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Big Ten makes sizable changes for 2011
Ryan Wixted
Dec 16, 2010 at 12:01 AM Dec 16, 2010 at 11:55 AM
The Big Ten has made sizable changes in the recent weeks to accommodate its new addition: Nebraska.
The conference unveiled new division names, logo and 18 football awards. The Big Ten will play its first conference championship game next season, it will be between two new divisions: the Leaders and Legends.
With Nebraska becoming the conference's 12th team next year, the conference created new divisions that it introduced in September. Illinois, Indiana, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue and Wisconsin will be in the Leaders Division, with Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska and Northwestern in the Legends Division.
There were talks about naming the division after coaches, players and commissioners that had a resounding impact in the Big Ten conference, but could not single it out to just two names.
The conference also introduced 18 new football awards which will be part of the 2011 season.
The awards include the Stagg-Paterno Championship Trophy, presented to the winner of the conference title game, an offensive player of the year award honoring Otto Graham and Eddie George and a defensive trophy which will honor Bronko Nagurski and Charles Woodson. The Hayes-Schembechler Coach of the Year trophy will also be introduced next season.
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Dance Mom Owes Money To Irs
Comments Off on Dance Mom Owes Money To Irs
You’re the center of a dance. I said. And I say, "Because you owe 300 bucks." Hirsch: In Alex’s gambling episode, "Alex Go.
Atlanta is a city with three major rap radio stations, but for kids who care, Muyumba’s channel is the way to stay up on the latest dance moves. or get some money your own way, do it," explains Qua.
Your source for local news, sports, high school sports and weather in and around Jefferson City, Columbia, Fulton and the Lake of the Ozarks. All of Mid-Missouri.
Discworld Soul Music Streatming Labyrinth Library 128: Soul Music Audio Preview. Discworld, music, rock and roll. Review of "Soul Music" by Terry Pratchett Identifier LabyrinthLibrary128SoulMusic. plus-circle Add Review. comment. Reviews There. In addition, Apple
Bars In Oceanside Ny Live Music The club featured a bar, gender-neutral bathrooms, and a rotating art gallery on the fourth floor curated by Kieth Herring. Live performances showcased punk rock, new wave, and experimental music.
But some special tax rules apply to young workers, based not only on age, but also on amount of money earned and even the type of job. First, the good news: The teen worker might not owe the IRS a dim.
The A Fool and His New Money Are Soon Parted trope as used in popular culture. A plot where one non-rich character has a huge and very sudden increase in.
The Texarkana Gazette is the premier source for local news and sports in Texarkana and the surrounding Arklatex areas.
I received a property from a life estate, after my mom. owe three years of property taxes. (I receive no rental income, so I asked them to pay the property taxes.) How can I give them the house wit.
As usual, mom was right. It’s not a good idea to take chances with the IRS, so be sure to report any winnings because that money is taxable, too. Retirees also take note. You might owe the IRS on p.
How to get a check cashed for free at Chase (for non-customers) Chase charges non-customers $5 or more to cash a check drawn on Chase Ban in the branch.
The IRS requested the Dallas Tea Party’s campaign. it had to stop raising money. “It has all but killed my organization. If out status is ruled as not exempt and we become a for profit organization.
which rose to #3 on the US dance chart in 1992. "During the beginning of my career I was making really good money. Like anybody when you make that money you forget about the IRS; you think its all you.
In other words, the business was fully invested in inventory and people, and then we had to pay tax on money that was not yet earned. In our case, it meant that I owed the government an additional.
She was a single mom, and for a while her parents cared for her son. But after less than a year as a Mons Venus dancer, Kasner started making enough money to raise him herself. but I think I’ve jus.
Lighting Design For White Christmas Musical I Love A Piano This week, it’s celebrities on their favorite scented candles (and if you’re looking for something. And I want them to be lit every night, because it just feels so good
In October, Lindsay helped her mom. Lohan owes more than $200,000 in back-taxes — which Charlie Sheen reportedly help her pay in November 2012. “Thank you Charlie Sheen for having Lindsays back!” D.
Last year, the Young Money CEO was hit with a lien by the IRS that totaled $1.1 million for income tax years 2004, 2005 and 2007. Wayne, who reportedly paid the $1.1 million he already owed, will want.
So yeah, don’t even know where to start on this one 🙂 Don’t have any kids of my own yet, and haven’t a clue about child support and how exactly all that stuff works out. All I know is it makes me sad. Mainly for the kids, but also for their wallets. 60% is a LOT of money!
If a deceased parent gifted money to a child, and that gift occurred after the IRS informed the parent that they owed the government. over how [money decisions] are being managed with mom and dad i.
But avoid these money. not just Mom and Dad. Keep them motivated. 5. Borrow for college and then drop out: There’s only one thing worse than a college graduate with $100,000 in student-loan debt. A.
“I said, ‘There’s people in this room that owe my dad money. Just ’cause he’s moved on, don’t think you’re not paying him bac.
Faith Jenkins returns for a third season with her nationally syndicated, arbitration based court show with her tough no-nonsense style of justice.
Sep 20, 2017 · Get the latest breaking news across the U.S. on ABCNews.com
What if the landlord gives the tenant 30 days to move out and it is a month-to-month lease. If the landlord gives the tenant 30 days notice to move out, and the tenant decides to leave, let’s say 10 days later, is the tenant responsible for the remaining 20 days prorated or only the days for which they are physically there?
New York State Blues Festival 2019 and "helped define Los Angeles rhythm and blues and set the stage for the rock ’n’ roll explosion of the 1950s," died Sunday in Riverside County at age 91. Obits
Wellek’s 20,000-square-foot dance club Sound-bar–awash in laser. During a 2003 search of his Elk Grove Village office, IRS agents seized more than $12 million in cash. They kept the money, saying.
Hi – This is the EXACT scenario that I am dealing with my mother-in-law and husband. We have been married for 2 years and immediately after we got married, she started treating me like an enemy – getting upset and bent out of shape over perceived “criticisms” that she thinks that I made towards her, talking about me behind my back,
Our 2017 tax returns on extension are being prepared right now and we expect to owe a substantial amount of money. Please note that I am a stay-at-home mom and we still owe back. This means that th.
Amazing Dance Leotards For Competition Pretty For Christmas With Dimins Jewel’s Catch One (2016), available on Netflix May 1 Learn the amazing true story of Jewel Thais-Williams, a black lesbian nightlife pioneer that revolutionized the LA community. Her bar, Catch
Girls Generation Arrows Dance Move How Long Does It Take To Develop Pole Dancing Longer conversations help the parent and child do what researchers call the language dance — where parents ask open. directions and
They provided the streets with music, at first, as a way to make money. that owes much of its success to the popularity of.
Archives and past articles from the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News, and Philly.com.
I remember this show when I was a kid. I decided to check it out since it was on Amazon Prime. The show owes a lot to Roseanne, but Grace is a single mom and there is a lot more focus on alcoholism and abuse so I feel that it’s not derivative.
Over a month after quitting Dance Moms, Abby Lee Miller today was given just over a year in jail in her big bucks fraud & currency case
"I am a single mom of 2 kids and have a disability. I say only take it if you really need the money. But if you don’t, leave it alone because frankly I wouldn’t want to owe the IRS anything for 15.
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West Blames Russia for Violent Unrest in Ukraine
By Ivan Nechepurenko
A pro-Russian protester throwing a rock during the storming of a police station in the town of Horlivka on Monday.
As pro-Russia militants occupied more government buildings in eastern Ukraine on Monday, Russia and the West exchanged recriminations about their supposed involvement in the ongoing crisis, which threatens to escalate into more serious violence between militants and Ukrainian forces.
In Europe, efforts by the West to take a unified position regarding penalties on Russia seemed to falter, as European Union foreign ministers failed to reach agreement on additional sanctions at a meeting in Luxembourg, despite some ministers placing the blame on Russia for the unrest in eastern Ukraine. The U.S. continued to signal a harder line, with one senior diplomat saying Monday that arming Ukrainian forces was an option.
In Ukraine's restive Donetsk region on Monday, following the occupation of administrative buildings in at least nine cities, a pro-Russian mob stormed a police station in the city of Horlivka, 100 kilometers from the Russian border, where at least 40,000 Russian troops were massed recently, according to U.S. government reports.
Ukraine's central government in Kiev issued an ultimatum on Sunday threatening to crush the mobs with force if they did not vacate government buildings by Monday morning, but no efforts to storm the premises in Donetsk or other towns in the region were reported.
The leader of pro-Russia separatists in the town of Slovyansk, Vyacheslav Ponomaryov, appealed to President Vladimir Putin on Monday to help defend them against Ukrainian government forces. The West has expressed concern that Russia could send troops to eastern Ukraine to destabilize the situation further, or even as a precursor to annexation, as happened in Crimea last month.
Putin is watching the situation in Ukraine closely and with great concern, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday, speaking about the appeal by Ponomaryov.
"Unfortunately, there is a great many such appeals coming from the eastern Ukrainian regions addressed directly to Putin to intervene in this or that form," Peskov said, Reuters reported.
In Luxembourg, the 28 EU foreign ministers on Monday met to discuss the possibility of new sanctions, but no decisions were made. They said an emergency meeting could be held next week if talks scheduled for Thursday in Geneva do not achieve results.
"I think it will be too early today. But I think we need to be prepared," said Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans, the Associated Press reported.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the seizure of government buildings in eastern Ukraine clearly "is something that is being planned and brought about by Russia," the AP reported.
In Berlin, senior U.S. diplomat Thomas Shannon, who works as an aide to Secretary of State John Kerry, said military assistance could be given to Ukraine.
"Obviously we are looking at that as an option … but at this point I cannot anticipate whether or not we are going to do that," said Shannon, reported Reuters.
Top Russian and Western officials engaged in further recriminations, demonstrating their widening disagreement over the interpretation of the rapidly changing situation in eastern Ukraine.
"We are not intruding into Ukraine's internal affairs — this is against our interests," said Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at a news conference following a meeting with his Sudanese counterpart, Ali Karti.
"There are neither GRU nor FSB operatives over there," he said, referring to Russia's main military intelligence agency and the Federal Security Service.
The U.S. State Department has repeatedly insisted that the seizures of government buildings by pro-Russian militants in the Donetsk region were instigated and orchestrated by Russian covert actions in the area.
"The only entity that is capable of these coordinated, professional military actions is Russia," said U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Samantha Power at an extraordinary meeting of UN Security Council late Sunday.
John Minchillo / AP
Vitaly Churkin speaking at the UN.
"This is the saddest kind of instability. It is completely man-made. This 'instability' was written and choreographed in and by Russia," Power said.
Her Russian counterpart, Vitaly Churkin, was also adamant in his accusations, saying that "the international community must demand that the stooges of Maidan stop the war against their own people."
Lavrov, Kerry and representatives of the EU and the Ukrainian government plan to meet in Geneva on Thursday for talks aimed at resolving the Ukraine crisis.
At the same time, Russia warned that the meeting could be cancelled if the Ukrainian government uses force against the militants. In a phone conversation with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, acting Ukrainian President Oleksandr Turchynov suggested that an operation to quell the armed mobs in the east could be conducted jointly with UN peacekeepers.
The authorities in Kiev have attempted to placate pro-Russian protesters' demands by hinting that a referendum on the future shape of Ukraine could take place on May 25, the day of the presidential election.
Konstantin Zatulin, director of the Moscow-based CIS Studies Institute, has said that such a referendum would fail to eliminate tensions in Ukraine's east.
"The government in Kiev must make a political decision that will turn the country into a federation. If an all-Ukrainian referendum takes place, then the East-West divide will still make the result unsatisfactory for the losing side," he said by telephone.
While diplomats exchange accusations, people in Ukraine's capital are waiting for their new government to take decisive actions, according to a local political analyst Alexandr Paliy.
"There is strong evidence that the militants are part of Russian special forces that were sent here as provocateurs," he said by telephone from Kiev.
"The Crimean scenario can work here too, since the Ukrainian government is losing control over the Donetsk region," he said.
Contact the author at i.nechepurenko@imedia.ru
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Bob Woodward’s Tantrum, Bradley Manning’s Torment
As Beltway pundits were captivated by Woodward’s whining over an imaginary threat, the Obama administration was delivering on its real threats to Manning.
Army Pfc. Bradley Manning, in handcuffs, is escorted out of a courthouse in Fort Meade, Maryland February 23, 2012. Reuters/Jose Luis Magana
Anyone losing sleep over Bob Woodward’s relationship with the White House can finally rest easy. The éminence grise of access journalism has made his peace with the Obama administration. After a spat with economic adviser Gene Sperling over an op-ed he was writing about the sequester, Woodward received an apologetic e-mail from Sperling, who said “as a friend” he thought Woodward would “regret” his comments. Woodward took to the airwaves, casting it as a veiled threat. But by Sunday, order was restored: Sperling called him a “legend” on ABC’s This Week. “I’m going to invite him over to my house,” Woodward said on Face the Nation, adding magnanimously, “Hopefully, he’ll bring others from the White House, or maybe the president himself.”
If there are indignities to be suffered from running afoul of the White House, Woodward’s perceived injury is the least among them. His tantrum, skewered by The Daily Show, might simply be funny were it not for the actual targeting of journalists by the Obama administration.
In particularly stark contrast is the ongoing imprisonment of Abdulelah Haider Shaye, a Yemeni journalist who in 2009 revealed a US airstrike that killed fourteen women and twenty-one children. In 2011, President Obama personally intervened to keep Yemen’s president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, from pardoning Shaye (see “Free Abdulelah Shaye, March 21, 2012). As we wrote on this matter, “While paying lip service to media freedom, this administration has undermined the rights of journalists, and the whistleblowers who aid them, whose work has sometimes cast the government in a negative light.”
Enter Pfc. Bradley Manning, whose case reached a critical juncture just as Beltway pundits were seizing on the Woodward affair. On February 28, the 25-year-old pleaded guilty to ten criminal counts stemming from his historic leak of sensitive material to WikiLeaks in 2010. Before a military judge in Fort Meade, Maryland, Manning told how he decided to expose the cache of files, including videos, military logs and 250,000 State Department cables. “The more I read the cables, the more I came to the conclusion that this was the type of information that should become public,” he said. He called The Washington Post and The New York Times before turning to WikiLeaks. (“I do not believe she took me seriously,” he said of the Post reporter; the Times never called back.)
Manning was eloquent in explaining his motives. Disturbed by footage of a deadly aerial attack on Iraqi civilians in 2007, he said, “I wanted the American public to know that not everyone in Iraq and Afghanistan are targets that needed to be neutralized, but rather people who were struggling to live in the pressure cooker environment of what we call asymmetric warfare.” Such a sober meditation on the human cost of US military force is precisely what was missing from the press during the run-up to both wars.
Manning’s guilty pleas could mean twenty years in prison, on top of the 1,000 days he has languished in pretrial detention (including more than nine months in solitary confinement, often under horribly abusive conditions). But the worst is yet to come: the Obama administration will now prosecute Manning for the most serious charges he faces, including “aiding and abetting the enemy.” It’s a scorched earth move, designed “to terrorize future national security whistleblowers” and journalists alike, in the words of Harvard law professor Yochai Benkler. It’s also a story that merits deeper concern from the Washington press—the kind of story that in another age might have interested Bob Woodward.
The government says Ahmed Ferhani is a terrorist. But, writes John Knefel, Ferhani’s conversations with undercover NYPD police tell a different story.
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700,000 displaced in Libya conflict — UN
Wednesday, May 15, 2019 9:47 pm
Antonio Manuel de Oliveira Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations,
The United Nations on Wednesday said nearly 70,000 people had been displaced as a result of clashes in and around Tripoli, the Libyan capital.
UN spokesman, Mr Staphane Dujarric, quoted the report released by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), as saying that 100,000 others were “thought to remain in the front‑line areas amid deteriorating conditions”.
“Some 3,300 refugees and migrants are trapped in detention centres that are already exposed to or are in close proximity to fighting.
“Access to food, water and health care is severely restricted at these facilities as a result of the conflict,” Dujarric said.
Libya has been in turmoil since the death of its longtime leader, Col. Muammar Gaddafi in the popular Arab spring of 2011.
Fighting has been raging since Khalifa Haftar, a military commander based in eastern Libya, launched an offensive to take control of Tripoli from the UN-support unity government on April 3.
The UN has been calling for a cease-fire in the conflict that has killed at least 400 people so far.
Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA), an ally of a parallel administration based in Benghazi, has refused to recognise Tripoli government.
“We are worried about the dramatically deteriorating humanitarian situation in Tripoli,” a statement on the IOM’s website quoted Othman Belbeisi, its head of mission in Libya as saying.
“The situation is especially alarming for over 3,300 migrants, among them children and pregnant women.
“We reiterate that there is an urgent need to end the detention of migrants in Libya and stop displacement.
“While our teams on the ground continue to provide emergency humanitarian assistance to conflict-affected populations, we recognise that more needs to be done from all sides to ensure the safety of civilians.”
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‘Rat Pack’ to perform May 2 in Ruston
Named best show of the year by “Broadway World,” Sandy Hackett’s Rat Pack Show is a tribute to a group that was king of the Vegas Strip in the '60s.
‘Rat Pack’ to perform May 2 in Ruston Named best show of the year by “Broadway World,” Sandy Hackett’s Rat Pack Show is a tribute to a group that was king of the Vegas Strip in the '60s. Check out this story on thenewsstar.com: https://www.thenewsstar.com/story/entertainment/2019/04/22/rat-pack-perform-may-2-ruston/3539080002/
Special to The News-Star, news@thenewsstar.com Published 2:30 p.m. CT April 22, 2019
Named best show of the year by “Broadway World,” Sandy Hackett’s Rat Pack Show is a tribute to a group that was king of the Vegas Strip in the '60s. (Photo: Courtesy)
Everything old will be made new again at 7:30 p.m. May 2 in Howard Auditorium as Sandy Hackett’s Rat Pack Show performs classics from the repertoire of the original 1960s Rat Pack of Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., Dean Martin and Joey Bishop.
Named best show of the year by “Broadway World,” Sandy Hackett’s Rat Pack Show is a tribute to a group that was king of the Vegas Strip in the '60s. Comedian Buddy Hackett was great friends with the Rat Pack, and his son Sandy portrays Bishop in the show, tells stories about the original Rat Pack, and takes part in such classics as “You Make Me Feel So Young,” “Luck Be A Lady” and “New York, New York.”
Tickets are $30 for adults, $25 for seniors 60 and older or for youth 12 and younger, and $10 for students with student ID. For group rates and more information, contact the box office, located in the lobby of the Stone Theatre and open from 1:30-4:45 p.m. Monday-Friday at 318-257-3942.
For more information about the Louisiana Tech Concert Association (LTCA), visit louisianatechtheatre.com, like TechLTCA on Facebook, or follow on Twitter at @TechLTCA.
Read or Share this story: https://www.thenewsstar.com/story/entertainment/2019/04/22/rat-pack-perform-may-2-ruston/3539080002/
When will we see Julianne Hough's Golden Buzzer?
Is Robert Finley going to 'AGT' finals?
Holli' Conway talks about Miss Louisiana reign, chasing dreams
Smokin' on the Bayou is Saturday at Forsythe Park
West Carroll Chamber rebrands spring festival
Local doctor will compete on 'American Ninja Warrior'
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Home Business Joseph’s proving he’s got the skills
Joseph’s proving he’s got the skills
A CLECKHEATON hairdressing trainee is taking part in the National Qualifiers of the WorldSkills UK Competitions and hoping to prove he has what it takes to be named the best in the country.
Joseph Smith, who works as a trainee stylist at Krystal’s Hair and Beauty Salon on Cheapside and is a student at Bradford College, will compete against a host of other budding young stylists for a place in the WorldSkills UK Competition finals.
The WorldSkills UK Competitions involve a series of tests and are designed to enable the UK’s top apprentices and learners to build on their knowledge and showcase their employability skills. The competitions also enable employers to benchmark their apprenticeship and training programmes, raising standards across the UK.
Any students who are successful in the national qualifiers will be invited to take part in the WorldSkillsUK Competition finals at The Skills Show which takes place at the NEC Birmingham from November 17 to 19, this year.
Not only do the competitors have the opportunity to show they are the best in the UK but they could be selected to compete for a place in Squad UK for WorldSkills Kazan 2019.
WorldSkills is the world’s largest skills competition taking place every two years.
The UK is currently listed seventh in the WorldSkills rankings following an impressive medal haul at WorldSkills Sao Paulo 2015.
The WorldSkills UK Competition in hairdressing is run in partnership with Loreal Professional Products.
Speaking on behalf of WorldSkills UK Competitions, Dr Neil Bentley, said: “I offer my congratulations to Joseph and wish him the best of luck.
“WorldSkills UK Competitions are proven to enhance a person’s apprenticeship or training programme by enabling them to develop key character and employability skills. By using knowledge gained from competing nationally and internationally, we know we are working to benchmarks that will equip more young people with the right skills to help UK businesses better compete globally.”
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Keeping it simple
Horse & Rodeo | November 25, 2015
Ruth Nicolaus
Lisa shows her appreciation to her partner, Louie, at the American Rodeo where she won $100,000 last year. Photo by Ken Springer
Lockharts keep Finals routine similar to home routine
Lisa Lockhart is headed to her ninth Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, but it’s business as usual at the Lockhart ranch near Oelrichs, South Dakota.
She and her husband Grady keep things as routine as possible, whether they’re home, at another rodeo, or she’s running for a world title in Las Vegas.
Lisa is coming off possibly the best year of her 22-year career. After winning the average at the 2014 Wrangler NFR, plus two rounds and placing in six, she won the American Rodeo in March and the Calgary Stampede and Cheyenne Frontier Days in July.
She enters this year’s Wrangler NFR in second place, and by the time this issue reaches your mailbox, she and Grady will be on the road to Las Vegas.
In the trailer will be her famous horse “A Oakie with Cash,” better known as Louie, and her backup horse, Fast An Gold, whose barn name is Chisum. Louie has been her mount the past couple of years at the Finals, but Chisum, and before him, Bugs and Sterling have shared the spotlight.
Lisa and Grady will make the 1,013 mile trip in two days, arriving on the night of Nov. 30, just in time for her to attend the contestant meeting the next day at 7 am. “We start off the whole endurance race (of the Finals) tired,” she joked. “We’ve done it that way every year, and we’re not going to do it any different” this year.
While they are in Las Vegas, Louie and Chisum stay at a private facility south of town. Lisa and Grady take care of the horses themselves; they hire no one to help. “I’m definitely hands-on,” Lisa said. They do things “the way we always do it the other 350 days of the year.” She wants to see her horses herself every day. “I’d go crazy if I didn’t get to do chores or see them. I’m too particular,” she said. “Or maybe it’s the nurturing mother side of me. I have to do things (with the horses), because if Mom ain’t happy, nobody’s happy,” she laughed.
They go out to care for horses every morning about 8 am, come back to town, and return at 4:30 pm to pick them up and bring them back to the arena for the rodeo.
The two weeks of the Finals (the rodeo runs nightly Dec. 3-12) is a marathon, full of obligations for contestants, in addition to animal care and practice sessions. Lockhart has personal sponsor appearances, as well as autograph signings, luncheons, and other meetings for the PRCA and the Women’s Pro Rodeo Association. She keeps a calendar, color coded with her appointments. “It’s all written down and I look at it often, because if I didn’t have it, I’d be a space cadet.”
To give herself enough time, Lockhart plans her appearances to start at 10 or 11 am and be done by 2 or 3, “so I can zip out of there, and my knight in shining armor (Grady) is waiting at the curb to pick me up.”
She gives Grady a lot of credit for all he does. “I always look forward to having him there with me. It’s not an option for him to stay home. We get things done at home, so he can go.” Family and neighbors help out as well. “My father-in-law Keith watches over things while we are gone, which allows Grady to be able to come with me for the two weeks. Our neighbors have always been gracious to help out and keep an eye on things.”
Her partners, Louie, who is twelve, and Chisum, seventeen, are opposites. “Louie loves life. I don’t think he’s ever had a bad day. He’s happy go lucky, fun-loving, and mischievous. He and Chisum are night and day.” Chisum, a chestnut, is “old, cantankerous, and laid back. Louie is an over-achiever, Chisum is an under-achiever. They’re Mutt and Jeff. Louie will lead me, Chisum drags behind. It’s fun to find the personalities in each and every one of them.”
She doesn’t change the horses’ feed or schedule prior to the Finals, and she stays focused during the ten days of the Finals. “I try to be mentally prepared and stay grounded, because there’s a lot of hype that goes with Las Vegas. Spending time with my horses and having my husband there helps. We don’t do a lot socially, and it’s hard for people to understand that we’re busy taking care of animals. Maybe we don’t have as much fun, but trying to win is fun, too, and that’s what I have to do to win.”
The couple has three children: Alyssa, a senior in high school, Thane, a freshman, and Cade, who is in the sixth grade. All three play sports and rodeo, and their parents keep up with their busy schedules as well. Alyssa competed in the Northwest Ranch Cowboys Association Finals on the weekend her parents left; they watched her on Friday and Saturday, and got updates via text on Sunday.
The kids have gone to the Finals for a few days every year that Lisa has competed there, and this year they’ll go for a few more days than usual. They will fly out for the first weekend, come home for a few days for school, and go back out for the final weekend. She doesn’t want her kids to miss too much school, but she also wants them to be a part of the trip. “It’s definitely a family thing and they’re not going to miss it.”
The humble cowgirl loves to run barrels, loves horses, and is a competitor at heart. “Win or lose, it’s fun to play the game, and be doing something I love. Even a little success will keep you going.”
PRCA For The Record: Cody Stampede
SD cowgirl wins Junior High Barrel Racing average
Routier, Schmidt, Engesser, Kraeger lead events after first day of Mandan Rodeo Days
Something in the water: Western South Dakota jr. high students qualify for nationals
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Interior secretary looks back on year with sage grouse not listed
News | September 22, 2016
Report on One Year Anniversary Highlights Actions Taken to Implement Greater Sage-Grouse Conservation
DENVER – U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper today marked the one year anniversary of the historic decision not to list the greater sage-grouse under the Endangered Species Act by celebrating the ongoing unprecedented collaborative conservation effort to conserve the sagebrush ecosystem with stakeholders at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge.
The Administration, in partnership with the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA), today also released a report highlighting recent actions to conserve the sagebrush ecosystem, including efforts to minimize further habitat disturbance, restore the health of fire-impacted landscapes, reduce invasive grasses and provide opportunities for landowners and ranchers to invest in conservation actions that benefit the greater sage-grouse and the success of their own operations.
The roundtable provided representatives from the federal family, ranchers, industry, conservation community and the states an opportunity to discuss continued success of on-going efforts, challenges and next steps as they work together to implement the landscape-scale, science-based, collaborative habitat conservation plans.
“One year later, there’s a lot to celebrate,” said Secretary Jewell. “We knew that the work didn’t stop with the listing determination, and I’m pleased that we collectively continue to make great progress on addressing threats to the bird, conserving the sagebrush habitat and providing a path forward for sustainable economic development.”
“The diversity of people here today is evidence that there continues to be a broad commitment to conservation of the Greater Sage-Grouse from more than just federal and state regulators,” said Gov. Hickenlooper. “We’ll need to maintain that broad level of support from landowners and others to ensure Bureau of Land Management’s RMPs can be implemented as intended, which is to conserve the species as well as support economic sustainability.”
“The Sage Grouse Initiative is an example of how when agriculture and conservation partner together, we can reach our common goals for the greater good,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “More than 1,300 ranchers have conserved over 5 million acres of land as a part of this effort and USDA has invested more than $400 million to reach $760 million with our partners through 2018. Through the commitment of America’s ranchers to improving habitats for other wildlife, we have achieved a historic outcome for the sage grouse, and shown that conservation can also benefit ranching operations and our rural economies.”
The meeting marks the one-year anniversary of the Interior Department’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announcement that the greater sage-grouse does not warrant protection of the Endangered Species Act because of historic conservation and partnership efforts. The long-term decline of the greater sage-grouse and its sagebrush habitat sparked an unprecedented collaborative conservation effort across 11 western states that continues today.
The FWS reached the no-listing determination after evaluating the bird’s population status, along with collective efforts by Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM), USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service and U.S. Forest Service (USFS), state agencies, private landowners and ranchers and other partners to conserve its habitat.
Earlier this month, the BLM issued internal guidance that clarifies how aspects of the agency’s land use plans will be implemented as it relates to oil and gas leasing and development, grazing and the collection and use of land management data. Those land use plans, developed in cooperation among local, state and federal agencies as well as private landowners, were cited by the FWS as a key reason it found that the greater sage-grouse did not warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act.
The greater sage-grouse is an umbrella species, emblematic of the health of sagebrush habitat it shares with more than 350 other kinds of wildlife, including world-class populations of mule deer, elk, pronghorn and golden eagles. Roughly half of the sage-grouse’s habitat is on federal lands, most of it managed by the BLM and USFS. These tend to be drier uplands where the birds mate, nest and spend fall and winter. While the federal plans that were developed to save the greater sage-grouse may differ in specifics to reflect local landscapes, threats and conservation approaches, their overall goal is to prevent further degradation of the best remaining sage-grouse habitat, minimize disturbance where possible and mitigate unavoidable impacts by protecting and improving similar habitat.
For more information about the greater sage-grouse, please visit http://www.doi.gov/sagegrouse.
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Category: TLM
Re-envisioning Mid-Century Modern
Written by Grace Hees on September 25, 2018 . Posted in TLM.
As the saying goes, “Everything old is new again.” Artist Andy Burgess, whose a local exhibition starts this month, has a distinctive and fascinating way of looking at designs from our near past.
By Scott Barker
Andy Burgess sees things that most of us don’t — tiny nuances in shapes and colors. But then, that’s his job.
Andy Burgess in front of one of his artworks
A native of London, the talented and engaging visual artist grew up surrounded by deeply rooted history, and many branches of noteworthy architecture and design, all of which were worthy of detailed study.
“As a child, I was surrounded by beautiful buildings,” he reveals, explaining that he lived very close to the Hampstead area. “It’s a historic neighborhood, famous for writers and intellectuals. The Bloomsbury Set often were there, along with people like Karl Marx. It’s like a village, with wonderful old houses and buildings. And yet, in the early 20th century, there were visionaries who built modernist architecture there as well.”
Andy’s father was John Burgess, an actor who had a long career in both the theater (including with the Royal Shakespeare Company), and on the big and small screens. His mother Lana had been a secretary, and then after his parents split up, a homemaker, remarrying and raising Andy and his siblings Harvey and Paul. Although his mom was an aficionado of the theater and opera, Andy says that all the culture surrounding him didn’t lead him toward the stage or into music.
“I went to a very academic school, so I wasn’t overly encouraged to do art. In fact, I didn’t do art properly until well into my university life. When it came to choosing my subject matters at school, I ended up studying history, geography, English, Latin, but I didn’t do art or music, which is a real regret for me. But I guess I’ve made up for it now!”
His initial focus was on politics, and he attended Leeds University for a four-year poli-sci degree that included him working for a congressman on Capitol Hill for six months, and in the British House of Parliament for an additional six months. “It was a hugely competitive program to get into; they only took six people every year. That was an amazing four-year degree, which I completed, but it was only in the last year of study that I started to get completely obsessed with art and realized that maybe my heart lay not in politics, but in art.”
Subsequently while attending art school, Andy found his voice and his passion in abstract painting. But he also discovered a distinctive skill set that circled back to his fascination with man-made structures. “In abstract painting … everything has to do with lines, geometry, space and receding planes,” he comments. “It just worked out over time that using architecture as my subject was a very good way of exploring that, but still maintaining one foot in the representational world that people understand. It was kind of a convenient hook.”
Painting has not been his only medium, however. “I also do a lot of photography, and it’s very critical to what I do. It doesn’t provide the commercial success that the painting has provided, but it’s absolutely integral. My favorite thing in the world is to be in a city and walk around for hours. It doesn’t matter where I am; I will find interest anywhere. In a paving stone, mailbox, or lamppost and specifically, looking up. Most people don’t walk around on a daily basis looking up. But it’s become second nature for me. I’m walking around with a camera, and everything is potential subject matter, whether it’s a plant coming out of a brick, or a shadow over a crumbling wall. That becomes a really fun way of being in the world.”
Over time, he carved out a niche as a visual artist in his hometown. “I was doing cityscapes — aerial views and street scenes — and I had a certain degree of success in London. I was building a nice career. I also had an article in Modern Painters magazine.”
But though that part of his life was taking off, a very important area remained grounded. “I was in my 30s, and I was having a rough time of it in London for health reasons. I realized I could not function in cold, damp weather. My body was shutting down and I was ill every other week.”
Bank of America, Tucson, AZ, 2018 watercolor on paper
He had an escape plan, however, involving the Old Pueblo, a place with which he had a familial connection. “In the 1980s, the Royal Shakespeare Company sent out small groups of actors, like a troupe, to America to teach Shakespeare in American universities,” explains Andy. “My dad did one of those tours with some really great actors, and one of the places they came to was Tucson. And my dad, bless him, was quite eccentric. He loved out-of-the-way places, and hated anything pretentious. He loved it here, and he used to talk about Tucson all the time.”
Fast forward a few years, and Andy’s oldest brother Harvey and his wife moved to Tucson, where she landed a job as a nurse at St. Mary’s Hospital. The Burgess family came out on visits, and it seemed the perfect place for Andy to get out of the cold and wet.
Living in the Southwest changed his life in many ways. He married his girlfriend and they had a child, and Andy turned his attention to painting images of Mid-Century Modern buildings. “The whole interest in painting specific modernist architecture happened just before I moved to Arizona,” he says. “I was really interested in Bauhaus and European modernism. And when I moved here, the access was far more to the heir of that, which was Mid-Century Modern. Those architects who were from that tradition, like Rudolph Schindler and Richard Neutra, were émigrés. They came to the States and some of them settled in LA, and a few worked for Frank Lloyd Wright. That mixture of the Prairie style, Bauhaus and Modernism, with help from Palm Spring architects like Donald Wexler, Albert Frey and those guys, came to form a unique style of American architecture. You put all that together, and suddenly you have Bauhaus transferred to the desert. And I fell in love with that. It made perfect sense to follow through from drawing Bauhaus to drawing and painting Mid-Century, and going back and forth between the two to enjoy the connections.
Moving to America has been a boon to Andy’s career, and he notes, “This year has been my best to date. I had the Nazraeli book [Mid-Century Perspectives: Paintings by Andy Burgess and Objects of Modern Design], and the Tucson Museum of Art exhibition, followed by a sell-out show in New York. Those three things were really phenomenal.” He notes that he has been so busy that he has had to turn down requests from galleries, as well as some commissions.
Welcome Diner, Tucson, AZ, 2018 watercolor on paper
Fortunately, he found the time in his hectic schedule for a very special exhibition, which will be unveiled on Oct. 5 during Tucson Modernism Week. Titled Andy Burgess: Sunshine Mile Modern, this show at the Sunshine Shop (located in the historic former Hirsh’s Shoes store), explores the modernist buildings on the strip of Broadway between Euclid Avenue and Country Club Road. “I’m recording the Sunshine Mile, both in paintings and photography,” Andy elaborates. “I am hoping to do a photography book eventually as well. It isn’t just looking at the buildings from afar. It’s also the details — the brick and stonework and the design.”
He is unquestionably drawn to the Southwest Modernist style, and he says that his step-mother-in-law Kathy McGuire is writing a book on architect Judith Chafee, soon to be published by Princeton Architecture Press. “We’re very close,” he comments about McGuire, “and have a lot in common. She’s always loved sharing her architectural tradition with me. She was a student of Judith Chafee and worked for her.”
During any free moments, Andy likes to spend time playing with his son Jonathan, as well as swimming, practicing martial arts such as Aikido, and cooking. “A lot of time is spent thinking about food, shopping and preparing food. I love making risotto. I’ve made a few paellas as well. That’s a hobby, but I often think to myself, if I hadn’t become a painter, I’d have been a chef!”
Or maybe a writer. He did, after all, grow up in a place known for its authors, and he had to write lengthy dissertations for his degrees. With a nod to his literary side he sums up, “I started this publishing company Dark Spring Press and that was purely out of passion and naiveté. And it’s been fun. It’s a massive learning curve, but I love analog. I love physical things.”
TSO Turns 90!
Written by Grace Hees on August 24, 2018 . Posted in TLM.
Its ability to be highly flexible is only one of the reasons why the Tucson Symphony Orchestra is 90 and going strong.
In 1928, Herbert Hoover was the president of the United States, Walt Disney introduced the public to Mickey Mouse, and Eliot Ness and his “Untouchables” were battling organized crime in Chicago. In theaters, audiences could thrill to Greta Garbo in The Mysterious Lady; at home, a tiny percentage of the population got a first taste of something called television; and in the concert hall, they could hear Maurice Ravel’s brand-new composition, Bolero.
In the Old Pueblo, musical history of another type was about to be made. Harry Juliani, a WWI vet, lawyer, and amateur musician, convinced a group of community leaders and music aficionados to assist in forming a symphony orchestra. A group of about 60 musicians came together for practices under the baton of Camil Van Hulse, a Belgian pianist/organist/composer. The following year, the orchestra held its first concert at Tucson High School’s auditorium, performing both Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, and Schubert’s overture for the early 19th century play Rosamunde.
Concertmaster Lauren Roth at the Tucson Symphony Center. Photo by Tom Spitz.
Fast forward nine decades and The Roaring Twenties may be long over, but the TSO roars on. Just as with its inaugural concert, there will be both Beethoven and Schubert programmed during the 2018-19 season.
Sit down for a conversation with three of the symphony’s key leaders — President and CEO Tom McKinney, Music Director José Luis Gomez, and Concertmaster Lauren Roth — and you can tell immediately that the passion that launched the TSO flows through their veins.
“I am incredibly honored to be part of a group celebrating its 90th birthday,” observes Roth. “It speaks of the excellence of the orchestra, its leadership, and all the people and parts involved in running the ship. It indicates their desire and dedication to being relevant and important in Southern Arizona.”
Maestro Gomez adds, “I think this 90 years represents what Tucson has become. There is positive energy happening around the city, and the symphony is part of it. We’re connecting more and more with the community, and I’m very happy that we’re getting wonderful feedback and results from events like the All Souls Procession, and the education programs that we have.”
Picking up on those comments, McKinney elaborates, “José loves saying that 90 years ago, somebody had a vision of building an orchestra in the desert, and succeeded. That piece is our building block for the next 90. It’s great to celebrate our past, and some of the things we’ve accomplished, but we’re really looking forward to the next step for the TSO. How do we continue to impact the community that we’re in?”
The 2018-19 season certainly offers many clues about the symphony’s plans for enlarging its musical imprint on Tucson.
“We have some projects that are ongoing in terms of repertoire, such as including a little Brahms cycle, with each year a Brahms symphony,” says Gomez. “Also performing Schubert, a composer I would love for the orchestra to explore more. We’re adding more of his symphonies. Those two composers are the ones that give me the chance to tweak the orchestra in terms of the sound and the way of playing. Part of my artistic vision is to include repertoire that for some reason hasn’t been performed. One composer that hasn’t been explored from the German Romantic repertoire is Anton Bruckner. We’re excited to be playing his Symphony No. 7 this year.”
“I look forward to opening the season with Richard Strauss’ Also sprach Zarathustra, which is an incredible piece. To start with it tells everybody in the audience, ‘This orchestra has something to say.’ The piece is huge and monumental … and turning 90 is a monumental occasion for a symphony orchestra.” — Lauren Roth
TSO’s music director also is planning to honor both his own Hispanic heritage and the history and culture of the Southwest with an expanded Latin American repertoire. This season, audiences will hear a piece by Evencio Castellanos, a Venezuelan composer, and the U.S. premiere of the violin concerto from Luis Enriquez Bacalov, the Argentine composer who became famous for his scores for Italian films.
The Classic 5 concert will feature the U.S. premiere of a trumpet concerto by Mexican composer Arturo Marquez. “We’re doing that with a very dear friend of mine who is one of the top trumpet players in the world today, Pacho Flores,” says Gomez. “The co-commission of that piece put Tucson on the map because we are commissioning together with an orchestra from Spain, the national symphony orchestra of Mexico, and an orchestra from Japan.”
Ask Concertmaster Roth what she is most excited to perform this season and she notes, “I’m certainly looking forward to performing the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto, which I consider to be one of the very hardest concertos in the violin repertoire. It’s also one of the greatest ever written, and I’m lucky that it was composed for my instrument.”
Music Director José Luis Gomez. Photo courtesy of Tucson Symphony Orchestra.
McKinney is quick to say that one of the concerts he is most eagerly awaiting is Masterworks 5, which will feature Gomez stepping away from the podium to perform the first violin part for Mozart’s Serenade No. 6 for Strings (Serenata notturna). “It’s a piece I have played with my brother many times,” says Gomez. “It’s a little bit unknown, unlike Mozart’s famous night music serenade in G major — Eine Kleine Nachtmusik — which everyone is familiar with. He wrote many serenades, and most of them have solo violin passages.”
The plans on the horizon include the possibility of a tour for the orchestra, recording pieces that are unique to the TSO, and maybe … someday … a new concert hall.
With a willingness to perform overlooked pieces, commission new works (including from alumni of the Young Composers Project), and an eagerness to feature some of the world’s finest touring performers, the TSO continually showcases its commitment to the community.
Perhaps nowhere is the TSO’s direct interface with the future more evident, however, than the Just for Kids free concerts that take place at the Tucson Symphony Center on North Sixth Avenue. For many children, who lack access to live classical music, this series opens a door to a world they never knew existed. Sums up McKinney, “Two years ago, a girl about seven years old was leaving after a Just For Kids performance and she came up to me. It was her first experience at a concert. She said, ‘This was the best day of my life.’” TL
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A Tail With A Happy Outcome
Photo by Tom Spitz
Take a good look at Gordon on our cover and gaze deep into his eyes.
Scientific research has found that when dogs and their human companions share long eye contact, the levels of oxytocin — the love hormone — increase in both.
But anyone who has shared their life with a dog already knows that. They also know that going on walks, relaxing with a cup of coffee and a book, listening to jazz, and whipping up a big weekend dinner are all better in the company of a dog, too.
Our annual Cover Dog Search celebrates the many ways in which having canines in our lives makes us whole, as individuals, and as a community. This year, about 150 dogs showed up, not only vying for a place on our cover, but helping to raise money to benefit the Humane Society of Southern Arizona. To read more about Gordon, and our runner-up, Scout, as well as see many other tailwaggers, turn to page 28.
Fortunately, the Old Pueblo boasts many restaurants with patios that are dog-friendly, so you can bring your canine buddy while you enjoy a meal. We asked Sarah Burton to visit six eateries that are happy to serve you and your well-mannered furry friend. Turn to page 32 to see our pet approved picks!
There’s lots more to peruse, too. Our In Health (beginning on page 40) will update you on evaluation and treatment of hearing disorders. Learn what glass sculptures Tom Philabaum considers his favorites on pages 66-73. Checkout events happening around town in Datebook, beginning on page 17. And should you need legal services, you’ll certainly want to study the list that starts on page 46, excerpted from Best Lawyers in America, compiled by Best Lawyers and Co. LLC.
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Sophisticated Attacks, but by Whom?
ALAN COWELL and SOUAD MEKHENNET
India’s prime minister said the attacks probably had “external linkages,” but others suggested the attackers were Indian Muslims, with a domestic agenda.
PARIS — A day after the terror attacks in Mumbai that killed over 100 people, one question remained as impenetrable as the smoke that still billowed from two of the city’s landmark hotels: who carried out the attacks?
The Indian authorities say they captured some of the attackers, so some answers may emerge soon. But for now, their identities remain a mystery. Surviving witnesses recalled the gunmen as masked young men in unremarkable T-shirts and jeans, some heavily armed, wearing backpacks filled with weapons. The only claim of responsibility came from a group that may not even exist.
The assaults represented a marked departure in scope and ambition from other recent terrorist attacks in India, which have singled out local people rather than foreigners and hit single rather than multiple targets.
The Mumbai assault, by contrast, was seemed directed at foreigners, involved hostage taking and was aimed at multiple and highly symbolic targets.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India said the attacks probably had “external linkages,” reflecting calculations among Indian officials that the level of planning, preparation and coordination could not have been achieved without help from experienced terrorists. But some security experts insisted the style of the attacks and the targets in Mumbai suggested the militants were likely to be Indian Muslims, with a domestic agenda.
The e-mail message taking responsibility that was sent to Indian media outlets on Wednesday night said the attackers were from a group called Deccan Mujahedeen. Deccan is a neighborhood of the Indian city of Hyderabad. The word also describes the middle and south of India, which is dominated by the Deccan Plateau. Mujahedeen is the commonly used Arabic word for holy fighters.
But security experts drew a blank on any such organization. Sajjan Gohel, a security expert in London, called it a “front name” and said the group was “nonexistent.”
An Indian security official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to be identified said the name suggested ties to a group called Indian Mujahedeen, which has been implicated in a string of bombing attacks in India killing about 200 people this year alone.
On Sept. 15, an e-mail message published in Indian newspapers and said to have been sent by representatives of Indian Mujahedeen threatened potential “deadly attacks” in Mumbai. The message warned counterterrorism officials in the city that “you are already on our hit-list and this time very, very seriously.”
Several high-ranking law enforcement officials, including the chief of the antiterrorism squad and a commissioner of police, were, indeed, reported killed in the attacks in Mumbai.
With relations long strained between India and Pakistan, particularly over the disputed territory of Kashmir, suspicions turned toward Al Qaeda or Pakistani militants. The Indian security official said the attackers likely had ties to Lashkar-e-Taiba, a guerrilla group run by Pakistani intelligence in the conflict with India in the disputed territory of Kashmir. On Thursday, the group denied involved in the Mumbai attacks. India also blamed Lashkar-e-Taiba for a suicide assault on its Parliament by gunmen in December 2001 that led to a perilous military standoff with Pakistan.
The Indian official also suggested the foot-soldiers in the attack might have emerged from an outlawed militant group of Islamic students. Photographs from security cameras showed some youthful attackers carrying assault rifles and smiling as they began the operation.
Christine Fair, senior political scientist and a South Asia expert at the RAND Corporation, was careful to say that the identity of the terrorists could not yet be known. But she pointed to India’s domestic problems, and long tensions between Hindus, who make up about 80 percent of India’s population of 1.13 billion, and Muslims, who make up 13.4 percent.
“There are a lot of very, very angry Muslims in India,” Ms. Fair said. “The economic disparities are startling and India has been very slow to publicly embrace its rising Muslim problem. You cannot put lipstick on this pig. This is a major domestic political challenge for India.
“The public political face of India says, ‘Our Muslims have not been radicalized,’ she said. “But the Indian intelligence apparatus knows that’s not true. India’s Muslim communities are being sucked into the global landscape of Islamist jihad.”
“Indians will have a strong incentive to link this to Al Qaeda,” she said. “But this is a domestic issue. This is not India’s 9/11.”
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Woodworking stores to offer free wooden bow tie…
Woodworking stores to offer free wooden bow tie class
By Zach Walker | zwalker@pioneerpress.com |
PUBLISHED: May 11, 2019 at 4:37 pm | UPDATED: May 13, 2019 at 2:44 pm
Rockler Woodworking and Hardware will teach free classes on how to make a wooden bow ties just in time for Father’s Day.
Classes will be held June 8 at the store’s three locations in Burnsville, Maplewood and Minnetonka. Four classes will be held at each location with start times of 9:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Classes will run between 45 and 60 minutes.
Participants will learn woodworking techniques such as cutting with a scroll saw and band saw, hand sanding and wood finishing.
The final product will be a bow tie made from either cherry or walnut wood with a velvet neck strap. Participants will leave with their creations free of charge.
“This class is a unique opportunity to learn basic techniques, get some hands-on experience and meet other people interested in woodworking,” Rockler Vice President of Marketing Scott Ekman said. “With Father’s Day fast approaching, we thought this would be a fun way for beginners to get into woodworking while making a gift for dad.”
Class size is limited to eight participants per session. Those interested are encouraged to sign up early by contacting the Rockler location they wish to attend.
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Zach Walker
Zach Walker is an intern with the Pioneer Press as well as a journalism and communication student at Bethel University, where he participates in choir and theatre.
Follow Zach Walker @ZachCWalker
Minnesota State Fair announces new building, rides and other attractions
Visitors to this year's Minnesota State Fair will experience dozens of new attractions, the highlight being a new $16 million events center. The Fair, which drew more than 2 million visitors last year, showed off its new building and other additions on Wednesday. The upgrades will offer new programs and features for the ever-growing Fair, which returns for its annual...
Hot enough for you? It's about to get even warmer, with temperatures in the 90s forecast for Friday. A heat advisory remains in effect until 7 p.m. Friday. Those temperatures Friday with the humidity will feel like its 95-105 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. And warm temperatures at night will offer little relief. The temperatures will lead to...
Classic musical ’42nd Street’ revamped for new audiences at the Ordway
The architecture and address are the same, but "42nd Street" has undergone an extensive remodelling. The classic Broadway musical, which opens at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts on Tuesday, is a "revisical," says Rod Kaats, the Ordway's artistic producing director. "Nothing was left wholly the way it was," he says. "Everything was taken out and looked at." The...
Stillwater Lumberjack Days ready to kickoff
Stillwater's annual Lumberjack Days celebration will begin its 5-day run on Wednesday. From a boat cuise on Wednesday to the big parade on Sunday, each of the five days will have unique activities. The market and food vendors, as well as a number of other activities, will run Friday through Sunday on the festival grounds downtown Stillwater. Main stage music...
Work has begun on building a new nature-based playground in Rosemount. The specialized playground being built at Schwarz Pond Park will forgo plastic slides and other typical amusements. Instead, there will be a log pond, fort builder, wood balance beam, log “mountain” climb area and 65-foot zip line. “Our goal is to make sure kids get out and have a...
Bell Museum celebrates 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 with public viewing of moon rocks
The public viewings began Tuesday to coincide with the half-century anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11.
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Syracuse University Medical School Acceptance Rate
July 13, 2019 By admin Useful
After Dariyon Paris, 4, of Syracuse, gets three vaccination, to keep him up to date for his school records, Lisa Winkle, RN shows him the Spiderman band-aide on his arm after she placed stickers on.
SYRACUSE. a first-rate university education and successful outcomes. To learn more, visit 2U.com. To view the original version on PR Newswire,
Syracuse University had been. typical college processes. The acceptance rate for Dartmouth College and West Point Academy is 12 percent. Cornell’s is 18 percent. Fewer than half of Auburn’s 1,600.
It set the outpatient rate. with medical issues ". will demand the safety of the hospital," he said. Hospitals ‘don’t have many profit centers left’ Hospital Executive Council data shows nearly.
The Bricktown driver drove to Upstate Medical University with the back. The work of the Syracuse task force is getting results, police said. The crime rate in the gang-affected areas has been down.
South Park Miss Teacher Bangs A Boy Full Episode Is The University Of Phoenix An Accredited College This 2019 comprehensive list of accredited online schools and colleges covers over 31,616 fully online degrees at the associate, bachelor's, master's, doctoral. University of Phoenix (UOPX) is a for-profit university headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.Founded in 1976, the school confers certificates and degrees in over 100 certificate programs
At the end of the article are some facts about another option for EMT training in the Syracuse area. Upstate Medical University (Upstate), affiliated. or Scholarships (2016-2017)* 74% 79%.
First, the University of Nebraska’s medical school is at its Omaha campus. the AAU but added the number of bachelor’s degrees awarded; the undergraduate admissions rate, penalizing those with large.
As wages have declined, rate of medical student debt and loan burden has increased substantially, owing to the exponential growth of medical school tuition (a trend embraced by DeVry, the parent.
Guided Reading And Study Workbook Biology Answers A wide range of therapy and counseling models exists to guide therapists in their practice. Some of these have been around for years, while others have emerged more recently. On our Types of Therapy. An intermediate to advanced level textbook and reference guide to the pronunciation of English in North America, as spoken by educated
U.S. News takes into account peer assessment scores, recruiter assessment scores, full-time average undergraduate GPA, full-time acceptance. employment rates, receiving jobs at places such as.
The university has several research projects with the urban Syracuse city schools to increase high-school graduation rates, among other improvements, that are paid for through federal, state,
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Since starting CNY Fertility. Boston IVF, a chain of clinics affiliated with Harvard medical school, will team up with Upstate Medical University in August to expand Upstate’s.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Health Republic of New York made a big splash when it debuted in 2014 with rock-bottom health insurance prices that undercut its competitors across the state. Its premium rates. at.
Tom Dennison is a Syracuse University professor and health care management expert. He teaches at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and at the State University of New York Upstate.
“The fact that the university is behind it is what gives it the momentum,” he said. Hubert, 48, a graduate of SU’s law school, is hoping the park. He picked it up downtown and rode to the Syracuse.
Many of the city’s biggest property owners are tax exempt organizations, including Syracuse University, New York State and hospitals like SUNY Upstate Medical University. Grid’s recent plan to.
Is The University Of Phoenix An Accredited College This 2019 comprehensive list of accredited online schools and colleges covers over 31,616 fully online degrees at the associate, bachelor's, master's, doctoral. University of Phoenix (UOPX) is a for-profit university headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.Founded in 1976, the school confers certificates and degrees in over 100 certificate programs and degree programs at the certificate, associate, bachelor’s,
That’s why it is so disturbing that University Hospital in Syracuse had one of the highest infection rates in the state in its medical-surgical intensive. prevention include some fundamentals that.
Graduate schools in the five main disciplines ranked annually are evaluated on standardized test scores of newly enrolled students, opinions from experts on each program’s quality, acceptance rates.
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SYRACUSE, N.Y. –In the fall of 2006, a young mapping specialist at Syracuse University. teens were leaving school before school officials found out they were pregnant. And the towns of Cicero and.
Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School Vancouver 2019-05-25 · Welcome to Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School Reunions. Find all past and upcoming high school reunions for Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School – Vancouver, BC. You can plan your next reunions for free! Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School, Vancouver, BC Canada. Vancouver Bilingual Preschool – 50th Anniversary 949 West 49th Ave. schools sir-winston-churchill sir-winston-churchill
Deborah Freund is a distinguished faculty member at Syracuse. University’s Maxwell School, an internationally known health economist, scholar and academic leader. When Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.
Where Can I Watch College Football Games Online For Free
Educational Psychology Topics In Applied Psychology
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Jung Yu Mi (1983)
Jung Yoo Mi, Jeong Yu Mi
Jung Yu Mi is a South Korean actress who got her start by appearing in short films. Born on January 18, 1983, she is known for her quirky image and has made her career through a variety of indie and cult films. She is best known for her role in the hit film “The Crucible” (2011) about a group of handicapped children who are physically and sexually abused by their teachers. Jung’s numerous Best Actress awards, including for her roles in “Oki’s Movie” (2010), “My Dear Desperado” (2010) and “Blossom Again” (2005) make her a popular media darling. Some of her recent roles include the films “Train to Busan” (2016), “The Table” (2017) and “Psychokinesis” (2018) and the television dramas “Discovery of Love” (2014) and “Live” (2018).
Jung Yu Mi should not be confused with another actress Jung Yu Mi, who was born on February 23, 1984.
Jan 18, 1983 (age 36)
Management Donghaeng (Korea)
Youn's Kitchen 2
Discovery of Love
Sung Joon
Eric Mun
KBS Drama Awards Netizen Award, Actress - Winner
KBS Drama Awards Top Excellence Award, Actress - Nominee
Netizen Award, Actress - Winner 2014
Top Excellence Award, Actress - Nominee 2014
Jung Yoo Mi To Reunite With Park Seo Joon Through Cameo In “What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim”
May Female Advertisement Model Brand Reputation Rankings Revealed
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Stars Stun On The 54th Baeksang Arts Awards Red Carpet
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The Crime Reporter
Info About Our Photos
Poygan Poysippi Sanitary District
Other Town Contacts
Town of Poygan History
The Town of Poygan is situated in a rural, open area, which is consistently identified as one of the unique characteristics valued by residents. The Town’s setting on the shores of Lake Poygan allows for abundant natural resources, including wildlife, wetlands and recreational lands. The Town is located in the Northwest corner of Winnebago County and is approximately 15 miles from Oshkosh. Winneconne and Omro are neighboring communities.
With a rich cultural history the Town of Poygan was first inhabited by the Menominee Indians. In 1836, the Menominee ceded their land to the U.S. Government, and all financial dealings related to this land transaction occurred at the Paygrounds, which were located in the Town of Poygan. A permanent historical marker, donated by the Winnebago County Historical Society in 1956, commemorates these events near public boat landing of County Road B.
After surrendering their land, the Menominees moved to and settled in the Town of Poygan and spread their tepees along the lakeshore. For a period of time under the leadership of Menominee Chief Grisley Bear, a thriving village existed in the Town. However, in late fall of 1852, over 2000 encamped Menominee, including women, children, and the elderly, along with all of their meager possessions, were ordered to canoe out of Poygan and travel up the Wolf River to their new
wilderness lands. Father Bonduel, the spiritual leader of Poygan and the Menominees, accompanied the Indians, caring for the sick, feeble and dying, along the grim and dangerous trek north.
The early white settlers did not wait until the Indians were moved off before they moved in. Settlers with the last names Keefe, Rawson, Caulkins, Cole, Barrons, Felton, Schofield, Tritt and Wood, had settled in before 1851 and by 1852 a post office had been established. By 1908, there were six schoolhouses, a church and a town hall. The roads were considered “good” and the township had fine farm buildings.
More people of Irish descent lived in Poygan, than in any other town in the county. German immigrants soon followed. Religion was important to both groups of early settlers and a Catholic parish was established with meetings taking place in a log cabin as early as 1844. A Catholic church, St Thomas Aquinas, was built on Poygan Hill in 1860. The church is no longer in use, but still stands and is open for special events.
Agriculture has long had a place in the history of Poygan. With the decline of the old style farm, cropland has become woodland or marsh. Other former family farmland has been sold or rented to larger corporate farms operations, either dairy or crop. Cranberries, lettuce, celery and honey were among the more unusual cash crops raised in the township over the course of history.
In 1900, 742 residents were counted in the Town of Poygan and due to the remoteness of the area the population has been quite steady. The total township population in 1996 was 877. The Wisconsin Department of Administration estimated the 2002 population for the Town of Poygan at 1093.
Poygan is now homeland and playground for vacationers, commuters and retirees. The transition from summer cabins to year-round homes by non-farm rural residents was made possible by the graveling of the local roads in the 1920’s and the paving of same in the 1950’s-and by the coming of electricity that made the modern conveniences, such as running water, possible. A public sewer system brought into the area in early 1990s has made even more development along the lake feasible.
In addition to its rich cultural history, Poygan has an abundance of natural resources. The Town natural resource amenities include Lake Poygan and the Deppe Marsh State Wildlife Area, which is located in the southwest corner of the Town and harbors many species of wildlife. Additionally, the Town of Poygan is located within the Glacial Habitat Restoration Area, which is a regional wildlife habitat protection area.
The DNR has purchased hundreds of acres of land over the years, which is available for public hunting. Our local area conservation club sponsors a pheasant release program in the township. Deer and turkey hunting are also a popular sport here as well as small game hunting.
Boating, fishing and water sports are some of the activities on Lake Poygan. There are three boat landings on the lake, two private and one public landing on County Road B. Duck hunters are out in the fall and you’ll find a small city of ice shanties in the winter when the fish are biting or during Sturgeon spearing season.
Historically, agriculture has provided the basis of the Town’s economy. However, as new growth occurs, this lifestyle and economic livelihood has changed. Poygan has started to become a bedroom community with many of its residents commuting to the Fox Cities for employment.
Businesses in the Town of Poygan include Haase’s Supper Club, Captain’s Cove Bar and Boat Landing, The Hill Tavern, and Noffke’s Boat Landing. Landmarks include Payground Historical Marker, St Thomas Catholic Church, St Thomas Cemetery, Oakhill Cemetery, and the Forest Hill Cemetery. Organizations serving the town include the Poyganires Snowmobile Club which not only marks the local snowmobile trail but whose main function is to support the Poygan Rescue Airboat which is locally owned by the Norman Lee family. The Poygan Conservation Club’s fundraisers include a Water Volleyball Tournament on Lake Poygan and an Ice Fishery in the winter. The Friends of St Thomas work to preserve the historical St Thomas Church.
Though there has been little change in population in the Town of Poygan since 1900, there have been many changes through the history of the township. From a lake of rice, to the home of Native Americans, to the home of new immigrants, to a farm community, to a bedroom community Poygan has been and always will be a place to call home.
The Town of Poygan Comprehensive Planning Committee, Shreiber/Anderson Associates and Rudd and Associates, “Comprehensive Plan 2025, Town of Poygan, Wisconsin” May 2004 pages 4 & 5.
Velte, Chas. H., “Historic Lake Poygan”, Amherst WI: Palmer Publications Inc., 1976. Page 119.
Winnebago County Historical Society, “In This Century-History of Winnebago County in the 20th Century” Friendship WI: New Past Press Inc., 1998. Pages 189, 190, & 191.
Compiled by Rose Luebke
Contact the Town
www.townofpoygan.com
7839 Oak Hill Road, Omro,
Town of Poygan,
8693 Town Hall Road
Omro, WI 54963
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Southern Utah news in brief
In brief: Daughters of the American Revolution; Southern Utah Heritage Choir; AAUW.
Southern Utah news in brief In brief: Daughters of the American Revolution; Southern Utah Heritage Choir; AAUW. Check out this story on thespectrum.com: https://www.thespectrum.com/story/news/2019/01/16/southern-utah-news-brief/2598373002/
Staff reports, St. George Spectrum & Daily News Published 4:48 p.m. MT Jan. 16, 2019
Color Country Chapter Member Dixie Bell Miller presents the Hortense McQuarrie Odlum's Women in History award to Teresa Orton, DUP Museum Director. (Photo: Daughters of the American Revolution/For The Spectrum & Daily News)
Daughters of the American Revolution name award-winners
The local Color Country Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution recognized this month the winners of its annual Women in History awards.
The first person recognized was the late Hortense McQuarrie. Born in 1891 in St. George, she helped in the construction of a museum to preserve pioneer relics, photographs and histories from the families who settled Washington County under the direction of Brigham Young, then-president of The Church of Jesus-Christ of Latter-day Saints.
She donated $17,000 to the project, which was dedicated on June 17, 1938, and was named the McQuarrie Memorial Hall.
The building was expanded in 1985 and remains today a fully functional museum, located at 145 N. 100 East in St. George.
The second person honored was Dixie Bell Miller, a Color Country Chapter member since 1991 who is a world champion "Lady Duelist" in competitive shooting sports.
Miller volunteers regularly at the McQuarrie museum and in other activities for the group, often leading special historical events such as the recent "History of the Parker Family" program.
Southern Utah Heritage Choir to host fireside
The Southern Utah Heritage Choir is preparing a special fireside event for Jan. 25, 7 p.m. at the St. George Tabernacle.
Principal conductor Ken Peterson and Associate Conductor Kathy Brown are scheduled to lead the choir, with accompanist and artistic director Tami Creamer at the piano and Karen Lee Kennedy at the organ.
The choir’s portion of the fireside will include hymn arrangements by Mack Wilberg, including “They the Builders of the Nation” and his “Come, Come Ye Saints”. These hymns celebrate the legacy of the early pioneers. Another arrangement of his, “God of Our Fathers, Whose Almighty Hand,” offers an expression of patriotic fervor accompanied by faith in God. Additional choral pieces include Newell Dayley’s popular “Faith In Every Footstep,” Laurence Lyon’s rendition of “Consider the Lilies,” Tami Creamer’s choral arrangement of her children’s hymn, “I Know That My Savior Loves Me” and Craig Courtney’s “Come Home.
Sue Cox, an arts and education advocate and philanthropist, is scheduled as the guest speaker.
AAUW to host awards gala
The American Association of University Women is hosting its annual "A Night of Inspiration" Gala on Friday, Jan. 25, with speakers set to include Donia Jessop, the first woman mayor of Hildale, and Amy Barlow, a Dixie State University freshman with a unique story.
The event starts with entertainment at 5:30 p.m. at the SunRiver Ballroom, 4275 S. Country Club Dr. in St. George. Dinner starts at 6:30, with complimentary wine and champagne and Italian sodas.
Tickets are $85 per person for the fundraiser, with all proceeds going to benefit the AAUW St. George branch.
For tickets and more information, visit aauw-stgeorge.org/gala.
Read or Share this story: https://www.thespectrum.com/story/news/2019/01/16/southern-utah-news-brief/2598373002/
Police: Child sex abuser violated probation
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Deron Williams is Utah’s Leader Now
March 9, 2010 By paulmbanks 4 Comments
When the Chicago Bulls welcome the Utah Jazz tonight, you’ll hear a lot of applause and cheering for one specific opposing player: Deron Williams. And he’s not from here either, he’s actually from Dallas. But his collegiate heroics (including a few memorable moments that occured in Chicago) make him a fan favorite in the Chi.
During the first four years of Deron Williams’ professional career, the Jazz were regarded as “Williams and Boozer’s” team. And because the golden era in Utah Jazz history centered around Karl Malone and John Stockton, two guys who played the exact same positions (power forward and point guard) as Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams, it became impossible not to compare the current combination with the legendary duo from the ’90s.
However, this is the season that Williams has really asserted himself as the Jazz’ most valuable player, not just co-MVP. Make no mistake, Boozer is no slouch. He was named Western Conference Player of the month for February, and he just edges out Williams as Jazz leading scorer. But the front office has flirted with the idea of moving “Booze.” The concept of letting Deron go is unfathomable. He is their floor general in the purest sense of the word: their leader and coach on the floor when times get tough.
The Jazz, traditionally not a very good team away from home, have as many road wins now as they did all of last season.
“It’s a good sign, we just gotta beat the teams that we’re supposed to beat,” Williams said after his team reached that mark.
The Jazz are 19-5 when he scores 20+ points in a game and 5-1 when he has 15+ assists. And he’s doing it all despite a ton of lingering pain in his shooting wrist.
“I’m just back and forth trying to fnd something. I tried a brace, tried tape, I wanna play with nothing on it…You gotta play through it because at any time in the game I could land on my wrist. I could just hold somebody up and it will start hurting again,” Williams said following Utah’s 116-108 win at Phoenix.
The All-Star Williams is currently third in the NBA in assists and holds a special distinction among the league’s top point guards. In that group (Chauncey Billups, Jason Kidd, Steve Nash, Tony Parker and Chris Paul) Williams is the only one whose scoring and assists averages increased during each of his first four seasons. Therefore, it seems like the best days are still ahead for D. Will.
And the start of his career hasn’t been too bad either, as he averaged more points, rebounds, and assists than the immortal John Stockton did his first four seasons.
Filed Under: Illinois Fighting Illini, NBA Tagged With: D. Will, Deron Williams, Deron Williams jazz, deron williams point guard, deron williams utah, deron williams utah jazz, deron williams vs. chris paul
so much fun to re-visit with my fav player…will add in the flipshare later
slurp, slurp, slurp…
absolutely sick display right now….by both point guards in this marquee matchup
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Immigration detainee who has spent four years in jail says detention violates Canada’s charter of rights
By Brendan KennedyStaff Reporter
Tues., Sept. 26, 2017timer4 min. read
A failed refugee claimant who has spent four-and-a-half years in a maximum security jail because the government has been unable to deport him argued in Ontario Superior Court on Tuesday that his ongoing detention violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Ebrahim Toure, who has been locked up at Central East Correctional Centre in Lindsay since February 2013 despite not facing any criminal charges, is arguing that his detention is indefinite and arbitrary because there is no reasonable prospect he will be deported in the “foreseeable” future.
The 46-year-old, who was profiled earlier this year as part of a Star investigation into Canada’s immigration detention system, said he is not trying to stay in Canada and is willing to be deported. He said he was born in Gambia and grew up partly in Guinea, but has no identity documents. He can’t prove his citizenship to either country, so neither will issue him a passport or agree to take him back.
Immigration officials, meanwhile, accuse Toure — who used multiple aliases while working illegally in the U.S. in the early 2000s and previously insisted he was “100 per cent” from Guinea — of deceiving them and intentionally thwarting his removal. They believe his name is Bakaba Touray and that he is withholding information that would allow them to deport him. He says he has given them all the information he has.
Toure is the latest immigration detainee to take the government to court on a habeas corpus application — a long-enshrined legal recourse that allows anyone held by the state to contest the lawfulness of their detention.
‘Why is this man in prison?’, judge asks government lawyer in immigration detention case
Immigration detainees can be jailed indefinitely, federal judge rules
Immigration board refuses to release four-year detainee Ebrahim Toure
It’s the same mechanism by which immigration detainee Ricardo Scotland was released last month in a scathing decision by Justice Edward Morgan, who roundly criticized both the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and the Immigration and Refugee Board and likened Scotland’s baffling predicament to a Franz Kafka novel.
“Although the government cannot provide a clear rationale for Mr. Scotland’s initial or continued detention,” Morgan wrote, “the reason for this lack of clarity is itself clear to me: there is no rationale. Mr. Scotland is being held in prison for no real reason at all.”
It’s also how Kashif Ali, who was held in immigration detention for more than seven years while the government tried to deport him, was released in April when Justice Ian Nordheimer said Canada could not “purport to hold someone in detention forever.”
Habeas corpus has, in effect, allowed long-term immigration detainees to circumvent the system by which the federal government indefinitely jails non-citizens while it tries to deport them.
Toure, who is being held solely as a flight risk and is not considered a danger to the public, is now the longest-serving immigration detainee in detention.
On Tuesday, the first day of a scheduled two-day hearing, the small courtroom was filled to capacity with supporters from Toronto’s West African communities, as well as members of the End Immigration Detention Network. Dozens of people were forced to wait in the hallway until the proceedings were moved to a larger courtroom in the afternoon.
Court heard testimony from two CBSA officials responsible for Toure’s case: John Oliveira, who makes the government’s case for Toure’s continued detention at the Immigration and Refugee Board; and Dale Lewis, an investigator with the CBSA’s Long-Term Detentions Unit.
Toure’s lawyers, Jared Will and Jean Marie Vecina, spent most of the day questioning Oliveira and Lewis about the depth and documentation of their efforts to remove Toure from the country.
Will challenged Lewis to explain how and why he was certain that Toure — who says he is illiterate — was wilfully deceiving the government about the spelling of his last name. He said the two spellings are phonetically identical. “For someone who is illiterate or has never had any identity documents, are those actually two different names?” Will asked. “If you can’t read or write, what’s the difference between Touray and Toure?”
“I don’t know what to say,” Lewis said.
Since taking power in 2015, the Liberal government has detained fewer people for immigration purposes than the Conservatives under Stephen Harper. Long-term detentions — 90 days or more — are also decreasing.
Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, under whose purview immigration detention falls, has said repeatedly that the government intends to create a “better” and “fairer” immigration detention system that reduces the use of criminal jails and expands alternatives to detention. A new “framework” for alternatives to detention is scheduled to be implemented next spring, for instance, and ongoing investments into federal immigration detention centres are aimed at reducing the use of provincial jails.
But advocates of immigration detainees are looking for more significant and immediate changes.
Before Tuesday’s hearing, the End Immigration Detention Network held a rally outside the University Ave. Courthouse calling for a 90-day limit on immigration detention. Almost all of Europe, as well as several other countries, have strict limits on how long their governments can hold someone in immigration detention, ranging from 45 days to 18 months. Canada, like the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, has no such limit, so cases like Toure’s can drag on indefinitely. The United Nations Human Rights Committee has called on Canada to set a “reasonable” time limit for immigration detention.
Toure’s hearing continues Wednesday.
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An Adventure Seeker’s Guide To Canada
By Urban List Writers
Marrying the unmatched beauty of Canadian wilderness with the laid back culture of their Alaskan neighbours, British Columbia is a haven for travellers seeking an off-the-grid experience. (Hey #EuroSummer, you’re boring us…)
From surfing along Canada’s famous surf highway to getting up close and personal with grizzly bears in their natural habitat, we teamed up with our mates at Canada Keep Exploring to bring you this list of absolute must-do experiences for all adventure seekers in British Columbia. The surf highway runs along the west coast of Vancouver Island, in case you were wondering.
Did we mention mountain biking to a luxe AF safari-style cabin hidden in the woods?
Surf Canada’s Famous ‘Highway 4’
Canada’s Surf Highway is one of the most Instagrammed stretches of road in the world (and you can see why when you scroll through #CanadasSurfHwy). Running along the Pacific coast of Vancouver Island, Highway 4 connects Port Alberni, to Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, Ucluelet and Tofino.
Sombrio is one of the most popular surf spots among locals, with it’s consistent reef break luring surfers of all kinds. If you want to squeeze in a few days here, check into Wild Renfrew seaside cottages.
Next, make your way to Tofino, known as a mecca for surfing in Canada. Long Beach, Cox Bay and Chesterman Beach boast the best surf conditions all year round, but if you’re a confident surfer, Rosie’s Bay is the place to be.
Built up an appetite? Head to Wolf In The Fog, a local hot spot serving creative locally sourced plates and cocktails, named Canada’s best new restaurant in 2014.
Storm Watch In British Columbia’s Pacific Rim
Come winter (that's November to February in the Northern hemisphere, remember!) that storms in Canada are legit, guys, and you can experience the best of them on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Make your way to British Columbia’s Pacific Rim by taking the ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo, before driving across the island to the small coastal villages of Tofino and Ucluelet. This is the perfect vantage point for watching the famously wild weather that rolls through Pacific Rim National Park.
The Wild Pacific Trail is one of the most popular storm watching tracks among locals, with three seperate trails connecting into a stunning 8.4 kilometre route, while Chesterman Beach is the best place to spot big wave surfers taking on the monstrous storm tides.
Do yourself a favour and book into an oceanfront hotel for the night (FYI, rooms at the Black Rock Oceanfront Resort boast bathtubs with an ocean view) to experience this untamed landscape at its best.
Hike the Kootenays
Whether you’re an avid hiker or just a beginner, the Kootenay Rockies are a haven for all adventure enthusiasts - home to stunning mountain ranges, all-natural hot springs, and some of the best damn views in the region. With four mountain ranges and four national parks (and more than 70 provincial parks along the way!), the Kootenays have something for everyone.
Stanley Glacier is one of the most popular trails in Kootenay National Park, with its 8.4km round-trip trail making it an easy half-day hike. As you make your way through the valley, waterfalls cascade down cliffs and alpine meadows and wildflowers line the track. If you continue 1 km past the end of the obvious track, the route will eventually lead you to the glaciated peaks of the Rocky Mountains (where you can take a picture in front of the base of the Stanley Glacier!).
Home to shimmering lakes, glistening glaciers, sky scraping mountain peaks and totally unspoiled wilderness, another group of trails well worth the trip are those found within Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park, located west of the BC-Alberta border. Mostly accessible by foot only, the area is also famous for camping, hiking, fishing and horse riding. We recommend a night or two at Assiniboine Lodge, nestled at the base of the iconic Mount Assiniboine. The lodge is 26 kilometers from the nearest road so expect an absolute, uninterrupted, off-the-grid experience.
Do It Safari Style
This is not a drill: we’ve found a luxe AF safari-style ranch in the heart of the Cariboo wilderness. When you’re not out exploring the Cariboo country or kicking back by the fire with a wine (or two) in hand, it's easy to feel like you're in heaven. We're also crushing on Echo Valley Ranch, who have an equally as lust-worthy spa.
Editor's note: this article was produced in partnership with Destination Canada. Thank you for supporting the sponsors who make The Urban List possible. (And don't forget to share your Canada snaps with us using #Urbanlisted).
Image credit: images sourced via Destination British Columbia
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This Day in Aviation
Important Dates in Aviation History
Tag Archives: Long Range Heavy Bomber
July 8, 2019 AviationBoeing Airplane Company, Boeing B-17C Flying Fortress, Boeing Fortress Mk.I, Browning Aircraft Machine Gun Caliber .30 M2, Browning Machine Gun Caliber .50 AN-M2, Long Range Heavy Bomber, No. 90 Squadron, R-1820-65, RAF Watton, Royal Air Force, Wilhelmshaven, World War II, Wright Aeronautical Division Cyclone C666ABryan Swopes
Boeing Fortress Mark I AN521, WP-K, (U.S.A.A.F. serial number 40-2052) of No. 90 Squadron R.A.F., based at West Raynham, Norfolk, preparing for take off at Hatfield, Hertfordshire, during an inspection of newly-arrived American aircraft by the Chief of the Air Staff and the U.S. Air Attache. Photograph by Flight Lieutenant Bertrand John Henry Daventry, Royal Air Force. © IWM (CH 2873)
8 July 1941: Three Royal Air Force Boeing Fortress Mk.I heavy bombers departed from their base at RAF Watton to attack Wilhelmshaven, Germany. This was a daylight bombing mission, with the airplanes flying at 30,000 feet (9,144 meters). One bomber diverted to a secondary target because of engine trouble, while the remaining two Fortresses continued to the primary target.
At the very high altitudes flown, the defensive heavy machine guns that gave the airplane its name froze due to the low temperatures and could not be fired. (In standard atmospheric conditions, the temperature at 30,000 feet would be -45 °C., or -49 °F.)
“Vertical aerial reconnaissance of Wilhelmshaven.” © IWM (HU 91201)
All three aircraft returned safely to their base. The mission was completely ineffective, however.
This was the very first use of the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress in combat.
Fortress B.I AN530, WP-F (U.S.A.A.F. B-17C 40-2066) (Royal Air Force)
The Boeing Model 299H, designated B-17C, was the second production variant ordered by the U.S. Army Air Corps. 38 were built by Boeing for the U.S. Army Air Corps, but 20 were transferred to Great Britain’s Royal Air Force, designated Fortress Mk.I. (Boeing Model 299T.) They were initially assigned to No. 90 Squadron, Bomber Command. (A 1941 book, War Wings: Fighting Airplanes of the American and British Air Forces, by David C. Cooke, Robert M. McBride & Company, New York, refers to the B-17C in British service as the “Seattle,” which is in keeping with the R.A.F.’s system of naming bombers after cities.)
Of the 20 Fortress Mk.I bombers, 8 were lost in combat or in accidents.
