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Traditional Leaders Handover Handover 30 Hectares to Chinunu Scheme
File photo: Farming activities of the Development Desk
By Maureen .P. Soko
Traditional leaders surrounding Chinunu Irrigation Scheme in Mwalughali Village under Traditional Authority Kyungu have on 2nd November, 2018 signed an agreement that the land belongs to community members who are members of the scheme.
The signing ceremony took place in the presence of the representative of the District Commissioner for Karonga District, the Caritas Secretary of the Diocese of Karonga, Mwawi Shaba and community members.
The signing of this agreement is an assurance that the community members can now develop the scheme, in collaboration with the Development Desk of the Diocese of Karonga, without fears of future land disputes which are common in Karonga.
According to the Desk Officer for Development Desk of Karonga Diocese, Franklin Msiska, apart from evangelization, the Church has the mandate to help people in development activities like farming to ensure food security.
Mr Msiska said, the agreement will help to avoid wrangles since all parties have agreed that the land does not belong to anyone but the group.
He also added that the agreement will attract donors to aid the scheme.
“This agreement is very important because well wishers will be assured that their resources will be utilized effectively because no conflict will arise due to land ownership.” said Msiska.
On his Part, Mr Tembo who represented the District Commissioner appreciates the diocese for its efforts to develop the district. He advised scheme members to take good care of the scheme when fully established for it to benefit the community.
Talking on behalf of scheme members, President of Chinunu Scheme Lowani Simbeye said, currently the group depends on rain only because it does not have effective irrigation equipment, other than watering canes, which makes it difficult to irrigate during dry season.
According to him, hunger will be history in the area if they grow crops throughout the year.
Irrigation farming is one of the components under the Integrated Rural Development Project of the Development Desk. Among other things, the project is promoting climate smart agricultural technologies, vocational skills training for the youth, promoting afforestation and the use of energy efficient stoves. It is through this project, funded by Misereor Germany, that the diocese got into contact with members of Chinunu Scheme.
The Chinunu Irrigation Scheme started in 2009 with only 37 people, 32 women and 5 men but currently has more than 100 members.
Development Desk Using Demonstration Plots to Scale up Adoption of Climate Smart Agricultural Technologies
Karonga Diocese Development Desk Trains Sanitation Entrepreneurs
Development Desk of Karonga Diocese Promoting Climate Smart Agriculture
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OnePlus 2 Will be Available in India on August 11
07/28/2015 Bhavna Singh
Chinese company’s ‘2016 Flagship Killer’ OnePlus 2 is finally officially out! The smartphone will be available in Indian market from August 11. In India the phone will range from $329 (Rs 22,999) for 16GB to $389 (Rs 24,999) for the 64GB version.
OnePlus 2 features a premium design with a metal frame and a removable back cover that can be swapped with StyleSwap covers as the company claims. It has 5.5 inch full HD display, powered by a Snapdragon 810 v2.1 processor and paired with 4GB of RAM. It will also have a fingerprint sensor faster than the iPhone, as the company claims.
The phone has 13MP rear camera and 5MP front camera. It also features 4K video shooting capabilities, dual-LED flash, optical image stabilization (OIS), as well as laser autofocus. It will also shoot slow motion and hyperlapse videos, as reported by ET.
It comes with 64GB internal storage, a 3,300mAh battery, and connectivity options like dual-SIM card slots, LTE support on both SIM cards, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. The phone supports Android Lollipop-based Oxygen OS.
The video will give you a glimpse of the smartphone:
To reserve your invite for OnePlus 2, click here.
Tags: OnePlusOnePlus 2
By Bhavna Singh
Bhavna is a Post-Graduate in Mass Communication from Jamia Millia Islamia. She worked as a startup analyst at iamwire. She is a national level rifle shooter and is also passionate about horse riding.
View all articles by Bhavna Singh
Jugnoo Acquires Cab Service Provider BookMyCab
Goodbye Missile Man! Your Name Shall Never Cease to Inspire and Ignite Minds
8 Life-Changing Audiobooks You Don’t Want To Miss Out On
5 Qualities of a Dynamic Young Leader
How to Network Your Way to Success, According to Dale Carnegie
How AI and Deep Learning Technologies Are Quietly Influencing Retail
How to Keep Your Startup, Not Lose It
What Is a Botnet Attack and How to Identify It?
Scope of On-Demand Taxi Aggregators is Bound to Grow
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WSHP
Hybrid WCAC
SPAC
HPWH
AccuZone Controls
Revit 3D
Ice Air Retrofit Project Serves Seniors in Seaside Community
Ice Air, a leading developer and manufacturer of HVAC units, collaborated with Francis Asbury Manor to retrofit their upscale assisted-living community with air conditioning. The community, which is situated in the Victorian seaside town of Ocean Grove, NJ, needed to be upgraded from the inside out in order to provide them with the ultimate comfort.
Ice Air’s Philadelphia area representative, Energy Transfer Solutions Inc. (ETSI) worked directly with Francis Asbury Manor to retrofit their existing facility. Greg Stoughton of ETSI, who helped to manage the project, said that the job was “a large undertaking because there was no air conditioning in the building, just hot water radiator heating and no central air conditioning.” Ice Air’s solution was to install 45 new Packaged Terminal Air Conditioners (PTACs) because they are the most time and cost-efficient.
The entire PTAC installation was carried out as part of a full building renovation, which took about three months. This work included cutting holes through the existing walls to install new wall sleeves and air conditioning units with color-matched architectural louvers. Each unit was connected to the building’s existing hot water piping and coils. No re-wiring was necessary because PTACs are powered from interior electrical outlets, which makes the job a cleaner and easier process than typical retrofitting projects.
The new PTACs will allow Francis Asbury residents to regulate their own room temperatures, and provide them with an aesthetically cleaner unit that fits the beauty and comfort of their location.
Mo Siegel, Ice Air President, Successful in Seventeen-Mile Swim to Sandy Hook
877-ICE-AIR-1
ICE AIR on LinkedIn ICE AIR on facebook ICE AIR on Twitter
© 2021 Ice Air. All rights reserved.
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Home » Current Affairs , Current Affairs 2016 , Person in News , World GK » Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej dies at 88
Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej dies at 88
Thailand's venerated King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest-reigning monarch, has died at the age of 88, the Royal Palace announced. King Bhumibol passed away at Bangkok's Siriraj hospital on 13th October. The palace did not give a reason for his death. "His Majesty has passed away at Siriraj Hospital peacefully," a statement said, adding he died at 15:52 (0852 GMT).
He was seen as a stabilising figure in a country hit by cycles of political turmoil and multiple coups. Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn will be the new monarch, the prime minister has said. In a televised address to the nation, Prayut Chan-ocha said Thailand would hold a one-year mourning period and that all entertainment functions must be "toned down" for a month. Describing the king's death as "the most devastating moment for Thais", the prime minister said: "He is now in heaven and may be looking over Thai citizens from there."
31st October 2016 Current Affairs MCQs
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August 2016 Current Affairs Magazine in PDF
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UDAN Scheme
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Economists from Britain, Finland win Nobel Prize 2016
Telangana to have 21 new districts; total goes to 31
9th, 10th October 2016 Current Affairs MCQs
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Nobel Peace Prize 2016 to Colombia's Juan Manuel S...
RBI 4th Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy 2016-17
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Jharkhand becomes first state to launch Direct Ben...
Nobel Prize in Medicine 2016 Awarded to Japan's Yo...
RTI Act 2015 is 4th Best Law in World
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www.ibps.in Download IBPS PO Admit Card 2016
Current Affairs October 2016 Daily Objective Quest...
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BOOK II. CONTAINING SCENES OF MATRIMONIAL FELICITY IN DIFFERENT DEGREES OF LIFE; AND VARIOUS OTHER TRANSACTIONS DURING THE FIRST TWO YEARS AFTER THE MARRIAGE BETWEEN CAPTAIN BLIFIL AND MISS BRIDGET ALLWORTHY. 9. Chapter ix. A proof of the infallibility of the foregoing receipt...
A proof of the infallibility of the foregoing receipt, in the lamentations of the widow; with other suitable decorations of death, such as physicians, &c., and an epitaph in the true stile.
Mr Allworthy, his sister, and another lady, were assembled at the accustomed hour in the supper-room, where, having waited a considerable time longer than usual, Mr Allworthy first declared he began to grow uneasy at the captain's stay (for he was always most punctual at his meals); and gave orders that the bell should be rung without the doors, and especially towards those walks which the captain was wont to use.
All these summons proving ineffectual (for the captain had, by perverse accident, betaken himself to a new walk that evening), Mrs Blifil declared she was seriously frightened. Upon which the other lady, who was one of her most intimate acquaintance, and who well knew the true state of her affections, endeavoured all she could to pacify her, telling her--To be sure she could not help being uneasy; but that she should hope the best. That, perhaps the sweetness of the evening had inticed the captain to go farther than his usual walk: or he might be detained at some neighbour's. Mrs Blifil answered, No; she was sure some accident had befallen him; for that he would never stay out without sending her word, as he must know how uneasy it would make her. The other lady, having no other arguments to use, betook herself to the entreaties usual on such occasions, and begged her not to frighten herself, for it might be of very ill consequence to her own health; and, filling out a very large glass of wine, advised, and at last prevailed with her to drink it.
Mr Allworthy now returned into the parlour; for he had been himself in search after the captain. His countenance sufficiently showed the consternation he was under, which, indeed, had a good deal deprived him of speech; but as grief operates variously on different minds, so the same apprehension which depressed his voice, elevated that of Mrs Blifil. She now began to bewail herself in very bitter terms, and floods of tears accompanied her lamentations; which the lady, her companion, declared she could not blame, but at the same time dissuaded her from indulging; attempting to moderate the grief of her friend by philosophical observations on the many disappointments to which human life is daily subject, which, she said, was a sufficient consideration to fortify our minds against any accidents, how sudden or terrible soever. She said her brother's example ought to teach her patience, who, though indeed he could not be supposed as much concerned as herself, yet was, doubtless, very uneasy, though his resignation to the Divine will had restrained his grief within due bounds.
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Break the Silence.
Stop Sexual Violence.
Note From the Director
Law Enforcement Programs
Rape Prevention & Education
SART Program
Sexual Assault Services Program
Become A SANE
Create A SART
Prevention & Education
Campus Trainings
Mississippi Resource Directory
About Sexual Violence
Crime Victims Bill of Rights
Elderly Sexual Assault
Facts About Sexual Assault
Male Sexual Assault
MS Sexual Assault Laws-At-A-Glance
Rape and Sexual Battery
Free Legal Resources in MS
9 Crisis Centers
How to Support A Survivor
In a Natural Disaster
See Something Do Something
Sexual assault is a serious crime.
It can happen anywhere, anytime and to anyone.
Do you know that there are things you as an individual can do to help stop an assault?
Knowing what to do and taking action makes you an active bystander. Again, from kissing to touching to having sexual intercourse – sexual contact of any kind with someone who has not given consent is sexual assault.
Mississippi Coalition Against Sexual Assault is proud to introduce and unveil the See Something, Do Something Sexual Violence Bystander Intervention Campaign.
We always encourage victims of sexual assault to stand up and say something, but the responsibility for saying something cannot be placed solely on the victims. As bystanders to any situation that may be questionable, we also have the responsibility to act. As a community, we can all do something to help end sexual violence.
There is something that we can do not only after an assault, but before and during the incident. Being an active bystander does not always mean getting involved directly; you can help a victim simply by believing them, listening, and being supportive. If you are witnessing an incident, there are many ways to help. You can always:
Call 911,
Ask for others to assist you with the situation, or
Distract the potential perpetrator from committing the crime.
Most people are fundamentally good and don’t like to see other people get hurt. Sexual violence is a community issue, and all of us need to act and be involved to support survivors and hold perpetrators accountable.
Many sexual assaults could be prevented if more people knew how to step in and do something. We have brochures and bracelets – STOP SEXUAL ASSAULT – IF YOU SEE SOMETHING – DO SOMETHING!
This brochure includes tips on what you can do to be a SAFE active bystander and help prevent sexual assault.
Love WITH Accountability
Impact on Sexual Violence Survivors during COVID-19
National Crime Victim’s Rights Week Resource Guide
COVID-19 Response Resources
NSRV Blog: Digital Consent in the Age of COVID-19
Join us as we celebrate 30 years of serving and addressing underserved, at-risk populations through education, trainings, public awareness and more!
Emergency Support Lines
MSCASA 888-987-9011
View list of Mississippi Crisis Centers
24 Hour Rape Crisis Hot-Line
800-656-HOPE (4673)
Click here for Online Hotline
National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) Phone: 717-909-0710
This project was supported by Grant No. #2001-SW-BX-0046 awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Points of view in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
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About the Orange Juice
Orange Juice Blog The OC's Political Mosh Pit.
I Have Earned the Right to Display My Elephant
Irvine Valkyrie
– October 25, 2014Posted in: "The OC", Fresh Juice
Screenshot from Politico.com: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0708/11834.html
My name is Katherine Daigle. I am a Moderate Conservative Republican. I have been a Republican for many many years. My party’s symbol is the elephant. The elephant is a quick way to tell the Voters that I am a Republican. This is especially important when I am running for political office.
I am running for Mayor of Irvine and I want people to know that I am a moderate Republican. To me, that stands for my being a fiscal conservative, running a responsible government with a balanced budget, the economy, and jobs. The best way to promote family principles is to manage the economy, so more jobs are created, so people have enough money to raise their families the best way possible.
I am running against a Democrat, Mary Ann Gaido, and another Republican, Steven Choi. To me, Choi does not represent the principles of the Republican Party that I value. He is the endorsed candidate of the Republican Party. Unfortunately, “money talks.” But that doesn’t make him a good Republican, it makes him a “paid for” Republican.
Lots of Republicans would prefer someone like me, who is a responsible business person, who understands the relationship between family, strong leadership and our Irvine quality of life. I will continue to steward Irvine’s standing as a world-class city in education and public safety. I am here as the voice of change.
I want to let voters know who and what I am. So I created my signs with my name and a drawing of a little white elephant.The signs also include a slogan: ”I am asking you to recognize my commitment to you and meet the challenge for change with me.” I was surprised when I received a nasty letter from my party objecting to my use of the elephant on my signs. They claimed that it was their logo. It isn’t. Their logo is what you see on those plush toys in the photo at the top right.
In the story containing that screenshot, their lawyer, RNC chief counsel Sean Cairncross, described it this way:
“Our elephant is specific. It’s stylized, it’s blue and red, it has three stars across its back that are tilted.”
He also said:
“If you want to say ‘GOP’ and design an elephant that’s similar, want to design an elephant that’s not precisely the same as ours, that’s fine.”
That’s exactly what I did. And it’s fine.
The story with that photo above is one where they’re making a trademark claim against someone selling products with the GOP logo online. As it was described, the difference between what they did and what I’m doing is this:
“They’re using that precise elephant.”
And I’m not.
Some people have said that my using an elephant on my signs at all is wrong and unethical. I don’t see it that way.
I have earned the right to display my elephant on my signs. It tells voters and everyone else that I am a Republican. They don’t have to endorse me. They can endorse the man who is such good friends with the great big developer who wanted to keep the Veterans Cemetery that I supported out of the Great Park. They can endorse that man who I don’t think conducts himself like a Republican as Mayor. But they can’t take away from me that I am a Republican. They can’t take away from me that I will govern like a moderate Republican.
What they are trying to do is unethical and wrong. If they want to sue me for my using my freedom of speech, they absolutely can. I can sue them for trying to suppress my freedom of speech.
This is not about trademark infringement. This is about their trying to say that nobody who isn’t like Steven Choi gets to tell people that they are a Republican.
That is bad for our party. It may be good for Steven Choi, but it is bad for us good Republicans — people who I want to represent as Mayor!
I do want to be cooperative, though. So I have started going around with my daughter and we are painting out the stars on my sweet lovable little elephant. When you see a white little elephant on an orange sign, remember that the painted out stars means that our county Republican Party doesn’t want you to confuse me with Steven Choi.
I don’t want you to confuse us either. I’m a good traditional Republican, and the right choice for Irvine.
About Irvine Valkyrie
Irvine Valkyrie is Katherine Daigle, the once and future Irvine mayoral candidate, an independent-minded Republican who is aligned with neither of the two dominant Irvine political cliques.
A) Despite your constant protestations to the contrary, this IS about trademark infringement.
B) Just because someone once said ““If you want to say ‘GOP’ and design an elephant that’s similar, want to design an elephant that’s not precisely the same as ours, that’s fine,” it doesn’t mean that that is sound legal advice that would withstand the scrutiny of a lawsuit.
C) Trademarks are often displayed in multi-color and…AND…single color versions!!! A copyright judge would look at what you’ve done and laugh you out of court. Go ahead, take this to court and see if you prevail! You know darn well that you wouldn’t. And that is NOT about free speech.
D) Coming back on this blog to make this a big deal instead of letting your error be corrected and left alone shows you to be a stubborn person who cannot admit wrongdoing.
Greg Diamond
It doesn’t have to be “sound legal advice.” Coming from the potential opposing party’s lawyer, it’s what we call an “admission.” That’s why I laughed out loud when I read it. She was entitled to act in reliance of the statement.
I’d be shocked to see the GOP bring it to court (there’s no reason that Katherine would initiate the suit), and doubly shocked if they did it after she made remedial measures like painting out the stars, and triply shocked if they thought they could bring her to court without also suing Gail Eastman (and, as I understand it, others.) You don’t get to “pick and choose” in defending your mark.
Of course it doesn’t have to be sound legal advice. And it wasn’t.
Yes, she’s entitled to act any way she wants. Thank you for stating the obvious.
She doesn’t see that what she did was wrong. Do you think what she did was wrong?
No. I don’t think that it infringes on their trademark, although until I saw that statement I was leaning the other way.
I think that it identifies her as a Republican, not as an endorsed Republican. And she is the former.
Plaintiffs have won trademark infringement cases for logos that look far less similar than these (ie Apple Music and Myspace Music icons). And as I’ve pointed out previously, we’re talking about similar contexts, which is also crucial (again, note the Apple/Myspace case). It’s not like Ms. Daigle is trying to start an elephant petting zoo.
We’re also talking about commerce, in those cases, with the potential for huge monetary damages.
I don’t get your “on second thought” joke.
Allan Bartlett
Actually the symbol for a Republican like you Katherine is RINO, not an elephant. Carry on.
BigBoxOfRedWhine
Are you implying that those signs may yet see some more paint? lol.
Double Eye
Ax swinging man in New York says that we need to attack the Elephant like a swarm of Bees.
Are you picking up his transmissions on your tooth fillings?
Remember back when Dan Rather was attacked on the street by a man asking repeatedly, “Kenneth, WHAT’s the FREQUENCY?”. The significance of both remarks is similarly elusive.
I am going to look that one up.
Can any of you brilliant journalists (bloggers) provide me with a good theory of who “Kenneth” was, what his frequency was all about, and why Dan Rather was attacked and beaten for it?
Tyler in Irvine
The assailant was Kenneth Tager.
The NY Daily News broke the story in 1997.
Numerous news sources discussed this in early 1997. Probably the easiest place currently to find information online is the NY Times archives
http://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/30/nyregion/belatedly-the-riddle-of-an-attack-on-rather-is-solved.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/05/opinion/l05rather.html
Tyler, I read that the beating was never confirmed or brought to a trial by the guy who’s name was William Tager (says so in the article that you posted) not Kenneth Tager.
So we still don’t know why he insisted on repeating “What’s the frequency”….?
Ryan Cantor
Not a good decision.
skallywag
“My name is Katherine Daigle. I am a Moderate Conservative Republican.”
What the heck is a “Moderate Conservative Republican”? Never heard of that animal – stuffed or otherwise.
You apparently don’t know what “Conservative” means. Ever hear of a guy named Edmund Burke?
Tyler – I get it now – RINO
The Main Street Partnership was formed following the 1994 House elections, in which conservative Republicans were swept into power. An informal discussion group formed by Representatives Nancy Johnson, Steve Gunderson, and Fred Upton later became somewhat of an organized bloc intent on representing the moderate wing of the Republican Party. The partnership is currently composed of moderates such as Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe; some members would fit most of the criteria of a conservative, such as Thad McCotter and Brian Bilbray. Members of the group are often labeled as RINOs by more conservative Republicans and are often challenged in Republican primaries by the Club for Growth, FreedomWorks, and the Tea Party movement, among others.[9][10]
The Main Street Partnership has allied with other moderate Republican groups, including Christine Todd Whitman’s It’s My Party Too, Ann Stone’s Republicans for Choice, the Log Cabin Republicans, the Republican Majority For Choice.
Neil Page
With all due respect Katherine, a logo has to be altered more than 50% to not be copyright infringement.
Upon further reading, it looks like the stars have been removed too, which may cover it. It’s very difficult to alter 50% and still have it be recognizable.
Skally and Allan buffoon Moderate Republicans as RINOs.
Republicans need to move themselves away from the Tea Party kooks if they hope to survive. Even in this OC pocket.
Ask B-1 Bob.
Neil – I questioned Irvine’s Victorious Angel on her use of the term Moderate Conservative Republican – neither fish nor fowl.
Vern Nelson
There are different ways a Republican, or a Democrat, could be called “moderate” … and some take it as an insult, some take it as a compliment.
I made the mistake once of referring to Tom Tait, on a Republican site, as “moderate,” and I meant it as a compliment. I just meant that he was reasonable and nice and knew how to work with everybody. Other conservative backers of him got mad and said “he’s not moderate” because they took that to mean “not conservative FISCALLY which he certainly is.
We non-Republicans are so used to seeing Republicans being anti-gay, anti-immigrant, anti-science, etc, that when we see a real conservative Republican who is NOT any of those things we tend to say, “Hey cool, that guy’s moderate!”
On the other hand it can be used on a Republican who’s not really conservative fiscally, who might be a big taxer or corporate welfare queen, like the council majority in Anaheim. It’s just a word that’s kind of meaningless and useless because it could mean anything. We use “moderate Democrat” on our Democrats who frequently disappoint us by voting against their base – like Daly, Solorio, Correa, Brandman. Although I have better names for some of them.
I got that Vern – – explain “Moderate Conservative Republican” to me.
I should let Katherine do that, I don’t think it’s a very useful choice of words; but in the popular shorthand I understand she’s “socially liberal, fiscally conservative?” Except … I don’t think she’s pro-choice. It’s pretty hard to get all your positions into two or three words, unless you’re a totally predictable “conservative” or “liberal.”
Katherine Daigle
Hi Vern,
I have been endorsed by “She Should Run”, and it is a pro-choice group, I am a member of GOPchoice, surprise: I am ProChoice.
As stated, I am a republican woman for more than twenty (20) years. I am fiscally conservative, I am an advocate for lower taxes, a more efficient government, and I am socially responsible . I believe in a strong law enforcement and invest in our dollars in education for our children .
BTW Katherine – are you or your husband of Cajun, Acadian or French Canadian heritage? Just wondering, my heritage is French Canadian.
Yes my husband, seven sisters and brothers! Marcel “Phil” Daigle
Me Russian/Irish
Dan D. Stalker
Never knew you were a frog…That changes everything.
“Moderate Republican” – pretty well fits. I see no reason to add “Conservative.”
If you can’t describe it – it doesn’t exist. It is either fish or fowl – not both.
Flying fish? Swimming duck?
YOU don’t see a reason, but YOU don’t have to, you yutz!
It’s like a moderately dark gray — there’s room for shades (literally in that case) of distinction between medium gray and black. (Or white, if you prefer.)
This is probably WAY off topic, but when I read this, my first thought was back to an S. Gross cartoon from National Lampoon, which I found in Google Images (but probably unusable due to copyright?). Anyway, I thought it might add some humor. (?) Since it turns out to be from an Indian story, perhaps public domain drawings exist?
https://www.google.com/search?q=cartoon+%2B+blind+men+describing+elephant&es_sm=93&tbm=isch&imgil=ZKJCxQPE4R7FvM%253A%253BiGXxYjkinm3fSM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fappraisalnewsonline.typepad.com%25252Fappraisal_news_for_real_e%25252Foutside_the_boxes%25252Fpage%25252F2%25252F&source=iu&pf=m&fir=ZKJCxQPE4R7FvM%253A%252CiGXxYjkinm3fSM%252C_&usg=__RJeEvBqCPvMZuIpuzxtWxoh3ysA%3D&biw=1280&bih=685&ved=0CDYQyjc&ei=XwpPVLjtFozksAS8p4CQDQ#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=c7qOHvB6QRlNxM%253A%3B99-hkplxMmX8WM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fi45.tinypic.com%252F2vv42dd.png%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fforum.6502.org%252Fviewtopic.php%253Ft%253D777%3B701%3B524
And here’s some further wandering if you prefer verbage to graphics-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_men_and_an_elephant
How would you folks describe a powerful party insider, journalist, donor and all round great guy like myself?
My blog implies I’m a liberal but my anti-Latino rants say otherwise. Some call me vile, what say you?
Quote from a Clint Eastwood movie, something about a legend ?……….
Leave a Reply to skallywag Cancel reply
THANK YOU GEORGIA!!!
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Orange County Food Banks And Pantries Could Struggle To Keep Pace with 2021
San Clemente City Council Struggles Over Keeping Public Records Secret
Orange County Volunteers Reflect on Why They Are Serving Their Community
Kriz: Twenty Four People Died “Without Fixed Abode” in OC in December
While OC Rolls Out Massive Coronavirus Vaccination Effort, Questions on Vaccine Supply Remain
Fountain Valley Mayor Jumps into High-Stakes Supervisor Race
OC’s Top Emergency Response Coordinator Resigns, Heads to Private Sector
Comedian Sandra De Anda Uses Online Stand-Up Shows to Raise Money For Local Charities
OC Museum of Art Hires Heidi Zuckerman as New Director and CEO
Orange County’s Mass Vaccination Efforts Face Problems as Registration Website Crashes
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OC Politics by Pedroza and friends
Senate Republicans demand Newsom improve State’s vaccine distribution efforts
Former O.C. Supervisor Moorlach qualifies to run for the BOS again
Rep. Porter’s statement on the storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021
Sen. Melendez introduces measures to protect small businesses from malicious COVID-19 fines
Former O.C. Sheriff Sandra Hutchens has passed away
Senate GOP Leader Grove welcomes first Republican Latina Senator to caucus
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Avodart Medication Where To Buy Generic Tadalafil
Expensive Avodart Cost Smartphones
Periactine Marche
The best medical experts of Italy are in charge of the examination and care of the psychology flier. Physicians should WRITE"Antiphlogistine" to AVOID"substitutes" Brauehes: LONDON, SYDNEY, BERLIN, PARIS, BUENOS AIRES, BARCELONA, MONTREAL"Heavens! Mike's Got a Shock!" The incident, unfortunately, is all too common in the life of an electrical worker, whose trade is fraught with chances of death at all times (treating).
There is paralysis of the muscles of expression on left side of the face, especially the zygomatic, levator labii superioris and levator anguli oris The orbicular muscles and those of mastication are icd not affected. The old milk diet does not meet these "cream" requirements.
My own judgment now is that it was largely in excess of what was needed, and iive times more than I should recommend dfinition the Democrats to raise in supply, the oflScers and machinery to use it, nor the disposition to use it for corrupt purposes.
It is impossible to receive girls in the House of Refuge at Plainfield without destroying its reformatory "l'homme" character, and converting it into a juvenile prison, I therefore urgently recommend that a separate prison for female convicts be established with the least practicable delay, and that there be connected with it on the same grounds and under the same direction and management, but in different buildings, a reformatory for girls. Septal deviation far back, impinging on the inferior turbinate and acting as a continual irritant to the larousse naso-pharynx, should be corrected. Age - brashear, however, felt tliat the stranger had the best of him in size, and probably in the"fistic-art" he would have little chance, but lie determined to get the best of his antagonist and get the first lick, and other advantages also if they were to be had. Surely no rational man would agree to such a proposal; and yet that is exactly what the people sweats of America have done as to their courts, for courts are intended to be merely interpreters of the public will, as expressed in the constitution and laws.
There fr are several theories as to the cause of loss or injury to the voice in these cases. The morbid mass was then lifted from its definition bed, a jiQ-ature having been previously cast around its footstalk, or uterine attachment; the edges of the wound were carefully closed in the usual manner, and the woman put to bed; for fifteen days after the operation there was a bloody, puti'id discharge from the wounds, supposed by Dr. Nothing more was seen she again came "night" back laboring under of phosphatic character and of small size. It is not to be understood that the lancet is "homme" to be had recourse to indiscriminately in every case of cholera. The bowels and skin seem to act upon quel each other like antagonist muscles. Edited by Annette Austin, given male in the present volume, which is an argument for the main thesis, that man mechanism, obeying the laws of physics, as do other mechanisms. The proceedings of l'andropause the last meeting were read and, upon motion approved as read. These will be referred to more fully in (a) Shortage of breath (dyspnoes): This is extremely common, but it varies dyspnoes is experienced, its intensity varies directly with the altitude (side). That protection against pneumococcus infection in mice is conferred by pneumococcus lipovacoine has been demonstrated by Lewis and Dodge produces average a gi-eater amount of protective substance in the serum than pneumococcus lipovaccine, both, however, failed to protect monkeys against pneumococcus pneumonia, although they did modify the course of the disease. To speak of one particular, avarice, had no chez place in his nature.
The responsibility was great, treatment yet he did not hesitate. It was too range much for any one man and overwork and the loss of sleep shattered his constitution.
The last case given is a doubtful one of symptoms acute recurrent eczema; the vesicles were very delicate, something like those produced by croton oil. There is, certainly, nothing that Virchow touches which he does not adorn; and it is difiicult to say whether in reading his writings one admires most his great diligence, his rare gift of pathological observation, or his power of inductive reasoning (men's). The lower Parsees, who cannot get effects meat, are restricted to an inferior kind of fish.
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2020 Competitors
About Leadfoot
The Ultimate Driveway
Rod Millen
VIP Hospitality Experience
Beer and Wine Vendors
Paul Adams - 1970 BMW 2002 Ti
Paul began his motorsport career in the 1960s driving a Morris 1100 and competed in the first ever hill climb run at Cosseys’ Farm in Drury run by the Northern Sports Car Club. It belonged to a salesman working for his father, who had no idea it was being used to race on. From this small beginning, Paul went on to win three separate New Zealand championships; the NZ Rally Championship, the NZ Hill Climb Championship and the NZ Rallycross Championship. Paul was also a factory driver in New Zealand for both General Motors (Vauxhall Chevette) and Toyota NZ (Toyota Starlet and Corolla AE86). He has also competed overseas doing a number of the Southern Cross rallies in Australia.
1970 BMW 2002 Ti:
This car won New Zealand’s first international rally, the four-day 1970 Shell Silver Fern outright. It is competing with all the same livery that it had during that event 47 years ago. It was also used very competitively around the North Island race circuits, in the standard production class, thrilling the crowds especially at the Bay Park circuit in Tauranga with its very tail-out approach to Baypark’s unique turns. About 22 years ago Paul purchased this current car and began the restoration process (with tremendous help from Don Fenwick, Peter Davidson, Earle McFarlane, Peter Jordan and numerous others about six years ago. It runs a two-litre engine of around 200hp with a ZF five-speed gearbox and a limited slip differential.
Shane Allen - 2008 Ford Shelby
Shane (24) started racing speedway at the age of 12 and was picked for the New Zealand Youth Ministock Team, which raced in Australia for three years. He was named Speedway Competitor of the Year by the Rotorua Stock Car Club and moved onto the D1NZ at 18-years-old. Currently, Shane has been competing in the D1NZ Drifting Championship. He first started in the Pro Am class where he finished 8th overall. He then moved on to the Pro Class, and has worked his way up to be in the top 14 every year.
2008 Ford Shelby:
This 2008 Shelby Mustang has been built to race as a drift car. It houses a 468 cube small block Ford, 800 plus horsepower and 750ft pounds of torque, all alloy block, d3 NASCAR heads, Baswell carb, Callies billet crank and rods, 3 plate Tilton clutch and runs a hgt 5 speed sequential gearbox with a 9 inch diff. The Mustang also runs JRI double adjustable shocks, custom-made bottom front a-arms, custom-made front spindles and sway bars, front Endless 6 pot, and the guards have been widened 2 inches. The front wheels are 18×10 works wheels with 245x40x18 Zestino tyres, while the rears are 18×11 works wheels with 265x40x18 Zestino tyres
Tony Antonievich - 1969 Chevrolet Z 28 Camero
Tony is the owner of Auto and Aero Restorations. He is a passionate car owner and collector of early Ford V8s and hot rods. He is the son of Louie Antonievich, an early car racer and member of the famous 1958 stock car team with Red Dawson, Johnny Riley and Garth Sounous. Tony watched these guys in his youth and this had a big impact on his passion for the look, sound and feel of these cars. He was very fortunate to be able to purchase this Camaro and restore it back to its glory days . Tony races this Camaro and all so a 1938 Chevy coupe, which is a replica of his father’s old race car.
1969 Chevrolet Z 28 Camero:
In the 1970s, V8 saloon car racing enjoyed a high profile across the Tasman. Some of these cars still survive today, including this 1969 Camaro Z 28. It was restored and now raced by Tony. Originally built for Trans Am racing in the United States, the Camaro found its way to New Zealand via its American owner/driver Joe Chamberlian. He sold it to Bay Park Raceway’s Ian Rorison. The car was then campaigned in the NZ Saloon car series by Dennis Marwood and later driven by Johnny Riley in the Big Banger Series. The 500hp 302ci V8 racer was fully rebuilt and is presented the way it arrived in the country almost 46 years ago.
Barry Armiger - 1981 Mazda RX7
Barry has been competing for about 33 years now – 29 of them in this car. He did a number of rallies around the top half of the North Island many years ago but mainly does hill climbs and rally sprints in the Northland area. Most of the time he gives the 4WDs a hurry up. Barry has built and developed this car himself and does all his own engine work. He competed in the last four Race to the Sky events, winning the 2WD rally course class in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2015. He held the fastest 2WD record in 2006. Barry has finished in the top three in a number of tarmac hill climbs over the past few years. He just likes getting out there and showing the public how quick these old cars can go.
1981 Mazda RX7:
Barry built the RX7 in 1989 with the advice of Neil Allport. It was first raced in 1990 and has seen many changers over the years. The RX7 was the only car to win the Race to the Sky 2wd rally course class in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2015.
Cole Armstrong - 1999 Nissan Skyline R34
2017 and 2018 d1 drifting champion, Cole is the driver of the 2001 V Energy drink 250GT Skyline, which is powered by an 800+hp rb30/26 straight 6. He has been involved in competitive drifting for the last ten years in New Zealand and worldwide, including competing in the Chinese World Drift Series, where he placed in the top five. Cole also competed throughout Australia with the ADGP. He is the 2016 and 2017 New Zealand Drift Champion with the D1NZ Championship.
1999 Nissan Skyline R34:
The Nissan G35 Skyline with a 5 speed sequential gearbox, Holset turbo, and over 800hp at the wheels.
Stephen Armstrong - 1982 Mazda RX7 Group C
Stephen has been involved in motorsport since the 1980s, predominantly campaigning Mazda rotary cars at club and national level. He competed in the Production Supercar Series in a giant-killing RX3, before being part of the team that started and ran the North Island RX7 Class (now Pro7). He was also part of the Adams Rally Team building cars and navigating for Paul Adams. This is Stephen’s fourth time competing at Leadfoot.
1982 Mazda RX7 Group C:
This car was built in 2010 as a detailed replica of Alan Moffat’s Peter Stuyvesant-sponsored Mazda RX7. Alan’s car competed in the ATCC and Bathurst and he drove the RX7 to four consecutive top-six finishes at Bathurst between 1981 and 1984. It was a hero car for Mazda rotary enthusiasts. The #43 car runs a fuel-injected 13BPP motor, 6-speed sequential gearbox and factory racing hardware. It is a very detailed tribute to the actual Moffat car.
Mike Ashton - 1989 BMW E30 M3
Mike has been racing since 2002. He has won many Targa classes from 2004 to 2010 with Mike Tubbs in his BMW M3. The two Mikes won the 2014 NZ/North Island Endurance series overall. Mike then partnered up with Rick and Dion Cooper and won the first-ever 12 hour endurance race in 2010, in a genuine Ford GT40 at Hampton Downs. Currently a BMW Race Series competitor, Mike came with his brother in law last year to support him and loved it so much he’s rapt to come back and have a go. This car is very quick on this tight road and with his tarmac Targa experience, it should suit Mike.
1989 BMW E30 M3:
This was a BMW E30 series race car originally. It did four years of close door-to-door E30 BMW series racing and was even a competitor in numerous endurance races. It has been stripped, upgraded and kitted out with the famous Group A M3 design and 2 litre twin cam touring car engine similar to European and British touring cars. It has a Group A close cut gearbox, a Giken Dodson Motorsport diff. This quick little car weighs approximately 900kgs and has around 270hp . This fantastically-designed little road should suit this tidy track car .
Fred Bailey - 1963 Ford Consul Classic
Fred is a retired mechanical engineer and has been involved in New Zealand motorsport since the mid-1960s. Fred joined the Triumph Car Club in the early 1970s with Allan Woolf and his team and he raced his Falcon UTE at Baypark and other club events. Fred then joined the Auckland Car Club in the mid-1970s, where he is still a member – competing in club and national race meetings with a Mini Cooper S, Ford GTHO Falcon, Ford RS2000 and Anglia twin cam.
1963 Ford Consul Classic:
This 1963 Ford Consul Classic Two Door Saloon is a very rare original 116E 1500cc two-door model. It was assembled in England and is possibly one of only two left in New Zealand.
Fred rebuilt this car some years ago for motorsport events, making a fibreglass bonnet, boot, front guards and bumpers to help reduce it’s weight. The engine is still the original non-cross flow design and is fitted with twin side draft weber carbs.
Fred says it is still fun to drive and a great challenge for an “”old boy and an old classic””.
Simon Bell - 1989 Subaru Legacy RSRA
Simon’s interest in rallying started way back in the 1970s, when his father competed in various local and international events, in a range of cars from Triumphs to Escorts. During the 1980s he watched and followed all the events and then in the 1990s became involved via Rally New Zealand. Finally in 1999, Simon purchased a very tired 1984 Subaru RX Turbo and began to do rallysprints. His first rally was the 2001 Greg Todd Memorial event in Maramarua, where he finished pretty much dead last. He persevered with that car and multiple engine calamities until 2004 when he brought his present car – a 1989 Subaru Legacy RSRA. It won two championships in 2005/2006 and since then Simon is now involved with Rally New Zealand as a director and is also part of the NZRC team organising the New Zealand Rally Championships.
1989 Subaru Legacy RSRA:
This car was imported into NZ by Subaru NZ as a road car, as it was a rare Legacy RSRA. It got stolen and then recovered and then turned into a rally car. Dylan Turner ran the car from 1999 to 2002, then it was run by Barry Sexton for a few events and then Simon purchased it in 2004. It has won the Top Half Series Pre92 class in 2005/2006 and since then has been used for one or two events a year. Simon had a big accident at Rally Whangarei in 2010 and the car has had a big birthday, with all new paint and new running gear. Its as close as Simon can get it to a 555 Prodrive Legacy – its yellow and a heck of a lot of fun to drive.
[Images thanks to Jason Byrne.]
Kat Benson - 2001 BurgerFuel Mitsubishi Evolution 7
Katherine (Kat) is one of a new and emerging breed of female racers who race against the clock over a single flying lap, rather than within the traditional ‘first-past-the-post’ race classes. She is the owner and driver of the ‘2TEAZU’ BurgerFuel Mitsubishi Evo. She holds the 2013-2014 NZ Superlap Series Pro-Street Champion title.n 2015 and 2016 with solid results both years. Kat was the only female entered.
2001 BurgerFuel Mitsubishi Evolution 7:
Kat’s 2001 BurgerFuel Mitsubishi Evolution 7 race car was launched four years ago at the CRC Speedshow under the watchful eye of E&H Motors, Pukekohe, to compete in the NZ Superlap Series and overseas. It was also set up for a transition to circuit racing if required and is still road-registered and warranted.
Kat’s team shipped the Evo 7 to Australia to compete in the World Time Attack Challenge in 2015 and 2016 with solid results both years. Kat was the only female entered. In 2016 the car underwent the following upgrades: KAPS dogbox gearset, aero package, MCA suspension upgrade, full brake package upgrade, all new Turbosmart accessories and engine rebuild achieving 430kW.
This car has competed at, or attended, the NZ Superlap Series, World Time Attack Challenge, Leadfoot Festival, Big Boys Toys, CRC Speedshow, Automania, 4 & Rotary Nationals and was the NZ Performance Car cover vehicle.
Rick Bone - 1972 Datsun 1200 Coupe
Rick has owned, built and raced his purpose-built 1972 Datsun 1200 Coupe circuit car for the last 12 years. He has raced in various classes including SS2000, GTRNZ and GT2, with much enjoyment and success.
More recently taking a break from circuit racing, he has enjoyed the thrill and honour of attending the Leadfoot Festival in 2015 and 2016, gaining a second place in the Pre-1975 class in 2015, and first place in 2016, running a 2ltr Nissan SR20 Turbo. He has recently refitted the Datsun 1500cc pushrod injected motor originally built by Marsh Motorsport. Rick is excited to be invited back to be a part of this amazing festival.
This year he races in the memory and honour of his long-time friend, sponsor and owner of Auckland Engineering Supplies, Stephen Harris.
1972 Datsun 1200 Coupe:
This 1972 Datsun 1200 Coupe is a purpose-built circuit car, built in the early 90s for the SS2000 class.
The engine is a Marsh Motorsport Datsun A15 Pushrod, 1638cc 9000rpm 200+hp with a Cosworth crank. It is also dry sumped and fuel injected.
The Datsun motor has been refitted for some classic racing in the future and brought back to its original configuration,
The sound of the Datsun motor motor was something Rick missed when running the turbo motor.
Stephen Briggs - 2009 KTM 450SMR Supermoto Bike
Stephen has had over 35 years racing experience and held multiple New Zealand titles in junior motocross, speedway, road racing and Supermoto. He was a professional rider for 10 years at World Championship 500cc level on the BSL 500, including World Superbike rides for Muzzy Kawasaki and Lemstra Motoren in the Netherlands competing on a Ducati 998 Corsa. Stephen also rode for Netherlands Yamaha, competing in the SuperSport 600 class at the European Championship. During 1995-97 he competed on the then Italian-owned CR&S Britten in the World Championship Battle of the Twins & Bears Series and finished runner-up in the 1995 World Championship. Further racing included competing at World Championship Endurance racing for Phase One Kawasaki and representing KTM at the World and New Zealand Supermoto Championships.
2009 KTM 450SMR Supermoto Bike:
The KTM SMR model was built by the KTM factory specifically for the Supermoto World Championships. It is a single cylinder 450cc twin cam and makes approximately 60-65 hp. It has 97mm bore and four titanium valves. It has 320mm diameter brake discs on the front with 4-piston CNC race calipers and forged one-piece racing hubs. It comes with tubeless 17″ wheels, a factory-fabricated swing-arm, adjustable steering head angles, full titanium/carbon Akropovic exhaust system and a Suter slipper clutch. A bike identical to this was raced by Stephen in the NZ Supermoto Championships from 2009 – 2010, winning a number of titles.
Greg Brinck - 2009 One Pure Racing Audi S3
Greg has probably got one of the most unique and successful CVs in motorsport. A New Zealand Championship winner in motocross in the 1970s and 1980s, he raced Touring Cars in the 1990s and competed in Offshore Powerboat Racing from 2005 – 2013. Greg’s latest challenge was the 2016 Targa New Zealand back in October where after missing day one due to engine problems, he came back on day two setting fastest stage times in his class and climbing back to third in class by the end of the four-day rally. This is Greg’s first attempt driving in a hill climb, after having attended previous events hosting customers and flying the Giltrap Group flag. Greg is General Manager for Independent Prestige – the Giltrap Group company that looks after Aston Martin and Lamborghini here in New Zealand.
2009 One Pure Racing Audi S3:
The Audi S3 was commissioned by Audi NZ and built by International Motorsport to compete in the 2010 Production Championship. Simon Sceats competed successfully in it for one season and the car has been in storage since. Greg was interested in competing in Targa New Zealand and purchased the car in the middle of 2016 and prepared it for the Targa in October. The car is essentially a standard Audi S3 with a 2 litre turbo with a stage 1 engine tune, producing about 210kWs at the wheels. It is 4WD with a DSG gearbox.
David Brock-Jest - 1938 Lagonda V12 Le Mans
David began racing karts at age 11 and has competed at most circuits in Europe including such iconic tracks as Le Mans, Porto, Estoril, Dijon and Nurburgring as well as Laguna Seca in the USA. His focus has always been on pre-1960 cars, having competed in a range of marques including vintage Bentleys, Austin Healeys, Alfas, Elvas and Lotus. David has been racing, rallying and thrilling crowds in his V12 Lagonda for over 20 years bringing it to New Zealand for the first time six years ago and he is now a regular on the historic racing scene. Since emigrating, David and his daughter, Ana have built up Hooters, New Zealand’s largest fleet of vintage and classic vehicles available for hire.
1938 Lagonda V12 Le Mans:
These were the last cars designed by W.O. Bentley for the 1939 Le Mans 24 Hour. This car was rebodied in the early 1990s and has been extensively raced and rallied throughout Europe including the Monte Carlo Challange several times. It is the only one in Australasia. Whilst racing at the Le Mans circuit David was clocked at 148 mph (238kmh) going down the Mulsanne Straight.
Bill Buckley - 1950 McIntosh Egli Vincent Replica
Bill has always been a racer and a Vincent enthusiast, running Vincents for racing and cruising. He has won on Vincents at speedway and road racing; the top prizes being Australasian and NZ titles at Western Springs. Bill has given back to motorsport with the promotion of Western Springs Speedway for the past 14 years. Bill employs over 350 staff around the world. He is the founder of Buckley Systems which manufacture machinery that is used in the computer world. If you talk, watch, listen to or use an electronic device, it has probably been built using a Buckley machine. Bill also has manufacturing plants making Esslinger Engines in L.A. for midget racing; Breka and Aggressor midget chassis’; and Terra off-road cars in Mt Wellington. He also has two hi-tech companies in Canada and Boston that are developing a Boron Neutron Capture Therapy which will be the best process to treat cancer. Along with all of this Bill still likes to compete and help others in their bid to achieve.
1950 McIntosh Egli Vincent Replica:
This is a 1950 Vincent Egli replica was built up by Bill from the motor out of the Speedway outfit.
Colin Buckley - 2008 F1 Kawasaki ZX10 Sidecar
Colin retained the Road Racing Sidecar NZ Championship from 1998 to 2001, competed at the legendary Isle of Man TT races from 1996-1998 finishing in a 28th, 20,19 and 16th places, and also finished 1st at the famous Australian Bathurst circuit in 2000 and fourth at the Australian Nationals in 2001. Robbie Shorter started off racing 250 2 stroke production bikes and then moved into passengering for a 1000cc sidecar.
After years of racing against each other, in 2015 Colin and Robbie were paired up under the international branding of Carl Cox Motorsport, and competed across the UK and Europe- achieving 10th in the World FIM F1 sidecar championship, 8th in the World FIM F2 (600cc) sidecar trophy and were 2015/16 New Zealand champions(also becoming the current lap record holders at all of NZ’s South Island circuits). They even finished 2nd in the Australian F1 Sidecar Championship in the same year after entering one round and setting a new lap record at Eastern Creek
At the gruelling 2015 Isle of Man on a Carl Cox Motorsport 600cc F2 bike, they finished 16th for the first race and 11th in race two, and became the fastest team ever from the Southern Hemisphere, lapping the TT Mountain Course at 108.79MPH average. The 2016 TT then bought the team a DNF with electrical faults in the first race and another strong 11th place finish in race 2.
2008 F1 Kawasaki ZX10 Sidecar:
This 2008 LCR Sidecar (aluminium monocoque chassis) was made in Switzerland by Louie Christian Racing. It has linked three-wheel braking,adjustable front and rear wheel suspension, features a 2014 Kawasaki ZX10 (1000cc) motorcycle engine producing nearly 200 horsepower, weighs in at 240kg(without riders)and has a top speed of 270 Kmph. This bike has previously placed second in the 2015 World Sidecar Championships and won 10 out of 12 races in New Zealand in the 2015/16 season.
Scott Buckley - 2006 Kawakaki ZX14r
Scott had early beginnings in junior motocross and speedway but the biggest part of his competitive life has been spent on two wheels – road racing motorcycles. Scott started with 250 production bikes and moved through most classes to the very top of the sport, Formula 1/Superbike.
Scott raced 125 and 250 gearbox karts and raced senior motocross at 125cc national title level and 250 pro at club level.
Scott started racing speedway midgets in 1999, currently with a best of 2nd at the NZ Title, and a win in the GP Title. Midgets haven’t changed much over the last 20 years so in 2015 Scott built an innovative prototype (BSL Terra Midget) which is still under development.
Scott started building the BSL Terra-branded cars for off-road racing in 2008 and is currently ranked 2NZ in off-roading and is the Class 10 Champion.
2006 Kawakaki ZX14r:
This design is possibly a world first for a motorcycle engine off-road race car due to the engine being behind the rear axle to balance the car over rough terrain.
It was designed, built and tested by Scott Buckley of BSL Racing Ltd and adheres to the Off-Road Racing NZ Class 10 rules. This class includes all off-road vehicles not powered by a conventional production-type car engine.
Weighing only 600kg, the space frame BSL Terra is powered by a Kawasaki ZX14r motor, with 211hp @ 11,000 rpm (redline) and 106 ft lbs of torque. It has a BSL Racing-built differential; 4 x 10” Fox coil over shocks; three tube bypass extra rear dampers; electric power steering; CNC brake controls (bias adjustable); Wilwood calipers.
It also features three-point rear suspension with 17” travel and asymmetrical dual A arm front suspension with 18” travel.
Gordon Burr - 1968 Ford Escort 302 V8
Gordon competed in motorsport for 35 years mainly in classic and historic car events, including Porsche Bridgestone Championship races, Targa Rally New Zealand, in a Ferrari 308GT4LM. He competed in all New Zealand Festival of Speed events with an ex-Moffat Cologne Capri in the Historic Touring Car class and the ex-Algie Alfetta in the Historic Sports Sedans. Gordon has competed in car club hillclimbs in the ex-Ian Taylor Gold Star Championship V8 302 Escort. He has raced in the Leadfoot festival twice previously in the Ferrari and Alfetta.
1968 Ford Escort 302 V8:
The Ford is constructed by Ian Taylor from Wellington. It won the 1985/86 Gold Star Hillclimb Championship. Ian competed in all the southern region hillclimb championships and did several Dunlop Targa Rallies.
In Gordon’s ownership, it has done historic track racing and car club hillclimbs.
Allan Carter - 2013 Lancia Rally 037 Recreation
Allan Carter is a self employed automotive engineer restorer and co-owner with his wonderful wife Alexandra Gorringe of their Carteroni business. Allan spent several years on the Asia Pacific Rally circuit servicing rally cars for Hong Kong-based teams. A highlight during this time was when Michael Lieu and Hakaru Ichino achieved third place in the Hong Kong to Beijing Rally. Upon Allan’s return to NZ he worked extensively with Bruce Wilson of Wilson Motors. Allan and Alex have a large collection of Lancia cars and a large base of Lancia owners, whom they restore cars for. Allan and Alex’s love of Lancia led them to create the Lancia Rally 037 Recreation. This car is large part of Carteroni’s business as they build these cars for customers and also offer it as a kit.
2013 Lancia Rally 037 Recreation:
The Carteroni Lancia Rally 037 Recreation started life as a US-spec Lancia Scorpion in 1976. The front and rear of the car were removed to provide the cockpit of the current car. Tubular space frames were fabricated by Carteroni and copied from an original 037 owned by driver Gerry Duyveston. It is powered by the same 2litre, 4-cylinder Lancia engine as the original cars and is similarly supercharged. The gearbox is from a Lancia Gamma. The body work was completed at Carteroni and the body styling is by Pinninfarina. The suspension is copied from original design drawings and replicates the original car’s geometry. Since 2013 when the car became motorsport and road legal, it has travelled 12,500 miles. It has competed at the MG Classics, sealed and gravel hill climbs and has been used as a zero car for the Otago, Wairarapa and Daybreaker Rallies.
Neil Chappell - 2012 Meadspeed 650
Neil or ‘Chappy’ as he’s more widely known, got into motorcycle racing after his RG150 exploded ‘cruising’ home after work. It was rebuilt and then never returned to the road. He won regional championships specialising in smaller capacity classes. After competing in nearly every class, his strength was in developing and improving race machines. Chappy’s passion is to develop bikes, which led him to the Formula 3 class – the tuner’s stomping ground.
His race machine is a fully modified ZXR400 Ninja running a 650cc fuel injected twin motor. When Chappy isn’t messing around with his ZXR, he’s busy cleaning his 1973 Kawasaki S2a. It’s a 3 cylinder two stroke.
Chappy has found it hard to get out on the bikes as much as he used to as in 2014 he became a RNZAF helicopter loadmaster. He is based at Ohakea where the doorway of a NH90 helicopter is his office.
2012 Meadspeed 650:
The Kawasaki ZXR400 was a very popular F3 bike and Chappy competed on one and developed it. It ended up as a 450cc super-hot rod that revved to the moon but the maintenance burden was unbearable. So MeadsSpeed Fabrication jammed a newer 650cc fuel injected parallel twin into the beast. A full porting job was carried out by Brian Bernard and Colt Cams made some custom race camshafts. It runs 42mm throttle bodies, Je Forged pistons with Carrillo H beam Conrods, 14.5:1 compression, Balanced crank, flywheel removed, and Yoyodine racing ‘slipper’ clutch. The bike runs a custom Ohlins rear shock, Ohlins internals in the front, Brembo Cast Iron 300mm twin disc brakes, Dymag carbon fibre/magnesium wheels, custom fuel cell and carbon tank cover, hand built titanium exhaust weighing a grand total of 1.5kgs! The MeadsSpeed 650 has over 100hp and weighs less than 150kgs fully fuelled.
Tony Christiansen - 2007 Star VX Commodore
Tony lost both his legs at the age of 9 in a railway accident. His father built him his first go-kart at 11 years old and over 45 years on, his passion for motorsport has not wavered. Tony has raced Offroaders, Speedway Midgets, Sprint Cars and Saloons. He raced in Pre-65 driving a MK 3 Zephyr and a XP Falcon. He considers himself fortunate to have competed in the last meeting at the old Baypark Circuit. In 2008, Tony built a car and took it to Bonneville Speedweek where he recorded a speed of 189 mph. He also raced his Speedway Saloon car up the Cardrona Snow Farm road for the Race to the Sky’s final event. Tony now enjoys drag racing his blown-altered and races STAR Cars in the summer series.
2007 Star VX Commodore:
This car races in the Star Car summer series and has a lot in common with its cousins, the Aussie Racing cars and the US Legends cars. Powered by a GSX-R 1100 high-revving race-bred Suzuki motorcycle engine, this car has brutal acceleration while full-size Willwood brakes give it unbelievable stopping power. Star Cars come with a 5-speed sequential gearbox and this particular car has an electronic gear shifter on hand controls for accelerator and brakes. Weighing only 560 kgs, it has 135 horsepower @ 11,000 rpm which offers an exciting power to weight ratio and a top speed of 220 kph.
Ross Clarke - 1984 TA64 Celica Group B
Ross entered rallying in the early 1980s with a Mk1 Escort Mexico then proceeded to a RX3 Mazda Coupe until late 1984. He started a business and a family around that time which slowed rallying until 1988 when he purchased a Mazda 323 BMFR 1600 Turbo to compete in the NZ Rally Championship and Rally NZ. Ross successfully finished both then he sold the car. In 2011 he built a Toyota RA20 Celica to compete in the Targa Rallies and in 2015 sold the car to a collector in the United Kingdom. The Toyota Group B car is the next chapter he would like to campaign in the NZ Classic Rally Championship.
1984 TA64 Celica Group B:
Of these recreations of a TA64 Toyota Celica Group B, only seven of the original 35 cars built by TTE (Toyota Team Europe) still exist in the world. Up until recently this was the only true attempt to replicate the original cars by performing the extensive fabrication work to the chassis as it had been done at TTE. The motor is a genuine TTE Group B (396 Evolution motor) only used in the Group B cars and IMSA series racing in the USA. It’s serial is #111 and it was built in 1985 and used by Juha Kankkunen in the Thousand Lakes Rally. The Motor is 2.1litre, 400hp, with one bar boost pressure.
Graeme Coley - 2001 Audi RS4
After being brought up watching and participating in gravel rallying with the Hibiscus Motorsport Club, Graeme was an avid follower of the Millen boys as they lived nearby in Mairangi Bay and he recalls avidly watching Rod in the V6 buggy on a ‘test’ course through the suburban streets. Graeme has since returned to racing and caught the Targa bug but wanted to compete in something more interesting than just another Subaru or Evo. The Audi has proved to be a hit with the spectators as it is a station wagon and Graeme secured a top 5 outright finish in a Targa event. He also competes in the 2K Cup and Endurance races.
2001 Audi RS4:
The car was built brand new with no expense spared by Ron McMillan at Road Race and Rally for the Targa. It featured MCA suspension and Movit brakes though it is still mostly in road car form. The Audi RS4 has a twin turbo V6 tuned by Cosworth and can run up 650hp . It was written-off in its first event but was re-shelled and campaigned by John McIntyre and Mike Eady to win in the Mainfield round of the endurance series. It returned to Targa trim in 2007 and has been campaigned in Targa events since. It is one of only two known B5 RS4 station wagons made into race cars in the world.
Mark Collier - 1989 Mazda MX5 Turbo
Mark has been racing in competitive motorsport for 20 years, starting in road motorbikes and later in motocross – where he was a nationally ranked rider on a Honda four-stroke CRF450, until age and family encouraged him out of racing bikes. Having competed for so long, doing nothing was not an option, so he joined the Auckland Car Club and built a road-legal MX5 turbo race car. In his first year, he finished third in the Classic Japanese Class. Mark’s first year at Leadfoot was 2015 and after such a fantastic time having posted times up Rod’s driveway very near the times of the famous cars he grew up dreaming of, he was very keen to return and try to match or better his last year’s time of 56.55secs. This year he is trying for a 55!
1989 Mazda MX5 Turbo:
Mark and his nephew Kasey decided that an MX5 was a good, affordable way to go racing and that the Auckland Car Club’s Classic Japanese Class offered a great, cost effective series. They built a 1989 MX 5 1600 Turbo that won best presented car in its first season, secured multiple race wins and third in class in its first year – all in one of the only road legal cars in the class. Mark is proud that “Wee1″ was invited to the 2015 and 2016 Leadfoot Festival and traded times with cars he dreamt about as a huge motorsport fan growing up. This 1989 MAZDA MX5 has a 1600cc turbo with about 250hp at 14 PSI boost, 6 speed gearbox, 15×9 6ul racing wheels with Nitto 225×45 NT01 tyres, 300mm Willwood big brake kit and Koni race coilovers.
Glen Collinson - 2011 Ford Falcon XR8 – NZV8 Ute
After competing in the North Island Endurance Series for many years Glen moved into the Suzuki Swift Sport Cup for its final two seasons in 2012 and 2013. He then made the switch over to NZV8 Utes where he competed in his first year in the 2014 series. He decided to sit out 2015 and did only selected events.
Glen has recently completed the 2016 NZV8 Ute Sprint Series where he finished third overall. He will be once again aboard the Panorama Motorsport FG Falcon in the 2016/17 Championship, which commenced at the Supercars event in November last year at Pukekohe.
2011 Ford Falcon XR8 – NZV8 Ute:
This vehicle was built from a brand new BF XR8 ute for V8 ute racing in New Zealand. It was one of 15 brought into the country for the series, which started here in 2008. After going through a couple of owners, it was destroyed in a season-ending crash for one competitor at the Supercar event in 2013. It then sat in a Taupo garage for some months before being purchased by Panorama Motorsport in 2014 and it was re-built so that it was not lost to the category. It now resides in Hamilton and has become a spare chassis for the team, but is available for purchase if anyone was interested in going V8 Ute racing, as it is for sale.
Sloan Cox - 2004 Hillclimb Special Evo 8
Sloan started competing in the New Zealand Rally Championship at 15 years old and was accepted into the Elite Motorsport Academy. At 18, he upgraded to the current Taslo Engineering Evo 10 rally car. Sloan became the 2010 and 2016 New Zealand Junior Rally Champion and the New Zealand Hillclimb Champion in 2011/12. At the end of 2014 the Hillclimb Evo was purchased for Sloan to compete at more high profile events, such as Race to the Sky 2015, where he finished fourth. At the 2015 Leadfoot Festival, which was also Sloan’s first event in this car, he finished fourth and a year later finished on the podium in third. The last two years Sloan has finished second overall behind Alistair McRae and he will be pushing hard to knock Alistair off the top spot. Over the last year Sloan has been competing in Europe in the RallyCross Academy in a front wheel drive Renault Cilo and he hopes the skills he has learnt will help contribute to the win.
2004 Hillclimb Special Evo 8:
Cox Motorsport have owned the Hillclimb Evo since 2015 and the modifications are getting better every year. It has a 6-speed sequential Holinger gearbox with the lowest gear ratio giving the car a super-fast take off. It has a Borg Warner EFR Turbo for more power low down and weighs 1,000kg. A fresh tune gave it over 500kw at the wheels, but its 6 pot front brake calipers, 4 pot rear brake calipers can pull it up with ease. The Evo has a custom space frame set up and great power to weight ratio. Since last year’s event, there has been a focus on balancing the car and the radiator has now been rear mounted and suspension work has been done to improve the handling.
Steve Cox - 2002 F40 Silhouette
With over 30 years of racing, Steve has competed and been involved in all sorts! He began at club events like hillclimbs, sprints and motokanas and progressed to the Wellington Street Race back in the 1980s and numerous national and international rallying events, plus karting at both a local and national level. Steve has also competed in circuit racing throughout New Zealand. This will be Steve’s fourth visit to Leadfoot which he feels excited and privileged to be a part of once again. He will be bringing along his ‘other woman’ – his prized Ferrari F40 Silhouette which has been a crowd favourite at Leadfoot over the years and promises another spectacular showing again in 2017.
2002 F40 Silhouette:
This car is a well-known replica of the iconic Ferrari F40. It is powered by a race-prepared twin turbo Lexus V8 pumping out 750hp. Drive is delivered via a heavily-modified Quaife 6 speed sequential transaxle. It was initially a five year project and is the only one left in New Zealand. It ran in NZ Super Sedans with great success in the mid 2000s before being retired. These days the only time it gets used in anger is at Leadfoot, and while not the ideal car for the driveway, Steve certainly enjoys throwing it at the hill.
Paul Dallenbach - 2006 Dallenbach Special
Paul is an eight-time Pikes Peak International Hill Climb winner, with three overall wins. He is a current record holder in the Open Wheel, Time Attack and Production classes. Paul’s other achievements include the VW Cup Rookie of the Year; Formula Atlantic Rookie of the year; second place finish at 24 hours of Daytona; three-time Alcan 5000 Winter Rally winner and two-time CHCA Champion. He has also competed in Trans-Am, Daytona Prototype, Can-Am, SCCA Trucks, ASA, Indy Lights and Super-Vee.
2006 Dallenbach Special:
The 2006 Dallenbach Special is the current Pikes Peak International Hill Climb record holder in the Open Wheel Class with Paul Dallenbach driving. He also set the qualifying record in Open Wheel and was the Victor Hill Climb winner in this open wheeler in 2004. It was the Pikes Peak Winner in 2006 driven by Wally Dallenbach Jr. In 2007 Paul drove it to victory at Goodwood, while Richard Meadan won Rookie of the Year in it in 2007 and Wyatt Dallenbach earnt the same title in 2012. This car also featured in Dirt 2.
Grant Dalton - 2016 FS450 Husqvarna
Grant is a professional sailor who started sailing aged 8 and went on to be awarded an OBE in the 1995 New Year Honours, for services to yachting. He has raced around the world seven times; the first five as part of the Whitbread Round the World Race.
His other passion is motor racing and in 2014, aged 57, Grant entered the Manx Grand Prix as a newcomer, and also the F1 Classic TT.
Grant’s 2014 Classic TT was a baptism of fire, given his lack of relevant experience. His best lap in qualifying in 2014 on his F1 Suzuki was 141.298kmh and he did not finish the Classic F1 TT, which was won by Kiwi Bruce Anstey at a race average speed of 195.691kph. However, Grant was back in 2015 and qualified for the F1 TT with a lap of 161.010kph. He also finished the 2015 Classic F1 TT.
2016 FS450 Husqvarna:
Grant will be riding a 2016 Husqvarna FS 450. This lightweight motorbike has a new chromium molybdenum steel frame and a potent 63hp, 450cc, SOHC engine. The FS 450 wears new WP suspension pieces, which are 380 grams lighter than the previous model’s.
The rear subframe is also shorter and lighter, with 30% of its three-piece construction made from carbon fibre composite.
The gearbox is a five-speed unit, featuring an Adler Power Torque Clutch slipper clutch and Alpina-laced wheels – 16.5″ in front and 17″ in the rear.
It runs the new Keihin Engine Management System (EMS) with launch control.
Steve Day - 1959 Briggs Mercury V8 Special
Steve Day is a New Plymouth-based engineering company director with a passion for early and historic New Zealand race cars. Steve has competed in various car club and Vintage Car Club events and owns a collection of historic, Australian and American muscle cars.
1959 Briggs Mercury V8 Special:
The Briggs Mercury Special is an historic New Zealand race car built by Brian Briggs, a relative of Barry Briggs of speedway fame. The car has an extensive motor racing history, running at Waimate, Ruapuna, Teretonga, plus beach racing in Nelson and numerous street events. The chassis is a combination of a Zeded Model A Ford chassis, hand-made aluminum body, and early V8 running gear with an Offenhauser equipped flathead V8 engine. The car is in the final stages of a full ground up restoration to compete in motorsport events.
Nic de Waal - 2003 Subaru WRX Targa Car
Nic started rallying an Alfa Romeo in the early 1980s doing club events in his native South Africa. He soon moved on to dealer teams and then landed his first works drive with VW/Audi in 1986, rallying a Mk2 Golf. The following year he moved on to driving an Audi Quattro for two years, followed by stints with Toyota and Nissan. Nic also started racing Group N and Touring Cars in the early 1990s and won numerous events before moving to New Zealand in 1996. After an 18-year drought he got back into motorsport entering a 2014 Targa event where he now is a regular competitor often finishing in the top three.
2003 Subaru WRX Targa Car:
In the last Targa event of 2015 Nic was involved in a massive off-road excursion which destroyed his 2002 Subaru. He found a previously-loved Subaru WRX Targa car which was given a new lease of life for the 2016 season. The new car sports 18” wheels, fitted with road-legal slick tyres and large 6-pot front brakes, MCA suspension and a 6-speed Modena non-synchro gearbox. It is fitted with an adjustable centre differential, allowing different set-ups for varying road conditions. Delivering more than 450hp through 4WD the car provides super fun on the twisty tarmac roads.
Michael Delmont - 1974 BMW 2002 Turbo
Mike has been involved in motorsport in one form or another since the late 1960s. His first competition vehicle was a 1952 Morris Minor which had a modified Austin 1800 engine with a Shorrock Supercharger transplanted into it. There were various other cars such as Ford 100Es and Ford Anglias with engine combinations from 1340cc to 1650cc. Mike then tried drag racing for some years with various combinations culminating in a Mk1Cortina with a tilt front. The engine was a 351 Windsor built by Mike Gearing which had two large turbochargers strapped to it. This car was street legal with a WOF but was tricky to drive on the street due to its prodigious output which was in excess of 1000hp. Mike then created the existing BMW 2002 Turbo, which he has raced and rallied all over NZ for many years with great success.
1974 BMW 2002 Turbo:
The car is a 1975 BMW 2002 Turbo which runs a 2.2 litre SOHC 2 valve 4 cylinder engine. It uses a large Holset turbo and makes in excess of 600hp and revs to 8500 rpm. It runs a Getrag close ratio 5 speed gearbox and a BMW plate LSD diff. It was built about 20 years ago and has gone through many evolutions over the years to get it to the performance levels and reliability that it now generally achieves. It has competed in many types of events over the years throughout New Zealand including circuit racing, tarmac rallies, hillclimbs and street races. The car has achieved 290kph on Pukekohe’s old back straight.
John Dennehy - 1986 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Zagato
John started his racing life after winning a sprint event at Goodwood in 1991 and then continuing as a pupil of the late Peter Gethin at his Mithril Racing Academy. John’s first race car was an Aston Martin DB5 and he went on to race other Astons, including the car he still owns. He won the V8 class of the Aston Championship in 1999 in this 1986 V8 Zagato. John also owned and raced two ex-Le Mans Group C cars including the 1984 Nimrod, in which he won the Roger St John Trophy in 1993. John also races the New Zealand Freighters Mk 1 Escort and is rebuilding the 1961 ex-Scuderia Bellancauto, Fiat Abarth Record Monza.
1986 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Zagato:
In 1985, Aston Martin returned to Zagato of Milan to design 51 V8 Coupes. This car, with an RS Williams 7 litre modification was raced extensively in the United Kingdom and Europe and in 1999 won the V8 class of the Aston Championship. In 2010, the decision was made to return it to as close as possible to its original road specification, retaining necessary race equipment. The car now weighs in at considerably more than its previous race weight at 1.82 tonnes and is now race and road compliant.
Allan Dippie - 1907 Sizaire et Naudin Voiturette Sport
Allan has been collecting and racing various cars since the early 1990s. His first race car was an MGTF, then he moved up to and MGB. Then a nice lightweight MGC followed for Targa Tasmania. Next was a very quick MGBGTV8, which was followed by the TWR Bastos Rover Vitesse – the car he brought to the first-ever Leadfoot Festival. Allan has competed in a lot of iconic long distance events such as the London to Sydney marathon rally and the 24 hours endurance race at Germany’s Nurburgring – as well as racing a Toyota Corolla from Argentina to Peru across the Andes, which took 23 days. At present he is either rallying a 1973 Porsche 911 or racing a 2016 GT3 Cup Porsche. However, he has brought something quite different to that to this year’s Leadfoot Festival.
1907 Sizaire et Naudin Voiturette Sport:
This car was made by Mr Sizaire and Mr Naudin 110 years ago in Paris. These two inventors and racing drivers had success in France and England from 1907 to 1909. A Canterbury farmer ordered a Sizaire from the factory and it arrived in New Zealand in 1907 then had some good results in the country’s earliest race events. The second owner, Bob Turnbull, found the car in a derelict state and restored it for the 1965 International Rally. Allan is the third owner of what is probably NZ’s oldest original race car. It sports a single cylinder 1460cc engine and has no gearbox but runs a three-speed differential. It was the first car in the world with independent front suspension and also has variable valve timing. It needs a riding mechanic to provide oil to the total loss lubrication system and that person will need to be brave!
Martin Dippie - 1927 Lagonda 2/4.5 Special
Martin is a Dunedin-based classic car enthusiast. He has raced his 1956 Austin Healey 100 for many years as well as campaigned his Mitre10 Mega-Sponsored Porsche GT3RS in many Targa NZ events. He is always competitive in the 2WD class and to many people’s surprise won the Targa event outright in 2013. It was the first time since Jim Richards won the event in 2004 in a Porsche 911 that a 2WD car had won. A more recent addition to his fleet is a 1927 Lagonda 2/4.5 Special. It is a 2 litre high chassis speed model that has been fitted with a 1934 Meadows 4.5 litre motor, triple SUs and Lagonda M45 running gear. It is a long distance endurance touring car having competed in many events in Europe including the 1998 London to Cape Town rally.
1927 Lagonda 2/4.5 Special:
This Lagonda Special started life as a 2 litre high chassis car and was the demonstrator for the Hanover Square London dealers Gaffikin and Wilkinson. In the mid-1950s it raced at Silverstone and in the 1990s was upgraded by marque specialist David Ayre with a 1934 Lagonda M45 motor and drivetrain.
The motor is a Meadows 4.5 litre fitted with a special 6 port Meadows competition head.
The car has an extensive rally history in Europe including completing the 10,000 mile London to Cape Town rally in 1998 and competing in the Rallye Monte Carlo, Le Mans, Le Jog and Brooklands to Barcelona events. It was imported into New Zealand in the late 2000s. It has triple HV5 SU carburetors, dual ignition and distributors, full sump and fuel tank guards, a modified cooling system and large capacity fuel tank to cope with arduous long distance endurance rallying conditions.
David Donner - 2005 Donner/Dykstra Pikes Peak Special
David Donner is from the United States and resides in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He is a six-time Pikes Peak International Hill Climb winner. Three of those wins were achieved in the car he will be running at the Leadfoot Festival. His most recent win on Pikes Peak was this year in a 2015 Porsche GT3R. He currently holds the record in Time Attack 2 on Pikes Peak in a 2015 Porsche Turbo S. He continues to race in numerous Porsche series in the United States and other Pro racing events. In addition to Pikes Peak, he ran this particular car at the Queenstown Hill Climb back in 1998, winning the class. He also won his class in this car at the 2012 Goodwood Festival of Speed in the United Kingdom.
2005 Donner/Dykstra Pikes Peak Special:
This car is one of the few to win Pikes Peak on gravel and asphalt. Despite major revisions over the years, it retains the original spaced-frame, carbon-reinforced tub built in 1989. Designed by race car engineer Lee Dykstra, it was built by Donner Motorsport. It was one of the first to utiilise an Electronic Fuel Management system, ground effects and carbon fibre on Pikes Peak. The design is like an Indy car with the engine and gearbox mounted by only five bolts behind the driver making them a stress member. Large tunnels underneath the car help create a vacuum at high speed that literally sucks the car to the ground, enabling the driver to carry much higher speeds through turns without creating aerodynamic drag. The motor is an all-aluminum Chevrolet racing V8, with Motec electronic fuel injection utilising Methanol fuel. The 800hp car has more than 780Nm of torque.
Bert Dove - 1989 BMW M635csi
Bert started circuit racing in the early 1990s in a Triumph TR3A. He built the car up to become the quickest TR3 in the country and won the 1992/1993 season inter-marque classic car series held over several race meetings at the old Bay Park and Taupo circuits.
In 1994 the car had to be rebuilt after a 360 degree roll-over at a Taupo winter meeting. The car went on to win a number of trophies after that until sold in 2003.
Bert purchased an ex-Jeff Gordon NASCAR from the United States and he has entered the car here at the Leadfoot Festival for the last three events. That car has now been sold back to the United States.
1989 BMW M635csi:
The last year of production for the BMW 635 Coupes was 1989 and
52 coupes were built early in 1989 and of that number 20 were right-hand-drive units. The right-hand-drive units were a special run of ‘motorsport edition’ BMW 635s, with 292hp achieved by reworking the manifolds and engine management. The 1989 units were built to what is called highline standard
specifications, with full leather, air, power seats with memory, colour-coded
rear spoiler, bumpers and external mirrors. Its motor specifications are twin cam, 24 valve, 3453cc and a top speed of 254kph. The 635csi BMW dominated on the track in the mid-1980s, in Europe and closer to home BMW Australia had Jim Richards winning the touring car title in one.
We also had two 635csi cars racing in New Zealand in the hands of Neville
Crichton and Kent Baigent, both of whom had great success.
Andy Duffin - 1996 Mazda RX7
With a passion for Rotary-engined vehicles stemming from a misspent youth Andy turned to circuit racing to satisfy his need for speed! Starting his racing in the S22000 series in 1996 in a modified RX7 he quickly got the bug. After a break of several years, when the time was right, he purchased a Pro7 car. Three NZ titles later and it was time to go back to SS2000. Winning that championship in 2011/2012 his dream of racing a 20b or 3 rotor engine in the GTRNZ was realised. A big crash driving a friend’s Nissan at the V8 supercar meeting at Pukekohe in 2013 and a trip to hospital nearly ended his motorsport days. Andy recovered and won the GT2 2014/2015 title.
This is New Zealand’s fastest RX7 after being built in a mate’s dad’s garage in Hamilton, to compete in SS2000. It runs a 20b 3 rotor engine, is naturally-aspirated and makes around 515hp. The car had some serious aero added to it for competing at World Time Attack Challenge in Sydney, which it has been to twice. The RX7 will be running NOS for the Leadfoot Festival and that should give it a further 200hp! Last year it finished fifth overall, fastest naturally-aspirated car and fastest 2WD in the final 10. Leadfoot has become one of Andy’s favourite events on the NZ motorsport calendar.
Chris Dunn - 2001 Toyota MR-S "Mr Busa"
Aged 43 years, Chris has been competing in motorsport since age 18 and has raced almost everything from karts amd Mini 7 to NZV8 Utes and Super Trucks.
He was a former junior Clubsport champion and the first driver to ever win the outright OSCA Championship in a Japanese car (Toyota Levin AE101 with 2JZ twin-turbo Supra engine).
He drove at Bathurst in 2002 with John Bowe in a Budweiser-sponsored, Ford factory supported Ford Mustang Cobra RA in the Australian GT Production car two-hour race, placing second.
He has been the series organiser for the highly successful South Island Endurance Series for past 10 years, plus he is currently the popular 2k Cup South Island Series chairman.
2001 Toyota MR-S "Mr Busa":
This car was initially a 2001 Toyota MR-S. It is now powered by a turbo charged Suzuki GSX-R 1300 Hayabusa motorcycle engine (1300cc) with a water to air intercooler. It uses the factory 6 speed motorcycle gearbox so it has a factory sequential with uprated Quaife internals. Uniquely it is chain drive from the engine to the fixed rear axle. It retains full floorplan construction with hand built sub frames and the engine has been moved forward about 300mm. It retains the factory body lines except about 300mm wider per side and has a mixture of fibreglass and carbon body panels. It uses NZV8 brakes, SACHS adjustable shocks and Porsche Cup tyres on 18inch wheels. It holds both the Production GT and Club racing lap records at Levels Raceway and weighs in at about 750kg and has 450hp. It was hand built in Timaru by Alan Dunn of Total Automotive.
Jason Easton - Tigcraft Aprilia 550
Jason has been road racing motorbikes for 18 years on everything from 125GP bikes, 250GP, 600 Supersport, Superbike and lately his own home-built bikes. He has won four NZ championships, seven NZ Grand Prix Titles and two NZ TT Titles as well as numerous race wins at Wanganui Cemetrey circuit and Paeroa street races. He has competed in the British 125GP Championship, the European Supermono Championship which involved racing at well known circuits of Spa franochamps, Bruno and Assen. He achieved top five results in every race. He has also done two Northwest 200 road races in Northern Ireland and two Isler of Man TT races -achieving credible results.
Tigcraft Aprilia 550:
This bike chassis was built in 2009 in England by Tigcraft. A one-man company, it makes one-off chassis. The motor is from a Aprilia 550 motard bike and everything else has been hand built by Jason or fabricated by friends. In 2010 the bike finished second in the NZ Championship with multiple race wins and lap records. Upgrades for 2011 saw a NZ title win and lap records at five race tracks around NZ.The bike has sat idle for the last couple of years while Jason concentrated on car racing. It now has a hand-built titanium exhaust system.
Ray Ferner - 1931 Ralph Wastson BSA FW32
Ray was brought up in a motoring family with a plethora of vintage and veteran cars including Alvis, Lea Francis, Minerva and Riley. A keen interest in cars developed and Ray spent much of his youth touring in an old Singer and Triumph TR6.
Ray’s more interesting vehicles include a rather pedestrian London Routemaster double decker bus and an Aston Martin DB2/4 MKII. The Aston had an early racing history and was class winner of the 1958 Tulip Rally and completed the Monte Carlo rally also in 1958. Ray recently restored the car from barn-find condition and it was a big job that took ten years. He has also become the keeper of the Ralph Watson BSA special and will campaign the car in various historic races and hill climbs.
1931 Ralph Wastson BSA FW32:
The BSA was developed into a racing special by Ralph Watson in early 1950s. The car was modified with a lowered chassis, a lightweight body and doubled horsepower from the original. Ralph raced the car until 1954 when he sold it to develop the Lycoming Special.
Thirty years later the car returned to Ralph and he restored it back to its 1950’s form but with a new lighter body, new gears, a higher final drive ratio and a lighter real axle. Ralph raced the car around New Zealand and further developed it in the late 1980s to include rotary valves.
They were a real engineering challenge and sealing the combustion chambers and the oil system took much experimentation. The result was more horsepower and more torque across the rev range. Ralph machined a new crank case from an aluminium billet. The BSA has been extremely reliable and raced often in this configuration.
Ian Ffitch - 2002 BRM 1000 Superquad LT500R/GSXR1000
Ian has accumulated close to 40 national titles over nearly 30 years of racing. He has enjoyed success overseas and was the only non-American rider to win a United States national title achieving this back in 1996. Ian took 3rd in the prestigious 12 hours of Pont De Vaux in France in 1999 however some of his most special moments have being achieved at home competing on his Superquad at not only Race to the Sky but here at the Leadfoot Festival. At Race to the Sky Ian regularly placed in the top ten overall taking out top position in the quads all but once when he had a DNF. But bigger than all this was when he became the inaugural winner of the Possum Bourne Memorial trophy for his 3rd overall and 1st resident Kiwi home in 2004 – a feat he repeated at the last edition of the race in 2015.
2002 BRM 1000 Superquad LT500R/GSXR1000:
This Superquad was hand-crafted by 2 Way Industries with pure speed and handling in mind to conquer Race to the Sky and although it’s definitely not designed for tarmac and it’s a handful, it’s still fun to ride at Leadfoot. It started as an early 1990’s Suzuki LT500R 2 stroke quad before being replaced with a 2001 GSXR1000R in 2002. The original frame was modified to take the larger engine and only 20% of the frame is original and only 10% of the whole bike is original, with the rest custom-built. The engine package putting out around 140 rear wheel horsepower was sorted by Auckland’s BRM Dyno tune while the rest was built by 2 Way Industries’ owner Jason Way in Auckland. The suspension is custom-built by PEP suspension, in America, and handles the extra weight and power and maximises the many tuning features. The BRM1000 has a more than 230kmh top speed.
Ian Ffitch - 2008 HONDA TRX450R
2008 HONDA TRX450R:
This 2008 HONDA TRX450R has a highly modified engine from Sparks Engine Racing USA, but runs the standard bore and stroke making it 450ccs. It runs a standard frame with mostly aftermarket chassis components. The suspension is by United States’ company PEP and its A-arms and steering components are made by Laeger custom fabricators. Its top speed is 120kmh but it is light, so you can be freely aggressive on the tarmac.
Tanner Foust - 2016 Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport
Tanner is a versatile and multi-talented driver known for his supreme car control. He has a proven track record of podium placements, national championships and world records. Tanner is a three-time US Rallycross champion, who has also won four X Games gold medals and two Formula Drift championships.
This year he drove the Rockstar Energy Drink Volkswagen Beetle to runner-up in the 2016 Global Rallycross Championship. Tanner narrowly missed the title after a strong season that saw him take seven podiums in 12 rounds. He landed in the record books with an unbroken streak of 26 consecutive heat race wins.
The former Top Gear USA host also showcases his driving dexterity in films and television. He is featured as a stunt driver in major movies, including the Need 4 Speed, Bourne Legacy, Bourne Ultimatum, Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift, Dukes of Hazzard, Red Dawn and Iron Man 2 movies.
2016 Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport:
Using the lightweight Cayman GT4 as the basis, Porsche Motorsport has developed a near-standard racing version. Just like its race-worthy production sibling, the Cayman GT4 Clubsport is powered by a 3.8-litre flat-six engine. The racing version features a Porsche double clutch transmission with shift paddles on the steering wheel and a mechanical rear-axle locking differential. The lightweight suspension strut front axle is taken from its big 911 GT3 Cup brother, which is campaigned in Porsche’s 20 one-make championships around the world. The impressive racing brake system is fitted with steel brake discs all round measuring 380-millimetre in diameter. Tipping the scales at just 1,300 kilograms, the Cayman GT4 Clubsport, delivered ex-works with a welded-in safety cage, a racing bucket seat as well as a six-point harness, is truly lightweight. See Tanner’s expanded driver profile in the front of the Leadfoot Programme.
Elliott Frame - 1974 Alan Mann Mk1 Escort
Elliott (24) is an engineer from Auckland who has had a passion for motorsport and classic cars since a young age. At just 14 he purchased his first Mk1 Escort which he learnt to drive in. He then began modifying and then racing what was essentially his daily driver. Four years later, he purchased his second Mk1 Escort which he has turned into a race car, with the help of his dad, in their carport over the last six years. The car was completed earlier this year and Elliott has begun his journey into motorsport by taking part in tarmac rallies, hill climbs and circuit racing. He is thrilled to make his debut appearance at the Leadfoot Festival.
1974 Alan Mann Mk1 Escort:
This car was purchased in 2010 as a standard 1300cc automatic Mk1 Escort. Elliott has built the whole car in his parents’ car port over the past six years. Everything from the panel repairs and modifications to the homemade suspension have been undertaken to create a replica of the Alan Mann BTCC car. The Escort is powered by a 2litre SOHC Pinto engine with side draft Weber carbs . It has a 5 speed Toyota gearbox and Hilux diff with a Cusco LSD. It has adjustable coilover suspension all round with a 6 link rear end and Wilwood brakes front and rear, whilst inside features a works-style dash with period Smith’s componentry. Elliott would like to thank his dad Mark who has spent many a weekend on the spanners and in the co driver’s seat.
Graeme Fraser - 1997 BMW E36 M3
Tauranga’s Graeme Fraser has been rallying and racing for 40 years – competing in 100 rallies, 180 races, plus many hill climbs, rally sprints and rally cross events. A self-funded amateur competitor he has won two national titles, in rallying in 1987 in a Group A Toyota Starlet and in endurance racing in 2016. A recently retired chartered accountant, he grew up on a sheep station in Hawkes Bay and has been addicted to petrol since he started driving tractors aged 7. He loves the Steve McQueen quote: “Racing is life, everything before and after is just waiting”. He believes the most important achievement in motorsport is to get to the start line, after that “what will be, will be”. He always remembers the first time he saw a rally car competing – Rod Millen in his Phillips Mazda RX3 on the Waimak riverbank in 1976 – absolutely mind-blowing!
Graeme’s Inca Orange BMW M3 was built in Germany in 1997. It has been a race car since 2009 and was previously owned by Wayne Cowely and Bob Sievwright. It runs a normally aspirated BMW E46 M3 S54 3,246cc straight-six engine developing 380hp revving to 8,200 rpm. The gearbox is a NZ-built TTI 6 speed sequential with a 4.7 BMW diff. The cars weighs 1150kg and achieves 0-100kph in around 4.3 secs. Brakes are AP Racing, suspension Proflex and with 18″x 9″ wheels on Hankook tyres. Graeme won the 2016 NZ Endurance Championship Class 2 and BMW Race Series Endurance Championship in it. This is probably the best-prepared and fastest of the many E36 BMW M3s racing in New Zealand and even though it is 20 years old, it is a current race winner at NZ Championship level against modern, normally aspirated and turbo cars in the 3.5 litre category.
Hayden Gare - 1976 Mini Leyland
Hayden Gare is a 24-year-old diesel mechanic from Ohaupo, New Zealand. He began participating in motorsport at the age of three on dirt bikes -progressing through the years of trail rides and enduros. He got his first taste of circuit racing in a borrowed car and after this spent numerous hours in the shed with his father Jerome building a custom Toyota-powered Mini to dedicate to circuit racing. Hayden’s first race season was the 2013-2014 Super Mini Challenge open class, which he won, The following year he also won the the 2014-2015 Super Mini Challenge open class after some hard battles. Currently Hayden is racing with the GTRNZ community in the GT3 class and always thinking of ways to make the little Mini go faster.
1976 Mini Leyland:
The car began life as an ordinary Mini waiting to be put back on the road as a father/son project. After a few years it got a roll cage then another year passed and it acquired a Toyota 4age 1600cc motor. The build took the Gare family and friends around five years before its first race outing in 2013 where it won the Super Mini Challenge 2013 – 2014 open class championship then managed to go back to back and win the open class again in 2014 – 2015 . The car is up to its third race season and now it lives life chasing bigger cars in the GTRNZ race series in the GT 3 class.
Matt Gaskin - 1990 R32 Nissan Skyline Quad Cam V8
Growing up in a Motorsport family it was inevitable that Matt would get the bug. His family has several national speedway titles to their name. After a stint on the dirt qualifying for multiple national titles and winning a Wellington championship Matt decided to give tarmac racing a go. Matt has competed in several Targa New Zealand events always finishing. He has won numerous hill climbs and strives for top results at every event. “There’s not much that beats the excitement of racing on a new hill with cold tyres and brakes.”
1990 R32 Nissan Skyline Quad Cam V8:
The R32 Skyline started out life with a RB25 turbo and 5 speed factory gearbox. It now runs an all alloy Nissan Quad cam VK56 V8. Same engine used by the Kelly brothers in the V8 supercars but with less restrictions. The engine is dry sumped, has 13 to 1 compression and produces 580hp at the wheels running on e85 fuel. It has custom built CNC’d manifolds and throttle bodies. Gearbox is a TT Industries 5 speed sequential. Engine Management is controlled by a Link G4 extreme ECU which enables flat shifting and launch control.
Jason Gibbs - 1990 Honda Civic EF9
Jason is mad about Hondas and racing, He has successfully competed in two seasons of the Honda Cup, finishing an impressive second in class and 10th overall in his rookie season. Jason has done numerous race car liveries for others in the racing community and hopes to build on this involvement in the coming years. Growing up around cars and itching to learn to drive and then drive fast has been a focus point as long as he can remember. So when the opportunity came up for Jason to persue his passions on the track he jumped at the chance to get into the thick of it.
1990 Honda Civic EF9:
After being rescued from death’s door, this genuine EF9 Honda Civic has been transformed into a track weapon. It is fully equipped with a forged 1800cc Vtec engine producing 160wkw, quad throttle bodies, upgraded suspension, brakes and drivetrain. Weighing in at just 900kgs this makes for one seriously quick package. It’s period-based livery was inspired by the mid 1980s Motul Honda Civic based in Japan. The ef9 is a cult classic and is becoming rarer all the time. All the work on the car has been done locally in Hamilton courtesy of Andrew at Waikato Honda and Mark at Motivation. The engine was built by Ivan Udy at Udy Automotive and tuned by Linn at CDM.
Roger Greaney - 1956 Buckler DDII
Roger has been involved in motor racing for the last 50 years – starting with crew work for rallying, then he spent a few years racing speedway saloons and for the past 25 years has raced historic cars. He is also heavily involved into the restoration side as well. Roger also helped the late Ashley Stichbury with his race team (Westbury Racing) winning a couple of titles along the way. He is part of the AFRICA racing team from Hawkes Bay – (work out what the word means or ask Roger himself.) They are a bunch of old racers who like to be around cars and drivers and enjoy them. Many thanks to Rod and Shelly for putting on this world class event. Roger has been to Goodwood a couple of times and he thinks this event matches it.
1956 Buckler DDII:
This particular car was raced by Vic Simkin from Northland in the 1950s and early 1960s. Its restoration was undertaken in 1990 and it has been raced by the current owner at every race track, airfield circuit and also the last Wellington street race. The car has been rebuilt to period specifications and still runs drum brakes all round. Roger has unfinished business at the Leadfoot Festival and if you see him in the pits, he will tell you the story!. Roger is proud of the fact that this car has raced for 25 years and has never failed a scrutineering audit and he has a letter from Motorsport New Zealand congratulating him on this.
Chris Green - 1974 Mazda RX3 Savanna GT
Chris is the younger of the two brothers that make up Green Brothers Racing. He is passionate about all things automotive but especially the Mazda rotary engine. An accomplished drag racing pilot, Chris has driven the Green Brothers Racing ‘shop wagon’ to a very respectable 8.8 second quarter mile. Not bad considering it’s a street-driven 323 station wagon! Chris is driving Andy Duffin’s RX3 Savanna GT coupe as a way of repayment for all the hard work he has done on Andy’s Time Attack RX7.
Instead of swinging spanners Chris will enjoy driving at an event – although Andy still expects him to work on the RX7 between runs!
1974 Mazda RX3 Savanna GT:
This RX3 Savanna GT coupe was imported from Japan in the condition you see it in today. Although only used for karting shows and the odd sealed event in Japan, it has many rare and hard to find accessories on it that were purchased from Mazda dealers back in the day – including those crazy wheel arch flares!
Now belonging to Andy Duffin, it will have a complete rebuild over winter including a full roll cage and a significant upgrade in the engine department. The engine and driveline remain relatively stock at the moment although the 13×9 inch front and 13×11 rear wheels make for plenty of grip. It is piloted by Chris Green of Green Brothers Racing fame for this event.
Layton Hammond - 1973 Mk1 Ford Escort with a Duratec engine
Layton has been competing on the race track most of his life. Previously in his Mini Clubman until purchasing his MK1 Escort in 2009 and having great success with numerous podium finishes in the Manawatu Winter series. Recently this car has been fully rebuilt from the ground up, including an engine transplant and various brake, suspension and body changes. These changes made the car even more competitive, dropping 3 seconds on his previous personal best at Manfeild. He has been the Classic Winter Series Class and Overall Champion for two years running. Layton has also recently been expanding away from the race track and is now making appearances at the local hill climbs and other tracks around the country.
1973 Mk1 Ford Escort with a Duratec engine:
This Mk1 Ford Escort was previously running a 1780cc stroked cross flow Kent engine producing 160hp but it now houses a worked, 2.0L Ford Focus Duratec motor. Producing over 240hp at the wheels the power is delivered via the MX5 gearbox, Toyota rear LSD diff to 205/50R15 rims. Almost everything on this car has been custom made, from the fibre glass body parts to the electronic individual throttle body setup and exhaust headers.
The engine is a 2.0L dry sumped Ford Duratec, with a ported head, custom cams, forged bottom end with high compression pistons, 48mm throttle Bodies, which are all controlled via the Link G4
The suspension, brakes and drive-line are made up of Bilstein coil overs all round, 4 link rear end, adjustable castor and camber arms, 285mm front discs with Wilwood calipers, 266mm discs and Nissan calipers, 2008 Mazda MX5 gearbox, Toyota F Series diff and Altezza LSD.
Keith Hamnett - 1979 Vauxhall Chevette
Self confessed petrol-head, Keith has a life-long love of all things ‘car’, but high on the bucket list for many years has been the Leadfoot Festival.
Starting out in the UK, Keith’s passion was for stock car racing and rallying, both behind the wheel and as part of a service crew. On moving to New Zealand in 2007 he re-kindled his love of motorsport, so retirement has never really been a consideration, because the lure of a V8 has proved too much. The Chevette was Keith’s last rally car in the UK, so when this particular car was seen at Hampton Downs with Tony Lynch, he just had to own it – especially because it was in the exact colour of the rally car. A dream come true.
1979 Vauxhall Chevette:
Re-engineered from the suspension upwards, this 1979 Chevette is a dream to drive. It was built for Targa and circuit racing. A wolf in sheep’s clothing, this Chevette has a 4 litre Lexus V8 engine which has been completely reworked, producing 327hp and 288 ft pounds of torque. With a top speed of 260kmh (plus) and a rev limit of 8500rpm it makes for an exciting ride. The gearbox is a Toyota W55 Supra 5 speed with a custom gear set and the rear axle is a modified Hilux LSD 4.5:1. All the brakes and both front and rear suspension have been custom-engineered for the car.
Scott Harland - 1978 Leyland Mini
Scott started racing back in 2010 by buying a road-going 1978 Mini and then building it all himself at home. He then went on to race it for the next five years in car club events with the Taranaki Car Club and South Taranaki Car Club plus other lower North Island events.
He picked a Mini to race because he likes them and they are classic. Scott wanted to race in A class (0-1300cc) and it doesn’t matter to him if he is last overall against a field of 4WDs and turbos – if he is having fun that’s all that matters. In early 2016 he gave the Mini a freshen-up and a retro look. Over the last six years he has been A class points champion six times for Taranaki and two times for South Taranaki.
1978 Leyland Mini:
This 1978 Leyland Mini started off as a stock road-going car that Scott bought in 2010. He then striped it out and sent it off to get a cage then everything else has been done at home in the shed with some help from his brother and dad. The current setup is nothing special but it gets Scott out there doing what he loves. The motor is 1293cc running 40mm side draft weber carb. The gearbox is bone stock with only an upgraded clutch fitted. It has adjustable suspension and shocks all the way round and 10 inch rose petal wheels for the classic look. Scott has never had it on a dyno and tunes it the best he can at home and if it goes good he is happy. He has competed in close to 70 events over the last six years and it has only let him down once.
Andrew Hawkeswood - 2016 Mazda 2 AP4
Andrew started racing dirt track cars at Meremere Dirt Tack Club aged 15 and competed in his first hill climb aged 17. He has been involved in National Championship rallying since 1995, but only committed to full seasons four times in the last 20 years. He has finished on the podium three times. Andrew was a National Hill climb champion in 2002; has competed in the Asia Pacific Rally Championship and has been to Pikes Peak International Hill Climb twice – narrowly missing victory there in 2005 due to a puncture. He has also raced off-roaders, offshore power boats, speedway, endurance racing and the Hump 100 Camel Race. Andrew will be competing in the 2017 NZ Rally Championship for the final time.
2016 Mazda 2 AP4:
This is the first of the new generation AP4 rally cars being built by Force Motorsport for the NZ Rally Championship (NZRC) and there are now being exported to Australia and China. There will be seven cars in the 2017 NZRC using the same platform and components including the Hyundai I20 that Hayden Paddon will use at Otago and the Holden Barina that Greg Murphy will drive. Andrew will be using the first of the 1600cc turbo Skyactiv engines designed for the Mazda AP4 rally cars at the Leadfoot Festival. There are currently two more Mazda 2 AP4 cars being built – both with the new 1600 turbo Skyactiv engine.
Garth Hogan - 2006 Ford GT
Garth has been involved in motorsport most of his adult life.This has predominantly been in the world of drag racing as a competitor, administrator and track owner. He has also participated in speedway events as a sponsor and car owner and has made several trips to compete at Speed Week at the Bonneville Salt Flats in the USA.
In later life he has been involved in collecting classic cars which have mostly been those produced in various guises by the Ford Motor Company. This collecting includes an involvement with the Warbirds and Wheels collection of aircraft and cars located at the Wanaka Airport which also hosts the annual ‘Gathering of Geezers’ charity dinner that acknowledges New Zealand’s past motorsport champions and associated motorsport personalities.
2006 Ford GT:
To celebrate 100 years of Ford, in 2005 the company produced a GT40 look-alike car, called the Ford GT. Production numbers were limited and in 2006 there was another batch of the cars produced with a total of 4200 cars made over the two-year period. The Ford GT is approximately 10% bigger than the original GT40 and where the 1966 Le Mans-winning car had a 485hp 427 cubic inch (7 litre) pushrod V8 running through a 4 speed gearbox, the 2005/2006 car has a supercharged 5.4 litre DOHC V8 producing 550hp and driving through a 6 speed gearbox. It can record a 0 to 100km time of 3.3 seconds.
Leigh Hopper - 2004 Subaru STi C Spec RA
Leigh Hopper is a regular competitor in Targa events. He entered his first Targa event in 2007 in a standard WRX STi Subaru only to bin it on the fourth day. Having caught the bug, subsequent Targa entries have generally been Subaru variants running in the modified 4WD category with registration HTR969. With five event wins, Leigh is a top contender but also carries a healthy reputation for regularly binning his cars (fortunately no injuries) including shaving some bark off a 1m diameter pine tree here at the Leadfoot Festival Hopefully he will survive the main Targa event to line-up at Leadfoot in 2017.
2004 Subaru STi C Spec RA:
This is a Subaru STi C spec RA Targa car. It has many of the mechanical components of Leigh’s previous Targa cars. The last car experienced an unceremonious encounter with a power pole during the prologue for the October 2015 Targa Rally. Built by Leigh’s nephew Ricky Gray of Mach1 Engineering, the car has a healthy 400kw output and is coupled to a 6 speed Modena sequential gearbox. Extracting reliability has been a progressive exercise over the years and Leigh has made incremental improvements and adjustments to keep up with and on occasions ahead of other competitors with far more modern computer-assisted technology.
Barry Howard - 1947 Bruce McLaren Stanford Special
Barry’s first racing experience was in 1975 in a vintage invitation pre-Grand Prix race at Pukekohe, driving his 1932 Sunbeam Saloon. He has extensive hill climbing experience with different sports cars and motor bikes and competed at club level at Hawkes Bay, Chelsea and Pebblebrook hill climbs. Barry is an enthusiastic motorsport owner/driver. He purchased the Bruce McLaren Stanford Special in 1993 in poor condition and completed the car’s restoration in 2010. Barry has been invited and has attended six previous Leadfoot Festivals in 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.
1947 Bruce McLaren Stanford Special:
Built as the Stanford Special in 1947 by Bob Crisp, he hill climbed it throughout New Zealand, winning the South Island Championship in 1950/51 and the New Zealand Championship Hill Climb Northern Sports Car Club in 1952. Bob sold the car to Bruce McLaren in 1955 and Bruce fitted an 1172cc Ford engine, then raced it and won a sports car race at Western Springs in May 1956, and an autocross at Kumeu in November 1956. He also raced the car at Muriwai Beach. Barry purchased the car in 1993 and finished restoring it in 2010. The car features a 1937 Standard flying 8 chassis and Ford 100E running gear. It is 1172cc and supercharged, with a hand-built alloy body.
Ben Hunt - 1999 Subaru STi Coupe
Ben is very passionate about all forms of motorsport and has been competing in the New Zealand Rally Championship since he won the inaugural Rally New Zealand Rising Stars Scholarship in 2009. Along the way he has picked up various titles before winning the 2015 New Zealand Rally Championship in his 2008 Subaru WRX STi. Ben is now a Subaru of New Zealand Brand Ambassador and competes in the NZRC in a brand new 2015 Subaru WRX STi. He is busy testing and preparing for the Hunt Motorsport team’s 2017 NZRC attack. Be sure to check out Ben’s car in the Subaru’s tent as the marque celebrates 25 years of the WRX at the Leadfoot Festival.
1999 Subaru STi Coupe:
Owned and built by Dan Kane, this Subaru produces a massive 450kw and has a 6 speed Modena Dogbox behind it. The coupe runs STi a front and rear LSD driveline and Dunlop 03G tyres. This car is always under development. Ben drove the coupe at Leadfoot in 2016 and managed 6th overall with a time of 52 seconds. The team left with a list of upgrades for the handling and braking package. When the car is not at Leadfoot it is driven by the owner Dan Kane and mainly used for gymkhana and track days on full opposite lock. Make sure you visit the car in the pits and admire the craftsmanship of its engine.
Dave Ingram - 1957 Jaguar MKVII M
Dave has been racing since 1987 in the same car that he is racing today.
He has competed many times in the Skope events in Christchurch, the Castrol Charity Classic in Manifield, Levels in Timaru, Wigram Airforce Base, Hampton Downs, and in the occasional Hamilton Car Club events, in more recent years.
Dave has always owned Jaguars since 1982, and goes to the National Jaguar Rallies that are held every three years. He is one of four people that have been to every rally since they began.
He raced last year at the Leadfoot Festival for the first time and came 4th in his class. Dave would love the oppotunity to better that placement.
1957 Jaguar MKVII M:
This Jaguar was purchased in 1986 from Hokitika, in poor condition with a seized engine and a really bad green paint job.
Dave didn’t want to restore it, so he decided to turn it into a race car.
With many hours spent by himself, friends and family, the car evolved with a new motor, disc brakes, and a wonderful RED paint job.
It raced at the Taga in 1995 and 1996, fininshing second in both events.
Dave has won the Neville Boon cup, and the Andrew O’Neill Trophy in 1999, along with the Sybil Lupp Trophy.
Tim James - 2016 Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport
Tim has competed in Targa, NZRGT, NIRDEC, SIRDEC and the Pirelli Porsche Series. His highlights are winning the 2013-2014 Pirelli Porsche Series and Motorsport New Zealand Porsche Championship and various class placings in Targa. With motorsport you get some lows, which are made up of a couple of big moments – one being in the Bathurst endurance event in 2015.
Tim has support from race engineer Aaron Robinson and mechanic and 2k Cup racer James Parkinson. He has also had lots of help over the years from Continental Cars, Castrol and Woods. Special mention goes to Viv James who supports this motorsport passion. Tim competed in the 2015 Leadfoot Festival and is looking forward to running a Porsche up Rod and Shelly’s driveway in 2017.
The Leadfoot Festival will be this GT4 Clubsport’s first event, so Tim and his team are on a journey to create a little history for this cool car! The GT4 is a Porsche factory race car built to compete in the GT4 class racing in Europe and the USA, which is also becoming a popular endurance race class. The GT 4 Clubsport has a 3.8 litre motor and paddle shift pdk gearbox. It is running on the Porsche GT3 suspension and brakes. The car has air conditioning, which is a real treat for the driver! It is a full factory race car. Big thanks to Tony and Luke at Continental Cars for making this car real.
Paul Jones - 1972 Toyota Levin TE27
As a mechanic by trade, Paul’s interest was mainly in the servicing of both rally cars and track cars going back to 1978 on the RX3, RX7 and VR4 cars of Stuart Eyre. Paul then moved on to an AE86 and Mazda 4WD belonging to Ken Adamson. His recent involvement has been in NZ Touring cars as a mechanic for Lance Hughes and the BMW racing series for Mike Ashton. He has competed in a handful of endurance races both as a mechanic and driver and won the three-hour race at Manfield as the back up driver for Lance Hughes in the ex-Jason Bargwanna series-wining TLX NZ V8. Paul was also second overall in the first 12 hour race at Hampton Downs in 2010
1972 Toyota Levin TE27:
This car was developed by Toyota NZ in 1972 into a rally car, as part of a three-car team to compete in the 1973 Heatway Rally.. Alan Brough owned the car for a year after Ian then it went onto Steve Lachman, Rob Aitken and Paul has owned it since 2007.
It is running similar to how it did in the 1973 Heatway except for the addition of rear disc brakes. It also displays its original livery.
This body shape in New Zealand had KE25 as a model code but this car came standard from the factory with a 2TG engine which makes it a TE27.
Darren Kelly - 2011 Nissan R35 GTR
Darren started out as a kid racing go-karts and dirtbikes with his dad. His first drift car came when he was 16 years old when he got an R32 GTST. While he has gone through many cars and had many builds, Darren has never gone away from Nissan. Currently he has an R32, R34 (Pro Championship winning car) and R35 all set up for drifting.
Starting with an R32 chassis, he competed in many drift events becoming NZ Pro-Am Champion in 2011-2012. His goal of stepping up to a pro drive soon became a reality when he switched to the Nissan R34 chassis where in his second season he won the D1NZ Pro Championship in 2014-2015.
A more competitive unique chassis was born and the partnership with Nissan and the R35 was unveiled to campaign the 2016-2017 Pro Championship. Darren enjoys amazing NZ events such as the Leadfoot Festival.
2011 Nissan R35 GTR:
This car started as a bare shell from Dodson’s Motorsport and over the space of two years has turned it into what we have here today. It’s been an extremely hard and long build with everything being custom made and very few off the shelf parts. Driveline: This GTR runs an 800+hp dry-sumped RB30det with a TTI sequential 6 speed gearbox, Winters 10.5inch quick-change diff and Driveshaft Shop axles which spin an 18×11 Work wheel coated in a 265 Zestino semi slick. Steering: Ireland-based TDP created a huge lock steering kit to bolt into the R35 chassis. Cooling: This car has a Fenix radiator mounted in the boot. ECU: Link ECU supplied Darren with the Link Thunder and their Link Dash 2 Pro.
Brett Killip - 1995 Mazda RX7 Series 6 'Batman'
Brett started racing in local Hamilton Car Club events as a keen 16 year old in a Mini, before moving up to a Toyota Starlet. He had numerous class and club wins then went on to Mazda Pro7 RX7 racing in 2003. Brett won the North Island Champs back-to-back seasons in 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 and won the New Zealand Champs in 2008/2009. He took a few years off from driving to run the team and won more New Zealand and North Island championships as a team manager. Brett moved across to the SS2000 series and has finished third and second, then won the championship in 2014/2015, resetting all North Island lap records in that season. A mechanic by trade, Brett is heavily involved with the three rotor racing team of Andy Duffin. Waikato born and bred, Brett lives in Ohaupo with wife Rochelle and two kids Mikayla 6 and Tyler 4.
1995 Mazda RX7 Series 6 'Batman':
Imported into the country in 2008 as a road car, this RX7 was stripped and built into a race car to run in the SS2000 series by Brett and his team over the next two years. It runs a Green Brothers racing-developed Mazda Rotary 13B peripheral port engine, 6 speed sequential gearbox and Koni shocks. In SS2000 trim it has to weigh 1180kg so ballast weight is used to bring it up to minimum weight requirements. It runs a Link engine management system with data logging to keep the engine tune and temperatures under control. It is a current lap record holder at all North Island tracks for SS2000. Brett is always looking for more ways to extract extra power and speed from it and his team have improved the car year on year.
Glenn Leach - 1964 Ford Lotus Cortina
In the late 1960s, Glenn raced the last two years of group two saloons in a 1963 Lotus Cortina. Around the same time, he contested hill climbs and grass track racing around the North Island in a 1964 Cortina GT. He was also a member of both Auckland and Thames Valley Car Clubs. Glenn is the ex-Mayor of the Thames-Coromandel District Council. During his term as Mayor he was instrumental in the return of Rally NZ to the Coromandel. This is his fourth Leadfoot Festival and thanks must go to Rod Millen for rekindling Glenn’s love of motorsport. Glenn is looking forward to competing on a more regular basis around the country in his retirement.
He currently resides in Kuaotunu with his wife Trudi.
1964 Ford Lotus Cortina:
This car is running a SR20DET Nissan 320hp 6 speed C/R Box and has a Toyota Hi Lux LSD diff. It is painted in Alan Mann colours.
In 1964 Ford contracted Alan Mann Racing to run the works Cortinas in the European Touring Car Championship. The lead driver was Sir John Whitmore. The team was highly successful with a number of wins but did not take out the overall championship. The following year improvements were made with a class win and the overall championship win. The car proved to be reliable and quick. BRM built the engines and they were producing 150hp. The racing weight was 770kgs, creating a great power to weight ratio.
Allan Lewis - 1972 Datsun 240z V8
After years on the side line at motorsport events, Allan decided it was time to have a go himself, so in 2004 he competed in the Targa Tour in a BMW Z3 Coupe. That was that – he was hooked. He was worried the Z3 wouldn’t have enough power to compete in the main Targa, so a plan was hatched to shoe horn a big motor into a small car. This was the birth of the 240z V8 that Allan built himself. Allan’s first competition event was Targa Rotorua 2007 and he has competed in most Targa events since. Last year Allan had the opportunity to have a go at the Leadfoot Festival, which he really enjoyed and he is hoping to become a regular.
1972 Datsun 240z V8:
The 240z V8 was built between 2005 and 2007 to compete in Targa-type events as well as the odd track day. The start point was a standard 240z that Allan fitted with a supercharged LS1 Chevy V8 under the hood. To handle the 700-odd-horspower, everything else in the drive line had to be upgraded. Over the next couple of years more horsepower was added, with further upgrades need for the drive line to cope. The theory was if the engine had to come out, it had to go back with more power – who can argue with that? For the last few years the car has run trouble-free and is one exciting ride.
Marty Loughnan - 2010 Lancia Stratos Group 4
Marty grew up in the Waikato and competed through the 1970s in rally cross, hill climbs, rallies and other club events in a Holden V8-powered Vauxhall Viva HB. He greatly enjoyed competing against the likes of Stu McFarlane ,Brian Audas and of course the Pukekohe boys in their V8 creations. He was also competing in gymnastics nationally at the same time and is still involved with coaching today. Whilst living in Auckland during the marriage phase, he decided he needed a Lancia Stratos so set about building one from scratch – 20 years later it was on the road (as was the wife).
2010 Lancia Stratos Group 4:
This car was built over a period of 20 years in a small garage under the house. First a wooden buck had to be made then this was cut up to make the returns for the panels. Moulds and then panels were taken from this. The chassis is made from folded 2mm panel steel to replicate the original. The original Stratos was fitted with a 2.4 V6 Dino motor and gearbox but a Lancia 2.8 V6 motor and gearbox is fitted to this replica. Fabricated inlet and exhaust manifolds replace the originals and are topped off with three downdraft Dellorto carbs. Suspension is as per the original and the brakes are vented discs with 4 pot callipers. Patterns were made for the wheels and they were cast and machined locally.
John Marslin - 1965 replica Rod Coppins MK11 Zephyr:
John is 70 years of age. He joined the Wellington Car Club in 1963 and started racing in 1965. In 1974 John raced an XA Falcon coupe for four years, then a RX3 Mazda till 1983 when he then shifted to Rotorua in 1984 and built a panel beating and paint shop from scratch.
In 1991 John found Jim Palmer’s first 1971 Holden XU1 in a wrecker’s yard and rebuilt it and raced this car on and off until 2012. John also drove the XU1 in the 1996 Targa Rally . John has also been racing the 1965 replica Rod Coppins Zephyr Corvette. He also managed Joe McAndrew and his rally car for the 1992 and 1993 rally seasons.
1965 replica Rod Coppins MK11 Zephyr::
John Climo of Levin built the replica Zephyr for Rod Coppins to drive at the 1983 Ardmore reunion. Rod achieved three firsts a second and a fitth place.
Rod, who had been very sick, died five weeks later. This was the last racing car that he ever drove. Since then Jim Richards did some laps in it at the Wellington Street Race and then Denis Marwood drove it at Wigram. John purchased the car in 2000 and has changed the car a wee bit to look more like the original car. It now has a 350 Chev blue-printed motor, a Richmond Super T10 four speed gearbox and a Woolsley 6/110 diff. This car has competed in five different festival race meetings at Hampton Downs.
Phil Mauger - 1937 auto Union type c. Replica
Phil started racing in the early 1970s with a Datsun 1200 which he eventually turbocharged and mid-mounted the engine. He also drove his father’s Stanton special crop duster race car off and on.
Phil moved on to a Begg 018 F5000 car for about 10 years. Then he had the privilege of owning a Denny Hulme M23 McLaren which he has driven at the Leadfoot Festival twice. He owned that car for about ten years then sold it and bought a Lexus LFA.
Phil has also been racing a Porsche 997 GT3 for 10 years as well.
A recent purchase has been a BTCC Nissan Primera that Matt Neil raced in the late 1990s.
1937 auto Union type c. Replica:
When Phil had the M23 McLaren at the Goodwood Festival of Speed he had the opportunity to buy two V12 Rolls Royce meteor engines and this is where the Auto Union idea came from. It is a replica of a late 1930’s Auto Union Type C hill climb car with dual wheels on the rear. Because the motor is physically larger, Phil had to build the car about 20 per cent bigger. The work has been done in Christchurch by John Crawford at Motorsport Solutions and it has taken about five years to complete. The motor is a V12, 27 litres with 1500 ft lbs of torque.
Joe McAndrew - 1985 Audi Quattro S1 E2 Group B Rally Car:
‘Smokin’ Joe McAndrew is one of New Zealand’s most successful rally drivers with a record three national championship titles, won in 1993, 1994 and 1996 to his name. Joe was also the London to Sydney marathon rally overall winner in 2004. He also won the 2002 World TWE Marathon and was the Targa NZ winner in 2006/07. He has over 25 national event wins to his name.
Joe ran this car at Leadfoot Festival in 2015 and is looking forward to running it again and beating his time. He is driving the car for his mate Peter, who has also been involved in rallying for a very long time.
1985 Audi Quattro S1 E2 Group B Rally Car::
This Audi was built up using original factory parts and bought into New Zealand from Finland to run here in awesome events such as the Leadfoot Festival. It also runs in the New Zealand Rally Championship rounds in the classic class. This Audi has only ever rallied on a few tarmac events in Finland.
The Audi has just undergone an extensive rebuild in New Zealand to comply with this country’s classic rally regulations. It is a full works-spec Audi Quattro, including the engine, which is a whopping 550hp.
Dean McCarroll - 2013 Juno CN
Dean’s first race car was his Juno. This wasn’t just a case of dipping a toe into the murky waters to see what race car driving was all about but more like diving in head first! This was a ‘real’ race car and it was fast! There were some nervous times in the first few races, but Dean soon found he could foot it with the rest of the field. In his rookie year in the NZ Sports Car Series he was runner up in the championship, and went on to win it the next year. Dean participated in the Leadfoot Festival in 2015 and loved the challenge of his first hill climb racing up Rod’s challenging drive way. After hitting a tree on the Saturday and a quick rebuild later he was 4th fastest going into the top ten shootout – only to blow it with a spin and ended up finishing 10th.
2013 Juno CN:
The Juno is a sports prototype race car that was designed and built in England. This car was made in 2008 and purchased new by Dean in 2012. It runs a 2 litre Honda K20A Mountune engine developing 245hp at the wheels. Power is delivered via a Hewlands 6 speed FTRS sequential gearbox using the Shiftec paddle-shift system. The dash and data/sensor acquisition are from AIM. Brakes are Performance Friction mono block on 270mm vented discs. Wheels are OZ Racing magnesium alloy F3 one piece rims. It has a TIG welded tubular space frame chassis with integral roll structure and uses ultra light composite multi piece body-work. It has a highly efficient aero package featuring a newer spec front splitter, a rear aero foil plus a highly efficient rear diffuser. The cockpit is designed primarily for racing, but can take a passenger. The car weighs 570kg without the driver.
Paul McCarthy - 1974 Ford Escort RS 1600
Paul has been involved in motor racing since his early teen and actually racing since he was 21 years old. He has raced various cars but has an affinity for small 4 cylinder saloon and sports cars. Paul has owned various RS Fords and Mini Coopers. He currently owns two RS Escorts and one Lotus Europa
1974 Ford Escort RS 1600:
This car was built to GRP 2 specifications and represents a 1974 DRM Zakpeed car. It has an all alloy BDG engine with Lucas mechanical fuel injection, alloy atlas rear end and centre lock wheels. It’s wet weight is 720kg.
Stuart McFarlane - 1974 Porsche Carrera 911
Stuart started competing at the age of 15. He was a top competitor at Mystery Creek Rallycross events in the mid 1970s in a purpose-built rallycross Mini. After his driving career ended in 1980 after a serious eye injury, he took up rally co-driving with many top NZ drivers, including Stuart Eyre, Gary Smith and Ken Adamson. He even had the opportunity to co-drive with Bjorn Waldgard. Stuart competed in the 2000 London to Sydney marathon rally with ex-McLaren team boss Alistair Caldwell.
Recently Stuart has been competing with his son Brad in classic rallying in a Porsche 911, including competing in the Silver Fern Marathon Rally around the South Island last November.
1974 Porsche Carrera 911:
This is an old classic 1974 Porsche gravel rally car. It is running rally suspension, so the crowd should see plenty for front wheel lifting in the corners. It may be not the fastest up the hill but it is quite spectacular! The Porsche has a 3.0 litre air cooled engine with a close ratio gearbox and limited slip diff The car is a classic unrestored car with the odd rust bubbles to prove its age.
Donald McLean - 2001 Subaru WRX STi RA Spec C
Donald has been a member of the Dannevirke Car Club for last 30 years and racing since age 16 in everything from club events to rally and hill climbs. Donald has multiple event wins and podiums over the past years. He raced a MK1 Ford Escort with a mid-mount V8 for most of his career. He has raced this Subaru for four years. Donald and his son Michael competed at the 2016 Leadfoot Festival with Michael coming away a fraction faster. This year, Donald is back with an upgraded motor to attack the demanding driveway.
His other accomplishments are: 2014-15 New Zealand Hillclimb Championship runner-up (gravel); 2014-15 New Zealand Hillclimb Championship runner up (tarmac); 2015 fourth place Ashley Forest Rallysprint, where he couldn’t complete top four run-off due to a broken axle.
2001 Subaru WRX STi RA Spec C:
This car was originally a stock standard road car and was owned by Monster Motorsport in Japan before coming to new Zealand with Richard Mason, who used it as his daily driver.
Donald bought the car three years ago as a father and son project and has built it up as a hill climb/rally car. The Subaru is built to a very high standard with development still being undertaken on the car every year. It has been raced by Donald and his son Michael in over 80 events over the last four years without any crashes or major break downs.
This year the motor has been put into tarmac setup with more power than last year. The Subaru is well known for its unique sound and aggressive antilag.
Michael McLean - 2001 Subaru WRX STi
Michael is one of the young up and coming rally talents in New Zealand.
He competed in the LeadfootFestival in 2016 in his restricted gravel spec rally car and was well on the pace. Now he is back this year with an upgraded motor to tackle the driveway.
Michael has competed in club events from the age of 14. This year marks his second year in a rally car and has seen him win his class in the Central Region Rally Championship and also win the rookie driver title.
Michael has competed in many well-known events like the Ashley Forest Rally Sprint and the New Zealand Hill Climb Championship.
Michael has the support of NZ’s WRC star Hayden Paddon and 2016 rally champion David Holder.
Michael was selected for the 2016 New Zealand Elite Motorsport Academy. He will compete in the 2017 New Zealand Rally Championship.
2001 Subaru WRX STi:
The car was originally brought in 2014 and had only competed in one event before it was purchased by Michael’s team.
He and his team have developed the car over the past two years of ownership and although it is built to New Zealand rally spec, it is almost completely production based.
For this year’s Leadfoot Festival the restrictor will come out and a tarmac set up will be run to better his times from last year. The car runs a 2.5L turbo set up with a 6 speed box and link ECU.
This year the car has a new colour scheme as the team now race under Switched Motorsport.
Rob McNair - 1931 Riley Nine Special
Rob is an aircraft engineer by trade and his business specialises in the restoration of vintage aeroplanes and classic cars. Rob’s passions include vintage aviation in his Tiger Moth, yachting and classic cars of all periods. Rob’s current projects include building a Pitts Special aerobatic aeroplane and a vintage-style ultralight aircraft with his son Louis and his father Wallace. Rob’s current work project is the building and restoration of a set of wings for a Beech Craft Staggerwing, which is being restored in Wanaka in the South Island. Rob’s vintage motoring includes using the Riley whenever possible and competing in club hillclimb events. The Leadfoot Festival is definitely the highlight of Rob’s motorsport calendar.
1931 Riley Nine Special:
Rob built his car based on Riley 9 components and fitted with an engine from a De Havilland Tiger Moth. He was inspired by the Brooklands Riley, the Type 59 GP Bugatti and the GP Delage from 1927. He is an aircraft engineer by trade and had just restored a Tiger Moth for himself when the Riley project was starting to happen. The remaining engine parts left over from the Tiger looked like a obvious solution for his vehicle special. Rob incorporated aircraft-style riveting on the body and aero instruments of the period, to give the car an aero-nautical feel. The result is a car with performance similar to proper Grand Prix cars of the time and it has intriguing details. Aero-engined cars were famous for record-breaking and high-speed touring in the early days due to their effortless performance with the big engines. This is also the case with Rob’s Riley. It has been campaigned at the Leadfoot Festival four times, with the highlight being winning the pre-1960 class here in 2016.
