage so arduously to deceive their or international societies of trusting human beings.
Paul Joseph Goebbels was one of Adolf Hitler's closest and most devoted associates and was known for his skills in public speaking (and public deceiving). Hitler was the most preeminent and distinguished person who deceived not only his people but the world leaders as the U.S. presidents and UK prime ministers, U.S. and UK parliaments and most of the people in North and South America, Western Europe, Mid- and Far-Easts. Since modern communication and public-opinion leaders are not as forthcoming as that murderous Joseph Goebbels, we could be excused for looking into his theories when we need to learn and explain public-deceiving techniques.
Goebbels’ recommendation to Hitler was to use all the State power to repress dissent, “for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.” Please replace the word “State” with any name of a presidential administration or parliamentarian government which engages in deception.
How to shield a public, any public as small as the clientele of certain brand your company produces, or as large as the whole wide world, (“www”: get it?) from the truth? Herr Goebbels continues to teach behind the Hell fire:
“The most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly - it must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over.”
Donald Trump lies 19 times per day
So, Mr. Trump’s lies are confined to a handful of subjects and a close scrutiny shows us that he repeats them over and over again. Take for instance the claim that the U.S. taxpayers are footing the defense bill of Europe. Yes, the military expenditure of the U.S. government is much larger than any other country, and by extension it is spending more money for its military positioned in Europe. If the U.S. stops spending that money, then its military expenditure will not be exceeding others. Who needs the nuclear arsenal the U.S. positions and maintains in Europe? Europeans? Definitely not. Who benefits from the protective umbrella the U.S. Patriot air defense systems the U.S. governments made the EU purchase and sustain? The working-class people in yellow vests in France? Of course not.
Who needs the nuclear arsenal the U.S. positions and maintains in Europe? Europeans? Definitely not.
Why does President Macron crash the bones of protesters and poison them with his tear-gas? Goebbels and the Nazis thought of intellectualism as free thought, something that required the truth as its fuel, which, as we have quoted him above, is the mortal enemy of the governmental lie. Just like Macron, Trump wants everyone to be obedient to the government line; basically, they do not want people to think at all (A side note: Goebbels is also said to have suffered Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD), a pattern of abnormal behavior characterized by exaggerated feelings of self-importance, an excessive need for admiration, and a lack of understanding of others' feelings).
It is not only Trump’s 10 thousand untrue things he said in office, but the false information and fake news stories people fabricate to suppress intellectual activities in the world (Some counts more, some less lies Mr. Trump had said. Nevertheless, even one false statement coming from the “leader of the free world” should be considered too much, in theory). Trump’s first contribution to the science of communication was no different than that of Goebbels. While he may not have exactly coined the word, he has popularized the term “fake news.” He may have been the first person using it as a proper noun for the famous dailies such as the New York Times and Washington Post. He calls them “fake news” whenever he has a keyboard attached to twitter or a microphone attacked to voice recorder. In addition to the prophesy of their remaining longevity (which is not very long), President Trump tried to reduce their circulations, too.
Just like Macron, Trump wants everyone to be obedient to the government line; basically, they do not want people to think at all.
As the pot calling the kettle black, Trump’s calling some media outlets “fake news promoters” only brings his lies and fabricated “facts” on the new media to mind. According to Media Matters for America (MMFA), a Web-based, non-profit research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting” fake news, all the big American media outlets fail to rebut President Trump's misinformation 65 percent of the time in their tweets about his false or misleading comments.”
Not only that, MMFA also calculated that major U.S. media outlets amplified Trump's lies and disinformation over 400 times during the three-week study period, or 19 times per day, without identifying in the same moment that the information is “just total bullshit and shouldn't be taken as truth.” The major media outlets have passively misinformed the public by passing along misinformation from Trump administration, their study found. Here are some points from MMFA research:
92 percent of false or misleading Trump claims went undisputed when he was speaking at a press gaggle or pool spray.
49 percent of false or misleading Trump claims went undisputed when outlets were responding to comments he made during formal speeches.
@TheHill was the worst offender and sent more than 40 percent of the tweets that pushed Trump’s misinformation without disputing it
Who lies on the Internet?
But not only the politicians and the traditional media lie on the Internet; the ordinary people, you and I also tend to lie on these platforms. According to the Psychology Today magazine, people directly lie about their lives to make themselves look more desirable or positive. In a study examining 80 online daters, Hancock, Toma, & Ellison found that two thirds of participants lied about their weight by 5 pounds or more. In a large sample of over 2000 people in England conducted by Custard.com, 43 percent of men admitted to making up facts about themselves and their lives that were not true online.
Trump’s first contribution to the science of communication was no different than that of Goebbels. While Trump may not have coined the word, he exactly has popularized the term “fake news.”
Why do you, I and Donald lie on the Internet? Because we know fellow humans are naturally social creatures—we crave relationships and social interaction. Before Hitler and Goebbels started abusing communication, Alfred Adler, world renowned philosopher and psychiatrist, informed us that our strong urge for social interaction and feeling a sense of belonging to a community push us to be a little like Trump: to fulfill our need for admiration. Yet Adlerian psychotherapy doesn’t treat everyone as natural liars of course. We do exaggerate a little. But to lie to the general public 10 thousand times in 24 months you or your loved ones have to have “something to gain or lose,” like some really good real estate in Jerusalem, West Bank of the Sharia River or on the Gazza Strip, where, like Manhattan, the land is not increasing but the people are!
In short, the advance of fake news and information is not a new phenomenon but the media by which it is being exercised now is making it all the more effective and harmful.
Joseph Goebbels once said, "Intellectual activity is a danger to the building of character." Now, he would have been proud of himself.
Digital Storytelling in Turkey: The Wattpad Threat
Emine Kaya
Abdul Basit Saroot: The Syrian Revolution’s Voice From the Grave
Obaida Hitto
Hakkı Öcal
Hakkı Öcal graduated from Ankara University, Faculty of Political Sciences. Öcal has earned master and doctoral degrees from Boğaziçi University. He continued with post-doctoral studies at the International Research Institute in Harvard University. Öcal, who was the general director of the publication in the interpreter’s newspaper, was awarded the Press Freedom Award by the International Press Institute. He has taught desktop publishing, visual design and web design courses at George Mason University and NOVA. Byte, PCWorld, and PCLife magazines published articles and computer programming language were the topics that he wrote about. He served as a rector consultant and faculty member of the Faculty of Communication at Bahçeşehir University. Now, he also serves as a rector consultant at Ibn Haldun University and is a faculty member in the Faculty of Communication.
Social Networks, Mass Psychology and Lynch Culture
Is New Media Becoming a Threat to Democracy?
Can You Hear Me Now? We Might Be Living in Echo Chambers on Social Media
5G Technology: Huawei a Threat to US National Security?
The Tiananmens Ignored by the Western Media
How will US Sanctions on Russia Affect Turkey?
Cleaning the House: Anti-Opposition Campaign in Saudi Arabia
Is the Liberal Perspective Ahead of Turkish Politics?
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Cross Genre
Back of the Envelope
Enumerate
Here/You Are
Wit Tea
Extras by Editors & Contributors
An Index of Small Stings
By HUDA AL-MARASHI | 09 FEB 2017
Thomas Brault
All-Girls
I am visiting the all-girls boarding home outside of Guadalajara, Mexico where I’d once spent two years volunteering. Located at the end of a bumpy, cobblestone street in a town whose name literally translates to Farm City, this internado has no internet or cable, its only television stationed on a rolling cart with a VCR.
Near the end of my visit, one of the girls I’d been particularly close to asks, “Are you really Muslim?”
She knows the answer to this question. Before I left, she’d wanted me to sponsor her confirmation and I’d told her why I could not. Now, it is one year after 9/11, and even though I can’t imagine how the news traveled here, I fear there is a reason why she is asking again.
“Yes,” I say.
“But aren’t all Muslims terroristas?” she asks.
My husband and I are at the post office, mailing boxes to our new apartment in New York before we drive across the country for the start of his medical training. He is dark-skinned and unshaven, black curls peeking out from under a baseball cap. I wear my hair in a bun, a floral skirt, and sandals.
The people waiting behind us grow restless. A tall guy in a plaid shirt tells the lady behind him, “You can always tell when it’s Christmas in someone else’s country.”
I am in John F. Kennedy Airport’s baggage claim, my firstborn in my lap, while my husband waits in the cold for car service. I offer a young woman struggling with the pay phones my cell phone.
After calling home, she sits next to me. We talk about my baby and her siblings, and then she says, “They say there’s going to be a war with Iraq. What do you think?”
“I don’t support war of any kind.”
“Nobody does, but don’t you think we need to defend ourselves?”
“No, I don’t. We’re not at any risk from Iraq.”
“But there’s no telling what those people will do,” she says.
“I am one of those people,” I say, and she stumbles to tell me that her father once worked with a Muslim who was a really nice guy.
First Day, Preschool
I am in the office on my son’s first day of preschool, chatting with a Peruvian mother whose son also started school that day. The administrative assistant in the back office calls out to the woman with the up-do at the front desk, “Did you get a load of the father’s name?”
My breath suspends. I know my husband’s once ordinary Arabic name now has inflammatory connotations.
The woman quickly gets up, perhaps to inform her workmate that I am still there. When she returns, carrying the scent of powdery perfume, she smiles awkwardly and says, “How many languages do you speak?”
“Three,” I answer, my voice soft, and in that same nothing voice, I ask, “Was that my husband’s name she was referring to?”
“Oh no,” she denies, shaking her head with so much exaggeration her beaded necklaces clack together.
It is Eid-al-Fitr, the celebration that marks the end of Ramadan. After prayers at the mosque, my mom-friends and I take our children to a pancake house for our first breakfast in a month.
While we wait for our food, we put coloring books and toys in front of our kids. From across the restaurant, an older man calls out, “This is not a playground. Control your children.”
The dining room grows still. Encouraged, he continues, “This is a restaurant. People are trying to have a conversation.”
We eat our meal in disbelief, shushing our children constantly, but when we leave, the man follows us to the cash register. “I’m not a bad person,” he says. “You people are just overly permissive with your children.”
As if our professions and educations can redeem us, my friend, the only one among us who happens to wear the hijab, says, “You people? We’re Americans, and all three of our husbands are doctors, working at your local hospitals.” She pauses, flustered, and then adds, “I’ll have you know I graduated from Stanford University. The only place I’m from is California.”
I am in the audience at the literature review for an arts council grant. One of the panelists is effusive about my work. He says the topic is timely and that even though all my characters either wear veils or have mustaches, they are well-drawn and real.
When it is the second panelist’s turn to speak, she says, “This didn’t interest me as much. I knew by the title, this was going to be about Indians.”
I describe myself as Iraqi five times in my submission, and none of my characters wear a veil or has a mustache .
At the break, I share my concerns with the moderator, and she promises to make a correction if it happens again. When the session resumes, the same panelist refers to my submission’s Indian theme as a liability. The moderator leans into the microphone and says, “Middle Eastern,” as if this in itself is a fix. I sit there, holding everything that is wrong with this mistake.
At my condo association garage sale, a Palestinian woman asks me to give her several things because she has diabetes and a sick husband and a daughter who is married to a terrible man who does not provide for their baby. I imagine she makes these requests because we share the same language. I tell her to take whatever she wants, and then I help her load her car where I discover a trunk full of car seats and baby clothes similar to the ones she picked from my driveway. I push away the sense that I’ve been hustled with the reminder that the woman is clearly still in need.
At a lull, I walk over to my neighbor and ask, “How’s it going?”
“Slow,” she says, “those Arab women are the worst. They always want something for nothing. But then I think about how awful those women’s lives are, and I just want ask them, ‘Do you know Jesus Christ?’”
I am writing in a coffee shop, trying to tune out the interview for a sales job taking place at the table in front of me. The employer is grandiose and full of bluster, and he tells his applicant, “Some people are going to say what’s a Mexican guy like you doing making five grand a week, but I got no problem with you being Mexican. As long as we speak the same language, I can get along with anyone. I just don’t like Arabs. They want to kill my people. They want to kill yours, too. You were here for 9/11, right?”
My fingers stop moving over the keyboard. I command myself to react, to interrupt, to at least make light of his comments in an offhand way, but I am shaking. I pull out my notebook, write his words down, and pretend this attempt at record-keeping equals doing something.
The clerk at my local grocery store has a tattoo across his forearm in thick, black Arabic letters that says kaffir. I’d heard of US soldiers, inking the word unbeliever on their bodies as if this alone had the power to antagonize their Muslim enemies.
I want to ask him if he knows that anyone who belongs to any Abrahamic faith is not considered a kaffir. I want to tell him that even if he truly were an unbeliever, the Quran says, “I shall not worship that which you worship. Nor will you worship that which I worship. To you your religion, and to me mine.”
Instead I watch this arm that likely wielded a weapon in my ancestral home scan my fruits and vegetables, my butter and milk, and place it in a bag. I wonder if he even realizes his tattoo offends me, that it brings a war into a supermarket and changes the way I feel about living in this town where I’ve seen trucks—they are always trucks—with ISIS Hunting Permit bumper stickers.
But this is not a conversation for a checkout lane, and I am silent.
I am always silent.
Huda Al-Marashi's work has appeared in the Washington Post, the LA Times, al Jazeera, Refinery 29, the Rumpus, and elsewhere. You can find her at www.hudaalmarashi.com and also on Twitter, @HudaAlMarashi.
Dark Skin, Whitening Masks
By LAMYA H
This summer, I let myself burn. Three decades of my life spent consciously, unconsciously hiding from the sun, spent hearing the voices of my mother my grandmother my aunts in my head, three decades of this and I’m tired. I let myself burn.
Outta the way, Muslim
By HALA IQBAL
It’s what I am, undeniably. Brown skin, long clothes, hijab wound twice around my hair. In this moment, it is both fact and insult.
By MERON HADERO
“According to the local bloggers, the latest census identified 98118, the Rainier Valley in South Seattle, as the most diverse zip code in the US.”
Nothing of him that doth fade,
But doth suffer a sea-change
Into something rich and strange.
ESSAY | MEMOIR
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Don't Give Obama More Power Over Schools
Phyllis Schlafly / Townhall Columnist
After spending most of June giving President Obama new authority to negotiate trade deals with low-wage countries in Asia, congressional Republicans are now poised to spend July giving Obama new authority over education in America's public schools. This is a big disappointment for those of us who worked hard to elect a Republican Congress last November. We expected the new Congress to take power back from the president, not give him more.
For the past 50 years, the engine of federal control over local schools has been Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965. It was the first in a series of socialist laws that President Lyndon Johnson promised would lead to a "Great Society" after we won his declared "war on poverty."
Johnson's Great Society legislation was speedily enacted by a Congress in which Democrats outnumbered Republicans by more than two to one (295-140 in the House and 68-32 in the Senate).
Despite the trillions of dollars spent since 1965, we're no closer to achieving a Great Society; by many measures, America's education and social welfare are much worse today than when those programs were launched 50 years ago.
Republicans had an opportunity to dismantle the failed regime of federal control when they regained control of both Houses of Congress in 1994 and then elected a president in 2000. Unfortunately, George W. Bush campaigned on the slogan "Leave No Child Behind" as his signature domestic agenda item, and John Boehner, then chairman of the House Education Committee, produced a bill that rebranded the old ESEA under the new title "No Child Left Behind."
100 Million Americans Not Working!
Stephen Moore / Townhall Columnist
Is America hard at work? Or hardly working?
I ask this because Thursday's Labor Department report for June found yet another 430,000 Americans of working age (16 and older) dropped out of the workforce.
Over the last year, only 1.3 million Americans of working age have entered the workforce, even as the population of this same demographic increased by more than 2.8 million. Just over 1 million members of this group found jobs. That's right -- of the new additions to the working age population, less than four in 10 found jobs.
The newspapers touted the reduction in the unemployment rate to 5.3 percent as a cause for celebration. Yet for every three Americans added to the working age population (16 and older), only around one new job (1.07) has been created under Obama. At this pace, America will soon officially have a zero unemployment rate. But that will only be because no one will be looking for work.
Here's the story the media didn't report. There are now more than 100 million Americans over the age of 16 that are not working. Usually when the economy picks up, American workers who have been laid off stampede back into the workforce to earn a paycheck. Now we have a better job market with fewer workers.
This is partially explained by baby boomers retiring. But the largest reduction in the workforce has been among the millennials. Today the labor force participation rate for the 16 to 24 age group is 55.1 percent, down from 60.8 percent a decade ago and more than 66 percent back in the late 1990s. We're headed toward becoming Greece, where half the young people don't work.
No one knows for sure why the labor force has shrunk so much under Obama. But it's a good bet that policy mistakes have played a big role.
Minimum wage increases are pricing the young out of the workforce. Welfare programs are effectively paying people not to work. Too many Americans have high school and even college degrees that are next to worthless to employers.
Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, Rand Paul and other Republicans say that America could and should strive for 4 percent growth -- up from the pitiful 2 percent of the last six years. But this will certainly require a growing workforce. We need at least 10 million more Americans working to get growth up to 4 percent -- which happened under presidents Reagan and Clinton. And to get there we need national policies that reward work and discourage idleness.
Which brings us to the paradox of the American economy. We have 10 percent of the workforce unemployed, in part-time work or dropped out of the workforce at a time when businesses say they can't find willing workers. Wages were flat last month -- so higher pay isn't going to induce a stream of workers into jobs.
Some say the problem is we are such a rich nation that Americans value leisure more than work. I doubt that's the problem. If the great American work ethic is gone, it's only because dumb anti-work government policies have stolen it.
Boston Marathon jihad murderer files motion for new trial
He confessed to the crime. He was convicted. Why is he asking for a new trial? Has he lost his faith in the idea that Allah will reward him for his jihad, and is hoping to avoid the death penalty? Or is he hoping to tie up more of the Infidel’s time and resources in […]
Obama: ‘Ideologies are not defeated by guns’
Really? How ’bout the Nazi ideology? How was that defeated? Obama is emboldening the jihad war machine.
This bloody coward is going to get us all killed.
This comes from the same man that said, “If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun,” when talking about fighting Republicans.
“The spread of evil is the symptom of a vacuum. Whenever evil wins, it is only by default: by the moral failure of those who evade the fact that there can be no compromise on basic principles” — Ayn Rand. Obama is the hoover of vacuums.
“Obama on ISIS Threat: “Ideologies Are Not Defeated With Guns,” Real Clear Politics, July 6, 2015
After consulting with military leaders at the Pentagon this...
Don't Give Obama More Powe...
100 Million Americans Not ...
Boston Marathon jihad murderer files motion for ne...
Obama: ‘Ideologies are not defeated by guns’Pamela...
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Home News Education & Training Midlands university leaders explore
Midlands university leaders explore
The Mayor of the West Midlands and leaders from universities across the East and West Midlands joined forces this week to outline ambitions to counter the region’s annual ‘brain drain’ of graduates to London.
The discussions took place as findings from a new YouGov poll of 2,096 UK adults carried out by the construction and consultancy company Mace. The research revealed that respondents who selected a region outside of London for having the best choices of universities ranked the Midlands as third (chosen by 15%), just behind Scotland (chosen by 16%) and some distance behind the South East (chosen by 29%) perhaps owing to the Oxbridge effect.
The Midlands is well known for its strong industrial sectors including aerospace and car manufacturing, which are bolstered by an array of courses that can be studied in its flagship universities from Electronics and Chemical research, to Physics and Systems Engineering.
Of all those with an opinion on which UK region (excluding London) offers graduates the best career prospects, 10% chose the Midlands, again just slightly ahead of Scotland (chosen by 8%) and with the South East leading, as chosen by 55%.
The polling also revealed that younger people (aged 16-24) who expressed an opinion are more likely to identify the Midlands (17%) as the best region in the UK for graduate career prospects, compared to those in the 40-54 bracket (6%).
Simon Dale, director of the Midlands at Mace, said: “It’s encouraging to see evidence that the Midlands’ universities and its graduate prospects are viewed favourably, especially amongst younger people. This is no doubt owing to the strength of the region’s offer – with institutions like the University of Birmingham and University of Warwick continuing to rank highly in the annual league tables.
“Improving perceptions goes hand in hand with ongoing investment and the growth of core cities like Birmingham over the past couple of decades. However, while high profile projects such as the redevelopment of Birmingham New Street, HS2 and plans for the 2022 Commonwealth Games are contributing towards Birmingham’s strong performance in graduate retention, we need to ensure this positive effect is felt across the entire region so that the Midlands can become a central driver for the UK’s post-Brexit economic growth.”
Over 2 in 5 who chose an option (43%) underestimated that the Midlands had only 2 or less universities in the Complete University Guide’s Top 20 UK universities for 2019. Although 29% correctly picked the right number of Midlands universities (4) which made the list.
West Midlands Mayor Andy Street, said: “With initiatives like our Local Industrial Strategy and the West Midlands Skills Deal, we’re doing everything we can to boost skills across the region and encourage even more graduates to remain in the Midlands once they have finished university.
“It’s therefore fantastic that our region is ranking so highly when it comes to how its universities are perceived on the national stage. The Midlands has a number of leading academic institutions which are to be celebrated for their efforts in driving many of our diverse scientific and industrial sectors such as automotive, advanced manufacturing, life sciences and rail.”
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Retreats & Residencies
DECELERATOR RETREATS
SPRING 2019 DECELERATOR RETREATS
Applications are now closed for the 2019 Spring Decelerator Program. Please subscribe to our newsletter to find out about future residency opportunities, and meet the 2019 Spring Decelerator cohort here.
The Strange’s “Decelerator” is a new retreat/residency hybrid offering Creative Internet People* the chance to do some focused reading, writing, and laptopping from a beautiful location in the Catskills.
Rather than emphasizing the making of new work, this program emphasizes the value of refueling and reflecting in order to gain strategic perspective on your larger vision. This April and May, one- to two-week residencies will be offered to imaginative and forward-looking creative practitioners whose work tends to be ambitious and, in a word, “strange”—radical, speculative, shifting, multi-faceted, non-binary, technically inventive, and perhaps ahead of its time. It is an invitation to step outside—both outside of your day-to-day life, and outside, literally, into the forest—and to be online in a more expansive space.
*Creative Internet People = an improvised term for those artists, curators, writers, designers, researchers, technologists, etc, who generally find it hard to articulate their “vocation,” but for whom the internet and/or computers play a central role in their work.
What the Decelerator program is
• A free-of-cost, short-term residency/retreat hybrid in the Catskills for individuals or collaborative groups of up to 3 people. All residents will be provided with a comfortable space to live and work in. Residency dates and durations are flexible, but will generally last between one and two weeks, and will take place in April and May of 2019.
• A chance to devote a nice chunk of focused time to researching, reflecting, brainstorming, strategizing, and pushing ahead on a long-term creative undertaking. This opportunity is best suited for those working to evolve an ambitious project into its next phase.
• A reprieve and an oasis of positive energy. Strange HQ is a peaceful, tranquil space where respect and inclusivity are of paramount importance. All residents should expect to contribute to the shared Strange HQ experience by being open, generous, respectful, and caring—of the space and of each other.
What the Decelerator program isn't
• An established program—spring 2019 is our first season! We are looking to host self-sufficient residents who are open to giving feedback on the in-development program, and who like the idea of being a part of something that's still coming together.
• An extremely social experience. Decelerator residencies will overlap in many cases, and there will often be 3+ residents at Strange HQ at a time. When this is the case, some shared dinners/excursions may be offered. However, residents should plan to enjoy some alone time while here.
• Free lodging in one of our inviting and fully-equipped, wifi-enriched spaces: either the Studio House, Lily of the Valley cabin, or the Barn Loft (see the section below for additional accommodation information). All accommodations come with comfortable necessities like linens, towels, shampoo, tea, etc. Computer monitors, keyboards, and some other technical equipment can be loaned out as needed.
• On-site creative encouragement. 1:1 mentorship sessions are available from Willa, the program's director, who is an experienced creative strategist, editor, problem solver, and superconnector. Daniel, The Strange's co-founder, will also be available for technical consultations on topics ranging from web technologies and personal computing to blockchains.
• Transportation. Strange HQ is a 2.5-hour drive north of NYC, and is best accessed by car. If you do not have access to a car, we are happy to help you with alternative travel arrangements, and pending our schedules, can pick you up from the nearby Phoenicia Trailways bus stop.
• Meals/groceries. All Strange HQ lodging includes access to a kitchen, and you should expect to prepare your own food while here. There is a grocery store a 10-minute drive away, as well as plenty of great restaurants in the area. Residents are also welcome to plan group meals together and cook in the communal barn kitchen.
• Dedicated studio space. We aim to specifically support creative practitioners with computer-and-internet-centric practices, and while there is plenty of table, desk, and couch space, private art studios are not offered. Residents should plan to bring all of the supplies and equipment they'd like to use while here.
RESIDENCY ACCOMMODATIONS
RESIDENCY ACCOMODATIONS
BARN WORKSPACE + LOFT
The Strange Barn has a large communal working/living space, a kitchen, and a bathroom on the first floor, which all residents will have access to. Upstairs, there is an open sleeping loft that accommodates up to three residents, which will be prioritized for collaborative groups, or for those who don't mind sharing a space.
STUDIO HOUSE
The Studio House is a quiet, private space for one resident to live and work in. It has a living and dining area, kitchen, desk space, wood stove and bathroom on the first floor, and a lofted bedroom upstairs, accessed by a spiral staircase. There is a stream that trickles by outside.
LILY CABIN
Lily of the Valley is a 100-year-old hunting lodge. Downstairs it has a living and dining room, a kitchen, a bathroom, and french doors out to a wrap-around porch. Upstairs is a large bedroom, library, and desk space. Outside there is a stone fire pit and meditation garden. Lily will be prioritized for residents who may need to travel with family.
For more info on the Strange HQ spaces and surroundings, see here.
February 15: Applications due
End of February: Selected applicants notified
April and May, 2019: Flexible one- or two-week residencies take place
A wonderful group of friends of The Strange has agreed to help select the inaugural group of Decelerator residents:
Lindsay Howard is an independent curator specializing in how the internet is shaping art and culture. She produced the 50th anniversary of the Experiments in Art and Technology program between Nokia Bell Labs and the New Museum. Currently, she manages Creator Initiatives at Kickstarter.
Taeyoon Choi is an artist, educator, and activist. He co-founded the School for Poetic Computation, and has been a fellow at Data and Society Research Institute and EYEBEAM Art and Technology Center, among others. He's currently working on the Distributed Web of Care, and on research that takes a critical approach to technology, ethics, justice, and the concept of personhood.
Stephanie Pereira is the Director of NEW INC, the first museum-led incubator launched to support entrepreneurial creative practitioners working in the areas of art, technology, and design. Previously, she directed Creator Engagement at Kickstarter, and was the Associate Director of Learning & Engagement at Eyebeam.
Alfredo Salazar-Caro is a multimedia artist whose work exists at the intersection of installation, documentary, virtual reality, and sculpture. Alfredo co-founded the Digital Museum of Digital Art, a project that functions as a virtual institution and exhibition platform dedicated to the promotion and distribution of new media art.
DECELERATOR FAQs
Is there an expectation around what I will work on or accomplish during the residency?
We expect Decelerator residents to work on strategic planning, project-related research, and other work that will help you slow down and make progress towards your overall creative vision. We understand that having the chance to unwind in a natural setting may encourage you to step away from your work at times, too, and this is fully encouraged! At the culmination of your time here, you will not be expected to present a completed project; however, we are looking to work with participants individually to document some of their progress in a new Strange HQ publication.
Wait, my work might be documented in a publication? What does that mean?
We are developing an experimental publication with an open-source mindset to share Decelerator participants' progress in ways that may help other creative practitioners take steps towards realizing their own long-term visions. We hope to work with this first round of program participants to develop the format of this publication, but of course will respect your privacy and work with you directly to determine what you'd be comfortable contributing.
If my application is accepted, how will the dates and duration for my residency be determined?
If you are offered a residency, we will work with you to individually coordinate the timing of your stay. Most residencies will last between one and two weeks, and will take place in April or May of 2019.
How will applications be reviewed?
All applications will first be considered by the program's director, and then a group of finalists will be reviewed by a selection committee (details above). We will prioritize diversity and inclusiveness when reviewing applications.
Does this residency cost money to participate in?
No, it is a free residency—meaning accommodations and participation in the program are fully covered. Residents will need to cover the costs of their own food, travel, and supplies while here.
Is there a stipend available for those who need help covering residency-related costs, such as travel and groceries?
Yes, a stipend of up to $300 is available to help cover travel and other costs—you can apply for it as part of the Decelerator application. We are committed to making this an inclusive program.
Is this residency accessible to those with limited mobility?
Unfortunately at this time, Strange HQ spaces are not accessible to those with limited mobility. We hope to improve accessibility in the future.
When will I know if I've been accepted?
We plan to notify selected applicants by the end of February.
For any questions not addressed above, you may reach out to [email protected]
"The Strange's Decelerator residency is about slowing down and focusing, and in this sense it provided me with a much-needed 'breather' to be alone with my writing. It gives you the time and the space to not just think, but to be—something that can be hard to do in any other residency or space. It was one of my favorite residency experiences I've ever had."
— Researcher and artist Caroline Sinders
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Upside Writer July 8, 2015 Opinion, Sport
OPINION: Nothing can be taken from Phil Walsh’s death. Except…
Image credit; Australian Football League
OPINION: By Dean Mayes
Originally published at www.deanfromaustralia.com
The city of Adelaide was thrust into a collective shock over the weekend, following the murder of AFL Adelaide Crows coach Phil Walsh, by his own son.
Acres of page space and swathes of internet bandwidth has been taken up with the reporting of this tragic event so, for the sake of brevity, I won’t reproduce the story in full here. A quick Google Search will yield all you need to know about the event and the circumstances of the murder.
In the collective grief that has followed, I have conversed with many people who are trying to come to grips with this heinous act. Clearly it is one in which many can’t – and justifiably so. Here we have a son, coming home in the early hours of a Friday morning and, following a domestic dispute, has fatally knifed his own father. It is an unforgivable act. One which he will be tried and judged for.
The ramifications are incomprehensible. A loving father, husband and family man has been taken from this earth and his family has, in one fell swoop, been utterly destroyed.
In the immediate aftermath, through the white noise of incessant media analysis, I myself tried to get my head around it. I happened across one newspaper article which was moving and prescient. Penned by Herald Sun columnist Mark Robinson in April 2015, that very journalist embedded himself with Phil Walsh for a period of time and produced a insightful piece on the AFL Coach – both the professional man and the private man
Image credit: News Limited / Sarah Reed
In it, Phil Walsh is cast as a committed football coach, brilliant tactician, father figure to many young footballers and widely respected as an astute football mind. Walsh also reflects on himself as a family man and father and he admitted that all was not well between himself and his son.
I should clarify here that nothing – Nothing – can excuse the behavior and the actions of Cy Walsh, nor can Phil Walsh be blamed in any degree for those actions.
What does become clear is that the demands of his job and his obsession with it drove a wedge between father and son that was damaging.
“…But have I been a good father? To my son, I had a disconnect because of footy?
“I just immersed myself, got consumed and was selfish with as much time I committed to footy. I’m basically talking about my 10 years at Port Adelaide, just the desperation to win a premiership and I thought it was all about me, when it’s all about the players.”
“I lost that connection and I’m trying to reconnect with my son, which I have done.”
– Phil Walsh, April 2015
Walsh goes on to reflect on the commitment he made to re-connect with his son, to remove that wedge and it would appear that he and his son were making strides in renewing their relationship.
Apparently, it was not to be.
On Sunday morning, I was at my own son’s local footy game and I fell into a conversation with one of the other dads. Inevitably the talk turned to the events of Friday and the shocking aftermath. Terms like utterly shocking, pointless, a waste came up. And then he asked the question, “What can be taken from this?”
I have indeed asked myself this very same question. My eyes were inevitably drawn to my own son, out on the field. Reflecting on my own relationship with him, there have been plenty of times where I have placed other priorities ahead of that relationship – be it work commitments, writing commitments or any one of a number of other things. One can argue the merits of degrees of neglect in this but I do know that I have disappointed him and I have disappointed myself.
If anything can be taken from the tragedy of Phil Walsh’s death – perhaps it will prompt fathers and sons to sit down with one another and talk…
…just talk.
For advice and support, visit Beyond Blue by clicking the picture.
Click the pic to read Dean’s recent chat with The Upside News.
Dean Mayes is a South Australian author and thinker. He has published two novels, The Hambledown Dream (2010), and Gifts of the Peramangk. His third novel, The Recipient, is due for release in 2015.
He lives in Adelaide with his wife, Emily, and their two children, Xavier and Lucy.
*All opinions in this category are that of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or values of The Upside News.
Posted in Opinion, Sport and tagged Dean Mayes, Opinion. Bookmark the permalink.
ADELAIDE MEDIA AND MUSOS CLASH IN INAUGURAL COMP
BEAR WITH ME – Theatre Review, 8th July, Space Theatre
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The Last of Us and Uncharted 4 director Bruce Straley is leaving Naughty Dog
Mike Minotti@tolkoto September 13, 2017 1:06 PM
Above: The gold is on the PlayStation 4.
Image Credit: Sony
Bruce Straley, who was a co-director along with Neil Druckmann on major Naughty Dog hits The Last of Us and Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, announced today that he is leaving the studio in a blog post. He did not reveal his next project.
Straley joined Naughty Dog in 1999 as a texture artist for Crash Team Racing, and he was the company’s 15th employee. He continued to work on art for games like Jak & Daxter and Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune before co-directing Uncharted 2: Among Thieves with Amy Hennig.
Straley was on a sabbatical, but this is now turning into a permanent departure.
Above: Neil Druckmann (left) and Bruce Straley, the co-directors of Naughty Dog’s Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End.
Image Credit: Dean Takahashi
“This has been the hardest decision of my career,” Straley noted in the post. “Naughty Dog is home. The Kennel is family. I’ve learned and grown so much from working with this incredible team. But after heading up three extremely demanding projects, and taking some extended time away from the office, I found my energy focusing in other directions, and I slowly realized this was the signal that it’s time to move on.”
Druckmann is handling director duties solo for The Last of Us Part II, which has an unannounced release date for the PlayStation 4.
The Last of us has sold over 8 million copies, while Uncharted 4 has moved over 8.7 million games. Each have been big, exclusive hits for the PlayStation brand, and their movie-quality visuals and story-telling have received praise from players and critics and imitation from other studios.
President of Naughty Dog Evan Wells commented on Straley’s departure in his own blog post.
“Bruce’s drive for excellence and enthusiastic support for his teammates has helped shape the studio culture and will continue to have a lasting impact,” Wells wrote. “For that alone, the entire team is grateful. And for me, I can attribute much of my own personal growth as a game developer to having worked alongside his amazing talent for more than twenty years. It’s really crazy to think that much time has passed! And through it all, I’m even more fortunate to be able to count him as a friend.”
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Why United for Macarthur?
Our Bid
Who is behind our bid?
A-LEAGUE EXPANSION
The A-League is Australia’s premier football competition. It is governed by Football Federation Australia (FFA) and currently has nine teams. The competition kicked off in 2005 with eight teams and has been going from strength to strength since inception. This bid will form an essential ingredient in the landscape of the A-League and its future.
The Mayor of Campbelltown, Cr George Brticevic, said having an A-League team representing the region would be an exciting opportunity for South West Sydney, and a source of community pride.
“There are strong reasons why a new team should be established in the region, and in particular at Campbelltown Sports Stadium, given its accessibility by both road and public transport. A substantial population growth is expected over the next 20 years which will see many families calling the region home,” he said.
“We already have strong, passionate grassroots support for football in our region, and this support will grow significantly as our region grows.
“Our community is calling out for, and is ready to have, a full-time sporting team with a full schedule of games based in the Macarthur region. This is a great opportunity to have a professional sporting team, playing at a national level, which lives and breathes our region.
“There’s a lot of work to be undertaken in developing the bid, but we have a compelling case for a team to gain entry into the A-League.”
League teams would play at Campbelltown Sports Stadium, providing residents of South West Sydney regular access to this elite sport on their doorstep and a home team that will plan, train, play and thrive with them, as they deserve. As the population of South West Sydney grows, so will this club. The children of the region will become the club’s representatives, and the Matildas and Socceroos of the future.
Campbelltown has welcomed both Sydney FC and the Western Sydney Wanderers with open arms, but it is now time that this region has its very own football club to embrace and support.
bid@unitedformacarthur.com.au
Campbelltown City Council website
FFA website
#U4M
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The latest on the Green Bay Packers' running game
There was more good news than bad news this week in terms of the team’s ground attack.
by Russell S. Baxter (article) and Emir Milinkic (video)
December 3, 2017 at 10:21 AM Sun 03 Dec 2017 10:21:08 AM EST
The latest on the Green Bay Packers' running game so far - Video
It hasn’t been a year of positives for head coach Mike McCarthy and the NFL’s version of the walking wounded in the Green Bay Packers. Losing star quarterback Aaron Rodgers in Week 6 at Minnesota was but one of a few crucial moves that have the team with a 5-6 record after 11 contests. The last time the Pack didn’t win at least 10 games in a season was 2013. But that was a year in which Rodgers returned in Week 17 after missing seven games and not only orchestrated a win over the Bears at Soldier Field, but the club’s 8-7-1 mark was enough to win the NFC North.
That doesn’t seem likely this year with the 9-2 Minnesota Vikings and 6-5 Detroit Lions ahead of Green Bay in the standings. But the team got some good news this week when it came to their running game. It’s an area of the team that could propel a late-season sure. First, there was a little Bad News.
Disappointing ending
He was supposed to be the main man in the backfield for the Green Bay Packers this season, but injuries would catch up to Ty Montgomery this year and this past week the organization opted to place him on injured reserve.
The three-year pro has a team-high 71 carries, good for 273 yards on the ground and three scores. The former wide receiver also ranks fifth on the club with 23 receptions, good for 173 yards and one touchdown. Now it will be up to a pair of rookies to take charge of a Packers running game that ranked 22nd in the NFL entering Week 13.
Reinforcements on the comeback trail
Now good news for the defending NFC North champions.
Per Adam Schefter of ESPN very early Sunday morning, the second of the Green Bay Packers’ two fifth-round draft choices in April is ready to return to the field. “Packers’ RB Aaron Jones, questionable for Sunday due to knee injury, is expected to play, per source, but Jamaal Williams still expected to get most of work vs. Bucs.” Despite missing the past two games vs. the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers, the former UTEP product still leads the team with 370 yards on the ground, that coming on just 70 carries.
Jones and Montgomery are both tied for the club lead with three rushing touchdowns.
And speaking of 70 attempts, that’s what the Packers have gotten out of fellow rookie Jamaal Williams this season. He’s third on the team with 224 yards rushing and has scored twice. The fourth-round pick has also totaled 13 catches for 152 yards and one score. Having him and Jones back together could be what helps salvage Green Bay’s season in 2017.
Russell S. Baxter
Read more on the same topic from Russell S. Baxter:
What does Jimmy Graham bring to the Green Bay Packers? Muhammad Wilkerson would be a great addition to the Green Bay Packers Green Bay Packers: Running game made big strides in disappointing season
Emir Milinkic
Blasting News recommends Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson rumors say he could return to the WWE ring Video Patriots' training camp: Tom Brady squeezes in some vacation time ahead of training Video Manny Pacquiao vs Keith Thurman promises a tough fight on July 20 Video Colorado writer knows the Huskers fans can't be kept out of Folsom Video Nebraska football appears to be in the driver's seat for quarterback Dematrius Davis Celtics center Kanter wants to meet Brady, Mayfield expected Patriots to trade up for him
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Dell joins Ti-Cats
Football · March 7, 2014 2:19 pm ·
(File photo by Heather Davidson)
Fifth-year Isaac Dell knows what it means to deal with difficult situations.
Last summer, the Wilfrid Laurier running back was offered to sign with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at the end of their training camp, but opted to be released by the team after receiving a concussion last June, his second in a three-month span.
“The team doctor and I came to a mutual agreement that it would be best for my health to take the summer off of football and just focus on recovering,” Dell explained.
“I took about two weeks off and basically did nothing. And then I started doing physiotherapy, where the physiotherapist worked on my neck and upper back, and it seemed to be a lot of the symptoms I was having weren’t necessarily directly related to a head injury as much as my neck. Working on my neck and relaxing really helped.
“Eventually I got back to work and had a bit of a regular summer and I was able to recover fast enough to play in my last season at school.”
Dell was drafted 37th overall in last May’s draft, but he returned to the Hawks last August.
And after his final year with Laurier, Dell signed with the Ti-Cats for the upcoming season — and is injury free.
Despite having to stay back a year, Dell made the most of it, and came back to play one last year with Laurier, while also tying up some loose ends with his education.
“Initially I was pretty disappointed that I wasn’t able to play with Hamilton, but I just tried to look at it in a positive manner and I was able to come back and finish up my education sooner than expected,” he said.
“If I played with Hamilton it would’ve taken me an extra couple years to finish my undergrad.”
“So I was able to come back and play one final season of university ball and focus on my education and get that out of the way.”
Finally, he was faced with the decision of whether or not he should follow through with playing a summer season of football, or take the longer route and attempt to fully recover from his injury.
Dell weighed his options before making his decision.
“I think that at the time when I was in the situation of — should I try and struggle through the recovery process and play that season last year— I looked at the current longevity of my career and realized I was still young and if I took my time to recover and did it properly that I would potentially have an opportunity to come back, so I think it just means that I made the right decision,” he said.
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Laurier legends inducted to Hall of Fame
Hockey · October 1, 2014 7:00 am ·
Photo by Heather Davidson
Members of the 2004-05 Wilfrid Laurier University women’s hockey team stood at the front of the Senate and Board Chamber Friday night and addressed the director of athletics and recreation, Peter Baxter.
“You promised us a national champion coach [in Rick Osborne] and you delivered. Thank you for making this team so special,” they said to Baxter.
The 2004-05 Canadian Interuniversity Sport women’s hockey championship team was inducted into the Laurier Hall of Fame along with six athletes and a builder.
10 years removed, the women’s hockey team was the first national championship team in the program, picking up the hardware a year after picking up head coach Osborne on the way to an exhibition tournament. The Hawks went through a coaching shuffle in 2003-04 and the following season found themselves capturing CIS gold in a 4-1 victory over the perennial powerhouse the Alberta Pandas.
“It’s so special. You heard person after person talk about how special it is to be part of the Laurier community, not only as a student, but as a student-athlete,” women’s hockey goaltender and inductee Cindy Eadie said.
“To win a national championship with those friends and teammates and people who support you is just the icing on the cake, really.”
Two members of the women’s hockey team, Eadie and Andrea Bevin, were among the inductees, along with Hollie Nicol and Paul Arkilander from curling, Mark Voakes from men’s hockey and Clive Tharby from men’s football. Luke Fusco was inducted in the builder category.
Eadie, one of the most decorated athletes to ever play for Laurier, won three Ontario University Athletics championships and was named the OUA and CIS rookie of the year, OUA player of the year, a CIS first team all-Canadian and an OUA first team all-star in her first outing.
In 2004-05, she also collected CIS first team all-Canadian, OUA player of the year, OUA first team all-star and OUA goalie of the year honours.
Eadie was also recognized with Laurier’s president’s award for top female athlete of the year in her fourth season.
Joining her is Bevin, who won an OUA championship in each of her five years at Laurier and one CIS championship. She was named to the CIS all-rookie team in 2004-05 and won Laurier’s rookie of the year award.
Bevin won CIS first team all-Canadian honours three times and OUA player of the year twice. She finished her career with Laurier’s president’s award.
“It feels fantastic,” Eadie said. “It’s such an honour and, as I said earlier, this group of girls is just fantastic. A highly successful [group] of people and it’s a pleasure to be their teammate.”
Nicol, the first women’s curler to be inducted into the hall of fame, twice guided her rink to a national championship and added one OUA gold medal.
She was a two-time CIS academic all-Canadian and was a recipient of Laurier’s Outstanding Women of Laurier award and the Luke Fusco academic athletic achievement award.
She also won a silver medal at the 2009 Winter Universiade.
Arkilander won a CIS gold medal and was a first team all-Canadian and OUA all-star, and won two OUA titles. He also represented Canada at the 2009 Winter Universiade, where they finished sixth.
The men’s football inductee, Tharby, was a 1987 Yates Cup champion and was named an OUAA (now the OUA) second team all-star, an OUAA defensive MVP and first team all-star en route to CIAU (now the CIS) all-Canadian first team honour.
“To say that Laurier really helped build my character is an understatement. It was an integral part in my development as a person,” Eadie said on behalf of the inductees.
In the builder category, Fusco is inducted after over 40 years of service to the Laurier community. As a former dean of the faculty of social work, he has been a counsellor and mentor of student athletes and helped students balance academics and athletic success.
He has an award named after him, and also worked with many of Laurier’s coaches and athletics staff in providing guidance and continues to remain active in the hiring of coaches and chairing the Hall of Fame committee.
“[The department] really cares about young people who are developing in all parts of their lives,” Fusco said.
“Nobody wants to win more than I do, and nobody wants to win more than the athletic department. We also want the people who we are working with to develop and then succeed later on in life. And we want to be a part of that. And that never ends.”
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Local tech sector unfazed by RIM losses
Local · June 27, 2012 12:24 am ·
Photo courtesy of Mike Lakusiak
Despite recent layoffs and other issues at Research in Motion (RIM), numerous tech-startups in Waterloo Region, with the support of local students, are continuing to thrive.
Waterloo Region is home to more than 800 technology-based businesses, hosting locally-grown global companies such as Open Text and RIM. In addition, there are plenty of startup businesses, many of which are run by graduates from the University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University and Conestoga College.
Joseph Fung, CEO of TribeHR, a human resources management software company located in Kitchener, praised student involvement for the continual success of his corporation.
“We hire not only college students, but also summer students” Fung said.
“Having a rich ground with many startup businesses is a very easy way to find exciting and engaging work that is rewarding, but at the same time, it provides a great foundation.”
Fung added that other startup businesses in the area, such as Communitech, thrive off of their engagements with students, who are their primary source of employment.
In recent months, RIM has been experiencing a decline in profit and share values, resulting in the stock dropping 77 per cent in 2011 alone. RIM plans to streamline their operations and save $1 billion in the fiscal year by cutting at least 2,000 jobs, with the possibility of severing as many as 6,000 jobs at a later time. Recently, hundreds of employees from the Waterloo-based company were released.
When asked if there was a possibility that Waterloo’s other small businesses could benefit from RIM’s current predicament, Fung said that it is allowing these businesses the potential to thrive with caution.
“RIM has been going so fast and so over the last few years that you haven’t actually seen that much cross-pollination in terms of transition. This offers small businesses in the (Kitchener-Waterloo) area to benefit and learn from the experience of RIM,” Fung explained.
According to many in the community, RIM’s drastic cuts are not characterized as a concern by the small technology businesses in Kitchener-Waterloo.
Desire2Learn Incorporated, another local tech business, helps provide solutions to health care and education sectors worldwide.
John McLeod, vice president of marketing, noted that RIM is much different from many of the businesses in Waterloo, meaning its problems are unlikely to be mirrored at Desire2Learn or other local companies.
“Everyone wants to see RIM do well and we’re hoping for the best for them obviously,” McLeod said.
“However, on the business perspective, they are a completely separate businesses. We’re focused on the notion of how the world learns and while we have mobile elements in our platform, we’re in a very different business.”
Desire2Learn has doubled in employee count over the year and there are more jobs opening up, further distancing the company from the aftermath of RIM’s downfall.
Waterloo mayor Brenda Halloran believes that the prospect of Waterloo dwindling because of the RIM layoffs is not a feasible concern. Halloran emphasized that the businesses in Waterloo, specifically the technology businesses, are presently looking to hire more people to work. Currently, there are 1,200 jobs available at ventures such as the Communitech Hub.
“Any community would be extremely envious to have this issue where we can’t find enough people available for our companies,” Halloran shared.
“The people who are leaving RIM or looking for other opportunities, there is lots for them. I don’t see it as a concern.”
Although Halloran is concerned about those who face being laid off, she emphasized that there are additional employment opportunities in the Kitchener-Waterloo area that will not only benefit those laid off from RIM, but will also benefit the employers as well.
“There will be opportunities within the community for people to find new job opportunities. Anyone who is leaving RIM has great skills and they are highly employable and highly sought after,” Halloran concluded.
Tags: slider2
Author: Alanna Fairey3rd year English, 3rd year with The Cord. Since her first week with The Cord when she was assigned to the life section, Alanna knew that she was meant to be the Life Editor one day. Though confident as a writer, Alanna knew that she was not yet ready to make that jump to an editor position and worked as the Local/National Lead Reporter. Thankful for the experiences she gained, Alanna focused on her desire to be an editor and had her platform for life done by the beginning of January. Now her dream has come true and she couldn’t be any happier. Alanna also drinks too much coffee and is obsessed with Leonardo DiCaprio.
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Killing Fields: Artistic Responses To The Khmer Rouge
The key social and cultural events which inspire art, literature or any creative venture are not always positive and spiritual. Some of the most horrifying episodes in history have inspired authors and film makers to produce masterpieces. Beth Jones looks at how creative masterpieces have been shaped by the history and barbarity of Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge.
The Khmer Rouge (The Red Cambodians) committed mass-genocide during a short period in Cambodia’s history as part of their brutal rule over their country. They attempted to turn Cambodians into the ‘Old People’, a self-sufficient agrarian community based on an extreme reading of Maoist political philosophy. To make this social engineering enterprise a success, the Khmer Rouge government obliterated the elite and the literate in the country, demolishing businesses, schools, hospitals, financial institutions and destroying the very culture and religion of Cambodia in the process.
© Mainstream Publishing
First they Killed my Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers
This Cambodian holocaust has been the inspiration for an abundance of cinematic and literary triumphs. First they Killed my Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers by Loung Ung, for example, is the harrowing true account of the author’s childhood experiences of the Khmer Rouge invasion. The story tracks Loung’s life from her formative years. when she played with her siblings in their idyllic home town of Phnom Penh, to the arrival of the Pot Pol regime in April 1975. Told through the eyes of a child, Loung’s depiction of such a catastrophic event is deeply affecting. From the ‘four-year death march’ that Cambodia’s nationals were made to endure to ‘people being made to work in the fields every day’, Loung gives a genuine and personal account of how ‘Cambodia…was turned into a virtual prison. We didn’t have walls, but it was a prison.’ This autobiography focuses on both personal and national tragedy, giving voice to the suffering of Cambodia as a nation and to the author herself, and imparting a palpable message concerning the human ability to endure the harshest conditions onto readers.
© Enigma Productions
The Killing Fields is a critically acclaimed film which has a similar focus to Loung’s work; focusing on the mass killings that happened during the Khmer Rouge terror regime in Cambodia, the film is based on the journey of two journalists: Cambodian Dith Pran and American Sydney Schanberg. Directed by Roland Joffé and starring Sam Waterston, Haing S. Ngor, and John Malkovich, the film was nominated for 13 BAFTAS, and went on to win eight of the awards for which it was nominated, including Best Film, Best Actor (Haing S. Ngor) and Best Adapted Screenplay. Critic Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote that it ‘is a masterful achievement on all the technical levels — it does an especially good job of convincing us with its Asian locations — but the best moments are the human ones, the conversations, the exchanges of trust, the waiting around, the sudden fear, the quick bursts of violence, the desperation.’
© National Geographic Society
Alive in the Killing Fields
Alive in the Killing Fields is the memoir of Nawuth Keat, a survivor of the Khmer Rouge genocide. It records his tragic experience of the Khmer Rouge reign of terror, in which his family was massacred and he was forced to flee into the jungle. He eventually was captured, and the deprivations and suffering of the Khmer Rouge camps are offered in distressing detail in Alive in the Killing Fields. Nawuth loses everything during Pol Pot’s reign, his home town is destroyed and his family killed, whilst he himself endures unimaginable physical and mental torture. However his memoir is notable for its message of hope, as Nawuth attempts to use his experiences as proof of the enduring power of human dignity and courage, in the face of inconceivable hardship.
© The University Press Group
Cambodia, 1975-1978: Rendezvous with Death
Cambodia, 1975-1978: Rendezvous with Death is a collection of essays, which search for what can be explained in the ultimately almost inexplicable acts perpetrated by the Khmer Rouge. It is accompanied by a photo essay that provides visual evidence of the tragedy of Cambodia’s auto-genocide. It was described in the Times Literary Supplement as, ‘the most important examination of the subject so far…. Without in any way denying the horror and brutality of the Khmers Rouges, the essays adopt a principle of detached analysis which makes their conclusion far more significant and convincing than the superficial images emanating from the television or cinema screen.’
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Stéphane Mallarmé by Auguste Renoir
France / Books
Creating a New Language: The Poetry of Stéphane Mallarmé
Ewa Zubek
VP Social
Stéphane Mallarmé is renowned as being one of the most influential poets in the French Symbolist movement. Born in 1842, his creative and critical work inspired many of the radical artistic movements in the 20th Century, including Futurism, Dadaism and Surrealism. Ewa Bianka Zubek explores the life and work of this iconic writer.
Courtesy of Pepeworks
Notoriously misunderstood, obsessively ‘difficult’, accused of obscurity, pretence and genius: still, Stéphane Mallarmé (1842-1898) was arguably the greatest, and most innovative, of the French Symbolist poets. His story is not as passionate as that of Verlaine and Rimbaud’s scandalous love affair. Neither were his habits as decadent as Baudelaire’s penchant for opium, women and the senses. No; Mallarmé lived in financial and matrimonial modesty, writing as a means to escape and to nourish himself.With the 19th century being a time of great excitement, and a paradigm shift in French poetry, it is no wonder that ever since his adolescent years Mallarmé had envisaged a life as a poet. Baudelaire had just published his revolutionary The Flowers of Evil (1857), free-verse was cracking the shell of traditional versification, and some of the greatest voices of French literature – Hugo, Flaubert, Verlaine, Rimbaud, Valéry, Zola, Balzac – were publishing one masterpiece after another. Mallarmé had married out of some higher sense of responsibility, and he disdained- yet maintained- his job as a provincial teacher. He wanted desperately to take part in this explosive creation.
Finding a New Language
There was, however, one significant difference between the young Parnassian and his contemporaries: he needed to invent a new language to accommodate his innovative ideas. Thus, his work saw the disappearance of the lyric ‘I’ in an autonomous network of words; the abandonment of the object in favour of its quasi-platonic suggestion; and the state of equivalence where music and language would endlessly reciprocate and mirror each other. His quandary brings to mind young Werther’s impossible and intimate longing for his beloved Lotte in Goethe’s largely epistolary novel, but Mallarmé’s object of unrequited love was language itself. Despite his compulsive attempts to carve out perfection, he must have realised the utopian nature of his mission. Afternoon of the Faun and Herodias, his two lyrical dramas, were the most patient of his works. The final version of The Afternoon of a Faun was published after 12 years, while Herodias remained a project-in-the-making for 34 years, until his death, and was never finished.
The Poet Vanishes
Courtesy of Wikicommons
What was it that rendered his oeuvre so enigmatically incomplete? Let us come back to the first of his idea(l)s. In his words, ‘The pure work implies the disappearance of the poet as a speaker; he gives way to the words’ (‘L’oeuvre pure implique la disparition élocutoire du poète, qui cède initiative aux mots’). By letting go of the words and erasing all trace of his existence, the poet necessarily creates an impersonal poetry, devoid of narrative interference; a poetry that can write and re-write itself without ever reaching a conclusive form, perpetually incomplete. This complex abandonment appears in Flaubert’s free indirect style and, later, in Surrealism’s automatic writing. But Flaubert gives his voice over to his characters, and the Surrealists lose theirs through near-solipsistic self-indulgence. Mallarmé, on the other hand, passes the torch to the word itself. The poet is responsible for arranging the words in a complex syntactic order, and he must trust that they will find each other during the reading. The sonnet The virgin, lively… (‘Le vierge, le vivace…’) is proof of how grammatical structures magnetise each other and accelerate towards one another, seemingly without the poet’s guidance (who, in any case, is depicted as impotent). The intricate parallels between sounds are another signal of the narrative disappearance: words with prosodic similarity attract each other and open up an immense field of potential reference, often lost in translation, but present in ‘Cygne’, ‘assigne’, ‘signe’, where the meanings practically bounce off each other. The Poet Reappears
Mallarmé would argue that this phenomenon is natural: that the language is there, ready to serve, and that ‘things exist, we do not need to create them; we only need to seize the relationships between them’ (‘Les choses existent, nous n’avons pas à les créer, nous n’avons qu’à saisir les rapports’). This is perhaps the most marked Mallarmean claim, uttered in an interview with Jules Huret at the ‘mature’ stages of his career in 1891. By this point, Mallarmé had, tortuously, achieved his dream. He was living and writing in Paris, surrounded by a horde of young disciples who would gather in his home at 89 rue de Rome every Tuesday: avid ‘mardistes’ hungry for their master’s parole. And what he did tell them was literary sacrilege: ‘To name an object is to remove three-quarters of a poem’s joy… to suggest it, that is the dream’ (‘Nommer un objet, c’est supprimer les trois quarts de la jouissance du poème… le suggérer, voilà le rêve’). Indeed, what Mallarmé is suggesting here is that we use the relationships between things to work out the things themselves. To do this, we need to avoid talking about the thing itself. We must not name it, define it nor describe it; instead, we must allude to it by its absence– only the evocative absence of the word can make up for the inadequacy, even redundancy, of language. This complex image could be likened to a spider’s web, from which the spider itself is absent. Even though the spider is not there, the web implies some anterior and inherent presence of a spider and therefore automatically conjures up the image of the spider in our minds. In fact, the spider metaphor is one of Mallarmé’s favourites, and appears throughout his work and correspondence.
Music Exists In Every Utterance
Suggesting, rather than naming, gently stirs the reader’s mind so that he or she may arrive at the thing in question single-handedly. Mallarmé really does put a lot of trust in his words, and in his readers too, sending them on an autonomous poetic journey reminiscent of Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. He expects us to work out ‘the flower… absent from all bouquets’ (‘la fleure… absente de tous bouquets’). And how do these suggestions take place in practice? We can rely on the different textures, hues, and intrinsic memories of the words to guide us; or we can follow the associative networks, relationships and contradictions between words: what Mallarmé calls their ‘musicality’. Indeed, the idea of the aforementioned flower arises ‘musically’ (‘musicalement’). The principle is not difficult to grasp: the verse is musical not only because it has a certain rhythm or prosody to it, but also because it is an orchestra of sounds and meanings. All the words and ideas of the poem are interconnected, like the notes of a symphony. Together, they create the Oeuvre, the masterpiece, self-reflective and infinite poetry, like in The sonnet in –yx or L’apres-midi d’un faune.119 years ago exactly, Mallarmé presented a lecture on these ideas to an Oxford audience. In it, he explained his own poetics and defended the Symbolist movement against an influx of criticism, according to which the poetry of Symbolism – and his own – was obscure and impenetrable. But although he zealously defended this ‘new’ poetry, Mallarmé was never quite satisfied with his own. Naturally, it is difficult to attain perfection if the process of creation requires the tools of infinity: the lyric disappearance, the spinning of an associative web, or the orchestration of language.Mallarmé was always wary of poisonous irony, but it eventually caught up with him. On the 9th of September 1898 he got a coughing fit in a doctor’s office, where he was seeking relief for precisely that condition. He choked, fell on the ground, and died, in front of his doctor and his wife. The faculty of articulation, so precious to his poetry, failed him for the first and last time. Mallarmé’s influence on the arts has been more than resonant. The musicality of his verse has been translated into music: Debussy composed his ‘Le Prélude à l’Après-midi d’un Faune’ with Nijinsky performing a ballet to the piece. Ravel too orchestrated three of his poems. In the world of literature, he left a powerful imprint on theoretical critics such as Derrida, Kristeva or Lacan, while his later-day experiments with typography, the blank page and the appearance of form made him the precursor of surrealist techniques, and an avid supporter of free verse. We see his influence everywhere from Apollinaire’s geometric poetry or Joyce’s elusive and allusive style, to Rilke’s Dinggedichte and Barthes’ theory on ‘The Death of the Author’. A prototype modernist, Mallarmé has helped to shape today’s literary landscape.