Boeing Fortress Mk.I AN529 at Heathfield, Scotland, after arrival from United States, May 1941. © Imperial War Museum E(MOS) 276
The Boeing B-17C/Fortress Mk.I was 67 feet, 10-9/16 inches (20.690 meters long with a wingspan of 103 feet, 9⅜ inches (31.633 meters) and the overall height was 15 feet, 4½ inches (4.686 meters). The B-17C had an empty weight of 30,900 pounds (14,016 kilograms). The maximum design gross weight was 47,500 pounds (21,546 kilograms).
The B-17C was powered by four air-cooled, supercharged, 1,823.129-cubic-inch-displacement (29.876 liters) Wright Cyclone G666A (R-1820-65)¹ nine-cylinder radial engines with a compression ratio of 6.70:1. The engines were equipped with remote General Electric turbochargers capable of 24,000 r.p.m. The R-1820-65 was rated at 1,000 horsepower at 2,300 r.p.m. at Sea Level, and 1,200 horsepower at 2,500 r.p.m. for takeoff. The engine could produce 1,380 horsepower at War Emergency Power. 100-octane aviation gasoline was required. The Cyclones turned three-bladed, constant-speed, Hamilton-Standard Hydromatic propellers with a diameter of 11 feet, 7 inches (3.835 meters) though a 0.5625:1 gear reduction. The R-1820-65 engine is 3 feet, 11.59 inches (1.209 meters) long and 4 feet, 7.12 inches (1.400 meters) in diameter. It weighs 1,315 pounds (596 kilograms).
“RAF Fortress crew at RAF Polebrook July 19, 1941.” © IWM (CH 3090)
The B-17C had a maximum speed of 323 miles per hour (520 kilometers per hour) at 25,000 feet (7,620 meters). Its service ceiling was 37,000 feet (11,278 meters) and the maximum range was 3,400 miles (5,472 kilometers).
The Fortress Mk.I could carry 4,800 pounds (2,177 kilograms) of bombs in an internal bomb bay. Defensive armament consisted of one Browning AN-M2 .30-caliber air-cooled machine gun at the nose and four Browning AN-M2 .50-caliber heavy machine guns in dorsal, ventral and waist positions.
Royal Air Force Fortress Mk.I AN528 (B-17C 40-2064) prior to being camouflaged. (Getty Images/Three Lions)
© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes
May 16, 2019 AviationA. V. Roe & Co. Ltd., Avro Lancaster B.III Special, Barnes Neville Wallis, Dambusters, Eder Dam, Guy Penrose Gibson, Long Range Heavy Bomber, Möhne Dam, No. 617 Squadron, Operation Chastise, RAF Scampton, Sorpe Dam, Strategic Bombing, Type 464 Provisioning, UpkeepBryan Swopes
Wing Commander Guy Penrose Gibson, V.C., D.S.O. and Bar, D.F.C. and Bar. © IWM (CH 11047)
16–17 May 1943: Nineteen modified Avro Lancaster B.III Special long-range heavy bombers of No. 617 Squadron, Royal Air Force, carried out Operation Chastise, a low-level night attack against four hydroelectric dams in the Ruhr Valley.
The purpose of the attack was to disrupt German steel production. It was estimated that 8 tons of water were required to produce 1 ton of steel. Breaching the dams would reduce the available water and hydroelectric power, disrupt transportation of materials on the rivers, and flood iron ore and coal mines and power plants. If the dams were destroyed, it was believed that the effects would be the same as attacks against 26 categories of industrial targets further down the Ruhr Valley.
Led by 24-year-old Wing Commander Guy Penrose Gibson, D.S.O. and Bar, D.F.C. and Bar, a veteran of 172 combat missions, the aircrews of No. 617 Squadron dropped a spinning cylindrical bomb, code-named “Upkeep,” from a height of just 60 feet (18.3 meters) over the reservoirs behind the dams, while flying at precisely 240 miles per hour (386.2 kilometers per hour).
The 9,250-pound (4,195.8 kilogram) Vickers Type 464 bomb was designed to skip along the surface and to strike the dam, and then sink to the bottom. There, a pressure detonator exploded the 6,600 pound (2,994 kilogram) Torpex charge directly against the wall with the water pressure directing the energy through the wall.
Guy Gibson’s Avro Lancaster B.III Special, ED932/G, AJ-G, “bombed up” with a Vickers Type 464 bomb. © IWM (HU 69915)
Nineteen Lancasters took off from RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, England, beginning at 9:28 p.m. on the 16th, and flew across the North Sea at only 100 feet (30.5 meters) to avoid being detected by enemy radar. The bombers succeeded in destroying the Möhne and Eder dams and damaging the Sorpe. A fourth dam, the Ennepe, was attacked but not damaged. The last surviving bomber returned to base at 6:15 a.m. on the 17th.
Of the nineteen Lancasters launched, two were damaged and turned back before reaching the targets. Six were shot down and two more collided with power lines during the low-level night flight. Of 133 airmen participating in the attack, 53 were killed.
Wing Commander Guy Penrose Gibson, V.C., D.S.O. and Bar, D.F.C. and Bar, Commander No. 617 Squadron, with the crew of “G George”: Pilot Officer Frederick Mchael Spafford, D.F.C., bomb aimer; Flight Lieutenant Robert Edward George Hutchinson, D.F.C. and Bar, wireless operator; Pilot Officer Andrew Deering, D.F.C., gunner; Flying Officer Torger Harlo Taerum, D.F.C., navigator. Flight engineer Sergeant John Pulford and tail gunner Flight Lieutenant Richard A.D. Trevor-Roper are not present. © IWM (TR 1127)
For his planning, training and execution of the raid, Wing Commander Gibson was awarded the Victoria Cross by King George VI. An additional 33 survivors were also decorated. 617 Squadron became known as “The Dambusters.” A book, The Dam Busters, was written about the raid by Paul Brickhill, who also wrote The Great Escape. A 1955 movie starred Richard Todd, O.B.E., as Wing Commander Gibson. There have been reports that a new movie is planned.
An Avro Lancaster B.III Special drops an “Upkeep” bomb during tests at Reculver, April 1943. Imperial War Museum, still from film, IWM (FLM 2340)
After being dropped from an Avro Lancaster, the “special mine” bounces across the water. (Imperial War Museum)
Post-strike reconnaissance photograph shows the breach of the Möhne Dam in the Ruhr Valley, 17 May 1943. The gap is 250 feet (76 meters) wide and 72 feet (22 meters) deep. © IWM (CH 9687)
Möhne Dam after the attack. Note the defensive barrage balloons.
The Avro Lancaster B.III Special was a four-engine long range heavy bomber modified to carry the Type 464 bomb. It was operated by a crew of seven: Pilot, flight engineer, navigator, radio operator, bomb aimer, nose gunner and tail gunner. The “Lanc” was 69 feet, 6 inches (21.184 meters) long with a wingspan of 102 feet, 0 inches (31.090 meters) and overall height of 20 feet, 4 inches (6.198 meters), in 3-point position. The Lancaster’s wings had a total area of 1,300.0 square feet (120.8 square meters). Their angle of incidence was 4° and the outer wing panels had 7° dihedral. The span of the horizontal stabilizer was 33 feet, 0 inches (10.058 meters). The modified bomber had an empty weight of 35,240 pounds (15,984.6 kilograms and a maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of 60,000 pounds (27,215.5 kilograms).
The first two modified Avro Lancaster B.III Specials assigned to No. 617 Squadron, RAF Scampton, April 1943. In the foreground is ED825/G, AJ T. (Royal Air Force)
The Lancaster B.III Special was powered by the Packard Motor Car Company’s license-built version of the Rolls-Royce Merlin 24, the Packard V-1650-1 Merlin 224. These were liquid-cooled, supercharged, 1,648.96-cubic-inch-displacement (27.022-liter) single overhead cam (SOHC) 60° V-12 engines with four valves per cylinder and a compression ratio of 6.0:1. The Merlin 224 used a two-speed, single-stage supercharger. 100/130-octane aviation gasoline was required. The engine had a Normal Power rating of 1,080 horsepower at 2,650 r.p.m. and 9,500 feet (2,896 meters); Military Power, 1,240 horsepower at 3,000 r.p.m. at 11,000 feet (3,353 meters); and 1,300 horsepower at 3,000 horsepower with 54.3 inches of manifold pressure (1.84 Bar) for Takeoff. The Merlins drove three-bladed de Havilland Hydromatic quick-feathering, constant-speed propellers which had a diameter of 13 feet (3.962 meters). The propeller gear reduction ratio was 0.477:1. The V-1650-1 was 6 feet, 7.7 inches (2.024 meters) long, 2 feet, 6.0 inches (0.762 meters) wide and 3 feet, 6.6 inches (1.082 meters) high. It weighed 1,512 pounds (685.8 kilograms).
Avro Lancaster three-view illustration (post-war configuration).
These engines gave the Lancaster a cruising speed of 200 miles per hour (321.9 kilometers per hour) and maximum speed of 272 miles per hour (437.7 kilometers per hour). The service ceiling was 24,700 feet (7,528.6 meters) and maximum range was 2,530 miles (4,071.6 kilometers).
Defensive armament for a standard Lancaster consisted of eight air-cooled Browning .303-caliber Mark II machine guns in three power turrets, nose, dorsal and tail. The Lancasters assigned to Operation Chastise had the dorsal turret deleted to reduce weight and aerodynamic drag. The gunner normally operating that turret was moved to the front turret, relieving the bomb aimer to deal with the operation of the specialized mission equipment.
7,377 Avro Lancasters were built. Only two remain in airworthy condition.
Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd.-built Lancaster B.I, PA474, escorted by a Hawker Hurricane IIc, LF363.. (Royal Air Force)
Victory Aircraft Ltd.-built Avro Lancaster B Mk.X FM213, marked as KB726, VR A.
Highly Recommended: The Dam Busters, by Paul Brickhill. Evans Brothers, London, 1951
May 15, 2019 Aviation42-6976, B-24E-1-FO Liberator 42-6976, Bomber, Consolidated B-24 Liberator, Ford Motor Company, Long Range Heavy Bomber, Willow Run Airplane Plant, World War IIBryan Swopes
B-24E-1-FO Liberator 42-6976, the first B-24 heavy bomber to come off the assembly line at Willow Run, 15 May 1942. (The Henry Ford THF25680 Ford Motor Co. Willow Run Bomber Plant)
15 May 1942: The first Ford-built B-24 Liberator long range heavy bomber came off the assembly line at the Willow Run Airplane Plant, just 160 days after the United States entered World War II. 6,971 B-24s more would follow, along with assembly kits for another 1,893, before production came to an end, 28 June 1945.
The first Ford-built B-24 Liberator in final assembly at the Willow Run Airplane Plant, 12 May 1942. (Ford)
The Ford Motor Company Willow Run Airplane Plant
A Willow Run-built B-24E Liberator long range heavy bomber, 1942. (Ford Motor Company)
April 30, 2019 Aviation52-2220, Cold War, Consolidated-Vultee Aircraft Corporation, Convair B-36J-1-CF Peacemaker, Convair Division of General Dynamics, Final Flight, General Electric J47-GE-19, Long Range Heavy Bomber, M24A1, Mark 15 Nuclear Bomb, Mark 17 Nuclear Bomb, National Museum of the United States Air Force, NMUSAF, Pratt & Whitney R-4360-53, Pratt & Whitney Wasp Major C6, Strategic Air Command, Strategic Bomber, T-12 Cloudmaker, Wright-Patterson Air Force BaseBryan Swopes
Convair B-36J-1-CF 52-2220 at NMUSAF, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.
30 April 1959: Convair B-36J-1-CF Peacemaker, serial number 52-2220, landed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio, completing the very last flight ever made by one of the giant Cold War-era bombers. It is on the collection of the National Museum of the United States Air Force.
Convair B-36J 52-2220 was among the last group of 33 B-36 bombers built. It was operated by an aircraft commander/pilot, co-pilot, two navigators, bombardier, two flight engineers, two radio operators, two electronic countermeasures operators and five gunners, a total 16 crewmembers. Frequently a third pilot and other additional personnel were carried.
Crew members pose in front of a Convair B-36F-1-CF Peacemaker, 49-2669, wearing David Clark Co. S-2 capstan-type partial pressure suits and early K-1 “split shell” 2-piece helmets for protection at high altitude. Front (L-R): G.L. Whiting, B.L. Woods, I.G. Hanten, and R.L. D’Abadie. Back (L-R):A.S. Witchell, J.D. McEachern, J.G. Parker and R. D. Norvell. (Jet Pilot Overseas)
The bomber is 162 feet, 1 inch (49.403 meters) long with a wingspan of 230 feet (70.104 meters) and overall height of 46 feet, 9 inches (14.249 meters). The empty weight is 171,035 pounds (77,580 kilograms) and combat weight is 266,100 pounds (120,700 kilograms). Maximum takeoff weight is 410,000 pounds (185,973 kilograms).
The B-36J has ten engines. There are six air-cooled, supercharged 4,362.49 cubic-inch-displacement (71.49 liter) Pratt & Whitney Wasp Major C6 (R-4360-53) four-row, 28-cylinder radial engines placed inside the wings in a pusher configuration. These had a compression ratio of 6.7:1 and required 115/145 aviation gasoline. The R-4360-53 had a Normal Power rating of 2,800 horsepower at 2,600 r.p.m. Its Military Power rating was 3,500 horsepower at 2,800 r.p.m., and 3,800 horsepower at 2,800 r.p.m. with water injection—the same for Takeoff. The engines turned three-bladed Curtiss Electric constant-speed, reversible propellers with a diameter of 19 feet, 0 inches (5.791 meters) through a 0.375:1 gear reduction. The R-4360-53 is 9 feet, 9.00 inches (2.972 meters) long, 4 feet, 7.00 inches (1.397 meters) in diameter, and weighs 4,040 pounds (1,832.5 kilograms).
Four General Electric J47-GE-19 turbojet engines are suspended under the wings in two-engine pods. The J47 is a single-shaft axial-flow turbojet engine with a 12-stage compressor section, 8 combustion chambers, and single-stage turbine. The J47-GE-19 was modified to run on gasoline and was rated at 5,200 pounds of thrust (23.131 kilonewtons).
The B-36J had a cruise speed of 203 miles per hour (327 kilometers per hour) and a maximum speed of 411 miles per hour (661 kilometers per hour) at 36,400 feet (11,905 meters) . The service ceiling was 39,900 feet (12,162 meters) and its range was 6,800 miles (10,944 kilometers) with a 10,000 pound (4,536 kilogram) bomb load. The maximum range was 10,000 miles (16,093 kilometers).
Convair B-36J-1-CF Peacemaker 52-2220. (San Diego air and Space Museum Archives)
Designed during World War II, nuclear weapons were unknown to the Consolidated-Vultee engineers. The bomber was built to carry up to 86,000 pounds (39,009 kilograms) of conventional bombs in two bomb bays. It could carry the 43,600 pound (19,776.6 kilogram) T-12 Cloudmaker, a conventional explosive earth-penetrating bomb, or several Mk.15 thermonuclear bombs. By combining the bomb bays, one Mk.17 25-megaton thermonuclear bomb could be carried.
For defense, the B-36J had six retractable defensive gun turrets and gun turrets in the nose and tail. All 16 guns were remotely operated. Each position mounted two M24A1 20 mm autocannons. 9,200 rounds of ammunition were carried.
Between 1946 and 1954, 384 B-36 Peacemakers were built. They were never used in combat. Only five still exist.
Convair B-36J-1-CF 52-2220 being moved from Building 1 to Building 3 at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, October 2002. (U.S. Air Force)
January 9, 2019 AviationA.V. Roe & Co. Limited, Avro 683 Lancaster, Avro Lancaster, Avro Lancaster B Mk.I, Bomber, Browning .303 Mark II Machine Gun, BT308, Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, First Flight, FM213, Harry Albert Brown, Long Range Heavy Bomber, PA474, Prototype, RAF Ringway, Rolls-Royce Merlin XX, Roy Chadwick, Roy Chadwick C.B.E. F.R.S.A. F.R.Ae.S., Royal Air Force, Sam Brown, World War IIBryan Swopes
BT308, the Avro Lancaster prototype, at RAF Ringway, 9 January 1941. (Avro Heritage Museum)
Captain Harry Albert (“Sam”) Brown, O.B.E. (Photograph courtesy of Neil Corbett, Test & Research Pilots, Flight Test Engineers)
9 January 1941: Test pilot Captain Harry Albert (“Sam”) Brown, O.B.E., (1896–1953) makes the first flight of the Avro Lancaster prototype, BT308, at RAF Ringway, Cheshire, England, south of Manchester.
Throughout World War II, 7,377 of these long range heavy bombers were produced for the Royal Air Force. The majority were powered by Rolls-Royce or Packard Merlin V-12 engines—the same engines that powered the Supermarine Spitfire and North American P-51 Mustang fighters.
The bomber was designed by Roy Chadwick, F.R.S.A., F.R.Ae.S., the Chief Designer and Engineer of A. V. Roe & Company Limited, based on the earlier twin-engine Avro Manchester Mk.I. Because of this, it was originally designated as the Manchester Mk.III, before being re-named Lancaster. Chadwick was appointed Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, 2 June 1943, for his work.
The first prototype, BT308, was unarmed and had three small vertical fins.
Avro 683 Lancaster prototype BT308, shortly after the first flight at RAF Ringway, Manchester, England, 9 January 1941. (A.V.Roe via R.A.Scholefield) Photograph is from The R.A. Scholefield Collection and is used with permission.
With the second prototype, DG595, the small center vertical fin was deleted and two larger fins were used at the outboard ends of a longer horizontal tailplane. DG595 was also equipped with power gun turrets at the nose, dorsal and ventral positions, and at the tail.
Avro Lancaster DG595, the second protoype of the Royal Air Force four-engine long range heavy bomber. This armed prototype has the twin-tail arrangement of the production aircraft. (Test & Research Pilots, Flight Test Engineers)
Air Ministry clearance form for Avro 683 Lancaster BT308. Shown on page 1 are the aircraft’s engine type and serial numbers.
Air Ministry test flight clearance form, Page 2. This form is signed by the airplane’s designer, Roy Chadwick, 5 January 1941.
The first production model, Lancaster Mk.I, was operated by a crew of seven: pilot, flight engineer, navigator/bombardier, radio operator and three gunners. It was a large, all-metal, mid-wing monoplane with retractable landing gear. It was 68 feet, 11 inches (21.001 meters) long with a wingspan of 102 feet, 0 inches (31.090) meters and an overall height of 19 feet, 6 inches (5.944 meters). The Mk.I had an empty weight of 36,900 pounds (16,738 kilograms) and its maximum takeoff weight was 68,000 pounds (30,909 kilograms).
BT308 and early production Lancasters were equipped with four liquid-cooled, supercharged, 1,648.96-cubic-inch-displacement (27.01 liter), Roll-Royce Merlin XX single overhead camshaft (SOHC) 60° V-12 engines, which were rated at 1,480 horsepower at 3,000 r.p.m. to 6,000 feet (1,829 meters). The Merlins drove three-bladed de Havilland Hydromatic quick-feathering, constant-speed airscrews (propellers), which had a diameter of 13 feet, 0 inches (3.962 meters), through a 0.420:1 gear reduction.
DG595 was used for performance testing at the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE) at Boscombe Down. The Mark I had a maximum economic cruise speed of 267 miles per hour (430 kilometers per hour) at 20,800 feet (6,340 meters), and a maximum speed of 286 miles per hour (460 kilometers per hour) at 20,000 feet (6,096 meters) at a gross weight of 45,300 pounds (20,548 kilograms).¹ Its service ceiling was 20,000 feet (6,096 meters) at 64,500 pounds (29,257 kilograms). It had a range of 2,530 miles (4,072 kilometers) with a 7,000 pound (3,175 kilogram) bomb load.
The Lancaster was designed to carry a 14,000 pound (6,350 kilogram) bomb load, but modified bombers carried the 22,000 pound (9,979 kilogram) Grand Slam bomb. For defense, the standard Lancaster had eight Browning .303-caliber Mark II machine guns in three power-operated turrets, with a total of 14,000 rounds of ammunition.
According to the Royal Air Force, “Almost half all Lancasters delivered during the war (3,345 of 7,373) were lost on operations with the loss of over 21,000 crew members.”
Only two airworthy Avro Lancasters are in existence.
The Royal Air Force Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Avro Lancaster Mk.I, PA474. This airplane was built in 1945 by Vickers Armstongs Ltd. at Broughton, Wales, United Kingdom. (Battle of Britain Memorial Flight)
The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum’s Avro Lancaster Mk.X FM213, flies formation with an Royal Canadian Air Force CF-188 Hornet. The bomber is marked VR A and nicknamed “Vera.” FM213 was built by Victory Aircraft Ltd., Malton, Ontario, Canada. (Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum)
¹ Speeds shown are True Air Speed (T.A.S.)
18 July 1966, 22:20:26.648 UTC, T minus Zero
17 July 1996, 00:31:12 UTC
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Dysprosium Facts - Element 66 or Dy
Chemical Laws
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Dysprosium Properties, Uses, and Sources
Dysprosium is a rare earth element. It is a solid metal at room temperature. Science Picture Co / Getty Images
by Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.
Dr. Helmenstine holds a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences and is a science writer, educator, and consultant. She has taught science courses at the high school, college, and graduate levels.
Dysprosium is a silver rare earth metal with atomic number 66 and element symbol Dy. Like other rare earth elements, it has many applications in modern society. Here are interesting dysprosium facts, including its history, uses, sources, and properties.
Dysprosium Facts
Paul Lecoq de Boisbaudran identified dysprosium in 1886, but it wasn't isolated as a pure metal until the 1950s by Frank Spedding. Boisbaudran named the element dysprosium from the Greek word dysprositos, which means "hard to get". This reflects the difficulty Boisbaudran had separating the element from its oxide (it took over 30 attempts, still yielding an impure product).
At room temperature, dysprosium is a bright silver metal that slowly oxidizes in air and readily burns. It is soft enough to be cut with a knife. The metal tolerates machining so long as it isn't overheated (which can lead to sparking and ignition).
While most of the properties of element 66 are comparable to those of other rare earth, it has unusually high magnetic strength (as does holmium). Dy is ferromagnetic at temperatures below 85K (−188.2 °C). Above this temperature, it transitions to a helical antiferromagnetic state, yielding to a disordered paramagnetic state at 179 K (−94 °C).
Dysprosium, like related elements, does not occur free in nature. It is found in several minerals, including xenotime and monazite sand. The element is obtained as a by-product of yttrium extraction using a magnet or flotation process followed by ion exchange displacement to obtain either dysprosium fluoride or dysprosium chloride. Finally, the pure metal is obtained by reacting the halide with calcium or lithium metal.
The abundance of dysprosium is 5.2 mg/kg in the Earth's crust and 0.9 ng/L in sea water.
Natural element 66 consists of a mixture of seven stable isotopes. The most abundant is Dy-154 (28%). Twenty-nine radioisotopes have been synthesized, plus there are at least 11 metastable isomers.
Dysprosium is used in nuclear control rods for its high thermal neutron cross-section, in data storage for its high magnetic susceptibility, in magnetostrictive materials, and in rare earth magnets. It is combined with other elements as a source of infrared radiation, in dosimeters, and to make high strength nanofibers. The trivalent dysprosium ion displays interesting luminescence, leading to its use in lasers, diodes, metal halide lamps, and phosphorescent materials.
Dysprosium serves no known biological function. Soluble dysprosium compounds are mildly toxic if ingested or inhaled, while insoluble compounds are considered non-toxic. The pure metal presents a hazard because it reacts with water to form flammable hydrogen and reacts with air to ignite. Powdered Dy and thin Dy foil can explode in the presence of a spark. The fire cannot be extinguished using water. Certain dysprosium compounds, including its nitrate, will ignite upon contact with human skin and other organic materials.
Dysprosium Properties
Element Name: dysprosium
Element Symbol: Dy
Atomic Number: 66
Atomic Weight: 162.500(1)
Discovery: Lecoq de Boisbaudran (1886)
Element Group: f-block, rare earth, lanthanide
Element Period: period 6
Electron Shell Configuration: [Xe] 4f10 6s2 (2, 8, 18, 28, 8, 2)
Phase: solid
Density: 8.540 g/cm3 (near room temperature)
Melting Point: 1680 K (1407 °C, 2565 °F)
Boiling Point: 2840 K (2562 °C, 4653 °F)
Oxidation States: 4, 3, 2, 1
Heat of Fusion: 11.06 kJ/mol
Heat of Vaporization: 280 kJ/mol
Molar Heat Capacity: 27.7 J/(mol·K)
Electronegativity: Pauling scale: 1.22
Ionization Energy: 1st: 573.0 kJ/mol, 2nd: 1130 kJ/mol, 3rd: 2200 kJ/mol
Atomic Radius: 178 picometers
Crystal Structure: hexagonal close-packed (hcp)
Magnetic Ordering: paramagnetic (at 300K)
Cool Praseodymium Element Facts
10 Interesting Facts About the Element Mercury
Periodic Table of Elements: Thorium Facts
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Get Facts About the Element Copper
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Find Chemistry Definitions From A to Z
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List of Elements in the Lanthanide Group
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The Chemical and Physical Properties of Lithium, or Element 3
Get the Facts About the Lanthanides Element Group
Get Facts About the Element Helium
Learn About the Light Rare Earth Elements
What Is the Element Uranium Used For?
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Christian Concert Promoter Charged With $3M Investment Fraud
IndustryLegal April 5, 2019 Olivia Perreault
concert promoter22 fraud26 Investor4 investor fraud1 The Lighthouse LLC1
A man and his company are accused of using $3 million from nearly 150 investors, which he said was meant to promote Christian music...
A man and his company are accused of using $3 million from nearly 150 investors, which he said was meant to promote Christian music concerts and festivals, to pay off personal debts.
Jeffrey E. Wall of Freeport, Maine and his business, The Lighthouse Events LLC, are the center of a complaint by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. According to the Press Herald, federal regulators say Wall and his business used the investors’ funds to pay off debts from previous deals, and Wall made promises that he did not honor.
The SEC is seeking permanent injuctions, civil penalties, and disgorgement plus interest against Wall and Lighthouse, alleging that they violated anti-fraud provisions of the Securities Act of 1933.
From January 2014 through October 2018, Wall and Lighthouse raised more than $3 million from around 145 investors, the SEC complaint says. Wall reportedly told the potential investors that their money would solely be used to promote concerts throughout New England and the repayment of the investment was guaranteed within the year. In a solicitation email, likely sent out to a mass group, Wall wrote “help us spread the message of Christ plus earn 20 percent on your investment.”
The complaint alleges that Wall, however, used the money to pay off existing debt and he has failed to pay about $1.6 million that he originally collected from the investors. He also did not mention Lighthouse’s current financial situation to investors or share that the company has growing high-interest debt.
One investor complained on the the Better Business Bureau website, noting that they invested over $51,000 and were guaranteed a return of 20 percent back monthly from December 2017 through November 2018. However, they were not repaid with interest as promised.
“Lighthouse Events has failed to keep their commitment, to date, we have received only $35,000, still owed over $25,000,” it said.
Lighthouse responded to the complaint, writing that ticket sales ” have been off this past year” and “we are a Christian ministry and we did not try to deceive anybody.” However, the SEC complaint shows an email that says Wall and his company were obligated to pay investors regardless of the company’s financial issues.
“The loan is secured whether we make money or not on the festival. Investors are the backbone of our ministry,” Wall said in an email cited in the complaint. “Without financial partners, we could not move forward booking artists so please know how much we value our investor team. To date all our investors have been paid back 100% of the money invested.”
Wall, a veteran Christian radio programmer, and his wife, Gail, founded the company in 2008 “after much prayer and seeking.” Currently, their site promotes concerts for Christian artists like rock groups Skillet and Sanctus Real, as well as solo artists John Tibbs and John Waller.
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The University of Bradford
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The University of Brighton
The University of Brighton is a community of over 23,000 students and 2,600 staff based on four campuses in Brighton, Eastbourne and Hastings. We have one of the best teaching quality ratings in the UK and a strong research record, factors which contribute to our reputation as a leading post-1992 university
We can trace our origins back to the mid-19th century in Brighton and the mid-20th century in Eastbourne. Since university designation in 1992 the university has grown steadily. More than 5,000 students graduated this year in a range of subjects as diverse as: automotive engine design, law with accountancy, midwifery, three-dimensional design, architecture and pharmacy.
Our performance in a range of external assessments of teaching quality is consistently strong. The School of Education has just moved into the new £30m Checkland building at Falmer, and maintained its position as one of the leading institutions in the country for Initial Teacher Training, according to results published last month by Ofsted. The School of Education and the Chelsea School of Sport remain ‘Category A’ providers for teacher education, and have been given the highest possible rating – outstanding – for all aspects of our primary and secondary initial teacher education provision.
We are committed to widening participation in education, University of Brighton courses are delivered by a network of partner colleges across Sussex, and we have developed a successful fifth campus in Hastings (the University Centre Hastings opened in 2004).
Learn about Brighton city
University of Ulster
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Aug. 26, 2017 / 11:17 AM
Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor: 'Money' says fight 'won't go the distance'
Floyd Mayweather appears on stage for the Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor weigh-in Friday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by James Atoa/UPI | License Photo
Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor appear on stage for the Weigh-In Friday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by James Atoa/UPI. | License Photo
Conor McGregor appears on stage for the Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor weigh-in Friday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by James Atoa/UPI | License Photo
Floyd Mayweather (L) and Conor McGregor appear on stage for their weigh-in Friday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by James Atoa/UPI | License Photo
Aug. 25 (UPI) -- A huge crowd watched the weigh-in for Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather Friday in Las Vegas.
Energy seeped from the fighters as they were forced to make weight for the boxing match. McGregor entered the ring sporting flip-up sunglasses and an Ireland flag draped over his shoulders. Notorious B.I.G.'s Hypnotize played during his introduction.
"Money" Mayweather walked into the arena wearing a white TMT hat and matching shirt. Phil Collins' In the Air Tonight blared from the speakers.
Both men ripped off their clothes and went down to their briefs before stepping on the scale. "The Notorious" weighed in at 153 pounds, while Mayweather weighed 149.5 pounds. McGregor said he plans to fight at 170 pounds.
RELATED Floyd Mayweather, Connor McGregor both below weigh-in limit
Mayweather (49-0, 26 knockouts) has never weighed in at more than 151 pounds.
After several screams and flexes, the fighters stood face-to-face. McGregor started shouting insults at Mayweather and screaming wildly. Mayweather remained silent during the exchange.
Showtime's Jim Gray then interviewed the two fighters.
RELATED Mayweather vs. McGregor: Conor McGregor Jr. suited up for super-fight
"He looks like dog [expletive]," McGregor said. "You know that. He looks blown out. Full of water. He's not going to keep my pace. Trust me on that. That's the worst shape I've ever seen him."
"That's the worst shape I've ever seen him in. He looks blown out. Out of shape. I'm going to breeze through him. Trust me on that."
McGregor also answered to rumors that he wouldn't be able to make weight for the 154-pound limit bout.
RELATED Floyd Mayweather, Conor McGregor bout preview: Spectacle raises bar for super fight
"153. I'm a professional. I make weight. It's sacrifice. It's dedication. It's focus. But I make it. And that's it. Look at me. I'm in peak physical condition. I put in the work as everyone can tell. I'm ready," McGregor told Gray.
The Irishman said that he plans to stomp his foot in the middle of the ring and not go anywhere during the fight.
Mayweather, 40, took a different approach.
"I've been here before," he told Gray. "I know what it takes when it's a fight of this magnitude. So I did a lot of this [talking]. He did a lot of this [talking]. But tomorrow it comes down to the fighters."
"Weight doesn't win fights. Fighting wins fights."
Mayweather said the fight won't "go the distance" against his 29-year-old foe.
"I just want to thank the fans. I'm not really worried about the scale or the last time. This will be Conor McGregor's last fight also."
Saturday's fight is expected to start at about 9 p.m. on Showtime pay-per-view. It will cost about $100 to watch in high-definition.
Notorious B.I.G
27th Annual ESPY Awards 2019
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Blog Words : Wander Woman | 11 September
Djenne in the afternoon
Marie gets her sense of wonder back in Mali's mud-brick marvel. Cleans sheets helped
I'd bought my ticket the night before, so instead of going to the bus station for my bus from Sevare to Djenne, Mali, I could just walk out from my hotel to the main road to wait.
My "Somatra" 07.00 bus turned out to be an eight o'clock bus on "Bittar," which arrived on time. I didn't know why my ticket said 07.00 and Somatra on it. I didn't really care either. I'd developed a thick travel skin after the last month on the road by land from Morocco to Mali – I'd need it since I still had nine months and the rest of the world to go – and was able to roll with sudden changes.
Unfortunately, my acquired-flexibility also inhibited my ability to be surprised. I was a little less capable of revelling in those delicious idiosyncratic travel moments that inevitably pop up during long voyages. The seasoned traveller must ever fight the urge to ignore the unexpected, to embrace the novel. This is an ongoing internal tug-of-war with me, as the more I adjust to the unexpected, the less I notice it. I remembered stopping halfway through the first MariesWorldTour.com, ten years ago, to rent a flat in Berlin for a month so that I could sleep, let my internal buffer process my journey, and regain a sense of wonder before proceeding on my trip around-the-world.
The bus conductor waved me onto the Bittar bus and installed me into an empty seat. Kids gathered around the bus to sing a good-bye song, wishing us luck and safe passage on our voyage. This always happens in Mali. Sometimes it's harmonious. Other times, it's off-key and earsplitting. But it's always adorable.
The Bittar bus, to my surprise, wasn't overcrowded and actually had a hint of air-conditioning. Not the Arctic blast we're used to at home, but there was enough air circulating that the passengers weren't gasping, dripping in sweat, and complaining.
But this ride was only two hours, not like my epic journeys from Senegal to Bamako, Bamako to Segou, or Segou to Sevare. I disembarked at Carrefour Djenne – that's the junction where Djenne-bound passengers hang around and wait for share-taxis to fill up, so that we can ride the 30km to Djenne, home of the iconic UNESCO-lauded mud-brick mosque that is the best-known symbol of Mali.
I paid for my seat, then went into the back of a hut to sit in the shade and wait for other passengers. Time crawled by, as one or two people at a time showed up to buy their onward seats.
And that's not all that was crawling. After an hour, I noticed that the hut wasn't just infested with lizards (that's normal). It was also full of mice. Ick. But I prefer mice to sunburn, so I stayed put. One of the mice startled me and I jumped. The other passengers and their children in the hut found this hilarious. I couldn't blame them. We were pretty bored and me leaping at the sight of a tiny mouse was as entertaining as it got.
A few minutes later, the driver asked to see me in private. In broken English but mostly in French, he managed to convey that he wanted to get going, but didn't have enough passengers. Would I be willing to buy the extra seats?
I tried bargaining but he wouldn't come down in price. So I went back to my mice-filled hut. And waited.
By the end of the second hour, I forked over another $15. I was annoyed with myself and with the driver for asking me to do this. I didn’t want to keep spending so much money, and I felt awkward about my role. Was I ethically in the wrong to buy the rest of the seats, or was it something Malians would do on their own if I hadn't been present, splitting the cost several ways? I wasn't sure, but the other passengers were noticeably relieved.
And then, once we were underway and the taxi boarded the vehicle ferry as one must to get to Djenne, the hassle started on the boat. Buy this, buy that. I just didn't have a sense of humor about it today. I ignored the sellers, which annoyed them.
"You can't speak English?"
I'd been as obnoxious as the sellers. I was annoyed with them, annoyed with myself, annoyed with being expected to buy the rest of the taxi seats, annoyed with the two-hour wait, and I was still in Mali during the hottest part of the year. I was having a fight with Mali, even if it was only in my head.
The ferry docked. We all got back into the taxi, took off, and the driver stopped at a dirt road just outside Djenne. He motioned down the road towards a mud-brick compound.
"Hotel Sophie," he said. Which isn't the name of Djenne-Djenno Hotel which I'd booked online. It's the name of the owner.
And what a hotel! I wandered in pissed-off at myself and Mali, and annoyed at how I was overspending. Sophie took pity on me, offered me free breakfast as part of my stay, and installed me in a gorgeous whitewashed room decorated in traditional crafts and local materials.
The delicious food, the freshly ground coffee, the homemade peanut butter, the bogolan details and mud-brick buildings... If I weren't here to see a UNESCO World Heritage site, I wouldn't have left the grounds.
But there was a mosque that needed my attention, so I scampered back down the dirt road to the bridge, then took a left into town.
The sun was brutal, as usual.
I'd read that I'd be swarmed by would-be guides in Djenne. That's an overstatement, though there were more than a few eager volunteers. One of them, Amadou, invited me into the mosque.
"It is being rebuilt right now so you are allowed in."
And so it was. Work crews were re-bricking the mosque. But inside was fairly typical of mosques – the outside was far more spectacular. I headed back outside quickly, shoes in hand.
Amadou offered to take me the 30km to Carrefour Djenne tomorrow on his motorbike, after I went to the Monday market, since there was only one early bus a day to Bamako direct from Djenne. I wasn't sure about the 4,000 CFA Amadou wanted. It seemed like a lot, but then, 30km is a long way in the hot sun. I told him I'd think about it, and then went to find an internet café.
But the internet place was closed, so I asked a man in long, colorful traditional clothing where I could find another one. He motioned down the road, cautioning me that it was a long walk. "But I will drive you on my motorbike," he said.
I nearly got on the motorbike, but I was wearing a skirt. I'd seen women in India doing the sidesaddle thing but couldn't quite convince myself to try it, so I laughed and said no thanks.
I started walking, but at the end of the block, the man on the motorbike caught up to me.
"It's open, come back. The man has opened the internet store."
It's hard to stay angry at a place where random strangers chase you down the street to help you get onto Facebook. Mali was great.
And to celebrate my newfound truce with Mali, I tracked down Amadou and gave him 2,000 CFA – petrol money – towards giving me a lift to Carrefour Djenne tomorrow. I didn't know if it was wise to go on the back of a motorbike, or if I was being overcharged, but I didn't care.
He was offering. And I needed to get to Bamako.
Marie Javins writes books, teaches aspiring comic book colorists in New York, edits Kuwaiti comic books and travels the world by public bus. You can read more about her current expedition – a second round-the-world journey – at MariesWorldTour.com.
Missed Marie's earlier adventures? Check out the Wander Woman blog page
Mali travel guide | Destinations... More
Sailing the River Niger: Journey to Timbuktu, Mali | Destinations... More
Timothy Allen presents Human Planet | Galleries... More
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Trump’s Russia ‘hoax’ turns out to be real
By Philip Rucker
Philip Rucker
White House Bureau Chief
The hackers, he suggested, may have been Chinese. Or some 400-pound guy sitting on his bed. Again and again, he insisted, Russian interference was a hoax — a fiction created by Democrats as an excuse for losing an election they should have won.
When Donald Trump finally acknowledged publicly that Russians had hacked Democratic emails and interfered in the 2016 presidential election, the then-president-elect immediately regretted it. He confided to advisers that he did not believe the intelligence. The last thing Trump wanted to do was to endorse the notion that his victory may have been caused by any force other than his own strategy, message and charisma.
“Russia talk is FAKE NEWS put out by the Dems, and played up by the media, in order to mask the big election defeat and the illegal leaks!” Trump tweeted last Feb. 26.
But Trump’s own Justice Department has concluded otherwise. A 37-page federal indictment released Friday afternoon spells out in exhaustive detail a three-year Russian plot to disrupt America’s democracy and boost Trump’s campaign, dealing a fatal blow to one of the president’s favorite talking points.
A Russia “hoax” this was not.
The indictment — signed by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III and announced by Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein, both of whom Trump has at times mused about wanting to fire — reveals that the scope of Russia’s alleged efforts to help Trump defeat Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton was extraordinary.
Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein announces the indictment of 13 Russian nationals and three Russian organizations Friday for meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. (Win Mcnamee/Getty Images)
[Russian troll farm, 13 suspects indicted for interference in U.S. election]
Even Trump seemed to partly concede the point Friday, acknowledging Russia’s election interference while still minimizing its effects.
“The results of the election were not impacted,” he tweeted. “The Trump campaign did nothing wrong — no collusion!”
John Brennan, who was CIA director at the time of the election, said on Twitter that the indictments reveal the extent of the Russian campaign. “Claims of a ‘hoax’ in tatters,” he tweeted. “My take: Implausible that Russian actions did not influence the views and votes of at least some Americans.”
According to the federal charges, Russian operatives spread pro-Trump and anti-
Clinton propaganda. They posed as Americans to coordinate and infiltrate political activities. They organized grass-roots rallies. They paid for a cage large enough to hold an actress impersonating Clinton in a prison uniform. They stoked racial tensions and sowed social discord.
President Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G-20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany, on July 7. (Evan Vucci/AP)
“We have known that Russians meddled in the election, but these indictments detail the extent of the subterfuge,” House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) said in a statement. “These Russians engaged in a sinister and systematic attack on our political system. It was a conspiracy to subvert the process, and take aim at democracy itself. Today’s announcement underscores why we need to follow the facts and work to protect the integrity of future elections.”
Rep. Adam B. Schiff (Calif.), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, which has been investigating Russian meddling, said in a statement, “The indictment reaffirms what our intelligence community concluded, what our committee’s investigation has borne out, and what President Trump denies: that Russia interfered in our election in an effort to assist his presidential campaign and harm Hillary Clinton’s campaign.”
Mueller’s indictment came three days after the nation’s top intelligence chiefs warned in Senate testimony that Russia is targeting the 2018 midterm elections in a continuing effort to disrupt the U.S. political system.
But the intelligence community’s warnings have gone largely unheeded in the White House.
During the first 13 months of his presidency, Trump has rejected the evidence that Russia waged an assault on a pillar of American democracy — something many in his administration regard as objective reality — and has sought to discredit the case that Russia poses a threat to the United States. White House officials have said this is partly because Trump wants to forge a productive partnership with Russian President Vladimir Putin to tackle problems in North Korea, Iran and other hot spots.
Trump has never convened a Cabinet-level meeting on Russian interference and has resisted or attempted to undo efforts to hold Moscow to account, such as additional penalties imposed last August by Congress. On the National Security Council, there has been an unspoken understanding that the president would see raising the Russia matter as a personal affront.
Trump’s skepticism of the intelligence about Russian interference and his administration’s handling of the security threat were documented by The Washington Post in December, including efforts to explore the return of two Russian compounds in the United States that had been seized by President Barack Obama.
[Exclusive: Doubting the intelligence, Trump pursues Putin and leaves a Russian threat unchecked]
Trump’s doubts about Russia’s role in the election drew considerable attention in September 2016, at his first presidential debate with Clinton. Moderator Lester Holt of NBC News asked Trump about the hacking of emails from the Democratic National Committee.
“Who’s behind it? And how do we fight it?” Holt asked Trump.
“She’s saying ‘Russia, Russia, Russia,’ ” the candidate said, referencing Clinton. “But I don’t — maybe it was. I mean, it could be Russia. But it could also be China. It could also be lots of other people. It also could be somebody sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds, okay?”
Thus began the 400-pound-couch-potato theory.
It was not until January 2017 that Trump’s advisers persuaded him to acknowledge for the first time that he believed Russians were behind the cyberattacks. The leaders of the nation’s intelligence agencies had traveled to New York on Jan. 6 to brief the president-elect on their findings. And in the days that followed, chief of staff Reince Priebus, son-in-law Jared Kushner and other advisers prodded Trump to accept the findings. They argued that he could affirm the validity of the intelligence without diminishing his electoral win.
Trump scoffed at the intelligence findings, arguing that they could not be trusted, but he finally relented. On Jan. 11, in the lobby of Trump Tower, the president-elect held a news conference and said it once and for all: “As far as hacking, I think it was Russia.”
Afterward, Trump told aides that he regretted the comments, and he has since hedged his words when asked about Russian interference. In November, during a trip to Asia, he met with Putin and apparently discussed the issue. Trump told reporters that he believed Putin’s denials.
“He said he didn’t meddle,” the president told reporters. “. . . Every time he sees me, he says, ‘I didn’t do that,’ and I believe, I really believe, that when he tells me that, he means it.”
Trump’s remarks roiled Washington, and the president later tried to backtrack. “As to whether I believe it or not,” he told reporters the next day, “I’m with our agencies, especially as currently constituted with their leadership.”
Later that month, however, Trump was back to his old talking points. He tweeted on Nov. 26, “Since the first day I took office, all you hear is the phony Democrat excuse for losing the election, Russia, Russia, Russia.”
Correction: Due to an editing error, an earlier version of this story made reference to a May 2017 tweet by President Trump. That reference has been deleted.
Behind the scenes the night Trump partied at Mar-a-Lago with Jeffrey Epstein and NFL cheerleaders
At rally, crowd responds to Trump’s criticism of Somali-born congresswoman Ilhan Omar with chants of ‘send her back’
House votes to kill impeachment resolution against Trump, avoiding a direct vote on whether to oust the president
Analysis President Trump accuses Rep. Omar of supporting al-Qaeda
Republican congressman defends Trump, says, ‘I’m a person of color. I’m white.’
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Patent Examination Policy - MPEP Staff - 35 USC 112 1st para - Enablement of Chemical/Biotechnical Applications
America Invents Act (AIA)
American Inventors Protection Act of 1999
Comments from the Public
Examination Policy
Patent Related Notices
Patent Term Extension
Power of Attorney and Assignment
Revised Amendment Practice 37 CFR
TRAINING MATERIALS FOR EXAMINING PATENT APPLICATIONS WITH RESPECT TO 35 U.S.C. SECTION 112, FIRST PARAGRAPH-ENABLEMENT OF CHEMICAL/BIOTECHNICAL APPLICATIONS
I. LEGAL JUSTIFICATION
A. CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY
B. STATUTORY MANDATES
II. OVERVIEW OF EXAMINATION
A. PROCEDURAL
B. ASSUMPTIONS/ BURDEN ON THE EXAMINER
III. DETERMINING WHETHER THE ENABLEMENT REQUIREMENT IS MET
A. NECESSARY FACTORS TO EVALUATE
Scope/ Breadth of the Claims
Reasons For Lack Of Enablement: Undue Experimentation Needed To Make And Use The Invention
B. UTILITY AND OPERABILITY
Preferred Materials in Specification Need not be in the Claims
Inoperability/Inoperative Species within the Scope of the Claim
C. LACK OF ENABLEMENT IN VIEW OF AN OBVIOUSNESS REJECTION
D. THE INVENTION MAY BE ENABLED BUT NOT ADEQUATELY DESCRIBED
IV. COMMUNICATING FINDINGS TO THE APPLICANT
A. THE LEVEL OF DETAIL
B. THE FORM PARAGRAPHS
35 U.S.C. 112,1st, Enablement 7.31.02
35 U.S.C. 112, 1st, Scope Of Enablement 7.31.03
35 U.S.C. 112, 1st, Essential Subject Matter Missing From Claims (Enablement) , 7.33.01 :
Multiple Use of Form Paragraphs
Practical Tips in Writing the Rejection
V. REBUTTAL TO THE REJECT5ION PROOF OF ENABLEMENT
EVIDENCE AND ATTORNEY ARGUMENT
A. USE OF POST FILING DATE EVIDENCE
B. EXPERT DECLARATIONS
C. USE OF FDA SUBMISSIONS
ENABLEMENT DECISION TREE
Example A: Hybridization Probes I
Example B: Hybridization Probes II
Example C: Chemical Reagents I
Example D: Chemical Reagents II
Example E: Peptides for Treating Obesity
Example F: Enablement and Prior Art Rejections
Example G: Gene Therapy
Example H: Endothelin Receptor Antagonists
Example I: Transgenic Animals
Example J: Selectin-Mediated Cellular Adhesion
Example K: HIV
Example L: Alzheimer's Disease
Example M: Polymers
Example N: DNA
Example O: Vaccines
TRAINING MATERIALS FOR EXAMINING PATENT APPLICATIONS WITH RESPECT TO 35 U.S.C. SECTION 112, FIRST PARAGRAPH-ENABLEMENT CHEMICAL/BIOTECHNICAL APPLICATIONS
Requiring an applicant to provide information about the invention in his patent application to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the invention is just one aspect of the "quid pro quo" for obtaining the legal right to exclude others from making, using, selling, offering for sale, or importing the claimed invention. The right to exclude others is the personal property right of the patent owner and is not granted by the government without the public obtaining a public good, i.e., the promotion of the progress of science and the useful arts. The founding fathers of the United States of America recognized the public good that would flow from the promotion of science and the useful arts and specifically granted Congress the authority to establish a patent system.
Authority for Congress to establish the United States patent system is based in the United States Constitution which provides in pertinent part:
The Congress shall have Power . . . to promote the Progress of Science and Useful arts, by securing for a limited Time to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries . . . .
Article I, Section 8.
With this constitutional authority, Congress enacted Title 35 of the United States Code establishing the patent laws for the United States of America. Simply granting patents does not necessarily promote science and the useful arts. Rather, promotion of the progress of science and the useful arts is achieved by granting a patent in exchange for the public disclosure of the invention. Thus, Congress required more than a mere disclosure of the invention; Congress also required the inventor to teach the public how to make and use the invention as well. This requirement ensures that the invention will be available to the public once the patent term expires.
The requirement that the inventor adequately disclose his invention to obtain the right to exclude others from making, using, selling, offering for sale, or importing the claimed invention is mandated by 35 U.S.C. Section 112.
Section 112, first paragraph, provides:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention , and of the manner and process of making and using it , in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains , or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same , and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention. (Emphasis added.)
The emphasized terms are the three requirements from Section 112, first paragraph, that the patent specification must meet in order to be a valid patent. An "enabling" disclosure is only one of the three requirements for the specification.
In addition to being an "enabling" disclosure, the specification must also provide an adequate "written description" of the invention and must disclose the embodiment of the invention that the inventor believes to be the "best mode" of the invention. The written description and best mode requirements are separate and distinct from the enablement requirement. Vas-Cath Inc. v. Mahurkar , 935 F.2d 1555, 1563, 19 USPQ2d 1111, 1116-17 (Fed. Cir. 1991); and MPEP Section 2161.
A working definition for the written description and best mode requirements are provided below only to assist in distinguishing these additional specification requirements from the enablement requirement.
The "written description" requirement requires the inventor to clearly convey to those skilled in the art through the specification the information that the applicant has invented as the specific subject matter of the claims. In re Wertheim , 541 F.2d 257, 262, 191 USPQ 90, 96 (CCPA 1976). Although the applicant does not have to describe the subject matter claimed in the specification using exactly the same words used in the claims, the description must be sufficiently clear to allow one of ordinary skill to recognize that the applicant invented what is claimed. In re Lukach , 442 F.2d 967, 969, 169 USPQ 795, 796 (CCPA 1971); In re Gosteli , 872 F.2d 1008, 1012, 10 USPQ2d 1614, 1618 (Fed. Cir. 1989).
The "best mode" requirement mandates that the applicant disclose in the specification the "best mode" or the best way known to the inventor at the time of filing the application for carrying out the invention. Even though disclosing the best mode is a statutory requirement, it is unlikely that an examiner would ever have sufficient evidence to raise any doubt about whether the best mode has been disclosed.
Examination begins with a thorough review of the application in its entirety and with a preliminary determination of the scope of the claims. The examiner needs to determine what the claims recite and determine the meaning of each claim as a whole . The analysis should be systematic so that no claim is overlooked. The scope of dependent claims should be determined in addition to the scope of the independent claims. "A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers." 35 U.S.C. Section 112, fourth paragraph.
After the application has been read and the claimed invention understood, a prior art search for the claimed invention is made. With the results of the prior art search, including any references provided by the applicant, the patent application should be reviewed and analyzed in conjunction with the state of the prior art to determine whether the claims define a novel, non-obvious, and enabled invention that has been clearly described in the specification. The goal of examination is to clearly articulate any rejection early in the prosecution process so that the applicant has the opportunity to provide evidence of patentability and otherwise respond completely at the earliest opportunity. The examiner then reviews all the evidence, including arguments and evidence responsive to any rejection before issuing a Notice of Allowance or a final rejection.
These training materials provide the analytical framework and a discussion of relevant factors that the examiner should consider when determining whether there is sufficient evidence to support a determination that the specification does not enable one skilled in the art to make and use the claimed invention.
When rejecting a claim under the enablement requirement of section 112, the examiner bears the "initial burden of setting forth a reasonable explanation as to why [he/she] believes that the scope of protection provided by [the] claim is not adequately enabled by the description of the invention provided in the specification." In re Wright , 999 F.2d 1557, 1562, 27 USPQ2d 1510, 1513 (Fed. Cir. 1993). To object to a specification on the grounds that the disclosure is not enabling with respect to the scope of a claim sought to be patented, the examiner must provide evidence or technical reasoning substantiating those doubts. Id. ; and MPEP Section 2164.04.
Without a reason to doubt the truth of the statements made in the patent application, the application must be considered enabling. In re Wright , 999 F.2d 1557, 1562, 27 USPQ2d 1510, 1513 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Marzocchi , 439 F.2d 220, 223, 169 USPQ 367, 369 (CCPA 1971). The burden placed on the examiner is reflected in the MPEP Section 706.03.
Accordingly, the case law makes clear that properly reasoned and supported statements explaining any failure to comply with Section 112 are a requirement to support a rejection. In re Wright , 999 F.2d 1557, 1562, 27 USPQ2d 1510, 1513 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
In making the determination of enablement, the examiner shall consider the original disclosure and all evidence in the record, weighing evidence that supports enablement against the evidence that the specification is not enabling.
In the mid-1800's the Supreme Court reasoned that a specification would be defective if it required one with skill to "experiment" in order practice the claimed invention. Wood v. Under Hill, 46 U.S. (4 How.) 1 (1847 ). The standard for determining whether the specification met the enablement requirement was recast in the later Supreme Court decision of Mineral Separation v. Hyde, 242 U.S. 261, 270 (1916) which postured the question: is the experimentation needed to practice the invention undue or unreasonable? That standard is still the one to be applied. In re Wands , 858 F.2d 731, 737, 8 USPQ2d 1400, 1404 (Fed. Cir. 1988). Accordingly, even though the statute does not use the term "undue experimentation," it has been interpreted to require that the claimed invention be enabled so that any person skilled in art can make and use the invention without undue experimentation. In re Wands , 858 F.2d 731, 737, 8 USPQ2d 1400, 1404 (Fed. Cir. 1988).
There are many factors to be considered when determining whether there is sufficient evidence to support a determination that a disclosure does not satisfy the enablement requirement and whether any necessary experimentation is "undue." These factors include, but are not limited to:
the breadth of the claims,
the nature of the invention,
the state of the prior art,
the level of one of ordinary skill,
the level of predictability in the art,
the amount of direction provided by the inventor,
the existence of working examples, and
the quantity of experimentation needed to make or use the invention based on the content of the disclosure. In re Wands, 858 F.2d 731, 737, 8 USPQ2d 1400, 1404 (Fed. Cir. 1988) (reversing the PTO's determination that claims directed to methods for detection of hepatitis B surface antigens did not satisfy the enablement requirement).
In Wands , the court noted that the there was no disagreement as to the facts, but merely a disagreement as to the interpretation of the data and the conclusion to be made from the facts. In re Wands, 858 F.2d at 736-40, 8 USPQ2d at 1403-07. The court held that the specification was enabling with respect to the claims at issue and found that "there was considerable direction and guidance" in the specification; there was "a high level of skill in the art at the time the application was filed;" and "all of the methods needed to practice the invention were well known." Id. at 740, 8 USPQ2d at 1406. After considering all the factors related to the enablement issue, the court concluded that "it would not require undue experimentation to obtain antibodies needed to practice the claimed invention." Id. , 8 USPQ2d at 1407.
It is improper to conclude that a disclosure is not enabling based on an analysis of only one of the above factors while ignoring one or more of the others. The examiner's analysis must consider all the evidence related to each of these factors, and any conclusion of non-enablement must be based on the evidence as a whole. Id. at 737 & 740, 8 USPQ2d at 1404 & 1407.
A conclusion of lack of enablement means that, based on the evidence regarding each of the above factors, the specification, at the time the application was filed, would not have taught one skilled in the art how to make and/or use the full scope of the claimed invention without undue experimentation. In re Wright , 999 F.2d at 1562, 27 USPQ2d at 1513.
The determination that "undue experimentation" would have been needed to make and use the claimed invention is not a single, simple factual determination. Rather, it is a conclusion reached by weighing all the above noted factual considerations. In re Wands, 858 F.2d at 737, 8 USPQ2d at 1404. These factual considerations are discussed more fully below.
Before any analysis of enablement can occur, it is necessary for the examiner to construe the claims. For terms that are not well-known in the art, or for terms that could have more than one meaning, it is absolutely necessary that the examiner select the definition that he/she intends to use when examining the application, based on his/her understanding of what applicant intends it to mean, and explicitly set forth the meaning of the term and the scope of the claim when writing an Office action. See G enentech v. Wellcome Foundation, 29 F.3d 1555, 1563-64, 31 USPQ2d 1161, 1167-68 (Fed. Cir. 1994).
1. Scope/ Breadth of the Claims
Determining whether the enablement requirement has been met requires analyzing the claim to determine its scope.
All questions of enablement are evaluated against the claimed subject matter. The focus of the examination inquiry is whether everything within the scope of the claim is enabled. Accordingly, the first analytical step requires that the examiner determine exactly what subject matter is encompassed by the claims. The examiner should determine what each claim recites and what the subject matter is when the claim is considered as a whole , not when its parts are analyzed individually. No claim should be overlooked. With respect to dependent claims, Section 112, fourth paragraph, of Title 35 should be followed. This paragraph states that "a claim in a dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers" and requires the dependent claim to further limit the subject matter claimed.
The Federal Circuit has repeatedly held that "the specification must teach those skilled in the art how to make and use the full scope of the claimed invention without 'undue experimentation'." In re Wright, 999 F.2d 1557, 1561, 27 USPQ2d 1510, 1513 (Fed. Cir. 1993). Nevertheless, not everything necessary to practice the invention need be disclosed. In fact, what is well-known is best omitted. In re Buchner , 929 F.2d 660, 661, 18 USPQ2d 1331, 1332 (Fed. Cir. 1991). All that is necessary is that one skilled in the art be able to practice the claimed invention, given the level of knowledge and skill in the art. Further the scope of enablement must only bear a "reasonable correlation" to the scope of the claims. E.g. , In re Fisher , 427 F.2d 833, 839, 166 USPQ 18, 24 (CCPA 1970).
In this regard, MPEP Section 2164.08 provides, in pertinent part, as follows.
As concerns the breadth of a claim relevant to enablement, the only relevant concern should be whether the scope of enablement provided to one skilled in the art by the disclosure is commensurate with the scope of protection sought by the claims. In re Moore , 439 F.2d 1232, 169 USPQ 236 (CCPA 1971)
The determination of the propriety of a rejection based upon the scope of a claim relative to the scope of the enablement involves two stages of inquiry. The first is to determine how broad the claim is with respect to the disclosure. The entire claim must be considered. The second inquiry is to determine if one skilled in the art is [sic, would have been] enabled to make and use the entire scope of the claimed invention without undue experimentation.
If a rejection is made based on the view that the enablement is not commensurate in scope with the claim, the examiner should identify the subject matter that is considered to be enabled. [Emphasis added.]
One does not look to the claims but to the specification to find out how to practice the claimed invention. W.L. Gore & Assoc., Inc. v. Garlock, Inc., 721 F.2d 1540, 1558, 220 USPQ 303, 316-17 ( Fed. Cir. 1983); In re Johnson , 558 F.2d 1008, 1017, 194 USPQ 187, 195 (CCPA 1977). In In re Goffe , 542 F.2d 564, 567, 191 USPQ 429, 431 (CCPA 1976), the court stated:
to provide effective incentives, claims must adequately protect inventors. To demand that the first to disclose shall limit his claims to what he has found will work or to materials which meet the guidelines specified for "preferred" materials in a process such as the one herein involved would not serve the constitutional purpose of promoting progress in the useful arts.
When analyzing the enabled scope of a claim, the teachings of the specification must not be ignored because claims are to be given their broadest reasonable interpretation that is consistent with the specification. "That claims are interpreted in light of the specification does not mean that everything in the specification must be read into the claims." Raytheon Co. v. Roper Corp., 724 F.2d 951, 957, 220 USPQ 592, 597 (Fed. Cir. 1983), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 835 (1984).
Part of the examiner's job is to clarify the record so that the public will have notice as to the patentee's scope of protection when the patent issues. If a reasonable interpretation of the claim is broader than the description in the specification, it is necessary for the examiner to take the additional time and effort to make sure the full scope of the claim is enabled. Limitations and examples in the specification do not generally limit what is covered by the claims. Consequently, if the claim is to a method of transforming cells and the broadest reasonable interpretation of the claim includes transforming cells in vivo for gene therapy, the examiner must make a determination as to whether there is sufficient evidence to support a conclusion that such scope is not enabled. If applicants intended only in vitro use, such a limitation should appear in the claims.
The breadth of the claims was a factor considered in Amgen v. Chugai Pharm. Co. , 927 F.2d 1200, 18 USPQ2d 1016 (Fed. Cir.), cert. denied , 502 U.S. 856 (1991). In the Amgen case, the patent claims were directed to a purified DNA sequence encoding polypeptides which are analogs of erythropoietin (EPO). The court stated that:
Amgen has not enabled preparation of DNA sequences sufficient to support its all-encompassing claims. . . . [D]espite extensive statements in the specification concerning all the analogs of the EPO gene that can be made, there is little enabling disclosure of particular analogs and how to make them. Details for preparing only a few EPO analog genes are disclosed. . . . This disclosure might well justify a generic claim encompassing these and similar analogs, but it represents inadequate support for Amgen's desire to claim all EPO gene analogs. There may be many other genetic sequences that code for EPO-type products. Amgen has told how to make and use only a few of them and is therefore not entitled to claim all of them.
927 F.2d at 1213-14, 18 USPQ2d at 1027.
The court in Amgen focused on the fact that the claims were directed to DNA sequences that encoded amino acid sequences, wherein the amino acid sequences had substitutions but preserved a particular physiological activity. Thus, the amino acid sequences mentioned in the claims in Amgen were of differing scope. Additionally, the specification did not give those skilled in the art guidance as to which amino acids could be changed to either preserve or enhance the activity of the protein. Because a very small change in the amino acid sequence of a protein can result in a very large change in the structure-function activity of a protein and because the laws of protein folding are in such a primitive state, predicting protein structure (and hence, activity) while knowing only the sequence of the protein is akin to predicting the weather for a date in the distant future.
Similarly, in In re Wright , 999 F.2d 1557, 27 USPQ2d 1510 (Fed. Cir. 1993), the court affirmed the Board's decision and stated that the evidence did not show that a skilled artisan would have been able to carry out the steps required to practice the full scope of claims which encompass " any and all live, non-pathogenic vaccines, and processes for making such vaccines, which elicit immunoprotective activity in any animal toward any RNA virus." 999 F.2d at 1562, 27 USPQ2d at 1513 (original emphasis).
In In re Goodman , 11 F.3d 1046, 1052, 29 USPQ2d 2010, 2015 (Fed. Cir. 1993), the claims were directed to a method for producing mammalian peptides in plant cells by the integration of a DNA construct encoding mammalian peptide into plant cells. The court, in affirming the Board's decision, found that the specification did not support the broad scope of the claims because the specification contained only an example of producing gamma-interferon in a dicot species; and there was evidence that extensive experimentation would have been required for encoding mammalian peptide into a monocot plant at the time of filing. Thus, the application would not have enabled one of skill in the field of biotechnology to produce any type of mammalian peptide in any plant cell as broadly claimed.
2. Reasons For Lack Of Enablement: Undue Experimentation Needed To Make And Use The Invention
a. Points of Reference
Whether the specification would have been enabling as of the filing date involves many of the same considerations that are evaluated for determining whether or not the claimed invention would have been obvious as of the date it was invented. These considerations are: the nature of the invention, the state of the prior art, and the level of skill in the art. These considerations are reviewed here briefly in summary form to assist the explanation of the enablement analysis.
i. Nature of the Invention
The initial inquiry is into the nature of the invention, i.e., the subject matter to which the claimed invention pertains. The nature of the invention becomes the backdrop to determine the state of the art and the level of skill possessed by one skilled in the art.
ii. State of the Art
The state of the prior art is what one skilled in the art a would have known, at the time the application was filed, about the subject matter to which the claimed invention pertains. The state of the prior art provides evidence for the degree of predictability in the art and is related to the amount of direction or guidance needed in the specification as filed to meet the enablement requirement. The state of the prior art is also related to the need for working examples in the specification.
The state of the art for a given technology is not static in time. It is entirely possible that a disclosure filed on January 2, 1990, would not have been enabled; however, if the same disclosure had been filed on January 2, 1996, it might have enabled the claims. Therefore, the state of the prior art must be evaluated for each application based on its filing date.
(a) Relevant Art
Section 112 requires the specification to be enabling only to a person "skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected." In general, the pertinent art should be defined in terms of the problem to be solved rather than in terms of the technology area, industry, trade, etc. for which the invention is used.
(b) Well-Known Information
The specification need not disclose what is well-known to those skilled in the art and preferably omits that which is well-known to those skilled and already available to the public. In re Buchner , 929 F.2d 660, 661, 18 USPQ2d 1331, 1332 (Fed. Cir. 1991); Hybritech Inc. v. Monoclonal Antibodies , Inc . , 802 F.2d 1367, 1384, 231 USPQ 81, 94 (Fed. Cir. 1986), cert. denied , 480 U.S. 947 (1987); and Lindemann Maschinenfabrik GMBH v. American Hoist & Derrick Co. , 730 F.2d 1452, 1463, 221 USPQ 481, 489 (Fed. Cir. 1984).
iii. Level of Skill
The relative skill of those in the art refers to the skill of those in the art in relation to the subject matter to which the claimed invention pertains at the time the application was filed.
b. Amount of Direction or Guidance Present: Sufficiency of Disclosure / Predictability/ Non-Predictability
The "amount of guidance or direction present" refers to that information in the application, as originally filed, that teaches exactly how to make or use the invention. The amount of guidance or direction needed to enable the invention is inversely related to the amount of knowledge in the state of the art as well as the predictability in the art. In re Fisher , 427 F.2 833, 839, 166 USPQ 18, 24 (CCPA 1970). The more that is known in the prior art about the nature of the invention, how to make, and how to use the invention, and the more predictable the art is, the less information needs to be explicitly stated in the specification. In contrast, if little is known in the prior art about the nature of the invention and the art is unpredictable, the specification would need more detail as to how to make and use the invention in order to be enabling.
The "predictability or lack thereof" in the art refers to the ability of one skilled in the art to extrapolate the disclosed or known results to the claimed invention. If one skilled in the art can readily anticipate the effect of a change within the subject matter to which the claimed invention pertains, then there is predictability in the art. On the other hand, if one skilled in the art cannot readily anticipate the effect of a change within the subject matter to which that claimed invention pertains, then there is lack of predictability in the art. Accordingly, what is known in the art provides evidence as to the question of predictability. In particular, the court in In re Marzocchi , 439 F.2d 220, 223-24, 169 USPQ 367, 368-70 (CCPA 1971), stated:
[i]n the field of chemistry generally, there may be times when the well-known unpredictability of chemical reactions will alone be enough to create a reasonable doubt as to the accuracy of a particular broad statement put forward as enabling support for a claim. This will especially be the case where the statement is, on its face, contrary to generally accepted scientific principles. Most often, additional factors, such as the teachings in pertinent references, will be available to substantiate any doubts that the asserted scope of objective enablement is in fact commensurate with the scope of protection sought and to support any demands based thereon for proof. [Footnote omitted.]
The predictability in the art is inversely related to the amount of guidance or direction needed for enablement. In other words, art areas that are predictable require less guidance or direction for enablement than art areas that are not predictable. In re Fisher , 427 F.2 833, 839, 166 USPQ 18, 24 (CCPA 1970).
i. How to Make
(a) One Method is Sufficient
As long as the specification discloses at least one method for making and using the claimed invention that bears a reasonable correlation to the entire scope of the claim, then the enablement requirement of Section 112 is satisfied. In re Fisher , 427 F.2d 833, 839, 166 USPQ 18, 24 (CCPA 1970). Failure to disclose other methods by which the claimed invention may be made does not render a claim invalid under Section 112. Spectra-Physics, Inc. v. Coherent, Inc . 827 F.2d 1524, 1533, 3 USPQ2d 1737, 1743 (Fed. Cir.), cert. denied , 484 U.S. 954 (1987).
Naturally, for unstable and transitory chemical intermediates, the "how to make" requirement does not require that the applicant teach how to make the claimed product in stable, permanent or isolatable form. In re Breslow , 616 F.2d 516, 521, 205 USPQ 221, 226 (CCPA 1980).
(b) Availability of Starting Materials and Apparatus
A key issue that can arise when determining whether the specification is enabling is whether the starting materials or apparatus necessary to make the invention are available. This is often true when the product or process requires a particular strain of microorganism and when the microorganism is available only after extensive screening.
The CCPA in In re Ghiron , 442 F.2d 985, 991, 169 USPQ 723, 727 (CCPA 1971), made clear that if the practice of a method requires a particular apparatus, the application must provide a sufficient disclosure of the apparatus if the apparatus is not readily available. The same can be said if certain chemicals are required to make a compound or practice a chemical process. In re Howarth, 654 F.2d 103, 105, 210 USPQ 689, 691 (CCPA 1981).
The problem with the availability of starting materials when the product or process requires the use of a particular strain of microorganisms is addressed in separate training materials relating to depositing a sample of a microorganism with an independent depository.
(c) Isolated DNA for Purified Protein ( In re Deuel )
When claims are directed to any purified and isolated DNA sequence encoding a specifically named protein wherein the protein has a specifically identified sequence, a scope rejection is generally not appropriate.
In In re Deuel , 51 F.3d 1552, 1560, 34 USPQ2d 1210, 1216 (Fed. Cir. 1995), the court stated:
Because Deuel's patent application does not describe how to obtain any DNA except the disclosed cDNA molecules, claims 4 and 6 may be considered to be inadequately supported by the disclosure of the application. See generally Amgen Inc. v. Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. , 927 F.2d 1200, 1212-24, 18 USPQ2d 1016, 1026-28 (Fed. Cir.) (generic DNA sequence claims held invalid under 35 U.S.C. § 112, first paragraph), cert. denied , 502 U.S. 856 (1991); In re Fisher , 427 F.2d 833, 839, 166 USPQ 18, 24 (CCPA 1970) (Section 112 "requires that the scope of the claims must bear a reasonable correlation to the scope of enablement provided by the specification to persons of ordinary skill in the art"). As this issue is not before us, however, we will not address whether claims 4 and 6 satisfy the enablement requirement of § 112, first paragraph, but will leave to the PTO the question whether any further rejection is appropriate.
The court in Deuel left it to the PTO to decide whether a scope rejection would be appropriate. Responsive to the issue left open by the Federal Circuit in Deuel , the PTO has decided that scope rejections like those noted above should not be advanced for claims like those in Deuel .
The Deuel claims 4 and 6 were directed to any DNA that would encode a specific amino acid sequence. Claims 4 and 6 recited only one amino acid sequence each and each claim was directed to all nucleic acid sequences that encode the respective amino acid sequence. The various genetic codes are well-known. Thus, to list all cDNA of the sequences that encode a given amino acid sequence simply requires reverse translating the amino acid sequence to the nucleic acid sequence. Theoretically, one armed only with a pencil, paper, and the genetic code could list all of the cDNA that encode the two amino acid sequences mentioned in the claims. Admittedly, this could not be done in practice even by a fast computer because claim 4 embraces 2.09 x 1075 embodiments. However, any one of the embodiments could be readily determined. As to actually obtaining the cDNA, this could be done by simply writing down the sequence and ordering it from a company that custom synthesizes DNA.
ii. How to Use
If a statement of utility in the specification contains within it a connotation of how to use, and/or the art recognizes that standard modes of administration are known and contemplated, 35 U.S.C. Section 112, is satisfied. In re Johnson , 282 F.2d 370, 373, 127 USPQ 216, 219 (CCPA 1960); and In re Hitchings , 342 F.2d 80, 87, 144 USPQ 637, 643
(CCPA 1965); see also In re Brana, 51 F.2d 1560, 1566, 34 USPQ2d 1437, 1441 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
It is not necessary to specify the dosage or method of use if it is known to one skilled in the art that such information could be obtained without undue experimentation. If one skilled in the art, based on knowledge of compounds having similar physiological or biological activity, would be able to discern an appropriate dosage or method of use without undue experimentation, this would be sufficient to satisfy 35 U.S.C. Section 112. The applicant need not demonstrate that the invention is completely safe. See also 35 U.S.C. Section 103 , Utility Guidelines.
(a) Use Recited in the Claims
When a compound or composition claim is limited by a particular use, enablement of that claim should be evaluated based on that limitation. See In re Vaeck , 947 F.2d 488, 495, 20 USPQ2d 1438, 1444 (Fed. Cir. 1991)(claiming a chimeric gene capable of being expressed in any cyanobacterium and thus defining the claimed gene by its use).
In contrast, when a compound or composition claim is not limited by a recited use, any enabled use that would reasonably correlate with the entire scope of that claim is sufficient to preclude a rejection for non-enablement based on how to use. If multiple uses for claimed compounds or compositions are disclosed in the application, then an enablement rejection must include an explanation, sufficiently supported by the evidence, why the specification fails to enable each disclosed use. In other words, if any use is enabled when multiple uses are disclosed, the application is enabling for the claimed invention.
The following examples illustrate the application of these standards.
The claim: A composition for treating Alzheimer's disease comprising a compound having the formula X" (where X is specifically defined within the claim). Assuming it is clear from the specification and/or applicant's arguments that the claimed composition is limited to treating Alzheimer's disease, the enablement issue is whether one skilled in the art could have made or used the composition for treating Alzheimer's disease without undue experimentation, at the time the application was filed. The enablement analysis should be based on whether there is evidence that one skilled in the art could not have used the compound for treating Alzheimer's disease without undue experimentation. If the statement of use is only a statement of one intended use, then the claim should be treated as in example 2.
The claim: A composition comprising a compound having the formula X (where X is specifically defined within the claim). The enablement issue is whether one skill in the art could have made or used the composition for any disclosed or well-established use without undue experimentation, at the time the application was filed. The enablement analysis should be based on whether there is evidence that one skilled in the art could not have used the compound for any disclosed or well-established use undue experimentation.
The claim: A composition comprising a compound having the formula X in a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier (where X is specifically defined within the claim). The specification discloses both an in vitro and in vivo use for the composition.
The presence of the phrase "pharmaceutically acceptable" in combination with the disclosed in vivo use implies some pharmaceutical use . Therefore, the initial enablement analysis should be based on whether there is any evidence that one skilled in art could not use the compound for any disclosed or well-established pharmaceutical use, i.e., treatment of some disease or condition in vivo , without undue experimentation. Any subsequent enablement analysis should be based on the claim language, what is taught in the specification, as well as any rebuttal arguments.
All rebuttal arguments must be considered. The weight the evidence and each argument should be given will depend on the facts of the case. Assuming that the applicants rebuttal is persuasive, the 35 U.S.C. Section 112, first paragraph, rejection should be withdrawn. The persuasiveness of any evidence and arguments clearly depends on the specific language of the claim, the teachings in the specification and the evidence submitted in rebuttal to the rejection.
(b) Diagnosis Assays
Unless a specification specifically states something to the contrary, the term "diagnostic assay" is to be construed to mean any assay that can be used to help diagnose a condition, as opposed to an assay that can, in and of itself, diagnose a condition. A diagnosis is typically made by evaluating the results of several screening assays, each of which has some level of false results and, accordingly, each of the screening assays would be a "diagnostic assay". Therefore, to enable a diagnostic assay use, a disclosure merely needs to teach how to make and use the assay for screening purposes.
© Several Decisions Ruling that the Disclosure was Non-Enabling
The following summaries should not be relied upon to support a case of lack of enablement without carefully reading the case.
In In re Wright , 999 F.2d 1557, 27 USPQ2d 1510 (Fed. Cir. 1993), the 1983 application disclosed a vaccine against the RNA tumor virus known as Prague Avian Sarcoma Virus, a member of the Rous Associated Virus family. Using functional language, Wright claimed a vaccine "comprising an immunologically effective amount" of a viral expression product. Id. at 1559, 27 USPQ2d at 1511. Rejected claims covered all RNA viruses as well as to avian RNA viruses. The Examiner provided a teaching that in 1988, a vaccine for another retrovirus (i.e., AIDS) remained an intractable problem. This evidence, along with evidence that the RNA viruses were a diverse and complicated genus, convinced the Federal Circuit that the invention was not enabled for either all retroviruses or even for avian retroviruses.
In In re Goodman , 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993), a 1985 application functionally claimed a method of producing protein in plant cells by expressing a foreign gene. The court stated: "[n]aturally, the specification must teach those of skill in the art 'how to make and use the invention as broadly as it is claimed.'" Id. at 1050, 29 USPQ2d at 2013. Although protein expression in dicotyledonous plant cells was enabled, the claims covered any plant cell. The examiner provided evidence that even as late as 1987, use of the claimed method in monocot plant cells was not enabled. Id. at 1051, 29 USPQ2d at 2014.
In In re Vaeck , 947 F.2d 488, 495, 20 USPQ2d 1438, 1444 (Fed. Cir. 1991), the court found that several claims were not supported by an enabling disclosure "[t]aking into account the relatively incomplete understanding of the biology of cyanobacteria as of appellant's filing date, as well as the limited disclosure by appellants of the particular cyanbacterial genera operative in the claimed invention. . . ." The claims at issue were not limited to any particular genus or species of cyanbacteria and the specification mentioned nine genera and the working examples employed one species of cyanobacteria.
In In re Colianni , 561 F.2d 220, 222-23,195 USPQ 150, 152 (CCPA 1977), where the court affirmed a rejection under Section 112, first paragraph, because the specification directed to a method of mending a fractured bone by applying "sufficient" ultrasonic energy to the bone did not define a "sufficient" dosage or teach one of ordinary skill how to select the appropriate intensity, frequency, or duration of the ultrasonic energy.