Alister McRae - 1998 Vantage Motorsport Subaru
The McRae name has been synonymous with rallying for three decades. Father Jimmy and sons Colin and Alister have, between them, won just about every title worth winning. Alister’s first foray into motorsport was at the age of twelve, when he took up motorcycle trials and motocross. But it was always rallying where he would demonstrate his true colours and success. Class wins at Scottish and British Rally Championship (BRC) levels soon culminated in becoming British Rally Champion with Nissan in 1995. Further years in the BRC mixed with numerous wins at WRC level in Formula 2 led to his services being secured by the newest manufacturer to join the World Rally Championship – Hyundai. Mitsubishi and Subaru followed, before three years competing in the Asia Pacific Championship with Proton – winning the title in 2011. Alister also won the Race to the Sky in 2015 driving the Vantage Subaru.
1998 Vantage Motorsport Subaru:
“Driven by Alister McRae, the Vantage Motorsport Subaru WRC Special finished second at last year’s Leadfoot Festival behind Rhys Millen – after setting the fastest-equal time with Rod Millen.
It is an ex-Prodrive Subaru 1998 WRC car, which was driven and crashed at Rally NZ by Finnish driver Kuha Kangas in 1999. The damaged shell was purchased by the late Possum Bourne
In 2001, after rebuilding the car, Possum drove it to victory at Race to the Sky (RTTS) in 8min 34sec.
In 2003, Vantage Motorsport purchased the car after Possum’s death.
From 2004-2007, Swedish WRC star Kenneth Eriksson drove the car at RTTS, finishing runner-up on two occasions.
In 2011 and 2012, Vantage-supported driver Emma Gilmour drove the car at the Leadfoot Festival.
At the 2015 RTTS – equipped with 850hp – Alister McRae drove the car to victory hitting 240kph and reaching the top in 8min 17sec.
Jimmy McRae - 1979 Ford Escort RS1800 MK2:
Scotsman Jimmy McRae might not have started rallying until he reached 31 but he wasted no time in notching up no fewer than five British Rally Championship titles. He also obviously passed on his driving talent genes, as two of his sons became international rally stars. Like their father before them, both Colin and Alister (who is also racing at the 2017 Leadfoot Festival) won British crowns. Colin went on to become the first British person and the youngest to win the World Rally Championship (WRC) Drivers’ title in 1995.
Jimmy made his WRC debut 19 years earlier in 1976, after only a couple of years rallying and he soon became a works driver for Vauxhall.
In the European Rally Championship, he was runner-up in 1982, while his highest placing in the WRC was fifteenth in 1983.
Throughout his career, Jimmy drove for a number of different teams, including Opel and Ford – reaching a pinnacle during his time in the Rothmans Rally Team, driving an Opel Manta 400.
Though mostly retired from motorsport now, Jimmy still occasionally competes in historic rallies and some Scottish Rally Championship events. In October last year he marked a very special milestone in his career – competing in the Wales Rally GB, 40 years after he first appeared on Britain’s round of the FIA World Rally Championship. Fittingly, he celebrated that anniversary back behind the wheel of an identical Vauxhall Magnum to the one he campaigned back in 1976.
1979 Ford Escort RS1800 MK2::
Jimmy McRae’s Leadfoot Festival steed this year is a Ford Escort RS1800, which is owned by Gary Smith of Hamilton.
The car was built as a replica to the works RS1800 Escorts that were made famous by Ford Motor Company during the years it was based at the former Boreham airfield in the United Kingdom, where their cars were prepared and tested.
Ford had a long and successful history in rallying, winning the World Rally Championship in 1979 with the Ford Escort RS1800 and drivers Hannu Mikkola, Björn Waldegård and Ari Vatanen.
This RS1800 has competed in the 2010 Silver Fern Rally and in 2011 came it second in the NZ Historic Rally Championship.
It came to the Leadfoot Festival in 2012 and in 2014 did the Silver Fern Rally for the second time.
Steve Midgley - 1968 Austin Minibusa
Steve is a 49 year old contractor from Hawera, South Taranaki . He started motorsport at the aged of 10 racing motocross and raced till the age of 36, in that time he won many club championships and in 1989 won a 250cc New Zealand title. He has spent the last 10 years building the Austin Minibusa and now competes at events like circuit racing, street sprints and hill climbs
1968 Austin Minibusa:
This Austin Mini has a 2006 Suzuki GSX1300R Hayabusa engine fitted in the rear of the car and is chain drive to the rear wheels. The car weighs 620kg and has approximately 200hp. Everything has been hand built by Steve in his car shed and took 2.5 years to build. It has won 3 NZ super mini challenge open class titles and 2 overall NZ super mini challenge titles in addition to many hill climbs and street sprints.
Rod Millen - 1974 Mazda RX3
Motorsport and racing legend and all time nice guy, Rod developed a reputation as a leader in rally driving in NZ in the 1970s. Moving to the USA in 1978, Rod turned his attention to off-road stadium racing where he dominated the Mickey Thompson off-road racing series. He became the only driver in the twelve-year history of the series to win three consecutive Grand National Sport Truck titles.
During Rod’s racing career, he conquered the famous Pikes Peak Hill Climb, where it has become known as ‘Millen Mountain’.
Rod captured the record for the fastest ascent as well as achieving the fastest overall time, five times. The challenges of Pikes Peak became part of the inspiration to create the Leadfoot Ranch racetrack driveway which this weekend will become the perfect hill climb.
The Mazda RX3 was a very rare car in rallying. Rod’s RX3 was a three-time winner of the New Zealand Rally Championship from 1975-1977. This immaculately prepared RX3 was built by Rod’s brother-in-law Peter Davidson, a name many rally fans will recognise. The aggressive flared wheel arches and the sound of a screaming Rotary engine is a sight to behold and provides a real flashback to Rod’s hat-trick of title wins in the late 1970s.
Rod Millen - 1906 Durracq
It’s difficult to beat Rod Millen. Behind the wheel he is a motorsport legend with championship titles collected around the world – from Pikes Peak to Baja to Transsiberia and beyond. In business Rod built an empire on innovation and quality, and at home he’s an ordinary guy who loves time on the land and hosting family and friends.
1906 Durracq:
Built in 1906 as one of the Team Cars for the first Grand Prix held at Le Mans, the 3 Darracqs all withdrew with valve problems but the car went on to America a few months later where it won the Vanderbilt Cup at Long Island. In 1910, it was purchased by Malcom Campbell in England and christened Bluebird – the first of a long line of his cars, boats and aircrafts. Campbell raced the car with success until selling it in 1914 to his friend Neville Minchin. In 1960, the engine was acquired by Bob Beardsley who set about the task of finding the correct parts to recreate the car into its original form. Although Bob never got the car to run he did succeed in piecing together the major parts into a rolling chassis, so saving the project. Anne’s pestering over a 20 years period finally saw its purchase in 2003 and complete restoration by her husband Wallace McNair. The car has been returned to its 1906 Grand Prix form but still incorporates some of the mods done pre WW1. Technical details; 4 cylinder 180mm x 140mm, 14.25 litre, 4 speed Darracq gearbox with 1.75:1 axle, top speed 100+ MPH at 1650 RPM.
Derek Mitchell - 2005 Saker SV1- MRX
Derek Mitchell is a Hamilton based race car fabricator with his son Nick. They have been buildings race cars since 1993. Derek started his racing in Pre’65 with his flame dressed Chevy Nova with great success then proceeded on to a Super GT in a Camaro then brand new Holden Monaro.
Derek is responsible for a huge amount of race car builds across the country including designing and constructing the NZV8 TLX chassis, 30+ SsangYong utes, Central Muscle cars and a number of wild GT and trams-am racers. With the next generation of Mitchell racers coming through, young Taylor Mitchell (9) is looking to follow in his grandfathers and fathers foot steps in New Zealand motor racing.
2005 Saker SV1- MRX:
2005 Saker SV1- MRX
Once run by Alan Duncan in the old Super Sedans class, the Saker made its way to Derek’s workshop where the Mitchell lads tore the car back to its bare bones and gave it a ground up rebuild to the MRX standard. This included updating the factory Saker body work to something a bit more modern, like the LMP style raised nose, top exit radiators and the MRX rear aero package. It runs a 400 cu small block Chevy putting out 650hp backed by a G50 transaxle. The cars unique sound comes via a set of stepped 180 degree headers and custom MRX muffler which is definitely a high light of the car. The car weighs just under 1000kgs, couple that with the 650hp and the low lying nature and high aero of the car make for a serious track weapon.
The car has been sitting idle for a couple of years while for sale, but it’s time for this machine to get out in the public eye and make a name for itself.
Greg Murphy - 2012 Holden VE Commodore V8 SuperTourer
Greg was born and bred in the Hawkes Bay and started his motorsport career at the local kart track at the aged 8 years old. Winning the inaugural Shell Formula Ford Scholarship in 1990 was his entry to car racing. After initially chasing the single seater path and a life in the USA, Greg took the opportunities offered by the Touring Car categories in Australia and began a professional career that spanned 20 years. Driving for a number of Super Tourer, ATCC and V8 Supercar Teams, he amassed over 400 V8 Supercar starts that included 28 race wins, 13 pole positions, 83 podiums, two Sandown 500 victories, one Bathurst 24 Hour victory and four Bathurst 1000 victories. Never one to mince his words, Greg has now retired from professional competition and is enjoying the local NZ rallying scene.
2012 Holden VE Commodore V8 SuperTourer:
This 2012 VE Holden Commodore V8 SuperTourer has a Pace Innovations fabricated chassis, LS7 7 litre Chevrolet aluminium V8, normally aspirated engine producing 585hp. It runs a Quaife 6 Speed sequential gearbox and its weight is 1200kg.
This car was campaigned by Greg from 2012 -2014 in the NZST Championship, where it won the championship in 2013 and 2014 and won 22 races from the 57 entered. The Holden is now based at Hampton Downs where it is used for hot lap experiences and corporate ride days. Both Greg and this car competed at Leadfoot 2016 for the first time, with mixed results – a lack of steering lock caused some issues at the hairpin.
Greg Murphy - 2016 AP4 Holden Barina Rally Car
Greg was born and bred in the Hawkes Bay and started his motorsport career at the local kart track at the aged 8 years old. Winning the inaugural Shell Formula Ford Scholarship in 1990 was his entry to car racing. After initially chasing the single seater path and a life in the USA, Greg took the opportunities offered by the Touring Car categories in Australia and began a professional career that spanned 20 years. Driving for a number of Super Tourer, ATCC and V8 Supercar Teams, he amassed over 400 V8 Supercar starts that included 28 race wins, 13 pole positions, 83 podiums, two Sandown 500 victories, one Bathurst 24 Hour victory and four Bathurst 1000 victories. Never one to mince his words, Greg has now retired from
2016 AP4 Holden Barina Rally Car:
The Leadfoot Festival will be this car’s first outing. It has been built as part of the AP4 rally car class, which has been designed to replace the aging Group N Rally regulations. AP4 is aiming to be a cost-effective WRC look-a-like class that utilises the small car category that so many manufacturers compete in for market share. Already eight manufacturers are represented for the 2017 NZ Rally Championship, which has meant a resurgence in the popularity of rallying in New Zealand.
Greg’s Holden has a Hawkeswood Motorsport AP4 Holden Barina body shell and suspension. It runs a GM 2.0 litre Ecotec 4cylinder engine reduced to 1.8litres with a Garrett GTX 2860 turbo charger. It has a
Life Racing ECU; Motec PDM and dash; Sadev 6 speed sequential gearbox and 4WD Brembo calipers; Tilton pedalbox with AP cylinders; Supashock dampers; Racetech seats and safety; a bespoke body kit
and Speedline wheels.
Andrew Mygind - 1972 Datsun 240Z
Andy first competed in motorsport in the Wairarapa while at secondary school and continued to campaign a modified 1966 Mini in various clubsport events in the lower North Island during the late 1970s. Career and family intervened and later in life with none of his children wanting to have a serious shot at karting, Andy devoted his energy to re-launching his own twilight motorsport career by buying a 240Z and running it first in trackdays, then in the ERC race series. From 2008 he started competing in Targa events, with daughter Abbie and son Ari sharing the navigator’s job. Andy now runs with legendary Z campaigner Anthony Baker as his co-driver and mentor and they won the 2WD Classic Targa Rotorua this year. Andy has also achieved moderate and controversial success in a return to the ERC race series – this time running closer to the front in the hotly-contested Arrow Wheels group.
1972 Datsun 240Z:
These cars in Japan initially ran either the now rare twin cam S20 or single cam L20 6 cylinder injected or carburetted engines. Cars were reputed to be running 250hp when competing at Fuji so the S20 was like Japan’s Ford/Cosworth BDA albeit a far rarer engine. The 240zs had a brief WRC rally history during the early 1970s but were hard to tame on gravel with the driver sitting nearly on top of the diff. The 240Z achieved more success in the USA, dominating SCCA/IMSA with Pete Brock, Bob Sharp and Electromotive-prepared cars showing Porsche, Alfa Romeo, BMW and Corvette the way.
The BuildLink Z remains registered and warranted to compete in Targa tarmac rallies. It now runs a 300hp bored, stroked and injected L28, through a Quaife dog leg close ratio gear set in an original Datsun casing through a Nissan/Quaife ATB final drive – set to a high 4.6 for Leadfoot!
Ernie Nagamatsu - 1959 Old Yeller II Buick Special
Ernie is the driver of the 1959 Old Yeller II Buick Special. He was a good friend of Max Balchowsky, the builder of this legendary race car. Ernie has raced Formula Fords in SCCA racing a Swift DB1. With the help of Max, Ernie started Historic Racing with the 1964 Shelby Cobra CSX 2203 with a hard-top and he has raced the Shelby Cobra for over 34 straight years at international events. He has owned and raced the Old Yeller II for over 27 straight years. The Old Yeller II has raced at over 12 Goodwood Racing Events as well as racing in New Zealand and Australia. Ernie and the Old Yeller II have won the Rolex Phil Hill Monterey Cup, first Bruce McLaren Perpetual Trophy in New Zealand, and the Rolex Australia F1 Grand Prix Historic ‘Winner’ trophy.
1959 Old Yeller II Buick Special:
The 1959 Old Yeller II Buick Special has been racing almost continuously since 1959 with only a short break of four years. It was driven by some of the most important race car drivers of its day and has won major sports car races as well as breaking track records along the way. The legendary drivers of the Old Yeller II in 1960 were Dan Gurney (two times), Carroll Shelby (two times), Bob Bondurant, Bobby Drake (first Birdcage Maserati driver in USA), Billy Krause (first Cobra driver for Carroll Shelby), Paul O Shea (national champion Mercedes 300 SL) and Max Balchowsky. The Old Yeller II was the classic ‘underdog’ race car built by Max and Ina Balchowsky and known fondly as the ‘Junkyard Dog’ – that challenged all of the very best factory teams from Europe.
Tony New - 1990's Formula 1 Sidecar (Long Chair)
The 35-year-old driver David McArthur hails from Te Awamutu. Dave has been riding dirt bikes from a very young age before deciding to give road racing a go. He raced solo bikes for a number of years including Superbikes before turning his attention to sidecars. The 46-year-old passenger/swinger Tony New also comes from a two-wheeled solo back ground, racing motocross for 12 years, then Super Motard (dirt bikes converted to road bikes), before switching to sidecars. Sidecar racing is a two-man effort as the passenger is needed to stabilise the bike and provide ballast whilst cornering. This is their fourth season of sidecar racing and they hope to achieve some good results but most importantly have as much fun as they can.
1990's Formula 1 Sidecar (Long Chair):
The Mad Racing Sidecar was originally built in the early 1990s in NZ by Gary West. Gary raced it for a number of years with great success until he retired and the sidecar got parked in storage. In 2012 the sidecar was reborn with a full back-to-chassis rebuild by Isle of Man racer Robbie Shorter and British sidecar great Barry Smith, It was restored with a 2004 Suzuki GSXR1000 Superbike engine and was immediately competitive in its first outings. Dave McArthur purchased the sidecar for the start of the 2013 season and has had an absolute ball as he and Tony New have learned to race these unique machines. They are constantly improving every time they hit the track.
Malcolm Ngatai - 2012 Murray Gordge Built Superstock
Christchurch’s Malcolm is a 44-year-old self-employed speedway Superstock driver. His results include 1NZ in 2009 and he raced the world champs in 2010 in England. Malcolm is a five-time winner of the Battle of the Stocks and he was second twice. He was sportsperson of the year in 2010. At the South Island Championships, he was first or top three in 2011, 2012 and 2015 and first club person of 2010. Malcolm was the highest club point earner in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2013. He was also second in the New Zealand GP in 2014. Malcolm was the Canterbury champion in 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2015. He was the best mechanically prepared in 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014. He won the best presented car in 2003, 2005, 2009 and 2012. He also won the Manawatu Superstock Champs in 2012 and is a three-time Huntly Speed Fest winner.
2012 Murray Gordge Built Superstock:
Ngatai Racing’s SuperStock is a custom built car specifically for speedway racing in New Zealand. The chassis was built by renowned engineer and past New Zealand Modified Champion Murray Gordge from the Taranaki district. It is powered by a naturally aspirated Toyota quad cam V8 built by Midwest Motors (Graham Morrison) in connection with Dave Rosewarne of Cylinder Head Specialists in Christchurch. Due to strict rules and regulations the SuperStock class is restricted to 248 cubic inches with a compression ratio of no more than 10 to 1 and all engine must be carbureted. The engine produces around 450 – 500 horsepower and is delivered to its alloy Winters quick change rear end via a custom built Raptor gearbox with Tilton triple plate clutch system. Stopping power is provided by wildwood brakes whilst the suspension is cantilevered in the front with adjustable Penske shocks and a coil over package in the rear. Getting horsepower onto speedways clay surfaces is very difficult and like most of the car, this is achieved using a purpose built Hoosier tyre approved by speedway’s governing body Speedway New Zealand. Obviously this helps achieve parity amongst the class New Zealand wide. SuperStock racing is unique to New Zealand and it’s full contact racing rules are not seen anywhere else in the world. This simply means SuperStock racing isn’t for the faint hearted.
Tim O'Connor - 2014 Caterham – Lola SP/300.R
Tim’s motorsport started with rallying in the late 1960s, both as a driver, co-driver and organiser. After competing in the NZ Targa in a BMW CSL and then a Ferrari 355 Challenge, Tim decided to go circuit racing and in particular compete in endurance events. The replacement to the Ferrari 355 Challenge was the 430 Challenge which in turn was replaced in 2012 with the new and current Ferrari 458 Challenge. We compete annually in the North and South Island rounds of the NZ Endurance Series from May through to October, as well as the annual Highlands 101 meeting. This October Tim hopes to be at the inaugural Hampton Downs 101 meeting. Tim and his team are looking forward to another great event and going faster again at the 2017 Leadfoot Festival.
2014 Caterham – Lola SP/300.R:
The SP/300.R has a lot of Lola in it, the chassis is based on the aluminium monocoque chassis found in the firms B08/90 Sports 2000 and track day design. Much work has been put into the aerodynamic development taking styling cues from the Lola Le Mans Prototype range, complete with double roll hoops and the distinctive exhaust exits. Power comes from a two litre Ford Duratec built in house by Caterham and fitted with a Rotrex Supercharger. The engine produces 300bhp and drives the rear wheels through Lola’s Formula 3 gearbox, complete with Hewland internals. This means that the rear end of the SP/300.R is almost identical to that which can be found on the Lola B05/30 F3 chassis with the suspension pickups, uprights and damper layout all being shared. However a hint at what may be to come lies in the fact that the Duratec engine has a 30bhp push to pass function which increases the revs slightly for a short period. It’s something Caterham had engineered in as they intend on the car forming the basis of a new one make series in 2012. Another spokesperson for the development team added “we wanted this to form the top rung of our development ladder, and we felt we were losing long term customers there.” It is a thinly veiled reference to Radical which specialises in products in this performance bracket and price range, and it seems inevitable that at some point the new Caterham and Radical will go head to head on track.
Scott O'Donnell - 1984 Ford Capri Mk II 3 Litre
Scott is a long-term classic car and endurance racer from Invercargill. He has completed five 24-hour races and six 12-hour races around the world mainly in Porsches (996 to 991 GT3 models). He started racing Alfa Romeos in 1989 in classic events, then progressed to endurance events in a Sierra Cosworth and the Targa in Escorts, a V8 Jaguar and in the 2014 South Island Targa, he drove a BMW Mini. Scott has formed a collection of Ford touring cars, which is on show at the renowned Bill Richardson Transport World in Invercargill. Has competed in two previous Leadfoot Festivals in diverse machinery ranging from a Porsche RSR to a Dodge NASCAR. Scott is looking forward to some sideways action in the Sierra Cosworth this year.
1984 Ford Capri Mk II 3 Litre:
This is a Ford Capri, specifically a Mk II 3 litre. It was imported from England as a production saloon race car from the famous stable of Gerry Marshall. Once in New Zealand it was purchased by New Zealand driver Bill McFarlane and was maintained and co-driven by Wayne Murdoch, of Timaru. It was modified into Group A race-spec in 1984.
Wayne Murdoch was famous for hitting a shipping container in the 1985 Wellington Nissan Mobil Street race, which created the need for a new front to be shipped from the United Kingdom. It was driven by Wayne Murdoch and Bill McFarlane again in the 1986 Nissan Mobil 500 race in Wellington, where it came 13th.
Scott O'Donnell - 2016 Porsche 991 GT3 Cup Car
Scott is a long-term classic car and endurance racer from Invercargill. He has completed five 24-hour races and six 12-hour races around the world mainly in Porsches (996 to 991 GT3 models). He started racing Alfa Romeos in 1989 in classic events, then progressed to endurance events in a Sierra Cosworth and the Targa in Escorts, a V8 Jaguar and in the 2014 South Island Targa, he drove a BMW Mini. Scott has formed a collection of Ford touring cars, which is on show at the renowned Bill Richardson Transport World in Invercargill. Has competed in two previous Leadfoot Festivals in diverse machinery ranging from a Porsche RSR to a Dodge NASCAR.
2016 Porsche 991 GT3 Cup Car:
This 2016 Porsche 991 GT3 Cup Car was brand spanking new, out of Germany’s Stuttgart factory last year. It is owned and driven by Scott O’Donnell and his friend and long-time racing partner Allan Dippie in the 2016 South Island Endurance Series, where it finished fourth amongst some serious GT machinery.
The Porsche has a 3800cc engine, which produces about 460hp and it has a 6 speed sequential gearbox with paddle change. Additional features are Bosch Motorsport ABS and a driver helmet and body cooling system. Porsche build roughly 300 to 500 GT3 Cup cars per model (964, 996, 997, 991) to service the Carrera Cup races series worldwide.
Harry Orpwood - 1937 Willy’s Coupe
‘Hot rod’ Harry has been in the hot rodding car scene for over 40 years. He has got a 32 5 window coupe and model A Tudor that he built and took out to Bonneville for the festivities.
He rebuilt the original Jennings special, which was a Fiat Topelino in the 1990s which was fitted with an overhead valve 368 Lincoln engine. Harry raced it for a short time at special events like the PDL Alfa and the Waimate 50. Recently he has been resurrecting this 37 Willys Coupe, which belonged to Red Dawson, who raced it in the late 1950s and through to the mid-1960s, with great success. It has a twin four barrel 58 Corvette engine and four speed gear box.
1937 Willy’s Coupe:
This is Red Dawson’s Willys coupe that raced in the late 1950s until the mid-1960s. It raced at Pukekohe, Matamata street race, Ardmore and Bay Park. With its 1958 283 Corvette engine and its twin fours, it used to be very competitive. It also runs a 39 Ford diff with hydraulic brakes front and rear. The technology was very basic but very effective on the track. Red always drove the car with haste and always left a trail of smoke out of the corners.
The car was recently in the Hot Rod magazine.
James Penrose - 2016 UCM16
North Canterbury-based James has proved himself in karts, winning nine New Zealand Sprint Kart Championships over a range of classes. He has been nominated twice for Junior Sportsman of the Year for the sport. His experience in Formula Ford gave him the experience to excel in Formula SAE going on to compete in Melbourne in UCM15 at the 2015 Formula SAE competition placing second in the autocross event.
2016 UCM16:
UCM16 is the University of Canterbury student-designed and built Formula SAE car. A new car is built from scratch every year and competes in Melbourne in the Australasian Formula Student competition. The car’s livery pays homage to the late John Britten and his remarkable bike, the Britten V1000. John, the bike and his team were an inspiration to the student team that built this car. This year’s car sports a 4WD electric drivetrain consisting of four outboard electric motors mounted and geared with custom-made planetary gearboxes and 10” carbon fibre rims. This is a major change from last year’s single cylinder 450cc Husqvarna engine and turbocharger. The car has a carbon fibre monocoque chassis and large aerodynamic wings, all in accordance with FSAE rules. The use of carbon fibre links back to the V1000, which could be considered a pioneer for the material’s use in motorsport.
Mike Pero - 1989 Yamaha TZ250W
You’ll know the name from Mortgages and Real estate but today he’s here as Mike Pero motorcycle racer. Mike calls himself a blast from the past. Young Mike was first a New Zealand Road Race Champion at the age of 17. He won six NZ Championships including the 350cc and 500cc racing classes in the 1980s. Mike set a NZ land speed record for 350cc machines, which still stands today and he is the only New Zealand rider to ever win four New Zealand Grand Prix titles on four different machines in one day. Mike is riding a Yamaha TZ250W which is a two stroke factory-built Grand Prix machine from the late 1980s. In the past three years Mike has competed at half a dozen classic meetings both here and in Australia. As he said he’s 30 years later and just out for a Sunday ride today.
1989 Yamaha TZ250W:
Owned by Rod Price of Helicraft Helicopters, of Wanaka, this Yamaha TZ250W was restored in 2014 by Rod and Mike for Mike to compete in a Melbourne event in January 2015. The machine finished third equal over the weekend. Since then Mike has piloted the bike three times and this weekend is one of his favourite events. The high gearing of a TZ Grand Prix machine does not ideally suit the hill climb here but it certainly sounds different to most competitors with the high pitch note of a two stroke. It is a 250cc factory-built road racer with reverse cylinders, power valves and it is capable of 230kph. This motorbike was one of the most popular Grand Prix contenders of its time and is still considered one of the very best handling 250cc speed machines of its day.
Nathan Pilcher - 2006 Holden Commodore Magnum NZ Touring Car
Nathan has been racing since the age of 15. Starting in speedway in Cromwell, Nathan won the Otago Production Saloon Champs at the age of 18 in his home-built Mitsubishi V3000. He quickly moved onto circuit racing in a 1962 Ford Anglia 105E and competed in the Pre-65 Saloons across the South Island. Nathan, who always liked a challenge, then bought a Super Six Holden Commodore and turned it into a endurance race car, which he won many trophies in. Nathan made the step up into NZV8 Touring Cars three years ago and in his first season finished fourth in the championship as well as being awarded Best Presented Team. He finished second at the 2016 Southern Thunder national race meeting in the NZ Touring Car event in January. Nathan and his partner Kirsten travel all over New Zealand to motorsport events.
2006 Holden Commodore Magnum NZ Touring Car:
This car was originally built by Cambridge’s Nick and Mike Ross. It was raced in the NZV8 Touring Car Series by Nick Ross and Matt Booth before being sold to the Pilcher Racing Team in 2014. It runs current NZ Touring Car Class 2 Specs with a 5000cc Holden V8 engine producing about 420hp. Controlled parts include the manifold, carburettor, exhaust, cam, flywheel and clutch, 4 speed Jericho dogbox, locked rear diff, V8 Supercar-style aero package, including front splitter, side skirts and rear wing, Motech ADL2 dash and sensors, PFC brake package, Advanti wheels and Dunlop slicks, Bilstein shocks and King springs in all four corners. It has a top speed of about 265kph. This car not only sounds good but also blows flames at almost every corner.
Andrew Porter - Nissan NISMO Leaf RC
Andrew was a relatively late starter to the motor racing scene, however when he entered his first race back in 2003, it was in a 6 tonne Supertruck and he came 2nd in the Championship in his debut season. From there he never looked back, and he currently holds 4x New Zealand Supertruck titles along with 3x track records including the ‘Supertruck class’ record at ‘Race to the Sky’. He raced 2x seasons in the NZV8 class, and was 2007/8 Rookie of the Year. In 2015 he was 2nd Overall NIEDRS 1 hour Championship, and 1st in the 6 Hour with Sam Fillmore.
On debut of GT3 racing in the GT3 Nissan Nismo GTR at Hampton Downs with Clark Proctor they were the first Kiwi team home in a credible 11th place first time out, and plan to contest the 2017 North & South Island Endurance Series.
Nissan NISMO Leaf RC:
The Nissan Leaf Nismo RC is a 100% electric racing machine produced as a prototype in 2011. It employs the same power unit as the mass-produced Nissan Leaf, however the motor is a mid-ship rear wheel drive layout with the battery box housed in the rear-end of a carbon monocoque. It utilises double wishbone-style rear suspension and AP racing brakes all round. In July 2011, the car participated in England’s most popular motorsport event, the Goodwood Festival of Speed, leaving a distinctive motor and inverter sound in its wake. Thanks to the carbon monocoque and other lightweight parts, the curb weight of the Nissan Leaf Nismo RC is just 925kg – a third less than that of the passenger model. Maximum outputs for this car are 80kW and 280Nm giving a 0-100kph time of just over 6 seconds.
Clark and Andrew Porter will be giving this car a run.
Darcy Prendergast - 2016 Honda CRF 450 Super Motard
Darcy has a mixed racing history, taking part in Race to the Sky for eight years in succession, racing a Super Quad. He has competed in Super Motard racing – on track and street circutis – both at club and national level; cross country enduros; quad racing, club and national and road racing – all at club and national level. Darcy also competes in car racing at club level. He enjoys the competition of racing and the people involved, along with having fun. He claims he would race anything.
The Leadfoot Festival is one of his highlight events and he makes the trek from Canterbury to enjoy the people, the venue, the atmosphere and the variety of vehicles, which are magic.
2016 Honda CRF 450 Super Motard:
This is a purpose-built Super Motard bike constructed by Andrew Rudd from Dynoworx in Ashburton.
The 450cc motor pumps out 59 rear wheel horsepower or approximately 67hp at the crank – around 12hp more than a stock CFR 450. This output equals 149hp per litre at the crankshaft which is extremely good for a single cylinder engine of this size. Extensive headwork, stage two cam, Dynojet Power Commander fuel/ignition management, a standard Honda piston (believe it or not) and many hours testing and tuning on the Dynoworx dynamometer ensured this bike has class-winning performance. The transmission has a slipper clutch to reduce engine braking on downshifts allowing the bike to steer from the back end at corner entry.
Clark Proctor - Nissan NISMO Leaf RC
From the age of 15 Clark has been involved in the dynamics of wheels, speed and racing. He started with motorcycles, road racing and motocross. At age 17 he became more interested in four wheels and started racing stock cars. He quickly moved through the grades in the first season from C to A grade.
Over the following 20 years, six new cars were built and raced by Clark. All engineering work on the cars, including engine rebuilds were undertaken by Clark in his own workshop.
Clark is the owner/managing director of Metalman N.Z. Limited – a well-established scrap metal exporting business with its head office in Auckland.
He brings the same passion and will to succeed to his driving as he has used to create this highly successful business.
The Nissan Leaf Nismo RC is a 100% electric racing machine produced as a prototype in 2011. It employs the same power unit as the mass-produced Nissan Leaf, however the motor is a mid-ship rear wheel drive layout with the battery box housed in the rear-end of a carbon monocoque. It utilises double wishbone-style rear suspension and AP racing brakes all round. In July 2011, the car participated in England’s most popular motorsport event, the Goodwood Festival of Speed, leaving a distinctive motor and inverter sound in its wake.
Thanks to the carbon monocoque and other lightweight parts, the curb weight of the Nissan Leaf Nismo RC is just 925kg – a third less than that of the passenger model. Maximum outputs for this car are 80kW and 280Nm giving a 0-100kph time of just over 6 seconds.
Clark Proctor - 1973 March 73A – F5000
1973 March 73A – F5000:
This was March’s first production F5000 car, following the relative success of the 1972 F2-based car. March records say six were built and five of these can be seen in contemporary race results.
Clark bought this F5000 in 2010 and raced in the Tasman Revival series in 2010/11, 2011/12, 2012/13, 2013/14 and 2014/15.
Glen Raymond - 2011 Land Rover Tomcat
Glen is a 50-year-old branch manager from Tauranga, who is passionate about motorsport, especially Land Rovers, 4WD and off-road racing events. He has competed over the years in 4WD winch challenges and off-road racing events, including the Taupo 1000 on several occasions. Glen originally campaigned a 1985 110 Land Rover in production class 2 and enjoyed reasonable success – earning a few placings and the odd trophy along the way. He has been competing in his Tomcat for the past 18 months in class 8 against the significantly larger thunder trucks, until it was fully complied for road use. At the Nelson off-road racing endurance event in 2016, Glen finished first in class.
2011 Land Rover Tomcat:
Glen and Samantha imported this 2011 Land Rover Tomcat from the UK two years ago from Tomcat Motorsport UK and it took 14 months to get it complied and registered for the road in NZ. This Tomcat was the works demonstration vehicle for UK-based Tomcat Motorsport and it toured around the UK and Europe. It is based on a lightened but strengthened Land Rover Discovery chassis with a roll cage and fibreglass body. Its running gear is Land Rover with strengthened axle housing, powered by a 4.2 litre 320hp TVR V8 engine and 5-speed manual gearbox. Since arriving in NZ it has had hydraulic bump stops fitted along with a larger capacity fuel tank and a communications system. It has competed in off-road racing (now class 6 road legal 4WD) and the inaugural rally cross event but being road legal it can be used for other events like Targa.
Andrew Redward - 1988 Mazda RX7 FC3S
Californian-born Andrew Redward has been competing in the D1NZ National Drifting Championship since it’s inception 13 years ago. A frequent podium placer in NZ, he has recently spent time competing in Australia where he won the Drift Allstars event held at Sydney Motorsport park and placed second at Drift Wars in Perth. His 1988 Mazda RX7, powered by a 550hp Chevy LS2 V8, is now back on NZ soil and driving at events all across the country. With his agressive driving style and maximum attack attitude, he is here to put on a show for the crowds! With fiance Katherine (Kat) Benson also entered in Leadfoot with her BurgerFuel Mitsubishi Evo, this couple are motorsport enthusiasts through-and-through. Make sure to get down to the pit paddock and meet this duo in between runs.
1988 Mazda RX7 FC3S:
The iconic Mazda FC3S RX7, has one of the original chassis that kicked off the drift craze in the early 1990s. Andrew and his team have built this car from the ground up, swapping out the Rotary engine for a 6 litre LS2 V8 from a Holden Commodore, which produces 550hp at the wheels. Running a Gforce dog engagement gearbox, Winters quick change differential, all custom New Zealand-built suspension and driveline components, a lot of thought has gone into the build. This car weighs in under 1100kg wet with driver and has a near perfect 51/49 weight distribution thanks to it’s lightweight fibreglass panels and minimalistic approach to styling. Watch this go up the hill, as it is an absolute rocket.
Stuart Rose - 1990 Toyota Hilux
Stuart is a self-employed earthmoving contractor in Taranaki .
He has been racing the ute since 2005 in Targa and tarmac rallies. He was seeded 113th in his first rally and came home 9th overall!
Stuart has regularly placed in the top 10 in the Taranaki tarmac rally .
He has won Targa Rotorua and led Targa NZ classic category for the first three days and ended up second in the classics and 9th overall.
Stuart also races speedway – currently running in sprintcars – was 2NZ in modifieds in 2009.
In his spare time he enjoys fishing and having a beer or 7 and enjoys motorsport in general.
1990 Toyota Hilux:
This Toyota Hilux is Stuart’s old work ute!
It started out as a bit of a laugh one night – the lads reckoned he should put a V8 in it and do some car club events. The next week a Toyota V8 turned up with a invoice attached.
It has turned out to be competitive from day one and was built with big brakes and a pedalbox from the start, which meant not much to upgrade in that department further down the track .
Although, there has been a few other modifications, with the track widened, floating hubs fitted and several gearbox upgrades.
And of course there was the supercharger added so that the Hilux now runs a supercharged 4lt Toyota V8, g force dog box, floating hubs. The dog lives on the back!
Terry (Terence) Roycroft - 1925 Bugatti Type 35A
Terry was born in 1943 and raised in Glen Murray in an endless torrent of racing, sports and touring cars.
He started an apprenticeship fitting/turning/machining at 15, then started speedway racing at Western Springs aged 17.
In 1966 he became a Marine Engineer with Union Shipping Company.
In 1968 Terry was a Marine Engineer with the NZ Shipping Company.
Later he was an engineer at coal-fired generating stations in London, Toronto and Meremere in NZ.
From 1978—85 Terry was a Marine Engineer with Nauru Pacific, Central Pacific. From 1986—96 he worked for Contract Engineering NZ Steel, Glenbrook. From 1991–2003 Terry designed and built a high-speed amphibious vehicle with patented wheel-retraction and sold the rights to Gibbs Technologies. He was also a consultant for the ‘AQUADA’ HSAV programme in Detroit Michigan. When he retired in 2003, Terry prepared the Ron Roycroft Type 35A Bugatti for racing and rallying.
1925 Bugatti Type 35A:
This Type 35A Bugatti was raced in England in the 1920s and 1930s. It came to New Zealand in 1947 with Bryce Clinkard and was raced by Ken Hemus to 1949/50. Ron Roycroft bought the car in rough condition in 1951 and raced it to 1953 when he installed a new 1948 XK120 Jaguar engine, with a Moss gearbox. Ron intended the car for beach racing and hillclimbs, but it also raced in a few major events when needed.
The car won the NZ Championship at Dunedin in 1954, and was first New Zealander home at Ardmore in 1956 against a strong international field. It was first New Zealander again in 1956 at Ryal Bush, where it was timed at 155mph. It had many other wins and places at club events in the 1950s.
It is currently fitted with an original XK120 engine with a C-Type head and 2” sandcast SU carburettors.
Andrew Rudd - 2015 Honda Supermotard CRF450R
Andrew is a motorcycle mechanic and dyno technician from Honda Country/Dynoworx in Ashburton.
After starting out riding off-road, Andrew has ridden successfully in motocross, supercross, cross country, and road racing events throughout the South Island. More recently, he has been competing in some road racing and supermotard events.
Andrew finds the supermotard bike a perfect way of combining off-road and road racing skills.
His passion for modifying and tuning bikes with the desire to succeed, saw him take the NZ 250cc beach race title on his Honda CR250 two-stroke at the Burt Munro Challenge 2015.
He is also the 2016 up-to-600cc New Zealand Hill Climb champion, and the overall New Zealand Hill Climb champion after the Burt Munro Challenge.
Andrew enjoys going racing with mates and having a good time on and off the track.
2015 Honda Supermotard CRF450R:
Built by Andrew, this Dynoworx CRF450R has been increased from 45 to 59 rear wheel horsepower, which makes for a great power-to-weight ratio. A DynoJet Powercommander V is used to adjust fuelling and ignition, with a slipper clutch for controlled rear wheel sliding on corner entry and sticky Metzeler tyres for getting the power to the ground.
Since building the Dynoworx CRF450R bike, which Darcy Prendergast rode at the Leadfoot Festival in 2015, Andrew has had success at street races in the South Island, including first in the 2015 and 2016 Greymouth street race; first in the 2016 Port Nelson street race; first in the King of the Port race, first in the 2016 Methven Mountain street race and first in the King of the Streets round one.
Carl Ruiterman - 2009 Subaru WRX STi
After breaking his elbow competing in motocross, Carl focused his time on racing cars. In 2007, his first season of drifting, Carl won all three drift championships running at the time – the D1NZ Championship, NZ Drift Championship, and Drift Revolution. He backed that up with another NZ Drift Championship and runner-up D1NZ.
He has also competed in the Red Bull World Drifting Championship in USA, qualified second in the World Drift Championship rounds in Hangzhou and Tianjin China. Since then Carl won the Possum Bourne Memorial Tarmac Rally, has done 4WD drift, gymkhana, and rallycross demos. Now he is entered in the New Zealand
Off-Road Championship where he became the North Island Off-Road Champion, and North Island U class champion in his first year, and backed that up with the North Island S class Championship title this year.
The 2009 Subaru WRX was built by E & H Motors with the intention of turning it into a drift car to compete overseas. Once the roll cage, and engine was built, it was tested in its original All Wheel Drive set-up and the car was so much fun to drive, it stayed 4WD. The car has been used for select 4WD drifting demos, hill climbs, rallycross, and tarmac rally events.
It has been retired for three years but the excitement of competing in the Leadfoot Festival has been the motivation to get it running again.
It features an E & H-built EJ20 engine, Borgwarner turbo, Kaps sequential gearbox, STi diffs, relocated radiator and custom rear axles.
Kevin Sanderson - 1984 Toyota Hayabusa Starlet
The first event Kevin competed in was the 1974 Woohill Rally in a Holden Torana XU1, coming home seventh outright. He has done numerous hill climbs over the years in a variety of cars – his most memorable being his VW Beetle powered with a Chev Corvair flat 6, which won the Auckland Interclub Hillclimb Championship several times in the 1980s, Another winning car, a lightweight rallysprint Subaru RX Turbo was jointly-owned with rally legend Possum Bourne. This car also secured the Auckland Hillclimb Championship. Kevin worked servicing/crewing for Possum on his NZ and international rally programmes from the mid 1980s until Possum’s untimely death in 2003.
1984 Toyota Hayabusa Starlet:
The KP61 Toyota Starlet was built in 2006, firstly powered with a Toyota 1580cc 5K pushrod engine and T50 close ratio gearbox. In 2012 Kevin repowered it with a 2008 Suzuki Hayabusa gen 2 engine, which is 1340cc producing 198hp@10200RPM. It has a 11400rpm limiter and comes standard with an ultra-close ratio 6 speed gearbox. The engine gearbox unit is very lightweight and weighs under 80kg. The diff is a 1984 AE86 with TRD limited slip diff. The brakes are Willwood 4 pot calipers. In the 45 events this Starlet has done with the Hayabusa engine, it has been super reliable, finishing 44 of them. Its best result to date was first outright in the Taupo Classic 2WD Rally in August 2016.
Brent Scammell - 2017 Honda CRF450RH
Brent Scammell (or ‘Scam’ as he is known), is a Honda motorcycle dealer in the deep south town of Winton. He is a current and former New Zealand Vet Motocross Champion and accomplished street racer – having won the Burt Munro Challenge three times.
His hill climb experience, includes a NZ Hill Climb Championship title.
Brent also navigates for former World Jetsprint Champion Chris Munro in a 1250hp super-boat. Brent is currently competing in the NZ Jetsprint Series but is delighted to take the opportunity to compete in the Leadfoot Festival.
His Honda CRF450RH Supermoto bike is the ideal weapon to tackle the twist and turns of Rod and Shelly Millen’s private grounds at Leadfoot Ranch.
2017 Honda CRF450RH:
This 2017 Honda CRF450RH motocross bike is modified for hill climbs and street races and is brand new from the ground up. With a radical departure from the traditional engine layout on a motocross bike, Honda has gained a claimed five and a half horsepower increase with their new intake design that routes air over the rear shock mount rather than around it. This allows a more direct intake, as well as a better downdraft layout, for a better intake angle into the cylinder. The design seems like such an obviously better way to get a more efficient intake. This bike is fitted with a titanium pro circuit twin exhaust, 320mm brakes, Talon race wheels and graphics by Koarse Graphics of Dunedin.
Leon Scott - 2001 Mitsubishi Evo
Team LSM run one of NZ’s fastest Evolution time attack cars with 10 years of podium finishes and they are the 2016 overall Superlap Championship title holders and own the pro open class championship-winning car driven by Leon Scott of Auckland. We have competed in time attack racing and superlap racing in NZ now for over 10 years and have run the same car through various stages. Now sporting a 700hp, 2.3 race engine backed by an Albins dog engagement gearbox, the car is an insane fire-breathing animal and completes its wild look with a wide-body Voltex kit and 295 semi slick tyres. Leon and the team have stayed true to the roots of the sport and competed from the start with semi slick tyres (not full slicks) and hold the fastest semi slick lap in the superlap series with a 1.09 flat at Hampton Downs.
2001 Mitsubishi Evo:
The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution MR runs a 2.3 stroker engine, Holset pro-40rs turbo charger, Albins close ratio dogbox, 700hp on pump fuel, 295/30/18 Hankook TD soft tyres, custom-built external canister suspension, custom aero package (both hill climb and time attack), Voltex full wide-body kit and a custom graphics kit.
Its race highlights include: Second place NZ Time Attack Series Championship pro-am 2011; second place pro open champion 2012 NZ Superlap Series; third place pro open champion 2013 NZ Superlap Series; second place pro open champion 2014/2015 NZ Superlap Series; and first place pro open class championship win and overall winner 2016 NZ Superlap Series.
This car has fastest lap times recorded on Mylaps at: Hampton Downs: 1.090 (semi slick tyre); Pukekohe new track: 1.105 (semi slick tyre); Taupo full circuit: 1.34 (semi slick tyre), Manfeild: 1.121 (semi slick tyre).
It is a privateer car with no monetary sponsors
Andrew Sinclair - 1986 Holden Commodore VK
Andrew started his motorsport career at 18 years of age by joining his father Keith in Offshore Powerboat Racing in the iconic monohull ‘Chindit’. It culminated 10 years later with 1.3, 2 and 6 litre NZ Championship titles and appearances at both the European and World 2 litre Championships. A 10-year hiatus to focus on business and family finally ended with a move back into motorsport via the Central Muscle Car (CMC) Series.
Andrew won Group 2 and the overall championship in his second full year competing. This was a highlight, as was organising and competing in CMCs first two visits to the Sydney Motorsport Park, to compete at the Muscle Car Masters.
Andrew’s other passion is a 1970 Plymouth Roadrunner powered by a 472 cubic inch Hemi and he is currently building a VH Valiant Charger (Hemi-powered of course) to compete at Bonneville.
1986 Holden Commodore VK:
This Group 2 Commodore is actually Andrew’s wife’s car. She has graciously lent him her Holden as he had previously wrecked his own Commodore at turn one at Pukekohe. It is a 1986 VK replica of Alan Grice’s famous 1986 ‘Chickadee’ that was not only the first Group A car to lap Mt Panorama at over 160kph (average) in qualifying but went on to win the race.
Power is supplied by a dry-sumped 401 cubic inch ‘Little Paw’ Torque Power engine and transmitted through a G Force 4 speed gearbox and a Ford 9” diff (just as the Grice car had).
Rayden Smith - 1968 Ford Lotus Escort Twin Cam
Rayden’s first event was a club hillclimb in a Singer special around 1962, followed by gymkhanas and grass track events, mainly with a Cortina GT. After establishing his farming career and when time allowed, he followed another passion with bikes from around 1975 and participated in club motocross and trials then went onto hare scrambles and enduros at national level.
In 1989 Rayden realised a childhood ambition by racing a Ferrari at that year’s Ardmore Reunion, rekindling his interest in the sport.
In 1990 he purchased the Willment Ford Twin Cam with its first competitive event the
1993 Telecom street race at Hamilton. Other tracks it has successfully competed at include the original Taupo circuit, Bay Park, Manfeild, Pukekohe, Whenuapai, the Whangarei street race, Hampton Downs and Leadfoot Festival.
1968 Ford Lotus Escort Twin Cam:
This is an early Escort Twin Cam provided from Ford’s Boreham plant to the John Willment Group and developed to Group 5 specs.
Imported into NZ by Jim Carney in December 1969 for Jim Richards and raced under the livery of ‘Carney Racing’ then ‘Radio Hauraki’, the car was often referred to as the ‘Richards’ Escort’. Jim put on many giant-killing displays against larger and more powerful cars – winning or placing highly on tracks around NZ. He also won every round of the 1971 BNSW 0 to 4200cc National Touring Car Championship.
The car was also used by Jim and Faye as their bridal car when they married in 1972.
It was purchased by Lin Neilson and raced competitively on all the South Island’s tracks and in the OSCA series.
Its specs are: Ford Lotus Twin Cam 1720cc, Ford 4-speed with Quaiffe internals, LSD, brakes disc front and drum rear.
Spencer Steele - 2013 PVA Kidwell/Arnold Special
Spencer Steele began racing in 1992 on ice in a highly modified Willys jeep, and enjoyed numerous wins and 13 points championships. He then moved on to Colorado and began hill climb racing in 1999 and achieved success with 5 points championships in the open wheel division along with numerous wins. Spencer started racing the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in 2000 and has competed in four different vehicles in the Open Wheel and Unlimited divisions earning two fifth places, two second places, and three consecutive wins from 2010-2012. In 2013 he began desert racing with the Crossfire off road trophy truck team and competed in the Baja 500 and 1000 co-driving to a hard-earned 16th place finish in the 2015 Baja 1000.
2013 PVA Kidwell/Arnold Special:
The Phoenix was originally built as a Wells Coyote, a purpose-built Pikes Peak Hill Climb car. Paul Dallenbach and his team set the overall record on Pikes Peak in it in 1993 and was thirrd in 1994. It was then put in a museum until 2002 when it was brought back to the mountain. The car raced in the Open Wheel division from 2002-2009 and won the race seven times. It was moved to the Unlimited division in 2010, then added twin turbos for the 2011 Pikes Peak which ended in a DNF because the car produced so much horsepower that it twisted the rear axle. In 2012 a wreck forced a complete rebuild of the car into its current form. Spencer drove it in the 2013 Pikes Peak Unlimited division and finished fifth in 9mins:57secs.
Paul Stichbury - 1958 Humber 80
Paul has been involved in motorsport and the motor trade industry since 1959. He has raced at national level but mainly at club level.
Paul is the father of the extremely talented driver Ashley Stichbury, who tragically died 15 years ago following a cerebral hemorrhage. Ashley had been rated by former Austrian Formula One driver Alex Wurz, as one of the two best drivers, alongside the late world champion Ayrton Senna, who he had driven against.
1958 Humber 80:
This car was purchased new by Harold Heasley, of Rangiora, and he won the NZ Saloon Car title in it during the 1959-60 season. It was then sold to Doctor Dick Langley of Napier and then Dave Bruton also of Napier. The Humber remained in Hawkes Bay as a club car.
Paul purchased it in the 1980s and tidied it up. He and his late son Ashley raced it in classic saloon events.
Peter Sundberg - 1932 Alfa Romeo 8C Monza
Peter’s racing career started in the seventies, where he was fortunate to gain full sponsorship competing in those “golden days” when race meetings attracted sell out spectator crowds. He competed with distinction, gaining a reputation, usually justified, as a somewhat wild and spectacular driver. Car of choice back then was the venerable Lotus Twin Cam Escort, highly modified. Peter has also rallied, both on gravel, in a Rotorsport prepared Mazda RX3 and on Tarmac in a Ford Escort Cosworth and then in a very quick Group B MG Metro 6R4, both in New Zealand and Ireland. He has also competed in classic motorcycle racing, on a Manx Norton, Moto Guzzi or MV Agusta 4 cylinder.
1932 Alfa Romeo 8C Monza:
The dominant racing car in the early 1930’s, the Alfa Romeo team was run by Enzo Ferrari prior to the manufacture of his own marque. Truly a piece of Italian mechanical artistry, this particular car is powered by a straight eight supercharged 2.6 engine. In its day, capable of winning almost every event in which it entered.
David Thexton - 2005 Subaru Impreza STi
David has been involved in motorsport since 1976 and has competed in around 300 rallies in New Zealand and overseas. He has also driven for two seasons in V8 Supercar racing and one season of Porsche racing in Australia – with his best result a 16th at Bathurst in 2003.
David has won many rallies and rallysprint championships in his earlier competition years. David currently competes in a 2005 Subaru Impreza STi sponsored by Possum Bourne Motorsport, which he and his wife Mandy own. David’s ambition is to get into the top 10 at the Leadfoot Festival this year. David and Mandy are going to be competing in the 2017 New Zealand Rally Championship (NZRC).
2005 Subaru Impreza STi:
This car was originally built for Chris West who ran it for one national rally championship season before it was purchased by Richard and Sara Mason. They went on the win three NZRCs in this car.
This Subaru has been modified by Possum Bourne Motorsport for the Leadfoot Festival with a larger-than-standard Borg Warner turbo, front-mounted intercooler and a Kaps sequential gearbox.
The car weighs around 1450kg, as it is still in rally trim, with steel doors, boot and bonnet. The engine produces 550hp at 7000 rpm with 600Nm of torque at 5500 rpm. For Leadfoot the car is running Pirelli tyres on 18 inch rims.
Ben Thomasen - 2017 Polaris Razor XP 1000 Turbo
Ben is a 34-year-old professional driver for Polaris NZ and competes in the Oranz Off Road Championship. In 2015 he was NZ1 overall and first in UTV class. Ben was also the 2016 Shortcourse champion.
He has been involved in national Motorsport all his life including motorcross for 15 years before a life-changing accident in 2008 left him with a spinal cord injury and forced the change back to four wheels. Ben competed in D1NZ drifting from 2003-2006 with a highlight 3rd in NZ placing in the 2004 season. He began rallying in his 2005 Subaru Impreza from 2010 with the best result of 2013 HillClimb Champion.
The Leadfoot Festival is one of his favourite events of the year and Ben and his team are grateful to be a part of it.
2017 Polaris Razor XP 1000 Turbo:
This 2017 model Polaris Razor XP 1000 Turbo is powered by a Prostar 1000cc twin cylinder turbo charged 4stroke engine, with a CVT transmission with 2 or 4WD selected on the dash. Standard they are 105hp at the wheels but currently our race UTV is 160hp at all 4 wheels. Top speed is standard 121kmh, while our race UTV clocks 150kmh. It weighs about 700kgs having added an extra roll cage. It is suspended by FOX Shocks. The Polaris is currently running in the Oranz S UTV class which is for turbo models and allows modifications, although factory engines including internals and drive lines must remain factory. Suspenion, wheels, track and bolt on parts are allowed.
Anne Thomson - 1957 D Type Jaguar Replica
Anne has been involved with owning and racing Vintage and Veteran cars for many years including the 14 litre Grand Prix Darracq she has raced at speed during previous Leadfoot Festivals. Most of her racing to date has been in the Edwardian class. The D-Type Jaguar is new to the stable and having a car with brakes that work will be a new experience for her.
1957 D Type Jaguar Replica:
Built during 1990 and 1999 as a replica of the works D Type Jaguars that won the 24 hours of Le Mans race in 1955, 1956 and 1957 with many other successes and places in major events.
The Jag is based on the original D-Type XKD 534 when it was still in New Zealand and owned by Noel Foster. This car has a full alloy body built by Ray Larsen. The motor is a 3.8 litre Jaguar with 3 twin choke Dellorto Carbs with dry sump lubrication. As a Le Mans entry, the D type was capable of speeds in excess of 180 mph at Mulsanne but was tractable enough to be driven to and from the circuit. The E type Jaguar followed the D type with similar construction but with IRS.
Mike Tubbs - 1992 BMW 325i M3 Coupe E36
Mike competed in his first motorsport event in 1998, the same time as buying the ‘Foxing’ BMW 325i coupe. From 1998 – 2011 Mike rallied in most Targa events achieving class wins and top 5s overall. The North Island endurance race series was also a favourite race event for him and co-driver Mike Ashton and they had an exciting outright series win in 2004. The car #31 BMW 325i/M3 coupe and Mike were also active in Hamilton Car Club events and Taranaki rallies for 12 years also. ‘Foxing’ is the car’s nickname and Mike’s is ‘Tubbsy’. Motorsport is so enjoyable and he is looking forward to many more events again after a busy business period over the last four years.
1992 BMW 325i M3 Coupe E36:
In 1993 this E36 BMW coupe driven by Brett Riley was 4th in the Wellington 500 street race and 1st in class. The NZ Touring Car Championships from 1994 – 1998 saw the BMW Motorsport team car #31 driven by Brett Riley and car #2 driven by Craig Baird competing, with Craig winning from 1994 to 1997. Brett was 2nd and won in 1998. Jason Richards also raced car #31 from 1994-6.
Al Unser Jr. - 1915 Stutz
Al is a two-time Indianapolis 500 winner and goes by various nicknames – Little Al, Al Junior, or simply Junior.
Hailing from the United States, Al was racing sprint cars by age 11. After high school, he was already in the World of Outlaws series of sprint car racing. He soon moved into road racing, winning the Super Vee title in 1981 and the Can-Am title in 1982.
Al’s first Indy win came in 1992 defeating Scott Goodyear by 0.043 of a second, the closest finish in Indianapolis 500 history. In 1994, Unser again won at Indy, this time with Penske Racing.
He also has a whole list of titles to his name, including the Can-Am Championship (1982), IROC-International Race of Champions (1986 and 1988) and the CART Indy Car World Series (1990 and 1994). In 2009, he was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.
1915 Stutz:
Nicknamed the Stutz or ‘the car that made good in a day’ this race car was imported into New Zealand in 1923. It raced successfully in many events at the Muriwai beach races and winning NZ Cup in 1926, 27 and 28 outright when owned by Bob Wilson. Bob later donated the cup to the NZ Grand Prix Association and it is now the NZ Grand Prix premier trophy.
The car is now owned by the Southward Museum Trust and is on display at the Southward Car Museum
It’s achievements included third at Indianapolis in 1915, at 140.9kph average and second at the 1919 Indianapolis 500.
Mike Vincent - 1973 Hillman Avenger
A local Whitianga resident Mike started out in motorsport as a member of the Hamilton Car Club in 1987 aged 17and began competing in club hill climbs and sprints driving a 1300 Mini.
In 1991 Mike entered his first rally in his Hillman Avenger and competed throughout the 1990s on gravel and tarmac rallies.
In 2000 Mike began competing in Targa and continued until 2007, where he achieved first overall classic at Targa Rotorua and third overall classic in the main event. Mike competed in last year’s Leadfoot Festival after eight years break from motorsport and spent most of the weekend trying to knock the rust off and get up to speed. His intention this year is to improve on his best time of 60.3 seconds and feature in the top 10 classics.
1973 Hillman Avenger:
This 1973 Hillman Avenger has been owned, developed and campaigned by Mike in regional, national and Targa rallies since 1992. Rolling it in the second stage of his first rally, Mike learnt quickly what it meant to own and run a rally car, with many countless hours spent with his team of supporters. Revenga has been improved and upgraded continuously over the 25 years that Mike has owned it and is currently in group 2 specification. It runs a 2 litre Brazilian engine that produces 200 flywheel horsepower through a tilton twinplate clutch and alloy Quaife 5 speed gearbox to Escort LSD rear end. The car weighs 900kgs in rally trim and has Bilstein suspension. Its Series 5 Mazda RX7 brakes take care of the stopping duties.
Ross Webster - 1962 Renault Dauphine Hill Climb Special
Ross took up motorsport in 2002 and since then he has competed in many NZ Targa events and lots of hill climbs and sprints all over the North Island.
He has competed in four Targa events with the Dauphine back in 2002-2004 and then another three Targas in a Nissan. He has also done some co-driving and service crewing on various cars.
His circuit racing has been limited to a few track days and a four-hour endurance race at Manfeild.
Ross is a member of the Pukekohe Car Club and enjoys doing club events in the Auckland and Waikato districts.
1962 Renault Dauphine Hill Climb Special:
This is a 1962 Renault Dauphine built by Ross and some other Renault enthusiasts. The original 850cc engine and 3 speed gearbox has been discarded and is now running a 1600 R17 Gordini motor mated to a modified Renault 4 speed gearbox. All up without the driver the car weighs 660kgs. Just about every part of the car is modified including fiberglass guards from France, three stud Madin wheels (also from France), quick rack steering and a front mount radiator but it still retains the infamous swing axle rear suspension. It makes an ideal hill climb car due to its light weight and good traction.
Dave West - 2000 Freightliner Argosy Supertruck
Dave has always enjoyed watching motorsport and did a brief stint on the dirt track in his late teens. After then work always seemed to get in the way. Finally, he managed to get the work/ life balance organised better and raced dirt track for seven seasons during which he won several class and feature titles. Then he decided it was time to build a NZ Supertruck. Dave had watched these racing as a teenager and has been involved in the transport industry for 20+ years. With support from his family and lots of businesses he deals with on a daily basis this idea was able to become reality. After a rather bumpy first season he finished the season second in class. He is looking forward to starting next season with a little more knowledge onboard.
2000 Freightliner Argosy Supertruck:
TThis vehicle was built into a race truck for the 2015/16 New Zealand Super Truck series. It is powered by a Series 60 Detroit engine, running compound turbos producing around 1600hp. This is transferred to the tarmac through an Allison automatic 6-speed transmission. Front suspension is leaf spring with an anti-roll bar and the rear is custom three-link with panhard and anti-roll bar. The Koni adjustable shocks are used in the four corners. A major crash at its second event necessitated a full rebuild, including a new cab. Dave went on to finish the season with a couple of race wins and second overall in class.
Dave and his team are looking forward to having some fun up ‘Millen’s mile’ in February.
Mad Mike Whiddett - Badbul Mazda SP3 RX8
Mad Mike has always had a passion for all things extreme and fast.
He raced motocross from the age of 6 and placed second at the New Zealand 1997 Pro junior 85cc motocross champs. Pre-adolescence he also competed in BMX then eventually transitioned into the extreme sport of freestyle motocross to compete as a professional for three years.
He then made the switch to another form of motorsport which gave him that same rush of adrenaline but with the safety of a roll-cage and thus his drifting career was born in 2007.
Now backed by some of the world’s biggest brands Red Bull, Mazda, Mobil1, Nitto, Rotiform, Holinger, KW suspension, Turbo by Garrett, Snap-On Tools, PWR Performance, and Wilwood, Mike competes in four pro drift-spec Mazda rotary powered cars all over the globe. He received over 4.5 million views on You Tube after his ‘Conquer the Crown’ drift project up Queenstown’s Crown Range. Mike was also the first NZ drift driver to receive an award from Motorsport New Zealand for Outstanding Achievement.
Badbul Mazda SP3 RX8:
ENGINE: Pulse Performance Race engineering (PPRE) 20B 3-rotor; Monster
Bridgeport; lightened/balanced rotors; cross-drilled eccentric shaft; Pulse Performance Race Engineering (PPRE) apex seals; modified stationary gears; Garrett GTX-45 Turbo; custom merge exhaust manifold; Turbosmart Mad Mike Signature Edition 60mm Power-Gate 60 external wastegate; Redline Performance 6″ intercooler; Turbosmart blow-off valve; K&N air filter, custom 3.5″ stainless steel exhaust system; custom fuel cell; 2x Bosch Motorsport 044 fuel pumps; Bosch Motorsport lift pump; high-flow fuel lines; Turbosmart adjustable fuel pressure regulator; custom fuel rails; high-flow injectors; Gilmer belt drives, custom catch tank and overflow bottle; Redline Performance alloy radiator; 2x Setrab oil coolers; intercooler and radiator water sprayers.
ENGINE MANAGEMENT / ELECTRONICS: Pulse Performance Race Engineering (PPRE) Tuned Haltech Platinum Sport 2000 ECU; custom loom
DRIVELINE: Holinger RD6S-SS Sequential 6Speed; Clutch & flywheel by Direct Clutch; Autosport Dynamics / Winters quick-change rear end; Autosport Dynamics limited slip differential; custom Driveshaft Shop axles & hubs
SUSPENSION / CHASSIS: KW Suspension 3way Adjustable, FD3S RX-7 steering rack; Megan Racing steering arms; URAS tie-rods; Megan Racing tie-rod ends, MMM steering knuckles, Custom tube frame
WHEELS / TIRES: Front: 17×10″ Rotiform SLC, Nitto NT05 225/40R18 tires; Rear: 18×11.5″ Rotiform SLC , Nitto NT05 (dry) and Nitto INVO (wet) 265/35R18 tires
CABIN: Six-point weld-in rollcage; Takata Racing seats – custom MM; Takata Racing belts belts; RacePak digital dash; Autosport Dynamics hydraulic e-braker lever, Lifeline fire extinguisher system; D2 Racing air jacks; custom switch board
BODY: Hybrid Lab wide body kit; BN Sport vented hood; Seibon carbon fiber doors; Seibon carbon fiber trunk lid; Sard GT wing; custom CRE8GRAFX livery
Mad Mike Whiddett - 2013 Mazda RX8 13B Superlite
He raced motocross from the age of 6 and placed second at the New Zealand 1997 Pro junior 85cc motocross champs. Pre-adolescence he also competed in BMX then eventually transitioned into the extreme sport of freestyle motocross to compete as a professional for three years. He then made the switch to another form of motorsport which gave him that same rush of adrenaline but with the safety of a roll-cage and thus his drifting career was born in 2007. Now backed by some of the world’s biggest brands – Red Bull, Mazda, Mobil1, Nitto, Rotiform, Holinger, KW suspension, Turbo by Garrett, Snap-On Tools, PWR Performance, and Wilwood – Mike competes in four, pro drift-spec Mazda rotary-powered cars all over the globe. He received over 4.5 million views on You Tube after his ‘Conquer the Crown’ drift project up Queenstown’s Crown Range. Mike was also the first New Zealand drift driver to receive an award from Motorsport New Zealand for Outstanding Achievement.
2013 Mazda RX8 13B Superlite:
This Superlite short course race truck is powered by the Mazda RX8 13B naturally aspirated engine. Suspension is a Fox Racing triple by-pass and the Gearbox is a Mendeola 4 speed transaxle.
Gaz Whiter - 1997 Nissan Silvia S14
Gaz is the four-time NZ National Drifting Champion, which is a current record and he has also achieved runner up three times.
Amongst other things he was the 2010 NZ Drift Nationals Champion, Rotary Jamboree Champion and number one qualifier in the World Time Attack Drift Australia.
Gaz’s awards include; 2009 Kaipara Sports Person of the year, D1NZ Spirit of Drifting award and D1NZ sportsmanship superstar award.
Gaz has also competed in the Red Bull Drifting World Champs in Long Beach USA.
He is a qualified builder by trade and in his spare time is an avid fisherman.
Although currently not competing in the D1NZ Championship, he is concentrating on events such as Leadfoot Festival, grassroots and one-off events.
This gives him more time to spend with his recently welcomed son Connor.
1997 Nissan Silvia S14:
Gaz Whiter’s S14 Silvia was built in the shed at home. It is a new build from the team and is a very basic drift machine designed to do one-off events and demos, while keeping the cost of drifting to a minimum, yet still allowing Gaz to compete should the opportunity present itself.
It has an around 400-500hp V8 engine and runs a Nascar 4-speed gearbox. It has Tein suspension throughout, custom steering arms (for a big steering angle), GTR rear diff and axles, a Wilwood brake system, a 40 litre fuel cell running 100 octane gas, a Link computer, Origin Labo body kit, carbon doors and an Origin Labo bonnet.
Curt Whittaker - 2000 Nissan R34 Skyline
Curt is the current D1NZ National Drifting Champion. This is his second championship title, with his first time being crowned drift king in 2012. Since custom building the R34 he has been a strong, consistent competitor having six consecutive season podium finishes in the D1NZ. In 2011 he won the Tectaloy International Drift Challenge in Sydney, and at the 2016 Leadfoot Festival he placed third in the Best of Show (behind Scott Dixon and Tanner Foust). Curt and RATTLU are strongly supported by a strong crew of family and friends who travel from all over the country to his various events.
2000 Nissan R34 Skyline:
The R34 GTR was custom-built from the ground up by Whittaker Motorsport. It started off running a 2JZ engine which was reliable at the time, but is now fitted out with a 410ci small block Ford V8 thanks to Rattla Motorsport. This is a much needed addition in order to remain competitive within various competitions. It has a custom wide body and Z tuned body kit, and is currently running 750hp+. The car has always been a strong package and a force to be reckoned with thanks to Curt and all the Whittaker and Rattla Motorsport crews. After six gruelling seasons in this car it is still one of the strongest and most reliable packages out there.
Scott Wilkins - 2016 Kawasaki H2R
Scott is a 39-year-old businessmen from Tauranga. He is a former motorcycle shop owner, Pukekohe Motorcycle Club president and life member, supercross promoter and still current Motorsport New Zealand steward and clerk of the course.
Scott has raced nearly every form of motorcycles available, from an early age, as well as a few years in speedway saloons. He is currently racing street circuits on a super motard kx450f and motocross on a kx125. In addition Scott is attempting to go after the motorcycle and outright New Zealand land speed record on the Kawasaki H2R.
Having grown up racing motorcycles and in a racing family, he is continuing the family tradition.
2016 Kawasaki H2R:
Kawasaki produced the highest horsepower production motorcycle ever made, an incredible 330hp from the supercharged 1000cc 4-cylinder motor. Prompting the development of the Ninja H2R, was a strong desire to offer riders something they had never experienced. Convinced that a truly extraordinary riding experience would not be found on a motorcycle that merely
built on the performance of existing models, the design team committed to developing the “ultimate” motorcycle from a clean slate.
The bike needed to deliver intense acceleration and an ultra-high top speed, coupled with Supersport-level circuit performance. Help was enlisted from other companies in the Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) Group, precipitating an unprecedented level of inter-company collaboration. Developing the Ninja H2R as a closed-course model allowed an unadulterated pursuit of performance – free of the limitations that street riding would impose. The resulting new model offers a sensory experience surpassing anything that riders can find today.
Ray Williams - 1970 Ford Capri V8 Perana
Ray has been racing for more than 45 years and has won more than 300 races.
He has raced a variety of cars, from Ford Escorts, Nissans, MGs, Porsches, Formula Fords through to Formula 5000 and a March Indy Car.
In 1996 he set the New Zealand Outright Land Speed Record at 316 kmh in his Porsche 930 Turbo (some NZ records still stand today).
In 2006 Ray was part of the team to set NZ Endurance Records for 1 hour, 6 hour, 12 hour, 18 hour and 24 hour (these Records still stand).
He is still racing (and winning) as he approaches 70 years old.
1970 Ford Capri V8 Perana:
This 1970 Ford V8 Perana was built in South Africa as a Production Car.
The engine is a Ford Windsor V8, producing 460hp.
Neil Tolich built this car and won his class in Targa NZ several times.
Neil also won many races in the Classic race series.
Lucky for Ray, Neil decided to let him buy it from him.
Ray Wilson - 1995 Audi S2 Coupe Quattro
Ray started driving in car club events in the 1970s then did his first rally in 1974, in an 850cc Mini.
His highlights include a first in class in the 1979 Motogard Rally with a 1275 GT Mini.
He was first in class three years in a row on Rally NZ in 1984, 1985 and 1986 in a 1300cc Toyota Starlet.
The change to 4WD and the 1600cc Mazda 323 produced a second overall and first New Zealander on the 1988 Rally NZ and seventh in 1989. In 1988 Ray also finished second in the first FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship series.
In 1989 and 1990 Ray drove a Ford Laser Turbo in the NZ Production Car Championship for the Ford dealer team.
In 1990 Ray debuted the Mazda 323 GTX at the WRC in Perth.
Ray is driving for the Stewart Motorsport team in their Audi S2 Coupe Quattro.
1995 Audi S2 Coupe Quattro:
When Malcolm Stewart passed away a few years ago from motor neuron disease (MND) Sue Stewart and the team decided to return to rallying to honour him and to promote awareness of neurological disorders and in particular MND.
The car chosen was the Audi Quattro – a car made famous in NZ rallying by both the factory works team and Malcolm.
The car you see here today is a Group A, 1995 Audi S2 Coupe Quattro. 2200cc, turbo charged, about 320 hp, 6 speed gearbox and the famous Quattro 4WD. It was built in NZ by the team for the 2016 rally season and debuted here at Leadfoot last year.
Allan Woolf - 1958 Volpini Formula Jr.
Allan has been a motorsport competitor for some 60 years starting with the Auckland Car Club hillclimb series, driving a 1933 Ford Y, 8hp. This car did the Indianapolis and Hepolite car trials and gained a second overall. Many saloon car races followed like the GTX series driving a Holden GTR. In 1972 daughter Sue was Allan’s co-driver in the Heatway Rally and in 1973 son John co-drove the Heatway in a Ford Capri.
Allan drove in many long distance races including the Benson & Hedges series. He also drove a Toyota Sprinter in the Wellington Street series, Manfeild, and Pukekohe.
Allan has raced the Production class in a Fiat 124 at Baypark, Manfeild and Pukekohe. He also won the NZ Saloon Car Championship in 1975 in a Ford Escort.
In 1983, Rod Millen lent Allan a RX7 Mazda to drive at the Pikes Peak Hillclimb and he won the rally car class’ Rookie of the Year. Allan did the event again in 1984 and 1986 driving Rod’s 4WD RX7 cars.
1958 Volpini Formula Jr.:
This car is one of just fifteen built. Count Johnny Lurani, the originator of the Formula Junior, purchased this car. It spent the next three years as a ‘hire and drive’ racing car, including a spell of ice racing in Sweden. Lurani sold the car to Mr Lombardi in Italy but it slowly fell into disrepair, until purchased in the mid-1980s by Geoff and Barbara Manning. They brought it back to New Zealand and completely restored it. The Volpini made its debut at the 1989 Ardmore Grand Prix reunion and has been raced in historic meetings throughout New Zealand. It has won its class in the Thoroughbred & Classic Car Owners Club (TACCOC) Historic four times since 1990.
In 2005 the Volpini was sold to Allan.
Considering it is vintage with engine and drum brakes from the 1950s, its 88hp does it proud.
Grant Woolford - 2016 FS450 Husqvarna
Grant is the owner of the Cyclespot Group. He has been riding bikes since he was 7 years old. That means that at the age of 42 Grant has ridden motorcycles for 35 years. He raced for 20 of those years in motocross.
After watching the Leadfoot Festival in 2015 he knew he had to race up the world’s coolest driveway. He competed last year and couldn’t wait to get back to the Leadfoot Festival this year after having such a great time.
This 2016 Husqvarna FS450 is a factory-built supermotard that produces 70hp with a top speed of around 200kph. These bikes are used for closed circuit racing but it is very well suited for hill climbs such as the Leadfoot Festival. The bike is running full slick tyres that will be heated with tyre warmers to get maximum grip. The tyre surface at any one time will be about the size of a fifty cent coin.
Fanga' Dan Woolhouse - 2016 VF Holden Commodore
Daniel is also known as ‘Fanga Dan’, and is a two-time D1NZ Champion and professional drifting driver from Whangarei. Daniel competed in a purpose-built Nissan S15 Silvia which went on to win the 2006 D1NZ Championship in just his second year of full competition. He went on to compete in his LS2 V8-powered Holden VZ Commodore, in the 2013 D1NZ Championship Series, in which he became the 2013 New Zealand Drift Champion. In 2015 he began competing in his 2016 VF Holden Commodore, which is powered by a Supercharged LS2 V8. Century Batteries is his naming rights sponsor.
2016 VF Holden Commodore:
This is a FDC V8-powered VF Holden Commodore, fully built and prepared by Zane at Checkered Flag Automotive in Whangarei. It boasts an 2028 860hp super-charged LS2 V8. Tuned by the well-respected Glen Suckling at GDS Automotive. It features:
– Adjustable Sway Bars; Link G4 Engine Management; Winters 10inch Quick Change Diff; Vortech Supercharger; Electronic Throttle Control; Tein Custom Suspension by Iain Wilson at Autolign; TKO600 Dogset Gearbox; RaceTech FIA Safety Gear; AP Racing Brake System; Fenix Radiators; 18” VCP Cosmis Racing Wheels; TRI-ACE; Racing King Tyres 265/35/18
Would you believe this vehicle used to be a police car ?
Bevan Wright - 1965 Gulf Almac Cobra 427R
Bevan has been a competitor in grass roots level motorsport for the last 25 years, competing in street sprints, hill climbs and circuit racing. He has had a passion for racing Minis, Escorts and his Cobra replica. He also enjoys racing and meeting other drivers at any level of the sport.
1965 Gulf Almac Cobra 427R:
This 1989 Almac Cobra 427R is a 1989 Shelby Cobra replica built by Graham Berry Race Cars as a purpose-built race car in the classic race series. The Cobra has been a front runner with the Whittaker’s Tuscan, Stew McCondack’s Ferrari and has raced against the Lighting Direct Porches plus the PDL Mustang at Ohakea Airbase, and at the Wellington Street Race. The Cobra is powered by a 454 Chevrolet LS7, Hillborn injected and dry sumped. It is running about 650hp. The bodywork is Kevlar. Bevan brought the Gulf Cobra to Leadfoot in 2013, and is keen to back to get into the top 10!
Allan Wylie - 1936 Ford V8 Coupe
Allan Wylie is a mechanic from Christchurch, whose first experience of motorsport was when he sneaked into the Levin Motor Races at age ten to see what all the noise was about. The experience must have had a profound effect on him because he went on to make cars his life’s work and a hobby as well. He first participated in the sport as a teenager by crewing for, and later driving, a TQ midget at Templeton Speedway and he has dabbled in club level motorsport on both two and four wheels ever since. Allan was a founder member of BEARS motorcycle club in 1983 and later helped his friend John Britten build and race motorcycles. For 32 years he worked at Auto Restorations in Christchurch – first as workshop foreman and later as general manager -working on a wide range of vintage and classic cars.
1936 Ford V8 Coupe:
Allan bought the 1936 Ford Coupe in 1969 and has driven it on most days since then. The coupe has been refined and developed over the years to make it faster, more dependable, comfortable and fun to drive. It currently runs a 59A flathead V8 engine with an Eaton M90 supercharger, EFI and solid state ignition controlled by a Link computer. The engine is backed by a Toyota W50 5-speed gearbox and a Falcon rear axle with LSD. Anti-roll bars, panhard rods and telescopic shocks help the handling. Allan relishes the opportunity to drive the Ford at events, like Leadfoot, where skids are encouraged, not punished.
280 Link Road
Hahei New Zealand
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Capital Update – August 2016
September 1, 2016 By Pratt Museum
Because of the current economic situation in Alaska, the Board thinks it is in the best interest of the Museum to extend the project timeline until the economic climate improves. Work on the project will continue with existing funds. The design and construction documents will be completed this summer, and updated drawings will be posted when they are available. To take advantage of the competitive construction environment, we plan to complete the site work as soon as possible. We expect to prepare the building site, move the shop, add parking, and create a connection to Spruceview Avenue. We will keep you informed of the progress on the project as we move forward.
If you have any questions, please contact the board of directors via office@prattmuseum.org. We thank all of our donors and supporters for your generous gifts to the Museum, and we hope that you will continue to support our important work in the future.
Filed Under: Capital Updates
Pratt Museum Campus Increases
March 24, 2016 By Pratt Museum
Donation Allows Purchase of Land to Pioneer Avenue
The Pratt Museum is pleased to announce that, thanks to a benevolent anonymous donor, its 9.8 acres of wooded property has increased to over 10 acres. A generous financial gift was presented to the museum in December 2015, and the property was purchased soon thereafter.
Situated between the Legislative Information Office and Hopped Up Espresso, this new addition connects the Pratt’s grounds directly to Pioneer Avenue. To honor Woodard Creek and extend its trail system, the Pratt will work to pull a crew together to build a trail extension down to Pioneer Avenue along the creek, which flows through the property.
If you’d like to sign up to help with trail work this spring, please email to office@prattmuseum.org, stop by the front desk, or call the Pratt Museum at 235-8635.
Filed Under: At the Pratt, Capital Updates
August 31, 2015 By Pratt Museum
This month was a busy one for building design. A two-day workshop with the architects, engineers, building committee and staff was held to discuss systems for managing temperature and humidity (a very important consideration for collections care and conservation), lighting, flooring, ceiling forms and dozens of other structural and functional considerations.
Work on design details will continue through the fall, and the capital campaign continues with staff and committee members meeting with prospective major donors and foundation funders.
Capital Update – June 2015
July 6, 2015 By Pratt Museum
Just in: Updated Renderings of the Building Exterior, Floor Plan, and Site!
Over the past few months, Pratt project architects, engineers and staff have been developing the new building design and site plan.
One change to the previous schematic design includes the location of air handling systems, creating a new roof line. Tweaks have also been made to remove the need for pillars in the main gallery and gain more overhead space for the gray whale. To better account for existing slopes and handicapped access, the Phase 1 Site Plan has been modified.
Design Development will be completed in early August, and construction drawings will be completed in the fall. We will be shovel-ready by the end of the year!
Substantive planning work on aquaria and exhibit design is in the works and we’ll have some exciting drawings to show off very soon! Exhibit design will continue through 2016.
Fundraising also continues. We expect the State’s budget situation will delay the construction timeline. We are working on other sources of funding in lieu of the remaining piece of the State appropriation that was originally requested.
Capital Update – April 2015
As we move forward on the Capital Project and architectural work for the new Pratt Museum, the design and curatorial team are already at work developing exhibits to fill this exciting new space. We invite you to be a part of this process!
Over the next 18 months, the lower galleries will feature a series of prototype exhibits to invite your feedback. These are works in progress and need your input as we refine them into permanent installations.
Currently on display is “Community Connectors: Radios, Telephones and Pathways.” Please stop by and let us know what you think or if you can help contribute to the story.
Additionally, you can visit a new section of our website on the Master Exhibit Plan and see what we’re looking for right now—be it stories, artifacts, photographs, or information on materials in the Pratt’s collection. We’ll also use this area to post future public meetings and feedback sessions about the exhibit development process.
Thank you for being a part of the Pratt!
Capital Update – March 2015
CHAMP (Culture Humanities Arts Museums Partners) Advocacy Fly-In, January 28-29, 2015
Delegates from Alaska State Council on the Arts, Alaska Humanities Forum, Museums Alaska and Alaska Historical Society met in Juneau on January 28 and 29, where they participated in advocacy training, gave a luncheon presentation at the capitol, and met with legislators.
Specific to museums, in 2014 a McDowell Group survey demonstrated critical infrastructure needs for Alaska’s cultural institutions. 27 museums cited the need for significant capital improvements within the next five years: exhibition space expansion or improvement; increase in facility size; collections storage expansion; and security improvements.
To address this need, the Museums Alaska delegation asked Representative Bob Herron to sponsor a bill to establish a Museum Construction, Expansion, and Major Renovation Matching Grant Program. This legislation, HB 52, mirrors an existing program for libraries, providing matching grants to those selected from the prioritized list of projects around the state, based on their readiness.
While in Juneau, 15 Museums Alaska advocates met with over 30 legislators and staff to educate them about the issues and gauge their support of the bill. Legislators were generally supportive of the concept, particularly because it carries a zero fiscal note. Senator Gary Stevens has filed a companion bill, SB 61. Please thank Representative Herron, rep.bob.herron@akleg.gov,and Senator Stevens sen.gary.stevens@akleg.gov, for their leadership in sponsoring the legislation.
Once the bill has been scheduled, public testimony will be taken and we will send an eblast as to time and date. Please contact Michele Miller, mmiller@prattmuseum.org, for more information.
Senator Stevens visited Homer Monday and Tuesday, March 9 and 10, at which time he briefed the Board members and staff on the state’s financial status. This year’s capital budget will be minimal in comparison to previous years. Only critical projects will be funded. It is unlikely that the Pratt will receive capital funds this year.
October 28, 2014 By Pratt Museum
This Fall the architects and engineers begin refining the building design and are working towards construction drawings. Thanks to a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities,the exhibit designer is at work translating the exhibit concept work from the last year into detailed designs. The architect and exhibit designer met with staff in September to begin coordination of structural elements in the exhibit spaces. We look forward to a busy winter developing design details and preparing for the initial site work.
April 12, 2014 By Pratt Museum
Creek Project Update and Feedback Request
Part of the long-term vision for the Pratt grounds includes daylighting the section of Woodard Creek that currently runs through a culvert under the parking area behind the museum building. This project is in the planning stages now so that it meshes with the site work plans for the capital project to build a new museum building. Opening up this 150 foot section of creek will make a dramatic change in visitor experience, providing stream-based education opportunities as well as benches and outdoor gathering spaces near the creek. Design considerations begin with handling both low and high water flows.
Watch the video to learn more about the project and the different configurations that the stream design may take.
We are currently seeking feedback on the design concept including the placement and type of drop structures (there is an 11′ elevation change over the length of the culvert), and the stream bed profile. We are also beginning to consider vegetation options. This video shows several possible structures and gives a sense of what they might look and sound like. We are collecting feedback on the concept through April 25th. Please send you comments to director@prattmuseum.org, drop them by the museum, or mail to Pratt Museum, 3779 Bartlett Street Homer, AK 99603. Thank you.
October 3, 2013 By Pratt Museum
Pratt Museum Garners Excellence in the Museum Profession Award
At the Museums Alaska annual conference in Haines last month, the Pratt Museum was honored as the recipient of the association’s Excellence in the Museum Profession Award for the Gray Whale Project. This is the only exhibit or project award given by the association, and recognizes the Pratt once again as a leader among the state’s 80-plus museum institutions.
“More than just an exemplary exhibit, the Pratt Museum’s Encounters: Whales in Our Waterssurpassed the level of public involvement and investment normally considered possible in a community museum exhibition,” said Museums Alaska President Angela Linn. The exhibit project started 14 years ago, in 1999, when museum volunteers collected the carcass of a juvenile gray whale found in Kachemak Bay. Its bones were cleaned by volunteers, catalogued by visiting students, conserved, studied, and finally, during the summer of 2012, articulated under the guidance of local bone expert, Lee Post. In January 2013, the large components (backbone, tail section, skull, flippers), were transported by more volunteers, who carried them into the special exhibits gallery where the whale was suspended—whole again after 13 years.
The only shortcoming to Encounters is that it was, in fact, too short. Although this exhibit lasted six months (longer than any recent exhibit at the Pratt) and caught the early summer visitors, many urged for it to stay in place indefinitely. Luckily, the gray whale’s role in community building is not done. In a couple of years, many of those volunteers are hoped to return to help move their 1773-pound whale once again. When the museum throws open the doors of a new building, the whale will be waiting, in a new permanent installation, to greet its many supporters.
Capital Project Updates, March 2013
Since completion of schematic design last fall, the Board, capital campaign committee and staff are hard at work on fundraising and exhibit planning. The campaign is focusing on leadership gifts from individuals, foundations, and corporations. The public campaign is expected to begin next winter. Although a substantive amount of work remains, the campaign is right on track, receiving positive responses and pledges of support from key foundations and individuals.
We plan to resume the design process with the architects later this year, once the exhibit layout is completed this summer and major elements have been set in place. We do know the gray whale skeleton will be placed in a prominent location at the entryway to the new galleries. Exhibit design and fabrication will continue over the next two years. Also on the horizon for late this year: the start of planning for the art pieces that will be incorporated into the building design.
Thank you to the community for your continued and valued support of the Pratt Museum’s capital project.
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At the Pratt
Pratt Annual Meeting
Closed For January
Familiar Faces: Portraits of Community
Join us February 5 – May 29, 2021 for our newest … [Read More...]
Special Exhibit Feb 5 - May 29
CAPITAL PROJECT
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New Guns and Dope party Web site
The folks who maintain Robert Anton Wilson's official site have announced a new Web site for the Guns and Dope Party, the banner that RAW used when he ran for governor of California. It's here. It's a very libertarian party.
on April 30, 2011 No comments:
Labels: Guns and Dope Party
An eccentric philanthopist
In the recent New Libertarian Notes interview I reprinted here, RAW discusses his libertarian political ideas, but when asked about his work in the movement, replies, "I'm more involved in space migration, intelligence increase and life extension which seems to me more important than any mammalian politics."
So if there were a weird rich person who wanted to give away money to advance RAW's causes, it seems to me he would give money to aid space migration, improve human intelligence, extend human lifespans and support libertarian causes, at least in the broad sense of supporting civil liberties, something RAW advocated all his life even as some of his political perspectives shifted.
Believe it or not, there is such a person — venture capitalist Peter Thiel. (If you've seen the movie "The Social Network," he shows up as one of the characters, the first big investor in Facebook.)
Thiel's foundation funds research into combating aging and also funds the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence. Thiel has invested in SpaceX, the most important private space exploration company, and has given money to The Human Rights Foundation and the Committee to Protect Journalists. His foundation site also notes investments in antiviolence causes.
Thiel is a libertarian, and regularly commits thought crimes against conventional wisdom that draw attention in the press.
Labels: Peter Thiel
Video posting at Maybe Logic
The Maybe Logic blog springs back into action with a video posting from Fly Agaric 23, RAW discussing quantum psychology.
RAW writes about Jack Parsons
[In this article, Robert Anton Wilson reviews Freedom Is A Two-Edged Sword by John Whiteside Parsons, published by Falcon Press. The piece was published in Magical Blend No. 27, July 1990. Thank you to Mike Gathers for supplying me with this. -- Tom]
A Sword Is Drawn by Robert Anton Wilson
John Whiteside Parsons, or Jack Parsons as he preferred, was born in Pasadena in 1914 and died there in 1952 in a laboratory accident. In his brief thirty-eight years he became one of the brightest stars of the brilliant Caltech faculty and its Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which founded the U.S. space program. He also wrote numerous scientific papers (all of them still classified by the U.S. "Defense" Department), at least one memorable poem, and a handful of essays on politics and the occult which have long been passed around in xerox copies and had considerable underground influence without ever being published in book form. They have now finally recently appeared in a handsome edition co-published by Falcon Press and the Ordo Templi Orientis, the radical Freemasonic lodge in which Parsons received his magickal training.*
Jack Parsons, some say, contributed more to the U.S. space program than any other single individual. He co-founded Aerojet General Corporation, now the manufacturer of the space shuttle's solid fuel booster rockets. In 1972, the International Astronomical Union named a crater on the moon after him, to honor his many contributions to space science (Parsons, 37 degrees North 171 degrees West.)
The first half of Freedom is a Two-Edged Sword is the long title essay, which I regard as the sanest, soundest, least kookie statement of classic individualist principles published in America in my lifetime. Parsons, who called himself a liberal, was bitterly aware that most self-proclaimed "liberals" had departed from what he considered the true liberal tradition, but, lacking a better word, he continued to use what had become a tainted term. If alive today, he would probably call himself a libertarian -- but he would be at odds with most other libertarians, just as he was at odds with the liberals of his time.
Jack Parsons pragmatically accepted that some "government control" was necessary to protect us from the Great Pirates of the corporate world, but he feared those who would give too much power to the government and wanted us to distrust and limit the powers of our elected officials on principle, and never, never, never regard them as saviors or fuhrers. He opposed the closed shop as tyranny, but warned against the reactionaries who wanted to stamp out labor unions entirely. He loathed communism as much as he loathed fascism (at a time when many "liberals" still loved Joe Stalin ... ) but he saw the threat of McCarthyism clearly and defended the rights of "Reds" and other heretics to enjoy the same free speech as other Americans. At no time did he ever lapse into the fanaticisms and dogmatisms that seem endemic in both Leftwing and Rightwing polemic since World War II.
Most attractive of all (to me, anyway) Parsons insisted that the Christian church was the single greatest enemy of individual rights and of freedom of thought and conscience.
Keenly aware of scientific method as the liberator of humanity from theological dogma, Parsons also foresaw the dangers of a new scientific priesthood arising, and serving as lickspittle satraps of the War Machine. He writes bitterly (and prophetically): "Science, that was going to save the world back in H.G. Wells' time, is regimented, straight-jacketed, scared shitless, its universal language diminished to one word, security."
I guess he didn't like having his (or other) scientific papers "classified" and hidden.
He attacks dogma at its root, wherever it appears; at times he almost foresees the inquisitorial CSICOP:
Now since all tyrannies are based on dogmas ... and since all dogmas are based on lies, it behooves us first to seek for truth ... and the truth is that we know nothing ... Objectively, we know nothing at all. Any system of intellectual thought, whether it be science, logic, religion or philosophy, is based on ... axioms which are assumed, but cannot be proven.
No philosophy, theory, religion or system of thought can be absolute and infallible ... Every man has the right to his own opinion and his own way of life ...
... Science is a tool and has nothing to do with absolute truth ... (To claim scientific "ultimate truths") is exactly the position that the pedant, the dogmatist and the dialectical materialist would have us take. Then, posing as a "scientist" and propounding "scientific" doctrine, he can persuade us to accept his values and obey his orders. (Emphasis added -- R.A.W.)
Today must always be free to overthrown its yesterdays.
His defense of intellectual freedom acknowledges no sacred cows and blasts bigotry in any guise, from any sector of the political spectrum:
As I write, allegedly liberal groups are agitating for the denial of public forums to those they call fascist. Americanism societies are striving for the suppression of communist or "red" literature ... Religious groups are constantly campaigning for the prohibition of art and literature which they term "indecent," immoral or dangerous.
"It would seem that all organizations are devoted to one common purpose, the suppression of freedom," he concludes sardonically.
Unlike all-too-many libertarians these days, Parsons does not think the freedom of the individual means screwing every other individual: "We are one nation, and one world. The soul of the slums looks out of the eyes of Wall Street, and the fate of a Chinese coolie determines the destiny of America. We cannot suppress our brothers' liberty without murdering ourselves." Tell that to the CIA death squads in Latin America, who think they are defending our freedom.
After a searing polemic against the Cold War mentality that began in his time and reached its apotheosis in the Reagan years, Parsons reminds us that the masses are often their own worst enemy:
Nor is the guilt entirely with the warmongers, plutocrats and demagogues. If people permit exploitation and regimentation in any name, they deserve their slavery. A tyrant does not make his tyranny possible. It is made possible by the people and not otherwise.
Only space limitations bring me to halt here. Jack Parsons is the kind of writer you want to go on quoting endlessly. In fact, as Mencken said of Nietzsche, you want to read him aloud, shouting and pounding on the table.
So much for the left-brain side of Parsons' work.
The second half of Freedom is a Two-Edged Sword consists of short, often unfinished essays on Magick and Feminism. Heavily influenced by Crowley, Parsons writes here as right-brained visionary, in mythopoetic language. He was obviously working his way toward a post-Crowleyan position, and his own unique Magick, which he eventually called The Witchcraft (the "The" was important to him.). The Witchcraft according to Parsons is strangely contemporary with the current neo-Pagan movement, Riane Eiseler's Feminist writings on the Partnership Society vs. the Dominator Society, some neo-Reichian theory, the speculations of Terence McKenna, and a great deal that sounds strangely prophetic for a man writing over 40 years ago.
Parsons saw Feminism not just as a demand for economic equality (many male Feminists even earlier than him saw and supported that) but as a biological-spiritual upheaval that would change the very definition of humanity and human possibility. He knows that this means "a shift in the constellation of the archetypes" as Jung said -- a new "dark" mysticism, contradicting traditional pieties. He considers, at one point, a new religion (rooted in Gnosticism) with God the Father, God the Mother, and two children, Jesus and Sophia. (This owes a lot to Crowley's Tarot deck.) Later, Parsons is more concerned with Babalon, Crowley's "chaotic" sex goddess, a kind of cross between the Gnostic Sophia and our own Star of the Decade, Madonna. (In Who's That Girl?, one of the characters asks Madonna, "Are you the Anti-Christ?" Parsons would probably accept her as an avatar at least ...
Always, Parsons sees religion as a metaphor, a set of symbols which can liberate the energy of an age, usher in a new evolutionary epoch, and unleash repressed human potentials -- but which becomes poison if the symbols are taken literally and become Idols or dogmas. He prefers magick, which does not demand belief, but only incites what Crowley called neuro-physiological experiment. Like Crowley, Parsons regarded "gods" and other spiritual entities as constellations of evolutionary forces, which the Will and Imagination of the magician compresses (invokes) into a "being" or "intelligence" with whom "knowledge and conversation" is possible.
Jack Parsons may have been the most original and profound American thinker of his time, and it is perhaps an evolutionary signal that an audience capable of understanding his work is finally beginning to appear thirty-eight years after his death.
* Freedom is a Two-Edged Sword, by John Whiteside Parsons, Falcon Press, Santa Monica, 1989, 94 pp., $9.95.
on April 27, 2011 1 comment:
Labels: Jack Parsons
A wild look at physics
I've gotten interested in quantum mechanics and other aspects of modern physics largely through reading RAW's Schroedinger's Cat trilogy and some of his other writings. And so, after hearing Brian Greene interviewed on the radio, I decided to read his new book, The Hidden Reality, which discusses the possibility of parallel universes, one of the major themes of the Cat trilogy.
Anyone who thinks Robert Anton Wilson made modern physics sound more weird than it actually is should try Greene's book, which has something that's amazing and mind-blowing every few pages. Here, for example, is the first two paragraphs of Chapter 9, "Black Holes and Holograms: The Holographic Multiverse":
Plato likened our view of the world to that of an ancient forebear watching shadows meander across a dimly lit cave wall. He imagined our perceptions to be but a faint inkling of a far richer reality that flickers beyond reach. Two millennia later, it seems that Plato's cave may be more than a metaphor. To turn his suggestion on his head, reality -- not its mere shadow -- may take place on a distant boundary surface, while everything we witness in the three common spatial dimensions is a projection of that faraway unfolding. Reality, that is, may be akin to a hologram. Or, really, a holographic movie.
Arguably the strangest parallel world entrant, the holographic principle envisions that all we experience may be fully and equivalently described as the comings and goings that take place at a thin and remote locus. It says that if we could understand the laws that govern physics on that distant surface, and the way phenomena there link to experience here, we would grasp all there is to know about reality. A version of Plato's shadow world -- a parallel but thoroughly unfamiliar encapsulation of everyday phenomena -- would be reality.
on April 26, 2011 2 comments:
Reading TSOG
I've been reading TSOG: The Thing That Ate the Constitution, one of the few RAW books I hadn't gotten around to yet. Early in the book, RAW describes falling down three times while trying to get to the bathroom after he had gotten up in the morning, and there are other details on his health woes.
It's rather moving the way RAW kept writing even toward the end of his life, doing his best to share what he knew with his readers. It's a shame he did not have better health in his final years, but one gets the impression he did the best he could.
Labels: TSOG
An interesting obituary
While I was doing some research on the Internet the other day, I ran across this interesting obituary of RAW that appeared in the Telegraph.
One sentenced surprised me: "Albert Hofmann, the inventor of LSD, was also a longstanding friend."
Several Internet commentators have pointed out that RAW died on Hofmann's birthday, e.g. Jan. 11.
My signed contract with RAW
My new copy of TSOG: The Thing That Ate the Constitution arrived in the mail today. It's one of the few RAW books I haven't read yet.
When I looked at it, the beginning made me laugh at loud. It's funny, but also summarizes RAW's philosophy nicely:
1. The author of this book hereby warrants and gives assurance that the readers have no obligation to believe everything -- or anything -- in it. Nor does he hope to reveal the absolute & final truth about any topic discussed.
2. Readers must warrant and give assurance that they will not believe or disbelieve any part or parts of this book until they have given some time to careful examination of such a part or parts; and that they will file everything herein under "maybe" until or unless slowly arriving or "true" or "false."
3. Let communication between us begin.
Signature of reader
Robert Anton Wilson [signed]
Signature of author
'Natural Law' by RAW
Finding a copy of Natural Law, Or Don't Put a Rubber on Your Willy by Robert Anton Wilson can be quite difficult, as it has been out of print for many years.
Here is a copy of it at The Anarchist Library, available as online text or as a PDF or EPUB download.
Labels: Natural Law
RAW and John Cage
In an earlier blog post, I expressed surprise that I had not run across any prose by Robert Anton Wilson suggesting he was interested in modern classical music. Given his interest in classical music and in new ideas, it surprised me that he seldom wrote about the classical music avante-garde after about 1945 or so.
It's possible that I just hadn't run across the right interviews, or the right passages of prose. When I listened to the Hour of Slack interview, I was surprised to run across a reference to John Cage. Just more than 44 minutes in, talking about the balance between "something and nothing," after Ivan Stang has mentioned a seminar by RAW in which RAW asked people to "listen to the silence," RAW mentions that "If you listen, you hear the nothing in between the somethings, as John Cage has pointed out in his book on music called Silence."
"Listening to the silence" by the way, which Stang says RAW asked his listeners to do, sounds a lot like the most famous John Cage composition, 4'33".
Searching for extraterrestrial intelligence
In yesterday's post, Robert Anton Wilson says that "the search for Immortality, for Higher Cosmic Intelligences and for metaprogramming of the human nervous system to increase intelligence and expand awareness (Neurologic) are the three most hopeful directions for science and for humanity today."
One of these goals, the search for "Higher Comic Intelligences," is within reach of anyone who owns a computer.
The SETI@home project uses distributed computing to aid scientists who are searching for extraterrestrial intelligence. Users download and install a free program that downloads and analyzes data from radio telescopes. It's not difficult; I've been participating in the program on and off for years, using different computers. (Note: If you don't own the computer you want to use for this, for example a computer you use at work, ask permission first.)
Starseed Rises, Like the Phoenix, From its Ashes, by RAW
[This article, also from the batch of documents sent to me by Mike Gathers, is reprinted from Green Egg, Vol. VII, No. 68 Oimele 2/1/75 -- Tom]
Starseed Rises, Like the Phoenix, From its Ashes
By Robert Anton Wilson
It has been six months since Dr. Timothy Leary was "disappeared" just like a character in Catch-22.
All attempts by myself and other writers and journalists (including internationally-known poet Allen Ginsberg) to receive written communication from Dr. Leary have been frustrated.
The government says that Dr. Leary is cooperating willingly in Grand Jury hearings at which he is the star witness against various and sundry outlaws and insurrectionists. Nobody outside government employ has been allowed to speak to or write to Dr. Leary, however, for six months.
If this were happening in Russia, there would be certain suspicions aroused about the genuineness of Dr. Leary's cooperation with his captors. Since it is happening in the U.S.A. in the wake of Watergate, the same suspicion has been aroused -- but not in the mass media, or among the academic community where support for this embattled scientist might be meaningful.
Under the circumstances -- and admittedly not knowing the real facts about Dr. Leary's current situation -- a group of us in the Bay Area, previously associated with Dr. Leary's scientific-educational work, have decided to revive Starseed, an organization started by Leary in 1973 to agitate and educate on behalf of
1) Immortality research and indefinite life extension;
2) Star-ship propulsion system research;
3) the science of Neurologic, invented by Dr. Leary.
1) In the area of Immortality-seeking, Starseed II will engage in publishing a newsletter, street-theatre, lectures, seminars, etc. to broadcast that the last of the terrestrial mortals are dying off and the first generation of cosmic immortals are probably already born.
On Nov. 22, 1974, Starseed II cooperated with the Coalition of the Bay Area Immortalists in a demonstration at University of California Medical School, thanking the school for its pioneering life-extension research and dramatizing the need for a national crash-program of similar research.
2) In the area of Star-ship propulsion-system research, Starseed II will similarly agitate and educate among engineering and science students, broadcasting the message that a private non-profit corporation can achieve Star-flight in this generation if enough of us care to make it happen, and that escape from the Armed Madhouse of Earth to the freedom of the stars should be the number one survival-program of the few sane humans around.
One reason a private corporation can beat the governments in Star-flight is that the governments are not pursuing this program (the U.S. Project Orion was closed down several years ago) because it has no military applications: exactly why sane citizens should be interested in it.
3) In the area of Neurologic, Starseed II will agitate and educate to broadcast the message that the dispute between those scientists who support Dr. Leary's work and those who oppose it can only be settled by further research, and that there is a distinct overtone of Holy Inquisition about the government's attempts to settle the matter with cops, courts, cages, midnight raids, no-knock laws, spies, informers, wiretaps, illegal Afghanistan kidnappings and convenient "disappearings" of dissident scientists.
Starseed II continues the vision of Starseed I, believing firmly that the search for Immortality, for Higher Cosmic Intelligences and for metaprogramming of the human nervous system to increase intelligence and expand awareness (Neurologic) are the three most hopeful directions for science and for humanity today.
(Those who find these ideas preposterous are asked to read the following books and think further: Prospects of Immortality, by R.C.W. Ettinger; Man Into Superman, same author; The Immortalist, by Alan Harrington; The Immortality Factor by Osborn Segerberg; Upswingers: A Futurist Manifesto, by M.F. Esfandiary; Programming and Metaprogramming in the Human Biocomputer, by John Lilly; Neurologic by Timothy Leary; Terra II, by Leary; Chemical Ecstasy, by Walter Huston Clark.)
A sub-committee of Starseed II will investigate the matter of Dr. Leary's original trial (he claimed he was framed), the abnormal bail set by the judge ($5,000,000 -- the highest in U.S. history), the judge's seemingly reversible error of citing Dr. Leary's scientific writings as proof of his "immoral" character (thus suggesting prima facea that repression of scientific research is involved in this case), the kidnapping of Leary in Afghanistan (which the Melvin Belli Law Office claims violates 148 previous decisions of U.S. courts, ruling such snatch-jobs illegal) and finally the mysterious way Dr. Leary was "disappeared" six months ago. We suspect that some violations of the U.S. Constitution have occurred in this hysterical attempt to destroy Dr. Leary and his influence on young scientists, artists, philosophers and spiritual seekers.
Starseed II plans a public funeral for Dr. Leary in the near future, to dramatize that nobody outside government agencies is absolutely sure that he is still alive, and that if he can be "disappeared" in this way without any violation of U.S. law, then there is urgent need for new legislation, since anybody else can be similarly "disappeared" tomorrow. (See Catch-22 and 1984, or the Watergate transcripts, for gloomy possibilities.)
LIFE TO THE DEATHIST PIG. DON'T BUY THE LIE: YOU DON'T HAVE TO DIE.
STARSEED II BERKELEY OFFICE
2035 Channing Way, Berkeley CA 94704
[phone number]
STARSEED II SAN FRANCISCO OFFICE
443 Jersy St., San Francisco CA 94114
Maybe RAW's papers could be assembled, too?
A book review in Sunday's Cleveland Plain Dealer describes the process of putting together David Foster Wallace's new novel, The Pale King, which was uncompleted upon Wallace's death:
According to Wallace's longtime editor, Michael Pietsch, there were "hard drives, file folders, three-ring binders, spiral-bound notebooks . . . printed chapters, sheaves of handwritten pages, and more." Pietsch flew to California at the invitation of Wallace's wife, Karen Black, and his agent, Bonnie Nadel, and returned to New York with "a green duffel bag and two Trader Joe's bags heavy with manuscripts."
From this Pietsch assembled, as he explains in his loving introduction, what is being published as "The Pale King: An Unfinished Novel." Pietsch's editing has preserved the sense of a manuscript box, lots of brilliant snippets leaping out to surprise you, but he has also shaped the work sufficiently to suggest the outlines of an ambitious, provocative and profound novel.
Sure would be nice to see this kind of effort put into preserving Robert Anton Wilson's literary legacy. Just sayin'.
Changes in blog comments
I've changed some of the settings in Blogger for comments, to try to make it easier for visitors to post comments. I've gotten some complaints that some visitors have been unable to post comments. I hope the system will work now.
on April 17, 2011 12 comments:
Resources for RAW's politics
The New Libertarian Notes interview with Robert Anton Wilson that I recently reprinted here gives a more detailed than usual look at RAW's political influences and views on libertarianism, at least in the 1970s.
If you are curious about some of the political writers RAW talks about, such as Benjamin Tucker and Lysander Spooner, you can get up to speed by listening to Jeff Riggenbach's podcasts on "The Libertarian Tradition." Or see the transcripts of the programs. They cover many authors cited by RAW as an influence, including Tucker, Spooner, Robert Heinlein, and H.L. Mencken.
Riggenbach's book, Why American History Is Not What They Say: An Introduction to Revisionism surveys revisionist historians; I haven't had time to read it yet, but the chapter on the world wars covers revisionist historians RAW championed, such as Charles Beard and Harry Barnes. Free ebook copies are available here.
More RAW inspiration
I'm using to reading about how Robert Anton Wilson's writings have inspired other writers and inspired musicians.
But apparently his work also inspires other creative types, including pro wrestlers.
A.V. Club Philadelphia has run an interview with Mike Quackenbush, who runs Chikara, an independent professional wrestling company. Here's my favorite part of the exchange:
AVC: Where does the inspiration for the masks and colorful characters come from?
MQ: All the usual places—comic books, Mystery Science Theater 3000, anime, the works of Robert Anton Wilson, the Christmas Eve telephone rants of my shut-in Aunt Ruth, and Monkees lyrics.
Labels: Mike Quackenbush
A Wilson track transformed
As I wrote in this old blog post, one track on the Lost Studio Session album by Robert Anton Wilson, "Namu Amida Buddha," was licensed to allow remixes under the Creative Commons license. Vancouver musicians Periodic Fable sampled the track and made a new track, "Namu." "I did a track last year using this sample (low, slow and distorted) to spread the blessing out to the world at large, or at least to the 2 or 3 people who listened to it," he explains. (But follow this link to download the original track if you want to hear what RAW said.)
Labels: Joseph Matheny, Lost Studio Session, Namu Amida Butsu, Periodic Fable
'Don't Be Afraid of Black Magick' by RAW
(This is another article sent to me as a hard copy by Mike Gathers, which I am sharing with you. Thanks again to Mike. This article is from Gnostica No. 41, Feb./March 1977. The mistake in the first sentence was in the original.-- Tom ).
Don't Be Afraid of Black Magick
Robert Anton Wilson, author of the Illuminati, writes here of the nature of black magic and how psychic attacks may be easily overcome.
They're out there, moving stealthily in the darkness. The Black Magicians. The Occult Terrorists. Satanists. Mansonoids. Mindwarpers. Cattle Mutilators. "Night's Black Agents," as the Bard called them.
They're calling down curses on their enemies. Sticking pins in Voodoo dolls. Summoning the mighty devil Choronzon to fall upon the Earth and afflict it with madness. Chanting to invoke the 777 servitors of Beelzebub and Set ....
Well, yes. But let's not lose our heads about it.
The first and most important thing to learn about evil is that it generally exists only in your own alarmed imagination. To a considerable portion of our fellow citizens, the acme of evil is pornography: Marilyn Chambers and Linda Lovelace parading their harmless sensuality and hedonistic technology on film.
Pagan readers presumably can see how silly that concept of evil is. It is worth asking how much of your own favorite fears and loathings are equally absurd, reflecting only the prejudices of your culture or subculture.
Virtually every occult lodge or order in the country has the dubious honor of being regarded as a group of crypto-Satanists or clandestine followers of the "forbidden left-hand path" by some other occult lodge or order. Orthodox Christians still dread the "witches" (followers of wicca, the cult of the great Mother Goddess.) I know hundreds of witches around the country and they're all fine people. The local leader of Crowley's notorious Ordo Templi Orientis (denounced as a group of closet diabolists by scores of Christian occultists) is also a fine man, in my judgment. More than 75 percent of all occult prejudices are as bigoted as mainstream religious or political prejudices.
As P.E.I. Bonewits (the first student to ever graduate from the University of California at Berkeley with a degree in magic) has so wittily and accurately written, "White magic is what my gang does. Black Magic is what the other gang over there does."
Even the terminology of "white" and "black" magic is racist and redolent of bias.
I once read an intelligent Fundamentalist tract. (There are intelligent Fundamentalists, just as there are honest politicians. Every miracle happens at least once!) The author argued that Satanists and black magicians are responsible for spreading the ideas that all humans can learn to develop occult talents, that we can achieve physical immortality and migrate off this planet, and that there is no limit to the expansion of human intelligence. Since I believe all those things, and have devoted much energy to propagandizing for them, I am very definitely a Satanist and a black magician, by this gentleman's standards.
It is well to keep in mind, then, that whenever you are horrified by somebody's beliefs or (harmless) practices, you yourself are also a heathen, a wretch, and an infidel, by somebody else's standards.
Evil Defined
For the purpose of this article, evil refers to acts which definitely, measureably, harm others, physically or psychically. It doesn't matter what kind of orgies they're having down the street, what blends of dope they're using, what entities they're invoking with their chants or ceremonies. If they're not hurting anybody, they're not evil, just different.
The second fact to learn about evil, real evil, is that it is quite stupid, like all fetishes and compulsions.
Dr. Fu Manchu only exists in fiction. It requires to "evil genius" to use fear and threats to intimidate people and create an aura of diabolical power about yourself. Every juvenile hood knows as much about the neuropolitics of fear as Manson or Hitler ever learned.
The "bad" outlaw and "good" citizen are both robots, as Max Stirner noted over a century ago. The "bad" robots are programmed to be "the baddest outlaw gang in town." The "good" robots are programmed to be "nice," "polite" and "reasonable." There is very seldom anything fit to be called intelligence on either side.
In every cell-block in every penitentiary there is a "King." The baddest bad-guy of them all. The Rogue Male. The alpha-baboon. Power in any mammalian pack or human tribe is brokered in systematic ways, according to kinesic signals (body language.) To see how robotic this imprinted role is, consider the opposite number. In every horde there is also a nebbish. A loser. Low man on the totem pole. While nobody can intimidate the alpha or rogue male, everybody can intimate the nebbish.
Those roles are imprinted quite as mechanically as the sex roles are imprinted.
Most of those who have mastered the politics of fear on the "old-brain" circuits (mammalian intimidation) do not bother acquiring much "new-brain" hominid development. Symbolic constructs seem irrelevant to their concern with raw power.
Psychic Assault
The so-called "black magician" is a "new brain" hominid fear-merchant who has somewhere learned that there are more powerful intimidations than physical assault. The dimensions of horror, terror and mindwarp are discovered. You can scare more people, and acquire greater power, by the exploitation of psychic assault.
When a human's "mind" or reality-construct is threatened, the person virtually ceases to exist as human, and regresses to the status of a terrorized mammal in a trap.
Just as the physical bully feeds on fear and is thrown off stride by the appearance of real courage, the psychic terrorist feeds on gullibility and is baffled by intelligence.
When the bully confronts true courage, he automatically ceases to attack. Instead, he seeks to make the maverick into an ally, and often offers the position of second-in-command. If that is declined in a respectful (not churlish) manner, he will probably agree to recognize the other as a separate sovereign with a private turf.
The psychic terrorist, similarly, is only accustomed to bamboozling the credulous. Confronted with a self-disciplined independent mind, he hesitates. Eventually, like the physical bully, he laughs and offers comradeship. "You and me, we're smart. We're not like those other jerks." A nudge and a conspiratorial wink.
Jimmy Breslin, a tough Brooklyn boy who does the best Hemingway imitation in town, explains it this way: "[Minority Leader] Tip O'Neill at all times has one great political weapon at his disposal. He understands so well that all great political power is an illusion. If people think you have power, then you have power. If people think you have no power, then you have no power ... [As Hobbes wrote] 'The reputation of power is power.' ... Illusion. Mirrors and blue smoke, beautiful blue smoke rolling over the surface of highly polished mirrors, first a thin veil of blue smoke, then a thick cloud ... If somebody tells you how to look, there can be seen in the smoke great, magnificent shapes, castles and kingdoms ..." (From How the Good Guys Finally Won by Jimmy Breslin.)
Breslin may not seem to be writing about white and black magic, but he is. Consider: there is no such thing as Minority Leader of the House in American law. The office exists only through "mirrors and blue smoke." The Presidency, on the other hand, is sealed with seven seals and its incumbent possesses almost royal prerogatives. Breslin's book demonstrated that while people like Peter Rodino and Judge Sirica and Senator Irwin were making headlines out of the Watergate investigations, "Minority Leader" Tip O'Neill with his "mirrors and smoke," his casting of spells if you will, convinced everybody in high posts that impeachment was inevitable. When everybody else believed it, Nixon believed it, too, and resigned. The issue never did come to a vote. O'Neill's magic chased Tricky Dicky out of town.
If O'Neill had owned the official title of "shaman" instead of "politician," he might have used the same methods to persuade Milhaus that a curse would kill him at 12 midnight on May 23. Nixon would obediently have laid down and died.
Mirrors and blue smoke ...
Children play-act, and gradually, inevitably, the play becomes real. The parents call them home and the social reality is re-created. If the children remain in their own play-reality, a psychiatrist should eventually be called. If that fails, call the exorcist and get a good agent to start negotiating the movie rights.
As Dr. John Lilly says, "In the province of the mind, what is believed true is true or becomes true within limits to be learned by experience and experiment. These limits are further beliefs to be transcended. In the province of the mind there are no limits."
Stupidity of Black Magick
The hoodlum-occultist is "sociopathic" enough to see through the conventional charade, the social mythology of the species. "They're all sheep," he thinks. "Marks. Suckers. Waiting to be fleeced." He has enough contact with some more-or-less genuine occult tradition to know a few of the gimmicks by which "social consciousness," normally conditioned consciousness, can be suspended. He is thus able to utilize mental brutality in place of the simply physical brutality of the ordinary hooligan.
He is quite powerless against those who realize that he is actually a stupid liar.
He is stupid because spending your life terrorizing and exploiting your inferiors is a dumb and boring existence for anyone with more than five billion brain cells. Can you imagine Beethoven ignoring the heavenly choirs his right lobe could hear just to pound on the wall and annoy the neighbors? Gödel pushing aside his sublime mathematics to go out and cheat at cards? Van Gogh deserting his easel to scrawl nasty caricatures in the men's toilet? Mental evil is always the stupidest evil because the mind itself is not a weapon but a potential paradise.
Every kind of malice is a stupidity, but occult malice is stupidest of all. To the extent that the mindwarper is not 100 percent charlatan through-and-through (and most of them are), to the extent that he has picked up some real occult lore somewhere, his use of it for malicious purposes is like using Shakespeare's sonnets for toilet tissue or picking up a Picasso miniature to drive nails. Everybody who has advanced beyond the barbarian stage of evolution can see how pre-human such acts are, except the person doing them.
Genuine occult initiation confers "the philosopher's stone," "the gold of the wise" and "the elixir of life," all of which are metaphors for the capacity to greet life with the bravery and love and gusto it deserves. By throwing this away to indulge in spite, malice and the small pleasure of bullying the credulous, the mindwarper proves himself a fool and a dolt.
And the psychic terrorist, besides being a jerk, is always a liar and a fraud. Healing is easier (and more fun) than cursing, to begin with, and cursing usually backfires or misfires. The mindwarper doesn't want you to know that. He wants you to think he's omnipotent.
The old theological truth that the Devil is the "Father of Lies" contains an important neuropolitical truth. Occult knowledge begins with the realization that the ordinary reality of the conditioned citizen is somewhere around 99.97 percent mythology. Mindwarping, brainwashing, demonology, the hurling of curses, etc., begin with the barefaced lie that the mindwarper's alternate reality is not mythology at all but is "really" "real."
The Satanist's reality is real. So is Rev. Sun Myung Moon's. And the nudist reality. The snake-worshipper's reality. The Methodist reality. The Republican reality. The SLA reality. The Buddhist reality. The vegetarian reality. The scientific reality.
Every one of these realities is "real" to the nervous system programmed to convert all incoming energy-signals into the coding (language categories) of that "reality," and to exclude as background noise all signals not fitting the code.
The Biggest Lie in the World is the idea that there is one "true" reality. That is the lie that keeps the conditioned citizen trapped in the one static reality imprinted by parents and schools in childhood. It is the lie which the Black Magician exploits in making the demons in his reality in your reality.
America is the greatest country in the world, to the conditioned American. Fernando Poo is the greatest country in the world, to the conditioned Pooan. Catholicism is the one true religion, to the Catholic. Voodoo is the one true religion, to the Voodoist.
Mirrors and blue smoke.
There are dozens of meta-programming rituals in occult manuals, showing how to insulate your reality from attacking demonic forces out of some black magician's separate reality. Some of the best and most commonsensical are in Dion Fortune's Psychic Self Defense.
Personally, I regard such rituals as unnecessary, since they take the terrorist too seriously.
Preferable is a simple meditation of forgiveness. Realize what a fool the mindwarper is to be wasting his time on barbarian terrorism when the occult planes contain so much glory and wonder for those with loving hearts. There are realms comparable to Beethoven's Ninth, and the terrorist is barred from these by his sullen viciousness. Feel sorry for the poor fool, and forgive him.
Blessed Juliana of Norwich, an "illiterate servant girl," used to get so possessed by the Divine Rapture that she could do no more than giggle and say, "All is well, and all shall be well; and all manner of things shall be well." This may not have so much to contribute to philosophy as the realms explored by Paracelsus or Aldous Huxley, or as much scientific interest as the sci-fi heavens of Dr. John Lilly or Dr. Timothy Leary, but it shows that even the simplest of us, with love, can enter realities far more amusing and hedonistic than the nasty bog in which the Satanist lives.
The Power of Humor
Second, have a good laugh. I mean this literally. The practice of lila yoga is recommended by many Tantrists (and by Alan W. Watts) and is good for all occasions, but especially good for exorcising "bum trips" of all sorts. You form a magic circle with about a half-dozen friends and just laugh for 45 minutes. This is a much happier experience than those dreary Gestalt sessions where you program yourself into rage and spite for 45 minutes, and it is just as easy to induce. (If you have trouble getting started, pass around some magic herb before beginning.) When using this ritual to remove a curse, keep a photo of the mindwarper in the middle of the circle and remember that you are laughing at him. At the end, tear up the photo and forget about him entirely.
It's that simple. Just as courage protects one from the physical bully, joy and laughter protect one from the psychic bully.
As Meher Baba used to say, "Don't worry. Be happy."
Those four words contain all the wisdom of the ages.
An Hour of Slack with RAW
Following up on yesterday's post: Many recordings of interviews or monologues by Robert Anton Wilson are copyrighted, so I can't really in good conscience use this blog to spread them around. Here is something I can share: An interview with RAW, broadcast as an episode of the "Hour of Slack" from the Church of the SubGenius. You can listen to it on your computer, right from the site I link to, or download it for your MP3 player. This is for "non-profit use only," so please don't use it as part of your latest get-rich-quick scheme.
Labels: Church of the SubGenius, Robert Anton Wilson
Jesus, Buddha, Zarathustra and Ivan Stang
This Web site provides a handy list of founders of religions, and along with folks such as Jesus and Buddha, there's Ivan Stang, founder of the Church of the SubGenius. Admittedly, he's also listed next to folks such as L. Ron Hubbard and Jim Jones.
I like to think the name of the church's alleged founder, J.R. "Bob" Dobbs, was inspired by RAW's first name, but not being a SubGenius expert, I can't cite any actual evidence. Stang appears in "Maybe Logic," the movie about RAW, and RAW helped promote the religion.
Incidentally, Cleveland, Ohio, the area where I live, apparently is the world headquarters for the Church of the Subgenius.
The story of Hypatia
RAW fans interested in diversity of spiritual expression, paganism or free speech should know about the story of Hypatia, a Greek philosopher (and notably, a woman) in Alexandria about 400 AD, when the Roman Empire, by then decisively Christian, was stamping out paganism and all that went with it (such as an interest in classical literature and philosophy.) My wife and I just watched "Agora," a movie about Hypatia released last year.
There are things one can nitpick -- as in all movies about the later Roman Empire, Roman soldiers are anachronistically depicted carrying weapons and wearing armor more characteristic of the times of Jesus Christ -- but the movie in general is surprisingly accurate in its depiction of events.
An old photograph of RAW and Bucky
This is from a page devoted to Buckminster Fuller. The caption for the photo says, "Late 1950s photo of Buckminster Fuller and Robert Anton Wilson (1932-2007: Philosopher, founder of the Discordians,
author of Quantum Psychology, Cosmic Trigger, Illuminatus! trilogy, Schrodinger's Cat trilogy and more)"
Prometheus Award finalists named
The Prometheus Award finalists have been named, with a final winner to be announced last this year. I'm posting this because I assume there will be some associational interest, because the Prometheus Hall of Fame Award was the only literary award Robert Anton Wilson ever won, at least to my knowledge, and because I interviewed Kevin MacArdry after I noticed that his novel (one of the finalists) explores themes RAW was interested in. Official press release follows:
The Libertarian Futurist Society has selected Best Novel finalists for
the Prometheus Awards.