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The Best Places To See William Blake's Art
Lena Blos
William Blake was often criticized for his idiosyncratic views and only received recognition post-mortem. His legacy has found numerous admirers in awe of his artistic talent, expressiveness in the treatment biblical themes and undercurrents of mystique in his works. Working as a painter, printer and poet, Blake is considered part of the Romantic movement while transcending at the same time any attempts to be classified. We have written about the best places to go to see his works.
The Fitzwilliam Museum
© Solipsist~commonswiki/WikiCommons
Building, Museum
Located in the historic city of Cambridge, the stunning building of the Fitzwilliam Museum houses a variety of antiquities, coins, medals, manuscripts and artworks ranging from Antiquity to the 20th century. The collection features artists such as Picasso, Monet, Rubens, Titian and Cézanne. One of the museum’s most outstanding exhibits is the selection of authors’ writings from Newton’s notebook to manuscripts by Hardy, letters by Darwin, Nelson, Brontë and Blake himself. Numerous skillful masterpieces by William Blake can be observed up close here, allowing the visitor to understand the artist in all his complexity. Next to paintings, watercolours and drawings, the exhibition features several drawings, engravings, notebooks and poetry pieces. Famous paintings include ‘The Judgment of Solomon’, ‘The Circumcision’ and ‘An Allegory of the Spiritual Condition of Man’. The Fitzwilliam Museum is not only an excellent place to fully immerse yourself in Blake’s heritage but also to explore other poets and artists of the Romantic age and artist from all parts of England.
Trumpington Street, Cambridge, England, CB2 1RB, United Kingdom
The Victoria and Albert Museum is not only an excellent place to marvel at Blake’s art but it is also widely considered one of the most important museums in the world. The largest museum in the world, it is home to a permanent collection of more than 4.5 million objects and extends over an area of 51,000 meters squared, featuring 145 galleries and spanning 5000 years of cultural and artistic history. Many of Blake’s religiously inspired paintings can be found here, symbolizing the mastermind’s artistic talent. The mystical expressions and biblical themes can be found in works such as ‘The Virgin and Child in Egypt’, ‘Eve tempted by the Serpent’, ‘The Adoration of the Kings’ or ‘Lady with the Infant Jesus riding on a Lamb with Saint John’. The perfectly organized exhibitions allow visitors to gain a truly unique insight into Blake’s paintings, and his works blend in perfectly with works of related themes and artists.
Cromwell Rd, London SW7 2RL, United Kingdom, +44 20 7942 2000
Eve tempted by the Serpent
© Dmitrismirnov/WikiCommons
Glasgow Museums
Glasgow is home to one of the most exceptional museum collections in Europe and features around 1.4 million objects. The exhibitions on display range from art to human and natural history, technological developments and transport. The most notable is Glasgow Museums‘s exhibition of European art, encompassing 8000 pieces covering the period from the 12th century to 1960. The exhibition includes paintings, drawings and sculptures by Italian, Spanish, French, Flemish and British artists. Next to important works by William Blake, visitors can marvel at pieces by Constable, Burne-Jones, Sickert and Lowry. Notable works by William Blake are ‘The Canterbury Pilgrims’, ‘The Entombment, ‘Eve naming the Birds’ and ‘Adam naming the Beasts’. Additionally, visitors can make their way to the Pollok House, a mansion built by the Maxwell family in 1752located a few miles outside the city centre, which now houses a fantastic collection of Spanish paintings alongside significant works by Blake and various antiques.
Glasgow Life, 220 High Street, G4 0QW, +44 141 287 4350
The Canterbury Pilgrims
The Tate Britain is one of England’s most significant museums, housing the national collection of British art alongside international modern masterpieces from 1900 to the present. An extensive exhibition of William Blake’s works is scheduled to run from May 2014 until 2018; it displays a wide range of his art and poetry and other materials which have been arranged into four sections. Within the confines of the Gothic Artists, visitors can explore the artist’s fascination with the style, while Furnace of Lambeth’s Vale explore his life in Lambeth, where his radical political sentiment and visionary printmaking skills resulted in a whole new form of artistic development. Additionally, Chambers of Imagination focuses further on Blake’s use of cultural material as an inspiration. The section of Formidable Works introduces a number of illuminated books and displays works which the artist himself considered as his finest. Notable pieces include ‘Satan Smiting Job with Sore Boils’, ‘The Ghost of a Flea’, ‘The Body of Abel Found by Adam and Eve’, ‘Christ Blessing the Little Children’ and ‘The Agony in the Garden’.
Millbank, London SW1P 4RG, United Kingdom, +44 20 7887 8888
The Body of Abel Found by Adam and Eve
© Petropoxy/WikiCommons
The Manchester Art Gallery reopened in 2002 after having undergone major renovations and can be visited, free of charge, seven days a week. It offers a collection of more than 25,000 pieces, including a fine art collection with numerous oil paintings, watercolours, sculptures and drawings and a selection of decorative art objects ranging from ceramics, glass and furniture to metalworks, wallpapers and other related themes. The works by William Blake feature mainly depictions of important historic characters such as ‘Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock’, ‘William Cowper’, ‘Torquato Tasso’, ‘Marcus Tullius Cicero’, ‘Homer’ an ‘William Shakespeare’ to name only a few. The exhibition shows a somewhat different side of the artist’s work and diverges from exhibitions of his popular depictions of religious stories. Blake enthusiasts wishing to see more of the artist’s works can also visit the Whitworth collection, which offers seven beautiful watercolour works by the 19th-century mastermind.
Mosley St, Manchester M2 3JL, United Kingdom, +44 161 235 8888
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Starting a Drone Program with Zero Acquisition and Maintenance Costs
Civil Infrastructuredepartment of the interior
The U.S. Department of the Interior recently announced an addition of 50 Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL) fixed wing UAVs, and these tools will round out a drone program that has become a real leader in terms of the application of this technology. Since the DOI is one of the few agencies that actually runs towards fires, floods, volcanoes and earthquakes, their UAS Program has allowed them to help officials gather critical information more quickly and act with greater clarity and agility.
This increase in efficiency and effectiveness is particularly important to the DOI, partly because it’s been referred to as the “Department of Everything Else”. It has vast responsibilities that include everything from fighting forest fires to monitoring wildlife to providing scientific insight about the nation’s natural resources and cultural heritage. Officials in the department recognized the potential drones could make for these tasks and more, but potential wasn’t going to be enough to make an investment. It meant the department had to move forward with drone technology while incurring zero acquisition and maintenance costs.
From those humble beginnings came a program that has not only been expanded with that addition of VTOL UAVs, but has also been able to quantify the difference drones have made with saving $50 million in land and infrastructure value that could have otherwise been lost. Those financial benefits along with the impact to the DOI’s core mission underscore what it means to measure the value of this technology, but their path to creating that value is an especially relevant one to explore.
A Vision for Integration Drones
The DOI’s drones flew nearly 5,000 missions in 2017, but all of that goes back to an exploration of the technology that was begun by Mark Bathrick, Director of Aviation Services at the DOI, in 2006. By Bathrick’s own admission, things started slow, as the department didn’t start training until 2009, and didn’t even start flying for missions until 2010. They always had a vision for introducing and integrating drones into their department, but they had no extra personnel and no money to make that happen.
“Whenever you’re going to start a new business line, the first thing you have to do is continue to deliver on your core business,” Bathrick told Commercial UAV News. “We’re tasked with providing the bureaus with hundreds of aircrafts and training for thousands of their employees so they are safe and mission-ready for the annual field and fire season. So we knew we couldn’t let anything take away from that, which meant we needed to free up personnel and resources to make this happen. That was something we achieved through the adoption of international quality standards that allowed us to increase the outcome efficiency of our core business, and that efficiency meant we were able to repurpose resources to experiment with and prove the value of drones.”
As an ex-Navy TOPGUN fighter and test pilot, Bathrick learned about the importance of having a well-thought through strategy, and those lessons are evident in how the DOI’s drone program was begun. Their efforts to adopt drone technology never took away from the work and responsibilities that already existed, and instead helped prove where efficiencies could be created. That strategy around creating these kinds of efficiencies stems from the four must-have competencies to achieve commercial UAV success.
An example of what the DOI has been able to capture and create thanks to drone technology.
The Four Key Competencies
As a keynote speaker at the Commercial UAV Expo, Bathrick has previously talked about how and why aviation, privacy, security and culture need to be considered in detail when coming up with that vision for introducing and integrating drones. Each of the competencies requires expertise and attention, but the way in which they’re all interrelated is critical to understand.
“Culture is a big one, because there’s often resistance to change and a new way of doing things,” Bathrick explained. That cultural aspect can go deeper though, and if the culture of the company is to treat drones as toys, then you’re not going to appreciate the responsibilities that are inherent in aviation. Likewise, privacy and security are somewhat invisible issues, but the old quote about aviation being terribly unforgiving of any carelessness, incapacity or neglect is more relevant than ever as we can see with the current public reaction to massive privacy and security breaches by some well-known companies. There are some company culture aspects that need to be addressed early on in a program, and I think that’s been part of our success. Our continuing challenge is to make sure that our culture understands the importance of all those competencies and acts accordingly to address them.”
Any organization that is looking to adopt drones into their business must fully realize the risks they are taking when operating aircraft, and that’s something that cuts across the four competencies Bathrick mentioned. Succeeding with these competencies is just the first step though, and opens up opportunities and options related to the core missions and challenges that an organization is looking to address.
Supporting and Augmenting Core Committments
The costs associated with drone adoption might be the biggest hurdle organizations are facing, but they certainly aren’t the only ones. Oftentimes, the additional challenges that stakeholders face will depend on the industry. For anyone using a drone on a farm, privacy concerns are not at the top of the list of issues that need to be sorted out. However, public officials have to deal with this issue in a proactive way, as it’s something that can often be the biggest issue for officials to work through. That can be especially problematic for the DOI, since every year they have over 400 million visits to DOI land, which is why from beginning to end, they emphasize that being proactive, transparent and collaborative with the people whose land they’re stewarding is essential.
“The first step we took was to educate our own personnel and to help them appreciate the technology,” Bathrick explained. “When you see an airplane or helicopter flying, you assume that it’s taking someone or something from point A to point B. But when you see a drone flying, you’re convinced that it must be spying on you. Some might think that’s a silly concept, but we recognize that it’s a purely normal, human reaction. That’s why one of the first things we did was sensitize our folks to the fact that this is out there, it’s real, and it’s something we can and need to address. We have to earn the public’s trust. It’s not given. We emphasize that every mission is an opportunity to earn that trust, but it’s also an opportunity to lose that trust. ”
The 2017 Virgin Islands National Park Hurricane Maria UAS Operations Report, just one of the hundreds from the DOI website
Addressing that has meant having DOI officials reach out to communities about where they’ll be flying and explaining what they’re doing and why it’s important. It’s meant being transparent with the data they’re collecting, and allowing people to access all of that. As a brief example of that transparency, under the DOI UAS Reports, Information Bulletins, Guides & Policy Document Releases resource, you can find 19 linked files that provide incredible access to exactly what the DOI is doing with their drones, and the type of information they’ve gathered with them.
That access includes the 2015 Interagency Unmanned Aircraft Technology Demonstration Plan as well as the 2017 Boundary Fire UAS Operations After-Action Review and Lessons Learned and the 2017 Virgin Islands National Park Hurricane Maria UAS Operations Report, along with a Detailed summary of 2017 DOI UAS Flights. A recent Searchable DOI UAS Imagery Data update allows viewers to engage with this information on a whole new level.
That’s just a brief look at a few of well over a hundred total files on the DOI’s UAS pages, and they’re constantly adding links to share with their bureau and interagency partners and the public. This effort underscores their commitment to a culture that has always emphasized consideration of and transparency with the American people. It’s a core commitment that drones have not only supported, but augmented in a very real way.
The scope of the DOI’s UAS program along with the successes they’ve been able to document with it might make it seem like the adoption of this technology was always going to be a given for the department, but in fact, the opposite is true. Bathrick and plenty of other officials will be the first to admit that some of the challenges that came up made them question what they were doing at times, and whether or not anything would come of their efforts. With that being the case, and knowing now where things ended up, what advice would Bathrick have for himself if he could go back to the beginning of this process?
“If I had my choice, I wouldn’t go back to the beginning,” Bathrick concluded. “I’d go back to somewhere in the middle, when the cultural and fiscal challenges seemed like they were insurmountable. I would go back and say that it’s okay at the other end, and to stay with it, and roll with it, because in the end, you’ll be extremely proud of what you’ve accomplished. Even with all that we’ve done we still aren’t finished, as we’re looking forward to continuing to grow and build this program as a responsible program into the model of “drones for good”, and that’s something anyone struggling with creating their own UAS program needs to recognize.”
Regulating An Industry Out of Existence
Xinlehong 9125 Stable 4WD 1 10 Scale RC Car Test Drive Review
Power Company Ameren Successfully Tests BVLOS Inspections in a 60+ Mile Flight
Quadcopter 101 Keeper Series The Wingsland Scarlet Minivet
commercial drone inspection
Yuneec Launches First Commercial Drone: The H520
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Archive | January 2016
in Retro Recaps
Retro Recaps: The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh – Find Her, Keep Her
During the 1980’s, when Walt Disney Television Animation was beginning their rise to popularity, their parent company tried to find numerous ways to recycle some of the studio’s characters, into newer properties.
Carl Barks’ adventuresome Scrooge McDuck character, would be translated into the TV entity known as Ducktales. Chip and Dale would find a new group of friends, and become adventuresome detectives, in Chip and Dale’s Rescue Rangers.
For a younger set, that bear of very little brain, Winnie the Pooh, would entertain the Saturday Morning Cartoon circuit, with The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, starting in 1988.
This series would expand the world of The Hundred Acre Wood, both in scope and character, beyond what had been written by Pooh’s creator, A.A. Milne.
Having a sister born right around the time of the show’s premiere, I often have fond memories of watching the series with my siblings. Even when episodes came up in reruns, we’d often stop and watch them (as well as had the 10 volumes released on VHS back in the day).
Of all the episodes I watched, there was one that definitely stood out. And that, was Find Her, Keep Her.
In the middle of a blustery winter storm, Rabbit, Pooh, Piglet, and Tigger, are huddled around a carrot still in the ground, near Rabbit’s treehouse. Rabbit is trying to keep the carrot bundled up from the fierce cold. Suddenly, a tiny voice can be heard in the wind, crying out for help!
The group soon finds the source of the cries: a small baby bird has been blown out of its nest in the storm, and is clinging desperately to a branch high up in a tree!
The sight causes Rabbit to panic, and he rushes to get a ladder to help the little bird. However, as he attempts to enter his house, the strong wind blows the front door off its hinges, with Rabbit clinging to it! The wind blows the door back towards the others, who are then scooped up by it!
However, as it flies through the air the little bird loses her grip on the branch, and flies right towards them, with Rabbit managing to catch her in Pooh’s honey pot.
The group then crashes right into Rabbit’s home, wherein he loses his temper that now his house is a mess. The little bird apologizes for causing the mess, though Piglet manages to assure her it wasn’t her fault.
It turns out the little bird is named Kessie, and she reveals this by speaking in the third person (“Kessie alright.” “Kessie sorry.”).
When Pooh volunteers to take care of her along with Piglet and Tigger, Rabbit scoffs, claiming they “can’t even take care of a carrot!” Rabbit then says he will take care of the little bird, claiming she’ll be “no trouble at all.”
Needless to say, the first days of Rabbit’s caring for Kessie are a standard ‘stressed parent’ scenario. However, it is during this time that the little bird creates a nickname for him, calling him “Rabby.” Rabbit tries to get her to call him “Rabbit,” but she seems incapable of doing so.
Shortly afterwards, Pooh and Piglet stop by, and Rabbit asks them to give the little bird a bath, while he goes to tend to his garden, in preparation for the upcoming Springtime, slamming the door on his way out.
During the bath, Piglet asks Pooh why Rabbit seems so grumpy around Kessie.
“Well, perhaps he’s just not as fond of her as we are, Piglet,” reasons Pooh.
Of course, the bubble bath gets out of control, and an explosion of soap and suds soon permeates the treehouse, with Kessie happily floating away in a soap bubble.
Rabbit sees this and gives chase, eventually plummeting off a cliff into a pile of snow. Luckily, Kessie floats down, happy about her flight. It is then that Rabbit makes her promise not to fly so high, ever again.
“But, but I like it,” she pleads.
“And I like you,” says Rabbit, quietly. “And I don’t want anything bad to happen to you.”
Needless to say, the tone of his voice makes the little bird promise.
Time passes, and Spring finally comes around. During this time, Kessie has grown from a baby into a young bird, and has come to help ‘Rabby’ around his garden. As they tend to the crops, Rabbit finds a carrot in a flower pot. Kessie then claims that it was the first carrot she ever planted, and she placed it in this pot specially for him.
Shortly after this, Tigger shows up, and requests to take Kessie on a little romp through the forest. Naturally, Rabbit doesn’t want Kessie associating with someone like Tigger, claiming she’s helping him tend his garden. In his usual awkwards-thinking, Tigger then starts trying to ‘help’ unweed the garden, but ends up pulling up multiple carrots. Naturally, this extra busy-work leads Rabbit to grouchily clean up the mess, and reluctantly let Tigger take care of Kessie.
When the two come across a large tree, Tigger claims he can bounce to the top, only for the tree (near the edge of a precipice), to fall over, dangling both Tigger and Kessie from the tree. Kessie’s cries for “Help!” reach Rabbit’s ears, and he attempts to save the two, but the tree is balanced so precariously, that anymore weight will send it tumbling over.
Rabbit then asks Tigger to swing his tail, and toss Kessie up. It looks like this will work, but Rabbit loses his grip on Kessie’s wing, and she falls over the edge.
However, salvation comes in the form of Owl, who manages to save the little bird. Kessie claims that she loved the sensation of flight, and wants Owl to teach her more.
“It shall be my pleasure my dear,” says Owl. “A little practice, and you’ll be able to fly south for the winter!”
Needless to say, Rabbit claims that he doesn’t want Owl teaching Kessie anything. When Rabbit reminds Kessie about the promise she made about “not going too high,” she claims she understands, and he promises they’ll have “lots more fun than flying.”
After this scene, Rabbit seems happy to still have the little bird in his life, but Kessie can often be seen dejectedly looking out her bedroom window, staring up at the sky.
Time passes, and Fall is soon upon the Hundred Acre Wood. As Kessie walks through the forest, she sees a flock of birds flying overhead.
Seeing noone around, she climbs up a nearby tree, and attempts to fly, but her attempts fail. It is during one of these attempts, that Pooh ends up catching her!
Even though Rabbit told Owl not to teach Kessie to fly, Pooh decides that he, Piglet, and Tigger can try and teach her.
They attempt to use a large band of rubber to launch her over a cliff, but are interrupted when Rabbit finds out what they are doing.
After chastising the others, Rabbit turns his attention to Kessie, his voice sounding hurt when he reminds her about her promise to him.
“But Rabby,” she pleads. “I just have to fly. It, it means everything to me.”
“…does it mean more than I do?” asks Rabbit, quietly.
The moment is interjected when Tigger tries to get a word in, and Rabbit demands he let go of the rubber band…into whose trajectory Rabbit has walked into, sending him over the edge of the nearby cliff!
At the sight of this, Kessie actually takes flight, and saves Rabbit! The others cheer over her newfound talent, as Kessie claims that now she can fly south!
“Oh boy, kiddo!” Tigger happily proclaims. “There’s nothing holding you down now!”
“Don’t you think I know?” says Rabbit.
The words cause the group to quiet, as they watch Rabbit slowly walk away, his ears drooped down.
Later that evening, Kessie finds Rabbit by his fireplace.. When she asks him to read her “one last bedtime story,” he sadly gets up and goes to his room.
“You don’t need me to read you a bedtime story,” he says. “…you don’t need me, for anything.”
The scene ends with Kessie sitting in a small rocking chair by the fireplace. She begins to sob, as the scene cuts to Rabbit in his bedroom, holding the stuffed rabbit he gave Kessie when she first came into his life.
As Kessie’s crying echoes across the scene, snow falls outside, soon blanketing the Hundred Acre Wood…a sure sign that winter is coming.
The next day, the others are ready to see Kessie off, but she claims she can’t leave without saying goodbye to “Rabby.” However, the others claim he must just be “busy” with his garden, and Kessie asks Pooh to tell Rabbit that she’ll never forget him.
As she takes flight, Rabbit’s voice can be heard, and we see why he wasn’t there: he had been looking for Kessie’s first carrot, and wanted to give it to her as a present!
Rabbit rushes past the others, and to the edge of the precipice where his little birdie has taken off.
“Kessie! Don’t Go!” Rabbit callsout. “I’ve changed my mind! You can fly! Just…don’t…go away…Kessie.”
His words trail off as he can’t see her in the sky. Sadly, he drops the carrot, and trudges back down the hill, resting on a small rock.
Suddenly, giggling can be heard, and the ‘first carrot’ drops from the sky, before Kessie flies into rabbit, ‘tackling’ him into a hug.
“Did you think I would leave, without saying goodbye to you?” she asks.
The scene then cuts away to sunset, later that day. Pooh and Piglet are sitting under a tree, with Pooh hoping that an early Spring might mean Kessie will return sooner.
“It’s the most peculiar thing,” wonders Piglet. “For the longest time, I thought rabbit didn’t like her.”
“You know, Piglet,” replies Pooh (exhibiting some wisdom for a ‘bear of very little brain’), “Sometimes people care too much. I think it’s called Love.”
Piglet ponders this for a little bit, before wondering if they should tell Rabbit.
“Don’t worry,” says Pooh. “I believe he already knows.”
The camera then moves to a nearby tree, where we see Rabbit staring off into the sky, Kessie’s first carrot sitting in a pot, nearby.
And that was “Find Her, Keep Her.”
With over 50 episodes produced, many of them often dealt with fun or comedic topics. Even so, this episode is often cited by many as being rather ‘deep.’
In a way, it’s almost a precursor to the parent-child connection storytelling, that PIXAR would use in its Toy Story films.
Rabbit has often been one of the more excitable characters in the series, and oftentimes, the one who demands logic or order. In that way, it makes the most sense that he would be the one character that would take seriously, the responsibility of taking care of Kessie.
Rabbit’s role in The New Adventures, would also delve into some more emotional topics, like feeling under-appreciated, in the episode A Friend in Deed, and How Much is That Rabbit in the Window?
Kessie would be one of quite a few new characters introduced in The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. There was also a devious Heffalump and Woozel duo, a family of Heffalumps that the group befriended, as well as an expansion of unseen-yet-voiced human characters that Christopher Robin would interact with.
Yet out of all these characters, Kessie would be the one that somehow ended up getting the most mileage beyond the series.
In Season 3 of the series, Kessie returned to the Hundred Acre Wood. Though unlike in Find Her Keep Her, Kessie appeared to have grown up during her time away. This included now calling Rabbit by his official name, claiming she was too old now to call him “Rabby.”
This episode, titled A Bird in the Hand, also dealt with a familial topic: in this case, Rabbit not quite realizing that Kessie is not the little bird she once was, and can take care of herself. I think anyone whose had a parent be a tad overbearing, can relate.
In 1998, a direct-to-video special titled Winnie the Pooh: Seasons of Giving, would create a Christmas special, that revolved around using several episodes from the The Adventures series, including Kessie’s introduction. This tied into a subplot in Seasons, wherein Kessie sent Rabbit a letter that she would be coming to visit him for Christmas.
Like some specials made after a series has ended, it wreaks havoc with having a logical timeline. Kessie is not the adult version we saw in A Bird in the Hand, so one assumes that in the special, Kessie somehow visited Rabbit a few months after she set off to fly South for the winter…which, kind of defeats the purpose of her going away?
Though Kessie’s most surprising return role, was in 2001. A new Pooh-based show was developed for The Disney Channel in 2001, titled The Book of Pooh. Here, the characters were realized as moving puppets, with the show’s content aimed at a younger demographic.
The Disney-created character of Gopher, was nowhere to be seen in The Book of Pooh, but unofficially, Kessie became a regular member of the group! I’m sure plenty of people who had never seen The New Adventures, wondered just where she came from.
Once The Book of Pooh ended in 2003, Kessie’s career much ended. One has to wonder if the little bluebird might return someday?…only time, will tell.
in Journeys Through Life, Uncategorized
Journeys Through Life – We’re Going Back, 30th Anniversary Celebration – Day 5
In 2010, Joe Walser and a dedicated group of Back to the Future fans, came together to pull off We’re Going Back: The 25th Anniversary Fan Celebration of Back to the Future. The event took fans to many of the film’s locations, held meet-and-greets with cast and crew, and much, much more!
I almost considered going in 2010, but held off…figuring that when the big future-date in the film’s sequel hit, I’d find myself traveling to Hill Valley, in the year 2015.
I jetted out to the west coast in late October, and was soon surrounded by several hundred fans, as we wandered the Courthouse Square, rode DeLoreans on railroad tracks, flew around on hoverboards, and found ourselves at The Enchantment Under The Sea dance (to name just a few things).
Returning to the present, I decided to add my trip to the Journeys Through Life section on my blog, telling a little about my once-in-a-lifetime experience.
It had certainly been a wild ride for the We’re Going Back event. But like all good things…it was time to draw the festivities to a close.
The final day would send us away from Los Angeles, and east towards City of Industry, CA. Along with having a name I always found a little odd, this city was well-known for the Puente Hills Mall. It was Puente Hills, that would play the part(s) of the Twin Pines Mall, as well as the Lone Pine Mall.
It was in the southern area of the mall’s parking lot, where Marty and Doc first graced audiences with the reveal of the DeLorean Time Machine, as well as the first time-travel experiment, and a nail-biting chase scene.
However, our journey would begin on the northern side of the mall, as we entered near the AMC Theatre’s Puente Hills 20 complex…but not before many of us stopped to ogle a Part 1 styled Time Machine.
Today, we’d be sitting in one of the theatres, to hear from a number of persons who had worked on the trilogy.
Our first guests of the day, were Kevin Pike, and Michael Scheffe (see left). Kevin is notable for being the effects supervisor on the first film, while Schaeffe did concept work for all of the films.
Michael provided some of the most interesting tidbits of the day, when he revealed a slideshow of his concept work done during the trilogy.
We got to see items like the original concepts for the Luxor taxi cab in Part II, as well as the first concept imagery of the Mr Fusion power generator…which in the original concept, was a Westinghouse product.
I’m sure Michael wasn’t expecting it, but upon hearing that he was instrumental in the design of KITT from Knight Rider, I gave him a little ‘thank you’ for having a hand in designing two of the vehicles that captured my imagination as a child (KITT was my favorite screen-used vehicle, until the Time Machine came along).
During the lunch break, I took a moment to wander the mall, whose carpet and furnishings still echoed a bit of its pre-21st century history.
Stopping into a See’s Candy store on the lower level, the woman working behind the counter commented on how many Back to the Future fans were in the mall today. I quickly explained about our big event, and she encouraged me to send some of our cohorts over for free samples.
A fun moment came when I quoted to another woman, Doc’s “I remember when this was all farmland as far as the eye could see” bit, regarding the mall area.
Her response? “I remember when this WAS all farmland.”
Returning to the theater, we were then introduced to the trilogy’s two editors: Arthur Schmidt, and Harry Keramidas. I had the chance to speak to them the night before during the Enchantment Under The Sea Dance, but it was nice to hear them reminisce about their time on the film.
Editing can often be a thankless job, but in truth, some films have been saved by editing (like Jaws and Star Wars). Both Arthur and Harry, I hold in high regard, because they each edited two of the first film’s most crucial scenes: The mall car chase (which was edited by Arthur), and the clock tower finale (which was edited by Harry).
Next we were introduced to David DeVos (see right), who had done work on Back to the Future: The Ride. DeVos had also been a tour guide at Universal Studios, and given his rapid-fire vocal introduction, I didn’t doubt it!
Though not part of the main production staff on The Ride, DeVos did contribute to helping extend out the queue videos, after the ride was first introduced at Universal Studios Florida.
DeVos also shared stories about the building of the main queue building, let-alone the testing of the ride vehicles…including the time one of the vehicles was put on one of the highest settings.
Sadly, the real-life work schedules of several of our expected guests, kept them from appearing. However, always willing to lend a hand for the BTTF community, Terry and Oliver Holler (see left) took to the stage, and gave a presentation regarding what led them to becoming one of the most famous couples in the fan community.
The Hollers shared stories about building their Time Machine in the early 2000’s (when they had to rely on pausing their VHS copy of the films to figure out what part went where), as well as the various places where their vehicle had taken them over the years.
Our next guest, was Michael Klastorin (see right). Klastorin had been the Unit Publicist on the 2nd and 3rd movies, and had just released Back to the Future: The Ultimate Visual History book (which I had picked up the night before at The Enchantment Under The Sea dance!).
Michael shared a few stories regarding his experiences working on the films, as well as researching the book. Notable among them, was his attempts to interview Eric Stoltz in regards to his early involvement in the first film…which yielded a rather interesting (if humorous) endgame.
Our final presentation, talked about the music of the films, as well as the sound mixing process. On hand for part of the presentation, was Dennis Sands, one of the trilogy’s sound mixers, and Mike Mattesino, the producers of several upcoming releases of the trilogy’s soundtrack albums.
A highlight was when we were shown just how important sound mixing can be to a film.
We were shown portions of the first film’s skateboard chase, but without Alan Silvestri’s musical score, and just the sound effects. It definitely was a strange sight to behold, and showed a number of us how important sound mixing could be to the final scene.
We were also informed about upcoming soundtrack/audio releases, including newly-extended score releases for the second and third films.
As the afternoon turned to twilight, we headed out the south portion of the mall, and onto the parking lot area, many of us had largely seen, only on film, for the last 30 years!
In the weeks leading up to the event, the We’re Going Back event planners had been busy. Several of their above-and-beyond workings had included:
A replica of the Twin Pines Mall sign that had been specially made, and placed in the same place Marty had encountered it in the film.
A replica of Doc Brown’s white truck, that had been placed under the same lights as in the film.
Tonight, a good portion of the parking lot where the film’s time-travel experiments took place, was roped off especially for us.
Chairs had been set up for an evening screening of Back to the Future, and the event had brought out people from all over.
Several different DeLoreans parked behind our seats, as we waited for the appropriate time, and a number of costumed folks could be found in all shapes and sizes, wandering around the area!
Throughout the week, while we had been celebrating the films on the west coast, the majority of the film’s major players had been on the east coast, taking part in numerous show appearances. That evening, before we were scheduled to start our film viewing, a Skype call was made to Christopher Lloyd in Washington D.C.
Though the connection was not perfect, we were able to get a few words in with him, regarding his feelings on the films, as well as some of his favorite moments.
Even our official Marty impersonator, Tyler Dunivan, jumped in for a few words, stunning Chris.
“Is that Marty!?” he exclaimed, causing the audience to roll with laughter and applause.
Chris did mention how he liked working on the third film the most, and when he mentioned “he had a girlfriend” in that film, the event organizers had a fun moment.
Erica D Breig had shown up for the day in her amazing Clara Clayton outfit once again, and was brought forward into the call.
“Emmett!” she exclaimed. “When have you been, I’ve been so worried about you!”
On the projected screen, you could see Chris’ eyes scanning his computer monitor, before they went wide, and with a shocked expression he shouted: “…CLARA!”
Of course, we were coming up on our official start time to screen the first film. To get the screening started on the right foot, Chris was able to give us a great big: “GREAT SCOTT!!”
While I wanted to sit down and watch the film like everyone else, I got ‘itchy feet’ during the first 10-20 minutes, and wandered around, watching the crowd. Eventually, I took my seat, and enjoyed the rest of the film with a few of my new friends.
My first viewing of the film was on VHS in 1986. It wasn’t until its 25th anniversary re-release in theaters, did I finally see it on the big screen. Since then, I’ve seen it 4 more times with an audience, including tonight.
One thing I’ve noticed in watching the film with a live audience in the past year, is how much the audience really got into some scenes.
It was fun to see everyone whoop it up when the DeLorean made its first time-travel journey, or how they applauded for George telling Biff to “leave her alone,” let alone the build-up and release of the clock tower’s big lightning strike scene!
A fun moment was that during the Libyans’ chase scene, a live recreation happened around us! A VW van speedily chased a DeLorean Time Machine around the perimeter of the viewing area, as a few die-hard fans rushed from one side of the parking lot to the other, trying to get a good shot of the recreation.
As the film drew to a close, much like those preview audiences in the early days of the film’s development, there was applause and leaping to our feet, as the DeLorean flew into the future…which was now (to us) the past.
Following the film, many of us quickly gathered near the screen…for it was time, to find out who had won some of the awesome prizes from the We’re Going Back raffle!
Raffle tickets had been sold online and during the event, and now it was time to see if the gamble had paid off. This would be one of two different raffles, with an additional one taking place after the event.
As many of us watched, all manner of Back to the Future related products were awarded, several of them signed by various members of the crew. My hope to win a signed copy of The Art of Drew Struzan was quickly dashed, as none of my numbers were called.
The mac-daddy of all the raffle items, was a custom Boosted board, whose board design was based off of the 2015 Hoverboard Marty rode. This $2,000 valued prize quickly found its winner that night, and its new owner quickly hoisted it over his head, as Joe Walser, and Tyler Dunivan, looked on.
As the auction came to a end, it was time for some true emotions…it was time for many of us, to say our goodbyes.
It was hard to believe that 5 days ago, we had all queued up in front of California Pizza Kitchen on Hollywood Blvd (or near the Hollywood United Methodist Church), and gotten our wristbands and vouchers for the event.
I could almost hear Alan Silvestri’s music cue titled “Marty’s Letter” in my head, as I saw all manner of persons hugging, crying, and even promising that we’d do this all again…in 2020.
My new friends and I, almost like Marty finding himself late for school, found ourselves chasing down our tour bus, as we left the Mall, and returned to our drop-off point in front of the Loews Hollywood Hotel. Even here, goodbyes and promises to ‘keep in touch’ were made, before many of us dispersed off into the night.
Later on that evening, at the Orange Drive Hostel off of Hollywood Blvd, my mind was a whirlwind of thought over the last 5 days. As I turned to look at my phone, I soon saw that it was coming on to 1:20 am, on October 26th 2015…30 years from the time when Einstein had been sent one minute into the future, becoming “the world’s first time-traveler.”
While I drifted off to sleep, a couple dozen fans (who most likely had their own vehicles!), were still at Puente Hills Mall, and celebrated the event with a group picture.
Quite a change from 30 years ago. Bob Gale recounted on the DVD commentary for the first film, that at the exact time in 1985, word was 2 dozen people had shown up at the mall, thinking something was going to happen.
Nothing did…but here it was, 30 years later. The film’s fandom had grown and evolved in ways that in the Summer of 1985, its creators could never have fathomed. That fandom has stretched around the world, and had produced a fan-made event that celebrated one of the most satisfying film trilogies of all time.
Sure, fandoms like Star Wars may be considered bigger (and more lucrative), but the last five days had shown, that the fandom of The Back to the Future trilogy, was a grouping that seemed like “A Match Made in Space (and Time).”
Originally, this was where I planned to end my remembrances of those 5 days in October of 2015…but in the end, I found my mind criss-crossing across other thoughts, that could not be contained in these 5 parts.
Come back soon for the conclusion of the We’re Going Back: 30th Anniversary Celebration. There’s a few more things to talk about, before we let go of the past…
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2017 Wyndham Championship Yahoo fantasy golf picks and tips
Joe Book
The PGA Championship didn’t disappoint, as many were in the hunt over the weekend, only to watch Justin Thomas shake off a first-round 73 to post 66-69-68 for a two-shot victory and his first major title. JT was the total package, ranking fourth for the week in SG Putting, 11th in SG T2G, and 15th in Driving Distance. He secured his first Wanamaker Trophy with an incredible back nine only blemished by a meaningless bogey at 18. His seven iron to 15ft on the 223-yard 17th hole, and the drained putt, will be replayed for many years to come.
The traffic jam behind him included Francesco Molinari, Patrick Reed and Louis Oosthuizen at T2, while Rickie Fowler posted a 67 on Sunday to climb to T5 with Hideki Matsuyama, who had five bogeys on the back nine including a water ball on 18. 54-hole leader Kevin Kisner shot 74 to fall to T7.
Quail Hollow was a worthy opponent for the world’s best players, and many of them will take the week off before the opening of the FedEx Cup Playoffs next week at The Northern Trust, held at the Glen Oaks Club on Long Island.
As for us, we have one more week of the regular season left to build our Yahoo! scores up before chalk reigns supreme... but first, let’s close the door on last week’s fantasy team.
2017 PGA Championship recap
Yahoo! Tournament Points - 176; Yahoo! Segment Points/Ranking - 1,183/20,180th; Yahoo! Season Points/Ranking - 4,683/885th
All told, it wasn’t a terrible week. I gained more than 2,000 spots in the segment ranking, and 76 spots in the season ranking, which is acceptable considering I didn’t earn any bonus points. I did mention in last week’s preview that Thomas “could get hot and grab the trophy” but I left him off the roster for Kevin Chappell, who didn’t contend, and Phil Mickelson, who failed miserably.
Fairway - My biggest success of the week was saving my final Rickie Fowler start. I ran Rory McIlroy out there all four days, and was finally rewarded with a final round 68. Matsuyama was an automatic start, and I milked T13 out of both Paul Casey and Brooks Koepka.
Rough - Phil. Really rough.
One more week before the FedEx Cup Playoffs takes center stage - welcome to Greensboro!
This short par-70 has hosted the tournament since 2008 after previously presenting the event on and off since 1938. Course history will only be used over the last nine events, and not much has changed on the track. The fairways are still narrow, and the Bermuda greens still roll true. Making birdies will be key, as the average winning score over the last nine years has been 262, or 18 under par. The field is weak, but big names like Reed, Sergio Garcia and Webb Simpson are recent winners here. The defending champion, Si Woo Kim, is not in the field.
This Week’s Yahoo! Selections:
2017 PGA Championship Yahoo fantasy golf picks
A Group -
Luke Donald (10) - Any time a Don Ross or Pete Dye course is in play, I’m at least slightly interested in Donald. The former World #1 has visited twice and posted T26 in 2015 before finishing second to Si Woo Kim’s runaway win last year. His form is sour; since he finished runner-up at the RBC Heritage, his results have gone MC-MC-65-MC-MC-MC-58-MC. The group is incredibly thin, but I don’t know if I can actually click the box next to his name.
Bill Haas (5) - He comes in with mediocre results this season, but you are here for the course history. Since returning to Sedgefield in 2008, Haas is 7-9 with four top-10s and the other three in the top-30. Don’t hurt yourself diving any deeper. Go.
James Hahn (10) - Hahn makes an interesting case to ride shotgun in the Haasmobile. He has played four rounds in seven of his last eight attempts, including four top-13 finishes, and he was unspectacularly solid last week in his T13 run at the PGA Championship. His two trips here have resulted in MC-57, but he has risen to 63rd in the OWGR and he sits 23rd in Total Driving. Hahn ranks 51st in FedEx Cup Points, so he’ll be looking to add cushion before the BMW Championship. Everyone in ‘A’ has risk, but Hahn could emerge as the best option.
Shane Lowry (9) - He went for T42 in his debut here last year, but Lowry was ranked 25th in the OWGR after the 2016 U.S. Open, and now sits 83rd. He has looked generally miserable this season, and has just one top-10 in his last 28 tournaments. Despite all that, he sits 19th on Tour in SG Tee and SG Putting. 91st in GIR isn’t good when you are 188th in SG ATG. Yikes. He probably won’t be on my team.
Graeme McDowell (10) - GMac has been on a bad run of late after making 16 of 18 cuts earlier this year. MC in five of his last six, including 73-76 last week. Why include him? His T5 here in his first try is impressive, and he put all four rounds in the 60s including a third-round 64. He’s eighth on Tour in Driving Accuracy and ninth in SG Putting, so there’s that, and he wasn’t in good form entering the tournament last year, either. Seems like a better DFS value click than Yahoo! play, but who knows?
Kevin Streelman (9) - Ready for the (almost) converging trend play? Streels has played the weekend in 11 of his last 12 tournaments, with top-20s in four of his last six. The other side is that he’s 4-4 here with a T6 and T18 thrown in there. Why are the trends “almost” converging? He hasn’t played here since 2012, and hasn’t played at all in five weeks. Do the trends spoil when left out too long? Time will tell. Solid numbers until he gets to the green; 14th in Total Driving, 52nd in GIR. Again, in an emaciated ‘A’ group, any combo will do because none of them will win.
B Group -
Jonas Blixt (10) - His third-round 62 in 2015 helped him to T10 here, and four rounds in the high-60s earned him T33 last year... T55 in his only other appearance here (2012) makes him 3-3. Still among the best putters in the world, if he ever gets to the green. Course history equals good. Putting equals good. Everything else equals bad. Fade.
Scott Brown (10) - He’s all or nothing lately, as evidenced by last week at the PGA Championship, when he posted 68-70 in between bookend 73s. Last seven starts have given us 12-MC-52-MC-25-MC-13. On that pattern, he MC this week. However, he finished T3 here two years ago with all four rounds at 68 or better, and fired a 65 on Sunday last year to move up to T33. Boom or bust? Hit or miss? Can’t think of any others. Up to you.
Chad Campbell (10) - Each of his last 10 cuts made have gone for T34 or better. I like that a lot. He’s 4-6 here with a T4 in 2012. Decent. Believe it or not, Campbell ranks 11th on Tour in Scoring Average and 12th in GIR. Strong. ‘B’ is almost as thin as ‘A’, so there’s a solid chance he ends up on the roster.
Harris English (10) - English is 3-3 here with a T10 in 2012. His depressed season has left gamers to guess whether he’ll post a top-30 or MC. Good course history, but nothing screams that he will contend.
Lucas Glover (10) - He has played here all nine times since the move back to Sedgefield, and other than one MC and one WD, all seven weekends have resulted in top-30 finishes, with a T7 in 2010. Glover sits 23rd in SG Tee and 52nd in SG Approach, and at nearly 70%, he ranks fifth on Tour in GIR due to his elite ball-striking. Shook off an opening 75 last week to play solid golf the rest of the week. One podium finish since 2011 isn’t the type of history that wins Yahoo! leagues, but he should play four rounds and there isn’t much meat in this group, so he might make the team.
John Huh (10) - Huh is 5-5 here and posted a T3 in 2013, but there isn’t much else to fall in love with. MC in four of his last six starts is bad, and his statistics look worse. Don’t bite on the course history here.
Kevin Kisner (2) - Here’s the million dollar (literally) question - does Kisner recover from a demanding week at the PGA Championship where he led after 54 holes only to come up short? Or does heh succumb to the pressures and emotion of the moment? Nobody knows. What we do know is that hes in excellent form and has finished T8-T10 in his last two trips here. He hasn’t exactly lit up the FedEx Cup Playoffs, so I’m not worried about running out of starts. No matter your feelings, you have to roster Kis this week. The group demands it.
Russell Knox (8) - His recent form is abominable, save for a T5 at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. He doesn’t have much history at Sedgefield. Why consider Knox? He’s always in the fairway and he leads the Tour in Approach Proximity from 125-150 yards, which is where many second shots could be hit from this week. I’m not using him, but if you need a deep gamble, here’s your man.
Danny Lee (7) - Lee looks out of sorts lately and he has missed the cut in each of his last three trips to Sedgefield. Pass.
Ryan Moore (7) - His T13 last week signals that he’s all the way back from a shoulder injury that has nagged him all season. The 2009 Champion also finished T10 two years back, and he has seen two other weekends in six total tries. 35th in SG Approach will help gamers feel safe, and his rank of 39th in Total Driving means he’ll have chances to attack the greens. This whole tournament is a crapshoot, so you might as well go with a guy rounding back into form who likes the course. Fire!
Kevin Na (10) - T18-T10 in his last two attempts here, but his recent form is all over the place. He’s simply ghastly off the tee, but his approach game has been on point. If the rough at Sedgefield is swallowing golf balls, and it likely will be, Na will have no chance.
Chez Reavie (10) - He hasn’t responded well since the Bermuda greens were put in during the 2012 season, missing the cut in all three tries. Reavie does have two top-10s, but those were years ago. For some reason, I like the play. Fifth in Driving Accuracy and 23rd in SG Approach should lead to plenty of birdie chances. He isn’t a terrible putter, and if he can roll a few in over the weekend, you never know what might happen. Strong chance to make the cut and create some noise.
Webb Simpson (8) - His course history is superb, with four top-10s in the last seven years. Current form is excellent, posting top-40s in eight of his last 11 starts, including five times in the top-20. Webb sits 24th on Tour in SG T2G and 27th in Scoring Average, but like many above, he has to utilize the flat stick in order to win. His record here is too good to ignore, and the hot pocket Webb is in now is enough to click the box. Home games can go either way, but the Carolina boy shines on this stage and I’m all-in.
Robert Streb (10) - Streb is 3-3 here, all in the top-40, but his form is scary. He either hits the top-30 or falls off the map completely. His stats don’t look good, likely because of the inconsistency in his play. I can’t take the chance.
Daniel Summerhays (10) - Somebody tell this guy to take a nap... he has played every week but one since The Players, which was held in mid-May. Sitting squarely on the bubble at 124th in the FedEx Cup Points race, he needs four rounds badly in order to secure his spot. Summerhays is 2-5 here, and there is no reason to draft him.
C Group -
Note: There are 112 players available in the C Group this week. I counted. I will not preview all of them... if you have questions about a player you are eyeing, send me an email or a Tweet.
Byeong Hun An (9) - This is my darkhorse pick to win the tournament, and I’m not entirely sure why. I suppose the main reason is his phenomenal ball-striking; he sits 16th on Tour in SG Tee and 28th in SG Approach. His putting woes are no big deal, as no winner here has finished the season in the top-100 in SG Putting since 2013. An hasn’t had a top-20 in his last eight starts, but I like that he posted T18 in his only try here in 2015 with all four rounds at 69 or better. Just 25 years old, I think he will win several times in his career, and it could start this week.
Keegan Bradley (10) - Keegs has made six straight cuts, and while he didn’t break 70 in any round last week en route to a T33, he generally looked solid. The driver is still his most potent weapon, as he leads the Tour in Total Driving and, as a result, sits 21st in GIR. His only visit here was last year when his T46 didn’t scare anyone. In a weak field, a top-25 isn’t out of order.
Bud Cauley (10) - Along the same lines as Keegan, Cauley has made cuts in eight of his last 10 tries, including four top-15 finishes. He also finished T33 last week, but had two sour rounds in the middle. Sedgefield has been a mixed bag for him, as the 27-year-old has posted 52-3-MC-MC-10 in five visits. Cauley ranks 13th in SG Approach, and that could lift him to another top-15 this week. He’s on the Yahoo! bubble.
Jason Dufner (8) - Since winning The Memorial, he has made three of five cuts, with only one top-40 finish. His last three trips around this track have resulted in 7-51-22, and his statistics across the board are very good... but I’m just not feeling the Dufman this week. He has only had two top-10 finishes in the last 14 months and he never got comfortable last week on the way to a T58. I’m fading.
Martin Flores (10) - Three top-20 finishes in a row is exciting, but his record here is two weekends in five tries, with only a T16 in 2013 on the good side. Not worth the risk.
Emiliano Grillo (10) - Grillo hasn’t played here, and his recent form is ugly, but he ranks 19th in Total Driving and he’s been known to be a wizard with irons. I can’t see him winning, but a top-25 is in play. If he’s cheap in DFS games, I’d roll the dice.
Chesson Hadley (10) - His game has been superb lately, but he’s just 1-5 here. Course history wins this one. Fade.
Brandon Hagy (10) - Hagy will be a sexy pick to stand on the first page on Sunday, but I don’t see it. Yes, he arrives in top form, having made six straight cuts and posting T5-T18, and yes, he’s third on Tour in Driving Distance, but on a course with doglegs and blind shots, that might not give him a huge edge. What concerns me is that he ranks 140th in GIR, 175th in SG Approach and 190th in Driving Accuracy. I think all those will come into play at Sedgefield, making his first experience less than desirable.
Billy Horschel (9) - His general form and his course history here mirror each other; completely inconsistent. Last nine stars: WIN-34-MC-4-MC-26-MC-74-48. Five trips here: 30-46-47-MC-5. For a guy who strikes the ball exceptionally well, this course should work for him. It did last year... I’ll let you decide if it will again. I say no.
Martin Laird (9) - Laird is 6-6 here, but the trend is going the wrong way. After his T4 in 2008, he posted 67-34-14-59-63 since. His only cut made in his last five tournaments was a T3 at the Quicken Loans National, and his 77-72 last week doesn’t make me want to take a chance.
Haotong Li (10) - He looked wonderful at the Open Championship, but I have no idea how he will perform in the U.S., even against a subpar field. There are more safe options in the group. I’ll wait.
Davis Love III (10) - He won here two years ago at age 51, and so I listed him out of respect. He won’t win this week.
Peter Malnati (10) - Malnati hasn’t missed a cut since The Players Championship, rattling off nine straight weekends, but his OWGR has fallen almost 200 spots since then. He also made the cut in both of his trips here. That’s all. Next...
Ben Martin (10) - Three top-15s in his last six starts is excellent, but when you factor in that none of those were majors or WGC events, it takes something away. This week also isn’t a major or a WGC event, so he could jump toward the top again. T10 here two years ago doesn’t hurt, but his other two visits were MC. Nothing statistically stands out, so I’ll fade gently.
Grayson Murray (10) - Murray won the Barbasol and played well last week before a 75 on Sunday dropped him to T22, but the rest of his season has been a rollercoaster, both on and off Twitter. 12th in Driving Distance, but who knows where the ball is going? I’ll pass this week.
Carl Pettersson (10) - The horse of all horses... he wasn’t here last year, but his other eight trips have yielded a WIN in 2008 and three other top-six finishes. The problem is that since his T6 here in 2015, he has seen the weekend in just 12 of his 49 tournament starts. Not a typo. I can’t do it. Fade.
Seamus Power (10) - He arrives for his maiden voyage at Sedgefield on the heels of top-26 finishes in his last four starts. The pressure is on this week, as he checks in at 123rd in FedEx Cup Points. Power has been finding more fairways lately, but it was hard to find fewer, as he still sits 181st in Driving Accuracy. This group is up for grabs, so nobody will scream at you for running Seamus out there. I have other plans.
Rory Sabbatini (10) - These are the moments when I love fantasy golf. Four of Sabbatini’s last five starts have gone for top-25. He posted a T8 here in 2013. He seems to heat up for a bit toward the end of every season. He’s 31st in Total Driving and 49th in GIR. Lots of things to like. Why am I hesitant? Because he’s Rory Freakin’ Sabbatini. He hasn’t hit a podium in four years. He’s 448th in the OWGR. Whew. Not that guys can flip a switch, but at 148th in FedEx Cup Points, he’s not playing next week unless he performs. Will that be enough?
Sam Saunders (10) - Believe it or not, Saunders profiles out similarly to Sabbatini; 25th in Total Driving, 127th in FedEx Cup Points, T14 here two years ago. He has top-25s in three of his last four starts, and four of his last eight rounds here have been at 67 or better. I’m not rostering Sabbatini, and I’m not rostering Saunders, but if both finish around T22, don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Ollie Schneiderjans (9) - Form isn’t great and he MC in his only try here two years ago, but I think Ollie is the real deal. He’s a wonderful iron player, and leads the entire Tour in Proximity from more than 200 yards. He hits enough greens to make up for his wild driver, and his touch on and around the green has improved as the season has aged. He’s on the bubble with Cauley for the second ‘C’ spot... stay tuned.
Kyle Stanley (7) - No top-40 finishes in four tournaments since his win at the Quicken Loans National is no good. He posted MC here the in his first three trips, then rattled off 51-14 the last two years. Stanley leads the Tour in GIR, ranks sixth in SG Tee and 11th in SG Approach. He missed the cut badly at the last two majors and his 76-76 last week wasn’t inspiring. Ranked 19th in FedEx Cup Points, he isn’t playing for a spot, and likely will be alive for all four playoff events. I’ll rest him this week.
Henrik Stenson (6) - Henrik has been Henrik-like lately, posting top-15 finishes nearly every week. The flipside of that coin is he’s 0-3 here. Having withdrawn in 2012, he hasn’t played on the Bermuda greens, and that might make a difference. As many have pointed out, he needed to play this week to meet the requirement to keep his Tour card for next season, so he might not be terribly enthused. I’ll reluctantly fade and hope that I’m right. If he performs, many will pass me in the standings having not dug deep and being drawn to the name.
Chris Stroud (10) - His form is great, but his best finish here in eight tries is T37, and five MC don’t look good. Pass.
Kevin Tway (10) - He makes a lot of cuts and he hits the ball a mile. Since that doesn’t make much difference this week, and he ranks 119th in GIR and 184th in Driving Accuracy. I don’t need that stress this week.
Camilo Villegas (10) - I know he’s a past champion and a good course horse, but you didn’t come all this way for me to roster Camilo Villegas, did you?
2017 Wyndham Championship Yahoo! Roster
A - Bill Haas and Kevin Streelman
B - Kevin Kisner, Webb Simpson, Lucas Glover, and Ryan Moore
C - Byeong Hun An and Bud Cauley
Several of these players might be dropped before lock... I’m considering moving Keegan or Ollie in for Bud. Streelman and Hahn is a toss-up in ‘A’. I might still make a last-minute move, so make sure to follow me on Twitter @commishjoe for updates.
My picks in this section didn’t go well last week, but I’ll get back on the horse. I like Ben An a lot, and I could see someone like Cauley winning, but in reality, there are 100 players who have a chance this week. I’ll stick to the research and throw in a sprinkle of gut feel.
I will Tweet out my starters on Wednesday night - I would imagine everyone will start Haas and Simpson, and the rest are TBD. Make sure to hit me up @commishjoe with questions, comments, or emotional outbursts. If you still aren’t a GNN Plus Member, what are you waiting for? Click here to sign up for $10 for the year. $10 for the year! I just donated $20 to a fund for a retiring employee at work! This is better! Good Luck!
Tags2017 Wyndham Championship 2017 Wyndham Championship one and done picks 2017 Wyndham Championship preview daily fantasy golf DraftKings fantasy golf DraftKings fantasy golf tips golf betting Wyndham Championship Wyndham Championship fantasy golf picks Wyndham Championship odds to win
Joe is a freelance writer based outside Chicago with a lifelong passion for golf, both real and fantasy. He has played in various fantasy golf leagues for nearly 20 years, and has had great success in the Yahoo! and One-And-Done formats - Joe finished in the top-200 overall on the Yahoo! game in both 2014 and 2015.
Joe has had writings published by many prominent web outlets and is formerly a sports journalist for the Peoria Times-Observer in Peoria, IL. Joe's real jobs are as a financial planner by day and a disc jockey by night. He graduated from Bradley University in 2001 and received his graduate certificate from the College for Financial Planning in 2016. He will complete his Master’s Degree in 2017. Joe lives in suburban Chicago with his wife and two children. He can be reached by email at josephbook@hotmail.com or on Twitter at @commishjoe
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The Contently Foundation’s U.S. Government Payroll Project
Seventeen percent of United States citizens work for the government. But since employees work for thousands of different agencies between local, state, and federal, the information on Uncle Sam’s payroll is fragmented. It’s kept on different computers, in filing cabinets, and around offices across the country.
We spent twelve months petitioning agencies for their payroll data, so we could put it all in one place and look at trends—from job types to pay to how race, age, and gender are represented. We'll be sharing the data sets over the next few weeks. Meanwhile, here are some highlights of our first analysis of the data: Here’s how we did it:
How we got the data:
The Freedom of Information Act requires the government to be transparent with information that is pertinent to the public. This includes how much money the government pays its employees. Some cities and states actually post their payroll data online, but most require an official FOI request to disclose it.
We used a nonprofit service called Muckrock, which provides an online application for submitting and tracking FOI requests, to manage the project. Starting in July 2015, we sent requests to all 50 states, the 50 largest cities, and all of the federal agencies, requesting payroll figures by employee name, job title, department, location, age, gender, and ethnicity for the most recent year.
About one-third of agencies fully complied with the request. About fifty percent responded with payroll data that did not include age, gender, and ethnicity, citing privacy concerns. (The Freedom of Information Act includes a provision that allows agencies to deny requests that they deem “unwarranted” and harmful invasions of individual privacy.) Many of these agencies, once they learned of our goal, were willing to send all of the data after all. The rest, with a few exceptions, agreed to either send payroll data without names or without genders. For those agencies that just sent names without gender, we were able to use an algorithm based on U.S. Census data to extract the gender. (See below.)
One agency simply would not cooperate: The Department of Defense. In order to comply with the law that requires them to give this information when requested through FOI, they sent us this document along with a list of codes from which we might construct a list of job titles and numbers associated with them. The file not only did not include the gender data we asked for, but was also so redacted as to nullify its usefulness. When we spoke with the department about this, their spokesperson initially claimed that they had sent usable information, and then claimed later that they were exempt from having to send it. Our understanding of the Freedom of Information Act is that the DoD is not above the law, though the department’s response left us with no recourse but to exclude the department from our study.
Two states did not respond to our FOI requests at all: Arkansas and Kansas. Additionally, we sent the State of Utah 33 follow up requests over the course of a year after the state acknowledged receipt of the request but then did not ever comply with the request. Fortunately, we were able to find payroll data on each of these states’ transparency websites. Several cities did not respond or send usable data as well. In some cases, the data sent was unusable because it was blurrily scanned from paper, but we were able to download it from the transparency website as well. In the end, we were able to compile data from all 50 states. We excluded the city data (of which we compiled 35 of the top 50 cities) from our analysis for our first report.
The data is the most recent each agency had on hand. Most agencies sent us 2015 payroll data, though a few sent 2014 data.
How we processed the data:
Government agencies each use their own information systems to track their employees, so the data we received came in many forms. Some agencies gave us spreadsheets with full names in one column, others gave us PDFs with a first name in one column, and a last name in another column. Some agencies gave us total compensation data, while others split wages and overtime and other pay into separate columns. We took all of these data sets and file types and married them into a single database in which we added up total compensation for each employee.
Agencies gave us both full-time and part-time employee earnings data. Since different agencies pay each type of employee on different pay cycles, we had to in some cases calculate the total annual pay based on individual agencies’ policies. In some cases, where the agencies did not respond to requests for clarification, we had to infer the pay periods based on information found in the agencies’ hiring materials and double check them against individuals’ salaries on transparency websites. In order to properly compare part-time wages (since many agencies did not give us the number of hours worked, just the rate), we annualized all part-time wages, meaning that our data set shows what part-time workers would make if they were working full time.
Because we had to marry the data this way, we could primarily measure the percentage differences within agencies, and then compare those differences across agencies.