(d) Several Decisions Ruling that the Disclosure was Enabling
In PPG Ind. v. Guardian Ind., 75 F.3d 1558, 1564, 37 USPQ2d 1618, 1623 (Fed. Cir. 1996), the court ruled that even though there was a software error in calculating the ultraviolet transmittance data for examples in the specification making it appear that the production of a cerium oxide-free glass that satisfied the transmittance limitation would be difficult, the specification indicated that such glass could be made. The specification was found to indicate how to minimize the cerium content while maintaining low ultraviolet transmittance.
In In re Wands , 858 F.2d 731, 8 USPQ2d 1400 (Fed. Cir. 1988), the court reversed the rejection for lack of enablement under Section 112, first paragraph, concluding that undue experimentation would not be required to practice the invention. The nature of monoclonal antibody technology is such that experiments first involve the entire attempt to make a monoclonal hybridomas to determine which ones secrete antibody with the desired characteristics. The court found that the specification provided considerable direction and guidance on how to practice the claimed invention and presented working examples, that all of the methods needed to practice the invention were well known, and that there was a high level of skill in the art at the time the application was filed. Furthermore, the applicant carried out the entire procedure for making a monoclonal antibody against HBsAg three times and each time was successful in producing at least one antibody which fell within the scope of the claims.
In In re Bundy , 642 F.2d 430, 434, 209 USPQ 48, 51-52 (CCPA 1981), the court ruled that the claimed analogs of naturally occurring prostaglandins had certain pharmacological properties even though the specification lacked any examples of specific dosages, but did state that the novel compound possessed activity similar to E-type prostaglandins.
c. Presence or Absence of Working Examples (Make or Use)
The presence of a working examples demonstrates the making or using of the invention. However, working examples are not required by the statute, rules, or the case law.
i. None or One Working Example
The lack of working examples is one consideration in the overall analysis of lack of enablement. In re Colianni , 561 F.2d at 224, 195 USPQ at 153. The MPEP, Section 2164.02, states: "[t]he specification need not contain an example if the invention is otherwise disclosed in such manner that one skilled in the art will be able to practice it without an undue amount of experimentation."
When considering the factors relating to a determination of non-enablement, if all the other factors point toward enablement, then the absence of working examples will not by itself render the invention non-enabled. In other words, lack of working examples or lack or evidence that the claimed invention works as described should never be the sole reason for rejecting the claimed invention on the grounds of lack of enablement. A single working example in the specification for a claimed invention is enough to preclude a rejection which states that nothing is enabled since at least that embodiment would be enabled. However, a rejection stating that enablement is limited to a particular scope may be appropriate.
The presence of only one working example should never be the sole reason for making a scope rejection, even though it is a factor to be considered along with all the other factors. To make a valid rejection, one must evaluate all the facts and evidence and state why one would not expect to be able to extrapolate that one example across the entire scope of the claims.
ii. Correlation: In Vitro/In Vivo
The issue of "correlation" is related to the issue of the presence or absence of working examples. "Correlation" for purposes of this portion of the training materials refers to the relationship between in vitro or in vivo animal model assays and a disclosed or a claimed method of use. An in vitro or in vivo animal model example in the specification, in effect, constitutes a "working example" if that example "correlates" with a disclosed or claimed method invention. If there is no correlation, then the examples do not constitute "working examples." In this regard, the issue of "correlation" is also dependent on the state of the prior art. In other words, if the art is such that a particular model is recognized as correlating to a specific condition, then it should be accepted as correlating unless the examiner has evidence that the model does not correlate. Even with such evidence, the examiner must weigh the evidence for and against correlation and decide whether one skilled in the art would accept the model as reasonably correlating to the condition. In re Brana , 51 F.3d 1560, 1566, 34 USPQ2d 1436, 1441 (Fed. Cir. 1995)(reversing the PTO decision based on finding that in vitro data did not support in vivo applications).
Since the initial burden is on the examiner to give reasons for the lack of enablement, when possible to supported by evidence, the examiner must also give reasons for a conclusion of lack of correlation for an in vitro or in vivo animal model example. A rigorous or an invariable exact correlation is not required, as stated in Cross v. Iizuka , 753 F.2d 1040, 1050, 224 USPQ 739, 747 (Fed. Cir. 1985):
based upon the relevant evidence as a whole, there is a reasonable correlation between the disclosed in vitro utility and an in vivo activity, and therefore a rigorous correlation is not necessary where the disclosure of pharmacological activity is reasonable based upon the probative evidence. (Citations omitted.)
iii. Working Examples and a Claimed Genus
For a claimed genus, representative examples together with a statement applicable to the genus as a whole will ordinarily be sufficient if one skilled in the art-in view of level of skill, state of the art and the information in the specification-would expect the claimed genus could be used in that manner without undue experimentation. Proof of enablement will be required for other members of the claimed genus only where adequate reasons are advanced by the examiner to establish that a person skilled in the art could not use the genus as a whole without undue experimentation.
d. Quantity of Experimentation
The quantity of experimentation needed to be performed by one skilled in the art is only one factor involved in determining whether "undue experimentation" is required to make and use the invention. "[A]n extended period of experimentation may not be undue if the skilled artisan is given sufficient direction or guidance." In re Colianni , 561 F.2d at 224,195 USPQ at 153. "'The test is not merely quantitative, since a considerable amount of experimentation is permissible, if it is merely routine, or if the specification in question provides a reasonable amount of guidance with respect to the direction in which the experimentation should proceed.' In re Wands , 858 F.2d at 737, 8 USPQ2d at 1404 (citing In re Angstadt , 537 F.2d 489, 502-04, 190 USPQ 214, 218 (CCPA 1976)). Time and expense are merely factors in this consideration and are not the controlling factors. United States v. Telectonics Inc., 857 F.2d 778, 785, 8 USPQ2d 1217, 1223 (Fed. Cir. 1988), cert. denied , 490 U.S. 1046 (1989).
In the chemical arts, the guidance and ease in carrying out an assay to achieve the claimed objectives may be an issue to be considered in determining the quantity of experimentation needed. For example, if a very difficult and time consuming assay is needed to identify a compound within the scope of a claim, then this great quantity of experimentation should be considered in the overall analysis. Time and difficulty of experiments are not determinative if they are merely routine. Quantity of examples is only one factor that must be considered before reaching the final conclusion that undue experimentation would be required. In re Wands , 858 F.2d at 737, 8 USPQ2d at 1404.
i. Example of Reasonable Experimentation
In United States v. Telectonics Inc., 857 F.2d 778, 8 USPQ2d 1217 (Fed. Cir. 1988), cert. denied , 490 U.S. 1046 (1989), the court reversed the findings of the district court for lack of clear and convincing proof that undue experimentation was needed. The court ruled that since one embodiment (stainless steel electrodes) and the method to determine dose/response was set forth in the specification, the specification was enabling. The question of time and expense of such studies, approximately $50,000 and 6-12 months standing alone, failed to show undue experimentation.
ii. Example of Unreasonable Experimentation
In In re Ghiron , 442 F.2d at 991-92, 169 USPQ at 727-28, functional "block diagrams" were insufficient to enable a person skilled in the art to practice the claimed invention with only a reasonable degree of experimentation because the claimed invention required a "modification to prior art overlap computers," and because "many of the components which appellants illustrate as rectangles in their drawing necessarily are themselves complex assemblages . . . . It is common knowledge that many months or years elapse from the announcement of a new computer by a manufacturer before the first prototype is available. This does not bespeak of a routine operation but of extensive experimentation and development work . . . ."
e. Supplementing a Disclosure
The specification may be enabling even though amendments may be needed. Such amendments often occur when the applicant incorporates information by reference into the specification or uses a trade name or trademark to provide descriptive information.
i. Incorporating by Reference
The Commissioner has considerable discretion to permit the applicant to incorporate information by reference into the specification. The information incorporated by reference at the time of filing is as much a part of the application as filed as if the text were repeated therein. Editing the application by inserting verbatim that which was previously only incorporated by reference does not raise new matter issues. In re Hawkins, 486 F.2d 569, 574, 179 USPQ 157, 161 (CCPA 1973); and MPEP Sections 608.01(p) and 2163.07(b).
ii. Use of Trademarks: Potential4Future Non-enablement
When the applicant refers to materials, products or processes, etc. by their respective trade name or trademark in the specification, the examiner should require that a generic description be inserted in place of, or in addition to, a trade name or trademark. This is necessary since the owner of the product to which the trade name or trademark refers can change the product over time. Such future decisions are often outside the control of the applicant. If such a change occurred, the trade name or trademark could come to represent different things at different points in time with no way learning what the differences were. Whether the use of a trade name or trademark provides sufficient description and disclosure of the claimed invention must be decided on a case-by-case basis. Where the identification material or apparatus referred to by its trademark or trade name is introduced by amendment, the information must be restricted to the characteristics of the product known at the time the application was filed to avoid any question of new matter. In re Metcalfe , 410 F.2d 1378, 1382, 161 USPQ 789, 792 (CCPA 1969); and MPEP Section 608.01(v).
1. Preferred Materials in Specification Need not be in the Claims
Limiting an applicant to the preferred materials in the absence of limiting prior art would not serve the constitutional purpose of promoting the progress in the useful arts. Therefore, an enablement rejection based on the grounds that a disclosed critical limitation is missing from a claim should be made only when the language of the specification makes it clear that the limitation is critical for the invention to function as intended. Broad language in the disclosure, including the abstract, omitting an allegedly critical feature, tends to rebut the argument of criticality.
2. Inoperability/Inoperative Species within the Scope of the Claim
The presence of inoperative embodiments within the scope of a claim does not necessarily render a claim nonenabled. The standard is whether a skilled person could determine which embodiments that were conceived, but not yet made, would be inoperative or operative with expenditure of no more effort than is normally required in the art. Atlas Powder Co. v. E.I. duPont de Nemous & Co. , 750 F.2d 1569, 1577, 224 USPQ 409, 414 (Fed. Cir. 1984)(prophetic examples do not make the disclosure non-enabling). Although, typically, inoperative embodiments are excluded by language in a claim the scope of the claim may still not be enabled where undue experimentation is involved in determining those embodiments that are operable. A disclosure of a large number of operable embodiments and the identification of a single inoperative embodiment did not render a claim broader than the enabled scope because undue experimentation was not involved in determining those embodiments that were operable. In re Angstadt, 537 F.2d 498, 502-03, 190 USPQ 214, 218 (CCPA 1976); and MPEP Section 2164.08(b). However, claims reading on significant numbers of inoperative embodiments would render claims nonenabled when the specification does not clearly identify the operative embodiments and undue experimentation is involved in determining those that are operative. Atlas Powder Co. v. E.I. duPont de Nemous & Co. , 750 F.2d 1569, 1577, 224 USPQ 409, 414 (Fed. Cir. 1984); In re Cook, 439 F.2d 730, 735, 169 USPQ 298, 302 (CCPA 1971); see also MPEP Section 2164.08(b).
Many times an Office action will contain both a 35 U.S.C. Section 112, first paragraph, enablement rejection and a prior art rejection under 35 U.S.C. Section 102 and/or 103 against the same claim. In such cases, the examiner has determined that the claimed invention is not enabled and yet is anticipated or prima facie obvious in view of prior art. The presence of both rejections in an Office action against the same claim appears contradictory. However, it is not necessarily a contradiction or an improper Office action. The following examples illustrate scenarios where both can coexist.
A claim recites a genus but the specification is enabling only for species X. A reference found by the examiner provides evidence that the specification is enabling for species X only and discloses species X. In this case, a scope rejection stating that the claims should be limited to species X is appropriate as is a 102 rejection.
A claim recites a genus. The specification discloses only one use for the genus and demonstrates only species X for that use. The examiner finds a first reference that supports the position that it would require undue experimentation to use members of that genus other than species X for the only disclosed purpose. The examiner also finds a second reference that suggests another member, species Y, of the genus for a different purpose. In this case, a scope rejection stating that the claim should be limited to species X is appropriate as is a Section 103 rejection stating that species Y would have been obvious. These rejections are not contradictory.
A claim recites a method of treating HIV infection in a human by administering X to the human. The specification discloses an in vitro assay which demonstrates that X will inhibit HIV replication. The examiner finds five references to support the position that treating HIV is unpredictable and that in vitro models do not reasonably correlate to in vivo treatment. The examiner also finds a sixth reference that demonstrates that X will inhibit HIV replication in vitro and suggests treating HIV infection in a human byadministering X to the human. In this case, a lack of enablement rejection would be appropriate using the five references as support. A Section 103 rejection using the sixth reference would also be appropriate. Admittedly, the rejections are contradictory. Nevertheless, in view of the contradictory nature of the suggestions in the state of the art, the contradictory rejections are appropriate since one position is likely to be correct. This type of treatment should be limited to those art areas in which the teachings and suggestions in the art are in conflict with one another.
The enablement requirement of 35 U.S.C. Section 112, first paragraph, is separate and distinct from the description requirement. Vas Cath Inc. v. Mahurkar , 935 F.2d 1555, 1563, 19 USPQ2d 1111, 1116-17 (Fed. Cir. 1991)("the purpose of the 'written description' requirement is broader than to merely explain how to 'make and use'"); and MPEP Section 2161. Therefore, the fact that an additional limitation to a claim may lack descriptive support in the disclosure as originally filed does not necessarily mean that the limitation is also not enabled. In other words, the statement of a new limitation in and of itself may enable one skilled in the art to make and use the claim containing that limitation even though that limitation may not be described in the original disclosure. Consequently, such limitations must be analyzed for both enablement and description using their separate and distinct criteria.
Furthermore, when the subject matter is not in the specification portion of the application as filed but is in the claims, the limitation in and of itself may enable one skilled in the art to make and use the claim containing the limitation. When claimed subject matter is only presented in the claims and not in the specification portion of the application, the specification should be objected to for lacking the requisite support for the claimed subject matter using Form Paragraph 7.44. See MPEP Section 2163.06. This is a technical rejection only and enablement issues should be treated separately.
Form Paragraph 7.44 provides:
CLAIMED SUBJECT MATTER NOT IN SPECIFICATION
The specification is objected to as failing to provide proper antecedent basis for the claimed subject matter. See 37 CFI 1.75(d)(1) and MPEP 608.01(1). Correction of the following is required: [1].
A.THE LEVEL OF DETAIL
While the analysis and conclusion are based on all the above factors and the evidence as a whole, it is not necessary to discuss each factor in the written enablement rejection. The language should focus on those factors, reasons, and evidence that lead the examiner to conclude that the specification fails to teach how to make and use the claimed invention without undue experimentation , or that the scope of any enablement provided to one skilled in the art is not commensurate with the scope of protection sought by the claims. This can easily be done by making specific findings of fact, supported by the evidence, and then drawing conclusions based on these findings of fact. For example, doubt may arise about enablement because information is missing about one or more essential parts or relationships between parts which one skilled in the art could not develop without undue experimentation. In such a case, the examiner should specifically identify what information is missing and why one skilled in the art could not supply the information without undue experimentation. MPEP § 2164.06. References should be supplied if possible to support a prima facie case of lack of enablement, but are not always required. In re Marzocchi , 439 F.2d 220, 224, 169 USPQ 367, 370 (CCPA 1971). However, specific technical reasons are always required.
In accordance with the principles of compact prosecution, if an enablement rejection is appropriate, the first Office action on the merits should present the best case with all the relevant reasons, issues, and evidence so that all such rejections can be withdrawn if applicant provides appropriate convincing arguments and/or evidence in rebuttal. Providing the best case in the first Office action will also allow the second Office action to be made final should applicant fail to provide appropriate convincing arguments and/or evidence. Citing new references and/or expanding arguments in a second Office action could prevent that Office action from being made final. The principles of compact prosecution also dictate that if an enablement rejection is appropriate and the examiner recognizes limitations that would render the claims enabled, the examiner should note such limitations to applicant as early in the prosecution as possible.
In other words, the examiner should always look for enabled, allowable subject matter and communicate to applicant what that subject matter is at the earliest point possible in the prosecution of the application.
The relevant form paragraphs that should be used when making a rejection for lack of enablement are paragraphs 7.31.02, 7.31.03, or 7.33.01. See MPEP § 706.03©. Regardless of which Form paragraph is used, the examiner must always clearly articulate the reasons for his or her belief that an enablement issue exists and cite to the evidence that supports his or her belief .
1 35 U.S.C. 112,1st, Enablement 7.31.02
Form paragraph 7.31.02 is to be used when it is the examiner's position that nothing within the scope of the claims is enabled. In such a rejection, the examiner should explain all the reasons why nothing within the scope of the claims is enabled. To make sure all relevant issues are raised, this should include any issues regarding the breadth of the claims relative to the guidance in the disclosure. Form paragraph 7.31.02 is as follows:
Claim [1] rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112, first paragraph, because the specification does not enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to [2] the invention. [3] .
Examiner Note:
If the problem is one of scope, form paragraph 7.31.03 should be used.
In bracket 2, fill in only the appropriate portion of the statute, i.e., one of the following "make," "use," or "make and use".
In bracket 3, identify the claimed subject matter for which the specification is not enabling along with an explanation as to why the specification is not enabling. The explanation should include any questions posed by the examiner which were not satisfactorily resolved and consequently raise doubt as to enablement.
Where an essential component or step of the invention is not recited in the claims, use form paragraph 7.33.01.
2. 35 U.S.C. 112, 1st, Scope Of Enablement 7.31.03
Form paragraph 7.31.03 is to be used when it is the examiner's position that something within the scope of the claims is enabled but the claims are not limited to that scope. Form paragraph 7.31.03 states:
Claim [1] rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112, first paragraph, because the specification, while being enabling for [2] , does not reasonably provide enablement for [3] . The specification does not enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to [4] the invention commensurate in scope with these claims. [5] .
This paragraph is to be used when the scope of the claims is not commensurate with the scope of the enabling disclosure.
In bracket 2, identify the claimed subject matter for which the specification is enabling. This may be by reference to specific portions of the specification.
In bracket 3, identify aspect(s) of the claims(s) for which the specification is not enabling.
In bracket 4, fill in only the appropriate portion of the statute, i.e., one of the following: "make," "use," or "make and use".
In bracket 5, identify the problem along with an explanation as to why the specification is not enabling. The explanation should include any questions posed by the examiner which were not satisfactorily resolved and consequently raise doubt as to enablement.
3. 35 U.S.C. 112, 1st, Essential Subject Matter Missing From Claims (Enablement) , 7.33.01 :
Form paragraph 7.33.01 is to be used when it is the examiner's position that a feature that is critical or essential to the practice of the claimed invention is missing from the claim.
Form paragraph 7.33.01 states:
Claim [1] rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112, first paragraph, as based on a disclosure which is not enabling. [2] critical or essential to the practice of the invention, but not included in the claim(s) is not enabled by the disclosure. In re Mayhew , 527 F.2d 1229, 188 USPQ 356 (CCPA 1976). [3] .
In bracket 2, recite the subject matter omitted from the claims.
In bracket 3, give the rationale for considering the omitted subject matter critical or essential.
The examiner shall cite the statement, argument, date, drawing, or other evidence which demonstrates that a particular feature was considered essential by the applicant, is not reflected in the claims which are rejected.
4. Multiple Use of Form Paragraphs
A claim should not be rejected using form paragraph 7.31.02 and also rejected using either form paragraph 7.31.03 or form paragraph 7.33.01 within the same Office action since this would present conflicting and confusing positions. Form paragraph 7.31.02 states that nothing is enabled in that claim and each of the other two form paragraphs state that something within the scope of the claim is enabled. If the examiner concludes that nothing is enabled for one reason and that the breadth of the claims is also not commensurate in scope with the guidance in the specification, then all these issues should be raised with respect to that claim using form paragraph 7.31.02. Sometimes the scope of a claim may not be enabled because a critical or essential feature is missing in addition to other reasons. In such cases, all the scope issues may be raised under form paragraph 7.31.03 or form paragraph 7.33.01, or the issues may be raised separately by using both form paragraph 7.31.03 and form paragraph 7.33.01.
5. Practical Tips in Writing the Rejection
Look for enabled embodiments and, if found, communicate to applicant which embodiments are enabled.
Focus on those factors which lead to a conclusion of lack of enablement.
Make express findings of fact related to the specific case.
Emphasize specific technical reasons for the conclusion of lack of enablement.
Tailor your discussion to the particulars of the claimed invention.
Use no speculative phrases.
Support statements with evidence and/or sound scientific reasoning.
V. REBUTTAL TO THE REJECTION PROOF OF ENABLEMENT:
Once the examiner has weighed all the evidence and established a reasonable basis to question the enablement provided for the claimed invention, the burden falls on applicant to present persuasive arguments, supported by suitable proofs where necessary, that one skilled in the art would be able to make and use the claimed invention using the application as a guide. The evidence provided by applicant need not be conclusive but merely convincing to one skilled in the art. A declaration or affidavit is, itself, evidence that must be considered.
To overcome a prima facie case of lack of enablement, applicant must demonstrate by argument and/or evidence that the disclosure, as filed , would have enabled the claimed invention for one skilled in the art at the time of filing. This does not preclude applicant from providing a declaration after the filing date which demonstrates that the claimed invention works. However, the examiner should carefully compare the steps, materials, and conditions used in the experiments of the declaration with those disclosed in the application to make sure that they are commensurate in scope, i.e., that the experiments used the guidance in the specification as filed and what was well known to one of skill in the art. Such a showing also must be commensurate with the scope of the claimed invention, i.e., must bear a reasonable correlation.
The examiner must then weigh all the evidence before him or her, including the specification and any new evidence supplied by applicant with the evidence and/or sound scientific reasoning previously presented in the rejection and decide whether the claimed invention is enabled. The examiner should never make the determination based on personal opinion. The determination should always be based on the weight of all the evidence.
In general, if an applicant seeks to use a patent to prove the state of the art for the purpose of the enablement requirement, the patent must have an issue date earlier than the effective filing date of the application. In re Budnick, 537 F.2d 535, 538, 190 USPQ 422, 424 (CCPA 1976). Similarly, in general, the examiner should not use post-filing date references to demonstrate that the patent is non-enabling. Exceptions to these rules could occur if a later-dated reference provides evidence of what one skilled in the art would have known on or before the effective filing date of the patent application. That is, if individuals of skill in the art state that a particular invention is not possible years after the filing date, that would be evidence that the disclosed invention was not possible at the time of filing and should be considered.
Declarations and affidavits are evidence . The weight to give them will depend upon the amount of factual evidence they contain to support the conclusion of enablement. In re Buchner, 929 F.2d 660, 661, 18 USPQ2d 1331, 1332 (Fed. Cir. 1991)("expert's opinion on the ultimate legal conclusion must be supported by something more than a conclusory statement"); cf. In re Alton, 76 F.3d 1168, 1174, 37 USPQ2d 1578, 1583 (Fed. Cir. 1996)(declarations relating to the written description requirement should have been considered).
An applicant may argue that the FDA has approved clinical trials and, therefore, the claims should be considered enabled by the specification. FDA approval is an important consideration. However, considerations made by the FDA for approving clinical trial are different from those made by the PTO in determining whether a claim is enabled. See Scott v. Finney , 34 F.3d 1058, 1063, 32 USPQ2d 1115, 1120 (Fed. Cir. 1994) ("[t]esting for full safety and effectiveness of a prosthetic device is more properly left to the [FDA].")
Applicant should be encouraged to provide any evidence to demonstrate that the disclosure enables the claimed invention, including evidence actually submitted to the FDA to obtain approval for clinical trials. Once that evidence is submitted, it must be weighed with all other evidence according to the standards set forth above so as to reach a determination as to whether the disclosure enables the claimed invention.
Specification: The specification discloses that bacteria A is known to cause a specific disease and, therefore, detection of bacteria A in a sample is desirable. The specification even discloses that methods are known which detect bacteria A in a sample via culturing techniques. According to the specification, such detection methods are difficult to perform and therefore detection methods using nucleic acid probes are preferred.
The specification discloses that one object of the invention is to provide nucleic acids complementary to unique nucleic acid sequences within the RNA or DNA of bacteria A and which can be used to detect bacteria A. Another object of the invention is to provide a method of detecting bacteria A in a sample by contacting the sample with a probe which preferentially hybridizes to RNA or DNA of bacteria A but not to non-bacteria A organisms.
The term "probe" is described in the specification as a nucleic acid between 10 and 300 base pairs in length which contain specific nucleotide sequences that specifically and preferentially hybridize under predetermined conditions to nucleic acid sequences of bacteria A. The probes optionally contain a detectable moiety.
The following three specific probes were disclosed:
Bacteria A probe 1 (35mer) (SEQ ID NO:1)
5'-CATTAGAGTC GTACGTGCTA GACTGATTAA CCGGT-3'
5'-CAATCCAGTA AGTTTTACCC GGCCAAATAA AGG-3'
5'-AAATAGCCAG ATCATTGCCC CGGACCCTTG-3'
An example appears in the specification which demonstrates how to carry out the detection and which shows that the three probes are specific for bacteria A and fail to hybridize to 50 other types of bacteria.
An isolated nucleic acid consisting of 10 to 300 nucleotides which hybridizes preferentially to RNA or DNA of bacteria A and not to non-bacteria A organisms, wherein said nucleic acid is or is complementary to a nucleotide sequence comprising at least ten consecutive nucleotides from a nucleotide sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS 1, 2, and 3.
A probe comprising a nucleic acid of claim 1 and a detectable moiety.
A method of detecting the presence of bacteria A in a sample suspected of containing bacteria A comprising
a) contacting the sample with an isolated nucleic acid of claim 1,
b) imposing hybridization conditions on the sample and said isolated nucleic acid to allow the formation of a hybridization product between said nucleic acid and RNA or DNA from bacteria A, if present in the sample, but not from RNA or DNA from non-bacteria A bacteria; and
c) detecting any hybridization product as an indication of the presence of bacteria A in the sample.
State of the Prior Art: A search was carried out to compare the multitude of 10 nucleotide probes encompassed by the claims with sequences in the EMBL database with the following results:
10,541 database hits for the 10mers of probe 1;
5,691 database hits for the 10mers of probe 3.
Some of the hits for each probe were in the RNA or DNA of bacteria other than bacteria A, such as Salmonella, Candida, and Streptococcus .
Wallace et al, Methods Enzymol. 152:432-443 (1987).
Sambrook et al, Molecular Cloning, A Laboratory Manual , Second Edition, 1989, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, p. 11.47.
Wallace et al and Sambrook et al teach the empirical nature of determining the specificity of hybridization probes and the unpredictability of the effect of mismatches within an oligonucleotide probe.
The 50 different bacteria tested within the example in the specification are representative of bacteria in general.
There is a demonstration in the specification that the three specifically disclosed probes can be used to detect bacteria A. Furthermore, the sequences of those probes are disclosed so that one skilled in the art could clearly make them. Therefore, the specification does teach how to make and use three embodiments encompassed by the claims. Accordingly, an objection/rejection using form paragraph 7.31.02 would be inappropriate. The issue then is whether the enabled embodiments are representative of the scope of the claims.
Before this can be determined, the scope of at least claim 1 must be determined. Claim 1 recites three limitations on the nucleic acid, two structural and one functional. The two structural limitations are 1) that the nucleic acid consists of 10 to 300 nucleotides and 2) that the nucleic acid is or is complementary to a nucleotide sequence comprising at least ten consecutive nucleotides from a nucleotide sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS 1, 2, and 3. Since the nucleotide sequence mentioned merely comprises at least ten consecutive nucleotides from a nucleotide sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS 1, 2, and 3, it encompasses any random sequence of any length as long as it has a stretch of at least ten consecutive nucleotides that is the same as in SEQ ID NOS 1-3. Furthermore, since there is no limitation that the claimed nucleic acid be complementary to the nucleotide sequence at the stretch of at least ten consecutive nucleotides that is the same as in SEQ ID NOS 1-3, the structural limitations encompass any nucleic acid consisting of 10 to 300 nucleotides. The functional limitation is that the nucleic acid must be such that is hybridizes preferentially to RNA or DNA of bacteria A and not to non-bacteria A bacteria. Thus, claim 1 encompasses any nucleic acid that is 10 to 300 nucleotides in length and hybridizes preferentially to RNA or DNA of bacteria A and not to non-bacteria A bacteria.
Clearly if a nucleic acid hybridizes preferentially to RNA or DNA or bacteria and not to non-bacteria A bacteria, one skilled in the art would know how to use that nucleic acid based on the teachings in the specification. Thus, the specification teaches how to use all the nucleic acids encompassed by the claims. However, does the specification teach how to identify or make all nucleic acids that have both the structural limitation and the functional limitation? The answer in this case would be no since there is evidence sufficient to rebut the presumption that the full scope of claim 1 would be enabled without undue experimentation. Specifically, the state of the prior art as exemplified by Wallace et al and Sambrook et al is such that determining the specificity of hybridization probes is empirical by nature and the effect of mismatches within an oligonucleotide probe is unpredictable. The database search results suggest that there are probes that would meet the structural limitations of the claims but not the functional limitation. The only specific guidance or working example given in the specification is for the three specific sequences of SEQ ID NOS 1-3 but there is no suggestion as to what the target sites in bacteria A are or what modifications can be made while retaining the functional limitation. The structural limitations of the claims clearly cover any nucleic acid that is 10 to 300 nucleotides in length (on the order of 4300 possible nucleic acids). Because of these considerations, one skilled in the art would have to make and test all nucleic acids that meet the structural limitations to determine which also meet the functional limitation. This amount of experimentation would be impossible in many lifetimes. Therefore, based on the empirical and unpredictable nature of the invention and state of the prior art, the limited guidance and working examples in the specification, and the extensive quantity of experimentation needed to identify the nucleic acids encompassed by the claims, it would be reasonable to conclude that it would require an undue amount of experimentation to identify the nucleic acids encompassed by the claims. In this case a scope rejection using form paragraph 7.31.03 would be appropriate.
The only issue remaining is the decision as to the scope that is enabled by the specification. Clearly the three probes used in the example are enabled. Is this all that is enabled? The answering of this question can be approached by considering claims having narrower scope, but still having written descriptive support, and determining whether the specification enables such a claim. Doing this, a claim of the following scope would be enabled on the facts presented here:
An isolated nucleic acid consisting of 10 to 35 nucleotides which hybridizes preferentially to RNA or DNA of bacteria A and not to non-bacteria A organisms, wherein said nucleic acid is or is complementary to a nucleotide sequence consisting of at least ten consecutive nucleotides from a nucleotide sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS 1, 2, and 3.
Note, the upper limit of 35 nucleotides has clear descriptive support based on the fact that one of the specific probes of the example has 35 nucleotides. Nothing larger than 35, other than 300, has specific descriptive support and an upper limit of 300 would not be enabled for the reasons set forth above. The structural limitations of this claim would include approximately 800 different nucleic acids, some of which would not be expected to work in view of the state of the prior art. However, in view of the limited number of possibilities and the expectation that there are at least some, other than the specifically disclosed three, that would also meet the functional limitation, it would be reasonable to conclude that it would not require an undue amount of experimentation to identify the nucleic acids encompassed by the claim.
Claims 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 112, first paragraph, because the specification, while being enabling for an isolated nucleic acid consisting of 10 to 35 nucleotides which hybridizes preferentially to RNA or DNA of bacteria A and not to non-bacteria A organisms, wherein said nucleic acid is or is complementary to a nucleotide sequence consisting of at least ten consecutive nucleotides from a nucleotide sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS 1, 2, and 3, does not reasonably provide enablement for any other embodiment encompassed by the claims. The specification does not enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to identify or make the invention commensurate in scope with these claims.
The specification discloses and the claims recite probes that hybridize preferentially to RNA or DNA of bacteria A but not to non-bacteria A organisms as well as methods of using the probes to detect bacteria A. However, the state of the prior art as exemplified by Wallace et al and Sambrook et al is such that determining the specificity of hybridization probes is empirical by nature and the effect of mismatches within an oligonucleotide probe is unpredictable. Furthermore, a database search was done for 10mers of the three specifically disclosed probes, the results of which are attached, which suggest that some of the probes encompassed by the structural limitations of the claims would not meet the functional limitation thereof. The only working example given in the specification is limited to the three specific sequences of SEQ ID NOS 1-3 and there is no suggestion as to what the target sites in bacteria A are or what modifications can be made while retaining the functional limitation. In addition, claim 1 recites three limitations on the nucleic acid, two structural and one functional. The two structural limitation are 1) that the nucleic acid consists of 10 to 300 nucleotides and 2) that the nucleic acid is or is complementary to a nucleotide sequence comprising at least ten consecutive nucleotides from a nucleotide sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS 1, 2, and 3. Since the nucleotide sequence mentioned merely comprises at least ten consecutive nucleotides from a nucleotide sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS 1, 2, and 3, it encompasses any random sequence of any length as long as it has a stretch of at least ten consecutive nucleotides that is the same as in SEQ ID NOS 1-3. Furthermore, since there is no limitation that the claimed nucleic acid be complementary to the nucleotide sequence at the stretch of at least ten consecutive nucleotides that is the same as in SEQ ID NOS 1-3, the structural limitations encompass any nucleic acid consisting of 10 to 300 nucleotides. Thus, claim 1 encompasses any nucleic acid that is 10 to 300 nucleotides in length and hybridizes preferentially to RNA or DNA of bacteria A and not to non-bacteria A bacteria. Since the structural limitations of the claim clearly covers any nucleic acid that is 10 to 300 nucleotides in length (on the order of 4300 possible nucleic acids) and in view of the empirical and unpredictable nature of the art and lack of guidance with respect to appropriate modifications, one skilled in the art would have to make and test all nucleic acids that meet the structural limitations to determine which also meet the functional limitation. This amount of experimentation would be impossible in many lifetimes. Therefore, based on the empirical and unpredictable nature of the invention and state of the prior art, the limited guidance and working examples in the specification, and the extensive quantity of experimentation needed to identify the nucleic acids encompassed by the claims, it would require an undue amount of experimentation to identify or make the nucleic acids encompassed by the claims.
If claim 1 was limited as follows, this rejection would be overcome:
1. An isolated nucleic acid consisting of 10 to 35 nucleotides which hybridizes preferentially to RNA or DNA of bacteria A and not to non-bacteria A organisms, wherein said nucleic acid is or is complementary to a nucleotide sequence consisting of at least ten consecutive nucleotides from a nucleotide sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS 1, 2, and 3.
Specification: THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE FACTS IN EXAMPLE A AND THOSE OF EXAMPLE B IS THE LANGUAGE OF CLAIM 1 . Specifically, the specification discloses that bacteria A is known to cause a specific disease and, therefore, detection of bacteria A in a sample is desirable. The specification even discloses that methods are known which detect bacteria A in a sample via culturing techniques. According to the specification, such detection methods are difficult to perform and therefore detection methods using nucleic acid probes are preferred.
An isolated nucleic acid consisting of 10 to 300 nucleotides wherein said nucleic acid is or is complementary to a nucleotide sequence comprising any ten consecutive nucleotides from a nucleotide sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS 1, 2, and 3.
State of the Prior Art: Same as in Example A. Specifically, a search was carried out to compare the multitude of 10 nucleotide probes encompassed by the claims with sequences in the EMBL database with the following results:
There is a demonstration in the specification that the three specifically disclosed probes can be used to detect bacteria A. Furthermore, the sequences of those probes are disclosed so that one skilled in the art could clearly make them. Therefore, the specification does teach how to make and use three embodiments encompassed by the claims. Accordingly, an objection/rejection using form paragraph 7.31.02 would be inappropriate. The issue is whether the enabled embodiments are representative of the scope of the claims.
Before this can be determined, the scope of at least claim 1 must be determined. Claim 1 recites two structural limitations for the nucleic acid which are 1) that the nucleic acid consist of 10 to 300 nucleotides and 2) that the nucleic acid is or is complementary to a nucleotide sequence comprising at least ten consecutive nucleotides from a nucleotide sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS 1, 2, and 3. Since the nucleotide sequence mentioned merely comprises at least ten consecutive nucleotides from a nucleotide sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS 1, 2, and 3, it encompasses any random sequence of any length as long as it has a stretch of at least ten consecutive nucleotides that is the same as in SEQ ID NOS 1-3. Furthermore, since there is no limitation that the claimed nucleic acid be complementary to the nucleotide sequence at the stretch of at least ten consecutive nucleotides that is the same as in SEQ ID NOS 1-3, claim 1 encompasses any nucleic acid that is 10 to 300 nucleotides in length.
Since all nucleic acids within the scope of claim 1 could be clearly identified and since nucleic acids can readily be synthesized by those skilled in the art, one skilled in the art would know how to identify and make all the nucleic acids encompassed by claim 1. However, does the specification teach how to use all nucleic acids encompassed by claim 1? The answer in this case would be no. The only disclosed use for the nucleic acids is in a method of detecting the presence of bacteria A in a sample by preferentially hybridizing to RNA or DNA of bacteria A but not to non-bacteria A organisms, as in claim 3. The state of the prior art as exemplified by Wallace et al and Sambrook et al is such that determining the specificity of hybridization probes is empirical by nature and the effect of mismatches within an oligonucleotide probe is unpredictable. The database search results suggest that there are probes that would meet the limitations of the claims but would not function to detect bacteria A by preferentially hybridizing to RNA or DNA of bacteria A but not to non-bacteria A organisms. The only specific guidance or working example given in the specification is for the three specific sequences of SEQ ID NOS 1-3 but there is no suggestion as to what the target sites in bacteria A are or what modifications can be made while retaining the ability to preferentially hybridize to RNA or DNA of bacteria A. Therefore, based on these considerations, it would be reasonable to conclude that it would require an undue amount of experimentation to determine how to use all the nucleic acids encompassed by the claims for detecting bacteria A in a sample. In this case a scope rejection using form paragraph 7.31.03 would be appropriate.
Note, the insertion of the functional limitation, i.e., that the nucleic acid must hybridize preferentially to RNA or DNA or bacteria A and not to non-bacteria A organisms, by itself would be such that the disclosure would enable the use of those nucleic acids encompassed by the claim. However, there would still be enablement problems, as seen in Example A, requiring further structural limitations. The upper limit of 35 nucleotides has clear descriptive support based on the fact that one of the specific probes of the example has 35 nucleotides. Nothing larger than 35, other than 300, has specific descriptive support and an upper limit of 300 would not be enabled for the reasons set forth above and in Example A. The structural limitations of this claim would include approximately 800 different nucleic acids, some of which would not be expected to work in view of the state of the prior art. However, in view of the limited number of possibilities and the expectation that there are at least some, other than the specifically disclosed three, that would also meet the functional limitation, it would be reasonable to conclude that it would not require an undue amount of experimentation to identify and use the nucleic acids encompassed by the claim.
Claims 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 112, first paragraph, because the specification, while being enabling for the exact probes represented by SEQ ID NOS 1-3 and 10mers to 35mers thereof that preferentially hybridize to RNA or DNA of bacteria A and not to non-bacteria A organisms, does not reasonably provide enablement for any other embodiment encompassed by the claims. The specification does not enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to use the invention commensurate in scope with these claims.
The specification discloses and the claims recite probes having 10 to 300 nucleotides as well as methods of using the probes to detect bacteria A. However, the state of the prior art as exemplified by Wallace et al and Sambrook et al is such that determining the specificity of hybridization probes is empirical by nature and the effect of mismatches within an oligonucleotide probe is unpredictable. Furthermore, a database search was done for 10mers of the three specifically disclosed probes, the results of which are attached, which suggest that some of the probes encompassed by the claims would not preferentially hybridize to RNA or DNA of bacteria A and not to non-bacteria A organisms so as to detect bacteria A. The only working example given in the specification is limited to the three specific sequences of SEQ ID NOS 1-3 and there is no suggestion as to what the target sites in bacteria A are or what modifications can be made to the sequences or the hybridization conditions while retaining the ability to detect bacteria A. In addition, claim 1 recites two limitations on the nucleic acids, both structural. The two structural limitations are 1) that the nucleic acid consists of 10 to 300 nucleotides and 2) that the nucleic acid is or is complementary to a nucleotide sequence comprising at least ten consecutive nucleotides from a nucleotide sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS 1, 2, and 3. Since the nucleotide sequence mentioned merely comprises at least ten consecutive nucleotides from a nucleotide sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS 1, 2, and 3, it encompasses any random sequence of any length as long as it has a stretch of at least ten consecutive nucleotides that is the same as in SEQ ID NOS 1-3. Furthermore, since there is no limitation that the claimed nucleic acid be complementary to the nucleotide sequence at the stretch of at least ten consecutive nucleotides that is the same as in SEQ ID NOS 1-3, claim 1 encompasses any nucleic acid that is 10 to 300 nucleotides in length (on the order of 4300 possible nucleic acids). In view of this, the empirical and unpredictable nature of the art, the lack of guidance with respect to appropriate modifications and the lack of guidance as to how to use other probes within the scope of the claims to detect bacteria A, the specification does not teach one skilled in the art how to successfully use probes of the claimed scope without undue experimentation.
Specification: The specification discloses that prothrombin is essential to the blood coagulation cascade and that a deficiency in prothrombin in blood leads to the hemorrhagic disease known as congenital hypoprothrombinemia. Thus, the object of the invention, as set forth in the specification, is to provide a method and reagent for detecting prothrombin in blood, wherein the method can be used in the diagnosis of congenital hypoprothrombinemia. If the results of the method indicate that prothrombin is present in normal amounts in the patient's blood sample then congenital hypoprothrombinemia is ruled out, whereas if the results of the method indicate that the patient's blood is deficient in prothrombin then the patient is diagnosed as having congenital hypoprothrombinemia and is treated accordingly. The specification discloses that treatments for that condition are well known in the art. The normal range for prothrombin in blood is also well known in the art and is listed in the specification. The specification discloses that when the well known material compound X is added to whole blood, it reacts with prothrombin to produce an absorbance change when measured at 280nm. However, the specification discloses that fibrinogen in blood also reacted with compound X to interfere with the results. To overcome this, the specification discloses adding boric acid to the blood along with compound X. The boric acid complexes with the fibrinogen to inhibit any reaction of the fibrinogen and compound X so that any absorbance change would be due solely to prothrombin. The specification includes a general statement that any other compound which inhibits the reaction of fibrinogen with compound X can be used in place of the boric acid but nothing other than boric acid is specifically named and no guidance is provided as to how or why the boric acid complexes with fibrinogen to inhibit its reaction with compound X. The specification discloses appropriate concentration ranges for compound X and boric acid as well as the appropriate mixing ratios for the reagent and sample but states that the ranges and ratios are not critical. The sole example in the specification carries out the method by adding a predetermined amount of the reagent to a whole blood sample, measuring the absorbance of the whole blood sample at 280nm before and after the addition of the reagent, calculating the difference between the absorbance of the whole blood sample before and after the addition of the reagent, and determining the amount of prothrombin in the sample from the difference. The example uses a reagent containing compound X and boric acid in specific amounts. The example also demonstrates how to establish the appropriate calibration curve.
A reagent for measuring the amount of prothrombin in whole blood comprising compound X and a substance which inhibits any reaction between fibrinogen and compound X.
A method for measuring the amount of prothrombin in whole blood comprising:
adding a predetermined amount of the reagent of claim 1 to a whole blood sample;
measuring the absorbance of the whole blood sample at 280nm before and after the addition of the reagent;
calculating the difference between the absorbance of the whole blood sample before and after the addition of the reagent; and
determining the amount of prothrombin in the sample from the difference.
3. A reagent according to claim 1 wherein the substance is boric acid.
State of the Prior Art: No compounds which inhibit any reaction between fibrinogen and compound X are known.
There is a demonstration that one reagent, i.e., one that contains compound X and boric acid, can be used to detect prothrombin. Furthermore, since compound X and boric acid are well known materials, one skilled in the art could clearly make them without undue experimentation. Therefore, the specification does teach how to make and use one embodiment encompassed by the claims, particularly the embodiment recited in claim 3. Accordingly, an objection/rejection using form paragraph 7.31.02 would be inappropriate. The issue is whether the enabled embodiment is representative of the scope of the claims. Based on the undue experimentation factors, particularly the breadth of the claims and the lack of guidance as to other materials which inhibit any reaction between compound X and fibrinogen, the conclusion would be that the enabled embodiment is not representative of the scope of claims 1-2. Therefore, a scope rejection using form paragraph 7.31.03 would be appropriate against claims 1-2.
Claims 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 112, first paragraph, because the specification, while being enabling for a reagent that includes compound X and boric acid, does not reasonably provide enablement for reagents that include compound X and any substance which inhibits any reaction between fibrinogen and compound X. The specification does not enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make the invention commensurate in scope with these claims.
The claims recite a reagent and a method of using the reagent to detect prothrombin wherein the reagent includes a substance which inhibits any reaction between compound X and fibrinogen. This encompasses any substance which has that ability. However, the specification only teaches the use of boric acid as the inhibitor. The specification does not provide guidance as to any other substances which have that ability nor does the specification disclose specific characteristics for such substances. Furthermore, the specification fails to provide guidance as to how or why the boric acid complexes with fibrinogen to inhibit its reaction with compound X. Without such information, one skilled in the art could not predict which substances out of the vast numbers of known substances would react with fibrinogen in a manner similar to boric acid and, accordingly, one skilled in the art would be required to perform undue experimentation to identify any other compounds that would complex with fibrinogen so as to inhibit its reaction with compound X. Therefore, one skilled in the art could not make the invention without undue experimentation.
Modifications to the Above Facts: Let us assume that the above noted application was filed on January 11, 1994. Subsequent to that date, two articles were published in Nature, one on March 26, 1995 and one on October 10, 1995, each of which discloses five different compounds which inhibit any reaction between fibrinogen and compound X. Another original application, identical to the above application, is filed on July 20, 1996. Does the enablement analysis above change with respect to this later filed application? Clearly the answer is yes. Since the specification suggests the use of compounds other than boric acid, such other compounds are well known in the prior art as exemplified by the two articles, and the specification need not disclose what is well known in the art, and preferably omits it, all of the claims in the July 20, 1996 application would be enabled.
Specification: THE MAJOR DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE FACTS OF EXAMPLE C AND THOSE OF EXAMPLE D ARE: 1) IN EXAMPLE C, BORIC ACID IS DISCLOSED AS THE INHIBITOR SUBSTANCE WHEREAS NO SPECIFIC INHIBITOR SUBSTANCE IS DISCLOSED IN EXAMPLE D; THERE ARE NO WORKING EXAMPLES IN EXAMPLE D; AND 3) EXAMPLE C HAS THREE CLAIMS WHEREAS EXAMPLE D HAS TWO CLAIMS.
Specifically, the specification discloses that prothrombin is essential to the blood coagulation cascade and that a deficiency in prothrombin in blood leads to the hemorrhagic disease known as congenital hypoprothrombinemia. Thus, the object of the invention, as set forth in the specification, is to provide a method and reagent for detecting prothrombin in blood, wherein the method can be used in the diagnosis of congenital hypoprothrombinemia. If the results of the method indicate that prothrombin is present in normal amounts in the patient's blood sample then congenital hypoprothrombinemia is ruled out, whereas if the results of the method indicate that the patient's blood is deficient in prothrombin then the patient is diagnosed as having congenital hypoprothrombinemia and is treated accordingly. The specification discloses that treatments for that condition are well known in the art. The normal range for prothrombin in blood is also well known in the art and is listed in the specification. The specification discloses that when the well known material compound X is added to whole blood, it reacts with prothrombin to produce an absorbance change when measured at 280nm. However, the specification discloses that fibrinogen in blood also reacts with compound X to interfere with the results. To overcome this, the specification discloses adding an inhibitor substance to the blood along with compound X. The inhibitor substance is to complex with the fibrinogen to inhibit any reaction of the fibrinogen and compound X so that an absorbance change would be due solely to prothrombin. The specification includes a general statement that any compound which inhibits the reaction of fibrinogen with compound X can be used. However, not one specific inhibitor is mentioned in the specification. The specification discloses appropriate concentration ranges for compound X as well as the appropriate mixing ratios for the reagent and sample but states that the ranges and ratios are not critical. There is no working example but the specification does clearly disclose that the method would be carried out by adding a predetermined amount of the reagent to a whole blood sample, measuring the absorbance of the whole blood sample at 280nm before and after the addition of the reagent, calculating the difference between the absorbance of the whole blood sample before and after the addition of the reagent, and determining the amount of prothrombin in the sample from the difference.
The claims require a substance which inhibits any reaction between compound X and fibrinogen. However, the specification fails to disclose any specific substance that has that ability and there is no working example to provide this missing information. Therefore, based on the undue experimentation factors, particularly the breadth of the claims, the lack of guidance as to materials which inhibit any reaction between compound X and fibrinogen, and the lack of working examples, the conclusion would be that the specification does not teach how to make and use even one embodiment encompassed by the claims. Accordingly, an objection/rejection using form paragraph 7.31.02 would be appropriate.
Claims 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 112, first paragraph, because the specification does not enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make the invention.
The claims recite a reagent and a method of using the reagent to detect prothrombin wherein the reagent includes a substance which inhibits any reaction between compound X and fibrinogen. This encompasses any substance which has that ability. However, the specification does not provide guidance as to any specific substances which have that ability nor does the specification disclose specific characteristics for such substances. Furthermore, the specification fails to provide guidance as to how any inhibitor substance should complex with fibrinogen to inhibit its reaction with compound X. No working examples are provided to provide such missing information. Without such information, one skilled in the art could not predict which substances out of the vast numbers of known substances would react with fibrinogen in the manner required by the method and, accordingly, one skilled in the art would be required to perform undue experimentation to identify any compounds that would complex with fibrinogen so as to inhibit its reaction with compound X. Therefore, one skilled in the art could not make the invention without undue experimentation.
Example 5E: Peptides for Treating Obesity
Specification: The specification discloses an anti-obesity peptide having the following amino acid sequence:
Phe Ile Gly His Thr Ser Xaa Thr His Glu Xaa Phe Ala Thr Xaa Trp Glu Leu Leu (SEQ ID NO 1).
Xaa at position 7 is Gln, Ile, or Met;
Xaa at position 11 is Asp, Gln, or Glu; and
Xaa at position 15 is Ser or Pro.
Preferably,
Xaa at position 7 is Ile;
Xaa at position 11 is Glu; and
Xaa at position 15 is Ser.
The specification also discloses a pharmaceutical formulation comprising the peptide of SEQ ID NO 1 and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, diluent, and/or excipient, as well as a method of treating obesity by administering the peptide of SEQ ID NO 1 to an obese mammal, such as mice or humans. Several routes of administration are disclosed but no dosages, not even general ranges, are disclosed.
The specification states that the peptide can be made by recombinant DNA technology or well known peptide synthesis procedures. Furthermore, the specification lists DNA sequences, vectors, host cells, and isolation techniques suitable for producing the peptide by recombinant DNA technology as well as specific peptide synthesis techniques suitable for producing the peptide.
The application discloses but does not exemplify that the peptide is a fragment of a larger protein produced in adipose tissue. The application also discloses but does not exemplify that the peptide is able to control body weight gain in normal and obese subjects. The specification discloses that suitable test animals include normal mice and obese mice, especially the ob/ob mouse model of obesity and diabetes, which is disclosed as being generally accepted in the art as being indicative of the obesity condition. The specification discloses how to carry out the animal model tests but fails to disclose whether such tests were done using the peptide of the invention. The specification also goes on to state that the peptide is also useful in the production of antibodies for diagnostic use and, as a peptide, is useful as feed additives for animals.
1. A peptide consisting of the sequence
Phe Ile Gly His Thr Ser Xaa Thr His Glu Xaa Phe Ala Thr Xaa Trp Glu Leu Leu (SEQ ID No. 1), wherein
The peptide of claim 1 wherein Xaa at position 7 is Ile; Xaa at position 11 is Glu; and Xaa at position 15 is Ser.
A pharmaceutical composition comprising the peptide of claim 1 and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
A method of treating obesity, which comprises administering to a mammal in need thereof the peptide of claim 1.
State of the Prior Art: There are no structurally similar peptides known in the art for treating obesity. There are other proteins that the art suggests play a role in obesity. The following references establish the state of the art with respect to such proteins.
Zhang et al, Nature, Vol. 372, pp. 425-432, December 1994.
Rink, Nature, Vol. 372, pp. 406-407, December 1994.
Marx, Science, Vol. 266, pp. 1477-1478, December 1994.
It is well established in the art how to use proteins and peptides as additives in animal feed.
The specification clearly teaches how to make all the peptides and compositions encompassed by the claims. Therefore, "how to make" is not an issue with any of the claims.
With respect to claims 1-2, the fact that the specification discloses that the peptides can be used as an additive to animal feed in combination with the fact that it is well established in the art how to use proteins and peptides as additives in animal feed leads to a conclusion that the specification also teaches how to use the entire scope of peptides recited in claims 1-2. Since no specific use is recited in these claims, one enabled use that covers the full scope of the claims is sufficient to preclude an enablement rejection of a compound claim based on the failure to teach "how to use".
With respect to claims 3-4, the "pharmaceutical" and "pharmaceutically acceptable carrier" language in combination with the fact that the only disclosed pharmaceutical use of the compositions is for treating obesity leads to the conclusion that these claims should be evaluated in terms of whether the specification teaches how to use the compositions for treating obesity. Since method claims 5-6 must be evaluated in terms of the recited use, treating obesity, claims 3-6 should be evaluated together. In this case, the art noted above teaches that few medical problems have proved to be more intractable than obesity (Marx). Furthermore, even though other proteins are suggested as playing a role in obesity (Zhang), the art, such as Rink and Marx, suggest that it is not even known how to use these proteins for treating obesity. This state of the prior art suggests a lack of predictability in this art which, taken with the fact that there is a lack of guidance with respect to dosages and a lack of working examples, leads to the conclusion that it would require undue experimentation to use the invention of claims 3-6. With respect to claims 3-4, it is also noted that if the "pharmaceutical" and "pharmaceutically acceptable" language was deleted from the claims, the analysis would be the same as that set forth above with respect to claims 1-2. Therefore, an enablement rejection using form paragraph 7.31.02 of claims 3-6 would be appropriate along with a suggestion to remove the "pharmaceutical" and "pharmaceutically acceptable" language from claims 3-4 to overcome the rejection with respect to these claims.
Claims 3-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 112, first paragraph, because the specification does not enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertain, or with which it is most nearly connected, to use the invention.
Claims 3-6 recite pharmaceutical compositions and methods of treating obesity using certain specific peptides. However, the specification fails to disclose any dosages for use in treating obesity. Furthermore, while the specification sets forth tests for assay anti-obesity activity of the peptides, the specification fails to provide any indication that such tests were done. Therefore, the specification also fails to provide any working examples. Marx states that few "medical problems have proved to be more intractable than obesity" and even though other proteins are suggested as playing a role in obesity (Zhang), the art, such as Rink and Marx, suggest that it is not even known how to use these proteins for treating obesity and that there is much more to be done before obesity can be treated using such proteins. In view of the intractable nature and unpredictability of treating obesity and the lack of guidance with respect to dosages and the lack of working examples, one skilled in the art could not use the inventions of claims 3-6 without undue experimentation. Note, removing "pharmaceutical" and "pharmaceutically acceptable" from claims 3-4 would overcome the rejection of these claims since one would know how to use such compositions as additives in animal feed as disclosed in the specification.
Modifications to the Above Facts: Let us assume that in addition to the above facts, the specification actually stated "The disclosed animal model assays were carried out using the peptides of the invention and the peptides were active in at least one of the assays. Therefore, the peptides are useful in treating obesity and those disorders implicated by obesity." Does this change the analysis set forth above? For claims 1-2, the answer is no. For claims 3-6, the answer is yes. Specifically, if the assays are reasonably correlative to treatment in other mammals such a statement would constitute the presence of working examples, even without the specific data. In this case, since specific dosages are not disclosed generally or in the examples, the only issue remaining is whether it would require an undue amount of experimentation to determine the proper dosages based on the examples and the state of the prior art and any enablement rejection must address this issue. If the assays do not reasonably correlate to treatment in other mammals based on the state of the art, this issue would have to be raised along with the other issues noted in the analysis and rejection above.
Note, taking the position that the assays are reasonably correlative to treatment in other mammals, it is proper to accept as being true the statement that the peptides were active in the assays, even in the absence of specific data. The Office must accept as being true the statements supporting enablement unless there is an objective reason, usually supported with documentary evidence, to question them, i.e., the burden is on the Office to demonstrate that there is an objective reason, usually supported by documentary evidence, to question the statement. Here, there is no evidence indicating that the peptides were not active in the assays. However, this analysis does not necessarily apply to other issues, such as a showing of unexpected results so as to overcome a rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103. In that case, a statement that the assays demonstrated unexpected results for the inventive peptides, in the absence of the specific results, would not be persuasive since it is applicant's burden to rebut the prima facie case of obviousness and the Office cannot determine whether applicant has met that burden without the results being present.
Specification: Compounds of the formula I or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof are disclosed:
I wherein R1 is C1 - C10 alkyl; R2 and R3 are independently hydrogen, methyl, methoxy, fluoro, chloro, bromo, or trifluoromethyl;
Z is
; and Het is an heteroaromatic group.
The compounds are said to possess efficacy in treating a wide range of tumors in mammals. No antitumor data ( in vitro or in vivo ) are presented in the specification. The tumor types are merely listed and include estrogen-dependent tumors such as breast cancer. Detailed methods of synthesizing the compounds are disclosed.
Claim:
1. A method of treating tumors in mammals which comprises administering to a mammal in need thereof an antitumor effective amount of the compound of formula I or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.
State of the Prior Art: The following references are representative of the state of the prior art:
These two patents disclose compounds which are effective against estrogen dependent tumors and which are stucturally similar to some of the compounds recited in claim 1.
Internal Medicine, 4th Edition, Editor-in-Chief Jay Stein, Chapters 71-72, pages 699-715. This reference provides evidence that the various types of cancers have different causative agents, involve different cellular mechanisms, and, consequently, differ in treatment protocol.
Situation 1 - Proper §112, ¶1 and §103 rejections in the same Office action:
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112, first paragraph because the specification, while being enabling for treatment of estrogen dependent tumors with compounds of formula I wherein Het is imidazolyl, does not reasonably provide enablement for treatment of tumors generally with all of the compounds of the claim. The specification does not enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to use the invention commensurate in scope with claim 1.
The cancer therapy art remains highly unpredictable, and no example exists for efficacy of a single product against tumors generally. Specifically, Internal Medicine, 4th Edition, Editor-in-Chief Jay Stein, Chapters 71-72, pages 699-715, teaches that the various types of cancers have different causative agents, involve different cellular mechanisms, and, consequently, differ in treatment protocol. It is also known that certain tumors are dependent upon estrogen for their induction or stimulation (e.g. breast tumors) and others are not. See USPs 4605661 and 4916144. Based on this state of the art, an estrogen inhibitor would be expected to be effective against those that are dependent upon estrogen for their induction, but not against those that do not depend upon estrogen for their induction. Since, the compounds used in claim 1 are structurally related to compounds known to be effective against estrogen dependent tumors (again see USPs 4605661 and 4916144), one skilled in the art would expect the compounds used in claim 1 in which Het is imidazolyl to have similar activity and, accordingly, would know how to make and use these compounds for treating estrogen dependent tumors. However, when Het is not imidazolyl, the compounds would not be expected to be estrogen inhibitors due to stuctural differences. Furthermore, applicant has provided no guidance or working examples teaching one skilled in the art how to determine which of the countless products used in claim 1 would be effective against which tumors. As evidenced by the references noted above, one would not expect all of the compounds of formula I to be effective against all tumors. Therefore, based on the unpredictable nature of the invention and state of the prior art, the lack of guidance and working examples, and the extreme breadth of the claims, one skilled in the art could not use the entire scope of the claimed invention without undue experimentation.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Hirsch et al (USP 4605661). Hirsch et al discloses (see example 3 at column 4)
which differs from a compound within instant formula I by hydrogen vs. alkyl substitution at position 2. The reference compound inhibits aromatase and is useful for treating breast cancer. See Table I at top of column 5. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to substitute a methyl group for hydrogen in the reference compound. One would have been motivated to make the substitution because of the close structural relationship of the two compounds (ethyl and isopropyl are homologs) and because one of ordinary skill in the art would have reasonably expected that such substitution would produce an aromatase inhibitor useful for treating breast cancer in view of that close structural relationship.
Situation 2 - Improper §112, ¶1 and §103 rejections in the same Office action:
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112, first paragraph because the specification does not enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to use the invention.
The cancer therapy art remains highly unpredictable, and no example exists for efficacy of a single product against tumors generally. Specifically, Internal Medicine, 4th Edition, Editor-in-Chief Jay Stein, Chapters 71-72, pages 699-715, teaches that the various types of cancers have different causative agents, involve different cellular mechanisms, and, consequently, differ in treatment protocol. Furthermore, applicant has provided no guidance or working examples teaching one skilled in the art how to determine which of the countless products used in claim 1 would be effective against which tumors. As evidenced by the reference noted above, one would not expect all of the compounds of formula I to be effective against all tumors. Therefore, based on the unpredictable nature of the invention and state of the prior art, the lack of guidance and working examples, and the extreme breadth of the claims, one skilled in the art could not use the claimed invention without undue experimentation.
Based on the state of the prior art considered with the disclosure, some of the compounds within the claimed genus (or close structural analogs thereof) are useful for treating estrogen-dependent tumors. There is no reason to question enablement for those compounds because of their structural similarity to known compounds which have the same use, i.e., treating estrogen-dependent tumors. Accordingly, the scope rejection in situation 1 is appropriate. Since something is clearly enabled for these reasons, the enablement rejection in situation 2, which states that nothing is enabled, is inappropriate.
The obviousness rejection is appropriate in both situations because certain compounds within the disclosed genus would have been obvious for the reference use (which also happens to be the instant utility). Since both rejections are appropriate in situation 1, making both rejections would be proper. However, in situation 2, the combination of rejections is inconsistent because it implies that one skilled in the art would be able to make the claimed analogs of the prior art and know how to use them (the §103 rejection), but at the same time would not know how to use any of the compounds of the instant invention (the §112 rejection). This is not proper given the facts of this case.
Modification of the Above Facts: Let us assume now that the specification did not list any tumor types for which the compounds possess efficacy. Does this change the analysis set forth above? The answer is no. In this case, situation 1 would still be appropriate. However, applicant should also be put on notice that the enabled embodiment lacks explicit written descriptive support in the specification as filed.
Specification:The specification discloses that viruses are commonly used as vectors to introduce genes into cells by first inserting the gene of interest into the DNA of the virus and then contacting the virus with the cells. The virus then infects the cells through cell binding receptors on the surface of the virus which bind to the cells and cause the virus to be internalized by the cells. Once internalized, the virus inserts its DNA, including the gene of interest, into the genome of the cell in such a manner that the gene of interest is expressed so as to produce its corresponding protein. Applicant has discovered that if viral vectors are first contacted with the recently discovered protein algernin, the algernin complexes with the cell binding receptors on the surface of the virus, changes the conformation thereof, and increases the infectivity of the viral vector by a factor of ten. Thus, the invention relates to a complex between a viral vector and algernin and is applicable to all situations where it is desirable to introduce genes into mammalian cells with a viral vector with a higher than normal rate of infectivity. Specifically, the specification discloses that the modified viral vector can be usedin vitrofor providing desired biological action in the cells, e.g., to produce useful proteins, and, when combined with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier in a pharmaceutical composition,in vivofor medicinal purposes, such as gene therapy.
The specification lists several examples of viral vectors which are candidates for use within the claimed invention. The specification also provides the amino acid sequence of algernin as well as various methods of obtaining algernin suitable for use in the invention.
The specification includes several in vitro working examples with representative samples of viral vectors, genes of interest, and cells demonstrating that when the viral vectors are complexed with algernin, the complex shows a higher rate of infectivity. The examples further demonstrate that the gene of interest in the infected cells is then expressed so as to produce its corresponding protein. The specification does not show any examples relating to gene therapy or any in vivo use of the viral vectors.
A viral vector comprising:
a virus comprising a cell binding receptor on the surface thereof
and a gene of interest, not normally present in the virus, inserted
within the DNA of the virus; and
algernin complexed to the cell binding receptor of the virus.
A pharmaceutical composition comprising a therapeutically effective amount of the complex of claim 1 and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
A method for introducing a gene of interest into a cell comprising contacting said cell with the viral vector of claim 1.
State of the Prior Art: The state of the prior art is such that using viral vectors to insert genes into cells in vitro is well known and is used in applications such as protein production and as a research tool.
Orkin et al., December 7, 1995, "Report and Recommendation of the Panel to Assess the NIH Investmen in Research on Gene Therapy", issued by the National Institutes of Health - This reference teaches that using viral vectors to insert genes into cells in vivo for therapeutic purposes, i.e., gene therapy, is highly unpredictable and undeveloped in view of the complexity of in vivo systems.
The specification discloses anin vitrouse for the viral vector of claim 1 and clearly discloses how to make and use the viral vector in thein vitroenvironment. Since claim 1 does not recite any environment of use, only one enabled use covering the scope of the claim is needed to enable the claim. Therefore, the disclosure with respect to thein vitrouse of the viral vector is sufficient to enable claim 1 and it would be inappropriate to include claim 1 in a rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112, first paragraph.
With respect to claim 2, the "pharmaceutical composition", "therapeutically effective", and "pharmaceutically acceptable carrier" language in combination with the fact that the only disclosed pharmaceutical use of the compositions is for gene therapy leads to the conclusion that this claim should be evaluated in terms of whether the specification teaches how to make and use the composition for gene therapy. Since the specification fails to provide any guidance regarding gene therapy, such as dosages, routes of administration, and working examples, and the state of the prior art is such that gene therapy is unpredictable and undeveloped, it would be reasonable to conclude that it would require an undue amount of experimentation to determine the therapeutically effective amounts and use the compositions for gene therapy. For the reasons set forth above with respect to claim 1, it is clear that non-therapeutic compositions would be enabled. Since some compositions are enabled, it would be best to make a scope rejection of claim 2 using form paragraph 7.31.03.
Claim 3 is a broad claim. When read in light of the specification, it covers in vitro applications as well as in vivo gene therapy applications. Thus, claim 3 must be evaluated as to whether the specification enables the entire scope of the claim. From the above discussion with respect to claims 1 and 2, it is clear that the specification enables the in vitro aspects of the claim but not the in vivo gene therapy aspects of the claim. Therefore, it would be reasonable to make a scope rejection of claim 3 using form paragraph 7.31.03.
Claims 2-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112, first paragraph, because the specification, while enabled for non-therapeutic compositions andin vitrouses of the viral vector of the invention, does not reasonably provide enablement for pharmaceutical compositions and their usein vivofor gene therapy. The specification does not enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the invention commensurate in scope with these claims.
Claim 2 is directed to a pharmaceutical composition comprising a specific viral vector, the only disclosed use of the composition being in vivo gene therapy. Claim 3 is directed to a method which encompasses of using the specific viral vector for in vivo gene therapy. However, the specification fails to adequately teach how to make the composition having a "therapeutically effective amount" of the viral vector and how to use the composition and vector for in vivo gene therapy. Gene therapy is a highly unpredictable and undeveloped field and the skill in the art is high. See Orkin et al. which states:
2. While the expectations and the promise of gene therapy are great, clinical efficacy has not be definitively demonstrated at this time in any gene therapy protocol, despite anecdotal claims of successful therapy and the initiation of more than 100 Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee (RAC)-approved protocols.
3. Significant problems remain in all basic aspects of gene therapy.
The specification fails to disclose the intended patients, amounts of the viral vector to be administered, what amount is considered to be therapeutically effective, the route and time course of administration, the sites of administration, the intended therapeutic product, the intended disease, and the intended target organs. The specification also lacks any working examples showing that the viral vector as claimed would deliver the genes encoding the therapeutic products to the appropriate site and that the genes once delivered would be expressed sufficiently to provide adequate product to effect the desired therapy. In view of the quantity of experimentation necessary to determine the above parameters, the lack of direction or guidance presented, the absence of working examples for in vivo gene therapy, the breadth of the claims, and the unpredictable and undeveloped state of the art with respect to gene therapy, it would require undue experimentation for one skilled in the art to practice the entire scope of the claimed invention.
If claims 2 and 3 were limited as follows, this rejection would be overcome:
2. A composition comprising the viral vector of claim 1 and a carrier.
3. A method for introducing a gene of interest into a cell in vitro comprising contacting said cell with the viral vector of claim 1.
Specification:The specification discloses compounds of formula
wherein HET is a 5- or 6-membered heterocyclic ring containing at least one hetero atom selected from N, S and O, such as morpholinyl, piperazinyl, piperidinyl, pyrazinyl, pyrimidinyl, oxadiazolyl, thiadiazolyl, oxazolyl, and thiazolyl, wherein HET can be optionally substituted with X; X is hydrogen, lower alkyl, lower alkoxy, hydroxy, halo, lower monoalkylamino, lower dialkylamino, nitro, cyano, acylamino, aminocarbonyl, or formyl; and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof. The specification also discloses that these compounds are endothelin receptor antagonists useful in treatment of all endothelin (ET)-related disorders. A laundry list of diseases to be treated is disclosed, e.g., hypertension, renal, glomerular, or mesangial cell disorders, endotoxemia, and ischemia. Dosages of 0.1-100 mg/Kg/day are disclosed. Three compounds are prepared. No administration protocol is disclosed nor are there any examples ( in vitro or in vivo ) demonstrating the use of any of the compounds.
A compound of formula
or a pharmaceutical acceptable salt thereof, wherein HET is a 5- or 6-membered heterocyclic ring containing at least one hetero atom selected from N, S and O, and wherein HET is optionally substituted with X; and X is hydrogen, lower alkyl, lower alkoxy, hydroxy, halo, lower monoalkylamino, lower dialkylamino, nitro, cyano, acylamino, aminocarbonyl, formyl; with the proviso that HET is not 3,4-dimethyl-5-isoxazolyl.
A method of treating endothelin-related disorders in a mammal, which comprises administering to said mammal an effective amount of a compound of claim 1.
A method of treating hypertension, which comprises administering an effective amount of a compound of Claim 1.
A method of treating renal, glomerular or mesangial cell disorders, which comprises administering an effective amount of a compound of Claim 1.
A method of treating endotoxemia, which comprises administering an effective amount of a compound of claim 1.
A method of treating ischemia, which comprises administering an effective amount of a compound of claim 1.
State of the prior art:
Doherty, Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, Vol. 35, No. 9, 1493-1508 (1992). The Doherty article, last page, clearly evidences that work in the field of ET receptor antagonism is only in the investigational stages, the possibility for the need of selectivity towards various receptor subtypes for treating certain disorders has not been determined nor has any use for ET-2, ET-3 been elucidated. The article, at page 1504, also teaches that the transition from peptidomimetic structures to a truly non-peptide lead compound, using "rational design", is a time-consuming and problematic endeavor.
Clozel et al, Nature, Vol. 365, 759-761 (1993). The Clozel reference discloses a structurally similar compound, RO 46-2005, (having an unsubstituted sulfoamide nitrogen) which has been extensively tested. However, the final paragraph teaches that those tests show only the potentia l of ET receptor antagonism as playing a role in the treatment of vasoconstriction, and that the validity of ET receptor antagonism in man remains to be determined.
Stein et al, Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, Vol. 37, No. 3, 329-331 (1994). The Stein article, published after the filing date, provides test data of ETA receptor antagonist, shown in Tables 1 and 2, of some structurally similar compounds (having an unsubstituted sulfoamide nitrogen) which are excluded by the instantly claimed proviso. In Table 2, the IC50 values differ over a 100-fold range just in changing substituents on the naphthyl ring. This evidences that small changes in structure will significantly affect the activity. The article also states, at page 329, right column, "proof that ET is a causative agent has remained elusive.....".
There is demonstration in the specification that three compounds have been prepared. It is reasonable to conclude that the specification does teach how to make the entire scope of the claimed compounds. The issue is whether the specification teaches one skilled in the art at the time of filing how to use the invention as claimed. Based on the undue experimentation factors, particularly the state of the prior art, the unpredictability, the lack of working examples and guidance, and the breadth of the claims as evidenced by the information provided above, the answer would be no. Therefore, an objection/rejection using form paragraph 7.31.02 would be appropriate.
The Rejection:
Claims 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 112, first paragraph, because the specification does not enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to use the invention.
Claim 1 recites compounds where the only disclosed uses of the compounds are the methods of treating various endothelin-related disorders as recited in claims 2-6. The specification discloses that the compounds act as endothelin receptor antagonists. However, the Doherty (page 1504), Stein (page 329), and Clozel (last paragraph) articles clearly establish that the field of effective ET receptor antagonists and their relation to treating known disease or ischemic conditions is uncertain. The references clearly evidence that at the time of filing there is no correlation between any one disorder and ET much less the laundry list of treatable diseases disclosed in the specification and claimed in claims 2-6. The references also provide evidence that the unpredictability in the art is extremely high. Note that Stein teaches that an unsubstituted sulfoamide nitrogen was critical to the receptor affinity of this class of ET receptor antagonists. Yet even for this narrow class of compounds there is a wide range of receptor binding , see Table 2. Additionally, receptor binding would be expected to be very much structure sensitive, see Stein article. Therefore, it is clear that at the time of filing there was no clear direction or guidance provided by the prior art to establish that the ET receptor antagonists disclosed (and claimed) are enabled in use for treatment of disease conditions such as hypertension, renal disorders, or ischemia.
Furthermore, the instant specification provides no direction or guidance for how to use the disclosed (and claimed) compounds since no protocol is set forth, and no working examples are provided. Although the specification provides a dosage range for treating conditions related to ET receptor antagonism there is no standard by which to measure whether the compounds will operate as intended. There are no guidelines for determination of dosages needed to provide an anti-hypertensive effect vs. anti-endotoxemia effect vs. anti-anginal effect, etc. Further, the instant claims embrace various non art-recognized equivalents of heterocyclics which can be substituted. The specific compounds made are not seen as adequately representative of the compounds embraced by the extensive Markush groups instantly claimed. Therefore, one skilled in the art would not know how to use the invention as claimed throughout its entire scope without undue experimentation.
If the specification discloses compounds as antagonists for the ET receptor subtype ETA, which is selective for ET-1 (Doherty), and provides test data demonstrating that the three compounds prepared have the activity to inhibit ET-1 binding to vascular smooth muscle, then the specification would teach how to use those three compounds as ET-1 receptor antagonists. Claims drawn to those three compounds should not be rejected.
If the application is filed Jan. 1995, the specification clearly discloses compounds are antagonists for the ET receptor subtype ETA, and provides test data showing greater affinity for ET-1 over ET-3, then at least compounds tested can be used to treat hypertension. Douglas et al, TiPS, Vol. 15, 313-316 (1994), published before the filing date, teach that ET antagonists play a direct role for ET-1 in the maintenance of the elevated blood pressure. This demonstrates that the state of the prior art at the time of filing is a very important factor.
Specification: The specification discloses that -amyloid precursor protein (-APP) is associated in the art with Alzheimer's disease. At the time of filing, the art had only been able to diagnose Alzheimer's disease through the post mortem examination of the brains of patients who had exhibited the senile behavior characteristic of Alzheimer's. These examinations revealed the presence of neurofibrillary tangles formed from large plaques of agglomerated peptides. The brains show neuronal loss and abnormal morphology of the cells in the cortex and hippocampus. It was hypothesized in the art that when -APP is produced, it is cleaved in neuronal cells of the brain and its degradation product, /A4 protein, forms deposits which accumulate into plaques and then form tangles which eventually cause the death of brain cells. However, the specification admits that the sequelae of events leading to Alzheimer's disease is unknown.
The specification discloses that it would be beneficial to produce transgenic mice which could be used as a model for Alzheimer's disease so as to identify agents which can be used as therapeutic agents for Alzheimer's disease. The specification recognizes that mice normally produce their own -APP, but do not develop the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. Thus, the specification is directed to the generation of mice which contain in their genome DNA encoding human /A4 protein. The specification discloses that the transgenic mice could be used to identify agents which inhibit the formation of the human /A4 protein. It is hypothesized that such agents would be useful therapeutics in treating Alzheimer's Disease since without the formation of the /A4 protein, there would be nothing to cause the changes associated with Alzheimer's disease.
Specific examples are provided which show the constructs used to make the mice. These constructs contain a glial-specific promoter and the coding sequence for /A4 protein. The transgenic mice are disclosed to express the /A4 protein, as verified by immunohistology. Some of the transgenic mice additionally exhibit deposits of the /A4 protein in the brain. None of the mice are disclosed to possess amyloid plaques or neurofibrillary tangles. There is no disclosure that the animals were tested for behavioral effects.
A transgenic mouse, all of whose somatic and germ cells contain a construct which comprises a glial-specific promoter operatively linked to a DNA sequence which encodes human /A4 protein, said mouse expressing said construct in its glial cells.
Selkoe, Nature, Vol. 354, 432-433 (1991).
This reference describes -APP and its relationship to Alzheimer's disease. The author states that -APP is a normal human protein, and that deposition of its cleavage product, /A4 protein, is a normal consequence of aging, and does not signify that a person will develop Alzheimer's disease. Furthermore, the reference states that although -APP and /A4 protein are associated with Alzheimer's disease, no correlation has been found between increased deposition of these proteins and the disease. In addition, the reference discloses that the mechanism by which the /A4 protein is formed and proceeds through the changes that lead to Alzheimer's Disease is unknown, but since the reference also discloses that the /A4 protein occurs in normal and Alzheimer's patients, the reference at least suggests that mechanisms are different in each type of patient.