Winners for Best Novel and Best Classic Fiction (Hall of Fame) will be
presented in an awards ceremony which will be presented at the World
Science Fiction Convention, which will be held during Renovation, the
69th World Science Fiction Convention to be held Aug. 17-21 in Reno, Nevada.
*The Prometheus Award finalists for Best Novel are (in alphabetical
order by author):
* For the Win, by Cory Doctorow (TOR Books)
* Darkship Thieves, by Sarah Hoyt (Baen Books)
* The Last Trumpet Project, by Kevin MacArdry (www.lasttrumpetproject.com)
* Live Free or Die, by John Ringo (Baen Books)
* Ceres, by L. Neil Smith (Big Head Press, also published online at
www.bigheadpress.com/lneilsmith/?Page_id=53)
For the Win is Doctorow's portrait of a future in which the world's poor
adopt entrepreneurial strategies and Internet/virtual technologies to
challenge the statist status quo and achieve freedom through
self-empowerment. Doctorow has been nominated several times for the
Prometheus Award and won in 2009 for Little Brother.
Darkship Thieves features an exciting, coming-of-age saga in which a
heroic woman fights for her freedom and identity against a tyrannical
Earth. Hoyt's novel depicts a plausible anarchist society among the
asteroids. This is Hoyt's first time as Prometheus finalist.
The Last Trumpet Project tells the story of a future in which virtual
reality and uploading people's minds into computers have merged. In this
milieu, freedom struggle against a tyrannical government allied with
religious zealots who will go to any length to ensure their vision of
the future. The hopeful and utopian work is MacArdry's first published
novel.
Live Free or Die is Ringo's rollicking saga of entrepreneurial humans
using free-market capitalism and the spirit of old-fashioned Yankee
individualism to defend Earth from imperialist aliens after first
contact embroils us in galactic politics. This is Ringo's first time as
a Prometheus finalist.
Ceres, the sequel to Smith's Prometheus Award-winning novel Pallas
(1994), dramatizes a conflict between a libertarian society based in the
asteroids and a statist Earth government. Smith also won the Prometheus
Award for The Probability Broach (1982) and The Forge of the Elders (2001).
Ten novels published in 2010 were nominated for this year's Best Novel
category. The other nominees were Directive 51, by John Barnes (Ace
Books); Zendegi, by Greg Egan (Night Shade Books); Migration, by James
Hogan (Baen Books); The Unincorporated War, by Dani and Eytan Kollin
(TOR Books); and A Mighty Fortress, by David Weber (TOR Books)
The Prometheus Award, sponsored by the Libertarian Futurist Society
(LFS), was established in 1979, making it one of the most enduring
awards after the Nebula and Hugo awards, and one of the oldest fan-based
awards currently in sf. Presented annually since 1982 at the World
Science Fiction Convention, the Prometheus Awards include a gold coin
and plaque for the winners.
The Prometheus awards honor outstanding science fiction/fantasy that
explores the possibilities of a free future, champions human rights
(including personal and economic liberty), dramatizes the perennial
conflict between individuals and coercive governments, or critiques the
tragic consequences of abuse of power--especially by the State.
For a full list of past Prometheus Award winners in three categories,
visit www.lfs.org. Membership in the Libertarian Futurist Society is
open to any science fiction fan interested in how fiction can promote an
appreciation of the value of liberty.
New Libertarian Notes interviews RAW, Part Three
CRNLA: To return to life extension, space migration and higher intelligence, I worry about the potential of all that being screwed up by the politicians. How do you feel about that?
RAW: If the oncoming mutation to interstellar immortality is screwed up by the politicians (or the corporations), it will be because those of us who see the opportunities in modern science are not adroit enough to outmaneuver the forces of inertia, stupidity and greed. Well, if we're not intelligent enough to overcome such obstacles, then we don't deserve to carry off the mutation at this stage of evolution. The thing to do, in that case, is to sit down and have a good Taoistic laugh at our own presumption. Meanwhile, until the game is over, I happen to think we're winning. The other side is very, very stupid. Concretely, I say that if we have colonization of L5 by 1990, and longevity at about the same time, I think the game is won; some human seed will become cosmic and immortal. Robert Phedra, M.D., has already predicted life extension to 1,000 years.
CRNLA: A thousand years is OK for a start, but it's not enough. Would you settle for "indefinite life extension" if it means transferring your thoughts to a synthetic storage system?
RAW: I'd consider it, but temperamentally I'd rather blast off for the stars when lifespan reaches about 400 years. I think in a 400 year cruise around the galaxy we'd contact races who have immortality already and we might arrange a trade for the technology of it. (Maybe they'd want an unexpurgated Illuminatus. I'm for space, actually, whether there are immortals out there or not. Aside from that bias, I'd support life extension by whatever means, from cryonic suspension to cyborgism to coding ourselves into our computers or whatever. Contrary to the last 2,500 years of "philosophy" among the domesticated and neurotic carnivore species we adorn, there is nothing noble or beautiful or dignified about dying. Like poverty, it is ugly, nasty, brutal and primitive. The function of intelligence is to do better than those mammalian norms.
CRNLA: Could you give us a bibliography on everything you've had published and who published it and if it's still in print?
RAW: Hell, no. I've got about 1,000 articles in print and I can't remember where most of them were printed and don't really care to. The things I'm willing to stand by, in addition to Illuminatus, are the essays being collected in Prometheus Rising: Sex and Drugs, a Playboy Press paperback; my piece on "The Future in Sex" in Oui, November 1975; the article on brainwashing by Leary and me in Oui for June 1976, (which I especially commend to those who thought the consciousness-warps, ego-fissions, reality-mutations and sex-role roulette in Illuminatus were "fantasy"); "Scientific and Experimental Magic" in Gnostica, January 1975; and two pieces on Caryl Chessman and the Marquis de Sade in The Realist, dates unknown. Most of what I wrote before last week bores me.
CRNLA: What kind of stuff was the 500 pages that got edited out of Illuminatus?
RAW: It was sacrilegious, blasphemous, obscene, subversive, funny, surrealistic, trippy and much like what did get published. The portion of hard anarchist propaganda in what got cut is perhaps somewhat greater than in what got printed, but I do not attribute that to a government conspiracy. Editors always amputate the brain first and preserve a good-looking corpse. I knew that, and told Shea they'd do it, so we put in so damned much anarchist material that a lot would be left even after the ceremonial castration.
CRNLA: Is Bob Shea a hard-core libertarian?
RAW: More or less. I really don't want to categorize Shea, who can certainly speak (eloquently) for himself.
CRNLA: Who wrote the Atlas Shrugged parody in Illuminatus? Who wrote the appendices?
RAW: I wrote the Telemachus Sneezed section -- which is not just another kick at poor old Rand, but also a self-parody of Illuminatus, and of Moby Dick, and of my arcane Joycean use of Moby Dick parallels in Illuminatus. Unfortunately, that section was particularly mauled and truncated by the editors. Originally, it was trans-Melvillian satire on all ideology and morality, including my own lapses into ethical thinking. I also wrote the Appendices on various occasions when very stoned as a parody on my style in my more academic essays.
CRNLA: What was Hagbard doing in a government printing office?
RAW: Hagbard was visiting the Discordian agents who have infiltrated the government and sneaked parodies into the bureaucratic forms: SMI2LE = infinity. (Space Migration plus Intelligence Increase plus Life Extension = cosmic consciousness.
CRNLA: Any word on how sales are doing?
RAW: Fine. I might not have to take up highway robbery and murder to get rich after all.
CRNLA: That's good. Who is Tarantella Serpentine and why is she working for Limit newsletter?
RAW: The Discordian conspiracy has been radically decentralized from the beginning, in accordance with Malaclypse the Younger's principle that "We Discordians must stick apart." The last I heard, Tarantella was a fictional character, working in a San Francisco massage parlor (in my other novel, The Sex Magicians.) It doesn't surprise that she has a life of her own, outside my imagination. Illuminatus is only part of a total art work, or "happening" known as Operation Mindfuck. A group of New York Discordians, for instance, celebrated the 200th anniversary of the Illuminati with a public reading of Principia Discordia (which also exists) outside the UN building on May 1 this year. A lodge of Crowleyan magicians in Texas has officially changed their name from the Temple of the Hidden God to the Ancient Illuminated Good Old Boys of Houston. Emperor Norton posters, endorsed by the Illuminati, are for sale through Solidarity Books in Chicago. Everything the Birchers ever claimed about the Illuminati is gradually coming true.
CRNLA: Do you feel frustration living in the "real" world? After reading Illuminatus it's a downer to get back to reality -- even my usual escapist literature is depressing. How do you feel about that?
RAW: Every nervous system creates its own "reality," minute by minute -- or, in the language of Don Juan Matus, we live inside a "bubble" of neural abstractions which we identify with reality. In metaprogramming systems like Tibetan Tantra, Crowleyanity, or Leary's Exo-Psychology, you can make this neurological fact into conscious experience, and you will never be bored or depressed again. Just reading the scientific evidence that this is true, in social psychology or general semantics or neurology or whatever, will not liberate you; one needs actual re-training, in Tantra or Crowley or Leary, to experience what I'm talking about here. It is a great privilege to be conscious in this universe. Those who understand, shine like stars.
CRNLA: I was just speaking in relative terms. Actually, I'm quite excited about reality -- it's probably my favorite thing. I was just wondering if sometimes all the fnords tend to get you a little pissed-off.
RAW: Never. As Tim Leary says, the universe is an intelligence test. The things that hinder me are opportunities to learn more and develop further. That's where amoral thinking is distinctly superior to moral thinking. If you recognize that your latest problem is totally without moral significance -- for instance, you have a disease which you can't, by the wildest stretch of imagination, blame on anybody -- then it's just a question of coping with the situation as best you can. When you realize that people are just as automated as bacteria or wild animals, then you deal with hostile humans the same way you deal with infections or predators -- rationally, without claiming you're "right" or they're "wrong." Then you begin to understand Crowley's great Law of Thelema (Do What Thou Wilt) and you're free, really free, instead of being an actor in a soap opera written by the superstitious shamans who created morality 30,000 years ago. You are also free of anger, hatred and resentment, which are great burdens to drop. They live happiest, my friend, who have understood and forgiven all.
CRNLA: Are there real people, alive or in history, who resemble any of your characters (Hagbard in particular)?
RAW: Absolutely. There are hundreds of thousands of Hagbards around, and all the sleep-walkers are potential Hagbards. They only need to be shaken a bit and awakened. As Jesus said, "Ye are all gods, ye are all children of the Most High."
RAW: Have you ever walked into some public place like a shopping center and said to yourself something like, "Christ, it's solid earthlings! You'd think there'd be at least a couple of aliens strolling around looking at the shops, etc." ?
RAW: Curiously, I belong to a loose association of skeptical Contactees -- people who have had a Contact experience but are too skeptical to take it literally. There are over a hundred of us in the U.S. alone, most scientists, and I think that the gradual surfacing of this story will be one of the major cultural shocks of our time. Right now, Martin Gardner has already registered his viewpoint and I trust that MIT will have the courtesy to print Dr. Sarfatti's rebuttal. I must add that most of us who are involved in this have grown extremely doubtful about the now-conventional extraterrestrial explanation and are trying out various explanatory models that are even more mind-blowing. Those who are interested in this subject might look up my article, "The Starseed Signals," in Gnostica for June 1975, and Dr. Jacques Vallee's book, The Invisible College. As the divine Mullah Nasruddin said, "If you haven't seen me before, how do you know it is me?"
CRNLA: What are your plans for future books?
RAW: Prometheus Rising will be published by Llewellyn next year. It's a collection of my essays on space age occultism and post-LSD consciousness. I hope it will knock holes in the Christian revival, the Hindu revival, the Buddhist revival and all the other neolithic metaphysics going around these days. A book on immortality research, possibly entitled Death Shall Have No Dominion, is going around New York seeking a publisher. A book on Dr. Timothy Leary, and a new novel called Schrodinger's Cat, about quantum paradoxes and parapsychology, are also in the works. Leary and I are working on a collaborative venture called The Game of Life which started out as one volume and became three. It modestly attempts to deduce the next four billion years of evolution from the data of Leary's brain-change research.
CRNLA: Who did you know in the old Berkeley crowd such as Danny Rosenthal, Sharon Presley, Tom McGivern? How about Kerry Thornley?
RAW: I never heard of any of those people except Kerry Thornley and Sharon Presley. Kerry is one of the co-creators of Discordian atheology, which is why volume one of Illuminatus is co-dedicated to him. Sharon is a fine person who I've only met twice but liked vastly. I'm sure all those others are excellent people, too, but I've never met them.
CRNLA: The editor of New Libertarian Weekly, SEK3, would like you to write for them -- "... we're a hell of a lot better than SRAF and can even pay a token amount, and can run stuff he can't get past Playboy and Oui."
RAW: I'd be delighted.
CRNLA: Do you have any concluding thoughts for our readers?
RAW: Absolutely not. As Korzybski said, nothing is conclusive, and every sentence should end with an et cetera. Or perhaps Woody Allen said it better: "Not only is there no God, but you can't even get a plumber on weekends." The answer to that, of course, is to become your own god and your own plumber. That may be the fundamental secret of the Illuminati.
New Libertarian Notes interviews RAW, Part Two, RAW vs. Austrians
CRNLA -- Your economic views still seem very much in the Benjamin Tucker tradition (especially on rent and interest.) Have you read any of the "Austrian" economists, such as Von Mises and Rothbard? What do you think of them?
RAW: Tucker is certainly a major influence. My economic ideas are a blend of Tucker, Spooner, Fuller, Pound, Henry George, Rothbard, Douglas, Korzybski, Proudhon and Marx. I always try to be inclusive, rather than exclusive. Read to see what I can learn from every school, rather than condemning any idea in its entirety. "Every man has the right to have his ideas examined one at a time," as Ez Pound once wrote. Rothbard is, like Marx and Pound, a brilliant closed mind: excellent for stimulation but anybody who gets dragged into a Rothbardian dogmatic trance should take LSD and try looking at the world through another grid. Von Mises is another who is excellent for stimulation, pernicious if erected into dogma. By and large, the Austrians remind me of a parable by Laurance Labadie, in which a certain tribe has the custom of allowing high-caste individuals to kick low-caste individuals in the butt whenever they pass them in the street. A philosophical school, much like the Austrians, naturally arises to prove rationally that the kicking is not only necessary but just, inevitable, beautiful and altogether glorious. If there were big profits in cancer, there'd undoubtedly be an Austrian school of medicine, proving that carcinoma is good for us.
CRNLA: Tucker is one of my favorite people -- but one of his views with which I can't agree is that in a free society interest rates and rent would disappear. I think the Austrians have advanced economic knowledge sufficiently since Tucker's day to show why these things exist and how they would come about even in an economy consisting totally of free trade. Your reply?
RAW: You can "prove" anything on the verbal level, just be accepting the necessary axioms at the beginning. Empirically, I don't think they can produce a single case in history where a free people elected landlords to own the land; the land monopoly always starts with conquest. Shot and shell are the coins of purchase, as Herbert Spencer said. Except by force of arms, nobody "owns" the earth, anymore than the moon, the planets, the stars themselves. When did God disinherit the majority of humanity, and turn all space over to the "ownership" of the Rockefellers and their friends? Without armed power threatening us, why would anyone but a fool continue to pay these conquistadores the extortion they demand? And, even if the Austrians could convince me that rent is legitimate, I still wouldn't voluntarily pay it to the present landlord class who remain receivers of stolen property. I would pay it to the nearest Indian tribe.
As for interest, I'm not aware of any case in which the credit monopoly has allowed a free currency to compete with them. In fact, every case I know of (e.g. Worgl in the 1930s), ended when the Capitalists used the armed might of the State to stop the competition. The one laboratory experiment in this field, by Don Werkheiser at Central State University in Ohio, confirmed Tucker and refuted the Austrians. Money, after all, is an abstract artifact, like language -- merely symbolized by the paper or coin or whatever. If you can fully grasp its abstractedness, especially in the computer age, it becomes quite clear that no group can monopolize this abstraction, except through a series of swindle. The average primate cannot distinguish the symbol from the referrent, the map from the territory, the menu from the meal. If the usurers had been bolder, they might have monopolized language as well as currency, and people would be saying we can't write more books because we don't have enough words, the way they now say we can't build starships, because we don't have enough money. As Bucky Fuller says, you might as well argue we can't build roads because we lack kilometers.
CRNLA: I think our differences in "rent" are basically in "land-rent" -- you don't see anything wrong if someone wants to rent out power tools and U-haul trailers -- true?
Your main argument with land-rent seems to be with the lack of legitimate owners. I'm assuming legitimate (i.e. non-conquistador) owners when I speak of legitimate rent. If two people went to Mars or the bottom of the ocean and one of them spent his time clearing rocks and fertilizing a section of land and the other spent his time assembling a tractor, and they reach an agreement to exchange the use of the land for one season for the use of the tractor for one season -- has anyone been harmed or exploited or extorted? Should some third party come onto the scene and say, "Hey stop that, you're committing rent?"
RAW: Land-rent, or ground-rent, is the most illegitimate aspect of the rent con, of course, and the main target of Tucker's criticisms. The whole concept of any rent, however, appears somewhat dubious to me, since it seems to presuppose "the accumulation of property in a few aristocratic heaps, at the expense of a great deal of democratic bare ground in between," as Ezra Heywood said. (Heywood's writings on this subject, and other aspects of libertarianism, are at least as important as Tucker's and Spooner's.) People rent, chiefly, when they cannot afford to purchase outright -- when ground-rent, interest and other inequalities haver already created a master-class of aristocrat-owners and a servile class of peasants or proles. I would expect to see rent wither away as the democratization of credit abolishes poverty.
I fail to see how your hypothetical "legitimate (i.e. non-conquistador) owners" would achieve "ownership." (I also don't see the bearing of such hypothetical, or fictitious, cases on the real issues of the real world, where all the landlords are conquistadors, or are receivers of stolen property from the original conquistadors, but that is another question.)
Ownership, in the real world, is a social agreement, a social fiction almost, and is produced only by force or by fraud or by contract. In practice, land ownership is produced only by force or fraud.
This may sound polemic, but it is literally true. The Henry George Schools have a book, Land Title Origins: A Tale of Force and Fraud, in which you can look up, wherever you live in the United States, exactly the acts of force and fraud (murder and robbery) by which land "ownership" was transferred from the Indian tribes to the current receivers of the stolen property. Now, the third alternative, contract, has never been tried, to the best of my knowledge. The only land contracts which I, or any other Tuckerites or Sternerites, would sign in freedom, without force being used against us, would be to our own interest, not to the interest of the landlords. In other words, we simply would not sign a contract giving up ownership of this planet, or any other, to a small group of the Elite who claim they have some better title to ownership than the rest of us have. If you would sign such a contract, I can only hint gently that you are more easily defrauded than we are.
The barter arrangement in your paradigm has nothing to do with perpetual tribute, which is the essence of rent -- indeed, the factor distinguishing barter from rent.
Of course, since Austrian ideas exist as factors in human behavior, I will admit that some people, hoodwinked by those ideas, will continue to pay rent even in freedom, for a while at least. But I think that, after a time, observing that their Tuckerite neighbors are not submitting to this imposture, they would come to their senses and cease paying tribute to the self-elected "owners" of limitless space, on this and other planets, and in interplanetary communities.
Of course, I myself would not pay rent one day beyond the point at which the police ("hired guns, on guard to see that property remains stolen" as Emma Goldman said) are at hand to collect it via "argument per blunt instrument."
CRNLA: Regarding interest: again I assume a totally free market, where there are no legal tender laws and anyone is free to mint, mine, print or grow anything that they feel the market will accept for money. I think that under these conditions the interest rate would be dramatically lower than it presently is but that it would not tend toward zero. Money generally performs at least three interrelated functions: (1) indirect exchange media, (2) provides a common "measuring scale," (3) stores wealth. In the first two money is definitely an "abstract artifact" -- a "cashless" society could exist merely using bookkeeping entries. But when it's used to store wealth it causes trouble as an "abstract" -- bank-runs and the like. Wealth isn't an abstract. It may be subjectively appraised, but it actually exists. When A wants to use B's wealth for a period of time, B is generally compensated for his loss of its use for that period by A -- interest. Among corporations (admittedly, a legal fiction) the issuing of "Tucker-money," (i.e., stock) is a fairly unfettered means of obtaining credit -- but the people who give it to them still expect a return and the corporations still expect to pay it. I'd be interested in seeing the Central State experiment. Usually because of the multiplicity of ever-changing factors involved in the market, it's difficult if not impossible to ever prove anything empirically.
RAW: Of course, my position is based on the denial that money does store wealth. I think it's a semantic hallucination, the verbal equivalent of an optical illusion, to speak at all of money containing or storing wealth. Such thinking should have gone out with phlogiston theory. The symbol is not the referent; the map is not the territory. Money symbolizes wealth, as words symbolize things, and that's all. The delusions that money contains wealth is the mechanism by which the credit monopoly hof study. as gained a stranglehold on the entire economy. As Colonel Greene pointed out in Mutual Banking, all the money could disappear tomorrow morning and the wealth of the planet would remain the same. However, if the wealth disappeared -- if squinks from the Pink Dimension dragged it off to null-space or something -- the money would be worth nothing. You don't need to plow through the dialects of the debate between the Austrians and the free credit people like Tucker and Gesell to see this; any textbook of semantics will make it clear in a few hours of study. Wealth is nature's abundance, freely given, plus the exponential advance of technology via human intelligence, and as Korzybski and Fuller demonstrate, this can only increase an an accelerating rate. Money is just the tickets or symbols to arrange for the distribution -- either equitably, in a free money system, or inequitably, as under the tyranny of the present money-cartel. As you realize, a cashless society could exist merely by keeping bookkeeping entries or computer tapes. Money is a primitive form of such computer tapes, serving a feedback function. If we are not to replace the present banking oligopoly with a programmer's oligopoly, in which the interest will be paid to computer technicians, we must realize that this is all a matter of abstract symbolism -- that it exists by social agreement and nobody owns it, anymore than Webster owns the language. Why is it, incidentally, that the Austrians don't follow their logic to its natural conclusion and demand that we pay interest to the dictionary publishers every time we speak or write?
You have to watch people playing Monopoly, and see them begin to "identify" the paper markers with real value, to understand how the mass hypnosis of Capitalism works. Fortunately, the Head Revolution is still proceeding and more and more people are waking up to the difference between our economic game-rules and the real existential situation of humanity.
Don Werkheiser might sell you a Xerox of his thesis on the Central State experiment if you write to him c/o General Delivery, Ponca, Arkansas. Similar experiments are recounted in Josiah Warren's True Civilization, involving four communes in 19th Century America. Let me conclude this answer by emphasizing that I do not blame the money-monopologists for any of their hoarding behavior. I am sure you will find similar absurdities in the primitive stages of anthropoid civilizations on most planets of G-type stars. Mammalian patterns persist in many other aspects of our society, especially in organized religions.
In my experience, I might add, virtually all adherents of the Austrian economic theories are academics who have never had any dealings with Capitalist corporations. The rosy view the Austrians have of these matters, I think, would collapse in two weeks if they had to deal with the damned corporate pirates as an ordinary worker does. When Joyce went into business briefly, he told Italo Svevo after a while, "You know, I think my partners are cheating me." Svevo answered, "You only think your partners are cheating you! Joyce, you are an artist!" Nixon is the typical Capitalist mentality, entirely identical in all aspects with every businessman I have ever encountered; his only real distinction is that he got caught. Of course, I'm not complaining -- part of the humor of living on this backward planet is listening to the hominids rationalize their predations.
CRNLA: I don't think that the Austrians have a particularly "rosy" view of business. I know a lot of them (Mises and Rothbard for two) consider a total separation of the economy and the government to be the best means of keeping these clowns from becoming too powerful. Most consider a totally free market to be the ultimate in "consumerism" -- not "capitalism" (at least as it's come to be known.)
RAW: Well, there is certainly a kinship between the Austrians and myself on the level of ultimate goals. I merely feel that their views of Capitalism-as-practised-in-the-past-and-present could only be held by college professors. After more than 20 years of working for the corporations in every position from office boy to middle executive, I have not been shocked or surprised in the slightest by the Watergate or post-Watergate scandals.
Austrians believe what they write, they must be somewhat abashed, I should think. For instance, David Friedman has published views about the corporate elite that would be flattering if applied to Jesus and his angels. However, this is turning into a diatribe against the group I find least obnoxious in the whole politico-economic spectrum (because you keep asking me questions that harp on my differences with them.) The orthodox conservatives and liberals, not to mention nazis and marxists, are really pernicious, and the Austrian libertarians are basically okay.
CRNLA: Regarding our Rent Interest discussion: I think that our differences regarding money stem from a difference in definitions. I would include wealth that is used in certain ways under the heading "money," while you limit the definition to just its transactional functions. OK, as long as we know where we are. Once we start dealing with this "wealth-money" as wealth (and forget the word "money"), the problem of interest becomes just a special case of rent. Which really brings us back to property and ownership. I've never attempted to tie the concept of ownership to the metaphysical framework of the universe. I realize that it's merely a human invention -- much like language (which is not to say that other inhabitants of the planet don't use it also) that's purpose is to make the allocation of resources go as smoothly and efficiently and with the least amount of head-cracking as possible. Like the use of language, the use of the concept of "property" doesn't necessarily have to be enforced. When people discover it they use it because it's in their long-range self-interest to do so. (This is not to say that particular instances don't require enforcement -- just that the concept is usually retained without it.) The whole system of ownership/division of labor/rent transactions etc. is merely designed to allocate resources so that they maximize the "vector sum" of everyone's satisfaction -- or more accurately, that this system has the potential to maximize. You don't have to use it. Without this system some alternative method must be found to determine who gets the use of what. LeGuin faced this problem in The Dispossessed. She chose to do it collectively. Ultimately, this results in some system of voting or represenatives or syndics which bear striking resemblance to governments (in addition to being very inefficient.) So the so-called "anarchy" in The Dispossessed is actually a widespread proliferation of governments and poverty. If the determination of the use of resources is placed in the hands of the individual who makes the resources useful (i.e., grows, finds, fertilizes, builds on, digs up, etc.) this provides him with a good deal of independence from the rest of the herd. Seems like a natural for any anarchistic society. This is basically the idea behind my concept of ownership. Could you give a summary of what you consider to be a good method of allocating resources and any concepts similar to ownership that might be contained therein?
RAW: Since ownership is a social fiction, it should obviously be fluid and sensitive to decentralized feedback, to match the evolving needs of the persons involved in whatever social game is being played. In other words, I do not propose one "right way" of doing it; that has to be found pragmatically in each new situation. The traditional feudal-Capitalist system in which one hereditary group of Great Pirates "owns" everything is not acceptable to me, and obviously would not be acceptable to any band of Stirnerite egoists; and, of course, the altruistic forms of socialism and communism are equally unacceptable to me, and I predict they would be equally unacceptable to a band of self-owners in the Stirnite, Tucker or Crowley sense. What would emerge in such a rationalistic-egoistic context would, in a general way, probably follow the guidelines suggested by Stirner, Spooner, Proudhon and Tucker -- except that this would only be in a general way, as all of those writers realized. The specific individuals in each situation would define their own demands according to the specific situation always. The only contracts that would be acceptable to them, as Tucker indicated, would be those that require no enforcement -- that is, those that are so obviously in the enlightened self-interest of each member that their wording would be accepted with the satisfaction the scientific world feels when a hard question is finally answered. If the proposed contract did not have that self-evident feeling character about it -- if it didn't provoke the general feeling, "This is the answer to our disagreements" -- it would not be accepted. I speak with some experience here, being part of an occult order who do indeed govern themselves that way. My only general rules are Crowley's "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law" and Leary's Three Commandments for the Neurological Age, to wit: "Thou shalt not alter the consciousness of thy neighbor, 2. Thou shalt not prevent thy neighbor from altering his or her own consciousness, 3. Thou shalt make no more commandments." The so-called "resources" problem is a terracentric delusion. The Universe is a Big Mother.
New Libertarian Notes interviews RAW, Part One
(Editor's note: This interview with Robert Anton Wilson appeared in "New Libertarian Notes/Weekly 39," September 5, 1976. I think it's one of the best interviews with Wilson I ever read, and I want to thank Mike Gathers, who made it available to me, and Jesse Walker, who made it available to Mr. Gathers. I'm running this in the blog as a three-party serial; as usual, I will put up a link under "Feature Articles and Interviews" on the right side of the page. -- Tom)
Illuminating Discord: An interview with Robert Anton Wilson
By Jane Talisman and Eric Geislinger (Columbia Region New Libertarian Alliance)
Robert Anton Wilson, who along with Robert Shea wrote the Illuminatus trilogy, is the creator of yet another cult. The really neat part is that this is a cult of hard-core libertarian-anarchist-occult-mind expansionists whose demand for the Illuminatus books is making SF retail history. Walk into your corner bookstore and chances are excellent the books have been back-ordered. Borrow a copy or wait in line if you must -- it's worth it. The trilogy is truly mind-boggling, outrageous, and curiously familiar. With this in mind we set out to interview one of its authors, Robert Anton Wilson (hereafter R.A.W.)
Interviewing him by mail was an exciting, albeit frustrating job. His provocative answers triggered seemingly never-ending digressions. We had to more or less learn to limit our responses. Several of the questions in the following interview appear to be asked by R.A.W. himself. These are not misprints -- he does give himself questions. To give you some insight into Wilson's psyche we offer you this tidbit of data -- to wit, his return address rubber stamp has his name misspelled "Robert Antoon Wilson." Make of this what thou wilt. -- Jane Talisman and Eric Geislinger (hereafter the CRNLA).
CRNLA: Tell us a little about your background.
RAW: I was born into a working class Irish Catholic family in Brooklyn 44 years ago, at the brutal bottom of the Great Depression. I suppose this early imprinting and conditioning made me a life-long radical. My education was mostly scientific, majoring in electrical engineering and applied math at Brooklyn Tech and Brooklyn Polytech. Those imprints made me a life-long rationalist. I have become increasingly skeptical about, or detached from, the assumption that radicalism and rationalism are the only correct perspectives with which to view life, but they remain my favorite perspectives.
CRNLA: What are your favorite novels, movies, TV shows and music?
RAW: The novels would be, I suppose, Ulysses, Finnegans Wake, The Magus by Fowles, The Roots of Heaven by Gary, Don Quixote and anything by Mark Twain. Movies: Intolerance, Broken Blossoms and everything else by David Mark Griffith, Citizen Kane, The Trial, King Kong, 2001. TV: Star Trek and Mary Hartman. Music: Beethoven's Ninth and his late quartets, Bach, Bizet, Carl Orff, Vivaldi, the less popular and more experimental stuff by Stravinsky.
CRNLA: What do you think of M*A*S*H, the Freak Brothers, Bob Dylan?
RAW: I loved Altman's film of M*A*S*H but I can't stand the TV series. The Freak Brothers are funny, but I deplore the lifestyle it celebrates. Of course, Einstein and Michelangelo were sloppy, too, but only because they were too busy with real work to fix their attention on sartorial status games. Hippies generally aren't busy with anything except feeling sorry for themselves. Dylan seems to me a totally pernicious influence -- the nasal whine of death and masochism. Certainly, this would be a more cheerful world if there were no Dylan records in it. But Dylan and his audience mirror each other, and deserve each other; as Marx said, a morbid society creates its own morbid grave-diggers.
CRNLA: How about Anderson, LeGuin and Heinlein?
RAW: I haven't taken Anderson seriously since 1968, when he wrote an account of the police-riot at the Chicago Convention which was totally false, according to my observations on the scene. I decided Poul loved the Vietnam War so much, that he could actually watch a cop hit an old lady and remember it as a young communist hitting the cop. I haven't bothered keeping up with Anderson's hallucinations since then. LeGuin is great already, and getting better book by book. Heinlein has been an idol to me for more than 20 years. He can do no wrong, no matter how much he loves wars and hates pacifists. (I'm the kind of anarchist whose chief objection to the State is that it kills so many people. Government is the epitome of the deathist philosophy I reject.)
RAW: Are you a pacifist?
RAW: Hell, no. I like pacifists, as a rule, and people who have a heavy emotional identification with deathism and war would probably call me a pacifist, but I am a non-invasivist rather than a non-violentist. That is, I believe that an invaded people have the right to defend themselves "by any means necessary" as the expression goes. This includes putting ground glass or poison in the invaders' food, shooting at them from ambush, sabotage, the general strike, armed revolution, all forms of Gandhian civil disobedience, etc. It's up to the invaded to decide which of these techniques they will use. It's not up to some moralist to tell them which techniques are permissible. As Tucker said, "There is nothing sacred in the life of an invader."
CRNLA: What magazines and newspapers do you read?
RAW: I read everything, including the labels on canned food. I'm a hopeless print addict, a condition alleviated only by daily meditation which breaks the linear-Aristotelian trance. (Most rationalistic libertarians would do well to try the same circuit breaker, or LSD.) National Lampoon, Scientific American and Green Egg are what I read most obsessively. I also read at least one periodical every month by a political group I dislike -- to keep some sense of balance. The overwhelming stupidity of political movements is caused by the fact that political types never read anything but their own gang's agit-prop.
RAW: Any more artistic opinions?
RAW: If I must. James Joyce is more important than Jesus, Buddha and Shakespeare put together. Pound is the greatest poet in English. Thorne Smith should be reprinted immediately, and would be enormously popular with the current generation, I wager. The novels that get praised in the NY Review of Books aren't worth reading. Ninety-seven percent of science fiction is adolescent rubbish, but good science fiction is the best (and only) literature of our times. All of these opinions are pompous and aggressive, of course, but questions like this bring out the worst in me. Artistic judgments are silly if expressed as dogmas, at least until we get an "artometer" which can measure objectively how many micro-michelangelos or kilo-homers of genius a given artifact has in it. Do you know that at UC-Berkeley, Dr. Paul Segall has a lab full of rats who are twice the age at which rats normally die of senility? And these rats are not only alive but still reproducing. This may be the most important fact I know. Dr. Segal hopes to have a life-extension formula for humans ready in the early 1980s.
CRNLA: Has Dr. Segall published any papers on his research? If so, where?
RAW: A good, non-technical article by Dr. Segall on his own work and on other approaches to longevity, is in the new issue of Spit in the Ocean, edited by Dr. Timothy Leary and published by Ken Kesey. That issue, incidentally, is also worth reading for Sirag and Sarfatti on quantum consciousness, and Leary himself on higher intelligence.
CRNLA: Speaking of Ken Kesey, What did you think of Cuckoo's Nest, and where can I get a copy of Spit in the Ocean?
RAW: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is certainly one of my favorite recent novels, but I like Kesey's Sometimes a Great Notion even better. In fact, a great deal of the structural rhythms of Illuminatus, especially the space-time warps, were suggested by Kesey's similar techniques in Sometimes a Great Notion. The way the producers of the movie of Cuckoo's Nest swindled Kesey is entirely typical of the way producers and publishers rob writers -- it's perfectly normal Capitalist ethics and typically mammalian.
The last I heard, Kesey was supposed to have the new Spit in the Ocean out by mid-Summer. (Write: 85829 Ridgway Road, Pleasant Hill, OR 97401).
CRNLA: What route did you travel to get to libertarianism?
RAW: Arlen, my wife, discovered Kropotkin's article on anarchism in the Britannica and it immediately convinced us both (1961). We were both highly cynical about the alleged values of Capitalism and State Socialism already, and happy to find an alternative.
CRNLA: What is your present involvement in "movement" activities?
RAW: I'm more involved in space migration, intelligence increase and life extension which seems to me more important than any mammalian politics. What energy I have for terrestrial brawling goes into Wavy Gravy's Nobody for President campaign, the Firesign Theatre's Papoon for President campaign, and the Linda Lovelace for President (which I invented myself, since we ought to have a good-looking cocksucker in the White House for once.) I think these campaigns have some satirical-educational function, and, at minimum, they relieve the tedium of contemplating the "real" candidates, a more-than-usual uninspiring lot this year. Voting wouldn't excite me unless it included electing the directors of the big banks and corporations, who make the real decisions that affect our lives. It's hard to get excited about the trained seals in Washington. Of course, if voting could change the system, it would be illegal. Teachers would be handling out pamphlets for children to take home proving that voting machines cause chromosome damage, and Art Linkletter would claim that a ballot box drove his daughter to suicide.
CRNLA: There's another Vote for Nobody Campaign being run by Malibu. Have you heard of it? Are you interested in it?
RAW: Glad to hear it. There's a third "Nobody for President" headquarters in Washington, D.C. The more the merrier. One of my friends, the ArchDruid of the Berkeley Grove of the Reformed Druids of North America, is running George III for President -- although I admit that the satirical point there is a bit obscure for me. I've also heard, vaguely, about a Who-the-Hell for President campaign. There's also a Bonzo for President poster going around, Bonzo being a chimpanzee who once co-starred with the egregious Ronald Reagan in a rather dumb movie. The American people, who elected Richard Nixon twice, should not find any of these choices absurd. But before leaving this subject, I should mention the sanest political proposal I've heard in years, the Guns and Dope Party proposed by my good friend, Rev. William Helmer (who, like many of the characters in Illuminatus, exists also in so-called consensus reality.) The Guns and Dope Party, as the name suggests, would be based on a platform demanding an end to all government interference with guns and dope. Now, while the gun-nuts tend to be paranoid about the dopers, and vice versa, the Guns and Dope Party is a possible libertarian coalition that would constitute a clear majority and could really win an election. All that's needed for success, then, is for the gun-people and the dope-people to understand fully the advantages of affiliating -- that is, the very good chance of real success at the polls. Hopefully, this might be enough to persuade them to drop their mutual animosity. If this can be accomplished, we will have the first majoritarian libertarian party in American political history. It certainly seems worth thinking about.
CRNLA: Could you tell us more about your politics -- such as how you evolved from Kropotkin to Illuminatus?
RAW: After Prince Peter, I read Tucker, who was being reprinted by Mildred Loomis in a journal called, of all things, Balanced Living. (I later became co-editor of that, and changed the name to Way Out.) After Tucker, I read all the major anarchists and then began writing anarchist essays myself. I soon discovered that, in addition to the 99.8 percent of the morons who make up any political movement, every gang has its own intellectuals defending it (with every variety of sophistry the Jesuits ever devised.) To defend anarchism more effectively, I had to read Marx and Douglas and Gesell and H. George and William Buckley Jr. and so weirder, on and on into the depths of ideological metaphysics -- "the great Serbonian bog where armies whole have sunk," as Burke (the best conservative) once said. Such omnidirectional reading, alas, tends to produce a certain degree of agnosticism, but my basic axioms have remained that (1) a system which consigned me to poverty at birth and Nelson Godawful Rockefeller to riches, is demonstrably insane, and (2) I will do anything, including highway robbery and murder, to avoid leaving my children in poverty. In that sense, the political thinker I probably agree with most is Bernard Shaw, who presented that position, with equal bluntness, in his Major Barbara. I might add, to be even more offensive, that I regard morality and ideology as the chief cause of human misery. I am even more committed to unmitigated skepticism than I am to anarchism -- or to life extension, space migration or high intelligence. With doubt all things are possible. Doubt and courage.
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Home >> 2016 >> Ford >> Focus Rs Awd
2016 Ford Focus Rs Awd
We did all the hard work and compiled the following miles per gallon and fuel efficiency data for the 2016 Ford Focus Rs Awd to help with your research. Whether you are looking for purchase the vehicle or just wanting to see what your current one gets, we hope this information is helpful for you.
How many miles per gallon (MPG) does a 2016 Ford Focus Rs Awd get?
A 2016 Ford Focus Rs Awd gets up to 19 miles per gallon in the city, up to 25 miles per gallon on the highway. This means a 2016 Ford Focus Rs Awd can get up to 22 miles per gallon overall.
What is the average yearly fuel cost for a 2016 Ford Focus Rs Awd?
How much does auto insurance on a 2016 Ford Focus Rs Awd cost?
2016 Chevrolet Cruze Limited - 27 miles per gallon
2016 Nissan Juke Nismo Rs Awd - 27 miles per gallon
2016 Audi Q5 - 27 miles per gallon
2016 Audi A4 - 27 miles per gallon
2017 Audi A4 Quattro - 27 miles per gallon
2017 Kia Motors Corporation Soul - 27 miles per gallon
2017 Chevrolet Trax Awd - 27 miles per gallon
2017 Buick Encore Awd - 27 miles per gallon
2003 Chrysler Sebring - 23 miles per gallon
2003 Dodge Stratus - 23 miles per gallon
2015 Bmw 228i Convertible - 27 miles per gallon
1999 Oldsmobile Alero - 23 miles per gallon
1999 Pontiac Grand Am - 23 miles per gallon
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Kino Classics - DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE (1920) on Blu-ray
My first exposure to the infamous characters from the classic Robert Louis Stevenson story was via the equally classic Looney Tunes short cartoon, "Hyde And Hare", where Bugs Bunny encountered the legendary man/monster:
It may have been one of the first things I ever saw that both scared me and fascinated me. it wasn't until years and years later that I ever saw any kind of live-action rendition of the tale. In fact, I didn't even see the classic Fredric March version of the film until just last year!
John Barrymore is one of those actors with an incredibly expressive face. I'd compare him to 'ol rubberface himself, Jim Carrey, but it'd be doing Barrymore a disservice (and that's not to say Jim Carrey is not a good actor, as I really believe he is, but they are just quite different). I'd mostly seen him in comedies and dramas wherein he was only given smaller opportunities to use his face in the way he was capable. Here, as a man and a monster, his face is given the opportunity to really show its stuff. Barrymore is of that generation of true Hollywood stars. It may have something to do with the medium being newer, and perhaps the way actors were photographed back then along with the style of acting that was prevalent lead to some larger iconography but regardless, the big acting giants of this era were truly iconic and remain so even today. Barrymore was just a magical performer overall and having been much more familiar with his sound film output as I said, it was of course quite revelatory to see him in an early silent role like this. It's obvious to say I suppose, but seeing him here I was reminded of how much the onus was on actors in silent films to carry so much emotion with their faces and their bodies alone. Barrymore can be, by nature, kind of a "big" performance kinda guy and seeing him do things like react to drinking his own potion for the first time or peeking through his newly transformed creepy, boney fingers might seem a little much for a contemporary audience. I found myself thinking back to this film's first run and imagining just how horrifying and unsettling it must have been for audiences in 1920 to see such an unhinged portrayal. The images of Barrymore combined with the gothic organ tones that must have been drifting through the theaters must have made the whole experience extremely surreal. It must have been rather mindblowing. This movie is afterall considered by some to be one of the earliest American horror films ever made. There's something pretty neat about that to me. This idea of mass audiences experiencing the rush of vicarious fear we've all come to love about watching horror films. I can't even begin to process what that must have been like when it was happening for the first time. There's also something really cool about John Barrymore was sort of one of the first icons of horror.
This Kino Classics Blu-ray has a number of supplements on top of looking very nice. The musical score, compiled by Rodney Sauer and was performed by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra, works perfectly for one thing. Beyond that, the disc includes the following:
-DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE the 1912 Thanhouser version(12 mins)
-DR. JEKYLL AND MR, HYDE - a 15 minute of the other 1920 version of the film - this one starring Sheldon Lewis and produced by Louis B. Mayer himself.
-"Dr. Pyckle and Mr. Pride" - a 1925 slapstick parody of the story starring the great Stan Laurel (this is a fun little extra for sure).
-"The Transformation Scene" - A rare 1909 audio recording.
The Blu-ray is available via Kino Lorber and other online retailers:
http://www.kinolorber.com/video.php?id=1520
Posted by Rupert Pupkin at 11:00 AM
Labels: blu-ray, john barrymore, kino classics, kino lorber
My Favorite Film Discoveries of 2013 (Part Three)
Favorite Film Discoveries of 2013 - Allan Arkush
Favorite Film Discoveries of 2013 - Dean Treadway
Favorite Film Discoveries of 2013 - Mike Flynn
Warner Archive Grab Bag - DEAR HEART, THE BARRETTS...
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Favorite Film Discoveries of 2013 - Ross Birks
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Favorite Film Discoveries of 2013 - KC from the Cl...
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Scream Factory - DARKMAN Collector's Edition on Bl...
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Warner Archive Grab Bag - Westerns - Johnny Mack B...
Favorite Film Discoveries of 2013 - Adam Jahnke
Discoveries - Steve Q
Favorite Film Discoveries of 2013 - Michael Ewins
Favorite Film Discoveries of 2013 - Spenser Hoyt
Favorite Film Discoveries of 2013 - Brian Kelley
Instant Romance from Warner Archive Instant
Favorite Film Discoveries of 2013 - Cathie Horlick
Favorite Film Discoveries of 2013 - Scott Nye
Favorite Film Discoveries of 2013 - Danny Reid
Favorite Film Discoveries of 2013 - Jason Hyde
Favorite Film Discoveries of 2013 - Tyler Foster
Favorite Film Discoveries of 2013 - Jon Abrams
Warner Home Video: THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE ...
Warner Archive Grab Bag - Lots of Kildare!
Favorite Film Discoveries of 2013 - James Napoli
Twilight Time: ZULU on Blu-ray
Favorite Film Discoveries of 2013 - Scott From Mar...
Arrow Video - PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE on Blu-ray
Favorite Film Discoveries of 2013 - James David Pa...
Fox Home Video - IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT on Blu-ray
Favorite Film Discoveries of 2013 - Rob Hunter
Kino Classics - DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE (1920) on ...
Favorite Film Discoveries of 2013 - David Arrate
Millenium Entertainment - FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOM...
Favorite Film Discoveries of 2013 - Mike 'McBeardo...
Favorite Film Discoveries of 2013 - Jack Criddle
Favorite Film Discoveries of 2013 - Aurora
Favorite Film Discoveries of 2013: Chris Stanton
MIA on DVD: SCAVENGER HUNT
Favorite Film Discoveries of 2013 - Ken Johnson
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Skeptophilia
Skeptophilia (skep-to-fil-i-a) (n.) - the love of logical thought, skepticism, and thinking critically. Being an exploration of the applications of skeptical thinking to the world at large, with periodic excursions into linguistics, music, politics, cryptozoology, and why people keep seeing the face of Jesus on grilled cheese sandwiches.
The Sesame Street vaccination conspiracy
A lot of you might have heard about the newest character on Sesame Street -- a little girl named Julia who is autistic.
It's a gutsy move by a show long known for its efforts to teach children about fairness and compassion and the effects of social stigma. Its goal statement has included right from the beginning the intent to encourage children to "appreciate cultural diversity by modeling people who differ in appearance, action, or point of view playing together, working together, making friends, and resolving conflicts." From its inception, there was a deliberate decision made to have minorities and people of various ages deeply represented, and not simply to have a token minority character or two. They also never shied away from helping children to deal with difficult topics -- unusual in a kids' show. For example, Sesame Street deliberately (and tactfully) addressed the concerns and fears children had after 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina.
So the move to include an autistic character was perhaps to be expected from the directors of such a thoughtful and forward-thinking show. The author of the story introducing the character, Leslie Kimmerman, wrote, "More than 20 years ago, my beautiful son received the diagnosis of autism, and my world changed instantly and profoundly. I knew nothing about autism, and it seemed that those around me — even the professionals — didn’t know much either. Today, happily, that has changed."
She and the others involved in the creation of the character hope that this will bring awareness and understanding, given that non-autistic children watching the show will inevitably interact with autistic children in school, and also to help autistic viewers to feel more accepted. Jeanette Betancourt, Sesame Street's senior vice president, said, "Children with autism are five times more likely to get bullied. And with one in 68 children having autism, that’s a lot of bullying. Our goal is to bring forth what all children share in common, not their differences. Children with autism share in the joy of playing and loving and being friends and being part of a group."
Hard to see what's to criticize about that. I have several friends with autistic children, and the response from them has been uniformly positive. So imagine my surprise when I found out that the anti-vaxxers are saying that the move is actually an end run by "Big Pharma" to make autism seem normal, so that we'll continue to get vaccinated.
It'll probably come as no surprise that the person spearheading the claim is Mike "The Health Ranger" Adams, founder of Natural News. Adams has repeatedly demonstrated that he doesn't have a very firm grasp on reality -- a quick perusal of the headlines on Natural News is usually sufficient to confirm that. But this has revealed an uglier side of his narrative, one which the glitzy, health food polish of the site might hide.
Adams writes, "The rollout of autistic Julia is Sesame Street’s attempt to ‘normalize’ vaccine injuries and depict those victimized by vaccines as happy, ‘amazing’ children rather than admitting the truth that vaccines cause autism in some children and we should therefore make vaccines safer and less frequent to save those children from a lifetime of neurological damage."
Well, Mike, let's start out with the obvious. (The more sensitive members of the studio audience might want to plug their ears.)
VACCINES DO NOT CAUSE AUTISM, YOU ANTI-SCIENCE, IRRATIONAL, WILLFULLY IGNORANT LOON. What they do is they protect children from devastating diseases that used to kill or permanently injure thousands every year. Just because every scientific study done on the topic has confirmed results that run counter to the mission statement of your company does not mean that there's a conspiracy to discredit you.
It simply means that you are wrong.
But second, and more encouragingly, I think Adams may have miscalculated this time. To discredit an attempt to "normalize" autistic children -- his words, not mine -- puts him in serious danger of alienating the very people he's dependent on for support, namely parents of autistic children whom he has hoodwinked into believing that their kids' health issues were caused by vaccination. Even if you are a parent of an autistic child who believes that modern medicine is responsible for autism, calling a television show that is trying to heighten awareness and understanding of your child's condition a conspiracy by the pharmaceutical companies doesn't seem like it would strengthen the anti-vaxxers' credibility.
More likely, it would bring up thoughts of, "Wait, I thought he actually cared about autistic children. If so, why is he condemning a show that is working towards seeing them treated fairly?"
So as a PR move, it stands a good chance of backfiring, which is all to the good.
But it's also a bit puzzling, even coming from a guy who shows every evidence of having spent too much time doing sit-ups underneath parked cars. Okay, in Adams's BizarroWorld, "Big Pharma" has fucked things up royally by creating vaccines that cause neurological damage in children. If so, then why on earth would they respond by spending millions of dollars on a campaign to "normalize autism" on a children's show instead of simply making the vaccines safer?
Maybe it's because the vaccines are already safe, the scientists are right -- and Mike Adams has gone even further off the deep end than he was before, however impossible that sounds.
Posted by Gordon Bonnet at 2:45 AM
Labels: anti-vaccination movement, anti-vaxxers, autism, autistic character, Big Pharma, conspiracies, Julia, Mike Adams, Natural News, Sesame Street, vaccination
Alex Solla October 27, 2015 at 4:01 AM
I think the problem is that there is no punishment for anti-vaxxers. If they were prevented from participating in general public privileges that might make their stubborn stupidity a liability.
MomRN&NPinprogress March 20, 2017 at 8:24 AM
Or maybe it's because vaccines can not be made "safe". It's a benefit vs. risk scenario, sometimes the benefits outweigh the risks, but there are RISKS, known documented RISKS involved. In fact, there is no argument with this statement, it's listed all over the credible CDC website what adverse reactions HAVE occurred: permanent behavior change, and brain damage are already listed under many vaccines side effects. It's no secret and I find it puzzling that there is such a great argument over this. It's already listed, but reworded and toned down on other pages for the public ;) if there was no injuries occurring from vaccines...there would be no vaccine injury program paying out injured children! Billions of dollars are paid through the great vaccine injury program!
In conclusion, if there was a way to make vaccines safe. It would be done. We can't make them safe, it's a risk...heavy metals mixed with antigens to diseases given to small children with immature immune systems and a developing brain can absolutely cause injuries such as neurological damage with behavioral changes ...sounds like another fancy description of autism. But everyone is too caught up in the bottom dollar$$$$$$ lots of money to be made, lots of stocks the hover has with vaccines. It's a profitable problem. and they are winning.
In conclusion, if there was a way to make vaccines safe. It would be done. We can't make them safe, it's a risk...heavy metals mixed with antigens to diseases given to small children with immature immune systems and a developing brain can absolutely cause injuries such as neurological damage with behavioral changes ...sounds like another fancy description of autism.
Skepticism and sarcasm. Six days a week.
Follow me on Twitter: @TalesOfWhoa!
Also, check out my website: http://www.gordonbonnet.com. And while you're at it, head on over to Language Arts to see the amazing art work of my wife, Carol Bloomgarden.
Online Course in Critical Thinking!
First hundred signups are free...
New release! Book #2 of the Boundary Solution trilogy
Kerri, Aaron, and Will are heading across the country in a race against time... to achieve a goal only the mysterious Pleiadians know for sure.
Book #1 of the Boundary Solution trilogy
The Black-eyed Children have always picked off one or two people at a time. But are they planning more than that?
A catastrophe... and mythology come to life.
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A wedding reception turned deadly...
Tales of whoa!
A skeptical wildlife biologist, his ex-hippie girlfriend, and... Slender Man.
The promise of power will drive you mad.
Sometimes, the only way out is through.
Trouble on the far side of the Moon...
Two men, two pints of Guinness, and an ethical dilemma.
Take a wild ride through time...
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Gordon Bonnet
I'm a fiction author and blogger who lives in the frozen wilds of Upstate New York. I am also an online writing coach/consultant -- ask if you want more details!
all rights reserved, gordon bonnet 2014. Awesome Inc. theme. Powered by Blogger.
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Another Strong Quarter Positions Barrick to Deliver on Annual Production Guidance
TORONTO, Nov 05, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE via COMTEX) -- All amounts expressed in US dollars
TORONTO, Nov. 05, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Capturing the benefit of higher gold prices through agile management and operational efficiency, Barrick Gold Corporation /zigman2/quotes/201432642/composite GOLD +1.08% /zigman2/quotes/209252292/delayed CA:ABX +0.74% increased its operating cash flow by 80% quarter-on-quarter to $1.9 billion and free cash flow [1] by 151% to $1.3 billion in the third quarter of 2020 -- a record level of quarterly free cash flow for the company. Net earnings per share was 50 cents, while adjusted net earnings per share [2] was 78% higher than the prior quarter at 41 cents. Debt net of cash was reduced by a further 71% to $417 million, compared to $1.4 billion in the prior quarter, and the quarterly dividend was increased again, the third time in the past year, rising by 12.5% to 9 cents per share.
President and chief executive Mark Bristow said that two quarters into the Covid-19 pandemic, it was clear how effectively Barrick had been dealing with the impact of the virus on its business, its people and its communities.
"As today's results show, in the face of unprecedented challenges we have succeeded in beating our earnings consensus, reinforcing our 10-year plan and capitalizing on the gold price to maintain an industry-leading balance sheet. Our year-to-date gold production of 3.6 million ounces keeps Barrick on track to achieve our guidance of between 4.6 and 5.0 million ounces for the year," he said.
Of the group's capital projects for the assets we operate, only Veladero's cross-Andean powerline and phase 6 expansion were stalled as a result of Argentina's Covid-19 response and further complicated by the onset of winter, with these projects now restarted. The construction of the third shaft at Turquoise Ridge, the twin declines at Goldrush and the underground mine at Gounkoto, as well as Hemlo's transition to contractor underground mining, the process plant and tailings expansion plan at Pueblo Viejo, the commissioning of the group's first solar power plant at Loulo and the resumption of underground mining at Bulyanhulu were not interrupted.
In October, Twiga Minerals Corporation, the groundbreaking joint venture between Barrick and the government of Tanzania, paid a maiden dividend of $250 million. Bristow said the revived Tanzanian mines, North Mara and Bulyanhulu in combination, had the potential to become Barrick's seventh Tier One asset. A Tier One mine is defined as one that can produce more than 500,000 ounces of gold annually for at least 10 years in the lower half of the industry's cost curve.
Subsequent to the third quarter, Barrick and the government of Papua New Guinea announced that they had agreed in principle on the formation of a new partnership to operate the Porgera mine that is currently on care and maintenance. Under the conceptual agreement, which is still to be finalized, Barrick Niugini Limited will remain the operator, the government will acquire a major share of the equity, and the two sides will agree on a equitable sharing of economic benefits.
Bristow said Barrick's restructuring and portfolio rationalization had made it a more streamlined business with a much improved exploration strategy, particularly in its Latin American region, which should uncover new business opportunities. In the meantime, exploration around its Tier One assets continued to deliver organic growth and the company was expecting to grow mineral resources at most of its key assets.
"Barrick's consistently strong performance since the merger has more than validated our belief that a combination of the best assets with the best people would deliver the best returns. It also shows that a business flourishes when it is driven by a clear strategy and not by the whims of the market," Bristow said.
Another solid quarter positions Barrick to deliver on annual production guidance
Higher gold prices drive strong cash flow and increased royalty costs
Operating cash flow of $1.9 billion and record free cash flow [1] of more than $1.3 billion
Debt net of cash reduced by 71% to $0.4 billion with no significant maturities until 2033
Strong operating performance across three quarters highlights asset quality
Agile organizational structure continues to minimize the impact of Covid-19
Consistent delivery from copper operations with costs tracking towards low end of guidance range
Net earnings per share of 50 cents; adjusted net earnings per share [2] up 78% to 41 cents for the quarter
Twiga partnership in Tanzania pays maiden dividend with all stockpiled concentrate sold
Continued improvement in safety across the group year-on-year for both Lost Time and Total Injury Frequency rates
Capital project teams remobilized in Argentina while all other capital projects remain on track
Focus on exploration and organic growth highlights upside potential across Tier One [11] portfolio
Significant stratiform mineralization connects Goldrush to Fourmile
Ongoing portfolio rationalization converts closure properties to value opportunities
Barrick declares $0.09 quarterly dividend per share
Financial Results Q3 2020 Q2 2020 Q3 2019
Realized gold price [3,4] ($ per ounce) 1,926 1,725 1,476
Net earnings [5] ($ millions) 882 357 2,277
Adjusted net earnings [2] ($ millions) 726 415 264
($ millions) 1,859 1,031 1,004
Free cash flow [1]
($ millions) 1,311 522 502
Net earnings per share
($) 0.50 0.20 1.30
Adjusted net earnings per share [2] ($) 0.41 0.23 0.15
Attributable capital expenditures [6] ($ millions) 436 402 397
Operating ResultsGold Q3 2020 Q2 2020 Q3 2019
Production [4] (000s of ounces) 1,155 1,149 1,306
Cost of sales (Barrick's share) [4,7] ($ per ounce) 1,065 1,075 1,065
Total cash costs [4,8]
($ per ounce) 696 716 710
All-in sustaining costs [4,8]
($ per ounce) 966 1,031 984
(millions of pounds) 103 120 112
Cost of sales (Barrick's share) [9,10]
($ per pound) 1.97 2.08 2.00
C1 cash costs [9,21]
All-in sustaining costs [9,21]
Q3 2020 RESULTS PRESENTATION Webinar and Conference Call
President and CEO Mark Bristow will host a virtual presentation on the results today at 11:00 EST/16:00 UTC, with an interactive webinar linked to a conference call. Participants will be able to ask questions.
Go to the webinar
US and Canada (toll-free) 1 800 319 4610
UK (toll-free) 0808 101 2791
International (toll) +1 416 915 3239
The Q3 2020 presentation materials will be available on Barrick's website at www.barrick.com and the webinar will remain on the website for later viewing.
BARRICK DECLARES INCREASED DIVIDEND
Barrick today announced that its Board of Directors has declared a dividend for the third quarter of 2020 of $0.09 per share, a 12.5% increase on the previous quarter's dividend, payable on December 15, 2020, to shareholders of record at the close of business on November 30, 2020.12
Senior executive vice-president and chief financial officer Graham Shuttleworth said that this represents the third increase in the quarterly dividend in the past year and that Barrick's quarterly dividend has tripled since the announcement of the Barrick-Randgold merger in September 2018, reflecting Barrick's continued strong financial performance.
"The Board believes that the current dividend increase is sustainable and is reflective of the ongoing robust performance of our operations and continued improvement in the strength of our balance sheet, with total liquidity of $7.7 billion, including a cash balance of $4.7 billion, and a debt net of cash position of just $0.4 billion as of the end of the third quarter, as well as no material debt repayments due before 2033," said Shuttleworth.
ANNE KABAGAMBE APPOINTED TO BARRICK'S BOARD
Barrick has appointed Anne Kabagambe to its Board of Directors as an independent director.
Ms Kabagambe has 35 years of experience spanning a diverse range of senior leadership positions in international institutions. She is a former Executive Director of the World Bank Group where she served from 2016 to 2020, representing the interests of 22 Sub-Saharan African countries [13] , including Tanzania and Zambia, where Barrick has gold and copper operations. While at the World Bank, she sat on the Development Effectiveness Committee, the Budget Committee and the Pension Benefits Committee. Ms Kabagambe also Co-Chaired the World Bank Board's Gender Working Group and is a strong advocate for the advancement of women and a champion of diversity and inclusion.
Prior to the World Bank, she spent 27 years at the African Development Bank, where she built an extensive network within Africa and other parts of the world. During this time, she helped develop cooperative agreements with Asian countries and held the position of Chief of Staff for the African Development Bank President. Ms Kabagambe has also served on the boards of the Africa American Institute (AAI) and Junior Achievement (JA) Africa.
She has an undergraduate degree from the University of California at San Diego (UCSD), master's degrees in Public Policy from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs and George Washington University, and also obtained post-graduate diplomas from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government and the Cranfield School of Management.
Barrick Executive Chairman John Thornton said Ms Kabagambe would strengthen the Board and bring an independent understanding of doing business internationally, informed by her experience in engaging with governments, the private sector and civil society and in particular her knowledge of the global resource, banking and education sectors.
FINDING AND DEVELOPING THE TALENT TO TAKE BARRICK INTO THE FUTURE
A modern mining business needs people who share its vision and its values, and are entrepreneurial, agile, alive to technological and societal changes, and profit-orientated. That is why, in an industry traditionally dominated by aging males, Barrick is building an employee corps with its eye on the future.
Barrick has a long tradition of hiring locally for both operational and managerial roles, in recognition of its host countries' status as important stakeholders in the business. Current staffing levels of host country nationals in management roles are 80% in Africa and Middle East (AME), 63% in Latin America and Asia Pacific (LATAM & AP), and 97% in North America (NA).
Barrick has now also embarked on a drive to recruit more young people and women. In the year to date, the proportion of new-hires under the age of 30 were 22% in AME, 31% in NA and 36% in LATAM & AP. In NA, where 16% of the employees are women, females accounted for 26% of new hires year to date. In LATAM & AP, where 10% of all positions are held by women, hiring rates were 18% in Q1, 33% in Q2 and 15% in Q3, reflecting the region's improving ability to source and place women. The AME region has cultural obstacles to the employment of women but there too the situation is improving with new placements up to 8% from a 6% base. It is worth noting that a high proportion of the female employees in this region hold managerial positions in geology, engineering and finance.
"We invest in developing our talent to position us for future growth," says group human resources executive Darian Rich. "We build their leadership skills and guide their career advancement through tailored executive and management development programs designed in partnership with leading universities in Africa, Europe and the US. During the pandemic, we have continued to offer these programs through remote learning courses."
Barrick promotes a culture of continuous learning through groupwide programs designed to develop a foundation of operational knowledge and management skills. These include:
the Compass program, which provides structured training and mentorship for early-career technical employees;
the Greenfields Talent program, which provides new engineering graduates with underground mining experience; and
the Finance for Business Leaders program, which encourages an ownership mindset and integrates commercial principles and technical skills.
While many companies have cancelled their internship programs, Nevada Gold Mines continued to secure the most talented graduates through attractive development opportunities, and strengthened its future pool of professional candidates, including 33% females in this year's cohort.
Barrick also offers technical skills and apprenticeship training, developed in modules and constantly updated.
The executive team and senior leaders recently held a two-day talent and succession planning review to ensure that the group has the right skills in the right jobs to drive business priorities across the regions and sites. The review also identified potential future leaders for continuing performance assessment and access to individual development plans.
"Barrick's commitment to supporting education extends beyond its operations," says Rich. "Nevada Gold Mines recently announced a $2.2 million investment in digital education for schools in partnership with Discovery Education and the Nevada Department of Education. Access to Discovery's award-winning K-12 platform keeps students learning whether they are at home or at school."
WORLD-CLASS GEOLOGISTS LEAD BARRICK'S GLOBAL DRIVE
Since the Barrick-Randgold merger reintroduced geology as the foundation of the business, the company has launched a new exploration strategy that is being implemented by rebuilt and reinvigorated exploration teams in each of its regions.
Rod Quick, Barrick's mineral resource management and evaluation executive, explains that this strategy has multiple elements that all need to be in balance to deliver on the group's business plan for growth and long-term sustainability.
These include linking geology and mineral resource management closely to supply projects of a short- to medium-term nature that could help optimize Life-of-Mine plans and smooth out dips in the production profile.
Secondly, there is the hunt for the next addition to Barrick's Tier One [11] portfolio, which already boasts six of these world-class mines. "Brownfields exploration optimizes our existing assets; a new discovery represents pure growth," says Quick.
Then there is also the optimization of the value of major undeveloped projects. A prime example of these is Donlin, where a re-review of the model, based on fundamental geological observations, will improve and de-risk the resource model leading to an improved mine plan.
With competition for quality assets becoming more intense, the chase is on to find emerging opportunities early in their value chain and then to secure them by an earn-in or even outright purchase. Historically, Barrick has done well at this, with Goldstrike, Pierina, Loulo and Kibali all outstanding examples of geology-led acquisitions. But Rob Krcmarov, Barrick's exploration and growth executive, cautions that this only works if the characteristics of the underlying orebody are well understood and there is a real upside.
"Short and long-term integrated planning is fundamental to our business culture, and we use the resource triangle as a tool to manage our deliverables," he says.
"In the final analysis, however, it's people and ideas that make discoveries, not an exploration process. That's why we expect more than technical excellence from our geologists. They also need to be entrepreneurial, imaginative and creative -- and, as they are often our first point of contact with potential host communities, they also have to grasp the social component of our licence to operate."
SAP IMPLEMENTATION IN NEVADA MARKS AN IMPORTANT MILESTONE IN BARRICK'S DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
Barrick's new transactional system, SAP S4 HANA, has gone live at Nevada Gold Mines and will be rolled out across the entire group in the course of 2021.
The implementation lays one of the key foundations for the group to reap the benefits of becoming truly digital and will enable a new level of real-time decision-making as well as a more agile and business-led approach to systems and data-driven initiatives.
The project stayed on track with a very ambitious timeline despite the obvious challenges presented by the pandemic, with the legacy Newmont sites going live on August 1 and the rest of Nevada Gold Mines on October 1. Head of group systems integration, Nico Hoffman, says that "by keeping the global design standardized and focused on getting the basics right, we have set up the rest of the implementations for success and paved the way for them to be completed on time".
Training adopted a new approach, formulated during Barrick's strategy sessions earlier this year. This involved identifying particularly talented individuals who were added to a pool of 'super-users' inside the various business functions. These users take up ownership of the system by acting as the first line of support for issues as well as by driving continuous incremental improvement of the core application. Almost immediately they began delivering refinements and improvements which will be included in future rollouts.
"This project demonstrates the value of having both a very clear end goal and the correct level of executive functional sponsorship on board from the very beginning and we look forward to seeing the results of applying this to future developments," Hoffman said.
The SAP rollout coincides with the start of a number of equally ambitious initiatives including a common global data platform, a new financial reporting and planning system, as well as various operational technology enhancements, rationalizations and unifications. It also signals the end of siloed local customizations which previously stood in the way of one true global solution.
GLOBAL CLOSURE STRATEGY: PLAN FOR THE END BEFORE THE BEGINNING
The mining industry has traditionally dealt with the issue of mine closures by kicking the can down the road: delaying the inevitable for as long as possible, usually through a series of compliance adjustments.
This is clearly not a sustainable approach, says Barrick president and chief executive Mark Bristow. "We believe that how we close our mines is as important as how we build and operate them, and that is why we plan their closure before we even start designing them, and integrate that plan across all the stages of their lives," he says.
Barrick has a number of legacy sites, in part acquired over the years through mergers and acquisitions. To ensure their successful closure in a consistent manner, the company has adopted a new Global Closure Standard, which group sustainability executive Grant Beringer describes as the most progressive in the mining industry, noting that it has drawn not only from Barrick/Randgold's experience, but also from inputs and advice provided by multiple international authorities.
Its key objectives are to find passive solutions for long-term water management; to prepare sites for a beneficial alternative use and possible divestiture; and to ensure that tailings storage facilities meet or exceed international safety standards.
The new strategy has already delivered significant successes, including the sale of Barrick's interests in the Morila mine in Mali, the Eskay Creek mine in British Columbia, the Bullfrog mine in southern Nevada, and mining claims in South Dakota. Other divestiture opportunities are being discussed.
These divestitures are expected to deliver value and add to the $1.5 billion that Barrick has already realized through its portfolio rationalization following the merger with Randgold. They are also allowing the company to tighten its focus on Tier One assets -- those mines capable of producing more than 500,000 ounces of gold annually for at least 10 years in the lower half of the industry's cost curve.
"It's worth noting that while the divestiture sites do not meet our investment criteria, they may have a geological potential that could be realized under different owners with the necessary technical and financial capacity. In those cases, the host country and communities will continue to reap economic benefits when these sites are returned to production by new operators," Bristow says.
Catherine Raw, chief operating officer for North America explains that "the closure strategy has also created new business opportunities for Barrick, like the Golden Sunlight mine tailings reprocessing project. This involves the conversion of waste material into sulphur feedstocks for Nevada Gold Mines' roasters and autoclaves while using the leftover benign material as pit backfill. This innovative project will reduce environmental liabilities and thus cut closure costs at Golden Sunlight while creating more value for Nevada Gold Mines and other stakeholders".
In Peru, Barrick has signed a water transfer agreement with the Ministry of Agriculture under which the company will fund the construction of an $11 million pipeline from the White Andes to the communities around the Pierina mine. This will make these communities independent of the water supply from Pierina by 2024 -- yet another example of how a thoughtfully planned closure can leave a lasting benefit for its hosts.
Closed Barrick properties are also being used to conduct cutting edge scientific research, including the fundamental neutrino and dark matter research at the Sanford Underground Research Facility located in the underground workings of the former Homestake gold mine in Lead, South Dakota. Homestake was the largest and deepest gold mine in North America, producing approximately 41 million ounces of gold over its 126-year lifetime. The mine now provides a near-perfect environment for experiments that need to escape cosmic radiation that can interfere with the detection of rare physics events.
"Our global closure strategy is in fact a process of beneficial rationalization in which old problems are converted into new opportunities, benefiting all our stakeholders," Bristow says.
MANAGING BY WALKING ABOUT
Mines cannot be managed effectively by remote control. That's why after last year's merger, Barrick's head office was converted into a much smaller corporate hub providing specialized services while operational management was transferred to the mines.
The new decentralized structure -- one of the flattest in the extractive industries for a business of Barrick's size -- means that senior executives directly engage with operations and employees, whom they learn to know personally by name as well as skill-set. It also gives them a first-hand insight into the engine rooms that drive the business, a better perspective on the challenges and opportunities at each site, a chance for best-practice sharing and a forum for collective decision-making.
For the employees, personal access to Barrick's leadership team provides a platform to propose suggestions, raise and debate issues, contribute to decision-making and reinforce their role in living Barrick's core values and delivering on its objectives.
Barrick executives visit all the operations in each of the regions at least once a quarter for an in-depth discussion with employees on business execution, safety and environmental performance and the status of key projects. They also use these visits as an opportunity to interface with community leaders.
During Covid-19, this engagement has continued -- both on a virtual basis and in person. It's these relationships that have played a significant part in Barrick's ability to ensure both prompt and effective responses to the pandemic across its portfolio of operations.
PIONEERING KIBALI CONTINUES TO POINT THE WAY
The Kibali mine is on track to deliver at the upper end of its 2020 guidance, says president and chief executive Mark Bristow.
Kibali was the first underground gold mine in the DRC and is one of the largest in the world. It is a global leader in automation and continues to improve efficiency and productivity through ongoing technological innovation. In the third quarter it set a new ore delivery record from underground, exceeding nameplate for the first time since the shaft was commissioned in 2018.
"Automation is often associated with reduced employment but we use it as an opportunity to further upskill our workers and to reduce our need for expatriate specialists. It is worth noting that Kibali -- one of Barrick's elite corps of Tier One mines -- is led by a predominantly Congolese management team in line with our policy of employing and advancing host country nationals," Bristow said.
A Tier One mine is one capable of producing at least 500,000 ounces of gold annually for at least 10 years in the lower half of the industry's cost profile. Bristow said brownfields exploration was extending Kibali's life by replacing reserves depleted by mining. Barrick's exploration teams are also hunting for the next Kibali elsewhere in the DRC.
During the past quarter, battery technology was successfully integrated into the Kibali power grid to augment the mine's three hydropower stations and offset the cyclical load of the winder. In line with Barrick's global move to cleaner energy sources, the new technology will further reduce the mine's carbon footprint and use of thermal power.
Following a recent meeting with President Tshisekedi, Bristow said they had agreed that Kibali had brought a thriving local economy to what was previously one of the most deprived regions in the DRC.
"The continuing paved extension to the Durba road will provide construction work for local contractors for the next three years. Community support continues to be reinforced through other initiatives such as the Renzi agribusiness project and the planned palm oil project. We also remain committed to transferring skills to the community, and the upgrading of the Kokiza Training Centre for engineers is scheduled to start later this year," he said.
Additionally, utility buildings initially built as isolation wards during the Ebola outbreak and subsequently used as a quarantine centre for Covid-19 cases, will now be transitioned to a tropical disease centre to serve local communities.
STRONG PARTNERSHIPS IN MALI SUPPORT ROBUST PRODUCTION PERFORMANCE
The Loulo-Gounkoto complex remains on track to meet the upper end of its 2020 guidance in the face of multiple challenges including a military coup in Mali.
Barrick president and chief executive Mark Bristow attributed this performance to the company's long-established relationships with partners in Mali and its philosophy of sharing the benefits it creates with its local stakeholders. Over the past 24 years, Barrick and its legacy company Randgold Resources have contributed $7.4 billion to the Malian economy in the form of taxes, royalties, salaries and payments to local suppliers. So far this year, Loulo-Gounkoto has spent $275 million with local contractors and suppliers.
The development of the complex's third underground mine at Gounkoto is on track to deliver its first ore tonnes in the second quarter of 2021. Meanwhile, Barrick's first solar power plant has been commissioned and is ramping up to deliver 20MW into the microgrid, in line with the company's strategy of transitioning to cleaner forms of energy.
The complex has paid dividends totalling $160 million in the year to date with Loulo paying a maiden dividend in the quarter on the back of the mine's convention amendment.
Barrick has agreed to sell its other operation in Mali, Morila, to Mali Lithium with the government retaining its 20% stake. Morila was the mine which laid the foundation for Randgold's success, producing almost 7 million ounces of gold over its life. Bristow said the transaction created the opportunity for Morila's infrastructure and assets to be redeployed for the benefit of its employees, surrounding communities and the country.
"We've always had great confidence in Mali and its people, hence our continuing commitment to the country. It's gratifying to note that Mali is dealing with its political challenges and has already returned to a civilian-led transitional government. We look forward to being part of its future," Bristow said.
2020 Operating and Capital Expenditure Guidance
GOLD PRODUCTION AND COSTS
2020 forecast
attributable production
(000s oz) 2020 forecast cost
of sales [14] ($/oz) 2020 forecast total
cash costs [8] ($/oz) 2020 forecast all-in
sustaining costs [8] ($/oz)
Carlin (61.5%) [15] 1,000 - 1,050 920 - 970 760 - 810 1,000 - 1,050
Cortez (61.5%) 450 - 480 980 - 1,030 640 - 690 910 - 960
Turquoise Ridge (61.5%) 430 - 460 900 - 950 540 - 590 690 - 740
Phoenix (61.5%) 100 - 120 1,850 - 1,900 700 - 750 920 - 970
Long Canyon (61.5%) 130 - 150 910 - 960 240 - 290 450 - 500
Nevada Gold Mines (61.5%) 2,100 - 2,250 970 - 1,020 660 - 710 880 - 930
Hemlo 200 - 220 960 - 1,010 800 - 850 1,200 - 1,250
North America 2,300 - 2,450 970 - 1,020 660 - 710 900 - 950
Pueblo Viejo (60%) 530 - 580 840 - 890 520 - 570 720 - 770
Veladero (50%) 240 - 270 1,220 - 1,270 670 - 720 1,250 - 1,300
Porgera (47.5%) [16]
Latin America & Asia Pacific 800 - 900 930 - 980 610 - 660 890 - 940
Loulo-Gounkoto (80%) 500 - 540 1,050 - 1,100 620 - 670 970 - 1,020
Kibali (45%) 340 - 370 1,030 - 1,080 600 - 650 790 - 840
North Mara (84%) [17] 240 - 270 750 - 800 570 - 620 830 - 880
Tongon (89.7%) 240 - 260 1,390 - 1,440 680 - 730 740 - 790
Bulyanhulu (84%) [17] 30 - 50 1,210 - 1,260 790 - 840 1,110 - 1,160
Buzwagi (84%) [17] 80 - 100 850 - 900 820 - 870 850 - 900
Africa & Middle East 1,450 - 1,600 1,040 - 1,090 640 - 690 870 - 920
Total Attributable to Barrick18,19,20 4,600 - 5,000 980 - 1,030 650 - 700 920 - 970
COPPER PRODUCTION AND COSTS
(Mlbs) 2020 forecast cost
of sales [14] ($/lb) 2020 forecast C1
cash costs [21 ] ($/lb) 2020 forecast all-in
sustaining costs [21] ($/lb)
Lumwana 250 - 280 2.20 - 2.40 1.50 - 1.70 2.30 - 2.60
Zaldivar (50%) 120 - 135 2.40 - 2.70 1.65 - 1.85 2.30 - 2.60
Jabal Sayid (50%) 60 - 70 1.75 - 2.00 1.40 - 1.60 1.50 - 1.70
Total Copper20 440 - 500 2.10 - 2.40 1.50 - 1.80 2.20 - 2.50
ATTRIBUTABLE CAPITAL EXPENDITURES
Attributable minesite sustaining 1,300 - 1,500
Attributable project 300 - 400
Total attributable capital expenditures22 1,600 - 1,900
2020 Outlook Assumptions and Economic Sensitivity Analysis23
Assumption Hypothetical Change Impact on EBITDA
(millions) [24] Impact on TCC/C1 Cash Costs
and AISC [8,21]
Gold price sensitivity [25] $1,350/oz +$100/oz +$653 +$4/oz
$1,350/oz -$100/oz -$650 -$4/oz
Copper price sensitivity $2.75/lb +/-$0.50/lb +/-$124 +/-$0.02/lb
Appendix 2Production and Cost Summary - Gold
For the three months ended
9/30/20 6/30/20 % Change 9/30/19 % Change
Nevada Gold Mines LLC (61.5%)a
Gold produced (000s oz attributable basis) 538 521 3 % 535 1 %
Gold produced (000s oz 100% basis) 875 847 3 % 870 1 %
Cost of sales ($/oz) 1,060 1,055 0 % 1,027 3 %
Total cash costs ($/oz) [b] 723 728 (1 ) % 693 4 %
All-in sustaining costs ($/oz) [b] 956 985 (3 ) % 946 1 %
Carlin (61.5%)c
Gold produced (000s oz attributable basis) 276 235 17 % 278 (1 ) %
Gold produced (000s oz 100% basis) 448 382 17 % 452 (1 ) %
Cost of sales ($/oz) 985 1,037 (5 ) % 1,007 (2 ) %
All-in sustaining costs ($/oz) [b] 1,036 1,130 (8 ) % 1,014 2 %
Cortez (61.5%)d
Gold produced (000s oz attributable basis) 113 132 (14 ) % 126 (10 ) %
Gold produced (000s oz 100% basis) 184 215 (14 ) % 205 (10 ) %
Cost of sales ($/oz) 1,060 870 22 % 829 28 %
Total cash costs ($/oz) [b] 763 613 24 % 570 34 %
All-in sustaining costs ($/oz) [b] 1,133 950 19 % 772 47 %
Turquoise Ridge (61.5%)e
Gold produced (000s oz attributable basis) 76 79 (4 ) % 82 (7 ) %
Gold produced (000s oz 100% basis) 124 128 (4 ) % 133 (7 ) %
Total cash costs ($/oz) [b] 745 753 (1 ) % 622 20 %
All-in sustaining costs ($/oz) [b] 805 829 (3 ) % 840 (4 ) %
Phoenix (61.5%)f
Gold produced (000s oz attributable basis) 30 35 (14 ) % 25 20 %
Gold produced (000s oz 100% basis) 49 57 (14 ) % 41 20 %
Cost of sales ($/oz) 1,773 1,726 3 % 2,186 (19 ) %
Total cash costs ($/oz) [b] 520 725 (28 ) % 1,010 (49 ) %
All-in sustaining costs ($/oz) [b] 659 957 (31 ) % 1,622 (59 ) %
Long Canyon (61.5%)f
Gold produced (000s oz attributable basis) 43 40 8 % 24 79 %
Gold produced (000s oz 100% basis) 70 65 8 % 39 79 %
Cost of sales ($/oz) 877 1,009 (13 ) % 1,170 (25 ) %
Total cash costs ($/oz) [b] 212 308 (31 ) % 353 (40 ) %
All-in sustaining costs ($/oz) [b] 384 430 (11 ) % 714 (46 ) %
Pueblo Viejo (60%)
Cost of sales ($/oz) 791 935 (15 ) % 807 (2 ) %
All-in sustaining costs ($/oz) [b] 609 720 (15 ) % 631 (3 ) %
Loulo-Gounkoto (80%)
Gold produced (000s oz attributable basis)
139 141 (1
) % 153 (9 ) %
Gold produced (000s oz 100% basis)
) %
(9 ) %
Cost of sales ($/oz) 1,088 1,012
Total cash costs ($/oz) [b]
All-in sustaining costs ($/oz) [b]
Kibali (45%)
Cost of sales ($/oz)
Veladero (50%)
(24 ) %
Gold produced (000s oz 100% basis) 89 98
(7 ) % 1,243 (9 ) %
708 801 (12 ) % 773
All-in sustaining costs ($/oz) [b] 1,159 1,383
Porgera (47.5%)g
Gold produced (000s oz attributable basis) -- 24 75
Gold produced (000s oz 100% basis) -- 51 158
Cost of sales ($/oz) -- 1,141 1,024
Total cash costs ($/oz) [b] -- 875 868
All-in sustaining costs ($/oz) [b] -- 1,046 1,053
Tongon (89.7%)
% 69 3 %
Cost of sales ($/oz) 1,329 1,275 4 % 1,396 (5 ) %
Total cash costs ($/oz) [b] 731 688 6 % 793 (8 ) %
All-in sustaining costs ($/oz) [b] 777 745 4 % 869 (11 ) %
Hemlo
Gold produced (000s oz) 55 54 2 % 49 12 %
Cost of sales ($/oz) 1,257 1,268 (1 ) % 1,083 16 %
Total cash costs ($/oz) [b] 1,099 1,080 2 % 953 15 %
All-in sustaining costs ($/oz) [b] 1,497 1,456 3 % 1,280 17 %
North Marah
Gold produced (000s oz attributable basis) 67 68 (1 ) % 29 131 %
Gold produced (000s oz 100% basis) 80 81 (1 ) % 45 78 %
Cost of sales ($/oz) 903 1,040 (13 ) % 907 0 %
Total cash costs ($/oz) [b] 649 724 (10 ) % 603 8 %
All-in sustaining costs ($/oz) [b] 758 1,166 (35 ) % 850 (11 ) %
Buzwagih
Gold produced (000s oz 100% basis) 25 24 5 % 28 (11 ) %
Cost of sales ($/oz) 907 909 0 % 1,292 (30 ) %
Total cash costs ($/oz) [b] 687 751 (9 ) % 1,202 (43 ) %
Bulyanhuluh
Gold produced (000s oz attributable basis) 7 7 0 % 6 17 %
Gold produced (000s oz 100% basis) 8 8 0 % 9 (11 ) %
All-in sustaining costs ($/oz) [b] 913 1,014 (10 ) % 769 19 %
Kalgoorlie (50%)i
Gold produced (000s oz attributable basis) 58 (100 ) %
Gold produced (000s oz 100% basis) 116 (100 ) %
Cost of sales ($/oz) 1,037 (100 ) %
Total cash costs ($/oz) [b] 856 (100 ) %
All-in sustaining costs ($/oz) [b] 1,170 (100 ) %
Total Attributable to Barrickj,i
Gold produced (000s oz) 1,155 1,149 1 % 1,306 (12 ) %
Cost of sales ($/oz) [k] 1,065 1,075 (1 ) % 1,065 0 %
Total cash costs ($/oz) [b] 696 716 (3 ) % 710 (2 ) %
All-in sustaining costs ($/oz) [b] 966 1,031 (6 ) % 984 (2 ) %
Represents the combined results of Cortez, Goldstrike (including our 60% share of South Arturo) and our 75% interest in Turquoise Ridge until June 30, 2019. Commencing July 1, 2019, the date Nevada Gold Mines was established, the results represent our 61.5% interest in Cortez, Carlin (including Goldstrike and 60% of South Arturo), Turquoise Ridge (including Twin Creeks), Phoenix and Long Canyon.
These are non-GAAP financial performance measures with no standardized meaning under IFRS and therefore may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. For further information and a detailed reconciliation of each non-GAAP measure used to the most directly comparable IFRS measure, please see pages 82 to 106 of our third quarter MD&A.
On July 1, 2019, Barrick's Goldstrike and Newmont's Carlin were contributed to Nevada Gold Mines and are now referred to as Carlin. As a result, the amounts presented represent Goldstrike on a 100% basis (including our 60% share of South Arturo) up until June 30, 2019, and the combined results of Carlin and Goldstrike (including NGM's 60% share of South Arturo) on a 61.5% basis thereafter.
On July 1, 2019, Cortez was contributed to Nevada Gold Mines, a joint venture with Newmont. As a result, the amounts presented are on an 100% basis up until June 30, 2019, and on a 61.5% basis thereafter.
Barrick owned 75% of Turquoise Ridge through to the end of the second quarter of 2019, with our joint venture partner, Newmont, owning the remaining 25%. Turquoise Ridge was proportionately consolidated on the basis that the joint venture partners that have joint control have rights to the assets and obligations for the liabilities relating to the arrangement. The figures presented in this table are based on our 75% interest in Turquoise Ridge until June 30, 2019. On July 1, 2019, Barrick's 75% interest in Turquoise Ridge as well as Newmont's Twin Creeks and 25% interest in Turquoise Ridge were contributed to Nevada Gold Mines. Starting July 1, 2019, the results represent our 61.5% share of Turquoise Ridge and Twin Creeks, now referred to as Turquoise Ridge.
A 61.5% interest in these sites was acquired as a result of the formation of Nevada Gold Mines on July 1, 2019.
As Porgera was placed on care and maintenance on April 25, 2020, no operating data or per ounce data is provided.
Formerly part of Acacia Mining plc. On September 17, 2019, Barrick acquired all of the shares of Acacia it did not own. Operating results are included at 100% from October 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019 (notwithstanding the completion of the Acacia transaction on September 17, 2019, we consolidated our interest in Acacia and recorded a non-controlling interest of 36.1% in the income statement for the entirety of the third quarter of 2019 as a matter of convenience), and on an 84% basis thereafter as the GoT's 16% free-carried interest was made effective from January 1, 2020.
On November 28, 2019, we completed the sale of our 50% interest in Kalgoorlie in Western Australia to Saracen Mineral Holdings Limited for total cash consideration of $750 million. Accordingly, these represent our 50% interest until November 28, 2019.
Excludes Pierina; Lagunas Norte starting in the fourth quarter of 2019, and Golden Sunlight and Morila (40%) starting in the third quarter of 2019 which are producing incidental ounces as they reach the end of their mine lives.
Cost of sales per ounce (Barrick's share) is calculated as gold cost of sales on an attributable basis (excluding sites in care and maintenance) divided by gold attributable ounces sold.
Production and Cost Summary - Copper
Lumwana
Copper production (Mlbs) 62 72 (14 ) % 65 (5 ) %
Cost of sales ($/lb) 2.06 2.06 0 % 2.04 1 %
C1 cash costs ($/lb) [a] 1.49 1.55 (4 ) % 1.83 (19 ) %
All-in sustaining costs ($/lb) [a] 2.58 2.27 14 % 3.66 (30 ) %
Zaldivar (50%)
Copper production (Mlbs attributable basis) 24 28 (14 ) % 32 (25 ) %
Copper production (Mlbs 100% basis) 48 56 (14 ) % 64 (25 ) %
Cost of sales ($/lb) 2.20 2.52 (13 ) % 2.18 1 %
C1 cash costs ($/lb) [a] 1.64 1.79 (8 ) % 1.55 6 %
All-in sustaining costs ($/lb) [a] 2.27 2.09 9 % 1.91 19 %
Jabal Sayid (50%)
Copper production (Mlbs attributable basis) 17 20 (15 ) % 15 13 %
Copper production (Mlbs 100% basis) 34 40 (15 ) % 30 13 %
Cost of sales ($/lb) 1.43 1.41 1 % 1.63 (12 ) %
C1 cash costs ($/lb) [a] 1.14 1.14 0 % 1.42 (20 ) %
All-in sustaining costs ($/lb) [a] 1.17 1.41 (17 ) % 1.65 (29 ) %
Total Copper
Copper production (Mlbs attributable basis) 103 120 (14 ) % 112 (8 ) %
Cost of sales ($/lb) [b] 1.97 2.08 (5 ) % 2.00 (2 ) %
All-in sustaining costs ($/lb) [a] 2.31 2.15 7 % 2.58 (10 ) %
Cost of sales per pound (Barrick's share) is calculated as copper cost of sales plus our equity share of cost of sales attributable to Zaldivar and Jabal Sayid divided by copper attributable pounds sold.
The scientific and technical information contained in this MD&A has been reviewed and approved by Steven Yopps, MMSA, Manager of Growth Projects, Nevada Gold Mines; Craig Fiddes, SME-RM, Manager - Resource Modeling, Nevada Gold Mines; Chad Yuhasz, P.Geo, Mineral Resource Manager, Latin America and Asia Pacific; Simon Bottoms, CGeol, MGeol, FGS, FAusIMM, Mineral Resources Manager: Africa and Middle East; Rodney Quick, MSc, Pr. Sci.Nat, Mineral Resource Management and Evaluation Executive; John Steele, CIM, Metallurgy, Engineering and Capital Projects Executive; and Rob Krcmarov, FAusIMM, Executive Vice President, Exploration and Growth - each a "Qualified Person" as defined in National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
"Free cash flow" is a non-GAAP financial performance measure that deducts capital expenditures from net cash provided by operating activities. Barrick believes this to be a useful indicator of our ability to operate without reliance on additional borrowing or usage of existing cash. Free cash flow is intended to provide additional information only and does not have any standardized meaning under IFRS and may not be comparable to similar measures of performance presented by other companies. Free cash flow should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. Further details on this non-GAAP measure are provided in the MD&A accompanying Barrick's financial statements filed from time to time on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on EDGAR at www.sec.gov .
Reconciliation of Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities to Free Cash Flow
($ millions) For the three months ended For the nine months ended
9/30/20 6/30/20 9/30/19 9/30/20 9/30/19
Net cash provided by operating activities 1,859 1,031 1,004 3,779 1,958
Capital expenditures (548 ) (509 ) (502 ) (1,508 ) (1,255 )
Free cash flow 1,311 522 502 2,271 703
"Adjusted net earnings" and "adjusted net earnings per share" are non-GAAP financial performance measures. Adjusted net earnings excludes the following from net earnings: certain impairment charges (reversals) related to intangibles, goodwill, property, plant and equipment, and investments; gains (losses) and other one-time costs relating to acquisitions or dispositions; foreign currency translation gains (losses); significant tax adjustments not related to current period earnings; and the tax effect and non-controlling interest of these items. The Company uses this measure internally to evaluate our underlying operating performance for the reporting periods presented and to assist with the planning and forecasting of future operating results. Barrick believes that adjusted net earnings is a useful measure of our performance because these adjusting items do not reflect the underlying operating performance of our core mining business and are not necessarily indicative of future operating results. Adjusted net earnings and adjusted net earnings per share are intended to provide additional information only and do not have any standardized meaning under IFRS and may not be comparable to similar measures of performance presented by other companies. They should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. Further details on these non-GAAP measures are provided in the MD&A accompanying Barrick's financial statements filed from time to time on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on EDGAR at www.sec.gov .
Reconciliation of Net Earnings to Net Earnings per Share, Adjusted Net Earnings and Adjusted Net Earnings per Share
($ millions, except per share amounts in dollars) For the three months ended For the nine months ended
Net earnings attributable to equity holders of the Company 882 357 2,277 1,639 2,582
Impairment charges (reversals) related to intangibles, goodwill, property, plant and equipment, and investments [a] 4 23 (872 ) (309 ) (857 )
Acquisition/disposition (gains) losses [b] (2 ) 8 (1,901 ) (54 ) (1,913 )
Loss (gain) on currency translation 16 2 40 34 56
Significant tax adjustments [c] (66 ) (7 ) 35 (117 ) (40 )
Other expense adjustments [d] (90 ) 48 53 56 158
Tax effect and non-controlling interest [e] (18 ) (16 ) 631 177 616
Adjusted net earnings 726 415 264 1,426 602
Net earnings per share [f] 0.50 0.20 1.30 0.92 1.47
Adjusted net earnings per share [f] 0.41 0.23 0.15 0.80 0.34
a. For the three month period ended September 30, 2020, we recorded no significant impairment charges or reversals. For the nine month period ended September 30, 2020, net impairment reversals primarily relate to non-current asset reversals at our Tanzanian assets. Net impairment reversals for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2019 mainly relate to non-current asset reversals at Lumwana, partially offset by impairments at Cortez and Lagunas Norte.
b. Acquisition/disposition gains for the nine month period ended September 30, 2020 primarily relate to the gain on the sale of Massawa. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, acquisition/disposition gains primarily relate to the gain on the remeasurement of Turquoise Ridge to fair value as a result of its contribution to Nevada Gold Mines.
c. Significant tax adjustments for the nine month period ended September 30, 2020 mainly relates to deferred tax recoveries as a result of tax reform measures in Argentina and adjustments made in recognition of the net settlement of all outstanding disputes with the GoT.
d.Other expense adjustments for the three and nine month period ended September 30, 2020 primarily relate to the gain on the remeasurement of the residual cash liability relating to our silver sale agreement with Wheaton Precious Metals Corp., partially offset by care and maintenance expenses at Porgera and Covid-19 donations. For the three month period ended June 30, 2020, other expense adjustments primarily relate to care and maintenance expenses at Porgera and Covid-19 donations. The nine month period ended September 30, 2020 was further impacted by changes in the discount rate assumptions on our closed mine rehabilitation provision. For the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2019, other expense adjustments primarily relate to severance costs as a result of the implementation of a number of organizational reductions, the impact of changes in the discount rate assumptions on our closed mine rehabilitation provision and transaction costs related to Nevada Gold Mines and Acacia.
e. Tax effect and non-controlling interest for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2019 primarily relates to the net impairment reversals related to long-lived assets and acquisition gains.
f. Calculated using weighted average number of shares outstanding under the basic method of earnings per share.
"Realized price" is a non-GAAP financial measure which excludes from sales: unrealized gains and losses on non-hedge derivative contracts; unrealized mark-to-market gains and losses on provisional pricing from copper and gold sales contracts; sales attributable to ore purchase arrangements; treatment and refining charges; export duties; and cumulative catch-up adjustments to revenue relating to our streaming arrangements. This measure is intended to enable Management to better understand the price realized in each reporting period for gold and copper sales because unrealized mark-to-market values of non-hedge gold and copper derivatives are subject to change each period due to changes in market factors such as market and forward gold and copper prices, so that prices ultimately realized may differ from those recorded. The exclusion of such unrealized mark-to-market gains and losses from the presentation of this performance measure enables investors to understand performance based on the realized proceeds of selling gold and copper production. The realized price measure is intended to provide additional information and does not have any standardized definition under IFRS and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. Further details on these non-GAAP measures are provided in the MD&A accompanying Barrick's financial statements filed from time to time on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on EDGAR at www.sec.gov .
Reconciliation of Sales to Realized Price per ounce/pound
($ millions, except per ounce/pound information in dollars) Gold Copper Gold Copper
For the three months ended For the nine months ended
9/30/20 6/30/20 9/30/19 9/30/20 6/30/20 9/30/19 9/30/20 9/30/19 9/30/20 9/30/19
Sales 3,237 2,812 2,585 219 184 45 8,642 6,428 502 311
Sales applicable to non-controlling interests (967 ) (822 ) (748 ) 0 0 0 (2,560 ) (1,212 ) 0 0
Sales applicable to equity method investments [a,b] 183 172 140 121 120 100 502 404 348 345
Realized non-hedge gold/copper derivative (losses) gains 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Sales applicable to sites in care and maintenance [c] (53 ) (53 ) (32 ) 0 0 0 (152 ) (84 ) 0 0
Treatment and refinement charges 4 2 0 39 40 18 6 0 118 74
Other [d] 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 0 0 0
Revenues - as adjusted 2,404 2,111 1,945 379 344 163 6,453 5,537 968 730
Ounces/pounds sold (000s ounces/millions pounds) [c] 1,249 1,224 1,318 116 123 65 3,693 4,055 349 264
Realized gold/copper price per ounce/pound [e] 1,926 1,725 1,476 3.28 2.79 2.55 1,748 1,365 2.78 2.78
a. Represents sales of $176 million and $480 million, respectively, for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2020 (June 30, 2020: $164 million and September 30, 2019: $133 million and $375 million, respectively) applicable to our 45% equity method investment in Kibali and $nil and nil, respectively, (June 30, 2020: $nil and September 30, 2019: $8 million and $30 million, respectively) applicable to our 40% equity method investment in Morila for gold. Represents sales of $66 million and $216 million, respectively, for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 (June 30, 2020: $78 million and September 30, 2019: $66 million and $233 million, respectively) applicable to our 50% equity method investment in Zaldivar and $59 million and $145 million, respectively (June 30, 2020: $46 million and September 30, 2019: $37 million and $125 million, respectively) applicable to our 50% equity method investment in Jabal Sayid for copper.
b. Sales applicable to equity method investments are net of treatment and refinement charges.
c. Figures exclude: Pierina; Golden Sunlight and Morila starting in the third quarter of 2019; and Lagunas Norte starting in the fourth quarter of 2019, from the calculation of realized price per ounce as the mine is mining incidental ounces as it enters closure.
d. Represents a cumulative catch-up adjustment to revenue relating to our streaming arrangements. Refer to note 2f of the 2019 Annual Financial Statements for more information.
e. Realized price per ounce/pound may not calculate based on amounts presented in this table due to rounding.
Includes North Mara, Bulyanhulu and Buzwagi on a 84% basis starting January 1, 2020 (and on a 63.9% basis from January 1, 2019 to September 30, 2019; notwithstanding the completion of the Acacia transaction on September 17, 2019, we consolidated our interest in Acacia and recorded a non-controlling interest of 36.1% in the income statement for the entirety of the third quarter of 2019 as a matter of convenience, and on a 100% basis from October 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019), Pueblo Viejo on a 60% basis, South Arturo on a 36.9% basis from July 1, 2019 onwards as a result of its contribution to Nevada Gold Mines (and on a 60% basis from January 1, 2019 to June 30, 2019), Veladero on a 50% basis, Loulo-Gounkoto on an 80% basis, Kibali on a 45% basis, Tongon on an 89.7% basis, and Morila on a 40% basis until the second quarter of 2019, which reflects our equity share of production and sales. Also removes the non-controlling interest of 38.5% Nevada Gold Mines from July 1, 2019 onwards.
Net earnings (loss) represents net earnings (loss) attributable to the equity holders of the Company.
These amounts are presented on the same basis as our guidance and include our 60% share of Pueblo Viejo, 80% share of Loulo-Gounkoto, 89.7% share of Tongon, 45% share of Kibali, 40% share of Morila and 60% share of South Arturo (36.9% of South Arturo from July 1, 2019 onwards as a result of its contribution to Nevada Gold Mines), our 84% share of Tanzania starting January 1, 2020 (63.9% share from January 1, 2019 to September 30, 2019; notwithstanding the completion of the Acacia transaction on September 17, 2019, we consolidated our interest in Acacia and recorded a non-controlling interest of 36.1% in the income statement for the entirety of the third quarter of 2019 as a matter of convenience, and 100% share from October 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019) and our 50% share of Zaldivar and Jabal Sayid. Starting July 1, 2019, it also includes our 61.5% share of Nevada Gold Mines.
Gold cost of sales (Barrick's share) is calculated as cost of sales - gold on an attributable basis (excluding sites in care and maintenance) divided by ounces sold.
"Total cash costs" per ounce, "All-in sustaining costs" per ounce and "All-in costs" per ounce are non-GAAP financial performance measures. "Total cash costs" per ounce starts with cost of sales related to gold production and removes depreciation, the non-controlling interest of cost of sales, and includes by product credits. "All-in sustaining costs" per ounce start with "Total cash costs" per ounce and add further costs which reflect the expenditures made to maintain current production levels, primarily sustaining capital expenditures, sustaining leases, general & administrative costs, minesite exploration and evaluation costs, and reclamation cost accretion and amortization. "All-in costs" per ounce starts with "All-in sustaining costs" per ounce and adds additional costs that reflect the varying costs of producing gold over the life-cycle of a mine, including: project capital expenditures and other non-sustaining costs. Barrick believes that the use of "Total cash costs" per ounce, "All-in sustaining costs" per ounce and "All-in costs" per ounce will assist investors, analysts and other stakeholders in understanding the costs associated with producing gold, understanding the economics of gold mining, assessing our operating performance and also our ability to generate free cash flow from current operations and to generate free cash flow on an overall Company basis. "Total cash costs" per ounce, "All-in sustaining costs" per ounce and "All-in costs" per ounce are intended to provide additional information only and do not have any standardized meaning under IFRS. Although a standardized definition of all-in sustaining costs was published in 2013 by the World Gold Council (a market development organization for the gold industry comprised of and funded by gold mining companies from around the world, including Barrick), it is not a regulatory organization, and other companies may calculate this measure differently. These measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures prepared in accordance with IFRS. Further details on these non-GAAP measures are provided in the MD&A accompanying Barrick's financial statements filed from time to time on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on EDGAR at www.sec.gov .
Reconciliation of Gold Cost of Sales to Total cash costs, All-in sustaining costs and All-in costs, including on a per ounce basis
($ millions, except per ounce information in dollars) For the three months ended For the nine months ended
Footnote 9/30/20 6/30/20 9/30/19 9/30/20 9/30/19
Cost of sales applicable to gold production 1,768 1,740 1,831 5,151 4,618
Depreciation (508 ) (498 ) (538 ) (1,480 ) (1,353 )
Cash cost of sales applicable to equity method investments 53 62 45 156 169
By-product credits (84 ) (59 ) (48 ) (172 ) (95 )
Realized (gains) losses on hedge and non-hedge derivatives a 0 1 1 1 0
Non-recurring items b 0 0 (4 ) 0 (33 )
Other c (24 ) (26 ) (19 ) (77 ) (65 )
Non-controlling interests d (337 ) (336 ) (339 ) (989 ) (552 )
Total cash costs 868 884 929 2,590 2,689
General & administrative costs 50 71 68 161 181
Minesite exploration and evaluation costs e 19 23 22 57 45
Minesite sustaining capital expenditures f 415 420 406 1,205 926
Sustaining leases 9 10 5 19 23
Rehabilitation - accretion and amortization (operating sites) g 13 12 28 39 58
Non-controlling interest, copper operations and other h (166 ) (158 ) (184 ) (438 ) (335 )
All-in sustaining costs 1,208 1,262 1,274 3,633 3,587
Project exploration and evaluation and project costs e 53 55 64 164 213
Community relations costs not related to current operations 0 0 1 1 2
Project capital expenditures f 126 85 96 287 324
Rehabilitation - accretion and amortization (non-operating sites) g 3 4 5 9 19
Non-controlling interest and copper operations and other h (47 ) (36 ) (46 ) (100 ) (77 )
All-in costs 1,343 1,370 1,394 3,994 4,068
Ounces sold - equity basis (000s ounces) i 1,249 1,224 1,318 3,693 4,055
Cost of sales per ounce j,k 1,065 1,075 1,065 1,054 991
Total cash costs per ounce k 696 716 710 701 663
Total cash costs per ounce (on a co-product basis) k,l 742 747 735 732 680
All-in sustaining costs per ounce k 966 1,031 984 984 883
All-in sustaining costs per ounce (on a co-product basis) k,l 1,012 1,062 1,009 1,015 900
All-in costs per ounce k 1,076 1,118 1,074 1,082 999
All-in costs per ounce (on a co-product basis) k,l 1,122 1,149 1,099 1,113 1,016
a. Realized (gains) losses on hedge and non-hedge derivatives
Includes realized hedge losses of $nil and $nil, respectively, for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2020 (June 30, 2020: $nil and September 30, 2019: $nil and $nil, respectively), and realized non-hedge losses of $nil and $1 million, respectively, for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2020 (June 30, 2020: $1 million and September 30, 2019: $1 million and $nil, respectively). Refer to note 5 to the Financial Statements for further information.
b. Non-recurring items
Non-recurring items in 2019 relate to organizational restructuring. These costs are not indicative of our cost of production and have been excluded from the calculation of total cash costs.
c. Other
Other adjustments for the three and nine month period ended September 30, 2020 include the removal of total cash costs and by-product credits associated with: our Pierina mine; Golden Sunlight and Morila starting in the third quarter of 2019; and Lagunas Norte starting in the fourth quarter of 2019, which all are mining incidental ounces as they enter closure of $27 million and $78 million, respectively, (June 30, 2020: $26 million; September 30, 2019: $19 million and $57 million, respectively).
d. Non-controlling interests
Non-controlling interests include non-controlling interests related to gold production of $508 million and $1,469 million, respectively, for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2020 (June 30, 2020: $495 million and September 30, 2019: $504 million and $827 million, respectively). Non-controlling interests include Pueblo Viejo, Loulo-Gounkoto, Tongon, North Mara, Bulyanhulu, Buzwagi (notwithstanding the completion of the Acacia transaction on September 17, 2019, we consolidated our interest in Acacia and recorded a non-controlling interest of 36.1% in the income statement for the entirety of the third quarter of 2019 as a matter of convenience) and Nevada Gold Mines starting July 1, 2019. Refer to note 5 to the Financial Statements for further information.
e. Exploration and evaluation costs
Exploration, evaluation and project expenses are presented as minesite sustaining if it supports current mine operations and project if it relates to future projects. Refer to page 75 of the Q3 2020 MD&A.
f. Capital expenditures
Capital expenditures are related to our gold sites only and are split between minesite sustaining and project capital expenditures. Project capital expenditures are distinct projects designed to increase the net present value of the mine and are not related to current production. Significant projects in the current year are the expansion project at Pueblo Viejo, the Goldrush exploration declines, the restart of mining activities at Bulyanhulu, and construction of the third shaft at Turquoise Ridge. Refer to page 74 of the Q3 2020 MD&A.
g. Rehabilitation--accretion and amortization
Includes depreciation on the assets related to rehabilitation provisions of our gold operations and accretion on the rehabilitation provision of our gold operations, split between operating and non-operating sites.
h. Non-controlling interest and copper operations
Removes general & administrative costs related to non-controlling interests and copper based on a percentage allocation of revenue. Also removes exploration, evaluation and project expenses, rehabilitation costs and capital expenditures incurred by our copper sites and the non-controlling interest of North Mara, Bulyanhulu and Buzwagi (notwithstanding the completion of the Acacia transaction on September 17, 2019, we consolidated our interest in Acacia and recorded a non-controlling interest of 36.1% in the income statement for the entirety of the third quarter of 2019 as a matter of convenience), Pueblo Viejo, Loulo-Gounkoto and Tongon operating segments and South Arturo (63.1% of South Arturo from July 1, 2019 onwards as a result of its contribution to Nevada Gold Mines). Also removes the non-controlling interest of Nevada Gold Mines starting July 1, 2019. It also includes capital expenditures applicable to equity method investments. Figures remove the impact of Pierina; Golden Sunlight and Morila starting in the third quarter of 2019; and Lagunas Norte starting in the fourth quarter of 2019. The impact is summarized as the following:
Non-controlling interest, copper operations and other 9/30/20 6/30/20 9/30/19 9/30/20 9/30/19
General & administrative costs (6 ) (8 ) (22 ) (20 ) (55 )
Minesite exploration and evaluation expenses (5 ) (8 ) (9 ) (16 ) (10 )
Rehabilitation - accretion and amortization (operating sites) (3 ) (4 ) (10 ) (11 ) (12 )
Minesite sustaining capital expenditures (152 ) (138 ) (143 ) (391 ) (258 )
All-in sustaining costs total (166 ) (158 ) (184 ) (438 ) (335 )
Project exploration and evaluation and project costs (9 ) (9 ) (12 ) (21 ) (40 )
Project capital expenditures (38 ) (27 ) (34 ) (79 ) (37 )
All-in costs total (47 ) (36 ) (46 ) (100 ) (77 )
i. Ounces sold - equity basis
Figures remove the impact of: Pierina; Golden Sunlight and Morila starting in the third quarter of 2019; and Lagunas Norte starting in the fourth quarter of 2019, which are producing incidental ounces as they reach the end of their mine lives.
j. Cost of sales per ounce
Figures remove the cost of sales impact of: Pierina of $4 million and $14 million, respectively, for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2020 (June 30, 2020: $4 million and September 30, 2019: $44 million and $71 million, respectively); starting in the third quarter of 2019, Golden Sunlight of $nil and $nil, respectively, for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2020 (June 30, 2020: $nil and September 30, 2019: $1 million and $1 million, respectively) and Morila of $7 million and $20 million, respectively, for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2020 (June 30, 2020: $8 million and September 30, 2019: $10 million and $10 million, respectively); and starting in the fourth quarter of 2019, Lagunas Norte of $22 million and $66 million, respectively, for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2020 (June 30, 2020: $23 million and September 30, 2019: $nil and $nil, respectively), which are mining incidental ounces as these sites enter closure. Cost of sales per ounce excludes non-controlling interest related to gold production. Cost of sales applicable to gold per ounce is calculated using cost of sales on an attributable basis (removing the non-controlling interest of 40% Pueblo Viejo, 20% of Loulo-Gounkoto, 10.3% of Tongon, 16% North Mara, Bulyanhulu and Buzwagi starting January 1, 2020, the effective date of the GoT's free carried interest (36.1% up until September 30, 2019; notwithstanding the completion of the Acacia transaction on September 17, 2019, we consolidated our interest in Acacia and recorded a non-controlling interest of 36.1% in the income statement for the entirety of the third quarter of 2019 as a matter of convenience) and 40% South Arturo from cost of sales (63.1% of South Arturo from July 1, 2019 onwards as a result of its contribution to Nevada Gold Mines)), divided by attributable gold ounces. The non-controlling interest of 38.5% Nevada Gold Mines is also removed from cost of sales from July 1, 2019 onwards.
k. Per ounce figures
Cost of sales per ounce, total cash costs per ounce, all-in sustaining costs per ounce and all-in costs per ounce may not calculate based on amounts presented in this table due to rounding.
l. Co-product costs per ounce
Total cash costs per ounce, all-in sustaining costs per ounce and all-in costs per ounce presented on a co-product basis removes the impact of by-product credits of our gold production (net of non-controlling interest) calculated as:
By-product credits 84 59 48 172 95
Non-controlling interest (29 ) (22 ) (16 ) (65 ) (31 )
By-product credits (net of non-controlling interest) 55 37 32 107 64
Amounts reflect production and sales from Jabal Sayid and Zaldivar on a 50% basis, which reflects our equity share of production, and Lumwana.
Endnote 10
Copper cost of sales (Barrick's share) is calculated as cost of sales - copper plus our equity share of cost of sales attributable to Zaldivar and Jabal Sayid divided by pounds sold.
A Tier One Gold Asset is a mine with a stated life in excess of 10 years, annual production of at least 500,000 ounces of gold and total cash costs per ounce over the mine life that are in the lower half of the industry cost curve.
The declaration and payment of dividends is at the discretion of the Board of Directors, and will depend on the company's financial results, cash requirements, future prospects and other factors deemed relevant by the Board.
Botswana, Burundi, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Cost of sales applicable to gold per ounce is calculated using cost of sales applicable to gold on an attributable basis (removing the non-controlling interest of 38.5% of Nevada Gold Mines (including 63.1% of South Arturo), 40% of Pueblo Viejo, 20% of Loulo-Gounkoto, 10.3% of Tongon, and 16% of North Mara, Bulyanhulu and Buzwagi from cost of sales and including our proportionate share of cost of sales attributable to our equity method investments in Kibali), divided by attributable gold ounces sold. Cost of sales applicable to copper per pound is calculated using cost of sales applicable to copper including our proportionate share of cost of sales attributable to our equity method investments in Zaldivar and Jabal Sayid, divided by consolidated copper pounds sold (including our proportionate share of copper pounds sold from our equity method investments).
Includes our 36.9% share of South Arturo.
Based on the communication we received from the Government of Papua New Guinea that the SML will not be extended, Porgera was placed on temporary care and maintenance on April 25, 2020 to ensure the safety and security of our employees and communities. Due to the uncertainty related to the timing and scope of future developments on the mine's operating outlook, our full year 2020 guidance for Porgera has been withdrawn.
Amounts are on an 84% basis as the GoT's 16% free-carried interest was made effective from January 1, 2020.
Total cash costs and all-in sustaining costs per ounce include the impact of hedges and/or costs allocated to non-operating sites.
Operating unit guidance ranges reflect expectations at each individual operating unit, and may not add up to the company-wide guidance range total. Guidance ranges exclude Pierina, Lagunas Norte, Golden Sunlight and Morila (40%).
Includes corporate administration costs.
"C1 cash costs" per pound and "All-in sustaining costs" per pound are non-GAAP financial performance measures. "C1 cash costs" per pound is based on cost of sales but excludes the impact of depreciation and royalties and production taxes and includes treatment and refinement charges. "All-in sustaining costs" per pound begins with "C1 cash costs" per pound and adds further costs which reflect the additional costs of operating a mine, primarily sustaining capital expenditures, general & administrative costs and royalties and production taxes. Barrick believes that the use of "C1 cash costs" per pound and "all-in sustaining costs" per pound will assist investors, analysts, and other stakeholders in understanding the costs associated with producing copper, understanding the economics of copper mining, assessing our operating performance, and also our ability to generate free cash flow from current operations and to generate free cash flow on an overall Company basis. "C1 cash costs" per pound and "All-in sustaining costs" per pound are intended to provide additional information only, do not have any standardized meaning under IFRS, and may not be comparable to similar measures of performance presented by other companies. These measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. Further details on these non-GAAP measures are provided in the MD&A accompanying Barrick's financial statements filed from time to time on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on EDGAR at www.sec.gov .
Reconciliation of Copper Cost of Sales to C1 cash costs and All-in sustaining costs, including on a per pound basis
($ millions, except per pound information in dollars) For the three months ended For the nine months ended
Cost of sales 154 153 49 431 281
Depreciation/amortization (61 ) (63 ) (13 ) (167 ) (83 )
Treatment and refinement charges 39 40 18 118 74
Less: royalties and production taxes [a] (16 ) (11 ) (5 ) (38 ) (26 )
By-product credits (4 ) (3 ) (3 ) (10 ) (8 )
Other 0 0 0 (5 )
C1 cash costs 169 188 105 529 427
General & administrative costs 4 6 5 13 16
Rehabilitation - accretion and amortization 2 2 2 7 8
Royalties and production taxes [a] 16 11 5 38 26
Minesite exploration and evaluation costs 2 1 1 4 4
Minesite sustaining capital expenditures 74 52 48 158 155
Sustaining leases 2 2 0 7 2
All-in sustaining costs 269 262 166 756 638
Pounds sold - consolidated basis (millions pounds) 116 123 65 349 264
Cost of sales per poundb,c 1.97 2.08 2.00 2.01 2.10
C1 cash cost per poundb 1.45 1.55 1.62 1.52 1.62
All-in sustaining costs per poundb 2.31 2.15 2.58 2.17 2.42
a. For the three and nine month period ended September 30, 2020, royalties and production taxes include royalties of $16 million and $38 million, respectively (June 30, 2020: $11 million and September 30, 2019: $5 million and $26 million, respectively).
b. Cost of sales per pound, C1 cash costs per pound and all-in sustaining costs per pound may not calculate based on amounts presented in this table due to rounding.
c. Cost of sales applicable to copper per pound is calculated using cost of sales including our proportionate share of cost of sales attributable to equity method investments (Zaldivar and Jabal Sayid), divided by consolidated copper pounds (including our proportionate share of copper pounds from our equity method investments).
2020 Guidance includes our 61.5% share of Nevada Gold Mines, our 60% share of Pueblo Viejo, our 80% share of Loulo-Gounkoto, our 89.7% share of Tongon, our 84% share of North Mara, Bulyanhulu and Buzwagi, our 50% share of Zaldivar and Jabal Sayid, and our 45% of Kibali, and our share of joint operations.
Reflects the impact of the full year.
EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure, which excludes the following from net earnings: income tax expense; finance costs; finance income; and depreciation. Management believes that EBITDA is a valuable indicator of our ability to generate liquidity by producing operating cash flow to fund working capital needs, service debt obligations, and fund capital expenditures. Management uses EBITDA for this purpose. Adjusted EBITDA removes the effect of impairment charges; acquisition/disposition gains/losses; foreign currency translation gains/losses; other expense adjustments; and the impact of the income tax expense, finance costs, finance income and depreciation incurred in our equity method accounted investments. We believe these items provide a greater level of consistency with the adjusting items included in our Adjusted Net Earnings reconciliation, with the exception that these amounts are adjusted to remove any impact on finance costs/income, income tax expense and/or depreciation as they do not affect EBITDA. We believe this additional information will assist analysts, investors and other stakeholders of Barrick in better understanding our ability to generate liquidity from our full business, including equity method investments, by excluding these amounts from the calculation as they are not indicative of the performance of our core mining business and not necessarily reflective of the underlying operating results for the periods presented. EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA are intended to provide additional information only and do not have any standardized meaning under IFRS and may not be comparable to similar measures of performance presented by other companies. They should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. Further details on these non-GAAP measures are provided in the MD&A accompanying Barrick's financial statements filed from time to time on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on EDGAR at www.sec.gov .
Reconciliation of Net Earnings to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA
Net earnings (loss) 1,271 622 2,435 2,556 2,798
Income tax expense 284 258 791 928 999
Finance costs, net [a] 72 74 106 234 304
Depreciation 574 566 559 1,664 1,460
EBITDA 2,201 1,520 3,891 5,382 5,561
Impairment charges (reversals) of long-lived assets [b] 4 23 (872 ) (309 ) (857 )
Acquisition/disposition (gains) losses [c] (2 ) 8 (1,901 ) (54 ) (1,913 )
Loss on currency translation 16 2 40 34 56
Other expense (income) adjustments [d] (90 ) 48 53 56 158
Unrealized (gains) losses on non-hedge derivative instruments 0 0 1 0 0
Income tax expense, net finance costs, and depreciation from equity investees 94 96 85 277 266
Adjusted EBITDA 2,223 1,697 1,297 5,386 3,271
a. Finance costs exclude accretion.
b. For the three month period ended September 30, 2020, we recorded no significant impairment charges or reversals. For the nine month period ended September 30, 2020, net impairment reversals primarily relate to non-current asset reversals at our Tanzanian assets. Net impairment reversals for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2019 mainly relate to non-current asset reversals at Lumwana, partially offset by impairments at Cortez and Lagunas Norte.
c. Acquisition/disposition gains for the nine month period ended September 30, 2020 primarily relate to the gain on the sale of Massawa. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, acquisition/disposition gains primarily relate to the gain on the remeasurement of Turquoise Ridge to fair value as a result of its contribution to Nevada Gold Mines.
d. Other expense adjustments for the three and nine month period ended September 30, 2020 primarily relate to the gain on the remeasurement of the residual cash liability relating to our silver sale agreement with Wheaton Precious Metals Corp., partially offset by care and maintenance expenses at Porgera and Covid-19 donations. For the three month period ended June 30, 2020, other expense adjustments primarily relate to care and maintenance expenses at Porgera and Covid-19 donations. The nine month period ended September 30, 2020 was further impacted by changes in the discount rate assumptions on our closed mine rehabilitation provision. For the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2019, other expense adjustments primarily relate to severance costs as a result of the implementation of a number of organizational reductions, the impact of changes in the discount rate assumptions on our closed mine rehabilitation provision and transaction costs related to Nevada Gold Mines and Acacia.
Due to our hedging activities, which are reflected in these sensitivities, we are partially protected against changes in these factors.
9/30/20 6/30/20 % Change 9/30/19 % Change 9/30/20 9/30/19 % Change
Financial Results ($ millions)
Revenues 3,540 3,055 16 % 2,678 32 % 9,316 6,834 36 %
Cost of sales 1,927 1,900 1 % 1,889 2 % 5,603 4,924 14 %
Net earnings [a] 882 357 147 % 2,277 (61 ) % 1,639 2,582 (37 ) %
Adjusted net earnings [b] 726 415 75 % 264 175 % 1,426 602 137 %
Adjusted EBITDA [b] 2,223 1,697 31 % 1,297 71 % 5,386 3,271 65 %
Adjusted EBITDA margin [b,c] 63 % 56 % 13 % 48 % 31 % 58 % 48 % 21 %
Minesite sustaining capital expenditures [d] 415 420 (1 ) % 406 2 % 1,205 926 30 %
Project capital expenditures [d] 126 85 48 96 31 287 324 (11 ) %
Total consolidated capital expenditures [d,e] 548 509 8 502 9 1,508 1,255 20 %
Net cash provided by operating activities 1,859 1,031 80 % 1,004 85 % 3,779 1,958 93 %
Net cash provided by operating activities margin [f] 53 % 34 % 56 % 37 % 43 % 41 % 29 % 41 %
Free cash flow [b] 1,311 522 151 % 502 161 % 2,271 703 223 %
Net earnings per share (basic and diluted) 0.50 0.20 150 % 1.30 (62 ) % 0.92 1.47 (37 ) %
Adjusted net earnings (basic) [b ] per share 0.41 0.23 78 % 0.15 173 % 0.80 0.34 135 %
Weighted average diluted common shares (millions of shares) 1,778 1,778 0 % 1,756 1 % 1,778 1,751 2 %
Gold production (thousands of ounces) [g] 1,155 1,149 1 % 1,306 (12 ) % 3,554 4,026 (12 ) %
Gold sold (thousands of ounces) [g] 1,249 1,224 2 % 1,318 (5 ) % 3,693 4,055 (9 ) %
Market gold price ($/oz) 1,909 1,711 12 % 1,472 30 % 1,735 1,364 27 %
Realized gold price [b,g ] ($/oz) 1,926 1,725 12 % 1,476 30 % 1,748 1,365 28 %
Gold cost of sales (Barrick's share) [g,h ] ($/oz) 1,065 1,075 (1 ) % 1,065 0 % 1,054 991 6 %
Gold total cash costs [b,g ] ($/oz) 696 716 (3 ) % 710 (2 ) % 701 663 6 %
Gold all-in sustaining costs [b,g ] ($/oz) 966 1,031 (6 ) % 984 (2 ) % 984 883 11 %
Copper production (millions of pounds) [i] 103 120 (14 ) % 112 (8 ) % 338 315 7 %
Copper sold (millions of pounds) [i] 116 123 (6 ) % 65 78 % 349 264 32 %
Market copper price ($/lb) 2.96 2.43 22 % 2.63 13 % 2.65 2.74 (3 ) %
Realized copper price [b,i ] ($/lb) 3.28 2.79 18 % 2.55 29 % 2.78 2.78 0 %
Copper cost of sales (Barrick's share) [i,j ] ($/lb) 1.97 2.08 (5 ) % 2.00 (2 ) % 2.01 2.10 (4 ) %
Copper C1 cash costs [b,i ] ($/lb) 1.45 1.55 (6 ) % 1.62 (10 ) % 1.52 1.62 (6 ) %
Copper all-in sustaining costs [b,i ] ($/lb) 2.31 2.15 7 % 2.58 (10 ) % 2.17 2.42 (10 ) %
As at9/30/20 As at
6/30/20 % Change As at
9/30/19 % Change
Financial Position ($ millions)
Debt (current and long-term) 5,161 5,168 0 % 5,560 (7 ) %
Cash and equivalents 4,744 3,743 27 % 2,405 97 %
Debt, net of cash 417 1,425 (71 ) % 3,155 (87 ) %
Net earnings represents net earnings attributable to the equity holders of the Company.