For the agencies that did not provide gender data, we used an algorithm called Gender-Api, which takes data from U.S. Census records to calculate the likely gender of a person’s first name. We used this for about one-third of our data. The algorithm calculated the gender of most names at between 97 percent and 99 percent accuracy. Ambiguous gender names (below 70 percent accuracy) made up a fraction of one percent of the data set and were either manually checked or discarded.
For analysis, we utilized Tableau, a business intelligence software tool that allows for complex calculations and visualizations of data. Tableau’s data team assisted us with the analysis to verify the accuracy of our calculations and conclusions, and also to make our interactive charts pretty.
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The New York Rangers USA Line
By Brian Sklar April 4th, 2015
New York Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault put together a line before the game against the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday that consisted of all American-born skaters. The “USA Line” consisted of Derek Stepan centering Chris Kreider as usual, but with 22-year-old JT Miller playing the right wing. JT Miller has been playing the best hockey of his young career lately and has fit in very well with Stepan and Kreider. Stepan, 24, and Kreider, 23, are also arguably playing the best hockey of their careers right now as well. The trio has found instant chemistry and in two games together the line has contributed two game-winning goals.
Only 24-years-old and already in his 5th season, Stepan has 50 points in 63 games this season and is a +22. [photo: Amy Irvin]
JT Miller was the Rangers first round pick in 2011 and since then he has been back and forth between the American Hockey League, the 4th line, a healthy scratch, and recently a 3rd line player where he fit in nicely with Kevin Hayes and Carl Hagelin. After recent trades to Lee Stempniak and Anthony Duclair, Miller knew this was his opportunity to seize the moment and become a regular in the lineup. This is his first opportunity in a top-six forward position and he has fully taken advantage of it. In his first game playing with Stepan and Kreider, Miller assisted on Chris Kreider’s game-winning goal late into regulation and was awarded the Broadway hat for his efforts.
“It was actually late in my shift, I’m trying to change, but I could just see him getting on his horse so I just kind of waited for him, and he makes the whole play happen with how fast he is, so I just have to put it on his tape and he makes a great move,” said Miller.
The next game in Minnesota, the Rangers were up against the only team with a better record than they had since the All-Star Break. Martin St. Louis returned to the lineup, however he was playing on the 3rd line with Kevin Hayes and Carl Hagelin.
Coach Vigneault obviously liked what he saw the previous game from Stepan, Kreider, and Miller.The Minnesota Wild are as tough of a road game as it gets these days. With a 2-2 tie in the 3rd period, it was once against the USA Line that came through.
JT Miller scored the game-winner with a deflection in front after a shot from the point by Ryan McDonagh. It was a tight-checking playoff-atmosphere in which the Rangers were able to clinch the Metroplitan Division. The Wild played a very good hockey game, and seemed to have all the momentum in the world after a heroic penalty kill at the end of the 2nd period that consisted of blocked shot after blocked shot.Miller’s game winner was a little over a minute after Thomas Vanek was able to tie the score at 2 after a fortunate bounce off the boards from a Matt Dumba point shot. Coach Alain Vigneualt had this to say about JT Miller after the game.
“JT’s a player that plays smart and plays hard and I really like his compete level right now, and that’s what we need from him,” said Vigneault.
USA Line Moving Forward
Looking ahead this could be a dominant line. Their games seem to complement each other well. Stepan’s excellent vision and ability to distribute the puck, with JT Miller’s net-front presence and ability to retrieve pucks along the wall, and Kreider’s speed, physicality, and goal-scoring ability all go well together.
An interesting side note about these three players is that all three have won World Junior Championship Gold Medals with Team USA. Stepan and Kreider won in 2010 and JT Miller in 2013. Kreider, this season scored 20 goals for the first time in his career. He is emerging into the type of player that can net 30 every year if he continues progressing. Derek Stepan however is the player that will lead and be the driving force for this line with his ability to play well in all areas of the game.
Chris Kreider
J.T. Miller
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Home > 2019 > 02/06 > Auston Matthews and the Pittsburgh Penguins Model
Auston Matthews and the Pittsburgh Penguins Model
February 6, 2019, 9:00 AM | Ryan Hobart
Have you heard the news? It would be very hard not to, unless you live under a large boulder like Patrick Star. Yes, the Toronto Maple Leafs have signed Auston Matthews, their superstar center, for 5 years and $11.634M. Queue up Sweet Victory!
What the Leafs have done here is risky, but that can be considered a good risk or a bad risk depending on your perspective. At the end of the 5 year contract, Matthews will have unrestricted free agent status and can go wherever he pleases. The destination he prefers may not be Toronto, so that is obviously a risk to consider. It also doesn’t seem like that much of a cost bargain when compared to other contracts around the league, and especially compared to many peoples’ expectations going into this negotiation (mine included). This can make you question whether the risk was worth it.
However, we can look to a model set by the Pittsburgh Penguins to see why it may be a good risk to take. If you win with your stars, they’re going to want to stay, so it’s worth the risk to save money in the short term.
The Penguins Model
In the late 2000’s and early 2010’s, there were three dominant teams that ran the NHL: the Chicago Blackhawks, the Los Angeles Kings, and the above-mentioned Pittsburgh Penguins. They each made it out of that 10-year period with a successful run of Stanley Cups and Cup final appearances, and as such their franchise-building methods can’t really be questioned. They can be compared, though.
During that era, the Blackhawks chose to sign their stars for the long term; Keith signed for 13 years and Seabrook, Kane and Toews for 8 years. The Kings signed Kopitar to a 7-year deal (he has since extended with another 8-year deal), Brown and Doughty to 8-year deals (the latter also extending with another 8-year deal), and Quick to a 10-year deal.
Going against the grain, though, the Penguins signed Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to 5 year deals, each worth $8.7M, in 2008 and 2009. A more era-adjusted way to look at contracts is to look at the percent of the total salary cap that those deals took up. For Pittsburgh, those deals were worth 17.3 and 15.34 percent of the salary cap in the years that they were signed. In comparison, Auston Matthews’ deal is worth a somewhat more modest 14.63 percent of the 2018-19 salary cap.
During that time period, the Penguins also had Marc-Andre Fleury on a very friendly 7-year $5M deal, Jordan Staal on a 4-year $4M deal, and Kris Letang on a 4-year $3.5M deal. Very shrewd contracts that unquestionably helped them out, and are good comparables to the Leafs’ players in a similar role, Frederik Andersen (5-year $5M), Nazem Kadri (5-year $4.5M) and Morgan Rielly (6-year $5M).
The Blackhawks and Kings did win more Cups in that 2005-2015 era than the Penguins (3 and 2, vs. 1), so it’s tempting to say that the long term deals they signed were absolutely worth it. And to some extent it’s true. Now, though, the Kings and Blackhawks both sit at the bottom of their respective divisions and in the bottom-5 of the league in terms of points and points% (the percentage of points they received vs. the points that were available, essentially correcting for a difference in games played).
In contrast, the Penguins are still winning Stanley Cups beyond that 10 year period, with championship wins in 2016 and 2017, and they’re currently 11th in the league in points and points%. They were built for the long run, and Crosby and Malkin’s 5-year deals were a big reason why. Other major reasons why were the incredibly team-friendly follow-up deal signed by Crosby that is now illegal in the CBA, and other team friendly deals mentioned above, but let’s focus on the reason that’s relevant to the current situation regarding the Leafs and Matthews.
The Future for the Leafs
As the Penguins had then, the Leafs now have a level of salary certainty over a crucial period of the retooling and retrying period of the evolution of a team. They will need to be calculating exactly how much they will be able to spend on depth players in this time. While this new contract does take up a significant chunk of the cap now, the ability to re-negotiate in 5 years may not be as disastrous as you may expect. It certainly didn’t with the Penguins. The Leafs could very easily extend him on a deal with a similar cap %, or potentially even lower as was the case with Malkin and Crosby, and generally maintain the overall effect he has on their cap situation.
Had the Leafs signed Matthews to an 8-year deal, which likely would have been higher than McDavid’s $12.5M AAV, the next 5 years could have been pretty tight against the cap. In fact, Chris Johnston of Sportsnet is reporting that Matthews was asking for $13.8M over 8 years.
The Auston Matthews ask on an eight-year extension was in the range of Connor McDavid's 16.67% of cap hit. So a ~$13.8M AAV based on projected $83M cap.
The #leafs delayed more than $2M AAV per for five seasons, but will have to negotiate again with Matthews at age 26 to do it.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) February 5, 2019
This looks to be shrewd planning, allowing the team to keep some of its young regulars around past their Entry Level Contracts, instead of having to ship them off and continually fill up the depth roles with cheap rookies. The ~$2M saved means keeping Connor Brown, or keeping someone else of that ilk (Johnsson, for example) for the course of that 5 years. While on its own it is not the difference between a Stanley Cup or not, it is certainly something of value. The repeated execution of small cost saving measures can be the difference between a Stanley Cup or not. It’s these kinds of management tactics that should be expected from a management team led by Kyle Dubas, Brandon Pridham, Laurence Gilman, and Brendan Shanahan.
This quote from Kyle Dubas illustrates this critical point:
GM Kyle Dubas on Leafs trying to "give ourselves the maximum number of chances" to contend over young stars' primes: pic.twitter.com/xoMobsEuTf
— John Matisz (@MatiszJohn) February 5, 2019
I don’t see the risk of Matthews leaving at the end of 5 years as a critical or scary proposition, as long as the Leafs are still among the top teams in the league at that time. There’s no reason to suggest that they won’t be, especially with this kind of frugal management they seem to be applying consistently. In my opinion, the critical question is how much Matthews will demand from the Leafs when he’s got them over the barrel with his UFA status. The examples of Crosby and Malkin may be lost on the new era of talent, which doesn’t seem to have “team-friendly contract” in its vocabulary.
As the cliché goes, only time will tell. For right now, though, it seems like this decision allows the team to save valuable money during the most critical next of the Leafs rebuild: winning the Stanley Cup.
What does the John Tavares contract tell us about Auston Matthews’ future deal?
Auston Matthews Wants a 5 Year Deal and That’s Fine
Friedman on the Leafs fitting the Big Four under the cap
By Ryan Hobart
@RyanDHobart More Articles
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Lost in the Land of Self-Help: Mohsin Hamid’s How To Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia
Emily St. John Mandel March 19, 2013 | 2 books mentioned 3 min read
Mohsin Hamid’s new novel How To Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia is loosely structured as a self-help book. Although, as the writer notes at the outset, “the idea of self in the land of self-help is a slippery one.” Self-help books, he writes, “are an oxymoron. You read a self-help book so someone who isn’t yourself can help you, that someone being the author.” The book follows the trajectory of a self-made man somewhere in “rising Asia,” from very poor small boy in the provinces to extremely rich old man in an unnamed metropolis.
Chapter headings include Get an Education, Don’t Fall in Love, Avoid Idealists, Befriend a Bureaucrat, Be Prepared To Use Violence. Each chapter begins with a few words on these themes, often interesting and insightful — “No self-help book can be complete,” Hamid writes, at the outset of Befriend a Bureaucrat,
without taking into our account our relationship with the state. For if there were a cosmic list of things that unite us, reader and writer, visible as it scrolled up and into the distance, like the introduction to some epic science-fiction film, then shining brightly on that list would be the fact that we exist in a financial universe that is subject to massive gravitational pulls from states.
The opening remarks complete, Hamid dives into the specifics of the man’s story. Hamid’s characters, country, and city are unnamed in this book. The writing is often beautiful, and Hamid’s political commentary remains razor-sharp. In his brilliant previous novel, Moth Smoke, he addressed the problem of economic inequality head-on, and he doesn’t shy away from it here. His protagonist’s path to filthy richness involves selling drinking water. A prospective client pitches him on a planned development where residents will actually be able to drink the water that comes out of the tap: it’ll be “[l]ike you’ve gone to Europe,” he says. “Or North America.”
“Without leaving home,” your brother-in-law says.
“Exactly. Without leaving home. You’ll still be here. But in a secure, walled-off, impeccably maintained, lit-up-at-night, noise-controlled, perfectly regulated version of here.”
But where is here, exactly, in a book without names? Based on Hamid’s previous work, my best guess is Pakistan. There’s a certain tension here between the general and the specific: my suspicion is that getting filthy rich in rising Pakistan is probably a somewhat different experience than, say, getting filthy rich in rising China. It’s not at all clear to me that the story is well-served by Hamid’s vagueness.
The protagonist is rendered in the second person, which proves an elegant method of sidestepping the fact that he doesn’t have a name, and also has the interesting effect of turning him into a sort of avatar for the reader. The reader is addressed as “you” in the opening remarks of each chapter, and then a more specific you, the man who was born in the provinces and has come to the unnamed metropolis to make his fortune, sets out in his car and drives to the office, or takes a meeting with a bureaucrat, or sits down to dinner with his son. He is distracted now and then by thoughts of his lifelong object of desire, a woman referred to throughout only as “the pretty girl.”
But this is a book that follows its characters over the course of their lives, so while referring to her as “the pretty girl” works well enough when she’s a scrappy teenager in a rough neighborhood, the moniker becomes a little jarring by the time “the pretty girl” is a successful businesswoman in middle age. As the book progresses, the structure to which Hamid has committed himself begins to seem increasingly cumbersome.
The problem, of course, is that while the self-help format is somewhat general by nature, novels tend to be stories about specific people, specific situations and lives, and Hamid’s latest is no exception. He might be addressing a general “you” at the beginning of each chapter, but he’s still writing about a particular life, with its particular triumphs, sorrows, and complications.
That life is often beautifully rendered, because Hamid is one of the best writers working today. If Hamid has committed himself to a structure that works to the book’s detriment, that detriment isn’t fatal. How To Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia is filled with flashes of brilliance, deeply moving passages, and the beautifully clear prose style that I’ve admired so greatly in Hamid’s previous works.
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Emily St. John Mandel is a staff writer for The Millions. Her most recent novel, Station Eleven, was a 2014 National Book Awards finalist. She is married and lives in Brooklyn. www.emilymandel.com.
The Corey Vilhauer Book of the Month Club: May 2006
Corey Vilhauer May 1, 2006 | 2 books mentioned 5 3 min read
For me, one of the great feats is to find a book that is so good you can’t put it down. I mean literally – a book that engulfs every spare moment you’ve got, forcing everything else that isn’t necessary to the side. A book that, after reading just the first few chapters, you know is going to be one of the best you’ve ever read.A book this good doesn’t come around very often. To Kill a Mockingbird. East of Eden… Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.Okay. I swear I’ll stop talking about Jonathan Safran Foer. I have to. I’ve read everything he’s written. And I’m glad I saved Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close for the end. So you’ll have to forgive me this month – I guarantee I’ll stop from now on.My first encounter with a Foer was actually with his brother, Franklin, in How Soccer Explains the World. I ran across Jonathan Foer later on, thanks to the Penguin Pockets 70th anniversary set, and then finally read Everything is Illuminated last month. The Penguin Pockets book – The Unabridged Pocketbook of Lightning, was a Vilhauer Book of the Month. Everything is Illuminated would have made it last month, except I chose Other Electricities instead.The reason I chose Other Electricities is because I didn’t want to “over-Foer” my welcome. This month I can’t say the same.Our narrator is nine-year-old Oskar Schell. And his grandmother. And his grandfather. In true Foer style, there are three separate voices embarking on three separate missions – Oskar is looking for a lock. The lock needs to match the key he found on top of his father’s dresser. Oh, and just to add a little timeliness, his father died in the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11th, 2001. Meanwhile, his estranged grandmother and grandfather are writing letters that will never be read.First of all, EL&IC is not a novel about September 11th, 2001. It is, however, a book that feeds off of the misery and fears of that day. Because really, everything that happens has a shadow of the 11th looming above it, a constant reminder of the fact that someone so kind, so unassuming – in this case, Oskar’s father – has died. You can see it in everyone he meets – the sorrow and the sudden protective nature in their actions. No one wants to talk about it, yet here, in the middle of New York City, you’ve got a boy that’s trying to solve a riddle that is nearly directly tied to that fateful day.You can’t expect a young boy to understand fully what happened on September 11th, and Oskar is a great example. He’s a genius, a boy that considers himself a Francophile and gets his news from international news sites. He’s wise beyond his young age, but he’s still a scared boy. He’s picked on at school, and he at times takes on the role of “pretentious little twit,” the smartest guy in the room – a kid that knows too much and isn’t afraid to say it.It’s Foer’s ability to twist relationships – the stranded relationship of Oskar’s grandparents, the strained relationship between Oskar and his mother, the lost relationship of Oskar and his father, the one man that he truly respected and looked up to – that makes the book work. The themes are dreadful, if you think about them too long, but you’re not doing yourself any justice by ignoring them and moving along. All three narratives chronicle disappointment. Sadness. The threat of never being able to say goodbye.But most of all, you find the dead hope of an unanswered question, the “what ifs” that torture each character as they try to go on with their lives. Oskar tries so desperately to be strong in the face of every unanswered question, but he keeps remembering back to that day, to the things he missed and the things he didn’t. What if his father would have lived? To Oskar’s grandmother, it’s a “what if” about her husband, a man who has been gone for years. To Oskar’s grandfather, it’s a series of questions from the 40s that have never been touched.September 11th. The bomb at Hiroshima. The napalm storm of Dresden.A lack of communication. The lost years of childhood. The connections between father and son.How can you spell out the feelings invoked in EL&IC? Because that’s exactly what this book does. It invokes feelings. It brings all of your emotions to your throat. It’s that powerful.What if a book was so intense, so full of questions, so full of the exhilaration that comes from discovering a character’s secret that you couldn’t put it down, and when you finished, all you could do is close the book, stare at the ceiling and think?What if?Corey Vilhauer – Black Marks on Wood PulpCVBoMC Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr.
Corey Vilhauer | 2 books mentioned 5 3 min read
Only So Many Words Remain: On Alice Munro’s Dear Life
Ben Dolnick November 29, 2012 | 2 books mentioned 3 4 min read
While reading Alice Munro’s new book, Dear Life, I kept finding myself thinking of something that had nothing to do with books, or with Canada, or with any of the dozen other things you might expect. What I thought of was a professional basketball game I went to 15 or so years ago. The Bulls were visiting the lowly Wizards (who were then still called the Bullets), and my friends and I had lucked our way into decent seats. It was the first and only time I’d seen Michael Jordan in person, and it was the strangest thing. You could feel a collective awareness in the building, like the smoke lingering after a fireworks show: he will outlive every one of us. Jordan’s name would appear the next day beside Calbert Cheaney and Bill Wennington’s in the box score, but years from now, when their names evoked nothing, his would be unfaded. He inhabited the court like a time traveler, visiting from a future in which he continued to exist while the rest of us — chewing our $7 hot dogs, taking his picture every time he touched the ball — did not.
Which is to say: contemporary greatness is a strange thing. Alice Munro’s books are reviewed right there beside Ann Patchett and Richard Russo’s; they’re set on the New Releases table between the latest from Jane Smiley and Dave Eggers. But they’re of a different order, they’re made of different stuff. The Mona Simpson quote that appears on many of Munro’s paperbacks (“The living writer most likely to be read in a hundred years,”) seems truer than ever, and it gives an air of preemptive nostalgia to the act of reading her. Soon enough it will seem very strange, almost miraculous, that we could go to the store to buy a new book by Alice Munro.
But for now, anyway, we can; the daily highlight reels must still be assembled. And so how does this latest collection of stories, her 14th, stack up? It is, I’m pleased to report, wonderful — even surprisingly so. Since 2001’s Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage, published when she was 70, she had seemed to me to be in the cruising phase of her career. The three collections since then were full of good, solid, Munro-grade stuff, but with a couple of exceptions, there were no stories that I imagined would make it into her best-of collections. Her writing had simplified considerably, and she seemed, with her plots, to be retracing old ground. When she announced her retirement in 2006, I confess to feeling a certain relief; she was too proud and too self-aware to leave us remembering her like Jordan on the Wizards.
Well, she didn’t retire, and it’s a good thing she didn’t. Her writing continues in its understated mode, but the simplicity seems now to reflect an increased urgency, rather than a diminished capacity. There’s a kind of cut-the-crap quality to this latest batch of stories — material that might have once have taken up 20 pages she now deals with in a couple of sentences, unsentimentally, almost in passing. In “Gravel,” the news that the narrator’s sister has drowned arrives by implication, like the passings of the seasons. In “Train,” a man walks away from his life with as little fanfare as if he were walking out of a movie theater.
Here is how, in one of the collection’s best stories, “Leaving Maverley,” Munro describes a man whose wife has died after years of insentient dwindling in the hospital:
He’d thought that it had happened long before with Isabel, but it hadn’t. Not until now.
She had existed and now she did not. Not at all, as if not ever. And people hurried around, as if this outrageous fact could be overcome by making sensible arrangements. He, too, obeyed the custom, signing where he was told to sign, arranging — as they said — for the remains.
“Not at all, as if not ever,” — these seven short, simple words give as clear an account of grief, of the infantilizing incomprehensibility of a loved one’s death, as anything I’ve ever read. The book is full of formulations like that — births and deaths, marriages and infidelities, rendered in unimprovable calligraphic strokes. Much of the material here will be familiar to anyone who has ever read her — the train trips and heartsick letters and unpaved roads — but the voice is newly sharpened, as if she were freshly aware of only having so many words remaining in her allotment.
And, in fact, such an awareness becomes explicit in places; growing old has, like a trip through a difficult country, endowed Munro with all manner of new information, and she has here begun to file her dispatches. “In Sight of the Lake,” about a woman’s increasingly baffled search for her doctor’s office, is as harrowing an account of old age as I’ve ever read. And “Dolly” makes the case, with worrisome authority, that jealousy and heartache are not occupations from which we may retire.
A surprise, then, is that the book ends with a sequence of stories that Munro could almost have written decades ago. “The final works in this book are not quite stories,” she writes in an author’s note (under the disconcerting heading “Finale”). “I believe they are the first and last — and the closest — things I have to say about my own life.” A certain prurient ear-pricking is natural, when an author promises to share the actual goods about herself, but what she has to say turns out to be not so different from what she’s said about her childhood in her earlier books. We get the failing fox farm, the humble father, the ambitious and ailing mother. We get the house set uneasily between town and country, the rickety bridges, the trees known by name. The difference, if there is one, is the frankness with which she sets aside the possibility of artifice. It’s as if, after decades of plot trickery and composite characters, she longs to remove all the filters from her light, to show us the bare bulb. Here, finally, is the intelligence itself, the compassionate but merciless awareness that she has shone through all her hundreds of stories.
At the end of one of those stories, a dozen or so books ago, there’s a sentence that may be the best single thing she ever wrote, and it offers something like a key to her entire career: “People’s lives, in Jubilee as elsewhere, were dull, simple, amazing and unfathomable — deep caves paved with kitchen linoleum.” In Dear Life, Munro, equipped with a head-lamp the likes of which we may never see again, continues to explore.
Ben Dolnick | 2 books mentioned 3 4 min read
Her Body, Herself: On Dylan Landis’s Rainey Royal
Michael Bourne September 10, 2014 | 2 books mentioned 4 min read
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Sonya Chung September 30, 2009 | 2 books mentioned 5 8 min read
Two Brits Stew: Lars Iyer’s Dogma
Drew Nellins Smith February 21, 2012 | 2 books mentioned 5 3 min read
László Krasznahorkai’s ‘The World Goes On’ Stands in Defiance to Its Own Despair
John Marchinkoski February 2, 2018 | 2 books mentioned 7 min read
For Krasznahorkai, plot and all the logistics it demands generally step aside to let the story’s mania occupy the reader’s attention.
John Marchinkoski | 2 books mentioned 7 min read
Brimming with Curiosity: On Philip Pullman’s ‘La Belle Sauvage’
Charles-Adam Foster-Simard November 16, 2017 | 2 books mentioned 9 min read
Pullman is first and foremost an extremely skillful storyteller—the warmest, fuzziest kind that takes readers by the hand and guides them with sharp prose and a fast moving plot.
Charles-Adam Foster-Simard | 2 books mentioned 9 min read
Portrait of a Nation: Mahmoud Dowlatabadi’s The Colonel
Buzz Poole May 11, 2012 | 2 books mentioned 1 4 min read
Dowlatabadi’s nonlinear episodes jump in time and perspective, a puzzle as fragmented whole as when it is in pieces, an appropriate quality for a book about the shattering of individuals and national identity.
Buzz Poole | 2 books mentioned 1 4 min read
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Home » Uncategorized » Edvard Grieg and “Peer Gynt”
Edvard Grieg and “Peer Gynt”
Posted on September 21, 2013 by homeschoolbookreviewblog
Edvard Hagerup Grieg (June 15, 1843–September 4, 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist who is widely considered one of the leading Romantic era composers. Grieg was born in Bergen, Norway, on June 15, 1843. His parents were Alexander Grieg (1806–1875), a merchant and vice consul in Bergen; and Gesine Judithe Hagerup (1814–1875), a music teacher and daughter of Edvard Hagerup. The family name, originally spelled Greig, has Scottish origins. After the Battle of Culloden in 1746, Grieg’s great-grandfather traveled widely, settling in Norway about 1770, and establishing business interests in Bergen. Edvard Grieg was raised in a musical milieu. His mother was his first piano teacher and taught him to play at the age of six. Grieg studied in several schools, including Tanks Upper School, and Tanks School. In the summer of 1858, Grieg met the eminent Norwegian violinist Ole Bull, who was a family friend; Bull’s brother was married to Grieg’s aunt. Bull recognized the 15-year-old boy’s talent and persuaded his parents to send him to the Leipzig Conservatory then directed by Ignaz Moscheles. Grieg enrolled in the conservatory, concentrating on the piano, and enjoyed the many concerts and recitals given in Leipzig. There he studied piano with Moscheles and composition with Carl Reinecke. He especially enjoyed the organ, which was mandatory for piano students.
In the spring of 1860, Grieg survived a life-threatening lung disease, pleurisy and tuberculosis. However, throughout his life, his health was impaired by a destroyed left lung and considerable deformity of his thoracic spine. He suffered from numerous respiratory infections, and ultimately developed combined lung and heart failure. Grieg was admitted many times to spas and sanatoria both in Norway and abroad. In 1861, Grieg made his debut as a concert pianist, in Karlshamn, Sweden. Also, while in school, the young composer saw the premiere of his first work, his String Quartet in D minor, performed in Karlshamn. In 1862, he finished his studies in Leipzig and returning to Norway held his first concert in his home town, where his program included Beethoven’s Pathétique sonata. In 1863, Grieg went to Copenhagen, Denmark, where he met his future wife, and stayed there for three years. He met the Danish composers J. P. E. Hartmann and Niels Gade. He also met his fellow Norwegian composer Rikard Nordraak, composer of the Norwegian national anthem, who became a good friend and source of inspiration. Nordraak died in 1866, and Grieg composed a funeral march in his honor.
In 1867 Grieg produced his first set of miniature pieces for piano, the Lyric Pieces, which consists of eight short movements in contrasting moods. On June 11, 1867, Grieg married his first cousin, Nina Hagerup. Shortly after their wedding, the couple moved to Oslo, where Grieg supported them by teaching piano and conducting. The next year, their only child, Alexandra, was born. In the summer of 1868, Grieg wrote his Piano Concerto in A minor while on holiday in Denmark. Also in 1868, Franz Liszt, who had not yet met Grieg, wrote a testimonial for him to the Norwegian Ministry of Education, which led to Grieg’s obtaining a travel grant. Edmund Neupert gave the Grieg’s concerto its premiere performance on April 3, 1869, in the Casino Theater in Copenhagen. Grieg himself was unable to be there due to conducting commitments in Christiania, as Oslo was then named. Grieg’s daughter Alexandra died in 1869 from meningitis. Grieg and Liszt met in Rome in 1870. On Grieg’s first visit, they went over Grieg’s Violin Sonata No. 1, which pleased Liszt greatly. On his second visit, in April, Grieg brought with him the manuscript of his Piano Concerto, which Liszt proceeded to sight read. Liszt also gave Grieg some advice on orchestration. In 1874–76, Grieg composed incidental music for the premiere of Henrik Ibsen’s play Peer Gynt, at the request of the author. The first performance in 1876 was a resounding success and made Grieg into a national figure overnight.
Grieg had close ties with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra (Harmonien), and later became Music Director of the orchestra from 1880–1882. In 1884 Grieg accepted a commission to write a piece to commemorate the bicentenary of the birth of the Norwegian philosopher and playwriter, Ludvig Holberg. The resulting Holberg Suit is a five-movement piece for piano written in the manner of an eighteenth-century dance suit. Several months later he arranged it for string orchestra. By 1885 Grieg had established a considerable reputation and built himself a house at Troldhaugen near Bergen, where he lived for the rest of his life. Over the next twenty years he managed to establish a pattern of composing in the spring and early summer, fitting in a walking holiday in late summer and then spending the autumn and winter on lengthy concert tours. In 1888, Grieg met Tchaikovsky in Leipzig. The Norwegian government awarded him a pension. In the spring 1903, Grieg made nine 78-rpm gramophone recordings of his piano music in Paris. In 1906, he met the composer and pianist Percy Grainger in London. Grainger was a great admirer of Grieg’s music and a strong empathy was quickly established.
The impulse to travel never left Grieg and even in his final years he continued with grueling concert schedules around Europe. In the last year of his life he visited Berlin and Kiel; he was making plans to leave for England when was taken ill. Edvard Grieg died in the late summer of 1907, aged 64, after a long period of illness. Following his wish, his own Funeral March in Memory of Rikard Nordraak was played in an orchestration by his friend Johan Halvorsen, who had married Grieg’s niece. Some of Grieg’s early works include a symphony, which he later suppressed, and a piano sonata. He also wrote three violin sonatas and a cello sonata. As Grieg grew older, however, he became increasingly conscious of the musical potential of his own country’s folk-culture and began to promote Norwegian nationalism by writing pieces based on traditional popular music. Grieg wrote songs in which he set lyrics by poets Heinrich Heine, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Henrik Ibsen, Hans Christian Andersen, Rudyard Kipling, and others. Grieg shied away from the larger forms of musical expression, such as the symphony and opera, but in his preferred field, as a miniaturist, he is without equal. His use and development of Norwegian folk music in his own compositions put the music of Norway in the international spectrum, as well as helping develop a national identity, much like Jean Sibelius and Antonín Dvořák did in Finland and Bohemia.
The following works by Grieg are contained in my collection:
The Bridal Procession Passes By, op. 19 (from Scenes from the Folk Life, 1872).
Evening in the Mountains and At the Cradle, op. 68, nos. 4 and 5 (from Lyrical Pieces, 1898).
In Autumn, Concert Overture, op. 11 (1866).
Lyric Suite, op. 54 (from Lyrical Pieces, 1891).
Norwegian Dances, op. 35 (1881).
Of Holberg’s Days (or From Holberg’s Time), op. 49 (Holberg Suite, for string orchestra; 1885).
Peer Gynt (1876): Suites No. 1, op. 46 (1888), and No. 2 (1893), op. 55.
Piano Concerto in am, op. 16 (1868).
Sigurd Josalfar, op. 56 (1872): Suite (1892).
(4) Symphonic Dances, op. 64 (1898).
Two Elgiac Melodies for String Orchestra, op. 34 (1881).
Wedding Day at Troldhaugen (The Well Wishers Are Coming), op. 65 (from Book 8 of Lyric Pieces, 1894).
—material taken, adapted, and edited from several different sources
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Steve Wallace
Jazz, baseball, life and other ephemera.
A baseball season is like a vast ocean of plays, numbers and events taking place in games that come at us daily, with the relentlessness of waves breaking on a shoreline. It’s impossible to keep track of everything or take it all in, but if you pay attention randomly, you’re bound to see things that haven’t happened in a long time or perhaps ever, left like nuggets washed up on a beach.
For example, on Thursday night I tuned in late to a game between the Texas Rangers and the Dodgers in Dodger Stadium. It was an extreme pitchers’ duel, tied 0-0 heading into the bottom of the ninth. Texas reliever Keone Kela walked the first two Dodger hitters, not a great idea under the circs. But then he induced the next Dodger to tap into the pitcher’s best friend, a double-play, the lead runner advancing to third base with two out. Perched there, the base-runner began feinting toward home, just enough to distract Kela, whose pitching arm made a tiny reflexive flinch, practically invisible, but not to the umpires. That’s all it took, the ump called Kela for a balk and the winning run came home, it was a balk-off walk-off, a horrible way to lose such a game. I’m sure games have ended this way before, but not very often with such a minimal 1-0 score.
It was similar on Sunday in a game between the Rays and Indians in Cleveland. The Rays sent one of their seemingly endless supply of good starting pitchers to the mound in Alex Colome and the Indians countered with a minor-league call-up named Cody Anderson, making his major-league debut. Colome was brilliant, in fact he was perfect through five, surrendering a first hit in the sixth. Anderson was almost as good, throwing seven and two-thirds innings of shutout ball, surrendering six hits and just one walk. With Colome gone after seven innings, the game was tied 0-0 in the ninth, when the Indians loaded the bases on two singles and a walk off Tampa reliever Kevin Jepsen. With one out, David Murphy came to the plate and hit a flyball to medium-deep centrefield. Kevin Keirmaier launched as perfect a throw to home plate as I’ve ever seen, a laser beam on a direct line to the catcher. There was a puff of dust and chalk as the runner slid, seemingly too late, he was going to be out……but no! – there was the baseball spinning around on the ground near home plate, the catcher hadn’t held it and the Indians won the game 1-0 on a walk-off sacrifice fly. Baseball is such a hard and unforgiving game, sometimes a team does everything right and one small slip costs them the ballgame. Humdinger.
Speaking of doing almost everything right, Max Scherzer of the Washington Nationals came within one strike of throwing a perfect game on Saturday. His team mates made several brilliant defensive plays to support him and did their part with the bats too, putting up six runs against the Pirates. With two down in the top of the ninth, Pittsburgh sent Jose Tabata in to pinch-hit and with two strikes, he leaned his heavily armoured elbow into the path of a pitch that wasn’t all that far inside – hit batter, perfect game gone. It was a bush-league and dastardly way to break up a perfect game. Not only had Tabata not tried to avoid the pitch, but he went out of his way to get hit with no risk of pain or injury, being all suited up like a Transformer. Try doing this without the elbow protector next time Jose and see where it gets you. It was all legal enough and the umpire had little choice but to award him first base, but it was unfortunate, deflating. However, not all was lost as Scherzer still had a no-hitter going and secured it when the next batter flew out to left.
Here’s the thing though…..In his previous start, Scherzer threw a complete-game shutout, in fact he had another perfect game going until surrendering a lone hit in the seventh inning, while striking out sixteen batters, possibly even a more dominant performance than his no-hitter. With these two splendid outings, he joined a tiny group of elite pitchers to ever throw back-to-back shutouts while surrendering a total of one hit or less. The others are all old-timers, including Howard Ehmke, Dazzy Vance and Johnny Vander Meer, who in 1938 became the only pitcher to throw consecutive no-hitters. Like many, I’ll be following Scherzer’s next start with some interest, as he seems to have figured some stuff out.
On the higher-scoring end of things, on Sunday I was flicking to the Tigers-Yankees game in Yankee Stadium whenever the Jays-Orioles game went to commercials. Detroit’s rightfielder J.D. Martinez hit three home runs in his first three at-bats – a two-run shot in the second inning, a solo blast in the fifth and a three-run bomb in the sixth. He still had at least one more at-bat coming, and I wondered if he’d be able to join the exclusive four-homers-in-one-game club – nope, he flew out deep to right in his last at-bat. Then I noticed that he’d hit every type of homer except a grand slam and got to wondering if anyone had ever hit one of each – solo, two-run, three-run and grand slam – in one game, a kind of “home run cycle”. The odds are really long – there have been only sixteen players to ever hit four home runs in a game – some of them journeymen, some good players, some immortals like Lou Gehrig, Gil Hodges, Willie Mays and Mike Schmidt. Carlos Delgado of the Blue Jays was the only player to do it in four consecutive at-bats and the last player to hit four was Josh Hamilton with the Rangers in 2012, presumably not during one of the frat-party keg-weekends he’s prone to. So chances that anybody had hit one of each homer variety in one game are really slim, in fact I wasn’t sure the concept of the “home run cycle” even existed.
Baseball has a guy with a main-frame in a hollowed-out mountain somewhere who you can call and ask these types of questions – there’s even a toll-free number, but the line’s always busy. Anyway, I looked it up on Google, and it turns out the concept of the “homer cycle” does exist, but it’s never been pulled off in the major leagues. It’s been done exactly once in professional baseball – by one Tyrone Horne during a 1998 AA ballgame. This is not surprising, because not only does a player have to hit four homers, which is next to impossible, but he has to come to the plate with the right number of runners on base, which is completely random and beyond his control.
Stranger things have happened in baseball though. Thirteen players have hit two grand slams in one game, including Red Sox third baseman Bill Mueller, who, as a switch-hitter became the first to do so from either side of the plate. But on April 23, 1999 Fernando Tatis topped them all by hitting two grand slams in one inning – think about that the next time you hear the phrase “statistical cataclysm”.
One thing I’m sure of though – eventually someone will pull off the home run cycle in the major leagues, maybe even in our lifetime. This is because whatever can happen in baseball will happen, if it hasn’t already. And on that Berra-esque note, I’ll leave you.
© 2015, Steve Wallace. All rights reserved.
This entry was posted in Baseball by steve. Bookmark the permalink.
3 thoughts on “Beachcombing”
ron woods on June 22, 2015 at 6:54 pm said:
after a double play usually 2 outs -line 11 says one out -picky eh? rw
Harold Barbour on June 22, 2015 at 8:03 pm said:
Wish I understood American baseball but I don’t.Nearest I come to grasping the game is Shorty Rogers “Short Stop” which I think is a position in the game.An article on cricket or rugby would suit me fine.Told John to pass on my comments to you about your interesting and well written articles.Sad about Ornette Coleman who,like Monk,went his own way regardless and you have to admire such a musician.I met Coleman many years ago at a gig in Salford or possibly
Manchester University.Chatted with him and he kindly signed some of my albums.I remember him as a most pleasant person.
Steve Robertson on June 23, 2015 at 3:23 am said:
In 1968, when Don Drysdale was nearing a scoreless innings record, the Giants had the bases loaded at Dodger Stadium and Don hit Dick Dietz with a fastball. The pathetic umpire then ruled Dietz had not ‘tried hard enough’ to get out of the way. The ensuing screaming match lasted 10 minutes, enough time for Don to rest, recover and set the record. Re the grand slams, here’s one: Pitcher Tony Cloninger hit 2 in one game for the Braves vs the Giants in ’66.
Follow Steve Wallace
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A Tourist's Guide to Southern Vermont
1. Introduction:
Easily accessible from lower New England, Southern Vermont is a rolling carpet of Green Mountain foothills and valleys that offer an extensive array of seasonal sports, yet maintain all of the state's characteristics, including picture postcard villages, covered bridges, maple farms, and cheese producers .
2. Orientation:
Brattleboro, gateway to the area, is "home to an eclectic mix of native Vermonters and transplants from all over the country," according to the "Greater Brattleboro" guide published by the Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce. "This cosmopolitan town is eastern Vermont's undisputed economic, recreational, and cultural center."
Accessed by Interstate 91, it is both the first major Vermont city north of the Massachusetts state line and the only one served by three exits-in this case, Exit 1 leads to Canal street, Exit 2 to Main Street and the historic downtown area, and Exit 3 to Route 5 / Putney Road, which offers a commercial concentration of hotels and restaurants. The Comfort and Hampton Inns and the Holiday Inn Express, for example, are located here, while the art deco Latchis Hotel, complete with its own movie theater, is located downtown.
3. Brattleboro:
Situated at the confluence of the Connecticut and West rivers, Brattleboro was originally occupied by the Abenaki tribes, but protection against them took form as Fort Drummer, constructed by and named after, Governor William Drummer of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, in 1724.
Siding with the French in the French and Indian War, they migrated to Quebec the following year, at which time the structure was converted into a trading post for the friendly few who remained behind. Neverheless, peace, often fleeting during this period, dissected between 1744 and 1748, prompting its troop re-occupation.
Becoming a New Hampshire grant, the area surrounding it, designed Brattleborough after Colonel William Brattle, Jr. of Boston, was chartered as Vermont's first town the day after Christmas in 1753.
From the fort sprouted a settlement, giving rise to the area's first store in 1771, first post office in 1784, and first Connecticut-spanning bridge in 1804. Becoming increasingly industrialized for the period due to the power provided by the Whetstone Brook's waterfalls, it soon boosted paper, flour, and woolen textile mills, paper making machinery and carriage manufacturers, two machine shops, and four printers. It has been home to the Estey Organ Company for more than a century. The Massachusetts and Vermont Valley railroads subcontrequently facilitated commerce, trade, and travel with and to the rest of New England.
The current "Brattleboro" spelling was adopted in 1888.
Today, more than anything, the city is synonymous with art. Aside from its numerous avenues, it exclusively features its Gallery Walk program, in which exhibits are displayed at some 50 locations throughout town on the first Friday of every month, some accompanied by live music and others by the artists themselves. Numbered, each display corresponds to the description, location, and route of the guide published monthly.
Maintaining the town's raison d'être is the more permanent Brattleboro Museum and Art Center, located downtown, across from the Marlboro College Graduate School in the former Union Station and offering views of the river paralleling tracks outside and retaining the original ticket windows inside, behind which is the appropriately titled "Ticket Gallery."
"Founded in 1972," according to its own description, "the Brattleboro Museum and Art Center presents rotating exhibits of contemporary art and a wide array of cultural events, including lectures, workshops, performances, film screenings, (and) family activities."
"Close to Home: New Pastels by Ray Ruseckas," one recent exhibit, offered, as its title suggests, an artistic perspective of the area.
"The hillsides, forests, and glades of the Connecticut River Valley," said Mara Williams, museum curator, "are Ray Ruseckas' stomping grounds and inspiration. as the rhythms and proportions of place … through refined tonal shifts or contrast between light and dark, (he) produces an effect of psychological apprehension, a fission between what is seen and what is implied or felt. "
"Threaded Dances," by Debra Birmingham, another recent exhibit, equally featured surreal effects.
"(Her) paintings are elusive and mysterious as a landscape enveloped in mist," Williams wrote. "Images emerge slowly, sensibly from delicately layered surfaces. Veils of blue-gray to pearl-white shroud empty or barely populated space. are unmoored from time and space. "
Other recent exhibits including "People, Places, and Things" by Jim Dine, "Art + Computer / Time" from the Anne and Michael Spater Digital Art Collection, and the three-dimensional, inflated sculpture "Expanded Forms" by Rodrigo Nava.
Art, at least in literary form, may be interpretable through architecture-in this case, of Rudyard Kipling's Naulakha home-Hindi for "jewel beyond price" -in nearby Dummerston. One of Vermont's 17 National Historic Landmarks, it served as his home in 1892, because his grandson was native to the area, and he wrote his famous "Captain's Courageous" and "Jungle Book" novels here.
As a living house that can be rented for varying places from the UK's Landmark Trust, it features its original furniture, while the carriage house, which had once been Kipling's barn, sports a living room fireplace and accommodates four.
Although it is not open for museum visits, one recent patron who had partaken of its "hotel" status, found that a determined advantage, writing in Naulakha's guest book, "It is fascinating to visit the house of writers and artists, but all you usually get is an hour's tour with an absolute prohibition 'not to touch.' How wonderful then to sit at his desk and soak up Mr. Kipling's bath. "
Aside from art, Southern Vermont is often equated with its covered bridges and Brattleboro is no exception. Constructed in 1879 and located on Guilford Street off of Route 9, the 80-foot-long by 19-foot-wide Creamery Covered Bridge, for instance, spans The Whetstone Brook. Made of spruce lumber, with timber lattice trusses and either-end stone slab supporting abutments, it features a 5.5-foot wide, evenly covered sidewalk that was added in the 1920s. It is the only such structure visible from Route 9 and the only one of Brattleboro's symbolic structures to survive.
4. Grafton:
As a preserved village, Grafton, located north of Brattleboro, could serve as the quintessential image of Vermont and grace any postcard, with its church, crafts shops, galleries, museums, and historic inns lining Main Street (Route 121) and maple syrup taping and cheese making venues located just up the road.
With four general stores and a half dozen mills and schools during the mid-1800s, it was a hub for farmers, tradesmen, and travelers, producing shoes, sleighs, and butter churns. Retaining, a century and a half later, its blacksmith and cabinet making shops, it offers the visitor an opportunity to step back in time and sample true New England ambiance.
"Grafton's uniqueness," according to its own description, "comes from being a real town, not a museum-like recreation, with its citizens being its most valuable resource. wonderfully diverse population of 600 people. "
Surrounded by a kaleidoscope of color in the fall and covered with a blanket of white in the winter, it offers numerous recreational opportunities, but the latter season, particularly, "is a magic time in Vermont, making you believe that you are living in a holiday card. Cross-country ski, snowshoe, (or) stroll through the village.
Cornerstone of the town is the Grafton Inn. Tracing its origins to the two-floor private home of Enos Lowell, who converted it to an inn to serve travelers seeking good food and lodging in 1801, it grew in size and prosperity with that of the village and counted several owners-from Hyman Burgess to the Phelps Brothers, who added a third floor after purchasing the property for $ 1,700 in 1865. That overall appearance remains to the present day.
Although it fulfilled its originally intent purpose of serving commercial travelers, several notable people have stayed there over the years, including Rudyard Kipling, Daniel Webster, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Ralph Waldo Emerson.
After Depression era stagnation, disrepair, and competition from emerging modernized motels, it was admitted by the Windham Foundation in 1965 and elevated to more expected standards with plumbing, heating, hot-and-cold running water, and private bathrooms. Yet its 45 guest rooms retain their country character.
Its dining venues include the Old Tavern Restaurant and the Phelps Barn Pub.
Aside from the inn, there are several attractions in Grafton, including the Native Museum, the Grafton History Museum, and the Vermont Museum of Mining and Minerals.
Behind the inn is the Grafton Village Retail Store, which offers a wide selection of cheese, maple products, wine, and Vermont indicative souvenirs, but cheese is handmade a half mile up the road at the Grafton Village Cheese Company.
Established in 1892 as the Grafton Cooperative Cheese Company, it continues to produce handcrafted aged cheddar, a process visible through a glass window, although its production plant and a significantly sized retail store is located in Brattleboro. Behind the Grafton facility is a short covered bridge.
Another Vermont associated experience can be enjoyed at Plummer's Sugar House. Owned by third generation syrup producers, it sports 4,000 maple trees, which are snapped between February and April. Informal tours are conducted and syrup can be purchased in its barn-like gift shop.
5. Molly Stark Trail:
Designated the Molly Stark Trail by the Vermont Legislature in 1936, the 48-mile, officially numbered Route 9 zigzags through the Southern Green Mountains, lowland valleys, lakes, streams, waterfalls, and historic villages from Brattleboro in the east to Bennington in the west . It was named after the wife of Brigadier General John Stark, who led the Colonial militia of Vermont and New Hampshire troops to victory in the 1777 Battle of Bennington, during which he proclaimed, "There they are boys! We beat them today or Molly Stark sleeps a widow tonight. "
In the event, she had no need to, but also never stepped foot on the scenic byway that bears her name and is associated with several others of Vermont fame, such as Ethan Allen, Grandma Moses, and Robert Frost.
It serves as the threshold to the Green Mountain National Forest. Established itself in 1932 to control rampant logging, flooding, and fires, its 399,151-acre New England and Acadian forest ecoregion is located in Bennington, Addison, Rutland, Windham, Windsor, and Washington counties.
Three nationally designed trails-Long Trail, Robert Moses National Recreation Trail, and portions of the Appalachian Trail-along with 900 miles of lesser-known paths afford a wide range of related sports activities, from hiking to bicycling, horseback riding, cross country skiing , and snowmobiling, in three Alpine and seven Nordic ski areas.
Abundant wildlife includes bears, moose, coyotes, white tailed deer, black bears, wild turkeys, and numerous bird species.
The town of Wilmington marks both the Molly Stark Trail's halfway point between Brattleboro and Bennington and the crossroads with northbound Route 100.
Chartered on April 29, 1751 by Benning Wentworth, Colonial Governor of New Hampshire, and named after Spencer Compton, First Earl of Wilmington, the town itself was actually fed by what its surrounding land provided, including grass, oats, corn, vegetables, potatoes , and the spruce, hemlock, birch, beech, and maple trees that were transformed into lumber. Haystack Mountain offered skiing.
Town and population growth were sparked by a series of precipitating events, such as the introduction of river-located sawmills in the 1830s, the establishment of a rail link at the end of that century, and the dedication of the Molly Stark Trail in the 1930s .
Threading through town, Main Street (Route 9 and the trail itself) offers views of another quintessential Vermont village, with quilt, craft, and antique shops, restaurants, and church steeples.
"Wilmington," according to the "Southern Vermont Deerfield Valley Visitors' Guide" published by the Chamber of Commerce in Wilmington itself, "contains superb examples of 18th and 19th century architecture in as many as eight distinct styles." From Late Colonial (1750- 1788) to Colonial Revival (1880-1900), the architecture is so well-preserved, that the major part of the village has been placed on the Vermont Register of Historic Places. "
A right turn at the traffic light (coming from Brattleboro) on to Route 100 leads to the Old Red Mill Inn, "a wayside tavern, inn, and restaurant at the river's edge," as it bills itself.
Rustic in character, the inn, a converted sawmill dating back to 1828, retains much of its original construction and is itself listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its dining venues include Jerry's Deck Bar and Grill, with outdoor seating overlooking the Deerfield River, and the Old Red Mill Restaurant, which "hearty food and drink are specialties of the house," it proclals.
"Prime steaks and rib roasts, along with fresh New England seafood, are menu favorites, all preceded by crisp garden salads and warm, fresh-baked breads."
6. Route 100:
A short drive on Route 100 leads to West Dover, gateway to the Mount Snow ski resort, as evidenced by the Alpine-themed Austrian Haus Lodge, one of the first buildings encountered.
Settled by Captain Abner Perry, of Holliston, Massachusetts, in 1779, and granted a charter signed by Governor Thomas Chittenden, head of the newly formed Vermont Republic, the following year, West Dover and its easterly Dover counterpart began as the township of Wardsborough. After a successful petition to divide it, however, it evolved into Wardsborough itself and Dover after the passage of an 1810 Legislative Assembly act.
Although the summer initially served as the season of attraction for vacationers drawn to area farms during the early-1900s, its winter opponent took center stage mid-century when Walter Schoenknecht, of East Haddam, Connecticut, acquitted the Ruben Snow farm, transforming it into the present and popular Mount Snow Ski Resort.
Demand soon turned the talented of lodges into the many of today, along with the coincident shops, restaurants, and motels necessary to support the influx of sports enthusiasts.
Literally paving the way to it all, Route 100 replaced the original dirt artery, which was plied by sleighs in its early days. Aside from automobiles, even the small Deerfield Valley Airport brings in winter tourists.
As a base town, West Dover's purpose becomes unexpectedly handsome as you approach the Mount Snow entrance, revealing buildings such as the Inn at Sawmill Farm, the West Dover Inn, the Snow Mountain Market, and the Lodge.
"West Dover (itself)," according to the "Southern Vermont Deerfield Valley Visitors' Guide," "stands as one of Vermont's most splendid examples of a homogenous historic district." Consisting of just 20 buildings dating from 1805 to 1885, the entire district is part of the National Register of Historic Places.
"The village showcases a number of well-preserved buildings. The West Dover Congregational Church, (for instance), was built as a meeting house 'in the modern style' of 1858 with money raised by selling pews at auctions. Office was originally the District # 6 schoolhouse, erected in 1857. Across the street, the Harris House, one of the oldest in the village, is now home to the Dover Historical Society. "
Tantamount to any Vermont village is an historic inn-in this case, it takes West Dover Inn form.
"Nestled within the serene Deerfield Valley of Vermont's Green Mountain National Forest," according to its own description, "and only two miles from the base of Mount Snow, our home continues an important American tradition of friendly hospitality over 150 years ago.
"Originally built in 1846 as a stage coach stop and tavern, the West Dover inn has been lovingly restored and now provides 12 quiet, luxury accommodations, as well as modern and memorable dining in the 1846 Tavern and Restaurant."
Its menu features pub fare and house specialties, such as rib eye steak, salmon, roasted duck, and pasta.
Mount Snow, the area's major attraction, is reached by its Northern and Southern Access roads off of Route 100. Considered the most accessible Green Mountain ski resort and located only nine miles from Wilmington, it encompasses 588 acres subdivided into the four mountain areas of Main Mountain, North Face, Sunbrook, and Carinthia, rising from a 1,900-foot base elevation to a 3,600-foot summit one. Its vertical drop is 1,700 feet.
Twenty lifts provide a 30,370-person hourly capacity.
During the summer and fall, the Bluebird Express offers scenic, six-person bubble lift rides to the summit, where views from the Bullwheel Restaurant encompass Little Equinox, Equinox, Mother Myriak, Dorset, Little Stratton, Stratton, and Glebe mountains, which collectively appear as if they were undulating, green-caraved waves interspersed with icy blue, mirror-resembling lakes. Cloud obstructions stamp the expanse with black patches.
"Mount Snow," according to its self-description, "offers long cruisers, black diamonds, and technical tree terrain. access the varying terrain … Advanced skiers and riders will enjoy the 12 trails and two lifts on the North Face. riding. "
Accommodations include the slopeside Grand Summit Resort Hotel and Snow Lake Lodge, a less expensive alternative on its namesaked lake. Complimentary shuttles take skiers to the mountain in season.
7. Bennington:
Bennington, on the western end of the Molly Stark Trail, is particularly rich in sights.
Awarded a town grant after it was chartered by New Hampshire Governor Benning Wentworth in 1749, it experienced initial growth when soil and hands, of the original 20 settlers, transformed the area from ground to town, by means of hand-hewn logs and hand- ground corn, while mechanization took form as grain mills on the east side of the Walloomsac River and sawmills on the west, facilitating the population swell, to 1,500, only four years after the settlement was established.
Nail cutting forges, foundries, blast furnaces, blacksmiths, and tanneries augmented this expansion.
Today, a drive past the town on Route 9 / Molly Stark Trail leads to several important attractions. The Bennington Museum is the first of them.
Incorporated in 1852 as the Bennington Historical Association, which itself was founded to commemorate the pivotal battle that raged a few miles across the New York state line, it is one of Vermont's few accredited museums, which missions is to "showcase and model the creativity of Vermont in all its forms and through its history, as well as serve as a venue for visual and performing arts that enrich our community and our world. "
Even the building that houses it is of historical importance. Constructed of native stone and originally serving as the first St.. Francis De Salas catholic church between 1855 and 1892, it was admitted by the Bennington Historical Museum in 1928. Subsequent expansions and intermittent name changes resolved in the present Bennington Museum, the largest art and history repository in Southern Vermont with diverse collections from the early- 18th century period to modern times. It features the most extensive public collection of paintings by American folk artist Grandma Moses.
Thirteen continuous and changing exhibitions have included "Gilded Age Vermont Reflects the Industrial Boom," "Bennington Modernism," "Works on Paper," and "Regional Artist Gallery."
The town, in many ways, was defined by the brief Bennington Battle that can be interpreted at the next attraction, the Bennington Battlefield State Historic Site, only a short drive away on Route 9.
Numerous, diverse reasons and circumstances have lit the spark of war through history. Supplies, or at least the pressing need for them, precipitated this one.
By the end of July 1777, the British invasion of New York, intended for the purpose of regaining control and led by General John Burgyne, had reached Fort Edward, east of Glens Falls. But the flow of necessary staples from Canada that would ensure the movement's advance through the Mohawk Valley and down to New York City, including draft animals, wagons, and beef, had been reduced to a trickle.
Because intelligence advised Lieutenant Colonel Friedrich Baum that Bennington-located stores were ill-protected, he indicated to redirect his garrison to Vermont and New Hampshire instead. But Vermont's Council of Safety, receiving word of his pending onslaught, solicited aid from Vermont troops under Seth Warner and some 1,500 New Hampshire men under John Stark.
Threshold to the confrontation was a hill overlooking the Walloomsac River, five miles from Bennington and not in Vermont, to which Stark sent defensive forces on August 16, 1777, two days after the British had reached it.
Although initial musket fire prompted the immediate surrender of Indians, Canadians, and Tories, the British themheld their ground and a two-hour clash with the Americans, which Stark later described as "one continuous clap of thunder," resolved in the capture of the hill and the death of Baum. When the last puff of gun power dissipated, 200 British had perished and 700 had been captured, as opposed to the 40 Americans killed and the 30 wounded.
The Bennington Battle monument, located at the supply storage site and the state's tallest structure, had its origins in 1873, when the Vermont General Assembly established the Bennington Battle Monument Association, itself an extension of the Bennington Historical Society, with $ 112,000 for land and the actual structure raised by private citizens, the three states of Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, and Congress.
Designed by Boston architect John Phillipp Rinn and dedicated in 1891, the resulting monolith, constructed of blue-gray magnesian limestone questioned from Hudson Falls, New York, rises 306 feet, 4.5 inches from a 37-square-foot base and is elevator accessible to an observation level, which 20 11-foot slotted openings afford views of three states. Guided tours up the 421 steps are also periodically offered.
Tickets are purchasable from the gift shop, which occupations the precise site of the original storehouse, goal and catalyst of the battle, while a smaller monument honors Seth Warner, commander of the Green Mountain Boys who helped defeat the British during the second engagement.
Another important Bennington sight is the nearby Old First Church.
Influenced by the "great awakening" in Connecticut and Western Massachusetts, local separatists first gathered on its site on December 3, 1762 in a rudimentary pine structure on what is today the green in front of the church and the village's center.
Constructed in 1805 by architect Lavius Filmore, cousin of the nation's 13th president, the church itself, of colonial architecture, features full pine tree trunks hand-planned into columns, wooden block exterior corner decorations that resemble the stone ones used by their European counterparts, and both lower and upper pews, the latter for visitors and young parishioners.
After a 1937 renovation, which restored the box pews and the high pulp, poet Robert Frost read "The Black Cottage" during the rededication ceremony, although a second, more extensive project, undertaken between 1994 and 1999, added the exterior of present white and gray coat of paint. The interior was also replastered and attention was given to the marble steps, the basement beams, the roof, and the bell tower.
Although Frost was not himself a member, he purchased two family burial plots in the adjacent cemetery, where he is separated, along with 75 Revolutionary War patriots.
Art can be appreciated in Bennington in the Bennington Center for the Arts, located a short distance from the Old First Church and built by local philanthropist Bruce Laumeister and his wife, Elizabeth Small, in 1994, initially to display pieces from their own collection. Since, it otherwise achieves its goal of bringing world-class art to residents and visitors of New England.
Paintings and bronzes of and by Native Americans, along with Navajo rugs, pots, and kachina dolls, have yielded, from its earliest days, to an increasing number of noticeable exhibits in the expanding, multiple-gallery venue, including those from the Society of Animal Artists, the Plein Air Painters of America, the American Watercolor Society, the New England Watercolor Society, the Allied Artists of America, the American Academy of Women Artists, the Pastel Society of America, and Arts for the Parks. It is the only East Coast museum to have hosted the California Art Club.
Connected to the center is the bright red painted Covered Bridges Museum, which was completed in 2003 and is the world's first such venue dedicated to their preservation, understanding, and interpretation. They are, in essence, Vermont itself.