Since the only disclosed utility for the claimed mouse is a model for Alzheimer's disease so as to identify agents which can be used as therapeutic agents for Alzheimer's disease, enablement for the claimed invention must be based on whether the specification teaches how to make the claimed mouse and whether the specification teaches how to use the claimed mouse as a model for Alzheimer's disease so as to identify agents which can be used as therapeutic agents for Alzheimer's disease. The working examples in the specification show that transgenic mice have been generated which express human /A4 protein in their glial cells. Although some of the mice exhibit plaque formation, the reference of record indicates that deposition of /A4 protein does not necessarily indicate Alzheimer's disease is likely to develop. Furthermore, the reference discloses that the mechanism by which the /A4 protein is formed and proceeds through the changes that lead to Alzheimer's Disease is unknown, but since the reference also discloses that the /A4 protein occurs in normal and Alzheimer's patients, the reference at least suggests that mechanisms are different in each type of patient. Thus, it does not appear that the specification adequately teaches how the mice could be used as a model for Alzheimer's disease, or what conclusions could be drawn from the expression and deposition of human /A4 protein observed or the inhibition of human /A4 protein expression or deposition. Given the state of the art and the lack of guidance and working examples as to how to use the mice claimed, an enablement rejection using form paragraph 7.31.02 would be appropriate.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112, first paragraph, because the specification does not enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to use the invention.
The claimed invention is directed to a transgenic mouse which expresses DNA encoding human /A4 protein in its glial cells. Applicant discloses that the mouse is useful for the identification of agents which inhibit human /A4 protein production, leading to therapies for Alzheimer's disease. However, the art teaches that in Alzheimer's disease, the patients suffer from neuronal loss and abnormal morphology of the cells in the hippocampus and cortex. The art does not indicate that glial cell production of human /A4 protein results in Alzheimer's Disease or any other disease. Selkoe, which represents the state of the art at the time the invention was made, does not make a correlation between an increase in human /A4 protein deposition and Alzheimer's disease. Indeed, the reference states that deposits of /A4 protein are found in human and other mammals that never develop Alzheimer's disease. As far as the disease is understood, the initial deposit of human /A4 protein must accumulate to form plaques which in turn lead to neurofibrillary tangles and neuronal death. Behavioral changes also occur such as inability to learn, short-term memory loss, etc. Furthermore, Selkoe discloses that the mechanism by which the /A4 protein is formed and proceeds through the changes that lead to Alzheimer's Disease is unknown, but since Selkoe also discloses that the human /A4 protein occurs in normal and Alzheimer's patients, Selkoe at least suggests that mechanisms are different in each type of patient. In view of these facts and the fact that applicant's mice do not exhibit plaque formation nor any morphological or behavioral indicia specific to Alzheimer's disease, inhibiting production of the human /A4 protein in the transgenic mice of the invention specification at best suggests that the formation of the protein could be inhibited in normal subjects but does not adequately disclose how to inhibit the formation of the protein in a patient with Alzheimer's Disease. Thus, given the unpredictability of the field of the invention, the relative lack of information available about Alzheimer's disease, and the lack of correlatability between the observed phenotype of the exemplified mice and any disease condition, others skilled in the art would be unable to practice the claimed invention without the exercise of undue experimentation.
Modifications to the Above Facts: Let us assume that the specification discloses that the transgenic mice produced actually exhibited at least one of the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, e.g., the presence of neurofibrillary tangles, neuronal loss, and/or abnormal morphology of the cells like that exhibited in Alzheimer's disease, and the claim, in addition to the limitations recited above, recites that the transgenic mouse has the specifically disclosed phenotype. Does this change the analysis set forth above? The answer is yes. It would be reasonable to conclude that the disease mechanism of formation of the /A4 protein is being exhibited in the transgenic mice. Therefore, inhibiting the formation of the protein would be reasonably predictive of inhibiting the formation of the protein in a patient having Alzheimer's disease. Thus, in this case, no enablement rejection would be made.
In addition, no enablement rejection would be made in a situation where an enabled use for the claimed transgenic mouse is well established.
Specification: The specification discloses a series of compounds and compositions which are useful as inhibitors of P-selectin-mediated cellular adhesion. The compounds are disclosed as being effective in the treatment or prevention of inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, asthma and allergy conditions, as well as other pathological conditions including ulcerative colitis and multiple sclerosis.
The compounds of the invention have the following formula:
wherein R1, R2, R3, and R4 each are independently hydrogen, unsubstituted or substituted alkanoyl, arylalkyl or arylcarbonyl, wherein the substituent is selected from halogen, C1-4 alkyl, trifluoromethyl, hydroxy, and C1-4 alkoxy.
The specification provides detailed instruction for the synthesis of 30 inventive compounds. Furthermore, the specification provides 2 in vitro and 2 in vivo assays demonstrating the inhibitory effectiveness for 6 of the compounds on P-selectin-mediated cellular adhesion. The examples also demonstrate that three of the compounds failed to inhibit P-selectin-mediated cellular adhesion. General guidelines suggest that the compounds can be formulated in pharmaceutical compositions by combining them with pharmaceutical carriers. Several examples of suitable pharmaceutical carriers are given. The specification further discloses that the pharmaceutical compositions will contain suitable amounts of one of the compounds ranging from 0.1 µg/kg to 100mg/kg body weight, depending upon the type of formulation (systemic, topical, oral) and the particular disease or condition to be treated. Specific modes of administration are disclosed.
A compound of the formula:
A pharmaceutical composition for treatment of diseases characterized by selectin-mediated cellular adhesion comprising a therapeutically effective amount of a compound of claim 1 with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
A method for the treatment of diseases characterized by selectin-mediated cellular adhesion, comprising administering a therapeutically effective amount of a compound of claim 1 or a pharmaceutical composition thereof.
WO 93/05803. This reference discloses that three human selectin proteins have thus far been identified, E-selectin (formerly ELAM-1), L-selectin (formerly LAM-1) and P-selectin (formerly PADGEM or GMP-140). This reference also discloses that inhibitors of selectin-mediated cellular adhesion are suitable as anti-inflammatory agents.
Skinner et al., J.Biol. Chem., Vol. 266, 5371-5374 (1991). This reference discloses that sulfated glycans inhibited the binding of P-selectin to neutrophils.
Suzuki et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun., Vol. 190, 426-434, (1993). This reference discloses that sulfated glycolipids are inhibitors of cellular adhesion.
Needham et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, Vol. 90, 1359-1363, (1993). This reference discloses that sulfoglucuronyl glycosphingolipids (SGNL lipids) selectively support L- and P-selectin, but not E-selectin binding.
Mulligan et al., Nature, Vol. 364, 149-151, (1993). This reference discloses that oligosaccharides have useful protective effects in P-selectin-dependent lung injuries.
The specification is sufficiently enabling to allow one skilled in the art to synthesize, without undue experimentation, the glycolipid compounds comprising the scope of claim 1 and the pharmaceutical composition comprising the scope of claim 2. Additionally, the specification does teach how to use 6 of the embodiments encompassed by claim 1 in the treatment of at least P-selectin-mediated cell adhesion disorders. Therefore, an enablement rejection using form paragraph 7.31.02 would not be appropriate. The question is whether the enabled embodiments are representative of the scope of the claims. There are two scope issues here. The first is regarding the scope of the compounds recited and the second is regarding the scope of selectin-mediated cellular adhesion. The art provides evidence that all the selectins are involved in mediating cellular adhesion. Furthermore, references such as Needham et al, Suzuki et al, and Skinner et al suggest that all the selectins are inhibited by similar compounds. Thus, the evidence given in the specification with respect to P-selectin would be expected to be applicable to at least one of the other selectins also. See Needham et al and Example 3 of WO 93/05803. It is true that it is not entirely predictable which compounds will inhibit binding of which selectin. The specification even provides evidence that some of the compounds meeting the structural limitations of the claims fail to inhibit P-selectin-mediated cellular adhesion. However, weighing all the evidence in this case, it would be reasonable to conclude that while the scope of the claims would encompass non-operative embodiments, the experimentation needed to determine the operative embodiments and to use those embodiments would not be undue. Therefore, it would be reasonable not to make any enablement or scope rejection in this case.
Specification: The specification discloses Protein X, which is found on the surface of HIV having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO. 1. The specification teaches the purification of Protein X from tissue culture supernatants containing HIV-infected cells and further teaches recombinant DNA methods for producing Protein X. An expression vector comprising a gene encoding Protein X was deposited with the ATCC prior to Applicant's filing date. The specification further discloses a composition containing Protein X and a carrier suitable for use in immunoassays for diagnosing HIV infection. The specification further discloses a pharmaceutical composition comprising Protein X suitable for treating and/or preventing HIV infection.
The specification also discloses a neutralizing monoclonal antibody designated Anti-X, specific for Protein X. The hybridoma producing Anti-X was deposited with the ATCC before Applicant's filing date as ATCC accession no. HB 12345. The specification discloses a composition comprising Anti-X suitable for use in decontaminating fluids containing HIV. The specification further discloses a pharmaceutical composition comprising Anti-X and a carrier suitable for passive immunization to treat and/or prevent HIV infection. The specification also discloses an immunoassay using Anti-X for diagnosing HIV infection.
The specification teaches methods of vaccination for the prevention of HIV infection by administering a pharmaceutical composition containing protein X. In support of the claimed invention, the specification teaches that Protein X injected into mice results in the production of antibodies which neutralize HIV in vitro as measured by viral inhibition assays and syncytium inhibition assays.
The specification further teaches a diagnostic assay method comprising contacting human serum with Protein X and then detecting the presence of human antibodies bound to Protein X. As evidence, the specification teaches the use of Protein X in a conventional ELISA assay using monoclonal antibody tissue culture supernatants. The specification further discloses that Protein X is useful for producing monoclonal antibodies suitable for decontaminating fluids containing HIV.
The specification further teaches a method for passive immunization against HIV by administering a pharmaceutical composition comprising Anti-X. Finally, the specification teaches a method of decontaminating a fluid containing HIV by contacting the fluid with Anti-X. The specification teaches that a concentration of 10 ng of Anti-X/ml of fluid will neutralize up to 109 HIV particles in both virus neutralization assays and syncytium inhibition assays thereby decontaminating the fluid.
The specification provides all the information and assurances so as to enable the making of all deposited materials. The specification also discloses specific dosages, administration techniques, and pharmaceutical carriers for each of the in vivo treatment methods.
Protein X having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO. 1.
A composition comprising Protein X and a carrier.
A pharmaceutical composition suitable for treating HIV infection comprising the protein of claim 1 and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
A vaccine for preventing HIV infection comprising the protein of claim 1.
A monoclonal antibody designated Mab X which specifically binds the protein of claim 1 and which is produced by the hybridoma having ATCC accession no. HB 12345.
A composition comprising the antibody of claim 5 and a carrier.
A pharmaceutical composition suitable for treating HIV infection comprising the antibody of claim 5 and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
A vaccine for preventing HIV infection comprising the antibody of claim 5.
A method of treating a subject at risk for HIV infection comprising administering to the subject a therapeutically effective amount of the pharmaceutical composition of claims 2 or 7.
A method of preventing HIV infection in a subject comprising administering the vaccine of claim 3 in an amount sufficient to prevent HIV infection.
A method of passive immunization for preventing HIV infection comprising administering a therapeutically effective amount of the pharmaceutical composition of claim 7.
A method for diagnosing HIV infection in a subject comprising:
a) contacting a body sample with the protein of claim 1 for a time sufficient to allow antibodies in the body sample to bind to the protein;
b) detecting the binding of said antibodies to said protein, wherein the binding of said antibodies is diagnostic of HIV infection.
a) immobilizing Anti-X on a solid support;
b) contacting said immobilized Anti-X with a body sample for a time sufficient to allow binding of HIV virions in the sample to immobilized Anti-X;
c) detecting the binding of HIV to said immobilized Anti-X, wherein the binding of HIV is diagnostic of HIV infection.
An in vitro method for decontaminating a fluid containing HIV which comprises:
a) contacting the fluid with the composition of claim 6 under conditions such that the composition forms a complex with the HIV;
b) removing the complex so formed from the fluid, thereby decontaminating the fluid.
Well known in the art:
There are no known vaccines for preventing HIV infection;
There are no art-accepted animal models for HIV infection;
Antibodies have been used in HIV diagnostic assays and to remove substances and contaminants from fluids (affinity chromatography, autologous bone marrow transplant, etc.).
Specific teachings of the art:
Fahey et al., Clin. exp. Immunol., Vol. 88, 1-5 (1992): No immune-based therapies for HIV have been shown to be effective; No clear correlations between various types of therapies and clinical benefits (see page 2, Table 1); Clinical benefits of antibody therapies is entirely unclear (see page 3, second column, third full paragraph).
Stein et al., CID, Vol. 17, 749-771 (1993): Intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG) and passive immunization have not been effective (see pages 750-752). "Many of the approaches...such as the use of immunoglobulins and adoptive cell transfer, pose significant logistical problems in terms of expense and sources of donor material, while others (i.e., treatment with cytokines) are hampered by significant toxicity. Rational development of many approaches is limited by our current knowledge of their mechanisms and effects and of the immune system's complex and overlapping activities" (see page 765, last paragraph).
Fox, Bio/Technology, Vol. 12, (1994): "No therapy has emerged as a sure winner in the campaign against HIV, not a preventive vaccine nor any of the immune system-boosting treatments."
Seaver, Genetic Engineering News, pages 10 and 21 (1994): While monoclonal antibodies in general have found wide use in diagnostic assays, identification of a particular suitable antibody requires rigorous testing in the presence of serum proteins (see section entitled "Diagnostic Success Rates"). Identification of suitable therapeutic antibodies is even more difficult than finding suitable diagnostic antibodies (see section entitled "Therapeutic Mabs").
The first question is whether Applicant has enabled one skilled in the art to make and use the claimed products. As with utility under 35 U.S.C. § 101, Applicant need only enable a single use to meet the requirements of 35 U.S.C. § 112, first paragraph. The major difference is that a single utility will obviate a rejection under 35 U.S.C. 101 for the entire claim. However, 35 U.S.C. 112, first paragraph, must have the single use enabled for the whole claim scope. Applicant has taught how to make Protein X as well as Anti-X (both with guidance and suitable deposits). Applicant has further shown that Protein X binds antibodies in assays. Since such assays for HIV are well known in the art, one skilled in the art would reasonably conclude that Protein X would function in a similar manner. Further, Applicant has enabled the use of Anti-X for decontaminating fluids since it was well known in the art to use antibodies to remove undesirable contaminants and Applicant's specification established that Anti-X was suitable for removing HIV from a fluid. Since Anti-X is enabled, Protein X, necessary for producing Anti-X, is also useful and, therefore, enabled by the specification. Thus, claims 1-2, 5-6, 12 and 14 would appear enabled.
For pharmaceutical compositions and vaccines, the intended use needs to be considered and given weight. A pharmaceutical composition has an implied in vivo use and evidence of enablement should be sufficient to convince one skilled in the art that the pharmaceutical composition would have some beneficial therapeutic effect. Likewise, the terminology "vaccine" by definition requires some form of protective immune response in an individual. With HIV, the art clearly recognizes that immune-based therapies have not been accepted by those skilled in the art. Therefore, one must carefully consider the evidence in the specification in support of in vivo uses. Here, the specification only teaches an in vivo response in mice to injections of Protein X. However, the mouse is not an art-accepted model for HIV. Neither are any in vitro assays accepted as correlative with in vivo efficacy. Therefore, claims 3-4 and 7-8 would not appear to be enabled by the specification.
Claims 9-11 are directed to various methods for treating or preventing HIV infection. However, Applicant's only evidence for treatment and/or prevention is in the mouse. The prior art does not recognize Applicant's animal model (or any other animal model) as correlating with efficacy in HIV infections. Nor has Applicant set forth any other evidence to establish that Protein X or Anti-X can be used to treat HIV or prevent HIV infections. Thus, the methods of claims 9-11 are not enabled.
Finally, claim 13 is directed to a diagnostic assay for diagnosing HIV infection using Anti-X. Diagnostic immunoassays using HIV proteins are well known. While Seaver teaches that monoclonal antibody-based assays are more difficult to develop than are protein assays, such as the Protein X assay of claim 12, this does not mean that such assays can not be developed or have not been developed. Furthermore, the specification indicates that Protein X is a surface protein and that the monoclonal antibodies described in the specification bind it with sufficient strength to actually neutralize the virus. Because of this strong binding to a surface protein, one of skill in the art would expect that the claimed method could be used at least to some extent for the diagnosis of HIV infection. Note, it is not necessary for an invention to work well to be enabled. Since neither Seaver nor the rest of the state of the art provide sufficient reason to doubt the objective enablement of the specification, claim 13 would appear enabled.
Claims 3-4 and 7-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112, first paragraph, because the specification does not enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to use the invention.
Applicant's claimed invention is directed to pharmaceutical compositions, vaccines and methods for diagnosing, treating and preventing HIV infection. However, the specification does not sufficiently establish that the pharmaceutical compositions, vaccines and methods can be used as claimed. The specification only sets forth evidence in the form of mouse animal model studies and there is insufficient evidence that such studies correlate with in vivo efficacy in HIV in humans. It is well known in the art that retroviral infections in general, and HIV infections in particular, are refractory to anti-viral therapies, as taught by Fahey et al. The obstacles to therapy of HIV are well documented in the literature. These obstacles include: 1) the extensive genomic diversity and mutation rate associated with the HIV retrovirus, particularly with respect to the gene encoding the envelope protein; 2) the fact that the modes of viral transmission include both virus-infected mononuclear cells, which pass the infecting virus to other cells in a covert manner, as well as via free virus transmission; 3) the existence of a latent form of the virus; 4) the ability of the virus to evade immune responses in the central nervous system due to the blood-brain barrier; and 5) the complexity and variation of the pathology of HIV infection in different individuals. The existence of these obstacles establish that the contemporary knowledge in the art would not allow one skilled in the art to use the claimed pharmaceutical compositions and vaccines to treat and/or prevent HIV infection without undue experimentation.
Further, it is well known in the art that individuals infected with HIV produce neutralizing antibodies to the virus, yet these antibodies are not protective and do not prevent the infection from progressing to its lethal conclusion. Further, as taught by Fahey et al., clinical trials using a variety of immunologically based therapies have not yielded successful results in the treatment and/or prevention of HIV infection. Fahey et al. particularly discloses that monoclonal antibody therapies have not provided any clinical benefits and "it is not clear how adding these additional antibodies would make a difference" (see page 3, second column, third full paragraph). This is further evidenced by the teachings of Stein et al. which states that rational development of HIV therapeutics "is limited by our current knowledge of their mechanisms and effects and of the immune system's complex and overlapping activities" (see page 765, last paragraph). The failure of all immune-system-boosting therapies for treating AIDS is further discussed by Fox (see last paragraph). Thus, it is clear from the evidence of Fahey et al., Stein et al. and Fox, that the ability to treat and/or prevent HIV infection is highly unpredictable and has met with very little success. Applicants have not provided any convincing evidence that their claimed invention is indeed useful as a therapeutic or preventative for HIV infection and have not provided sufficient guidance to allow one skilled in the art to practice the claimed invention without undue experimentation. In the absence of such guidance and evidence, the specification fails to provide an enabling disclosure.
wherein A is a linking group and Ar is phenyl or piperazinyl, or pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof. The specification describes five different linking groups and provides test data with each compound showing that they specifically bind to muscarinic receptors. The specification discloses methods for synthesizing the compounds. The compounds are disclosed for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, particularly the cognitive impairment aspect of the disease, and general dosages, administrations, and pharmaceutical carriers are described but the specification has no working examples to demonstrate that the compounds affect the function of the muscarinic receptor or treat Alzheimer's disease.
wherein A is a linking group and Ar is phenyl or piperazinyl, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.
A pharmaceutical composition useful for treating Alzheimer's disease comprising a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier and a therapeutically-effective amount of a compound as claimed in claim 1.
A method of treating Alzheimer's disease in a mammal in need of such treatment, which comprises administering to said mammal a therapeutically-effective amount of a compound as claimed in claim 1.
Patel, Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology, Vol. 8, 81-95, (1995) - This reference discloses that Alzheimer's disease is known to be difficult to treat and that there is neither a clear understanding of the origin and pathophysiology of AD (Alzheimer's disease) nor an animal model of the illness. See Patel, page 81. The reference states that the search for an effective cognition-enhancing therapy for AD has so far proved to be elusive. See Patel, page 90.
Ehlert et al, Life Sciences, Vol. 55, Nos. 25/26, 2135-2145, (1994) - This reference teaches that 5 different subtypes (M1-M5) of muscarinic receptors have been discovered, and that the activities and species variation in distribution are complicated. M2 and M4 are taught to have selective coupling to inhibition of adenylate cyclase, while M1-M3-M5 couple to a different hydrolysis, see pages 2137-8. The reference also provides detailed discussion regarding treatment of AD with a directly acting muscarinic agonist or an allosteric muscarinic agonist but specifically states at page 2142 that "no allosteric agonists for the muscarinic receptor have been described so far."
There is a description in the specification as to how to synthesize the claimed compounds. Therefore, the specification clearly teaches how to make the claimed compounds. Accordingly the question is whether the specification teaches how to use the claimed compounds.
For claim 1, there is only one explicitly disclosed method for using the claimed compounds, i.e., the claimed method for treating Alzheimer's disease. However, since the specification teaches that the claimed compounds specifically bind to the muscarinic receptor and Ehlert et al teach that muscarinic receptors can be detected by their binding characteristics, it would be reasonable to conclude that the claimed compounds would have a well established use of detecting the muscarinic receptor and that one of skill in the art would know how to use the compounds for detecting muscarinic receptor without undue experimentation. Accordingly, it would be inappropriate to include claim 1 in a rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112, first paragraph.
With respect to claim 2, the "pharmaceutical", "pharmaceutically acceptable", and "therapeutically-effective" language in combination with the fact that the only disclosed pharmaceutical use of the compositions is for treating Alzheimer's disease leads to the conclusion that this claim should be evaluated in terms of whether the specification teaches how to use the compositions for treating Alzheimer's disease. Since method claim 3 must be evaluated in terms of the recited use, treating Alzheimer's disease, claims 2-3 should be evaluated together. In this case, the state of the art teaches the unpredictability in treating Alzheimer's disease, that there are no acceptable models for treating Alzheimer's disease, and that there are no know agonists of the muscarinic receptors known that are sufficient to treat Alzheimer's disease. Furthermore, while the specification clearly discloses that the claimed compounds bind to the muscarinic receptors, there is no indication that the binding effects or activates the receptor in any way. Binding does not equal activating. This, coupled with the state of the art teaching that there are no models, leads to the conclusion that there are no working examples. Therefore, based on the undue experimentation factors, particularly the unpredictability, the lack of further guidance, and the lack of working examples (as evidenced by the information provided by the state of the prior art), it would be reasonable to conclude that it would require undue experimentation to use the invention of claims 2-3 and a rejection using form paragraph 7.31.02 would be appropriate.
Claims 2-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112, first paragraph, because the specification does not enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to use the invention.
The claims recite compositions for treating Alzheimer's disease (AD) and methods of using compounds for treating Alzheimer's disease. AD is arguably the most intractable of all major medical disorders. Specifically, Patel states at page 81:
To date, there is neither a clear understanding of the origin and pathophysiology of AD nor an animal model of the illness.
This is also evidence of the extreme difficulty and unpredictability in treatment of AD. A wide variety of therapeutic strategies for treating AD is being pursued. The major categories of these strategies are collected in Table 1 of Patel (page 82). Relevant here is the Cholinergic Drugs subcategory, and in particular, the subsubcategory "Receptor Agonists" (see page 84). It can be seen that muscarinic agonists is just one of many, many strategies being pursued. Patel notes the unpredictability of using muscarinic agonists to improve cognition in AD patients.
As Ehlert notes, 5 different subtypes (M1-M5) of muscarinic receptors have been discovered, and that the activities and species variation in distribution are complicated. M2 and M4 are taught to have selective coupling to inhibition of adenylate cyclase, while M1-M3-M5 couple to a different hydrolysis, see pages 2137-8. Ehlert, page 2142, suggests that the presence of an allosteric site on the receptor may actually be the route to an effectiveness not previously shown. He also observes states:
Although no allosteric agonists for the muscarinic receptor have been described so far, it is possible that structural modification of the gallamine molecule could lead to the identification of a drug that increases the affinity of acetylcholine.
The specification provides data to show that the instant compounds bind to the muscarinic receptors, but the fact that the compounds bind to the receptors does not mean that they are muscarinic agonists. Binding does not equal activation. Accordingly, the specification fails to provide any working examples. Further, the most recent research has emphasized the necessity of selectivity. Applicants have not demonstrated any of this. In addition, there is no teaching how the data provided permits the determination of an effective amount for treating AD. Therefore, in view of the unpredictability in the art, the lack of working examples, and the lack of further guidance in how to use the claimed compounds and compositions to actually treat AD, it would require an undue amount of experimentation to use the claimed inventions.
Specification: The specification discloses methods of making polymeric articles comprising polyolefins. The specification states that when the polyolefins are mixed with diphosphites prior to normal processing into articles, such as by blow molding or extrusion at temperatures of about 600oC, the presence of the diphosphite stabilizes the polyolefin containing article against discoloration. Polyolefins suitable for utilization in the invention are disclosed as including homopolymers and copolymers of mono-olefins, such as polyethylene and polypropylene and copolymers of ethylene and propylene. Crosslinked polyolefins are also disclosed as being suitable for purposes of the invention. The disclosed crosslinked polyolefins which are suitable for the invention are those which have been formulated utilizing conventional peroxide crosslinking agents for polyolefins, such as dicumyl peroxide and di-t-butyl peroxide.
The specification discloses that the diphosphites suitable for use in the invention include bis-(alkylphenyl)pentaerythritol diphosphites such as bis-(2,4-ditertiarybutylphenyl)pentaerythritol diphosphite. Several other specific diphosphites are disclosed as are several different forms for the diphosphites, such as dry powder or dissolved in a solvent. The specification discloses that when the diphosphites are employed in the polymeric composition at certain concentrations, they are effective in stabilizing the polyolefin during thermal processing conditions against discoloration. The diphosphites are admixed with the polyolefin prior to processing and at a concentration of about 0.01 to about 5.0% by weight of the stabilized composition depending on the particular polyolefin and processing conditions. The specification explicitly states: "This concentration range is critical for stabilization against discoloration of the polyolefins because discoloration readily occurs when the diphosphites are used at concentrations below or above this concentration range." The diphosphite stabilizers are preferably employed within a range of 0.05 to about 2.0%. and most preferably within a range of 0.1 to about 1.0%.
A method of making a polyolefin containing article stabilized against discoloration comprising forming a composition comprising a polyolefin and a diphosphite and then processing the composition to form the article.
The method of claim 1 wherein the composition includes 0.01 to 5% by weight of the diphosphite .
The method of claim 2 wherein the composition includes 0.05 to 2% by weight of the diphosphite.
The method of claim 2 wherein the composition includes 0.1 to 1% by weight of the diphosphite.
State of the Prior Art: It is well known in the art that diphosphites decompose and, therefore, lose their activity when exposed to temperatures in excess of 1000oC.
Blow molding and extruding using polyolefins are well known processes for producing polymeric articles and are carried out at temperatures ranging from 250oC to 1500oC.
In this case, there are no working examples given in the specification. However, the lack of any working examples alone cannot serve as the only reason for making an enablement rejection. The other undue experimentation factors must also be considered. Here, the art of making polyolefin containing articles by processes such as blow molding and extrusion are well known and relatively predictable, the specification provides ample guidance with respect to polyolefins and diphosphites suitable for carrying out the invention, and the claims are limited to producing polyolefin containing articles. Thus, the other undue experimentation factors appear to point toward the claimed invention being enabled. The only possible issues regarding lack of enablement appear to be those dealing with the temperature of the processing and the concentration of the diphosphite.
Regarding the temperature, the claim is not limited to any particular processing temperature but it is clear from the state of the art that the process would not be operative at temperatures above 1000oC since the diphosphites decompose and become inactive. Since the specification explicitly discloses processes being carried out about 600oC, it appears that the claims should be limited to processes being carried out at about 600oC. However, there is nothing in the specification which indicates that the temperature of the process is critical to produce polyolefin containing articles stabilized against discoloration. Furthermore, the specification need not disclose what is well known in the art, and preferably omits it, and the claims can include non-operative embodiments as long as is does not require undue experimentation to determine which embodiments are operable. Here, one skilled in the art taking the specification with the state of the art, would clearly recognize the temperature limitations of the claimed processes and would be able to determine which embodiments are operable without undue experimentation. Therefore, it would be improper to limit the claims to a particular temperature.
Regarding the concentration issue, the specification explicitly states that when the concentration of the diphosphites in the composition is outside the range of 0.01 to 5% by weight, the articles are not stabilized against discoloration and, therefore, the concentration is critical to the invention. Since claim 1 lacks this critical limitation, it would be reasonable to reject claim 1 for lack of enablement using form paragraph 7.33.01. Since claims 2-4 include concentrations within the critical range, they would not be included in the rejection. Note, while the specification also states that narrower concentration ranges are "preferred", this does not mean that they are critical. Therefore, it would be inappropriate to limit the claims to these narrower concentrations.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112, first paragraph, as based on a disclosure which is not enabling. The concentration of the diphosphite in the composition is critical or essential to the practice of the invention, but not included in the claim(s) is not enabled by the disclosure. In re Mayhew , 527 F.2d 1229, 188 USPQ 356 (CCPA 1976). The specification clearly discloses that the concentration of the diphosphite is critical to the making of polyolefin containing articles that are stabilized against discoloration when it states:
This concentration range is critical for stabilization against discoloration of the polyolefins because discoloration readily occurs when the diphosphites are used at concentrations below or above this concentration range.
Therefore, the claim should be limited to such concentrations.
Specification: The 50 amino acid peptide, algernin, has been extracted and isolated from ovine brain. Algernin has been sequenced and cDNA clones encoding algernin have been isolated from both sheep and humans. The human cDNA is similar to the ovine cDNA and encodes the same amino acid sequence as the ovine cDNA. The specification also discloses probes consisting of 15 or more consecutive nucleotides from the cDNA sequences encoding ovine or human algernin and that the probes can be used to isolate the corresponding cDNA. Specific procedures and working examples are described for using the probes to isolate the algernin gene as are specific constructs, procedures and working examples for the recombinant production of active algernin in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. Preliminary test results with human subjects show that injections of purified algernin (0.005 mg/kg) increases short term memory retention by 200% compared to injections of human serum albumin. Algernin also significantly decreases the time required for mice to learn to run simple mazes.
TABLE 1 (amino acid sequence of algernin)
Met Phe Arg Val Lys Arg Trp Thr Phe Val Leu Val Val Lys Thr Val Gln Met
Ala Lys Phe Gln Trp Met Ala Lys Ile Phe Trp Val Trp Thr Val Cys Val Arg
Thr Val Glu Phe Arg Val Lys Arg Val Val Met Ala Met Lys
TABLE 2 (ovine cDNA for algernin)
ATG TTT CGA GTC AAG AGG TGG ACC TTC GTA TTG GTC GTA AAG ACT GTG GAG ATG
GCC AAA TTT GAA TGG ATG GCG AAA ATA TTT TGG GTA TGG ACC GTG TTC GTA CGG
ACA GTT GAA TTT CGG GTG AAA CGG GTA GTA ATG GCC ATG AAA TAG
TABLE 3 (human cDNA for algernin)
ATG TTC CGA GTC AAG AGA TGG ACC TTC GTA TTA GTC GTA AAG ACT GTG GAG ATG
ACA GTT GAA TTT CGG GTG AAA CGG GTA GTA ATG GCC ATG AAG TAG
An isolated cDNA that comprises the following DNA sequence and encodes algernin:
ATG TTC CGA GTC AAG AGA TGG ACC TTC GTA TTA GTC GTA AAG ACT
GTG GAG ATG GCC AAA TTT GAA TGG ATG GCG AAA ATA TTT TGG GTA
TGG ACC GTG TTC GTA CGG ACA GTT GAA TTT CGG GTG AAA CGG GTA
GTA ATG GCC ATG AAG TAG
or fragments thereof that are at least 15 nucleotides in length.
An isolated DNA that encodes the following amino acid sequence for algernin:
Met Phe Arg Val Lys Arg Trp Thr Phe Val Leu Val Val Lys Thr Val Gln Met Ala Lys Phe Gln Trp Met Ala Lys Ile Phe Trp Val Trp Thr Val Cys Val Arg Thr Val Glu Phe Arg Val Lys Arg Val Val Met Ala Met Lys
An isolated DNA that encodes a 50 amino acid peptide that has algernin activity.
Ngo et al, The Protein Folding Problem and Tertiary Structure Prediction , 1994, Merz et al (ed.), Birkhauser, Boston, MA, pp. 433 and 492-495. This reference teaches that the relationship between the sequence of a peptide and its tertiary structure (i.e., its activity) is not well understood and is not predictable.
The state of the prior art is also such that given a specific sequence it is routine to synthesize DNA and proteins.
Claim 1 is limited to a single DNA sequence and any 15 mer thereof. Since the state of the art is such that it would have been routine to make the DNA given the sequence, it certainly would not require undue experimentation to make the DNAs claimed in claim 1. Furthermore, the specification clearly shows how to use the full length DNA to produce algernin and the 15 mers to obtain the full length DNA. Therefore, it would not require undue experimentation to make or use the DNAs of claim 1 and no enablement rejection should be made.
For claim 2, the analysis is similar even thought the genus is very large. There are at least 1.26 x 1021 embodiments of the claim, but each embodiment can be readily identified using the genetic code, synthesized using conventional methods, and used in the manner taught in the specification without undue experimentation.
For claim 3 the analysis is different. Claim 3 is broader than the enabling disclosure because there is no guidance as to which (if any) of the 50 amino acids may be changed while algernin activity is retained. The total number of 50 amino acid peptides is 1.13 X 1065. The number of single amino acid substitutions is 950. The number of two amino acid substitutions is over 900,000. Since the relationship between the sequence of a peptide and its tertiary structure (i.e. its activity) are not well understood and are not predictable (e.g., see Ngo et al, in The Protein Folding Problem and Tertiary Structure Prediction , 1994, Merz et al (ed.), Birkhauser, Boston, MA, pp. 433 and 492-495.), it would require undue experimentation for one skilled in the art to arrive at other 50 amino acid peptides that have algernin activity. In Amgen Inc. v. Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. , 18 USPQ2d 1016 (Fed. Cir. 1991), the court ruled that a claim to a large genus of possible genetic sequences encoding a protein with a particular function that needs to be determined subsequent to the construction of the genetic sequences may not find sufficient support under 35 U.S.C. 112, first paragraph, if only a few of the sequences that meet the functional limitations of the claim are disclosed and if undue experimentation would be required of one skilled in the art for the determination of other genetic sequences that are embraced by the claim. If it would require undue experimentation to identify other 50 amino acid peptides that have algernin activity, it certainly would require undue experimentation to make their corresponding DNA. Therefore, it would be reasonable to conclude that it would require undue experimentation to make the entire scope of claim 3. Since there are embodiment within the scope of claim 3 that are enabled, such as those recited in claims 1 and 2, the rejection should be made using form paragraph 7.31.03.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112, first paragraph, because the specification, while being enabling for DNA encoding the amino acid sequence for algernin, does not reasonably provide enablement for DNA that encodes other 50 amino acid peptides that have algernin activity. The specification does not enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make the invention commensurate in scope with these claims.
Claim 3 recites DNA that encodes any 50 amino acid peptide as long as the peptide has algernin activity. However, other than algernin itself, the specification fails to disclose any other peptide which has algernin activity. Furthermore, the specification provides no guidance as to which (if any) of the 50 amino acids may be changed while algernin activity is retained. The total number of 50 amino acid peptides is 1.13 X 1065. The number of single amino acid substitutions is 950. The number of two amino acid substitutions is over 900,000. Because of this lack of guidance, the extended experimentation that would be required to determine which substitutions would be acceptable to retain algernin activity, and the fact that the relationship between the sequence of a peptide and its tertiary structure (i.e. its activity) are not well understood and are not predictable (e.g., see Ngo et al, in The Protein Folding Problem and Tertiary Structure Prediction , 1994, Merz et al (ed.), Birkhauser, Boston, MA, pp. 433 and 492-495.), it would require undue experimentation for one skilled in the art to arrive at other 50 amino acid peptides that have algernin activity. In addition, in Amgen Inc. v. Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. , 18 USPQ2d 1016 (Fed. Cir. 1991), the court ruled that a claim to a large genus of possible genetic sequences encoding a protein with a particular function that needs to be determined subsequent to the construction of the genetic sequences may not find sufficient support under 35 U.S.C. 112, first paragraph, if only a few of the sequences that meet the functional limitations of the claim are disclosed and if undue experimentation would be required of one skilled in the art for the determination of other genetic sequences that are embraced by the claim. This is the case here. In other words, since it would require undue experimentation to identify other 50 amino acid peptides that have algernin activity, it certainly would require undue experimentation to make their corresponding DNA and, therefore, the entire scope of claim 3 is not enabled.
Modifications to the Above Facts: Let us assume that the specification merely disclosed that the algernin could be used to increase short term memory retention but does not teach how to use algernin in this or in any other manner and there is no well established use for algernin. Also assume that the application includes a claim directed to a method of making algernin using cDNA encoding algernin and there is no well established use for the claimed cDNA. Thus, in this situation, the only disclosed use for the claimed inventions is making algernin, which the specification teaches how to do, but the specification fails to teach how to use algernin. Does this change the analysis set forth above? Put another way, does the specification need to teach how to use a product before claims directed to a method of making the product and claims directed to materials to be used in making the product are considered enabled? The answer to this last question is yes. Under these circumstances, a claim drawn to a method of making the product and claims drawn to materials used in the method of making the product are not enabled and an appropriate enablement rejection can be made.
Specification: The specification relates to Lysobacteria erythrosis , the microorganism which causes erythrosis, a slow acting yet deadly disease manifested by the lysis of the erythrocyte in patients infected with the microorganism. The disclosure states that l. erythrosis has many proteins on the surface thereof and that one of these proteins in particular can induce the immune system to produce antibodies. The specific surface protein disclosed includes the following peptide which is responsible for the production of the antibodies:
Ser Thr Ile Phe Leu Glu Ser Thr His Glu Asp Ile Ser Glu Ala Ser Glu
The specification describes compositions including the peptide and a carrier and teaches that the composition can be used to induce the immune system, e.g., to produce antibodies which will serve to vaccinate the host against erythrosis without causing the disease itself. Specific pharmaceutically acceptable carriers are described as are specific concentrations of the peptide in the compositions and suitable modes of administration for generating the immune response. The specification states that the peptide can be made using routine peptide synthesis techniques. The specification includes one example which synthesizes the peptide, places the peptide in a carrier to form a composition, injects the composition into a rabbit three times over a period of two months. Three days after the last injection, the rabbit was bled and antibodies against l. erythrosis were isolated. The antibodies were contacted with blood samples from normal patients and those diagnosed with erythrosis. Binding was present in the samples from the patients with erythrosis but no binding was present in the samples from normal patients. It was not demonstrated whether the antibodies were protective against the disease.
A peptide have the following amino acid sequence:
Ser Thr Ile Phe Leu Glu Ser Thr His Glu Asp Ile Ser Glu Ala Ser Glu.
2. A vaccine comprising the peptide of claim 1 and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
3. A method of inducing an immune response in a host comprising administering to the host a composition comprising the peptide of claim 1 and a carrier.
State of the Prior Art: Diagnostic assays for erythrosis are known in the art. Those assays typically utilize antibodies against surface antigens of l. erythrosis , contact the antibodies with blood samples from a patient, and check for any antibody binding, wherein any binding is indicative of the presence of the microorganism.
Nathaniel et al (this is a fictitious reference) - This reference teaches that no vaccines for erythrosis are known. While there have been many attempts at producing a vaccine, all have resulted in failure. Erythrosis is known only to affect humans. While the microorganism will infect other mammals, no other mammal other than humans get the disease. No animal models are recognized as being predictive of vaccination in humans.
For claim 1, the specification discloses how to make the claimed peptide. Furthermore, while the only explicitly disclosed use for the peptide is as a vaccine, which may not be enabled, the example taken with the state of the prior art implies a well established utility of using the peptide to raise antibodies for using in assays for erythrosis. Since one would know how to use the peptides and the resultant antibodies from the specification and the state of the art without undue experimentation, it would be inappropriate to reject claim 1 for lack of enablement.
With respect to claim 2, the "vaccine" and "pharmaceutically acceptable carrier" language in combination with the fact that the only disclosed pharmaceutical use of the compositions is for a vaccine leads to the conclusion that this claim should be evaluated in terms of whether the specification teaches how to make and use the composition as a vaccine. While the specification provides some guidance regarding vaccination, it would be reasonable to conclude that it would require an undue amount of experimentation to use the composition as a vaccine in view of the unpredictability in the art and the lack of working examples. For the reasons set forth above with respect to claim 1, it is clear that non-vaccine compositions would be enabled. Since some compositions are enabled, it would be best to make a scope rejection using form paragraph 7.31.03.
Claim 3 is a broad claim. When read in light of the specification and the state of the prior art, it covers methods of producing antibodies for use in diagnostic assays as well as vaccination. Thus, claim 3 must be evaluated as to whether the specification enables the entire scope of the claim. From the above discussion with respect to claims 1 and 2, it is clear that the specification enables the method to the degree that it encompasses producing antibodies, but not to the degree that it encompasses vaccination. Therefore, it would be reasonable to make a scope rejection using form paragraph 7.31.03.
Claims 2-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112, first paragraph, because the specification, while enabled for non-vaccine compositions and non-vaccination methods of inducing an immune response, does not reasonably provide enablement for vaccine compositions and their use in vaccination against erythrosis. The specification does not enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the invention commensurate in scope with these claims.
Claims 2 is directed to a vaccine, the only disclosed use being vaccination against erythrosis. Claim 3 is directed to a method which encompasses the use of the peptide for vaccination against erythrosis. However, the specification fails to adequately teach how to use the composition and method for vaccinating against erythrosis. Erythrosis is a deadly disease and many attempts at producing a vaccine have been made with no success. This is evidenced by Nathaniel et al. Thus, the art of vaccinating against erythrosis is not predictable. While the specification does provide some general guidance with respect to how to use the vaccine, there are no working examples since the induction of antibodies in rabbits does not necessarily mean that the antibodies are protective, since humans are the only ones afflicted with the disease, and since the rabbits do not constitute a recognized animal model as is apparent from the state of the prior art. In view of the absence of working examples for vaccinating against erythrosis, the breadth of the claims, and the unpredictable state of the art with respect to vaccinating against erythrosis, it would require undue experimentation for one skilled in the art to practice the entire scope of the claimed invention.
2. A composition comprising the peptide of claim 1 and a carrier.
3. A method of producing antibodies which recognize lysobacteria erythrosis in a host comprising administering to the host a composition comprising the peptide of claim 1 and a carrier.
EXAMPLE A:
EXAMPLE B:
EXAMPLE C:
EXAMPLE D:
EXAMPLE E:
EXAMPLE F:
Internal Medicine, 4th Edition, Editor-in-Chief Jay Stein, Chapters 71-72, pages 699-715.
EXAMPLE G:
Orkin et al., December 7, 1995, "Report and Recommendation of the Panel to Assess the NIH Investmen in Research on Gene Therapy", issued by the National Institutes of Health.
EXAMPLE H:
Doherty, Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, Vol. 35, No. 9, 1493-1508 (1992).
Clozel et al, Nature, Vol. 365, 759-761 (1993).
Stein et al, Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, Vol. 37, No. 3, 329-331 (1994).
EXAMPLE I:
EXAMPLE J:
WO 93/05803.
Skinner et al., J.Biol. Chem., Vol. 266, 5371-5374 (1991).
Suzuki et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun., Vol. 190, 426-434, (1993).
Needham et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, Vol. 90, 1359-1363, (1993).
Mulligan et al., Nature, Vol. 364, 149-151, (1993).
EXAMPLE K:
Fahey et al., Clin. exp. Immunol., Vol. 88, 1-5 (1992).
Stein et al., CID, Vol. 17, 749-771 (1993).
Fox, Bio/Technology, Vol. 12, 128 (1994).
Seaver, Genetic Engineering News, pages 10 and 21 (1994).
EXAMPLE L:
Patel, Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology, Vol. 8, 81-95, (1995).
Ehlert et al, Life Sciences, Vol. 55, Nos. 25/26, 2135-2145, (1994).
EXAMPLE M:
EXAMPLE N:
Ngo et al, The Protein Folding Problem and Tertiary Structure Prediction , 1994, Merz et al (ed.), Birkhauser, Boston, MA, pp. 433 and 492-495.
EXAMPLE O:
This page is owned by Office of Patent Legal Administration. Published on: Jul 4, 2009 06:15 PM EDT Last Modified: Aug 10, 2011 03:05 PM EDT
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HomeGovernmentCity Council
City Councilwoman Sandra Tooley
Councilwoman Tooley was born and raised in Valdosta and is a successful product of the Valdosta City Schools System. She earned her LPN from Valdosta Technical College, an ASN from ABAC in Tifton, and a BBA in Management from AIU in Atlanta. Always a student, she also earned her paralegal certification from NCPT in Atlanta and has attended various classes at Valdosta State University, Dekalb College and Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing in Atlanta.
Councilwoman Tooley has dedicated her life to caring for others. She has been a registered nurse in the ER, open heart surgery and critical care, and her career has given her opportunities to work at SGMC and Smith Northview in Valdosta and in other medical centers in Albany, Tallahassee and Atlanta. She is currently the owner/operator of Delta Nurse Consulting and South Street Community Care House, both in Valdosta.
As a City of Valdosta Councilmember, she will continue to care for the health and welfare of those in her district, as well as those throughout the city, and looks forward to developing solid and trustworthy relationships with citizens.
In her free time, Councilwoman Tooley likes to travel and is an active member of the Lowndes County Democratic Party. She is a recipient of the MLK Humanitarian Award and the 100 Black Men Community Service Award. She is also a member of Morningstar Baptist Church.
Councilwoman Sandra Tooley was elected in November 2013 to serve a 4-year term on the Valdosta City Council. In November 2017 , she was re-elected to serve a second 4-year term and was also elected by her peers to serve as the Mayor Pro Tem. Her current term will expire 12/31/21.
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Home » News » News » Administration of justice craves reforms —Saraki
Administration of justice craves reforms —Saraki
On August 11, 2017 4:05 amIn Newsby Urowayino Warami
As EFCC, ICPC shun summit on justice sector reform
By Ikechukwu Nnochiri
ABUJA— The Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, yesterday, said there was need for a holistic reform of the justice system in Nigeria, decrying that “criminals have become smarter with technology.”
Saraki, who stated this in a keynote address presented at a one-day National Summit on Justice, in Abuja, insisted that effective justice delivery was central to the nation’s economic growth, development and socio-economic well-being of Nigerians.
According to him, “investors will only put their money in a place where there is a functional judicial system and where every citizen is governed in equal measures by the rule of law.”
While applauding the Federal Government for introducing a new national policy on justice that was adopted at the summit, Saraki said the Senate was working assiduously to ensure that institutions responsible for reducing crime were strengthened for quick dispensation of justice.
He said: “Justice is about keeping our people safe, tackling harm, rehabilitating, supporting victims and administering the rule of law. Therefore, the need for a national policy on justice is a welcome development.”
EFCC, ICPC shun summit
Meanwhile, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, SAN, who was the Chief Host and the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, who was the Special guest of honour, were absent at the event where the new National Policy on Justice was officially adopted and handed over to the CJN and Chief Judges of various states of the federation.
Whereas the AGF, who was said to have travelled out of the country, was represented by the Solicitor General of the Federation, Mr. Taiwo Abidogun, the Acting President was not represented.
Similarly, heads of key anti-graft agencies in the country, including the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and Code of Conduct Bureau, also shunned the Summit.
Urowayino Warami
View all posts by Urowayino Warami →
#OurMumuDonDo
Igbonla six: Untold story of the students’ abduction, release
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Bob Barker Fast Facts
Here is a look at the life of Bob Barker, former host of the "Price is Right."Personal:...
Posted: Dec 7, 2018 8:31 AM
Updated: Dec 7, 2018 8:31 AM
Here is a look at the life of Bob Barker, former host of the "Price is Right."
Birth date: December 12, 1923
CBS Corp
Entertainment and arts awards
Life forms
Birth place: Darrington, Washington
Birth name: Robert William Barker
Father: Byron Barker, a utility worker
Mother: Matilda (Tarleton) Barker
Marriage: Dorothy Jo (Gideon) Barker (January 12, 1945-1981, her death)
Education: Drury College, B.A., 1947
Military service: US Naval Reserves, 1943-1945
Other Facts:
Ended each show with the line, "Help control the pet population. Have your pets spayed or neutered."
Animal rights activist.
Winner of 19 Daytime Emmy Awards.
Barker contributed $5 million to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, a marine wildlife and environmental protection group, to help end international whaling. The society named a ship in their fleet the "Bob Barker."
1950-1956 - Host of radio program "The Bob Barker Show."
1956-1975 - Host of game show "Truth or Consequences" on NBC.
1966-1987 - Host of the "Miss Universe" and "Miss USA Beauty Pageants." Resigns after pageant officials refuse to stop giving fur coats as awards.
1969-1985 - Host of the Pillsbury Bake-Off.
1969-1988 - Emcees the New Year's Day "Tournament of Roses Parade."
September 4, 1972 - Premiere of "The Price Is Right" on CBS with Barker as host.
1972-2007 - Host of "The Price Is Right," TV's longest running game show.
1981-1999 - Winner of nine Emmy awards for "Best Audience Participation Host."
1993 - "Barker Beauty" Dian Parkinson sues for sexual harassment, asking for $8 million. The lawsuit is dropped in 1995.
1995 - Founds the DJ&T Foundation to help fund low-cost pet neutering. The foundation is named after his wife, Dorothy Jo and his mother, nicknamed Tilly.
1996 - Wins an MTV Movie Award for "best fight scene" for his cameo appearance and brawl with Adam Sandler in "Happy Gilmore."
March 11, 1998 - "Stage 33" at CBS Television City in Los Angeles is renamed "Bob Barker Studio" after the 5,000th episode of "The Price Is Right."
1999 - Wins a Daytime Emmy Award for Lifetime Achievement.
2002 - Suffers a stroke and undergoes prostate surgery.
April 26, 2002 - Breaks Johnny Carson's record for continuous performances on the same network television show, with 29 years, seven months and 22 days.
June 26, 2004 - Is inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame.
2004 - Another longtime "Barker Beauty" Holly Hallstrom wins a $3 million settlement in an appeals court, over allegations that she was fired from "The Price is Right" for failing to lose weight.
October 31, 2006 - Announces his upcoming retirement for June 2007.
March 20, 2007 - The LA Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals honors Barker with their President's Award.
May 16, 2007 - CBS airs "The Price Is Right Million Dollar Spectacular," Barker's last hosting duties in primetime.
May 17, 2007 - "Bob Barker: A Celebration of 50 Years on Television," a tribute to his 50-year career, 35 of which were on "The Price Is Right," airs on CBS.
June 15, 2007 - Barker's last episode as host airs.
November 14, 2007 - Is inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
February 11, 2008 - Delivers a $1-million-dollar endowment to his alma mater Drury University. The donation will go towards the creation of the country's first undergraduate course on animal ethics.
April 6, 2009 - Hachette/Center Street releases Barker's first memoir "Priceless Memories."
March 10, 2010 - Ribbon cutting ceremony held in Los Angeles at the Bob Barker Building. Barker donated $2.5 million to PETA to purchase and renovate the building.
November 2, 2011 - Barker urges the passage of the Traveling Exotic Animal Protection Act. He states that traveling circuses rely on animals that are trained to do tricks, and this is accomplished with acts of cruelty.
December 12, 2013 - Returns to "The Price is Right" to celebrate his 90th birthday.
October 20, 2015 - Is hospitalized after tripping and hitting his head on a sidewalk.
November 19, 2018 - Is hospitalized for severe back pain, the second time in a month.
Bob Dole Fast Facts
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Kwanzaa Fast Facts
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Split Synagogue
The city of Split has a long history of Jewish presence, dating back to the seventh century after nearby Salona (now Solin) was destroyed by the Avars, forcing a community that had been in existence there since the third century a.d. to flee and find protection within Diocletian’s fortified palace. Only a few menorahs inscribed on stone blocks of Diocletian’s Palace testify to the early presence of Jews in Split.
The Jewish community grew substantially in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries as waves of Sephardic Jewish refugees fled Portugal, Spain, and Italy during the Inquisition. Although Split’s Jewish community never exceeded more than a few hundred members, they had a considerable influence on the local economy. Daniel Rodriguez, a prominent Jew in the sixteenth century, established a free port in Split and many became wealthy from exporting wares from the Ottoman territories in the Balkans to Venice.
The first synagogue of Split, most likely dating from Roman times, was destroyed in a great fire in 1507. Soon after that, in another part of the city that later became the Jewish ghetto, a new synagogue was created by combining and converting the second floors of two medieval houses.
Having been severely damaged during the Second World War, with much of the Jewish community migrating to Israel in the following years, Split’s synagogue and Jewish community have seen a revival in activities since Croatia gained its independence. Split is the centerpiece of a collection of important places that recognize Split’s Jewish past, including the historic Jewish cemetery on the Marjan hill; Morpurgo, one of the oldest operating bookstores in Europe, which was established by an important Jewish family; and the streets of the former Jewish ghetto, where one can see a collection of voids in doorways that once held menorot.
Conservation and interpretation of Split Synagogue
Due to exterior damage, water had seeped into Split Synagogue’s structure and had caused plaster deterioration within the interior sanctuary space. With support and guidance from WMF’s Jewish Heritage Program, a conservation project during 2014 addressed the south and north facades, repairing damages to the masonry, repointing the mortar joints, and the overall cleaning of the facades. Wooden shutters that were significantly deteriorated were replaced, while those still in good condition were repainted for protection. New copper rainwater gutters, downspouts, and drip edges were installed to protect the building from water seepage.
During the project, the team uncovered a fragment of a Roman stele with part of its inscription still intact, as well as fragments of marble door jambs of an early medieval building that that were used as window surrounds on the third story of the synagogue’s north façade.
In 2016, WMF began working with representatives of the synagogue to develop an on-site and online exhibition for Split Synagogue, to interpret the history of the synagogue and the Jewish community it has served over the centuries. The exhibition Jews in Split will exist as an educational tool for Split’s local community and visitors.
Video of Split Synagogue, Croatia
Jews in Split - an exhibition
From Ancient Rome to Today: The Jews of Split
Exhibition Planning for Two Balkan Synagogues
Funds Donated to Conserve 5 Jewish Sites
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City gets smart to support people living with dementia
People in Wolverhampton can now get dementia help and support at the touch of a button thanks to the launch of high tech "smart posters".
Type=image;ImageID=9795;ImageClass=left;ImageTitle=Testing out the new smart poster;TitleClass=strong;
Type=image;ImageID=9796;ImageClass=left;ImageTitle=Councillor Barry Findlay presents a cheque for £632;TitleClass=strong;
They feature Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, enabling people with smartphones to either tap the NFC icon or scan a QR code and be instantly linked to websites packed with useful information about dementia.
The posters were developed by the University of Wolverhampton's IT Futures team following a successful bid to the Public Health Transformational Fund by the university and the City of Wolverhampton Council.
Three different posters have been produced, including one for members of the public offering links to information and videos about dementia as well as details of the six Dementia Cafes in Wolverhampton and local support providers.
A second is aimed at service providers including retailers, businesses and other organisations and features links to guides to improving support for, and communication with, customers with dementia, and information about the Wolverhampton Dementia Action Alliance, a partnership of local organisations committed to improving services for people living with dementia in the city.
The third poster is for clinical practitioners and other healthcare professionals and provides links to useful resources, Wolverhampton's Joint Dementia Strategy and details of national initiatives around dementia.
All three also include a link to the Alzheimer's Society's Dementia Friends programme, where people can sign up to become a Friend by completing a short awareness raising activity to help them better understand the needs of people living with dementia.
Councillor Sandra Samuels OBE, the City of Wolverhampton Council's Cabinet Member for Adult Services, said: "These posters will soon be on display at locations around Wolverhampton and have a really important role to play in raising awareness about dementia, and giving people easy access to crucial information about, and support for, the condition.
"It will not only benefit people living with dementia and their carers, but also help local business, community organisations and service providers improve the way they help and support people living with dementia.
"I'd like to thank the IT Futures team at the University of Wolverhampton for their excellent work in developing these posters, which are just one of the many things the council and its partners are doing to make Wolverhampton a Dementia Friendly Community.
"I am proud that we are creating a city which shows a high level of awareness and understanding of dementia, especially across the commercial and retail sectors, so that the 3,600 people living with the condition in Wolverhampton are able to feel part of their community and are encouraged to seek help and support."
Jon Crockett, Visiting Professor of Health Management and Leadership at the University of Wolverhampton, said: "We are pleased to have been able to work with the council and the Dementia Action Alliance on the development of these smart posters.
"A key part of being a Dementia Friendly Community is raising awareness of the condition among businesses and the general public and ensuring that as a city we are able to provide services which meet the needs of people living with dementia."
The smart posters will be displayed in council buildings, libraries, shops, GP surgeries, New Cross Hospital, schools, selected retailers and banks and other businesses around Wolverhampton. To access the links within the posters, people should download a free QR reader or NFC app to their smartphone, available from their app store.
The success of the scheme will be evaluated by Angela Clifford, a postdoctoral researcher in the Faculty of Education, Health and Wellbeing at the University of Wolverhampton. By looking at how well the posters are used and getting feedback from users, they can be improved and the project expanded wider across the city in the future.
The posters were officially unveiled on Friday (20 May, 2016) at a Dementia Awareness Week tea party for 60 people living with the condition hosted by the Mayor of Wolverhampton Councillor Barry Findlay, during which a cheque for £632 was presented to the Alzheimer's Society, the proceeds of a Denim for Dementia day at the City of Wolverhampton Council where staff were encouraged to wear denim in exchange for a donation to the charity.
released: Monday 23 May, 2016
Released: Monday 23rd May, 2016
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Turkish Alevis demand respect for European court ruling
Religious minority calls on government to respect European Court of Human Rights ruling on places of worship.
An Alevi foundation in Istanbul has called on the Turkish government to respect a European court decision regarding the minority community's houses of worship.
“You [government officials] cannot say ‘it is just a decision of a court and we don’t care’,” said Izzettin Dogan, president of the Foundation of Republican Education and Cultural Center, which manages a number of cemevis – Alevis worshipping places – in Turkey.
Speaking at a press conference in Istanbul on Wednesday, Dogan said: “I warn those who govern Turkey: Please be respectful to the decision. Otherwise, they [European officials] will not care about you,” he said. “I don’t think Turkey deserves this,” Dogan added.
His remarks came a week after the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Turkey had discriminated against the Alevi community's houses of worship.
Alevis constitute the second-largest religious community in Turkey, after Sunni Muslims.
The Alevi foundation had filed a case with the European court accusing Turkey of constitutional discrimination after the authorities refused to exempt cemevis from electricity bills.
In August 2006, the foundation argued that Turkish national legislation normally provides such an exemption for places of worship, such as mosques, churches and synagogues. The bills are paid for through a fund administered by the Religious Affairs Directorate.
The European court ruled in favor of the group and asked the Turkish government to send a proposal regarding the cemevi in question.
European judge Andras Sajo called for the recognition of cemevis as places of worship with status equal to that of mosques and churches.
One day after decision, the Turkish Supreme Court ruled that courts cannot decide on what constitutes a place of worship.
“From now on, the government is obliged to be much more sensitive, serious and sincere about [rights of] Alevis,” Dogan stated. “This decision is not only in favor of Alevis, but also for all the beliefs in the world who have different places of worship.”
Turkish officials have said the country is already working to eliminate discrimination against Alevis. "It will not affect our efforts," Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in response to the court decision last week. "We will proceed on our way," he added.
Last month, the premier announced that his government would make a series of moves to atone for previous discriminative practices by the state against the Alevi minority.
He pledged to build roads to all cultural and religious venues in Tunceli, a province in eastern Turkey, and restore Alevi gathering and worshipping places with a budget of 11 million Turkish liras ($4.95 million).
The prime minister also said the name of Tunceli University would be changed to Munzur University, renaming the institution after Alevi religious leader Munzur Baba.
Last Mod: 11 Aralık 2014, 13:00
#alevi,
#alawite
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Following 9/11, Trump wanted twin towers rebuilt
<p>NEW YORK - MAY 18: Real estate developer Donald Trump speaks during a news conference presenting a model of a proposed design for the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site May 18, 2005 in New York City. Trump proposed a modified rebuilding of the World Trade Center complex, with an updated and taller design and a memorial to those killed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks at the base of the new towers. (Photo by Chris Hondros/Getty Images)</p>
In the years following the attacks of New York on Sept. 11, 2001, Donald Trump pushed a proposal that would have rebuilt the World Trade Center's iconic twin towers, with the only difference being the tower's being five stories taller.
Instead of going with Trump's plans, New York City officials opted to build the 1776-foot-tall Freedom Tower at the site of the World Trade Center. The 94 story building opened in July 2013 after seven years on construction.
In an interview on MSNBC in 2005, a decade before starting his run for president, Trump called the Freedom Tower "disgusting" and a "junk yard."
"I would rather have nothing than what they're building," Trump said. "It was a terrible design; it was designed by an egghead architect who doesn't have a lot of experience designing something like this."
Trump said he simply wanted the World Trade Center's twin towers back.
"What I want to see built is the World Trade Center stronger and maybe a story taller," Trump said before construction of the Freedom Tower. "That is what everyone wants."
The New York real estate mogul claimed that rebuilding a taller version of the twin towers, which were destroyed by terrorists who flew planes into the buildings on Sept. 11, 2001, would not allow the terrorists to win.
"If rebuild the World Trade Center stronger and a story taller, we win," Trump said. "I don't want to have the terrorists win, and that's what will happen if we build this pile of junk."
Trump's proposal essentially died in 2006 as officials called for the groundbreaking of the Freedom Tower.
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ExecTuesday
TechTuesday
There ARE Such Things as Unicorns
The term used for an exceptionally successful new company today is a ‘Unicorn’. The label was coined in 2013 and it refers to a privately-held start-up that has a valuation of $1.0B USD or more. As shown in the following chart, while once rare, the phenomenon has become much less so, particularly in Asia and NA.
From the second half of 2016 to the end of last year, the global number of new companies fitting this description has climbed from 16 to more than 100. In the fourth quarter of last year alone, the US saw a record 21 start-ups achieve Unicorn status. At the same time, Asia saw a notable reduction in the number, reversing a trend and perhaps reflecting a cooling in the economies of that region?
Since 2013, the number of VC-backed private companies valued at $1.0B or more has grown from 26 to 140 at the end of 2018. The total valuations of these companies has grown along with the number of firms, and reached the highest aggregate value on record at the end of the year, at more than $526B. Companies on this list are now common to most of us, including Uber, WeWork, AirBnB, SpaceX, Stripe and others. While individual valuations can be ‘fluid’, the top five of these companies each had a value in 2018 of least $20B, and the leader was sitting at $72B. The moral to this part of the story is that for the wise, resourceful and stout-of-heart VC, the rewards can be outstanding, and that keeps inspiring us all.
Which Way to the Exit?
It would not be right to look at the investment market without mentioning the end game — getting the money back out of the investment with (hopefully) a positive return. Data on specific VC returns are often guarded, but the chart on the right gives some insight into the M&A activity in the US over recent years. Importantly, it shows how long investors kept their money in the companies before getting whatever return they did. The number of exits last year did increase, but only by about 14%. And the investment term changed by less than 12 months over the last five years, so this exit strategy remains a fairly consistent one.
In terms of 2019, according to data from Sampford Advisors, the year could end with almost $160B invested in M&A deals, which would be a year-over-year increase of more than 8%. The number of deals is tracking upward as well, toward a total of 1,950, or an increase of 22%. And over the last 12 months, 11% of all the deals have involved Canadian companies.
An amazing $24.3B flowed into 138 deals in February alone, but that total dollar value was elevated by several blockbuster transactions, and those deals inflated the average revenue multiple applied during the month. For example, Ultimate Software Group was acquired by a consortium of buyers for a 9.4x revenue multiple and a $10.7B total deal value. Similarly, Solium Capital was acquired by Morgan Stanley at a multiple of 7.4x revenue, for a total price of more than $768M. Examples such as these pulled the median multiple across all 2019 transactions to date up to 7.0, more than twice what it was in 2018. It remains to be seen if that math will be sustainable through the rest of the year.
As Far as IPOs …
In comparison to an M&A exit, the route to an IPO has been a more volatile one. The number of IPOs for VC-backed firms swung from a five-year high of 106 in 2014 to a low of 49 in 2016, and back up to 87 last year. Over the same timeframe, the average window to exit varied from 6.5 to 7.8 years, but it dropped to 5.2 years in 2018. It seems factors to achieving an IPO, such as funding, product/market fit, sales growth and others, became more favourable for many firms over the last 12 months or so.
The people at the Canadian TSX and TSX-Venture (TSX-V) stock exchanges agree. Their data shows that 2018 was a record-setting year for IPOs in the Canadian technology and innovation sectors. Combining both exchanges, there were a total of 59 new corporate listings filed in the sectors over the 12 month period, and those new listings raised $14.7B CAD in equity capital — an increase of 166% from 2017. As noted earlier, our own portfolio company Martello was among those new 2018 listings.
Based on a combined total of 147 new corporate IPOs, the sectors represented 40% of all that activity. The total equity capital raised on both exchanges for the year ended at $40.8B, so the tech listings captured 36% of that total. And while not broken out independently by sector, the average financing size over the year on the TSX was $64.8M, and on the TSX-V it was $4.0M.
For a side-bar on the reality of competition for investment funds, it is worth noting that a significant amount of activity last year was centered on the new Cannabis industry in Canada. At the end of 2014, there were only six cannabis issuers listed, all on the TSX-V. By the end of 2018, there were 45 listed over the two exchanges, and these companies represented a combined market capitalization of $32B, up 52% from the previous year.
Clearly, investors were faced with new choices for placing their funds. And that is always the case. It will be interesting to see how the trends and investor behaviors shown in this article evolve over the coming months and years, with ever-increasing competition, global economic performances, emerging new technologies and more. 2019 is off to a strong start. We at Wesley Clover are doing our part to ensure it continues …
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Lady Tigers lose second in tournament
By BEAU SAULSSports Writer
Feb 24, 2012 at 12:01 AM Feb 24, 2012 at 10:17 AM
The Glen Rose Lady Tigers lost to Mart 8-2 in the second game of the Glen Rose Softball Tournament.
Glen Rose also lost its first game to Godley.
The Lady Tigers will play again Friday at 3:30 p.m. and 5:45 p.m. and Saturday at 9 a.m. and 3:35 p.m.
More information will be posted once stats are gathered.
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Sir David Attenborough Predicts the 'Collapse of Civilization'
You're probably used to hearing Sir David Attenborough's sonorous, British voice describe the miracles of pufferfish courtship and blooming stink flowers in nature documentaries like "Planet Earth" and "Blue Planet." But today, the naturalist and filmmaker delivered a far more somber monologue at the United Nations Climate Summit in Katowice, Poland.
"Right now, we're facing a man-made disaster of global scale," Attenborough told delegates from almost 200 nations. "Our greatest threat in thousands of years: climate change. If we don't take action, the collapse of our civilizations and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizon."
Attenborough was chosen to speak at the summit as part of the U.N.'s new "people's seat" initiative, which encouraged citizens of the world to share their personal messages and videos explaining how climate change has already affected their lives. Several of these messages were shared as part of Attenborough's speech today; they included footage of people standing in front of the ashen remains of their homes, which had been incinerated by wildfires.
"The world's people have spoken," Attenborough said. "Their message is clear. Time is running out. They want you, the decision-makers, to act now."
This meeting of the U.N. was convened so that leaders of the world could negotiate ways to turn their pledges made at the 2015 Paris climate accord into a reality. Per the Paris accord, 184 countries agreed to implement emissions-reduction policies to help limit global warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels over the next century. Most of the world's nations are not on track to meet this goal; in fact, a global temperature rise of 4 degrees C (7.2 degrees F) seems far more likely right now.
According to a recent U.N. climate report, even limiting warming to 1.5 degrees C (2.7 degrees F) this century could result in serious consequences for the planet's cities and ecosystems. Those effects include increased flooding and severe weather around the world, the destruction of up to 90 percent of the ocean's coral reefs, mass animal extinctions, and food shortages brought on by regular droughts. A recent U.S. climate assessment, released quietly over Thanksgiving weekend by President Donald Trump's White House, affirmed these findings and the impending danger of climate change.
"Leaders of the world, you must lead," Attenborough concluded. "The continuation of our civilizations and the natural world upon which we depend is in your hands."
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Home Headlines ‘Total con job’: Olympics yet to win over residents of host city
‘Total con job’: Olympics yet to win over residents of host city
Even with the biggest sporting event in the world now in the starting blocks, the response to the Olympics from many in Rio de Janeiro is anger and frustration.
At an impoverished neighbourhood not far from the city’s new Olympic Park, raw sewage floats down a stream behind dilapidated housing teeming with children playing by the water, oblivious to the health threat it represents.
“It’s a total con job,” said Mateus Braga, a local resident.
The Olympics, he said, “are so foreigners can come here and enjoy it all, while Brazilians bear the consequence of the government not spending on education, health care or sanitation.”
Somewhere between $10 billion and $12 billion has been spent on the Games in Brazil, but critics say that money should have been spent elsewhere.
A demonstrator depicting a banker, holding a replica of a fire extinguisher for putting out the flame of an imitation Olympic torch, takes part in a protest Friday against Rio’s Olympics at Copacabana beach. (Associated Press)
In a recent interview with Time, Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes pointed to the construction of several major transport links and the redevelopment of the city’s rundown port as Olympic successes. The Games have not drained the public’s coffers, he told The Associated Press in June, but have instead helped boost investment in Rio.
He did add: “The Olympics were never a panacea for the city of Rio.”
Yet opposition to the Olympics remains so fierce, police were called into action when demonstrators tried to disrupt the torch relay.
Journalist and author Juliana Barbassa isn’t surprised at the public fury.
She’s written extensively about Brazil’s poverty and corruption in the shadow of the Games.
Games sold as ‘a giant urban renewal tool’
“The Olympics were pitched to the people of Rio, sold to the people of Rio, as a giant urban renewal tool, a way to revamp the city,” she said.
“And what we got was a mega world party that cost a whole lot more than just doing those changes on their own.”
Barbassa noted the many thousands of Brazilians displaced by the Games, and two years earlier, by the World Cup of soccer.
Even in the days before the Games opened, demolition crews were knocking down more housing to clear ground near the Olympic Village. Many of the displaced people have been given new housing elsewhere, but few seem happy about it.
A series of new condominium-style buildings will house athletes from around the world this month, but instead of being offered afterward as much-needed housing for the poor, they’re in line to be sold to Rio’s wealthy.
The new Olympic Golf Course in Rio de Janeiro sparked controversy, with some arguing Games organizers should have simply improved an existing course. (Felipe Dana/Associated Press)
Even the new Olympic golf course continues to irk many. A sport played by almost no one in Brazil, golf is seen by many as a game strictly for the elite.
When plans for the golf course were announced, many denounced it for encroaching on a nature preserve, and the proposed site was slammed as an environmental crime.
Critics pushed for organizers to use one of Rio’s two existing golf courses that could be improved to Olympic quality at a lower cost and without harming sensitive areas, but that proposal was denied.
In March, Paes defended the course, saying, “Does this look like an environmental crime?” as he guided reporters on a tour.
An existing course was flanked by a slum and a river of raw sewage. The Olympic course is in an area some call Rio’s Miami Beach.
“I think the Olympics [have] made Rio a more unequal city, a more unjust city,” said Barbassa.
“That’s the legacy for the people of Rio.”
Will Rio’s Olympic legacy be worth the expense?3:17
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Home /News/Miyagi, Japan: how to get there
Features1st May 2019
Miyagi, Japan: how to get there
Only 90 minutes north of Tokyo, yet worlds apart, a trip to Miyagi Prefecture in the heart of Japan’s Tohoku region treats visitors to stunning mountain scenery, rugged coastline, healing waters and much more.
In winter, go for the ski slopes of Mount Zao. In summer, escape the heat and humidity that hits Tokyo with a hike along the breezy Michinoku coastal trail or a boat trip around the picturesque islets of Matsushima Bay. At any time of year, the hot springs and inns of Naruko and Akiu afford the opportunity to immerse yourself in the most calming of Japanese traditions. And year-round, Miyagi’s regional flavours – as found in Ishinomaki yakisoba noodles and fresh seafood such as the oysters from Matsushima – make it a great destination for foodies.
READ MORE: 24 hours in Sendai
READ MORE: Where to find wellness in Miyagi
While a large part of Miyagi’s appeal is its nature and the slower way of life, unwinding isn’t the only reason to visit. Home to just over one million people, the capital Sendai is a vibrant regional city that’s always good for a night out and is a great base for exploring the region. It hosts plenty of major annual events, too, such as the Aoba festival in May, when 2,000 dancers perform traditional sparrow dances in the streets, and the Tanabata festival in August, when the legend of two star-crossed lovers is celebrated with fireworks and festivities.
Sendai is 90 minutes from Tokyo on the bullet train, with trains leaving at least four or five times an hour and costing between ¥10,890 and ¥11,200 (about £75) one-way. Low-cost long-distance buses also make the journey in about five hours, although one of the most economical ways to get around Miyagi is with the JR East Pass. Available only to non-Japanese visiting the country for fewer than 90 days, it can be bought at multiple locations for ¥20,000 (£136), including at Narita Airport, and allows unlimited rides for a 14-day period on all JR East lines – bullet train included – covering all of Miyagi and the wider Tohoku area. Rob Goss
The ABTA Magazine Guide to Miyagi
The ABTA Magazine Guide to Miyagi is produced in association with the Visit Miyagi. Discover a Land of Contrasts in Japan’s diverse Tohoku region. From wellness to adventure, learn about the best that Miyagi has to offer.
TAGS: The ABTA Magazine Guide to Miyagi
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England's Dreaming
England's Dreaming (1991) is a book by Jon Savage published by Faber and Faber in 1991. Itwas lauded as the definitive history of punk music, and remains the single most comprehensive analysis of the phenomenon. It was used as the basis for a television programme, "Punk and the Pistols", shown on BBC2 in 1995, and an updated edition in 2001 featured a new introduction which made mention of the Pistols' 1996 reunion and the release of the 2000 Pistols documentary film, The Filth and The Fury.
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "England's Dreaming" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on original research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
Retrieved from "http://artandpopularculture.com/England%27s_Dreaming"
This page was last modified 21:00, 2 June 2019.
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‘I Hate Vacations’
A conversation with Paul Theroux.
Paul Theroux may be the most accomplished travel writer alive. Beginning with The Great Railway Bazaar, published in 1975, Theroux has taken readers on train trips across Asia (multiple times); on a kayak around the South Pacific; along the British coast by rail; on a tour of the Mediterranean; down the length of Africa; and to Afghanistan, Argentina, Vietnam, India, Hawaii, Maine, and many other places besides. In his new book, The Last Train to Zona Verde, Theroux returns to Africa for a farewell voyage 50 years after his first stay there, traveling 2,500 miles up the continent, from Cape Town to Angola. Andrew McCarthy, the author of The Longest Way Home, is a travel writer in the Therouvian mold. (He is also an actor and a director who has appeared in dozens of films.) Recently, Theroux and McCarthy sat down at the Jefferson Hotel in Washington, D.C., and talked about travel, writing, acting, bad reviews, and the trouble with nostalgia. This is an edited transcript of their conversation.
Andrew McCarthy: The first book of yours I read was The Old Patagonian Express. It opened my eyes to a way of traveling I hadn’t conceived of—the idea to go alone, go far, get out of touch, open your eyes, ask questions. It had a profound effect on me and began my own traveling life. So I owe you a debt.
Paul Theroux: That’s nice of you to say. A reader does have a debt to the writer, and in a quiet way, you’re influenced. Henry Miller, Jack Kerouac, Albert Camus, Graham Greene—they influenced my life to a profound extent.
AM: Let’s talk about your new book. Early on, you say: “The window of Africa, like the window on a train rushing through the night, is a distorting mirror that partly reflects the viewer’s own face.” That to me is something the traveler is always wrangling with. What’s real versus what do I want this place to be? In this book you seem very invested in trying to capture the difference. I need to see the truth, you seem to say. I need to see clearly.
PT: I think because I’m older, I felt on the trip that I wasn’t going to do much more of this. The 10-hour bus trip to nowhere. One horrible city after another. I felt as if I wanted to get it right, because this is in the nature of a farewell. I’d also say, this idea of looking out the window and seeing your own face as well as something out there—that’s not an experience you have when traveling in other places.
AM: You’ve had quite a personal investment in Africa.
PT: I’ve been going for 50 years. In ’63 I was a teacher in southern Malawi—before it was Malawi. So 50 years of, to use your term, investment. Investing hope, interest, money, time, effort. And I’m thinking, I really want to know what’s happened.
Travel magazines are just one cupcake after another. They’re not about travel. The travel magazine is in fact about the opposite of travel. It’s about having a nice time on a honeymoon, or whatever. But that’s the opposite of what I’m doing, and it always has been.
AM: Well, they’re selling vacations, and you’re talking about traveling.
PT: Exactly. I hate vacations. I hate them. I have no fun on them. I get nothing done. People sit and relax, but I don’t want to relax. I want to see something.Sit down and have a massage, have a spa, have a cupcake—I go nuts. If I want to relax, I go home.
AM: You once said, “Nothing happens until you leave home.”
PT: I was raised in a large family. The first reason for my travel was to get away from my family. I knew that I wanted to be a writer, but I didn’t want people to ask me questions about it. What are you going to write? Where are you going to publish? Who’s going to read it? How are you going to make a living? Those tough questions that you don’t have the answer to when you’re 22. I joined the Peace Corps to get away—also to do something useful, because I would’ve been drafted and gone to Vietnam.
AM: That reminds me of my own experience when I discovered acting. It was so important to me, I didn’t tell a soul for a long time.
PT: I think it would be harder to tell someone you’re going to be an actor than a writer.
AM: My father said, “No son of mine is going to be a fucking thespian.”
PT: That’s straight out of Eugene O’Neill! My nephew Justin is an actor, and he didn’t get a lot of encouragement. Everyone needs encouragement. I think you need someone to say, at some stage, particularly someone not in your family, “I read you” or “I saw you onstage”—whatever it is. “Good going. You’ve got it.”