Adjusted net earnings, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, free cash flow, adjusted net earnings per share, realized gold price, all-in sustaining costs, total cash costs, C1 cash costs and realized copper price are non-GAAP financial performance measures with no standardized meaning under IFRS and therefore may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. For further information and a detailed reconciliation of each non-GAAP measure to the most directly comparable IFRS measure, please see pages 82 to 106 of our third quarter MD&A.
Represents adjusted EBITDA divided by revenue.
Amounts presented on a consolidated cash basis. Project capital expenditures are included in our calculation of all-in costs, but not included in our calculation of all-in sustaining costs.
Total consolidated capital expenditures also includes capitalized interest.
Represents net cash provided by operating activities divided by revenue.
Gold cost of sales (Barrick's share) is calculated as gold cost of sales on an attributable basis (excluding sites in care and maintenance) divided by ounces sold.
Copper cost of sales (Barrick's share) is calculated as copper cost of sales plus our equity share of cost of sales attributable to Zaldivar and Jabal Sayid divided by pounds sold.
Barrick Gold Corporation
(in millions of United States dollars, except per share data) (Unaudited) Three months ended
September 30, Nine months ended
Revenue (notes 5 and 6) $3,540 $2,678 $9,316 $6,834
Costs and expenses (income)
Cost of sales (notes 5 and 7) 1,927 1,889 5,603 4,924
General and administrative expenses 50 68 161 181
Exploration, evaluation and project expenses 72 86 221 258
Impairment (reversals) charges (notes 9B and 13) 4 (872 ) (309 ) (857 )
Loss on currency translation 16 40 34 56
Closed mine rehabilitation 8 5 105 46
Income from equity investees (note 12) (95 ) (38 ) (210 ) (116 )
Other income (note 9A) (78 ) (1,851 ) (40 ) (1,818 )
Income before finance costs and income taxes $1,636 $3,351 $3,751 $4,160
Finance costs, net (81 ) (125 ) (267 ) (363 )
Income before income taxes $1,555 $3,226 $3,484 $3,797
Income tax expense (note 10) (284 ) (791 ) (928 ) (999 )
Net income $1,271 $2,435 $2,556 $2,798
Attributable to:
Equity holders of Barrick Gold Corporation $882 $2,277 $1,639 $2,582
Non-controlling interests $389 $158 $917 $216
Earnings per share data attributable to the equity holders of Barrick Gold Corporation (note 8)
Basic $0.50 $1.30 $0.92 $1.47
Diluted $0.50 $1.30 $0.92 $1.47
The notes to these unaudited condensed interim financial statements, which are contained in the Third Quarter Report 2020 available on our website are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income
(in millions of United States dollars) (Unaudited) Three months ended
Other comprehensive (loss) income, net of taxes
Items that may be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss:
Unrealized gains (losses) on derivatives designated as cash flow hedges, net of tax $nil, $nil, $nil and $nil (3 ) -- (4 ) --
Realized (gains) losses on derivatives designated as cash flow hedges, net of tax $nil, $nil, $nil and $nil 3 -- 3 --
Currency translation adjustments, net of tax $nil, $nil, $nil and $nil (1 ) (1 ) (6 ) (4 )
Items that will not be reclassified to profit or loss:
Actuarial gain (loss) on post employment benefit obligations, net of tax $1, $nil, $1 and $nil -- -- (2 ) --
Net change on equity investments, net of tax ($34), $nil, ($34) and $nil 38 53 131 60
Total other comprehensive income 37 52 122 56
Total comprehensive income $1,308 $2,487 $2,678 $2,854
Adjustments for the following items:
Depreciation 574 559 1,664 1,460
Finance costs, net 83 129 280 381
Income tax expense (note 10) 284 791 928 999
Remeasurement of Turquoise Ridge to fair value -- (1,886 ) -- (1,886 )
Gain on sale of non-current assets (2 ) (15 ) (54 ) (27 )
Change in working capital (note 11) (3 ) 67 (344 ) (263 )
Other operating activities (note 11) (244 ) (126 ) (226 ) (112 )
Operating cash flows before interest and income taxes 1,983 1,122 4,529 2,549
Interest paid (19 ) (31 ) (173 ) (196 )
Income taxes paid (105 ) (87 ) (577 ) (395 )
Net cash provided by operating activities 1,859 1,004 3,779 1,958
Capital expenditures (note 5) (548 ) (502 ) (1,508 ) (1,255 )
Sales proceeds 8 13 24 31
Investment sales (purchases) 2 3 208 (4 )
Divestitures (note 4) -- -- 256 --
Cash acquired in merger -- -- -- 751
Other investing activities (note 11) 84 103 139 165
Net cash used in investing activities (454 ) (383 ) (881 ) (312 )
Lease repayments (8 ) (5 ) (20 ) (23 )
Debt repayments -- (264 ) (351 ) (280 )
Dividends (141 ) (67 ) (387 ) (461 )
Funding from non-controlling interests -- 102 1 116
Disbursements to non-controlling interests (259 ) (133 ) (693 ) (161 )
Other financing activities -- (2 ) (15 ) (2 )
Net cash used in financing activities (408 ) (369 ) (1,465 ) (811 )
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and equivalents 4 -- (3 ) (1 )
Net increase in cash and equivalents 1,001 252 1,430 834
Cash and equivalents at the beginning of period 3,743 2,153 3,314 1,571
Cash and equivalents at the end of period $4,744 $2,405 $4,744 $2,405
(in millions of United States dollars) (Unaudited) As at September 30, As at December 31,
Cash and equivalents (note 14A) $4,744 $3,314
Accounts receivable 509 363
Inventories 2,111 2,289
Other current assets 495 565
Total current assets (excluding assets classified as held for sale) $7,859 $6,531
Assets classified as held for sale -- 356
Total current assets $7,859 $6,887
Non-current assets
Equity in investees (note 12) 4,643 4,527
Property, plant and equipment 24,698 24,141
Goodwill 4,769 4,769
Intangible assets 170 226
Deferred income tax assets 165 235
Non-current portion of inventory 2,392 2,300
Other assets 1,420 1,307
Total assets $46,116 $44,392
Accounts payable $1,032 $1,155
Debt (note 14B) 21 375
Current income tax liabilities 339 224
Other current liabilities 359 622
Total current liabilities $1,751 $2,376
Non-current liabilities
Debt (note 14B) 5,140 5,161
Provisions 3,311 3,114
Deferred income tax liabilities 3,064 3,091
Other liabilities 1,200 823
Total liabilities $14,466 $14,565
Capital stock (note 16) $29,235 $29,231
Deficit (8,474 ) (9,722 )
Accumulated other comprehensive loss -- (122 )
Other 2,038 2,045
Total equity attributable to Barrick Gold Corporation shareholders $22,799 $21,432
Non-controlling interests 8,851 8,395
Total equity $31,650 $29,827
Contingencies and commitments (notes 5 and 17)
Total liabilities and equity $46,116 $44,392
Consolidated Statements of Changes in Equity
Barrick Gold Corporation Attributable to equity holders of the company
(in millions of United States dollars) (Unaudited) Common
Shares (in
thousands) Capital stock Retained
earnings (deficit) Accumulated
income (loss) [1] Other [2] Total equity
attributable to
shareholders Non-
interests Total
At January 1, 2020 1,777,927 $29,231 ($9,722 ) ($122 ) $2,045 $21,432 $8,395 $29,827
Net income -- -- 1,639 -- -- 1,639 917 2,556
Total other comprehensive income (loss) -- -- -- 122 -- 122 -- 122
Total comprehensive income -- -- 1,639 122 -- 1,761 917 2,678
Transactions with owners
Dividends -- -- (387 ) -- -- (387 ) -- (387 )
Issuance of 16% interest in Tanzania mines (note 13) -- -- -- -- -- -- 238 238
Sale of Acacia exploration properties -- -- -- -- (13 ) (13 ) 13 --
Issued on exercise of stock options 70 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Funding from non-controlling interests -- -- -- -- -- -- 1 1
Disbursements to non-controlling interests -- -- -- -- -- -- (713 ) (713 )
Dividend reinvestment plan (note 16) 129 4 (4 ) -- -- -- -- --
Share-based payments -- -- -- -- 6 6 -- 6
Total transactions with owners 199 4 (391 ) -- (7 ) (394 ) (461 ) (855 )
At September 30, 2020 1,778,126 $29,235 ($8,474 ) $-- $2,038 $22,799 $8,851 $31,650
At January 1, 2019 1,167,847 $20,883 ($13,453 ) ($158 ) $321 $7,593 $1,792 $9,385
Total other comprehensive income -- -- -- 56 -- 56 -- 56
Total comprehensive income -- -- 2,582 56 -- 2,638 216 2,854
Merger with Randgold Resources Limited 583,669 7,903 -- -- -- 7,903 874 8,777
Nevada Gold Mines JV with Newmont Goldcorp Corporation -- -- -- -- 1,645 1,645 5,909 7,554
Acquisition of 36.1% of Acacia Mining plc 24,837 423 --
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@americanidol shoutout to anhie
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Tobibrocki
Inherit the earth 2 ?
I only wanna to know, are you working (or is it planned) on a second part of ITE ?
Would be really great if you are (or planning this)!!
« Last Edit: December 28, 2005, 05:49:27 AM by Tobibrocki » Logged
We're still in the planning stage of the sequel. The design document should be finished early next year. Then we'll see where things lead.
Will it be in 3D, or in the same look like the Original game from 1994 ?
Will or is a German speech version planned (would be cool)?
Is the main Character Rif ?
Will the soundtrack be Midi music or real Music (Orchestral)?
jl_anderson
I know it seems kind of silly for me to say this here but if you ever need a concept artist I would absolutly love to help out. April Lee's beautiful art in the old instruction booklet had a huge influence on how I drew furries back in 1996 before I knew what "furry" even was...
Here is some of my art if you are curious...
http://www.anaria.net/anthro.html
3D: yes and no (sorry, can explain it more right now)
Languages: To be determined
Main character: Players will play their own avatar that will be accompanied by different characters during the game. We expect that Rif, Rhene, Okk, Eeah and some others will appear as "companions".
Music: Digital audio (aka real music).
We will add you to our list of concept artists to consider.
In the meantime I should draw some fan art.
Yes, you should.
Rye Dimar Dragon
Here I am searching and searching until I come across a site that is active on a fur based game (after playing the demo) I found to be very interesting.
I am too eager for my "inherit the earth" game to come in the mail so I can play it.
I must emit that I though their was no game out their the truly stays true to the furrie universe but I guess I was proved wrong.
Anyway As for my question on Inherit the earth 2, is it too early to ask if about what is the story of the inherit the earth 2 this time around? How long in the future (or maybe the past) will this take place?
I hope the sequel will be in the same style made like the Original (Sure with modern graphics)!
You said "3D: yes and no!", will the sequel have a graphical look like "Warcraft III" (2D and 3D mixed together)?
Are you planning to port the game (after it´s done) to platforms like the Pegasos with MorphOS as operating system, or other platforms and operating systems ?
A german speech version would be really nice !
What kind of publicity is planned for the sequel, can you tell something about that ?
I'd almost like to see the second one done in the style of Myst crossed with a first-person shooter (meaning a first-person view but the environment isn't static like Myst).
I think that it would make a much more immersive setting seeing it through the eyes of your character.
mmh,.. a switch between different views would be great for that (everyone could play with the view he likes). I personally like the view style of ITE (and I would use this one)!
Or a mix of different views (this kind of system is used in ITE, I think ), but now a first person view could used for to find/search things, fighting against enemys, ..... !
But too much views can be bad too !
I hope the game would be made in the style of ITE and nothing would be changed into an anime like style (characters, images of them (like the emotion Images from ITE), ... (normal anime or the extrem ones with too big heads and smaller bodys than them)!
Are you making new sprites (with higher resolution) for the sequel or are you going use the original ones ?
Can you built (if the planning is ready for the graphical part) a picture (use some stuff from other games and mix it) to get only an idea how the game might be look like ?
Will the sequel be an Adventure or an Adventure with action parts like fights, ... ?
Could you please make a (or some) ITE Wallpaper(s) !?
« Last Edit: January 24, 2006, 02:52:47 PM by Tobibrocki » Logged
There is a wallpaper available here:
http://www.inherittheearth.net/donate.html
BTW, the comic strip artist gets the largest portion of the tips.
Orinsul
I was just thinking, that the orb aint destroyed at the end of ITE.
So just to say it was found. A year after it was lost over the dam an Otter named Irvia, of the Circlelake tribe sets out on his 13th birthday on his test, just to say that in his tribe when a child reaches the aforesaid age he must travel out of the village and com back with a wonder and his place in the village rests on the wonder of the wonder.
and just say that the Tribe of Circlelake lived in a small village across the lake from the dam. Now when most boys reach this age they simply dive into the lake and return with old relics of humanity, some cross the mountains or the dam and return with items from the overruins [the airport.], most of these items are such as plastic containers or old photographs or other such items.
Now Irvia aint so much of a swimmer and so he takes his fathers fishing boat and sets off towards the dam, that night after crossing the dam he sits down beside an old abandoned road and prepares for camp when he decides that fish would make a good dinner, as he readies himself to catch a fish he slips face down into the stream and as he glances up the light catches something under the rock! and the young otter reaches in and pulls out the Orb of Storms. Now young Irvia is beside himself, only a day out and he finds this shiny orb, of corse the orb has shut itself down due to inactivity over a prolonged time period and so he takes his wonder back to the village.
the Keeper of Wonders is so pleased at the wonder that he designates or irvia to head immediately into training to be his heir. and places the Orb in the place beside a solar powered radio [it only emits the fuzzing of a lost signal, but it lights up too.] that was the wonder which placed him as the Keeper of the Wonders.
And yes I know the word Wonder is used far too much, but this is a special village with a long running tradition. [His father found a plastic lunch box lid, which being neither useful nor shiny got him the job as fisherman.][most people just come back with spoons or crisp packets.]
The Keeper is a sort of chieftain as he conducts all ceremonies and gets a special robe and gets to live in the big house, but as its only a small village on important decisions they will always look to whoever they thinking is the cleverest of the lot weither hes a builder or a sweeper. the Hall of Wonders is one of the oldest of the buildings in the village although it has been extended so many times it no longer bears any resemblance to the original structure, As every child has to collect an item to become an adult the place is full of selves and cabinets where the wonders are kept on show. The Hall is built of wood and sits on a slight rise near the lakeside,
The village itself is comprised on single story [and in some cases single roomed.] wooden houses and stretches along the stony beach from the Hall to the school. Smaller than the Ferrets village yet larger than the cats. The village survives in peaceful isolatation from the rest of the island and most inhabitants will only leave it for their test.
That was all backstory and descriptions, heres the idea, The protagonist is a young otter [or maybe not, this village might be integrated. in which case just use the heritage as an idea of time.] who is about to take his own test, His grandfather was Irvia, his father a toymaker [who specialized in puzzles.] and his mother a caretaker at the hall. As he prepares to take his test, and he is the only one to take the test this season, the Orb forecasts the weather to his mother. In the discussions with the Orb it is reveled that last time is was operated was to the south at a certain number of numbers, not trusting the word of a sphere the Keeper takes the orb down to Davin, the carpenter, to ask for advice on the subject, he then calls the village counsil who decied that in order to learn more about this wonder you will have to special test, Not to find a wonder, but to find what a wonder is. And so you set out from the friendly village into the unknown in search of answers.
Inevitably to come across friends who would travel with you and discover puzzles that require solving and people who need help. An so an Adventure ensues.
its just an idea and I bet your got a better one.
and then no worries, aminly i wrote as i remember thinking it as i watched the credits, so maybe i missed out the important bits or it doesnt work. but no worries.
thank you for reading it.
Can you say something about the controls of the sequel (I hope that nothing will be changed too much) !?
Who is/will do(ing) the biggest part of the ingame graphics (are there enough ones)?
I really hope the sequel will be done/finished ! I don´t know if you can tell how many time you need with your team to do this ?
Sorry for the many questions! I really hope the sequel will be cool !
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licorice root meaning in urdu
Synonym of word muleythi are رُب السّوس, ملیٹھی, اصل السوس سایدہ, ملٹھی, ملہٹی کا ست جو مٹھاس کے لیے یا دوا اِستعمال ہوتا ہے, a black candy flavored with the dried root of the licorice plant, deep-rooted coarse-textured plant native to the Mediterranean region having blue flowers and pinnately compound leaves; widely cultivated in Europe for its long thick sweet roots. Information and translations of licorice root in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. 25 Nov. 2020. Codonopsis lanceolata - Codonopsis root. Licorice root contains various anti-depressant compounds. 11. "licorice root." We encourage everyone to contribute in adding more meanings to MeaningIn Dictionary by adding English to Urdu translations, Urdu to Roman Urdu transliterations and Urdu to English Translations. Primarily known for its ability to heal the gastrointestinal system, licorice root benefits the human body in numerous other ways. Definition of licorice root in the Definitions.net dictionary. This will improve our English to Urdu Dictionary, Urdu to English dictionary, English to Urdu Idioms translation and Urdu to English Idioms translations. Gynostemma (Gynostemma pentaphyllum) 15. You can find translation in Urdu and Roman Urdu that is - for the word Licorice. candy and liqueurs and medicines. Rhodiola rosea, lignum rhodium - Rhiodiola Root. How to say licorice root in sign language? Please find 2 English and 1 Urdu definitions related to the word Muleythi - ملیٹھی. The liquorice plant is a herbaceous perennial legume native to the Western Asia and southern Europe. (noun): a black candy flavored with the dried root of the licorice plant (noun): deep-rooted coarse-textured plant native to the Mediterranean region having blue flowers and pinnately compound leaves; widely cultivated in Europe for its long thick sweet roots We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.If by any chance you spot an inappropriate image within your search results please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly. To understand how would you translate the word Muleythi - ملیٹھی in English, you can take help from words closely related to Muleythi - ملیٹھی or it’s English translations. Please find 2 English and definitions related to the word Licorice. 13. The root of the liquorice plant, from which a sweet flavoring with an anise scent is extracted. 19. Muleythi - ملیٹھی meanings in English is liquorice Muleythi - ملیٹھی in English. Balas. Copyright © 2014-2017 Babylon Software Ltd. All Rights Reserved to Babylon Translation Software, English to English translation of licorice, English to Chinese (s) translation of licorice, English to Chinese (t) translation of licorice, English to Arabic translation of licorice, English to Spanish translation of licorice, English to Russian translation of licorice, English to Portuguese translation of licorice, English to Turkish translation of licorice, English to Italian translation of licorice, English to French translation of licorice, English to German translation of licorice, English to Japanese translation of licorice, English to Hebrew translation of licorice, English to Korean translation of licorice, English to Swedish translation of licorice, Hepatitis Central (TM) Liver Disease Medical Glossary, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Wikipedia English - The Free Encyclopedia, Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), English to Esperanto translation of licorice, English to Indonesian translation of licorice, English Spanish Dictionary (Granada University, Spain), 7.7, Ivo Korytowski's English-Portuguese Translator's Dictionary, English to Norwegian translation of licorice, English to Vietnamese translation of licorice, English to Romanian translation of licorice, English to Catalan translation of licorice, English to Polish translation of licorice, English French Dictionary (Kelkouli Rédha), English to Bulgarian translation of licorice, English to Croatian translation of licorice, Salaty English Persian Dictionary (Text ), English to Persian translation of licorice, Salaty English Persian Dictionary (Graphics), English Persian Dictionary (Hojjat Rabiee), Farajbeik English Persian Dictionary (v.2), Farajbeik English Persian Dictionary (v.1), English to Hungarian translation of licorice, English to Serbian translation of licorice. Polygonum multiflorum - Fo-ti root. 10. ), a name of several kinds of polypody which have rootstocks of a sweetish flavor. Definitions of the word Licorice have been described here with the maximum details. Tags: Liquorice Root in Urdu, Mulethi in English, What is Liquorice Root Herb Licorice meaning in Urdu has been searched 1363 (one thousand three hundred and sixty-three) times till Nov 17, 2020. In case you want even more details, you can also consider checking out all of the definitions of the word Muleythi - ملیٹھی. Thanks to the glycyrrhizin, the root helps fight cancer and inflammation. Codonopsis root (Codonopsitis lanceolate) 16. Please find 1 English definition related to the word ملیٹھی - Muleythi. Chinese licorice root (Glycyrrhizae uralensis) 17. k 6 November 2017 at 19:37 Hi, Your post is very helpful in nature for customers. Although we have added all of the meanings of Muleythi - ملیٹھی with utmost care but there could be human errors in the translation. It is used for different ailments such asthma, baldness, coughs, flu, depression, dandruff and teeth decay. ملیٹھی - Muleythi Definition. What does licorice root mean? Web. B06.388.100.401.300, Glycyrrhiza View an extensive list of words below that are related to the meanings of the word Muleythi - ملیٹھی meanings in English in English. Licorice Urdu Meaning - Find the correct meaning of Licorice in Urdu, it is important to understand the word properly when we translate it from English to Urdu. a plant of the genus glycyrrhiza (g. glabra), the root of which abounds with a sweet juice, and is much used in demulcent compositions. The root is the main part of this plant for such purposes. Licorice Root Extract لاج کے لئے ظاہر کرتا ہے پیٹ کی سوزش, اوپری سانس کے مسائل, رجونورتی کی علامات اور دوسرے حالات۔ Health Benefits of Licorice Root (Mulethi) in Urdu Diterbitkan April 15, 2017. STANDS4 LLC, 2020. Deep-rooted coarse-textured plant native to the Mediterranean region having blue flowers and pinnately compound leaves; widely cultivated in Europe for its long thick sweet roots. ... Licorice root aim is to provide our customers a very high quality product at reasonable price. Licorices meaning in Urdu has been searched … Thank you. 18. Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web! Licorice. Liquorice (British English) or licorice (American English) (/ ˈ l ɪ k ər ɪ ʃ,-ɪ s / LIK-ər-is(h)) is the common name of Glycyrrhiza glabra, a flowering plant of the bean family Fabaceae, from the root of which a sweet, aromatic flavouring can be extracted.. We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
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licorice root meaning in urdu 2020
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Missing videos from 2001
Augustino “Overblown”
According to an Augustino fan forum from 2001, “Overblown” was a radio-only release for Augustino. The forum is amazing. It’s so full of energy and enthusiasm for this cool band everyone loves, there’s bonding and hugs when September 11 happens, then the forum regulars suddenly peter out just as the band release their debut album. And if a band’s fan base can’t stick around, there’s not much hope for the band.
BJ White “Uptown”
The only thing I can find out about “Uptown” by BJ White is that it was included on a sampler CD from Festival Mushroom Records, in between tracks from Lash and Kylie.
Canvas “Tina”
Canvas were an enthusiastic trio of young men from Wellington by way of Christchurch. “Tina” was a good pop track and the video got decent airplay on music video shows.
Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision
Flipside “Movin'”
So, an artist called Flipside received funding for a track called “Movin'”. It’s almost impossible to google (and it doesn’t help that there are two other artists called Flipside with tracks that involve “Movin'” in the title) so I can’t find anything on this track.
Nurture “Beautiful”
Nurture was a poptastic collaboration between Deep Obsession producer Christopher Banks and singer Phil Madsen. “Beautiful” was their first single and it reached #13 in the charts.
Sumix “Jump House”
Sumix was a hip hip duo consisting of friends Craig Mckenzie and Aidan Richards. Their single “Jump House” is an upbeat number with a insanely cheerful chorus that instantly reveals Craig’s roots in Christian pop. (Seriously, it has such a Christian chorus). The video was involved the duo going down the slides at Wairewa hot pools. The video evidently made so little impact that director Joe Lonie could safely later recycle the video concept Falter’s “Falling to Pieces” video in 2003.
Director: Joe Lonie
Dam Native “Terminal Illness”
Last seen in 1997, Dam Native returned with the boisterous “Terminal Illness” (which eventually showed up on their 2010 album “Aotearoa Nobody Does It Better”). Here’s the band playing the song live in Wellington.
Jester “Eyes For Xmas”
It sounds like the name of a yuletide horror film, but Jester‘s “Eyes 4 Xmas” is actually a sweet guitar-pop tune. The video seems to have taken inspiration from Popstars. Nga Taonga describes it as “An amusing take on a reality TV talent show. We are privy to auditions for the band (“day 12″), recording the single, shooting the video, creating an image and – Jester’s first show.”
Pierced “Painted Angels”
All I’ve been able to find out about Pierced is that they toured with Loki in 2003. “Painted Angels” was their only NZ On Air funding.
Pine “Speeding”
Pine are a three-piece pop band who specialise in melodic charm. Nga Taonga describe it as “Pine play with a Scaletrix slot-car racing set.” “Speeding” isn’t online, but here’s an in-studio performance from the late night music programme “Space”.
Sheelahroc “If I Gave U Th’ Mic”
Sheelahroc were an all-girl hip hop trio from Christchurch, comprising of Ladi6, Voodoo Child and Tyra Hammond, a powerhouse of talent. The cool and cautionary “If I Gave You Th’ Mic” was their only NZ On Air funded video. My vague memory of it was an overhead shot of Ladi6 in a space like the train station foyer. The video needs to be online! In this documentary, the group talk about the video shoot being a bit of a mess, and the end video not really making much sense.
Canvas “Sunday”
Canvas had their second funded video “Sunday”. From memory, it was the band playing the song in a house, going for a lazy-Sunday vibe.
Carmen Steele “Believe In Me”
Kiwihits noted that Carmen Steele‘s song “Believe In Me” was a “reaction to media coverage of the tragic incidence of child abuse in New Zealand” and that the production make it “one of the year’s most evocative songs”. It was Carmen’s only NZOA funding.
Garageland “Highway”
Garageland‘s “Highway” is a cheerful ode to road-tripping, and other pleasures. Nga Taonga describe the video as, “Footage from the road – including the Capitol Records – and on stage on a US tour by Garageland.”
GST “Put Up A Fight”
GST, the early incarnation of Opshop, have the song “Put Up A Fight”. Most significantly, it was the making of this video that inspired Jason Kerrison to build his apocalypse shelter. As Jason told Salient, the video was filmed at his landlord’s “monolithic dome structure”, which inspired him to build his own.
PA Styles “Summer Breeze”
PA Styles were twins Naomi and Sharlene Sadlier. “Crowds are drawn to P.A Styles like moths to a flame,” claimed a Southgate Entertainment press release, creating an image of crowds of people madly running around PA Styles. “Summer Breeze” was their only funded video.
Director: Rongotai Lomas
Purrr “Oxygen”
Purrr‘s final funded video was “Oxygen”, but I’m not entirely sure if a video was actually made. Oh well, it was nice knowing you, three-piece girlband.
D-Super “The Moths”
D-Super go for a janglier, poppier sound for “The Moths”. It was their third and final NZ On Air-funded music video.
Meno Panteboy “Any Kinda Weather”
Meno Panteboy were an Auckland group made up of musicians who’d previously worked with artists such as Che Fu, Greg Johnson, Nathan Haines and John Rowles. “Any Kinda Weather” was a bFM hit. (In case you’re wondering, panteboy is the Greek transliteration of rendezvous and is another name for a coffee house.)
Slim “Crumbling”
Slim have their final NZOA-funded video “Crumbling”, an upbeat song about someone who is struggling with drink and drugs.
Aaria “Cry No More”
I’m disappointed that Aaria‘s “Cry No More” video isn’t online. The slick bilingual pop vocal group had a top 10 hit with this single, but it was to be their last. From memory, the video had a similar vibe to the Spice Girls’ “2 Become 1” – all city-at-night cool.
The Relaxomatic Project “At The Onset”
There’s no sign of the final video “At the Onset” from Auckland groovsters the Relaxomatic Project.
Garageland “Crazy”
I’m not sure if Garageland actually made a video for “Crazy”, but it’s worth celebrating as it was their last lot of video funding. They had a total of 15 videos funded over seven years, which is an impressive rate. From the low-budget fun of the early years to the more sophisticated vids of later years, Garageland made good use of the medium of music video.
Lavina Williams “So I Cry”
The “V” in Ma-V-Elle, Lavina Williams went solo with “So I Cry”. In 2006 Lavina made it to the final 12 of Australian Idol, following younger sister Emily who placed second in the 2005 series.
Michelle Kazor “In This Life”
According to the bio on Amplifier, Michelle Kazor‘s debut single “In This Life” was the “highest charting song from an unsigned act ever on radio” – but that’s referring to a radio plays chart, not the singles chart. I’m not totally sure if this video ended up having NZ On Air funding, but it’s in the Nga Taonga archive, nonetheless.
There were two non-funded videos that made a significant impact in 2001. One was the Deceptikonz‘s “Fallen Angels”, the other was Blindspott‘s debut “Nil By Mouth”. It was self-funded and made with a budget of a mere $800. With a solid song behind it and a great scream-along chorus, it proved a popular hit and won Breakthrough Video Artist at the Juice TV awards and launched Blindspott as alternative metal heroes. (There’s a slightly-higher-budget alternative version, but it’s not as much fun as the original.)
Posted on April 25, 2013 July 23, 2020 Author RobynCategories 2001, April 2001, August 2001, December 2001, February 2001, June 2001, Missing, October 2001Tags Aaria, Augustino, BJ White, Canvas, Carmen Steele, D-Super, Dam Native, Flipside, Garageland, GST, Jester, Joe Lonie, Jonny Kofoed, Lavina Williams, Meno Panteboy, Michelle Kazor, Nurture, PA Styles, Pierced, Pine, Purrr, Rongotai Lomas, Sheelahroc, Slim, Sumix, The Relaxomatic Project
4 thoughts on “Missing videos from 2001”
Where would NZ music videos be without west coast beaches? 🙂
Having barely used the internet at the time that “Taking the Rest of the Day Off” came out, I completely missed all the HTML stuff at the beginning (”’ and ‘position: absolute;’). Always did find the first half of that video didn’t fit the second (also: Bic Runga playing drums near the end!)
Maybe it’s an anthem for a hard-working web developer, urging them to get out from their windowless room and head to the beach!
StinkBuzz says:
Letterbox Lambs vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpPHYiN4acM
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E.R. Jones crew 23.11.41
Many thanks to Barbara and her Mother Lil for passing on the above portrait of Father and Husband respectively, Eric Reginald Jones, who flew with the Squadron between September 1941 and the January 1942.
As well at the portrait of Eric, his family also passed on an extract of Eric’s recollections that he wrote some years after his service and also pertinent pages of his logbook. At least initially, I must confess that my attention was very much drawn to the personal recollections that Eric had written. “A letter to my Grandchildren” was penned by Eric some 50 years after the war and, as you will read later goes into particular detail regarding his second Op as 2nd Pilot with Bob Bray.
After Barbara’s initial contact I inevitably looked for and found Eric in my database and at the time, thought there seemed to be a few discrepancies between what I had listed and what Eric recorded in his logbook. A closer inspection last night has thrown up the fascinating fact that there appears to be a mistake in the FORM 541 for 1941…………
I will let all of this unfold in a perhaps more manageable chronological order and I hope, in this way, it will make sense to you all.
Eric arrived at Feltwell on the 29th of September 1941, 15 days later he undertook his first Operation as 2nd Pilot with Bob Bray’s crew.
“This Feltwell place was about fifly miles north of London, fairly close to Cambridge, and we lived away from the airfield in tents, but within easy walking distance of the aerodrome, Our tents (four man) were erected under the trees which lined the drive leading up to a large country house, and we walked to the ‘drome each morning for breakfast and whatever came next.”
Recorded in Eric’s logbook, this is the first Op of 3 that do not appear to have been recorded, or perhaps have been recorded incorrectly in the Form 541 for this month.
13/10/1941 – Bombing Attacks Against Targets at Bremen and Dusseldorf
Six* Wellington aircraft from this Unit were detailed to attack the above targets. A mixed bomb load was carried and consisted of 1,000 lb GP, 500 lb GP, 250 lb GP and SBC’s of 4 lb incendiaries. Considerable A.A. fire was experienced North and West of the target area, both light and heavy. Target was bombed and fires were observed on leaving. Many large cones of Searchlights were active West and North of the target. Enemy aircraft were seen on the return flight over the Dutch coast but no attacks were made on our aircraft. An unidentified aircraft followed Sgt Taylor and crew in X9977 for about 40 minutes. No attacks were initiated. The aircraft was using a hand lamp for signaling. The weather was 10/10 cloud over target area, with haze. Navigation was by Lorenz, QDM’s, Astro Fix and DR.
Form 541 Lists the participating crews as follows:
Sgt. S.J.G. Isherwood
P/O J.F Fisher
Sgt. R.H. Tye
P/O W.R. Methven
Sgt. N.G.C. Ramsey
Sgt. Taylor
Mk.Ic X.9628 AA-A
*Sgt. Robert Walter Bray, RAFVR 113927 – Pilot.
Sgt. Eric Reginald Jones, RNZAF NZ404375 – 2nd Pilot..
Sgt. Sidney Joseph Lawrence Levack, RAFVR 971231 – Observer.
Sgt. Walter Victor Ashleigh Phear, RNZAF NZ37168 – Wireless Operator.
Sgt. Partridge, RAF – Front Gunner.
Sgt. Monk, RAF – Rear Gunner.
Take Off – Landed
Flight Time Not Known
15/10/1941 – Bombing Attacks Against Targets at Cologne and Boulogne
Ten Wellington aircraft from this Unit were detailed to carry out the above attacks. A mixed bomb load was carried consisting of 1,000 lb, 500 lb, 250 lb GP’s and containers of incendiaries. Captains report that bombs were dropped on the target by estimation, but owing to slight haze over the target results were not seen. A considerable amount of heavy AA fire was experienced in and around the target area. Fire was accurate over Aachen. Searchlight activity was intense throughout the route but ineffective in the target area because of the cloud. Weather was fair en route but thick ground haze over all target area. Navigation was by Astro, D/R, QDM. Pinpointing and Lorenz check. Two of these aircraft, Z8945, captained by Sgt Barker, and X9916, captained by Sgt Matetich failed to return to base.
Wellington Mk.Ic X.9628 AA-A
Sgt. Robert Walter Bray, RAFVR 113927 – Pilot.
P/O Derek Clare, RAFVR 103536/ 951765 – Observer.
Sgt. Keith Douglas Sarginson, RNZAF NZ391978 – Wireless Operator.
“I did that on the morning of fifteenth October and on reporting to “A” flight, found out that our crew was down for Ops that night. Cologne, also in Happy Valley and not too far from Dusseldorf, was the target. During the morning hours the plane would be air tested to make certain that engines, hydraulics, guns, radios etc. were in good order, and afterwards the plane would be fuelled and bombed up. In the meantime, the crew would have some lunch and sleep or rest in the afternoon, ready for some wakeful hours in the night.
Briefing for the operation would take about thirty minutes, where the route to and from the target would be noted, expected weather conditions en route given by the Met. Ofiicer, aiming point specified, which could be industrial complexes, railway yards etc and anything else that was of interest to the airmen. The evening meal was the next on the list, and there must have been plenty of brussels sprouts and carrots around, as they appeared on the menu often, and I was soon sick of the sight of them.
Getting near time for take off, and we dress up in the warmest clothes we have, topped off with fleecy lined flying jacket and pants, with overalls on top of that, several pairs of socks on our feet and flying boots, and waddle out to the truck which will drop us off at the right place. Climb up into the old Wimpy per ladder, through a hatch in the floor, sort out all the gear and make certain there will be no hold-ups later on. Time to start up, and the silence is broken by the sound of twenty four engines starting up, being warmed up, and then run up to take off revs, while the magnetos are tested, and then the line of aeroplanes begins to move out along the taxi ways, to the take-off point. There’s the green aldis light and away we go. Brakes hard on, control column hard forward, and full revs, and the tail comes up until the plane is in flying position. Brakes off, slam the control column as far forward as it will go, to keep the tail up, and we gradually gain speed as we use up the runway. Come on, come on, there’s six hundred gallons of gas and four thousand pounds of bombs to lift off, and Bob, the pilot, holds her down until we run out of space, then eases back on the control column and we are over the boundary fence and on our way. Ease back to climbing revs and we go, very slowly, to twelve thousand feet, which is just about as high as a Wimpy will go with a heavy load.
Soon the coast of Holland is coming up, and all along this coast the Germans have set up a searchlight barricade, and with the help of a well organised radar tracking system, are very good at making a rendezvous between a German fighter and an Allied bomber. There are some broken clouds around, and Bob makes the best possible use of them, and the front and rear gunners and one new chum Second Pilot looking out of the astrodome see nothing of any fighters. That’s the first obstacle passed, and as long as we don’t go too near any town or cities, we should be clear of flak until we near Happy Valley, so it’s keep a good look out, up, down, front, back and sideways, for German fighters.
Cloud most of the way, and at one stage the airscrews are ringed with St. Elmo’s Fire, caused when atmospheric conditions are right, and I reckon an enemy fighter could pick us out from a fair distance. Still, that doesn‘t last long, and soon, in the distance, we pick up cones of searchlights and the flak over Cologne, and I must say the Jerries could put on an excellent fireworks display, with dozens of searchlights and the flak guns pumping all they had into the centre of the cone of light, where some poor blighter was getting the daylights knocked out of him.
A good time to go in while the flak and lights are busy elsewhere, so straight and level when conditions permit, we head towards the aiming point, and all hell breaks loose. A bluish searchlight, which we reckoned was radar controlled, catches us, and very soon we are blinded when some more lights join in. So bright I can’t see a thing, and I can imagine Bob, with his head down low and flying on instruments, working like a one armed paper hanger, as he reverses course, and twists and tums, and dives and climbs in an effort to put the flak off. I can see the flak bursts, I can hear some of them, and I can smell them, and we eventually finish up at three thousand feet with no great damage done to anyone.
In the clear now, and back we go as high as we can once again, but watch out for fighters as they usually hang around on the outskirts of the flak. Someone else held in the searchlight cone and keeping some of the guns occupied, and we are ready for another run. We weave around a bit until our navigator can pick up the aiming point, then it is straight and level once again, bomb doors open, and I think we all heave a great sigh of relief when we hear “bombs away”.
There’s those searchlights, and they latch on to us once again, and the flak gives us a real good pasting as we dive and twist and tum and once again finish up at three thousand feet, which is just about .303 range, and kid stuff for the eighty-eight millimeter guns that had been annoying us. Once again no great problems barring for few small holes in the fuselage, which were patched up next day.
Right, back we go, and with a much lighter aeroplane we are soon back at a safe operating height where we can open our thermos flasks and have a quick snack while we go hell for leather back home again. Dodge the towns and cities, back through the searchlight belt along the coast, pick up a beacon to give us some idea of where we are, and we are soon over England once again. Still keep a good look out as we are not out of the woods yet, and there are barrage balloons around, other planes flying around with no lights showing, and there could be some German intruders waiting to knock us down when we come in to land. However, we are looking good and soon the truck is taking us for debriefing by the Intelligence Officer, where we tell our little story and enjoy a welcome cup of coffee laced with rum and served up by one of our Air Force ladies, off to breakfast and into bed for some well-earned rest. That was the end of my second operational flight which was quite a short one taking five hours, but one of the more interesting ones, and I only had to do another twenty eight ops to complete a tour when I would have earned a break from operational flying. Casualties ran at about five percent on average, just work that out for yourself!”
20/10/1941 – Bombing Attacks Against Targets at Bremen
Six* Wellington aircraft from this Unit were detailed to attack the above target. One of these aircraft, captained by Sgt Parnham, crash landed at Marham. Target area was bombed but results were not observed owing to low cloud. Activity was observed North and North West of target following river at Oldenburgh. Heavy and medium A.A. fire was met and a belt of searchlights was observed at Bremen and Oldenburgh. Three enemy aircraft were seen but no attack was made. Weather was poor, with low cloud and thick ground haze over the target.
S/L F.J. Lucas
Sgt. J.F.M. Parnham
Sgt. G.S. Nunn
P/O J.F. Fisher
P/O Derek Clare, RAFVR 103536/ 951765 – .
22/10/1941 – Bombing Attacks Against Targets Mannheim
*Six Wellington aircraft from this Unit were detailed to carry out the above attacks. A mixed load was carried and consisted of 1000lbs, 500lbs, 250lbs and containers of incendiaries. Owing to the weather conditions operations were marred, but a fire was bombed in a town on the Rhine, probably Mannheim and bomb bursts seen. There was slight A.A. activity and searchlights were ineffective where seen. Electrical storms, thunder cloud and snow storms were met throughout operations. Navigation was good. D.R. and special beam No.6 used. Icing (black) was experienced over Continent. Unable to see through windscreens owing to accumulated snow, from Belgian coast onwards. Severe weather conditions made accuracy impossible. One of these aircraft, X.9914, captained by Sgt. Taylor, failed to return to base.
Sgt. Taylor – listed as missing/ FTR, but not listed as crew on Op
01/11/1941 – Bombing Attacks Against Targets at Kiel
Eleven Wellington Ic Aircraft from this Unit were detailed to attack the above targets. The whole Operation was marred by bad weather there being 10/10th. Cloud throughout the trip and no results were observed. Bomb load consisting of 1000lbs, 50lbs, 250lbs and incendiaries was dropped on un-identified town, and on area to the West of the target. Very heavy predicted A.A. fire was encountered over target area together with 75m.m. tracers. Searchlights were isolated and ineffective owing to cloud. One M.E. 110 enemy aircraft was seen but no attack was made. Navigation was good, Astro and D.R. loop being used. A convoy fifteen miles off the Wash fired at the aircraft until the colours were fired. There was a surprising lack of enemy fighters.
07/11/1941 – Bombing Attacks Against Targets at Berlin and Ostend
Fourteen Wellington Ic aircraft were detailed from this Unit to attack the above targets. Two of these aircraft, X.9951, captained by F/O Methven and X.9976, captained by Sgt. Black, failed to return to base. A mixed bomb load was carried consisting of 1000lbs, 500lbs, 250lbs and containers of incendiaries. Bombs were dropped in target area and some large fires were started, but results were not clearly observed owing to heavy cloud over target area. A considerable amount of heavy flak was met over target area but searchlights, where seen, were ineffective. No enemy aircraft were met throughout the trip. Weather was poor with 10/10th cloud over target area. Navigation was good, Astro and D/R loops being used. Wellington Z.1091, captained by P/O Sandys returned to base owing to engine trouble. Wellington Z.1068, captained by Sgt. Parham returned to base owing to Navigator being sick.
Between the 11th and 16th Eric undertook 8 flights at No. 5 B.A.T. at Honnington.
“November 1941, I had completed six freshman trips with Bob and it was time to take over my own crew and my own Wimpy, so I finished up with one Canadian and four Englishmen, most of whom stayed with me until January 1942. Lousy weather in the middle of winter, and we managed another three operations, before I was sent on a Blind Approach training course, which I found most interesting. Just two of us in a Wimpy, an instructor and pupil, which was me, and the object was to find and fly on a radio beam, when the pupil was surrounded by a screen and couldn’t see a thing outside of the aeroplane. We found this beam many times in the week I was there, and before I was finished I could fly on the beam, and come in over the same fence post ready for a landing, every time a coconut, and then the instructor would whip the screen away, and we would open up and go around again for another practice run.
Fog, darkness and dirty weather didn’t worry me after doing that course, and I reckoned as long as I could find that beam I could put the aeroplane down in the right place no matter what the weather was like. There were other aids for lost airmen, such as friendly searchlights which would raise the beam to the vertical and then lower it until it pointed to the nearest RAF statiora used in really dirty weather. There was another system which used a flashing light which sent out a two letter code in morse, the code being changed daily, and all one had to do was read the letters, look up the position of the light as shown on a piece of paper, and bobs your uncle. These flashing beacons were situated near airfields and there were heaps of them around and they were a great help when a crew wasn’t too sure where they were or didn‘t have a clue just where they were.”
23/11/1941 – Bombing Attacks Against Targets at Dunkirk
Seven Wellington Ic aircraft were detailed from this Unit to attack the above targets. A mixed bomb load was carried consisting of 500lbs, 250lbs and containers of incendiaries. Bombs were dropped on target area and flashes seen but full results were not seen. Heavy A.A. fire was met over target area and searchlights in large cones were active. No enemy aircraft were met. Weather was fair with 7/10th. Cloud over target area and freezing level was at 9,000ft. Navigation was good.
Wellington Mk.Ic R.3176 AA-E
Sgt. Eric Reginald Jones, RNZAF NZ404375 – Pilot.
Sgt. Higgins, RAF – 2nd Pilot..
Sgt. Hanstock, RAF – Observer.
Sgt. McKinley, RAF – Wireless Operator.
Sgt. Oulton, RAF – Front Gunner.
Sgt. James William Hinton, RAF 1150584 – Rear Gunner.
26/11/1941 – Bombing Attacks Against Targets at Emden and Ostend
Seventeen Wellington Ic aircraft were detailed from this Unit to attack the above targets. A mixed bomb load was carried consisting of 4000,lbs, 1000lbs, 500lbs. 250lbs and containers of incendiaries. Very bad weather prevented the target being identified and results were not observed. A few bombs were however dropped in target area and one flash was seen. The remainder were brought back to base. Heavy and light predicted A.A. fire was met over target area and cones of searchlights were active. One single engine aircraft and one Junkers 88 enemy aircraft were seen but were successfully evaded. Weather was extremely bad and marred the whole operation. 10/10th cloud was met throughout the journey to and from the target. Navigation was D.R. and Q.D. M.s. One of these aircraft, Z.1114, captained by Sgt. Evans, returned to base with engine trouble.
Wellington Mk.Ic Z.1108 AA-X
Sgt. Joseph Guy Quinn, RAFVR 1256373 – Observer.
Sgt. Duxton, RAF – Wireless Operator.
Sgt. McKinley, – Front Gunner.
“Getting around to December I941, and the big news is the arrival of our first child, Valerie, and the news that all is OK at home in New Zealand. Ouma and I must have kept the Postal Service fairly busy with a two way traffic, and the cameras in NZ worked overtime, as I soon had a good collection of photos of Ouma and the new arrival.
December 1941 was quite a newsy month as on the seventh the Japanese made a surprise attack on Pearl Harbour which was an American Naval Base in Hawaii, and almost finished off the Pacific section of the American Navy, which included about four battleships. Things really started to hum when the Japs started running rampant in the Pacific with their attacks on Singapore, Malaya, Burma and any other place they could knock off easily, and the Allied forces, which at that time was the British Empire almost on its own, started sending some reinforcements to the Far East”
02/01/1942 – Bombing Attacks Against Targets at Brest
Five Wellington IC aircraft from this unit were detailed to carry out the above attacks. Bomb load consisting of 500 lbs and containers of incendiaries was dropped in the target area but results were not observed owing to 10/10th cloud. A.A. fire was only slight, only a few searchlights were active and no enemy aircraft were seen. The weather was poor and there
was 10/10 cloud throughout the operation. Navigation was entirely by D.R. Wellington aircraft R1457 returned to base with it’s bomb load.
Wellington Mk.Ic Z.1083 AA-K
Sgt. Young, RAF – 2nd Pilot.
Sgt. Allan, RAF – Wireless Operator.
Sgt. James William Hinton, RAFVR 1150584 – Rear Gunner.
“The RAF called for volunteers and I reckoned the Far East was a lot closer to NZ than Britain was, and my name went in. Another factor was that I was getting rather lonely in 75 as the twelve New Zealand pilots who accompanied me’ to that station had been reduced to two in five months, and the other fellow was in hospital, having been shot up by a night fighter.
I reckon it was a good time to find a new stamping ground.”
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Nicole Kidman Reunites With Her 80-Year-Old Mother After Eight Months Apart
Nicole Kidman has reunited with her 80-year-old mother, Janelle, after the two spent eight months apart.
The renowned actress and wife of country music star Keith Urban shared the joyous family news on Instagram this week. The tender reunion came after travel difficulties resulting from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic kept the mom and daughter away from each other for so long.
Kidman, who hails from Australia like Urban, has spent most of her virus-related downtime in Tennessee with her husband, but she was finally able to see her mother in their home country recently, as Today reports. This was only after the actress finished a required two-week quarantine on arriving, however.
"Feels so good to be able to hug my mum!" Kidman exclaims alongside two photos that show her embracing her mother. "It's been 8 months. I missed her 80th birthday but I'm here now. Love you Mumma."
Parents are obviously an essential part of anyone's life, and especially for Kidman and Urban. Speaking to the Australian show the Project earlier this year, the "Superman" singer explained how both he and his wife were anxious to physically check-in on their mothers.
"We want to get back to see our moms, too," Urban said at the time. "Nic's sister's there and all of her family, my brother and his family, everybody's there, so we're really anxious to get back."
The pandemic has changed more than just the frequency with which the couple can visit far-away family. Urban's upcoming album, The Speed of Now Part 1, was almost entirely reconfigured in light of the coronavirus.
See Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman's Sweetest Pictures Through the Years
Source: Nicole Kidman Reunites With Her 80-Year-Old Mother After Eight Months Apart
Filed Under: Keith Urban, Nicole Kidman
What was Texas Top ‘Should I…’ Search for 2020?
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Trump Campaign Lawsuit Will Seek to Block Certification of Michigan Election Results
November 11, 2020 no comments 29 Politics, US News
PRESIDENT Donald Trump’s campaign said on Tuesday it would file a lawsuit in Michigan requesting the results of the U.S. election in the state not be certified until it could be verified that votes were cast lawfully.
www.247inquirer.com
The new lawsuit is the latest in a string of lawsuits the Trump campaign has filed in an effort to keep hopes of a second term for Trump alive after former Vice President Joe Biden became president-elect on Saturday.
“We want to make sure that no vote tally includes fraudulently or unlawfully cast ballots,” Trump campaign attorney Matt Morgan told reporters on a conference call.
Trump’s campaign raised allegations on the call of unequal treatment of Republican poll watchers compared to their Democratic counterparts.
Judges already have tossed lawsuits in Michigan and Georgia, and legal experts have said Trump’s litigation has little chance of changing the outcome of the election.
Bob Bauer, a senior Biden adviser, on Tuesday dismissed the Trump campaign’ litigation as “theatrics, not really lawsuits.”
I’m Focused on Rebuilding Kogi, Not to be Preside...
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Chapter IV – Dream Analysis
Leave a Comment / 1.Dream Psychology by Sigmund Freud / By admin / 12/26/2019
Perhaps we shall now begin to suspect that dream interpretation is capable of giving us hints about the structure of our psychic apparatus which we have thus far expected in vain from philosophy. We shall not, however, follow this track, but return to our original problem as soon as we have cleared up the subject of dream-disfigurement. The question has arisen how dreams with disagreeable content can be analyzed as the fulfillment of wishes. We see now that this is possible in case dream-disfigurement has taken place, in case the disagreeable content serves only as a disguise for what is wished. Keeping in mind our assumptions in regard to the two psychic instances, we may now proceed to say: disagreeable dreams, as a matter of fact, contain something which is disagreeable to the second instance, but which at the same time fulfills a wish of the first instance. They are wish dreams in the sense that every dream originates in the first instance, while the second instance acts towards the dream only in repelling, not in a creative manner. If we limit ourselves to a consideration of what the second instance contributes to the dream, we can never understand the dream. If we do so, all the riddles which the authors have found in the dream remain unsolved.
That the dream actually has a secret meaning, which turns out to be the fulfillment of a wish, must be proved afresh for every case by means of an analysis. I therefore select several dreams which have painful contents and attempt an analysis of them. They are partly dreams of hysterical subjects, which require long preliminary statements, and now and then also an examination of the psychic processes which occur in hysteria. I cannot, however, avoid this added difficulty in the exposition.
When I give a psychoneurotic patient analytical treatment, dreams are always, as I have said, the subject of our discussion. It must, therefore, give him all the psychological explanations through whose aid I myself have come to an understanding of his symptoms, and here I undergo an unsparing criticism, which is perhaps not less keen than that I must expect from my colleagues. Contradiction of the thesis that all dreams are the fulfillments of wishes is raised by my patients with perfect regularity. Here are several examples of the dream material which is offered me to refute this position.
Chapter III – Why the Dream Disguises the Desires
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Khruangbin India Tour, Mumbai | Events
Starts: 23-May-2018 09:00:PM
Ends: 23-May-2018 11:00:PM
Flyp@MTV
Organizer Name: Wild City
One of the most warmly received acts at Magnetic Fields 2017 and fresh off the success of their second album, ‘Con Todo El Mundo’ the Texan trio will bring their psychedelia-and-funk laced show to Mumbai and Delhi on May 23 and 24 respectively.
Khruangbin consists of Laura Lee on bass, Mark Speer on guitar, and Donald Johnson on drums, and their ethereal instrumental music is a vast sea of sounds woven into a shared tapestry of influences and cultures.
While their music is often described as ‘world’ for its range of melody, rhythm and overall vibe, the Houston-based trio makes music that commingles Middle Eastern and African influences, '70s funk and Texas soul, psychedelic rock, disco and dub.
The diverse expanse of geographical influences is a recurring theme for Khruangbin, who have – in the past couple of years – won fans for themselves in all corners of the world, and performed at festivals like Glastonbury, Dimensions and of course Magnetic Fields.
Hostels in Mumbai
Hostel Mantra
Backpacker Panda Colaba
Backpacker Panda Appetite
Horn Ok Please Hostel
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Abena Edugyan
Digital health app
Ergonomics app
AR urban planning app
Exploring engagement in a mobile app that helps you move more
at work by connecting you with your colleagues.
Prolonged sitting is detrimental to your health.
But adults spend ~66% of their workday sitting. Because of the resulting health issues, it’s clearly a significant workplace health issue.
Using digital health apps to educate employees can be helpful. But it’s challenging to keep people engaged, making it harder to influence their health behaviors.
Interestingly, employees are more likely to display healthy behaviors if they have positive relationships with peers who display healthy behaviors. So, supporting social online connections may contribute to greater engagement in these apps.
I designed a mobile app to reduce sitting behavior at work using a persuasive design framework focused on social influence. I then explored engagement to discover how to best apply this framework.
Four (4) guidelines that can be applied to designing apps to change health behavior in the workplace. But first…
Introducing Move It!
Move It! helps people become more aware of their sedentary behaviour and use their social networks to move more at work. They set goals to stretch, stand or stroll and the app prompts them to take those breaks every 30 or 60 minutes.
People track their activity and can view daily, weekly or monthly historical data. Finally, they can participate in challenges, join communities and learn more about why they should sit less.
Click on the image below for a video walkthrough of the app.
How can the persuasive software design patterns for social influence be best leveraged to promote engagement in a digital health promotion application to reduce workplace sedentary behavior?
This solo project was completed as my master's thesis.
I gathered user research, designed low and high-fidelity prototypes, conducted usability tests, surveyed participants to explore measures of engagement, and determined recommendations for designing a digital health mobile application while leveraging social influence.
Interviewing, qualitative thematic coding (with MaxQDA software), affinity mapping, low-fidelity paper prototyping, high-fidelity prototyping (with proto.io software), usability testing (with Lookback.io), quantitative surveying, mixed-methods analysis
February - May 2020
I recruited 15 participants to help with the 3 phases of the study. The initial screening criteria included self-reporting sitting at least 5 out of 8 hours.
I quantified their sitting time using the Occupational Sitting and Physical Activity Questionnaire. Overall, they sat a median of 6.75 out of 8 hours, or 84.4% of the working day.
Semi-structured interviews
To learn what strategies would resonate with users to foster behavior change, I interviewed 8 participants to identify their pain points and needs related to their own sedentary behavior at work.
Semi-structured interview script
They spoke of their aches and pains and frustrations around how to manage them. They all recognized how their work environment influenced their discomfort. I also explored if and how they used technology to manage their behavior.
Personas derived from semi-structured user interviews
The Behaviour Change Techniques Taxonomy provide “a method for specifying, interpreting and implementing the active ingredients of interventions to change behaviours”.
I transcribed and coded each interview using the taxonomy as themes. Because multi-component behavior change interventions tend to be more successful, I incorporated the top 5 techniques into the prototype.
Qualitative codebook
Behavior change techniques and corresponding tasks and features
Functional requirements
The persuasive software design patterns for social influence provide a framework of features that leverage social influence to motivate users. These patterns include Social Learning and Facilitation (SLF), Competition (COMP), Cooperation (COOP), and Recognition (REC).
In Move It!, the design patterns were represented by social affordances, artifacts that frame a sense of community and enable social interaction. These include images of human faces, discussion boards, activity streams, groups, leaderboards, and badges.
Low-fidelity prototype
The prototype was mapped out using the architecture below, highlighting the social affordances and behavior change support functions and features of the app.
Paper prototype information architecture
I used card stock to create a paper prototype representing the major flows of the app.
Paper prototype screens
The participants completed a moderated usability test with a talk-aloud protocol. The goal was to look for blocks or stumbles in the flow, to capture their opinions, impressions and frustrations and to gain feedback on any potential missing features.
Three themes stood out:
Unclear how to send a message to other users
Data on the profile dashboard were confusing; participants wanted to see historical data
Unclear how to modify goals when needed; participants wanted to learn more about the recommended activities.
Low-fidelity paper prototype usability testing
Usability testing scripts
Low- to high-fidelity prototype
Notable iterations from low- to high-fidelity prototype included:
adding launch screens to provide more information around the app’s purpose
Launch screens added to high-fidelity prototype
amending the visuals associated with sending a message
Send message screen (before and after)
expanding resources to include articles about the types of activities
Resources screen (before and after)
expanding the profile dashboard across several tabs
Profile screen (before and after)
High-fidelity prototype
Because of the focus on social influence, it was important for users to “see” themselves in the app. I created variables, such as the participant’s name and their selected goals, that passed through to multiple screens.
Screens from proto.io displaying stored user-defined variables
Remote usability testing
Everything was humming along beautifully up until this point; I had set up all my testing sessions and was right on schedule.
Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
And I had to pivot — FAST.
After exploring a number of options, I settled on Lookback.io to conduct my testing sessions remotely.
Additional issues were identified which could be addressed in a future iteration (e.g. enhancing the intra-device communication flow, highlighting newly tracked activity and giving control over snoozing prompts).
Usability testing using LiveShare testing on lookback.io
Measuring Engagement
Qualitative: Social influence questions
After the usability testing sessions, participants answered four (4) questions addressing the social influence design patterns:
If you used an app like this, would you ever join or create a community? (COOP)
What, if anything, would influence you to participate in a challenge? (COMP)
Would you like to be publicly recognized for your efforts? (REC)
Does seeing all the other people inside the app influence your interest in using it yourself? (SFL)
They were prompted to explain their responses while further exploring the screens. I recorded their answers using the categorical scale of yes/maybe/no (Y/M/N) and color-coded them as green for yes, yellow for maybe and red for no.
Color-coded responses to social influence questions.
Quantitative: User Engagement Scale-Short Form (UES-SF)
The UES-SF questionnaire explored participants’ thoughts and perceptions around the prototype’s appeal, usefulness, and enjoyability. The questions were answered on a 5-point Likert scale; high engagement was defined as an overall score of 4 or higher.
Six out of 8 (75%) participants expressed high engagement with the prototype with an overall engagement score of 4.13.
Results of the UES-SF questionnaire
Mixed methods analysis
Cross-tabulation results helped me explore any possible relationships between engagement and the participants’ responses to the social influence questions.
Cross-tabulation results between UES-SF scores and social influence responses
They were evenly split about cooperating with others in this context
Half of them favored a competitive environment
The allure of public recognition was mixed, with an equal number either seeking it or wanting to avoid it, and
The majority were motivated to use the app because “others” were engaged within it.
So how could these results be used to inform the design of this type of app to enhance engagement?
1. Harness the influence of social learning and facilitation.
Participants paid attention to what was “said” in the discussion streams and “done” in the activity streams.
"I've gone from activity stream, where I'm looking at what everybody else can do, then messages, where people are posting about what they did, and that's interesting."
"I also like the camaraderie that goes along with it...encouraging people to be active."
2. Include competitions or challenges, but make participation optional.
Though some participants were unaffected by how other people “performed” in the app, others found the intra-challenge messaging motivating. Allow users to create their own challenges and incorporate collaboration by encouraging users to sign up in teams.
"112 flights...good on ya. But my 40’s just fine if last week was 35 and this is something I’m working on."
"The messages are pretty encouraging; motivating, too..saying "I started using the bathroom two floors up" just to get moving."
3. Publicly recognize achievements while giving users control over what details are shared.
Highly engaged participants were either totally interested or completely uninterested when it came to being publicly recognized. They liked the external motivation of tokens, but made it very clear that privacy should be respected.
"Heck, yeah! If I do something good, why not? I mean, it's not public shaming; it's public praise."
"People who are more sensitive to sharing their information should have that ability to have private accounts, private groups..."
4. Include online communities, but be cognizant of the social norms and attitudes embedded within the physical workplace.
Interestingly, more than half of the participants said they would be more likely to use the communities to engage with people outside of work.
Workplace culture may affect the types of relationships developed among colleagues; if the culture is one where taking breaks goes against the social norm, employees may not want to draw attention to their activities by stating their intentions publicly.
"Is this a way to meet up with co-workers or just anybody in the group? This could be a new way to meet people in the community or around your neighborhood."
"It probably wouldn’t be with colleagues at work. It would be with people who aren’t in the same building, or on different floors."
It would have been ideal to conduct the study in context because the power of workplace culture can’t be underestimated. One participant was interested in the challenges because they would provide “an opportunity to stand, to move around” in a culture where they felt that behavior wasn’t seen favorably. If I could go back in time, I would have added diary studies to capture those moments.
Move It! could leverage popular existing social networking platforms for future iterations; for example, as a Facebook app.
It would have been great to use the same participants throughout all phases of the study, which wasn’t possible due to scheduling constraints (and the pandemic). Those who participated in all 3 phases noted they weren’t affected by their colleagues’ behavior, yet later revealed they would move more if others around them did.
Finally, a longer-term study would be necessary to truly determine if they would continue to engage with the app for any meaningful length of time.
Exploring engagement in an app that helps you move more at work
Exploring AR technology to foster citizen participation in urban planning
Educating techs to reduce risk of musculoskeletal injuries
Participatory design workshops with older adults
© 2021 Abena Edugyan. All rights reserved.
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Area 21 Grills Ray Allen (Without Ray Allen)
On Monday, May 8, 2017, Glen Davis, Kendrick Perkins, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo, members of the 2008 Champion Boston Celtics, gathered on Kevin Garnett’s Area 21 in a sort of class reunion that saw the guys reflect on their past successes as well as project future 2017 playoff matchups. Following a cameo by head coach Doc Rivers, the Area 21 crew tackled a much requested topic: the absence of Ray Allen. A pivotal teammate on the championship squad, Allen contributed 20.3 points per game in the finals series against Kobe and the Los Angeles Lakers, good for second best on the team. The 10 time all-star also played the most minutes in the series, leading the pack with 246 across 6 games.
Allen’s lack of presence on the show however was not unfelt, as the gang discussed his absence, citing poor communication from the sharpshooter prior to his move to the Miami Heat in the 2012–13 offseason. From an outsider’s perspective only so much can be said; KG and the gang mention the brotherhood they formed and how Allen’s actions (or lack thereof) ran counter to this familial notion. However, the tribunal Area 21 held sans Allen was an unprofessional showing from a group that called Allen’s lack of communication nothing short of traitorous.
First off, the Turner Broadcast team does deserve credit for allowing KG to broach such a topic on air, as the human side of professional basketball elicits greater emotions than can be felt during a mere title run or all-time records. TNT embraces controversial topics without exploiting them, as seen during the Dwight Howard panel that saw the broadcast members dissecting Dwight’s approach to basketball and giving unfettered opinions about his poor mentality towards a game in which he once saw great success. Whether the intervention worked is debatable, but allowing it to air shows Turner’s realistic approach to broadcasting, effectively telling watchers that success is not guaranteed, rather earned, a concept applicable even to once superstar Dwight, who would have to retool in order to be the defensive stalwart and post-season threat he once was.
That said, Kevin Garnett’s Area 21 approach to the Allen controversy is an unacceptable showcase, effectively giving a team of 5 an unopposed opportunity to attack a former teammate on national television. A modern day lynch mob, KG moderated one by one as he allowed his guests to deride Ray Allen’s professional decisions to leave the Celtics. Fans and critics alike know KG is a passionate individual, and he once again makes that clear, saying, “People don’t understand that this [basketball] is real life for us.” He continues to describe the loyalty required to be a part of that “group.”
His remarks are salient, though giving each member time to reiterate Allen’s lack of loyalty comes off as a bit childish. Pierce, Perk and Big Baby create an echo chamber of contempt for Allen’s decisions, while the man in question has no say whatsoever. Whether Allen was ever considered to come defend himself is largely a moot point; it’s apparent that unless he opened the channels for communication the Area 21 guys were having none of it.
The fact that KG dedicated a 6 minute chunk of his show to voicing disapproval on how Allen made his choice almost gives credence to why Allen never spoke up to begin with. Having played with The Big Ticket for four seasons, Allen likely was aware of KG’s passion and at times unwavering opinions. It’s quite possible that, at the time, no amount of persuasion or contact would have lightened Allen’s choice to leave, particularly considering the fiery tensions between the Celtics and Heat, tensions not entirely unlike those between the Warriors and Thunder (maybe more appropriately Russ and the Warriors). The alleged deterioration of relations between Doc and Allen, as well as Allen taking a backseat to the rising Avery Bradley in 2012 probably weighed heavy in his mind, as Pierce assumed. Knowing this, and taking shots five years after the fact comes off as a bit petty and unprofessional, though Area 21doesn’t necessarily aspire for the same benchmarks as the TNT Pre and Post Game show.
More over the language used about Allen’s choices could be construed as a subtle dig that leaves a bad aftertaste. “Think about when you’re with a girl for so long, nine or ten years and then you break up, it’s sour.” Pierce remarked. He continued, “It almost feels like you’re married, and you come home and the wife and the kids, and the clothes and everything is out the house, you didn’t get a note or nothing!” At face value, these words just echo the sentiments shared earlier, though the feminizing connotations paint Allen as an impulsive ring chaser despite prior presumptions that he wasn’t happy with the circumstances in Boston.
Interestingly, when it came time for Rondo to chime in, the point guard had little to say. KG’s jabs of, “You chilling though?,” to try and elicit a reaction from Rondo are eventually met with a standoffish reply, “I’m good.”
Rondo understands the feeling of universal contempt better than many in the sports world. Following a disastrous season under Rick Carlisle in 2016, Rondo was subject to benching, despite claims that he’d usher in a playoff push for the sixth seeded Mavs. Even just this year Rondo was sidelined at the behest of the coach Fred Hoiberg, notably on his bobble-head giveaway night, adding to the assertions of his incompatibility in certain programs. Rondo’s shying away from scorning Ray Allen’s decision to leave Boston signaled the end of the tirade on the future Hall of Famer, a choice that oozed the same veteran savvy he showed this offseason in two games before breaking his thumb.
End the end, KG and pals still aren’t talking to Ray Allen, meanwhile Allen posted a picture directly reflective of his thoughts on the matter. Does, any of this “beef” really matter. Well, no. Vets will be vets and Ray will keep on serving up healthy food in South Beach.
Did you give this conversation a second thought? Am I grasping at straws? Let me know on twitter @bjtripleot or via email @bjohnson@tripleot.com.
Somebody Please Talk About Norman Powell
Haters Gonna Hate and Steph Gonna Steph
Jerrell Walker
The NBA Team That Prepared for the Draft by Studying Basketball Cards
The Worst Players in MLB History According to WAR
What the Coho Said
Ken Marsh
MLB History: Red Barrett and His 58-Pitch Complete Game
The Future of Professional Sports
Doug Antin in Memos Of The Future
Skill Learning Lessons From Lionel Messi and How His Career Almost Ended Before It Started
Erik Hamre in SkillUp Ed
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Home » Archives » May 2018
Rhode Island: Preliminary 2019 ACA rate hike request: 9.3%, 1 point due to mandate repeal (updated)
Rhode Island is the 5th state (to my knowledge) to officially post their preliminary 2019 individual market rate change requests.
As shown below, things are pretty cut & dry in Rhode Island; they only have 2 carriers participating in the individual market (Blue Cross Blue Shield and Neighborhood Health Plan). BCBSRI is asking for a 10.7% average increase, while Neighborhood is requesting 8.7% overall.
The estimated market share ratios are based on this press release from HealthSourceRI, the state ACA exchange. That doesn't include the final numbers or the off-exchange enrollment, but it should be pretty close, as there are only 2 carriers and their requested increases are so close to begin with it wouldn't make much difference. The weighted average is 9.3%.
Read more about Rhode Island: Preliminary 2019 ACA rate hike request: 9.3%, 1 point due to mandate repeal (updated)
Vermont ALSO restores Red Leg to the 3-Legged Stool...starting in 2020. Sort of.
Last night I made a big fuss about New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signing a restoration of the ACA's individual mandate penalty into law.
It turns out that the Governor of Vermont also signed the ACA mandate restoration bill I wrote about back in March into law a few days ago as well...but it's not as noteworthy, for several reasons. As Louise Norris reports over at healthinsurance.org:
Vermont governor signs legislation to implement an individual mandate starting in 2020; working group will sort out enforcement details
Read more about Vermont ALSO restores Red Leg to the 3-Legged Stool...starting in 2020. Sort of.
Mazel Tov! New Jersey just restored the Red Leg of the 3-Legged Stool.
Last week I noted that the New Jersey state legislature, along with new Governor Phil Murphy, has moved quickly to pass and sign into law a number of critical ACA protection bills, to:
Reinstate the ACA's individual mandate penalty,
Establish a robust reinsurance program to significantly lower insurance premiums for individual market enrollees,
Protect people from out-of-network "balance billing", and
Cancel out Trump's expansion of "Association Health Plans"
In addition, New Jersey already outlawed "Short-Term Plans" (and "Surprise Billing") before the ACA was passed anyway.
Well, until today, there was some lingering doubt about the first two bills (which are connected...the reinsurance program would be partly funded by the revenue from the state-level mandate penalty), as Gov. Murphy was reportedly kind of iffy about signing them. As I understand it, he's been supportive of both ideas but is concerned about the potential budget hit in case the mandate penalty revenue doesn't raise enough to cover its share of the reinsurance program.
Read more about Mazel Tov! New Jersey just restored the Red Leg of the 3-Legged Stool.
Virginia: BOOM: 400,000 more Virginians finally become eligible for Medicaid!
Apparently it still has to be kicked back to the state Assembly for a final vote, but it appears to be a done deal at last:
The Virginia Senate just passed Medicaid expansion, which three Republicans joining all 19 Democrats voting in favor. The House, which already passed expansion, has to vote again. We'll have more later, but here's the backstory. https://t.co/ldFEb5vYyt
— Jeffrey Young (@JeffYoung) May 30, 2018
There's one downer, of course:
Elections have consequences: To get enough GOP votes, this Medicaid expansion includes a work requirement and premiums above the poverty line, which will cut into coverage gains. Virginia must continue the fight.
— Topher Spiro (@TopherSpiro) May 30, 2018
Read more about Virginia: BOOM: 400,000 more Virginians finally become eligible for Medicaid!
Massachusetts: Huh. Apparently MA almost passed a Medicaid Buy-in Option last year and no one* knew about it?
*(OK, it's possible that "no one" actually means "everyone except for me.")
Last summer, both houses of the Nevada state legislature quickly and surprisingly passed a full-blown Medicaid Public Option bill:
I wrote about this back in April, but even I didn't think much of it at the time--I assumed it was more of a symbolic proposal than anything, or that it would die in committee at most. The details are important, of course, but assuming they make sense, this is exactly the sort of approach I would recommend in trying to gradually transition to some type of universal single-payer like system. The biggest questions I'd want answered are 1) What type of coverage does Medicaid actually have in Nevada? It varies widely from state to state, so if NV's is pretty comprehensive, awesome, but if it's skimpy, that's not very helpful; 2) What sort of premiums/deductibles/co-pays would buy-in enrollees be looking at?; 3) What sort of impact would this have on the state budget?; and most significantly, 4) How many Nevada doctors/hospitals would accept these enrollees? Remember, the reason a significant chunk of healthcare providers don't accept Medicaid patients is because it only reimburses them around 50¢ on the dollar compared to private insurance.
Read more about Massachusetts: Huh. Apparently MA almost passed a Medicaid Buy-in Option last year and no one* knew about it?
IT'S OFFICIAL: Everyone* Agrees: Trump's #ShortAssPlans Suck.
*(OK, 95%+, anyway)
It isn't often that virtually everyone across the entire healthcare field agrees on anything, and yet here we are. Via Noam Levey of the L.A. Times:
Trump's new insurance rules are panned by nearly every healthcare group that submitted formal comments
More than 95% of healthcare groups that have commented on President Trump’s effort to weaken Obama-era health insurance rules criticized or outright opposed the proposals, according to a Times review of thousands of official comment letters filed with federal agencies.
The extraordinary one-sided outpouring came from more than 300 patient and consumer advocates, physician and nurse organizations and trade groups representing hospitals, clinics and health insurers across the country, the review found.
Read more about IT'S OFFICIAL: Everyone* Agrees: Trump's #ShortAssPlans Suck.
Connecticut: Holy smokes. Here's some perspective on "double-digit health insurance rate increases" for you... (update)
This post actually has almost nothing whatsoever to do with the Affordable Care Act itself.
Every year I dig through hundreds (thousands?) of insurance premium rate filings for carriers in every state. For the most part I ignore everything except for my core focus area, the Individual Market, although on occasion I also try to run analysis of the Small Group market filings as well. I don't really pay much attention to the Large Group market filings.
However, there's a bunch of other types of health/medical insurance as well, and one which I've written next to nothing about since I started the ACA Signups project is also one which is becoming increasingly important as the Baby Boomer generation retires: Long-Term Care insurance.
To illustrate my point, here are a few recent premium rate increase filings from carriers in Connecticut:
Long-Term Care Rate Filing - Connecticut Life & Health Guaranty Association (Individual)
Rate request: 69 percent increase
Decision: Approved January 9, 2018
Read more about Connecticut: Holy smokes. Here's some perspective on "double-digit health insurance rate increases" for you... (update)
California: Wow! State legislature passes a whole slew of ACA protection/ACA 2.0 bills! (updated)
Tue, 05/29/2018 - 10:25pm
UPDATE: Thanks to Anthony Wright, Executive Director of Health Access California, for clarifying a few things on some of these bills.
A couple of months ago Louise Norris of healthinsurance.org gave me a heads up about a half-dozen or so healthcare bills, mostly ACA-related, pending in the California state legislature. Some were in the state Senate, some in the state Assembly; some were more along the lines of protecting the ACA from sabotage efforts while others were about expanding upon the law.
Well, today a whole bunch of those bills (as well as a few I didn't even know about earlier) made it a major step further along the line to becoming law. Courtesy of the Health Access CA Twitter feed:
Read more about California: Wow! State legislature passes a whole slew of ACA protection/ACA 2.0 bills! (updated)
Medicaid Expansion OFFICIALLY* on the ballot in Idaho and Utah!
I know this is like the third "It's on the ballot!" post I've written regarding Medicaid expansion in Idaho, but this time it appears to be for real...almost:
BOISE — A Medicaid expansion proposal has passed the signature threshold, officials confirmed on Thursday, but said further review is needed before it gets on the November ballot.
Ada County Chief Deputy Clerk Phil McGrane says county clerks across the state have verified roughly 58,000 signatures that organizers submitted earlier this month.
The effort needed at least 56,192 signatures to qualify. However, those signatures must also come from 6 percent of the registered voters in at least 18 of Idaho’s 35 legislative districts.
McGrane says it’ll be up to the state to determine if the signatures meet the legislative district requirements.
Reclaim Idaho, the group that organized the Medicaid expansion effort, did not immediately return a request for comment.
Read more about Medicaid Expansion OFFICIALLY* on the ballot in Idaho and Utah!
When are carriers in YOUR state supposed to submit their 2019 ACA premium rate changes?
So far, only 4 states have released their preliminary 2019 ACA-compliant individual market premium rate filings: Maryland, Virginia, Vermont and Oregon.
So what's the deal with the other 46 states (+DC)? Well, Louise Norris has sent me the link for this handy 2019 Submission Deadline table from SERFF (the System for Electronic Rates & Forms Filing, a database maintained by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners).
However, it's a bit overly cumbersome for my purposes: It stretches out over 6 full pages, and includes columns for Standalone Dental Plans as well as a bunch of info regarding the Small Group Market. I did used to try tracking Small Group rates as well, but that got to be too difficult to keep up with, and I haven't really done much analysis of standalone dental plans at all. Let's face it: About 90% of the drama, controversy and confusion regarding ACA premiums is all about the individual market.
Read more about When are carriers in YOUR state supposed to submit their 2019 ACA premium rate changes?
California: Crud. All-Payer bill dies before I even got around to writing about it.
About a month and a half ago, state legislators in California introduced a bold new "All-Payer" healthcare bill which, had it become law, would have regulated the actual price of various types of medical procedures. As Sarah Kliff explained in Vox at the time:
California is exploring a bold and controversial new plan to rein in health care spending by letting the state government set medical prices.
...Still, California’s new proposal is worth examining as one that steps closer to single-payer — but doesn’t go quite all the way. It’s one plausible step a state could take without any assistance from the Trump administration, as we see more blue states looking for ways to shape the future of their own health care systems.
”I think we have appreciated how much we’ve been able to do with transparency and data, and how much we’ve been able to collect, but we reached the point where we felt like we had to tackle the issue of prices head on,” says Sara Flocks, policy coordinator for the California Labor Federation, which is backing the proposal.
Read more about California: Crud. All-Payer bill dies before I even got around to writing about it.
All-Payer
UPDATE: North Dakota, Vermont, Colorado and Arkansas officially jump on board the #SilverSwitcharoo Express!
I had actually already written about Vermont doing this back in March, but seeing how it was one of only 2 states (+DC) which didn't allow Cost Sharing Reduction (CSR) costs to be loaded onto premiums at all this year, I figured I should mention it here as well. Once again:
20 states went the full #SilverSwitcharoo route (the best option, since it maximizes tax credits for those eligible for them while minimizing the number of unsubsidized enrollees who get hit with the extra CSR load);
16 states went with partial #SilverLoading (the second best option: Subsidized enrollees get bonus assistance, though not as much as in Switch states; more unsubsidized enrollees take the hit, but they aren't hit quite as hard);
6 states went with "Broad Loading", the worst option because everyone gets hit with at least part of the CSR load except for subsidized Silver enrollees;
6 states took a "Mixed" strategy...which is to say, no particular strategy whatsover. The state insurance dept. left it up to each carrier to decide how to handle the CSR issue, and ended up with a hodge podge of the other three
3 states (well, 2 states + DC, anyway) didn't allow CSR costs to be loaded at all. Their carriers have to eat the loss, which makes little sense, but what're ya gonna do?
Read more about UPDATE: North Dakota, Vermont, Colorado and Arkansas officially jump on board the #SilverSwitcharoo Express!
Hawaii sends #BlueLegProtection bills to Governor but Red & Green bills fail
For a couple of months now, I've been attempting to track a slew of state-based "ACA 2.0" bills slowly winding their way through various state legislatures. However, this is really a bit of a misnomer, since some of these bills aren't so much about expanding the ACA as they are about protecting it from various types of undermining or sabotage from the Trump Administration and Congressional Republicans.
In fact, as far as I'm concerned, they really fall into three categories, which line up nicely with my color-coded "3-Legged Stool" metaphor: Blue, Green and Red Leg bills.
Once again: The "Blue Leg" of the Stool covers everything which ACA-compliant individual health insurance carriers are required to include: Guaranteed Issue, Community Rating, 10 Essential Health Benefits, a Minimum 60% Actuarial Value rating, no Annual or Lifetime Caps on coverage, and a long list of mandatory Preventative Services at no out-of-pocket cost when done in-network.
Read more about Hawaii sends #BlueLegProtection bills to Governor but Red & Green bills fail
BlueLegProtection
Holy Crap. Sometimes I forget just how many people live in California.
Covered California Launches New Campaign Focused on College Graduates to Make Sure They Get Health Coverage
Commencement speakers will remind thousands of new graduates that “life can change in an instant” – making it important for them to have health coverage, so they can get the health care they need as they set out in life.
A new video distributed on social platforms will remind graduates who may be losing their health coverage to check out Covered California for affordable options.
Covered California Executive Director Peter Lee congratulates graduates and reminds them to protect their futures by getting health insurance.
Covered California provided more than 70 campus health centers with materials to educate graduating students about new health insurance options available through Covered California
The “special enrollment” campaign for graduates is launching amid new data showing California’s uninsured rate is at an all-time low.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Graduation season is in full bloom and Covered California is joining with commencement speakers throughout the state to remind the over 400,000 graduates and their families not to forget about the importance of health insurance during this busy time of year.
Read more about Holy Crap. Sometimes I forget just how many people live in California.
Washington State: No bare counties in 2019; 15% drop in ACA-compliant individual market?
This just in from the Washington State Insurance Commissioner's office...
Eleven health insurers file for 2019 individual market: No bare counties
OLYMPIA, Wash. – Eleven health insurers filed 88 health plans for Washington state’s individual market yesterday, and all 39 counties will be covered in 2019.
The proposed rate changes are not public until 10 days after the OIC has determined the filings are complete. Release of the proposed rate changes is targeted for June 4.
“We can all breathe a sigh of relief knowing consumers in every county who need coverage will have access to a health plan in 2019,” said Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler. “Obviously, how much premiums may change and any increases to out-of-pocket costs are still key concerns, but I’m grateful that we can assure people that coverage is available, regardless of where they live.”
Read more about Washington State: No bare counties in 2019; 15% drop in ACA-compliant individual market?
UPDATE: New Jersey pushes back even harder against ACA sabotage
Last month I noted that New Jersey is taking a leading role regarding protecting and improving the Affordable Care Act; the state legislature has passed bills which would:
(New Jersey actually already had several other "ACA protection" laws on the books in the first place, including protections against short-term plans and "surprise billing".)
In addition, new Governor Phil Murphy had alread proven that he understands and supports the ACA; within days of taking office he had already issued an executive order telling all state agencies to do everything they reasonably can to inform the public about how to enroll during Open Enrollment and so forth.
Read more about UPDATE: New Jersey pushes back even harder against ACA sabotage
Connecticut legislature passes bill to let pregnant women enroll during off-season
A few years ago, New York State passed a law which allows uninsured pregnant women to enroll in ACA exchange coverage outside of the official Open Enrollment Period. Here's what Louise Norris and I wrote about it at the time:
On another note, I also want to use this as an opportunity to point out that maintaining quality health insurance coverage needs to be a priority year in and year out. Jenks notes that "Pregnancies are often unplanned, making limited enrollment periods impractical for many women." But can't that be said of any medical condition? In fact, I would say pregnancy is one aspect of healthcare that's probably much more likely to actually be planned. While about half of pregnancies are planned, I doubt the same could be said for cancers, heart attacks, or car accidents.
In other words, while not all pregnancies are planned, overall it's a lot less "random" than most other expensive healthcare incidents.
Read more about Connecticut legislature passes bill to let pregnant women enroll during off-season
Michigan: (sigh) Medicaid work requirement deal reached between GOP and...GOP
Sadly, this is pretty much exactly what I've been expecting:
Sen. Mike SHIRKEY (R-ClarkLake) said today he's hammered out an agreement with the administration and the House on creating work requirements for Medicaid recipients.
Speaking during a taping of "Off The Record," Shirkey said, "We have a deal." All sides have signed off on the exemptions to the work requirement, but he didn't get into all fo them pending a formal announcement coming as soon as later this week.
From the wording of this, it sounds an awful lot like "all sides" appears to refer to Republican Senator Shirkey, the rest of the Republican State Senate, the Republican State House and the Republican Governor.
Shirkey confirmed that the 29-hour job requirement in the Senate bill has been pared back to 20 to which he says, "I was hoping Michigan could take a leadership position and set a new standard for that." But rather than jeopardize the entire package, he compromised.
Read more about Michigan: (sigh) Medicaid work requirement deal reached between GOP and...GOP
CBO confirms it: #MandateRepeal + #ShortAssPlans = 10-13% higher premiums
Just an hour or so ago I posted about a vice president of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association stating point-blank what I and every other healthcare wonk under the sun has been warning for months (or years, really, if you include the original justification for the Individual Mandate under RomneyCare):
Kris Haltmeyer, a vice president at the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, told reporters that the premium increases were in part due to the repeal of ObamaCare’s individual mandate in the Republican tax reform bill in December...“With the repeal of the individual mandate and the failure of Congress to enact stabilization legislation, we are expecting premiums to go up substantially,” Haltmeyer said.
...He said the premium increases are “related to the loss of the mandate and then underlying medical costs.”
“Those two things have the most impact on the rate increases,” he added.
...Oh, and what comes after mandate repeal and underlying medical costs? You guessed it: #ShortAssPlans
Read more about CBO confirms it: #MandateRepeal + #ShortAssPlans = 10-13% higher premiums
Blue Cross Blue Shield VP says it flat-out: GOP Sabotage causing most of 2019 ACA premium hikes
One of the things Ford had always found hardest to understand about humans was their habit of continually stating and repeating the very very obvious, as in ‘It’s a nice day’, 'You’re very tall’, or 'You seem to have fallen down a thirty-foot well, are you alright?’
via Peter Sullivan, The Hill:
A top insurance industry official said Wednesday that he expects “substantial” ObamaCare premium increases for 2019.
Kris Haltmeyer, a vice president at the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, told reporters that the premium increases were in part due to the repeal of ObamaCare’s individual mandate in the Republican tax reform bill in December. He also cited lawmakers’ failure to pass a bill aimed at lowering premiums, which fell apart earlier this year amid a partisan dispute over abortion restrictions.
Read more about Blue Cross Blue Shield VP says it flat-out: GOP Sabotage causing most of 2019 ACA premium hikes
SERFF Rate Filings: Oddball Findings
It's become a tradition that every spring/summer/fall, I pore over the official SERFF database for every state, furiously searching for the ACA-compliant rate filings for the upcoming year.
The thing is, the SERFF database, in addition to being somewhat confusing and clunky to work with, includes a lot more than just "here's how much we want to raise our rates next year". Even after narrowing it down to just major medical health insurance policies, there are often still dozens of different forms and spreadsheets in the database, covering pretty much any change to any insurance policy for any carrier. If a carrier drops out of a market, there are forms. If they stop offering PPOs, there are forms. If they merge with or buy out another company, there are obviously forms. Even for the rate filings themselves, there are often a dozen or more different PDFs and/or spreadsheets included as supporting documentation.
Read more about SERFF Rate Filings: Oddball Findings
Virginia: Medicaid expansion on hold another week, while "Self-employed Small Group" law enters dangerous waters...
Two big developments (or in one case, a lack of development) out of Virginia this evening.
First: Just yesterday I was noting that it looked as though after 8 years, Virginia's state legislature might finally be going ahead and expanding Medicaid under the ACA as soon as today:
The stage is set for a showdown in the Virginia Senate on Tuesday over a budget compromise negotiated by Senate Finance Co-Chairman Emmett Hanger, R-Augusta, and House Appropriations Chairman Chris Jones, R-Suffolk, to expand the state’s Medicaid program and pay for the state’s share through a new tax on hospital revenues that also would boost Medicaid payments for inpatient provider care.
Unfortunately...that didn't happen:
Governor Northam Statement on Virginia Senate Budget Process
Read more about Virginia: Medicaid expansion on hold another week, while "Self-employed Small Group" law enters dangerous waters...
Good News! California & Illinois make major progress towards nipping #ShortAssPlans in the bud
This evening brought three major pieces of ACA-related news out of three different states:
First, in California, the State Senate passed SB-910, which wouldn't just limit short-term plans, but would outright prohibit them altogether. To my knowledge, CA would be the only state* where STPs wouldn't be allowed at all:
(*Correction: It turns out that New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts also ban Short-Term Plans as well, although according to Dania Palanker of the Center on Health Insurance Reforms at Georgetown University, California would be the first state to explicitly outlaw short-term plans as opposed to simply stating that all policies have to meet certain standards.)
SACRAMENTO – Today, the State Senate approved passage of Senate Bill 910, which prohibits the sale of short term limited duration health insurance in California.
Read more about Good News! California & Illinois make major progress towards nipping #ShortAssPlans in the bud
Virginia: Could it be? Medicaid expansion for 400,000 more people could be a reality within 48 hours!
Several stories like this throughout Monday afternoon/evening (via Michael Martz of the Richmond Times-Dispatch:
(The article goes into all the other non-Medicaid related stuff in the budget as well, of course, although some of it is obviously healthcare-related.)
Read more about Virginia: Could it be? Medicaid expansion for 400,000 more people could be a reality within 48 hours!
Michigan: Medicaid Work Requirement Bill 2.0: Now Racism-Free* & 30% Less Cruel!
*(To be honest, all of these types of bills--work requirements for Medicaid, drug testing for welfare benefits, photo ID for voting--have at least a tinge of racism to them no matter what, but at least this one isn't blatantly racist anymore).
This just in off the AP newswire...
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The sponsor of proposed Medicaid work requirements said Monday that lawmakers are removing a provision to exempt recipients who live in Michigan counties with high unemployment, saying it would have been too difficult to administer and denying allegations of racism.
Republican Sen. Mike Shirkey of Clarklake also told The Associated Press that the proposed 29-hour-a week workforce engagement requirement for able-bodied adults is being lowered to “very close” to 20 weeks. That is in line with the three states that have enacted Medicaid work laws and with Michigan’s work requirement for food assistance beneficiaries.
Read more about Michigan: Medicaid Work Requirement Bill 2.0: Now Racism-Free* & 30% Less Cruel!
Virginia: Good News! Gov. Northam GETS IT, vetoes 4 #ShortAssPlans bills
Having a doctor holding elected office is kind of hit or miss (former HHS Secretary Tom "Fly Me!" Price was an orthopedic surgeon, for instance, while Rand "Kneel before Aqua Buddha!" Paul is supposedly a "self-certified" opthamologist), but once in awhile it can be a very good thing.
Case in point: Ralph Northam, the new Governor of Virginia, a former Army doctor and pediatric neurologist, who just formally vetoed not one, not two, but four different GOP-passed healthcare bills, each of which would have further weakened and damaged the ACA individual market risk pool:
RICHMOND—Governor Ralph Northam today vetoed Senate Bills 844, 934, 935, and 964, which would put Virginians at risk of being underinsured, result in rapidly increasing Marketplace premiums, and undermine key protections in the Affordable Care Act. Governor Northam remains committed to expanding health care for nearly 400,000 uninsured Virginians, return millions to the state budget, and reduce Marketplace premiums. The Governor’s full veto statements are below.
Read more about Virginia: Good News! Gov. Northam GETS IT, vetoes 4 #ShortAssPlans bills
Actuary Magazine Analysis: "Ass" part of #ShortAssPlans will likely jack up rates at least 1.4 - 4.4%
I've written quite a few entries bashing the Short-Term Plan portion of Donald Trump's executive order opening up the floodgates on non-ACA compliant policies. However, I've written far less about the other shoe he's dropping: Association Health Plans, or AHPs. In fact, while I discussed AHPs briefly in Part Two of my Risk Pool video, the only blog post I've written to date which specifically focuses on them just quoted from this Avalere Health article:
Association Health Plans (AHPs) are health insurance arrangements sponsored by an industry, trade, or professional association that provide health coverage to their members—typically small businesses and their employees. Health insurance coverage offered through AHPs aims to make coverage available and affordable for small groups and individual employees. Importantly, these arrangements are currently governed by state and federal requirements and are subject to state oversight, including standards related to premiums and benefit requirements.
Read more about Actuary Magazine Analysis: "Ass" part of #ShortAssPlans will likely jack up rates at least 1.4 - 4.4%
PPP to POC: FYI, GOP SOL re. ACA in NOV.
Via press release from "Protect Our Care":
Polls in 6 Battleground States Show Voters Blame Republicans for Rate Hikes
Six new Public Policy Polling surveys in battleground states find voters will blame Republicans for the expected health care premium increases this summer by approximately 30 points and voters believe Republicans and President Trump have been actively undermining and sabotaging the Affordable Care Act.
ARIZONA Voters say they will blame Republicans if health care premiums increase this summer. 55% say they will hold Republicans in Washington responsible if rates increase, compared to just 29% who said they would not. A plurality of voters (49%) say they believe Washington Republicans and President Trump have been trying to undermine and sabotage the Affordable Care Act – and a majority of independent voters (57%) also say they agree with that statement.
Read more about PPP to POC: FYI, GOP SOL re. ACA in NOV.
California: CoveredCA projects 9-13% rate hikes in 2019 w/5-8 points due to mandate repeal alone
OK, this doesn't technically count as an official 2019 Rate Hike analysis since none of it comes from actual carrier rate filings, but Covered California, the largest state-based ACA exchange, just released their proposed 2018-2019 annual budget, and it includes detailed projections regarding expected premium increases and enrollment impact over the next few years due specifically to the GOP's repeal of the ACA's Individual Mandate. Oddly, while they mention short-term plan expansion as another potential threat to enrollment/premiums, they do so passingly, and they don't mention association plans at all:
Since 2014, nearly 5 million people have enrolled in Medi-Cal due to the Affordable Care Act expansion, and more than 3.5 million have been insured for some period of time through Covered California. Together, the gains cut the rate of the uninsured in California from 17 percent in 2013 to a historic low of 6.8 percent as of June 2017.
Read more about California: CoveredCA projects 9-13% rate hikes in 2019 w/5-8 points due to mandate repeal alone
DAILY DOUBLE: 2017 Sabotage + 2018 Sabotage = Holy Crap.
Last month, after much painstaking research and analysis, I concluded that unsubsidized ACA-compliant individual market enrollees (both on & off the exchanges) are paying an average of around $960 this year (~$80/month) more in healthcare premiums nationally in 2018 than they otherwise would be if not for the various forms of ACA sabotage carried out by Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans last year.
Again, it's important to clarify that this is $960 more (around 17% more) in addition to non-sabotage-related factors such as normal medical expense inflation (around 7%), the reinstatement of the ACA carrier tax (about 2%) and other various/sundry factors (around 2%).
Read more about DAILY DOUBLE: 2017 Sabotage + 2018 Sabotage = Holy Crap.
CAP analysis confirms: ACA Sabotage jacked rates $1,000 this year and will jack them ANOTHER $1,000 next year
Back in mid-April, I crunched a bunch of numbers and concluded that around 6.5 million people enrolled in unsubsidized ACA-compliant individual market policies are, on average, paying an additional $960/year ($80/month) for their policies this year due specifically to last year's sabotage efforts by Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans. This is separate from other factors such as medical trend and the reinstatement of the ACA carrier tax. The actual 2018 "Trump Tax" ranges from as little as almost nothing at all in Vermont and North Dakota to as high as $1,500 per enrollee in Mississippi and Pennsylvania.
The 2018 sabotage impact was mainly due to 1) CSR reimbursement funding being cut off; 2) uncertainty over individual mandate enforcement; and 3) a mish-mash of Open Enrollment changes including cutting the time window in half, slashing marketing/assistance budgets by 90% and 40% respectively and so forth.
Read more about CAP analysis confirms: ACA Sabotage jacked rates $1,000 this year and will jack them ANOTHER $1,000 next year
UPDATE: How have individual market enrollment retention patterns changed since pre-ACA days?
5/25/18: SEE IMPORTANT UPDATE BELOW.
I suspect that even within the healthcare wonk community, this particular bit of information is only going to be of interest to a small number...but I'm one of them, and it's my site, so there you go.
A couple of years ago I got into a rather wonky discussion with L.A. Times reporter Michael Hiltzik and Michael "No one hates Obamacare more than me" Cannon of the CATO Institute about Special Enrollment Periods:
Read more about UPDATE: How have individual market enrollment retention patterns changed since pre-ACA days?
UPDATE: Kaiser study proves it: ACA markets had stabilized until Trump's wrecking ball crashed into them
The Kaiser Family Foundation just released an important new study which proves everything I've been saying for the past year and a half: After years of turmoil, the ACA-compliant individual market had finally quieted down and reached equilibrium last year...right up until Donald Trump, combined with total GOP control of the federal government, deliberately came in like a wrecking ball and messed everything up again:
Concerns about the stability of the individual insurance market under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) have been raised in the past year following exits of several insurers from the exchange markets for 2017, and again last year during the debate over repeal of the health law.
Read more about UPDATE: Kaiser study proves it: ACA markets had stabilized until Trump's wrecking ball crashed into them
Which state has the least-expensive ACA policies? Take a guess. No, guess again.
This post was inspired by a Twitter query by "Other Alex". He originally asked about the insanely expensive premiums for ACA policies in Charlottesville, Virginia, which I wrote about the other day. Anyway, after some back & forth between him, myself and Colin Baillio, Alex asked if I knew where the least-expensive ACA plans are.
I haven't looked it up by rating area yet (for instance, Virginia as a whole ranks 18th most expensive this year even though Charlottesville is the most expensive rating area in the country), but on a state-level basis, it appears that the least expensive state for ACA-compliant individual healthcare policies is actually...(drumroll please)...
Massachusetts.
Read more about Which state has the least-expensive ACA policies? Take a guess. No, guess again.
Chief HHS Actuary confirms: Trump's #ShortAssPlans will jack up premiums, cost taxpayers up to $1.2B more next year
A couple of weeks ago, Donald Trump's former HHS Secretary Tom Price openly (and rather casually) admitted at the World Health Care Conference that the GOP's repeal of the ACA's individual mandate will "harm the pool in the exchange markets & drive up costs" when it actually goes into effect in 2019.
Well, today, the other 2018 sabotage shoe dropped as the chief actuary for the HHS Department stated the obvious regarding Trump's #ShortAssPlans scheme:
WASHINGTON — President Trump’s plan to expand access to skimpy short-term health insurance policies, as an alternative to the Affordable Care Act, would affect more people and cost the government more money than the administration estimated, an independent federal study says.
Read more about Chief HHS Actuary confirms: Trump's #ShortAssPlans will jack up premiums, cost taxpayers up to $1.2B more next year
Oregon: Preliminary 2019 ACA rate hike request: 10.5% (likely ~1.4% w/out mandate repeal)
A huge shout-out to Jesse O'Brien for the heads up on this (as well as for posting some of the actual filing data).
Oregon just became the 4th state to submit their preliminary 2019 ACA individual market rate filings, and while the expected increase is smaller than expected on average (in part due to Oregon's strict control of short-term plans), repeal of the individual mandate by Congressional Republicans and Donald Trump are still responsible for the vast majority of the rate increase.
Read more about Oregon: Preliminary 2019 ACA rate hike request: 10.5% (likely ~1.4% w/out mandate repeal)
2019 Rate Hikes: VERY early national projection (4 states only): ~16.1% w/2018 sabotage, ~3.8% without
Normally, I don't start posting natoinal projections for my annual Rate Hike Project until I have at least filing data for at least a dozen or so states because the national weighted average jumps around so much early on. A "national average" of, say, 10% based on numbers from, say, Vermont, Wyoming and the District of Columbia (collective population: 1.9 million people) is gonna change radically once you add California or Florida to the mix if they're looking at a 20% hike, for example.
Having said that, seeing how advocacy organization Protect Our Care has decided to launch their own version of my Rate Hike Project, and seeing how I do have preliminary 2019 rate increase projections from at one large state (Virginia) and two mid-sized states (Maryland and Oregon), I've decided to go ahead and start posting the national projections early, with a major caveat that the national average will likely change dramatically until at least 2/3 of the states have been plugged in.
Read more about 2019 Rate Hikes: VERY early national projection (4 states only): ~16.1% w/2018 sabotage, ~3.8% without
What does Seema Verma plan to do to lower premiums? Jack and Squat, and Jack just left town.
Well. There you have it:
.@SeemaCMS bluntly says the uninsured rate will continue to rise because of rising premiums. "At some point, people can't afford coverage." #PostLive
— Alice Ollstein (@AliceOllstein) May 15, 2018
I think Albert said it best (and it appears to apply to some women as well):
Read more about What does Seema Verma plan to do to lower premiums? Jack and Squat, and Jack just left town.
"Rate Watch": Protect Our Care takes my Rate Hike Project ball and runs with it
For three years now, I've been painstakingly tracking the annual average rate increases for ACA-compliant individual market policies across all 50 states (+DC) and nationally, including both the on & off-exchange markets in as much detail as possible, and at the risk of tooting my own horn too much, my track record on this has been pretty damned accurate:
In mid-October 2015, I projected that the overall average rate increases for 2016 would be roughly 12-13% nationally...which was confirmed by mid-December, when the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation released a report which, when you weighted the averages by metal level market share, came in at around 11.6% across the entire ACA exchange market. The off-exchange market wasn't included by RWJF, but unless it was significantly higher or lower, that 11.6% should be pretty darned close.
Read more about "Rate Watch": Protect Our Care takes my Rate Hike Project ball and runs with it
Kind of a Big Deal: HealthAffairs publishes our work re. CSR Broad Load Threat
99% of what I write is posted either exclusively here at ACASignups.net or, at most, is cross-posted over at Daily Kos. Once in blue moon I've written a freelance piece for healthinsurance.org, and I even wrote one piece for Cracked.com last year. Today I'm proud to announce that an article which I co-wrote with three other healthcare wonks (David Anderson, Louise Norris and Andrew Sprung) has been published by HealthAffairs:
Implications Of CMS Mandating A Broad Load Of CSR Costs
In October 2017, the Trump administration eliminated federal funding to reimburse insurers for cost-sharing reduction (CSR) subsidies, which they are obligated to provide to qualifying enrollees in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace. President Donald Trump had threatened to eliminate CSR funding throughout 2017, so insurers and insurance regulators in many states had anticipated the move by adding the cost of CSRs to premiums for 2018.
Read more about Kind of a Big Deal: HealthAffairs publishes our work re. CSR Broad Load Threat
Broad Loading
Vermont: Preliminary 2019 ACA rate hike request: 8.6% (3.5% w/out mandate/CSR sabotage)
Given how progressive Vermont is, you'd think that they'd be doing as much as possible to batten down the hatches in order to avoid or mitigate the latest wave of sabotage efforts from the Trump Administration and the GOP...and you'd mostly be correct.
Some of the work on that front has already been done. For one thing, Vermont (along with Massachusetts and the District of Columbia) merges their individual and small group market risk pools together, which helps smooth out premium increases and overall morbidity across a larger risk pool. For another, Vermont has fully embraced ACA provisions such as Medicaid expansion and operating their own full exchange, of course. Vermont, along with a few other states, also has pretty strict rules in place limiting both short-term and association healthcare plans, so that portion of Trump's sabotage attack is neatly cancelled out already.
Read more about Vermont: Preliminary 2019 ACA rate hike request: 8.6% (3.5% w/out mandate/CSR sabotage)
Urban Institute jumps onboard the "What's Next after the ACA?" train with "Healthy America"
It's very clear that the name of the game for healthcare policy this year seems to be "What comes after the ACA?"
For over a year now, I've been strongly urging the passage of some sort of "ACA 2.0" upgrade package, primarily based on my own wish list entitled "If I Ran the Zoo", a collection of about 20 assorted ACA fixes. The reality is that a couple of the items on my list start to move away from an "upgraded ACA" and drift over into what I've mentally compartmentalized as the next phase in achieving Universal Healthcare Coverage.
Since I first posted my wish list just over a year ago, several new proposals have been released by various Democratic politicians and 3rd-party organizations such as the Center for American Progress, some of which are revised versions of other long-proposed systems. These include:
Read more about Urban Institute jumps onboard the "What's Next after the ACA?" train with "Healthy America"
Michigan & Kentucky duke it out to lead the nation...in racist #MedicalGerrymandering.
A week or so ago, I noted that Republicans in my home state of Michigan have come up with a clever way of having their (chocolate) cake and eating the (vanilla) cake too. As first noted by Nancy Kaffer of the Detroit Free Press:
Although HB 897 threatens to end Medicaid benefits for hundreds of thousands living elsewhere in the state, it includes exemptions for people who live in counties with an unemployment rate of more than 8.5%, like the ones Schmidt represents.
Live in Detroit? You're out of luck.
The city's unemployment rate is higher than 8.5%, but the unemployment rate in surrounding Wayne County is just 5.5% — meaning Detroiters living in poverty, with a dysfunctional transit system that makes it harder to reach good-paying jobs, won't qualify for that exemption. The same is true in Flint and the state's other struggling cities.
Read more about Michigan & Kentucky duke it out to lead the nation...in racist #MedicalGerrymandering.
Medical Gerrymandering
Oregon considering joining Nevada in giving their own exchange another shot?
As of today, there are 12 states which operate their own full ACA exchanges, including their own board of directors, marketing budget, bylaws and tech platform for their enrollment website. 34 states have offloaded just about all of that to the federal exchange, HealthCare.Gov. And then there are five states which are in between: They have their own state-based exchange...but their tech platform is basically piggybacked onto the federal exchange: Arkansas, Kentucky, Nevada, New Mexico and Oregon.
Arkansas and New Mexico always planned on moving off of HC.gov onto their own full exchange platform but never got around to doing so. Kentucky's ("kynect") was working perfectly well from day one, and only made the move to the federal platform after three years because new GOP Governor Matt Bevin decided he didn't like it for whatever reason. New Mexico and Oregon, meanwhile, had such major technical problems at launch that they scrapped their sites after the first year and moved to the Mothership. (As an aside, Hawaii also scrapped their exchange site after the second or third year, but they shut down their entire state-based exchange and moved everything to HC.gov).
Read more about Oregon considering joining Nevada in giving their own exchange another shot?
State-based Exchange
UPDATE: Virginia: Whoa. New law to allow self-employed to enroll in sm. group market?
Holy smokes. A huge shout-out to Esther F. for the heads up on this. I have no idea how this story slipped under my radar the past few months:
Northam signs healthcare bill to provide relief to Virginia entrepreneurs
Published Wednesday, Apr. 11, 2018, 12:42 pm
Gov. Ralph Northam signed a new healthcare bill into law that will provide relief to many small business owners currently struggling with the Central Virginia insurance premium crisis.
Read more about UPDATE: Virginia: Whoa. New law to allow self-employed to enroll in sm. group market?
Small Group Market
HUGE news for Minnesota and New York: BHP funding lawsuit settled, HHS must pay up after all
The Basic Health Program is one of the more obscure provisions of the Affordable Care Act. Very few people outside of the healthcare wonk community know anything about it...unless they live in Minnesota or New York State.
The short version is that it's an optional low-income healthcare program designed for people at the income tier just above Medicaid expansion...138% - 200% of the Federal Poverty Line, or between around $16,600 - $24,100/year for a single adult. In most states people in that income range would be expected to enroll in heavily-subsidized ACA exchange policies. In New York and Minnesota, however, they've instead set up Basic Health Programs (BHPs) for this population instead.
Read more about HUGE news for Minnesota and New York: BHP funding lawsuit settled, HHS must pay up after all
BREAKING: Everyone wants to go to heaven, no one wants to die.
That's the simplest and most obvious takeaway I can get from a new customer survey from eHeatlh Insurance, the online health insurance broker.*
*(No, they aren't paying me anything, and I have no idea whether they're a good or bad company to do business with. I do know they do a reasonable amount of business and they cover most of the country, so their findings are likely reasonably representative).
The lede pretty much says it all:
A new survey by eHealth, Inc. finds that individual and family health insurance consumers are cost-stressed, confused about the state of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and worried about the future of their benefits. They believe that all health plans should provide rich benefits, but they’re unwilling to shoulder the costs often associated with those benefits. They’re bringing their frustrations over the state of health care to the ballot box in 2018.
Read more about BREAKING: Everyone wants to go to heaven, no one wants to die.
Colorado: 88% ACA exchange retention rate, planning #SilverSwitcharoo in 2019
Louise Norris is an awesome source for all sorts of healthcare policy/insurance data, but she's especially on top of developments in her home state of Colorado, where she and her husband Jay run a small brokerage outlet.
Today Jay and Louise have a couple of interesting tidbits out of The Centennial State (yeah, I had to look up their nickname myself).
First, according to Jay (via the Connect for Health Colorado exchange itself), as of May 7, 2018, C4HCO had exactly 142,474 people enrolled in effectuated ACA exchange policies statewide. This is noteworthy mainly because 161,764 people selected Qualified Health Plan (QHP) policies during the 2018 Open Enrollment Period.
That's (sort of) an 88% retention rate through early May. I say "sort of" because this presumably includes some amount of churn (if 100 people drop coverage and 100 off-season enrollees sign up, that'd be a net change of zero). Even so, it's actually slightly better compared to prior years, when the national effectuation number had usually dropped to around 87% by the end of March.
Read more about Colorado: 88% ACA exchange retention rate, planning #SilverSwitcharoo in 2019
Risk Pools: The Motion Picture! (Part 2: Why #ShortAssPlans Suck)
As promised, here's Part 2 of my Risk Pool explainer video!
Part 1 went over the basics of how risk pools work in general, and why segregating sick people into a separate pool is a terrible idea.
In Part 2, I go into more detail about the different types of NON-ACA plans available on the individual market, why they mostly stink, and how the repeal of the Individual Mandate Penalty, especially when combined with Trump's yanking away restrictions on "short-term" and "association" plans, will take an existing problem and make it far worse.
Oh, yeah: It involves Dabney Coleman and Morgan Freeman.
Read more about Risk Pools: The Motion Picture! (Part 2: Why #ShortAssPlans Suck)
Risk Pools
Michigan: This is nuts: GOP Senate attempts to blackmail GOP Governor into approving Medicaid work requirement
Backstory Part One
Backstory Part Two
Backstory Part Three
...which brings me to today's Detroit News, via Jonathan Oosting:
Senate uses salary threat to push Medicaid work plan
Lansing — Michigan’s Republican-led Senate is pressuring Gov. Rick Snyder to back sweeping changes to the state’s Medicaid health insurance system, including proposed work requirements and a tougher 48-month benefit limit for the Healthy Michigan plan.
Read more about Michigan: This is nuts: GOP Senate attempts to blackmail GOP Governor into approving Medicaid work requirement
Kansas: Seema Verma shows a glimmer of decency, refuses to impose lifetime limits on Medicaid
I've trashed CMS Administrator Seema Verma many times for her callous and backward-logic driven push to impose pointless, counterproductive work requirements on ACA Medicaid expansion enrollees. However, it appears that even she has her limits when it comes to treating people terribly:
The Trump administration has drawn a red line on Medicaid cuts. There are some proposals that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services won’t approve.
In a letter on Monday, CMS Administrator Seema Verma told Kansas officials that her agency would not approve the state’s request to impose lifetime limits, which would have capped a person’s eligibility at three years, after which they could no longer be covered by the program.
Verma noted that the administration had approved proposals by other states to cut off benefits for Medicaid enrollees only if they fail to meet certain work requirements.
Read more about Kansas: Seema Verma shows a glimmer of decency, refuses to impose lifetime limits on Medicaid
Trump calls for massive ACA/CHIP funding cuts to help pay for reckless tax cut
President Trump is sending a plan to Congress that calls for stripping more than $15 billion in previously approved spending, with the hope that it will temper conservative angst over ballooning budget deficits.
Almost half of the proposed cuts would come from two accounts within the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) that White House officials said expired last year or are not expected to be drawn upon. An additional $800 million in cuts would come from money created by the Affordable Care Act in 2010 to test innovative payment and service delivery models.
Those are just a handful of the more than 30 programs the White House is proposing to Congress for “rescission,” a process of culling back money that was previously authorized. Once the White House sends the request to Congress, lawmakers have 45 days to vote on the plan or a scaled-back version of it through a simple majority vote.
Read more about Trump calls for massive ACA/CHIP funding cuts to help pay for reckless tax cut
Maryland: Preliminary 2019 ACA rate hike request: 29.5% (~19-24% w/out sabotage)
Hot on the heels of Virginia, Maryland is the 2nd state to post their preliminary 2019 unsubsidized ACA policy rate increase requests. According to Paul Demko of Politico...
Insurers selling Obamacare plans in Maryland are again seeking huge rate increases for 2019, but they could be knocked down significantly by a reinsurance program the state hopes to implement for next year.
CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield wants to increase rates on average by 18.5 percent on its HMO plans, which account for more than half of the individual market this year. Kaiser Permanente, the only other insurer selling on the exchange, is seeking a 37.4 percent average increase on its HMO plans, which cover just over a third of Obamacare customers.
Read more about Maryland: Preliminary 2019 ACA rate hike request: 29.5% (~19-24% w/out sabotage)
Virginia: (relatively) Good News! Avg. preliminary rate hike "only" 13.4% after all!
A couple of days ago, I posted that Virginia has become the first state out of the gate with their preliminary 2019 premium rate requests for ACA individual policies. However, I made sure to emphasize that these are preliminary requests only; carriers often resubmit their rate change requests more than once over the course of the summer/fall, and even that may not match whatever the final, approved rate changes are by the state insurance commissioner.
In addition, I generally try to make it understood that there's alotof room for error here--the weighted averages are based on the number of current enrollees, but of course that number can change from month to month as people drop policies or sign up during the off-season (via Special Enrollment Periods). Even then, the rate filing paperwork is often vague or confusing about just how many enrollees they actually have in these plans. Sometimes wonks are reduced to taking the number of "member months" and dividing by 12 to get a rough idea of how many people are enrolled in any given month. Sometimes the only number of enrollees available are from last year, which could bear zero resemblence to how many are currently enrolled. Sometimes the only number available is how many people the carrier expects to enroll in their policies next year. And so on.
Read more about Virginia: (relatively) Good News! Avg. preliminary rate hike "only" 13.4% after all!
Michigan: No 2019 ACA rate filings yet, but let's take a look at transitional/short-term plans...
Aside from Virginia, it's likely going to be another month or so before the 2019 ACA policy rate filings start trickling in, since the deadline for initial rate requests isn't until late June in most states. However, there's some interesting non-ACA policy filing stuff which is available as well. Given all the concern about non-ACA compliant policies siphoning healthy people away from the ACA market, I figured I should take a look at a few of these.
Here in Michigan, I've found three such filings: One is for "transitional" plans from Golden Rule (a subsidiary of Unitedhealthcare, I believe). The other two are for "short-term" plans (the type which Donald Trump is basically removing any regulation on).
First up, Golden Rule:
Read more about Michigan: No 2019 ACA rate filings yet, but let's take a look at transitional/short-term plans...
UPDATE: California: One carrier jumps into the 2019 rate filing pool WAY early...
IMORTANT UPDATE: As I suspected, it turns out that the stray rate filing posted to the California Insurance Dept. website a few days ago was posted prematurely, doesn't reflect the carrier's final* rate filing, and has since been pulled from the California Insurance Dept. website.
I've been asked to remove the filing data, and seeing how there's nothing nefarious about it (I wasn't "whistleblowing" evidence of anything criminal/unethical), I'm complying with that request. Since everything in the post related to that data, there wasn't much point in keeping the rest of it either.
*(Yes, I'm aware that none of these early filings are "final" since they tend to be revised/resubmitted throughout the summer/fall, but you know what I mean.)
Read more about UPDATE: California: One carrier jumps into the 2019 rate filing pool WAY early...
AND WE'RE OFF: Virginia again 1st out of the gate w/preliminary 2019 rate hikes...
Sun, 05/06/2018 - 9:43am
...and to absolutely no one's surprise, GOP sabotage of the ACA will be directly responsible for a significant chunk of the individual market premium increases.
Every year for 3 years running, I've spent the entire spring/summer/early fall painstakingly tracking every insurance carrier rate filing for the following year to determine just how much average insurance policy premiums on the individual market are going to increase (or, in a few rare instances, actually decrease).
The actual work is difficult due to the ever-changing landscape as carriers jump in and out of the market, their tendency repeatedly revise their requests, and the confusing blizzard of actual filing forms which sometimes make it easy to find the specific data I need and sometimes make it next to impossible.
Read more about AND WE'RE OFF: Virginia again 1st out of the gate w/preliminary 2019 rate hikes...
CBO confirms it: Trump's Obamacare sabotage cancelled out Trump's OTHER Obamacare sabotage!
Well, Keith Hall, Director of the Congressional Budget Office, just confirmed pretty much everything that we've been saying for a year or more now:
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), in section 1402, requires insurers who participate in the marketplaces established under that act to offer CSRs to eligible people who purchase silver plans through the marketplaces. CBO views that requirement as establishing an entitlement for thoseeligible.
To qualify for CSRs, people must purchase a plan through a marketplace and generally have income between 100 percent and 250 percent of the federal poverty guidelines (also known as the federal poverty level, or FPL). The size of the subsidy varies with income.
CSRs reduce deductibles and other out-of-pocket expenses like copayments. For example, in 2017, by CBOs estimates, the average deductible for a single policyholder (for medical and drug expenses combined) with a silver plan varied according to income in the followingway:
Read more about CBO confirms it: Trump's Obamacare sabotage cancelled out Trump's OTHER Obamacare sabotage!
Michigan: Guess who'd be off the hook for Medicaid work requirements? Surprise!
I've written quite a bit about the attempt by the GOP-controlled state legislature to push through work requirements for ACA Medicaid expansion here in Michigan. The bill (SB897) was quickly passed on partisan lines in the state Senate last week, and has now been taken up by the appropriations committee in the state House.
I actually shlepped my butt all the way out to Lansing yesterday morning to attend the committee hearing. Unfortunately, there were so many others who wanted to speak during the Public Comment period, I didn't get a chance to chime in.
Anyway, during the hearing, there was a reference to one provision of the proposed Senate version of the bill which caught my attention:
Read more about Michigan: Guess who'd be off the hook for Medicaid work requirements? Surprise!
Risk Pools: The Motion Picture! (Part 1: Why High Risk Pools Suck)
As noted a few days ago, I've posted Part One of my latest crudely-produced-but-hopefully-informative video explainer.
The first part gives an overview of how healthcare Risk Pools actually work and why quarantining sick people into a separate High Risk Pool is such a terrible idea.
The second part, which I hope to post in the next few days, will go into why Donald Trump's recent Short-Term/Association Plan executive order will make a problem which already existed in 2017, and which was made worse by the GOP (by design) in 2018, even worse starting in 2019.
Read more about Risk Pools: The Motion Picture! (Part 1: Why High Risk Pools Suck)
High Risk Pools
RED ALERT: Godawful "God's Safety Net" SB897 to be taken up in the state House WEDNESDAY MORNING.
NOTE: Just to clarify, here's where the headline comes from:
...Sponsoring Sen. Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, created exemptions in the Michigan legislation that would waive the work requirement for parents with young children, pregnant women or caretakers for disabled family members. But asked about people like Maitre who could still lose health care, he told reporters the social safety net “by definition, has a lot of holes in it.”
“The best safety net ever invented by God is family,” Shirkey said, “but I’m not sure that government is supposed to supplement that process.”
Well, here we go:
#BREAKING tomorrow morning the House Appropriations Committee is taking up SB 897. Another Republican attempt to take away healthcare from Michigan families https://t.co/WsUhyntINj
— MI House Democrats (@MIHouseDems) May 2, 2018
Read more about RED ALERT: Godawful "God's Safety Net" SB897 to be taken up in the state House WEDNESDAY MORNING.
Virginia is THISCLOSE to Medicaid expansion for 400K, except for one thing...
What the heck, I'll make this Medicaid Expansion News Day:
Virginia’s Republican-led legislature is on the verge of doing something that would’ve been almost unthinkable just a year ago: approving legislation that would use money from the Affordable Care Act to expand Medicaid to as many as 400,000 people.
That coverage expansion would come at a price for Democratic legislators, progressive activists and low-income Virginians, however. Any Medicaid expansion bill that makes it out of the General Assembly will carry with it new work requirements for Medicaid enrollees, a priority for the GOP at large and for President Donald Trump’s administration.
Democrats in the Virginia legislature have tried in vain for six years to persuade their GOP counterparts that accepting federal dollars to extend Medicaid coverage to poor adults is the right thing to do. Accepting a work-requirements policy that would create bureaucratic obstacles to eligible Virginians appears to be the compromise needed to win the bigger fight.
Read more about Virginia is THISCLOSE to Medicaid expansion for 400K, except for one thing...
Montana: ACA Medicaid expansion up 18% since a year ago
As long as I'm focusing on Medicaid expansion news (and since I write about Montana pretty rarely), here's a mildly interesting tidbit:
Last June I noted that ACA Medicaid expansion in Montana had increased dramatically in a year and a half, from 47,000 in early 2016 to over 77,000 enrollees as of May 2017.
According to this article, they're now up to 91,000:
HELENA — There are 91,563 Montanans participating in the Medicaid expansion HELP act as of Jan. 15, generating nearly $40 million in savings in Medicaid benefits, a state panel was told Thursday.
Members of the Legislature’s Children, Families, Health and Human Services Interim Committee reviewed a report on Medicaid expansion. The committee took no immediate action after hearing the report.
Read more about Montana: ACA Medicaid expansion up 18% since a year ago
Medicaid expansion: On the ballot in Idaho, at risk in Michigan & in court in Maine
As noted earlier, I've been a bit lax with posting for a few days as I've worked on my latest 2-part video explainer about risk pools and #ShortAssPlans.
However, there's been a lot going on, so I figured I should try and at least do a quick update on a few items. First up: Medicaid expansion!
Here in my home state of Michigan, I've written several posts about how the GOP-controlled state legislature trying to shove through a draconian "work requirement" bill for Healthy Michigan, our name for ACA Medicaid expansion program which has been working just fine, thank you very much, for nearly 5 years now. The bill easily passed the state Senate (where the GOP holds a supermajority), and is now under consideration by the state House (where they have a smaller but still solid majority at the moment). The good news is that GOP Governor Rick Snyder--who championed passage of Healthy Michigan in the first place and seems to think it's fine mostly the way it is--is likely to veto the senate version of the bill. The bad news is that it might simply be tweaked somewhat by the House.