Exhibits focus on their design, engineering, construction, and history, and are augmented by films, computer work stations that enable the visitor to explore their building techniques, and a working model railroad layout depicting area covered bridges.
Connecting riverbanks and offering suspended passage for pedestrians, bicycles, horses, carriages, and motorized vehicles, they provide, according to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, a "brief darkness leading from the light to light."
The real thing, as everywhere in Vermont, is not far from the museum. A northerly drive on Route 7, followed by left turns on to Northside Drive (which itself becomes 67A West) and Silk Road, leads to the 88-foot-long Silk Bridge, which spans the Walloomsac River.
After another left turn on to Murphy Road and a two-mile drive, the Paper Mill Village Bridge appears, a town lattice truss design, although it is a 2000 replacement for the original built by Charles F. Sears in 1889.
Finally, the Henry Bridge, located 1.3 miles further ahead of the intersection of Murphy and River roads, is another reconstruction, built in 1989 to replace the original hailing from 1840.
8. Shraftsbury:
A glimpse into a poet's life can be experienced in the Robert Frost Stone House Museum, built in 1769 of stone and timer and located on a seven-acre parcel of land in South Shraftsbury (Route 7's Exit 2).
A literary landmark, it was the home Frost lived in from 1920 to 1929 and in which he penned poems for his first Pulitzer Prize winning book, "New Hampshire," including "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," ironically written at his dining room table on a hot June 1922 morning after he had been wake all night, working on a different project. An entire room is devoted to this effort.
"The 'Stopping by Woods' room," according to the museum's guide, "is (entirely) devoted to this poem-the story of how it was written, a facsimile of the handwritten manuscript, a controversial comma, presentation of meter and rhyme , what the critics said about the poem, and what Frost said about it. An example of extreme poetic craftsmanship, this beloved poem is one of the central poetic achievements of American literature. "
Because the surroundings remain essentially unchartered since Frost lived there-from the birch and apple trees, fields, woods, stone walls, and the timbered barn to the red pine trees he himself planted-the visitor can absorb his inspiration.
Source by Robert Waldvogel
Roof Ice Dams – The Permanent Solution
Most everyone here in New England knows why the ice dam leak occurs, so I will not go into great detail on the anatomy of an ice dam leak. However, let me give you, the reader, a quick summary to refresh your memory. Snow accumulates on the roof. The exterior wall of the house at the eaves loses heat, usually due to poor insulation. The heat travels up through the roof and begins to melt the snow. The outside temperature freezes the melt and it climbs up the roof under the shingles.This cycle lasts day after day and then it happens … the warm day, the thaw. The water is now under the shingles and makes its way into the house usually along the interior wall at the eave intersection of the roof.
You call your contractor or roofer and they will tell you that the roof was not properly installed. Some will tell you that the Insulation needs to be addressed or that the ventilation is not working properly. Can it be fixed? Yes. Anything can be fixed. In some cases, you will want to reconcile your roof to include proper overhangs and adequate sofit vents with the correct ratio to the ridge vent or gable vents to create convection of air up the roof to keep it cold. Someone might even tell you to build a cold roof. There's always the heating wires you can lay out on the roof, or maybe you could spring for a metal skirt. That 'sa 2 foot metal edge around the perimeter of the roof in hopes that the ice and snow will slide off instead of damaging. What typically happens with these solution is the ice dam forms further up the roof just above the recently installed "solution" which can further compound the problem
Some of these solutions could have helped in correcting the problem. But over time, with an asphalt roof, one will end up with more ice dams even if the ventilation has been corrected.
Source by Mike Gonet
The Universe's First-Born Stars Had A Cold Nursery
Just after Our Universe was born 13.8 billion years ago in the Big Bang, there was a mysterious era when it was black, and there were no stars around to cast their streaming, sparkling light into this swath of darkness. Today, when we stare up at our sky at night, we see a vast dark background lit by the star-fire emitted by its billions upon billions of brilliant stellar inhabitants. However, the way that our Universe's first-born stars came into existence remains one of the most tantalizing mysteries haunting the dreams of astronomers. Where did the first stars come from, and when did they appear on this ancient swath of blackness – lighting up what was originally featureless and dark? In February 2018, astronomers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Arizona State University in Tempe, reported that a table-sized radio antenna in a remote region of western Australia has detected faint signals of hydrogen gas from the primordial Universe. This signal reflects the existence of the Universe's first-born stars only about 180 million years after the Big Bang.
The primordial Universe cooled and then went dark for millions of years after its birth. Ultimately, gravity paired matter together until stars were born and burst brilliantly into life, bringing the Cosmic Dawn that chased away the blackness of the Cosmic Dark Ages. The new-found signal marks the closest astronomers have been able to see that ancient, brilliant moment when the first stars blasted away the Universe's primeval, featureless night.
"Finding this minuscule signal has opened a new window on the Universe," study lead author, Dr. Judd Bowman, commented in a March 1, 2018 Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) Press Release. Dr. Bowman is of Arizona State University. The CSIRO Observatory is in Western Australia.
Dr. Bowman has been conducting his Experiment to Detect the Global EoR (Epoch of Reionization) Signature (EDGES) for 12 years. Nine years ago, he began performing the observations from CSIRO's Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory (MRO) , after searching for the best spot on Earth for his work.
The radio signal that Dr. Bowman and his colleagues discovered it was extremely foolish, arriving as it did from 13.6 billion years back in the Universe's history.
It also fell in the region of the electromagnetic spectrum used by FM radio stations. This made the detection of this weak signal from most Earth-based sites literally impossible.
Fortunately, the MRO observatory is in a naturally "radio-quiet" area. This valuable and unique location is protected by a legislated "radio quiet" zone up to 260 kilometers across, which keeps human-made activities that manufacture interfering radio signals to an absolute minimum.
The MRO's development was managed by Antony Schinckel, CSIRO's Head of Square Kilometer Array (SKA) Construction and Planning.
"Finding this signal is an absolute triumph, a triumph made possible by the extreme attention to detail by Judd's team, combined with the exceptional radio quietness of the CSIRO site," Schinckel commented in the March 1, 2018 CSIRO Press Release.
"We worked hard to select this site for the long-term future of radio astronomy after exhaustive investigations across the country. We believe we have the gold standard in radio quietness, the best site in the world," he added.
Schinckel further noted that "This is one of the most technically challenging radio astronomy experiments ever attempted." The lead authors include two of the best radio astronomy experimentalists in the world and they have gone to great lengths to design and calibrate their equipment in order to have convincing evidence for a real signal. "
The MRO was developed by CSIRO for its Australian Square Kilometer Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) .
Dr. Robert Braun noted in the March 1, 2018 CSIRO Press Release that "(T) his is a powerful demonstration of what can be achieved with the combination of an excellent site and world-class engineering, boding well for the great discoveries that will be enabled by the SKA . " Dr. Braun is Science Director at the SKA Organization.
The Darkness Before The Dawn
In your "mind's eye" imagine the newborn Universe. The baby Cosmos was filled with an extremely hot "stew" of charged protons and electrons. But, as the ancient Universe expanded, its temperature plummeted uniformly. When the Universe was approximately 400,000 years old, it was finally cool enough for these charged protons and electrons to merge together to create neutral hydrogen atoms. That great era in the Universe's history is termed recombination , and during this epoch the Universe was suffused by a strange "fog" composed of neutral atoms. As time went by, the Universe's first-born stars and the galaxies that hosted them began to form, and their ultraviolet light ionized (energized) the hydrogen atoms. This means that the hydrogen atoms were torn apart into their component protons and electrons again.
At the instant of our Universe's birth there was a powerful burst of brilliant light. Photons (packets of light) of high-energy radiation were blasted out by the searing-hot matter of the ancient Universe. But, during that very ancient era, light was not allowed to travel through the Cosmos freely. This is due to the extremely hot temperatures of the ancient Universe, the ionized atoms that had managed to form were rapidly ripped apart soon after their birth, since the positively charged atomic nuclei could not hold on to their encircling clouds of negatively charged electrons. Particles that possess an electrical charge are in a perpetual state of absorbing and then emitting electrons. For this reason, during the Universe's first 400,000 years, light was continuously being absorbed, and then emitted, over and over and over again. This cycle continued for a much longer time than human civilization has embarked on our planet. Indeed, this cycle went on for literally hundreds of thousands of years, and only came to an end when the temperature of the Universe finally plummeted to five thousand degrees Fahrenheit.
For the first several hundred thousand years of the Universe's existence, it dazzled with raging fires that glared much more brilliantly than our Sun does today. When atoms could finally congeal and survive during the era of recombination , matter and light could at last go their free and separate ways. The streaming, dancing light has been shining its lovely way through Spacetime ever since.
Today, the Universe is transparent, cooling off, and expanding towards its own death. But, just before the era of recombination, the entire newborn Cosmos looked like the surface of a star, like our Sun. It was extremely hot, opaque, and suffused with brilliant, glaring, imputed light. The primordial Universe was significantly smaller than it is today. The galaxies formed after the era of recombination.
Imagine that black, mysterious, primordial era before the stars were born, and there were no galaxies around to brighten up this murky expanse with the flames of their constituent stars. The Cosmic Dark Ages began only a few hundred thousand years after the Big Bang. At this time, the lingering, left-over radiation of the Big Bang itself had faded, and atomic nuclei had at last managed to congeal to create neutral hydrogen. Neutral hydrogen atoms absorb radiation. The Cosmic Dark Ages lasted for about half a billion years, and this murky ancient era remains veiled in mystery. At the beginning of this primordial epoch, the first atoms of hydrogen formed. By the time this era had ended, the very first light-emitting objects had begun to send their light streaming through space to chase the bewitching blackness away. However, this era was not peaceful. Matter was smoothly and evenly distributed throughout the baby Universe when it first formed. However, by the conclusion of the Cosmic Dark Ages , this matter had somehow clumped together to construct extremely massive large-scale structures.
Hidden deep within the clumps of matter that contained higher-than-average densities, some regions formed clouds that begin to bud off and then collapse. Those collapsing primeval clouds were the ancient cradles of the Universe's first-born stars. The first generation of stars sent their stellar fires raging through the darkness of the Universe – and lit up the entire swath of Spacetime. Like the rays of our sparkling Sun, when it rises at dawn, that lovely newborn starlight overwhelmed the universal darkness. The stellar fires of these baby stars forced the opaque gas of the primeval Universe to become transparent. The sea-change from foggy, opaque darkness to a transparent star-blasted Universe, took hundreds of millions of years. However, at last, the Universe's first-born stars burned away this foggy universal blackness. During this lengthy transition, foggy and opaque regions of the Universe were interspersed with regions of light and recently ionized, transparent gas.
Astronomers currently think that the Universe's first-born stars were not like the stars we see today. This is because they were born directly from primeval gases that billowed out of the Big Bang itself. These very ancient gases were mostly hydrogen and helium, and these two lightest of atomic elements are thought to have pelled themselves together to create ever tighter and tighter objects. The cores of the first stars (protostars) to inhabit the Cosmos started to light up within the mysterious cold, dark hearts of these extremely sensitive knots of pristine primordial hydrogen and helium – and they then collapsed under their own relentless gravitational pull. Many astronomers think that the Universe's first-born stars were grown – compared with later generations of stars – because they did not form the same way, or from the same mix of atomic elements, as stars do now. The Universe's first-born stars, called Population III stars, were likely "megastars". Our Sun is a member of the most recent generation of stars, which are called Population I stars. Between the first and most recent generation of stars are, of course, Population II stars.
The extremely massive Population III stars were also glaring and brilliant, and their existence is responsible for triggering the sea-change of our Universe from what it was to what it is. These huge, brilliant stars changed the dynamics of our Universe by heating it and thus ionizing the ambient hydrogen and helium gases.
Youthful galaxies in the ancient Universe are often discovered by their prominent emission of Lyman-alpha photons . The Lyman-alpha line represents the transition of neutral hydrogen. Galaxies undergoing very powerful bouts of star-birth show strong Lyman-alpha emission lines. This is because they host searing-hot, massive baby stars, and these young stars hurl out intense amounts of ultraviolet radiation – which ionizes the neutral hydrogen, ripping up its atoms into a free proton and a free electron. These particles later recombined to create neutral hydrogen again. However, this hydrogen is in an excited state when formed, and as it relaxes back to the ground state, it emits a series of line photons. Most of the time, this series concludes with the emission of a Lyman-alpha photon.
Cold Nursery For First-Born Stars
The astronomers, who picked up the first signs of hydrogen gas in the primordial universe, also determined that the gas was in a state that would have been possible only in the presence of the Universe's first-born stars. This is because these stars – igniting for the first time in a Universe that had previously been devoid of light – emitted ultraviolet radiation that interacted with the ambient hydrogen gas. Because of this, hydrogen atoms through the entire Universe started to absorb background radiation – an important event that the astronomers were able to spot in the form of radio waves. These new findings provide important evidence that the first generation of stars may have switched on only about 180 million years after the Big Bang.
"This is the first real signal that stars are starting to form, and starting to affect the medium around them. What's happening in this period is that some of the radiation from the very first stars is starting to allow hydrogen to be seen. hydrogen to start absorbing the background radiation, so you start seeing it in silhouette, at particular radio frequencies, "explained study co-author, Dr. Alan Rogers, in a February 28, 2018 MIT Press Release. Dr. Rogers is a scientist at MIT's Haystack Observatory.
There are also certain indications, seen in the radio waves, that hydrogen gas is floating around within the entire ancient Universe. This means that the Universe as a whole must have been twice as cold as astronomers had estimated earlier – with a temperature of about 3 Kelvins (-454 degrees Fahrenheit). Dr. Rogers and his team are not certain why the primeval Cosmos was so much colder than expected, but some scientists have suggested that interactions with a mysterious form of matter, called dark matter, may have played some kind of role. Most of the matter in our Universe is thought to be dark matter , that is not composed of atoms like the familiar "ordinary" matter that we are used to in our world – the stuff of stars, planets, moons, trees, cats, and people, for example. Dark matter is bizarre stuff – it does not interact with light or any other form of electromagnetic radiation. This makes it invisible. Yet it is generally thought that the largest structures in the Universe are made of this strange, dark, non-atomic stuff. Even though "ordinary" atomic matter accounts for literally all of the elements listed in the familiar Periodic Table , there is much less than it than there is of the dark matter.
"These results require some changes in our current understanding of the early evolution of the Universe. Colin Lonsdale in the February 28, 2018 MIT Press Release. Dr. Lonsdale is director of the Haystack Observatory.
The astronomers spotted the primordial hydrogen gas using EDGES – the small ground-based radio antenna, located in western Australia. EDGES gets its funding from the National Science Foundation.
The antennas and parts of the receiver were created and constructed by Dr. Rogers and the Haystack Observatory team, along with the Arizona State University team. The scientists added an automated antenna reflection measurement system to the receiver, outfitted a control hut armed with electronics, constructed the ground plane, and connected the field work as well for the ambitious and successful project. Australia's CSIRO provided on site infrastructure for the EDGES project.
The EDGES instrument was originally designed to detect radio waves sent forth from the ancient Epoch of Reionization. During this primordial era, the first luminous objects, such as galaxies, quasars, and stars, were born in the Universe. Quasars are a particularly brilliant form of active galactic nuclei, inhabiting the hearts of ancient galaxies. They are thought to be the dazzling accuracy disks surrounding intense supermassive black holes that weigh-in at millions to billions of solar-masses. It is thought that every large galaxy in the Universe hosts a supermassive black hole in its hidden, hungry heart – including our own Milky Way.
During the Cosmic Dark Ages , hydrogen, the most abundant atomic element in the Universe, was actually invisible – embodying an energy state that could not be distinguished from the ambient cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation – the relic radiation left from the Big Bang itself.
Astronomers think that when the Universe's first-born stars ignited, they produced the ultraviolet radiation that caused sea-changes in the hydrogen atoms' distribution of energy states. These dramatic alterations induced hydrogen's solitary electron to spin in alignment or opposite to the spin of its lone proton, causing causing hydrogen (as a whole) to decouple from the CMB. This means that hydrogen gas began to either emit or absorb that radiation, at a characteristic wavelength of 21 centimeters, which is equivalent to a frequency of 1,420 megahertz. But as the Universe expanded over time, this radiation became red-shifted to lower and lower frequencies. By the time the 21-centimeter radiation managed to reach our planet at present, it landed somewhere in the range of 100 megahertz.
Dr. Rogers and his team have been using EDGES to spot hydrogen that floated around the ancient Cosmos in order to precisely determine when the first stars ignited.
"There is a great technical challenge to making this detection. Sources of noise can be a thousand times brighter than the signal they are looking for. It is like being in the middle of a hurricane and trying to hear the flap of a hummingbird's wing, "noted Dr. Peter Kurczynski in the February 28, 2018 MIT Press Release. Dr. Kurczynski is program director for Advanced Technologies and Instrumentation , in the Division of Astronomical Sciences at the NSF .
The antenna of this instrument detects radio waves from the entire sky, and the scientists originally tuned it to listen in at a frequency range of 100 to 120 megahertz. However, when they looked within this range, they initially did not detect much of any signal. The researchers then realized that theoretical models had predicated that primordial hydrogen should emit within this range if the gas was hotter than the ambient medium. But what if the gas was in fact colder? Models predict that the hydrogen should then absorb radiation more consistently in the 50 to 100 megahertz frequency range.
"As soon as we switched our system to this lower range, we started seeing things that we felt might be a real signature," Dr. Rogers commented in the February 28, 2018 MIT Press Release.
Specifically, the astronomers observed a flattened absorption profile – a dip in the radio waves, at about 78 megahertz.
"" We see this dip most consistently at about 78 megahertz, and that frequency corresponds to roughly 180 million years after the Big Bang. In terms of a direct detection of a signal from the hydrogen gas itself, this has got to be the earliest, "Dr. Rogers added.
This dip in radio waves was both much deeper and stronger than theoretical models had predicted. This suggests that the hydrogen gas at the time was much colder than previously believed. The radio waves' profile also matches theoretical predictions of what would have produced if hydrogen was influenced by the Universe's first-born stars.
"The signature of this absorption feature is exclusively associated with the first stars. Lonsdale explained in the February 28, 2018 MIT Press Release.
"It is unlikely that we'll be able to see any earlier into the history of stars in our lifetimes." This project shows that a promising new technique can work and has paved the way for decades of new astrophysical discoveries, "study lead author Dr . Bowman noted in the same Press Release.
The scientists believe that this new detection lifts the veil from a previously mysterious era in the evolution of the Universe.
Dr. Lonsdale commented that "This is exciting because it is the first look into a particularly important period in the Universe, when the first stars and galaxies were beginning to form.
Source by Judith E Braffman-Miller
American History – The Colonial Period
The following article lists some simple, informative tips that will help you have a better experience with The Colonial Period.
The Colonial Period
NEW PEOPLES
Most settlers who came to America in the 17th century were English, but there were also Dutch, Swedes and Germans in the middle region, a few French Huguenots in South Carolina and elsewhere, slaves from Africa, primarily in the South, and a scattering of Spaniards, Italians and Portuguese through the colonies.
After 1680 England ceased to be the chief source of immigration. Thousands of refugees fled continental Europe to escape the path of war. Many left their homelands to avoid the poverty induced by government oppression and absentee-landlordism.
By 1690 the American population had risen to a quarter of a million. From then on, it doubled every 25 years until, in 1775, it numbered more than 2.5 million.
Although a family could move from Massachusetts to Virginia or from South Carolina to Pennsylvania, without major readjustment, distinctions between individual colonies were marked. They were even more so between the three regional groupings of colonies
New England in the northeast has generally thin, stony soil, relatively little level land, and long winters, making it difficult to make a living from farming. Turning to other pursuits, the New Englanders harnessed water power and established grain mills and sawmills. Good stands of timber encouraged shipbuilding. Excellent harbors promoted trade, and the sea became a source of great wealth. In Massachusetts, the cod industry alone quickly furnished a basis for prosperity.
With the bulk of the early settlers living in villages and towns around the harbors, many New Englanders carried on some sort of trade or business. Common pasture land and woodlots served the needs of townspeople, who worked small farms nearby. Compactness made possible the village school, the village church and the village or town hall, where citizens met to discuss matters of common interest.
The Massachusetts Bay Colony continued to expand its commerce. From the middle of the 17th century onward it great prosperous, and Boston became one of America's greatest ports.
Oak timber for ships' hulls, tall pines for spars and masts, and pitch for the seams of ships came from the Northeastern forests. Building their own vessels and sailing them to ports all over the world, the ship masters of Massachusetts Bay laid the foundation for a trade that was to grow steadily in importance. By the end of the colonial period, one-third of all vessels under the British flag were built in New England. Fish, ship's stores and wooden ware swelled the exports.
New England shippers soon discovered, too, that rum and slaves were profitable commodities. One of the most entrepreneuring – if unsavory – trading practices of the time was the so-called "triangular trade." Merchants and shippers would purchase slaves off the coast of Africa for New England rum, then sell the slaves in the West Indies where they would buy molasses to bring home for sale to the local rum producers.
THE MIDDLE COLONIES
Society in the middle colonies was far more diverse, cosmopolitan and tolerant than in New England. In many ways, Pennsylvania and Delaware owed their initial success to William Penn.
Under his guidance, Pennsylvania functioned smoothly and greatly rapidly. By 1685 its population was almost 9,000. The heart of the colony was Philadelphia, a city soon to be known for its broad, tree-shaded streets, substantive brick and stone houses, and busy docks. By the end of the colonial period, near a century later, 30,000 people lived there, representing many languages, creeds and trades. Their talent for successful business enterprise made the city one of the thriving centers of colonial America.
Although the Quakers dominated in Philadelphia, elsewhere in Pennsylvania others were well represented. Germans became the colony's most skillful farmers. Important, too, were cottage industries such as weaving, shoe making, cabinetmaking and other crafts.
Pennsylvania was also the principal gateway into the New World for the Scots-Irish, who moved into the colony in the early 18th century. "Bold and indigent strains," as one Pennsylvania official called them, they hated the English and were suspicious of all government. The Scots-Irish tended to settle in the back country, where they cleared land and lived by hunting and subsistence farming.
As mixed as the people were in Pennsylvania, New York best illustrated the polyglot nature of America. By 1646 the population along the Hudson River included Dutch, French, Danes, Norwegians, Swedes, English, Scots, Irish, Germans, Poles, Bohemians, Portuguese and Italians – the forerunners of millions to come.
The Dutch continued to exercise an important social and economic impact on the New York region long after the fall of New Netherlands and their integration into the British colonial system. Their sharp-stepped, gable roofs became a permanent part of the city's architecture, and their merchants haven Manhattan much of its original bustling, commercial atmosphere.
THE SOUTHERN COLONIES
In contrast to New England and the middle colonies were the predominately rural southern settlements: Virginia, Maryland, North and South Carolina, and Georgia.
By the late 17th century, Virginia's and Maryland's economic and social structure rested on the great planters and the yeoman farmers. The planters of the tidewater region, supported by slave labor, held most of the political power and the best land. They built great homes, adopted an aristocratic way of life and kept in touch as best they could with the world of culture overseas.
At the same time, yeoman farmers, who worked smaller tracts of land, sat in popular assemblies and found their way into political office. Their outspoken independence was a constant warning to the oligarchy of planters not to encroach too far up the rights of free men.
Charleston, South Carolina, became the leading port and trading center of the South. There the settlers quickly learned to combine agriculture and commerce, and the marketplace became a major source of prosperity. Dense forests also bought revenue: lumber, tar and resin from the long leaf pine provided some of the best shipbuilding materials in the world. Not bound to a single crop as was Virginia, North and South Carolina also produced and exported rice and indigo, a blue dye obtained from native plants, which was used in painting fabric. By 1750 more than 100,000 people lived in the two colonies of North and South Carolina.
In the southern-most colonies, as everywhere else, population growth in the back country had special significance. German immigrants and Scots-Irish, unwilling to live in the original tidewater settlements where English influence was strong, pushed inland. Those who could not secure fertile land along the coast, or who had exhausted the lands they held, found the hills farther west a bountiful refuge. Although their hardships were noisy, restless settlers kept coming, and by the 1730s they were pouring into the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Soon the interior was dotted with farms.
Living on the edge of the Indian country, frontier families built cabins, cleared tracts in the wilderness and cultured maize and wheat. The men leather leather made from the skin of deer or sheep, known as buckskin; the women women garments of cloth they spun at home. Their food consist of venison, wild turkey and fish. They had their own amusements – great barbecues, dances, housewarmings for newly married couples, shooting matches and contests for making quilted blankets. Quilts remain an American tradition today.
SOCIETY, SCHOOLS AND CULTURE
A significant factor deterring the emergence of a powerful aristocratic or gentry class in the colonies was the fact that anyone in an established colony could choose to find a new home on the frontier. Thus, time after time, dominant tidewater figures were obligated, by the threat of a mass exodus to the frontier, to liberalize political policies, land-grant requirements and religious practices. This movement into the foothills was of tremendous import for the future of America.
Of equal significance for the future were the foundations of American education and culture established during the colonial period. Harvard College was founded in 1636 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Near the end of the century, the College of William and Mary was established in Virginia. A few years later, the Collegiate School of Connecticut, later to become Yale College, was chartered. But even more noteworthy was the growth of a school system maintained by governmental authority. The Puritan emphasis on reading directly from the Scriptures underscored the importance of literacy.
In 1647 the Massachusetts Bay Colony enacted the "ye olde deluder Satan" Act, requiring every town having more than 50 families to establish a grammar school (a Latin school to prepare students for college). Shortly thereafter, all the other New England colonies, except Rhode Island, followed its example.
The first immigrants in New England bought their own little libraries and continued to import books from London. And as early as the 1680s, Boston booksellers were doing a thriving business in works of classical literature, history, politics, philosophy, science, theology and belles-letters. In 1639 the first printing press in the English colonies and the second in North America was installed at Harvard College.
The first school in Pennsylvania was begun in 1683. It taught reading, writing and keeping of accounts. Thereafter, in some fashion, every Quaker community provided for the elementary teaching of its children. More advanced training – in classical languages, history and literature – was offered at the Friends Public School, which still operates in Philadelphia as the William Penn Charter School. The school was free to the poor, but parents who could have been required to pay tuition.
In Philadelphia, numerous private schools with no religious affiliation taught languages, mathematics and natural science; there were also night schools for adults. Women were not entirely overlooked, but their educational opportunities were limited to training in activities that could be conducted in the home. Private teachers taught the daughters of prosperous Philadelphiaians in French, music, dancing, painting, singing, grammar and sometimes even bookkeeping.
In the 18th century, the intellectual and cultural development of Pennsylvania reflected, in large measure, the fictitious personalities of two men: James Logan and Benjamin Franklin. Logan was secretary of the colony, and it was in his fine library that young Franklin found the latest scientific works. In 1745 Logan erected a building for his collection and bequeathed both building and books to the city.
Franklin contributed even more to the intellectual activity of Philadelphia. He formed a debating club that became the embryo of the American Philosophical Society. His endeavors also led to the finding of a public academy that later developed into the University of Pennsylvania. He was a prime mover in the establishment of a subscription library, which he called "the mother of all North American subscription libraries."
In the Southern colonies, wealthy planters and merchants imported private tutors from Ireland or Scotland to teach their children. Others sent their children to school in England. Having these other opportunities, the upper classes in the Tidewater were not interested in supporting public education. In addition, the diffusion of farms and plantations made the formation of community schools difficult. There were a few endowed free schools in Virginia; the Syms School was founded in 1647 and the Eaton School emerged in 1659.
The desire for learning did not stop at the borders of established communities, however. On the frontier, the Scots-Irish, although living in primitive cabins, were firm devotees of scholarship, and they made great efforts to attract learned ministers to their settlements.
Literary production in the colonies was largely bound to New England. Here attention concentrated on religious subjects. Sermons were the most common products of the press. A famous Puritan minister, the Reverend Cotton Mather, wrote some 400 works. His masterpiece, Magnalia Christi Americana, presented the pageant of New England's history. But the most popular single work of the day was the Reverend Michael Wigglesworth's long poem, "The Day of Doom," which described the last sentence in terrifying terms.
In 1704 Cambridge, Massachusetts, launched the colonies' first successful newspaper. By 1745 there were 22 newspapers being published throughout the colonies.
How can you put a limit on learning more? The next section may contain that one little bit of wisdom that changes everything.
In New York, an important step in establishing the principle of freedom of the press took place with the case of Johann Peter Zenger, who New York Weekly Journal begon in 1733, represented the opposition to the government. After two years of publication, the colonial governor could no longer tolerate Zenger's satirical barbs, and had him thrown into prison on a charge of seditious libel. Zenger continued to edit his paper from jail during his nine-month trial, which excited intense interest through the colonies. Andrew Hamilton, the prominent lawyer who defended Zenger, argued that the charges printed by Zenger were true and hence not libelous. The jury returned a verdict of not guilty, and Zenger went free.
The prosperity of the towns, which prompted fears that the devil was luring society into pursuit of worldly gain, produced a religious reaction in the 1730s that came to be known as the Great Awakening. Its inspiration came from two sources: George Whitefield, a Wesleyan revivalist who came from England in 1739, and Jonathan Edwards, who originally served in the Congregational Church in Northampton, Massachusetts.
Whitefield began a religious revival in Philadelphia and then moved on to New England. He entranced audiences of up to 20,000 people at a time with histrionic displays, gestures and emotional oratory. Religious turmoil swept through New England and the middle colonies as ministers left established churches to preach the revival.
Among those influenced by Whitefield was Edwards, and the Great Awakening reached its culmination in 1741 with his sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." Edwards did not engage in theatrics, but delivered his sermons in a quiet, thoughtful manner. He stressed that the established churches bought to impoverish Christianity of its emotional content. His magnum opus, Of Freedom of Will (1754), attempted to reconcile Calvinism with the Enlightenment.
The Great Awakening brave rise to evangelical denominations and the spirit of revivalism, which continue to play significant roles in American religious and cultural life. It weakened the status of the established clergy and provoked believers to rely on their own conscience. Perhaps most important, it led to the proliferation of sects and denominations, which in turn encouraged general acceptance of the principle of religious tolerance.
EMERGENCE OF COLONIAL GOVERNMENT
In all phases of colonial development, a striking feature was the lack of controlling influence by the English government. All colonies except Georgia emerged as companies of shareholders, or as feudal proprietorships stemming from charters donated by the Crown. The fact that the king had transferred his immediate sovereignty over the New World settlements to stock companies and proprietors did not, of course, mean that the colonists in America were unnecessarily free of outside control. Under the terms of the Virginia Company charter, for example, full governmental authority was vested in the company itself. Neverheless, the crown expected that the company would be resident in England. Inhabitants of Virginia, then, would have no more voice in their government than if the king himself had retained absolute rule.
For their part, the colonies had never thought of themselves as subservient. Rather, they considered themselves chiefly as commonwealths or states, much like England itself, having only a loose association with the authorities in London. In one way or another, exclusive rule from the outside denied away. The colonists – inheritors of the traditions of the Englishman's long struggle for political liberty – incorporated concepts of freedom into Virginia's first charter. It provided that English colonists were to exercise all liberties, franchises and freedoms "as if they had been abiding and born within this our Realm of England." They were, then, to enjoy the benefits of the Magna Carta and the common law. In 1618 the Virginia Company issued instructions to its appointed governor providing that free residents of the plantations should elect representatives to join with the governor and an appointive council in passing ordinances for the welfare of the colony.
These measures proved to be some of the most far-reaching in the entire colonial period. From then on, it was generally accepted that the colonists had a right to participate in their own government. In most instances, the king, in making future grants, provided in the charter that the free men of the colony should have a voice in legislation affecting them. Thus, charters awarded to the Calverts in Maryland, William Penn in Pennsylvania, the proprietors in North and South Carolina and the proprietors in New Jersey specified that legislation should be enacted with "the consent of the freemen."
In New England, for many years, there was even more complete self-government than in the other colonies. Aboard the Mayflower, the Pilgrims adopted an instrument for government called the Mayflower Compact, "to" combine ourselves together into a civil body politic for our better ordering and preservation … and by virtue hereof [to] enact, constitution, and frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices … as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony …. "
Although there was no legal basis for the Pilgrims to establish a system of self-government, the action was not contested and under the compact, the Plymouth settlers were able for many years to conduct their own affairs without outside interference.
A similar situation developed in the Massachusetts Bay Company, which had been given the right to govern itself. Thus, full authority rested in the hands of persons residing in the colony. At first, the dozen or so original members of the company who had come to America tried to rule autographically. But the other colonists soon demanded a voice in public affairs and indicated that refusal would lead to a mass migration.
Faced with this threat, the company members yielded, and control of the government passed to elected representatives. Subsequently, other New England colonies – such as Connecticut and Rhode Island – also succeeded in becoming self-governing simply by asserting that they were beyond any governmental authority, and then setting up their own political system modeled after that of the Pilgrims at Plymouth .
In only two cases was the self-government provision omitted. These were New York, which was granted to Charles II's brother, the Duke of York (later to become King James II); and Georgia, which was granted to a group of "trustees." In both instances the provisions for governance were short-lived, for the colonists demanded legislative representation so insistently that the authorities soon yielded.
Usually most colonies became royal colonies, but in the mid-17th century, the English were too distracted by the Civil War (1642-1649) and Oliver Cromwell's Puritan Commonwealth and Protectorate to pursue an effective colonial policy. After the restoration of Charles II and the Stuart dynasty in 1660, England had more opportunity to attend colonial administration. Even then, however, it was inefficient and lacked a cohesive plan, and the colonies were left largely to their own devices.
The remoteness afforded by a vast ocean also made control of the colonies difficult. Added to this was the character of life itself in early America. From countries limited in space and dotted with populated towns, the settlers had come to a land of seemingly unending reach. On such a continent, natural conditions promoted a tough individualism, as people became used to making their own decisions. Government penetrated the back country only slowly, and conditions of anarchy often preceded on the frontier.
Yet, the assumption of self-government in the colonies did not go entirely unchallenged. In the 1670s, the Lords of Trade and Plantations, a royal committee established to enforce the mercantile system on the colonies, moved to annul the Massachusetts Bay charter, because the colony was resisting the government's economic policy. James II in 1685 approved a proposal to create a Dominion of New England and place colonies south through New Jersey under its jurisprudence, thereby tightening the Crown's control over the whole region. A royal governor, Sir Edmund Andros, levied taxes by executive order, implemented a number of other harsh measures and jailed those who resisted.
When news of the Glorious Revolution (1688-1689) that deposited James II reached Boston, the population rebelled and imprisoned Andros. Under a new charter, Massachusetts and Plymouth were united for the first time in 1691 as the royal colony of Massachusetts Bay. The other colonies that had come under the Dominion of New England were quickly refurbished their previous governments.
The Glorious Revolution had other positive effects on the colonies. The Bill of Rights and Toleration Act of 1689 affirmed Freedom of worship for Christians and enforced limits on the Crown. Equally important, John Locke's Second Treatise on Government (1690) set forth a theory of government based not on divine right but on contract, and contended that the people, endowed with natural rights of life, liberty and property, had the right to rebel when governments violated these natural rights.
Colonial politics in the early 18th century resembled English politics in the 17th. The Glorious Revolution affirmed the supremacy of Parliament, but colonial rulers advised to exercise powers in the colonies that the king had lost in England. The colonial assemblies, aware of events in England, attempted to assert their "rights" and "liberties." By the early 18th century, the colonial legislatures held two significant powers similar to those held by the English Parliament: the right to vote on taxes and expenses, and the right to initiate legislation rather than merely act on proposals of the governor.
The legislatures used these rights to check the power of royal rulers and to pass other measures to expand their power and influence. The recurring clashes between governor and assembly worked incrementally to awaken the colonists to the divergence between American and English interests. In many cases, the royal authorities did not understand the importance of what the colonial assemblies were doing and simply neglected them. However, these acts established precedents and principles and eventually became part of the "constitution" of the colonies.
In this way, the colonial legislatures established the right of self-government. In time, the center of colonial administration shifted from London to the provincial capitals.
THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR
France and Britain engaged in a succession of wars in Europe and the Caribbean at several intervals in the 18th century. Although Britain secured certain advantages from them – primarily in the sugar-rich islands of the Caribbean – the struggles were generally indecisive, and France remained in a powerful position in North America at the beginning of the Seven Years War in 1754.
By that time France had established a strong relationship with a number of Indian tribes in Canada and along the Great Lakes, taken possession of the Mississippi River and, by establishing a line of forts and trading posts, marked out a great crescent-shaped empire stretching from Quebec to New Orleans. Thus, the British were confined to the narrow belt east of the Appalachian Mountains. The French revolutioned not only the British Empire but the American colonists themselves, for in holding the Mississippi Valley, France could limit their westward expansion.
An armed clash took place in 1754 at Fort Duquesne, the site where Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is now located, between a band of French regulars and Virginia militiamen under the command of 22-year-old George Washington, a Virginia planter and surveyor.
In London, the Board of Trade attempted to deal with the conflict by calling a meeting of representatives from New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland and the New England colonies. From June 19 to July 10, the Albany Congress, as it came to be known, met with the Iroquois at Albany, New York, in order to improve relations with them and secure their loyalty to the British.
The delegates also declared a union of the American colonies "absolutely necessary for their preservation," and adopted the Albany Plan of Union. Drafted by Benjamin Franklin, the plan provided that a president appointed by the king act with a grand council of delegates chosen by the assemblies, with each colony to be represented in proportion to its financial contributions to the general treasury. This organ would have charge of defense, Indian relations, and trade and settlement of the west, as well as having the power to levy taxes. But none of the colonies accepted Franklin's plan, for none wished to surrender either the power of taxation or control over the development of the western lands to a central authority.
England's superior strategic position and her competent leadership extremely satisfied victory in the Seven Years' War, only a modest proportion of which was cooked in the Western Hemisphere.
In the Peace of Paris, signed in 1763, France relinquished all of Canada, the Great Lakes and the upper Mississippi Valley to the British. The dream of a French empire in North America was over. Having triumphed over France, Britain was now composed to face a problem that it had hitherto neglected – the governance of its empire. It was essential that London organize its now vast possessions to facilitate defense, reconcile the divergent interests of different areas and peoples, and distribute more even the cost of imperial administration.
In North America alone, British territories had more than doubled. To the narrow strip along the Atlantic coast had been added the vast expanse of Canada and the territory between the Mississippi River and the Allegheny Mountains, an empire in itself. A population that had been predominately Protestant and English now included French-speaking Catholics from Quebec, and large numbers of partially Christianized Indians. Defense and administration of the new territories, as well as of the old, would require huge sums of money and increased personnel. The old colonial system was obviously inadequate to these tasks.
SIDEBAR: THE WITCHES OF SALEM
In 1692 a group of adolescent girls in Salem Village, Massachusetts, became subject to strange fits after hearing tales told by a West Indian slave. When they were questioned, they accused several women of being witches who were tormenting them. The townspeople were appalled but not surprised: belief in witchcraft was widespread throughout 17th-century America and Europe.
What happened next – despite an isolated event in American history – provides a vivid window into the social and psychological world of Puritan New England. Town officials convened a court to hear the charges of witchcraft, and swiftly convicted and executed a tavernkeeper, Bridget Bishop. Within a month, five other women had been kissed and hung.
Neverheless, the hysteria great, in large measure because the court permitted witnesses to testify that they had seen the accused as spirits or in visions. By its very nature, such "spectral evidence" was especially dangerous, because it could be either verified nor subject to objective examination. By the fall of 1692, more than 20 victims, including several men, had been executed, and more than 100 others were in jail – including them some of the town's most prominent citizens. But now the hysteria threatened to spread beyond Salem, and ministers through the colony called for an end to the trials. The governor of the colony agreed and dismissed the court. Those still in jail were later acquitted or given reprieves.
The Salem witch trials have long fascinated Americans. On a psychological level, most historians agree that Salem Village in 1692 was designated by a kind of public hysteria, fueled by a genuine belief in the existence of witchcraft. They point out that, while some of the girls may have been acting, many responsible adults became cooked up in the frenzy as well.
But even more revealing is a closer analysis of the identities of the accused and the accusers. Salem Village, like much of colonial New England at that time, was undergoing an economic and political transition from a large agrarian, Puritan-dominated community to a more commercial, secular society. Many of the accusers were representatives of a traditional way of life tied to farming and the church, whereas a number of the accused witches were members of the rising commercial class of small shopkeepers and tradesmen. Salem's obscure struggle for social and political power between older traditional groups and a newer commercial class was one repeated in communities through American history. But it took a bizarre and deadly detour when its citizens were swept up by the conviction that the devil was loose in their homes.
The Salem witch trials also serve as a dramatic parable of the deadly consequences of making sensational, but false, charges. Indeed, a frequent term in political debate for making false accusations against a large number of people is "witch hunt."
It never hurts to be well-informed with the latest on The Colonial Period. Compare what you've learned here to future articles so that you can stay alert to changes in the area of The Colonial Period.
Source by Floyd Dorrance
Provider Overview – MassMutual Annuities
MassMutual was originally established in 1851 by George W. Rice. Rice was an insurance agent for a Connecticut life insurance company wanting to open a similar business in Massachusetts. He started the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company which became a true mutual company – a company owned by its policyholders – soon after it was started.
Today, the company is based in Springfield, Massachusetts and Enfield, Connecticut and has grown from a personal insurer to an international financial services firm. It has approximately thirteen million clients worldwide and over $ 500 billion in assets under its management. In addition to its operations in the United States, MassMutual has affiliates in Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, China, Macao, Argentina, Chile, Bermuda, and Luxembourg. The total number of offices for the company numbers over 1200, and the firm's full marketing name is MassMutual Financial Group.
MassMutual is still run for the benefit of its members and policyholders. They provide life insurance, disability income insurance, long term care insurance, retirement / 401 (k) plan services, mutual funds, money management, and trust services in addition to annuities to their clients.
Although disputes are not guaranteed, MassMutory is proud of its financial strength and has paid dividends to policyholders every year since the 1860s. The company is also known for its charitable giving in the areas where they are based. They often donate to programs which benefit education, arts, culture, or economic development in the local community.
In terms of annuities, MassMutual offers five different products – two deferred variable annuities, one deferred fixed annuity, and one immediate annuity. The individual products are as follows:
Deferred Variable Annuities:
o MassMutual Transitions Select
o MassMutual Evolution
Deferred Fixed Annuities:
o MassMutual Odyssey and Odyssey Plus
Immediate Fixed Annuities:
o MassMutual RetireEase
Some of MassMutual's annuity policies can be initiated with death and living benefits. The death benefit option means that a beneficiary will receive all of the money in the account or a guaranteed minimum amount upon the annuitant's death. Enhanced death benefits are also available which may allow for a higher payment to the beneficiary. The living benefits include guaranteed minimum accumulation benefits, income benefits, and withdrawal benefits.
As with most insurers, MassMutual attachs additional fees associated with its annuity products. These include administration and management fees.There may also be a mortality risk charge and an expense risk charge, often known as an "M & E" charge. In addition, surrender charges may apply if the annuity is terminated early or a portion of the annuity is withdrawn.
When considering an annuity company, it is important to understand the financial strength of the organization. One of the best ways a doing this is by reviewing the company's financial ratios. Independent rating companies have given MassMutual some of the highest ratings in the industry. Below are the current ratings (as of July 2009) for MassMutual.
AM Best Company: (Superior, 1st of 15 categories)
Fitch Ratings: (Exceptionally Strong, 1st of 21 categories)
Moody's: (Excellent, 2nd of 21 categories)
Standard & Poors: (Extremely Strong, 1st of 21 categories)
Source by Steven Hart
New Blood Test for Cancer to Be Studied by Johnson and Johnson
A new test capable of detecting a single cancer cell among a billion healthy cells in a small sample of blood is under development. Veridex, a Johnson and Johnson company, and Ortho Biotech Oncology Research & Development (ORD), a unit of Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical R & D have partnered with researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH, Boston, MA) to work on bringing the test to the market.
The initial prototype was developed by a team of doctors, engineers, and biologists led by Dr. Daniel Haber and Memhet Toner at Massachusetts General Hospital was first reported in 2007. The test detects circulating tumor cells (CTCs), cancer cells that break off from the tumor and get carried away in the blood stream. These CTCs are extremely rare, one may be detected for every billion normal healthy blood cells screened.
Haber and Toner have designed a CTC-chip that contains thousands of miniature pillars coated with antibodies that bind to CTCs. When a sample of blood is passed over the chip, the normal cells go through, but the CTCs stick. Specials stains then allow investigators to count the number of CTCs in a patient’s blood sample.
This test may be used to help doctors quickly make decisions about how to proceed when treating a patient’s cancer. If a doctor gives a particular drug and the number of cancer cells in the patient’s blood drops, then the doctor will stick with this treatment. If the number of cancer cells circulating in the blood increase or remain the same, the doctor can switch to another drug and which might work better at killing the cancer.
For example, doctors can give a drug or radiation treatment and then do a CT scan months later to see if the patient’s tumor has decreased in size. A patient may not live through more than a few rounds of treatment adjustment if they must wait to see if a change in tumor size can be detected. While the CT scan is a full body X-ray, the CTC-chip is simpler and only requires a few teaspoons of blood and can gauge whether the treatment was successful sooner.
The CTC-chip has been tested experimentally in approximately 200 cancer patients. A $15 million grant provided by the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Stand Up to Cancer telethon will enable investigators at four major research institutions to study the test in more cancer patients. These institutes include: Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston, MA), University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (Houston, TX), Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (Boston, MA), and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (New York, NY).
Right now the chip is expensive (approximately $500) and requires expertise to use. The collaboration with Johnson and Johnson will help MGH investigators find ways to make the chip faster, cheaper, more sensitive, and easier to use by physicians. Hopes are high. This chip may change the way cancer is diagnosed and treated in the near future.
Source by Aubrey Clark
Emission Inspection Stickers – Do I REALLY Need an Inspection to Get One?
Question: Can I get an inspection sticker for my car without going through an inspection?
Answer: Well, off the cuff, I'd say "No way José!" However, I thought that might be a poorly thought out response, so I thought I'd go to some US State websites and see what they had to say. I reviewed 10 states in various parts of the country, and here's the surprising results of what I found …
New York – "All vehicles registered in New York State must obtain a safety inspection and an emissions inspection every 12 months. Both inspections are also required when the ownership of a vehicle is transferred. (Both vehicles are exempt from emissions inspections.) Both inspections are done at the same time by a DMV-certified inspector at privately-owned inspection stations licensed by DMV. " So, "NO" in NY.
New Jersey – "You can make an appointment online for State inspection facilities in Salem, Cape May or Washington (Warren county)." So, "NO" in NJ.
Massachusetts – Massachusetts introduced its "next generation" vehicle emissions testing and safety inspection program on, October 1, 2008. Vehicles 1996 and newer will be tested for emissions (On Board Diagnostic test) every year along with the annual safety inspection. Motorists will be able to choose which inspection station they use as long as the station is licensed. The cost of the test is among the lowest in the nation for this type of program. The Mass Vehicle Check will continue to cost $ 29 annually. So, "NO" in MA also.
Let's move south a bit to Virginia – "Generally, all new car dealerships perform inspections. inspection services in your local phone directory. " So, "NO" in VA.
Going west to the great (big) state of Texas – "If your vehicle is not registered in one of the emissions counties, then you will have to get the vehicle re-inspected at one of the local inspection stations in your area Currently, there are no replacement procedures for non-emissions county motorists. Hmmmm … looks like a big "NO" in TX also!
Maybe things are looser in the Pacific Northwest. Washington State's regs read "If you live in the following counties, your vehicle may need to get an emissions test every 2 years:
Spokane County "
So it looks like a good chance that if you live out of the 5 most populated areas in WA (unbelievably as 90% of the population lives in these 5 counties), you can get by without an inspection. I also know that the State of Washington does not use stickers for the inspection, but they do keep track via the central computers in the state capital and they will come and get you. This is the state of my residence, so I know this to be the case.
What about the laid back Midwest. I decided to check Kansas, and a ray of hope if you can stand living among the corn stalks! "Kansas does not have emissions enforcement for motor vehicles. You are not required to have your vehicle tested, and, inevitably, no related paperwork is required in order to register your vehicle." So, a big "YES" for KS !.
Many moons ago, I lived in Mississippi. The folks down there seem pretty laid back, so I thought I'd see what I could find there. Good news! At least for the time being as you'll see by the word here. "Mississippi meets all federal guidelines for air quality, so it has not yet made smog and emission checks mandatory for the vehicles of its residents. So, for the time being," YES "if you want to live in the alligator swamps! Well, at least in the south of the state.
Let's catch one more more state … that'll give us a smorgasbord from around the country. How about Minnesota? When I checked in to Minnesota , I had a pleasant surprise! "Minnesota's vehicle emissions testing ended in 1999, when the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency requested reclassification of the area's air quality status from the federal government and got it." I did not even know you could reverse something like this. Usually, once a bureaucracy is in place, they're kind of like a cancer – very hard to remove. Kudos to Minnesota for a big fat "YES!"
So, as usual, the heavy regulatory states tend to be the most highly populated states in the Northeastern United States, and the socialistic leaning Western states, OR, WA, and of course, CA. But the good news is that the Midwest and the West (except the staged triage) have clean air and no testing is required, at least of the three we reviewed.
So, if you live in those states, yeah, you better get those stickers. But if not, then you're in luck. But I'm guessing by the way you framed your question, you're going to have to move to the Midwest or the South or Alaska to avoid those stickers.
Here's all the states in alphabetical order –
Alabama – Alabama does not require emissions testing of vehicles, although by state law any city can pass laws to begin testing. Currently none have done so.
Alaska – As of March 1, 2012 emission inspections are no longer required in Alaska. Another reversal. This may also speak to the fact that the US has so many emissions controls on vehicles.
Arizona – The Vehicle Emissions Inspection Program (VEIP) applies to vehicles in the metro Phoenix and Tucson areas which model year falls after 1967, mandating that the cars' emissions levels being inspected 90 days before their registration renewal date.
Arkansas – Arkansas does not require annual vehicle inspections. However, the state still expects you to pay careful attention to your vehicle emissions. Yeah, I'll bet every redneck in Arkansas is getting 'that emission checked out annually (smirk).
California – Whether you need it or not, the California DMV will mail you a registration renewal notice telling you whether you are required to get your vehicle smogged; it will also tell you if your vehicle requires a smog check at a test-only station. However, if your vehicle is six or less model years old, you are not required to obtain smog certification as long as you pay the annual $ 20 smog abatement fee. California will get you coming or going!
Colorado – An "enhanced test" is required in Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, and Jefferson as well as parts of Adams and Arapahoe counties. Even if you happen to live in a county that does not test, or only has the basic test (see below), yet you commute into these areas, then you also need to pass the enhanced test. A basic test is required in parts of Larimer, Weld, and El Paso counties. The area boundaries can get confusing, so if you are unclear as to your county's requirements just give the local title and registration office a call. Or just scream.
Connecticut – If you have a vehicle registered in Connecticut that is more than four or less than 25 years old, you are required to submit it for a state emissions inspection every other year.
Delaware – You must pass the emission test to register or renew registration on your vehicle. The test you are given depends on the age of your car.
Florida – On July 1, 2000, the State of Florida abolished the auto emissions test requirement for all vehicles through the state after 9 years of testing.
Georgia – All gas-powered passenger cars and light trucks between 3 and 25 years old in 13 Georgia counties must pass an emission inspection before being issued license plates.
Hawaii – At this time there are no set emissions standards for vehicles in Hawaii. The state is on the frontlines of the electric vehicle movement and has many hybrids on the streets.
Idaho – Northern Ada County (home of Boise, the largest city in Idaho) is the only county in Idaho that requires the vehicles of its residents to go through an annual emissions test.
Illinois – Many vehicles registered in Illinois are required by the state to have their emissions checked every two years. A notice is sent to car owners when it is time to be checked.
Indiana – If you're a resident of Clark, Floyd, Lake, or Porter counties, and your passenger vehicle is at least four years old, you will need to complete an emissions inspection every two years. If your vehicle was made before 1976, it does not need tested.
Iowa – Iowa lacks the heavy population that creates smog problems, so there are no guidelines in place for vehicle emission checks.
Kansas – Kansas does not have emissions enforcement for motor vehicles.
Kentucky – While Kentucky did adopt a vehicle emissions testing program for three northern counties in 1999, the requirement ended in late 2005.
Louisiana – Louisiana vehicle inspections focus more on the mechanical parts of your vehicle; however, certain vehicle emission parts will be checked, too. The exception is for cars that are registered in Baton Rouge. These are required to be given On-Board Diagnostics as well.
Maine – If you drive a car / truck in Maine, your vehicle needs to pass a safety inspection annually. Vehicles registered in Cumberland County also need to pass an emissions inspection.
Maryland – The year of your vehicle determines what sort of testing it will undergo. Vehicles from the current two model years are exempt from the first round of testing.
Massachusetts – In Massachusetts, you have to get your vehicle vehicle inspected every year. And since 1999, Massachusetts vehicle owners have also been required to submit their vehicles to an enhanced emissions check.
Michigan – Michigan currently does not require auto or truck emissions testing.
Minnesota – Minnesota's vehicle emissions testing ended in 1999.
Mississippi – Mississippi does not require smog or emission checks on any vehicle registered within the state.
Missouri – According to Missouri law, emissions inspections are required for drivers who live in St. Louis. Louis City or one of the following counties: Jefferson, Franklin, St. Louis Charles, and St. Louis.
Montana – Montana does not require smog or emission checks on any vehicle.
Nebraska – Nebraska does not have any official policy for vehicle testing.
Nevada – The urban areas located in Clark and Washoe counties are subject to strict emission testing requirements for most vehicles.
New Hampshire – To control emissions, the official licensed inspection stations are responsible for evaluating your vehicle's engine emissions in accordance with your vehicle registration.
New Jersey – Motorists in New Jersey are required by the Motor Vehicle Commission to take their vehicles for an emissions inspection every two years.
New Mexico – Anyone who lives in the greater Albuquerque metropolitan area will have their vehicle checked – or get an exemption – before registering it.
New York – New York requires all registered vehicles to have two kinds of inspections each year: a safety inspection and an emissions inspection. These are performed simultaneously at privately owned inspection stations licensed by the Department of Motor Vehicles.
North Carolina – When you register your new gasoline-powered vehicles in an emissions county, your vehicle will have to pass an On Board Diagnostics emissions test. This is in addition to the safety inspection that your vehicle must also pass.
North Dakota – North Dakota does not require emission checks.
Ohio – Currently, E-Check only affects residents of seven of the state's 88 counties: Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Portage, or Summit countiesâï½ïï½andand if you own a vehicleâï½ïï½yyou will need to have its emission system checked before you renew your registration.
Oklahoma – Oklahoma is one of the few remaining states that does not require emissions checks for any motor vehicles.
Oregon – The Dept. of Environmental Quality operates seven clean Air Stations in the Portland and Medford, or Rogue Valley areas. These areas are only subject to emissions testing.
Pennsylvania – This state requires a vehicle emission test once a year. So as to alert you when it's your turn, the state will stamp on your vehicle's renewal notice the words "Emissions Inspection Required / Diesel Vehicles Exempt."
Rhode Island – Emission checks must do every two years at any state-certified inspection station. Emission tests are done jointly with the annual safety inspection.
South Carolina – South Carolina does not require any smog or emission inspections on vehicles. The state meets all federal clean air standards.
South Dakota – South Dakota is one of the few states that do not require vehicle emissions testing of any kind.
Tennessee – Only gas or diesel-fueled vehicles weighing up to 10,500 pounds, registered in Davidson, Hamilton, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson, and Wilson counties, as well as those registered in Memphis, will be required to submit to emissions testing before they can be registered or have their registrations renewed.
Texas – All cars in Texas undergo an annual safety inspection. Where mandated, an emissions inspection is added to this process (major urban centers like Dallas and Houston).
Utah – Utahans in the densely populated Salt Lake, Davis, Utah, and Weber counties are required to take their cars in for mandatory emissions testing every two years.
Vermont – Vermont does not require drivers to submit to annual or semiannual emission tests.
Virginia – As with many states, Virginia requires most vehicles to be up-to-date on two separate types of tests: one for safety, and one for emissions.
Washington – Emissions testing is required for all other gasoline and diesel vehicles between five and 25 years old that are registered in the five most populated Washington counties.
Washington DC – In the District of Columbia, motorists are required to have their vehicles inspected before registration, and the inspection must be renewed every two years.
West Virginia – West Virginia does not currently require emission checks as a requirement for vehicle registration.
Wisconsin – Vehicles newer than 1968 registered in the most populated Southern Wisconsin counties must undergo emissions testing when it's time for registration renewal.
Wyoming – Wyoming does not require smog or emission checks for any vehicles registered and titled in the state.
Source by Barry K. Brown
The origins of the game of basketball can be traced back to a gentleman by the name of Dr. James Naismith. In 1861, Naismith was born in Almonte, Ontario, Canada. During his early school days, Naismith would play a game called duck on a rock whereby the child would endeavor to knock the duck off the top of the rock with a toss of another rock.
Later on, Naismith would go on to McGill University in Montreal and would later become McGill University's Athletic Director. He would remarkably move on to YMCA Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts and in 1891, the game of basketball began.
Given the cold Massachusetts winters, Naismith needed to find a recreational activity that could have played indoors and he preferred a sport that would develop skill and one that was not exclusively relying on strength. The first game was played with two peach baskets for goals and a soccer ball.
Further to his credit, Naismith became a medical doctor specializing in sports physiology and a Presbyterian minister. Naismith was able to see his beloved sport of basketball, gain acceptance in numerous countries through the YMCA since 1893. As well, the sport of basketball was brought forth at the Berlin Olympics in 1936. As we speak, the game of basketball has become a very popular professional sport.
Source by Catherine Kenyeres
Chucking Wood
Woodchucks belong to the marmot (large ground squirrel) family and goes by a variety of names- groundhog, thickwood badger, monax, wood-shock, whistler, whistlepig (due to a warning sound made through their big front teeth), moonack, weenusk , red monk and in our family – PEST! Found through North America, woodchucks are primarily in the eastern United States and much of southern Canada. This morning it was spotted in south central Massachusetts, in our lakeside gardens. In New England, they inhabit both urban and suburban yards, fields, meadows, woodland clearings and are often found along grassy edged highways.
How do you identify a woodchuck? Look for a brown, thickly covered critter with small ears and beady little brown eyes, about 16 – 20 inches in length with a six-inch tail, weighing anywhere between six and 12 pounds. They have short, strong legs designed for digging and large front incisors. Despite their stocky appearance, woodchucks are accomplished swimmers and sometimes climbs trees to survey their surroundings or escape when being chased. Luckily for them, they do not have many predators to worry about because of their size, despite foxes, hawks, raccoons, coyotes, and dogs will go after their young.
Normally you will not find a woodchuck active during the day, as they are diurnal. They live in intensive burrows two-to six-feet deep and up to 40 feet long. Burrows contain many chambers for various functions, such as love nest, sleeping, nursery, bad weather hideout or waste. There can be as many as five openings in the den for the woodchuck to come and go. The main entrance will usually have a big dirt mound to the side for the woodchuck to observe or rest.
In summary, you will spot a woodchuck feeding in early morning and late afternoon, spending the reminder of the day snoozing or sun bathing. Such a life! In late summer, they begin to bulk up with weight in preparation for moving to their winter dens – one of the true hibernators found in Massachusetts. Interestingly while hibernating from October to April, their body temperature drops from 99 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit, while the heartbeat slows from 100 to four beats per minute!