AM: Who did that for you?
PT: V. S. Naipaul. He said, “You’ll be fine.”
AM: That’s enough.
PT: Yeah. He used to say, “I hope you don’t make a lot of money before you’re 40. You’re going to be fine, Paul. I worry about myself. I have no audience.” But he said, “You’re going to be fine.” And actually, hearing it from him, someone I respected as a writer, and a very prickly guy, very sparing with praise, meant a lot.
AM: Have your reasons for traveling changed?
PT: I probably have totally different reasons now. I’m happily married, I have grandchildren I like visiting. Why would I want to be away? Well, one reason is curiosity about places I haven’t been. The other is to see how places have changed, because when you see how a place has changed, you understand how the world is changing.
AM: Also how you’ve changed.
PT: Absolutely. It’s finding the changes in yourself. You’re also testing yourself. It’s going away to find out who you are, what your place is in the world. I’ll give an example. When I wrote The Happy Isles of Oceania, I was staying in a hotel in Sydney. Every day I used to take the bus to Bondi Beach. I didn’t know exactly what I was going to write until I got there. You need to get to a place to discover that thing you’re looking for.
AM: I’d just gone through a breakup when I read The Happy Isles of Oceania. I thought it was really about your divorce, and then finding love.
PT: It is, very much. It’s getting yourself back together after a breakup. And about being independent. The Happy Isles of Oceania got pretty bad reviews. People say, “Oh, are you affected by bad reviews?” Initially you are. Iris Murdoch once said, “A bad review is even less important than whether it is raining in Patagonia.”
AM: You in essence reinvented the travel genre. But what’s interesting to me is that you disclose a great deal, yet you reveal very little. I’ve discovered more about you personally from your novels than from your travel books.
PT: Earlier in my life, I never wrote about myself in an intimate way. I can’t remember who said it—it might have been W. H. Auden—that when you only write about yourself, you’re spending your capital. In a way, that’s true. I have a big David Copperfield in me, which I’ll write someday.
AM: In Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman talks about feeling “kind of temporary about myself.” I read that when I was 20, and I’m still haunted by it.
PT: There’s also a Russian expression that my son passed on to me, the idea of being superfluous. Not temporary, but the “superfluous man.” It’s a 19th-century concept that you don’t really matter. You’re just drifting, like a ghost figure.
AM: You feel that way when you travel?
PT: I feel that way when I’m not writing. When I’m traveling, I feel small. You see how big the world is, how small you are, how you don’t really matter, how you can’t effect much change, you can’t bring something back. When I finish a book or I’m between things, I’m sitting around thinking, I feel superfluous. If I don’t have something that I’m writing, something to think about, something to direct my attention, then, yeah, I feel temporary and superfluous.
AM: You don’t seem to be a nostalgic person; you certainly don’t treat Africa nostalgically in The Last Train to Zona Verde.
PT: It’s fatal to be nostalgic. But you live longer, you get curious, you say, “Okay, I think I’ll go back and look.” I can go back to Africa, to my school that I taught in 50 years ago. The school and the bush in Malawi keep changing. It’s a long trajectory. There’s a reason to travel, to verify which way the world is going.
AM: You have a line in the book: “My only boast in travel is my effort.”
PT: I’m glad you remember that, because you can’t boast about really anything else. At least I can say “I put in an effort and I tried to see it.” To see things as they are makes you free—to see things as they are, not nostalgically, not as you wish they were. Just to see them.
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What Is the Value of Google Drive?
by Susan Gunelius | May 3, 2012 | Blog Post, Commentary | 0 comments
Last week, the web was buzzing with news about Google Drive, the new tool from Google that is being positioned as the alternative to Dropbox, Box, SugarSync, and other cloud storage systems. However, not everyone was impressed by the Google Drive announcement and a question began brewing: “What is the value of Google Drive?”
Newstex Authoritative Content Publisher Shelly Palmer points out that, “Google Drive is so integrated with Google Apps for Business, Google Docs and Google that it is destined to become the seminal point of ‘the’ paradigm shift to business in the cloud. Or, as I like to think of it, business with a single point of failure.”
In other words, in Google’s quest to make people Google-dependent, there is an added element of risk that most people won’t even realize they’re taking. Shelly explains:
“I consider Information ‘the’ currency of the Information Age. And right now, my business information is in my version of an Information Hedge Fund. I’ve got information, the currency of my business, stored in all kinds of places – some safer than others. So, what would possess me to put all of my InfoCurrency in one place? What is the upside? There is none. It is a remarkably stupid idea.
“Single threading your business through a single point of failure is like putting all of your money in one pretty good investment and hoping for the best. You could make a profit, but if anything goes wrong, you lose. Of course the things that can go wrong are completely out of your control, just like financial investments – you have no say over new regulations, lawsuits, market conditions, you’re just hoping that your investment advisor picked the right investments.” — Shelly Palmer, ShellyPalmer.com
While Shelly warns against relying on a single-point of failure to store and protect your information currency, Newstex Vice President of Technology Chris Moyer adds another layer of consideration — added value. He explains:
“Google Drive doesn’t actually add any value to the existing Google App ecosystem. It tries to act like Dropbox, synchronizing ‘files’ to your system, but anything created with Google Documents can’t be edited with a local editor. For example, if you make a spreadsheet with Google Docs, you can’t then open that spreadsheet in Excel or Numbers. When you try to edit it, it takes you directly to the web site to edit it. The real question is, what is Google Drive adding that the Web view doesn’t already have?
“To Shelly Palmer’s point, this means that Google Apps really becomes a single point-of-failure. Even though we all have documents ‘synchronized’ on our local systems, if they’re Google Docs, we can’t actually do anything with them if we’re not able to contact Google Apps. Forget if Google were to suddenly die (which is highly unlikely), but what about if you’re just not connected to the internet? What if you’re sitting on a plane and want to tackle editing that presentation that you started using Google Presentation, or modify that report you were writing using Google Document?
“The entire advantage of services like Dropbox is that they synchronize files which can just be used by you as you would normally, with your local editor, and they sync back up with the server whenever you do get an internet connection, but they just work even if you don’t. If Dropbox were to go away tomorrow, you’d still have all your files saved on any local computer that you synchronized the files to. With Google, you just end up with these really useless links to web pages to edit and view the documents, not something useful.” — Chris Moyer, Newstex
According to CNET, Google is working on adding more functionality to make Google Drive more competitive with Dropbox and similar services. Already, a tiered pricing structure is offered to give users more storage space (and turn them into paying Google customers — a bold step for Google). Stephen Shankland explains:
“Google is applying its data-extraction technology to whatever you upload to Google Drive for personal searching purposes. Its Google Goggles technology scours images for recognizable text and images — a Coca-Cola logo pops to the front of the search results even though it’s only in a photo, for example, and Google uses optical character recognition (OCR) technology to try to extract text from PDFs.
“Because Google Drive copies file names to your local hard drive, your Windows or Mac machine can find them through search that way, too. However, at this stage, the contents of the files aren’t indexed, though Google is working on that too. Opening one of the files through Windows Explorer or Mac OS X’s Finder takes you to a copy of the file in your browser.
“But just because you see those file names on your hard drive drive, don’t get your hopes up that you won’t always need a network connection. As with Google Docs today, offline access to Google Docs documents is limited to seeing the files but not editing them.” — Steven Shankland, CNET.com
Bottom-line, Google Drive integrates seamlessly with a variety of Google products. For example, you have to pay for additional storage space through Google Wallet, and uploaded content will become searchable (for personal searching purposes — so far) making Google+ and Google Social Search integration an expected future enhancement. However, Google Drive should be used with caution because it comes with risks. If information and content are your livelihood, you can’t afford to take risks with a single point of failure.
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Photo credit: Special to ACRE
CRE market strong in first half, expected to remain steady in final two quarters
Bryan Davis July 17, 2017
Topics: Commercial Real Estate, Retail
Markets: Athens (Limestone County), Birmingham Metro, Huntsville-Madison County, Montgomery Area
Activity flow for commercial real estate deals has been steady throughout 2017 after a fast start in the first quarter, one Alabama CRE veteran said.
“It’s never slowed up the last two years,” Douglas McCullough, vice president brokerage at Huntsville’s NAI Chase Commercial office said of the activity he’s seen across the board. “It just seems to keep building momentum. I don’t have enough time in the day to do what needs to be done.”
McCullough said while activity has been high, the number of deals getting done has lagged.
“The cash flow – the deals coming out of the pipeline – has slowed a little bit, but it always seems to come in bunches,” he said.
McCullough said he expects 2017 to at least equal 2016.
“I see things on the horizon being about like they are right now,” McCullough said. “(I see it as) pretty steady, a lot of business activity going on and a lot of deals going on.”
As technology continues to change the real estate industry, McCullough said the real estate professionals who will benefit from this uptick in 2017 and beyond will have to offer more than their competitors when it comes to service and value.
“Those are the people who seem to continue to win the business in a good and a tight market, even more so now,” McCullough said. “I think that gives, whoever is willing to do that, a significant competitive edge.”
Right now, McCullough said he has seen the biggest uptick in the retail market, particularly in one Huntsville development, MidCity, where he has three unique deals going right now.
“I’m seeing an enormous uptick in retail activity,” he said. “We’re doing three pretty significant deals in Mid\City up in the Madison Square Mall. One of them is going to be a game-changer for North Alabama. We’ve brought High Point Climate in from Chattanooga, and it will have a world class rock climbing facility that will probably be known around the country if not around (the region). It will be a significant addition right beside Topgolf.”
McCullough said NAI is also working on two authentic restaurant concepts that will be new to Alabama.
“We’ve been blessed to have some pretty good retail activity,” McCullough said, noting that he is also doing deals throughout the state and outside of Alabama.
There is one automotive retailer McCullough said is expanding in Montgomery, Birmingham and Huntsville.
“We’re representing some regional retailers,” McCullough said. “We’re putting them down in Montgomery. We have several locations down in Birmingham, and we’re looking for another one in Huntsville, so it’s not just the Huntsville market…I’ve got listings all over the state, and some outside of the state, and I’m seeing that kind of activity there as well.
McCullough said he expects to see more challenges for existing retail, particularly large shopping malls, as e-commerce continues to grow at a fast pace.
“We’ve tremendously overbuilt the malls and the retail spaces to the point to where it’s flooded, and now you bring this e-commerce business to the table and what’s there is half of what’s needed,” he said. “I think you’re going to see a lot of repurposing, like what you see at MidCity, where the whole retail picture is going to change dramatically.”
McCullough said retail is not the only sector seeing reductions in space utilized by companies. He recently relocated an industrial company from a 30,000-square-foot facility because most of the operation is now automated with robots, which has eliminated the need for many of the company’s employees.
“They doing it in half the space,” he said. “Even in the industrial world, the efficiencies and the artificial intelligence (is changing it).
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Time to regulate Silicon Valley
By Adriana CohenDecember 20, 2018First Amendment
Turns out Silicon Valley’s censorship of conservative voices is just the tip of the iceberg.
Now we learn that Facebook allowed third parties such as Spotify, Netflix, Microsoft’s Bing, Amazon and hundreds of other companies to access consumers’ personal data — even the ability to view your private messages.
An appalling breach of trust to say the least. It’s no wonder Facebook’s stock is down 20 percent this year.
On Tuesday, The New York Times reported, “Facebook also allowed Spotify, Netflix and the Royal Bank of Canada to read, write and delete users’ private messages, and to see all participants on a thread — privileges that appeared to go beyond what the companies needed to integrate Facebook into their systems, the records show.”
Additionally Facebook allowed some of its partners access to your friend list, contact information and other sensitive data unbeknownst to consumers. “In all, the deals described in the documents benefited more than 150 companies — most of them tech businesses, including online retailers and entertainment sites, but also automakers and media organizations,” The New York Times reported. “Their applications sought the data of hundreds of millions of people a month, the records show. The deals, the oldest of which date to 2010, were all active in 2017. Some were still in effect this year.”
Can anyone say regulation?
As a first step, Congress must pass legislation to protect consumers. In a statement to the Herald, U.S. Sen. Ed Markey said, “Voluntary standards are not enough; we need rules on the books that all online companies abide by that protect Americans and ensure accountability.”
Markey, a ranking Democrat on the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, has been on the front lines when it comes to safeguarding privacy. Last April he submitted a privacy bill of rights legislation known as the CONSENT Act that would require the Federal Trade Commission to establish privacy protections for customers of online providers such as Facebook and Google. Markey was also one of the first lawmakers to urge Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to testify before Congress last spring following the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
Seeing the widespread abuses coming out of Silicon Valley, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle must work together to protect our rights. That includes not just privacy rights but also protecting free speech rights being trampled on daily by arrogant tech executives making billions in Palo Alto on the backs of consumers.
censorshipSilicon Valleysocial media
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Type: Posts; User: rzstanley; Keyword(s):
Thread: Marie Antoinette
by rzstanley
Thread: Spider-Man 3
that's just a bunch of clips from spider man 1 &...
that's just a bunch of clips from spider man 1 & 2, stupid.
Thread: Look both ways
the second song is The Sleepy Jackson - Rain...
the second song is The Sleepy Jackson - Rain falls for wind, the first song is The Waifs- Lighthouse.
...no idea on the rest.
The Waifs- "Lighthouse" is the first song in that...
The Waifs- "Lighthouse" is the first song in that trailer.
Thread: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
do you know the title of the song? maybe there's...
do you know the title of the song? maybe there's different versions of the soundtrack.
I don't recognize track 11 as being that same...
I don't recognize track 11 as being that same song though. I know that song is in the movie- but I can't find it in the soundtrack anywhere.
Thread: Casino Royale
whoa I didn't know this was out already-- awesome
That is an awesome soundtrack.
Thread: Down in the Valley
It is-- it's called "Sunshine" by Peter Salette. ...
It is-- it's called "Sunshine" by Peter Salette. There's also a song by Mazzy Star on there.
whoa- it might be part of the soundtrack or...
whoa- it might be part of the soundtrack or something cause it's on the official site-
http://www.downinthevalleyfilm.com/main.htm
Thread: I'm Your Man
anyone know if they're releasing a soundtrack for...
anyone know if they're releasing a soundtrack for this movie?
Thread: Superman Returns
from the original.
The song that plays in trailer #1 is most...
The song that plays in trailer #1 is most definetely from the original Superman score cause I found it-- & in trailer #2 I'm not sure about the first song but the rest of the music is from the...
Thread: Stay
It's "These Eyes" by The Guess Who
come on peoples- doesn't anyone try anymore?
http://www.apple.com/trailers/thinkfilm/do...valle...
http://www.apple.com/trailers/thinkfilm/do...valley/trailer/
the song that plays right after she asks him to go to the beach.
http://www.apple.com/trailers/lions_gate/l...man/medium.html
Does anyone know where I can get that song by U2 that they are playing at the end of the trailer- It's called "Tower of Song", it's by...
PS turn off pop-up blocker
For anyone who's actually seen the trailer to...
For anyone who's actually seen the trailer to this movie--
you can find it here:
http://www.cdview.gr/4dcgi/_w_articles_qsi.../08/2005_131414
what's the name of that first song? (it's a...
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Attorney General Laxalt Announces Nearly $500 Million Reduction in Nevada’s Contingent Litigation Liabilities
Carson City, NV – Today, Attorney General Adam Paul Laxalt announced a more than two-thirds decrease in Nevada’s contingent litigation liabilities over the past three years. Just after AG Laxalt took office as Nevada’s Attorney General, contingent litigation liabilities totaled more than $700 million in December 2015. They have steadily decreased since then, falling to just over $300 million by the end of 2017. As of today, Nevada’s contingent litigation liabilities total approximately $220 million, the lowest contingency amount in more than a decade.
“Today is tax day, a day when citizens make an investment in their government,” said Laxalt. “And with any investment, the taxpayers can and should expect a return on their investment. I am committed to ensuring that this office protects taxpayer dollars entrusted to the State, and uses them wisely. By reorganizing my office in a way that allows for proactive management of complex legal issues, and increased mentoring of our attorneys and training state agency-clients, the Office has contributed to the significant drop in potential legal liabilities—to the tune of almost $500 million in the last few years. I thank the hard working and dedicated public servants in my office for their efforts to increase efficiency and decrease exposure. I also thank the Legislature for sharing my vision and unanimously approving the proposed office reorganization in 2015.”
For state accounting purposes, the Office of the Nevada Attorney General reports contingent litigation liabilities in a confidential document, marked “Attorney Work Product,” to the State Controller every December. Following the report’s submission in 2016, the office reported to the legislative budget committees in March of last year that contingent litigation liabilities fell by 50 percent after the 2015 legislature approved AG Laxalt’s proposed office reorganization. At the time, the office stressed that there are a lot of factors that affect Nevada’s contingent liabilities, but that those factors include proactive litigation management, training and hard-fought victories in court.
Three court cases that significantly reduced the State’s contingent litigation liabilities were recently argued before the Nevada Supreme Court. Southern California Edison v. State Department of Taxation represented the largest financial exposure for the State, involving a refund claim submitted by Southern California Edison for approximately $200 million in use taxes paid on that company’s purchase and consumption of coal at the now-defunct Mojave Generating Station in Laughlin, Nevada. Southern California Edison argued that it was entitled to various tax credits and offsets for taxes paid to Arizona in connection with coal mining operations conducted in Arizona. Additionally, the company argued that it was entitled to the benefit of a statutory exemption which, according to its terms, is applicable only to Nevada-based mining operations. In a unanimous decision dated July 2017, the Nevada Supreme Court adopted the arguments presented by AG Laxalt’s office. On January 16, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the case.
In a similar refund claim filed by Nevada Energy (formerly Sierra Pacific Power Co.), where use tax on coal was also at issue, the Office of the Nevada Attorney General successfully argued against and defeated a refund claim for $53 million. This decision from the Nevada Supreme Court was dated December 2014. On July 11, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the case after reviewing legal briefs from both sides.
In the first quarter of 2018, total contingent litigation liabilities fell even further from $300 million to $220 million. That reduction is due, in part, to the office’s success in K-Kel, Inc. v. State Department of Taxation. In that matter, the Office of the Nevada Attorney General argued against and defeated a claim for $65 million. Several adult entertainment establishments challenged the constitutionality of Nevada’s live entertainment tax, claiming that it infringes upon rights protected by the First Amendment. On March 1, 2018, the Nevada Supreme Court issued its decision adopting the arguments presented by the Office of the Nevada Attorney General.
In addition to the reduction in contingent litigation liabilities, Laxalt previously announced that he closed his office budgets with a significant surplus, reverting nearly $3 million in settlements and appropriations to the general fund. Since January 2015, AG Laxalt has returned approximately $30 million to the general fund, an amount equal to 87% of two full years of general fund salaries and operating expenses that are appropriated to the Office of the Nevada Attorney General by the Legislature. The $30 million dollar reversion is based on a return of $24.8 million settlements and $4.8 million in salary and operating efficiencies. Further, each legislative session, AG Laxalt has proposed efficiency reductions to his budget. Last session, he proposed a 7% reduction to the overall general fund budget. In addition to proposing reductions and successfully reducing his budget each year, AG Laxalt ended each fiscal year with a surplus, saving 15.7% and 17% in fiscal years 2016 and 2017, respectively.
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How Connection Can Transform Your Work
October 31, 2016 / Megan Leatherman
If I could do my last corporate job over again, I would focus so much more on building human connection with the people I worked with. For lots of reasons, at that point in my life I just couldn't connect with folks at a very authentic level - mostly because I didn't know myself anymore.
But if I could go back in time as who I am now, that's what I would do: ditch the pressure to be "professional," show up as my real self, and see people for who they really were. I would be honest with them about how I was doing, I would laugh a lot more, and I would ask the deeper questions that I wanted to speak but kept inside because it felt safer.
Every human being is desperate for connection with other human beings.
In today's disconnected (or "misconnected") world, many of us feel unseen, unheard, and unknown. Without being seen, heard, or known, we feel empty and lost, grasping for a sense of context in which to put ourselves.
For many of us in the United States, we're especially disconnected, because unless we're part of the Native American heritage, this land isn't even where we come from. Sure, you might have been born here, but it wasn't that long ago that your lineage was deeply rooted in another land, a place where your people may have been for centuries, cultivating knowing and community with the Earth and each other.
So here we are, today, on land we don't know, surrounded by strangers, each trying to find our own small tribe in which to make sense of things.
This sense of disconnection follows us and pervades our workplaces, and people are growing weary of it.
Without community elsewhere, many people are looking to their organizations or teams for that sense of camaraderie, understanding, and being seen. It's why things like "culture,""the coaching mindset," and "employee engagement" have become such popular topics.
These days, my work is focused almost entirely on connection, because without it, the people I serve won't feel supported enough to look at the deep, dark questions that brought them to me in the first place.
They won't feel comfortable crying, or yelling, or wrestling with the fact that birthing their gifts and creating a worklife they love is hard fucking work.
So we have to connect.
They have to feel seen, and heard, and understood. They have to see me as human, not as an automaton who just takes notes and repeats their words.
Developing deeper connection was pretty uncomfortable for me in the first few months of my coaching practice. That "be professional" mindset was deeply entrenched within me, and in many ways, it still shows up - but only when I need it to.
As I've relaxed my need to feel like I'm "doing it right" or being "the expert," I've been able to really see my clients in their fullness as complex human beings, and that allows for such deeper work to happen.
Before I start the 12-week process with a client and for each of the women in A Wild New Work, I do something that always feels pretty scary:
I prepare a gift for them.
I'm not sure why I do this, I just really like it, and I think it builds that connection right from the beginning. And it's an intimate gift - I choose aromatherapies and stones that I believe support what they really need at a deep level. I meditate and pull a card for them that has a message on it that is very personal. And I tell them all of this, even though I haven't necessarily met them in person before.
But I do it because I want them to know how strongly I support what they're about to create, even though it makes me feel really vulnerable.
How would things change if instead of getting a company notebook or ID badge when you started a job, you got a gift from your hiring manager that was about you, as a human, and was designed to support you succeeding in the next phase of your journey?
What if you got a long handwritten card with it that explained how grateful they are for your presence there, and how excited they are to see you grow and contribute your unique strengths to their team?
When we connect in a "high touch, low tech" way, which is more and more what people are demanding in today's economy, we transform ourselves and the other person that we're reaching out to.
It shifts things.
It makes them more real, and colorful, and it enables us to do the hard work that we've set out to do.
There are always opportunities for connection, no matter what you do for work. You can get someone a coffee, be honest about how your weekend really was, or be fully present with your co-worker as she tells you her father passed away.
Connecting requires us to be brave, but without it, we're doomed to numbness, loneliness, and a life without much beauty in it.
Choose connection, always.
October 31, 2016 / Megan Leatherman/ 2 Comments
careers, integration, leadership, soul
5 Ways to Be a Grown-Up When Shit ...
You're Making This Harder Than it ...
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Products Showcase /
Pelican-Trimcast™ rifle storage cases refurbished for the ADF
by ANZIDECC Directory on 27/09/2017 2:13 AM
Trimcast, a wholly owned subsidiary of Pelican Products, is a Defence recognised supplier and leader in the design and manufacture of bespoke high-performance protective transport & storage solutions.
Trimcast is currently working with the Australian Defence Force on a unique project to refurbish a range of protective cases for storage and deployment of its new fleet of F90 assault rifles and other weapons.
Trimcast, a Victorian company, has been manufacturing and supplying these specialised weapons cases since 1988 when they were originally designed and developed and introduced into service. Since that time they been used by the ADF for operations in every theatre the ADF has been involved with.
The ADF utilises the cases in both fixed and mobile applications to ensure the safe, secure storage and transport of its M4A5 carbine (used by Special Operations Command) and Steyr family of weapons. The cases are currently mounted into land vehicles, fitted to sea-going vessels, are moved on-bulk for Land Forces deployments, and are also used for general storage requirements.
As part of the unique project, the existing cases in the field will undergo a complete refurbishment and upgrade program at the Pelican-Trimcast™ Advanced Case Solutions facility, to suit the evolved Steyr and further the longevity of these cases. The refurb program will ensure continued maximum protection of the specialised weapons and ancillaries secured within them and also eliminates the requirement of the ADF to purchase an entire fleet of brand new weapons cases.
“Trimcast is proud of its longstanding relationship with the ADF, established over more than 30 years of designing world-class transport and storage solutions for the many and varied requirements of all arms of and groups within the military. This project is a great example of our Australian bespoke design and production capabilities, which will minimize cost to the taxpayer whilst delivering another state-of-the-art solution to the Commonwealth”, says Christian Nyman, Managing Director Pelican Products.
With a large number of the Steyr cases having been in service for over 28 years, many of them have outlasted the weapons stored within them, proving the high level of R&D capability and quality manufacturing in Australia at Pelican’s Trimcast™ facility in Melbourne.
For more information please contact Justin Evans on 0437 097 016 or visit www.pelicanaustralia.com
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With hits for artists like Monica (Before You Walk out of My Life), Toni Braxton (I Love Me Some Him), 2Pac (Do For Love), Craig David with Sting (Rise & Fall), Fantasia (Truth Is), and many more, Carsten Schack, aka Soulshock of Soulpower Productions, is a very busy and in-demand songwriter and record producer. Hailing from Denmark, Soulshock moved to the United States in 1993 to further his music career.
Song productions originate in Studio A, where Soulshock composes the tracks. From there, it moves to the Studio C for tracking vocals and instruments. This work flow allows Soul to continue working on other songs, while tracking happens in Studio C.
For many years now, Studio C was based around a Pro Tools HD system on a G5 running Pro Tools HD8. They wanted to get improved CPU performance in the room, so they purchased a used MacPro, and we sold them a used HD Core card, and did the installation. We also upgraded the Studio C MacPro to Pro Tools HD10, for a more seamless workflow between the two rooms.
With the used MacPro, Pro Tools HD10 and the HD Core installed and running, Steven Anzo, Soulshock’s assistant engineer, has a much snappier system for the tracking room, and the added benefit of both systems running the same version of Pro Tools HD.
http://www.soulpower.net/home
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The Town is a suburban-urban coastal community with highly developed shore areas. It is comprised of the Villages of Bar Harbor, Salisbury Cove, Hulls Cove and Town Hill with total land area embracing 44 square miles and approximately 34 miles of shoreline. Acadia National Park, formed in 1916, primarily by the financial and land contributions of John D. Rockefeller, Jr., encompasses 10,156 acres of the Town or 36% of its total area. It has over 50 miles of carriage paths available for hiking or biking; and the various mountain peaks beckon for hikers to watch Peregin Falcons and Eagles in flight or simply to view the surrounding islands. The shorefront attracts the walkers and the kayakers to engage in seal observations. Bar Harbor serves as the base for exploring the Park and the Town offers the charms of a small fishing village with a wide range of services, including seasonal Island wide free bus service for employees and tourists to easily reach many of the popular spots. Since the fire of 1947, the Town has gradually grown to be a seasonal tourist community as well as a year round home for scientific/education based research institutions and home to many year round residents who wish to experience the vibrant change of the four seasons.
⇐Previous History of the TownNext⇒ Present Day
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by Anthony Melnikoff JP
In November 2018 a conference took place under the auspices of the Barnet Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Forum. The title was Harmful Practices and the emphasis was on harm arising from certain cultural and religious practices. The topic was, by its nature, a highly sensitive one, and focused on three main areas: honour based violence, both physical and non physical; forced marriage; and female genital mutilation (FGM).
Violence of any kind is illegal in the UK, whether honour based or otherwise. Taking this in a wider context, and putting it into a domestic setting, this includes, not only physical abuse, but also psychological, emotional, sexual, and financial, and since 2013 coercive and controlling behaviour has also been included under the definition. Forced marriage has been illegal in the UK since 2014. The number of successful prosecutions under both of the last two headings has been small relative to the number of reported (and alleged non reported) incidents, but at least the offences are now being taken seriously.
The first successful prosecution for FGM took place in February 2019, this despite it having been illegal in the UK, other than for medical reasons, since 1985, the current legislation dating from 2003! There have been three previous prosecutions, but all resulted in acquittal. The offender was a 37 year old woman, the victim her 3 year old daughter. The mother claimed her daughter had “fallen on metal and ripped her private parts” while reaching for a biscuit, and she had “coached” her daughter to repeat this to the police. The prosecution also provided evidence of items being used for witchcraft being found in the mother’s home.
The maximum sentence for this offence is fourteen years imprisonment. At the time of writing the offender is still awaiting sentence. Lynette Woodrow from the CPS said:
“Female genital mutilation has an appalling physical and emotional impact on victims that usually lasts their entire life. We can only imagine how much pain this vulnerable young girl suffered and how terrified she was. A three-year-old has no power to resist or fight back. Her mother then coached her to lie to the police so she wouldn’t get caught but this ultimately failed … We will not hesitate to prosecute those who commit this sickening offence.”
A recent report from the World Health Organisation claims that:
FGM is practised in 30 countries in Africa and some in Asia and the Middle East.
An estimated three million girls and women worldwide are at risk each year.
About 125 million victims estimated to be living with the consequences
It is commonly carried out on young girls, often between infancy and the age of 15
Is often motivated by beliefs about what is considered proper sexual behaviour, to prepare a girl or woman for adulthood and marriage and to ensure “pure femininity”
Dangers include severe bleeding, problems urinating, infections, infertility and increased risk of childbirth complications and newborn deaths
In March 2018 an NHS report estimated that around 137,000 women and girls in the UK are affected by FGM, including 6,000 cases reported in the previous twelve months.
So although the first successful prosecution has now taken place in the UK, there is an enormous amount of work to be done before the practice is eliminated both here and worldwide.
27 March 2019: An important addendum
The Children Act 1989 (Amendment) (Female Genital Mutilation) Act 2019 received Royal Assent on 15 March 2019. It comes into force immediately. The effect of the statute is to amend the Children Act 1989 so that proceedings under Section 5A of, and Schedule 2 to, the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 are family proceedings. One effect of the change is to permit the court to make an interim care order where FGM has taken place.
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You are currently in > Just a blog about Indonesia > New mammal discovered in Indonesia
New mammal discovered in Indonesia
JAKARTA - Researchers from the WWF conservation group may have made an extremely rare discovery of a new species of mammal in the dense forests of central Borneo, the organisation says. The carnivorous mammal, slightly larger than a domestic cat with dark red fur and a long bushy tail, was photographed twice by an automated camera at night in 2003 on the Indonesian side of the island, the WWF said on Tuesday.
Neither Bornean wildlife experts nor locals well acquainted with the area recognised the animal, the group said. The animal, which has very small ears and large hind legs, was spotted in the Kayan Mentarang national park in the mountainous jungles of Kalimantan, where vast tracts of rainforest still remain. "Most were convinced it was a new species of carnivore," WWF said, adding that researchers were hoping to set traps to catch a live specimen. WWF ecologist Stephan Wulffraat said a live capture of the animal was required to confirm it was a new species.
Between cat and fox
An artist's rendering of the Bornean red carnivore
The animal appeared to be a cross "between a cat and a fox" and may live in trees during the day, coming down at night, he said. The group said it was extremely rare these days to discover a new mammal species of this size, particularly a carnivore. If confirmed, it would be the first time in more than a century that a new carnivore has been discovered on the island, which lies between the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
WWF warned that plans to create the world's largest palm oil plantation in Kalimantan, along the border with Malaysia's Sarawak and Sabah states, threatened further new discoveries. The scheme, funded by the China Development Bank, is expected to cover an area of 1.8 million hectares.
Environmental watchdogs have criticised the plan, arguing that the jungle soil in the area is infertile and that the elevation is unsuitable for palm oil. Indonesia is losing at least 2.8 million hectares of its forests every year to illegal logging alone. The Forestry Ministry's director for protected areas, Banjar Laban, said the potential discovery of a new mammal emphasised the urgent need to protect the biodiversity of Borneo's forests.
"If it turns out to be truly a new mammalian species, this should really become a national pride, something that the entire nation should be proud of and work to preserve," he said. In the protected Kayan Mentarang forest, 361 new species - plants, insects, fish and other animals - were discovered between 1994 and 2004, he said. Rapid deforestation has had devastating environmental consequences for Indonesia and the Southeast Asian region, causing floods and landslides and shrouding nearby countries with haze from illegal fires set to clear land.
© Aljazeerah.net
Posted in Environment @ 06 December 2005 12:44 CET by Jeroen · · permalink
AnisJ
Posted @ 06 December 2005 19:02
'As it is red, the 'old elite in Jakarta' probably would tell the Americans they had found some 'communist guerillas' somewhere in the backlands of Kalimantan; then they will provide the TNI with the newest of new equipment in warfare business to cope 'this problem'.
As long as the local people don't burn down the entire forest to find it.
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CAP LAW Solicitors
Professional Negligence Solicitors
Solicitor Negligence
Property Negligence
Litigation Negligence
Under-Settled Personal Injury Claims
Will Drafting or Probate Negligence
Surveyor Negligence
Homebuyers recover £200,000 compensation after negligent inspection
Buying a house can be a stressful experience, even when things don’t go wrong. Spare a thought then for how devasted the new owners of a grand Victorian residence in Hastings must have felt when they found out that the house they had just bought needed to be demolished. Thankfully, their story has a happy ending – an award of compensation of nearly £200,000.
The purchasers were Major Christopher Scott and his wife Elizabeth. Their search for a family home started in 2011 when they were living in New Zealand, where he was stationed with the British Army.
A property located very close to Mr Scott’s parents in Hastings came onto the market in May 2011. They believed it needed a fair amount of renovation and refurbishment and, very sensibly, obtained a RICS Home Buyer Report from a chartered surveyor, who inspected the property in June 2011.
The surveyor identified that there had been extensive structural movement and much of the house was in a defective state. He therefore recommended the Scotts obtain a structural engineering report.
Enter Mr Sheppard, a chartered engineer who qualified in 1958 and who, over the years, had conducted literally thousands of engineering inspections in the Hastings and Eastbourne area.
Mr Sheppard undertook a limited visual inspection in June 2011. He noticed cracks to the superstructure had re-opened after earlier repair; that floors, although not level, were not unsafe; and out-of-square door linings and window frames needed to be reformed. He estimated the cost of remedial works would be in the region of £25,000 plus VAT.
Armed with Mr Sheppard’s report, the Scotts purchased the house in November 2011 after negotiating a sizeable reduction in the asking price to £247,000.
Loft conversion works started in January 2012 but soon came to a halt after a visit by a local council official who had concerns about stability. This led to engineers engaged in the works being brought in, to inspect the house. They unhesitatingly came to the conclusion that demolition was required.
After a second opinion from another firm of civil and structural engineers confirmed the bad news, the house was demolished, leaving the Scotts with the unenviable and stressful task of having to fund and oversee the building of a replacement property.
Concerned that there had been a negligent inspection by Mr Sheppard, the Scotts instructed an independent structural engineer expert, Mr Taylor. He inspected the house before it was demolished and found defects not reported by Mr Sheppard, most significantly walls that were tilting so much so the property should have been classified as being in a dangerous condition.
In the subsequent professional negligence claim against him [Scott & Ors v E.A.R. Sheppard Consulting Civil and Structural Engineers Ltd [2016] EWHC 1949 (TCC) (27 July 2016)], Mr Sheppard denied any wrongdoing. However, the judge who heard the case disagreed with him and found the weight of evidence, and Mr Taylor’s report in particular, led him to conclude that the structural engineer was negligent for not mentioning the tilting walls – which the judge described as severely tilting – and for failing to draw specific attention to the fact that the building may be regarded as in a dangerous condition, and require demolition.
The Scotts were awarded nearly £200,000 in compensation.
If you feel that you have lost out as a result of a negligent inspection and would like advice from a qualified, experienced professional negligence solicitor about your situation, you can contact us now by:
calling 0121 270 5654 or
emailing enquiries@cap-law.co.uk
We offer a wide range of funding options, including conditional fee agreements (also known as ‘no win, no fee’ and ’no win, low fee’), fixed fees, legal expenses insurance, damages based agreements, as well as the standard hourly rate retainer.
Claim against surveyor needs expert evidence
Negligent architect’s plans left house with structural problems
Category:Engineers, Property, Surveyors |
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Read the full reviews here
Architect negligence costs developer millions
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Real-time activity in Frisco
Edsel Little on Flickr
Human tracks everyday activity in Frisco (United States) and 900 other cities worldwide. This is how 0 people with Human in Frisco stay in shape with daily activity like walking, running, cycling, and other exercise.
Today in Frisco
The average activity for people in Frisco local time.
So far, 0 people in Frisco tracked 0 minutes of activity in total today, an average of 0 minutes per user. Yesterday 0 people clocked 0 minutes of total activity in Frisco, an average of 0 minutes per active user.
Frisco vs the world
Compare an average day in Frisco to the average of all other cities on Human.
In the last 14 days 0 people in Frisco tracked 0 minutes of activity. That's 0 days of activity. The daily average for people in Frisco was 0 minutes in the past 14 days.
About Frisco
Frisco is a city in Collin and Denton counties in Texas. It is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is approximately 25 miles (40 km) from both Dallas Love Field and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.
The city population was 116,989 at the 2010 census. The 2018 Census estimate placed the city population at 188,170.
More about Frisco on Wikipedia
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Graveyard Finds Show Claregalway Settlement Was the Start of the Urbanisation of Galway
Posted May 29, 2011 by Denise McNamara, The Connacht Tribune in News.
One of the most significant sites excavated for years in the county has revealed that Claregalway marked the beginning of the urbanisation of Galway.
The archaeological discovery was made during the flood relief works undertaken by the County Council and the Office of Public Works (OPW).
The excavators discovered the remains of 25 bodies—23 full skeletons and two skulls—in a medieval graveyard outside the enclosed grounds of the late 13th century Norman church to the south of the river, some 40 metres adjacent to the Arches Hotel.
In an area north of the river, a dig uncovered 515 artefacts left by people living in shanties between the Abbey and the Castle, which included what is thought to be the original set of keys to Claregalway Castle. For archaeologists, the site represents “a once or twice in a career opportunity”, enthused project archaeologist Martin Jones.
“The scale and size of the site is not unusual, but the intensity of the archaeology and the location is what makes it out of the ordinary and exceptional. Opportunities to excavate sites like this in an urban setting are quite rare—very close to a church, abbey and castle and at a river. While there was nothing hugely wealthy found, it’s the everyday stuff that tells more than a pot of gold.”
It took a team of twenty workers from the Galway City company, Headland Archaeology, to carefully remove the skeletons, which have been preliminarily dated back to 700 years ago. Most are in very good condition. Some of the bodies had been laid on their backs, others laid on their sides.
One person, probably a male, was found lying face down with the arms bound to the back with some sort of metal string.
As well as the large set of keys among the haul of over 500 artefacts, the dig uncovered arrow heads, pottery, bone pins used for darning clothes and holding cloaks in place and coins issued by King Edward l Longshands, who was William Wallace’s greatest adversary.
“Claregalway was founded by the Norman incursion into the west of the country. It is quite modern. It is the beginning of the urbanisation of Galway.”
Overall the dig took nearly three months of field work in very difficult weather conditions. It delayed the installation of the two temporary pontoon bridges which were built to allow Claregalway Bridge to be closed completely while a new flood eye is installed.
However, the excavation was necessary to ensure the preservation of the remains the the artefacts, which would have been destroyed by a road taking up to 25,000 cars a day. It had also been anticipated that skeletal remains may be found in such a sensitive site which would require excavation.
Ross MacLeod of Headland Archaeology explained that it would take at least six months to complete its carbon dating of the finds, analyse soil samples and produce a final report on the site.
It is impossible to identify any of the remains as there were no nameplates uncovered.
“The land owner used the land for cattle. You just don’t know what’s underneath your feet,” he mused. “There’s not an awful lot of medieval cemeteries that have been excavated. It’s a nationally significant monument—to have the quantity of the small finds is very unusual, certainly in Galway.”
Once the analysis is completed, the discoveries are officially the property of the National Museum of Ireland.
It is hoped locals will get a chance to attend a presentation by the archaeologists involved on the dig, including an exhibition of the artefacts. The owner of the refurbished Claregalway Castle, Eamonn O’Donoghue, has already offered the Castle as the location for such an event.
The works on the bridge are expected to prevent the back-up of flood waters by creating greater capacity for the water to flow through in order to prevent a repeat of the devastation in the village and much of the hinterland caused by the floods in late 2009.
The bridge is expected to open in June.
Main commuter route set to close in Claregalway
Preliminary Report from Archaeological Excavations…
Archaeological Excavation at Claregalway
Claregalway bridge flood relief work awaits…
M17 Dig Reveals Finds Dating Back to 3500BC
Claregalway temporary bridges will be ready by March
Tags: Archaeology
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Local Mobile, Local Search
NYTimes Rolling Out Fee Based Program in Canada First
March 17, 2011 Mike Blumenthal 4 Comments
I just received the following email. Under the new plan, my current reading style would cost $35 /mo. That’s not going to happen.
An important announcement from
the publisher of The New York Times
Dear New York Times Reader,
Today marks a significant transition for The New York Times as we introduce digital subscriptions. It’s an important step that we hope you will see as an investment in The Times, one that will strengthen our ability to provide high-quality journalism to readers around the world and on any platform. The change will primarily affect those who are heavy consumers of the content on our Web site and on mobile applications.
This change comes in two stages. Today, we are rolling out digital subscriptions to our readers in Canada, which will enable us to fine-tune the customer experience before our global launch. On March 28, we will begin offering digital subscriptions in the U.S. and the rest of the world.
If you are a home delivery subscriber of The New York Times, you will continue to have full and free access to our news, information, opinion and the rest of our rich offerings on your computer, smartphone and tablet. International Herald Tribune subscribers will also receive free access to NYTimes.com.
If you are not a home delivery subscriber, you will have free access up to a defined reading limit. If you exceed that limit, you will be asked to become a digital subscriber.
This is how it will work, and what it means for you:
On NYTimes.com, you can view 20 articles each month at no charge (including slide shows, videos and other features). After 20 articles, we will ask you to become a digital subscriber, with full access to our site.
On our smartphone and tablet apps, the Top News section will remain free of charge. For access to all other sections within the apps, we will ask you to become a digital subscriber.
The Times is offering three digital subscription packages that allow you to choose from a variety of devices (computer, smartphone, tablet). More information about these plans is available atnytimes.com/access.
Again, all New York Times home delivery subscribers will receive free access to NYTimes.com and to all content on our apps. If you are a home delivery subscriber, go to homedelivery.nytimes.com to sign up for free access.
Readers who come to Times articles through links from search, blogs and social media like Facebook and Twitter will be able to read those articles, even if they have reached their monthly reading limit. For some search engines, users will have a daily limit of free links to Times articles.
The home page at NYTimes.com and all section fronts will remain free to browse for all users at all times.
For more information, go to nytimes.com/digitalfaq.
Thank you for reading The New York Times, in all its forms.
Arthur Sulzberger Jr.
Publisher, The New York Times
Chairman, The New York Times Company
As a loyal reader of NYTimes.com, you will receive a special offer to save on our new digital subscriptions. We will e-mail this special offer starting on March 28, the day we begin charging for unlimited access to our Web site and mobile apps*. We truly value your readership and look forward to bringing you the world’s finest journalism every day.
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Apparently, the subscriptions ($15, 20 or 35/mo) will be sold through iTunes. At least Apple will be getting richer if no one else does as they will get 30% monthly of each subscription they sell.
NYTimes Rolling Out Fee Based Program in Canada First by Mike Blumenthal
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4 thoughts on “NYTimes Rolling Out Fee Based Program in Canada First”
Mark (156 comments) says:
Good luck enforcing this. Pretty easy now days to refresh an IP Address and read away.
Tym Barker (10 comments) says:
Good luck getting statistically significant results. It’s one thing for Nike or Aeropostale, or maybe even the WSJ to experiment in Canada, but the NYTimes doesn’t have any significant following in Canada. Traditional publishers seem to get dumber every day.
Jeffrey Magner (131 comments) says:
Poor Canadian Guinea Pigs. But this will not stick in the US. I’d much rather pay $35/month for Google Customer Service. Hey! That’s an idea!
Yes apparently you can tweet yourself a link and view the twitter links all day long with no limits either see: http://daggle.com/york-times-paywall-fit-2503
@Tym
Yes it would be like rolling it out only in NY State… maybe they have a lack of confidence in the technology?
@Jeffery
There you go….. Google pays all of the reporters, charges $35 a month for original content AND support… oh no…upon reflection the support would be too expensive
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Conyers and Jackson Lee Praise President Obama’s Actions on Solitary Confinement
WASHINGTON - Yesterday, President Obama announced that U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and the Department of Justice, in response to the President’s directive in July, has issued a report concerning the use of solitary confinement in America. The report includes recommended strategies for prisons at the federal, state, and local levels to pursue, safely reduce solitary confinement, and details changes that the federal Bureau of Prisons will undertake. The President also stated that he will adopt the recommendations in the report, and will direct all related federal agencies to review the findings and develop a plan to address their use of solitary confinement.
In response to the announcement, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and House Judiciary Crime Subcommittee Ranking Member Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) released the following statements:
Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
Congressman John Conyers, Jr.: “I applaud the release of the report on solitary confinement by the President, and I am grateful for the thorough work of Attorney General Loretta Lynch in preparing the report and its recommendations. Prisons have long over-relied on solitary confinement, which is often inhumane, ineffective, and financially wasteful. As the report makes clear, we can reduce the use of solitary confinement while maintaining effective prison administration and not jeopardizing safety. I hope states will adopt the changes that the President has directed to take place at the federal level, and I am particularly heartened that federal prisons will no longer place juveniles in solitary confinement, a practice that is harmful and inappropriate. These changes are an important part of reforming our criminal justice system, I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in Congress to pass measures that will make the system both more effective and fair.”
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee: “The President’s action is a major and crucial step that will save lives of young juveniles. Solitary confinement is inhumane and can be especially destructive to children locked up in an already harsh system. Juveniles should be in a system that is rehabilitative, not life ending.
“That is why Ranking Member Conyers and I introduced a package of youth incarceration reform bills, including Kalief’s Law (H.R. 3155), a measure named in honor of a young man who tragically took his own life after spending two years in solitary at Riker’s Island without ever receiving a trial. Among other things, this bill would help avoid the loss of more young lives by banning solitary confinement for those 21 and under.
“The President’s action is important and comes on the heels of the Supreme Court’s much needed action to grant relief to juveniles serving sentences of life without parole. But it is even more important that Congress codify both of these just and humane steps for all young people, not just juveniles. Our children deserve nothing less. I am committed to making this a reality through our bipartisan criminal justice reform initiative, a key component of which will be comprehensive young justice reform legislation.”
U.S. Department of Justice Report and Recommendations Concerning the Use of Restrictive Housing
Labels: child welfare, John Conyers, Judiciary, Justice, Shelia Jackson Lee
CONYERS Greets POTUS in Detroit
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan with U.S. Representative John Conyers as he greets U.S. President Barack Obama as he disembarks Air Force One for the 2016 NAIAS
Labels: Barack Obama, Detroit, John Conyers, Mike Duggan, POTUS
Reps. Conyers and Lofgren Applaud Implementation of the Visa Waiver Program Improvement Act of 2015
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today U.S. Representatives John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee released the following statements after the Departments of Homeland Security and State announced yesterday implementation of the Visa Waiver Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015:
Rep. Conyers: “Requiring all travelers under the Visa Waiver Program to have an unexpired, fraud-resistant e-passport is an important security measure. I also support new requirements for Interpol screening of travelers and reporting on theft of passports. These provisions are included in the new law and will help improve our security here at home.
“I did not support this legislation, however, precisely because it failed to include critical exceptions for humanitarian aid workers and journalists reporting on the war in Syria and the atrocities ISIS is committing in the Middle East. It also codifies provisions that could result in discrimination against people simply because they are dual citizens based on ancestry, which could lead to our Visa Waiver Program partner nations placing new limits on travel by U.S. citizens to their countries.
“I am pleased to see that the Administration is taking a common sense approach to implementation through the exercise of the statutory waiver authority on a case-by-case basis when it is in the law enforcement or national security interest of the United States. I am hopeful that further implementation announcements from the Administration will make clear that the United States will not discriminate against any travelers based solely on ancestry. Doing so would accomplish the national security goals of the new law, while also adhering to the letter and spirit of the statute.”
Rep. Lofgren: “We all agree that the first responsibility of government is to keep the American people safe. That is why I joined in a bipartisan effort to craft compromise legislation that enhances security in the Visa Waiver Program and ensures that any vulnerabilities that could put the American people at risk are addressed.
“Yesterday’s announcement from the Administration recognizes that U.S. national security interests include statutory waivers for those who have spent time in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, or other designated countries to provide medical or humanitarian aid or as journalists or researchers and in the case of Iran for legitimate business travel. This approach to implementation, along with the other provisions in the new law, makes us safer. The bill, as drafted, explicitly permitted the Administration to implement the visa program in this way and Democrats would not have supported the measure without providing the ability of the Administration to implement the program in this sensible way.
“With respect to the legislation’s dual national provisions, we have received assurances from the Departments of Homeland Security and State that the United States will not allow other countries to dictate limitations on travel to the United States based solely on another country’s nationality laws and one’s parentage – or, in turn, have such limitations imposed on Americans traveling abroad. The legislation passed by the House never sanctioned discrimination against Americans based on heritage and I am pleased that the Obama Administration agrees and has made that point abundantly clear for all Americans.”
Background: Under the Act, certain travelers are no longer eligible to travel or be admitted to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program:
· Nationals of VWP countries who have traveled to or been present in Iran, Iraq, Sudan, or Syria on or after March 1, 2011 (with limited exceptions for travel for diplomatic or military purposes in the service of a VWP country); and
· Nationals of VWP countries who are also nationals of Iran, Iraq, Sudan, or Syria.
These individuals will still be able to apply for a visa using the regular immigration process at U.S. embassies or consulates. For those who need a U.S. visa for urgent business, medical, or humanitarian travel to the United States, U.S. embassies and consulates stand ready to process applications on an expedited basis.
Under the new law, the Secretary of Homeland Security may waive these restrictions if he determines that such a waiver is in the law enforcement or national security interests of the United States. Such waivers will be granted only on a case-by-case basis. Categories of travelers who may be eligible for a waiver include:
· Individuals who traveled to Iran, Iraq, Sudan or Syria on behalf of international organizations, regional organizations, and sub-national governments on official duty;
· Individuals who traveled to Iran, Iraq, Sudan or Syria on behalf of a humanitarian NGO on official duty;
· Individuals who traveled to Iran, Iraq, Sudan or Syria as a journalist for reporting purposes;
· Individuals who traveled to Iran for legitimate business-related purposes following the conclusion of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (July 14, 2015); and
· Individuals who have traveled to Iraq for legitimate business-related purposes.
Labels: child welfare, DACA, DAPA, immigration, John Conyers, Zoe Lofgren
Reps. Conyers and Lofgren Applaud U.S. Supreme Court Decision to Review President Obama’s Executive Immigration Actions
WASHINGTON, D.C.– Today U.S. Representatives John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee, released the following statement after the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it will review of the Texas-led challenge (U.S. V. Texas, et al.) to the President's executive immigration actions −Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA) and expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA):
"We are very pleased that the Supreme Court has agreed to hear this case. We are confident the Court will see through the dubious legal and procedural arguments by lower courts and find the President's actions fully comport with U.S. immigration law and the Constitution. Permitting these programs to move forward will provide an important measure of certainty for millions of Americans and their immigrant families."
"DAPA and expanded DACA are common-sense, lawful exercises of executive discretion, just like actions taken by prior presidents of both parties for decades, including Presidents Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush. "
“We are optimistic that the Supreme Court will issue its decision upholding these actions before the current term ends in June. Hard working immigrant families have waited long enough for stability and the opportunity to come out of the shadows. Today’s Supreme Court moved us one step closer to the relief they so desperately need."
DAPA would allow certain immigrant parents of U.S. citizens and permanent residents to register with the government, undergo a background check, and work without fear of deportation. Expanded DACA provides the same protections to those who were brought to the United States as children and are Americans in every way but on paper. Last April, Reps. Lofgren led 184 members of the House of Representatives and 34 Senators on an amicus brief in support of the Supreme Court granting review citing that “the significance of this to Congress’s ability to ensure rational, effective, and efficient enforcement of federal law by executive agencies cannot be overstated.”
SCOTUS Amicus Brief of 181 Members of Congress in Support of Immigration Law for Children and Families
Labels: child welfare, DACA, DAPA, immigration, John Conyers, Judiciary, parental rights, SCOTUS, Zoe Lofgren
In Celebration Of The Legacy Of Coretta Scott King
Today, we celebrate the life of the greatest civil rights leader, the woman whose silent passion
John Conyers, Jr. and Coretta Scott King
enshrined in the annals of history, the right to justice through a peaceful society for every individual.
Coretta Scott King ensured the legacy of her husband was preserved through the collaborative efforts of many, to usher in the legislation, after 17 tenacious years, which is now recognized as Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
She is the inspiration for the blog Conyers in the House.
Labels: civil rights, Coretta Scott King, John Conyers, Martin Luther King
MLK Day: Why on Monday and what was Stevie Wonder's role?
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is observed on the third Monday in January every year, and while many people know the day is in recognition of King's birthday, not many are familiar with how the day became a holiday. Like, why do we celebrate it on a Monday and what was Stevie Wonder's role?
Here’s a rundown of how Martin Luther King, Jr., day came to be a federal holiday:
Plans were underway to designate a national holiday to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. just four days after his assassination. But the holiday didn't become a reality until more than a decade later.
On April 8, 1968, Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., introduced legislation for a federal holiday, according to The King Center.
The next year, Jan. 15, 1969, annual ceremonies commemorating King's birthday were launched by the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Center in Atlanta. They called for nationwide ceremonies and began working to gain support for the holiday.
In the 1970s, support for a national Martin Luther King Jr. holiday grew. Several states, including Illinois, Massachusetts and Connecticut become the first states to enact statewide King holidays, but Congress failed to act on a national level, according to the King Center.
"The campaign to get the holiday started almost immediately after he was killed, and people worked on it for a long time before it happened,” said Michael Honey, professor of humanities at University of Washington, Tacoma. In 1979, President Jimmy Carter called on Congress to vote on the King Holiday Bill. Not everyone was on board and the bill was defeated by five votes in the House in November of 1979.
While the nation recognizes King as an "icon for democracy" today, in the 1960s and 70s he was still a controversial figure, according to Honey, who wrote Going Down Jericho Road: The Memphis Strike, Martin Luther King's Last Campaign.
“This was the first holiday around a national figure who is not a president, and who is African American,” Honey said. “Many in Congress did not want to recognize an African American that was thought of as a troublemaker by some in his day.”
Despite years of setbacks, King’s widow, Coretta King Scott, continued to fight for approval of the holiday and testified before Congress multiple times.
Coretta Scott King, widow of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., embraces singer Stevie Wonder during a celebration on the steps of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., Nov. 3, 1983. (Photo: AP)
So, where does Stevie Wonder come into play?
Following the defeat of the bill, Stevie Wonder released Happy Birthday, in support of enacting a national Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, according to the King Center.
The song became a hit, and in the early 1980s, Wonder worked with Coretta Scott King to gain support for the national holiday, according to the King Center.
In 1982, King and Wonder delivered a petition with 6 million signatures in favor of the holiday to theSpeaker of the House.
So, when did Martin Luther King day become a holiday?
On Nov. 3, 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill marking the third Monday of every January, as Martin Luther King, Jr., day, according to the center. The holiday was to begin in 1986.
In January 1986, the first national Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday was observed. According to the center, by this time 17 states had already enacted state King holidays.
If King's birthday is Jan. 15, why is MLK day always on the third Monday in January?
You can thank the Uniform Monday Holiday Act for that, according to the Department of Labor. The bill was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968, and designated that three federal holidays — Memorial Day, Veterans Day, andWashington's birthday — would fall on Monday, according to the bill. It also recognized Columbus Day as a federal holiday.
The act was meant to "enable families who live some distance apart to spend more time together," and allow federal employees time to travel, Johnson said in a 1968 statement.
So, while King's birthday is Friday, Jan.15, this year, it is celebrated like other floating holidays under the Uniform Monday Holiday Act.
Labels: John Conyers, Martin Luther King
Congressional Black Caucus Letter To POTUS on Flint Water Crisis
CBC Letter to President Obama on Flint Michigan Water Issue by Beverly Tran
Labels: Barack Obama, CBC, Flint, John Conyers, POTUS, water
CONYERS at Gompers Elementary-Middle School along with State Reps. Sherry Gay Dagnogo, Brian Banks, and LaTanya Garrett during the Detroit Public Schools Legislative Tour.
This morning I had the pleasure of meeting and joining students in the classroom at Gompers Elementary-Middle School along with State Reps. Sherry Gay Dagnogo, Brian Banks, and LaTanya Garrett during the Detroit Public Schools Legislative Tour.
Labels: Brian Banks, child welfare, Detroit, DPS, EAA, education, John Conyers, LaTanya Garrett, Michigan, schools, Sherry Gay Dagnogo, technology
CONYERS joins round table discussion with Syrian and Iraqi refugees that have resettled in Southeast Michigan
Today, I joined Department of Homeland SecuritySecretary Jeh Johnson & Rep. Debbie Dingell for a round table discussion with Syrian and Iraqi refugees that have resettled in Southeast Michigan.
Dearborn, Michigan is home to the largest proportion of Arab Americans in the United States. I greatly welcome the opportunity to learn firsthand how we can better address the concerns of newly resettled #refugees. #DHSinDearborn#RefugeesWelcome
Labels: Dearborn, Debbie Dingell, Jeh Johnson, John Conyers, Michigan, Refugees
CONYERS Working For A Better Michigan
University of Michigan Football Coach Jim Harbaugh dropped by Congress for the #LastSOTU with one message — working together for a better #Michigan — with Justin Amash, Jim Harbaugh,Fred Upton and Rep. Debbie Dingell at United States Capitol.
Labels: Debbie Dingell, Fred Upton, Jim Harbaugh, John Conyers, Justin Amash, Michigan
Take Five: Rep. John Conyers
It’s time again for Take Five, when HOH talks with a member of Congress about topics relatively unrelated to legislative work.
This week, the Dean of the House, Rep. John Conyers Jr., D-Mich., who has been attending States of the Union since being elected in 1964, talks about hearing Lyndon B. Johnson speak, Detroit and his long tenure in public office.
Q: Which president do you think gave the best State of the Union speeches?
A: In my first term as a member of Congress, I had the honor of hearing President Lyndon B. Johnson deliver the 1965 State of the Union Address, in which he described his domestic agenda and vision for a “greater society.” The Democratic Party was in the majority at the time and the address was his blueprint for a more progressive America that included topics we still debate in Congress today — such as earning a livable wage, access to affordable health care and federal support for education. Most notably, President Johnson’s address expressly focused on the need to enact a law to prohibit racial discrimination in voting and protect the voting rights of African-Americans. The president’s call for this legislation would later be introduced as the Voting Right Act of 1965, the first major piece of legislation I voted on. Restoring the VRA remains a pivotal focus of my legislative priorities, especially after the Supreme Court gutted critical sections of the bill in 2013.
Q. When it comes to Michigan cars, are you more of a Ford man or a Jeep man?
A: I am a Ford and General Motors man.
Q: What is the best quality of the city of Detroit?
A: Detroit is the epicenter of organized labor, the birthplace of Motown music and where Rosa Parks, a civil rights hero, eventually called home. When you have a truly American city that is full of hardworking and good people, great food, striking architecture and immense hope toward the future — it is hard to narrow down what is the “best” quality of the Motor City.
Q: If someone was traveling to Detroit and wanted a food recommendation, where would you send them?
A: Be sure to grab a bite to eat at Eastern Market. One of the largest farmers’ markets in the country, you can pick up a variety fresh and specialty foods raised by local farmers at affordable prices.
Q: What do you like to read?
A: Both The New Yorker and The Nation.
Labels: Detroit, John Conyers, Michigan, unions, voting rights, VRAA
CONYERS: Share your thoughts on what I should encourage POTUS to focus on in his last year
Prior to tuning into President Barack Obama's final State of the Union address tonight, please join me for a live tele-townhall meeting at 6:30 PM by dialing 1-877-353-4701.
Join the town hall meeting to share your thoughts on what I should encourage President Obama to focus on in his last year that will best help the people of Detroit and Southeast Michigan. #SOTU
2016 State of the Union
Tune in for President Obama's final State of the Union address on January 12, 2016 at 9PM ET
I want to thank from the bottom of my heart the more than 9,000 of my constituents that joined the
tele-townhall tonight to discuss issues impacting our community.
Over President Obama's last year, I will make sure your voice is heard.
If I didn't get to your question, please feel free to contact me at conyers.house.gov and I will make sure you hear from me. #SOTU
Labels: Barack Obama, Detroit, John Conyers, Michigan, POTUS, SOTU
Statement of the Honorable John Conyers, Jr., for the Markup of H.R. 1854, the “Comprehensive Justice and Mental Health Act of 2015"
“H.R. 1854, the ‘Comprehensive Justice and Mental Health Act of 2015,’ reauthorizes funding for and updates the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act of 2004.
“I support this bipartisan bill for several reasons.
“To begin with, the legislation recognizes the fact that approximately 45% of federal inmates, 56% of state inmates, and 64% of jail inmates display symptoms of mental health conditions. Of the approximate 11 million people who cycle through our Nation’s local jails annually, anywhere between 16% to 60% of this population have mental illness treatment needs.
“In addition, studies indicate that mentally-ill prisoners tend to stay in jail longer than those without mental illnesses, return to jail more often, and cost local jurisdictions more money while incarcerated.
“The grants authorized by this legislation pertain to various aspects of the criminal justice spectrum, ranging from pre-booking to transitional programs addressing reentry after a prisoner has served his or her sentence. These grants fund specialized law enforcement-based response programs, mental health courts and other court-based initiatives, jail-based programs, and programs for youth involved in the Juvenile Justice System. Another reason why I support H.R. 1854 is that it expands grants for veterans in the criminal justice system.
“Specifically, the bill would authorize veterans treatment courts and related programs to help those who have served our Nation, but who are arrested and exhibit behavioral or mental health conditions, including substance addiction, post-traumatic stress disorder, and mental health conditions manifesting from traumatic brain injuries.
“Veterans courts help facilitate the diversion of veterans out of the criminal justice system where they can be directed to more appropriate mental health treatment.
“By funding these specialized programs, H.R. 1854 will enhance our criminal justice system’s ability to meaningfully address the unique mental health needs of our veterans.
“Our veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, substance addictions, and other mental health conditions deserve better than being warehoused in our jails and prisons.
“Finally, H.R. 1854 authorizes continued grant funding for the training of law enforcement and correctional personnel to identify and appropriately respond to the mentally ill.
“This saves lives and money. It also supports our long-term goals of criminal justice reform by reducing the number of individuals in jails and prisons and by promoting better relations between law enforcement and the public.
“Law enforcement grant programs fund the development of curricula for police academies and crisis intervention team programs that significantly help to lower the cost of mental health crisis police responses.
“And, grant programs for correctional officers recognize the crucial role officers play in identifying those inmates who are in need of mental health treatment and are at risk for abuse in a custodial setting. Our correctional officers need the appropriate training and tools in order to respond to a mental health crisis, to provide for the safety of the mentally ill, and to deliver appropriate treatment and medications.
“Accordingly, I support H.R. 1854 and urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.”
Labels: health care, John Conyers, Judiciary, juvenile justice, mental health, prisons, veterans
Statement of the Honorable John Conyers, Jr. Full Committee Markup of H.R. 4240, the "No Fly for Foreign Fighters Act”
“H.R. 4240, the ‘No Fly for Foreign Fighters Act,’ is a common sense measure that supports the Terrorist Screening Database maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and, in doing so, will aid in our efforts to combat terrorism and keep our Nation safe.
“Since 2003, the FBI's Terrorist Screening Center helps to identify those individuals known or reasonably suspected of being involved in terrorist activity by integrating information collected from law enforcement, homeland security, and intelligence communities.
“This information is then entered into the Database in order to populate various screening systems used by the U.S. government. The result is a sophisticated watchlist and screening system that has undoubtedly saved lives.
“Despite the diligent work of the Screening Center and the many dedicated individuals who make the screening database possible, this system is not flawless. Past incidents, such as the 2009 Christmas Day attempt attack by the ‘underwear bomber’ on a Northwest Airlines flight, put a spotlight on potential gaps in the system.
“In response, significant improvements have been made to the Database and audits by the Department of Justice Office of Inspector General have revealed movement in the right direction.
“Despite these regular audits, no independent review has been conducted of the changes to the watchlist and screening progress.
“To the extent additional improvements are necessary, or new weaknesses have emerged, such an independent review could serve to make us all safer.
“H.R. 4240 addresses this precise issue by directing the U.S. Government Accountability Office to conduct an independent review of the operation and administration of the Terrorist Screening Database and subsets of the Database.
“This review will assess whether past weaknesses have been eliminated, and the extent to which existing vulnerabilities may be addressed or mitigated through additional changes.
“H.R. 4240 requires the GAO to complete and submit the results of the study to this Committee and our counterpart in the Senate not later than 18 months after the bill's enactment.
“In closing, I commend Subcommittee on Crime, Homeland Security, Terrorism, and Investigations Ranking Member Sheila Jackson Lee for her leadership on this important issue and I am proud to join her and many of my Committee colleagues in co-sponsoring this bipartisan legislation.
“I thank the Chairman for bringing H.R. 4240 before the Committee today and I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting it.”
Labels: DHS, FBI, John Conyers, Judiciary
Statement of the Honorable John Conyers, Jr. Full Committee Markup of H.R. 3406, “the Second Chance Reauthorization Act”
“As a longtime champion of reentry and criminal justice reform, I am encouraged by the Committee’s continued bipartisan progress in moving reform legislation and today’s markup of H.R., 3406, the ‘Second Chance Reauthorization Act.’
“With its enactment under President George W. Bush in 2008, the Second Chance Act was Congress’ first major bipartisan step toward addressing the Nation’s exploding prison population. I applaud Representatives Jim Sensenbrenner and Danny Davis of Illinois for their longtime efforts in supporting Second Chance legislation.
“The United States unfortunately remains the world's leader in incarceration, with 2.2 million people currently serving time in our nation's prisons or jails.
“At current levels of incarceration, more than 630,000 individuals can be expected to return to their communities each year.
“But, sadly, too few who return are adequately prepared for their release or receive the proper support services. Moreover, the vast majority of these individuals are returning to neighborhoods that feature concentrated poverty and lack the necessary resources to support their successful re-entry.
“The decision to rely on incarceration as a key element of public safety policy has transformed American society by removing a disproportionate number of nonviolent minority offenders from their communities and diverting public resources from critical social programs.
“Federal, state and local governments have also been forced to cope with prison overcrowding and are being overwhelmed by the burden of funding a rapidly expanding penal system, to the tune of more than $70 billion every year.
“The Second Chance Act was passed with the intent of encouraging the development of evidence-based re-entry programming to improve outcomes for offenders returning to their families and communities.
“Since 2009, more than 600 Second Chance Act grant awards have been made to government agencies and nonprofit organizations from 49 states for reentry programs serving adults and juveniles.
“As of June 2015, more than 137,000 people returning to their community after incarceration have participated in these programs.
“In my state of Michigan, I have met with grantees and have witnessed the positive impact Second Chance funded programs can have. This fall, I also visited two prisons neighboring my district, where corrections officials all stressed the need for continuing federal support of re-entry programming like the Second Chance Act.
“Based upon the weight of reviews, the Second Chance program must be considered a success story and deserves our support. The data compiled from program grantees has shown that an investment in our returning population lowers recidivism, saves money and reduces crime.
“For this reason, Second Chance reauthorization legislation enjoys broad bipartisan support and is considered a key part of ongoing criminal justice reform. It is also supported by the American Bar Association and more than 650 organizations across the national and political spectrum.
“We are at a moment when we have the opportunity to make real progress on criminal justice reform.
“By de-politicizing the debate on crime and presenting holistic options for community development and crime reduction, we can break the cycle of incarceration that has decimated our communities.
“I thank the Chairman for bringing this important legislation before the Committee today and I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting it.”
Labels: criminal justice, John Conyers, Judiciary, prisons
Conyers and Jackson Lee Praise President Obama’s A...
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Hot Wheels Legends Tour Takes Philly
We took a trip across the country to Philadelphia for the latest stop on this year’s Hot Wheels Legends Tour. For those unfamiliar, the Legends Tour is a series of car shows around the country welcoming the wildest and wackiest rides each city has to offer. A team of judges is tasked with evaluating the cars and picking the one that’s most representative of the Hot Wheels brand. The official criteria are authenticity (does it look like a Hot Wheels car), creativity (is it already a Hot Wheels car), and garage spirit, which ensures that the winner exemplifies that built-not-bought vibe. The winner of each stop on the tour will be invited to the SEMA Show in Las Vegas this November, where one car will be selected to be immortalized in 1:64 scale, die-cast Hot Wheels glory.
We saw some very impressive builds, including a west coast–approved, California-style Ford F100 hot rod and a chopped-up ’57 Chevy that celebrates the era of the tail fin like nothing we’ve ever seen. But the most distinctive, memorable, Hot Wheels–y vehicle on display was undoubtedly a 1968 Toyota Land Cruiser, named “Voodoo Blue” by its owner. It’s slammed to the ground and rides on massive OEM Corvette wheels, but the bit that separates this FJ40 from the competition is under, er, through the hood. The owner, Robert Colfer, had to cut a big square hole in the bonnet to make room for the powerplant: a naturally aspirated BMW V-12. Apparently the judges were impressed, too; “Voodoo Blue” took home the prize meaning Colfer and his one-of-a-kind Land Cruiser are headed to Vegas.
The post Hot Wheels Legends Tour Takes Philly appeared first on MotorTrend.
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Review: The 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Diesel Has a Sweetheart of an Engine →
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Welcome to Crystal…
On February 28th 1953, the four walls of Eagle pub in Cambridge resonated with the words, “we have found the secret of life”. These were the words of James Watson and Francis Crick who happened to discover the blueprint of life which the biotech epoch religiously whispers ‘DNA’. Inspired by this exciting scientific discovery, many scientists embarked upon the journey to unravel the mystery of this double-helix. Crystal, a partnership venture spun out of two brilliant scientists, D. Bharaj and E. Varkey, joining the mission on 12th Dec 2012 aiming at creating a revolution in the field of Education, IT and Consulting. Crystal’s vision is to impart awareness and empower the aspiring minds of the future.
The Directors humbly boast of scientific research publications in IPNC Canada (2010) and IPNC Germany (2012) which led to the birth of Crystal. The advisory members include Research Fellows, Research Assistants and Associate Professors at University of Cambridge, Kingston University London and St. George’s University of London, UK. The Business Gurus include PhD researchers from London School of Economics.
We thrive to inspire all students and clients by understanding their potential and encouraging them to achieve their personal best.
Crystal’s aim is to become an internationally recognised personalized services providing company, expanding global relationships to research and cultural collaborations.
At Crystal we proudly believe, together we can RISE
Respect: We believe it is very important that we respect each other as an individual and as a business. We thrive hard to maintain the standard that is exhibited by us and felt by everyone, before, now and onwards. We adhere to strong commitment to sustainable and responsible business practices.
Integrity: We believe that it is of high significance for us to demonstrate that we behave to the cream level of professionalism to maintain the best of our reputation and integrity of who we are.
Strength from cultural diversity: Crystal envisages in supporting people regardless of age, ability or background in visualizing their goals. We believe that working with people of different backgrounds, cultures and thinking styles helps our people grow into better professionals and leaders.
Enterprise: We believe that our culture of border less symbiosis is a competitive advantage for us, and we go to great measures to nurture it and preserve it. We go to extraordinary measures to support people and that is why we support innovation, creativity and enterprise.
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en .
Centre for Social Anthropology and Computing
Current Core Projects
Legal Innovation in PNG
Adaptive Agency and IK in Central Asia
Data-minding the Planet - iTrade
PolySocial Reality - PoSR
External Core Collaborations
Pilsen Garbage Project
Knowledge Elicitation Tools (KNeTs)
Kinship Algebra Modeller (KAM)
International Collaborative Research
CoSSci Supercomputer Gateway
Human Relations Area Files - eHRAF
Cook Islands Biodiversity & Ethnobiology
Information about CSAC's Recent Grants
Resources for Anthropology and Computing
The Centre for Social Anthropology and Computing (CSAC) aims to advance 'ordinary' anthropology through the exploration, development and application of computational approaches to research problems across the range of anthropology including the humanities, social sciences and sciences. CSAC is presently part of HRAF Advanced Research Centres (hrafARC), affiliated with the Human Relations Area Files, Yale University.
PIs: Melissa Demian, Michael Fischer and Fiona Hukula. Funder:ESRC
Papua New Guinea's system of Village Courts, initiated at the country's independence in 1975, provide a valuable test case in the integration of less formal, local-level adjudication forums within a formal legal structure. The courts were designed to provide rural communities with access to the legal system, and also to provide this access in a form that would suit local sensibilities, for instance by placing less emphasis on a distinction between civil and criminal cases.
That these have adapted to different needs in different parts of this extremely diverse country is an indication that the flexibility of the Village Courts is something to be examined as an indication that Papua New Guinea's legal system is one in which the delivery of justice is not always designed in a top-down fashion from the centre, but can and does develop organically at the grassroots level.
The project will draw on the skills of two anthropologists with longstanding research interests in the operation of Papua New Guinea's legal system, with the assistance of students from the University of Papua New Guinea who will contribute knowledge of local languages (the country boasts some 800 languages) as well as local variations in social organisation and cultural values.
From the reconciliation commissions that have sprung up in the wake of conflicts around the world, to the adoption of restorative justice alternatives in the British criminal justice system, the operation and development of informal courts in one part of the world has profound implications for how courts and other forms of justice delivery can develop elsewhere. [More]
Adaptive Agency and Local Knowledge in Central Asia: environmental (un)sustainability and social (in)stability
PI: David Henig. Funder: Wenner Gren
Proposals in progress: David Henig and Michael Fischer
The research is sited within pastoral Central Asian Pamir mountain societies in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan that have undergone tremendous changes and diversification in the the 20th and 21st centuries in response to socio-economic breakdowns and macro-societal transformations following the collapse of the Soviet Union and, more recently, climatic and environmental changes.
We examine how vulnerable Central Asian pastoral communities are addressing day-to-day and longer term requirements through adaptive agency. The aim of this research is to address the fundamental question of how people employ cultural knowledge in adapting to a changing world, especially through active agency, interventions and inventions, not just passive adaptive responses.We will advance our capacity to describe, conceptualise and understand the limits of adaptive agency where the robustness (cultural continuity) and resilience (cultural change) of cultural knowledge are central to managing the complex interplay of social, material and environmental processes that affect both livelihood and biodiversity.
In addition to more conventional methods, to collect the data required we will employ more novel methods including interactive elicitation of judgements using Knowledge Elicitation Tools (KNeTs), fieldnotes tagged w/Ethnographic Contexts Ontology (ECXO) for use in Semantic Inferencing Fieldnote Tools (SIFT) and hyperlinked georeferenced and geotagged media, including fieldnotes, images, audio and video. [More]
iTrade Wildlife - software to detect illegal wildlife sales
PIs: Dave Roberts and Michael Fischer. Funder: NERC
The illegal wildlife trade is fourth only to narcotics, human and counterfeiting in terms of transnational trafficking, and estimated to be worth $19-26.5billion pa. The UN recognised by consensus that environmental crime as an emerging form of transnational organised crime requiring a greater response by governments. The internet is a growing medium through which wildlife is being bought and sold due to the feeling of anonymity.
At the University of Kent, we have developed software, 'iTrade', that automatically identifies illegally traded items on websites with about 90% accuracy, capable of generating new reports every 10mins. Typically the identification of cybercrime of this form involves law enforcement officers simply going through thousands of web pages by hand. iTrade goes through all these pages automatically, weighting them as more or less likely to be illegal, and presenting the most likely pages in a feed so that officers can quickly click through these to assess investigation potential, saving officers a significant amount of time.
We will develop and deploy services based on present capabilities that supply feeds of webpages rich in illegal entries that can be deployed in a variety of forms, including RSS/Atom web feeds, email, and one or more web or tablet based applications, for use by public bodies with responsibilities to enforce including the National Wildlife Crime Unit of the Police and the UK Border Force, foreign law enforcement agencies, or external private parties who operate on behalf of law enforcement organisations. [More]
Polysocial Reality - Mobile communications and human/machine networks
PIs: Sally Applin and Michael Fischer. Funder: small grants
PolySocial Reality (PoSR) (Applin and Fischer 2011) is a model that describes the condition of information flowing in a system in multiple ways at multiple times and how people, software, and machines act on it (or not). PoSR examines all messages: Human/Human, Human/Machine, Machine/Machine. People and things act on information at the same (synchronous) or different (asynchronous) times. This creates different outcomes such as a lack of understanding, or partial understanding which can lead to more messages needing to be created or messages not being received as well as sociability though mediated devices at the expense of the local locale. These conditions can lead to a lack of cooperation. We are dependent on each other to maintain many complex systems for food, energy, water, etc.. We need to communicate well in order to cooperate and survive. PoSR looks at the aggregate of all of the information in the messaging system, digital and analog.
Formally, PolySocial Reality (PoSR) describes the multiple, sometimes overlapping, network transaction spaces that people traverse synchronously and asynchronously with others to maintain and use social relationships and systems; a conceptual model for the global interaction context within which people experience social interactions whether immediate or mediated by technology. PoSR defines relations across the aggregate of all the experienced ‘locations’ and ‘communications’ of and between all individual people, people/machines and machines/machines (as well as animals/people and animals/machines) in multiple networks and/or locales at the same or different times. PoSR is based upon the core concept that dynamic relational structures emerge from the aggregate of multiplexed asynchronous or synchronous data creations of all individuals within the domain of networked, non-networked, and/or local experiences. [More]
PIs: Daniel Sosna, Pilsen, CZ, and David Henig, CSAC, Kent. Funder: Czech Science Foundation
We are interested in the relationship between humans and their waste. We see great potential in studies of various kinds of waste in its social context to elucidate who we - humans - really are. Humans produce waste through their action. In doing so, they follow unconscious patterns of thinking and doing embedded in habitual practices. They can also improvize and intentionally shape their practices related to rubbish to conceal things that should not bee seen or signal to others ideologies built upon the ideas of reuse and sustainability.