Read more about Medicaid expansion: On the ballot in Idaho, at risk in Michigan & in court in Maine
This is my shocked face: Trump's former HHS Secretary openly admits killing the mandate will cause premiums to spike.
So apparently Donald Trump's former Health & Human Services Secretary (and lover of first-class airfare on the taxpayer's dime) Tom Price addressed the World Health Care Conference this morning, and offered this gem:
Price says that he's not a big fan of the GOP tax bill's 2019 individual mandate repeal-- says it will harm the pool in the exchange markets & drive up costs
— Ariel Cohen (@ArielCohen37) May 1, 2018
Really. Gee. you don't say.
Making my eyeballs roll even further back in my head, here's what Price said just nine months ago (shortly before he was given the boot from the HHS Dept.):
Tom Price before/after shot/chaser:
Read more about This is my shocked face: Trump's former HHS Secretary openly admits killing the mandate will cause premiums to spike.
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African hip hop archive
Ndani ya Bongo. Kiswahili rap Keeping it Real (1998)
February 23, 2003 Juma4
Usisikie tetesi, mi ni nuksi
Don’t listen to the rumour, I am dangerous
Nakwenda upesi upesi, kisha nakwenda pole pole bila kelele
I am going swiftly, and then slowly without a sound
Mpaka kwenye kilele, mi ni Nyerere wa rap
To the top, I am the Nyerere of rap
II Proud([2]) in: ‘Moja Kwa Moja’
This paper is based on the fieldwork experiences of the authors between June 1997 and January relating to hip hop culture in Tanzania. Fieldwork was done in the urban context of Dar es Salaam, Arusha and Zanzibar town. Interviews were conducted in English and Kiswahili. One of the most striking elements of Tanzanian hip hop is Kiswahili-rap, and the Kiswahili rap audience is predominantly a young one. Furthermore, in Tanzania the association of youth culture to music is virtually limited to one genre: rap. In a country where about half the population is younger than fifteen, this means the influence of the music is vast. As far as other musical genres go, reggae music is still listened to but in Dar es Salaam has a relatively limited audience and popularity amongst the youth when viewed in relation to hip hop. Before rap became popular, reggae music was the transnational ‘commoditized’ music to make an impact on Tanzania’s youth([3]). Bob Marley was generally held to be the hero of the youth.
Another genre, Congolese music, or ‘bolingo’ as this music is called in Tanzania, is also still very popular. Nonetheless, young hip hop fans generally see it as music for older people. At present there has not been much written about Kiswahili rap([4]), despite the fact that in Tanzania the genre has existed since about 1991. Therefore it can be argued that scientific attention and research relating to this important phenomenon in Tanzanian cultural production is long overdue. The aim of this article is to provide the reader with insight regarding the Kiswahili rap genre, focusing especially on the genre’s history and its competitive elements.
In order to get an idea of the circumstances within which Kiswahili rap developed it is necessary to address the recent social and economic changes that have taken place in urban Tanzanian society. To say the least, Tanzanian society is changing fast. Since 1985, when president Nyerere gave power to Ali Hassan Mwinyi, Tanzania’s economy has been carefully liberalized, resulting in more political freedom. In 1992 a multi party system was introduced, thus giving a legitimate voice to the opposition. In 1995 president Mkapa was elected president, and further liberalized the economy. As a result, since 1995 the urban landscape of Dar es Salaam has dramatically changed. For example, the mobile phone has become a status symbol of some importance. State owned buses are rare and the privately owned daladala services dominate the streets. On the pavement of the city center the wamachinga([5]) spread their trade. Since 1993 their numbers have doubled and are increasing by more than 5,000 every month. The number of newspapers and magazines for offer are dazzling. Sources([6]) from 1997 indicated there are 92 newspapers and magazines published in Dar es Salaam alone. However during our fieldwork we experienced the addition of a new newspaper to this expanding market almost every week.
Under the leadership of president Mkapa, from 1995 on there has been much more openness (Uwazi) in Tanzania. Before this, ‘mwalimu’ Nyerere always emphasized the country’s self-reliance. At his time there was not much ‘foreign’ music heard on the radio (with the exception of Congolese music) and the media were under state control. Prior to 1995 Tanzania had no t.v. stations except for the sole state owned TVZ (Zanzibar). At present Tanzania is blessed with four more television stations (ITV, DTV, CTN and CEN) and more than a hundred dailies, (bi-)weeklies and monthlies. The choices are dazzling. A great deal of American rap music is broadcast on radio and television daily.
Before the period of liberalization and privatization outlined bove, the rap music genre reached a limited number of individuals in Tanzania who had special contacts with friends or family outside the country. Now one can find rap on every streetcorner and in every home with a television, as ‘global’ culture enters the lives of the Tanzanian people in ever greater quantities, bringing with it the new and rapidly evolving musical genres of the western world. It comes as no surprise that there is a correlation between the rise of Kiswahili rap and the liberalization of the economy from 1985 onwards, and this is reflected in the attitude of the genre’s local artists, who speak favorably of the changes which have increased their artistic freedom:
Mimi ni Dolla Soul kutoka De-Plow-Matz nasema ruksa!
I am Dolla Soul from Tha De-Plow-Matz, I am saying; go ahead.
Kufanya unachotaka, Bongo([7]) uwazi.
To do anything you want, Tanzania is open.
Na ukweli si uongo ndani ya Bongo, tumia ubongo.
And the truth is not a lie in Tanzania, use your intelligence.
Dola Soul (De-Plow-Matz) on the cassette: ‘Ndani ya Bongo’ by II Proud (1997)
The openness (Uwazi) mentioned here is contributing to a new mode of living for many Tanzanian people. In reality this new life boils down to a struggle for survival in the city, where many people from different backgrounds are forced by physical circumstance to find a common ground. In some sense one could argue that a new moral community is being created. This community is deeply rooted in Tanzanian culture but new elements and ideas are being incorporated in reaction to the changing political and economic landscape. For the young generation rap music plays a pivotal role in this process of transculturation([8]). This can be confusing for the generation that was brought up with Nyerere’s politics. Although Nyerere is still widely respected by young and old, his agriculturally focused brand of socialism is fading in popularity as the city with all its rewards and dangers continues to lure people from the countryside into the already crowded streets of Dar. Unemployment is rising at an alarming rate, and theft is a growing problem. Many people blame the influence of ‘foreign culture’. This example is taken from a newspaper article:
[…] The videos have brought into this country so many cultures it scares the hell out of me. There are so many cultures the city is losing direction. Just the other day I found a toddler singing raggamuffin in Swahili. Ha ha ha… It is as if we do not have an African culture. What a shame! One day an African elder asked me: John, say, and what is this thing they call ‘kula midenda!'([9]) It is definitely copied from videos this love culture. […]([10])
The emphasis on cultures is ours. It is interesting to see the writer’s essentialist definition of culture. The writer of the cited article is not alone in his opinion. When we tried to buy some Kiswahili rap near Kariakoo market the shop owner asked us: ‘Why are you interested in this music? These kids are spoiling our culture, they want to be Americans!’. Another journalist in Dimba went so far as to accuse rap music of making youngsters leave school and become criminals([11]). His argument was paralleled by his belief that the American heavy metal group ‘Megadeath’ are devil worshippers. The writers leave it to the reader to try to find the connection between Tanzanian rap artists and Megadeath and their songs. It suffices to say that essentialist arguments against globalization processes are to be found in many countries facing similar patterns of transculturation as those witnessed over the course of Tanzanian economic liberalization. Kiswahili rap artists are used to these sorts of media reports. The press has mushroomed in size since 1995 and there is little control of the content of articles published . In this way many Kiswahili rap albums have been reported to be released or in circulation, even though the albums do not even exist.
The early days of Kiswahili rap have yet to be documented. Reconstructing the past is often not an easy task and every Tanzanian rap-artist has his or her own story to tell. Here we examine the story as it is told by KBC, a member of the Kwanza Unit from Dar es Salaam. His story serves as a good example of the ways in which Kiswahili hip hop culture is acted out. Rap music has been popular in Tanzania ever since the first American rap records appeared, even if distribution was poor and local production non-existant. In the early eighties transnational connections proved to be effective in terms of introducing the genre. Reflecting this state of affairs, in these early days many Tanzanian rap artists either copied the lyrics of American rap artists or wrote in English. No one thought it possible to write a Kiswahili rap.
However, in the early nineties this was to change. KBC tells the story of a cultural evening that was being organized in 1991 at the International School of Tanganyika in Masaki, Dar es Salaam.([12]). Anyone could take part but the theme of the pieces had to be linked to Tanzanian culture. Most students presented traditional dance performances but two brothers, Big X and Cool Mo’ C, wanted to rap. In order to stay with the theme of the evening they decided to write a rap in Kiswahili about AIDS and safe sex. This event can be viewed as an important moment in the progression of Kiswahili rap due to the fact that not long after most Tanzanian rap fans were making efforts to write rap in Kiswahili. Hence the importance KBC places upon this event relates to marking the moment at which local language rap production began in ernest. The first Kiswahili rap cassette which found its way to the shops was Saleh J’s ‘Ice Ice Baby’, released in 1991. Saleh’s lyrics were basically a translation from English to Kiswahili of American rap hits.
At this time KBC had already been rapping, while he was in secondary school. One of his school friends worked as a DJ playing at parties. He called himself the ‘Young Millionaire’, since he was wealthy for someone of his age, more affluent than his peers. According to KBC ‘[he] had nothing to do with it [the money] but to have fun’. At that time Young Millionaire would boast that he was known and KBC was not. KBC for his part, continued to socialize, doing freestyle raps with his clique called Rapport. According to KBC, he became popular because he would mention the names of his friends in his raps. For the moment he was simply doing it for the love of it: ‘It was not about the money but about earning respect and representing’. Unaware that he was developing his rap skills to a more professional level, he admired another rap-artist called Fresh XC. Whenever that rapper was at a party, KBC refused to ‘take the mic’ because he did not think that his talents were adequate. One day, as usual, KBC went to one of the hip hop parties, wearing a brand new ‘Run DMC’ tracksuit which his mother had just brought from the US. He was closely following Fresh XC and Young Millionaire when one particular rap was being performed and a chorus was raised by some of his friends who wanted him to perform. KBC ‘didn’t have time to think’ and he ‘bust off’ into a freestyle piece which was loved by the crowd. ‘From that day I earned my respect.’
The early Kiswahili rap, unlike today’s repertoire, did not reach its audience through radio, tv and cassettes, but mainly through live performances. In the early nineties, the yearly ‘Yo Rap Bonanza’ rap competitions organized by Kim & the Boyz Promotion in Dar’s New Africa Hotel attracted large crowds. Rapper II Proud who at the time was present as a spectator recalls:
‘In those days you asked the deejay [for an instrumental], nobody had instrumentals that day. So you just go to the deejay, you ask ‘You have certain instrumental of Heavy D? Yes I have. You have certain instrumental of Naughty by Nature? No I don’t have, choose another – it was like that. There was a master of ceremony, and the mc says ‘Now it’s time for mc II Proud’. [¼.] Mc’s used pre-written lyrics. The organisers used to say ‘This year’s competition we are going to choose lyrics talking about how drugs are bad for youth’, so everybody was writing about. [¼] After giving the message, at the outtro mc’s started saying ‘Yo, this is the man, so-and-so, all you mc’s in the house yo fuck y’all you don’t know how to do it, I am the man and I represent. I’m like Ice Cube, and so on.'([13])
The days of Yo Rap Bonanza are over. Now and then a talent show is organised and a winner is announced, but usually this doesn’t get much attention. Competition has moved on to new fields.
When compared to other Tanzanian musical genres, Kiswahili rap seems to outdo all in the fierceness of its competitive content. Rappers are aware of competition in other styles of music. As II Proud says when illustrating the case of Diamond Sound versus FM Musica (a Dar es Salaam bands competition which was taking place from 1997 on): ‘as long as there are bands there is business, so there will be competition’. But rather than just being the consequence of the fight for prominence and the new market, the competitive element of rap also seems to have artistic value which has been a part of hip hop culture since the earliest days of its existence. As David Toop points out, American rap, in its form of a rapper performing on stage with a deejay, first appeared in the Bronx, New York during the mid-seventies, and took a large part([14]) of its inspiration from Afro-American oral traditions. Citing Roger Abrahams who wrote on Afro-American oral literature of Camingerly, Philadelphia in the 1950’s:
‘Verbal contest accounts for a large portion of the talk between members of this group. Proverbs, turns of phrases, jokes, almost any manner of discourse is used, not for purposes of discursive communication but as weapons in verbal battle. Any gathering of the men customarily turns into ‘sounding’, a teasing or boasting session’ ([15])
These practices lived on in the rap jams that took place all over New York in the late seventies and found their way onto vinyl when the first rap records came out in 1979. At the time it was a Jamaican immmigrant named DJ Kool Herc who took the Jamaican concept of a sound system and introduced it to New York. He started throwing parties where he would invite another deejay to compete against his setup which consisted of two turntables, a disco mixer, an amplifier and huge speakers([16]). The role of the ‘mc’ (master of ceremony) was to comment on the work of the opponents who were located at the other end of the hall, each trying to attract the crowd by means of superior music and performance. Rapping over a beat provided by the deejay looping two copies of one record, the raps made fun of the sound system at the other side. The mc’s sometimes borrowed from Afro-American oral traditions literally, such as in the case of ‘Yo mama’-jokes which describe someone’s mother in a humiliating way. This practice was to live on in hip hop recordings throughout the eighties and nineties, further developing the self-glorifying qualities of the mc in various identities (pimp, gangster, ladykiller etc.). When videos became an important aspect of record sales strategy (as a result of the growing popularity worldwide of music television such as MTV), video clips added a new dimension to the boasting element in hip hop. Rappers could be seen in expensive suits or with gold chains, driving expensive cars while rapping about their lyrical prowess. The boasting in rap has been a point of discussion both within and outside the hip hop audience. As we will see further on, the enactment of a high society or ‘larger than life’ style which has reached new heights in today’s American rap and r&b has in itself become the focus of a debate in which rappers accuse each other of not being true to their origins, and so ‘realness’ has become a competitive element. In Tanzania from the mid-eighties onwards these developments in American rap music have been followed by local rappers and are reflected in a local variety of highly competitive rap music.
As in any hip hop market, competition in Kiswahili rap takes place on several levels. One of the major ways in which mc’s can express their superiority over their opponents has always been the delivery of their rhymes. This has been the case in Tanzania as well, ever since the ‘Yo Rap Bonanza’ competitions held in the late eighties. An important way for a group or mc to get the attention of the audience was and is to come up with a unique style of rapping (‘flow’, or ‘mtiririko’). Most Tanzanian rap fans easily distinguish a newcomer from a veteran rapper by judging the fluency of his rap. Groups or solo artists that came up with their own new rap style (often combined with a unique choice of words) are picked up by the audience. A good example is Gangsters With Matatizo (G.W.M.) whose song ‘Cheza Mbali na Kasheshe’ (Stay Away from Trouble), a highly original composition in a refreshing rap style, was adopted by Radio One and subsequently became a national rap anthem for months after its release in 1996.
Still the flow alone has never been enough to grab the lasting attention of the listeners. The style of delivery alone is not enouth, in Tanzania the hip hop audience is carefully listening to the words. Lyrics are judged by the hip hop concept of ‘keeping it real’ which was originally introduced into American hip hop around 1995 as a reaction to the ongoing ‘commercialisation’ of rap music. American hip hop music is closely followed by Tanzanian rap fans, but the situation in the U.S.A. is different from the one in Tanzania. In America rap music has become a multi-million dollar business as evident from the scale of video and album production. Also the level of violence in American society is recognized as being a central source of difference. Rap artists in Tanzania who are trying to copy the content of American rap are criticized. An interesting example of this was captured while recording an English language rap in the streets. The rap artist started rapping about how he was driving in his Lexus([17]). His friend, rapper Abbas from the group Underground Souls, suddenly grabbed the mic and told him off:
‘Yo, you’re saying yourself that […] ‘I was riding in the Lexus, driving Mercedes, know what I’m saying, and I got a VCR’. That was really…fuck yours! Even though you’re putting these things in the rhymes and in the video, even though you can’t afford it [….] That is not keeping it real! We don’t afford Lexus, we don’t afford using guns. In Tanzania we [are a] peace country. We don’t use guns.’
A similar attitude of difference is expressed towards the use of abuse (‘matusi’) in rap performances. While it is obvious that Radio One won’t play any records that contain curses, the audience is just as critical during live performances, booing the mc off stage if he would dare to call somebody a ‘motherfucker’ with the words ‘You must be talking about your own mother!'([18])
This competition for status is not limited to rap alone, either. Material culture is flourishing in Tanzania, and among most hip hop fans it is important to wear the right gear. If you can afford to wear Nike trainers, which in Tanzania sell for at least three times the price one would pay in the U.S.A., and a Wu-Tang T-shirt, you are seen as well off. This is not only important for recognition by peer groups but also an advantage in communication between the opposite sexes. To go deeper into material culture would be an interesting topic for further research. When discussing the competitive nature of Tanzanian hip hop culture the importance of photography should not be underestimated. Every important event is photographed, because this is ‘evidence’ that it really happened.
In Dar es Salaam there are a few venues which are well known for being spots where dress is of special importance. Whereas Zairean music in Dar es Salaam has its regular dress and dance competitions, held in such places as Friends Corner in Manzese, hip hop fashion has remained without official prize winning events. However in discos like the recently opened Bilicanas in the city centre, or the Poolside disco at Kilimanjaro hotel([19]), the gaze of the audience is felt. Another venue that has become popular with the Dar es Salaam rap audience is Coco Beach, a beach club towards Masaki where every sunday hundreds of people from town come to walk along the beach until sunset. The full social spectrum of Tanzanian hip hop culture is displayed by such a gathering spot. At Coco Beach, rap concerts have been organised regularly. Rappers and those with a liking for hip hop gear are sure to be there decked out in their latest goods. The more well-off come in four wheel drive vehicles which are equipped with 200 Watt stereos blasting hip hop or r&b music. Others hold motor races which are watched by the crowd sitting in the back of their cars. The gathering seems to be modelled on beach parties which appear in American hip hop movies such as ‘Phat Beach’, pirated video copies of which sell all over Tanzania for the equivalent of $3 US. The image of youth gathering on the beach in the latest gear and equipped with sound systems is also portrayed in the very popular Kiswahili comics such as ‘Bongo’, ‘Tabasamu’ and ‘Sani’ and in the opening scenes of ‘Kifo cha 2Pac’, a Kiswahili comic relating the story of the American rapper 2Pac whose gangster style murder deeply shocked Tanzania’s rap audience.
Another level on which rappers compete is that of knowledge relating to what is perceived by some as ‘the’ hip hop culture. There is an ongoing debate within American rap about the definition of hip hop culture. When looking for a definition, many times the same answers are found repeatedly, from one hip hop community to another. Hip hop is claimed to be a universal culture, crossing territorial lines, thus enabling people in, for example, Japan, Holland, France and South Africa to discuss topics that concern all of them as members of a larger transnational hip hop culture. Also many people (both in rap songs and in discussion, see ‘letters’ pages in hip hop magazines such as Rap Pages) see hip hop culture as a trinity consisting of rapping, breakdancing and doing graffiti art. While this definition is essentially urban, it does connect hip hop culture in different countries and languages. Furthermore, hip hop has its own myths of origin which are as unclear and shrouded in clouds as the origins of Tanzanian rap. Nonetheless, in almost all of the places to which hip hop culture has spread, the Bronx in New York is cited as its place of birth. Even rap fans in the more remote parts of Tanzania and those who do not understand English have an idea of where rap originated.
In Tanzania knowledge about the early days of rap is not possessed by all those who practise rap. Whereas rap songs tend to function as carriers of the basic values that underly hip hop, its history and background cannot easily be understood from lyrics alone. In America and Europe books on hip hop such as the classic ‘Rap Attack’ by David Toop, magazines such as Source, Vibe, and HHC, video documentaries and movies such as Wildstyle from 1982 function as major sources of information for those who wish to learn about the origins of hip hop. In Tanzania, all of these items are barely available, if at all. Therefore access to this information has become a source of competition, despite the fact that knowledge of American hip hop slang is possessed by only a few Tanzanian rappers. The language barrier makes it near to impossible for most of the Tanzanian rap audience to understand what rappers are talking about, not to mention the difficulty of producing texts in English with a similar richness of metaphor and slang expression as that of the American rappers. Those who do take hold of the American hip hop slang and are able to use it in their own rhymes, do so with pride. Their understanding of the rhyming structures of American rappers extends to their Kiswahili rhymes. Here it is useful to take the example of the Kwanza Unit.
The Kwanza Unit have been among the first rap-crews of Tanzania and almost all the core members maintain good connections with friends and family living outside Tanzania. In this way they have secured fairly easy access to hip hop magazines and video tapes. They have also been rapping since what they refer to as the early days of hip hop, that is to say from the late eighties. They have a good knowledge about hip hop in general and are constantly boasting about it:
KBC: […] The K.U. Crew basically means the Kwanza Unit. On the other hand it means Knowledge Universal, if you slipped on that…Knowledge Universal. […]
Abbas (in the background): Let me kick a verse..
KBC: Nah, don’t kick a verse. I’m busting out knowledge!
When KBC starts explaining about ‘this hip hop thing’, it becomes clear that he considers himself to be something of an expert on hip hop history. As already mentioned KBC is a member of the Kwanza Unit. They are the largest and one of the oldest crews in Tanzania. The Kwanza Unit is made up of different youth groups that dominated the Dar es Salaam hip hop scene in the late eighties. These groups, ‘posses’ or ‘cliques’ as they are commonly referred to, were not yet rapping but they socialized together, listened to and talked about music, practised break-dancing, did some graffiti and ‘dissed’ rappers for fun. The groups would sometimes meet at the discos and other places of entertainment and occasionally fights would start because of the size of the group. When two or three of the groups decided to unite within the Kwanza Unit, it was generally seen as a peace-truce. Only then did the Kwanza start to rap on a more serious or professional level. One of its founding members, Rhymson, was hired by ITV (Independent Televison), making it possible for the group to record a number of video clips. They were also able to produce two albums, though these were not distributed due to financial and organisational difficulties. The management of a group as large as the Kwanza Unit proved to be extremely cumbersome, especially in a city where telecommunication is problematic. Due to this problem usually only half of ‘the crew’ turns up for concerts.
The Kwanza Unit gained their popularity in the early days of Kiswahili rap mainly because they were the biggest and most active rap group. The Unit itself consisted of no less than fifteen members while the extended Kwanza Family or the K.U. Foundation had hundreds of members. To be a member of the Kwanza Unit crew or family one had to be ‘down’ with the K.U. ‘Philosophy’ of hip hop. Either you were included or excluded. Not everyone was able to fit into their rather narrow definition of hip hop which focused on the New York variety. Out of this, one of the more serious arguments in the history of Tanzanian rap developed.
In 1995 a radio station held a contest during which listeners were asked to phone in and vote for either the Kwanza Unit or the De-Plow-Matz in order to elect ‘the most popular rap crew’.([20]) The De-Plow-Matz were the younger of the two groups and still at secondary school, interested mostly in the west coast style of American rap. Hundreds of school friends phoned in and as a result the De-Plow-Matz were elected the most popular rap crew. The Kwanza Unit saw their position endangered and stopped greeting De-Plow-Matz members in the street. Saigon of De-Plow-Matz and SOS B recorded a song called Msuli, which did not help in calming the situation for its chorus was:
Vyovyote utakavyo, wee utacheza msuli
Anyhow you like it, you will play the muscle
Haya njoo ufe -njoo, njoo!
Hey, come you die -come come!
Nasema njoo ufe -njoo njoo ufe!
I say come you die -come come you die!
From: ‘Msuli’ (unreleased)
The song was partly a response to a freestyle([21]) which the Kwanza Unit performed, in which they ‘dissed’ (disrespected) the De-Plow-Matz. The Kwanza Unit saw the lyrics of Msuli as a personal insult to their talents and abilities and so tried to record a reply, however their producer Master Jay refused to record the song. Thus the ‘beef’ ended. A great deal of time passed before Kwanza Unit and De-Plow-Matz returned to speaking terms, and even now the echoes of the argument are still felt, although in the summer of 1997 people on the Tanzanian hip hop scene basically recognized the need to work together rather than avoiding each other.
The local rivalry between the K.U. and the De-Plow-Matz is discussed mainly in terms of musical styles. Hip hop music was first performed in New York, on the American East coast, and is therefore seen by some as the true hip hop. American West coast rappers are criticized for not doing ‘real’ hip hop as in recent years some of them embraced a ‘living large’ identity which is echoed in their lyrics and depicted in their videos. There is also a general difference in musical style between the two areas, and a long history of conflict carried out in the form of ridicule, or ‘dissing’. The fact that Tanzania is located on the African east coast gives this territorial competition an extra dimension. Recently when rap artists 2 Pac (from the American west coast) and Notorious B.I.G. (east coast) were killed, the differences of styles were used by some in the hip hop/rap debate. The deaths of 2 Pac and B.I.G. fueled much media attention in Tanzania and were still being discussed during the summer of 97.
Arguments such as the one described above are common in Tanzanian rap. Still, most rap artists agree that in order to strengthen their position within the Tanzanian music business they will have to form alliances. Recently solo artist II Proud and the De-Plow-Matz have strengthened their ties, each appearing on the other’s albums as well as performing together. The rap crew ‘The Hardblasters’ is even trying to form a Party of Rap (CCR, short for Chama Cha Rap). They have written a manifesto (Katiba ya Chama Cha Rap) in which they explain their goals, a few of which are: to unite all Tanzanian rap artists under one body, to promote relationships between rappers in Tanzania and hip hop culture in other parts of the globe, and to help rappers selling their products on the local market. However, other rap artists are sceptical, either they don’t believe it can work out or they are afraid that the Hardblasters will use the organization only to promote their own career.
In the above we have seen that in the tradition of rap music, which introduced some practices originating in Afro-American oral literature to Tanzanian youth, competition plays an important role. In the performance of Kiswahili rap in Tanzania the various levels of competition in American hip hop have been interpreted and reflected. This has occurred alongside existing Tanzanian practices such as the Yo Rap Bonanza competitions. As the influx of American rap music into Tanzania has increased considerably since the late eighties, so the use in local rap of competitive elements originating in the Bronx and indicative of the larger American hip hop scene in general has become more wide-spread. However, access to knowledge of American hip hop is not easily available to everybody and therefore is still a source of competition and division. In this way even the practice of competing in itself (e.g. freestyling) has become an element which is used by some to stress their superiority ‘in the game’, as opposed to those Kiswahili rappers who do not take part in such competitive interpretations of hip hop culture.
Only a few Kiswahili rap albums are widely available in Tanzania. Most studio recordings are never commercially released. The usual procedure for getting a rapper’s new songs through to a larger audience is by personally handing over cassette copies to radio deejays. Radio Tanzania is available all over the country and the Dar-based Radio One has expanded its broadcasting to other regions such as Arusha and Mwanza. In this way even rural communities are well informed of the latest developments on the Dar es Salaam music scene, as the authors found out when attending a disco in Sukuro in the heart of the Maasai Steppe, where children were chanting the ‘Ekibinda Nkoi’ chorus from the latest Diamond Sound hits. The market for Kiswahili rap cassettes has developed all over Tanzania, as the countrywide sales of II Proud’s second album (officially up to 10000 cassettes have been sold but unofficial estimates run up to 2 million copies) confirm. At present the most successful distribution is run by FM Music Bank which has official outlets in Dar es Salaam and other main cities.
II Proud
Ni Mimi (1995) Recorded at Don Bosco Studio. Not in stores
Ndani ya Bongo (1997) Recorded at Master J. studio.
Distribution: FM Music Bank (East Africa only)
Niite Mr. 2 (1998) Recorded at Master J. studio. Distribution: FM Music Bank (East Africa only)
De-Plow-Matz
Tha De-Plow-Matz (1997) Recorded at Master J. studio and Soundcrafter studio. Distribution: FM Music Bank (East Africa only)
Kwanza Unit
Kwanza Unit (1994). Recorded at Mawingu studio. Not in stores
Run Tingz & Dedicated (1996). Recorded at Mawingu studio and Bongo House studio. Released on cassette by Bongo Records. Only 200 copies
Tropical Tekniqs (1995/6). Recorded at Soundcrafters studio. Released on cassette by Rumba-Kali (RAHH Records) in The Netherlands
G.W.M. (Gangsters With Matatizo)
Kipe Kitu (1996) recorded at Mawingu studio. Not in stores
Yamenikuta (1997) recorded at Mawingu studio. Not in stores
Saleh J
Ice ice baby: King of Swahili Rap (1991) Still available at shops in Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar. First Tanzanian rap album to be sold on a larger scale
Contish
Mabishoo (1994) Zanzibar group who recorded most songs live at Fuji Beach disco, Zanzibar Town. Still available at some shops all over Tanzania
W.W.A. (Weusi Wagumu Asilia)
Sauti ya Wagumu (1994) The first Kiswahili rap recorded in a studio (Don Bosco studio, Dar es Salaam)
Other artists whose tapes have been or still are available in the streets are: Mac Mooger, N.W.P. (Niggaz With Power), Ebony Moalim(Dar es Salaam), Kim Pekee, Da Struggling Islanders (Zanzibar), Rough Niggaz (Tanga), Jontwa Jokeri (Mwanza)
Gesthuizen, Thomas (1996). From Ice Ice Baby to Gangsters With Matatizo: hip hop in Tanzania (Dutch language). In: Baobab vol. 12, nr. 2 (September 1996). Leiden: Afrika-Stichting De Baobab
Maliyamkono, T.L. (1997). Tanzania on the Move. Dar es Salaam: TEMA Publishers
Rose, Tricia (1994). Black Noise: Rap music and black culture in contemporary America. Hanover: University Press of New England
Toop, David (1984). The Rap Attack: African Jive to New York Hip Hop. London: Pluto Press
Wallis, Roger and Malm, Krister (1984). Big Sounds from Small Peoples, the music industry in small countries. New York: Pendragon Press
Hip Hop Connection (September 1996). Music Maker Publications
The Express (July 31 – Augustus 6, 1997)
Dimba (August 10 – 16, 1997)
Lyrics: Sema nao
1998 by II Proud
From the album ‘Niite mr II’
Nasema nao
I talk to them
Nakwenda nao sambamba
I go with them side by side
Kwa mara nyingine tena niko ndani ya nyumba
Once again I am in the house
Mista II nakipa kitu kwa watu
Mister II representing to the people
Kama nilivyokipa kwenye ndani ya Bongo
Like the way I represented with ‘Ndani ya Bongo’
Na bado n’na usongo
And I am still strong
Napokuja ninakuja moja kwa moja
When I come I come straight
Kila mwaka mmoja mi nakuja na album moja nzito
Every single year I come with one strong album
Muziki wa geto
Music of the getto
Sauti yangu inafika mpaka Soweto
My voice goes up to Soweto
Ma-mc wanabishana wao kwa wao nani zaidi
Mc’s argue amongst each other who’s the best
Yeyote awe zaidi mi nataka kitu kidogo
Anybody can be the best, what I want is money
Napiga ndogo-ndogo chini kwa chini
I do my things silently
Nipo makini na fani
I am careful in the game
Cheki ndani kuna nani na nani
Check who’s inside
Usikae kibubu-bubu taratibu anza kuhesabu
Don’t stay silently, slowly start to count
Moja mbili tatu
Mavitu ni yale-yale toka kwa mtu yule-yule
It’s just the same things from the same man
Nakwenda nao kijela-jela
I go with them in a crazy way
Kila demu ninayemgusa analeta mambo ya hela
Every girl that I approach talks about money
Wakati mimi mwenyewe nataka hela
Meanwhile myself I want money
Oya msela – kubwa kuliko zote kwa Sindila
Oya msela – maximum respect to Sindila
Maisha ni vile unavyoishi
Life is how you live
Siku zinavyozidi na mi nazidi kuwa mbishi
As the days go by I keep on being die-hard
Shughuli ni watu na watu wenyewe ndiyo sisi
The party is people and the people is us
Wewe na mimi
Nani anasema na mimi mi nimkate kilimi-limi
Who is talking to me, I can make him shut up
Kila wakati nipo studio
Every time I am in the studio
Kila siku nasikika kwenye radio FM
Every day I am on the radio FM
Mademu wanaonifahamu wanionapo wanatabasamu
Girls who know me when they see me they smile
Choko – kama kichaa mi nna kichaa kuliko chako
Hoe – if you are crazy I am crazier than you
Na kama hujui kamwulize dadako kokote aliko
And if you don’t know go ask your sister wherever she is
Mi napiga zigzaga nigga
I make zig-zag nigger
Tiktaka mpaka ujione takataka
Tic-tac until you see yourself a fool
Mista II mi siyo fyatu ila tu mapepe mengi
Mister II I am not a fool, only hype
Bangi niliacha toka siku nyingi
It’s so many days since I stopped smoking all that bangi
Ukileta choko-choko mi naleta msukosuko
If you bring your shit I will bring trouble
Na sekeseke na sokomoko msela
And more trouble msela
Nilisema nao na bado nasema nao na ntasema nao
I talked to them and still i talk to them and I will talk to them
Nakutana na washikaji wa kila aina
I meet with different fellaz
Nakutana na mademu wa kila aina
I meet with different girls
Na nakutana na ma-mc wa kila namna
And I meet with different emceez
Cheki mmoja-mmoja cheki wawili-wawili
Check one by one, check two by two
Cheki watatu-watatu na bado tu mr II nasema nao
Check three by three, and still mr II I talk to them
Kwenye hip hop bado nipo-nipo nipo kila time
I am still in hip hop all the time
Kuna time nataka demu na kuna time sitaki demu
Sometimes I want a girl and sometimes I don’t want a girl
Nakuwa busy na business
I be busy with my business
Namna gani vipi? Yupi analeta zipi nimnanii kwenye nanino
What’s up? Who’s bringing shit, I will give him more shit
Toka tisini na tano mi natoa mfano
Since ninety five I give examples
Watu wanasema mi ni MC namba one
People say that I am the number one mc
Na mi nazidi kuwasha moto kwenye fani
And I am still setting fire in the game
Nenda kokote wakati wowote sema chochote kwa yoyote
Go wherever whenever say whatever to whomever
Mentali sijali nnachojali mi ni dili
I am crazy I don’t care I care about deals
Na dili ni dili bora ikubali ikikataa siyo zali
And a deal is a deal, if it works out and if it doesn’t it’s bad luck
Wacha kunitazama mtoto wa mama
Stop looking at me, mama’s boy
Hauna cha kusema kama mi nimesimama
You can’t talk when I am standing
Na nasema nao
And I talk to them
[1] In 1997, Thomas Gesthuizen was a student of African Studies at the University of Leiden and Peter Jan Haas was a student of Cultural Anthropology at the University of Amsterdam. Both were working on their thesis (MA) on Kiswahili rap.
[2] Most rap artists in Tanzania have English names. II Proud got his name before he was active as a rap-artist. He used to visit rap-concerts with an American friend of him. Everytime Joseph was boasting that he was better than the artists on stage. At one point his friend said: ‘Joseph, you’re just too proud!’. From this time on he was known as II Proud.
[3] The influence of commoditized music in East Africa goes at least back to the 1950’s when the urban areas experienced an influx of workers. According to Wallis and Malm (1984) in the Sixties Chubby Checker’s ‘Twist’ influenced the local music scene in Kenya. In the Sixties, Congolese music came to be the dominating form of pop throughout East Africa. (Wallis and Malm 1984: 32).
[4] Gesthuizen (1996). Also Remes, Pieter (1998). ‘Karibu ghetto langu – Welcome in my ghetto: Urban Youth, Language and Culture in 1990s Tanzania’. Ph. D. dissertation, Northwestern University, 1998.
[5] ‘Petty traders’. Many of them have recently migrated from upcountry to Dar es Salaam in search of a better future.
[6] ‘There are 11 dailies, 11 bi-weekly, 55 weeklies, 15 bi-monthlies and of all these 24 are in English and 68 in Kiswahili; 92 put together’ (page ix) in: T.L. Maliyamkono (1997).
[7] ‘Bongo’ is a local slang word referring to the city of Dar es Salaam or Tanzania (lit. ‘Brain’). The idea is that you need to have ‘brains’ to survive in Tanzania. Others explain that Dar es Salaam is the main town of Tanzania and seat of the government, thus it is the ‘brains’ of the country.
[8] Wallis and Malm (1984: 300).
[9] ‘French Kissing’.
[10] ‘Talking Point’, by John [21] Freestyling: the act of rapping without using pre-written lyrics. In American rap, freestyles originally were used by rappers in competitions, taking place on stage or just in the streets. In Tanzania, the challenge to battle is not heard very often. Freestyles are sometimes heard in informal gatherings, without the mc necessarily having an opponent. Sometimes the mc does use pre-written lyrics but in freestyle one is more free to change the sequence of the rhymes, thus creating a live atmospere which can be used to include ‘shout-outs’ and other references.
Photos: copyright Peter-Jan Haas
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Samson Mwanjotile
February 10, 2012 (01:19) Reply
I wish all the best to Mr II also known as Sugu, because he fought much on the way of saportig bongo hip hop music. So the big deal which can I insest to him is that ;Mr II as MP you have a good chance to fullfil your goals on HIP HOP REVOLUTION
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Facts About Bob Marley That You Probably Did Not Know
By Ian Gichoya 6 February, 2020
Had Bob Nesta Marley been alive, then he would have turned 75 today. February 6th, 2020.
Bob Marley was a Jamaican singer and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by blending elements of reggae, ska, and rocksteady, as well as forging a smooth and distinctive vocal and songwriting style.
Bob Marley was born in Nine Mile, Jamaica.
The legend Bob Nesta Marley was an icon whose influence became larger than life. Here are things about the legend that you probably did not know:
He Survived An Assassination Attempt In Which He Was Shot In The Arm
In December of 1976, Bob was set to perform for a non-political concert called Smile Jamaica to help ease the tension. However, the People’s National Party scheduled the date of the election on the same day of the concert so it would look like Bob Marley and the Wailers were supporting the People’s National Party. This move pushed retaliatory attacks on Bob from opposing political sides. Rita Marley, his wife was shot on the head but survived and the wailers in the company of Bob Marley were shot at by unknown civilians. Bob was shot in the arm and remained with the bullet lodged inside his arm until 1981 when he died. Doctors warned that removing the bullet could make him lose the function of his fingers.
In the course of Bob Nesta Marley’s career, he won a number of awards:
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame- 1994.
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award- 2001.
Order of Merit- 1981
Peace Medal of the Third World- 1978
Bob Marley Has 12 Children
Bob Marley has 12 children to his name. 11 of whom are recorded on Bob Marley’s official website. Not all of whom were the product of his marriage to Rita.
Sharon Marley- Rita had her from another relationship but Bob Marley took her in.
David Ziggy Marley
Robert Robbie Marley
Rohan Marley
Karen Marley
Stephanie Marley- Word has it that she was Rita’s daughter from another relationship.
Julian Marley
He is the fifth on Forbes List Of Most Paid Dead Celebrities
After his death in 1981, Marley’s music has continued to be played and loved—and therefore continues to rake in the money. In 2016, he was the fifth highest-earning dead celebrity in the world, according to Forbes, preceded by fellow musicians Prince, Elvis Presley, and Michael Jackson.
Also interesting, is that Bob Marley loved football and was a palm reader prior to going into reggae music.
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« Eliminating Community Service
2016, How Strange »
China Continues to Persecute Christians
China’s “utterly disgraceful” human rights record is not just bad, it’s getting worse every year, a new Congressional report has warned.
“The Chinese government’s human rights record is utterly disgraceful, continuing a downward trend over the past three years,” Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), chair of the bipartisan Congressional-Executive Committee on China, which published the report, stated on Thursday.
“The Chinese government took extraordinary and unprecedented steps last year to decimate the ranks of human rights lawyers, crush independent civil society and religious groups, and expanded controls over the Internet and the press.”
“China – now ranking as the world’s second largest economy – has benefited greatly from the international rules-based system in driving its economic transformation and growth,” the report’s executive summary stated.
However, it added, the ruling Chinese Communist Party has not improved its human rights record and respected the rule of law as it has been expected to by the international community. From suppression of religious freedom to detaining dissidents and human rights activists to forced population control, the Chinese state “has run roughshod over human rights” Rep. Smith stated, and it must be held accountable.
The Chinese government also cracked down on the rise of non-sanctioned religious groups in 2015, the report said, and on Friday it exerted greater control over the practice of religion through its new regulations of religion.
“In both law and practice, the Chinese government continued to violate the rights of its citizens to religious freedom,” the report said, noting the state has “broad discretion over religious practice, internal affairs, and interpretations of faith, which is often exercised based on Party and government policy interests.”
Party officials warned at April’s National Conference on Religious Work that religious groups must be loyal to the state and signaled that they will exercise tighter control on religion in the future to guard against the supposed infiltration of foreign powers through religion.
When the party released its religious regulations on Friday, Rep. Smith called it “stunning, but not surprising.”
“Religious practice is exploding in China, particularly among Christians, and the religious life of Tibetan Buddhist, Uyghur Muslim, and Falun Gong practitioners persist despite decades of the worst abuses,” he said.
However, religious groups must register with the government, and in China there is a state Catholic Church and an “underground” Catholic Church. Local and national officials have harassed or persecuted Catholics who are not part of the state Catholic Church, destroying churches and detaining or harassing bishops and priests.
China’s ‘disgraceful’ human rights record gets worse every year
And it seems Malaysia is not far behind: “Taking the rap: Malaysia’s culture of tolerance is under threat”
Killing the Unborn
Imagine yourself as a living house.
Tags: Catholicism, China, Islam, Malaysia
Posted 2016/10/09, 7:07 am · Category: Catholicism, Forward!, Philosopher Kings, Rube-Tool, Tyranny, You Can't Fix Stupid
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Megan Fairbanks
Megan Fairbanks asked in Entertainment & MusicMovies · 1 decade ago
Does anyone know what this movie is, Its about mouse kids and their parents die and its just them and their?
teacher, the littlest mouse Becca I think her name is, gets sick and they have to go and get this herb that grows on the side of a cliff and on the way a bird tries to eat them. I cant for the life of me figure it out!
ITS NOT THE SECRET OF NIMH
Thats it!! Thank you!!
MystMoonstruck
Once Upon a Forest (1993)
Wikipedia synopsis:
The story opens in a forest known as Dapplewood where "Furlings," a term for animal children, live alongside their teacher Cornelius. The four Furlings central to the story are Abigail, a woodmouse; Russell, a hedgehog; Edgar, a mole; and a badger named Michelle, who is Cornelius' niece.
One day, the four children go on a trip through the forest with Cornelius, where they see a road for the first time. Russell is almost run over by a careless driver, who throws away a glass bottle, which shatters in the middle of the road. Cornelius orders the Furlings to forget the road altogether. The ramble ends in a boat ride. Afterward, they go back to the forest to find out that it has been destroyed with poison gas from an overturned tanker truck that blew a tire from the broken glass bottle while transporting chlorine gas.
Michelle goes into her house, only to breathe some of the gas and become severely ill, the gases inside the house have already killed both of her parents. Abigail manages to save her, and the Furlings go to Cornelius' house nearby for shelter. There, Cornelius tells the Furlings that they need to fetch two herbs that can help Michelle: lungwort and eyebright. With only a limited amount of time, they head off for their journey the next day.
You can read the rest of the summary here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Once_Upon_a_Forest
This might not be it, as it's different types of animals, but it has the deceased parents and the ill child-creature. Perhaps someone else will recall what it might be.
Name of the movie about a ghost?
Why do Asian horror films and their remakes tend to blame the vengeful ghost's malevolence on society, parents and institutions?
What movie is the quote “two girls together” from? Pretty sure it is a comedy. ?
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The Anti Breedism Alliance
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Ontario’s Pit Bull Politics Still Howling a Decade After Breed Ban
September 8, 2016 Mongrels & Men
The 10th year of Ontario’s controversial dog ban sees fewer protesters (and political pit bulls) but neither side has plans to call off the dogs.
BY CARA SABATINI • PHOTOS BY CARA SABATINI.
Last weekend, a small group of people and their canine companions gathered in Queens Park to protest Ontario’s Pit Bull Ban. Ten years after the law was enacted, the number of protestors has diminished, but the number of pit bulls and dog bites in the province raise questions over the law’s effectiveness. What’s clear is that supporters and opponents of the ban remain firmly pitted against each other in the debate.
According to data from Toronto Animal Services (TAS), the total number of dog bites in Toronto has fluctuated throughout the decade, ranging from around 400 to 650 bites annually. While fatalities in Canada due to dogs are relatively rare, they do occur, and reports of serious injuries and mauling by vicious dogs are tragic.
Whether certain dogs are inherently dangerous and should be banned is a discussion spanning three decades in the country, since Winnipeg enacted its breed-specific legislation in 1990. Emotionally charged and highly politicized, it’s fraught with hyperbolic rhetoric, anecdotal evidence, and comparisons to gun control and racism, and is not without real heartbreak.
For the sake of full disclosure, I’ll now admit that in 2010 I adopted from the Toronto Humane Society what one vet later called “a pit bull mix.” At the time of her adoption, the THS paperwork stated that she was a stray, three-year-old terrier mix, a vague breed description that no one, myself included, has ever bothered to narrow down with a DNA test.
More to the point, I had never been afraid of a dog until her. In the weeks following her adoption, the adorable little mutt began to show signs of aggression that I first attributed to her plucky personality—like growling when I told her to get off the couch—and to her time spent pent-up in a shelter. After all, her excessive energy required long sessions of intense cardio and Frisbee-fetching at least twice per day. We speculated on the possibly brutal formative years of “the stray” that had ended up at a shelter and then at our apartment. Whenever my roommate grabbed her hockey stick for practice, the dog became perceptibly afraid—often hiding under the table.
My sympathy dissolved into desperation and fear when the dog bit me. Though not serious enough to merit more than a Band-Aid, the bite drew blood, and shook me into action: I realized that both the dog and I needed training, and stat.
After obedience classes, a structured routine with increased exercise time, and my perusal of virtual piles of pet-owner manuals, she has become a sweet, albeit spunky, dog and the best athlete in the family (which, admittedly, isn’t a tough bar to vault).
This anecdote is not meant to provide any evidence on either side of the debate, nor offer advice on how to train your pit bull. Rather, it is meant to contextualize it. I know what it’s like to have an aggressive dog that looks like a pit bull. I also know what it’s like to have a great dog—officially registered as a “Cattle dog/terrier mix.”
The state of pit bull politics
Ontario’s breed specific legislation was passed in 2005 as part of Bill 132, which amended the Dog Owner’s Liability Act (DOLA). Then-Attorney General Michael Bryant spearheaded the effort to amend DOLA following several dog attacks, like the one laid by the high-profiled pit bull-chocolate lab mix, Bandit, who mauled a toddler in 2003.
The law prohibits anyone in Ontario to breed, buy, or sell pit bulls, defined as pit bull terriers, Staffordshire bull terriers, American Staffordshire terriers, American pit bull terriers, and any dog with “an appearance and physical characteristics that are substantially similar” to those breeds. It also prohibits ownership of “pit bull type” dogs born after the law came into effect.
Pit bulls grandfathered into the law are considered “restricted,” rather than “prohibited,” and must be muzzled and leashed in public as well as spayed or neutered. The onus is on the owner to show proof that the dog is either a grandfathered pit bull or is in fact another breed, despite any pit-bully appearance. Anyone who fails to comply with the law could face up to six months imprisonment and a $10,000 fine. Enforcement falls to individual municipalities, which can create additional bylaw against the breed. If a dog is deemed a prohibited pit bull, its fate hinges on the munificence of shelters to move it out of province or possible “destruction,” as per the law.
At Saturday’s protest, MPP Cheri DiNovo of the NDP delivered a passionate, though politically divisive, speech in front of a small audience. Calling the ban “cruel and wrongheaded,” DiNovo criticized Michael Bryant and the OLP as the party responsible for the ban. She also criticized National Post columnist Barbara Kay for her outspoken hatred of pit bulls: “Kay has made killing dogs her business.”
Other protestors echoed this sentiment, expressing little optimism that the ban would be repealed as long as the OLP remained in power. Jen Valiquet attended the protest accompanied by Bianca, her 11-year-old pit bull-type dog, muzzled and leashed according to bylaw. Valiquet, slightly resigned, rarely brings Bianca to protests anymore, confident that “[the ban] will never be repealed in her lifetime.” She added, “It’s not her fight anymore.”
Valiquet lamented that the greatest chance in repealing the bill would have been under Mayor Ford, as she viewed the former media-blitzed mayor as pro-civil liberties and anti-spending. In fact, some civil liberties advocates opposing the ban cite a reversal of the presumption of innocence as well as the bill’s clause that allow peace officers, which include animal services agents, to enter private property without a warrant if they have reasonable grounds to believe that it is “necessary to prevent imminent bodily harm or death to any person or domestic animal.” But given that pro-ban Barbara Kay is a frequent donor to the Canadian Civil Liberties Education Trust, civil liberties are sort of a different animal, so to speak, when it comes to potentially dangerous dogs.
As the number of grandfathered pit bulls diminish, so have the protestors. Valiquet has attended many of the annual events andrecalls the earlier protests with 300 to 400 people there. She attributes this fall in numbers to the movement’s decentralization, in which advocacy groups have popped up or splintered off and focused their resources primarily on the rescue cause around the province, rather than on trying to repeal the ban from Queen’s Park.
MPP Randy Hillier of the PC Party made efforts to repeal the ban in 2012, which technically had tri-party support but died on the table when Premier McGuinty prorogued parliament.
Barking up the wrong tree: responsible pet ownership
Aside from voting out the current government, protestors called for more responsibility being placed on people who own dogs. “We must remember that at the end of every leash is an owner,” said Natalie Kemeny, the event’s MC and founding member of the Windsor-based pit bull organization Advocates for the Underdog (AFTU).
Back at the AFTU tent, seated behind stacks of t-shirts and hats emblazoned with the slogan, “It’s the deed, not the breed,” Kemeny said she wished that the law was tougher on dog owners of all breeds. She suggested heavier fines and criminal charges laid on any individual whose dog attacks another animal or person, and pointed to Calgary’s Responsible Pet Ownership Bylaw as a potential model to adopt. The law imposes strict measures and penalties for any dog that is unlicensed or poses a danger to society, instead of singling out certain breeds, and advocates proper pet training. Yet, in light of several attacks this year, some people have called for a breed ban, arguing that the law does not do enough to deter dangerous dogs from biting or to encourage more responsible pet ownership.
Although Kemeny acknowledged how emotionally taxing it is to euthanize a dog, she said “some dogs need to be euthanized … public safety is number one.” As Board President of the Windsor/Essex Humane Society, Kemeny has only seen a handful of dogs that fit this category, but would not identify their types for fear of subjecting other dogs to breed bashing. She stressed that she would never risk sending a potentially aggressive dog out into the public, regardless of its breed.
According to Kemeny, AFTU has successfully adopted out a total of 468 pit bulls since they were founded in 2003.
Is the cost of a pit-free province a real bitch? (Or, What’s the cost of a pit-free province?)
As a shelter best practice, dogs go through a SAFER test to assess behaviour and potential risk before they are deemed suitable for adoption.
“When we end up with a dog in our shelter that appears to fit the description [of a pit bull], … if it’s a really nice dog, we look for placement out of province. The dog has to be a great ambassador for the breed,” said TAS representative Mary Lou Leiher.
TAS data from 2013 shows that of the more than 2,750 dogs that were admitted, over 200 were transferred to partner agencies and over 500 were euthanized, some for humane reasons like illness or injury. While it is unclear how many of these dogs were pit bulls, of the dogs euthanized, 117 were listed as euthanized for behaviour or temperament reasons, 19 for being prohibited, and 2 for being restricted.
Although she did not provide specific funds spent, Leiher said transferring a dog out of province requires staff resources and incurs transportation costs. She stated, “[TAS] definitely had to reconfigure some of our resources so that we could accommodate the new additions to the law.”
As much as a cost-benefit analysis seems callous when it comes to killing dogs and irrelevant when it comes to protecting people, it’s necessary in that the legislation requires municipal funds to enforce a law that either a) enables the transfer of a temperament-tested, “safe dog” out of province, or b) if pit bulls are in fact unpredictable by nature, risks the lives of people outside of Ontario.
There is also a practical difficulty in determining a dog’s breed given that many of the animals that the TAS encounter are mixed. “We’re also quite careful as to what we think of as a pit bull.” She said shelter workers base their assessments on physical attributes, which can be difficult to pin down, but often give the dog the benefit of the doubt when it comes to deeming them prohibited pits. “Sometimes you see bulging eyes, which kind of look like boxers’, so we say ‘boxer mix.’”
It may strike some Torontonians as odd that municipal animal services are more reluctant now to identify dogs as pit bulls, and are actively sending so-called “inherently dangerous dogs” into other provinces—technically following the legislation, but not necessarily the spirit of the law—if indeed these dogs are a menace to society.
Pit bulls dogged by bad press?
While emotional appeal may not be as convincing as hard data, that data is often used to support claims on both sides of the fence. Most studies on dog attacks and breed specific legislation caution that inferring causation from correlation is misleading in terms of judging a law’s efficacy. Conceivably, a trend toward responsible pet ownership could be the causeof breed-specific legislation, and this large-scale attitude change could therefore account for any reduction in bite rates. But it would be imprudent to assume this relationship.
A 2012 study from the University of Manitoba found that the rate of severe dog bites had decreased in Winnipeg following breed-specific legislation, which banned pit bulls in 1990. However, the authors cautioned that they did not identify the breeds of the biting dogs.
Another study with data from 1990 to 2007 found that “sled type dogs” accounted for the majority of dog-related fatalities in Canada, at an average of 1 to 2 people per year, particularly when dogs formed packs, but that pit bulls were responsible for the majority of fatal attacks in 2001. More research is required to examine the rural/urban divide and dogs that maim versus kill.
According to 2014 data from TAS, the total number of bites from pit bull type dogs was 13—the same as the previous year, though distributed somewhat differently. Leiher asserted that the prevalence of dog bites in the city hasn’t changed much, even if it is distributed differently by breed. Drawing meaningful conclusions from this data is difficult, as it does not depict the severity of the bites, public health data, or the breed’s entire population in the city.
A CDC study examining dog bites in the US cautions against breed specific legislation. The OVMA and Toronto Humane Society have both come out against laws targeting specific breeds. Brad Dewar of the OSPCA has said, “The Ontario SPCA looks at it as it shouldn’t be a breed specific law, that it should be a matter of ownership,” but stated in my interview with him that the OSPCA is responsible for ensuring the proper implementation of the law.
Ultimately, regardless of actuarial risk, repealing the law is a political risk. If a serious incident were to occur following a repeal of the ban, not only would it be devastating to the public, but the political party responsible for removing the ban would surely be subject to scorn.
So, is the ban a success or just another dog and pony show?
“I think it’s been successful at reducing the number of pit bulls in the province,” said Leiher. When asked if she was referring to the number of registered pit bulls in the province, she qualified her response: “That’s a good question. Anecdotally, we’re seeing less, but we don’t know.”
Since the ban took place, the number of registered pit bulls in Toronto has decreased by 80 per cent. But enter a Google search query for purchasing pit bulls in Toronto and you’ll be greeted with business sites and classifieds updated daily that showcase people’s disregard for the law on several accounts, offering breeding services from champion studs and adorable pit bull puppies for hefty price tags, ranging from $500 to $2500.
Illegal breeding, unregistered animals, and the number of mis- or unidentified mixed breeds make determining total population and therefore bite rates more difficult. They also make for a pricey prohibited pet and lucrative black market.
So, are Ontarians safer? “If you’re going by the number of dog bites, no,” said Leiher. She declined to comment on whether she thought pit bulls were inherently dangerous.
Perhaps it was the tutus and tiaras adorning the animals, but if Saturday’s protest is any indication of the city’s attitude, then police officers posing with unmuzzled “pit bulls types” seems to undercut the image of these dogs as inherent threats to public safety.
Courtesy of….. torontoist.com
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Frances Vasquez says:
I’m so tired of people being stupid! Why do people hate what they really do not understand! I have a Pitt Bull and he is the most loving dog you will ever meet!
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Seibert
By Kendra | June 30th, 2013
It’s one thing to be encouraged by a sermon about parenting, but it’s another thing to do it twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. That’s why Jimmy Seibert ended his parenting series by inviting his wife Laura, and son Caleb to come and talk about a day in the life of a normal parent trying to raise their kids to follow Jesus.
It all starts with time with Jesus in the mornings, followed by family devotionals. Then Laura teaches how to maximize the drive to school. Jimmy tackles the challenge of helping children navigate relationships, and Caleb shares on the blessing he found growing up with parents who took a stand on media, and disciplined in love and consistency. Finally, Laura reminds us to make those final minutes count at bedtime. Sound tiring? It should; but it’s also incredibly worthwhile for any parent who is trying to tie Jesus into as much of the day as possible. And here’s the good news: You don’t have to do it alone.
Parenting is All About Parents
By Kendra | June 23rd, 2013
If you are a parent, that means you are an imperfect person, raised by imperfect people, who is trying to raise imperfect people. It’s no surprise so many of us feel in over our heads, but there is grace to parent within the blessing of Jesus if you want it.
This is the next sermon in Jimmy Seibert’s Intentional Parenting series in which he tackles how parents can change themselves to better love and serve their kids. As a human being, you are sure to make mistakes with your children along the way. But you also have the choice to ignore those mistakes or own up to them, and owning up might not be as scary as it sounds when it allows you to experience the blessing of God in your family for multiple generations.
We Need You, Dad
Maybe the best Father’s Day gift anyone could ask for is the knowledge that they are needed. In this sermon Jimmy Seibert kicks off his Intentional Parenting series by giving dads that very gift.
Our world is lacking in stable and consistent father figures. But Joshua 1 gives us a glimpse into God’s intention for men. It communicates the power of a dad’s intentionality to impart identity over their children, and your family needs you to be that man. Whether that means taking your daughters on daddy dates to make them feel like a princess, or whether it means calling up your sons that they might be clear about their destiny; your presence and consistency matters.
Building the House
By Kendra | April 7th, 2013
Just As He Said
By Kendra | March 31st, 2013
It’s a New Day to be Financially Free
By Kendra | March 24th, 2013
It’s A New Day For Holiness
By Kendra | February 10th, 2013
It’s a New Day to Surrender: Prayer and Obedience
By Kendra | February 3rd, 2013
It’s a New Day for the Church
By Kendra | January 27th, 2013
It’s a New Day to See Jesus
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https://archives.whyte.org/en/permalink/artifact105.02.0017
paper; wood; glass; metal
Black and white photograph of a house with trees in foreground and background. The photograph is framed with a wide dark mat and a simple black wood frame. The back is marked with “Taken about 1908 - John Brewster’s (SR) home corner Moose St, and Banff Ave.”
8.8; 19.0 (frame) x 30.4; 40.5 (frame) cm
John Brewster
Gift of Pearl Evelyn Moore, Banff, 1979
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The Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies acknowledges the Government of Canada Department of Canadian Heritage through the Museums Assistance Program for their generous support in funding this site to enable online access to the source materials used for the research, exhibition and publication of Artistry Revealed: Peter Whyte, Catharine Robb Whyte and Their Contemporaries, which was in honour of the 50th Anniversary of the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies.
The Whyte Museum gratefully acknowledges the support of The Peter and Catharine Whyte Foundation and the Alberta Foundation for the Arts
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Home Players Men Jack Wilshere linked with Fenerbahce move
Jack Wilshere linked with Fenerbahce move
arseblog
Jack Wilshere has been linked with a move to Fenerbahce, as his contract with Arsenal expires on June 30th.
The midfielder has already announced his intention to depart the club after 17 years of service, and it was thought he’d continue his career in the Premier League.
However, the 26 year old has reportedly been spotted in Istanbul, and linked with all three of the big clubs there: Besiktas, Galatasaray, and Fenerbahce.
The latter are apparently favourites to secure his signing, although as ever we’d urge caution when it comes to transfer stories linking players to Turkish clubs.
Perhaps more than any other country, the press there talk about deals being on the verge of completion, only for nothing to happen. Either there are a lot of last minute snags when it comes to making transfers there, or the transfer tittle-tattle is even more fictitious than it is anywhere else.
It would be a strange move for Wilshere who, despite being left out of the World Cup, still harbours England ambitions, and it would be hard to impress from such a distance.
He was in Berlin this week too, and he has been travelling, so let’s see where this one ends up.
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http://arseblog.com
Fan of Arsenal, Robert Pires and most everything to do with rum and whiskey. Smiter of those that ought to be smote.
Ozil’s agent confirms talks with suitors
Report: Genoa keen on Sokratis reunion
Arteta on links to Berge, Eriksen & Wilshere
Never Happen
Never happen.
Ayleym
Reply to Never Happen
More likely to be out there for a hair transplant
A Different George
The fact that he’s being linked with all three big Istanbul clubs tells you no one has any actual information and that there is no basis to this story other than he was seen in town. It’s like he was on Merseyside and there was a story “linking” him to both Everton and Liverpool.
Lots of smiling poos for this one.
A move to serie a or la liga would be best for Jack”s career, probably his beat shot to move to a decent technical team that’s competitive in its league, and would give him a chance of making his way back into the England a squad.
But I think we’re sadly going to see him see out his days at a lower premier league club, my money is on him choosing to stay in UK and maybe even stay in London.
Berlingoon
Reply to EZD
Even lower premier league clubs don’t even offer him more than a 1 year contract. I wonder where all the people are that were saying we have to keep him and make him captain otherwise he will go to another big club. Maybe he and them slowly realize that he’s not as attractive as he was 10 years ago. Would be about time, if you ask me. The fact that he seriously requested a guarantee to start at a club like Arsenal with his injury record and with his performances over the last seasons when he hasn’t been injured tells… Read more »
Heavenly Chapecoense
Reply to Berlingoon
Were you seating at the discussion table when he demanded the guaranty to start games ? Wanting to be important in the manager’s plans and demanding to start games are two différent things. For instance, you could feel Theo wasn’t anymore in Wenger’s plans in his last year but Arsene kept on saying he wanted to keep him.
Reply to Heavenly Chapecoense
Why would Arsenal offer him a contract extension worth around 100.000 per week, if he’s not in the managers plans? You realize that that’s pretty unrealistic, right? The manager wanted to keep him but told him that there are players in front of him who have been more consistent than him. He would have needed to fight for a place like every other player at a top club has. But he thought he’s super Jack and asking him to show that he’s better than the others is an insult. So, enjoy life in Istanbul then.
And the Walcott comparison is of course nonsense as Theo had a long term contract when Arsène said that he wants to keep him. That’s what all managers do, when you’re trying to offload a player. As soon as you admit that you want to offload him, the fee drops massively. But if a player is out of contract there’s no reason to say that you want to keep him if you don’t. Cazorla is the best example. Contract ran out. No new offer. That’s it. Wilshere had an offer on the table. And considering how much football he has… Read more »
Bendtner’s ego
Are you having a Turkish on us, Blogs??
Oooor ho super jack super jack must fuck off lol. Take ospina with you please.
Take ozil with so we can get dybala and nzonzi
A P
Reply to Jason
Take Jason too.
Reply to A P
And then bring back the rest.
Hantal
I don’t see Wiltshire playing abroad. His game might be well suited to serie A but I don’t know that he’d cope with cultural differences and a new language
Jarghs
Reply to Hantal
If Wiltshire was to go abroad, there’d be a big hole in the country between Surrey and Dorset.
Bould's Eyeliner
Reply to Jarghs
But would it suit Serie A?
Laughing my tits off.
Reply to Bould's Eyeliner
Jarghs, today sir, you win the Internet.
shmokin'em
Reply to Laughing my tits off.
ahh i think A P won it
Merlin's Panini
This would not be a good move for Jack if he wants to regain his England place. If it’s a move abroad only Italy, Spain or Germany would do (or PSG). Other than that he can kiss his England career goodbye. I wish him all the best.
Red-Sky
Career suicide.
Chrispy
Reply to Red-Sky
Insisting on a loan to Bournemouth was career suicide. That and his ‘other’ interests outside football.
Reply to Chrispy
is he still on the coke?
Batgooner
Wish he moves to valencia and plays with coq and Gabriel
These stories hurt me on a very deep level. This is not how the story was supposed to end.
Non story
Don’t care
But you care enough to make a comment.
At least he will be playing Champion League football if he moves to Fenerbahçe…
How many England players playing in the Champions league…
From ospina to jack?
KongoKim
He got two Kids and a year old baby. No way hes going to turkey. CP or WestHam more likely, i guess. Everton seems the most reasonable option if they are still interested imo.
Jimbo Jones
Reply to KongoKim
Istanbul is an amazing city. One of the best in the world.
Reply to Jimbo Jones
It is, but just has nothing to do with what i said. U dont take your 3 children age 1-6 with their 2 mums out of their familiar surrounding to play abroad. and he won’t leave them. thats why giroud is at stamford bridge.
This is true. One of the best I have had the pleasure of having my Ipad stolen in. But it would be strange if Wilshere, who has two very young kids with different, England-based, mothers and has repeatedly expressed love for his country (which is not a bad thing when coming from a place of love and not hate) would go on and move to a some-what troubled Turkey when he probably has offers from not only that same country but also the capital in which he has lived and raised his children for the best part of his young… Read more »
Reply to Lobster
Got my phone stolen in West London…
Twatsloch
Reply to MrT
Left my wallet in El Segundo.
David Hillier's luggage
Can’t see the happening, he’s probably just on holiday there. Two things that seem of paramount importance to Jack are his family and playing for England. Given his current partner is about to have(or has just had?) a baby, and he has two young children from a previous relationship who don’t live with him, I doubt he’s leave England and go to a league that will damage his chances of a recall. Not to say the quality of football is bad, but doubt scouts will be monitoring him. That being said, Jack’s not the sharpest tool in the box, so… Read more »
Reply to David Hillier's luggage
He’s not the sharpest tool, but those are the ones that usually stay in the shed. He’s not going to Turkey lol.
Damobot
Jack ohh Jack. WTF are you doing???? I can be guaranteed a starting place at Villa probably but it doesn’t mean shit now does it!!
Xhaka's left foot
seriously he rejected arsenal bench for the start for turkey?what is wrong with him?
Reply to Xhaka's left foot
Champion League football… No VAT on earnings… Nice weather…
DaveH
He is checking which club is going to buy Ospina so he can go somewhere else.
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The Demand for Savanna Goats
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November 23, 2020 Author : Anita B. StoneCategories : Goat Breeds
Despite COVID-19, both North and South Dakota farmers are busily raising and caring for Savanna goats, a breed imported from Africa into the United States in the 1990s.
Farmers were enthusiastic about a new breed of meat and range goat, its background developed from indigenous goats of South Africa in the 1950s. Many were bred with Boer goats and a local landrace goat, an indigenous goat adapted to its environment over many years with minimal selective breeding.
Farm communities are nestled among extensive grass pastures in the northeast region of South Dakota, known for its fresh glacial lakes and sprawling prairies. Within this open rangeland, near the town of Estelline, sits the farm of Jason and Karlia Dahl, owners of Heartland Savanna Farm.
“Agriculture is a way of life out here,” states Jason Dahl, a fifth-generation farmer. “This part of South Dakota is known as cattle country,” said Dahl, who owns a herd of Angus. Dahl purchased the farm in 2006 and not only gave his registered Angus grazing pasture but added Savanna goats across a vast 150-acre range.
They kid on the range, and the only time we need a veterinarian is about every five months, at which time the veterinarian performs an ultrasound to check pregnancy.
When asked about the Savanna breed, Dahl replied, “We used to raise Boers. But they became a lot of work, so when we heard how easy it was to raise Savannas, we decided to change breeds.” Dahl paused. “Savanna body characteristics resemble that of a Boer, but they are quite different, and they are well-suited as a range and meat goat. They are hardy and demonstrate mothering skills, unlike Boers, who just didn’t know how to mother their babies. Boers often walked away and stood somewhere else with the rest of the herd, ignoring the kid.”
Dahl is happy with his choice of Savannas. “They are ideal for maintenance input operations, are parasite resistant, and offer an easy type of breed for us.”
Dahl currently has six bucks and 100 does. “We buy Savannas from other breeders. The goats are very stable and require little care; they offer great milk and are quite adaptable and successful on extensive grazing as well as on intensive pastures, traveling up to three miles a day for forage.”
Dahl spoke about the care of Savannas. “They kid on the range, and the only time we need a veterinarian is about every five months, at which time the veterinarian performs an ultrasound to check pregnancy.”
Dahl prides himself on superior pasture management along with the type of fencing. “We have electric wires around the perimeter and an electric fence.” To further protect their Savannas, the Dahls have two guard dogs and a donkey.
Photos by Jodi Lundberg
Another state away in the badlands of North Dakota, Jodi Lundberg of West Edge Goats owns 200 acres of highly erodible and rough terrain near the Killdeer Mountains. She needed an adaptable, hardy animal to go out on the range and clear the landscape of thorn bushes, junipers, berries, and other ground-hugging weeds. So, she purchased Savannas. “For Savannas, there’s nothing better than greens,” she stated. “They are excellent weed-eating goats and browsers.” Lundberg laughed. “They love when you scratch their heads. They’re very people-oriented, like puppies, sometimes.”
Lundberg agrees that Savannas are very adaptable, hardy, and offer better maternal traits than Boers. They are a fertile breed and have excellent reproductive qualities.
“In this part of the world, most people eat beef,” she offered. “But Savannas are meat goats, providing some of the best-tasting food you can find.”
Although Savanna goats will eat grass, they are browsers and prefer to eat small trees and shrubs with no parasitic larvae.
When asked about feeding times, the owner said, “They keep to their own schedule. They graze, walk, and eat and come home. They are very feed efficient. They’re always moving — a bite and a step, a bite and a step. They do rest, and before dusk, they bed down.”
Lundberg has a lot to say about Savannas. “They require very little handling and care. They have good bones, strong legs, and limited hoof problems, requiring very little healthcare. The rainfall and temperatures in the area suit Savanna goats remarkably well.” Lundberg voiced a happy and excited tone. “They kid at range in hot and dry landscapes without assistance, often having two to four kids. They are wonderful mothers and are very protective of their young in cold weather and heat. The kids stand up and nurse quickly after birth.”
Lundberg has 20 full-blood does and four full-blood bucks. The rest of her goats are Savanna crossbred. She has close to 100 does in this category.
Lundberg has a Pyrenees dog to protect her goats. She also has an electric fence, four to six inches off the ground. “But when they are out on the range, we have an issue,” she explains. “Mountain lions lie in the tall shrubs, waiting to attack. Every now and then, we lose one.”
Savannas are vigorous in hot and dry landscapes and will kid year-round. They have the hardiness of a Spanish goat and the high meat yield of the Boer.
Additionally, Savanna goats mature early, breed all year round, have long productive lives, and are resistant to tick-borne disease and tolerant of drought and heat.
According to Dahl and Lundberg, raising a range and meat goat, such as a Savanna, has many rewarding benefits. In the Dakotas, Savanna meat is delicious and is mild-flavored meat similar to venison and lamb. Moreover, since you raised and fed the Savanna goats, you will know exactly what’s in the meat. Like Boers, they originated in Africa but are slightly smaller than Boers. They have the hardiness of a Spanish goat and the high meat yield of the Boer.
“There is a big demand for white Savannah goat meat,” Dahl states.
In North and South Dakota, rainfall, temperature, and the history of natural selection play a role in Dahl and Lundberg’s lives with their goats. Savanna goats are an independent breed and follow their instincts, regardless of climate or terrain. Given the proper care, Savanna goats will survive and multiply on the range, yielding quality meat that will prove to please everyone’s taste buds.
Originally published in the January/February 2021 issue of Goat Journal and regularly vetted for accuracy.
Categories : Goat Breeds
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Badger GP
Home All Articles Sebastian Vettel treats himself to a Spa day
Sebastian Vettel treats himself to a Spa day
Craig Norman
Reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel returned to winning ways at the Belgian Grand Prix to record his seventh victory of 2011 and his first since the European Grand Prix in late June. The Red Bull pilot overcame blistering tyres to lead home teammate Mark Webber for a solid 1-2, while McLaren’s Jenson Button demonstrated his dry weather overtaking prowess to complete the podium.
The early laps were full of action – the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg surprised everyone, not only billowing smoke before the lights but also snatching the lead of the race from 5th before the end of the first lap. Heading into La Source for the first time, several cars were involved in collissions, Bruno Senna clashing with Jaime Alguesauri and forcing the Toro Rosso wide. The Spaniard was lucky not to eliminate compatriot Fernando Alonso, who was forced onto the astroturf run-off but was able to continue. Further back, both Team Lotus cars came together in avoidance of a slowing Paul di Resta.
As the race unfolded, it was clear that the Red Bull’s option tyres were blistering quickly, and Vettel fell away from Rosberg and into the clutches of Lewis Hamilton, Felipe Massa and a recovering Fernando Alonso.
As the laps ticked by the front runners were struggling on worn option tyres, especially Rosberg. Vettel and Alonso stopped on laps 5 and 8 respectively, with the Spaniard ending up leading. Many others stopped to make sure they didn’t fall behind, but others stayed out to capitalise on running fresher tyres.
While the order shuffled back into order, the main taking point came on the 13th lap between a fast charging Lewis Hamilton and Kamui Kobayashi’s Sauber. The McLaren used the DRS zone to pass the Japanese driver, only for contact to occur braking into Les Combes between Kobayashi’s front right and Hamilton’s left rear. The Brit was eliminated on the spot and the Safety Car made it’s latest cameo appearance to help marshals clear the track of debris.
This played into the hands of Jenson Button, who had a miserable qualifying session to start 13th and elected to run the harder tyre to make positions. With the field under caution, the Hungary winner took on a pair of softs and was immediately on the pace, chopping past Massa and Rosberg to move into fourth place. It was an afternoon of excitement for the veteran driver – several overtakes in the race, such as passing Felipe Massa into the last chicane, were top drawer.
Up front, Alonso and Vettel were dicing at the front, with the German retaking the lead he would never relinquish. The Ferrari strategy was to take one less stop than the Red Bull to make the most of the fact their car was easier on the rubber, only for the Red Bull to make a mockery of that fact and extend their advantage. While both stopped for the prime on the same lap, Webber by then had caught up and passed the struggling Prancing Horse for second. Button then moved through to third place in the closing laps, with Alonso and Massa limping home 4th and 8th respectively.
The drive of the race was reserved for the celebrating Michael Schumacher, who produced a consistent pace to move from 24th and last on the grid to finish a stunning 5th at the flag. He was helped by the contacts during the first lap to make up 10 positions, and also benefitted from moving off the harder tyres and onto the softer variety under the safety car conditions to keep pace with runners in the top 10. Passing teammate Nico Rosberg for 5th in the final few laps capped a vintage display from the German on the 20th anniversary of his first drive in F1.
The final few points positions were taken by an impressive Adrian Sutil in 7th, Vitaly Petrov in 9th and Pastor Maldonado taking the 10th and final World Championship point, his first in Formula One and from a penalised grid penalty of 21st.
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Should F1 have deserted the desert?
Jean-Eric Vergne takes London podium
Brazilian GP – Friday – Practice 2
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When Mumbai was brutally attacked by terrorists, not only India was aghast, but the entire world stood in disbelief. With this horrific act of terrorism, Pakistan’s Jihadi groups convinced the world how far they have reached as destructive forces. In the light of these happenings, Ganesha gives a more clear astrological view on Pakistan’s tryst with terrorism and analyzes why this nation is blamed for aiding terrorists.
Pakistan’s Chart
DOB – 14th August 1947
TOB – 00:00:00
POB – Karachi
Pluto signifies terrorism and organized terrorism. Notice that Pluto is placed in the fourth house of Pakistan’s chart. The fourth house determines and signifies the emotions and things at heart.
Secondly notice that Rahu is in the ascendant of Pakistan, just like India, but the difference is that Rahu is applying to Pakistan’s ascendant degrees and is separating India’s ascendant degrees, this has made the major difference.
This is rather the first and foremost thing which makes Pakistan seem to be favouring terrorism and militancy. Actually the separative and malefic forces of Rahu have been instrumental in Pakistan following dictatorship and military rule as well as separatist and pessimistic disciplines.
Notice how Pluto, Saturn and Sukra are in applying square aspect to Pakistan’s ascendant. Square aspects as well as know from Ganesha’s previous articles are drivers of life and events. Square aspects make the event happen, make you active, make you act. Notice that Sukra and Shani are not positive planets for Pakistan, as per its Mesha Lagna. Thus with a strong stellium of these three malefic planets square to the ascendant help Pakistan create an impression to be a state supporting terrorism and separative groups and people.
Rahu included in this reading, amplifies the whole issue and rather specifies that Pakistan’s leadership too usually gets into this mode, despite the leader having good ambitions, thoughts and ideas.
Adding to this, Mars as well as know, the ascendant lord of Pakistan signifies militancy, rash and aggressive nature, don’t care attitude. This mars is semi square the ascendant degrees, again putting Pakistan into an active mode of supporting terrorism.
Notice how destined Pakistan is in these matters, with Ketu inconjunct Mars again an action forming aspect.
So with such hard aspects involving militant planets in Pakistan’s horoscope, it always in the centre stage with regards to states supporting terrorism.
Will this stop? And When?
Well all things stop and change, is the dictum of nature and world. So, being fully optimistic of this, lest see, when Pakistan’s such impression will cease.
The distance between Pluto and Ascendant is about 87 degrees. The distance between Pluto and Rahu is about 75 degrees. The distance between Mars and Ketu is 149 degrees.
In this light the major age till when Pakistan may be heavily influenced by separatist policies is till 149 year, but half of it is at 75 years, which is near the Pluto-Rahu distance.
Ganesha thus feels that there will be a major influence of this separatist policy on the world between the age of 72 and 75 and matters will start receding after that, till Pakistan reaches the age 87, the Pluto-Asc distance, but once Pakistan crosses this age, it will seem to be less involved in such anti-peace activities, in the eyes of the world.
It has come to Ganesha’s notice that there is probably a war pending or impending, involving Pakistan with any other nations between the age of 72 and 75, which means in the years 2019 to 2022. Nations politically not inclined towards Pakistan may need to be careful.
Using Solar Arc progression the exact years are from 14th August 2020 to 14th August 2023 for the war and/or a major terrorist activity blame, after which it will slowly seem to be backing off from such unhealthy policies. Once it crosses the age of 87, which seems to be 14th August 2032, it will mostly not be blamed for supporting terrorism.
Wishing Pakistan good luck
Tags: Why is Pakistan often blamed for abetting terrorism? An astrological analysis (Originally published on 16th December 2008)Categories: International Political Astrology, Mundane Astrology, Predictions come true, Predictive Articles
PreviousWhen will Amarnath see peace? (Originally published on 7th August 2008)
NextWill COLORS emerge with flying colors? (Originally pulished on 17th July 2008)
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Concerned Georgians discuss reckless school reopening
rtmadminadw
School reopening will be the primary agenda item today at 9:30 a.m., as Georgia school districts reopen in-person classes while the state hits over 216,000 cases of coronavirus, Georgia Democrats will share the stories of parents, students, and school employees that have been endangered by Georgia’s reckless reopening.
Speakers at the press conference include State Rep. Beth Moore, who has been collecting whistleblower testimony from Georgia teachers and students over the past week; Gwinnett School Board member Everton Blair; Dr. Michelle Au, doctor, mom and candidate for State Senate; and Amy Westmoreland, a former school nurse in Paulding County, where hallways were packed with students without masks in the first week of school.
This event will be conducted over Zoom webinar.
Who: DPG Chairwoman Nikema Williams; State Rep. Beth Moore; Gwinnett School Board Rep. Everton Blair; State Senate candidate Dr. Michelle Au; former Paulding County school nurse Amy Westmoreland
What: Testimony from concerned Georgians and school leaders about Georgia’s reckless school reopening
When: Monday, August 9th, 2020, 9:30 AM
Gwinnett County Schools reported that as Georgia approaches back to school, 260 school employees have tested positive for the coronavirus or are in quarantine due to exposure. Gwinnett County has one of Georgia’s highest rates of COVID-19, with 17,781 positive cases and nearly 2,000 hospitalizations due to coronavirus.
This latest surge of new cases comes as Trump gambles with children’s health and safety by trying to force schools to fully reopen before they’re able to do so safely. Donald Trump and our state leaders, including Brian Kemp, have threatened to cut federal school funding, slashed nearly a billion dollars from state funds for public schools, and refused to implement federal public health guidance, including a statewide mask order.
“Students haven’t even gone back to school yet, but COVID-19 is already surging in the Gwinnett School system and Georgia schools due to Donald Trump and Brian Kemp’s failed leadership,” said Maggie Chambers, communications director for the Democratic Party of Georgia. “This crisis has only gotten worse for our schools and our families because our leaders refuse to listen to public health experts. It’s beyond time to stop playing politics, and start doing the work to help schools reopen safely.”
We’ve known Kemp’s office did not take this pandemic as seriously as they should and today’s rollbacks are the latest example. This is a mistake and it’s going to cost even more Georgians their lives,” State Rep. Shelly Hutchinson said in a statement on the irresponsible reopenings.”
“Without enough testing, without enough supplies for doctors and nurses, and without listening to medical professionals, the governor’s actions today will make this crisis even worse and put more Georgians at risk. Now is the time to listen to the health providers and public health experts who tell us what we need to keep our communities safe. I urge all Georgians to listen to the advice of their health care providers and stay home — even if their governor won’t,” said DPG Chairwoman Nikema Williams released the following statement.
Tags: Georgia School Districts, in person classes, online schools, school reopening, State Rep. Beth Moore
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Why We Should Ignore Ted Cruz as Much as Possible
The first-term senator is not going to win the Republican nomination, much less the presidency.
Nick Ottens March 23, 2015 December 12, 2015
Republican senator Ted Cruz of Texas speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, February 26 (Gage Skidmore)
If Ted Cruz announces he is running for president on Monday, you won’t read much about it here.
Even if he is serious and not, as The Daily Beast believes, only interested in drawing attention to himself, the first-term senator from Texas is not going to win the Republican Party’s presidential nomination, much less the 2016 election. He is a political lightweight who has managed to alienate just about everyone except the most reactionary of Republican activists with his bluster and sabotage.
Cruz’ McCarthy-esque denunciations of his political opponents don’t suggest he’ll be able to persuade many Democrats to switch parties after two Republican presidential election defeats in a row.
But Cruz doesn’t stop there. If anything, he is more critical of fellow Republicans who imagine they can get away with trying to govern. When Republicans negotiate with President Barack Obama and his party on the debt ceiling, the budget, immigration reform or gun legislation, Cruz calls them spineless and “squishes” for even thinking of compromising.
Such remarks led conservative blogger Jennifer Rubin to call Cruz immature.
It is both self-serving (presuming principles are of no matter to opponents) and lazy in that it is always easy to say “no,” ridicule compromise and remain pristine rather than trying to improve legislation or introduce an alternative.
What exactly, she wonders, has Cruz accomplished during his grand two years in the Senate? If, as Rubin puts it, “yelling at people and voting ‘no’ don’t qualify,” the answer is nothing.
The lack of sophistication extends to Cruz’ thoughts on foreign policy. The American Conservative ‘s Daniel Larison points out that Cruz is usually “in lockstep with hardliners when it comes to (wrongly) assessing threats and reliably endorsing the use of force” without displaying the faintest interest in any of the political conditions of the countries he wants to bomb.
The fact that Cruz thinks bombing anyone back to the “stone age” is the right way to combat terrorism shows that he prizes sounding tough and belligerent over giving any thought to the consequences and efficacy of the military action he supports.
Bloomberg’s Mark Halperin nevertheless cautions against writing Cruz off, saying he is “much smarter” in private than “the caricature painted by East Coast media elites” suggests.
If that is the case, it seems rather Cruz had made a caricature of himself.
The Texan is also a “serious organizer with old and new media skills and a strong work ethic,” according to Halperin, who believes that he could come out on top in Iowa, the first caucus state.
Maybe. But Iowan Republicans haven’t been very good at electing presidents lately.
In 2012, Rick Santorum won the Republican caucus in the state. Four years earlier, Mike Huckabee prevailed. Neither was ever a viable general election contender. John McCain came in fourth in 2008; Mitt Romney placed second last time. They went on to win the nomination.
Cruz may command the adoration of ideological zealots who play an outsized role in Republican primaries, but even Halperin knows he lacks all the necessary qualities to become the nominee. Cruz has no concrete agenda, no establishment support, no crossover appeal, seemingly no sense of humor, no concrete signs that he can turn base support into rising poll standing and no general election credibility — whatsoever.
Add to that a tendency to lie or make things up (according to Politifact , barely a fifth of the things Cruz says are actually true or mostly true) and it’s clear we shouldn’t pretend Ted Cruz is anything more than a sideshow.
Read more: Republican Party (US), Ted Cruz, United States, US Elections 2016
Doug Sterling says:
So why didn’t you ignore Ted Cruz instead of publishing this ridiculous article? You mean we should all ignore Ted Cruz, and only you should write articles about him? LOL
CeCi says:
Lincoln served one term in the House before being elected President. Ronald Reagan, Barack Obama and Jimmy Carter all went on to the White House from Iowa.
Does ignoring Cruz mean you will stop spouting lies and hate about him? Please, be our guest!
“First they ignore you,
then they laugh at you,
then they fight you,
then you win.”
Ghandi (a much wiser man than the author of this hit piece)
JohnGalt says:
Isn’t it odd how often Liberals resort to censorship — self-imposed or otherwise — to keep from having a “discussion” about their utterly failed ideas…
Universities ban or shout down any speaker to the right of Ms. Clinton, the MSM just ignores anything that doesn’t fit the agenda, and on and on.
Mr. Obama & Co. now want to control the internet to stifle any dissent or diversity of opinion… all in the name of “fairness.” By that they mean it’s “unfair” for you to criticize the results of their lunacy and should be complimenting them for their [completely failed] “good intentions.” Like Ms. Feinstein’s husband raking in huge sums of money on the back of her position:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jun/12/firm-chaired-by-sen-feinsteins-husband-cashes-in-o/?page=all
Nick Ottens says:
It’s funny you assume I’m a “liberal” (presumably meaning left-wing or Democrat in this context) just because I oppose Ted Cruz.
May I suggest you read a little more of what I wrote in the past? For instance, the stuff in the Free Market Fundamentalist blog. That should give you a better sense of my views, if you’re interested.
robo145 says:
You leftwing fruitcakes will ignore Ted Cruz till he destroys you.The man is brilliant,an excellent orator and has the debating skills and academic standing to DEMOLISH ANY Democrat who is unlucky enough to face him on the stage,especially that corrupt,silly old crony capitalist Hillary.Saw his announcement speech (without a teleprompter)and he was outstanding!Be AFRAID,VERY AFRAID….
Comments are automatically closed after one year.
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Feed and Grain
Antibiotics Test
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What is BALLYA Chlamydia Test?
What is Chlamydia?
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Which animals can be detected by the BALLYA Chlamydia test?
Significance of testing Chlamydia
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Limitations of BALLYA Chlamydia Test?
Where to buy BALLYA Chlamydia Test?
BALLYA Chlamydia Test is manufactured by BALLYA, it’s rapid test for detection Chlamydia residues in pigs, various ruminants, household pets, especially the pig. Lateral flow assay test base on the gold immunochromatography assay technology.
Chlamydia is a Gram-negative pathogen. It is a prokaryotic microorganism that can pass through a bacterial filter. It is parasitic in cells and has a unique development cycle. Chlamydia is an organism that is smaller than bacteria but larger than viruses. It is a specific intracellular parasite, similar to bacteria and viruses. It has a two-stage lifebuoy. It does not have the ability to synthesize high-energy compounds ATP and GTP, and must be provided by the host cell, so it becomes an energy parasite, which is mainly spherical, stacked, with cell walls and cell membranes, and belongs to prokaryotes, usually parasitic in animal cells. There are four types of chlamydia, Chlamydia trachomatis, Chlamydia pneumonia, Chlamydia psittaci, and Chlamydia suis.
Chlamydia trachomatis is a microorganism. It currently has 15 serotypes. Different serotypes cause different diseases. Divided into 3 biotypes, namely mouse biotype, trachoma biotype and STD lymphogranuloma biotype. The latter two are related to human diseases. There are two forms of Chlamydia trachomatis: one is extracellular spore-like highly infectious cells called protozoa; the other is protozoa. A unit copied within this unit is called an initiator. The initial object is large and irregular. Its shell is hard and has no rigid cell walls. Both the original object and the original object contain DNA and RNA.
Chlamydia pneumonia
Chlamydia pneumoniae is a kind of chlamydia. Intracellular bacteria are the main cause of pneumonia. Human Chlamydia pneumoniae infection is a worldwide epidemic, regardless of region, regardless of race and age. Human Chlamydia pneumoniae infections can occur all year round and do not show seasonal characteristics. The epidemic can be sporadic or explosive, especially in public places where the space is relatively closed, the crowd is crowded, and the air is not well-circulated.
Chlamydia psittaci is a deadly intracellular bacterium that can cause a specific species of chlamydia avian disease that is prevalent in mammals and patients with respiratory parrot fever. Potential hosts include wild birds and domesticated poultry, as well as cattle, pigs, sheep, and horses. Chlamydia psittaci is transmitted by inhalation, contact, or ingestion between birds and mammals.
Chlamydia suis
Chlamydia suis is a member of the genus Chlamydia. Chlamydia suis is isolated from pigs and may be endemic in pigs. Glycogen has been detected in Chlamydia suis inclusions in infected pig tissues and cell cultures. Chlamydia suis is associated with porcine conjunctivitis, enteritis and pneumonia.
Chlamydia symptoms
The incubation period of the disease varies, ranging from a few days to as long as several weeks or even months.
Infections in pregnant sows cause premature delivery, stillbirth, miscarriage, inadequate placenta, infertility, and birth of weak or mummy fetuses. The incidence of primiparous sows is high, generally reaching 40% to 90%. Premature births occur in the first few weeks (100-104 days of gestation), and sows in the second trimester (50-80 days) can also have abortions. Sows usually have no symptoms before abortion, their body temperature is normal, and some show elevated body temperature (39.5 ~ 41.5 ℃). The piglets born partially or completely died, most of the live piglets were fragile, the birth weight was small, and the arch milk was weak. Most of them died within a few hours to one or two days after birth, and the mortality rate was sometimes as high as 70%. Boar reproductive system infections can occur with orchitis, epididymitis, urethritis and other reproductive tract diseases, sometimes with chronic pneumonia.
Chlamydia diagnosis
A preliminary diagnosis can be made based on the epidemiology, clinical characteristics, and pathological changes of the disease, but laboratory diagnosis is required to confirm the diagnosis.
The disease should be related to some diseases that cause reproductive disorders such as swine fever, porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome, Japanese encephalitis, porcine parvovirus infection, swine pseudorabies, swine flu, brucellosis, leptospirosis , Toxoplasmosis, Eperythrozoonosis, and other pathogens and mycotoxin-induced abortion and reproductive disorders should be distinguished from other non-infectious reproductive disorders due to poor feeding management and nutritional deficiencies.
When arthritis occurs, it should be distinguished from infections such as Rhizoctonia suis, Streptococcus suis, and Haemophilus parasuis.
Yes, It can. Chlamydia is the normal flora of the human body. Most of them parasitize the human body's mouth, biliary tract, urethra, reproductive system and anus. Under normal circumstances, as long as human immunity is present, chlamydia infection is usually not caused in patients, but if the patient's immunity is low or the number of flora is increased, a corresponding infection may occur. For chlamydia infections, patients are advised to take broad-spectrum antibiotics such as roxithromycin, azithromycin or levofloxacin. If the patient has a Chlamydia pneumoniae infection, it is recommended to provide the patient with appropriate sensitive broad-spectrum antibiotics based on sputum culture and drug sensitivity tests. After 10-15 days of general treatment, the drug can be discontinued after the chlamydia is negative or the symptoms disappear. During treatment, patients should pay more attention to rest and drink plenty of water.
Chlamydia treatment
Tetracycline and azithromycin are preferably used for the treatment of chlamydia. In addition, doxycycline, minocycline, erythromycin, rifampicin, and clarithromycin are also available. Fluoroquinolones such as levofloxacin and moxifloxacin are also effective. Beta-lactams, aminoglycoside antibiotics, vancomycin and spectinomycin are not effective. An effective treatment process takes 7 to 21 days. Glucocorticoids can be used in severe cases of parrot fever. At the same time with infusion, oxygen and other general treatment methods.
Improving health conditions and disseminating health knowledge are important to prevent trachoma. Pay attention to personal hygiene and do not share bathing utensils such as towels and bathroom sink. Family members are treated collectively at the same time. Screening and thorough treatment of C. trachomatis infection in pregnant women can greatly reduce the chance of neonatal infection. Prevent urogenital infections and sexually transmitted infections. Preventive drugs for high-risk groups. To prevent parrot fever, attention should be paid to strengthening customs quarantine of imported animals. Smuggling of sick and infected birds is strictly prohibited. Carry out health promotion activities, especially those who come into contact with poultry regularly due to professional relationships to prevent occupational infections. When an epidemic occurs, the root cause of the epidemic should be identified as early as possible, and sick birds should be executed and destroyed. The sale of chlamydia-infected parrots and other birdwatchers is prohibited. Patients should be hospitalized for isolation and treatment, and medical observation should be made of other people with a history of exposure to sick birds. Pregnant women should avoid contact with sick birds to avoid infection and cause abortion syndrome. Chlamydia is sensitive to conventional disinfectants.
Pigs, various ruminants, household pets, etc. can use the BALLYA Chlamydia Test for chlamydia detection. In the future, BALLYA will conduct more studies on chlamydia in different types of animals.
The BALLYA Chlamydia Test has two detection targets for Chlamydia detection: Chlamydia antigen and Chlamydia antibody. You can choose according to your needs.
In order to ensure the safety of consumers, reduce the economic loss of the owner of the breeding plant, prevent the sick pigs from entering the market, and treat the sick pigs in time, the Chlamydia Test can play a key role. Ensure the safety of farm owners and consumers, reduce unnecessary losses.
BALLYA Chlamydia Test, 20 cassettes
Swab, 20 pcs
PE Groves, 1 packet
Sample Buffer, 20 vial
Mini Pipette (optional)
Disposable micropipette tips (optional)
Kit Instruction, 1pcs
1. Used the swab to dip the normal saline and collect the sample from infection sites.
2. Then insert the swab to the buffer solution test tube immediately. Spin the swab until the reagent mix with the sample (not less than 10 times). Squeeze the swab on the inner tube wall to squeeze out the liquid.
3. Cover the lid and oscillate strongly for more than 30s, stand for precipitation about 5mins and absorb the supernatant as the sample.
4. Put the test card on the flat table, add 5 drops in the sample well carefully.
5. Read the result within 10-15 minutes. The result after 15 minutes is invalid.
BALLYA Chlamydia Test is a qualitative test kit. It’s only for screening purpose. If have positive cases or suspected case, maybe use other detection method to make a further detection, such as, ELISA, PCR, qPCR, etc.
From recessive to severe infections, the clinical characteristics of animals infected with chlamydia are different. Among them, reproductive tract infections in cattle and pigs are usually manifested as hidden processes. Asymptomatic chlamydia infection usually leads to chronic syndromes such as pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility. The cattle and pig industry caused huge economic losses.
Not only that, but household pets may also be infected with chlamydial disease and thus be threatened by their health. Therefore, the detection of chlamydial disease for animals is essential.
BALLYA Chlamydia Test provided by BALLYA can effectively detect whether Pigs, various ruminants and household pets have chlamydia infection. The kit is not only simple to operate, but also has short detection time and high accuracy, so that the veterinarian can understand the animal's physical condition and take appropriate treatment measures in time.
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Luxury Assets
Nicholas Maestri discusses Covid-19 and the property market in a digital world in Property Wire
This article was originally published in Property Wire and can be accessed here.
Nicholas Maestri, Director and Head of Property
Coronavirus and the property market in a digital world
The coronavirus crisis has delivered a seismic shock to the global economy. Many economist now predict an imminent global recession. The property market is clearly not immune to this crisis. However, despite ever-tightening travel and social distancing restrictions, some innovative estate agents have found ways to sell properties to those brave investors active in the market.
Activity in the UK property market has collapsed in recent weeks. Even before the lockdown was imposed, people had become increasingly disinclined to view properties, given mounting fears about contracting the coronavirus. International buyers were also unwilling or unable to fly to the UK to view properties, due to tightening travel restrictions and flight cancellations.
A few adventurous investors are still active in the market, perhaps mindful of Warren Buffet’s advice to “be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful”. Innovative estate agents are now arranging virtual property viewings via Skype to combat the downturn in viewings. Some agents even offer virtual reality tours of properties. Some purchasers are sending UK-based agents to view properties on their behalf.
I have seen some significant properties bought blind in recent weeks, even as the coronavirus crisis has escalated. It is remarkable to see the phenomenon of “online shopping” extend to major property purchases! Some buyers are still making all efforts to continue investing, despite the enormous economic uncertainty we now face.
Yet such investors are the exception. Most are holding their fire for now, as predictions of significant falls in property prices increase. Indeed, in the luxury London property market, a number of international investors have pulled out of property deals in recent weeks. Given the unpredictable nature of the pandemic, it is impossible to know when the crisis will pass, or how much economic devastation it will leave in its wake.
It is, however, worth remembering that property transactions in the UK increased 12.7% in the year to January 2020, with 102,810 sales completing. Such growth shows that demand is fundamentally high, which means that there is the potential for a rebound if the coronavirus pandemic is brought to a halt.
Indeed, demand is likely to become increasingly pent-up during the crisis. Some therefore predict that UK property sales and values will rebound quickly once the crisis ends. Savills says that sellers will have to remain “pragmatic on pricing” during 2020, “as demand becomes more dependent on needs-based and opportunistic buyers.” Some investors clearly sense opportunity, since motivated sellers will have to reduce their prices.
In the meantime, buy-to-let investors can take some comfort from the government’s robust economic response to the crisis. The policy of protecting up to 80% of the wages of affected employees means that most should be able to afford their rent. Chancellor Rishi Sunak says the £330 billion in new government business loans “means any business who needs access to cash to pay their rent, their salaries, suppliers or purchase stock will be able to access a government-backed loan or credit on attractive terms.” While such measures are primarily intended to support workers and businesses, they may also help to support commercial and residential property values during the crisis.
Research by estate agency Benham & Reeves found that 83% of buyers and sellers plan to return to the market once the coronavirus crisis passes. However, it is far from over yet. We have undoubtedly entered a volatile period for buyers, sellers, landlords and renters. For now, nobody can be certain when this crisis will end. Until it does, only the most highly motivated buyers and sellers will continue to operate.
© 2021 Bargate Murray
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software engineer salary in kuwait
Public sector employees in Kuwait earn 10% more than their private sector counterparts on average across all sectors. To convert salary into hourly wage the above formula is used (assuming 5 working days in a week and 8 working hours per day which is the standard for most jobs). We wrote a guide to explain all about the different scenarios. Those who got bonuses reported rates ranging from 3% to 5% of their annual salary. Visit PayScale to research software engineer salaries by city, experience, skill, employer and more. You deserve a salary increment but you are not sure how to ask.Check our 25 sample Salary Increase Request emails. In this video i will tell you about the top 10 highest jobs salary in kuwait. If your wage is between the average and the median, then things can be a bit complicated. One major difference between salaried employees and hourly paid employees is overtime eligibility. How to compare your salary. Percentage increase and decrease are relative to the previous value. The median salary is 1,160 KWD per month, which means that half (50%) of people working as Software Engineer(s) are earning less than 1,160 KWD while the other half are earning more than 1,160 KWD. Searching for Engineer Jobs in Kuwait would be a great option as the average salary for this role as per the Average Salary Survey data is KWD 21,593. Their field of expertise usually matches the type of business. Top 10 coolest jobs that you can actually have! While someone with a Bachelor's Degree gets a salary of 1,200 KWD per month, 29% more than someone having a Certificate or Diploma degree. Top management personnel and senior employees naturally exhibit higher bonus rates and frequencies than juniors. The median represents the middle salary value. At Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, the salary of a diploma holder ranges between KWD 1,800 to KWD 3,500 while that of a qualified degree holder ranges between KWD 2,500 to KWD 5,200. Closely related to the median are two values: the 25th and the 75th percentiles. Listings of driver salary job offers in Kuwait. You should be able to recover the costs in roughly a year or so. The median represents the middle salary value. I got a job offer in Kuwait with salary of 2000 KWD/month + benefits as per below; - Private health insurance for me&my wife - 400 KD ticket allowance per year - Relocation allowance: Flight and accommodation up to 8 weeks - Housing Allowance up to 400 KD monthly. Hope you will find this information useful and all the best for your job search. Example:A graphic designer in the marketing department of a hospital. Ubisoft Senior Software Engineer salaries - 1 salaries reported: 1,200 / moSchneider Electric Senior Software Engineer salaries - 1 salaries reported: 1,000 / moMinistry of Interior Kuwait Senior Software Engineer salaries - 1 salaries reported: 12,000 / yrKaiser Permanente of Ohio Senior Software Engineer salaries - 1 salaries reported: 15,000 / yr Visit PayScale to research software engineer salaries by city, experience, skill, employer and more. The amount of the bonus will probably be different from person to person depending on their role within the organization. This is the average monthly salary including housing, transport, and other benefits. 2694. 66% of surveyed staff reported that they haven't received any bonuses or incentives in the previous year while 34% said that they received at least one form of monetary bonus. How much does a Software Engineer make? How to Answer: What Are Your Strengths and Weaknesses? Create more job alerts for related jobs with one click: 9 Attention-Grabbing Cover Letter Examples, 10 of the Best Companies for Working From Home, The Top 20 Jobs With the Highest Satisfaction, 12 Companies That Will Pay You to Travel the World, 7 Types of Companies You Should Never Work For, How to Become the Candidate Recruiters Canât Resist, software engineer Salaries in Los Angeles, software engineer Salaries in Mountain View, 11 Words and Phrases to Use in Salary Negotiations, 10 High-Paying Jobs With Tons of Open Positions, Negotiating Over Email? Software Engineer salaries in Kuwait range from 660 KWD per month (minimum salary) to 1,880 KWD per month (maximum salary). While someone with an experience level between two and five years is expected to earn 930 KWD per month, 23% more than someone with less than two year's experience. Employees that support and facilitate the work of revenue generators. The term 'Annual Salary Increase' usually refers to the increase in 12 calendar month period, but because it is rarely that people get their salaries reviewed exactly on the one year mark, it is more meaningful to know the frequency and the rate at the time of the increase. Note: The salary estimates in this page are calculated using data provided by candidates registered on GulfTalent. The most standard form of bonus where the employee is awarded based on their exceptional performance. Though gender should not have an effect on pay, in reality, it does. 1 Kuwait Jobs.com. 864. * Based on the average change in salary over time. Near Kuwait; engineer Salaries in Dublin; engineer Salaries in Galway; engineer Salaries in Leixlip; engineer Salaries in Kildare; engineer Salaries in Clonmel; engineer Salaries in Sligo; Salary Tips; 10 UK Jobs Where You Can Earn More Than £65,000; The 25 Highest Paying Companies in the UK for 2019; 10 Highest Paying Entry-Level Jobs in the UK 25 Simple Ways to Reduce Bills and Save Money. A Software Engineer is considered to be a moderate bonus-based job due to the generally limited involvement in direct revenue generation, with exceptions of course. The national average salary for a Software Engineer is 3,000 in Kuwait. This is the average monthly salary including housing, transport, and other benefits. Many people pursue higher education as a tactic to switch into a higher paying job. If your salary is lower than both, then many people are earning more than you and there is plenty of room for improvement. 1526. Salary increments will vary from person to person and depend on many factors, but your performance and contribution to the success of the organization remain the most important factors in determining how much and how often you will be granted a raise. These figures tend to change frequently. The people who get the highest bonuses are usually somehow involved in the revenue generation cycle. Engineering Salaries in Kuwait * Posted anonymously by employees. This is very predictable due to the inherent responsibilities of being higher in the hierarchy. If your salary is higher than both of the average and the median then you are doing very well. The average salary for Software Engineer is 5% less than that of Data Analysis. Salaries vary … Hourly jobs pay per worked hour. The figures mentioned above are good approximations and are considered to be the standard. Generally speaking, you would want to be on the right side of the graph with the group earning more than the median salary. Information Technology salaries in Kuwait range from 660 KWD per month (minimum average salary) to 2,070 KWD per month (maximum average salary, actual maximum is higher). Their expertise is usually different from that of the core business operations. Salaries vary drastically among different job categories. Average wages in Kuwait are around $29.00 per hour for less skiled jobs. You can't really expect any salary increases during the study period, assuming you already have a job. Software Engineer salaries vary drastically based on experience, skills, gender, or location. The salary range for people working in Kuwait is typically from 236.00 KWD (minimum salary) to 881.00 KWD (highest average, actual maximum salary is higher).. Salaries for Related Job Titles. Visit PayScale to research mechanical engineer salaries by city, experience, skill, employer and more. Salaried jobs pay a fix amount regardless of the hours worked. Salaries for specific roles in the market may vary from the estimates provided here, depending on the industry, type of employer, responsibilities of the role and the profile of the individual. Reading from the salary distribution diagram, 25% of Software Engineer(s) are earning less than 820 KWD while 75% of them are earning more than 820 KWD. Listed above are the average annual increase rates for each industry in Kuwait for the year 2019. Filter by location to see Architect salaries in your area. Lastly, employees with more than twenty years of professional experience get a salary of 1,780 KWD per month, 6% more than people with fifteen to twenty years of experience. $91K Senior Electrical Engineer Average Salary at Kuwait University (1 salaries) Equal to national average Senior Electrical Engineer salary ($91K) +$20K (24%) ... Lead Software Engineer. Kuwait is a tax free country. Both are indicators. The average salary for a Software Developer in Kuwait is 6,603 KD. See how your offer stacks up to other pay packages and negotiate confidently. Moving forward, an experience level between five and ten years lands a salary of 1,310 KWD per month, 42% more than someone with two to five years of experience. Additionally, Software Engineer(s) whose expertise span anywhere between ten and fifteen years get a salary equivalent to 1,530 KWD per month, 17% more than someone with five to ten years of experience. The average salary for a Software Engineer in Kuwait is 9,925 KD. Filter by location to see Engineer salaries in your area. Sign-In. Salaries range from 320 KWD (lowest average) to 5,640 KWD (highest average, actual maximum salary is higher).. These types of bonuses are given without a reason and usually resemble an appreciation token. Engineer Jobs in Kuwait. Salaries range from 1,090 KWD (lowest average) to 5,020 KWD (highest average, actual maximum salary is higher).. Learn how to enable cookies. Granted upon achieving an important goal or milestone. Glassdoor will not work properly unless browser cookie support is enabled. If the experience level is between fifteen and twenty years, then the expected wage is 1,690 KWD per month, 10% more than someone with ten to fifteen years of experience. Salaries range from 660 KWD (lowest) to 1,880 KWD (highest). The average salary for a Mechanical Engineer in Kuwait is 9,567 KD. This is the average monthly salary including housing, transport, and other benefits. The average increase in compensation while changing jobs is approximately 10% more than the customary salary increment. The average salary range for an IT Software Engineer is between SAR 142,804 and SAR 253,436. Bayt.com is the leading job site in the Middle East and North Africa, connecting job seekers with employers looking to hire. A person working as a Software Engineer in Kuwait typically earns around 1,240 KWD per month. Salary estimates are based on 27 salaries submitted anonymously to Glassdoor by Engineer employees. Search 25 Software Engineer jobs now hiring in Kuwait City on Indeed.com, the world's largest job site. On average, a Bachelor's Degree is the highest level of education for an IT Software Engineer. Also from the diagram, 75% of Software Engineer(s) are earning less than 1,430 KWD while 25% are earning more than 1,430 KWD. That is quite an investment. Popular Careers Driver Jobs in Kuwait. Sales Professional - Work From Home. A person working in Kuwait typically earns around 1,260 KWD per month. People tend to confuse bonuses with commissions. Is this helpful? The national average annual increment for all professions combined is 4% granted to employees every 29 months. Occasionally, some companies like to celebrate excess earnings and profits with their staff collectively in the form of bonuses that are granted to everyone. Apply free to various It job openings @monstergulf.com ! Usually jobs are classified into two categories: salaried jobs and hourly jobs. Salaries vary drastically between different Doctor / Physician careers. People in top positions can easily get double or triple bonus rates than employees down the pyramid. Cook Jobs in Kuwait. Its always difficult to answer a ‘salary’ type of question of how much is enough. This is the total monthly salary including bonuses. Salary estimates are based on 1 salaries submitted anonymously to Glassdoor by … Those figures should be taken as general guidelines. When the education level is Certificate or Diploma, the average salary of a Software Engineer is 930 KWD per month. The national average salary for a Senior Software Engineer is 825 in Kuwait. However, Kuwait was found to be the top paying country for some positions including hotel general manager – where the average monthly salary … This compensation analysis is based on salary survey data collected directly from employers and anonymous employees in Saudi Arabia. A Master's Degree gets its holder an average salary of 1,710 KWD per month, 43% more than someone with a Bachelor's Degree. Copyright © 2008–2020, Glassdoor, Inc. "Glassdoor" and logo are registered trademarks of Glassdoor, Inc. Not enough reports to show salary distribution. 1082. This is the total monthly salary including bonuses. Search 47 Systems Engineer jobs now hiring in Kuwait City on Indeed.com, the world's largest job site. The reason is quite simple: it is easier to quantify your value to the company in monetary terms when you participate in revenue generation. Naturally the more years of experience the higher your wage. 1650. The numbers seem to support the thoery. Design Architect 3K. Mechanic Jobs in Kuwait. Salary estimates are based on 6 salaries submitted anonymously to Glassdoor by Architect employees. Revenue generators usually get more and higher bonuses, higher salaries, and more frequent salary increments. 21 High Paying Jobs That Don't Require a College Degree! Jobot - Irvine, CA. The hourly wage calculation may differ slightly depending on the worked hours per week and the annual vacation allowance. A person working as a Software Engineer in Kuwait typically earns around 1,240 KWD per month. & Pegasus International Computer Co. W.L.L. The community relies on everyone sharing â .css-1c7uf6v{background:none;border:none;font-size:15px;color:#1861bf;}Add Anonymous Salary. Software Engineer salaries vary drastically based on experience, skills, gender, or location. ), 25 salary increase request email templates with proven results, 7 unconventional and creative job hunting techniques, 12 careers for people who like to work alone. The First Place to Find Work in Kuwait. Software Engineer(s) in Kuwait are likely to observe a salary increase of approximately 8% every 29 months. Salary estimates are based on 1 salaries submitted anonymously to Glassdoor by Software Engineer employees. Exceptions do exist, but generally speaking, the situation of any company is closely related to the economic situation in the country or region. Hereâs Exactly What to Write to Get Top Dollar, How To Follow Up After an Interview (With Templates! The figures provided here are averages of numbers. Salaries range from 660 KWD (lowest) to 1,880 KWD (highest). Male Software Engineer employees in Kuwait earn 12% more than their female counterparts on average. The average salary for a Software Engineer in Kuwait is 9,904 KD. A Master's degree program or any post-graduate program in Kuwait costs anywhere from 6,320 Kuwaiti Dinar(s) to 19,000 Kuwaiti Dinar(s) and lasts approximately two years. Filter by location to see Software Engineer salaries in your area. Salary variations differ from person to person. How much does a Engineer make? ), 7 of the Best Situational Interview Questions. Filter by location to see Software Engineer salaries in your area. Petroleum in Kuwait accounts nearly half of GDP, and 90% of export revenues. Assistant Jobs in Kuwait. Below you will find a detailed breakdown based on many different criteria. Also, Data Analysis salaries are 3% more than those of Information Technology. The national average salary for a Architect is 700 in Kuwait. Right now, my wife and I both work in IT and we live a comfortable life. The median salary is 1,220 KWD per month, which means that half (50%) of people working as Civil Engineer (s) are earning less than 1,220 KWD while the other half are earning more than 1,220 KWD. Example:A graphics designer working for a graphics designing company. If you can afford the costs of higher education, the return on investment is definitely worth it. Software Engineer Salaries in Kuwait * Posted anonymously by employees. H 2 - 3 Years R Al Kuwait - Kuwait Experience in developing web applications using at least one popular web framework (JSF, Wicket, GWT, and Spring MVC);Proven work experience in as a computer software engineer o... Posted on 21 Apr 19 W 13 deadly interview mistakes that can cost you the job, 10 job hunting mistakes everyone is making, 8 Essential CV Tips That Will Make a Huge Difference. This is the average monthly salary including housing, transport, and other benefits. The experience level is the most important factor in determining the salary. A person working in Doctor / Physician in Kuwait typically earns around 2,970 KWD per month. Companies within thriving industries tend to provide higher and more frequent raises. The national average salary for a Engineer is 900 in Kuwait. Where can you get paid more, working for a private company or for the government? The national average salary for a Software Engineer is 3,000 in Kuwait. Sales Jobs in Kuwait. In most cases, a salary review is conducted once education is completed and the degree has been attained. The highest paid professionals are Petroleum Engineers and Archeologists, who pocket in … A commission is a prefixed rate at which someone gets paid for items sold or deals completed while a bonus is in most cases arbitrary and unplanned. Visit PayScale to research software developer salaries by city, experience, skill, employer and more. 841. 8 Questions You Should Absolutely Ask An Interviewer, Diyar United Software Engineer salaries - 1 salaries reported, OpenWare Computer consultancy Software Engineer salaries - 1 salaries reported, EBLA Software Engineer salaries - 1 salaries reported, Tawasul Telecom Software Engineer salaries - 1 salaries reported, Technology World Company Software Engineer salaries - 1 salaries reported, Tracom Solutions Software Engineer salaries - 1 salaries reported, Victory Arch Group Software Engineer salaries - 1 salaries reported, Arabesque Group Software Engineer salaries - 1 salaries reported, Software Engineer Job Description Template. Employees that are directly involved in generating revenue or profit for the organization. For skilled and experienced Engineers, Managers and Doctors, the average salary is rised up tremendously, to $140,000 or more pery year, excluding benefits. We all know that higher education equals a bigger salary, but how much more money can a degree add to your income? The annual salary Increase in a calendar year (12 months) can be easily calculated as follows: Annual Salary Increase = Increase Rate x 12 ÷ Increase Frequency. It jobs in Kuwait - Check out latest It job vacancies in Kuwait with eligibility, salary, companies etc. Lead Software Engineer. Filter by location to see Senior Software Engineer salaries in your area. Salaried employees are usually exempt from overtime as opposed to hourly paid staff. For You Hourly Wage = Annual Salary ÷ ( 52 x 5 x 8 ), 10 annoying office habits we are all suffering from, 25 simple money saving tips ($15000+ in savings! Switch to Arabic. Add Job Offer. The hourly wage is the salary paid in one worked hour. Jobot - Scotts Valley, CA. So who gets paid more: men or women? We broke down Software Engineer salaries by experience level and this is what we found. We broke down Software Engineer salaries by education level in order to make a comparison. As we collect more salary reports, we will be able to display related salaries for this job title. A Software Engineer with less than two years of experience makes approximately 750 KWD per month. Salary estimates are based on 6 salaries submitted anonymously to Glassdoor by Senior Software Engineer employees. The salary range for people working in Kuwait in Information Technology is typically from 333 KWD (minimum salary) to 1,045 KWD (highest average, actual maximum salary is higher). Software Engineer Jobs in Kuwait - Search 423 Software Engineer Vacancies in Kuwait in top companies in UAE, Qatar, Oman & Bahrain.
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Home > Opinion > Scotland Your Scotland
Scotland Your Scotland
“The Union hasn’t been saved, it’s over” argues Andrew O’Hagan in his Scotland Your Scotland keynote lecture to the Edinburgh Book Festival. “Scotland is a place in which to live and breath and vote and argue, but it is also a place in the mind, a moveable feast, and self-improvement will be our greatest export” he stated O Hagan is an author and editor who has won the Los Angeles Times Book Award and the E. M. Forster Award from the American Academy of Arts & Letters. Here is the transcript of his talk.
THE vanity of each generation is to believe we are living through the greatest period in history. Each generation imagines it is germinating a brand new world, that the times are glorious, that their period is the most interesting ever to occur, that earthly progress would turn around now for a thousand years and their names would be written on water. The Romans believed it, and their civilisation is now a heap of lovely ruins and a dead language. And yet there are good reasons to trust that the 21st century will indeed be a time of times, a period for the ages, as we proceed toward new formulations of what it means to be human, of what constitutes a society, of what characterises a culture and what makes a nation.
My ancestors came to Glasgow from Ireland with soil on their hands. They soon replaced it with engine grease, but not before they had fought themselves clean with the local culture, and I enjoyed a Scottish childhood in which 400 years of history was inscribed at the level of daily life. In the town in Ayrshire where I grew up, the Catholic church was adjacent to a blue hut in a field, a hut that lay dormant for most of the week. But on Sunday morning, about 2 minutes before 10 o’clock Mass, the hut would thump into life, a big bass drum at the centre, as the local Orange Band embarked on its weekly rehearsals. You could see the funny side of that, and, in time, the blue hut was replaced by a library, which carried books by people for all over the world who feasted on the different kinds of loyalties that make a world. My Glasgow grandparents weren’t just poor, they were Victorian poor, subject, when I examine the records, to privations and self-defeats that would’ve made Charles Dickens blush. Yet we had added to the country that took us in by helping building a Labour movement at the centre of it. Even in my post-industrial childhood in the 1970s and 80s, the old arguments died hard, yet only at the end of it, and after a few harsh doubts of my own, did I realise a modern Scotland had been born around us. We were immigrants, after all, but now we had inside bathrooms and national healthcare and jobs. It took a while for some of us to get over the grief of the journey, and we hadn’t the literature yet, to soothe or express it. But that came in time, the poetry and the prose, the drama and the art, and the Scotland I’d always known in my head and in my day began to exist in the literature of our country. The title of this lecture is ‘Scotland Your Scotland’, tipping a hat to that famous essay of 1941 by George Orwell called ‘England Your England’. It was a brave essay at the time, characteristically unflinching in naming those parts of the national character that should be named. At the time of writing it, Britain was facing the greatest threat to its existence since the Norman Conquest: wolf-packs of German U-Boats surrounded the coast, bombs whistled overhead, yet Orwell trusted that the fighting spirit could still endure a few incendiary home truths. The English were a ‘sleep-walking people’, he said, and ‘smutty’ and ‘snobbish’. He said they were ‘hypocritical about their empire’; ‘they are insular’. But, for all that, Orwell observed that the English nation, for all its promotion of class differences and proud stupidities, ‘is bound together by an invisible chain’, even if it was ‘a family with the wrong members in control.’ I grew up hearing jokes about the perennial Scotsman, the English, and the Irishman, jokes that in our house had a 66 and 2/3rd chance of scoring a direct insult. But national stereotypes used to be more fun, or so it felt, and the reason that we have always had such resourceful comedians in this country is that we generally find our misfortunes to be more diverting than our triumphs. (Quite handy that, as it goes.) Entertained by our own kitsch, remorseless about our own vanities, it is not accident that Scotland fostered the best variety theatre in the world. There were comedians in our house, and in the house next door, and my late father spent his last moments on earth trying out new material. ‘You told a lie on Radio Four last week,’ he said to me.
‘A lie?’ I said. ‘On Radio 4? I don’t think so.’ ‘You did so,’ he said. ‘You told them we had no books in our house when you were growing up. That isnae true. There was one; it was green; it sat on top the fridge for ages.’ ‘That was the Kilmarnock Telephone Directory,’ I said. ‘It doesn’t count.’ For years, in Scotland, my Scotland, I felt that England was all the better for having Scotland attached to it, and vice versa. I’d grown up with a strong sense of solidarity and had a natural Leftist belief in the commonality of these islands, of a joint commitment to decency and shared destiny, presenting a united front up and down the land against barbarian elements, which first meant, for my generation, Margaret Thatcher and her notion of ‘no such thing as society’. It was in my veins, that belief in land-hopping progress: such magical thinking always seemed to me to be sewn into the literary imagination of Scotland. We are a thinking people, quite literally — we had an intellectual Enlightenment based on the notion that strong philosophy could outwit suspicion any day. Scottish intellectual life, furthermore, has been distinctive in its dedication not only to speaking its own mind, but of entertaining opposites to its own certainties, dealing in the places where extremes meet and where contradictions come alive. It is no accident that the great progenitor of the myth of human opposites living in one body, Robert Louis Stevenson, grew up in Heriot Row not ten minutes from here. No coincidence that the thinking mind, in Scotland, is a brain not addled with conventional wisdom, but speaking truth to power, as Robert Burns deathlessly does, and where power changes, so will the mind criticising it.
I grew up loving all that, and feel it is germane to our situation now. More than any parliament or studio, a literary festival, this one above all, is therefore not only the ample but the perfect place for a rumination about the nation. Once upon a time, reading Adomnan’s Life of St Columba, I imagined the seas around us could come alive and speak truths about our existence as old as the rocks. There is a moment in that book when St Columba raises his staff and summons the snakes out of the sea, and they rise, these talking beasts, live from the depths of Iona Sound, to tell him who he is. In every corner of Scotland, and in the seas that mark us, it is magic realism of that sort that is the order of the day. Not old certainties. Not opinion polls. Not fears and the fear of further fears. Not isolationism. Not trolls. Not what you used to say or what your mammy said that time. Not Reporting Scotland or Newsnight. Not Donald Trump or the Chief Whip or that guy who used to play the pipes outside the Playhouse. Not previous convictions, or pension funds, or old school ties or something I wrote before. Newness in thinking is like loyalty in love: it doesn’t just exist because it was there before; you have to create it fresh every day.
Scotland used to feel too sorry for itself, and was once addicted to historical injury, but that notion is now as old as the people who said it, and I should know because I’m one. Every nation with a rich past has sectarianisms to deal with, but our job is to engage them, not simply by denouncing them, but by supplanting them with bigger thoughts and more exacting passions. That is where we are today, where we are in these gardens of the imagination, digging for fresh truth amid too many old prejudices going nowhere. Rather than pretend, as various politicians do, that they have all the answers, why not start, in this place, by admitting we are boldly searching. Our perplexity is our situation. Our perplexity is our opportunity. ‘How do I strengthen the better angels of our nature?’ Barak Obama recently asked. ‘And how do we tamp down our tribal impulses?’ A beginning — I would suggest — might lie in our simply admitting we are in a situation that is new both to our political certainties, our party loyalties, our tribal impulses, and our sense of what was previously admissible. That’s what writers are for — to replenish the imagination, and to steer, nowadays, by magic realism through the portals of virtual reality, into an open space of fresh possibility that we will soon constitute the nation. In a time of fake news, the journey has been very real, and relates not to some fictional realm or conjuring of the Net, but to a real place, a terra firma, one of the most beautiful on earth, this very place, Scotland, where some of the most original thinking about humanness has taken place and will take place again. The statues you see around you were not put there by Walt Disney: they were erected by the will of the people, and are of David Hume and Walter Scott, James Boswell and Robert Fergusson, geniuses for whom Scotland was a stately, multifarious mind, a place where epochs could be enlivened, histories recorded, and Constitutions pre-written. When the Scottish Referendum was going on, I found I was asked to speak about it every single day. In the morning, the Today programme; in the afternoon, the New Yorker or CNN. But I didn’t answer and I didn’t say a word. I knew they wanted me to reaffirm, or spin upon, things I’d said 20 years ago, or passages I’d written in novels, or to contradict the captivating talk of some nationalist or other, but for my own part I wanted to do something I’d been taught to do in a Scottish primary school 40 years ago — Watch, Listen, and Learn.