Mating does not occur until the spring of their second year. In the wild their average lifespan is between five to six years. Females raise their young on their own after a 32-day gestation period. One litter will contain four to six kits or chuckling. After weaving around six weeks old, they are ready to leave the burrow with their mother. Once late summer arrives the kits venture off to discover the world on their own.
The diet of a woodchuck is primarily vegetarian (herbivorous) and this is where our garden begin begins. They feed on a variety of grasses, clover, alfalfa, dandelion, and many varieties of wild and cultivated flowers. They also enjoy blackberries, cherries, raspberries, and other fruits (our blueberries), along with hickory and maple tree bark. It is understood, a fresh vegetable garden is a favorite feeding table for the seemingly always hungry woodchuck. Common veggies preferences include broccoli, peas, beans, carrot tops, lettuce, and squash. Basically, everything we planed this spring! On the flower side, they target asters, daisies, lilies, marigolds, pansies, phlox, snapdragons, and sunflowers. I would add lupines to the list, as we saw our annoying woodchuck strip young lupine stalks like he was eating corn on the cob! It should be noted that they will also munch on grasshoppers, June bugs, grubs, snails, and other large insects when the green leafy delicacies become sparse.
Woodchucks are notorious for being a serious nuisance around farms and gardens. Fencing is the only viable humane solution to protect vegetation from these hungry rodents. Chicken wire wings that not only go up with a bend outwards at the top, but are buried down at least a foot underground can often work as a deterrent. Another method is to lay the chicken wire around the garden perimeter and secure a four to six-foot-tall fence. These critters climb and dig, so you must build up, down and around if possible. Other options include repellents – planting gopher plant or crown imperial fritillary around the garden or sprinkling the areas with fox or coyote urine, diluted Tabasco sauce, red pepper flakes, or human hair. If you have a dog, allow your pet to periodically visit the garden area to "mark" his or her territory.
Finally, woodchucks like all mammals, carry rabbies and are known to be aggressive. Avoid close contact. Do not even consider relocating a woodchuck in Massachusetts, as it is illegal. Darn. What's a gardener to do? Ever see the movie Caddy Shack with Bill Murray?
Source by Gregory James
A Look at Medigap Insurance
Medigap Insurance
Medicare health policies cover a wide range of medical condition, but unfortunately not all of them. Thus, Medicare will not pay the full cost of the medical services. In other words there are gaps in Medicare coverage. This is where Medigap insurance comes in; it is a health policy that covers the gaps in the original Medicare program.
Medigap insurance policies are all set by the government and are there before standardized, regardless of the state you live in. The only exceptions are those of Massachusetts, Minnesota and Wisconsin which are standardized in a slightly different way. There are 10 types of plans available, named from A to J. Plan A is the most basic and with each additional plan there are extra coverage options. You therefore select the plan that best fits your situation and budget. As of June 1st, 2010, plans E, H, I and J are no longer available, and two new plans, M and N, have been added. Furthermore, the benefits in plans A – G have undergone some changes.
The various Medigap insurance plans have the same benefits regardless of which provider sold it to you or in which state (with the exception of Massachusetts, Minnesota and Wisconsin). The only difference is the cost. Each insurance company decides how to price its promotions. The company usually uses medical underwriting (health status information that determines your suitability for health coverage) to decide if they'll accept your application and at what price.
Although the policies are set by the state, this is not a government funded program. Consumer associations and private insurance companies can be licensed to sell this insurance. You can obtain a list of the licensed providers by contacting your state insurance office. As soon as you are enrolled, you will pay for both this policy and Medicare premiums each month.
Once enrolled, your policy is automatically renewed and the provider can not cancel it even if there are health problems. An additional benefit is that as long as you're reasonably healthy, you can change plans according to your situation and preferred benefits. However a provider can not sell you more than one policy at a time.
There are some key elements to Medigap insurance that you must be aware of, one of which is the enrollment period. There is typically a 6 month open enrollment period that begins the day you turn 65 years or older. It is advisable that you enroll during the open enrollment period because the provider is obliged to sell you any policy even if you have health problems, and at the same cost as that of a healthy person. If you enroll after the 6 month open enrollment, the provider may not sell you a policy even if you're eligible as per to the medical underwriting – unless you are qualified according to certain limited situations.
Another important point to understand is that the policy does not allow spouses to apply jointly. Each person must apply individually.
You may also want take note that certain coverage is not included in Medigap insurance. These include: Medicare Advantage Plans; long-term care insurance policies; Veterans' benefits; TRICARE; Medicaid; Employer or union plans, including Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP); Indian Health Service, Tribal, and Urban Indian Health plans; and Medicare Prescription Drug Plans.
www.medigapcost.com/medigap-insurance.shtml
Source by Robert N. Perry
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10 Amazing Mythological Objects......!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by + ✦ S α ɾ α K ԋ α ɳ✦ on August 1, 2013 at 4:35pm
The Cintamani Stone
Most people are familiar with the concept of the Philosopher’s Stone, but few have heard of the Cintamani Stone. Said to be lost somewhere in Southeast Asia, the stone is the Oriental equivalent of the Philosopher’s Stone. The stone is thought to be a relic of Buddha, and is able to grant wishes. Supernatural powers aside, the stone represents Buddhist values and teachings. It has never been found (of course), and there has never been any solid evidence of its existence.
9 The Seven-League Boots
The Seven-League Boots are a recurring artifact in numerous European fairy tales, and the boots themselves allowed one to travel seven leagues (roughly five kilometers or three miles) per step. The boots aren’t very well known, and they are featured primarily in the French fairytale Hop-o’-My-Thumb.
In the story, Hop-o’-My-Thumb is a small boy who is extremely intelligent. When his parents abandon him and his brothers, he becomes the (very tiny) man of the house. When an ogre decides to make a meal of the brothers, Hop-o’-My-Thumb steals their magical boots to escape and make his fortune for his family.
8 The Ring Of Gyges
Plenty of us have seen the Lord of the Rings movies and are familiar with the One Ring, the cursed ring that grants invisibility but eventually corrupts the souls of those who wear it. Luckily, mythology has a ring that grants invisibility without the nasty side effects. The Ring of Gyges was a ring from a story told by the famous philosopher Plato. In the story, Gyges is a shepherd who finds the ring after an earthquake reveals a cave near where he herds his flock.
Upon entering the cave, Gyges finds the ring on the finger of a corpse that doesn’t seem human. When he places it upon his finger, he discovers he can become invisible by adjusting it. Gyges then goes to the palace of his local kingdom, woos the wife of the king, then kills him and becomes King of Lydia. So . . . maybe we were wrong about the soul-blackening part.
7 The Hand Of Glory
This is an item you better hope a burglar never gets his hands on. The Hand of Glory was fashioned from a condemned murderer’s hands. A wax candle was affixed to one of the fingers, and the dead man’s hair was used as a wick. It had the power to unlock doors and freeze people in place. Its flame could only be extinguished by the thief who wielded it, and it would have been a vital tool to the criminal trade if it ever existed. In its day, the Hand of Glory was considered to be the product of extremely black magic.
6 Skatert-Samobranka
Let’s say you’re out for a picnic, and you’ve forgotten the food. That’s not an issue, you just need to whip out your Skatert-Samobranka. The Skatert-Samobranka was a magic tablecloth that could produce food when unfurled and cleaned itself up when it was folded again. As with most supernatural items, there were rules. The Skatert-Samobranka was sentient, so it needed to be respected and cared for. If angered, it might have ruined the food, and any rips or holes would cause it to slowly lose its magical properties. That’s one temperamental tablecloth.
5 The Book Of Thoth
The Book of Thoth was a book of ancient magic used by the Egyptian god of wisdom and magic, Thoth. The Book of Thoth was said to contain two spells—one to understand animals and one to understand the mind of the gods. In an ancient Egyptian story, a prince of Egypt found the book after avoiding a series of traps. As punishment for finding the book, the prince’s family was killed, and the prince committed suicide.
Years later, a new prince found the book but was warned by the old prince’s ghost not to take it. He didn’t listen and was promptly convinced by a beautiful woman to humiliate himself and kill his children. However, he discovered that the whole thing was an illusion created by the old prince’s ghost as a warning. He placed the book back into the old prince’s tomb and left.
4 Helmet Of Invisibility
Another Greek legend, the Helmet of Invisibility was a helmet once owned by the hero Perseus that could grant—you guessed it—invisibility. Perseus wore the helmet in his quest to slay Medusa. It prevented her petrifying gaze from affecting him when he went into battle. Perseus returned with Medusa’s head, so his quest went quite well.
3 The Spear Of Destiny
The Spear of Destiny is a sacred relic in the Christian faith. It is said that the spear that pierced Christ’s side was imbued with unique powers. Supposedly, only the owner of the Spear of Destiny could control the world. Many a conspiracy nut will tell you that Hitler, while dabbling in the occult, took the spear for himself and went on to conquer most of Europe. Later, when General Patton arrived in Nuremburg, he took the spear from the city, and Hitler’s reign of terror soon ended.
2 The Argo
Anyone familiar with classical mythology is probably familiar with The Argonautica by Apollonius of Rhodes, the tale of Jason and his team of heroes (the Argonauts), who quested to gain the Golden Fleece in Colchis—so that Jason could claim his throne. The ship itself was said to be under the protection of the goddess Hera and was made from the timber of the forests of Dodona, which held the power of prophecy. When the quest for the Golden Fleece was done, the Argo was placed into the heavens as a constellation.
1 Dragon’s Teeth
Dragons are the quintessential monster of European folklore: giant, fire-breathing lizards that may have been the medieval explanation for dinosaur bones. The Greek legend of Cadmus states that, in the days of yore, Cadmus killed the sacred dragon of the god of war—Ares. Athena, Ares’s sister, told Cadmus to plant the teeth, which grew into a fresh crop of soldiers. He then threw a precious gem in amid the soldiers, who fought each other for it until there were five survivors. These five later went on to found the city of Thebes. To this day, to “sow dragon’s teeth” means to cause something that breeds dispute.
Vlad Vekshtein is an eccentric writer and mythology buff desperately trying to churn out his first novel. He’s quite sure the closest he’ll ever get to a mythological artifact is Monty Python and the Holy Grail. He’s always on the lookout for new list ideas, so sound off in the comments!
Comment by + ✦ S α ɾ α K ԋ α ɳ✦ on August 1, 2013 at 9:10pm
Thanks Jenni dear
hmmmm Saherkhan
Comment by saherkhan on August 1, 2013 at 8:40pm
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The hammer of corruption
Posted in Governance, Government, Graft and Corruption, Impunity/Indifference, Politics, Social Issues/Concerns, Social Reform by Erineus on February 2, 2009
POLITICAL CORRUPTION is not just harming business; it is damaging the nation. It seeks illegitimate personal gain from bribery, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, patronage, graft and embezzlement. It is odious rent seeking where access to politics is organized with limited transparency and competition to promote and protect narrow interests.
Intentional wrongdoing
Consequently, it has sullied society’s integrity and corroded its institutions. Its intentional wrongdoing has derailed the country from performing or conducting itself as envisioned by the Constitution.
Because politics is our country’s daily diet, our social, economic and cultural tattered landscapes testify to corruption’s brutal impact on them.
Last year, the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) issued a statement supporting the call of five senior bishops led by CBCP president Archbishop Angel Lagdameo to “combat corruption and rebuild our country economically, socially and politically.”
The bishops’ clarion call got the people’s attention. But as soon as a new issue arose, it got out of sight and out of mind.
Before it did, MAP issued a public statement expressing its deep concern that the span and depth of corruption has badly shattered trust and confidence in the country because of the way the government has become. One proof lies in the comparative inflow of foreign direct investments and foreign aid to the Philippines vis-à-vis its Asian neighbors, which is a fraction of what the others get.
The world has been increasingly critical of the thriving culture of corruption in government with near-total impunity. The consequences of corruption are direly affecting the country’s competitiveness; business growth; and capacity to survive. It is worsening poverty; compromising public order and safety; mocking the rule of law; and destroying society’s moral fabric.
And there is no let-up.
Corruption indices from Transparency International and the World Bank , for instance, point to a palpable deterioration from where the Philippines was measured 10 years ago, now just a quarter percentile away from the bottom. Yet, despite the consequences, the government remains oblivious, apathetic or intractable, favoring self-good over the national interest.
To stop the spreading malignancy and save itself from a living death, the obvious way out is for society to transform itself into a nation of no-nonsense upright citizens. But then, how can a society wracked with social cancer heal itself? Through radical treatment? By whom? Alternative options? In what ways?
Corporate governance practitioners in the private sector who ensure ethics, transparency and accountability in the workplace, are vital human resources that can be harnessed to help transform the country.
For example, MAP’s growing circle of Management Men of the Year could link up with Ramon Magsaysay, Galing Pook, TOYM, and alumni of other national and international awards to campaign for good governance in their respective fields.
Such an alliance could also reinforce the Coalition Against Corruption (CAC) composed of organizations from the business sector , civil society and the Church. Together they could further strengthen society’s ethical backbone and promote greater public participation in governance in a vigorous bid to stem the creeping tide of corruption, apathy and helplessness.
The absence of effort by society, or vital sectors thereof, to effect self-change invites intervention. Weak societies make iron-fisted rule possible. In cultures where the leadership takes its responsibilities seriously they excise swiftly those deemed to have betrayed the public’s trust like a malignant tumor, more so in bad times when corruption is not only a crime but also an act of treason.
Corruption respects no borders. Rich and poor societies alike are afflicted, their corrosion differentiated only by the state of their national condition, that is, by the strengths and weaknesses of their leaders, institutions, systems, processes and peoples. But if we inhabit the Hall of Shame, for now, the West merits a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Its bacchanalian orgy of greed and fraud has led to global chaos, inflicting widespread misery and anguish throughout the world. It’s not the first time either that they mess up the planet, to include global warming. Because they enforce the rules that they craft on the weak and exempt themselves when it doesn’t suit them, hell has broken loose time and again. Be it political or financial, the consequences are always deadly.
MAP, either alone or as part of a growing coalition, should continually militate against practices that undermine good governance, business excellence and competitiveness. What is good for the nation is beneficial for business. To look askance would be to abet the crime, increase risk and inevitably sink deeper in a black hole that the country can ill-afford.
For the Philippines to have a better quality of life, the line must be drawn on the sand now.
By Rafael M. Alunan III
(The article reflects the personal opinion of the author and does not reflect the official stand of the Management Association of the Philippines. The author is a member of the MAP board of governors and president of Lopez Group Foundation Inc.. Feedback at map@globelines.com.ph. For previous articles, please visit map.org.ph.)
Tagged with: Graft and Corruption, political corruption
Shameful Culture
Posted in Graft and Corruption, Impunity/Indifference by Erineus on February 1, 2009
Generally, the term “culture of impunity and indifference” is used to describe a situation in which repeated human rights violations elicit very little public reaction or where the public outcry is totally ignored. The killing of journalists in the Philippines, with the authorities either unable or unwilling to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice in spite of widespread public outcry here and abroad, would be a case in point.
But the term can just as easily be applied to corruption, or, for that matter, to other sins of omission or commission which are publicized but evoke nothing more than a ho-hum from our authorities, and worse, are justified and defended by them. Two recent examples illustrate the existence of such a culture and serve to show just how large a problem the Filipino people are faced with.
The first is the case in which the House of Representatives, after two committee hearings, cleared three Filipino contractors who had been banned (debarred), along with four Chinese contractors, by the World Bank from bidding for any project which it finances. The House claimed it found no evidence of collusive practices in any of the materials supplied them by the World Bank. And the contractors claimed that they were denied due process. The image conveyed is one of a foreign giant (World Bank) picking on helpless and innocent local firms.
Let’s look at the other side of the picture, as posted on the World Bank website. It turns out that between 2003 and 2006, the World Bank team identified excessive pricing and other signs of possible collusion on the part of the firms during three successive rounds of project bidding.
What process was followed after that? It is called the Sanctions Process, and here’s how it flowed: The team reported its observations to the Department of Institutional Integrity (INT) of the World Bank. The latter then conducted its own investigation, found that there was evidence, and prepared a proposed Notice of Sanctions Proceeding which it submitted to the World Bank’s Evaluation and Suspension Office (OES). The INT, by the way, also sent its investigation report (this, in November 2007, or 14 months ago) to our Department of Finance and the Office of the Ombudsman.
The OES reviewed the evidence, determined that it was sufficient to support a finding that an alleged sanctionable practice occurred. It then issued a Notice of Sanctions Proceedings to the firms/individuals mentioned above (which they received in May 2008), temporarily suspending them pending the final outcome of the proceedings. The latter contested the allegations, and the case went up to the so-called Sanctions Board, which is composed of external legal experts and senior WB officials. It is this board that studied the submissions of all parties concerned; and, had the firms also asked for a hearing, it would have been granted.
In other words, due process was observed, the firms involved given every chance to explain or defend themselves. This is an administrative and not a criminal proceeding.
Look at the time line: 2003-2006, the World Bank team thinks some hanky-panky is going on; from 2005 to 2007, INT conducts an investigation. End of 2007, INT sends its investigation report to the Philippine Ombudsman, and submits it to the OES for evaluation. May 2008, OES sends notice of sanctions proceedings to the firms, giving them opportunity to respond and ask for a hearing. January 2009, Sanctions Board debars the firms.
From end of the INT investigation to the decision of the Sanctions Board, it took 14 months. Does that sound like a kangaroo court to you?
And yet our congressmen, after only two hearings, saw fit to clear the firms of any wrongdoing. My information is that Roger Mercado, chairman of the House of Representatives’ public works and highways committee, was himself a contractor (still is?) before he entered politics, and that six of the committee members are also contractors. (By the way, Mercado’s brother, the governor of Southern Leyte province, is also a contractor.) Culture of impunity? Indifference to public opinion? The World Bank, by the way, is sticking to its guns.
The second case has not gotten the glare of publicity as the World Bank case, but it serves to show that the culture of impunity and indifference permeates everywhere, even in the academe. The case involves Godofredo E. Gallega, president of the Technological University of the Philippines (TUP). A case of sexual harassment was filed against him with the Civil Service by one of his faculty (Prof. Mila Espinosa) sometime in December 2007. It was in the course of the filing of this case that Mila discovered that Gallega had secretly married a member of the faculty, Dr. Evangeline Dayap sometime in May 2006. Dayap was later appointed as a dean, and then later — upon the strong recommendation of Gallega — as vice president for academic affairs. The two did not disclose their relationship until early 2008, after Espinosa filed her case. The Faculty Association of the TUP (headed by Dr. Juliet Catane, an alumna of the University of the Philippines) filed a case of corruption and nepotism against the couple with the Ombudsman last August.
Here’s where the culture of impunity and indifference comes in: The Civil Service placed him under preventive suspension last week, but he ignored it, reporting for work until yesterday. Meanwhile, some members of the faculty, as well as deans and directors, are signing a petition asking for an extension of his term, which ends this October. This, even after they were apprised of his behavior. Shameful.
Author: Solita Collas-Monsod
Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer
Tagged with: Graft and Corruption, shameful culture
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Education for the 21st Century
"Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it." -Goethe
Jack Petrash and the Value of Waldorf Education in our Modern Age
Jack Petrash, longtime Waldorf teacher, educator, author and founder of the Nova Institute, recently visited Waldorf School of Orange County and shared the many ways in which Waldorf education is relevant (more so now than ever!) in today’s complex world.
Speaking to a packed Eurythmy Hall at WSOC, Petrash described an “a-ha” moment he had while on sabbatical many years ago. The New York Times ran a piece on Deborah Meier, an innovative principal at an East Harlem public school, who received a MacArthur Genius Grant for education. She was commended for the following:
• Doubling the length of class lessons because meaningful teaching cannot take place in 45 minute periods
• Recognizing that inter-curricula teaching is more effective, such as teaching math through writing, science through art, history through music, etc.
• Understanding that the vital decisions affecting curriculum should be made by teachers working at the school
These innovations, Petrash realized, had all been a part of Waldorf education for seventy-plus years, and yet there was no mention of it by either the Times or the Foundation. He also mentioned other examples, including articles lauding teachers staying with a group of children for an extended amount of time (“looping”), and positive feedback on arts-based curriculums and the importance of playing an instrument. The Nova Institute, he said, was born out of a recognition that Waldorf education needed to be integrated into these conversations in a way that was accessible to all educators.
The Waldorf movement, Petrash told the audience, is one of education’s best-kept secrets. Steiner was “ahead of his time,” he said, but we are now at a point where these ideas are finding common acceptance in schools across the country. He described a prestigious prep school at which Thomas Friedman, a New York Times journalist, came and spoke to a select group of high school students about the new local economy. One student asked, “What should I do to prepare myself for tomorrow’s job market?”
Friedman replied, “Your education has been very good, but you’ve only been using the left side of your brain. If you don’t begin to use the right side as well, someone in a developing country is going to do what you’re doing more cheaply and a computer is going to do what you’re doing more quickly. For the future: think art, think green, think connectedness.”
Friedman, said Petrash, had been reading a book by Daniel Pink: A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers will Rule the World. The book asked, why is the U.S. outsourcing millions jobs to China and Philippines? What capacities does the U.S. need to be ready for a new economy? There are six capacities mentioned in this book, said Petrash, that need to be part of our educational approach:
• Play
• Art
• Storytelling
• Finding Meaning
• Empathy
• Symphonic Thinking: seeing the motif that runs through all subjects, and finding the connectedness in each
Petrash found that all six of these capacities are in fact essential parts of Waldorf education, which works with the right and the left brain, both affective and cognitive. It may look old-fashioned inside the classrooms, but that’s misleading, he said.
“It’s like when we went to school. Blackboards with dusty chalk, wooden desks. Students wearing shirts without writing on them, kids wearing galoshes in the rain, everyone playing outside. You might think, oh, that school harkens back to the past. But when you read Pink’s work, you realize that Waldorf education is really about tomorrow,” said Petrash. “We are preparing our children for the future.”
The Waldorf early childhood program, he noted, is play-based. Play is the foundation of creative intelligence. He referenced a large exhibit at the Smithsonian that focused on play in the lives of geniuses. Playful people, he said, change the world. Einstein discovered the theory of relativity playing with the notions of time and space, utilizing his own unique creative intelligence. Play, said Petrash, engenders creative thinking.
He discussed Malcolm Gladwell’s best selling book Outliers: The Story of Success, which explores the fundamental issues with testing IQ; these kinds of intelligence tests are deeply flawed. If IQ were a measure of high intelligence, he said, than we could predict where Nobel Prize winners would come from: they’d come from the Ivy League. However, this is not the case. Many Nobel Prize winners have hailed from smaller, less “prestigious” schools.
IQ tests measure convergent thinking: there’s only one answer. If you can discern this one correct answer, than your IQ is ranked higher. Nobel Prize winners, on the other hand, employ divergent thinking, said Petrash. Divergent thinking explores the notion that there are many possible answers, not just one right answer.
This is a method in Waldorf education as well. Divergent thinking starts in Early Childhood at Waldorf, Petrash noted. A basket of acorns or a set of wooden boards can become anything. Open-ended play stimulates creative thinking. Self-directed free play creates focus of attention, a valuable trait for academic learning and discovery later on. Creative intelligence, Petrash said, is crucial in today’s society. The global problems our children are going to inherit are incredibly complex. We need creative thinkers to solve them.
“Knowing the answers to a multiple choice test won’t help us. We haven’t even asked the right questions yet. We must preserve and protect the creative mind.”
He quoted William Wordsworth’s Ode: Intimations of Immortality From Recollections of Early Childhood, giving a vivid picture of the fleeting magic of childhood:
“There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream,
The earth, and every common sight,
To me did seem Apparelled in celestial light,
The glory and the freshness of a dream.
It is not now as it hath been of yore;— Turn wheresoe’er I may,
By night or day,
The things which I have seen I now can see no more.”
Our children live in a world of wonder. Why would we want to rush them out of that? Let’s preserve it, he said. There is great value in maintaining youthfulness. To remain young at heart, adventurous, curing and daring. There’s even a word for it: meotony, the ability of species to keep youthful characteristics into adult life. He referenced famed architect Frank Gehry, who in his 70s said his best ideas came when he was playing ice hockey. Key word: playing. Walt Disney said he woke up every morning with “uncontaminated wonder.” As a society we spend millions on cosmetic surgery and medications for virility, said Petrash. But being young at heart is what truly matters.
While Waldorf schools are not “art schools,” art is everywhere in the Waldorf curriculum. Art speaks to the heart and the emotions, and it makes learning appealing to children. Another vital aspect of Waldorf education is storytelling, he said. He gave an example to the audience of a fairy tale told with the help of chalkboard drawings. This teaching style appeals to many forms of learning: visual, auditory, and kinetic, to name a few. He also shared a story he’d used in his classroom about a naughty boy named Nimy who always said NO, never. He refused to do as he was told. Once when Nimy was in the woods the king’s procession went by, and he was asked to be quiet. He said NO, never. This, Petrash explained with a smile, is why that when you see the King (“K”) with Nimy (“N”) next to him, you’ll never hear the king (“K” sound) at all. This was a wonderful example of a creative teaching moment that will likely be remembered!
One of the misconceptions of Waldorf education is that reading is not taught, or at least not taught in a timely manner. This is because we believe in building a strong foundation first, he explained.
“First we live in the sounds and the pictures, and we begin to feel it. Our children are taught to read actively. To read with perseverance, with imagination, to create pictures in our minds.” The challenge in our country is not illiteracy; it’s actually aliteracy, he said. Children have the ability to read and they don’t. In the digital age, everything (including attention span) is shrinking, and fewer children have the patience to stick with a challenging book.
They way children learn in Waldorf education, the whole brain is engaged. How reading is brought, learning pictorial languages such as Chinese and Japanese, playing violin and sight reading music, geometric drawing, practicing Eurythmy; all of these subjects encourage engagement on multiple levels and also ignite both hemispheres of the brain.
The Waldorf curriculum is designed to mirror the inner life of our children, he explained. First grade supports a world of wonder. Third grade is waking up to the world. Their growing sense of self-awareness creates separation and a fear of the unknown. Our third graders learn about farming, which reassures them that the Earth provides. They learn about building homes and structures, which supports the notion of something solid and lasting, something to depend upon. Biblical stories echo leaving the “Garden of Eden” of childhood. Fourth graders study geography, echoing their desire to expand their world and their sense of adventure. Each grade represents a move toward growing independence which is supported in the curriculum. This support continues into the middle school and high school as well, with the curriculum nurturing the blossoming of the pre-teen and teenager into a young adult.
Storytelling — itself a fundamental part of Waldorf education — is becoming more and more popular in many professions, Petrash told the audience. Doctors now want stories from their patients to help build a better health picture. Xerox and 3M have created collections of shared stories in place of technical manuals. Storytelling is the way people have always learned about the world and themselves. You never have to explain what the “lesson” is, he said. Each individual will take from the story what they need, whether it be a fable, folk tale, history lesson, or mythology. Storytelling “moves from the heart of the storyteller to the heart of the child.” Stories create lasting impressions and more depth to the lesson because emotions are engaged.
Waldorf education, he said, sees all aspects of the human being. It acknowledges there is a spiritual component to our existence. We look at both sides of the brain. We nourish the outer world of academics and also the inner world of each individual, and we see them as equally important. We teach our children to learn through doing, to learn though feeling, and we activate their hearts so that they love what they learn.
“Something unpredictable and mysterious lives in each human being,” Petrash told the audience. “We have a vast well of potential when we turn our attention to our best selves.”
By Alyssa Swanson Hamilton
Waldorf School of Orange County
waldorfschoolorangecountyblog Uncategorized Leave a comment November 1, 2017 November 2, 2017 7 Minutes
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International Adoption: Our Experience in Colombia, South America
Shelley Horsley Cruz
A Phone Call That Changed Our Lives
I can picture the way the kitchen looked, with its burnt orange laminate countertops, so typical of the seventies, and white cabinets. I was mopping the floor when the phone rang. It was Friday, March 9, 1979. The voice on the other end of the phone said, “We have a baby girl for you. She was born 2 days ago. When can you travel to Bogota (Colombia) to meet her?” My response was, “We’ll be there on Wednesday!” It was quite a shock because we had not completed our adoption home study. We had only submitted our application to El Instituto Colombiano de Bienestar Familiar (ICBF) six weeks earlier. Somehow, it all came together. Our six-year-old son and I were on a flight out of JFK that next Wednesday. My husband flew in from Miami the next day. It was a wonderful life changing event.
Colombian Family Welfare Institute, ICBF
Instituto Colombiano de Bienestar Familiar
Maria Rosa Delia Guaqueta Castro
A 23-year-old, Maria Rosa Delia Guaqueta Castro, had come to “Bienestar” in Bogota, Colombia to surrender her newborn baby. She had met with the social workers weeks earlier to advise of her plans. She explained that she was a single mother with two other children. Her common-law husband had left to find work in Venezuela several months earlier. She had not heard from him since he left Colombia. This young mother felt she was not able to feed or care for another child. On the day that Maria Rosa left her baby girl at Bienestar the social workers were not available to interview her or process her release statement. She was given an appointment to return the next week to complete the necessary paperwork. Maria Rosa did not return to the agency. In spite of searches in Bogota, Suesca and Choconta by Bienestar and the police inspectors she was not to be found. The baby had to be declared officially “abandoned”. One can think of so many reasons why the young woman did not return. She had no money for transportation and she had two small children, not to mention that she had just given birth, unaided, less than a week before. In addition, one can imagine how difficult it must have been to give up her newborn. She may have returned to “Bienestar” to ask about her child in the next months or years. They would have given her updates and pictures, but we did not search for her again.
Elizabeth Visiting Orphanage El Sagrado Corazon in Ibague, Tolima , Colombia 1982 | Source
Who Can Adopt From Colombia Today?
In addition to the U.S. requirements, Colombia obliges prospective adoptive parents to meet the following requirements to adopt a child from Colombia:
Residency: There are no residency requirements for intercountry adoptions from Colombia.
Age of Adopting Parents: Parent(s) must be 25 years old and at least 15 years older than the child to be adopted. In practice, newborns are assigned to younger couples and older children to older couples.
Marriage: Colombia permits adoption by both married couples and unmarried individuals, although Colombia has significantly stricter requirements on adoptions by unmarried individuals.
Income: Prospective adoptive parents are required to submit documentation confirming their ability to provide for the adopted child.
The Process: Because Colombia is party to The Hague Adoption Convention, adoptions from Colombia must follow a specific process designed to meet the Convention’s requirements. A summary of the Convention adoption process is given below. You must complete these steps in the following order so that your adoption meets all applicable legal requirements. Adoptions completed out of order may result in the child not being eligible for an immigrant visa to the United States.
Choose a U.S. accredited or approved adoption service provider
Apply to USCIS to be found eligible to adopt
Be matched with a child by authorities in Colombia
Apply to USCIS for the child to be found eligible for immigration to the United States and receive U.S. agreement to proceed with the adoption
Adopt the child in Colombia
Obtain a U.S. immigrant visa for your child and bring your child home
Our Story Continues:
On March 16, 1979 my husband, our son, and I appeared at the offices of “Bienestar” to meet our baby girl. It was such a happy day for all of us. This tiny little angel, who weighed just under five pounds was going to change life as we knew it and would complete our family. We had expected to spend about 10 days in Bogota, but like so many other adoptions, ours ran in to some challenges. The important issue was that the birthmother was nowhere to be found and had not signed off on the baby. The next issue was that we were missing an important document, having been misinformed by friends in the United States who assured us that the document was not needed! I think every couple must have a story about the “glitches” along the process, the tears they have left in government agencies and adoption agencies, the frustrations of completing paperwork correctly. It comes with the territory! We had been in Colombia almost three weeks when we were told that because Easter Week (Semana Santa) was approaching we might have to delay another two weeks. In addition, one of the offices had “run out of official stamps and stationery” necessary to complete the process. With a few more tears and phone calls, all was straightened out so that we were home by Easter with our lovely daughter Elizabeth. We spent a total of 21 days in Colombia.
Some silly things people say when they learn you have adopted:
“Do you know who her parents are?” Answer: “Why, yes! WE are her parents!”
“If it doesn’t work out, can you give her back?” Answer: “Well, NO!”
“Do you love her the same as your biological child?” Answer: “Of course we love them both with all our heart and soul.”
“How much did it cost?’ Answer: “There is no price tag.”
Alberto and Elizabeth 1986 | Source
Cherished Member of the Family
My parents were rather skeptical about our adopton plans. However, they fell in love with Elizabeth as soon as they held her in their arms. They were delighted with their 12th grandchild! Elizabeth became very special for them, especially for my mother. Liz wrote a high school essay about her grandparents. She wrote, “When I was little, my parents and my brother would drive from Connecticut to visit my grandparents in Wellesley, Massachusetts. We lived in a big house in Woodbridge and they lived in a small apartment, but as soon as my grandmother opened the door and I saw her smile, I felt I was “home”. I remember the smell of cookies and her perfume, and the look of joy on her face when she saw us. My grandfather was a victim of Alzheimer’s disease and my grandmother was totally devoted to him until he died when I was nine years old. My grandmother had kept up her strength and independence while my grandfather was alive but soon after his death she found it too difficult to live alone. She came to live with us. While my mother was at work, my grandmother was the one I found at home after school. She was in bed most of the time, so I would lie down beside her while she read to me. She would also play scrabble with me, and she always won. She taught me so much. Of all the people in my life, my grandmother listened to me the best. She always wanted to know about my school, my friends, my softball team or whatever was on my mind. She knew me so well. I could always count on her for advice and encouragement. There is no doubt in my mind that my grandmother’s “unique soul’ will always be a part of my life.”
As a typical 6-year-old, our son Alberto, was not very enthusiastic about the arrival of his younger sister. When asked about his “wonderful baby sister” his response was, “When she arrived I became invisible. People just want to know about HER!” He grew to become a loving and caring older brother whom Elizabeth adores.
Colombia, South America
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International Adoptions Through the Years
In 1979, there were 1000 international adoptions processed in Colombia. Over the years, the numbers have decreased steadily. In the year 2016, there were 133 children adopted from Colombia.
In the ‘80’s and early ‘90s there were several Latin American countries allowing international adoptions including, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, and Paraguay. However, the largest number of adoptions were processed in Colombia. Many Latin American adoptions were fraught with irregularities. Regulations have resulted in the closure of international adoption programs in most Latin American countries.
The number of foreign children adopted by U.S. parents dropped almost 5 percent last year, continuing a steady decline that’s now extended for 12 years, according to the State Department.
The State Department report for the 2016 fiscal year shows 5,372 adoptions from abroad, down from 5,648 in 2015 and more than 76 percent below the high of 22,884 in 2004. The number has fallen every year since then. China, as is customary, accounted for the most children adopted in the U.S. Its total of 2,231 was down slightly from 2015 and far below a peak of 7,903 in 2005.
The State Department has identified three concerns causing some foreign countries to be wary of international adoption:
Illegal or unethical practices by some U.S. adoption agencies or adoption facilitators operating abroad.
Lack of comprehensive, nationwide laws that prevent adoptive parents from transferring custody of adopted children to another family without official authorization. This practice, known as re-homing, has often involved children adopted from abroad who prove more challenging to raise than the adoptive family had anticipated.
The failure of some U.S. families to complete required post-adoption reports.
Latin America Parents Association | Source
There are several support groups for families who are interested in adoption and for families raising adopted children. We belonged to LAPA (Latin America Parents Association) for several years and shared our story with several prospective parents. The support groups can be very helpful during the adoption process and for years afterward. For us, life became busy and we eventually lost contact with LAPA by the time Elizabeth was eight or nine years old.
Elizabeth del Consuelo Cruz
Elizabeth "Liz" today, still with that awesome smile
Years Pass Too Quickly
The years have gone by so quickly. Photo albums bring back memories of birthday parties, scouting, softball practice, vacation travels, holidays, high school, college, weddings and funerals. Our Elizabeth is in her late 30’s now, living in Minnesota where she is a nurse. She comes home when she knows her brother will be visiting with his children. She has grown into a responsible, caring woman and will always be a dear, much loved member of our family.
Liz with her parents at a family reunion on Cape Cod 2009 | Source
Colombian Adoption 2015
International Adoptions
Have you adopted a child from overseas?
No, but we are interested in an international adoption
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2 years ago from The Caribbean
What a success story! Wish all adoptions could turn out this way. Thanks for sharing the story of your love and compassion. So happy for Elizabeth and the entire family.
Ruby Jean Richert
2 years ago from Southern Illinois
This was such a beautiful and heartwarming story. I have never adopted a child, but I have a pin pal from a home for abused children. We are close, so I know how much love your family has to adopt a baby. Thank you for sharing your story.
Virginia Kearney
Wonderful story. We were among the surge of parents adopting from China in 2003 and again in 2005. Our two girls joined our family of 3 other children and we've been blessed not only by them but by all of the relationships we've formed with other families along the way. We still meet up with the other 8 families who adopted daughters from the same orphanage in 2005. We call them our "China Family" and we really do feel like family.
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George Edward Sellers, Canadian Virtual Memorial; http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/301416.
Henderson’s Greater Vancouver City Directory, 1916, page 891 [edited image].
George Edward Sellers was a motor engineer and realtor. He lived at 2046 Pendrell Street in 1916 and 1917.
George Edward Sellers was born at Ramalde, near Oporto, Portugal on March 13, 1886. (Oporto often appears as “Porto” in many sources.)
George Edward Sellers; birth register, British Consulate at Oporto, Portugal, http://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.item/?op=pdf&app=CEF&id=B8772-S034.
George’s father was George Henry Sellers, a wine exporter who lived from 1844 to 1888. George’s mother was Hilda Emma Kendall (1851-1920).
Victoria Daily Colonist, May 8, 1920, page 18, column 1; http://archive.org/stream/dailycolonist62y124uvic#page/n17/mode/1up.
Victoria Daily Colonist, May 9, 1920, page 7, column 5; http://archive.org/stream/dailycolonist62y125uvic#page/n6/mode/1up.
The Chilliwack Progress, May 20, 1920, page 2, column 4.
George in British Columbia
George sailed to Canada in July 1905. He landed at Quebec City, and his Canadian destination was Chilliwack, British Columbia.
“Canada Passenger Lists, 1881-1922,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2Q3H-K3L : 11 March 2018), Geo E Sellers, Jul 1905; citing Immigration, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, T-485, Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa, Ontario.
By 1910 he was living in Langley, where he was a real estate agent for the Vancouver firm of Hope, Graveley. (Further information on this firm appears on the page for Charles Edward Hope (1864-1949); https://westendvancouver.wordpress.com/biographies-a-m/biographies-h/hope-charles-edward-1864-1949/.)
The Chilliwack Progress, October 5, 1910, page 8, columns 4-5.
On April 27, 1911, in Vancouver, George married Ellen Coote. Although the marriage registration said that she was 28 (and, therefore, born about 1883), it appears that she was actually born on May 17, 1873, in Jesmond, Newcastle on Tyne, England. Her parents were Arthur Coote (1841-1906) and Janet McIntosh (1848–1906).
Ellen’s mother, Janet Coote, died in London, England, on February 28, 1906.
Ancestry.com. England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966, 1973-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: Principal Probate Registry. Calendar of the Grants of Probate and Letters of Administration made in the Probate Registries of the High Court of Justice in England. London, England © Crown copyright. Name: Janet Coote; Death Date: 28 Feb 1906; Death Place: Middlesex, England; Probate Date: 24 Apr 1906; Registry: London, England.
Arthur Coote was a director of an English shipbuilding firm. He was killed in a railway accident on June 23, 1906, near Glasgow, Scotland.
The Guardian (London, England); June 25, 1906, page 6, column 1.
Ancestry.com. England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966, 1973-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: Principal Probate Registry. Calendar of the Grants of Probate and Letters of Administration made in the Probate Registries of the High Court of Justice in England. London, England © Crown copyright. Name: Arthur Coote; Death Date: 22 Jun 1906; Death Place: Middlesex, England; Probate Date: 21 Aug 1906; Registry: London, England. [edited image].
George and Ellen lived in Fort Langley after their marriage.
On November 15, 1915, in Victoria, British Columbia, George enlisted with the Canadian Expeditionary Force to serve during the First World War. He was a lieutenant in the Canadian Reserve Cyclists. Both his attestation papers and the 1916 and 1917 Vancouver directories showed that he was living at 2046 Pendrell Street.
In December 1915, George left British Columbia to travel to England. Ellen and her two daughters, Kitty and Nancy, remained in Vancouver.
The Chilliwack Progress, December 23, 1915, page 8, column 3.
In the summer of 1916, Ellen and her daughters sailed from New York City to Liverpool, England.
The Chilliwack Progress, Thursday, June 29, 1916, page 4, column 2.
The National Archives of the UK; Kew, Surrey, England; Board of Trade: Commercial and Statistical Department and successors: Inwards Passenger Lists.; Class: BT26; Piece: 624; Item: 51. Ancestry.com. UK, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. Name: Ellen Sellers, Kitty J. Sellers, Nancy J. Sellers; Port of Departure: New York, New York, United States; Arrival date: 8 Jul 1916; Port of Arrival: Liverpool, England; Ship Name: Adriatic; Shipping line: White Star Dominion Line; Official Number: 124061.
After George went overseas, he was in a military hospital in England.
The Chilliwack Progress, April 26, 1917, page 1, column 3.
He later returned to active duty. He was killed in action on September 2, 1918.
Library and Archives Canada; War Graves Registers: Circumstances of Death; Box: 237; Ancestry.com. Canada, War Graves Registers (Circumstances of Casualty), 1914-1948 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Name: George Edward Sellers; Death Date: 2 Sep 1918; Rank: Lieutenant; Unit: Canadian Corps Cyclist Battalion; Cemetery: Tigris Lane British Cemetery; Cemetery Location: Wancourt, 3 1/2 Miles South East of Arras, France; Burial Place: Arras, France.
He was buried at Wancourt, Departement du Pas-de-Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France, Tigris Lane Cemetery.
In November 1918, Ellen returned to British Columbia. She stayed with George’s mother in Sardis.
The Chilliwack Progress, November 28, 1918, page 4, column 1.
Ellen died in Vancouver on March 1, 1920.
The Chilliwack Progress, March 4, 1920, page 1, column 4.
Ellen left her estate to her daughters, Kitty and Nancy.
Vancouver Daily World, March 22, 1922, page 1, column 1.
George and Ellen had the following children.
Kitty Joan Sellers
Kitty Joan Sellers was born on November 16, 1912, in Fort Langley, British Columbia.
On March 16, 1935, in Vernon, British Columbia, she married Noel Arthur Gillespie. He was born in Vernon on December 8, 1909. His parents were Robert Gillespie and Mary Agnes Watson. This marriage ended in divorce in Portland, Oregon on May 22, 1968.
Kitty died in Vernon on January 27, 1978. She was buried in Saint Mary’s Anglican United Church Cemetery in Sorrento, British Columbia.
Noel died on May 22, 2002.
Nancy Janet Sellers
Nancy Janet Sellers was born on January 12, 1915, in in British Columbia, possibly in Fort Langley.
In 1933, in Newcastle Upon Tyne, England, she married Anthony D. Forster.
Nancy died in England in 1987.
George’s Sisters
George had two sisters who lived in British Columbia.
Mabel Sellers: Sister of George Edward Sellers
Mabel Sellers was born at Oporto, Portugal, on October 12, 1877.
On June 4, 1913, in Sardis, British Columbia, she married Herbert Foster, who was a civil engineer. He was born at Shepherd’s-Well, Kent, England, on February 28, 1870. His parents were William Bodman Foster and Mary Ann Bradshaw.
The Chilliwack Progress, June 11, 1913, page 2, columns 1-2.
Herbert died at Mayne Island, British Columbia, on March 18, 1938.
Mabel died at Victoria, British Columbia on November 6, 1964.
Edith Sellers: Sister of George Edward Sellers
Edith Sellers was born at Oporto, Portugal, on November 23, 1879.
On August 11, 1923, in Victoria, British Columbia, she married Ivor Napier Austin, who was a bookkeeper. He was born in London, England, on October 20, 1881. His parents were Charles Napier Austin and Lucy Lindley.
“British Columbia, Victoria Times Birth, Marriage and Death Notices, 1901-1939,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2DS-WHHT : 15 March 2018), Edith Sellers and Ivor N Austin, Marriage , Foul Bay, Victoria Daily Times, August 13 1923, page 6.
Edith died in Victoria on October 8, 1955.
Ivor died in Victoria on April 27, 1958.
George Henry Sellers (father of George Edward Sellers)
Sellers Family (Tuke, Batty, Epworth); By genealogy.com user August 23, 2001 at 02:04:35; http://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/sellers/1450/: George Henry Sellers b. Aug. 24, 1844 married at Oporto Aug 21, 1873 to Hilda
George Henry Sellers; Birthdate: August 24, 1844 (44); Death: October 23, 1888 (44); https://www.geni.com/people/George-Sellers/6000000007395465305.
“Great Britain Deaths and Burials, 1778-1988,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XT8L-GTP : 10 February 2018), George Henry Sellers, ; citing , reference it 6 p 37, index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 1,647,594.
Hilda Emma Kendall (mother of George Edward Sellers)
Hilda Emily Custance Sellers (Kendall); https://www.geni.com/people/Hilda-Sellers/6000000007395380327: Birthdate: August 21, 1854 (65); Death: May 3, 1920 (65).
“Recensement du Canada de 1911,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV9P-1BF2 : 16 March 2018), Hilda Sellers, 1911; citing Census, New Westminster Sub-Districts 21-47, British Columbia, Canada, Library and Archives of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario; FHL microfilm 2,417,661.
George Edward Sellers
Chilliwack Museum and Archives, World War One Roll of Honour; Lieutenant George Edward Sellers; http://www.chilliwackmuseum.ca/war-memorial/WW1_S_names.html. [includes short biography and photograph of George Edward Sellers.]
George Edward Sellers (1886–1918); Birth 1886, Portugal; Death 2 SEP 1918, Arras, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France (ancestry.ca).
George Edward Kendall Sellers; https://www.geni.com/people/George-Sellers/6000000007395152922: Birthdate: 1886 (32); Death: 1918 (32). Husband of Ellen Sellers. Father of Kitty Joan Sellers and Nancy Janet Sellers.
“Great Britain, Births and Baptisms, 1571-1977,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XT8Q-FLL : 9 February 2018), George Edward Sellers, ; citing , reference item 6 p 28, index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 1,647,594.
“British Columbia Marriage Registrations, 1859-1932; 1937-1938,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JD8C-GDN : 11 March 2018), George Edward Sellers and Ellen Coote, 27 Apr 1911; citing Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, British Columbia Archives film number B11376, Vital Statistics Agency, Victoria; FHL microfilm 1,983,704.
“Recensement du Canada de 1911,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV9P-1GKM : 16 March 2018), Geo E Sellers, 1911; citing Census, New Westminster Sub-Districts 21-47, British Columbia, Canada, Library and Archives of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario; FHL microfilm 2,417,661.
Canadian Expeditionary Force; Name: Sellers, George Edward; Rank: LT; Date of Birth: 13/03/1886; Reference: RG 150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 8772 – 34; Item Number: 221332; Record Group: Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF); http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/personnel-records/Pages/item.aspx?IdNumber=221332; Digitized service file: B8772-S034; http://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.item/?op=pdf&app=CEF&id=B8772-S034.
The Canadian Virtual War Memorial (CVWM), George Edward Sellers, Canadian Virtual War Memorial, http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/301416: George Edward Sellers; In memory of Lieutenant George Edward Sellers, September 2, 1918; Military Service: Force: Army, Unit: Canadian Corps Cyclist Battalion. Burial Information: Cemetery: TIGRIS LANE CEMETERY ; Pas de Calais, France; Grave Reference: II. B. 7. Location: Wancourt is a village 1.5 kilometres south of the straight main road from Arras to Cambrai. TIGRIS LANE CEMETERY is on the north-east side of the road from Wancourt to Tilloy.”
“Find A Grave Index,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVVC-5T9D : 13 December 2015), George Edward Sellers, 1918; Burial, Wancourt, Departement du Pas-de-Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France, Tigris Lane Cemetery; citing record ID 15991523, Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/15991523: “Lieutenant George Edward Sellers; Birth: unknown; Death: 2 Sep 1918; Burial: Tigris Lane Cemetery; Wancourt, Departement du Pas-de-Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France; Plot: II. B. 7; Memorial ID: 15991523. Regiment/Service: Canadian Corps Cyclist Battalion”
Mabel Sellers (sister of George Edward Sellers)
“Recensement du Canada de 1911,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV9P-1BFL : 16 March 2018), Mable Sellers in entry for Hilda Sellers, 1911; citing Census, New Westminster Sub-Districts 21-47, British Columbia, Canada, Library and Archives of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario; FHL microfilm 2,417,661.
“British Columbia Marriage Registrations, 1859-1932; 1937-1938,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JDZD-HKY : 11 March 2018), Herbert Foster and Mabel Sellers, 04 Jun 1913; citing Sardis, British Columbia, Canada, British Columbia Archives film number B11371, Vital Statistics Agency, Victoria; FHL microfilm 1,983,528.
“British Columbia Death Registrations, 1872-1986; 1992-1993”, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FLTL-ZM1 : 8 November 2017), Mabel Foster, 1964; http://search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Image/Genealogy/284a3209-c4d4-4fb7-bc31-c3202323fd27.
Herbert Foster (husband of Mabel Sellers)
“British Columbia Marriage Registrations, 1859-1932; 1937-1938,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JDZD-H2M : 11 March 2018), Herbert Foster and Mabel Sellers, 04 Jun 1913; citing Sardis, British Columbia, Canada, British Columbia Archives film number B11371, Vital Statistics Agency, Victoria; FHL microfilm 1,983,528.
“British Columbia Death Registrations, 1872-1986; 1992-1993”, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FLGR-1RG : 8 November 2017), Herbert Foster, 1938.
Edith Sellers(sister of George Edward Sellers)
Edith Sellers (1880–1955); Birth about 1880, England [sic]; Death 8 OCT 1955, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada (ancestry.ca).
“Recensement du Canada de 1911,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV9P-1BFG : 16 March 2018), Edith Sellers in entry for Hilda Sellers, 1911; citing Census, New Westminster Sub-Districts 21-47, British Columbia, Canada, Library and Archives of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario; FHL microfilm 2,417,661.
“British Columbia Marriage Registrations, 1859-1932; 1937-1938,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JD8S-9QV : 11 March 2018), Ivor Napier Austin and Edith Sellers, 11 Aug 1923; citing Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, British Columbia Archives film number B13745, Vital Statistics Agency, Victoria; FHL microfilm 2,074,227.
“British Columbia, Victoria Times Birth, Marriage and Death Notices, 1901-1939,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2DS-WHHT : 15 March 2018), Edith Sellers and Ivor N Austin, Marriage , Foul Bay, Saint Philip, Barbados; from Victoria Daily Times news clippings, City of Victoria Archives, British Columbia, Canada; citing Victoria Daily Times, 13 Aug 1923; FHL microfilm 2,218,894.
“United States Census, 1930,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XCDH-KYS : accessed 2 April 2018), Edith Austin in household of Ivor N Austin, San Rafael, Marin, California, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 21, sheet 5A, line 15, family 153, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 176; FHL microfilm 2,339,911.
“British Columbia Death Registrations, 1872-1986; 1992-1993”, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FL5N-LR8 : 8 November 2017), Edith Austin, 1955; http://search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Image/Genealogy/3fc8a78a-309a-4725-83cc-55b5caf4b030.
Ivor Napier Austin (husband of Edith Sellers)
“England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2XJT-WHC : 1 October 2014), Ivor Napier Austin, 1881; from “England & Wales Births, 1837-2006,” database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing Birth Registration, Hackney, London, England, citing General Register Office, Southport, England.
“England and Wales Census, 1891,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QNWK-72M : 11 December 2017), Ivor N Austin in household of Charles N Austin, Penge, Surrey, England; from “1891 England, Scotland and Wales census,” database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 12, Surrey county, subdistrict, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.
“England and Wales Census, 1901,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X9KQ-67W : 8 April 2016), Ivor N Austin in household of Charles N Austin, Wavertree, Lancashire, England; from “1901 England, Scotland and Wales census,” database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing Wavertree subdistrict, PRO RG 13, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.
“Canada Passenger Lists, 1881-1922,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2QSD-SLV : 11 March 2018), Ivor N Austin, Jan 1908; citing Immigration, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, T-503, Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa, Ontario.
“Canada Passenger Lists, 1881-1922,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2H2R-1XG : 11 March 2018), Iver Napier Austin, Aug 1919; citing Immigration, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, T-14796, Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa, Ontario.
“British Columbia Marriage Registrations, 1859-1932; 1937-1938,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JD8S-9QL : 11 March 2018), Ivor Napier Austin and Edith Sellers, 11 Aug 1923; citing Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, British Columbia Archives film number B13745, Vital Statistics Agency, Victoria; FHL microfilm 2,074,227.
“United States Census, 1930,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XCDH-KY9 : accessed 2 April 2018), Ivor N Austin, San Rafael, Marin, California, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 21, sheet 5A, line 14, family 153, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 176; FHL microfilm 2,339,911.
“British Columbia Death Registrations, 1872-1986; 1992-1993”, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FL51-XL2 : 8 November 2017), Ivor Napier Austin, 1958; http://search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Image/Genealogy/df10b805-2bd2-44f3-a35c-1d4811a5f5b8.
“Find A Grave Index,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q291-L9YK : 15 March 2016), Ivor Napier Austin, 1958; Burial, Victoria, Capital Regional District, British Columbia, Canada, Royal Oak Burial Park Cemetery; citing record ID 154597069, Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/154597069: “Ivor Napier Austin; Birth: unknown; Death: 27 Apr 1958; Burial: Royal Oak Burial Park Cemetery, Victoria, Capital Regional District, British Columbia, Canada; Memorial ID: 154597069.”
Arthur Coote (father of Ellen Coote)
Grace’s Guide to British Industrial History, Arthur Coote; (1841-1906), https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Arthur_Coote: “Arthur Coote was born at St. Ives, Hunts., on 23rd March 1841. . . While travelling from Aberdeen to Glasgow to attend the launch of H.M.S. “Agamemnon,” which vessel was being engined by his firm, he was killed in a railway accident near Glasgow, on the 22nd June 1906, at the age of sixty-five.”
“England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2N9T-9H3 : 1 October 2014), Arthur Coote, 1841; from “England & Wales Births, 1837-2006,” database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing Birth Registration, St. Ives, Huntingdonshire, England, citing General Register Office, Southport, England.
“England and Wales Census, 1841,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M77L-ZD2 : 13 December 2017), Arthur Coote in household of Thomas Coote, Fenstanton, Huntingdonshire, England; from “1841 England, Scotland and Wales census,” database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO HO 107, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.
“England and Wales Census, 1851,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:SGRQ-RVN : 8 November 2017), Arthur Coote in household of Thomas Coote, Fenstanton, Huntingdonshire, England; citing Fenstanton, Huntingdonshire, England, p. 21, from “1851 England, Scotland and Wales census,” database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO HO 107, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.
“England and Wales Census, 1861,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M7RJ-FX3 : 12 December 2017), Arthur Coote in household of Thomas Coote, Fen Stanton, Huntingdonshire, England; from “1861 England, Scotland and Wales census,” database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 9, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.
“England and Wales Marriage Registration Index, 1837-2005,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2DKC-SKQ : 13 December 2014), Arthur Coote, 1867; from “England & Wales Marriages, 1837-2005,” database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing 1867, quarter 4, vol. 10B, p. 251, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland, England, General Register Office, Southport, England.
“England and Wales Census, 1871”, database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V5BB-FHL : 11 December 2017), Arthur Coole, 1871.
“England and Wales Census, 1881,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2WM-9NP2 : 13 December 2017), Arthur Coote, Jesmond, Northumberland, England; from “1881 England, Scotland and Wales Census,” database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing p. 2, Piece/Folio 5069/138, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey; FHL microfilm 101,775,405.
“England and Wales Census, 1891,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:HSJJ-7W2 : 11 December 2017), Arthur Coate, Jesmond, Northumberland, England; from “1891 England, Scotland and Wales census,” database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 12, Northumberland county, subdistrict, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.
“England and Wales Census, 1901,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XS9S-LW4 : 8 April 2016), Arthur Coote, Jesmond, Northumberland, England; from “1901 England, Scotland and Wales census,” database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing St Andrew subdistrict, PRO RG 13, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.
Janet McIntosh (mother of Ellen Coote)
Janet MacIntosh (1848–1906); Birth 1848, Scotland adopted; Death 28 FEB 1906, Greater London, London, Middlesex, United Kingdom (ancestry.ca).
“England and Wales Marriage Registration Index, 1837-2005,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2DKZ-JST : 13 December 2014), Janet Mackintosh, 1867; from “England & Wales Marriages, 1837-2005,” database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing 1867, quarter 4, vol. 10B, p. 251, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland, England, General Register Office, Southport, England.
“England and Wales Census, 1871”, database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V5BB-FHG : 11 December 2017), Janet Coole in entry for Arthur Coole, 1871.
“England and Wales Census, 1881,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2WM-9N56 : 13 December 2017), Janet Coote in household of Arthur Coote, Jesmond, Northumberland, England; from “1881 England, Scotland and Wales Census,” database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing p. 2, Piece/Folio 5069/138, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey; FHL microfilm 101,775,405.
“England and Wales Census, 1891,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:H9GX-RT2 : 11 December 2017), Janet Coate in household of Arthur Coate, Jesmond, Northumberland, England; from “1891 England, Scotland and Wales census,” database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 12, Northumberland county, subdistrict, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.
“England and Wales Census, 1901,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XS9S-LWH : 8 April 2016), Janet Coote in household of Arthur Coote, Jesmond, Northumberland, England; from “1901 England, Scotland and Wales census,” database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing St Andrew subdistrict, PRO RG 13, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.
“England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2NYG-K8C : 31 December 2014), Janet Coote, 1906; from “England & Wales Deaths, 1837-2006,” database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing Death, Kensington, London, England, General Register Office, Southport, England.
Ellen Coote (wife of George Edward Sellers)
“England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2XCH-M2Q : 1 October 2014), Ellen Coote, 1873; from “England & Wales Births, 1837-2006,” database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing Birth Registration, Tynemouth, Northumberland, England, citing General Register Office, Southport, England.
“England and Wales Census, 1881,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2WM-9NTM : 13 December 2017), Ellen Coote in household of Arthur Coote, Jesmond, Northumberland, England; from “1881 England, Scotland and Wales Census,” database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing p. 2, Piece/Folio 5069/138, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey; FHL microfilm 101,775,405.
“England and Wales Census, 1901,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XS9S-LWC : 8 April 2016), Ellen Coote in household of Arthur Coote, Jesmond, Northumberland, England; from “1901 England, Scotland and Wales census,” database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing St Andrew subdistrict, PRO RG 13, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.
“British Columbia Marriage Registrations, 1859-1932; 1937-1938,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JD8C-GD6 : 11 March 2018), George Edward Sellers and Ellen Coote, 27 Apr 1911; citing Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, British Columbia Archives film number B11376, Vital Statistics Agency, Victoria; FHL microfilm 1,983,704.
“Recensement du Canada de 1911,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV9P-1GK9 : 16 March 2018), Helen Sellers in entry for Geo E Sellers, 1911; citing Census, New Westminster Sub-Districts 21-47, British Columbia, Canada, Library and Archives of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario; FHL microfilm 2,417,661.