In addition to the enrichment of theoretical perspectives on waste, we attempt to develop efficient and reliable methodological tools for data collection, analysis, and interpretation. Therefore, we attempt to apply various approaches including detailed quantitative and qualitative analyses of garbage, ethnography, questionaire surveys, and spatial analyses to triangulate our findings. Also, we experiment with technological innovations such as direct digitization of textual, visual, and audio data in the field using tablet computers and relational databases, software for qualitative data analysis, and geographic information systems for spatial analysis. More
PIs: Sukaina Bharwani, Stockholm Environment Institute, Michael Fischer, CSAC, Kent. Funder: Stockholm Environment Institute
Knowledge elicitation tools (KnETs) is a set of methods and tools developed by the authors since 2000, the basis of a number of resource management and livelihood research projects of the Stockholm Environment Institute. KnETs includes baseline ethnographic identification of local classifications, interactive scenario based data collection, induction of decision rules though pattern extraction, participatory review of these rules creating an 'expert system', and agent-based models employing these production rules, We describe through brief case studies how KnETs and scenario-based interviewing are used to produce ethnographically sound models relevant to the community while remaining epistemologically compatible with other frameworks. These models provide a much richer and grounded description of the social and cultural components of social-ecological systems, allowing more nuanced analyses and clearer insight into their complexity, as well as a more resilient and robust base for forecasting. . [More]
PIs: Dwight Read, UCLA and Michael Fischer, CSAC, Kent. Funders: ESRC, EPSRC, MRC, NSF
Kinship provides a link between biologically constituted and culturally constituted societies. Although we argue that kinship terminologies may well interface biology and culture, using formal and computational methods we refute the assumption that kinship is based on genealogical definitions of kin terms as the primitives of kinship systems. Rather, genealogical definitions of kin terms are entirely predictable when the kinship terminology is viewed instead as a system of cultural symbols.
Kinship terminologies have an underlying logic that makes it possible for a terminology to be commonly shared among culture bearers despite imperfect learning and imperfect transmission of “kinship knowledge”. Though there has been over a century of intensive study of kinship systems and marriage rules, this work has not adequately addressed the nature and form of the underlying conceptual/cultural constructs that underlie the way cultural kinship constructs the other as having a symbolically defined relationship to self.
The Kinship Algebra Expert System (KAES), helps to demonstrate this. KAES is a computer program that begins with informant information about relationships among kin terms and produces an underlying grammar for the kin terms as a system. We will further present results from a multi-agent simulation models to indicate an account for why kinship terminologies might tend to be describable by algebras, and why the resulting algebras are similar, even for apparently quite different kinship terminologies. We will also present some implications of these results for understanding the origins and propagation of human culture. [More]
The Complex Social Science Supercomputer Gateway has developed a Galaxy gateway site at UCI is connected to Trestles and to a Virtual Machine at UCI with analytic R software. Some fundamental research questions have already been addressed by some of the 30 chapter authors of the Wiley Companion to Cross-Cultural Research and Conference presentations of the core researchers (White, Eff, Dow, Oztan) have spread the word about the new statistical modeling and datasets now widely available through the CoSSci project. In addition to updated analytic software contributions from Fischer's group at CSAC, University of Kent (UK), Co-PI Fischer will provide the resource services framework for people to integrate summaries of ethnographic information relevant to coded data variables and provide modeling examples and discussions of statistical inferences and problems of interpretation and validation. [More]
Kinsources is an open and interactive platform to archive, share, analyze and compare kinship data used in scientific research. Kinsources is not just another genealogy website, but a peer-reviewed repository designed for comparative and collaborative research. The aim of Kinsources is to provide kinship studies with a large and solid empirical base.Kinsources combines the functionality of communal data repository with a toolbox providing researchers with advanced software for analyzing kinship data. Kinsources seeks to understand the interaction between genealogy, terminology and space in the emergence of kinship structures. Hosted by the TGIR HumaNum, the platform ensures both security and free access to the scientific data is validated by the research community.
Started by Mike Fischer of the Center for Social Anthropology and Computing at the University of Kent (CSAC), Kinsources is developed within a research project funded by the French National Research Agency (ANR), involving research institutes University of Nanterre, the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (EHESS) and the Centre National de Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), as well as CSAC at the University of Kent (UKC), the University of California at Irvine (UCI), the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics (MPI) at Nijmegen, Netherlands. [More]
Preserving and Making Data Accessible Digitally
Founded in 1949 at Yale University, the Human Relations Area Files, Inc. (HRAF) is an internationally recognized organization in the field of cultural anthropology. HRAF's mission is to encourage and facilitate the cross-cultural study of human culture, society, and behavior in the past and present. Data collected in the field form the backbone of published research. Data is often lost as scholars retire, become ill, or die. There is an assumption that because data are now “born digital” we have improved the situation. This is not the case.
CSAC researchers, most recently Fischer, Henig, Bagg and Barone, have been working on these issues for almost three decades, beginning with Fischer 's publication online of data and analytic software to work with it in 1986. From 2009 CSAC's Fischer and Barone have been working with HRAF to develop the capacity to preserve, increase reusability of data and to make it publicly available. We are developing a services platform to greatly expand both research functionality and broader access to the vast collection of digital ethnographies available in the HRAF databases, about 1,000,000 pages of ethnography, each annotated by HRAF analysts to greatly increase the capacity to find relevant ethnographic information across a range of cultures. [More]
This is a collaborative project between CSAC, the Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust and community groups on the islands of the Cooks. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust is a government agency responsible for collecting traditional and scientific information on local plants and animals and making this information available to decision makers and the general public. The project aims to support the use of scientific biodiversity data and local ethno-ecological knowledge to improve adaptive strategies for biodiversity management, reporting and monitoring in the Cook Islands in the context of significant demographic and climate change and subsequent ecosystem change. The project has four basic components. Effective contribution in support of the implementation of the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), and the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS), as well as related targets set by countries rich in biodiversity but constrained in resources. [More]
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Meeting the Challenge. Thomas Nelson Community College Educational Foundation, Inc. 1993-1994 Annual Report
The Thomas Nelson Community College
Society of Donors
The Thomas Nelson Community College is
named in honor of Thomas Nelson, Jr., who was
a signer of the Declaration of Independence and
an early colonial governor of the Commonwealth.
Thomas Nelson, Jr., was a merchant in early
Yorktown and served in the Virginia militia during
the Revolutionary War. He was very active in
leading a segment of the Virginia militia during the
siege of Yorktown and the surrender of
Cornwallis. During the siege, the story is that one
of Nelson's men approached him with the
information that Cornwallis had set up
headquarters in the Nelson House. When the
soldier asked what should be done, Nelson is said
to have responded, "Blow the damn thing down."
Today, one of the cannon balls is still lodged in the
wall. Thomas Nelson, Jr., spent his fortune to aid
the revolutionary causes and died a pauper.
Title Meeting the Challenge. Thomas Nelson Community College Educational Foundation, Inc. 1993-1994 Annual Report
Creator Thomas Nelson Community College Educational Foundation
Subject (Local) Thomas Nelson Educational Foundation
Description Annual report of the Thomas Nelson Educational Foundation.
Transcript The Thomas Nelson Community College Educational Foundation Society of Donors The Thomas Nelson Community College is named in honor of Thomas Nelson, Jr., who was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and an early colonial governor of the Commonwealth. Thomas Nelson, Jr., was a merchant in early Yorktown and served in the Virginia militia during the Revolutionary War. He was very active in leading a segment of the Virginia militia during the siege of Yorktown and the surrender of Cornwallis. During the siege, the story is that one of Nelson's men approached him with the information that Cornwallis had set up headquarters in the Nelson House. When the soldier asked what should be done, Nelson is said to have responded, "Blow the damn thing down." Today, one of the cannon balls is still lodged in the wall. Thomas Nelson, Jr., spent his fortune to aid the revolutionary causes and died a pauper.
Meeting the Challenge. Thomas Nelson Community College...
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Category: Featured,News |
Virginia Lawmakers Still at Odds Over In-State Tuition for DACA Students
by LaMont Jones
Officials at some of Virginia’s largest public institutions of higher learning support allowing DACA recipients in the Commonwealth to pay in-state tuition, but recent legislative efforts in the state house and senate have failed to make it to their respective floors for votes.
Legislation sponsored by Sen. Jennifer Boysko, died in committee in late January, and the legislator said she will try again next year. And a bill sponsored by Del. Alfonso Lopez, never made it out of a house appropriations subcommittee around the same time.
Dr. Scott Ralls
Some administrators at public colleges in Virginia have supported the initiatives to make higher education affordable to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival recipients, also known as “Dreamers,” who almost exclusively are lower-income and first-generation Latino students.
“We have noted on the record in the past that we support this type of legislation because we are a college that has a significant number of students who could be impacted by it,” said Dr. Scott Ralls, president of Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA).
Ralls said that NOVA’s board has supported such legislation as far back as 2013. It would significantly lower tuition costs for participants in DACA, a program that President Obama created by executive order in 2012 to protect from deportation children of illegal immigrants. The Trump administration has tried unsuccessfully to end the program, saying it is unconstitutional for immigration law to be created by the executive branch rather than the legislative.
DACA recipients, ineligible for federal financial aid to help pay for school, are in limbo as neither the U.S. House nor the Senate currently has proposed legislation to resolve the issue. The issue was at the center of the recent partial shutdown of the federal government, the longest in U.S. history, as President Trump sought to tie DACA benefits with funding for a wall system on the nation’s southern border.
Last fall, NOVA had approximately 630 DACA students enrolled, Ralls said. NOVA’s current tuition is $10,422 a year for full-time, out-of-state students compared to $5,045 for in-state residents.
The barrier to access rises even higher at costlier institutions such as Virginia Commonwealth University, where out-of-state tuition for the current academic year for full-time students is $32,742 as opposed to $12,094 for in-state residents. And at George Mason University, out-of-state tuition for full-time undergraduates this spring semester is $16,260, more than triple the cost of $4,530 for in-state residents.
George Mason “is completely committed to access” for DACA students and supports in-state tuition for them, said Rose Pascarell, vice president for university life. “”It would be an amazing loss of talent to our state if we were to lose students who were not able to receive in-state tuition and who have lived in Vriginia their entire life.”
NOVA, part of the Virginia Community College System, has consistently supported efforts to provide in-state tuition to DACA recipients, said Lara Wade, NOVA’s director of strategic communications and media relations.
NOVA’s board voted in January 2013 to support a House bill by Del. Tom Rust, that would have made in-state tuition available to DACA students residing in Virginia, legislation also supported by system chancellor Dr. Glenn DuBois, said Wade.
Prepared testimony delivered to the House Education Committee on behalf of NOVA at the time noted that “NOVA is a majority minority institution working to meet the needs of major employers who both welcome a diverse workforce and recognize that their continued growth depends upon the success of students who face significant barriers,” Wade said.
Dr. Toni-Michelle C. Travis
She also pointed out that at NOVA’s Alexandria campus in April 2014, state attorney general Mark Herring delivered an advisory opinion that Virginia DACA recipients could qualify for in-state tuition.
But the issue remains a source of disagreement among lawmakers.
The house education subcommittee voted last month to send the Virginia Dream Act to the full committee. Sponsored by Lopez, it would allow Virginia DACA recipients to get in-state tuition as qualifying refugees and lawful permanent residents known as “green card holders” currently do.
However, when the legislation got to the house appropriations committee, it died in that panel’s subcommittee on higher education.
Boysko’s senate bill was killed in the Committee on Education and Health on a party-line vote of 8-7 when Sen. Amanda Chase – who had supported the legislation weeks earlier – changed her mind as the swing vote, saying Congress should resolve the issue.
“The federal system is broken,” Chase said. “The federal government needs to fix it.”
Undocumented immigrant students are permitted to receive in-state tuition at the state or institutional level in more than 20 states, according to the bipartisan National Conference of State Legislatures. Efforts are underway in some of those states to rescind the policies, while some schools in other states have not granted the benefit in the absence of a state law for fear of being sued.
DACA recipients in Virginia won’t get the benefit of in-state tuition “until there’s a Democratic majority in both houses and a Democratic governor,” predicted Dr. Toni-Michelle C. Travis, a political science professor at George Mason and an expert on race and gender politics, urban issues, U.S. politics and Virginia government.
“This is Virginia, and we have a lot of rural legislators who are not interested in diversity,” Travis said.
Nor are graduates of some of the state’s institutions of higher learning who live in the state, she added.
With many schools setting enrollment caps, some lawmakers seem to think that a spot given to a DACA recipient would be a spot taken away from a “real’” Virginian, Travis said.
“I think some see it as a zero-sum game,” she said. “They see it as, ‘If those DACA people are let in, somebody we think ought to be there is not.’”
LaMont Jones can be reached at ljones@diverseeducationcom. You can follow him on Twitter @DrLaMontJones
Semantic Tags: Alfonso Lopez • Amanda Chase • Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) • Dr. Scott Ralls • Dr. Toni-Michelle C. Travis • George Mason University • In-state tuition • Jennifer Boysko • Mark Herring • Northern Virginia Community College
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Compensation for Workplace Deaths
Employment & Benefits Italy
A recent Supreme Court decision on deaths in the workplace has confirmed the principles that govern the right of a deceased employee's heirs to pursue compensation claims against employers.(1)
In order for a victim's heirs to pursue a physical injury claim on the basis of hereditary rights, a period of time must have elapsed between the accident and the employee's death in order for the injury to be regarded as having damaged the victim's physical integrity. If the victim's death is an immediate consequence of the accident, the damage suffered is not to physical integrity, but to life.(2) In the latter case the victim's heirs have no right to seek compensation for damages because the right to life is protected only as long as the person in question is alive, and actions causing loss of life are punishable under criminal law.
In order for relatives to seek compensation in their own right for physical injury or damage other than to property, they must produce objective evidence confirmed by medical reports. Such a claim cannot be submitted as a generic claim for damages or with a technical report. Compensation may be granted for economic damage if it can be shown that the workplace incident deprived the deceased's family of a regular source of financial support.
Compensation for damage other than to property is always due on the death of a relative. In addition to the seriousness of the injury, proof of entitlement to compensation can be assessed on the basis of the claimant's degree of kinship with the deceased, which is considered in quantifying damages. If the claimants did not live with the deceased, the amount of compensatory damages may be reduced.(3)
For further information on this topic please contact Andrea Stanchi at Stanchi Studio Legale by telephone (+39 02 546 9522) or by fax (+39 02 551 91641) or by email (a.stanchi@stanchilaw.it).
(1) Decision 20188/2008.
(2) See Article 32 of the Constitution.
(3) See Supreme Court Decisions 10823 and 3758/2007.
The materials contained on this website are for general information purposes only and are subject to the disclaimer.
ILO is a premium online legal update service for major companies and law firms worldwide. In-house corporate counsel and other users of legal services, as well as law firm partners, qualify for a free subscription.
Andrea Nicolò Stanchi
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I extend congrats to all of you
Gold Coast Commonwealth Games is over. It is now history.
The nature of elite level and Olympic sport is such that staying in celebratory mode is detrimental to achieving the consistency required and the persistence necessary to build on and learn from victories and defeats.
Gold Coast 2018 saw T&T coming away with three medals—two gold and a silver. A comparison with Glasgow 2014 will look at the fact that T&T mounted the rostrum on eight occasions (three silver and five bronze) with no first place.
For the record, the 1966 Commonwealth Games in Jamaica, is still regarded as T&T’s finest moment in sports on the global multi-sport stage—when we won five medals (2 Gold, 2 Silver and 1 Bronze).
In the 440 yards race, Wendell Mottley won the Gold with Kent Bernard taking the Silver.
In the 100 yards, Edwin Roberts won the Bronze.
In the 220 yards, Edwin Roberts won the Silver Medal.
In the 4 x 440 yards relay, the Trinidad and Tobago team of Lennox Yearwood, Kent Bernard, Edwin Roberts and Wendell Mottley won the Gold Medal breaking the World Record in the process.
It is interesting to note that that record still stands since this was the last international meeting in which the races were run in yards. The switch to metres took place immediately afterwards.
It’s important to appreciate that an essential element of the global sport industry is the emotion that drives the sport industry. Talk shows, pundits, opinions and commentary.
The media has an essential role involving the public, supporters and fans alike. The media drives the entertainment aspect of the industry. Understanding and respecting the role of the media is essential—their job—that they have their objectives and targets to meet. Failure to appreciate that everyone has a role is what causes discomfort.
The public needs to know, the media to deliver news, information and perspective. There is a saying in respect of the media that is said in jest, one would hope, is that the truth must never get in the way of a good story.
The challenge to arrive at a place where trust is established. A trust built on respect for one another. The media has their job to do let them do it. Understanding and respecting that provides clarity of mind.
The line can be crossed but the reality is that it’s important to not take it personal. Taking things personal fuels the drama.
There are many different ways to go about ensuring that sport in T&T can be self reliant and self sufficient. The negativity associated with sport in T&T is not the fault of the media. It’s the fault of sport stakeholders underestimating the role and responsibilities of the media.
Now, it’s not just the traditional media, there is also social media which has its own rules.
In the social media era, what is news and what isn’t news? What is private and what is not private? What is fake news?
Gold Coast 2018, provided a number of talking points, with everyone having a point of view—the choice to be well informed, better informed or fact based is a choice and an opportunity.
Gold Coast 2018 also saw T&T’s Commonwealth Games gold medal haul move from eight to the magic number, ten.
Ten gold medals! Ten or more Olympic Gold medals by 2024, is the goal.
Ten Commonwealth Games gold medals by 2018 has materialised.
Ten! The magic number.
Hazelwood: Netballers fall short
Siparia honours for Morris, Saney
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American Theater Company’s Youth Ensemble Sets Its Sights on “This Beautiful City”
by KC Luce August 18, 2016
Extended Play's KC Luce interviews three students from American Theater Company's Youth Ensemble about its recent production of the Civilian's "This Beautiful City."
Ireon Roach as Fairness Worker in American Theater Company's Youth Ensemble production of "This Beautiful City." Photo Credit: Nemanja Zdravkovic
Extended Play’s KC Luce recently spoke with three members of the American Theater Company’s Youth Ensemble Max Dizon, Ireon Roach and Olivia Shine. They were joined by director Sonny Das. The Youth Ensemble is a two-year training program, founded by former ATC Artistic Director PJ Paparelli, that works with exceptionally talented high school juniors and seniors who have the ambition to pursue theater at a higher level, and each summer the group performs a piece of documentary theater.
This summer the group presented “This Beautiful City,” an investigative theater piece created by the Civilians from their interviews with members of the Colorado Springs community in 2006, around the time that the Evangelical community was thrown into disarray by the very public outing of Ted Haggard, the founding pastor of New Life Fellowship Association. Ten years later, the ATC Youth Ensemble retraced the Civilians footsteps in preparation for their production of “This Beautiful City” to see how the community has changed and remained the same.
KC LUCE: How long have you guys been working on “This Beautiful City?” I know that’s the show you’re doing this summer, but how long have you spent on this process of making this piece?
IREON ROACH: Just about the summer up until this point. Every summer we do a summer show, which is in a documentary theater style, and this summer “This Beautiful City” was the project…So as soon as everyone’s just about out of school, we start meeting five days a week instead of once a week as we would be doing the school year. At first, it was table work and just sort of reading through the script and like dramaturgy. And asking questions. And then we pick a research group, which we went to Colorado Springs, and then we come back and we start the rehearsal process, with getting on our feet and putting it — putting the show together, so it’s been, it’s been a while, it’s been a few weeks.
KC: Great. Very cool. Talk to me a little bit about your trip to Colorado Springs. What was that like?
OLIVIA SHINE: Aaaaamaaaazing! It’s like, it’s beautiful? And that is it. No, for me as a person who lived in the flattest city, I think, ever, I was just, on the surface, blown away by the terrain. By the beautiful, beautiful mountains. It was just amazing to be in that space and to kind of — for a moment I really understood why it was such a religious place? But when it came to talking to people it was absolutely fascinating and really interesting to talk to people that you guys — you the Civilians — have spoken to and turned out mentioning that you guys took an interview. But also interesting to see how the city has changed since the Civilians came and visited — and since they’ve kind of had this scandal broke out — and I think that was overall one of the most interesting parts of the trip was to see how things have adapted and moved and evolved.
MAX DIZON: For me, the experience was…it had a wide range of different emotional reactions. I mean, you know, being awestruck by the mountains because I’ve only been to Colorado once, but I’d never gotten that close to the Rockies when I was back there. And getting to see Colorado Springs at night from a higher elevation. Absolutely stunning. And it’s getting to see like all these different types of people in this community. It’s very refreshing from what I’m used to here in Chicago, and also spiritually a very fascinating atmosphere.
IREON: For me, it was just sort of — everything they said about like just being in this place, but also — and I think that comes with diving into this place specifically — realizing, well understanding, completely understanding that there are other people in the world. And not everyone that I know, that I will encounter, that thinks the things I do and — the whole world is not Chicago, but it’s very easy to feel that way when you live in such a big city and there are so many ideas around you. But just sort of it get out of this headspace and physical space and just be somewhere else and be completely submerged in other people’s experiences and lives and ideas was very interesting and very, I think, jarring at first.
KC: That’s really exciting.
SONNY DAS: Hey KC, if I could follow up for a second?
KC: Yeah, please!
SONNY: Can you guys talk a little about where we visited when we were there? Who we spoke to? And who we spoke to in Colorado Springs, and who we got a chance to speak to here in Chicago?
KC: You’ve actually jumped right to my next questions, so that’s great!
Noel Black, Alt Writer, at his bookstore, Mountain Fold Books in downtown Colorado Springs with members of American Theater Company’s Youth Ensemble, (l-r) Lawren Carter, Michael Sandoval, Matt Gomez Hidaka, Olivia Shine, Noel Black, Max Dizon & Madison Pullman. Photo Credit: Lyla Whedbee
OLIVIA: We met with Noel Black at Mountain (Fold Books) who is a writer who is one of the characters that I’m playing. And that was so interesting. It’s always interesting to meet somebody that you’re gonna be portraying onstage…for a lot of reasons. And that was interesting in the sense that — not that I expected that he would be the way — like not that I like matched right my expectations exactly matched when I met him? But it was pretty similar…it’s so weird, he just said the exact things that he says in monologues that I have to read onstage, which was so fascinating.
KC: Ireon, I have two questions: did your entire group speak to the same people, or did you guys kind of break out and talk to different people? And can you speak to your experience with the research trip and, and the interviews that you guys did?
IREON: So as far as everyone speaking to the same people, I think we tried to do that as much as possible. For the most part, we tried to meet everyone together. We went to New Life (Fellowship Association), we spoke with Pastor Joe and got sort of a tour of New Life. And I think that, for me, was that that — visiting New Life Church and visiting Emmanuel Baptist Church the next morning was very — I don’t want to say interesting, because we create this thing with the word interesting — but it was very — I’m just gonna explain it ’cause I don’t know the word. New Life…so it was pretty empty. Some people were there setting up for the next service and all that. And it did not feel very church-y to me. It felt like a super stadium. Like Beyonce was gonna perform that night or something. It just didn’t feel like a church home in the sense that I’ve experienced church homes, which was this community and emotional bonding. It felt like people come there to listen to a person speak on that huge stage and then they go home. That’s what it felt like. And then Emmanuel Baptist — which I grew up in Baptist churches — felt very much…I would not be surprised if a few of them would live there. Like it felt very homey. Just watching these people that we were speaking to sort of define their spirituality I think was most interesting because I have trouble doing that myself. But watching them sort of find their place in a community that was, until that point, defined by a person, and sort of watching that person fall in whatever sense of the word — and figuring out what that means for you.
American Theater Company’s Youth Ensemble with Pastor Joe Kirkendall at New Life Fellowship Association. (top, l-r) Leah Schiffman, Lawren Carter, Pastor Joe Kirkendall, Latrel Crawford, Leojae Bleu Steward, Matt Gomez Hidaka, Olivia Shine, Michael Sandoval & Max Dizon. (bottom, l-r) Madison Pullman, Jenna Makkawy, Danielle Jean-Baptiste and Ireon Roach. Photo Credit: Lyla Whedbee
MAX: I actually got to meet one of my characters. (he laughs) I got to meet Mikey Weinstein…about two weeks ago. The conversation with him with him was, I think, fantastic. Even though it was it was mostly him just kind of going on multiple different tangents after I would ask, like, a small question. I was kind of getting annoyed because he wouldn’t stop talking…but at the same time, I’m just like, “He’s answering all my questions before I even ask them.” He’s an attorney, so, of course, he’d talk a lot. But talking with Weinstein, that was an amazing experience, to say the least, I, think to see his perspective and why he had such a harsh rhetoric.
KC: How did meeting Mikey Weinstein inform the choices that you made as you were portraying him?
MAX: When I just read through his monologues, I was just thinking he’s — I was thinking that he’s a good demonstration of the horseshoe effect, which means that whether you’re a — consider yourself left-wing or right-wing, no matter what issue you’re talking about…your stances are gonna be different, but your approaches are gonna be the same. And I thought that he would be like a left-wing equivalent of someone like Donald Trump. But when I met him and when I had that discussion with him, he — he wasn’t as harsh as I took him to be when I first read the monologue. There was still that sense…like he had a grudge and there’s still that sense of bitterness against religious conservatives, but he had a very good reason to be so harsh, considering that he was in the military and in that sort of world the only way to have your voice be heard is to scream as loud as possible and hit things.
KC: Ireon and Olivia, did you have the chance to meet any of the people you’re portraying?
OLIVIA: Yeah. I’m playing Alt Writer, so…I met Noel Black —
KC: Right.
OLIVIA: — at his coffee shop, Mountain Fold. And, yes, I think what I mentioned was reading the monologues. You get a certain picture of a person in your head, but it was so funny because I was expecting to be proved wrong by whatever I formulated. But when I met him…it was so cool to talk about — to hear specific lines that are that are in the script and things that I say — and hear him just say those without me prompting them, it was like “Ah! There it is!” When it comes to playing any real person that you meet, there’s all kinds of like challenges when it comes to the fine line of what’s mimicking? What’s not mimicking? And what’s doing justice to this real human being and what isn’t? For me, that was what I was navigating the most after meeting him.
IREON: I didn’t meet specifically meet anyone that I play. I play “the fairness” — like Coloradans for Fairness and Equality, a worker for that like political company?
KC: Sure.
IREON: I play the new pastor at Emmanuel. I got to speak with a few members about sort of the history of that and the member that we spoke to actually was there for Benjamin Reynolds in the transition that the church has gone through, of switching buildings and having a building on the polar opposite side of the city. And also getting the new pastor. Once we got back to Chicago, though, we spoke with Benjamin Reynolds because he’s in Chicago now.
KC: Oh, great.
IREON: And talking to him and sort of comparing and contrasting this retelling the history of Emmanuel, which was very interesting, because upon reading the monologue of the new pastor it seemed like, especially just with the words, you know, “new pastor,” with that term, there’s just this man who is you know, a pastor, a reverend of some sort, who is experienced obviously, and had just come into this church to sort of pick them up and just keep it going. When I found out from Ben that — Cleveland Thompson is his name — he had been sort of conditioned by Benjamin Reynolds, he was Benjamin’s mentee…in a sense that he had known Benjamin way before his announcement. And, I don’t know, it just put more into perspective about the sermon itself and sort of where I felt like this pastor reconciled with and had a conversation with Benjamin. Because he never specifically speaks out against his actions. It’s more of, “Don’t let this distract you no matter what your feelings toward him may be because you are in control of what happens next.” So it’s a more of a pick-me-up than a put Benjamin down. And just knowing that he (Benjamin) grew up in that church and how close he is to the community of that church, which I spoke on before, is very much a community. It is a family. It was hard to believe that they would just remove him and kick him out but — I now had a better understanding of that sermon which was, I can’t, as a pastor, I cannot spew hate at Benjamin Reynolds because he is Benjamin Reynolds. So I can’t spew hate. I do not know how to approach this situation, and I don’t know where my spiritual self and where my personal self — you know, knowing Ben Reynolds — I don’t know where they meet. But I do know that I can control what happens to the church.
KC: I watched your Kickstarter video, and I saw you were asking the question: “What does it mean to be an American?” I was curious, how you think “This Beautiful City” answers that question? Or, at least, speaks to that question.
MAX: I feel like “This Beautiful City” tackles so many different angles of the question because with the concept of “What does it mean to be an American?” so many things can get brought up in that conversation. There’s race, there’s sexuality, there’s gender identity, there’s class, there’s, yeah, there’s religion. There’s all these different things and so a lot of those are involved with “This Beautiful City.” And like it’s also the fact that the political climate that takes place in the show is very relevant to things going on right now. Now that same-sex marriage has been legalized, and the gay rights being very strong. But now there’s this whole fiasco with transgender-inclusive bathrooms and there’s so many — there are a lot of parallels between like the bathroom fiasco and the marriage fiasco in Colorado Springs. That eventually spread throughout the entire world. So “This Beautiful City” is like a taste of how history does tend to repeat itself and how it might be with different issues. But we’re still approaching them the same exact ways as before. And the same exact things are being said in different conversations.
IREON: I think “This Beautiful City” answers the question what it means to be American by just having a — the play is a conversation between, as Max mentioned, so many things that are existing in the world. And what’s cool about it is no matter how frustrating the fight gets in the play or in my mind or in the world outside of the play, it’s really cool that there is this fight and a conversation to be had. That’s liberating to know that we don’t just have to take it. Like one side doesn’t just have to take anything. I think that’s the beautiful part of it, is coming into contact with people who do not think the same way that you do, because if everyone thought the same way that I did that would just be the most boring thing ever. It’s almost impossible, especially today with social media and so many just minds being expanded and lives being broadcast to everyone else. It’s very hard to just sit back and be apathetic and be hands off. Because if you are hands off, you are suspicious first of all, but it’s just very hard to not have an opinion and then voice it. And that’s what it means to be an American. To have your opinion. Voice it. And see what other people have to respond.
KC Luce
@KC8488
KC Luce is an arts administrator and dancer based in New York. She has worked as a fundraiser with the Civilians, Signature Theatre, Roundabout Theatr...
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You are here: Home › Media › Overeem: “I was not sleeping. I was just dazed, and Ben capitalized”
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Overeem: “I was not sleeping. I was just dazed, and Ben capitalized”
September 17, 2014 | Filed under: Media, News, Organizations, UFC and tagged with: alistair overeem, ben rothwell, overeem, ufc
source | MMAFighting.com
“It’s also that when you’re in the flow of winning, you’re in the flow of winning,” he said. “Now there’s definitely been some hardships here. I also have to say in the UFC, there’s no easy fights in the UFC. Everybody’s tough. This was something I said before the fight. Don’t underestimate Ben. This guy’s 280 pounds, he can take a punch and he hits like a truck. It is the UFC, everybody is there to win.”
The 34-year-old Overeem (37-14-1) said he would continue to train at Jackson-Winkeljohn’s in Albuquerque, N.M., ahead of his next fight. Though he opted not to call anybody out, he did say he wanted to compete again before 2014 closes out.
“[I’d like to fight] as soon as possible, because I was not out,” he said. “I was not sleeping. I was just dazed, and Ben capitalized. So I guess if it’s up to me, not too far away.”
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Flavorwire Roundup: The First CDs We Ever Bought
buzz | By Tyler Coates | May 28, 2013
Despite how easy it is to go online and quickly download an entire album in just a few seconds (which we are paying for, of course), there’s nothing particularly special in purchasing music from the ether. Gone are the days of driving to the mall to browse through the racks of CDs at Camelot Music and Sam Goody; no longer can we fill out multiple Columbia House order forms for seemingly free albums. CDs were the last physical music objects, and our first purchases say a lot about us as much and the time in which we grew up. (For the record, I like to tell everyone my first CD was the Reality Bites soundtrack, but it was, regrettably, the revival Broadway cast recording of Grease! featuring Brooke Shields as Rizzo.) I asked a few friends from across the Internet to share their first CD purchases. Click through after the jump, and share your stories in the comments!
My first CD was Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam’s Spanish Fly. Although this contains their biggest hits (“Head to Toe” and “Lost in Emotion” both went to No. 1 on the Hot 100), it does not contain their coolest hits (“I Wonder If I Take You Home” and “Can You Feel the Beat” are harder dance classics; “All Cried Out” is an overflowing well of melodrama, which is not cool but is very impressive). But whatever. I was a pre-gay nine-year-old. I stand by this choice. — Rich Juzwiak, Gawker
I purchased TLC’s CrazySexyCool and The Beatles’ Abbey Road on the same day. I felt very proud of my eclectic taste. — Ann Friedman, writer and editor
Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians: Shooting Rubber Bands at the Stars! Still have the copy too. — Ed Droste, Grizzly Bear (buy their new album, Shields!)
My sister was a member of BMG and Columbia House throughout most of the ’90s. After I was given my first DiscMan, she let me piggyback on one of her big “Pick 12!” (or something) orders — I could choose just one. So I chose the soundtrack to Jurassic Park. — Bobby Finger, writer
My first purchase was No Doubt’s Tragic Kingdom, which I had to buy as a replacement because I’d borrowed it from my friend and lost it or broke it, I can’t quite remember. Sadly, I think my second CD purchase was Now That’s What I Call Music! Vol. 2. — Chiara Atik, author of Modern Dating: A Field Guide
My first CD came with my first CD player, and it was Marky Mark and The Funky Bunch. That was a gift. A few years later, when I bought my own CDs, I purchased Radiohead’s Pablo Honey, but only because it sounded like Nirvana in my head. — Ricky Camilleri, HuffPost Live
My first CD was Pearl Jam’s Ten. Because I wanted to impress a boy who had half his head shaved and the other half really long and wore flannels and waffle-weave thermals and jeans with comically large and deliberate holes. — Emily Gould, Emily Books
Mine was a double purchase of the Wayne’s World soundtrack and Boyz II Men’s CooleyHighHarmony. I’m not sure how I afforded to buy TWO CDs at once; it must have involved birthday money of some type. From the Wayne’s World soundtrack I predictably only listened to “Bohemian Rhapsody” and the Tia Carrere songs. Off the Boyz II Men album I only listened to “Motownphilly” and “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye.” It probably would have been thriftier to buy some combination of cassingles. I have no idea what the third CD I bought was. Oh, wait, it was The Bodyguard soundtrack I bet. Why did I like soundtracks so much? — Bennett Madison, author of September Girls
Ha! Eagle Eye Cherry, Desireless. (“Save Tonight.”) — Edith Zimmerman, The Hairpin
CrazySexyCool. (Obviously.) — Julieanne Smolinski, writer
My first CDs were a bunch of used ones from this store next to the bakery where I worked in high school — I upgraded to a stereo with a CD player and got paid in cash. That store took so much of my money over the years and ruined me forever. They were cutouts, although I didn’t know why the UPC codes had holes punched through them. They included the self-titled album by Enuff Z’Nuff, which still rules, and Electric Boys’ Funk-O-Metal Carpet Ride, which has one FANTASTIC single. — Maura Johnston, Maura Magazine
Remember those old Columbia House offers in the back of Rolling Stone? You could get “19 CDs FOR THE PRICE OF 1” and the thing is, you really could. The only caveat is that they’d keep sending you CDs every month, and it was a pain in the balls to cancel. Not that I ever tried to cancel. I’m pretty sure I did this with three different names and six different mailing clubs, not paying a single one, and as such, The Great CaseLogic Collection of 1995 was born. So, that said: I have no idea what was actually my first CD. It might’ve been a CD single, and a truly bad one, as my first two cassingles I actually do remember (Warren G and Nate Dogg’s “Regulate” and KWS’ “Please Don’t Go”). But I can only assume that the first blank I ever filled out on a Columbia House form was something (A) I heard on the radio, (B) that was also in heavy rotation on MTV, and (C) was something my parents weren’t likely to get me, which eliminates Bush’s Sixteen Stone and possibly Aerosmith’s Get a Grip. I didn’t discover Metallica’s Black Album or Crash Test Dummies’ God Shuffled His Feet until the summer of 1996. So that leaves one of two possibilities: Alanis Morisette’s Jagged Little Pill or Beastie Boys’ Licensed to Ill. I’m pretty sure it was Licensed to Ill, because my friends owned it on tape, I had already overdubbed theirs, and I wanted to listen to “Fight For Your Right To Party” and “Girls” on repeat, as my best friend and I pushed each other off of trampolines and tried not to put too many holes in each others’ parents’ drywall. But one of those other 18 boxes was definitely Alanis. — Foster Kamer, Complex
My first CD was Spice Girls’ Spice. Don’t judge. I was 13. — Jessica Wakeman, The Frisky
I was 13 years old, and I figured that the perfect time to get into the indie/folky/pop-crossover-y charms of the 10,000 Maniacs was at the exact instant that Natalie Merchant was leaving the band. Whatever, MTV Unplugged was everything to me and in many ways still is. That seamless run from “Because the Night” (which I still prefer to Patti Smith’s version) through “Stockton Gala Days” is all I need. — Joe Reid, writer
Talking Heads’ Little Creatures, which I dragged around with me for 20 years through three different states and God knows how many apartments until they finally remastered the catalog. I don’t think I’ve listened to the actual disc since. Maybe I’ll do that tonight. — Alex Balk, The Awl
My first cassette was (What’s the Story) Morning Glory by Oasis and I really wish you were going to ask me about that. Alas, my first CD was Sweet Dreams by hugely embarrassing German Eurodance duo La Bouche. I purchased it because I took kenpo as a kid and our instructor Louie would often play the album in the dojo while a bunch of eight-year-olds beat the shit out of each other. For energy. So, I bought the CD and practiced katas in my room to “Be My Lover.” — Ashley Cardiff, author of <Night Terrors
My first CD was Def Leppard’s Hysteria. I was fascinated by the band’s one-armed drummer, and the audacity of a song requesting my favorite carbohydrate, sugar, be poured on the lead singer. But it was the hit single “Armageddon It” that really drew me in. Even though I only knew what one of the two titular words meant, and I was not yet conversant in puns, the song spoke to me. And it said: let’s jam. — Joe Berkowitz, Fast Company’s Co.Create
I was kind of a late bloomer when it came to buying music, if you consider ten years old “late.” I was a scrappy kid, coasting by on a dollar-per-week allowance and saving up to blow my cash load on something. (I think I’d accumulated, like, $15 by the time I bought my first CD). My older broski, who’s three years my senior, was already ankle-deep in pop culture and was buying albums on the reg, introducing me to bands like Pearl Jam and Goldfinger that I would drink to forget years down the line. One day, we went to a record store called Scotti’s in Summit, New Jersey, and I decided it was time to start my CD collection. So I did what any sage young sprite would do at that age and picked two albums off the new releases shelf that had fun-looking covers: Dave Matthews Band’s Crash and The Cranberries’ To the Faithful Departed. Yes, my taste was as garbage then as it is now. I took them to the register and the cashier rang them up. Only problem? $15 does not get you far in the land of DMB and Cranberries. So, I remember making a decision that I would forever remember: I pushed the Cranberries album to the side and went home with my freshly purchased copy of Crash. I think I listened to it once. The moral of the story: don’t buy albums based on their covers. Also, don’t buy Dave Matthews Band albums. That’s all. — Steven J. Horowitz, MySpace
Sore subject, but apparently I’m not alone. I always try to lie that my first CD was either Alanis Morrisette’s Jagged Little Pill or even Ace of Base’s The Sign because both came soon enough after and are less embarrassing than truth, which is that my first full length CD was Aqua’s debut, Aquarium. As an aside, I’d like to note that my first “cassingle,” or cassette single, was Monica’s “Don’t Take It Personal (Just One of Dem Days).” Aquarium was the one with “Barbie Girl” because I wasn’t even cool enough to appreciate Aqua b-sides, although I still have a fondness for “Happy Boys & Girls,” the first track, which had a message from Satan hidden inside if you played it backwards. J/k, that’s a total lie. But to be honest, it could be true and I wouldn’t even know because it’s not like I also had it on vinyl. See, that type of shit would’ve totally redeemed me. — Lindsey Weber, Vulture
I don’t remember my first CD, which is funny because I know my first cassettes (purchased in one trip!) were Faith No More’s The Real Thing and Warrant’s Cherry Pie. I can also confirm that the first and only CD I ever stole was Hole’s Live Through This, which was in ’94. I take very lame pride in that. I stole it from Blockbuster Music. — Blair Koenig, author of STFU Parents: The Jaw-Dropping, Self-Indulgent, and Occasionally Rage-Inducing World of Parent Overshare
The first CD I owned was an Christmas-stocking compilation of big numbers from Broadway shows; I played “Oklahoma!” during an elementary school project on the 50 states but generally favored Andrew Lloyd Webber. My parents also bought me Paul Simon and Miles Davis records, and that was nice. But the first CD I remember buying for myself was Madonna’s 1990-2000 greatest hits compilation, GHV2. This whole thing feels really late in life, but I tended to listen to Top 40 radio, not albums. It also feels like a really big cliché, but things become cliché for a reason, I guess. I listened to “Deeper and Deeper” on the big headphones at a Borders because I had a notion that I really ought to love Madonna, and I bought the album with what must have been babysitting money. The Erotica/Ray of Light/Music eras of Madonna are now the only ones for which I feel any unironic affection. Maybe it’s just Stockholm syndrome, in light of how often I listened to the record while trying to convince myself she was not just an icon but an artist. (“Deeper and Deeper” and “Secret” are both legitimately great, though.) Seven years and many (marginally) better music purchases later, her Hard Candy was, though I didn’t realize it then, the last physical CD I’d ever buy. — Daniel D’Addario, Salon
It sounds like I’m lying, but it was the double CD set of Into the Woods. Those CDs were a revelation, because unlike the tapes, or — because I’m really old — the records, which only had selected lyrics printed on the back, you got that whole little booklet in the middle with the entire libretto in it. Which I would just read, over and over again, even when I wasn’t listening to CD. I used to see this man around the NYU campus who was obviously some sort of savant, who was always sitting in Starbucks or wherever with this sheaf of sheet music, conducting whatever was in his head… That’s not too far off from me, as a child, with lyrics. — Rachel Shukert, author of Starstruck
10000 Maniacs Aqua Beastie Boys Boyz II Men Dave Matthews Band Def Leppard Eagle Eye Cherry Electric Boys Hole Jurassic Park La Bouche Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam Madonna No Doubt Pearl Jam Radiohead Spice Girls Talking Heads The Beatles TLC
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You are at:Home»Uncategorized»Aisha Buhari changes name to First Lady
Aisha Buhari changes name to First Lady
By Jamaz on June 15, 2019 Uncategorized
The Wife of the President, Aisha Muhammadu Buhari, is now to be addressed as ‘First Lady’.
She was addressed as ‘Wife of the President’ throughout the first four-year tenure of her husband.
Dr. Aisha Buhari, late on Thursday night, announced her decision to be addressed as the First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria at an event held at the old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
She revealed her new official title at the presentation of awards to immediate past governors’ wives and current governors’ wives of the 36 states of the federation.
According to her, the new designation would take immediate effect in order to resolve the issue of the title of wives of governors.
She said: “When my husband was newly elected, I personally chose to be called the Wife of the President.
“But I realised that it caused confusion in the states as to whether the wives of state governors should be addressed as the first ladies or wives of the governors.
“So, forgive me for confusing you from the beginning, but now I choose to be called the First Lady”.
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UAW Hopes To Work With President-Elect Trump On Trade
— Nov 11, 2016
United Auto Workers President Dennis Williams said yesterday that he is “prepared to sit down and talk” with President-elect Donald Trump about trade, and in particular, about the North American Free Trade Agreement. Renegotiating or repealing NAFTA was one of the key promises made by Mr. Trump on the campaign trail, and on that issue, the UAW shares common ground with the president-elect – even though the union officially endorsed Hillary Clinton.
“NAFTA is a problem. It is a huge problem to the American people,” UAW’s President said in Detroit this week.
NAFTA, first implemented under then-President Bill Clinton in 1994, has played a role in the decline in manufacturing jobs in the United States, with most of those jobs flowing into Mexico. “I think that companies ought to build where they sell,” Williams said. “I look at the amount of money that General Motors, and Ford, Toyota, Nissan and others are putting into Mexico… and the majority of their products are being sent back up here to be sold… That is jobs walking away from the American citizens, and our communities, and our states.”
Donald Trump’s election victory comes at an interesting time for Ford, which just this year announced plans for a new small-car production facility in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. That announcement, along with other plans made by the automaker to invest in Mexican production, made Ford a prime target for Mr. Trump, who iterated at several points during his bid for the oval office that he would impose a punitive 35% tariff on all Ford parts and vehicles imported to the US from Mexico.
UAW President Dennis Williams endorsed that Trump proposal, as well, even though the guidelines of the World Trade Organization – of which the US is one of 164 members – forbids punitive import duties on any single country.
(Source: Detroit Free Press)
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Sun Sep 25, 2016 4:30
Syrian Army Repels ISIL's Offensive in Deir Ezzur
TEHRAN (FNA)- Syrian government's military forces defended their positions in Jafrah farms against ISIL's large-scale attack on Sunday, inflicting major casualties on the terrorists, army sources said.
"After six hours of non-stop battle, the Syrian army soldiers pushed back the terrorists from the region, inflicting major losses on them," the sources said.
"In the meantime, army soldiers clashed with ISIL terrorists in al-Sina'ah and Huweija al-Sakar, inflicting several casualties on the terrorists," they added.
"Over 30 ISIL terrorists were killed in the Syrian Armed Forces' attacks on Saturday, including several foreign combatants from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Malaysia, Libya, and Iraq," the source went on to say.
Military sources announced on Sunday that the Syrian Army has gathered a large number of fresh forces to launch massive operations against the ISIL across the Eastern province of Deir Ezzur in coming days.
"The Syrian army is getting ready for a large-scale operation in Deir Ezzur," a high-ranking military source said, adding, "On Saturday, over 600 fresh forces were dispatched to Deir Ezzur, and tomorrow 1,000 more soldiers will be sent to the battlefield in al-Thardah mountain."
"The fresh forces are equipped with modern weapons systems and equipment," the source added.
©2013 Fars News Agency. All rights reserved
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China ought to be feared because of its weakness, not strength
Bahtiyor Rashidov
In the meantime, all these accomplishments rest on the shaky foundation of exploitation of the millions deprived of elementary social rights. The existing treats to China's security, both internal and external ones, make its road to global leadership all the more difficult.
Is there valid corroborative evidence to back this assumption? Judge for yourselves. Just like with any other country, China's hypothetical status of a world power requires absolute independence from external influence and absence of serious domestic problems. That was how America developed in the 20th century once the Great Depression of the 1930's was over. Processes of globalization did not affect the United States as greatly then as they do nowadays. Status of a naval power separated from the rest of the world by the oceans was another asset guaranteeing America's security. China lacks any such assets. Globalization gaining momentum increases its dependance on the international community. China is located in a potentially unstable region, and that's an external liability. An internal liability boils down to the growing social inequality in the country itself that foments tension in society.
Globalization vs China-ization
Chinese economy's dependance on foreign capitals is substantial. US, European, Japanese, Taiwanese, and Korean companies account for nearly 60% of the total industrial output in China. Four hundred and seventy transnational corporations out of 500 operate in China. Exporters into foreign countries, these corporations wield considerable clout with the foreign commerce of China that already constitutes 37% of the national GDP. That is how foreign capitals exert influence with the principal economic parameter of the country's development.
Global expansion of Chinese produce ups the country's dependance on consumption abroad. Here is a fresh example. Since the United States is so large a market for the Chinese goods, relations with Washington are the factor all of the Chinese diplomacy is centered around. Loss of the American market may crash the Chinese economy. Rerouting flows of goods and commodities to other markets will certainly be problematic and time-consuming.
Geopolitical relations are having their effect on China too, restricting its capacities to a certain extent. Taiwan is a pawn in the geopolitical game of chess between the United States and China now. Official Beijing values its close commercial, economic, and financial ties with the United States too much to jeopardize its relation with Washington over Taiwan.
In the meantime, it is the global problems of international terrorism and extremism that pose probably the worst threat to China. The country in question is too close for comfort to the so called Arc of Instability. Central Asian states, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India constitute a threat of destabilization in the north-west, west, and south-west. In the meantime, it is north-western and western territories that are the poorest in all of China. The Xinjang-Uigur autonomous district and the Tibet, restive regions clamoring for sovereignty, are located there. All of that may foment a "great Chinese rebellion" and, aware of the implications, official Beijing is doing what it can to normalize the situation and minimize the risk of new conflicts in the region.
Free market socialism, Chinese edition
The Chinese ruling party launched free market reforms to escape the lot of the late USSR. Unfortunately, it is the Chinese bureaucracy and social strata close to the establishment that are benefiting from the reforms. Party functionaries and state officials are like bona fide capitalist now, with privatized factories and plants and practically all of commerce in their hands.
Chinese workers and peasants by the millions are still living in socialism. Chinese bureaucracy needs the one-party rule to control the vast masses that produce goods and commodities with a high surplus value permitted by low salaries and absence of social guarantees. All of that earns the Chinese establishment fantastic revenues.
Mounting social inequality
According to the latest studies made by the Academy of Social Sciences of China, the gap between the wealthy and the poor in this country keeps widening. Ten percent of the wealthiest representatives of Chinese society own 40% of all private assets in the country. The authorities cannot reverse this negative trend.
Aware that the worsening social stratification may undermine stability, Beijing views the necessity to narrow down the gap as the first priority that takes precedence over everything else. It does not even rule out the possibility of slowing down the economic development as leading to the continued social stratification.
Social guarantees for workers in China are minimal, and loss of job usually leads to impoverishment. Capitalist "reforms" had a thoroughly negative effect on the state-owned sector of national economy that became unprofitable. Millions lost jobs there. Chinese workers and peasants lack trade unions - or any rights for that matter. The situation worsening, protests become more frequent (up to 100,000 protests were recorded in 2005). They constitute a menace to social stability. "Health care crisis" became a signal of alarm. Chinese state officials bluntly admitted failure of the reforms in this sphere. Medical services are something every second Chinese cannot afford nowadays. The authorities' and society's helplessness in the face of pandemics is another serious threat to national security. China is certainly vulnerable to terrorist acts with the use of germ warfare means.
Chinese dilemma
Official Beijing is facing a difficult dilemma: it has to retain the economic growth and avoid the worsening costs in the shape of political and social instability.
Debates rage in the political establishment of China between supporters of the Development Concept (when "economic development is the end in itself") and Harmonious Society Concept (that promotes social slogans and therefore objectives). The former have been getting the upper hand so far. They claim that the danger to stability is rooted in erosion of the economic growth to under 8% a year and not in inequality. The state is sacrificing well-being of the population to its own economic development.
National idea as salvation
Consolidation of the masses requires a national idea. Chinese bureaucracy believes it has found the solution in promotion of aspirations for the status of a world power. A similar idea united and inspired the peoples of the former Soviet Union once. Essentially paupers that they were, citizens of the USSR took pride in the greatness of the empire. This idea of greatness helped them overlook their own living standards.
Sure, China's impressive tempos of development set it apart from all other countries of the former socialist camp. On the other hand, accomplishments of the country as such have little if any effect on the lives of the ordinary Chinese.
This so called "development" is provided by backbreaking labor of the hundreds of millions. Introduce elements of democracy in Chinese society, and the Economic Miracle will stumble. Fulfillment of workers' demands for a higher pay and social expenditures will make Chinese goods that more expensive. It will immediately affect their competitiveness in the global markets and profitability of foreign investments in the national economy of China. That is why the authorities fear democratization. That is why they are mobilizing society with the slogans of the great future awaiting China.
China's successes are not restricted to economic growth alone. Political propaganda is another field where Beijing has been particularly successful. State officials and analysts enthusiastically predict forthcoming crash of the American might and China's ascension to the status of the world power of the 21st century. Their efforts seem to be having their effect: Chinese economic expansion and military threat are the talk of the day throughout the West. Western commentators never acknowledge problems of China, decisive as they actually are. It is domestic and external threats to security of China that restrict its capacities in attaining global leadership.
Before becoming the only center of power in the world in the 21st century, China has to do something about the mounting discrepancy between its free market economy and the political system ruled by the Communist Party of China. Mushrooming economic rise collides with dictatorship of the ruling party. Democratization of political life of the country becomes a more and more pressing necessity.
Global domination implies global responsibility for the processes taking place in the world and, also importantly, the necessity to keep the situation in hand or the domination may become history. This mantle rests on the American shoulders now. Is China prepared to assume the mantle of responsibility?
Zhang Zilian, Professor of the Beijing University, once said that "This century is not going to be a century of China. The country has too many problems to solve in the nest 50 years." It is not China's strength that has to be feared. The world ought to be afraid of China's weakness and the potential chaos its failure to set up a new economic model may generate.
Ferghana.Ru expert Bahtiyor Rashidov (Tashkent)
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Home GENERAL ARTICLES He used to get beaten up, now he’s a jiu-jitsu expert
He used to get beaten up, now he’s a jiu-jitsu expert
By: BY FIQRIE DAHARI
Who knew a huge fight outside his school that left him with a swollen face and bruises at 16 could change Joseph Lee Mun Kien’s life?
“I was really tall and awkward then,” recalls Lee, now 24.
The “frail and skinny kid” knew something had to be done. He didn’t want things to continue this way.
His first step? Signing up for Muay Thai classes.
“It’s really funny how the boy that beat me back then ended up becoming one of my good friends today!” he laughs. Lee’s stint in martial arts took a different direction when a year after Muay Thai, he enrolled himself in mixed martial arts that was considered “hip” to him – Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
His first class when he was 19 was also a memorable experience. He was “tapped out” (a term used while sparring through the action of slapping your hand on your training partner two or three times for any reason, mostly to prevent injuries) by someone half his height and weight. By this time Lee was bulking up and building muscles from Muay Thai, weighing around 110kg.
“It made me realise jiu-jitsu is all about being equal. You don’t need to be huge to win a fight, you need skills. It doesn’t matter how big or small you are. Skills matter most.”
Four years down the line, he now holds a purple belt, which made him eligible to teach basic classes for the same academy that taught him – Leverage Combat Academy – located in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur.
So far, Lee has represented Malaysia in the Bangkok Open, one of the biggest jiu-jitsu tournaments in Asia. Citing it was more of a “group achievement”, the humble lad and his team won Best Overall Team while he made a personal mark by winning gold and bronze for the No-Gi and Gi categories.
‘Jiu-jitsu is all about being equal. You don’t need to be huge to win a fight, you need skills,’ says Joseph Lee
Blessed with good looks and charm, with an above average height (190cm), Lee has also found himself bitten by the modelling bug. He was nominated as one of Cleo’s Eligible Bachelors last year, follow-ed by Men’s Health Cover Guy 2015.
“Last year saw me competing in all sort of events, opening doors I never thought was possible!”
His diet for the Men’s Health contest was a challenging one. But being a jiu-jitsu professional has its perks, keeping him in great shape.
“I spend 30% of my day training jiu-jitsu and lifting weights, and made it a point to train every single day.”
Realising eating right is the pivotal factor in keeping fit, Lee and his brother (who studied culinary arts) have recently started a fitness meal service provider called The Food Bro. Collaborating with nutrition coaches, their mission is to provide clients with their daily macronutrients intake.
“Every meal is customised for different clients,” explains Lee. Meals are based on calculations of one’s need for daily fats, carbohydrates and fibre. The meal service, currently in its trial period, already has clients from all over the Klang Valley.
“We don’t want to take more than 10 clients each time, as we want to give that sense of exclusivity in ensuring our clients hit the target macros at the end of their sessions.”
Each session takes around two weeks with three meals each day. All are cooked with organic brown rice and fresh vegetables and made from scratch.
What’s next for Lee?
“I’m actually going to try acting. I’ve been taking vocal classes for the past few months to prepare for auditions of any upcoming musicals.
“Besides that, I would like to expand operations for The Food Bro and eventually set up a personal training studio and kitchen space.”
Source: http://www.star2.com/
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Happiness Is Our True Nature
Give yourself permission
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Overview: Mother Theresa’s Missionaries of Charity
Published 12 September, 2012 | By peacefull
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missionaries_of_Charity
Mother Teresa, founder of the Missionaries of Charity.
Sisters belonging to Missionaries of charity in their attire of traditional white sari with blue border.
Missionaries of Charity is a Roman Catholic religious congregation established in 1950 by Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta. It consists of over 4,500 religious sisters and is active in 133 countries. Members of the order designate their affiliation using the order’s initials, “M.C.” A member of the Congregation must adhere to the vows of chastity, poverty, obedience, and the fourth vow, to give “Wholehearted and Free service to the poorest of the poor”.
Today, the order consists of both Contemplative and Active Branches of Brothers and Sisters over several different countries. In 1963, both the Contemplative branch of the Sisters and the Active branch of the Brothers were founded, Brothers being co-founded by then Australian Jesuit (who became Brother Andrew, M.C.) Fr Ian Travers-Ball S.J.[1] In 1979 the Contemplative branch of the Brothers was added and in 1984 a priest branch, the Missionaries of Charity Fathers,[2] was founded by Mother Teresa with Fr. Joseph Langford, combining the vocation of the Missionaries of Charity with the Ministerial Priesthood. As with the Sisters, the Fathers live a very simple lifestyle without television, radios or items of convenience. They neither smoke nor drink alcohol and beg for their food. They make a visit to their families every five years but do not take annual holidays.[3]Lay Catholics and non-Catholics constitute the Co-Workers of Mother Teresa, the Sick and Suffering Co-Workers, and the Lay Missionaries of Charity.
Missionaries care for those who include refugees, ex-prostitutes, the mentally ill, sick children, abandoned children, lepers, people with AIDS, the aged, and convalescent. They have schools run by volunteers to educate street children, they run soup kitchens, as many other services as per the communities’ needs. They have 19 homes in Kolkata (Calcutta) alone which include homes for women, for orphaned children, and for the dying; an AIDS hospice, a school for street children, and a leper colony. These services are provided, without charge, to people regardless of their religion or social caste.
In 1990, Mother Teresa asked to resign as head of the Missionaries, but was soon voted back in as Superior General. On March 13, 1997, six months before Mother Teresa’s death, Sister Mary Nirmala Joshi was selected the new Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity. Sister Mary Prema was elected to succeed Sister Nirmala during a general chapter held in Calcutta in April 2009.[4]
1 Foundation
2 Becoming a Missionary of Charity
3 Controversy
On October 7, 1950, Mother Teresa and the small community formed by her former pupils was labeled as the Diocesan Congregation of the Calcutta Diocese, and thus received the permission from the Vatican to exist as a Church subject. Their mission was to care for (in Mother Teresa’s words) “the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society, people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone.” It began as a small community with 12 members in Calcutta, and today it has over 4,500 Sisters running orphanages, AIDS hospices, charity centres worldwide, and caring for refugees, the blind, disabled, aged, alcoholics, the poor and homeless and victims of floods, epidemics and famine in Asia, Africa, Latin America, North America, Europe and Australia.
2005 Image of Mother Teresa’s Home for the Dying in Kolkata.
In 1965, by granting a Decree of Praise, Pope Paul VI granted Mother Teresa’s request to expand her congregation to other countries. The Congregation started to grow rapidly, with new homes opening all over the globe. The congregation’s first house outside India was in Venezuela, and others followed in Rome and Tanzania, and eventually in many countries in Asia, Africa, and Europe, including Albania. In addition, the first home of the Missionaries of Charity in the United States was established in the South Bronx, New York. By 1996, the Congregation was operating 517 missions in more than 100 countries and today is assisted by over one million co-workers and many donations from ordinary people.
Becoming a Missionary of Charity
It takes nine years to become a full fledged Missionary of Charity. At the beginning, anyone interested in the life can come for a short term “come-and-see” experience. If the young women still wish to join and are still considered possible candidates by the Congregation, they enter Aspirancy, focused on learning English (which is the community language) for those who are not from English-speaking countries and deepening of their Christian life. It is followed by Postulancy (introduction into the study of the Sacred Scripture, the Constitutions of the Society, Church history, and Theology. If found suitable, they enter the Novitiate, which is the true beginning of the religious life. Novices wear white cotton habit with a girdle and white saris without the three blue stripes. In the first year (called canonical), they deepen their life of prayer and relationship with God along with their knowledge of life as a Missionary of Charity, the second year is more focused on the practical training for the mission life. After two years, they take temporary vows for one year, which are renewed annually (five years in total). They also receive the blue striped sari of the Congregation and a metal crucifix as a sign of their spousal love for Christ. In the sixth year, they travel to Rome, Calcutta or Washington D.C. for “Tertianship”, a year of deep spiritual growth, at the end of which they make their final profession.
A Sister’s possessions include: three saris (one to wear, one to wash, one to mend), two or three cotton habits, a girdle, a pair of sandals, a crucifix and rosary. They also have a plate, a set of cutlery, a serviette, a canvas bag, and prayer book. In cold countries, possessions also include a cardigan and other suitable items according to the local conditions (a coat, scarf, shoes etc).
The quality of care offered to terminally ill patients in the Homes for the Dying has been criticised in the medical press, notably The Lancet and the British Medical Journal (BMJ). They reported the re-use of hypodermic needles[citation needed], poor living conditions, cold baths for all patients, and an approach to illness and suffering that ignores such elements of modern medical care as systematic diagnosis.[5] Dr. Robin Fox, editor of The Lancet, described the medical care as “haphazard”, as volunteers without medical knowledge made decisions about patient care because of the lack of doctors. He observed that the Congregation did not seem to distinguish between curable and incurable patients, so that people who could otherwise survive would be at risk of dying from infections and lack of treatment.[6] The spending of the donations has also been criticised. The author and journalist Christopher Hitchens and the German magazine Stern have alleged that Mother Teresa did not focus the money on alleviating poverty or improving the conditions of her hospices, but on opening new convents and increasing missionary work.[7]
Posted in Charity, Destitute
“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”
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Internet Age Confusion Over When Radio Is Radio
March 16, 2016 November 10, 2016 GabbyGary
GARYTALK.COM (03/16/2016) – A recent study continues to point to the rapid growth of digital mobile phones and the use of smartphones to listen to music. On the surface, this would lead one to believe this would, correspondingly, increase the total audience for “radio” of all kinds, both internet-only, and over-the-air stations that feed their programming onto the internet. However, the increase in music listening on phones does not mean the music being listened to is truly over radio in the traditional “radio” sense. Unfortunately, some internet website marketers call what they offer, “radio”, but that is not always accurate.
Before the proliferation of music programming over the internet, “radio” was generally thought of as broadcasting a signal over the air that could only be received by real radio equipment in cars, trucks and buildings. Since the internet entered the picture, the definition of “radio” has become completely altered in the minds of a growing number of internet users. True “radio” broadcasts used to consist of programming determined by the source. A person tuning in to radio could only enjoy the programming the program director, management or disc jockey presented.
That scenario is still the arrangement on the internet, if you are listening to an internet-only radio station, or to a conventional over the air station simulcasting on the internet. The confusion arises if you are listening to what is referred to often as “personalized radio”, or similar term, where you pick out the songs or genres of music, or specific artist, you, as the listener, want to hear, bypassing the expert program efforts of a professional at the station. In the opinion of traditional broadcasters from the “old days”, it is difficult to call the latter type of radio, real “radio”. Personalized radio seems to be, more accurately, like punching in numbers on a jukebox to play only what you are in the mood to hear, often in the exact order that you want to hear the tunes.
I mention this take on changes in the definition of what “radio” is, compared to the early days, when radio was really radio, to point out the confusion some generations within the internet user world can fall into. Even some dictionaries have altered their definition of “radio” overe time, to keep up with perceptions. Now, that the differences between over the air broadcasted radio, internet-only radio stations, and personalized radio have been explored, let’s get on with some of the findings of the most recent study by Edisen Research and Triton Digital:
Powered in part by the ever-expanding proliferation of smartphones, digital audio behaviors such as listening to online radio and podcasts are achieving significant mass usage, according to the Infinite Dial 2016, the latest in a long-running series of studies on consumer adoption of digital media from Edison Research and Triton Digital.
The study, a nationally representative telephone survey performed to the highest research standards, finds that 50% of respondents age 12 and older listened to some sort of online radio in the last week, a rise from 44% last year. With 57% of Americans using online radio monthly, the conversion of monthly to weekly users is now 88%.
Infinite Dial 2016 is the latest report in a series dating back to 1998 that uses the “gold standard” of survey research—a random probability telephone sample, comprising both cellphones and landlines, of all Americans ages 12 or older. The study has become the report card on digital audio and other digital media, and is widely used and quoted by broadcasters, Internet radio, ad agencies, and the financial community.
Among the many other highlights:
Podcast Listening showed sharp gains on both a monthly basis (17% to 21%) and weekly (10% to 13%). Those who consume podcasts on a weekly basis listened to an average of five podcasts per week.
In-home Ownership of Over-The-Air Radio receivers has dropped, with 79% of respondents saying they have a radio at home. That number was 96% in 2008. Among 18-34-year-olds, that number is down from 94% to 68% over the same time period.
Pandora remains the most-known online audio brand with 82% awareness, followed by the retooled Apple Music (67%), iHeart Radio (65%) and Spotify (52%). For listening in the past week, Pandora (32%) has a large advantage over Spotify (13%), but Spotify has narrowed that gap over 2015. Among 12-to-24s, 43% listened to Pandora last month and 30% listened to Spotify.
Spotify also posted a gain as “Audio Brand Used Most Often,” up 10% to 14%, while Pandora, however, leads strongly with 48%.
Broadcast Radio is tied for the lead among all sources used for keeping up-to-date with new music. “AM/FM Radio” is used for that purpose by 68% of respondents, the same number that rely on “friends and family.” You Tube is next with 66%. Among 12-to-24s, however, broadcast radio falls to third (58%), behind You Tube (86%) and friends/family (74%).
Smartphone Ownership has increased from 71% to 76% of all respondents. Among 12-24-year-olds, smartphone ownership rose to 93%, while even respondents age 55 and older cracked the “more than half” barrier, up 45 to 51%.
On demand video-subscriptions are at 51% of the population; 43% of all respondents subscribe to Netflix.
Facebook remains the most-used social media brand among all-ages with 64%. But among 12-24s, it has been overtaken by Snapchat (72% to 68%) with Instagram close behind (66%).
A total of 2,001 persons were interviewed to explore Americans’ use of digital platforms and new media. From 1/5/16 to 2/10/16, telephone interviews were conducted with respondents age 12 and older who were selected via Random Digit Dial (RDD) sampling. Interviews were 52% landline phones and 48% mobile phones.
Edison Research (http://www.edisonresearch.com) is, among other things, the sole provider of election exit poll data for the National Election Pool comprised of ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX, NBC and the Associated Press.
Triton Digital (http://tritondigital.com) has connected audio supply to advertising demand since 2006, providing the technical backbone for the digital audio marketplace.
GARYWORDS broadcasting, edison, gabbygary, garywords, internet radio, radio, research, smartphones, study, survey, trends, triton
GabbyGary
GABBYGARY is Gary W. Morgan, a semi-retired journalist, radio news anchor, air personality, and newspaper reporter. During his career his duties included music and program director, commercial specialist, radio news director and newspaper editor, photographer, radio ad salesperson, and print ad layout, composition and design person. Gary's radio and newspaper career took place from the mid-1960s through the end of the 20th Century. He began the Internet part of his career in 2001, following an unsuccessful 2000 primary campaign to represent people in the state capitol. These days, Gary writes and edits news and information content for Clik2Go.com, WisconsinReport.com, McStreamy.com, USWebDaily.com, and a few others. Gary also creates graphic images seen on various websites, designs and builds websites, and, programs and presents a Classic Hits Mix of Classic Rock and Pop Oldies on an internet radio station called GreatGold.fm. The station can be accessed online at http://GreatGold.fm and in many major directories and popular Mobile Apps.
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You are here: Home / Arts & Entertainment / Essential Albums of the 80s and 90s: NWA – Straight Outta Compton
Essential Albums of the 80s and 90s: NWA – Straight Outta Compton
April 16, 2014 by NeoJake 3 Comments
NWA – Straight Outta Compton
Essential Tracks:
“F*ck The Police”
“Gangsta Gangsta”
Okay. Here we go. I am going to start this with a disclaimer. I am a white male who did not grow up in the “hood” and am in no way a racist individual. Got it? Good. Here we go.
Time to go back to the 80s. Look around the streets and listen. Boomboxes were everywhere. Rap was everywhere! And there came a time when a small cross-section of the rap genre reared its ugly head- Gangster Rap! Who was on the forefront of this controversial musical movement? A lot of groups were but leading the charge was a formation of Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, MC Ren, DJ Yella and Eazy E (Eazy Muthafuckin’ E R.I.P.).
I am, of course, talking about NWA! That’s right. Ni**az With Attitudes! What a storm this group caused! The media flipped out because of the violent and explicit language they used. Parents lost their minds and kids loved it because “they said bad words.” (Admit it. You did. I did. We all did.)
In 1988, this group hit big after some lesser known stuff and really caused the world to pee its pants with the album “Straight Outta Compton.”
The album opens with a punch in the face in the form of the title track after a warning to prepare yourself. “You are now about to witness the strength of street knowledge.” And here we go! Verses are traded between Ice Cube, MC Ren, and Eazy E. They all get to show off their style of rap here and this continues through the rest of the album.
Track two is the one that most people are familiar with and the one I am sure everyone is waiting for me to talk about. Here it comes. “Fuck The Police.” Let’s set the scene. NWA is holding court in a case against the police department with Dr. Dre presiding as judge. Ice Cube, Ren and Eazy E are all giving testimony against ignorant police officers. Violent? Yes. Unnecessarily explicit? Maybe. Hilarious? Yes! After all the testimonies are given via traded verses between the “prosecuting attorneys,” Judge Dre gives his verdict. Guilty! And then you hear the cop being dragged out of the courtroom. All through the song, you get the chant of “Fuck the police… Fuck, fuck, fuck the police” as a hook in the chorus all over 80s beats and 70s funk. Catchy? You bet!!
Most tracks on the album tell a story of street life and the trials of “gangsta life.” This is continued in “Gangsta, Gangsta.” More funky music and a great hook: “I’m the type of ni**a that’s built to last. If you fuck with me, I’ll put a foot in yo’ ass. I don’t give a fuck ’cause I keep bailin’, What the fuck are they yellin’? GANGSTA GANGSTA!” This is followed by a line from the legendary KRS One (look him up, kids): “It’s not about salary. It’s all about reality.”
The funk, flow and anger continues. There is a great self-referential track about how bad the lyrics are (“Parental Discretion Iz Advised.”) There is another single to follow up “Straight Outta Compton” which could be considered a slow jam, cover, and sample-heavy groove: “Express Yourself” which takes directly from Charles Wright’s R&B song of the same name and allows Dre to take a solo role. There are remixes of tracks that they released before this debut (“8 Ball,” “Compton’s In The House,” “Dopeman.”) And it all comes to a close with Dre and Yella producing a track that could easily be the soundtrack to a group of urban teens breakdancing in the streets (“Something 2 Dance 2,”)
All in all, this album, while controversial enough to cause Tipper Gore to go on a rampage (look it up), is a great slice of history when it comes to rap. You like the stuff from today? This is where some of it started. You don’t like rap? Do yourself a favor and at least listen to this album which has a permanent place in my list of essential albums from the 80s and 90s that you must own or listen to before you die. Little 9 year old Jake approves and current mid 30s Jake continues to approve.
NeoJake
Latest posts by NeoJake (see all)
Essential Albums of the 80s and 90s: Combustible Edison- I, Swinger - April 23, 2014
Essential Albums of the 80s and 90s: NWA – Straight Outta Compton - April 16, 2014
Essential Albums of the 80s and 90s: KMFDM – Angst - April 9, 2014
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Filed Under: Arts & Entertainment, Opinions & Editorials, Quick & Dirty, Reviews & Analysis Tagged With: 1988, 80s, album, dr dre, eazy e, essential albums, gangsta rap, hip hop, ice cube, krs one, music, nwa, rap, review, straight outta compton
neojake says:
And again… Props to Yogizilla and his editing and format tweaking. And thanks in advance to my readers!
Yogizilla says:
Awwww yeaaaahhhh!
I can edit all day.. I just need to stop slacking on getting my own content out. So many ideas floating about in the ether. =oX
Well in the meantime, thanks for making us contributors look good!
Leave a Reply to neojake Cancel reply
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Panel Members
Juliet Lyon CBE – Chair
Juliet Lyon is Chair of the Panel and took up post on 1st September 2016. She is a visiting Professor in the School of Law at Birkbeck, University of London and Vice President of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy. Previously Juliet was Director of the Prison Reform Trust and Secretary General of Penal Reform International. She has worked in mental health managing Richmond Fellowship halfway houses and in education as teacher in charge of a psychiatric unit school. Early in her career, she was a foster parent. Juliet has acted as an independent advisor to ChildLine and to a number of government reviews including the Halliday review of the sentencing framework, Corston review of vulnerable women in the justice system and Bradley review of mental health and learning disability.
Deborah Coles is Director of INQUEST. She is An experienced strategic thinker and lobbyist for social justice with particular expertise on the investigation of deaths in custody and detention and the treatment of bereaved people in the UK and internationally. She joined the IAP on 1 July 2018.
Seena Fazel is a Professor of Forensic Psychiatry at the University of Oxford, a Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow in Clinical Science, and honorary consultant forensic psychiatrist for Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust. He works clinically in a local prison. His main research interests are on suicidal behaviour in prisoners, mental health of prisoners, and risk assessment in criminal justice and mental health. He joined the IAP on 1 July 2018.
Jennifer Shaw is Professor of Forensic Psychiatry, University of Manchester and Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust. Her research interests include suicide primarily within the criminal justice system, homicide and the mental health of prisoners. She has over thirty years’ experience working clinically in the NHS. She joined the IAP on 1 July 2018.
Jenny Talbot has undertaken significant research on people with learning disabilities in the criminal justice system; she works for the Prison Reform Trust. She joined the IAP on 1 July 2018.
John Wadham is a human rights lawyer and currently chair of the National Preventative Mechanism set up by the United Nations Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, which brings together 21 statutory bodies monitoring detention in all forms of state custody in the UK. He joined the IAP on 1 July 2018.
Ministerial Council on Deaths in Custody
Ministerial Board on Deaths in Custody
Independent Advisory Panel (IAP)
Practitioner & Stakeholder Group
Minutes of Ministerial Board on Deaths in Custody meetings
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Haciendas de México
State: Yucatan
Type of Hacienda: Sisal
Service: Tourist visits
Location: This is located in the east of the city and gives its name to the surrounding area. The address is #212 31st street, between 16th and 14th.
History: Also known as “The Rosary”, the ex-hacienda Wallis currently belongs to the INAH (National Archaeological and Historical Institute) and is leased to the Merida City Council, which has set up the Wallis Cultural Center, where diverse workshops are held. It is said that this sisal hacienda originally belonged to the militia lieutenant Toribio del Mazo, accused – for reasons that are still doubtful – of the murder of the governor and captain-general of Yucatan Lúcas de Gálvez y Montes de Oca, in June 1792. For this reason, and despite being nephew of Friar Luis de Piña y Mazo, 31st bishop of Yucatan, XXXI bishop de Yucatan, he was condemned to prison and forced to give up this property. Among other later owners were Prudencia Casares de Arana, who sold part of the land, and Luciana Pérez, who bequeathed the hacienda to her daughter Esperanza Canto Pérez, who in turn split up the land into plots and sold some of them in 1915. Mrs. Canto gave her name to the resulting newly-formed residential area, which is called Colonia Esperanza. The last sale of the property, including the mansion, was to INFONAVIT (The National Workers’ Housing Fund), which continued dividing up the land and donated the main house to the INAH. For many years, the mansion remained deserted; however, between 1985 and 1987, the City Council requested and obtained from the INAH authorization to restore the building, and after signing an agreement, they installed a library and training center in the building. Recently a cultural center has been formed bearing the name Wallis, where young people and adults can go to learn various artistic skills and take part in workshops.
eduardo@llamosa.com
© 2019 Haciendas de México . Built using WordPress and the EmpowerWP Theme
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← CzarnaPrague III →
In the Ostra Brama,(Polish:. Sharp Gate) or Auros Vartai (Lithuanian: Gate of Dawn) of the old city walls of Vilnius or Vilna, capital of Lithuania. 1620-30, 163x200 cm.
The Mother of God of Ostra Brama
photo by: wnieznane.pl (cropped)
The city walls of Vilna were built around 1514 and include the two story tower of the Gate of Dawn, whose upper floor holds the chapel of this miraculous image. It was customary to mount an image of Jesus, his Mother, a saint or angel on these city gates for additional protection 'from on high.' The Virgin of Ostra Brama was installed there by the Carmelite order, replacing an earlier image that had been damaged by the elements. Several Carmelite priests cared affectionately for the image and helped spread its fame. In 1627 they built a more protective chapel for it.
Good timing, because in 1655 a Russian army set fire to Vilna and the city burnt for 17 days. Yet the image of the Mother of God survived without any damage. Since then it is considered a miraculous symbol of Lithuanian and Polish independence, revered by Catholics and Orthodox alike. Between 1671 and 1761 seventeen more miracles attributed to the Lady in this image were chronicled. One story tells of a boy who fell from the second floor of a building and died. When his mother prayed before Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn he revived.
In 1711 or 1715 the chapel did burn down to the ground, but not before a young monk could save the icon from the flames. For the next twenty years Our Lady resided in a church until her Sharp Gate was rebuilt with non-flammable materials. Then she was brought home to the Ostra Brama with great ceremony.
Lithuania became an independent kingdom in 1253 C.E., but in the 14th century it grew ever closer together with Poland until the two countries formed the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1569. The two populations intermingled and so the Lithuanian Poles, who actually formed the majority of the population of Vilna, also claimed her as a symbol of Polish independence from Russians and Germans.
Whenever Vilna was in trouble, the Madonna was right in the middle of it, quite literally. In a 1794 Polish-Lithuanian uprising against the Russian occupiers the image was damaged but could be repaired. Five years later, armed conflict with Russia again flared up and threatened the chapel; this time it remained unharmed.