Quietly, I went to the rallies. I attended the conventions. I heard all the speeches and stood in the shadow of the flags that fanned the people cold. A writer, I learned, has a responsibility to the political life, as well as a superiority over it. Politicians believe in power; writers believe in dreams. The thing was to avoid the microphone. Keep it shut. Let reality do its thing. ’I have never seen myself as a spokesman,’ wrote James Baldwin. ‘I am a witness.’ Yet I noticed something beginning to happen that didn’t happen when I was a younger writer: I began not so much to build defences around my own arguments, as to awaken to their weaknesses. It’s often a failure of intellectual curiosity that causes us to learn nothing form our own experience: we merely defend what we’ve said before, make a god of what we are known to believe, regardless of changes in the circumstances before us, because that makes us feel better, and feel that we were right all along. But what happens if you try to understand the look in the eyes of my opponents? What if the No voters in the country allowed themselves the luxury of imagining without prejudice just exactly what they think they would be losing? Me first. A writer’s job, after all, is not to defend what she believes in, but to animate what she can barely imagine. Many people in 2014 felt that the argument had not yet been made. And perhaps it hadn’t. It certainly hadn’t, in some respects. But it began to seem to me that the ground was shifting nonetheless, regardless of opinion, and that a re-constituted Scotland was already in process. Despite the seeming defeat and the constant punditry and a comic debility of Westminster power, what if we were already in the early days of a better nation, with the idea carefully minted and the coin merely to follow?
I was at the count in Glasgow the night of the Referendum. As I walked among the tables, hour after hour, I realised something strange, especially strange to someone like me who had always believed these islands were better united. It hardly matters whether or not I wanted the Nationalists to win, it was more than it felt they already had. They would lose that night, but as I drove back to Ayrshire at 5 o’clock in the morning, passing down to the coast and a view of Arran in the early light, it seemed like a different country. The major parties won the referendum but lost the future. And it was their fault and their myopia — Labour had dealt in fraudulent politics and David Cameron, in playing the English card on the morning of the result, may have committed the most stupid and divisive political act in these lands since Margaret Thatcher introduced the Poll Tax. As I drove away from the count in Glasgow in the middle of the night I felt the Union wasn’t saved, it was in fact over. And Michael Gove appearing on Jim Naughtie’s programme, playing on my car radio, convinced me that the main British parties had, for the time being, bankrupted themselves over Scotland. The fight over Brexit would only deepen the chasm. In fact: Brexit has transformed the chasm into a black hole of impertinence and impossibility. Now that the picture is clearing, we are left with an image of a belated Little England posing an existential threat to a Scotland that has seen itself for years as European.
I have never believed writers should have anything to do with governments, and should never hitch their intellectual freedom to the shifting agendas of political parties, or the careers of those looking for votes. I believed Alexander Solzenitzyn, many years ago, when he said that governments should be nervous of writers because each writer is a government in himself. The egotism of writers and that of politicians could scarcely be more different. What politicians want is power and what writers want — if they’re any good — is the truth beyond the facts, and to increase our capacity for wonder. Like the poet Norman Macaig, the first independence a writer must go for (and constantly) is the one he or she embodies in themselves. And I have to say I despair of the political trolls, those who are brutally warped by their own certainties, and can only think ideologically or not at all. We all grew up in a sectarian society and perhaps they still don’t know what it means to value their own toleration, and don’t know how to honour the change they feel is necessary. Yet you can forgive a certain amount of dander being up. After Brexit, it seemed overwhelming to many, and not only in Scotland, that Teresa May’s high-handedness — and lack of political courage — has already compromised Britain’s trading position within Europe. Yet Scotland’s vote against that outcome was simply too clear for the schism to be papered over in the old way. Teresa May, by blankly ignoring this, and by seeking again to appease the right wing of her party, a group yet alien to Scotland, supplied an insult to Scotland’s intelligence that it didn’t take much intelligence to see.
I didn’t stay home with my questions: I took them to the Supreme Court. I was the only novelist there during that week of the Appeal, and it was stale manna from the gods, I can tell you, listening to the government’s lawyers argue that a constitutional alteration the size of Brexit did not require an Act of Parliament. I won’t enter into May’s cavalier — and I mean Cavalier with a capital C— attitude to the balance of power in the constitutional arrangements of these islands, but it was too little commented on at the time how events in the Supreme Court revealed a blundering attitude towards Scotland’s integrity as a political body. For those of us who had always supported the idea of the United Kingdom, it was a shattering moment, to see how willing May was to ride rough-shod over Scotland’s discreet authority, enshrined in the Scotland Act of 1998 and located in the Sewell Convention, so that she could hold onto power and please the Brexiteers whom she had formerly opposed. In a major respect the Yes campaign had been right: it wasn’t really about nationalism, it was about fairness and self-definition, about sovereignty in a much finer sense and now it was also about the march of history. It took the full unfolding of the case to see with total clarity that the Union was corrupted. It was the end of another old song, and it was hard now to resist the fact that Britain was being smashed by those who claimed to defend it, and that Scotland would probably be a better country for all that.
“Can we with a fresh conscience now say that Britain is taking us forward? Can we say that leaving Europe, without our consent, is set to enhance our children’s lives and connect them more constructively to the world of the future? Some would say so, some unionists and some nationalists too, but a heavily majority would not, and many young people in Scotland feel they are being sold out by their own grandparents. Strangely, it is the younger ones who are more profoundly in touch with Scotland’s intellectual traditions. It is not at base a political argument, but a philosophical one, a humanitarian one, an ecological one, putting the rights of all men and women, and all children, before the fears of a class of account-holders.”
I speak for no political movement, but must say, that no party will do for this country that is not in touch with the growth of ideas. In the national song, it is proud Edward that is sent homewards to think again, but what if — all along — it was us who must think again, as our native philosophers taught us to do? Should we not send ourselves homework, our proud army, to think again about what is was we said No to? ‘In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act,’ said our friend Orwell. And what is the truth now? Can we with a fresh conscience now say that Britain is taking us forward? Can we say that leaving Europe, without our consent, is set to enhance our children’s lives and connect them more constructively to the world of the future? Some would say so, some unionists and some nationalists too, but a heavily majority would not, and many young people in Scotland feel they are being sold out by their own grandparents. Strangely, it is the younger ones who are more profoundly in touch with Scotland’s intellectual traditions. It is not at base a political argument, but a philosophical one, a humanitarian one, an ecological one, putting the rights of all men and women, and all children, before the fears of a class of account-holders. And it’s a task of bravery for the account-holders to see that: there are much larger accounts at stake. The world is not right, and the task of our combined generations is to put it right, or leave the possibility open. Letting Scotland takes it place at the table of modern nations relies on your bravery in thinking again.
In 1926, at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, W.B. Yeats railed against those who objected to the uncomfortable truths embedded in Sean O’Casey’s The Plough and the Stars. Yeats told his audience there was a difference between national pride and national vanity. Only an immature nation was vain, ‘and did not,’ he said, ‘believe in itself…and wanted other people to think well of it, in order that it might gain a little self-confidence. The moment a nation reached intellectual maturity it became proud rather than vain.’ England is not Goliath to our David — it is, rather, a sister nation in troubled times. But a sister is not the same as a self. And history is not the past, it is the present. Scotland must now define itself against the small-nation retreat-ism of not just England but of any small country that has rouble leaving behind a 19th-century model of existence. Our moment has arrived. We are where we are. And it may be that the bigger unity, the modern union meshing Scotland with Europe and the world, is now a journey Scotland makes alone. Sitting in the Supreme Court, listening to successive lawyers for the Westminster government commanding Scotland to toe the line, I felt the UK’s ruling council suddenly appeared absurd. The moral mandate, and the imaginative mandate, more importantly, must lie with Scotland itself, when it comes to Scotland, and Westminster must answer to itself for how it dismantled a project that it claimed to adore. Britain has mismanaged itself out of existence, and Scotland may not be the beneficiary, but it can certainly be the escapee, free to succeed or to fail in its own ways. At least we will enjoy the dignity of not endlessly repeating a history that we know has come to an end. We were addicted to that narrative, the imperial story and then the neoliberal account of how a capitalist society must be, and it built many buildings, deregulated many a city, and boosted many a criminal network, whilst keeping the powerful in power and the poor in their place. But when the imagination awakens to something better…what then for the old guard? What then, when the ‘mind-forg’d manacles’, as William Blake called them, are broken off, when the illusion of dependence is shattered, when the imagination does it stuff, and some sweet new air comes up from the glens, singing ‘From the river to the sea, modern Scotland will be free’? The problem, in a sense, with 2014, was that Alex Salmond was too emotional and so was David Cameron. The thought of a reconstituted Scotland might give rise to emotion, but it should not be an emotional decision, and too much emotion has always unbalanced the case. If Mr Salmond had thought more about the currency question and less about how to unfurl a saltire flat over the Centre Court at Wimbledon, we might be standing now in the independent republic of Scotland, but equally, if David Cameron had thought less about what was won and lost on the playing fields at Eton, and denied himself a round of silly buggers over Europe, the death-knell of the Union might have been delayed. But Brexit gives the lie to the notion that Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland have sovereign force within the system of power at Westminster. As Edmund says in King Lear, ‘The wheel is come full circle’ — we are here.
A fictional Scotland is one of the world’s strongest brands, in terms of nationhood. So strong that the country has struggled to live up to it. When Arthur Freed, the great producer in charge of musicals at MGM in the 1950s, hired Gene Kelly and wanted to make Brigadoon, he came to Scotland to scout for locations. On his return to California, he told the executives at Metro that they should just build a set on the studio lot to shoot the film on. ‘The problem with Scotland,’ he said, ‘is — you know — it’s just not Scottish enough.’ In the last analysis, we have parried skilfully with out own image, have made merry with the fake news about us, when in fact, Scotland is a world capital of clear thinking and sustained imagining. Scotland did better than most in the Age of Reason, it also did well in the Age of Sentiment. It did brilliantly in the Age of Steam and will do even better in the Age of Digital. For my sins, I have spent a great deal of the last six years in the mirk of the new technology. I spent the best part of six months in a house in Norfolk with the head of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, a man under house arrest, and I later followed him into the Ecuadorian embassy in London as he tried with dark brio to evade his memoirs. I spent a further period working with the man who may have invented Bitcoin, the digital currency that in time will replace paper money and kill the authority of the collapsing and corrupting banks. These and other ethical mires of the digital age led me to see that the world is no longer round: it is as flat as your computer screen, and as endlessly deep. After 2008 and the banking collapse, through to the recent American election, when it became clear that the manipulation of digital forces, including Facebook, decided who would be the most powerful man on earth, it became no longer possible to treat of nations as if they were simply conglomerations of old habits. At the back of my mind was the question ‘what makes a nation?’, and at the front: ‘what makes a person?’ Those late nights with Assange in the Embassy, a place where he has now been practically imprisoned for 5 years, he seemed a modern parable. Actually stateless, he has become, as one writer said, ‘a global influence, proving that with simple digital tools a single person can craft a new kind of power—a distributed, transnational power, which functions outside norms of state sovereignty that have held for centuries.’ And this is how an entire global generation see the question of politics in the future, not as a matter of polling stations and ‘I kent yer faither’, but a matter of arms-linking and marching through the liquid borders of the Net. Those of us, including many of you here, who can remember a simpler world before hand-held devices — devices with more computing power than it took to put a man on the Moon — may believe the Net is just another of life’s spaces, but it is not — it has become the space of all spaces, and it seems inevitable now that nations will be, in some important respect, subsumed by it. The Net provides a social infrastructure for international Scots, and not just for technicians, music lovers, environmentalists, and political activists, but for people who want to live in he world in a different way, and don’t want be kettled in physical space. Scotland can’t resist that any more than any other modern nation. It is arriving. The question for us is how to transform our institutions to make a a triumph of it.
“In the digital age it knows itself, and such knowledge is not a confinement. The land is so distinctive, the songs are so good, the poetry is so vital, the whisky sublime, the humour like no other, the sense of enquiry so rigorous and flexible, the stones so ageless, the spirit so fierce, that Scotland will in the future be a wellspring of algorithms as strong as memories. In my view, in the Internet of Things, Scotland is due to become one of the world’s strongest digital republics, a place whose institutions are daily enhanced and purified not only by the life of the country but by the life of all countries.”
Compared with the new communities of the Internet, Britain seems like a minor abstraction — all pomp and no circumstance. ‘GREAT BRITAIN’: the name we once gave to a situation we were in, where we traded our sovereignty for empire, before the empire was gone. Increasingly the experience of life in Scotland is not one of feeling bordered by old constitutional abstractions, of sentimental attachments, of fattening prejudice and deflated pomp, but of being open to a sense of energetic existence beyond the fetters of geography. I went to Afghanistan, and the young Scottish and Irish soldiers there seemed alienated from all national stereotypes, and they spoke as if blimpish Britain had died when their parents were young, somewhere on Goose Green. Their accents were clear, and they were proud of each other, but there was, for them, no hallowed corner of any foreign field that would be forever Britain. The young Scots felt Scottish in an international way. And Scotland itself, these last 15 years, has moved on from the old stasis I used to criticise. In the digital age it knows itself, and such knowledge is not a confinement. The land is so distinctive, the songs are so good, the poetry is so vital, the whisky sublime, the humour like no other, the sense of enquiry so rigorous and flexible, the stones so ageless, the spirit so fierce, that Scotland will in the future be a wellspring of algorithms as strong as memories. In my view, in the Internet of Things, Scotland is due to become one of the world’s strongest digital republics, a place whose institutions are daily enhanced and purified not only by the life of the country but by the life of all countries. We could one day be part of a neural network whose strongest boundaries are decency and goodness. The laws of Scotland will one day be both discreet and universal; right for the people of Leith, augmented by brilliance, and right for the people of Calcutta, restored and revised every minute in according to what we know and decide. After that, our political institutions may not lie to us because their lies will immediately be obvious, and our churches will be colourful and wise, offering a sense of the magical and the sacred beyond the bounds of reason. Scotland, your Scotland, is in the earliest days of a digital renaissance, when its greatest thinkers — David Hume, Adam Ferguson, Adam Smith, Francis Hutcheson — are redeployed to address the questions of rights and responsibilities in the coming age of artificial intelligence, and where new thinkers, as yet unborn, will address what it means to be a Scottish person with Scottish instincts in a world of code and algorithms and digital money, in an endlessly open society of nations, Scotland teaching the world perhaps how to author a new Gettysburg Address for Peace; showing the globe — with historical examples — how to author a Vindication of the Rights of Robots. The daily fluctuations of the news in Scotland keep us to the old tasks, of looking at party leaders, polls, the ups and downs of the old order, whilst underneath, a new way of being in the world is drawing on Scotland to show the way to a future human environment, where the wealth of nations, where a theory of human sentiments, where a new history of civil society, becomes beautifully ripe. Already, today, Facebook’s sinister priorities as an advertising space is being mobilised to influence the outcome of the next election more than all the media outlets in the UK combined. It was certainly so at the last US election. ‘We simply couldn’t have won without Facebook,’ says Trump’s digital strategist Theresa Wong. As a result of all this, ‘America’, as a concept, now has its nose pressed right up against the foggy glass of its own Constitution, and it is no less true of Scotland. It turns out we have exemplars in this country, people not afraid to wave a Mexican flag in Donald Trump’s face when confronted with his bullying tactics and lies over the Menie Estate in Aberdeenshire. People not afraid to boycott the odious Daily Mail when it characterises the opponents of Brexit as ‘saboteurs’. People of Scotland with a mind of their own, and a whole deep history of mindfulness, when it comes to opposing the banning of Muslims or the condoning of white supremacists who wish to fence off the world, as if the 20th century had never happened. Scottish people, and the best of their leaders, show they are a century beyond all that, the isolationism that Trump and Teresa May would venture to make a credo of patriotism. Here and there, home and away, we have all changed with the growth of Scotland, and we do not believe that our identity can only grow strong by means of expulsion and intolerance. That is not who we are today. Scotland has problems galore, as any nation does, but I’d like to think our problems are honest ones, with no passion spent on hating others in the attempt to raise ourselves.
“The rhythm will be felt in the way we work for a future we could hardly believe, in a world we could scarcely know, where nations are imagined communities, and its legislators are imagineers at the centre of world events, and our people, Scottish to their core, can bring their native intelligence and bravery to the constant fixing of a world that needs it. From the river to the sea, from the Advocates’ Close to the streets of Dundee, from the ridge of the Cuillins to the graveyards of Ettrick, from Castlemilk to Rothesay Bay, from Selkirk to the Saltmarket.”
‘Politics may be reduced to a science,’ posited David Hume, and it is by science, computer science, that a new form of politics is being established. The question for us will be how to install a spirit of Scotland into these progressions — as it did, indeed, in the original Declaration of Independence in 1776, where Thomas Jefferson drew words and heart from the Scottish Enlightenment — and to deploy Scotland’s influence too as a wellspring of philosophical common sense in opposing the regressive, brutal, and vicious elements of digital life. We are heading towards a neural network, towards a strong chain of digital republics, surrounded in our lives by super-intelligent machines that will in time demand rights as well as responsibilities, and it is simply anachronistic to fight to keep things the way they were. Modern statehood is as much in flux as natural selfhood: what does it mean to belong to a nation, when you are 16 year old kid in Erskine, addicted to Facebook, producing and starring in your life on Instagram, playing X-Box half the night with any one of 40 million other 16 years old kids like you from Pasadena, Fiji, and Gdansk? In time they will tell us, but we must prepare our minds to listen. Given Scotland’s experience and its excellence as a progenitor of new conceptions of the human, I think of it as the Jimmy Stewart character in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. We may be pressed by the turbulence and and violence of the times to take up the gun, and protect what we had, but we will not bring weapons, we will bring the new books on civil society, we will write them ourselves, and we will make as well as print the legend of our own creative participation in the globe of the future. Yes, there are challenges galore, there are buses to run on time and hospitals to equip and schools to turn into beautiful cathedrals of the new aspiration — but that is the task, and, as I said, our perplexity is our situation, and our moment. It is for Scotland, your Scotland, to write the Magna Carta of the Internet, to author its Bill of Rights, to play its part in securing decency and opposing chaos, in advancing liberty, and finessing our passage from a world of closed borders.
To those alarmed by the speed of change, take heart: a true national culture feasts on change and adapts to it and stakes its claim upon it. Imagine how the Scotland of the 1950s would have appeared to Robert Burns: the Firth of Clyde he looked down at as he drove the plough at Mauchline now a byway for nuclear submarines. Imagine how the Dumfries of 1840 would have seemed to him, while his own children still lived, and a steam-train puffed over the fields where he once had driven his donkey for the Excise. Burns arrived in Edinburgh on 28 November 1786, with a passion for intellectual enquiry, and, well, a passion for passion, and within a blink of an eye, in cosmic time, the Lawnmarket he bided in would be a hub of international information and augmentation arriving by the second. Yet still his Scotland would persist, and so would his voice, so melodious, finding the human pulse at the centre of change. Blood and soil nationalism wasn’t repugnant to him, but it wasn’t the hallmark of his empathy either: he felt for all creatures, and in his modern universe of human imagining, there was a place for everything. It’s in the nature of Scotland, at its very best, to give everything its due. A glass of water on a table, so beautifully caught in the light of an afternoon by Francis ‘Bunty’ Cadell, the Scottish colourist. The attitude of a Glasgow couple, as rendered by the great Chic Murray, a couple blown out of their Gallowgate tenement during the Blitz by a flying bomb. ‘Ah, we’re fine,’ said the husband, speaking from the street where they still lay in the marital bed. ‘It’s the first time we’ve been oot the’gither in years!’ Everywhere, the Scottish attitude towards particularity: Miss Jean Brodie, and her famous ‘girls’, who seem still to march in a perfect line of viability down the road from Marcia Blanes High School. We see them, as we see many products of the continuing Scottish imagination, particular specimens of the human case, and they are bathed in the light of a reality being fully given its due. They are made the more instantly available every to the world by digital means. Burns knew his culture, and it brought the best of itself forward as it marched steadily ahead, capturing life in the ebb and flow. A rage for fairness and equality was Scotland gift to Burns and Burns’ gift to us. Hear the particular, hear the empathy, lift the farm like a lid and see, as another poet wrote, ‘farm within farm, and in the centre, me.’
To a Mouse by Robert Burns
Wee, sleekit, cow’rin, tim’rous beastie, O, what a panic’s in thy breastie!
Thou need na start awa sae hasty, Wi’ bickering brattle!
I wad be laith to rin an’ chase thee, Wi’ murd’ring pattle!
I’m truly sorry man’s dominion, Has broken nature’s social union, An’ justifies that ill opinion, Which makes thee startle At me, thy poor, earth-born companion, An’ fellow-mortal!
I doubt na, whiles, but thou may thieve; What then? poor beastie, thou maun live!
A daimen icker in a thrave ‘S a sma’ request; I’ll get a blessin wi’ the lave, An’ never miss’t!
Thy wee bit housie, too, in ruin!
It’s silly wa’s the win’s are strewin!
An’ naething, now, to big a new ane, O’ foggage green!
An’ bleak December’s winds ensuin, Baith snell an’ keen!
Thou saw the fields laid bare an’ waste, An’ weary winter comin fast, An’ cozie here, beneath the blast, Thou thought to dwell – Till crash! the cruel coulter past Out thro’ thy cell.
That wee bit heap o’ leaves an’ stibble, Has cost thee mony a weary nibble!
Now thou’s turn’d out, for a’ thy trouble, But house or hald, To thole the winter’s sleety dribble, An’ cranreuch cauld!
But, Mousie, thou art no thy lane, In proving foresight may be vain; The best-laid schemes o’ mice an ‘men Gang aft agley, An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain, For promis’d joy!
Still thou art blest, compar’d wi’ me The present only toucheth thee: But, Och! I backward cast my e’e.
On prospects drear!
An’ forward, tho’ I canna see, I guess an’ fear!
Not all the waters in the rough, rude seas of the World Wide Web will ever wash the sympathy out of that poem. It is an essence, and Scotland’s essence — despite all the difficulties, all the trials, all the poverties, all the hurdles, and the contradictions — can contribute largely to the next era of life on earth, but only if the deepest reserves of our imagination can guide the mouse. ‘I want you to know,’ wrote a Russian reader to me recently, ‘that the poems of Robert Burns and the philosophy of Scotland, which I found on the Internet, has helped me to life my life. My search engine now leads me to other great minds and I feel that I have come home.’ Scotland is a place in which to live and breath and vote and argue, but it is also a place in the mind, a moveable feast, and self-improvement will be our greatest export. ‘In my end is my beginning,’ said Mary, Queen of Scots at the close of her own torrid life. The line makes an impression in Four Quartets, the late poem by that prince among modernists, T.S. Eliot. The lilt and flow of our own modernism is to be found there among the ashes of the old binaries. Neither nationalism not unionism, but the best of both worlds in a conjuring of the new. It is already happening: history is now and Scotland. The rhythm will be felt in the way we work for a future we could hardly believe, in a world we could scarcely know, where nations are imagined communities, and its legislators are imagineers at the centre of world events, and our people, Scottish to their core, can bring their native intelligence and bravery to the constant fixing of a world that needs it. From the river to the sea, from the Advocates’ Close to the streets of Dundee, from the ridge of the Cuillins to the graveyards of Ettrick, from Castlemilk to Rothesay Bay, from Selkirk to the Saltmarket. From the teenagers in the bus stop at Inverkeithing to the hedge-fund manager in the converted lighthouse; from the family in Melbourne, Australia who took the £10 visa, to the maiden aunt in Canada who remembers the Electric Bray, from the ex-bus conductor in Elgin to the Scottish builder in Camden Town; the Lord High Commissioner to the Russian reader to the wee wummin wi’ the wean, singing to her of a Scotland that will one day become her. History is now and Scotland. There is work to do, and a people to be, and we were never more ourselves than in letting ourselves go forward. ‘We shall not cease from exploration,’ writes T.S. Eliot,
Through the unknown, unremembered gate
When the last of earth left to discover
Is that which was the beginning;
At the source of the longest river
The voice of the hidden waterfall
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By Andrew O Hagan
Published on 16th August 2017
John Fullerton says:
Marvelous, as is to be expected from one of the country’s finest living novelists – if not the finest.
Charles O'Hear says:
Hi there. Are you the same John Fullerton who started at Stirling University with me in 1971 ?
Ya’akov Sloman says:
Thank you for such a lucid and cogent defence of being discretely Scottish. It’s depth mayb be ignored by opponents of independence but many supporters will discover in it their voice, and the ideas they feel being put into words.
Perhaps in some ways it is easier to see from a distance, but it took little time for me to see the justice of Scottish independence. The Scottish people do exist as a distinct moral consensus. They will act in concert on the world stage to advance a progressive vision of an interconnected world.
Scotland always has been a special source of innovative thinking, yet its character is buried deep in the land, it is earthy in a way few nations can match. Head in the clouds with feet firmly on the ground.
There is no bloodline that makes you Scottish, no jus soli that will suffice—being Scottish is the result of seeing, understanding, and joining the Scots in progress and compassion.
Crubag says:
“The Romans believed it, and their civilisation is now a heap of lovely ruins and a dead language.”
Actually, the classical world didn’t believe in Whiggish progress theories, rather the Golden Age had already been and gone…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Age
(and probably discrete rather than “discreet authority”, though that kind of works too)
I’d take a different tack than Andrew on Brexit – but like others he is still processing what it means for a future iScotland. Our future is probably not as an EU member, but that doesn’t make us any less “European” than the Swiss or Norwegians. Being European is a geographical fact, as well as often a cultural, linguistic and economic one, regardless of shifting political boundaries.
Marilyn Mckie says:
Well, I have had a hard time reading this, through blurry een….. 67… and counting, I hope and wish I am here for our independence, but it’s taken me an awful long time to come round to that notion, always was for being a part of The UK…then, found all these strange folk on here, with their absolute certainty that we should be independent.
Thanks for this beautifully written piece, it just makes me more certain it’s now a matter of time.
Very eloquent summary of what progressive Scots seek to be.
Equals among many and the complete antithesis of where we are being taken by reactionary forces in another country.
Adrian Brine says:
Beautifully written. It tells me Scotland is a wonderful welcoming place that has produced great poets writers and thinkers (Oddly enough all since the Act of Union).
But Andrew O Hagan doesn’t like the current crop of English Tory politicians, so Scotland should become independent, even though most Scots fairly recently voted against this proposal.
scrandoonyeah says:
Open your eyes, clean out your ears and allow your brain to breathe and then start again…….you might…just might reconsider your one-dimensional world of yesterday
Roboscot says:
16th August 2017 at 10:54 pm
Adrian, Scotland produced great poets, writers and thinkers before the Union.
Alf Baird says:
Ectually, “most Scots” probably voted for Scottish nationhood. One million folk from rest-UK/England living in Scotland (or registering via thair holiday hames) voted for English rule. Much lyke yerguidsel Aa’d imagine.
Graeme Purves says:
‘Poisonous xenophobic havers, Alf. You have no idea how individual English people living in Scotland voted. Far more Scots than English voted ‘No’. There is an English Scots for Independence campaign. I have many English friends who vote SNP and voted ‘Yes’ in 2014. Our task is to persuade more people living in Scotland to vote for independence next time.
17th August 2017 at 10:57 am
“You have no idea how individual English people living in Scotland voted.”
In fact, this is relatively easy to discern from regional census data, then comparing with constituency voting against Scottish independence parties, also taking into account 2014 voting intention surveys which indicated people from rest-UK were least likely to vote for independence.
There was a Yougov poll that gave some data – but only c. 1,000 people.
That had Scotland-born voters splitting Yes/No 54/41, but other-UK voters splitting 27/69 (and other EU 30/55).
That was in the context of both Scotland and rUK being in the EU – so no border issues within the UK. Depending on the settlement with the Republic, there may or may not need to be a border between Scotland/rUK if Scotland goes for EU membership. That could be a factor in future votes.
So what is the purpose of pretending that it is the fault of the English that Scotland didn’t vote for independence in 2014? How will peddling that pernicious myth help to win independence next time?
I am still struck by how long it has taken for the ‘union’ charade penny to drop for so many Scots, this writer included. This is a fascinating article but it contains some basic misconceptions, e.g.:
“What if the No voters in the country allowed themselves the luxury of imagining without prejudice just exactly what they think they would be losing?”
At least a third of No voters in 2014 comprised people from rest-UK who have settled here and who predominantly (80%+) oppose independence; arguably this group took No over the line. They more fear the thought of losing their Britishness/Englishness hence are themselves voting for nationalistic reasons. Given ongoing census trends (i.e. inflows of 500,000 people every decade from rest-UK to Scotland), this group will probably comprise closer to 50% of No voters if/when Scotland is allowed another referendum.
“events in the Supreme Court revealed a blundering attitude towards Scotland’s integrity as a political body”
The events there merely confirmed Scotland’s colonial status and the fact that any supposed ‘union’ is a political charade and con trick played out on duped and naïve Scots.
“the Yes campaign had been right: it wasn’t really about nationalism, it was about fairness and self-definition, about sovereignty”
Fundamentally independence is about a peoples’ self-determination and this is closely connected to decolonisation (see: http://www.un.org/press/en/2016/gacol3301.doc.htm). At the moment, Scotland’s independence is effectively being blocked by colonists (aka ‘unionists) and as the UN and 80 former colonies will tell you, colonists tend not to vote for decolonisation.
“It took the full unfolding of the case to see with total clarity that the Union was corrupted.”
The case proved beyond doubt that there is no ‘union’. Why don’t you and others simply come out and state that? And as there is no ‘union’, there can be no ‘unionists’. What does this make Scotland, rather inevitably? (see: http://newsnet.scot/archive/brexit-vote-underline-scotland-not-country-colony/)
“It is not at base a political argument,”
For most of the approx. 2 million people of English birth and/or descent now living in Scotland (and increasing by 500,000 each decade) the issue is indeed political and nationalistic in the sense that their Britishness and Englishness overrides any notion of their ‘Scottishness’; indeed the latter may be viewed as a threat to their perceived ‘superior’ nationality.
“The moral mandate, and the imaginative mandate, more importantly, must lie with Scotland itself,”
We are nearing the point in time when, after a century and more in-migration of people from England (amidst the exodus of Scots), and with inflows over the last 20 years accelerating, Scots may soon be a minority in their own land, possibly by 2030/40 on current trends. Will there be any momentum then for Scotland to even exist – in just two more decades? Does anyone in the ‘independence movement’ (or the SNP) actually appreciate the fundamental population changes that Scotland is continuing to experience and the highly negative effect this will have on the quest for independence?
“it should not be an emotional decision”
On the contrary this is arguably highly emotional for the approx. 2 million people of English birth or descent now living in Scotland.
“‘The problem with Scotland,’ he said, ‘is — you know — it’s just not Scottish enough.”
That is not far off the truth, given the above examples. You quote Burns’ work but in Scotland today the powers that be dinnae e’en lairn oor bairns an aw fowk thair ain mither tung! Such language oppression (a colonial norm lets not forget) is but one major illustration ensuring Scotland is forever going to be “just not Scottish enough”.
“‘what makes a nation?’” Arguably the main requirement is “our people, Scottish to their core,” yet who are being boosted and replaced by people from rest-UK, most of whom are culturally not “Scottish to their core”, and who vote accordingly (i.e. against self-determination for Scots).
The ‘independence movement’ needs a reality check. A second referendum is probably already a lost cause due to the constant influx of automatic No voters from rest-UK, as reflected in the polls. A more practical option would be for Scotland’s democratically elected majorities of MPs and MSPs to take Scotland’s case to the UN and its Committee for Decolonization, the latter tasked with bringing to an end what it calls “the scourge of colonisation”. On the other hand the majority of Scotland’s MP’s could simply give notice to end the ‘union’ charade in the same way it began. Thus far they have not done that because they (mistakenly) assume that the majority of ‘Scots’ are not in favour of independence; all they are really doing is pandering to colonists who take Scots No voters over the line.
Justin Kenrick says:
Hi Alf,
That’s one approach to identity, belonging and winning another referendum.
The other would be to welcome those born elsewhere, knowing that such a welcome enables people to put down roots, to care and to Vote Yes next time.
Many many English born Scots voted Yes last time because of that welcome and because of their care for where they live, and many many more will Vote Yes now, since the energy behind Brexit has shown them that Britain is an unwelcoming place they no longer want to be a part of. I would rather we became independent on a wave of care and tolerance and understanding, since we can. And that we welcome people as they move from No to Yes, rathe than castigate them for not already being Yes.
“..such a welcome enables people to put down roots, to care and to Vote Yes next time.”
With respect, Justin, this is in part what I mean by being “naïve”. Of course Scots are welcoming, indeed we invite practically anyone who can scribble an address here the opportunity to vote on the very highest level of constitutional matters such as our own nationhood, and to reject and block that nationhood as they so wish. Such a wide open voting franchise does not happen in any other country that I know of, and not even in the UK for Brexit or for General Elections. As for large-scale hypothetical conversions from No to Yes amongst those from rest-UK, clearly the Tory resurgence and LibDem survival in Scotland suggests that in those constituencies the consolidating and hardening anti-Scottish independence vote is not going to be converted, quite the opposite in fact. Given the ongoing population changes, the reality is that the cultural anti-independence No vote is being boosted, year on year. Hence my view is that another open franchise referendum on this basis is not a sound strategy for independence and that Scotland should rectify that (franchise) and/or explore other avenues such as UDI/UN using the current democratically elected majorities in favour of independence to make actual progress in that regard.
That is, of course, a false and socially destructive narrative. In 2014, a positive, progressive and inclusive ‘Yes’ campaign was very successful in increasing support from independence from around 30% to 45%. It won support from people from a wide range of backgrounds, including many people born elsewhere in the UK. We didn’t make it in 2014, but the progress made shows what is achievable. The notion that the Unionist vote will consolidate as the catastrophe of Brexit unfolds is ridiculously defeatist. We do not need to look far in the world to see the dark places into which attempts to divide people on the basis of ethnicity or origins can lead us.
There is no ‘union’ Graeme, which means that there can be no “Unionist vote”. This implies that Scotland is simply a region of another nation, or (at best?) a colony. In my analysis (http://newsnet.scot/archive/brexit-vote-underline-scotland-not-country-colony/) Scotland fits any colony definition particularly well, which would suggest, however unpalatable it may be to some, that there must therefore be, by implication, a ‘colonist vote’. This is not to say that such an outcome is necessarily negative for Scots seeking self-determination; if Scotland can be placed on the UN List of Colonies to be decolonised, then that provides for another opportunity (aside from a UK controlled/open franchise referendum) to secure independence, as some 80 former colonies might attest.
Blunt Gaper says:
22nd August 2017 at 3:16 pm
Thanks.This needed saying.
Graham Connelly says:
“The ‘independence movement’ needs a reality check. A second referendum is probably already a lost cause due to the constant influx of automatic No voters from rest-UK, as reflected in the polls”.
Alf, your contributions here and elsewhere have raised my awareness of this and caused me to research further. If Indyref2 were held tomorrow on the same franchise we could put money on it resulting in another failure for the reason highlighted. And then what? Those serious about independence need to find a feasible means of achieving it. Why are Scots so uniquely feeble at asserting our right to national self-determination? Our political leaders have gone from proclaiming the rights of ‘the Scottish people’, to ‘the people of Scotland’, to ‘those who live and work in Scotland’. The people of a nation reduced to a sound bite, and what of the unemployed, retired and students who don’t work? UDI with UN intervention seems like a sensible option to me. I suggest presenting the data and advancing the case on a dedicated website.
One has to wonder whether the people promoting this poisonous, socially divisive narrative are flying under false flags or simply useful idiots.
But it’s not an analysis, Alf. It’s just xenophobic, chip-on-the-shoulder blethers.
Discussing the implications of substantial and sustained migration on any given territory is hardly “xenophobic” Graeme. You are insulting generations of human geographers as well as those who take the time to compile censuses, which enable others like myself to make observations upon. If you don’t wish to discuss an issue that’s fine, but reverting to name calling merely illustrates you have little serious contribution to make. You may crudely insult my analysis of the evidence I cite all you want, but where is your expert analysis and data on the matter that gives you the justification to reprimand others? You are beginning to sound a bit like a hysterical tabloid headline, and we all know what their analyses is usually based on.
My insults are directed more specifically, Alf. I have great respect for human geographers.
I have no time at all for people who spout socially destructive alt-right nonsense. I am old enough to remember people spouting this sort of tripe after the 1979 Referendum. If we didn’t act soon, Scotland was doomed, they wailed. We would be culturally swamped, they girned. What happened? We won a devolved Parliament in 1997. The SNP won the election in 2007 and has been in government ever since. In 2015, the SNP won 56 out of 59 seats in the UK General Election.
In the current political climate, political allegiances are fickle and identities very mutable. There is everything to play for.
Some interesting examples there Graeme, lets explore them a wee bittie:
“Scotland was doomed, they wailed.”
The Scottish economy has been trashed, stripped, sold off and decimated since 1979 and is now rather too dependent on ever diminishing public expenditure.
“We would be culturally swamped, they girned.”
Any evidence that we have not? The in-migration I cite suggests nothing to you? I would have loved to discover the likes of Michael Marra long before he passed away. Where is the Scottish culture? Where is the Scots Language Act? We dinnae e’en lairn oor bairns in schuil tae unnerstaund Scots langage. Language is culture! Nae Scots langage = nae Scots culture.
“We won a devolved Parliament in 1997.”
Crumbs aff the table mair lyke. Which turned out to be the wee pretendy non-sovereign parliament and talking shop that more astute Scots predicted, with a ‘Scottish Government’ run by a (‘UK Home’) civil service appointed by Whitehall as per usual.
“The SNP won the election in 2007 and has been in government ever since.”
Aye, a decade of ever so ‘competent management’ of Scotland’s ‘administrative Power’s’ colonial ‘Executive’. Well done the SNP.
” In 2015, the SNP won 56 out of 59 seats in the UK General Election.
And proceeded, as Craig Murray noted, ‘to settle in rather than settle up’ and end this charade and con trick of a ‘union’ in the same way it began.
Well, if you hadn’t discovered Michael Marra before he died, you appear to have been asleep n the job!
Scotland’s imminent assimilation into England has been solemnly predicted since 1707, if not 1296. It has proved remarkably resilient.
I did not refer to the electoral success of the SNP in order to laud its policy achievements. I am not a member of the SNP. I drew attention to it because it gives the lie to the notion that Scotland’s political identity is being progressively eroded by in-migration from other parts of the United Kingdom. That’s demonstrably not the case. The opposite is true, the establishment of the devolved Parliament in 1999 being a major milestone on the way to the restoration of Scotland as a sovereign polity.
The crind, exclusive and culturally circumscribed Scotland you evidently desire will never secure majority support, however you may wish to manipulate the franchise.
Camie Stuart says:
We need to take people with us, all people.
I recall an incident where a local farmer was demolishing an ancient stone circle on his land, for what reason I don’t recall, but I do recall someone from England new to the area was instrumental in stopping the destruction and getting it protected.
So in some circumstances people from outside Scotland can be better custodians of Scottish culture and history than indigenous Scots.
I do agree with Alf that many arrive in Scotland with preconceived ideas of Scotland and Scots. These ideas can be set in deep hard cement, why wouldn’t they be they have been fed the same misinformation by the bbc and MSM as Scots have. A further reason they oppose independence is a lot of these folk have bought houses here and they believe independence will impact the sale of their house when they return to England.
It is up to us to win these folk round with reasoned argument!
Andrew asks what progress will be derived from brexit, none plus the negative damage it will do. We have the opportunity to sell Scotland to these folk long term with an inclusive Scotland in the EU, not a low tax island with its doors closed tethered off the north west coast of Europe. We can also point out the depths the tories have sunk to by partnering the DUP and all that they stand for.
Public services in Scotland, under pressure, public service workers (and those on benefits) bearing the brunt of austerity. The SNP has mitigated austerity as much as humanly possible, whilst public expectations rise sharply on what the state should provide. Services in Scotland in the view of most independent commentators are far better than in England. We, the independence movement need to herald this, rather than let the bbc fed by red and blue tories pick our public services apart with FOIs and dodgey analysis.
Those coming to Scotland from England will be able themselves to see themselves the greater public service ethos here and be able to contrast it with their prior experience. If not, why not highlight to them as part of a general discussion on what Scotland has to offer them and what they have to offer Scotland.
Dialogue with these new arrivals based on inclusion and Wecoming is a must!
Fay Kennedy says:
It’s coming yet for a that.
Monty says:
i was at this and it got thunderous and lengthy applause and close to a standing ovation from an audience probably not particularly pro independence.
Brilliant speach – wish I’d been in the audience. One line from Tae A Mouse since 2011 led me to believe Burns was referring to the banking crash that seriously affected his Father. Their Landlord lost heavily in the Bank of Ayr going bust
Aye the bankers promised joy…..
Angus MacCormaig says:
As Andrew points out, the future is, and will be determined and driven by young people.
But, and an important but, support and experience of their older comprises is needed.
So we are all in this journey together.
Andrew asks:
“Can we with a fresh conscience now say that britain is taking us forward? Can we say that leaving Europe, without our consent, is set to enhance our children’s lives and connect them more constructively to the world of the future?’
For me these are two questions are key. Nicola Sturgeon has asked them in various guises, but they remain ignored and unanswered by those opposing independence. Furthermore, I see them as rhetorical!
Just now we are in a particularly hostile period of anti independence from the bbc and main stream press. SNP bad this, SNP bad that, etc. I believe this in part to be in reaction to the brexit vote, the british state closing ranks. There is not a positive note on brexit either, the objective of the british state appears to be to reduce the the vision of independence through attrition and fear to that of remaining in the british state.
The only way to combat this is to restart and reenergise the Yes movement working at local, national and international levels using new technology, but not forgetting face to face and personal interactions. Andrew’s piece certainly provides context, analysis and vision, we need more from other writers, artists and sportspeople prepared to stick their heads above the parapets and provide vision. Sticking with the uk is not a vision, it is a death sentence for future generations being asked to live out their lives in the shadow of another.
For generations the Irish were made fun of, who is making fun of them now as they stand to receive all the banking and multinational HQs as London haemorrhages jobs? The model of independence and its benefits are on our doorstep, lets borrow and adapt!
MBC says:
I am increasingly of the view expressed by Alf Baird that if there is another referendum it should be on a more restricted franchise. However I would allow the franchise to be extended to those from rUK who had been resident here for 16 years. There is quite a lot of evidence to show that younger working age people who migrate here from other parts of the UK, but who engage with Scottish society through work and friendships, children and schools, do develop a sense that Scotland is a distinct place, and one they like and think worth defending which deserves to have its own government and control of its own resources. As for EU citizens, their rights to vote on a referendum on Scotland’s constitutional future should mirror whatever voting arrangements are made for Scots living in the EU. It’s primarily the retirees from other parts of the UK who oppose Scottish independence, mainly because they have little contact with Scottish working life, society and economy and have little sense of arriving in a different place. I think it is crazy to allow people who have only recently arrived in Scotland, whether from rUK or EU a say in the constitutional future of a country they barely know or have come to care about. I heard of several EU citizens who were astonished that they were allowed to vote after being in the country only a short time. They had not expected to be allowed to vote. Despite this the majority who did vote, voted No.
And how will this rigging of the franchise be achieved, give that no reputable political party would touch the idea with a barge pole? Or do you and Alf propose to stand for election on a platform of denying a vote to anyone not born in Scotland?
Makes a lot of sense MBC. A Norwegian I know said only Norwegians get to vote in general elections there and even if I had lived there 20 years I would still only be allowed to vote in local elections, if that. A Hungarian and German friends living in Scotland were amazed they were permitted to vote on Scotland’s nationhood, neither knowing anything about the history of our nation or the ‘union’ charade, yet both were then totally confused by the Tories blocking their opportunity to vote on brexit; so, clearly a different rule applying to Scotland relative to the UK or elsewhere. Turkey recently searched the globe to give Turks a vote on constitutional changes, yet likewise folk living in Turkey but not born there were excluded from that vote. The UN has refused to recognise the UK referendum on Falkland’s self-determination because only ‘settlers’ were voting, Argentinians being expelled over a century earlier, yet that vote was still invalid in the eyes of the rest of the world and UN.
So it is certainly Scotland that is out of sync here; the ‘independence movement’ should really be asking hard questions on this most fundamental of issues, with a proven global standard template to apply rather than depending on a uniquely wide-open franchise including virtually anybody who happens to have an address here at a given point in time.
Exactly. It is about having the basis to form a judgement and earn the moral right. If someone from rUK has lived in Scotland 16 years then they have invested a considerable part of their life in Scotland, and sunk their money here too. They also have first hand knowledge and experience of Scotland. They have a basis of judging whether Scotland could be a successful nation and also whether it should be an independent nation. Somebody recently arrived here lacks that knowledge and experience. All they have is prejudice and hearsay. Also they have not invested anything of themselves in this country. Not pitched in. It is not an ethnic thing. It is civic thing – civic nationalism. Their rights as citizens. Citizenship is earned, not given; it is established by residence and involvement in the society; it is established not by where you were born, but where you’ve remained. A Scots-born person who has spent the last 20 years living in London should be resident here for at least a few years to re-establish that right. Just as British citizens living abroad for a certain number of years lose their right to a postal vote in UK general elections even if they have property here.
21st August 2017 at 7:45 am
Given that this isn’t going to happen, what is your real purpose in frothing on about it?
Mark Stephens says:
21st August 2017 at 11:58 pm
Given that the authority to hold an independence referendum is derived from the Scottish Parliament, it is difficult to see how the same Parliament could disenfranchise part of the electorate from which its legitimacy is derived.
GrahamH says:
Some of these calls for restrictions on the franchise sound a bit like Tebbit’s Cricket Test. “Who do you support when Scotland plays England”. Or, since there’s no nationality test maybe we should have a census and ask “While we’re all British (on our passports) do you think of yourself as Scottish or English or Other?” And anyone who doesn’t answer Scottish doesn’t get a vote. And/Or, “For taxation purposes, where is your main residence?”
OK, I’m being provocative, but if we are going to take the idea of restricting the franchise seriously then we need a better worked out and principled reason for doing so than I’ve seen suggested so far.
I suggest the basis of the franchise on a referendum on Scotland’s constitutional future should be based on residence, knowledge of, and involvement in the country.
The Peevers Test?
Now you’re being silly. I have won the argument. The franchise should be based on citizenship criteria of residency of 16 years; giving voters the moral right and the informed basis of making a decision on Scotland’s constitutional future. Regardless of where they were born.
Mr J R Geddes says:
In 1999 The Scottish Parliament was recalled along with the Scottish written constitution and the Claim of Right.
I think we are already independent: just need to clear out of Westminster.
J R GEDDES. says:
You do not need a Independent referendum:Scotland is already Independent.
Mr JrGeddes says:
It is very suspicious every time I post a comment the systems has broken down.
Pingback: Quotation (453): The voice of the hidden waterfall. – Brennerbasisdemokratie.
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Joseph’s Brothers Go to Egypt
42 When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt,l he said to his sons, “Why do you just keep looking at each other?” 2 He continued, “I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us,m so that we may live and not die.”n
3 Then ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy graino from Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Benjamin,p Joseph’s brother, with the others, because he was afraid that harm might come to him.q 5 So Israel’s sons were among those who went to buy grain,r for there was famine in the land of Canaans also.t
6 Now Joseph was the governor of the land,u the person who sold grain to all its people.v So when Joseph’s brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground.w 7 As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them.x “Where do you come from?”y he asked.
“From the land of Canaan,” they replied, “to buy food.”
8 Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him.z 9 Then he remembered his dreamsa about them and said to them, “You are spies!b You have come to see where our land is unprotected.”c
10 “No, my lord,d” they answered. “Your servants have come to buy food.e 11 We are all the sons of one man. Your servantsf are honest men,g not spies.h”
12 “No!” he said to them. “You have come to see where our land is unprotected.”i
13 But they replied, “Your servantsj were twelve brothers, the sons of one man, who lives in the land of Canaan.k The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more.”l
14 Joseph said to them, “It is just as I told you: You are spies!m 15 And this is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives,n you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here.o 16 Send one of your number to get your brother;p the rest of you will be kept in prison,q so that your words may be tested to see if you are telling the truth.r If you are not, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!s” 17 And he put them all in custodyt for three days.
18 On the third day, Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live, for I fear God:u 19 If you are honest men,v let one of your brothers stay here in prison,w while the rest of you go and take grain back for your starving households.x 20 But you must bring your youngest brother to me,y so that your words may be verified and that you may not die.” This they proceeded to do.
21 They said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother.z We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that’s why this distressa has come on us.”
22 Reuben replied, “Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy?b But you wouldn’t listen! Now we must give an accountingc for his blood.”d 23 They did not realizee that Joseph could understand them,f since he was using an interpreter.
24 He turned away from them and began to weep,g but then came back and spoke to them again. He had Simeon taken from them and bound before their eyes.h
25 Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain,i to put each man’s silver back in his sack,j and to give them provisionsk for their journey.l After this was done for them, 26 they loaded their grain on their donkeysm and left.
27 At the place where they stopped for the night one of them opened his sack to get feed for his donkey,n and he saw his silver in the mouth of his sack.o 28 “My silver has been returned,” he said to his brothers. “Here it is in my sack.”
Their hearts sankp and they turned to each other tremblingq and said, “What is this that God has done to us?”r
29 When they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan,s they told him all that had happened to them.t They said, 30 “The man who is lord over the land spoke harshly to usu and treated us as though we were spying on the land.v 31 But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies.w 32 We were twelve brothers, sons of one father. One is no more, and the youngest is now with our father in Canaan.’x
33 “Then the man who is lord over the land said to us, ‘This is how I will know whether you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me, and take food for your starving households and go.y 34 But bring your youngest brother to me so I will know that you are not spies but honest men.z Then I will give your brother back to you,a and you can tradea in the land.b’ ”
35 As they were emptying their sacks, there in each man’s sack was his pouch of silver!c When they and their father saw the money pouches, they were frightened.d 36 Their father Jacob said to them, “You have deprived me of my children. Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more,e and now you want to take Benjamin.f Everything is against me!g”
37 Then Reuben said to his father, “You may put both of my sons to death if I do not bring him back to you. Entrust him to my care,h and I will bring him back.”i
38 But Jacob said, “My son will not go down there with you; his brother is deadj and he is the only one left. If harm comes to himk on the journey you are taking, you will bring my gray head down to the gravel in sorrow.m”
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Mosquitoes' taste for blood is finally explained
Mosquitoes can taste your blood using unique sensory abilities. Can we use that to keep them off us?
Credit: MAURO PIMENTEL / AFP/ Getty Images
A recent study demonstrates that mosquito brains react to the taste of human blood in strange ways.
Some neurons only activated when presented with all four flavor elements. This is thought to be a unique adaptation.
The findings may lead to novel ways to prevent mosquito bites.
Mosquitoes suck. The diseases that they spread kill 500,000 people a year, and some of them, such as Malaria and Zika, are noted for being remarkably unpleasant even when they don't kill you.<p><br>Female mosquitoes don't usually suck blood—they sustain themselves on nectar, but switch to the red stuff when they need to lay eggs. They work harder to drink blood than nectar, drawing it in with much greater force. How they know the difference between the two has remained unknown, until now. </p><p> A new <a href="https://www.cell.com/neuron/fulltext/S0896-6273(20)30719-4?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0896627320307194%3Fshowall%3Dtrue" target="_blank">study</a> published in Neuron sheds light on how mosquitoes determine what they're eating and offers a potential solution to their disease spreading ways. </p>
Like many things, it's all a matter of taste.
<p> In a move dubbed a "tour de force" by other scientists involved in <a href="https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-10-mosquitoes-blood-neurons.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">mosquito research</a>, the researchers genetically modified mosquitoes so that specific neurons associated with taste lit up florescent tags when activated. They then offered these Franken-mosquitos a variety of tempting drinks to see if they would consume them and, if so, what taste neurons activated. <br> <br> Sheep's blood was found to appeal to the insects, which consumed it with <a href="https://phys.org/news/2020-10-scientists-mosquitoes-unique-blood-taste-detectors.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">delight</a>. However, attempts to get them interested in saline or sugar water mixtures that had only single components of blood didn't work, even when the signatures of animals like carbon dioxide or heat (typically used by the parasites as guides towards sources of blood) were added. <br> <br> To draw them back, the researchers whipped up a blood-like concoction of glucose (sugar), sodium bicarbonate (present in both blood and baking soda), sodium chloride (salt), and adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, a compound that provides energy to cells which is found in all known forms of life. This was a success, and the little parasites flocked to it.<br> <br> Next, the scientists offered the mosquitoes small tastes of each of the flavor components in the blood mixture to see which neurons reacted. While giving them glucose did not activate any of the neurons associated with the blood-drinking system— perhaps because glucose is also found in nectar—small doses of salt, sodium bicarbonate, and ATP did. Each flavor activated its own set of neurons, similar to how our taste buds react to a specific flavor element. </p><p> However, one large cluster of neurons only activated when all four ingredients were present. <br> <br> According to lead author Veronica Jové, this detection of combinations rather than taste components is a unique adaptation. She explained, "These neurons break the rules of traditional taste coding, thought to be conserved from flies to humans."<strong><br> <br> </strong>And for the curious, the researchers did sample the ATP mixture they prepared in the lab. They didn't taste <a href="https://www.ibtimes.sg/how-do-mosquitoes-taste-human-blood-scientists-find-four-neurons-regulating-mosquitos-taste-blood-52466" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">anything</a>. Presumably, the taste of human blood to mosquitoes is akin to the sight of a flower in all its ultra-violet glory to a honey bee. It's just something we can't sense or hope to grasp. Though, given the sugar and salt element, perhaps to them it is like the sweet and salty flavor of salted caramels or saltwater taffy. </p>
So, can we use this to finally destroy mosquitoes once and for all?
<iframe width="730" height="430" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9nCHK97kwR4" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe><p> <strong></strong>Not quite, but by increasing our understanding of how mosquitoes work, we can figure out how to keep them off us. <br> <br> Co-author Dr. Leslie B. Vosshall suggests that, just as we give our pets medicine to keep fleas, ticks, and mosquitoes at bay, this discovery may lead to a drug that makes human blood unappealing to mosquitoes for use by those going into infested areas. If they can't taste blood, they may not bite in a way that can spread disease. </p><p> Mosquitoes are also known to prefer <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jme/article/41/4/796/885285" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">O</a><a href="https://academic.oup.com/jme/article/41/4/796/885285" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> type </a><a href="https://academic.oup.com/jme/article/41/4/796/885285" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">blood</a> over all other types. This study may lead to further ones which help explain why. Additionally, because many neurons did not activate at all when the insects fed on blood or its components, further research will have to investigate if they are associated with still other flavors, or if they are related to the act of feeding on blood in different ways. <br> <br> </p>
animals biology neuroscience insects disease blood
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Home » Sport » Jurgen Klopp warns Liverpool their famous European Cup triumph at Roma 34 years ago will count for nothing in the Champions League semi-final second leg
Jurgen Klopp warns Liverpool their famous European Cup triumph at Roma 34 years ago will count for nothing in the Champions League semi-final second leg
The Reds return to Roma for tomorrow night's semi-final after famously winning the European Cup against the hosts in 1984.
Unlike 34 years ago, Liverpool are strong favourites after Mo Salah inspired a 5-2 win at Anfield in last week's first leg.
And Kop chief Klopp is keen to put memories from '84 to one side.
He told Liverpool's official Twitter account: "The story of Liverpool in Rome is great, but nobody here thinks it helps a lot that our grandfathers won here.
"It's just a game in a wonderful stadium, in a wonderful city, against a very strong side. Creating history does not happen because someone said it before."
Liverpool's 1984 triumph is legendary for many reasons.
The Italians had not conceded a goal in Europe all season.
ANTMAN Chelsea join Arsenal in race for Manchester United outcast Anthony Martial
But England right-back Phil Neal put the Reds in front before Roberto Pruzzo levelled before half-time.
And when the contest went to a penalty shootout, Kop keeper Bruce Grobbelaar wobbled his legs around on the line to try to put Roma's spot-kick takers off.
It appeared to work as Liverpool won the shootout 4-2 to clinch the fourth of their five European Cup final successes.
And Klopp believes his Liverpool gladiators are ready to go into battle and conquer Rome again tonight – to set up a final in Kiev against Real Madrid.
The German boss declared: “We will be ready. We are here to fight for our dreams.
“That is how it is — and we want to go to the final.”
Roma must repeat their sensational quarter-final comeback against Barcelona, when they lost the first leg 4-1 but won the return 3-0 to go through on the away-goal rule.
They also beat Chelsea 3-0 at the Stadio Olimpico in the group stages.
Asked if that result could happen again, Klopp said: “I cannot say it is not possible. But we are not Chelsea, we are not Barcelona.
“I don’t think we are through. We are in a better situation than I could have imagined.
“But not perfect because perfect would mean the game is over.
“Roma were more ready than Barcelona. Barcelona probably thought it was decided.”
« This ‘Westworld’ Symbol Might Uncover The Truth Behind That Mysterious Body Of Water
Demons star Viney sets AFL return date »
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Preview and explore multiple videos at once with HamMultiPlayer
By Mike Williams
HamMultiPlayer is an interesting media player with some unusual features, including the ability to preview and work with multiple videos simultaneously.
The program doesn’t require any installation, and it doesn’t even arrive in an archive. It’s just a single executable you can download and run right away. The interface is initially confusing with rows of tiny buttons and boxes, and the most important features aren’t clearly highlighted. A "getting started" page explains the next steps, though, and they’re not difficult: choose your video folder, click Scan > Go and wait as the previews are prepared.
Our test setup quickly displayed eight video thumbnails. Each of these has a player bar and works independently, so we could click Play to preview video #1 within its thumbnail, then start #3, #5 and #6 playing at the same time, and freely move around in any of the clips. Alternatively, double-clicking any thumbnail displays it in a larger preview window.
A separate bar supports operations which apply to every thumbnailed video. You can move the playback position, for instance. Clicking at different points updates the thumbnail for every clip, maybe helping you find one with particular content. There’s a Play button to play all videos at once, and you can also tweak playback speed or volume.
You don’t have to live with the default "thumbnails + preview window + file folder" view. Pressing tab steps through other options, maybe playing two videos side-by-side or a single video full-screen (control options are then accessible with a right-click). Other buttons enable a video wall-type display (four videos playing at once) or multi-monitor support.
If you decide you don’t need one of the thumbnailed videos, it’s easily replaced: just select it, and choose something else in the folder tree.
HamMultiPlayer isn’t just about comparing multiple videos. You can also display different parts of the same video in a separate thumbnail, so #1 represents 0-5 minutes, #2 is 5-10, #3 is 10-15 and so on. That might make it easier to find key scenes, and you can also compare them, separately adjust brightness and contrast for individual sections, and use any of the other features we’ve described.
This is all hugely configurable. There’s no room here to describe all the possibilities, but right-clicking a thumbnail gets you started, with tweaks for brightness, contrast, saturation, gamma, hue, blur/ sharpness, de-noising, audio sounds, an equalizer, playback speeds and more.
A not-so-intuitive interface means the program isn’t as easy to use as it should be, but you’ll figure out the very basics in a few minutes, and everything else can be learned over time. Take a look: the depth of functionality here makes it well worth the effort.
HamMultiPlayer is available for Windows 7 and later.
2 Responses to Preview and explore multiple videos at once with HamMultiPlayer
Fujitsu launches ScanSnap iX1600 and iX1400 scanners
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Photo by J Dunn
The Gonzales Way: Raising happy, healthy, successful kids!
Gonzales, California, is a little town with a very big heart.
The city’s government and school district have joined with residents and businesses to shape everything they do around children: policy, education, health care, mentoring, recreation — everything.
It has many, many parts, and its based on often complicated research into what works best in raising children.
Our mission was to turn it all into a simple, motivational message and build a campaign on it.
We came up with The Gonzales Way: “the way we raise happy, healthy, successful kids in Gonzales.” The Gonzales Way is based on three simple imperatives: Love, Care, Connect.
Immediately, it struck a chord — The Gonzales Way was adopted by the town even before we had gotten started on the campaign. We think that’sbecause it expressed what the people of Gonzales already believed in, what they already knew was special about their town.
For the visual identity, we started with a beloved local symbol: a ball-shaped water tower next to Highway 101. It’s seen mostly by people from other places, speeding through the Salinas Valley towards Los Angeles or San Francisco. But to people from Gonzales, it means home.
For the colors, we chose the green of the fields and a sunlight orange, which happened to match the colors of Gonzales High School.
Then we got to work creating campaign elements:
Vibrantly colorful banners and signs to be placed up and down Main St, at the entrances to town, and in other prominent locations.
Video, animation, and photography.
A website that serves as the hub for all Gonzales Way information and resources. Like many of our sites, it’s based on the Drupal content management system, and is designed to let Gonzales Way partners easily post their own content.
Email newsletters.
Content for social media and for the multimedia “KICK Kiosks” located around town.
Collateral for events and other purposes.
Training sessions for Gonzales Way partners.
The City has had a great experience working with Spencer and the Boots Road team as we completely revamp our website and other communication resources. Their process, professionalism, and genuine commitment to understanding the complexity of city government and our diverse audience have proven invaluable.
Rene Mendez, City Manager, City of Gonzales
Gonzales Way Identity and Logo System
Top of page and website photos courtesy Jay Dunn.
The Gonzales Way has now been incorporated into everything the City does, becoming an “umbrella brand” for the community as a whole. And we are producing an ongoing series of “mini-campaigns” — using digital, print, and animation — you can see some examples below.
Each expressing an aspect of The Gonzales Way, and together they are building understanding, commitment, and participation throughout the community.
Gonzales Way Website
Gonzales Way Booklet
Gonzales Way Videos and Animations
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Turkish charity sends winter aid to civilians in Syria
Idlib, lying along Turkey's southern border, has been the subject of multiple cease-fire violations by the regime and its allies.
The Istanbul-based Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) distributed coats and shoes to 4,000 children in Syria's Idlib and Afrin regions, a charity official said on Tuesday.
"WE CONTINUE THE DISTRIBUTION OF AID MATERIALS"
Selim Tosun, the IHH media manager for Syria, told Anadolu Agency that the aid was delivered to support children in Syria, where the winter season is very difficult especially for those staying in refugee camps. He underlined that IHH aims to alleviate the suffering of people.
"We started a winter campaign on the occasion of Dec. 10 Human Rights Day with all the aid sent from all over Turkey. We also continue the distribution of aid materials as part of this campaign," Tosun added.
Idlib falls within a de-escalation zone forged under an agreement between Turkey and Russia.
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Two bodies found after car swept away by flood in Turkey's Izmir
The body of one victim was found in a water trench nearly three kilometers away from the scene.
Bodies of two men were found after they went missing when a light commercial vehicle was swept away by flood waters in western Turkey, a security source said on Monday.
MISSING BODY FOUND IN A WATER TRENCH
Due to heavy rainfall, a stream in the Menderes district of Izmir province overflowed and the vehicle carrying five people started drifting away as it attempted to cross the stream, said the source who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.
While three of them -- Engincan Parlatan, Ayhan Alistrat, and Derya Parlatan -- were able to save their lives, two others -- Mehmet Aslan and Soner Uyar -- went missing in flood waters.
Body of Uyar was found in a water trench nearly three kilometers (1.86 miles) away from the scene.
Meanwhile, the teams searching the area via police helicopter detected Aslan’s body nearly four kilometers (2.48 mi) away on a waterfront.
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My Sunday Hat
OFFICIAL SITE BANDCAMP FACEBOOK TWITTER
Anthemic guitar-led Rock band based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. We describe ourselves as "If Ryan Adams and Tom Petty had a weird baby with Explosions in the Sky and Bon Iver, we'd be that baby."
"Lyrically intelligent, melodically tight and quietly self-confident, My Sunday Hat are a band who should be on the lips of many come 2013." - Goldenplec.com
"My Sunday Hat’s maturation in terms of structural dynamics, guitar textures and lyrical content strikes an impressive balance between modernizing facets of (creditable) classic rock and forging what could possibly become their own idiosyncratic brand of subtly anthemic, guitar-led rock." - AU Magazine
Bon Iver, Explosions in the Sky, Ryan Adams, Tom Petty
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Ríona Sally Hartman
Dublin, County Dublin
OFFICIAL SITE FACEBOOK TWITTER APPLE MUSIC
“A rising star”
- Lyric FM
“The craft of the songs draws you in - delicate vocal harmonies and sparse acoustic settings, fresh and unclichéd”
- The Irish Times
“A wonderfully crafted pop record with jazz and classical sensibilities”– Le Cool Dublin“a poet, singer, thinker all rolled into one and I really feel Hartman is currently one of our most unique and interesting artists.”
– Remy’s Music and Film Blog
Ríona Sally Hartman released her debut album on June 14th in Smock Alley. Her music has become known for its lush vocal harmonies, acoustic softness and the surrealist stories that accompany the songs.
Songs are sung from the point of view of a cast of characters; there’s Tom Peeping who falls in love with every woman he sees but never speaks to them, there’s the Fish who’s so obsessed with Frida Kahlo it chases a spinner to wear it as an earring and then there’s Sally a very talented but frustrated fortune teller.
She is influenced by musicians who blend pop sensibilities with contemporary jazz and classical compositional ideas such as Becca Stevens, Julie Feeney and Bjork. Lyrically her main influences are contemporary storytellers who seamlessly blend surrealist and fantastical elements with astute observations on universal experiences, such as the short stories of Miranda July and Neil Gaiman.
She draws “waters from many wells, from folk and jazz to alt pop and contemporary lieder.” (The Irish Times 2015). The album is available to stream and download from all the usual places online (Spotify, iTunes...etc.), available to buy in CD format from Tower Records Dublin, Plugd Records Cork and to order form www.rionasallyhartman.com.
info@rionasallyhartman.com
Ani Di Franco. Sarah Blasko, Annie Lennox, Becca Stevens Band, Fiona Apple, Imogen Heap, Joanna Newsom, Joni Mitchell, Julie Feeney, Kate Bush, Kimbra, Laura Marling, Laura Sheeran, Lisa Hannigan, Soak, Tom Waits, Tori Amos, Zrazy, anna mcgarrigle, kate mcgarrigle
Ani Di Franco. Sarah Blasko, Annie Lennox, Becca Stevens, Fiona Apple, Imogen Heap, Joanna Newsom, Joni Mitchell, Julie Feeney, Kate Bush, Laura Marling, Laura Sheeran, Lisa Hannigan, Soak, The Weather, Tom Waits, Tori Amos, Zrazy, anna mcgarrigle, kate mcgarrigle, my hormones and spooning
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The Monthly Review, Volume 15
geredigeerd door Ralph Griffiths, George Edward Griffiths
Concerning the weather in Egypt, it is observed, that from Alexandria to Feshne, the air is often thick, the sky obscured, and it frequently rains ; but at Felhne, and higher up, it is always fair. And yet, our Author says at Meshie it rained very hard, and thundered, for the space of an hour,
Mr. Greaves fays, that the stones were hewen, according to Herodotus and Diodorus, out of the Arabian mountains. But our Author asserts, that a great part of the stones employed in building the pyramids, were taken from the caverns which are seen in great number near the pyramids. The rest came from the other fide of the Nile: and when the waters were high, it was easy to convey the stones to the bridge mentioned by Herodotus, and along that to the mountain where the pyramid was to be built.
The temples seen to the east, and joining the pyramids, were built of very large stones. It is astonishing fo few travellers have taken notice of them. They seem to have been open on the top. Their great circumference rendered it impossible to find stones large enough to reach from side to side: and as there are no remains of any column, it is to be presumed the pyramids were built before columns were in use. This may perhaps account for their form; if they did not understand the art of covering buildings, or supporting them by columns, they could not be contrived so as to be covered, but in the shape of pyramids *
The blackness which Mr. Greaves discovered within the pyramid, and which seemed to him to have proceeded from
* That the pyramids were erected before the use of pillars, or such artificial supports, was known to the Ægyptians, appears a favourite hypothesis of our Author: but may it not be objected, that such supports (without which the meanest huct could scarce be built) muit, in all probability, have been very early, and naturally suggested to man, by observing the fems of trees and plants, and the feet of animals; and that the pyramids, being works of great magnificence, are, doubtless, of much later date shan the mention of the simple, perpendicular, prop, which must have occurred long before the chizzelling, cementing, and polishing of marble -We are not to venture 1oo far in our conclusions from what we have as yet discovered of the internal structure of the pyra. mids: there may be many undiscovered passages, and chambers in, and underneath them, of which we know no more than Herodotus and Pliny knew before us; and of which we must remain in ignor rance, till the hand of time, or some more successful relearches than have yet been made, Thall open to our view the hidden recesses of these amazing structures. As to the shape or form of the pyramid, it might have been previously determined, by the aftronomical pure poses for which they were, perhaps, originally designed. S3
we think
hence, that those inlets had been a receptacle for the burn. ing of lamps, is nothing more than the smoke of the fiambeaux carried by those who have visited this monument since it has been opened. Mr. Greaves says, from Herodotus, that the second pyramid hath no subterraneous Itructures. On which our Author obferves, that Herodotus must have faid this on hcar-ray: for as the pyramid is shut, he could not have examined into it himself. What can when told by Strabo and Pliny, that the water of the Nile enters the pit or well of the first pyramid ? Could they have seen this ? Did they hear it from others ? --It is certain their descriptions suit not the prefent state of these places.
Mr. Norden fays, it gives him great pain to examine minutely all that Mr. Greaves has said of the second pyramid, it is so very faulty. He thinks our Profeffor relied too much upon the authority of his Venetian friend, who might have deceived him; and being tired with his examination of the first pyramid, have paid two little attention to the second. It is certainly as large as the first. Tho' the steps or degrees do not appear at the bottom of this second pyramid, they are apparent towards the top; the lower degrees having been destroyed by the violence with which they were treated when the granite which covered them, and which remains above, was
taken away.
Authors are greatly mistaken in saying it is the third pýramid which is partly built of Balaltes, whereas it is the fourth; which Mr. Greaves is the more excufable for not having seen, as it is hid by the others, and not easily discernable, even when you are at no great distance from it. Whether it is of Basaltes or not, is uncertain; it is not however of the substance of that fine vase in the collection of Cardinal Albani at Rome: but it is as hard, and something blacker than Granite. The summit of this pyramid is of a yellowilh stone, of the same quality with that of Portland ; and the other pyramids are conItructed of the same stone. There can be no doubt of the existence of this fourth pyramid. Lord Sandwich observed it well, and Mr. Norden's designs prove it.
The rest of the pyramids in the Lybian Desert are well worthy the attention of a traveller; and it is very strange, that ancient as well as modern authors should not have mentioned them. They conlist of four or five degrees or stories, each thirty or forty feet high. Lord Sandwich took great notice of these pyramids, and in particular, of one which was never finished, and which may serve to fhew in what manner these buildings were constructed. The two largest of these
pyramids are equal to any of those at Memphis. Those at Sakkara were certainly the oldest, and from them the model was taken to build the rest.
We should now return to our Author's description of Alexandria, but having, on account of the importance as well as novelty of the subjects treated above, exceeded the usual bounds of an Article in our Review, we shall defer the rest of this valuable work to another month, and conclude for the present with some remarks we have made upon Hieroglyphics.
1. Įt is evident from a slight inspection of these ancient infcriptions, that they are not entirely composed of the reprefentations of animals and other objects, but are intermixed with certain characters that cannot well be taken for
other than letters. Of this fort, we believe, are the three characters in a frame in the tree, in Mr. Norden's fifty-eighth plate; where are three human figures. One stands pointing to a bar under the frame of the inscription in the tree; by his beard he should be a man. Another, seeming to be a female by the largeness of the left breaft, is without a beard, and fits on a large square block: and the points likewise to the tree. The third figure stands behind her, and has a beard, and a high corno to his cap. They have all different caps, which may serve to distinguish their characters. The oval figure over the three characters in the frame, we take to be a resemblance of the fruit, and, perhaps, the three letters express the name of it. If it is an apple, the oriental word in Hebrew, and Arabic, for that fruit, is expressed by these three letters, TFC; and the Coptic or Egyptian word is also very like it: but Strabo fays they have no apples in Egypt. Beneath the Bass-relief are no more than five distinguishable characters : one is round, and may signify the fruit as above; another is waving, and may signify water, or the letter M, as in the Samaritan alphabet, another, which we take to be imperfect, is like the Hebrew Vau : one of them is the same with the middle letter in the frame; and another resembles a square, or large Hebrew Heth; and is the very fame with that held in the woman's hand, which looks as if it were designed to be held up, that the bar or line, which the man seems to be about striking from him, towards the woman, might pass through it.
2. As the Obeliscs were all confecrated to the fun, and took their form, as Pliny and others observe, from a solar ray, and might serve some astronomical purpose, as a Meridian, &c. it is not to be doubted but the principal characters inscribed on them, relate to Astronomy. The early use of fuch characters is evident from the Sphinx, which emblematically describes the
season for the rising of the waters of the Nile; that is, when the fun enters Leo and Virgo: from these two constellations is made the Sphinx; which word fignifies, in the Chaldee dialect, to over-flow; and the cause
of this over-Aowing of the Nile being a riddle to the antients, probably gave rise to the accounts we have, from them, of riddles propounded by the (phinx.
3. Those inscriptions that are found in their coemeteries or sepulchral caverns, and amidst the ruins of their temples, are certainly historical, as they have ever been in all other the like places and if with the inscriptions we could obtain welldrawn copies of the bass-reliefs, and figures that attend them, it is possible we might in’time read, from authentic records, the most ancient history of Egypt.
4. The true reason why unknown characters' continue une known, is, because they are given, in too small parcels, intą the hands of the interpreter : this was the case of the few Pale myrene inscriptions at first brought into Europe. If a very arge quantity of these hieroglyphic characters were given, with all the helps that might be communicated, it is not to be doubtted but a good Decypherer and able Orientalist, might in time discover their use and meaning,
5. We therefore earnestly recommend to all who travel, or correspond, in Egypt, that accurate drawings may be taken of the inscriptions, images, and bass-reliefs there and when the communication is, more open than at present, we could with the same were done in Africa *.
See the History of Africa, by Leo Africanus ; who mentions many antient inscriptions, in various characters.
All the Orations of Demosthenes, pronounced to exçite the Athee
nians against Philip King of Macedon, translated into English: digested and connected, so as to form a regular History of the Progress of the Macedonian Power : with Notes historical and critical. By Thomas Leland, B. D. Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin. 4to. 6ş. Johnston, F not only to comprehend the true interests of one's coun
try, but gloriously to exert every effort of mind in animats ing all hearts to unite in the common cause, can render any character illustrious, that of Demosthenes was certainly such : whé, in an age of corruption, selfishness, and vanity; and amung a people, learned, generous, and acute; opposed wife
dom to vanity, patriotism to selfishness, and infamy to cora ruption.
And if active life, thus engaged, is worthy of admiration; a man of learning, who employs his leisure to impart to us, in our own language, the sentiments of such a patriot, at a time when these sentiments deserve our utmost attention, may may justly be said to merit our esteem and our praise.
Bút úr. Leland hath not only translated, with a spirit nearly approaching to the original, and with a truth conformable to the letter of it, all the Orations which he supposes now to remain, of those pronounced by Demosthenes, to excite the Athenians against Philip of Macedon; but he has illustrated these Orations, in order to adapt them to all readers, with Notes, not only from his own fund, but, among the antients, from Dionysius of Halicarnaffus, whom he principally regards, and from Ulpian, Libanius, Suidas ; and, among the moderns, from Tourreil, whom he seems most to honour, and upon whose translation he animadverts, and from d'Olivet, and Mountenay, as also the authors of the Universal History, whom he corrects in a certain particular: and that nothing might be wanting to render Orations of fuch antiquity, and addressed to a state so long ago dissolved, entirely clear in every part, and instructive in every circumstance, even to the most illiterate reader; he hath, in his preface, and in the introductory pieces to each Oration, and by a conclufion fubjoined to the whole, fo connected the Histories of Greece and Macedon, so described the internal condition of their different states, and fo characterised the leading men at Athens, and Philip of Macedon, that nothing can be obscure, nothing uninteresting, in any of these Orations.
The Translation is inscribed to the Lord Viscount Charlemont; and accompanied with a map of ancient Greece, and the parts adjoining.
Upon the whole, our ingenious Divine, by judiciously adopting the obseryations of Dionysius, in opposition to those of Tourreil and the Scholiaft, hath enabled himself to arrange these Orations in the very order in which they were spoken. Thus, in the Olynthiac Orations, he places first, what common editors call the second; gives the second place, to what hath the third with them; and the third place, to what with them hath the first. We could have wished, however, that he had been less complaisant to Mr. Mountenayi and that, depending on his own judgment, supported by the authority of the discerning Dionyfius, he had entirely fevered
fron
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Biennial Supplement to Kerr's Cyclopedic California Codes: Containing All ...
(공)저: California
words, held paramount to substance under of ownership becomes a conclusion of law. that system of pleading, procedure and prac- -Cheda v. Bodkin, 173 Cal. 7, 158 Pac, 1025. tice-so much so, indeed, that that notion 6. Where, in an action to recover the finally became responsible for the develop- balance due on a promissory note, the anment of the more liberal ideas which di swer admits the execution of the note and rectly forced the invention of the more elas that the principal and interest have not been tic legal actions of case and assumpsit and, paid, but denies that the same are due and indeed, the body of equitable remedies which owing, the ultimate fact of nonpayment is now adorn the jurisprudence of all civilized admitted, and the denial is but a conclusion countries.-Johnson v. Dixon Farms Co., 29 of law which should be disregarded.--PaciCal. App. 52, 155 Pac. 134.
fic Coast Mail Order House, 29 Cal. App. 613,
157 Pac. 539. $ 425.
7. Evidence need not be pleaded.—In an 1. Complaint.-Under our simplified sys action to recover a sum of money alleged tem of procedure, where plaintiff's pleadings to have been paid by the plaintiff upon the on the facts begin and end with the com purchase price of a lot upon which there plaint, there is by law afforded him an op was at the time a building in course of conportunity, without pleading, to interpose struction on the ground that the defendant evidence overcoming any affirmative matter violated his agreement to construct and of defense set up in the answer, and he may, complete the building in a workmanlike thus, establish a fraud or an estoppel. manner, it is not necessary that the comLlewellyn Iron Works v. Abbott Kinney Co., plaint set forth all of the evidence showing 172 Cal. 210, 155 Pac. 986.
that the building was not completed in a
workmanlike manner, but it is sufficient to § 426.
call attention to the chief objections to the COMPLAINT, WHAT TO CONTAIN.
work.-Levi v. Sockolov, 32 Cal. App. 298,
162 Pac. 902. 1-3. As to form of complaint.
8. Inconsistency in complaint.-In an ac4-6. Conclusions of law.
tion brought to avoid a deed made by the 7. Evidence need not be pleaded.
former husband of the plaintiff to their 8. Inconsistency in complaint.
minor sons, upon the ground that the deed 9. Inconsistent allegations.
did violence to her rights in the community 10, 11. Pleading items of damages, effect of.
property and that it was conceived and ex1. As to form of complaint.-A pleading ecuted in fraud of her rights, and also to in the form of the common counts is suff avoid a deed on the ground of fraud subcient.-Pike v. Zadig, 171 Cal. 273, 152 Pac. sequently made by her to one of such sons 923.
of her undivided interest in the property as 2. There must be an allegation in the heir at law of the other son, whose death complaint showing the value of the de occurred subsequent to the first deed, there manded property. A complaint in an action is no error in allowing the plaintiff on the to recover the possession of mortgaged per trial to abandon her contention touching sonal property which contains no other her right to the community property and in allegation of value than that contained in a resting her action upon a demand for relief copy of the mortgage attached thereto pur against the deed which had been frauduporting to give the value of some of the lently obtained from her by her son, based articles, is insufficient as an allegation of upon the validity of the first deed.-Turner value at the time of the filing of the com v. Turner, 173 Cal. 782, 161 Pac. 980. plaint.-Keiser v. Levering, 29 Cal. App. 41, 9. Inconsistent allegations.-In an action 154 Pac. 281.
for damages for injuries causing death sus3. Recitals in a contract incorporated in tained while preparing to alight from a a complaint in claim and delivery will not street-car, the plaintiffs have the right to supply the want of averments in the plead allege in one count that the car, after stoping.–Keiser v. Levering, 29 Cal. App. 41, ping, suddenly started, and in a separate 154 Pac. 281.
count that after the car had slowed down As to sufficiency of common counts under and arrived near or at the place where it this section of the Code of Civil Procedure, usually stopped to allow passengers to see post, C. C. P. pt., $ 454, note pars. 1-4. alight, and while the deceased was alighting
4. Conclusions of law. In an action to therefrom, the defendant's agents and serannul or cancel a reclamation district as vants negligently caused the car to be sudsessment, allegations in the complaint that denly and violently jerked and started forthe lands of the plaintiffs were not charged ward.-Froeming v. Stockton Elec. R. R. CO., in the present assessment "with their just 171 Cal. 401, 153 Pac. 712. proportion of the former assessment," nor 10. Pleading items of damages, effect of. the "proper proportion of the cost of said -The fact that several of the items enterreclamation," involved legal conclusions ing into the damage are formally alleged in which have no proper place in the pleading. the complaint does not preclude the plaintiff -Spurrier V. Reclamation District No. 17, from praying for judgment for the total 172 Cal. 157, 155 Pac. 840.
damages suffered, of which such items are a 5. A pleading of the ultimate fact of part.–Tucker v. Cooper, 172 Cal. 663, 158 ownership is sufficient, but where the plain. Pac. 181. tiff sets forth his chain of title, and upon 11. In an action to recover damages it is that chain pleads ownership,' the allegation not necessary that the amount claimed to
have been sustained be alleged in the complaint, if it contains a prayer in a specified amount.Tucker v. Cooper, 172 Cal. 663, 158 Pac. 181.
$ 427.
1. Joinder of causes of action.-While a plaintiff is authorized to unite different causes of action in a single complaint he is not required to do so. The right of joinder is one that may be exercised at his option and a defendant can not complain it the plaintiff brings a separate action as to each cause of action.-Realty Const. & Mtg. Co. v. Superior Court, 165 Cal. 543, 132 Pac. 1048.
2. A cause of action by a foreign corporation upon a rejected contingent claim based upon a covenant of warranty against the estate of the deceased warrantor can not be united with a cause of action against the devisee of the land affected by the warranty to recover to the extent devised. This would be a misjoinder of parties defendant because of the absence of unity of interest of the parties.-Tropico Land & Imp. Co. v. Lambourn, 170 Cal. 33, 148 Pac. 206.
3. An action to recover damages sustained in consequence of personal injuries to the wife due to expenditures made for the services of nurses, medical treatment and increased household expenses, can not be joined with an action to recover damages for her personal injuries, as the right to recover such consequential damages constitutes a cause of action in favor of the husband alone, while the wife is a necessary party plaintiff to an action for damages for her injuries, and where the two causes of action are joined in the one complaint in an action by the husband and wife, a special demurrer thereto on the grounds of misjoinder of causes of action and misjoinder of parties plaintiff should be sustained, but where such misjoinder has not prevented a full, fair and complete trial of the issues presented, the error is technical and falls within the provisions of section 442 of article VI of the state constitution.-Meier y. Wagner, 27 Cal. App. 579, 150 Pac. 797.
4. -Election.-In case of an improper joinder of two causes of action in one count, which could have been stated in separate counts and be submitted to the jury, the plaintiff can not be required to elect at the trial as to which he will rely upon.-Balaklala Consol. Copper Co. v. Whitsett, 221 Fed. 421.
a fraud committed more than three years before the commencement of the action, a demurrer based upon the statute of limitations will lie.-Earhart v. Churchill, 169 Cal. 728, 147 Pac. 942.
2. Where it appears on the face of a complaint that the action, brought by a nonresident against a foreign corporation, has not arisen from the business done by the corporation in the state, the objection to the complaint may be taken advantage of by demurrer.-Fry v. Denver & R. G. R. Co., 226 Fed. 893.
3. A want of legal capacity to sue.-An objection to the legal capacity of the plaintiffs to maintain the action or sue upon the obligation pleaded can not be raised by a general demurrer.-Moore v. Laufr. 30 Cal. App. 452, 158 Pac. 557.
4. For misjoinder of causes of action.—A complaint in an action by a fisherman against certain deputy fish and game wardens for damages, which charges the defenddens for da ants with "unlawfully" arresting the plaintiff and compelling him to abandon his launch upon which he lived and slept, without first giving him an opportunity to secure its safety from the dangers of the elements or the sea, as a consequence of which the launch was destroyed, states a cause of action for negligence, and not for false imprisonment, and is not subject to demurrer for misjoinder of causes of action.-Argyropolus v. Barnes, 28 Cal. App. 254, 151 Pac. 1156.
3. For misjoinder of parties.-There is no misjoinder of parties defendant where the employee of a gas company sues a railroad company and the owner of a team, alleging that the railroad company negligently operated a welding machine and thereby frightened the horses so that one of them fell into the trench where the plaintiff was working.–Fallon v. United Railroads, 28 Cal. App. 60, 151 Pac. 290.
6. Laches may be taken advantage of by demurrer,—The defense of laches can be taken advantage of by demurrer; such a defense is, in substance, that the complaint does not show equity, or fails to state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action.Superior California Fruit Land Co. v. Grossman, 32 Cal. App. 357, 162 Pac. 1046.
7. Variance between allegation and exhibit.-A variance between the direct allegations of a complaint and a copy of an instrument set forth therein, or an exhibit attached thereto, can be successfully attacked only by special demurrer and can not be taken advantage of by general demurrer.Linz v. McIver & Becker, 29 Cal. App. 470, 156 Pac. 1000.
§ 430.
WHEN DEFENDANT MAY DEMUR. 1, 2. As to generally.
3. A want of legal capacity to sue. 4. For misjoinder of causes of action, 5. For misjoinder of parties. 6. Laches may be taken advantage of by
demurrer. 7. Variance between allegation and ex
hibit. 1. As to generally-When a complaint fails to state the time of the discovery of
Demurrer to specify grounds-Construction.—The code does not contemplate dividing up grounds of demurrer piecemeal, but the several grounds relied upon must all be stated in the same pleading.–Fry v. Denver & R. G. R. Co., 226 Fed. 893.
1. Amendment-Construction. This provision is but a direction to compel the joining of issues within a reasonable time so as to expedite the trial of actions. It is still discretionary with the court whether it will allow defendant any time to answer. To say that because a complaint is amended the defendant has the absolute right to time and to the postponement of the case to plead to the amendment, states the rule too broadly.- Lincoln County Bank v. Fetterman, 170 Cal. 357, 149 Pac. 811.
2. Pleadings may be amended to conform to the proofs during and even after the trial.-Stohlman v. Martin, 28 Cal. App. 338, 152 Pac. 319.
3. Denial on information and belief. The allegation of the corporate capacity and existence of the plaintiff in an action can not be successfully denied upon information and belief because, perchance, the plaintiff had failed to pay its license tax and might therefore, unknown to the defendant, have lost its corporate character by operation of law. The statutory acts required to be performed in conjunction with the failure to pay the license tax (proclamation of forfeiture), before a forfeiture of the corporate franchise will occur, must become matters of public record, and when the existence of an alleged fact may be ascertained from an inspection of the public record, its existence can not be put in issue by a denial based solely upon information and belief.-William Wilson Co. v. Trainor, 27 Cal. App. 43, 148 Pac. 954.
4. In an action by the mortgagee against the consignee of the mortgagor to recover the proceeds of the crop, a denial upon information and belief of the execution of the mortgage is sufficient to raise an issue thereon, notwithstanding the defendant had constructive notice of its recordation.Crosby v. Fresno Fruit Growers' Co., 30 Cal. App. 308, 158 Pac. 1070.
1. Objections not appearing must be raised by answer.-It is only where the complaint affirmatively discloses that the right of action is necessarily barred by the statute of limitations that a demurrer on the ground of the bar of the statute may be taken.-Pike V. Zadig. 171 Cal. 273. 152 Pac. 923.
1. Waiver or cure of defects. ---Where a cause of action for wrongful death is defectively stated and subject to the objection that it is uncertain and ambiguous as to the particular negligence upon which the plaintiff relies, such defect is cured by the introduction in evidence, without specific objection of those facts which, if alleged, would have made the pleading sufficient to withstand the attack of a general demurrer.--Boyle v. Coast Imp. Co., 27 Cal. App. 714, 151 Pac. 25.
2. The objection that a pleading is ambiguous and uncertain can not be availed of on appeal in the absence of a special de murrer.—Merrill v. Kohlberg, 29 Cal. App. 382, 155 Pac. 824.
ANSWER. 1, 2. As to what must contain. 3, 4. Denial on information and belief.
1. As to what must contain.—Where a complaint is directed against two persons, and the liability of one involves some facts which are not material to the liability of
other, upon the cause of action declared upon, and they answer separately, neither is required to answer those allegations which relate to the sole liability of the other.Robson v. Superior Court, 171 Cal. 588, 154 Pac. 8.
2. In an action on a promissory note the assignment of the instrument to the plaintiff can not be questioned by the defendant under a general denial of assignment with out any allegation of matter by way of special defense.-Rucker v. Carpenter, 29 Cal. App. 678, 157 Pac. 524.
1. Setting up counterclaims. — The law abhors a multiplicity of actions, and the evident intent of the legislature in passing the code provisions relating to counterclaims was that all matters that may be the subject of litigation between the parties within the limitations prescribed shall be settled in one action.—Calara Valley Realty Co. v. Smith, 29 Cal. App. 589, 156 Pac. 369.
2. In an action for the recovery of a balance due on an open book account the failure of the defendant to expressly admit or deny the allegations of the complaint does not deprive him of the right to set up a counterclaim growing out of contract as an offset, notwithstanding that it exceeds the amount of plaintiff's demand and that no affirmative judgment is asked for by defendant.-Calara Valley Realty Co. v. Smith, 29 Cal. App. 589, 156 Pac. 369.
3. It is the better course, in an action on an open book account, for a defendant who has a counterclaim to expressly admit the indebtedness pleaded by the plaintiff and set up his counterclaim as a special defense by way of avoidance.-Calara Valley Realty Co. v. Smith, 29 Cal. App. 589, 156 Pac. 369.
4. The pleading of a counterclaim without directly denying the allegations of the complaint is suficient to tender an issue upon the question whether the plaintiff is entitled to a judgment for the full amount of the claim or any part thereof upon which he has sued, and the right to support such special defense is not affected by the fact that the alleged counterclaim exceeds that of the debt sued for by the plaintiff and that the defendant asks for no affirmative relief. -Calara Valley Realty Co. v. Smith, 29 Cal. App. 589, 156 Pac. 369.
American Nat. Bank v. Donnellan, 170 Cal, 9, SETTING OFF CLAIMS.
148 Pac. 188.
3. It is permissible to separately plead 1, 2. Construction, what constitutes a set-off. inconsistent defenses.-Dibble v. Reliance 3. Set-off between executor and legatee.
Life Ins. Co., 170 Cal. 199, 149 Pac. 171. 4–7. Setting off mutual demands.
4. Counterclaim in amended answer.1. Construction-What constitutes a net
The superior court has legal authority to off.-A proceeding to obtain an order di
deny a defendant the privilege to file an anrecting the payment of an allowed claim swer after he has interposed a demurrer is an "action" within section 438 and this
and it has been overruled.—Leavell v. Susection.—Estate of Bell, 168 Cal. 253, 141 perior Court, 27 Cal. App. 191, 149 Pac. 372. Pac. 1179.
5. A valid and subsisting counterclaim 2. This section “is not intended to and
may be presented by amended answer.-Caldoes not affect the negotiability of commer
ara Valley Realty Co. v. Smith, 29 Cal. App. cial paper, or the rights of bona fide trans
589, 156 Pac. 369. ferees of such paper."-Kunz v. California Tuna Co., 169 Cal. 348, 146 Pac. 883.
$ 446. 3. Set-off between executor and legatee.
VERIFICATION. -A judgment in favor of a testator's estate
1-5. As to generally. against a legatee should be set off on dis
6-8. Unverified answer to verified complaint, tribution against the distributive share. An
effect. assignee of the legatee, under an assign
9. Waiver of signature. ment made after the judgment was recoyered, took subject to the right of set-off 1. As to generally.The clause providing existing in favor of the estate.-Estate of for verification by an officer, when a corpoGamble, 166 Cal. 253, 135 Pac. 970.
ration is a party is not exclusive, but per4. Setting off mutual demands.—The fact missive only, and does not prevent an that one of the cross-demands has been re- attorney or other person from making the duced to judgment, while the other has not, verification in a proper case. The clause is is no obstacle to the allowance of a set-off. qualified by the preceding part of the sec-Machado y. Borges, 170 Cal. 501, 150 Pac. tion and is not a limitation that only officers 351.
of a corporation can verify the pleadings.5. The plaintiff, in an action to recover Bittleston Law & Collection Agency v. Howupon certain promissory notes made and de- ard, 172 Cal. 357, 156 Pac. 515. livered to him by the defendant, is entitled 2. A verification of an amended complaint to have a judgment obtained against him made by the assignor of the plaintiff, which by the defendant set off, against his claim declares that the affant “is the assignor of on the notes, notwithstanding the judgment plaintiff in the above-entitled action, and for has been assigned by the defendant to his that reason is better informed as to the attorney to secure him for attorney fees and facts thereof than the said plaintiff; that he costs incurred in the action in which the has read the foregoing complaint and knows judgment was rendered, and that such at the contents thereof, and that the same is torney took the assignment without knowl- true of his own knowledge, except as to edge of the plaintiff's claim.-Machado v. matters which are therein stated on inforBorges, 170 Cal. 501, 150 Pac. 351.
mation and belief, and as to those matters 6. The plaintiff is not precluded from as that he believes it to be true," fully meets serting his right of set-off by his failure to the requirements of section 446 of the Code set up his notes by way of counterclaim in of Civil Procedure, and sufficiently shows the suit brought against him by the maker that the facts are within the knowledge of of the notes, since the mutual demands did the affiant, and sufficiently states the reasnot arise out of the same transaction.-Ma- ons why the verification was not made by chado v. Borges, 170 Cal. 501, 150 Pac. 351. one of the parties.-Bittleston Law & Col
7. A court of equity will compel a set-off lection Agency v. Howard, 172 Cal. 357, 156 of mutual demands, where such relief is Pac. 515. necessary to enable the party claiming the 3. Where a pleading contains no averrelief to collect his claim.-Machado V. ments on information and belief, the added Borges, 170 Cal. 501, 150 Pac. 351.
words in the affidavit of verification “except
as to matters which are therein stated on § 441.
information or belief," do not qualify the ANSWER WITH SEVERAL GROUNDS OF positive character of the verification as to DEFENSE.
the truth of the allegations of the com
plaint.-Bittleston Law & Collection Agency 1. As to pleading in separate counts.
v. Howard, 172 Cal. 357, 156 Pac. 515. 2, 3. As to inconsistent defenses,
4. It is not vital to such a verification 4,5. Counterclaim in amended answer.
that the affidavit specify in formal charac1. As to pleading in separate counts. terization the facts constituting the reasons The defendant in ejectment has the right to why it is not made by the party, where plead his defenses in separate counts. such reasons can be gathered from all the Schader v. White, 173 Cal. 441, 160 Pac. 557. facts stated in the affidavit, when read in
2. As to inconsistent defenses.The de- the light of the pleading:-Bittleston Law fendant may set forth as many defenses as & Collection Agency v. Howard, 172 Cal. he has, even though they be inconsistent.- 357, 156 Pac. 515.
5. Where an unverified answer is filed to section 448 of the Code of Civil Procedure. such a verified complaint, a motion for judg -Quartz Glass & Mfg. Co. v. Joyce, 27 Cal. ment on the pleadings without a prelimin. App. 523, 150 Pac. 648. ary motion to strike the answer from the files, is proper.-Bittleston Law & Collec $ 452. tion Agency v. Howard, 172 Cal. 357, 156 Pac.
RULES FOR CONSTRUCTION OF 515.
PLEADINGS. 6. Unverified answer to verified complaint, effect.-Where a verified complaint is
1-4. Liberally construed to promote justice. served and the answer is unverified the
5. Presumptions as to references in. plaintiff is entitled to have the answer
6. Presumptions against pleader. stricken out on motion and a judgment by 1. Liberally construed to promote jusdefault entered, or in the absence of an or tice.Pleas in abatement are not favored der striking out the answer, to a judgment and should be judged with strictness.for want of an answer.-Johnson v. Dixon Scheeline v. Moshier, 172 Cal. 565, 158 Pac. Farms Co., 29 Cal. App. 52, 155 Pac. 134. 222.
7. It is not a rule of pleading that an un 2. Pleadings are no longer to be converified answer to a verified complaint ad strued against the pleader, but are to be mits all of the allegations of the complaint liberally construed with a view to promotto be true in the absence of a reasonable ing justice. Burian v. Los Angeles Cafe Co., objection to the failure of the defendant to 173 Cal. 625, 161 Pac. 4. verify his answer; the remedy of the plain 3. Where under the old common-law systif in such a contingency is to move the tem a pleading would crumble under the trial court to strike out the answer or for weight of a demurrer, under the advanced judgment upon the pleadings for want of system which concerns itself more with suban answer, and if the case goes to trial and stance, the same pleading might reasonably is heard and determined upon the issues be held sufficient to state a cause of action. purporting to have been raised by the plead. From an averment that the plaintiff sold the ings of the parties without a previous ob hay to the defendant the fact of delivery jection upon the part of the plaintiff to lack is implied, and while not strictly a proper of verification of the defendant's answer, manner of stating a case for goods sold and the defect will be deemed to have been delivered is nevertheless suficient.-Johnson waived.-Hill v. Merle & Co., 29 Cal. App. v. Dixon Farms Co., 29 Cal. App. 52, 155 Pac. 473, 156 Pac. 981.
134. 8. An unverified answer to a verified 4. A pleading styled a “bill to redeem" complaint may be disregarded and treated may in fact be a bill to quiet the complainas sham upon a motion for judgment on the ants' alleged title to the land in question.pleadings.—Consolidated Music Co. v. Morri Power & Irr. Co. of Clear Lake v. Capay son, 30 Cal. App. 303, 158 Pac. 342.
Ditch Co., 226 Fed. 634. 9. Waiver of signature.-An objection 5. Presumptions as to references in.that the complaint was not signed by the Paragraphs of a complaint which co plaintiff or his attorney is waived where averments referring to other parts of the the objection is not made in the trial court. pleading are presumed to refer to prior por-Hellings v. Wright, 29 Cal. App. 649, 156 tions only.-Richmond Construction Co Pac. 365.
Doe, 29 Cal. App. 427, 155 Pac. 1008.
6. Presumptions against pleader.-Ifa $ 448.
complaint makes no allegation as to when 1. Affidavit required to be filed, when. the plaintiff became of age, it will be preWhere the due execution and delivery of a sumed that each one of them was sui juris deed are denied by the answer and cross for a sufficient length of time to allow the complaint, and the plaintiff in his answer to statute of limitations to run prior to the the cross-complaint sets out the deed in filing of the complaint.— Earhart v. Churchhaec verba, the defendant does not admit ill Co., 169 Cal. 728, 147 Pac. 942. the execution and delivery thereof where he fails to file the affidavit of this section, as $ 454. it would have been a vain and useless exac
STATING ACCOUNT IN PLEADING. tion to require a further denial of the ef
1-4. Common counts. fect of the writing.-Cox v. Schnerr, 172
'5. Bill of particulars. Cal. 371, 156 Pac. 509.
6. -As evidence. 2. In an action by a corporation to re
7. Not vulnerable to special demurrer. cover upon a promissory note, the genuineness and due execution of a written agree 1. Common counts. A complaint in an ment set up as a defense to the action, made action for the recovery of money, which albetween the plaintiff and the defendant at leges that the defendants became indebted the time of the making of the note, provid to the plaintiff for money had and received ing that payment thereof should be made by them for the use and benefit of the plainout of dividends to be declared upon certain tiff in two given sums, is a sufficient pleadshares of the capital stock for the purchase ing under the old form known as a "comprice of which the note was given, is deemed mon count."-Pike v. Zadig, 171 Cal. 273, admitted, where no affidavit denying the 152 Pac. 923. genuineness and due execution of such in- 2. If the question were new, there might strument is filed or served as provided by be ground for saying that the common
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Posted inLiving
YYC Hot Chocolate Fest 2018: Annual event raises funds for Calgary Meals on Wheels
by Solaya Huang and Tori St. Clair February 19, 2018
Everyone’s familiar with classic hot chocolate, but the launch event for this year’s YYC Hot Chocolate Festival introduced Calgarians to new takes of the traditional taste, infusing flavours like peach, root beer and chili spice.
Running throughout the month of February, the festival features several homemade hot chocolate creations from cafés, restaurants and chocolatiers across Calgary — each vendor competing to win the Best Hot Chocolate of 2018. The festival acts as a fundraiser for Meals on Wheels, a not-for-profit organization that provides meal services to any person in the city, regardless of their age or circumstances.
Analog Coffee, who have been a part of the fundraiser for a few years now, were one of five vendors featured at the launch on the 28th of January. Their creation, the Thai Chili Chelada, features a “mild flavour of Thai chili heat,” bringing sweet and spicy together as one.
Chris Tait, the café’s quality assurance manager, describes the drink as, “something a little different … with some interesting flavors that paired really nicely with dark chocolate.”
At the other end of the line, there’s Waves Alberta. This year, their operations manager, Ramona Rendle, incorporated her love for peach melba into her hot chocolate. Topped with raspberry whipping cream and a melba wafer, its sweet and fruity taste was a hit at the launch.
“I know there’s a lot of tough competition out here,” she said.
The drink has gotten a positive reception so far. “I don’t think anyone’s going to be doing too [many] fruity peaches, so I’m hoping we do really well.”
The Chocolate Lab used their expertise in the chocolate industry by blending dark and milk chocolate together. Co-owner of The Chocolate Lab, Eva Choi, created the Midnight Casanova to highlight the most important ingredient of the classic treat.
“This is chocolate at its most amazing, because it just tastes of chocolate. There [are] no other distractions,” she said.
Boxcar Café took a more seasonal approach by creating the Gingerbread Hot Chocolate. The café stuck to a winter theme, adding notes of allspice and nutmeg to the drink.
Matt French, a manager at Boxcar Café, revealed how they drastically changed their theme from last year’s drink, a Mayan piece with “lots of flare and spices,” to a more tempered flavour to go along with the cooler weather. The café also offers gluten and dairy free options of the savoury creation.
Family Squeezed Lemonade/Milk Milk Lemonade took the crowd by surprise when they presented their Root Beer White Hot Chocolate Float. They combined their family’s homemade root beer recipe with white chocolate to create this unique flavour. It includes toppings of cotton candy, swirl sticks, crushed root beer barrels and their family’s gourmet root beer ice pop to the drink.
“Well, we love to do interesting and different.We like them to be really pretty, but they have to be delicious first. So we took our very favourite family treat, which is homemade root beer, and then we blended it into a white hot chocolate,” says Jennifer Andrews of Family Squeezed Lemonade/Milk Milk Lemonade.
Joining these five vendors at the launch was Lindsay Amadio, marketing manager of McLeod Law. Both the firm and Granary Road are the event’s sponsors.
The event raises money for the Calgary Meals on Wheels’ delivery system, which serves about 750 Calgarian homes a day and strives to provide quality, nutritious and affordable meals for those who need it.
The launch was just the start for the month-long event, in which even more hot chocolate creations will be featured. To participate in the festival, a $1 donation is required for each drink. Spirited drinks are $2.
Young Katie Pereversoff waits in line at the Southcentre Mall for the festival’s launch party. She and nearly 400 other Calgarians braved long and crowded lines to sample the five featured vendors on Jan. 28, 2018. Photo by Solaya Huang.
shuang@cjournal.ca
tstclair@cjournal.ca
Editor: Polly Eason | peason@cjournal.ca
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Want New Product From Bugatti? Forget About it, Says CEO
Future VehiclesNews
On Oct 7, 2020
<img data-attachment-id="1590066" data-permalink="https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2017/09/bugatti-begins-record-breaking-spree/05_chiron_dynamic_34-rear_print/" data-orig-file="https://carsnspeed.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/want-new-product-from-bugatti-forget-about-it-says-ceo-5.jpg" data-orig-size="1013,675" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Bugatti Chiron" data-image-description="
Image: Bugatti
" data-medium-file="https://carsnspeed.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/want-new-product-from-bugatti-forget-about-it-says-ceo-2.jpg" data-large-file="https://carsnspeed.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/want-new-product-from-bugatti-forget-about-it-says-ceo.jpg" class="aligncenter wp-image-1590066 size-large" src="https://carsnspeed.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/want-new-product-from-bugatti-forget-about-it-says-ceo.jpg" alt="Bugatti Chiron" width="610" height="406" srcset="https://carsnspeed.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/want-new-product-from-bugatti-forget-about-it-says-ceo.jpg 610w, https://carsnspeed.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/want-new-product-from-bugatti-forget-about-it-says-ceo-1.jpg 75w, https://carsnspeed.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/want-new-product-from-bugatti-forget-about-it-says-ceo-2.jpg 450w, https://carsnspeed.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/want-new-product-from-bugatti-forget-about-it-says-ceo-3.jpg 768w, https://carsnspeed.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/want-new-product-from-bugatti-forget-about-it-says-ceo-4.jpg 120w, https://carsnspeed.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/want-new-product-from-bugatti-forget-about-it-says-ceo-5.jpg 1013w" sizes="(max-width: 610px) 100vw, 610px">There have been some turbulent times at Bugatti in the second half of 2020. In addition to wearing a For Sale sign over at Volkswagen’s headquarters, the company is discovering that The Current Year just might not be the best time to create a new and super-exclusive hypercar. So it isn’t.
Speaking to Bloomberg TV yesterday, Bugatti CEO Stephan Winkelmann dashed the hopes of wealthy oligarchs and rap stars across the globe. “We had talks about a second model lineup. This was now blocked due to the Coronavirus crisis; we’re not talking about what’s coming next.”
The second model in question would’ve been a road-going offering to sit beside the pinnacle Chiron, which took the place of the departed Veyron for the 2016 model year. Any time Bugatti plans a new model it’s sort of a big deal. Unlike most automobile companies, Bugatti has operated differently since its inception: New models are few and far between. Since 1950 the company has produced a total of seven different vehicles. The French maker is at near max capacity at the moment and builds the aforementioned Chiron and the very limited edition (40 cars) Divo. Unlike the luxury Chiron, the Divo is made to whip it good around a track and is focused on lightness and handling.
In addition to the pandemic which seems to stretch out in the distance forever, other financial factors are certainly weighing against developing a new Bugatti. As we reported in September, there’s word that EV supercar firm Rimac Automobili is in talks to purchase the brand from Volkswagen. And VW itself has been on a money-losing streak, both in its failure to grasp North American market share and in spending big development bucks on the new ID line of EVs.
Bugatti sucks up a lot of development dollars, and its luxury hypercar mission means it’s necessarily limited in its product offerings. It can’t really offer an entry-level hybrid, a family sedan, or a crossover. Volkswagen already has numerous brands in its portfolio which are more versatile than Bugatti, have a greater return on investment, can share platforms, and don’t require 16-cylinder power. Lamborghini, Bentley, and Porsche cover most of the bases, and the former even has a halo image (albeit less golden) than Bugatti.
It’ll likely be a holding pattern for Bugatti for the near future until a sale occurs and Rimac can start branding its intensely fast vehicles with that illustrious EB badge.
[Image: Bugatti]
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Airbnb Announces Ban On Terrorists Who Stormed The U.S. Capitol [Details]
Source: SOPA Images / Getty
Slowly but surely, the terrorists who stormed the U.S. Capitol are being held accountable and we LOVE to see it.
That said, Airbnb has made an important announcement just eight days before Joe Biden‘s inauguration. According to a company press release, anyone who took part in the attempted coup will not be able to use the platform.
“As we approach the Presidential Inauguration, we are providing an update on the steps we are taking to help protect our community of hosts and guests in the greater Washington, D.C. area,” Airbnb announced. “Dating back to the tragic events around Charlottesville in 2017, Airbnb has applied Trust and Safety defenses in order to combat violent and discriminatory hate groups. To that end, on an ongoing basis, Airbnb has removed people from the platform associated with violent hate groups in advance of specific events, including taking action ahead of the horrific attack on Congress, by cancelling reservations and removing accounts associated with hate group members, including Proud Boys.”
“In advance of the Inauguration, we are expanding and enhancing our Trust and Safety defense systems. Today we’re announcing our Capitol Safety Plan – a 7-step plan to help build trust and assist with protecting the greater D.C. community,” the press release went on.
The 7 steps include:
Banning Individuals Identified as Involved in Criminal Activity at the Capitol: When we learn through media or law enforcement sources the names of individuals confirmed to have been responsible for the violent criminal activity at the United States Capitol on January 6, we investigate whether the named individuals have an account on Airbnb. This includes cross-referencing the January 6 arrest logs of D.C. Metro Police. If the individuals have an Airbnb account, we take action, which includes banning them from using Airbnb.
Review of D.C. Area Reservations: We are reviewing reservations in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. If we confirm that any guests are associated with a hate group or otherwise not allowed on our platform for violating certain community policies prohibiting violence or engaging in criminal activity, we will cancel those reservations and ban them from Airbnb.
Booking Requirements: All US residents seeking to book an Airbnb listing must first successfully verify their identity – at times being required to provide their government ID to prove that they are who they say they are. This helps prevent hate group members from hiding behind fake identities.
Additional Security Checks: Airbnb already runs background checks on all US users when they first begin using the platform, and if additional information comes to light under the Capitol Safety Plan we may re-run background checks or assess against other publicly available sources or databases.
Guest Engagement and Legal Action: We will be communicating to all booking guests to the Capitol Region that if we learn that they or their additional guests are members of hate groups, planning violence or violating our policies or terms of service, we may bring legal action against them.
Engaging Our Host Community: Members of hate groups are never welcome on Airbnb and we have previously taken action to remove these individuals from the Airbnb community. We are reminding our host community via email and notifications in our app that if they suspect violations of this policy, they can reach trained crisis staff by calling our Urgent Safety Line.
Neighbor Support: We have a neighbor support line at airbnb.com/neighbors to connect with Washington D.C., Virginia and Maryland neighbors directly if they need to bring issues with reservations to our attention. It includes a 24/7 hotline overseen by highly trained staff.
Read the full press release here. Airbnb promises to continue to operate with “as much transparency as possible.”
Airbnb , Newsletter , U.S. capitol , White nationalists , white terrorism
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CELEBS LIFE REEL
Julia Raleigh
Facts about Julia Raleigh
Birthplace Edgewood, Kentucky, US
Zodiac Leo
Profession YouTuber,
Height 5 feet and 5 inches
Relationship status In a relationship
Net worth $300,000 – $400,000. (More info Below)
Julia Raleigh is an all-in-all package of an entertainer. She is beautiful, has strong-personality and has a good sense of humor. There is nothing that you would not like about her. Her first shot at fame was when a prank video she did alongside her boyfriend, A1saud went viral all over the Internet. Since then their channel has kept growing rapidly. The couple has been followed by millions of people worldwide to watch their funny, goofy and mischievous videos. Now, let us know about this YouTube sensation, Julia Raleigh.
BIO AND WIKI
Julia Raleigh is a 23 years old YouTuber, who was born on August 6, 1997. in Edgewood, Kentucky, US. Ever since Julia was a kid, she was always interested and passionate about makeup and fashion. As Julia grew up, she accumulated a lot of fame and recognition for her pranks, challenges, reaction, comedy videos and vlogs which she uploads in her channel, Jules and Saud.
Right now, Julia has earned more than 2 million subscribers. Not just that, her channel has attained a total of more than 275 million views from her videos. Other than YouTube, she has lots of fan followings on her various social media platforms. Also, she has more than 359k followers on her Instagram alone at the time of writing this article.
Julia Raleigh’s BOYFRIEND AND RELATIONSHIP
If you are reading this article, you probably already know about her relationship. But, for those of you who don’t know about her boyfriend, she is currently dating a man who goes by the name A1saud. They were dating since their high school days and have been together ever since. The moment they share on screen is really pure, full of life, and goofy at the same time. Not a post or videos goes by without comments such as couple goals, relationship goals, perfect couple and so on.
Julia Raleigh’s boyfriend A1saud
As a personality who likes to keep it authentic and clear about her life, her wonderful relationship is recognized to all. Her Instagram posts explicate how lovely and genuinely she expresses her love to him. It unmistakably won’t be untrue to say that their relationship is destined to last eternally. They have been a model and a lesson for pairs who tend to separate their ways in the minutest of things.
Julia Raleigh and A1saud
Julia Raleigh’s HEIGHT, WEIGHT AND BODY MEASUREMENTS
Height Julia Raleigh stands 5 feet and 5 inches tall.
Weight 58 kg or 128 lbs
Hair Dark Brown
Eyes Dark Brown
Body Type Curvy hour-glass shaped body figure
Body Measurement Unfortunately, the detailed statistics regarding her body measurements remain unknown.
Julia in a great shape
Julia Raleigh’s FAMILY, EDUCATION AND CHILDHOOD
Father: She has not stated the identification of her dad in any of her social media until now.
Mother: Similarly, she has not opened up about her mother too.
Sibling: She has two brothers named Bailey Raleigh and Brian Raleigh. Also, she has a younger sister.
Childhood: Her childhood was really great amidst a lot of care and love from her parents. They were continuously meeting everything she requires to pursue what she wants. In simple terms, she had undergone a childhood that has unquestionably played a pivotal role to achieve the progress she is getting momentarily.
Education: Julia Raleigh was homeschooled in her junior year of high school. Later she tried to go to school in her senior year but, retaliated after not having a good experience. So, she went back to homeschooling in her senior year. Later she studies Cosmetology to pursue her passion for makeup and beauty.
What is Julia Raleigh’s NET WORTH and EARNINGS??
Sponsorship: As Julia has more than 359k followers on her Instagram account, advertisers pay a certain amount for the post they make.
Considering Julia’s latest 15 posts, the average engagement rate of followers on each of her post is 12.43%. Thus, the average estimate of the amount she charges for sponsorship is between $1,078.5 – $1,797.5.
Julia Raleigh’s Instagram earnings
YouTube: YouTube has been a platform where people can earn money through videos they upload..
So is the case for Julia Raleigh, as most of her earnings and incomes come from YouTube. The subscribers and viewers count of her has risen significantly over the years.
Currently, she has more than 2 million subscribers on her channel with an average of 448,176 views daily.
Julia Raleigh’s YouTube earnings
Net Worth: According to socialblade.com, from her YouTube channel, Julia earns an estimated $40.3K – $645.4K in a year calculating the daily views and growth of subscribers. Thus, evaluating all her income streams, explained above, over the years, and calculating it, Julia Raleigh’s net worth is estimated to be around $300,000 – $400,000.
ALSO READ: Young and charming TikTok star Josh Richards
Julia Raleigh’s CAREER
Julia Raleigh started her YouTube channel on May 26, 2014 and uploaded her first video titled “Things Guys Don’t Understand About Girls.” Since then she has been uploading various pranks, challenges, reaction, comedy videos and vlogs.
Till now, out of all her videos, “HICKEY PRANK ON GIRLFRIEND!!! *Freaks Out*” is the most popular videos in her channel. It has racked more than 7 million views as of now.
At the moment, her channel is growing day-by-day with over 2 million following her video content. Also, she is consistent in uploading videos as she uploads videos twice or thrice a week.
Is Julia Raleigh involved in any RUMORS AND CONTROVERSY?
It is apparent that several bad information about figures like her involving them spread here and there. Her haters can make stories and attempt to take her down out of jealousy and envy. Yet, she has nevermore given much thought to it. Preferably she concentrates on positivity and love, her fans and followers return to her. She has done excellent work to keep herself distant from controversies until this day.
FACTS IN SUMMARY
Q: What is Julia Raleigh’s birthdate?
A: Julia Raleigh was born on August 6, 1997.
Q: What is Julia Raleigh’s age?
A: Julia Raleigh is 23 years old.
Q: What is Julia Raleigh’s height?
A: Julia Raleigh’s height is 5 feet and 5 inches.
Q: Who is Julia Raleigh’s Boyfriend?
A: Julia Raleigh is In a relationship at the moment.
Q: What is Julia Raleigh’s Net Worth?
A: Julia Raleigh’s net worth is $300,000 – $400,000..
Julia Raleigh’s SOCIAL MEDIA
Platform Followers (As of February 2020) Link
Facebook Not created Julia Raleigh’s FB
Twitter 23k Julia Raleigh’s Twitter
Instagram 359k Julia Raleigh’s Instagram
YouTube 2 million Julia Raleigh’s YouTube
ALSO READ: Net Worth of The Ace Family
Categories Biography
Think of it, every celebrity has their own life reel (story), and we cover their story encompassing their age, romantic life, the wealth they have earned, and what not, hence our name, CELEBS LIFE REEL.
Suggestion/Correction
© 2021 CELEBS LIFE REEL
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Lou Shuman, DMD, CAGS
John Kringel, BA, MBA
Thais Carter
Russ Bonafede
Marty Jablow, DMD
Chris Salierno, DDS
Paul Feuerstein, DMD
John Flucke, DDS
Pamela Maragliano-Muniz, DMD
Melissa Turner
Company Accelerator
Best of Class
2020 Best of Class
russ@cellerantconsulting.com
Russ brings over 30 years of dental/medical device experience to Cellerant Consulting. He has held executive leadership roles for the last 20 years having most recently served as CEO of Keystone Dental Inc., where he led the acquisition of Paltop Advanced Dental Solutions and a capital raise of $20M. Prior to Keystone, he held executive level positions with Zest Dental Solutions, joining the organization as Chief Commercial Officer and later being promoted to President. During his tenure at Zest, Russ built out a world-class commercial organization, launched several key products, played a key role in two acquisitions (Iveri Whitening/Danville Materials), and was instrumental in the sale of Zest, generating an exceptional return for the private-equity owners (Avista Capital Partners). Prior to Zest, Russ served as President of Henry Schein Orthodontics (HSO) for five years. The company grew more than 2.5x during his tenure through a combination of organic growth and the acquisition and integration of other orthodontic assets (Masel, ClassOne, Ortho Technology). Before moving into a leadership role with HSO, his career accomplishments have been focused in the marketing discipline holding positions in nearly every aspect of medical device marketing to include senior marketing management, all levels of product management, marketing research, and marketing communications. Preceding his role with HSO, he held Vice-President of Global Marketing positions with Biomet 3i and Zimmer Dental prior to the merger of those organizations. He has related craniomaxillofacial experience via Senior Product Manager and General Manager assignments with Stryker Leibinger and Macropore, Inc. Other employers have included Olympus Endoscopy and The American Red Cross.
Russ has a B.S. with a concentration in Marketing from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh where he graduated with Cum Laude honors and was voted "The Most Outstanding Student" in the Marketing major. He earned an MBA at San Diego State University, graduating at the top of his class and completing a mini thesis on "The Adoption and Diffusion of New Medical Technology". He has completed additional graduate level coursework and seminars at University of San Diego, UCLA, The University of Chicago, and Seton Hall University. His experience spans smaller start-ups as well as larger established medical device companies in both public, privately-held, and private-equity sponsored environments.
Russ resides in Carlsbad, CA with his wife Linda.
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Whether you are a pre-revenue startup or looking to energize an established dental business we can help.
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info@cellerantconsulting.com
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‘Women cricketers have made the country proud’
Chronicle Reporter, Bhopal “Women cricketers have brought laurels to the country by performing brilliantly in international competitions.” These words were spoken by the Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan while felicitating the women cricketers of the country in the Friends of MP Summit in Indore. On this occasion, State’s Industry Minister Mr. Rajendra Shukla, Mayor Mrs. Malini Gaud, MLA MS. Usha Thakur, BCCI Vice President Mr. Sanjay Jagdale, Chief Minister’s wife Mrs. Sadhna Singh, Sports and Youth Welfare Director Mr. Upendra Jain, Public Relations Chief Secretary Mr. S.K. Mishra, Public Relations Commissioner Mr. P. Narhari were present. Addressing the summit, Mr. Chouhan said that Women’s Cricket Team players have won the hearts of 130 crore people of India with their brilliant performance in the game of cricket and whole country is proud of them. He also said that he had watched the final match on 23rd July 2017 in which Indian Team had lost just by 9 runs. Chief Minister added that he hopes Indian Women’s Cricket Team will perform at its best in future to become world champion. He encouraged them by saying the proverb where there’s a will, there’s a way. He reminded Swami Vivekanad’s words that every person has a part of God in him, there is no work on earth that person can’t do. On this occasion, he also informed about the reservation for women in government jobs. He also said that games are all right in politics but politics in games is not. It is noteworthy that Indian Women’s Cricket Team defeated Australia, the strongest team in the world, with 36 runs to enter in the final of World Cup 2017. To appreciate their excellent performance, Chief Minister announced the award of Rs. 50 lakhs to the Women’s Cricket team. To receive this award, team players were in Indore today. Team’s every member received 3 lakh 33 thousand as an honour. On this occasion, Mr. Milind Kalmadikar, Mr. Mahendra Sethia, Mr. M.K. Bhagrava all from Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association, Executive Officer Mr. Rohit Pandit, Indore Division Cricket Association Secretary Mr. Amitabh Vijayvargiya and Handball Association State Secretary Mr. Preetpal Singh were also present. Felicitated Players Indian Women’s Cricket Team Captain Mitali Raj, Mona Meshram, Poonam Raut, Deepti Sharma, Jhoolan Goswami, Shikha Pandey, Ekta Bisht, Sushma Verma, Rajeshwari Gaekwad, Poonam Yadav, Nuzrat Parveen and Smriti Mandhana were felicitated with Shawl and Shreefal. Awards were also presented for team members Harmanpreet Kaur, Vedakrishna Moorti and Mansi Joshi, who were absent on this occasion.
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Chart Week: Renewable Energy, Oil and the Mideast
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No Wonder We're Failing: Our Power Elites' Sole Expertise Is Being Privileged
The Power Elite which has been raised to occupy the privileged seats of political and financial power in America has a skillset limited to navigating the world of privilege.
The Power Elites are not monolithic: there are three distinct layers, each with its own defining characteristics.
Correspondent Judy T. recently recommended an extraordinary essay on the education and grooming received by the Political and Financial Power Elite: The Disadvantages of an Elite Education by William Deresiewicz.
I have roughly excerpted this long and important essay below.
In essence, Deresiewicz suggests that the Elite youth being groomed at exclusive Ivy league universities--an Elite education--are functionally incompetent in the real world and only skilled at a superficial facsimile of "independent thought" which is merely a higher order of groupthink and its attendent obedience.
Deresiewicz is addressing the privileged-by-birth/class Elite which is being groomed for positions high up in government, law and finance--the working Elites of the American Empire who make the decisions which impact billions of people.
A much thinner layer of Elites have little real power but plenty of wealth. These are the entrepreneural Elites glorified by breathless articles such as The Rise of the New Global Elite (The Atlantic).