“British Columbia Death Registrations, 1872-1986; 1992-1993”, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FLKF-BMQ : 8 November 2017), Ellen Sellers, 1920.
Supreme Court of British Columbia (Vancouver), Probate file of Ellen Sellers, Probate P – 06532; microfilm reel B08434; Accession number(s): 91-4202
First page of probate file (first of two files); [image 2375 of 2797]: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L97Z-LFW?i=2374&wc=M69J-S29%3A332530701%2C332530502%2C333293801&cc=2014768; second page of probate file (first of two files); [image 2463 of 2797]: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-997Z-L9B?i=2462&wc=M69J-S29%3A332530701%2C332530502%2C333293801&cc=2014768; first page of probate file (second of two files); [image 2463 of 2797]: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G97Z-LG?i=2463&wc=M69J-S29%3A332530701%2C332530502%2C333293801&cc=2014768; second page of probate file (second of two files); [image 2527 of 2797]: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G97Z-2NR5?i=2526&wc=M69J-S29%3A332530701%2C332530502%2C333293801&cc=2014768.
Kitty Joan Sellers (daughter of George Edward Sellers)
The National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; Manifests of Alien Arrivals in the Seattle, Washington District; NAI: 2953576; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787 – 2004; Record Group Number: 85; Series Number: A4107; Roll Number: 035. Ancestry.com. U.S., Border Crossings from Canada to U.S., 1895-1960 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Name: Kitty Joan Sellers; Gender: Female; Age: 21; Marital Status: Single; Birth Date: abt 1913; Birth Place: Langley, B. C.; Arrival date: 2 Jan 1934; Port of Arrival: Seattle, Washington, USA; Ship Name: S.S Aurania; Residence Place: Vernon, B. C.; Record Type: Manifests.
British Columbia Marriage Registrations; Registration Number: 1935-09-423733; Noel Arthur Gillespie and Joan Sellers; BC Archives Microfilm Number: B13769; GSU Microfilm Number: 2135988; date of marriage: March 16, 1935; place of marriage: Vernon; http://search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Image/Genealogy/5d800fae-7b33-442b-af0b-019a0e68f04c.
Ancestry.com. Oregon, Divorce Records, 1961-1985 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data: Oregon Divorce Records, 1961-1985. Oregon Center for Health Statistics, Portland, Oregon. Name: Kitty Gillespie; Gender: Female; Divorce Date: 22 May 1968; Divorce Place: Multnomah, Oregon, USA; Spouse: Noel Gillespie; Spouse Gender: Male; Certificate Number: 03025.
“British Columbia Death Registrations, 1872-1986; 1992-1993”, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FL1W-TYG : 8 November 2017), Kitty Joan Gillespie, 1978; http://search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Image/Genealogy/be6fa048-b263-4b87-8bc1-e244f8c3cfca.
“Find A Grave Index,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVGH-KNKC : 13 December 2015), K. Joan Gillespie, ; Burial, Sorrento, Columbia-Shuswap Regional District, British Columbia, Canada, Sorrento Community Cemetery; citing record ID 121544098, Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/121544098: “K. Joan Gillespie; Birth: 1912; Death: 1978 (aged 65–66); Burial: Saint Mary’s Anglican United Church Cemetery, Sorrento, Columbia-Shuswap Regional District, British Columbia, Canada; Plot: Block: 5 Plot: 017; Memorial ID: 121544098.”
Noel Arthur Gillespie (husband of Kitty Joan Sellers)
Ancestry.com. Oregon, Divorce Records, 1961-1985 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data: Oregon Divorce Records, 1961-1985. Oregon Center for Health Statistics, Portland, Oregon. Name: Noel Gillespie; Gender: Male; Divorce Date: 22 May 1968; Divorce Place: Multnomah, Oregon, USA; Spouse: Kitty Gillespie; Spouse Gender: Female; Certificate Number: 03025
“United States Public Records, 1970-2009,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2MM7-NV6 : 23 May 2014), Noel Arthur Gillespie, Residence, Portland, Oregon, United States; a third party aggregator of publicly available information.
“United States Social Security Death Index,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JLBG-H6B : 20 May 2014), Noel A Gillespie, 22 May 2002; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).
Anne Gillian Gillespie (daughter of Kitty Joan Sellers)
“British Columbia Death Registrations, 1872-1986; 1992-1993”, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FLGR-RB4 : 8 November 2017), Anne Gillian Gillespie, 1938.
Nancy Janet Sellers (daughter of George Edward Sellers)
“England and Wales Marriage Registration Index, 1837-2005,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV84-X8VG : 8 October 2014), Nancy J Sellers and null, 1933; from “England & Wales Marriages, 1837-2005,” database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing 1933, quarter 4, vol. 10B, p. 250, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland, England, General Register Office, Southport, England.
“England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVZ7-1X48 : 4 September 2014), Nancy Janet Forster, Feb 1987; from “England & Wales Deaths, 1837-2006,” database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing Death Registration, Camden, London, England, General Register Office, Southport, England.
Anthony D. Forster (husband of Nancy Janet Forster)
“England and Wales Marriage Registration Index, 1837-2005,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV84-H89T : 8 October 2014), Anthony D Forster and null, 1933; from “England & Wales Marriages, 1837-2005,” database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing 1933, quarter 4, vol. 10B, p. 250, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland, England, General Register Office, Southport, England.
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Angkor: Managing Success
The millennial temples of Angkor with their monumental architecture, infinitely fine bas-reliefs, enduring spiritual significance and complex irrigation system constitute one of the most impressive success stories of the World Heritage Convention. The symbol of a whole nation, the 400km2 site lay fallow in the early 1990s. While monks continued to pray at many temples in the site, ...
Five World Heritage sites in Azerbaijan and Belgium granted “enhanced protection” in the event of armed conflict
Two World Heritage sites in Azerbaijan and three in Belgium have been given "enhanced protection" status by the Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, which held its eighth meeting at UNESCO Headquarters from 18-19 December 2013. The properties, which have been granted this status, are the Walled City of Baku with the Shirvanshah’s Palace and ...
Happy New Year from the UNESCO World Heritage Centre
Happy New Year from the UNESCO World Heritage Centre International Year of Small Island Developing States (SIDS)World Heritage fosters sustainable development. For SIDS, sustainable development is not a choice, but a question of survival.-->
UNESCO publishes proceedings of the International Colloquium on the World Heritage Earthen Architecture Programme (WHEAP)
The proceedings of the International Colloquium on the conservation of World Heritage Earthen Architecture have been published in the latest edition of the UNESCO World Heritage Paper Series: Earthen Architecture in Today’s World, thanks to the generous support of the Italian Funds in Trust to UNESCO. The Colloquium took place at UNESCO Headquarters on 17 and 18 December 2012 - the ...
A cultural centre and museum to be built at the Bamiyan World Heritage Site
The World Heritage site in Bamiyan has received further support today with the Government of the Republic of Korea committing to provide US$5.4 to build a museum and cultural centre. The signing of the agreement saw the participation of H.E. Dr. Sayed Makhdoum Raheen, Minister of Information and Culture, H.E. Mr. Cha Youngcheol, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Afghanistan, and Mr. ...
UNESCO expert mission assesses recovery measures after Philippines disasters
UNESCO dispatched an expert mission to the Philippines from 4 to 11 December following the massive earthquake and powerful typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda), which successively struck the central region of the country in October and early November 2013. The goal of the mission was to assist the Government and people of the Philippines in assessing the impact of the disasters on immovable, movable, and ...
Panasonic World Heritage 2014 Calendar in paper, online and tablet PC app formats now available
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre and Panasonic Corporation have released the 2014 World Heritage calendar. Featuring stunning photographs of World Heritage sites from around the world, this popular calendar can be used in paper, online and tablet app versions. UNESCO and Panasonic have been creating wall calendars since 1995 and a web version since 2010. The wall calendar includes brief ...
28 students from 11 countries recognized at UNESCO for their work on preserving the environment
Ádám Riba, from Hungary, the laureate of this year’s Panasonic Eco Picture Diary award, was one of the 28 children from 11 countries who were given a three-day trip to Paris and a visit to UNESCO for their participation in the Eco Picture Diary on 5 December. Three-hundred thousand children from all over the world took part in the contest which requires children ...
Nelson Mandela “a giant among men” says Director-General
UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova today paid tribute to former South African President Nelson Mandela, who died on Thursday night, 5 December. “Nelson Mandela was truly a giant among men,” Irina Bokova said. “He not only changed South Africa’s history, he changed the world and made it a better place. He taught us all a lesson on the power of peace and reconciliation; the importance of ...
Download the new World Heritage magazine app – free for a limited time!
Available for iPad, Android and Kindle Fire tablets, this new app allows you to download World Heritage magazine. Lavishly illustrated, and published quarterly since 1996 in English, French and Spanish, World Heritage is UNESCO’s official publication devoted to sites inscribed on the World Heritage List and their conservation. With the app, not only can you read exclusive articles ...
"Benefits Beyond Boundaries" published in French, Korean
Published on the 40th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention, this thematic collection of case studies provides a thorough understanding of World Heritage sites and their Outstanding Universal Value in the context of sustainable development. It is now available in French and Korean versions. The case studies describe twenty-six thematically, typologically and regionally diverse World ...
Mobilizing living heritage for sustainable development
The 24 members of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage will meet in Baku (Azerbaijan) from 2 to 7 December 2013 for the eighth ordinary session to review the progress made by the States Parties on the legal, regulatory and institutional measures taken to safeguard the intangible cultural heritage in their countries. Over ...
World Heritage Volunteers 2014 - Action for Sustainability
Are you a youth organization and want to sensitize young people about the value of World Heritage sites? Or are you an NGO and wish to organize an action camp to preserve and promote a World Heritage site, with young international volunteers? Here is a way to do so! We are pleased to announce the call for proposals for the World Heritage Volunteers (WHV) 2014. This year the campaign ...
Heritage protection efforts underway after natural disasters in Philippines
A massive earthquake and powerful typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) successively struck central Philippines in October and early November 2013, causing catastrophic destruction and human loss. The UNESCO World Heritage Centre has expressed its deepest sympathy to the Government and people of the Philippines for their tragic losses, and conveyed its commitment to support their recovery ...
Cocos Island National Park receives exceptional donation from Jaeger-LeCoultre
On 27 November, Swiss watch manufacturer Jaeger-LeCoultre, a partner of the World Heritage Centre, donated 30,000 Euros for the preservation of Cocos Island National Park. This World Heritage marine site is located 550 km off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica and is the only island in the tropical eastern Pacific with a tropical rainforest. The donation will be used to improve the conditions ...
UNESCO strengthens cooperation with the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)
UNWTO is the specialized agency of the United Nations in charge of promoting a responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. A new memorandum of Understanding was signed by UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova and UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai, in the margins of the UN System Chief Executives Board for Coordination in New York. The Agreement provides a framework for ...
Twelve new members elected to World Heritage Committee
On 19 November, representatives of the 190 States Parties to the 1972 World Heritage Convention elected 12 new members to the 21-member intergovernmental Committee in charge of managing UNESCO’s World Heritage List and implementing the Convention. The new members of the World Heritage Committee, elected for four years, are: Croatia, Finland, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, ...
40th anniversary: Proceedings of the Closing Event published
Celebrating 40 years of the World Heritage Convention, the proceedings of the Closing Event of the Celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the World Heritage Convention, has been published. This electronic publication provides the vivid record of the three-day landmark event, which was organized jointly by the Government of Japan and UNESCO World Heritage Centre, in Kyoto, Japan, 6-8 November ...
'Managing Cultural World Heritage' reference manual published
This manual provides guidance for States Parties and all those involved in the care of World Heritage cultural properties on how to comply with the requirements of the World Heritage Convention. It also aims to help States Parties to ensure that heritage has a dynamic role in society and harnesses, but also delivers to others, the mutual benefits that such a role can create. Managing ...
New database : State of Conservation of World Heritage properties
The significant number of reports prepared by UNESCO and the Advisory Bodies to the World Heritage Committee represents an exceptional documentation on conservation issues, one of the most comprehensive monitoring systems of any international conventions, through a global network of hundreds of sites. The Information System is a comprehensive database on the state of conservation of World ...
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Church of Our Lady of the Presentation of Beça
Implanted in the middle of the village of Beça, within an enclosure delimited by a wall, with a granite access staircase. The church of Our Lady of the Presentation is a unique example of religious architecture in Baroque style, highlighted by the elegance of the façade and the quality of stone work.
With the passage of time it underwent restoration and expansion works, where the works carried out in the 60’s (20th century) were highlighted, giving it the current configuration.
In the church the Sunday masses are celebrated, except during the month of August when they are celebrated in the Church of S. Bartolomeu, and the religious offices of the Feast of S. Brás that, annually, is realized on the first Sunday of February.
Group bookings by phone (+351) 276 410 200
The church is located in the village of Beça 6 km (10 minutes by car) from the county seat via R311 (direction Salto) and M529.
Source: Câmara Municipal de Boticas 2010, Boticas: Património com História, Boticas / Photography: TR
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1812 Chalmers’ Biography / UV / Justus Vondel (Netherlands; 1587–1679) [vol. 30, p. 428]
The horizontal line represents the person’s life.1587 - born1679 - died
Vondel, Justus
, a very celebrated Dutch poet, was born Nov. 17, 1587. He was bred an anabaptist; afterwards joined the Arminians, for whose defence he employed his pen with great zeal; and in his old age turned Roman Catholic. His verses, it is said, would have equalled those of the greatest poets, had he been acquainted with the ancients; but he had no other master than his own genius, and did not begin to learn Latin till he was near thirty. Vondel married Mary de Wolf in 1610, and opened a hosier’s shop at Amsterdam, leaving however all the care of it to his wife, while he was wholly occupied with poetry. The profligacy of his son having at length deranged his affairs, he obtained a place worth 650 livres yearly, but discharged the business of it so negligently, that in compassion to his situation he was permitted to keep the place as a sinecure. He died February 5, 1679, in his ninety-second year. Vondel’s poems have been collected in 9 vols. 4to. The most celebrated are, “The Park of Animals;” “The Heroes of God;” “The Destruction of Jerusalem,” a tragedy; “The Grandeur of Solomon;” Jl1 Palamede, or Innocence oppressed,“a celebrated tragedy, which he wrote while an Arminian. By Palamede he meant the famous Barneveldt, who was condemned to death by prince Maurice. Vondel exclaims in this piece against both the prince and the synod of Dort, in terms which sufficiently point them out, and was near being carried to the Hague, and tried in consequence of it; but some magistrates saved him, and he escaped by paying a fine of 300 florins. He wrote also satires against the protestant ministers, full of passion and invective; and a poem in favour of the catholic church, entitled” The Mysteries, or Secrets of the Altar," &c. He translated one of Grotius’s tragedies into Dutch, on which that celebrated writer expressed a high sense of Venders friendship, in condescending to translate his works, when he could write much better of his own. 1
1 Moreri. —Dict. Hist.
Voisin, Joseph De (?–1685)
Voiture, Vincent (1598–1648)
Volkof, Feodor (1729–?)
Voltaire, Marie-Francis Arouet De (1694–1749)
Volterra, Daniele Di (1509–1566)
Vondel, Justus (1587–1679)
Vopiscus, Flavius
Voragine
Vorstius, Conrade (1569–?)
Vos, Martin De (1520–1604)
Vossius, Gerard-John (1577–1607)
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AAFE Opens Jackson Heights Office; Rep. Ocasio-Cortez Joins Ribbon Cutting Celebration
AAFE) opened a new Community Services Center in Jackson Heights, Queens April 16, with U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez joining other elected officials and community leaders in a ribbon cutting ceremony.
The office will offer expanded housing, immigration, senior and small business programs in one of New York City’s most dynamic neighborhoods. The ADA-accessible space is located at 37-61 84th St., near Roosevelt Avenue.
In remarks before the ribbon cutting, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez said, “I’m just proud to be a part of this community.” The newly elected representative from the 14th Congressional District, including the Bronx and sections of Queens, has quickly become one of the highest profile political figures nationwide. Last month, she opened a district office in Jackson Heights. “We just moved in a couple blocks down,”noted Ocasio-Cortez, referencing other elected officials with a presence in the neighborhood. “What is lovely is that we’re really generating a beautiful ecosystem of advocacy here in Jackson Heights.
AAFE Co-Executive Director Thomas Yu greets Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
AAFE client Fang Shu Jiu speaks about the help he received from our counselors in Jackson Heights.
In a recent Congressional hearing, Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez highlighted the case of a family in her district who faced harassment from their landlord, due to their immigration status. AAFE had brought this case to the attention of the Congresswoman’s office. This type of information sharing from grassroots organizers to members of Congress is critical, said Ocasio-Cortez. She explained, “(It’s so important) for all of our organizers here in this community to hold these stories, to know what’s going on, to stay in touch, to be responsive, to care — so that when we try to be advocates down in D.C… those stories can be told.”
AAFE offers community services from offices in Lower Manhattan, as well as Flushing and Jackson Heights in Queens. Counselors are available to help tenants defend their right to safe and affordable housing, assist community members with U.S. citizenship applications, apply for government benefits and secure affordable health care AAFE has operated a Jackson Heights office for several years, but the new location is more accessible and visible to the community. Services are available in multiple languages, including Chinese and Spanish.
AAFE’s small business affiliate, Renaissance Economic Development Corporation (REDC) also offers services in the Jackson Heights location, including low-interest loans and technical training.
State Sen. Jessica Ramos spoke just before the ribbon cutting.
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez took the time for some “selfies” with guests at the ribbon cutting celebration.
AAFE Co-Executive Director Thomas Yu said, “AAFE has always believed that New York’s immigrant communities rise together.This office is emblematic of our commitment to serve an increasingly diverse population.” He added, “We’re here to provide services, especially in an atmosphere where our immigrant communities, low-income communities, communities of color are under attack.We’re here to say we’re not invisible, and we’ll fight back.”
State Senators Toby Ann Stavisky and Jessica Ramos also attended the ribbon cutting. Stavisky said, “I know AAFE is going to continue to (provide services to all in need) in the remarkable way that you’ve done for 45 years… I look forward to working with you here and also in Flushing (where AAFE has two community offices).”
“When there are so many forces trying to divide us,” added Sen. Ramos, “I think it’s more important than ever that we support the expansion of community based organizations that have done such great work and that work to help everyone find the dignity in themselves.”
Ramos noted that AAFE has been a longtime advocate for affordable housing, equitable public transportation and for quality schools in every community. “These are all fights that AAFE has been in — helping working class New Yorkers… I’m looking forward to fighting alongside you in the trenches.”
The new office will be hosting a robust series of events this spring and summer, offering free resources for the community. They include:
April 25, 6:30 p.m. – Tenant Rights Workshop: Topics to be covered include fair housing requirements, options for affordable housing, strategies for coping with rent increases and maintenance issues in your building.
May 9, 9:30 a.m.-noon – Senior Benefits Day: Community members will be able to access reduced fare Metrocards, learn about naturalization applications, receive help with Medicare and Medicaid applications, and ask questions about other common issues.
May 2, 6 p.m. – REDC Small Business Series: This three part class, offered in Spanish only, will provide training for local entrepreneurs. Topics include: accessing capital, social media/marketing and running an online store.
To register for the Tenant Rights Workshop and Senior Benefits Day, residents should call 718-316-9993. For the Small Business Series, they should contact Elizabeth Au-Hing at 212-964-2288.
See the video embedded below for Rep, Ocasio-Cortez’s full remarks:
PreviousJob Posting: Youth Organizer
NextAAFE Youth Take Part in Annual Flushing Career Conference
ANHD Rallies for Mandatory Inclusionary Zoning
AAFE Urges Landlord at 128 Hester St. to Finally Compensate Displaced Tenants
Flushing High School Students Engage in Financial Workshop and Youth Leader Panel
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New Guidelines on Daily Aspirin for Heart Health
Plans & Savings
Side Effects & Safety
Drugs Index A-Z
How to Follow the New Advice on Daily Aspirin
Guidelines have changed; here's what you need to know. Plus, why you can't stop the drug cold turkey
by Hallie Levine, AARP, March 26, 2019 | Comments: 0
CHARLES GATEWOOD/GETTY IMAGES
En español | More than half of all adults between the ages of 45 and 75 report taking an aspirin every day, according to a 2015 study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. And for years doctors have recommended an aspirin a day for otherwise healthy older adults to help keep heart attacks at bay. Within the past year, however, the thinking has changed dramatically, says Leslie Cho, M.D., section head for preventive cardiology and cardiac rehabilitation at the Cleveland Clinic.
“The trials that established aspirin for primary prevention were done way before we had high-potent medications to help lower cholesterol, like statins,” she explains. “Now, newer research shows that the risks for most people probably outweigh the benefits.” A study funded by the National Institutes of Health of more than 19,000 people over age 70, published last year in The New England Journal of Medicine, found that a daily aspirin didn’t reduce the risk of heart attack, dementia or stroke but did increase rates of GI bleeding by an alarming 38 percent. And earlier this month, the American College of Cardiology published new guidelines recommending against routinely giving aspirin to older adults who don't have a history of heart disease.
But there are still some people who need to take an aspirin every day. “Patients have been calling nonstop over the last week, confused as to whether or not they still need to take their aspirin,” says Nieca Goldberg, a cardiologist at New York University and director of the NYU Langone Joan H. Tisch Center for Women's Health. Here’s what you need to know.
Do take a daily aspirin if you’ve already had a heart attack or stroke or have existing heart disease. “In these people there’s clear evidence that it significantly lowers their risk of a second cardiovascular event,” Goldberg explains. This is because aspirin is an antiplatelet medication, which means it prevents your platelets from clumping together and forming blood clots that can trigger a heart attack or stroke. You also need aspirin if you already have heart disease. “You may not have been hospitalized for heart surgery, for example, but if you’ve had a coronary calcium scan and there’s plaque in your arteries, then you’re considered to have heart disease,” she says. In these cases you’ll still benefit from aspirin.
Don't take a daily aspirin if you’re over 70 and don't have heart disease (including a past heart attack or stroke). People in this group have a much higher risk of GI bleeding than younger individuals, says Cho, so it’s not likely that they’ll see much benefit. A 2017 study published in The Lancet found the risk of potentially life-threatening GI bleeding was highest in those over age 75.
Also important: Don’t stop taking a daily aspirin cold turkey. It can create a rebound effect that can trigger a heart attack, especially if you’ve already suffered one before. A 2017 Swedish study, published in the journal Circulation, found that abruptly stopping a daily aspirin raised the risk of a heart attack or stroke by 37 percent.
For expert tips to help you feel your best, get AARP’s monthly Health newsletter.
Do consider a daily aspirin if you’re between the ages of 40 and 70 and have clear risk factors for heart disease. This includes anyone who is having a hard time getting blood pressure or cholesterol under control, even with medication, or has poorly controlled diabetes, Cho says. You may also want to consider regularly taking aspirin if you have a very strong family history — that means having a father, grandfather or brother who was diagnosed with heart disease before age 55, or a mother, grandmother or sister who was diagnosed before age 65. “You’re not at increased risk if your mother had heart disease at age 80 — that’s just due to old age,” Cho notes.
Don't consider a daily aspirin if you have a history of GI bleeding or a history of ulcers, even if you have some of the above risk factors. You and your doctor should look at other ways to lower your heart disease risk, says Cho, like weight loss, a healthy diet, and keeping other conditions, such as high blood pressure or diabetes, under control.
If you are already taking aspirin (or are considering starting it), there are steps you can take to reduce the risk of GI bleeding, Cho adds. These include taking a coated aspirin, which is less likely to cause stomach irritation and thus trigger a bleed, and always taking the drug with a meal or a hearty snack. To further limit risk, your doctor will usually recommend taking the lowest dose possible, which is usually 81 mg. You should also limit your use of ibuprofen and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs), as these can increase stomach bleeding. (If you must take one, check with your physician first — most recommend waiting at least two hours after you’ve taken an aspirin.) It’s a good idea to avoid supplements that increase your bleeding risk, such as omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil) and evening primrose oil.
If you notice symptoms of a GI bleed — namely, black, tarry bowel movements or blood in your stool — see your doctor immediately. If you’re taking aspirin daily, Cho says, your physician should be running periodic lab tests on you to check for bleeding, including tests for anemia.
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France opens manslaughter inquiry into EgyptAir crash
PARIS (AP) — French authorities opened a manslaughter inquiry Monday into the May crash of an EgyptAir plane that killed 66 people, saying there is no evidence so far to link it to terrorism.
Prosecutor's office spokesman Agnes Thibault-Lecuivre said the inquiry was launched as an accident investigation, not a terrorism investigation. She said French authorities are "not at all" favoring the theory that the plane was downed deliberately, though the status of the inquiry could eventually change if evidence emerges to that effect.
Investigators decided to start the probe before waiting to analyze the plane's flight data and voice recorders, based on evidence gathered so far, she said, without elaborating.
EgyptAir Flight 804, an Airbus A320 en route from Paris to Cairo, slammed into the Mediterranean on May 19. The reason for the crash remains unclear. The pilots made no distress call and no group has claimed to have brought down the aircraft.
An Egyptian official at the ministry of civil aviation said Egyptian authorities haven't been notified of the French prosecutor's decision and that all scenarios remain on the table.
"There is no evidence that backs up or rules out any of the possible scenarios of what caused the crash, including whether it is a terrorist act or technical problems," he said.
The Egyptian investigation committee is in charge of issuing a final report, but France can also investigate because the plane was manufactured by France-based Airbus and French citizens were among those killed.
Search teams have recovered its two flight recorders, but they suffered damage and Egyptian investigators were unable to download information from the black boxes. The recorders' memory cards arrived Monday in Paris, Egyptian investigators said.
Technicians at France's air accident investigation agency, the BEA, will attempt to clean and repair the boxes and then send them back to Egypt for analysis, BEA spokesman Sebastien Barthe said.
In a statement issued late Monday, the Egyptian investigation committee said that the flight data recorder has been fully repaired.
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DSS Blog Home
DSS Website
Day of DH 2017
April 20, 2017 / Zach / 0 Comments
You already know that Digital Scholarship Services helps NYU faculty and students incorporate digital scholarship tools and methods into their research and teaching. We help you to plan, analyze, visualize, store, share, and publish your digital projects.
But you may not know that we are also scholars and creators. We publish, present, and share our work in many different venues, and our research is a very important part of who we are and what we do both in and outside of NYU.
For Day of DH 2017, we want to give you a glimpse into some of the work that our DSS team has been involved in over the past year.
And new for this year’s Day of DH, we have collaborated with our partners at NYU Abu Dhabi and NYU Shanghai global. Be sure to check out their posts!
– Day of DH at the Center for Digital Scholarship at the NYU Abu Dhabi Library
– Day of DH at the NYU Shanghai Research and Instructional Technology Services
Scholarly Communications Librarian April Hathcock has been involved in two exciting projects aimed at opening scholarship within the library profession and in the global sphere, respectively. Idealis, launched in March of this year, is an open scholarship portal for aggregating and highlighting quality scholarship dealing with scholarly communication issues. Powered by the PressForward WordPress plugin, Idealis relies on the volunteer work of scholarly communications experts to find, bookmark, and post about new open scholarship in the field. Anyone interested in working as an editor can apply on the Idealis site. In terms of global open scholarship, April has also been part of the Force11 Scholarly Commons Self-Critique Working Group. The aim of the group is to examine ways to make discussions about scholarly communication and science communication standards more equitable and inclusive on a global scale. An offshoot of the Force11 Scholarly Commons committee, which has been crafting a set of principles for the publication of open scholarship, the Self-Critique working group looks to provide guidance and best practices for ensuring that any proposed principles for global open scholarship incorporate the perspectives of scholars from all over the world and not just the more privileged areas, like North America and Europe. To this end, the Self-Critique Working Group has made great effort to encourage linguistic equity in their work, hosting a Spanish-speaking open call to discuss scholarly communication from the perspectives of Latin American scholars; another call, this one in French and focused on the perspectives of Francophone-African scholars, is forthcoming. All calls, and indeed all the work of the Self-Critique WG is open to anyone to participate; documentation and information on future events (in multiple languages) can be found on the site.
Nicholas Wolf, Research Data Management Librarian, has been a co-lead on the NewYorkScapes project, an effort to build community research activity around the cultural and literary history of the city of New York with a special emphasis on digital projects. The project will unveil a new and updated website this spring (the old–and eventually the new–site can be found at newyorkscapes.org) and has been partnering with NYU’s College of Arts and Sciences and the Brooklyn developer team Whirl-i-Gig to produce new software for teaching/research data management and and collective data authoring. As part of the building of data for teaching and research for NewYorkScapes, he has also been working with members of the NYPL Space/Time project to complete new datasets extracted from the city’s historic directories. On a related data front, he has been working with Dr. Marion Casey of Ireland House on an NYU University Research Challenge Grant funded project to clean and publish data emerging out of mid nineteenth-century Emigrant Savings Bank account books, unique archival sources that document the demographic features of the city’s transatlantic immigrants.
Stephen Balogh, Data Services Specialist, has working been recently with colleagues in Data Services and Digital Library Technology Services to expand support for new types of geospatial data in NYU’s Spatial Data Repository (to include 3D data, for instance), and in building data models and UI features to represent more diverse types of connections between datasets on the platform. This coincides with work being done on Federal government data “rescue” efforts; Stephen has recently been helping to create a framework for bringing government datasets into the Spatial Data Repository environment while preserving the context from which that data was collected. Besides that, he has begun working with colleagues on improving NYU’s offerings in the realm of historical and contemporary geocoding services, and has also been participating as a developer and architect in the ongoing effort to reimagine NYU’s digital repository environment. Stephen is currently pursuing a MS in Computer Science at the Courant Institute.
Monica McCormick, Program Officer for Digital Scholarly Publishing, is continuing to work with colleagues in Digital Library Technology Services and NYU Press on the Enhanced Networked Monographs project, a three-year project funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The project is creating a corpus of 110 open access monographs, linking them together with a topic map created from the indexes of the print books. Readers will be able to explore the corpus via the topics, which will be presented as linked open data. Work is also underway to enable annotation, using two open-source tools for digital scholarship, Readium and Hypothes.is. In terms of DH, this project is an experiment in presenting books not only for human reading (via Readium) but also for machine discovery and consumption (via the Linked Data topics.) We are grateful to our colleagues at the University of Michigan Press and the University of Minnesota Press for contributing books to the corpus.
Zach Coble, Head of Digital Scholarship Services, is continuing research on citation analysis of retractions in biomedical journals. This research updates a 2011 study, and preliminary findings indicate that most articles are retracted because of scientific misconduct, often plagiarism or duplication (publishing their article in multiple journals). He is also excited for the upcoming Summoning the Archive conference, where he will give a talk on the opportunities and challenges of using library collections as data. In addition to editing dh+lib and leading various DH workshops at NYU and beyond, he is finishing his second year in NYU’s ITP master’s program.
Digital Scholarship & Data Services Events
@nyu_ds
NYUDH
NYCDH
Use the #NYUDH hashtag for social media.
RFP: Undercover Reporting Website Development and Migration
Welcome, Ashley Maynor!
Open in Action: A panel discussion for Open Access Week
IIIF will fundamentally change the way we deliver and use images on the web
Unless otherwise indicated, the work on this website is licensed by the authors under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported License (CC BY 4.0).
© 2019 NYU Digital Scholarship Services
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Woman, dog shot and killed by El Cajon officer
Posted: 8:45 AM, Jan 16, 2016
EL CAJON (CNS) - A woman and a dog in an allegedly stolen vehicle were shot and killed by an El Cajon police officer today, and three men in the vehicle were arrested following a high-speed chase that ended when the vehicle rammed into two police cars.
The incident occurred at 1:25 a.m. when El Cajon police officers observed a stolen vehicle in the 1300 block of E. Main St., El Cajon Police Lt. Frank La Haye said.
"Officers attempted to stop the vehicle and when they approached, the vehicle fled north on Second Street then onto westbound Interstate 8,'' La Haye said. "Officers pursued the vehicle with emergency lights and sirens on.''
La Haye said the red Toyota compact reached speeds of 90 mph during the pursuit.
"The vehicle exited the freeway at the West Main Street exit and continued across West Main to a cul-de-sac on South Pierce Street,'' La Haye said. "The suspect vehicle made a U-turn bringing it head-on with pursuing
officers. As one officer got out of his vehicle to approach the suspect vehicle, it drove towards the officer. The officer, fearing for his life, fired four rounds at the suspect vehicle, which continued ramming into two police
cars before stopping.''
La Haye said an unidentified woman and a dog sitting in the front passenger side of the car were struck by gunfire. The woman was taken to a local hospital for treatment where she was later pronounced dead.
Three men also in the vehicle were arrested and taken to the El Cajon Police Department for processing, La Haye said.
Two of the men were arrested on suspicion of narcotics-related offenses, La Haye said. A third man, the driver, was arrested for suspicion of attempted murder on a police officer and felony evading.
"It is believed the driver and his female passenger were fugitives and have active warrant arrests,'' La Haye said.
La Haye said the officer who fired at the suspect vehicle has been a police officer for three years.
No officers were injured during the incident. There were no outstanding suspects.
An investigation was continuing.
Anyone with information is urged to call El Cajon Police Department at (619) 579-3311 or Crime Stoppers tip line at (888) 580-8477.
BREAKING: El Cajon PD confirms the woman shot by police died at the hospital. She was not the driver who led police on the chase #10News
— Matt Mendes (@10NewsMendes) January 16, 2016
Animal Control here to pick up dog that died in El Cajon police shooting @10News pic.twitter.com/WG5wjqsWbV
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Jay Gatsby vs. Janie Crawford: A Race to Make Dreams Come True Essay
Zora Neal Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God packs the narrator and the authors view on the then unusual role in gender and how they are undertaken in the novel. The opening line sets the tone for the novel and the character Janie Crawford, can insinuate parallel worlds between her and the character of Jay Gatsby in F. Scott Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby. If the parallels are being drawn respectively to the characters in the two novels, then the lines “Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on the horizon, never out of sight, never landing until the Watcher turns his eyes away in resignation, his dreams mocked to death by Time. That is the life of men”, would relate to Jay Gatsby, in more ways than one, both literally and figuratively. The second part of the opening paragraphs in Their Eyes Were Watching God, would be closely tied to Janie Crawford, when the narrator says “Now, women forget all those things they don't want to remember, and remember everything they don't want to forget. The dream is the truth. Then they act and do things accordingly.” The quote could translate to, it is that when a man's dream is unattainable or far away, men are more realistic then woman. A man can differentiate between what his dreams are and what reality really is in their lives. The quote can also be broken down as saying that men never actually reach their dreams, or try to attain them, opting instead for accepting their fate and moving on with their lives, coming terms with the reality and living their lives. Jay Gatsby, although can be said to have reached some portion of his dream, never actually grabs ahold of them. For example, his goal for full acceptance i...
... and think about it as a way of escape, and by giving away things that have no value to her, she is conveying that she “act and do things accordingly.”
Like Jay Gatsby, many elements of the paragraph in that opens the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God plays into Janie Crawford and how she fits into the gender roles that Zora Neal Hurston describes and in ways, twists, into the narrative of her novel and in the paragraphs mentioned. With these two different characters in two different stories, the narrator of the paragraph conveys a message and draws the distinctions between men, women and how they attain their dreams and the differences between them in doing so.
Fitzgerald, F Scott. The Great Gatsby. Ed Mathew Brocolli. New York: Scribner 2004
Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. Harper Perennial Modern Classics: Reissue Edition 2013
Essay Recurring Themes in The Great Gatsby and Their Eyes Were Watching God
- The recurring themes of society, class, and self identity can be seen throughout many different writings of the 20th century. Two of these writings include, “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald and, “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston. Both novels focus on the protagonist's goal of achieving equal rights in their own environment while at the same time trying to figure out who they are in the world. In the early 1900s, when “Their Eyes Were Watching God” takes place, slavery had very recently been abolished (relatively speaking) and the lasting effects of segregation take a toll on Janie, the protagonist.... [tags: literature, society, class, self identity]
Jay Gatsby And The American Dream Essay
- Jay Gatsby & The American Dream The American standard of success has always been defined by the effort put into receiving this success. Some are lucky and have success come with ease, others have to put in a great deal of work and even then they still fall short of their desired position. Throughout, “The Great Gatsby”, F. Scott Fitzgerald scrutinizes the collapse of the American dream through Jay Gatsby. Through the eyes of Nick Carraway, the readers experience the rise and fall of Jay Gatsby’s successes.... [tags: F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby]
Essay on The American Dream By Jay Gatsby
- Jay Gatsby is a fabrication of a young boys dreams that evolved into a functioning illusion. As a child James Gatz knew that he was destined for more, he wanted the American Dream. The American Dream is the idea that anyone in America has the ability to achieve wealth and status, even people from the poorest of backgrounds. James Gatz grew up on an unsuccessful farm and his parents were quite poor but “Jimmy was bound to get ahead.” (173) His father was aware of his regimented lifestyle from a young age and it seems obvious to him that child who was so extremely self regulated would be able to achieve The American Dream.... [tags: Marriage, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby]
Comparison Of Kanye West And Jay Gatsby Essays
- Comparison of Kanye West and Jay Gatsby Materialism is a key part of our society. It is something that exists in real life, and is portrayed in Literature. A real life representation of materialism in our society is Kanye West. Kanye West is one of the most successful rappers of our time. He is known for his extreme rants and controversial verses and sayings. Literature is also known for creating materialistic characters. Jay Gatsby from The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a great example of materialism.... [tags: F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby]
Jay Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald Essay
- Jay Gatsby is a man who came from nothing and had everything. The only thing that he did not have was the woman that he loved, who is Daisy. Gatsby grew up on a farm and never had anything. He had to fight for his survival. He wondered around Lake Superior and met a man named Dan Cody. Cody taught Gatsby everything he knows and would shape the persona of the infamous Jay Gatsby. This is an example of what Emerson was talking about in his American Scholar speech. Everything that Cody had taught him, Gatsby would use in his future life to make himself the millionaire he was.... [tags: The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald]
The Great Gatsby : The Impact Of Race And Gender Essay
- The Great Gatsby: The Impact of Race and Gender F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby (1922) involves some important social issues and anxieties, such as race and gender. Throughout the nine chapters, he uses his characters to deliver a message on how the effects of power and inequality coincide with the social norms of the twentieth century. In the text, the characters are involved in a love triangle that has been threaded together by deception and greed; and also, we have the perspective of an outsider, who is eventually entangled into an already unkempt situation.... [tags: F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby]
Death Of A Salesman, By Arthur Miller And Jay Gatsby Essay
- Even though the play Death of a Salesman written by Arthur Miller and the book The Great Gatsby are completely different, these two also share a lot of common similarities. Both of the characters in these two literary works, Willy Loman and Jay Gatsby, are both trying to achieve something in their life even though it can seem as illogical or amoral. Willy Loman and Jay Gatsby told lies, exhibited betrayal and are both trying to achieve their versions of “The American Dream”. Willy Loman and Jay Gatsby both lie about their careers and their status to their family and friends.... [tags: The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby]
The Traits of Jay Gatsby Essay
- When looking at Jay Gatsby, one sees many different personalities and ideals. There is the gracious host, the ruthless bootlegger, the hopeless romantic, and beneath it all, there is James Gatz of North Dakota. The many faces of Gatsby make a reader question whether they truly know Gatsby as a person. Many people question what exactly made Jay Gatsby so “great.” These different personas, when viewed separately, are quite unremarkable in their own ways. When you take them together, however, you discover the complicated and unique individual that is Jay Gatsby.... [tags: Literary Analysis: The Great Gatsby]
Essay on Jay Gatsby
- The novel, The Great Gatsby focuses on one of the focal characters, James Gatz, also known as Jay Gatsby. He grew up in North Dakota to a family of poor farm people and as he matured, eventually worked for a wealthy man named Dan Cody. As Gatsby is taken under Cody’s wing, he gains more than even he bargained for. He comes across a large sum of money, however ends up getting tricked out of ‘inheriting’ it. After these obstacles, he finds a new way to earn his money, even though it means bending the law to obtain it.... [tags: Great Gatsby, Character Analysis]
Essay on Jay Gatsby's Dream
- Jay Gatsby's Dream F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is a tragic tale of love distorted by obsession. Finding himself in the city of New York, Jay Gatsby is a loyal and devoted man who is willing to cross oceans and build mansions for his one true love. His belief in realistic ideals and his perseverance greatly influence all the decisions he makes and ultimately direct the course of his life. Gatsby has made a total commitment to a dream, and he does not realize that his dream is hollow.... [tags: Fitzgerald Great Gatsby Essays]
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Certifications & Authorizations
Awards & Milestones
Meet Our Leaders Who Offer Forward-Thinking for a World in Constant Demand of Innovation
Sonu Singh
Sonu is the founder of 1901 Group and corporate leader responsible for our strategic vision, innovative business model, and financial performance.
Recognizing that the delivery of information technology is undergoing a dramatic transformation, Sonu started 1901 Group to close the cost-to-value gap on IT infrastructure by applying proven manufacturing principles to the next generation of IT service management. Having built and sold two IT services companies within the past 15 years, Sonu is utilizing industry practices and emerging technology to execute 1901 Group’s corporate vision of building “IT Service Factories” in rural communities with strong university systems. Thanks to a childhood in Blacksburg, Virginia and a degree from Virginia Tech, Sonu’s personal passion and professional goal is creating sustainable, high-quality technology jobs in rural America.
Sonu sits on the Virginia Tech National Capital Region Presidents Advisory Board and the Virginia Tech APEX Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Board.
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James Christopher
Executive Vice President, Operations and Engineering
James is the leader of the company’s Operations and is responsible for the successful development and delivery of 1901 Group’s services. James brings over 25 years of industry experience to 1901 Group and previously served as a corporate executive in both small and large companies focused on delivering Information Technology business solutions and managed services.
As the leader of service delivery, James leverages his experience in growing organizations and delivering high value technology services and solutions across a spectrum of customers in federal, state, and local government; retail and commercial; and higher education markets. In this role, James is responsible for the development, engineering and delivery of 1901 Group services, to include those delivered from our 24x7 operations center in Blacksburg. James is a proud alumnus of Virginia Tech where he received a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and is a lifelong Virginia resident.
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Paul Wilkinson
Executive Vice President, Corporate Strategy and BD
Paul leads Business Development, Capture Management, Marketing, and Channel Partners.
Paul provides leadership for 1901 Group’s growth initiatives by supporting the development of new markets and services.
Prior to joining 1901 Group, Paul was Chief Operating Officer of List Innovation Solutions, supporting the successful sale of the company to Salient Federal Solutions and led Salient’s Strategic Market Development Group. Prior to that, Paul held numerous leadership positions providing financial consulting, product management, and IT services supporting both public and private sector customers at SRA International, BearingPoint, and KPMG. Paul holds a B.S. in Finance from George Mason University and is a Certified Project Management Institute, Project Management Professional (PMP).
Brendan Walsh
Senior Vice President, Partner Relations
Brendan leads our partner relations and management efforts and supports business development activities in addition to establishing strategic business alliances with leading cloud service providers and security solutions.
Brendan is also focused on service design, IT as a Service modeling, public sector account management, and developing strategic alliances. Brendan brings over 25 years of sales, marketing, and program management experience to our team, including the successful prosecution of a business process patent during his tenure with FedBid.com. Brendan is a proud Georgia Tech (the real Tech) Yellow Jacket alum and ACC fan.
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Brian Lubin
Senior Vice President, Service Management
Brian leads the development and management of our service offerings. His leadership brings great value in aligning our growth and delivery activities while ensuring profitability. Prior to this role, Brian led the development and build out of our operations capability in Blacksburg, VA.
Brian brings more than 25 years of international industrial and technology business experience with significant accomplishments in general management, operations, product management, product development, and sales management. Prior to joining 1901 Group, he led a growing business inside Danaher Corporation, one of the best examples of a major U.S. company successfully adopting the Toyota Production System (TPS) that institutionalizes process efficiency and waste elimination within a culture of “kaizen” (Japanese for continuous improvement). Brian has an M.B.A. from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Virginia Tech.
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Tom Pugliese
Senior Vice President, Enterprise Solutions
Tom leads Enterprise Solutions, guiding a team that provides strategic support across business capture, proposal development, and program implementation, by gaining an understanding of the customer’s technical vision, creating CONOPS, and developing complex solution architectures. He provides program technical oversight and direction, as well as providing leadership for our strategic partnership initiatives.
Tom brings over 25 years of Federal IT experience to our team including senior technical leadership positions with large System Integrators (SIs) and small start-up companies. Tom is a graduate of Old Dominion University where he received a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP).
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Dana Pittman
Senior Vice President, Talent Strategy & Human Resources
Dana is the leader of our Human Capital Management function for providing organizational growth, performance, and profitability.
Her expertise includes: strategic guidance in all areas of human resources — from learning and development, recruiting, compensation and benefits, and resource management to the development, implementation, and enforcement of policy and programs. Dana possesses nearly two decades of talent management experience working in the private sector, is a Certified Human Capital Strategist (HCS), is a Certified Professional in Human Resources (PHR) & SHRM-CP, and has been recognized with multiple achievement awards.
As a strong advocate of teamwork and leading by example, Dana strives to maintain credibility throughout the organization with management and employees and excels at being an effective listener and problem solver of people issues. A native Miamian and lifelong Miami Dolphins fan, Dana graduated from Florida State University and rarely leaves a challenge unconquered. Go Noles!
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Don Hirsch
Senior Vice President, Service Delivery
Don is responsible for managing our service delivery engagements, leading program delivery, driving revenue, and building long lasting partnerships with customers and business partners. He brings over three decades of Federal and Corporate Enterprise IT experience with a strong grasp on solving business problems with technology innovation.
Don joins 1901 Group after serving 14 years as a Vice President at General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT), leading business across the Federal Civil and Health markets with portfolios ranging in size up to $350 million and 700 staff. Most recently at GDIT, Don served as Vice President for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) programs. Don has a wealth of experience having served as an IT executive in other companies in the Washington DC Metro area and is a University of Maryland graduate.
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Sheri Neely
Vice President, Operational Performance
Sheri works with 1901 Group leadership to define company vision, objectives, and practices focused on the professional growth of our personnel, namely articulating corporate culture expectations, succession planning, change management, organizational and operational performance management, and assisting individuals in achieving their training, development, and personal career goals.
Sheri brings over 25 years of operational expertise to 1901 Group, providing support in career development and employee mentorship to large and diverse teams across all aspects of information technology. Sheri previously served as a corporate executive focused on technology leadership to include infrastructure operations, application integration, software design/development, network operations & maintenance, and strategic information technology consulting in both commercial and governmental organizations. In addition, she ensures highest quality delivery and continuous process improvement, maintaining 1901 Group compliance with Software Engineering Institute’s Capability Maturity Model Integration (SEI SW-CMMI) Level 3 and ISO 9001:2015 procedures across the organization. Sheri holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Organizational Communication from California State University at Long Beach.
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Eric Junker
Vice President, Finance and Accounting
Eric leads our Finance and Accounting group, providing guidance and support for all aspects of the company financial performance.
With over 20 years of experience in accounting, financial planning, and analysis, Eric has held senior roles in both finance and accounting for large public companies as well as mid-sized private companies. Prior to joining 1901 Group, Eric served as the Controller for Salient CRGT, leading the accounting and finance team and successfully directing the financial integration aspects of the Information Innovators, Inc. (Triple-i) acquisition. Eric has served in leadership positions for other companies such as SRA International, ManTech Intl, and PAE.
His broad experience will help us streamline our financial reporting, analysis, and accounting functions as we continue to grow.
Eric is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a BA from the College of William and Mary and an MA from George Washington University.
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Manh Phung
Manh is a leader within our Operations and Engineering organization and oversees activities including the activation, operations, and continuous improvement of our commercial business, as well as leads our federal security practice.
Manh comes to us with over 20 years of operational experience in the delivery of managed services. Manh has been responsible for leading 24x7 network security operations for both the Air Force (609th Information Warfare Squadron and the Defense Information Systems Agency) and the commercial sector, as well as managing development and solution engineering teams. Manh’s focus is on developing energetic teams by promoting communication, collaboration, and attention to detail with processes and procedures that allow for consistent and effective service delivery. He is excited to be driving world-class IT services focused on solving 1901 Group customers’ challenges.
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Wayne Whitlock
Vice President, Blacksburg Enterprise IT Operations Center
Wayne is the leader of our Blacksburg Enterprise IT Operations Center, overseeing activities in IT operations, software development, and enterprise and cloud engineering.
Wayne brings over 35 years of experience in product development, engineering, technical management, and program management and has grown the company through growing our Army practice, as well as leading development efforts for a large agency customer. Wayne’s focus is on our customer facing engineering efforts, internal engineering, and all other Blacksburg functions including service desk and Tier 1 – 3 operations. Prior to 1901 Group, Wayne has held numerous management and executive positions in the engineering field working for companies such as Librato, SafeNet, and IBM. Wayne holds a B.S from Virginia Tech in Electrical Engineering.
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Pete Hayes
Pete, highly experienced in Venture Capital and Private Equity, is the Founder and CEO of Middleburg Venture Partners. Pete serves on the board of six companies: Cyxtera Technologies, Imagine!, LePrix, Pixspan, Seabras and 3C Logic.
Pete is very effective operating at the highest levels in business and government in multi-cultural environments with a focus that includes data centers, managed services, cloud acceleration, and visual communication. He brings over 35 years of experience leading growth and strategy divisions within big technology firms, such as IBM, Microsoft, and Equinix and is a proven leader who has been instrumental in scaling some of the most aggressive and high-profile companies in the world.
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Arun is an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown Business School and a Venture Partner at Columbia Capital focused on Federal and Cyber IT Service investments. Arun teaches Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital at Georgetown Business School and serves on the board or actively involved with : Altamira, Daz 3D, Devas Multimedia, Endgame, Opaq, and Verato. He is a member the Georgetown Entrepreneurship Advisory Board, the Stanford in Washington Advisory Board, and the Board of mPowerVA – non-profit focused on job creation in Southwest Virginia. Prior to joining Columbia Capital in 2000, Arun was at Carlyle Venture Partners focused on software investments. He also held positions in Arthur D. Little’s telecom and technology consulting practice and shared responsibility for establishing ADL’s operation in India.
www.colcap.com
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Supreme Court Judgments
JAN TO JUNE
JULY TO DEC
A.A. Padmanbhan Vs. State of Kerala & Ors.
[Civil Appeal No.2207 of 2018 arising out of SLP (C) No. 24565 of 2017]
ASHOK BHUSHAN, J.
1. Leave granted.
2. These three appeals have been filed by Ex-Managers of three private aided institutions questioning the common judgment of Kerala High Court dated 01.08.2017 by which judgment, the Division Bench of Kerala High Court while dismissing the writ appeals filed by the appellants have confirmed the judgment of learned Single Judge wherein the appellants have questioned the Notification issued by State of Kerala taking over the aided schools, which were managed by the appellants.
3. The facts and issues raised in these appeals being similar, reference of facts and pleadings in Civil Appeal arising out of Special Leave Petition (C) No. 24386 of 2017 shall suffice for deciding all these appeals.
4. The appellant had been running P.M.L.P. School, Kiralur, District of Thrissur in the State of Kerala, which was also an aided institution. The appellant with intention to close down the school gave a notice as required by Section 7(6) of the Kerala Education Act, 1958 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act"). The Education Authorities did not permit the appellant to close the institution, which led to filing of writ petition by the appellant being W.P. (C) No. 12873 of 2015. W. P. (C) No. 12205 of 2015 was filed by the Headmistress incharge of the Aided P.M.L.P. School and the President of the Parent Teachers Association as also the President of the School Samrakshanasamiti of the said school impugning the steps taken by the manager of the aided school to close the aided school.
A direction was also prayed to the State Government to take over the school. The Writ Petition was allowed by learned Single Judge holding that appellant was entitled to close down the school in accordance with the provisions of the Act and Kerala Education Rules, 1959 (hereinafter referred to as "the Rules"). Writ Appeals against the said judgment were dismissed by the Division Bench on 22.07.2015, however, in Writ Appeal filed by the Headmistress & others, a direction was issued by the Division Bench directing the respondents to consider their representations by which it was prayed that school be taken over and run by the State Government. The above order was questioned by the State of Kerala by filing Special Leave Petition Nos. 27822-27827 of 2015.
The Special Leave Petitions were dismissed on 05.10.2015 by following order:- "The special leave petition is dismissed. However, in the interest of the children in the respondent-school, Mr. V. Giri, learned senior counsel appearing for the respondent has fairly stated that the respondent-school will continue with them till the end of this academic year. We make it clear that it would be the responsibility of the State to shift these children to another school from the next academic year."
5. The State Authorities did not take necessary steps to close the institutions, hence the appellant filed a contempt application being Contempt Case (C) No. 1045 of 2015, in which contempt application, learned Government Pleader made submission that the procedural formalities in connection with the closing of the school have been complied with. Taking note of which statement, the contempt case was closed down on 16.06.2016.
6. Before the aforesaid date, the Chief Minister of the State took a decision on 07.06.2016 to take over the institution of the appellant alongwith other three institutions in exercise of power under Section 15 of the Act. The decision of the Chief Minister taken on 07.06.2016 was endorsed by the Council of the Ministers on 29.06.2016. Kerala Legislative Assembly, unanimously passed the resolution dated 18.07.2016 to take over the four schools under sub-section (1) of Section 15 of the Act. A Notification dated 27.07.2016 was issued as contemplated under Section 15(1).
A further Notification dated 03.08.2016 was issued modifying the earlier Notification dated 27.07.2016 to the extent that the schools shall vest in Government absolutely from the date of fixation of compensation. The appellant aggrieved by Notification dated 27.07.2016 filed a writ 5 petition being Writ Petition (C) No. 25790 of 2016 questioning the Notification dated 27.07.2016 as well as the Notification dated 03.08.2016. Prayer for striking down Section 15 of the Act as well as declaring Rules 6, 7 and 8 of the Rules, 1959 as repugnant was also made. However, the prayer for challenging the provision of the Act and the Rules does not appear to have been pressed. In the writ petition, counter affidavit was filed where it was stated that a decision was taken on 07.06.2016 to take over the institution by the State Government, which was before the actual closure of the institution.
A resolution has been passed by Kerala Legislative Assembly approving the proposal; Notification has rightly been issued. Other three writ petitions were heard alongwith connected writ petitions, which were filed by other appellants in this group of appeals. All the writ petitions were dismissed by learned Single Judge vide its judgment and order dated 23.11.2016. Aggrieved against the judgment dated 23.11.2016, appellant filed Writ Appeal No. 2360 of 2016, wherein it was contended that although the submission of the appellant was made that on the date when the State Government took over the schools under Section 15 of the Act, the closure of the schools had already been effected but the said submission has not been correctly understood by the learned Single Judge.
The Division Bench dismissed all the appeals on 09.12.2016 giving liberty to the appellants to apply for review of the judgment of learned Single Judge. Against the judgment dated 09.12.2016, Special Leave Petition was also filed by the appellant in this Court, which Special Leave Petition was withdrawn by the appellant. Appellant filed a Review Petition before learned Single Judge for review of judgment dated 23.11.2016, which Review Petition has been dismissed by judgment and order dated 20.12.2016 of learned Single Judge. Challenging the order dated 23.11.2016 as well as the order dated 20.12.2016 passed on the review petition, writ appeals have been filed before the Division Bench. The writ appeals have been dismissed by the Division Bench vide its judgment dated 01.08.2017, which judgment has been questioned before us in these appeals.
7. Learned Counsel appearing for the appellant in support of the appeal has raised the following submissions:
(a) The State Government could not have exercised power under Section 15 of the Kerala Education Act, 1958 to take over the school which has already been closed down. The Notification under Section 15 has been admittedly issued on 27.07.2016 whereas according to the own case of the respondent the school was closed on 08.06.2016. The power under Section 15 can be exercised with regard to a school which is in existence. The closed down school cannot be taken over by the State Government.
(b) The school and its properties could have been acquired by the State only after resorting to Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (hereinafter shall be referred to as "2013, Act"), after making payment of compensation, determined in accordance with the above-mentioned 2013, Act.
(c) Section 15 of the Kerala Education Act, 1958 made by the Legislature of the State falling under Entry 20 List III of the Concurrent List is in conflict and repugnant to the provisions of the 2013, Act, made by the Parliament under Entry 42 List III of the Concurrent List, is void in view of the Article 254 of the Constitution of India. The State Government has dispossessed the petitioner under the guise of applying provision of law that is not applicable to the subject matter and the procedure of dispossessing the petitioner is in violation of Article 300A of the Constitution of India.
(d) The closure of the school had attained finality by decision of dismissal of SLP (c) No. 27827 of 2015, when this Court passed order on 05.10.2015.
8. Refuting the above submission learned Senior Counsel appearing for the State of Kerala submits that the State Government has validly exercised its power under Section 15 of the Kerala Education Act, 1958. The decision was taken by the Chief Minister to take over the school on 07.06.2016 on which date the school was not actually closed down. Hence, there is no substance in the contention of the appellant that school had already been closed down and could not have been taken over by the State Government. It is submitted that decision of the Chief Minister dated 07.06.2016 was ratified by the Council of Ministers vide decision dated 29.06.2016.
The issuance of notification is a step in consequence of decision to take over the school and there is no illegality in the issuance of Notification dated 27.07.2016. It is submitted that the provision of Section 15 of the Kerala Education Act, 1958 operates in a different field to that of the provisions of the 2013, Act. Neither there is a conflict nor Section 15 is in any manner repugnant to 2013, Act. Both the Acts operate in their own fields.
The action of taking over of the schools by State is for running the school in compliance of its obligation to provide education to the primary school students. Section 15 itself, contemplates the payment of compensation at market rate and the Collector has already determined the market value of the schools, details of which has already been brought on record by means of the counter affidavit. One of the schools which were taken over accepted 9 the compensation. One of the institutions which had filed the Writ Petition (C) No. 25622 of 2016 has not challenged the judgment of the learned Single Judge and had accepted the same.
9. We have considered the submissions of the learned counsel for the parties and perused the record.
RELEVANT STATUTORY PROVISIONS
10. The Kerala Education Act, 1958 was enacted for the better organisation and development of the educational institutions in the State after obtaining the assent of the President. Section 2 sub-section (1) defines the "Aided Schools" and the "School" is defined in Section 2 sub-section (9) in the following manner:
"2.(1). "aided school" means a private school which is recognised by and is receiving aid from the Government, but shall not include educational institutions entitled to receive grants under Article 337 of the Constitution of India, except in so far as they are receiving aid in excess of the grants to which they are so entitled;
2.(9). "School" includes the land, buildings, play-grounds and hostels of the school and the movable properties such as furniture, books, apparatus, maps and equipments pertaining to the school:"
11. Section 7 of the Kerala Education Act, 1958, which deals with the "Managers of Schools", contains the provision under 10 Section 7 sub-section (6) prohibiting the Manager from closing down school unless one year's notice is given. Section 7 sub-section (6) is quoted as below:
"7.(6) No manager shall close down any school unless one year's notice, expiring with the 31st May of any year, of his intention so to do, has been given to the officer authorised by the Government in this behalf." Further Rule 24 of the Kerala Education Rules, 1959 provides for closure of private schools which is to the following effect:
"24. Closure of private schools: -
(1) No private school shall be closed down without giving the Director one year's notice expiring with the 31st May of any year of the intention to do so.