During the time of the partitions of Poland, in the late 18th century, the Russians, Germans, and Austrians split the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth up and divided it among themselves. For more than a hundred years, Lithuania ceased to exist as a separate entity and Vilnius became part of the Russian Empire. Lithuanians resisted with civil disobedience and with demonstrations inside the Sharp Gate and in the surrounding streets, the very heart and soul of the country. They crowned their Mother of God in 1927, the year after Soviets and Lithuanians signed a treaty of non-aggression.
During World War II people considered hiding the image in a safer place, but the Archbishop of Vilna decided that the dark Mother should stay with her children. She helped them pray and struggle first for deliverance from the Germans, then from the Soviets. Lithuania was the first Soviet Republic to gain its independence in a peaceful struggle that cost only few lives.
In Lithuania
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Current Report Filing (8-k)
Stock : Target Group Inc. (CBDY)
Quote : 0.075 -0.005 (-6.25%) @ 9:00PM
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): April 25, 2019
TARGET GROUP INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware 000-55066 46-3621499
State or other jurisdiction incorporation Commission File Number IRS Employer
Identification No.
55 Administration Road, Unit 13, Vaughan, Ontario, Canada L4K 4G9
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (647) 927-4644
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:
¨ Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
¨ Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
¨ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
¨ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).
Emerging Growth Company x
For an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.
Emerging Growth Company ¨
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class Trading Symbol(s) Name of each exchange on which registered
Section 3- Securities and Trading Markets
Item 3.02 Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities
Between April 25, 2019 and May 8, 2019, the Company issued 145,014,039 shares of its common stock (“Shares”) in private transactions with persons who are bona fide residents of Canada. The price per share ranged from US$0.02 to $0.05.
In conjunction with the sale of the Shares, the Company issued its Common Stock Purchase Warrants (“Warrants”) to purchase up to an additional 142,451,076 shares of common stock, of which 130,555,371 are exercisable at $0.05 per share for three years; 11,141,850 are exercisable at $0.05 for two years; 539,570 are exercisable at $0.10 for two years and 214,285 are exercisable at $0.15 for two years.
The Shares and the Warrants were issued pursuant to the exemption from registration provided by Regulation S adopted under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, for offers and sales to a non “U.S. Person” in an “Offshore Transaction”, as those terms are defined in Regulation S.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
Dated: May 8, 2019 By: /s/ Rubin Schindermann
Target Group Inc. (USOTC:CBDY)
Latest CBDY Messages
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Ted Heath & Nat King Cole Shake Up Birmingham Alabama '56
The Ted Heath Orchestra were the ultimate in British pre-rock'n'roll light entertainment (Ted is pictured in 1958). The same could be said in the US for Nat King Cole. If their style was as non-confrontational as could be, they could still shake things up in the racist southern states of the USA, as was shown on their tour together in 1956. Ronnie Chamberlain, who played sax for Heath recalled:
‘We went on the road with Nat King Cole and he was attacked. It was horrible. We were booked to play in Birmingham, Alabama, and the guys in his trio were absolutely scared stiff saying, 'We don't want to go there man.' We did our show first and when Nat came on they insisted that the curtain was drawn in front of us so they couldn't see the white band accompanying this 'nigger' singer as they called him. That's how they talked down there, 'Are you with this nigger group?' We couldn't believe it. Leigh Young, Lester Young's brother, was the drummer with Nat and he was the MD and of course we couldn't see him through this curtain. It was absolute chaos and we just had to stop. In the end they relented and pulled back the curtain and big applause went up from the audience. Then there was a commotion and a guy came running down the aisle, jumped onto the stage and was on top of Nat and got him on the floor. The concert stopped immediately and we all went off. I felt really sick and went outside and puked, it frightened me so much. Poor Nat was in a terrible state and the audience were just as shocked as we were. In those days they had segregation with the whites one side, and the blacks the other side but the whole audience were as one, and afterwards someone stood up and apologised for the terrible behaviour to Nat and the band' (source: Talking Swing: the British Big Bands by Sheila Tracy, 1997).
British music paper New Musical Express (April 13 1956) also reported this incident: "One of the world's most talented and respected singing stars, Nat "King" Cole, was the victim of a vicious attack by a gang of six men at Birmingham (Alabama), during his performance at a concert on Tuesday. His assailants rushed down the aisles during his second number and clambered over the footlights. They knocked Nat down with such force that he hit his head and back on the piano stool, and they then dragged him into the auditorium. Police rushed from the wings and were just in time to prevent the singer from being badly beaten up. They arrested six men, one of whom is a director of the White Citizen's Council - a group which has been endeavouring to boycott "bop and Negro music" and are supporters of segregation of white and coloured people. The audience—numbering over 3,000—was all white" (note Chamberlain remembered the latter differently).
Labels: 1950s, jazz, racism, USA
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Pendle College, Lancaster
Find sources: "Pendle College, Lancaster" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (May 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Pendle College
Pendle standard accommodation (colloquially 'Pendle Ghetto')
The Pendle Witch
Altiora sequamor
Seek to Climb to the Top
Pendle Region
Nigel Watson[1]
JCR President
Ethan Lopez Ruiz
Becky Case[1]
Pendle JCR
Pendle College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Lancaster, England. Founded in 1974, the college is named after the Pendle witches of 1612, from the area around Pendle Hill in East Lancashire.[2] The term "Pendle" is associated with a great deal of fantasy and legend.
2 Symbols
3 Governance
4 Junior Common Room
5 Notable alumni
Pendle ensuite accommodation in Alexandra Park (a.k.a. 'Pendle Posh')
With standard, en-suite and studio accommodation Pendle College has a wide choice of accommodation options. The college moved to its current location at the far south end of campus in 1994;[3] Grizedale College had already incorporated the original Pendle buildings in 1993. When the university had floated proposals to build new college accommodation at what was then the southern end of campus, it was agnostic as to whether Grizedale or Pendle should take ownership of the new residences. The colleges' Senior Common Rooms were similarly unable to determine their position so the matter was decided through a drinking game conducted between students from both colleges[citation needed]. Grizedale won and elected to retain their existing college buildings and take over the existing Pendle buildings; Pendle would move to the new accommodation. The buildings completed in 1994 surround the college quadrangle and house 402 standard residence rooms. This complex is now known as 'Pendle Ghetto'.[4]
Rooms situated in nearby 'Pendle Posh' are subject to higher rents and have ensuite facilities. With its own quadrangle, 'Pendle Posh' occupies nine blocks of the Alexandra Park complex.[4] Ensuite rooms are available in blocks 24-28: Winewall; Higherford; Fence and Crowtrees. Self-contained studio accommodation is in block 29 - Barnoldswick. Brierfield was part of Pendle until 2009 when it became part of Graduate College.
'Pendle Ghetto' houses the two-storey college bar, Pendle Rooms, and JCR lounge, featuring a balcony overlooking the quad. Pendle Rooms is one of the larger bars on campus[5] and has the best acoustics of all the bars on campus[citation needed]. 'Pendle Ghetto' also houses a launderette, computer lab, secure bike sheds, college offices and the Porters' Lodge. The residential blocks in Pendle Ghetto are numbered, starting with the bar; the two-storey bar is called the 'Merriman Block', after former college principal and history lecturer Marcus Merriman.
The De Lacy's purple lion crest
The college crest depicts a lion rampant standing on top of Pendle Hill with a witch's broom. The lion is taken from the arms of the Norman lords of the Pendle area, the de Lacys. The Latin motto "altiora sequamor" means "seek to climb to the top". The Junior Common Room College logo is a black witch on a full moon. The Pendle JCR motto is Venue of Legends. The college colours are dark green, yellow and black.
The statutes of the university established the college. Internally, the key committee that runs the College is the College Syndicate.[6]
Most college officers are drawn from the Senior Common Room (SCR), although the Assistant Deans are both JCR members as well as being a part of the SCR.[6] The SCR is composed of all University staff who are also members of Pendle.[6]
Junior Common Room
The Junior Common Room (JCR) consists of all Pendle undergraduates.[7] The term JCR is often used in reference to elected executive committee of the JCR, who are also known as the JCR Exec.[6] The executive committee undertake a variety of tasks, ranging from organising social events to co-ordinating sports, producing publicity and offering education and welfare services.
Alan Milburn - Former MP and former Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
James May - Journalist, TV presenter BBC Top Gear
Ranvir Singh - Journalist, TV presenter BBC North West Tonight
^ a b "Contact". Pendle College. Lancaster University. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
^ Our History..., Pendle College, accessed 11 August 2018
^ a b "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-06-06. Retrieved 2009-07-22. CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link)
^ http://www.studygroup.com/isc/lancaster/college_overview.aspx
^ a b c d "How the College Works". Pendle College. Lancaster University. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
^ "College Membership". Pendle College. Lancaster University. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
Furness
Chancellor: Alan Milburn
Vice-Chancellor: Mark Smith
Vice-Chancellor of the County Palatine of Lancaster
InfoLab21
Ruskin Library
Chaplaincy Centre
Lancaster Environment Centre
Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts
Lancaster Arts
Richardson Institute
Lancaster University Students' Union
Bailrigg FM
LA1:TV
International Volunteers (InterVol)
Roses Tournament
Red Rose of Lancaster
Coordinates: 54°00′22″N 2°47′07″W / 54.00617°N 2.78521°W / 54.00617; -2.78521
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pendle_College,_Lancaster&oldid=905913374"
Buildings and structures of Lancaster University
This content was retrieved from Wikipedia : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pendle_College,_Lancaster
This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article "Pendle College, Lancaster"; it is used under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (CC-BY-SA). You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the CC-BY-SA
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Categorized | Arts, Profiles
Tags | HCC Students, Hidden Housatonic, Music
Hidden Housatonic: Joao Paltanin
Posted on 11 December 2016 by Niles Wilson
For Joao Paltanin, moving to America at age eight was a big culture shock. One of the biggest differences for the Brazil native came in the form of American music, which felt way more diverse and upbeat than the folk music he grew up listening to. After discovering house DJ Afrojack at age 11, he fell in love with the world of electronic music, inspiring him to create his own music under the name Endsetter.
Now 19, Paltanin attends Housatonic as a first-semester engineering student. Despite getting off to a rough start, Joao has been loving the experience. “It was really hard to get used to the workload, but after I got used to it everything went really smooth…I realized that college isn’t about what you do here, it’s about what you do at home, and it was hard getting used to that,” he said.
Carnival music festival in New York.
Putting in work at home is no new concept for Joao; it was a practice he started developing at 13 after he downloaded a digital music program and became obsessed with the creation of electronic music. Learning from YouTube videos and personal experimentation, he began to hone his skills, sacrificing traditional fun for his own piece of euphoria.
“I’d go on vacation and that was heaven for me; I could stay inside and work on music while everybody went to the beach,” he said.
Over time Paltanin’s style changed from house to the heavy styles of dubstep and trap, encompassing the internal fondness that he’s always had for dark and energetic music. He even described the experience of discovering dubstep like meeting your best friend. Through six years of hardwork and dedication, Paltanin has crafted his sound to a level that is actually surprising himself. “It’s really cool how I can compare a song from when I was 13 to one I’ve made now. It doesn’t sound like something I’ve made, it sounds like something you would listen to on the radio. It’s nice to have that feeling, listening to something you made but it sounds so cool it seems like somebody else made it,” he said.
Still, the producer admits he has a lot more to learn, but he’s allowing himself to learn at his own pace. He admits finding time for music and school has been a struggle lately, but he knows that if he keeps on track with simply creating he will get where he needs to be.
“Just having the thought in your mind that you want to do better than you did yesterday is being successful…my friend told me it’s all about how much work you put in. You’ve got to do something every day. If that’s your dream, you have to work on it every day,” he added.
Joao’s music can be found at soundcloud.com/endsetter
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Janine Zacharia
Journalist | Educator | Speaker
Silicon Valley ambition seen as antidote to do-nothing Washington
By Janine Zacharia | October 21, 2013
It doesn’t matter that an 11th-hour deal was struck Wednesday night to end the government shutdown and extend the government’s borrowing power. These are short-term fixes, and we’ll be right back on the brink in a few weeks when government financing expires and borrowing authority runs out.
What’s plain from this depressing charade, one that will be revived in the coming months, is that Washington is broken. The nation’s politicians can’t get the most basic things done, and the more ambitious priorities on President Obama’s agenda – from immigration reform to reducing greenhouse gases – are going nowhere.
The redistricting that ushered in this new era of politically polarized lunacy has incapacitated our capital. Washington isn’t innovating. It isn’t evolving. It isn’t carrying out strategic thinking on how the U.S. economy is going to counterbalance the Chinese or how we are going to save our schools or how America is going to remain the world’s top cop or how – or if – we are going to save the planet.
Luckily, in a dramatic shift westward, Silicon Valley, our most prosperous and innovative region, is trying to fill some of the void.
Some successful Silicon Valley entrepreneurs are trying to effect change from within the system – either by running for office or lobbying in Washington. They’ve all reluctantly ramped up their D.C. presence over the past five years, knowing that they need to be there to protect their business interests.
What’s more interesting is the ways in which Silicon Valley is trying to leapfrog Washington, and the extent to which it can supplant the nation’s capital in arenas that have traditionally been within the federal government’s purview.
It’s not just that Silicon Valley innovators are using technology to create better delivery systems of information. Silicon Valley entrepreneurs-turned-policymakers are thinking through ways to curb guns and teach computer science, combat greenhouse gases and modernize our outdated modes of transportation.
“Something new has come about,” said Reed Hundt, a former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission turned technology consultant. “The new generation of leaders in the valley is much more interested in public policy than their predecessors.”
Hundt, who lives in Bethesda, Md., just outside the Washington Beltway, has logged 2 million United Airlines miles shuttling between Washington and Palo Alto over the past two decades. He has a standing room at the Stanford Park Hotel.
“A generation ago, every CEO would have said, ‘Washington is taking care of itself. I don’t want anything to do with them, and I don’t want them to have anything to do with me,’ ” Hundt said. “Today they are saying: ‘I’m going to try to do the right thing in my company. But I also have opinions about the right things for the country.’ And they’re willing to speak them out loud. People are much more forthright, much more creative, much more willing to use the skills that make them a business success to be leaders in society.”
As anyone who lives here knows, people can sometimes speak of their capabilities and ambitions in messianic terms. Google executive Megan Smith, in a recent talk, likened valley entrepreneurs to 1960s civil rights leaders.
Skeptics in Washington, if they take note at all, regard this as egotistical idealism or naive hubris. As a former Obama administration official told me, “Underlying that belief, ‘I’m successful, I should be able to fix this,’ is that everyone else who has worked on that problem for 30 years is stupid.”
I echo some of the cynicism. I’m a Washington creature, a political junkie with a passionate interest in foreign affairs, which, when I moved to California not long ago, few seemed to share. The mantra seemed to be: I don’t even want to know how Washington works because it’s too slow.
But, after the most recent display of damaging government ineptitude, I’m being converted. Even the sharpest cynic can’t ignore the valley’s record of success. The ambitions here are too bold to ignore, the resources too significant to discount.
In 2012, Silicon Valley became No. 1 in presidential fundraising, outraising Los Angeles and New York. The Silicon Valley Community Foundation is the largest community foundation by total giving nationwide. Today, I feel like rooting for innovation and success more than retrograde, paralyzing, Tea Party-driven division. In a nod to the latter, a demonstrator hoisted a Confederate flag outside the White House during the shutdown. As Washington Post political reporter Dan Balz said during a visit to Stanford University, Washington hasn’t been this polarized since post-Civil War Reconstruction.
Of course, frustration with Washington bureaucracy didn’t start now. Lots of dynamic techies threw up their hands long before the current cataclysm. Kim Scott, a former senior policy adviser at the Federal Communications Commission, now working as a management consultant for Twitter, is one example. “I can’t work in government,” she said. “I’ve got to do stuff.”
As a result, former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm has a hard time convincing her public policy students at UC Berkeley to go into public service. “Why,” they ask her, “would we go and try to get a job in D.C., where nothing is getting done or worse-than-nothing is getting done, when the action is in the private sector? These are the people who are making a difference in people’s lives.’ ”
Washington, she said, “is becoming completely irrelevant.”
The obstructionist wing of the Republican Party, she continued, has “held Washington captive and caused the private sector and local government to ascend.” “Governors are trying to become very creative in the same way that the private sector is filling a lot of the gap.”
It is perhaps not surprising that California’s governor is the shining example. Just look at how many bills Jerry Brown has signed to help undocumented immigrants in the state. “While Washington waffles on immigration, California’s forging ahead,” Brown said. “I’m not waiting.”
If there’s one area where you’d think Washington would still have a lock on things, it would be foreign affairs. World leaders still visit Washington, obviously. But a state visit is just not what it used to be. And today, a visit to Silicon Valley can be just as important. As a result of its global rise, the valley, it seems, has felt empowered to engage in diplomacy, too.
“Good evening, President. Are citizens of Iran able to read your tweets?” Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted to@HassanRouhani, Iran’s new president, earlier this month as the White House was still debating how deeply to engage with the new leader who demonstrated an odd penchant for tweeting during the U.N. General Assembly meeting in New York.
Later that day,@HassanRouhani replied to@Jack: “my efforts geared 2 ensure my ppl’ll comfortably b able 2 access all info globally as is their #right.” Dorsey retweeted Rouhani’s reply, thanked him, and asked him to “Please let us know how we can help to make it a reality.”
In June, as Chinese President Xi Jinping landed in Los Angeles, it was Jerry Brown who greeted him at the airport. President Obama, at that moment, was dashing between fundraisers with entrepreneurs in Palo Alto.
Three months later, Brown and China’s top climate negotiator signed the first agreement between a U.S. state and China to jointly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Meanwhile, Washington paralysis has stymied meaningful federal progress on climate change. Obama had to cancel a crucial trip to Asia because of the federal government shutdown. And the Chinese state-run news service, Xinhua, has called for “the befuddled world to start considering building a de-Americanized world.”
Obviously, Silicon Valley cannot supplant the federal government, nor should we want it to. And despite the Tea Party’s ardent efforts, government is not going away. Silicon Valley might be able to design an app to streamline food inspections, but we still need a Food and Drug Administration to administer them. We still need someone to collect taxes, man an army and pay our national debts. Libertarianism, whether the Tea Party variety or the liberal-minded Silicon Valley kind, has its limits in the real world.
But these entrepreneurs turned policymakers have the means to effect change. As they’ve revolutionized the way people communicate, they can develop fresh ideas to solve society’s most pernicious ills, ones Washington has proven, sadly, it can’t fix because of political divisions. Silicon Valley giants have, in some ways, more potential power than Washington just from their revered status in our tech-obsessed consumer society. Imagine a poll: “Which is doing a better job at satisfying your needs as a citizen, your iPad or Congress?”
The big question isn’t what can be accomplished here. It’s how long are Silicon Valley’s leaders willing to stick with their newfound public service mission, and how far are they willing to go?
Janine Zacharia, a former Washington Post reporter, teaches journalism at Stanford University.
Read on SFGate website
Copyright 2018, Janine Zacharia.
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Sonny Perdue | KTIC Radio
Tag Archives: Sonny Perdue
The U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to relocate the headquarters of two research agencies to the Kansas City area, intensifying concerns that research will suffer.
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced the move Thursday and said it will bring the Economic Research Service and National Institute of Food and Agriculture closer to farmers and agribusinesses. He also said it would save about $20 million a year.
But the Union of Concerned Scientists predicted the move will drive off researchers and called it “a blatant attack on science.”
A union representing Economic Research Service employees said the move is “coldhearted” and called for keeping workers in Washington.
Members of the Kansas and Missouri congressional delegations and the state’s governors applauded the decision. It’s expected to bring 550 jobs to the area.
Kansas CityOffice MoveSecretary of AgricultureSecretary Sonny PerdueSonny PerdueUSDAWashington D.C.
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Sixtieth session
THE RIGHT OF PEOPLES TO SELF-DETERMINATION AND ITS
APPLICATION TO PEOPLES UNDER COLONIAL OR ALIEN
DOMINATION OR FOREIGN OCCUPATION
RACISM, RACIAL DISCRIMINATION, XENOPHOBIA AND ALL FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION
Written statement submitted by American Indian Law Alliance, Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee) and Inuit Circumpolar Conference, non-governmental organizations in special consultative status
In regard to the UNCHR inter-sessional Working Group on the draft U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, one of the main impediments to progress and consensus has been the insistence of some States to add specific language to the draft Declaration relating to the territorial integrity of States. The inclusion of such language is presented as a precondition for States’ agreement to Art. 3 of the draft Declaration recognizing the right of Indigenous peoples to self-determination.
In particular, at the September 2003 session of the Working Group, the Nordic countries submitted a proposal suggesting the following amendment (underlined portion) to preambular paragraph 15 of the draft Declaration:
Bearing in mind that nothing in this Declaration may be used to deny any peoples their right of self-determination, and further emphasising that nothing in this Declaration shall be construed as authorizing or encouraging any action which would dismember or impair, totally or in part, the territorial integrity or political unity of sovereign and independent States conducting themselves in compliance with the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and thus possessed of a government representing the peoples belonging to the territory without distinction of any kind,
that nothing in this Declaration may be used to deny any peoples their right of self-determination </dir></dir></dir></dir>
According to their various statements in the Working Group, the Nordic States made this proposal in order to bridge the existing gaps between different positions in the Working Group and as an attempt to find a consensus. However, consensus in violation of the Purposes and Principles of the Charter of the United Nations, as well as of the mandate concerning the draft Declaration, would not be a valid basis for agreement. This would also be a serious breach of the principles of international cooperation and multilateralism contemplated in the Charter.
Upon carefully examining the Nordic proposal, a large number of Indigenous representatives in the Working Group have concluded that the proposed Nordic amendment would create discriminatory double standards. In regard to Indigenous peoples, the interrelationship between the human right of self-determination and the principle of territorial integrity under international law would be significantly altered to our detriment. Our other human rights could also be severely undermined, in ways not yet fully determined.
pon carefully examining the Nordic proposal, Indigenous representatives in the Working Group have concluded that the proposed Nordic amendment would create discriminatory double standardsn regard to Indigenous peoples, the interrelationship between the human right of self-determination and the principle of territorial integrity under international law would be significantly altered to our detriment. Our other human rights could also be severely undermined, in ways not yet fully determined.
1. Indigenous concerns relating to the Nordic proposal
According to statements of the Nordic States, their proposed amendment reflects wording from the 1970 U.N. Declaration on Friendly Relations. However, the Nordic proposal derogates from the 1970 Declaration in significant ways.
The 1970 Declaration first affirms 3 key elements: the “principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples” under the U.N. Charter; the right of all peoples to self-determination; and the duty of every state to respect this right. Only then does the 1970 Declaration seek to “balance” in different situations these express rights and state obligations with the principle of territorial integrity.
By virtue of the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, all peoples have the right freely to determine, without external interference, their political status and to pursue their economic, social and cultural development, and every State has the duty to respect this right in accordance with the provisions of the Charter.
Nothing in the foregoing paragraphs shall be construed as authorizing or encouraging any action which would dismember or impair, totally or in part, the territorial integrity or political unity of sovereign and independent States conducting themselves in compliance with the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples as described above and thus possessed of a government representing the whole people belonging to the territory without distinction as to race, creed or colour. [emphasis added]
shall be construed as authorizing or encouraging any action which would dismember or impair, totally or in part, the territorial integrity or political unity of sovereign and independent States conducting themselves in compliance with the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples as described above and thus possessed of a government representing the whole people belonging to the territory without distinction as to race, creed or colour. [emphasis added] </dir></dir></dir></dir>
In contrast, the suggested amendment of the Nordic States does not first recognize clearly the right of self-determination of Indigenous peoples under international law. Therefore, the principle of territorial integrity would be applied to a right of self-determination with a different and lesser meaning than the right of self-determination of non-Indigenous peoples; this would not only be discriminatory but also undemocratic. Further, the Nordic proposal does not balance the right of peoples to self-determination with the principle of territorial integrity in the same manner as the Nordic States suggest is done in the Declaration on Friendly Relations.
Instead, the Nordic amendment subjects the whole draft Declaration – including potentially every human right of Indigenous peoples – to the principle of territorial integrity. This would greatly expand the application of “territorial integrity” in uncertain and unprecedented ways. States could acquire new rationales for dominating Indigenous peoples and overriding or circumscribing the valid exercise of our basic rights.
The Nordic amendment . This would greatly expand the application of “territorial integrity” in uncertain and unprecedented ways. States could acquire new rationales for dominating Indigenous peoples and overriding or circumscribing the valid exercise of our basic rights.
Evidence of blatant misuse of the principle of territorial integrity against Indigenous peoples is already apparent in Canada. At international law, the principle of “territorial integrity” clearly does not apply to provinces, such as QuÈbec. Nevertheless, a law was adopted in December 2000 that applies the principle of “territorial integrity of QuÈbec” to potentially all matters within the province, regardless of whether it relates to secession or non-secession issues. Maintenance and respect for QuÈbec’s territorial integrity has now become a legal duty of the provincial government. In treaty negotiations on Indigenous land, resource and self-government rights, the government of QuÈbec is increasingly imposing respect for the “territorial integrity of QuÈbec” as a precondition for any agreement.
States are currently free to invoke “territorial integrity” and other international principles, if and when justifiable circumstances arise. Therefore, there is no need to highlight such principles in the draft Declaration so as to possibly imply that these principles have some kind of overriding or special status.
Further, it would make little sense for Indigenous peoples to put at risk such a central and core right as self-determination, by endorsing language in the draft Declaration that could well result in a discriminatory double standard. As the U.N. Human Rights Committee has confirmed, the right of self-determination of Indigenous peoples, like all peoples, is affirmed in Art. 1 of the human rights Covenants. The principle of “territorial integrity” should not be applied to the human rights of Indigenous peoples in a manner that is wholly different from that of all other peoples.
t would make little sense for Indigenous peoples to put at risk such a central and core right as self-determination, by endorsing language in the draft that could well result in a discriminatory double standard. As the U.N. Human Rights Committee has confirmed, the right of self-determination of Indigenous peoples, like all peoples, is affirmed in Art. 1 of the human rights Covenants. he principle of “territorial integrity” should not be applied to the human rights of Indigenous peoples in a manner that is wholly different from that of all other peoples.
In light of past and ongoing violations of Indigenous peoples’ human rights, the central focus must be the integrity of Indigenous territories that has been severely undermined or destroyed by states or third parties. In both historical and contemporary times, this has occurred through colonialism, dispossession, discrimination, forced assimilation, genocide and outright theft.
2. Alternative Proposal – Consistent with International Law
We firmly believe that, if basic international values and principles are strictly adhered to without discrimination, consensus can be reached on “self-determination” and “territorial integrity”. States’ concerns regarding secession, as well as Indigenous concerns with the Nordic proposal, can be addressed in a manner consistent with international law.
On 23 September 2003, an overwhelming majority of the Indigenous peoples’ caucus submitted the following proposed amendments (underlined portion) to the Working Group:
Preambular para. 14:
Acknowledging that the Charter of the United Nations, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights affirm the fundamental importance of the right of self-determination of all peoples, and that this right applies equally to indigenous peoples.
that the Charter of the United Nations, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights affirm the fundamental importance of the right of self-determination of all peoples, .
Bearing in mind that nothing in this Declaration may be used to deny any peoples their right of self-determination, exercised in accordance with principles of international law, including the principles contained in this Declaration.
Indigenous peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.
In regard to preambular para. 14, our proposed amendment would, for greater certainty, affirm that the right of self-determination under international law applies equally to Indigenous peoples. No discriminatory double standard against Indigenous peoples would be created in respect to the right of self-determination. As a human right, self-determination cannot be transformed by the U.N. or member States into a different and lesser right when applied to Indigenous peoples.
In regard to preambular para. 15, our proposed amendment would confirm that the right of self-determination of Indigenous peoples is exercised in accordance with principles of international law. This would ensure that the right of self-determination is exercised in a fair and balanced manner. It would affirm the ability of States and others to freely invoke any principles of international law in the context of Indigenous peoples’ right to self-determination. Therefore, there is no need to explicitly highlight the principle of territorial integrity.
The principle of territorial integrity has no special status or significance above a host of other international law principles – such as democracy, rule of law, respect for human rights, non-discrimination, and justice – which all apply in the context of self-determination. There is no hierarchy that would place the principle of territorial integrity above respect for human rights or other international law principles identified in international instruments.
Therefore, we call upon the Commission on Human Rights to urge States to cease imposing new and discriminatory preconditions on Indigenous peoples, as a precondition to obtaining affirmation of their right of self-determination in the draft U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
In view of such far-ranging abuses, it is unconscionable for States to insist that all of our human rights in the draft U.N. Declaration be explicitly made subject to the principle of territorial integrity.
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What Happens When ISIS Becomes an Online Caliphate?
No longer merely against the ropes, the Islamic State is on the canvas. After months of bloody urban warfare, the Islamic State’s uprooting from Mosul represents the latest and most significant blow...
Time for a shield wall?
North Korea’s test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) last week has many concerned that the crisis on the Korean Peninsula is entering a new and dangerous phase. The Australian media has...
Ebola 2.0?
Ebola is back, but that doesn’t mean that the world should panic. A little more than a year ago, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the West African Ebola outbreak, which killed more...
French Election: Where the Candidates Stand on Foreign Policy
The first round of the French presidential elections will take place on April 23. Foreign policy has traditionally played a central role during presidential campaigns, but this has not been the case...
Politics and International Studies at ANU jumps to 6th place in 2017 QS Rankings
The 2017 QS World University Rankings has seen Politics and International Studies at ANU move from 8th place in the world to 6th place. It is the third year in a row that ANU has been ranked among...
Joko Widodo's stake in Jakarta's gubernatorial race
The result of Wednesday’s gubernatorial election could well be as consequential. The five-yearly fight for the Jakarta governorship is setting itself up as the battlefield for proxies of...
The Yemen raid and the ghost of Anwar al-Awlaki
President Donald Trump has begun forging his own legacy in the ongoing wars on terror. On the same weekend that he signed his executive order temporarily banning travel to the United States from...
Trump and strategic change in Asia
As Donald Trump’s administration comes to power in Washington, the postwar security policy of the US is undergoing a monumental transition. The new president’s campaign rhetoric strongly intimated...
Walking the Blue Line: Lebanon’s Security Sector Reform
Following civil war, re-establishing the legitimacy of a state’s army is a crucial part of security sector reform and international actors can aid this process. The capacity-building work of the...
The King of Jordan visits Australia on RN Drive
Patricia Karvelas interviews Dr Vanessa Newby on ABC Radio’s RN Drive, Thursday 24 November 2016. To listen to the full show The King of Jordan visits Australia on RN Drive on ABC Radio.
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Lake Evendim
Evendim in The Lord of the Rings Online
Other names Nenuial
Location Central Eriador, in the Hills of Evendim west of Fornost Erain
Type Lake
Description Large lake partly encircled by hills
Major towns Annúminas stood on the shores of this lake
Events Battle of Fornost
Gallery Images of Lake Evendim
Lake Evendim, or Nenuial ("Lake of Twilight") in Sindarin, was a lake in northern Eriador.
The lake was about 100 miles north of the Shire. It was approximately 50 miles from north to south and 20 miles east to west[1] and was bounded on the west and south by the Emyn Uial (Hills of Evendim).[2] The Baranduin or Brandywine River flowed out of the lake to the east.[1]
2 Portrayal in adaptations
It is said that after the War of Wrath, both Galadriel and Celeborn crossed into Eriador with many Noldor in their following, together with Sindar and Green-elves; and for a while they dwelt in the country about Lake Nenuial.[3] They departed for Eregion in S.A. 700.[4]
In the Second Age, there were lesser men living about Lake Evendim, some of whom met with the Númenóreans when they first sailed back to Middle-earth.[5][6]
After the Downfall of Númenor, Elendil established the capital of Arnor, Annúminas, on the southern shore of the lake in S.A. 3320.[7]
In T.A. 1975,[8] the Battle of Fornost was fought on the plain between Lake Evendim and the North Downs.[9]
[edit] Portrayal in adaptations
2007-: The Lord of the Rings Online:
While possible to swim across, swift travel across Lake Evendim (located in the region of Evendim) is provided by several boatkeepers.[10]
Umboth Muilin, the Pools of Twilight
↑ 1.0 1.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "The West of Middle-earth at the End of the Third Age" [map]
↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, Index, Nenuial
↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn", "Concerning Galadriel and Celeborn"
↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "Aldarion and Erendis: The Mariner's Wife", note 3
↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Peoples of Middle-earth, "Of Dwarves and Men", "The Atani and their Languages"
↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age"
↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Third Age"
↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The Númenorean Kings", "Gondor and the Heirs of Anárion"
↑ "Lake Evendim" dated 6 August 2012, LOTRO-Wiki.com (accessed 29 March 2013)
Retrieved from "http://irc.tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Lake_Evendim"
Categories: Arnor | Eriador | Lakes | Sindarin locations
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France Has Pledged 700 Million Euros To The National Solar Energy Alliance
- Mar 15, 2018-
France has said it will provide 700 million euros in financing to the international solar union (ISA).
The alliance is working with governments and businesses around the world to develop and install solar power generation and storage technology, aiming to mobilize $1 trillion to finance solar financing.
Currently, the alliance has 60 signatories, of which 30 have ratified the financing agreement.
French President mark long said France would more than triple its commitment to support up to 1 billion euros in funding.
Mr Macron added that the money would help lower funding costs and boost investment across the entire solar supply chain, including product manufacturing, project development and solar storage.
Previous: South Korea Has Developed A High Performance Anode Binder For Lithium-ion Batteries
Next: BMW Group Is Developing A New Generation Of Solid-state Battery Technology For Electric Vehicles
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Weedville man jailed after allegedly trying to strangle ex-girlfriend
WEEDVILLE — A Weedville man is confined in the Elk County Jail after he allegedly assaulted and tried to strangle his ex-girlfriend.
Ty Walker Hahn, 24, of Weedville, is charged with a second-degree felony count of strangulation, making terroristic threats, simple assault and harassment.
According to Ridgway State Police, the victim — Hahn’s ex-girlfriend and current roommate — was interviewed at her workplace June 4, where she said he assaulted her at their Jay Township residence. She reportedly told police the assaults took place June 2, 3 and 4, and Hahn allegedly strangled her to the point she could not breathe, pushed her down and hit her left arm, according to the affidavit of probable cause.
The victim said Hahn allegedly strangled her to the point of almost losing consciousness June 3, and the same thing occurred June 4. Hahn also allegedly struck her in the head, punched her in the back and slapped her across her left eye, according to the affidavit of probable cause.
Hahn also threatened to strangle her when the victim returned home from work, she told police. The altercation started because Hahn believed the victim to be the reason he was fired from his job, according to the affidavit of probable cause. Police observed bruise marks around the victim’s neck, face, back and arm, consistent with her story.
Officers took Hahn into custody June 4, when he reportedly told police the victim was “coming at him,” so he pushed her and the palm of his hand did make contact with her eye. She reportedly accused Hahn of being with another woman before the argument started.
Hahn is confined in the Elk County Jail and will be arraigned at the Elk County Court of Common Pleas July 1.
Ty Walker Hahn
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Groomed
“Groomed”: A new documentary by director Gwen van de Pas and 2x Oscar winning executive producer Bill Guttentag.
Guilt. Confusion. Complicity. These were feelings that filmmaker Gwen van de Pas held onto for 20+ years, after being sexually assaulted by her swim coach as a child. What she didn’t realize, was that these feelings were caused by a psychological process called “grooming” that her perpetrator had put her through.
While an estimated 1 in 6 women and 1 in 33 men in the US are survivors of sexual assault, we hold many misconceptions about it. Most importantly, we believe that sexual assault is violently committed by scary-looking strangers. In reality, however, ~80% of sexual assaults are committed by someone known to the victim and involve a psychological process called “grooming”. Grooming is the process of 1) targeting vulnerable victims, 2) building a relationship that makes the victim feel special, 3) ensuring the victim feels complicit in the assault, and 4) therefore invoking feelings of guilt, shame, and hesitation to report.
“Groomed” follows Gwen as she returns to her home country of the Netherlands to confront her past, talk to her parents about the abuse, and decide whether to report her offender after 20+ years of silence. In her search for understanding, Gwen reaches out to other survivors whose stories look very different (from child abuse to college sexual assault) but all follow the same pattern of grooming and psychological response. And finally, ‘Groomed’ dives deep into the psychology of sexual predators through open conversations between Gwen and imprisoned offenders, as they explain how they target and groom their victims.
It is time we open our eyes to the truth about sexual abuse – and “Groomed” is the wake-up call we need.
Gwen Van De Pas
Gwen van de Pas is a Dutch filmmaker living in San Francisco. She studied Film in Holland, holds an MBA from Stanford, and worked for Consulting firm Bain for 8 years. Passionate about stories that matter, she’s ready to tell the story of “Groomed.”
Bill Guttentag
Bill Guttentag is a double Oscar-winning dramatic and documentary film writer-producer-director. His films have premiered at the Sundance, Cannes, Telluride, and Tribeca film festivals, and have won numerous awards.
Mo Scarpelli
Mo Scarpelli has served as Director of Photography and Cinematographer on several award-winning films, including her own film FRAME BY FRAME (SXSW 2015) and SPEAKING IS DIFFICULT (Sundance 2016).
Jenny McAllister
Jenny McAllister is an Emmy-nominated producer and has 15 years of experience creating non-fiction programming for National Geographic, Discovery Channel and PBS.
A B O U T | C O N T A C T
Moving Train
P.O. Box 3033 Los Altos, CA 94024
info@movingtrain.org | 1-408-968-8247© 2019 Moving Train. All Rights Reserved.
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For Emma Morris, it was just another game.
Except this one didn’t involve a ball or a field or a whistle. It was about being patient as the government shut down lingered on this past winter. Now that has past, the newly hired Morris is excited to be on campus and getting to work.
Morris was hired in March as Bethany’s new Career Service Coordinator and Women’s soccer coach.
The Richmond, England, native is finishing up her MBA at Heidelberg University in Ohio and was waiting on the federal government to process her paperwork.
“It was frustrating,” said Morris, “I am grateful for how quickly it did go through in the end.”
“I literally packed up when the documentation went through and on the road two days later.”
For Bethany, hiring a new an international employee was something new for the college.
“It’s definitely been a learning journey,” said Sara Edwards, J.D., and Assistant Professor of Legal Studies at Bethany. “We’ve never sponsored an international faculty/coach. I called a number of people who I know are in this particular area in order to get feedback and advice on what exactly to do to make things be successful.”
Morris takes over a women’s soccer program that will be debuting a new turf field in the fall.
“We’re super excited. It’ll be a nice place for our home contests and practice.”
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Home / Prep / Boys / 24 Seconds
By Brian Halverson
Michael Johnson in a prophetic pose. (Photo by Shawn Gritzmacher)
Michael Johnson wasted little time honoring his father’s life
It lasted less than a half minute but the memory of Michael Johnson’s first shift of the 2014-15 season will last a lifetime.
Just one day after losing his father, Tom, to kidney cancer, White Bear Lake’s senior captain started for the Bears and scored the season’s first goal on his only shift of the game. It turned out to be the difference in his team’s 6-0 season-opening win over Park of Cottage Grove on Saturday night at the Vadnais Heights Sports Center.
The building burst with emotion just 24 seconds into the contest when Johnson received teammate Tommy Giller’s cross-ice feed and blasted a one-timer from the bottom of the right circle into the Park net. Johnson was mobbed by his teammates as they celebrated amid a shower of teddy bears raining down on the ice as fans participated in the team’s annual Teddy Bear Toss benefiting Toys for Tots.
The same teddy bears Johnson’s late father ordered long ago as one of his captain’s parent duties.
[youtube id=”uy7GXIp1cYM” width=”620″ height=”360″]
“It was truly amazing how things worked out,” said family friend Jon Anderson, who parlayed a stellar high school career at White Bear Lake into playing four years for Doug Woog at the University of Minnesota (1986-90). “We couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season for the kids and also for Michael and the family. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house.”
“If you wrote a script and had a movie, you couldn’t have drawn it up any better,” White Bear Lake coach Tim Sager said. “The young man showed all kinds of courage and his teammates are there to support him.
“I don’t know if I could have done what he did tonight but it’s a testament to both Tom and [Michael’s mother] Angie and the kids that they’re raising.”
With that, Johnson’s night was finished. He simply did not have the energy for an encore.
The roller coaster
Tom and Angie Johnson were high-school sweethearts who went on their first date on Nov. 7, 1986 when he was a senior and she was a freshman at Minneapolis Edison. The couple married in 1994 once Angie graduated from the College of St. Catherine and Michael, now 18, arrived two years later.
After 15-year-old Matthew was born, the family settled in White Bear Lake in 2000 before welcoming daughter Lauren, 12, into the fold, providing the household with some degree of gender balance.
“He always told me he wasn’t waiting until he was 30 or 35 to have kids because he wanted to be able to throw the football with them,” Angie said.
That Tom referenced football, rather than hockey, in Angie’s recollection is no mistake according to Michael.
“Before I started playing hockey I don’t even know if he ever put on skates so it was a learning experience for him as well,” Johnson said. “He used to join adult hockey leagues just for fun and he’d go out there and try his best but he wasn’t always the best one out there, that’s for sure.”
The Johnson family’s lives were turned upside down on Saturday, May 30, 2014 when Tom noticed a lump on his left side. A cat scan revealed a large mass on his kidney which had grown to the point where a portion of it was resting on Tom’s colon.
Surgery was performed on June 4 to remove his left kidney, the tumor and a small portion of his colon. Early indications were the surgery was a success as Tom was initially recovering well. It wasn’t long, however, before the Johnson’s were dealt a setback.
A visit to the emergency room six weeks later revealed the cancer had returned and Tom began chemotherapy treatments on July 25. Within days, though, he was hospitalized to be treated for dehydration and nausea as a result of the chemo.
Angie, Michael and Tom Johnson.
As he continued to battle through the effects of both intravenous and oral forms of chemo, Tom attended soccer games, football games and even the Homecoming dance as he sought to maintain some level of normal in his life. He was especially eager to see Michael back on the ice with the White Bear varsity wearing the captain’s ‘C’ on his jersey.
“Tom was the dad that was always at the 7 a.m. hockey practice and any out-of-town tournaments, Tom was always there,” Angie said. “So it was an adjustment for all of us because he wasn’t able to do all of those things anymore. He hated that part of all of it because the kids were his life.”
But the chemo was not shrinking Tom’s tumors to the degree he, Angie and his oncologist had hoped. When it was discovered that one of the tumors perforated his small bowel and colon, Tom underwent emergency surgery on Oct. 30 at St. John’s Hospital in Maplewood. Surgeons were able to remove the damaged areas along with the largest of Tom’s tumors.
Although his post-surgery condition offered glimpses of hope, Tom’s cancer had spread too much and grown far too aggressive for the chemotherapy to be effective. On Nov. 19, the excruciating decision was made to enter Tom into hospice care and get him home to be with Angie, the children and his beloved dog Beau as soon as possible.
“Tom was really optimistic up to when they decided to stop fighting and just go into the hospice program,” Anderson said. “It looked like the chemo was working but it came back so quickly and so aggressively that at that point they made that really tough decision.
“It’s been a roller coaster ride.”
Complications with his medications delayed his discharge from St. John’s, but on Nov. 24 — nearly a month after his surgery — Tom finally returned to the place the Johnson’s had called home for the past 14 years.
As Sager observed the throng of players participating in White Bear’s varsity tryouts a few weeks ago, it became readily apparent his captain was struggling.
“He didn’t look very good in tryouts in the sense of physically looking good, he sort of looked grey,” Sager recalled.
After a visit to his doctor, Johnson learned he was already in the latter stages of an undiagnosed case of mononucleosis which had sapped his energy. Johnson participates in several school-related activities outside of hockey so his mother believes his already full plate, coupled with strain brought on by Tom’s illness, made his immune system vulnerable.
When the diagnosis was delivered and he learned he not only couldn’t practice but would miss the home opener (or so he thought) Johnson struggled to cope with his disappointment.
“But then I sat down with Sager one day just talking about life and he said when he told his wife I was down with mono she looked at him and said, ‘That’s a sign. That’s God telling you that you need to spend more time with your dad.’ And that really hit home so that was a blessing from there on out.”
Although limited by fatigue, Johnson was finally cleared to participate in practice in the week leading up to the season opener. Despite his exhaustion, Johnson was determined to take the ice with his teammates on opening night.
With the help of The Horn, a website run by a pair of White Bear alums dedicated to live streaming White Bear Lake sports, Anderson put together a plan which would allow Tom to see his oldest son on the ice at least one last time as he watched from home online.
“Jon had kind of arranged, if Tom was still here, that The Horn would televise the National Anthem and the starting lineups, which they usually don’t,” Angie said. “And then they’d drop the puck and Michael would just skate off.”
While Tom’s heart and soul continued to fight like a heavyweight champ, his cancer-battered body could no longer take the beating. On the morning of Nov. 28, Tom Johnson quietly passed away.
“I always knew he was a fighter but there were so many complications and he always had a good attitude,” Angie said. “He just wanted to beat it so badly and he fought so hard.”
The plans for Michael to participate in Saturday’s pre-game festivities remained in place, only now as a way to honor his late father’s memory. But even his mother was unaware of Johnson’s decision to skate out the shift.
Johnson said he and his linemates, Brady Anderson and Giller, originally had a faceoff play in mind designed to create a shot for him but it didn’t work out. Ultimately, his 2-on-1 with Giller turned out to be a suitable replacement.
As he described his thoughts as the play developed, Johnson couldn’t help but direct a little friendly razzing toward his friend, linemate and the Bears’ leading returning scorer.
“If the circumstances were normal, I would be expecting Giller to shoot,” Johnson said with a chuckle. “But in this circumstance I knew he was going to pass it. He did his little fake shot, totally made the goalie bite and I just knew as soon as it hit my stick that it was going in.
“My mind practically went blank after that; I couldn’t tell you what I remember.”
Angie, on the other hand, remembers the moment quite well and speaks for everyone there when she says “it was perfect.”
Angie and Michael after his emotional goal.
“I just thought, Tom really is here,” Angie said, her voice cracking with emotion and requiring a moment to compose herself. “I think the kids will always feel his presence, even though he might not be here on earth. It will be a memory we won’t ever forget.”
“It’s the way my dad would have wanted it, I guess, my town behind me,” Johnson said. “And that’s what I wanted as well.”
Johnson skated through a sea of Teddy Bears as he made his way toward the bench to celebrate with the rest of his teammates and that was it: 24 seconds, one shot and one extraordinary goal. By the start of the second period he was still on the bench, but in his street clothes.
“I’m a true believer in life of everything happens for a reason,” Sager said. “It took everything for an old guy like me to keep from tearing up. Good things happen to good people and for some reason things worked out tonight.”
The long journey ahead
Tom insisted his funeral arrangements be planned around the hockey schedule. “That was his biggest thing, not to interrupt anything to do with hockey,” said Angie who, of course, is honoring that request.
The funeral will take place at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 6, at St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church in White Bear Lake.
Johnson said he is thankful for his teammates, particularly his fellow captains, Anderson and Caden Wippler and their parents, along with Sager and his staff. All have been tremendously supportive throughout Tom’s illness and passing.
Michael and his family will need all of them, and more, as they begin the process of moving forward.
“The hard days are coming, the reality will strike and the next thing you know your father isn’t there,” Sager said. “That’s when you need friends and coaches and people that surround you and pick you up. There’s going to be some tough days ahead for him and for the family but we have a great hockey community here.”
When asked if the last six months have taught him anything about himself, Johnson paused briefly and said, “Just keep on going, I guess. I’m still trying to figure that part out, I think.”
high school hockeyhomeMichael JohnsonTim SagerWhite Bear Lake
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About Brian Halverson
Minnesota Hockey Magazine Executive Editor Brian Halverson is a member of the Minnesota Chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association. His work has been published in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Miami Herald, St. Paul Pioneer Press, Hartford Courant, Dallas Morning News and ESPN.com.
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Should You Be As Excited About GDP Growth As Donald Trump Claims to Be?
In Friday's report on real GDP growth in the second quarter, the BEA reported a quarterly growth rate of 4.1%, which exceeds both the post-WWII US average growth rate of about 3%, and the average growth rate since the end of the last recession of about 2.2%. Trump seems to be claiming that recent GDP performance has been better than it was, and is hoping for future growth of 3% or more in real GDP. This seems more modest than his early 2017 claim that growth would proceed at 4% or more. What should we make of this?
It's always useful in these circumstances to remind yourself what is being reported. GDP is a flow - output per unit time - but the BEA reports a number which is seasonally adjusted at annual rates. That is, it's reported as if the seasonally adjusted flow had continued for a year, instead of just for a quarter. So, what we're supposed to get excited about is that real GDP for the second quarter is measured to be about 1% higher (seasonally adjusted) than it was in the first quarter. The average quarterly growth rate since the end of the last recession has been 0.55%, so we got an extra 0.45 percentage points in growth relative to the recent average, which might not seem so exciting.
Further, quarterly real GDP growth rates are quite noisy. There's substantial measurement error, due to imperfect raw data, and imperfect seasonal adjustment. Here are the quarterly growth rates since the end of the last recession - seasonally adjusted at annual rates:
The noise is obvious, I think. Over the last 36 quarters, growth rates have exceeded 4% on five occasions. With one observation exceeding 4% in his 6 quarters in office, Trump is doing about average in post-recession excess-of-4% terms.
We might look at year-over-year growth rates, which will smooth out some of the noise. Here's what that looks like:
Current year-over-year growth is 2.8%, which exceeds the post-recession average of 2.2%, but 2.8% isn't unusual in the second chart.
Finally, just to cover all the bases, we could look at the whole post-recession time series of real GDP, and the 2.2% trend:
So, real GDP is a little above trend, but there's nothing in the behavior of the time series to indicate a sustained upside departure from the 2.2% trend.
Thus, any hope that Trump has of seeing 3+% sustained real GDP growth is yet to be realized. What would we tell the Donald about the future, if he asked, and had the attention span required to take in the information? This is where we get into measures of potential GDP (see also this piece by Paul Krugman). What's potential GDP? Depends who you're asking. The OECD, in its "Glossary of Statistical Terms," defines potential GDP to be:
Potential gross domestic product (GDP) is defined in the OECD’s Economic Outlook publication as the level of output that an economy can produce at a constant inflation rate. Although an economy can temporarily produce more than its potential level of output, that comes at the cost of rising inflation. Potential output depends on the capital stock, the potential labour force (which depends on demographic factors and on participation rates), the non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment (NAIRU), and the level of labour efficiency.
Whatever good reputation the OECD has, it didn't earn it by writing definitions, apparently. The OECD says that, if inflation is constant for an unspecified period of time, then we're observing potential output, whether the inflation rate is 5,000% per annum or 2%. That can't be right.
What's the goal here? The idea is to make a long-term forecast for the growth path of real GDP, over the next two to five years. Further, this forecast is going to be made under the assumption that there are no events that will happen over this future period that would cause a major disruption - no financial crisis, no recession. A crude approach would be to observe what is going on in the last chart, and forecast that real GDP will follow a 2.2% growth path. In the past, sometimes that approach would have worked well. For example, in first quarter 1960, we would have observed that average real GDP growth over the last 10 years was 4.1%. If we took that as a forecast growth path for the next 5 years, here's how we would have done:
Excellent! Dish out the advice in 1960, and in 1965 everyone's calling you a genius. Unfortunately, that won't work every time. In fourth quarter 2007, average real GDP growth over the previous 10 years was 3.0%. Forecast a 3% growth path five years ahead, and here's what it looks like:
Dish out that advice in 2007, and by 2012 people are laughing at you.
Potential GDP measures, such as the CBO's potential GDP measures, aren't so different from that, and the CBO made errors on the order of what is in the last chart in forecasting the recovery from the recession. The CBO's approach to long-term forecasting is more or less consistent with what conventional models of economic growth predict. In a neoclassical growth model with exogenous labor force growth, exogenous total factor productivity (TFP) growth, and constant returns to scale, the economy converges to a steady state in which output grows at the TFP growth rate plus the growth rate in the labor force. So, the CBO makes long-run forecasts based on an assumption about the aggregate production function, and projections for TFP growth and labor force growth. Here's actual year-over-year real GDP growth, and year-over-year growth in the current CBO potential GDP measure.
Currently the CBO potential year-over-year growth rate is 1.9%, and the potential growth rate is lower than actual growth has been, on average, as the CBO does not think that 2.2% growth can be sustained. Presumably that's mainly because unemployment has been falling as employment has been growing, since the end of the recession. Employment growth is ultimately bounded by growth in the labor force (employment plus unemployment), and labor force growth in turn is bounded by growth in the working age population.
To see what has been going on, let's look at employment growth (establishment and household survey measures) and labor force growth:
Since the last recession, payroll employment (establishment survey) grew on average at 1.5%, household survey employment grew on average at 1.2%, and the average labor force growth rate was 0.6%. Labor force growth (year over year) and growth in working-age population (also year over year) look like this:
Recently, labor force growth has increased somewhat to around 1%, while working-age population growth (no idea exactly how these numbers are constructed - growth rates look a little odd) has been on a secular decline and is currently in the neighborhood of 0.5%.
What about productivity? John Fernald, at the San Francisco Fed, has constructed TFP series for the United States that are adjusted for capacity utilization. As far as I know, this is the state of the art, though I know people get in heated arguments about this. Here's the growth rate in Fernald's annual TFP series, 1948-2017:
That's somewhat depressing. Since the recession, TFP growth has mostly been lower than the post-WWII average growth rate of 1.3%. The average since the last recession is 0.3%.
So, the most pessimistic scenario is that TFP continues to grow at 0.3% per year, employment grows at the working-age population growth rate of 0.5%, and we get sustained growth of 0.8% per year in real GDP. TFP growth, as we know from growth economics, is key though. Higher TFP growth means higher growth in real wages, which means higher growth in the labor force (labor supply effect - provided the substitution effect is large on the extensive and intensive margins). And then higher TFP growth and higher labor force growth both contribute to output growth. But, optimistically, supposing TFP grows at 1% (just short of the post-WWII average) and the labor force grows at 1%, that only gives us 2% growth in real GDP. To get to 3% or, more outlandishly, 4%, requires a serious miracle.
So, where could a miracle come from? Well, people are always inventing things, and the miracle could be the implementation of a new technology. There's plenty of debate about this, indicating that economists aren't much better at predicting technological innovations five or ten years hence than your average person. Are we going to get a government-induced economic miracle? From the current US government, that would be another kind of miracle altogether. Some people think that regulation is a big deal - excessive regulation leads to inefficiency and lowers TFP. But regulation can cut both ways. Remember the financial crisis? If we unwind financial regulation that was introduced to prevent crises, that of course won't help the average rate of economic growth. Some people think that taxation is a big deal. The US tax code could in principle be redesigned to collect the same amount of revenue in a far more efficient way, potentially increasing TFP and the size of the labor force. But it's hard to argue the the tax changes recently passed by Congress would do much in this respect. Further, tariffs are indeed taxes, and the way these ones work isn't going to grease the wheels of the US economy.
Governments can potentially increase productivity through policies related to public education. But apparently the US Secretary of Education thinks public education is a waste of resources. Governments can provide public infrastructure that makes the private sector more productive. Haven't seen much of that. Donald Trump likes to spend on the military and keeping people out of the country, neither of which is going to contribute to measured GDP.
It would be nice to be more optimistic, but it looks like what you see is what you get.
Posted by Stephen Williamson at 1:47 PM 1 comment: Links to this post
Don't Fear the Inversion - It's the Short Rate That Kills You
Nick Tamaraos has a nice summary of issues to do with the flattening US Treasury yield curve, and the implications for monetary policy. Some people, including Tim Duy, and some regional Fed Presidents, are alarmed by the flattening yield curve, and the issue entered the policy discussion at the last FOMC meeting.
What's going on? While it's typical to focus on the margin between 10-year Treasuries and 2-years, I think it's useful to capture the very short end of the yield curve as well. I would use the fed funds rate for the short end, but that's sometimes contaminated by risk, so the 3-month t-bill rate, which most of the time seems to be driven primarily by monetary policy, seems like a good choice. Here's the time series of the 3-month T-bill, the 2-year Treasury yield, and the 10-year:
What people have pointed out is a regularity in the data. A flat or inverted yield curve tends to lead a recession. In the chart above, we're looking for compression in the 3 time series I've plotted. You can certainly see that compressions tend to lead the NBER-dated recessions (the shaded areas). To get a closer look at this, plot the difference between the ten-year yield and the 2-year yield, and the difference between the 2-year yield and the 3-month T-bill rate:
In this second chart, you can see that those two interest rate differentials go negative before recessions. But there are a couple of episodes in the sample, in 1996 and 1998, when the yield curve is pretty flat, but there's no ensuing recession. What's different about those two episodes is that (see the first Chart) the compression is caused more by long bond yields moving down, rather than the short rate moving up, as we observe in the cases where compression precedes a recession. If you were worried about an oncoming recession right now, based only on yield curve observations, you shouldn't be. All the recent flattening in the yield curve is in the long end. The margin between the two-year yield and the three-month T-bill rate hasn't been falling, as it did prior to previous recessions.
I think it's fair to conclude that what's going on in the data isn't a phenomenon related to the slope of the yield curve at the long end (2 years to 10 years), but at the short end. Recessions tend to happen when the short rate goes up a lot, and that's driven by monetary policy. As an alternative recession indicator, let's look at the real interest rate, measured by the difference between the three-month T-bill rate and year-over-year core inflation:
Typically, when the real interest rate moves from trough to peak by a large amount, a recession happens. That seems to work pretty well, except during the 1980s disinflation. So, for example, from trough to peak, the real rate moves about 420 basis points before the 2001 recession, and about 400 basis points before the 2008-09 recession. Recently, the movement from the trough to where we are now is about 200 basis points, so by that criterion, it's not time to worry yet.
What's the policy issue here? Well, apparently some members of the FOMC are starting to question whether continued rate hikes are a good idea, and are looking for arguments that will convince their colleagues to hold off. For example, in a talk at the end of May, Jim Bullard gave three reasons for holding off on interest rate increases: (i) inflation expectations are about where they should be; (ii) the Fed is achieving its goals; (iii) the yield curve is flattening. One measure of anticipated inflation is the breakeven rate - the margin between a nominal bond yield and the TIPS yield for the same maturity. Here are the five-year and 10-year breakeven rates:
Both of those have moved up above 2%, and the increase in the five-year breakeven is particularly important, as that's telling you more about near-term inflation expectations. As well, for good measure, the Philadelphia Fed's survey of forecasters gives a measure of anticipated CPI inflation for the next year:
That measure has also moved well above 2%, in line with 2% inflation - more or less - in terms of the Fed's inflation target measure, the PCE deflator. In terms of achieving its goals, the Fed is essentially nailing its inflation target, and the labor market is tighter than anyone would have imagined possible a few years ago. But what about the flattening yield curve, the third item on Jim Bullard's list?
There was a discussion about the flattening yield curve at the last FOMC meeting, as documented in the most recent FOMC minutes. Here's the relevant paragraph:
Meeting participants also discussed the term structure of interest rates and what a flattening of the yield curve might signal about economic activity going forward. Participants pointed to a number of factors, other than the gradual rise of the federal funds rate, that could contribute to a reduction in the spread between long-term and short-term Treasury yields, including a reduction in investors' estimates of the longer-run neutral real interest rate; lower longer-term inflation expectations; or a lower level of term premiums in recent years relative to historical experience reflecting, in part, central bank asset purchases. Some participants noted that such factors might temper the reliability of the slope of the yield curve as an indicator of future economic activity; however, several others expressed doubt about whether such factors were distorting the information content of the yield curve. A number of participants thought it would be important to continue to monitor the slope of the yield curve, given the historical regularity that an inverted yield curve has indicated an increased risk of recession in the United States. Participants also discussed a staff presentation of an indicator of the likelihood of recession based on the spread between the current level of the federal funds rate and the expected federal funds rate several quarters ahead derived from futures market prices. The staff noted that this measure may be less affected by many of the factors that have contributed to the flattening of the yield curve, such as depressed term premiums at longer horizons. Several participants cautioned that yield curve movements should be interpreted within the broader context of financial conditions and the outlook, and would be only one among many considerations in forming an assessment of appropriate policy.
What's going on here? The flattening yield curve is being used as an argument for a pause in interest rate hikes, so the people in favor of more interest rate hikes are looking for reasons why things are different now, and the drop in the margin between the 10-year yield and the 2-year yield doesn't mean what it used to. People may be able to come up with explanations about what's going on with respect to the 10-year vs. the 2-year Treasury bonds, but as I discussed above, that's not really important - it's what's going on at the short end of the yield curve that matters. The key question is: What are the benefits and costs of further rate hikes, given the current state of the economy? In evaluating the costs, we need to be concerned about the effects of these hikes on real economic activity. What's it take for the Fed to kick off a recession, and does the Fed really want to do the experiment to find out, if everything looks OK? As a side note, I thought the part of the FOMC discussion where the staff gives a presentation relating to an alternative indicator - the difference between the current fed funds rate and what the market thinks the future fed funds rate will be - was good for a chuckle. If the FOMC thinks the market knows more about what it's going to do than what it knows about what it's going to do, we're all in trouble.
What's the bottom line here? The case for continued rate hikes the FOMC has made is based on a faulty theory of inflation. The Fed thinks that tightness in the labor market will inevitably cause inflation to explode, and it thinks that increasing unemployment will keep inflation on target. But: (i) Phillips curve theory is not a theory; (ii) the central bank does not control inflation by controlling the unemployment rate; (iii) there is no such thing as an overheating economy. There is some question about what real interest rate we would see when the US economy settles down - supposing monetary and non-monetary factors don't change from what they are currently. Possibly that real interest rate - r* if you like - has increased somewhat from where it was earlier this year due to the phasing out of the Fed's QE program. But, given the current state of the economy, I think the onus should be on members of the FOMC who want further hikes to justify them, not the other way around.
Fed Balance Sheet Policy, and Treasury Debt Management
I happened to be entertaining myself, reading the FOMC minutes from the June 12-13 meeting, when I ran across this, in a discussion led by the people from the New York Fed who manage the System Open Market Account (SOMA):
The deputy manager followed with a discussion of money markets and open market operations. Rates on Treasury repurchase agreements (repo) had remained elevated in recent weeks, apparently responding, in part, to increased Treasury issuance over recent months. In light of the firmness in repo rates, the volume of operations conducted through the Federal Reserve's overnight reverse repurchase agreement facility remained low. Elevated repo rates may also have contributed to some upward pressure on the effective federal funds rate in recent weeks as lenders in that market shifted some of their investments to earn higher rates available in repo markets.
First, it seems a good sign that the Fed is paying attention to Treasury debt management. After all, the large asset purchase programs the Fed engaged in from late 2008 to late 2014 were a form of debt management. The Fed conducted assets swaps of short-maturity reserves for long-maturity Treasuries and mortgage backed securities, and swaps of shorter-maturity Treasuries in its portfolio for long-maturity assets. In so doing, the Fed wanted to change relative asset supplies at different maturities with the purpose of altering the term structure of interest rates - basically, flattening in the yield curve. Or, that was the theory, at least.
But in conducting its quantitative easing (QE) programs, the Fed appeared to be paying no attention to what the Treasury was doing. That's somewhat disturbing, as one of the Treasury's jobs is to manage the government debt - to decide when to issue debt, how much to issue, and what maturities to issue. If the Fed wants to manage the government debt, maybe it should be coordinating with the Treasury, or maybe it should ask Congress to add debt management to the Fed's job description.
But, back to the FOMC minutes. The quote is factually correct, in that there was larger issuance of Treasury securities in the first part of this year:
You can't quite see it in that chart, but it helps to take a 6-month moving average:
So, indeed, average issuance over the last six months took a jump of about $100 billion per month early this year, relative to last year. If you thought about that in the context of a reduction in the Fed's uptake of Treasuries and close substitutes, with the reduction in that monthly uptake currently capped at $30 billion, then it might seem like the Treasury's activities are more important. In my last post, I was blaming the cessation of the Fed's reinvestment program for the tightening up of overnight interest rates. That is, all overnight interest rates - repo rates, the fed funds rate - are close to the interest rate on reserves (IOER) currently, and that's a new phenomenon. In the quote above, it looks like the SOMA people are blaming the Treasury for this. A bit of an odd tactic that, as one might think the Fed would take the blame when their floor system starts to work the way it should.
But, that increase in new Treasury issues in January through May of this year didn't occur for no reason. When the Treasury has a month when a lot of government debt matures, it will issue more Treasuries to finance the principal payments and to fill the holes in financial markets left by the departing Treasuries. We should actually be more interested in net Treasury issue - the value of new securities sold minus the outflow from maturing debt. Here's what that looks like:
So, nothing particularly unusual going on there recently. Just for good measure, we'll look at a 6-month moving average as well:
That spikes up in the first part of this year, but it was also way down in the last part of last year. Also, note the quantities here. The cap on the value of securities in its portfolio the Fed will allow to mature is currently $30 billion, and that will increase to $40 billion in July, and finally $50 billion. The net flow of new Treasuries has averaged about $60 billion since 2014, so $30-$50 billion is large relative to that and, I think, consistent with the idea that it's the Fed's non-reinvestment policy that's mitigating a scarcity of safe collateral in the repo market. We have to account for mortgage-backed securities in the calculation, but I don't think that changes the story.
Fed Balance Sheet News
There have been some interesting developments in US financial markets over the last few months, that I think have an important bearing on how we should be thinking about large central bank balance sheets, quantitative easing, and the choice between floor systems and corridor systems for central banks. To really do a good job on this issue, one needs to know monetary economics, financial economics, and the intricacies of institutional details and regulation in overnight markets, but I'll do the best I can, and maybe some people can help fill in the spaces.
This post is a bit on the long side. If you want the executive summary, here goes. Recently, overnight financial markets have tightened up considerably, in the sense that the interest rate on excess reserves (IOER) is close to all overnight interest rates. The floor system of central bank intervention that the Fed designed, before interest rates went up in late 2015, is now working as floor systems should. Why are things working better? Because the Fed is finally phasing out its big-balance-sheet program, which was hindering the functioning of overnight markets. The FOMC has not seen the light yet, though. They love QE, and seem to be on a road to permanent big-balance-sheet.
First, let's review where the Fed's balance sheet was, where it is, and where it might be going. Between late 2008 and late 2014, the Fed purchased a large quantity of long-maturity Treasury securities and mortgage-backed securities (MBS), while paying interest on reserve balances at the IOER rate of 0.25%. Here's the time series of securities held outright by the Fed:
The more-than-five-fold nominal increase in the Fed's securities holdings, along with near-zero nominal interest rates, was viewed by the FOMC as an emergency policy, which it would ultimately exit from - in some fashion.
Well apparently that emergency lasted a very long time. The Fed did not begin increasing its target range for the fed funds rate until late 2015 - seven years after the financial crisis. And the reinvestment policy which held the nominal stock of the Fed securities constant was kept in place until October 2017. At that date, the Fed implemented a modest plan to reduce the size of the balance sheet through a phaseout in the reinvestment program. That is, there would be caps on the quantity of securities the FOMC would allow to mature without replacment, with the caps set to rise from $10 billion in October 2017 to $50 billion in October 2018. A $50 billion cap would bind infrequently given the current size of the Fed's portfolio, and would stop binding entirely as the size of the portfolio falls. As you can see from the chart, the balance sheet reduction program has become visible, but it will still take years for the balance sheet to fall to the point where it looks like pre-financial-crisis days, i.e. excess reserves close to zero.
But that gets us to the liabilities side of the Fed's balance sheet, which is actually where the action is, particularly in terms of this post. Before "liftoff" happened in October 2014, I wrote about how the implementation was supposed to work, in a large-balance-sheet world. The FOMC was uncertain about how liftoff would work, as they had never done anything like this before, and some idiosyncratic features of US financial markets made liftoff a tricky business. In theory, a floor system - when there are excess reserves outstanding in the financial system - should work in a very straightforward way. The Bank of Canada did this for a year-long period from Spring 2009 to Spring 2010, with no problems. In a floor system, the central bank sets IOER, and arbitrage in the overnight market should more-or-less equate all safe overnight interest rates to IOER.
But, in the US, some ill-informed people in Congress wrote the amendment to the Federal Reserve Act authorizing payment of interest on reserves in such a way as to deny government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) - including Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks - interest on reserves. So, every day GSEs are looking for a place to park their overnight funds to earn some interest, rather than having these balances sit in reserve accounts earning zero. Over time, the arrangement that developed was for the GSEs to lend overnight on the fed funds market to whoever would give them the best price. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac apparently dropped out of that game, leaving a fed funds market dominated by arbitrage trading between Federal Home Loan Banks, as lenders, and branches of foreign banks in the US, as borrowers. Why foreign banks? Because they had the lowest costs. This arbitrage was subject to frictions, thought to be "balance sheet costs." For example, a commercial bank that borrowed on the fed funds market and put those funds in its reserve account would have higher assets, and would therefore pay a higher deposit insurance premium, or would have to worry about satisfying capital requirements or other regulatory constraints. A foreign bank in the US has no retail deposit business, and thus is not paying a deposit insurance premium, implying lower costs of borrowing fed funds.
When liftoff occurred, the big concern was whether the fed funds rate would actually go up when IOER went up. In the immediate pre-liftoff period, the effective fed funds rate was typically in the range of .05-.15%. The IOER/fed funds rate differential of 10-20 basis points was thought to reflect balance sheet costs. But, would this differential persist, would it decrease, or would it increase? That uncertainty caused the Fed to buy insurance, in the form of the overnight reverse repurchase agreement (ON RRP) program. Every day, the Fed conducts a fixed-rate full-allotment program under which specified counterparties lend to the Fed, mainly overnight, with the lending secured by securities in the Fed's portfolio. Until recently, the ON-RRP rate was fixed at 25 basis points below IOER, the idea being that this puts a floor under the floor in the Fed's floor system - a subfloor, as it were. If you think that's unusual, you would be right.
So, what has been happening in overnight markets since December 2015? First IOER has been increased seven times. The first six were 25-basis point increases, and the last increase was 20 basis points, to 1.95% on June 15.
A key feature in the last chart is that, initially, the IOER/fed funds rate differential was 10 to 13 basis points, but that shrunk to about 9 basis points, and stayed at roughly that level through the period when IOER was 1.5%, but since the March 22 hike, the differential fell to 5 basis points and then to 3-5 basis points after the June 15 increase. The fed funds rate is currently at 1.91%, with IOER at 1.95%. Further, note that the downward spikes in the fed funds rate that occurred at every month-end have disappeared. The spikes were presumably due to accounting reasons. Borrowers in the fed funds markets wanted to fix up their balance sheets for month-end, and lenders had to find other places to park their funds overnight - I'm assuming in the repo market, at lower rates.
We can get more detail on the fed funds market from the New York Fed. The effective fed funds rate is an average (which only included brokered trades in the past, but I'm not sure what the coverage is now). There is always dispersion in interest rates in the market, and dispersion can get high when there is significant counterparty risk, as happened in the financial crisis. As you can see in the table, focusing on the last trading day listed, July 2, most of the trades are close to the mean. The effective fed funds rate was 1.91%, and 50% of the trades were within one basis point, plus or minus. But the 99th percentile was 2.06%, i.e. 15 basis points above the mean, which is substantial. That's also 11 points above IOER. What's going on here is that, in a system still flush with reserves, most trading on the fed funds market is between GSEs and banks that can earn interest on reserves. But there are still some banks that need to borrow overnight to meet a reserve requirement, for example. A bank might have to make a large payment late in the day, find itself short, have to scramble to find a lender, and end up paying a premium above IOER.
Also, here's the volume of daily trade on the fed funds market.
Volume is lower than before the financial crisis (as, again, the system is flush with reserves), and somewhat lower than late last year or early this year, but about the same as a year ago. Though fed funds are trading close to the top of FOMC range, which is currently 1.75-1.95, the tightening in the differential between the IOER and the fed funds rate isn't associated with markedly different trading volume in the fed funds market.
What's been happening with the Fed's ON-RRP facility?
That's just since the end of 2017, but it shows the volume of ON-RRPs dwindling to close to zero, except at the quarter-end in June. But note that even the quarter-end spike is small relative to volumes of $500 or $600 billion that have occurred in the past. Unfortunately, the Fed seems to have discontinued some ON-RRP time series, or FRED is not carrying them, so I can't show you the historical data. Take my word for it, though. Volume in the ON-RRP facility was typically much higher - on the order of $60 billion to $100 billion daily, and spiking substantially at quarter-ends, before this year.
Here's something interesting. The Fed is sustaining a substantial quantity of ON-RRPs to foreign entities - primarily official ones, i.e. governments and central banks:
Since liftoff, that has settled in at about $240 billion daily.
Other than ON-RRPs, the primary liabilities on the Fed's balance sheet are currency and reserves:
So, though the reinvestment program was holding the size of the balance sheet constant in nominal terms, growth in the nominal stock of currency has been kicking along at a good pace, so that the stock of reserves has been falling. At $2 trillion, this stock is still very large, however.
Another interesting feature associated with the Fed's large balance sheet is the post-financial-crisis behavior of the Treasury's General Account with the Fed.
The General Account is the Treasury's reserve account with the Fed. This account was carefully managed before the financial crisis, as an increase in reserves held by the Treasury will, everything else held constant, reduce reserves held by the private sector. But, with a large balance sheet, even large movements in Treasury reserve balances are of essentially no consequence. So, the balance in the General Account has been much larger, and very volatile. For some reason the average balance in the account has increased since liftoff, with the balance at a substantial $374 billion on June 27.
Of key interest are recent developments in overnight markets, related to some issues we have already discussed concerning the ON-RRP facility. Here, I'll use a figure from a paper by Sam Schulhofer-Wohl and James Clouse at the Chicago Fed:
This shows the fed funds rate, a repo rate, and the FOMC's target range for the fed funds rate from liftoff to early April. This shows how the margin between the fed funds rate and IOER (at the top of the band) has shrunk, and how the repo rate, which used to trade close to the ON-RRP rate (at the bottom of the band) began tracking the fed funds rate and IOER after the March FOMC meeting.
Taking a closer look, the New York Fed has begun publishing data on repo rates and trading volume. Here's what the repo rate looks like from April 2 to July 2:
Note that I've used a different rate than the one in the Schulfhofer-Wohl/Clouse paper, but I don't think it makes much difference. For good measure, here's the time series for the 1-month T-bill and the fed funds rate:
As you can see, there used to be a substantial margin between the fed funds rate and the one-month T-bill rate, but that essentially went away after the March FOMC meeting.
It's clear that all overnight interest rates have tightened up. What was once a floor-with-subfloor, a leaky floor, or whatever, is now behaving like a floor system should, with IOER tying down overnight interest rates. And the ON-RRP rate, at 20 basis points below IOER now, is not attractive to overnight lenders. The ON-RRP program could now be discontinued, and it would make no difference.
Why is this happening? Well, you don't have to think too hard to figure that out. The tightening up of the overnight market coincides with the phasing-out of the Fed's reinvestment program. From the very first chart, you wouldn't think that would make much difference, if you thought that what is important about the big balance sheet is only its size. But clearly the flow of asset purchases by the Fed matters, and a cessation of the reinvestment program makes a big difference for this flow, which in turn has a large effect on the stock of on-the-run safe assets - which are the primary fodder for the overnight repo market. Thus, what we have been observing in overnight markets from liftoff until early this year was due to a shortage of collateral. This shortage was keeping the repo rate low relative to IOER, and causing anomalies in the behavior of the fed funds market. The IOER/fed funds rate margin was not caused primarily by "balance sheet costs," but by lack of good alternatives to the fed funds market for overnight lenders. Now that repo rates are close to IOER, the fed funds market has become more competitive.
The bottom line is that quantitative easing was messing up overnight markets. A program intended to ease something was just gumming up the financial plumbing. Low real interest rates (or a low neutral rate, as it's sometimes called in the Fed system) was stemming in part from what the Fed was doing to itself.
So, how is the Fed reacting to this? From the May FOMC meeting minutes:
The deputy manager then discussed the possibility of a small technical realignment of the IOER rate relative to the top of the target range for the federal funds rate. Since the target range was established in December 2008, the IOER rate has been set at the top of the target range to help keep the effective federal funds rate within the range. Lately the spread of the IOER rate over the effective federal funds rate had narrowed to only 5 basis points. A technical adjustment of the IOER rate to a level 5 basis points below the top of the target range could keep the effective federal funds rate well within the target range. This could be accomplished by implementing a 20 basis point increase in the IOER rate at a time when the Committee raised the target range for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points.
Later in the minutes, it's stated that FOMC members thought such a change
would simplify FOMC communications and emphasize that the IOER rate is a helpful tool for implementing the FOMC’s policy decisions but does not, in itself, convey the stance of policy.
The key problem here is that announcing the policy as a target range for the fed funds rate is starting to look silly. The cure for that problem isn't reducing IOER to five basis points below the top of the range. Further, the idea that that IOER does not "convey the stance of policy" is false. That's how a floor system works, and this one now appears to be approaching the point where it's working fine.
The FOMC's focus on the fed funds rate as a policy rate has always been questionable, and seems particularly wrongheaded in the large-balance-sheet period. The fed funds rate is unsecured, and so reflects substantial counterparty risk in times of crisis. In pre-crisis times the New York Fed intervened in the repo market (a secured credit market) to target the fed funds rate. That's pretty weird. Why not just target an overnight repo rate, like most other central banks do? Repo rates are safe rates of interest, uncontaminated by risk, and the New York Fed could pretty much nail the target every day through a fixed-rate full-allotment procedure.
In the post-crisis period, it got even worse, as trading in the fed funds market consists mostly of arbitrage trading, and the rate doesn't mean what it did pre-crisis. Some people in the Fed system seem wedded to the fed funds rate as a policy rate, but they should give that up and move on.