This perspective takes the examples of Bill Gates (co-founder of Microsoft, Mark Zuckerberg (founder of Facebook)--both children of privilege, we note--and a handful of hedge fund managers and other super-wealthy players as proof that meritocracy is still the great leveler, and that hard work and innovation now pay off more than ever.
This article claims that a "winner take all" economy is rewarding the wealthy because the wealthy are smarter, more innovative and harder working than the average bear, and so income inequality is the outcome of this.
This argument is higher-order propaganda: by establishing a superficially undeniable case that a handful of super-wealthy individuals has earned their great wealth rather than inherit it, then the argument is extended to cover all positions of wealth and power: it's all, ahem, "earned."
But as Deresiewicz scathingly delineates, the vast majority of the Power Elites in government, finance and global corporate leadership are trained to a mediocrity which they have been groomed to accept as excellence.
This highly-touted Innovative Elite only functions in the narrow sphere of technology and financial speculation. Its numbers are miniscule and its direct influence over policy is generally overstated.
The Third Elite is also a meritocracy: this is a group I would term Academic Elites.These are the young people who earn their doctorates from, do post-doc research in, and end up teaching at the creme da la creme science and math universities: MIT, Caltech, Princeton's Institute of Advanced Study, Harvard, UC Berkeley, et al.
Since I live in Berkeley, I have met many of these budding academic superstars, and I have found them to be uniformly unpretentious about their high-powered talent and knowledge. Just anecdotally, that suggests that carting a great ego around does not play very well in the hard-sciences Academic Elite.
A member of this Elite is occasionally appointed to some high position in government--for example, President Obama appointed physicist Steve Chu to be Secretary of Energy. Though these positions can be bully pulpits for various innovative ideas, they are essentially powerless.
Thus this third Elite also has limited access to the levers of power. (Anecdotally, they are often foreign-born citizens or second-generation immigrants--that is, they don't arise from families of established privilege and wealth.)
I have had a small taste of a privileged Elite education, as I graduated from the same prep school that President Obama attended in Honolulu, Hawaii (the oldest prep school west of the Rockies, mind you). My stepfather taught there, and so I was able to attend tuition-free.
I would say that an Elite education is only one piece in the Power Elites' grooming; ultimately, it's family connections and the mentoring of influential people which raise people to positions of State and financial power. This is not the networking one achieves by attending various meetings; you are born to it. (sorry, meritocracy propagandists.)
I would also be careful to separate the hard sciences Academic Elites from the Ivy League/law school layer that Deresiewicz describes. They are different Elites despite having some occasional crossover.
There are two classes manufactured in Elite education institutions: those destined to be handed the levers of power, and those destined to serve them as well-paid factotums and functionaries. Sadly, many believe the hokem about merit being the key to State and financial wealth and power, and on a superficial level of outliers and frontmen (Bill Clinton et al.), this is true enough to further the con.
But when the real Elites gather, the hard-working Elite functionaries find themselves relegated to the Siberia of inferiors.
Here is my rough excerpt of The Disadvantages of an Elite Education by William Deresiewicz. It suggests that the institutions of Elite education are failing at a fundamental level, and that the meritocracy so treasured as part of the American Dream is as threadbare as the "independence and expertise" of the Elites being groomed to power.
(Those who attend 2nd and 3rd Tier universities) are being conditioned for lives with few second chances, no extensions, little support, narrow opportunity--lives of subordination, supervision, and control, lives of deadlines, not guidelines. At places like Yale, of course, it’s the reverse.The elite like to think of themselves as belonging to a meritocracy, but that’s true only up to a point. Getting through the gate is very difficult, but once you’re in, there’s almost nothing you can do to get kicked out.
Elite schools nurture excellence, but they also nurture what a former Yale graduate student I know calls "entitled mediocrity."
Anyone who remembers the injured sanctimony with which Kenneth Lay greeted the notion that he should be held accountable for his actions will understand the mentality in question—the belief that once you’re in the club, you’ve got a God-given right to stay in the club.
One of the disadvantages of an elite education is the temptation it offers to mediocrity, another is the temptation it offers to security. When parents explain why they work so hard to give their children the best possible education, they invariably say it is because of the opportunities it opens up. But what of the opportunities it shuts down? An elite education gives you the chance to be rich— which is, after all, what we’re talking about—but it takes away the chance not to be. Yet the opportunity not to be rich is one of the greatest opportunities with which young Americans have been blessed.
Because students from elite schools expect success, and expect it now. They have, by definition, never experienced anything else, and their sense of self has been built around their ability to succeed. The idea of not being successful terrifies them, disorients them, defeats them.
But if you’re afraid to fail, you’re afraid to take risks, which begins to explain the final and most damning disadvantage of an elite education: that it is profoundly anti-intellectual. This will seem counterintuitive.
Being an intellectual means more than doing your homework.
If so few kids come to college understanding this, it is no wonder. Being an intellectual means, first of all, being passionate about ideas—and not just for the duration of a semester, for the sake of pleasing the teacher, or for getting a good grade.
Places like Yale are simply not set up to help students ask the big questions. When elite universities boast that they teach their students how to think, they mean that they teach them the analytic and rhetorical skills necessary for success in law or medicine or science or business. But a humanistic education is supposed to mean something more than that, as universities still dimly feel.
They spend four years taking courses that train them to ask the little questions— specialized courses, taught by specialized professors, aimed at specialized students. Although the notion of breadth is implicit in the very idea of a liberal arts education, the admissions process increasingly selects for kids who have already begun to think of themselves in specialized terms—the junior journalist, the budding astronomer, the language prodigy. We are slouching, even at elite schools, toward a glorified form of vocational training.
Indeed, that seems to be exactly what those schools want. There’s a reason elite schools speak of training leaders, not thinkers--holders of power, not its critics. An independent mind is independent of all allegiances, and elite schools, which get a large percentage of their budget from alumni giving, are strongly invested in fostering institutional loyalty.
As another friend, a third-generation Yalie, says, the purpose of Yale College is to manufacture Yale alumni.
The liberal arts university is becoming the corporate university, its center of gravity shifting to technical fields where scholarly expertise can be parlayed into lucrative business opportunities.
Yet there is a dimension of the intellectual life that lies above the passion for ideas, though so thoroughly has our culture been sanitized of it that it is hardly surprising if it was beyond the reach of even my most alert students. Since the idea of the intellectual emerged in the 18th century, it has had, at its core, a commitment to social transformation. Being an intellectual means thinking your way toward a vision of the good society and then trying to realize that vision by speaking truth to power. It means going into spiritual exile.
Being an intellectual begins with thinking your way outside of your assumptions and the system that enforces them. But students who get into elite schools are precisely the ones who have best learned to work within the system, so it’s almost impossible for them to see outside it, to see that it’s even there. Long before they got to college, they turned themselves into world-class hoop-jumpers and teacher-pleasers, getting A’s in every class no matter how boring they found the teacher or how pointless the subject, racking up eight or 10 extracurricular activities no matter what else they wanted to do with their time.
Thirty-two flavors, all of them vanilla. The most elite schools have become places of a narrow and suffocating normalcy. Everyone feels pressure to maintain the kind of appearance—and affect—that go with achievement. (Dress for success, medicate for success.) I know from long experience as an adviser that not every Yale student is appropriate and well-adjusted, which is exactly why it worries me that so many of them act that way. The tyranny of the normal must be very heavy in their lives.
"To whom can I expose the urgency of my own passion?...There is nobody--here among these grey arches, and moaning pigeons, and cheerful games and tradition and emulation, all so skilfully organised to prevent feeling alone." (Virginia Woolf)
Emerson says, he reported, that one of the purposes of friendship is to equip you for solitude.
There’s been much talk of late about the loss of privacy, but equally calamitous is its corollary, the loss of solitude. It used to be that you couldn’t always get together with your friends even when you wanted to. Now that students are in constant electronic contact, they never have trouble finding each other.
Other students told me they found their peers too busy for intimacy. What happens when busyness and sociability leave no room for solitude? The ability to engage in introspection, I put it to my students that day, is the essential precondition for living an intellectual life, and the essential precondition for introspection is solitude. They took this in for a second, and then one of them said, with a dawning sense of self-awareness, “So are you saying that we’re all just, like, really excellent sheep?”
But I do know that the life of the mind is lived one mind at a time: one solitary, skeptical, resistant mind at a time. The best place to cultivate it is not within an educational system whose real purpose is to reproduce the class system.
The kid who’s loading up on AP courses junior year or editing three campus publications while double-majoring, the kid whom everyone wants at their college or law school but no one wants in their classroom, the kid who doesn’t have a minute to breathe, let alone think, will soon be running a corporation or an institution or a government.
She will have many achievements but little experience, great success but no vision. The disadvantage of an elite education is that it’s given us the elite we have, and the elite we’re going to have. (emphasis added)
Thank you, Judy, for recommending this insightful essay.
No wonder the U.S. is imploding--its State and financial Elites believe their mediocre groupthink is actually brilliant. That self-serving self-deception and hubris has cost us dearly, and will continue to do so.
New recipes on What's for Dinner at Your House?--Elsewhere Cafe Muffins, and Louisa's Vegetarian Baked Beans
Order Survival+: Structuring Prosperity for Yourself and the Nation or Survival+ The Primer from your local bookseller or from amazon.com or in ebook and Kindle formats.A 20% discount is available from the publisher.
Thank you, Matthew N. ($10), for your many generous contributions to this site, both intellectual and financial-- I am greatly honored by your ongoing correspondence and readership. Thank you, Rhone M. ($120), for your monumentally generous support both financial and intellectual, of this site-- I am honored by your ongoing correspondence and readership
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Poet Nancy Campbell reviews Nick Drake’s new collection, Out of Range: poems celebrating proximity and distance (spatial, temporal, emotional) to remark on the state we’re in, taking us on a journey through known worlds into unknown ones.
1,950 words: estimated reading time 8 minutes
Nick Drake has established a reputation for profound engagement with that trickiest of cultural endeavours, formulating a creative response to the climate crisis. Last summer saw the premier by London Symphonietta of Cave, an opera in which Drake’s libretto and Tansy Davies’ score relate a grieving father’s search for survival in a world devastated by climate change. Back in 2010 Drake was among the group of artists and scientists selected for the Cape Farewell voyage around the Svalbard archipelago; the resulting book-length poem, The Farewell Glacier bears witness to the effects of climate change on the polar ice. Increasingly, as the imminent consequences of sea level rise and species extinction become clear (not to mention human culpability) it is implausible to write of the natural world in isolation. Drake’s poems consider human nature, its ingenuity and artifice, our capacity for enacting violence on other humans as well as on the biosphere, whether actively or by omission. One of these works was enshrined in a permanent public art installation about Alan Turing, one of the pioneers of Artificial Intelligence, beneath a bridge in London’s Paddington Basin: Message from the Unseen World.
I imagine the cycle courier — the dazzling, zig-zagging star of Through the red light, the first poem in Drake’s new collection, “appearing from the primordial chaos / of the underpass … / not giving a flying fuck about red lights” — might have recently swung past Message from the Unseen World, heedless in his haste to the work’s continually shifting texts, its own unpredictable, algorithmic dynamics. The courier is destined to become a text too: it’s the poet who captures him, not a speed camera, before — like many other urban demi-gods in this electrifying collection — he passes ‘out of range’. Drake celebrates his outmanoeuvring of heavy gas-guzzling vehicles, his transgressive speed, before leading the reader on a book-long journey through known worlds and into unknown ones.
Out of Range, by Nick Drake
The ordinary-extraordinary
There is a devastating trio of Arctic poems (the polar ice, once seen, is not easily forgotten), but on the whole Drake turns his scrutiny on regions closer to home, from Achiltibue in the Highlands of Scotland to London’s East End. These may be familiar places, but Drake reveals afresh their ‘magic, mystery and wonder’, those qualities which the Romantic poet, mystic and mineralogist Novalis (1772-1801) once defined as the goal of the Romantic movement. In these poems Drake seems to share Novalis’s desire to awaken the reader: “to educate the senses, to see the ordinary as extraordinary, the familiar as strange, the mundane as sacred, the finite as infinite.” It is our everyday actions which need scrutiny in these times, being those which will destroy us.
Drake’s poems take a close and compassionate look at ordinary, sometimes disposable, objects that are too often taken for granted or scorned. Many have been created, cultivated or traded by humans — incandescent lightbulbs, a fatberg in the city’s sewers, peaches:
sunset red in their soft blue cardboard beds
that safeguarded their journey from the trees …
via the cargo belly of a 747
– Peaches for the Solstice.
The elegy for the fatberg (which is so graphic it is hard to read without gagging) is titled Stranger Thing, calling to mind Rilke’s Dinggedichte (‘thing poems’), quiet works which W.H. Auden described in the New Republic as expressing ideas with “physical rather than intellectual symbols”. Auden continued: “While Shakespeare, for example, thought of the non-human world in terms of the human, Rilke thinks of the human in terms of the non-human, of what he calls Things (Dinge).” In Drake’s work there is scarcely a filament, a “hair’s breadth” between these dualities. This approach has interesting ramifications at the present moment, when material culture threatens to overwhelm us.
In Still Life: Plastic Water Bottle (used), the now-ubiquitous shape of the bottle takes over the poem. It is as if plastic particles have made their way into the poem, as insidiously as they have the waters of the world. The layout of the text emphasises how impossible the physical object is to destroy. The water bottle speaks, asks: “Why did you / make us in / your image?” The reader gathers that, in the bottle’s worldview, humans are gods — but gods who find their creation turning against them. There are hints of the exiled duke and sorcerer Prospero, who governs the seas and creates storms, in echoes of lines from Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Yet Drake’s poem is most reminiscent of the work of another Romantic poet, John Keats, whose Ode on a Grecian Urn considered human achievement in creating a vessel that outlasted ages, that told a story of its times. Whereas Keats hymned eternal Beauty — “When old age shall this generation waste, / Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe / Than ours, a friend to man” — Drake predicts eternal waste (unless an alternative ‘skin’ to plastic can be found?). Whereas Keats addressed the urn, it is Drake’s water bottle that addresses the reader, depriving the human of any voice or agency within the poem. In both poems, however, the enduring nature of the vessel becomes a means to meditate on human temporality.
The most haunting example of ‘the familiar as strange, the mundane as sacred’ in this collection comes in Ollamalloni, a poem which describes the experience of a common Aztec ball game from the perspective of a priest who believes he is witnessing a religious ritual. (Written for the London Olympics 2012, it indirectly celebrates the capital on a cultural high, before the 2016 Referendum.) Throughout the collection, without anger or agenda, a picture of the city and a febrile wider world emerges. London’s various pleasures include dancing in gay clubs until 3 a.m., the comforting fluorescent glow of all-night stores, and people-watching in cafes at weekends — it’s a place in which, despite many inequalities, people at least have the right to love who they choose. But encounters between humans are rarely satisfying. The poet is more likely to interact with the whorl of hair at the back of stranger’s head, scrutinised while sitting on the top deck of a bus, than look into their eyes. The script of the street is a tragic monologue: the ‘raving statue’ of a begger (Maenad); a homeless man, venting his rage on being taken short and finding the public toilets closed (London Fields). In Night Bus, a man who is ‘keening’ and incomprehensible:
lamentations to the empty street —
What words in what languages is he yelling
across time zones and distances?
While some poems present uninhibited diatribes, others consider barriers to communication. In The Dancing Satyr, a bronze statue at the Royal Academy has been dredged up from the sea — a poignant forerunner of the plastic water bottle, perhaps. It is “resuscitated but refusing to answer our interrogations” and, like a warped digital device, “uttering a modem feedback / at a pitch too extreme for human ears to hear”.
The Dancing Satyr
Royal Academy exhibition, ‘Bronze’ (2012)
royalacademy.org.uk
Communication across distance is a preoccupation — whether through the fine arts of the past or the obdurate and brilliant promise of technology. In the title poem, a mobile phone no longer works ‘out of range’. Failing to get a signal, Drake retreats to the “windowed coffin” of what might be “the last phone box on earth”. He speaks past the dead spiders in the handset, into an unseen place 5,000 miles distant, tapping into “rush-hour babble”. The ability to communicate at the vast range of a globalised society is necessary to facilitate our closest relationships — and the future.
The phone box might also be a Tardis, of course, although Drake is too subtle to say so — and this ambitious book doesn’t stop at the Earth’s atmosphere but takes the reader into outer space. The roads along which the cycle courier swoops are supplanted by a more vertiginous course. The furthest range in the collection is saved for the Voyager I spacecraft:
with the immortal gold LP
fixed on your side,
coded for ancient technology, our message
of the sounds of life on earth, all that we are
or wish to seem –
– Life on Earth.
Voyager I carries a message that will have aged by the time it reaches its destination: “44,000 nightfall years / to the next star”. As Stephen Hawking wrote in his posthumous book, Brief Answers to the Big Questions, for the optimist there are two options for humanity’s future: “First, the exploration of space for alternative planets on which to live, and second, the positive use of artificial intelligence to improve our world.” The irony is that the technologies that characterise the Anthropocene, dependent on fossil fuels and rare earth minerals, have condemned human life, but also that — in the eyes of some thinkers — these same inventions now have the potential to save us too.
The Voyager Golden Record
© NASA/JPL-Caltech
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/voyager/index.html
Technology facilitates connections between those who share a city (or planet, or solar system), between lovers, partners, friends, strangers, and those unknown generations who may inhabit a future world. They are present as a “delayed echo” (Out of Range). This convincing instinct for — not to put too fine a point upon it — love, mitigates grief at what is being lost. One poem, Send, returns to that by-now familiar anxiety about communication. The reader is relieved to discover that sending a text message will be less troublesome than the titular phone call. Initially, this gives every appearance of being a traditional sonnet, a love poem across time zones, with echoes of Shakespearean doubling in the lover’s observation of time differences: “my summer day’s your night”. In the fourteenth line — which in a sonnet would be the last — the narrator claims to hear voices in the cloud: “I know they say we love what we must lose.” But Drake does not permit such a mournful conclusion: “this poem will not have that ending”. Another quatrain follows, and no full stop.
Send, and other poems in this collection, aspires to connectivity rather than catharsis. Can our everyday actions rewrite the formal structures which surround us, Drake asks. Can we wrench fate around, and tell a different story to that which the satyr screams, as it dances “to Earth’s lost songs / in the radiant silence of the boundless dark”?
Nancy Campbell is a writer and poet whose most recent book, The Library of Ice: Readings from a Cold Climate, (published by Scribner UK, 2018) was reviewed for ClimateCultures by Sally Moss. Nancy’s previous posts for ClimateCultures are The Polar Tombola and A Personal History of the Anthropocene – Three Objects #7.
Out of Range is Nick Drake‘s fourth collection, and is published by Bloodaxe Books (2018). In these poems, he explores the signs, wonders and alarms of the shock and impact of ‘Generation Anthropocene’ on Earth’s climate and ecology. Nick’s previous collections include The Farewell Glacier (Bloodaxe 2012), which grew out of a Cape Farewell voyage around the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard to study climate change.
You can read three of Nick’s poems from Out of Range in full as part of his own contribution to the ClimateCultures series A History of the Anthropocene in 50 Objects: Chronicle of the Incandescent Lightbulb; Still life: Plastic water bottle (used); and Stranger Thing. (And, in the first post in that series, you can also find my own reflections on the record attached to the Voyager 1 spacecraft that is the subject of Nick’s title poem, Out of Range).
You can watch a Royal Academy video showing The Dancing Satyr and discussing its discovery in the seas off Sicily in the 1990s.
A writer and book artist interested in polar regions and water conservation: Royal Geographical Society's 2020 Ness Award for her books on culture and climate change.
Author Nancy CampbellPosted on 24th January 2019 16th May 2020 Categories ReviewTags Anthropocene, Anxiety, Archaeology, Artefact, Climate Change, Language, Loss, Objects, Poetry, Sculpture, Stories, TechnologyLeave a comment on Out of Range
“Firestone far beneath our feet”
James Murray-White took a break from editing his Finding Blake film to review Cornerstones: subterranean writings. This new collection explores how all landscapes — from Dartmoor to the Arctic Circle — begin below the surface of the earth.
930 words: estimated reading time 3.5 minutes
Earlier this year I counted myself blessed, albeit slightly apprehensive, as I was shown into Jordans Mine on Portland in Dorset, by mine manager Mark Godden. I was there to see and film where the slab of Portland stone for the English mystic William Blake’s new ledger stone was cut from. We’ve published much material about Blake’s life and work, his burial site and the process of creating his new stone over at the multi-fabulous Finding Blake project website.
Liquid light Photograph: James Murray-White © 2018
Underground dream-worlds
The experience was my first face-to-face encounter with the multiple seams where much of the stone that London is built with (or in the current age, faced with) comes from. This subterranean world, manned only by a few — with huge trucks driving in and out constantly, their lights churning towards and then away from us in the chasms and tunnels — seemed out of this world. And yet, in many ways, it was utterly of the world — an underground engine that takes what is below to build up what is above.
Photograph: James Murray-White © 2018
As I reflect upon it, and edit the footage from that day, I’m minded by two other films that deal with underground worlds. Firstly, Michael Madsen’s Into Eternity, which looks at a vast underground series of tunnels that make up a giant nuclear waste dump, and how it is being prepared. The second is Werner Herzog’s paean to our ancestors, The Cave of Forgotten Dreams (also 2010), which delves beyond the actuality of the images in the Chauvet cave in France, which have survived more than 30,000 years, to the wonderful suppositions this visionary filmmaker conjures up.
As the weather up here on the Cumbrian Fells worsens for winter, and the slate on the roof bounces around, I’ve been hunkering down with this deep collection of writings that explore the ground beneath the writers’ feet. Many of the stories in Cornerstones were commissioned for a BBC Radio 3 series, and they all speak to the theme of bedrock. We skim along the tectonic plates with writers such as Sara Maitland, John Burnside, and Tim Dee, all gloriously bunched and slammed together by editor Mark Smalley.
Little Toller Books © 2017
Cover design: Rodney Harris, ‘Strata of England & Wales’: www.rodneyharris.co.uk
Sara Maitland places a chunk of Lewisian Gneiss in our hands, of about 3 million years in age; sculptor Peter Randall-Page takes us on a tour of Dartmoor tors, and talks of findlings, or orphan boulders; and, in From taiga to tundra — a favourite piece — Daniel Kalder writes of “dead things and diseases and giant holes leaking gas”.
Tim Dee makes it all the more personal in his piece, My rock, about the diagnosis and treatment of his kidney stone. Something of the deep and discursive comes through as he feels deep pain, going on his subterranean journey into the emotions of that, while researching what a kidney stone is, what causes them, and the history of others suffering them, without actually ever seeing this chunk of calcite. He was, for a time, “awaiting granulation by laser, living around a rocky shadow”.
There’s a link here too with Jason Mark’s potent political writing, Fall of the wild. After what sounds like a very hairy journey by plane through the passes surrounding the Yukon River, where the pilot has to navigate into a hamlet to wait out the storm, Mark engages with the First Nations Gwich’in people’s struggle to preserve and hold on to the rock they have ancestrally lived on, the wilderness.
On the borders of change
Great Whin Sill, Hadrian’s Wall country
Photographer: Mark Goldthorpe © 2007
I’m writing this a few miles from the remains of Hadrian’s Wall, the surviving rock edifice of a collapsed civilisation. I was delighted to read in Sarah Moss’s piece, Whinstone, that “the classical bedrock of English history is as much a thing of flux and mutability as the bedrock of our border”. And her starting and concluding with reflections upon the “firestone far beneath our feet, bubbling and seeping…” is a masterly literary creation.
I once had the pleasure of sharing a sauna with editor Mark Smalley, in the Bristol Lido, and as the heat rose he talked of the passion project he was trying to make happen: a radio programme about the Beer Quarry Caves in Devon, from which Exeter Cathedral was hewn. I’m delighted we’ve both now had these momentous and personally uplifting experiences going below ground and, along with these writers who have patiently observed, recorded and responded to that which holds us, have made material from our subterranean sojourns.
Cornerstones – subterranean writings (2018, edited by Mark Smalley) is published by Little Toller Books.
You can hear the four original Cornerstones episodes of the BBC Radio 3 the Essay series on BBC Sounds.
You can read about Michael Madsen’s film Into Eternity (2010) and Werner Herzog’s film The Cave of Forgotten Dreams (also 2010) at Wikipedia.
Do also check out our August 2017 post from ClimateCultures Member Oliver Raymond-Barker, Beyond Tongues: into the Animist Language of Stone. And you can also read Shaped by Stone, a very brief review on my small blog of an essay by Tom Baskeyfield, writing in the new TERRA collection from the Dark Mountain Project. Oliver and Tom are both photographers with impressive portfolios that include Anatomy of Stone and Shaped by Stone respectively.
A writer and filmmaker linking art forms to dialogue around climate issues, whose practice stretches back to theatre-making.
Author James Murray-WhitePosted on 8th January 2019 16th May 2020 Categories ReviewTags Books, Boundaries, Deep Time, Environmental Change, Film, History, Landscape, Language, Literature, Photography, Place, Prehistory, Projects, StoriesLeave a comment on “Firestone far beneath our feet”
The Last Snows 29th October 2019
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Xavier’s win over Butler raises red flags for the Bulldogs
By Rob DausterNov 13, 2012, 6:40 PM EST
Did we all underrate Xavier this year?
Just four days after putting up 117 points on Fairleigh Dickinson, the Musketeers extended a not-so-cordial invite to new conference rival Butler, whipping up on the Bulldogs 62-47.
Travis Taylor and Jeff Robinson combined for 32 points, 17 boards and three blocks and Brad Reford added three big triples as the Muskies made a serious early-season statement. Butler was a favorite in the Atlantic 10 heading into the season, and Chris Mack’s club disposed of them like a week-old three-way from Skyline.
The bigger story here, however, is Butler.
Simply put, the Bulldogs look like they could be in trouble this season. Their offense, at this point in the season, more-or-less consists of the following: Rotnei Clarke brings the ball up, passes the ball to a wing, and he and Kellen Dunham proceed to run off of screen after screen after screen. Sometimes, those screens result in open looks from three. And those threes will drops at a pretty good clip throughout the year, because Clarke and Dunham may be the nation’s best pair of shooters.
The problem is what happens on the rest of Butler’s possessions.
With Chrishawn Hopkins being dismissed, Brad Stevens does not have anyone that can use their dribble to create shots against quicker defenders. If the Atlantic 10 has anything this season, it is a plethora of teams with quick, ball-hawking guards. Butler will be in and win their fair share of games with scorers like Clarke and Dunham on the roster, but what happens on the nights when those two combine to go 7-18 from the floor and 2-10 from three?
Well, I’ll tell ya: Andrew Smith is going to need to score more than nine points on eight shots, Khyle Marshall can’t go just 3-10 from the floor, and Roosevelt Jones is going to need to be closer to the six assists he had on Friday than the five turnovers he had on Tuesday without the benefit of an assist. Losing Hopkins wouldn’t hurt as much if Smith, Marshall and Jones can show more improvement from last season.
Xavier’s better than we expected, that’s for sure. And it’s unfair to completely judge this Butler team off of just two games.
But there are significant that were red flags raised during Tuesday’s loss.
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Missouri receives commitments from two John A. Logan College players
By Raphielle JohnsonApr 18, 2015, 8:56 PM EDT
After winning just nine games in 2014-15 there’s clearly room for improvement at Missouri. Saturday afternoon head coach Kim Anderson received verbal commitments from two junior college players he hopes are capable of helping to spark a turnaround in Columbia.
As first reported by Brad Winton of JucoRecruiting.com, John A. Logan College products Russell Woods and Martavian Payne committed to the SEC program during a campus visit. Woods is a 6-foot-8 forward who averaged 14.1 points and 7.2 rebounds per game in 2014-15, shooting 61 percent from the field.
With the Tigers needing to account for the transfer of Johnathan Williams III, the addition of Woods is an important one when it comes to their front court depth. Woods joins a front court whose most experienced player will be rising senior Ryan Rosburg, with sophomores D’Angelo Allen and Jakeenan Gant being the other returnees and incoming freshman Kevin Puryear the other newcomer.
As for the 6-foot-2 Payne, he averaged 15.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game this past season, shooting 43.2 percent from the field and 36.9 percent from beyond the arc. He’ll have a little more company on the perimeter than Woods will in the post, as Missouri also adds freshmen Terrence Phillips and Cullen Van Lear.
Missouri returns rising junior Wes Clark and rising sophomores Tramaine Isabel, Montaque Gill-Caesar and Namon Wright from last year’s team.
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Former Penn State forward headed to Houston Texans rookie minicamp
By Raphielle JohnsonMay 3, 2015, 6:10 PM EDT
In recent years NFL teams have looked to college basketball for possible prospects, with franchises leaving no stone unturned in its quest to find players capable of having an impact. Sunday it was announced that another former college basketball player will get to take the next step towards a possible NFL career, with former Penn State forward Ross Travis headed to rookie minicamp with the Houston Texans.
News of the Texans picking up Travis was announced by Tier 1 Sports Management, which is representing Travis, and he’ll be going to the camp as a tight end.
Congrats to our guy Ross Travis – @RossJumpkid – who is heading to rookie mini camp with the @HoustonTexans! #NFL #PennState #Texans
— Tier 1 Sports Mgmt (@Tier1SportsMgmt) May 3, 2015
While it’s tough for undrafted free agents to make their way deeper into the spring and hopefully the training camp roster, simply getting the invite is a positive step for Travis as he hasn’t played football since his freshman year of high school. There should also be some familiarity with the head coach, as Bill O’Brien spent two seasons as the head coach at Penn State before landing his first NFL head coaching job with the Texans.
The Texans will hold their rookie minicamp next weekend. Former Old Dominion forward Richard Ross received an invitation from the Minnesota Vikings to attend their rookie minicamp on Sunday, and former Miami University point guard Quinten Rollins was selected in the second round by the Green Bay Packers.
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The Warsaw Protocol
Author(s): Steve Berry
In the latest thrilling Cotton Malone adventure from international bestseller Steve Berry, one by one the seven precious relics of the Arma Christi, the weapons of Christ, are disappearing from sanctuaries across the world.
After former Justice Department agent Cotton Malone witnesses the theft of one of them, he learns from his old boss, Stephanie Nelle, that a private auction is about to be held where incriminating information on the president of Poland will be offered to the highest bidder - blackmail that both the United States and Russia want, but for vastly different reasons.
The price of admission to that auction is one of the relics, so Malone is first sent to a castle in Poland to steal the Holy Lance, a thousand-year-old spear sacred not only to Christians but to the Polish people, and then on to the auction itself. But nothing goes as planned and Malone is thrust into a bloody battle between three nations over information that, if exposed, could change the balance of power in Europe.
From the tranquil canals of Bruges, to the elegant rooms of Wawel Castle, to deep beneath the earth in an ancient Polish salt mine, Malone is caught in the middle of a deadly war - the outcome of which turns on a secret known as the Warsaw Protocol.
Dimensions : --- length: - '19.8' width: - '12.9' units: - Centimeters
Author : Steve Berry
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Manufacturing: Key Economic Indicators
Manufacturing: Data on manufacturing output, jobs and producer confidence.
Service industries: Key Economic Indicators
Service industries: Data for the sector that incorporates the retail sector, the financial sector, the public sector, business administration and cultural activities.
Hospitality industry and Covid-19
The hospitality industry has been one of the hardest hit sectors affected by the coronavirus pandemic. This paper provides information on the hospitality industry in the UK, the impact of the pandemic and sources of support for the sector.
Business and Consumer Confidence: Key Economic Indicators
Business and Consumer Confidence: Information on business and consumer confidence surveys, which is generally released ahead of official statistical data and can indicate changes to the economic outlook as well as turning points in the economic cycle.
Sewage (Inland Waters) Bill 2019-20
The Sewage (Inland Waters) Bill 2019-20 was introduced by Phillip Dunne MP following the Private Members' Bills Ballot on 9 January 2020. First reading took place on 5 February 2020. Second Reading was scheduled to take place in January 2021 but has been postponed.
Eat Out to Help Out Scheme
The Eat Out to Help Out Scheme was one of the Government's policy measures to support businesses reopening following the first COVID-19 lockdown. The Scheme aimed to help protect jobs in the hospitality sector by encouraging consumers to eat out. This briefing summarises reactions to the Scheme and figures on the Scheme's take-up and impact.
Retail sales: Key Economic Indicators
Retail sales: key indicators on the value of retail sales.
End of Brexit transition: chemicals regulation (REACH)
A House of Commons Library briefing paper discussing the EU REACH regulation for chemicals, the impact of Brexit on the chemicals industry and UK Government plans for a separate UK REACH regime after the end of the transition period.
EU law and treaties
The Future of the high street
There will be a general debate on the future of the high street on Thursday 10th December
Future of the coach industry
A Westminster Hall debate on the ‘Future of the coach industry’ has been scheduled for Thursday 10 December 2020 from 3.00pm. The debate has been initiated by Grahame Morris MP.
Freeports
This note sets out the background to the Government's policy on freeports.
Arts and culture industries: economic contribution and COVID-19
A short Commons Library briefing paper on the contribution of arts, entertainment and culture industries to the UK economy and the impact of COVID-19.
Culture, media and sport
VAT on tourism
This note gives a short introduction to the way VAT works, and the significance of EU VAT law for setting VAT rates, before discussing the campaign for a lower VAT rate on tourist services and the Government's introduction of a temporary 5% rate in July 2020.
EU State Aid rules and WTO Subsidies Agreement
This briefing sets out the principles of EU rules on state aid and the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing measures.
Support for the tourism industry after the Covid-19 lockdown
A debate will be held on the subject of support for the tourism industry after the Covid-19 lockdown on Thursday 10 September
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【Top 19】Anna Quindlen Quotes
Noted Anna Quindlen Quotes at CollectiveQuotes.
1. The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself. — Anna Quindlen
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2. There is little premium in poetry in a world that thinks of Pound and Whitman as a weight and a sampler, not an Ezra, a Walt, a thing of beauty, a joy forever. — Anna Quindlen
3. I read and walked for miles at night along the beach, writing bad blank verse and searching endlessly for someone wonderful who would step out of the darkness and change my life. It never crossed my mind that that person could be me. — Anna Quindlen
4. I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves. — Anna Quindlen
5. The clearest explanation for the failure of any marriage is that the two people are incompatible that is, that one is male and the other female. — Anna Quindlen
Our other interesting quotes for your reference Top 19 Michael Haneke Quotes
6. I’m sure not afraid of success and I’ve learned not to be afraid of failure. The only thing I’m afraid of now is of being someone I don’t like much. — Anna Quindlen
7. In the family sandwich, the older people and the younger ones can recognize one another as the bread. Those in the middle are, for a time, the meat. — Anna Quindlen
8. Even as we enumerate their shortcomings, the rigor of raising children ourselves makes clear to us our mothers’ incredible strength. We fear both. If they are not strong, who will protect us? If they are not imperfect, how can we equal them? — Anna Quindlen
9. Children should have enough freedom to be themselves – once they’ve learned the rules. — Anna Quindlen
10. I will never understand people who think that the way to show their righteous opposition to sexual freedom is to write letters full of filthy words. — Anna Quindlen
11. The future is built on brains, not prom court, as most people can tell you after attending their high school reunion. But you’d never know it by talking to kids or listening to the messages they get from the culture and even from their schools. — Anna Quindlen
Our other interesting quotes for your reference Lucius Accius Quotes
12. Women who marry early are often overly enamored of the kind of man who looks great in wedding pictures and passes the maid of honor his telephone number. — Anna Quindlen
13. The greatest public health threat for many American women is the men they live with. — Anna Quindlen
14. After all those years as a woman hearing ‘not thin enough, not pretty enough, not smart enough, not this enough, not that enough,’ almost overnight I woke up one morning and thought, ‘I’m enough.’ — Anna Quindlen
15. But it’s important, while we are supporting lessons in respecting others, to remember that many of our youngest kids need to learn to respect themselves. You learn your worth from the way you are treated. — Anna Quindlen
16. If I get the forty additional years statisticians say are likely coming to me, I could fit in at least one, maybe two new lifetimes. Sad that only one of those lifetimes can include being the mother of young children. — Anna Quindlen
17. I realized that, while I would never be my mother nor have her life, the lesson she had left me was that it was possible to love and care for a man and still have at your core a strength so great that you never even needed to put it on display. — Anna Quindlen
Our other interesting quotes for your reference Natalie Imbruglia Quotes
18. Ideas are only lethal if you suppress and don’t discuss them. Ignorance is not bliss, it’s stupid. Banning books shows you don’t trust your kids to think and you don’t trust yourself to be able to talk to them. — Anna Quindlen
19. People always blame the girl she should have said no. A monosyllable, but conventional wisdom has always been that boys can’t manage it. — Anna Quindlen
If you like Anna Quindlen Quotes, please share it on social media. Biographical details of Anna Quindlen are available in wikipedia here.
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TRACEABILITY GRANTS OPEN
Member for Wannon, Dan Tehan is encouraging applications from farming groups, research organisations and other eligible industry bodies in the electorate of Wannon to apply for grants to support projects that enhance traceability in the agricultural produce supply chain.
Mr Tehan said the program provides opportunities for successful applicants to carry out projects that enhance product traceability and the competitiveness of our produce.
“Wannon is home to many premium agricultural producers, businesses and organisations eligible to apply for this grant. Traceability is the secret sauce behind brand Australia when it comes to the agricultural supply chain and increasing export opportunities,” Mr Tehan said
Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management David Littleproud said $3 million in funding under Round Two of the Traceability Grants Program was an opportunity to boost the competitiveness of our farming exporters.
“Australia’s reputation as a source of premium produce has helped our agricultural exporters secure a strong foothold in markets throughout the world,” Minister Littleproud said.
“With greater export market competition and increasing demand from consumers about the origins and safety of produce, effective and modern traceability systems are critical for continued access into these export markets.
“A variety of innovative projects were funded under the first round including an app to enable real time tracking of animals from farm to destination; a portable x-ray scanner for determining seafood provenance, and a study to test the authenticity of cider made with Australian juice through a chemical finger printing.
“This second round of the Traceability Grants Program is part of an overall $7 million investment and an important component of the Australian Government’s Ag2030 plan in support of industry’s ambition of $100 billion in farmgate value by 2030.”
Round Two of the Traceability Grants Program opens today and closes on 21 January 2021.
For more details or to apply visit the Community Grants Hub.
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Anna Daugherty — Freelance Journalist
Inaugural Stargayzer Fest Celebrates Austin Queer Community
By Anna Daugherty, Emma Ledford and Alex Vickery
More than 100 LGBTQIA musicians, artists, drag performers and comedians from around the world took the stage for the inaugural Stargayzer Festival on Sept. 12-14 at Pine Street Station.
Despite the rainy weather, Austinites of all ages and orientations turned out to support the diverse range of talent within the queer community.
“We’ve got comedians and drag and performance art and we even have yoga and visual artists,” festival organizer Brett Hornsby said. “I think a lot of other pride events just kind of focus on one area alone, and so we just wanted to be as diverse as we could and show the broad spectrum that is being offered.”
Stargayzer has been years in the making, Hornsby said. Over the last five years, he was inspired by the diverse range of queer artists he met while touring with performer Christeene Vale.
“I think by [touring] I discovered how much incredible queer talent there is all over the world and how it’s kind of being overlooked,” Hornsby said. “I wanted to bring everyone together and make something that’s focused just on that.”
Scheduling Stargayzer for the weekend before Austin Pride Week wasn’t intentional, Hornsby said, but it was good timing. The weather, though, was less than ideal, as rain soaked the festival grounds all day Friday and part of Saturday.
The festival atmosphere, however, was anything but gloomy. Austin-based comedic drag performer Rebecca Havemeyer embraced the unexpected weather.
“I like how we have rain. We never have rain in Austin,” Havemeyer said. “The grass is growing and the ants are crawling.”
Tamara Hoover and Maggie Lea, co-owners of queer-friendly bar Cheer Up Charlie’s, said that Hornsby came to them with the idea for Stargayzer about six months ago. They jumped at the opportunity to see the Cheer Up community in a different element and location.
“Overall, this community has come out no matter what weather parameters they were given,” Hoover said. “It’s been a really awesome display of how supportive our Austin community is for each other.”
Lea agreed, adding that many festivalgoers didn’t just come for the headliners, but to support the lesser-known local bands and the Austin queer community as a whole.
When Hornsby began booking for the festival, he started with the better-known artists. He ended up getting so many submissions that he had to start turning people down.
“We discovered, on top of everything else, how much crazy stuff was out there, so going through it was really fun,” Hornsby said. “People are like, ‘Oh, you booked all the gay artists in the world!’ But that’s not true at all. There’s so many more.”
Regina The Gentlelady and her band Light Fires traveled all the way from Toronto for the festival. They played pride festivals before, but were attracted to Stargayzer because of the quality and diversity of the talent.
“It’s just a nice showcase of queer talent, and a really broad range of things,” she said. “There’s drag queens and then there’s bands that you wouldn’t even necessarily know are queer, or don’t have a queer agenda or anything, but they just are.”
Though it had its share of challenges, Hornsby hopes the first Stargayzer Festival will create a foundation for the event to happen again next year.
“There’s a lot of groups to juggle and shuffle, but they’ve all been patient and really excited to be a part of something like this,” he said. “We want to make this happen. And whatever happens, happens.”
For more photos and videos, please check out the original story on the Multimedia Newsroom
10/09/2014 Anna Daugherty Tagged ATX, Austin, LGBTQ, music, Pride, Stargayzer
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From Vienna to Whitby
Posted by davyh on October 23, 2018
You may be forgiven for thinking that going from Vienna to Whitby is a bit of a come down. Not a bit of it! Each have their own highlights but Whitby has a charm that only an English seaside town with a fishing harbour and historic abbey ruins can have; oh, and reputedly the best fish and chips in England!
So four days after arriving home from Vienna we found ourselves heading to Whitby as part of a week of walking with our local Ramblers group. We were looking forward to some great walks in a wonderful part of the UK, The North Yorkshire Moors. We had booked a cottage about ten minutes walk from Whitby Abbey and overlooking the harbour.
Clockwise from top left: Whitby from our cottage; West Pier; East Pier; Us above Whitby Harbour entrance; Panorama of the West Pier; Whitby Beach
There is evidence of a settlement in the Whitby area as early as 656, and it was where Oswy, the Christian king of Northumbria founded the first Abbey, but this was destroyed by Viking invaders 200 years later. Another monastery was founded in 1078 and over the following centuries Whitby evolved as a fishing village until, in the 18th century, it developed as a port and centre for shipbuilding and whaling, the trade in locally mined alum, and the manufacture of Whitby jet jewellery.
The arrival of the railway in 1839 saw Whitby develop as a tourist destination because of its harbour, beautiful rugged coastline and proximity to the North Yorkshire Moors. Captain James Cook (he of Australia and New Zealand fame) began his navigation and seamanship training in Whitby, and the town has a long and varied literary tradition featuring in many books, most famously in Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula The abbey ruin at the top of the East Cliff is the town’s oldest and most prominent landmark. Other significant features include the swing bridge, which crosses the River Esk and the harbour, which is sheltered by the grade II listed East and West piers.
Top: Whitby Abbey at sunset; Bottom: Views from Whitby Abbey
During the week we took a day off to explore Whitby old and new, down narrow streets, along west and east piers, though they are not recognised as such (so I am told by a pier expert!), and testing coffee shops. Even for an off-season weekday, Whitby was crowded with tourists, but the locals were very friendly and helpful and we decided we would definitely come again!
Clockwise from top left: Steps down to Whitby; Old Whitby from the Abbey; T-shirts for Tourists; Our favourite coffee shop.
Our walking routes would cover areas of the North Yorks National Park but we started with a on breezy Sunday with a short coastal walk to the nearby village of Staithes.
Staithes is some six miles north of Whitby and is a small fishing village nestling under steep cliffs facing out into the North Sea. We arrived in a rain shower, which was soon swept away on the breeze, leaving us to explore a small fishing village with numerous art and craft galleries tucked away up narrow streets. The harbour was fully exposed to the wind whipping in off the North Sea.
Views of Staithes, North Yorkshire
The walk back to our starting point at Runswick Bay was along a meandering cliff path following The Cleveland Way long distance path. This route gave us some stunning views back to Staithes and south along the coastline.
L: Approaching Staithes R: On The Cleveland Way
One planned walk we were particularly looking forward to was on to Roseberry Topping, which I have walked up a number of times when I used to live in North Yorkshire, and then on to Captain Cooks Monument.
Roseberry Topping is a hill with a very distinctive shape, standing proud on the North Yorkshire skyline, close to the villages of Great Ayton and Newton under Roseberry. Its summit has a distinctive half-cone shape with a jagged cliff, which has led to many comparisons with the much higher Matterhorn in Switzerland though I can’t see the similarity myself!
It was a sunny but breezy morning as we walked from the car park over the moor and as Roseberry Topping appeared in view from the top of the moor we dropped down, along the trail and up the side to the top. The views were as I remembered, a wonderful wide vista to the south and west, and to the east and north east, the industrial cities of Middlesborough and Hartlepool stood out against the blue sky and North Sea in the distance. There was a strong wind blowing on top so it was not somewhere to linger long and after the obligatory photographs the walk continued to our next stop, High Cliff Nab.
Views of Roseberry Topping and us on top.
Top: Lyn on top of Roseberry Topping; Centre: The view south from the top; Bottom: Northeast to the coast
High Cliff Nab is an interesting geological feature on the Cleveland Way. The trail runs under a high smooth rock face popular with climbers. There is a path around the side to the summit for those not given to scrambling up sheer rock faces but we stayed a while under the lee of the cliff face admiring the views before moving on towards Captain Cooks Monument.
High Cliff Nab
Captain Cook’s Monument is a giant stone obelisk set atop the hill above Great Ayton. As its name suggests it commemorates the birthplace of Captain James Cook (mentioned above). Like Roseberry Topping it is a highly visible and well known landmark on the North Yorkshire Skyline. This monument has particular fond memories for me as I took part in a fell race up to this monument from Great Ayton here on New Years Day 1999!
L: Captain Cook’s Monument, above Great Ayton R: Me at the Monument
Goathland is a small village about 20 minutes from Whitby, lying in the heartlands of the North Yorkshire Moors National Park. It is noted mainly for two things. As well as being a very pretty stop on the North Yorks Moors Heritage Railway, fans of the TV series Heartbeat will recognise it as the fictional village of Aidensfield. Also fans of the Harry Potter films may recognise the station as Hogsmeade; Goathland Railway Station and parts of the line were used in the films.
Our last walk of the week was based here and featured a riverside trek to a waterfall, Mallyan Spout, returning to Goathland before heading off over the moor in the other direction. The day started cloudy but the sun soon appeared and the walk over the moor was completed in beautiful cloudless sky and warm sunshine. The trees were turning a beautiful golden colour of autumn and the bracken on the ground similarly, which made a pleasant walk even better. Sadly, no pictures of Mallyan Spout though; owing to our hot summer the spout had become more of a trickle, so not very spectacular. The best bit though was the coffee and carrot cake at the Mallyan Spout Cafe after the walk…….yum!
L: En-route to Mallyan Spout; Centre: Autumnal bush; R: Lunch stop by a babbling stream
Moorland scenes in full Autumnal glow
Clockwise from top left:Where is the path? It’a around here somewhere!; Ah found it, the group heads home; Lyn on the moors above Goathland; Moorland scene.
All in all it was a good week of walking in a wonderful part of the country. I have written only of our personal highlights and favourite walks, but the best way to find out about an area is to visit. Please do, it is a delightful place.
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joandcraig says:
david your photography is amazing but can you stop making us so jealous and thirsty for exploration!
Wow, just wow! Those views and Whitby Abbey at sunset were amazing, print-worthy!
Thank you Robin. I have just uploaded two pics from my new “Wainrights” project. See what you think.
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Report: EPA Rules To ‘Necessarily Skyrocket’ U.S. Electricity Prices
Michael Bastasch Contributor
U.S. electricity rates are set to rise more than 10 percent by 2020 because of onerous federal environmental regulations on coal-fired power plants, according to an analysis by American Action Forum.
This means consumers could be forced to pay $150 more each year for electricity due to Obama administration power plant regulations.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s recently announced carbon dioxide limits for existing power plants claims the rule would “shrink electricity bills roughly 8 percent.” But these supposed savings come in 2030 after electricity prices increase “between 5.9 and 6.5 percent in 2020.”
“To no one’s surprise, this proposal carries high costs, burdens states with a short compliance timeline, and could threaten the reliability of national electricity markets,” wrote AAF policy analysts Catrina Rorke and Sam Batkins.
But this 6.5 percent increase from carbon dioxide limits is only the tip of the iceberg. Adding the 6.5 percent to the already projected 4.8 percent increase in electricity prices from EPA rules already on the books, means Americans will see 10.3 percent higher power bills by 2020 — adding $150 to their annual power costs by the end of the decade.
Higher power costs, however, will not be spread evenly throughout the country, according to AAF. The pain will particularly be felt in regions of the country that are more reliant on coal and are major energy producers.
For example, AAF found that the EPA’s carbon dioxide caps for power plants would cost Texas alone $812 million in compliance costs based on the high number of fossil-fueled power plants in the state. Louisiana would have to pay $464 million to lower their carbon dioxide emissions based on the EPA’s proposed rule.
Other states will have a much easier time meeting EPA rules, according to AAF.
“Some states, like California, if you count their whole clean energy fleet, they’re already in compliance with EPA rules,” Catrina Rorke told The Daily Caller News Foundation.
California, along with nine eastern states, already have operating cap-and-trade programs as well. One of the ways the EPA is going to allow states to comply with the rule is to impose state-based cap-and-trade systems.
“This outsources passing cap-and-trade legislation to the states,” Batkins told TheDCNF. “I’m curious how many states will refuse to participate.”
States that elect the cap-and-trade option will actually get more time to comply with EPA-mandated emissions cuts — a nice incentive for some states to extend the rule’s short implementation deadline.
“It certainly takes the pressure off of EPA… it’s a lot easier from a compliance oversight perspective,” Batkins said.
The Obama administration and the EPA have tried to defend the rule by saying it would create jobs and benefit public health. But AAF analysts broke down EPA’s jobs projections and found them lacking.
EPA says its carbon dioxide limits will create 28,000 “job-years” in the “electricity, coal, and natural gas sectors” in 2020 along with 78,800 jobs in “demand-side energy efficiency employment.”
But even the EPA admits its job claims are unsupported. The agency said its job impacts “of demand-side energy efficiency programs have not been extensively studied in the peer-reviewed, published economic literature.”
AAF also notes that a “job-year” is not equivalent to an actual job. So when the EPA says 28,000 job-years, it could mean the equivalent number of full-time employees or even 56,000 part-time employees. But no matter how many job-years are created, they only last for a year.
“No one expected EPA to come out and say the rule would cut more jobs,” Batkins said. “It’s merely going to transfer jobs from one side of the economy to the other.”
Follow Michael on Twitter and Facebook
Tags : cap and trade environmental protection agency
Michael Bastasch
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#SchenectadyStrong pledge promotes COVID-19 safety | The Daily Gazette
#SchenectadyStrong pledge promotes COVID-19 safety
By John Cropley | August 17, 2020
Categories: Business, News, Schenectady County
Tourism isn’t dead, it just looks a lot different.
The promotional agency for Schenectady County has launched an effort to make this point, and to assure visitors that local attractions are safe.
The #SchenectadyStrong campaign is lining up merchants, restaurants and other attractions to sign a pledge affirming they follow the highest standards of hygiene in the COVID-19 era.
The virus is largely contained in New York state after five and a half months, but it remains a great concern, and surveys have found that a destination’s ability and willingness to limit risk of infection are a factor for up to 75 percent of travelers as they decide where to go.
“What we’ve seen through these times and what we’ve heard in webinars is that people are really trying to make sure that the communities that they’re going to … are providing a safe environment,” said Angela Kelly, interim executive director of Discover Schenectady.
Long-distance vacations are difficult or even impossible as the pandemic continues at a high level in some other states and countries, and as travel restrictions remain in place.
But much of New York is back in business, albeit at a reduced capacity and with restrictions.
In Schenectady County, while Rivers Casino and Proctors remain closed, historic sites, outdoor attractions and the Ale Trail are open, as are miSci and VIA Aquarium.
“They’re open. It’s something that you can do and make a day of it,” Kelly said.
“On the back end, we’re gearing up … so we’re ready to go when all the businesses are open again,” she added.
The business world and those promoting it have needed to pivot frequently or even daily during the pandemic as the situation evolves and state directives change, Kelly said. Something like #SchenectadyStrong isn’t dependent on those daily details — it’s a larger-picture pledge to do whatever needs to be done on a given day to make the premises safe for visitors. It also asks customers to do their part, with social distancing, sanitized hands and face coverings.
Response was good in the planning stages, Kelly said, and by midday Friday, 24 hours after #SchenectadyStrong launched, 22 merchants had made the Schenectady Strong Pledge.
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AC Milan Sign Andrea Conti
For years now, the problem position at AC Milan has been full-back. Despite home-grown players like Ignacio Abate and Mattia de Sciglio (now set for Juvenuts) failing to become as consistent as once hoped, it’s been a hope for some time that a new signing could come in and at least challenge these players. With de Sciglio, the Milanese born full-back, set to move to rivals Juventus, the signing of Andrea Conti from Atalanta bodes well for the future of the Milan project.
He joins a young revolution alongside the likes of Franck Kessie and Andre Silva, adding an impressive new future to a club that was once considered too old to complete. He joined as an impressive full-back with immense energy, a bull-like enthusiasm and an ability to just charge and maintain pace even when running with the ball at speed.
After an exceptional 16-17 season with Atalanta, he’s coming in to replace Abate as the first-choice full-back. He’s set to take another step forward in a career that has seen rather stellar movement in the last few years, moving from obscurity to one of the grandest clubs on the continent.
He made 33 appearances last year for Atalanta, who had a hugely impressive season. With excellent pace, good ball skills and an eye for space on the pitch, Conti has the kind of skills and strengths that the current full-back roster is missing dearly.
Conti, then, is another piece of the jigsaw put in place for Milan to help them continue their development as a club that is going places. A rebirth at club level is needed, and impressive new singings coming in the door are only going to help fuel belief that Milan are on their way to returning to the top of the table.
Indeed, with 8 goals and 5 assists last season, Conti brings an incredible attacking verve that is almost unheard of. With close to double figures for Atalanta, he should offer Milan an added attacking strength in the future. At such a young age, too, he’s got even more to come – including Italy caps.
The Future AC Milan is taking shapeSerie A News
Bonucci Wants to Shift BalanceSerie A News, Serie A News
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← UK Does Not Rule Out Military Option On Iran
AL JAMAHIRIYA RESISTANCE RADIO LAUNCHED IN TRIPOLI →
The great euro Putsch rolls on as two democracies fall
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
Crowds gathered outside the Italian presidential palace after Silvio Berlusconi resigned on Saturday.
Europe’s scorched-earth policies have begun in earnest. The inherent flaws of monetary union have created a crisis of such gravity that EU leaders now feel authorized to topple two elected governments.
As I long feared, the flood of cheap credit into Southern Europe and the slow death of Club Med industry by currency asphyxiation have together created such a dangerous situation for world finance that informed opinion is willing to turn a blind eye to EU sovereign trespass. Some even applaud.
The Greeks were ordered to drop their referendum on measures that reduce their country to a sort of Manchukuo, with EU commissars “on the ground”, installed in each ministry, drawing up lists of state assets to be liquidated to pay foreign creditors.
Europe had the monetary and fiscal means to contain the EMU debt crisis long enough for Greeks to give or withhold their crucial assent to this ultimatum in December.
It chose – under German-Dutch pressure – not deploy those means. Instead it forced Greece to capitulate by cutting off an agreed loan payment.
In Italy, the European Central Bank has engineered the downfall of Silvio Berlusconi by playing the bond markets, switching purchases on and off to enforce compliance with its written dictates (“La Lettera”), and ultimately allowing 10-year yields to spike to 7.45pc to drive him out.
Europe’s president Herman Van Rompuy swooped in to Rome to clinch the Putsch. “Italy needs reforms not elections,” he said.
We are not that far from use of EU judicial coercion, and then EU police power, and ultimately EU “border troops” – for those old enough to remember Soviet methods of fraternal assistance.
Chancellor Angela Merkel tells us that peace in Europe can no longer be taken for granted, and she is right. Her own Gothic actions and her inflexible imposition of 1930s Gold Standard contraction and debt-deflation on Southern Europe is itself preparing the ground for Europe’s civil war (hopefully pacific), a rebellion by the South against the North.
Italy’s youth are turning. Watch the footage of students chanting “democracy” and brandishing their “95 Theses” of Wittenberg revolt as poet Van Rompuy tried to speak in Fiesole.
“No to Austerity,” starts the Luther List: “Troika out of Greece”, “IMF and ECB out of Italy, Ireland, and Portugal”, it goes on.
“The EU has become ever less accountable to the people of Europe. The undemocratic structures have infiltrated the very structures of the Union,” they said.
Behold “the EU’s furious reaction to the Greek government’s effort to seek popular consent over the financial stranglehold imposed on the country. No longer are expressions of popular consent simply ignored, it is now impermissible to consult citizens.”
Let us agree that Greece’s Lucas Papademos and Italy’s Mario Monti are excellent men (Mr Monti has been picked for the task by President Giorgio Napolitano, himself a former Stalinist who later switched his loyalties to the sublime Project).
But the two good men also represent the EU enforcement machine. Papademos was ECB vice-president. Monti was an EU commissioner for ten years.
Professor Monti enjoys great goodwill in Rome but it is far from clear that he can put together a durable government able to implement Project demands.
Antonio di Pietro’s Party of Values has spurned a technocratic regime that lacks democratic legitimacy, saying Italy is “under EU tutelage”. La Lega Nord’s Umberto Bossi has denounced the stitch-up.
“The game is getting dangerous,” said Il Sole. Some suspect that the Berlusconi camp would not do too badly in snap elections, if allowed, campaigning against the “hated euro and EU bosses”. Is that why Brussels is now so afraid of Italy’s voters?
If Mr Monti relies on the Left, how can he comply with EU orders to break the power of the trade unions and impose “Anglo-Saxon” wage-bargaining? A large bloc in parliament will die in a ditch to defend Article 18 of the labour code.
Labour minister Maurizio Sacconi warned last week that careless handling of this issue threatens to unleash another round of terrorism in Italy. It is only nine years since Marco Biagi was assassinated by the Red Brigades for threatening the sacred cows of the Sindicati.
No doubt Italy needs a blast of Thatcherism. The country has fallen down the World Bank rankings in ease of doing business from 74 (2009), to 76 (2010), to 80 (2011).
Its average economic growth rate has been 0.6pc over the last decade. Productivity and per capita income have declined, and this before the demographic crunch hits with a vengeance.
The old age dependency ratio will reach 59pc by mid-century, compared to 56pc for Germany, 45pc for France, and 38pc for the UK, according to Commission data).
But those of us who wrote years ago that Italy’s sclerosis and inflation proclivities were going to cause a train-wreck within the rigours of EMU were told by Europe’s authorities to curb our insolence.
In 2009 the European Commission praised Italy’s “spectacular job creation” and its “greater resilience to external shocks”. In 2008 in said Italy was making “good progress” on the Lisbon reform agenda. In 2007 it said Italy’s debt sustainability risk was “broadly in line” with France and Germany.
Italy’s four sets of pension reforms were held out as a shinging example. Finance minister Giulio Tremonti was feted in Brussels, lauded for his iron discipline and primary budget surplus.
And now these same EU bodies tell us that Italy’s failure to grasp the nettle of reform and tackle its debts is so egregious that Europe must step in to overthrow an elected government.
Let us end this EU lie – propagated by Berlin’s uber-bully Wolfgang Schauble – that Italy is suddenly guilty of economic crimes and debt debauchery.
What has changed is the industrial recession in Italy that began over the late summer and the likelihood of full-blown depression next year.
As you can see from this chart below, all three monetary aggregates in Italy have been collapsing for months, a lead indicator of Hell to come.
The ECB could have prevented this monetary implosion in Italy. Instead it tightened further, without a squeak of protest from the governor of the Banca d‘Italia, then Mario Draghi.
Europe’s own policies of synchronized fiscal and monetary contraction are surely to blame for this sudden lurch downwards in Italy’s prospects.
We all agree that Italy’s economic model is unfit for the 21st Century, but it was also unfit for EMU. The Schumpeterian shock was needed before Italy locked its self into the D-Mark forever.
It is too late now for Italy to claw back 40pc in lost labour competitiveness against Germany within the constraints of monetary union. Any attempt to do so by grinding debt deflation will prove self-defeating for a country with a public debt stock of 120pc of GDP.
Such a policy – already tested to destruction in Greece – will itself cause Italy’s debt dynamics to spiral out of control.
There is no possible way at this late stage to reconcile Italy’s needs for massive devaluation with Germany’s hard-money doctrines. One or the other must give.
(Source: The Telegraph)
By thomasmantell • Posted in Greece, Italy • Tagged Bildeberg, Coups D'Etat, European Union, Eurozone, Greece, Italy, Loukas Papademos, Mario Monti, Trilatetal Commission
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Riverside Community Responds to Homelessness
February 13, 2019 by Emily Tucker Leave a Comment
Volunteers and leaders of the faith-based community in Riverside County talk about what motivates them to support the homeless.
Local organizations such as Path of Life Ministries, serve the homeless community, offering shelters and programs for emergency housing, permanent supportive housing, behavioral health programs, and employment resources.
Cantino serving a meal with her group at a Path of Life Ministry shelter.
There are many volunteers that agree with the mission of Path of Life and choose to serve there because of it.
“I started volunteering here years ago, I wanted to teach my kids that you help the poor,” said Carol Cantino. “We also did service-based activities and projects, and that all carried over to now. When my kids moved out, I needed something to fill my time.”
Cantino volunteers at a family shelter every month. She and several other volunteers prepare food for 50 people. There are multiple groups that cycle in and out of these shelters and serve in the same way.
According to the 2018 Riverside County Homeless Count and Survey Report, there were 1,685 identified unsheltered and 631 sheltered homeless people (total=2,316) in Riverside County, California.
“They’re hungry,” said Pastor Albert Shade of Sandals Palm Avenue, which has been helping the homeless community for more than six years. “And we bring food. But that said, I would like for us as our church, to do more than that. We are connecting and hopefully developing friendships, and so that they consider us safe people they can trust.”
Building relationships is the main goal for Cantino and the group that serves with her. While they attend to the physical need first, hunger, they also hope to provide friendship and a friendly face to talk to.
“There is normally a theme for the meal and people sign up to make dishes,” said Cantino. “We typically make the food at home, bring it to the shelter, will pray, and then serve the meal. We also eat with them and sit down and visit with them,” Cantino explained.
Cantino said one of her favorite meals she had made was homemade chicken alfredo from scratch.
“We get a lot of compliments because we have some good cooks who really want to bless the people with good food, not just store-bought items,” Cantino said.
She also explained that the feedback from the people whom they serve encourages and motivates her.
“The compliments were good because it showed we care and, hopefully, they will be more open to us sharing the gospel with them and praying with them,” Cantino said.
There are more than 15 shelters, food banks and services, and churches such as Sandals Church Palm Avenue and The Grove Community Church within Riverside county that are actively looking for ways to assist the homeless population.
“It’s the dignity of we just want to meet you and talk with you,” said Pastor Albert Shade.
Beyond the food and hygiene bags that Shade and his team take out each week, he shared that it’s more about the discussion that happens between the church members that volunteer and the homeless they are serving.
Pastor Albert Shade and Michael Madiel discussed plans for the evening.
Jordan Guisti, Young Adults Associate at Sandals Church clarified the main reason for the weekly event.
“We try to go out to the same places each week so we can really build the relationships,” said Guisti. “I think exposure has made the biggest impact on me, in this area, there are people who are hurting, they’re all out on the streets for different reasons. I’ve learned there are opportunities to serve if you look around.”
Michael Madiel retired this past year from Riverside county where he had worked for 26 years. During his employment, he served his last 13 years with the Department of Mental Health and Substance abuse.
Madiel explained that there is a difference between working with the county and volunteering with a church. The county was more “cut and dry” in his own words. But he stated the key difference was the focus.
This is more of a compassion thing, it’s going out and basically helping and trying to alleviate the suffering- even if just for a moment for the homeless and the unfortunate. So, it’s more of a compassion thing. It is sort of an outreach where we do bring bibles- but the focus I think is trying to alleviate their suffering.Madiel
Scroll and click to browse more stories on the topic from the Coyote Chronicle
Supported by the community reporting grant from the Los Angeles Times, 2016-2017.
With or without shelter, an inside look at San Bernardino park residents
Papa Charles: “I just go hungry”
Converting San Bernardino’s vacant buildings for shelter use
Opinion: Homeless People are More than Just a Number
San Bernardino Fights against Poverty
Filed Under: Community, Multimedia Tagged With: #homeless #community #volunteer
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Growing Global Food Demand Underscores Importance of Crop Insurance
(INDIAN WELLS, Calif.) – Strong demand for U.S. commodities – driven primarily by the growing middle class in developing countries – will keep prices strong through the next decade, said Michael Dwyer, director of global policy analysis at USDA’s Foreign Agriculture Service. Dwyer made his comments yesterday during an annual conference sponsored by National Crop
2012 Crop Insurance Indemnities Set New Record, But Are Far Lower Than Critics Warned
(INDIAN WELLS, Calif.) — Crop insurance indemnity payments associated with the historic 2012 drought hit a record $14.2 billion Monday and will continue to climb as insurers work to finalize the remaining claims. But according to projections released last week by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), total indemnities and the taxpayer-funded portion of those losses,
Under Secretary Scuse Commends Crop Insurance Providers for a Job Well Done
(INDIAN WELLS, CALIF) – Last year’s drought put the country’s crop insurance system to the test, but the public-private partnership passed with flying colors, USDA Under Secretary Michael Scuse said today at the 2013 crop insurance annual conference. During the disaster, Scuse traveled across rural America and gave farmers business cards with instruction to call
Farm Leaders Again Urge ‘Do No Harm’ to Crop Insurance; Reaffirm Crop Insurance as a ‘Top Priority’ in Farm Bill
(INDIAN WELLS, Calif.) — Echoing the same message heard throughout the halls of Congress last year, a panel of farm leaders urged Congress to “do no harm” to crop insurance in the upcoming Farm Bill and to remember that crop insurance is a top priority for most of America’s farmers. Robbie Minnich,senior government relations representative
Crop Insurance Wins High Praise from Farmer Leaders
(INDIAN WELLS, CALIF.) Farmer leaders from across the country yesterday called crop insurance their “most important risk management tool” and said it is essential to keep agriculture strong and bring young farmers into an aging business. Curt Friesen, a member of the Nebraska Corn Board, said his son-in-law, who is currently a university teacher, is
USDA Official: Crop Insurance Benefits All Americans
(Indian Wells, California) – “An investment in crop insurance is an investment in America’s economy,” Brandon Willis, the acting administrator to the USDA’s Risk Management Agency, said today at the 2013 crop insurance industry conference. He challenged the group of crop insurers and farm leaders to take that message to the general public, which he
Industry Leaders Say Crop Insurance Remains Strong Despite Back to Back Losses; Praise Agents and Adjusters for Success of Program
(INDIAN WELLS, CALIF) – Farmers can rest assured that crop insurance is strong and vibrant and was designed to be able to endure the types of losses we’ve seen over the past several years, said the leaders of two key crop insurance organizations today during the joint national convention of the National Crop Insurance Services
Max Erickson Presented Crop Insurance Industry Outstanding Service Award
Max Erickson, Erickson Insurance Group, Havre, Montana, is the recipient of the 2013 Crop Insurance Industry Outstanding Service Award in recognition for outstanding service and outreach to small, limited resource, and socially disadvantaged farmers. Steve Rutledge, Chairman of the National Crop Insurance Services (NCIS) Board of Directors, and Tom Zacharias, President of NCIS, presented the
Larry Heitman Presented Crop Insurance Industry Leadership Award
Larry Heitman, NAU Country, was presented with the 2013 Crop Insurance Industry Leadership Award at the 2013 Crop Insurance Industry Annual Convention. This award is given to individuals who are directly involved in the crop insurance industry and who consistently serve the industry by providing outstanding leadership. Larry is Senior Vice President for NAU Country’s
Greg Burger Presented Crop Insurance Industry Lifetime Achievement Award
Greg Burger, NAU Country (retired), was presented with a 2013 Crop Insurance Industry Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2013 Crop Insurance Industry Annual Convention. Greg Burger’s first job in 1964 was a contract adjuster, at the young age of 17. He continued in this role for 13 years when, in 1977, he became a full-time
James Deal Presented Crop Insurance Industry Lifetime Achievement Award
James Deal, NAU Country (retired), was presented with a 2013 Crop Insurance Industry Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2013 Crop Insurance Industry Annual Convention. James (Jim) Deal was the former owner and Chairman of the Board of NAU, Mountain States and NAU Country Insurance companies. He was also the former owner and Chairman of a
New Crop Insurance Activism Website & Video on Adjusters’ Role in Getting Help to Farmers
(Overland Park, Kan.) — With the fate of the 2012 Farm Bill still in question and the worst drought in decades fresh in people’s minds, the Crop Insurance Industry is announcing a new website that will serve as a focal point for groups to show their support for crop insurance. “Crop insurance has grown to
New video offers insight into dramatic losses in the Heartland
OVERLAND PARK, KAN. — With the vast majority of the U.S. corn, cotton, soybean and sorghum crops yet to be harvested, crop insurance companies have already paid out nearly $2 billion in indemnities to farmers who have suffered losses this year. “America’s heartland has taken a beating from Mother Nature and the crop insurance industry
Crop insurers call on farmers to demonstrate severity of drought in online photo contest
OVERLAND PARK. KANSAS (August 20, 2012)—National Crop Insurance Services (NCIS) announced that it will host a 90-day photo contest, beginning today and featuring farm photos taken during the 2012 drought—on track to be one of the driest years the nation has ever seen. The group is reaching out to all farmers suffering from these near-record
Crop Insurers Reassure Farmers as Drought Worsens
OVERLAND PARK, KANSAS, July 18, 2012 – As the drought spreads and attention turns to worsening crop conditions in farm country, the nation’s crop insurers today reassured farmers that companies will have the money necessary to quickly pay out claims in 2012, even amid record payouts last year. For every dollar of premium that insurance
NCIS Unveils Third in Video Series, Spotlight On Historic Midwest Flooding
(OVERLAND PARK, Kan.) — As the House Agriculture Committee wraps up its hearings and the Senate Farm Bill moves closer to the floor for debate, National Crop Insurance Services (NCIS) today released the third in an ongoing series of educational videos on crop insurance. This new video spotlights the Missouri river flooding of 2011 –
House Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management Told ‘Outstanding Success Story’ of Crop Insurance
(WASHINGTON) — Crop insurance has become the powerful risk management tool that Congress designed it to be, garnering widespread support from all segments of agriculture, banking and most importantly, farmers, said Ruth Gerdes during her testimony today to the House Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management. “The growth of Federal Crop Insurance is
NCIS Unveils Second in Video Series, Spotlight On Texas Drought
(OVERLAND PARK, Kan.) — As the House Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management prepares to hold a hearing later this week, National Crop Insurance Services (NCIS) today released the second in an ongoing series of educational videos on crop insurance. This video puts a sharp focus on the risk that Texas farmers
NCIS Unveils First in Series of Videos On Nuts and Bolts of Crop Insurance
(OVERLAND PARK, Kan.) — National Crop Insurance Services (NCIS) today released a new educational video on crop insurance – what it is, how it works and why it has become the risk management tool of choice for America’s farmers. The video, titled “Crop Insurance 101,” is the first in a series that will be released
Crop Insurance Leader Urges Congress to Do No Harm
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 15, 2012 (WASHINGTON) — “How crop insurance emerges from the 2012 Farm Bill process will hold major ramifications for this risk management program and for America’s farmers and ranchers who have come to rely on it,” Steve Rutledge today told the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. Rutledge, who spoke
Crop Insurance Claims Break $10 Billion Barrier, Farmers Gear Up for 2012 Planting
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 27, 2012 (OVERLAND PARK, Kan.) — For the first time in history, crop insurance indemnities to farmers and ranchers have exceeded $10.08 billion to cover agricultural losses, underscoring last year’s high crop values and volatile weather. This figure will likely climb as more than an estimated five percent of the claims
Miss America 2011 Brings National Focus to Crop Insurance Industry
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 14, 2012 (SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.) — Commenting that while her reign as Miss America has ended, her passion for agriculture continues on, Miss America 2011, Teresa Scanlan, addressed the annual meeting of the crop insurance industry today and assured attendees that her heart still remains in rural America. “This is one of
After Successful 2011, What’s Next for Crop Insurance?
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 13, 2012 (SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.) — With a record $9.7 billion in indemnities already paid out on 2011 damages, and farmers preparing to plant another impressive crop just months after one of the worst weather years in U.S. history, the current crop insurance system is earning high praise from agricultural leaders and
2011 Indemnity Payments Eclipse $9 billion, Set New Record
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 24, 2012 (Overland Park, Kansas, January 24, 2012) For the first time in history, indemnity payments surpassed the $9 billion mark, National Crop Insurance Services (NCIS) said today, noting that payments made to farmers for damages to the 2011 crop would continue to climb. From historic droughts in the Plains to
In response to the Deficit Reduction Plan unveiled today by President Obama, Tom Zacharias, President of National Crop Insurance Services, released the following statement:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 19, 2011 “The crop insurance industry shares the belief that deficit reduction is important. In fact, crop insurers have contributed more than most other industries to the goal of deficit reduction in recent years. However, the President’s plan to make further reductions to the crop insurance system does not serve the
Greg Meek Presented the NCIS Membership Services Award
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 16, 2011 OVERLAND PARK, Kansas – February 16, 2011 OVERLAND PARK, KAN…Greg Meek, formerly of Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Company of Iowa, West Des Moines, IA, was presented with the National Crop Insurance Services Membership Services Award at the 2011 Crop Insurance Industry Annual Convention. Greg devoted most of his 36‐year
Mike Gaynier Awarded the Crop Insurance Industry Outstanding Service Award
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 15, 2011 OVERLAND PARK, KAN… Mike Gaynier, Spartan Crop Insurance, Ithica, Mich., is the recipient of the 2011 Crop Insurance Industry Outstanding Service Award in recognition for outstanding service and outreach to small, limited resource, and socially disadvantaged farmers. Steve Harms, Chairman of the National Crop Insurance Services (NCIS) Board of
Crop Insurance Deadline Nears
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 14, 2011 OVERLAND PARK, Kansas – January 24, 2011 – Farmers Encouraged to See Agent Soon With a February 28 crop insurance deadline looming for producers of most spring‐planted crops across the south, staying eligible for FSA’s crop disaster program (SURE) will be on the minds of most farmers. All insurable
Crop Insurance Industry Agrees USDA’s Good Performance Program Benefits Farmers
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 24, 2011 OVERLAND PARK, Kansas – January 24, 2011 – The private insurance industry supports USDA’s decision to implement a good performance‐based program for famers. “The Good Performance Refund (GPR) program has its merits, and we were pleased to see the savings resulting from the renegotiation of the 2011 Standard Reinsurance
Bob Parkerson to retire as NCIS President on August 31 Tom Zacharias to be named President
NATIONAL CROP INSURANCE SERVICES 8900 Indian Creek Parkway, Suite 600 Overland Park, KS 66210 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 24, 2010 For more information contact Laurie Langstraat at (913) 685-2767 Bob Parkerson to retire as NCIS President on August 31 Tom Zacharias to be named President OVERLAND PARK, Kansas – August 24, 2010 – National Crop
STATEMENT OF ROBERT PARKERSON, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL CROP INSURANCE SERVICES, BEFORE THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON GENERAL FARM COMMODITIES AND RISK MANAGEMENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 22, 2010 Mr. Chairman, Mr. Ranking Member and other Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for inviting the National Crop Insurance Services to appear at today’s hearing to discuss the Standard Reinsurance Agreement (SRA) and its implications for the future of the crop insurance industry. I will briefly describe the role
Crop Insurance Industry Testifies Before House Committee on Agriculture Hearing Comes on Heels of Crop Insurance Companies Signing SRA, Industry Remains Concerned About Preserving Farm Safety Net
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 22, 2010 OVERLAND PARK, KAN, July 22, 2010… Bob Parkerson, president of National Crop Insurance Services (NCIS), testified today on behalf of the crop insurance industry before the U.S. House Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management. “The federal crop insurance program is the largest part of the federal
Crop Insurance Industry to Testify Before House Committee on Agriculture, Press Availability for Bob Parkerson
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 19, 2010 OVERLAND PARK, KAN…The crop insurance industry announced today that Bob Parkerson, president of National Crop Insurance Services (NCIS) has been invited to testify before the House Committee on Agriculture Thursday about the state of the crop insurance industry, including implications of the recently signed Standard Reinsurance Agreement (SRA) and
Negotiations May be Complete, but Industry Remains Vexed By the Funding Reductions in Final SRA
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 1, 2010 OVERLAND PARK, KAN… The crop insurance industry and the program will withstand the $6 billion reduction in funding handed to them by the USDA’s final Standard Reinsurance Agreement (SRA) contract released on June 29, 2010. Companies have until July 12th to sign the agreement. “Our hands are tied,” said Bob
Crop Insurance Companies Still Very Concerned with Components of the Standard Reinsurance Agreement
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 14, 2010 Industry Hopeful that Continued Negotiations will Protect the Key Safety Net for America’s Farmers and Ranchers OVERLAND PARK, KAN…The crop insurance industry is surprised that even after repeated requests by Congress, producers and the Industry, the Administration still plans to cut the crop insurance program by $6 billion over
NCIS Statement Regarding Professor Bruce Babcock’s ACRE Plan
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 14, 2010 Testimony of Professor Bruce Babcock released in advance of the House Committee on Agriculture hearing scheduled for May 14, 2010, on the 2012 Farm Bill, raised the idea of providing protection to farmers from systemic risk by using an area-based revenue plan. The plan would presumably cover all producers,
Crop Insurance Industry Lends Perspective To Ewg’s Analysis Of Farm Programs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 6, 2010 Overland Park, Kansas…The crop insurance industry cautioned today against relying on partial assessments of the Federal crop insurance program. The industry voiced these concerns again in light of the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) report released yesterday which evaluated for the first time data from the crop insurance program. The
Industry Calls for Long Term Analysis in Judging Crop Insurance Market Performance
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 5, 2010 OVERLAND PARK, KANSAS..USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) released late last Friday an update of their disputed Millman study of returns to private crop insurers participating in the Federal Crop Insurance Program. While the report focuses on 2009 earnings, which indeed represent the second highest ever, it is more reflective
Private Industry Still Sees Wide Gap in SRA Negotiations
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 24, 2010 OVERLAND PARK, KANSAS… Although modestly less severe than initially proposed, the funding reductions for the crop insurance program offered yesterday by USDA/RMA in the latest round of negotiations to revise the Standard Reinsurance Agreement (SRA) remain excessive and unrealistic. In addition, the RMA’s latest proposal fails to reflect available reforms
Avtar Gill Awarded the Crop Insurance Industry Outstanding Service Award
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 24, 2010 OVERLAND PARK, KANSAS…Avtar Gill, Gill Insurance, Caruthers, Calif., is the recipient of the Crop Insurance Industry Outstanding Service Award in recognition for outstanding service and outreach to small, limited resource, and socially disadvantaged farmers. Steve Harms, Chairman of the National Crop Insurance Services (NCIS) Board of Directors, and Robert
Gene Grimsley Presented Crop Insurance Industry Leadership Award
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 24, 2010 OVERLAND PARK, KANSAS…Gene Grimsley, Agro National Insurance, Council Bluffs, Iowa, was presented with the Crop Insurance Industry Leadership Award at the 2010 Crop Insurance Industry Annual Convention. This award is given to individuals who are directly involved in the crop insurance industry and who consistently serve the industry by
Fundamental Problems Exist with the USDA’s Proposed 2011 Standard Reinsurance Agreement; Private Industry Seeks Solutions
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 20, 2010 OVERLAND PARK, KANSAS..The private crop insurance industry today released a proposal for the 2011 Standard Reinsurance Agreement (SRA). The SRA is the contract under which the private insurance companies agree to deliver the federal crop insurance program to the nation’s farm producers. The industry’s proposal is in response to
Crop Insurance Protects Freeze-Damaged Crops in Florida Against Coldest Temperatures in 20 Years
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 12, 2010 Producers with damage urged to contact agent OVERLAND PARK, KANSAS..Florida has just over $3 billion in liability in crop insurance on crops ranging from citrus and citrus trees to nursery and fresh market tomatoes. “All of it is protected against the record freeze that hit this past weekend,
Crop Insurance Scores Well in Profitability and Effectiveness Analysis
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 8, 2009 Independent study by Grant Thornton LLP shows that Federal Crop Insurance Program compares favorably to property and casualty industry OVERLAND PARK, KANSAS..A study released today by National Crop Insurance Services shows that over a 17 year period (1992-2008) the Federal Crop Insurance Program has been significantly less profitable
Producers with Grain Quality Questions Urged to Contact Crop Insurance Agents and Companies
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 28, 2009 OVERLAND PARK, KANSAS…National Crop Insurance Services (NCIS) is urging farmers with grain quality concerns to contact their crop insurance agent or company to determine coverage options in case of damage to crops from disease, weatherrelated events, or other causes. “While we, like everyone, are closely monitoring the mycotoxin situation
Multiple deadlines facing farmers; Fall crop insurance decisions due
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 8, 2009 This release affects 41 states, with the exception of: Arizona, Alaska, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Utah and Vermont. OVERLAND PARK, KANSAS…This is the time of year when farmers face multiple deadlines. They are harvesting their spring planted crops and, depending on the yield and revenue potential, they may
CUNA MUTUAL ACQUIRES FULL OWNERSHIP OF CROP INSURER PROAG Acquisition Supports Company’s Diversification, Growth Strategies and ProAg’s Growth Objectives
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 3, 2009 MADISON, Wis./AMARILLO, Tex…. CUNA Mutual Group has reached agreement with Producers Ag Insurance Group (ProAg) to become sole owner of the multi-peril crop insurer, serving farmers and agricultural producers nationwide. ProAg will operate as a standalone subsidiary of CUNA Mutual. The acquisition supports CUNA Mutual’s need to identify new growth
Record Crop Insurance Indemnity Payments in 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 20, 2009 OVERLAND PARK, KAN…The results are all but final…a record $8.6 billion in crop insurance indemnity payments were made to U.S. farmers for losses in 2008 because of droughts and flooding in parts of the country along with substantial price declines for some of the majority commodities. “This was one
Illinois Farmers Receive Significant Crop Insurance Indemnity Payments
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 8, 2009 OVERLAND PARK, KAN…The crop insurance industry has paid over $565 million to the farmers in Illinois for losses due to crop loss or decrease in commodity prices for 2008, according to the most recent summary of business data released by the Risk Management Agency. “The amount of indemnities paid
Newer Posts → ← Older Posts
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Global deaths surpass half million; French cities turn Green
News • Current affairs • 29.06.2020 • Duncan Roberts
People wait in line in Guarani, in the state of Minas Gerais, to receive financial benefits from the Brazilian government because of the coronavirus pandemic. Brazil recorded more than 30,000 new cases in the 24 hours to Sunday. Photo: Ronaldo Almeida / Shutterstock
Foresight opens Lux AIFM office
Rolling coverage: Hospitalisations stabilise on Monday
Luc Frieden warns of catastrophic second lockdown, Martin leads historic Irish coalition, Poles face second presidential vote, Facebook resists ad boycotts. Delano’s breakfast briefing.
Half a million dead from coronavirus
More than 500,000 people worldwide have died from coronavirus, according to the latest figures from the John Hopkins University tracker. More than 10 million people have been infected. On Sunday Brazil recorded more than 30,000 new cases, bringing its total to 1.3 million infections and 57,622 deaths. In the US, the number of new cases on Saturday surpassed 40,000 for the third consecutive day as health secretary Alex Azar warned that “the window is closing” on the chance to effectively curb the spread of the virus. Texas, Governor Greg Abbott said that the number of daily infections in his state, which is now averaging 5,000, had taken a “swift and very dangerous turn”. The Guardian and CNBC have updates.
Luxembourg: 25 new cases
On Sunday the Luxembourg health ministry reported that of 4,925 tests carried out in the previous 24 hours, 25 people were found to be infected with the coronavirus. There are currently 85 active infections, 14 people remain hospitalized, with 1 in intensive care, though there have been no deaths since 23 May. The Rt_eff reproduction rate has fallen below 1 again and stands at 0.94.
Luxembourg: Frieden says second lockdown would be catastrophic
President of the Chamber of Commerce Luc Frieden said in an interview on Sunday that the Luxembourg government should seek “different ways” to handle a possible second wave of the coronavirus by “balancing” the health and economic factors. Speaking on radio 100,7, Frieden, who is a former minister of finance and justice, said that “a second total lockdown would be catastrophic” and that solutions such as regional rather than nationwide confinement should be considered.
Luxembourg: ministry’s “Stop the Party” campaign
Luxembourg’s health ministry has launched a new coronavirus campaign labelled “Stop the Party”. The message next to an image of a table with a bottle and upturned beakers and a party hat reads: “Even if the summer weather invites to party: Avoid this risk in order to prevent the #COVID19 infection numbers from increasing further! Show solidarity with your fellow citizens. Only together we can keep the pandemic in check.”
Green surge in France
The second round of local elections in France on Sunday saw the EELV make gains in many of the 4,827 municipalities, with Lyon, Bordeaux, Marseilles and Strasbourg the biggest cities to vote in green mayors. Socialist Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo who has transformed many parts of the capital with cycling lanes, held on to her position after being endorsed by the greens. But the far-right National Rally won in Perpignan, where Marine Le Pen’s former boyfriend Louis Aliot was standing. France24 and the BBC have more.
Martin to lead historic coalition in Ireland
Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin was voted in as the Taoiseach--prime minister--of Ireland as, for the first time in its history, the party has formed a government with its rival Fine Gael. The Green party will join them in the three-way coalition which is the result of months of negotiations following February’s election. The Irish Times and RTE have details.
Facebook resisting ad boycott pressure
CNBC says it has seen a memo sent by Facebook’s VP of global business solutions, Carolyn Everson, to advertisers saying that the social media company does not make policy changes tied to revenue pressure. “We set our policies based on principles rather than business interests,” Everson reportedly writes. The move follows decisions by the likes of Unilever, Coca-Cola and Honda to join a campaign to suspend advertising on Facebook until it revises its policy on hate speech and disinformation.
Trump was unaware of Afghanistan bounties
US president Donald Trump said he was never briefed about alleged Russian payments of bounties to kill US troops in Afghanistan. Tweeting on Sunday, Trump said that “Everybody is denying it & there have not been many attacks on us …” The New York Times claims US intelligence was alerted of the Russian bounty programme in January and that officials, including members of Trump’s national security council, have been discussing how to respond for months.
Poland requires second round in presidential election
Incumbent Andrzej Duda will have to face Warsaw mayor Rafal Trzaskowski in a second round of voting to decide who will serve as Polish president. Sunday’s first round of voting gave Duda just under 42% of the vote and Trzaskowski just over 30%, according to polls. The Guardian and BBC have more.
Malawi has new president
Lazarus Chakwera has been elected the president of Malawi in an historic rerun that was ordered by a court after irregularities were found in last year’s election, which had been “won” by incumbent Peter Mutharika. Aljazeera and The Washington Post have analysis.
Town shows pride
Residents of the Spanish town of Villanueva de Algaidas have bedecked their homes and businesses with the Pride rainbow flag after the local council was forced to remove its flag from the town hall due to a supreme court order. The Guardian has a report.
Today’s breakfast briefing was written by Duncan Roberts
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Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews
(director/writer: Alex Garland; screenwriter: based on the novel Southern Reach Trilogy by Jeff VanderMeer; cinematographer: Rob Hardy; editor: Barney Pilling ; music: Geoff Barrow/Ben Salisbury; cast: Natalie Portman (Lena), Jennifer Jason Leigh (Dr. Ventress), Gina Rodriguez (Anya Thorensen), Tessa Thompson (Josie Radek), Tuva Novotny (Cass Sheppard), Oscar Isaac (Kane), Benedict Wong (Lomax), Sonoya Mizuno (Humanoid & Katie-med student); Runtime: 115; MPAA Rating: R; producers: Allon Reich/Scott Rudin/Andrew Macdonald; Paramount Pictures; 2018)
“A weirdly brainy and scary film.“
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
Alex Garland (“Ex Machina”) is writer and director of this creepy horror pic. It’s filled with a foreboding sense of dread. It’s based on the 2014 book Southern Reach Trilogy by Jeff VanderMeer.
Lena (Natalie Portman) is a professor of cellular biology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. The scientist Lomax (Benedict Wong), in a hazmat suit, questions her about her military husband Kane (Oscar Isaac) who vanished while on a secret mission. About a year later he turns up in a catatonic state. An ambulance call to the hospital results in the kidnapping of the couple by federal agents, who take them to a secret government facility on the southern coast. The psychologist Dr. Ventress (Jennifer Jason Leigh) tells us after a meteorite strike three years ago on the swampland around a Florida lighthouse, there was a glistening, called the Shimmer, that surrounded the area.
On a classified mission there, Kane was the only one to come back alive. We’re talking alien abduction here. The former army scientist, Lena, volunteers to join a team led by Dr. Ventress and lady scientists (Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, Tuva Novotny), armed with assault weapons, going to that mysterious lighthouse of the shimmer to try to figure out what’s up. They encounter an alien world in the expanding luminescent shimmer, with mutated monsters appearing, like shark-toothed alligators, who attack them.
It might be futile to explain such hokum, but it turns out to be a weirdly brainy and scary film. The psychological drama raises many complex metaphysical questions and features a gory scene, a scary alien atmosphere, and many twists and turns. It might not be convincing (I never could take it for real), but it shows how vulnerable we are to the unknown and how chilling a sci-fi film can be if the imagery is effective, the acting is solid (though all their characters are undeveloped) and the terrible implications of alien mutations for modern mankind resonate.
REVIEWED ON 8/30/2018 GRADE: B
OPENING ACT, THE
REASON I JUMP, THE
Copyright 2019 - Dennis Schwartz Reviews
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Columbia College student dares to stand out in pink
Joey Cahue, Contributing Writer|June 12, 2019
Courtesy of Jessi Moonheart
Moonheart’s Gucci glasses are one of her favorite accessories. She said it’s the only Gucci item she owns.
In a world of fitted black turtlenecks, cigarette skinny black slacks and leather loafers, only a few dare to add their own flare of style into their wardrobe.
Those few are brighter than the sun as they turn heads and stand out in the crowd of basic and bland business-casual and so-called urban yuppies (young professional with “style”) and leave their own mark on the world of fashion.
Jessi Moonheart, 23, is a fashion studies major with a concentration in product development at Columbia College Chicago. She is also a barista at one of the many Starbucks stores in the city. Moonheart sets her own trends and doesn’t fall into the crowd of those who eagerly page through the latest issue of Vogue in hopes of finding a fast-fashion dupe. Moonheart’s aesthetic style is dressing in all pink and purple.
Pink and purple have been Moonheart’s favorite colors since childhood, but she started dressing mainly in them in December 2017. She started dressing in a “pastel-goth,” otherwise known as “larme style,” last summer.
Larme started in Japan around September 2012. It’s a popular fashion in Japan that gives off a sweet and girly look.
“I love how I look when I wear pink,” Moonheart said. “I feel unashamed of my unbashed life-long love for the color. I tend to buy most of the objects in my life either pink or purple, or I purposefully change their color to match my aesthetic.”
Moonheart said wearing pink makes her feel positive emotions, while wearing black for long periods of time has the opposite effect on her mood.
Moonheart’s inspiration comes from the 20s, 50s and the 80s. Barbie is her “OG style icon” and she’s heavily inspired by Japanese street style.
Although she has an extensive wardrobe, she doesn’t have to break the bank for it.
Moonheart’s favorite outfit at the moment. She calls it a “coordinate of twinkle journey with a vintage white blouse.”
“Most of my shopping is done secondhand,” she said. “I frequently thrift, purchase vintage, buy from apps like Poshmark and DePop or swap garments with friends. I spent a lot of time at Hollywood Mirror before they closed. I really like Belmont Army and Store B Vintage.”
Aside from her Gucci glasses, Moonheart’s other favorite accessory is her pastel lightning bolt necklace. It’s from an independent brand called I’m Your Present. Her partner got it for her for their two-year anniversary.
“Lightning is symbolic of strength, creativity and inspiration, and I feel like I specifically exude those things when I wear this necklace,” Moonheart said. “It’s also a pivotal piece to my sky and space-themed fashion collection.”
Michelle Wacklawik, 21, is a fashion business major at Columbia College Chicago and is minoring in marketing. She is doing an internship in New York City with designer Brandon Maxwell. Wacklawik has been highly interested in fashion since she was young.
Wacklawik said colors are important to fashion and that they do impact someone’s mood.
“Colors do affect mood,” she said. “I personally know for myself if I am feeling more daring, I will wear bright and bold colors.”
Kameron Stanko, 20, is a sophomore at DePaul and writes for College Fashionista. Stanko said experiences with color make a difference in someone’s mood.
“If you’ve had positive experiences with a certain color, you’re more likely to want to wear and like that color,” Stanko said. “My favorite thing about the color pink is how versatile it is. It goes well with a lot of different colors and styles.”
Hayden Peter-Lee is one of Moonheart’s friends. Peter-Lee met her at a Japenese fashion panel and said Moonheart was dressed to the nines in colorful clothing. Peter-Lee is also very into Japanese fashion.
Moonheart’s other favorite accessory is her lightning bolt necklace.
“I adore Jessi’s style,” Peter-Lee said. “She’s so good at combining vintage and new, different textures, and coming up with coordination ideas I would have never thought of. She puts a part of herself in everything she does.”
After two years of friendship, Peter-Lee could tell that Moonheart stays true to herself and her sense of style shows it.
“She doesn’t limit herself to one sort of fashion and style, and instead dresses what she feels looks good and makes her happy,” Peter-Lee said. “Even within J-fashion [Japanese fashion] there are things that are societally accepted and things that are not. She breaks those bounds and does what inspires her.”
Zoom looks lead 2020 fall fashion
What to wear when you have nowhere to go
How to maintain hair, nails while sheltering in place
How to look good — and feel good — during a Chicago winter
Purchase or pass? Influencer-backed eyeshadows receive mixed reviews
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Executive Breakthroughs Podcast
Summary: Executive Breakthroughs Podcast is where high-performing executives, managers, entrepreneurs, and rising stars, just like you, come to learn from their business heroes on how to make your unique mark on the world, maximize leadership and performance, create a culture of rockstar talent (i.e. be an expert team builder), and more. HINT: It takes more than bean bag chairs, a waffle bar, and all those perks on “Silicon Valley.” We’ll talk visionary leadership, bold entrepreneurship, building epic teams and winning management styles. Wild creativity paired with disciplined productivity, great teamwork, and unbreakable team chemistry. Embracing fear and stamping out impostor syndrome. Tiny missteps, and epic misfires. Hot topics in Human Resources and Sales. Mistakes you can skip, and strategies you can steal. (Because stealing pens and Post-it notes is for amateurs.) This show will make you a better leader, manager, team builder, investor and -- most important -- a better strategic-thinker and problem-solver.
Join Now to Subscribe to this Podcast
Artist: Jason Treu
Episode 11: Diane Hessan | The Most Influential Woman You Need to Know | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:51:49
Diane Hessan (@dianehessan) is one of the most influential movers, shakers, thinkers, investors, entrepreneurs, artist, marketers, author and connectors that you will ever meet. TRUST me she has done more than her lifetime so far than you could ever dream up. And she is extremely well connected in Boston. I interviewed two Boston startups that Diane has invested in the same day I interviewed her. You can’t fully appreciate her hard work, expertise, breadth of experience and how much she cares unless you read her full biography.
Episode 10: Zac Sheffer | Making Portfolio Management Simple Again (Episode 10) | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:36:20
Zac Sheffer (@zsheffer) is the CEO and co-founder of Elsen, and one of Boston’s hot startup companies. Elsen is a platform-as-a-service company that enables anyone at large financial institutions to harness massive quantities of data for better decision making and problem solving. An engineer by training, Zac worked at Schneider Electric before catching the finance bug. During a later position at Credit Suisse, he applied his engineering and programming skills to macroeconomic research. His ability to create solutions that address complex problems in manageable ways gave him the tools he needs to solve difficult finance problems, and led him to Elsen. What Zac loves most about Elsen is its talented team of dedicated people who want to do something incredible every day. When he’s not leading the team, he enjoys longboarding, surfing, cooking, watching Chef's Table, and playing board games. Zac holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Northeastern University and holds several patents.
Episode 9: Byron Reese | Back to the Future | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:39:48
Byron Reese (@byronreese) is an investor, entrepreneur, publisher and futurist. He is the publisher of tech news site Gigaom and the founder of several high-tech companies. He has obtained or has pending patents in disciplines as varied as crowdsourcing, content creation, and psychographics. He is the author of the best selling book, Infinite Progress: How Technology and the Internet Will End Ignorance, Disease, Hunger, Poverty, and War. He currently serves as Chief Executive Officer for Knowingly, a venture-backed Internet startup based in Austin, Texas.He also has a TEDxAustin talk on “Achieving Greatness is a Choice.”
Episode 8: Tamsen Webster | Tell Powerful Stories That Move People | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 01:11:15
Tamsen Webster (@tamadear) is my incredible speaking coach I worked with over the past year. She is part "idea whisperer," part message strategist, and part presentation coach, Tamsen Webster helps people and organizations like Verizon, State Street Bank, Ericsson, Johnson & Johnson, and Disney find and communicate the power of their ideas. She is the Executive Producer of TEDxCambridge, one of the oldest and largest locally organized “TED talk” events in the world. In former lives, she worked in both agencies and at nonprofits heading up brand, marketing, and fundraising communication strategy, along with a brief but enduring turn as a change management consultant. She was a reluctant marathoner...twice; is a winning ballroom dancer (in her mind); and everything she knows about people, speaking, and change, she learned at Weight Watchers. True story.
Episode 7: Scott Baradell | Question Everything | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 01:30:38
Scott Baradell (@dallasinbound) is president of Idea Grove, oversees one of the fastest-growing inbound marketing agencies. Idea Grove focuses on helping technology companies reach media and buyers; and its clients range from venture-backed startups to Fortune 200 companies. Scott launched Idea Grove in 2005 along with his groundbreaking blog, Media Orchard. He has been a consistent innovator in the public relations and marketing space. Scott was among the first to understand the role of blogging in audience building. He was quick to recognize the vital importance of content quality and the power of social sharing.
Episode 6: Patrick MeLampy | Finding Great Co-Founders | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:44:06
Patrick MeLampy (@pmelampy) is the COO and Co-Founder of 128 Technology, one of the hottest startups in Boston (and has raised $57M to date). He’s been awarded 35 patents in telecommunications. Prior to 128 Technology, Patrick was the Vice President of Product Development at Oracle. Prior to Oracle, Mr. MeLampy was CTO and Founder of Acme Packet (NASDAQ: APKT) that was acquired by Oracle in February of 2013 for $2.1 billion dollars. He’s also on the board of directors at Ipswitch. Mr. MeLampy has an MBA from Boston University, and an Engineering Degree from University of Pittsburgh.
Episode 5: Becky Powell-Schwartz | How to be a FireStarter | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 01:01:53
Becky Powell-Schwartz is the founder and CEO of The Powell Group, Becky Powell-Schwartz has been a thought partner to the C-suite for more than 25 years. Her depth of experience solving business and communications issues has made her a trusted advisor for executives of Fortune 500 and industry-leading companies across diverse business sectors. She is also Vistage International CEO group leader. Becky is a graduate of the Harvard University Mediation Training program, Leadership America, Leadership Texas and Leadership Dallas. She is also the recipient of the Most Powerful Women in PR Award from the Council of Public Relations. Additionally, she currently serves on the advisory boards of the Texas A&M Mays Business School Center for Retailing Studies; Leadership Women, the oldest women’s leadership program in North America; and Senior Source of Greater Dallas.
Episode 4: Dave Will | Eating Culture for Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:58:32
Dave Will (@propsdave) is a serial entrepreneur, and started a new company, PropFuel (focused on employee recognition and feedback). While working for SAP, a multi-billion dollar software company, nearly 20 years ago, he was advised to "walk faster and smile less, because perception is reality". He took this to heart and started a business based around the antithesis of this advice. In 2001, he started what became Peach, a Learning Platform software company, and sold his to AKKR, a private equity firm. He’s serving on EO (Entrepreneurs’ Organization) Boston's 2016-2017 board of directors as learning chair.
Episode 3: Stefania Mallett | When You Cross Fearlessness & Insanely Helpfulness | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:34:32
Stefania Mallet (@StefaniaMallett) is the CEO and co-founder of ezCater. She has spent over 25 years building and growing technology-enabled companies that solve real business problems. Stefania co-founded and successfully sold InSite Marketing Technology (now NASDAQ: KANA). Her tenure at National Logistics Management (a broker for $225M in transportation services) brought NLM to profitability for the first time in 4 years. At IntraNet (now NASDAQ:TSAI), Stefania revamped the firm and vaulted it to #1 in its market, a position it has maintained for 15+ years. Stefania also operates as a Director and advisor to many for-profit and non-profit firms. She has a BS and an MS from MIT.
Episode 2: Brent Brightwell | Pivot to Success | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:50:38
Brent Brightwell (@doublehorn) is the Senior Vice President of Products & Strategy at DoubleHorn in Austin. Brent Brightwell is a Technology Leader and Entrepreneur with extensive Startup, SMB, and large Enterprise experience. He is currently the SVP of Products at DoubleHorn where he is responsible for R&D, Product Management, Marketing, Alliances, and Strategy. Prior to DoubleHorn, Brent held positions such as CMO of Artisan Infrastructure, VP of Products for Gravitant, and Product Marketing Executive in the HP Helion Cloud organization. Brent has also led Global Marketing and did Technical Pre Sales for the HP Software Portfolio. Prior to Sales, he led R&D and Product Management for HP's strategic Solutions.
Episode 1: Ron Nash | Grow or Die | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 01:06:23
Ron Nash (@hronaldnash) is the CEO and Chairman of Pivot 3 in Austin. He’s worked alongside Ross Perot, Mort Myerson and many other industry titans. He’s been a VC, Board Member, and avid art collector. He has been a corporate officer at the following companies that completed IPO's: Perot Systems, Teleci and Rubicon. He has been a director of the following successful companies that were acquired: Vendavo, Lombardi Software.
Your Purpose is Really an Emotion | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:07:59
“Life purpose” is a pretty common phrase these days, but I have a different spin on the subject. Instead of focusing on specific tasks, projects, career paths, etc, I emphasize the importance of generating the emotions that drive your happiness and fulfillment. Why? Because you have control of your emotions. You don’t have control over external experiences. I share with you a quick and transformative exercise you can do. We look at the happiest moments in your life, and give you the framework to recreate those moments every single day.
Blind Spots Are Sabotaging Your Success (Part 2) | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:13:44
We discussed in Part 1 how our survival patterns turn into blind spots. They are based on irrational fears. I share with how to go about making long-term changes from the inside-out. It's where the most powerful transformations and lasting change starts.
How to Build Extraordinary Relationships | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:11:41
I break down for you how to create extraordinary relationships (and network for business), and create an urgency for the other person to follow back up with you. You’ll learn the three pillars to building extraordinary relationships and how to master each pillar. This methodology works especially well for introverts, and people that are shy. It’s quick, easy and you can implement it immediately. My clients have built millions of relationships using this process. You'll master business networking and relationship building too.
Intro To Executive Breakthroughs Podcast | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:01:42
Today we are becoming overwhelmed with the need for instant reward, immediate verification that we are significant. It’s a misguided attempt to satiate our hunger for meaning and belonging. Because we are propelling ourselves toward an emptiness that can only be filled by a constant need for temporary pleasures and distractions. Our need to belong, understand, explore, connect to others and the world around us, lead, and express and create are foundational to the human experience. Mastery is a journey — It’s a curious and wonderful trail — that has few, if any, guides. It’s much more than the pursuit of expert performance. It’s far deeper than high performance and the achievement of success. In each episode you’ll learn from the most visionary, transformative and standout (and their missteps). You’ll learn how to apply the information with “game changing” tools to help you: Maximize your true potential in your business and career, Make your unique mark in the world, and Lead and inspire others to soar to heights they never thought possible.
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Brentwood Borough School Dist
Brentwood Borough School Dist for Android
By AIS Developers, LLC. Free
By AIS Developers, LLC.
The Brentwood Borough School Dist App by eSchoolView allows parents, students, teachers and administrators to stay connected in today's mobile world!
eSchoolView builds websites and creates educational management software for schools and school districts across the nation, including public, private, faith-based and charter systems. The company was founded in 2008 and has seen significant growth. Ranked for the second consecutive year on the Inc. 500/5000 list of America's fastest growing private companies, eSchoolView (1907) also works with a number of educational organizations throughout the states in an effort to build meaningful partnerships and networks within the industry. Founded in Columbus, Ohio, eSchoolView has offices in Charlotte, North Carolina and Fountain Hills, Arizona.
We also develop products on behalf of school systems across the country to improve efficiency and increase parent engagement. Our newest product OneView is the only solution available that integrates parent portal features, athletic forms, online enrollment for new student and forms for currently enrolled students in one complete package.
eSchoolView provides a number of other solutions to help school districts generate revenue, manage facilities and send instant safety alert notifications.
What's new in version 6.14.0
Date Added August 17, 2020
Operating Systems Android
Additional Requirements Requires Android 4.1 and up
Find the talks and performances from TED conferences on your Android device.
Access the whole visible universe from your android device.
Bible for Kids
A free, digital storybook designed to explore the big stories of the Bible.
CES 6.0.0 Answers
THIS IS NOT TEST. HERE IS ANSWERS ONLY.....
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Miss All-IML wraps an impressive career at BHS
Candace Shaw of Bayfield spins as she delivers the shot Saturday at the CHSAA Class 3A Track and Field State Championships. The only spinner in the shot put field, Shaw finished sixth. I got a few compliments on it, Shaw said. Some of the girls were excited that there was a spinner here.
Candace Shaw won her second consecutive sixth-place medal (shot put) at the state meet Saturday. She finished sixth in the Class 3A discus Friday.
Cody Rose of Bayfield approached the high jump bar through a pouring rain Saturday morning. He finished tied for 14th. Poor Cody. That cold ... that affected him so much, Bayfield head coach Sherri Kimball said.
Cody Rose of the Wolverines cleared 5-8 but tagged the bar at 5-10 on Saturday in the Class 3A state high jump at rainy Jeffco Stadium in Lakewood.
A trailing foot knocked the bar off at 5-10 for Cody Rose of Bayfield. By the time Rose took flight for the high jump at Jeffco Stadium in Lakewood, it was raining and the temperature was in the mid-40s.
LAKEWOOD Candace Shaw of Bayfield High School finished her senior season just like she started it on the podium at state.
Shaw matched her career best in the shot put and ended up sixth Saturday at the weather-delayed CHSAA Class 3A Track and Field State Championships at Jeffco Stadium.
She started the school year playing in the state volleyball championships with the Wolverines. The Intermountain League (basketball) Player of the Year and her teammates then qualified for the Class 3A state basketball championships.
Shaw, the IML Girls Field Athlete of the Year, ended 2011-12 on Saturday with a sixth-place medal in the shot put to match a sixth-place state medal in the discus that she won Friday.
Going out this way was exciting, Shaw said. I tied my PR (personal record) to the T ... down to the three-quarters of an inch.
Shaw, the only thrower in the field to use the discus-style spin to launch the shot, managed a distance of 35 feet, 7.75 inches under cloudy, overcast skies.
It (the spin) is fun. I really like it. I got a few compliments on it, said Shaw, daughter of Carla and John Shaw. Some of the girls were excited that there was a spinner here.
Mel Hurl of Eaton won the 3A shot at 43-2, her second consecutive state title. She and the other throwers used the more traditional, straightforward shot put technique.
Shaw said it will be unusual not to have a Bayfield sport on her calendar, starting today, but shes excited to start her new training program for her new team.
Shaw is scheduled to sign this week to play basketball at Adams State College in Alamosa.
Older sister Lindsay Shaw, who plays basketball at Colorado Mesa University, was on hand Saturday to watch Candaces final high school competition.
Older sisters Ashley and Jackie also were at Jeffco Stadium for the Shaw family reunion.
While Candace Shaw competed in the relative calm Saturday afternoon with only light drizzle, teammate Cody Rose was forced to high jump in Saturday mornings deluge.
After the event was delayed an hour by lightning and rain, Rose and his fellow 3A high jumpers tried to take flight in the wet, heavy air.
Rose cleared 5-8 in the miserable conditions but went out of the competition at 5-10. He finished tied for 14th.
Poor Cody. That cold ... that affected him so much, Bayfield head coach Sherri Kimball said. It was really cold then.
Temperatures, at the time, were in the mid-40s.
She said Rose did a good job battling the elements in a tough jumping environment.
Kimball said the state meet offered valuable experience to the younger Wolverines in the BHS program. After a season when they dominated most regional meets, Kimball said the competition at state is revealing.
We lack that level of competition that gives you that extra umph over here, Kimball said. But weve got some good young ones. Well work on it.
CHSAA’s alpine ski season full of uncertainty in 2021
Suspected militia member held on charges in Capitol riot
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Early Irish Cinema
What's On in Irish Cinemas – 100 Years Ago
Category Archives: Easter
From the Stomach to the Front: Projecting the World on Irish Screens in April 1915
Posted on April 30, 2015 by EarlyIrishCinema
The growth of picture houses in the 1910s provided Irish people with unprecedented visual access to the world. The increasing number of cinemagoers could view otherwise difficult or impossible to see geographical spaces, the geopolitical spaces of Europe’s battlefields and even the intimate spaces within the human body.
Dublin Evening Mail 24 March 1915: 5.
“You can take a series of X-Ray pictures at intervals of a few minutes each, while the stomach is busy digesting food,” observed an article in the Dublin Evening Mail in late March 1915.
[P]ut these pictures together on a film, thrown them on a screen, and –
You virtually have a MOVING PICTURE of the stomach in action while digesting your food. (“Moving Pictures of the Stomach.”)
Designed to look like a news item, this article was actually an advertisement for Bisturated Magnesia, a treatment for excess stomach acid. It used the term “moving pictures” – capitalized like no other word in the body of the article – to attract the roving eye of newspaper readers (and film historians), dyspeptic or not. Some advertisers clearly saw moving pictures as a desirable technology with which to associate their product in this way, as the promoters of White’s Fruit Jelly Crystals had done in the same newspaper in August 1913 (“Really Moving Picture”).
In their use of stomach X-rays, the advertisers of Bisturated Magnesia were, however, undoubtedly making a specific reference to Dr John MacIntyre’s experiments in what is now called medical imaging and specifically to Dr John MacIntyre’s X-Ray Film (1896, 1909), which includes early cineradiography of the stomach. Despite being a medical doctor and pioneer of radiography, MacIntyre could also see that X-rays were a spectacular visual technology, of interest far beyond the medical community (Cartwright 22). As such, he had something in common with the showmen who in the late 1890s exploited the entertainment possibilities of X-rays in theatres and fairgrounds, including in Ireland (Condon). This occurred at precisely the same time as the first projected moving pictures were being exhibited. Unlike moving pictures, however, the entertainment career of X-rays was short. For a start, the danger of radiation burns from prolonged exposure to the rays soon became obvious. As well as this, once audiences had seen the bones of their hands or the contents of a locked wooden box, the novelty value of X-rays was exhausted, but they retained a strong imaginative fascination. By contrast, moving pictures were inexhaustible in the potential subjects they could show, from X-ray images of such interior spaces to the exterior spaces of the historical world and the imagined spaces of fiction.
Moving pictures has also prompted the creation of the new social spaces of the picture houses, which were becoming increasingly ubiquitous on the Irish streetscape in April 1915. Although the Grand in Lurgan, Co. Armagh, had opened in autumn 1914, it garnered attention beyond local audiences when it was reviewed in glowing terms by the Bioscope’s “Jottings from Ulster” columnist on 1 April 1915. “Situate on the main street and approached through a spacious and ornate foyer,” the Grand held about 1,000 patrons who were stratified by their ability to pay 3d., 6d. or 1s. This was not, then, a utopian space of horizontal social relations. Although a stepped floor ensured that all patrons had a good view of the screen, “the patrons of the highest priced seats are comfortably and exclusively catered for in a handsome balcony abreast of the operating chamber, nest-o’spring seats and deep framed backs being provided in this section” (“Jottings,” 1 Apr.). Jottings favoured a programme that combined films with live acts, expressing strong approval of the fact that H. G. Austin, who managed the Grand for proprietor Sam Hewitt, had introduced varieties acts into the programme. As a result of this combination of entertainments, Jottings concluded: “I would not be surprised to find the magnificent tapestry with which the walls are decorated, being removed to make room for the appreciative crowds.” However, like other Irish towns with a similar population (12,553), Lurgan had more than one picture house. At the longer-established Picture House in Carnegie Street, manager Clarke embodied Jotting’s favoured combination of variety and cinema, having been part of the variety duo Clarke and Clare (“Jotings,” 22 Apr.).
Evening Telegraph 3 Apr. 1915: 1.
If the Lurgan Grand was in many ways typical of the picture houses opening in mid-sized Irish towns at this time, Dublin’s Coliseum Theatre, which opened on Easter Monday, 5 April 1915, was exceptional. With a seating capacity of 3,000, it was Ireland biggest entertainment venue, and its stage was “one of the largest in the kingdom, being not less than 80 ft. wide and 40 ft. deep, capable of staging the largest spectacular scenes” ([Editorial Item]). In its initial stage of development, the Coliseum had been planned as a large picture house called the Premier Picture Palace, but its promoters had decided that another Dublin variety theatre would be more lucrative than a cinema. Nevertheless, given that film projection had become a stable part of variety programmes, a projection booth had been incorporated into the plans for the building and not as an unsightly supplementary structure within the auditorium, as was the case in older theatres. Praising the features of the Coliseum in advance of its opening, the Evening Herald noted that the “biograph chamber is so designed that it will beautify not mar the general scheme” (“Dublin’s New Theatre”).
Despite a general acknowledgment of the quality of the construction and the beauty of the finished theatre, controversy dogged both the building and the opening of the Coliseum. As noted in an earlier post, although other Dublin theatre owners had objected at an August 1914 hearing to the granting of a patent to this new venue, architect, diarist and theatregoer Joseph Holloway had spoken in favour of the new theatre because it offered the prospect of more drama in the city. The most immediate drama came offstage, from such craftspeople as local fibrous-plaster companies and furniture makers who were denied contracts for work in favour of cheaper British firms. In Dublin, the support of local industries was not only a way of creating good will among potential theatregoers but also of mollifying nationalist Anglophobia. With an ill-tempered public correspondence between the theatre and contractors conducted through the newspapers, the negative publicity for the theatre continued over months, causing Holloway to change his mind about its promise and “wish the new theatre a speedy failure under the circumstances. There is no hope ahead for us poor playgoers in Dublin!” (Holloway, 17 Mar. 1915).
Zona Vevey and Max Erand. Source: http://footlightnotes.tumblr.com/post/39830711458/husband-and-wife-max-erard-and-zona-vevey
Holloway attended the Coliseum’s opening night, and unlike the newspapers’ positive reviews, his diary entries suggest that the management misjudged the Dublin audience. This is noteworthy given that Lorcan Sherlock, the city’s former Lord Mayor, was one of the theatre’s directors. The theatre’s opening bill was headed by the singer Zona Vevey accompanied on organ by Max Erand. Although their act had been going very well and they had been called back for several encores,
the turn that was doing so well was completely spoiled by her singing of a recruiting Jingo song, “Your Country Wants You.” “It does, and we intend to stop it” said a man behind me as she sang. “Give us something Irish” shouted another, and then I knew trouble was brewing for her, and sure enough when she had finished, a stream of hissing and booing broke out and the two artists, retired amid a tornado of ugly sounds. (Holloway, 5 Apr. 1915.)
Opened in Easter 1915, the Coliseum was destroyed in the fighting of Easter 1916. “The possibility of fire is put almost outside the pale of consideration” (“Dublin’s New Theatre”). Source: http://comeheretome.com/2014/05/09/is-it-over-yet-hiding-out-in-the-coliseum-theatre-1916/
The bioscope pictures – “introducing the Topical Budget of up-to-date current events” – with which the programme concluded appears to have been entirely unremarkable because they received no coverage, but Holloway claims that the opening night ended ignominiously:
A bar of England’s anthem brought the first show to an inglorious end, amid hissing, which cut short the music, as the imported conductor dropped his baton when he saw the way the land lay. This anthem has always been translated, when played in Ireland, into ‘To Hell With The Catholics’, and will always, I fear until we are allowed to govern ourselves. Therefore, it is better omitted from programmes of a general nature. (Ibid.)
Despite Holloway’s misgivings, the Coliseum’s opening was widely reported a success, and its advent tipped the balance of entertainment seats in Dublin city centre firmly back from picture house to theatre. The Evening Herald’s Man About Town was disappointed by the hackneyed nature of some of the opening acts, but he also saw a packed house that included “a few eminent K.C.’s, a land commissioner, several leading medicos, an Abbey Theatre author of distinction, and a trustee of the same concern.” For the Evening Telegraph, among the reasons that the Coliseum “opened its career auspiciously” was that it enjoyed an “advantageously central position […] adjoining the General Post Office and at the tram terminus for all parts of the city and suburbs” (“Coliseum Theatre”).
Those same trams might bring pleasure seekers away from the city centre and to the increasing number of picture houses in the suburbs. The arrival of the picture house had reconfigured entertainment space in the city. Some of the suburban picture houses courted more middle-class patrons in search of higher standard of entertainment in the guise of exclusive films, comfortable surroundings and musical offerings. The Bohemian Picture Theatre in Phibsboro – an area on the northern edge of the city well served by two tramlines – was building its reputation as a venue that provided enhanced musical accompaniment. The Bioscope’s Paddy observed that “one of the finest orchestras to be found in any picture outside London – or in London for the matter of that – is that now installed in the Bohemian.” The Bohemian had twelve musicians “and every instrument seems to have been pressed into use, thus affording a musical feast absolutely unapproached by any other house in Ireland” (Paddy, 25 Mar.).
Cinemas also competed for audience by offering more luxurious furnishings. Dublin’s Pillar Picture House had “an immense mirror […] beautifully set in a gilded frame[…] Thick luxurious carpets are on the stairs leading to the balcony, and the general appearance of the entrance leads one to imagine that a fairy palace of some sort was about to be entered” (Paddy, 4 Mar.). Some picture houses offered early evening patrons free tea. “A big feature is now being made of glow-lamp teas at Kinema House, Belfast,” noted Jottings. “Dainty tables with shaded lights are arranged in full view of the screen, and considerable advantage is being taken of the innovation by those who sacrifice their siestas to the pictures in the afternoons” (Jottings, 1 Apr.). This kind of offering seemed to have been designed to appeal largely to middle-class women who had the leisure to visit the picture houses while shopping in cities and towns in the afternoons.
Some religious groups and magistrates saw cinemagoing as an activity to be restricted rather than encouraged among the middle class. One of the main ways in which they sought to do this was through restrictions or a ban on Sunday opening. The ongoing controversy on Sunday opening came to something of a head at the end of March, when the Recorder of Dublin heard applications for music-and-dancing licences for picture houses. The Recorder reiterated his view that Sunday opening should be restricted to working-class areas of the city, where people had little opportunity to attend entertainments during the week. He therefore granted just a six-day music licence to Jacob Elliman’s Blackrock Picture House because it was located in “a residential place, with a very small number of working people” (“Picture Theatres”). And he again refused a Sunday licence to the Dame Street Picture House, which, he argued, was not frequented by working-class people because it was located on a city-centre shopping street similar to Grafton Street and Sackville/O’Connell Street.
These cases reveal a curious class, sectarian and even acoustic geography of the city that emerged in relation to its picture houses.
Cartwright, Lisa. Screening the Body: Tracing Medicine’s Visual Culture. Minneapolis: U Minnesota P, 1995.
“Coliseum Theatre: The Opening on Monday.” Evening Telegraph 3 Apr. 1915: 4.
Condon, Denis. “‘Spleen of a Cabinet Minister at Work’: Exhibiting X-Rays and the Cinematograph in Ireland, 1896.” Film History and National Cinema: Studies in Irish Film 2. Ed. John Hill and Kevin Rockett. Four Courts Press: Dublin, 2005.
“Dublin’s New Theatre: The Opening of the Coliseum on Monday.” Evening Herald 2 Apr. 1915: 5.
“Jottings from Ulster.” Bioscope 1 Apr. 1915: 33; 15 Apr. 1915: 260.
The Man About Town. “Things Seen and Heard.” Evening Herald 6 Apr. 1915: 4.
“Moving Pictures of the Stomach During Digestion.” Dublin Evening Mail 24 Mar. 1915: 5.
Paddy. “Pictures in Ireland.” Bioscope 4 Mar. 1915: 824; 18 Mar. 1915: 1051; 25 Mar. 1915: 1111.
“Picture Theatres: Recorder and Sunday Opening: Many Applications.” Evening Herald 29 Mar. 1915: 5.
“A Really Moving Picture.” Dublin Evening Mail 12 Jul. 1913: 3.
“Sunday Opening in Dublin: Important Cases.” Bioscope 8 Apr. 1915: 155.
Posted in Abraham Elliman, Bohemian Picture Theatre, Coliseum Theatre (Dublin), Dame Street, Division based on ticket price, Easter, Electric lighting, Fibrous plaster, Furnishings, Grafton Street, Grand (Lurgan), Great Northern Kinema (Belfast), H. G. Austin, Irish manufacturers, Irish Week, Jacob Elliman, Joseph Holloway, Jottings from Ulster (Bioscope), Live acts, Lorcan Sherlock, Lurgan, Man About Town (Evening Herald), Mr Clarke, Number of musicians, Number of seats, O'Connell/Sackville Street, Organ, Phibsboro, Picture House (Lurgan), Pictures in Ireland by Paddy (Bioscope), Pillar Picture House, Population, Rake, Recorder of Dublin, Sam Hewitt, Suburbs, Sunday shows, Tapestry, Tea rooms, The Messiah (France: Pathé 1913), Ticket Prices, Trams, X-rays | 1 Reply
A Happy and Appropriate Synchronism: Passion Films at Easter 1914
The release of Darren Aronofsky’s Noah (US: Paramount/Regency/Protozoa/Disruption, 2014) on cinema screens around the world in the run up to Easter 2014 is a distribution strategy at least a century old. “As a Passion Play,” wrote a reviewer in Dublin’s Evening Telegraph of the latest release at the Rotunda’s in early April 1914, “‘The Messiah’ holds one with its intense impressiveness and pathos, and its exhibition just at this holy season is a happy and appropriate synchronism” (“‘The Messiah’ at the Round Room Rotunda”). This synchronism – or well-established distribution and exhibition strategy – was familiar to cinemagoers of the 1910s who would have seen the practice of releasing biblically based films for this religious festival as entirely unremarkable. In fact, this practice reproduced in a new medium the centuries-old Christian tradition of performing passion plays at Easter. Filmic passion plays were among the first moving pictures (Cosandey passim), and they were so popular that The Messiah shown in Dublin in April 1914 was the 1913 remake (dir. Maurice-André Maître) by French company Pathé of its La vie et la passion de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ, which the company had first produced in 1903 and again in 1907 (Abel 319-20). And this was just the output of one – albeit large – production company.