[(2) The Director may, after considering all aspects of the question, grant permission for the closure of the school and recognition of such school shall lapse. No application for withdrawal of the notice after the issue of permission shall be entertained unless adequate reasons are adduced to the satisfaction of the Director. The order of the Director in the matter shall be final.]"
12. Section 15 of the Act contains a heading "Power to acquire any category of schools". Section 15 which is relevant for the present case is as follows:
"15. Power to acquire any category of schools -
(1) If the Government are satisfied that for standardising general education in the State or 11 for improving the level of literacy in any area or for more effectively managing the aided educational institutions in any area or for bringing education of any category under their direct control in the public interest it is necessary to do so, they may, by notification in the Gazette, take over with effect from any day specified therein any category of aided schools in any specified area or areas; and such schools shall vest in the Government absolutely with effect from the day specified in such notification; Provided that no notification under this sub-section shall be issued unless the proposal for the taking over is supported by the resolution of the Legislative Assembly.
(2) Where any school has vested in the Government under sub-section (1), compensation shall be paid to the persons entitled thereto on the basis of the market value thereof as on the date of the notification: Provided that where any property, movable or immovable has been acquired, constructed or improved for the purpose of the school with the aid or grant given by the Government for such acquisition, construction or improvement, compensation payable shall be fixed after deducting from the market value the amounts of such aids or grants: Provided further that in the case of movable properties the compensation payable shall be the market value thereof on the date of the notification or the actual cost thereof less the depreciation, whichever is lower.
(3) In determining the amount of compensation and its apportionment among the persons entitled thereto the Collector shall follow such procedure as may be prescribed.
(4) Any person aggrieved by an order of the Collector may, in the prescribed manner, appeal to the District Court within whose jurisdiction the school is situated within sixty days of the date of such award and the decision of the Judge shall be final.
(5) Nothing in this section shall apply to minority schools."
13. One of the principle submissions, which has been raised by counsel for the appellant, is that on the date when notification under Section 15 was issued, i.e. on 27.07.2016, the school having been already closed, the power under Section 15 of the Act could not have been exercised. Learned counsel submits that after the writ petition filed by the management was allowed by High Court permitting closure of the school, which was affirmed by the Division Bench as well as by this Court on 05.10.2015, school stood closed, which disabled the State Government to exercise the power under Section 15.
We have already noticed the factum of filing of writ petition by the management for closure of the school, which stood allowed on 08.06.2015. Writ appeals were filed against the judgment of learned Single Judge, which were decided by the Division Bench on 22.07.2015. It is to be noticed that aggrieved by the judgment of learned Single Judge, writ appeals were also filed by the Headmistress of the institution as well as Parent-Teachers Association praying for the relief directing the State Government to take over the institutions.
In this context, it will be useful to refer to Para 27 of the judgment of the Division Bench by which while affirming the judgment of the learned Single Judge, the Division Bench also directed the State Government to decide the representations, which were submitted seeking directions to take over the schools by the Government. Para 27 is as follows:- "..... However, it essentially is a matter to be decided by the Government and therefore, though we cannot issue any binding direction to the Government, but can only clarify that the authorities before whom Exts.P17 and P18 representations in W.P.(C) 12205/15 are pending will bestow their attention to this claim and will take appropriate decision on the representations."
14. As noticed above, against the writ appeals, Special Leave Petition was filed by the State of Kerala, which was dismissed on 05.10.2015. However while dismissing the petition, a direction was given that children of the schools shall be allowed to continue till the end of the academic year and thereafter they may be shifted to another school. The management filed Contempt Petition alleging that orders of the Court regarding closure of schools are not being given effect to by the State, which contempt was closed on 16.06.2016 noticing the statement of Government pleader that all formalities regarding closure of the school have been complied with. In the writ petition filed by the manager, learned Single Judge in its judgment dated 23.11.2016 has returned the findings regarding the actual date of closure of the school.
14 In Para 9 of the judgment, following was held:- ".....The closure of the schools was effected on 10.06.2016 in the case of W.P.(C) No. 25292/2016, on 09.06.2016 in the case of W.P.(C) No.25619/2016, on 08.06.2016 in the case of W.P. (C) No. 25622/2016, on 07.06.2016 in the case of W.P.(C) No. 25695/2016 and on 10.06.2016 in the case of W.P.(C) No. 25790/2016. The affidavits filed on behalf of the State Government in the Contempt cases indicate that the handing over of all records and other procedural formalities for effecting a closure of the schools was completed shortly thereafter.
The contempt of court cases, that were filed by the petitioners herein, were all disposed after recording the fact of closure of the schools, based on the affidavit filed on behalf of the State Government. It deserves mention here that, in the affidavit filed on behalf of the State, it was clearly stated that the State Government had already taken a decision to acquire the schools in public interest by invoking the powers under Section 15 of the KE Act."
15. Learned Single Judge as well as the Division Bench has also noticed that the Chief Minister has already taken a decision on 07.06.2016 after consultation with the Finance Minister regarding exercise of power under Section 15 to close the schools. Section 15(1) of the Act used the words "If the Government are satisfied ............... they may, by notification in the Gazette, take over with effect from any day specified therein .................. provided that no notification under this sub-section shall be issued unless the proposal for the taking over is supported by the resolution of the Legislative Assembly." The above statutory scheme indicates that there are three steps in exercise of power under Section 15, they are:
(a) satisfaction of the Government that in the public interest it is necessary to take control of any category of institution;
(b) resolution of the Legislative Assembly approving the proposal for taking over the schools; and
(c) issuance of notification in the Gazette to take over with effect from any day specified therein any category of aided schools.
16. The satisfaction of the Government in sub-section (1) of Section 15 is the first phase of initiating the proceeding for taking over of the institutions. The satisfaction is required of "the Government". The Government refers to in the provision is the "State Government". The State Government as defined in Section 3(60) of the General Clauses Act, 1897 means the Governor in a State. The Governor, being head of a State in whom all the executive power is vested under Article 154, exercises the power either directly or through officers subordinate to him in accordance with the Constitution of India.
Under Article 166(1), any action taken in the exercise of executive power is taken by the State Government in the name of the Governor. Under Article 166 sub-clause (3), the Governor is to make rules for the more convenient transaction of the business of the Government of the State, and for the allocation amongst the Ministers of the said business in so far as it is not business with respect to which the Governor is by or under the Constitution required to act in his discretion. Except the discretionary functions of the Governor, he does not exercise any executive functions individually or personally. When a Minister takes an action according to the Rules of Business, it is both in substance and in form the action of the Governor. The Constitution Bench of this Court in Samsher Singh Vs. State of Punjab & Anr., (1974) 2 SCC 831 while considering the constitutional provisions regarding function of the President of India and Governor of the State laid down following in Paragraphs 30 and 31:-
"30. In all cases in which the President or the Governor exercises his functions conferred on him by or under the Constitution with the aid and advice of his Council of Ministers he does so by making rules for convenient transaction of the business of the Government of India or the Government of the State respectively or by allocation among his Ministers of the said business, in accordance with Articles 77(3) and 166(3) respectively.
Wherever the Constitution requires the satisfaction of the President or the Governor for the exercise of any power or function by the President or the Governor, as the case may be, as for example in Articles 123, 213, 311(2) proviso (c), 317, 352(1), 356 and 360 the satisfaction required by the Constitution is not the personal satisfaction of the President or of the Governor but is the satisfaction of the President or of the Governor in the constitutional sense under the Cabinet system of Government. The reasons are these.
It is the satisfaction of the Council of Ministers on whose aid and advice the President or the Governor generally exercises all his powers and functions. Neither Article 77(3) nor Article 166(3) provides for any delegation of power. Both Articles 77(3) and 166(3) provide that the President under Article 77(3) and the Governor under Article 166(3) shall make rules for the more convenient transaction of the business of the Government and the allocation of business among the Ministers of the said business. The Rules of Business and the allocation among the Ministers of the said business all indicate that the decision of any Minister or officer under the Rules of Business made under these two articles viz. Article 77(3) in the case of the President and Article 166(3) in the case of the Governor of the State is the decision of the President or the Governor respectively.
31. Further the Rules of Business and allocation of business among the Ministers are relatable to the provisions contained in Article 53 in the case of the President and Article 154 in the case of the Governor, that the executive power shall be exercised by the President or the Governor directly or through the officers subordinate. The provisions contained in Article 74 in the case of the President and Article 163 in the case of the Governor that there shall be a Council of Ministers to aid and advise the President or the Governor, as the case may be, are sources of the Rules of Business.
These provisions are for the discharge of the executive powers and functions of the Government in the name of the President or the Governor. Where functions entrusted to a Minister are performed by an official employed in the Minister's department there is in law no delegation because constitutionally the act or decision of the official is that of the Minister. The official is merely the machinery for the discharge of the functions entrusted to a Minister (see Halsbury's Laws of England 4th Ed., Vol. I, paragraph 748 at p. 170 and Carltona Ltd. v. Works Commissioners)."
17. An earlier Constitution Bench judgment, i.e., A.Sanjeevi Naidu, Etc. Vs. State of Madras & Anr., (1970) 1 SCC 443, considered Section 68(C) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939, which Section provided as follows:- "............Where any State transport undertaking is of opinion that for the purpose, of providing an efficient, adequate, economical and properly co-ordinated road transport service, it is necessary in the public interest that road transport services in general or any particular class of such service in relation to any area or route or portion thereof should be run and operated by the State transport undertaking, whether to the exclusion, complete or partial of other persons or otherwise, the State transport undertaking may prepare a scheme giving particulars of the nature of the services proposed to be rendered, the area or route proposed to be covered and such other particulars respecting thereto as may be prescribed, and shall cause every such scheme to be published in the Official Gazette and also in such other manner as the State Government may direct."
18. A perusal of Section 68 sub-clause(C) indicates that the words used in the provision "where any State transport undertaking is of opinion ............., the State transport undertaking may prepare a scheme ............, and shall cause every such scheme to be published in the Official Gazette". In the Rules of Business pertaining to Rule 23(A) of the Madras Government Business Rules, powers and functions which State Transport Undertaking may exercise under Section 68(C) were to be discharged on behalf of the State Government by the Secretary to the Government of Madras in the Industries, Labour and Housing Department. The Constitution Bench held that decision of the Secretary to the Government was the decision of the Governor as per Business Rules. In Para Nos. 10, 11 and 12, following was stated:-
"10. The cabinet is responsible to the Legislature for every action taken in any of the Ministries. That is the essence of joint responsibility. That does not mean that each and every decision must be taken by the cabinet. The political responsibility of the Council of Ministers does not and cannot predicate the personal responsibility of the Council of Ministers to discharge all or any of the Governmental functions. Similarly an individual Minister is responsible to the Legislature for every action taken or omitted to be taken in his ministry. This again is a political responsibility and not personal responsibility. Even the most hard working Minister cannot attend to every business in his department. If he attempts to do it, he is bound to make a mess of his department. In every well planned administration, most of the decisions are taken by the civil servants who are likely to be experts and not subject to political pressure.
The Minister is not expected to burden himself with the day-to-day administration. His primary function is to lay down the policies and programmes of his ministry while the Council of Ministers settles the major policies and programmes of the Government. When a civil servant takes a decision, he does not do it as a delegate of his Minister. He does it on behalf of the Government. It is always open to a Minister to call for any file in his ministry and pass orders. He may also issue directions to the officers in his ministry regarding the disposal of Government business either generally or as regards any specific case. Subject to that over all power, the officers designated by the "Rules" or the standing orders, can take 20 decisions on behalf of the Government. These officers are the limbs of the Government and not its delegates.
11. In Emperor v. Sibnath Banerji1 construing Section 59(3) of the Government of India Act, 1935, a provision similar to Article 166(3), the Judicial Committee held that it was within the competence of the Governor to empower a civil servant to transact any particular business of the Government by making appropriate rules. In that case their Lordships further observed that the Ministers like civil servants are subordinates to the Governor. In Kalyan Singh v. State of U.P.2 this Court repelling the contention that the opinion formed by an official of the Government does not fulfil the requirements of Section 68(C) observed:
"The opinion must necessarily be formed by somebody to whom, under the rules of business, the conduct of the business is entrusted and that opinion, in law, will be the opinion of the State Government. It is stated in the counter-affidavit that all the concerned officials in the Department of Transport considered the draft scheme and the said scheme was finally approved by the Secretary of the Transport Department before the notification was issued. It is not denied that the Secretary of the said Department has power under the rules of business to act for the State Government in that behalf. We, therefore, hold that in the present case the opinion was formed by the State transport undertaking within the meaning of Section 68(C) of the Act, and that, there was nothing illegal in the manner of initiation of the said Scheme."
12. In Ishwarlal Girdharlal Joshi, etc. v. State of Gujarat3 this Court rejected the contention that the opinion formed by the Deputy Secretary under Section 17(1) of the Land Acquisition Act cannot be considered as the opinion of the State Government. After referring to the rules of business regulating the Government business, this Court observed at p. 282: "In our case the Secretaries concerned were given the jurisdiction to take action on behalf of Government and satisfy themselves about the need for acquisition under Section 6, the urgency of the matter and the existence of waste and arable lands for the application of sub-sections (1) and (4) of Section 17.
In view of the Rules of business and the instructions their determination became the determination of Government and no exception could be taken."
19. The decision to take over four Schools was taken by the Chief Minister with the consultation of the Finance Minister on 07.06.2016. It was not challenged before the High Court or before this Court that Chief Minister was not competent to take the decision under the Rules of Business of the State regarding take over of the schools. What is being contended is that the school was to continue to exist till the date the notification under Section 15 is issued for taking over of the school and in event the school is closed, any date prior to the date of notification, the power under Section 15 cannot be exercised. The management of the institution has also filed a Review Petition after judgment of learned Single Judge emphasising above issue.
The learned Single Judge has elaborately dealt the issue and held that satisfaction as contemplated by Section 15 was arrived on at 07.06.2016 when Chief Minister took the decision. Learned Single Judge (Justice A.K.Jayasankaran Nambiar) extensively considered the issue and expressed following opinion:- "......... The exercise of the power is made conditional only on the State Government being satisfied that one or all of the factors indicated therein exist, rendering it necessary for the State Government to act in public interest. In my view, it is at this stage alone that an aided school must exist, as the subject matter, in relation to which the power of the State Government is exercised.
The procedure to be complied with in connection with the takeover, such as the framing of a proposal and placing it before the Legislative Assembly of the State for its approval, before issuing a formal notification, only ensures a valid implementation, or execution, of the decision that is taken in exercise of the power conferred under the Section.
It follows, therefore, that once an aided school is identified as the subject matter of a proposed take over, its closure during the stage of implementation of the decision of the State Government is of no consequence, and will not affect a valid exercise of power by the State Government. As regards the exercise of power by the State Government it needs to be noted that the Cabinet decision on 29.06.2016 had the effect of ratifying the decision of the Chief Minister taken on 07.06.2016 and therefore the decision of the State Government effectively relates back to 07.06.2016.............."
20. Looking to the statutory scheme under Section 15(1), we are of the opinion that satisfaction of the Government as contemplated by Section 15 is the satisfaction of the competent authority, who can under the Rules of Business take a decision. We have noticed above the findings of learned Single Judge regarding the date of actual closure of the school, which finding has been specially affirmed by the Division Bench in writ appeal that closure of school took place on 07.06.2015 or thereafter and on the date when the Chief Minister took the decision, actual closure of the school was not taken place.
The fact that contempt petition was filed by the management, which was closed on 16.06.2015 noticing that all formalities regarding closure had been taken and in the contempt, the statement on behalf of the State was also noted that the State has decided to take over the institutions. Thus, on the date when the Chief Minister took the decision, the existence of school cannot be denied.
21. The other two steps as noticed above, i.e. approval of Legislative Assembly and issuance of notification in the Gazette are further steps regarding completion of the process and on the date when Government was satisfied that it is in the public interest to take over the school, the school was in existence, the said decision cannot be said to lose its efficacy, even if the school was actually closed before issuance of notification under Section 15.
When the decision taken on 07.06.2016 was valid to close the school, it was valid exercise of power and no infirmity can crept in the said decision even if as per the appellant, the school was closed before Legislative Assembly passed the resolution or 24 notification was issued on 27.07.2016. It could have been open to the Legislative Assembly not to approve the proposal on account of any reason including any subsequent valid reason, but Legislative Assembly having approved, no capital can be gained by the appellant on the strength of the above submission.
22. We fully endorse the view taken by the learned Single Judge that on the date when the Government took the decision, i.e., the Chief Minister took a decision on 07.06.2016 to take over the schools; the schools were not actually closed.
23. There is one more reason due to which the decision taken by the State Government as approved by the Legislative Assembly and notified in the Gazette needs no interference. The reason is that all the institutions, which have been taken over were the institutions providing primary education. Under Article 21(A) of the Constitution of India as well as under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, the State has to take all steps for fulfilling the objective to provide education to children upto 14 years of age seeking Primary (Upper Primary and Lower Primary) education. The State decision to run the Primary schools which were decided to be closed by their respective management was in public interest and in the interest of the education. The High Court has rightly refused to interfere with the decision of the State Government taking over the schools to run the same directly by the Government.
24. Another limb of argument of the appellant forcefully put is that acquisition of properties of the schools, if at all, was to be undertaken by the State, the State ought to have taken recourse of the provisions of the Act, 2013. It is contended that owners of the schools are being deprived of their right of property. They are clearly entitled for compensation in accordance with the provisions of Act, 2013. Learned counsel submits that Act, 2013 being a Parliamentary Act shall override the provision pertaining to acquisition of properties of schools as contained in Section 15 of Act, 1958.
25. The Kerala Education Act, 1958 is a State enactment referable to education. The Entry of Education prior to its substitution in List III was contained in List II Entry 11, by the Constitution (Forty-Second Amendment) Act, 1976. Entry 11 List II was omitted and the subject was transferred to be comprised in Entry 25 of List III, 26 which is as follows:
"25. Education, including technical education, medical education and universities, subject to the provisions of entries 63, 64, 65 and 66 of List I; vocational and technical training of labour."
26. Acquisition of property is covered by Entry 42 List III. Entry 42 List III is as follows:
"42. Acquisition and requisitioning of property."
27. As noted above, the present is a case where school is being taken over by the State in accordance with Section 15 which is a part of the Scheme under the Kerala Education Act, 1958. The State is entitled to take over a school for the purpose and object as contained in Section 15. The Government is entitled to take over the school for any of the following purposes that:
i) for standardising general education in the State, or
ii) for improving the level of literacy in any area, or
iii) for more effectively managing the aided educational institutions in any area, or
iv) for bringing education of any category under their direct control in the public interest.
28. In the present case the State Government has taken over the school in the public interest in the interest of education. The power under Section 15 given to the State is distinct and separate from the power which is possessed by the State under the provisions of the Act, 2013.
29. It is contended that Section 15 being repugnant to Act, 2013 which being a Parliamentary enactment, it shall override the Act, 1958 in view of Article 254 sub-clause (1) of the Constitution of India.
30. The principles for ascertaining the inconsistency/ repugnancy between two statutes were laid down by this Court in Deep Chand Vs. State of U.P and others, AIR 1959 SC 648. K. Subba Rao, J. speaking for the Court stated following in paragraph 29:
"29......Repugnancy between two statutes may thus be ascertained on the basis of the following three principles:
(1) Whether there is direct conflict between the two provisions;
(2) Whether Parliament intended to lay down an exhaustive code in 28 respect of the subject-matter replacing the Act of the State Legislature and
(3) Whether the law made by Parliament and the law made by the State Legislature occupy the same field."
31. This Court in State of Kerala and others Vs. Mar Appraem Kuri Company Limited and another, (2012) 7 SCC 106, in paragraph 47 held that:
"47. The question of repugnancy between parliamentary legislation and State legislation arises in two ways. First, where the legislations, though enacted with respect to matters in their allotted spheres, overlap and conflict. Second, where the two legislations are with respect to matters in the Concurrent List and there is a conflict. In both the situations, the Parliamentary legislation will predominate, in the first, by virtue of non obstante clause in Article 246(1); in the second, by reason of Article 254(1)". There cannot be any dispute to the proposition laid down by this Court to the State of Kerala case (supra).
32. This Court has time and again emphasised that in the event any overlapping is found in two Entries of Seventh Schedule or two legislations, it is the duty of the Court to find out its true intent and purpose and to examine 29 the particular legislation in its pith and substance. In Kartar Singh Vs. State of Punjab, (1994) 3 SCC 569, in paragraphs 59 and 60 following has been held:
"59....But before we do so we may briefly indicate the principles that are applied for construing the entries in the legislative lists. It has been laid down that the entries must not be construed in a narrow and pedantic sense and that widest amplitude must be given to the language of these entries. Sometimes the entries in different lists or the same list may be found to overlap or to be in direct conflict with each other. In that event it is the duty of the court to find out its true intent and purpose and to examine the particular legislation in its 'pith and substance' to determine whether it fits in one or other of the lists. [See : Synthetics and Chemicals Ltd. v. State of U.P.; India Cement Ltd. v. State of T.N.]
60. This doctrine of 'pith and substance' is applied when the legislative competence of a legislature with regard to a particular enactment is challenged with reference to the entries in the various lists i.e. a law dealing with the subject in one list is also touching on a subject in another list. In such a case, what has to be ascertained is the pith and substance of the enactment. On a scrutiny of the Act in question, if found, that the legislation is in substance one on a matter assigned to the legislature enacting that statute, then that Act as a whole must be held to be valid notwithstanding any incidental trenching upon matters beyond its competence i.e. on a matter included in the list belonging to the other legislature. To say differently, incidental encroachment is not altogether forbidden."
33. In A.S. Krishna and others Vs. State of Madras, AIR 1957 SC 297 this Court laid down following in paragraph 10:
"10. This point arose directly for decision before the Privy Council in Prafulla Kumar Mukherjee v. The Bank of Commerce, Ltd. [1946 74 I.A. 23 There, the question was whether the Bengal Money-Lenders Act, 1940, which limited the amount recoverable by a money-lender for principal and interest on his loans, was valid in so far as it related to promissory notes. Money-lending is within the exclusive competence of the Provincial Legislature under Item of List II, but promissory note is a topic reserved for the center, vide List I, Item
28. It was held by the Privy Council that the pith and substance of the impugned legislation begin money-lending, it was valid notwithstanding that it incidentally encroached on a field of legislation reserve for the center under Enter 28. After quoting its approval the observations of Sir Maurice Gwyer C.J. in Subrahmanyan Chettiar v. Muttuswami Goundan, (supra) above quoted, Lord Porter observed : "Their Lordships agree that this passage correctly describes the grounds on which the rule is founded, and that it applies to Indian as well as to Dominion legislation. No doubt experience of past difficulties has made the provisions of the Indian Act more exact in some particulars, and the existence of the Concurrent List has made it easier to distinguish between those matters which are essential in determining to which list particular provision should be attributed and those which are merely incidental.
But the overlapping of subject-matter is not avoided by substituting three lists for two, or even by arranging for a hierarchy of jurisdictions. Subjects must still overlap, and where they do, the question must be asked what in pith and substance is the effect of the enactment of which complaint is made, and in what list is its true nature and character to be found. If these questions could not be asked, must beneficent legislation would be satisfied at birth, and many of the subjects entrusted to Provincial legislation could never effectively be dealt with."..."
34. Further in Union of India and others Vs. Shah Goverdhan L. Kabra Teachers' College, (2002) 8 SCC 228 in paragraph 7 following was laid down:
"7. It is further a well-settled principle that entries in the different lists should be read together without giving a narrow meaning to any of them. Power of Parliament as well as the State Legislature are expressed in precise and definite terms. While an entry is to be given its widest meaning but it cannot be so interpreted as to override another entry or make another entry meaningless and in case of an apparent conflict between different entries, it is the duty of the court to reconcile them. When it appears to the court that there is apparent overlapping between the two entries the doctrine of "pith and substance" has to be applied to find out the true nature of a legislation and the entry within which it would fall. In case of conflict between entries in List I and List II, the same has to be decided by application of the principle of "pith and substance".
The doctrine of "pith and substance" means that if an enactment substantially falls within the powers expressly conferred by the Constitution upon the legislature which enacted it, it cannot be held to be invalid, merely because it incidentally encroaches on matters assigned to another legislature. When a law is impugned as being ultra vires of the legislative competence, what is required to be ascertained is the true character of the legislation. If on such an examination it is found that the legislation is in substance one on a matter assigned to the legislature then it must be held to be valid in its entirety even though it might incidentally trench on matters which are beyond its competence.
In order to examine the true character of the enactment, the entire Act, its object, scope and effect, is required to be gone into. The question of invasion into the territory of another legislation is to be determined not by degree but by substance. The doctrine of "pith and substance" has to be applied not only in cases of conflict between the powers of two legislatures but in any case where the question arises whether a legislation is covered by particular legislative power in exercise of which it is purported to be made."
35. Even if it is assumed that, in working of two legislations which pertain to different subject matters, there is an incidental encroachment in respect of small area of operation of two legislations, it cannot be held that one legislation overrides the other. When we look into the pith and substance of both the legislations, i.e., Act, 1958 and Act, 2013, it is clear that they operate in different fields and it cannot be said that Act, 1958 is repugnant to Act, 2013. It is also relevant to note that under Section 15(2) it is provided that where any school has vested in the Government under sub-section (1), compensation shall be paid to the persons entitled thereto on the basis of the market value thereof as on the date of the notification. 36. In the counter-affidavit in the present case, the State has clearly mentioned that compensation has been determined by the Collector. In paragraph 12 of the counter-affidavit following has been stated:
"12.Out of the 4 schools that have been taken over by Government, compensations have been sanctioned to the erstwhile Managers of the following 3 schools as per market value.
(i) A.U.P. School, Malaparamba Rs.5,85,86,710/- as per G.O.(Rt) No.181/2017(GEdn dated 25.01.2017.
(ii)A.U.P. School, Palat, Kozhikode - Rs.56,09,947/- as per G.O.(Rt)No. 2289/2017/Gedn dated 11.07.2017 & G.O.(Rt)No.6047/2017/Fin dated 31.07.2017.
(iii)P.M.L.P. School, Kiraloor, Thrissur Rs.79,54,550/- as per G.O.(Rt)No. 2289/2017/Gedn dated 34 11.07.2017 & G.O. (Rt) No. 6047/2017/Fin dated 31.07.2017.
37. It is also relevant to note that under Section 15 sub-section (4), any person aggrieved by an order of the Collector has a right to appeal to the District Court.
38. Applying the ratio as laid down by this Court in the above noted cases, we conclude that Act, 1958 and Act, 2013 operate in different fields and Section 15 of the Act, 1958 in no manner is overridden or repugnant to Act, 2013. There was no invalidity in the exercise of the power of the State Government under Section 15 to take over the schools. The owners being entitled to compensation at the market rate on the date of notification, the procedure for taking over the property is in full compliance of requirement of Article 300A of the Constitution of India. We, thus, do not find any merit in this submission of learned counsel for the appellant.
39. Learned counsel for the appellant has placed reliance on the judgment of this Court in Bhusawal Municipal Council Vs. Nivrutti Ramchandra Phalak and others, (2015) 14 SCC 327. Bhusawal Municipal Council had filed the appeal against the interlocutory order passed by the Bombay High Court by which interim relief was granted to the appellant to the extent of payment of 50% of the enhanced amount of compensation as awarded by the Reference Court in the land acquisition proceedings.
The Council challenged the said order and contended that the land was acquired for the public purpose, the Council-appellant does not have sufficient funds to pay the enhanced compensation, this Court may grant stay of payment of the enhanced amount of compensation awarded by the Reference Court. In the above context following observation was made by this Court in paragraph 8:
"8. We see no justification to accept the submissions so advanced on behalf of the appellant Council. Undoubtedly, the appellant might be willing to meet its constitutional or legal obligation to open a primary school for imparting education to children below 14 years of age but the question does arise as to whether the appellant Council has a right to meet a public purpose or a constitutional obligation at the cost of individual citizens by depriving them of their constitutional rights under Article 300-A of the Constitution?"
40. This Court dismissed the appeal filed by the Council and had made the observation that right to property is not only a constitutional or a statutory right but also a human right. Therefore, in case the person aggrieved is deprived of the land without making the payment of compensation, it would be tantamount to forcing the said uprooted persons to become vagabond. There cannot be any dispute to the proposition laid down by this Court as above. For the land acquired under the Land Acquisition Act compensation determined under the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 is required to be paid to the land owner. The order granting interim relief to the appellant was held to be just order in which this Court refused to interfere.
41. In the above case no such proposition has been laid down by this Court which may help the appellant. The present is not a case of acquisition under the Land Acquisition Act. As noted above, under Section 15 sub-section (4) of Act, 1958, the payment of compensation has to be made in accordance with the market value on the date of notification under Section 15.
42. In view of the foregoing discussion, we do not find any ground to interfere with the judgments of the learned Single Judge as well as Division Bench of the Kerala High Court dismissing the writ petition and writ appeal of the appellant.
43. In the result, all the appeals are dismissed.
..........................J. (A.K. SIKRI)
..........................J. (ASHOK BHUSHAN)
NEW DELHI,
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HomeSportsMeet The Goalkeeper Who Won More Trophies Than Appearances In 13 Seasons
Meet The Goalkeeper Who Won More Trophies Than Appearances In 13 Seasons
August 6, 2018 Joy Peace Sports
On Tuesday, S.L. Benfica’s 40-year-old third choice goalkeeper Paulo Lopes announced his retirement from world football. The shot-stopper has managed to collect more trophies and winner’s medals than appearances during his time with Águias.
Lopes re-joined Benfica in 2012 and has made 11 appearances across all competitions until his retirement, during that time he scooped up 12 trophies while largely sitting on the bench.
Competition: Year Won: League Title 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 Portuguese Cup 2013, 2016 Portuguese League Cup 2013, 2014, 2015 Portuguese Super Cup 2014, 2016, 2017
The 40-year-old finished his youth career and began his senior career at the Portuguese club in the late 90s, early 2000s but could not break into the first team.
After a season at Benfica B in 2001, he moved away from his boyhood club.
He then spent time at several different Portuguese outfits before returning to see out his career.
“This is one of the most difficult moments in a footballer’s life when his career comes to an end, but as in everything in life nothing is eternal,” he said.
“I’ve been a 21-year-old football professional, a profession to which I gave myself heart and soul with the clear conscience that I did everything to honour the profession I embraced and dignified myself as a football professional,” reported A BOLA.
Lopes will now take charge of coaching the goalkeepers for Benfica’s under-23s.
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Martin Fussenegger
Professor of Biotechnology and Bioengineering
ETH Zurich Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering (D-BSSE)
Martin Fussenegger is Professor of Biotechnology and Bioengineering at the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering (D-BSSE) of the ETH Zurich in Basel as well as at the University of Basel. His research focuses on mammalian cell engineering, in particular on the assembly of synthetic gene circuits that process complex control and closed-loop expression logic and on the production of theranostic designer cells implants that interface with host metabolism and have the potential to correct prominent metabolic disorders. Martin Fussenegger graduated with Werner Arber at the Biocenter of the University of Basel (1992), obtained his Ph.D. in Medical Microbiology (1994) at the Max Planck Institute of Biology (Tübingen) and continued his postdoctoral studies on host-pathogen interactions at the Max Planck Institute of Infection Biology (Berlin, 1995). Subsequently, he joined the ETH Institute of Biotechnology (1996), where he received his habilitation in 2000, and became Swiss National Science Foundation Professor of Molecular Biotechnology in 2002, prior to being awarded a Chair in Biotechnology and Bioengineering at the ETH Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering in 2004. On a presidential mission, he moved to Basel in 2008 to build up the D-BSSE, the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering of the ETH Zurich. Martin Fussenegger is a fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) and a member of the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences. He received the Gaden Award, the Merck Cell Culture Engineering Award, the Medal of the European Society for Animal Cell Technology (ESACT), the Gutenberg Chair Excellence Award and an Advanced Grant Award of the European Research Council.
Connect on AIChE Engage
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Bionanotechnology
Biosensors / Devices
Molecular, Cellular, & Tissue Engineering
Pharmaceutical Engineering & Drug Delivery
Corporate Sponsor
SBE Awards
IMES
Ahmad Khalil
Mo is the Innovation Career Development Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Boston University. He is the Associate Director and a Founding Core Member of the Biological Design Center, and is also a Visiting Scholar at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University. He was an HHMI Postdoctoral Fellow with Dr. Jim Collins at BU working in systems & synthetic biology. He completed his PhD at MIT with Drs. Angie Belcher and Matt Lang in molecular biophysics & engineering.
Khalil and his laboratory team are developing new synthetic biology approaches to examine and engineer the functions of living cells, such as how they make decisions and communicate. They are particularly interested in molecular systems that enable cells to retain memory of past experiences, a research interest that has taken them across diverse biological systems from chromatin to prions. Khalil is also applying his synthetic biology tools to address a variety of biomedical problems, including neurodegenerative diseases and antibiotic resistance. Khalil’s work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the US Department of Defense and earned him a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers in 2017, an NIH Director’s New Innovator Award and a DARPA Young Faculty Award in 2016, and an NSF CAREER Award in 2014.
Giving Back.
Donations provide professional development and training opportunities to student members of the Society for Biological Engineering.
AIChE Code of Ethics
AIChE Home
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Three International Education Leaders Selected as Association of International Education Administrators Presidential Fellows for 2017-2018
(Download as .pdf)
(Durham, NC) August 10, 2017: Three international education leaders have been selected as 2017-2018 AIEA Presidential Fellows. The AIEA Presidential Fellows program is a highly competitive mentoring initiative for senior international officers in the first three years of their current positions.
Kanton T. Reynolds of Saint Augustine’s University, Curt Rom of the University of Arkansas, and JR Swanegan of Stetson University College of Law were selected by a committee of their peers as recipients of this year’s prestigious fellowship.
AIEA Presidential Fellows are matched with mentors to provide advice, consultation, and guidance on issues of professional interest. Fellows are given a small stipend to fund a visit to their Mentor’s campus to learn about the policies, politics and procedures of the campus, meeting administrators and faculty, and immersing himself in the day-to-day activities of the institution. This program provides participants with the opportunity to observe how experienced senior international officers and their institutions address international education challenges and solve problems, to learn about national and international issues and how they affect individual campuses, and to become a member of a national network which can serve as a resource beyond the Presidential Fellows program.
2017-2018 Presidential Mentors Donald Filer of Yale University, Gil Latz of Indiana University—Purdue University Indianapolis, and Bailian Li of North Carolina State University bring extensive knowledge and experience to their role.
“AIEA congratulates these three outstanding leaders who were selected as AIEA Presidential Fellows for this coming year,” said Darla Deardorff, AIEA Executive Director. “Developing strong leaders is highly needed at this particular juncture in international higher education, and AIEA is delighted to be able to help support such strong leaders.”
About AIEA
The Association of International Education Administrators (AIEA) is the only association specifically for leaders in international higher education. Founded in 1982, AIEA is hosted at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina and is comprised of over 450 institutions around the world engaged in advancing the international dimensions of higher education.
For additional information, visit www.aieaworld.org or contact AIEA at [email protected] or +1 (919) 668-1928.
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Honduran democracy on the brink
With no declared winner two weeks after election, the legitimacy of the Honduran democracy is hanging in the balance.
by Lauren Carasik
An opposition supporter gestures in front of soldiers during a protest over a contested presidential election with allegations of electoral fraud in Tegucigalpa, Honduras [Jorge Cabrera/Reuters]
Two weeks after incumbent president Juan Orlando Hernandez appeared to lose an election he was expected to win handily, Honduras is teetering on the edge of chaos. The day after the election, opposition candidate Salvador Nasralla was ahead by five points with 58 percent of the vote counted, a margin an electoral tribunal member described as irreversible. Then, the tally was mysteriously stopped for more than a day. Soon after it resumed, Hernandez inexplicably pulled ahead with the slimmest of leads, sparking massive protests.
No winner has been declared, and the opposition has filed a legal challenge to the tabulation process. The extreme electoral irregularities and the charged context in which they arose are threatening to inflame instability for years to come.
Nearly two-thirds of Hondurans live in endemic poverty and pervasive violence, conditions that have fueled the migrant crisis that US President Donald Trump so frequently rails against. Beleaguered but unbowed, they have courageously taken to the streets in spirited demands for a transparent and fair election process . Hernandez responded to the uprising with a violent crackdown, a curfew and a suspension of constitutional rights that has left at least fourteen people dead and hundreds detained, with some of the repression stemming from US-trained security forces. Some of the restrictions have since been lifted, but the situation remains tense amid a deteriorating human rights climate, and the specter of state-sponsored violence remains omnipresent.
Although he has consolidated power in the military, legislature, judiciary and the electoral authority since his election in 2013, Hernandez was apparently hedging his bets. Perhaps that's because the majority of Hondurans oppose presidential re-election, which is banned by the Constitution.
Some opposition activists fear that Nasralla will be pressured into accepting a forced compromise that subverts the will of the people, or that Hernandez will try to run out the clock, which requires an official result by December 26, and tighten his grip on power once the international attention has faded and the embattled protestors have grown weary and dispirited.
On November 25, The Economist disclosed a purported recording of his "Plan B", a pre-election National Party training session providing coaching on how to rig the election. Credible evidence and a detailed analysis by Economist strongly suggest that those efforts escalated after Hernandez was caught off guard by Nasralla's surging vote count.
That Hernandez would refuse to relinquish an office he was illegitimately seeking is hardly a surprise. Ironically, the prohibition against a second term served as the spurious justification for the ouster of left-leaning President Manual Zelaya in 2009, a move Hernandez supported. The ban on re-election was lifted in 2015 by a Supreme Court that Hernandez had stacked in his favour, undermining the rule of law. Now, the country is on the cusp of a haunting reprise of the coup that unleashed an unprecedented wave of violence and misery.
Wary of Zelaya and his geostrategic impact in the region, Washington helped legitimise the post-coup government that set in motion the fraught conditions for this contested election. Since then, the United States has provided $114 million in security aid and unwavering support to Honduras, turning a blind eye to the deeply embedded institutional corruption. The National Party's theft of hundreds of millions of dollars from the national health service - some of which filled the incumbent's election coffers - triggered indignant torch-lit protests in 2015, but accountability for that graft has been elusive. Despite a reported drop in the sky-high murder rate attributed to Hernandez's iron-fist policies, a palpable climate of fear and intimidation has spread far beyond the groups targeted for repression - human rights defenders , journalists, lawyers, opposition activists, members of the LGBTI community and others - to the broader population. Meanwhile, Honduras has opened its borders to transnational investors eager to exploit the country's desperate need for development. Yet little benefit has trickled down to the nation's impoverished masses , according to an analysis of social and economic indicators by the Center for Economic and Policy Research.
Still, in September, well before the election, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson cheered the two countries' "joint efforts to strengthen democratic institutions in the region." But instead of signaling that there would be fallout from the flagrant erosion of democratic principles, two days after the contested election Tillerson certified that Honduras complied with conditions requiring progress on anti-corruption efforts and human rights protections for the release of millions of dollars in US aid.
The decision came just weeks after an explosive report implicated state security forces in the conspiracy to assassinate internationally acclaimed indigenous and environmental activist Berta Caceres in 2016 and in covering up the crime and shielding its masterminds. The optics and timing of the State Department's vote of confidence are abysmal, though Congress can mitigate the harm by exercising its power to withhold funds despite the certification.
Election observation teams from the Organisation of American States (OAS) (pdf) and the European Union (EU) have roundly criticised the flawed process. A growing chorus both inside and outside of Honduras is echoing those grave concerns, including US lawmakers Senator Patrick Leahy,ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Senator Ben Cardin, the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and many others. Yet the US Embassy in Honduras released a statement on December 4 commending the government's transparency and citizen participation in the process. The embassy later bowed to pressure by supporting the OAS and EU positions and a partial recount, but Washington's vested interest in propping up its man in Honduras is abundantly clear.
The parties remain at an impasse. The opposition alliance has called for a vote-by-vote recount of all ballots under international supervision, based on its justifiable suspicion that the tally sheets have been tampered with and the database itself compromised. The demand for a full and transparent recount is eminently reasonable considering the myriad irregularities that have tainted the election and the National Party's control of the state apparatus overseeing it. In contrast, the electoral authority and Hernandez have agreed only to a partial recount of the votes that arrived after the pause, but without important safeguards that would ensure the recount's integrity. Failing a complete recount, a new election conducted with close and impartial international oversight will likely be necessary to restore the credibility of the democratic process.
Some opposition activists fear that Nasralla will be pressured into accepting a forced compromise that subverts the will of the people, or that Hernandez will try to run out the clock, which requires an official result by December 26, and tighten his grip on power once the international attention has faded and the embattled protestors have grown weary and dispirited. President Trump's angst at losing the popular vote last year drove him to create a government commission to ferret out voter fraud despite the complete lack of evidence that any occurred. The least he can do for Honduras is to withhold economic and political support until the electoral process produces a fair and transparent outcome, no matter how long that takes. The legitimacy of the Honduran democracy is hanging in the balance.
The views expressed in this article are the authors' own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial policy.
Honduras: Blood and the Water
Lauren Carasik
Lauren Carasik is the Director of the International Human Rights Clinic at Western New England University School of Law.
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Which Part of the Flower?
Anne Dove
"In this piece I wanted to play with the idea of still life by painting a close-up of a flower that is a bit off. The stem of the flower appears to be coming into the center of the flower rather than the back of the flower and the petals are hard to define. This way, I highlight the essence of a flower rather than the reality of it. This makes me think about my limited vision and the realization that I enjoy creating abstracts and surreal pieces because my eyesight favors my seeing creatively, rather than literally."
-Anne Dove
“Creating this way is how I know myself, how I make sense of the world, and how I communicate with people at a deep and satisfying level. I make art to connect inwardly with myself and to connect outwardly with the world around me.”
Anne Dove lives with retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a degenerative eye disease that ultimately causes complete blindness. She began making art full-time once she became legally blind, as a tool to connect with herself and others. Similar to her previous mode of creation as a writer, creating art is a cleansing meditation that leaves her tired but refreshed and renewed.
Anne was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and spent her early years in Tokyo, Japan. In Tokyo, she developed an appreciation for the wabi-sabi principles of fukinsei (asymmetry) and shizen (without pretense), and the principle of shibumi (simple, subtle and unobtrusive beauty). Her art also contains western influences, such as Surrealism, Modernism, and Modern Expressionism. Additionally, Anne is influenced by poetry, nature, science, psychology, and even her own dreams.
Anne enjoys the unpredictable nature of alcohol inks and monoprinting. She also creates collages because of their surreal and symbolic nature, and the process of finding meaning in what may initially appear senseless or absurd. To Anne, art communicates feelings and ideas in a way that words cannot. It’s a silent, powerful emotional connection she enjoys sharing with others.
“I’d like my work as an artist who is legally blind to speak for itself, and if I can inspire others who are dealing with limitations or hardship to continue to reach for and pursue the things that make their lives meaningful and useful, then I’m honored to do so.”
More Artwork by Anne Dove
OKAY anne-dove
Prints by Anne Dove
Biospheres
Lantern Path
Past the Cattails
Tentacle Bloom
The Seven Rushes
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The Orbiting Human Circus feat. Julian Koster and The Music Tapes
7:00 PM DOORS
8:00 PM SHOW
$12 | $15
Written and created by musician and storyteller Julian Koster (Neutral Milk Hotel, The Music Tapes), The Orbiting Human Circus (of the Air) is the story of a mysteriously impossible variety show broadcast from the ballroom at the top of the Eiffel Tower and the janitor who longs to become a part of it. Set to air as a podcast through the new Night Vale Presents network, The Orbiting Human Circus premieres on October 12th, and new episodes will post every other Wednesday through February 1, 2017.
This fall the Janitor will be cleaning a venue near you, giving you a chance to literally walk into the world of The Orbiting Human Circus. Featuring Julian Koster (Neutral Milk Hotel) and The Music Tapes.
For more information, go to www.orbitinghumancircus.com.
More about The Orbiting Human Circus (of the Air) Podcast:
The live and audio shows are Co-directed by and developed with noted boundary-pushing New York theater director Ellie Heyman and produced by Christy Gressman, The Orbiting Human Circus continues Koster’s fascination with and exploration of layering of sound environments, stories, and songs. In its nine-episode first season, The Orbiting Human Circus follows a lonely janitor, played by Koster, working atop the Eiffel Tower, who stumbles into a series of alternately surreal and comic adventures as he becomes part of a mystery: what is the secret behind the wildly popular, bizarrely impossible live radio variety show being broadcast from the tower’s top? The Orbiting Human Circus offers an invitation to a world you can return to again and again.
About Night Vale Presents:Inspired to “keep finding new ways to tell stories within what is still a very young medium,” Jeffrey Cranor and Joseph Fink launched the Night Vale Presents network in early 2016, continuing their mission to encourage independent podcasting from writers and artists who haven’t worked in the format before. The cornerstone of the network is Welcome to Night Vale, which has grown to be one of the most downloaded podcasts in the world since its debut in 2012. There have now been over 140 million downloads of the twice-monthly show, which is presented in the style of community updates for the small desert town of Night Vale, featuring local weather, news, announcements from the Sheriff's Secret Police, mysterious lights in the night sky, dark hooded figures with unknowable powers, and cultural events. Fink and Cranor’s other original series –Alice Isn’t Dead and Within The Wires– both debuted in the iTunes top 10 and have gone on to critical and listener acclaim. For more information, go to www.nightvalepresents.com.
Posted in Music, Community
Frankie Cosmos w. Big Thief and Paper Castles
Urban Expression II
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FRESH FRIDAY | ramiro gomez
Ramiro Gomez's effective commentary on modern day Los Angeles takes on multiple styles and mediums, all of which include a similar theme. The hard workers behind the scenes of picturesque homes, tailored gardens, and spotless streets. A very blunt observation, but also one of recognition. This concept runs throughout his work, however he utilizes past masters to deepen his ideals.
Gomez derives his work from a variety of artistic sources, specifically heavily from David Hockney and his very obvious appropriation. Both have a similar outsider view on life in Los Angeles. David Hockney, an English transplant, came to L.A in the 1960's, painting the lesser looked at features of the city. Boxy apartment buildings, vacant swimming pools, and unsuspecting portraits, all depicted in a luminous palette of bright colors, illustrating the bright blinding sunlight of the city. Working as a live-in nanny, Gomez also had a different outlook on his environment and took these Hockney scenes, painting strikingly similar compositions, color palettes, and architecture, but with different subjects. It provides a deep recall of what Hockney was noticing about L.A in the '60's, comparatively viewed with Gomez's current view of not only Los Angeles's residents, but one of the reasons for its prosperous beauty. It is not only a hard edged topic he is trying to display, but also just the simplicity of taking Hockney's vision and recreating it to show how that image is possible. The glossy, picturesque homes and manicured lawns are juxtaposed with the truth behind them.
American Gardeners, 2014.
The Lawn Maintenance, 2014.
A more recent exhibition at the Charlie James Gallery in Los Angeles, On Melrose, shows a literal enlargement of Gomez's unique style. Large scale acrylic paintings depict famous landmarks along Melrose Avenue, as well as the workers who maintain these areas. Gardeners and pool boys have been replaced with leaf blowers, landscape maintenance, and painters. Because of the enlargement, Gomez has the opportunity to focus more on the architecture of the avenue, the backdrop to his scene. They are no longer big boxes of color, but more realistic depictions of foliage and a greater sense of the space itself. As the backdrop becomes more pronounced, Gomez depicts his characters as almost faceless, creating a sense that we know they are there but we don't always necessarily see them. Gomez blatantly shows the unspoken nature of these scenes, in examination, but also in homage
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Gary L. Haller National Recreation Trail, Kansas
Johnson County, Kansas, manages the 17.5-mile trail which begins in Olathe and continues north through Lenexa and Shawnee. The scenic, multi-use route was one of the first major trail facilities completed in the Kansas City metropolitan area.
Wetland area; photo by Bill Maasen
In 1980, the Johnson County Park and Recreation District (District) adopted a long-range plan that called for the preservation of land along several major streams in the county and to develop a linear park system in those preserve corridors.
In August 1986, the voters of Johnson County approved a one-half mil tax levy increase to fund the acquisition of land, development of a linear park system and maintenance of the system of trails along eight major streams. Mill Creek was selected as the pilot project to demonstrate the viability of such a system because it was adjacent to the largest park in the District’s system of parks and because it was at the suburban fringe, an area prime for development.
Over the next 13 years (1987 – 2000), District staff worked closely with local units of government to preserve land along Mill Creek and to develop a multi-use trail. The first phase was completed in the summer of 1988. This phase was built entirely on donated land from a local residential developer, county government and the City of Olathe. This group was honored at a well publicized and well attended trail opening ceremony.
Similar trail dedication ceremonies were held in 1990, 1992, 1994 and 1996 when subsequent phases of the trail were completed. At each of these events, the cooperation of developers and local units of government were emphasized and promoted to the media. This spirit of cooperation and pooling of resources with other agencies to expand the system became a mantra for the Streamway Parks System that continues today.
In 2000, following the completion of the final two phases of the 17-plus mile trail funded with assistance from the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA), a community celebration was held recognizing the significant accomplishment of completing the longest continuous trail in Johnson County. The celebration was well attended by politicians, public servants and citizens demonstrating their appreciation for the facility.
Bike tunnel; photo by Bill Maasen
The completed facility has eight public access locations with a variety of amenities, including restrooms, water fountains, play structures, shelter houses, bicycle parking and signage.
When the Streamway Parks System was first proposed in 1980, the trails and greenways were to act as the backbone of an inter-connected system of trails that connect residential units to places of employment, parks, schools, churches and shopping areas.
In order for this concept to become reality, local units of government were to adopt the plans developed by the District and to coordinate development surrounding the trail. This has definitely been the case with the three cities bisected by the Mill Creek Streamway Park. The Cities of Olathe, Lenexa, and Shawnee have all built trails linking into the larger valley and thereby connecting its residents to a lengthy system of trails, fulfilling the original mission of the plan.
The Mill Creek valley was an important lifeline for prehistoric tribes residing in the region and for those moving to the region. In the early 1830’s, as European settlers farther east forced tribal movements west into this “Indian Territory,” the Delaware, Shawnee, and Choctaw tribes were trans located here and facilities were built for their communities. A grist and sawmill was constructed in 1836 for local production of dimension lumber, wheat flour, and corn meal, that became the namesake of the stream.
In 1996, the Kansas State Historical Society provided technical support to confirm the location of this mill and provided assistance in the development of an interpretive program that would provide one of the many interpretive panels located along the trail. Other interpretive panels located along the trail discuss some of the prehistoric native tribes, the very active blue bird reintroduction program and other local history.
Throughout the development process for the Mill Creek Streamway Park, local and statewide media and one national magazine have written articles about the trail and its development.
The ten-foot wide asphalt surface is continually undergoing improvements, supported by a maintenance crew of four that provide routine and on-going maintenance. The entire 17.5-mile facility is patrolled at least twice a week by maintenance staff and more often when maintenance activities are required.
Photo by Bill Maasen
The District’s Park Police coordinate law enforcement activities with adjoining jurisdictions and emergency responders. In 2009, in association with the Mid-America Regional Council (MARC), the City of Lenexa, and the Johnson County Emergency Communications Department, an integrated system of address points on signage were installed to provide a more rapid response for first responders within the 911 system.
This was the creation of the Kansas City Regional Trail Safety Initiative which is intended to better service visitors to park and green spaces throughout Kansas City by providing better access to 9-1-1 service in undeveloped areas that lack typical street-grid-based addressing systems.
Pilot projects throughout the metro area are providing GPS-based reference points with address codes that are displayed on sign posts at key positions in parks and along trails. In the event of a need for Emergency Services, park patrons may communicate their location to the 9-1-1 dispatcher by sharing the unique identification number posted on the nearest 9-1-1 marker sign. This system will eventually be adopted and used by all local units of government on trail systems.
In 2001, following the retirement of a long-tenured Director of the District, the trail portion of the Mill Creek Streamway Park was re-named the Gary L. Haller Trail. This renaming was to honor over 27 years of service to the community and for the spirit and vision provided in the development of this system. This individual’s vision and leadership made the Streamway Parks a reality and to name the trail in his honor was a crowning achievement of his incredible career.
Directions and trailheads
There are eight public access locations:
Wilder Access: West of I-435 on Wilder Dr. at 19425 Wilder Dr. in Shawnee
Barker Access: West of I-435 & north of Shawnee Mission Pkwy at 5946 Barker Rd. in Shawnee
Midland Access: West of I-435 & south of Shawnee Mission Pkwy at 19405 Midland Dr. in Shawnee
Shawnee Mission Park: Across from Shelter 8
87th Lane Access: Woodland and 87th Lane at 19803 W. 87th Ln. in Lenexa
Prairie Star Access: West of I-435 on 95th Street at 18459 Prairie Star Pkwy in Lenexa
Northwood Trails Access: South of College Blvd. and west of Ridgeview at 11344 S. Millview Rd. in Olathe
Northgate Access: West of I-35 and south of 119th St. at 1700 Northgate St. in Olathe
Milwaukee Urban Water Trail, Wisconsin
Econfina River Water Trail, Taylor County, Florida
Mountains to Sea Trail, Orange County, California
Palm Canyon Trail, Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, Arizona
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A call for sustained U.S. commitment to the Central African Republic
Two years ago, a coalition of NGOs released a statement urging a comprehensive U.S. Government strategy to help halt violence, protect civilians and prevent atrocities in the Central African Republic (CAR). As organizations that have made long-term commitments to advancing peace, protecting human rights, and alleviating suffering, we are grateful to the U.S. Government and the American people for efforts to prevent mass atrocities in the CAR. American contributions to humanitarian assistance, interreligious and community conflict resolution, diplomatic engagement, and peacekeeping have saved lives and prevented a worse crisis. The Pope’s visit to the CAR this past weekend provides an excellent opportunity to shine some light on the situation and reaffirm our commitment.
The CAR is at a critical time in its transition. A constitutional referendum is scheduled for December 13th. The referendum will be shortly followed by national elections, which usher in a new phase in the political transition and the return to democratic rule. Almost two million voters have registered to vote. Yet, risks are real. Anti-Balaka and Ex-Seleka militias have not been disarmed, and lawlessness still prevails in many areas. An estimated 860,000 people remain displaced, with nearly half a million outside the country. Violence and human rights abuses continue, with civilians bearing the primary brunt of ongoing insecurity. In some cases, humanitarian and peacebuilding activities have been limited by insecurity. Moreover, the recent crisis has its roots in a legacy of misrule, inequality, latent insecurity and social tensions that have never been adequately addressed.
The current crisis has cost thousands of lives and hundreds of millions of dollars. In order to consolidate gains, support the restoration of just and democratic governance, and support broad-based economic growth, continued commitment from the U.S. will be needed. To continue to ensure that this does not become a protracted crisis we urge the U.S. to commit to providing sustained diplomatic and financial support to:
Local, national and international partners in order to accelerate Security Sector Reform (SSR), Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) of ex-combatants and continued assistance to security in LRA-affected areas. This includes engaging MINUSCA and Sangaris to fulfil their mandates during and after the electoral process.
Continuing and institutionalizing locally-led conflict management and reconciliation initiatives engaging religious, community, youth, women and civil society actors.
Efforts to meet humanitarian needs, while building in the necessary flexibility and sustained funding to enable a transition to early recovery and development. This includes the legal and sustai
Continuing to support accountability processes, including the recovery of the justice sector, national and international accountability mechanisms for abuses committed during the crisis, including illicit trade in natural resources.
The Alliance for Peacebuilding
Amnesty International USA
The Enough Project
The Friends Committee on National Legislation
Lutheran Partners in Global Ministry
Peace Direct
The Resolve LRA Crisis Initiative
Search for Common Ground
Mark Schneider, Senior VP, International Crisis Group
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Eleftherios Jerry Floros 29/03/2019 11
The Brexit Scrum and Bracing for Impact
For the Brexit weary, once again the official Brexit deadline:
29 March 2019 – 11 pm
Today is the day that Great Britain was expected to leave the EU.
After almost 3 years of intensive Parliamentary debate and discourse, the end is not near in sight and up to now has yielded absolutely nothing, except for the triggering of Article 50, the relevant clause of the Lisbon Treaty that outlines the official process for any EU member state to leave the European Union voluntarily.
Only two days ago, amidst the Brexit deadlock and endless bickering in the turbulent final days before the official Brexit departure date, members of Parliament rejected 8 different proposals on Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union. These plans ranged from a “No Deal” Brexit to holding a second referendum after the million march in London on 23 March 2019, and a government petition signed by more than 5.8 million people, almost 9% of the UK’s population.
In an unexpected move, Parliament rejected the Brexit petition to revoke Article 50 stating that stopping Brexit would “break promises” and undermine both “our democracy and the trust that millions of voters have placed in the government”.
Speaker of the House of Commons MP John Bercow added further drama and dilemma to the Brexit impasse by reviving a 415 years’ old convention dating back to 1604 that prevents “attrition”, the process of wearing down elected politicians by presenting the same unchanged bill repeatedly while the clock runs down. And by doing so, House Speaker Bercow stopped Prime Minister Ms May from attempting to try to pass her controversial and materially unchanged Brexit bill for a 3rdtime, even that her previous two attempts were voted down by a very wide margin each time around. Somehow, Ms May must assume that a third time would persuade MPs - suffering from “Brexit fatigue” - will suffice to pass her highly contested bill in a third round of voting. What an ignorant assumption and epic mistake to make.
To persuade her own party and staunch “Brexiteers” - the transformed former “Eurosceptics” of glory days gone by - Theresa May, in a last ditch attempt to break the deadlock, has offered to resign and stand down as Prime Minister if her Brexit deal is passed today in Parliament, a move many consider bold, risky and unlikely.
As the clock is running down, the world is eagerly watching to see if the UK will crash out of the European Union without a deal, commonly referred to as a “Hard Brexit”. And no matter what happens now, the damage has already been done. The economy is already suffering from the vacuum left by big businesses not investing as well as moving operations out of the UK, and big banks having already left for the safer shores of the banking capitals of the European Union – Paris, Frankfurt, Dublin, Luxemburg and Amsterdam.
All the while, the Brexit ball is lost in the Westminster scrum that has totally engulfed and captivated not only Parliament, but an entire nation and the world at large.
For a stable democratic government not to be able to come to an agreement within its own ranks is unprecedented and testimony to the lack of cohesion and support within the leading political parties, revolting backbenchers and a few renegade factions.
As Britain is edging towards the Brexit cliff tonight, with staunch Brexiteers and hopeful remainers divided along hard front lines and seismic fault lines, it appears that Britain will crash out of the EU without a deal and suffer the consequences of an indecisive and ineffective Parliament.
In short, almost 3 years of Brexit discord and debacle for nothing.
Buccaneers and Brexiteers – A Legacy of the British Empire?
“Better a horrific ending than a never ending horror”
Quote: German Chamber of Commerce on Brexit
On June 23rd2016, a total of 17,410,742 (51.9%) British voted for Brexit in a nationwide referendum put forward by Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron, a fulfilment of a promise he made during his campaign for the 2015 UK General Election. Shortly after the surprise and unexpected Brexit result, David Cameron resigned and was then succeeded by his former Home Secretary Ms Theresa May.