Finally, this recent WSJ article by Nick Timiraos discusses balance sheet issues. I thought this quote from Bill Nelson, in the article, was interesting:
“But it’s possible, to everyone’s surprise,“ he said, that reserves are in fact growing scarce, which would mean ”they’ve reached the point where they will need to stop the run-off."
As well, Jim Bullard, President of the St. Louis Fed is quoted as follows:
Maintaining the existing framework “certainly looks like that’s the way we’re headed, but we should still have the debate.”
First, no one should be thinking of this as a "scarce reserves" situation. Two trillion dollars of reserves is still a massive quantity of reserves. That's about 11% of annual GDP. I think people are looking at how overnight interest rates are tightening up and thinking that this somehow looks like pre-financial crisis times, which people often call (misleadingly) a regime of "scarce reserves." As I discussed above, what we're seeing isn't a problem of scarce reserves. It's a good thing - the scarcity in safe collateral is going away.
Unfortunately, FOMC decision-making is still being driven by the people who decided to implement the Fed's quantitative easing (QE) programs, and bought into those programs in a big way. Like Ben Bernanke, who continues to defend QE, the proponents seem not to have learned much from the episode. This was an experiment, and I think I'm learning that it was a mistake. The Fed could stick with a floor system, protect Bernanke's legacy, and live in denial. There are circumstances in which a large balance sheet could be useful. But not if that means turning good collateral into inferior bank reserves.
Should You Be As Excited About GDP Growth As Donal...
Don't Fear the Inversion - It's the Short Rate Tha...
Fed Balance Sheet Policy, and Treasury Debt Manage...
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Lost Womyn's Space
This purpose of this project is to commemorate and honor lost womyn's space--both ancient and modern. This can mean anything from lost women's colleges and schools, to lesbian bars and clubs. And everything sacred and profane in between.
New Moon "crew" (2009) - by Jackie R.
Location: 2440 Wilton Drive, Wilton Manors, Florida, USA
Opened: March 2005
Closed: March 2014
The future must have looked real rosy when New Moon celebrated its 8th anniversary last year. From South Florida Gay News:
Wilton Manors Lesbian Bar New Moon Celebrates Another Anniversary
Written by Andrea Dulanto
A couple of years ago, the headline for an article at AfterEllen, a lesbian pop culture website, was “Are lesbian bars going extinct?”
It gave a few reasons for the possible extinction: An increase of social interactions via technology, the recession, the inclination of women to “partner up and stay home with [their] cats.”
Yet for the past eight years, New Moon Barin Wilton Manors has been giving LBT women a reason not to stay home.
SFGN sat down with owner Carol Moran at New Moon Bar to talk about the history of the bar, highlights from the past eight years, and the upcoming 8th anniversary party.
Moran opened New Moon in March 2005. She had been the owner of Kicks, another lesbian bar in Wilton Manors, which had closed down. Before that, she had worked as the General Manager for Red Lobster.
“I was getting ready to get promoted to Director, and I decided I don’t want to work that hard and that long for someone else,” said Moran. “I said I’m going to open this little bar. If it works, great. If not, I’ll sell it and go back into corporate America. I kind of figured, what’s the worst that can happen?”
When asked how New Moon has changed over the years, Moran reflected that they had added the patio bar and continued to offer live music. Upcoming bands include Sirsyfrom New York, which will perform during Pride, and South Florida’s Not for Nothing.
“You know what you’re going to get when you come in here,” said Moran. “You’re going to get friendly staff. You’re going to get good drinks. And we never charge a cover.”
Why no cover? “I think we pay enough to be gay. We don’t have to pay any more.”
New Moon also contributes to the community with fundraisers held throughout the year. The bar works with the Iron Ladies Golf Tournament to benefit Broward House and Broward Health. They raise awareness and funds for AIDS organizations through Smart Ride. During December, they sponsor a toy drive for the Children’s Diagnostic & Treatment Center.
Moran’s favorite part about owning a bar is when she can introduce people to each other. She also enjoys being a resource for the community.
“A woman came to me and her son was extremely ill, HIV-positive. I was able to call Broward House and get him the help he needed,” she said.
She also spoke about a woman who was able to detect her breast cancer as a result of the Iron Ladies benefit.
“That kind of stuff is pretty powerful,” she concluded.
Although there haven’t been many changes to New Moon over the years, they are planning a remodel that should be finished by the end of March 2013.
“We’re bringing in local artists,” said Moran. “They’re all doing 4 x 8 inch canvases. All local artists because I want it to be their place.”
Featured artists will be Gay Demario, Sheen Douglas and others. They will join pop artist Allison Lefcort’spainting of Madonna, which has become an iconic fixture on New Moon’s wall.
Moran also spoke about her dream to start another fundraiser at New Moon, a women’s music festival.
However, her immediate plans involve the recent purchase of Bailey’s Bistro in Wilton Manors. Scheduled to open in April, Thirteen Even will serve beer, wine and small plates.
But this new business endeavor does not mean that Moran will be any less involved at New Moon.
“I’m not going anywhere,” she said.
This year’s 8th Anniversary party will turn New Moon Bar into an arcade with twenty video games from the 1980s including Ms. Pac-Man, Pac-Man, and Galaga. DJ Karen Ward will play 80s music, and there will also be a costume contest.
In a few words, Moran described New Moon Bar: “A gay Cheers. You may come here not knowing somebody, but you’ll leave here knowing somebody.”
New Moon had consistently good reviews too. From Mark's List:
More laid-back than many of its male bar equivalents, New Moon Lesbian bar is an addition to the Wilton Manors nightlife scene that has a more urban flavor. While most of the bars and clubs in Wilton Manors are directed at gay guys and welcome lesbians, New Moon caters to lesbians and welcomes gay guys. This large bar fills a niche long missing from the main strip in Wilton Manors.
Customer reviews were generally stellar as well. Here's one sampling from yelp:
The only lesbian bar in town, and it was pretty awesome. A few years back when my cousin took me, he kept getting me drinks and every time he left someone would be hitting on me. That was a fun night. It was super sweet of my cousin to take me even though it didn't serve his own interests in any way. The live music playing that night was awesome. The crowd was really friendly. The drinks were well-done, fast, and delicious. Now that I'm actually over 21 with some money, I'll have to make another visit and see how I like it personally when I pay for everything.
And then, just one year later, she was gone. The obituary from Florida Agenda:
New Moon Closes its Doors
Wilton Manors, FL – A valued business in the LGBT closed down this week – the well-known lesbian-oriented bar New Moon. Over the weekend, the bar was packed from wall to wall with patrons. The bar became the stomping ground for a number of lesbians around the tri-county area.
“We’re really sad to see it go,” a patron told us over the weekend. “It’s our go-to bar when we decide to get out of the house. We’re really going to miss it.”
Patrons won’t have to worry too much though, as there will be a new party at Rumors on Thursdays that will cater to the lesbian crowd: Ladies game night with two-for-one drinks and 15% off your food bill (ladies only). The new lady’s party at Rumors started on Sunday when New Moon closed its doors for the last time.
And the goodbye note at the New Moon website:
Labels: Florida, lesbian bar
The Easy Bar
916 East Pike Street before it was The Easy Bar
Location: 916 East Pike Street, Seattle, Washington, USA
Opened: Around 1993
Closed: 1998
Here's the (undated) description of the The Easy from Clubplanet:
Easy, The - This lesbian bar expanded its clientele when it built a restaurant and large dance floor. All the action now takes place on the rustic, wooden dance floor dominated by loud house music and bright lights, but if you’re not the dancing type bring your date and treat her to dinner. You can even hang back at the bar where the party used to be.
According to this source, the Easy Bar went "tits up" (I ground my teeth when I read that choice of phrasing) in 1998.
By 1999, it was Spintron, a mostly gay male place. But notice in this review from March 1999 how The Easy's former lesbian clientele were still trying to hold onto the space, even in defeat:
SPINTRON 916 East Pike Street
Seattle's first bona-fide ARO.space clone turned out far better than I expected. But then again, I didn't expect much. Even with a fresh coat of paint, the specter of The Easy (R.I.P.) still lingers. And so do the lesbians. The space is still distinctly divided between lounge and dance floor, but now has windows through which you can ogle the dancers from the relative quiet of the bar. In an attempt to bolster their often pitiful attendance, they have dropped their egotistical and daunting $6 cover charge and opted to cash in on drinks instead. The dance floor is primarily dominated by shirtless Spintron employees who look either as if they are being attacked by gnats and roaches (swat, swat, stomp, stomp) or trying to channel Madonna in her dominatrix period. But all things considered, Spintron is the perfect medium between ARO.space and Neighbours, and could easily shape up to be one of the coolest clubs in town--and all the straight people who frequent ARO.space and Neighbours should definitely go to Spintron instead. Please!
Crowd: Jaded gay men desperately seeking something new, and lesbians reclaiming old territory.
Ambience: If ARO.space and Neighbours had a lesbian daughter.
Hours: 4 pm-2 am
Helpful Hint: Hang out next to the rent-a-boys dancing on the boxes for a great contact high.
Lobby Bar interior
It is now the Lobby Bar, "A gentlemen-oriented cocktail lounge with fancy wallpaper where King Cobra (and Sugar, and The Easy, and etc.) used to be. "
As one commentator sadly summarized the situation, "The Easy was there for 5 years and then got an offer to sell and from that point forward it became a series of gay (boy) bars."
Unfortunately, this is a common tale in the death of womyn's space. It is also unfortunate that I can find no photos of this location when it existed as The Easy.
Labels: lesbian bar, Seattle, Washington
The last 13 feminist bookstores in the U.S. and Canada
Antigone Bookstore, Tucson, Arizona - the oldest feminist bookstore still in existence
I usually post on lost spaces, the womyn's spaces that have been closed, destroyed, forced to go "coed," or otherwise no longer in existence.
From time to time, I post on lost women's bookstores. But the backlog of lost stores is very long, so I haven't made a lot of progress.
And then on Facebook, I saw the following article from Paste.
There are now just 13, repeat 13, feminist bookstores still in existence in the U.S. and Canada. Let that sink in for a moment....
By Anjali Enjeti
May 9, 2014 | 12:20pm
In the mid-1990s, there were approximately 120 feminist bookstores in the U.S. and several in Canada. A decade later, that number plummeted to less than 70.
There are only 13 self-described feminist bookstores still in existence today, but the remaining are stalwarts, having outlasted economic downturns, Amazon and the e-book revolution. Each bookstore hosts numerous events throughout the year, often garnering strong support from their communities, and we’ve listed them below.
See the rest here.
Labels: women's bookstore
Women's Caravan of Peace
Artifact from the Caravan of Peace
(Feminist Archive South)
Location: Various points in Europe
Opened/Closed: May 1958
From the Feminist Archive South:
In May 1958 [Dora] Russell, who was married to the philosopher Bertrand Russell and founder of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, travelled to Europe in a caravan.
The Caravan of Peace was an all-women venture into communist bloc Eastern Europe at the height of the cold war. The women had very little support and travelled with two vehicles – a coach and an old army truck which carried tents, cooking equipment and food.
A 90-minute film (called Women's Caravan of Peace) was made at the time which is now available on DVD. Here is the description from Concord Media:
Dora Russell's historic record of journey from west to east by women with the message of peace.
In 1958, a group of women formed an international committee to organise a women's caravan of peace which would travel by road from west to east to break through the barrier of the cold war. The ages of the travellers ranged from young women in their twenties, women of middle age, up to a Suffragette over 70. No organisation would give official support, all took part as individuals and at their own expense, carrying camping gear and food. The film shows their warm reception in countries all the way to an open-air meeting in Moscow. No other such journey has been undertaken before or since.
Dora Russell in her later years.
Photograph: Courtesy of Macalester College
I first learned about Dora Russell and the Women's Caravan for Peace from a recent article in the Boston Review by Judith Levine. Here's what Levine said about the Caravan:
From her dining room table, Dora created the Women’s Caravan of Peace of 1957–8—a dozen women in a claptrap coach traveling from Edinburgh through Europe and the Soviet Union to Moscow and back. Unfurling their multilingual banners declaring “Women of All Lands Want Peace,” they stopped along the way to join women’s conventions and demonstrations, improvise border-crossing ceremonies, accept cakes and flowers—activities, as one observer put it, such as “dancing with a dragon in Red Square.”
Unbelievable to think that all this took place over 55 years ago! It all seems so fresh and contemporary.
Over time, Dora Russell seemed to be leaning in a more separatist direction:
The detonation of the atom bomb, she later wrote, jolted women awake. If men had perverted physics to produce this abomination, what else might their “multifarious” scientific escapades yield? “Women had, with misgivings, been obliged to trust men as husbands and fathers. But now suddenly came enlightenment: Why have we let them go on disposing at will of the children that we bear?” Capitalist or communist, she wrote in 1965, “fundamentally, men have always loved themselves and their purposes better than they have loved women.” It was past time for women to “go it alone.”
Unfortunately, Levine fails to grapple with Russell's actual life and the historic realities and experiences that these women faced in dealing with men on both the left and the right. She falls into an all-too-facile post-modern analysis based on Jack Halbersham's rather befuddled writings. Might poor Dora be confusing men with masculinity as such? Shouldn't she have been, well, more nuanced?
Uh no. Through long years of political activism, Russell learned it was important to discern who was doing what and why, and not fall into vague attacks on seemingly disembodied ideas, supposedly untethered from any real-life class of actors and their political interests. And though she refrained from identifying herself as a Marxist as such, she had a materialist and grounded sense of reality. Which is that you must identify who holds the power and who might be the subject that brings about liberation and social/economic change:
Dora was not advocating that women take over the world, put men in cages, and treat them the way men have treated women for millennia. But she was not waiting for men to clean up their mess, either. Asked near the end of her life if there was any hope for the human race, she replied, “Women are the one chance.”
Posted by ANONYMOUS at 7:31 PM 1 comment:
Labels: Russia, Scotland, United Kingdom, women's caravan
Chatham College for Women
Location: Woodland Road, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Closed: May 1, 2014
After all the debate and op-eds and protests, it finally happened. The Board of Trustees killed off Chatham College for Women today. From today's Post-Gazette:
Chatham University to admit male undergraduates
By Bill Schackner and Eleanor Chute / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Chatham University trustees this afternoon voted to end 145 years of tradition by opening the school’s undergraduate college to men, a controversial step that administrators say is vital to the institution’s long-term survival.
The college, founded in 1869, will see its first male students recruited for fall 2015.
The board made the decision during a meeting on campus, while 20 or more protesters in a "free speech zone" outside voiced their opposition to the move.
The board's action includes a reorganization of Chatham University by academic units and the creation of a new Women's Institute with $8.5 million in funding.
In a news release, Chatham President Esther Barazzone said, "Our thinking has been inspired by a more contemporary interpretation of Chatham's mission in serving society's educational needs while also honoring our commitment to women with the establishment of our Chatham University Women's Institute to address critical challenges for women in the areas of business, politics, health and leadership development."
The university declined to release the vote, but at a news conference later, Ms. Barazzone said it "was not unanimous but near unanimous." Five trustees were also at the news conference to express their support for the decision, including Jane Burger who called it "courageous."
The Women's Institute this year will start with $8.5 million, made up of various endowments, current funds and $2 million in newly raised commitments.
The announcement, however, was met with some disappointment.
Emily Newport Woodward, 45, of Carnegie, a member of the Class of 1990, was asked what she would say to the trustees and Ms. Barazzone if she had the chance. She responded that she would ask, "Why? What is the plan of our alma mater to succeed, because going coed is not an easy fix.
"Chatham is no longer special in this saturated market of colleges and universities. I find it extremely ironic that Dr. Barazzone was brought here to save Chatham in 1990, and now her legacy will be to have basically undone what she saved."
"The president that I had back then in the 1990s would throw this Esther Barazzone off the Rachel Carson Bridge," said Amanda Nedley, 37, of Upper S. Clair, Class of 1990. "They're too different, period. Bought and paid."
The announced resignation Tuesday of the college’s dean, Karol Dean, added to a sense among members of a group calling itself the Save Chatham movement that the vote was not likely to go their way. Its leaders posted a message Wednesday night on Twitter aimed at some 2,000 graduates who have signed petitions, offered research or provided other support since the proposal was announced in February.
“You stood up and spoke at town hall meetings with conviction, passion and grace about how alumnae could change the future of Chatham College for Women, had only we been given the chance,” it read.
Susan George, a Point Breeze resident who is a member of the Class of 1975, wanted the board to vote down the coed proposal or delay the vote. Joining other protesters in the "free speech zone," she said alumnae were not given enough notice that the college had an enrollment problem.
"This is a failure of leadership on the part of the president and the board," she said.
She said it was important to save the women's college.
"Going to an all-women's college was one of the most important things I ever did," she said. "It gave me the confidence and feelings of self-worth to go on and go to law school and become an attorney and practice law," said Ms. George, a former alumnae trustee.
As the board meeting time neared, the demonstrators decorated a cremation box with a purple and white Chatham banner from the days when it was a college and promoted the theme of "world ready women."
Jane Kelly of Sheraden, a 2012 Chatham grad who was wearing a purple #savechatham pin, said, "I'm here because I believe an educational environment with all women helps women."
Maria Lepre, a Regent Square resident who is a member of the Class of 1987, wanted the vote to be delayed so more alumnae can become involved.
"I'm here to help preserve single-sex education as an option," she said. "I have a 5-year-old daughter. I want her to grow up knowing she has a strong voice."
She said women's colleges are needed, noting women still don't have pay equality with men. "There's still progress to be made."
Some of those walking across campus were men enrolled in graduate programs.
Eric Rodriguez of Shadyside, who is working on a master's degree in biology, said he sees the economic necessity.
"The university is going to go away or they have to let men in," he said.
He said he wished the women's college could remain, saying it provides a "unique environment for females" who take their classes only with women.
However, of going coed, he said, "If they didn't need to, they wouldn't do it."
The members of Save Chatham have said alumnae stand ready to help raise additional funds for the all-women’s college, but some also vowed to shift their donations to other women’s colleges if the vote to go coed was approved.
The coed idea is one component of a three-part proposal that trustees of the private campus reviewed in a closed session in the Eddy Theatre. The other elements included:
• Reorganizing the university by academic units and enabling undergraduates to secure spots upon admission into graduate programs.
• Creating a new Women’s Institute by combining existing centers for women’s entrepreneurship and women in politics with a new Women and Health program and the university’s Department of Women and Gender Studies.
Officials said the institute would include, among other facets, a women’s leadership certificate program, an all-women's residence hall with a focus on leadership, and research.
Chatham was founded under the name Pennsylvania Female College not long after the Civil War.
It has enrolled male graduate students for decades but kept its undergraduate college single sex, even as Chatham evolved into a university and as undergraduate females came to represent a shrinking part of the overall institution.
The college’s enrollment, which peaked at about 750 in 2008, is now closer to 500, a small fraction of the university’s nearly 2,200 students, officials said. The number of first-time full-time freshmen is half what it was in 2008 and is continuing to decline, of particular worry for a tuition-dependent campus already using its growing graduate programs to offset undergraduate losses.
In February, when Chatham announced that its board was pondering a move to coed, Ms. Barazzone cited “the difficulty of reaching a critical mass of students in contemporary times and the philosophical question of whether educating women alone continues to be the best way to give women a quality education in the 21st century."
Women are now in the majority on the nation’s college campuses. And only 2 to 4 percent of college-bound high school females say they want to attend a women’s college, a preference evident in the decline of women’s colleges across the U.S. from 200 in the 1960s to fewer than 50, Ms. Barazzone said.
Compounding matters were the recession of 2008 and population losses that have hit single-sex colleges especially hard.
Labels: Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, women's college
The last 13 feminist bookstores in the U.S. and Ca...
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Saint Louis Resident Profile Pages by Sector and Group
Each of the 104 names listed on the Dry and Compton Plate 71 will be researched over the months and years to come. The discovered stories, abridged and unabridged, and accompanying rabbit trails will be included in profile pages on the Lucas and Garrison website. When possible, we will include the actual content from the journals and articles published in the late 19th Century. The chroniclers of that era wrote with a poetic flair which represents a very different time.
Many of these stories tell of incredible people that made a significant difference in their community and the world. These are stories of lives that influenced the greatness of the City of Saint Louis during their era and now. There is much to be learned from their lives.
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Post Paris, should we be going for CCCS = Compulsory Carbon Capture and Storage?
Postcombustion carbon capture technology
Shayne MacLachlan, OECD Environment Directorate
You may have seen the film called “Tomorrow”, or under the non-translated title “Demain”, popping up in cinemas all over the place. It’s a French documentary focussing on positive action in 10 countries, showcasing concrete examples in agriculture, energy and education that aim to address our current environmental decline. It’s certainly an encouraging and uplifting watch but I admit to leaving the cinema still troubled by the numbers I see daily and why globally we can’t shake our addiction to carbon. Not only are most of our economies still dependent on fossil carbon for the majority of energy supply, carbon dioxide (CO2) lingers in our atmosphere for a very long time. Even if we stopped emitting the stuff tomorrow, most of it will remain in the atmosphere several centuries from now. According to researchers, “About 50% of a CO2 increase will be removed from the atmosphere within 30 years, and a further 30% will be removed within a few centuries. The remaining 20% may stay in the atmosphere for many thousands of years.” Since the beginning of the industrial revolution (~250 years ago) we’ve released about 500 billion tonnes of CO2 from fossil sources and deforestation. We are currently on a path towards releasing the second half-a-trillion tonnes in the next 40 years.
Clearly a revolution in the global economy is needed for a heavy reduction of GHG emissions. You may have heard of Carbon Capture and Storage or CCS. This technology prevents CO2 from fossil fuel combustion from accumulating in the atmosphere. In its most common form, this is achieved by capturing the CO2 after combustion at an industrial facility or power plant before it is emitted, then transporting it in a pipeline to a suitable location for permanent storage deep underground in rock formations. These rock formations could be depleted oil and gas reservoirs, such as those where natural gas had been naturally stored for millions of years. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) sees a big role for CCS in making a low carbon transition possible, both by tackling emissions from heavy industry and helping wean the power sector off fossil fuels at a politically feasible pace.
In the IEA’s scenario for tackling climate change at lowest cost, CCS makes up 13% of CO2 emissions reductions by 2050 compared to business-as-usual (see chart). The IEA’s Executive Director, Fatih Birol, has said that CCS “is an emissions reduction technology that will need to be widely deployed to achieve our low-carbon future” but the IEA has repeatedly noted that progress in CCS deployment is slower than was hoped for.
Contribution of technologies and sectors to global cumulative CO2 reductions link
Source: IEA Energy Technology Perspectives 2015
In a three-part interview, I talked to Kamel Ben Naceur, Director of Sustainability, Technology and Outlooks at the IEA, to find out how delays in CCS might risk the low-carbon transition and what is being done to advance it.
What is the situation for CCS in 2016? How many projects are up and running and, at up to a billion dollars per project, how should we judge their value for money?
There has been considerable momentum in the deployment of CCS in recent times. We now have 15 large-scale CCS projects operating throughout the world, and 7 more are expected to come online in the next two years. By 2020, these 22 projects will collectively be capturing as much as 48 million tonnes of CO2 each year from coal-fired power generation, natural gas processing, steel manufacturing, and fertiliser and hydrogen production.
These projects are providing essential hands-on experience and enabling learning by doing technology cost reductions. For example, the operators of the Boundary Dam project in Canada, which is the first large-scale project to apply CCS to a coal-fired power plant, believe they could reduce the costs of the next plant by 30%. The value of these first-of-a-kind projects therefore needs to be considered not just in pure dollar terms but in terms of their contribution to ensuring CCS technologies are understood and available at a lower cost for future deployment.
Unfortunately, beyond the current wave of projects, there are very few new CCS projects being planned and there is a real risk that today’s momentum will soon be lost without policy intervention.
Following December’s Paris Agreement on Climate Change, there’s been a lot of talk about the need for CCS if we are to transition to a net zero emissions future. Can you explain what this means in practice?
All low emission energy technologies, including CCS, will have an important role to play in supporting a faster transition to net zero emissions and in meeting the ambitions of the Paris Agreement. The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has confirmed that many long-term climate models are not able to constrain future temperature increases to 2 degrees or less if the availability of CCS and bioenergy with CCS (BECCS) is limited.
This reflects the unique contribution of CCS not only in directly reducing emissions from the use of fossil fuels, but in supporting negative emissions technologies that permanently remove carbon from the atmosphere. Negative emissions may be needed to extend carbon budgets and balance “stubborn” emissions that are difficult to eliminate, for example in aviation or agriculture. BECCS is one of the most advanced negative emissions technologies but other more nascent technologies such as Direct Air Capture or artificial trees will also depend on the availability of geological storage.
In practice, this means that investment in the identification and development of geological storage facilities will be important, both as a solution to fossil fuel emissions and to ensure that we retain the option of deploying these negative emissions technologies in the future.
How certain can we be that there’s sufficient storage capacity for the CO2 and are we sure it will stay underground?
With more than 20 years of experience in large-scale CO2 injection, storage and monitoring, there is a high degree of confidence that the CO2 will stay underground. Since 1996, the Sleipner project in Norway has been injecting more than 1 million tonnes a year into a deep saline formation in the North Sea. Naturally-occurring CO2 has also been injected into oil reservoirs in the United States for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) purposes since the 1960s. Provided that the geological storage sites are appropriately characterised and selected, with natural trapping mechanisms, the CO2 is very unlikely to migrate to the surface. Advanced monitoring techniques have also been developed which enable early identification and intervention should the CO2 not behave as expected.
Estimates of global storage resources indicate that capacity should be more than sufficient. The IEA has assessed that, by 2050, as much as 360 GtCO2 could technically be stored just through EOR operations, in a scenario where operators placed emphasis on maximising CO2 storage alongside oil production. This is around 3 times greater than the storage requirements in the IEA’s 2 degree scenario. However, investment in storage exploration and development is needed to better define this storage capacity at a regional level and to support future planning for CCS-dependent facilities.
IEA work on carbon capture and storage
Tags:carbon capture, GHG
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UJ ARTS & CULTURE HEADS TO MAKHANDA
UJ Arts & Culture is gearing up for its tour to the National Arts Festival to showcase the depth of cultural engagement facilitated by University of Johannesburg’s Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture (FADA). It is a programme rich in talent and diverse in creative discipline.
Franz Kafka’s masterpiece Metamorphosis highlights the interdisciplinary and collaborative nature of UJ Arts & Culture’s work. Conceptualised by around 300 FADA students and performed by a stellar line-up of professionals, Metamorphosis is the story of a young man who transforms into a giant beetle-like insect overnight, becomes an object of disgrace to his family and an outsider in his own home.
One of the most widely read and influential works of 20th-century fiction, Metamorphosis startles the audience with the bizarre story of a quintessentially alienated man. Kafka takes his audience on a harrowing – though absurdly comic – meditation on human feelings of inadequacy, guilt, and isolation.
Working in multidisciplinary groups, FADA students from across ten different departments in the faculty were challenged to explore the ‘other-worldly’ interpretations that this play lends itself to. The cast, featuring William Harding, Craig Morris, Khutjo Green, Ameera Patel and Jack Mabokachaba are complemented by the collaborative design of sets, costumes and animation.
“Having so many minds combined in the creation of an abstract thought such as this play is a rarity,” says Head of UJ Arts & Culture, Pieter Jacobs. “It is a force that entrenches the power of true collaboration within the creative sectors as an agent of deep change and innovation.”
Metamorphosis will be running from June 27 to 30 at the National Arts Festival at the Gymnasium. The production will return to UJ Art Centre from July 11 to 20. Tickets are now available at https://www.nationalartsfestival.co.za/events/metamorphosis/ and https://arts.uj.ac.za/show/METAMORPH/
Testament to UJ Arts & Culture’s commitment to the development and transfer of skills, Ayanda Bulose will make his directorial debut with the classic allegory Lord of the Flies. After a number of years honing his skills as a director, Bulose will head up a fierce team of UJ Arts & Culture's Arts Academy students to bring this tale of fear and power to life. “It’s has been an exhilarating experience breathing life into an epic classic such as Lord of the Flies,” says Bulose.
"It has been a wonderful journey producing Lord of the Flies over the past six months that I have been at UJ Arts & Culture. We have an incredibly talented creative team comprising young award-winning designers. This is Ayanda Bulose's debut as a director and he has not held back on his creative input and seeing him grow into a young talented director has been rewarding,” says UJ Arts & Culture Operations Manager Karabo Mtshali.
The Lord of the Flies production team has partnered with the UJ Health & Safety department to collect recycling material used to build the set, reflecting on environmental issues that creates a theme running through Bulose’s interpretation of the play.
Lord of the Flies will be running from June 27 to 30 at St Andrews Hall at the National Arts Festival. Johannesburg audiences can catch it upon its return to the Con Cowan Theatre in September 2019 at the UJ Youth Arts Festival. Tickets are now available at https://www.nationalartsfestival.co.za/events/lord-of-the-flies/.
iNDUKU
Created in residence at UJ Arts & Culture under the mentorship of award-winning Jade Bowers who also sits in the director’s chair, iNDUKU is written and performed by Ayabonga Makanya. In this one-hander, Makanya tells the story of Thembalethu who was born in the rural Eastern Cape and raised by his Gogo after his mother abandoned him. Growing up within the confines of culture and religion, he is ill-prepared for the world. As he becomes a man he is faced with doubts about the foundations of these customs.
“Working with Ayabonga has been interesting for me, and I think for him as well, because it has been a process that has started from scratch, working with the writing from a dramaturgy perspective as well as the rehearsal process,” says Bowers.
iNDUKU will be running from June 28 to 30 at the St Andrews Hall at the National Arts Festival. Johannesburg audiences can catch it upon its return to POPArt in Johannesburg from July 11 to 14. Tickets are now available at https://www.nationalartsfestival.co.za/events/induku/.
CONTINUING CONVERSATIONS
This year’s fine art exhibition that UJ is touring to the National Arts Festival is a continuation of the longstanding partnership between the MTN Foundation and UJ Arts & Culture. Main Programme exhibition Continuing Conversations is a collection of portraits expertly drawn from the extensive collections of both institutions.
With the vision and enthusiasm of joint curators Niel Nortje, Manager of the MTN Art Collection and Annali Dempsey Curator of University of Johannesburg Art Gallery, Continuing Conversations brings the hidden treasures of both collections into the public domain.
Dempsey and Nortje have selected portraits that explore the concepts of power, the juxtaposition of power and powerlessness, identity and body politics, perceptions of the other and the exotic, memory, and the masks we wear.
About 40 works have been selected from across the UJ collection, consisting of 1,500 artworks, and the MTN collection, consisting of 1,400 artworks. Artists on show include Gerard Bhengu, Reshada Crouse, Wilma Cruise, Phillemon Hlungwani, Maggie Laubser, Judith Mason, George Pemba, Cecil Skotnes, Irma Stern and Edoardo Villa.
Continuing Conversations will be exhibited from June 27 to July 7 at the Grahamstown Gallery – Albany Museum.
UJ Arts & Culture, a division of the Faculty of Art, Design & Architecture (FADA) produces and presents world-class student and professional arts programmes aligned to the UJ vision of an international university of choice, anchored in Africa, dynamically shaping the future. A robust range of arts platforms are offered on all four UJ campuses for students, staff, alumni, and the general public, to experience and engage with emerging and established Pan-African and international artists drawn from the full spectrum of the arts.
In addition to UJ Arts & Culture, FADA (www.uj.ac.za/fada) offers programmes in eight creative disciplines, in Art, Design and Architecture, as well as playing home to the NRF SARChI Chair in South African Art & Visual Culture, and the Visual Identities in Art & Design Research Centre. The Faculty has a strong focus on sustainability and relevance, and engages actively with the dynamism, creativity and diversity of Johannesburg in imagining new approaches to art and design education.
Labels: drama, festivals, leisuresmart, miscellaneous, visual arts
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Emergency personnel respond to the scene after two explosions went off near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday.
3 killed, more than 140 hurt in Boston Marathon bombing
Three killed - including 8-year-old boy - in bomb blasts near finish line of Boston Marathon, officials say. Area hospitals say at least 144 are injured, including eight children.
Two explosions happened at about 2:50 p.m., more than two hours after the first of the race's nearly 27,000 runners had crossed the finish line.
Boston.com journalist tells CNN "blood everywhere," people missing limbs.
Race called off; Red Cross and Google set up websites to help people find loved ones in the area
Full story here; also, see CNN affiliates WBZ; WCVB; WHDH
[Update, 11:05 a.m. ET Tuesday] This post is no longer being updated. For Tuesday's coverage, please read this story.
[Update, 11:41 p.m. ET] Stephen Segatore, a nurse who was at the medical tent near the finish line for the Boston Marathon, said emergency responders immediately went into mass-casualty mode.
"We had full trauma response at the scene," he told CNN. "We had physicians, nurses who are experienced in trauma care. We had EMTs and it was a full Level 1 trauma experience."
Segatore said he treated at least 25 people as those experienced in trauma care stepped forward while others treated people with minor injuries.
[Update, 11:35 p.m. ET] Saudi ambassador to the United States Adel Al-Jubeir condemned the bombings in Boston and offered his condolences to victims' families.
“What occurred today in Boston is a heinous crime which contradicts the values of humanity.” he said.
[Update, 10:52 p.m. ET] The total of injured has risen to 144 people, officials at Boston area hospitals said. That includes three additional patients at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
[Update, 10:41 p.m. ET] A law enforcement source in Boston tells CNN that investigators have a "number of active leads, and some good early progress in the forensics analysis."
[Update, 10:07 p.m. ET] Dr. Peter Fagenholz told reporters that there were 29 wounded people at Massachusetts General Hospital, eight of whom were in critical condition. Many of the people had shrapnel injuries to their lower extremites, he said.
"We have performed several amputations," he said.
There were no pediatric patients among the wounded, he said.
[Update, 9:38 p.m. ET] Dr. Allan Panter, who was near the finish line waiting for his wife who was running the race, told CNN he was standing about 20 to 25 feet from the first blast. He said he treated victims on the street after the explosion.
"I saw at least six to seven people down next to me," he said. "They protected me from the blast. One lady expired. One gentleman lost both his (lower) limbs. Most of the injuries were lower extremities. I could not figure out why the young lady had expired. I could not find any injury on her thorax."
[Update, 9:28 p.m. ET] Bill Iffrig, seen in video wearing an orange tank top and being blown over as he approached the finish line, told CNN's Piers Morgan that he was feeling OK after the blast.
"I got down to within about 15 feet of the finishing apron and heard just tremendous explosion, sounded like a bomb went off right next to me, and the shock waves just hit my whole body and my legs just started jittering around," he said. "I knew i was going down and so i ended up down on the blacktop."
Iffrig, 78, said he was assisted by one of the event volunteers, who helped him up so he could finish the race. After that, the worker looked for aid for Iffrig, who had just a scratch from his fall.
"He insisted on getting a wheelchair over there so we started to do that, but then before that was rounded up, i said my hotel's about six blocks away so I think I can make it okay. So they let me get out of there and I went on home to my wife."
[Update, 8:55 p.m. ET] A Saudi national with a leg wound was under guard at a Boston hospital in connection with the bombings at the Boston Marathon, but investigators cannot say he is involved at this time and he is not in custody, a law enforcement official said Monday evening.
[Update, 8:54 p.m. ET] Three people were killed in the bombings, Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis told reporters Monday night, raising the toll by one.
[Update, 8:52 p.m. ET] The FBI is taking the lead in the investigation, Rick DesLauriers, FBI Special Agent in Charge of the Boston field office, told reporters.
[Update, 8:44 p.m.ET ] The Boston Celtics home game against the Indiana Pacers, originally scheduled for Tuesday, was canceled, the NBA announced. With the regular season almost at its end, the contest will not be made up.
[Update, 8:36 p.m. ET] Investigators have warned law enforcement officers to be on the lookout for a "darker-skinned or black male" with a possible foreign accent in connection with Monday's bombings at the Boston Marathon, according to a law enforcement advisory obtained by CNN.
The man was seen with a black backpack and sweatshirt and was trying to get into a restricted area about five minutes before the first explosion, the lookout notice states.
[Update, 8:35 p.m.] Hospital workers have treated 141 people after the Boston Marathon bombings, officials at those facilities said Monday night. Two people died in the terror attack, including an 8-year-old boy, a state law enforcement source said.
[Update, 8:32 p.m.] A statement has been issued by the race organizers: "The Boston Athletic Association extends its deepest sympathies to all those who were affected in any way by todays events.
"Today is a sad day for the City of Boston, for the running community, and for all those who were here to enjoy the 117th running of the Boston Marathon. What was intended to be a day of joy ...and celebration quickly became a day in which running a marathon was of little importance.
"We can confirm that all of the remaining runners who were out on the course when the tragic events unfolded have been returned to a community meeting area.
"At this time, runners bags in Boston which remain unclaimed may be picked up by runners presenting their bib number or proof of race participation at the Castle, at 101 Arlington Street, in Boston.
"At this time, we are cooperating with the City of Boston, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and all federal law enforcement officials.
"We would like to thank the countless people from around the world who have reached out to support us today."
[Update, 7:57 p.m. ET] Doctors are "pulling ball bearings out of people in the emergency room," a terrorism expert briefed on the investigation told CNN's Deborah Feyerick.
The same source said the blasts resulted in at least 10 lost limbs.
[Update, 7:43 p.m. ET] An 8-year-old boy was among those killed, a state law enforcement source said, according to CNN's John King.
[Update, 7:38 p.m. ET] At least 132 people - including eight children - have been injured in the bombings, according to Boston-area hospitals. Boston police earlier said that two people were killed.
At least 17 of the injured are in critical condition, and at least 25 are in serious condition, area hospitals said.
[Update, 7:08 p.m. ET] A witness, Marilyn Miller, told CNN that she was about 30 feet away from the first bomb when it went off. The second bomb came about 12 seconds after and about 50 to 100 yards away from the first, according to authorities and an analysis of video from the site.
Miller was waiting for a runner who, it turns out, was probably about 10 minutes away from the finish line.
"We saw injuries all around us," Miller said. Someone was putting pressure on a woman's neck. "A little boy, his leg was torn up. A woman, (people) were (shouting), 'Critical, critical, get out of out way!'"
[Update, 6:51 p.m. ET] At least 110 people have been injured in the bombings, according to Boston-area hospitals.
[Update, 6:49 p.m. ET] Boston cell phone services were overloaded in the wake of the blast, slowing the city's network dramatically and hampering the investigation in the early going, federal law enforcement officials told CNN.
Unconfirmed rumors began circulating on social media and elsewhere that law enforcement had shut down cell service to prevent more explosives from being detonated remotely. But mobile companies were saying that was never the case, CNN's Doug Gross reports.
"Verizon Wireless has not been asked by any government agency to turn down its wireless service," a spokesman for that company told CNN. "Any reports to that effect are inaccurate."
In other media reports, Sprint similarly denied being asked to shut down service.
Online, Bostonians were being encouraged to stay off of their mobile phones except for emergencies and even open up their wireless connections to help take the load off of the cellular data network.
"If you live or run a business in #Boston near bombsite (please) open your wifi for people to use," tweeted Disaster Tech Lab, an Irish nonprofit dedicated to providing technology to assist in emergency situations.
[Update, 6:47 p.m. ET] Initial tests indicate that the two bombs were small and possibly crude, with the tests not indicating any high-grade explosive material was used, a federal law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation told CNN national security contributor and former homeland security adviser Fran Townsend.
The source said the FBI considers the incident a terrorist attack, "but they've made clear to me they do not know at this time whether those responsible for the attack were a foreign or domestic group," Townsend said.
A woman comforts another, who appears to have suffered an injury to her hand.
[Update, 6:35 p.m. ET] U.S. Rep. Bill Keating, D-Massachusetts, said an unexploded device was found at a hotel on Boylston Street, and another unexploded device was found at an undisclosed location.
Keating, who is a member of the House Homeland Security committee and has spoken to law enforcement sources, tells CNN's Dierdre Walsh that the incidents were a "sophisticated, coordinated, planned attack."
Runners who had not finished the race were stopped before the Massachusetts Avenue overpass on Commonwealth Avenue.
[Update, 6:14 p.m. ET] More from President Obama, who just wrapped up his brief statement at the White House: "We still do not know who did this or why ... but make no mistake: We will get to the bottom of (this). We will find out who did this. We will find out why they did this. ... Any responsible groups will feel the full weight of justice."
[Update, 6:11 p.m. ET] President Barack Obama is speaking about the bombings now: “The American people will say a prayer for Boston tonight, and Michelle and I send out deepest thoughts and prayers to the victims," Obama said at the White House.
A man embraces a young girl after the attacks.
[Update, 5:59 p.m. ET] John Manis, an eyewitness in his 50s, was about 200 feet away from the finish line near the Prudential building when the bombings occurred. He felt the blast to the point that it made him and others around him jump in the air, and some others around him fell down on the ground, he said, according to CNN's Eden Pontz.
Manis said he heard two blasts about five seconds apart. He said there was confusion all around him, and he was hustled into the nearby Mandarin Hotel. Officials wouldn’t let them leave the hotel for a bit, and he says all who were there were all frisked by police. He said that when he left, he saw broken storefronts and lots of blood.
A man comforts a victim on the sidewalk at the scene of the first explosion.
[Update, 5:51 p.m. ET] President Barack Obama is expected to deliver a statement at about 6:10 p.m. ET from the White House.
A runner reacts near Kenmore Square after the two terrorist bombings near the Boston Marathon’s finish line.
[Update, 5:35 p.m. ET] Google has established a person-finder related to the Boston bombings. People who are looking for someone or have information about someone can make reports there.
[Update, 5:31 p.m. ET] Boston police now appear to be backing away from their commissioner's earlier statement that a third incident - at the JFK Library 5 miles from the finish line - might have been related to the Boston Marathon blasts.
On Twitter, Boston police say: "Update JFK incident appears to be fire related."
Update JFK incident appears to be fire related #tweetfromthebeat via @CherylFiandaca
— Boston Police Dept. (@bostonpolice) April 15, 2013
An injured person is taken away from the scene.
[Update, 5:21 p.m. ET] Precautions are being taken at the White House because of the Boston explosions, CNN’s Jessica Yellin reports. See that in the video below, as well as Vice President Joe Biden's reaction to the incident:
[Update, 5:17 p.m. ET] In the video below, a man describes the initial blast, saying the impact was so strong it “almost blew my head off.” He was not injured, but saw many people sustain horrific injuries.
[Update, 5:15 p.m. ET] The Boston Globe is reporting a much higher injury count. They report that more than 100 people are being treated for injuries, citing local hospitals.
https://twitter.com/BostonGlobe
[Update, 5:10 p.m. ET] Hospitals now say they are treating as many as 51 wounded after the bombings. Two people have been killed, according to Boston police.
[Update, 5:09 p.m. ET] It will take a long time to clear the area, because lots of people dropped bags and whatever else they had when the finish-line blasts happened. Authorities have to check all of those bags, and bomb squads "may be blowing things up over the next few hours" out of precaution, Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis said.
In the words of Boston Globe political reporter Cynthia Needham, on Twitter:
Side problem, according to commissioner: People running from scene dropped bags, and personal belongings in the street. All must be checked.
— Cynthia Needham (@CynthiaNeedham) April 15, 2013
Thousands of runners still had yet to finish the race when the bombs exploded in a spectator area along Boylston Street near the finish line, CNN executive producer Matt Frucci at the scene.
[Update, 4:58 p.m. ET] New details from Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis:
- A third explosion happened at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library "about a half-hour ago." The library is about 5 miles southeast of the Boston Marathon finish line.
- Police don't immediately know whether that explosion is related to the two near the Boston Marathon finish line.
- The two blasts near the finish line - along Boylston Street near Copley Square - "happened 50 to 100 yards apart."
- "We're recommending to people that they stay home ... and that they don't go anyplace and congregate in large crowds."
- Relatives of people who may be missing in the area can call the mayor's hotline at 617-635-4500.
- Anyone who has information about the bombings or saw anything suspicious can call 1-800-494-TIPS.
BPD asking people not to congregate in large crowds #tweetfromthebeat via @CherylFiandaca
[Update, 4:46 p.m. ET] Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick says “this is a horrific day in Boston."
"My thoughts and prayers are with those who have been injured," Patrick said in a statement released this afternoon. "I have been in touch with the president, Mayor Menino and our public safety leaders. Our focus is on making sure that the area around Copley Square is safe and secured. I am asking everyone to stay away from Copley Square and let the first responders do their jobs.”
A man lays on the ground after the explosions in Boston.
[Update, 4:45 p.m. ET] It appears that so many people are using cell phones in the center of Boston, consistent service is hard to get - and the overload is hampering the investigation, two federal law enforcement sources tell CNN.
A person who was injured in an explosion near the finish line of the Boston Marathon is taken away from the scene.
[Update, 4:40 p.m. ET] Another journalist says she saw victims who lost limbs. This account is from Boston Globe political reporter Cynthia Needham:
Outside MGH: Head of emergency medicine says 19 have been brought to MGH, six critically injured, some with amputations.
"Outside MGH: Head of emergency medicine says 19 have been brought to MGH, six critically injured, some with amputations," she posted to Twitter.
Earlier, we noted that Boston.com sports producer Steve Silva reported that he "saw dismemberment" and "blood everywhere."
[Update, 4:37 p.m. ET] Organizers with the London Marathon, scheduled for this coming Sunday, have taken notice.
"We are deeply saddened and shocked by the news from Boston," London Marathon officials said Monday. "Our immediate thoughts are with the people there and their families. It is a very sad day for athletics and for our friends and colleagues in marathon running. Our security plan is developed jointly with the Metropolitan Police and we were in contact with them as soon as we heard the news."
[Update, 4:30 p.m. ET] Boston firefighters have found what they believe is an unexploded device after the blasts, a government official said, according to CNN's Joe Johns.
Police officers with their guns drawn hear the second explosion down the street. The first explosion knocked down a runner at the finish line.
[Update, 4:27 p.m. ET] "I saw blood everywhere," Boston.com sports producer Steve Silva told Boston.com.
Silva told the news outlet that he was near the finish line when the explosions happened. He said he saw a number of injuries in the area where spectators were. He saw "someone lost their leg," and he said "people are crying, people are confused."
"It was just an explosion, it came out of nowhere," he said. "There are multiple injuries. I saw dismemberment, I saw blood everywhere. People are badly injured."
[Update, 4:19 p.m. ET] We have a new injury count: According to hospital officials, at least 28 people are being treated for injuries connected to this afternoon's blasts near the Boston Marathon finish line.
Nineteen were being treated at Massachusetts General and nine at Tufts Medical Center, officials at those facilities said. Boston police earlier put the number of victims at two dead and 22 hurt.
A person who was injured in an explosion near the finish line of the 117th Boston Marathon is taken away from the scene in a wheelchair.
[Update, 4:16 p.m. ET] "People started scrambling, pushing, shoving" when the explosions happened in a sidewalk area along Boylston Street, near the finish line in the Copley Square area, says CNN executive producer Matt Frucci at the scene.
Frucci said he heard the blasts.
"After the dust settled, (I saw) six or seven people strewn about the area where the second (explosion) was.
Emergency personnel respond to the scene after two explosions went off near the finish line of the 117th Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013.
[Update, 4:11 p.m. ET] A Red Cross website has been established to help people find loved ones in the area.
"Individuals can register themselves as safe or search for loved ones," Massachusetts' emergency management agency says.
[Update, 4:08 p.m. ET] At least two people have been killed and 22 are injured in the apparent bombings near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, Boston police say.
An explosion rips through a location near the finish line of the Boston Marathon.
[Update, 4:02 p.m. ET] A Massachusetts General Hospital spokeswoman tells CNN 19 victims have been brought in.
[Update,3:57 p.m. ET] On their Twitter page, Boston marathon officials made this announcement: "There were two bombs that exploded near the finish line in today's Boston Marathon. We are working with law enforcement to understand what exactly has happened."
[Update, 3:53 p.m. ET] New York is taking precautions as a result of the explosions at the Boston Marathon.
In a written statement, New York Police Department Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne said: "We're stepping up security at hotels and other prominent locations in the city through deployment of the NYPD's critical response vehicles until more about the explosion is learned.
[Update, 3:45 p.m. ET] Paramedics were treating several victims at the scene, and police ordered onlookers to back away from the area. Troops from the Massachusetts National Guard were assisting police as well.
Onlooker Josh Matthews said he heard the blast, then saw police running toward the scene.
"We just heard a lot of sirens, and people were kind of frantic, and it was a bad situation, so we got out of there," he said.
[Update, 3:37 p.m.] Four victims of explosions near the Boston Marathon finish line are at the emergency room at Massachusetts General Hospital, a hospital spokeswoman told CNN. She had no information about the victims' conditions.
[Posted at 3:25 p.m. ET] A pair of explosions rocked the finish line at the Boston Marathon on Monday afternoon, injuring at least a half-dozen people, a CNN producer at the scene said.
The blasts occurred a few seconds apart, shrouding downtown Boston's Copley Square in smoke. Paramedics were treating several victims at the scene, and police ordered onlookers to back away from the area, CNN Producer Matt Frucci reported.
The explosions occurred about 2:45 p.m., about an hour after the first runners had crossed the finish line, Frucci said.
Post by: CNN's Eliott C. McLaughlin, CNN's Jason Hanna, CNN's Linda Rathke, CNN's Steve Almasy
Filed under: Boston • Massachusetts
iimpressivejf
Hmmm. Boston and tax day. It seems somebody has a beef with taxation.
Brian Colby
Stinking Soviet CNN reporter just said that it was probably a "right-wing" extremist group who did it, if not an international terror ring. Starting already. Stinking Libs. Extremist alright, but not necessarily right-wing.
Kuske
When did you last see a left wing terrorist? Kent State students?
Your right, its not nessisarly a right wing group, there are several groups that would do it just to see people die, but honestly we cant rule out the right wing extreamists also. these are the people who enjoy owning military grade hardware, ya-kno to protect them selves and such. ( dont get me wrong go 2nd ammendment ) but the world if full of crazies without the NRA o.o
What else is expected from a left-leaning news organization? Always ready to point the finger to those whom they disagree with... it's the "liberal" way!
JohnathanA
Satan's minions did this.
They did this because they thrive in death and blood of the innocents.
Landru
Get a grip dude.
Lol sorry bro, but PEOPLE did this. Satan and all your little Christian fairy tale monsters are not real.
Woah mister. It's okay to disagree but for to discredit a persons religion
Whoa Kristen. Religion discredits itself. Over and over again.
KatyJane
So, If you are not in Boston, are you going to donate Blood?
What do you do for others when something bad or sad happens on American soil?
Chelada Charlie
Does Boston or the rest of the north east give a rip about the rest of the country?
HobokenGuy
So it's just "nah nah nah you don't care about me (in my mind) so you're OK with people dying? More stupidity. I guarantee you that Boston people care about the rest of the country. Even if they didn't, how about being a better person? Yeah, guess that's not what anything is about.
it's truly amazing to me how people can be so brainwashed and controlled that they actually believe that doing something like this to innocent people is somehow a victory on some level. it's solid proof that you can convince a human being of anything. absolutely anything. very sad.
See: Iraq War
We need to make using bombs illegal!!! Oh wait they already are.. I don't understand how criminals can get bombs if they are already illegal? Maybe we need more bomb control laws.
beatingadeadhorse
So what makes you write this comment, was it seeing the other 10,000 people who wrote it before you??
Amae
Pretty sure you can make a bomb from ordinary household items...seems harmless, but when put together, they create a terrible day like today. So very sad.
Filthy Islamic Jihadi's
Porchia
Probably sleeper cells that the liberals have welcomed into our country with open arms.
lisa anderson
filthy white republican extremists
Spance
If this is Al-Qaeda attack, then the Spance (Scientist) say "we 100% that person or people are alread waiting to get the plane out of the country, police need to check airport ASAP before it to late'.
It's astounding that when an event like this happens time after time everyone can put iside their differences and rally to support those effected once an event like this has occurred, yet no one is willing to put aside their differences and rally together to prevent it in the first place.
elbert k. satcher
say it again. cause it is the truth!!!
And how the hell would you propose to prevent it? Really ,Really curious
ideas are thrown around to prevent disasters from occurring when ever they occur but none of them will ever be put in place if people can't put aside their petty differences to due so...
April 15, 2013 at 10:30 pm | Report abuse |
leedozier
prayers are with the victims and their love ones
i hope and pray for the families of the victims' and pray that the terrorists die a horrible death.
God bless those murdered and comfort their families and friends comfort all of those injured in this horrific act of violence. Please bless and guide the hands of the first responders and the doctors and nurses that are taking care of the injured. Dear God, break down the walls that divide our nation and bless our country and our countrymen. Let us come together as a nation that will not stand for terrorists and their cowardly ways. I ask all of this in Your Son's Name.
NotYoDaddy
See, now if there had been Universal Background Checks.................
Andre Richards
Give it a rest, cowboy.
Consuelo Galvan
wow... sorry for to many typos...
Bill Thayer
Terrorists will strike anywhere at anytime. Their objective is to kill. There is no negotiation possible with these terrorists. The only answer is to kill them all. Keep using the drones to kill these terrorists anywhere in the world.
Americans are terrorists.
RobGR
I guess you work for a company that manufacturers drones?
i'm with you thayer kill them all before they get us
Who would do this its un speakable this is why we need more police men at special events
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53,900 opt out of life-prolonging treatment since adoption of Death with Dignity Act
By Kim Arin
Published : Jul 11, 2019 - 17:07
Updated : Jul 11, 2019 - 17:22
A year and five months since the enactment of Death with Dignity Act, nearly 54,000 have decided to opt out of life-prolonging treatments, according to government data.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare said Wednesday the number of individuals who either withheld or withdrew from receiving life-prolonging treatment totaled 53,900 as of June 30. The end-of-life care legislation allowing terminally ill patients to abandon life-prolonging medical care went into effect on Feb. 4, 2018.
Life-prolonging treatment refers to medical procedures that delay the process of dying with no significant chance of resulting in recovery from or alleviation of suffering.
(123rf)
In addition to four treatments categorized as life prolonging measures -- CPR, artificial ventilation, hemodialysis and chemotherapy -- the ministry expanded the scope in March to include procedures such as extracorporeal life support, transfusion and vasopressor therapy.
Terminally ill patients can withhold or withdraw consent for receiving life-prolonging treatment through a written statement.
In cases where the patient lacks the capacity to make a decision, two or more family members can testify that the patient would not wish to prolong treatment on his or her behalf. Suspension of life-prolonging treatment for patients in an incapacitated state requires consent by all members of the patient’s family.
As of end-June, 67.1 percent of all withheld or withdrawn life-prolonging treatments had been decided by the patient’s family.
Only 1 percent of the cases involved patients who had decided to refuse or halt treatment in advance through a letter of intent, with the remaining 31.9 percent comprising patients who made the decision mid-treatment.
Under the law, any individual aged 19 or older, regardless of their medical condition, can submit a letter of intent on life-prolonging treatment at a designated facility.
Over 250,000 people have submitted their written intent thus far. Women accounted for 70 percent of total submitters, at 179,056, a number greatly exceeding that of men, at 76,969.
By Kim Arin (arin@heraldcorp.com)
NK’s warning against joint drills aimed at gaining time for nuke talks: think tank
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"Cro et Bronto" - Bruno Bianchi's Very First Cartoon Series?
Wow, I stand corrected! In my December 10 post, reminiscing about Gadget's late creator Bruno Bianchi, I wrote that the original Inspector Gadget series was Bianchi's first outing as a director. That's what I always thought... but it appears not to be the case. Bruno Bianchi actually had experience from directing at least one TV cartoon series before Inspector Gadget! Presenting... CRO et BRONTO from 1980!
This show is interesting to Inspector Gadget fans not only because of the involvement of Bruno Bianchi, but also as a piece of ancient DiC history! Yep, this cartoon was of course made by DiC, where Bianchi had already been working since 1977. First broadcast in March of 1980, Cro et Bronto was a co-production between DiC and Antenna 2, the French channel that aired all of the show's 45 episodes, running for 1 minute and 20 seconds each. Below is the series' title screen:
I've never seen this show and it appears extremely hard to see at all. In fact, I can't locate a single clip of it online, not even an intro - and that in itself is saying a lot. The only proper information available anywhere seems to be on the French cartoon site Planete Jeunesse, which at least provides an article containting a few detailed facts and some screenshots.
According to Planete Jeunesse, Cro et Bronto was clearly inspired by chase cartoons from the classic Hollywood era (think Chuck Jones' Roadrunner-Wile E. Coyote cartoons as well as Tex Avery and a plethora of others). It had no dialogue and focused entirely on slapstick comedy accompanied by music. The plots center around a hungry little stone age man named Cro and his obsessive attempts to catch and eat the dinosaur Bronto. Oh, but there is a twist to this predator-prey setup: Bronto, a peace-loving and plant-eating brontosaurus, actually has a crush on Cro... and never realizes that Cro is out to harm him (or her?)! Wow, Bronto's absent-minded personality almost reminds me of... Inspector Gadget!...
And, needless to say, Cro's ambitious plans and traps for capturing Bronto has a tendency to backfire on him...
The series was co-directed by Bruno Bianchi and Edouard David, with music by Claude Mann. Interestingly enough, Edouard David would go on to collaborate with Bruno Bianchi on the main character designs for Inspector Gadget. Knowing this, it wouldn't surprice me at all if Bianchi and David also did the character designs for Cro and Bronto. The designs in these screenshots certainly feel like Bianchi's style.
To finish off, here's an excerpt of a French comic book adaptation of the cartoon, originally published in the magazine Télé Récré A2 (and found online over at the blog Le Grenier de Récré A2). This comic book version is credited by Planete Jenuesse as part of the reason why Cro and Bronto is still remembered by some viewers today, since they apparently vanished from the television screens long ago. For the record, Télé Récré A2 was a magazine adapting the TV cartoons from Antenna 2's program block of the same name into comic book stories. Unlike the TV series, Cro and Bronto talk a lot... and they appear to have a semi-friendly relationship in some of these pages. What's the deal, is Cro out to catch Bronto or to mock him? Maybe the comic book artist (someone called Gen-Clo, according to the source blog) toyed a little with the characters' personalities...
Hope you enjoyed this slightly Gadget-related post about one of Bruno Bianchi's earlier projects. It may not be Inspector Gadget, but this show is certainly fascinating as a piece of DiC history I was never aware of before, as well as (possibly) Bruno Bianchi's first work as a cartoon director. (Don't quote me on that, though... I've been wrong before!)
The cover for a record edition featuring Cro et Bronto's theme song. I'd
love to at least hear the song, but like the series itself, it seems pretty
unfindable online...
Tags: Ancient DiC, Cro & Bronto
MangaBottle February 17, 2012 at 10:38 AM
Hey there! Cool blog :)
Mesterius February 17, 2012 at 4:57 PM
Thanks! :) You're one of the first to comment actually:) Feel free to discuss/comment on anything you see here (or anything else that's Gadget-related). I've kinda missed getting comments...
MangaBottle February 18, 2012 at 3:54 AM
Well, actually, I wanted to ask a): have you seen the live-action movies and what do you think of them and b): I've watched the first season of the original series. Would you reccomend I watch the second season, 'Gadget Boy', and 'Gadget and the Gadgetinis'? I'm kinda struggling to bring myself to watch them because I'm afraid I'll hate them so much it'll just ruin it all for me (yeah, stupid, I know)
Mesterius February 22, 2012 at 3:07 AM
Those are some interesting questions! (Which is why it has taken me a few days to get around to answering them... hope you’re still out there:) I finally found some time for it tonight, and was just about to post this reply when Google notified me that it was too long for the comments section’s word limit (!). As you probably understand, I wound up writing a much longer answer than I had planned to. ;) But I don’t really feel like cutting the reply down, so instead, I’ll just divide it into several comments. Consider this comment Part 1 of the answer. Now then… on to your questions:
a) Yes, I’ve seen both live-action movies, and they were almost unbelievably bad. Completely unlike the cartoon series in every possible way except for the name. Awful writing, awful acting, awful direction. I watched them purely out of curiosity (as well as for reference in case I should get asked about them, such as right now;). They turned out to be even worse than I had expected. The direct-to-video film "Inspector Gadget 2" is quite possibly the worst movie I've ever seen. Not only were the story and actors atrocious, but also the special effects... just unbearably cheesy and trashy. IG 1 was perhaps 1% better, but only because it had a theatrical budget and thus had better production values. In all other departments it was just as bad as the sequel.
(To be continued in the next comment.)
b) Now this question is a bit bigger. So I’ll break the answer down into sections:
*SEASON 2
I take it you liked the original Season 1, right? If that’s the case, there is certainly a possibility you will not like all the changes that were made to the show in season 2. The cast and crew behind the series were changed greatly between seasons. Budgets were cut severely, the animation quality declined and, worst of all, the writing could get really sloppy. Not every season 2 episode has bad writing and/or animation, though. Ep 74, “The Incredible Shrinking Gadget”, has great animation even though the script is terrible. Ep 84, “Gadget Meets the Clan” is a hilarious “Godfather” parody with both energetic writing and good animation. Probably my favorite season 2 ep.
Still, the batting average of season 2 is low and sad. The characters became much more one-dimensional and would at times behave jarringly out of character compared to season 1 (where the characters were very carefully and consistently written). Gadget, who had been pretty stupid (but not completely helpless) in season 1, was reduced to 100% brain-dead in season 2. At times, he would behave so stupidly it was not even funny anymore. Penny would be much less involved in the stories, so we no longer got the exciting investigating/crime-solving sequences with her, which I personally loved in season 1. Dr. Claw’s grandiose schemes to take over the whole world got replaced by much less ambitious crimes… and worse, Dr. Claw would drop his crimes altogether in many episodes to concentrate on simply getting rid of Gadget. These episodes withouth a proper crime agenda from MAD are generally the worst of season 2, as they have extremely thin plot lines. And, of course, let’s not forget Gadget’s new assistant in season 2 (even though I’d like to): CORPORAL CAPEMAN, the perhaps most hated supporting character of any 80s cartoon. Fortunately, this ill-conceived fanboy/assistent only appeared in 6 or 7 of the season’s 21 episodes, but it was enough to leave a seriously bad taste in many IG fans’ mouths.
I could say a lot more about the changes/faults of season 2 (and maybe I will later on)... but in short, I’m not sure I’d recommend watching this seaon. It IS an official part of the original series’ run, and that makes it kinda interesting - but for me, so much of the show changed that I personally have problems regarding it as "canon" compared to season 1. Season 2 really represents the “jump the shark” point for Inspector Gadget in many respects. Still, several episodes ARE somewhat enjoyable. In addition to the two above-mentioned, I also find “Ghost Catchers” and “Bad Dreams Are Made of This” relatively decent, as well as “Gadget and Old Lace” (which get surpricingly dark at times) and “Wambini Predicts” (not the best animation, but some funny, creative ideas). So… yeah… if you DO get the urge to check out the infamous season 2, those eps would most likely be my recommendations. (Beware of the 'Incredible Shrinking Gadget' ep, though… Capeman is in there!!)
*GADGET BOY (AND HEATHER)/GADGET BOY: ADVENTURES IN HISTORY
Now this spinoff is a bit easier to give my personal verdict on: It’s crap. I’ve only seen one or two episodes of each season, but for me, that was more than enough. Put simply, Gadget Boy has bad/lazy writing, trashy animation (FAR cheaper than the second season of the original series) and an awful concept conceived purely to make money on the name recognition of (Inspector) Gadget. DiC of the 90s in a nutshell. In other words, not recommended;)
*GADGET & THE GADGETINIS
I’m a bit more divided on this one. Compared with all the other spinoffs we’ve seen over the years, it’s not really that bad… but at the same time, far from great. My main problem with the show, perhaps, is that even though it supposedly tries to be a sequel to the original show, the characters behave in ways they never would have in the original. Dr. Claw has become a really pitiful character here (far more so than in season 2). He sounds much older and not intimidating at all, has far less style and dignity, and he even has a mother in some episodes (yes, A MOTHER!). Also, Penny is older and in my eyes not the same appealing character as in season 1. Following the trend of season 2, she is generally less involved in the physical crime-fighting. And of course, Brain has been replaced by two “Gadgetinis” robots. This last element is perhaps the worst of all, as Brain was a really great character while the Gadgetinis are somewhat generic. Still, at least they aren’t annoying. (Well, not much anyway.) What makes the Gadgetinis series sorta interesting is that it was the first series since the original to be made with the involvement of all three of the show’s original creators: Jean Chalopin wrote it, Bruno Bianchi directed it and Andy Heyward was one of the producers. Also, this show was produced by SIP Animation and not by DiC like all the other spinoffs… and this probably accounts for the fact that the animation and designs are pretty decent. (I could have survived without the redesign of Gadget’s chin, though.)
Writing-wise, there are some really bad episodes and some pretty good ones (as well as everything inbetween). I haven't seen the entire series, but one of my big problems with the show is how childish and wacky in tone it can get, compared with the original Inspector Gadget series. It feels like they're taking that aspect way too far at times (not least in the episodes with Dr. Claw's MOTHER!! (shudder!)). And Gadget, now a Lieutnant, has a slightly different personality... he sometimes feels more like a naive child than like the grown-up Inspector who genuinely believed that he was the world's greatest detective. I don't really like that change. And, like the second season of the original show, Gadget is simply TOO stupid here. The original season 1 found a good balance between stupid and funny which none of the later spinoffs have quite managed to match... Gadgetinis included.
Again, not sure if I'm gonna recommend this series. It's not nearly as good as season 1 of the original, of course... and I think it has a LOT of irritating flaws. On the other hand, some episodes are less irritating than others;) If you ARE gonna check it out, some not-so-bad episodes I'd recommend would be "Don't Call Me Gadget," "Nice Guys are Finished", "The General's Daughter", "Santa Claw" and "Meet Super GG".
Wow, I seriously wrote a lot more here than I planned to! Maybe parts of these answers will wind up in a blog post later on;) Hope all my babbling managed to provide at least a few answers to your questions:)
Interesting. Would you say the Gadgetinis spin-off would fare better or worse for someone who enjoyed the first season of the original as opposed to the second season?
Also, what is your opinion of "Inspector Gadget's Last Case" movie?
(Sorry to butt in on your comments like this)
Wow, and here I was thinking that my questions had frightened you off! Anyway, I did try watching the first live-action Gadget movie but I was turned off after the first five minutes. Just in case you didn't know, the Nostalgia Critic did a review of the first movie back in March 2011. I'd give you a link but I don't know how to make it work in this comment box thingie.
Anyway, to be honest, the reason I asked those questions is that I'm an aspiring writer, and one of my pet projects is a reboot of the Gadget series and I was hoping to share my ideas with someone. I'm working on a script for a pilot episode, if you're interested in seeing it.
Hi again! Yeah, I've seen the NC review, it captures the movie pretty spot on, I'd say. Anyway, cool to hear about a Gadget reboot being one of your pet projects! I'd love to see a well-made revival of the series myself. The part about your script is making me curious, but right now, my studies are keeping me so busy that I'm not sure how wise it would be for me to get involved in detailed script feedback and stuff at this moment. (I'm already away from the blog for long stretches between each post, and really don't have time to be here that often, unfortunately.) Still, feel free to tell me more about your ideas here:) As you're saying reboot, does that possibly mean a sort of reimagining of the original series?
Well, my idea is a little darker than the original was. Not 'grim & gritty 90's comics', dark, more like 'Astro Boy meets Tintin meets Pixar dramady' kinda dark Still has lots of comedy but at times can shift to serious action, drama and mystery. One thing that my story does is focus on the relation between Gadget and Penny which I think is really very in important. Since this is a slighty more serious story, Gadget would be more competent -- oh, he'd still be an absentmided goofball with no investigative skill whatsoever, but he can kick serious ass when the situation presents itself. And Penny and Brain aren't sneaking around behind his back -- they're openly helpin Gadget, and he's deliberatley providing distraction for them.
So uh... that's not too much of a defilement of the original source material, right? ^__^;
Mesterius February 23, 2012 at 10:49 PM
"...that's not too much of a defilement of the original source material, right?"
Well, yes and no. First of all, I must say I think your idea sounds pretty cool! For many years, I thought the only way to do a really good revival of IG would be to go back to the way things were in the first season (basically because that's the version of the show I've always loved). But I've come to realize that perhaps it would be even better if one could take the basics of what made the show great in season 1 and build something slightly more serious onto that. In that respect, I think you're on the right track with focusing a little more on the relationship between Gadget and Penny. There is something there, something touching, that the original series only subtly touches upon: The love Penny has for her dimwitted uncle that ultimately is (probably) her biggest reason for fighting crime behind his back and letting him take all the credit. Of course, she has other reasons too... she clearly sees Dr. Claw as her nemesis (even if Dr. Claw doesn't realize that) and is in this fight also because she knows that MAD would win, and the world would be doomed, if Inspector Gadget were to face Dr. Claw entirely on his own. But I still think that her undying love for her uncle is the primary reason for Penny doing what she's doing.
I'm a little less certain about this part: "...Penny and Brain aren't sneaking around behind his back -- they're openly helpin Gadget, and he's deliberatley providing distraction for them." This is obviously the biggest change from the original format (at least of what I know about your idea so far). I definitely like the thought that Gadget can "kick serious ass" at times, or at least defend himself a little when he realizes that he's in danger. And your analysis of Gadget as the distraction from Penny and Brain's real investigation is spot on, because that's excactly what he's doing in the original series (thought without knowing)! But yeah, when it comes to Gadget KNOWING that Penny and Brain are the true crime fighters... hmm. Personally, I've always seen the irony of Gadget getting credit for Penny and Brain's work as one of the funniest ingredients in the original series (perhaps the most important ingredient)... so it defintely feels a bit risky to try and change that. However! that is not to say it can't be done, or done well - it would just need to be done carefully. In that vein I have a suggestion (just a suggestion) for how this maybe could be pulled off:
[Continued in next comment.]
Let's just say, for now, that we're thinking about a possible story arc for the entire season of this new IG series. You see, I've been thinking at times about what it would be like if Gadget were to suddenly find out that Penny and Brain have been doing the real job all along. I think it could be really interesting for us (the audience) to be able to witness that moment of realization. So my idea is this: What if you start off this new, darker series with the same basic format as the original season 1 - Penny and Brain helping Gadget and fighting Dr Claw behind his back - and then suddenly, at a certain point in the season, let Gadget find out what has really been going on all the time. I think it could make for a pretty interesting arc... he could even come to realize it gradually through several episodes, because (as we all know) he's not exactly a mastermind. And then suddenly, he does realize, and his relationship with Penny and Brain is faced with a whole new situation which could be really interesting to see progress. I'm thinking that Gadget maybe becomes depressed at first, facing the fact that he didn't actually accomplish all the brilliant police work he's been getting credit for… and maybe it even leads to something of a brief drama/crisis in his and Penny’s relationship. But then, at a point, Gadget realizes that Penny and Brain's help has been a good thing after all and gives them his blessing to continue fighting crime, albeit together with him rather than behind his back.
Again, these are just suggestions… and I'm still not sure if I like the idea of Gadget being aware that Penny and Brain are helping him; and thus aware that he's only there for distraction and not competent enough to do the job himself. Probably because I find it very funny how Gadget, in the original series, is so absent-minded that he's really living in his own world, where he is of course an undisputed master of detective work. Somehow that point becomes very diluted if Gadget were to start being clumsy on purpose... because he now suddenly KNOWS that Penny and Brain need it for distraction. His antics would certainly not be funny the same way anymore. Hmmm... maybe the best way to do this would be if Gadget got just a little smarter (again, gradually) as a result of all his realizations - smart enough to join the crime fighting next to his niece and dog instead of just providing forced slapstick. He could still be a clutz, and still mess things up, but be a visibly integrated part of the Penny/Brain team. After all... just think what an amazing team these three would make: Gadget with his bionic equipment, Penny with her detective/computer skills and Brain with his array of disguises and infiltration possibilities (as well as being there to help out Gadget when he messes things up). It COULD turn out really epic... especially if you make the MAD organization slighty darker too, so the trio has a real threat to fight against.
I was thinking something pretty much along the same lines as you suggested. One thing I didn't make clear when I said Penny are Brain are openly helping Gadget is that only Gadget, Penny, Brain, Quimby and maybe a select few other allies know this fact, with it being kept a secret from MAD and the general public. But yeah, I've pretty much been going back-and-forth with the 'revelation' idea, but now I think I'm definetaly going to go with that since you're pretty much my gage for the fanbase's reaction.
Another thing I'm going to explore is just what happened to Penny's parents. My opinion is that MAD killed them or something -- grim, I know, but it sounds better than they just dumped her on Gadget or something. Also, Dr Claw and MAD will be a a lot more menacing.
Hi again! Sorry about the late reply, my weekend wound up getting pretty busy. I do find it interesting that MAD doesn't know about Penny and Brain's being accepted as an official part of the team. On one hand, I'm kinda divided on how plausible it is that Claw, who's known for having cameras and spies just about EVERYWHERE in the world, can miss out on the fact that Gadget, Penny and Brain are now in reality an integrated team... no matter how much they try to hide it. On the other hand, of course, Dr Claw never quite realizes that Penny is the brains behind the crime-solving in the original series (even though he catches her many times), so building from that logic, I guess it CAN be made believable. But I think it's wise to be aware that portraying Dr Claw as not knowing about the team-up might possibly make him less threating/powerful than he otherwise would have been... unless it's done carefully. And you do of course want to make MAD and Claw MORE menacing than in the original series, so it might become a tough balance. What if Dr Claw also has some sort of arc during the series, and comes to a point (much later than Gadget's realization, of course) where he faces the fact that a little girl and a dog has been the real reason he never managed to defeat Gadget all this time? I'm thinking that could make for a pretty cool cliffhanger in the season finale, just to make one suggestion:)
Otherwise, I'm honored to hear I'm your "gage for the fanbase's reaction.";) Still, it's hard to tell if I really represent a consensus for the Gadget fan base or not. True, I don't care that much for season 2, and a lot of fans share that opinion; but on the other hand, I think I can be somewhat conservative at times about what I personally think can work within the Gadget universe... again, with many of my viewpoints boiling down to season 1 because I love that so much:) So I'd definitely recommend that you get the opinions of as many IG fans as possible! Hopefully, more people will join in the discussions here as time goes by... I know there are some dedicated fans on youtube, for example.
And yes, I love the idea of trying to dig a little deeper into Penny's back story. Her parents killed by MAD? Intriguing idea, though of course something we've heard many times before (I immediately think of Batman). It does give Penny a very clear-cut motivation to fight MAD, so on a purely emotional level it works well. I also think how this is presented to the audience will be very important. How about if we get to know a bit, but not everything, at first? Like, how about if all we know about Penny at the start of the series is that she was left as a foundling outside his door? Gadget takes it upon himself and his detective skills to find the mother, but doesn't succeed and ends up raising the girl himself. I kinda like the idea of Gadget taking care of Penny since she was a baby, because I’ve always wanted to dig deeper into just how Penny has come to love the clumsy, naive Gadget so much. Clearly, she sees a lot in him, and clearly, one of his best qualities is kindness. Being raised by such a clueless, but genuinely well-meaning soul is a good reason for growing fond of that person, in spite of (or perhaps even because of) all his weaknesses. That in itself could be a pretty good motivation for Penny to start helping “Uncle” Gadget in his investigation as soon as she’s old enough, because she can see how much he’s struggling. And, naturally, as soon as Penny and Brain start helping him behind his back, Gadget’s reputation within the police force skyrockets, until he’s got the position as top detective. It is at this time that Gadget (and Penny) becomes a serious threat to Dr Claw, and the rest, as they say, is history…
[To be continued.]
…but what I wanted to get at with all this babbling is this: NOT knowing everything about Penny’s origins from the start could (potentially) make for a really cool story sometimes later in the series. A story where Penny somehow gets the opportunity to finally find out who her parents were/are and what happened to them. And this could definitely tie into MAD. Maybe her parents were top investigators themselves, who happened to be hot on the trail of MAD… so hot, in fact, that Dr Claw decided to destroy them. So why, then, do the parents choose to leave Penny outside Gadget’s door? Maybe because they know he’s a very nice, harmless, small-scale police detective who will never be seen as a threat by MAD… and so they assume Penny will be safe there.
Whether this twist on the idea is better depends of course on what you want to do. I realize that my ideas make Penny’s origin story a little more coincidental… for instance, there is no biological relation between Penny and Gadget, even though they become a family. But at the same time, I think it might make the plot slightly more unique, just because it ties Penny’s dedication to fighting crime so closely into Gadget’s naïve and bumbling dedication to the same thing. Of course, as she grows older, Penny becomes more of a real nemesis to Dr Claw, but I’m still not sure I like Penny fighting him because of bitterness over her parents already from childhood. Maybe because she is so optimistic in the original series, with not a trace of real bitterness towards MAD evident in her, is why I prefer the idea of her finding out much later about her parents… maybe in her teens? (Come to think of it, how old do you see Penny in this new series?) And it would also be better to let her know later on in the series (in the present), because then we could see her reaction to it. (Man, I sure am obsessed with “revelation” moments, aren’t I? ;) You could even save that story for season 2, because so much is already going on in season 1:)
Finally, just a quick question: Have you got any plans for Brain? I’d love to see a little of how his friendship with Penny started. Myself, I think I’m picturing that he was Gadget’s dog already before Penny got into the family, and so they’ve known each other since Penny was a baby. You got any theories on this?
I did think about the whole thing with Claw being ignorant of Penny and Brain. My (rather pathetic) excuse is that who would ever seriously belive that a little ten-year-old and her dog would ever be able to outwit a criminal mastermind like Dr Claw? Although I can see Claw spitting chips once he finds out the truth, which would probably occur towards the end of the first season, maybe.
I was thinking that Penny is a blood relation of Gadget, and he's just as grieved by their deaths as Penny is, although now I think about it might be a little too heavy of a background story for someone as light-hearted as Gadget. Then again, I find of kinda weird that Gadget would just take in some random kid he found. As for Brain, I'm figuring he's an escaped lab experiment that Gadget found and rescued as a puppy (hence why he's as smart as a human).
Just so you know, I've started an online writing course and I'll be pretty busy for some time. But I've taken notes of everything that's been said here. Sorry my replies are so brief, but I'm on limited net time. Best of luck with the blog and I'll let you know how my plans are working out :)
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