Rotunda manager James T. Jameson as he appeared in a caricature in the Bioscope in November 1911.
Easter Monday fell on 13 April 1914, but James T. Jameson, director of the Irish Animated Picture Company, and his son, Ernest, who managed the Rotunda, had begun the run up to Easter much earlier. In early March, Jameson senior had secured the Irish rights to two long “exclusives”: The Messiah and Spartacus, or the Revolt of the Gladiators (Italy: Pasquali, 1913) (“Items of Interest”). In its review of Spartacus at the Rotunda in the week beginning 23 March, the Dublin Evening Mail compared it to Quo Vadis? (Italy: Cines, 1912), the Italian epic that had been the biggest hit of 1913 and that had been available to Dublin audiences as lately as 2-7 March at the Camden Picture House (“Rotunda Pictures”). However, The Messiah was a more important film for the Rotunda than Spartacus. For one thing, it was longer; Spartacus shared its bill with the comedies The Awakening at Snakesville (US: Essanay, 1914) and When Cupid Takes in Washing (US: Lubin, 1914), but The Messiah was the only thing on the Rotunda’s programme for the two weeks beginning Monday, 30 March. As well as this, because it depicted the life of Christ, The Messiah had the potential to be as controversial as From the Manger to the Cross (US: Kalem 1913) had been the previous year. The superiority of The Messiah was emphasized by the Evening Telegraph, which urged “any person who witnessed “From Manger to Cross to pay a visit to the Rotunda and see what a drastic and extraordinary difference can be introduced in the treatment of the same subject, and more especially the grandeur of its colouring” (“‘The Messiah’ at the Round Room Rotunda”).
Postcard featuring a scene from Spartacus. https://www.flickr.com/photos/truusbobjantoo/6878893236/in/pool-cinemaitaliano.
The Messiah was certainly a success at the Rotunda. Quoting figures supplied by the Rotunda management, the Telegraph revealed that by the Saturday of the first week of its run, it had been seen by over 22,000 people, “including a considerable proportion of the clergy of every denomination, and there have been nothing but the highest eulogies expressed by everybody who had the pleasure of seeing this marvellous production” (ibid). Paddy, the Irish correspondent of the British trade paper Bioscope, speculated that the audience for the full two-week run would number 50,000, commenting that the film “easily surpassed anything of the kind ever seen in Dublin, and the special music, so brilliantly rendered by Miss May Murphy’s Irish Ladies’ orchestra, added to the reverent screening of this great film” (Paddy). Although Jameson offered a new bill from Easter Monday featuring Christopher Columbus (US: Selig, 1912) and a film of the Grand National Steeplechase, he brought back – purportedly due to popular demand – The Messiah by the end of that week for selected matinees and early evening shows until Friday, 24 April.
This success of the passion films and such Italian historical epics as Quo Vadis? and Spartacus points to the existence of types of quality filmmaking based on high-cultural criteria. The Rotunda had long pursued a middle-class audience by promoting its film shows as both educative and entertaining, but Jameson had usually favoured programmes of shorter films – and some live variety acts – rather than a single long film. A review of the Rotunda in early March had stressed cinema’s multiple attractions:
The elaborate production of cinematograph films shows how much this form of entertainment has grown in public favour. Unlike skating rinks, living pictures seem to have come to stay. They supply an easy means of transporting oneself for a time from the uneventful round of daily life. Sitting in a comfortable seat, the spectator can in a moment travel from China to Peru, from the waste of the open sea to the sun-bathed mart of some Eastern town; he can witness fire and flood and return safely to a good supper by his civilized fireside (“Irish Animated Picture Company”).
The Rotunda had aimed to provide such a variety of attractions with multiple films in its two-hour shows, but the Italian epics could provide a range of spectacles in one film, as well as a patina of high-cultural value associated with classical education. As adaptations of literary works, Quo Vadis? – from Henryk Sienkiewicz’s novel – and The Last Days of Pompeii (Gli ultimi giorni di Pompeii; Italy: Ambrosio, 1913) – promoted as “Lord Lytton’s great work” when it played at the Camden Street Picture House in the week beginning 20 April (“Camden Street Pictures”) – could benefit from recognition by middle-class audiences, as well as bestowing cultural prestige on the film and the picture house at which it was shown. Among other significant literary adaptations on exhibition in Ireland at Easter 1914 was Cines’ Antony and Cleopatra (Italy, 1913), a story that prospective spectators at the Opera House in Derry were informed “has been variously dealt with by many famous writers, including the immortal Shakespeare” (“Easter Amusements”).
Edison Talking Pictures at the Picture House, Royal Avenue, Belfast. Belfast Newsletter 3 Apr. 1914: 1.
The extent to which a shared or imposed set of cultural values deriving from literary culture, classical education and Christian doctrine was the source of the popularity of The Messiah or the Italian epics is difficult to say definitively without some discussion of how images of these circulated more widely (Uricchio and Pearson). Certainly, the promotion of such films as respectable by the trade press, newspapers and other forms of picture-house promotion did not prevent other cultural forces from continuing to attempt to impose their own control on cinema and its audiences.
Easter 1914 seemed to be a particularly auspicious time for Irish nationalists. This point was well expressed in the nationalist Evening Telegraph, in which an editorial observed that
this will be the last Easter before Home Rule becomes the law, for the Home Rule Bill will reach the Statute Book in the course, probably, of the next five or six weeks. It is well that Easter should herald the coming of Ireland’s resurrection, for in the Christian sense it symbolises the Resurrection (“Easter”).
Christianity here meant the Catholicism of the Telegraph’s readership and of the majority of Dublin Corporation’s dominant nationalist faction. With Home Rule apparently imminent, more militant forces within the church were determined that cultural policy reflect a Catholic ethos, regardless of how this might affect the business interests of certain Catholic nationalist councillors.
Lord Mayor Lorcan Sherlock came under criticism from Catholic church-based groups in early March when he showed reluctance to introduce local censorship of films – the Corporation “are satisfied, as indeed are so many other civic bodies, with the verdict of the Board of Trade Censor” – or close picture houses on Sundays – “‘They have been,’ he said, ‘patronised to an extraordinary extent on Sunday by the working people of the city’” (“Picture Theatres: Conditions of Licensing”). Responding in a letter to the Telegraph, William Larkin, who had recently been praised rather than fined by a magistrate for protesting loudly during a theatre show, wondered whether or not the general public were “to be left at the mercy of the Corporation in the matter of taste in living pictures” whose “educational value […] in Dublin at present are nil” (“Sunday Pictures: For Working People”). He left no doubt that lay Catholic organizations would not let the matter rest:
Does his lordship know that the United Sodalities of Dublin (male and female) are out for reform of the picture theatres? Does his lordship know that the United Confraternities of the city are out for the same object? And does he also know that the Theatre Reform League of Dublin (which will later embrace all of Ireland) are on the watch against the class of production that has flooded our capital for some time now? (ibid).
Although Larkin and those named lay organizations would lead the campaign, priests and bishops lent the support of the hierarchy. A letter from a Father Gleeson calling for “an Irish National Censor, who understands the hearts and minds of the Irish people” accompanied Larkin’s (“Letter from Father Gleeson”). In April, the Lord Mayor “stated that Archbishop Walsh was not in favour of closing picture houses on Sunday, but he thought that a limit should be placed in the hours of opening so that there would be no interference with the freedom of persons to attend divine worship.” Under pressure from both inside and outside the Corporation, Sherlock “was writing to Archbishop Walsh asking him whether he would take upon himself the responsibility of suggesting what type of censorship should be put into operation” (“Picture Theatres: The Archbishop’s Views”).
Ad for the newly opened Great Northern Kinema in Belfast Newsletter 9 Apr. 1914: 9.
Larkin ended his letter on Dublin picture houses with some architectural criticism by remarking that “the building themselves are not even decent looking” (“Sunday Pictures: For Working People”), but Easter for Belfast’s picture houses was notable for its openings of distinct contributions to the city’s streetscape. The latest addition to Belfast’s substantial tally of picture houses was the Great Northern Kinema in Gt. Victoria Street, which opened in the first week of April, a little over a week after the 23 March opening of the Crumlin Picture House on the Crumlin Road. The Kinema, “[t]his new, most picturesque , and artistic home of the Moving Picture Art,” was located beside the Gt. Northern railway station, as well as on some of the city’s major tram lines (“Belfast’s Newest and Most Up–to-date Picture House”). No single film seemed to dominate the picture house programmes over the holiday period in the same way as The Messiah did in Dublin. At the “luxurious and attractive” Kinema, “[t]he star film during the early part of the current week is a two-reel drama entitled ‘Silent Heroes’” (US: Broncho, 1913) (“Kinema House”). The city’s most highly publicized cinema offerings were Edison’s Talking Pictures at the Picture House, Royal Avenue, where they were joined in the week beginning Easter Monday by a programme that included Selig’s Christopher Columbus. The different relationship between the churches and cinema is suggested by the fact that several of the Protestant halls – the CPA Assembly Hall, the Grosvenor Hall, the City YMCA and the People’s Hall – offered not only their usual Saturday cinematograph shows but also special film shows on Easter Monday and Tuesday.
Abel, Richard. The Ciné Goes to Town: French Cinema, 1896-1914. Berkeley: U of Califronia P, 1994.
“Belfast’s Newest and Most Up–to-date Picture House.” [Ad.] Belfast Newsletter 9 Apr. 1914: 9.
“Camden Street Pictures.” Evening Telegraph 21 Apr. 1914: 6.
Cosandey, Roland, André Gaudreault and Tom Gunning, eds. An Invention of the Devil? Religion and Early Cinema. Sainte-Foy and Lausanne: Éditions Payot/Laval UP, 1992.
“Easter.” Evening Telegraph 11 Apr. 1914: 4.
“Easter Amusements.” Derry Journal 13 Apr. 1914: 8.
“Irish Animated Picture Company.” Irish Times 10 Mar. 1914: 5.
“Items of Interest.” Bioscope 12 Mar. 1914: 1109.
“Kinema House.” Belfast Newsletter 14 Apr. 1914: 9.
“Letter from Father Gleeson.” Evening Telegraph 11 Mar. 1914: 5.
“‘The Messiah’ at the Round Room Rotunda.” Evening Telegraph 4 Apr. 1914; 7.
Paddy. “Pictures in Ireland.” Bioscope16 Apr. 1914: 313.
“Picture Theatres: Conditions of Licensing.” Evening Telegraph 10 Mar. 1914: 3.
“Picture Theatres: The Archbishop’s Views.” Evening Telegraph 20 Apr. 1914: 3.
“Rotunda Pictures.” Dublin Evening Mail 24 Mar. 1914.
“Sunday Pictures: For Working People.” Evening Telegraph 11 Mar. 1914: 5.
Uricchio, William and Roberta E. Pearson. Reframing Culture: The Case of the Vitagraph Quality Films. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1993.
Posted in Antony and Cleopatra (Italy: Cines 1913), Audience, Belfast, Camden Street Picture House, Christopher Columbus (US: Selig 1912), Crumlin Picture House (Belfast), Dublin, Easter, Edison’s Talking Pictures, Ernest Jameson, From the Manger to the Cross (US: Kalem 1912), Grand National Steeplechase 1914, Great Northern Kinema (Belfast), Irish Ladies' String Orchestra, James T. Jameson, Lord Mayor Lorcan Sherlock (Dublin), Maurice-André Maître, May Murphy, Opera House Derry, Picture House Royal Avenue (Belfast), Quo Vadis? (Italy: Cines 1912), Rotunda PIctures, Spartacus (Italy: Pasquali 1913), Sunday shows, The Last Days of Pompeii (Italy: Ambrosio 1913), The Messiah (France: Pathé 1913), Trains, William Larkin | Tagged Ambrosio, Archbishop William Walsh (Dublin), Biblical stories, Broncho Film Company, City YMCA (Belfast), Confraternities Central Council, CPA Assembly Hall (Belfast), Darren Aronofsky, Dublin Corporation, Essanay, Evening Telegraph, Father Gleeson, Film censorship, La vie et la passion de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ (1913), Noah (2014), Passion play, Silent Heroes (1913), Sunday closing, The Awakening of Snakesville (1914), The Grosvenor Hall (Belfast), The People’s Hall (Belfast), Theatre Reform League of Dublin, United Sodalities of Dublin, When Cupid Takes in Washing (1914) | 7 Replies
Passion on Screen: Easter 1912
Posted on April 9, 2012 by EarlyIrishCinema
Easter was a busy period for Ireland’s entertainment venues, of which cinemas were a growing part by 1912. Appropriately religious-themed films were a popular choice with cinema managers at Christmas and Easter, and a Passion Play film played in several Dublin cinemas and halls in the run-up to Easter. The Rotunda, the base for James T. Jameson’s Irish Animated Picture Company, was exhibiting a different kind of spectacle: the Kinemacolor film of the Delhi Durbar, which celebrated the coronation of King George V and Queen Mary.
When the Galway Cinema Theatre opened its doors in William Street on Easter Monday, 8 April 1912, it was not to present a programme of films but to offer the public a Wild-West play, The Cowboy’s Revenge.
Posted in Delhi Durbar, Easter, Galway, Galway Cinema Theatre, James T. Jameson, Kinemacolor, King George V, Rotunda PIctures | Leave a reply
Index Select Category 1916 Rising Audience Accompanying ladies Attacked Bad at school Behaviour Finger drumming Singing Sneezing Stealing Charles and Thomas Boland David Kennedy James Gaffney and John Dillon Laurence Fitzgerald Cinemagoers AE Annie Hughes Bernard Hughes Dr John Knot Eileen O’Malley Jack Murray James Crawford Neil James O’Hare John Connor Joseph Holloway Sketches Michael Creevy Miss Conroy Norah Mahone Rose Kavanagh Thomas Keena Dreams Fans Flapper Imitating Robbery Living Conditions Number of patrons Population Protests Na Fianna Éireann William Larkin Riotous behaviour Seeing yourself Smoking Social class Division based on ticket price Transport Trains Trams Traumatized by war images Weather Cartoon Cinema regulation Amusement tax Building regulations Censorship Defence of the Realm Act (DORA) Lady inspectors War censor Churches Catholic Church Bishop of Cork Cardinal Logue Dublin Vigilance Committee Brass Band Irish Vigilance Association Cinema Commission (1917) Cinema licence Recorder of Dublin Patent hearing Permits to Film Military Sunday shows Film directors Cecil B. DeMille D. W. Griffith Fred O’Donovan Georges Tréville Herbert Brenon J. M. Kerrigan Lois Weber Louis Feuillade Maurice Elvey Maurice-André Maître Norman Whitten Sidney Olcott Walter Macnamara William J. Power Film distributors in Ireland Films Limited Gaumont Gaumont Film Service H. Bromhead Mr Russell Mr Young Ideal Film Renting Company Irish agents in London Lillah Dawson James J. Fisher Jobs at film distributors Despatch clerks Film repairers Messengers London agents in Ireland Ruffells’ Exclusives Mr Hagan Film Length Film production companies Essanay Film Company of Ireland (FCOI) Cinematographer John A. Bennett Robert Justice William Moser Henry Fitzgibbon James Mark Sullivan Sales/Marketing Joseph Boland Gaumont General Film Supply (GFS) Benny Cann Cameramen J. Gordon Lewis Irish Events Subscribers Irish Film Productions Pathé Vitagraph Weisker Brothers Film stars “Broncho Billy” Anderson Annette Kellerman Arthur Shields Asta Nielsen Augustus Carney Aurele Sydney Barney Gilmore Blanche Sweet Breffni O’Rourke Brenda Burke Brian Magowan Charlie Chaplin Dermot O’Dowd Dustin Farnum Enid Markey Florence Lawrence Florence Roberts Florence Turner Ford Sterling Fred O’Donovan Gaby Deslys Gene Gauntier Geraldine Farrar Harry Lauder Helen Holmes Henry B. Walthall Ira Allen J. M. Carre J. M. Kerrigan J. Storey Jack Clarke John Bunny Kathleen Murphy Lillian Gish Mabel Normand Mary Charleson Mary Fuller Mary Pickford Maurice Costello Nora Clancy Olga Nethersole Pearl White Peggy Darval Queenie Coleman Tom Mix Valentine Roberts Filmed Events Bachelor’s Walk Shootings Battle of the Somme Church Street Disaster Delhi Durbar Dublin Civic Exhibition Dublin Lockout Funeral of the Batchelor’s Walk Victims Gallipoli Howth gunrunning Religious festivals Easter St. Patrick’s Day Russian Revolution Sinking of the Lusitania World War I Films Aerial reconnaisance Animation Britannia’s Message (Ireland: General Film Supply 1914) Sons of John Bull (Ireland: General Film Supply 1914) Tank Cartoons (Britain: Kineto, 1916) British Army Film (1914) Comedies A Film Johnnie (US: Keystone, 1914) Across the Hall (US: Keystone 1914) Bunny’s Mistake (US: Vitagraph 1914) Charlie at the Bank Mabel’s Strange Predicament (US: Keystone, 1914) Making a Living (US: Keystone, 1914) The Blood Test (US: IMP 1914) The Count (US: Lone Star 1916) The Fireman (US: Lone Star 1916) The Floorwalker (US: Lone Star 1916) The Knockout (US: Keystone 1914) The Property Man (US: Keystone 1914) Tillie’s Punctured Romance (US: Keystone 1914) Wiffles Catches a Spy (France: Pathé 1915) Drama A Leader of Men (US: Lubin 1913) A Life for a Life Antony and Cleopatra (Italy: Cines 1913) ’Fraid Cat (US: Vitagraph 1914) Bertie in the Ladies’ College (Britain: Eclair 1914) Burnt Wings (Britain: Broadwest 1916) Carmen (US: Lasky 1915 Child o’ My Heart (Britain: London 1914) Christopher Columbus (US: Selig 1912) Dante’s Inferno (Italy: Milano 1911) David Garrick (Britain: Hepworth 1913) Devil’s Gap Dublin Dan: The Irish Detective (US: Solax 1912) England’s Menace (Britain: London 1914) Etta of the Footlights (US: Vitagraph 1914) For the Sake of a Man (Denmark: Nordisk 1913) From the Lion’s Paw From the Manger to the Cross (US: Kalem 1912) Germinal (France: Pathé 1913) Her Hour of Temptation (Denmark: Nordisk 1914) Her Mother’s Wedding Gown (US: Vitagraph 1914) Her Triumph (US: Famous Players 1915) His Reformation (Britain: London 1914) I Tronens Skygge (Denmark: Kinografen 1914) In the Bishop’s Carriage (US: Famous Players 1913) In the Days of Trafalgar (Britain: British and Colonial 1914) In the Grip of Circumstance (US: Essanay 1914) In the Grip of Spies (Britain: Big Ben 1914) In the Hands of London Crooks (Britain: Barker 1914) In the Wolf’s Fangs (US: Bison 1914) Ivy’s Elopement (Britain: Ivy Close Films 1914) Jim the Fireman (Britain: Barker 1914) Joan of Arc (Italy: Savoia 1913) Judith of Bethulia (US: Biograph 1914) Kissing Cup (Britain: Hepworth 1913) Lieutenant Rose and the Sealed Orders (Britain: Clarendon 1914) Lost at Sea (France: Eclair 1913) Lost in the Eternal City Nan Good-for-Nothing (Britain: London 1914) Neptune’s Daughter (US: Universal 1914) Old Reliable (US: Vitagraph 1914) or The Mystery of Capt. Dawson (1914) Quo Vadis? (Italy: Cines 1912) Rupert of Henzau (Britain: London 1915) Sapho (France: Eclair 1913) Sapho (US: Majestic 1913) Spartacus (Italy: Pasquali 1913) The Afghan Raiders The Auto Bandits of New York (US: Ruby 1914 The Birth of a Nation (US: Epoch 1915) The Black Pearls (US: Geroges Méliès 1914) The Child from the Sea The Drudge (US: Vitagraph 1914) The Dumb Girl of Portici (US: Universal 1916) The Flaming Diagram (US: IMP, 1914) The Game of Life (US: Selig 1914) The Labour Struggle (US: Kalem 1913) The Last Days of Pompeii (Italy: Ambrosio 1913) The Mansion of Sobs (US: Lubin 1914) The Master Crook Turns Detective (Britain: British and Colonial Kinematograph 1914) The Messiah (France: Pathé 1913) The Rosary (US: Selig 1915) The Secret of Adrianpole (Denmark: Kinografen 1913) The Sign of the Cross (US: Famous Players 1914) The Spoilers (US: Selig 1914) The Spy The Suffragette (Projektions AG 1913) The Three Musketeers (France: Film d’Art 1912) The Village of Death (1914) The Wheels of Destiny (US: Majestic 1914) Up to Her Tricks (Engelein; Germany: Projections-AG Union 1914) V.C. (Britian: London When Lions Escape (US: Columbus Where Are My Children? (US: Universal 1916) Edison’s Talking Pictures Educational Everybody’s Business (Britain: London 1917) Motherhood (Britain: Trans-Atlantic 1917) Irish A Girl of Glenbeigh (Ireland: FCOI 1916) Aimsir Padraig/In the Days of St Patrick (Ireland: GFS 1920) All for Old Ireland (US: Sid Olcott International Players 1915 An Unfair Love Affair (Ireland: FCOI 1916) Bunny Blarneyed (US: Vitagraph 1913) Food of Love (Ireland: FCOI 1916) Fun at Finglas Fair (Ireland: 1915) Ireland a Nation (US: Macnamara 1914) Irish National Pilgrimage to Lourdes (Ireland: General Film Agency, 1913) Knocknagow (Ireland: FCOI 1918) Life of Saint Patrick: From the Cradle to the Grave (US: Photo-Historic 1912) O’Neil of the Glen (Ireland: FCOI 1916 Puck Fair Romance (Ireland: FCOI 1916) Rafferty’s Rise (Ireland: FCOI 1917) Rory O’More (US: Kalem 1911) Rosaleen Dhu (Ireland: Celtic 1920) Sinn Fein Review (Ireland: GFS 1919) The Banshee (US: Kay-Bee 1913) The Colleen Bawn (US: Kalem 1911) The Eleventh Hour (Ireland: FCOI 1916) The Filly (US: Domino 1913) The Innocent Lie (US: Famous Players 1916) The Kerry Gow (US: Kalem 1912) The Mayor from Ireland (US: Kalem 1911) The Miser’s Gift (Ireland: FCOI 1916) The O’Neill (US: Kalem 1912) The Shaughraun (US: Kalem 1912) True Irish Hearts (US: Domino 1914) When Love Came to Gavin Burke Widow Malone (Ireland: FCOI 1916) Willy Reilly and His Colleen Bawn (Ireland: FCOI 1920) Woman’s Wit (Ireland: FCOI 1916) Kinemacolor Propaganda Battle of the Ancre and Advance of the Tanks (Britain: British Topical Committee for War Films 1917) Battle of the Somme (Britain: British Topical Committee for War Films 1916) Britain Prepared British Army in France On the Way to Gorizia The Allies on the Eastern Front (France 1916) With the British Monster Guns in Action (1916) Scenics From Inverlaken to Shiedegg The Volcanoes of Java Serials Fantômas (France: Gaumont 1913) Lieutenant Daring and the Stolen Invention (Britain: British and Colonial Kinematograph 1914) Sherlock Holmes (France: Éclair 1912) The Adventures of Kathlyn (US: Selig 1913) The Exploits of Elaine (US: Wharton 1914) The Hazards of Helen (US: Kalem 1914) The New Exploits of Elaine (US: Wharton 1915) The Perils of Pauline (US: Pathé 1914) The Vanishing Cracksman (US: Ediston 1913) Ultus and the Secret of the Night (Britain: Gaumont 1917) What Happened to Mary (US: Edison 1912) Who Will Marry Mary? (US: Edison 1913) Sports films Cork v. Tipperary (Munster Hurling Final 1913) Epsom Derby Grand National Steeplechase 1914 Hurling Match between Kilkenny and Cork (Ireland: Gaumont 1913) Ireland v. Wales Rugby Match (Ireland: 1914) Topicals Anti-Partition Meeting at Phoenix Park (Ireland: General Film Supply 1917) Castlebellingham Feis and Louth Volunteers (1914) Children’s Fete at Lord Iveagh’s Garden Party (Ireland: General Film Supply 1917) Clontarf Aquatic Festival (Ireland: General Film Supply 1917) Cyclists of the Belgian Army (1914) Funeral of Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa (Ireland: General Film Supply 1915) Funeral of Mrs MacDonagh (Ireland: General Film Supply 1917) Funeral of the Late John Redmond M.P. (Ireland: General Film Supply 1917) Funeral of Thomas Ashe (Ireland: General Film Suply 1917) Funeral of Victims Shooting Affair Sunday July 26th In the Hands of the Kindly Dutch (1914) Joseph Chamberlain’s Funeral Kineto War Map Latest Exclusive Pictures of The Czar of Russia Lord Kitchener’s Visit to British Army Headquarters in France (1915) Manchester Martyrs’ Commemoration 1913 Naval Reserve entraining en route for Portsmouth Opening of Imperial Cinema (1914) Our Cavalry’s Wonderful Horsemanship Parade of the South Antrim Brigade of the UVF (Ireland: 1914) Pathé Gazette Return of the Sinn Fein Prisoners (Ireland: General Film Supply 1917) Review of the National Volunteers at Enniscorthy by Mr. John Redmond (Ireland: Gaumont 1914) Scenery around Galway Bay (Ireland: General Film Supply 1914) South Armagh Election (Ireland: General Film Supply 1918) Tanks in Dublin (Ireland: GFS 1917) The 23rd French Dragoons (1914) The Annual Pilgrimage to Wolfe Tone’s Grave The Arrival of Sir E. Carson (Ireland: 1914) The Belgian War Scenes The Belgians in Action The Launch of the Britannic (Britain: Gaumont 1914) The Sinking of the Lusitania (1915) The Volunteer Inspection by Sir E. Carson at Balmoral Trooping of the Colours at Dublin Castle (Pathé 1914) Trotting at Shelbourne Park (Ireland: General Film Supply 1917) Twelfth of July Celebrations in and Near Belfast (Ireland: General Film Supply 1917) With King George in France Westerns A Modern Taming of the Shrew (US: Kay-Bee/NewYork 1915) Broncho Billy’s True Love Love Triumphant The Escape of Jim Dolan (US: Selig Polyscope 1913) The New Medicine Man (US: Kalem 1914) The War Bonnet (US: Kalem 1914) Institutions Belfast Corporation Lord Mayor Cork County Council Dublin Corporation Public Health Committee Theatre inspector Sir Charles Cameron Fenians/IRB Gaelic Athletic Association IRA (Irish Republican Army) Irish Transport and General Workers’ Union Irish Women’s Franchise League Ulster Volunteer Force Irish Cinematograph Exhibitors’ Association Irish Cinematograph Operators’ Association Irish politics Home Rule Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP) Nationalism Sinn Féin Suffragettes Trade unions Unionism Irish Travellers Musical accompaniment Instruments Organ Irish songs Military band Number of musicians Women musicians Other entertainments Concerts Dances Hippodrome Icecream shops Melodrama Music hall/Variety theatre Empire Theatre of Varieties Tivoli Theatre Novels O’Neill of the Glen (M[argaret]. T. Pender) Pantomime Finn Varra Maa (1917-18) Roller skating Serial fiction Theatre Abbey Theatre Gaiety Theatre Grand Opera House (Belfast) Opera House (Cork) Picture house construction Architects Aubrey V. O’Rourke F. J. Waddington George L. O’Connor Thoma McNamara Thomas Houston Conversion Churches Roller skating rinks Decorative features Canopy Electric lighting Fibrous plaster Furnishings Oil paintings Stonework Tapestry Terrazzo flooring Verandah Wood panelling Destruction Electrical supply Irish manufacturers Ladies’ retiring room Location Suburbs Lounge Number of seats Projectors Rake Signage Strike Tea rooms Ventilation Picture house staff Advertisement Attendants Daniel McEvoy Lena Johnson Cashiers Charwomen Chocolate boys Doormen Film runners Managers Bob O’Russ Cathal MacGarvey Charles M. Jones Charles McEvoy Ernest Jameson Ernest Matthewson Frank Hardiman Frederick William Sullivan H. G. Austin H. Higginson J.D. Hozier John and P.W. Whittle Mr Clarke Samuel Stonehouse W. J. Hogan W. O. Ashton Will Sommerson William Bowes William Kay Musicians Carlo Berckmans (tenor) Clyde Twelvetrees Erwin Goldwater Eva Hickie Evelyn Duffy F. J. Moffett Faugh-a-Ballaghs Herbert O’Brien Irish Ladies’ String Orchestra Irvine Lynch (basso) Jack Larchet Joseph Schofield Mary Burke May Murphy May O’Russ Miss D’Arcy Miss Eager Miss Frazer Miss M. Grundy Patrick Delaney Pavilion Ladies’ Orchestra Percy Carver Samuel Golding Signor (Achille) Simonetti Skibbereen Volunteer Band Porters Projectionists Edward McCabe Proprietors Abraham Elliman Alex McEwan David Frame Frank Chambers Frederick Arthur Sparling Frederick Stewart Gerald J. Macaura Jacob Elliman James T. Jameson John J. Farrell M. William Shanly Provincial Cinematograph Theatres Sam Hewitt Southern Coliseums Ulster Ciematography Theatres Rewind boys Ticket Prices Picture houses Abbey Picture House (Enniscorthy) Assembly Rooms Picturedrome (Cork) Ballinasloe Town Hall Bohemian Picture Theatre Boyne Cinema (Drogheda) Camden Street Picture House Carlton Cinema (Dublin) Central Picture Theatre Smithhfield (Belfast) Cinema Theatre (Enniscorthy) City YMCA Hall (Belfast) Clonard Picture House Clontarf Town Hall Coliseum (Cork) Coliseum (Limerick) Coliseum Theatre (Dublin) Proprietors Fred Willmott Lorcan Sherlock Corinthian Cinema Crumlin Picture House (Belfast) Dame Street Picture House Dorset Street PIcture House Duncairn Picture Theatre (Belfast) Electric Palace (Lisburn) Electric Theatre Talbot Street Gaiety Bijou (Limerick) Galway Cinema Theatre Gillooly Memorial Temperance Hall (Sligo) Grand (Dublin) Grand (Lurgan) Grand Central Cinema Grand Picture House (Blackrock Co. Dublin) Great Northern Kinema (Belfast) Grosvenor Hall (Belfast) Imperial Picture House (Belfast) Irish Cinema (Dublin) Kelvin Picture Palace (Belfast) Kinemac (Skibbereen) La Scala Longford Cinema Mary Street Picture House Masterpiece Theatre Metropole Cinema National Picture Palace (Mullingar) New York Cinema (Belfast) Omagh Picture Palace Opera House Derry Palace (Newtownards) Panopticon Picture Theatre Pavilion (Kingstown) Phibsboro Picture Theatre Phoenix Picture Palace Picture House (Lurgan) Picture House Grafton Street Picture House Royal Avenue (Belfast) Picture House Sackville/O’Connell Street Picturedrome (Tralee) Picturedrome Harcourt Road (Dublin) Pillar Picture House Princess Cinema (Rathmines) Princess Picture Palace (Belfast) Queen’s Theatre (Dublin) Rink Palace (Limerick) Rotunda PIctures Sandford Cinema St. George’s Hall Theatre de Luxe Theatre Royal (Dublin) Royal Bioscope Tivoli Picture House (Limerick) Town Hall Balbriggan Town Hall Picture Palace (Galway) Town Hall Rathmines Volta (Dublin) West Belfast Picture Theatre Willowfield Picture House (Belfast) World’s Fair Varieties YMCA Hall Queenstown Picture show Irish Week Live acts Comedian Singer News service Programme Number of days films shown Number of films Publicity Promotional gifts War beneift Places Balbriggan Ballina Ballinasloe Belfast Royal Avenue Blackrock (Co. 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Horner MP Arthur Balfour Arthur Lynch Christabel Pankhurst Countess Constance Markievicz David Lloyd George Edward Carson Emily Wilding Davison HH Asquith James Connolly Jim Larkin John Dillon John Maxwell (British Army commander) John Redmond Joseph Devlin Joseph McGuinness King George V Lord Lieutenant Lord Mayor Lorcan Sherlock (Dublin) Lord Mayor Tomás MacCurtain (Cork) Michael Mallin Muriel MacDonagh Patrick Pearse Sir Charles Cameron Sir Henry Norman Thomas Ashe Winston Chruchill Political/historical events 1918 General election Influenza Pandemic 1918-19 War of Independence Pulsocon Radical Newspapers Scriptwriters Mark Coakley N.F. Patton Nicholas Hayes W. J. Lysaght Travelling film shows Clarence Bailey’s travelling show Greeves-O’Sullivan and Dolan Picture and Variety Company Irish Animated Picture Company John Toft Vibrator World War I Recruiting Submarine Writers on cinema A.E. AMW (John Swift; versifier The Leader) Andrew Patrick Wilson Between the Acts (Irish Life) Dublin Topics by the Clubman (Irish Times) Edward McNulty (Irish LIfe) Frank W. Ogden Smith (Bioscope) George Bernard Shaw Gordon Brewster (cartoonist Evening Herald) H.R.W. (Dublin Evening Mail) Irish Limelight Senix “Movie Musings” J.A.P./Joseph A. Power (Evening Telegraph) Jacques (Evening Herald) Jottings from Ulster (Bioscope) Kinematograph Notes on News (Evening Telegraph) Man About Town (Evening Herald) Music and the Drama (Evening Telegraph) Pictures in Ireland by Paddy (Bioscope) R.A.O’F. (Irish Limelight) Stephanie de Maistre (Irish Limelight) Terence O’Hanlon (Irish Independent) Tom Lawlor (cartoonist The Leader) Town Topics (Dublin Evening Mail) X-rays
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Was the Zodiac a homosexual?
msw123
Was the Zodiac a homosexual? Jun 15, 2018 2:29:10 GMT via mobile trabuco likes this
Post by msw123 on Jun 15, 2018 2:29:10 GMT
So an interesting question popped into my head as I'm listening to Profiled: The Zodiac Examined by Mark Hewitt...
In all the analysis and profiling that's been done on Z, has there ever been any speculation about whether he might have been a homosexual?
It was Hewitt's discussion of the Paul Stine murder that led me to wonder about this. Stine was murdered in San Francisco only a couple months after the Stonewall Riots which have been marked as the beginning of the Gay Liberation movement.
There are major differences between the Stine murder and Z's previous crimes -- it just makes you wonder, you know?
riverstorum
Was the Zodiac a homosexual? Jun 15, 2018 14:53:54 GMT via mobile firespirit, maxxcat2018, and 1 more like this
Post by riverstorum on Jun 15, 2018 14:53:54 GMT
I dont understand what this is attempting to say. Killers performing their "craft" in SF are probably gay because SF is gay?
Was the Zodiac a homosexual? Jun 15, 2018 16:42:00 GMT via mobile annielynn likes this
Post by gskunmasked on Jun 15, 2018 16:42:00 GMT
Without sounding rude, I'm not trying to be, but no it doesn't make me wonder at all.
Having opinions is great and everyone is entitled to them - but when you're trying to share them I think you need to have a solid base or foundation to work from. For me, there's nothing about Zodiac or his crimes that has ever suggested homosexuality. Quite the opposite, he killed Cheri Jo (if this was truly Z) and attacked couples in lovers lanes. Either he was unsuccessful with women himself and envied the young couples - remember two men survived the attacks, or they were easy targets in remote areas. Maybe both.
But as far as being gay? I don't see it - it's almost like saying he attacked a couple on July 4th could this mean he loved USA, or maybe he hated what Independence Day symbolised - or maybe we're just looking into it too much.
The Paul Stine case is an anomaly however. Middle aged cab driver no female, in San Francisco. Always threw me off that one, probably why he did it.
Was the Zodiac a homosexual? Jun 15, 2018 19:38:26 GMT firespirit likes this
I think this comes from paul avery when he stated "The killer of five who calls himself 'Zodiac' is a clumsy criminal, a liar and possibly a latent homosexual." in an article he wrote on October 18th 1969. Paul Stine was murdered on October 11th 1969 and The Chronicle doesn't receive the Paul Stine shirt until October 13th, so the killing of Paul Stine could not have been a response to being called a latent homosexual by Paul Avery BUT Paul Avery did receive a response from Zodiac a little over a year after, I think Oct. 29th 1970. Though Paul Avery got a response I think Paul Stine was just a victim of opportunity and I don't think it was anything more then that.
I personally really don't know what/why a serial killer's sexuality matters? I think the only case where it meant anything was with the doodler because sexuality prevented victims from coming forward because they feared repercussions for outing themselves.
Was the Zodiac a homosexual? Jun 15, 2018 23:48:29 GMT via mobile jedininja likes this
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Balcerzak
www.cbc.ca/news/opinion/pride-police-1.4618663
So yeah I have to say, in the absence of anything other than the assumption that "a depraved man in SF=he must be gay", the concept of this hypothesis is incredibly offensive.
"Do heterosexuals always baselessly blame societal ills on LGBT people?" - is that something that would fly here? I doubt it. Even though the magic eight ball would say all signs point to yes.
Was the Zodiac a homosexual? Jun 19, 2018 17:52:34 GMT NaptimeNancy and casita57 like this
Well I think Zodiac was turned on by killing both men and women and that's as far as any homosexuality goes. He was sexually excited in cold blooded killing men and women. But my androgyny blinds me, So my input in this thread is worth about nothing.lol
Was the Zodiac a homosexual? Jun 21, 2018 23:41:16 GMT cherylh likes this
It seems clear the Stine murder was done to terrorize the entire Bay Area. Other motives are secondary. That is why he did it in the city and took the bloody shirt. For maximum attention.
tzadikim
Was the Zodiac a homosexual? Jul 5, 2018 4:47:43 GMT via mobile
Post by tzadikim on Jul 5, 2018 4:47:43 GMT
I don't think Zodiac was a sexually-motivated killer, period. I think he was publicity driven to almost the total exclusion of any other motive.
casita57
Was the Zodiac a homosexual? Jul 5, 2018 14:11:22 GMT seasonedoldlady likes this
Post by casita57 on Jul 5, 2018 14:11:22 GMT
The sexuality in a psychopath is not like the sexuality in a normal person. You don't know his motivations , one thing we know he starter killing couples. They get arousal by power, control. They had lack of empathy, sensation seekers, grandiosity, fearless, lack of guild and remorse. They have God complex as a narcissistic trade, power over life or death. Does not have to commit rape to be sexuality motivated crime besides rape has nothing to do with sex.
Post by woofytreats on Jul 5, 2018 15:08:19 GMT
Yeah, I think assigning vagaries about Zodiac's sexuality in relation to the crimes doesn't seem to hold water unless there's something that actually brings it into focus. You can accurately say that the Stonewall Riots were a catalyst and not the beginning of the Gay Liberation Movement. The Compton's Cafe Riot in San Francisco in 1966 is as much a catalyst as Stonewall in a movement whose groundswell had similar incidents all over the country and occurred earlier. If Zodiac was a long-time local, did he kill Stine because of a long simmering hatred of what happened at Compton's and somehow Stonewall lit a fire...or are we assigning anything to anything??
It seems like many people were latent homosexuals in the era if they couldn't figure them out and that was seemingly a "go to" designation whether it truly involved a sexuality aspect or not. On that count, I'm old enough to not automatically view that as a homophobic description but more as a knee-jerk reaction to someone as an assigned pathos that tries to solve the motivations.
Was the Zodiac a homosexual? Aug 17, 2018 16:12:36 GMT
I don`t think Z was gay. I think he had some resentment towards women. I think he killed Stine because the male victims kept living in his attacks and he also wanted to switch his pattern up to cause more fear. Notice after Stine he claimed he would make his killings look like accidents etc. I think he was getting scared to be honest and stopped.
drdoogie
Was the Zodiac a homosexual? Aug 20, 2018 8:01:48 GMT Heartnsoul, rajmahal, and 1 more like this
Post by drdoogie on Aug 20, 2018 8:01:48 GMT
I suspect that Z was gay. The 308 cipher, one it is decoded, will undoubtedly be an essay describing Judy Garland as "fabulous!" (Sorry. I cannot help myself.)
"I always wondered why somebody doesn't do something about that. Then I realized I was somebody." - Lily Tomlin
Was the Zodiac a homosexual? Aug 20, 2018 22:28:15 GMT drdoogie likes this
Post by cherylh on Aug 20, 2018 22:28:15 GMT
DrDoogie, you couldn't be more wrong.
Z is obviously a Streisand guy. I mean, come on.
faser41
Post by faser41 on Aug 22, 2018 15:42:04 GMT
Aug 17, 2018 16:12:36 GMT peekthroughthepines said:
I think he killed Stine because the male victims kept living in his attacks and he also wanted to switch his pattern up to cause more fear. Notice after Stine he claimed he would make his killings look like accidents etc. I think he was getting scared to be honest and stopped.
peekthroughthepines you raise some very interesting points. I hope you don't mind I deleted just a few of your words. Didn't Zodiak once brag to the public, that he would kill more people but the authorities would never be able to identify him because he was intent on changing his m/o? Anyway, I like your thoughts on that...…..
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Home » Round Up Time: Seven Video Game Demos from Gamescom
Round Up Time: Seven Video Game Demos from Gamescom
September 13, 2020 in Video Games / Views and Reviews by S. Wilson
Holy cow I am SOOO behind on posts here! Unfortunately, the whole COVID thing has been heck on ye’ ol’ mental health and getting stuff done, especially the longer it goes on. I’m still working, which I’m grateful for of course, and have been working from home since mid-March at this point. Actually have some good stuff I need to post about that too, in terms of stuff learned on the current project, but said project is a big one, we’re behind, and already putting in a bunch of OT, so it is hard to stop and make a decent enough note enough to remind myself to post about something later. 😅 That said, we’ve hit some fascinating (and at times frustrating) things while doing the app, too much of which is lacking documentation so definitely want to get it down later.
For now, though, let’s do some video game catch ups! Starting with game demos. Gamescom 2020 was done virtually this year, for obvious reasons. It included an Indie Arena Booth on Steam that included a variety of demos of upcoming games to play, and I managed to play seven before they expired. So here are my very quick thoughts and screenies for each (titles will all link to the Steam page).
A Juggler’s Tale
In this platformer, you play as a string puppet named Abby, who lives in a string puppet world. Tired of living in a cage at a circus, she makes a break for freedom. Visually it reminded me of Yarny, which I enjoyed, so it certainly seemed like my sort of game. It also had an interesting twist: is the narrator really someone who is on Abby’s side, or a twisted watcher that she may also need to escape? Alas, there isn’t much more I can really say about this one as the demo was extremely short and pretty much just gave you a feel for the controls and the basics of Abby’s escape. Still, it was enough to have my wishlist it as soon as I was done, so it did its job well!
This one has a nice, enticing Steam page, with the screenshots showing an intriguing looking game of a boy with his floating mechanical companion taking on other mechanical beings. Despite having some typos and grammatical issues, the sales copy indicated it would be an action-adventure about just that, helping the boy and his companion find their way home. A tale of “friendship, hope, and courage.” All sound pretty good to me! Further down in the copy, it then says it tells of a relationship between two teenage boys who form a strong bond… okay, so guessing the metal companion is the other boy or something? Maybe. Whatever, we need more stories showing healthy male friendships, let’s go!
And… WTF was that game? Either of those games? Because it sure wasn’t anywhere in this demo. When it starts, you are just dropped in a scene, no context, no tutorial, no instructions at all. Pretty much just figure it out on your own. Now, I’m fine with a story starting with no context, it can work well, but then immediately throwing you in a battle scenario without any kind of clue on what controls do what yet? Yeah, less than ideal and made for a miserable experience all around. The companion’s purpose is also left pretty much unexplained. It does at least tell you button presses to change something, but good luck figuring out just WTF those are, how to use them, or what they should do. Overall this demo left me with no idea what was going on, what to do, how to do it, or why I should care about any of the characters on screen. Suffice to say, a no go for me.
To the Rescue!
This one was certainly something a little different: a dog shelter simulator. What more could you ask for than a colorful, cute looking game where you get to take care of and find homes for puppies! Maybe a game that wasn’t so buggy as to be nearly unplayable? Yeah…
It “supported” controllers, but only for movement, everything else required using mouse and keyboard. It did have plenty of tutorials to lead you through running the shelter, but the instructions didn’t actually match the key and mouse button presses that would eventually work to do it, especially trying to leash a dog to take it to a kennel. And the place to get water had no actual bucket to get water, though it said it did. It also froze on me three times while playing the demo for a relatively short time, which just isn’t a big selling point.
From what I could see before I finally noped out, the character and companion dog options are limited to the point of being almost pointless in offering a choice at all. Even the intake dogs seemed to be limited to just a handful of possible breeds that all look the same. Having generated unique traits and all is great, but surely it can’t be that hard to at least include the most well-known breeds and some good old mutts? And while the game itself has a very cutesy, cheerful job, it also has players having to make the had choice of potentially euthanizing dogs to make space for those that are rated as being more adoptable. Realistic? Sadly for a lot of rescues. Just not something I expect to have at me in an otherwise saccharin-looking game. (there is an option to “release” them instead of euthanizing them, but that’s just a more horrible choice, I mean really???
(no screenies because of all the buggery)
8Doors: Arum’s Afterlife Adventure
2D platformer? Yep, already listening… Based on the Korean afterlife where Arum is a living girl who goes to Purgatory to find her father’s soul and ends up helping the afterlife deal with specters and saving fugitive souls? *shut up and take my money!* Well, maybe that fast, though if it was available it would so be in my currently playing list now!
8Doors features a beautifully done gray tone visual design that uses splashes of red and white for maximum impact. Arum is cute, tiny, and can kick ass while wearing a frog on her head! LOL. The gameplay felt smooth, controls were easy to pick up, and it has enough unique touches with the use of both Arum and her companion’s abilities to keep it from feeling like “just another” platformer.
The story is likely going to make me tear up, but it covers it with a delicate touch of humor that provides needed relief without distracting from the overall seriousness of the situation. So yeah, the demo is still available, so if you like platformers, go play it! If my budget allows, I will be backing their Kickstarter! If not, it will be purchased when it’s out because so far every bit of it is awesomeness.
It was described as a narrative-based game where you play as an office-bound Grim Reaper deciding who lives and dies, with your choices having consequences to the world around you. Okay, sounds like a pretty good set up and again, good looking pics on the store page. Except, the game seemed to just literally spending every single “day” at a desk with a sheath of papers on people to choose from, the live/die stamper, a cell phone, a fidget, and an instruction note that may tell you how some of your choices should be done. No take-backs, so once it’s stamped, it’s stamped. When you’re done, send the papers off then you have a “review” session Fate, your boss and creator. Rinse, repeat.
The conversations with your creator, Fate, seem to imply you are not limited to following the instructions, that you could choose to rebel against it all, and that perhaps there would be more to the game yet to come. The demo, however, did a poor job of demonstrating it being anything but a tedious office simulator where you just check papers, stamp, submit, and go. I was pretty disappointed as I liked the art style, the hints of humor, and there’s a kitty! It isn’t a 100% no go, I’ll keep an eye on it, see if there really is more past that, but for now, it would be a pass.
The Fabled Wood
The very generic title and its rather amateurish typesetting weren’t the most promising, but still, I have a weak spot for narrative walking simulators, particularly when it speaks of a beautiful place sullied by dark secrets. Yay horror bend! So yeah, let’s try the demo, why not?
Wow… talk about a hot mess. The MC, who is nameless, starts in some woods. No context for getting there, just “oh, I’m here” and then you’re being talked to by some voice who I was pretty sure was a ghost. And while he babbles about looking for his son and being annoyingly vague, we walk through these lovely woods to find campsites with enough blood-soaked rocks to make it pretty clear whoever was camping there is pretty dead. And MC is apparently faceless, nameless, and completely lacking in personality, as there is no reaction, no anything. 100% self-insert I suppose?
From the opening, I basically got the idea that some sort of monster is on this island thing, murdered our ghost companion, murdered some campers, and may have something to do with the ghost man’s missing son (or is the missing son, my personal guess). We find the ghost guy’s corpse, and then suddenly he is bound to stay at that cabin and can’t go with us anymore even though he was with us for all the rest of the woods, wut?? Hello, consistency much?
The store page compares this game to Gone Home and Firewatch, which is rather bold considering how far from them this demo seemed to be. There was no indication of why we, the protagonist, should even stick around in this place versus just leaving and calling authorities to report some deaths. I mean seriously, who would just go “oh, sure Mr. Ghost person, there is a lot of blood, at least two dead men killed by something, and yeah, I’ll look around for you.” Ugh.
Really is a shame, the animation looked good and there were some lovely water and landscapes. The music was nice, and while the controls were occasionally wonky, overall it looked and felt fine. Alas, flash just seems to cover generic and ill-fleshed out plot.
This was a demo I’d been looking forward to awhile, featuring some drop-dead gorgeous trailers and indications that the gameplay would have the couple doing coordinated actions that could still be done either playing alone or with someone else playing the second half. Plus, a story of a seemingly mature couple willing to risk it all, leave their world, to be together when society wouldn’t let them. So many checks on my score sheet!
This one, alas, also ended up being a little disappointing, though not as badly as it could have. It actually did meet all of the expectations I had in terms of that first description. Graphically: stunning! Gliding is awesome and the characters even snark if you dare to walk too much instead of using a clearly superior transportation method. And the world they are in certainly has some interesting elements, including being made of floating chunks of earth that you need to use special paths to get between, and it’s a place the characters themselves don’t know so they are having to learn about as you go. And you can nice long scritches to the sweetest, most adorable lizards ever!
And yet, when the demo was done, it all felt lacking somehow. The opening gets a little overly long on establishing that they are stuck, bored with the same food and that they are a couple who have been together a while, presumably, and yet seem to not know basics about each other? Like she forgot what he studies? Not just a little, but totally different areas of science. The coordinated actions are awesome, once you figure out the controls (the actual mechanism wasn’t quite clear when the game introduced it), and I love that when fighting creatures you can pacify them to calm whatever made them angry because they are usually harmless!
Perhaps it was simply that it was already feeling repetitive. You glide around, collect any food resources on the screen, try to glide along the blue lines to gather energy for some purpose, and can interact with some of the friendly creatures. You eventually find some rust stuff infecting parts of the world which turn the creatures angry, so you clean that up by gliding through it, maybe fight and pacify infected creatures, and then on to the next island.
It was interesting when the rust was found, but then it quickly became commonplace and there was little feeling at the end of the demo that it was going to change and that more was to come. Perhaps the demo kept back too much, the game is just a slow starter all around, or if perhaps the game is lacking the substance to go with the impressive start. Still, I want to be hopeful on this one and will be keeping an eye on it, see what the reviews say, and if a newer demo is released, maybe even try it again. It won’t be true wish list material yet, but there is promise there that I hope it fulfills.
← 2020 Game Backlog: September Update
Lara Croft Go →
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EU Cycling Group (EUCG)
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13 Sep 2018 09 Feb 2019 EUCG
Poll: Which standards the new L130 building would you like to be built with? (Sep 2018)
Infrastructure at the institutions
At the Commission: L130 – international architectural competition
The Commission has launched an international architectural competition for a new building around the area where DG AGRI is currently located, the “L130” competition. The construction of the building is expected to take place in 2 phases, between 2025-2030 and then between 2030-2035. This project is a unique opportunity to build office space with improved accessibility for cyclists. EUCG has been complaining for years about the shortage of showers, the lack of metal cabinets where to store clothes and towels, and last but not least the shortage of bicycle parking spaces. It is thus disappointing that dedicated bike infrastructure seems to be completely absent in the competition call. If the Commission needs inspiration, no need to go far away: the building of Brussels Environment is a good example of what a modern building can offer.
How can the Commission do better with its new building?
One radical solution would be to make the building car-free. The competition foresees the construction of a parking lot but this parking lot does not need to be directly connected to the Commission offices and could instead be dedicated to the customers of the shops foreseen in the project or for paid parking; see our proposal for equal treatment of mobility modes already in 2013. If it provides no direct access to Commission offices, money could be saved on guarding costs which could then be allocated to the construction of a secure bicycle shed together with all the facilities that we are asking for.
A more consensual solution would be to make the building a net zero-emission building, taking mobility into account in the overall carbon assessment. This solution would not preclude the access of cars to the building but would presumably restrict it to electric cars recharged with renewable energy because combustion-engine vehicles emit so much CO2 that it would probably be impossible to compensate for it. It is not unrealistic to think that electric cars will have taken over in 2030 when the first phase of the building is expected to be completed.
As in any good old impact assessment, a baseline solution: free parking spaces in accordance with the limits on the number of parking spaces foreseen by present and upcoming regional regulations. The “Règlement Régional d’Urbanisme” for offices prescribes that per 200 m2 of office space, there has to be one car parking space, AND one bike parking space. New legislation in the making will stipulate 1 car parking per 200 m2, and 1 bike parking per 100 m2.
We would like to know your opinion on these possible solutions, please choose your preferred solution!
Why did you vote as you did? Let us know in the comments! For the comments to be visible, click here or on the blog-post’s title to open it up in full-page view.
Published by EUCG
Association to promote cycling to work for staff of EU Institutions View all posts by EUCG
Previous Poll: What are your irritations when riding to work? (June 2018)
Next Poll: What is/would be THE MAIN motivation for you to come to work by bicycle? (Feb 2019)
As for electric cars: despite the billions of Euros and Dollars pumped and being pumped into this e-car project, I find that results are mild at best. Cars are expensive, the range is still no enough to trigger massive take up by users, the battery technology has its own environmental issues, and the congestion problems in cities remain. Probably noise and partly [PM2.5 and PM 10] fine dust will be reduced (only the part that comes from exhaust, but the part that comes from tires and brakes), but then to call it sustainable, the electricity also needs to be generated in sustainable ways, not in coal and nuclear power plants.
Somehow our society wants the ‘car dream’ to be prolonged, so much, but we still don’t have it, although it seems near – “next five years” all the time. I find it’s quite a bet to say e-car technology will have a massive adoption in ten years. Maybe yes, maybe no. I have been hearing this promise every year for the past 15 years…
I say, finally, let’s make it a real pilot project and show case it for all European cities, how to build a modern office building in dense city centre that is forward looking by making it both car-free and emission free.
The technology to make it is there, the money is there, it only depends on political will weather the EC walks the talk or we keep on being a hypocrite to hold with the hare and run with the hounds.
Could someone tell, what are the guidelines, programs, regulations that the EC sets as standard for sustainable urban environments?
Lea.KUUKKA@ec.europa.eu says:
Thank you for starting a poll but I’d like to point out some facts that seem to have been overlooked when drafting the poll.
I’m a committed cyclist â but in the current conditions, unfortunately only in spirit.
Currently working out how it will be manageable with distance of 10 km home-work, with a child to be fetched from the distance of 5 km, and the school is not on the straight route, so the total distance then will be closer to 13-15 km. (The only near-workable solution is an e-Tandem, not so easy even to find in Belgium.)
I think your poll does not include any solution that is realistic and workable for people who have kids. I do see more and more people in traffic with the drag-your-children-in-the-midst-of-cars solutions, but all those are extremely dangerous in Brussels traffic.
With the Belgian government not doing anything really to reduce their voters’ car-use (no road tolls, no or non-sufficient parkings at the ends of the metro lines, no or non-sufficient parkings at the suburbian train stations, additional redundant bureaucracy for users of those parkings, completely untrustworthy public buses and trains, etc. etc.), the number of car traffic simply cannot be reduced as fast as you are hoping.
Thus, with the reduced number of car parkings in one building, it will just cause more pressure to the other garages.
Also, 1 bike space per 100m2 is ridiculously little â don’t forget the shared-space offices. 1 bike space per 50 colleagues?
You are of course absolutely right in saying that facilities for bikers in the COM buildings are non-sufficient â no place to leave one’s change clothes and towel to dry, no place to keep the everyday necessities near the shower (are we to bring our shampoons and soaps every day???), etc.
Furthermore, when you argue that guards are no more necessary in the garages when there are no cars, you forget that bikes are much easier objects to be stolen, so how many of us would dare leave their expensive (electric or else) bike in a garage that is not guarded?
All in all, your poll is made in a way that does not offer any realistic solution for most people â because they have kids.
One question â does the legislated limit of 1 car parking per 200m2 of building include or exclude the electric cars?
Hi Lea, The safe cycling training helped me a lot to feel safer. I changed many things in the way I cycle in Brussels after the training, and have much less stress and difficulty. It is available in EU Learn, I really recommend it, independently if you want to cycle more or not.
We use a cargo bike, and bike seats on normal bikes. We chose always bike paths, or low traffic streets, and it feels safe.
Also, I avoid peak hours of traffic as much as possible, as the streets are full of non-professional drivers, who go home after a full day of work, tired, under stress of the slow traffic, and I see many mistakes during those peak hours.
I won’t say these are a universal solutions, but it works for our family, and it changed from horrible to works-quite-well. It’s not dreamland-for-biking, but good enough.
As for bike-theft, we have a lockable area in COV2 for bikes, with a video camera. If a bike is stolen from that area, we can track who opened it with a badge that day.
Otherwise, we made a survey in our agency (~450 people) about how people go to work during our away-day. It turned out, the majority, ~50%, uses public transport, a lot of people are walking, going by train and cycling. People going by car was only ~12%.
VéloMai Organisation
Why cycle?
Why cycling is supreme in every possible sense
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EPAR Technical Report #355 and EPAR Research Briefs #355A & #355B & #355C
Impact of Regulations on Cash-In and Cash-Out Networks
Many low- and middle-income countries remain challenged by a financial infrastructure gap, evidenced by very low numbers of bank branches and automated teller machines (ATMs) (e.g., 2.9 branches per 100,000 people in Ethiopia versus 13.5 in India and 32.9 in the United States (U.S.) and 0.5 ATMs per 100,000 people in Ethiopia versus 19.7 in India and 173 in the U.S.) (The World Bank 2015a; 2015b). Furthermore, only an estimated 62 percent of adults globally have a banking account through a formal financial institution, leaving over 2 billion adults unbanked (Demirgüç–Kunt et al., 2015). While conventional banks have struggled to extend their networks into low-income and rural communities, digital financial services (DFS) have the potential to extend financial opportunities to these groups (Radcliffe & Voorhies, 2012). In order to utilize DFS however, users must convert physical cash to electronic money which requires access to cash-in, cash-out (CICO) networks—physical access points including bank branches but also including “branchless banking" access points such as ATMs, point-of-sale (POS) terminals, agents, and cash merchants. As mobile money and branchless banking expand, countries are developing new regulations to govern their operations (Lyman, Ivatury, & Staschen, 2006; Lyman, Pickens, & Porteous, 2008; Ivatury & Mas, 2008), including regulations targeting aspects of the different CICO interfaces.
EPAR's work on CICO networks consists of five components. First, we summarize types of recent mobile money and branchless banking regulations related to CICO networks and review available evidence on the impacts these regulations may have on markets and consumers. In addition to this technical report we developed a short addendum (EPAR 355a) which includes a description of findings on patterns around CICO regulations over time. Another addendum (EPAR 355b) summarizes trends in exclusivity regulations including overall trends, country-specific approaches to exclusivity, and a table showing how available data on DFS adoption from FII and GSMA might relate to changes in exclusivity policies over time. A third addendum (EPAR 355c) explores trends in CICO network expansion with a focus on policies seeking to improve access among more remote or under-served populations. Lastly, we developed a database of CICO regulations, including a regulatory decision options table which outlines the key decisions that countries can make to regulate CICOs and a timeline of when specific regulations related to CICOs were introduced in eight focus countries, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Tanzania, and Uganda.
355 Full Report, 355 Results Coding, 355a Research Brief, 355b Research Brief , 355c Research Brief
Digital Financial Services & Gender: An Analysis of Correlates of Awareness, Adoption, and Use
In this report we analyze three waves nationally-representative household survey data from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, and Indonesia to explore sociodemographic and economic factors associated with mobile money adoption, awareness, and use across countries and over time. Our findings indicate that to realize the potential of digital financial services to reach currently unbanked populations and increase financial inclusion, particular attention needs to be paid to barriers faced by women in accessing mobile money. While policies and interventions to promote education, employment, phone ownership, and having a bank account may broadly help to increase mobile money adoption and use, potentially bringing in currently unbanked populations, specific policies targeting women may be needed to close current gender gaps.
Funding for Agricultural Research and Development Public Goods
An ongoing stream of EPAR research considers how public good characteristics of different types of research and development (R&D) and the motivations of different providers of R&D funding affect the relative advantages of alternative funding sources. For this project, we seek to summarize the key public good characteristics of R&D investment for agriculture in general and for different subsets of crops, and hypothesize how these characteristics might be expected to affect public, private, or philanthropic funders’ investment decisions.
ICABR Presentation Slides, 2011-2014 Data on Public Investment in Agricultural R&D
Public Expenditures in Agriculture: Analyzing Data Sources
Data on public expenditures on agriculture are not systematically collected in any one database. Rather, a variety of sources collect and publish data on certain aspects of agricultural public expenditures. These sources vary in their data collection methods, their frequency of data collection, and the specific expenditures they report on. We collected data on agricultural public expenditures and conducted preliminary analyses for four countries: India (with a focus on Bihar, Odisha, and Uttar Pradesh), Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Tanzania. The data are disaggregated in a variety of ways depending on the source, but we include disaggregated data where available comparing planned or budgeted vs. actual spending, government vs. donor spending, soending by activity or funding area, and spending by commodity or value chain activity. Our goals are to facilitate further analysis of trends in agricultural public expenditures across countries and over time, and to highlight gaps and differences in data sources.
Slide Deck - Agricultural Public Expenditure Data Sources, Results Coding - Agricultural Public Expenditure Data Sources, Results Coding - MAFAP Agricultural Expenditures Data for Ethiopia and Tanzania, Results Coding - Aggregated Public Agriculture Expenditure Data, Slide Deck - Agricultural Public Expenditures Cross-Country Analysis, Slide Deck - Agricultural Public Expenditures Comparison Across Sources
Funding of Agricultural and Health R&D Public Goods
This research considers how public good characteristics of different types of research and development (R&D) and the motivations of different providers of R&D funding affect the relative advantages of alternative funding sources. We summarize the public good characteristics of R&D for agriculture in general and for commodity and subsistence crops in particular, as well as R&D for health in general and for neglected diseases in particular, with a focus on Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Finally, we present rationales for which funders are predicted to fund which R&D types based on these funder and R&D characteristics. We then compile available statistics on funding for agricultural and health R&D from private, public and philanthropic sources, and compare trends in funding from these sources against expectations. We find private agricultural R&D spending focuses on commodity crops (as expected). However contrary to expectations we find public and philanthropic spending also goes largely towards these same crops rather than staples not targeted by private funds. For health R&D private funders similarly concentrate on diseases with higher potential financial returns. However unlike in agricultural R&D, in health R&D we observe some specialization across funders – especially for neglected diseases R&D - consistent with funders’ expected relative advantages.
Presentation Slides - ICABR 2017, Technical Report - ICABR 2017
Rural/Urban Divides in Mobile Coverage Expansion
Mobile technology is associated with a variety of positive development and social outcomes, and as a result reaching the “final frontier” of uncovered populations is an important policy issue. We use proprietary 2012 data on mobile coverage from Collins Bartholomew to estimate the proportion of the population living in areas without mobile coverage globally and in selected regions and countries, and use spatial analysis to identify where these populations are concentrated. We then compare our coverage estimates to data from previous years and estimates from the most recent literature to provide a picture of recent trends in coverage expansion, considering separately the trends for coverage of urban and rural populations. We find that mobile coverage expansion rates are slowing, as easier to reach urban populations in developing countries are now almost entirely covered and the remaining uncovered populations are more dispersed in rural areas and therefore more difficult and costly to reach. This analysis of mobile coverage trends was the focus of an initial report on mobile coverage estimates. In a follow-up paper prepared for presentation at the 2016 APPAM International Conference, we investigate the assumption that levels of mobile network coverage are related to the degree of market liberalization at the country level.
Full Report on Mobile Coverage Estimates, Presentation Slides on Mobile Coverage Estimates, Mobile Coverage Expansion Conference Paper, Mobile Coverage Expansion Conference Slides
Review of Global Public Goods
This brief reviews the various definitions of global public goods (GPGs) and regional public goods (RPGs) found in the literature and provides examples of each in six frequently discussed sectors: environment, health, knowledge, security, governance, and infrastructure. We identify multiple alternative definitions that have gained some traction in the literature, but GPGs are generally agreed to exhibit publicness in consumption, distribution of benefits, and decision-making. Because policy choices determine what is and what is not a GPG, there cannot be a fixed list of such goods; some always have the property of global publicness, while others have over time changed from being local or national to being global in terms of benefits and costs. GPGs are thus redefined as goods that are in the global public domain. GPG and RPG financing mechanisms include payments by users and beneficiaries, taxes, fees, and levies, private funding by non-profit corporations, profit-making firms, and philanthropic individuals and organizations, national and international public resources, and partnerships between several sources of financing. We conclude with an analysis of trends in GPG and RPG financing through Official Development Assistance (ODA) using time series data from the OECD’s Creditor Reporting System and other sources. We find that 14% of ODA in 2014 was allocated to sub-sectors labelled by Reiner et al. as GPGs, while 15% of ODA was allocated to RPGs, and that GPG and RPG spending has steadily increased from 2002-2014.
Crop Value Chains: Wheat in Bangladesh
This report provides a general overview of the wheat market in Bangladesh. The first section describes trends in wheat production and consumption over the past twenty years and summarizes recent trade policy related to wheat. The second section presents the findings of a literature review of the wheat value chain in Bangladesh, beginning with seed selection and ending with sales. Finally, wheat consumption in Bangladesh is discussed in more depth, including nutritional information about wheat, substitute grain markets, and projected consumption in 2030. We find that wheat production in Bangladesh has been volatile and continues to reflect significant yield gaps. While wheat consumption has increased, rice is the most important crop and food grain. Increased demand by private traders for higher quality wheat for processing has fueled rising import levels, and the the gap between domestic supply and demand is projected to grow to over 4 million tons by 2030.
Crop Value Chains: Wheat Global Analysis
Over the past 20 years, global wheat production and consumption have increased significantly. Production has increased 28%, or about 1.3% annually, and consumption has increased about 24%, or 1.1% annually. A small number of countries consistently account for over 90% of the export market, but the import market is more diversified and involves many more countries. Wheat is primarily used for food, seed, and industry; only 20% of wheat production is used for animal feed. This brief provides a global overview of the wheat value chain, but with specific attention to three focus countries: Ethiopia, India (specifically the Bihar region), and Bangladesh. While these three countries currently have a limited impact in the global wheat market, projections of wheat production and demand suggest that over the next 20 years demand in Bangladesh and Ethiopia will increasingly exceed supply, while India will become a net importer by 2030.
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Ankur Mishra
View all 8 Movies »
Cigarette Ki Tarah| 2012
Cigarette Ki Tarah
This romantic thriller is the story of a Guy, how He blindly falls in love which leads him in deep trouble, separates him from others like one man vs. the world, in dark circumstances where everyone gives up but he does not. Will his love prove to be his biggest strength? more»
Akashaditya Lama
Prashant Narayanan, Yuvika Chaudhary ...
Phobia| 2016
Mehak is a talented young artist who, after surviving a traumatic attack, develops severe agoraphobia. She is terrified of the outside world. Her friend Shaan believes a new setting might help her heal, and moves her into a recently vacated apartment. Between the strange behavior of the neighbors and the mysterious disappearance of the apartment's former tenant, Mehak begins to fear that her new home might be the most dangerous place of all. Is it all in her mind or is there a real danger haunting her? more»
Pavan Kirpalani
Radhika Apte, Satyadeep Mishra ...
Subtitles:Arabic, English
Daag| 1952
Living a poor life with his widowed mother, Shankar sells toys for a living, but is addicted to alcohol. He is attracted to Parvati, who also lives a similar life along with her step-brother, Jagat Narayan, his wife, and their daughter, Pushpa. After an argument with his mother, Shankar departs to the city, gives up drinking, earns a lot of money, and returns home just to time to pay off his mortgage. But his world will soon be shattered after he goes to ask for the hand of a now wealthy Parvati. This is where he will be forced to face his past, and ultimately be told that Parvati's marriage has been arranged elsewhere. Unable to live without Parvati, he takes up drinking again and heads on to a path of self-destruction more»
Amiya Chakravarty
Dilip Kumar, Nimmi ...
Chor Chor Super Chor| 2013
Chor Chor Super Chor
2013 | 98 min
In the crowded bylanes of Old Delhi, Shuklaji runs a small photo studio as a facade for a small-time crime. Over the years he has groomed a bunch of youngsters in the art of pickpocketing and petty crime. Satbir, a gang member, wants to give up a life of vice and make a fresh beginning. He bumps into Neena on his first respectable job assignment and falls for her. Meanwhile, another crook Amol and his gang of slow-witted goons are on the lookout for smart men to enlist in their crew. He has his eye on Ronnie, one of Shukla's proteges, but Shukhla seems too big an obstacle to surmount. Ronnie however, has had it with the low budget stuff and can't wait to hit the big game. While, Ronnie finds admission in Amol's gang at the behest of kidnapping a diamond merchant, Purshottam Das, Satbir on the other hand takes to a clean life and pursues Neena. Curious about Satbir's connections, Neena asks him about his cronies and if she could watch them live in action. Though hesitant at first, Satbir gives in to her request just to win her over. Totally smitten by Neena, Satbir shows her real instances of pickpockets on their job, Neena although has a totally different agenda under her mellifluous innocence. What happens next are witty comical situations forming a complex jigsaw puzzle! more»
K. Rajesh
Deepak Dobriyal, Anshul Kataria ...
Ond Chance Kodi| 2014
Ond Chance Kodi
Ond Chance Kodi is a 2015 Indian Kannada movie directed by Sathyamithra and produced by R M Sunil Kumar. The film stars Ravishankar Gowda, Patre Ajith and B C Patil in lead roles. Music of the film was composed by Mysore Mohan. more»
Sathyamithra
Ravishankar Gowda, Patre Ajith ...
Yaaradi Nee Mohini| 2008
Yaaradi Nee Mohini
asu(Dhanush) is from a middle-class family. He makes several bids to obtain employment but all goes in vain due to his poor language skills and inadequate educational qualifications. All his friends settle in life, but he continues to struggle in finding employment.Vasu has two faithful friends in Cheenu (Karthik Kumar), and Ganesh (Karunaas). His father (Raghuvaran), who is a teacher, is always critical of him for being an irresponsible person. This just added to his list of woes. At this juncture,Vasu catches a glimpse of a woman named Keerthi (Nayanthara), and immediately falls in love with her. He learns that she works for a software solutions firm. Luckily for him,Vasu finally secures employment in the same firm. Keerthi eventually turns out to be a short-tempered young woman. On a business trip,Vasu accompanies her along with two other colleagues (Jeeva and Manobala), to Australia. Here he reveals his feelings of love to her. She immediately turns him down, saying that she comes from an orthodox family, and her marriage has already been arranged with her uncle's son. A depressed Vasu returns to India thereafter. Unable to see his son in depression, his father decides to meet Keerti. She abuses him for recommending his son's love, and accidentally slaps both Vasu and his father. Later that night, Vasu's father dies of a heart attack. In order to help change Vasu's mood, Cheenu manages to persuade him to come along to his family house in the country. Coincidentally, on the train journey, Keerthi is revealed to be the fiancee of Cheenu. However, their grandfather's (K. Viswanath) thoughts of getting them married earlier are put aside because Cheenu and Keerthi leave the house to have their own identity. This causes heartburn to their grandfather. With the passing of a few days, the parents of Keerthi and Cheenu decide to get them married to appease their grandfather. After several turns of events, Keerthi realizes that she is in love with Vasu instead. When Vasu asks her to forget him, during a midnight meeting, because he believes that it would create problems in their happy family, Cheenu himself overhears their conversation. During the wedding, Cheenu tries to force Vasu and Keerthi to confess their relationship to everyone who is present. But when they hesitate to do so, Cheenu stops the marriage himself, by lying to his elders that he has a secret wife in Chennai. When Cheenu comes under fire from his relatives,Vasu tells them the truth, and is driven out of the house. He is joined only by the grandma of the house, who agrees to accompany him as she reminds Vasu of his late father. In time, the rest of Cheenu and Keerthi's family comes to stay with u for a few days. But Cheenu's grandfather refuses to enter the house, telling Vasu he is still angry with him, and needs time to change himself somehow. The movie ends when Vasu and Keerthi became a happy couple and live together happily. more»
Mithran Jawahar
Dhanush, Nayantara ...
Varum Varathirikilla Unni| 1999
Varum Varathirikilla Unni
Varum Varathirikilla Unni is a 1999 Indian Malyalam Flim,directed by Kulathoor G Mithran & produced by Soorya productions.The flim star Shivaji, Sivathi Kaladi Omana & Venjaramoodu Sreevasan in lead roles. The music of the film was composed by Satheesh Vinod Kannur. more»
Kulathoor G Mithran
Shivaji, Sivathi Kaladi Omana ...
Dalamarmarangal| 2009
Dalamarmarangal
The hidden secrets of an attempted murder are revealed through portrayal of circumstances that three different girls pass through in their life. Aswathy, a textiles shop employee, is staying with her bedridden and sick mother. She looks after the family with her meager salary. Kartika is a girl who is bestowed upon lots of love and affection by her parents. Her life zooms into a crisis when she comes to know of the secrets of her father s profession. The third girl, Rohini, lives in luxury and has tremendously rich parents. But the uneasiness and unhappiness in the family atmosphere makes her very very sad. She elopes with her very poor lover. Her father engages hired hoodlums to get her back after beating up the lover. She decides to commit suicide. Aswathy s mother comes in search of Indusekharan, Rohini s father. Aswathy is actually an illegitimate daughter of Indusekharan. But Indusekharan decides to get Aswathy murdered. The person whom he engages to do this murder is Kartika s father. He comes towards Aswathy as the messenger of death. This is an essay on how three different girls from three different social and economic backdrops try to cope with their life against all odds. Their crisis gets deepened and dangerous due to the attitudes of their parents. The experiences they go through prove that lack of love and affection is the prime reason that made the hell out of their lives. Lack of love and affection leads one to violence and to destruction as well. Dalamarmarangal establishes that love is the one and only antidote to violence. more»
Vijayakrishnan
Vinu Mohan, Sai Kumar ...
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Official Trailer |Phobia
My Dad My Hero - Anurag Kashyap |Rukh
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360 Degree Behind The Scenes |Phobia
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Radhika Apte elaborates on Real Life Aunty-O-Phobia |Phobia
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Kate Upton Goes Topless, Sucks Suggestively on a Popsicle in GQ
Much to the excitement of every red-blooded man in America, Kate Upton is on the cover of GQ's July issue--and man, does she know what she's doing.
Hayley Phelan
The shoot, lensed by Terry Richardson (obv), plays up every sexy-girl-next-door cliche possible--from sucking on a popsicle, to emerging from a pool in a soaked (and see-through) white T-shirt. Despite that, though, Upton still manages to make the shoot feel fresh and interesting, a testament to her, um, talent as a model.
But Upton's real asset isn't hanging from her chest--it's her awareness of knowing precisely what GQ is doing, and playing into it. She's totally in on the whole bombshell act. For example, when asked what the most exciting thing that's happened to her in her rise to fame was, Upton responded:
"For the GQ photo shoot, we were on that ride where the seat spins while the actual ride is spinning, and I'm wearing a one-piece. And all of a sudden the whole entire top falls off! I'm holding myself, laughing, turning bright red, but a lot of people are watching, so they kicked us out of the Santa Monica Pier—it was so embarrassing." Pause, then the kicker: "You wouldn't think that would happen with a one-piece!"
How's that for a mental image, fellas?
Click through to see the whole boobilicious shoot.
Magazinesmodelskate uptonterry richardsongqM
Watch: Kate Upton's Boobs Popped Out on a Roller Coaster and Terry Richardson Filmed It
Kate Upton's GQ shoot is the gift that keeps on giving. Not only did it yield some pretty amazing photos--and an equally amazing behind-the-scenes vi
By Hayley Phelan
Is Kate Upton Too Fat? Too Skinny? Why This Model of the Moment Just Can't Win
Earlier this month Skinny Gossip, a site which bills itself as "pro-skinny" (read: pro-ana) wrote a pretty hate-filled post detailing all the ways in which Kate Upton is fat. Yes, you read that right. Kate Upton, the inescapable supermodel, man magnet, and fashion's latest it-girl is, according to the site, too fat (which is even a kinder version of the vitriol spewed by The Skinny which called Upton a "squishy brick"). Obviously this is sad on so many levels. Upton is clearly gorgeous--Jezebel points out that she is "basically the epitome of curvy, blonde beauty," that she "ticks every box"--and she is a welcome variation to the size 0 model that has become the norm, though we don't know that we'd necessarily call her plus size. Over at BuzzFeed Amy Odell also stood up for Upton, writing, "[H]aters can go on hating, but any model that doesn't fit into a the runways' preferred insanely skinny — yet muscley! — mold is more than alright by me." Here's the thing though:
Watch Kate Upton Writhe Around in Dominatrix Gear for Vogue Italia
We've already gotten a look of Kate Upton's first-ever Vogue cover, and now Vogue Italia has released the corresponding editorial and video, shot by Steven Meisel and Gordon Von Steiner, respectively. The video is undoubtedly high fashion, but it's high fashion the Upton way (read: over-the-top sexy).
Kate Upton Goes to Antarctica for Another Sports Illustrated Cover
For a spread dubbed "Polar Bare" (that Sports Illustrated--sharp as a tack!), Kate Upton finds herself without very many clothes on at all in the Antarctic tundra.
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Baku Grand Prix begins on Thursday
by Alejandro Ramirez
10/2/2014 – The race for the 2016 Candidate's Tournament starts now. The first Grand Prix stage in the 2014-2015 FIDE GP series is in Baku, Azerbaijan. The matches start tomorrow but today the opening ceremony and drawing of lots took place. The locals cheered when out of coincidence the very first round includes a duel between the locals Radjabov and Mamedyarov!
new: Komodo Chess 14
Last year Komodo won the world championship title on two occasions and can call itself "2019 World Computer Chess Champion" and "2019 World Chess Software Champion". And the current Komodo 14 has been clearly improved over its predecessor!
The Sniper is a universal opening framework which can be played against all main first white moves - 1.e4, 1.d4, 1.c4, 1.f4 and 1.Nf3. Black plays 1…g6, 2…Bg7 and 3…c5 against practically anything!
The first stage of the 2014-2015 FIDE Grand Prix is taking place in Baku, Azerbaijan. The tournament will run from October 1st to October 15, 2014. Some of the strongest players in the world will compete in a Round Robin event. The winner and runner-up of the Grand Prix series will earn their spot at the 2016 Candidate's Tournament.
The average rating (October 1st list) of the Baku Grand Prix is a strong 2752. The players are:
Name Rtg Fed
Fabiano Caruana 2844 ITA
Alexander Grischuk 2797 RUS
Sergey Karjakin 2767 RUS
Hikaru Nakamura 2764 USA
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2764 AZE
Leinier Dominguez Perez 2751 CUB
Boris Gelfand 2748 ISR
Peter Svidler 2732 RUS
Teimur Radjabov 2726 AZE
Dmitry Andreikin 2722 RUS
Rustam Kasdimzhanov 2706 UZB
Evgeny Tomashevsky 2701 RUS
By Maria Emelianova
The long-awaited FIDE Grand Prix in Baku was officially opened on Wednesday evening at the Cultural Event Center. The tournament's opening ceremony was attended by chess officials, sponsors, national and international chess media. From 2 nd till 14 of October over eleven rounds, the strongest players in the world will compete in the round robin tournament.
The opening ceremony started with a one-minute of silence to honor the memory of one of the leading chess players of Azerbaijan Vugar Gashimov. The ceremony proceeded with a short documentary, showing the development of chess in Azerbaijan.
Speakers at the event included the Minister of Youth and Sports of Azerbaijan Republic Azad Rahimov, President of Azerbaijan Chess Federation Elman Rustamov and FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov.
Kirsan Ilyumzhinov reminded the guests of the long chess tradition in the Cultural Event Center, where the games will take place. The building has historical importance as two USSR chess championships (1961 and 1972) were organized here. It was World Champion Boris Spassky who won the championship in 1961 and in 1972 Mikhail Tal became the USSR champion. I hope that one of the participants of the Baku Grand Prix will also become a world champion one day.
The FIDE President giving his opening remarks
The FIDE President stressed the important role of the national leader Heydar Aliyev in the development of chess not only in Azerbaijan, but also in the former USSR. If Heydar Aliyev did not notice and would not have supported small Garik Weinstein, then there would be no World Champion Garry Kasparov. Azerbaijan is the only country from 181, which has the state program for the development of chess. The President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev continues to develop this wise game.”
Nakamura listening to Sutovsky while Karjakin tries to focus on the ceremony
During the opening ceremony the director of the “Classic Jewelry House Lobortas” Igor Lobortas demonstrated the models of future Big and Small trophies to award the FIDE Grand Prix series 2014-2015 winner. The trophy consists of precious elements and stones of varying size, including silver, gold and diamonds.
Models of the future trophies
Chief Arbiter Faik Gasanov then proceeded with drawing of lots. He called up the players
to come to the table and choose the boxes with souvenirs with numbers inside.
Boris Gelfand drew the four
The pairings of the first round, which takes place on Thursday, October 2nd, are:
1. Dominguez - Kasimdzhanov
2. Tomashevsky - Grischuk
3. Karjakin - Caruana
4. Gelfand - Andreikin
5. Nakamura - Svidler
6. Mamedyarov - Radjabov
(Full pairings to follow)
The games start at 3 p.m. local time, which is 12:00 noon Central European time, 6 a.m. New York, 3 a.m. San Francisco, and 6 p.m. Hong Kong. You can find your regional time here.
GM Emil Sutovsky (above right, with Sergey Karjakin) and GM Evgeny Miroshnichenko
will be official commentators during the whole event
Local hero Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (behind him his sister, WGM Turkan Mamedjarova)
So who's looking after the kids? Rustam Kasimdzhanov and wife Firuza in Baku
The name is Caruana – Fabiano Caruana
Group photo on the stage: Rustam Kasdimzhanov, Teimur Radjabov, Hikaru Nakamura, Sergey Karjakin, Alexander Grischuk, Fabiano Caruana, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Leinier Dominguez, Arbiter Faik Gasanov, Boris Gelfand, Peter Svidler, Dmitry Andreikin, Evgeny Tomashevsky.
The third Grand Prix series 2014-2015 starts with the first stage in Baku (Azerbaijan). Back in 2008 it was also the capital of Azerbaijan which hosted the first ever Grand Prix stage and a great deal has changed since then as FIDE has organized 30 Grand Prix tournaments. In contrast to the two previous Grand Prix cycles the number of tournaments was decreased from six to four to be held over two years (2014-2015). Each of 16 players of Grand Prix series will play in three tournaments out of four and all his results will be taken into account for the overall final standings of the Grand Prix. The winner and second placed player overall of the Grand Prix Series will qualify for the Candidates Tournament to be held in the last quarter of 2015 or the first half of 2016.
Photos by Maria Emelianova and Anastasiya Karlovich
Official tournament site
All Games in PGN
The games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download a free Playchess client there and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase 12 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.
Alejandro Ramirez Grandmaster Alejandro Ramirez has been playing tournament chess since 1998. His accomplishments include qualifying for the 2004 and 2013 World Cups as well as playing for Costa Rica in the 2002, 2004 and 2008 Olympiads. He currently has a rating of 2583 and is author of a number of popular and critically acclaimed ChessBase-DVDs.
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Modifi: Codeless Mobile Apps for Workforce Transformation
Jim Poss, CEO
The workspace is no longer defined by traditional brick-and-mortar walls. In the highly distributed workplace spectrum, as gig economy and the Uber “on-demand” model becomes more pervasive, a tool that empowers this new kind of workforce to be effective is what best summarizes Modifi’s value proposition.“At the core, we provide a collaboration and operational tool for workforce transformation,” says Jim Poss, CEO of Modifi.
Modifi provides a codeless app building engine for field experts with minimum computer skills to develop their own sophisticated application. With this, the company is able to bridge the gaps between field experts and the coding necessary to build sophisticated apps quickly, to track, and manage their team’s daily activities. “‘You are the hero, we provide the cape,’ best describes our approach,” says Poss.
Modifi’s IOT engine allows experts to gather sensor data from smartphone or external sensors and model them in the applications they build. The human inputs layered with sensor data provides for a rich ecosystem of contextual data that feed Modifi’s Machine Learning models to bubble up insights and forecasts.
Bearing testimony to the company’s expertise in workforce transformation is a retailer, headquartered in Seattle. With large distribution centers around the country, the company was paying millions of dollars to a third-party logistics provider for overseeing goods distribution, which had been clouded in uncertainty. In order to present a true picture, Modifi deployed their mobile app on Android phones and simplified the UI of the phone screen for the truck drivers by creating two soft buttons, red for pick up and green for drop off.
Over a period of 10 months, millions of sensor data points were collected, which included thousands of pickup and drop off activities. Upon analysis, it was shocking to realize that the workforce was heavily under-utilized with the drivers working for just 18 minutes in an hour on average.
You are the hero, while we provide the cape
Weighing numerous options, now armed with the data, the company decided to redeploy drivers during their idle time in the shipping process, resulting in the efficient utilization of the workforce. “For many organizations, 70 percent of costs are human-related, that makes it crucial to focus on workforce optimization and efficiency,” remarks Poss.
He cites an instance where the Modifi mobile application proves its mettle in empowering the workforce to carry out their job effectively. For instance, to deploy or fix a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) machine, it is no longer required to depend on a highly-skilled service technician. With Modifi’s solution, any technician can fix the machine with a little “digital assistance.” All they have to do is place the phone on top of the machine and scan the barcode. The vibration patterns and sound will be analyzed by Modifi’s app deployed in the service manager’s phone to determine the exact fault of the machine. The technician can be walked through a step-by-step prescriptive and pre-designed path to figure out what is wrong with the HVAC and help him fix it. With the help of analytics at the web backend, service managers can view KPIs and ascertain at what speed tasks are performed, frequency, and type of issues, and figure out the reason for delays, and schedule the next tasks accordingly.
The Modifi team aims to build systems that become industry experts in multiple fields. The company sees the most potential in working with gig economy workforces who can tackle any task on the basis of the instructions and the tools provided by Modifi. Another area that the company is focused on is generic supervised learning systems, a machine learning system that empowers gig economy workers and technicians with structured, tagged, and contextualized data. People become more informed, more effective…in other words, heroes.
Modifi
Modifi revolutionizes simple day-to-day tasks, and with our codeless programming, anyone can manage and monitor remote workforces without friction and unnecessary costs. The company from the initial stage onwards provides SaaS, HaaS, Sensor Data, KPIs, Process Mapping, Real-Time Reporting, Recycled Tools, Workflow Apps, White Label App, Customization, People, Process Improvement, Smart Sensors, IOP, Optimization, Workforce, and Gig Economy to the clients. The company was founded in the years 2014 and is based in Seattle, WA. Modifi comes in and helps to make the organization’s data more accessible and work more fruitful
https://enterprise-mobility.cioreview.com/vendor/2019/modifi?utm_source=rewardbloggers&utm_campaign=blog&utm_medium=rewardbloggersblog
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Will You Bow at the Altar of Football Violence?
January 31, 2015 February 1, 2015 ~ slfuchs
Tomorrow, much of our nation will bow at the idolatrous altar of football violence as the Superbowl unfolds! I plead with you now: Please join me in doing something else, anything else!
A few days ago two former Vanderbilt football players were convicted of multiple counts of sexual assault against another student. The case absolutely sickens me! For four years, while serving as Senior Rabbi of Congregation Ohabai Sholom in Nashville, I studied the values of Biblical literature at Vanderbilt before earning my Doctor of Ministry degree in 1992. For that reason I feel an extra measure of revulsion over the actions of Cory Batey and Brandon Vandenburg, the two former Vanderbilt football players, who were both convicted on all of the counts of sexual assault with which they were charged, I hope they both spend many years behind bars for their crimes.
Sadly, though, it was not an isolated incident. One can only guess how many other women were sexually assaulted on college campuses and other places in the two years between when the Vanderbilt rape occurred and the day the guilty verdict was read. It is only because of the enormous courage and fortitude of the victim that justice was done in this case. How many hundreds of others have gone and will go unreported?
A lengthy letter to the Vanderbilt community by Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos begins this way:
“Earlier this week, a Nashville jury found two former Vanderbilt students guilty of a vicious attack against a fellow student. The victim showed exceptional courage and strength in pursuing justice through the criminal trial. At this time, we are called upon again to consider as a community how we can ensure that what happened to the survivor of this terrible crime never happens again.
The heinous conduct described at trial was not the product of Vanderbilt’s culture. On the contrary, such conduct is the very opposite of the values Vanderbilt stands for and our students hold dear. We abhor sexual misconduct, and we subject every student to the same standards.”
But you don’t “subject every student to the same standards,” Chancellor. Elite athletes live by different rules. And you know it!
Without question the actions of Vandenburg and Batey are the antithesis of what Vanderbilt and every university stand for. And yet it is clear to me that the culture of “King Football” which reigns on university campuses across the United States is complicit in the crimes.
Athletes who play major college sports are courted to come to their institutions and coddled while they are there. People have told them since they were children how great they are, and so they feel entitled to do whatever they want whenever they want to whomever they want.
In addition, violence spews out of our television, movie and–perhaps worst of all–our computer screens. Why should people think it is wrong to abuse another human being, when they have seen hundreds of thousands of images of such abuse by the time they reach adolescence?
The combination of limitless violence and limitless adulation for student athletes is a lethal combination, and the game of football is the most visible result. Each week during the season millions of people watch highly trained athletes risk life and limb for their entertainment. Too many studies have shown that even when these gladiators walk away unscathed from their weekly combat, the effects accumulate in an alarming percentage of participants.
Look at the studies that reveal how many former NFL players die young. Look at the percentage of those who live out their lives after their short years of glory are over with life-long painful injuries. Look at the numbers who succumb to Alzheimer’s disease at an early age. These figures are shocking. But we don’t care!
We claim that in a free country, these people make the choice to take these risks, and who are we to stop them? We claim that we don’t condone censorship, so we dare not even ask the entertainment industry to tone down the violence that our kids see every day.
The New York Times has an “ethicist,” Chuck Klosterman.” Now, nothing in the man’s resume or education suggests any special training or expertise in ethics. So let’s accept that his column is for entertainment value only. Still, he has a very large stage and when asked about the ethics of watching football, he wrote:
“Any adult involved with football is aware of the risks associated with playing a collision sport … every head-to-head collision generates imperceptible ‘sub-concussions,’ slowly damaging the brain without the victim suffering the symptoms of an acute trauma. This means the players are being injured on almost every play … Football is a brutal activity …”
But that’s OK says Klosterman …”We love something that’s dangerous. And I can live with that.”
Well, when I see the effects of football both in the culture of entitlement it creates for players on the one hand and the devastating effects on their bodies on the other hand, I cannot remain silent. I don’t watch football any more.
Tomorrow they will play the biggest game of all, the Superbowl. Never mind that one of the teams participating, the New England Patriots, cheated to get there. We can’t jeopardize the biggest sporting event of the year over a little thing like that, can we?
I don’t watch football anymore because I realize now, after decades of watching, that each one of us is either part of the problem or part of the solution. We either contribute to the culture of violence that causes untold damage to minds and bodies or we do our small part to reverse it.
Which choice will you make?
Posted in Insights & Inspirations Brandon VandenburgChuck KlostermanCory BateyFootballNew York Times EthicistSuperbowlVanderbilt UniversityViolence in the media
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6 thoughts on “Will You Bow at the Altar of Football Violence?”
Anne Ireland says:
Rabbi Fuchs,
You are right. It bothers me that so many players in the NFL end with severe head injuries. I am also disturbed when I read of the spousal, child and animal abusers, who go right back to work after their misdeeds come to light. right now a certain former member of the patriots is on trial for murder. He may end being found not guilty because everyone in Massachusetts worships the Patriots.
Tomorrow, if my husband turns on the game, I will take a walk, a long walk.
Anne Ireland
Anne, it would be my pleasure to join you. Thank you for your thoughtful comment!
lisabook2 says:
I have never been interested in this violent sport. When i was i kid, i relied on my father to tell me about the ads and half time show. But, I have never been able to watch something where people crash heads into eachother and jump on top of eachother and crush one another. Compare it to basketball, where people aggressively go for the ball and throw it in the hoop…but nobody attacking the other players. (Yes, I really enjoy basketball! )
Tomorrow night my husband and I are having a babysitter come and we’re going to the movies. And we had no idea it was superbowl Sunday when we made the plans!
Lisa you are lucky you found a sitter.Have a grewt time. For the past two years I have been breaking an addiction more than 60-years-old.
David Charlton says:
I have given up on watching football, and I did not watch the Super Bowl last night. The NFL is a cesspool of money, bad ethics, and idolatry. Thanks for what you have to say.
Thank you, David. It is nice to know that others share my feelings about our obsession with football.
Leave a Reply to lisabook2 Cancel reply
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04.06.20 telecommunications
The Station: Via hits $2.25B valuation, letters from readers, layoffs in a time of COVID-19
Hi, and welcome back to The Station, a weekly newsletter dedicated to all the ways people and packages travel from Point A to Point B. I’m your host Kirsten Korosec, senior transportation reporter at TechCrunch. If this is your first time, hello; I’m glad you’re with us.
I have started to publish a version of the newsletter on TechCrunch. That’s what you’re reading now. For the whole newsletter, which comes out every weekend, you can subscribe by heading over here, and clicking “The Station.” It’s free!
Last week, I asked readers to share how they were doing amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The response was overwhelming. It wasn’t just the number of you who reached out. It was your words — devoid of pretense, the veneer exposed — that struck me.
There were, of course, those who used the opportunity to make a marketing push or pitch a story. I get the impulse, but you won’t be rewarded here. I’m seeking something different. And I will share below some of what you sent me in hopes that it provides insight, solace or, dare I suggest, an esprit de corps among us.
I will repeat my appeal from last week: Maybe you’re a startup founder, a safety driver at an autonomous vehicle developer, a venture capitalist, engineer or gig economy worker. I’m interested in how you’re doing, what you’re doing to cope and how you’re getting around in your respective cities.
Please reach out and email me at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com to share thoughts, opinions or tips or send a direct message to @kirstenkorosec.
Micromobbin’
As we’ve seen the past few weeks, operators are stepping up to respond and adjust to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lyft began offering its scooters for free to healthcare and other essential workers. As part of the program, up to 30-minute rides will be free for members of critical workforces through April 30 in Austin, Denver, Los Angeles, the Washington D.C. metro area, San Diego and Santa Monica.
Spin, similarly, introduced a new initiative that provides free, 30-minute rides and helmets to essential healthcare workers. Spin, which began offering this on April 1, is making this available in Baltimore, Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles, Portland, San Francisco, Tampa and Washington, D.C.
‘Micromobility winter on steroids’
That’s how RideReport CEO William Henderson described the current state of the micromobility industry in a recent interview with TechCrunch reporter Megan Rose Dickey.
Ride Report creates software that enables cities to work with micromobility operators. That gives Henderson a bird’s-eye view on the industry, which he shared with TechCrunch.
Yep, this is an Extra Crunch article, and you need a subscription. A few of the highlights include biking as one of the few bright spots, how some companies have pivoted to providing rides to healthcare workers and insights on how the industry and cities might have reacted had the pandemic occurred two years in the future.
A novel rewards program
These times have sparked a host of new ideas. Here’s one. A Nashville-based startup called Hytch Rewards developed an app that companies and governments can use to give their employees incentives to walk, bike, rideshare or use public transit. The company’s entire purpose has been to reward commuter behavior that reduces traffic congestion and lowers emissions.
Now it’s pivoting to reward people for staying at home. The office of Tennessee Congressman Jim Cooper is among the first employer to partner on Hytch’s Shelter in Place initiative, which offers a small daily reward to staff for working from home.
— Megan Rose Dickey (with a cameo from Kirsten Korosec)
This week, we’ll highlight Via’s Series E funding round that was led by Exor. The on-demand shuttle startup raised $400 million, TechCrunch learned. Exor contributed $200 million of that raise. The remaining $200 million came from new investors Macquarie Capital, Mori Building and Shell, as well as existing investors 83North, Broadscale Group, Ervington Investments, Hearst Ventures, Planven Ventures, Pitango and RiverPark Ventures.
Noam Ohana, who heads up Exor Seeds, the holding company’s early-stage investment arm, will join Via’s board.
Via gets the “deal of the week” designation not just because its post-funding valuation is now $2.25 billion. Via’s actions during the pandemic offers a little bit of understanding on how companies are adapting and where opportunities may lie. Via has two sides of its business: a consumer-facing shuttle and a “partnerships” division that sells its software platform to cities and transit authorities that allows them to deploy their own shuttles.
As you might expect, the consumer-facing shuttles has been adversely affected by COVID-19. There is some promise with the partnerships side of the business, according to CEO Daniel Ramot .
Existing partners, a list that includes transit authorities in Berlin, Germany, Ohio and Malta, have worked with Via to convert or adapt the software to meet new needs during the pandemic. A city might dedicate its shuttle service to transporting goods or essential personnel. For instance, Berlin converted its 120-shuttle fleet transport to an overnight service that provides free transit to healthcare workers traveling to and from work.
“There has been a real interest in emergency services,” Ramot told me, adding he expects to see more demand for the software platform and the flexibility it provides as the pandemic unfolds.
Via isn’t the only company shifting its attention to emergency services. Moovit, an Israeli-based Mobility as a Service startup, launched an Emergency Mobilization On-Demand service. The feature was developed to turn unused vehicle fleets into an on-demand solution to get essential workers to their destination. Moovit is also offering transit agencies and operators a transit data manager for free for three months. This management tool lets transit agencies communicate schedules, line changes and service alerts to users.
Other deals:
Qcraft.ai raised what it described as an “eight-figure USD investment” in a seed funding round from IDG Capital, Vision+ Capital and Tide Capital. Qraft didn’t provide the exact number; VentureBeat reported it is $24 million.
Phantom.ai, which has focused on advanced driver assistance systems, raised $22 million in a Series A round led by Celeres Investments; Celeres was joined by Ford Motor and Korean telecommunications giant KT. Two existing investors, Millennium Technology Value Partners and DSC Investment, also participated in the round.
Seegrid, a company that makes self-driving industrial vehicles for material handling, closed a $25 million growth-equity investment from G2VP.
GM and Honda deepened their relationship and said they will jointly develop two new electric vehicles slated for 2024. Under the plan, the automakers will focus on their respective areas of expertise. Honda will design the exterior and interiors of the new electric vehicles; GM will contribute its new electric vehicle architecture and Ultium batteries, its OnStar safety and security services and its hands-free advanced driver assistance technology, known as Super Cruise.
Enovix, which has developed a silicon-based lithium-ion battery, has raised $45 million in new funds. The company said T. J. Rodgers and York Capital participated, as well as an unnamed “major new strategic investor.”
Layoffs in a time of COVID-19
We’ve all seen the bars, restaurants, retail shops and salons in our community shuttered because of stay-at-home directives from local and state governments. We’ve started to see the results of those closures in the form of tens of thousands of jobless claims.
Startups are not immune. It is difficult to get an exact number, but Layoffs.fyi is working to track what is going on in the startup world. As of April 4, the site had calculated 126 startups had laid off more than 10,000 people since March 11.
The transportation sector has been among those hardest hit. Some of the companies that have laid off 20% or more of their staff include shared scooter company Bird; peer-to-peer car rental startups Getaround and Turo; Cabin; freight brokerage KeepTruckin: and Moovel and Zipcar.
Maybe your company is actually hiring. If so, go check out Layoffs.fyi, the site doesn’t just list layoffs. The site also includes spreadsheet that list employees you might want to hire.
From you
I have selected a few excerpts from readers who shared with me — and now you all — their observations about what is happening in their lives in this COVID-19 world. I have edited these for length and clarity.
I plan to share more with you in the weeks ahead, so please reach out.
From Canoo CPO James Cox, who also advises founders of Routable.ai, a startup that developed a real-time routing engine for high-capacity rides. Cox explained in his email to me that Routable’s CEO wrote a piece in Medium (which you can read here) about providing critical transportation during the COVID-19 pandemic:
As a result of the piece, the Boston Medical Center reached out last week. They’ve now adapted their technology to provide rides to homeless people and solve an allocation problem of which bed in which hospital in Boston to send them to.
They’ve worked directly with the frontline doctors and nurses and IT teams on it. They were previously using a whiteboard, which is obviously not going to scale to solve the problem! The trial launches Monday and is a really interesting short-term pivot that is solely focussed on doing good and adjusting to this crazy world we are now living in.
From Aryan Bhasin, a college student under lockdown in India:
There is no sense of transportation at all. Public transport is becoming interesting because even though all forms of transport are banned (one can only use a vehicle to buy essentials at grocery stores), the Indian government has been sending hoards of buses to get villagers back to their villages — completely blowing apart all rules of social distancing.
Airlines, too, have been a very interesting sector to follow. Most airlines have changed their business models significantly in lieu of COVID-19 as governments organize airlifts for stranded citizens.
From Luis Orsini-Rosenberg, CEO of GetHenry, a Berlin-based micromobility startup that focuses on B2B services. GetHenry, which is part of the Techstars Smart Mobility Accelerator, operates in Austria, Germany and Spain. He shared what is happening in Austria:
All of our business partners in Austria had to close its gates. A day after the lockdown was communicated by the government, we started to reach out to hundreds of restaurants, deliveries, couriers, hospitals, pharmacies and medical services to offer them our vehicles for individual transportation or last-mile delivery cases. Last week, the first e-scooters went out to restaurant partners and medical services.
We are starting to generate some revenues again, but it will not be enough to keep the business alive long-term. We have applied for public aid funds and wage subsidies and will cut costs to an absolute minimum in the coming weeks. Going forward, we will either: wait and do nothing or solely focus on the last-mile delivery service.
Read more: https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/06/the-station-via-hits-2-25b-valuation-letters-from-readers-layoffs-in-a-time-of-covid-19/
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Citizenship and counterproductive behavior: Clarifying relations between the two domains
Paul R Sackett, Christopher M. Berry, Shelly A. Wiemann, Roxanne M. Laczo
Competing viewpoints exist as to whether organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) and counterproductive work behaviors (CWB) are best viewed as behaviors located on a single continuum or as distinct constructs. Reliable and established measures of OCB, CWB, and the Big Five were administered to a large and diverse employee sample. Confirmatory factor analysis supports differentiating between facets of OCB and CWB. In addition, OCB and CWB were moderately negatively correlated and had a number of different personality correlates. This lends support to OCB and CWB representing two distinct constructs instead of a single continuum.
https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327043hup1904_7
10.1207/s15327043hup1904_7
Fingerprint Dive into the research topics of 'Citizenship and counterproductive behavior: Clarifying relations between the two domains'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
Counterproductive Work Behavior Business & Economics
Citizenship Behavior Business & Economics
Organizational Citizenship Behavior Business & Economics
Big Five Business & Economics
Confirmatory Factor Analysis Business & Economics
Employees Business & Economics
Correlates Business & Economics
Personality Medicine & Life Sciences
Sackett, P. R., Berry, C. M., Wiemann, S. A., & Laczo, R. M. (2006). Citizenship and counterproductive behavior: Clarifying relations between the two domains. Human Performance, 19(4), 441-464. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327043hup1904_7
Citizenship and counterproductive behavior : Clarifying relations between the two domains. / Sackett, Paul R; Berry, Christopher M.; Wiemann, Shelly A.; Laczo, Roxanne M.
In: Human Performance, Vol. 19, No. 4, 01.12.2006, p. 441-464.
Sackett, PR, Berry, CM, Wiemann, SA & Laczo, RM 2006, 'Citizenship and counterproductive behavior: Clarifying relations between the two domains', Human Performance, vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 441-464. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327043hup1904_7
Sackett PR, Berry CM, Wiemann SA, Laczo RM. Citizenship and counterproductive behavior: Clarifying relations between the two domains. Human Performance. 2006 Dec 1;19(4):441-464. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327043hup1904_7
Sackett, Paul R ; Berry, Christopher M. ; Wiemann, Shelly A. ; Laczo, Roxanne M. / Citizenship and counterproductive behavior : Clarifying relations between the two domains. In: Human Performance. 2006 ; Vol. 19, No. 4. pp. 441-464.
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Moving, feeling, desiring, teaching
Gail Boldt, Cynthia Lewis, Kevin M. Leander
In this set of essays, the authors argue for the importance of affect and emotion in literacy education, teacher education, and classroom life. In the introduction, Boldt describes the authors' shared belief in learning as happening within a landscape of relationships and emergent life in classrooms and beyond. The introduction makes clear that while the authors are writing from different intellectual traditions, they share a sense of anger about the fetishization of standardization, testing, and methods at the expense of ambiguity, improvisation, and unexpected, disruptive, and enlivening classroom relationships. In the first essay, Lewis demonstrates how emotion is regulated in a secondary English classroom and yet can never be fully regulated, giving rise to discomfort and to unexpected transformations of signs. In the second essay, Leander argues for a more emergent vision of lesson planning that begins with the body and its expression of energies and potentials in the present. In the final essay, Boldt urges that teachers be provided with opportunities to openly examine their negative emotional responses-including anxiety and, at times, aggression- to mismatches between children and what is required in a high-stakes environment. Throughout the essays, the authors enact rather than describe a Deleuzo-Guattarian perspective, laying their differences and their shared commitments side-by-side in the hope of creating for themselves and their readers new sets of relations and possibilities and, with those, the condition of potential for imagination and desire.
Research in the Teaching of English
Fingerprint Dive into the research topics of 'Moving, feeling, desiring, teaching'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
Teaching Arts & Humanities
classroom Social Sciences
English Classroom Arts & Humanities
Literacy Education Arts & Humanities
Teacher Education Arts & Humanities
Fetishization Arts & Humanities
High-stakes Arts & Humanities
Anger Arts & Humanities
Boldt, G., Lewis, C., & Leander, K. M. (2015). Moving, feeling, desiring, teaching. Research in the Teaching of English, 49(4), 430-441.
Moving, feeling, desiring, teaching. / Boldt, Gail; Lewis, Cynthia; Leander, Kevin M.
In: Research in the Teaching of English, Vol. 49, No. 4, 01.05.2015, p. 430-441.
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Boldt, Gail ; Lewis, Cynthia ; Leander, Kevin M. / Moving, feeling, desiring, teaching. In: Research in the Teaching of English. 2015 ; Vol. 49, No. 4. pp. 430-441.
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AU - Lewis, Cynthia
AU - Leander, Kevin M.
N2 - In this set of essays, the authors argue for the importance of affect and emotion in literacy education, teacher education, and classroom life. In the introduction, Boldt describes the authors' shared belief in learning as happening within a landscape of relationships and emergent life in classrooms and beyond. The introduction makes clear that while the authors are writing from different intellectual traditions, they share a sense of anger about the fetishization of standardization, testing, and methods at the expense of ambiguity, improvisation, and unexpected, disruptive, and enlivening classroom relationships. In the first essay, Lewis demonstrates how emotion is regulated in a secondary English classroom and yet can never be fully regulated, giving rise to discomfort and to unexpected transformations of signs. In the second essay, Leander argues for a more emergent vision of lesson planning that begins with the body and its expression of energies and potentials in the present. In the final essay, Boldt urges that teachers be provided with opportunities to openly examine their negative emotional responses-including anxiety and, at times, aggression- to mismatches between children and what is required in a high-stakes environment. Throughout the essays, the authors enact rather than describe a Deleuzo-Guattarian perspective, laying their differences and their shared commitments side-by-side in the hope of creating for themselves and their readers new sets of relations and possibilities and, with those, the condition of potential for imagination and desire.
AB - In this set of essays, the authors argue for the importance of affect and emotion in literacy education, teacher education, and classroom life. In the introduction, Boldt describes the authors' shared belief in learning as happening within a landscape of relationships and emergent life in classrooms and beyond. The introduction makes clear that while the authors are writing from different intellectual traditions, they share a sense of anger about the fetishization of standardization, testing, and methods at the expense of ambiguity, improvisation, and unexpected, disruptive, and enlivening classroom relationships. In the first essay, Lewis demonstrates how emotion is regulated in a secondary English classroom and yet can never be fully regulated, giving rise to discomfort and to unexpected transformations of signs. In the second essay, Leander argues for a more emergent vision of lesson planning that begins with the body and its expression of energies and potentials in the present. In the final essay, Boldt urges that teachers be provided with opportunities to openly examine their negative emotional responses-including anxiety and, at times, aggression- to mismatches between children and what is required in a high-stakes environment. Throughout the essays, the authors enact rather than describe a Deleuzo-Guattarian perspective, laying their differences and their shared commitments side-by-side in the hope of creating for themselves and their readers new sets of relations and possibilities and, with those, the condition of potential for imagination and desire.
JO - Research in the Teaching of English
JF - Research in the Teaching of English
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Franklin County, ME
Franklin County, ME — In the Heart of the Western Mountains!
Playing Host to All That Maine Has to Offer!
Franklin County, ME, just off the beaten path, is one of the most beautiful places in New England! This four-season region offers a variety of opportunities — perfect for any individual or family lifestyle — nestled in the center of Maine’s High Peaks region in the western part of the Pine Tree State.
Franklin County, ME, includes:
Avon, ME
Carrabassett Valley, ME
Carthage, ME
Chesterville, ME
Coplin Plantation, ME
Dallas Plantation, ME
Eustis, ME
Farmington, ME
Industry, ME
Jay, ME
Kingfield, ME
New Sharon, ME
New Vineyard, ME
Phillips, ME
Rangeley, ME
Rangeley Plantation, ME
Sandy River Plantation, ME
Strong, ME
Temple, ME
Weld, ME
Wilton, ME
Skiing, Hiking, and Other Outdoor Activities in Western Maine
You will love our four Maine seasons! Whatever your pleasure, each season offers something unique for outdoor enthusiasts. You can simply pick your pace.
In Franklin County, ME, exciting experiences wait for you, whether it is leaf-peeping the Heritage loop, fishing the Rangeley Lakes, white-water rafting down the Carrabassett River, hiking Tumbledown Mountain, camping in Mount Blue State Park, or even spring-skiing the peaks of Sugarloaf Mountain in your shorts!
The Appalachian Trail is a 2,000-mile continuous footpath, which starts in Georgia and ends on Maine’s Mount Katahdin. The trail stretches across Franklin County, ME, linking some of the region’s most spectacular peaks.
Maine Huts & Trails is an 80-mile hut-to-hut trail system, maintained by a year-round crew. The trails feature winding switchbacks, sandy paths along mountain streams, natural bridges, and amazing views. The trail system connects four “huts,” off-the-grid eco-lodges with spacious communal rooms, reading areas, screened-in porches, hot showers, toilets, heated bunk rooms, and gear drying rooms.
Spectacular views of Mount Blue and the surrounding mountains ring the Mount Blue State Park, which boasts a wide variety of activities for park visitors all year. Located in the mountainous region of western Maine, the park offers a visitors an extensive network of trails, a sandy beach, a popular camping area, a boat launch and a picnic area.
Sugarloaf sits in the heart of Maine’s Carrabassett Valley, which was carved by the Carrabassett River and is surrounded by Maine’s Western Mountains. Sugarloaf is Maine’s second-highest peak at 4,237 ft. and offers the only lift-serviced, above-tree-line skiing in the East. With an impressive 2,820 ft. vertical drop, it rivals many slopes in the Rocky Mountains.
Sugarloaf features 129 trails and glades (including one that stretches for 3.5 miles), snowmaking on most of the mountain and 15 lifts.
Nestled at the foot of Sugarloaf is a true Nordic village with more than 40 restaurants and shops, including grocery stores, ski and snowboard shops, specialty shops, real estate offices, a laundromat, two health clubs, and an art gallery. Summer offerings include golfing, hiking, mountain biking, and moose viewing tours, as well as facilities to host conferences and weddings.
One of Franklin County’s favorite family destinations, Titcomb offers another warm and friendly skiing option for both visitors and residents. Titcomb’s 750-foot slope features 15 alpine trails for all skill levels, a terrain trail for snowboarders, and beautiful, newly renovated Nordic trails, totaling more than 9.5 miles.
Spruce Mountain is a ski slope located on the banks of the Androscoggin River and jointly owned by the towns of Jay, ME; Livermore, ME; and Livermore Falls, ME. Spruce Mountain has 11 well-maintained trails with three old-fashioned rope-tow lifts that hauls skiers 300 feet up the mountain.
Franklin County, ME, Hosts Fun Festivals Throughout the Year!
Franklin County, ME, hosts festivals all year, and they all are a great way to connect with friends and neighbors and have fun!
In May, the University of Maine at Farmington welcomes visitors to the Fiddlehead Festival, which celebrates Maine’s agricultural heritage and passion for locally grown food.
Each June, Eustis, ME, hosts Family Fun Day, with plenty to do for every member of your family!
In July, the Kingfield Festival Days in Kingfield, ME, features four days of parades, food, and music, with a photography contest and a craft show emphasizing local artisans.
August brings with it several festivals around the county. The annual Wilton Blueberry Festival in Wilton, ME, showcases the town’s delicious blueberry creations, including jams, muffins, and pies. Downtown Farmington, ME, hosts its annual Summer Fest, a street fair with local crafters and artists, a variety of food, sidewalk sales, and musical performances. The Carrabassett Summer Festival in Carrabassett Valley, ME, is a free music festival, complete with arts, crafts, and airplane demonstrations.
In September, Livermore Falls, ME, celebrates the coming of fall and the past year’s harvest with its Apple Pumpkin Festival.
This is only a taste of all of the festivals that Franklin County, ME, and the entirety of the Pine Tree State offers!
Eat Well in Western Maine!
With a thriving local agricultural industry, western Maine’s residents and businesses support its numerous farms and local farmers markets throughout the year. Whether you enjoy cooking yourself or frequent local restaurants, Franklin County, ME, has plenty of unique food options.
Excellent cafes, eateries and fine dining establishments alike can be found throughout Franklin County, ME, including places such as the Sugarloaf Inn in Carrabassett, ME; the Orange Cat Café and One Stanley Avenue in Kingfield, ME; the Rangeley Inn & Tavern and the Gingerbread House in the Rangeley, ME, region; the Homestead and the Granary in Farmington, ME; Calzolaio Pasta Company in Wilton, ME; LaFleur’s in Jay, ME; and the Chuck Wagon in Livermore Falls, ME.
Quality Higher Education is a Priority in Franklin County, ME
Farmington, ME, enjoys a mutually rewarding relationship with the University of Maine at Farmington, located in the downtown area. The cozy, 2,000-student campus is around the same size as many of New England’s most selective private colleges, offering many of the same advantages at an affordable price. The U.S. News & World Report named UMF “one of America’s best colleges” for 15 years in a row.
Established in 1864 as Maine’s first public institution of higher education, UMF offers quality programs in teacher education, human services, and arts and sciences.
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Last edited by Grozshura
6 edition of From Employee to Entrepreneur found in the catalog.
From Employee to Entrepreneur
Richard Worzel
How to Turn Your Experience into a Fortune
by Richard Worzel
Published March 1989 by Key Porter Books .
The first book from motivational speaker, life and career coach, serial entrepreneur and minister Safiya Jafari Simmons, Walking on Water: Making the Leap from Employee to Employer is a faith-based, pocket-sized guide to turning your purpose and passion into a profit that blesses you and those assigned to you. “I am so excited about Safiya Simmons’ WALKING ON WATER. Buy From Employee to Home Business Entrepreneur: Volume 1 (The Mindset Shift) by Ollier, Amanda, Beesley, Susan, Beesley, Chris (ISBN: ) from Amazon's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.5/5(10).
When I was an entrepreneur, to ensure the success of my business, I had to learn and take on many responsibilities—marketing, sales, accounting, recruitment, and so many more. What I loved most about my role—and where my true passion lies—is in helping small businesses solve user experience dilemmas so they can do what they do best. Employee to Entrepreneur combines storytelling with a step-by-step framework to teach you how to effectively explore and leverage entrepreneurship to gain freedom, fulfillment and financial security. Book features: understand what you want to 5/5(1).
Melinda Emerson, known to many as “SmallBizLady,” is a Veteran Entrepreneur, Small Business Coach and Social Media Strategist who hosts #SmallBizChat weekly on Twitter for emerging entrepreneurs. Her first book Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months is out in March Updated on May 8, Employees work hard. Entrepreneurs work smartly. Employees rub their ass to get in Boss' good books. By doing the good work, more and more files pile up on their desks. Entrepreneurs classify their work by categorizing them under the category of Urgent and Not Urgent. They follow a Pareto's Principle by doing 20 per cent of the work which.
Eighteenth annual report of the Trustees of the State Lunatic Hospital at Northampton
Sermon on the public worship of God
Halliwells Film Guide, 3rd Ed.
Woman and child in the modern system of slavery, USSR
Toward a national health program.
The Chinese electronics industry
Increasing amount authorized for the erection and equipment of suitable and adequate buildings and facilites for the use of the National Institute of Dental Research
Planning Guide Fora Integrating the Language Arts (Treasury of Literature)
foundation program in State educational policy
Look Out, Bird!
Material properties handbook.
From Linenhall to Loopbridge
Income maintenance, work effort, and the Canadian Mincome experiment
Sonatinas in Color (Bastien Piano Basics Supplementary)
The gleam
Happy for no reason
Berkeley Heights Revisited (NJ)
The 2006 Economic and Product Market Databook for Sao Paulo, Brazil
Development of a computer-aided assessment program for the assessment of radio frequency ignition hazards.
From Employee to Entrepreneur by Richard Worzel Download PDF EPUB FB2
Employee to Entrepreneur is your guide to leaving your job behind and building something for yourself. Author and employee-turned-entrepreneur Steve Glaveski, shows you how to navigate the challenges, find the entrepreneurial success that is right for you and become a better person along the way.5/5(16).
Employee to Entrepreneur shows you how to From Employee to Entrepreneur book move from employed to self-employed, how to effectively harness, utilise and exploit the skills and expertise you’ve already gained in your corporate emploment and use them all to help you start your own business and make the exciting move from employee to entrepreneur/5(4).
EMPLOYEE TO ENTREPRENEUR BOOKS. Mindset, Carol Dweck. SG: I couldn’t include a section of books on mindset and exclude Dweck’s classic.
Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck in decades of research on achievement and success uncovered a simple idea that can make all the difference. From Employee to Entrepreneur How to Turn Your Experience into a Fortune by Richard Worzel Published March by Key Porter : Employee to Entrepreneur is your guide to leaving your job behind and building something for yourself.
Author and employee-turned-entrepreneur Steve Glaveski, shows you how to navigate the challenges, find the entrepreneurial success that is right for you and become a better person along the way.
"This book is a framework to inspire aspiring innovators to make the leap—to evolve from employees/pawns of stagnant and dying corporations suffering “paralysis by analysis,” to successful entrepreneurs who can embrace the right risks, walk the edge of uncertainty with confidence and good judgment, avoid (most) beginners mistakes and turn the inevitable.
From Employee to Entrepreneur. by Patsy Lim | May 9, | Business. The Covid crisis has caused some real problems for many businesses. When Covid first burst on the scene, many thought it was just another virus.
It was nothing to worry about. Sadly, many have found Covid has affected them in ways they did not expect. Changing your career track from being an employee to entrepreneur is a very big step. The rewards can be great, but so are the risks. You will lose the steady paycheck that you enjoy as an employee.
You will even have to wear many hats and do a wider variety of tasks that you may not know or even like to do (but unfortunately you have to do). This book, practically a workbook, is aimed at the mid-career person who wants to move from being an employee to an entrepreneur.
Seagraves takes you step-by-step through the process of becoming a Company of One, Boss of Few, or Business of Many/5. Acknowledgements The inspiration for this book came from the ten incredible years developing and running Ubevco Distributors Ltd. We learnt a lot from a lot of people along the way.
- Selection from Employee to Entrepreneur [Book]. Employee to Entrepreneur by Chris Garden, Catherine Blackburn Get Employee to Entrepreneur now with O’Reilly online learning.
O’Reilly members experience live online training, plus books, videos, and digital content from + publishers. Start your free trial. `This book is a framework to inspire aspiring innovators to make the leap—to evolve from employees/pawns of stagnant and dying corporations suffering “paralysis by analysis,” to successful entrepreneurs who can embrace the right risks, walk the edge of uncertainty with confidence and good judgment, avoid (most) beginners mistakes and turn /5(17).
“Being a successful employee and a successful entrepreneur require two different toolkits. This book helps people acquire the tools they need to make the move successfully” NATHAN CHAN. CEO and Publisher of Foundr Magazine — “At its core, this book is about transformation.
Taking the leap from employee to a business owner is a huge step and one that not every aspiring entrepreneur will have the courage to take. Starting a business is hard, there are a number of risks whether it’s financial, security or the possible effect of failure that must be considered.
In the UK there is currently a high percentage of entrepreneurs with innovative. Employee to Entrepreneur is for anyone who wants to jump off the corporate bandwagonand and start their own business.
Expert authors Chris Garden and /5(3). Demotivated Employee to Inspired Entrepreneur: The 3 Best Books to Change Your Mindset and Your Life - April 2, For the fifth time that morning, I leaned over and hit snooze on my seemingly incessant alarm.
9. The Female Entrepreneur by Caroline Brealey and Charly Lester. Especially meant for women, the book describes the procedural guide to start a business. The best thing about the book is its usage of real-life experiences along with inspirational quotes.
From Malcolm Gladwell to Dale Carnegie, must-read books for entrepreneurs and business owners. keep my costs low and my employees happy.
Based on 35 years of evidence, Cialdini covers key. Pre-Order your copy of From Employee to Entrepreneur – The Journey of Empowerment Today by Tasha McCray. Today the desire to become an ENTREPRENEUR has grown substantially. We believe this is because of the growing number of employees who are now having to find other sources of income.
This is why this book is needed. One of the few entrepreneurs whom I’ve heard discuss it and acknowledge is Robert Kiyosaki, author of the Rich Dad, Poor Dad book series and franchise. In his books, he often refers to the emotional and spiritual work needed to make the transition from employee to : Ellevate Network.
Get this from a library! Be your best boss: reinvent yourself from employee to entrepreneur. [William R Seagraves] -- "A guide to help make the most of your mid-career entrepreneurial pursuits whether they were originally planned for or not.
Employee to Entrepreneur is the book to help entrepreneurially minded.For the true entrepreneur who has a talent and wants to make a difference by showcasing it to the world but doesn't know how.
READ THIS BOOK!. Trevor's authenticity and transparent writing style allowed me to not only relate to him but feel exactly what he went through in his journey which scarily enough is very similar to mine.5/5(13).Want to go from employee to entrepreneur?
Well, you can. With the right mindset, strategies and skills you can transform your career, your life and your income. In this book you will learn how to: Develop the right mindset for success Utilise5/5.
forabetterchicago.com - From Employee to Entrepreneur book © 2020
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