UKIP Leader Nigel Farage and fanatic Brexiteer Boris Johnson also abandoned ship right after the Brexit vote, with Boris – the impeccable buffoon – resurfacing as Foreign Secretary for the British government, handpicked by Ms May herself, an epic mistake that most likely will lead to the end of her own political career. Just today, Boris Johnson announced his candidacy to become Prime Minister and replace Ms May at 10 Downing Street, which announcement did not really come as a surprise but was rather expected.
Regardless of the reluctant acceptance of the Brexit outcome, the government’s duty, after the Brexit vote and the triggering of Article 50, is to ensure that all measures are put in place to fulfil the will of its people, the 51.9% majority that voted for the UK to leave the European Union.
Almost 3 years down the road, and the UK is still completely unprepared for exiting the EU while at the same time facing a Brexit crisis of epic proportions that could lead to an economic collapse in the interim. The EU in the meantime has pretty much lost its patience and all but given up hope, publicly stating that the Brexit issue is now fully “in the hands” of the British Parliament and no one else. And they are right about that.
After being part of the European Union for 46 years, the relations from both sides are so intertwined that it cannot simply be untangled within the 2 years prescribed by Article 50 of the Treaty on the European Union.
Going back in time, many will not know or recall that Greenland, which at the time was a county of Denmark, joined the European Community (as it was named at the time) in 1973.
By 1982 Greenland voted to leave the EC (by a majority vote of 53%) over a fishing rights’ dispute and in 1985 it finally left, a full 3 years after the referendum.
If an insignificant economy such as Greenland takes a full 3 years to leave the European Community, what can be expected of the United Kingdom, a major EU member country with strong political influence within the EU and the 5thlargest economy in the world with a GDP of USD 2.982 trillion?
Apart from the gargantuan task of “disengaging” Britain from the EU as well as the unforeseen complications with regards the Irish border and the “backstop” provision in Ms May’s ultimate Brexit deal that will be voted on today, how can Parliament decide with an overwhelming majority on any Brexit deal without knowing the implications and consequences of such a vote? A positive outcome is what everyone is hoping for; a negative outcome is what everyone is expecting, even from diehard Brexiteer Boris Johnson and consorts.
Another aspect that seems to have been forgotten in the present ramblings of Brexit and the EU, is that the latter was formed – along with NATO in 1949 and the United Nations in 1945 – after the Second World War with the main purpose of establishing a common market and also to prevent another major war from happening on European soil. Apart from the Balkans war, Europe enjoyed relative peace and stability for more than 70 years and this is the greatest testimony to the success of a unified Europe, under the auspices of the European Union, and by extension NATO and the United Nations.
Democracy and The People’s Choice
End the Chaos – a campaign by the indefatigable remainer Gina Miller is gaining ground, simply because if parliament cannot come to a Brexit conclusion, it should be left to the British people to decide on the future of their country.
But is it fair and democratic for the 48.1% minority of “remain” voters to try to reverse a national vote, simply because these voters didn’t like the outcome of the referendum and because the UK government cannot decide either way on Brexit?
Perhaps in this particular case and under these precarious circumstances, a second referendum is actually the only option left. Allow the vote to be put out again to the British people and make it final and definitive, without any interference by Parliament or the British government.
The main reason for another referendum proposal, is that during the first referendum, the British electorate was misinformed on all fronts, David Cameron saying that WW3 would be upon us and Boris Johnson claiming that £350 million weekly to the EU could be diverted to the NHS instead. And who would not approve of such a great income stream towards the NHS? Much needed funding to better the lives of NHS patients, improve the working standards of NHS staff and increase the maintenance and daily operations of underfunded hospitals. This however never materialised as government spending is not decided by one single MP and his personal political agenda, but Boris Johnson took advantage of the weak and vulnerable voters - who are dependent on the NHS to provide for better healthcare - to advance his campaign for Brexit, driving around in a big red bus across the country to garner support for the leave campaign. This was a downright disgrace by Boris Johnson, for taking unashamedly advantage of the British people who were misled and misinformed on Brexit and its implications on the economy and society as whole.
Reversing a democratic vote is fundamentally wrong and a big risk to consider, as it could lead to civil unrest, violent protests and riots but it’s a risk worth taking. Crashing out the European Union without a deal can cause more harm, economically and politically, than another referendum and therefore it’s better to vote on a second but final referendum. Misinformation of the public should not be followed by an ill-conceived and unprepared Hard Brexit, but rather thoughtful and deliberate reconsideration of all options before it’s too late.
Democracy has been derailed by the lies of the few and a Parliament stuck in a political power struggle, therefore it’s high time for the British people to take matters into their own hands and decide on the future of Britain and for the generations of Britons to come.
The clock is ticking and time is running out.
Aarron Lynch
This is never ending, can anyone remember anything about life before Brexit?
Daniel Greenhalgh
Parliament doesn’t want to hold a second referendum because it betrayed the result of the 1st.
Jessica Young
I'm not even British (American by the way) but reading this and every other bit of Brexit makes me sad
Andrew Sotiriou
Tories are scared of a hung parliament or losing totally.
Mark Timson
World is enjoying the English Politics Circus, way better than Family Guy + Simpsons
Liam Ratcliffe
Brexit betrayal bonfires being lit all across the U.K.
Just leave for God sake!
Steven Rush
What's the UK going to do now? Probably implode. Good luck y'all!
Jamie Gosney
Do you remember when we thought David Cameron was a bad prime minister?
Benjamin Wood
Absolute disgrace the way politicians have behaved, we voted leave, do what the people have asked. Leave.
Monika Kray
Take time off from Brexit
And get to know Brextazy
Instagram : brextazy_official
Eleftherios Jerry Floros
Jerry is the CEO of MoneyDrome, a hybrid investment & trading platform enhanced by analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence. He is also an entrepreneur, writer and speaker with a 30 year diversified background in finance, engineering and maritime. His main areas of interest are FinTech and digital disruptions, which profoundly impact the global economy as well as our personal lives. Mr Floros graduated from the University of Oxford and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
1 Captain Marvel: A Strong Step Forward For MCU, Hollywood, and America
Erich Reimer
2 Brexit: Where Do We Stand?
Alan Hill
3 Are You Ready For the US MidTerm Election Day 2018?
4 Reflecting on Double Standards in the American Public Square
5 Building a Transparent African Development Bank
Stephen Yeboah
Erich Reimer 4
Alan Hill 5
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The Awesome Foundation
¡Impresionante dondequiera!
Proyecto anterior El próximo proyecto
Nametag Day
New York City, NY proyecto creado por Michael Morgenstern
What good is sharing a city like New York with millions of other people if you can't connect with them? On most days of the year, you pass by your fellow pedestrians without noticing them.
But on Nametag Day, you'll have a chance to break the ice with total strangers. The New York chapter of the Awesome Foundation is proud to announce that our $1,000 April grant will fund an ambitious plan to distribute hundreds of thousands of nametags across New York City.
Nametag Day is June 1, 2013, and when it takes place it will be an experiment in social interaction on an unprecedented scale. There's a website (http://nametagday.com), where independent filmmaker Michael Morgenstern and his team (we like to think of them as a rag-tag band of misfits from an '80s movie) explain their vision for strengthening the human element of the New York experience.
The full, 200,000-nametag operation will require probably a couple thousand volunteers, dozens of nametag distribution centers and no small amount of money, but Michael is determined to make it happen on June 1st no matter what. He is in touch with potential sponsors, and crowdfunding isn't out of the question. Volunteers can sign up on the website. The purpose of the event, he says, is to get people to talk to each other. But more than that, it's about bringing a culture of openness to this sometimes standoffish city.
Awesome NYC is glad to get behind Nametag Day, and we look forward to seeing droves of strangers walking around on June 1st, their chests proudly declaring, "Hello! My name is ______."
Fondos becados por New York City, NY (April 2013)
Acerca & Contacto FAQ Iniciar
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Editorial Feature
Autonomous Vehicles for Improved Road Safety
By Stuart MilneJul 2 2014
Image Credits: Thinkstock
For many years scientists, engineers and technology enthusiasts have deliberated about the viability of autonomous vehicles, which are often confined to sci-fi movies.
However, recent developments in sensors, computer vision, artificial intelligence, automation and computer processing power, means scientists and engineers are now closer than ever to making this technology a reality.
Carnegie Mellon University Driver-less Car
In collaboration with the National Science Foundation (NSF), the U.S. Department of Transportation, DARPA and General Motors, the CMU’s autonomous vehicle is a result of decades of research and development by scientists and engineers.
Following the huge success seen by the CMU team, Bill Shuster Chairman of the House Transportation Committee, requested the driver-less vehicle be brought to Washington, D.C. where he and various members of congress participated in a 33-mile drive between a Pittsburgh suburb and the city’s airport.
The Carnegie Mellon car resembles any other Cadillac SRX however, with built in sensors, cameras and computers, this vehicle is at the cutting edge of autonomous vehicle technology.
The demonstration was aimed at showing how the autonomous technology can be incorporated into vehicles that are currently on the market.
This technology represents the natural progression of automation and will have a major positive impact on society since transportation is a hub of modern economies.
Co-director of the General Motors-Carnegie Mellon Autonomous Driving Collaborative Research Lab
The work done by the CMU team underlines the importance of sensors technology, software, wireless communications and the network integration needed to guarantee the road safety of autonomous vehicles.
The CMU car owes its autonomous ability to a top-of-the-line radar system, advanced camera technology, sensors and various other technologies all built into the body of the vehicle. The car is capable of controlling the steering, regulating the speed and braking, and monitoring obstacles in the road, including other vehicles and pedestrians.
In 2010 Approximately 1.24 million deaths occurred on the world’s roads.
50% of these deaths occured among vulnerable road users
In the same year, middle-income countries had the highest road traffic death rates, at 20.1 per 100,000 road users.
The camera system in the car is setup to visually detect traffic signals and respond in accordance with road safety. The researchers at CMU have also included technology which allows the car to communicate wirelessly with traffic signals around any given area. This will allow the car to accurately determine the status of traffic signals further down the road.
Google's Driver-less Car
Google’s self-driving car is another project which has seen significant developments in autonomous vehicle technology.
Image Credit: Google Press Images - Eric, Larry and Sergey in a self-driving car on January 20, 2011
The car is fitted with four radar systems located in strategic positions allowing it to determine its speed in relation to other vehicles on the road.
The car also has orientation sensors which allow it to track its motion and balance.
Wheel hub sensors allow the car to calculate the number of rotations further helping it determine its location.
A large laser sensor mounted on top of the vehicle allows the car perform accurate, 360 degree measurements at a rate of 3.5 measurements per second. The information from the cars systems are then collated and analyzed by the on-board computer and mapped in Google’s specifically designed custom software.
The software allows the car to build a real time virtual map of the environment around it. This software means the car can react to pedestrians, road signals, other vehicles as wells as anticipating the actions of moving objects. The car is able to use the data collected to safely navigate all the potential scenarios a driver may encounter on the road.
Video Courtesy of Google
The developments in driver-less technology are very significant for the future safety of our roads. Autonomous vehicles could offer the next natural progression in how we navigate our journeys, and organizations like Google and CMU may soon offer a viable solution for an increasingly congested global road network.
Carnegie Mellon Takes Congress for a Ride in Self-Driving Car
Demonstrating a driver-less future
Stuart Milne
Stuart graduated from the University of Wales, Institute Cardiff with a first-class honours degree in Industrial Product Design. After working on a start-up company involved in LED Lighting solutions, Stuart decided to take an opportunity with AZoNetwork. Over the past five years at AZoNetwork, Stuart has been involved in developing an industry leading range of products, enhancing client experience and improving internal systems designed to deliver significant value for clients hard earned marketing dollars. In his spare time Stuart likes to continue his love for art and design by creating art work and continuing his love for sketching. In the future Stuart, would like to continue his love for travel and explore new and exciting places.
Milne, Stuart. (2019, July 05). Autonomous Vehicles for Improved Road Safety. AZoRobotics. Retrieved on July 18, 2019 from https://www.azorobotics.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=190.
Milne, Stuart. "Autonomous Vehicles for Improved Road Safety". AZoRobotics. 18 July 2019. <https://www.azorobotics.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=190>.
Milne, Stuart. "Autonomous Vehicles for Improved Road Safety". AZoRobotics. https://www.azorobotics.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=190. (accessed July 18, 2019).
Milne, Stuart. 2019. Autonomous Vehicles for Improved Road Safety. AZoRobotics, viewed 18 July 2019, https://www.azorobotics.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=190.
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Madan no Ou to Vanadis:Volume 12 Prologue
Prologue[edit]
Wind containing the smell of blood blew violently.
This was a battlefield. More exactly, it was a corner of the battlefield. The fellow mercenary groups hired by both armies clashed and it was slightly before one of the armies collapsed.
It was the side that Figneria has been hired by, that lost.
The enemy ran after her allies who fled and her allies dispersed. When she noticed, there was no longer an ally around Figneria, but only several enemies chasing after her.
As she ran, she cut down the enemies one after another and at the place where there remained two enemies, Figneria finally stopped running away.
One of them was a tall man who wore leather armor and set up a double-edged ax. The other was a thin man who wore chain mail and held a spear.
Figneria lowered her head dodging the axe swung down sideways as if going against the wind. She kicked the ground, jumped into the tall man’s chest and sharply slashed at him with the short swords which she respectively held in both hands.
A short scream was raised. As his right hand and his abdomen, which was not covered with leather armor, was dyed with blood; the tall man staggered. Figneria took another step forward and slid the short swords’ blades into the tall man’s throat. The tall man coughed vomiting blood, rolled on the ground and stopped moving before long.
The man with the spear stood stock still in utter amazement. While he was at a loss on how to attack, his comrade was killed. It was no wonder.
Figneria did not overlook that chance. Originally, she was aiming for the tall man first in order to seal the attack of the man with the spear by using the tall man’s large build as a shield.
She shortened the interval in one breath. Figneria threw the short sword held in her left hand. As the man reflexively tried to knock down the short sword, he wielded his spear.
When the short sword let a hard metallic sound resound and fell on the ground, Figneria closed in upon the man.
Because the blade couldn’t go through the chain mail, she thrust the right hand’s short sword to the man’s face. With a *kahah!* sound, the man opened his eyes wide and fell down on his back.
Still grasping the short sword smeared with blood and fat, Figneria expressionlessly looked down at the men. When she confirmed that they were certainly dead, she picked up the other short sword and looked around.
The sky was dark as it was covered with dark gray thick clouds. The ground was filled with dozens of corpses. Equipment only for mercenaries were scattered around; and if there were corpses wearing leather armor, there were also corpses wearing armor and helmets.
“──What an awful battle.”
Being addressed to by a voice from the side, Figneria reflexively jumped back from there while wielding her short swords. When looking at the direction of the voice, one man stood there.
He was around 30. He had a medium build and held a sword in his hand. The armor which he wore was dirty with blood and mud. The white scar on his left cheek was conspicuous, but more than that, it was a man whose calm smile was unbecoming to a battlefield.
“From which side were you hired?”
While asking in a tone as if chatting with a friend, the man lowered his sword. It was to tell that he had no hostility. Figneria, not releasing her vigilance, gave a short reply while measuring by eye the distance to the man. The man leaked a sigh of relief.
“In that case, why don’t we escape together? This seems to be a lost battle.”
Figneria did not reply immediately and turned her gaze to the distance.
The two armies were fighting intensely. The sounds of roars, screams, iron clashing with iron and the sound of flesh being smashed were mixed; and great noise peculiar to a battlefield could be heard up to here.
As the man said, being pushed back was the side which hired Figneria.
When mercenaries of a defeated army were caught, being sold off to slave merchants was still good. In most cases, even such a trouble was spared and they were killed on the spot. Because Figneria was a woman, she would probably have a ghastlier experience.
Still away from the man, Figneria asked.
“Do you have other comrades?”
“Yes. I’ve already let the ones I found go ahead. I also came here just in case, but……”
The man revealed a wry face. Standing here was only Figneria. The man had no room to check the corpses one by one to see whether there were his comrades.
Figneria hesitated on whether she should trust the man. She has never belonged to any mercenary groups so far. Be it a gained battle or a lost battle, she has always left the battlefield alone.
“──Let’s go.”
Suddenly, the man turned his back and began to run. Although Figneria hasn’t yet given an answer, she started running led by the man’s movement.
One enemy cavalryman came chasing after Figneria and the man, but the two of them easily killed the cavalryman.
They then took his horse and left the battlefield.
The man’s name was Vissarion. He was the leader of a mercenary group called the “Silver Gale”.
“Leader, were you hanging around the battlefield to look for your subordinates?”
When Figneria looked at Vissarion with an amazed face, the mercenary group’s leader greatly nodded with a carefree smile.
“It’s my way of doing things. We’re not that many after all.”
Figneria was currently in the camp of the “Silver Gale”. After having succeeded in escaping from the battlefield with Vissarion, she stopped by as she was invited by him. She wanted to know the outcome of the battle, and there was also the need to discuss how they would share the horses which were the only spoils of war.
Although, if one were to ask whether they were able to speak immediately after arriving at the camp, then that was not the case.
It was a lost battle. The small camp was full of injured people. Groans which appeared from pain and wordless screams could be heard here and there.
Women were running about with bandages and wine bottles in hands between men who rounded their back and crouched down or lay down on overcoats spread on the ground.
---Also including those who aren’t combatants, they are about a little less than 30 people.
Figneria thought about such a thing while looking at the mercenaries who were receiving treatment. Although of small scale, in order to manage a mercenary group it seemed that necessary personnel were generally gathered.
The fact that women were in a mercenary group was not strange. This was because people doing cooking, laundry, sewing and going shopping in the town were necessary. There was a difference in deftness between a woman, whom housework was incorporated within her daily life as something natural, and a man to whom it wasn’t so.
Moreover, they also had the role as harlots. They kept company to hotheaded men; at times they took the role of listeners of their idle complaints or heroic tales, comforted them and they (men) could not be cheered up unless it was a woman.
When about half a koku had passed, the injured people’ treatment was almost over and the camp became calm, Figneria noticed multiple gazes turned towards her.
It was not the kind belonging to hostility. A woman mercenary was rare. In addition, Figneria’s attire was quite peculiar. She wore black clothes; a sleeveless coat and a skirt reaching up to her feet all coming together. The design of a falcon sewed on her clothes vividly stood out.
There was also the factor of Figneria herself attracting the attention. The curves of her refined body was to the extent that they could even be seen over her clothes, and sex appeal could also be felt from her long black hair which flowed as to cover her left eye.
Even when exposed to inquisitive eyes, Figneria remained composed as she did not move even one eyebrow. She was used to these sorts of stares. But, she only thought that if she was provoked in a strange way, she would hit them hard. Though her short swords were hung to the blue obi wounded around her waist, as expected she did not intend to unsheathe them suddenly.
However, the first person to call out to her was someone unexpected.
“Are you a mercenary?”
Being addressed with a child-like voice in which tension, excitement and expectation were mixed, Figneria looked there. She squinted her eyes showing a slight confusion.
Standing there were two children. So, it was natural that it was a child-like voice.
One was indeed a lively girl with silver hair and red eyes. She would be around 10. She wore plain hemp clothes and a short skirt, and she carried a sword on her back.
The other one was a tall girl whom tied her dull blond hair on the left side of her head. She looked to be two or three years older than the silver-haired girl. One wondered whether she was nervous as her expression was stiff. Her blue eyes were not turned towards Figneria, but towards the silver-haired girl.
“Elen. Shouldn’t you greet her first? Besides, it’s rude to not introduce yourself.”
To the blond-haired girl’s words, the silver-haired girl called Elen gave a small nod. She then straightened up her back and bowed her head when she once again stared straight at Figneria.
“Nice to meet you, visitor. I am Eleonora. The tall girl here is Limalisha. Errr…… Please to make your acquaintance.”
Figneria, unable to utter her voice at once, looked down at the two children with a bewildered expression. The girl called Limalisha aside, Eleonora ── Elen was clearly different. She was too young to be even in charge of odd jobs and it was also strange for her to carry a sword on her back.
“──Thank you for your politeness. I’m Figneria.”
After a short while, Figneria finally returned these words. Perhaps because she was encouraged by the fact that a reply was given, Elen brightened her pair of red pupils and greatly leaned forward.
“Figneria. You’re a mercenary, right? I’m currently an apprentice, but I’ll become a mercenary someday. Please, tell me a story. For example about a mercenary’s rules or how to fight and the like……”
Figneria was greatly perplexed as she was begged eagerly.
Until now, she had mercilessly knocked down men who had approached her with an ulterior motive and ignored those who turned looks of loathsomeness and contempt at her.
But, this was the first time that she was asked by a child. Unable to ignore it, yet not knowing what to talk about either, Figneria silently looked down at the two girls.
Speaking of Limalisha, she was looking at Elen with a half-amazed expression. It seemed that she didn’t intend to stop Elen unless she did something serious.
“Hey you two, don’t cause trouble for our guest.”
Figneria raised her head to the calm voice. Elen and Lim also looked there.
Vissarion was walking their way. In contrast with Figneria who was inwardly relieved, Elen sulked in displeasure.
“I didn’t cause her trouble. I just want to ask her about various things……”
“I see. Do it at the next opportunity. I have to talk with her about something important from now, you see. Lim, take her somewhere so that she doesn’t eavesdrop.”
While saying so to Limalisha ── Lim, Vissarion told Figneria with a hand gesture to go in the tent. The black-haired female mercenary lightly patted Elen’s head.
“See you next time.”
In that way, after having entered the tent without seeing Elen’s reaction, she slightly regretted having taken an action which wasn’t like her.
Negotiations in themselves were over immediately. They talked and decided on the matter of exchange the horses into money; Figneria received half the amount of the money and the horses themselves became Vissarion’s.
Then, the two of them proceeded with information exchange. They taught each other about things such as where a war looked like it would happen next time, or who were feudal lords giving a good pay. As they finished with that, Figneria suddenly asked Vissarion about what she was concerned about.
“That girl Eleonora, is she your daughter?”
“What are you asking all of a sudden?”
Vissarion stared at Figneria with an amazed face. Although the black-haired woman mercenary felt light irritation in his reaction, she explained about how Elen did not look like someone in charge of miscellaneous jobs and also about how she carried a sword on her back.
“I have never seen a mercenary group employing such a child as an apprentice.”
“Well, that's right.”
Vissarion revealed a wry smile as he scratched his short black hair.
“She may not look like it, but Elen is a veteran. After all, she’s been here since ten years ago.”
According to Vissarion’s story, it seemed that he picked up Elen when she was a baby ten years ago. Since he hesitated to abandon her, he decided to raise her in the mercenary group.
“Since she has become aware of things around her, maybe it’s due to the fact that she has been surrounded by bad people. It's isn't like she can't do miscellaneous jobs, but she's just naturally a naughty brat who swing a sword around.”
Although he said naughty kid, there was certain affection for Elen in Vissarion’s voice. He was proud of being her foster parent, and there was no room to doubt the fact that he felt joy about it.
It was a story of when Figneria was 18 years old and Elen was 10 years old.
Afterwards, Figneria wandered from battlefield to battlefield alone without belonging to any mercenary group. Her blades increased in sharpness with each battle and she killed well-known mercenaries and knights one after another.
Before she knew, she came to be called by the nickname “Finé of the War Blade”.
She had the opportunity to meet the “Silver Gale” several times; she had helped them with their work and had also been helped by them. Vissarion was the owner of superior ability both as the leader of a mercenary group or as a warrior, and he was also deeply trusted by the people of the mercenary group.
Figneria strangely got along well with him too, and their relationship became to the extent that they threw jokes at each other while drinking alcohol together; but she did not become a member of the “Silver Gale”.
Once, Figneria knew about the fact that Vissarion had a dream unlike a mercenary. It was not him who told her. At the place of a party for a won battle, his daughter let it slip out of her mouth.
“You know, Vissarion wants to make a country.”
“……A country?”
“Where everyone can survive freezing coldness, be without starving, being frightened by bandits and wild beasts, and where anyone can live while laughing. He said that he wants to make such a country.”
Make a country.
It was too grand a dream that could only be evaluated as laughable. Even the people of the “Silver Gale”, who had an absolute trust in Vissarion and never went against his orders, never took this seriously and took it as a funny story.
More exactly, there was only one person who believed in his dream. It was Elen.
She had no hesitation in openly declaring that she would help with Vissarion’s dream. Therefore, she trained in swordsmanship and learned how to read and write.
Figneria showed the same reaction as almost all the members of the “Silver Gale” did when she heard this story for the first time. She was literally speechless.
“Even if it’s a dream, why don’t you do something a bit realistic?”
“I intend to make it come true.”
Figneria failed to laugh at Vissarion’s reply. This was because although the mercenary group’s leader was smiling, both his eyes overflowed with a calm determination.
Afterwards, Figneria helplessly kept company with Vissarion’s talk several times. This was because except the two people: Elen and Lim, she was the only other person who was there to listen to his dream.
Naturally, Figneria did not have the knowledge on hand. She basically just played listener’s role and asked questions only about parts that she was interested in. Even so, Vissarion seemed to be happy to get a precious listener.
However, Vissarion’s dream never came true.
It was Figneria who cut his dream apart together with his life.
In a certain battlefield, she and the “Silver Gale” became mutual enemies. In the battle, Figneria fought Vissarion in a one-on-one fight and cut him.
For a mercenary group, the part it's depend on the group leader ability as commander was big. The “Silver Gale” was no exception too. After the war ended, several mercenaries left the group on that same day. Even women, some who were closed to the mercenaries left the group; and some said that they would return to their hometowns and disappeared.
Like melting snow melted, the mercenary group quietly disappeared.
It was the story of when Figneria was 20 and Elen was 13.
Back to Illustrations Return to Main Page Forward to Chapter 1
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Until Every Pet Has a Home
Our pack has your back.
Have a question? We are here to help!
Contact the Staff:
info@bissellpetfoundation.org
2345 Walker Ave NW Grand Rapids MI 49544
New Contact Us Form
Please select: *
Partners for Pets
Please note that BISSELL Pet Foundation does not have pets to adopt, nor is it a place to surrender a pet. We support wonderful animal welfare organizations and would be happy to connect you with them. If you are looking to adopt a pet, we suggest visiting PetFinder.com
Cathy Bissell
Roxy, Adopted in 2011
Taz, Adopted in 2014
Riley, Adopted in 2016
Emma Geers
Associate Grants Specialist
Hopper, adopted in 2018
Elyse Moore
Rachel Young
Grant and Program Specialist
Brooke, adopted in 2018
Bri Olson
Bella, adopted in 2015
Kat Curtin
Digital Communications and Content Specialist
Iris, adopted in 2015
Natalie Dixon
Graphic Design Coordinator
Tom, adopted in 2016
BISSELL Pet Foundation Support Associates
Kerry Schrotenboer
Susan Laffrey
BISSELL Pet Foundation Junior Board
Nicole Baker Sales and Customer Training Manager
Brian Balke Wealth Advisor, Legacy Trust
Laura Braun Meterologist & Multimedia Journalist, 13 On Your Side
Rachel Buckner Assistant Director of Admissions, Aquinas College
Roxanna Dieterle Area VP at Gallagher
Nicole Hensch Stella & Dot Stylist
Krystal Kirby Marketing Director, Schneiderman & Sherman, PC
Ashley Mamula Project Manager, 21 Handshake
McKenna Osborn Demand Planner, Wolverine Worldwide
Katie Perschbacher Assistant Director, Michigan State University
Jordan Punches Senior Consultant, Blue Engine Consulting
Kamady Rudd News Anchor, 13 On Your Side
Alexis Siegel Marketing Specialist, Columbos Floors To Go
Monica Stover Staff Attorney, Barnes & Thornburg LLP
Brittany Stowe IT Business System Analyst, National Heritage Academies
Megan Stubbs Speaker/Writer
Diana Wake Senior Producer, WOOD TV8
Liz Warners Philanthropic Services Associate, Grand Rapids Community Foundation
Matt Witkowski Senior Associate, Lambert
Jessica Yakima Marketing Specialist, Meijer
BISSELL Pet Foundation Grant Review Committee
Click on committee member name for biography.
Cathy is the Founder of BISSELL Pet Foundation (BPF), Director of Corporate Affairs for BISSELL Inc, and Co-founder of LostPetUSA.net, a searchable nationwide database with essential tools and resources to easily and efficiently reunite lost pets with their families.
At BPF, Cathy innovates to bring awareness to animal welfare and the importance of pet adoption. Most recently, Cathy and BPF introduced Empty The Shelters, a free adoption initiative with a high impact on educating communities and finding loving homes for pets. Cathy’s advocacy highlights pet homelessness on a national scale in an effort to inspire others to save lives.
As Director of Corporate Affairs, Cathy influences pet-specific product design and steers innovation to target pet cleaning excellence. Cathy’s dedication to animal welfare has become a company-wide focus with a percentage of sales of BISSELL pet products directly supporting BPF’s mission, along with many BISSELL employees embracing pet adoption. Today, Cathy has four dogs: KC, Roxy, Taz, and Bo.
Kerry Akred
As evidenced by her household of six rescue dogs and cats, Kerry has had a lifelong passion for animals. She has been involved in many forms of animal advocacy over the years ranging from adoption counselor at the Humane Society of West Michigan to dedicated fundraiser for local animal welfare organizations. In recent years, she has devoted her time to the Community Spay Neuter Initiative Partnership (C-SNIP). She recognizes the need to humanely manage the overpopulation of cats and dogs in our community by providing high quality, reduced cost spay and neuter surgeries. She currently serves on the board of C-SNIP. Kerry has two deaf pit bulls, and holds a particular place in her heart for that breed’s special needs. Kerry started as a volunteer at Blocktail, and since has served 8 years on the Blocktail Committee, in addition to serving on the Grant Review Committee since 2011.
Dr. Michelle Clancy
Michelle is a West Michigan native and earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree in nonprofit management from Grand Valley State University. During her time in Grand Rapids, she worked closely with C-SNIP and Humane Society of West Michigan. In May 2017, she graduated from Michigan State University with her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine. Michelle has a strong interest in enhancing the human-pet relationship and responsible pet ownership. Becoming involved with BISSELL Pet Foundation has allowed her to leverage her combined passion for philanthropy and shelter medicine. She lives in East Lansing with her fiancé, Matt, and their rescued fur kids, Tru and Turk.
Barrie Loeks
Barrie Loeks, of Grand Haven, Michigan, is president and co-owner of Loeks & Loeks Entertainment Inc. Previously, she was Chairperson of the National Association of Theatre Owners and Co-Chairman and Chief Executive of Sony’s Loews Theatres circuit, based in New York. As such, she was the highest-ranking woman within Sony Corporation worldwide. In 1985, Barrie and her husband Jim founded the Star Theaters chain in Michigan, which they operated until its sale in 2002. From 2010-2014 Barrie served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School, where she currently serves on the Dean’s Advisory Council. Barrie graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 1979 and began her career as a clerk to U.S. Circuit Judge Albert Engel and as an associate in the firm of Warner, Norcross & Judd in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She is a member of the University of Michigan’s President’s Advisory Group and also serves as a member of the Advisory Council for the Center for Women in Transition. Barrie joined the BISSELL Pet Foundation Grant Review Board in 2016 and is eager to take an active role using her wide-ranging skills to advocate for homeless pets. Barrie and her husband Jim have one daughter, Jamie Duffield, and one much loved rescue dog, Wynken.
Nicole Notario-Risk
Nicole has been an active leader in the Grand Rapids nonprofit community for over 14 years with a professional career focused on community consulting, capacity building and nonprofit management. Additionally, Nicole is passionate about animals and pet rescue awareness. She currently serves as facilitator and project manager for the West Michigan Network for Animal Protection and previously volunteered with the Humane Society of West Michigan as a Humane Educator for children. Nicole also previously owned Dress My Rescue, an online store designed to raise awareness about pet adoption, spaying, and neutering. She enjoys participating in the BISSELL Pet Foundation Grant Review Committee as a natural extension of her interests and background. Nicole and her husband spend free time at home with their young sons and rescue dog, Nero.
Laurel Pruski-Jones
Laurel’s innate compassion for animals was instilled by previous generations of her family. At a young age, she began rescuing stray kittens and lost dogs, and then expanded to bunnies, raccoons, turtles, frogs and more. As an active member of the local animal welfare community, Laurel has donated her time, planning and project management skills to animal advocacy organizations in the West Michigan community. Presently, Laurel serves on the Board of Directors of C-SNIP, the Community Spay Neuter Initiative Partnership. For nine years she has been involved in the leadership of the BISSELL Blocktail Party, and has been on the Grant Review Committee since the inception of BISSELL Pet Foundation in 2011. “It makes my heart smile knowing that the grants we assign help pets and animal welfare organizations around the country” said Laurel. “I dream of the day when all pets have a home.”
Shannon Reincke
A lifelong lover of our four-legged friends, Shannon has dedicated over a decade to advocating for the well-being of companion animals. After serving a term on the board of directors for the Humane Society of West Michigan, she wanted a more “hands on approach” and began fostering dogs and fundraising for Vicky’s Pet Connection (VPC). She now runs the dog adoption program for VPC, mentoring pet foster parents, supporting adopters, and coordinating the daily care of all dogs in the foster program. She is a passionate advocate for bringing attention to homeless senior pets, and for “across the board” cooperation within animal welfare communities. Shannon is also very active in fundraising and event planning, bringing a wealth of ideas and experience from her company, DoubleDog Design, to BISSELL Pet Foundation. She has served as co-chair of Howl’O’Ween and has volunteered with Blocktail for 12 years.
Anne Rothwell
Anne has been active in the West Michigan nonprofit community for more than 30 years and has served as board president of the John Ball Zoological Society, D.A. Blodgett – St. John’s, the East Grand Rapids Schools Foundation and Senior Neighbors. She has also been a member of Leadership Grand Rapids and The Public Relations Society/West Michigan Chapter. In her professional career, Anne is a skilled public relations strategist who has provided media and community relations, crisis and issues management, and strategic planning services for a wide variety of clients throughout West Michigan. She brings her extensive nonprofit background, as well as her love for animals, to her service on BISSELL Pet Foundation Grant Review Committee. Anne and her husband, Tom, have a daughter who lives in San Diego, and another daughter, son-in-law and grandson who live in the Oakland Hills area of California. Kuda, their third daughter, is an eight-year-old golden retriever who lives for playing fetch, lap snuggles and eating.
Susan Shaw
Susan Shaw is a main news anchor at WOOD TV 8 and has called West Michigan home for more than two decades. Susan has covered major area news events over the years including the passing of Grand Rapids favorite son, President Gerald R. Ford and later his wife, first lady Betty Ford, as well as decades of election nights including the election of Michigan’s first female Governor Jennifer Granholm and the election of Governor Rick Snyder.
Susan has a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Oakland University and a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology from Western Michigan University. In addition to serving on the BISSELL Pet Foundation’s Grant Review Committee, Susan is a member of the leadership board for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Foundation, a member of the women’s career organization, Inforum, and has also completed disaster preparedness training with the Grand Rapids chapter of the American Red Cross.
Susan is a self-proclaimed “Michigan Girl” who loves the outdoors and spending time on our beautiful lake and beaches. She is a true animal lover who can’t imagine a home without the loving personality of pets. She has a lifetime of adoption success stories with both cats and dogs, including her current adopted dog, Charlie.
Dr. Wendy Swift
Wendy earned degrees in Animal Behavior and Neurobiology, along with her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from Michigan State University. She has worked in general practice and at the Kent County Humane Society (KCHS) as shelter veterinarian where she experienced all aspects of the animal welfare world. Wendy continued to expand her knowledge as a veterinarian and was certified by the American Humane Association as an instructor for both Euthanasia by Injection and Compassion Fatigue.
During her time at KCHS, Wendy discovered the benefits of integrated medicine options. She then became a Reiki Master Teacher, and found her way back to private practice where her goal is to grow the human animal bond and keep pets in their current homes offering traditional, and many forms of holistic medicine. Wendy is the shelter veterinarian for Muskegon Humane and Animal Rescue and A Feral Haven, serves as the Vice President of the Board for Harbor Humane Society, is a member of the Humane Society of the United States Michigan State Council, instructs compassion fatigue and EBI classes nationally, teaches Reiki for pets and people and AKC Star Puppy and Canine Good Citizen Classes locally, and is a member of the BISSELL Blocktail Party Committee.
Helene Van Beuren
Helene fulfills her passion for philanthropy through her leadership positions with numerous animal welfare, civic, social, land preservation, and cultural organizations, with a focus on her hometown of Philadelphia, and her adopted community- Aquidneck Island, Rhode Island. Animals have a special place in Helene’s heart, as demonstrated by her involvement in the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). She has served on the SPCA Board of Directors since 2009, including Chairman from 2011 to 2015, and as an active participant on many committees within the organization. She brings her broad range of experience to BISSELL Pet Foundation. Helene’s passion has made a home in the Van Bueren family for Sirius, an Irish wolfhound rescue dog from the Pennsylvania SPCA; Sweet Pea, a deerhound mix; and Zorey, affectionately known as an “Island Mutt”. Helene would welcome many more rescues if her family would allow it!
BISSELL Pet Foundation Advisors
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| ERROR: type should be string, got "https://www.blackenterprise.com/delightful-dividends/\nDelightful Dividends\nby James A. Anderson\nThis past summer, Alan Greenspan set off a rise in interest rates that many experts believe is only the start of a steady increase. If you are invested in stocks and equity mutual funds, this could well signal a period of low or no returns since higher rates generally lure investors out of stocks.\nHistorically, however, there’s been a notable exception. Companies that pay a portion of their profits to shareholders in the form of dividends tend to see their share prices hold up better when rates climb. The reason is simple — their financials are typically strong enough to allow management to hand out a portion of the company’s cash reserves. Also, when stocks stall, investors often flock to dividend yields as a source of returns. In fact, dividend yield has made up about 40% of the S&P average annual total return of 10.5% since 1926. “You could argue that yield is an indicator of quality earnings since companies need to have steady profits to pay dividends,” says S&P Strategist Sam Stovall.\nThere are high-yielding equity mutual funds that take advantage of the track record of such companies. They collect company shares, often with an eye to maximize the dividend income their fund amasses over time. Morningstar Analyst and Certified Financial Planner Paul Herbert says many of these funds tend to be invested in large company shares because big corporations usually have the means to pay dividends. Many of the funds that pursue dividend yields will have the words ‘equity income’ in their name as well. Investors can check for high-yielding equity funds by comparing the fund’s yield to the 1.6% figure offered by the S&P 500 Index, a benchmark covering the overall market.\nRecent changes that have lowered taxes on dividend yield distributions have prompted a number of mutual fund companies to create high-yielding mutual funds to market. If you hold a high-yielding equity fund in an IRA or tax sheltered account, you needn’t worry. You won’t be taxed on the dividend distributions your fund pays out to you. If you hold a high-yielding equity fund in a taxable brokerage account, you may have to pay taxes on that fund’s dividend distributions. Check your fund’s brochure for details.\nWith the help of mutual fund tracking firm Morningstar, we sifted through the universe of high-yielding funds in the hopes of unearthing a few good candidates. We subtracted sector funds, particularly utilities and those that focus on real estate investment trusts (REITs), since narrowly focused funds often undergo violent swings of fortune. We also focused on funds with at least a five-year track record in order to identify sound management. That way you can see how funds have weathered the 2000 to 2002 bear market, a good indicator of how they might fare in other downturns.\nOur list was headed up by Dodge & Cox Stock (DODGX), a fund that was closed to new investors when this article was written. Its track record is strong, however, and you might want to check back in the\nThe Grio Archives"
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Uber expands in Africa: ‘Uber Eats’ to be launched in Kenya
Uber plans to launch its food delivering service Uber Eats in Nairobi, Kenya. The new service is expected to be available by the end of this year. Nairobi will be the fourth city in Africa where the service will be available, after Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban.
The global food delivery app Uber Eats is the latest city that is to be added to the firm’s more than 200 city locations – with Cairo in Egypt – and expanding its 80,000 restaurant partners.
Uber has been present for some time in Nairobi with its taxi services. “Uber has announced its continued investment in East Africa with the forthcoming launch of Uber Eats in Kenya,” stated Janet Kemboi, spokesperson for Uber East Africa in a report by BusinessChief.
The spokesperson says Uber is looking forward to bringing food delivery at the push of a button to Kenya in the coming months. Uber is in discussion with a number of local and national restaurant partners in Kenya that want to be part of the food delivery service in Kenya. Uber expects a large for the food delivery service.
Further reading on Africa.businesschief.com
Uber supports Kenya’s deaf taxi drivers
Uber and the Kenya National Association of the Deaf started a pilot project to encourage hearing impaired taxi drivers to use the Uber smartphone app.
Uber expands in Africa – now Nairobi
Uber has launched its taxi service in Nairobi, Kenya, after having touched down first in Johannesburg, South Africa and then Lagos, Nigeria.
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BEDFORD RECORD-REVIEW / "Talk of the Town" - July 10, 2011
By BONNI BRODNICK
The 4th of July festivities in the Town Park were held on a perfect summer evening. Many had staked their spots on the field during the afternoon and began floating in a few hours before dusk for picnicking and rendez-vousing with friends and neighbors. The fireworks, which were particularly excellent this year, blazed the sky to ooohs, ahhhs and wahoooos from the crowd, many of whom were sporting the patriotic red, white, and blue. “I love the fireworks,” said Michelle Horan, age 6. “They’re different colors and they all pop out.” Her friend, Clare (“No ‘i.’”) Patterson, also age 6, said, “I love the 4th of July because my family can celebrate it with me. I love my family and I love celebrating with my brother, Bradley. He’s 5.” Nora Dockter, a 4th grader, was readily prepared for the fireworks with big headphones. Her little sister, Lucy, had “neon squooshable earplugs, the kind that you squeeze into your ears, and then they puff up. The fireworks can damage your hearing, you know.” She also wanted to note that Lucy’s birthday was July 5 “… so it’s like the fireworks are for her.” (Happy birthday, Lucy!) A group of 8th graders summed up the evening. “It makes me happy to see all the people come out to support the town,” said Aaron Winkler. His pal, Emmett Robbins added, “The 4th of July is a great time to bond with my friends and family. It’s just a good time to LOL.”
There are many organizations doing quietly noble things for our community. One that hovers at the top of the list is the Pound Ridge Lions Ambulance Corps, comprised of 25 dedicated volunteers. At the ready, the corps has two ambulances, is primarily funded by contributions, and receives no funding from any governmental agency. New members and financial support are always needed and welcome. It’s a terrific volunteer opportunity, and many of the college kids who enlist for the summer as EMTs are inspired to pursue med school. “It’s really nice to have the kids on the team when they’re in town,” said Marty Kremer, captain of the Ambulance Corps.
At the recent Lions Club Park dedication on Westchester Avenue (check out the innovative, well-designed slate benches), we also caught up with Elaine and Larry Smith, Ambulance Corps volunteers for the past 40 years. She recounted how the first ambulance was a used Cadillac from Mount Kisco and that headquarters was in a little tin shed behind Albano’s Appliance. The town is currently awaiting the arrival of a brand new ambulance. The current one, which is about 10 years old, is being donated—complete with stretchers backboard, bandages and spare tires—to a small rural community in coal country. “This ambulance has served Pound Ridge well. By giving it to another community, it’s a win-win for all of us.”
The PR Lions Ambulance Corps is especially in need of volunteers during the daytime. For background information, go to www.townofpoundridge.com/emergencyservices/pound-ridge-lions-volunteer-ambulance-corps. You can also contact from Captain Marty Kremer at 764-1505 or martykremer@optonline.net, or President Tammy Rainford at 764-9107.
A new cycle has officially begun in Pound Ridge. On Westchester Avenue, next to Pound Ridge Wines and behind Pinnocchio Pizza, Spin Cycle Spin + Fitness Studio is open and a seat awaits you. Lara Keidel Gentile, owner and certified spin instructor is a therapist and fitness instructor with a specialty in eating disorders, addictions and mood disorders. After a 10-year career as a psychiatric social worker, she came to the field of fitness seeking to change her lifestyle as well as continue helping people to achieve their goals. “She is such an effective motivator no matter what level of fitness you are,” said spin-ee Elizabeth Harrington. “Lara took me—someone who feared spinning—to a full convert.” Spin Cycle offers introductory classes for those who have never tried spinning and want to check it out, to full-blown expert level. In addition to group classes, semi-private and private sessions are also available. In all settings, you will receive individual guidance and attention. And first classes are always free. For more information on the schedule, check the website, www:spincyclepoundridge.com, or contact Lara directly at lara@spincyclepoundridge.com.
Seeking a good read poolside, at the beach, en vacance or while waiting to pick up the children at day camp? Pound Ridge Library will have its summer Book Sale at the library this Saturday, July 9 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Books galore for adults and children. Let them stack up, too. Summer is the best time to delve in to reading for pleasure.
Posted by Bonni Brodnick at 1:08 AM
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DOW JONES 27,222.97 (0.01 %)
SP 500 2,995.11 (0.36 %)
NASDAQ 8,207.24 (0.27 %)
Chinese President Xi Urges Abe To Improve China Japan Ties
Chinese President Xi urges Abe to improve China-Japan ties
Da Nang (Vietnam): Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to take more "practical actions" to improve bilateral ties and properly manage differences in a "constructive way".
"To improve China-Japan ties, the key is mutual trust," Xi told Abe on the sidelines of the 25th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting on Saturday.
He urged the Japanese side to take more practical actions and adopt more specific policies to reflect the strategic consensus reached by the two countries, which reaffirms that China and Japan are cooperation partners, not threat to each other.
As China and Japan are neighbours and major economies in Asia and the world, a stable development of China-Japan relationship conforms to the interests of both sides and also has an important influence on the region and the world at large, Xi said.
This year marks the 45th anniversary of the normalisation of diplomatic relations between China and Japan, and next year will mark the 40th anniversary of the signing of the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship.
He suggested the two countries promote regional economic integration, and push for cooperation within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative at an early date.
The two sides should continue to increase exchanges on culture, media and youths, and can also strengthen people-to-people bond through carrying out cooperation on Olympics as China will host the Winter Olympic Games in 2022 and Japan will host the Summer Olympics in 2020, Xi added.
Abe extended his congratulations on the success of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), which was held last month, and on Xi's re-election as general secretary of the CPC Central Committee.
He said the Japanese side was willing to work with China to push for the development of the strategic mutually-beneficial relationship between the two countries by marking the 40th anniversary of the signing of the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship next year.
Japan hopes to increase high-level exchanges with China, carry out reciprocal economic and trade cooperation, and explore cooperation in connectivity and under the Belt and Road Initiative, he said.
Abe also agreed to deepen exchanges on tourism, culture, youths and Olympics.
Xi Jinping Chinese President Shinzo Abe Japanese Prime Minister China Japan APEC
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HomeGolfFrank and Joe, Golf Forever…
Frank and Joe, Golf Forever…
Two 85-year-old men had been friends all of their lives. When it was clear that Frank was dying, Joe visited him every day. One day Joe said, “Frank, we both loved playing golf all our lives, and we started playing soon after high school. Please do me one favor: when you get to heaven, somehow you must let me know if there’s golf there.”
Frank looked up at Joe from his deathbed and said, “Joe, you’ve been my best friend for many years. If it’s at all possible, I’ll do this favor for you.” Shortly after that, Frank died.
A few weeks later, Joe was awakened from a sound sleep by a blinding flash of white light and a voice calling out to him, “Joe, Joe.”
“Who is it,” asked Joe, sitting up suddenly. “Who is it?”
“Joe — it’s me, Frank”
“You’re not Frank. Frank just died.”
“I’m telling you, it’s me, Frank,” insisted the voice.
“Frank, Where are you?”
“In heaven,” replied Frank. “I have some really good news and a little bad news.”
“Tell me the good news first,” said Joe.
“The good news,” Frank said with joy and enthusiasm, “is
that there is golf in heaven. Better yet, all of our old buddies who died before me are here too. Even better than that, we’re all young again. Better still, it’s always Summertime and it never rains. And best of all, we can play golf all we want, and we never get tired. ” And we get to play with all the Greats of the past.
“That’s fantastic,” said Joe “It’s beyond my wildest
dreams! So what’s the bad news?”
“You’re in my foursome this Saturday”
Life is uncertain – Eat dessert first!!!
Just a Little Golf Levity…
Learn New Golf Term
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MANAGER'S VERDICT: OLDHAM
Nigel Powlson
NIGEL Clough was disappointed with the Brewers performance but was pleased to take a point in the end.
He said: "I thought it was going to be a classic 1-0 away win. I was very disappointed with our performance and energy levels. They were nowhere near what they normally are today.
"It was a good clean sheet for us in the circumstances.
"That lack of energy happens at this stage in the season sometimes. The lads have been at their maximum for 38 games now to be in the position they are in. Seven points out of nine is not a bad return at this stage.
"It happens in football sometimes that a team goes flat. You have seen the honesty of these players all season and they are as disappointed as anything. But we know you can easily lose those sort of games and it's a far worse feeling when it's 1-0."
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Does Dairy Create More Mucus When You’re Sick? A New Study Debunked This Pervasive Myth
By Brandi Neal
Nichizhenova Elena/Fotolia
If your mom ever stopped you from having mac and cheese when you were sick because of that myth that dairy increases milk production, I'm sorry to tell you it was probably all for nothing. As it turns out, dairy doesn't make you produce more mucus after all, according Dr. Ian Balfour-Lynn, a pediatric pulmonologist at Royal Brompton Hospital in London, who published new research in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood. Dr. Balfour-Lynn noted in the review that the milk-mucus myth has been around since the 1200s, and it entered the mainstream in 1946 with the publication of Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care book by Dr. Benjamin Scott.
So, if your parents are baby boomers, and you have asthma or suffered from a lot of colds and congestion as a kid, your well-meaning 'rent may have deprived you of the joys of all things dairy, including cheese and ice cream. And, it may have been all for naught. I'll pause while you go and cut yourself a big hunk of cheese, which you 100 percent deserve. In the review, Dr. Balfour-Lynn said that if there is any kind of link link between milk and mucus secretion, it happens in the colon and not the respiratory tract. That being said, even though milk and other dairy products might not actually produce more mucus, it can feel otherwise.
"Milk is an emulsion (defined as a suspension of droplets of one liquid in another) of fat in water, and emulsions mix with saliva," he explained in the review. "This could well affect the sensory perception of milk mixed with saliva, both in terms of its thickness coating the mouth and the after feel — when small amounts of emulsions remain in the mouth after swallowing. This may explain why so many people think there is more mucus produced when in fact it is the aggregates of milk emulsion that they aware of lingering in their mouth and throat."
So, while the feeling is real, you don't actually have more mucus after eating dairy, according to Dr. Balfour-Lynn, which means that dairy might not aggravate asthma, cystic fibrosis, or upper respiratory infections. While dairy doesn't make you produce more mucus, it can make your mucus feel thicker, which is why a lot of people avoid it before public speaking. What's more, if you do have a respiratory illness, and you feel worse when you drink milk, Dr. Balfour-Lynn noted that some patients who drank full-fat milk actually did experience lowered pulmonary diffusing capacity — the transfer of gas from air in the lung, to the red blood cells in lung blood vessels. However, ice cream of a similar fat content had no effect. So, avoid the high-fat milk and turn to ice cream instead.
Dr. Balfour-Lynn said that withholding dairy products from children with respiratory problems can actually do more harm than good in the long run. "One study of 50 children who avoided milk showed they were shorter and had reduced bone mineral density compared with 200 milk-drinking children, and only 12 percent were taking calcium supplements. Furthermore, in those avoiding milk, childhood fractures are more common than in the general population."
There are plenty of reasons to avoid dairy if that's your personal preference, but increased mucus production isn't one of them. "While certainly the texture of milk can make some people feel their mucus and saliva is thicker and harder to swallow, there is no evidence (and indeed evidence to the contrary) that milk leads to excessive mucus secretion," Dr. Balfour-Lynn concluded. If you've been living a life of FOMO because you've been told since you were a child that milk, ice cream, and cheese will increase your mucus production, that myth has been debunked. If you want to see what you've been missing out on, try introducing dairy slowly and see how you feel. I recommend starting with pizza.
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Here's The Real Reason Julianna Margulies Won't Appear On 'The Good Fight'
Fans of The Good Wife might be wondering why Julianna Margulies' character, Alicia Florrick, hasn't appeared on the spinoff The Good Fight. Apparently, the reason is simple (and pretty disappointing). During an interview with Deadline on Sunday,…
By Meghan DeMaria
The Future Of 'The Good Fight' Is Looking Bright
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Flexible Growth Capital Solutions
We invest in the next generation food service companies.
We partner with passionate, best-of-breed operators and entrepreneurs to help them build exceptional businesses.
Fast Changing Landscape
Shifting demographics, urban lifestyles and technology are fundamentally transforming the way we eat and are driving demand for a new generation of vibrant, casual and limited service restaurant concepts offering premium quality/healthy foods and convenience at affordable prices.
Sector Specialists
We provide creative capital and unparalleled industry expertise to expansion-stage food service companies across Europe, in support of domestic and international development, add-on acquisitions, management/partner buyouts, recapitalisations and other complex situations. We are supported by a team of highly experienced operating partners, and by an Advisory Board comprised of former CEOs and accomplished leaders of the global food service industry.
We invest exclusively in food service businesses, that’s all we do. We focus on European headquartered, expansion-stage chains within the Quick Service, Fast Casual, Casual Dining and Coffee & Specialty space.
Proven concepts with at least 10 sites or revenues of €10 million
Strong employee culture and customer loyalty
Bold and ambitious, experienced operators with a passion for the business and disrupting the status quo
Scalable operating models and demonstrable domestic and/or international growth prospects
Superior store-level economics
Environmentally and socially sustainable
We understand food service better than anybody else, and when we invest, our portfolio companies get our full attention, backed by decades of experience and a global network of world-class industry resources.
Customised Capital Solutions
We look to invest €10-30+ million over the life of an investment. We take minority and majority positions and can structure transactions with a mix of equity and debt so as to provide a less dilutive funding solution than traditional buyout firms. As entrepreneurs and former operators ourselves, we take a more management-friendly approach and ensure alignment with the teams with whom we partner.
Value-add Investors
We are not the operators, you are. We are there to accelerate our partners’ success by empowering and helping them avoid pitfalls along the way. We provide tangible support when needed in areas such as brand building, marketing, unit expansion, new market entry strategies, franchising, operations, supply chain optimisation, training and technology. We do all this while preserving each company’s unique culture and entrepreneurial spirit. We are supportive, but never in the way.
With a team of twelve senior investment and operations professionals, and over US$600 million invested by its founders in 70 restaurant companies over the past decade, Capdesia brings unparalleled industry expertise and resources to ambitious, fast growing food service chains.
Niels Lorijn
Co-founder & Managing Director
Niels has over 26 years of experience in private equity and investment banking with a focus on consumer-facing and technology companies. He is the former Chairman of CapitalSpring, a leading US restaurant investment company co-founded by Chris Unrath.
Over the past fifteen years, Niels helped build four highly successful investment platforms in Europe, the US and the Middle-East. During this time, he invested in over 30 companies, including two major European restaurant brands. Prior to Capdesia, Niels was Head of Private Equity at Oasis Capital Bank, a Bahrain-based sovereign investment vehicle, and co-Head of Europe at CapitalSource, a leading NYSE-listed investment company.
Niels became a private equity investor in 2002 when joining Langholm Capital, a European consumer-focused investment firm, following an 11-year career in investment banking, most recently as Director of Global Telecom, Media & Technology at Merrill Lynch. He graduated from KULeuven (Belgium) with an MSc in Applied Economics and is fluent in Spanish, French and Dutch.
CHRIS UNRATH
Chris has over 25 years of private equity and private debt experience, including during the past ten years at CapitalSpring, focusing exclusively on investing in branded consumer food service companies.
Chris co-founded CapitalSpring in 2005 and over the next decade built the business into one of the most active and successful institutional investors in the US restaurant sector, with offices in New York, Atlanta, Nashville and Los Angeles. At the time of his departure in December 2017, CapitalSpring had in excess of US$1.3 billion of assets under management and an investment portfolio spanning over 4,000 restaurant units across 50 brands. Prior to CapitalSpring, Chris managed the acquisition, oversight and divestment of private businesses on behalf of Ardshiel and GE Asset Management.
Chris began his career in mergers and acquisitions at Merrill Lynch & Co in New York and London. He holds an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a BSc in Finance from Fordham University.
ABE MATAMOROS
Abe has more than 24 years of experience in the restaurant industry with particular expertise in operations, franchising, general management, international business development and new country openings.
Abe started his career with PepsiCo’s restaurant division (now Yum! Brands), where he held several progressive roles up to, most recently, Executive Director of Iberia (Pizza Hut and KFC). In 2004, he joined Starbucks Coffee at their European HQ in Amsterdam as General Manager for 13 EMEA countries, Head of Operations and later Director of New Markets, responsible for all new country openings. Following a stint at Krispy Kreme as VP of Franchise Operations for the EMEA region, Abe set-up his own consultancy firm in 2013, focused on helping mid-market restaurant groups such as Wagamama, Quick Restaurants and LEON, with their domestic and international expansion. Abe holds an MBA from London Business School, an MEM from George Washington University and a BSc in Marine Engineering from USCGA. He is fluent in Spanish.
H. ASHTON CROSBY
Ashton has over 15 years of experience as an investor, investment banker, operator and entrepreneur across the food service and consumer/retail sectors in Europe, the US, Latin America and Asia.
Ashton joined Capdesia from True Capital, a European mid-market consumer/retail private equity firm, where he ran the investment team. Prior to True, Ashton worked at Tesco in Business Development and helped execute their investments in what became ‘Tesco Hospitality’ (Giraffe, Harris+Hoole, Euphorium Bakery and Tesco Cafes). He also spent time as COO/Commercial Director of Harris+Hoole, opening 52 coffee shops in 2½ years. Previously, Ashton was an investment banker with Nomura’s EMEA Consumer/Retail M&A team. He started his career at Citibank and BGC Partners/Cantor Fitzgerald in New York and Hong Kong. During this time he also helped launch two consumer/retail businesses. Ashton holds a BA in Modern Languages from Trinity College and an MBA from HEC Paris. He is fluentin Spanish and conversational in Mandarin, French and Portuguese.
105 Victoria Street, 6th Floor
London SW1E 6QT
info@capdesia.com
35, Rue du Congrès
6, Rue Gabriel Lippmann
E Building, L-5365 Munsbach Luxembourg
‘Food is our common ground, a universal experience’
James Beard
Copyright: Capdesia Group Limited | Authorised & regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority | Website design by WebcreationUK | Sitemap
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Demi Lovato Home
Demi Lovato Leaves The X Factor USA After Two Season As A Judge
19 December 2013, 12:11 | Updated: 19 December 2013, 12:16
The 'Made In The USA' star confirms she will focus on recording and touring next year instead.
Demi Lovato has confirmed she will not return to The X Factor USA in 2014 after two season judging on the show.
The 'Heart Attack' star was confirmed by head judge Simon Cowell to be bowing out at the end of the current season this year.
"I always knew she wasn't coming back because she's touring, so I knew that," Simon revealed to The Hollywood Reporter after this week's show.
"I started the show being a singer and a musician, and so I'm going to go back to that," Demi confirmed after the news broke. "It's been really great, but Im so excited for 2014.
Demi Lovato is set to kick off her 'Neon Lights' tour in early 2014, with support from UK acts Cher Lloyd and Little Mix.
Demi Lovato News
See more Demi Lovato News
Demi Lovato Claps Back At Troll Who Fat-Shamed Singer
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